1173 A.D.
Anno gratiae M°C°LXX°III°, qui est
annus decimus nonus regni regis Henrici filii Matildis imperatricis,
idem rex fuit die Natalis Domini apud Chinonem in Andegavia, et uxor
ejus regina Alienor fuit ibi cum illo, et rex filius et uxor ejus fuerunt
in Normannia. Et post Natale misit rex pater pro rege filio, et profecti
sunt in Alverniam usque ad montem Ferrath; et illuc venit ad eos
Hubertus comes de Mauriana, et adduxit secum Aalays filiara suam primogenitam.
Quam rex pater comparavit ...
In the year of grace 1173, being the nineteenth year of
the reign of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said king was, on the day
of the Nativity of our Lord, at Chinon, in Anjou, and queen Eleanor
was there with him, while the king, his son, and his wife were in
Normandy. After the Nativity, the king, the father, sent for the
king, the son, and they proceeded to Montferrat, in Auvergne, where
they were met by Hubert, earl of Maurienne, who brought with him
Alice, his eldest daughter. The king, the father, obtained her for
the sum of four thousand marks of silver, as a wife for his son John,
together with the whole of the earldom of Maurienne, in case the
above-named earl should not have a son by his wife. But, in case he
should have a son, lawfully begotten, then the
above-named earl granted to them and to their heirs for ever
Rousillon, with all his jurisdiction therein, and with all its
appurtenances, and the whole of the county of Le Belay, as he then
held the same; likewise, Pierrecastel, with all its appurtenances,
and the whole of the valley of Novalese, and Chambery, with all its
appurtenances, and Aix, and Aspermont, and Rochet, and Montemayor,
and Chambres, with the borough and the whole jurisdiction thereof.
All these lying on this side of the mountains, with all their
appurtenances, he granted to them immediately for ever. Beyond the
mountains, also, he gave and granted to them and to their heirs for
ever, the whole of Turin, with all its appurtenances, the college of
Canorech, with all its appurtenances, and all the fees which the
earls of Cannes held of him, and their services and fealties. Also,
in the earldom of Castro, he granted similar fees, fealties, and
services. In the Val D’Aosta he granted to them Castiglione,
which the viscount D’Aosta held of him, to hold the same for
ever against all men. All these the above-named earl granted to the
said son of the king of England for ever, together with his daughter
before-mentioned, as freely, fully, and quietly, in men and cities,
castles, and other places of defence, meadows, leasowes, mills,
woods, plains, waters, valleys, mountains, customs, and all other
things, as ever he or his father had held or enjoyed all the same as
underwritten therein, or even more fully and freely. Furthermore, the
said earl was willing immediately, or whenever it should please our
lord the king of England, that homage and fealty should be done by
all his people throughout the whole of his lands, saving always their
fealty to himself so long as he should hold the same. Moreover, he
granted to them and to their heirs for ever, all the right that he
had in the county of Grenoble, and whatsoever he might acquire
therein. But in case his eldest daughter above-named should happen to
die, whatever he had granted with the eldest, he did thereby grant
the whole of the same, as therein written, together with his second
daughter, to the son of the illustrious king of England.
That the covenants above-written should he kept between our
lord the king of England and the earl of Maurienne, both the earl of Maurienne
himself, and the count de Cevennes, and nearly all the other nobles
of his territory, made oath; to the effect that the earl of Maurienne
would inviolably observe the said covenants; and if he should in any
way depart therefrom, they made oath that, on the summons of our lord
the king of England, or of his messenger, and even without any such
summons, so soon as they should happen to know that the earl had so
departed, they would, from the time of knowing thereof, surrender
themselves as hostages to our lord the king of England, in his own
realm, wherever he should think fit, and would remain in his custody
until such time as they should have prevailed upon the earl to
perform the king’s pleasure, or have made an arrangement with
the king, to his satisfaction.
Furthermore, Peter, the venerable archbishop of Tarentaise,
Ardune, bishop of Cevennes, William, bishop of Maurienne, and the abbot
of Saint Michael, the Holy Evangelists being placed before them, at the
command of the earl, steadfastly promised that, at the will and
pleasure of the king, and at such time as he should think fit, they
would excommunicate the person of the earl, and place his lands under
interdict, if the earl should not observe the agreement so made
between them; that they would also do the same as to the persons of
the earl’s liegemen, and as to the lands of those through whom
it should be caused, that the agreement so made between the king and
the earl was not observed, and would hold those who should refuse to
keep the peace and their lands under interdict, until satisfaction
should have been made to our lord the king.
Our lord the king made these covenants and the grants above-written,
with and to the earl of Maurienne, and by his command the following made
oath that by him the same should be observed: William, earl of
Mandevule, William, earl of Arundel, Ralph de Fay, William de Courcy,
William de Hinnez, Fulk Paynel, Robert de Briencourt, William
Mainegot, Theobald Chabot, William de Munlufzun, Peter de Montesson,
and Geoffrey Forrester.
In addition thereto, it was to be understood that the earl
might give his second daughter in marriage to whomsoever he would, without too
greatly diminishing the earldom, after his eldest daughter should
have been married to the king’s son, either her lawful age
allowing thereof, or through the dispensation of the Church of Rome;
and that it should be lawful for her parents or for other persons to
give from the lands, for the safety
of her soul, without too greatly diminishing the earldom. Also, that
the king should make payment immediately to the earl of one thousand
marks of silver; and that as soon as he should receive the earl’s
daughter, the latter should have at least another thousand marks of
silver; and that whatever should remain unpaid of the five thousand
marks, the earl should receive the same when the marriage should have
taken place between the king’s son and the earl’s
daughter, either by reason of lawful age or through the dispensation
of the Church of Rome. But, if our lord the king, which God forbid,
should chance to die first, or should depart from his territories,
then, neither he nor they who, at his command had made oath and had
given any security to the earl, should be bound by the covenants
above-written, but only our lord the king, the king’s son and
his people.
Accordingly, a few days having elapsed, there came into the
territories of the king of England, on behalf of the earl of Maurienne, the
marquis of Montferrat, Geoffrey de Plozac, and Merlo, his son, the chancellor
of earl Richard, and Berlo de Cambot, and Peter de Bouet, his
castellans, together with Peter de Saint Genese, and Peter de Turin,
knights, and Geoffrey de Aquabella, and Ralph de Varci, burgesses.
Touching the Holy Evangelists, these persons made oath that they
would strictly cause the earl to observe the covenants made between
the king and the earl, as to the son of the king and the daughter of
the earl, in such manner as they had been lawfully entered into,
written, and understood. And, if he should not observe the same, they
made oath that, on the summons of the king or of his messenger, or
even without any such summons, if they should happen to know that the
earl had departed therefrom, they would, from the time of knowing
thereof, surrender themselves as hostages to the king in his own
realm, and would remain in his custody until such time as they should
have prevailed upon the earl to perform the king’s pleasure, or
have made an arrangement with our lord the king to his satisfaction.
The before-named envoys also made oath that the earl should not give
his second daughter in marriage until his eldest daughter should have
been united in marriage with the king’s son, either by reason
of being of lawful age, or through the dispensation of the Church of
Rome; unless by the consent and desire of our lord
the king he should in the meantime have given her in marriage to some
other person. They also made oath that, if the earl’s daughter,
or, which God forbid, the king’s son, should chance to die
before a marriage should have taken place between them, then the earl
should repay to the king the whole of the money, or act according to
the king’s will and pleasure relative thereto, or pay it over
to him to whom the king should assign the same ; and that they, the
parties making the said oath, would, if the king should so wish, and
at such time as he should so wish, surrender themselves as hostages
in his realm and into his power until such time as the same should be
paid. They likewise made oath that they would use their best
endeavours to obtain the grant of Umbert the Younger, in order that
thereby the king’s son might have Rousillon and Pierrecastel,
and whatever had been granted to him by the earl in the county of Le
Belay. But if Umbert should happen to refuse to grant the same, then
they made oath that the earl should give him lands in lawful exchange
thereof, according to the arbitration of the abbot of Cluse, and of
Reginald, archdeacon of Salisbury, or of other lawful persons thereto
appointed by the king, if they should not be able to be present.
After this, the king of England, the father, and the king,
the son, came together to Limoges; and thither Raymond, earl of Saint Gilles,
came, and there did homage to both the kings of England, and to Richard,
earl of Poitou, for Toulouse, to hold the same of them by hereditary
right, by the service of appearing before them at their summons, and
staying with them and serving for forty days, without any cost on
their part; but if they should wish to have him longer in their
service, then they were to pay his reasonable expenses. And further,
the said earl of Saint Gilles was to give them from Toulouse and its
appurtenances one hundred marks of silver, or else ten chargers worth
ten marks a-piece.
There also came to Limoges the earl of Maurienne, and desired
to know how much of his own territory the king of England intended to grant to
his son John; and on the king expressing an intention to give him the
castle of Chinon, the castle of Lodun, and the castle of Mirabel, the
king, his son, would in nowise agree thereto, nor allow it to be
done. For he was already greatly offended that his father was
unwilling to assign to him some portion of his territories, where he,
with his wife, might take up their residence. Indeed, he had
requested his father to give him either Normandy, or Anjou, or
England, which request he had made at the suggestion of the king of
France, and of those of the earls and barons of England and Normandy
who disliked his father: and from this time it was that the king, the
son, had been seeking pretexts and an opportunity for withdrawing
from his father. And he had now so entirely revolted in feeling from
obeying his wishes, that he could not even converse with him on any
subject in a peaceable manner.
Having now gained his opportunity, both as to place and occasion,
the king, the son, left his father, and proceeded to the king of France.
However, Richard Barre, his chancellor, Walter, his chaplain,
Ailward, his chamberlain, and William Blund, his apparitor, left him,
and returned to the king, his father. Thus did the king’s son
lose both his feelings and his senses; he repulsed the innocent,
persecuted a father, usurped authority, seized upon a kingdom; he
alone was the guilty one, and yet a whole army conspired against his
father; “so does the madness of one make many mad.” For
he it was who thirsted for the blood of a father, the gore of a
parent!
In the meantime, Louis, king of the Franks, held a great council
at Paris, at which he and all the principal men of France made oath to
the son of the king of England that they would assist him in every
way in expelling his father from the kingdom, if he should not accede
to his wishes : on which he swore to them that he would not make
peace with his father, except with their sanction and consent. After
this, he swore that he would give to Philip, earl of Flanders, for
his homage, a thousand pounds of yearly revenues in England, and the
whole of Kent, together with Dover castle, and Rochester castle; to
Matthew, earl of Boulogne, for his homage, the Soke of Kirketon in
Lindsey, and the earldom of Mortaigne, with the honor of Hay; and to
Theobald, earl of Blois, for his homage, two hundred pounds of yearly
revenues in Anjou, and the castle of Amboise, with all the
jurisdiction which he had claimed to hold in Touraine; and he also
quitted claim to him of all right that the king his father and
himself had claimed in Chateau Regnaud. All these gifts, and many
besides that he made to other persons, he confirmed under his new
seal, which the king of France had ordered to be made for him.
Besides these, he made other gifts, which, under
the same seal, he confirmed; namely, to William, king of Scotland, for
his assistance, the whole of Northumberland as far as the river Tyne. To
the brother of the same king he gave for his services the earldom of
Huntingdon and of Cambridgeshire, and to earl Hugh Bigot, for his
services, the castle of Norwich.
Immediately after Easter, in this year, [1173] the whole
of the kingdom of France, and the king, the son of the king of England, Richard
his brother, earl of Poitou, and Geoffrey, earl of Bretagne, and nearly
all the earls and barons of England, Normandy, Aquitaine, Anjou, and
Brittany, arose against the king of England the father, and laid
waste his lands on every side with fire, sword, and rapine: they also
laid siege to his castles, and took them by storm, and there was no
one to relieve them. Still, he made all the resistance against them
that he possibly could: for he had with him twenty thousand
Brabanters, who served him faithfully, but not without large pay
which he gave them.
Then seems to have been fulfilled this prophecy of Merlin, which says:
“The cubs shall awake and shall roar aloud, and, leaving the
woods, shall seek their prey within the walls of the cities; among
those who shall be in their way they shall make great carnage, and
shall tear out the tongues of bulls. The necks of them as they roar
aloud they shall load with chains, and shall thus renew the times of
their forefathers.”
Upon this, the king wrote letters of complaint to all the emperors and
kings whom he thought to be friendly to him, relative to the
misfortunes which had befallen him through the exalted position which
he had given to his sons, strongly advising them not to exalt their
own sons beyond what it was their duty to do. On receiving his
letter, William king of Sicily wrote to him to the following effect:
“To Henry, by the grace of God the illustrious king of the English, duke
of Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, William, by the same
grace, king of Sicily, the dukedom of Apulia, and the principality of
Capua, the enjoyment of health, and the wished-for triumph in victory over his enemies. On
the receipt of your letter, we learned a thing of which indeed we
cannot without the greatest astonishment make mention, how that,
forgetting the ordinary usages of humanity and violating the law of
nature, the son has risen in rebellion against the father, the
begotten against the begetter, the bowels have been moved to
intestine war, the entrails have had recourse to arms, and, a new
miracle taking place, quite unheard of in our times, the flesh has
waged war against the blood, and the blood has sought means how to
shed itself. And, although for the purpose of checking the violence
of such extreme madness, the inconvenience of the distance does not
allow of our power affording any assistance, still, with all the
loving-kindness we possibly can, the expression of which, distance of
place does not prevent, sincerely embracing your person and honor, we
sympathize with your sorrow, and are indignant at your persecution,
which we regard as though it were our own. However, we do hope and
trust in the Lord, by whose judgment the judgments of kings are
directed, that He will no longer allow your sons to be tempted beyond
what they are able or ought to endure; and that He who became
obedient to the Father even unto death, will inspire them with the
light of filial obedience, whereby they shall be brought to recollect
that they are your flesh and blood, and, leaving the errors of their
hostility, shall acknowledge themselves to be your sons, and return
to their father, and thereby heal the disruption of nature, and that
the former union, being restored, will cement the bonds of natural
affection.”
Accordingly, immediately after Easter, as previously mentioned, the wicked fury of
the traitors burst forth. For, raving with diabolical frenzy, they
laid waste the territories of the king of England on both sides of
the sea with fire and sword in every direction. Philip, earl of
Flanders, with a large army, entered Normandy, and laid siege to
Aumarle, and took it. Proceeding thence, he laid siege to the castle
of Drincourt, which was surrendered to him; here his brother Matthew,
earl of Boulogne, died of a wound which he received from an arrow
when off his guard. On his decease, his brother Peter, the bishop
elect of Cambray, succeeded him in the earldom of Boulogne, and
renouncing his election, was made a knight, but died shortly after
without issue.
In the meantime, Louis, king of the Franks, and the king of England, the
son, laid siege to Verneuil; but Hugh de Lacy and Hugh de Beauchamp,
who were the constables thereof, defended the town of Verneuil boldly
and with resolute spirit. In consequence of this, the king of France,
after remaining there a whole month, with difficulty took a small
portion of the town on the side where his engines of war had been
planted. There were in Verneuil, besides the castle, three burghs;
each of which was separated from the other, and enclosed with a
strong wall and a foss filled with water. One of these was called the
Great Burgh, beyond the walls of which were pitched the tents of the
king of France and his engines of war. At the end of this month, when
the burghers in the Great Burgh saw that food and necessaries were
failing them, and that they should have nothing to eat, being
compelled by hunger and want, they made a truce for three days with
the king of France, for the purpose of going to their lord the king
of England, in order to obtain succour of him; and they made an
agreement that if they should not have succour within the next three
days, they would surrender to him that burgh. The peremptory day for
so doing was appointed on the vigil of Saint Laurence.
They
then gave hostages to the king of France to the above effect, and the
king of France, the king of England, the son, and earl Robert, the
brother of the king of France, earl Henry de Trois, Theobald, earl of
Blois, and William, archbishop of Sens, made oath to them, that if
they should surrender the burgh to the king of France at the period
named, the king of France would restore to them their hostages free
and unmolested, and would do no injury to them, nor allow it to be
done by others. This composition having been made to the above
effect, the burgesses before mentioned came to their lord the king of
England, and announced to him the agreement which they had made with
the king of France and the king his son.
On hearing of this, the king of England collected as large an army as he
possibly could from Normandy and the rest of his dominions, and came
to Breteuil, a castle belonging to Robert, earl of Leicester, which
the earl himself, taking to flight on his approach, left without any
protection. This the king entirely reduced to ashes, and the next
day, for the purpose of engaging with the king of France, proceeded
to a high hill, near Verneuil, with the whole of his army, and drew up his
troops in order of battle. This too was the peremptory day upon which
that portion of Verneuil was to be surrendered if it did not obtain
succour.
Upon this, Louis, king of the Franks, sent William, archbishop of Sens,
earl Henry, and earl Theobald, to the king of England, the father,
who appointed an interview to be held between them on the morrow; and
the king of England, to his misfortune, placed confidence in them;
for he was deceived. For on the morrow the king of France neither
came to the interview, nor yet sent any messenger. On this, the king
of England sent out spies to observe the position of the king of
France and his army; but while the spies were delaying their return,
that portion of Verneuil was surrendered to the king of France to
which he had laid siege. However, he did not dare retain it in his
hands, having transgressed the oath which he had made to the
burghers. For he neither restored to them their hostages, nor
preserved the peace as he had promised; but, entering the town, made
the burghers prisoners, carried off their property, set fire to the
Burgh, and then, taking to flight, carried away with him the burghers
before-mentioned into France.
When word was brought of this to the king of England, he pursued them with
the edge of the sword, slew many of them, and took considerable
numbers, and at nightfall arrived at Verneuil, where he remained one
night, and ordered the walls which had been levelled to be rebuilt.
But, in order that these events may be kept in memory, it is as well
to know that this flight of the king of France took place on the
fifth day before the ides of August, being the fifth day of the week,
upon the vigil of Saint Laurence, to the praise and glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who by punishing the crime of perfidy, so speedily
avenged the indignity done to his Martyr.
On the following day, the king of England, the father,
left Verneuil, and took the castle of Damville, which belonged to Gilbert de
Tilieres, and captured with it a great number of knights and
men-at-arms. After this, the king came to Rouen, and thence
dispatched his Brabanters, in whom he placed more confidence than the
rest, into Brittany, against Hugh, earl of Chester, and Ralph de
Fougeres, who had now gained possession of nearly the whole of it.
When these troops approached, the earl of Chester and Ralph de
Fougeres went forth to meet them. In consequence of this,
preparations were made for battle; the troops were drawn out in
battle array, and everything put in readiness for the combat.
Accordingly, the engagement having commenced, the enemies of the king
of England were routed, and the men of Brittany were laid prostrate
and utterly defeated. The earl, however, and Ralph de Fougeres, with
many of the most powerful men of Brittany, shut themselves up in the
fort of Dol, which they had taken by stratagem; on which, the
Brabanters besieged them on every side, on the thirteenth day before
the calends of September, being the second day of the week. In this
battle there were taken by the Brabanters seventeen knights
remarkable for their valour, whose names were as follows: Hascuil de
Saint Hilaire, William Patrick, Patrick de la Laude, Haimer de
Falaise, Geoffrey Farcy, William de Rulent, Ralph de Sens, John
Boteler, Vicaire de Dol, William des Loges, William de la Motte,
Robert de Treham, Payen Cornute, Reginald Pincun, Reginald de Champ
Lambert, and Eudo Bastard. Besides these, many others were captured,
both horse and foot, and more than fifteen hundred of the Bretons
were slain.
Now, on the day after this capture and slaughter, “Rumour,
than which nothing in speed more swift exists,” reached the ears of
the king of England, who, immediately setting out on his march
towards Dol, arrived there on the fifth day of the week, and
immediately ordered his stone-engines, and other engines of war, to
be got in readiness. The earl of Chester, however, and those who were
with him in the fort, being unable to defend it, surrendered it to
the king, on the seventeenth day before the calends of September,
being the Lord’s Day; and, in like manner, the whole of
Brittany, with all its fortresses, was restored to him, and its chief
men were carried into captivity. In the fortress of Dol many knights
and yeomen were taken prisoners, whose names were as follow: Hugh,
earl of Chester, Ralph de Fougeres, William de Fougeres, Hamo L’Espine,
Robert Patrick, Ingelram Patrick, Richard de Lovecot, Gwigain Guiun,
Oliver de Roche, Alan de Tintimac, Ivel, son of Ralph de Fougeres,
Gilo de Castel Girun, Philip de Landewi, William de Gorham, Ivel de
Mayne, Geoffrey de Buissiers, Reginald de Marche Lemarchis, Hervey de
Nitri, Hamelin de Eni, William de Saint Brice, William de Chastelar,
William de Orange, Ralph Waintras, Robert Boteler, Henry de Grey,
Grimbald Fitz-Haket, Geoffrey Abbat, John Guarein, John de Breerec,
Hugh Avenel, Hamelin de Pratelles, Swalo de la Bosothe, Secard
Burdin, Walter Bruno, John Ramart, Hugh de Bussay, Jerdan de Masrue,
Henry de Saint Hilaire, the brothers Hascuil, Bartholomew de
Busserie, Herbert de Buillon, Bauran de Tanet, Roland Fitz-Ralph,
Roellin Fitz-Ralph, Geoffrey de Minihac, Guido Butefact, Celdewin
Guiun, Ivel de Pont, Hamelin Abbat, Robert de Baioches, Elias
d’Aubigny, Reginald Cactus, John de Curtis, Philip de Luvenni,
Henry de Wastines, Henry de Saint Stephen, William Deschapelles,
Roger deB Loges, Bencellard de Serland, William de Bois Berenger,
John de Ruel, Oliver de MontBorel, Hamund de Rochefort, Robert de
Lespiney, John des Loges, Geoffrey Carlisle, Ralph de Tomal, Ralph le
Poters, Gilbert de Croi, Ralph Pucin, Matthew de Praels, Richard de
Cambrai, William le Francais, Oliver Rande, Ralph Ruffin,—Springard,
Roger de Chevereul, William des Loges, and many others, the names of
whom are not written in this book.
After these victories which God granted to the king of England,
the son of the empress Matilda, the king of France and his supporters fell into
despondency, and used all possible endeavours, that peace might be
made between the king of England and his sons. In consequence of
this, there was at length a meeting between Gisors and Trie, at which
Louis, king of the Franks, attended, accompanied by the archbishops,
bishops, earls, and barons of his realm, and bringing with him Henry,
Richard, and Geoffrey, the sons of the king of England. Henry, king
of England, the father, attended, with the archbishops, bishops,
earls, and barons of his dominions.
A conference was accordingly held between him and his sons,
for the purpose of establishing peace, on the seventh day before the calends
of October, being the third day of the week. At this conference, the
king, the father, offered to the king, his son, a moiety of the revenues of
his demesnes in England, and four fitting castles in the same territory; or,
if his son should prefer to remain in Normandy, the king, the father, offered
a moiety of the revenues of Normandy, and all the revenues of the lands that
were his father’s, the earl of Anjou, and three convenient castles in
Normandy, and one fitting castle, in Anjou, one fitting castle in
Maine, and one fitting castle in Touraine. To his son Richard, also,
he offered a moiety of the revenues of Aquitaine, and four fitting
castles in the same territory. And to his son Geoffrey he offered all
the lands that belonged, by right of inheritance, to the daughter of
duke Conan, if he should, with the sanction of our lord the pope, be
allowed to marry the above-named lady. The king, the father, also
submitted himself entirely to the arbitration of the archbishop of
Tarento and the legates of our lord the pope, as to adding to the
above as much more of his revenues, and giving the same to his sons,
as they should pronounce to be reasonable, reserving to himself the
administration of justice and the royal authority.
But it did not suit the purpose of the king of France that
the king’s sons should at present make peace with their father: in
addition to which, at the same conference, Robert, earl of Leicester, uttered
much opprobrious and abusive language to the king of England, the
father, and laid his hand on his sword for the purpose of striking
the king; but he was hindered by the byestanders from so doing, and
the conference was immediately brought to a close.
On the day after the conference, the knights of the king
of France had a skirmish with the knights of the king of England, between
Curteles and Gisors; in which fight Ingelram, castellan of Trie, was made
prisoner by earl William de Mandeville, and presented to the king,
the father. In the meantime, Robert, earl of Leicester, having raised
a large army, crossed over into England, and was received by earl
Hugh Bigot in the castle of Fremingham,* where he supplied him with
all necessaries. After this, the said Robert, earl of Leicester, laid
siege to Hakeneck, the castle of Ranulph de Broc, and took it; for,
at this period, Richard de Lucy, justiciary of England, and Humphrey
de Bohun, the king’s constable, had marched with a large army
into Lothian, the territory of the king of Scotland, for the purpose
of ravaging it.
* Framlingham, in Suffolk.
When, however, they heard of the arrival of the earl of
Leicester in England, they were greatly alarmed, and laying all other matters
aside, gave and received a truce from the king of Scotland, and,
after hostages were delivered on both sides for the preservation of
peace until the feast of Saint Hilary, hastened with all possible
speed to Saint Edmund’s. Thither also came to them Reginald,
earl of Cornwall, the king’s uncle, Robert, earl of Gloucester,
and William, earl of Arundel, On the approach of the festival of All
Saints, the above-named earl of Leicester withdrew from Fremingham
for the purpose of marching to Leicester, and came with his army to a
place near St. Edmund’s, which is known as Fornham, situate on
a piece of marshy ground, not far from the church of Saint Genevieve.
On his arrival being known, the earls, with a considerable force, and
Humphrey de Bohun with three hundred knights, soldiers of the king,
went forth armed for battle to meet the earl of Leicester, carrying
before them the banner of Saint Edmund the king and Martyr as their
standard. The ranks being drawn up in battle array, by virtue of the
aid of God and of his most glorious Martyr Saint Edmund, they
attacked the line in which the earl of Leicester had taken his
position, and in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the earl of
Leicester was vanquished and taken prisoner, as also his wife and
Hugh des Chateaux, a nobleman of the kingdom of France, and all their
might was utterly crushed.
There fell in this battle more than ten thousand Flemings,
while all the rest were taken prisoners, and being thrown into prison in irons,
were there starved to death. As for the earl of Leicester and his
wife and Hugh des Chateaux, and the rest of the more wealthy men who
were captured with them, they were sent into Normandy to the king the
father; on which the king placed them in confinement at Falaise, and
Hugh, earl of Chester, with them.
On the feast of Saint Martin, king Henry, the father, entered
Anjou with his army, and shortly after Geoffrey, lord of Hay, surrendered to
him the castle of Hay. After this there were surrendered to him the
castle of Pruilly and the castle of Campigny, which Robert de Ble had
held against him. In this castle there were many knights and
men-at-arms taken prisoners, whose names were as follow: Haimeric de
Ble, Baldwin de Brisehaie, Hugh de Laloc, Hugh de Danars,
HughDelamotte, William de Rivan, Simon de Beniezai, John Maumonie, Hubert
Ruscevals, William Maingot, Saer de Terreis, John de Champigny, Walter de
Powis, Brice de Ceaux, Haimeric Bipant, Robert L’Anglais, Grossin
Champemain, Isambert Wellun, Geoffrey Carre, Payen Juge, William
Bugun, Castey, vassal of Saer de Terreis, Guiard, vassal of John
Maumonie, Roger, vassal of William Rivan, Peter, vassal of John de
Champigny, Philip, vassal of Hugh le Davis, Russell, vassal of Hubert
Ruscevals, Vulgier and Haimeric, vassals of Peter de Posey, Osmund,
Everard, and Geoffrey, vassals of Haimeric de Ble, Gilbert and
Albinus, vassals of Hugh de Laloc, Brito and Geoffrey, vassals of
Walter Powis, Haimeric and Peter, vassals of Hugh Delamotte, and
Brito and Sunennes, vassals of Simon de Bernezai.
In the same year, Louis, king of the Franks, knighted
Richard, the son of king Henry. In this year, also, Robert the prior of Dare, who was
bishop elect of the church of Arras, renounced that election, and was
elected bishop of the diocese of Cambrai, but before he was
consecrated was slain by his enemies.
In the same year, Henry, king of England, contrary to the
prohibition of his son, king Henry, and after appeal made to our lord the pope,
gave the archbishopric of Canterbury, to Richard prior of Dover, the bishopric
of Bath to Reginald, son of Jocelyn, bishop of Salisbury, the
bishopric of Winchester to Richard de Ivechester, archdeacon of
Poitou, the bishopric of Hereford to Robert Folliot, the bishopric of
Ely to Geoffrey Riddel, archdeacon of Canterbury, and the bishopric
of Chichester to John de Greneford. After this, at the time of the
feast of Saint Andrew, the king of England, the father, took Vendime
by storm, which was held against him by Bucard de Lavardin, who had
expelled therefrom his father, the earl of Vendime.
1174 A.D.
In the year of grace 1174, being the twentieth year of the reign
of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said Henry spent the festival
of the Nativity of our Lord at Caen in Normandy, and a truce was made
between him and Louis, king of the Franks, from the feast of Saint
Hilary until the end of Easter. In the same year, and at the time
abovenamed, Hugh, bishop of Durham, at an interview held between
himself and William, king of the Scots, on the confines of the
kingdoms of England and Scotland, namely at Revedeur, gave to the
above-named king of the Scots three hundred marks of silver from the
lands of the barons of Northumberland, for granting a truce from the
feast of Saint Hilary until the end of Easter.
In the meantime, Roger de Mowbray fortified his castle at
Kinardeferie, in Axholme; and Hugh, bishop of Durham, fortified the castle of
Alverton. After Easter, breaking the truce, Henry, the son of the
king of England, and Philip, earl of Flanders, having raised a large
army, determined to come over to England.
In the meantime, William, king of the Scots, came into
Northumberland with a large force, and there with his Scotch and Galloway men
committed execrable deeds. For his men ripped asunder pregnant women,
and, dragging forth the embryos, tossed them upon the points of
lances. Infants, children, youths, aged men, all of both sexes, from
the highest to the lowest, they slew alike without mercy or ransom.
The priests and clergy they murdered in the very churches upon the
altars. Consequently, wherever the Scots and the Galloway men came,
horror and carnage prevailed. Shortly after, the king of the Scots
sent his brother David to Leicester, in order to assist the troops of
the earl of Leicester; but before he arrived there, Reginald, earl of
Cornwall, and Richard de Lacy, justiciary of England, had burned the
city of Leicester to the ground, together with its churches and
buildings, with the exception of the castle.
After Pentecost, Anketill Mallory, the constable of Leicester,
fought a battle with the burgesses of Northampton, and defeated them, taking
more than two hundred prisoners, and slaying a considerable number.
Shortly after, Robert, earl of Ferrers, together with the knights of
Leicester, came at daybreak to Nottingham, a royal town, which
Reginald de Lucy had in his charge; and having taken it, sacked it,
and then set it on fire, carrying away with him the burgesses
thereof.
At this period, Geoffrey, bishop elect of Lincoln, son of
king Henry, took the castle of Kinardeferie, and levelled it with the ground.
Also, Robert de Mowbray, the constable of the same castle, while
going towards Leicester to obtain assistance, was taken prisoner on
the road, by the people of Clay, and detained. Earl Hugh Bigot also
took the city of Norwich by storm, and burned it. In addition, to
this, the bishop elect of Lincoln, with Roger, the archbishop of
York, laid siege to Malasert, a castle belonging to Roger de Mowbray,
and took it, with many knights and men-at-arms therein, and gave it
into the charge of the archbishop of York. Before he departed, he
also fortified the castle of Topcliffe, which he delivered into the
charge of William de Stuteville.
* Called above, Roger: which is the name given by the other chroniclers
In the meantime, Richard, the archbishop elect of Canterbury,
and Reginald, the bishop elect of Bath, set out for Rome, for the purpose
of confirming their own elections and those of the other bishops
elect of England. To oppose them, king Henry, the son, sent to Rome
Master Berter, a native of Orleans. When the said parties had come
into the presence of pope Alexander, and the cardinals, and our lord
the pope had greatly censured the absence of the other bishops elect
of England, and the archbishop elect of Canterbury had done all in
his power to exculpate them, our lord the pope asked, with still
greater earnestness, why the bishop elect of Ely had not come; on
which Berter of Orleans made answer: “My lord, he has a
Scriptural excuse;"* to whom the pope made answer: “Brother,
what is the excuse?” on which the other replied: “He has
married a wife, and therefore cannot come.”
* Alluding to St. Luke xiv. 20.
In the end, however, although there was a great altercation
and considerable bandying of hard language on both sides before our lord
the pope and the cardinals, our lord the pope confirmed the election
of the archbishop of Canterbury: on which, Reginald, the bishop elect
of Bath, wrote to his master the king of England to the following
effect:
“To Henry, the illustrious king of England, duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, his most dearly beloved lord, Reginald,
by the grace of God, bishop elect of Bath, health in Him who gives
health to kings. Be it known to the prudence of your majesty, that,
at the court of our lord the pope, we found determined opponents from
the kingdom of France, and others still more determined from your own
territories. In consequence of this, we were obliged to submit to
many hardships there, and to make a tedious stay, till at last, at
our repeated entreaties, by the co-operation of the Divine grace, the
obduracy of our lord the pope was so far softened, that, in the
presence of all, he solemnly confirmed the election of the lord
archbishop elect of Canterbury; and after having so confirmed his
election, consecrated him on the Lord’s day following. On the
third day after his consecration, he gave him the pall, and a short
period of time having intervened, conferred on him the dignity of the
primacy. In addition to this, it being our desire that he should have
full power of inflicting ecclesiastical vengeance upon those men of
your realms who have iniquitously and in the treachery of their
wickedness, raised their heel against your innocence, we did, after
much solicitation, obtain the favour of the bestowal by our lord the
pope of the legateship on the same province. As for my own election,
and those of the others, they are matters still in suspense ; and our
lord the pope has determined to settle and determine nothing with
regard to us, until such time as your son shall have been brought to
a reconciliation. However, we put our trust in the Lord that the
interests of myself, and of all the other bishops elect, may be
safely entrusted to the prudent care of my lord the archbishop of
Canterbury."
In the same year, at the feast of the Nativity of Saint
John the Baptist, Richard de Lucy laid siege to the castle of Huntingdon, on
which the knights of that castle burned the town to the ground.
Richard de Lucy then erected a new castle before the gates of the
said castle of Huntingdon, and gave it in charge to earl Simon.
In the meanwhile, William, king of the Scots, laid siege to
Carlisle, of which Robert de Vals had the safe keeping; and, leaving a portion of
his army to continue the siege, with the remainder of it he passed
through Northumberland, ravaging the lands of the king and his
barons. He took the castle of Liddel, the castle of Burgh, the castle
of Appleby, the castle of Mercwrede, and the castle of Irebothe,
which was held by Odonel de Umfraville, after which he returned to
the siege of Carlisle. Here he continued the siege, until Robert de
Vals, in consequence of provisions failing him and the other persons
there, made a treaty with him on the following terms, namely, that,
at the feast of Saint Michael next ensuing, he would surrender to him
the castle and town of Carlisle, unless, in the meantime, he should
obtain succour from his master the king of England.
On this, the king of the Scots, departing thence, laid siege
to the castle of Prudhoe, which belonged to Odonel de Umfraville, but was
unable to take it. For Robert de Stuteville, sheriff of York, William
de Vesci, Ranulph de Glanville, Ralph de Tilly, constable of the
household of the archbishop of York, Bernard de Baliol, and Odonel de
Umfraville, having assembled a large force, hastened to its succour.
On learning their approach, the king of Scotland retreated
thence, and laid siege to the castle of Alnwick, which belonged to William de
Vesci, and then, dividing his army into three divisions, kept one
with himself, and gave the command of the other two to earl Dunecan
and the earl of Angus, and Richard de Morville, giving them orders to
lay waste the neighbouring provinces in all directions, slaughter the
people, and carry off the spoil. Oh, shocking times! then might you
have heard the shrieks of women, the cries of the aged, the groans of
the dying, and the exclamations of despair of the youthful!
In the meantime, the king of England, the son, and
Philip, earl of Flanders, came with a large army to Gravelines, for the
purpose of crossing over to England. On hearing of this, the king of England,
the father, who had marched with his army into Poitou, and had taken
many fortified places and castles, together with the city of Saintes,
and two fortresses there, one of which was called Fort Maror, as also
the cathedral church of Saintes, which the knights and men-at-arms
had strengthened against him with arms and a supply of provisions,
returned into Anjou, and took the town of Ancenis, which belonged to
Guion de Ancenis, near Saint Florence. On taking it, he strengthened
it with very strong fortifications, and retained it in his own hands,
and then laid waste the adjoining parts of the province with fire and
sword; he also rooted up the vines and fruit-bearing trees, after
which he returned into Normandy, while the king, his son, and Philip,
earl of Flanders, were still detained at Gravelines, as the wind was
contrary, and they were unable to cross over. On this, the king of
England, the father, came to Barbeflet,* where a considerable number
of ships had been assembled against his arrival, and, praised be the
name of the Lord! as it pleased the Lord, so did it come to pass;
who, by His powerful might, changed the wind to a favourable quarter,
and thus suddenly granted him a passage over to England. Immediately
on this, he embarked, and, on the following day, landed at
Southampton, in England, on the eight day before the ides of July,
being the second day of the week, bringing with him his wife, queen
Eleanor, and queen Margaret, daughter of Louis, king of the Franks,
and wife of his son Henry, with Robert, earl of Leicester, and Hugh,
earl of Chester, whom he immediately placed in confinement.
* Harfleur.
On the day after this, he set out on a pilgrimage to the
tomb of Saint Thomas the Martyr, archbishop of Canterbury. On his approach, as soon
as he was in sight of the church, in which the body of the blessed
martyr lay buried, he dismounted from the horse on which he rode,
took off his shoes, and, barefoot, and clad in woollen garments,
walked three miles to the tomb of the martyr, with such humility and
compunction of heart, that it may be believed beyond a doubt to have
been the work of Him who looketh down on the earth, and maketh it to
tremble. To those who beheld them, his footsteps, along the road on
which he walked, seemed to be covered with blood, and really were so;
for his tender feet being cut by the hard stones, a great quantity of
blood flowed from them on to the ground. When he had arrived at the
tomb, it was a holy thing to see the affliction which he suffered,
with sobs and tears, and the discipline to which he submitted from
the hands of the bishops and a great number of priests and monks.
Here, also, aided by the prayers of many holy men, he passed the
night, before the sepulchre of the blessed Martyr, in prayer,
fasting, and lamentations. As for the gifts and revenues which, for
the remission of his sins, he bestowed on this church, they can never
under any circumstance be obliterated from the remembrance thereof.
In the morning of the following day, after hearing mass, he departed
thence, on the third day before the ides of July, being Saturday,
with the intention of proceeding to London. And, inasmuch as he was
mindful of the Lord in his entire heart, the Lord granted unto him
the victory over his enemies, and delivered them captive into his
hands.
For, on the very same Saturday on which the king left Canterbury,
William, king of the Scots, was taken prisoner at Alnwick by the above-named
knights of Yorkshire, who had pursued him after his retreat from
Prudhoe. Thus, even thus; "How rarely is it that vengeance with
halting step forsakes the pursuit of the wicked!" Together with
him, there were taken prisoners Richard Cumin, William de Mortimer,
William de l’lsle, Henry Revel, Ralph de Ver, Jordan le
Fleming, Waltheof Fitz-Baldwin de Bicre, Richard Maluvel, and many
others, who voluntarily allowed themselves to be made prisoners, lest
they might appear to have sanctioned the capture of their lord.
On the same day, Hugh, count de Bar sur Seine, nephew of Hugh,
bishop of Durham, effected a landing at Herterpol* with forty knights and five
hundred Flemings, for whom the beforenamed bishop had sent; but in
consequence of the capture of the king of Scotland, the bishop
immediately allowed the said Flemings to return home, having first
given them allowance and pay for forty days. Count Hugh, however,
together with the knights who had come with him, he made to stay, and
gave the castle of Alverton** into their safe keeping.
*
Hartlepool. ** North Allerton.
These
things having taken place, Uctred, the son of Fergus, and Gilbert his
brother, the leaders of the men of Galloway, immediately upon the
capture of their lord the king of the Scots, returned to their
country, expelled the king’s thanes from their territories, and
slew without mercy those of English or French origin whom they found
therein. The fortresses and castles which the king of the Scots had
fortified in their territories they laid siege to, and, capturing
them, levelled them with the ground. They also earnestly entreated
the king of England, the father, at the same time presenting him many
gifts, to rescue them from the rule of the king of Scotland, and
render them subject to his own sway.
In the meantime, Louis, king of the Franks, hearing that the king of
England, the father, had crossed over, and that the king of Scots was
taken prisoner, with whose misfortunes he greatly condoled, recalled
the king of England the son, and Philip, earl of Flanders, who were
still staying at Gravelines; and after they had returned to him, laid
siege to Rouen on all sides, except that on which the river Seine
flows.
The king, the father, on hearing of the capture of the king of the Scots,
rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and after a thanksgiving to
Almighty God and the blessed martyr Thomas, set out for Huntingdon,
and laid siege to the castle, which was surrendered to him on the
Lord’s day following, being the twelfth day before the calends
of August. The knights and men-at-arms who were in the castle threw
themselves on the king’s mercy, safety being granted to life
and limb. Immediately upon this, the king departed thence with his
army towards Fremingham, the castle of earl Hugh Bigot; where the
earl himself was, with a large body of Flemings. The king, on drawing
nigh to Fremingham, encamped at a place which is called Seleham, and
remained there that night. On the following day, earl Hugh Bigot came
to him, and, making a treaty of peace with him, surrendered to him
the castle of Fremingham, and the castle of Bungay, and with
considerable difficulty obtained the king’s permission that the
Flemings who were with him. might without molestation return home. At
this place, the horse of Tostes de Saint Omer, a knight of the
Temple, struck the king on the leg, and injured him considerably. On
the following day, namely, on the seventh day before the calends of
August, the king departed from Seleham, and proceeded to Northampton;
on his arrival at which place William, king of the Scots, was brought
to him, with his feet fastened beneath a horse’s belly. There
also came to him Hugh, bishop of Durham, who delivered to him
possession of the castle of Durham, the castle of Norham, and the new
castle of Alverton, which he had fortified, and, after considerable
difficulty, obtained permission that his nephew, the count de Bar,
and the knights who had come with him, might return to their own
country. Roger de Mowbray also came thither to him, and surrendered
to him the castle of Tresk,* and the earl of Ferrers delivered up to
him the castles of Tutesbury,** and of Duffield; Anketill Mallory
also and William de Dive, constables of the earl of Leicester,
surrendered to him the castles of Leicester, of Mountsorrel, and of
Groby.
*
Thirsk ** Tutbury
Thus
then, within the space of three weeks, was the whole of England
restored to tranquillity, and all its fortified places delivered into
the king’s hands. These matters being arranged to his
satisfaction, he speedily crossed over from England to Normandy, and
landed at Barbeflet on the sixth day before the ides of August, being
the fifth day of the week, taking with him his Brabanters and a
thousand Welshmen, together with William, king of the Scots, Robert,
earl of Leicester, and Hugh, earl of Chester, whom he placed in
confinement, first at Caen, and afterwards at Falaise.
On the same day on which the king landed at Barbeflet, he met on the
sea-shore Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, on his return from
Alexander, the Supreme Pontiff, with the pall and legateship and
primacy of the whole of England, together with Reginald, bishop of
Bath, whom the said archbishop had consecrated at Saint John de
Maurienne, on their return from Rome. The king, however, did not wish
to detain them with him, but sent them on to England. After this, on
the Lord’s day next ensuing, the king, the father, arrived with
his Brabanters and Welchmen at Rouen, which the king of France and
the king of England, the son, were besieging on one side, while on
the other there was free egress and ingress. On the following
morning, the king sent his Welchmen beyond the river Seine; who,
making way by main force, broke through the midst of the camp of the
king of France, and arrived unhurt at the great forest, and on the
same day slew more than a hundred of the men of the king of France.
Now,
the king of France had been staying there hardly a month, when, lo!
the king of England, the father, coming from England, opened the
gates of the city, which the burgesses had blocked up, and sallying
forth with his knights and men-at-arms, caused the fosses which had
been made between the army of the king of France and the city, to be
filled up with logs of timber, stones, and earth, and to be thus made
level. As for the king of France, he and his men remained in their
tents, and were not inclined to come forth. The rest of the people of
the king of England took up their positions for the defence of the
walls, but no one attacked them; however, a part of the army of the
king of France made an attempt to destroy their own engines of war.
On
the following day, early in the morning, the king of France sent the
weaker portion of his army into his own territories; and, with the
permission of the king of England, followed them on the same day to a
place which is called Malaunay, and lies between Rouen and the town
called Tostes; having first given security by the hand of ‘William,
archbishop of Sens, and of earl Theobald, that on the following day
he would return to confer with the king of England on making peace
between him and his sons. The king of France, however, did not keep
his engagement and his oath, and did not come on the following day to
the conference, but departed into his own territories.
However,
after the expiration of a few days, he again sent the above-named
archbishop of Sens and earl Theobald to the king of England,
appointing a day for the conference, to be held at Gisors, on the
Nativity of Saint Mary. When they met there they could not come to an
agreement, on account of Richard, earl of Poitou, who was at this
time in Poitou, besieging the castles and subjects of his father. In
consequence of this, they again held another conference between them,
upon the festival of Saint Michael, between. Tours and Amboise, on
which occasion they agreed to a truce on these terms: that the said
Richard, earl of Poitou, should be excluded from all benefit of the
truce, and that the king of France and the king of England, the son,
should give him no succour whatever. Upon these arrangements being
made on either side, the king of England, the father, moved on his
army into Poitou; on which, Richard, earl of Poitou, his son, not
daring to await his approach, fled from place to place. When he
afterwards came to understand that the king of France, and the king,
his brother, had excluded him from the benefit of the truce, he was
greatly indignant thereat; and, coming with tears, he fell on his
face upon the ground at the feet of his father, and imploring pardon,
was received into his father’s bosom. These events took place
at Poitou, on the eleventh day before the calends of October, being
the second day of the week; and thus, the king and his son Richard
becoming reconciled, they entered the city of Poitou.
After
this, they both set out together for a conference held between Tours
and Amboise, on the day before the calends of October, being the
second day of the week and the day after the feast of Saint Michael.
Here the king, the son, and Richard and Geoffrey, his brothers, by
the advice and consent of the king and barons of France, made the
treaty of peace underwritten with the king their father:
“Be
it known unto all present as well as to come, that, by the will of
God, peace has been made between our lord the king and his sons,
Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey, on the following terms:—Henry,
the king, the son of the king, and his brothers aforesaid, have
returned unto their father and to his service us their liege lord,
free and absolved from all oaths whatsoever which they have made
between themselves, or with any other persons, against him, or
against his subjects. All liegemen and barons who, for their sake,
have abandoned their fealty to their father, they have released from
all oaths whatsoever which they have made to themselves; and, freely
acquitted from all oaths and absolved from all covenants which they
had made to them, the same have returned to their homage and
allegiance to our lord the king. Also, our lord the king, and all his
liegemen and barons, are to receive possession of all their lands and
castles which they held fifteen days before his sons withdrew from
him. So, in like manner, his liegemen and barons who withdrew from
him and followed his sons, are to receive possession of their lands
which they had fifteen days before they withdrew from him. Also, our
lord the king has laid aside all displeasure against his barons and
liegemen who withdrew from him, so that by reason thereof he will do
no evil to them, so long as they shall faithfully serve him as their
liege lord. And, in like manner, the king, his son, has pardoned all,
both clerks as well as laymen, who took part with his father, and has
remitted all displeasure against them, and has given security into
the hand of our lord the king, his father, that he will not do, or
seek to do, in all his life any evil or harm to those who obeyed him,
by reason of their so doing.
“Also,
upon these conditions, the king gives to the king, his son, two
suitable castles in Normandy, at the option of his father, and
fifteen thousand pounds, Anjouin, yearly revenue. Also, to his son
Richard he gives two suitable mansions in Poitou, whence evil cannot
ensue to the king, and a moiety of the revenues of Poitou in ready
money. To his son Geoffrey he gives, in ready money, the moiety of
what he would receive in Brittany on his marriage with the daughter
of earl Conan, whom he is to take to wife; and after, by the license
of the Roman Church, he shall have taken her to wife, then he shall
have the whole of the revenues accruing by that marriage, in such
manner as is set forth in the deed executed by earl Conan. But, as to
the prisoners who have made a composition with our lord the king
before this treaty was made with our lord the king, namely, the king
of Scotland, the earl of Leicester, the earl of Chester, and Ralph de
Fourgeres, and their pledges, and the pledges of the other prisoners
whom he had before that time, they are to be excepted out of this
treaty. The other prisoners are, however, to be set at liberty on
both sides; but upon the understanding that our lord the king shall
take hostages as pledges from such of his prisoners as he shall think
fit, and shall be able to give the same; and from the rest he shall
take security by the assurance and oaths of themselves and of their
friends. As for the castles which have been built or fortified in the
territories of our lord the king since the war began, they are,
subject to the king’s wishes thereon, to be reduced to the same
state in which they were fifteen days before the war began. Further,
be it known, that king Henry, the son, has covenanted with our lord
the king, his father, that he will strictly observe all gifts in
almoign which he has given, or shall give, to his liegemen for their
services. He has also covenanted that he will strictly and inviolably
confirm the gifts which the king, his father, has made to his brother
John; namely, a thousand pounds of yearly revenues out of his demesne
lands and echeats in England at his own option, together with their
appurtenences; also a castle of Nottingham with the county thereof,
and the castle of Marlborough with its appurtenences; also in
Normandy, one thousand pounds, Anjouin, of yearly revenue and two
castles in Normandy at the option of his father; and in Anjou and the
lands which belonged to the earl of Anjou, one thousand pounds,
Anjouin, of revenue, as also one castle in Anjou, one castle in
Touraine, and one castle in Maine. It has also been covenanted by our
lord the king, in the love which he bears to his son, that all those
who withdrew from him after his son, and offended him by such
withdrawal, may return into the territories of our lord the king
under his protection. Also, for the chattels which on such withdrawal
they carried away, they shall not be answerable: as to murder, or
treason, or the maiming or any limb, they are to be answerable
according to the laws and customs of the land. Also, as to those who
before the war took to flight for any cause, and then entered the
service of his son, the same may, from the love he bears to his son,
return in peace, if they give pledge and surety that they will abide
their trial for those offences of which, before the war, they have
been guilty. Those, also, who were awaiting trial at the time when
they withdrew to his son, are to return in peace, upon condition that
their trials are to be in the same state as when they withdrew.
Henry, the king, the son of our lord the king, has given security
into the hands of his father that this agreement shall on his part be
strictly observed. And, further, Henry, the king’s son, and his
brothers, have given security that they will never demand of our lord
the king, contrary to the will and good pleasure of our lord the
king, their father, anything whatever beyond the gifts above-written
and agreed upon, and that they will withdraw neither themselves nor
their services from their father. Also, Richard, and Geoffrey, his
brother, have done homage to their father for those things which he
has given and granted unto them : and, whereas his son, Henry, was
ready and willing to do homage to him, our lord the king was
unwilling to receive the same of him, because he was a king; but he
has received security from him for the same.”
In
the same year, a dissension arose between Uctred and Gilbert, the
sons of Fergus, and chieftains of the men of Galloway, on which
Malcolm, the son of Gilbert, took Uctred by treachery, and, after
depriving him of his virility and putting out his eyes, caused him to
be put to death.
In this year, [1174] also, Richard, archbishop of Canterbury,
consecrated, in England, at Canterbury, Richard, bishop of
Winchester, Robert Folliot, bishop of Hereford, Geoffrey Riddel,
bishop of Ely, and John, bishop of Chichester. In the same year,
nearly the whole of the city of Canterbury was burned to the ground,
together with the metropolitan church of the Holy Trinity. In this
year, also, died William Turbe, bishop of Norwich.
In
the same year, peace and final reconciliation were established
between Roger, archbishop of York, and Hugh, bishop of Durham, upon
the following terms: “The chapel and burial ground of Alverton
shall remain in the hands of the prior of Hexham, on condition that
the archbishop shall not insist on any person being buried there, nor
shall the bishop hinder it. The church of Hexham shall receive the
chrism and oil from the bishop of Durham, according to its present
usage : the prior of Hexham shall also attend the synod of Durham..
The
clerks and canons of Hexham shall receive ordination from the bishop
of Durham. The parishioners of Hexham, at the time of Pentecost, if
they shall think fit, shall visit the church of Durham without any
compulsion on the part of the bishop or of his people, and without
any prohibition on the part of the archbishop or of his people. Also,
if their people shall presume to act contrary to this, their masters
themselves shall correct them. The prior of Hexham shall try all
ecclesiastical causes of that parish, without power to inflict fines,
though with liberty to impose penance. On the decease of the present
prior, Richard, the bishop of Durham, shall have the same authority
in the appointing of another prior, which the said prior, Richard,
and the prior of Gisburne, and Peter, brother of the prior of
Bridlington, have sworn that the church of Durham had in the
appointing of the said prior, Richard, if indeed they shall have
sworn that it had any. The archbishop shall not demand synodal fees
of the churches of Saint Cuthbert, the names of which, in the
archdeaconry of Cleveland, are as follow: the church of Hemmingburgh,
the church of Schepwick, the church of Alverton, the church of
Bretteby, the church of Osmunderley, the church of Seigestun, the
church of Lee, the church of Oterington, the church of Crake, and the
church of Holteby; in the archdeaconry of York; the church of All
Saints in Ousegate, the church of Saint Peter the Little, and half of
the church of the Holy Trinity, in Sudersgate; and, in the
archdeaconry of the treasurer; the church of Hoveden, *
the church of Welleton, the church of Brentington, and the church of
Walkinton. But if the clergy of the said churches, or the laity of
the demesne manors of Saint Cuthbert, situate in Yorkshire, shall be
guilty of anything that deserves ecclesiastical correction, the same
shall be amended by the archbishop, such a summons being first
issued, that the bishop or his officer shall he able to be present
thereat.” The above articles were confirmed by the archbishop
and the bishop, who mutually gave their word that they would, without
fraud or deceit, observe the same so long as they two should live,
and without prejudice to the church of either after the decease of
the other. In addition to which, the archbishop similarly gave his
word to the bishop that he would in no matter
annoy him or his church, or any one in his bishopric, until the cause
should have been first taken open cognizance of in due course of
judgment.
* Howden, in Yorkshire, the native place of our author.
1175 A.D.
In the year of grace 1175, being the twenty-first year of the
reign of king Henry the Second, son of the empress Matilda, the said king was
at Argenton, in Normandy, during the festival of the Nativity of our
Lord. At the Purification of Saint Mary, he and the king, his son,
were at Le Mans, whence they returned into Normandy, and held a
conference with Louis, king of the Franks, at Gisors. Having come
thence to Bure in Normandy, the king, the son, in order that he might
remove all mistrust from his father’s mind, did homage to him
as his liegeman, and swore fealty to him against all men, in the
presence of Rotrod, archbishop of Rouen, Henry, bishop of Bayeux,
William, earl of Mandeville, and Richard de Humez, his constable, and
many other persons of the household of both kings.
At
the festival of Easter, the two kings were at Caesar’s Burgh,*
and, after Easter, they proceeded to Caen to meet Philip, earl of
Flanders, who shortly before had assumed the cross of the pilgrimage
to Jerusalem. The king, the father, prevailed upon him to release the
king, the son, from all covenants which he had made with him during
the period of the hostilities ; and the earl of Flanders delivered
into the king’s hands the documents of the king, the son, which
he had relative to the above-named covenants. On this, they confirmed
to the earl the yearly revenues which he had been in the habit of
receiving in England before the war.
*
Cherbourg.
The king, the father, also sent his son Richard into Poitou, and his son
Geoffrey into Brittany, with orders that the castles which had been
built or fortified during the time of the war, should be reduced to
the same state in which they were fifteen days before the war began.
After this, the king, the father, and the king, the son, crossed
over, and landed in England, at Portsmouth, on the seventh day before
the ides of May, being the sixth day of the week. On coming to
London, they found Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, about to hold a
synod at Westminster on the Lord’s day before the Ascension of
our Lord ; to which synod came nearly all the bishops and abbats of
the province of Canterbury. Before the kings above-named, and the
bishops and abbots, Richard, the archbishop of Canterbury, standing
on an elevated place, published the decrees underwritten:
“Synods are called together in the Church of God, in conformity with the
ancient usage of the fathers, in order that those who are appointed
to the higher office of the pastoral charge, may, by institutions
based upon rules subjected to their common consideration, reform the
lives of those submitted to their care, and, with a judgment better
informed, be able to check those enormities which are incessantly
springing up. We therefore, rather adhering to the rules of our
forefathers who adhered to the true faith, than devising anything
new, have thought it advisable that certain definite heads should be
published by us; which by all of our province we do enjoin to be
strictly and inviolably observed. For all those who shall presume to
contravene the enactments of this holy synod, we deem to be
transgressors of the sacred canons.
“If any priest or clerk in holy orders, having a church or ecclesiastical
benefice, shall publicly keep a harlot, and after being warned
thereon a first, second, and third time, shall not put away his
harlot, and entirely separate himself from her, but shall rather
think fit to persist in his uncleanness, he shall be deprived of all
ecclesiastical offices and benefices. But if any persons below the
rank of sub-deacons shall have contracted marriage, let them not by
any means be separated from their wives, except with their common
consent that they shall do so and enter a religious order, and there
let them with constancy remain in the service of God. But if any
persons of the rank of sub-deacon or above the same, shall have
contracted marriage, let them leave their wives, even though they
should be unwilling and reluctant. Also, on the authority of the same
epistle we have decreed, that the sons of priests are not,
henceforth, to be instituted as clergymen in the churches of their
fathers; nor are they, under any circumstances whatsoever, to hold
the same without the intervention of some third person.*
* Taken from the decretal epistle of pope Alexander III to Roger,
bishop of Worcester.
“Clerks in holy orders are not to enter taverns for the purpose of eating and
drinking, nor to be present at public drinkings, unless when
travelling, and compelled by necessity. And if any one shall be
guilty of so doing, either let him put an end to the practice, or
suffer deprivation.*
* From the decrees of the council of Carthage.
“Those who are in holy orders are not allowed to give judgment on matters of
life and death. Wherefore, we do forbid them either themselves to
take part in dismemberment, or to order it to be done by others. And
if any one shall be guilty of doing such a thing, let him be deprived
of the office and position of the orders that have been granted to
him. We do also forbid, under penalty of excommunication, any priest
to hold the office of sheriff, or that of any secular public officer.*
* From the decrees of the council of Toledo.
“Clerks who allow their hair to grow, are, though against their will, to be
shorn by the archdeacon. They are also not to be allowed to wear any
garments or shoes, but such as are consistent with propriety and
religion. And if any one shall presume to act contrary hereto, and on
being warned shall not be willing to reform, let him be subject to
excommunication.*
* From the decrees of the council of Agatha
“Inasmuch as certain clerks, despairing of obtaining ordination from their own
bishops, either on account of ignorance, or irregularity of life, or
the circumstances of their birth, or a defect in their title, or
youthful age, are ordained out of their own province, and sometimes
even by bishops beyond sea, or else falsely assert that they have
been so ordained, producing unknown seals to their own bishops; we do
enact that the ordination of such shall be deemed null and void, and,
under pain of excommunication, we do forbid that they shall be
employed by any one in the performance of his duties. The bishop
also, within our jurisdiction, who knowingly and wilfully shall
ordain any such person or employ him after the conferring of such
orders, for so ordaining or employing him, let him know that he is suspended
from his office until he shall have made due satisfaction. Likewise,
inasmuch as the Church of God, according to the verity of the Gospel,
ought to be the house of prayer, and not a den of thieves, and market
for blood; under pain of excommunication we do forbid secular causes,
in which the shedding of blood or bodily punishment is likely to be
the result, to be tried in churches or in churchyards. For it is
absurd and cruel for judgment of bloodshed to be discussed in the
place which has also been appointed a place of refuge for the
guilty.*
* From various decrees of popes Urban and Innocent, and of
the councils of Chalcedon and Carthage.
“It has been told us, that it is the custom in some places for money to
be given for receiving the chrism, as also for baptism and the
communion. This as a simoniacal heresy a holy council held in
detestation, and visited with excommunication. We do therefore enact,
that in future nothing shall be demanded either for ordination, or
for the chrism, or for baptism, or for extreme unction, or for
burial, or for the communion, or for dedication; but the gifts of
Christ are to be bestowed freely with a gratuitous dispensation. If
any person shall presume to act in defiance hereof, let him be
excommunicated.*
* From the decrees of the council of Trebour.
“Let no prelate, on receiving a monk, or canon, or nun, presume
to take or demand money from those who come to adopt the monastic life, under
pretence of any agreement whatsoever.*
* From the decrees of pope Urban.
“Let it be allowable for no one under the name of a dowry to
transfer a benefice to any person, or to exact money or any emolument on the
pretext of an agreement for the presentation of any person thereto.
If he shall do so, and upon trial shall confess or be convicted of
the same, relying both on our own and on the royal authority, we do
enact that he shall be for ever deprived of the patronage of the said
church.
“According to the decrees of the fathers, we do, under penalty of
excommunication, forbid that monks or clerks shall carry on business
for the sake of profit, and that monks shall hold farms of the clergy
or of the laity, or that the laity shall hold the benefices of the
Church to farm.
“Whoever would appear to belong to the clergy, let them not take up arms, nor
yet go about in armour ; but by their religious habits, let them
reconcile the name of their profession to the religious character of
their manners. If they despise this injunction, then, as contemners
of the holy canons and profaners of the ecclesiastical authority, let
them be mulcted with the loss of their proper rank: inasmuch as they
cannot serve both God and the world.*
* By decree of the council of Meaux.
“Also,
with regard to vicars, who on their promise and oath are bound to
their parsons, we have thought proper to enact, that if, despising
their promise or the obligation of their oath, they shall falsely
take upon themselves the character of parson, and set themselves up
against their parsons, and if they shall upon trial confess thereto
or be convicted thereof, then for the future they are not to be
admitted in the same bishopric to the discharge of the duties of
their office.*
*
From a decree of pope Alexander the Third, addressed to the bishop of
Norwich
“All
tithes of the land, whether of corn or of fruit, are the Lord’s,
and are sanctified unto Him. But, inasmuch as many are found
unwilling to give tithes, we do enact, that according to the commands
of our lord the pope, they shall be admonished a first, second, and
third time, to give tithes in full of corn, wine, fruits of trees,
young of animals, wool, lambs, butter, cheese, flax, hemp, and other
things which are renewed yearly; and if, upon being admonished, they
do not make amends, let them understand that they are subject to
excommunication.*
* From the decrees of the council of Rouen.
“And further, let the imperial sanction put a check upon litigation, and
the audacity of those who inconsiderately appeal to law, by
condemning them to pay the costs, and various other remedies. And
inasmuch as this is known to be in unison with the holy institutions,
we do order, that for the future, in such actions for the recovery of
money as shall be tried among clerks, the party who is the loser
shall be condemned to pay costs to his opponent. As for him who shall
not be able to make such payment, I leave him to be punished at the
discretion of his bishop.
“We do find in the holy list only ten prefaces that
are to be received: the first on the first Sunday after Easter,
‘Et te quidem omni tempore.’
The second on Ascension Day,
‘Qui post resurrectionem.’ *
The third at Pentecost,
‘Qui ascendens super omnes cælos.’ **
The fourth upon the nativity,
‘Quia per incarnati Verbi mysterium.’ ***
The fifth upon the Epiphany of our Lord,
‘Quia cum renigenitus tuus’****
The sixth upon the festivals of the Apostles,
‘Et te Domine supplicitur exorare.’
The seventh on the Holy Trinity,
‘Qui cum renigenito tuo.’ *****
The eighth upon the Cross,
‘Qui salutem humani generis.’
The ninth is only to be repeated during the fast of Lent,
‘Qui corporali jejunio.’
The tenth upon the blessed Virgin,
‘Et te in veneratione beatæ Mariæ.’
Upon the authority therefore of this decree, and of our lord,
the pope Alexander, we do strictly enjoin, that no person shall, under any
circumstances whatever, presume to add anything to the prefaces above-mentioned.
* This preface is read from Ascension Day till Whitsun Eve.
** This is read from Whitsun Eve till Trinity Sunday; and in
votive masses of the Holy Ghost.
*** This is read from Christmas day till the Epiphany; on Corpus
Christi and during its octave; and on our Lord’s transfiguration.
**** This is read on the Epiphany and during its octave.
***** This is read on Trinity Sunday, and every other Sunday in
the year that has no proper preface.
“We do forbid any one to give the Eucharist to any
person dipped into the chalice as being a requisite part of the communion. For
we do not read that Christ gave the bread to the others, having first dipped
it, but only to that one of the disciples, whom the sop, when dipped,
was to show to be his betrayer, and not that it formed any
characteristic of the institution of this Sacrament.*
* From a decree of pope Julius.
“We do command that the Eucharist shall not be consecrated
in any other than a chalice of gold or silver, and from henceforth we do forbid
any bishop to bless a chalice of pewter.*
* From a decree of the council of Rheims.
“Let no one of the faithful, of what rank soever,
be married in secret, but, receiving the benediction from the priest, let
him be publicly married in the Lord. Therefore, if any priest shall be found
to have united any persons in secret, let him be suspended from the duties of
his office for the space of three years.
“Where there is not the consent of both parties, it is
not a marriage; therefore, those who give female children in the cradle to male
infants effect nothing thereby, unless both of the children shall
agree thereto after they have arrived at the years of discretion. On
the authority therefore of this decree, we do forbid that in future
any persons shall be united in marriage, of whom either the one or
the other shall not have arrived at the age appointed by the laws,
and set forth by the canons, unless it shall at any time chance to
happen that by reason of some urgent necessity, a union of such a
nature ought to be tolerated for the sake of peace.”
In this synod, also the clerks of Roger, archbishop of York, asserted
the right of the church of York to carry the cross in the province of
Canterbury. They also asserted, on the same occasion, on behalf of
the archbishop of York, that the bishopric of Lincoln, the bishopric
of Chester, the bishopric of Worcester, and the bishopric of
Hereford, ought by right to belong to the metropolitan church of
York; and they summoned the said archbishop of Canterbury on this
question to the presence of the Roman Pontiff. They also summoned the
archbishop of Canterbury before the Roman Pontiff, for the alleged
injustice of the sentence of excommunication which he had pronounced
against the clergy of the archbishop of York, who, with his sanction,
officiated in the church of Saint Oswald, at Gloucester, because they
had refused to come to him upon his summons in the same manner as the
clergy of his own province did.
At
this synod also, the clergy of the church of Saint Asaph requested
the archbishop of Canterbury, that by virtue of the obedience due to
him, he would order Godfrey, bishop of the church of Saint Asaph, to
return to that see, with the pontifical dignity of which he was
invested, or else that the abovenamed archbishop would appoint
another bishop in his place. For this Godfrey had left his bishopric,
being compelled so to do by poverty, and the hostile invasions of the
Welch; and coming into England, had been kindly and honorably
received by the most Christian king Henry; who also gave the vacant
abbacy of Abingdon into his charge, until such time as he should be
at liberty to return to his own see.
In
consequence of this application, the said archbishop of Canterbury,
at the instance of the before-named clergy, and by the advice of
Alexander, the Supreme Pontiff, as also by the counsel of his
venerable brother bishops, at this synod, called upon the said
Godfrey, in virtue of his obedience, either to return to his own see,
or else freely and absolutely to deliver up the pastoral care which
had been placed in his hands.
Upon
this, Godfrey, being in hopes that the abbacy of Abingdon, which had
been delivered into his charge, would remain in his hands, no one
compelling him so to do, resigned his bishopric into the hands of the
archbishop of Canterbury, freely and absolutely delivering up to him
the ring and pastoral staff. And so, being deceived, he lost them
both; for the king gave the bishopric of Saint Asaph to Master Ada, a
Welchman, and the abbacy of Abingdon to a certain monk.
Robert,
earl of Gloucester, at this period surrendered to the king of England
the castle of Bristol, of which the king had never before been able
to gain possession. In the same year, on the octave of the Nativity
of Saint John the Baptist, both the kings came to Woodstock, and were
met there by Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, Richard, bishop of
Winchester, Reginald, bishop of Bath, Jocelyn, bishop of Salisbury,
Roger, bishop of Worcester, Geoffrey, bishop of Ely, John, bishop of
Chichester, Walter, bishop of Rochester, Bartholomew, bishop of
Exeter, and Hugh, bishop of Durham, who had come thither on business
of their own. There also came thither all
the abbats of the province of Canterbury; and they held a great synod
on the election of a pastor to the pontifical see of the church of
Norwich, and on the election of pastors to the abbeys which were then
vacant throughout England; namely, the abbey of Grimsby, the abbey of
Croyland, the abbey of Thorney, the abbey of Westminster, the abbey
of Saint Augustine, at Canterbury, the abbey of Battle, the abbey of
Hyde at Winchester, the abbey of Abingdon, the abbey of Abbotsbury,
and the abbey of Michelney. John of Oxford, the king’s clerk,
was elected to the bishopric of Norwich, and was consecrated by
Richard, archbishop of Canterbury. The abbeys before-mentioned were
also distributed among religious men, as seemed good to our lord the
king and the above-named archbishop.
In
the same year, pope Alexander confirmed the election of Geoffrey,
bishop elect of Lincoln. In this year, also, the king, the father,
impleaded all the clergy and laity of his kingdom who, in the time of
the wars, had committed offences against him in his forests, and as
to the taking of venison, and exacted fines of them all, although
Richard de Lucy gave a warranty that all this was done with his
sanction, and by command of the king, sent from beyond sea.
After this, the two kings proceeded to York, where they were met by
William, king of the Scots, and his brother David, together with
nearly the whole of the bishops and abbats, and other principal men
of his dominions. And at this place was renewed the treaty and final
reconciliation which the said king of Scotland had made with his lord
the king of England, the father, at Falaise, while he was his
prisoner, in presence of the king, his son, Roger, archbishop of
York, Hugh, bishop of Durham, and the earls and barons of England, as
also of the bishops and abbats, earls and barons of the kingdom of
Scotland. This charter of confirmation thereof was read to the
following effect in the church of Saint Peter, at York :—
“William, king of Scotland, becomes the liegeman of our lord the king, against
all the men of Scotland and for all the rest of his dominions; and
has done fealty to him as his liege lord, in the same manner in which
other men, his own liegemen, are wont to do unto himself. In like
manner he has done homage in Somersetshire to king Henry, his son,
saving always his fealty to our lord the king, his father.
“All the bishops, abbats, and clergy of the king’s territory of
Scotland, as also their successors, shall do fealty to our lord the
king as their liege lord, according to his pleasure, and to his son,
king Henry, and their heirs, in such manner as his other bishops are
wont to do unto him.
“Also, the king of Scotland, and David, his brother, and the barons and the
rest of his subjects, have agreed that the Church of Scotland shall
from henceforth pay such obedience to the Church of England as it
ought in duty to pay, and was wont to pay in the times of the kings
of England, his predecessors.
“In like manner Richard, bishop of Saint Andrews, Richard, bishop of
Dunkeld, Geoffrey, abbot of Dunfermline, and Herbert, prior of
Coldingham, have agreed that the Church of England shall again have
that authority over the Church of Scotland which of right it ought to
have, and that they will not oppose the rights of the Church of
England. And they have given security as to this agreement, in that
they have as lieges done fealty to our lord the king and to his son
Henry.
“The same shall be done by the rest of the bishops and the clergy of
Scotland, according to the covenants made between our lord the king
and the king of Scotland, and his brother David and his barons. The
earls also, and barons and other subjects of the kingdom of the king
of Scotland, from whom our lord the king shall wish to receive the
same, shall do homage to him against all men and fealty as their
liege lord, in such manner as his other subjects are wont to do, as
also to his son king Henry and his heirs, saving always their fealty
to our lord the king, his father. In like manner the heirs of the
king of Scotland and of his barons and of his subjects shall do
homage and allegiance to the heirs of our lord the king against all
men.
“Further,
from henceforth the king of Scotland and his subjects shall harbour
no fugitive from the territories of our lord the king by reason of
felony, either in Scotland or in any other of his territories, unless
he shall be willing forthwith to take his trial in the court of our
lord the king and to abide by the judgment of the court. But the king
of Scotland and his men shall arrest him with all possible speed, and
shall deliver him up to our lord the king, or to his justiciaries or
bailiffs in England.
“And
if any fugitive from the territories of the king of Scotland, by
reason of felony, shall be in England, unless he shall be willing to
take his trial in the court of the king of Scotland, and abide by the
judgment of the court, he shall not be harboured in the lands of the
king, but shall be delivered unto the men of the king of Scotland,
when he shall have been found by the bailiffs of our lord the king.
“Further,
the men of our lord the king shall hold their lands which they have
held and ought to hold, against our lord the king and his men, and
against the king of Scotland and his men. And the men of the king of
Scotland shall hold their lands which they have held and ought to
hold, against our lord the king and his men.
“By
way of security for the strict observance of the said covenants and
final agreement so made with our lord the king and his son Henry and
their heirs, on part of the king of Scotland and his heirs, the king
of Scotland has delivered unto our lord the king the castle of
Roxburgh, the castle of Berwick, the castle of Geddewerde, [Jedburgh]
the castle of the Maidens, [“castellum puellarum”–
Edinburgh] and the castle of Striveline, [Stirling] unto the mercy of
our lord the king. In addition to which, for the purpose of ensuring
the performance of the said covenants and final agreement, the king
of Scotland has delivered unto our lord the king his brother David as
a hostage, as also earl Dunecan, earl Waltheof, earl Gilbert, the
earl of Angus, Richard de Morville, his constable, Nes Fitzwilliam,
Richard Cumin, Walter Corbet, Walter Olifard, John de Vals, William
de Lindesey, Philip de Colville, Philip de Baluines, Robert Frenbert,
Bobert de Burneville, Hugh Giffard, Hugh Riddel, Walter de Berkeley,
William de la Haie, and William de Mortimer. But when the castles
shall have been delivered up, William, king of Scotland, and his
brother David shall be set at liberty. The earls and barons
above-named shall, after each of them shall have delivered up his
hostage, namely, a lawful son, those who have one, and the rest their
nephews or next heirs, and after the castles, as above-mentioned,
shall have been surrendered, be set at liberty.
“Further,
the king of Scotland and his before-named barons have pledged their
word that with good faith and without evil intent, and with no excuse
whatever, they will cause the bishops and barons and other men of
their land who were not present when the king of Scotland made this
treaty with our lord the king, to make the same allegiance and fealty
to our lord the king and to his son Henry, which they themselves have
made, and, like the barons and men who were here present, to deliver
as hostages to our lord the king whomsoever he shall think fit.
“Further,
the bishops, earls, and barons have agreed with our lord the king and
his son Henry, that if the king of Scotland, by any chance, shall
withdraw from his fealty to our lord the king and to his son, and
from the aforesaid covenants, in such case they will hold with our
lord the king, as with their liege lord, against the king of
Scotland, and against all men at enmity with the king; and they will
place the dominions of the king of Scotland under interdict, until he
shall return to his fealty to our lord the king.
"That
the covenants aforesaid shall be strictly observed, and in good
faith, and without evil intent, by William, king of Scotland and
David his brother, and by his barons abovenamed, and their heirs, the
king of Scotland himself, and David his brother, and all his said
barons, have pledged themselves as liegemen of our lord the king
against all men, as also of his son Henry, saving their fealty to his
father; the following being witnesses hereto : Richard, bishop of
Avranches, John, dean of Salisbury, Robert, abbot of Malmesbury,
Ralph, abbot of Mundeburg, Herbert, archdeacon of Northampton,
Walter’ de Coutances, Roger, the king’s chaplain, Osbert,
clerk of the chamber, Richard, son of our lord the king, earl of
Poitou, Geoffrey, son of our lord the king, earl of Brittany,
William, earl of Essex, Hugh, earl of Chester, Richard de Humezt,
constable and earl of Mellent, Jordan Thessun, Humphrey de Bohun,
William de Courcy, seneschal, and Gilbert Malet, seneschal of
Falaise.”
The
aforesaid having been recited in the church of Saint Peter, at York,
in the presence of the before-named kings of England [and Scotland],
and of David, brother of the king of Scotland, and of the whole of
the people, the bishops, earls, barons, and knights of the
territories of the king of Scotland, swore fealty to our lord, the
king of England, and to his son Henry and his heirs, as their liege
lords against all men.
In
the meantime, Philip, earl of Flanders, took prisoner a knight named
Walter de Fontaines, one sprung of a noble family, and conspicuous
before all his compeers in feats of arms; making a charge against him
that he had unlawfully known the countess of Flanders. On this, the
said Walter, intending to make denial thereof, offered to prove his
innocence in any way whatever, affirming that he had never known the
countess, nor had ever had it in his thoughts to know her. The earl,
however, would not allow him so to clear himself; but in the fury of
his wrath gave orders that he should be put to death by being beaten
with clubs. Accordingly, the executioners seized him, and, binding
him hand and foot, beat him with clubs, and hung him up half dead by
the feet, with his head hanging downwards in a filthy sewer, and
thus, being suffocated by the stench from the sewer, he ended his
life most shockingly.
Upon
this, Ælismus and the other sons of the before-named Walter de
Fontaines, and Jacques de Avennes, and the rest of their relations,
fortifying their castles, rose in rebellion against the earl, and
laid waste his lands with fire and sword; and thus at length
compelled him to give them satisfaction for the death of the said
Walter de Fontaines.
In the same year, Richard, earl of Poitou, son of Henry, king of
England, laid siege to Chatillon, beyond Agens, which Arnold de
Boiville had fortified against him, and refused to surrender.
Accordingly, having arranged there his engines of war, within two
months he took it, together with thirty knights, and retained it in
his own hands.
In
the same year [1175] king Henry, the father, held a great council at
Windsor, on the octave of the feast of Saint Michael, the king, his
son, Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishops of England
being present, and in presence of Laurence, archbishop of Dublin, and
the earls and barons of England. At this council the Catholic
archbishop of Tuam, Cantordis, abbot of Saint Brandan, and master
Laurence, chancellor of Roderic, king of Connaught, made the
underwritten final treaty and agreement with our lord the king, the
father, on behalf of Roderic, king of Connaught:
“This is the final treaty and agreement made at Windsor on
the octave of Saint Michael, in the year of grace one thousand one
hundred and seventy-five, between our lord the king of England,
Henry, son of the empress Matilda, and Roderic, king of Connaught, by
the Catholic archbishop of Tuam, Cantordis, abbot of Saint Brandan,
and master Laurence, chancellor of the king of Connaught; that is to
say—
“The
king of England grants to the above-named Roderic, his liegeman, the
kingdom of Connaught, so long as he shall faithfully serve him, so as
to be king thereof under him and ready to do him service as his
liegeman, that he shall hold his lands as well and as peaceably as he
held the same before our lord the king of England entered Ireland,
always paying him tribute, and that he shall hold all the rest of
that land and the inhabitants of that land in subjection to himself,
and shall exercise justice over them in such way that they shall pay
full tribute to the king of England, and by his hand preserve their
rights. And those who now hold lands, are to hold the same in peace
so long as they shall observe their fealty to the king of England,
and fully and faithfully render tribute and his other rights which
they owe to him by the hand of the king of Connaught, saving in all
things the rights and honor of our lord the king of England and of
himself.
“And
if any of them shall become rebels against the king of England and
himself, and shall be unwilling by his hand to render tribute and his
other rights unto the king of England, and shall withdraw from their
fealty to the king ; he shall take judicial cognizance of them, and
remove them therefrom. And if of himself he shall not be able to
carry out his sentence upon them, the constable of the king of
England and his household in that land shall aid him in so doing,
when they shall have been called upon by him, and shall themselves
see that it is necessary so to do. And by reason of this treaty, the
aforesaid king of Connaught shall render tribute each year to our
lord the king, that is to say, for every ten animals one skin, such
as may be approved by dealers, both from the whole of his own lands,
as also from those of others.
“Except
that, as to those lands which our lord the king has retained as of
his own demesne and as of the demesne of his barons, he shall not
make entry thereupon, that is to say, Dublin with its appurtenances,
and Meath with all its appurtenances, as wholly and fully as ever the
Marchat Vamaileth
Lachlin, or any who held it of him, held the same. Also, with the
further exception of Wexford, with all its appurtenances, that is to
say, with the whole of Leighlin: and with the exception of Waterford,
with the whole of the land that lies between Waterford and Dungarvan,
so that Dungarvan with all its appurtenances be included in the said
land.
“And
if the Irish who have taken to flight shall wish to return to the
lands of the barons of the king of England, they are to return in
peace on paying the above-named tribute which others pay, or doing
the ancient services which they were in the habit of doing for their
lands; this latter to be at the will and option of the lords. And if
any of them shall refuse to return to their lord the king of
Connaught, he is to compel them to return to their lands, that they
may remain there under his protection, and the king of Connaught is
to receive hostages from all whom our lord the king of England has
entrusted to him, at the will of our lord the king and of himself. He
himself also shall give hostages at the will of our lord the king of
England, of one sort or another, and they shall do service unto our
lord the king each year with their dogs and birds, by way of making
payment. And nothing whatever, on any land whatsoever belonging to
our lord the king shall they withhold against the will and command of
our lord the king. Witnesses hereto : Richard, bishop of Winchester,
Geoffrey, bishop of Ely, Laurence, archbishop of Dublin, Geoffrey,
Nicholas, and Roger, the king’s chaplains, William, earl of
Essex, Richard de Lucy, Geoffrey de Perche, Reginald de Cortinea, and
many others.
At
the same council the king of England gave the bishopric of Waterford
to Master Augustin, a native of Ireland, that see being then vacant
there, and he sent him into Ireland with Laurence, archbishop of
Dublin, to be consecrated by Donatus, archbishop of Cashel. In the
same year, there was in England, and in the countries adjoining, a
deadly mortality among mankind, so much so, that on most days seven
or eight bodies of the dead were carried out to burial. And
immediately after this deadly mortality, a dreadful famine ensued.
In the same year, [1175] a short time before the feast of All Saints,
there came to England a cardinal, whose name was Hugezun, [Hugo de
Petra Leonis, see 1176 below] a legate from the Apostolic See, for
whom our lord the king had sent to Rome. He found our lord, the king,
staying at Winchester, on which, the king went forth to meet him, his
son Henry being with him, and they received him with all becoming
honor. Our lord, the king, prolonging his stay for some days at
Winchester, treated, at very great length, on the restoration of
peace between Roger, the archbishop of York, and Richard, the
archbishop of Canterbury, the chapel of Saint Oswald at Gloucester,
and the carrying of the cross of the archbishop of York.
At
length, by the management of the king, an arrangement was made
between the above-named archbishops to the following effect. The
archbishop of Canterbury released and acquitted to the archbishop of
York the chapel of Saint Oswald, at Gloucester, from all jurisdiction
on his part, as though it were a private chapel belonging to our lord
the king. He also absolved the clerks of the archbishop of York,
whom he had excommunicated; and as to the carrying of the cross, and
the other disputes which existed between their churches, they agreed
to abide by the decision of the archbishop of Rouen and other
neighbouring bishops of the kingdom of France. And upon this, they
were to keep the peace between them for the space of five years; upon
condition that neither of them should seek to do any harm or injury
to the other until the said controversy should have been settled, and
brought to a due conclusion by the above-named archbishop and the
other bishops. Also, the above-named cardinal, Hugezun, gave to our
lord, the king, permission to implead the clergy of his kingdom for
offences against his forests and taking venison therein.
In the same year, Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, deprived William de
Walterville, abbot of Saint Peter de Burgh,[Peterborough] because he
had broken into the cloisters of his abbey, and attempted to carry
off with a violent and armed band of men the relics of the Saints,
together with an arm of Saint Oswald, the king and Martyr; in the
defence of which, some of the monks and servants of the church were
wounded, and others slain. However, the chief and especial cause of
this deprivation was, that our lord the king hated him on account of
his brother Walter de Walterville, whom, together with other enemies
of the king, he had harboured during the time of the hostilities. In
the same year, died Reginald, earl of Cornwall, the king’s
uncle, at Certeseie, [Chertsey] and was buried at Reading.
1176 A.D.
In the year of grace 1176, being the twenty-second year of the reign of
king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said king and king Henry,
his son, were at Windsor during the festival of the Nativity of our
Lord. On the same day, the before-named cardinal deacon, Hugezun,
titular of Saint Michael de Petra Leonis, and legate of the Apostolic
See, was at York with Roger, archbishop of York. After the Nativity
of our Lord, at the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, our lord
the king, the father, came to Nottingham,[the council was held in
Northampton] and, there held a great council, on the statutes of his
realm, and in the presence of the king, his son, and of the
archbishops, bishops, earls, and barons of his realm, by the common
consent of all, divided his kingdom into six parts, to each of which
he appointed three justices itinerant, whose names are as follow:
1 HUGH DE CRESSY
WALTER FITZ_ROBERT
ROBERT MANTEL
Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire,
Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire,
Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire
2 HUGH DE GUNDEVILLE
WILLIAM FITZ-RALPH
WILLIAM BASSET
Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire,
Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire
Leicestershire.
3 ROBERT FITZ-BERNARD
RICHARD GIFFARD
ROGER FITZ-REMFRAY
Kent, Surrey, Southamptonshire [Hampshire],
Sussex, Berkshire, Oxfordshire.
4 WILLIAM FITZ-STEPHEN
BERTRAM DE VERDUN
TURSTON FITZ-SIMON
Herefordshire, Gloucestershire,
Worcestershire, Salopeshire [Shropshire].
5 RALPH FITZ-STEPHEN
WILLIAM RUFFE
GILBERT PIPARD
Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset,
Devonshire, Cornwall.
6 ROBERT DE WALS
RALPH [RANULPH] DE GLANVILLE
ROBERT PIKENOT
Euerwikeshire [Yorkshire], Richmondshire.
Lancaster, Coupland [now in Northumberland],
Westmoreland, Northumberland, Cumberland.
After which, the king caused all the above-named justices to
swear upon the Holy Evangelists, that they would with good faith, and without evil
intent, observe these assizes underwritten, and cause them to be
inviolably observed by the people of his realm.
THE ASSIZES OF KING HENRY.
First ordained at Clarendon, and re-enacted at Northampton.
“If any person shall be charged before the justices of our lord the king,
with murder, or larceny, or robbery, or the harbouring of men guilty
of the same, or coining, [debasing currency] or arson, then upon the
oath of twelve knights of the hundred, and, if there shall be no such
knights, upon the oath of twelve free and lawful men, and upon the
oath of four men of each vill of the hundred, he is to be tried by
judgment of water,* and if he is cast, he is to lose one foot. At
Northampton it has been added, to vindicate the rigour of justice,
that in like manner he is to lose his right hand, together with his
foot, and to abjure the realm, and be banished therefrom within the
space of forty days. But if he shall be acquitted on trial by water,
then let him find sureties and remain in the realm, unless he shall
again be charged with murder, or any base felony, by the commons of
the county and of the lawful knights of the country : on which, if he
shall be charged in manner aforesaid, even though upon judgment by
water he shall be acquitted, nevertheless, within forty days, he is
to depart from the realm, and carry with him his chattels, saving
always the right of his superior lord, and, being at the mercy of our
lord the king, he is to abjure the realm. This assize shall hold good
from the time that the assize was made at Clarendon up to the present
time, and from henceforth, so long as it shall seem good to our lord
the king, in cases of murder, treason, and arson, and in all the
matters aforesaid, with the exception of trifling thefts and
robberies, which took place in the time of the war, such as of
horses, cattle, and things of less consequence.
“It shall be lawful for no one, either in a borough
or vill, to entertain in his house for more than one night any stranger for
whose forthcoming he shall be unwilling to give security, unless he who is
so entertained shall have some reasonable essoign, [excuse] which the
landlord of the house is to shew to his neighbours, and when he
departs he is to depart before the neighbours, and in the daytime.
* ‘Judicium aquae’ The party thus tried was
thrown into cold water; if he swam, he was considered guilty; but if he sank,
he was pronounced innocent.
“If any person shall be arrested for murder, or for
larceny, or for robbery, or for coining, and shall make confession of the same
before the chief of the hundred or borough, and before lawful men, or of any
other felony which he has committed, he shall not be allowed
afterwards before the justices to make denial of the same. And if,
without arrest, he shall make confession before them of anything of
this nature, of this also he shall not be allowed before the justices
to make denial.
“If any freeholder shall die, his heirs are to remain
in such seisin as their father had on the day on which he was living and dead,
both as to his fee and his chattels; of which they are to make division
according to the devise of the deceased, and then to seek his lord
and to pay him his relief and other things which they are bound to
pay him out of their fee. And if the heir shall happen to be under
age, the lord of the fee is to receive his homage and to keep him in
his charge so long as he is entitled; and, if there are several
lords, then let them receive his homage, and let him do unto them
what he is bound to do. The wife also of the deceased is to have her
dower and the part of his chattels which belongs to her. And if the.
lord of the fee shall refuse to give seisin of the fee to the heirs
of the deceased at their demand, then the justices of our lord the
king are to cause a jury of twelve lawful men to be impannelled, to
enquire what seisin the deceased had in the same on the day on which
he was living and dead. And, according as they shall find, so are
they to make restitution to the heirs. And if any person shall do the
contrary of this, and be attainted thereof, let him be amerced.
“The king’s justices are to cause view to
be made, by a jury, of disseisins sur-assize that have been made since
the period when our lord the king came to England, shortly after peace
had been made between him and the king his son.
“The justices are to receive the oaths of fealty
to our lord the king before the close of Easter, and at the latest before
the close of Pentecost, from all earls, barons, knights, and freeholders,
and from the serfs as well who shall wish to remain in the realm; and he who
shall refuse to do fealty, is to be taken as an enemy to our lord the
king. Also, the justices are to command all persons who have not yet
done homage and allegiance to our lord the king, to come to them at a
time which they shall appoint, and do homage to the king and allegiance
to him as their liege lord.
“The justices are to exercise all rights and jurisdictions
that belong to our lord the king and to his crown, by writ of our lord the king, or
of those who shall be in his place, as to fees held by half-knight’s
services and below it; unless the question be of such importance that
it cannot be settled without the presence of our lord the king, or of
such a nature that the justices shall refer it to him, or to those
who shall be in his place, in consequence of their doubts. Still, to
the best of their ability, they are to exert themselves to consult
the con
“Throughout those counties through which they are to go,
they are to hold assizes for the trial of wicked thieves and evil-doers to the
land; the samebeing held by consent of the king, and of his son, and of his
subjects.
“Also, the justices are to take precaution that the
castles already dismantled are quite dismantled, and that those which are to
be dismantled are utterly razed to the ground. And, if they do not, our
lord the king will desire to have the judgment of his court on them as
contemners of his commands.
“The justices are to make enquiry as to escheats, and
churches, and lands, and female wards, [the king had the right of giving in marriage]
that are at the disposal of our lord the king.
“The bailiffs of our lord the king are to be answerable
in the exchequer both for the rents of assize, and their other levies which they
make in their bailiwicks; with the exception of those which relate to the
shrievalty.
“The justices are to make enquiry as to the keepers
of the [royal] castles, both who they are, and how much they owe, and where;
and, after that, they are to report thereon to our lord the king.
“A robber, immediately he is taken, is to be given into
the custody of the sheriff; and, if the sheriff is absent, then he is to be taken
to the nearest castellan, and let him take charge of him until such time
as he shall deliver him over to the sheriff.
“The justices are to cause, according to the custom of
the country, enquiry to be made for those who have withdrawn from the kingdom;
and, unless they are ready to return within a time named, and to take
their trial in the court of our lord the king, they are to be
outlawed; and the names of those outlawed are to be brought at Easter
and at the feast of Saint Michael to the exchequer, and are to be
sent immediately to our lord the king.”
To the aforesaid council held at Northampton, came William,
king of the Scots, in obedience to the command of our lord the king, bringing
with him Richard, bishop of Saint Andrews, Jocelyn, bishop of
Glasgow, Richard, bishop of Dunkeld, Christian, bishop of Whitherne,
Andrew, bishop of Caithness, and Simon de Touy, bishop of Moray,
together with the other bishops, abbats, and priors of his kingdom.
When they had come before our lord the king of England, our lord the
king commanded, by the fealty which they owed him, and the oath of
fealty which they had made to him, that they should show the same
obedience to the Church of England which they were in duty bound, and
used to show, in the times of the kings of England, his predecessors.
On this, they made answer to him that they never had paid
obedience to the Church of England, nor was it their duty so to do; to which,
Roger, archbishop of York, made reply, and alleged that the bishops
of Glasgow and the bishops of Whitherne had been subject to the
church of York in the time of the archbishops, his predecessors; and,
relative thereto, he satisfactorily pointed out the privileges
granted by the Roman Pontiffs. Jocelyn, bishop of Glasgow, made reply
to these assertions to the following effect: “The church of
Glasgow is in especial the daughter of the Church of Rome, and is
exempt from all subjection to either archbishops or bishops; and, if
the church of York has at any time had authority over the church of
Glasgow, it is clear that, in future, she deserves to hold no
dominion whatsoever over her.”
As Richard the archbishop of Canterbury was using his best
endeavours that the Church of Scotland might be rendered subject to the church
of Canterbury, he prevailed upon the king of England to allow the
bishops of Scotland to return to their own country without yielding
any subjection to the Church of England.
In the same year, at mid-Lent, the above-named Hugezun,
cardinal, titular of Saint Michael de Petra Leonis, and legate of the Apostolic
See, came to London to hold a council there. Here he was met by the
archbishops of Canterbury and York, and all the bishops and abbats of
England, with great numbers of the clergy. The said cardinal took his
seat at Westminster, in the chapel of the Infirm Monks, and the
bishops and abbots with him, each in his place, according to his rank
and dignity. But a dispute arose between the archbishops of
Canterbury and York, which of them ought to sit on the right hand of
the cardinal; and on the archbishop of York attempting to seat
himself there, the servants of the lord archbishop of Canterbury
rushed upon him and threw him to the ground, kicked him with their
feet, and tore his hood. Upon this, the people there assembled
dispersed, and the cardinal took to flight and hid himself from
before their faces, and thus was the council prevented from being
held. But, after both sides had made appeal to the Supreme Pontiff,
each of them complained to the king of the wrongs which he had
suffered.
In this year, the king, the father, was at Winchester during
the festival of Easter, and Richard, earl of Poitou, and Geoffrey, earl
of Brittany, with the permission of the king, their father, crossed
over from England to Normandy. Immediately Richard, earl of Poitou,
arrived in Poitou, he assembled a large army, and fought a battle
with the Brabanters, between Saint Megrin and Buteville, and routed
them.
After this, he waged war against Aimeric, viscount de Limoges,
because he had broken the peace with him. He then laid siege to a castle which
is called Aesse, and took it, together with forty knights who formed
its garrison. After this, he laid siege to the city of Limoges, and
took it, and then proceeded to Poitou to meet the king, his brother,
who had come thither to aid him ; after which they laid siege to
Neufchatel,* and took it. After its capture, the king, his brother,
was unwilling to prolong his stay with him, but, listening to bad
advice, took his departure. Richard, earl of Poitou, however, now
laid siege to Molineux, a castle of the viscount of Angouleme, and
took it, and in it William Taillefer, count of Angouleme, Buger, his
son, and Aimeric, viscount of Limoges, the viscount of Ventadour, and
the viscount of Cambanais. The count of Angouleme also delivered up
to the earl of Poitou the castle of Buteville, the castle of Archiac,
the castle of Montimac, the castle of Lachese, and the castle of
Melpis.
* In Normandy, about twenty miles from Dieppe.
The king, the son, on his return, upon coming to Poitiers,
took Adam de Chirchedowne, his vice-chancellor, who was a clerk of Geoffrey,
the prior of Beverley, chancellor of the king, the son, and caused him to
be beaten with sticks, charging him with having disclosed his secret
counsels to the king, his father; and after being thus beaten, he had
him led naked through the streets of the city of Poitiers, while,
being still whipped, proclamation was made by the voice of a herald,
“Thus does he deserve to be disgraced who reveals the secrets
of his master.”
In the same year, there came to England, from William,
king of Sicily, the bishop of Troia, the archbishop elect of Capua, and
count Florio, as envoys to Henry, king of England, the father, and asked
of him his daughter Joanna in marriage for William, king of Sicily, their
master. A council upon the matter being accordingly held in London,
the king, the father, with the consent of all the bishops, earls, and
barons of the kingdom, gave his daughter to the king of Sicily. And
with this assent, the king first sent to the king of Sicily the
bishop of Troia, John, bishop of Norwich, Paris, archdeacon of
Rochester, Baldwin Bulot, and Richard de Camville; and in the
meantime prepared for his daughter, Joanna, the things necessary for
her equipment and journey. After these were all completed in a
becoming manner, the king sent his daughter, Joanna, to be married to
William, the king of Sicily. When she had arrived at Palermo, in
Sicily, together with Gilles, bishop of Evreux, and the other envoys
of our lord, the king, the whole city welcomed them, and lamps, so
many and so large, were lighted up, that the city almost seemed to be
on fire, and the rays of the stars could in no way bear comparison
with the brilliancy of such a light: for it was by night that they
entered the city of Palermo. The said daughter of the king of England
was then escorted, mounted on one of the king’s horses, and
resplendent with regal garments, to a certain palace, that there she
might in becoming state await the day of her marriage and coronation.
After the expiration of a few days from this time, the
before-named daughter of the king of England was married to William, king
of Sicily, and solemnly crowned at Palermo, in the royal chapel there,
in presence of Gilles, bishop of Evreux, and the envoys of the king
of England, who had been Bent for that purpose. She was married and
crowned on the Lord’s day before the beginning of Septuagesima,
being the ides of February; and was with due honor endowed with the
county of Saint Angelo, the city of Siponto, the city of Vesta, and
many other castles and places. Whereupon, the king of Sicily executed
in her favour his charter, as follows:
The Charter of William, king of Sicily, which he executed
in favour of Joanna, daughter of Henry, king of England, as to her dowry.
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. Amid the other blessings of peace, the nuptial
tie binds and fastens the most strongly the unison and the concord of human
affairs; a rite, both venerable from the weightiness of its obligations,
remarkable in the circumstances of its institution, and sanctioned by
universal usage, from the beginning of the world and of time; of
which the virtues and the comeliness, inasmuch as it has derived its
origin from Divine institution, have neither contracted blemish from
sin, nor have been sensible of any diminution by desuetude, through
the lengthened ages of past time. Moreover, to this venerable and
mysterious institution this honor is added, that the consent of the
man and of the woman to enter matrimony, typifies the sacramental
bond of Christ and His Church. Being therefore led by the nature of
this great and mysterious institution, and by veneration for the
same, we, William, by the favour of the Divine grace, king of Sicily,
and of the dukedom of Apulia, and of the principality of Capua, do
unite unto ourselves by the laws of matrimony and the bond of
wedlock, with the Divine sanction and under happy auspices, the
maiden Joanna, of royal blood, and the most illustrious daughter of
Henry, the mighty king of the English; to the end, that her fidelity
and chaste affection may produce the blessings of the married state,
and that by her a royal offspring may, by the gift of God, hereafter
succeed us in the kingdom, which, both by reason of its endowment
with all virtues, and of its title by birth, by the Divine grace,
both may and ought to be raised to the throne of this realm. But,
inasmuch as it is befitting our exalted position that so noble and
illustrious an alliance should be honored with a becoming dowry, by
this present writing we do give, and as a dowry, do grant to the
before-named queen, our most dearly beloved wife, the county of Mont
Saint Angelo, the city of Siponto, and the city of Vesta, with all
the rightful tenements and appurtenances thereof. We do also grant
for her service, out of the tenements of count Godfrey, Alesina,
Peschiza, Bicum, Caprile, Barano, and Filizi, and all other places
which the said count is known to possess as of the honor of the said
county of Mont Saint Angelo. In like manner, we do also grant for her
service, Candelari, Saint Clair, Castel Pagano, Bersenza, and
Cagnano. We do also grant, that there shall he as of the honor of the
said dowry, the monastery of Saint Mary de Pulsano, and the monastery
of Saint John de Lama, with all the tenements which those monasteries
hold of the honor of the aforesaid county of Saint Angelo—upon
condition that the queen, our aforesaid wife, shall always recognize
all the rights of our heirs, who by our ordinance shall succeed us in
the kingdom, and shall do unto our said heirs, fully and
unreservedly, all services for the tenements above-written, according
as the tenure in fee thereof shall require, and shall always observe
her fealty to them. Wherefore, in remembrance of the said gift and
grant, and for the inviolable establishment thereof, we have
commanded this present charter to be written by the hand of
Alexander, our notary, and, the golden bulla, our seal, being
impressed thereon, to be confirmed with our said seal, and graced
therewith. Unto which, by our command, the personages of our
household and others have subscribed their names in manner following:
I WALTER, archbishop of Palermo.
I ALFANUS, archbishop of Capua.
I RICHARD, bishop of Syracuse.
I BARTHOLOMEW, bishop of Agrigento.
I REGINALD, archbishop of Bari.
I NICHOLAS, first archbishop of Messina.
I RUFFUS, archbishop of Cosenza.
I THEOBALD, bishop and abbot of the royal monastery of Saint Mary Nuova.
I ROBERT, bishop of Catana.
I GUIDO, bishop of Cephalea.
I EBIAS, bishop elect of Troia.
I JUSTUS, bishop of Massa.
I ROBERT, bishop of Tricarico.
I PETER, bishop of Caiazzo.
I JOHN, bishop of Potenza.
I ROBERT DE BIZINO.
I ROBERT MALCUVENANZ.
I ALEXANDER GUPILLENZI.
I MATTHEW, vice-chancellor of our lord the king.
I ROBERT, count of Caserta.
I AMPHUSUS, count of Scrulac.
I JOCELYN, count of Loret.
I HUGH, count of Cattazaro.
I RICHARD, count of Fundano, admiral.
I WALTER DE MOAC, admiral of the king’s ship Fortunatus.
I ALDEWIN DE CANDIDA, seneschal of our lord the king.
I BERARDUS GENTILI, constable of the private palace of Maisnede.
I RICHARD SACRI, keeper of the records in the royal palace.
I BAMALIS DE MONTEFORT, chief justiciary.
I PERSICUS, chief justiciary of the royal court.
I FREDERIC, justiciary of the royal court.
Given at the flourishing city of Palermo by the hands of
Walter, the venerable archbishop of Palermo, Matthew, vice-chancellor of
the king, and Richard, the venerable bishop of Syracuse, members of the
household of our lord the king, in the year from the incarnation of
our Lord one thousand one hundred and seventy-seven, in the month of
February, being the tenth year of the indiction; and in the eleventh
year of the happy reign of our lord William, by the grace of God, the
mighty and most glorious king of Sicily, of the dukedom of Apulia,
and of the principality of Capua, Amen.
[Sealed with the seal of William, king of Sicily.]
[Here follows in the original, the form of the bulla or seal,
which contains around the margin the words “Dextera
Domini fecit virtutem. Dextera Domini exaltavit me. Dextera Domini
fecit virtutem.” “The right hand of the Lord hath created my might.
The right hand of the Lord hath exalted me. The right hand of the Lord hath created my
might.” In the central portion is a cross surmounted by the words “Divina
favente dementia Willielmus rex Sicilias et ducatus Apulise et principatus Capuse.”
“By the favour of the Divine mercy, William, king of Sicily, of the
dukedom of Apulia, and of the principality of Capua.”
The cross is supported by the following words. “Hoc
signum sibi praeferri a vexillifero facit cum ad bellum aliquod
procedit.” “This sign he causes to be borne before him by
his standard-bearer when he goes forth to battle.”]
In the same year pope Alexander sent Vivianus, cardinal priest, as
legate from the Apostolic See to Scotland and the adjoining islands,
and Ireland and Norway, to hear causes ecclesiastical, and to
determine the same according as God should assist him therein.
When he arrived in England, our lord the king sent to him Richard,
bishop of Winchester, and Geoffrey, bishop of Ely, to ask him by
whose authority he had presumed to enter his kingdom without his
permission. Upon this question being put to him, the above-named
cardinal was greatly alarmed, and, to give satisfaction to the king,
made oath that he would do nothing connected with his legateship
against his wishes; upon which, liberty was given him to pass
through the kingdom into Scotland, and our lord the king found his
escort and expenses until he arrived in the dominions of the king of
Scotland.
In the same year, Geoffrey, bishop of Ely, was charged
before the king by Roger, archbishop of York, with having laid violent hands
upon him at the before-mentioned synod, which Hugezun was to have held at
London; however, he proved his innocence, by declaring on his word of
truth that he had not laid violent hands on him, and the same was
attested by the above-named archbishop of Canterbury, on the Word of
our Lord; whereupon Roger, archbishop of York, and Geoffrey, bishop
of Ely, were reconciled.
In addition to this, at the urgent request of our lord
the king, the archbishops of Canterbury and York agreed to terms between
them for the space of live years, both as to the dispute which existed between
them relative to the blows inflicted on the archbishop of York, as
well as the other questions which were the causes of contention
between them and their churches, submitting themselves entirely to
the arbitration and decision of the archbishop of Rouen and of the
bishops of the kingdom of France; and they made oath that they would
abide by their decision, and that neither of them would in the
meantime seek to do any harm or injury to the other.
In the same year [1176], William, earl of Gloucester, son of
earl Robert, brother of the empress, gave his daughter in marriage to John,
the son of the king of England, together with the earldom of Gloucester,
in case he should be able to marry the said damsel with the sanction
of our lord the pope. In return for this grant, the king of England,
the father, gave to the elder daughters of the said earl two hundred
pounds of yearly revenues in England, namely, to the wife of Amaurus,
earl of Evreux, one hundred pounds, and to the wife of Richard, earl
of Clare, one hundred pounds.
In the same year died Philip, brother of Louis, king of
the Franks, and archbishop of Rheims, and was succeeded by William, archbishop
of Sens, he making this exchange of archbishoprics with the permission
of Alexander, the Supreme Pontiff. In this year also, master John of
Salisbury*, formerly a clerk, and attached to the household of Saint
Thomas of Canterbury, the martyr, was made bishop of Chartres. In
this year also, our lord the king of England, the father, gave
Ireland to his son John. In the same year died Richard, earl of
Striguil, whom our lord the king had made justiciary of Ireland; upon
which our lord the king appointed in his room William Fitz-Aldelm,
who took possession for the king of all the fortified places which
the aforesaid earl had possessed in Ireland.
* The most learned scholar of his age, and author of the
treatise “De nugis curialium, et de vestigiis Philosophorum,”
and other works.
In the same year, William, earl of Arundel, departed this
life, and was succeeded by his son William. In this year also died William de
Courcy, justiciary of Normandy, and was succeeded by William
Fitz-Ralph. In this year also, Frederic, emperor of the Romans,
assembled a large army of Germans and Alemannians, and fought a
battle near Securo, between Cuinse and Milan, with the Lombards,
which lasting from morning until the evening, the emperor, having
lost the greater part of his army, was put to flight; and among the
others whom he lost, his standard-bearer was taken prisoner, and,
with many others, was placed by the Lombards in confinement.
In this year also the king, the father, caused the castle
and fortifications of Leicester to be destroyed, as also the castle of
Groby, the castle of Tresk, [Thirsk] the castle of Malesart, the new
castle of Alverton, [North Allerton] the castle of Fremingham, the castle
of Bungay, and nearly all the castles of England and Normandy which had
taken part against him in the time of the war. But the castle of Pasci and
the castle of Mountsorrel he retained in his own hands, the latter having
been awarded to him on the oaths of a jury of lawful men of Ursuet. In the
same year died Ralph de Dotis, in Berry, whose daughter and heir our
lord the king of England, the father, gave in marriage to Baldwin de
Rivers, together with the honor of the castle of the said Ralph. In
the same year, on the sixteenth day before the calends of November,
being the Lord’s day, the church of the canons regular at
Cirencester, in honor of Mary, the blessed Mother of God, was
dedicated by Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter, in presence of our lord
the king of England, the father, who, at its dedication, bestowed
large revenues on the said church.
In the same year [1176] Manuel, emperor of Constantinople, having
fought a pitched battle with the sultan of Iconium and defeated him, wrote to
the king of England to the following effect:—
The Letter of Manuel, emperor of Constantinople, to the king of England,
the father.
“Manuel Porphyrogenitus Comnemis, the emperor, ever
faithful in Christ, crowned by the will of heaven, the sublime, potent, exalted,
ever august, and ruler of the Romans, to Henry, the most noble king of
England, his most dearly-beloved friend, health and every blessing.
Inasmuch as our imperial office deems it necessary to notify to you,
as being its beloved friend, all things which befall it, it has
therefore considered it proper to inform you upon the events which
have lately taken place. Now, from the very earliest period of our
coronation, our imperial office nourished hatred in our heart against
the Persians, the enemies of God, when it beheld them vaunting over
the Christians, triumphing over the name of God, and holding sway
over the lands of the Christians. Wherefore, on another occasion,
without delay, it made an attack upon them, and, as God granted it to
do, even so it did do. As to the exploits which were frequently
performed by it, to their humiliation and loss, our imperial office
entertains a belief that the same have not escaped the notice of your
highness. However, we did more recently determine also to lead a most
numerous army against them, and to wage war against the whole of
Persia, inasmuch as by circumstances we were compelled so to do.
Still, much of our preparations were made not according as we should
have wished, or as appeared best suited to our object. However, in
such way as occasion allowed us, and the state of events, means were
taken to ensure a powerful attack upon them. Accordingly, for this
purpose our imperial office collected around it all its resources:
but, inasmuch as it had to take with it waggons carrying vast weights
of arms and implements, both mangonels and other engines applicable
to the storming of cities, it was consequently far from able to
proceed with expedition on the march. Still further, while the army
was passing on through its own country, and before any of our
barbarian foes had engaged us in war, a most intractable malady,
namely, a flux of the bowels, attacked us; which, spreading among the
troops of our empire, made its way among them all, and, a more
dangerous antagonist than any warriors could be, slew and destroyed
vast numbers. This malady, waxing more and more formidable, greatly
weakened our forces. As soon as we had entered the territories of the
Turks, that instant was heard the din of numerous battles, and the
troops of the Turks engaged in combat with the armies of our empire
on every side. However, through the grace of God, the barbarians were
entirely put to flight by our men. But, after this, when we drew near
to the narrow passes of an adjacent spot which the Persians call
Cibrilcima, so many hordes of foot and horse, most of which had come
from the interior of Persia, came up to the support of their
fellow-countrymen, that, on meeting our army, they almost exceeded
the numbers of our men. In consequence of the narrowness of the road
and the difficulties of the passage, the army of our empire was
extended in a line fully ten miles in length; and, inasmuch as who
went first were unable to support those who came last, and again, on
the other hand, those who came last were unable to aid those who went
before, it was no common misfortune that this distance lay between
them. Indeed, the troops that formed the van were divided by a very
considerable interval from the main body of our army, having at last
forgotten it altogether, and not waiting for its coming up. In
consequence of this, as the troops of the Turks, from the battles
that had already taken place, knew that it was not for their
advantage to attack us in front, finding that the narrowness of the
passage was likely to serve them in great stead, they determined upon
attacking the rear, which they accordingly did. Now the passage all
along consisting of a very narrow defile, the barbarians rushed upon
us, attacking us on the right hand and on the left, and in all
possible quarters, and their darts, falling upon us like a shower,
slew a vast number of men and horses. Upon this, finding that
disasters were there thickening apace, on taking due consideration,
our imperial office thought proper to await those who were in the
rear, for the purpose of supporting them, which it did accordingly,
and, in so waiting, had to support itself against the infinite
numbers of the Persians. What exploits it performed while thus hemmed
in by them it is not necessary upon the present occasion to state;
perhaps your highness will learn more on that subject from those who
were present on the occasion. While our imperial office was doing its
duty amid these dangers, and bearing the entire brunt of the
conflict, the entire rear-guard, formed of Greeks, Latins, and all
other varieties of nations, being wedged into a mass, and not being
able to bear up against the darts thrown by the enemy, pushed onward
with the most vigorous efforts, and was borne along with the greatest
violence while making all haste to gain an adjoining hill, that might
serve as a sort of fortress; those rushing on carrying on the others,
whether they would or no. The consequence was, that, a vast cloud of
dust being raised which quite overpowered the eyesight and allowed no
one to see what lay at his feet, men and horses, thus rushing on
without restraint, were borne over a precipice close at hand and
overhanging a very deep valley. Thus, falling one upon another, they
trod each other to death, and killed not only numbers of the common
soldiers, but even some of the most illustrious and most nearly
related of our kinsmen.
For, indeed, who could possibly make head against the
insupportable onset of so vast a multitude? However, as to our imperial office,
hedged in on every side by such vast bodies of the barbarians, inflicting
wounds and receiving wounds in return, we still used efforts that
excited in them no small alarm, in consequence of their surprise at
our perseverance, and which we did not relax until by the benign aid
of God we had reached the open country. Nor did it allow the enemy to
scale the position which it took up, from which to carry on the
battle with the barbarians, nor yet through fear of it did it spur on
its horse, for the purpose of effecting a more speedy retreat. On the
contrary, our imperial office, rallying all its body guard, and
rescuing them from destruction, ranged them around itself; and thus
it reached the vanguard, and then going on through the ranks in
order, came to the main body of the army. Upon this, the sultan
seeing that in spite of such great disasters as had befallen our
army, our imperial office was, as became it, arranging matters for
the purpose of again attacking him, sent word to us, and suppliantly
begged our imperial office, and employed the language of entreaty,
suing for peace, and promising to fulfil every wish of our imperial
office, to give us his services against all men, to release all the
prisoners who were detained in his kingdom, and in every way to
conform to our desires. Wherefore, having then stayed there for two
whole days with all our forces, we became sensible that nothing could
be effected against the city of Iconium, having lost our besieging
sheds [‘testudinibus’] and engines of war, in consequence
of the oxen which drew them being slain by the darts that had been
hurled upon us like a shower. Another reason was, the fact that all
our animals were afflicted by this most intractable malady which had
now attacked them. We therefore listened to the supplications of the
sultan, and a treaty, confirmed by oath, having been made beneath our
standards, peace was granted to him. Upon this, departing thence, our
imperial office returned to its own country, entertaining no small
sorrow for those kinsmen whom it had lost, but still returning
especial thanks to God, who has, in His kindness, and still does,
honor it. We have also felt it a pleasure that it so happened that
some of the chief men of your nobility were with us, who will, at
your desire, inform you on all the circumstances in the order in
which they happened. However, although we have been afflicted with
deep regret for those who have fallen, we have still deemed it
advisable to inform you upon all the events that have happened, as
being our dearly-beloved friend, and as being closely united with our
imperial office, by the ties of blood that exist between our
children. Farewell. Given in the month of November, in the tenth year
of the induction.”
In the same year, [1176] Henry, king of England, son of
the empress Matilda, gave Eleanor, his daughter, in marriage to Alphonso,
king of Castille. In this year also, Gilbert, the son of Fergus, chief of the
men of Galloway, who had caused his brother, Ucthred, a kinsman of
Henry, king of England, to be slain, came into England, with the safe
conduct of William, king of the Scots, and did homage to king Henry,
the father, and swore fealty to him against all men; and, to obtain
his favour, he gave him a thousand marks of silver and his son
Dunecan as a hostage, by way of pledge that he would keep the peace.
In the same year, Henry, king of England, the father, laid hands upon
all the castles of England and Normandy, both of the bishops as well
as of the earls and barons, and placed his custodians therein. In
this year, also, Peter, the prior of Wenlock, was made bishop of
Saint David’s, in Wales.
The Arian Heresy and its Condemnation.
In the same year the Arian heresy, which had corrupted
nearly the whole of the province of Toulouse, was condemned in the presence
of the archbishops, bishops, and other pious men, whose names are
underwritten.
For there were in the province of Toulouse, certain heretics,
who would have themselves called good men, and were upheld by certain knights
of the town of Lombez, who propounded things, and taught the people
the same, contrary to the Christian faith; they said also that they
did not receive the law of Moses, nor the Prophets, nor the Psalms,
neither the Old Testament, nor yet the doctors of the New Testament;
but only the Gospels, the Epistles of Saint Paul, the seven Canonical
Epistles, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Book of Revelations. On
being interrogated as to their faith, and as to the baptism of
infants, and whether they were saved by baptism, and as to the body
and blood of our Lord, where they were consecrated, and by whom, and
who partook thereof, and if the same was more efficaciously or better
consecrated by a good man than by a bad one ; also as to marriage,
whether they could possibly be saved, if a man and woman were
carnally united: they made answer that as to their faith and as to
the baptism of infants they would not say, nor were they obliged to
say. As to the body and blood of the Lord, they said that he who
partook thereof worthily was saved, and he who did so unworthily
ensured his own damnation thereby. As to marriages, they said that
man and woman were joined together for the avoiding of sensuality and
fornication, as Saint Paul says. They also said many things upon
which they were not questioned, as, that they ought not to swear by
any oath whatsoever, in conformity with what Saint John says in his
Gospel, and Saint James in his Epistle.
They
also said that Saint Paul preached that bishops and priests were to
be ordained in the church, and that, if such were not ordained as he
directed, they would not be bishops or priests, but ravening wolves,
hypocrites and seducers, lovers of salutations in the market-place,
and of the chief seats and higher places at feasts, and desirous to
be called “Rabbi,” contrary to the commands of Christ;
wearers of albs and white garments, and of rings of gold and gems on
their fingers, which their master did not command them to do. That
consequently, because the bishops and priests were just such men as
the priests were who delivered up Jesus, it was their duty not to
obey them, because they were evil.
Accordingly,
the allegations having been heard on both sides before Gerard, bishop
of Alby, and judges having been chosen and appointed by either side,
and the aforesaid Gerard, bishop of Alby, Roger, abbot of Castres,
Peter, abbot of Aire, the abbot of Candiel, and Arnold of Narbonne,
presiding and assenting thereto, the said matters were discussed in
the presence of worthy men, both of the prelacy and clergy, as also
of the laity, that is to say, of Peter, the lord archbishop of
Narbonne, and other bishops, abbats, archdeacons, counts, and
influential men of that province to the number of twenty, and of
nearly the whole population of Alby and Lombez. Against the things
that had been propounded by the said heretics, many authorities were
quoted from the New Testament by Peter, the lord archbishop of
Narbonne, the bishop of Nismes, the abbot of Cahors, and the abbot of
Fontfroid; for the said heretic refused to receive judgment, except
on the New Testament. The following definite sentence, upon the
authority of the New Testament, was accordingly pronounced by the
bishop of Lyons, all observing strict silence in the presence of all
the persons above-mentioned:
“I
Gilbert, bishop of Lyons, by command of the bishop of Alby and of his
assessors, do adjudge these persons to be heretics, and do condemn
the opinions of Oliverius and of his associates, wheresoever they may
be ; and the following judgment, based on the New Testament, we do
pronounce—
“On
the first head we do pronounce and adjudge them to be heretics. For
the law is to be received through the Gospel, and he who receives not
the law believes not our Lord Jesus Christ; for in the Gospel he
says, ‘ For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me:
for he wrote of me.’ And again, ‘ I am not come to
destroy the law, but to fulfil it.’ And again, ‘All
things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and
in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me.’ Also, ‘And
beginning at Moses he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the
things concerning himself.’ 1
But why did he expound the Scriptures, and why did he teach
concerning the Law and the Prophets, except that he wished them to
receive the Law and the Prophets, and that by the Law and the
Prophets they might be confirmed in their belief ? Many things also
did the Lord Jesus quote from the Law and the Prophets and the
Psalms, which indeed a good teacher certainly would not have done if
the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms were not to be received. In
deed also he showed that the law was good, inasmuch as he was
circumcised, and presented in the Temple, and sacrifice was offered
for him according to the law of Moses. Also, we find it written that
he went up on the day of the feast. In the Transfiguration also,
where Moses and the prophet Elias appeared unto him, they bore
testimony unto him. By the Epistles also we do convict them; for
Saint Paul says, ‘Whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning ;’ and again, ‘All Scripture is
given by the inspiration of God;’ and ‘I say none other
things than those which the prophets have said should come.’
And again, Saint Peter says ‘We have a more sure word of
prophecy.’ And that the doctors are to be received, Saint Paul
bears witness, ‘God hath set some in the Church as teachers.’
Saint Paul also quotes the example of the law, saying, ‘Cursed
is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in
the book of the law to do them.’ And both he himself as well as
the other Apostles give many testimonies in favour of the Law and the
Prophets and the Psalms; a thing which they would not have done if
their words were not to be received. These heretics therefore are
bound by their own admission to receive Moses and the Prophets and
the Psalms, if only upon the testimonies which are borne by Jesus and
the Apostles, and no others. For do we not say that if an instrument
or written testimonial is believed in any part thereof, it ought to
be entirely believed, or else to be received in no part thereof?
“On
the second head we do convict and adjudge them to be heretics, upon
the authority of the New Testament. For we say that he holds not the
Catholic faith, who does not confess it when he is asked thereon, or
when his faith is made trial of. For this reason the Lord says, in
the Acts of the Apostles, to Ananias, relative to Saint Paul, ‘For
he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and
kings and the children of Israel.’ Also, the Lord says of the
centurion; ‘I have not found so great faith in Israel.’
When the Apostles were forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus
Christ, Peter boldly said, ’We ought to obey God rather than
men.’ A person on being asked as to his faith in Jesus Christ,
ought to answer as Peter answered; for on being asked by the Lord,
whom do men say that the Son of Man is ? he made answer, ‘Thou
art Christ, the Son of the living God.’ The blind man also, on
being asked, after receiving his sight from the Lord, if he believed
in the Son of God, answered, ‘I believe, Lord.’ So
Martha, on being asked by the Lord, ‘Believest thou this?’
made answer, ‘Yea, Lord; I believe that thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God, which hast come into this world.’ So
also the Apostle says; ‘With the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’
Also, at the end of his Epistle Saint Peter says (we are better
able to commit to memory what we find said at the conclusion of a
discourse); ‘But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be
ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason
of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.’ And whereas
these heretics boasted that they do not lie, we affirm that clearly
they do lie. For there is falsehood in being silent as well as in
speaking. It was for this that Saint Paul boldly withstood Saint
Peter to the face, because he practised circumcision. For it seemed
to Saint Paul that he could not reveal the truths of the Gospel,
because he preached one thing and believed another. For truth
consists in three things, in the heart, in the words, and in the
works. He speaks the truth who expresses in the articulation of his
voice what are his feelings, and who holds the same in his heart,
confesses it with his lips, and performs it in his works.
“On
the third head, we do also convict and adjudge them to be heretics,
upon the authority of the New Testament. For we say, that it is the
wish of God that every man should be saved. Nor, indeed, would Christ
have been crucified for all, if only the older ones were to be saved,
who to original sin have added actual sin, and if infants were not to
be saved, whom God has created and formed in His own image and
likeness, and who have probably never committed any sin, but have
only contracted original sin. For baptism was generally given unto
all, both old and young, as the Lord says to his disciples, ‘Go
ye, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’ And ‘Except a man be
born again of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God.’ And again, the Lord says, ‘Suffer little children
to come unto me, and forbid them not.’ This indeed he said for two reasons.
For one, because those who wish to be saved must become as little
children, with reference to wickedness and guile, and simple like
them, in such manner as He himself says: ‘Unless ye become as
this little child ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.’ He
also says so, in order that the Apostles and their followers may
never be in doubt as to the baptism of little children, for baptism
succeeded in the place of circumcision, which had been enjoined both
for those grown up and for infants. Baptism too is a more general and
extensive ordinance, inasmuch as both males and females are baptized,
and grace is thereby secured. But, if through faith children are
saved, as they themselves cannot have faith, without which it is
impossible to please God, we say that it is through the faith of the
Church, or through the faith of the sponsors, just as the man sick of
the palsy was cured through the faith of those who carried him and
let him down through the tiles. The son also of the nobleman, and the
daughter of the woman of Canaan, were healed at that same hour at
which the nobleman and the woman of Canaan believed. We do also say,
that baptism ought to be celebrated in the Church, and by the
ministers of the Church, unless necessity compels otherwise.
Wherefore Saint Paul uses these words, ‘Who hath made us able
ministers of the New Testament.’
“On
the fourth head, we do convict and adjudge them to be heretics, upon
the authority of the New Testament. For the body of our Lord is
consecrated by the priest only, whether he is good or whether bad.
For by the holy words, which the Saviour pronounced at the supper,
namely, ‘ This is my body, and this is my blood,’ the
body of our Lord is consecrated and made. For just as the messenger
of the emperor, or of the king of France, or of any other powerful
person, does not by his low estate or ragged condition, corrupt or
render vile the words of his master, so in like manner, the words of
our Lord are neither changed nor blemished. And, just as a ray of the
sun, when it passes through the common sower, contracts neither stain
nor fetid smell, or as water passes clear and transparent into the
cisterns through pipes that are dirty, foul, or muddy, so are the
words of the Lord not polluted, nor are they uttered with better or
more pure effect by a good man than by a bad one, ‘ For with
God there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’ But,
that the body of the Lord ought to be consecrated nowhere but in the
Church; Saint Paul says, ‘ Despise ye the Church of God ? Have
ye not houses to eat in ?’ So also Saint Paul says to Titus,
‘ That thou mayst know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in
the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar
and ground of the truth.’ And it is the duty of all the
faithful to receive their instruction in the Church. Wherefore it is
that Saint Paul says, ‘ Let your women keep silence in the
churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak.’2 5
For this, which man eats, is the bread of angels, which has descended
from heaven; and as the manna which had been rained from heaven, and
the rod of Aaron which had blossomed, were kept in the ark, as also
the tables which had been written by the finger of God, so is the
body of our Lord not consecrated, or kept except in the Church, as
being the most pleasing sanctuary of the Lord. And in the same manner
as the ark was carried on their shoulders by the Levites only, and
was under their care, and as the Levites only ministered in the
tabernacle of the Lord, so, to the priests alone, and to their
servants, has been delivered and entrusted the care of the Church. Of
this ark the Lord speaks in the Revelation; ‘the heaven was
opened, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.’
Moreover, to the priests alone has been given the power of binding
and loosing; wherefore the Lord says unto Peter, ‘Whatever thou
shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.’ Saint Paul
says also to Timothy, ‘For this cause left I thee in Crete,
that thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting, and
ordain elders in every city.’ Also, with regard to orders, the
Apostle says, ‘Let the elders that rule well be accounted
worthy of double honor.’ Likewise : ‘Against an elder
receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.’
Again: ‘Deacons must be grave;’ and, ‘To all at
Philippi, with the bishops and deacons, grace be unto you, and
peace.’ Behold then to whom it is that the Lord commits the
words of warning and of correction! Also, Saint Paul says, ‘Reprove,
rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and
doctrine.’ Also, the Lord says to his disciples, ‘Teach
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.’
These elders, therefore, bishops, and deacons, it is the duty of both
clergy and laity to obey, for the sake of God, whether they are good
or whether bad. For this reason it is that the Lord says, ‘The
Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat; all, therefore,
whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye
after their works; for they say, and do not.’ And Saint Paul,
speaking of authorities, says, ‘Be subject to your masters with
all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward:’
and, ‘Let a bishop be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and
to convince the gainsayers.’ And again, ‘Obey them that
have the rule over you, and submit yourselves; for they watch for
your souls, as they that must give account; that they may do it with
joy and not with grief.’ Also, ‘Remember them which have
the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose
faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.’
Also, ‘He that waiteth at the altar is a partaker with the
altar.’ And, ‘‘If we have sown unto you spiritual
things, is it a great thing if we shall reap you carnal things ?’
Saint Paul says also to Timothy: ‘But continue thou in the
things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of—for,
from a child, thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to
make thee wise to salvation.’
“On
the fifth head, we do convict and adjudge them to be heretics, on the
authority of the New Testament. For they refuse to admit that a man
and woman can be saved if they are carnally united; inasmuch as they
are in the habit of openly preaching the doctrine that a man and
woman cannot obtain salvation after carnal connexion. Consequently,
they commend and approve of the multiplication of cattle, and yet
disapprove of the multiplication of mankind. They admire sterility in
woman, according to the words of Scripture, ‘ Blessed are the
barren, and the wombs that never bare.’ This doctrine they
preach, in order that but few owners may be found for objects
innumerable, and that the creatures which have been made for the use
and service of men may be without possessor, in habitant, or ruler,
wishing all to be like themselves, as Saint Paul says, ‘I would
that all were such as I am.’
And
then they would appear to preach up the merits of virginity, as being
the state of Christ and of the Virgin Mary, although it was He who
said: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.’
Indeed, they seem thereby to detract from the character of marriage,
and to condemn it, while our Lord Jesus Christ graced a marriage with
his own presence, and that of his mother Mary and of his disciples,
and honored it with the miracle of turning water into wine. Besides,
it is said in the Gospel, ‘What God hath joined together, let
not man put asunder;’ and, ‘Let it not be lawful for a
man to put away his wife, except for fornication.’ Also, Saint
Paul says: ‘He who giveth his virgin in marriage, doeth well.’
And, again, ‘The woman is bound by law to her husband so long
as he liveth.’ ‘The wife hath not power of her own body,
but her husband ;’ and similarly with regard to the husband.
Likewise, he says: ‘Defraud ye not one the other, except it be
with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to prayer ; and
come together again that Satan tempt you not.’ And, ‘I
will that the younger women marry, bear children, keep house.’
And further, ‘I say it not, but the Lord; a woman shall be
saved in childbearing.’ If it were a sin to beget children, why
should the Lord say, why should the Apostle say, that it is good ?
And why should he tell them to come together again, and use the
expression, ‘I will that’ ? Does God will, does the
Apostle will, that a sin should be committed ? We are of the belief,
then, that a man and woman may be saved, even if they are carnally
united.
“On
the sixth head we do convict and adjudge them to be heretics, and cut
off from the unity of the Church, on the authority of the New
Testament. For we say that the Lord delivered unto Saint Peter the
ministry and the power of binding and loosing, saying, ‘Whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven;’ and, ‘I
send unto you prophets, and wise men and scribes.’ But, as the
Lord says, ‘Not all men can receive this saying.’ And
further, we say, that they ought to make answer respecting the
Gospel, and to dispute thereon, standing, inasmuch as all Christians
stand when the Gospel is read; and if they stand when it is read,
much more ought they when it is both read and expounded: nor, indeed,
ought they to adopt the mode of sitting after they have once made
choice of standing. We have also many authorities, from which it is
manifestly gathered that a person ought to stand when the Gospel is
preached; as, for instance : ‘Jesus stood on the shore;’
and, again, ‘Jesus stood still and called them;’ and,
again, ‘He stood in the midst of you whom ye know not.’
And, again, after his resurrection, confirming the Apostles, and
preaching, ‘Jesus stood,’ it is said, ‘in the midst
of the disciples, and said, peace be unto you.’ These people
too hold not the position of one giving judgment, but of one making
answer; and it is the Lord that ought to sit, to whom all judgment
has been given by the Father. As for these people, they do not judge,
but are judged. Nor has there been granted to them the mystery of
preaching in the churches. Indeed, these are heretics, such as Saint
Paul foretells that there shall be, saying, ‘Evil men and
seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived;’
as also ‘The time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be
turned unto fables;’ and, ‘From which some having
swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be
teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof
they affirm.’ Indeed, it is the duty of the prelates of the
Church to punish the disobedience of these persons, and to correct it
before all men. Wherefore, the Apostle says, ‘Them that sin
rebuke before all, that others also may fear.’ Saint Paul
says, also, to the prelates [of the Church]: ‘Having in a
readiness to revenge all disobedience.’ And, ‘That ye
may be able to convince the gainsayers.’ And, ‘These
things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority.’ Also,
I have ‘ delivered such an one unto Satan, for the destruction
of the flesh.’ And, ‘Absent I have judged as though
present, concerning him that hath so done this deed.’ And
again, ‘If any man preach any other Gospel unto you than that
ye have received, let him be accursed.’ In the seventh place,
the above-named bishop questioned them upon repentance, if it could
take place at the last moment, unto salvation, or whether soldiers
who had received a fatal wound could be saved if they repented at the
last moment: or if each ought to confess his sins to the priests and
ministers of the Church, or to any one of the laity, or to those of
whom Saint James has said : “Confess your faults one to
another;” to which they made answer, and said, that it was
sufficient for the sick if they confessed to whom they pleased; but
that, as to soldiers, they were unwilling to say, as Saint James
speaks only of the sick. He also asked them if contrition of the
heart and confession by the lips were alone sufficient, or if it was
necessary to make atonement after repentance [by confession], by
fasting, alms-giving, and mortification, thus bewailing their sins,
if they had the means of so doing. To this they made answer, saying
that the words of Saint James were: “Confess your faults one to
another, that ye may be healed:” by which they understood that
the Apostle commanded nothing else but that they should confess, and
so should be healed; and that they had no wish to be wiser than the
Apostle, so as to add anything of their own, as the bishops did. To
this the heretics added, that the bishop who had given judgment was
the heretic and not they, that he was an enemy to them, a ravening
wolf, a hypocrite, and an enemy to God, and that he had not given a
righteous judgment; that they were not willing to make answer on
their faith, because they were on their guard against him, in
obedience to what our Lord had commanded in the Gospel, “Beware
of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves;” and that he was a
fraudulent persecutor of them, and they were prepared to show by the
Gospels and the Epistles, that he was not a good shepherd, neither he
nor the other bishops and priests, but, on the contrary, were
hirelings.
To
this the bishop made answer and said, that the judgment had been
pronounced upon them legally, and that he was prepared to prove in
the court of our lord Alexander the Catholic pope, or in the court of
Louis, king of France, or in the court of Raymond, count of Toulouse,
or in that of his wife, who was then present, or in the court of
Trenkevelle, the presental,* that he had given a right judgment, and
that they were manifestly heretics, and notorious for their heresies.
He further declared that he would accuse them and publish them as
heretics in every Catholic court, and would submit to all the risk
thereof.
*
This was an officer in France, who had the command of the soldiers in
a county or earldom, and acted as deputy of the “comes,”
“count,” or “earl.” The name does not seem to
have any corresponding one in the English language. The same party is
called “vicecomes,” “viscount,” or “sheriff,”
at the conclusion of the proceedings.
The
heretics, seeing that they were convicted and put to confusion,
turned towards the people, and said, “Listen, good people, to
the faith which we confess; for now, for our love of you and for your
sakes, we do make confession of it;” on which the above-named
bishop made answer, “Do you say that you pronounce it, not for
the sake of God, but for the sake of the people?” The others
then said, "We believe that there is one God, three and one, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and that the Son of God took
upon Him our flesh, was baptized in the river Jordan, fasted in the
wilderness, preached our salvation, suffered, died, and was buried ;
that He descended into hell, rose again on the third day and ascended
into heaven; that, on the day of Pentecost, He sent the Holy Ghost
the Comforter; that He will come on the day of judgment to judge both
the living and the dead; and that all shall rise again. We know,
also, that what we believe in the heart we ought to confess with the
lips; we believe that he is not saved who does not eat the body of
Christ, and that the body of Christ is not consecrated except in the
Church, and only by the priest, whether he is good or whether bad,
and that it is no more efficiently done by one who is good than by
one who is bad. We believe, also, that no person is saved unless he
is baptized, and that infants are saved by baptism. We believe, also,
that a man and woman can be saved even though they be carnally
united; and that each person ought to receive confession, both in the
lips and in the heart, and from a priest; and that baptism ought to
be performed by the priest, and in churches ;”and that, if
anything more could be pointed out to them, as supported b} r
the authority of the Gospels or the Epistles, they would believe the
same and would confess it.
In
consequence of this, fresh authorities of the New Testament were
quoted against them by the above-named Catholic persons. After the
authorities had been so heard on both sides, the above-named [?]
bishop arose and pronounced judgment to the following effect:—
“I,
Jocelyn, bishop of Lodeve, by the command and mandate of bishop
Alberic, and of his assessors, do pronounce judgment, and do here
affirm, that these heretics are wrongly informed on the subject of an
oath, and that, if they wish to do right, they ought to take the
oath, and that an oath ought to be taken when a person’s faith
is in question. And, inasmuch as they are infamous and notorious for
heresy, they are bound to prove their innocence; and, returning to
the unity of the Church, they are bound to uphold their faith upon
oath in such way as the Catholic Church maintains and believes; in
order that the weak who are in the Church may not be corrupted, and
that the diseased sheep may not contaminate the whole flock. And this
is neither contrary to the Gospel nor to the Epistles of Saint Paul.
For although it is said in the Gospel ‘ Let your communication
be yea, yea, nay, nay;’ ‘‘neither shalt thou swear
by the heaven, nor by the earth,’ 76
still it is not forbidden to swear by God, but by his creatures. For
the Gentiles were in the habit of worshipping the creatures, and, if
it had been allowed to swear by the creatures, the reverence and
honor that are due to God alone would be paid to the creatures, and,
in consequence, idols and creatures would be adored as God. For we
read in the book of Revelation, that an angel ‘Lifted up his
hand to heaven and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever;’
and Saint Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, says, ‘ Because
God could swear by no greater, he sware by Himself. For men verily
swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end
of all strife.’ Where God has wished more abundantly to show to
the heirs of His promise the immoveableness of His counsels, he has
interposed an oath. For the Lord sware, saying, ‘By myself have
I sworn.’ And again, ‘The Lord hath sworn, and will not
repent.’ The Apostle, also, frequently made oath; thus, ‘God
is my witness,’ and ‘I call God to witness.’ If,
then, God has sworn, an Angel sworn, an Apostle sworn, how is it
right not to swear, especially where our faith is in question ?
Therefore, that which is said in the Gospel s
and in the Epistle of James is to be deemed a piece of advice and not
a precept. But, if there were no swearing, there would be no
forswearing, a thing which is still more nearly allied to evil, that
is to say, to sin or the devil, who would prompt us to swear by the
creatures.”
Accordingly,
seeing that they were also convicted on this point, they said that
bishop Alberic had made an agreement with them that he would not
compel them to take an oath; which, however, the bishop of Alby
denied. After this, the bishop of Alby arose, and said, "The
judgment which Jocelyn, bishop of Lodeve, has pronounced I do
confirm, and by my command the same has been pronounced. And I
further warn the knights of Lombez not to give them any countenance,
on penalty of the fine which they have placed in my hands. I, the
abbot of Candiel, chosen judge, do approve of this judgment, and with
my assent it has been given. I, the abbot of Aire, chosen judge, do
approve of this judgment, and with my assent it has been given. I,
Arnold de Be, chosen judge, do approve of this judgment, and with my
assent it has been given. I, Peter, bishop of Narbonne, I, A., bishop
of Nismes, I, Jocelyn, bishop of Toulouse, I, V., bishop of Agde, I,
R., abbot of Saint Pontius, I, R., abbot of Saint William, I, N.,
abbot of Gaillac, I, —, abbot of Font-froid, I, M., mayor or
Toulouse, I, G., mayor of Alby, I, N., mayor of Narbonne, I, R.,
archdeacon of Agde, I, G., prior of Saint Mary, I, P., abbot of
Cahors, I, Master Blanc, I, Bego de Veireiras, I, Trenkevelle,
viscount, I, Constance, sister of the king of France, and wife of
Raymond, earl of Toulouse, and I, Sicard, viscount of Lautrec, do
ratify this judgment, and do know them to be heretics, and do approve
of the judgment pronounced upon them.”
1177 A.D.
In
the year of grace 1177, being the twenty-third year of the reign of
king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said Henry, and Geoffrey,
earl of Brittany, and John, his sons, were at Northampton, in
England, during the festival of the Nativity of our Lord. On the same
day, king Henry, the son, and his wife were at Argenton in Normandy,
and Richard, the son of king Henry, earl of Poitou, was in Aquitaine,
at the city of Bourdeaux. Immediately after the Nativity of our Lord,
he laid siege to the city of Aques, which Peter, viscount of Aques,
and the count of Bigorre had fortified against him, and within ten
days he took it. After this, he laid siege to the city of Bayonne,
which Ernald Bertram, viscount of Bayonne, had fortified against him,
and within ten days he took it. Moving his army thence, he came to
the gates of Sizarre, now called Port D’Espagne, and took and
destroyed it, and, by force, compelled the Basques and Navarrese to
make oath, that, from that time forward, they would always keep the
peace towards strangers and among themselves, and he also put an end
to all the evil customs that had been introduced at Sorges and
Espure.
In
the meantime, the king of England, the father, holding a general
council at Northampton, after the feast of Saint Hilary, restored to
Robert, earl of Leicester, all his lands on both sides of the sea, as
he held the same fifteen days before the war began, with the
exception of the castles of Mountsorrel and Pasci. In like manner he
restored to Hugh, earl of Chester, all the lands of which he was in
possession fifteen days before the war; and to William d’Aubigny,
son of William, earl of Arundel, he gave the earldom of Sussex. At
the same council, also, Gruido, the dean, resigned into the hands of
Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, his deanery of Waltham, and
quitted claim, freely and absolutely, of all right which he had to
the church of Waltham. In the same manner did the canons secular of
Waltham as to their prebends, resigning them into the hands of the
archbishop; but our lord the king gave them full compensation for the
same, according to the estimate of the lord archbishop of Canterbury.
After this, our lord the king, by the authority of our lord the pope,
placed in the same church of Waltham canons regular taken from
various houses
in England, and appointed Walter de Ghent, a canon taken from the
church of Oseney, the first abbot of that community, and enriched
them with great revenues and very fine mansions.
In
the same year, the same king, having expelled the nuns from the abbey
of Ambrosebury,* for incontinence, and distributed them in more
strict charge in other religious houses, gave the abbey of
Ambrosebury as a perpetual possession to the abbess and convent of
Fontevraud; and, a convent of nuns being sent over from Fontevraud,
Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, introduced them into the abbey of
Ambrosebury, on the eleventh day before the calends of June, being
the Lord’s Day, in the presence of our lord the king, the
father, Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter, John, bishop of Norwich, and
many others of the clergy and the people. On the same day, and at the
same place, the before-named archbishop of Canterbury consecrated
Guido, bishop of Bangor.
* Amesbury.
In this year, Philip, earl of Flanders, sent Robert, the
advocate of Bethune, and Roger, castellan of Courtrai, to our lord Henry,
the king of England, the father, to inform him that Louis, king of the
Franks, had asked of him the eldest daughter of his brother, Matthew,
earl of Boulogne, in marriage for his son Philip, and the other
daughter of the earl of Boulogne for Louis, son of earl Theobald, but
thus he was determined to give them to no one without his sanction.
The said earl also asked the king of England for the money which he
had promised to give for the soul of his brother, Matthew, earl of
Boulogne, for the purpose of maintaining knights for the defence of
the land of Jerusalem. On this, our lord the king made answer to them
that the matter would go well, unless, indeed, it stopped short with
the earl; and added, that if the earl of Flanders was willing to
marry his nieces, the daughters of the earl of Boulogne, according to
his wishes and advice, and would give him good assurance of the same,
he would then fulfil all his promises, even to a fuller extent than
he had made them. And, for the purpose of hearing the earl’s
answer on the subject, he sent Walter de Coutances, his
vice-chancellor, and Ranulph de Glanville, in whose presence the said
earl of Flanders made oath that he would marry his said nieces to no
person, unless by the advice and consent of the king of England, the
father. However, disregarding his oath, the said earl married them
without the leave and consent of the king.
In the same year, the before-named Viviamis, cardinal priest,
titular of Saint Stephen de Monte Celi, and legate of the Apostolic See, was in
the Isle of Man, with king Guthred, on the day of the Nativity of our
Lord. After the Epiphany, he passed over into Ireland, and, landing
at Duns in Ulster, while he was walking along the sea-shore towards Dublin,
he met the troops of John de Courcy, who seized him and made him
prisoner; but John de Courcy set him at liberty and suffered him to
depart. The before-named John de Courcy also, before the Purification
of Saint Mary, laid siege to and took the city of Dun, [Down] which
is the capital of Ulster, where also rest the bodies of Saint Patrick
and Saint Columba, the confessors, and of Saint Bridget, the virgin.
On hearing this, Roderic, king of Ulster, levied a large army of
Irish, and fought a battle with the above-named John; and John de
Courcy, after losing a part of his army, gained a great victory, and
having conquered king Roderic, and put him to flight, remained in
possession of the field, and distributed the spoils of the slain
among his men. In this battle was taken prisoner the bishop of Dun,
whom John de Courcy ordered, at the prayer of the cardinal, to be set
at liberty.
In the same year [1177] died the earl Hugh Bigot, whose
treasures the king, the father, retained in his own hands. In this year,
also, Alphonso, king of Castille, and Sancho, king of Navarre, his uncle,
after many and great battles fought between them, came to a
settlement before the king of England, the father, on the disputes
and claims that existed between them. Accordingly, there came into
England, on behalf of the king of Castille and on behalf of the king
of Navarre, four chosen men whom they knew to be trustworthy persons,
being sent to England to hear the decision of the court of the king
of England, and to report the same to the above-named kings of Spain,
namely, John, bishop of Tarragona, Peter de Areis, Gunter, a brother
of the Temple, and Peter de Rinoso. There came also on behalf of
Alphonso, king of Castille, Matthew, bishop of Palencia, count Gomez,
Lobdiez, Gomez, the son of Garsias, Garsias, the son of Garsias,
Peter, the son of Peter, and Gotteri Fernanz; and, on behalf of
Sancho, king of Navarre, the bishop of Pampeluna, Garsias Bermer,
Sancho, the son of Ramiro, Espagnol de Taissonal, Peter, the son of
Ramiro, and Ascenar de Chalez. All these were sent to assert their
claims, and to answer on behalf of their masters. There came also two
knights of wonderful prowess and valour, with horses and warlike
arms, one on behalf of the king of Castille and the other on behalf
of the king of Navarre, to appeal to wager of battle, at the court of
the king of England, if it should be deemed necessary.
Accordingly,
on the first Lord’s day in Lent, our lord, Henry, king of
England, son of the empress Matilda, came to London, for the purpose
of holding a general council. At it were present; Richard, archbishop
of Canterbury, Gilbert, bishop of London, Hugh, bishop of Durham,
Geoffrey, bishop of Ely, Walter, bishop of Rochester, Reginald,
bishop of Bath, Robert, bishop of Hereford, John, bishop of Norwich,
Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter, Roger, bishop of Worcester, John,
bishop of Chichester, Christian, bishop of Whitherne, the bishop of
Saint David’s, the bishop of Saint Asaph, the bishop of Bangor,
and the abbats, priors, earls, and barons of England. These having
met together at Westminster, the king ordered the aforesaid envoys
from the kingdom of Spain to reduce into writing their claims and
charges, and afterwards give them to him; in order that, by means of
a translation thereof, he himself and his barons might be able to
understand their respective claims and charges; for neither the king
nor the barons of his court understood their language. For the
purpose of reducing this to writing, there was a space of three days
allowed.
Accordingly, on the fourth day they produced a writing, in which
was the following statement: “king Sancho the Fat had three sons, Ferdinand,
king of Castille, Ramiro, king of Arragon, and Garsias, king of Navarre
and Nagara. Ferdinand was the father of king Alphonso, who took
Toledo, and was the father of queen Vracha, who was the mother of the
emperor Alphonso, the father of king Sancho, whose son was king
Alphonso, who married Eleanor, daughter of Henry, king of England.
Ramiro, king of Arragon, was the father of king Sancho, who was
father of king Peter and king Alphonso. King Peter died without
issue, and was succeeded by his brother, king Alphonso, who took
Saragossa. Garsias, king of Navarre and Nagara, was the father of king Sancho,
who was afterwards slain at Penaflel: he was the father of Sancho, who died
without issue when a child, and was succeeded, in Navarre and Nagara,
by king Alphonso, his father’s kinsman, who took Toledo, as far
as the boundaries of Puente la Reyna and Sangosa: and the said child
was succeeded by Sancho, king of Arragon, his father’s kinsman,
in the remaining portion of Navarre and Pampeluna.”
The Treaty and Covenants entered into between Alphonso, king of
Castille, and Sancho, king of Navarre.
These are the treaty and covenants which were entered into
between Alphonso, king of Castille, and Sancho, king of Navarre, his uncle,
for submitting the points in dispute between them to the judgment of
the king of England. For this purpose each of these kings gives three
castles in pledge, that he will receive and fulfil the award of
Henry, king of England, son of the empress Matilda, and father-in-law
of king Alphonso; and he who shall fail so to do, is to lose the
castles underwritten. For this purpose king Alphonso gives in pledge
Nagara, a castle of the Jews, Arnedo, a castle of the Christians and
a castle of the Jews, and Celorigo. In like manner, Sancho, king of
Navarre, gives in pledge the castle of Stella, which Peter, the son
of Roderic, holds, being a castle of the Jews, as also Funes and
Maranon. And for the above purpose envoys from both kings are to
appear in the presence of the king of England on the first day of
this present Lent, being the beginning of the fast, for the purpose
of receiving his decision. And if by chance the envoys on either side
shall be detained on the road in consequence of death, infirmity, or
captivity, the envoys that precede them are to await them for a
period of thirty days beyond the day above-named at the court of the
said king of England; and then, those who are well and able are to
come to the court and hear the decision. And if all shall be sick, or
taken prisoners, or shall die, then the king who has no envoy present
is to be the loser. And if all or any of the envoys shall not be
detained by any of these causes, and shall not come before the king
of England on the day appointed, then the king, whose envoys they
are, is to lose the castles abovenamed, and this is to be done in
good faith and without evil intent. And if by accident, which God
forbid, the king of England should die in the meantime, then in the
same manner as above-mentioned they are to proceed to the king of
France to receive his decision, and are to receive his decision as
though that of the king of England, and to comply therewith. For this
purpose, Sancho, the king of Navarre, through his knight and his
deputy,* is to receive possession of these three castles, and is to
give Nagara and Celorigo in charge to Peter, the son of count
Roderic, and is to give Arnedo in charge to one of the counts of his
dominions, and they are to do homage to him for the same.
* “Portarius”. The officers who were so called,
had probably somewhat similar duties to those of our sheriffs; in seeing
that the royal commands were properly fulfilled. They were peculiar to Spain.
In like manner Alphonso, the king of Castille, through his knight
and his deputy, is to receive possession of these three castles, and is
to give Stella in charge to Peter, the son of Eoderic of Arragon,
Funes to S., the son of Ramiro, and Maranon to R., the son of Martin,
and they are to do homage to him for them. And if either of the kings
shall wish to take the castles aforesaid from the knights in
possession of them and to give them to another, then Sancho, king of
Navarre, is to give them to Peter, the son of Roderic, or to G., the
son of Vermund, or to S., the son of Ramiro, or to I., the son of
Felez, or to R., the son of Martin, or to E. or to S., the sons of
Almoran, or to E., the son of Ortiz, or to P., the son of Ramiro, or
to G. or to P., the sons of Ortiz. In like manner king Alphonso is to
give the said castles to count N. or count P., or count G. or to
count Gomez, or to R., the son of Gurtez, or to P., the son of
Arazuri, or to D., the son of Senez, or to G. or to Ordonez, the sons
of Garcias, or to G., the son of Roderico de Aragra, or to P., the
son of Gunter, or to L., the son of Roderico de Agafra; but those who
shall be holding them are not to give up the said castles until those
who ought to receive them shall have done homage for them to the
other king, in manner above-mentioned. And the whole that king
Alphonso holds of the king of Navarre he is to improve with his own
means as far as he shall be willing and able. In like manner, Sancho,
king of Navarre, is to improve with his own means as far as he shall
be willing and able, the whole that he holds of king Alphonso. And
for the purpose of hearing this decision, the kings have chosen four
trustworthy persons, namely, John, bishop of Tarragona, Peter de
Areis, Ar—— de Torrela, and Gunter, son of de Punoso; and
two or three or all of these are to proceed with the envoys to the
court of the king of England, and are to explain before him the
complaints of both kings, and when the claims have been heard, then
those are to speak whom the king shall order first to plead their
cause. And, upon the word of these same trustworthy persons, who
shall have heard the judgment pronounced by the king of England, each
of the kings are to comply with and perform the above-mentioned
covenants in such manner as is contained in this instrument, and the
knights who have done homage for the aforesaid castles, according to
the report of the said trustworthy persons, are to comply with and
perform the treaty aforesaid in good faith and without evil intent.
In addition whereto, both of the kings above-named, each upon his own
plighted faith, have agreed upon and concluded a good and safe truce
for liegemen, for castles, for lands, and for all other things, for a
period of seven years; and that the same shall be firmly kept,
Sancho, king of Navarre, places Erga* in pledge, and king Alphonso pledges
Calahorra; and if the army of either of these kings, either with him or
without him, shall enter the kingdom of the other, he whose army does so,
is to lose the fortified place above-named.
* Perhaps Ergavica, or Ergavia, towns of Spain in the middle ages.
And if by chance any vassal of these kings shall break this truce in the
kingdom of the other, or shall chance by force to take a fortified
place, then the king of whom he shall be the vassal shall within
forty days deliver up his castle to the other king. And if he shall
not do so, the knight who holds the castle that has been so placed in
pledge, is to give up the said castle to the king so complaining, and
he is to hold the same in pledge until he recovers his own castle.
And if any person in these kingdoms, who is not a vassal of those
kings, shall by any chance take a castle in the kingdom of the other,
then both the kings are to come against him with their people and
besiege him, and are not to depart thence until it is taken. It has
also been agreed that all the vassals of both kings who have lost
their hereditaments since the time of the commencement of the war,
shall recover the same, in such manner as they were holding them on
the day on which they lost them, and for misdeeds on their part, or
on accusations for what they have previously done, they are not to
lose them, nor are they to make answer to any one on any complaint
made against them within the last seven years. And if hereafter any
complaint on fresh grounds, or any litigation shall arise between
them, they are to have recourse to arbitration, and whatever judgment
shall be pronounced, they are to be satisfied with the same. Also,
all men of both kingdoms shall go and return from kingdom to kingdom
in security, with the exception of known murderers. And if either of
the kings shall be unwilling to restore the hereditaments as
above-mentioned, then he is to give up the above-named castle to the
other king, who is to hold the same in pledge, until he shall recover
the hereditaments and the whole thereof that he shall have demanded.
Also, all vassals of either king are to be included in this treaty of
peace as to all men, castles, hereditaments, and all other things
that they may possess in whatever land they may be; and all the above
is to be kept and observed in good faith and without evil intent.
Also, Alphonso, king of Arragon, is to be included in this truce, if
it shall so please him, and if perchance it shall not please him to
be included therein, nevertheless the said truce as abovementioned is
to be strictly observed between the kings abovenamed. This instrument
was made between Navarre and Logrono, in the year 1214,* on the
eighth day before the calends of September."
*
This date is according to the Spanish era, which began from the
conquest of Spain by the Roman Emperor, Augustus, in the year B.C. 38
which became year 1.
An
[earlier] Charter of Peace and Reconciliation between the king of
Castille and the king of Navarre.
“This
is the charter of peace and reconciliation which was made between
Alphonso, long of Castille, and Sancho, king of Navarre, at the abbey
which is called Siterio. It has pleased both of the said kings that a
peace and reconciliation should be made between them for ten years,
which has been made accordingly; and it has pleased them that they
should ratify the same by oath, and that they and the barons of them
both should make oath upon the altar and upon the four Evangelists,
that they will observe the aforesaid truce and reconciliation
faithfully, and without fraud and evil intent, for ten years; and
this truce has been made as to persons, cattle, goods, and castles,
in good faith and without fraud and evil intent; and if either of the
kings or any of the barons shall violate this truce, and shall not
make amends on claim made, within forty days therefrom, then is he to
be a perjurer and a traitor. This instrument was made in the year
1205, [Spanish
era see note above.]
in the month of October.”
When
the above-stated charters of peace and reconciliation between the
said kings of Castille and Navarre had been read before the king of
England and his barons, the persons who pleaded for the king of
Castille spoke to the following effect:—
The Claim of the king of Castille.
“In
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.
In the name of the Lord, Alphonso, king of Castille and Toledo, makes
complaint against, and demands of, Sancho, king of Navarre, his
uncle, that restitution shall be made to him of Logrono, Athleva,
Vanaret, *
in the vicinity of Ribaronia, Agosen, Abtol, Arresa, and Alava, with
their markets, namely, those of Estwalez and of Divina, and all his
rights in the lands which are called Durango: all of which king
Alphonso, of happy memory, who liberated Toledo from the power of the
Saracens, and after his death, his daughter Vracha possessed by
hereditary right: after whose death, her son, the emperor Alphonso,
of happy memory, was similarly possessed by hereditary right, and
after the death of the emperor, his son, Sancho, without question
raised, held the same by hereditary right.
*
This should be ‘Navarette’.
After
the death of king Sancho, his son, our lord the king, Alphonso, in
like manner held all the places aforesaid by hereditary right, until
such time as the king of Navarre already mentioned took away, and now
by force withholds, from the aforesaid king of Castille, his orphan
and innocent nephew and ward, and the son of his friend and lord, all
the above places, no requisition being then made of the same. He
likewise makes complaint and asks restitution to be made to him by
the before-named king of Navarre, of Roba, which he unjustly
withholds. For the emperor required that place from a king of the
Saracens, whose name was Zafadola, and left it to his son Sancho,
who, after the death of the emperor, held it in peace during the
whole period of his life: after whose death, my lord the king
Alphonso, his son, by hereditary right held it in peace, until such
time as Sancho Ramirez de Perola parted with it, who held it
according to the custom of Spain, at the hands of Peter Ortiz, which
Peter Ortiz held it according to the same custom of our lord the king
Alphonso. He also demands the revenues which the king of Navarre so
often mentioned has received from Logrono, and from all the places
above-named, from the time of his invasion, as also recompense for
the losses which he inflicted upon that land, by laying it waste and
delivering it to the flames, the amount of all which is estimated at
nearly one hundred thousand golden marks. He further demands Puente
la Reyna, and Saragossa, and the whole of the land extending from
those two towns to the river Ebro; which land king Alphonso, of
blessed memory, grandfather of the emperor, held and enjoyed in
peace; and through him, according to the custom of Spain, his
kinsman, Sancho, king of Arragon, and after his death, his son, king
Peter, and after the death of king Peter, his brother, Alphonso, king
of Arragon, in the same manner as his kinsmen and friends had held
it. He also claims, a moiety of Tudela, on the grounds of his
maternal descent, which count Dalpreg gave to his cousin-german,
[first cousin] queen Margaret, who was the wife of king Garsias, and
grandmother of the said king Alphonso, in consequence whereof the
aforesaid Tudela does in no way belong to Navarre.”
After
the bishop of Palencia, and count Gomez, and the other envoys of the
king of Castille had set forth the above, and other matters to a
similar effect, both by writing and word of mouth, they made an end
of speaking. Upon this, the bishop of Pampeluna, and the other envoys
of the king of Navarre, arose, and [orally] contradicting nothing
that had been alleged against them by their opponents, produced a
writing, in which were contained their petition, claims, and
allegations, to the following effect:—
The
Claim of the king of Navarre
“Sancho,
king of Navarre, lays claim to the monastery of Cudejo, Monte d’Oca,
the valley of Saint Vincent, the valley of Oliocastro, Cingovilas,
Monte Negro, and Sierra Alba, as far as Agreda. To all the above he
lays claim, and whatever places lie within these districts on the
side of Navarre, and he lays claim to the entire revenues of this
district, from the period of the death of king Sancho at Penafiel.
All the above, as belonging to his kingdom, Garsias, king of Navarre
and Nagara, great-great grandfather of the said king Sancho, held and
enjoyed in peace and quietness; and his great grandfather was
expelled by violence from his kingdom, on account of his imbecility,
by Alphonso, king of Castile, his kinsman. However, in process of
time, king Garsias, of famous memory, his grandson, and father of the
present king, by the Divine will, and with the aid of the fealty of
those of whom he was the natural lord, recovered his kingdom,
although not the entirety thereof, and the remaining portion is the
same that is now claimed by his son Sancho, king of Navarre. In
addition to this, he makes claim of the following places, which the
emperor took from his father, king Garsias, by violence, namely;
Naga, a castle of the Christians and Jews, Gramon, Paneorvo,
Belforest, the monastery of Cereso, Celorigo, Bilboa, Medria,
Vegueta, Claver, Verbea, and Lantaron. These same he makes claim of,
and demands restitution thereof, because his father, king Garsias,
possessed them by hereditary right, and the emperor took them from
him. Also, as to Belforest, he makes this complaint, that the emperor
restored the same to king Garsias, his father, and after his death,
the said emperor took it away from Sancho, the present king of
Navarre, who then held and enjoyed it in peace, as being his own by
hereditary right. He also demands restitution to him by Alphonso,
king of Castille, of certain castles that have been very recently
taken from him, together with all the revenues received therefrom,
and whatever he would have enjoyed if he had not been expelled
therefrom. The names of these castles are as follow: Kel, Ocon,
Parnugos, Gramon, Cereso, Valorcanas, Trepcana, Milier, Amihugo,
Haiaga, Miranda, Santa Agathea, Salmas, Portela, Malversin, Legiun,
and the fortress held by Godin. And to these he lays claim on the
grounds that he held and enjoyed the same as his own, and was,
without any judicial formalities, expelled therefrom, and his
complaint ought therefore to have the precedence, inasmuch as the
same was the last act of
violence committed, and consequently is the one for which amends
should first be made. And further, as to the other side, he has
ceased to have any right, if ever he did have any such right. And
this we are prepared to show by the abovenamed instrument, in which
is contained a truce for ten years; wherefore, king Sancho makes
complaint, because it is true, that king Alphonso has violated his
promise made in the treaty aforesaid. For he has received injury
within those ten years, by being deprived of the following castles,
Kel, Legiun, Malversin, and Portela. In addition to the above, the
king of Navarre demands restitution by the king of Castille, of the
sum of one hundred
marks of silver, [seems
too little - one hundred thousand?] king
Sancho, who now reigns over the kingdom of Navarre, hereby offering
satisfaction to the king Alphonso, upon all his complaints, according
to the arbitration of the barons of them both, or of the most serene
king of England. And we affirm with confidence, that these acts, and
the like to them, perpetrated in the face of such covenants and such
truce, ought to be redressed before we come to any other article
whatever of these claims. For this the law demands, this usage
demands, this the canonical ordinances demand, this all right and
justice demand. The things that we have said are here set forth in
written characters, but shall be more fully and more copiously
explained by word of mouth.”
When
the above-named envoys of the king of Navarre had set forth the
above, and other matters of a similar nature, and the envoys of the
king of Castille did not contradict any of the allegations made by
them, Henry king of England, son of the empress Matilda, the Holy
Evangelists being produced in presence of all the people, ordered the
said envoys of the king of Castille and the king of Navarre make
oath, before he pronounced judgment, that their masters, namely, the
king of Castille and the king of Navarre, would receive and strictly
observe his award, both as to restitution as well as to the truce,
and that if they should fail so to do, then they themselves would
surrender their bodies into his hands and power. This being
accordingly done, the earls and barons of the royal court of England
adjudged that full restitution should be made to each of the parties
above-named of what he had rightfully claimed. Accordingly, the king
of England wrote to the above-named kings of Spain to the following
effect:—
The Award of Henry, king of England, upon the judgment
given in his court between the king of Castille and the king of Navarre.
“Henry, by the grace of God, king of England,
duke of Normandy and of Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, to his most dearly
beloved friends Alphonso, king of Castille, and Sancho, king of Navarre, greeting.
According as, from the tenor of your letters, and the relation of
your trustworthy servants, John, bishop of Tarragona, Peter de Areis,
Gunter, and Peter de Einoso, and from the assertions of your envoys,
the bishop of Palencia, count Gomez, Lobdioz, Gomez, the son of
Garsias, Garsias, the son of Garsias, Peter, the son of Peter,
Gotteri Fernanz, the bishop of Pampeluna, Garsias Bermer, Sancho the
son of Ramiro, Espagnol de Taissonat, Peter the son of Ramiro, and
Ascenar de Chalez, we have been informed, it has pleased us by our
judgment to bring to a termination the disputes that exist between
you, with relation to certain castles and lands, together with the
boundaries and appurtenances thereof. And for that purpose, we,
receiving your trustworthy servants and your envoys with that respect
which was their due, considering that peace being made between you
would greatly conduce to the honor of God and the whole of
Christendom, have both with reference to holy religion and our
ordinary welfare, taken this upon us. Therefore, the trustworthy
persons chosen by you in common, and your deputies, and the pleaders
of your causes being summoned into our presence, and that of our
bishops and earls and barons, we have carefully heard, and have come
to a full understanding of, the petitions and allegations of both
parties. Upon these points, those envoys to whom the cause of
Alphonso, king of Castille, has been entrusted, have made allegation
that Sancho, king of Navarre, did unjustly and by force take from the
said king of Castille, while he was yet a ward and an orphan, certain
castles and lands, namely, Logrono, Navarette, Andeva, Abtoi, and
Agosen, with all their boundaries and appurtenances, which his
father, on the day of his decease, and which he himself for some
years after had quietly enjoyed; in consequence whereof they claimed
that restitution should be made to him of the same. But the envoys to
whom the cause of Sancho king of Navarre was entrusted, contradicting
nothing of what had been alleged by the others, asserted that
Alphonso the before-mentioned king of Castille, had, by arms, and
unjustly, taken from Sancho, the before-named king of Navarre,
certain castles, namely, Legiun, Portela, and the castle that Godin
holds, and the said other party, making no contradiction whatever
thereto, demanded with like urgency that restitution should be made
thereof to him. And further, it was stated in the letter written by
you in common that you had, giving your word for the same, concluded
a truce between you for a period of seven years, and the same was
witnessed openly in court by your envoys. Having therefore held
counsel with all due deliberation with our bishops, earls, and
barons, and considering that peace between you is necessary, both for
the propagation of the Christian faith and the confusion of the
enemies of Christ, and receiving a full assurance, both from your own
written declarations and the allegations of your envoys, that you
will pay obedience to our counsel and advice both in establishing and
preserving peace, before proceeding to pronounce our award as to the
above-written complaints and truces, we do command you by your
envoys, and do counsel and enjoin you, and in addition thereto, do,
by this present writing, command you, to establish peace between
yourselves, and faithfully for the future to observe the same. Now,
as to the complaints above-mentioned relative to the castles and
lands, with all the boundaries and appurtenances thereof, that have
on each side been by force and injustice taken from the other,
inasmuch as no answer was made by either side to the acts of violence
alleged on the other side, and no reason was alleged why the
restitution which they respectively demanded should not be made, we
do decree that full restitution shall be made to each party of the
places above-mentioned which have as of right been claimed. We do
also by our award enjoin that the truces between you before-named,
which, as already mentioned, have been ratified by you on your word,
as appears from your written documents, as also from the public
avowal made to us by your envoys upon trial, shall, until the time
therein agreed upon, be inviolably observed between you. We do will
also and command for the sake of peace, that king Alphonso, our
dearly beloved son, shall pay to Sancho, king of Navarre, his uncle,
every year for the space of ten years, three thousand marabotins*
such payments to be made at three periods in the year at the city of
Burgos, namely; the first payment of one thousand marabotins to be
made at the end of the first four months after the above-mentioned
restitution shall have been made, the second payment of one thousand
marabotins to be made at the end of the next succeeding four months,
and another payment of one thousand marabotins to be made at the end
of the next four months; the said payments so to be made that in each
of the ten years next ensuing after the said restitution, there shall
be paid to Sancho, king of Navarre, at the same periods and at the
above-named place, three thousand marabotins*.
* This was a gold coin of Spain, the exact value of which is now
unknown. The name has been suggested to have been derived from “butin
de Maranes”, ”the booty of the Moors”, as forming a
large proportion of the spoils of the Moors when repulsed in their
invasion of Spain.
Also, the envoys of each of you have, before pronouncing our judgment,
solemnly sworn that you will strictly observe our judgment aforesaid,
both as to the restitution as well as to the observance of the treaty
of peace ; and that in case you shall not do so, they will surrender
their persons into our hands and power. Witnesses hereto, Richard,
archbishop of Canterbury, Hugh, bishop of Durham, Geoffrey, bishop of
Ely, Roger, bishop of Worcester, Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter,
Gilbert, bishop of London, Walter, bishop of Rochester, Reginald,
bishop of Bath, John, bishop of Norwich, John, bishop of Chichester,
Robert, bishop of Hereford, the bishop of Saint David’s, Master
Ada, the bishop of Saint Asaph, the bishop of Bangor, Christian,
bishop of Whitherne, Geoffrey, carl of Brittany, son of the king,
William, earl of Aumarle, Robert, earl of Leicester, William de
Mandeville, earl of Essex, William, earl of Gloucester, William de
Arundel, earl of Sussex, Hugh, earl of Chester, and of the barons of
England, Richard de Lucy, William de Vesci, Henry de Lacy, Odonel de
Umfraville, Robert de Vals, Roger de Mowbray, Robert de Stuteville,
Philip de Kimbe, Roger Bigot, and many others, both clergy and
laity."
During
this council, the brother of the earl of Ferrers was slain by night
at London, and thrown out from his inn into the mud of the streets,
for which deed our lord the king took into custody many of the
citizens of London; among whom there was arrested a certain aged man
of high rank and great wealth whose name was John; he being unable to
prove his innocence by means of the judgment by water, offered our
lord the king fifty pounds of silver for the preservation of his
life. But inasmuch as he had been cast in the judgment by water, the
king refused to receive the money, and ordered him to be hanged on a
gibbet.
In
the same year Philip, earl of Flanders, in contravention of the oath
which he had made to the king of England, gave the eldest daughter of
his brother the earl of Boulogne in marriage to the duke de Saringes;
shortly afterwards, leaving the duke de Saringes, she married the
count de Saint Paul, and then leaving the count de Saint Paul,
married the count Reginald de Dammartin, who received with her the
earldom of Boulogne. The other daughter of the earl of Boulogne he
also gave in marriage to Henry, duke of Louvaine.
In
the same year the before-named earl of Flanders came over to England,
to hold a conference with the king of England, and, receiving from
him leave to go on the pilgrimage, he and William de Mandeville, earl
of Essex, and many barons and knights of various countries assumed
the sign of the cross, and set out for Jerusalem; where joining the
brethren of the Temple and the Hospitallers, and Raymond, prince of
Antioch, and nearly all the knights of the land of Jerusalem, they
laid siege to Harang, a fortified place of the pagans. Having stayed
a month before it while laying siege thereto, and having almost
undermined it, by the advice of the Templars they received a large
sum of money from the pagans, and so departed without accomplishing
their object. On the-day after their departure, a great part of the
castle which they had been besieging fell down, and on returning home
they found the money which they had received from the pagans to be
nothing but copper and brass.
In
the meantime, Saladin, king of Babylon, having united with him the
kings and princes of the pagans, with more than five hundred thousand
horse and foot entered the land of the Christians, and pitched his
tents not far from the holy city of Jerusalem. On hearing this, the
Templars, and Hospitallers, and knights of the king of Jerusalem, who
had remained for the protection of the city, went forth to meet the
pagans, together with the people of the city, who had taken up arms,
while the bishop of Bethlehem carried before
them the wood of the cross of our Lord. Making a bold attack upon the
pagans, they forced them to give way, and, Oh supreme bounty of the
Most High! the Christians, who were not in number more than ten
thousand fighting men, gained the victory over five hundred thousand
pagans, and that by the aid of the Most High. For it appeared in a
vision to the pagans as though the hosts of the armies of heaven were
descending by a ladder under the form of armed knights, and aiding
the Christians in the attack upon them. The pagans being unable to
endure their onset, were put to flight, on which, the Christians,
pursuing them, put them to the edge of the sword, and slew of them
more than a hundred thousand, and took a great number of prisoners.
But Saladin, by means of his coursers, made his escape; however, in
this battle he lost many of his nephews and kinsmen, and of the
principal men of his army.
In
addition to this, to the utter confusion of the pagans, and for the
establishment of the Christian faith, it appeared to the pagans that
the extremity of the wood of the cross of our Lord, which the bishop
of Bethlehem was carrying, reached up to heaven, and that its arms
were embracing the whole -world; at which being greatly alarmed, they
took to flight. The Christians, on gaining this glorious victory,
returned with joyousness to Jerusalem, and filled the land with the
spoils of the slain. This battle took place, to the praise and glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ, upon the plain of Ramah, in the year of
grace eleven hundred and seventy-seven, on the seventh day before the
calends of December, being the feast of Saint Catherine the Virgin
and Martyr. In the same year, the Christians fortified a very strong
castle in the kingdom of Saladin, at the Ford of Jacob, beyond the
river Jordan ; but Saladin took it by storm, and with it was taken
the grand Master of the Hospital at Jerusalem, who, being carried
into the territory of Saladin, died there of hunger.
In
the same year, our lord the king of England, the father, delivered to
William de Stuteville the custody of the castle of Rakesburt,
[Roxburgh] to Roger de Stuteville the custody of the castle of the
Maidens, [Edinburgh] to William de Neville the custody of the castle of Norham,
to Roger, archbishop of York, the custody of the castle of Scartheburg,
[Scarborough] to Geoffrey de Neville the custody of the castle of Berwick,
and to Roger de Conyers the custody of the fortress of Durham, which the
king had taken from Hugh, the bishop of Durham, because he had only
made a feint of serving him in the civil wars. In consequence of
this, the bishop gave him two thousand marks of silver to regain his
favour, on condition that his castles should be left standing, and
that the king should give to his son, Henry de Pudsey, his royal
manor of Wighton, with its appurtenances.
After
this, the king went to Oxford, and, holding a general council there,
created his son John king of Ireland, having a grant and confirmation
thereof from Alexander, the Supreme Pontiff. To this council there
also came, to meet the king, Rees, the son of Griffin, [Rhys ap
Griffyd] prince of South Wales, David, the son of Owen, prince of
North Wales, who had married the sister of the said king of England,
Cadewalan, prince of Delnain, Owen de Kevilian, Griffin de Brunfeld,
and Madoc, the son of Gervetrog, together with many other of the
noblemen of Wales, who all did homage to the king of England, the
father, and swore fealty to him against all men, and that they would
maintain peace with him and with his kingdom. At the same council,
also, our lord the king of England gave to the above-named Rees, the
son of Griffin, the land of Merioneth, and to David, the son of Owen,
the land of Ellesmere.
The
king also gave to Hugh de Lacy, as above-mentioned, the whole of
Meath, in Ireland, with its appurtenances, for the services of one
hundred knights, to hold the same of himself and his son John, and
confirmed the same to him by charter. He also there gave to Robert
Fitz-Stephen and Milo de Cogham the kingdom of Cork, for the services
of sixty knights, to hold the same of himself and of his son John,
with the exception of the city of Cork and one cantred, which our
lord the king reserved to himself and to his heirs. He also there
gave to Hubert Fitz-Hubert, and to William, the brothers of earl
Reginald, and to Jollan de la Primerai, their nephew, the kingdom of
Limerick, for the services of sixty knights, to hold the same of
himself and of his son John, with the exception of the city of
Limerick and one cantred, which our lord the king reserved to himself
and to his heirs.
Our
lord the king also gave to William Fitz-Aldelm, his seneschal, the
custody of the city of Wexford, with all its appurtenances, and
enacted that the places under-written should thenceforth be
appurtenant to the services of Wexford, namely, Arklow, with its
appurtenances, Glascarric, with its appurtenances, the lands of
Gilbert de Boisrohard, Ferneg Winal, with their appurtenances, Femes,
with its appurtenances, the whole of the lands of Hervey, between
Wexford and the waters of Waterford, the service of Raymond de Drune,
the service of Frodrevelan, the service of Utmorth de Leighlin, the
tenement, also, of Machtaloe, with its appurtenances, Leis, the lands
of Geoffrey de Constantin, with the whole of the appurtenances, and
the whole of the lands of Otveld.
Our
lord the king also there delivered into the custody of Robert le
Poer, his marshal, the city of Waterford, with all its appurtenances,
and enacted that the places under-written should thenceforth be
appurtenant to the services of Waterford, namely, the whole of the
land which lies between Waterford and the water beyond Lismore, and
the whole of the lands of Oiseric, with their appurtenances. The king
of England also there delivered the city of Dublin, with all its
appurtenances, into the charge of Hugh de Lacy, and enacted that all
the places under-written should thenceforth be appurtenant to the
service of Dublin: the whole of the lands of Ofellane, with their
appurtenances, Kildare, with its appurtenances, the whole of the
hands of Offalaia, with their appurtenances, Wicklow, with its
appurtenances, the service of Meath, and the service of four knights
due from Robert le Poer, by tenure of his castle of Dunavet.
After
our lord the king had, at Oxford, in manner aforesaid, divided the
lands of Ireland and their services, he made all the persons to whom
he had entrusted the custody thereof do homage to himself and to his
son John, and take the oaths of allegiance and fealty to them for
their lands in Ireland. Also, at the same council, our lord the king
gave to Richard, prior of Rikeby, [Revesby, in Lincolnshire?] the
abbey of Whitby, and to Benedict, prior of the church of the Holy
Trinity at Canterbury, the abbey of Burgh; on which Richard, the
archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated him abbot thereof.
In
the same year, the before-named Vivianus, cardinal priest and legate
of the Apostolic See, having completed the business of his legateship
in Ireland, came back to England, and, with the safe conduct of our
lord the king, returned to Scotland, and, holding a synod at the
castle of Edinburgh, suspended from the pontifical office, Christian,
bishop of Whitherne, because he had refused to come to the synod so
held by him; but the bishop of Whitherne did not take any notice of
the suspension, being protected by Roger, archbishop of York, whose
suffragan he was.
After
this, our lord the king came to Marlborough, where the king gave to
Philip de Braose all the kingdom of Limerick, for the service of
sixty knights, to hold of him and of his son John; for Hubert and
William, the brothers of Reginald, earl of Cornwall, and Joslan de la
Pumerai, their nephew, declined to accept the gift of that kingdom,
because it was not yet reduced into possession. For Monoderus, who
was the king of Limerick, and had done homage for it to the king of
England, having been slain by some of his courtiers, one of his
issue, a powerful and active man, invaded the kingdom of Limerick,
gained possession of it, and ruled it with a strong hand,
acknowledging no subjection to the king of England, and refusing to
obey his officers, because of their faithless conduct, and the evils
they had inflicted on the people of Ireland without their deserving
them. The king of Cork, also, and many other wealthy persons in
Ireland, rose in rebellion against the king of England and his
officers; and their last doings were still worse than their former
ones, as they fell to slaughtering one another.
In
this year, [1177] the relics of Saint Amphibalus and his companions
were discovered through a revelation from heaven, and were translated
to St. Albans, on the seventh day before the calends of July, being
Saturday. In the same year, queen Margaret, the wife of the king, the
son, being pregnant, went to her father, the king of France, and, on
arriving at Paris, was delivered of a still-born son. The Franks,
however, asserted that this son of the king was born alive and was
baptized, and named William. In the same year, on the thirteenth day
before the calends of July, it rained a shower of blood for two whole
hours, in the Isle of Wight, so much so that linen clothes which were
hung out upon the hedges were stained with this bloody rain, just as
though they had been dipped in blood.
In
this year, also, Martin, a canon-regular of the church of Bomigny,
clandestinely carried away the body of Saint Petroc, and, taking to
flight, carried it with him to the abbey of Saint Mevennes. On
discovering this, Roger, the prior of the church of Bomigny, with the
better-disposed portion of his chapter, went to the king of England,
the father, and wrought so effectually against him that, by his
precept, he commanded the abbey and community of Saint Mevennes,
without delay, to restore the body of Saint Petroc to Roger, the
prior of Bomigny; and, in case they should not do so, the king
ordered Roland de Dinant, the justiciary of Brittany, to take the
Saint’s body by force, and deliver it into the hands of the
abovenamed prior of Bomigny. On hearing this, the abbot and community
of Saint Mevennes, having care for the safety of their church, and
not daring to oppose the king’s wishes, restored the said body,
without any diminution thereof, to Roger, the prior of Bomigny,
making oath upon the Holy Evangelists, and upon the relics of the
saints, that they had restored the identical body, unchanged, and in
an entirely perfect state.
In
the same year, our lord the king of England, the father, restored to
Bartholomew, the bishop of Exeter, the chapelry of Boseham, [Bosham
in Sussex?] and made him chaplain thereof, Arnulph, the bishop of
Lisieux, to whom the king had unjustly given the said chapelry,
agreeing and consenting thereto. For the abovenamed bishop of
Lisieux, being led to repentance, gave to the before-mentioned bishop
of Exeter, and to his church, letters patent of his resignation of
the said chapelry of Boseham, renouncing the same for himself and his
successors for ever. Our lord the king, also, gave a charter of
surrender and confirmation of the chapelry of Boseham to the church
of Exeter, in presence of Richard, archbishop of Canterbury,
Geoffrey, bishop of Ely, John, bishop of Chichester, and numerous
other witnesses. In this year also, our lord the king gave permission
to the Jews in his dominions to have a burial-ground for each city of
England, without the walls of the said cities, wherever they could,
for a reasonable sum and in a convenient situation, purchase a place
for the burial of their dead. For, before this, all Jews who died
were carried to London to be buried.
In
the same year, by the Divine mercy, pope Alexander and Frederic,
emperor of the Romans, were reconciled at Venice, at the Rialto
there; the schism being thereby put an end to, which had now
continued in the Church of Rome for nearly eighteen years. At this
reconcilement there were present of the party of our lord the pope,
Hunbald, cardinal-bishop of Ostia, William de Pavia, cardinal-bishop
of Porto, Walter, cardinal-bishop of Albano, Conrad, cardinal-bishop
of Sabina, Manfred, cardinal-bishop of Palestrina. John of Naples,
cardinal-priest, Theodinus, cardinal-priest, Albert, cardinal-priest,
Peter de Bona, cardinal-priest, Bosus, cardinal-priest, Vivianus,
cardinal-priest, Herenbrand, cardinal-priest, Jacinto,
cardinal-deacon, Herdizum, cardinal-deacon, Chinche Chapel,
cardinal-deacon, Laborandus, cardinal-deacon, Hugezun,
cardinal-deacon, Reiner, cardinal-deacon, the archbishop of Vienna,
the archbishop of Bourges, the archbishop of Milan, the archbishop of
Ravenna, the archbishop of Salerno, and count Roger de Andre, on
behalf of the king of Sicily.
On
the side of Frederic, emperor of the Romans, there were present at
the above-mentioned reconciliation the persons undernamed: the
archbishop of Magdeburg, Philip, archbishop of Cologne, Christian,
archbishop of Mentz, the archbishop of Besancon, the archbishop of
Treves, the elector of Worms, the prothonotary of the emperor, count
Henry de Dice, the marquis Albert, and many others. These having all
assembled in the city of Venice, on the ninth day before the calends
of August, on the vigil of Saint James the Apostle, the abovenamed
emperor, as had been previously arranged and agreed upon, came to the
church of Saint Nicholas, which is one mile distant from Venice; and
there, both he and the archbishops, bishops, and other principal men
of the kingdom of Germany, renouncing their schism, rendered
themselves deserving to receive the benefits of absolution from the
bishops and cardinals whom our lord the pope had sent for the purpose
of absolving them.
After
this, they came to Venice, where, before the church of Saint Mark,
the before-named emperor humbly paid all
honor and reverence to our lord the pope as Supreme Pontiff, and,
receiving from him the kiss of peace, devoutly placed himself at his
right-hand, and, with great dutifulness, led him into the church as
far as the altar. On the succeeding day, it being the feast of Saint
James and the second day of the week, the before-named emperor came
to meet our lord the pope outside of the church of Saint Mark, and,
devoutly placing himself at his right hand, led him into the church,
and, the service of the mass having been there celebrated, then
conducted him to the door of the said church; and, while our lord the
pope was mounting his palfrey, the above-named emperor held for him
the stirrup, and showed him all the honor and reverence which his
ancestors had been in the habit of showing to the pope’s
predecessors.
At
this council, also, John, abbot of Struma, who had been styled pope
Calixtus, and was the third and last anti-pope of this schism, was
degraded, and was rejected and renounced by the emperor himself and
all his principal men, both ecclesiastics and seculars. In like
manner, all the archbishops, bishops, and abbats of the kingdom of
Germany who had been ordained either by him or by the other
anti-popes, his predecessors, namely, by Octavianus, who had been
styled pope Victor, or by Guido de Crema, who had been styled pope
Paschal, were degraded. The altars, also, which had been consecrated
by them, or by those ordained by them, were destroyed. At this
council, also, Conrad, the brother of the above-named emperor,
received from the hands of pope Alexander the archbishopric of
Sanceburg, [Saltzburg] together with the legateship of the whole
kingdom of Germany, to hold the same for life. Indeed, this Conrad,
when in the time of the schism he had been elected archbishop of
Mentz, refused to receive consecration from pope Octavianus, but,
preferring to live among Catholics in a state of poverty for the name
of Christ, rather than among schismatics be loaded with riches and
transitory blessings, came to pope Alexander at the city of Sens, by
whom being kindly received, he was made cardinal-bishop of Sabina ;
and Christian, chancellor of the emperor, succeeding him as
archbishop of Mentz, received the pall from Guido of Crema, which he
afterwards burned with his own hands, because he had received it of
him, and was absolved at Venice, at the Rialto, in the palace of the
Patriarch, before pope Alexander and the whole of the cardinals, and
receiving the pall from Alexander; continued to be archbishop of
Mentz.
The Letter of pope Alexander to Richard, archbishop of Canterbury,
and his suffragans, on the restoration of peace to the Church.
“Alexander,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brethren
Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, and his suffragans, and his
beloved sons the abbats appointed in the archbishopric of Canterbury,
and who especially belong to the Roman Church, health and the
Apostolic benediction. We do give to Almighty God exceeding praise
and thanks, who, though He has for so long permitted the ship of
Peter to be tossed by the stormy tempests of the sea, has now at
length given His orders to the winds and the waves, and a great calm
has ensued, insomuch that, the waves of the raging sea being
appeased, the said ship has been brought into the haven of rest and
of safety. For our most dearly beloved son in Christ, Frederic, the
illustrious emperor of the Romans, on a day recently past, being the
Lord’s day before the feast of Saint James, with great
devoutness came into our presence at Venice, attended by the
principal ecclesiastics and laymen of his realm, and there, before an
innumerable concourse of men and women, who repeated his praises with
the loudest acclamations, paid all reverence and honor to ourselves
as Supreme Pontiff; and on the feast of Saint James, as we were going
at his entreaty to the church of Saint Mark for the purpose of
celebrating the solemnity of the mass, he came to meet us, and after
the mass was finished, which, unworthy as we are, he reverently heard
performed by us, he paid us all the honor which his ancestors had
been accustomed to shew unto our predecessors. On the calends also of
the present month of August, the before-named emperor, in presence of
a numerous multitude of persons, caused oath to be made on his soul,
on which his chief men who were then present, both ecclesiastics as
well as laymen, the said oath being administered, did confirm the
same, to the effect that he would for ever keep intact and inviolate
the peace towards the Church, and for fifteen years towards our most
dearly beloved son in Christ, William, the illustrious king of
Sicily, and the truce with the Lombards from the aforesaid calends of
August for the space of six years in such manner as the said peace
and truce had been agreed upon, and arranged and reduced to writing.
Accordingly, in the same way that the said emperor has received us as
the Catholic pope and his spiritual father, so do we acknowledge him
as the Catholic emperor, and his wife as the Catholic empress, and
their son as the Catholic king. Wherefore give thanks to our Creator
who in His compassion has looked upon His spouse the Holy Church, and
has in the fullness of His grace, after the many persecutions by
which she has been grievously oppressed and crushed, restored peace
and quietness to her. Given at Venice, at the Rialto, on the eighth
day before the ides of August.”
The Letter of pope Alexander to Roger, archbishop of York, and Hugh,
bishop of Durham, on the peace made between himself and the emperor.
“Alexander,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable
brethren, Roger, archbishop of York, and legate of the Apostolic See,
and Hugh, bishop of Durham, health and the Apostolic benediction. The
obedience you have manifested in your most pleasing devotedness, and
which you are known to have displayed both duteously and laudably
towards ourselves and the Church, require that to you, as especial
and duteous spiritual sons of the Church, we should describe the
successes of the Church, inasmuch as it is worthy and becoming and
right that those whom we have found so firmly rooted and established
in duty towards us, we should render joyous and pleased at our
welfare and that of the Church. Therefore, together with ourselves,
give thanks to Almighty God who dwells on high, and who from above
looks down upon the lowly, by whose bounty it has come to pass that
His spouse the holy Church, after being long and grievously tossed by
stormy waves and most mighty tempests, has now at length reached the
haven of safety ; and, the raging storms appeased, enjoys the
tranquillity her due, and so much longed for by her. For, on the
twelfth day before the calends of the present month of August, by
command of our most dearly beloved son in Christ Frederic, the
illustrious emperor of the Romans, the son of the marquis Albert, a
man of noble rank, great and powerful, and chamberlain of the emperor
himself, in presence of the principal ecclesiastics and laymen of the
kingdom of Germany, publicly made oath upon his soul, while touching
the holy Evangelists, in our presence and before an innumerable
concourse of persons, to the effect that after the said emperor had
come to Venice, all questions and disputes being set at rest, he
would make peace with the Church as the same had been arranged and
agreed upon by our brethren and his principal men, and peace with our
most dearly beloved son in Christ William, the illustrious king of
Sicily, for fifteen years, and a truce with the Lombards for the
space of six years, to be ratified by oath upon his soul, as also by
his principal men, according to the contents of the charter
containing the said treaties of peace and truce. Also, the chief men
of the kingdom of Germany, namely, our venerable brethren the
archbishops of Magdeburg and Cologne, and Christian, the so-called
archbishop of Mentz, and certain others, then made oath for
themselves upon their souls to the same effect. On the ninth day
before the calends of August the before-named emperor, as had been
arranged and agreed upon, came to the church of Saint Nicholas, which
is one mile distant from Venice, where, both he, as also the
archbishops, bishops, and other principal men of Germany, renouncing
their schism, were thereby rendered deserving of the benefit of
absolution at the hands of our brethren the bishops and cardinals at
our command, certain other persons being there present. After this,
they came to Venice, and there before the church of Saint Mark the
before-named emperor, in the presence of an innumerable concourse of
men and women, who returned thanks and rendered praises with the
loudest acclamations, humbly and reverently paid obedience and
respect to ourselves as Supreme Pontiff; and having received from us
the kiss of peace dutifully took his place at our right hand, and
with the respect and devotedness which was our due, led us into the
church as far as the altar. On the following day, being the feast of
Saint James, at the request of the said emperor, we came to the
aforesaid church of Saint Mark to perform the solemnity of the mass,
and on our arriving there the before-named emperor came forth from
the church to meet us, and having dutifully taken his place at our
right hand, led us into the church, and after the celebration of the
mass, walked at our right hand to the door of the said church, and
when we mounted our palfrey which was there ready, held our stirrup
and showed us all the honor and respect which his ancestors had been
accustomed to show to our predecessors. It will, therefore, be your
anxiety to congratulate ourselves and the Church upon our prosperity
and success, and to impart the effects of peace to the other devoted
sons of the Church, in order that those who are influenced by zeal
for the house of the Lord may rejoice and exult in the Lord for the
gift of peace sent unto them from above. Given at Venice, at the
Rialto, on the seventh day before the calends of August.”
In the same year, Peter, cardinal priest, titular of Saint
Chrysogonus, and legate from the Apostolic See, formerly bishop elect
of the see of Meaux, came into France and received a mandate from pope
Alexander, that the whole of Normandy and all the lands of the king
of England on both sides of the sea should be placed under interdict,
unless he should allow his son Richard, earl of Poitou, to marry
Alice, the daughter of Louis, king of France, whom the king of
England had for a long time, and beyond the period that had been
agreed upon between them, kept in his charge. When this was
understood by the king of England, he appealed to the presence of our
lord the pope, in his own behalf and that of his territories, and
shortly after crossed over from England to Normandy, where a
conference was held between him and the king of France at Ivery, on
the eleventh day before the calends of October, in the presence of
the before-named cardinal and the chief men of both kingdoms.
Here
the king of England the father, by his people, plighted his faith and
caused oath to be made on his soul, that his son Richard, earl of
Poitou, should be married to the before-named Alice, if the king of
France, the father of the young lady, would give to the before-named
Richard, earl of Poitou, the city of Bourges with its appurtenances
as his daughter’s marriage portion, according to the terms of
the covenant that had been made thereon between them, and would give
to his son king Henry the whole of the French portion of Veuilgesin, *
namely, the whole of the land that lies between Gisors and Pontoise,
which he had promised that he would give him as a marriage portion
with his daughter. But as the king of France declined to give them
up, the king of England would not allow his son Richard to marry the
before-named Alice. Nevertheless, at the said interview, by the
advice of the cardinal and the chief men of both kingdoms, friendship
and a final reconciliation were made between the king of France and
the king of England upon the following terms :—
*
Now the Vexin.
“Know
all men, both present as well as to come, that I Louis, by the grace
of God king of the Franks, and I Henry, by the like grace king of
England, wish it to be understood by all men, both present and to
come, that we, by the inspiration of God, have promised and made oath
that we will go together, in the service of Christianity, and
assuming the cross will depart for Jerusalem, in manner contained in
the instrument made between us as to assuming the cross. We do also
will that all should know that we now are and henceforth wish to be
friends, and that each of us will, to the best of his power, defend
life and limb for the other, and his worldly honours against all men.
And if any person shall presume to do injury to either of us, I
Henry, to the best of my power, will aid Louis, king of France, my
liege lord, against all men; and I Louis will, to the best of my
power, aid Henry, king of England, as my vassal and liegeman, against
all men; saving always that faith which we owe to our liegemen so
long as they shall preserve their fealty to ourselves. And from
henceforth neither of us will harbour any enemy of the other in his
dominions, from the time that delivery of him shall have been
demanded. And to the end that henceforth all matter of discord
between us may be removed, we do mutually agree that as to the lands
and possessions and other things which each of us now possesses, the
one shall from this time forward make no demand thereof against the
other, (except Auvergne, as to which the dispute arose between us,
and except the fee of Chateau Raoul, and except some small fees and
allotments of lands belonging to us in Berry,) in case our vassals
should take any portion thereof the one from the other or in
opposition to either of us. And if, as to the places which are above
excepted, we shall not be able of ourselves to come to an agreement,
then I Louis, king of the Franks, have chosen three bishops, those of
Claremont, Mvernois and Treguier, and three barons, count Theobald,
count Robert, and Peter de Courteney, my brethren, and I Henry, king
of England, have chosen three bishops, William, bishop of Le Mans,
Peter, bishop of Perigord, and Robert, bishop of Nantes, and three
barons, Maurice de Croume, William Maingot, and Peter de Montrabell,
on my side. And the bishops before-named, shall upon the word of
truth assert, and the laymen shall make oath, that they will
diligently make inquisition into the allegations made on either side,
both through themselves and through the oaths of the men of those
districts, and that whatever they shall learn as to the rights of
each of us, the same they will pronounce between us, and we will in
good faith strictly abide by their decision. But if all those bishops
whom I Louis have chosen, shall not be able to be present,
nevertheless we will abide by the decision of such two as shall be
present. And if all the barons who have been named on my side shall
not be present, for all that we will not do otherwise than abide by
the decision of the other two who shall be present. And in like
manner it shall be as to those whom I king Henry have chosen, both
bishops as well as barons. We have also made oath that we will do no
injury to them because the}’ shall have said the truth as to
the said matters. And if perchance, which God forbid, any dispute
shall hereafter arise between us as to our dominions, the same shall
without delay be settled by the same persons in good faith and
without evil intent. But if any one of the aforesaid persons shall in
the meantime chance to die, then another one shall be substituted in
his place. And if either of us, before assuming the cross, shall wish
to depart at an earlier period upon the journey, the other who shall
remain, shall faithfully protect and defend the territories and
subjects of him who shall have gone abroad, as though they were his
own and part of his own dominions. And after we shall have, by the
will of God, assumed the cross, we will cause our men who shall be
with us to make oath that, if either of us, which God forbid, shall
die upon the road, then in such case they will faithfully serve him
who shall be surviving, as they would have served their lord if he
had been living, so long as they shall think proper to remain in the
land of Jerusalem. The money of the deceased the survivor shall keep,
to perform the due services to Christianity, with the exception of
that portion which, before setting out, the deceased shall have
ordered to be given to certain places and certain persons. And if
either of us shall depart this life, we will appoint, if God shall
indulge us with time sufficient, certain of our trustworthy and
faithful subjects, to whom shall be entrusted the money of each of us
for the performance of the due services to Christianity, and who
shall lead and govern our men. Also, on assuming the cross, before we
set out on the expedition, we will cause those whom we shall appoint
as guardians and governors of our dominions, to make oath that they
will, in good faith and to the best of their power, if need shall be,
assist in defending the lands of each of us, whenever the same shall
be demanded in behalf of the other; that is to say, that they whom I
Henry, king of England, shall appoint to govern my dominions, shall
to the utmost of their power assist in defending the lands of Louis,
king of France, my liege lord, in the same manner in which they would
defend my own lands, in case my city of Rouen were besieged; and in
like manner that those whom I Louis, king of France, shall appoint to
govern my dominions, shall, to the utmost of their power, assist in
defending the lands of Henry, king of England, just as they would
defend my own lands if my city of Paris were besieged. I do also will
that merchants and all other men of his dominions, both clergy as
well as laity, shall, with all their property, be secure, and enjoy
peace in all my territories. And I Henry, king of England, do in like
manner will that merchants and all other men, both clergy as well as
laity, of the dominions of the king of France, my liege lord, shall,
with all their property, be secure and enjoy peace in all my
territories. The above-written we have engaged strictly to observe,
and have sworn the same in the presence of the venerable Peter,
cardinal priest, titular of Saint Chrysogonus, legate of the
Apostolic See, and in the presence of Richard, bishop of Winchester,
John, bishop of Chartres, Henry, bishop of Bayeux, Froger, bishop of
Seez, Grilles, bishop of Evreux, Henry, king of England, the son,
earl Theobald, earl Robert, Peter de Courtrai, Simon, earl of Evreux,
William de Humezt, and many others, both clergy and laity."
After
the conference was concluded, Henry, king of England, the father,
came to Vernueil, and there, in order to gain the Divine favour, and
moved by the entreaties of the good men of Grammont,* he enacted, in
presence of Richard, bishop of Winchester, Henry, bishop of Bayeux,
Gilles, bishop of Evreux, Froger, bishop of Seez, Simon, earl of
Evreux, Robert, earl of Leicester, and many other earls and barons of
his realm, that no one should for the debt of the superior lord
presume to take the property of the vassal, unless the vassal should
owe to him the same debt, or be security for the same ; but that the
rents which the vassals are bound to pay to their superior lords, are
to be paid to the creditors of their lords, and not to the lords
themselves. The rest, however, of the property of the vassals was to
remain their own and in peace, and it should be lawful for no one to
seize them for the debts of their superior lords. This statute and
custom the king enacted, and ordered to be observed in all his vills
and everywhere throughout his realm; namely, in Normandy, Aquitaine,
Anjou, Maine, Touraine, and Brittany, as being universal and
established. And in order that the said statute might be strictly
observed and held as ratified, he ordered it to be committed to
writing and confirmed by the authority of his own seal.
* An abbey not far from Limoges.
In the same year, [1177] on the fifth day before the calends of October,
being the third day of the week, Geoffrey, nephew of Roger,
archbishop of York, prior of Beverley, and chancellor to the king of
England, the son, master Robert le Grand, and many others, in number
three hundred men and women, passing over in one and the same ship
from England to Normandy, perished at sea near Saint Valery, on the
coast of Ponthieu. Shortly after, our lord, the king of England, the
father, entering Berry with a large army, captured Chateau Raoul; and
when he was marching thence toward Castres, the lord of that town
came and met him on the road, and delivered up to him the daughter of
Raoul de Dol, whom the king gave to Baldwin de Rivers, together with
the honor of Chateau Raoul.
After
this, our lord, the king of England, the father, proceeded to
Grammont, and Audebert, earl of March, came to meet him there, and in
presence of the archbishop of Bourdeaux, John, bishop of Poitiers,
and many other persons, both clergy and laity, sold to the
before-named king of England the whole earldom of March for fifteen
thousand pounds Anjouin, twenty mules, and twenty palfreys, and by
his charter confirmed the same.
The
Charter of Audebert, earl of March, made on the sale of his earldom
to Henry, king of England, the father
“Be
it known to all present, as well as to come, that I, Audebert, earl
of March, having lost my son, who was my sole heir, and being thereby
left to the inclination of my own will, have, inasmuch as I have made
a vow to devote myself for ever hereafter to the service of God, made
sale of the whole of my lands, and whatever belonged to me by
hereditary right, to my lord Henry, the illustrious king of the
English, no one making objection to the same, (indeed there being no
one whatever who could of right object thereto,) for fifteen thousand
pounds of money, Anjouin, paid down to me in full at Grammont, twenty
mules, and twenty palfreys. And further, I have by my corporal oath,
administered by the hands of William, archbishop of Bourdeaux, given
security that I will guarantee to my lord the king, and to his heir,
the earl of Poitou, or to whomsoever he shall give the same, the
aforesaid lands, in good faith and without evil intent, against all
men, and that, during the whole of my life, I will do nothing either
by contracting marriage or in any other way, to prevent the aforesaid
sale from remaining inviolate. And to the end that this my sale so
solemnly made, may not possibly, by any malignity hereafter, be
rendered null and void, I have fortified the same with my seal. Done
publicly in the year from the Incarnation of our Lord 1177, in the
month of December, at Grammont, in presence of the archbishop of
Bourdeaux, John, bishop of Poitou, and many others.”
After
these matters were transacted at Grammont, our lord, the king of
England, the father, received homage and the oaths of fealty and
allegiance from the barons and knights of the earldom of March, and
Audebert, the said earl of March, departed thence with the
above-mentioned sum of money which had. been paid him by the king of
England.
In
the same year, a great flood took place in Holland, the embankments
against the sea being burst asunder, and washed away nearly the whole
of the property in that province, and drowned multitudes of people;
this took place on the seventh day before the ides of January.
In
the meantime, the abbot elect of the church of Saint
Augustin, at Canterbury, often and earnestly, both personally and by
other worthy men, as his mediators, entreated Richard, archbishop of
Canterbury, to come to the church of Saint Augustin, to consecrate
him as abbot thereof, to which the archbishop made answer that it was
not his duty to go thither to consecrate him, but rather that he
ought to come to the metropolitan church of Canterbury, for the
purpose of receiving his benediction. In consequence of this dispute,
the beforenamed abbot elect appealed to the presence of our lord the
pope, and setting out for Rome, obtained letters from Alexander, the
Supreme Pontiff, to the following effect:
Letter
of pope Alexander on behalf of the abbot elect of the church of Saint
Augustin, at Canterbury
“Alexander,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother
Roger, bishop of Worcester, health and the Apostolic benediction.
Whereas we did some time since give our commands to our venerable
brother Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, legate of the Apostolic
See, no longer to defer bestowing the gift of consecration upon our
dearly beloved son, the abbot elect of the church of Saint Augustin,
in his monastery, which, without any intermediate person, belongs
directly to the jurisdiction of the Church of Rome, and inasmuch as
the archbishop refused to perform our commands, we might of right
have bestowed consecration upon the said abbot elect, either
ourselves or through another, who would not prove so ready to oppose
our wishes. Being desirous, however, more fully to make trial in him
of the virtue of obedience, after a long discussion which the said
archbishop has had in our presence, by means of his envoys with the
abbot elect, on the disputed point as to the consecration, the same
has, by the common consent of our brethren, by their definite
judgment, been thus decided; that the archbishop of Canterbury must,
without exacting obedience from him, and all opposition laid aside,
consecrate both him and his successors in the monastery of Saint
Augustin. We have accordingly, in conformity with the customary and
abundant considerateness of the Apostolic See, thought proper to send
back the said abbot elect to the aforesaid archbishop, to receive
from him the gift of consecration. Considering, therefore, the
labours and expenses which the said monastery has now for a long time
incurred upon this point, we do command your brotherhood,
by our precept in this our Apostolic writing conveyed, and do by
virtue of your obedience enjoin you, that, if the said archbishop
shall delay to consecrate the said abbot elect, as directed by us,
within the period by our letters appointed, then, relying on our
authorization, all excuses, opposition, and appeal set aside, as soon
as you shall be called upon so to do, no decree, either of ourselves
or of another, by which it is ordered that the same shall be
submitted to appeal, and no letters that have been, or shall be
obtained from us withstanding, and no exception whatsoever thereto
holding good, you shall, without curtailment or delay, fulfil our
commands. Given at the Lateran, on the fifteenth day before the
calends of May.”
When the before-named archbishop of Canterbury heard of this,
he determined to go to the monastery of Saint Augustin for the purpose
of consecrating the said abbot elect, according to the tenor of the
mandate of the Apostolic See. Accordingly, on a certain day on which
the said abbot elect was travelling in another province upon the
business of his house, the archbishop came with a considerable
retinue of his clergy and laity to the monastery of Saint Augustin,
asserting that he had come thither for the purpose of consecrating
the said abbot elect, and on not finding him, appealed to our lord
the pope on behalf of himself and the dignity of his church. In
consequence of this, the abbot elect went to Rome, and received the
gift of benediction from pope Alexander.
1178 A.D.
In the year of grace 1178, which was the twenty-fourth year of
the reign of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said Henry was at the
city of Anjou, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord. In this year,
the king of England; the father, desired exceedingly to return to
England, and sending messengers to Louis, king of the Franks,
obtained from him letters of protection to the following effect:—
“Louis, king of the Franks, to all to whom this present
letter shall come, greeting. Know all of you that we have taken into our charge
all the lands of Henry, king of England, our most dearly beloved brother,
that lie on this side of the sea, in case he shall happen to cross
over into England or go abroad, upon the understanding that when his
deputies from the lands beyond sea shall call upon us so to do, we
will with good faith and without evil intent give them counsel and
help for the defence and protection of the said lands. Given at
Vincennes.”
In the meantime the Arian heresy which, as previously mentioned,
had been condemned in the province of Toulouse, had revived; and this
coming to the ears of the king of France and the king of England,
inflamed by zeal for the Christian faith, they determined personally
to go thither, in order that they might entirely drive the
before-named heretics from those parts. However, after a short time
had intervened, it seemed to them that it might be more effectual if
they sent thither wise men to convert the heretics to the Christian
faith by their preaching and learning, than if they themselves were
to hasten thither in person. For they were reminded of the words,
“‘Tis enough to have commanded vengeance; more will the
dread of your name effect than your sword; your presence diminishes
your fame.”
They therefore sent thither Peter, cardinal priest, titular
of Saint Chrysogonus, and legate of the Apostolic See, the archbishops of
Bourges and Narbonne, Reginald, bishop of Bath, John, bishop of
Poitou, Henry, abbot of Clairval, and many other ecclesiastics, in
order that by their preaching they might convert the said heretics to
the Christian faith, or on reasonable grounds prove them to be
heretics, and separate them from the threshold of holy mother Church
and from communion with the faithful. In addition to this, the
before-named kings chose Haymond, count of Toulouse, the viscount of
Touraine, Raymond of Neufchatel, and other influential men, and
ordered them to act as assessors to the above-named cardinal and his
associates in the faith of Christ, and to expel the said heretics
from those parts by the power of their might.
Accordingly, when the before-named cardinal and the other Catholic
persons had entered Toulouse, they found there a certain wealthy man, who
possessed two castles, one within the city and the other without the
walls of the city, who, before their coming, had confessed himself to
be a sectary of the heretical corruption; but now, moved by terror,
and desiring to screen this execrable sect, made pretence that he was
a Christian. When the cardinal came to know this, he ordered the said
wealthy person to be brought before him; on whose coming for the
purpose of making confession of his faith, he was found to be in
every article an antagonist of the Christian religion.
Accordingly, he was pronounced by the aforesaid cardinal and the
bishops who were with him a manifest heretic, and condemned; and they gave orders
that his property should be confiscated, and that the castles which he
possessed, lofty and of great beauty, should be levelled with the
ground. Upon seeing himself thus condemned, and his property
confiscated, he came to the cardinal and the bishops, his associates,
and prostrating himself at their feet, asked pardon, and, penance
being enjoined him, was led naked and scourged through the streets
and lanes of the city. After this, he swore that he would go to
Jerusalem, and remain there three years in the service of God, and if
after the said three years he should return home, his possessions
were to be restored to him, on condition, however, that his castles
should be levelled, in testimony of his heretical depravity; he was
also to give to the count of Toulouse five hundred pounds of silver.
On these things taking place, many of the heretics, fearing lest
they might be dealt with in a similar manner, came to the cardinal and his
associates, and secretly confessing their errors and asking pardon,
obtained mercy. In the meanwhile, it came to their ears, that certain
false brethren, namely, Raymond, Bernard, the son of Raymond, and
certain other heresiarchs, transforming themselves into angels of
light, while they were those of Satan, and preaching what was
contrary to the Christian faith, led astray the minds of many by
their false preaching, and had dragged them with themselves to hell.
These being summoned to come into the presence of the cardinal and
his associates, for the purpose of making confession of their faith,
made answer that they would come before them if they should have a
safe conduct in going and returning.
A safe conduct, in going and returning, being accordingly
given to them, they came before the above-named cardinal, and the bishops,
barons, clergy and people who were present, and produced before them
a certain paper in which they had written down the articles of their
faith. On their reading this at length, there seemed to be in it
certain expressions of a suspicious nature, which, unless more fully
expressed, might possibly conceal the heresy they had preached. When
one of them attempted to explain the articles so written, and to
speak in Latin, he was barely able to connect two words, being utterly ignorant
of the Latin language. Upon this, it was necessary for the cardinal and the bishops
to bring themselves more on a level with them, and, in consequence of their
ignorance, to use the vulgar tongue. Accordingly, on being examined
as to the articles of the Christian faith, they made answer as to all
the articles of the faith as soundly and as circumspectly as if they
had been most sincere Christians.
Upon the count of Toulouse and others, who had formerly heard
them preach what was contrary to the Christian faith, hearing this statement
from them, being struck with the greatest astonishment and inflamed with
zeal for the Christian faith, they arose and most clearly convicted
them to their faces of having lied; saying that they had heard from
some of them that there were two Gods, the one good, and the other
bad, the good one having made only things invisible, and which cannot
be changed or corrupted, the bad one the heavens, the earth, man and
the other things visible. Others again affirmed that they had heard
at their preaching, that the body of Christ was not made by the
ministration of a priest who was unworthy, or who had been convicted
of any crime. Others also stated that they had heard them say, in
their preaching, that a man and his wife could not be saved if the
conjugal debt was satisfied. Others again said that they had heard
from them that baptism was of no use to infants, and the utterance of
numerous other blasphemies against God and the holy Church and the
Catholic faith, which, by reason of their abominable enormity, it is
better to be silent upon than to disclose.
The heretics, however, contradicted these matters, and said that
they had given false testimony against them. For they said publicly, in
presence of the before-named cardinal and bishops, and all the people
there present, and made confession, and stoutly asserted, that there
is but one God most high, who has made all things visible and
invisible, and entirely denied that there were two first principles
of things. They also confessed that the priest, whether good or bad,
whether just or unjust, and whether such a character that they knew
him beyond doubt to be an adulterer or criminal in other respects,
was able to make the body and blood of Christ, and that, through the
ministration of a priest of this character, and by virtue of the
Divine words which were pronounced by the Lord, the bread and wine were really
changed in substance into the body and blood of Christ. They also asserted that
infants or adults baptized with our baptism are saved, and that without the said
baptism no one can be saved, together denying that they used any
other kind of baptism or imposition of hands, as had been imputed to
them. In addition to this, they declared their belief, that a man and
woman united in marriage, in case no other sin prevented it, would be
saved, even though they should carnally satisfy the conjugal debt,
being excused by virtue of their marriage, and that by reason thereof
they are not damned.
They affirmed also, that archbishops, bishops, priests, monks,
canons, hermits, recluses, Templars, and Hospitallers, would be saved. They
also said, that it was becoming and proper that those who entered
churches founded in honor of God and of the Saints, should approach
them with the greatest devoutness, and, showing to their priests and
other ministers honor and respect, should as a matter of duty pay
them their first fruits and tithes, and make answer dutifully and
faithfully on all parochial matters. They also laudably asserted,
among other things, that alms ought to be given both to churches and
to the poor, and indeed to every one who sought them.
Although they were said to have previously denied all these points,
still they asserted that they did, according to a sound understanding,
understand the same; on which the before-named cardinal and bishops
ordered that they should swear that they believed in their hearts as
they had confessed with their lips. But they, like men of distorted
minds and crooked intentions, were at length unwilling to abandon
their heresy, where any semblance of authority seemed to aid their
crass and drowsy intellects, using as an excuse the words which the
Lord is mentioned in the Gospel as having used; “Swear not at
all, but let your words be yea, yea, nay, nay,” and asserting
that they ought not to swear; whereas the Lord Himself is often read
of as having sworn, as it is written; “The Lord hath sworn and
will not repent;” “and again, the Lord says, “I
have sworn by myself.” The Apostle also says, “An oath
for confirmation is the end of all strife.” But they, like
idiots, not understanding the Scriptures, fell into the snare which
they had concealed, for whereas they at first abhorred an oath as
being an execrable thing and forbidden by the Lord, they were, by the
paper of their confession, convicted of having sworn as they had
said, “We do believe in the truth, which is God, and do say
that this is our belief;” not being aware that to adduce the
truth and the word of God in testimony of the truth of their
assertion, is beyond a doubt taking an oath; as we read of the
Apostle, when he says, “For this we say unto you by the word of
the Lord,” and again, “God is my witness;” and as
other passages of a like nature prove, which can be easily found by
those who understand, and have read, the Holy Scriptures.
When, therefore, they had been convicted by many and competent
witnesses, and many persons were still preparing to bear witness against them,
because the Church is not wont to deny the bosom of mercy to those
who return thereto, they carefully warned them, laying aside all
heretical corruptions, to return to the unity of the faith. They also
advised them, as they had been excommunicated by our lord the pope,
and the before-named cardinal, and the archbishops of Bourges and
Narbonne, and the bishop of Toulouse, on account of their perverse
preaching and schism, to come to be reconciled to the Catholic faith,
according to the forms prescribed by the Church. This, however, being
warped into tortuous ways and hardened by abandoned habits, they
refused to do, on which the said cardinal, and the above-mentioned
bishops, together with the before-named bishop of Poitiers, and the
other religious men who had assisted them throughout, in the sight of
the whole people, with lighted candles* again denounced them as
excommunicated, and condemned them, together with their prompter, the
devil, and gave orders to all the faithful in Christ, thenceforth
cautiously to avoid the before-named Raymond and Bernard, and their
accomplices, as persons excommunicated, and handed over to Satan; and
that if at any time in future they should preach to them any thing
else than what they had confessed in their hearing, they should
reject their preaching as false, and contrary to the Catholic and
Apostolic faith, and drive them as heretics and forerunners of
Antichrist to a distance from their territories. Moreover, the count
of Toulouse, and the other more influential men of the province, in
presence of all the people, gave assurance on oath, that from that
time forward they would neither, for entreaty nor for money, support
the heretics.
* A solemn mode of excommunication, in which, at the moment of
sentence being pronounced, the candles were extinguished.
Accordingly, the before-named cardinal wrote to all the sons of holy
mother Church, to the following effect:
The Letter of Peter, titular of Saint Chrysogonus, cardinal priest, and
legate of the Apostolic See.
“Peter, by the grace of God, titular of Saint Chrysogonus,
cardinal priest, and legate of the Apostolic See, to all the sons of holy mother
Church, who preserve the Catholic and Apostolic faith, health in the
Lord. The Apostle bears witness that as there is but one God, so is
there known to be but one faith, from the soundness whereof no one
can possibly without peril wander astray. The foundations thereof,
than which no one can possibly lay any other, the Apostles and the
Apostolic men their successors, have, by the inspiration and teaching
of the Holy Ghost, so firmly and so circumspectly laid with sound
doctrines, as though with natural stones, that neither the blasts of
the roaring north wind, nor the engines of the impious, even with
repeated assaults, can overthrow them, or in any way move them from
the firmness of their position. Consequently, although in these days
certain false brethren, namely, Raymond de Baimiac, and Bernard, the
son of Raymond, and certain other heresiarchs, transforming
themselves into angels of lights, whereas they are those of Satan,
for some time past preaching what is contrary to the Christian and
Apostolic faith, have, by their poisonous doctrines, deceived the
souls of many, and dragged them with themselves to perdition ; more
recently, however, He who unveils mysteries, and who gave His spirit
to Daniel to confound the elders of Israel, having respect for the
souls deceived by the guiles of the devil, has been unwilling that
their perfidiousness should be any longer hidden, or that the purity
of the Christian doctrines should by their preaching be corrupted;
and by His wonderful power, many hearing and seeing the same, has
revealed the venom of their perfidiousness which had been previously
concealed, to the increase and glory of the Christian faith. For
lately, the aforesaid Raymond and Bernard and others met our reverend
brother Reginald, bishop of Bath, and the noble men the viscount of
Touraine, and Raymond of Neufchatel, who by our advice had come to
the territory of Roger de Bediers, for the purpose of obtaining the
liberation of our venerable brother the bishop of Alby, and asserted
that they were unjustly treated by the noble man the count of
Toulouse and other barons who had for ever abjured them; on which
occasion, on their proposing to come into our presence for the
defence of their faith if they could have a safe conduct in coming
and returning, the said bishop and viscount, fearing lest this
stumbling-block might not be revealed to the hearts of the simple,
who were imbued with their abominations, and lest they might ascribe
it to our distrustfulness if a hearing were refused them, on our
behalf and that of the before-named count, granted them the said
indulgence, in order that in full security they might present
themselves before us, that in the hearing of ourselves and our
venerable brother the bishop of Poitiers, the legate of the Apostolic
See, and of other discreet men, and of the whole people, they might
be examined, and, if their belief were sound and proper, be approved
of by us ; and in order that, after being examined by us, they might
still return in security to their homes, that so they might not
appear to have been induced by any fear or violence to make
confession of the true faith; but however, upon the understanding
that if within eight days from the time that our edict had gone
forth, they should not have returned to the true faith, they were to
be expelled from the territories of the noble men who had abjured
them. We therefore thought proper to ratify the indulgence so granted
them by the bishop and viscount; although, as we have mentioned, an
edict had already gone forth from the aforesaid count of Toulouse and
other noble men, that they should be expelled from their territories;
and, the said bishop of Poitiers and the before-named count of
Toulouse, and other clergy and laymen, about three hundred in number,
being assembled with us in the church of Saint Stephen, we enjoined
them to explain to us their belief, and, returning to the truth of
the Catholic faith, by a healthful confession of the true faith, to
remove the infamy which both the whole land and they themselves had
by their damnable doctrines incurred. On this, during the
conversation that ensued on both sides, they produced a certain paper
in which they had written out the articles of their faith, and read
it at length just as written. On our detecting in it some expressions
which seemed to be of a suspicious nature, and which might, unless
more fully explained, conceal the heresy which they had preached, we
requested them to answer and defend their faith in the Latin tongue;
both because their language was not sufficiently understood by us,
and because the Gospels and Epistles, on which alone they were
willing to ground their belief, are known to be written* in the Latin
tongue.
* He alludes to the Latin translation in the Vulgate.
When they found that they could not venture to do this, being
entirely ignorant of the Latin language, as appeared by the words of one of
them, who, when he attempted to speak in Latin, was hardly able to
join two words, and entirely failed; it became necessary for us to
stoop to their level, and, absurd as it was, by reason of their
ignorance to discourse in the vulgar tongue about the Sacraments of
the Church. On this, making denial that there were two first
principles of things, they publicly, in the presence of ourselves and
the before-named persons, made confession and stoutly asserted that
there is one God most high, who has made all things, visible and
invisible, which they also proved to be true by the writings of the
Evangelists and Apostles. They also confessed that our priest,
whether good or bad, just or unjust, and whether even of such a
character that they knew him, beyond doubt, to be an adulterer, or
guilty of any other crime, was able to make the body and blood of
Christ, and that through the ministration of such a priest, and by
virtue of the Divine words, which were pronounced by the Lord, the
bread and wine were truly changed in substance into the body and
blood of Christ. They also asserted that infants or adults when
baptized with our baptism are saved, and that without the said
baptism no one can be saved, utterly denying that they had any other
baptism or imposition of hands, as was imputed to them. They further
asserted their belief that a man and woman united in marriage, in
case no other sin prevented it, would be saved although they should
satisfy the conjugal debt, being excused by virtue of their marriage,
and that by reason thereof they are not damned. They affirmed also
that archbishops, bishops, priests, monks, canons, recluses,
Templars, and Hospitallers would be saved. They also said that it was
becoming and proper, that those who entered churches founded in honor
of God and of the Saints, should approach them with the greatest
devoutness, and, showing to the priests and other ministers honor
and respect, should dutifully pay them their first fruits and tithes,
and make answer dutifully and faithfully on all parochial matters.
They also laudably asserted, among other things, that alms ought to
be given both to the churches and to the poor, and indeed to every
one who sought them. Although they were said to have previously
denied all these points, still they asserted that they did, according
to our sound understanding, understand the same.
After they had been thus examined by us, and had of their own
accord made the confessions already mentioned, we entered the church of
Saint James; where, together with ourselves, an innumerable concourse of
people, which had flocked together, as though to witness a spectacle,
heard the confession of their faith read in the vulgar tongue, the
same having been written out in the said tongue. After this, when,
with all patience and without any tumult, they had been listened to
by us and all the people there assembled, and had of their own accord
made an end of speaking, inasmuch as the exposition of their faith
seemed quite praiseworthy and orthodox, we again asked them in the
hearing of all the people, if they believed in their hearts what they
had confessed with their lips, and if at any time they had preached
the contrary thereof, as they had been often charged with doing. They
making answer that they did so believe, and further denying that they
had ever preached to any other effect, the noble man the count of
Toulouse and many others, clergy as well as laymen, who had heard
them preach what was contrary to the Christian faith, being struck
with the greatest astonishment, and inflamed with zeal for the
Christian faith, arose and most clearly convicted them to their faces
of having lied. Some in fact steadily asserted that they had heard
from some of them, that there were two Gods, the one good and the
other bad; the good one having only made things invisible, and which
cannot be changed or corrupted; the bad one, the heavens, the earth,
man and the other things visible. Others again affirmed that they
heard at their preaching, that the body of Christ was not made by the
ministration of a priest who was unworthy, or who had been convicted
of any crime. Many in like manner bore witness that they had heard
them utterly deny that a man and his wife could be saved, if the
conjugal debt were satisfied by them. Others again stoutly maintained
to their faces, that they had heard from them that baptism was of no
use to infants, and the utterance of numerous other blasphemies
against God and the Holy Church and the Catholic faith, which, by
reason of their abominable enormity, we would rather be silent upon
than disclose. But, whatever they stated in their former confession, which
seemed to be sufficient unto salvation, if they did believe the same in
heart, and did so affirm with all their heart, still, like men of distorted
minds, and of crooked intentions, they were at length unwilling to
abandon their heresy, when any seeming authority seemed to aid their
crass and drowsy intellects, using as an excuse the words which our
Lord is mentioned in the Gospel as having used; ‘Swear not at
all, but let your words be yea, yea, nay, nay;’ and asserting
that they ought not to swear, whereas the Lord Himself is often read
of as having sworn, as it is written, ‘The Lord hath sworn and
will not repent;’ and again the Lord says, ‘I have sworn
by myself.’ The Apostle also says, ‘An oath for
confirmation is the end of all strife.’ Many other passages
also are found to present themselves to those who read the holy
Scriptures, to the like effect; in which, by reason of the infirmity
of nature, we are allowed to make an use of oaths to those whom we
would persuade to anything. However, like idiots, not understanding
the Scriptures, they fell into the snare which they had concealed;
for whereas they at first abhorred an oath as being an execrable
thing, and forbidden by the Lord, they were, by the very paper of
their confession, convicted of having sworn, as they had said, ‘
We do believe in the truth, which is God, and do say that this is our
belief;’ not being aware that to adduce the truth and the word
of God in testimony of the truth of their assertion, is beyond a
doubt taking an oath; as we read of the Apostle, when he says, ‘For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord;’ and again, ‘God
is my witness;’ and as other passages of a like nature prove,
which can be easily found by those who understand, and have read, the
holy Scriptures. When therefore they had been convicted by many and
competent witnesses, and many persons were still preparing to bear
witness against them; because the Church was not wont to deny the
bosom of mercy to those who return thereto, we carefully warned them,
laying aside all heretical corruptions, to return to the unity of the
faith ; and advised them, as they had been excommunicated by our lord
the pope, the archbishops of Bourges and Narbonne, and the bishop of
Toulouse, by reason of their perverse preaching and schism, to come
to us to be reconciled to the Catholic faith, according to the forms
prescribed by the Church. This however, being warped into tortuous
ways, and hardened by abandoned habits, they refused to do, on which,
in the sight of the whole people, who with one voice shouted assent
thereto and exclaimed against them with great fury, with lighted
candles we again denounced them as excommunicated, being joined
therein by the bishop of Poitou before-mentioned, and other religious
men who had supported us throughout, and condemned them together with
their prompter, the devil. Wherefore we do warn the whole of you, and
do exhort you in the Lord, and do for the remission of your sins
enjoin you henceforth carefully to avoid the before-named Raymond and
Bernard and their accomplices, as persons excommunicated and handed
over to Satan; and if, at any time in future, they shall presume to
preach to you anything else than what they have expressed in our
presence to the effect above-written, you are to reject their
preaching as false and contrary to the Catholic and Apostolic faith,
and to drive them as heretics and forerunners of Antichrist, from any
intercourse with yourselves in your uprightness, and to a distance
from your territories.”
The Letter of Henry, abbot of Clairval, on the same subject.
“Give ear, 0 ye heavens, to our lamentations, let the earth
learn the grief of our heart. Let Catholic Christians bewail the lot of Christ, and
let the faithful people weep for the sorrows of their faith. Let all
nations of the earth and sons of men deplore the injury done to the
salvation of mankind, and let the universal sorrow of our lives be
universally mourned by all living men. In our day a new Philistine is
arrayed against the squadrons of Israel, a band of heretics, an army
of perverts, who irreverently insult the troops of the living God,
and with the highest presumption blaspheme the majesty of the Lord.
Why dost thou hesitate, O David? Why dost thou tremble, thou faithful
man? Take up thy sling and thy stone; instantly be the blasphemer
smitten on the forehead, and let the wicked head which is shamelessly
exalted be raised on the point of his own sword by thy hands. For if
in this contest the portion of Christ is conquered, or if in the
slightest degree or in the smallest point mother Church is trodden
under foot, we know for certain that the cause is not wanting in
goodness but in defenders; we know also that the triumph will not be
denied to our champion, if when fighting he wages the warfare
inspired by love of the faith. But inasmuch as, according to the word
of truth, ‘The harvest is plenteous and the labourers are few,’
the ravagers, good Jesus, of Thy fields, being arrayed as deceitful
labourers, think if they shall enter boldly, by their ravages, as it
were, to forestall the day of gathering in thy harvest, and rather to
root up what is unripe than to reap what has attained maturity:
where, then, are Thy husbandmen appointed by Thee over Thy fertile
and pleasant field, blossoming with Thy blood, and watered with the
sprinkling thereof? Let them arise and assist us, and let them shield
us in our necessity, and oppose themselves as a wall of defence for
us against these blood-stained beasts. Arise, I say, arise, husbands,
fathers, leaders of nations, princes of the people, drive away these
vilest of savage brutes, which we have beheld, which we point out, or
at least expel these cubs of foxes; and yet it is better to take
them, but who is fitted so to do ? They have no certain paths, they
wait along winding ways, and these most savage monsters are hidden in
a kind of labyrinth made by their own frauds. Like a fawn they make
their escape from the hand, and are like unto writhing serpents; the
more tightly you grasp them, the more easily do they slip away.
Thanks to God, however, that, although they cannot be taken, they may
be driven away, that so when they have failed in the exertions they
were making against us, they may be confounded and perish of
themselves. And, that this can easily be effected, we will prove by
things that we have beheld, and in which we have taken part; so that
if, from this time forward, it is not done, we shall have to deplore,
not so much their wickedness as our own short-comings, and the
negligence of our people. For it lately happened that, at the command
of our lord the pope, and at the exhortation of the most pious
princes, Louis, king of the Franks, and Henry, king of the English,
the lord Peter, the legate of the Apostolic See, and the venerable
men the bishops of Poitou and Bath, and ourselves, went to Toulouse,
a city in their county, which, as it was stated to be a city
containing a vast multitude, was also said to be the mother of heresy and
the fountain-head of error. Accordingly, we went to her, that we might
learn if her pangs justified the waitings that were raised. And, behold!
her wound was found to be exceeding great, so much so, that from the sole
of her foot to the crown of her head, there was hardly any soundness in her.
For, in truth, not a third part had been told us of all her wicked
abominations, which that noble city was cherishing in the bosom of
her unbelief. The abomination of desolation had found a place in her,
and the likeness of the reptiles described by the prophets found a
refuge in her lurking-places. Heretics were there acting the governor
over the people, ruling over the clergy, to such a degree that it
made true the saying, ‘Like people like priest;’ and the
very life of the pastor was formed for the destruction of the flock.
The heretics spoke, and all were in admiration; a Catholic spoke,
and they would say, ‘Who is this?’ making it a miracle
and a matter for amazement if there was any one among them who should
dare even to whisper anything about the Word of truth. So greatly did
this pestilence prevail upon the earth, that they had made for
themselves not only priests and bishops, but they had even
evangelists, who, corrupting and cancelling evangelical truth, forged
new gospels for them, and, seducing the people, preached unto them
new dogmas from the wickedness of their hearts.
I am guilty of falsehood if there was not among them a certain
aged man, of considerable affluence, blessed with brethren and friends,
and withal among the greatest of the city a great man, whom the devil
had so blinded with sin, urging him on, that he declared himself to
be Saint John the Evangelist, and would separate the Word that in the
beginning was with God, from the other first principle of created
things, as though from another God. He was the head of the doomed
ones in this city, and the chief of the heretics ; and though, a
layman and illiterate, he knew nothing at all, still, like a very
fountain of diabolical wisdom, he showered forth among them the
streams, bitter as gall, of perdition and of death. Of a night there
resorted to him the owls that love darkness, on which, he, clothed in
a kind of garment made like a dalmatic, would take his seat among
them, like a king with his army standing around him, and become a
preacher to the senseless creatures. The whole city he had quite
filled with his disciples and his doctrines; so much so that, through
fear of him, no one in the city dared offer any resistance to him.
Even upon our entry into the city, such great licence did the heretics
everywhere enjoy, that even, going straight before us along the
streets and lanes, they would laugh in their sleeves, and point us
out with remarks and their fingers; crying out that we were
apostates, hypocrites, heretics. But in process of time, and on a
respite being afforded us, in a few days one of us was enjoined to
use the words of exhortation, and to discourse on the rule of faith
before the infidel multitude. Wherefore, on using orthodox discourse
in preaching to the people, the sinners were alarmed in Sion, and
trembling came upon the hypocrites ; so much so, that they who before
had closed the mouths of the speakers, now did not dare to appear
before the speakers. One seeing or hearing might instantly have
observed foxes transformed into moles, and whereas hitherto they had
with impunity run to and fro before the public, now they dived down
into their hiding-places in the ground, and into their subterranean
cells, in order that, in the bowels of the earth, they might gnaw and
destroy the sacred plants, which they now no longer dared openly to
crop. But, lest this leopard of various colours might betray himself
by the spots on his skin, by their crafty inventions they adopted a
wicked mode of expression, in order that, on being brought to the
test of discussion, for the purpose of aping our confirmed belief in
the true faith, they might lyingly assert that they believe whatever
we believe. From that day, therefore, our lord the legate and the
rest of us who thought fit to meet these wild beasts openly, for the
purpose of making examination of those whom fear and confusion had
thrust down grovelling into the very centre of the earth, turned our
whole attention, and used all our endeavours that, even by
compulsion, they should come forth into public, and, in the light,
reject the works of darkness.”
Accordingly,
it came to pass that, by command of the legate, the bishop made oath,
as also some of the clergy and the chief men of the city, and other
men in the city who were attached to the true faith, and whom no
manner of perfidy on their part had as yet aspersed, that they would
give to us in writing the names of all whom they had hitherto known
or might happen to know in future, who were accomplices in, or
promoters of, this heresy, and would spare no
one whatever either for favour or reward, or on account of any tie of
relationship. When therefore an innumerable multitude was duly
entered upon this list so drawn up, among others there was named this
great man, Peter Moran, whom, as we have previously mentioned, they
called Saint John the Evangelist. Accordingly, taking counsel
together with reference to him, we determined with him to commence
our judgment, that the rest of the perfidious multitude might
tremble, when the simplicity of the true Gospel had brought to
condemnation the craftiness of the false evangelist. Sending
therefore his apparitors, the earl of Saint Gilles, who faithfully
gave us his assistance, ordered him to be summoned. He however,
trusting in the multitude of his riches, and the numbers of his
relations, set at nought the words of the first citation, by making
some trifling and arrogant excuse for creating delay. Consequently,
on a second day the earl, relying more on blandishments than terror,
in a quiet way invited the said Peter by means of his friends and
acquaintances; and, after he had made many difficulties as to coming,
mingling threats with blandishments, at last brought him before us.
Upon this, one of us who was the speaker, began to warn him in such
terms as these: ‘Well now, Peter, your fellow-citizens accuse
you of having broken the rule of the true faith, and having entered
upon the corruptions of the Arian heresy; nay, more, you both lead
others, and are being led yourself by others through the devious
paths of multiplied errors.’ Upon this, heaving a deep sigh,
and inwardly touched with a pang at his heart, he lyingly asserted at
the first blush that he was none of that sort. On being asked whether
he would prove this on oath, he contended that credence ought be
given to his simple assertion as that of a faithful and noble man.
When, however, we all persisted in exacting the oath, he promised
that he would swear forthwith, for fear lest he might by that very
circumstance be detected to be a heretic, in case he should remain
obstinate in declining the oath, which refusal was in conformity with
the tenets of this heresy. Accordingly, shortly afterwards the relics
of the saints were with due honor produced and received with such
solemn reverence and devotion, so much so, that the faithful among
the people were moved to tears, and their hiding-places had more
charms for the heretics who had assembled than such a sight. During
the chaunt, which we sang, shedding plenteous tears,
to invoke the presence of the Holy Ghost, an evident tremor and
paleness came over the said Peter; insomuch, that both the colour of
his countenance forsook him, and his strength of mind departed. For
how, on the approach of the Holy Ghost, was any spirit to remain in
its adversary ? You might have seen the man shaking as though with a
paralytic attack, no longer retaining his power of language nor his
senses, although he was said by all to be a person of such great
eloquence that he had been accustomed to excel all others in
speaking. Why say more ? All standing by, the unhappy man making oath
that he would explain the truth as to his belief on all the articles
of faith on which we should question him, a wondrous thing took
place, and one in such a scene most agreeable, by reason of the pious
delight it afforded us. The book was open upon which he had sworn;
and one of the persons standing by, as a sort of pious amusement
desiring to obtain a presage of what was to come by means of the
expression he should hit upon, the following text of Scripture met
his view: ‘What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God
? Hast thou come to torment us before the time ?’ Truly, Lord
Jesus, they had nothing to do with Thee, whom the heavenly Father had
cut off from the true vine as unfruitful branches, and had thrown
abroad that they might wither away! But with us, who were assembled
in Thy name, the increase of our gladness was multiplied, and the
glories of Thy might resounded in thanksgivings and in the voice of
praise. At length, Peter was simply required on the strength of his
oath to confess to us his belief as to the sacrament of the altar
without any concealment thereon; however, he did not with his lips
confess to the court for the purpose of procuring safety that which
he did not believe in his heart; but on the contrary, whereas he had
made a determination to lie on all points, he made a true disclosure
of his own falseness; and by a new doctrine of his, proceeded to
assert that the holy bread of eternal life, when consecrated by the
ministration of the priest with the word of God, does not become the
body of the Lord. Upon this, all arose, overwhelming him in a manner
with the tears, which his contempt for the sacraments of Christ
produced, and the Christian compassion that was felt for the wretched
man, summoned forth. No more was needed. They gave their answer to
the earl; he was adjudged to be guilty of heresy, and immediately,
with the most positive promises on the part of his relations, was
consigned to the public place of confinement. Rumours of what had
happened flew through the streets and suburbs of this most extensive
city. The mouths of the faithful were opened, and the lips of the
Catholic people were unsealed, 0 Christ, to thy praises; then for the
first time, as it were, did the brightness of faith burst forth in
that city, and the state that had so shortly before been despaired
of, breathed again to entertain hopes of everlasting salvation.
From
that moment the word of God waxed stronger, and was daily multiplied;
so that the whole face of the city seemed more joyous, in that it
emerged from the darkness of error into the brilliancy of the light
of truth. In the meantime, Peter, coming to himself, and being moved
by the Lord who looked down upon him, on seeing that he was worthy of
death in this as well as in a future world, having sent many
mediators, asked to be allowed the means of making satisfaction, and
promised to show the fruits of conversion, if he should be liberated
from the fear of impending death to the profitable enjoyment of a
better mode of life. He came accordingly, was received by us, and was
placed in sight of the contrite people with his body naked, thus
putting off the corruption of his former infidelity. There, in the
presence of all, he acknowledged himself a heretic, there, by his
hands, he plighted his faith, there, he renounced his errors; there,
giving his right hand, he made oath in the presence of all, and gave
sureties to the earl, as well as the knights and his principal fellow
citizens, that he would submit himself to every mandate of my lord
the legate, and would in all things obey his commands. Upon this,
proclamation was made to the people that they were all to meet on the
following day, at the church of Saint Saturninus, to hear and to see
in solemn form what mode of penance the said Peter would have
enjoined upon him to perform.
Accordingly,
on the following day, as they had been warned, nil met together, and
such a multitude, such dense crowds, that, without excessive
squeezing, there hardly remained within the very horns of the altar a
vacant place for my lord the legate when celebrating the solemn
service of the mass. And, behold! in the presence of this multitude
so vast, Peter, who was now in our hands, was led through the doors
of the church naked and without shoes, the bishop of Toulouse and the
abbot of Saint Saturninus scourging him on either side, until he was
placed on the steps of the altar at the legate’s feet. Here, in
the face of the Church, he was reconciled to the sacraments thereof,
abjuring all heresy, and all heretics being cursed by him. After
this, his possessions being all forfeited and confiscated, the
following penance was enjoined on him: That, within forty days, he
should depart in exile from his country, for Jerusalem, there to
remain three years in the service of the poor; and, in the meantime,
on each Lord’s Day, he was ordered to go round the churches of
the city of Toulouse, naked and without shoes, and attended by the
rods of discipline; to restore the property belonging to churches
which he had taken away; to give back all usurious interest he had
received; to repair the losses of the poor whom he had injured ; and
to demolish from the very foundation a castle of his which he had
profaned with the conventicles of the heretics. Merciful God! what
tears did holy joyousness there pour forth, what thanksgivings and
praises did the rejoicing and devout people add to the heavenly
choirs, when such a man as this was drawn forth from the
lurking-places of infidelity, and this most ravening wolf was
transformed into a sheep of Israel.
After
this, on his being dismissed, my lord the legate sent to others with
the intention of excommunicating them, great numbers of whom either
public suspicion or private accusation had pointed out. As for
ourselves, joy having at length sprung up attended by tears, we asked
for leave to return, on the ground that pressing business of our
chapter now required our return; which was accordingly granted to us,
but upon condition, that we should proceed to the diocese of Alby, to
warn Roger, the lord of the territory, namely, that of Bediers, both
to release the bishop of Alby, whom he kept in prison and in the
custody of the heretics, and to reform the whole of his territories,
in conformity with the mandate of my lord the legate, by expelling
all heretics therefrom. Accordingly, upon our repairing thither,
together with the above-mentioned bishop of Bath, we entered this
most abandoned district, which, like a sink of all wickedness,
received whole sewers of heresy that flowed from all sides into it.
On this, the before-named Roger betook himself to the most distant
and inaccessible part of his territories, both running away through a
bad conscience and through despair of the goodness of his cause. For
he, an author of wickedness, hated the light of truth, and could not
endure our approach for the purposes of a conference, having totally
devoted himself to works of darkness. However, we arrived at a
certain fortress of his, extremely well fortified, which,
appropriately and singularly, the inhabitants called by the name of
the Castle. Here lived his wife, attended with a large retinue of
knights and a very extensive household. Nearly all the inhabitants of
this castle were either heretics or abettors of the heretics,
although being held in check by the sole might of the Lord, they
presumed not even to whisper anything against the faith which we
preached. For, although we were placed in their hands, and were
fettered as it were by being in their power, being surrounded by
multitudes of heretics on every side, still, the word of the Lord was
not checked, so as to prevent us from attacking them in repeated
censures and reproaches. And when we saw that they did not dare to
make any answer whatever, we adjudged the said Roger to be a traitor,
a heretic, and a perjurer for having violated the safety of the
bishop, and boldly, in the name of Christ, pronounced him to have
departed from the faith, and to be condemned, as by a public
excommunication, in behalf of our lord the pope and the before-named
kings, in presence of his wife and his knights. Behold, how evident
it is that from henceforth a wide door is thrown open to Christian
princes for them to avenge the injuries of Christ, and to make the
wilderness, as it were, the garden of the Lord, and the desert the
delights of paradise. Moreover, that it may not be alleged that
little or nothing could be done against them, be it known to all,
that it was the general opinion in the city of Toulouse that if this
visitation had been delayed for the space of three years, there would
have been hardly found one person in it who called upon the name of
Christ. In addition to all this, the said earl of Saint Gilles has
confirmed by oath, before the people of the city, that, from this
time forward, he will neither, for gift or entreaty, show favour to
the heretics.”
In
the same year, the king of England, the father, crossed over from
Normandy to England, and at Woodstock knighted his son Geoffrey, earl
of Brittany; who, immediately upon receiving the rank of a knight,
passed over from England
to Normandy, and on the confines of France and Normandy, giving his
attention to military exercises, took pleasure in making himself a
match for knights of reputation in arms; and the more ardently did he
seek for fame to attend his prowess, from knowing that his brothers,
king Henry, and Richard, earl of Poitou, had gained great renown in
arms. However, they had but one common feeling, and that was, to
excel others in feats of arms ; being well aware that the science of
war, if not practised beforehand, cannot be gained when it becomes
necessary. Nor indeed can the athlete bring high spirit to the
contest, who has never been trained to practise it. It is the man who
has seen his own blood, whose teeth have rattled beneath another’s
fist, who when tripped up has strove against his adversary with his
entire body, and though thrown has not lost his mettle, and who, as
oft as he fell, has risen more determined, more bold, who goes forth
with ardent hopes to the combat. For valour when aroused adds greatly
to itself; transitory is the glory of the mind that is subjected to
terror. Without any fault of his, he is overcome by the immensity of
the weight, who comes to bear the burden and is unequal thereto,
zealous though he may be. Well is the reward paid for toil, when is
found the temple of victory.
In
the same year, [1178] William, archbishop of Rheims, came into
England on a pilgrimage to the blessed Thomas the Martyr, at
Canterbury, and was met, with congratulations, by the king of
England, the father, who honored him with becoming presents. In the
same year, pope Alexander sent his legates into all parts of the
world that were subject to him, for the purpose of inviting the
prelates of the Church to come to Rome at the beginning of Lent in
the following year, to hold a solemn and general council there. For
when the violence of maladies, with rapid steps, is hastening to the
very vitals, no salutary counsel is able to extend a hand to check
it, except through the conference of numbers. Accordingly, there came
into England two legates, namely, Albert de Suma, who was
commissioned to summon the bishops and abbats of England and
Normandy, and Peter de Santa Agatha, whose commission it was to
summon the bishops and abbats of Scotland and Ireland and the
adjoining islands. Accordingly, the said Peter de Santa Agatha, for
obtaining licence to pass through the territories of the king of
England, made oath, touching the holy Evangelists, that in his
legateship he would attempt nothing to the detriment of the king or
his kingdom, and that he would return through his dominions, which he
did accordingly.
In the same year pope Alexander wrote to John king of the Indies
to the following effect:—
The Letter of pope Alexander, sent to John, king of the Indies.
“Alexander the bishop, servant of the servants of God,
to his most dearly beloved son in Christ, the illustrious and mighty king of the Indies,
the most holy of priests,* health, and the Apostolic benediction.
* This was Presbyter, or Prester John—a supposed king of the
interior of Asia. It is supposed that the person here meant was Oungh
Khan, slain by Gengis Khan, A.d. 1202. This letter is probably a fabrication of
the Nestorian Missionaries, who spread reports of his conversion.
The Apostolic See, over which, unworthy as we are, we preside, is the
head and mistress of all who believe in Christ; the same being
attested by our Lord, who said unto Saint Peter, whose successor,
unworthy though we may be, we are, ‘ Thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my church.’ This rock, then, Christ has
willed to be the foundation of His church, which He declares shall be
shaken by no storms and tempests of the winds. Therefore, not without
reason did Saint Peter, upon whom He founded this church, especially
and in chief deserve to receive supremacy among the Apostles. To him
it was said by the Lord; ‘I will give unto thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’
We had heard long ago, from the accounts of many, and from common
report, what unvarying diligence you have shown in pious works since
you have embraced the Christian religion, and how you devote your
attention to what is pleasing and acceptable to God. But our beloved
son, master Philip, our physician, and a member of our household, who
says that he has conversed in those parts with the great and
honourable men of your kingdom, concerning your intentions and plans,
like a cautious and discreet man, circumspect and prudent, has
constantly and anxiously signified unto us, that he has heard for
certain from them, that it is your wish and purpose to be instructed
in the Catholic and Apostolic doctrines, and that it is your fervent
desire that you and the dominions entrusted unto your highness should
never appear to hold anything in your belief which may in any degree
differ from, or be at variance with the doctrines of the Apostolic
See. Upon which, we do indeed greatly congratulate you as a most
dearly beloved son, and do give exceeding thanks to Him from whom
every gift proceeds, adding wish upon wish and prayer upon prayer,
that He who hath caused you to receive the name of Christian may of
His ineffable goodness inspire your mind with a wish to obtain all
knowledge, which ought to be imparted to the profession of
Christianity, as to all the articles of the faith. For in truth he
cannot hope to obtain salvation from the profession of Christianity,
who does not in deed and in word act in accordance with that
profession; as it is not sufficient for a person to be called by the
name of Catholic, who of himself thinks otherwise than the Catholic
and Apostolic doctrines teach; in accordance with what the Lord says
in the Gospel: ‘ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of
my Father which is in heaven.’2’
This also is added to our commendations of your merit, that, as the
aforesaid prudent master Philip asserts he has heard from your
people, you long with the most ardent desire to have a church in your
city, and an altar at Jerusalem where virtuous men of your kingdom
may abide, and be more fully instructed in Apostolic doctrines,
through whom you and the people of your kingdom may hereafter receive
and hold the said doctrines. We, therefore, who, though of
insufficient merits, are placed in the chair of Saint Peter, in
obedience to what the Apostle says, acknowledging ourselves as
‘debtors to the wise and the unwise, the rich and the poor,’
do feel every possible anxiety for the salvation of yourself and of
your people, and do wish to reclaim you from those matters in which
you deviate from the Christian and Catholic faith, as indeed by the
duties of the office which we have undertaken, we are most zealously
bound to do; for the Lord Himself said to Saint Peter, whom he
appointed to be the chief of all the Apostles, ‘When thou art
converted, strengthen thy brethren.’ Therefore, although it
seems to be a most difficult and laborious matter to send any one
from our side to your presence, amid so many hardships and such
varied dangers of the places on the road, and into countries far
distant and unknown, yet, considering the duties of our office, and
bearing in mind your purposes and intentions, we do send the
aforesaid Philip our physician, and one of our household, a discreet,
circumspect and cautious man unto your mightiness; and we do trust in
the mercy of Jesus Christ, that, if it is your wish to persevere in
that purpose and intention, which we understand you, by the
inspiration of the Lord, to have formed, being forthwith, by the
mercy of God, instructed in the articles of the Christian faith in
which you and your people seem to differ from us, you may henceforth
have no cause to fear that anything will arise from your error to
impede the salvation of you or your people, or in you cast a stigma
upon the name of Christianity. We do, therefore, request your
excellency, and do advise and exhort you in the Lord, that, for the
respect you pay to Saint Peter and to ourselves, you will receive the
said Philip, as an honest, discreet and cautious man, and as one sent
from our side, with all due kindness, and will treat him courteously
and respectfully. And if it is your will and purpose, as indeed it
fully ought to be, to be instructed in the Apostolic doctrine on
those points which the said Philip will, on our behalf, explain to
you, you will carefully listen to him, and hear him to the end, and
will send back to us, together with him, respectable persons, and
letters sealed with your seal, whereby we may be enabled fully to
learn your purpose and intentions; for the more exalted and mighty
you appear, and the less you seem to be puffed up with your riches
and power, so much the more willingly, both as to granting you a
church in your own city, as well as erecting altars in the church of
Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and at Jerusalem in the church of the
Sepulchre of our Lord, and other matters which in justice you shall
request, will we take care to pay attention to your requests, and
more effectually to listen to the same ; inasmuch as it is our wish,
in every way that, with the help of God, we possibly can, to promote
your desires hereon, which have been so worthy of exceeding
commendation, and is our ardent desire to save the souls of you and
yours unto the Lord. Given at Venice, at the Rialto, on the fifth day
before the calends of October.”
In
the same year, Richard, earl of Poitou, came with a considerable
force to the city of Anse, and found there the count
of Bigorre, a prisoner in the city gaol; whom the citizens delivered
into his hands: on which the count of Bigorre gave to the earl of
Poitou, for his ransom, Claremont, and the castle of Montbrun. After
this, he took Gengay, Martillan, Granville, Agenville, Tailleburg,
and Pons, and levelled all these castles with the ground. Buger,
count of Angouleme, also surrendered to him the city of Angouleme,
and the castle of Montignac, on which he destroyed their
fortifications.
1179 A.D.
In
the year of grace 1179, being the twenty-fifth year of the reign of
king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said Henry was in
England, at Winchester, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord.
During the period of this festival, at Oxenhale, in the lordship of
Darlington, in England, the earth raised itself up on high, in
appearance like a lofty tower, and so remained, without moving, from
the ninth hour of the day until the evening, and then fell down with
such a dreadful crash, that it alarmed all the neighbourhood, and the
earth swallowed it up, and made there a very deep pit, which remains
there as a testimony of the circumstance even to the present day.
After
the Nativity of our Lord, there came to England, from Ireland,
Laurence, archbishop of Dublin, Catholicus, archbishop of Tuam, and
five or six bishops, who were about to proceed to the council at
Rome. In the same manner, there passed through England from the
kingdom of Scotland a considerable number of bishops and abbats. All
these, both those from Ireland as well as Scotland and the other
islands, on passing through England, in order to obtain leave to
pass, made oath that they would not seek any detriment to the king or
to his kingdom. From England, however, there went but four bishops to
Rome, namely, Hugh, bishop of Durham, John, bishop of Norwich,
Robert, bishop of Hereford, and Reginald, bishop of Bath, with a
considerable number of abbats: for the bishops of England stoutly
asserted that only four bishops of England ought to be sent to Rome
to a general council of our lord the pope.
All
being accordingly assembled, at Rome, in the presence of our lord the
pope Alexander, the pope taking his seat in the church of the
Lateran, on an elevated place, together with his cardinals, chief
men, and senators, and the magistrates of the city, commenced holding
his council, which began on the second
day of the third week in Lent, being the third day before the nones
of March. In the same manner he held the council a second day, on the
fourth day of the following week, being the second day before the
ides of March. At this council, William, archbishop of Rheims, was
made a cardinal priest and titular of Santa Sabina, and Henry, abbot
of Clairval, was made cardinal bishop of Albano. Our lord the pope
held the council the third day on the second day of the week before
Palm Sunday, being the fourteenth day before the calends of April. At
this council, he enacted that the decrees underwritten should be
universally observed.
THE
DECREES OF POPE ALEXANDER.
Of
the Election of the Roman Pontiff
“Although
it is manifest that statutes sufficient have been promulgated by our
predecessors for the purpose of avoiding discord in the election of
the Roman Pontiff, still however, inasmuch as since then, by reason
of the audacity of an unbecoming ambition, the Church has oftentimes
endured grievous divisions, we also, for the purpose of avoiding the
said evil, have, with the consent of our brethren and the approbation
of this holy council, thought proper to add somewhat thereto. We do
therefore enact, that, if by chance, through some enemy sowing tares
among the cardinals, there shall not be an entire agreement as to the
election of a new Pontiff, and two-thirds shall agree thereon while
the remaining one third shall refuse to agree thereto, or shall
presume to nominate or ordain any other, in such case he is to be
held by the universal Church, without any exception, to be the Roman
Pontiff who shall have been elected and acknowledged by the
two-thirds. And if any person, trusting in the votes or nomination of
the remaining one-third, shall usurp that name, inasmuch as he cannot
in reason so do, both he himself and those who shall acknowledge him
shall be subject to the penalties of excommunication, and be visited
with the deprivation of all sacred orders; and even the communion of
the holy viaticum shall be denied unto them, except when in their
last moments; and, unless they come to their senses, they are to
receive their portion with Dathan and Abiram, whom the earth
swallowed up alive. And further, if any one shall be elected
to the Apostolic office by fewer than two-thirds, then, unless there
shall be a more full agreement, he is in nowise to be recognized as
such, and he is to be subject to the penalty aforesaid, unless with
all humility he shall be ready to withdraw such claim. Still,
however, let no prejudice be caused hereby to the canonical
constitutions, upon which subjects the opinions of the larger and
wiser part ought to have the preponderance, inasmuch as whatever
comes to be a matter of doubt to them, can always be decided by the
judgment of one superior. But, in the Roman Church, something of a
spiritual nature is here being determined upon, where recourse cannot
be had to a superior.
How
prelates are to pass sentence upon those subject to their authority
"A
very reprehensible custom has sprung up in some places, where both
our brethren and fellow-bishops, as well as some archdeacons even,
thinking that some will, in their causes tried before them, resort to
appeal, having first issued no admonition whatever, proceed to
pronounce against them sentence of suspension and excommunication. On
the other hand, also, others, dreading the sentence and canonical
discipline of their ecclesiastical superior, do without any
difficulty interpose their right of appeal, and usurp the same as a
defence for their iniquity, whereas it is known to have been
instituted as a safeguard for the innocent. Therefore, to the end
that neither the sentence of the prelate may be used to oppress those
subject to him, nor those subject may be enabled, at their sole
option, under the pretext of appeal, to escape correction by their
prelates, by this present decree we do enact, that neither shall
prelates pass sentence of suspension or excommunication upon those
subject to them, without first issuing canonical admonition, (unless
it shall so happen that the fault is such as of its own nature to
involve the penalty of suspension or excommunication), nor shall
those who are subject, in contravention of ecclesiastical discipline,
before the commencement of the trial, seek to take refuge in the
words of appeal. But, if any person shall think himself absolutely
necessitated to appeal, then a competent time is to be named for him,
within which to prosecute his appeal. And if he shall neglect to
prosecute his appeal within such limited time, then the bishop is to
be at liberty to use his own authority. And if, in any matter, any
person shall make an appeal, and on his making his appearance who was
appealed against, he who has appealed shall neglect to appear, then,
in case he shall have any property, he is to make a competent return
for the costs of the other, that so, at least, being deterred, a
person may not be too ready to appeal to the detriment of another.
But in especial, in places of religious orders, we wish this to be
observed, that neither monks, nor any religious whatsoever, when they
are to receive correction for any excesses, are to presume to appeal
against the regular discipline of their prelate and chapter, but
humbly and dutifully to receive what they know is enjoined them for
the more effectually securing their salvation.
How
prelates are to be entertained by their subjects
“Whereas
the Apostle ordered that he and his followers should be sustained by
the labours of their own hands, in order that he might leave no room
for preaching to false apostles, and might not be burdensome to those
to whom he preached, it is known to be a great grievance and one
deserving of correction, that some of our brethren and fellow bishops
prove so expensive in their entertainment to those subject to them,
that for reasons of this nature the subjects are compelled to expose
for sale the very ornaments of their churches, and a short hour
consumes the food earned in a long time ; we do, therefore, enact,
that archbishops visiting their provinces shall, according to the
different character of the provinces and the means of the churches,
under no circumstance exceed a retinue of forty or fifty horses,
bishops twenty or thirty, cardinals twenty or five-and-twenty, while
archdeacons are to be content with five or seven, and deans with two
horses. And further, they are not to go about with hounds and hawks,
or to require sumptuous entertainments, but to receive with
thankfulness that which shall properly and consistently with the
entertainer’s means, be provided for them. We do also forbid
that bishops shall presume to oppress their subjects with tallages or
exactions, and so conduct themselves as to appear to seek not what is
their own, but what belongs to Jesus Christ. For, as the Apostle
says, ‘The children ought not to lay up for the parents, but
the parents for the children,’ it seems to be greatly at
variance with the affection of a father, if those who are the
governors make them burdensome to their subjects, whom in all their
necessities they ought to cherish, like good shepherds. Also,
archdeacons and deans are not to presume to demand any exactions or
tallages 34
from priests or clerks. And further, what we have said above relative
to the number of horses that are to be allowed, is to be observed in
those places the revenues and ecclesiastical dues of which are ample.
But in poor places, it is our wish that such limits should be
observed, that the lesser ones shall not have to complain that a
hardship is inflicted on them by the arrival of the greater, so that
those who were in the habit of using a smaller number of horses may
not suppose that they are indulged with leave to use more. Indeed,
considering the many necessitous cases that occasionally arise, we
could endure that, if a manifest and reasonable cause should be found
to exist, they should be enabled to demand some slight assistance
together with our brotherly love.
That new imposts are not to be made in churches
“Inasmuch as in the body of the Church, all ought to
be treated with loving-kindness, and that which has been received gratuitously
ought gratuitously to be bestowed, it is a most shocking thing that in some
churches venality is said to prevail to such a degree, that, for
installing bishops or abbats, or any other ecclesiastical persons, or
introducing priests into the church, as also for the burial and
obsequies of the dead, and the benedictions of the newly-married, or
other ecclesiastical sacraments, money is demanded: and that he who
stands in need of these things, cannot obtain the same unless he
takes care to fill the hand of the bestower thereof. Many imagine
that it is lawful for them to act thus, on this ground, because they
think that the custom as to the dead has been established by
lengthened usage, not sufficiently considering, inasmuch as they are
blinded by avarice, that the longer offences have kept the mind
fettered, so much the more grievous they are. In order 1 ,
therefore, that this may not be done in future, we strictly forbid
that money shall be demanded for installing ecclesiastical persons,
instituting priests, burying the dead, blessing the newly-married, or
any other of the sacraments. And if any person shall presume in
contravention hereof to sell the same, then let him know that he will
have his portion with Gehazi, whose deeds he has imitated in the
exacting of a disgraceful gift. We do, moreover, forbid any new
imposts to be exacted from churches, either by bishops or abbats, or
any other prelate, or the old ones to be increased, or that such
persons shall presume to appropriate any part of the revenues to
their own use; but the same liberty which the greater ones desire to
be preserved for themselves, let them also, with good will, preserve
for the lesser ones. And if any person shall do otherwise than this,
what he so does is to be deemed null and void.
Christians
are forbidden to enter the service of the Saracens
“To
such a degree has shocking cupidity taken possession of the minds of
some, that, whereas they glory in the name of Christians, they carry
arms to the Saracens, and by supplying them with arms and necessaries
for the purpose of warring against the Christians, show themselves
their equals or even their superiors in wickedness. There are some
also, who, by reason of their cupidity, exercise the art and craft of
pilots, in the galleys and piratical vessels of the Saracens. Such
persons therefore we do order to be cut off from the communion of the
Church, and for their iniquity to be subjected to excommunication,
and to be mulcted with confiscation of their property by the Catholic
princes and rulers of states, and if they are taken, to become the
slaves of those so taking them. We do also order that throughout the
churches of the cities on the coast, a repeated and solemn sentence
of excommunication shall be pronounced against them. Those also are
to be subject to the penalty of excommunication, who presume either
to take captive or to despoil of their property Romans, or indeed any
other Christians, when voyaging for purposes of merchandize or any
other becoming reasons. Those also, who, with damnable avarice, dare
to despoil Christians who have suffered shipwreck of their property,
when according to the rules of religion they are bound to aid them,
are to know that they are subjected to excommunication, unless they
restore what they have so taken away.
That
tournaments shall not be held
"Continuing
in the footsteps of popes Innocent and Eugenius, of blessed memory,
our predecessors, we do forbid those detestable revels and shows,
which are commonly called tournaments, at which, by proclamation,
knights are wont to meet together, and rashly engage with each other,
to show off their prowess and valour, and from which, deaths of men
and perils to souls do so often ensue. And, if any one of such
persons shall meet with his death on such an occasion, although
absolution is not denied him, still he is to be deprived of Christian
burial.
On
keeping the truces.
“We
do order truces to be inviolably observed by all persons from the
fourth day of the week after sunset, until the seventh day of the
week after sunrise, both from the Advent of our Lord until the octave
of Epiphany, and from Septuagesima until the octave of Easter. And if
any person shall attempt to break such truce, if after the third
warning he shall not make reparation, then his bishop is to pronounce
sentence of excommunication, and announce the same in writing to the
neighbouring bishops. And no bishop is to receive him who is thus
excommunicated to communion; but, on the contrary, each is to confirm
the sentence, the copy of which he has received. And if any one shall
presume to violate this command, then let him be subject to the peril
of losing his orders. And, inasmuch as a threefold rope is broken
with difficulty, we do order that bishops, having respect only to God
and the salvation of the people, and all cupidity apart, shall use
their advice and assistance for the purpose of the strict maintenance
of peace, and not neglect the same through love or hatred for any
person whatsoever. And if any one shall be found to be lukewarm in
this work of God, he is to submit to the loss of his own dignity.
On
annulling ordinations made by Anti-popes.
“Re-enacting
that which was done by our predecessor, pope Innocent, of blessed
memory, we do pronounce the ordinations made by Octavianus and Guido,
the heresiarchs, as also by John of Struma, their follower, to be
null and void, as also ordinations made by the persons so ordained by
them; and we do further add, that those who have received
ecclesiastical dignities or benefices, by means of the aforesaid
schismatics,
shall resign what they have so acquired. All alienations also or
seizures of things ecclesiastical, which have been made by the said
schismatics, or by laymen, are to be wanting in validity, and to
return to the church without any incumbrance whatever thereon. And if
any one shall presume to contravene this command, he is to know that
he is subjected to excommunication. As for those who, of their own
accord, have taken oath to maintain the schism, we do decree that
they shall remain suspended from their holy orders and dignities.
What
sort of persons they ought to he, who are to he elected to govern the
Church
“As
in all holy orders and ecclesiastical offices, both maturity of age,
gravity of manners, and skill in literature, are to be sought for, so
ought the same much more rigidly to be exacted in the case of a
bishop, who, being placed in charge of others, ought in himself to
show how others are to preserve the same qualities in the house of
the Lord; to the end that what has been done by some persons, through
the necessities of the times, may not be adopted as an example by
posterity. We do, therefore, by the present decree enact that no one
shall be elected to be a bishop, who has not passed the thirtieth
year of his age, and is not born in lawful wedlock, and who cannot be
shown to be of praiseworthy life and learning. And when he, who has
been so elected, shall have received the confirmation of his
election, and the administration of ecclesiastical effects, the time
having expired that is pointed out by the canons for the consecration
of bishops, he is to have free option to dispose of the benefices
which belong to him, for the purpose of distribution. Also, the lower
offices, such, for instance, as deaneries or archdeaconries, and
others which have the care of souls annexed, no person whatever is to
receive, nor yet the government of parochial churches, unless he
shall have attained the twenty-fifth year of his age, and is of
praiseworthy knowledge and manners. [one or more sentences omitted]
And [in case of misbehaviour] they are to be removed from those
offices, and the same are to he bestowed on another, who is both
willing and able becomingly to fill the same, and they are not to
profit by the pretext of appealing, if they should chance to desire
to defend themselves in the transgression of these ordinances, by
means of appeal. This, indeed, we order to be observed, not only as
to those in future to be promoted, but those also who have been
already promoted, if the canons do not impede such a course. If the
clergy shall elect any one in contravention of the form above stated
they are to understand that they are deprived of the power of
electing on that occasion, and from their ecclesiastical benefices
suspended for a period of three years. For it is a becoming thing,
that those whom the fear of God does not withhold from evil, the
severity of ecclesiastical discipline should at least restrain. And
as for the bishop, if he shall act contrary to these mandates, or
shall consent to such being done, he is to lose his power in the
disposal of the offices above-named, and ordination is to be made by
the chapter, or by the metropolitan, if the chapter shall not agree
thereon.
Of
Heretics
“As
Saint Leo says, ‘Although the discipline of the Church, being
contented with the judgment of the priesthood, avoids a blood-thirsty
vengeance,’ still it is aided by the enactments of Catholic
princes, that so men may often find a salutary remedy, while they
dread that corporal punishment may befall them. Wherefore, inasmuch
as, in Gascony, the Albigeois, and other places inhabited by the
heretics whom some style ‘Catarri,’ others ‘Publicani,’
and others ‘Paterini,’ and others call by other names,
their damnable perverseness has waxed so strong that they practise
their wickedness no longer in secret as elsewhere, but publicly
expose their errors, and draw the simple and weak to be their/
accomplices, we do decree them and their protectors and harbourers to
be excommunicated, and under pain of excommunication we do forbid any
one to dare to receive or to encourage them in his house or on his
lands, or to have any transactions with them. And if they shall
depart this life in their sin, and not under the protection of any
privileges granted by our indulgence, then on no pretence whatever is
any contribution to be made for their interment, nor are they to
receive burial among Christians. And as regards the Brabanters,
Arragonese, Navarrese, Biscayans, and Coterells, *
who exercise such enormous cruelties against Christians, as not to
pay any respect to either churches or monasteries, or to spare widows
or orphans, young or old, or any age or sex, but who, after the
manner of pagans, lay waste and ravage in every direction, we do
similarly enact. We do also enact that those who shall hire, or
retain, or encourage them, shall, throughout the communities where
such excesses are committed, on the Lord’s day and other solemn
days be publicly proclaimed as excommunicated in all the churches
there, and shall be held to be condemned with the same sentence and
punishment in all respects as the aforesaid heretics, and shall not
be received into communion with the Church, unless they first abjure
the said abominable societies and heresies respectively. Those also
are to understand who are connected with them by any tie, that they
are relieved from all duties of fealty, or homage, or any obedience
to them whatsoever, so long as they shall persist in such great
iniquity; and we do further command them and all the faithful, for
the remission of their sins, manfully to oppose such dreadful
ravages, and in arms to defend the Christian people against them.
Their property also is to be confiscated, and the superior lords are
to be at liberty to subject men of this description to slavery. As
for those, however, who shall so separate from them in true
repentance, let them not doubt that they will obtain the indulgence
granted to sinners, and the blessings of an eternal reward.
* Hired mercenaries who may have been named after the
weapon they carried, a short knife or dagger called a ‘cotel’
or ‘coutel’ in Old French.
And further, trusting in the mercy of God, and confiding in the authority
of Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles, we do remit two years of
enjoined penance to those faithful Christians who shall take up arms,
and, at the advice of their own or other prelates, fight against
them; and if they shall be detained a considerable time in so doing,
then we do leave it to the discretion of the bishops to whose care
these matters shall be entrusted, that so, at their option, in
proportion to the amount of labour expended, a still greater
indulgence may be granted them. But as for those who shall neglect to
pay obedience to the admonition of the bishops hereon, we do order
them to be debarred from receiving the body and blood of our Lord:
while those in the meantime, who, in their zeal for the faith, shall
undertake the laborious task of uprooting them, like those who repair
to the sepulchre of our Lord, we do take under the protection of the
Church, and do decree that they shall remain secure from all
molestation, both in property and person. And if any person shall in
the meantime presume to molest them, then sentence of excommunication
is to be hurled against him by the bishop of the place, and let such
sentence be observed by all, until such time as both what has been
taken away is restored, and full satisfaction is made for losses
caused by them. And further, bishops or priests who shall chance not
to show a proper resistance to such persons, are to be visited with
suspension from their offices until such time as they shall have
obtained mercy from the Apostolic See.
That
leprous persons are to have a private church and burial ground of
their own.
“Whereas
it is said by the Apostle Saint Paul that more abundant honor is
bestowed upon those members of the body which are less honourable: so
on the other hand, there are some who seek their own and not what is
of Jesus Christ, and who will not allow leprous persons who cannot
dwell with those in health, or to meet in churches with others,
either to have churches and burial-grounds of their own, or to have
the services of their own minister. Inasmuch as this is clearly at
variance with Christian piety, we do, in our Apostolic bounty, enact
that wherever enough shall have been assembled in one community to be
enabled to found a church for themselves with a burial-ground, and to
enjoy the services of their own priest, they shall, without any
opposition, be allowed to have the same. They are, however, to take
due care that as to parochial rights they are not in any way
detrimental to the interests of the old churches; for we are
unwilling that that which is conceded through feelings of piety,
should redound to the injury of others. We do also enact that they
shall not be compelled to pay tithes of vegetable produce and the
young of animals.
That
Christians shall not dwell with Jews or Saracens
“Neither
Jews nor Saracens are to be allowed to have Christian slaves in their
houses, either under pretext of rearing children, or for any services
or cause whatsoever. And further, those shall be excommunicated who
shall presume to dwell with them. We do also enact that the testimony
of Christians shall be received against the Jews in all causes
against Christians where they make use of their own witnesses; and we
do decree that those persons shall be excommunicated who shall
attempt in this respect to prefer Jews to Christians, as it is right
and proper that they should be beneath the Christians, and be by them
supported on grounds of humanity alone. Moreover, if any by the
inspiration of God shall be converted to the Christian faith, they
are on no account to suffer loss of their possessions, 39
as, after being converted to the faith they ought to be in a better
condition than they were in before they conformed to the faith. And
if anything shall be done in contravention hereof, we do, under
penalty of excommunication, enjoin the princes or authorities of
those places, to cause full restitution to be made to them of that
portion of their hereditary property and possessions.
That
no person shall for money receive the monastic or any religious
habit
“Monks
are not to be received in a monastery for money, nor are they to be
allowed to hold property of their own. They are. not to be
distributed alone in vills and towns, or in any parochial churches :
but are to remain in the general convent, or in company with some
other of the brethren, so as not alone to await the conflict of
spiritual with secular men; for it is Solomon who says: ‘ Woe
to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help
him up.’ And if any person on demand shall give anything for
his admission, then he is not to be admitted to holy orders, and he
who has admitted him is to be punished by loss of his office. And if
any one shall have private property, unless the same shall have been
permitted by the abbot for the carrying out of some purpose that has
been enjoined, he is to be removed from the communion of the altar ;
and if any one shall be found when at the point of death to possess
property, no offering is to be made for him, and he is not to have
burial among the brethren. The same we do command to be observed in
the various religious orders; and the abbot who shall not diligently
observe the same, is to know that he thereby incurs the loss of his
office. Also, no priorships or abbacies are to be given to any one
for the receipt of money; and in such cases both the giver and the
receiver are to be removed from all ecclesiastical duties. Also,
where priors have been appointed over conventual churches, they are
not, unless for a manifest and reasonable cause, to be removed;
unless, for instance, they have been guilty of dilapidation, or lived
incontinently, or been guilty of any thing of a like nature, by
reason of which they may appear to deserve to be removed: as also, in
cases where by the consent of the brethren he shall have been
transferred in consequence of the necessity of his filling some
higher office.
That
no person shall hold several churches.
“Inasmuch
as certain persons, placing no limits to their avarice, in
contravention of the enactments of the sacred canons, both endeavour
to obtain divers ecclesiastical dignities and several parish
churches, so that, while they are hardly able to fulfil the duties of
one office, they obtain the salary that is the due of many, we do
strictly forbid that this shall in future be done. Therefore, when an
ecclesiastical office ought to be filled up, let a person be found to
fill it who is able to reside on the spot, and to perform its duties
himself. And if any persons shall act in contravention hereof, both
he who has received the office is to lose the money that, contrary to
the sacred canons, he has received, and he who has given it is to be
deprived of the power of giving it in future. And, inasmuch as the
ambition of some has now reached to such a pitch that they are said
to hold not two or three, but six offices or even more, while at the
same time they are not able to perform the prescribed duties for even
two, we do order this to be remedied by our brethren and
fellow-bishops; and that, from these pluralities so hateful to the
canons, which afford a ground for the breaking up of societies, and
for the wandering of their members to and fro, and produce certain
peril to souls, the indigence of those may be relieved, who are able
to give their services to churches. Moreover, because the audacity of
some laymen has increased to such a pitch that, neglecting the
authority of the bishops, they institute clerks in churches and
remove them when they please, and distribute property and other
possessions of the Church mostly at their own option, and dare to
harass the churches themselves, as well as the people, with tallages
and exactions, we do enact that, from henceforth, if they shall be
guilty of the same, they shall be visited with excommunication. The
priest also, or clerk, who shall receive a church from laymen,
without the authority of his own bishop, shall be deprived from the
communion; and if he persists, then he shall be deposed from his
ecclesiastical office and orders. And, further, inasmuch as some
laymen compel ecclesiastical persons, and even bishops themselves, to
abide by their judgments, those who shall do so in future we do order
to be cut off from all intercourse with the faithful. We do also
forbid, on peril of their souls, laymen withholding tithes, under any
circumstances, making over the same to other laymen. And if any
person receives the same, and does not restore them to the Church, he
is to be deprived of Christian burial.
That
manifest usurers shall not he admitted to the communion at the altar.
“Inasmuch
as in almost every place the crime of usury has become prevalent, so
much so, that many, neglecting their usual business, adopt usury as
their lawful occupation, and do not consider how the same is
condemned by the pages of both Testaments, we do therefore enact,
that manifest usurers shall not be received to communion at the
altar, nor shall any of them receive Christian burial, or even an
oblation, if he shall die in this sin. And he who shall have received
such offering, or have given Christian burial to such usurer, is both
to be compelled to return what he has received, and is to remain
suspended from the duties of his office until such time as, in the
judgment of the bishop, he shall have given satisfaction.
Of
the wills of clerks
“Whereas,
in the duties of brotherly love, we seem in especial bound to those
from whom we know that we have received benefits, on the other hand,
certain of the clergy, after having received considerable property
from their churches, presume to
leave property thus acquired through churches to other persons.
Therefore, although it is well known that by the ancient canons this
is prohibited, we do nevertheless, once more prohibit it. And it
being our wish therefore, to provide an indemnity for the Church,
whether these persons shall have died intestate, or whether they
shall have attempted to bestow the same property on others, we do
order that the same shall remain in possession of the churches.
Moreover, inasmuch as in some places persons are appointed for a sum
of money, and are called deans, and thus for a fixed sum of money
exercise episcopal jurisdiction, we do, by the present decree, enact
that whoever in future shall presume thus to act shall be deprived of
his office, and the bishop shall lose the right of conferring the
same.
Of
the regulation of ecclesiastical communities
“Whereas,
in all churches that which seems fit to the greater part and the
elder of the brethren, ought, without hesitation, to be observed, it
seems most grievous and most worthy of censure that in some churches
a few, not so much on reasonable grounds as by reason of their own
wilfulness, throw obstacles in the way of the commands of the
majority, and will not allow the ecclesiastical ordinances to be
carried out: therefore, by the present decree we do enact, that,
unless any reasonable ground shall be shown by the fewer and younger,
all power of appeal removed, that which is ordained, on due
consideration by the greater and elder part, shall always prevail and
be carried into effect. Nor is it to be any impediment to this our
ordinance, if any person says that he is bound by oath to observe the
customs of his church. For they are not to be called oaths, but
perjuries rather, which are in opposition to the interests of the
Church and the institutions of the holy fathers. And if any person
has presumed to swear to maintain customs of this nature, which are
neither supported by reason, nor agree with the holy institutions, he
is to be debarred from receiving the body of our Lord until such time
as he shall have performed due penance for the same.
Of
the presentation of clerks
“Whereas,
in certain places, the founders of churches, or their heirs, abuse
their power, in which the Church has hitherto borne with them; and
whereas in the Church of
God there ought to be but one who is the chief, while many, without
regard to those who are subject, strive to elect; and whereas one
church ought to have but one ruler, while they present, in defence of
their own rights, a number of rulers ; we do by the present decree
enact, that if several founders divide and give conflicting votes,
that person shall be appointed over the church who is recommended by
his manners and merits, and is chosen and approved of by the
suffrages of the most persons. But, if this cannot be done without
offence, the bishop is to regulate the church in such way as he shall
think is best suited to the honor of God, and he is to do the same,
even though some question shall have arisen as to the right of
patronage, and even if, within three months, it shall be ascertained
to whom it belongs.
On
preserving peace
“We
do also enjoin that priests, clerks, monks, lay monks, pilgrims,
merchants, and serfs, when going to and fro, and engaged in
agriculture, as well as the animals with which they plough, and the
other things which they take into the fields, shall enjoy befitting
security; and no person in office whatever is anywhere to presume to
make new exactions without the authority and consent of the kings and
rulers, or to enact statutes on the moment, or in any way to impugn
the old ones. And if any one shall act contrary to this, and, on
being warned, shall not cease so doing, then, till such time as he
shall have made due satisfaction, he is to be cut off from all
Christian intercourse.
That
ecclesiastical benefices shall not be given to any one, before they
are vacant
“No
ecclesiastical benefices, or offices, or churches, shall be given to
any person, or be promised, before they are vacant, that so no one
may seem to long for the death of his neighbour, to whose place and
benefice he thinks he shall succeed. For whereas this same thing is
found prohibited even in the laws of the heathens, it is most
disgraceful, and most deserving of the censures of the Divine
judgment, if expectation of future succession should hold a place in
the Church of God, a thing which even the heathens themselves have
taken care to condemn. But when it happens that churches, to which
presen tation
is to be made, or any offices in any church, are vacant, or if at
present any are vacant, they are not to remain long unfilled, but
within six months let persons be presented to them, who are able
properly to perform the duties thereof. But if the bishop, when it is
his duty to do so, delays to collate such person, he is to be
appointed by the chapter. And if the election belongs to the chapter,
and it shall not have so done by the time appointed, the bishop,
using the advice of religious men, is to do the same according to the
will of God: or if all shall chance to neglect it, then the
metropolitan of the bishop, according to the will of God, and without
any contradiction on their part, is to dispose thereof.
That
no one shall be ordained without a certain title.
“If
a bishop shall ordain any person as deacon or priest without a
certain title by which he may earn the necessaries of life, then he
is to provide him with necessaries, until such time as he shall
assign him, in some church, a suitable salary for clerical duties,
unless the person ordained shall happen to be able to subsist on
property of his own, or inherited from his father.
That
clerks in holy orders shall not keep concubines.
“Clerks
in holy orders, who, bearing the character of incontinence, keep
young women in their houses, are either to put them away and live
chastely, or else to be deprived of their benefices and
ecclesiastical duties. Whoever shall be found to labour under that
kind of incontinence which is against nature, and on account of which
the wrath of God came upon the sons of distrust, and He consumed five
cities with fire, if they are clerks they shall be expelled from the
clergy, or be set apart in a monastery to do penance there; if they
are laymen, they shall be excommunicated and utterly removed from the
community of the faithful. Moreover, if any clerk, without necessary
and manifest cause, shall presume to frequent monasteries of nuns, he
is to be warned thence by the bishop, and if he shall not cease so to
do, he is to be deprived of his ecclesiastical benefice.
That
laymen shall not impose burdens on churches
“It
is known to be no less a sin in those who do so, than a detriment to
those who submit to it, that rulers and the chief
men in cities throughout the different parts of the world, as well as
others who seem to hold some power, frequently impose upon churches
such numerous burdens, and oppress them with such heavy and repeated
exactions, that the priesthood seems under them to be in a worse
condition than it was under Pharaoh, who had no knowledge of the law
of the Lord. For whereas he, when all others were reduced to slavery,
left their priests and possessions in their former liberty, and gave
them sustenance at the public expense, these others impose almost all
their burdens on the churches, and afflict them with so many
anxieties, that the lamentation of Jeremiah seems to apply thereto, ‘
She that was princess among the provinces, now is she become
tributary!’ For, whether it is the expense of making
fortifications, or whether of an expedition, or whether they think
proper to do anything else, they generally attempt to provide for
them all out of the property of the churches, of the clergy, and of
the poor, the advantages of Christ being thereby curtailed. On these
grounds we must feel grieved for the churches, and none the less for
those who seem to have entirely lost all fear of God and respect for
the ecclesiastical order. Wherefore, under the most severe penalty of
excommunication, we do strictly forbid any one in future to presume
to make such an attempt, unless a bishop or clerk shall evidently see
such a case of necessity and utility as to be of opinion that,
without compulsion, subsidies may be collected throughout the
churches to relieve the common necessities, the means of the laity
not sufficing thereto. And if rulers, or other persons, shall in
future be guilty of this, and, on being warned, shall chance to be
unwilling to desist, they are to know that both themselves, as well
as their abettors, are subjected to excommunication, and are not to
be restored to intercourse with the faithful until such time as they
shall have made befitting satisfaction.
That
prelates are to provide necessaries for the masters of schools
“Inasmuch
as the Church of God, both in those things which tend to the support
of the body and in those which pertain to the profit of the soul, is
bound, like an affectionate mother, to provide for the needy, in
order that the opportunity of reading and of improving may not be
withheld from the poor who cannot be assisted by the means of their
relations, in each cathedral church a certain competent provision is
to be made for a master, who is to teach gratuitously the clerks of
the said church and the poor scholars, in order that thereby the
necessities of the teacher may be relieved, and a way may be opened
to learning for those who are studying; in other churches or
monasteries, also, this is to be rectified, if in past times any
curtailment shall chance to have been made therein. For a licence to
teach no one is to demand any fee whatever, nor is he, under pretext
of any custom, to make any demand of those who teach ; nor yet, when
a licence has been given, is he to forbid any one to teach who is
fitted for so doing. The person who shall presume to contravene this
enactment, is to be deprived of all ecclesiastical benefices. For it
seems only proper and becoming, that, in the Church of God, he should
not gain the fruit of his labours who, in the cupidity of his mind,
endeavours, while he is selling a licence to teach, to obstruct the
profit of the Church.
That
clerics shall not presume to undertake secular business
“Clerks
in archdeacon’s orders, and above, as well as those of a lower
grade, if they are supported by ecclesiastical salaries, are not to
presume to act as advocates before secular judges in forensic
business, unless they are prosecuting their own cause or that of the
Church, or chance to be acting on behalf of distressed persons, who
cannot manage their own causes. And neither is any clerk to presume
to act the part of procurator of a town, or to exercise any secular
jurisdiction under any princes or men of secular power, so as to act
as their justiciaries. And if any person shall presume to contravene
this enactment, because he acts in a worldly manner, contrary to the
doctrine of the Apostle, when he says that no one who fights for God
busies himself with the affairs of this world, he is to be removed
from the ecclesiastial office, because, neglecting his clerical
duties, he has plunged into the waves of the world in order to please
the powerful. We do also decree that strict punishment is to ensue,
if any person in religious orders shall presume to attempt to do any
of the things aforesaid.
Of
Churches that have been laid under an interdict, and the burial of
those under interdict
“Inasmuch
as it is our bounden duty both to plant the sacred religion, and when
planted in every way to cherish it, we can never attempt the same to
better purpose, than if we consider that it has been entrusted to us
by the authority of God, to foster that which is right, and to
correct that which impedes the progress of the truth. Wherefore, in
consequence of the strong complaints of our brethren and our
fellow-bishops, we have understood that the brethren of the Temple
and of the Hospital, as well as others of the religious profession,
exceeding the privileges with which they have been indulged by the
Apostolic See, presume to do many things which both tend to scandal
among the people of God, and produce grievous evil to souls. For they
have purposed to receive churches from the hands of laymen; they
admit persons excommunicated and under interdict to the Sacraments of
the Church, and allow burial in their churches, contrary to good
conscience, and institute and remove priests at their pleasure. And
whereas the indulgence has been granted to their brethren when going
to seek alms, that upon their arrival such churches may be opened
once in a year, and Divine service performed therein, as we have
heard, several of them have frequently come from one or more of their
houses to a place under interdict, and have abused the indulgence of
their privileges by performing service therein, and then presuming to
bury the dead in the churches aforesaid. And further, by means of the
fraternities which in many places they establish, they sap the
strength of the episcopal authority, while, in contravention of the
sentences of the bishops, under the pretext of some of their own
privileges, they strive to screen all those who are ready to join
their fraternity. And whereas we have thought proper to make these
declarations not so much with reference to the conscience or design
of the higher authorities among them, as to the fact that some of
those of a lower grade have exceeded what in discretion they ought to
observe, for the purpose of removing those matters in which they are
guilty of excess, and which tend to cause doubts; we do therefore
forbid both them and all other religious whatsoever, laid under
interdict without the consent of their bishops, to receive churches
and tithes from the hands of laymen, not taking regard of what up to
the present time they have, contrary to the tenor hereof, received.
Persons excommunicated and by name laid under interdict, we do
pronounce to be avoided both by them and by all other persons
whatsoever, in conformity with the sentences pronounced by the
bishops. In those of their churches which do not belong to them fully
of right, they are to present priests to the bishops for institution
therein, who shall be answerable to them for their care of the
people, and give to themselves a proper account as to the temporal
things thereof. Also, they are not to presume to remove those once
instituted without consulting the bishops thereon. And if Templars or
Hospitallers come to a church laid under interdict, they are to be
admitted only once in a year to perform service therein, and not even
then are they to bury there the bodies of those under interdict.
Also, as to these fraternities we do enact, that if they shall not
entirely join the brethren aforesaid, but shall think proper to
reside upon their own properties, still they are in nowise on that
account to be exempt from the sentence of the bishops, who are to
exercise their authority over them just like the other persons of
their dioceses, where they require correction for their excesses.
What has been said above as to the aforesaid brethren we do also
command to be observed as to other persons in religious orders who in
their presumption intrude upon the path, and presume to enter on a
course contrary to their own canonical professions and the tenor of
our own privileges. If, however, they shall presume to contravene
this enactment, both the churches in which they shall presume so to
do shall be laid under interdict, and what they have done shall be
deemed null and void."
These
decrees being promulgated and received by the whole of the clergy and
people standing around, the bishops and other ecclesiastics who had
met together, with the gift of the benediction, received leave to
return home.
In
the same year, the king of England, the son, returned from Normandy
to England at mid-Lent, and, during the following Easter, he and the
king, his father, were at Winchester. After Easter, Richard de Lucy,
justiciary of England, resigned the office of justiciary, and became
a canon-regular in his abbey of Lewes, which he himself had founded
on his property and had enriched with many possessions; shortly after
which. he died. After his decease, the king, the father, held a great
council at Windsor, and by the common consent of the archbishops,
bishops, earls, and barons, in presence of the king, his son, divided
England into four parts, and over each of them appointed wise men to
administer justice throughout the land, in the following manner:—
RICHARD, bishop of Winchester
RICHARD, the king’s treasurer
NICHOLAS FITZ-THOROLD
THOMAS BASSET
ROBERT DE WHITFIELD
Southamptonshire [Hampshire], Wiltshire,
Gloucestershire, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire,
Devonshire, Cornwall, Berkshire, Oxfordshire.
GEOFFREY, bishop of Ely
NICHOLAS, chaplain to the king
GILBERT PIPARD
REGINALD DE WISEBEC, clerk to the king
GEOFFREY HOSKE
Cambridgeshire,Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire,
Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire,
Herefordshire (in Wales), Staffordshire,
Salopeshire [Shropshire].
JOHN, Bishop of Norwich
HUGH MURDAC, clerk to the king
MICHAEL BELET
RICHARD DE PEC
RALPH BRITO
Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire,
Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex,
Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire.
GODFREY DE LUCY
JOHN CUMIN
HUGH DE GAKEST
RANULPH DE GLANVILLE
WILLIAM DE BENDINGS
ALAN DE FURNELLES
Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Eukewicshire [Yorkshire],
Northumberland, Westmoreland,
Cumberland (between the Ribble and the Mersey), Lancaster.
The last six to whom the above counties were assigned
were appointed justices in the king’s court, to hear the public claims.
In the same year [1179], Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, by command of
the king, his father, passed over from England to Brittany, and, assembling an
army, laid waste the lands of Guidomer de Leuns, and forced him to
surrender. In the same year, Henry, king of England, the son,
returned from England to Normandy. In the same year, Louis, king of
the Franks sent to Constantinople his daughter Agnes, whom his wife
Ala, queen of the Franks, and sister of William, archbishop of
Rheims, and of the counts Henry, Theobald, and Stephen, had borne to
him, to be married to Alexis, the son of Manuel, emperor of
Constantinople. In the same year, Philip, the son of Louis, king of
the Franks, and of the said queen, Ala, fell ill, and was in danger
of his life ; at which his father was extremely grieved, and was
admonished in his sleep by a Divine revelation to vow that he would
go on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Thomas the Martyr, at
Canterbury, to prevail upon him to restore his son to health.
In
consequence of this, Louis, king of the Franks, sent ambassadors to
Henry, king of England, the father, and asked for leave and a safe
conduct upon coming into England, and also liberty to return without
any impediment; which was granted accordingly. Therefore, putting his
trust in the Lord, contrary to the advice of many, he set out for
England. Taking with him Philip, earl of Flanders, and Baldwin, earl
of Guisnes, Henry, duke of Louvaine, count William de Mandeville, the
advocate of Bethune, and other barons of the kingdom of France, he
came to Witsand, and thence passed over to England, arriving at Dover
on the eleventh day before the calends of September, being the fourth
day of the week. The king of England, the father, came to meet him on
the sea-shore, and received him with great honor and congratulations,
as his most dearly-beloved liege lord and friend, and, with due
respect, supplied all necessaries for him and his people.
On the following day, that is to say, on the vigil of Saint
Bartholomew the Apostle, he escorted him to the tomb of Saint Thomas the Martyr,
at Canterbury. Upon arriving there, Louis, king of the Franks,
offered upon the tomb of Saint Thomas the Martyr a cup of gold, very
large and of great value, and gave, for the use of the monks there in
the service of God, a hundred tuns of wine, to be received yearly for
ever at Poissy, in France, entirely at the expense of the king of
France. In addition to this, he granted them that whatever in future
should be bought in the kingdom of France for their own use, should
be free from toll and all other customs and excise. All this he
caused to be confirmed by his charter, which they received at the
hands of Hugh de Pudsey, chancellor of the king of France, and son of
Hugh, bishop of Durham. On the third day after this, the king of
France and his people who were with him returned to Dover, under the
escort of the king of the English; and on the following day, namely,
the seventh day before the calends of September, being the Lord’s
Day, the king of France crossed over from England to Flanders, and
landed at Witsand.
In the meantime, his son Philip, through the merits and
prayers of the blessed Thomas the Martyr, was restored to his former health: on
hearing which, the king of France, elated, amid great public
rejoicings, ordered by proclamation that all the chief men of his
kingdom, both ecclesiastical and secular, should assemble at Rheims,
at the beginning of the calends of November, in order to celebrate
there the coronation of his son Philip. When they were assembled
there, William, archbishop of Rheims, crowned the beforenamed Philip,
the son of his sister Ala, who was now in the fifteenth year of his
age, and anointed him king at Rheims, in the church there of the
Pontifical See, on the day of the feast of All Saints, being assisted
in the performance of that office by William, archbishop of Tours,
and the archbishops of Bourges and Sens, and nearly all the bishops
of the kingdom. Henry, the king of England, the son, in the
procession from the chamber to the cathedral on the day of the
coronation, preceded him, bearing the golden crown with which the said
Philip was to be crowned, in right of the dukedom of Normandy. Philip, earl of
Flanders, also walked before, bearing before him the sword of the
kingdom. Other dukes, counts, and barons also preceded and followed
him, each being appointed to perform some duty therein, according as
the king had commanded them. But king Louis, his father, labouring
under old age and a paralytic malady, was unable to be present at his
coronation; for, as he was returning from England and staying at
Saint Denis, being struck by a sudden chill, he had an attack of
paralysis, and lost the use of the right side of his body.
In the same year [1179] died Roger, bishop of Worcester,
at Tours, where he was buried. In this year, also, died William, earl
of Aumarle, and was buried in his abbey at Tornetun.
In this year, the people of Tuscany, Pisa, and Lucca, and
the citizens of Pistoia and of Florence, with the people of the Val d’Arno,
and Ugolino de Valle Spoleta, entered into a confederacy to take, by
stratagem, Christian, archbishop of Mentz, chancellor of Frederic,
the emperor of the Romans; who, after peace was made between our lord
the pope and the said emperor, at the Rialto, at Venice, had remained
in Tuscany, and by grievous exactions had reduced the people to a
distressed state. Having accordingly arranged their plans, they
invited Conrad, the son of William, marquis of Montferrat, to meet
them, in order that he might take the chancellor by stratagem, as he
greatly hated him, though he had lately made peace with him.
Accordingly, at the instigation of the rest, and at the request of
the emperor Manuel, who promised him the possession of abundant
wealth if he should capture the before-named chancellor, Conrad came
with a strong force to the city of Camerina, whither the chancellor
had come with a few of his followers, and laying hands on him made
him prisoner, and, putting him in irons, carried him away with him,
and first incarcerated him in a castle which bears the name of Santo
Flaviano, and next imprisoned him at Rocca Venaise, and a third time
at Aguapendente; then, delivering him into the charge of his brother,
Boniface, Conrad himself set out for Constantinople to visit the
emperor Manuel, at whose suggestion he had taken the before-mentioned
chancellor. As he did not dare to return home, in consequence of the
injury he had done to Frederic, the emperor of the Romans, in taking
his chancellor prisoner, he remained with Manuel, the emperor of
Constantinople, and married one of the nieces of that emperor; on
hearing of which, his brother, Boniface, who had kept the above-named
Christian, archbishop of Mentz and chancellor to the emperor, in
prison, received from him twelve thousand perpera,* and set him at
liberty.
*
A golden coin of Constantinople, which were more generally called
“hyperpera.” They are said to have received this name
from the superlative brightness of the highly refined gold of which
they were made.
king of France had been guilty of towards his mother and his uncles.
1180 A.D.
In
the year of grace 1180, being the twenty-sixth year of the reign of
king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said king was in England,
at Nottingham, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord; at which
festival, William, king of the Scots, was also present. In this year
also, Philip, the king of the Franks, seeing that his father was
severely afflicted with a paralytic disease, followed in every
respect the advice of Philip, earl of Flanders. Listening to his
counsels, he began to practise tyranny over his people, and despised
and hated all whom he knew to be the familiar friends of his father:
his own mother too, he persecuted to such a degree, that he drove her
out of his dominions; his uncles also, William, archbishop of Rheims,
count Theobald, and count Stephen, he subjected to great
persecutions.
At
their entreaty, Henry, king of England, the son, crossed over to
England, and told his father of the excesses and vexatious conduct
which Philip, king of France, was guilty of towards his mother and
his uncles, by the advice of the earl of Flanders ; on hearing which,
the king of England, the father, with the king of England, the son,
before Easter, crossed over to Normandy. Accordingly, they were met
in Normandy by the queen of the Franks before-named, accompanied by
count Theobald and count Stephen, her brothers, and many other
noblemen of the kingdom of France : who, giving hostages to the king
of England, the father, and making oath that they would not neglect
to follow his advice, became his adherents. After this, the king of
England, the father, levied a great army throughout his dominions on
both sides of the sea, purposing, after Easter, to enter the
territories of the king of France in a hostile manner, for the
purpose of avenging the injuries which the new
After
Easter, Philip, king of France, took to wife the daughter of the earl
of Hainault, and niece of Philip, earl of Flanders, being the
daughter of his sister; and as a marriage portion with his niece, the
said earl of Flanders gave the whole territory of Vermandois as far
as the river Lis. Upon this, Philip, king of France, determined to
have himself and his wife crowned on the day of Pentecost at the city
of Sens; but, by the advice of the earl of Flanders, he shortened the
intervening time, and caused himself and his wife to be crowned on
Ascension day at Saint Denis, by the archbishop of Sens. When
William, archbishop of Rheims, came to know of this, he was greatly
incensed, and made complaint to Alexander, the Supreme Pontiff, of
the intrusion 01 the archbishop of Sens, who, contrary to law and the
dignity of the church of Rheims, had had the presumption to crown the
king of France.
After this, Philip, king of France, and Henry, king of England, the father,
held a conference between Gisors and Trie; at which, the king of
England, partly by gentle words and partly by threats, prevailed upon
the king of France, in spite of the advice of the earl of Flanders,
to banish from his mind all the displeasure and indignation which he
had felt towards his mother and his uncles, and to receive them again
into their wonting favour, covenanting to allow his mother every day
seven pounds of Paris money for her daily support, and after the
decease of his father, to pay her dower entire and in full,
retaining, however, in his own hands the castles and fortified
places. At the same conference, by way of making security more sure,
the king of England, the father, in presence of Philip, king of
France, received homage from Philip, earl of Flanders, and for the
said homage granted him one thousand marks of silver yearly, to be
received out of the exchequer at London;
on condition, however, that in return for the said one thousand marks
the earl of Flanders should find each year five hundred knights to
serve the king of England for the space of forty days, whenever he
should be called upon so to do.
In
the same year, Louis, king of the Franks, departed this life at
Paris, in the month of September, it being the fourteenth day before
the calends of October, and the fifth day of
the week, and was buried at the abbey of Barbeaux; after which,
Philip, king of Trance, and Henry, king of England, the father, met
and held a conference between Gisors and Trie, where they made a
treaty of peace and reconciliation, which was established on both
sides by word and oath, and was to the following effect:—
“I,
Philip, by the grace of God, king of the Pranks, and I, Henry, by the
same grace, king of the English, do will that it shall come to the
notice of all, both present as well as to come, that we have renewed
the treaty and friendship, byword and oath, which my liege lord,
Louis, king of the Franks, and I, Henry, concluded between ourselves
before Ivery, in presence of Peter, titular of Saint Chrysogonus,
cardinal priest and legate of the Apostolic See, and of Richard,
bishop of Winchester, and many other bishops, earls, and barons who
were then present; to the effect, that we now are, and wish
henceforth to be, friends, and that each will protect the other in
life and limb, and will defend his worldly possessions to the utmost
of his ability against all men. And if any person whatsoever shall
presume to do an injury to either of us, I, Henry, will aid Philip,
king of France, my liege lord, against all men to the utmost of my
ability. And I, Philip, will aid Henry, king of England, against all
men to the utmost of my ability, as my liege and vassal, saving
always the fidelity which we owe to our liegemen, so long as they
shall preserve their fealty towards ourselves. And neither of us
shall from henceforth harbour an enemy of the other in his dominions,
from the time that demand shall be made of him. And to the end that
from henceforth all matter of discord between us may be removed, we
do mutually agree that of the lands and possessions, and all other
things which we now hold, each shall henceforth make no claim
whatever against the other (except the claim as to Auvergne,
respecting which there is a dispute between us, and except the fee of
Chateau-Raoul, and except some small fees and allotments of our lands
in Berry), in case our liegemen shall take anything from each other
or from either of us. And if we shall not be able to agree as to the
matters which are above excepted, then in such case, I, Philip, king
of the Franks, have chosen three bishops, those of Claremont,
Nivernois, and Treves, and three barons, count Theobald, count
Robert, and Peter de Touraine, my uncles; and I, Henry, king of
England, have chosen three bishops, William, bishop of Le Mans,
Peter, bishop of Perigord, and Robert, bishop of Nantes, and three
barons, Maurice de Crouy, William Maingot, and Peter de Mont Rabell,
to act in my behalf; and, having examined into the truth on both
sides, both themselves as well as by the oaths of the people of those
lands, the bishops aforesaid shall assert upon their word of truth,
and the laymen shall make oath, that whatsoever they shall find to
belong to either as of right, that same they will declare, and in
good faith will firmly abide by their decision. But if all those
bishops whom I, Philip, have chosen, shall not be able to be present,
we will nevertheless abide by the decision of such two as shall be
present; and if all the barons named on my side shall not be present,
still we will not hesitate to abide by the decision of such two of
them as shall be present; and similarly as to those, whom I, Henry,
have chosen, both bishops as well as barons. We have also made oath,
that we will do no injury to them by reason of their speaking the
truth. And if by chance, which God forbid, any dispute shall arise
between us as to our territories, the same is to be settled by the
same persons in good faith and without evil intent or delay. And if
any one of the persons before-mentioned shall in the meantime depart
this life, then another one is to be substituted in his stead. And if
either of us shall think proper to go on a pilgrimage, the one who
remains shall faithfully guard, and protect, and defend against all
men, the lands and vassals of him who shall be abroad as though they
were his own and part of his own dominions, just as though I, Philip,
were defending my city of Paris as if it were besieged, and as though
I, Henry, were defending my city of Rouen, if it were besieged. I,
Philip, also do will that all merchants and other persons whatsoever,
both clergy as well as laymen, coming from the dominions of Henry,
king of England, shall, with all their property, be in security and
enjoy peace throughout all my dominions. And I, Henry, do in like
manner, will that all merchants and other persons whatsoever, both
clergy as well as laymen, coming from the dominions of Philip, king
of France, shall, with all their property, be in security and enjoy
peace throughout all my dominions. All the above we have made promise
both by word and by oath that we will observe. Also, in obedience to
our commands, our vassals have made oath after us, that in good faith
they will counsel us to observe what we have sworn, and not give us
advice to disregard the same.”
In
the same year, Frederic, emperor of the Romans, expelled from his
kingdom Henry, duke of Saxony; the cause of whose expulsion was as
follows :—It must first, however, he observed, that there were
ten princes appointed to be custodians of the gates of the city of
Cologne, whose names were as follows :—
The
duke of Lemburg,
The
duke of Saxony,
The
duke of Saringes,
The
duke of Saxland,
The
duke of Louvaine,
The
count de Wilch,
The
count de Loo,
The
count de Gerle,
The
count Palatine of the Rhone,
The
count de Larmval.
Now,
these ten are liegemen of the archbishop of Cologne, and receive
yearly from the property of Saint Peter at Cologne two thousand marks
of silver, as the pay for their custodianships. In addition to this
the archbishop of Cologne has large revenues, most of which are in
the dukedom of Saxony, and which Henry, duke of Saxony, the
son-in-law of Henry, king of England, unjustly seized, and withheld
from the archbishop. In consequence of this, Reginald, archbishop of
Cologne, made complaint to his lord, Frederic, emperor of the Romans:
in addition to which, the before-named emperor charged the aforesaid
duke with perjury, with breach of faith, and with high treason
towards himself; and caused him to be summoned to appear in his court
to give satisfaction both to himself and to the archbishop of
Cologne. Having received, therefore, a safe conduct both in coming
and returning, the duke made his appearance ; and, after many charges
had been made against him, both as to his breach of faith, his
perjury, his high treason towards the emperor, and the injuries he
had committed towards the archbishop of Cologne, when it was his
duty, after taking counsel with his own people, to make answer to the
charges so made, he mounted his horse, and, without giving any
answer, returned home; on which the emperor demanded that judgment
should be pronounced against him, and he was accordingly pronounced
to have forfeited his dukedom; and leave was given to the archbishop
of Cologne to enter the territories of the duke of Saxony with an
armed force, in order to take revenge for the injuries which the duke
had done him. The emperor also, with a great army, entered the
territories of the duke of Saxony, and laid them waste with fire, and
sword, and famine, and reduced the duke to such extremities that he
placed himself at the mercy of the emperor, abjured his territory,
and placed the same for seven years at the mercy of the emperor, and
then came in exile to the court of Henry, king of England, his wife’s
father. Shortly after this, however, at the entreaty of Alexander,
the Supreme Pontiff, Philip, king of France, Henry, king of England,
and Philip, earl of Flanders, the emperor remitted four years from
the period of banishment which he had prescribed to the duke.
In
the same year [1180] died Manuel, emperor of Constantinople; and
Alexis his son, who had married the daughter of Louis, king of
France, ascended the throne, and reigned in peace two years. However,
in the meantime, his mother, Mary, daughter of Raymond, prince of
Antioch, had a certain person as her paramour, who, by virtue of his
office, was in the Greek language called “Protosouastos,”
* and in Latin, “Comes Palatums;” ** whom the
before-named empress loved with such a disgraceful and ungovernable
passion, that she was ready to put her son Alexis, the emperor, to
death, and thereby promote her lover to the imperial throne.
Accordingly, on a day that seemed suitable for the purpose, she gave
a poisonous draught to her son the emperor; after drinking which, the
poison, spreading its influence throughout his tender limbs, almost
suffocated him on the spot: but at length, by means of the antidotes
of skilful physicians, with considerable difficulty he escaped with
his life. Being determined to take due precautions for the future, he
sent for Androneus, the brother’s son of his father Manuel, and
associated him with himself on the throne; by whose advice he seized
his mother, and threw her into prison, and after she had long pined
in prison, caused her to be tied up in a sack, and, an anchor being
fastened to her neck, to be drowned in that part of the sea which is
called “The Greater Sea.” He also put out the eyes of the
Protosouastos, his mother’s paramour, and caused him to be
emasculated.
*
This was the title of an officer very high in rank in the emperor’s
palace at Constantinople.
**
“Attendant in the palace.” These words are however
generally rendered “Count Palatine."
A
short time after this, Androneus, seeing that it would give great
satisfaction to the people, by way of proof of his true fidelity and
his extreme affection, on a certain day named for the celebration of
the solemnity, carried Alexis, the emperor, on his shoulders from his
palace to the church of Saint Sophia, and caused him to be crowned
there by Basilius, the patriarch of the city, and, in the presence of
all the people, took the oaths of fealty to him as his liege lord
against all men whatsoever. After this was done, the emperor Alexis
gave to the before-named Androneus the power of exercising his own
will and dispensing justice among the people. However, after a
considerable time, Androneus came to the emperor Alexis and said that
the people refused to pay obedience to his commands, and requested
him to appoint some one else over the people whose commands they
would obey. On this, Alexis said to him: “I have made choice of
yourself, and have appointed you over my people, and I know of no one
else in whom I have greater confidence;” upon which, Androneus
said in reply: “If it is your wish that I should govern your
people, cause me to be crowned in their presence, so that all the
people may know that I am, under you, to reign over all the nations
which are subject to your sway.” The emperor, not being aware
that all power is averse to a partner therein, acceded to his
request.
The
clergy and people of the empire having been convened, the emperor
caused himself and Androneus to be crowned together by the
before-named patriarch, in the church of Saint Sophia. However, after
a short period of time had elapsed, the one became jealous of the
other, and the thing that pleased the one displeased the other. “For
no trust is there in associates in rule, and all power is averse to a
partner therein.” Androneus, however, still pretending the
affection which he had hitherto shown, under the veil thereof plotted
against his lord the emperor, who, suspecting nothing of the sort,
forbore to take any precautions. “For no foe is there more
pernicious than an enemy in the disguise of a friend.” Having,
therefore, gained a favourable time and place, with the sanction of
Basilius, the patriarch, he put to death his lord the emperor Alexis,
and, marrying his wife Agnes,* the daughter of the king of France,
exercised great tyranny over the people ; and not only over the
people, for all the nobles of the empire as well he either put to
death, or, depriving them of their eyes and their virility, drove
them out of the empire.
*
Then but eleven years of age. He is known in history as Andronicus I.
Comnenus
There
was in that neighbourhood a certain young man, Isaac by name, son of
the sister of Manuel, the deceased emperor, who, seeing the
tyrannical conduct Androneus was guilty of towards the principal men
of the empire, was in great dread of him, and flying from before his
face, assembled a large army, and fought a battle with the Sultan of
Iconium; in which battle he was taken prisoner by Rupin de la
Montaigne, who had come as an auxiliary to the sultan of Iconium.
After taking him prisoner, he offered to deliver him to the sultan of
Iconium, but the sultan, refusing to receive him, gave him up to
Rupin. Upon returning home, the latter sent him to his superior lord,
Raymond, prince of Antioch, who received him with great delight, and
demanded of him sixty thousand besants* as his ransom, which he
accordingly promised to give, and, sending his messengers to the
wealthy men of Cyprus, requested their assistance in procuring his
ransom. Complying with his wishes, they sent him thirty thousand
besants, which he gave to the prince of Antioch, and, by way of
security for payment of the rest of the debt, gave him his son and
daughter as hostages; whereupon, being liberated from the prison of
the prince of Antioch, he came to the island of Cyprus, on which the
chief men of the island received him, and made him their ruler.
Elated by this, in his vanity he caused an imperial crown to be made
for himself, and had himself crowned and called the “Holy
Emperor.” At the time, however, that had been arranged upon
between them, the prince of Antioch sent to him for the remainder of
the debt, that is to say, for the thirty thousand besants, but the
emperor of Cyprus refused to deliver them to the envoys of the
prince, but delivered them to the brethren of the Temple to be
conveyed to the prince of Antioch. On their departure, they were met
by pirates, who took from them the said sum of money. When this
became known to the emperor of Cyprus, he asserted that this had been
done by the contrivance of the prince of Antioch, and swore that he
would not again pay him that sum of money. In consequence of this,
his son and daughter remained two years as hostages in the hands of
the prince of Antioch; but he, at length finding that the emperor of
Cyprus would not redeem his hostages, and being moved with
compassion, gave them their liberty, and allowed them to depart.
*
A golden coin, which took its name from Byzantium, the place of its
circulation.
In
the mean time, by the advice and assistance of Basilius, the
patriarch, Androneus, the emperor of Constantinople, usurped the
monarchy of the whole empire, and placed the imperial diadem on the
heads of himself and of his wife, and persevering in his tyrannical
course, having put out the eyes of some of the nobles of the empire
and cut off the limbs of others, sent them into banishment. Among
these there was a certain nobleman, by name Androneus Angelus, who
had been chancellor to the emperor Manuel, which office was by the
Greeks called “Laucete.” Him and his two sons, the
emperor Androneus caused to be deprived of their sight and virility,
and then banished them from their country.
In
addition to these two, the before-named Androneus Angelus had a third
son, a learned clerk, whom the Greeks called “Sacwice,”
while in Latin he was named Tursakius Angelus. At the time of the
persecution he had set out for France and resided in Paris, where he
frequented the schools, that in the learning of the Latins, he might
learn their language and manners. Upon hearing the lamentable
misfortunes of his father and brothers, he set out with all speed to
administer consolation to them, and as he was passing through a
certain island of Greece he found there a certain religious man, who
had devoted himself to a life of solitude, and had a spirit of
prophecy, and who, having formerly been archbishop of the city of
Tyre, preferring to serve God rather than the world, had resigned his
archbishopric, and had taken up his residence by himself in that
island, his delicacies being the roots of wild herbs, and draughts of
water his drink. On coming to the holy man, he disclosed to him his
name and his family, and the cause of his journey. When the holy man
had heard it all he burst into tears, knowing that it was a holy
thing to weep with those who weep, and to lament with those who
lament. After he had given loose to his tears, the young man tried,
by all means in his power, to assuage his sorrow; on which the aged
man said to him, “Return to the city of Constantinople, and
prove yourself a man, for the Lord will deliver it into your hands,
and you shall rule over it, and shall be emperor, and from you shall
emperors proceed, who shall reign after you; and behold! Basilius,
the patriarch, and the chief men of the empire are seeking you that
they may become your subjects, and may have you for their lord and
emperor; therefore attempt not to fly from that which God has
prepared and predestined for you.”
Upon
this, Tursakius, believing what he said, departed for the city of
Constantinople, in the disguise of a poor man and a beggar. Not
daring to discover himself to the people because his hour was not yet
come, he remained in the suburbs alone, attended by a single servant,
and having but one gelding, and that weak and lame, and there with
patience awaited the fulfilment of the promise of the holy man
beforementioned. There he was frequently visited by the chief men of
the land and the patriarch, not openly, however, but in secret, by
reason of the fears of the emperor; who was by this time the object
of universal hatred, and was himself the hater of all men. Even the
patriarch, who had aided in his elevation, he persecuted to such a
degree, as, against his wish, to build a certain noble church in the
city, and place therein Latin canons, in consequence of which, to the
present day, that church is called the “Latin Church.”
After
a considerable time, the aforesaid Androneus, the emperor, goaded by
a bad conscience, was desirous, through his magicians, to learn if
there was still any person whom there was reason for him to stand in
fear of: on which they made answer to him, “Give us a boy
without guilt to slay, and a period of three days, and we will give
you information on what you ask.” Accordingly, a boy without
guilt was immediately delivered to them, whom they offered in
sacrifice to the demons, and after making lengthened investigation in
his blood and entrails by means of their magical arts, discovered by
the signs that the close of his rule was nigh at hand, and his death
at the gate and that he who was to put him to death was in the
neighbourhood, and his name was Tursakius Angelus.
Accordingly,
on the next day, the above-mentioned magicians came to the emperor
Androneus, and said to him, “Now at length have your sins
overtaken you of which you were guilty when, you sat on your
tribunal, oppressing the innocent and condemning the just blood
without a cause. For the day of your downfall is hastening on; and
lo! he is close at hand who shall destroy you and take your empire,
and the name of that person is Tursakius Angelus. After unheard-of
torments as your punishment, he will condemn you to a most cruel
death, and his deeds will be applauded by the lips of the people, and
he himself will become as the very food of those who tell of his
exploits, and will reign over us, and his posterity will succeed to
the sceptre. It is to your own sorrow that you have deprived his
father and brothers of eyesight and other blessings. At this moment
he is in the suburbs of this city; therefore expel him, if expel him
you can.”
Androneus,
however, on learning that he was at hand who was to put him to death,
sent his chancellor with some knights and men-at-arms, for the
purpose of seizing him. On arriving at the place where he lodged,
they found the gates closed; on which those who went first cried with
a loud voice, “Open the gates for us, open them; behold! it is
the emperor’s chancellor come;” and then said,
“Tursakius, come forth.” Tursakius, seeing that they
would break open the gates if he did not come forth with all speed,
quickly saddled his horse, and, mounting it, girded on his sword; and
then, opening the gates, he darted forth with the greatest rapidity,
and, brandishing his sword, made his way among those who resisted,
and, rushing upon the chancellor, cut off his head. The rest,
however, stood quite astounded, and not one laid hands on him; on
which, passing through the midst of them, he entered the city, and
going through it came to the church of Saint Sophia, where, finding
the patriarch Basilius, he cast himself at his feet, and told him of
all that had happened to him.
On
this, the patriarch raising him from the ground, exclaimed to the
whole of the people there assembled, “Come hither and behold
the man whom the Lord hath chosen to reign over us; say, then, what
you think thereof.” To this they all made answer, “It
pleases us that he should he our lord, and that he should reign over
us, and that we should expel this perfidious Androneus, who is
destroying us and our nation.” Upon this, the patriarch
consented to the wishes of the people, for he too had the same
desire, and forthwith consecrated him emperor: after which, having
celebrated mass and performed all things with due solemnity, the
patriarch took him to his own house, and made a great entertainment
for the chief men and tribunes of the city (for it was a festival),
to which a multitude of the people and of the elders resorted.
In
the meantime, the emperor Androneus had come forth from his palace
that he might see the end of Isaac Angelus, for the purpose of
arresting whom he had sent his chancellor; but, on hearing that the
chancellor was slain and that Isaac Angelus had been proclaimed
emperor, he returned to his palace, and the gate was shut. On this,
the new emperor came with a great multitude of armed people and laid
siege to the palace of Androneus. Suddenly, there came a great black
raven, of sinister appearance, which, sitting upon a wall of the
palace, right opposite to the emperor Androneus, sent forth at him an
unceasing and ill-boding cawing; upon which, conjecturing that this
was an omen of Ms downfall and ruin, he seized his bow and drew it,
but when he attempted to aim an arrow at it, the bow broke: on which,
being greatly enraged, he threw it at his feet, saying, “Now I
know of a truth that the day of my ruin is hastening on, and that the
anger of God has fallen upon me.”
While
he was still speaking, the followers of the new emperor scaled the
walls of the palace and took the emperor Androneus prisoner, and
after binding him, delivered him up, to the new emperor; who said to
him, “Now, through the righteous judgment of God, have your
sins overtaken you, by which you have deserved His anger, in
oppressing the innocent, and slaying your lord, the emperor Alexis,
and blinding my father and my brothers, and other nobles of the
kingdom; therefore you shall die by the most shocking of deaths;”
after which he delivered him to the torturers, saying, “Take
and scourge him through the streets and lanes of the city, and you
are at liberty to put out one of his eyes, and to cut off one ear,
one hand, and one foot. You must, however, preserve his life and his
other limbs for greater torments.”
After
this command had been fully complied with, the new emperor delivered
him to other tormentors, who, scattering straw over him, set fire to
his sides and burned him till the whole of his skin was contracted
into wrinkles: after which they fastened him to the tails of horses,
and then, dragging him through the midst of the city, when he was
dead, cast his body outside thereof.
After
this, the religious men who lived in that church in the city, which
is called the Latin church, came to the emperor Tursakius and asked
for his body; on which he gave it to them, and they buried it in
their church, which he had built. But his hand that had been cut off
was suspended by chains of iron from a gibbet. In the next place, by
command of the emperor Tursakius and the whole clergy and people, it
was, ordered, after due consideration, that whatever Androneus had
commanded to be done should be declared null and void: in consequence
of which, all who by command of Androneus had gone into exile,
returned home. In addition to this, the emperor Tursakius slew the
two sons of Androneus, and taking due precaution for the future,
deposed the above-named patriarch Basilius, and shut him up in a
monastery.
He
also sent for the person who had foretold to him what should come to
pass, and, contrary to the wishes of the canons of the church of
Saint Sophia, appointed him patriarch: in consequence of which there
arose a division among them, so that no one would pay obedience to
him. As he was a man of peace and was unwilling to have any
contention with them, he abdicated the patriarchate, on which the
emperor appointed him supreme judge in ecclesiastical matters over
all the churches of his empire. After this, the emperor Tursakius, by
the advice of his family, married the daughter of Bela, king of
Hungary, by whom he had sons and daughters, to one of whom Roger,
king of Sicily, son of Tancred, king of Sicily, was married.
In
the same year, Henry, king of England, the father, made a new coinage
in England, and fined the moneyers for the baseness of the old
coinage. In this year also, Richard, bishop of Saint Andrew’s,
in Scotland, departed this life, after whose decease there
immediately arose a division as to the election of a bishop. For the
canons of the church of Saint Andrew’s elected as their bishop
master John, surnamed Scot, while William, king of the Scots, elected
his chaplain Hugh, and ordered him to be consecrated by the bishops
of his kingdom, in spite of the appeal made to our lord the pope by
the before-named John, the bishop elect. In consequence of this,
Alexander, the Supreme Pontiff, sent Alexis, subdeacon of the Church
at Rome, into Scotland, to learn the merits of the controversy that
existed between John, the bishop elect, and Hugh, who had been
consecrated, and to put an end to the same.
Upon
his arrival in Scotland, after having made lengthened enquiries in
presence of the clergy and the people of the kingdom, respecting the
election of John and of Hugh, and the consecration of the said Hugh,
and having learned that the before-named John had been canonically
elected, and that Hugh, after appeal had been made to the Roman
Pontiff, had been violently thrust by the king into the bishopric of
Saint Andrew’s, he without any hesitation deposed him from the
bishopric of Saint Andrew’s, and by virtue of the authority
entrusted to him, condemned him to perpetual silence. The election
also of John he confirmed, and caused him to be consecrated by the
bishops of Scotland, the king neither forbidding nor opposing the
same, indeed, rather, in conformity with the advice of the bishops of
the kingdom, sanctioning it. But immediately after his consecration
had taken place, the king forbade him to stay in his kingdom. On the
other hand, Hugh conducted himself as a bishop none the less than
before, and, taking with him the sacramental vessels that belonged to
the see, and the crozier and ring, together with other things which
he unlawfully withheld, departed for Rome; on which, because he was
unwilling to restore what he had carried away, Alexis excommunicated
him, and the Supreme Pontiff confirmed the sentence; whereupon the
pope wrote to the following effect to the bishops and other
ecclesiastical men of the kingdom of Scotland:—
The letter of pope Alexander relative to John and Hugh, the bishops of
Saint Andrew’s.
“Alexander, the bishop, servant of the servants of God,
to his venerable brethren, the whole of the bishops, and his dearly beloved sons the
abbats and other prelates of churches throughout Scotland appointed,
to the prior, canons, clergy, and people of Saint Andrew’s,
health and the Apostolic benediction.
Inasmuch as we understood that our venerable brother John, now bishop
of Saint Andrew’s, was canonically elected, and that after his
election, an appeal then pending, Hugh, with rash presumption, being
thrust into the said church by lay power, had dared to be consecrated
thereto; therefore, by our Apostolic authority making null and void
his election, we directed our dear son, Alexis, our subdeacon, as
legate of the Apostolic See, to repair to your parts to take
cognizance of the election of the before-named John ; who, having, as
we are informed by the testimony of many, acted therein with mature
deliberation and in a canonical manner, found his election to be
canonical, and, after many delays, in which he acted in deference to
his royal highness, confirmed the same with the Apostolic authority,
enjoining all on our behalf who belonged to the church of Saint
Andrew’s to show due reverence and obedience to the said John
as being duly elected. Whereupon, inasmuch as no one, by reason of
their dread of the king, dared openly to obey this command, the said
legate laid under an interdict, not the kingdom, as he lawfully might
have done, but the see. Inasmuch therefore as the chief men, both
ecclesiastical as well as secular, having been solemnly bound upon
oath by our most dearly beloved son in Christ, William, the
illustrious king of the Scots, to give good counsel thereon, while
the king himself had strictly promised that he would abide by their
advice, all made answer as one man that he ought not any further to
molest the consecration of the aforesaid John made in presence of our
legate and four bishops (the fifth being sick, but by writing
consenting thereto) but allow him peacefully to be consecrated to his
see. Wherefore we do by this Apostolic writing command the whole of
you, and do, under peril of your orders and benefices, enjoin you,
that putting on a spirit of forbearance, you will, within eight days
after the receipt hereof, all appeal set aside, with due honor
reinstate him in his see, and labour prudently and manfully for the
upholding of the rights of the Church, and use all diligence in
appeasing the irritation of the king, and shew all the respect and
honor to the aforesaid bishop which you were wont to shew to his
predecessors. And if the king shall will any otherwise, or even be
warped by the counsels of wicked men, it is your duty to pay
obedience rather to God and to the holy Church of Home than to men;
otherwise the sentence which our venerable brother Hugh, bishop of
Durham, has pronounced upon the rebellious and contumacious, we
shall, with God’s assistance, confirm and order to be strictly
observed."
Another
Letter of pope Alexander on the same subject
“Alexander,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable
brethren, and his dearly beloved sons the prelates of churches
appointed throughout Scotland, health and the Apostolic benediction.
Whereas it has been notified unto us, that Hugh, who had been
intruded upon the church of Saint Andrew’s in Scotland, having
unlawfully withheld the episcopal vessels,* the crozier and ring, and
other things which he had without good reason taken away, and, having
been frequently warned thereon to return to a sense of his duty,
despised the said warnings; on which our dearly beloved son Alexis,
the subdeacon and legate of the Apostolic See, in presence of
yourselves and many of the clergy and people, relying upon the
Apostolic authority, called upon him, under pain of excommunication,
within fifteen days either to restore what he had taken away or
carried off, or else to make becoming satisfaction for the same. And
whereas, he, persisting in the sin of his arrogance, has in no way
listened to the warnings of our legate aforesaid. We therefore of our
authority, confirming the sentence pronounced by him, do by these
Apostolic writings order and enjoin the whole of you, that you do
forthwith, relying on the grace of God, and all fear laid aside, and
no appeal whatever withstanding, denounce him as under the ban of
excommunication, and carefully avoid him as excommunicated, until
such time as he shall restore to our brother, John, bishop of Saint
Andrew’s, and his church, such of the things above mentioned as
he has taken away, or an equivalent for the same, and make proper
satisfaction for such other things as he has made away with.”
* “Capellam” The “capella” of a bishop was the
materiel which were employed by him in the performance of his sacred
offices.
In addition to this, our lord, the pope, gave to Roger, the archbishop
of York, the legateship in Scotland, and ordered him, together with
Hugh, bishop of Durham, to pronounce sentence of excommunication upon
the king of the Scots, and place his kingdom under an interdict,
unless he should allow the aforesaid John to hold his bishopric in
peace, and give him security that he would keep the same. The said
pope also, strictly, and in virtue of the obedience he owed, forbade
John, bishop of Saint Andrew’s, either moved by love or fear of
any person, or by any one’s suggestion or command, to presume
and dare with rashness to desert the church of Saint Andrew’s,
to which he had been consecrated and confirmed with the Apostolic
authority, or to receive another; adding, that if he should attempt
so to do, he would deprive him of both. And with reference thereto,
the Supreme Pontiff wrote to the following effect—
The Letter of pope Alexander to William, king of the Scots, on the same
matter.
“Alexander,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to William, the
illustrious king of the Scots, health and the Apostolic benediction.
We bear it in mind that we have anxiously laboured for your peace and
liberty, hoping that thereby you would be more strongly confirmed,
and increase apace in dutifulness to the Apostolic Sec, and would
more willingly preserve the liberties of the Church ; but when we
give our attention to what you have done relative to our venerable
brother John, bishop of Saint Andrew’s, in Scotland, and what
disposition you have hitherto shewn with regard to him, we find
ourselves compelled to entertain apprehensions at variance with the
hopes which we did entertain, as to the warmth of your royal
dutifulness. Wishing, nevertheless, to make trial if our forbearance
can bring your royal feelings to true repentance, we do by these
Apostolic writings strenuously admonish and enjoin your mightiness,
that, within twenty days after the receipt hereof, you make peace
with the said bishop, and give security for the same, so that he may
have no room to fear your royal indignation. Otherwise, you are to
know that we have given orders to our venerable brother Roger, the
archbishop of York and legate of the Apostolic See, in Scotland, to
lay your kingdom under an interdict, no appeal whatever withstanding,
and to pronounce sentence of excommunication against your person, if
you shall be unwilling to desist from this course. And further, be
assured of this for certain, that if you shall think fit to persist
in your violent measures, in the same way, that we have laboured that
your kingdom might gain its liberty, so shall we use our best
endeavours that it may return to its former state of subjection.”
The
king of Scotland, however, being in nowise willing to obey the
Apostolic mandates, expelled the said John, bishop of Saint Andrew’s,
and Matthew, bishop of Aberdeen, his uncle, from his kingdom.
Accordingly, Roger, archbishop of York, and Hugh, bishop of Durham,
and Alexis, the legate of the Apostolic See, in obedience to the
mandate of the Supreme Pontiff, pronounced sentence of
excommunication against the person of the king of Scotland, and laid
his kingdom under interdict.
In
the same year, a certain priest, Swerre Birkebain by name, commenced
a war with Magnus, king of Norway. Now the following were the grounds
of the claims which the before-named Swerre made against the said
Magnus, relative to the kingdom of Norway. Siward and Magnus were
brothers. Siward was king of Norway; and Magnus, his brother, crossed
over to Ireland and gained the greater part of it by arms; he was the
father of Harold, and was shortly after, slain by the Irish. The said
Harold, after the death of his father, passed over into Norway, to
his uncle, king Siward, and demanded of him a part of that kingdom,
on which he gave him that part of the kingdom which belonged to his
father of right.
Now
king Siward had a son, whom he named Magnus, and a daughter called
Christiana, and whom he gave in marriage to earl Herling, who by her
became the father of a son, whom he named Magnus. On the death of
earl Herling, his son Magnus succeeded him in the earldom; and
shortly after, a serious disagreement arising between him* and
Harold, the said Harold took him prisoner in battle, and blinded him
and deprived him of his virility, and hanged Reginald of Bergen.
Magnus, after losing his sight, became a monk, and Harold, having
obtained the whole kingdom of Norway, became the father of four sons,
namely, Ingo, who was legitimate, and Siward, Augustin, and Magnus,
who were illegitimate and by different mothers. A certain clerk,
Siward by name, insidiously slew the before-named king Harold by
night, and after his death, taking the before-named Magnus,
*
It will appear in the sequel that this is a mistake; it was probably
Magnus, the son of Siward, and uncle of this Magnus, who was slain by
Harold, who was his kinsman, from the abbey, attempted to restore him
to the throne, on which a war ensuing with the sons of Harold, he was
slain, and Magnus, who had been a monk, shared the same fate.
After
their death, Ingo, Siward, and Augustin, obtained the kingdom. Siward
became the father of Haco, Siward, and Suer, who were all
illegitimate, and born of different mothers. Augustin had a son who
was also named Augustin, and was of legitimate birth ; while Ingo was
the father of Siward and Augustin. They being slain, the before-named
Haco slew Ingo, and obtained the throne. The chief men of the kingdom
being indignant at this, raised Magnus, the son of Herling and the
before-named Christiana, to the throne. Being, however, unable to
make head in war against Haco, they retired to Denmark, where in a
short time having recruited their forces, they returned to Norway. A
battle being fought between them and Haco at Funenburgh, they gained
possession of his ships and arms, and put him to flight.
In
the following summer, Haco was pursued by Magnus, the son of Herling
and Christiana, and a naval engagement taking place between them at a
spot called Vee, Haco was slain, on which Magnus, the son of Herling
and Christiana, gained the throne. In consequence of this, Siward,
the brother of Haco, rose in rebellion against him, and a battle
being fought between them, Siward was slain; on which Magnus was made
king; and was crowned in the fifteenth year of his age and the second
of his reign, being the fourth year of the papacy of the pope
Alexander the Third, who sent to him master Stephen of Orvieto as
legate.
Now,
while the before-named king Magnus was celebrating the festival of
the Nativity of our Lord, at Funenburgh, Augustin, the son of the
before-named Augustin, surprised him with a body of horse, and
attempted to slay the king while among his guests; but the king,
being forewarned thereof, went out against him, and, an engagement
taking place, slew him, together with four hundred of his men. Those,
however, who escaped from the battle, to the amount of eleven hundred
warriors, adhered to the before-named Swerre, the priest, the son of
Siward. This Swerre, having levied a large force, on the night after
the feast of Saint Botolph, secretly entered the city of Drontheim,
where king Magnus, with his father, earl Herling, and
others of his friends were staying, and surprised them, and slew a
great number. On this occasion there fell earl Herling, the king’s
lather, John de Randeburgh, who was married to the king’s
sister, and Siward, the son of Nicholas, with many others : the king,
however, leaving the city, with some few of his followers, made his
escape. But in the following year, king Magnus, levying a
considerable army, attacked the beforenamed Swerre near the city of
Drontheim, and, at the first onset, slew many of his foes: but at
length, by the secret dispensation of God, after many of the best men
of his household had been slain, he took to flight, together with a
few of his followers, and effected his escape.
On
this, the priest Swerre pursued him as far as Bergen, on which the
king, flying thence, left him in possession of that city; and
Augustin, the archbishop of Drontheim, being unwilling to make any
submission to the priest Swerre, left his archbishopric, and coming
to England, excommunicated Swerre. It deserves to be recorded, that
this king Magnus was the first king of Norway that was crowned.
In
the same year, Henry, king of England, the father, appointed Ranulph
de Glanville chief justiciary of all England: by whose wisdom were
enacted the laws underwritten, which we call the “Anglican
Laws.”
Of the Laws and Statutes of England, after the Conquest by
William the Elder. *
* The numerous defects in the text of Hoveden have
here been corrected by a reference to the more full copy of these
laws in Wilkins’s “Leges Anglo-Saxonicae.” London,
1721, p. 228; et seq
“Here are set forth the enactments made by William, king of the English,
and his principal men, after the Conquest of England. In the first
place, before every thing, he desired that one God should be
worshipped throughout his kingdom, that the one faith of Christ
should always be kept inviolate, and that peace, security and good
will should be preserved between the English and the Normans. We do
also enact, that every free man shall on his word and oath affirm,
that, whether in England or out of it, he is willing to be faithful
to his lord, king William, to preserve his territories and honors to
him with all due fidelity, and to defend the same against his
enemies. We do will also, that all men whom we have brought with us,
or who shall have come after us, shall be under our protection. And
if any one of them shall be slain, his superior lord, if he can, is,
within fifteen days, to arrest his murderer; but if not then, he is
to begin to pay to us forty-six marks of silver, so far as the
property of the said lord shall last. But where the property of the
lord shall not suffice, then the whole hundred, in which the murder
took place, shall pay in common what remains unpaid. Also, every
person who is a Frank by birth, and was in the time of Edward, our
kinsman, residing in England, and subject to the customs of the
English, which they call ‘Anlote’ or ‘Anscote,’
* is to pay the same according to the laws of the English. This
claim was made and confirmed in the city of Gloucester. We do also
forbid that any live stock shall be sold or bought except within
cities, and then in the presence of three faithful witnesses, and
that anything second-hand shall be sold without a security and
warranty for the same. And if any person shall do otherwise, he is to
pay back the money, and then a penalty [to the king].’ It was
also there enacted, that if a Frank by birth should accuse an
Englishman of perjury, murder, theft, homicide, or ‘ran,’**
whereby is meant open robbery, which cannot be denied, the Englishman
was to defend himself in such manner as he should think best, either
by judgment by iron,*** or by wager of battle. But if the Englishman
should happen to be infirm, then he was to find some one to do so in
his stead. If either of them should be conquered, he was to pay to
the king a penalty of forty shillings. ‘ But if any Englishman
shall charge a Frank by birth [therewith], and shall be ready to
prove the same by the judgment or by duel, then our will is, that the
Frank shall clear himself by oath, not [by the judgment] by iron.
This also we do command, that all shall observe the laws of king
Edward in all respects, with the addition of what we have for the
benefit of the English enacted. Every man who shall assert himself to
be free, shall be on suretyship, ****
in order that his surety may produce him for trial, if guilty of any
offence; and if any such person shall run away and escape, then the
sureties are to see that they pay the amount claimed, and make proof
that they have been privy to no fraud in the person who has escaped.
The same summons shall be made of hundreds and counties, as our
predecessors have enacted: and those who ought in justice to appear,
and shall be unwilling so to do, shall be once summoned. And if on a
second summons they shall not appear, then one ox shall be taken, and
on a third summons, another ox, and on the fourth occasion, the
amount claimed shall be paid out of the property of the said person,
by way of what is called ‘scapgeld,’ besides a penalty to
the king. We do also forbid any person to sell a man out of the
country. We do also forbid that any person shall be put to death or
hanged for any crime: but his eyes may be put out, and he may be
deprived of his virility. And this command is not to be violated, on
pain of plenary penalty to ourselves.
*
This was a tax which was to be paid in equal shares, one scot and one
lot.
**
This Saxon word is still perpetuated in our saying, “to take
all one can wrap and rend.”
*** Holding red hot iron in the hand unharmed.
**** Alluding to the institution of Frank-pledge.
“King William, in the fourth year of his reign, by the advice of his
barons, caused the nobles and wise men among the English, and those
who were learned in their laws, to be summoned throughout all the
earldoms of England, in order that he might hear from them their
laws, ordinances, and customs. Accordingly, twelve men, elected from
each county throughout the whole kingdom, first gave assurance by
oath, that, so long as they could, proceeding in the right path and
swerving neither to the right nor to the left, they would disclose
the enactments of their laws and customs, neither omitting nor
adding, nor by prevarication changing anything. Therefore, making a
commencement with the laws of Holy Mother Church, inasmuch as through
her alone both king and kingdom have a firm and lasting foundation,
they set forth her laws, liberties, and rights of protection, to this
effect: "*
* The following translation is from the text of these laws
found in Wilkins, p. 197, et seq., which is far more correct than that found in Hoveden.
Of Clerks and their Possessions.
“Every clerk, and all scholars * as well, and all their property and
possessions, are everywhere to enjoy the protection of God and of the Holy Church.
* Probably novices in the schools of monasteries.
Of the Times and Days of the King’s Protection.
“From the Advent of our Lord until the octave of Epiphany there is to be
the peace of God and of the Church throughout all the kingdom: and,
in like manner, from Septuagesima until the octave of Easter.
Likewise, from the Ascension of our Lord until the octave of
Pentecost. Likewise, on all the days of the Four Seasons, *
and on all Saturdays, from the ninth hour until Monday. Likewise, on
the vigils of Saint Mary, Saint Michael, Saint John the Baptist, of
all the Apostles, and of those Saints whose days are announced by the
priests on the Lord’s Day, and of All Saints on the calends of
November, always from the ninth hour of the vigil and during the
subsequent festival. Likewise, in parishes in which the day of
dedication is kept. Likewise, in parishes, when the festival of the
Saint of the church is celebrated. And if any person comes devoutly
to the festival of the Saint, he is to have protection **
in going, staying, and returning. Likewise, for all Christians, when
going to Church for the purpose of prayer, there is to he protection
both in going and returning. In like manner, those who are coming to
dedications, synods, and chapters, whether they have been summoned,
or whether they have themselves to perform any part therein, are to
enjoy full protection. Also, if any person who has been
excommunicated shall resort to the bishop for the purpose of
absolution, in going and returning he is to have the protection of
God and of the Holy Church: and if any person shall do him any
injury, the bishop is to do justice upon him. And if any arrogant
person shall refuse to make amends on judgment given by the bishop,
then the bishop is to make the same known to the king: and in such
case the king will compel the offender to make amends to the person
to whom he has done such injury, that is to say, in the first place
to the bishop, and then to the king; and thus, in such case, there
will be two swords, and the one sword shall aid the other.
*
These were the four seasons for fasting prescribed by the early Roman
church, styled the Vernal, Æstival, Autumnal and Hiemal fasts,
or the fasts of the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth month; March
being reckoned as the first month.
**
In these latter cases, “pax,” “peace,” or
“protection,” means merely protection from legal process.
Of
the jurisdiction of the Holy Church
“Wherever
the king’s justice shall hold his sittings, or whoever the
person whose cause he shall be occupied with, if a person sent by a
bishop shall come there and open a cause of the Holy Church, the same
is to be first brought to a conclusion ; for it is just that God
should be everywhere held in honor before man.
Of
all who hold of the Church.
“Whoever
shall hold anything of the Church, or shall have a tenement upon the
lands of the Church, he shall not, though he may have committed an
offence, be forced to plead out of the ecclesiastical court, unless,
which God forbid, there shall have been a miscarriage of justice in
such ecclesiastical court.
Of
the accused who take refuge with the Church.
“Whatever
accused or guilty person shall flee to a church for the sake of
protection, from the time that he shall have reached the porch of
such church, he shall on no account be seized by any one pursuing
him, except only by the bishop or by his servant. And if, on his
flight, he shall enter the house of a priest or his court-yard, he is
to have the same security and protection as he would have had in the
church, supposing always, that the priest’s house and
court-yard are standing upon the land of the Church. If the person is
a thief or burglar, that which he has wrongfully taken, if he has it
in his possession, he is to restore, and if he has entirely made away
with it, and has anything of his own by which to make restitution, he
is to make restitution in full to him whom he has injured. And if the
thief has thus acted according to his usual practice, and shall
happen to have frequently made his escape to churches and priests’
houses, then, after making restitution of what he has taken away, he
is to abjure that county, and not to return thereto ; and if he does
not make restitution, no one is to presume to harbour him, unless
with leave granted by the king.
Of
breach of the Protection of the Church
“If
any person shall by force violate the protection of the Holy Church,
the same belongs to the jurisdiction of the bishops. And if the
guilty person shall, by taking to flight or by arrogantly slighting
it, despise their sentence, then complaint is to be made against him
before the king after the expiration of forty days, and the king’s
justice shall exact of him surety and pledges, if he can give the
same, until he shall have made satisfaction, first to God, and then
to the king. And if for one-and-thirty days he shall not be able to
be found, either by his friends and acquaintances, or by the king’s
justice, then the king shall outlaw him by the word of his mouth. And
if he shall afterwards be found, and can be taken, he is to be
delivered alive to the king, and if he defends himself, then his
head. For from the day of his outlawry he has the head of a wolf;
which in the English language is called ‘Wulvesheofod.’*
And this is the common and universal law as to all outlaws.
*
Also called “Wolfeshead,” or “Wolferheued.”
This state of outlawry was so called, from its resemblance to that of
the wolves which infested England, for whose heads a reward was
offered.
Of
the Tithes of the Church
“Of
all yearly produce of the earth the tenth sheaf is due to God, and
ought therefore to be paid to Him. If any person has a stud of mares,
he is to give the tenth foal: he who has only one or two, is for each
foal to pay one penny. In the same manner, he who has a number of
cows is to give the tenth calf; if only one or two, he is to pay for
each calf one penny. He also who makes cheese is to give the tenth
thereof to God, and if he does not make it, then he is to give the
milk every tenth day. In like manner, the tenth lamb, the tenth
fleece, the tenth of the butter, and the tenth sucking-pig is to be
given.
Of small Tithes.
“In like manner, as to the tenths of the profits of bees. Moreover, out
of forests, meadows, waters, mills, parks, preserves, fisheries,
shrubberies, gardens, merchandize, and all other things which the
Lord has given, the tenth part is to be restored to Him who has
bestowed the other nine parts together with the tenth. The person who
withholds the same must be compelled to make payment thereof by
judgment of the bishop, and of the king, if necessary. For thus did
Saint Augustin teach, and these things were conceded by the king, the
barons, and the people. But since then, by the instigation of the
devil, many have withheld the same, and rich priests, becoming
negligent, have not taken care to undergo the trouble of seeking
them, because they had sufficient necessaries for the support of
life. But in many places there are now three or four churches where
there was then but one, and thereby their means have become
diminished.
Of those who have been adjudged by the king’s justice to undergo
the judgment of iron or of water.
“On the day on which the judgment is to be held, the bishop is to come
thither with his clergy, and in like manner the king’s justice
with law Ail men of that county, who are to see and hear that all
things are done with equity. Those whom the Lord in His mercy, and
not through their own merits, shall think fit to save, are to be
unmolested and to depart at liberty, and the king’s justice is
to pronounce judgment on those whom the iniquities of their crimes
and not the Lord has condemned. As to those barons who have
jurisdiction over their homagers in their own courts, they are to see
that they so act towards them, that they neither incur guilt before
God, nor offend the king. And if a trial takes place in any of their
courts of those who are homagers of other barons, then the king’s
justice must be present at such trial, inasmuch as, without his
presence, the said trial may not be brought to a conclusion. But if
any baron shall happen not to have jurisdiction in the hundred where
the trial takes place, then the matter is to be brought for judgment
to the nearest church where the king’s court is held, saving
always the right of such barons.
Of Saint Peter’s Penny, which in England is called Romescot.
“Every person who shall have live stock to the value of thirty
pence on his property belonging to himself, shall, according to the law of the
English, give one penny to Saint Peter, and according to the law of
the Danes, half a mark. The said penny is to be mentioned on the
feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and to be collected on the feast
which is called that of Saint Peter ad Vincula, so as not to be withheld
beyond that day. If any person shall withhold the same, then the claim is to be
brought before the king’s justice, inasmuch as this penny is the
king’s alms; and the justice is to cause the penny to be paid, as also
a fine to the bishop and to the king. And if any person shall chance to have more
houses than one, then as to that one in which he shall be residing at
the feast of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul he is to pay the penny.
What ‘Danegeld’ is, and under what emergency it was first levied.
“The payment of Danegeld was first exacted by reason of the pirates. For,
harassing this country, they used their utmost endeavours to lay it
waste. In order to check their ravages, it was enacted, that Danegeld
should be paid yearly; namely, twelve pence for each hide of land
throughout the whole country, for the purpose of hiring persons to
resist the incursions of the pirates. From this Danegeld all the
Church was free and exempt, and all the land which belonged to the
Church as of its own demesne, wherever situate; it paying nothing
whatever towards such a tax, because more trust was put in the
prayers of the Church than in its defence by arms. [And the English
church enjoyed this exemption down to the times of William the
Younger, who was surnamed Rufus, when he required aid from the barons
of England in order to regain Normandy and retain possession of it
against his brother Robert, surnamed Curthose, who was setting out
for Jerusalem. It was conceded to him, though not sanctioned or
confirmed by law; but by reason of the necessity of the case, he
caused four shillings to be paid to him for every hide of land, that
of the Church not even excepted. While the collection of the tax was
being made, the Holy Church protested against it, demanding her
exemption, but she availed nothing thereby.]
Of the various kinds of the King’s Protection, along the Four
Streets or Royal Roads, and along rivers, by the navigation of which provisions are carried.
“The king’s protection is of various kinds. One kind is given under
his own hand, which is called by the English ‘Cyninges hande
sealde grith.’ One kind is that which lasts for a period of
eight days from the time of his coronation. There are also eight days
at the Nativity of our Lord, eight days at Easter, and eight at
Pentecost. Another protection is that given by his letters. Another,
that which the Four public Roads possess, Watlingstrete,* Fosse,**
Ikenildestrete, ***
and Ermingstrete;**** two of which extend along the length and two
along the breadth of the kingdom. Another is that which the waters of
certain rivers known by name possess, by the navigation of which
provisions are carried from different places to cities or boroughs.
This protection under the king’s hand, on the day of his
coronation, and under his letters, is to be observed under penalty of
a fine: in like manner a breach of the protection on the four public
roads and the principal rivers is to be deemed equal to assault. If
any building is erected [on the said roads or rivers], the same shall
be destroyed, and one half of the expenses of the repairs thereof
shall be paid. And if a person shall knowingly have committed such
breach, the fine is to be paid by the eighteen hundreds, in places
subject to the Danish laws,
†
and his body shall be at the king’s mercy. According to the law
of the English, his were,
††
that is to say, the price of his ransom is to be the same as the
manbote payable to the lords for those of their men who have been
slain. The manbote, according to the Danish laws, for a villein or a
sokeman, is twelve oras †††
but for free men, three marks. But manbote, according to the law of
the English, is three marks to the king, and to the archbishop, for
the men who belong to them; but to the bishop and to the earl of the
same county, and to the king’s seneschal it is twenty shillings
; and to other barons, ten shillings. Also, a recompense is to be
paid to the relations of the person slain, or the duel is to be waged
with them, as to which the English proverb says, ‘Bige spere of
side other bere.’ ††††
Protection, however, upon the Four public Roads and the
before-mentioned rivers lies under a higher jurisdiction than what we
have mentioned as to assault. Also, if a mill, or fishery, or any
other work that is an obstruction to them is in preparation, the said
works must be immediately destroyed, and the public Roads and rivers
must be placed in their former state of repair, and a fine to the
king must not be forgotten. The lesser roads, however, leading from
one city to another, and from borough to borough, and along which
merchandize is carried and other business done, are to be subject to
the laws of the county ; and if any person erects any work to their
detriment, the same is to be levelled with the ground, and the roads
are to he at once put in repair, and reparation is to be made,
according to the law of the said county, to the earl and sheriff
thereof. The same is to be done likewise as to the lesser rivers. As
to the lesser rivers which carry vessels with the things that are
necessary to boroughs and cities, wood, at least, and things of that
nature, reparation of them is likewise to be made as prescribed by
the law relative to the lesser roads.
* From Devonshire to Chester.
**
From Caithness, in Scotland, to Totnes, in Devonshire.
***
It extended from Saint David’s, in Wales, to Tynemouth, in Northumberland.
****
Extending from the south of England towards Carlisle.
† The ‘Denelega,’ or law established
by the Danes for those parts inhabited by their own nation.
†† The ‘were,’ or
‘wergeld,’ was paid by a murderer, partly to the king for
the loss of a subject, partly to the lord whose vassal he was, and partly
to the next of kin of the person slain.
†††
The ‘ora’ was a Danish silver coin, probably about ten
shillings in value.
††††
“Buy a spear for your side, or wield it yourself,”
meaning, “Either hire a person to wage the battle for you,
or fight yourself.”
Of the Divisions of the Shires.
“The divisions of the king’s Shires properly belong to the same
jurisdiction as the four Royal public Roads. The division into
Hundreds and Wapentakes, with their jurisdiction, belong to the earls
and sheriffs of the counties. Treasures found in the ground belong to
our lord the king, unless they are found in a church or in a
burial-ground. And even if found there, the gold belongs to the king,
and a moiety of the silver, and the other moiety to the church where
it is found, whatever church it is, whether rich or poor.
Of the Laws as to Murderers.
“If a person was murdered anywhere, the murderer was sought
throughout the vill where the person murdered was found. If he was found, he was
to be delivered up to the king’s justice, within eight days
after the murder. If he could not be found, then a period of a month
and a day was given for making search for him; and if within the
given period he could not be found, then six and forty marks were
levied upon the vill. But if it was not able to make so great a
payment, then the amount was to be paid by the hundred which the vill
was unable to pay. But when the boundaries of the vill were utterly
confused, then the barons were to see that it was collected
throughout the hundred, and was sealed with the seal of some baron of
the county, and then carried to the king’s treasurer, who was
to keep the same under seal for a year and a day. If the murderer
could be found within that time,
then he was to be delivered up to the king’s justice, on which
they were to have back the forty-six marks that had been deposited
with the king’s treasurer. But if he could not be apprehended
within the said time, then the relations of the murdered person were
to have six marks and the king the remaining forty. If his relations
could not be found, then his superior lord was to receive them, and
if he had no lord, then his fellow, 63
that is to say, the person who was tied to him by bonds of fidelity.
But if there were none of these, in such case, the king of the realm,
under whose safeguard and protection they all live, was to take back
the six marks together with his own forty.
“The
law of murder was first enacted in the time of Canute, the Danish
king, who, after gaining possession of England, and reducing it to a
state of peace, at the request of the English barons, sent his army
back to Denmark. The said barons, however, became surety to the king,
that as many of his people as he should wish to retain with himself
should enjoy assured protection in all respects; and that if any of
the English should happen to slay one of them, and could not defend
himself against the charge, by the judgment of God, that is to say,
by judgment of water or of iron, justice should be executed upon him;
and that if he should take to flight, then payment was to be made as
mentioned above.
Of
the Duties of the King
“The
king, as being the viceregent of the Supreme King, is appointed for
the purpose of shewing due respect to and protecting the worldly
kingdom, and the people of God, and, above all things, His Holy
Church, and of ruling and defending it from those who would injure
it, and of removing from it, and crushing and utterly dispersing all
evil-doers; and if he does not do so, then the name of king will not
belong to him, pope John truly testifying that he loses the name of
king who does not act as king. [On Pepin and his son Charles, who
were not yet kings, but only princes under the king of the Franks,
hearing this definite opinion, pronounced as truthfully as prudently
on the name of a king, quoted by William the Bastard, king of
England, they foolishly wrote to the pope to enquire if on those
terms the kings of the Franks were to remain contented solely with
the name of king. On which they received for answer that those ought
to be called kings who watch, defend, and govern the Church of God
and His people, in imitation of the Royal Psalmist, who says, ‘
He that worketh vanity shall not dwell in my house.’]*
* Probably an interpolation.
Of the guilty condemned by Law who have recourse to
the king’s mercy.
“If
a person guilty of a capital offence shall ask the king’s mercy
for his crime, in his fear of death or of loss of limb, the king may,
by the law of his dignity, pardon him if he pleases, even though he
be deserving of death. The malefactor, however, shall make redress,
so far as he shall be able, for the offence of which he has been
guilty, and shall give sureties that he will keep the peace and
observe the laws ; and if such sureties shall not be forthcoming, he
shall be banished the country.
What
those are to do whom the king shall think proper to deliver from
death
“The
king has also another prerogative of mercy as to those who are under
arrest. For wherever he shall come, whether into city, borough,
castle, vill, or even in the road, if a person shall be under arrest,
it is in his power, by a single word, to release him from such
arrest. The person released shall, however, make satisfaction to the
person against whom the crime was committed. But as to a murderer,
traitor, or criminal of that description, although the king shall
pardon them as to life and limb, they shall on no account with the
sanction of the law remain in the country; but shall immediately make
oath that they will go to the sea-shore within a time prescribed to
them by the justice, and will immediately, as soon as they find a
ship and a fair wind, cross the seas. And if, being forsworn, they
shall afterwards remain in this country, whoever shall be able to
find them, may execute summary justice on them without judgment
pronounced; and if any person shall gratuitously harbour them for a
single night only he shall be fined according to the greater law of
the English or of the Danes, on the second occasion twofold, and for
the third offence he shall be adjudged to be the associate and
accomplice of malefactors.
Of
the wives of malefactors and their children
“If
any such shall have wives living in this country, and any one of the
relatives of the person murdered shall say that ‘they were
accomplices in the crime, they shall make proof of their innocence by
the judgment of God; and if the mercy of God and their own innocence
shall save them, they may continue to be lawful persons with their
dowries and marriage portions. But children who, before commission of
the crime, were born or begotten, are not to lose their lawful rights
for a crime committed after they were begotten, nor are they to be
deprived of their right of heirship.
What
“Frithborg” means, or the oath of the Ten Men, which the
people of York call “Tenemental.”
There
is likewise one great and especial institution, by means of which all
people are kept in a state of the greatest security, namely, where
each person giving that pledge for himself on a certain security,
which the English call ‘Freoborger.’* The people of
York, however, and they only, call it ‘Tien manna tala,’
** which means ‘ The number often men.’ This surety was
exercised in the following manner; Inasmuch as all men in all vills
throughout the whole kingdom were bound to be divided into
frank-pledges of ten, if one of the ten were guilty of an offence,
there would be nine to force him to make redress ; and if he took to
flight, a term of thirty-one days by law was granted them. On the
person being sought for, and found, he was taken before the king’s
justice, and out of his property reparation was instantly made for
the injury he had done; and if after that he was guilty of any
offence, then justice was executed upon his body. But if within the
time before-mentioned he could not be found, then, as there was in
every frithborg one head man whom they called ‘Freoborger
heofod,’*** this head man would choose two of the best men of
his own frithborgers, and then of the three frithborgs that were
nearest, he would take the head man of each, and two of the best men
of each of those frithborgs, if he could find them, after which,
himself being the twelfth, he would purge himself and his own
frithborg of the offence, if he could, and of the escape of the said
malefactor. If he could not do this, then he and his frithborg were
to make good the loss out of the property of the malefactor so far as
it would go, and on that falling short, make up the amount from the
property of himself and his frithborg, and so account to the justice
for the amount legally adjudicated against them. Then last of all the
nine would swear by themselves that they had been unable to make
satisfaction therein according to their oath, by means of the three
nearest frithborgs, and that they would in nowise be guilty thereof,
and that if they should ever be able to capture him, they would bring
him to the justice, or inform the justice where he was.
* Frank-pledge, or surety given by ten men for the good behaviour of
the eleventh.
** Or “Tenemental.” It was also called a “Decennary,”
and each person bound for himself and his neighbour, was called a
“decennier.”
*** “Head
of the frithborg.” He was also called the "deciuer,”
or “doziner.”
That all person are to establish Frithborgs for their servants and
dependants.
“Archbishops,
bishops, earls, and barons, are also to have their own knights and
yeomen, their sewers, butlers, chamberlains, cooks, and bakers, each
in his own frithborg. They are also to have their own esquires, or
other servants, each in his own frithborg. And if these persons shall
commit an offence against any man, and a charge shall be made by the
neighbours against them, they are to compel them to make redress in
their own courts; that is to say, those who have the right of sac,
and soc, and thol*, and them**, and infangthefe***.
*
Sac, is when any person charges another by name with any offence and
he denies it; on which the fine levied on proof or disproof thereof,
if there is one, belongs to the lord. Soc, is when any person
searches for anything on his lands, in which case, even though it be
stolen it belongs to him, whether found or not. Thol, which we call
‘‘Tholonium,’ is the privilege of him who has the
right of buying and selling on his own lands.
**
Them, is where any person lays claim to property in the hands of
another, in which case the party so challenged shall produce his
warranty, and if not, he shall be fined, and the penalty shall go to
the lord; and similar justice shall be dealt to him who makes the
charge, if he shall fail in his proof.
***
That person has the right of ‘infangthefe,’ who has the
right of taking cognizance of robbery in his own court in the case of
his own homager, if such person shall have been taken on his lands.
But those who have not those customs, are to have justice done before
the king’s justice in the hundreds and wapentakes, or in the
shires.
Of
entertaining guests
“If
any person shall entertain a friend or a stranger, which in English
is called ‘cuth other uncuth,’* he shall be at liberty to
keep him for two nights as a guest; and if he shall be guilty of an
offence, the host shall not incur a penalty for the guest. But if any
injury shall be committed on any person, and such person shall make a
charge before a court of justice against him that by his counsel the
offence was committed, then, together with two of his neighbours,
lawful men, he shall clear himself by oath of either counselling or
abetting the same. And if he shall not do so, he shall make good the
loss and pay a penalty. But if he shall be entertained a third night,
and shall commit an offence against any person, then the host is to
produce him to justice, as though one of his own household, which in
English is expressed by ‘Twa night gest, thrid night agen
hine.’** And if in such case he shall not be able to produce
him to justice, then he shall have the space granted him of a month
and a day. And if the offender shall be found, he shall make amends
for the injury he has done, and shall make good the same, even with
his body, if that shall be adjudged against him. But if the offender
shall not be able to make good the injury he has done, then his host
shall make it good, and shall pay a fine. And if the justice shall
hold him suspected, then he shall clear himself according to the
judgment of the court of the hundred or the shire.
*
“Kith or unkith;” “acquainted or unacquainted.”
**
Meaning “Two nights your guest, the third night one of your
household.”
What
is to be done as to things found.
“If
any person shall lead an animal into a vill, or shall bring any
money, and shall say that he has found the same, before he takes it
to his own house, or even that of any other person, he is to take it
in front of the church, and in presence of the priest of the church,
and of the reeve and chief men of the vill, show all that he has
found, whatever it may he. The reeve of the vill is at once to send
to the three or four nearest vills for their priests and reeves, who
are also to bring with them three or four of the principal men of
each vill, and in the presence of them all, the whole of what has
been found is to be shown. After this, in the sight of these persons,
the reeve, to whose jurisdiction the finder belongs, is to place the
same in safe keeping until the next day. On the following day, he is
to go with some of his neighbours who have seen what has been found
to the bailiff of the hundred in which his vill is situate, and show
him the whole thereof. And if he is the homager of the lord on whose
lands the same has been found, and the lord, in whose hands it has
been found, has not his customs of sac or soc, he is to deliver the
whole thereof to the bailiff of the hundred, in the presence of good
witnesses, if he chooses to take it. But if the lord has such
customs, then justice is to be done in the lord’s court.
Of Jews established in the kingdom.
“Be
it also known, that all Jews, wheresoever they are in the kingdom,
are to be under the tutelage and lawful protection of the king; and
no one of them can serve under any rich man without the king’s
leave; for the Jews and all their property belong to the king. And if
any person shall lay hands on them or their money, the king is to
demand restitution thereof, if he so pleases, as of his own.
Of
those who have protection by the king’s Letters.
“Those
who have the king’s protection, either under his hand or by his
letters, must observe their fealty to him. Therefore it is their
bounden duty to observe the same inviolably towards all men, and not,
having gained the shelter of his protection, to withhold rights or
services from their superior lords, nor yet from their neighbours;
for he is not worthy to enjoy peace who is not ready to keep it
towards others. And if any person should rely too much on the
protection which he enjoys, and shall be guilty of an injury to
another, then he is to make good the loss, and to pay a fine of the
same amount. The former the English call ‘murdre,’* and
the fine ‘astrihilthet.’**
*
The Saxon name for “concealment” perhaps it was so called
from the offender having sheltered himself under the king’s
protection.
**
Compensation to the master of a house.
What
those are to pay to the king and the dean who infringe upon the
king’s protection
“Protection
given under the king’s hand, that given on the first eight days
from the time of his coronation, protection on the before-named
festivals, and protection by the king’s letters, have one mode
of redress [for breach thereof], which is to be taken cognizance of
in the highest court of justice, held in the shire in which the peace
has been broken, as for example, in places subject to the Danish
law,* the eighteen hundreds pay the penalty, the amount of which is
one hundred and forty-four; as the Danes assessed the penalty paid by
each hunat eight pounds Norwegian, and eight multiplied by eighteen
makes one hundred and forty-four. And this, not without a reason. For
of these eight pounds the king had one hundred shillings, and the
earl of the county, who had every third penny of fines, fifty
shillings. The dean of the bishop, in whose deanery the peace had
been broken, had the remaining ten, besides the king’s
protection, if the protection had been originally granted under the
king’s hand, or on his coronation, or on the festivals
before-mentioned of the Nativity, Easter, or Pentecost.
*
Denelega.
Of
the supervision of those who disregarded these laws
“As
it happened that some foolish and dishonest people, without reason,
and too frequently, did injuries to their neighbours, the wiser
persons began to take cognizance of the matter, and appointed j
justices over every ten frithborgs, whom we may call ‘deciners.’
These, in English, were called ‘tienheofod,’ that is,
‘heads of ten.’ They took cognizance of matters between
the vills and their neighbours, exacted fines for offences committed,
and made parties come to terms, about such things as pasturage,
meadows, harvests, disputes between neighbours, and innumerable
questions of that nature, which harass human frailty, and are
everlastingly attacking it. When, however, greater matters of dispute
arose, they referred them to their superior judges, whom the wise men
before-mentioned had appointed over them, that is to say, over the
ten deciners, and whom we may call ‘centurions’ or
‘centeners,’ because they exercised jurisdiction over a
hundred frithborgs.
Of
Wapentage, and how those acted who accepted Wapentage
“Warwickshire,
Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, and Northamptonshire,
as far as Watling Street extends and eight miles beyond, are under
the law of the English. And what the English call a ‘Hundred,’
the counties above-named call a ‘Wapentake.’ And not
without a reason; for when a person received the headship of a
wapentake, on a day named, at the place where they were accustomed to
meet, all the elders went forth to meet him, and, on his dismounting
from his horse, they all closed around him; on which, raising his
spear erect, in the usual manner, he received the assurance of all.
Then all, as many as had come, with their lances touched his spear,
and thus by touching arms gave assurance, publicly granting him their
protection. Now, in the English language, arms are called ‘wsepnu,’
and ‘taccare’ means ‘to assure,’ and the
phrase, as it were, means ‘ the assurance of arms;’ or,
if we may more explicitly explain the word ‘wapentake,’
in the English language it means, ‘the touching of arms,’
for ‘wsepnu’ means ‘arms,’ and ‘tac’
is ‘touch.’ Therefore, we may conclude that for this
reason all such assemblage was called a wapentake; it being the fact
that by touching arms they were leagued together.
What the difference is between a Wapentake, a Trihing, and a Hundred.
“There were also other jurisdictions, above the wapentake, which were called
‘Trihingas,’ because they consisted of the third part of
a county. Those who ruled the trihings were called ‘Trihingerefas;’
and before them were brought the causes of the trihing which could
not be settled in the wapentakes, and thus, what the English called
by the name of hundreds; they called ‘wapentakes;’ and
what the people of England called, ‘three’ or ‘four
hundreds,’ these people called ‘trihinga.’ In some
counties, in the English language, what they called ‘trihinga,’
was called ‘lethe.’ Causes that could not be settled in
the trihing were taken to the shire.
What is the meaning of the name ‘Greve’ and what are his
duties; and what is the meaning of the name ‘Ealdorman’, which
literally signifies an elder of the people; and into how many
meanings the name ‘Greve’ has been expanded.
“Greve * also is a name that signifies power, and cannot be
better expressed in Latin than by the word ‘praefectura,’ for the word is
employed with such multiplied meanings, that there is the ‘
greve’ of the shire, of wapentakes, hundreds (also of the ‘
lethe’), boroughs, and of vills even; in all of which it seems
to have the same meaning, and to signify the same as ‘dominus’
[chief]. Some, also, are of opinion that the word ‘greve’
is a name compounded of the English ‘grith’ and the Latin
‘vae.’ For ‘grith’ is a word denoting peace,
whereas ‘vae’** indicates misery: as the Lord testifies
when He says, ‘Vaes unto thee, Chorazin.’ Consequently
the greve is so called, because by law he ought to ensure to the
country ‘grith,’ or peace, against those who would bring
upon it ‘vae,’ that is, evil or misery. The Germans, and
Frisians, and Flemings, are in the habit of calling their earls by
the name of ‘ margrave,’ as though meaning ‘higher
lords,’ or ‘good peacemakers.’ And those who are
called ‘greves’ at the present day, having jurisdiction
over others among the English, were anciently called ‘ealdormen,’
as though elders, not by reason of old age, inasmuch as some were
young men, but on account of their wisdom.
*
The Saxon “gerefa,” more generally spoken of as the
“reeve,” or “reve.”
**
“Woe!” An idea more fanciful than well-founded. See St.
Matt. i. 21.
For
what reason king William abolished the laws of the English and
retained those of the Danes
“The
law of the Danes and Norwegians prevailed in Norfolk, Suffolk, and
Cambridgeshire. Now as to payment of penalties [by hundreds] for
offences committed, where these counties had eighteen hundreds, the
former ones had only ten and a half, which arose from their being in
the vicinity of the Saxons, the whole sum of contribution in cases of
the largest penalty among the Saxons in those times being eighty-four
pounds. But in all other matter for trial and penalties they had the
same law with the [Danes and] Norwegians above named.
[When
king William heard of this, together with the other laws of his
kingdom, he greatly approved thereof, and gave orders that it should
be observed throughout all his kingdom. For he stated that his
ancestors, and those of nearly all the barons of Normandy, had been
Norwegians, and had formerly come from Norway. And for this reason he
asserted that he ought to follow and observe their laws before the
other laws of his kingdom, as being more profound and more consistent
with what was right: whereas the laws of other nations, Britons,
Angles, Picts, and Scots, were prevailing in every quarter. On
hearing of this, the whole of the people of this country who had
promulgated these laws, being touched with sorrow, entreated him with
one accord that he would allow them to retain their own laws and
ancient customs, under which their fathers had lived, and they
themselves were born and brought up, as it would be very hard for
them to receive laws of which they knew nothing, and judge on matters
of which they were ignorant. The king, however, still remaining
obdurate, they at last plied him with entreaties, for the sake of the
soul of king Edward, who had granted him the crown and kingdom in
succession to himself, and by whom and no strangers the said laws
were founded, not to compel them to observe other than the laws of
their fathers. After taking this under due consideration, at the
earnest request of his barons, he at length acceded to their
entreaties. From that day, therefore, their authority being
recognized, the laws of Saint Edward the king were respected
throughout all the kingdom, and were confirmed and observed before
all other laws of the country, having been first established and
enacted in the days of king Edgar, his grandfather; but, after his
death, they had been set aside for sixty-eight years. For Edward, his
son and heir by his lawful wife, reigned four years, less sixteen
weeks; after whose death, in his innocence, by the treachery of his
stepmother, on account of his innocent life, so chaste and so full of
alms-deeds, and his undeserved end, they honored him as a Martyr, and
held him to be a Saint. After him, his brother Aldred* received the
kingdom, and ruled, amid many adversities and perils,
eight-and-thirty years. After Aldred, his son Edmund Ironside reigned
nearly nine months, during which he valiantly fought five battles
against Canute, the king of the Danes.
*
Before called by Hoveden
“Egelred,”
and more generally “Ethelred."
After
the last battle, they came to terms, and divided the kingdom in
halves; and one moiety of England fell to Canute, the other to
Edmund, on condition that whoever should survive the other should
have the whole of the kingdom, and that neither should in the
meanwhile be crowned. Matters, therefore, being thus settled, and all
the chief men of England giving their assent to the arrangement thus
made between them, within one month after, Edward was, alas! removed
from this world; on which Canute received the kingdom of the whole of
England, and ruled nearly eighteen years. After his decease, Harold
Harefoot, supposed by nearly all to be falsely considered as the son
of Canute and Elfgiva, succeeded to the throne, and reigned five
years; after whom Hardicanute, son of Canute and Emma, the sister of
Robert, duke of Normandy, and mother of the last king, Saint Edward,
reigned two years, less twelve weeks. And thus passed sixty-eight
years, during which the said laws were neglected. But after king
Edward came to the throne, by the advice of the barons of England, he
raised the code of laws that had slept for sixty-eight years, and
remodelled it thus raised, beautified it thus remodelled, and
confirmed it thus beautified. When thus confirmed, it was called ‘the
law of king Edward,’ not because he had been the first to frame
it, but because it had been neglected and almost left in oblivion
from the days of his grandfather, Edgar, who had reigned seventeen
years, and who had been the first founder thereof, until his own
times, being nearly, as said above, sixty-eight years. For Edward,
because it was a just and good code of laws, raised it from the deep
abyss, and matured it and ordered it to be observed as though his
own.
Edmund
Ironside before-named had a son, Edward by name, who, shortly after
the death of his father, through fear of king Canute, fled to the
king of the Rugi, which we more properly call Russia; and the king of
that country, Malesclotus by name, when he understood who he was,
gave him an honourable reception. He there married a wife of noble
birth, by whom he had Edgar Atheling, Margaret, afterwards queen of
Scotland, and Christiana, her sister, to which Christiana king Edward
gave the lands afterwards held by Ralph de Limisey. Now, the said
Christiana was sister of Edgar Atheling, who was sent for by his
uncle king Edward, who caused him to come to his court; on arriving
at which he did not long survive, and in a very short space of time
his wife died. King Edward, however, kept his son Edgar with him, and
brought him up as his own son. And because he intended to make him
his heir he gave him the name of ‘ Atheling,’ the same as
we say ‘domicellus’ or ‘damisell,’ meaning
‘young lord;’ but we say it indifferently of many,
inasmuch as we call the sons of barons ‘damisells,’
whereas the English called none but the sons of kings by that name.
And if we would express this still more clearly, in one part of
Saxony an image is known by the name of ‘ling;’ and
‘athel,’ in the English, signifies noble; wherefore, the
two being joined together, the word ‘Atheling’ would
signify the ‘image of nobility.’ Hence it is that the
West-Saxons, that is, the people of Exeter, have an expression
signifying supreme contempt— ‘hinderling,’ meaning
‘an image cast down from or forsaking all propriety.’
King Edward, however, as he was aware of the wickedness of his
nation, and especially the vanity of the sons of Godwin, namely,
Harold (who afterwards seized the kingdom), Gurth, Leofwin, and the
rest of his brothers, thinking that that could not possibly be
lasting or durable which he had purposed respecting Edgar Atheling,
adopted William, duke of the Normans, as his successor in the
kingdom, William the Bastard, that is to say, the bastard son of
Robert, his mother’s brother and his own uncle, a valiant,
brave, and warlike man, who afterwards, by the will of God, having
conquered the above-named Harold, the son of Godwin, victoriously
gained possession of the kingdom of the English.]*
*
This appears to be a gloss or interpolation
Of
robbers slain for robbery
“If,
after judgment given, any one shall make a charge before the
justiciary that a person has been unrighteously slain, and that
unjustly he lies buried among robbers, and shall say that he is
willing to make proof thereof, he is to give a pledge and find
sureties ; upon which, the space of one month and a day shall be
given him, and then he is to take relatives of the person slain, on
both sides, namely, his father’s and his mother’s side,
twelve on his father’s side and six on his mother’s. And
if these eighteen are willing to make proof with him who first made
the charge, and who has given the pledge, each of them is to give his
pledge with his sword; and, after that, he is to find sureties, such
as can pay his fine, that is to say, his ‘were,’ in case
they cannot make proof of what they say. Then the slayer is to give
his pledge and find sureties that the person was rightfully slain,
and deservedly lies buried among robbers, and according to law, as
being a robber. And then, he is first, to show for what robbery and
for what reason he was slain. And if he shall acknowledge that he was
taken alive, he is to name a court, and judges, and lawful witnesses
of the number of his neighbours. And if these persons shall undertake
to prove that justice was rightfully done upon the person as his
theft deserved, then his slayer shall be acquitted. In such case they
who have made the charge shall forfeit their securities, the same to
be paid over to the judges and witnesses. And if it shall be proved
that he was unjustly slain, then the slayer shall give pledge to the
justice of the bishop, and sureties that he will make redress. After
this, the justice of the bishop shall cause a procession to be
formed, with the priest clad in alb, maniple, and stole, and the
clerks in their surplices with holy water and cross, with
candlesticks going before, and thurible, fire, and incense. And then,
his friends are to bring him forth, and place the dead man on a bier
and carry him to the church; where the mass having been performed for
the dead and the other offices performed, they shall inter him as
becomes a Christian. Between that day and sixteen days therefrom, the
slayer is to pay three fines to the bishop: one, because he has slain
a lawful man as a robber; another, because he has buried his brother
as a robber; which the English call ‘his emne-Christen;’**
and the third because he has given security that he would make proof
and has not been able so to do.
*
Being buried probably in unconsecrated ground.
**
His brother in Christ.
Of
Usurers.
“King
Edward also forbade usurers to remain in his kingdom; and if any
person was convicted of exacting usurious interest, he was to lose
all his substance, and be thenceforth considered out of the pale of
the law. For this king used to assert, that he had heard it remarked,
at the court of the king of the Franks, while he was staying there,
that usury is the root of all vices.
Of
purchases
“By
the same law it was also forbidden, that any person should buy a live
animal or worn garment without sureties and good witnesses. If it was
a work of gold or silver, concerning which the buyer might be in
doubt, he was not to buy it without the aid of goldsmiths or
moneyers. If these, on seeing it, said that it came out of a church
or treasury, he was not to buy it without finding sureties; and if
the seller could not find sureties, then he was to be detained with
the property until his lord should come, or some one else who could
give good security for him; and if any man bought on any other terms,
because he had purchased foolishly, he was at once to lose what he
had bought and pay a fine. After this, inquisition was to be made by
legal men, and the chief men of the borough, or vill, or hundred
where the buyer lived, as to what was his mode of life, and if they
had ever heard of his being charged with acting unlawfully : and if
witness was borne by them, that he was of good life and lawful
character, he was to prove before the court of the county that he did
not know that the seller was acting unlawfully in the sale thereof,
or was guilty of any unlawful offence, and if he should know who the
seller was or where he was, he was to say so; on which the justiciary
was to make search for him, in order to bring him to justice, and if
he could not be found he was to be outlawed.
Of
buyers and provision dealers.
“But
when it was stated that no man was to buy a live animal without
sureties, the provision-sellers in the cities and boroughs, whom the
English call ‘fleshmongers,’ made an outcry, that every
day they were obliged to buy, kill, and sell live animals, as their
livelihood was got by killing such animals. In addition to which, the
citizens, burgesses, and populace cried out for their customs,
because they had about the feast of Saint Martin been in the habit of
buying animals at market without any surety, for the purpose of
killing them against the Nativity of our Lord. There was also a great
murmuring among the multitude about this enactment. Wherefore I am of
opinion, that if enquiry had been made whether that decree pleased or
not, as is the case in some assemblages, an answer would with
universal assent have been given by multitudes, ‘it does not so
please us.’ There, also, you might have heard, had you been
present, different whispers muttered aside in the ear, and the
clamours and murmurs of a tumultuous populace. It was to the king’s
praise, however, that he would not do away with customs that were
just and wisely framed’; but he only required in the king’s
market, on the sale of their wares, that there should be witnesses
and some knowledge of the parties selling.”
The
Genealogy of the Dukes of Normandy.
Rollo,
the first duke of Normandy, who at his baptism was also named Robert,
reigned thirty years; his son William, twenty-five, Richard the
Elder, fifty-three, Richard the Second, thirty, Richard the Third,
one year, Robert, his brother, eight years; William the Bastard
reigned as duke thirty years, and after he was king of the English,
twenty years. Now Richard the Elder had a daughter named Emma, who
was married to Adelred, king of the English, and by whom that king
became the father of Edward and Alfred. In the time of Richard the
Second, king Adelred caused the Danes throughout England to be slain,
in consequence of which Sweyn, king of the Danes, invaded England and
subdued it; on which, Adelred, with his wife and sons, fled to
Normandy, to the court of Richard the Second, the brother of his
wife, and duke of Normandy. Shortly after this, Sweyn died, and was
carried to Denmark to be buried there.
In
the mean time, Adelred, with his wife, returned to his kingdom,
leaving his sons in the charge of their uncle. After Sweyn was
buried, his son Canute, with a great fleet, bringing with him
Lachiman, the king of the Swedes, and Olaf, the king of the
Norwegians, who was afterwards baptized at Rouen, entered the Thames,
and besieged king Adelred in London; who, while thus besieged, was
suddenly attacked by a malady, and died. Canute, on gaining
possession of the kingdom, took the before-named queen Emma to wife,
and by her became the father of Hardicanute, who was afterwards king
of the Danes, and of a daughter named Gunhilda, who became the wife
of Henry, emperor of the Romans. In the meantime, on the decease of
Richard the Second, his son Richard succeeded him for a single year;
after whose death his son Robert succeeded him. He, being wishful to
replace Edward on the throne of the English, gave him a fleet, but
being forced to return in consequence of contrary winds, after having
been detained a long time at the isle of Gerneswic,* returned to
Normandy. After this, setting out for Jerusalem, he left his son
William, then a little child, his heir; and having fulfilled his vow,
in returning to his country, died at the city of Nicaea.
*
Guernsey.
At
the time of William succeeding to the dukedom of Normandy, Canute,
king of the English, departed this life, and was succeeded by Harold
Harefoot, his son by his concubine Elgiva. Edward, feeling indignant
at this, setting sail with forty ships, landed at Hampton, *
where the English showing resistance, after taking considerable
booty, he returned to Normandy. In the meantime, however, his brother
Alfred, who, with a large body of troops, had made an attempt upon
another part, being received by earl Godwin with an appearance of
hospitality, was by stratagem taken by him at night together with his
followers; and being placed in chains and brought before king Harold,
together with his companions, was deprived of his eyes, the rest
being put to death.
*Southampton
Not
long after this, Harold Harefoot also died, and Hardicanute,
returning from Denmark, succeeded him, being the son of Emma, the
mother of Edward. On this, Hardicanute sent for his elder brother
Edward from Normandy, and made him live with him, and on his death,
two years after, Edward succeeded him as his heir. The good king
Edward reigned twenty-two years, but having no issue, sent to his
kinsman, William, duke of the Normans, Robert, the archbishop of
Canterbury, and made him the heir to his kingdom: after him he also
sent earl Harold, who swore fealty to William at Rouen. But, after
the death of Edward, Harold treacherously and rebelliously took
possession of the kingdom and reigned nine months, and together with
his powerful accomplices, seducers, and associates, unjustly,
iniquitously, and seditiously deprived the lawful heir of the good
king Edward of the crown of the whole of the said kingdom ; *
on hearing of which, William setting sail with a powerful fleet,
landed at Pevensey, and after building a fortress there, erected
another at Hastings. Harold, meeting him with the English, fought a
battle at about the third hour of the day on the second day before
the Ides of October, in which Harold was slain at the first onset;
the fight, however, having been prolonged until nightfall. William
being victorious, was, on the following feast of the Nativity of our
Lord, in
the year of the Incarnation of our Lord one thousand six hundred and
sixty-six [1066?], crowned at London, king of the English.
* Several lines are here given from Wilkins “Leges
Anglo-Saxonicae” London 1721, which are clearly by inadvertence
omitted in the text of Hoveden.
He reigned over England twenty-two years; and after his death his son
William reigned thirteen years; in the ninth year of whose reign a
pilgrimage* of the nations to Jerusalem against the Saracens took
place. In the fourth year of this expedition, Jerusalem was taken by
the Franks, and Godfrey, duke of Lorraine, reigned over it, though
for one year only; and was succeeded by his brother Baldwin, who
reigned eighteen years. King William was slain with an arrow while
hunting in England, in the thirteenth year of his reign; on which he
was succeeded by his brother Henry, who reigned thirty-six years. He
was a feeder of wild beasts, and a guardian of the forests, and has
been styled by Merlinus Ambrosius, in his ‘History of the
Kings,’ “the lion of justice;” for he exercised
justice and judgment in the land.
* The first Crusade.
He was succeeded by Stephen, his nephew, who reigned nineteen years;
after whose death Henry, the son of Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, and of
Matilda, the former empress of the Romans, and daughter of the
before-named king Henry the First, took the helm of the kingdom of
England, and reigned thirty-five years. He dying, and being buried at
the abbey of the nuns at Fontevraud, his son Richard succeeded him in
the government of the kingdom, and after having reigned nine years,
seven months, and, twenty days, being struck by an arrow at the siege
of the castle of Chaluz, departed this life on the eighth day before
the ides of April. His entrails were interred at Chinon, his heart at
Rouen, and his body at Fontevraud. After his decease his brother John
succeeded to the throne, and reigned over the kingdom of England.
1181 A.D.
In the year of
grace 1181, being the twenty-seventh year of the reign of king Henry,
son of the empress Matilda, the said king was at Le Mans, on the day
of the Nativity of our Lord. After this festival, he enacted
throughout all his territories, beyond sea, that every man who had a
hundred pounds of money Anjouin, in chattel property, should keep a
horse and a complete set of military accoutrements ; that every man
who had chattel property to the amount of forty, thirty, or
twenty-five pounds Anjouin, at the least should have a hauberk, an
iron head-piece, a lance and a sword; while all other persons were to
have a gambeson,* an iron head-piece, a lance and a sword, or a bow
and arrows; and he forbade any person to sell or pledge his arms; but
on his death he was to leave the same to his next heir. When Philip,
king of France, and Philip, earl of Flanders, came to hear of this,
they ordered that their men should arm themselves in a similar
manner.
* The gambeson, or
wambais, or subarmale, was made of quilted stuff, and formed the body
armour of the burgesses.
In the same year,
after the Purification of Saint Mary, Laurence, archbishop of Dublin,
came into Normandy, bringing with him the son of Roderic, king of
Connaught, and delivered him to the king of England as a hostage for
the performance of the treaty made between him and the king of
Connaught, as to the payment of tribute by Ireland; shortly after
which the said archbishop of Dublin died at Auc, in Normandy, and was
buried there. After his decease, the king of England sent to Ireland
Geoffrey de Haye, his own secretary, and the secretary of Alexis, the
legate in Ireland, to take possession of the archbishopric of Dublin,
and also sent with them John, the constable of Chester, and Richard
of the Peak, to take charge of the city of Dublin, of which Hugh de
Lacy had had the keeping. For our lord the king was unwilling that he
should any longer have charge of it, because he had, without his
permission, married the daughter of the king of Connaught, according
to the usage of that country.
In the same year, our lord the pope most strictly commanded Richard, the archbishop of
Canterbury, all pretexts and excuses laid aside, under pain of
ecclesiastical censure, to compel Geoffrey, the bishop elect of the
church of Lincoln, and son* of our lord the king of England, either
to renounce his election, or without delay to take priest’s
orders, and assume the dignity of the pontifical office. On this,
Geoffrey being placed in a dilemma, sensible of his own
insufficiency, and considering that he was not competent to perform
the duties of so arduous an office, preferred to renounce the
episcopal office, rather than undertake to bear a burden which he
could not support. Accordingly, he wrote to Richard, the archbishop
of Canterbury, to the following effect.
* Illegitimate son. He was afterwards archbishop of York.
The Letter of Geoffrey, bishop of Lincoln elect, on his resignation of that bishopric.
“To the venerable father and lord Richard, by the grace of God,
archbishop of Canterbury, and legate of the Apostolic See, Geoffrey,
son and chancellor of our lord the king of England, health and all
due and duteous respect. It has pleased his Apostolic Majesty to
instruct your holiness to call upon me within a certain time to take
priest’s orders and to assume the dignity of the pontifical
office. Now upon considering how many bishops of more mature years,
and more advanced in wisdom, are still hardly of an age to prove
themselves equal to the requirements of such a weighty office, and
are scarcely able to fulfil the duties of their pontificate without
danger to souls, I have been alarmed at myself, who am so much
younger, assuming a burden, which those more advanced in years are
unable to bear, not doing so from any levity of feeling, but from a
feeling of respect for my vows. Having therefore had an interview
hereon, with our lord the king, my father, and my lords and brothers
the king and the earls of Poitou and Brittany, and Henry, bishop of
Bayeux, Froger, bishop of Seez, Reginald, bishop of Bath, Sigfred,
bishop of Chichester, who were present, I have come to a different
determination as to my mode of life and profession, wishing for a
time to serve in a military capacity under the orders of the king, my
father, and to refrain from interfering in episcopal matters.
Accordingly, most holy father, I do spontaneously, freely, and
entirely, resign into your hands all rights consequent upon my
election, as also the see of Lincoln; requesting of you as being my
metropolitan, and for this purpose especially delegated by the
Apostolic See, absolution both from the said election and from
holding the said bishopric. Farewell.”
In like manner, the said bishop elect of Lincoln wrote to the
canons of the church of Lincoln, asking of them absolution both from the said election and
from holding the said bishopric. After this, our lord, the king, by
whose advice his son Geoffrey had resigned his election into the
hands of the archbishop of Canterbury, gave him his chancellorship
and a yearly revenue of five hundred marks in England, and the same
in Normandy.
In this year, Saladin, the king of Babylon, seeing that Baldwin, king of Jerusalem,
being smitten with leprosy, had not strength to resist him, raising a
great force, came into the land of Jerusalem, and laid it waste, and
there was no person to make any resistance to him. In the same year,
the king of England was at Chinon during the festival of Easter ; and
after Easter returned into Normandy, and held a conference with
Philip, king of France, at Saint Remy, on the fifth day before the
calends of May, being the second day of the week; at which the
Templars and Hospitallers of Jerusalem presented to the beforenamed
kings letters from Alexander, the Supreme Pontiff, to the following
effect:
The Letter of pope Alexander on the necessity of giving aid to the land of Jerusalem.
“Alexander,the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his dearly beloved
sons, those noble men, the dukes and princes, earls, barons, and all
the faithful servants of God, to whom these letters shall come,
health and the Apostolic benediction. The sinister rumours which,
according to the universal report of those passing this way, have
reached us from the land of Jerusalem, have afflicted our heart and
those of all our brethren with excessive grief; inasmuch as any one
who has the name of Christian can hardly even hear, without tears and
sighs, the recitals that are given as to the wretched state of that
country. For it is (and with grief we own it) trodden down under the
inroads of the infidels, and so utterly bereft of the prowess of men
of might, and the prudent counsel of men of probity, that unless the
people receive from the Christian kings and princes of the earth
speedy and powerful succour, we fear, which may God forbid, the
speedy desolation thereof, thus working to the disgrace of the Lord,
and to the contempt of the Christian faith. For there is no king to
rule that land, inasmuch as Baldwin, who now holds the helm of state,
has been (as we believe you are aware) so grievously scourged under
the righteous judgments of God, that he is hardly able to endure the
incessant torments of his body. Indeed, the heavy losses and the
shocking misfortunes, both in men and property, which that land (for
which our fathers and ancestors shed their blood in the battles which
they formerly waged with the heathens) has, in consequence of its
sins so requiring it, endured, we can neither without great sorrowing
at heart call to our recollection, nor can any who are zealous for
the law of the Lord, endure with feelings of patience calamities of
the faithful so mighty; and the more especially so, as this most
abominable nation of the pagans, in consequence of the losses and
dangers which they have inflicted upon the nation of the Christians,
are said to be inspired with such audacity as impudently to boast
that they will, which God forbid, gain possession of that land.
Therefore let the zeal of the Lord move you, and let not the
Christian religion sleep in its sorrow over such mighty evils as are
threatening that land; but, on the contrary, manfully defend all
those places which our Saviour and Redeemer has sanctified by His
bodily presence, and despise the nations which reject the Lord, and
strive to sweep away the Christian name from off the earth. For
indeed, there is no Christian who is not moved at the misfortunes of
the before-named land, and who does not prepare for the purpose of
defending it from the attacks of the infidels, while they are
striving to possess it, and, which God forbid, to profane it by their
abominations. Therefore, those among you who are valiant and fit for
waging war, ought, as a matter of duty, to undertake a work as pious
as it is necessary and the labours of this pilgrimage, clothed no
less with the shield of faith and the breastplate of justice than
with worldly arms, and to defend those places in which the Redeemer
of mankind has been. willing to die for us and has undergone a
temporal death, with powerful might, so that in our times
Christianity may suffer no detriment in those parts. For inasmuch as
Christ for our salvation endured man)’ insults, and, last of
all, suspension on the cross, that He might make an offering of us to
God, mortified in the flesh and justified in the spirit, it is most
conducive to the salvation of the faithful that on His behalf we
should expose our bodies to perils and to labours, that so we may not
seem to be forgetful of the price of His blood which He shed for us.
Give heed therefore, my beloved sons in Christ, and consider how
disgraceful it would be, and how deserving of the grief of all
Christians, if at last the enemies of the cross of Christ should
prevail against the dwellers in that land; and that they will prevail
we have no small dread, unless assistance is brought in all haste
from the different parts of Christendom to those who dwell there.
Therefore, take precaution and exert all your endeavours that
Christianity may not succumb to heathenism, inasmuch as it is better
to meet an impending evil before it comes, than to seek a remedy
after the cause has been injured.
To those also, who on behalf of Christ shall undertake the labours of
this expedition, we do, by the Apostolic authority, grant and confirm
that remission of sins, which the fathers, our predecessors, Urban
and Eugenius, the Roman Pontiffs, gave by their enactments. The wives
also, and children of such persons, and their goods and possessions,
we do decree to be under the protection of Saint Peter and of
ourselves, as also of the archbishops and bishops and other prelates
of the Church; strictly forbidding, that after the assumption of the
cross, any claim shall be entertained with reference to the things of
which they are in peaceable possession, until such time as they shall
return, or certain information shall have been brought of their
death. Let it also be lawful for them, after their relations, or even
their superior lords, to whom the fee belongs, have shown themselves
unwilling or unable to lend them money thereon, to pledge their lands
or other possessions to churches or to ecclesiastics or others of the
faithful, freely and without any challenge thereof, in order to
defray the expenses of the said expedition. Moreover, such men,
accustomed to arms and fitted for the defence of that land, as shall,
in the fervour of their devotion, repair to those holy places, and
serve there for a period of two years against the Saracens, in
defence of the Christian name, trusting in the merits of Jesus Christ
and in the authority of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, we
do give them absolution for all those sins of which with a contrite
and humble heart they shall make confession, unless they shall happen
to have taken property that belongs to another, or to have extorted
usurious interest, or to have committed thefts; for all which
offences due reparation ought to be made. But if those who are guilty
thereof have not the means of making such reparation, nevertheless
they shall obtain pardon for their offences, as we have already
mentioned. And those who shall have remained there but one year, as
we have previously mentioned, shall obtain an indulgence for one half
the penance enjoined them and remission of their sins. And, further,
to all, who, by reason of urgent necessity, are wishful to visit the
sepulchre of our Lord, whether they die on the road, or whether they
arrive at that place, we do enjoin that the labour of the said
journey shall be in place of penance, and obedience, and for the
remission of all their sins, that so by the bounty of God, they may
arrive from the turmoils of this life at that state of blessedness, ‘
Which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the
heart of man,’ and which the Lord hath promised to those who
love Him. Given at Tusculanum, on the seventeenth day before the
calends of February.”
The said pope also wrote to the archbishops, bishops, and other
prelates of churches with reference to the same subject, to the following effect:—
Another Letter of pope Alexander on the same subject.
“Alexander the bishop, servant of the servants of God,
to his venerable brethren the archbishops and bishops, and to his dearly beloved
sons the abbats and other prelates of churches to whom these letters shall
come, health and the Apostolic benediction. Inasmuch as the eastern
lands, by reason of the attacks and assaults of the infidels, have
been deprived of the prowess of men of valour and the counsel of men
of probity, and are stricken with exceeding dismay, the archbishops,
bishops, and other chief men of the land, have thought proper to send
to your parts our dearly beloved sons, the knights of the Temple, the
bearers of these presents, religious men, and who fear God, in order
to implore your aid; wherefore we, whom the calamities of that land
afflict with intense sorrow, after the example of our fathers and
predecessors, being anxious for the preservation thereof, do by this
healthful warning exhort the Christian kings and princes of the world
to the defence of those places in which the feet of the Lord have
stood; and for that purpose, we do proclaim to all sinners, who, in
the cause of Christ, shall undertake the labour of aiding Jerusalem,
and shall with faithful duteousness make it their care to fight
against the Saracens, that remission and forgiveness of sins, which
the fathers, our predecessors, Urban and Eugenius, the Roman
Pontiffs, gave by their enactments. We do therefore advise and
strictly enjoin the whole of you, to receive with kindly feelings the
brethren who have been sent for this purpose, and after learning
through them the state of the countries of the east, and the
necessities thereof, to labour by frequent and anxious exhortations
to induce the princes, earls, and others of the faithful in Christ in
your respective dioceses, to repair with all haste to these lands,
for the delivery of which their fathers and ancestors have shed their
own blood, and to fight with might and valour against the enemies of
the cross of Christ. The letters which for this purpose we send,
addressed to all generally, you will cause to be publicly read in all
churches and will explain the tenor thereof, and will announce the
remission of sins which we grant to those who shall engage in a work
so pious and so necessary, and so advise all persons to do that which
we suggest. And may, through your anxiety and your exhortations, that
land speedily be sensible of the aid and succour of the faithful, and
may you yourselves in return for it, gain from Almighty God an
everlasting reward. Given at Tusculanum,* on the sixteenth day of
January.”
* The modern
Frascati.
On hearing of
this, Philip, king of France, and Henry, king of England, greatly
lamenting the adversities and the desolation of the land of
Jerusalem, promised that they would, with the aid of the Lord, give
speedy succour thereto; upon which, the interview was brought to a
close.
In the meantime,
William, king of Scotland, by the command of our lord the king of
England, came into Normandy, and by his counsel and advice the said
king of Scotland gave liberty to return to Matthew, bishop of
Aberdeen, and John, bishop of Saint Andrew’s, whom he had
banished from Scotland. An agreement was entered into between them,
in presence of the king of England, to the following effect:—
That Matthew, bishop of Aberdeen, should freely and without any
opposition, under the safe conduct of the king of Scotland, return to
his own see, and if anything should have been taken from him, the
same should be restored ; and John, who had been consecrated bishop
of Saint Andrew’s, in order to regain the favour of his lord
the king of Scotland, agreed that he would give up to him the said
bishopric, if he should be allowed to choose whatever bishopric he
might please in the kingdom of Scotland, and if in addition thereto,
the king of Scotland should give him his chancellorship and all the
revenues which he had held before his consecration, together with
forty marks of yearly revenue from the church of Saint Andrew’s.
Upon this the king of Scotland sent his envoys to pope Alexander, to
request that for the sake of peace, he would allow this change of
episcopal sees to take place; this, however, our lord, the pope,
would not allow.
After these
transactions, the king of England gave to John Fitz-Luke, his clerk,
the bishopric of Exeter, and to Ralph de Warnville, who was his
chancellor and treasurer of the church of York, the bishopric of
Lisieux, which Arnulph, bishop of Lisieux, had vacated in consequence
of the dislike which the king had taken to him; for when he found
that he could at no price obtain the royal favour, he preferred
resigning the bishopric, to enduring the king’s hatred any
longer. Accordingly, after getting in his gold and silver from every
quarter, of which he was said to have a large quantity, and having
received from the king of England a large sum of money for vacating
his bishopric, he went to Paris, and remained at the church of Saint
Victor there until the day of his death. After this, while the king
of England was making a stay at Barbeflet,* with the intention of
passing over to England, a dispute arose between Philip, king of
France, and Philip, earl of Flanders, concerning the count of
Claremont, whom the earl of Flanders greatly disliked. The king of
England, therefore, at the request of the king of France, attended a
conference between them at Gisors, and made peace between the king of
France and the earl of Flanders. After this, the king of England came
to Cherbourg, and, passing over to England, landed at Portsmouth, on
the seventh day before the calends of August, being the Lord’s
day, with William, king of the Scots, who accompanied him.
* Harfleur
Shortly after
this, the king of England made the following assize as to keeping
arms throughout England: “Whoever has a single knight’s
fee must keep a cuirass, a helmet, a shield, and a lance, and every
knight must keep as many cuirasses, helmets, shields, and lances as
he has knights’ fees in his demesne. Every free layman, who
shall have in chattels or in rental to the amount of sixteen marks,
must have a hauberk, an iron head-piece, and a lance; and all
burgesses, and all companies of freemen must keep a gambeson, an iron
head-piece, and a lance; and every person may make oath that before
the feast of Saint Hilary he will provide such arms, and will do
fealty to our lord the king, namely, Henry, the son of the empress
Matilda, and will hold the said arms at his service in obedience to
his command, and in fealty to his lord the king and to his realm. And
no person, after he shall have provided the said arms, is to sell the
same, or to make a pledge thereof, or to lend them, or in any way to
part with them ; nor is the lord in any way to take them from his
homager, either by way of fine, gift, or pledge, or in any other way
whatsoever. And if any person having the said arms shall die, his
arms shall remain with his heir; and if his heir be not of such an
age that he can use arms, if required, then the person who shall have
the guardianship of him, shall in like manner have the guardianship
of such arms, and shall find a man to use the said arms in the
service of our lord the king, if needs be, until the heir shall be of
such an age as to be able to bear arms, and then he is to have them.
And further, whatever burgess shall have more arms than according to
this assize he ought to have, he is to sell the same, or give them
away, or part with them to some person who shall wield them in
England in the service of our lord the king. And no one of them is to
retain more arms than in conformity with this assize he ought to
have. Also, no Jew is to keep in his possession a cuirass or hauberk;
but he is to sell the same or give them away, or in some other manner
dispose thereof, but so that they continue to be used in the service
of our lord the king of England. Also, no person is to carry arms out
of England except with the leave of our lord the king, and no one is
to sell arms to any person for him to carry them out of England, and
no merchant or other person is to carry them out of England. Also,
the justices are to cause oath to be made by lawful knights, or by
other free and lawful men of hundreds, visnets,* and burghs, as may
seem most expedient to them, that those who have the value in
chattels to the amount above stated, shall provide, as they ought, a
cuirass, helmet, lance, and shield, according to what has been
mentioned above; and that for the said purpose they will name all
those of their hundreds, visnets, and boroughs, who have sixteen
marks’ value either in chattels or yearly rental; and after
that, the justices are to cause all of them to be registered, both
jurors and the others, both who they are and what chattels or rental
they have, and what arms each ought to provide, according to the
value of the chattels or rental; and after that, in their presence
and in the hearing of them all, they are to cause this assize to be
read as to keeping arms, and to cause them to make oath that they
will provide such arms according to the aforesaid value of the
chattels or rental, and will hold the same at the service of our lord
the king in conformity with the aforesaid assize, in obedience to the
command of and in fealty to their lord, king Henry, son of the
empress Matilda, and to his realm. And if it shall so happen that any
one of those persons who ought to provide such arms shall not be in
the county at the time when the justices shall be in that county,
then the justices are to appoint a time for him to appear before them
in another county. And if the said persons shall not come to them in
any county through which they shall pass, and shall not be in those
districts, then they are to name a time at Westminster, on the octave
of Saint Michael, that each may then be there for the purpose of
making oath, as he loves himself and all that belongs to him ; and
orders are to be given to him before the feast of Saint Hilary
before-named, to provide arms according as he is bound to provide the
same. And further, the justices are to cause proclamation to be made
throughout all counties through which they shall pass, that those
persons who shall not provide the said arms as herein commanded, the
king will lay hands on their bodies, and will on no account take from
them their lands or chattels. Also, no person is to be sworn as of
the free and lawful men who has not sixteen marks or ten marks in
chattels. Also, the justices are to give orders throughout all the
counties through which they shall pass, that no person, as he loves
himself and all that belongs to him, shall buy or sell any ship for
the purpose of transport from England ; and that no person shall
carry timber, or cause it to be carried, out of England. The king has
also ordered that no person shall be admitted to the oath of arms
unless he is a free man.”
*
“Neighbourhoods”; from the Norman “vesine”;
probably, small communities not unlike the “frithborgs”
of the Anglo-Saxons.
In the same year,
Henry, king of England, son of the empress Matilda, gave to John
Cumin, his clerk, the archbishopric of Dublin, in Ireland, at
Evesham, on the eighth day before the ides of September. In the same
year William, archbishop of Rheims, came to England on a pilgrimage
to the Martyr Saint Thomas of Canterbury. In the same year Dufenald,
the son of William, the son of Dunecan, who had often laid claim to
the kingdom of Scotland, entered Scotland with a large army, and laid
waste the parts near the sea-coast. In this year also, John, bishop
of Saint Andrew’s, pronounced sentence of excommunication
against Richard de Morville, the constable, and Richard de Prebenda,
and others of the household of the king of Scotland, who had caused a
breach of the peace between himself and the king. In addition to
this, Roger, archbishop of York, the legate in Scotland, and Hugh,
bishop of Durham, by the authority of our lord the pope, commanded
the prior of Saint Andrew’s and the ecclesiastical personages
throughout the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s, to go to John,
their bishop, and pay him the respect of their duteous submission,
declaring that if they refused, they would pronounce upon them, as
being contumacious and rebellious, sentence of suspension. On this,
some of the ecclesiastics of the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s,
through fear of suspension, came to the before-named bishop John; on
which William, the king of Scotland, expelled them from his kingdom,
with their sons and kinsmen, and even those who, hanging at their
mother’s breasts, were yet crying in the cradle. Roger,
archbishop of York, and Hugh, bishop of Durham, seeing the shocking
proscription of these persons, acted in obedience to the mandate of
our lord the pope; for Roger, archbishop of York, excommunicated
William, king of Scotland, and both he and Hugh, bishop of Durham,
pronounced sentence of interdict on all the territories of the king
of Scotland, ordering the bishops, abbats, priors, and other
ecclesiastical persons strictly and inviolably to observe the said
sentence of interdict, and carefully to avoid the king himself as an
excommunicated person.
In the same year
died pope Alexander the Third, in the twenty-second year of his
papacy, and on the twelfth day before the calends of October, being
succeeded in the papacy by Imbald, cardinal bishop of Ostia, who took
the name of pope Lucius the Third. In the same year, Roger,
archbishop of York, being attacked with a severe illness, on
perceiving the last day of his life at hand, called together the
abbats, priors, and other ecclesiastical persons of his diocese, and
with becoming considerateness distributed his property for the use of
the poor, and among other wondrous deeds of his power, to perpetuate
his praises, he sent to William, archbishop of Rheims, and the other
bishops of the kingdom of France, more than five hundred pounds of
silver to be distributed among the poor. In like manner he left a
similar sum to the archbishop of Rouen and the other bishops of
Normandy ; and the same to the archbishop of Canterbury and the other
bishops of England. Having thus made distribution of all his
property, he removed from Cowda, where he was taken ill, to York, the
metropolitan see of his archiepiscopate, where on the tenth day
before the calends of December, being Saturday, at twilight, he
departed this life, full of days, after having happily ruled his
archbishopric twenty-seven years and six weeks. His body was buried
by Hugh, bishop of Durham, in the choir of the canons secular of the
metropolitan church at York; William, the king of Scotland, still
remaining under the sentence of excommunication which the
before-named archbishop of York had pronounced against him.
Upon hearing of
the death of the archbishop of York, William, king of Scotland, was
greatly delighted; and holding a council with the bishops, earls, and
elders of his territories, sent Jocelyn, bishop of Glasgow, and
Arnulph, abbot of Melrose, and other wise and discreet ecclesiastics
of his kingdom to Rome, to Lucius, the Supreme Pontiff, in order that
he might be absolved from the said sentence of excommunication, and
that his lands might be released from the interdict, and in order
that, if in any way it could be brought about, John, bishop of Saint
Andrew’s, might be deposed.
When word was
brought to the king of England that the before-named archbishop had
gone the way of all flesh, he sent his servants throughout all the
archbishopric of York, giving orders that all of which the said
archbishop in his illness had made distribution should be
confiscated; which was accordingly done. For the entire devise, which
in his illness he had made, was, by the king’s command,
rendered null and void ; as our lord the king asserted that the
before-named archbishop of York had pronounced an opinion in his
lifetime that it was not lawful for any ecclesiastical person to make
a devise except at a time before he was taken ill.
In the same year,
[1181] count Stephen, the uncle of Philip, king of France, seized the
lands of a certain person his neighbour, and withheld them by force,
and did homage for them to Philip, earl of Flanders; on doing which,
the king of France laid hands on them, and the earl of Flanders
claimed restitution thereof to be made to himself and earl Theobald;
and the king of France, refusing to accede thereto, the earl of
Flanders entered the territories of the king of France with a hostile
hand, and ravaged them. In the same year, Hugh, earl of Chester,
departed this life, and was succeeded in the earldom by his son
Ranulph.
After the death of
Roger, archbishop of York, our lord the king gave orders to his
justices in England to make diligent inquisition as to the monies
left by the before-named archbishop, and wherever such were
discovered, in his name, to make demand thereof. In consequence of
this, the said justices demanded of Hugh, bishop of Durham, three
hundred marks of silver, which the said bishop had received out of
the monies of the archbishop, for the purpose of distribution among
the poor; on which he made answer to them:—"I distributed
the three hundred marks of silver which you demand of me, during the
lifetime of the archbishop who gave them to me, among the lepers, the
blind, the lame, the dumb, and the rest of the necessitous, and in
the repair of churches and bridges, for the salvation of his soul,
according as he himself had ordered; therefore let him who wants them
collect them, for by me they will never be collected.”
Accordingly, an answer of this nature exasperated the feelings of our
lord the king beyond measure, so much so, that he ordered the castle
of Durham to be seized in his name, in order that the bishop might be
harassed by every kind of persecution.
1182 A.D.
In the year of grace 1182, being the twenty-eighth year of the
reign of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said king was at Winchester, in
England, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord, which took place on
the sixth day of the week. In the same year died the count of
Zelders, who had married the eldest daughter of Matthew, earl of
Boulogne; also the countess of Flanders, daughter of Ralph de
Peronne, and wife of Philip, earl of Flanders. In the same year,
Henry, king of England, the father, crossed over from England to
Normandy, in consequence of the annoyances and vexations which his
son king Henry was causing him. For, having gone with his wife to
Philip, king of France, he was devising all the evils he possibly
could to the detriment of the king, his father, contrary to good
faith and the oaths of fealty which he had often taken to him ;
demanding of him, in conformity with the advice of Philip, king of
France, his wife’s brother, the whole of Normandy, or else some
other part of his territories, in which he and his wife might take up
their abode, and from which he might pay his knights and servants for
their services. However, the Divine grace inspiring him so to do, he
returned to his father, and swore that for the future he would not
oppose his wishes or designs, or demand anything more of him than a
hundred pounds of money Anjouin per day for his expenses, and ten
pounds per day of the same money for his wife’s expenses; in
addition to which the king, the father, agreed with the king, his
son, that in the same year he would give him the services of a
hundred of his knights.
After this, the king, the father, held a conference, at which
were present the king of France and the earl of Flanders; on which occasion an
arrangement was made between them to the following effect; that the lands of
which the earl of Flanders demanded restitution to be made to
himself, should be restored to the knight who had lost them, and that
the earl of Flanders should make good for the king of France the
injuries that he and his people had done in France, with reference to
the destruction by fire, and the booty that had been carried off. In
addition to this, the said earl quitted claim to the king of France
of the services of the count of Claremont, and delivered up to the
king of France the city of Amiens with its appurtenances, and all the
lands extending thence to the waters of the Lys after his own
decease, together with his niece, the daughter of the earl of
Hainault; and the said earl made confession that lawfully Peronne
with its appurtenances was only in pledge to himself, and agreed that
the king of France should have possession thereof for sixty thousand
pounds of silver. At the same conference, the said earl of Flanders
delivered into the possession of the king of England, the father, the
agreement entered into in writing by the king his son, and released
him and his brothers from all covenants made between them in the time
of the war.
In the same year, pope Lucius the Third ordained John Chimin priest,
on the third day before the ides of March, at Yeletri; and afterwards consecrated him
archbishop of Dublin at the same place, on the sixth day before the
calends of April, being Palm Sunday. In the same year, at the urgent
request of the envoys of the king of Scotland, namely, Jocelyn,
bishop of Glasgow, Arnold, abbot of Melrose, Osbert, abbot of Kelso,
and Walter, prior of Saint Columba of the Isle, pope Lucius the Third
absolved William king of Scotland from the sentence of
excommunication, and his kingdom from the interdict, at the palace of
the Lateran, at Rome, in presence of his cardinals, namely, Peter de
Pavia, bishop of Tusculanum, the bishop of Præneste, Albert, his
chancellor, Jacinto, Hugesun, Peter de Bova, master Vivianus, Reiner
the Great, Chinchechapel, Reiner the Little, Hardesrun, Hardewin, and
Matthew of Anjou. After having so done, he delivered letters of
absolution to the before-mentioned envoys of the king of Scotland, to
the following effect:—
The letter of pope Lucius on the absolution of William, king of Scotland.
“Lucius, the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brethren
the bishops, and the abbats, clergy, and people throughout Scotland,
health and the Apostolic benediction. Inasmuch as the Apostle has
directed that deference shall be paid to kings as being of exalted
station, it is worthy and consistent with reason that we should pay
them the highest honor as our most dearly beloved sons, and, in
performance of our duty to Saint Peter and the holy Church of Rome,
give all attention to their just desires. And whereas we have heard
that because our dearly beloved son in Christ, William, the
illustrious king of the Scots, was inexorably opposed to the election
and consecration of our venerable brother bishop John, by virtue of
letters of pope Alexander, our predecessor, of holy memory, Roger,
archbishop of York, of happy memory, and the before-named bishop
pronounced sentence of excommunication against him and his realm, and
certain persons in his kingdom. And whereas our venerable brother
Jocelyn, bishop of Glasgow, and our dearly beloved sons, Arnold,
abbot of Melrose, Osbert, abbot of Kelso, and Walter, prior of Saint
Columba of the Isle, after coming for the said purpose to the
Apostolic See, have, by their declarations, made proof and shewn
before us and our brethren that the sentence of excommunication
pronounced by the said archbishop upon the king, and that of
interdict upon his kingdom, and the sentence of excommunication
pronounced by the said bishop upon certain persons of his kingdom,
ought reasonably and upon numerous grounds to be set aside.
Wherefore, paying due deference to the before-named king as our most
dearly beloved son in Christ, we have, by the common consent of our
brethren and with the Apostolic authority, remitted all the sentence
which was pronounced by the before-named bishop for the cause
before-mentioned, against him or his people, or his kingdom, and have
enacted that he and his people shall not be held to be
excommunicated, nor his kingdom to be under interdict, in consequence
of our sentence above-written. Wherefore, we do by our precept, by
these Apostolic writings, command the whole of you that you will in
no way hesitate to treat with him as a Catholic king and as holding
communion with the Apostolic See, but will rather in all things pay
him the honor that is his due. For the more assured we feel of the
sincerity of his duteousness to the churches and ecclesiastical
persons of his realm, the more abundantly do we wish him to be
honored in all things in which, with due respect to God, we can be
honored. Given at Velletri, this sixteenth day before the calends of
April.”
In the same year,
[1182] the king of England sent his envoys, namely, William de
Mandeville, earl of Aumarle, and some other persons of his household,
to Frederic, the emperor of the Romans, in order that, if possible,
they might avert his anger and displeasure from Henry, duke of
Saxony. Although this could not be fully brought about, the emperor
granted to all who had chosen to depart with him, leave to return to
their country. In addition to this; the said emperor granted to
Matilda, duchess of Saxony, in consideration of the love he bore to
the king of England, her father, permission to remain at perfect
liberty and under his protection, and to enjoy all her dowry freely
and quietly; and the emperor further agreed that, if she should
prefer to go into exile with her lord, he would place keepers for the
purpose of protecting her dowry. The time therefore drawing nigh at
which the before-named duke was to withdraw from his country and
kindred, he and his wife, with their sons and daughters, and his
counts and barons, and the richest men of his territories, departed
from their country and kindred, and came to Normandy, to Henry, king
of England, the father of the before-named duchess, who joyfully
received them. Shortly after, the before-named duke gave to his
counts and barons, and the richer men of his territories, permission
to return home, and the king of England, the father of the duchess,
bestowed on them many presents and then dismissed them. The duke
himself set out on a pilgrimage to Saint Jago, and the duchess his
wife being pregnant, remained with the king, her father, at Argenton
in Normandy, where she was shortly after delivered of a son.
In the same year,
the Welch slew Ranulph Poef, the king’s sheriff of
Gloucestershire. In this year also, ltoland, the bishop-elect of Dol
and subdeacon of the Roman Church, came into England on behalf of
pope Lucius, for the purpose of making peace between the king of
Scotland and John, bishop of Saint Andrew’s; and proceeded to
the court of the king of the Scots, together with Silvanus, the abbot
of Rievaulx, his colleague, where, after having for a long time
negotiated upon making peace between them, at their request the
following terms were made between the king and the before-named
bishop :— Hugh was to abjure the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s,
and bishop John was to release the said bishopric from all claims
whatever on his part and, instead thereof, he was to have the
bishopric of Dunkeld, and all the yearly revenues which he had had
before his election, as also the chancellorship to the king, and
forty marks of yearly revenue arising from the bishopric of Saint
Andrew’s, during his life. Hugh, however, when called upon by
his lord the king of Scotland to abjure the bishopric of Saint
Andrew’s, made answer that he would rather receive judgment
thereon at the Roman court, than in this way abjure a bishopric to
which he had been consecrated: and immediately charged the letters
which bishop John had obtained, against him from the Roman Pontiff
with being forged, and appealed to the Roman Pontiff: upon which the
before-named Roland and the abbot Silvanus, being unable to proceed
as they ought, wrote to the Supreme Pontiff to the following effect:—
The Letter of Roland, bishop-elect of Dol, and Silvanus, abbot of Rievaulx,
to pope Lucius.
“To the reverend father and lord, Lucius, by the grace of God, supreme
and universal Pontiff, Roland, by the like grace, bishop-elect of
Dol, servant of his Holiness, the foster-child of the Apostolic See,
and the least of the sub-deacons, and Silvanus, appointed abbot of
Rievaulx, the respect of duteous obedience. After we had presented to
bishop Hugh the letters which that bishop charges with being forged,
and those in which the case is stated at length, and proposed, on
receiving leave of our lord the king of the Scots, to return home
with all haste, our lord the king entreated me, the bishop-elect of
Dol, with earnestness and anxiety, to pass by the way of the lord
bishop John, and, as a mark of his favour, to make him an offer on
his behalf of the bishopric of Dunkeld, with the yearly revenues
which he had before received in the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s,
together with an increase of forty marks to be received yearly, as
also the office of chancellor to the king; and he further added that
he would restore to him and his every thing he had taken away, with
the exception only of what he knew to have already come to his hands,
and would restore them to the fullness of his favour, in the same
manner as had been previously offered him. He also desired that the
said bishop John would burn all documents that had been obtained upon
the matter of Saint Andrew’s from your predecessor Alexander,
of pious memory. He also gave his sanction that bishop Hugh should be
transferred to the bishopric of Glasgow, if bishop John should refuse
to consent on other terms, and if that could not be brought about,
still he would agree to what he had offered. On making offer of all
these things in presence of Hugh, the lord bishop of Durham, to our
lord John, he courteously acceded thereto on these terms: namely,
that he would never allow bishop Hugh to remain in the enjoyment of
the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s. He was also willing that the
documents before-mentioned should be put aside in some place, so that
he could never make use of them against the king’s wishes. Upon
this, we returned to the king’s presence, while bishop John
waited for us near Rokelburg;* on which the king informed us that it
would give him great pleasure if bishop Hugh could remain in the
bishopric of Saint Andrew’s, and requested me to use my best
endeavours to prevail upon bishop John to admit of this; and when I
made answer to him that I would never again make any request of him
upon that point, because I had not been able to make any impression
upon him on the subject, his answer was, ‘ I am fully persuaded
that since the lord John has returned to reconciliation and favour
with me, he will, on consideration of my favour, and at the urgency
of my entreaties, admit of this, and I would gladly confer with him
thereon;’ and the king requested me to advise him to come and
have a conference with him. The king’s clerks being accordingly
sent to bishop John, he made answer that he would not come, because
he had heard from certain advisers of our lord the king, that the
king was always endeavouring, in every possible way, to gain his
point that Hugh should remain in the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s,
and asserted that, if he should be inclined to come, they were not
able to give him a safe conduct. When this answer was returned him,
our lord the king sent a bishop, and some abbats, earls, and barons
to the said bishop, requesting that he would come to him for the
purpose of an interview, and ordered them to guarantee to the said
bishop entire security. These, on their return, stated that the lord
John, inasmuch as he had a presentiment that his lord the king wished
bishop Hugh to remain in the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s, made
answer that he would never come to the king unless they should first
make oath that their lord the king would observe everything that
through me he had offered to him; this, however, they were unwilling
to do, upon which, the lord John returned home. We, however, have
appointed a stated time, on the calends of October, for the
before-named bishops, John and Hugh, to come to you, and to submit to
your judgment. Farewell.”
* Roxburgh
In the same year
died Walter, bishop of Rochester, and was succeeded in the bishopric
by Waleran, archdeacon of Bayeux. In this year, while Walter, a
servant of Eustace, the lord abbot of Flaye, was one night asleep, he
heard a voice from heaven, saying to him a first, second, and third
time, "Go and say to Henry, king of England, ‘In the name
of Christ, annihilate and destroy,’ and say to him that so he
must do, and, if he does not do so, both his sons and himself shall
die.” On this the before-named Walter made answer and said,
“Who am I, that I should carry thy commands unto the king ? “To
which he received for answer, “Go to Rotrod, the archbishop of
Rouen, and to his chaplain, and to Eustace, the abbot of Flaye, and
they shall remove the thorns and briars from out of thy path, and,
unless thou shalt make haste, thou shalt die.” After the third
warning, therefore, the said Walter came to the before-named
archbishop of Rouen, and to his chaplain, and to abbot Eustace ; and
whereas, the archbishop and his chaplain, being worn out with
sickness and old age, could not attend to the matter, they deputed
the abbot of Flaye to act in their behalves ; on which, he with his
servant went to the king, and the servant related to the king his
vision and the accompanying threats; but the king, not being able to
understand any part thereof, and there being no one to interpret the
vision to him, paid no attention whatever to it; and, shortly after,
his son king Henry died, and then his son Geoffrey, earl of Brittany.
About the time at which this vision took place many of the Manichaean
heretics were burned in many places throughout the kingdom of France,
a thing that the king would in nowise allow in his territories,
although there were great numbers of them.
1183 A.D.
In the year of grace 1183, being the twenty-ninth year of the
reign of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said king of England was at
Caen, in Normandy, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord; the [young] king
also, and Richard and Geoffrey, his sons, and Henry, duke of Saxony,
and his wife, together with their sons and daughters, and a large
retinue, together with Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, and John
Cumin, archbishop of Dublin, and many bishops, earls, and barons were
there with him. After the Nativity of our Lord, the king ordered the
king, his son, to receive homage from Richard, earl of Poitou, and
from Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, his brothers; on which, in obedience
to his father, he received the homage of his brother Geoffrey, and
was willing to receive it from his brother Richard, but Richard
refused to do homage to him; and afterwards, when Richard offered to
do homage to him, the king, the son, refused to receive it. Richard,
feeling greatly indignant at this, withdrew from the court of the
king, his father, and going to Poitou, his own territory, built there
some new castles and fortified the old ones.
At the request of
such of the earls and barons of Poitou as adhered to him, and who
inflicted many losses on earl Richard, the king, his brother, pursued
him. Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, also came to Poitou, with a large
force, to assist the king, his brother. On Richard perceiving that he
could not make head against his brothers, he sent for assistance to
the king, his father, who, raising a great army, came in all haste,
and laid siege to the castle of Limoges, which had been a short time
before surrendered to the king, his son.
The cause of the dissensions between the king and his sons .
In order, however,
that the cause may be known of these shocking dissensions that took
place between the father and his sons, it ought to be stated that, on
the holy day of the Circumcision of our Lord, king Henry, son of our
lord the king of England, of his own accord, and no one forcing him
thereto, touching the Holy Gospels, and in presence of a large body
of the clergy and laity, made oath that he would from that day
forward all the days of his life maintain his fealty unblemished to
Henry, king of England, as being his father and his liege lord, and
would show him all due honor and obedience. And because, as he
asserted, the king wished to retain no rancour and malice in his
mind, by reason of which his father might possibly be afterwards
offended, he declared to him that he had entered into a compact with
the barons of Aquitaine against his brother Richard, being influenced
by the fact that his said brother had fortified the castle of
Clairvaulx, which was part of his own inheritance after his father’s
death, contrary to his own wishes. Wherefore he earnestly entreated
his father to take the said castle from Richard, and keep it in his
own charge.
Richard, being
admonished by our lord the king relative thereto, at first refused to
do so, but afterwards freely delivered it to be disposed of at his
father’s pleasure. Accordingly, the three sons of our lord the
king, namely, the [young] king, Richard, and Geoffrey, came to Anjou,
with the king, their father, for the purpose of entering into a final
treaty of peace between them ; and each of the three made oath that
they would observe their fealty at all times towards the king, their
father, against all men, and would pay him all honor and lasting
obedience. They also made oath, in accordance with the directions of
their father, that they would observe lasting peace between
themselves. On a given day, therefore, for ratifying the peace made
between them, at a place called Mirabel, under the direction of their
father, because the barons of Aquitaine, to whom the king, the son,
had engaged himself by oath, were not present, the king, the father,
sent his son Geoffrey to them that they might come to the said
conference for the establishment of peace and reconciliation, and in
the meantime cease from all hostilities.
But the said
Geoffrey, utterly forgetful of God and of respect for his father, and
unmindful of his commands, did not bring peace, but the sword, and,
slighting his oath, his homage, and the fealty which he had so often
sworn to his father, entered into a compact with the enemies of his
father, for the purpose of harassing him, and induced a sacrilegious
race, and one detested by the Church of Rome, to ravage the
territories of his father. The king, the son, on hearing of this,
entreated his father to establish peace between his brother Richard
and the barons of Aquitaine. In answer to the entreaties of his son,
our lord the king promised that he would preserve peace, and that,
for this purpose, in the manner that had been agreed upon in the
preceding summer, reparation should be made for all excesses
committed by either party, or else, if that should not please the
barons, he would judge them in conformity with the opinions
pronounced by his court This offer was quite to the satisfaction of
the king, the son; on condition, however, that the castle of
Clairvaulx should remain safe in the hands of the king, his father.
Upon this, the
king, the son, having gained of his father all that he had requested,
with his father’s permission set out for Limoges, for the
purpose of inviting both his brother Geoffrey and the barons of
Aquitaine to come to terms, and in the meantime sent his wife to
France, to her brother, the king of that country, for the purpose of
being in safety. The king, the father, also, at the request and by
the advice of the king, the son, came with a few followers by another
road to Limoges, in safety from his sons and in safety from his
subjects; but when he had come to this territory that was his own,
his own subjects received him most shamefully, for they aimed their
arrows against him, so much so that they even wantonly pierced his
coat armour, wounded one of his knights before his eyes, and
violently prevented the king from entering either the city or the
castle; in consequence of which, he and his son Richard were obliged
to depart.
After this, our
lord the king effected an entrance into the city of Limoges; but when
he was departing therefrom, for the purpose of conversing with his
sons in a fatherly manner, in presence of his sons, the garrison of
the castle before-mentioned aimed their deadly arrows; in consequence
of which, they wounded the horse which bore the king, the father, in
the head, and if the horse had not lifted its head just at the
approach of the arrow, it would have pierced the king’s breast
to a considerable depth. This his sons Henry and Geoffrey thinking
lightly of, took no pains to punish the offender; and,
notwithstanding, returned to the deadly foes of their lord and
father.
Shortly after, the
king, the son, came to his father, and promised him, that, if the
barons of Aquitaine would not come to his feet to sue for peace, he
would utterly abandon them, and return to obedience to him under all
circumstances. On this, the king the father, being moved at the
entreaties of his son, again made promise of the peace which he had
previously promised to the barons. Wherefore, the king the son, as he
said, went to his brother Geoffrey and the barons of Aquitaine, and,
returning from them to his father, asserted that they were utterly
disobedient and rebellious, for which reason, he had returned to his
duty and obedience to his father’s will. This, however, as
appeared in the sequel, was done fraudulently, in order that in the
meantime the perfidious race of the Brabanters, and Geoffrey, that
son of perdition, might with lawless violence the more easily ravage
his father’s territories, and nefariously lay them waste,
carrying off the ornaments of the churches, burning towns and
villages to the ground, emptying the fields and the sheepfolds by
their ravages, so as to cause utter destruction in every quarter;
sparing neither age, nor sex, nor rank, nor the religious profession;
on the contrary, as it appeared, aiming at the perpetration of
homicide, sacrilege, and rapine alone.
Shortly after
these things had taken place, the king, the son, on hearing what had
been done by his brother Geoffrey, told his father, that whatever he
had done in this matter had been done by the counsel of his brother
Geoffrey, and giving his arms and his horse in his father’s
charge, remained with him some days. But after he had eaten at the
same table with his father, and had dipped his hands into the same
dish, he withdrew from him, and again leagued himself by oath with
his father’s enemies, and then returning to his father,
declared that he could in no way see how he was to inflict upon the
men of the castle the punishment they had deserved ; after which,
leaving his father, he set out for Dorat.
But his father,
thinking him peaceably inclined, recalled him; on which, returning
and entering the castle, and not being able to bring the wickedness
which he contemplated to the wished-for result, he swore by the body
of Saint Martial, that he would assume the cross. His father,
however, thinking that he had done this more through indignation than
religious feeling, in an affectionate manner used all his endeavours
to recall him from this rash vow, asking of him on his knees, and
weeping, whether that vow had proceeded from rancour, indignation,
poverty, or religious feelings. To this the son made answer, with all
kinds of oaths, that he had made the vow solely for the remission of
the sins which he had been guilty of towards his father; and added,
when he saw his father opposing it and shedding tears, that he would
slay himself with his own hands, unless his father should cease to
dissuade him from his purpose of assuming the cross, inasmuch as the
body of the Lord which he had that day beheld, consecrated before his
eyes, testified that he ought a long time before that to have assumed
the cross, but it had not till then been disclosed to him; hoping and
trusting that he should be in the more full enjoyment of his father’s
favour, as he was unwilling to go on the pilgrimage without his
favour. On this, his father learning his holy and fixed
determination, replied; “The will of God and your own be done.
I will be your supporter and assistant in acquiring the earldom, and
will provide you, by the help of God, with such plentiful supplies,
that no one, of whom I have heard going to the land of Jerusalem,
could at any time have done his service to God on a more bounteous
scale."
On this, the king
the son returned many thanks to his father, and entreated him to deal
mercifully with the men in the castle and the barons of Aquitaine; to
which his father, in tears, made answer, and promised that he would
act in every one of those matters quite according to his pleasure.
The king the son, again returning thanks, sent for the men of the
castle, and, though against his father’s will, threw himself
with the burgesses at his father’s feet, and asked for peace in
their behalves, which request was granted, hostages however being
required to ensure the peace being kept. The king the father sent
some of his followers to receive the hostages, but they were nearly
slain by those who were to give them. This was in nowise punished by
the king the son, but, disregarding his oath to assume the cross, he
became, together with them, the enemy and persecutor of his own
father.
Shortly after, the
king the son, pretending that he wished for peace, requested his
father to send to him Maurice de Crouy with a truce, and some other
barons; and while some of their followers were conversing with him,
they were slain in the presence of the king the son, by the enemies
of our lord the king. Some days after this, Geoffrey, that son of
iniquity, with evil intent, entreated that he would send to him
Oliver Fitz-Ernest and Jerome de Mustervol with a truce ; on which,
one of them, Jerome namely, was pierced with a sword through his
head-piece, his coat-armour, and his shirt, not without a
considerable loss of blood ; while Oliver, the other, was thrown from
a bridge into the water, in the presence of Geoffrey himself, who
took no pains to punish this misdeed. After this, the same son, being
again desirous to hold a conference with his father, came in perfect
security to his father, and, deceitfully treating about making peace,
requested of his father leave to enter the castle in order that he
might prevail upon the king his brother, and the other enemies of our
lord the king, to comply with the wishes of the king. Permission was
accordingly given him, on which he entered the castle, spoiled the
shrine of Saint Martial, and carried off the other vessels of that
monastery, both gold and silver, and then, returning with the booty,
requested his father to prolong the truce till the next day. The
truce was accordingly granted him, and, passing over the bridge, he
the same day renounced the truce with his father as being at an end,
and out of the proceeds of the sacrilege and robbery, of which he had
been guilty towards Saint Martial, paid their wages to his
Brabanters. The amount of this theft was, according to the estimate
made by worthy men, fifty-two marks of gold and twenty-seven marks of
silver.
In the meantime, Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, Henry, bishop of
Bayeux, John, bishop of Evreux, Ralph, bishop of Lisieux, Froger, bishop of Seez,
and Waleran, bishop of Rochester, together with the abbats and clergy
of Normandy, and a great number of people, came to Caen, and there,
in the monastery of Saint Stephen, solemnly, in the universal hearing
of all the people, pronounced sentence of excommunication against all
who should prevent peace and reconciliation being made between our
lord the king and his sons, the person of the king, the son, alone
excepted.
Money now failing
him, the king, the son, proceeded to Saint Mary de Roche Andemar,
stripped the tomb of Saint Andemar, and carried away the treasures of
the church. In the course of a few days after this, the king, the
son, seeing that he could not do any material injury to the king, his
father, in consequence of indignation and rancour of mind, was
attacked by a severe malady at a village called Martel, not far from
the city of Limoges. He was first attacked with a fever, and then by
a flux of the bowels, which reduced him to the point of death. On
seeing that his death was impending, he sent for our lord the king,
his father, who refused to come to him, as he dreaded his treachery.
The king, the son, having, therefore, summoned the bishops and
religious men who were there, into his presence, having first
secretly, and afterwards before them all, made confession of his
sins, received absolution and remission of his sins, and gave to
William Marshal, one of his household, his cross to bear to Jerusalem
[in his stead]. After this, laying aside his fine garments, he placed
upon him haircloth, and fastening a cord around his neck, said to the
bishops and other religious men who stood around him : "By this
cord do I deliver myself, an unworthy, culpable, and guilty sinner,
unto you, the ministers of God, beseeching that our Lord Jesus
Christ, who remitted his sins to the thief when confessing upon the
cross, will, through your prayers and His ineffable mercy, have
compassion upon my most wretched soul.” To which all made
answer, "Amen.” He then said to them : "Drag me out
of this bed by this cord, and place me on that bed strewed with
ashes,” which he had caused to be prepared for himself; on
which they did as he commanded them, and placed under his head and
feet two large square stones; and, all things being thus duly
performed, he commanded his body to be taken to Rouen, in Normandy,
and there buried. After saying this, being fortified with the
viaticum of the holy body and blood of our Lord, in the fear of the
Lord, he breathed forth his spirit.
When news was
brought of his death to our lord the king, his father, bursting into
tears, he threw himself upon the ground, and greatly bewailed his
son. O how dreadful a thing it is for sons to persecute a father! for
it is not the sword of the man who fights, not the hand of the foeman
that avenges the injury of the father; but it is fever that deals its
retribution, flux of the bowels, with ulceration of the intestines,
that exercises vengeance. The son laid prostrate, all return to the
father. All are overjoyed, all rejoice, the father alone bewails his
son. Why, glorious father, dost thou bewail him? He was no son of
thine, who could commit such violence upon thy fatherly affection.
This defence of thee has wrought security for fathers, and has
checked the audacity of parricides. For it was his due to perish by a
severe retribution, who wished to introduce parricide into the world;
because the Judge of all minds, in the same way that He avenges the
tribulations of the righteous, so does he sometimes punish the
persecutions of the wicked.
The king’s
servants, after having extracted the brain and the entrails, and
buried them at Martel, sprinkled the body of the dead king with large
quantities of salt, and then wrapped it in bulls’ hides and
lead, that they might take it to Rouen for burial there, and
accordingly set out on their way with the royal body; but when they
had come to the city of Le Mans, and had passed the night in the
church of Saint Julian the Confessor and Pontiff, singing hymns and
psalms in its vicinity, and wished in the morning to depart thence
with the body, the bishop of the city and the clergy, together with
the common people, would not allow them to carry it away, but buried
it in an honourable manner in the church of Saint Julian.
On this being told
to the people of Rouen, they were indignant thereat, and resolutely
demanded his body, swearing that they would take it by force, unless
it was instantly given up to them; upon which the king, the father,
ordered that the body should be given up to the people of Rouen, as
the king, his son, had, while living, commanded; which was
accordingly done; and they dug up the king’s body from the spot
where it had been buried, and, carrying it to Rouen, buried it in the
church there of Saint Mary.
The king, the
father, after the death of the king, his son, every day made more
violent assaults upon the castle of Limoges, to which he had laid
siege, and at length both the castle and the city of Limoges were
surrendered to him, besides all the castles of his enemies in that
neighbourhood; some of which he retained in his own hands, and some
he levelled with the ground, not leaving one stone upon another.
After the death of the king, the son, Philip, king of the Franks,
demanded of our lord the king of England, the dowry which his son,
the king, had given to his sister, and the whole of the land of the
Vexin, together with the castles and fortresses which Louis, king of
France, his father, had given them on their marriage. Whereupon, a
conference being held between them, between Gisors and Trie, an
arrangement was made in the following manner:—That Margaret,
the sister of the king of France, who had been the wife of the king,
the son, should receive, for quitting claim of all the above demands,
one thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds of money Anjouin, each
year at Paris from our lord the king of England and his heirs, so
long as she should live.
In the same year
[1183] our lord the king gave the bishopric of Lincoln to Walter de
Coutances, his clerk, whom Richard, archbishop of Canterbury,
consecrated at Anjou, and sent to England to his see, which had now
been vacant for a period of eighteen years, namely, from the time of
Robert de Chennay, bishop of Lincoln, until now. Geoffrey, earl of
Brittany, the king’s son, now returned to his father and made
peace with him and with his brother, Richard, earl of Poitou.
In the same year, John and Hugh, the bishops, of whom
we have previously made mention, came to Velletri to have an audience of Pope
Lucius, and each of them stated, in presence of our lord the pope and of all
his cardinals, the claims that he asserted upon the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s.
After hearing them, our lord, the pope, by the common advice of his
brethren, took the bishopric from them both, and they freely and
absolutely resigned the said bishopric of Saint Andrew’s into
the hands of the Supreme Pontiff, and then withdrew from the court,
awaiting the mercy of the Supreme Pontiff; and a few days after, by
the advice of all his cardinals, the Supreme Pontiff gave to bishop
Hugh the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s, and confirmed him in
possession thereof; and granted to bishop John the bishopric of
Dunkeld, together with all the things before mentioned that had been
offered him on part of the king of Scotland, and confirmed him
therein. On this, Hugh returned home and received the bishopric of
Saint Andrew’s. Bishop John also received the bishopric of
Dunkeld; but as the king of Scotland declined to restore to him what
he had taken away, he again put forward his claims against bishop
Hugh as to the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s, as stated in the
sequel.
In the same year, our lord the king commanded Richard, his son and heir,
to receive the homage of his brother John for Poitou, but he declined receiving it.
In the same year a grievous dissension arose between the Romans and
pope Lucius, relative to certain customs which his predecessors had
been in the habit of following, but which the pope above-named swore
he would never comply with. At this the Romans were indignant, and
were frequently guilty of ravages and incendiarism in the territories
of our lord the pope; on which, the pope flying from place to place,
took refuge in his castles and fortified cities. To defend him there
came Christian, archbishop of Mentz, chancellor of the lord
Frederick, emperor of the Romans, having levied a large army for that
purpose. The Romans, being unable to oppose him, returned to Rome, on
which the before-named chancellor, pursuing them, laid waste every
thing that belonged to the Romans, and followed them even to the very
gates of the city of Rome, setting fire to all the suburbs thereof.
On this, the
Romans, seeing that they were devoted to ruin, devised how they might
slay the before-named chancellor by stratagem ; and, as all other
modes were wanting to them, they determined to take him off by means
of poison, and did so. For when the said chancellor and his army were
at a distance of nearly ten miles from the city, the Romans sent
envoys, clad in the garb of poor men, to learn the state of the
court, who, after learning all particulars relating thereto,
discovered, among other matters, one thing which they made choice of
in order to effect his destruction. For there was near that spot a
spring of water exceedingly limpid, the water of which, mixed with
wine, the chancellor and his army were in the habit of drinking.
Accordingly, these wicked traitors went to the spring, and drugged it
thoroughly with poison, so that the water flowing therefrom was
corrupted. Consequently, on the chancellor drinking thereof, he died
by a speedy death. There also died after him more than a thousand men
who had drank of the said spring. When the death of the chancellor
became publicly known, his army was dispersed and put to flight, on
which the Romans rose in rebellion with still greater acrimony
against our lord the pope.
In the same year,
[1183] Philip, earl of Flanders, married the sister of Sancho, king
of Portugal. In this year, also, our lord the king of England gave
the archbishopric of Rouen to Walter de Coutances, bishop of Lincoln,
and Lucius, our lord the pope, sent him the pall. The said pope, not
being able successfully to oppose the Romans, sent his ambassadors to
the kings and chief men of the various countries, both secular and
ecclesiastical, to gain assistance in the defence of Saint Peter
against the Romans : upon which his envoys came to Henry, king of
England, to ask him, and the clergy of England, to afford him
assistance. Accordingly, the king consulted his bishops and the
clergy of England, as to the prayer of the Supreme Pontiff; on which
the bishops and clergy advised him, according to his own inclination
and honor, to give assistance to our lord the pope, both on his own
behalf as well as on theirs; inasmuch as it would be more endurable
to them, and would please them better, that their lord the king
should, if he so pleased, receive from them a recompense for such
assistance, than if he should allow the nuncios of our lord the pope
to come to England to receive assistance from themselves; as, if any
other step than the one named were taken, it might possibly be turned
into a precedent, to the detriment of the kingdom. The king
acquiesced in their advice, and gave considerable assistance to the
pope, in gold and silver.
Accordingly, by
means of this money, and other sums of money lent to him by other
princes from all quarters, our lord the pope made peace with the
Romans, which was necessary for him and the Church of Rome.
In the same year,
died Rotrod, archbishop of Rouen, and was succeeded by Walter, bishop
of Lincoln. In this year also died Richard Pecche, bishop of Chester,
who was succeeded by Gerard Lapucelle.* In the same year, Gilbert,
surnamed Assaili, grand master of the house of the Hospital at
Jerusalem, came into Normandy to king Henry, and was honorably
entertained by him. Having obtained the king’s permission to
cross over to England, he came to Dieppe, and, before the feast of
Saint Michael, embarked on board of a ship which had been lying for
nearly a year upon the sands of the sea-shore, shattered and dried
up, and had lately been a little repaired and refitted, and launched
again, together with many other persons, clergy as well as laity, who
had become tired with waiting: but shortly after, when the vessel had
got out of harbour into the open sea, the seams opening, it went down
into the deep, just like a stone; on which Gilbert, and all the rest
who were on board of it, with the exception of eight only, who
escaped by means of a boat, were drowned, on the thirteenth day
before the calends of October. In the same year, Henry, king of
England, a conference being held on the day of Saint Nicholas,
between him and Philip, king of France, between Gisors and Trie, did
homage to Philip, king of France, for all his lands beyond sea,
whereas before this he had never been willing to do homage to him.
* Roger of Wendover says, that he died within ten weeks of his consecration.
1184 A.D.
In the year of grace 1184, being the thirtieth year of the reign of Henry,
king of England, son of the empress Matilda, the said king was at Le Mans on
the day of the Nativity of our Lord, which took place on the Lord’s
day. In the same year, Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, departed
this life on the fourteenth day before the calends of March; to whom,
before he was taken ill, the Lord appeared in a vision, saying, "Thou
hast wasted the property of my church, and I will root thee from out
of the earth.” Being greatly terrified at this vision, he
immediately fell ill, and died on the eighth day after. In the same
year, the king of England, having made peace between Philip, king of
France, and Philip, earl of Flanders, with reference to the disputes
that existed between them concerning the land of Vermandois, passed
through the middle of Flanders, and crossed over from Witsand to
Dover, in England, where he landed on the fourth day before the ides
of June; his daughter, the duchess of Saxony, crossing over with him.
In the same year,
and the same week in which the king landed in England, a spring of
running water, near the church of Saint Winin, in the western parts
of the territories of the king of Scotland, below Tyningham, and not
far from the castle of Irwine, [Irving] flowed with blood, without
intermission, for eight days and as many nights. In the same year,
the king’s daughter, the duchess of Saxony, was delivered of a
son at Winchester. In this year also, Theobald, count of Blois, uncle
to Philip, king of France, came into England on a pilgrimage to Saint
Thomas, at Canterbury. In this year also, Henry, duke of Saxony, the
king’s son-in-law, came to England. In the same year died
Simon, earl of Huntingdon, on whose decease the king gave the said
earldom to ‘William, king of the Scots; immediately on which,
in presence of the king, he conferred the earldom on his brother
David.
In the same year,
Gilbert de Plumpton, a knight of noble birth, being led in chains to
Worcester, and accused of rape before our lord, the king of England,
by Ranulph de Glanville, justiciary of England, who wished to condemn
him, he was by an unjust judgment condemned to be hanged on a gibbet;
and when he was led forth to the gibbet, there met him a multitude
of men and women, crying aloud and saying, that a righteous and
innocent man ought not thus to suffer. Upon this, Baldwin, the bishop
of Worcester, a religious man and one who feared God, hearing the
shouts of the people, and learning the injustice that was being
perpetrated against this wretched man, ran after him ; but the
ministers of wickedness, hastening to perpetrate their crime,
fastening a rope round his neck had suspended him aloft, when lo !
the bishop of Worcester came up in all haste, and said to the
executioners; "In behalf of Almighty God, and under pain of
excommunication, I forbid you to put that man to death this day, for
it is the Lord’s day, and the feast of Saint Mary Magdalen.”
At these words the executioners stood astounded, hesitating what to
do, for they feared the king’s justice, and dreaded sentence of
excommunication. However, the Divine power prevailed, and from
respect for the solemnity of the day, they loosed the rope and let
him come to the ground, to be kept until the next morning; when he
was to undergo the same punishment. That same night, our lord the
king, being moved with pity, and influenced by the counsels of his
followers, commanded that he should remain as he was, until he should
give further orders what was to be done with him; for he was aware
that Ranulph de Glanville had thus acted towards him from feelings of
dislike, and wished to put him to death on account of his wife, the
daughter of Roger Gulewast, whom the said Ranulph wished to give in
marriage, together with her inheritance, to his friend Reiner, the
sheriff of York. Accordingly, the knight, being rescued from death,
was kept in prison by Ranulph de Glanville, until the king’s
death.
After this, our
lord the king came to Reading, and holding a council there as to
choosing a pastor for the Church of Canterbury, a strife and
contention arose between the monks of Canterbury and the bishops of
England. For the monks claimed to have the first voice in the
election, and produced a charter of our lord the king, by which he
had granted and confirmed to them freedom of election. The bishops,
on the other hand, used their best endeavours to prove that that
charter ought not to be observed, both because it was made contrary
to law, and tended to the injury of the. Church of England, as also,
because the election of their own metropolitan belonged to
themselves. In consequence of this dispute, no terms could be come to
between them on the present occasion.
By command of our lord the king, the bishops of England and the monks of Canterbury met
at London, in the king’s presence, for the election of an
archbishop of Canterbury; and, the contention still continuing,
Gilbert, bishop of London, who, according to the ancient right of his
see, had the first voice in the election, made choice of Baldwin, the
bishop of Worcester, as archbishop of Canterbury, on the fourth day
before the nones of December; upon which all the bishops gave their
assent to that choice; the monks of the Church of Canterbury, being
the only persons who made any opposition, departed for the purpose of
appealing to our lord the pope, and the bishops of England presented
to the king the person whom they had elected. Oh their presentation
and election, our lord the king received him with the kiss of peace
and love; which example was followed by Richard, Geoffrey, and John,
the king’s sons.
After this, our
lord the king came to Canterbury, for the purpose of putting an end
to the angry feelings of the monks, and, holding a conference with
them, prevailed upon them to elect as their archbishop the
before-named Baldwin, which they accordingly did; for Alan, the prior
of the church of the Holy Trinity at Canterbury, came to London with
the less infirm part of his chapter, and with letters of
confirmation. On their meeting together in the Chapter house of the
monks of Westminster, they elected for themselves and the Church of
Canterbury, the before-named Baldwin as archbishop; and then, that
they might not appear to have assented to the election of the
bishops, sang their own “Te Deum Laudamus,” and led him
to the altar, and, receiving Kim with the kiss of peace, presented
him to the king, who again received him with the kiss of peace and
love; as did Richard, earl of Poitou, his son. After this, the king
confirmed the treaty and final reconciliation by writing, and
ratified the same, after its confirmation, by oath on part of his
sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John, in presence of queen Eleanor their
mother, Henry, duke of Saxony, and many others.
In the same year,
the archbishop of Cologne came to England on a pilgrimage to Saint
Thomas of Canterbury, on which the king of England met him with
congratulations, and prevailed upon him to lay aside his anger and
displeasure towards Henry, duke of Saxony, and receive him into the
favour which he had formerly enjoyed when honored with his esteem.
The before-named archbishop of Cologne also, at the entreaty of the
king of England, agreed that the daughter of Frederic, emperor of the
Romans, should be given in marriage to Richard, earl of Poitou, the
king’s son: for he knew that this was the especial wish and
desire of the emperor. After this, the before-named archbishop, and
Philip, earl of Flanders, who had come with him over to England,
returned to Flanders, and, having levied a great army, invaded the
territories of the earl of Hainault, and ravaged them, in revenge for
the injuries which he had inflicted on the earl of Flanders.
In the same year,
died the empress of the Romans, the wife of the emperor Frederic. In
this year also, died Gilbert de Ver, abbot of Selby, and Gerard,
surnamed La Pucelle, bishop of Chester. In the same year also, died
Waleran, bishop of Rochester, Clement, abbot of Saint Mary’s at
York, Simon, earl of Huntingdon, Jocelyn, bishop of Salisbury,
Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter, and the earl of Warwick. In this year
also, died the daughter of Frederic, emperor of the Romans, who, as
above stated, was to have been married to Richard, earl of Poitou. In
this year also, the church of Saint Julian, at the city of Le Mans,
was destroyed by fire. The abbey of Glastonbury was also burnt in
this year.
In the same year,
our lord the king of England, being anxious to make peace between the
duke of Saxony and the emperor Frederic, by the advice of the
archbishop of Cologne, sent his envoys, Hugh de Nunant, archdeacon of
Lisieux, and some others of his clerks, and of the members of his
household, to Lucius, the Supreme Pontiff, in order that through his
aid the before-named emperor might receive the duke of Saxony into
favour. Accordingly, the king’s envoys, coming to the court of
our lord the pope, found him at Verona in Italy; and while they were
staying there with him, Frederic, emperor of the Romans, came thither
for the purpose of holding a conference with the pope; at whose
urgent request the before-named emperor gave the duke of Saxony
permission to return to his country, and released him from all the
oaths which he had taken as to remaining in exile; our lord the pope
also absolved him from the oath which he had taken to the emperor.
In the same year,
Thomas Fitz-Bernard departed this life, who, after the decease of
Alan de Neville, had been appointed by our lord the king chief
justiciary of all the forests in England; upon whose decease our lord
the king divided his forests in England into different parts, and
over each part appointed four justices, namely, two clerks and two
knights; also two yeomen of his household to be guardians of vert and
venison, over all the other foresters, both those of the king as well
as of the knights and barons ; and he sent them to hold pleas of
forestal matters, in conformity with the Assize of the Forests
previously mentioned.
In the same year,
our lord the king came to Worcester, for the purpose of marching
thence with a large army into Wales, to wage war against the Welch,
who had ravaged his territories and slain his subjects. Rees, * the
son of Griffin, however, dreading his attack, having obtained a
safe-conduct from the king, came to Worcester, and there swore fealty
to the king of England, and that he would give his son and nephews as
hostages to the king; but, on his attempting to bring them, they
refused to accompany him.
* Rice, or Rhys ap
Griffyd.
In the same year,
[1184] our lord the king gave to William, the prior of the church of
Saint Augustin, at Bristol, the bishopric of Bangor. In the same
year, the priest Swerre, who was also called Birkebain, slew Magnus,
king of Norway.
In this year also,
the astrologers both of Spain and Sicily, as also the diviners
throughout almost the whole world; both Greek and Latin, wrote and
set forth nearly one and the same opinion as to the conjunction of
the planets. On this occasion, a certain astrologer, Corumphira by
name, wrote to the following effect:
Auguries from the Conjunction of the Planets.
“In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Almighty
God hath known and the science of numbers hath disclosed, that the
planets, both superior as well as inferior, will come in conjunction
in Libra, that is to say in September, in the year from the
Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal and true God, one
thousand one hundred and eighty-six; and in the year of the Arabians
five hundred and eighty-two. * During the year this conjunction will
be preceded by a partial eclipse of the sun, which will be of a fiery
colour; this, taking place on the first hour of the twenty-first day
of the month of April, will be preceded by a total eclipse of the
moon, in the said month of April; that is to say, on the fifth day
thereof, and at the first hour of the night that shall precede
Wednesday; this, if God shall so will, nay rather because He does so
will, shall so will, hath so willed, and will not cease so to will.
Therefore, in the year before-named, the planets being, by the will
of God, in Libra, that is to say, in an aerial and windy sign, the
Dragon also contributing as a cause thereto, a wondrous earthquake
will take place, and especially in those regions in which such things
have been in the habit of taking place, and will destroy certain
places that have been subject to earthquakes and liable to the
mischances of utter ruin. For in the parts of the East there shall
arise a mighty wind, and with its strong blasts it shall blacken the
air and shall corrupt it with its poisonous stench. In consequence, a
mortality and sickness will attack great numbers, and loud peals will
be heard, and voices in the air that shall terrify the hearts of
those who hear them, and the wind shall raise aloft the sands and the
dust from the face of the earth, and shall utterly overwhelm the
cities situate on the plain, and especially those in the sandy
regions, those in the fifth climate, to wit; as Mecca, Barsara,
Baldac, ** and Babylon; nor shall any land be left otherwise than
covered with the sand and dust, and be utterly ruined thereby; so
much so, that the regions of Egypt and Ethiopia shall become almost
uninhabitable. And from the West this calamity will extend to all
parts of the East. In the regions of the West also shall arise
dissensions; and seditions of the people shall take place, and there
shall be one of them who shall levy armies innumerable, and shall
wage war on the shore of the waters, on which a slaughter so vast
will take place that the flow of the blood so shed will equal the
surging waves. Let each person feel assured that the conjunction
about to take place, whatever others may say, signifies to me, if God
so wills, the mutation of kingdoms, the superiority of the Franks,
the destruction of the Saracenic race, with the superior blessedness
of the religion of Christ, and its especial exaltation, together with
longer life to those who shall be born hereafter."
* If he alludes to
the Hegira, he is wrong here; A.D. 1186 would be the 564th year of
the Hegira.
** Probably
Bassora and Bagdad.
In like manner,
William the Astrologer, clerk to John, the constable of Chester,
wrote concerning the before-mentioned conjunctions of the planets to
the following effect :—
“In the year
from the Incarnation of our Lord one thousand one hundred and
eighty-six, in the month of August, on the completion of the
thirtieth day thereof, and in the following night, at the ninth hour,
in the twenty-ninth degree of Virgo, which is called the degree of
periods and the period of woes, Leo being in the ascendant, this
conjunction, which is called a minor conjunction, is most portentous.
Evil is predominant in this figure. This is followed by a conjunction
of Mars and Saturn, in the fourth degree of Libra, on the seventh day
of September, at the fourth hour, being the first day of the week;
the Sun being the lord of the hour, and Sagittarius the horoscope.
This conjunction is called a mid-conjunction. In this conjunction
good fortune is predominant; and in this inclination evil is
mitigated. Then follows a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which is
styled a major conjunction, in the eighth degree of Libra, on the
tenth day of October, being the sixth day of the week, at the ninth
hour. Mercury is then the lord of the hour, Capricorn the horoscope ;
Mars being in conjunction in the fourteenth degree with the Tail of
the Dragon. This conjunction portends wondrous events; thunder and
lightning, with fiery flashes running to and fro in the air. But not
regarding the conjunction of these, be it our part to record by
figure what other persons have couched under an enigmatical form, as
to the conjunction of all the planets in Libra, which will have an
effect in our day before unknown, and not to be known in times to
come. This conjunction will take place on the sixteenth day of
September, being the third day of the week, at the first hour; Mars
being the lord of the hour, and the Sun in the East, and the planets
in their several places, as follows: Libra being the horoscope, and
beginning in the first degree [of longitude]; the Sun being in the
thirtieth degree of Virgo ; Jupiter in two degrees three minutes;
Venus in three degrees forty - nine minutes; Saturn in eight degrees
six minutes ; Mercury in four degrees ten minutes; Mars in nine
degrees eighteen minutes; the Tail [of the Dragon] in eighteen
degrees twenty-three minutes; the Part of Warfare in fifteen degrees;
the Moon in seventeen degrees eight minutes; the Part of Fortune in
nineteen degrees. The second [horoscope] is Libra, beginning at its
twenty-fifth degree. The third is Scorpio, beginning at its
twenty-fourth degree. The fourth is Capricorn, beginning at its first
degree. The fifth is Aquarius, beginning at its fifth degree. The
sixth is Pisces, beginning at its seventh degree. The seventh is
Aries, beginning at its first degree. Now, as Saturn is most elevated
in orbit, let us first treat of him. He signifies the Pagans, and all
who are opposed to the laws of Christianity. Now, inasmuch as in the
figure of the sphere Saturn is in the mid-heaven governing the [airy]
triplicity, from the triplicity of the figure the Saracen magicians *
are auguring victory on their side, especially as the Sun at his
setting is seeking the superior conjunction of the planets.
* It is possible
that this may be the meaning of the mystic letters which here occur;
Tr. G. F. S. M. standing for “Triplicitate figurae gentis
Saracenae magi.” If not, those who are skilled in judicial
astrology may, possibly, be able to give a better translation.
“However,
from an estimate of the figure we form a very different opinion. For
the Sun signifies the potentates of Christendom, and in this figure
is seeking conjunction with Jupiter ; but Jupiter, being powerless,
seeks conjunction with Venus, and she with Saturn. Mercury then, by
retrograding, cutting it off,* would naturally appear by his
retrograde motion to indicate the elevation of their religion and the
depression of our own. But as Mercury imparts this same disposition
to Jupiter, and Jupiter imparts it to none, this marks the lasting
nature of our faith. Now since the Sun is of the greatest influence
in this figure, a man, a Christian, is arising among us, one of great
fame, whose name will be exalted until the end of the world. But
because this conjunction takes place in a changeable sign, the career
of this person will be closed before Saturn shall have passed through
this sign; and inasmuch as Jupiter denotes power of prophecy, he will
at last be enumerated among the prophets. In this figure, Mars being
separated from Saturn, transfers the properties of Saturn to the Tail
[of the Dragon] ; which not retaining this position, as though by a
retrograde movement, carries back again towards Mars what has been so
entrusted to it. But, inasmuch as Mars is being scorched by the orb
of the Sun, being thus impeded and embarrassed between two evils,
Saturn and the Tail [of the Dragon], he becomes infected with their
nature, and signifies by his properties, sorrows, contentions,
alarms, catastrophes, murders, and spoliation of property. The Tail
also signifies separations, losses, dangers, and diminution of
possessions; and because Mars forms an evil conjunction with the Tail
[of the Dragon] in the ascendant, I do therefore contradict the
judgment pronounced by Albumasar upon this figure in his Hundred
Discourses. Turn your eyes from the figure in which Mars is at the
greatest angle when Scorpio is in the ascendant, or when he is with
the Tailand as it is evident to every astrologer that Saturn has an
influence over this climate, the Moon participating with him, I am of
opinion that he cannot be considered as exempt from the evil
before-mentioned. Wherefore, the only remedy remaining is, for
princes to be on their guard, to serve God and eschew the devil, that
so the Lord may avert their imminent punishments. Amen.”
* Conjunction with
Saturn.
Again, with
reference to the before-mentioned conjunction of the planets, the
following was written:—
“To all
literate men, and especially to scholars, to whose presence this
present page shall come, Anselm, the humble brother in the Lord, of
the monastery at Worcester, greeting. Marvellous is God in His Saints
and in His works, who never ceases to work miracles in behalf of His
people. And, inasmuch as no man places a light under a bushel, but
upon a candlestick, that it may give light to all, a miracle,
wondrous beyond measure, took place in our house on the day before
the calends of November; which, in order that it might come to the
knowledge of those not present, by writing at least, I have committed
to writing. Be it known then unto your discreetness, that one of our
lay brothers, falling into a trance, lay nine days and nine nights
like one dead before a certain altar, prostrate there in the form of
a cross;* and as he was a religious man, and a brother of a holy mode
of life, no one of us dared to remove him thence. On the tenth day,
at the third hour, in a low voice, and with a wailing tone, still in
a wondrous lament, he chaunted the following lines ten times or even
more, in the same order in which they are here written:
* With his arms extended.
“The fall of mankind and the sudden ruin of this world,
a pernicious fatality is hurrying on. Children of tender age one universal
slaughter overwhelms; by the same death young and old must die. The water
shall be tainted by the corruption of the substance of the air, and with
deadly dew shall the whole ground be drenched. Hence shall a dreadful
mortality arise, and universal carnage. A universal cause is there of
death, a universal cause of woe. For as soon as the Sun shall touch
the back of the Lion slain by Hercules, a two-fold heat shall parch
the entrails dried-up. Then, though there shall be a thousand like
Lachesis, and even hands as many to each, still, at the same instant
will Atropos cut all their threads. For with the sword of death will
the just vengeance of God visit the sins of the people. Ah wretched
me! alas! what will be my lot? Behold! the sword is gleaming, which
will the whole world destroy. Behold the hand of the Lord! Ah
wretched me! whither shall I fly? Behold the wrath of the Lord! shall
I take to flight, or here conceal myself? Whither shall I fly from
God, for God is everywhere? If the Divine will cannot be moved by
prayer, then the seed with the chaff will the wrath of God beat down.
That all things must return unto their ancient Chaos, the opinions of
the philosophers prove. Still, thus it cannot be, as it is clear that
whatever has been, and most things that now are, must remain as they
are. Now, above the stars am I borne, and though my eyes are closed,
lifted up to the stars, either house of the Sun do I behold. There is
night without the stars and Moon, and day without the Sun: but though
so it is, why so it is I cannot tell. The stars of Mercury, of Venus,
and of Jove, now lie concealed. They exist not, or if they do exist,
they have forsaken the sky. Through the whole Zodiac they roam at
large, both Mars and the noxious star of the scythe-bearing old man
who wields the scythe.* Mars smites with his sword, Saturn smites
with his hurtful scythe; he strives to inflict ruin on the interests
of men. Hence am I now borne to the dubious realms of the Stygian
tyrant, in which there is, and will be, everlasting gloom. Amid gloom
so great, neither Sun, nor Moon, nor fire, in this place of
wretchedness are able to direct the eyes. Here is toil, and grief,
and anxiety inextricable : here for the wretched guilty are grievous
punishments prepared. Here resounds everlastingly the direful dirge,
woe! woe! The gloom how great! woe, woe is me! woe! woe! Cerberus is
raging before the gates, and is yawning with his three throats; three
dreadful sounds from his mouth at the same instant does he send.
Three Furies guard the portals, Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, on
whose features horror is impressed. Horrid is their aspect, and foul
the breath of their mouths, and their hoarse voices sound like
thunder in their throats. In all there is an innate propensity to
wickedness in their minds; in all there is a disposition prone to
every crime. In the midst of the water stands Tantalus, thirsting
with it up to his throat; while, that he may not drink thereof, it
ever retreats from his mouth. Here is mighty Sisyphus rolling the
stone that rolls everlastingly back; so that his is a labour without
an end. Continually does the devouring vulture gnaw at the liver of
Tityus; which, that it may be for ever perishing, is ever on the
point of perishing. Some dreadful famine, some severe drought
attacks, and labour without cessation fatigues. Some are frozen by
cold, others are scorched by the heat of flames; each as he has
deserved is here visited with a punishment his own. An entrance is
open to all, an exit to none; all does that place devour, and to the
Furies consign. Tisiphone, in conjunction with those dreadful
sisters, awards the punishments which they have been found to deserve
to endure. Now to the guilty do I leave Styx, now Lethe; now Acheron;
once again with much ado do I retrace my steps to those above.”
* Saturn.
When he had
recited this last line, at length returning to himself, and aroused,
as it were, from sleep, he raised his head, and said to one of the
brethren, who, for the purpose of seeing the miracle, had come with
the rest, eyeing him most intently: ‘Wonder not at my features,
for die thou shalt. A grievous and sudden end shall overtake thee.’
After this, turning his eyes upon the assemblage of the brethren,
not less elegantly than if he had been gifted from his infancy with
the eloquence of Tully did he foretell in the Latin tongue certain
events which were then to come to pass. And, as these things
afterwards did come to pass, just as he had foretold, being filled
ourselves with the greatest astonishment, in order that others, as
well as ourselves, may admire the lines which this lay brother
composed, who was never in any degree acquainted with letters, we
have determined, on account of the stories there interwoven, to send
them from school to school, in order that, by their judgment, this
assertion of ours may be thoroughly sifted. Some indeed there are,
who, in consequence of the fables inserted, despise the rest; while
some endeavour to prove (since in many things it has fallen out as he
predicted) that under a kind of veil, these fables bear the impress
of truth; and, as in no respect it fell out otherwise than he had
predicted, the very same day, gnashing his teeth, that same brother
whose death he had predicted, ended his life in the greatest agony.
Upon this, the brother who had pronounced those prophetic lines,
bursting into tears in the presence of all, was not ashamed to
confess, in the contrition of his heart, whatever during his life he
had been guilty of; and, as befitted a religious man, received the
communion with the greatest devoutness; after receiving which, he
immediately breathed forth his spirit, saying, “Lord, into thy
hands I commend my spirit.”
Now when the
public had heard of these things, and others of a similar nature,
they were greatly alarmed, and the nearer that pestilential season,
which the before-named astrologers had predicted, drew nigh, the more
did exceeding terror come upon all, both clergy and laity, rich and
poor, and drove great numbers of them to a state of desperation. A
certain writing however, which Pharamella, the son of Abdallah of
Cordova, sent to John, bishop of Toledo, gave them some comfort; it
was to the following effect:
“Pharamella,
son of Abdallah of Cordova, an Arabian by parentage, and brought up
in the palace of the great king Evenjacob, who is called ‘El
Emir Amimoli,’ to John, bishop of Toledo, bishop of those
persons who are called Christians, health, beyond all those who call
upon God. They who fear God, the Creator of all things, shall be
exalted, and they also who adore Him with pure hands and with a heart
entirely cleansed. We have seen some men of your persuasion,
dissimilar to ourselves in dress and in language, who were merchants,
and had very good woollen cloths of various colours on sale. They
stated that they had come from a far distant land, which is called
the ‘ land of the Elders,’ that is to say, the kingdom of
the Franks. Among other matters, we learned from them through an
interpreter, Ferdinand by name, a fellow-citizen of yours, and at
present a captive with us, that certain false astrologers of the
west, who were ignorant of the virtues of the heavenly bodies and the
effects produced by the five wandering ones, [the planets?] and the
two lights [sun and moon?] which move of themselves in epicycles and
eccentric circuits, through their houses and dignities, have alarmed
the hearts of you believers in Christ, and not only of such as are
simple-minded, but even of those among you who are believed to be
wise. For they say that in the year which is the five hundred and
seventy-second of the Alligera, [Hegira] and the one thousand one
hundred and eighty-sixth from the Incarnation of your Lord Christ, in
the month which you call September, there is to be a very mighty
wind, such as is not often experienced, which shall destroy cities
and towns, and overthrow everything it meets on the earth in its
course. This wind shall come, they say, from the West, and shall
extend even unto the East; and after the wind a most dreadful stench,
that shall destroy human beings. Of this circumstance they allege no
further cause than that the planets will come in conjunction in
Libra, which is an aerial sign, and therefore a cause of windy
weather. Now, it may at once be answered these persons, by even our
children, that not only is Libra an aerial sign, but so also are
Gemini and Aquarius aerial signs; in both of which, many planets have
come in conjunction, and still no danger of winds or of pestilential
exhalations or of mortality has ensued. But while Saturn and Mars are
two unfortunate stars, Jupiter and Venus are fortunate ones and
propitious; wherefore, if they shall happen to be in the same sign
with the others, without any setting or attractions, or shall keep
themselves duly balanced, their beneficent effect will temper the
evil effects of the former ones. But on the day of the month in which
they say that this will take place, Mars will not be in Libra, but in
the thirteenth degree of Virgo; while Venus in Scorpio, which is the
house of Mars, will entirely do away with all the evil influence of
Mars, both as regards his house in which she is reigning, as also in
consequence of the respect due to her sex, by means of which she
attracts Mars to feelings of courtesy towards her. Jupiter also, will
assuage the disastrous influence of Saturn, Mercury being nearer to
Jupiter than Saturn. Such persons ought also to recollect, that
inasmuch as Saturn performs his revolution once in thirty years, he
remains two years and a half in each of the signs;51 whereas Mars
accomplishes his course through each of the signs in little less than
a year and a half. Since then, it is a matter of necessity, that in
every thirty years Saturn must always make a stay of about two years
and a half in Libra; by the same necessity it comes to pass, that
before Saturn goes out of Libra, Mars must be in the same sign of
Libra together with Saturn. If then, Mars and Saturn have already
hitherto been every thirty years once together in Libra, and are so
to be in future, either these pestilential winds have happened
before, or will happen from their evil influence when in a windy
sign, or the converse. But that they have happened at any previous
time, we neither read in the writings of the masters, nor have we
witnessed the fact in our own times. Consequently, we ought to feel
assured that they will not happen, since upon similar combinations it
has never fallen out that any thing of a like nature has happened.
Therefore, let your astrologers peruse the tables of the Inner
Persians, and of the Arabians, Hermes, Astalius, and Abidemonus, as
well as of Albumasar, of more modern date; and let them compute
proportionally the influences of the stars, their settings,
attractions, separations, equalities, and other matters which it were
tedious to recount to those even who have time to listen thereto; and
when they have found that from a like conjunction of the stars that
is false which they are dreaming of, either let them relinquish
opinions based upon such idle stories, or else be converted to the
religion of Ishmael which we profess. However, according to the
judgment of Messehella and Alkandus, unless God shall ordain it
otherwise, there will be a scanty vintage, crops of wheat of moderate
average, much slaughter by the sword, and many shipwrecks.”
1185 A.D.
In the year of grace 1185, being the thirty-first year of the reign
of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, that king was at Windsor in England, on
the day of the Nativity of our Lord. In the same year, on the day of
the Circumcision of our Lord, died Gilbert, the son of Fergus, who
had taken his brother Uchtred, the father of the noble man Roland,
and had caused him to be deprived of his eyes, tongue, and virility,
by his own son Dunecan; and who had also given up his son the
before-named Dunecan, to the king of England as a hostage to ensure
the preservation of the peace. After his death, Roland, the son of
Uchtred, invaded all the lands of the before-named Gilbert, and
gained possession of them.
In the same year,
Baldwin the Leper, king of Jerusalem, and the Templars and
Hospitallers, sent to the king of England, the son of the empress
Matilda, Heraclius, the Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and
the grand Masters of the Hospital and Temple, together with the royal
standard, and the keys of the Sepulchre of our Lord, of the Tower of
David, and of the city of Jerusalem, asking of him speedy succour, as
being the heir and lord of the land of Jerusalem. For it ought to be
known, that Fulk, the brother of Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, the father
of the said Henry, was king of Jerusalem, as we have previously
mentioned. Wherefore, when the before-named Patriarch and Master of
the Hospital came to England, the king of England met them at the
town of Reading, and received them with great joyousness ; on which,
immediately falling at the king’s feet, with great weeping and
sobbing, they uttered the words of salutation on behalf of the king,
and principal men, and the whole of the people of the land of
Jerusalem, and, explaining the cause of their coming, delivered to
him the royal standard, and the keys of the Sepulchre of our Lord,
and those of the Tower of David and of the city of Jerusalem, in
behalf of the king and the principal men of the city of Jerusalem,
besides letters from pope Lucius, to the following effect:—
The Letter of pope Lucius on giving aid to the land of Jerusalem.
“Lucius,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to Henry, the illustrious
king of the English, health and the Apostolic benediction. Inasmuch
as all your predecessors have been especially distinguished above all
the other princes of the earth for glory in arms and nobleness of
spirit, and the people of the faithful have been taught to look upon
them in their adversity as their defenders; deservedly is application
made to you, the heir not only of your father’s kingdom but of
his virtues, a certain degree of security being assured therefrom, at
a time when peril or even extermination is dreaded as impending over
the Christian people; that by the arm of your royal mightiness,
protection may be granted to the members of Him who has in His mercy
allowed you to reach such a height of glory and pre-eminence, and has
rendered you an invincible wall of defence against those who wished
to impugn His name. In the first place, be it known to your serene
highness how that the land of Jerusalem has been here buffeted by
frequent and vexatious disputes on these matters, the special
inheritance of Him who was crucified, and the place in which the
mysteries were foretold of our salvation, and brought to a completion
by the carrying out of that event, and of which He who comprehended
all things in His death, by a peculiar privilege made it the scene;
and how being now trampled under foot, and hemmed in by the pressure
of a perfidious and most abominable race, it stands nodding to its
downfall; and how, which God forbid, the Christian religion must
thereby sustain irreparable loss. For Saladin, the most inhuman
persecutor of that holy and fearful name, has now risen to such a
pitch in the spirit of his fury, and is to such a degree putting
forth all the might of his wickedness for the destruction of the
people of the faithful, that, unless the vehement onset of his
wickedness is checked as though by barriers placed in his path, he
may entertain an assured hope and belief that Jordan will flow before
his face, and that the land that was consecrated by the shedding of
the vivifying blood, will be polluted by the contact of his most
abominable superstitions, and the country which your glorious and
noble predecessors, amid many labours and perils, rescued from the
dominion of the unbelieving heathens, will once more be subjected to
the accursed dominion of this most nefarious tyrant.
In
consequence, therefore, of the urgency of the necessity, and of the
sorrows thus imminent, we have deemed it advisable, by these
Apostolic letters, to entreat your mightiness, or rather with a
palpitating heart to call upon you with the loudest voice, showing
regard for the honor of Him who has set you upon high, and, in
comparison with the name of the mighty ones who are on earth, has
bestowed upon you a glorious name, in the earnestness of your, pious
zeal, to give your attention to the desolate state of the
before-named land, and, to the end that, in those parts, the
confusion of Him may be put an end to, who, in your behalf, submitted
to be held in derision in that self-same land, to afford efficacious
aid. Wherefore, following in the footsteps of your predecessors, by
the aid of the Lord, let that land be preserved in the worship of the
great God by means of your diligence, which they rescued from the
jaws of the prince of darkness. In such straits of oppression it
befits your highness to labour with the more earnest zeal, inasmuch
as you are aware that the land is deprived of the protection of a
king, and the powerful men have thought proper to centre all their
hopes of defending it in the protection of your mightiness. And this
your serene highness may be the better enabled to understand, from
the fact that they have despatched to your excellency the chief men
of that land and the mighty defenders thereof, namely, our venerable
brother Heraclius, the Patriarch, and our dearly beloved son, the
Master of the Hospital, that from their dignified presence you may be
enabled to take under consideration the present state of affairs, and
to see how great and extreme is the necessity, on account of which
they have so long endured to be without protection; to the end that
in person they might the more easily incline your devotedness to
comply with their desires. Receive, therefore, the persons
before-named with all kindness, as though sent to you by the Lord
Himself, treat them in all things with that brotherly love which is
their due, and show yourself ready to acquiesce in their requests,
according as, having regard to their weight and their probity, you
shall think them deserving of your grace and favour. And further, let
your prudence call to mind, and with anxious meditation thereon
ponder over those promises by which you have so often bound your
highness as to undertaking the protection of the land so often named;
and show yourself in this respect so wary and so zealous, that, at
the terrible day of judgment your conscience may not accuse you, and
the question put to you by that searching Judge who is not to be
deceived, may not lead to your condemnation.”
After hearing
these requests, our lord the king made answer that, God willing, all
things would yet be well, and appointed a time for his answer,
namely, the first Sunday in Lent, at London. Accordingly, on this
day, our lord the king, the Patriarch, the bishops, abbats, earls,
and barons of the kingdom of England, William, king of Scotland, and
his brother David, together with the earls and barons of his kingdom,
met at W This council was held at Clerkenwell. London, and after a
conference had been held thereon with due deliberation, it pleased
all that our lord the king should consult thereupon Philip, king of
France, his liege lord; upon which the council breaking up, our lord
the king gave to all his subjects, both clergy and laity, permission
to assume the cross. Accordingly, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury,
Ranulph, justiciary of England, Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and
Hugh, bishop of Durham, together with many others of the bishops from
both sides of the sea, and nearly all the earls, barons, and knights
of England, Normandy, Aquitaine, Brittany, Anjou, Maine, and
Touraine, assumed the cross; at the period of the assumption of which
a certain miraculous event took place.
For on a certain
day, a woman who had secretly become pregnant, finding that the time
of her labour was approaching, fled from the house of her father, in
consequence of her wish to avoid being detected in her transgression;
when behold ! a mighty tempest of wind and rain overtook her in her
flight, as she was wandering alone in the fields and begging the Lord
for His assistance and a place of refuge. Upon finding ‘that
her prayers were not instantly listened to by the Lord, she fell into
a fit of desperation, saying, “If thou, God, dost despise my
prayers, then may the Devil succour me;” immediately upon which
the Devil made his appearance to her under the form of a young man,
barefoot and girt up as though for a journey, and said to the woman,
“Follow me.” As they passed along the road they met with
a sheepfold in a field, on which the Devil ran before and got ready a
fire in the sheepfold, and a seat made of fresh straw, upon which the
woman followed him, and, entering the place, warmed herself before
the fire. While so doing, she said, “I am thirsty, and am quite
famished with hunger;” to which the Devil made answer: “Wait
a little, and I will bring you bread and drink.” While he was
gone [to fetch this], two men, who happened to be passing along the
road, seeing a fire in the sheepfold, wondered what it could be, and
coming nearer, entered the sheepfold ; where, finding the pregnant
woman lying down near the fire, they asked her who it was that had
made the fire for her, to which she made answer, “The Devil.”
On this they enquired of her where he was, when she replied, “I
was hungry and thirsty, and he has gone to find me some victuals and
drink.” On hearing this, they said to her, “Have faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ and in the glorious Virgin Mary, His mother,
and they shall deliver you from the hand of the enemy; and be sure to
enquire of him what shall come to pass;” after saying which,
they went to a village that was near at hand, and related to the
clergy and the people what they had seen and heard upon the road.
In the meantime,
the Devil returned, and bringing with him bread and water, refreshed
the woman; after which, stooping down, she gave birth to a male
child, which the Devil taking up, performed the duties of midwife,
and was warming it before the fire, when, lo! the priest of the
village before-mentioned came to the sheepfold, armed with the
Catholic faith, the cross, and holy water, and attended by the clergy
and a great number of people. Finding that she was delivered, he was
sprinkling the child, which the Devil was holding in his arms, with
holy water, in the name of the holy and undivided Trinity, when the
Devil, being utterly unable to endure it, took to flight, and,
carrying the child away with him, appeared to them no more. On this,
the woman, returning to herself, exclaimed, “Now do I know of a
truth that the Lord hath delivered me from the hands of the enemy ;”
and she then related to them that she had been informed by the Devil,
that, since the time when Jesus Christ prevailed over hell, there had
not been so great sorrow or lamentation in hell as there was now, in
consequence of the assumption of the cross: but, said she, his sorrow
will be turned into joy, because so great will be the iniquities and
offences of the Crusaders, that the Lord will blot them out of the
Book of Life, and many of them, forsaking the religion of the cross,
will become persecutors of the cross and of the name of Christ—a
thing that afterwards proved to be the case.
Our lord the king next came to Windsor, and there,
on the Lord’s day on which is sung “Lætare,
Jerusalem,” [“Rejoice, 0 Jerusalem,"] which this year
fell on the day, before the calends of April, he dubbed his son John a knight, and
immediately after sent him to Ireland, appointing him king thereof.
In the meantime, a mighty earthquake was heard* throughout nearly
the whole of England, such as had not been heard in that land since
the beginning of the world; for rocks were split asunder, houses of
stone fell down, and the metropolitan church of Lincoln was rent from
top to bottom.
* The word is “auditus” at the present day we speak
of feeling an earthquake, and, in general, not of hearing one.
This earthquake took place on the day after Palm Sunday,
that is to say, on the seventeenth day before the calends of May; and on the
day after the said earthquake our lord the king of England, Heraclius, the
Patriarch, and Hugh, bishop of Durham, with many of the principal men
of England, crossed over between Dover and Witsand. After his arrival
in Normandy, our lord the king of England raised a considerable army,
and then sent word to his son Richard, earl of Poitou, who had
fortified Poitou against him, and had taken prisoner his brother
Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, that unless he delivered up to his mother
Eleanor the whole of Poitou freely and quietly, he would visit him
with a rod of iron, and war against him with all the power of his
might. Upon receiving this command, the said Richard, ceasing all
hostilities, delivered up Poitou to his mother, and, returning to his
father, remained with him like an obedient son.
In the meantime, on the calends of May, being the day of the
Apostles, Saint Philip and Saint James, about mid-day, a total eclipse of the sun was seen,
which was followed by thunder and lightning, and a mighty tempest;
from the effects of which men and animals perished, and many houses,
being set on fire thereby, were burned to the ground. After this,
Philip, king of France, and Henry, king of England, holding a
conference as to giving aid to the land of Jerusalem, promised that
they would afford it ample assistance both in men and money: but, for
all this the before-named Patriarch cared but little, as he had been
in hopes that he should be enabled to bring back with him, for the
defence of the land of Jerusalem, the before-named king of England,
or one of his sons, or else some other person high in authority ;
but, being unable to effect this, he retired from the court in sorrow
and confusion on his return to his country.
In the same year,
[1185] Walter, the archbishop elect of Rouen, received the pall from
pope Lucius, and immediately consecrated Gilbert de Glanville, who
had been presented with the bishopric of Rochester by the king of
England. In this year also, John, the king’s son, coming into
Ireland, was honorably received by John, the archbishop of Dublin,
and the other subjects of his father, who had preceded him; however,
as he thought fit to shut up everything in his own purse, and was
unwilling to pay their wages to his soldiers, he lost the greater
part of his army in several conflicts with the Irish, and being at
last reduced to want [of troops], after appointing justices and
distributing his knights in various places for the defence of the
country, he returned to England.
In the month of
December, in this year, pope Lucius departed this life; and was
succeeded in the papacy by pope Urban the Third; who immediately
thereupon, in order that notice thereof might be universally given,
wrote to the prelates of the Holy Church to the following effect:
“Urban,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brethren
the archbishops and bishops, and to his dearly beloved sons the
abbats, priors, and other prelates of churches, to whom these letters
shall come, health and the Apostolic benediction. The exalted
counsels of heaven, retaining in their dispensations a constant
supervision thereof, have founded the Holy Church of Rome, to the
governance whereof, insufficient as we are, we have been chosen, upon
a rock which is based upon the solidity of the faith; bestowing upon
her that foundation in the strength of the Apostolic confession, that
so neither the outbreaks of the storm, nor the winds of the tempest
can prevail against her. Wherefore it is that the universal Mother
Church, ever retaining with her the Saviour, even unto the end of the
world, has so, as expressed in the Song of Solomon, “embraced
him whom she loved,” that, by reason of no change of events or
of times, can she be separated from the singleness of her faith, or
the fixedness of her affection. For although, by reason of the
repeated changes of her pastors as they depart, she has frequently
fallen into various perils, or in consequence of the attacks of the
wickedness of this world has endured persecutions and labours
innumerable, still, never has the Divine favour forsaken her, any
further than that she might perfect her strength in some temptation,
and thence obtain the joyous fulfilment of her hope, on receiving
thereby a strengthening of her faith. The Lord thus dealing towards
her, within these few days as a mark of His goodness, although no
slight grief and sorrow affected her for the death of the pious
father Lucius, Divine Providence has preserved her in the unity of
the spirit and in the bond of peace, so that after the sorrow of the
evening joy came in the morning, and she, like a most beauteous dove,
rejoicing amid her sighs, retained her beauty without a ruffle even
or a spot upon her whiteness. Now, after the decease of the father of
pious memory, our predecessor, Lucius, our lord the pope, when his
most venerable body had been honorably entombed, there was held by
the brethren a conference as to the election of a successor, at which
there was such unity among all, and such concord of each with the
other, that He may be supposed to have wrought upon them, in whose
hands are the hearts of all men, and through whom the diversity of
minds is reconciled. But, while in the church of God, there were many
venerable and prudent men, of whom it is our belief that their votes
might have more prudently and more worthily have made choice,
inefficient as we are, they turned their eyes upon us; and it was
done accordingly as it pleased the Lord, in that they made choice of
us as their father and shepherd, who have neither strength nor merits
to suffice to the elevation of a dignity so great. However, although
we were fully conscious to ourselves of our own infirmities, so as to
believe that we might, not without good reason, have offered
resistance to their proposals; still, to the end that through delay
in the transaction or pertinacity in making resistance, no danger
might ensue to the Church, although unwillingly, we consented to
undertake the labour of the burden entrusted to us; hoping that our
steps would be guided by Him who bestowed on Saint Peter, when
sailing on the waves, faith even to that degree that he went down
into the sea, and went forth to meet Him in the midst thereof, that
doubting he might not perish. Now therefore, being placed in such a
position and office, as to require to be aided therein by the
suffrages of all the faithful, to you do we resort, as especial sons
of the Roman Church, with full confidence and security, and,
prefacing with the salutation of the Apostolic benediction, we do by
these familiar letters admonish you, and do earnestly request and
exhort you in the Lord, that, attending the death of our before-named
father and lord Lucius, with the devout suffrages of your prayers,
you will especially pay to ourselves that fidelity and duty which is
owed to us, in virtue of your respect for Saint Peter and Saint Paul
the Apostles and the Apostolic See, by all of you in common, that by
so doing, you may be enabled both to obtain your reward of God, and
always be enabled to find more abundant grace in my eyes, and prove
yourselves deserving before the whole Church. Given at Verona, on the
second day before the ides of January.”
In the same year,
Henry, king of England, sent envoys to pope Urban, and obtained many
things of him, which pope Lucius had stoutly refused ; one of which
was that such one of his sons as he should think fit should be
crowned king of Ireland. This was acceded to by our lord the pope,
who confirmed the same by his bull, and, as a proof of his assent and
confirmation thereof, sent him a crown made of peacock’s
feathers, embroidered with gold. In this year, shortly before the
feast of Saint Peter ad Vinculo,, the before-named Patriarch, having
returned to Jerusalem, and brought with him no aid for the defence of
that land, great fear came upon the inhabitants of the land of
Jerusalem. Consequently, a certain brother of the Temple, an
Englishman by birth, whose name was Robert de Saint Alban, having
forsaken the Christian faith, went to Saladin, king of Babylon, and
promised him that he would deliver up to him the city of Jerusalem ;
and, on his giving him security for the same, Saladin gave him his
niece in marriage, and a considerable body of troops, and put him in
command of his army, making him general thereof. Upon this, he
immediately went forth with his army to the plains of Saint George,
and there divided it into three detachments, two of which he sent
into the parts adjacent to lay them waste; on which they ravaged the
whole country, from Montreal to Neapolis, while Jericho, and the city
of Sebaste, with some other cities, were destroyed.
But the
before-named Robert, with the third part of his army, marched against
the city of Jerusalem; on which the few inhabitants who were in the
city, trusting in the Lord, went forth by the postern gates, and,
carrying before them the wood of the Cross of our Lord as a standard,
by the might of the Lord smote the army in which was the before-named
Robert; on which, taking to flight, he turned his back on the
smiters, while the men of Jerusalem followed him and his army, and
slew many of them with the edge of the sword: Robert, however, though
with considerable difficulty, made his escape.
After this, on Saladin purposing a fresh attack upon the land of Jerusalem, the
Templars and Hospitallers and other chief men of that land, gave him
sixty thousand besants for a truce until the octave of the ensuing
Easter. In the meantime, William de Marchis, earl of Joppa, having
died, William the Leper, the king of Jerusalem, abdicated the throne
of the kingdom, and, naming the boy Baldwin, son of the before-named
William and Sibylla, who was his sister, his heir, caused him to be
crowned king in the Holy City of Jerusalem; shortly after which he
died, on which the boy Baldwin reigned in his stead for nearly two
years, and his mother Sibylla married Guido de Lusignan, and by him
had two daughters.
1186 A.D.
In the year of grace 1186, being the thirty-second year of the reign of king Henry,
son of the empress Matilda, the said king was at Damfront, in
Normandy, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord; after which
festival a conference was held between him and Philip, king of
France, at Gisors, where he made oath that he would give Alice, the
sister of the king of France, in marriage to his son Richard, earl of
Poitou. The king of France also promised to the before-named Richard,
together with his said sister, Gisors, and all that his father Louis
had promised, together with his daughter Margaret, to Henry, the son,
the king of England; and he further made oath that he would never
after that advance any claim against them in respect thereof.
After having held
this conference, the king of England crossed over to England, and
gave to Hugh, prior of the house of Wicham, which is of the
Carthusian order, and in the bishopric of Bath, the bishopric of
Lincoln; whom Baldwin, the archbishop of Canterbury, shortly after
consecrated. After this, the king proceeded with a large army to
Carlisle, intending to go still further to wage war against Roland,
the son of Ucthred, son of Fergus, for the injuries and spoliations
which he had been guilty of towards Dunecan, the son of Gilbert, son
of Fergus; but the said Roland came thither to the king and made
peace with him. The king also, while there, caused Paulinus of Leeds
to be elected to the bishopric of Carlisle; which, however, the said
Paulinus declined. On this, in order that Paulinus might be willing
to accept of that bishopric, the king offered him to enrich it with
revenues to the amount of three hundred marks yearly, arising from
the church of Bamborough, the church of Scarborough, the chapelry of
Tickhill, and two of the king’s manors near Carlisle.
In the same year,
Philip, king of the Franks, gave to Bela, king of Hungary, his sister
Margaret in marriage, who had been the wife of Henry, the son of the
king of England. In the same year, Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, son of
Henry, king of England, died at Paris from bruises which he had
received from the hoofs of horses at a tournament, and was buried in
the cathedral church of that city. In this year also some of the
Irish cut off the head of Hugh de Lacy in Ireland. In the same year,
our lord the king of England gave Ermengard, his kinswoman, daughter
of Richard, viscount de Beaumont, in marriage to William, king of
Scotland ; and caused them to be married in his chapel at Woodstock
by Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, where he held in their honor
great nuptial festivities at his palace for a period of four days.
Our lord the king also there presented the king of Scotland with the
castle of Edinburgh; which the said king immediately gave to the
before-named Ermengard his wife as a marriage portion, and by way of
increasing the same he gave her one hundred pounds of yearly revenue,
and forty knights’ fees.
In the same year,
while the king of England was staying at Carlisle, Robert Buteville,
dean of the church of York, departed this life, and was succeeded in
the deanery by Hubert Fitz-Walter, clerk to Ranulph de Glanville, at
the king’s presentation. In the same year, our lord the king of
England gave to William de Northale the bishopric of Worcester, and
to John, subdean of Salisbury, the bishopric of Exeter; who were
accordingly consecrated by Baldwin, the archbishop of Canterbury.
In the same year,
after pope Urban, upon the complaint of John, the bishop of Dunkeld,
had heard the dispute that existed between him and Hugh, the bishop
of Saint Andrew’s, he wrote to the king of Scotland to the
following effect: —
The Letter of pope Urban to William, king of Scotland.
“Urban,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to William, the
illustrious king of the Scots, health and the Apostolic benediction.
Inasmuch as, by the duties enjoined upon us by God in virtue of our
office, we are bound to give our earnest attention to all the
churches, both those near to us, as also those at a great distance,
and, if we know of any unreasonable attempts made by them or by their
ministers, to recall them to a more suitable line of conduct, the
princes of this world ought not to feel themselves aggrieved in
consequence thereof, if sometimes we think proper to extend our hands
for the correction of those things which they have done amiss;
inasmuch as they themselves also, in conformity with the power that
has been entrusted to them, ought to aid us herein, and, when it is
necessary and the obstinacy of any stands in need thereof, stoutly to
resist the contumacy prompted by a spirit of wickedness. Your royal
excellency is not unaware what a grievous dissension has arisen
between our venerable brethren, John, bishop of Dunkeld, and Hugh,
bishop of Saint Andrew’s; and although either party has
undergone great labours, and submitted to great expenses, and, in the
time of pope Lucius of blessed memory, our predecessor, held a long
discussion thereon at the Apostolic See, they still were unable to
bring the matter in dispute to a conclusion. And whereas lately the
said bishops came to our presence, and discussed the said matters at
length, in our hearing, upon which, by the advice 01 our brethren, we
gave to the before-named bishop of Dunkeld power to act in the
bishopric of Saint Andrew’s, in opposition to the said bishop
Hugh, and the said bishop of Saint Andrew’s was sufficiently
instructed in our presence, to return to his own place within a
period named, upon the understanding that if he should not do so
within the said time, our venerable brother Jocelyn, bishop of
Glasgow, and our dearly beloved sons, the abbats of Melrose,
Newbottle, and Dunfermline, should from thenceforth suspend him from
the episcopal duties, and if he should after that prove contumacious,
should place him under the ban of excommunication, and not revoke
their sentence until such time as he should have come into our
presence. For it is our wish, that this matter should no longer
remain in a state of suspense, in order that thereby the said church
of Saint Andrew’s may incur no grave detriment to its
interests, but rather that, the truth being known, with the aid of
the Lord, by our means it may be brought to a suitable conclusion. We
have also ordered the before-named bishop of Glasgow and his
colleagues, relying upon our authority, to extend their protection to
our dearly-beloved sons, Aiulph, dean of Lothian, Odo, the seneschal,
Roger de Feric, and other clerks, friends of the beforenamed bishop
of Dunkeld, from all molestation whatsoever, and not to allow their
possessions or other goods, or the revenues of the said bishop to be
seized upon by any person. And if any one shall presume to disregard
this prohibition hereon, they are, by means of canonical censure, to
restrain them in such course, no appeal to the contrary withstanding.
To the end, therefore, that what we have ordered may without any
difficulty whatever be complied with, we do advise your royal
excellency, and exhort you in the Lord, and, for the remission of
your sins, enjoin you, out of your love of justice, and your
reverence for Saint Peter and for ourselves, to allow proceedings to
be taken in this matter in conformity with the tenor of our mandates,
and with your royal protection to defend the before-named dean and
seneschal, and Robert de Fedic, and the rest of the kinsmen and
friends of the beforenamed bishop of Dunkeld, as also the bishopric,
and the rest of his revenues, and neither in any way to aggrieve them
nor suffer them to be aggrieved by others; that so this dispute may
without any hindrance be brought to a conclusion, and your royal
mightiness may for this work of justice gain a neverfailing reward
from God, and a good name among men. You are to know also, that we
have enjoined the before-named bishops, in virtue of their obedience
to us, not to receive anything from the churches or clergy subject to
them in respect of the expenses which, in the transaction of the
matters before-named, they are liable to incur, but to make it their
care to supply the necessary expenses from their own revenues alone.
For we are unwilling that by their deeds the churches, or any persons
in your kingdom, should incur any detriment whatever. We also wish it
not to escape your royal excellency, that the before-named bishop of
Dunkeld has so honorably conducted his cause, and has paid such
deference to your kingly dignity, that he has made no proposition
whatever, which might by any possibility redound to the derogation of
your royal name, or, by reason of which, your serene highness ought
to feel angered against him. Wherefore, if anything to the contrary
shall be suggested to your highness by his opponents, you must not
lend your royal ear to the words of such persons. Given at Verona, on
the second day before the calends of August.”
The Letter of the same Pope to John, bishop of Glasgow, and the
abbats, his colleagues, on the same subject.
“Urban, the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother,
Jocelyn, bishop of Glasgow, and his dearlybeloved sons, the abbats of
Melrose, New bottle, and Dunfermline, health and the Apostolic
benediction. Inasmuch as, by the duties enjoined upon us by God in
virtue of our office, we are bound to give our earnest attention to
all the churches, both those near to us as also those at a great
distance, and if we know of any unreasonable attempts made by them,
or by their ministers, to recall them to a more suitable line of
conduct ; the princes of this world ought not to feel angered in
consequence thereof. Your discreetness is not unaware what a grievous
dissension has arisen between our venerable brethren, John, bishop of
Dunkeld, and Hugh, bishop of Saint Andrew’s; and although
either party has undergone great labours and submitted to great
expenses, and, in the time of pope Lucius, of blessed memory, our
predecessor, held a long discussion thereon at the Apostolic See,
they still were unable to bring the matter in dispute to a
conclusion. And whereas lately the said bishops came to our presence
and discussed the said matters at length in our hearing, upon which,
by the advice of our brethren, we gave to the before-named bishop of
Dunkeld power to act in. the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s, in
opposition to the said bishop Hugh, and the said bishop of Saint
Andrew’s was sufficiently instructed in our presence to return
to his own place within a period named. And to the end that our most
dearly beloved son in Christ, the illustrious king of the Scots, may
not by his power impede the prosecution of this business, we have
warned him by our letters that he is to allow proceedings to be taken
in this business according to the tenor of our mandate, and to defend
with his royal protection our dearly beloved sons, Aiulph, dean of
Lothian, Odo, the seneschal, and Robert de Fedic, and the other
kinsmen of the abovenamed bishop of Dunkeld, and neither to aggrieve
them in any way himself, nor suffer them to be aggrieved by others.
To the end, therefore, that the business before-named may no longer
remain in suspense, and the church of Saint Andrew’s thereby
incur detriment to its own interests, we do, by these Apostolic
writings, enjoin your discreetness, and do, in virtue of your
obedience, order you, reducing to writing whatever you shall know of
yourselves or through other persons on the subject of this business,
to make it your care to inform us of the same, sending it to us under
the protection of your seals, in order that we, being instructed by
your intimations thereon, using the advice of our brethren, may
proceed in the business in such manner as it is our duty to do. And
if any persons shall with rash daring lay hands upon the before-named
dean, Odo, the seneschal, Robert de Fedic, or any other friends of
the bishop of Dunkeld, and their possessions or other property, or
the bishopric and other revenues of the said bishop, then, fully
relying on our authorization, you are, by canonical censure, to
restrain them, without any obstacle thereto by way of appeal. Also,
you will, on our behalf, forbid the said bishops, as we have also
done orally, to receive anything whatever from the churches or clergy
subject to them, in respect of the expenses which they are liable to
incur in the prosecution of the before-named business; as they are to
supply the necessary expenses from their own revenues alone. For we
are unwilling that, by their deeds, they should cause detriment to
the Church, or to any other person of your kingdom. Wherefore, by our
authorization, you are strictly to warn the beforenamed bishop of
Saint Andrew’s, that, having received sufficient notice, he is
to repair to our presence, within a time appointed by us for both
parties. And if he shall not come, then you are, all appeal set
aside, immediately to suspend him from his episcopal duties. And if
even then he shall not show obedience thereto, you are to place him
under the ban of excommunication, and not to relax your sentence,
until such time as he shall have presented himself before us. Also,
you are to intimate to his royal excellency that the before-named
bishop of Dunkeld has so honorably conducted his cause, and has paid
such deference to his kingly dignity, that he has made no proposition
whatever which may by any possibility redound to the derogation of
his royal name, or by reason of which he ought to feel angered
against him. Wherefore, make it your care, by unceasing exhortations,
to persuade him, that if any thing should be suggested by his
opponents to the contrary, he is not to lend his royal ear to their
words. Given at Verona, on the second day before the calends of
August.”
On the authority
therefore of this letter, Jocelyn, bishop of Glasgow, and his
colleagues, when the time drew nigh which had been appointed by the
Supreme Pontiff for the hearing of the before-named bishops of
Dunkeld and Saint Andrew’s, summoned the before-named bishops a
first, second, and third time to set out upon their journey: on which
the bishop of Dunkeld came, but the bishop of Saint Andrew’s,
staying beyond the time, delayed coming, whereupon the above-named
judges delegate suspended him from the episcopal duties, and then, in
consequence of his contumacy, according to the tenour of the
Apostolic mandate, excommunicated him.
In the same year,
[1186] Philip, king of France, demanded of Henry, king of England,
the charge of the daughter of Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, whom at his
death he left his heir; a thing which the king of England would on no
account comply with, but sent to him Walter, archbishop of Rouen,
William de Mandeville, earl of Aumarle, and Ranulph de Glanville, the
justiciary of England, at whose instance the king of France made a
truce, and promised to keep the peace until the feast of Saint Hilary
then next ensuing. In the same year, Richard de Vals, a knight of the
king of France, fortified a castle in his vill of Yals, between
Gisors and Trie; on seeing which, Henry de Vere, constable of Gisors,
under the before-named William, earl of Aumarle, took it amiss, and,
wishing to impede the work if he possibly could, came thither with
his people; on which the men of the before-named Richard de Vals went
out to meet him, and an engagement taking place, Rader, the son of
Richard de Vals, was slain, and after many men of the said Richard
had been wounded, they took to flight. The said Henry de Vere,
however, not daring to return to Gisors, went to Richard, earl of
Poitou. On this becoming known to the king of France, he ordered that
all who belonged to the territories of the king of England, both
clergy and laymen, who should be found in his dominions, should be
taken in custody, together with all their chattels. On the other
hand, the bailiffs of the king of England, in the parts beyond sea,
did the like as to the subjects of the king of France and their
chattels, which were found in their respective bailiwicks. But
shortly after, at the suggestion of his followers, the king of France
gave orders that the subjects of the king of England should he
liberated, and that their chattels should be restored to them; on
which the bailiffs of the king of England did the same as to the
subjects of the king of France and their chattels.
In the same year,
Constance, the countess of Brittany, daughter of earl Conan, whom
Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, her husband, had left pregnant at the
time of his decease, was delivered of her eldest son on the holy
night of Easter, and his name was called Arthur. In the same year,
Baldwin, the boy-king of Jerusalem, son of William le Marchis,
departed this life, and was succeeded in the kingdom by his mother
Sibylla, by hereditary right; but before she was crowned, a divorce
was effected between her and Guido de Lusignan, her husband, by the
Patriarch Heraclius and the Templars and Hospitallers, who wished her
to marry Walran, earl of Tripolis, or some nobleman of the principal
people of the land of Jerusalem ; she, however, by a wonderful piece
of cunning, deceived them, saying : “If a divorce takes place
between me and my husband, I wish you to make me sure, by your
promises and oaths, that whomsoever I shall make choice of you will
choose for your head and lord.”
Accordingly, after
they had so done, they led her into the Temple, and the before-named
Patriarch crowned her; shortly after which, when all were offering up
their prayers that God the Lord Almighty would provide a fitting king
for that land, the before-named queen took the royal crown in her
hands, and placed it on the head of Guido de Lusignan her husband,
saying, “I make choice of thee as king, and as my lord, and as
lord of the land of Jerusalem, for those whom God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder."
At these words all
stood in amazement, but on account of the oath which they had made,
no one dared oppose her, and the Patriarch, approaching, anointed him
king; and then, Divine service having been celebrated, the Templars
escorted the king and queen to their abode, and provided for them a
sumptuous entertainment. The earl of Tripolis, however, vexed and
sorrowful that the queen had rejected him, went to Saladin, king of
Babylon, and, entering into an alliance with him, devised many evils
for the destruction of the king and queen. Saladin, however,
requested that the truce before-mentioned, which he had made until
the ensuing Easter, should be prolonged for the three years next
ensuing; to which proposition king Guido, by the advice of the
Templars, assented, although it was evident to him that there would
shortly come a vast number of pilgrims, both from England and other
kingdoms, in consequence of the preaching of the Patriarch.
Accordingly, after Easter, there came to Jerusalem an immense
multitude of men-at-arms and other pilgrims; but as the truce had
been prolonged, very few of them chose to remain. However, Roger de
Mowbray and Hugh de Beauchamp remained there in the service of God.
1187 A.D.
In the year of grace 1187, being the thirty-third year of the reign of king Henry,
son of the empress Matilda, that king was at Guilford, in England, on
the day of the Nativity of our Lord. In the same year, after the
Nativity of our Lord, pope Urban sent to England Octavianus, a
cardinal-subdeacon of the Holy Church of Rome, and with him Hugh de
Nunant, to whom he gave the legateship to Ireland, for the purpose of
there crowning John, the king’s son; but our lord the king put
off that coronation, and took the before-named legates with him to
Normandy, to a conference to be held between himself and Philip, king
of France. Accordingly, the king of England crossed over and landed
at Witsand, in Flanders, and with him the legates before-named, and
shortly after, a conference was held between him and the king of
France at Vè Saint Remy, but they could come to no agreement,
in consequence of the exorbitant demands made by the king of France,
and parted without any hopes of peace and reconciliation.
In the same year,
after Pentecost, Philip, king of France, levying a large army,
besieged Richard and John, the sons of the king of England, in
Chateau Raoul; hearing of which, the king of England came thither
with a great army to succour his sons so besieged. On this, the king
of France met him with his army, and drew up his troops in battle
array ; but, by the mercy of God and the injunction of Urban the
Supreme Pontiff, and by the advice of the archbishops, bishops, and
other influential men of both kingdoms, they agreed to a truce for
two years, and that the king of France should hold Yssoudon and Urse
de Fretteval till the end of the truce; and upon these terms they
desisted from hostilities and returned home.
Alter peace was
thus made, Richard, earl of Poitou, remained with the king of France,
though much against the will of his father, and the king of France
held him in such high esteem, that every day they ate at the same
table and from the same dish, and at night had not separate chambers.
In consequence of this strong attachment which seemed to have arisen
between them, the king of England was struck with great astonishment,
and wondered what it could mean, and, taking precautions for the
future, frequently sent messengers into France for the purpose of
recalling his son Richard; who, pretending that he was peaceably
inclined and ready to come to his father, made his way to Chinon,
and, in spite of the person who had the custody thereof, carried off
the greater part of his father’s treasures, and fortified his
castles in Poitou with the same, refusing to go to his father.
This is supposed
to have taken place through the Providence of God, in order that his
father might not be deceived by the pretended affection of his son,
nor be in too great haste to promote him to the helm of state, in the
same way that he had promoted the other one,* who, as already
mentioned, had caused him endless troubles by his unrighteous and
vexatious conduct. At length, however, through the mercy of God, it
came to pass that Richard, earl of Poitou, neglecting the counsels of
the wicked, returned to his father, and once more did homage to him
in presence of a great number of people, both clergy and laity, and
swore fealty to him upon the Holy Evangelists against all men, and
promised that he would not forsake his counsels. These matters being
concluded, the king of England set out for Brittany, and took the
castle of Montrelais by siege, of which Hervey de Lyons and his
brother Guimar had taken possession after the death of Geoffrey, earl
of Brittany.
* His eldest son,
Henry.
In the same year,
Donald, the son of William, son of Dunecan, an enemy of William, king
of Scotland, and whom the Scotch called Mac William, was slain in
Moray. In the same year, Isabella, the queen of France, and daughter
of the earl of Hainault, was delivered of her first-born son on the
third day before the nones of September, being the fifth day of the
week, who was named Louis. In the same year, Saladin, king of
Babylon, with an immense multitude of his Turks, on pretext of the
disunion which existed between the king and the earl of Tripolis,
entered the land of Jerusalem; on which the brethren of the Temple
and of the Hospital went forth against him with a great multitude of
people, and on an engagement taking place between them, the army of
the Pagans prevailed against the Christians, on which the latter
betook themselves to flight, and many of them were slain and many
taken prisoners. On the same day also, being the calends of May,
sixty brethren of the Temple, and the Grand Master of the Hospital,
together with sixty brethren of his house, were slain.
Saladin, on
gaining this great victory, attacked and took a considerable number
of the castles, cities, and fortresses of the Christians; after
which, returning to his own country, he levied a great army, and, by
the advice, it is said, of the earl of Tripolis, who was an enemy to
the king, entered the territory of Jerusalem, on the Friday after the
feast of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, with eight hundred
thousand men or more; on which he took Tiberias, with the exception
of the keep of the castle, to which place the lady of the castle had
retreated, together with a few knights. On king Guido being informed
of this, by the advice of the earl of Tripolis, who had lately, with
fraudulent intent, entered into a treaty of peace, the king proceeded
one day’s march towards Tiberias, when the earl of Tripolis,
who was the leader and guide in the march, halted the whole army on
an elevated and craggy spot. Being there threatened with an attack of
the enemy on every side, the king, urged by necessity, and compelled
by the advice of his barons, thought proper to engage, and, at their
entreaty, gave the honor of striking the first blow to the Master and
knights of the Temple.
Upon this, the
brotherhood of the Temple, rushing upon the foe with the bravery of
lions, put some to the sword, and forced others to take to flight.
The rest, however, neglecting the king’s commands, did not join
the battle, or give them any succour whatever; in consequence of
which, the knights of the Temple were hemmed in and slaughtered.
After this, the troops of Saladin surrounded the army of the
Christians, worn out with the fatigues of the march, exhausted by the
intense heat of the climate, and utterly destitute of water, and, in
a great measure, of food as well. At this conjunction, six of the
king’s knights, namely, Baldwin de Fortune, Raymond Buck, and
Laodicius de Tiberias, with three companions, being seized with a
diabolical spirit, fled to Saladin, and spontaneously became
Saracens, informing him of every particular as to the present state,
intentions, and resources of the Christians. On this, Saladin, who
before was in anxious doubt as to the result of the warfare, took
courage, and with trumpets sounding, made an attack with an infinite
multitude of warriors on the Christians, who, in consequence of the
rocky and inaccessible nature of the spot, were unable to fight; and
so, assailing them with every possible method of attack, he utterly
routed the Christians. At last, Thekedin, the nephew of Saladin, took
Guido, king of Jerusalem, while flying, and the wood of the Cross of
our Lord, after slaying Rufinus, bishop of Acre, who was carrying it.
And this was done through the righteous judgment of God; for,
contrary to the usage of his predecessors, having greater faith in
worldly arms than in heavenly ones, he went forth to battle equipped
in a coat of mail, and shortly after he perished, being pierced by an
arrow. Nearly all the others, being utterly routed, were taken
prisoners and either slain or loaded with chains, the Persians, oh,
great disgrace! remaining masters of the camp.
The earl of
Tripolis alone, who was the designer of this treachery, escaped with
his men unhurt. Immediately after the battle, Saladin ordered the
knights of the Temple and of the Hospital to be separated from the
rest, and to be decapitated in his presence, he himself with his own
hand slaying Raymond de Castiglione, their chief. After this he took
the city of Acre and the places adjacent, with nearly all the
fortified spots in those parts.
In the meantime,
Conrad le Marchis, brother of the abovementioned William, earl of
Joppa, having been guilty of murder in the city of Constantinople,
took to flight, deserting his wife, the niece of Isaac, emperor of
Constantinople; and on the very same day on which Saladin gained this
victory over the Christians, Conrad came to Tyre and found it
deserted, for nearly all the citizens of the place were slain in the
beforementioned battle. On Saladin coming thither, expecting to have
free ingress, Conrad offered a stout resistance, and refused him
permission to enter; on which, Saladin, seeing that he could effect
nothing by staying there, took his departure, and captured the city
of Beyrout, and both the cities which are called Gibelet, with Sidon,
and the city of Cæsarea, as also Joppa, Saint George, Saint
Abraham, Bethlehem, the New Castle of Caiaphas, Saphet, Jaunay, Mount
Tabor, Faba, and Caffarmundel, the Cave of the Temple, Calenzun,
Marle of the Temple, the Castle on the Plain, Ramah, Bethurun of the
Knights, Castle Arnald, Castle Bourgoing, Tarentum, Blanchewarde,
Galatia, Gasseres, Darun, Rouge Cisterne, the Castle of Saint Peter,
Saint Lazarus of Bethany, Saint Mary of Mount Sion, and the City of
Jerusalem.
On this, the
queen, the wife of Guido, betook herself, with her two daughters and
her household, to the city of Ascalon, and fortified it with
provisions and soldiers ; these, however, in the second year after,
she surrendered to Saladin for the ransom of her husband Guido, and
thus liberated him from the custody of Saladin. All those, however,
who had fled to Acre, and a multitude of Christians who had taken to
flight, betook themselves to Tyre, and made Conrad their ruler and
protector; Antioch also, and Margat, with nearly all the lands of the
prince thereof, stoutly fortified themselves against Saladin.
While the earl of
Tripolis was endeavouring to wean his nation from the worship of God,
and to betray his country to Saladin, he was found dead in his bed
just as though fast asleep; on which his wife, with all her people,
surrendered herself and the city of Tripolis to Raymond, prince of
Antioch, and he appointed his son Jocelyn lord thereof.
Now when pope
Urban heard that in his time the king of Jerusalem had been taken
prisoner, as also the Cross of our Lord, and the Holy City of
Jerusalem, he was greatly afflicted, and fell ill, and died on the
thirteenth day before the calends of November, at Ferrara; being
succeeded in the papacy by Albert his chancellor, who was called pope
Gregory the Eighth. On this, the cardinals, with the sanction of our
lord the pope, strictly pledged themselves to each other,
disregarding all wealth and luxuries, to preach the cross of Christ,
and that not in word only but by deed and example, and to be the
first, assuming the cross, to go begging for succours, and to precede
the rest to the land of Jerusalem. They also, with the consent of our
lord the pope, established a most strict truce between all the
princes of Christendom, to last for a period of seven years; on the
understanding that whoever in the meantime should commence war
against a Christian, should be subject to the curse of God, and of
our lord the pope, and the excommunication of all the prelates of the
Universal Church. They also solemnly promised each other, that from
thenceforth they would receive presents from no one who had a cause
to try in the court, but would only receive as much as should be
given, or sent to supply their necessities and for their sustenance;
as also that they would not mount a horse so long as the land on
which the feet of the Lord had stood should remain under the feet of
the enemy.
It is also worthy
of observation, and to be ascribed to the Divine Providence, that at
the time when the city of Jerusalem and Antioch had been rescued from
the power of the Pagans, on the expedition headed by Audemar, bishop
of Puy, and many other bishops and religious men, as also Hugh,
brother of Philip, king of France, Godfrey, duke of Lorraine,
Stephen, count of Chartres, Robert, duke of Normandy, brother of
William the Second, the king of England, then reigning, (which Robert
conquered in battle, Colbrand, the chief of the knighthood of the
Pagans), Robert, earl of Flanders, Eustace, earl of Boulogne, and
Baldwin, the two brothers of duke Godfrey, Raymond, earl of Saint
Gilles, Boamund, son of Robert Guiscard, and many other noblemen, the
pope who was then living was named Urban, the Patriarch of Jerusalem
was called Heraclius, and the emperor of Rome was called Frederic;
and so now, when the land of Jerusalem was taken from the hands of
the Christians by the people of Saladin, the pope was called Urban,
the patriarch of Jerusalem Heraclius, and the Roman emperor Frederic.
It also deserves to be known, that between the time when Jerusalem
was rescued from the hands of the Pagans by the warriors
before-named, and the time when king Guido was deprived of it, a
space of eighty-seven years intervened.
The Letter of Terricius, Master of the Temple, on the capture of the land of
Jerusalem.
“Thebrother Terricius, so called Grand Master of the most impoverished
house of the Temple, and of all the brethren himself the most
impoverished, and that brotherhood all but annihilated, to all
commanders and brethren of the Temple to whom these presents shall
come, greeting, and may they lift up their sighs to Him at whom the
sun and moon are astounded. With how many and how great calamities,
our sins so requiring it, the anger of God has lately permitted us to
be scourged, we are unable, 0 sad fate ! either in writing or in the
language of tears to express. For the Turks, assembling together an
immense multitude of their nations, began with bitter hostility to
invade the territories of us Christians; and accordingly, uniting the
forces of our nation against them, we ventured, before the octave of
the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, to attack them; and for that
purpose ventured to direct our march towards Tiberias, which, leaving
their camp unprotected, they had taken by storm. After repulsing us
among some most dangerous rocks, they attacked us with such
vehemence, that after they had captured the Holy Cross and our king,
and a whole multitude of us had been slain, and after two hundred and
thirty of our brethren, as we verily believe, had been taken by them
and beheaded, (besides those sixty who had been slain on the first of
May), with great difficulty, the lord the earl of Tripolis, the lord
Reginald of Sidon, the lord Ballovius, and ourselves, were enabled to
make our escape from that dreadful field. After this, the Pagans,
revelling in the blood of us Christians, did not delay to press on
with all their hosts towards the city of Tyre; and, taking it by
storm, spread themselves over nearly the whole of the land,
Jerusalem, Tyre, Ascalon, and Berytus being alone now left to us and
to Christendom. These cities also, as nearly all the citizens have
been slain, we shall not be at all able to retain in our hands,
unless we speedily receive the Divine assistance, and aid from
yourselves. For at the present moment they are besieging Tyre with
all their might, and cease not to assault it either night or day,
while so vast are their numbers, that they have covered the whole
face of the land from Tyre, as far as Jerusalem and Gaza, just like
swarms of ants. Deign, therefore, with all possible speed, to bring
succour to ourselves and to Christianity, all but ruined in the East,
that so through the aid of God and the exalted merits of your
brotherhood, supported by your assistance, we may be enabled to save
the remainder of those cities. Farewell.”
In the same battle
in which Guido, king of Jerusalem, was made prisoner, Roger de
Mowbray was also taken; whom in the following year the brethren of
the Hospital and the Temple ransomed from the hands of the Pagans ;
shortly after which he died. In the same battle also, Hugh de
Beauchamp was slain.
In the same year,
the king of England gave Constance, countess of Brittany, the mother
of Arthur, in marriage to Ranulph, earl of Chester. In this year
also, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, erected new buildings and a
church* near the walls of the city of Canterbury, and assigned
thereto prebends in the churches of the monks at Canterbury; but the
said monks complaining in consequence thereof, pope Urban forbade
that this should be done, and thus the persons who had built the
place expended their labour in vain. However, the said archbishop
transferred this building to Lamhe,** which is on the other side of
the Thames, opposite to Westminster. In the same year, Richard, earl
of Poitou, assumed the cross of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
* Akington, or
Hackington, in the suburbs of Canterbury.
** Lambeth.
The Letter of pope Gregory the Eighth to all the faithful in Christ.
“Gregory,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the faithful in
Christ, to whom these presents shall come, health and the Apostolic
benediction. On hearing of the severity of the tremendous judgment
which the hand of God has inflicted upon the land of Jerusalem, both
we and our brethren have been put to confusion with terror so
extreme, and afflicted with sorrows so great, that it did not readily
suggest itself to us what we were to do, or what indeed we ought to
do. We only called to mind the words of the Psalmist, where he
laments and says, ‘0 God, the heathen are come into thine
inheritance: thy holy temple have they defiled, they have laid
Jerusalem in heaps. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given
to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto
the beasts of the earth.’ For, taking advantage of the
dissensions, which, through the wickedness of men, at the suggestion
of the Devil, had arisen throughout the earth, Saladin came with a
multitude of troops to those parts, and, being met by the king, the
bishops, Templars, Hospitallers, earls, and barons, with the people
of the land, together with the Cross of our Lord (through which, by
the remembrance of Christ and faith in Him who hung therefrom and
redeemed mankind, there used formerly to be assured protection, and a
defence now vainly regretted against the assaults of the Pagans) part
of our people were there slain, the Cross of our Lord was captured,
the bishops slaughtered, the king made prisoner, and nearly all
either slaughtered with the sword or taken by the hands of the enemy,
so much so, that it is said that but very few escaped. The Templars
also, and Hospitallers, were beheaded in his presence. How, after
they had vanquished our army, they subsequently attacked and gained
possession of all quarters, so that only a few places are said to be
remaining which have not fallen into their hands, we do not think
requires to be set forth in our letters. However, although we may now
say with the Prophet, ‘Oh that my head were waters, and mine
eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep night and day for the
slain of my people ;’ still, we ought not to be so utterly cast
down as to fall into distrustfulness, and to believe that God is so
angered with His people, that what in His wrath He has allowed to be
done through the multitude of our sins in common, He will not
speedily, when appeased by our repentance, in His compassion
alleviate, and will, after our tears and lamentation, cause gladness
and rejoicing. Whatever person then, amid such vast grounds for
lamentation, does not, if not in body, still in heart, condole with
us, is not only forgetful of the Christian faith, which teaches us to
grieve with all who grieve, but even of his own self and of our
common humanity, as every person of ordinary discretion is able well
to estimate both the very magnitude of the danger, the fierceness of
the barbarians who thirst for Christian blood, and exert the whole of
their might in profaning the holy places, and using their endeavours
to sweep away the name of God from off the earth, points on which we
will not enlarge. And whereas the Prophets first laboured with all
their zeal, and after them the Apostles and their followers, that the
worship of God might exist in that land, and flow thence unto all
regions of the world, aye, and even more than that, God (who was
willing to become flesh, by whom all things were made, and who in his
ineffable wisdom and his incomprehensible mercy was willing thus to
work out our salvation, through the infirmity of the flesh, through
hunger, fasting, thirst, the cross, and His death and resurrection,
according to the words, ‘ Of himself he wrought out our
salvation in the midst of the earth;’) also deigned here to
undergo labours as well, neither tongue can tell, nor sense can
imagine what grief it causes to us and to all Christian people to
think what this land has now endured, and what under its former
people it is read of as having suffered. Still, we ought not to
believe that it is through the injustice of the judge who smites, but
rather through the iniquity of the sinful people that these things
have come to pass; since we read that when the people turned unto the
Lord, one thousand pursued, and twelve thousand fled; nay more, that,
while the people slept, the army of Sennacherib was cut off by the
hand of the angel of the Lord. Still, however, that land devoured its
inhabitants, and was never able to remain in a state of quietude, or
to retain its people, as being transgressors of the laws of God; thus
giving a lesson and 1 an example to those who are aiming at gaining a
heavenly Jerusalem, that they cannot possibly attain the same but by
the exercise of good works and through many temptations. These
events, in fact, might have been already apprehended when Arroaise
and other lands passed into the hands of the Pagans, and proper
prudence would only have been used if the people who survived had
returned to repentance, and by their conversion appeased God, whom by
their transgressions they had offended. Nor yet did His wrath come
suddenly upon them, but He delayed His vengeance and gave time for
repentance. At last, however, He who loses not justice in mercy, has
exercised His vengeance in the punishment of the transgressors, and
in thus giving a warning to those who wished to be saved. Moreover,
we, who amid such great sorrow for that land, ought to give our
attention not only to the sins of the inhabitants thereof, but also
to our own and to those of the whole people, and to be in dread lest
what still remains to us of that land may be lost, and their might
may rage to the detriment of other nations as well, as we hear in all
parts of dissensions and offences between kings and princes, cities
and cities, may well mourn with the Prophet and say : ‘ There
is no truth nor knowledge of God in the land. By lying, and killing,
and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.’
Wherefore this is imperative upon all, and is to be thought upon and
to be done ; making atonement for our sins by a voluntary
chastisement, we ought, through repentance and works of piety, to
turn to the Lord our God, and first to amend in ourselves those
matters in which we have done amiss, and then to stand prepared for
the fierceness and malice of our enemies, and those attacks which
they do not fear to make upon God, inasmuch as we ought on no account
to hesitate to act in the cause of God. Think, therefore, my sons,
how you have come into this world, and how you are to depart
therefrom, how transitory are all things, and how transitory are you
yourselves as well; and with thanksgiving receive, so far as in you
lies, this opportunity for repenting and doing good, and both offer
your possessions, and offer yourselves as well, because you are not
of yourselves, nor have you anything of yourselves, who are not able
to make so much as a single fly upon the earth. And we do not say, ‘
leave behind you,’ but rather ‘ present beforehand’
to the garner of heaven what you possess, and lay it up with Him,
with whom ‘ neither rust nor moth destroy, nor thieves break
through and steal,’ labouring for the recovery of that land in
which for our salvation the Truth of the earth was born, and did not
disdain for us to bear the cross. And devote not your thoughts to
lucre or to temporal glory, but to the will of God, who in His own
case has taught you to lay down your lives for your brethren, and
give unto Him your riches, which, whether willingly or unwillingly,
you know not to what heirs you are at last to leave. For indeed it is
no new thing that that land is chastised, nor in fact is it unusual
that scourgings and chastisements should accompany mercifulness. God
indeed by His will alone can save it; but still, we have no right to
ask him why He has acted thus: for perhaps He has wished to make
trial, and to place this before the notice, of others, if any there
are who are of good understanding or who seek for God, and who will
with joy embrace the opportunity offered them for repentance, and,
laying down their lives for their brethren, will compress and include
the deeds of a long life in a small compass. Consider how the
Maccabees, influenced with zeal for the Divine law, submitted to
every extremity of peril for the purpose of liberating their
brethren, and showed how that, for the safety of their brethren not
only their substance but also their lives were to be laid down,
exhorting one another, and saying, ‘Arm yourselves, and be
valiant men For it is better to die in battle than to behold the
calamities of our people and of our sanctuary.’ And yet these
were under the control of the law only, whereas you, through the
Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, being led by the light of
truth, and being instructed by many examples of the Saints, ought to
act without any hesitation, and not to fear to give your earthly
things, few in number, and destined to last for a short time only;
you to whom those good things have been promised and reserved, which
‘Neither eye hath seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man;’ and as to which the Apostle says, ‘The
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with
the glory which shall be revealed in us’ Wherefore, to those
who with a contrite heart and humble spirit shall undertake the
labour of this expedition, and shall die in repentance for their sins
and in the true faith, we do promise plenary indulgence for their
offences, and eternal life. And whether they shall survive or whether
die, they are to know that they will have, by the mercy of Almighty
God and of the authority of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul,
and of ourselves, remission of penance imposed for all sins of which
they shall have made due confession. The property also of such
persons, from the time that they shall have assumed the cross,
together with their families, are to be under the protection of the
Holy Church of Rome, and of the archbishops, bishops, and other
prelates of the Church of God, and no person is to make any claim
against the property of which, on assuming the cross, they were in
quiet possession, until it is known for certain as to their return or
death, but their property is to remain in the meantime untouched, and
in their quiet possession; they are also not to pay interest to any
person, if they have so bound themselves ; nor yet are they to go in
costly apparel, or with dogs or hawks, which seem rather to minister
to ostentation and luxury than to our necessities ; but they ought to
be seen with plain apparel and equipments, by which they may appear
rather to be acting in penitence than affecting an empty pomp. Given
at Ferrara, on the fourth day before the calends of November, in the
sixth year of the indiction.”
The Letter of pope Gregory the Eighth to all the faithful, upon the same subject.
“Gregory, the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all
the faithful in Christ, to whom these presents shall come, health and the Apostolic
benediction. Never is the wrath of the Supreme Judge more
successfully appeased, than when, at His command, carnal desires are
extinguished within us. Wherefore, inasmuch as we do not doubt that
the disasters of the land of Jerusalem, which have lately happened
through the irruption of the Saracens, have been expressly caused by
the sins of the inhabitants of the land and of the whole people of
Christendom, we, by the common consent of our brethren, and with the
approval of many of the bishops, have enacted that all persons shall,
for the next five years, on every sixth day of the week, at ‘the
very least, fast upon Lenten fare, and that, wherever mass is
performed, it shall be chaunted at the ninth hour : and this we order
to be observed from the Advent of our Lord until the Nativity of our
Lord. Also, on the fourth day of the week, and on Saturdays, all
persons without distinction, who are in good health are, to abstain
from eating flesh. We and our brethren do also forbid to ourselves
and to our households the use of flesh on the second day of the week
as well, unless it shall so happen that illness or some great
calamity or other evident cause shall seem to prevent the same;
trusting that by so doing God will pardon us and leave His blessing
behind Him.* This therefore we do enact to be observed, and whosoever
shall be guilty of transgressing the same, is to be considered as a
breaker of the fast in Lent. Given at Ferrara, on the fourth day
before the calends of November.”
*Sic in original.
Probably the real presence in the Eucharist is referred to.
Upon this, the
princes of the earth, hearing the mandates and exhortations of the
Supreme Pontiff, exerted themselves with all their might for the
liberation of the land of Jerusalem; and accordingly, Frederic, the
emperor of the Romans, and the archbishops, bishops, dukes, earls,
and barons of his empire, assumed the sign of the cross. In like
manner, after their example, great numbers of the chief men of all
the nations of Christendom prepared to succour the land of Jerusalem.
There was a
certain clerk named master Berther, a native of Orleans, who aroused
the spirits of many to assume the cross by repeating the following
lines: “In the strains of Jeremiah the ways of Sion mourn
indeed, that no longer is there one upon the solemn day to visit the
Holy Sepulchre, or to recall the fulfilment of that prophecy; the
prophecy in which the poet writes that from Sion the law shall go
forth. Never shall the law perish there or have an avenger, where
Christ drank of the cup of passion. The wood of the cross, the banner
of the chieftain, the army follows, which has never given way, but
has gone before in the strength of the Holy Spirit. To bear the
burden of Tyre it is now the duty of valiant men to try their
strength, and daily to contend; spontaneously to be graced with the
glories of the warfare. But as to the persons who are about to engage
in this conflict, there is need of hardy champions, not effeminate
epicures. For it is not those who pamper their flesh with many
luxuries who purchase God with their prayers. The wood of the cross,
&c. [as before)* Fresh Philistines once more, the cross captured
of Him who was condemned, have taken the ark of God, the ark of the
New Testament, the substance of the ancient type, in succession the
type of the substance. But as it is clear that these are the
forerunners of Antichrist, to whom Christ would have resistance made,
what answer at the .coming of Christ is he to make who shall not have
resisted them ? The wood of the cross, &c. The despiser of the
cross is trampling on the cross, whence overwhelmed the faith sends
forth groans. Who for vengeance does not shout aloud ? At the same
value which each man sets upon the faith let him ransom the cross, if
by the cross any one has been ransomed. Those who have but little
silver, if found to be faithful, with pure faith let them be content.
Sufficient provision for the journey is the body of the Lord for him
who defends the cross. The wood of the cross, &c. Christ, on
delivering himself to the torturer, has made a loan to the sinner; if
then, sinner, thou wilt not die for Him who died for thee, thou dost
but poorly pay the debt to thy Creator. Well may he be indignant to
whom thou dost refuse to bend, while, tortured in the wine-press of
the cross as a victim for thee, to thee he extends his arms, and thou
wilt not receive his embrace. The wood of the cross, &c. When
thou hast listened to what is my request, take up thy cross and make
thy vow and say, ‘To Him do I commend myself, who gave His body
and His life, as a victim to die for me.’ The wood of the
cross, &c.”
* This is the refrain of the composition.
A Letter of the same pope to the prelates of churches.
“Gregory,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all prelates of
churches to whom these presents shall come, health and the Apostolic
benediction. Inasmuch as it is especially the duty of bishops to aid
the afflicted and distressed, and God, albeit our merits are but
deficient, has willed that we should be one of them, we are bound and
are willing to use all due care, that no person through fortuitous
circumstances, in consequence of a -visit to the Church of Rome,
should be deprived of the due results of the labour which he has
expended in coming to us. Wherefore, it has come to pass, that we,
wishing to have due regard for the expense which many have incurred,
and to alleviate their labours, have, in conformity with the
customary clemency of the Apostolic See, thought fit to enact that
the letters of our predecessor pope Urban, sent at any time previous
to three months before his decease, for the purpose of pronouncing
judgment and putting an end to litigation, (supposing always that
they do not contain anything to the manifest prejudice of any person,
or any breach of equity), shall have the same effect in the time of
our administration, which they would have had if he had been still
living. Wherefore, waiving all exceptions as to the death of him who
so directs, do what he has directed to be done, and let no one for an
excuse of this sort, be compelled to have recourse to us in his
disappointment, after having placed full confidence in obtaining
justice by these means. Given at Ferrara, on the sixth day before the
calends of September."
In the same year
[1187] died pope Gregory the Eighth, in the month of December, after
having held the papacy hardly two months, and was buried at Pisa. He
was succeeded by Paulinus, bishop of Palestrina, who was called pope
Clement the Third. In the same year, nearly the whole of the city of
Chichester was burnt, together with the cathedral of the see, and the
houses of the bishop and canons.
In the same year,
Saladin laid siege to Jerusalem, and offered the people of that city
a truce till the middle of the month of May, if they would permit him
to plant his standard in the Tower of David, and remain there eight
days. This being accordingly done, many of the Christians who had
before stoutly resisted the Saracens, surrendered their castles and
houses to Saladin. In the same year died Gilbert, bishop of London.
In the same year,
cardinal Jacinto, at this time legate of the whole of Spain, degraded
many abbats, cither because they deserved it, or prompted by his own
determination. But on his attempting to degrade the bishop of
Coimbra, Alphonso, king of Portugal, would not allow that bishop to
be degraded, but immediately ordered the before-named cardinal to
leave his kingdom, or else he would cut off his foot. On hearing
this, the legate departed on his return to Rome, and the bishop of
Coimbra remained in peace in his see.
It is also worthy
to be known, that the before-named Alphonso, king of Portugal, took
from the Pagans by force, and with mighty prowess, six cities,
namely, Lisbon, Coimbra, the city of Ferenza, and a most excellent
castle, which is called Santa Herena,* with many other castles
besides. But while he was besieging the city of Silves, and had
gained possession of it as far as the fortresses of the city, the
Pagans who were in the fortresses made an arrangement with him, that
if they should not have succours within six days, they would
surrender the forts to him. In the meantime, on the third day, having
given his army leave to make a sally into the adjacent parts of the
province, while he was asleep in his tent as being in perfect
security, Ferdinand, king of Saint Jago, (who had married the
daughter of the said king of Portugal) came in one direction with a
large army, while the Saracens came in the other. At the approach of
these, the king of Portugal, awaking from his sleep, fled on a swift
horse, but, when going through the gate of the city, broke his thigh
against the bar of the gate, and then, having passed right through
the enemy, who pursued him twenty-five miles, and could not overtake
him, he and his horse fell into a deep pit. Some shepherds, seeing
this, dragged him out, and gave him up to king Ferdinand, to whom he
gave for his ransom twenty-five towns which he had taken from him,
besides fifteen sumpter horses laden with gold, and twenty chargers;
to other persons, also, who gave assistance to that king, that he
might be the more speedily liberated, he made numerous presents.
* Now Santarem
1188 A.D.
In the year of grace 1188, being the thirty-fourth year of the reign of king Henry,
son of the empress Matilda, the said king was at Caen in Normandy, on
the day of the Nativity of our Lord; going from which place, he went
to Harfleur, with the intention of crossing over to England. On
hearing of this, Philip, king of France, levied a great army,
shamelessly boasting that he would lay waste Normandy and the other
lands of the king of England beyond sea, unless he should surrender
to him Gisors with its appurtenances, or make his son Richard, earl
of Poitou, marry his sister Alice.
The
king of England, on hearing of this, returned into Normandy, and a
conference being held between him and the king of France, between
Gisors and Trie, on the twelfth day before the calends of February,
being the day of Saint Agnes the Virgin and Martyr, they met there,
together with the archbishops, bishops, earls and barons of their
kingdoms. At this interview, the archbishop of Trie was present, who,
filled with the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, in a wonderful
manner preached the word of God before the kings and princes, and
turned their hearts to assuming the cross; and those who before were
enemies, at his preaching, with the aid of God, were made friends on
that same day, and from his hands received the cross; while at the
same hour there appeared the sign of the cross above them in the
heavens; on beholding which miracle multitudes of persons rushed in
whole troops to assume the cross.
The
kings before-named, on assuming the cross, for the purpose of
recognizing their various nations, adopted distinguishing signs for
themselves and their people. For the king of France and his people
wore red crosses ; the king of England with his people white crosses;
while Philip, earl of Flanders, with his people, wore green crosses.
After this, they departed, each to his own country, for the purpose
of providing all necessaries for themselves and the expedition.
Accordingly, Henry king of England, after he had thus assumed the
cross, came to Le Mans, where, on his arrival, he gave orders that
every one should give a tenth part of his revenues in the present
year, and of his chattels, by way of alms, as a subsidy to the land
of Jerusalem, the following articles being excepted therefrom : the
arms, horses, and garments of men-at-arms, and the horses, books,
clothes, vestments, and all kinds of sacred vessels belonging to the
clergy, as also all precious stones belonging to either the clergy or
laity; excommunication having been first pronounced by the
archbishops, bishops, and rural deans,* in each parish against every
one who should not lawfully pay his before-mentioned tithe in the
presence and at the assessment of those whose duty it was to be
present thereat.
*
It is not improbable that at this period these were the persons
called “Archipresbyteri.” At an earlier time, they were
the bishop’s deputies in the performance of the cathedral
duties.
Further,
the said money was to be collected in each parish in the presence of
the priest of the parish, the rural dean, one Templar, one
Hospitaller, one member of the household of our
lord the king, a clerk of the king, and a yeoman of the baron’s
household, his clerk, and the clerk of the bishop ; and if any one
should give less, according to their conscientious assessment, than
he ought, four or six lawful men of the parish were to be chosen,
who, on oath, were to state the amount that he ought to have stated,
on which he would be bound to add the amount by which it was
deficient. Clerks, however, and knights who should assume the cross,
were not to pay any such tithes; but the revenues from their
demesnes, and whatever their vassals should owe as their due, were to
be collected by the abovenamed persons, and to be remitted to them
untouched.
The
bishops, also, were by their letters in each parish of their
respective dioceses, to cause notice to be given on the day of the
Nativity, of Saint Stephen, and of Saint John, that each person was
to collect the before-mentioned tithe due from him by the day of the
Purification of the Virgin Mary, and, on the day after the same, was
lawfully to pay it to those present of the persons named, at such
place as should be appointed.
In
addition to this, it was decreed by our lord the pope, that whatever
clerk or layman should assume the cross, he should, on the authority
of God and of the holy Apostles, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, be free
and absolved from all sins as to which he should have repented and
made confession. It w.as also enacted by the kings, archbishops,
bishops, and other princes of the land, that all those persons, both
clerks and laymen, who should not go on this expedition, should pay
tithes of their revenues and moveables for the present year, and of
all their chattels, both in gold and silver, and of all other things,
with the exception of the garments, books, and vestments of the
clerks and priests, and with the exception of the horses, arms, and
clothing of men at arms, pertaining to the use of their own persons.
It was also enacted that all clerks, knights, and yeomen who should
undertake the said expedition, should have the tenths of their lands
and of their vassals, and should pay nothing for themselves.
Burgesses, however, and villeins, who, without the permission of
their superior lords, should assume the cross, were still to pay
tithes.
It
was also enacted that no one should swear profanely, and that no one
should play at games of chance or at dice; and no one was after the
ensuing Easter to wear beaver, or gris,* or sable, or scarlet; and
all were to be content with two
dishes. No
one
was to take any woman with him on the pilgrimage, unless, perhaps,
some laundress to accompany him on foot, about whom no suspicion
could be entertained; and no person was to have his clothes in rags
or torn. It was also enacted that whatever clerk or layman should,
before assuming the cross, have mortgaged his revenues, he was to
have the income of the present year in full, and after the expiration
of the year the creditor was again to have the revenues thereof, upon
the understanding, however, that the revenues which he should then
receive should be reckoned towards payment of the debt, and that the
debt, from the period of the debtor assuming the cross, should not
bear interest, so long as the debtor should be absent on the
pilgrimage.
*
Grey fur; the word is used by Chaucer.
It
was also enacted that all clerks and laymen who should set out on the
said pilgrimage, should be at liberty legally to mortgage their
incomes, whether ecclesiastical, or lay, or otherwise, from the
Easter, when they should set out, for a period of three years, upon
the understanding that the creditors should, in whatever case they
should be due to the creditors, take in full, for three years from
the Easter beforementioned, all the profits of the revenues which
they should so hold in mortgage. It was also enacted that whoever
should die on the pilgrimage, should leave his money which he must
have taken with him on the pilgrimage, to be divided for the
maintenance of his servants, for the assistance of the land of
Jerusalem, and for the sustenance of the poor, according to the
judgment of certain discreet men, who were to be appointed for the
performance of that duty.
All
the above-mentioned statutes were framed and enacted at Le Mans, by
Henry, king of England, in presence of his son Richard, earl of
Poitou, William, archbishop of Tours, Baldwin, archbishop of
Canterbury, Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and in presence of John,
bishop of Evreux, Ralph, bishop of Anjou, Ii., bishop of Le Mans, and
M., bishop of Nantes, as also in presence of Hugh de Nunant, bishop
of Chester elect, Lisardus, bishop of Seez elect, and in presence of
the barons of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.
These
matters being accordingly arranged beforehand, the king of England
appointed servants of his, clerks and laymen, to collect the
before-mentioned tithes throughout all his territories beyond sea,
and shortly after crossed over and landed in England, at Winchelsea,
on Saturday, the third day before the calends of February. In the
meantime, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, who had come to England
before the king, consecrated Hugh de Nunant bishop of Coventry.
Immediately
upon his landing in England, our lord the king held a great council
of bishops, abbats, earls, and barons, and many others, both clergy
and laity, at Gaintington, where, ‘in the hearing of the
people, he caused all the above-mentioned ordinances to be
proclaimed, which he had enacted on the subject of assuming the
cross. After they had been proclaimed, Baldwin, archbishop of
Canterbury, and Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, his deputy, delivered
wonderful sermons on the same day before the In rig and his chief
men, on the subject of the Word of the Lord and the mysteries of
salvation gained by the cross.
After
this, our lord the king sent his servants, the clerks and laymen,
throughout all the counties of England, to collect the tithes
according to his order made as above-mentioned in his territories
beyond sea. But in each of the cities throughout England he caused
all the richest men to be selected, namely, in London two hundred, in
York one hundred, and in other cities according to their quantity and
numbers, and made them all appear before him on days and places
named; on which he received from them the tenths of their property,
according to an estimate made by trustworthy men who were acquainted
with their incomes and possessions; and if he found any inclined to
be contumacious, he immediately caused them to be imprisoned and kept
in irons until they had paid the last farthing. He did the same with
the Jews in his territories, and received from them an immense sum of
money.
After
this, he sent Hugh, bishop of Durham, and others of the clergy and
laity, to William, king of the Scots, to collect the tithes in his
kingdom; on hearing which the king of Scotland met them between Werk
and Brigham, in Lothian, and would not allow them to enter his
kingdom to collect the tithes, but offered to give to his liege lord
the king of England five thousand marks of silver instead of the
above-named tithes, and on condition that he might have his castles
back again ; but to this the king of England would not agree.
Philip,
king of the Franks, also caused the tenths of the incomes and
property of his subjects to be collected throughout all his
territories. In the same year, Richard, earl of Poitou,
Raymond, count of Saint Gilles, Aimar, count of Angouleme, Geoffrey
de Rancon, Geoffrey de Lezivant, and nearly all the more powerful men
in Poitou, engaged in war, all against the before-named Richard, and
he against all; he, however, was victorious. Among other persons whom
he took prisoners in the territory of the count of Saint Gilles, he
captured Peter Seillun, by whose advice the before-named count of
Saint Gilles had taken some traders of the territory of the earl of
Poitou, and had done many injuries to him and his lands. Accordingly,
earl Richard placed this Peter in close confinement and in most
rigorous custody. The count of Saint Gilles being able on no terms to
ransom him, he set spies throughout his cities and castles, to arrest
any persons they could find belonging to the household of the king of
England, or of earl Richard his son ; and it so happened that, a few
days after, as Robert Poer and his brother Ralph, two knights of the
household and retinue of our lord the king, were passing through the
territories of the count of Saint Gilles, from Saint Jago, *
which they had been visiting on a pilgrimage, the men of the count of
Saint Gilles laid hands on them, and carried them in chains to the
count; on which, the count said to them, “Unless Richard, the
earl of Poitou, delivers up to me my servant Peter, and sets him at
liberty, you shall not escape from my hands.” On hearing this,
earl Richard made answer, that he would neither make entreaties or
give money for their ransom, inasmuch as the respect due to their
character as pilgrims, ought to suffice for their liberation.
*
Saint Jago of Compostella, in Spain.
Upon
this, the king of France ordered them to be set at liberty, not for
his love or respect for the king of England, or for his son Richard,
but out of respect and esteem for Saint James the Apostle. However,
earl Richard entered the territories of the count of Saint Gilles
with a great army, laid it waste with fire and sword, and besieged
and took his castles in the neighbourhood of Toulouse. Upon this, the
king of the Franks, hearing the lamentations of the people of
Toulouse, sent his envoys to England to the king of England, to
enquire if the mischief which was being done by his son Richard was
being done by his direction, and to demand reparation for the same.
To this the king of England made answer, that his son Richard had
done none of these things by
his
wish or advice, and that the said Richard had sent word to him, by
John, archbishop of Dublin, that be had done nothing in respect
thereof, but by the advice of the king of France.
In
the same year, the Patriarch of the city of Antioch wrote to the king
of England to the following effect:—
The
Letter of the Patriarch of Antioch to Henry, king of England
“By
the grace of the Holy God, and of the Apostolic See, the Patriarch of
Antioch, to Henry, by the same grace, the most illustrious king of
the English, his beloved lord and friend— may he govern in Him,
through whom kings govern. With tears and with sighs by these
presents we announce to your excellency, the dire and inexpressible
grief which we feel for the unexpected and terrible disaster that has
lately befallen us, or, indeed, all Christendom we may rather say.
Let all the world listen, with yourself, to this our grief, that it
may know whence proceed our tears and our lamentations, or what is
their end. On the fourth day of the month of July, in the year of the
Word made incarnate one thousand one hundred and eighty-seven,
Saladin, having gathered together a multitude of our foreign foes,
engaged with those of the Christians who were in the land of
Jerusalem, and, having routed their forces, triumphed over them to
his heart’s content; the vivifying Cross being exposed to the
ridicule of the Turks; the king being taken prisoner, and the Master
of the Temple, as also prince Raymond, being slain by this accursed
Saladin with his own hands; while bishops, Templars, and
Hospitallers, in all a multitude of nearly twelve hundred, and thirty
thousand foot were slaughtered in the defence of the Holy Cross,
besides a considerable number who were afterwards slain, or made
prisoners in the cities which he took. After this, being quite
satiated with the blood of the Christians, he took Tiberias and
fortified it; and then, he had laid siege to the noble city of Acre,
to Caiphas, Cæsarea, Joppa, Nazareth, Sebaste, Neapolis, Lydda,
Ramatha, Assur, Hebron, Bethlehem, and, last of all, the Holy City of
Jerusalem, and the Sepulchre of our Lord, vowing that he would cut it
into pieces and throw its fragments into the deep. As for the rest,
fearful anxiety possesses us every day and every hour, amid our
doubts whether these various places may not be subjugated to his
dominion, and their inhabitants slain or made captive, especially as
it is well
known that they are deprived of provisions, horses, munitions of war,
and defenders. By reason of this mighty anger and indignation of God
poured forth upon us from above, with tears we eat our bread, and are
alarmed with dreadful apprehensions, lest the Sepulchre of our Lord
may be delivered to strange nations, and lest we few, who still
remain in this Christian land, may, if succours are tardy in their
arrival, and our enemies press on, have to bow our necks to the
swords of the smiters. Now as, in prudence, counsel, and riches, you
surpass the other kings of the West, your aid we have always looked
for; and we therefore pray that you will hasten to bring your
powerful succour to the Holy Land. If you delay so to do, then the
Sepulchre of the Lord, with the noble city of Antioch, and the
territory adjacent thereto, will exist as an everlasting reproach to
foreign nations. Be mindful of your glories and of your name, that
so, God, who has raised you to a throne, may through you be exalted;
and if you are ready to give your assistance to so worthy an object,
either coming yourself to us, or sending to us the wished-for
succours, then to you, after God, will be imputed the liberation of
the Holy Land. We ourselves, with all possible contrition, and
smiting our guilty breast, cry unto God that He will give to you both
the will and the ability of thus acting to the praise and glory of
His name ; wherefore, at this, the last gasp of life, in your
clemency lend your aid to the Holy Land and to ourselves. Otherwise,
we who, subjected to various perils, have been afflicted with a
lingering illness, shall have nothing to expect but immediate death
for ourselves, and that after the blood of the Christians has been
poured forth, the Sepulchre of our Lord, with the noble city of
Antioch. and the country thereto adjacent, will, to the eternal
disgrace of foreign nations, be captured. We do further entreat, that
you will receive our recommendations of our dearly beloved brethren,
the bishops of Gabalus and Valenia, whom on this matter we. have
despatched to you. Farewell."
The
Letter of Henry, king of England, to the Patriarchs of Jerusalem and
Antioch, and, Raymond, prince of Antioch
“To
the venerable fathers in Christ, and his friends, A. and E., the
Patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem, and to Raymond, prince of
Antioch, and to all the Christian people of the Church in the East,
Henry, by the same grace, king of England, duke of Normandy and
Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, health and consolation in Christ.
Inasmuch as, our sins so requiring it,
the Lord has in our times visited our iniquities with the rod of His
vengeance, and has, by the Divine judgment, permitted the land which
was redeemed with His own blood to be polluted by the hands of the
unbelievers; it is therefore becoming, that we, and all who belong to
the Christian religion, and are professors of that name, should
attend with pious zeal to the desolate state of the said land, and
make it our endeavour with all our might to impart thereto our aid
and counsel. Wherefore, as A., by the grace of God, the venerable
bishop of Valenia, has, with a profusion of tears and deep sighs,
disclosed unto us the griefs and calamities with which the Eastern
Church is afflicted, the greater the danger we behold impending, the
more strenuous and immediate is the assistance which we are prompted
by compassion to give. Having, therefore, faith and confidence in
Him, who never forsakes those who put their trust in Him, act
manfully, and let your hearts be strengthened in the Lord; for we
believe that now is the prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled; “Jerusalem,
lift up thine eyes round about and see; all they gather themselves
together, they come to thee ; Then thou shalt see, and flow together,
and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of
the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles
shall come unto thee.” For now, the Lord, who looks down upon
the sons of men, that He may see if man is of good understanding or
seeks God, has so aroused the feelings of the Christians, which were
before asleep, to His own service, that every one who is of the
Lord’s side, has now girded his sword to his thigh, and each
one reckons himself as blessed and faithful, who leaves his father
and his mother and all things besides, that he may be able to avenge
the injuries done to Christ, and to the Holy Land. Wherefore, be ye
firm, and you shall speedily see the assistance of the Lord which is
now preparing for you. For sooner than you could believe, such vast
multitudes of the faithful will by land and sea come to your rescue,
as ‘Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into
the heart of man to conceive;’ and whom the Lord has prepared
for the deliverance of your land. Among other princes as well, I and
my son, rejecting the pomps of this world, and setting at nought all
its pleasures, and all things that belong to this world being laid
aside, will shortly, by the assistance of the Lord, visit you in our
own persons. Farewell.”
In
the same year, Philip, king of France, levying a large army, entered
Berry, and took Chateau Raoul, which the burgesses surrendered to
him; and, proceeding thence, nearly the whole of Berry was delivered
up to him, with the exception of Luches, and the other castles,
demesnes of the king of England. Buchard of Vendome also surrendered
to the king of France, with his lands and castles, and became his
adherent. On the king of England making enquiry why this was done, he
was told that the king of France was acting thus in revenge for the
injuries that Richard, earl of Poitou, had done to himself and the
count of Saint Gilles. Having, therefore, held counsel with his
trusty advisers, the king of England sent Baldwin, archbishop of
Canterbury, and Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, to the king of France; that
they might, at least, by words and exhortations, assuage the anger
and indignation which, in his mind, he had conceived against him.
These
prelates being unable to succeed in their object, the king of England
crossed over from England to Normandy, and landed at Harfleur on the
fifth day before the ides of July; and going thence to Alenfon,
levied a great army in Normandy and the rest of his territories. Many
of the Welch also accompanied him to Normandy as mercenaries. In the
meantime, Richard, earl of Poitou, having raised a considerable
force, marched into Berry; on hearing of whose approach, the king of
France gave Chateau Raoul into the charge of William des Barres, and
he himself returned into France. On this, earl Richard ravaged the
lands of the earls and barons who had given in their adhesion to the
king of France, and took many of them prisoners. The king of France,
however, in consequence of the arrival of the king of England, did
not dare to move out of France, but directed his army to lay waste
the territories of the king of England.
On
this, Philip, bishop of Beauvais, entered Normandy with an army, and
ravaged with fire Blangeville, a town belonging to the earl of Auch,
and Aumarle, a castle of William, earl of Mandeville, together with
the adjoining provinces. The king of France also burned the town of
Trou, and the whole of the fortress there, but could not gain
possession thereof; however, he took forty of the knights of the king
of England. On the other hand, Richard, earl of Poitou, took an
extremely well fortified place, which is called Les Roches, beyond
Trou, towards Vendome, and captured in that place twenty-five knights
and sixty yeomen.
On
this, Henry, king of England, sent Walter, archbishop of Rouen, John,
bishop of Evreux, and William Marshal to the king of France, to
demand reparation for the injuries which he and his people had done
him ; and if he should refuse to restore what he had taken away, he
defied him. To this the king of France made answer that he would not
desist from his purpose until the whole of Berry, and the whole of
the Norman vexin should have been subjected to himself and to his
kingdom. Having, therefore, now got an excuse, by reason of the
injuries done to him by the king of France, Henry, king of England,
levying a large army, entered the lands of the king of France, on the
Tuesday after the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, and, burning
many villages, rode the same day to the town of Mante, where the king
of France was said to be. Here William des Barres and Drago de
Merlou, accompanied by a few French knights, met Richard, earl of
Poitou, and William, earl of Mandeville, and some others of the
household of the king of England; upon which, William des Barres was
taken prisoner by earl Richard, and given in charge to his men; but
while the people of the king of England were intent on other matters,
the said William des Barres made his escape upon his page’s
horse.
On
the Wednesday following, the king of England made a halt at Ivery, on
which earl Richard set out for Berry, promising the king his father
that he would serve him well and faithfully. On the Thursday after,
being the feast of Saint Gilles, the Welch troopers of the king of
England entered the territories of the king of France, and burned
Daneville, the castle of Simon Daneth, together with many villages,
and carried off considerable booty, after slaying many men. The same
day, earl William de Mandeville burned the town of Saint Clair, which
belongs to the demesnes of the king of France, and laid waste a very
fine shrubbery which the king himself had planted.
On
the same day, the king of England, having with a few knights entered
the territories of the king of France, that he might ascertain the
weak points of those parts, there came to him envoys from the king of
France to sue for peace, and offer him the lands which he had taken
from him in Berry. Upon this, a conference was held between them at
Gisors, where they were unable to come to terms as to making peace;
the king of France, aroused to anger and indignation thereat, cut
down a very fine elm situate between Gisors
and Trie, where conferences had been usually held between the kings
of France and the dukes of Normandy, vowing that thenceforth there
should be no more conferences held there. The earl of Flanders,
however, and earl Theobald, and other earls find barons of the
kingdom of France, laid down their arms, saying that they would never
bear arms against Christians until they should have returned from
their pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Upon
this, the king of France, being deprived of the aid of his allies,
requested an interview with the king of England ; which being acceded
to, it was accordingly held at Chatillon, on the morrow of the day of
Saint Faith, where terms of peace were to have been agreed to between
them, as follows; the king of France was to restore to the king of
England whatever he had seized in his territories after the truce was
broken, and earl Richard was to restore to the count of Saint Gilles
whatever he had taken from him by force of arms. The king of France
also, prompted by his faithlessness, demanded of the king of England
the castle of Pascy in pledge; and, because the king of England
refused to assent thereto, they separated mutually dissatisfied; and
the king of France, leaving the place, took the castle of Palud; then
passing through Chateau Raoul, he led thence a Rout of Brabanters as
far as Bourges, promising them ample pay; but on arriving at Bourges
they were seized, and the king took from them their horses, arms, and
the whole of their money, and turned them adrift unarmed and
stripped.
Earl
Richard, however, made an offer to the king of France to come to his
court and to take his trial as to the matters that had taken place
between him and the count of Saint Gilles; that so at least peace
might be made between the king of France and the king of England,
‘his father; a thing which greatly displeased the king, his
father.
After
this conference, Nevolun Fitz Urse de Fretteval swore fealty to the
king of England, and faithful service against all men ; on which the
king of England secured to him by charter the honors of Lavardin and
Faye; he also gave to the king of England his son as a hostage, and
many of the sons of his relations.
The
Letter of Terricius, Master of the Temple, to Henry, king of England.
“To
his most dearly beloved lord, Henry, by the grace of God, the
illustrious king of the English, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and
earl of Anjou, the brother Terricius, formerly Grand Master of the
house of the Temple at Jerusalem, health in Him who gives health unto
kings. Be it known to you that Jerusalem, with the Tower of David,
has been surrendered to Saladin. The Syrians, also, have possession
of the Sepulchre until the fourth day after the feast of Saint
Michael, and Saladin himself has given permission to ten of the
brethren of the Hospital to remain in the Hospital for one year to
attend the sick. The brethren of the Hospital of Bellivier are still
making a stout resistance to the Saracens, and have already taken two
caravans of the Saracens; by the capture of one of which they have
manfully recovered all the arms, utensils, and provisions that were
in the castle of Faba, which had been destroyed by the Saracens. The
following places also still show resistance to Saladin, Cragus of
Montreal, Montreal, Saphet of the Temple, Cragus of the Hospital,
Margat, Castel Blanco, the territory of Tripolis and the territory of
Antioch. On the capture of Jerusalem, Saladin ordered the Cross to be
taken down from the Temple of our Lord, and had it carried about the
city for two days in public view, and beaten with sticks. After this
he ordered the Temple of our Lord to be washed inside and out with
rose-water, from top to bottom, and his laws to be promulgated with
regard to it in four different places amid wondrous acclamations .*
*
He perhaps alludes to the opinions expressed by Mahomet in the Koran,
as to the sanctity of the Temple.
From
the feast of Saint Martin until the Circumcision of our Lord he
besieged Tyre, while thirteen stone engines day and night were
incessantly hurling stones against it. At the Vigil of Saint
Sylvester, our lord the Marquis Conrad arranged his knights and
foot-soldiers along the city walls, and, having armed seventeen
galleys and ten smaller vessels, with the assistance of the house of
the Hospital and of the brethren of the Temple, fought against the
galleys of Saladin, and, routing them, took eleven, and captured the
high admiral of Alexandria together with eight other admirals,
slaying vast numbers of the Saracens. The rest of the galleys of
Saladin, escaping from the hands of the Christians, fled to the army
of the Saracens j on which, by his command being drawn on shore,
Saladin with his own hand had them reduced to ashes and embers; and,
moved with excessive grief, after cutting off the ears and tail of
his horse, rode upon it in the sight of all through the whole army.
Farewell.”
In
the same year, John, bishop of Dunkeld, after the Purification of the
Virgin Mary, returned from the court of our lord the pope, Hugh,
bishop of Saint Andrew’s, haying been deposed, bringing with
him letters from our lord the pope to the following effect:—
The
Letter of pope Clement to the bishops of Glasgow and Aberdeen
“Clement,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brethren
Jocelyn, bishop of Glasgow, Matthew, bishop of Aberdeen, and to his
dearly beloved sons Everard, abbot of Melrose, and Bertram, prior of
Coldingham, health and the Apostolic benediction. Lest what has been
done might cause scruples by reason of distrust, it is proper that
the same should be committed to writing, and be introduced by a
public and truthful intimation to the notice of those whom it may
seem to interest. Now we bear in mind that pope Urban, of blessed
memory, our predecessor, enjoined Hugh, formerly styled bishop of
Saint Andrew’s, to appear in his presence on a certain day, to
make answer in the Apostolic court, respecting the dispute which
existed between him and our venerable brother, bishop John, under
penalty of excommunication if he should neglect so to do. But,
inasmuch as he was conscious of his deeds, and dreaded the result of
the investigation, he contumaciously refused to appear; wherefore,
for this and for many other things which, according to frequent
reports, had created scandal to the Church of God, with the advice
and consent of our brethren, we have adjudged him, on the authority
of the Apostolic See, to be for ever removed from the bishopric of
Saint Andrew’s, and suspended from the episcopal office until
such time as the Apostolic See shall think fit to determine otherwise
respecting him, absolving those subject to him from the fealty which
they have been bound to pay to him; and further, inasmuch as the
rules of the holy canons forbid that churches should be deprived too
long of the pastoral control, we do command your discretion, by these
Apostolic writings, diligently on our behalf to advise our
dearly-beloved sons, the chapter of Saint Andrew’s, to choose
for themselves such a bishop and pastor, as may be able worthily to
enjoy the dignities of the episcopal office; and more especially, you
are to labour to induce them, as far as in you lies, to make choice,
without any scruple or difficulty, of the before-named bishop John, a
man of good character, and for his virtues acceptable to us and our
brethren, for the governance and prelacy of that church. And if all
of you shall not be able to take part in the performance hereof, then
any two of you may carry out the same. Given at Pisa, on the
seventeenth day before the calends of February, in the sixth year of
the indiction."
The
Letter of the same pope to William, king of the Scots
“Clement,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to William, the
illustrious king of the Scots, health and the Apostolic benediction.
We are of opinion that it must shock the eyes of the majesty of God
in no small degree if we leave without due correction those excesses
of prelates which, with a safe conscience, we may not, through
carelessness, neglect. Wherefore, inasmuch as pope Urban, of blessed
memory, our predecessor, commanded Hugh, formerly styled bishop of
Saint Andrew’s, under pain of excommunication, to appear in his
presence on a certain day, to make answer in the Apostolic court
respecting the dispute which existed between him and our venerable
brother bishop John; but he, being conscious of his own deeds, and
not without reason dreading the result of the investigation, through
contumacy, neglected to come, for this and for many other things,
which, according to frequent reports, have caused scandal to the
Church of God, with the advice and consent of our brethren, we have
adjudged him, on the authority of the Apostolic See, to be for ever
removed from the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s, and suspended
from the episcopal office until such time as the Apostolic See shall
think fit to determine otherwise respecting him, absolving those
subject to him from the fealty which they have been bound to pay him.
For although, so far as with God’s assistance we may, we firmly
purpose to consult your honor and your interest; and, in the case of
the before-named Hugh, the Roman court, not without the censure of
many, has hitherto paid deference to your royal highness, still,
inasmuch as the reports about him have, on undoubted authority,
reached our ears, we have been unable, under any pretext, by closing
our eyes thereto, any longer to forbear noticing his errors; for
which reason we do not think that anything has been done in his respect
as to which your royal feelings ought on any account to be incensed.
Therefore we ask your duteousness with prayers and affectionate entreaties,
that you will receive, on our recommendation, the above-named bishop John,
(whom we and our brethren love with sincerity of heart for his virtues,)
with the bowels of brotherly love, as you respect the Apostolic See and ourselves;
and that laying aside the offence which, if any, in your indignation you have
conceived against him, you will treat him in all respects with your royal clemency
and kindness. And further, it is our belief that from his diligence and probity
much benefit will accrue, by the aid of God, to yourself and your
kingdom; and it will always be a subject of gratification to us, if
our prayers shall with the royal ears have the desired effect. Given
at Pisa, on the seventeenth day before the calends of February, in
the sixth year of the indiction.”
The Letter of the same pope to Henry, king of England.
“Clement, the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to Henry,
the illustrious king of the English, health and the Apostolic benediction.
When your royal excellency, authority, and power has received prayers preferred
by the Apostolic See, to which it is expedient effect should be given
both for preserving the churches in their present state, and for
ensuring the salvation of many, it is the duty of your royal highness
diligently to listen thereto; and the more strenuously and zealously
to use all endeavours to give effect to the same, the more certain it
is that duteous attention thereto, and the diligent execution
thereof, equally concerns your kingly glory and your salvation. Hence
it is that we have thought fit that our Apostolic letters and prayers
should be addressed to your serene highness in behalf of our
venerable brother John, bishop of Saint Andrew’s, with full
confidence, therein entreating and advising, and for the remission of
the sins of all, enjoining, your exalted royal highness with all the
affection we possibly can, that, in consideration of your veneration
for Saint Peter and ourselves, as also in consideration of the
persecutions which there is no doubt he has endured, you will
earnestly advise William, the illustrious king of the Scots, our most
dearly-beloved son in Christ, and induce him, and if necessary compel
him with that royal authority in which you are. his superior, and
which has been conceded by him to your royal highness, to cease, by
setting aside every pretext for the same, all the rancour of his indignation
which, through the malice of certain whisperers, he has entertained
against the said bishop, thus shewing due regard for his own royal
dignity and the healthful works of piety; and, for the future to
allow him quietly and without challenge to hold the diocese of Saint
Andrew’s, which, by the common counsel and consent of his
brethren, the Supreme Pontiff has confirmed unto him for ever; and
this the more especially, as he is ready to prove himself obedient
and faithful in all respects to his royal majesty so far as shall be
consistent with reason. Given at Pisa, on the seventeenth day before
the calends of February, in the sixth year of the indiction.”
The Letter of pope Clement in behalf of John, bishop of Saint Andrew’s.
“Clement, the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all
the clergy of the see of Saint Andrew’s, health and the Apostolic benediction.
Although in doubtful matters some persons may be able to show their
subtlety or artfulness, still, when all scruples and grounds for
doubt are removed, and by manifest signs the tracks of truth are
disclosed, all devious paths ought to be entirely forgotten, and the
traces of the right path to be both sought for and observed ; lest,
which God forbid, acting otherwise, and persisting in their own
contumacy, after the scourges of this world, and its condign
punishments, they may be inwardly destroyed by the everlasting
punishments of eternal death. Wishing, therefore, in our paternal
anxiety to provide for your salvation, your interests, and your
quietude, we do, by these Apostolic writings, command and order, and
in virtue of your obedience, enjoin the whole of you, within fifteen
days after the receipt hereof, humbly and duteously to receive as
your father and pastor our venerable brother John, your bishop, who
has been canonically elected to the pontifical office, and, all
pretexts whatsoever laid aside, not to hesitate henceforth to pay due
reverence and obedience to his wholesome advice and commands; being
hereby informed that if, after Hugh, the man who was formerly styled
the bishop, was removed from the dignity of your bishopric by the
Church of Rome, or after his decease, the above-named John, your
bishop, still surviving, you shall have by chance made choice of any
other bishop, we do, by the Apostolic authority, pronounce that
election to be null and void. But if, which may God forbid, you have
presumed, by the persuasion of the enemy of mankind, to be guilty of
any conspiracy against the said bishop John, then both yourselves, as
also the whole see, we are determined to subject to sentence of
interdict until such time as, acknowledging your transgressions, you
shall have re turned to obedience to the commands of the said bishop
John. Given at Pisa, on the seventeenth day before the calends of
February, in the sixth year of the indiction.”
Another
Letter of the same pope on the same subject
“Clement,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable
brethren, Jocelyn, bishop of Glasgow, Matthew, bishop of Aberdeen,
and Richard, bishop of Moray, and his dearly-beloved sons Ernulph,
abbot of Melrose, Hugh, abbot of Newbottle, and the abbats of
Holyrood, Stirling, and Scone, health and the Apostolic benediction.
Although it is our belief that, even without our advice, it is
incumbent upon you to give your serious and diligent attention, in
conformity with the duties of your office, to those things which
concern a good life and conduce to the salvation of souls, still, we
have thought fit, by these Apostolic letters, to exhort your
diligence to manifest greater anxiety in these respects; to the end
that the more fervently you devote yourselves to those works so
worthy of all praise, the more healthful it may be for you in these
respects to apply yourself with all diligence to comply with the
exhortations of the Apostolic See. And whereas it is clear that some
prelates of churches must, together with those who have been
offended, submit to the heat of persecution, and be weak with those
who are weak, in obedience to the rule laid down by the Apostle—how
great the persecutions which the church of Saint Andrew’s has
lately sustained, how great the calamities and oppressions it has
endured ! how much, also, has it been disturbed and shaken of late
under the shadow of the indignation of his royal highness ! and,
above all, how many and how great the dangers which our brother John,
the bishop of Saint Andrew’s, has endured! how many the perils
to which he has been exposed, and what have been his labours in
preserving the liberties of the church entrusted to his care, and
confirmed to him by ourselves and our two predecessors! but inasmuch
as all this is well known to you, it seems needless to reiterate the
same to your hearing.
But
inasmuch as it is universally agreed upon as being most expedient, it
befits us to give all due attention both to the king’s
salvation, to the reformation of the state of the before-named
church, and to the preservation of peace for the bishop himself, we
deem it proper that we should employ your circumspection to aid us
therein; therefore we do, by these Apostolic writings, command and
enjoin your discretion, that, on receiving these our letters, meeting
together, as befits prudent and discreet men, you will repair to the
presence of our most dearly-beloved son in Christ, William, the
illustrious king of Scotland, and diligently advise, and urgently
press him to put an end to the rancour of his indignation against the
before-named bishop, and herein not to despise the Church of Rome,
which has now for a long time deferred to the wishes of his serene
highness, but without delay wholesomely to obey and humbly to assent
to the advice of it and of yourselves, in such manner as befits his
royal glory and his salvation, and to allow the beforenamed bishop to
hold in peace the above-mentioned diocese of Saint Andrew’s;
inasmuch as he is bound by the duties of the kingly dignity not to
disperse the churches with their shepherds, but rather to cherish
them; not to despise them, but to love them ; not to persecute them,
but to defend them. But if, which God forbid, he shall, to the peril
of his own salvation, think proper to resist this Apostolic advice,
then, by the Apostolic authority, you are to inform him, that, within
twenty days, without any obstacle arising from appeal, sentence of
interdict will be pronounced by you against the kingdom of his
highness, and against his own person, as also all the abettors of his
majesty. Those also who have remained obedient to Hugh, and have
given him encouragement in his obstinacy, after the Apostolic See had
removed him for ever from the diocese of Saint Andrew’s, and
had pronounced sentence of excommunication against him, you are to
smite with a like sentence, and, publicly pronouncing them to be
excommunicated, are to cause them to be strictly avoided by others,
until they shall have returned to obedience to the Church, and sought
the benefit ‘ of absolution from the said bishop : and further,
you are, in conformity with the usage of the Church, to make
purification and sanctification of the altars and chalices, with
which the said Hugh has, since he has been placed under sentence of
excommunication, celebrated Divine service. You are also in like
manner to repair to the church of Saint Andrew’s, and,
convoking the brethren to enter the chapter-house, and make diligent
enquiry as to the order and state of the church ; and if you shall
find anything in the said church changed by the before-named Hugh, or
enacted by him, you are, of our authority, to place it again in its
proper state; and if anything therein shall stand in need of
correction, you are zealously to endeavour to change the same for the
better. But if, and may it not be so, you shall find any of the
canons reluctant to receive their beforenamed pastor humbly and
devoutly, and contumaciously inclined, you are most earnestly to
advise them to shew due respect and obedience to him, their father,
and to cease to persist in their malignant and damnable purpose. And
if they shall continue to be contumacious, you are to suspend them
both from their duties and their benefices, and to check them by the
ban of excommunication, under which you are to hold them, until they
shall have listened to the mandates and advice of the Church. And if
all of you shall not be able to take part in the performance hereof,
then let the rest carry out the same. Given at Pisa, on the
seventeenth day before the calends of February, in the sixth year of
the indiction.”
On hearing these things, the king of Scotland, being prevailed
upon by the counsels and entreaties of his people, received the before-named
bishop John into his favour, and allowed him peaceably to hold the
bishopric of "Dunkeld, and all the revenues which he had held
before his consecration, on condition, however, that the said John
should give up all claim to the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s.
Accordingly, the bishop, though protected in the assertion of his
claim by the beforementioned letters of our lord the pope, obeyed the
king’s will in all respects, and released the bishopric of
Saint Andrew’s from all claims of his, throwing himself upon
the mercy of God and of the king, well knowing that “Better is
a dry morsel and quietness therewith, than a house full of sacrifices
with strife.”
Hugh,
however, who was formerly styled bishop of Saint Andrew’s, on
being degraded and excommunicated, proceeded to Rome. Here, having
given security to abide by the decision of the Church, he was, in his
clemency, absolved by our lord the pope, but only survived a few
days. For, in the month of August, there was such a great pestilence
at Rome and in its territories, that many of the cardinals and most
wealthy men in the city died, with a countless multitude of the lower
classes: on which occasion this Hugh, with nearly the whole of his
household, and Henry, the bishop elect of Dol, with his household,
died there. On this, the king of Scotland gave the bishopric of Saint
Andrew’s to Roger, son of the earl of Leicester, his
chancellor, John, bishop of Dunkeld, being present, and making no
objection thereto. The king of Scotland also gave his chancellorship
to Hugh de Roxburgh, his clerk.
In
the same year, on the twelfth day before the calends of October,
being the third day of the week, and the vigil of Saint Matthew the
Apostle and Evangelist, nearly the whole of the town of Beverley,
with the noble church of Saint John the Archbishop, was burnt. In the
same year, master John Gilbert, of Sempringham*, first founder and
pastor of the order which is called the order of Sempringham,
departed this life, and was buried in his church at Sempringham,
among the nuns.
*
In Lincolnshire. This order was, from its founder, called “the
Gilbertines.” Both men and women lived in their houses, but
separated by high walls.
In
the same year, Gilbert de Ogleston, a brother of the Temple, who had
been elected and appointed by our lord the king of England, together
with some others, clerks and laymen, to collect the tenths, was
detected in the mal-appropriation thereof; but as the king could not,
by the ordinary mode of trial, pass sentence upon him, he handed him
over to the Master of the Temple, at London, in order that he might
be dealt with according to the statutes of his order. On this the
master of the Temple placed him in irons, and inflicted on him
various punishments; but as to what those various punishments were,
it is for you to enquire, who feel an interest in the concerns of
that order.
In
the same year, a thing took place at Dunstable, in England, very
wonderful to be mentioned and glorious to be seen, on the vigil of
Saint Lawrence the Martyr, being the second day of the week; for,
about the ninth hour of the day, the heavens opened, and, in the
sight of many, both clergy and laity, a cross appeared, very long and
of wonderful magnitude, and it appeared as though Jesus Christ was
fastened thereto with nails, and crowned with thorns; His hands also
were stretched out on the cross, and the wounds of His hands, and
feet, and sides were bloody, and His blood was flowing down, but did
not fall upon the earth. This appearance lasted from the ninth hour
of the day till twilight.
In
the same year, the king of England and the king of France held a
conference, between Bonimolt and Sulenne, on the fourteenth day
before the calends of September, being the sixth day of the week. At
this conference the king of France offered to restore to the king of
England whatever he had taken from him in war, upon the following
conditions : That he should give his sister Alice in marriage to his
son Richard, and should allow homage and fealty to be done to the
said Richard, his heir, by the people of his territories. But the
king of England, not forgetful of the injuries which the king, his
son, had done to him in return for a similar promotion, made answer
that he would on no account do so. At this, earl Richard being
greatly indignant, without the advice and wish of his father, did
homage to the king of France for all the possessions of his father
beyond sea, and, swearing fealty to him against all men, became his
adherent : on which, the king of France gave to him Chateau Raoul,
and Yssoudun, with the whole honor thereof, in return for his homage
and fealty. However, the before-named kings made a truce between them
until the feast of Saint Hilary ; but Henry, the cardinal-bishop of
Albano, whom our lord the pope had sent to put an end to the dispute
between the before-named kings, excommunicated earl Richard, because
he had broken the peace, and then, returning to Flanders, he died at
Arras.
In
the same year, the envoys of the king of France, whom he had sent to
Isaac, the emperor of Constantinople, on their return home, reported
that the sultan of Iconium had given his daughter in marriage to the
son of Saladin, and that Saladin had given his daughter to the son of
the sultan; and that Daniel, a prophet of Constantinople, had
prophesied that in the same year in which the Annunciation of our
Lord should be on Easter day, the Franks should recover the Land of
Promise, and should stall their horses in the palm groves of
Baldack,* and should pitch their tents beyond the trees of the
desert, and that the tares should be separated from the wheat. They
also reported that in the palace of the emperor of Constantinople
more honor was paid to the envoys of Saladin than to any other
persons of the very highest dignity ; and that, with the consent of
the emperor of Constantinople, Saladin had sent his idol to
Constantinople, in order that it might there be publicly worshipped;
but, by the grace of God, before it arrived there the Venetians
captured it at sea; on which, together with the ship, it was taken to
Tyre. They also reported that a certain old man, a Greek by birth,
from Astralix, had informed them that the prophecy was about to be
fulfilled which was written on the Golden Gate, which had not been
opened for two hundred years past; which was this, “When the
Yellow-haired King of the West shall come, then shall I open of my
own accord, and then shall the Latins reign, and hold rule in the
city of Constantinople.” They also stated that the emperor had
promised Saladin a hundred galleys, and that Saladin had promised him
the whole of the land of promise, if he should impede the passage of
the Franks; and that, in consequence of this, the emperor had
forbidden any one throughout all his territories to assume the cross;
and if by chance any one in his territories did assume the cross, he
was immediately arrested and thrown into prison. There was also a
prophecy and astrological prediction among the Greeks and Turks, that
within the next three years one third of the Turks should perish by
the sword, another third should fly beyond the trees of the desert,90
and the remaining third be baptized.
*
Probably meaning either Baalbec or Bagdad.
In
the same year, a certain monk, of the Cistercian order, a religious
man and one who feared God, beheld a vision of this nature relative
to Henry, king of England. There appeared to him in his sleep a man
of wonderful magnitude and noble features, and clothed in white
garments, who said to him, “Observe and read these things about
the king: ‘I have set my seal upon him; the womb of his wife
shall swell against him, and in torments he shall suffer torments,
and among the veiled women he shall be as one wearing the veil.’”
In
the same year, Frederic, emperor of the Romans, having assumed the
cross at the hands of Henry, the cardinal-bishop of Albano, as
befitted a prudent and circumspect man, made all necessary provisions
for himself and his journey; for, in the first place, he reconciled
himself to God and the Holy Church, and then wrote to Saladin to the
following effect:—
The
Letter of Frederic, emperor of the Romans, to Saladin, ruler of the
Saracens.
“Frederic,
by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans, ever august, and the
mighty triumpher over the enemies of the empire, to Saladin, ruler
over the Saracens; may he take warning from Pharaoh, and flee from
Jerusalem. The letters which your devoted services addressed to us a
long time since, on matters of importance to yourself, and which
would have benefitted you, if reliance could have been placed on your
words, we received, as became the mightiness of our majesty, and
deemed it proper to communicate, through the medium of our letters,
with your mightiness. But now, inasmuch as you have profaned the Holy
Land, over which we, by the authority of the Eternal King, bear rule,
solicitude for our imperial office admonishes us to proceed with due
rigour against audacity so rash, so criminal, and so presumptuous.
Wherefore, unless before all things you restore the land of Judaea,
Samaria, and Palestine, which you have seized, with the addition
thereto of due satisfaction to be adjudged for excesses so nefarious
according to the Holy Constitutions, that we may not appear to wage
an unlawful war against you, we give you the space of the revolution
of one year from the beginning of the calends of November, in the
year of the Incarnation of our Lord one thousand one hundred and
eighty-eight, after which time you must make trial of the fortune of
war on the plains of Tanis, * by virtue of the vivifying Cross and in
the name of the true Joseph. For we can scarcely believe that you are
ignorant of what, being testified by the writings of the ancients and
the histories of antiquity, we are to presume is to be the course of
events in our time. Do you pretend not to know that both the
Ethiopias, Mauritania, Persia, Syria,** Parthia, where our dictator
Marcus Crassus met with a premature death, Judæa, maritime
Samaria, Arabia, Chaldsea, Egypt itself as well, where, shameful to
repeat! a Roman citizen, Antony, a man endowed with distinguished
virtues, passing the limits of propriety and temperance, and, acting
otherwise than as became a soldier sent from the mistress of the
world, became enslaved by his sensual passion for Cleopatra—do
you pretend not to know that all these and Armenia and innumerable
other lands became subject to our sway? Too well is this known to the
kings in whose blood the Roman sword has been so often drenched; you
too, God willing, shall learn by experience what our conquering
eagles, what the troops of the various nations can effect. You shall
now become acquainted with the rage of Germany, who even in peace
brandishes her arms—the untamed head of the Rhine—the
youths who know not how to flee—the tall Bavarian—the
cunning Swede—wary France—cautious England
—Albania***—Cambria—Saxony, that sports with the
sword— Thuringia—Westphalia—active
Brabant—Lorraine, unused to peace—restless Burgundy—the
nimble inhabitants of the Alps —Frisonia, darting on with
javelin and thong—Bohemia,**** delighted at braving
death—Polonia, fiercer than her own wild
beasts—Austria—Styria—Rutonia—the parts of
Illyria— Lombardy—Tuscany—the March of Ancona
[Anconitana Marcia] —the pirate of Venice—the sailor of
Pisa; and lastly also, you shall learn how effectually our own right
hand, which you suppose to be enfeebled by old age, has learned to
brandish the sword on that day full of reverence and gladness which
has been appointed for the triumph of the cause of Christ.”
* It is probable that he alludes to the city of Tanais,
or Tanis, in Saladin’s kingdom of Egypt, which was situate at the
Tanaitic mouth of the Nile, and was rebuilt by the Caliphs of the line
of the Ommiades.
** More probably “Scythia,” with Roger of Wendover.
*** Probably Scotland.
**** In this and the next instance we have adopted the words
of Roger of Wendover, instead of those in our author, which are “Beemia,”
and “Boemia.” It seems impossible to say what country is
meant by “Beemia;” but it is most probably a misprint.
In the same year, on the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle,
before the Nativity of our Lord, William, bishop of Winchester, departed this
life. In the same year also, Frederic, emperor of the Romans, having
given his kingdom of Germany to his son Henry, leaving his city,
which is called Rainesburg, being unwilling to trust himself to the
winds and waves, determined to proceed by land; and when he arrived
at Constantinople, the emperor Isaac received him very courteously,
and supplied him and his people with all necessaries.
After
this, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, he passed through the
territory of the sultan of Iconium, and when he had come into
Armenia, the territory of Rupin de Lamontaigne, at a river which
bears the name of Salef, when half of his army had forded the stream,
he, while accompanying the rest,
fell from his horse into the river, and was the only person drowned.
Accordingly, they drew him on shore, and there disembowelled him;
after which, his entrails, brains, and flesh, which had been boiled
in water, and thus separated from the bones, were buried in the city
of Antioch. His bones being wrapped in clean linen, Conrad, duke of
Suabia, his son, carried them with him to the city of Tyre, where he
buried them.
In the same year, it was enacted by our lord the pope and the cardinals
that prayers should be put up to the Lord by the Church Universal,
without intermission, for the peace and deliverance of the land of
Jerusalem and of the Christian captives who were confined in chains
by the Saracens. Mass was performed each day in the church of Saint
Paul in the following form: when the priest had said “Pax
Domini sit semper vobiscum”(the peace of the Lord be with you always), and
the choir had made answer “Et cum spirituo tuo” (and
with thy spirit), before the “Agnus Dei” (the
Lamb of God) was begun, the priest or præcantor commenced with this antiphone,
“Tua est potentia, tuum regnum. Domine, tu es super omnes
gentes. Da pacem, Domine, in diebus nostris” (Thine
is the power, thine is the kingdom. 0 Lord! thou art above all
nations. Grant peace, 0 Lord, in our days.) On
the Lord’s day, this was accompanied with the following Psalm,
beginning “Quare fremueunt gentes” (Why do the heathen. rage?); on
Monday, with this Psalm, “Deus, in nomine tuo, salvum me fac”
(Save me, 0 God, by thy name); on Tuesday, with this Psalm, “Deus repulisti nos et
destruxisti?” (O God, Why hast thou cast us out?); on Wednesday, with this Psalm,
“Ut quid Deus, repulisti in finem?” (O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?);
on Thursday, with this Psalm, “Deus, venerunt gentes in
haereditatem tuam”(O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance);
on Friday, with this Psalm, “Deus quis similis erit tibi”
God, who shall be like unto Thee?); and on Saturday, with this Psalm, “Deus,
ultionum Dominus” (O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth) After
having repeated these Psalms and the antiphone beforementioned, the
“Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison" was to
follow, and then the "Paternoster” and the prayer “Et
ne nos;” (after which the following sentences were
to be repeated) “0 Lord, shew unto us thy mercy. Let thy mercy,
O Lord, be shewn upon us. O Lord, deal not with us after our sins.
Remember not our former iniquities. Assist us, O Lord of our
salvation. Save thy people, O Lord. Be thou to them, O Lord, a tower
of strength. Let not their enemies prevail against them. Let there be
peace through thy might, O Lord. O Lord God of might, correct us. O
Lord, hear our prayer. The Lord be with you.” “Let us
pray.” “Almighty and everlasting God, in whose hands are
the power and rule of all kingdoms, in thy mercy look upon the
Christian armies, that the heathen who put trust in their own valour
may be vanquished by the might of thy right hand.”
In the same year, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, by means of the
influence of the king, seized into his own hands the priory of the
Holy Trinity at Canterbury; and having expelled the monks who held
offices therein from their said offices, placed his own servants in
their room, and refused sustenance to the monks. In this year also,
Honorius, prior of the church of Canterbury, having gone to Rome to
procure the restitution of his house, departed this life at Rome,
together with all the monks whom he had taken with him. In the same
year, Hugh, bishop of Durham, having assumed the cross, gave the
priory in charge to the prior and convent of Durham, for which they
were bound to pay two hundred marks or more, and which he for the
profits thereof had retained in his hands for a period of two years.
In
the same year, our lord the pope, hearing of the death of Henry, the
cardinal-bishop of Albano, whom he had sent for the purpose of
settling the dispute between the king of France and the king of
England, sent cardinal John of Anagni for the same purpose. In the
same year, William, king of the Scots, sent envoys to Clement, the
Supreme Pontiff, and obtained from him letters of protection to the
following effect:—
The Letter of pope Clement to William, king of the Scots,
as to the exemption of the churches of his kingdom.
“Clement,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his dearly-beloved son
in Christ, William, the illustrious king of the Scots, health and the
Apostolic benediction. Whereas all persons subject to the yoke of
Christ ought to find favour and protection at the Apostolic See, it
is most especially proper that those should be supported with our
defence and protection whose fidelity and dutifulness have been
experienced on the most occasions, to the end that a stronger inducement may be
held out to obtain the favours consequent upon such a choice, and duteous
affection and reverence to the same may be more generally extended,
from the fact of its being known that they will certainly obtain the
pledges of its benevolence and favour. Wherefore, most dearly-beloved
son in Christ, considering the reverence and dutifulness which for a
long period we know you to have felt towards the Church of Rome, by
the pages of this present writing we have thought proper to enact
that the Church of Scotland, as an especial daughter thereof, shall
be subject to the Apostolic See, with no intermediate party thereto;
in which Church the following are recognized as episcopal sees;
namely, the churches of Saint Andrew’s, Glasgow, Dunkeld,
Dumblane, Brechin, Aberdeen, Moray, Ross, and Caithness. And it is to
be lawful for no one but the Roman Pontiff or his legate a
latereto pronounce against the kingdom of Scotland any sentence of interdict
or excommunication; and if such shall be pronounced, we do hereby
decree that the same shall not be valid; we do also declare that it
shall not be lawful for any person in future who is not a subject of
the king of Scotland, or one whom the Apostolic See shall have
especially appointed from its body for that purpose, to hold courts
in the said kingdom for the settlement of disputes therein. We do
moreover forbid that any disputes which may exist in the said kingdom
as to its possessions, shall be brought for judgment before judges
out of that kingdom, except in cases of appeal to the Roman Church.
And further, if any written enactments shall appear to have been
obtained in contravention of the liberties hereby granted by
enactment, or if in future, no mention being therein made of this
concession, any such shall happen to be granted, nothing to the
prejudice of yourself or of your kingdom is thereby to arise with
reference to the concession of the above-mentioned prerogative; but
we do enact that the liberties and immunities that have in their
indulgence been granted to you or to the said kingdom or to the
churches therein existing by our predecessors the Roman Pontiffs, and
hitherto observed, shall be hereby ratified, and shall at all future
times remain untouched. Let no man therefore deem it lawful to
infringe upon the tenor of this our constitution and prohibition, or
in any way to contravene the same. And if any person shall presume to
attempt so to do, let him know that he will thereby incur the indignation of Almighty
God and of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Given at the
Lateran, on the third day before the ides of March, in the first year
of our pontificate.”
1189 A.D.
In the year of grace 1189, being the thirty-fifth and last year of the
reign of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, the said Henry was
at Saumur, in Anjou, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord, which
fell on the Lord’s day, and there he kept that festival ;
although many of his earls and barons, deserting him, had gone over
to the king of France and earl Richard against him. After the feast
of Saint Hilary, the truce being broken, which existed between the
before-named kings, the king of France, and earl Richard and the
Bretons, (with whom the said king of France and earl Richard had
entered into covenants, and had given sureties that if they should
make peace with the king of England, they would not omit to include
them in that peace,) made a hostile incursion into the territories of
the king of England, and ravaged them in every direction.
On
this, the cardinal John of Anagni came to the beforenamed kings in
behalf of our lord the pope, and sometimes with kind words, sometimes
with threats, exhorted them to make peace. Moved by his urgent
entreaties, the said kings, by the inspiration of the Divine grace,
gave security that they would abide by the decision of himself, and
of the archbishops of Rheims, Bourges, Rouen, and Canterbury, and
named as the day for a conference to be held near La Ferté
Bernard, the octave of Pentecost; on which the before-named cardinal,
and the four archbishops above-mentioned, pronounced sentence of
excommunication against all, both clergy and laity, who should stand
in the way of peace being made between the said kings, the persons of
the kings alone excepted.
On
the day of the conference, the king of France, and the king of
England, earl Richard, the cardinal John of Anagni, and the four
archbishops before-mentioned, who had been chosen for the purpose,
and the earls and barons of the two kingdoms, met for a conference
near La Ferté Bernard. At this conference, the king of France
demanded of the king of England, his sister Alice to be given in
marriage to Richard, earl of Poitou, and that fealty for his
dominions should be sworn to the said Richard, and that his brother
John, assuming the cross, should set out for Jerusalem. To this the
king of England made answer that he would never consent to such a
proposal, and offered the king of France, if he should think fit to
assent thereto, to give the said Alice in marriage to his son John,
with all the matters previously mentioned more at large, more fully
and more completely than the king demanded. The king of France would
not agree to this; on which, putting an end to the conference, they
separated, mutually displeased. However, the cardinal John of Anagni
declared that if the king of France did not come to a complete
arrangement with the king of England, he would place the whole of his
territory under interdict; to which the king of France made answer,
that he should not dread his sentence and that he cared nothing for
it, as it was supported upon no grounds of justice. For, he said, it
was not the duty of the Church of Rome to punish the kingdom of
France by its sentence or in any other manner, if the king of France
should think fit to punish any vassals of his who had shewn
themselves undeserving, and rebellious against his sway, for the
purpose of avenging the insult to his crown; he also added, that the
before-named cardinal had already smelt the sterling coin of the king
of England. Then closing the interview, the king of France departed
thence, and took La Ferté Bernard, and then Montfort, and next
Malestroit, Beaumont, and Balim.
After
this he came to Le Mans, on the Lord’s day, pretending that he
was going to set out for Tours on the ensuing Monday; but when the
king of England and his people seemed to have made themselves at ease
as to the further progress of the king of France, he drew out his
forces in battle array, for the purpose of making an assault upon the
city. This being perceived by Stephen de Tours, the seneschal of
Anjou, he set fire to the suburbs. The fire, however, rapidly gaining
strength and volume, running along the walls, communicated with the
city; seeing which, the Franks approached a bridge of stone, where
Geoffrey de Burillun and many with him of the party of the king of
England met them with the intention of pulling down the bridge; on
which, a desperate conflict took place, and a great part of the
armies were slain on both sides, and in the conflict, the before
named Geoffrey was taken prisoner, and wounded in the thigh ; many
others also of the king of England’s army were taken, while the
rest immediately took to flight, with the intention of betaking
themselves to the city, but the Franks entered it with them.
The
king of England seeing this, and being in a state of desperation,
contrary to his promise when he came, took to flight with seven
hundred of his knights. For he had promised the inhabitants of that
city that he would not forsake them, giving it as his reason, that
his father rested there, as also, the circumstance that he himself
was born there, and loved that city more than all others. The king of
France pursued him for three miles ; and if the stream which the
Franks forded had not been very wide and deep, they would have
pursued them as they fled with such swiftness, that they would have
been all taken prisoners. In this flight, many of the Welch were
slain. The king of England, however, with a few of his men, got to
Chinon and there took refuge within the fort. The rest of the
household of the king of England who were surviving, took refuge
within the tower of Le Mans; immediately on which, the king of France
laid siege to the town, and, partly through his miners, partly the
assaults of his engines, the tower was surrendered to him within
three days, together with thirty knights and sixty men at arms.
Marching
thence, he took Mont Double by surrender of the castle and its lord.
For the viscount of this castle had been the means, indeed, the
especial cause, of this catastrophe; for, lying in ambush, he had,
armed, fallen upon Geoffrey, the earl of Vendome, who was unarmed,
and had wounded him so seriously, that at first his life was
despaired of, though by the grace of God he afterwards entirely
recovered from the effects thereof. The king of France was the more
vexed at his acting thus, because the before-named viscount had
strictly bound himself to the king of France, by a promise that he
would injure none of his people either in going or returning, or
annoy him while engaged in the siege of Le Mans. The king departing
thence, the castle of Trou was surrendered to him, together with
Roche l’Eveque, Montoire, Chateau Carcere, Chateau Loire,
Chateau Chaumont, Chateau d’Amboise, and Chateau de Roche
Charbon.
At
length, on the sixth day of the week after the festival of the
Nativity of Saint John, on the day after the feast of Saint Peter and
Saint Paul the Apostles, the king of France came to Tours. On the
Lord’s day next after this, Philip, earl of Flanders, William,
archbishop of Rheims, and Hugh, duke of Burgundy, came to the king of
England, who was then at Saumur, for the purpose of making peace
between him and the king of France. The king of France had, however,
sent him word before they set out, that from Chateau Saint Martin,
whither he had betaken himself by fording the Loire, he should make
an attack upon the city. Accordingly, on the ensuing Monday, at
about the third hour, applying their scaling ladders to the walls on
the side of the Loire, which on account of the small quantity of the
water, was much contracted and reduced, the city was taken by storm,
and in it eighty knights and a hundred men at arms.
To
their great disgrace, on the one side, the Poitevins were planning
treachery against their liege lord the king of England, and on the
other the Bretons, who had joined the king of France, and had
obtained from him letters patent, to the effect that he would never
make peace with the king of England unless the Bretons were included
in the treaty. Accordingly, the king of England, being reduced to
straits, made peace with Philip, king of France, on the following
terms :—
Conditions
of peace made between Henry, king of England and, Philip, king of
France
“Upon
this, the before-named king of France and king of England, and
Richard, earl of Poitou, with their archbishops, bishops, earls, and
barons, about the time of the feast of the Apostles Saint Peter and
Saint Paul, held a conference between Tours and Arasie, where the
king of England wholly placed himself under the control and at the
will of the king of France. The king of England then did homage to
the king of France, although* at the beginning of the war he had
renounced the lordship of the king of France, and the king of France
had quitted all claim of his homage. It was then provided by the king
of France that Alice, his sister, whom the king of England had in his
charge, should be given up and placed in the charge of one of five
persons, of whom earl Richard should make choice. It was next
provided by the king of France that security should be given by the
oath of certain men of that land that his said sister should be
delivered up to earl Richard on his return from Jerusalem, and that
earl Richard should receive the oath of fealty from his father’s
subjects on both sides the sea, and that none of the ‘barons or
knights who had in that war withdrawn from the king of England and
come over to earl Richard should again return to the king of England,
except in the last month before his setting out for Jerusalem; the
time of which setting out was to be Mid-Lent, at which period the
said kings and earl Richard were to be at Vezelay. That all the
burgesses of the vills, demesne of the king of England, should be
unmolested throughout all the lands of the king of France, and should
enjoy their own customary laws and not be impleaded in any matter,
unless they should be guilty of felony. The king of England was to
pay to the king of France twenty thousand marks of silver; and all
the barons of the king of England were to make oath that if the king
of England should refuse to observe the said covenants, they would
hold with the king of France and earl Richard, and would aid them to
the best of their ability against the king of England. The king of
France and earl Richard were to hold in their hands the city of Le
Mans, the city of Tours, Chateau Loire, and the castle of Trou; or
else, if the king of England should prefer it, the king of France and
earl Richard would hold the castle of Gisors, the castle of Pasci,
and the castle of Novacourt, until such time as all the matters
should be completed as arranged above by the king of France.
*
Meaning that it was done previous to the war breaking out.
While
the before-named kings were conferring in person hereon, the Lord
thundered over them, and a thunderbolt fell between the two, but did
them no injury; they were, however, greatly alarmed, and separated
accordingly, while all who were with them were astonished that the
thunder had been heard so suddenly, seeing that no lowering clouds
had preceded it. After a short time the kings again met together for
a conference, on which a second time thunder was heard, still louder
and more terrible than before, the sky retaining its original
sereneness; in consequence of which, the king of England, being
greatly alarmed, would have fallen to the ground from the horse on
which he was mounted, if he had not been supported by the hands of
those who were standing around him. From that time he entirely placed
himself at the will of the king of France, and concluded peace on the
terms abovewritten, requesting that the names of all those who,
deserting him, had gone over to the king of France and earl Richard,
should be committed to writing and given to him. This being
accordingly done, he found the name of his son John written at the
beginning of the list.
Surprised
at this beyond measure, he came to Chinon, and,
touched with grief at heart, cursed the day on which he was born, and
pronounced upon his sons the curse of God and of himself, which he
would never withdraw, although bishops and other religious men
frequently admonished him so to do. Being sick even unto death, he
ordered himself to be carried into the church, before the altar, and
there devoutly received the communion of the body and blood of
Christ; and after confessing his sins, and being absolved by the
bishop and clergy, he departed this life in the thirty-fifth year of
his reign, on the octave of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul,
being the fifth day of the week; after a reign of thirty-four years,
seven months, and four days.
After
his death, having plundered him of all his riches, all forsook him ;
so true it is that just as flies seek honey, wolves the carcase, and
ants corn, this crew followed not the man, but his spoils. At last
however, his servants returned, and buried him with royal pomp. On
the day after his death, when he was being carried out for burial in
the Church of the Nuns at Fontevraud, carl Richard, his son and heir,
came to meet him, and, smitten with compunction, wept bitterly;
immediately on which the blood flowed in streams from the nostrils of
the body at the approach of his son. His son, however, proceeded with
the body of his father to the abbey of Fontevraud, and there buried
him in the choir of the Nuns, and thus it was that he was “among
the veiled women as one wearing the veil.” *
* Alluding to the prophecy of the Cistercian monk, before-mentioned
[page 211].
RICHARD THE FIRST.
The king
being thus buried, earl Richard, his son, immediately laid hands on
Stephen de Tours, the seneschal of Anjou, and, throwing him into
prison, loaded him with heavy fetters and iron manacles, and demanded
of him the castles and treasures of the king, his father, which he had in his possession;
and, after the same had been delivered up, earl Richard* took ransom from him to the
uttermost farthing. Just the time at which the before-named king of
England died, Matilda, duchess of Saxony, his daughter, died.
* So called, as not yet being crowned king of England.
After this, the said earl Richard came to Rouen, and was girded with the
sword of the dukedom of Normandy by Walter, the archbishop of Rouen,
in presence of the bishops, earls, and barons of Normandy, on Saint
Margaret’s day, being the fifth day of the week, and the
thirteenth day before the calends of August. Having then received the
oaths of fealty from the clergy and the people of the dukedom of
Normandy, he gave to Geoffrey, son of Rotrod, earl of Perche, his
niece, Matilda, daughter of the duke of Saxony, in marriage.
On
the third day after this, that is to say, on the feast of Saint Mary
Magdalen, Philip, king of France, and Richard, duke of Normandy, met
to hold a conference between Chaumont and Trie. Here the king of
France urgently requested that the duke of Normandy would restore to
him Gisors, and many other places, which it would be tedious
individually to mention. But Richard, seeing that if he did so, it
would redound to his everlasting loss and disgrace, added to the
beforementioned twenty thousand marks of silver, which the king, his
father, had covenanted that he would pay to the king of France,
another four thousand marks of silver, and by these obtained his
favour and regard ; and the king of France restored to him everything
that he had taken in war from the king, his father, both castles as
well as cities, and other fortified places, and vills and farms as
well.
In
the meantime, queen Eleanor, the mother of the beforenamed duke,
moved her royal court from city to city, and from castle to castle,
just as she thought proper; and sending messengers throughout all the
counties of England, ordered that all captives should be liberated
from prison and confinement, for the good of the soul of Henry, her
lord ; inasmuch as, in her own person, she had learnt by experience *
that confinement is distasteful to mankind, and that it is a most
delightful refreshment to the spirits to be liberated therefrom. She,
moreover, gave directions, in obedience to the orders of her son, the
duke, that all who had been taken in custody for forestal offences
should be acquitted thereof and released, and that all persons who
had been outlawed for forestal offences should return in peace,
acquitted of all previous offences against the forest laws; and
further, that all persons who had been taken and detained by the will
of the king, or of his justice, and who had not been detained
according to the common law of the county or hundred, or on appeal,
should be acquitted ; and that those who were detained by the common
law, if they could find sureties that they would make due re dress
at law, in case any person should think proper to make any charge
against them, should be set at liberty; if, also, they should make
oath that they would make due redress, if any person should think
proper to make any charge against them, even then they were to be set
at liberty just as much. Those, also, who, on appeal, had been
detained in custody upon any criminal matter, if they could find
sureties that they would make due reparation and in full, were to be
set at liberty. Those, also, who were outlawed at common law, without
appeal, by the justices, were to return in peace, on condition that
they should find sureties that they would make due reparation at law,
if any person should think proper to allege anything against them;
and if they had been convicted upon appeal made, if they could make
peace with their adversaries, they were to return in peace. All those
persons, also, who were detained upon the appeal** of those who knew
that they were evildoers, were to be set at liberty, free and
unmolested. Those evildoers who, for their evidence, had been
pardoned life and limb, were to abjure the territory of their lord,
Richard, and to depart therefrom; while those evildoers who, without
any pardon of life or limb, had accused others of their own
free-will, were to be detained in prison, until their cases should
have received due consideration.
*
She had been kept sixteen years in close confinement by her husband,
king Henry.
**
The word “appellatio,” “appeal,” is used in
these several instances in its sense of an accusation made of the
commission of a heinous crime, by one subject against the other. In
this sense it is derived from the French verb “appeller,”
“to summon,” or “challenge."
It
was further ordered, that every free man throughout the whole kingdom
should make oath that he would preserve his fealty to his lord
Richard, king of England, son of our lord king Henry and queen
Eleanor, his wife, with life and limb, and worldly honors, as being
his liege lord, against all men and women whatsoever, who might live
and die, and that they would be obedient to him, and would give him
aid in all things for the maintenance of his peace and of justice.
In
addition to this, the said duke of Normandy restored to Robert, earl
of Leicester, all his lands, which his father had taken from him, and
restored all persons to their former rights, whom his father had
deprived of their possessions. All those persons, however, clergy as
well as laity, who, leaving his father, had adhered to himself, he
held in abhorrence, and banished from his acquaintanceship; while
those who had faithfully served his father, he retained with him, and
enriched with numerous benefits.
After
this, the said duke passed over to England from Harfleur on the ides
of August, being the Lord’s day before the Assumption of Saint
Mary, the Mother of God, while Walter, archbishop of Rouen, Henry,
bishop of Bayeux, and John, bishop of Evreux, who had preceded him to
England, were there awaiting his arrival. There came also from
Normandy, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, Gilbert, bishop of
Rochester, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, and Hugh, bishop of Chester, on
which the duke and his brother John crossed over: at the arrival of
whom, their kingdoms rejoiced, because they trusted that through them
they might be brought to a better state. And although some, though
but very few, were hurt at the death of the king, still it was some
consolation that, as the poet says, "Wonders I sing, the sun has
set, no night ensued;” for truly no night did ensue after the
setting of the sun. For a ray of the sun, occupying the throne of the
sun, spreads its own lustre more brilliantly, and to a greater
distance than its own original size for when
the sun has set below the earth from his throne, his ray, still
remaining, and subject to neither eclipse or setting, being suddenly
cut off from the body of the sun, and wholly reflected back upon
itself, as though a sun itself, it becomes much greater and much more
brilliant than the sun, of which it was a ray, by reason of no clouds
intervening and no impediment obstructing its course. But, in order
that no difficulties may harass the mind of the reader, the meaning
of this may be more fully ascertained on reading the following
pentameter:
“Sol pater, et radius films ejus erat.” *
And thus, the son becoming greater and greater, enlarged the good works
of his father, while the bad ones he cut short.
* The father was the sun, his son his ray."
For those whom the father disinherited, the son restored to their former
rights; those whom the father had banished, the son recalled; those
whom the father kept confined in irons, the son allowed to depart
unhurt; those upon whom the father, in the cause of justice,
inflicted punishment, the son, in the cause of humanity, forgave.
Accordingly, as already stated, Richard, the said duke of Normandy, son of Henry,
king of England, lately deceased, came over to England; on which he
gave to his brother John the earldom of Mortaigne, and the earldoms
of Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, Nottingham, Derby, Lancaster, and the
castles of Marlborough and of Luggershall, with the forests and all
their appurtenances; the honor also of Wallingford, the honor of
Tickhill, and the honor of Haye; he also gave him the earldom of
Gloucester, together with the daughter of the late earl, and caused
her to be immediately married to him, Baldwin, archbishop of
Canterbury, forbidding it, because they were related by blood in the
fourth degree. He also gave to him the Peak and Bolsover; but the
duke retained some castles of the before-named counties and honors in
his own hands.
In
addition to this, the said duke gave to Andrew de Chauvigny the
daughter of Raoul de Dol, with the honor of Chateau Raoul, in Berry,
(she having been the wife of Baldwin-, earl of Rivers), and had them
immediately married at Salisbury, in presence of queen Eleanor; he
also gave to William Marshal the daughter of Richard, earl of
Striguil, with the earldom of Striguil; and to Gilbert, son of Roger
Fitz-Rainfray, he gave the daughter of William de Lancaster. To
Geoffrey, his own bastard brother, who had been formerly bishop-elect
of Lincoln, he gave the archbishopric of York; the canons having,
with the king’s consent, elected him to the archbishopric of
York. And although Master Bartholomew, acting as the deputy of Hubert
Fitz-Walter, the dean of that church, both before the election and
after it, appealed to the presence of the Supreme Pontiff, because
Hugh, bishop of Durham, and an especial son of that church, and
Hubert Fitz-Walter, dean of the said church, to which parties
belonged the first votes in the election, were absent, still, the
said canons were determined not to abandon their purpose, but elected
the person above-named, and under their seals confirmed the said
election.
However,
on the bishop of Durham and Hubert Fitz-Walter making complaint as to
this illegal conduct on the part of the canons, the duke gave orders
that all things relative to the church of York should be in the same
state as they were on the day on which his father had been living and
dead; and accordingly the ecclesiastical rights of the archbishopric
returned into the hands of Hubert Fitz-Walter and his deputies as
before, while the secular benefices of the said archbishop returned
into the charge of the servants of the duke.
In
the same year, Geoffrey, bishop of Ely, departed this life at
Winchester, on the twelfth day before the calends of September, and
being carried to Ely was buried there; on which duke Richard took
possession of all his treasures. The said duke also sent his bishops,
earls, and barons to all the treasuries of the king, his father, and
caused all the treasures found, consisting of gold and silver, to be
counted and weighed ; the number and weight of which it would be
tedious to mention, inasmuch as this amount of treasure far exceeded
in tale and weight one hundred thousand marks. After this, he sent
his servants and bailiffs throughout all the seaports of England,
Normandy, Poitou, and others of his lands, and caused the largest and
best of all the ships to be selected for himself, which were able to
carry large freights, and then distributed some of them among those
of his friends who had assumed the cross for the purpose of setting
out for Jerusalem, while the others were reserved for his own use.
The
duke then came to London, the archbishops, bishops, earls, and
barons, and a vast multitude of knights, coming thither to meet him;
by whose consent and advice he was consecrated and crowned king of
England, at Westminster, in London, on the third day before the nones
of September, being the Lord’s Day and the feast of the
ordination of Saint Gregory, the pope (the same being also an
Egyptian day*), by Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, who was
assisted at the coronation by Walter, archbishop of Rouen, John,
archbishop of Dublin, Formalis, archbishop of Treves, Hugh, bishop of
Durham, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, Hugh, bishop of Chester, William,
bishop of Hereford, William, bishop of Worcester, John, bishop of
Exeter, Reginald, bishop of Bath, John, bishop of Norwich, Sefrid,
bishop of Chichester, Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, Peter, bishop of
Saint David’s, the bishop of Saint Asaph, the bishop of Bangor,
Albinus, bishop of Ferns, and Concord, bishop of Aghadoe, while
nearly all the abbats, priors, earls, and barons of England were
present.
* Egyptian days were unlucky days, of which there were
said to be two in each month. It is supposed that they were so called from
an Egyptian superstition, that it was not lucky to bleed or begin any
new work on those days.
The Order of the Coronation of Richard, King of England.
First
came the bishops, abbats, and large numbers of the clergy, wearing
silken hoods, preceded by the cross, taper-bearers, censers, and holy
water, as far as the door of the king’s inner chamber; where
they received the before-named duke, and escorted him to the church
of Westminster, as far as the high altar, in solemn procession, with
chaunts of praise, while all the way along which they went, from the
door of the king’s chamber to the altar, was covered with
woollen cloth. The order of the procession was as follows : First
came the clergy in their robes, carrying holy water, and the cross,
tapers, and censers. Next came the priors, then the abbats, and then
the bishops, in the midst of whom walked four barons, bearing four
candlesticks of gold; after whom came Godfrey de Lucy, bearing the
king’s cap [of maintenance], and John Marshal by him, carrying
two great and massive spurs of gold. After these came William
Marshal, earl of Striguil, bearing the royal sceptre of gold, on the
top of which was a cross of gold, and by him William Fitz-Patrick,
earl of Salisbury, bearing a rod of gold, having on its top a dove of
gold. After them came David, earl of Huntingdon, brother of the king
of Scotland, John, carl of Mortaigne, the duke’s brother, and
Robert, earl of Leicester, carrying three golden swords from the
king’s treasury, the scabbards of which were worked all over
with gold; the earl of Mortaigne walking in the middle. Next came six
earls and six barons, carrying on their shoulders a very large
chequer, upon which were placed the royal arms and robes; and after
them William de Mandeville, earl of Aumarle, carrying a great and
massive crown of gold, decorated on every side with precious stones.
Next came Richard, duke of Normandy, Hugh, bishop of Durham, walking
at his right hand, and Reginald, bishop of Bath, at his left, and
four barons holding over them a canopy of silk on four lofty spears.
Then followed a great number of earls, barons,
knights, and others, both clergy and laity, as far as the porch of
the church, and dressed in their robes, entered with the duke, and
proceeded as far as the choir.
When
the duke had come to the altar, in presence of the archbishops,
bishops, clergy, and people, kneeling before the altar, with the holy
Evangelists placed before him, and many relics of the saints,
according to custom, he swore that he would all the days of his life
observe peace, honor, and reverence towards God, the Holy Church, and
its ordinances. He also swore that he would exercise true justice and
equity towards the people committed to his charge. He also swore that
he would abrogate bad laws and unjust customs, if any such had been
introduced into his kingdom, and would enact good laws, and observe
the same without fraud or evil intent. After this they took off all
his clothes from the waist upwards, except his shirt and breeches;
his shirt having been previously separated over the shoulders; after
which they shod him with sandals embroidered with gold. Then Baldwin,
archbishop of Canterbury, pouring holy oil upon his head, anointed
him king in three places, on his head, breast, and arms, which
signifies glory, valour, and knowledge, with suitable prayers for the
occasion; after which the said archbishop placed a consecrated linen
cloth on his head, and upon that the cap which Geoffrey de Lucy had
carried. They then clothed him in the royal robes, first a tunic, and
then a dalmatic ; after which the said archbishop delivered to him
the sword of rule, with which to crush evil-doers against the Church:
this done, two earls placed the spurs upon his feet, which John
Marshal had carried. After this, being robed in a mantle, he was led
to the altar, where the said archbishop forbade him, in the name of
Almighty God, to presume to take upon him this dignity, unless he had
the full intention inviolably to observe the oaths and vows
beforementioned which he had made ; to which he made answer that,
with God’s assistance, he would without reservation observe
them all. After this, he himself took the crown from the altar and
gave it to the archbishop ; on which, the archbishop delivered it to
him, and placed it upon his head, it being supported by two earls in
consequence of its extreme weight. After this, the archbishop
delivered to him the sceptre to hold in his right hand, while he held
the rod of royalty in his left; and, having been thus crowned, the
king was led back to his seat by the before-named bishops of Durham
and Bath, pre ceded
by the taper-bearers and the three swords before-mentioned. After
this, the mass of our Lord was commenced, and, when they came to the
offertory, the before-named bishops led him to the altar, where he
offered one mark of the purest gold, such being the proper offering
for the king at each coronation; after which, the bishops
before-named led him back to his seat. The mass having been
concluded, and all things solemnly performed, the two bishops
before-named, one on the right hand the other on the left, led him
back from the church to his chamber, crowned, and carrying a sceptre
in his right hand and the rod of realty in his left, the procession
going in the same order as before. Then the procession returned to
the choir, and our lord the king put off his royal crown and robes of
royalty, and put on a crown and robes that were lighter; and, thus
crowned, went to dine; on which the archbishops and bishops took
their seats with him at the table, each according to his rank and
dignity. The earls and barons also served in the king’s palace,
according to their several dignities ; while the citizens of London
served in the cellars, and the citizens of Winchester in the kitchen.
While
the king was seated at table, the chief men of the Jews came to offer
presents to him, but as they had been forbidden the day before to
come to the king’s court on the day of the coronation, the
common people, with scornful eye and insatiable heart, rushed upon
the Jews and stripped them, and then scourging them, cast them forth
out of the king’s hall. Among these was Benedict, a Jew of
York, who, after having been so maltreated and wounded by the
Christians that his life was despaired of, was baptized by William,
prior of the church of Saint Mary at York, in the church of the
Innocents, and was named William, and thus escaped the peril of death
and the hands of the persecutors.
The
citizens of London, on hearing of this, attacked the Jews in the city
and burned their houses; but by the kindness of their Christian
friends, some few made their escape. On the day after the coronation,
the king sent his servants, and caused those offenders to be arrested
who had set fire to the city; not for the sake of the Jews, but on
account of the houses and property of the Christians which they had
burnt and plundered, and he ordered some of them to be hanged.
On
the same day, the king ordered the before-named William, who from a
Jew had become a Christian, to be presented to
him, on which he said to him, "What person are you?” to
which he made answer, “I am Benedict of York, one of your
Jews.” On this the king turned to the archbishop of Canterbury,
and the others who had told him that the said Benedict had become a
Christian, and said to them, "Did you not tell me that he is a
Christian?” to which they made answer, “Yes, my lord.”
Whereupon he said to them, “What are we to do with him?”
to which the archbishop of Canterbury, less circumspectly than he
might, in the spirit of his anger, made answer, "If he does not
choose to be a Christian, let him he a man of the Devil;”
whereas he ought to have made answer, "We demand that he shall
be brought to a Christian trial, as he has become a Christian, and
now contradicts that fact.” But, inasmuch as there was no
person to offer any opposition thereto, the before-named William
relapsed into the Jewish errors, and after a short time died at
Northampton; on which he was refused both the usual sepulture of the
Jews, as also that of the Christians, both because he had been a
Christian, and because he had, “like a dog, returned to his
vomit.”
On the second day after his coronation, Richard, king of England,
received the oaths of homage and fealty from the bishops, abbats,
earls, and barons of England. After this was done, the king put up
for sale every thing he had, castles, vills, and estates.
Accordingly, Hugh, bishop of Durham, bought of the king his good
manor of Sedbergh,* with the Wapentake and knight’s fees thereof,
for six hundred marks of silver, by way of a pure and perpetual alms; and
the said purchase was confirmed by charter to the following effect:
* Roger of Wendover says it was “Segesfield” meaning
probably Sedgefield, in Durham.
The Charter of king Richard, confirming the sale of the Manor of Sedbergh
to Hugh, bishop of Durham
“Richard, by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy
and Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, [earls], barons,
sheriffs, and all his bailiffs and servants throughout all England,
greeting. Know ye that we have given and granted, and by this present
charter do confirm to God, and to Saint Cuthbert and the church of
Durham, and to Hugh, bishop of Durham, our dearly beloved cousin, and
to his successors, as a pure and perpetual alms for the soul of our
father, as also of our predecessors and successors, and for the
salvation of ourselves and of our heirs, and for the
establishment and increase of our kingdom, our manor of Sedbergh,
together with the Wapentake to the said manor belonging, and all
other things thereto appurtenant, both men, and lands, sown and
unsown, ways, paths, meadows, pastures, ponds, mills, waters,
piscaries, as also the services of Peter Carou, and his heirs, for
one knight’s fee, held at Seton and Oviton; the services of
Thomas de Amudeville, and his heirs, for one knight’s fee, at
Cotton and Treyford; and the services of Godfrey Baarde, and his
heirs, for two halves of one knight’s fee, at Middleton and
Hartburn, which lands they held of us between the Tyne and the Tecs,
together with all other things to the aforesaid fees pertaining, in
exchange for the services of three knight’s fees, which Philip
de Kimber has held of the said bishop in Lincolnshire, and two
knights’ fees which Gerard de Camville has also there held of
the said bishop, and one knight’s fee which Baldwin Wake and
Roger Fitz-Oseville also held there of the same bishop. Therefore we
do will and command that the before-named Hugh, bishop of Durham, and
his successors, shall have, hold, and enjoy, freely, quietly, and
with all due honor, the said two knights’ fees and the said two
halves of one knight’s fee, together with the before-mentioned
manor of Sedbergh and the Wapentake as hereinbefore named, with all
things thereto pertaining in wood and plain, with soc, and sac, and
tol, and them, and infangtheof, and with all other liberties and free
customs, and with the pleas belonging to the crown, in such manner as
we hold the same in our own hands, and in such manner as the said
bishop has and holds the other lands and knights’ fees in his
bishopric, and so that the said bishop, as also his successors, may
dispose of the men and lands to the same manor pertaining according
to his own pleasure and free will, in such manner as he does with
respect to his other men and lands in the said bishopric. Witnesses
hereto : Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, Walter, archbishop of
Rouen, John, archbishop of Dublin, Reginald, bishop of Bath, Hugh,
bishop of Lincoln, John, bishop of Norwich, Hugh, bishop of Coventry,
Sefrid, bishop of Chichester, Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, John,
bishop of Exeter, the lord John, brother of our lord the king,
William de Mandeville, earl of Essex, Robert, earl of Leicester,
Hamelin, earl of Warenne, Waleran, earl of Warwick, William, earl of
Arundel, Richard, earl of Clare, William, earl of Salisbury, Roger
Bigot, William Marshal, lord of Striguil. Given in the first year of
our reign, on the eighteenth day of September, at
Eatingert, by the hand of William de Longchamp, our chancellor.”
Also
the said bishop gave to the before-named king — marks of silver
for receiving the earldom of Northumberland for life, together with
its castles and other appurtenances.
After
this, the king proceeded to an abbey called Pipewell, where he was
met by the following persons: Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury,
Walter, archbishop of Rouen, John, archbishop of Dublin, Formalis,
archbishop of Treves, Hugh, bishop of Durham, Hugh, bishop of
Lincoln, Hugh, bishop of Chester, John, bishop of Norwich, John,
bishop of Evreux, John, bishop of Exeter, William, bishop of
Hereford, William, bishop of Worcester, Reginald, bishop of Bath,
Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, Sefrid, bishop of Chichester, Henry,
bishop of Bayeux, Peter, bishop of Saint David’s, in Wales,
Albinus, bishop of Ferns, Concord, bishop of Aghadoe, together with
nearly all the abbats and priors of England. Here the king gave to
Godfrey de Lucy the bishopric of Winchester; to Richard, archdeacon
of Ely, his treasurer, the bishopric of Lincoln ; and to Hubert
Fitz-Walter, dean of York, the bishopric of Salisbury; the abbey of
Selesby* to Roger, prior of that abbey; the abbey of Glastonbury to
Henry de Soilly, prior of Bermondsey; and to Geoffrey, his brother,
the former bishop-elect of Lincoln, the archbishopric of York. To
Henry, the brother of William Marshal, he gave the deanery of York,
and to Bucard de Pudsey, nephew of Hugh, bishop of Durham, the
treasurership of the church of York. To William de Chuneli he gave
the archdeaconry of Richmond, and to William de Saint Mary L’Eglise,
the prebendal stall which had belonged to Herbert Fitz-Walter in the
church of York, with the deanery of Saint Martin, at London.
*
Selby, in Yorkshire.
When
Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, saw that the archbishopric of York
had been given to the said Geoffrey, he claimed the consecrating of
him, and forbade that he should receive consecration, or priest’s
orders, at the hands of any one but himself, and appealed in the
matter to our lord the pope, producing before the king and all the
bishops and clergy, and people, the charter of king William the
Bastard, in which was stated the dispute which formerly took place
between the churches of Canterbury and York, with respect to the
primacy of England and certain other dignities.
In
this charter also it was stated that Thomas, at that time archbishop
of York, had received priest’s orders and episcopal
consecration at the hands of Lanfranc, at that time archbishop of
Canterbury and primate of all England, and paid to him canonical
obedience, and came to his synods with the bishop of the church of
Lindisfarne and his other suffragan bishops, and showed him all
respect as being his primate. This charter also attested that all the
above things had taken place before king William, at the general
council held at London, in accordance with the final sentence
pronounced thereon by pope Alexander the Second.
On
the following day, John, bishop elect of Whitherne, was consecrated
bishop by John, archbishop of Dublin, at Pipe well, it being the
Lord’s Day, and the fifteenth day before the calends of
October. At the same council also, our lord the king appointed Hugh,
bishop of Durham, and William, earl of Aumarle, chief justiciaries of
England, and associated with them in the government of the kingdom
William Marshal, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, William Bruyere, Robert de
Whitfield, and Roger Fitz-Rainfray.
Geoffrey,
the archbishop elect of York, immediately made complaint against
Henry, the brother of William Marshal, Bucard, the nephew of Hugh,
bishop of Durham, William de Saint Mary L’Eglise, and Roger,
abbot elect of the abbey of Saint German, at Selby, on whom the king
had conferred the honors above-mentioned, and swore that these
presentations of the king should not hold good, unless with his
consent and will. In consequence of this, the king deprived him of
the see of York, and a great dissension arose between them, so much
so, that the king went so far even as to deprive him of all his
possessions on either side of the sea. However, shortly after, the
said archbishop elect of York received priest’s orders from
John, bishop of Whitherne, his suffragan, on the fourth day before
the calends of September, at Swale.
In
the meantime, Richard, king of England, sending his envoys to pope
Clement, obtained from him letters patent, that such persons as he
should think fit to excuse and leave in charge of his dominions,
should be exempt from assuming the cross, and proceeding to
Jerusalem; by which means he obtained an immense sum of money.
Henry,
the brother of William Marshal, to whom the king had given the
deanery of York, came to Burton, in Lindsey, and there received
orders as subdeacon and deacon on the same day, from Concord, bishop
of Aghadoe. But when the said Henry came to York with the king’s
letters, in order to receive his deanery, he found no one to install
him as dean: as the clergy of the see of York asserted that no person
but the archbishop ought to install him as dean. However, Hamo, the
precentor of York, installed him in the prebenda.1 stall which the
king had conferred on him: but when Bucard de Pudsey, the archdeacon
of Durham, to whom the king had given the treasurership of the church
of York, came with the king’s letters directed to Hamo the
precentor, requesting him to install the said Bucard, he was
unwilling to obey the king’s commands. For he asserted that
Roger, the archbishop of York, had given to him the said
treasurership, and that king Henry had confirmed it to him ; and he
appealed thereon to the Apostolic See ; and thus, both missing the
objects of their desire, took their departure.
In
the same year, Formator, *
archbishop of Treves, departed this life at Northampton, in England.
In this year, also, in the month of September, the men of London, and
many others who had taken ship on their way to Jerusalem, laid siege,
in Spain, to a certain city of the Saracens, which is called Silvia,
and took it; and, after clearing it of the abominations of the
Saracens, they ordained that the Christian law should be there
observed for ever, and built a church in honor of God and Saint Mary,
the Mother of God, and caused it to be dedicated by the neighbouring
bishops, and had a certain clerk of Flanders, who had come with them,
consecrated bishop of the said city, and then delivered it up to
Sancho, king of Portugal.
*
Properly “Formalis.”
In
the same year, Godfrey de Lucy, bishop of Winchester, purchased of
Richard, king of England, two excellent manors, namely, Wargrave and
Menes, which formerly belonged to the bishop of Winchester, as was
generally said ; and Samson, abbot of Saint Edmund’s, bought of
him the manor which is called Mildenhall, for a thousand marks, and
which, of ancient right, was said to belong to the abbey of Saint
Edmund’s. All the rest as well, whoever chose, bought of the
king their own rights and those of others; by which the king acquired
a very large sum of money. Geoffrey, the archbishop elect, coming to
York, was received with a solemn procession by the clergy and people.
There came also to York, Henry, the brother of William Marshal, to
whom the king had given the deanery of York, and Bucard, the nephew
of Hugh, bishop of Durham, to whom the king had given the
treasurership of York; but the archbishop of York refused to receive
or install them, declaring that he would not do so until such time as
his election had been confirmed by the Supreme Pontiff.
In the same year, in the month of October, Henry, duke of Saxony, the
son-in-law of Henry, king of England, returned to Saxony, his own
country, and, having levied a large army, attacked those to whom the
emperor had given his territories, and defeated them, taking more
than thirty castles. In the same year, in the month of November,
William de Mandeville, earl of Aumarle, died at Rouen, in Normandy,
and Hugh de Pudsey, count de Bar sur Seine, nephew of Hugh, bishop of
Durham, died at Aclea, and was buried in the place at Durham which is
called the Galilee.*
* A portion of the cathedral, at the east end of it,
overlooking the banks of the Wear.
In the same month, Rotrod, count de Perche, and other envoys of Philip,
king of France, came into England, to Richard, king of England, to
say that, at a general council held at Paris, the king of France,
touching the Holy Evangelists, had made oath, as had all the chief
men of his kingdom who had assumed the cross, that, God willing, they
would, without fail, be at Vezelay, at the close of Easter, for the purpose of
setting out for Jerusalem; and, in testimony of the said oath, the
king of France sent to the king of England his letters, requesting of
him that he and his earls and barons would in like manner give him
assurance that, at the same period, they would be’ at Vezelay.
Accordingly, Richard, king of England, and his earls and barons who had assumed
the cross, met at a general council at London; and, touching the Holy
Evangelists, made oath that, with the help of God, they would,
without fail, be at Vezelay at the close of Easter, prepared to set
out thence for Jerusalem; upon which the before-named count de
Perche, and the other envoys of the king of France, made oath, at the
council, upon the soul of the king of France, in presence of the king
of England, to the same effect, and William Marshal and some others
made oath at the same council to the like effect, upon the soul of
the king of England, in presence of the envoys of the king of France;
and the king of England sent to the king of France his agreement
binding himself so to do.
In the same year, Sibylla, queen of Jerusalem, gave Ascalon to Saladin,
as the ransom of her husband, Guido de Lusignan; on which Saladin set
him at liberty, and gave him leave to depart, with a safe conduct as
far as the city of Tyre; on Ms arrival at which place, the marquis
Conrad would not allow him to enter. Consequently, the king, having
no place where to lay his head, remained outside of the city of Tyre
in his tents ; on which, there flocked to him the Templars and
Hospitallers, and all the Christians, who, through fear of the
pagans, had been dispersed in that neighbourhood, and gave in their
adhesion to him as their lord and king.
Upon
this, king Guido, by the advice of Heraclius, the Patriarch of
Jerusalem, and of those who were with him, set out on his way to the
city of Acre, to which he laid siege, at a spot which is called
[Mount] Turon, in the month of August, on the octave of the
Assumption of Saint Mary, that is to say, on the eleventh day before
the calends of September; but, as the king had but a small army, the
pagans, who were in the city of Acre, did not shut the gates of the
city either by day or night, but went to and fro, with their camels,
carrying provisions and other things that were necessary to them.
On
the third day after, there landed at Acre, Robert, count de Drues,
and his brother Philip, bishop of Beauvais, count Erard de Breines,
and Jacques d’Avennes, with the landgrave of Germany, and many
other Christian pilgrims, at whose arrival the king, and all who were
with him, greatly rejoiced with exceeding gladness. Accordingly,
Saladin, after levying a large army, approached the army of the
Christians, and fought a battle with them, on the fourth day of the
week, being the day after the feast of Saint Michael, on the plain
between Acre and Casale l’Eveque, in which battle Saladin was
defeated and put to flight, so that he left all his tents in the
hands of the Christians, and lost one half of his best troops; the
Christians also lost a great part of theirs.
After
a time, in consequence of their sinfulness, Saladin again got the
better of the Christians, who were repulsed and driven to their camp,
and Gerard de Bedford, the Grand Master of the Temple, and the
Marshal of the Temple, with eighteen of the brethren, who had behaved
most valiantly, were slain; the Christians also lost many other
soldiers, and among them forty knights and one hundred Turcopoles. *
Saladin, however, lost Mirsalim, his eldest son, and his nephew
Tekehedin, Migemal, his seneschal, and a hundred of the choicest of
his troops, besides many others, whose numbers were not ascertained.
On the fourth day of the week, Saladin again approached with his
army; but when the Christians showed a readiness to engage with him,
he hastily retreated, and, on the third day after, shifted his camp,
and hastened to a place which has the name of Saftan, while his army
occupied the whole space that lies between Casale l’Eveque and
Docus; as, from the time that Saladin was born, he had never levied
such a mighty army as this. For, throughout the whole of his
territories, there was not a person fitted for war who was not
included in this army. Nor do I believe that any person could ever
have set eyes upon so large and so valiant a band of Christians as he
might have seen on this occasion. In addition to this, after the
battle was over, there arrived five hundred most valiant Christian
knights and ten thousand men, brave warriors, well provided with all
kinds of arms. In the same year, also, there came to those shores
ships and busses,** more than five hundred in number, besides
numerous galleys and cutters, which immediately returned to Apulia,
that they might bring further supplies of men and provisions. The
ships, however, of the Germans and of the Danes remained at Acre, for
the purpose of fuel: as the Christians there had no fuel with which
to cook their food, except such as the ships had brought, and the
ships themselves.
* Sons of Christian mothers by Saracenic fathers.
** “Burciæ,” or “bussæ,” “busses,”
were a kind of large merchant ships, rounded fore and aft, and with
capacious hulls. Spelman thinks that they took their name from the
English word “buss,” signifying “a box.” It
has been, however, suggested that they were so called from their
resemblance to a wine-cask, which the Greeks of the middle ages
called βετζιον.
It deserves to be described how the city of Acre was besieged ;—Guido,
king of Jerusalem, with the queen, his wife, and his two daughters,
was lodged at Turon, looking towards the sea, and near the summit of
the mountain, Heraclius, the Patriarch, and Geoffrey, the king’s
brother, being with him. The whole sea-line, which extends to
Caiaphas, was occupied by the camp of the Pisans, so much so, that no
one could escape from. the city on that side. On the other side of
[Mount] Turon, where Maconiatum is situate (called Lamahumheria by
the Saracens), the lord landgrave and the said Jacques de Avennes,
and all the Germans and the Genevese, had pitched their tents. Beyond
these, the Temple with its brotherhood took up its quarters at the
spot where were the gardens and the Tanks of the Latins. The
Hospital, with its brethren and people, pitched its camp on the spot
where were the gardens and land of the said Hospital. In the other
direction, the whole space, as far as the sea, was occupied by the
marquis Conrad, and many of the people from beyond the Alps, quite as
far as Mount Musard. Count Robert de Drues, the bishop of Beauvais,
and the count Erard de Breines, as also the Franks and Campanians,
together with the king’s people, took up their quarters towards
Mount Turon, and near the town; the archbishop of Pisa, the
archbishop of Nazareth, the archbishop of Besangon, the archbishop of
Arlesle-blanc, and the archbishop of Montreal being with them.
The
Christians next made a large trench from sea to sea, *
where the foss of the Temple was already in existence, lying between
them and the army of the pagans. They also made another trench
between themselves and Acre, so that they were in no fear of assault
from the persons in Acre, and none of the pagans could go forth from
Acre without falling into their hands. The engines also and stone
batteries of the Christians were masked behind them, so that no one
could do them any injury from the opposite side ; but the Christians
there were exposed to the winds and rain, having neither houses nor
cabins in which to shelter themselves; nor indeed, if they had sworn
so to do, could they have retreated, but there they must live or die.
In this way, as previously mentioned, was siege on all sides laid to
Acre; so strictly that no person whatever could possibly escape
therefrom, while day after day they made assaults against it.
*
Across the Peninsula.
On
the other hand, on one side of the Christians was Acre, full of pagan
warriors, and on the other was Saladin with his mighty army. And,
with all truth do I assert it, never were the Christians in a similar
position, or one full of such anxious
expectation, as no provisions could be brought them but by sea. In
the meanwhile, prayers were put up for them without ceasing by the
Church to the Lord.
In
the same year, in the month of October, Baldwin, archbishop of
Canterbury, consecrated Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, William,
bishop of Ely, Hubert, bishop of Salisbury, and Richard, bishop of
London. In the same month Rees, the son of Griffin, *
king of South Wales, came into England as far as Oxford, under the
safe conduct of John, earl of Mortaigne, the king’s brother;
but because the king of England declined to come to meet him, he was
greatly indignant, and returned to his country without an interview
with the king.
* Rice ap Griffydd.
In the same year, in the month of November, cardinal John of Anagni, who
had been sent as legate a latere by
our lord the pope to put an end to the disputes which existed between
Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, and the monks of the Holy Trinity
at Canterbury, landed at Dover, in England; on which he was forbidden
to proceed any further without the king’s command, and,
accordingly, he remained there till our lord the king sent for him.
In the meantime, our lord the king went to Canterbury, and made peace
and a final reconciliation between Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury,
and the monks, on the following terms: Roger le Norreys, whom the
before-named archbishop, against the wishes of the monks, had made
prior of the church of Canterbury, was to be deprived of the office,
and the church, 26
which the said bishop had built in the suburbs against the wish of
the monks, was to be pulled down, while the monks were to pay
canonical obedience and make profession thereof to the said
archbishop, in the same manner in which they had been accustomed to
do to his predecessors. Thus were matters arranged; and, at the
prayer of the archbishop of Canterbury, our lord the king gave to the
before-named prior, after his deposition, the abbacy of Evesham, and
he was elevated to the rank of abbot thereof. The archbishop also
placed a prior over the church of Canterbury with the king’s
assent, and with the sanction of the chapter. The monks of
Canterbury, however, after the death of that archbishop, deposed him.
In the meantime, the archbishop built a church at Lamhe,* opposite to
Westminster, and the prebends which he had given to the
church built by him in the suburbs of the city of Canterbury, he gave
to this new church which he had built at Lambeth.
*
Lambeth.
At
this treaty of peace and final reconciliation there were present
Richard, king of England, and queen Eleanor, his mother, Walter,
archbishop of Rouen, John, archbishop of Dublin, Hugh, bishop of
Durham, John, bishop of Norwich, Hubert,* bishop of Salisbury,
Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, Gilbert, bishop of Rochester,
Reginald, bishop of Bath, Hugh, bishop of Coventry, Hugh, bishop of
Lincoln, William, bishop of Worcester, the abbot of Saint Augustin’s
at Canterbury, Benedict, abbot of Burgh, Sampson, abbot of Saint
Edmund s, the abbot of Battle, the abbot of Westminster, Guarine,
abbot of Saint Alban’s, and many other priors and abbats, all
of whom set their seals to the writing in which was set forth the
said agreement.
*
This is the proper reading, and not John, as it stands in the text.
After
this, the king sent for cardinal John of Anagni, who came to
Canterbury, and was received with a solemn procession, but was
greatly offended that in his absence a reconciliation had been
effected between the archbishop of Canterbury and his monks.
In
the same year, in the month of November, Geoffrey, the archbishop
elect of York, together with the barons of Yorkshire, and the sheriff
of York, by command of our lord the king, went as far as the river
Tweed, and there received William, king of the Scots, and paid him
all due honor, and gave him a safe conduct to the king of England.
Accordingly, William, king of the Scots, came to the king of England
at Canterbury in the month of December, and did homage to him for his
dignities in England, in the same manner that his brother Malcolm had
held them. Richard, king of England, also restored to him the castle
of Roxburgh and the castle of Berwick, freely and quietly to be held
by him; and he acquitted and released him and all his heirs from all
homage and allegiance, for the kingdom of Scotland, to him and the
kings of England, for ever. For this gift of his castles and for
quitting claim to all fealty and allegiance for the kingdom of
Scotland, and for the charter of Richard, king of England, signifying
the same, William, king of the Scots, gave to Richard, king of
England, ten thousand marks sterling. The charter, executed by the
king of England, was to the following effect:—
The
Charter of the king of England as to the liberties granted by him to
William, king of Scotland
“Richard,
by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, abbats, earls,
barons, justices, and sheriffs, and all his servants and faithful
people throughout the whole of England, greeting. Know ye that we
have restored to our most dearly-beloved cousin William, by the same
grace king of the Scots, his castles of Roxburgh and Berwick, to be
held by him and his heirs for ever as his own of hereditary right. We
have also acquitted and released him of and from all covenants and
agreements which Henry, king of England, our father, of happy memory,
extorted from him by new charters, and in consequence of his capture;
upon condition, however, that he shall in all things do unto us as
fully as Malcolm, king of the Scots, his brother, did as of right
unto our predecessors, and of right was bound to do. We likewise will
do for him whatever of right our predecessors did and were bound to
do for the said Malcolm, both in his coming with a safe-conduct to
our court, and in his returning from our court, and while he is
staying at our court, and in making all due provision for him, and
according to him all liberties, dignities, and honors due to him as
of right, according as the same shall be ascertained by four of our
nobles who shall be selected by the said king William, and four of
his nobles who shall be selected by us. And if any one of our
subjects shall, since the time when the said king William was taken
prisoner by our father, have seized upon any of the borders or
marches of the kingdom of Scotland, without the same being legally
adjudicated to him; then we do will that the same shall be restored
to him in full, and shall be placed in the same state in which they
were before he was so taken prisoner. Moreover, as to his lands which
he may hold in England, whether in demesne or whether in fee, that is
to say in the county of Huntingdon, and in all other counties, he and
his heirs shall hold the said counties as fully and freely for ever
as the said Malcolm held or ought to have held the same, unless the
said Malcolm or his heirs shall have since enfeoffed any one of the
same; on the further condition also that if any one shall be
hereafter enfeoffed of the same, the services of the said fees shall
belong to him or his heirs. And if our said father shall have given
anything to William, king of the Scots, we do will that the same
shall be hereby ratified and confirmed. We have also restored to him
all allegiances of his subjects and all charters which the king our
father obtained of him by reason of his capture. And if any other
charters shall chance, through forgetfulness, to have been retained
by us or shall hereafter be found, we do hereby order that the same
shall be utterly void and of no effect. He has also become our
liegeman as to all the lands for which his predecessors were liegemen
to our predecessors, and has sworn fealty to ourselves and to our
heirs. The following being witnesses hereto:—Baldwin,
archbishop of Canterbury, Walter, archbishop of Rouen, Hugh, bishop
of Durham, John, bishop of Norwich, Hubert, bishop of Salisbury,
Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, Gilbert,
bishop of Rochester, Reginald, bishop of Bath, Hugh, bishop of
Coventry, William, bishop of Worcester, Eleanor, the king’s
mother, John, earl of Mortaigne, the king’s brother, and many
others.”
On
the same day, there came thither, namely, to Canterbury, Hugh, bishop
of Durham, and Hubert, bishop of Salisbury, to appeal to the presence
of our lord the pope, against Geoffrey, the archbishop elect of York,
before the said cardinal and the above-named archbishops and bishops,
wishing to prove that his election ought not to hold good, because
they themselves to whom the first votes in the election belonged were
not present at his said election. Bucard also, the treasurer of the
church of York, and Henry, the dean of the said church, appealed
against the said archbishop elect of York to the presence of our lord
the pope, affirming that he was not canonically elected, and was a
murderer, born in adultery, and the son of a harlot. But although all
these allegations were made against him, the before-named cardinal
John of Anagni, the legate of the Apostolic See, confirmed his
election.
After
this, Richard, king of England, gave to his brother John, earl of
Mortaigne, by way of augmentation, the earldoms of Cornwall, Devon. 29
Dorset, and Somerset. The king of England also gave to his mother,
queen Eleanor, the whole of the dower which queen Matilda, the wife
of king Henry the Elder, had enjoyed, the whole of the dower which
Alice, the wife of king Stephen, enjoyed, and the whole of the dower
which Henry, king of England, son of the empress Matilda, had given
to her.
King
Richard departed from the city of Canterbury, on the fifth day of
December, for Dover, in order to cross over; for there many ships had
assembled by his command from different parts of England. On the day
after his arrival at Dover, Roger, the abbot elect of Saint German’s,
at Selby, received his benediction at Dover, on Saint Nicholas’
day, from Hugh, bishop of Durham, by the king’s command,
notwithstanding the prohibition of Geoffrey, archbishop elect of
York.
On
this, Geoffrey, the archbishop elect of York, becoming sensible that
without the intervention of money he would in nowise be able to gain
his brother’s favour, promised him three thousand pounds
sterling, for the purpose of so ingratiating himself: on which, the
king restored to him the archbishopric of York, and confirmed the
same to him by his charter, and restored to him all the lay fees
which king Henry, his father, had given him, on either side of the
sea; namely, in England, the vill of Wycombe, with its appurtenances,
the county of Giffard, in Normandy, and in Anjou, the honor of
Blauge, with its appurtenances. The said king also released to God
and Saint Peter of York, and to the said Geoffrey, archbishop elect
of York, and to all that were able to succeed him in the
archbishopric of York, all his lands and those of his canons in York
and Nottingham for ever, both from forestal regard*, and all other
demands and impositions of forest and foresters, and gave them free
power, and by his charter confirmed the same, to take venison
throughout all their prebends in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.
*
A fee to the court of regard, which was holden for each forest every
three years, for the purpose of expeditation, or cutting off three
claws of the fore-feet of dogs, to prevent them from killing the
deer.
In
addition to this, Hugh, bishop of Durham, Hubert, bishop of
Salisbury, Henry, dean of the church of York, and Bucard, treasurer
of the same church, by the king’s command, withdrew the appeals
which they had made against the said archbishop elect of York; and
the said archbishop elect, at the king’s request, confirmed to
the said Henry, the deanery of York, and to Bucard, the
treasurership; and to Hugh, bishop of Durham, he confirmed all the
privileges and covenants which had been made between the said bishop
and Roger, archbishop of York, and promised, by the seal of his
consecration, that he would confirm the same.
After
these matters were arranged, Richard, king of Eng land,
on the eleventh day of December, being the second day of the week,
crossed over from Dover to Calais, in Flanders, whither Philip, earl
of Flanders, came to meet him, and, receiving him with
congratulations, escorted him with a safe conduct to Normandy. There
also crossed over with the king, the cardinal John of Anagni, Walter,
archbishop of Rouen, Henry, bishop of Bayeux, and John, bishop of
Evreux. Hugh, bishop of Durham, and William, bishop of Ely, remained
in England as chief justiciaries; with whom, before his departure,
the king had associated Hugh Bardolph, William Marshal, Geoffrey
Fitz-Peter, and William Bruyere. The king also delivered to William,
bishop of Ely, his chancellor, one of his seals, by virtue of which
he ordered his commands to be carried out in his kingdom; he also
gave into his charge the Tower of London. He also gave into the
charge of Hugh, bishop of Durham, the castle of Windsor, with the
forests and the earldom of the county.
Immediately
after the king had passed over, a dispute arose between the
before-named bishops of Durham and Ely, which of them was to occupy
the highest place ; for the thing that pleased the one, displeased
the other. So true it is that “All authority is impatient of a
partner;“and, not to go further for an illustration, “The
first walls were steeped in a brother’s blood.”*
*
“Fraterno primi maduerunt sanguine muri;” alluding to the
death of Remus at the hands of his brother Romulus, or of Celer, his
lieutenant, on the walls of infant Rome.
In
the month of November, in the same year, without issue, died William,
king of Sicily, the dukedom of Apulia, and the principality of Capua,
at Palermo, in Sicily. This William, king of Sicily, a long time
before his death, had given Constance, the daughter of Roger, the
former king of Sicily, his aunt, in marriage to Henry, king of
Germany, and afterwards emperor of the Romans, and had made her his
heir to succeed him on the throne of Sicily, if he should die without
issue; and this he caused to be confirmed by the oaths of the
principal men of the kingdom. However, on the death of king William,
Tancred, count de la Liche, his cousin, usurped the kingdom of
Sicily, contrary to the oath of fealty which he had taken to the
before-named Constance. On this, Henry, emperor of the Romans, sent a
large army into Apulia, under the command of the archbishop of Mentz
and Henry Teste; who, after burning many cities, and overthrowing
many towns,
returned home without effecting their purpose. On their withdrawal,
Richard, count de Cirne, brother of the queen of Sicily, the wife of
king Tancred, made war upon count Roger de Andria, on the ground that
he had given aid to the king of Germany against king Tancred, and
took him prisoner, and delivered him to king Tancred. Moreover,
Joanna, the sister of Richard, king of England, who had been the wife
of William, king of Sicily, lately deceased, remained in the custody
of king Tancred.
1190 A.D.
In the year of grace 1190, king Richard was at Burun, in Normandy,
on the day of the Nativity of our Lord, which took place on the second
day of the week, and kept that festival there with the chief men of
the territory; for this Nativity of our Lord was the first since the
coronation of the said king. After the Nativity, the said Richard,
king of England, and Philip, king of France, held a conference at V6
Saint Remy, where they agreed to a lasting peace between them and
their respective kingdoms, and, committing the treaty to writing,
ratified it by their oaths and seals, on the feast of Saint Hilary.
The archbishops and bishops also of both kingdoms agreed to the same
on their word of truth; while the earls and barons of those
kingdoms made oath and swore that they would faithfully observe the
said treaty of peace and keep the same unbroken. The tenor of this
treaty was to the effect that each of them would maintain the honor
of the other, and would keep faith with him for life, limb, and
worldly honor, and that neither of them would forsake the other in
the time of need; but that the king of France would aid the king of
England in defending his territories as he himself would defend his
own city of Paris, if it were besieged, and that Richard, king of
England, would aid the king of France in defending his territories as
he himself would defend his own city of Rouen, if it were besieged.
The earls and barons also of both kingdoms made oath that they would
not depart from their fealty to the said kings or wage any war in
their territories, so long as they should be on their pilgrimage. The
archbishops also and bishops strictly promised, on their word of
truth, that they would pronounce sentence of excommunication against
such as should be guilty of a breach of the said treaty of peace and
compact.
The said kings also made oath that if either of them should die on the
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the one who should survive should have the
treasures and forces of him who had died,
to employ the same in the service of God. And because they could not
be in readiness at Easter, the time previously appointed, they
postponed setting out for Jerusalem till the feast of the Nativity of
Saint John the Baptist, determining that then without fail they would
be at Vezelay.
In the same year, on the vigil of the Epiphany of our Lord, a great
dissension arose between Geoffrey, archbishop elect of York, and
Henry, the dean of that church, and Bucard, the treasurer. For the
said archbishop elect having expressed a desire to be present at
vespers in the metropolitan church on such a solemn occasion, the
said Henry and Bucard would not wait for him, but began vespers;
consequently, when the said archbishop elect came into the choir,
together with Hamo, the precentor, and some other canons of the
church, he was greatly indignant thereat, and immediately ordered
silence, the precentor ordering to the like effect; while, on the
other hand, the dean and treasurer gave orders that they should sing
on ; however, in consequence of the orders of the archbishop elect
and precentor, all kept silence; on which the archbishop elect was
beginning vespers again, when the treasurer ordered the tapers to.be
extinguished. These being put out and the vespers brought to a close,
the archbishop elect complained before God, the clergy, and the
people, of the injury which the dean and treasurer had done him, and
suspended them and the church from the celebration of Divine service,
until such time as they should have given him satisfaction for the
same.
On
the following day, when all the people of the city resorted after
their usual custom to the metropolitan church, that there, on account
of the solemnity of the day, they might more becomingly hear Divine
service, both the archbishop elect and the said dean and treasurer
ought to have been in the choir, together with the canons of the said
church, to make peace and reconciliation between themselves; however,
the dean and treasurer refused to make any satisfaction to their
archbishop elect for such and so great a transgression, but spoke
contemptuously of him ; in consequence of which the populace were
enraged against them, and were desirous to make an attack on them,
but the archbishop elect would not allow them. On this, in great
alarm, they fled from before the face of the people, and one of them
took refuge at the tomb of Saint William, and the other betook
himself to the house of the dean; while the archbishop elect
pronounced them excommunicated. In consequence of this, Divine
service ceased from that day in the metropolitan church.
In
the same year, after the Purification of Saint Mary, queen Eleanor,
the mother of king Richard, Alice, the sister of Philip, king of
France, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, John, bishop of Norwich,
Hugh, bishop of Durham, Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, Reginald,
bishop of Bath, William, bishop of Ely, Hubert, bishop of Salisbury,
Hugh, bishop of Chester, Geoffrey, archbishop elect of York, and
John, earl of Mortaigne, the king’s brother, by order of our
lord the king crossed over from England to Normandy ; and after
holding a council with them, our lord the king appointed William,
bishop of Ely, his chancellor, chief justiciary of England; while he
made Hugh, bishop of Durham, justiciary from the river Humber to the
territory of the king of Scotland. He also compelled Geoffrey,
archbishop elect of York, and John, earl of Mortaigne, his brothers,
to make oath, touching the Holy Evangelists, that they would not
enter England for the next three years, except with his permission.
However, he immediately released his brother John from the oath which
he had made, and gave him permission to return to England, after
swearing that he would faithfully serve him.
The
king also sent to England William, bishop of Ely, his chancellor, to
make the preparations necessary for him and his expedition; and, as
he wished to exalt him above all other persons in his dominions, both
clergy as well as laity, he sent envoys to pope Clement, and
prevailed upon him to entrust to the before-named chancellor the
legateship of the whole of England and Scotland. On the chancellor
arriving in England, he caused the Tower of London to be surrounded
with a moat of very great depth, hoping that so the river Thames
might pass around it. After this, the chancellor received, for the
necessities of our lord the king, from each city of England two
palfreys and two sumpter horses by way of aid; from each abbey
throughout England one palfrey and one sumpter horse; and from each
of the king’s manors one palfrey and one sumpter horse
In the same month of March, on the seventeenth day before the
calends of April, being the sixth day before Palm Sunday, the Jews of the
city of York, in number five hundred men, besides women and children, shut
themselves up in the tower of York, with the consent and sanction of
the keeper of the tower, and of the sheriff, in consequence of their
dread of the Christians; but when the said sheriff and the constable
sought to regain possession of it, the Jews refused to deliver it up.
In consequence of this, the people of the city, and the strangers who
had come within the jurisdiction thereof, at the exhortation of the
sheriff and the constable, with one consent made an attack upon the
Jews.
After
they had made assaults upon the tower, day and night, the Jews
offered the people a large sum of money to allow them to depart with
their lives; but this the others refused to receive. Upon this, one
skilled in their laws arose and said : “Men of Israel, listen
to my advice. It is better that we should kill one another, than fall
into the hands of the enemies of our law.” Accordingly, all the
Jews, both men as well as women, gave their assent to his advice, and
each master of a family, beginning with the chief persons of his
household, with a sharp knife first cut the throats of his wife and
sons and daughters, and then of all his servants, and lastly his own.
Some of them also threw their slain over the walls among the people;
while others shut up their slain in the king’s house and burned
them, as well as the king’s houses. Those who had slain the
others were afterwards killed by the people. In the meantime, some of
the Christians set fire to the Jews’ houses, and plundered
them; and thus all the Jews in the city of York were destroyed, and
all acknowledgments of debts due to them were burnt.
In
the same year died Isabella, queen of France, and daughter of the
earl of Hainault, before her husband Philip, king of France, had set
out for Jerusalem. In the same year, the Annunciation of our Lord
fell on Easter day, a thing that had not happened for a long time
previously. In the meantime, the king’s envoys, whom he had
sent to Rome to obtain the legateship of England and Scotland for
William, his chancellor, returned to him with letters of our lord the
pope relative thereto. Accordingly, on the strength of his
legateship, the said bishop of Ely, legate of the Apostolic See,
chancellor of our lord the king, and justiciary of all England,
oppressed the clergy and the people, confounding right and wrong; nor
was there a person in the kingdom who dared to offer resistance to
his authority, even in word.
After
Easter, the said chancellor of the king came to York
with a great army, for the purpose of seizing those evil-doers who
had destroyed the Jews of that city; and, on learning that this had
been done by command of the sheriff and the keeper of the tower, he
deprived them both of their offices; while he exacted of the citizens
of the city a hundred hostages, as security for their good faith and
keeping the peace of the king and the kingdom, and that they would
take their trial in the court of our lord the king for the death of
the Jews. After this, the said chancellor placed in charge of Osbert
de Longchamp, his brother, the jurisdiction of the county of York,
and ordered the castle, in the old castelry which William Rufus had
erected there, to be fortified. The knights, also, of that county who
would not come to make redress, he ordered to be arrested.
The
said chancellor, by virtue of his legateship, next suspended the
canons, vicars, and clerks of the church of Saint Peter at York,
because they had refused to receive him in solemn procession; and
laid the church itself under an interdict until the canons, vicars,
and clerks of the church of Saint Peter should come and throw
themselves at his feet; he also caused the bells of that church to be
laid upon the ground.
In
the meantime, Richard, king of England, gave to Hugh, bishop of
Durham, leave to return to his country: who, on meeting the
chancellor at the city of Ely, presented to him the king’s
letters, in which the king had appointed him justiciary from the
river Humber to the territories of the king of Scotland; on which the
chancellor made answer, that he would with pleasure execute the
king’s commands, and took him with him as far as Suwelle,*
where he seized him, and kept him in custody until he had surrendered
to him the castle of Windsor and others which the king had delivered
into his charge. In addition to this, the bishop of Durham delivered
to the chancellor, Henry de Pudsey, his son, and Gilbert de la Ley,
as pledges that he would keep faith to the king and his kingdom ; on
which, the bishop of Durham, being liberated from the custody of the
chancellor, came to a vill of his, which bears the name of Hoveden.**
While the bishop was staying at this place for some days, there came
to Hoveden Osbert de Longchamp, brother of the chancellor, and
William de Stuteville, with a considerable body of armed people,
intending, by
command of the chancellor, to seize the bishop ; however, the bishop
gave them security that he would not depart thence, except with the
permission of the king or of the chancellor. Accordingly, the bishop
of Durham sent messengers to the king of England, to inform him of
everything that had happened to him through the chancellor.
*
Southwell
**
Howden, in Yorkshire.
In
the meantime, the king of England marched into Gascony, and laid
siege to the castle of William de Chisi, and took it; on which he
hanged William, the owner of the castle, because he had plundered
pilgrims from Saint Jago,* and other persons, as they passed through
his lands. After this, the king of England proceeded to Chinon, in
Anjou, where he appointed Gerard, archbishop of Auxienne, Bernard,
bishop of Bayonne, Robert de Sabul, Richard de Camville, and William
de Fortz de Oleron, chiefs and constables of the whole of his fleet
which was about to proceed to the land of Syria, and gave them
ordinances to the following effect:
The
Charter of Richard, king of England, containing ordinance** for those
who were about to proceed by sea
“Richard,
by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to all his subjects about to proceed by sea to
Jerusalem, greeting. Know ye, that we, with the common consent of fit
and proper men, have made the enactments under-written. Whoever shall
slay a man on ship-board, he shall be bound to the dead man and
thrown into the sea. If he shall slay him on land, he shall be bound
to the dead man and buried in the earth. If any one shall be
convicted, by means of lawful witnesses, of having drawn out a knife
with which to strike another, or shall strike another so as to draw
blood, he shall lose his hand. If, also, he shall give a blow with
his hand, without shedding blood, he shall be plunged in the sea
three times. If any man shall utter disgraceful language or abuse, or
shall curse his companion, he shall pay him an ounce of silver for
every time he has so abused him. A robber who shall be convicted of
theft, shall
have his head cropped after the manner of a champion, and boiling
pitch shall be poured thereon, and then the feathers of a cushion
shall be shaken out upon him, so that he may be known, and at the
first land at which the ships shall touch, he shall be set on shore.
Witness myself, at Chinon.”
*
Saint Jago de Compostella.
**
These are a small portion of what are known as the “Oleron
Laws,” from having been made by king Richard when his fleet was
lying at Oleron, an island at the mouth of the river Charente. They
form the basis of a large part of the sea-laws in use at the present
day.
The
king also gave orders, in another writ of his, that all his subjects
who were about to proceed to sea should pay obedience to the orders
and commands of the before-named justices of his fleet. After this,
the king proceeded to Tours, and there* received the scrip and staff
of his pilgrimage from the hands of William, archbishop of Tours; but
it so happened that, while the king was leaning on the staff, it
broke asunder. After this, the said king, and Philip, king of France,
met at Vezelay, where rests the body of Saint Mary Magdalen. Here
they stayed two days, and left the place on the octave of the
Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. When they had arrived at the city
of Lyons on the Rhone, after they with the greater part of their
households had passed over the bridge across that river, the bridge,
being thronged with men and women, broke down, not without doing
injury to great numbers. Here also the two kings separated, in
consequence of the multitude of men who followed them, as one place
was not sufficient to hold them. Accordingly, the king of France,
with his troops, went on to Genoa, while the king of England
proceeded with his to Marseilles.
* Roger of Wendover says that he received it at Vezelay.
A Lament on the Expedition to Jerusalem.
“Most grievous are the days which have come upon us, and
worthy to be graced with no white stone. For the woes have ministered to our
grief which Holy Jerusalem is known to endure. For who can do other than
grieve for the slaughter of so many of the Saints, so many sacred
houses of the Lord profaned, princes led captive, dwellings
destroyed, and nobles hurled at the feet of slaves ? And yet these
things shall not escape the eyes of Him who beholds them. The Lord,
looking on, has beheld the woes of our race, has heard the groans of
this innocent people, and has descended to crush the head of the
serpent. For the God of the Hebrews has aroused the Christian princes
and their knights to avenge the blood of his Saints, and to succour
the sons of the slain. The illustrious king of England and the king
of the Franks are onward marching with many thousand men-at-arms.
‘Tis a glorious sight to behold the band of senators with the
arms of justice and with the worshippers of God. 64
‘Tis more pleasing still to hear of Frederic, lord of the
empire of Rome, joining them in war against the enemies of the Cross,
that he may restore his country to its ancient glory. The Cross going
before, they march on towards the East, and all the West they lead on
with them. An army they lead that differs in language, rites,
manners, and customs, but fervent in the faith. That they may return
victorious, let us offer up our prayers to God; that so, entering
Jerusalem, they may root out from the midst of the earth the
Canaanite, and expel the Jebusite, and so bear away the palm of
Christian prowess."
While
Richard, king of England, was staying at Marseilles, there came to
him the messengers of Hugh, bishop of Durham; and, on hearing from
him the injuries which the before-named chancellor had inflicted on
him, the king ordered the earldom of Northumberland and the manor of
Sedbergh to be delivered to the bishop of Durham; relative to which,
the king gave him his charter to the following effect:—
Another
Charter of Richard, king of England, as to the conveyance of Sedbergh
to Hugh, the lord bishop of Durham
“Richard,
by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, abbats, earls,
barons, sheriffs, and all his servants and faithful people throughout
the whole of England, greeting. Know ye that we have given to God,
and to Saint Cuthbert and the church of Durham, and to Hugh, the
bishop,
and his successors, for ever, the manor of Sedbergh, together with
the Wapentake and knights’ fees which we formerly gave him, and
by our charter confirmed, by way of a pure and perpetual alms, for
six hundred marks, which he paid us. Wherefore we do will and command
that he shall freely, quietly, and honorably enter upon and enjoy the
said manor, together with the said Wapentake and knights’ fees,
and all other its appurtenances, as a pure and perpetual alms, in
such manner as is set forth in our charters, which the said bishop
now holds. We do also will and grant, so far as relates to ourselves,
that, if any person shall use against him force or molestation in
respect hereof, contrary to the tenor of our charters and
confirmations, he shall incur the anger and curse of God and
ourselves. Witness myself, at Marseilles.”
When
the king of England had waited eight days at Marseilles, in hope and
expectation from day to day of the arrival of his fleet, finding
himself deceived in his wishes, he hired ten large busses and twenty
well-armed galleys, and embarked on board them with his household in
sorrow and dejection, on account of the delay of his fleet.
Accordingly, on the seventh day of August the king of England set
sail from Marseilles, in the galley Pombone, and passed by the island
of Saint Stephen and Aquila and Mont Noir, the island of Saint
Honoratus, the city of Nice, and the city of Vintimiglia. It deserves
to be known that between the city of Nice and that of Vintimiglia is
the division of the territories of the king of Arragon and of Italy.
After
this, the king of England passed Santa Maria de Funz, and Noli. On
the thirteenth day of August the king of England passed a castle
which is called Swene, and on the same day arrived at Geneva, where
he had an interview with the king of France, who was lying ill at a
house near the church of Saint Laurence. On the fourteenth day of
August the king of England arrived at Portofino, it being the vigil
of the Assumption of Saint Mary, and there he stayed five days. While
he was there the king of France sent to ask him for the loan of five
galleys, on which the king of England offered him three, which the
king of France refused. On the nineteenth day of August he left
Portofino, and came to Porto Venere, and on the day after arrived at
the port of Pisa. Here he was met by Walter, archbishop of Rouen,
John, the bishop of Evreux, then lying ill in the city of Pisa.
On
the twenty-first day of the month of August [1190] the king of
England passed by the island of Gorgona, and on the twenty-second day
of the month of August the king came to Porto Baratto. On the
twenty-third day of August, being the vigil of Saint Bartholomew the
Apostle, the king proceeded two leagues by land, and a few knights
with him, on hired horses, and came to a port, near a castle, called
Piombino, to meet his galleys; and here the king embarked on board
the galley of Fulk Rustac, in which he had not previously sailed.
Being gratified with a favourable wind, he next passed an island
which is called Ferraria, and another called Argentaria, as also an
island called Genit; after which he arrived at a port called
Talemunde.
On
the twenty-fourth day of August the king came to a port which is
called Portocarrero, which lies midway between Marseilles and
Messina. On the same day the sails were split of the galley on board
of which the king was, on which he again embarked on board the galley
Pombone, and then passed the city of Corneto, the city of Civita
Vecchia, and the place which is called the Faro di Roma; after which
he entered the Tiber. At the entrance of this river there is a fine
tower, but deserted, and there are also very considerable remains of
ancient walls. Here Octavianus, cardinal-bishop of Ostia, came to
meet him; to whom the king uttered many reproaches, charging the
Romans with simony, because they had agreed to take seven hundred
marks for the consecration of the bishop of Le Mans, and fifteen
hundred marks for the legateship of the bishop of Ely, and a large
sum of money that the archbishop of Bordeaux might not be degraded,
who was criminally accused by his clergy.
On
the twenty-sixth day of August the king passed by a certain forest
which is called Silvadena, in which there is a marble road, made like
a pavement, which extends through the middle of the wood twenty-four
miles, the wood abounding with deer, roebuck, and fawns. On the same
day the king passed by a castle which is called Nettuno. Here is a
quay which was formerly covered with copper; here also was the
entrance to a subterraneous passage, through which money brought from
all quarters was conveyed to Rome. After this, the king passed by a
castle which is called Estura. On the twenty seventh day of August
the king passed by a rock projecting into the sea, which is called
the Capo di Cercel,* and an island called Parmerola, and another
island called Ponza, and another called Palmera. On the top of the
mountain called Capo di Cercel, is a castle in which robbers and
pirates often take refuge.
*
The place now called “Circello,” or “the Tower of
Circe.”
The
king next came to a city called Terracina, in which was formerly a
pier covered with copper. He next came to Garilla, and then to a
castle which bears the name of Capo del Espurun.* Here is the
division of the territories of the Romans and of those of the king of
Sicily, in that portion thereof which is called the principality of
Capua. After this, the king passed an island which is called Pantea,
and is distant from the city of Graeta forty miles. Pantea was the
native place of Pilate, and in it there was formerly a pier covered
with copper. The king next passed an island called Istellemania,
which is always smoking. This island is said to have been set on fire
from the island called Volcano, the fire from it flying and burning
up, as they say, both sea and fish. Not far distant from this island
is the island of Girun, where there is a good castle and harbour.
*
Now called Sperlonga.
The
king next passed an island called Baterun, and the port of Baiae,
where are the baths of Virgil; it is ten miles distant from Naples.
He then passed Capua and Capo di Maverba, which lies midway between
Naples and Salerno. On the twenty-eighth day of August the king
arrived at Naples, and proceeded to the abbey of Saint Januarius, to
see the sons of Naimundus, who lie in the crypt* there, skin and
bone. Here he made a stay till the Nativity of Saint Mary the Virgin,
the Mother of God, and on the same day, hiring horses, he proceeded
to Salerno, where he stayed a considerable time.
*
These mummies being preserved by the antiseptic properties of the
crypt.
In
the meantime, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert, bishop of
Salisbury, and Ranulph de Glanville, who had come with the king of
England as far as Marseilles, there embarked on board ship ; and the
Lord gave them a prosperous voyage, so that in a short time, without
any accident, he led them over a vast tract of sea to the siege of
Acre. John, bishop of Norwich, however, went to the pope, and,
receiving from him permission to return, gave up the cross, and
returned
home absolved therefrom. After this became known to our lord the
king, he exacted from him, by the hands of the Templars and
Hospitallers, a thousand marks for excusing him.
In
the meantime, the fleet of the king of England, which was commanded
by the archbishop of Auxienne, the bishop of Bayonne, Robert de
Sabul, Richard de Camville, and William de Forts, set out immediately
after Easter on its way for Jerusalem from the various ports of
England, Normandy, Brittany, and Poitou. One part of this fleet
assembled at the port of Dartmouth, and, after staying there some
days, the said ships, ten in number, set sail for Lisbon, and after
passing a certain headland which projects into the sea, called
Godestert,* passed Brittany, having Saint Matthew of Finisterre, or
de Fin Posterne, on the left hand side of the fleet, and the Great
Sea along which is the route to Ireland on the right, and left
Poitou, Gascony, and Biscay on the left hand side of the fleet. When
they had now passed through the British Sea and the Sea of Poitou,
and had come into the Spanish Sea, on the holy Day of the Ascension
of our Lord, at the third hour of the day, a mighty and dreadful
tempest overtook them, and in the twinkling of an eye they were
separated from each other. While the storm was raging, and all in
their affliction were calling upon the Lord, the blessed Thomas, the
archbishop of Canterbury and Martyr, appeared at three different
times to three different persons, who were on board a London ship, in
which was William Fitz-Osbert, and Geoffrey, the goldsmith, saying to
them, “Be not afraid, for I, Thomas, the archbishop of
Canterbury, and the blessed Edmund the Martyr, and the blessed
Nicholas, the Confessor, have been appointed by the Lord guardians of
this fleet of the king of England; and if the men of this fleet will
guard themselves against sin, and repent of their former offences,
the Lord will grant them a prosperous voyage, and will direct their
footsteps in His paths.” After having thrice repeated these
words, the blessed Thomas vanished from before their eyes, and
immediately the tempest ceased, and there was a great calm on the
sea.
* Probably “Good start;” meaning what we
now call “Start Point.”
And now the London ship, in which the blessed Martyr Thomas had appeared,
had passed by the port of Lisbon and Cape Saint Vincent, and had
neared the city of Silva, which in those days was the most remote of
all the cities of Christendom, and the Christian faith was as yet but
in its infancy there, as it was only the year before that it had been
wrested from the hands of the pagans, and had become Christian, as
already mentioned. The people, therefore, on board the ship, being
ignorant where they were, putting out a boat pulled for land, and
learned, by certain indications, that the land was inhabited by
Christians, and that there was no further [inland] any safe road for
them without a good and sufficient escort. Accordingly they
approached the city; and on learning the cause of their arrival, the
bishop of the city of Silva, and the clergy and people, received them
with congratulations, giving thanks to God for their arrival; for
there were in the ship a hundred young men of prowess and well armed.
In
the meantime Boyac El Emir Amimoli, emperor of Africa and of
Saracenic Spain, levying a large army, marched into the territories
of Sancho, king of Portugal, to take vengeance for the emperor of
Africa, his father, who had died six years before while besieging
Santa Erena, a castle of king Alphonso, father of the said Sancho,
king of Portugal. On this, the citizens of Silva, being alarmed,
refused to allow these young men of London to leave them, but broke
up their ship, and with the timbers of it made bulwarks for the city,
promising and giving them all kinds of security that the king of
Portugal would pay them well for the delay thus occasioned them, and
the injury received in consequence of the loss of their ship ; which
was accordingly done.
The
other nine ships of the fleet of the king of England which had been
out in the same storm, made land in different parts of Spain; after
which, by the guidance of God, sailing up the river Tagus, they at
last arrived at the city of Lisbon. In this city of Lisbon rests the
body of Saint Vincent the Martyr. Before they had arrived there, the
before-named emperor of Africa, on the day of the Nativity of Saint
John the Baptist, forded the river Tagus, and all his army with him,
and laid siege to a castle of Sancho, king of Portugal, which is
called Torresnovas. On this, the king of Portugal sent envoys to the
strangers who had come in the ships to the. city of Lisbon, and asked
succours of them against the Saracens.
Accordingly,
five hundred men, well armed, and selected from all the ships that
had arrived, as being the bravest and most courageous, preferred to
die in war for the name of Jesus Christ, rather than behold the
misfortunes of their race and its
extermination; and, leaving their ships and companions, proceeded up
the river Tagus to Santa Erena, which is distant from the city of
Lisbon two days’ march, where they found Sancho, king of
Portugal, utterly destitute both of resources and counsel ; for he
had but few soldiers, and nearly all of those without arms, and the
emperor had already taken the castle of the king which he had
besieged, and had laid siege to another castle, which is called
Thomar, and is a castle of the Templars. On hearing of the arrival of
the foreigners, the emperor was greatly alarmed, and, sending
ambassadors to the king of Portugal, demanded of him Silva, on
obtaining which, he would depart with his army, and restore to him
the castle which he had taken, and would keep peace with him for
seven years; but when the king of Portugal refused to do this, he
sent him word that on the following day he would come to lay siege to
Santa Erena.
On
this, the king of Portugal, taking counsel with the strangers who had
come in the ships, placed his men in the towers, and at the strongest
bastions of the walls; while the foreigners who ‘ had come in
the ships chose for their position the weaker parts of the city,
employing their own courage as their walls. On the following day,
when all were prepared for the attack, and there was every moment a
murmuring at the gates, to the effect that he would be there that
instant and without delay, a messenger came on a sudden, and thus
said : “The emperor has been dead these three days, and his
army is taking to flight!” and, while he was still speaking,
there came two, and then three, and then still more, all of whom
spoke to the like effect.
Accordingly,
the king and all the people believed them, and the city was filled
with gladness and exultation; and, on the next day, the king gave to
the men who had come from the ship leave to return to them, promising
that he would handsomely reward them for their labours. However,
before they had arrived at their ships, Robert de Sabul and Richard
de Camville came to Lisbon with sixty-three great store-ships of the
king of England; (a store-ship is the same as a transport-ship). 61
Some, however, of the men who had come under the command of Robert de
Sabul and Richard de Camville were evil-doers and vicious persons ;
for, on disembarking from the ships, they made their way into the
city of Lisbon, and as they went through the streets and lanes,
talked to the people
of
the city giving themselves airs, and then committed violence upon the
wives and daughters of the citizens. They also drove away the pagans
and Jews, servants of the king, who dwelt in the city, and plundered
their property and possessions, and burned their houses ; and they
then stripped their vineyards, not leaving them so much as a grape or
a cluster.
When
this became known to the king of Portugal, the lord of the city of
Lisbon, he came with all haste with a powerful hand; but on finding
there Robert de Sabul and Richard de Camville, with the fleet of the
king of England, he manifested towards them a cheerful countenance
and a peaceful disposition, bearing with patience the injuries done
to himself and his people. On the day after the king’s arrival,
the commanders of the fleet exacted an oath from all the men of the
fleet that they would faithfully keep and inviolably observe the
beforementioned statutes enacted by the king of England.
However,
in the course of three days, a quarrel ensued between the people of
Lisbon and some of those who had come in the ships, in consequence of
which, many persons were slain on both sides in a skirmish that
ensued, and the noise of the people came to the king’s ears. On
this, the gates of the city were immediately closed, and all who had
gone from the ships into the city, for the purpose of obtaining
provisions and drink, were taken and thrown into prison, in number
seven hundred men. Before they were released from the custody of the
king, the king of Portugal made peace with Robert de Sabul and
Richard de Camville on such terms as he pleased, that is to say, to
the following effect: that past injuries should be mutually
overlooked, and that they should strictly keep the peace towards the
pilgrims throughout all his territories; and it was further agreed
that the arms and all other things which had been lost in the affray
should be given up on either side.
This
having been done, Robert de Sabul and Richard de Camville left the
city of Lisbon with the fleet of the king of England, on the vigil of
Saint James the Apostle, being the fourth day of the week, and, on
the same day, came to the inlet where the Tagus falls into the sea.
On the same day also, William de Forts de Oleron arrived there with
thirty great ships of the fleet of the king of England; in
consequence of which, there were together at the same place one
hundred store-ships of the king of England, and six great ships laden
with warriors, provisions, and arms. On the day after the
feast of Saint James the Apostle, being the sixth day of the week,
Robert de Sahul, Richard de Camville, and William de Forts de Oleron
left the port of Lisbon with the fleet of the king of England, and
passed by a great mountain which projects into the sea, and is called
Espichel, as also the port of Dalchatht, and Palmella, and Sinnes,
formerly a sandy tract of land extending into the sea; they then
passed the port of Deordunite, and then a great and lofty mountain
which extends into the sea, and is called Cape Saint Vincent; on
which the body of Saint Vincent lay many ages entombed, until it was
transferred to the city of Lisbon.
After
this, they passed the port of Silva, which at that time was the most
remote city of the Christians in those parts of Spain. They next
passed a city of the pagans, which is called Santa Maria de Hayrun;
and it is worthy of remark why this city is called Santa Maria de
Hayrun. Hayrun is the name of the place in which the city was
founded, while the Christians who built it gave it the other name,
and, in memory of Mary, the blessed Mother of God, they placed a
stone image of her on the walls. After this, when the pagans
prevailed over the Christians, they gained possession of this place,
and, on finding the image standing upon the walls, they cut off its
head, feet, and arms, in contempt of the faith of Christ and of Saint
Mary, and threw it at a distance into the sea. On this being done,
the sea and land became unproductive, and famine prevailed in that
land to such a degree, that nearly every thing, men and animals, died
of hunger; upon which, all the elders of the people, and the youths,
from the highest to the lowest, weeping day and night, and doing
penance in sackcloth and ashes, recalled to mind the image whose
head, hands, and feet they had cut off, and said: “We have
sinned, we have acted unrighteously, we have done iniquitously,
inasmuch as we have cut off that head, and those hands and feet. For
what evil had they done? Let us, therefore, seek them, and let us put
them in their places, that thus, at least, God may turn away His
wrath from us, and from this city.” Thus saying, they threw
their nets into the sea, where they had thrown the head, and hands,
and feet of the image, and, drawing them upon land in their nets,
they placed the head on the neck, the hands
on the arms, and the legs on the thighs, and soldered them with gold
and silver of the finest and purest quality; after which, they placed
the image in an honored locality, and it is held in great veneration
even to the present day. Immediately upon this, the famine ceased,
and the earth yielded her increase.
After
this, they passed the castle which is called Merell, and then the
port of Hodiene ; they next passed the port of Calice* and then a
mountain, which is called Montaluc. They then passed a sandy piece of
land projecting into the sea, which is called Cape Almilan, and then
a castle and port, the name of which is Saltis; after which, they
arrived before the Port of Seville, the name of which is Windelkebir;
between Seville and the Port there is a castle midway, which is
called Captal.
*
Now Cadiz.
They
now came to the Straits of Africa, and passed through these Straits
on the first day of August, being the feast of Saint Peter ad
Vincula, and the fifth day of the week. Here the Mediterranean Sea
begins, which Sea is so called, because it is surrounded by land on
every side, with the exception of one inlet and one outlet; the one
of which is called the Straits of Africa, and the other the Arm of
Saint George, *
at the city of Constantinople. It is also worthy of remark, that,
from the entrance to the Straits of Africa, as far nearly as Ascalon,
on the right-hand side of the ship [as it sails], lie the territories
of the pagans; and on the opposite side, from the entrance of the
Straits of Africa as far as the great mountain which is called
Muncian, is Saracenic Spain, which you leave behind to the left of
the ship. It is also worthy of observation, that, according to
calculations made by mariners, the entry to the Straits of Africa,
from one shore to the other, is not more than six miles in width, on
each side of which there is a large mountain, the one in Spain,
called Calpe the other in Africa, opposite to it, called Atlas. At
the entrance of these Straits there are several cities in Africa near
the sea-shore, the names of which are Bethe, Dudenardi, Esparte,
Thange, Cacummin, Muee, Botoos, and Scep, which is the most noble of
all the cities of Africa. In Spain, on the opposite side, are several
cities and castles, the names of which are Beche, Dudemarbait,
Leziratarif, Gezehakazera, the island of Jubaltaria,** Mertell, were
so called from the church of Saint George, which was built on the
thore in the suburbs of Constantinople and Swail, a castle of the
Moors. At the foot of the mountain of Jubaltaria are two fine cities,
one of which is called Alentia, and the other Jubalar.
*
The Bosphorus, or Straits of Constantinople
**
Gibraltar.
Next
to these comes the city of Magga; [Malaga?] and after the fleet of
the king of England had passed the above-named cities of Spain, it
next passed the city of Salamame, and then Vilages, a large city
enclosed with a wall, in the circuit of which there are one hundred
and sixty towers of stone. It next passed a great and lofty mountain,
which is called the Cape of Melich, and then a castle called Munaca.
It next passed a noble city which is called Almeria, where the
valuable and fine silk is manufactured, which is called silk of
Almeria; and then a great and lofty mountain that extends into the
sea, and is called Cape Almeria. It then passed Carthagena, a fine
city, situate on the sea-shore; next after which came Penisecle, a
fine and handsome castle. The fleet then passed a sandy piece of land
projecting into the sea, called Alascerat; after which came a piece
of land projecting into the sea, which is called Cape Martin. It next
came before a large city which is called Denia, and then before the
port of Valentia. It deserves to be known that Valentia is a fine
city, distant seven miles from the entrance to its harbour. It then
passed the castle of Baiane, and then the castle of Peniscola on the
sea-shore, which is the last castle belonging to the pagans in Spain
on this side of the sea.
They
then passed a great and lofty mountain projecting into the sea, which
is called Muneian; this mountain divides the territories of the
pagans from those of the Christians, and here begins the territory of
the king of Arragon. Near this mountain, among the mountains, and at
a distance from the sea, is situate a fine city, the name of which is
Cervera; and at the foot of the same mountain, on the sea-shore,
stands a castle, which is called Amposta, in the territory of the
kingdom of Arragon, and occupied by the Hospitallers. Here also is a
great river of fresh water, which has the name of Ebro, and a noble
city called Tortosa; which stands upon that river, and is distant
from the entrance to the harbour thirty miles.
After
this, they passed a populous city on the sea-shore, called Taragutia,
[Tarragona] the see of an archbishop, and near it a great mountain
extending into the sea, called Cape Salut, beneath which mountain
lies a good harbour. They next came before a
great episcopal city, situate on the sea-shore, the name of which is
Barcelona. They then passed a castle situate on the seashore, called
San Felice, where there is a good harbour. They next passed the
territory of count Ponce, opposite a fine city, the name of which is
Ampurias, where there is a good harbour. They then passed a great
mountain projecting into the sea, which is called Cape Castiglione,
where there is a good harbour, called Port Castiglione, and as you go
up the river, there is a castle called Castiglione. They next passed
a harbour, fine and large, the name of which is Cadakis, and then a
great mountain extending into the sea, which is called Cape de Creus,
at the foot of which there is a good harbour. They then passed a fine
castle situate on the sea-shore, which is called Cockeliure,
[Collioure] where there is a good harbour called Port Vendres.
They
next passed some sand-banks extending into the sea, called Cape
Leucare, which make a conspicuous landmark, on which, near the
sea-shore, is a fine episcopal city, the name of which is Narbonne,
and a monastery, called Saint Mary de Mer. They then passed a
projection of the land into the sea, which is called Brescou ; after
which they came to the territory of the count de Agde, passing a fine
city situate on the sea-shore, the name of which is Agde. They then
passed near Villeneuve, the episcopal see of Magalona, near which is
the port of Montpellier, the name of which is Lates. They next passed
an island called Odur, which lies at the mouth of the Rhone, going up
which river you come to a fine archiepiscopal city, which is called
Arles-le-Blanc ; and still higher up the same river, you come near to
Saint Gilles, and still higher again, you come to the fine city which
is called Lyons sur Rhone.
They
then came to Marseilles, which is twenty miles distant from the mouth
of the Rhone, and is a city subject to the king of Arragon. Here were
the relics of Saint Lazarus, the brother of Saint Mary Magdalene and
of Martha, who held the bishopric of this place, after Jesus had
raised him from the dead. In this city there is a fine harbour, able
to contain many ships of a large size, almost shut in by high hills,
and on one side of it rises the episcopal city; opposite to which, on
the other side of the harbour, is the abbey of Saint Victor, in which
a hundred black monks serve God ; and here, as they say, are the
hundred and forty bodies of the Innocents who were slain for Christ,
as also the relics of Saint Victor and his companions, the rods with
which our Lord was scourged, the jaw-bone of Saint Lazarus, and one
of the ribs of Saint Laurence the Martyr. Between Marseilles and this
abbey, not far from the high road, is a monastery, in which is kept
the arm of Saint Margaret the Virgin; and near the abbey of Saint
Victor are two lofty hills, one of which is called Mount Roland, and
the other Mount Hospinel.
It
is worthy of remark, that from Marseilles to Acre is only fifteen
days’ and nights’ sail, with a fair wind; but in such
case you must go straight through the main sea, so that after the
hills of Marseilles are lost out of sight, land will not be seen
either on the right hand or on the left, if you keep straight onward
in your course, until the land of Syria is seen; and if on the right
side of the ship any land should chance to be seen, it is the
territory of the pagans, while if land should be seen on the left
side of the ship, it is the territory of the Christians. It is also
as well to be known, that there are many islands belonging to the
Saracens between the Straits of Africa and Marseilles, one of which
is called Majorc, and another Eniuce [Ibiza?], both of which are
tributary to the king of Arragon, the island of Majorc paying him a
yearly tribute of three hundred silken cloths of Almeria, while the
island of Eniuce pays him a yearly tribute of two hundred silken
cloths of like quality.
The
Division of the Kingdoms on the sea-coast
In
the first place, it ought to be known that the whole land extending
along the sea-shore from England to Spain, namely, Normandy,
Brittany, and Poitou, belongs to the dominions of the king of
England; and this extends as far as the port which is called Huartz,
which divides the territories of the count of Bayonne from those of
the king of Navarre. The territories of the king of Navarre begin at
the port of Huartz, and extend to the river which is called Castre,
and which divides the territories of the king of Navarre from those
of the king of Castille. The territories of the king of Castille
begin from the river Castre, and extend as far as the mountains of
Sora, which
divide the territories of the king of Castille from those of the king
of Saint Jago. The territories of the king of Saint Jago begin from
the mountains of Sora and extend to the river Mina,* which divides
the territories of the king of Saint Jago from those of the king of
Portugal; while the territories of the king of Portugal begin at the
river Mina, and extend beyond the city of Silva.
*
Minho
After
you come to the city of Silva, the land of the pagans begins, along
the sea-coast of Spain, and subject to the dominion of the emperor of
Africa, which extends as far as the great mountain known by the name
of Muncian. In Saracenic Spain there are four powerful kings: one of
whom is called the king of Cordres, or Corduba, *
respecting which Lucan says, “Corduba was my birth-place, Nero
caused my death; the wars I sang which the father and the son-in-law
rivals, did wage.” A second is called the king of Gant; while
the third is styled the king of Murcia, and the fourth is the king of
Valentia, whose territories extend as far as the mountain called
Muncian. This mountain divides the land of the Pagans from the land
of the Christians, that is to say, from the territories of the king
of Arragon; and the territories of the king of Arragon begin at this
mountain called Muncian, and extend beyond the city of Nice.
*
Cordoba.
At
the city of Nice begin the territories of the emperor of the Romans,
in which there is a fine city called Vintimiglia; from this the
territory of the emperor extends along the seashore as far as Gaeta,
in Apulia, the territory of the king of Sicily. This land is also
called the principality of Capua. It also deserves to be mentioned
that midway between Marseilles and Sicily there are two large
islands; Sardena is the name of the larger one, while the other is
called Corzege. [Corsica] There are also many islands round Sicily,
some of which are burning islands. In this sea, in the neighbourhood
of Sardena and Corzege, are fish, resembling cuttle-fish, which,
coming forth from the sea, fly in the air, and when they have flown
about the distance of a furlong they descend again to the sea; there
are also many falcons there flying after these fish, and pur suing
them, in order to feed upon them. A person who has seen this has
borne witness to the same, and his testimony is true, *
for he himself was sitting at table in a ship high out of the water,
when one of these flying fish fell on the table before him. It is
also worthy of remark that one of the islands in the vicinity of
Sicily, which is larger than the rest, is called Mount Gebel, ** and
used to burn with such an intense heat that it dried up a great part
of the sea in its vicinity and burned the fish; but it has now for
some time ceased to burn, through the merits and prayers of Saint
Agatha the Virgin and Martyr. For one day, when the fire was coming
forth from the crater of Mount Gebel more furiously than usual, and
had approached the city of Cattanna, where rests the holy body of
Saint Agatha, a multitude of the pagans, flying to her sepulchre,
carried her veil before them facing the fire; on which the flames
returned to the sea, and, parching it, dried it up for nearly a mile,
and scorched the fish, many of which were half burnt, and there are
to this day many fish there of the same kind, which are called the
fish of Saint Agatha. If any of these fish happen to be taken by a
fisherman, they are immediately let go, out of respect to Saint
Agatha, and to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is
always wonderful and glorious in His saints.
*
He no doubt alludes to what we call flying-fish.
**
He probably means Stromboli.
Accordingly,
Robert de Sabul, Richard de Camville, and William de Fortz de Oleron,
passing with the fleet of Richard, king of England, between Africa
and Spain, after many tempests which they suffered on the voyage,
arrived at Marseilles on the octave of the Assumption of Saint Mary,
being the fourth day of the week. Not finding their master the king
there, they made a stay of eight days, for some necessary repairs to
the fleet; after which they set out in pursuit of the king, and on
the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, being the sixth day of
the week, arrived at Messina, in Sicily.
On
the Lord’s day following, Philip, king of France, arrived
there, it being the sixteenth day before the calends of October; on
which, Margarete, the admiral, Jordan de Pin, and the other governors
of the city, received him with all due honor, and assigned him the
palace of Tancred, king of Sicily, for his abode. Now when king
Richard heard that his fleet had arrived at Messina, he left Salerno
on the thirteenth day of September; and, passing an archiepiscopal
city called Amalfi, and another archiepiscopal city called Cosenza,
arrived on the eighteenth day of September at a city and castle
called Escala. Near this castle is a small island, where are said to
have been the schools of Lucan, and there is still a fine chamber
beneath the ground, in which Lucan used to study.
The
night following the king slept in a village, the name of which is
Lacerart, in the priorate of Monte Cassio. On the nineteenth day of
September the king passed through the priorate which is called Saint
Michael de Josaphat, to another priory of the same order, which is
called Santa Maria de Fosses, where there is a castle called Saint
Luke. On the twentieth day of September the king, passing by a castle
which is called Lamante, came to a town called Saint Euphemia. On the
twenty-first day of September the king came to Melida, and was there
honorably received and entertained at the abbey of the Holy Trinity.
Here there is a tower of wood close by the abbey, by means of which
Robert Guiscard attacked and took the castle and town of Melida.
On
the twenty-second day of September, the king of England, departing
from Melida with a single knight, passed through a certain small
town, and, after he had passed through, turned towards a certain
house in which he heard a hawk, and, entering the house,* took hold
of it. On his refusing to give it up, numbers of peasants came
running from every quarter, and made an attack on him with sticks and
stones. One of them then drew his knife against the king, upon which
the latter giving him a blow with the flat of his sword, it snapped
asunder, whereupon he pelted the others with stones, and with
difficulty making his escape out of their hands, came to a priory
called Le Baniare; but, making no stay there, he crossed the great
river** which is called Le Faro de Meschines, and passed the night
in a tent near a stone tower which lies at the entrance of the Faro,
on the Sicilian side. At the entrance of the Faro, near Labinaria,
lies that peril of the sea which is called Scylla, and at the outlet
of the same river is another peril of the sea which is called
Charybdis.
*
For a churl to keep a hawk was contrary to the rules of chivalry. **
He means the Straits of Messina.
On
the twenty-third day of September, Richard, king of England, arrived
at Messina, in Sicily, with many busses and galleys, in such state
and with such a noise of trumpets and clarions, that alarm seized
those who were in the city. The king of Trance and his people, and
all the chief men of the city of Messina, together with the clergy
and people, stood on the shore, admiring what they saw and heard
respecting the king of England and his might. On his landing, he
immediately held an interview with Philip, the king of France; after
which conference, the king of France, on the same day, immediately,
embarked on board of his ships, intending to proceed towards the land
of Jerusalem; but after he had got out of harbour, on the same day,
the wind shifted, and with sorrow and reluctance he returned to
Messina.
The
king of England, however, proceeded to the house of Reginald de
Muhec, where a lodging was prepared for him, in the suburbs of the
city, among the vineyards. On the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth days
of September the king of England went to the lodging of the king of
France, to hold a conference with him, and the king of France visited
the king of England. In the meantime, Richard, king of England, sent
his envoys to Tancred, king of Sicily, and delivered from his custody
his sister, Joanna, the former queen of Sicily. On the twenty-eighth
day of September the king of England went to meet his sister Joanna,
who the same day arrived at Messina, from Palermo, with some gallies
sent by king Tancred.
On
the twenty-ninth day of September, [1190] that is to say, on the day
of Saint Michael, the king of France went to the lodgings of the
sister of the king of England, and saw her and offered her his
congratulations. On the thirtieth day of September the king of
England crossed the river del Faro, and took a place which is
extremely well fortified, called Le Baniare, and on the first day of
October brought his sister Joanna to that place, and, leaving her
there with some knights and a considerable number of men-at-arms,
returned to Messina. On the second day of October the king of England
took possession of a monastery of the Griffons, a very well fortified
place, lying in the middle of the river del Faro, between Messina and
Calabria. Having expelled the monks and their servants, he placed in
it the provisions which had come from England and his other
territories, and garrisoned it with some knights and others.
When
the citizens of Messina saw that the king of England had placed
knights and men-at-arms with his sister in the castle of Le Baniare,
and had taken possession of the monastery of the Griffons, ‘they
had suspicion of him, believing that he would seize the whole of the
island, if he could: consequently they were disposed to be easily
excited against him. Ac cordingly,
on the third day of October, a disagreement arose between the army of
the king of England and the citizens of Messina, and to such a pitch
did the exasperation on both sides increase, that the citizens shut
the gates of the city, and, putting on their arms, mounted the walls.
On the king’s troops perceiving this, they made a vigorous
attack on the city gates ; but our lord the king rode to and fro
through the army on a steed of the greatest swiftness, beating back
with a staff such of his men as he could reach, trying to restrain
them from making the attack. However, he was unable so to do ; and at
last returned to his lodging, where, putting on his armour, he went
out again to put an end to the affray if he possibly could. He then
embarked in a boat and repaired to the palace of king Tancred, to
consult with the king of France on the affair that had taken place.
In the meantime, however, through the mediation of the elders of the
city, the discord was allayed; and arms being laid down on both
sides, each party returned home.
On the ninth day of October there came to the king of England,
Richard, archbishop of Messina, William, archbishop of Montreal, William,
archbishop of Risa, Margarite, the admiral, Jordan de Pin, and many
others of the household of the king of Sicily, who brought with them
Philip, king of France, Reginald, bishop of Chartres, Manasseh,
bishop of Langres, Hugh, duke of Burgundy, Peter, count de Nevers,
and Geoffrey, count de Perche, and, of the household of the king of
England, Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and Gerard, archbishop of
Auxienne, together with many others, in whom they placed confidence,
for the purpose of making peace between them and the king of England.
Now when the terms of peace had been for some time under
consideration, and they had nearly come to a conclusion thereon, the citizens of
Messina, collecting in great multitudes, proceeded to the mountains,
and waited in readiness, treacherously to fall upon the king of
England; while others made an attack on the lodging of Hugh Le Brun.
On this, their shouts, which were far from subdued, came to the ears
of the king of England, who immediately leaving the conference with
the king of France and the other persons above-named, ordered all his
men to put on their armour, and he, with a few followers, climbed a
steep hill, which no one could have supposed he could possibly have
done, and having, with
great difficulty, reached the top of the hill, there took to flight
with all possible speed and re-entered the city, the king pursuing
them with the edge of the sword.
On
this, the knights and men-at-arms of the king of England bravely
attacked the citizens at the gates and walls of the city, and,
suffering many hard blows from stones, at one moment effected an
entrance into the city gates, while at another they were driven out.
Here there were slain five knights of the king of England’s
people, and twenty men-at-arms, while the king of France was looking
on, and giving them no assistance, although they were of one
brotherhood with him in the pilgrimage. As for the king of France, he
and his people entered the city, and made their way through them in
perfect safety.
However,
the men of the king of England at last exercised their strength with
such effect, that by main force they burst open the city gates and
mounted the walls in all directions, and so having entered the city,
they took possession thereof, and immediately hoisted the banners of
the king of England on the fortifications around the walls. At this
the king of France was greatly indignant, and demanded that the
banners of the king of England should be lowered, and his own set up;
this, however, the king of England would not permit, but still, that
the wishes of the king of France might be satisfied, he lowered his
own banners and gave the city into the charge of the knights
Hospitallers, and the Templars, until everything should have been
complied with that he demanded of Tancred king of Sicily.
Respecting
the agreement made between Philip, king of France, and Richard, king
of England, at Messina
On
the eighth day of October, [1190] the king of France and the king of
England, before their earls and barons, and the clergy and people,
made oath upon the relics of the Saints, that the one would defend
the other in that pilgrimage, both in going and returning, with good
faith, and the earls and barons swore that they would strictly and
inviolably observe the same. After this, by the advice and consent of
the whole of the army of the pilgrims, the said kings enacted that
all pilgrims who should die on their journey on the said pilgrimage,
might at their pleasure dispose of all their armour, horses, and
apparel which they should
make use of, and of a moiety of their possessions which they might
chance to have ‘with them on the journey, at their own option,
provided only they should send nothing back to their own country;
while clerks might give such orders as to their chapels and all
utensils belonging to such chapels, and all their books, as they
should think fit. The other moiety was to be at the discretion of
Walter, archbishop of Rouen, Manser, bishop of Langres, the Master of
the house of the knights Templars, the Master of the Hospital, Hugh,
duke of Burgundy, Raoul de Coucy, Drogo de Merlou, Robert de Sabul,
Andrew de Chauvigny, and Gilbert de Wascuil; who were to employ the
said money towards the relief of the land of Jerusalem, as they
should think necessary. This also the kings in their own persons
swore strictly and faithfully to observe throughout the whole
expedition, on both sides of the sea, with regard to all the pilgrims
of both kingdoms, both those who should come, as well as those who
had come already. The archbishops and bishops promised on their word
of truth to observe the same. The Masters of the Temple and the
Hospital agreed that the same should be observed on behalf of their
respective orders, while the earls and barons in their own persons
swore that the same should be observed.
Further,
no man in all the army was to play at any kind of game for money,
with the exception of knights and the clergy, who, in one day and
night, were not to lose more than twenty shillings; and if any knight
or clerk should lose more than twenty shillings in any natural day,
as often as such persons should exceed twenty shillings they were to
pay one hundred shillings to the before-named archbishop, bishop,
earls and barons, who were to add the before-mentioned sums of money
to the said sums. The kings, however, were to play at their good
pleasure; and in the lodgings of the two kings their men-at-arms
might play as far as the sum of twenty shillings, with the permission
of the kings. Also, in presence of archbishops, bishops, earls and
barons, with their sanction men-at-arms might play as far as the sum
of twenty shillings. But if any men-at-arms or mariners, or others of
the lower orders, should be found playing of themselves, men-at-arms
were to be whipped naked three days through the army, unless they
should be prepared to ransom themselves at the arbitration of the
persons before-named; and the same as to other servants of a like
degree. But if mariners should so play, they were to be plunged the
first thing in the morning into the sea, on three successive days,
after the usage of sailors, once each day, unless they should be able
to ransom themselves at the arbitration of the persons before
mentioned.
Further,
if any pilgrim, while on his journey, should borrow anything of
another person, he was to pay back what he had borrowed; but as to
what he had borrowed before setting out, he was not to be bound to
make repayment during the pilgrimage.
Further,
if any mariner hired for wages, or any men-at-arms or any other
person whatever, clerks and knights excepted, should leave his master
while on the said pilgrimage, no one else was to receive him, unless
the same should be done by the consent of his master. And if any one,
against the will of his former master, should receive him, he was to
be punished at the discretion of the persons before-mentioned. And if
any person should rashly attempt anything in contravention of the
statutes thus solemnly enacted, he was to know that he thereby
rendered himself subject to the excommunication of the archbishops
and bishops of the whole army ; and all transgressors were to be
punished as before mentioned, at the discretion of the parties
before-named, according to the nature of each ease.
It
was also enacted by the said kings, that the merchant in each article
of merchandize was to be the seller thereof, and that no one in the
army was to be allowed to buy bread to sell the same again ; nor yet
flour, unless some stranger should have brought the same, and a
person should have made bread thereof; nor yet fine corn, unless in
like manner he should have made bread thereof, or should keep it by
him to carry beyond sea. All dough was entirely forbidden to be
purchased; and all these things were forbidden to be bought within a
town and within a league from a town.
But
if any person should buy fine corn, and make bread of the same, he
was bound to make profit of but one farthing in the measure,* besides
the bran.
*
The “salina,” or “sayma,” was a measure, the
capacities of which are not known.
As
to other dealers, in whatever commodity they should deal, they were
bound in every ten pence to make but one penny profit.
No
person was to ring any money of our lord the king upon which the
impression should be visible, unless it should be broken within the
rim.
No
person was to buy any dead flesh to sell the same again, nor yet any
living beast, unless he should kill it within the camp.
No
person was to sell his wine at too dear a rate after proclamation 90
once made.
No
person was to make bread for sale except at one penny the loaf, and
all dealers were to understand that bread-corn was alone to be used
within a league of the town.
Of
the money of England one penny was to be given in all dealings for
four pence of money Anjouin.
It
ought also to be known, that all the above enactments were made and
ordained by the advice and consent of the king of France, the king of
England, and the king of Sicily.
On
the third day after the capture of the city of Messina, the chief men
of that city and of the whole province gave hostages to the king of
England as pledges that they would keep the peace towards him and his
people, and freely deliver into his hand the city of Messina, unless
Tancred, king of Sicily, their master, should publicly make peace
with him, as to all the points on which he demanded satisfaction. For
he had demanded of king Tancred Mount Saint Angelo, with the whole
earldom and its other appurtenances, on behalf of his sister Joanna,
which William, the former king of Sicily, her husband, had assigned
her for her dower, as also a gilded chair for the said Joanna,
according to the custom of the queens of that kingdom ; and for his
own use a gilded table twelve feet in length, and a foot and a half
in breadth : also, a large tent of silk, of such size that two
hundred knights might sit at table beneath it, and two gilded
trestles to support the said gilded table, besides four-and-twenty
cups, and as many dishes, of silver, and sixty thousand measures* of
corn, as many of barley, and as many of wine, and a hundred armed
galleys, with all their equipments, and victuals for the galley-men
for two years. All these things the king of England demanded for his
own use, as being the heir of king Henry, for whom the above-named
king of Sicily had provided all the things above mentioned, and had
bequeathed the same to him on his last illness.
*
Salons.
Tancred,
king of Sicily, made answer to him to the following effect: "I
gave to your sister Joanna ten hundred thousand pieces of money,
arising from lands, in satisfaction of
her dower, before she left me, and as to the rest of your demands, I
will do whatever I shall feel myself bound to do, in conformity with
the customs of this kingdom.” Accordingly, by the advice of
prudent councillors, the king of Sicily gave to the king of England
twenty thousand ounces of gold, in satisfaction of the dower of his
sister, and another twenty thousand ounces of gold, by way of
compromise for all the other particulars before mentioned, which he
had demanded of right as the bequest of William, king of Sicily,
deceased, and agreed that a marriage should be had between Arthur,
duke of Brittany, his nephew, and a daughter of king Tancred. These
concessions being made on either side, Richard, king of England,
wrote to Tancred, king of Sicily, to the following effect:—
The treaty of peace made between Richard, king of England, and Tancred,
king of Sicily.
“To Tancred, by the grace of God the illustrious king of Sicily, and of
the dukedom of Apulia and the principality of Capua, Richard, by the
same grace, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl
of Anjou, health in Him who bestows health upon kings. Whereas, while
on our pilgrimage, the Lord inspiring us thereto. we were passing
through your lands for the purpose of aiding the land of Jerusalem,
which, its sins so demanding, the incursions of the pagans have in a
great measure overrun, and the sword of the enemies of Christ laid
waste, we were compelled to make some stay at your city of Messina,
the inclemency of the winds, and of the sea, and of the season,
preventing us from setting sail, on which, a dissension chancing to
arise between our people and the citizens of the said city, great
loss resulted to both parties both in property and men: in
consequence whereof, it seemed probable to many that our brotherly
love and affection might receive some check: we have therefore taken
due care to observe the purpose and intention of our pilgrimage, and
have resolved that both by ourselves, and by our dearly-beloved and
faithful friends, as also by your venerable archbishops, to wit,
Richard, archbishop of Messina, William, archbishop of Montreal,
William, archbishop of Risa, and Richard, son of the venerable man
Walter, your chancellor, and other excellent men delegated on your
behalf, the bonds of inviolate peace should be drawn still closer
between us; the tenour of which should be preserved to last to future ages by
being reduced to writing. Therefore, we have promised to you, and to
your realm, and to all lands under your dominion, that we will, both
by land and sea, both of ourselves and of our people, observe a
lasting peace, all questions whatsoever being set at rest, which, by
our envoys to you, we had raised, both as to the dower of the queen,
our sister, as also other matters; this, also, being added thereto,
that, so long as we shall stay in your kingdom, we will be everywhere
in-readiness for the defence of your territories, and give you our
assistance, whoever may wish to invade the same, or wage war against
you. To the tenor and form of this treaty of peace, which it is our
wish and our purpose, with unbroken faith, to observe towards you and
your people, we have, by Walter. archbishop of Rouen, Gerard,
archbishop of Auxienne, John, bishop of Evreux, Bernard, bishop of
Bayonne, Jordan de Humez, our constable, William de Courcy, Richard
de Camville, Gerard Talbot, Robert de Sabul, Guido de Croum, Guarine
Fitzgerald, Bertram de Verdun, William Chamberlain de Tankerville,
Robert de Newburgh, Hugh Bardolph, Wigain de Cherbourg, Gilbert de
Wascuill, Hugh le Bruin, John de Filler, Amauri de Montfort, Andrew
de Chauvigny, William de Forts de Oleron, Geoffrey de Rancune, Amauri
Torel, and many others of our household, made oath, upon our soul, in
presence of the before-named archbishops appointed by you for the
said purpose, and others of your illustrious men, to confirm and
ratify the same, according to the tenor of the articles therein
contained. And further, to the end that this peace and brotherly love
may be knit together by bonds as multiplied as stringent, the
beforenamed principal men of your court treating thereon on your
behalf, and the Lord so disposing, we have agreed that a marriage
shall be contracted, in the name of Christ, between Arthur, the
excellent duke of Brittany, our nephew, and, if we shall chance to
die without issue, our heir, and your daughter; so that when she
shall, by the will of God, have arrived at marriageable years, and
you shall have sent her to such place as shall have been agreed upon
by either side, our said nephew shall, within fifteen days from the
time of his meeting her, be espoused to her as his lawful wife; or if
it shall please your highness that she shall be married before she
arrives at marriageable years, our said nephew shall so do according
to your pleasure therein, if the Supreme Pontiff shall grant a
dispensation for the same. And as it is our wish that such a dower
shall be assigned to her as shall befit an illustrious lady and the
daughter of a mighty king, we do engage, on behalf of our said
nephew, that such a dower shall be provided for her out of the
dukedom of our said nephew, and the same we have caused to be sworn
at the present time by our faithful servants before named, and do
engage that the same shall be given by our said nephew; and we admit
that we have received for the use of our nephew, from your
mightiness, a sum for the said marriage, that is to say, twenty
thousand ounces of gold ; this also being a part of the agreement,
that if, which may heaven prevent, either shall die in the meantime,
or if, through the fault of our nephew, or of ourselves, or of his
people, the said marriage shall not take place, then, in such case,
we or our heirs will, without any demur thereto, repay to you or to
your heirs the above-mentioned sum of money in full. Moreover, as to
the said matters, that is to say, the treaty of peace which we have
ratified and confirmed with you, and as to repayment of the said sums
of money, in case from the before-named causes intervening the said
marriage shall not take place, we do give our lord the pope and the
Church of Rome as our sureties ; to the end that if, which may God
forbid, the said peace should chance to be violated on our part, the
Church of Rome shall have power, by stringent measures, to coerce
both ourselves and our territories. In like manner, also, he shall
have full power to compel ourselves and our nephew to contract the
said marriage, or in case, by reason of the causes before-mentioned,
the said marriage should not take place, to compel us, or our heirs,
or territories, to repay the said sum of money. That this, also, we
will do, the Roman church being our surety, we have bound ourselves
by the oaths of the persons above named, according to the tenor of
the words contained in the instrument which we have sent to you,
sealed with our seal. Moreover, if, in case of our dying without
heirs [our issue], he shall succeed to our throne by hereditary
right, then we do assign to her from our kingdom the following dower,
that is to say, the ancient and customary dower of the queens of
England."
The form of the treaty made upon oath between Richard, king of England,
and Tancred, king of Sicily.
“I, N., do swear upon these Holy Gospels of God, that my lord Richard, king
of England, shall from this hour forward preserve with the lord
Tancred, king of Sicily the dukedom of Apulia and the principality of
Capua, and his realm, and all the lands under his dominion, lasting
peace, both himself and his, by land and by sea; and that, so long
as my said lord shall be in the kingdom of king Tancred, he shall
give him his assistance in defending his territories wheresoever he
shall happen to be in the territories of the lord Tancred, king of
Sicily, and what person soever may attempt to invade, or make war,
against the same; and that my lord shall, with his own hand, swear to
observe this same treaty of peace, if the lord, king Tancred, shall,
in like manner, with his hand, swear to observe the said treaty of
peace. And if, at any time, which may heaven prevent, my lord shall
attempt to break the said peace, I will place myself in the custody
of the said lord, the king Tancred, wheresoever he shall think fit;
and all these things my lord Richard, king of England, and I myself,
will observe in good faith, and without fraud and evil intent; so
help us God, and these Holy Gospels of God, and the relics of the
Saints. Amen.” It is also worthy to be remarked, that the
archbishops, bishops, and other subjects of king Tancred swore to the
same effect, upon his soul, that he and his people would keep the
peace towards Richard, king of England, and his people, by sea and by
land, so long as they should be in his territories ; and if the said
Tancred, king of Sicily, and his people, should not keep the peace,
then the said archbishops, and others, who had taken that oath on
behalf of king Tancred, would place themselves in the custody of the
king of England wheresoever he should think fit. It is also to be
observed, that king Tancred gave to Richard, king of England, another
twenty thousand ounces of gold in satisfaction of all questions which
he had raised, both as to the dower of his sister, the queen, as also
concerning all his other demands; and, to the end that king Tancred
might be made more secure as to all the covenants above mentioned,
Richard, king of England, wrote to the Supreme Pontiff to the
following effect:—
The
Letter of Richard, king of England, to pope Clement, relative to the
peace made between him and king Tancred
“To
his most reverend lord and most holy father Clement, by the grace of
God, Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Apostolic See, Richard, by the same
grace, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl of
Anjou, health and
sincere dutifulness in the Lord. The actions of princes are blessed
with more prosperous results when they receive strength and favour
from the Apostolic See, and are directed by communication with the
Church of Rome. Wherefore, we have deemed it proper to transmit to
the knowledge of your Holiness the matters which have been lately
arranged between ourselves and the lord Tancred, the illustrious king
of Sicily, by public treaty, which indeed was suggested by necessity.
We have then established with him brotherly love and lasting concord,
and the same, by the oaths of our nobles, archbishops, bishops, and
very many illustrious men, we have promised that we will with
inviolate fidelity observe towards him and his people, and all the
territories of his dominions. And for the further purpose of binding
this treaty of peace and friendship with a still more stringent tie,
we have thought proper to make a contract of marriage between Arthur,
the excellent duke of Brittany, our most dearly-beloved nephew, and
heir, if we shall chance to die without issue, and, with the will of
God, his illustrious daughter ; and, by the bounty of the Lord, the
same shall be brought to a due consummation when the illustrious
damsel shall have arrived at marriagable years, or when it shall have
pleased the said lord, the king Tancred, for her, before she has
arrived at marriageable years, to be given in marriage to our nephew,
if the Holy Church of Rome shall, in like manner, think fit to grant
a dispensation for the same. And, further, the sum of money which for
the said marriage we have received for the use of our nephew from the
said lord, the king Tancred, namely, twenty thousand ounces of gold,
in case, which heaven forbid, by reason of the death of either, or
through the fault of ourselves, or of our nephew, or of his people,
the said marriage shall not take place, we, or our heirs, are bound
on our part by oaths made to that effect to repay in fill I to the
lord the king Tancred, or his heirs. To the end, therefore, that the
terms of the said treaty of peace so concluded, and full acquiescence
in the marriage thus contemplated, may, with all due integrity, be
secured on the part of ourselves and our nephew, in such manner as we
have upon oath promised to the lord the king Tancred, we do earnestly
entreat your Holiness, and the Holy Church of Rome, that the Holy See
will undertake to be surety on our behalf towards the lord the king
Tancred and his heirs, for our constant observance of the peace thus
established between us, and for the
due fulfilment of the said contract of marriage; or, in case, from
the reasons before mentioned, the said marriage should not take
place, for the repayment of the said sum of money. And that, with due
confidence the Church of Rome may undertake conjointly with you to
share the burden of the said surety, we do upon the testimony of
these present letters grant to yourselves, and to the Holy Church of
Rome, free power with all stringency to coerce ourselves and our
heirs and territory, if either we shall contravene the terms of the
said treaty of peace, or if, the marriage, from the causes before
mentioned, not taking place, we, or our heirs, shall refuse repayment
of the said sum of money. Your Holiness well knows how to show due
regard to the honor of us both; and that, if through the mediation of
the Church of Rome, the advantages of peace and of the intended
marriage shall be duly served, numerous benefits will at a future day
ensue therefrom. Witness ourselves, on this eleventh day of November,
at Messina.”
However,
before this treaty of peace was fully concluded and ratified between
the king of England and the king of Sicily, Margarite, the admiral,
and Jordan de Pini, members of the household of the king of Sicily,
to whom he had given charge of the city of Messina, left it by night,
taking with them their families and the substance which they
possessed in gold and silver. The king of England, however, on their
departure, seized their houses, and galleys, and other possessions,
into his own hands.
After this, the king of England caused a wide and deep trench to be cut
through the middle of the island on which is the monastery of the
Griffons, in the middle of the river del Faro, where his treasures
and provisions were stored: which trench ran right across the width
of the whole island, from one shore to the other, and terminated in
Charybdis.
It is worthy of remark, that in this river, called the Faro di Messina,
are those two most noted perils of the sea, Scylla and Charybdis, the
one of which, namely, Scylla, is at the entrance of the Faro, near
the priory of Le Baniare, and the other, namely, Charybdis, is near
the outlet of the Faro ; for the purpose of knowing which, a tower of
stone was erected in the above-named island near the trench made by
the king of England. It is also to be observed, that Scylla is always
vomiting forth and casting its waves on high, and consequently it is
necessary that those who pass should keep themselves at a
considerable distance, for fear lest they should he overwhelmed by
the fury of the tide. On the other hand, Charybdis is unceasingly drawing towards
it and sucking in the waves; wherefore, those who pass by, ought to
take care that they are not sucked in by it. Still, some incautious
persons, while trying to avoid Scylla, fall into Charybdis.
The
king of England, while the final completion of the treaty of peace
between him and king Tancred was being delayed, built a strong castle
for himself on the brow of a lofty hill outside of the walls of the
city of Messina, which they called Mate Griffon. The Griffons, before
the arrival of the king of England, were more powerful than any of
the inhabitants of those parts, and held in extreme hatred all the
people who lived beyond the mountains, so much so, that they thought
but very little of killing them, and there was no one to help them.
But from the time that the king of England came there, their
mischievous exploits were brought to a termination, and, their power
being crushed, they became more contemptible than any other of the
inhabitants of that land; for, hoping that they could do to the king
of England as they had been able to do to others in days of yore,
they fell into the pit which they themselves had dug, and became outcasts in the land.
On the other hand, the English nation was held in the highest esteem in
the kingdom of Sicily. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy which was
found inscribed in ancient characters on tables of stone near a vill
of the king of England, the name of which is Here; which Henry, king
of England, gave to William Fitz-Stephen, and where the said William
built a new house, on a pinnacle of which was placed the figure of a
stag; which is supposed to have been done in order that the prophecy
might be fulfilled, which said—
*These lines seem to refer to the erection of the figure of the hart
(stag) the expedition to Ireland, the feats of King Richard in Apulia
and Sicily and the release of the right to wreck (see below).
After this, the king of England, in his love for God and for
the salvation of his soul, abandoned all claims whatsoever on his
part for ever to wreck throughout the whole of his territories, and
enacted that every shipwrecked person who should reach shore alive
should freely and quietly have all his property. And if a person
should die on board ship, then his sons or daughters, or brothers or
sisters, were to have his property, according to the degree in which
they should be able to prove themselves his nearest heirs. But if the
person so dying should have neither sons nor daughters, nor brothers
nor sisters, then the king was to have his chattels. This release of
right to wreck, Richard, king of England, made and confirmed by his
charter in the second year of his reign, at Messina, in the month of
October, in the presence of Walter, archbishop of Rouen, Gerard,
archbishop of Auxienne, John, bishop of Evreux, Bernard, bishop of
Bayonne, and many others of the clergy and laity of the household of
the king of England, and the charter was delivered by the hand of
Master Roger Malchien, the king’s vice-chancellor.
In
the same year, [1190] more than a hundred thousand pagans who were in
the kingdom of Sicily, and servants of king William, after his death
indignantly refused to serve under king Tancred, both because Henry,
king of the Germans, had laid claim to the throne of Sicily, as also
because Richard, king of England, entering the kingdom of Sicily, had
taken possession of a great part thereof. They consequently retired
to the mountainous parts with their wives, sons, daughters, and
cattle,. and there lived, attacking the Christians, and doing them
considerable injury.
However,
when they heard that a treaty of peace and a final reconciliation had
been made between the king of England and king Tancred, they returned
into the service of king Tancred, and after giving him hostages as
sureties that they would keep the peace, came back to their homes,
and cultivated the land as they had cultivated it in the time of king
William, and so became the servants of king Tancred.
In
the same year, after his father, Frederic, emperor of the Romans, had
lost his life by drowning, Conrad, duke of Suabia, was made king of
the Germans and Alemannians, and the other nations subject to his
father, and repaired to the siege of Acre with a great army;
immediately on which a great famine arose among those besieging Acre,
and increased to each a degree, that a loaf of bread which used to be
sold before their arrival for one penny, was soon after sold at the
price of sixty* shillings. Upon this, great numbers of the army died
of famine, as one horse-load of corn was being sold for sixty-four
marks, English money; and in consequence, the principal men present
at the siege were obliged to feed on horse-flesh, eating it as a
delicacy.
*
Another reading says “forty.”
Now
when the famine had increased to an extraordinary degree of severity,
the clamour of the people reached Hubert Fitz-Walter, bishop of
Rouen,* and the other bishops in the expedition, on which they made a
collection of money to relieve the necessities of the poor, and the
Lord gave such increase to the sums so collected, that they sufficed
for the sustenance of all who were in want, until such time as God,
the giver of all good things, looking from on high, sent them an
abundance of corn, wine, and oil; for the third day after the
collection was distributed among the poor, there came to Acre ships
laden with corn, wine, and oil, and made so plentiful a market, and
on such moderate terms, that a measure of wheat which before was sold
for two hundred besants, was shortly after to be had for six.
*
Clearly a mistake for “Salisbury."
In
the same year, on the day of Saint James the Apostle, ten thousand
youths of prowess and well armed, came forth from among the troops
besieging the city of Acre, in spite of the prohibition of the king,
the Patriarch, and the leader of the army, with the intention of
engaging with Saladin and .his army; but Saladin, on seeing them,
retreated with his army, leaving behind his tents and provisions. On
this, the young men entered the tents of the pagans, and ate and
drank of what they found therein; after which they carried away with
them whatever they could find of value, and loaded themselves
therewith; but, when they were returning towards the force besieging
Acre, Saladin and his army fell upon them and put them to the edge of
the sword, and they were nearly all slain by the pagans ; a few of
them, however, leaving their loads behind, escaped by the aid of
Ralph de Hautereve, archdeacon of Colchester.
In
the same year, Sibylla, queen of Jerusalem, wife of Guido of
Lusignan, and his two daughters, departed this life at the siege of
Acre; upon whose death, Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat, lord of Tyre,
seeing that there was no nearer heir to the throne of Jerusalem than
Milicent, the wife of Amfrid
de Tours, sister of the said Sibylla, held a conference with the
Patriarch Heraclius before mentioned, and the mother of the lady
before named, and all the chief men of the army of the Christians,
and demanded that the sister of the deceased queen should be given
him to wife, promising that for the future he would faithfully and
zealously promote the interests of the army of the Christians, and
would from that time forward hold no communication whatever with
Saladin. On this, the mother of the lady, the Patriarch, and a
considerable number of the chief men of the army, yielded assent to
his requests, and, effecting a divorce between the said lady and
Amfrid de Tours, her husband, gave her in marriage to Conrad; who
immediately laid claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem against Guido, in
right of his wife; upon which Guido offered to abide by the lawful
decision of the court of the kings of France and England, who were
shortly about to arrive; but Conrad, being unwilling to wait so long
a time, usurped all power in the kingdom, and banished king Guido.
In
the same year, while Philip, king of the Franks, and Richard, king of
the English, were staying at Messina, in Sicily, in the month of
December, on the fourteenth day before . the calends of January,
being the fourth day of the week, loud thunder was heard at Messina,
and many and terrible flashes of lightning were seen; a thunderbolt
also fell in one of the galleys of the king of England and sank it,
striking the walls of the city of Messina, of which it levelled a
great part. The knights also and men-at-arms of the king of England,
who were keeping guard in the monastery of the Griffons, in which
were the treasures of the king of England, asserted as a truth that
they saw a ball of fire on a pinnacle of that monastery, not burning
but sending forth a light, which remained there as long as the
tempest raged, and after that ceased the ball of fire disappeared. On
their expressing surprise at this, and making careful enquiries what
it could possibly mean, the Griffons there serving God made answer
with one accord, that this always happened whenever a storm arose.
The
king of England in the meantime, while he was staying at Messina,
caused all the ships of his fleet to be hauled ashore and repaired,
as many of them had become damaged in consequence of being eaten away
by worms. For in the river Del Faro there are certain thin worms,
which in the language of the people are called “Beom,”
whose food is every kind
of wood. Whenever these have once adhered to any kind of wood, they
never leave go thereof, except through main force, until they have
pierced right through; they make narrow straight holes when they have
effected an entrance, and then from gnawing away the wood they become
so increased in size and bulk, that in coming forth they make wider
holes. In the mean time, .Richard, king of England, caused stone
engines and other engines of war to be prepared, for the purpose of
taking the same to the land of Jerusalem.
In the same year, William, bishop of Ely, legate of the Apostolic See,
chancellor of our lord the king and justiciary of all England,
oppressed the people entrusted to his charge with heavy exactions.
For in the Gist place
he despised all his fellows whom the king had associated with him in
the government of his kingdom, and disregarded their advice. Indeed,
he considered no one of his associates in the kingdom his equal, not
even John, earl of Mortaigne, the king’s brother. Accordingly,
he laid claim to the castles, estates, abbeys, churches, and all the
rights of the king as his own. On the authority also of his
legateship, he came to take up his lodging at bishoprics, abbeys, and
priories, and other houses of the religious orders, with such a vast
array of men, horses, hounds, and hawks, that a house where he took
up his abode for only a single night, was hardly able within the
three following years to recover its former state. From the clerks
and laity he also took away their churches, farms, lands, and other
possessions, which he either divided among his nephews, clerks, and
servants, or else, to the loss of the owners, retained possession of
them himself, or squandered them away to supply his extraordinary
expenses.
Did
not this wretched man consider that he should one day have to die ?
Did he not think that the Lord would demand of each an account of his
stewardship, or honourable conduct in his government ? But well is it
said as to such men as this: “Nothing is more unendurable than
a man of low station when he is exalted on high. On every side he
strikes, while on every side he fears; against all does he rage, that
they may have an idea of his power; nor is there any beast more foul
than the rage of a slave let loose against the backs of the free.”
In
the same year, [1190] on the third day after the feast of Saint
Michael, about four thousand armed Saracens came forth from the city
of Acre, and burned four of the stockades with Greek fire; hut they
were manfully repulsed by the soldiers of the army, and lost twenty
Turks who were slain, and many wounded. After this, at the feast of
Saint Martin, 1 *the
Saracens again sallied forth from the city of Acre, and made an
attack upon the Christians, who manfully withstood them. Baldwin de
Carun, Walter de Oyri, and Baldwin de Dargus, valiantly withstood
their attack, until count Henry and Geoffrey de Lusignan had come up
with the Templars, and compelled the pagans to give way with such a
mighty charge, that they lost in their flight forty Turks who were
slain, and many wounded.
After
this, between the feast of Saint Andrew and the Nativity of our Lord,
the whole army of the Christians was in arms, for the purpose of
making an assault upon the city of Acre, and the Germans and English
drew their scaling-ladders to the trenches, that they might place
them against the walls; on which the pagans went out of the city by
the postern gates, and took their scaling-ladders from the Germans,
and drove the English away from the trenches, and then fastened ropes
to the scaling-ladder of the English, with the intention of drawing
it into the city; but Ralph de Tilly, Humphrey de Veilly, Robert de
Lanlande, and Roger de Glanville, mounted the scaling-ladder of the
English, and four times extinguished the Greek fire that was thrown
down; and Ralph de Tilly coming nearer than the others, cut asunder
the ropes with his sword, and so rescued the scaling-ladder from the
hands of the pagans. Shortly after, between the feast of Saint Andrew
and the Nativity of our Lord, the famine already mentioned began in
the army of the Christians, and continued until the Purification of
Saint Mary.
In
the same year, Henry, king of the Germans, on hearing of the death of
Frederic, emperor of the Romans, his father, restored to Henry, duke
of Saxony, all that his father had taken from him, and, by way of
addition thereto, gave him ten most excellent castles. He also did
the like to all others from whom his father had taken anything away,
restoring to each person what was his own. All his subjects therefore
being now reconciled to him, he sent his envoys to pope Clement, and
the cardinals and senators of the city, demanding
the Roman empire, and promising that he would in all things maintain
the laws and dignities of the Romans unhurt. On this, pope Clement,
having with due deliberation held council with the cardinals and
senators and Roman people, respecting the demand of the king of the
Germans, granted the king what he asked for, saving always the
dignities and customs of the Romans, and appointed for him as the
time for coming to Rome the following Easter; but before he arrived
there, pope Clement died.
In
the same year, David, brother of William, king of Scotland, took to
wife Matilda, sister of Ranulph, earl of Chester. In this year also,
a dispute again happened between Geoffrey, archbishop elect of York,
and Bucard, the treasurer of the same church, in consequence of which
the archbishop elect excommunicated the before mentioned Bucard, who
went to pope Clement, and was deemed worthy by him to be absolved
therefrom; while with the Supreme Pontiff he threw such difficulties
in the way of the business of the archbishop elect of York, that the
Supreme Pontiff would neither confirm his election nor allow him to
be consecrated. In addition to this, the Supreme Pontiff conferred on
Hugh, bishop of Durham, the privilege of not making any profession or
submission throughout his life to Hugh, the archbishop elect of York,
not even though he should be consecrated to the archbishopric; on the
ground that the said bishop of Durham had once already made
profession to the church of York, and to Saint William, at that time
archbishop of York, and his Catholic successors.
In
the same year, Richard, king of England, the Divine grace inspiring
him thereto, being sensible of the filthiness of his life, after due
contrition of heart, having called together all the archbishops and
bishops who were with him at Messina, in the chapel of Reginald de
Moyac, fell naked at their feet, and did not hesitate to confess to
God, in their presence, the filthiness of his life. For the thorns of
lustfulness had departed from his head, and it was not the hand of
man who rooted them out, but God, the Father of Mercies, who wisheth
not for the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his
wickedness and live, looked upon him with the eyes of mercy and gave
him a heart to repent, and called him to repentance, for he received
the penance imposed by the bishops before named, and from that hour
forward became a man who feared God, and left what was evil and did
what was good. O happy the man who so falls as to rise with greater
strength still! O happy the man who after repentance does not relapse
into faultiness and a course of ruin!
In
the same year, Richard, king of England, hearing, by common report
and the relation of many persons, that there was a certain religious
man in Calabria, of the Cistercian order, called Joachim, abbot of
Curazzo, who had a spirit of prophecy and foretold to the people
things to come, sent for him and willingly listened to the words of
his prophecy, and his wisdom and learning. For he was a man learned
in the Holy Scriptures, and interpreted the visions of Saint John the
Evangelist, which Saint John has related in the Book of Revelation,
which he wrote with his own hands ; in hearing which, the king of
England and his people took great delight.
The
following was one of the visions of Saint John the Evangelist: “The
kings are seven in number ; five are fallen, and one is, and the
other is not yet come.” And elsewhere in the Revelation there
is another vision of the same Evangelist. “A woman clothed with
the sun, and the moon beneath her feet;” which signifies the
Holy Church, the sun of justice. Also, “the woman was clothed
with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head was
a crown of twelve stars, and, being with child, she was in pain to be
delivered; and, behold! a great red dragon, having seven heads and
ten horns, and seven crowns upon his head: and his tail drew the
third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth;
and he stood before the woman who was about to be delivered, to
devour her child as soon as it was born. And the woman brought forth
a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her
child was caught up unto the Lord, and to His throne. And the woman
fled into the wilderness of Egypt, where she had a place prepared of
God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days."
Now
of this vision the following is the interpretation, according to
Joachim, abbot of Curazzo. “The woman clothed with the sun, and
the moon under her feet,” signifies the Holy Church, the sun of
justice, who is Christ our God, shadowed forth and typified under
that name; under his feet is the world, always to be trodden under
foot with its vices and lusts. And “upon her head was a crown
of twelve stars.” Now the head of the Church is Christ, His
crown is the Catholic faith which the twelve Apostles have preached.
“The woman was in pain to be delivered.” So the Holy
Church, which ever rejoices in new offspring, suffers pain from day
to day, to the end that she may gain souls for God, which the devil
attempts to snatch away and to drag with himself down to hell. “And
behold! a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns.”
Now this dragon signifies the devil, who is properly said to have
seven heads. For all the heads of the devil are replete with
iniquit3 r ,
and he uses the figure 7 as something finite for what is infinite ;
for the heads of the devil are infinite in number; that is to say,
those who are persecutors of the Church, and the wicked. Of these,
although they are infinite in number, the said Joachim, in his
explanation, made mention of seven principal persons who were
persecutors of the Church, whose names were as follow : Herod, Nero,
Constantius, Mahomet, Melsermut, Saladin, and Antichrist.
“Saint
John also says in the Book of Revelation, ‘There are seven
kings; five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come:’
which the said Joachim thus explained. The seven kings are Herod,
Nero, Constantius, Mahomet, Melsermut, Saladin, and Antichrist. Of
these, five have perished; namely, Herod, Nero, Constantius, Mahomet,
and Melsermut; one is, namely, Saladin, who is now oppressing the
Church of God; and, together with it, the Sepulchre of our Lord, and
the Holy City of Jerusalem and the land on which stood the feet of
our Lord are kept in his possession ; but he shall shortly lose the
same. On this, the king of England asked the question, "When
shall this take place?” To which Joachim made answer, “When
seven years shall have elapsed from the day of the capture of
Jerusalem.” Upon which, the king of England remarked, “Why,
then, have we come so much too soon?” When Joachim made answer,
"Your arrival is very necessary, inasmuch as the Lord will give
you the victory over His enemies, and will exalt your name beyond all
the princes of the earth."
The
words then follow, “One of them is not yet come,” which
is Antichrist. Now as to this Antichrist, Joachim said, “He is
already born in the city of Rome, and will be elevated to the
Apostolic See ; and it is respecting this Antichrist that the Apostle
says, ‘ He is exalted, and strives against every
tiling that is called of God.’ And then shall the ‘wicked
one be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His
mouth, and shall destroy by the dazzling brightness of his approach.”
On this, the king turned to him and said, “I thought that
Antichrist was to be born in Antioch, or at Babylon, of the
descendants of Dan, and was to reign in the Temple of the Lord at
Jerusalem, and was to walk in that land in which Christ walked, and
was to reign therein three years and a half, and was to dispute
against Elias and Enoch, and was to slay them, and was afterwards to
die, and after his death the Lord was to give sixty days for
repentance, during which those persons might repent who had wandered
away from the paths of truthfulness, and had been seduced by the
preaching of Antichrist and his false prophets.”
It
then proceeds, “And there are ten horns.” Now the ten
horns of the devil are heresies and schisms, which heretics and
schismatics oppose to the ten precepts of the law and the
commandments of God. "And upon his head were seven crowns.”
By the crowns are signified the kings and princes of this world, who
are to believe in Antichrist. "And his tail drew the third part
of the stars of heaven.” This refers to the great number of
persons who shall believe in him. "And did cast them to the
earth.” By the name of stars he calls the lower orders of men
who are to believe in Antichrist; and he mentions the third part of
the stars of heaven by reason of the great multitude of men who shall
believe on him. “And he did cast them to the earth;” that
is to say, he sent all those to the bottomless pit who had perished
in believing on him. “And he stood before the woman, who was
about to be delivered, to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
The devil ever lies in wait for the Church, that he may carry off her
offspring, and, after so carrying it off, devour it. He is well said
“to stand;” inasmuch as he never turns aside for evil,
but always stands steadfast in wickedness and inflexible in the
crafty wiles of his deceit. Or, according to another interpretation,
his tail will signify the end of this world; at which time certain
wicked nations shall arise, which shall be called Gog and Magog, and
shall destroy the Church of God, overthrow the Christian race, and
then forthwith shall come the day of judgment.
“But
in the days of this Antichrist there shall be many Christians who
shall live in the caverns of the earth, and in the
solitary places of the rocks, and shall preserve the Christian faith
in the fear of the Lord, until the consummation of Antichrist ; and
this is meant where it is said: “The woman fled into the
wilderness of Egypt, where she had a place prepared of God, that they
should feed her there, a thousand two hundred and sixty days; and her
man child shall rule all nations with a rod of iron.” This is
especially our Lord Jesus Christ, who after His Passion and
Resurrection, has ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of
God the Father Almighty, and shall come to judge the living and the
dead, and the world by fire ; of whom, if we are followers, and shall
continue to obey His commands, we shall be caught up into the air to
meet him, and shall always be with him.”
But
although the said abbot of Curazzo gave these opinions in relation to
Antichrist, still Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and the archbishop of
Apamia, Gerard, archbishop of Auxienne, John, bishop of Evreux,
Bernard, bishop of Bayeux, and other ecclesiastical men of great
learning in -the Holy Scriptures, endeavoured to prove the contrary;
and although they brought forward many arguments on both sides, with
strong indications of truthfulness, the dispute is still undecided.
For the ancients, when making mention of Antichrist in their
writings, have written to the following effect:
“Those
persons who wish to know something about Antichrist, ought first to
mark why he has been so called. The reason is, because he will be the
opposite of Christ in all things, and will do what is contrary to
Christ. Christ came in humility, he will come in pride. Christ came
to raise the humble and to justify sinners; on the other hand,
Antichrist will cast down the humble, and will magnify sinners, will
exalt the unrighteous, and will always teach those vices which are
opposed to virtues, will destroy the law of the Gospel, will recall
to the world the worship of devils, will seek his own glory, and will
call himself “the Almighty God.” This Antichrist will
therefore have many to serve him in his wickedness, of whom many have
already preceded him in the world; such as Antiochus, Nero, and
Domitian; in our times too we know of many Antichrists. Whatever
person, whether layman, whether monk, or whether canon, lives
contrary to the laws of righteousness, and impugns the rules of his
order, and blasphemes that which is good, he is Antichrist and a
minister of Satan. But now as to the origin of Antichrist.”
What
I am saying, I am not coining out of my own imagination, or
inventing; for in reading over books with care, I find all these
things there written.
According
to what our authors say, Antichrist shall be born after the example
of the Jews, namely, of the tribe of Dan, according to the prophecy
that says: “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the
path ; ”
for
like a serpent shall he lie in the way, and be in the path, that he
may smite those who walk in the path of justice, and may slay them
with the venom of his malice. He shall also be born from the
intercourse of a father and mother, just like other men, and not, as
some say, of a virgin alone. But still, in sin shall he be wholly
conceived ; in sin shall he be begotten, and in sin shall he be born.
At the very moment of his conception, the devil shall at the same
time enter the womb of his mother; and by means of the Devil will he
be cherished and protected in the womb of his mother, and the power
of the Devil will always be with her. And just as the Holy Ghost came
upon the Mother of our Lord, and overshadowed her by his efficacy,
and filled her with his divine power that so she might conceive by
the Holy Ghost, and that what should be born might be sacred and
holy; so also the Devil shall descend upon the mother of Antichrist,
and shall fill her entirely, surround her entirely, hold her
entirely, possess her entirely, within and without, to the end that,
the devil working through man, she may conceive; and what shall be
born shall be entirely noxious, entirely evil, entirely wicked.
In
consequence hereof, this man is also called “the son of
perdition ;” because, so far as he possibly can. he shall bring
mankind to perdition, and last of all he himself shall come to
perdition. Behold! now you have heard how he shall be born, hear also
the place where he shall be born. For, as our Lord and Redeemer in
His foresight provided Bethlehem as the place where He should deign
to assume humanity in our behalves, and be born, so the Devil knows
of a fitting place for that wicked man who is called Antichrist, from
which the root of all evils may take its rise, that is to say, the
city of Babylon. For in this city, which was formerly a renowned and
glorious city of the Gentiles, and the capital of the kingdom of
Persia, Antichrist will be born, and it is said that he will be
nourished and brought up in the cities of Bethsaida and Chorazin; to
which cities our Lord speaks in terms of censure, saying: “Woe
unto thee, Bethsaida! woe unto thee, Chorazin!”
Antichrist
will also have magicians, sorcerers, diviners and enchanters, who,
the Devil so inspiring them, will nurture him and educate him in all
iniquities and falsehood, and in the foul art, and evil spirits shall
be his guides, associates, and sole companions. Then shall they come
to Jerusalem, and all Christians whom he shall not be enabled to
convert to his own ways, he will slay with various torments, and will
prepare to make his abode in the holy Temple. The Temple also which
was destroyed, and which Solomon dedicated to God, he shall restore
to its former state, and shall circumcise himself, and shall lyingly
assert that he is the son of Almighty God. Kings and princes also
will he first make converts of, and then through them, of other
persons; while he will travel over the places where our Lord Christ
walked, and will first lay waste what the Lord so rendered glorious.
Then, throughout the whole world will he send forth his messengers
and his preachers. And his preaching and power shall extend from sea
to sea, from east to west, from north to south. Many signs therefore
will he give, great and unheard-of miracles; he will cause fire to
come in a dreadful manner from heaven, trees to blossom in a moment
and then to wither away, the sea to be aroused and suddenly to be
tranquillized, the natural forms of things to be changed into various
shapes; the courses and tides of rivers to be changed, the air to be
agitated with winds and commotions, besides innumerable other things
of wondrous nature. The dead shall even be raised in the sight of
men, so that, if possible, even the elect may be led into error. For
when they shall behold signs so great and of such a nature, even
those who are perfect and the elect of God, shall be in doubt,
whether or not this is Christ, who, according to the Scriptures, was
to come at the end of the world.
But
he shall cause persecution in every clime against the Christians and
all the elect; and shall upraise himself against the faithful in
three ways; that is to say, by terror, by gifts, and by miracles. To
those who believe in him he will give abundance of gold and of
silver; those whom he shall not be able to corrupt with bribes he
will conquer by terror: those whom he shall not be able to conquer by
terror, he will attempt to lead astray by signs and miracles; and
those upon whom by signs and miracles he can make no effect, he will
torment, and, in the sight of all, destroy by a cruel death. Then
shall there be tribulation, such as has not been upon the earth from
the time when nations began to be, until that time; then shall those
who are in the field flee to the mountains, and he who shall be above
shall not come down into his house, to take anything away therefrom.
Then shall every faithful Christian who shall be found, either deny God,
or die by the sword, or by the fire of the furnace, or by serpents,
or by beasts, or by some other kind of torment, if he shall persist
in the faith. This terrible and fearful tribulation shall continue
throughout the whole world three years and a half. Then shall the
days be shortened on account of the elect; for if the Lord should not
shorten the days, all flesh would not be saved.
The time also when Antichrist shall come, as well as when the day of
judgment shall begin to appear, the Apostle Paul points out in his
Epistle to the Thessalonians, where he says, “We beseech you by
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;” and
he reveals in the passage where he says, “Except there be a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition." 1
We know also that after the kingdom of the Greeks, as also after the
kingdom of the Persians, each of which, at its own season, gained
great glory, and flourished amid great power, at length, after other
kingdoms as well, the kingdom of the Romans began, and that it was
more mighty than all the former kingdoms, and held all the kingdoms
of the earth in subjection to it, and all nations and peoples were
tributary to the Romans. Hence it is that the Apostle Paul says that
Antichrist will not come into the world, “Except there be first
a falling away;” that is, unless all the kingdoms of the world
should first revolt from the Roman empire to whom they were before
subject. This time, however, has not come as yet ; for although we
see the Roman empire in a great measure destroyed, still, so long as
the kings of the Franks hold dominion, who are bound to uphold the
empire of Rome, the dignity of Rome will not entirely perish, for by
its kings will it be upheld.
Some,
indeed, of our learned men assert that one of the kings
of
the Franks will hold the Roman empire afresh, and in all its
integrity, who will exist at a very late period of time; and he
himself will be the greatest and the last of all the kings, and after
he shall have happily ruled over his own kingdom, shall come at last
to Jerusalem, and shall lay down his sceptre and his crown on the
Mount of Olives. This will be the end of the empire of the Romans,
and of the Christians, and immediately, according to the words of
Saint Paul the Apostle quoted above, they say that Antichrist will
come, and then will be revealed Antichrist, the man of sin, who,
though he shall be but a man, shall still be the source of all
sinfulness and the son of perdition, which means the son of the
Devil, not, indeed, by nature, but by reason of imitation ; for in
everything will he fulfil the wishes of the Devil; because the
fullness of the diabolical power, and of the whole of his evil
disposition, shall corporeally find an abode in him, in whom will be
all the treasures of wickedness and iniquity stored away, and who
shall strive against Christ, that is to say, shall be opposed to Him,
and all his members. “And he is exalted,” meaning that he
is elated with pride; “above everything that is called God,”
which means “above all the gods of the Gentiles;”
Hercules, to wit, and Apollo, Jupiter, and Mercury; above all those
whom the pagans suppose to be divinities Antichrist shall be raised;
for he will make himself greater and more powerful than them all. And
not only above these will he be raised, but above everything that is
worshipped; above the Holy Trinity even, which alone ought to be
worshipped and adored by all creatures he shall so raise himself,
that he shall sit in the Temple of the Lord, and show himself as
though he were a God. For, as we have said above, being born in the
city of Babylon, he shall come to Jerusalem, and shall circumcise
himself, and shall say to the Jews, “I am the Christ who was
promised to you again and again, who have come for your salvation, to
the end that I may gather together and defend you who are dispersed.”
Then
will all the Jews resort to him, thinking that they are receiving
God, whereas they will be receiving the Devil. But even in the Temple
of God shall Antichrist sit, that is to say, in the Holy Church,
making martyrs of all the Christians; and he shall be exalted and
shall be magnified, because in him shall be the Devil, the source of
all wickedness, who is also king over all the sons of vanity. But in
order that Antichrist may not come suddenly and unexpectedly, and at
the same moment deceive the whole of mankind with his errors, and so
bring them to ruin before his rising, two great prophets shall be
sent into the world, Enoch and Elias, who, against the attacks of
Antichrist, shall fortify the faithful of God with Divine arms, and
shall provide them, and shall strengthen and prepare the elect for
battle; and they shall teach and preach for three years and a half.
The sons also of Israel, such as shall at that season be found, these
two great prophets and teachers, shall turn to the grace of the
faith, and on the side of the elect shall render them insuperable by
the force of a whirlwind of such mighty power. Then shall be
fulfilled that which the Scripture says, “Though the number of
the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be
saved." 2
After they shall have fulfilled the time of their preaching three
years and a half, then shall the persecution by Antichrist begin to
rage, and against them the first thing of all shall Antichrist take
up arms, and shall slay them, as we read in the book of Revelation;
“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast
that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them,
and shall overcome them and kill them.” Then, after these two
shall have been slain, he shall persecute the rest of the faithful,
that so he may make them either glorious martyrs or apostates, and
then shall those who believe in him receive the impression of his
mark on their foreheads.
But
as we have spoken thus at large about his rise, let us now say what
end he is to have. Now, this Antichrist, the son of the Devil, and
the most vile contriver of all wickedness, shall, for three years and
a half, as already mentioned, harass the whole world with great
persecutions, and shall with various punishments torment all the
people of God ; and after he shall have slain Elias and Enoch, and
shall have crowned the rest with martyrdom, who remain in the faith,
at last shall come upon him the judgment of God, as Saint Paul
writes, saying, “Whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the
spirit of His mouth ;” or else the Lord shall kill him there
with the power of his command, or Michael, the Archangel, shall slay
him with the might of the Lord; for he shall be slain by the might of
some angel or Archangel. They say also that Antichrist shall be slain
on a mountain in Babylon, upon his throne, in that place opposite to
which the Lord ascended into heaven. But you should know that after
Antichrist shall” have been slain, the day of judgment will not
come immediately, the Lord will not come immediately to judge us ;
but, as we understand from the book of Daniel, the Lord will give a
day to the elect, that they may perform penance, because they have
been led astray by Antichrist. But after they shall have duly
performed this penance, there is no one who knows how long a space of
time shall intervene before the Lord shall come to judge mankind ;
but it remains subject to the determination of God at what hour God
shall judge the world, inasmuch as before the world began He
pre-ordained that it should be judged.
John
the Apostle and Evangelist, one of virgin purity and the chosen of
the Lord, and more beloved than the rest, asked the Lord as to the
end of the world, and the Lord made answer, “The sun shall be
turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, and from the trees blood
shall drop; the stones shall send forth voices, the people shall be
aroused, and Antichrist, that is, the Devil, shall reign, and shall
work miracles and great signs in the people; no one shall be able to
escape from him. He shall be born of a woman who is a harlot of the
tribe of Dan in Israel. All those who believe in him he shall mark
with his mark on the forehead, and no one shall be able to blot out
the work of his hands. He shall be brought up in Chorazin, and shall
afterwards dwell in the city of Bethsaida; and in a few days both all
those whom he shall kill, as also those who shall die under his power
of famine and thirst, shall be the elect of God; he will raise the
false ones who are dead, he will turn back rivers in their course, he
will pluck up trees by the roots, and will turn the branches to the
earth, and their roots upwards, and by his diabolical arts make them
blossom. Many he will lead astray. On the day on which he shall be
born, all who dwell in the four quarters of the world will know that
he has been born; the Scripture bearing witness thereto, which says,
“In every house the carcase of one dead man shall be a sign.”
Then
in his time shall the father slay the son, and the son the father,
and the brother the brother, and the faithful shall be found wanting
in all things. Women shall be menstruous, and shall not hide
themselves from men; the churches shall be destroyed, the priests
shall mourn, no memorials will be preserved of the places where the
bodies of the Saints have rested; people shall adore profane idols,
like pagans, and Jews, and Saracens. Nation shall arise against
nation, and one kingdom against another, and there shall be great
earthquakes in divers places, and pestilence and famine, and the
stars shall fall down upon the earth; rivers shall be changed into
blood, and all the waters which are below the heavens.
In
his reign two prophets, namely, Enoch and Elias, shall wage war
against him, who are now sorrowing in Paradise at the contemplation
of death, and Antichrist shall slay them, and they shall lie dead in
the streets of the city during three days and three nights, and on
the fourth day they shall rise again to life everlasting. At the
last, Almighty God, who wishes that all should be saved, shall send
Michael, the Archangel, having a sharp two-edged sword in his hands,
that is to say, the sword of the Holy Spirit, and shall slay him, and
shall cleave him into two parts from head to foot, that so the world
may not be destroyed, but may be renewed for the better; three years
and six months shall it thus be in the bringing of the world to a
state of perfection.
In
the same year, Richard, king of England, gave to his nephew Otho, son
of his sister Matilda, formerly duchess of Saxony, the earldom of
Evreux, and although many would have received him and have done to
him homage and fealty, still many resisted him, declaring that they
would not withdraw from their fealty to the king, before they had
spoken to him face to face. In consequence of this, our lord the king
gave to the said Otho the earldom of Poitou by way of exchange for
the earldom of Evreux.
The
names of the nobles who died this year at the siege of Acre
Queen
Sibylla, the wife of Guido, king of Jerusalem, and her two daughters,
Heraclius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Baldwin, archbishop of
Canterbury, the archbishop of Nazareth, the archbishop of Besancon,
the archbishop of Arles-le-blanc, the archbishop of Montreal, the
bishop of Sidon, that is to say, of Saeta, the new bishop of Acre,
the bishop of Baruth, the bishop of Saint George, the bishop of Saint
Abraham, the bishop of
Tiberias, the abbot of the Temple of our Lord, the abbot of Mount
Sion, the abbot of Mount Olivet, the abbot of Forde, the prior of
Saint Sepulchre, Ralph de Hautereve, archdeacon of Colchester, Roger
le Abbe. Frederic, emperor of the Romans, died on the journey to the
land of Jerusalem, being drowned in the river which is called Salef,
and Conrad, his son, duke of Suabia, died at the siege of Acre ;
Robert, earl of Leicester, also died in Romania, in going to the land
of Jerusalem ; the Landgrave of Germany died in Romania while
returning home; John, constable of Chester, also died at Tyre, in the
land of Jerusalem: Rotrod, count of Perche, also died at the siege of
Acre, the count de Puntif, Theobald, earl of Blois, and Stephen,
count de Sancerre, his brother; William, count de Ferrers, the duke
Bertold of Germany, Roger, earl of Apulia, and Jocelyn, earl of
Apulia, as also the count de Brenes and his brother Andrew, who was
slain. Among the slain were also Ingelram de Fenes, Louis de Arseles,
Hugh de Hoiry, Walter de Moy, Guido de Dancy, Odo de Gunesse. The
butler of Santstlir was taken by the pagans, as also the marshal of
count Henry, Reginald de Magny being slain.
In
the same year, [1190] there died besides the above at the siege of
Acre, the viscount of Touraine, the lord de Wancy, Gilbert de
Tileres, Florence de Angest, Jocelyn de Montmorenci, the viscount of
Chastel Heraud, Anselm of Montreal and all his household, the
viscount of Chatillon and his mother, John, count of Vendôme,
Æstellan de Ypres, Geoffrey de la Bruyere, Robert de Boives,
Adam, chamberlain of the king of France, Adam de Leun, Boves de
Juvenny, William de Pinkim, Roger de Polebare, and Robert, the
constable, seneschal of earl William de Mandeville. Ranulph de
Glanville, justiciary of England, also died at the siege of Acre, as
also Bernard the younger, of Saint Valery, Richard Clare, Guido de
Chatillon, Walter de Kime, son of Philip de Kime, John de Lamburne,
and Walter de Ros, brother of Peter de Ros.
In
the same year, Sancho, king of Portugal, gave his daughter Tarsia in
marriage to Alphonso, king of Saint Jago, his nephew ; he had by her
three sons, and though pope Celestinus used all possible endeavours
that they might be separated, he still adhered to her in spite of God
and the prohibition of our lord the pope for a period of five years;
accordingly, our lord the pope Celestinus placed the said king of
Saint Jago under an interdict, and so he remained for five years. In
the meantime,
however, Alphonso, king of Castille, arose against the said king of
Saint Jago, and compelled him to relinquish his wife, the daughter of
the king of Portugal, and by the persuasion of pope Celestinus, for
the sake of peace, gave him his own daughter to wife.
In
process of time, the daughter of Boyac El Emir Amimoli, emperor of
Africa, having heard from common report of the prowess of Sancho,
king of Navarre, brother of Berengaria, queen of England, fell in
love with him to such a degree, that she greatly longed to have him
as her husband. When she was unable any longer to conceal her
designs, she told her father, the emperor, that she would hang
herself unless Sancho, king of Navarre, would have her for his wife;
on which her father made answer, “How can that be effected,
seeing that you are a pagan and he a Christian ?” To this his
daughter made answer, “Indeed I am quite ready to embrace the
Christian faith, and to live conformably to their laws, if I only
have the king of Navarre for my husband, a thing which, my dear
father, can easily be brought about by you. For all stand in awe of
you, and extend their arms to you; still, there is need of
blandishment; away with all fury and intimidation; send entreaties
and gifts to this man, that by such means you may gain him for me.
‘Believe me, ‘tis a noble thing to give.’ *
Send also to his mother and sister, and the rest of his family,
bounteous presents, in order that they may allow him to assent to
your proposals. ‘The prey that’s sought by many hands is
speedily obtained.’ * ”
On
this, her father made answer: ‘While you were guileless, I
loved your body and your mind ; now, is your beauty blemished by the
vices of your disposition.’ ** What to do I know not, for I am
in difficulties on every side. For if the king of Navarre shall fail
to return your passion, then you will hang yourself. I will therefore
attempt to prevail upon him by entreaties and various presents, that
so I may gain him in some way or other as a husband for you. Still, I
would much rather that you would take a husband of our own nation.”
The
answer of the damsel to this was “May I be rather devoured by
the yawning earth, I pray, or burned by the gleaming flames of the
hurled thunderbolt than that I should take any man for my husband but
the king of Navarre.”
*
A quotation from Ovid
**
Also f rom
Ovid
Accordingly,
the emperor of Africa sent envoys to Sancho, king of Navarre, by whom
he begged that he would come to him, for the purpose of marrying his
daughter, and he would give him as much money as he should desire,
besides the whole of the land that lies between the extremities of
the territory of the king of Portugal and the mountain of Muncian,
which divides the territories of the Pagans in Spain from those of
the king of Arragon. But while the king of Navarre was on the way to
him, Boyac El Emir Amimoli, emperor of Africa, died ; so that when
the said king of Navarre arrived in Africa he found the emperor dead,
and the son of the emperor as yet but a little child, and not fit to
govern the kingdom; while there were many competitors with him for
the empire.
On
the king of Navarre coming to him, fully expecting that he should
receive the damsel before-mentioned as his wife, the boy who was to
reign said to him, that if he was ready to assist him and to serve
him in his endeavours to obtain the empire, he would give him his
sister in accordance with the promises of his father ; but if not, he
would place him in confinement, from which he should never be
released. Seeing himself thus placed in a dilemma, he chose to serve
under him rather than be placed in confinement; in conformity with
the maxim of Saint Augustin; “When a person is shut up within
walls that he may not escape, let him precipitate himself from the
part where the wall is lowest.” Accordingly, the Lord granting
it, and Sancho, king of Navarre, using his best endeavours, the son
of the Emir Amimoli within three years subdued all his adversaries,
and became emperor. In the meantime, Alphonso, king of Castille, and
the king of Arragon, invaded the territories of the said king of
Navarre, one of them. on one side, the other on the other; in
consequence of which, Alphonso, king of Castille, took from him
twenty-four towns, and the king of Arragon eighteen.
1191 A.D.
In the year of grace 1191, being the second year of the reign of king
Richard, the said king Richard, and Philip, king of the Franks, were
together at Messina, in Sicily, on the day the Nativity of our Lord,
which fell on the third day of the week. On the same day, after
dinner, the Pisano and Genevese seditiously made an attack upon the
galleymen of Richard, king of England, and a slaughter took place on
both sides. The noise of this accordingly reached the ears of the
king of England, who was still sitting at table in his castle of Mate
Griffon; and on this day there were feasting with him Reginald,
bishop of Chartres, Hugh, duke of Burgundy, William count de Nevers,
William count de Juvigny, Geoffrey count of Perche, and many others
of the household of the king of France. The tables being instantly
set aside, all these persons arose, and went out with the king fully
armed, for the purpose of putting an end to the fight, which,
however, they were unable to do; but, night coming on, the parties
were separated from each other till the morning. On the following
day, when the people had assembled in the church of Saint John of the
Hospital, to hear Divine service there, a certain Pisan, drawing his
knife, slew one of the galleymen of the king in the church ; on which
a conflict took place a second time between the Pisans and the
galleymen, and multitudes were slain on both sides. Upon this, the
king of France and the king of England came with a large body of
armed men, and made peace between them.
After
this, in the month of February, on the day of the Purification of
Saint Mary ever a Virgin, being Saturday, after dinner, Richard, king
of England, and many of his household, and some of the people of the
household of the king of France, assembled after their usual manner,
outside of the walls of the city of Messina, to view the games of the
people ; and when they were returning home, as they passed through
the middle of the city, they met a peasant coming from the country
with an ass laden with reeds which they call “canes;” of
which the king of England and the others who were with him each took
one, and engaged with one another. It so happened that the king of
England and William de Barres, one of the bravest knights of the
household of the king of France, engaged with each other, and broke
their reeds, while the head-piece of the king of the English was
broken by a blow from William de Barres; at which the king being
enraged, made an attack upon him with such violence that it made him
and his horse stumble; but, while the king was trying to throw him to
the ground, the king’s saddle slipped, on which he dismounted
in all haste, and another horse was brought him, stouter than the
first. Mounting it, he again made an attack upon William de Barres
and tried to throw him down, but was not able, as he kept fast hold
of the horse’s neck, on which the king uttered threats against
him.
Upon
this, Robert de Breteuil, son of Robert, earl of Leicester, whom the
king the previous day had girded with the sword of his father’s
earldom, was for laying hands on William de Barres that he might help
his master, but the king said to him, “Hold, and leave me and
him alone.” After William and the king had contended for a
considerable time, both in words and deeds, the king said to him,
“Away with you hence, and take care that you never appear in my
presence again, for at heart I shall for everlasting be the enemy of
you and yours.” Upon this, William de Barres departed from the
king’s presence grieved and in confusion, in consequence of the
king’s indignation, and went to his lord the king of France, to
ask his advice and assistance upon the matter that had thus happened
on the road.
On
the next day the king of France came to the king of England, on
behalf of William de Barres, with humble entreaties on his part,
asking for peace and mercy on behalf of William de Barres, but the
king refused to listen to him. On the third day after this, William
de Barres took his departure from the city of Messina; for his lord,
the king of France, was unwilling to keep him any longer with him,
contrary to the wish and prohibition of the king of England. However,
after a considerable time had intervened, and the time for embarking
was drawing nigh, the king of France and all the archbishops,
bishops, earls and barons, and chief men of the army, again came to
the king of England, and, falling at his feet, asked for peace and
mercy on his part on behalf of William de Barres, showing the losses
and inconveniences that might result in consequence of the absence of
a knight of such character and prowess; and after great difficulty
they obtained from the king of England that the said William might
return in peace, and the king of England would do no harm to cither
him or his, or make enquiry about them so long as they should be in
the service of their lord.
After
this, the king of England made present of many ships to the king of
France and his own people, and distributed his treasures with such
profuseness among all the knights and men-at-arms of his whole army,
that it was said by
many that not one of his predecessors had ever given so much in a
whole year, as he gave away in that month. And certainly we have
reason to believe that by this munificence he gained the favour of
Him who sends his thunders, as it is written : “God loveth a
cheerful giver.”
In
the same month of February, the king of England sent his galleys to
Naples, to meet queen Eleanor his mother, and Berengaria, daughter of
Sancho, king of Navarre, whom he was about to marry, and Philip, earl
of Flanders, who was coming with them. However, the king’s
mother and the daughter of the king of Navarre went on to Brindisi,
where Margarite, the admiral, and other subjects of king Tancred,
received them with due honor, and showed them all consideration and
respect. The earl of Flanders, however, came to Naples, and finding
there the galleys of the king of England, embarked in them and came
to Messina, and in many matters followed the advice and wishes of the
king of England; at which the king of France being enraged, prevailed
upon the earl to leave the king of England and return to him.
In
the mean time, a serious difference happened in England between the
king’s chancellor and John, earl of Mortaigne, the king’s
brother, and the other principal men of the kingdom; which increased
to such a pitch that they all wrote to the king relative to the state
of his kingdom, and the excesses that the said chancellor was guilty
of toward the people of his kingdom. Accordingly, when the king heard
of the excesses and annoyances that the chancellor was guilty of
towards his people, he sent to England from Messina, Walter,
archbishop of Rouen, and William Marshal, earl of Striguil, with
commands to the chancellor that in all business of the kingdom he
should have the said archbishop of Rouen, and William Marshal,
Geoffrey FitzPeter, William Bruere, and Hugh Bardolph, as his
associates and witnesses. On their arrival in England, these persons
did not dare deliver their letters to the chancellor, fearing lest
they should rather incur his hatred, than derive honor therefrom. For
the chancellor set at nought all the king’s commands, and would
have no one an equal with himself, or any associate in the kingdom.
On
the first day of the month of March, Richard, king of England, left
Messina, and proceeded thence to the city of Catania (where rests the
most holy body of Saint Agatha the Virgin and Martyr), for the
purpose of holding a conference with Tancred, king of Sicily, who had
come thither to meet him. Accordingly, king Tancred, on hearing of
the approach of the king of England, went forth to meet him, and with
the greatest reverence and the honor due to his royal excellency
received and introduced him into the city. As they were going
together towards the tomb of Saint Agatha the Martyr, at the entrance
of the church, they were met by the clergy and people, praising and
blessing the Lord who had united them in the bonds of such brotherly
love. After having offered up his prayers at the tomb of Saint
Agatha, the king of England entered the palace of king Tancred,
together with him, and stayed there three days and nights.
On
the fourth day the king of Sicily sent to the king of England many
presents of great value, consisting of gold and silver, horses and
silken cloths; but he would receive nothing from him except a little
ring, which he accepted as a token of their mutual esteem. On the
other hand, the king of England gave to king Tancred that most
excellent sword which the Britons called “Caliburn,” and
which had been the sword of Arthur, once the valiant king of England.
King Tancred also gave to the king of England four large ships, which
they call “ursers,” and fifteen galleys; and when the
king of England left him, he escorted him back to Taverni, two long
days’ journey from the city of Catania.
On
the following day, when the king of England was preparing to take his
leave, king Tancred gave him a certain document, which the king of
France had sent to him by the duke of Burgundy, and had therein
stated that the king of England was a traitor, and had not kept the
treaty of peace which he had made with him, and that if king Tancred
was willing to go to war with the king of England, or to attack him
by night, he and his people would give him aid against the king of
England, for the purpose of destroying his army.
On
this, the king of England made answer, “I am not a traitor, nor
have I been, nor will I be; the peace which I made with you I have in
no way broken, nor will I break it so long as I live; and I cannot
easily bring myself to believe that the king of France did send you
this about me, as he is my liege lord, and my sworn associate in this
pilgrimage.” To this king Tancred made answer and said, “I
give you the letter which he himself sent me by the duke of Burgundy;
and
if the duke of Burgundy denies that he brought me that letter on
behalf of his lord the king of France, I am quite ready to make proof
of the same against him by one of my captains.” Upon this, with
the letter so received at the hands of king Tancred, the king of
England returned to Messina.
On
the same day, the king of France came to Taverni, and had an
interview with king Tancred, and alter remaining with him one night,
on the next day returned to Messina. The king of England, being
aroused to anger against the king of France, showed him a countenance
neither joyous nor betokening peace, but sought an opportunity of
withdrawing from him with his people. Consequently, the king of
France made enquiry why this was done; on which the king of England,
by Philip, earl of Flanders, informed him of every word that the king
of Sicily had said to him about the king; and, as a proof of the
fact, showed the letter already mentioned. On this becoming known to
the king of France, having a bud conscience on the matter, he at
first held his peace, not knowing what to say in return. At length,
however, having recovered his self-possession, he said:
“Now
do I know of a truth that the king of England is seeking pretexts for
speaking ill of me, for these words are forged and false. But he has
invented these evil charges against me, I suppose, that he may get
rid of my sister Alice, whom he has sworn that he will marry; but let
him know this for certain, if he does put her aside and marry another
woman, I will be the enemy of him and his so long as I live.”
On hearing this, the king of England made answer, that he would on no
account whatever take his sister to wife; inasmuch as the king of
England, his own father, had been intimate with her, and had had a
son by her; and he produced many witnesses to prove the same, who
were ready by all manner of proof to establish that fact.
When
this became known to the king of France, through the information of
many persons, by the counsel of the earl of Flanders and others of
his faithful advisers, he acquiesced therein; and that all disputes
between him and the king of England, both on this point as well as on
all others, might be put an end to, he released the king of England
from his promises and oaths, and all covenants which he had entered
into with him as to being united in marriage with his sister
Alice: and, in consideration of this treaty, the king of England
promised that he would pay yearly, for the next five years, two
thousand marks sterling; of which, at the beginning of the treaty, he
paid to the king of France two thousand marks. Also, when they should
have returned to their own territories, the king of England was to
deliver to the king of France his sister Alice, and Gisors and all
the other places that the king of France had granted him as a
marriage portion with his sister. Also, by virtue of this treaty, the
king of France gave to the king of England leave to marry whomsoever
he should choose ; and granted to him, and conferred the same by his
charter, that the dukedom of Brittany should always belong to the
demesne of the duke of Normandy, and that the duke of Brittany should
always be a liegeman of the duke of Normandy, and be answerable to
him as his liege lord, and the duke of Normandy should be answerable
to the king of France both as to the dukedom of Brittany as well as
the dukedom of Normandy. Accordingly, on that day the king of France
and the king of England were made friends, and confirmed all those
covenants with good faith, and upon oath, with the testimony of their
seals.
In
the same month of March, on the third day before the calends of
April, being Saturday, Philip, king of France, left the port of
Messina with all his fleet; and on the twenty-second day following,
that is to say, the Saturday in Easter week, he arrived with his army
at the siege of Acre. The king of England, however, and his army
remained at Messina after the departure of the king of France. On the
same day also on which the king of France left Messina, queen Eleanor
arrived there, the mother of Richard, king of England, bringing with
her Berengaria, daughter of Sancho, king of Navarre, whom the said
king of England was to marry: on the fourth day after which, the said
queen Eleanor again returned on her way to England, with the
intention of passing through Rome, to treat of the business of
Geoffrey, the archbishop elect of York; for, through her the king of
England sent word to the Supreme Pontiff, and humbly entreated him to
confirm the election of the said Geoffrey and consecrate him
archbishop of York, or else to allow him to be consecrated by some
one else. On the departure of queen Eleanor, the daughter of the king
of Navarre remained in the charge of the king of England, with
Joanna, queen of Sicily, the sister of the said king.
In
the month of April, on the fourth day before the ides of the said
month, being the fourth day of the week, pope Clement the Third
departed this life, and was succeeded by Jacinto, cardinal deacon of
the church of Saint Mary in Cosmedim; and on the vigil of Easter he
was ordained priest, and on Easter day, which fell on the eighteenth
day before the calends of May, was consecrated Pontiff of Rome, by
Octavianus, bishop of Ostia, being called pope Celestinus the Third.
On the day after his consecration, our lord the pope went from the
Lateran to the church of Saint Peter, where he was met by Henry, king
of Germany, with his wife Constance, and a large body of men-at-arms.
The Romans, however, shut the city gates, and guarded them with a
strong hand, and in arms, and would not allow them to enter.
Accordingly,
our lord the pope, before the door of the church of Saint Peter, upon
the steps, received the oath of the said king of the Germans, that he
would faithfully preserve the Church of God, and the rights of the
Church inviolate, and would observe strict justice, and would, if
anything should be taken thence, replace the patrimony of Saint Peter
in its former integrity, and would restore to him Tusculanum.* Our
lord the pope then led them into the church, and anointed him
emperor, and his wife empress. The pope sat in the pontifical chair,
holding the imperial crown of gold between his feet, and the emperor,
baring his head, received the crown, and in like manner the empress
received her crown, at the feet of our lord the pope. Our lord the
pope also suddenly struck the crown of the emperor with his foot, and
overturned it on the ground, signifying thereby that he possessed the
power of casting him down from his throne if he should show himself
unworthy ; but the cardinals, immediately picking up the crown,
placed it on the head of the emperor.
*
Now Frascati.
In
order that the reason may be known why our lord the pope Celestinus
restored to the Romans their city of Tusculanum, we must repeat a few
circumstances that had previously transpired. When the lord Clement,
the bishop of Palestrina, was elected and consecrated Supreme
Pontiff, according to custom, at Pisa, where Gregory the Eighth, of
pious memory, had departed from this world unto the Lord, the- said
lord Clement, without delay, sent his envoys to the citizens of Rome,
repre senting
that a most strict treaty of peace ought again to be entered into
between them. For a dispute had arisen with reference to Tusculanum,
which is a city that belongs to our lord the pope, about ten miles
distant from Rome, and which the Romans were attacking* incessantly
in war, that they might render it subject to themselves. By means,
also, of these conflicts that took place between Rome and Tusculanum,
more than five thousand Romans had in one day fallen by the sword,
and, from the time of pope Alexander to that of the said Clement,
these disputes had lasted between the Church and the Romans. The
envoys, on coming to the city, entreated the Romans, like
affectionate sons, to turn their hearts to their spiritual father,
and most dutifully make it their care to receive him, on his return
to them, as a kind father, and represented that it was befitting that
they should be, as it were, but one for the future. To this the
Romans made answer, to the following effect: “This, inasmuch as
it is holy and becoming, with ardent desire we greatly wish to be
done, without any delay whatever, even more than our lord and father
does, and like true and humble sons; but still, only on condition
that, equally with ourselves, he shall wish reparation to be made for
our losses, and our injuries and affronts to be avenged, which, in
consequence of the war with Tusculanum, we have in the times of our
fathers endured, and do still endure; and shall be ready, if there
shall be necessity for so doing, to send his soldiers at his own
expense, if peace cannot be made between us on terms honourable to
this city, for the subjection of Tusculanum; an agreement being
entered into in writing for a yearly tribute to be paid by Tusculanum
to our city. He must also promise that, in case there is a refusal on
their part to make peace with us on the terms before-mentioned, if at
any future time he shall he able to get Tusculanum into his power, he
will be ready to give it up to us, for the purpose of our wishes
already expressed being complied with.”
Accordingly,
on these and some other liberties being at length conceded by that
said pope Clement to the Romans, the said Clement came to the city,
of which he was a native; and as the lord Clement did not find
himself able, in conformity with the above-stated request made by the
Romans, to render Tusculanum subject to them, he made severe attacks
upon that place, exposing it to the assaults of the Romans. Yet,
although he enjoyed the papacy for nearly four years, he was unable
to bring this war with the Romans to a conclusion; although the Romans,
posting themselves in ambush, took nearly the greater portion of the
people of Tusculanum prisoners, outside of their fortifications, and
slew them with various pains and tortures. For some of those whom
they took prisoners they put to death at once, while others, first
deprived of their feet, others with their eyes put out, and others
with their hands cut off and hung from their necks, they sent back
home : yet all these evils they most resolutely affirmed they would
endure, in preference to being subjected to the severity of the
Romans.
After the death of Clement, when the lord Jacinto, the cardinal
priest of Saint Mary in Cosmedim, afterwards called Celestinus, was elected
Supreme Pontiff in his stead, and Henry, the then king, was hastening
to Rome, having been invited by pope Clement for that purpose, to
receive the crown of the empire, the Romans, before the said king had
arrived at the city, entreated the lord Celestinus, before he
anointed the said king emperor, to prevail upon him to restore to
them the city of Tusculanum, which was under his control; (for its
people had betaken themselves to him, and had entreated his
protection, from the time that the above-named Clement had, as
already mentioned, left them to the mercy of the Romans). They
asserted to the said pope, with the greatest energy, that this was
the method by which Tusculanum would fall again into their hands, and
that he was bound by the compact already mentioned so to do; and this
was accordingly conceded to them.
Upon
this, envoys from our lord the pope were sent to the king, and most
strongly urged him that, as the treaty beforementioned had been made
relative to Tusculanum between the Supreme Pontiff and the Romans,
necessity consequently demanded that Tusculanum should be given up to
our lord the pope. Upon the king finding this to be the case, and
perceiving that, otherwise, great difficulties might easily be thrown
in the way of his coronation, he freely granted the request of our
lord the pope as to the delivery up to him of Tusculanum ; and,
accordingly, the king having been crowned emperor, on the following
day Tusculanum was delivered by the said emperor to our lord the
pope, and, on the third day after, was, by the said pope and the
citizens of Rome, levelled with the ground; so much Bo,
that
not one stone remained standing upon another.
In
the meantime, in the month of April, Richard, king of England,
destroyed and levelled with the ground his castle called Mate
Griffon, before departing from Messina, in conformity with the
promise he had made to king Tancred: and on the fourth day of the
week, before the Supper of our Lord, he, with the whole of his army,
and his fleet, sailed out of the harbour of Messina, with a hundred
and fifty large ships and fifty-three galleys, well armed; but, on
the day of the Preparation* of our Lord, about the ninth hour of the
day, a dreadful wind arose from the south, and dispersed his fleet.
The king, with a portion of the fleet, arrived at the island of
Crete, and afterwards at the island of Rhodes. A large buss, however,
in which were the queen of Sicily and the daughter of the king of
Navarre, with many of the king’s household, and two other
busses, while the tempest was raging, reached the island of Cyprus,
the king being ignorant as to what had been the fate of these busses.
*
“Parasceues Domini.” The day after Good Friday.
After
the tempest had abated, the king sent some galleys in search of the
busses on board of which was the queen, his sister, and the daughter
of the king of Navarre, and they found them outside of the harbour of
Limezun; but the other two busses which had accompanied them, and had
arrived before the harbour of Limezun, bad gone down, having on board
many knights and men-at-arms of the king’s household; among
whom, sad to tell! Master Roger Malchen, the king’s
vice-chancellor, was drowned; the king’s seal, however, which
he wore suspended from his neck, was found. Upon this, Isaac, emperor
of Cyprus, laid hands upon the property of those who were wrecked,
and took and threw into prison all the persons who had escaped from
the shipwreck, and seized their money; and. in a spirit of more than
diabolical cruelty, he would not allow the buss on board of which
were the queen of Sicily and the daughter of the king of Navarre to
enter the harbour.
On
the king of England being informed of this, he came with all haste to
their assistance, with a great number of galleys and a vast fleet of
ships, and found them outside the harbour of Limezun, exposed to the
winds and waves. Being greatly enraged at this, he sent messengers to
the emperor of Cyprus, a first, second, and third time, begging and
asking with humble entreaties that, out of regard for the love of
God, and respect for the Cross, the giver of life, he would allow
His pilgrims, whom he was keeping captive in chains, to depart
unhurt, and restore to them their property, and give up to him the
property of such of his subjects as had been drowned, that with the
same he might perform service to God for their souls: to which,
however, the emperor haughtily made answer, and said that he would
neither give up the pilgrims nor the property of the drowned.
The
king, upon hearing that this wicked emperor would do nothing for him
unless forced so to do, commanded the whole of his army to take up
their arms, and, being fully armed, to follow him, saying to them :
“Follow me, that we may avenge the injuries which this
perfidious emperor has done to God and to ourselves, who thus,
against the justice and equity of God, keeps our pilgrims in chains;
and fear them not, for they are without arms, and better prepared for
flight than for battle ; whereas we are well armed, and to him who
wields arms, he yields up everything who denies him what is his
right. We are also bound to fight manfully against him, in order to
deliver the people of God from perdition, knowing that we must either
conquer or die. But I have full confidence in God, that He will this
day grant us the victory over this perfidious emperor and his
people."
In
the meantime, the emperor with his people had taken up their position
in every direction on the sea-shore ; but a few only of them were
armed, and they were nearly all utterly unskilled in the art of
warfare ; however, they stood on the shore, armed with swords, and
lances, and staves; and having in front of them logs and beams, and
benches and chests, as a defence. When the king of England and his
people had armed themselves, they disembarked from the great ships
into boats and galleys, and, rowing on, made for shore with exceeding
swiftness; on which the archers, landing first, made way for the
others. After landing, the king leading the way, with one accord they
made an attack upon the emperor and his Griffons, *
and like a shower upon the grass did the arrows fall upon those who
fought; but after the combat had lasted a considerable time, the
emperor and his people took to flight: upon which the king of England
pursued them with the edge of the sword, and, making a great
slaughter of them, took prisoners many of those who offered
resistance; and had not the night come on, in all probability, on
that day the king would have taken the emperor prisoner. But, as the
king and his people were on foot, and did not know the paths across
the mountains by which the emperor and his men took to flight, they
returned with a great booty to the city of Limezun, which the
Griffons had deserted; and found in it an abundance of corn, wine,
oil, and flesh meat.
*
This seems to have been the name given by the people of the west of
Europe to the Greeks of Byzantium.
On
the same day, after the victory gained by the king of England, his
sister, the queen of Sicily, and the daughter of the king of Navarre,
entered the harbour of Limezun with the rest of the king’s
fleet. The emperor, however, collecting his men, who had been
dispersed in the valleys among the thickets there, on the same night
pitched his camp about five miles from the army of the king of
England, affirming, with an oath, that he would the next day give
battle to the king. On the king being informed of this by means of
his spies, long before daybreak he had himself and his troops fully
armed, and, going forth without any noise, came up to the army of the
emperor, and found his people buried in sleep.
Upon
this, he rushed into their tents with a loud and terrible shout, on
which, aroused from their slumbers, they became as though dead men,
not knowing what to do or whither to fly; for the army of the king of
England came upon them like ravening wolves, and made immense havoc
among them. The emperor, however, with a few of his people, made his
escape in a state of nudity, leaving behind him his treasures,
horses, arms, and tents of extreme beauty, together with his imperial
standard, embroidered all over the surface with gold, which the king
of England immediately determined to present as an offering to Saint
Edmund, the king and glorious Martyr. Accordingly, the king of
England, having gained a complete victory, returned to Limezun, a
mighty triumpher over his foes.
On
the third day after this, there came to the king of England, in the
isle of Cyprus, Guido, king of Jerusalem, Geoffrey of Lusignan, 20
his brother, Amfrid de Tours, Raymond, prince of Antioch, and Boamund
his son, • the earl of Tripolis, and Leo, the brother of Rupin
de la Montaigne, and, offering to the king their services, did homage
to him, and swore fealty to him against all men. On the same day, the
emperor of Cyprus, seeing that he was entirely destitute of all
valour and efficacious aid on the part of his troops, sent envoys to
the king of England with suppliant entreaties, and offered him peace
on the following terms, namely ; that he would give him twenty
thousand marks of gold in satisfaction of the monies that had been
lost* in his ships, and would set at liberty those persons who had
been taken after the shipwreck, together with their property, and
would himself attend him personally to the land of Jerusalem, and
remain with him in the service of God and of himself, together with
one hundred knights, and four hundred Turcopole horsemen, and five
hundred foot soldiers well armed ; in addition to which he would give
him his daughter, . who was his sole heir, as a hostage, and deliver
up to him his castles by way of security, and would swear to observe
his fealty to him and his for ever, and hold his empire of him.
*
Possibly alluding to the money of which the bodies of the drowned had
been plundered.
These
terms being accordingly agreed to on both sides, the emperor came -to
the king of England, and, in presence of the king of Jerusalem, and
the prince of Antioch, and his other barons, did homage to the king,
and swore fealty to him. He also made oath that he would not leave
him until all things had been performed that had been so covenanted.
Accordingly, the king assigned tents to the emperor and his people,
and appointed knights and men-at-arms to keep guard over them. On the
same day, however, after dinner, the emperor repented that he had
made such terms with the king of England, and while the knights,
whose duty it was to keep guard over him, were taking their mid-day
nap, by stealth he took his departure, and then sent word to the king
that, thenceforth, he would not be on terms of peace or concord with
him; a thing that, as it appeared, greatly pleased the king.
For
he, like a wary and circumspect man, immediately gave a part of his
army to Guido and the prince of Antioch, and the others who had come
to him, and commanded them to follow the emperor, and take him
prisoner if they possibly could; while the king himself, dividing his
galleys into two parts, gave one half of them to Robert de Turnham,
and commanded him to surround the island on one side, and if he
should find any ships or’ galleys, to take them ; which was
accordingly done: while the king, with the remaining portion
of his galleys, surrounded the other side; and he and Robert took all
the ships and galleys they could find in the vicinity of the island.
On this, the garrisons of the cities, and castles, and harbours,
deserted them in every direction, wherever the king and the said
Robert came, and, taking to flight, concealed themselves in the
mountains. After this was done, the king and Robert de Turnham
returned to Limezun; and king Guido, and those who were with him,
being unable to accomplish their object, re-joined the king. In the
meantime, the subjects of the emperor flocked from all quarters to
the king of England, and acknowledged themselves his subjects, and
held their lands of him.
One
day, when the above-named emperor was sitting at dinner, and his
nobles with him, one of them said to him, “My lord, we advise
you to make peace with the king of England, that the whole of your
nation may not be destroyed;” on which the emperor, being
greatly enraged at these words, struck at him with a knife which he
was holding in his hand, and cut off the nose of the person who had
given him this advice; whereupon, after dinner, the person who had
been struck, left him to go to the king of England, and became his
adherent.
On
the fourth day before the ides of May,* being the Lord’s day
and the feast of Saint Nereus, Saint Achilleus, and Saint Pancratius
the Martyrs, Berengaria, daughter of the king of Navarre, was married
to Richard, king of England, at Limezun,** in the island of Cyprus,
Nicholas, the king’s chaplain, performing the services of that
sacrament; and on the same day the king caused her to be crowned and
consecrated queen of England by John, bishop of Evreux, he being
assisted in the performance of the ceremony by the archbishops of
Apamea and Auxienne, and the bishop of Bayonne.
*
The twelfth of May.
**
This place is called Limesol at the present day.
After
the celebration of the nuptials, the king of England moved onward his
army, and a fine city was surrendered to him, which is called
Nichosis ; and when the king had arrived with his army before an
extremely well fortified castle, which is called Cherin, and in which
was the emperor’s daughter, she went out to meet the king,
and-fell upon the ground before his feet, and surrendered to him the
castle, imploring his mercy; on which the king took compassion on
her, and
sent her to the queen. After the king had moved onward in his march,
the castle was surrendered to him which is known by the name of
Baffes, as also the castle called Buffevent, the castle called
Deudeamur, and the castle called Candare; after which all the cities
and fortresses of the empire were surrendered to him. The wretched
emperor, in the meantime, concealed himself in an extremely well
fortified abbey, called Cap Saint Andrew; but, upon the king coming
thither for the purpose of taking him, the emperor went forth to meet
him, and throwing himself at his feet, placed himself at his mercy
for both life and limb, no mention being made of the kingdom, as he
knew that every thing was now in the hands and power of the king; but
his only request was, that he might not be placed in fetters and
manacles of iron; on which the king listened to his request, and
delivered him into the charge of Ralph Fitz-Godfrey, his chamberlain,
and ordered fetters and manacles of silver and gold to be made for
him. All these things took place in the island of Cyprus in the month
of July, on the first day of that month, being Saturday, and the
vigil of Pentecost.
All
these matters being brought to a conclusion, the king of England sent
the emperor, with his guards, to the city of Tripolis, and gave the
island of Cyprus into the charge of Richard de Camville and Robert de
Turnham. On the same day, that is to say, on the vigil of Pentecost,
Philip, earl of Flanders, died at the siege of Acre, and the king of
France, his liege lord, seized all his treasures and property, and
kept them in his own possession, and from that hour sought an excuse
for withdrawing from the siege of Acre, and returning to his country,
that he might subjugate the earldom of Flanders. On the same day
also, that is to say, on the vigil of Pentecost, the queen of England
and the queen of Sicily, the sister of the king of England, and the
daughter of the emperor of Cyprus, arrived before Acre with the
greater part of the fleet of the king of England.
In
the meantime, the king of England received from all the inhabitants
of the island a moiety of all their goods, and confirmed for them the
laws and institutions which they had in the time of Manuel, the
emperor of Constantinople. After this, on the fourth day of the week
of Pentecost, the king of England left the island of Cyprus with his
galleys, and on the following day arrived at Tyre, in the land of
Sulia. However, the garrison of Tyre would not allow him to enter
Tyre, saying, that the king of France and Conrad, marquis of Tyre,
had forbidden his entrance into the city; consequently he was obliged
for that night to lie in tents outside of the walls of Tyre.
On
the following day, being the sixth day of the week of Pentecost, when
he was on his way towards Acre, he saw at sea before him a large buss
laden with troops, and decked out with the banners of the king of
France and his associates; on which he sent two galleys to it and
enquired whose ship it was, and whence it came. They made answer,
that they were subjects of the king of France, and had come from
Antioch, with the intention of going to the siege of Acre; on which
those who had been sent returned with this answer to the king of
England; when the king replied, “If they are subjects of the
king of France, go and tell them to wait and speak to me:”
While they were on their road back, the men in the buss, being
conscience-stricken, as in reality they were all pagans, armed
themselves, and received the messengers of the king in a most hostile
manner, discharging arrows against them and Greek fire. Upon the king
observing this, he came nearer, and said to all who were about him,
“Give chase to them, and overtake them, and if you capture
them, all their property shall belong to you; but if they get away,
you will forfeit my regard for ever.” Upon this, they all, with
one accord, made an attack upon the buss, and pierced it on every
side with the beaks of their galleys, on which, the water effecting
an entrance, it went to the bottom. When the pagans found that they
were beginning to sink, they threw their arms into the sea, and
breaking the vessels, poured forth the Greek fire, and leaving the
ship, leaped naked into the sea; on which the king’s galley-men
slew some of them, and took many alive ; for there were in this buss
one thousand four hundred pagans, whom Saladin had chosen from all
the pagans, for the purpose of sending them to the city of Acre.
These being thus conquered and slain, the king distributed all their
property among his galley-men.
On
the following day, which was Saturday, in the week of Pentecost, he
arrived at the siege of Acre, and distributed many of the pagans,
whom he had taken in the ship, among the king of France and the chief
men of the expedition. But when the pagans, who were in the city of
Acre, heard that the pagans in the buss had been most of them
drowned, and that the king of England, the mighty triumpher over
them, had come to the siege, having entertained great hopes of them,
they dreaded him exceedingly, and from day to day sought
opportunities for surrendering the city to him, on condition that
they might depart therefrom with safety to life and limb. The king of
France, however, who on the Saturday in Easter week had come to the
siege, had before the arrival of the king of England erected a stone
tower and prepared his stone engines and covered ways, and other
engines of war, and placed them in suitable positions; but he
effected nothing with them, as he was awaiting the arrival of the
king of England, who immediately upon his coming erected his own
engines of war.
The Pisans and the Genevese at this period came to him and made
offer of their services; on which he retained the Pisans and declined the
offer of the Genevese, because they had sworn fealty to the king of
France and the marquis Conrad; the Pisans, however, did homage and
fealty to the king of England ; on which the king of England, by his
charter, confirmed their liberties and customs which they had
previously enjoyed in the land of Jerusalem. On the third day after
the arrival of the king of England, the king of France dismissed all
the servants whom he previously had for the purpose of keeping guard
over his engines of war, on which the king of England took into his
service those whom the king of France had dismissed ; the consequence
of which was, that the pagans in the city, finding that the engines
of the king of France were left without guards, burned them.
After
this, both of the kings were attacked with a malady known by the name
of “Arnaldia,” in which they were nearly reduced to the
point of death, and lost all their hair. However, by the mercy of
God, it came to pass that they both recovered from this sickness, and
became stronger and more hearty than ever in the service of God. On
king Guido making complaint to them that the marquis Conrad had
violently and unjustly deprived him of the revenues and rights of his
kingdom, they placed the revenues arising from articles sold in
market and the revenues of the port of Acre in the hands of the
Templars and the Hospitallers, for them to collect and take
care of, until it had been determined which of them was of right
entitled thereto.
Geoffrey
of Lusignan, the brother of king Guido, also accused the marquis
Conrad of breach of faith, and perjury, and treason, against the
king, his brother, and against the army of the Christians, and gave
his pledge that he would make good the accusation. Conrad, however,
being conscience-stricken, declined to take his trial, but made his
way through the crowd, and left the place, the people crying after
him, and saying, “He is a traitor who refuses to take his
trial.” However, no person laid hands upon him, for fear lest
there might chance to be a tumult among the people. On this he went
to Tyre, and a dissension immediately ensued between the kings on
account of them, the king of France, as far as he possibly could,
taking the part of Conrad, and the king of England that of king
Guido; in consequence of which, quarrels and strifes often arose
between the kings. A considerable time after, the king of France sent
for Conrad and made him chief in his household and his confidential
adviser, and in consequence of his advice and counsel, the king of
France did many things against God and the salvation of his soul; for
he even received presents from Saladin, and became friendly with him.
The
next thing was, that the king of France made demand of half of the
isle of Cyprus and of all the things that the king of England had
gained on his way to Acre; as a counterpoise to which, the king of
England demanded of the king of France one half of Flanders, one half
of all the property of the earl of Flanders, and of the other vassals
of his who had died at the siege of Acre, as also one half of Tyre,
which Conrad had presented to him. But the demands of both were
frivolous and invidious, for the agreement made between them was only
that they should halve between them all that they should acquire in
the land of Jerusalem. This same agreement they now renewed in the
presence of the leaders and the principal men of the expedition, and
confirmed the same by their charters and oaths, appointing the
Templars, and the Hospitallers, and other prudent men in whom they
placed confidence, to receive and halve between them all they should
take ; after which they became reconciled.
In
the meantime, Saladin, the leader of the armies of the pagans,
frequently sent to the king of France and the king of
England pears, Damascene plums, and abundance of other fruits of his
country, besides other little presents, that this way at least he
might render them disposed to make peace with him. For he had often
made them offers of peace and concord, both in consequence of his
apprehensions of the sons of Noureddin, who had laid claim against
him to the whole of the territories of their father which Saladin had
seized and retained in his possession, and had, with the aid of the
lord Musse, their uncle, lately entered the territory of Saladin, and
taken possession of it as far as the great river Euphrates; as also
because he wished to rescue his people who were being besieged in the
city. However, he would not entirely come to terms with the kings,
for he wished to retain in his hands the city of Jerusalem and the
Crag of Montreal, while the kings refused to make any agreement with
him on those terms. In consequence of this, the stone engines of the
kings and of the other chieftains, never ceased hurling stones
against the walls of the city and its fortifications, and the miners
of the kings did not cease day or night undermining the city walls.
In
the month of June, on the Lord’s Day, being the vigil of the
Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, and the twenty-seventh day of the
moon, at the ninth hour of the day, there was an eclipse of the sun,
which lasted three hours; so much so, that the sun was obscured, and
darkness came over the earth, and the stars appeared in the heavens ;
when the eclipse had passed, the sun was restored to its former
brightness.
In
the city of Acre there was a man, a worshipper of God, though in
secret from fear of the pagans, who frequently sent letters to the
armies of the Christians, written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and by
them signified to the Christians all the circumstances and intentions
of the pagans; in consequence of which, the Christians, being often
forewarned, avoided the stratagems of the pagans. However, it was a
cause of great vexation to the Christians that they did not know this
man, nor yet his name, though in all the letters that he sent he
declared that he was a Christian, and in his writings he always
commenced with, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost. Amen.” However, it is a thing greatly to be
wondered at, that, neither before the taking of the city nor yet
after it was taken, he thought fit to discover himself to the
Christians.
In
the same month of July, the Christians filled up a great part of the
fosse, that they might plant their ladders against the walls. On the
pagans seeing this, who were being besieged, they offered to
surrender to the kings their city, with their arms and provisions, on
condition of safety to life and limb, and leave to depart. However,
the kings were not willing to take it in this way, but demanded of
them the Holy Cross, and the whole of the land of Jerusalem, in the
same state it was in before the capture of king Guido. Saladin,
however, would not agree to these terms.
In
the same month of June, Richard de Camville, whom the king of England
had appointed one of his justiciaries in the island of Cyprus, was
taken ill, and, without asking leave, came to the siege of Acre,
where he died. After his decease, the Griffons and the Armenians, who
had not yet made peace with the king, appointed a new emperor to rule
over them. a monk of the family of the emperor Isaac. But Robert de
Turnham, the only one of the king’s justiciaries remaining in
the isle of Cyprus after the death of Richard de Camville, collected
a large army and engaged with the new emperor, and, defeating him and
his people, took him prisoner, and hanged him on a gibbet.
In
the same month of June, Ralph Fitz-Godfrey, to whom the king had
given charge of the emperor of Cyprus, departed this life, and was
buried at Tripolis; after whose death, the king gave the emperor into
the charge of the Hospitallers, who took him to the castle of
Margant, and there placed him in confinement.
In
the same month of June, the miners of the king of England undermined
the foundations of the walls of the city of Acre, the pagans who were
inside being in ignorance thereof; and, placing logs of wood beneath,
they set them on fire; on which a great part of the walls fell down.
In
the meantime, the stone engines of the king of France, the Templars,
and the Pisans, had made a great breach in the wall, near a tower
which is called Maledetta, and the people of the king of France ran
towards the breach, hoping, by force, to effect an entrance into the
city. However, the pagans met them with a strong hand, and drove them
back; and, as the way was steep and narrow, many of the people of the
king of France were there slain. The king of England, however, and
his men were keeping guard in the meantime over the outer
trenches, which lay between the army of the Christians and that of
Saladin; for an agreement had been made between the kings that,
whenever one of them should be making an assault upon the city, the
other should in the meantime keep strict guard over the outer
trenches, in order that the army of Saladin might not be able to do
any injury to those making the assault, by attacking them in the
rear. This arrangement was also made between the kings, because in
every affair in which the said kings and their people had united,
they were less successful than they would have been if they had acted
separately, for the king of France and his men looked contemptuously
on the king of England and his people, while he and his people did
the same to the others.
In
the month of July, on the third day of that month, being the fourth
day of the week, a great part of the walls of the city of Acre fell
down, near the tower before-mentioned: upon which, Alberic Clement,
the marshal of the king of France, ran with a large body of armed men
towards the wall, with the standard of the king of France, the
marquis Conrad running with the rest towards the wall; on reaching
which, they planted their ladders for the purpose of scaling. The
said Alberic then mounted the wall: but the pagans, throwing over him
an iron hook> dragged him within the walls, and slew him, and
crushed forty more with stones : on which, Conrad with his people
retreated, as he and they were unwilling to discharge either stones
or arrows against the enemy, and the pagans against him and his
people ; besides which, the pagans who had come for the purpose of
defending the walls, remained, in the same spot waving the banner of
Conrad himself, which he had given them as a sign of peace, in the
sight and to the admiration of all.
On
the day after this, the chief men who were in the city, namely,
Mestoc and Karakois, came to the king of France and ‘the king
of England, and offered them the city, and the arms, and gold, and
silver that belonged to themselves and all the others who were in the
city, in return for leave to depart with safety to life and limb.
However, the kings declined to accede to these terms; but required,
as the price of their ransom, all the territory that Saladin and the
other pagans had taken from the Christians since the time that Louis,
king of the Franks ,
was at Jerusalem, as well as the Holy Cross, and the Christians, whom
they kept in captivity.
To
this Mestoc and Karakois made answer, "These exorbitant demands
we cannot comply with, except with the assent and will of our lord
Saladin, and our other principal men. But give us a truce of three
days, and allow us to go to our principal men, that we may confer
with them on the nature of your demands.” Accordingly, giving
hostages as a security for their return, they went to Saladin, but,
on informing him of the demands of the Christians, could not prevail
upon him to give anything for their ransom; and so, in confusion,
they took their departure and entered the city. On the following
night, at about midnight, Saladin made an assault upon the guards of
the outer trenches, with the intention that while the Christians were
giving their attention to the defence of the trenches, the pagans who
were in the city might more easily escape by flight. But the kings,
forewarned of this by a message from the man of God before-mentioned,
who was in the city, placed guards around the walls, so that there
was no safe egress for any of the pagans.
Upon
this, a great alarm was raised throughout the army of the Christians,
who, on being aroused from their sleep, quickly snatching up their
arms, hastened to the trenches, and, making an attack upon the
pagans, slew multitudes of them, and put the rest to flight. On the
fifth day of the month of July, being the sixth day of the week, a
breach in the walls was again set fire to, which had been made by the
men of the king of England; and, on the following night, the bastions
fell, with a great part of the walls, leaving a wide gap. On the day
after this, the king of England and his army, having armed,
approached with the view of making an assault on the city; on which
the pagans immediately made a signal that they wished to make peace
with them: whereupon, laying aside their arms, the Christians
returned to their camp, and Mestoc, Karakois, Hessedin, and Ordich
came out of the city for the purpose of having an interview with the
kings, and offered them the city, with all the other articles
abovementioned.
After
the kings and they had conferred upon the matter for a considerable
time, leave was given them to go to Saladin and return. Accordingly
they went, and prevailed upon Saladin to offer to the kings the city
of Jerusalem, and the Holy Cross, and all the cities and castles
which he had taken after the capture of king Guido, and to repair and
place them in the same state in which they then were; on condition, however, that
the said kings should either go with him, or send with him six thousand knights and
twenty thousand foot soldiers, to defend his territories against the
lord Musse and the sons of Noureddin, who had conquered his uncle
Thekedin in battle, and taken possession of all his territory,
although they had permitted them to depart uninjured. However, the
kings declined to do this, and the pagans before-named entered the
city disconsolate and in confusion; their friends, however, deserting
Saladin, loaded him with censures.
On the seventh day of the month of July, being the Lord’s day,
the king of France and his army made an assault upon the city, near the
tower called Maledetta, at the same spot at which they had previously
so done, but lost forty men, and were able to effect nothing
whatever. On the eighth day of the month of July, Saladin burned
Caiaphas, and destroyed the vineyards in its vicinity. On the
following night, when many of the knights and men-at-arms of the
Christian army were watching before the tower of Maledetta, a light
from heaven shone around them, in which appeared to them the blessed
Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ; on which, from fear, the guards
were exceedingly alarmed, and became as though dead men. But the
blessed Virgin benignantly comforted them, saying, "Be not
terrified, for the Lord has sent me hither for your safety. As soon
as the day shall have dawned, go and tell your kings, in the name of
Jesus Christ my Son and Lord, and in my name, to cease levelling the
walls of this city, as, on the fourth day from this, the Lord shall
deliver it into their hands.” At the same hour also at which
the Mother of Christ was speaking to the guards, a great earthquake
took place in the city, and so terrified the pagans, that they wished
rather to die than to live. In like manner shall the Lord, when He
shall come to judgment, appear gentle to the good, and terrible to
the wicked. After the Virgin Mary had thus spoken, she was severed
from before their eyes, and with her the light departed which had
shone around them.
Accordingly,
in the morning the guards related to the kings and the chief men of
the army the vision which they had seen and the words which the
Mother of the Lord had spoken unto them ; and immediately all the
words which she had spoken were spread throughout the army, and there
was great rejoicing among the people of God. Moreover, on the ninth
and tenth days of July, Saladin caused all the vines and fruit-bearing trees to
be rooted up which were in the vicinity of Acre, and all the cities
and castles to be destroyed in which he felt no confidence as being
able to resist the attacks of the Christians. On the eleventh day of
the month of July, the Pisans and the army of the king of England
made an assault on the city of Acre, and, having mounted the walls, a
Pisan, Leonardus by name, was slain; immediately after which the
pagans made a signal that they would surrender the city, and make
peace with the kings on their own terms. Accordingly, the chief men
of the pagans above-named came to confer with the kings as to making
peace, and, immediately after the conference, returned to the city.
On the twelfth day of the month of July, being the sixth day of the
week, Philip, king of France, Pilchard, king of England, and all the
principal men of the Christians, assembled in the morning at the tent
of the Templars, where they were met by the principal men of the
pagans besieged in the city; and, with the sanction of the army of
the Christians, the said kings made peace with the pagans on the
following terms—The pagans were to surrender to the said kings
the city of Acre, with everything therein, and to set at liberty five
hundred Christian captives who were there. They also covenanted with
the kings that they would deliver up to them the Holy Cross, and one
thousand Christian captives, and two hundred Christian knights who
were in captivity, according as the said kings should make choice
from among all the captives who should be found in the possession of
Saladin; and that they would give for the use of the kings two
hundred thousand besants.* They were also to remain as hostages in the
hands of the kings, upon the understanding that, if they should not within
forty days then next ensuing comply with the terms above-mentioned, they
should be at the mercy of the kings for life and limb.
* Roger of Wendover says “seven thousand."
These covenants being made, and these terms being agreed to by
both sides, and confirmed by oath, the kings sent their knights and men-at-arms
into the city, and selected one hundred of the richest and most noble
of the pagans, and placed them in a tower under a strong guard; while
the rest they caused to be guarded in the houses and streets of the
city, and supplied them with necessaries, making it a rule that all
who should receive baptism and embrace the Christian faith should be
set at liberty. Being influenced, accordingly, by their apprehension
of death, many of the pagans received baptism; but, as soon as they
possibly could, they forsook the Christian religion and betook
themselves to Saladin; on which the kings gave orders that, from that
time forward, no one should receive baptism. On Saladin hearing of
the peace which had been made with the Christians, he pretended that
it had not been made with his sanction. On the thirteenth day of the
month of July, the king of France and the king of England divided
between themselves the city of Acre, and everything that was in it,
both the pagans as well as the gold and silver, and all other
articles of property ; on which Drogo de Merlou and a hundred knights
were named on behalf of the king of France to receive his share; and
Hugh de Gurnay and a hundred knights were appointed on behalf of the
king of England to receive his proportion.
On the fourteenth day of the month of July, Saladin withdrew
himself and his army, and pitched his tents at a place called Saphora, and
messengers on his part went and returned to the kings, with fruits
and other presents; by whom Saladin made offer to the kings of the
whole of the land of Judea, with the exception of the Crag of
Montreal, which was beyond the river Jordan, on condition, however,
that they would lend him two thousand knights and five thousand
men-at-arms, for one year, for the purpose of defending his
territories against the lord Musse and the sons of Noureddin.
However, the kings declined to accept these proposals on his part.
On the fifteenth day of the month of July, the kings ordered their
stone engines and other engines of war to be taken down. On the sixteenth
day of July, messengers came to the kings, on behalf of the lord
Musse and the sons of Noureddin, and made the kings many and ample
offers for the assistance of their subjects against Saladin. On the
same day, Alardus, cardinal-bishop of Verona and legate of the
Apostolic See, and the archbishops of Tours, Pisa, and Aire, Hubert,
bishop of Salisbury, John, bishop of Evreux, Bernard, bishop of
Bayonne, the bishop of Tripolis, Philip of Chartres, and the bishop
of Beauvais, and other bishops of dioceses, consecrated the principal
churches of the city of Acre, which the pagans had polluted, and
built altars to the Lord, and celebrated mass thereon. In the
meantime the kings and the people gave due attention to the repair of
the walls. On the seventeenth and eighteenth days of the month of
July, the Pisans, and money-dealers, and others who followed
mercantile pursuits, received dwellings within the city, in the open
market, which the kings’ servants allotted to them, on the
understanding that they were to pay, yearly, the customary and proper
rents for the same.
On
the nineteenth day of the month of July, the earls and barons, who
had been now staying there nearly two years besieging Acre, seeing
that the kings had put every thing that had been taken upon the
surrender of the city into their own purses, and were willing to give
them no share thereof, had a meeting beyond the outer trenches, and
holding a conference there, sent word to the kings that they would no
longer continue with them, unless they were sharers in the gain as
they had been in the labour ; on which the kings made answer, that
they would satisfy their wishes; but as they delayed so doing, many,
being compelled by poverty so to do, left them. On the twentieth day
of the month of July, being the feast of Saint Margaret the Virgin,
Richard, king of England, made a proposal to the king of France that
they should both make oath that they would remain with their armies
three years in the land of Jerusalem, for the purpose of subjugating
the land; to which the king of France made answer, that he would make
no oath about the matter.
On
the twenty-first day of the month of July, the king of England first
entered the city of Acre; on which he and his wife, and sister took
up their abode in the king’s palace, while the king of France
was lodged in the mansion of the Templars. On the twenty-second day
of the month of July, being the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, the
king of France sent to the king of England Robert, bishop of
Beauvais, Hugh, duke of Burgundy, Drogo de Amiens, and William de
Merlou, and through them asked his sanction to his return to his own
country ; on which the king of England made this answer to them: “It
will be a shame and a disgrace for my lord if he goes away without
having completed the business on which he came hither. But still, if
he finds himself ailing, or in bad health, and is afraid lest he
should die here, his will be done.” On the twenty-third day of
the month, when it was spread through the army that the king of
France was about to depart, the principal men of his army came to
him, and besought him with tears not in this shameless manner to
desert the service of God. On the twenty-sixth day of the month of
July, by the advice of the king of France, Conrad came to the king of
England, and falling on the ground at his feet, asked his
forgiveness, on which the king of England put an end to all his anger
and displeasure against him On the following day, also, the king of
France came, and all the principal men of the army, to hear the
matters in dispute between king Guido and the marquis Conrad.
Accordingly, having taken their seats, the marquis Conrad arose, and
standing in the midst of them, demanded the kingdom of Jerusalem in
right of his wife; while Guido of Lusignan, who had been king before
its capture, and escaped from it when it was taken, and had commenced
the siege of Acre, demanded restitution thereof to be made to him,
showing that he had done nothing for which he deserved to lose his
kingdom. After much bandying of words on both sides, they each of
them submitted themselves to the award of the court of the kings, by
whose advice and judgment peace and final reconciliation were
effected between them, on the following terms:
In
the first place, they both made oath, that is to say, king Guido and
the marquis Conrad, that they would abide by the judgment of the
kings, and faithfully observe the same. On which, the said kings and
the whole army adjudged to the said king Guido, for his life, the
kingdom of Jerusalem; on the understanding that if he should take a
wife and have sons or daughters, they should have no right to claim
succession to the kingdom as of hereditary right. But if the marquis
Conrad and his wife, the sister of queen Sibylla, should happen to
survive him, they should succeed him in the kingdom, and their heirs
should in succession wield the sceptre and possess the same by
hereditary right. And, in the meantime, all the revenues of the
kingdom were to be halved between them, the royal dignity excepted,
which was to belong to Guido alone, so long as he should live.
Conrad, also, was to have Tyre, Sidon, and Baruth, and to hold the
same by hereditary right; while he and his heirs were always to
perform the due and customary services for the same to the king of
Jerusalem. Geoffrey of Lusignan, also, the king’s brother, was
to have the earldom of Joppa and Cæsarea, and to hold the same
by hereditary right; and he and his heirs were always to perform the
due and customary services for the same to the king of Jerusalem.
On
the twenty-ninth day of the month of July, Philip, king of France,
gave to Conrad, marquis of Montferrat, the moiety of the city of Acre
that belonged to himself. On the same
day, the king of France again asked the king of England to agree to
his return home, hut he could on no terms obtain his sanction to his
withdrawal, unless he should first swear upon the Holy Evangelists
that he would well and faithfully protect the territories and
subjects of the king of England until his return, and would inflict
no injury or grievance upon them, or allow the same to be done by any
one else. After this, the king of France appointed the duke of
Burgundy chief of his army, giving up to him a great part of his
treasure. Before his departure, he also gave to Raymond, prince of
Antioch, one hundred knights and five hundred men-at-arms for the
defence of his territory against the pagans, and gave to each of the
knights forty marks of silver as his pay from the feast of Saint
Michael until Easter, appointing Robert de Quincy their governor and
captain. The king of England also, on the same day, gave to the
prince of Antioch five great ships, laden with horses, arms, and
provisions. On the thirtieth day of the month of July, the king of
France and the king of England divided among themselves all the
pagans who had been captured at Acre. On the thirty-first day of the
month of July, that is to say, on the last day of that month, on the
feast of Saint German, the king of France departed from Acre, and,
taking with him Reginald, bishop of Chartres, and Peter, count de
Nevers, went to Tyre ; whither he also took Karakois and all the
other pagans belonging to him, and made a stay there of two days.
On
the third day of the month of August,[1191] the king of France left
Tyre, giving into the charge of the marquis Conrad all his pagan
prisoners. On the same day, the king of England caused his ships to
be laden, saying that he would go to Ascalon to lay siege to it, and
ordering all to follow him. On the fifth day of the month of August,
the king of England sent Hubert Fitz-Walter, bishop of Salisbury, to
Tyro, for the pagans whom the king of France had taken thither, in
order that he might bring them back; but Conrad refused to let them
go. On his return, he related to the king the answer he had received
from Conrad, on which the king was enraged, and swore that he would
personally go to Tyre for the purpose of bringing them away by force,
unless Conrad should speedily let them go. On this, the duke of
Burgundy made answer to the king, saying : “My lord, allow me
to go, and I will bring them back;” and accordingly, he went
and brought them back.
For
the day that had been named was now approaching upon
which the pagans were to perform their stipulation, and to he set at
liberty. However, upon that day, the pagans neither produced the Holy
Cross, nor the Christian captives, nor yet the money which they had
promised for the safety of their life and limbs: in consequence of
which failure, all those pagans were sentenced to undergo capital
punishment. When this was told to Saladin, he sent word to the king
of England and the whole army of the Christians, that if they cut off
the heads of his pagan subjects, he himself would strike off the
heads of all the Christians whom he had in his power.
On the fourteenth day of the month of August, being the fourth
day of the week, on the vigil of the Assumption of Saint Mary, the Mother
of God and ever a virgin, the king of England went beyond the outer
trenches and pitched his tents near the army of the pagans, and
remained there some days, having issued orders that all his army
should attend him; few, however, did so, in consequence of the
deficiency of horses and arms. On the same day, Saladin sent to the
king of England costly presents, and requested him to put off the day
on which he had proposed to cut off the heads of the pagans; but the
king declined to put off the day any longer, or to accept the
presents of Saladin. On Saladin seeing and hearing this, he caused
the heads of all the Christians, whom he had in his hands, to be cut
off; which was accordingly done on the eighteenth day of the month of
August, being the Lord’s day. On the same day, the king of
England moved his army, and drew near to the army of Saladin, and had
an engagement with him, on which occasion many fell on both sides
both killed and wounded, among whom, Peter Mignot, one of the
household of the king of England, was slain.
The king of England, although he heard of the death of the
Christians who had been slain, was still unwilling to anticipate the time
which he had fixed upon for taking off the heads of the pagans. However, on
the seventeenth day of the month of August, being the third day of
the week and the thirteenth day before the calends of September, the
king of England caused all the pagans who belonged to him from the
capture of Acre to be led out before the army of Saladin, and their
heads to be struck off in the presence of all. The duke of Burgundy
also caused the heads of the pagans to be cut off who had belonged to
the king of France, both within the city, and without, and near the
walls of the city.
Still,
the king of England and the duke of Burgundy preserved some of the
pagans for their ransom, whose names were as follow: Mestoc,
Karakois, Hessedin, the son of Caulin, Hessedin Jordic, Passelari,
Kamardoli, and Kaedin. The number of the pagans thus slain was five
thousand, all of whom the Christians disembowelled, and found much
gold and silver in their entrails, while they preserved their gall
for medical purposes. On the twenty-first day of the month of August,
after the slaughter of the pagans, the king of England delivered into
the charge of Bertram de Verdun the city of Acre, and the queen of
England, the queen of Sicily, and the daughter of the emperor of
Cyprus. On the twenty-second day of the month of August, being the
fifth day of the week, the king of England crossed the river of Acre
with his army, and, pitching his tents between that river and the
sea, on the sea-shore between Acre and Cayphas, remained there four
days. After this, he proceeded along the sea-shore towards Joppa,
while his ships sailed near him on the sea with his provisions and
engines of war, in order that if he had any necessity for so doing,
he might be enabled to return to his ships. Saladin and his army in
the meantime proceeded along the mountain passes, not far from the
king’s army, that he might impede his passage.
In
the month of September, on the third day after the exaltation of the
Holy Cross, when the king of England and his army had passed the
straits of Merle, and the duke of Burgundy with the Templars and
Franks was keeping the rearguard, and the king of England had hoisted
his standard in the midst of them, and had delivered his dragon* to
Peter de Pratelles to carry, against the claim of Robert Trussebut,
who had claimed to carry the same according to the right of his
predecessors, Saladin made a fierce attack upon the duke of Burgundy
and those who were with him. But no Christian was slain on that
occasion, with the sole exception of Jacques de Avennes, who, with a
few men withstood Saladin and his army; as the duke of Burgundy took
to flight. On this, the king of England, hearing the noise in the
rear, wheeled about and manfully engaged with the army of Saladin,
and gained a victory over him, slaying three thousand of the pagans ;
after which he remained there three days. The king then wrote to his
deputies and friends to the following effect:—
*The
royal standard.
The Letter of Richard, king of England, on the departure of the
king of France from Acre.
“Richard, by the grace of God, king of England, duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, to N., his dearly beloved and faithful subject,
greeting, Know, that after the capture of Acre, and after the
departure of my lord the king of France from us at Acre, who there
basely abandoned the purpose of his pilgrimage, and broke his vow,
against the will of God, to the eternal disgrace of himself and of
his realm, we took the road to Joppa; and when we approached near
Assur, Saladin met us with a mighty host of his Saracens, and made an
attack upon us. However, by the mercy of God, we lost not a man on
this day, with the exception of one of extreme valour, and much
endeared to the whole army by his merits, namely, Jacques de Avennes,
who was ever ready and devoted, like a stay and support to the army,
in all holiness and in the sincerity of the faith, for many years
past, to serve God in the army of the Christians. After this, by the
will of God, we arrived at Joppa. We fortified that city with
trenches and a wall, making it our purpose everywhere, to the very
best of our power, to promote the interests of Christianity. Also, on
a second day, being the vigil of the Nativity of Saint Mary, Saladin
lost an infinite number of his great men, and taking to flight, as
though bereft of the benefit of all aid and counsel, laid waste the
whole of the land of Sulia. Further, on the third day before the rout
of Saladin, we were wounded in the left side with a javelin, but by
the grace of God have now recovered from the effects thereof. Know,
also, that by the grace of God, we hope within twenty days after the
Nativity of our Lord, to recover the. Holy City of Jerusalem, and the
Sepulchre of our Lord, after effecting which we shall return home.
Witness ourselves at Joppa, on the first day of October.”
The
Letter of the king of England to the abbot of Clairval, on the same
subject
“Richard,
by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to the venerable man and his most dearly-beloved
friend in Christ, the abbot of Clairval, health and a succession of
continued prosperity. After the mournful and universally bewailed
loss of the Holy City of Jerusalem, the City of the living God, in
favour of which his name was invoked, the earth was alarmed and
trembled, because the King of heaven had lost His own
land,
the land upon which His feet had stood. But the blessing of God being
diffused from the Apostolic See throughout the whole earth, the
friends of the Cross of Christ, as your holiness is not unaware,
vying with each other, pressed onwards to assume the sign of the
Cross on their foreheads and on their shoulders, and to avenge the
injuries done to that Holy Cross. Among these and ourselves was
divided the task undertaken by us of thus serving the living God, on
assuming the sign of the Cross for the purpose of defending the
scenes of His death which had been made holy by His precious blood,
and which the enemies of the Cross of Christ had hitherto
disgracefully profaned; and within a short time after the arrival of
my lord the king of the Franks at Acre, there, by the guidance of the
Lord, did we also arrive; shortly after which the noble city of Acre
was surrendered to my lord the king of the Franks and ourselves, the
lives being saved of the Saracens who had been sent for the purpose
of defending and protecting it, and an agreement being fully
confirmed on the part of Saladin that he would give up to us the Holy
Cross, and one thousand five hundred captives alive, a day being
appointed for the due performance of the said covenants. However, the
time having expired, and the stipulation which he had agreed to being
utterly disregarded, we put to death about two thousand six hundred
of the Saracens whom we held in our hands, as we were bound to do;
retaining, however, a few of the more noble ones, in return for whom
we trusted to recover the Holy Cross and certain of the Christian
captives. After this, the king of the Franks having returned home,
and the ruins and breaches in the walls of the city of Acre being
duly repaired, and the city properly fortified with trenches and a
wall, we agreed that at Joppa we would promote the interests of
Christianity and pursue the object of our vow; and, together with
ourselves, the duke of Burgundy with the French placed under his
command, the count Henry with his men, and many other earls and
barons, and an innumerable body of people, determined to proceed. As
between Acre and Joppa there was a very considerable distance, and a
very long road, we at length, after much toil, and a severe loss
of-men, came down to Caesarea. Saladin, also, on the same march lost
a great number of his men.
After
the people of God had taken breath for a time at that place, we
pursued
our intended route towards Joppa. Our vanguard having gone before and
pitched their tents at Assur, Saladin with a mighty host of Saracens
made an attack upon our rear-guard; on which, by the favouring grace
of the Divine mercy, he was put to flight by only four battalions who
faced about against him, and for a whole league was pursued in his
flight by the entire troops of the Christians; in consequence of
which, such a slaughter took place of the more noble Saracens whom
Saladin had with him, namely, in the vicinity of Assur, on the vigil
of the Nativity of Saint Mary the Virgin, being Saturday, that
Saladin had experienced none like thereto on any one day in the
preceding forty years. We, however, by the grace of God, lost not one
that day, with the exception of one very valiant man, Jacques de
Avennes, and much endeared to the whole army by his merits, who was
ever ready and devoted, like a stay and support to the army, in all
holiness and in the sincerity of the faith, for many years past, to
serve God in the army of the Christians. After this, by the guidance
of the Lord, we arrived at Joppa, and strengthened that city with
trenches and a wall, making it our purpose in every quarter to
promote the interests of Christianity to the utmost possible extent.
Since the day of the discomfiture of Saladin above-mentioned, he has
not dared to engage with the Christians, but, like a lion in his den,
has been secretly lying in ambush in the more elevated places for the
purpose of slaying the friends of the Cross like sheep destined for
slaughter. Accordingly, on hearing that we were marching towards
Ascalon with hasty steps, he overthrew that place and levelled it
with the ground, and has now deserted and set at nought the whole
land of Syria, as though he had been utterly bereft of the benefit of
ail counsel and assistance; in consequence of which, we consider it
to be a ground for sanguine hopes, that in a short time, by the
bounty of God, the inheritance of the Lord will be entirely regained.
And as the inheritance of the Lord has already in some measure been
regained, and we have in the recovery thereof endured all the heat
and burden of the day, and have now exhausted all our money, and not
only our money, but our strength and body as well; we do notify unto
your brotherhood that we are not able to remain in the country of
Syria beyond the festival of Easter. The duke of Burgundy, with the
Franks placed under his command, count Henry, with his men, and the
other earls, barons, and knights, who, in the service of God have
expended their means in behalf of God, will return home, unless
through the skilful effects produced by your preaching, timely
provision shall be made for them, in men, by whom the land may be
peopled and defended, and in money, which they may expend more freely
in the service of God. Wherefore, falling at the feet of your
holiness and shedding tears, we do proffer our humble entreaties, and
do most earnestly beseech you that in such manner as becomes your
duty and your honor, you will make it your endeavour to induce the
princes and noblemen throughout all Christendom, and the rest of the
people of God, to give their services to the living God, and to
prompt them so to do. And therefore, after the said festival Of
Easter, let it be for them to defend and protect the kingdom of the
Lord, of which we, by the mercy of God, will, by the said time of
Easter, more fully gain possession. And be it the care of your
diligence to act with such earnestness in this respect, that nothing
may through neglect on your part be lost, of that which the common
advantage of all Christendom so ardently awaits. And for this reason
it is that we do at this early period direct to your holiness our
letters with reference to the interests of Christianity; to the end
that we may not be reproached with slothfulness and negligence, in
case we had in any way neglected to forewarn a man of such position
and of so holy a life on the urgent interests of Christendom.
Therefore, in such manner as before we had resolved on this
expedition, you encouraged us and the rest of the people of God to
enter the service of God, and to restore His inheritance to Him, so
now as well does the most urgent necessity call upon you, with all
earnestness to arouse the people of God to act as hereinbefore
mentioned. Witness ourselves, at Joppa, on the first day of October.”
It
is also to be observed that, immediately after the rout of Saladin,
the pagans who were in Ascalon and Joppa abandoned those places, not
daring to await the arrival of the king of England ; accordingly, the
king of England found them both deserted, and fortified them with
castles and trenches. Shortly after this, the king of England having
gone one day to some gardens about a mile from Joppa, to walk there,
he fell asleep, on which a multitude of pagans surprised him, and
aroused the king from his slumbers; immediately on which, he mounted
his horse, and manfully withstood the Saracens. However, William de
Pratelles, one of his household, was there
taken prisoner, and Reginald, his comrade, was slain; one also of the
king’s chargers was taken there, and its leader slain, and the
king only escaped through his prowess. When the king was mounting his
horse, his belt, enriched with gold and precious stones, fell off,
which was found by William de Corneburg, and afterwards restored to
the king. Saphadin, the brother of Saladin, also sent back his horse
to the king, who returned to Joppa. After this, the king fortified
the castle of Planes, and the castle of Maen, and stayed at Joppa
till nearly the Nativity of our Lord.
In
the meantime, a serious dissension arose in England between the
king’s chancellor and John, earl of Mortaigne, the king’s
brother, relative to the castle of Lincoln, which the chancellor
besieged, having expelled Gerard de Camville from the keepership and
the office of sheriff of Lincoln; which former office the chancellor
gave to William. de Stuteville, and made him sheriff as well. But
while the said chancellor was besieging the castle of Lincoln, the
castle of Nottingham and the castle of Tickhill, which belonged to
the king, were surrendered to earl John, who immediately sent word to
the chancellor that, unless he quickly gave up the siege, he would
visit him with a rod of iron.
Consequently,
the chancellor, being alarmed at the commands of John, earl of
Mortaigne, broke up the siege; and, through the mediation of many of
the bishops, and other faithful servants of our lord the king, they
appointed a day for an interview, at which an agreement was made
between them on the following terms :—
“Be
it known to all men to whom this present writing shall come, that the
dispute that has arisen between the earl of Mortaigne and our lord
the chancellor has been, through the mediation of the archbishop of
Rouen, and the bishops of Durham, London, Winchester, Bath,
Rochester, and Coventry, and other faithful servants of our lord the
king, set at rest; inasmuch as the earl of Mortaigne has restored to
our lord the king, by the hands of the lord archbishop of Rouen, the
castles of Tickhill and of Nottingham, to be given into the charge of
William Marshal and of William de Wendenal; that is to say, the
castle of Nottingham to William Marshal, and the castle of Tickhill
to William de Wendenal; which said castles they shall, having made
oath thereto, keep to the honor of and in fealty to our lord the
king, until such time as he shall return; and when he shall return,
then they shall do therewith according to his will and command. And
if, which God forbid, it shall so happen that our lord the king shall
depart this life during the pilgrimage, then the said persons shall,
without detaining the same or any delay, deliver up the
before-mentioned castles to the said earl. And if it shall so happen
that, in the meantime, our lord the chancellor shall be guilty of any
excesses against the said earl, and, on being requested to make
amends for the same with out delay, in conformity with the advice and
opinion of the said lord archbishop of Rouen and others of the
household of our lord the king and of his court, shall refuse so to
do, then they shall restore and give up the said castles to the said
earl. These other castles also, with the honors thereof granted to
him by our lord the king, have been delivered into the charge of
faithful servants of our lord the king; that is to say, the castle of
Wallingford has been given up to the lord archbishop of Rouen, the
castle of Bristol to the lord bishop of London, the castle of the
Peak to the lord bishop of Coventry, the castle of Bolsover to
Richard of the Peak, and, if the said Richard should decline it, the
lord bishop of Coventry is to take it, the castle of Eye to Walter
Fitz-Robert, the castle of Hereford to earl Roger Bigot, the castles
of Exeter and of Launceston to Richard Revel; who have in like manner
sworn that, as they owe fealty to our lord the king, they will
faithfully keep the same for his service. And, further, three
castles, which belong to the crown of our lord the king, have been
delivered in trust as follows : the castle of Windsor to the earl 0r
Arundel, the castle of Winchester to Gilbert de Lacy, and the castle
of Northampton to Simon de Pateshull, who have in like manner sworn
that, as they owe fealty to our lord the king, they will faithfully
keep the same for his service. It has been further agreed, that
bishops, abbats, earls, barons, vavasors, and freeholders shall not,
at the will of justices or deputies of our lord the king, be
disseised of their lands and chattels, 28
but shall be dealt with by judgment of the court of our lord the
king, according to the lawful customs and assizes of the realm, or
according to the command of our lord the king. And in like manner the
lord John shall cause similar provisions to be made in his lands.
And, if any person shall presume to do otherwise, at the prayer of
the before named earl, the same shall be rectified by the lord
archbishop of Rouen, if he shall be in England, and by the justices
of our lord the king, and by those who have thus sworn to keep the
peace; and, in like manner, at their prayer, the said John shall
cause due reparation to be made. All new castles built after the
departure beyond sea of our lord the king on his pilgrimage, whether
begun or whether finished, shall be razed, and no other new ones
shall be fortified until the return of our lord the king, except in
manors demesne of our lord the king, if need there shall be, or in
case such shall be done in the service of some person named by the
precept of our lord the king, conveyed hither by letter or by some
trusty messenger. Gerard de Camville shall be reinstated in the
office of sheriff of Lincoln, and on the same day a proper day shall
be appointed for him to make his appearance in the court of our lord
the king, there to abide his trial; and if in the judgment of the
court of our lord the king proof can be given that he ought to lose
that office as also the keepership of the castle of Lincoln, then he
is to lose the same; but, if not, he is to keep it, unless in the
meantime an agreement can be come to relative thereto on some other
terms. And the lord John is not to support him against the decision
of our lord the king, nor is he to harbour such outlaws, or enemies
to our lord the king, as shall be named to him, nor allow them to be
harboured on his lands. But if any person shall be accused of any
offence committed against our lord the king, it shall be lawful for
the earl to harbour him in his lands so long as he shall offer to
make due redress in the court of our lord the king. To maintain and
observe this treaty of peace in good faith and without evil intent,
the said earl, and chancellor, and fourteen barons, on the two sides,
have made oath at the hand of the said lord archbishop of Rouen;
namely, on the part of the chancellor, the earl of Arundel, the earl
of Salisbury, the earl Roger Bigot, the earl of Clare, Walter
Fitz-Robert, William de Braove, and Roger Fitz-Remfray; and, on the
part of the earl, Stephen Ridel, his chancellor, William de Wendenal,
Robert de la Mare, Philip de Lurcester, William de Kahannes, Gilbert
Basset, and William de Montacute. And if within the time of the truce
anything shall have been taken or intercepted on either side, it
shall be lawfully returned and made good. And this treaty has been
made, saving in all things the authority and commands of our lord the
king; but so that if, before his return, our lord the king shall be
unwilling that this treaty shall hold good, the before-named castles
of Nottingham and Tickhill shall be restored to the lord John,
whatever commands our lord the king may give relative thereto.”
In
the same year, a short time after the above-mentioned treaty of peace
made between the chancellor and the earl, Geoffrey, the archbishop
elect of York was consecrated by William, archbishop of Tours, by
command of Celestinus, the Supreme Pontiff; and, immediately after
his consecration, being unmindful of the oath which he had made to
the king, his brother, to the effect that he would not return to
England till after the expiration of three years from the time that
the king left England, he hastened to return to England. However, on
his arrival at Witsand, in Flanders, for the purpose of crossing over
to England, he was forbidden on part of the chancellor to presume to
return to England, contrary to the tenor of the oath which he had
taken before the king; but the archbishop refused at his command to
abandon his purpose; wherefore, the chancellor ordered him to be
seized, if he should come into England.
Accordingly,
the archbishop of York came over to England, and landed at Dover, in
the month of September, while the servants of the chancellor were
standing on the shore for the purpose of laying hands on him. Being,
however, forewarned of this, before he left the ship he changed his
clothes, and mounting a horse in whose speed he had confidence, fled
to a monastery of monks in that town. It was about the sixth hour of
the day, and the monks had begun mass, and the Epistle was being
read, in which they had just come to the passage where the holy
Apostle says: “He that troubleth you shall bear his judgment,
whosoever he be;” and again, in the same Epistle, “I
would they were even cut off which trouble you,” when the
archbishop of York entered the church, putting his trust in the Lord;
and he received the same as a pleasing omen, referring it to the
lasting quiet of his own holy office, and the approaching confusion
of the chancellor.
Upon
this, the servants of the chancellor whom he had sent to apprehend
him, besieged the church on all sides, so that he could not come
forth without falling into their hands; and one day, after the
celebration of the mass, while the said archbishop, clad in his
sacerdotal habiliments, was still standing at the altar, these
sinister satellites effected an entrance into the church, and laid
violent hands upon him, and dragged him forth from the church. After
dragging him out, or rather tearing him away therefrom, they vilely
and ignominiously led him through the mud of the streets, and along
the lanes, while the people stood shouting after them: “O
cowards! why do you take him in this manner ? What harm has he done ?
He is an archbishop, the brother of a king, and the son of a king!”
However,
not attending to the words of the people, they took him to Dover
castle, and delivered him into the custody of Matthew de Clare, the
constable thereof. When this was told to earl John, the brother of
the said archbishop, he enquired of the chancellor if this had been
done by his order, on which he admitted that it was, and did not deny
it; whereupon the earl gave orders that the archbishop should be set
at liberty, which was done accordingly.
On
his arrival at London, he made complaint to earl John, and the
bishops, and other nobles of the kingdom, respecting the injuries
done to him and his people by the chancellor and his men; and the
earl gave orders that the chancellor should take his trial in the
king’s court for the injury which he had done to his brother
the archbishop of York, and to Hugh, bishop of Durham. On the
chancellor delaying to do this from day to day, the earl John, and
the archbishop of Rouen, and the bishops and principal men of the
kingdom, named a peremptory day for his appearance at Reading: on
which day there came thither the earl of Mortaigne, and nearly all
the bishops, earls, and barons of the kingdom; but though they waited
there after the peremptory day, expecting the arrival of the
chancellor, he declined to come, or even to send a message. Upon
this, earl John, and the bishops who were with him, prepared to set
out for London, that being there met by a more considerable number of
persons, they might enjoy the benefit of the advice of the citizens
of London, what to do as to their chancellor, who had created this
confusion in the kingdom, and refused to take his trial.
On
the chancellor hearing this, he left Windsor and hastened to London,
and, while on the road, it so happened that his household and knights
met the knights of earl John, on which a sharp engagement took place
between them. In this affair one of the knights of earl John, by name
Roger de Planis, lost his life; however, the earl prevailed, and the
chancellor and
his men taking to flight, he entered London, and took refuge with his
people in the Tower of London. Earl John, and nearly all the bishops
and earls of England, also entered London on the same day, namely,
the third day after the octave of Saint Michael, and, on the
following day, the said earl John, the king’s brother, and the
archbishop of Rouen, and all the bishops, and the earls, and barons,
met the citizens of London in Saint Paul’s Churchyard, and
there made accusation against the said chancellor of many offences,
and especially the injuries he had done to the lord archbishop of
York and the lord bishop of Durham.
The
associates also of the said chancellor whom the king had associated
with him in the government of the kingdom, accused him of many
offences, saying that, despising their advice, he had transacted all
the affairs of the kingdom according to impulse and his own will. The
archbishop of Rouen also, and William Marshal, earl of Striguil, then
for the first time produced before the people the sealed letters from
our lord the king, in which the king had sent orders from Messina
that they should be associated with him in the government of the
kingdom, and that, without the advice of them and the other persons
so appointed, he was not to act in the affairs of the king and the
kingdom, and that if he should do anything to the detriment of the
kingdom, or without the consent of the persons beforenamed, he should
be deposed, and the archbishop of Rouen substituted in his place.
It
seemed good therefore to John, the king’s brother, and all the
bishops, earls, and barons of the kingdom, and to the citizens of
London, that the chancellor should be deposed, and they accordingly
deposed him, and substituted in his place the archbishop of Rouen,
who was willing to do nothing in the government of the kingdom except
with the will and consent of the persons assigned to him as
associates therein, and with the sanction of the barons of the
exchequer. On the same day, also, the earl of Mortaigne, the
archbishop of Rouen, and the other justiciaries of the king, granted
to the citizens of London the privilege of their commonalty; and,
during the same year, the earl of Mortaigne, the archbishop of Rouen,
and the other justiciaries of the king, made oath that they would
solemnly and inviolably observe the said privilege, so long as the
same should please their lord the king. The citizens of London also
made oath that they would faithfully serve their lord
king Richard, and his heirs, and would, if he should die without
issue, receive earl John, the brother of king Richard, as their king
and lord. They also swore fealty to him against all men, saving
always their fealty to king Richard, his brother. Upon this, the
chancellor, being deposed, made oath that he would surrender all the
castles throughout England, and immediately surrendered to him the
Tower of London; and he delivered it to the archbishop of Rouen, as
also Windsor, and some other castles, but not all of them.
On this occasion, Hugh de Nunant, the bishop of Coventry, wrote to the
following effect:—
The Letter of Hugh, bishop of Coventry, on the deposition of William,
bishop of Ely, the king’s chancellor.
“The things that are committed to writing are beyond doubt
bequeathed to posterity, to the end that the page that is confirmed by the
testimony of a few, may either advise for the safety, or redound to
the benefit of, many: and may what is here set down be considered as
an illustration of the truth of the same. For many things are
committed to writing by way of caution, that the same may be done;
and many, again, that they may not be done; that so the church of
Christ may profit on either side, and may both seek what is to be
coveted and shun what is to be avoided. For this reason it is our
wish that ‘the fall of the bishop of Ely should, by letters
attesting the same, be brought to the notice of all; to the end that
in this illustration humility may always find that by which to
profit, and pride that which to hold in dread. For he was a great man
among all the people of the west, and, as though gifted with a
twofold right hand, wielded the power of the kingdom and the
authority of the Apostolic See, and was in possession of the king’s
seal over all lands, so as to be enabled to govern according to his
own will, and of his own power to bring all things to completion;
even in the same degree of estimation as both king and priest
together was he held : nor was there any person to be found to dare
to offer resistance to his will. For he said, and the thing was done,
he commanded, and all means were discovered. In his hands were the
royal treasures, the whole of the king’s riches, and the entire
exchequer, so much so that all property whatsoever that swam beneath our
skies was no longer said to belong to the king, but to him. For there was
neither that which is hunted for on land, fished for in the water, or flying in
the air, which was not compelled to he at the service of his table,
insomuch that he appeared to have shared the elements with the Lord;
leaving the heaven of heavens alone to the Lord, and reserving the
other three to advantage by the use or rather abuse and luxurious
enjoyment thereof. All the sons of the nobles acted as his servants,
with downcast looks, nor dared they to look upwards towards the
heavens, unless it so happened that they were addressed by him; and
if they attended to anything else, they were pricked with a goad,
which their lord held in his hands, fully mindful of his grandfather
of pious memory, who being of servile condition in the district of
Beauvais, had for his occupation to guide the plough and whip up the
oxen; and who at length, to gain his liberty, fled to the Norman
territory. The grandchildren and relatives of this man, even any
females whatsoever who were akin to him, though sprung from a poor
cabin, earls, and barons, and nobles of the kingdom, longed with the
greatest avidity to unite with themselves in marriage; thinking it a
matter for pride, under any title whatever, to acquire the favour of
his intimate acquaintanceship; nor was there a churl who longed for a
field, a citizen who longed for a farm, a knight who longed for an
estate, a clerk who longed for a benefice, or a monk who longed for
an abbey, who was not obliged to become subservient to his power and
influence. And although all England, bending the knee, was ever at
his service, still did he always aspire to the free mode of life of
the Franks, and removed his knights and yeomen, and all his.
household, to Oxford; where, slighting the English nation on all
occasions, attended by a troop of Franks and Flemings, he moved
pompously along, bearing a sneer in his nostrils, a grin on his
features, derision in his eyes, and superciliousness on his brow, by
way of fit ornament for a priest. For his own aggrandizement and for
the glorification of his name, he was in the habit of getting up
verses that he had picked up by begging, and adulatory jingles, and
enticed jesters and singers from the kingdom of France by his
presents, that they might sing about him in the streets; and but
lately it was everywhere said that there was not such a person in all
the world. And really, if it had been the time of the Caesars, he
would with Tiberius have had himself styled the living God.
But when the king had given him certain earls as his associates,
in order that at least the more weighty concerns of the realm might be managed
by their counsels in common, he could not at all endure to have any
partner therein, as he thought that the greater part of his glory
would be thrown into the shade, if he should stand in need of the
advice of any mortal being. Therefore he ruled alone, therefore he
reigned alone, and from sea to sea was he dreaded as though a God ;
and were I to say still more, I should not be telling a falsehood,
because God is long-suffering and merciful; while he, ruling every
thing according to his own impulses, was neither able to observe
justice when acting, nor to endure delay in waiting the proper time.
Hence it arose that he set at nought all the letters and mandates of
his lord; that he might not seem to have a superior, nor be supposed
to be subject to any one, having always made every one act as the
servant of his own will. Therefore, after England had for a
considerable time suffered under so heavy a burden and a yoke so
insupportable, at length, while groaning at his deeds, she cried
aloud with all her might. Her cries went up to the Lord, and He,
rising, looked down on her from on high, who by His own might treads
under foot the necks of the proud and haughty, and exalts the humble
by the might of His arm. The sun of justice, indeed, may shine upon
the good and the bad, still the eyes of the overwise it dazzles, and
by the brilliancy of its light brings forth fruit in the minds of the
humble. For although this chancellor may perchance have read that it
is denied us long to dwell on high, and that ‘He who stands
must take care lest he fall,’ and that, ‘He who exalteth
himself shall be abased,’ and that before a downfall the heart
is elated; still, being forgetful of the lot of mankind, which never
remains in the same condition, and of the volubility of the wheel
that elevates the lowly man, and, when elevated, is wont to depress
him, he was never willing to understand that he ought to act
virtuously; but meditating iniquity in his bed, where he was sleeping
with the ministers of wickedness, and with youths in his chamber, he
added iniquity to iniquity, so as by his pride and his abuses,
through the just retribution of God, to precipitate himself into the
powerful hands of the Lord; so that now there was no longer any room
for mercy for him, but solely for the exercise of power. Nor indeed
was there an opportunity for taking compassion on him or sparing him.
For it was he himself who dictated the sentence against himself, who
goaded vengeance on, who aimed at crimes so great, that he thereby
provoked the anger not only of men, but still more, of God. For
although the Lord can do all things, still He is unable to condemn a
man who is innocent, or to save one who is guilty, nor would He spare
him if the guilty man should chance to he obstinate in his guilt. For
against an obstinate mind and the forehead of a harlot may be brought
the hardness of real adamant, so as to be worn away thereby; for
nothing is there so strong but that it must give way before what is
stronger. As, therefore, a man so powerful could not be overcome by
man, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation came to the
aid of the people who supplicated God, and supplanting the hand of
mercy in his case, hurled him down from his power, and brought this
accuser, or rather destroyer, to such a pitch of giddiness of mind,
that he was unable to recover or arouse himself therefrom; but He so
hardened his heart, blinded his mind, and infatuated his counsels,
that he first besieged the archbishop of York in a church, then
seized him, and after seizing him, violently tore him away; after
tearing him away, strongly bound him; after strongly binding him,
dragged him along; and after dragging him along, threw him into
prison. And although there was a concourse of people who exclaimed,
‘What has this righteous man and friend of God been guilty of,
that he should be taken to prison? his innocent blood is condemned
without a cause,’ still, pity could not listen where pride
reigned, and God was not heard where the tyrant held sway. For the
said archbishop was coming from the country of Normandy with his
pastoral staff and mitre, and ring, and superhumeral, which in later
times has been styled the pall. And although he was the son of king
Henry, of happy memory, and the brother of king Richard, who now
reigns, and the brother of John, earl of Mortaigne, still, his royal
blood could be of no service to him; and although he had been
recently consecrated, the recent performance of that sacrament could
not avail him. Consequently, it was in public the universal cry of
the laity throughout the whole island, ‘Perish he who hastens
on the ruin of all things! that he may not crush all, let him be
crushed. If he has
done this in a green tree, what will he do in a dry one?’ And
behold! under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, all persons meet
together from the north, and from the sea, and from all parts of the
whole island, and flock in crowds, that the archbishop may be set at
liberty. But the cords of his sins tightening apace around the
chancellor, and his conscience strongly accusing him, clad in a coat
of mail, he flies from before the faces of men, and hides himself,
and shuts himself with his people in the Tower of London. As we
entered the city at a late hour, many of his household in arms
attacked us with drawn swords, and slew one of our knights, a noble
man, and wounded a great number. However, in the morning a council
was held by nearly all the nobles of the kingdom, in presence of the
lord John, the king’s brother, the archbishops of Rouen and
York, and the bishops of Durham, London, Winchester, Bath, Rochester,
Norwich, Lincoln, Hereford, Saint David’s, and Coventry; and in
the presence of all the people of the city, and of the justiciaries
of our lord the king, who approved thereof, we did, with the assent
of all, agree that such a person should thenceforth no longer rule in
the kingdom of England, by whom the Church of England was reduced to
a state of ignominy, and the people to want; for, to omit other
matters, he and his revellers had so exhausted the whole kingdom,
that they did not leave a man his belt, a woman her necklace, a
nobleman his ring, or anything of value even to a Jew. He had
likewise so utterly emptied the king’s treasury, that in all
the coffers and bags therein, nothing but the keys could be met with,
after the lapse of these last two years. On the third day he
positively promised, and gave his word by one of his followers, in
the presence of all, that he would not leave the island until certain
castles which he kept in his own hands, and had given into the charge
of some foreigners, unknown and obscure persons, and which were then
named, should have been fully surrendered by him and given into the
charge of certain persons named; for the performance of which he gave
his brothers and his chamberlain as hostages. He then hastened to
Canterbury, that there, as became him, he might assume the cross of
pilgrimage, and lay aside the cross of the legateship, which for a
year and a half since the death of pope Clement, he had wielded to
the prejudice of the Church of Rome, and to the detriment of that of
England. For all the churches
of England had that cross put to their ransom ; that is to say, had
compelled them to submit to the extortion of fines; nor was there any
one exempt from feeling the blows of that cross. And then, besides if
by chance it happened that he entered the house of any bishop, you
will be able to learn from him that his entertainment cost him the
price of one or two hundred marks. After he had remained in the
castle of Dover some days, unmindful of his profession and of the
obligation of his promise which he had given, forgetful also of his
brothers, whom, having given as hostages, he was disgracefully
exposing to peril of death, he determined to set sail, and as he did
not care to do this openly, he hit upon a new kind of stratagem, and
pretending to be a woman, a sex which he always hated, changed the
priest’s robe into the harlot’s dress. Oh shame! the man
became a woman, the chancellor a chancelloress, the priest a harlot,
the bishop a buffoon. Accordingly, although he was lame, he chose to
hasten on foot from the heights of the castle down to the sea-shore,
clothed in a woman’s green gown of enormous length instead of
the priest’s gown of azure colour; having on a cape of the same
colour, .with unsightly long sleeves, instead of a chasuble, a hood
on his head instead of a mitre, some brown cloth in his left hand, as
if for sale, instead of a maniple,* and the staff of the huckster in
his right in place of his pastoral staff. Decked out in such guise
the bishop came down to the sea-shore, and he who had been accustomed
much more frequently to wear the knight’s coat of mail,
wondrous thing! became so effeminate in mind, as to make choice of a
feminine dress. Having seated himself on the shore upon a rock, a
fisherman, who immediately took him for a common woman, came up to
him; and, having come nearly naked from the sea, perhaps wishing to
be made warm, he ran up to this wretch, and embracing his neck with
the left arm, with his right began pulling him about, upon which he
almost immediately discovered** that he was a man.
* The "manipulum,” "fanon,”or "sudarium,”
was either a napkin or a short sleeve worn over the left wrist by the
priesthood when officiating.
** This passage has been necessarily modified in the Translation; it
stands thus in the text—”Cucurrit ad moustrum, et maim
sinistra collum complectens, dextera partes inferiores rimatur.
Cumque tunicam subito sublevasset, et nimis inverecunde ad partes
verecundas manum extendisset audacter, femoralia sensit et virum in
fsemina certis indiciis agnovit.” The story is not told with
all these circumstances by all the chroniclers, and no doubt the
bishop of Coventry was wishful that it should lose nothing in his way
of telling it. The first part of this extract is exceedingly
improbable.
At this he was greatly surprised, and, starting back, in a fit of
amazement, shouted out with a loud voice, ‘Come all of you and
see a wonder; I have found a woman who is a man!’ Immediately
on this, his servants and acquaintances who were standing at a
distance came up, and with a gentle kind of violence pushed him back
and ordered him to hold his tongue ; upon which the fisherman held
his peace and the clamour ceased, and this hermaphrodite sat waiting
there. In the meantime a woman, who had come from the town, seeing
the linen cloth, which he or rather she, was carrying as though on
sale, came and began to ask what was the price, and for how much he
would let her have an ell. He, however, made no answer, as he was
utterly unacquainted with the English language ; on which she pressed
the more; and shortly after another woman came up, who urgently made
the same enquiry, and pressed him very hard to let her know the price
at which he would sell it. As he answered nothing at all, but rather
laughed in his sleeve, they began to talk among themselves, and to
enquire what could be the meaning of it. Then, suspecting some
imposture, they laid hands upon the hood with which his face was
covered, and pulling it backward from his nose, beheld the swarthy
features of a man, lately shaved, on which they began to be extremely
astonished. Then rushing to the dry land,* they lifted their voices
to the stars, crying out, ‘ Come, let us stone this monster,
who is a disgrace to either sex.’ Immediately a crowd of men
and women were collected together, tearing the hood from off his
head, and ignominiously dragging him prostrate on the ground by his
sleeves and cape along the sand and over the rocks, not without doing
him considerable injury. In the meanwhile his servants made an attack
two or three times on the multitude for the purpose of rescuing him,
but were not able, as all the populace were inflicting vengeance upon
him with insatiate eagerness, reviling him, inflicting blows and
spitting upon him; and after much other disgraceful treatment, they
dragged him through the whole of the town, and then, dragging him, or
rather dragging him to pieces, they shut him up in a dark cellar with
a guard over him, for a prison. Thus was he dragged who had dragged another,
made captive who had been the captor, bound who had been the binder,
incarcerated who had been the one to incarcerate, that so with the extent of
the offence the extent of the punishment might seem to be commensurate. For
he became an object of extreme disgrace to his neighbours, of dread to his
acquaintances, and was made a laughing-stock for all the people. I
only wish that he had polluted himself alone, the priest, and not the
priestly office. May, then, the Church of Rome make due provision
that such great guiltiness may be punished in such a way, that the
offence of one may not contaminate all, and that the priestly
authority may- not be lessened thereby. And further, may the king of
England take all precaution to appoint such a person over his realm,
that by him the royal dignity may be preserved, and his authority may
suffer no diminution through him; but rather that the clergy and the
people may have cause to congratulate themselves upon his
government.”
* “Terram,” in contradistinction to the sea-shore.
The Letter of Master Peter of Blois on behalf of William, bishop of Ely.*
* The Editor of the “Pictorial History of England”
remarks, respecting this letter, “Peter of Blois took Hugh to account
for this satire which was evidently intended to put Longchamp in a
more ridiculous and degrading light than archbishop Geoffrey had been
in at the same place, Dover.”
“To his former lord and friend, Hugh, so called,
bishop of Coventry and Chester, Peter of Blois, archdeacon of Bath, may he
remember God with fear. The excesses of a traitorous faction this day reveal
to what lengths malice may proceed, what envy may be guilty of. The bishop of
Ely, one beloved by God and men, a man amiable, wise, generous, kind,
and meek, bounteous and liberal to the highest degree, had by the
dispensations of the Divine favour, and in accordance with the
requirements of his own manners and merits, been honored with the
administration of the state, and had thus gained the supreme
authority. With feelings of anger you beheld this, and forthwith he
became the object of your envy. Accordingly, your envy conceived
vexation and brought forth iniquity; whereas he, walking in the
simplicity of his mind, received you into the hallowed precincts of
his acquaintanceship, and with singleness of heart, and into the
bonds of friendship and strict alliance. His entire spirit reposed
upon you, and all your thoughts unto him were for evil. ‘Woe,’
says Ecclesiasticus, ‘to a double
heart and to wicked lips, and to the sinner that goeth two ways.’
The face of the hypocrite veiled the wickedness of the conscience
within with a kind of pretence of friendship, and in secret you were
inflicting upon an innocent man the injuries caused by a seditious
and petulant tongue. Solomon says, ‘Curse the whisperer and
double-tongued: for such have destroyed many that were at peace.’
All his inward thoughts did he pour forth into your bosom: you he
looked upon as a second self, and yet you, to find a pretence for
causing his fall, thought fit to ply him with the adulation of a
betrayer. Oh detestable treachery! Judas betrayed with a kiss, you
with words ; without, you made a show of the regard of an attentive
friend, and your tongue was planning treachery. As you sat, you spoke
against your brother, and in the way of the son of your mother did
you lay a stumbling-block. ‘Woe to that man by whom the offence
cometh.’ This guilty conduct, indeed, has branded you with the
lasting stain of bad opinion, and if by the bounty of nature you had
received any commendable points, this fault has done away with them
for ever. In like manner, Joab acted valiantly on many occasions, but
his treachery to Amasa and Abner, blackened in him all the glories of
his valorous deeds. Oh lips of detraction! Oh tongue of abuse and
treachery! What, O Lord shall be applied to this treacherous tongue?
Would that arrows might be applied thereto, that they might pierce it
through and through, and that desolating coals of fire might consume
it; would that thou, Seraph, who with the live coal from heaven didst
purge the lips of the prophet, wouldst with the flames of hell, in
purging his whole face and tongue, destroy the same, that so we might
be able to sing and say, ‘In cleansing him thou hast destroyed
him.’ Lips consecrated by the Gospel, are never ceasing to
babble forth their lying words to the winds. That is entirely devoted
to vanity which was due and owing to truth. But the man of froward
tongue will not be guided on the earth ; wherefore, ‘let him
that standeth take care lest he fall,’ for before ruin the
heart is exalted. Do you exult, unhappy man, and make it your boast
that you have supplanted an innocent man? But know beyond a doubt,
that he has been thus laid low for both the downfall and the uprising
of many, for the uprising of himself and of his people,
and for the downfall of yourself and your accomplices. This
punishment will fall upon your own head. For every deceit suffers
from its own recoil: from your treachery nought but the fruit of
sorrow will you gather; and you have commenced the web, that you may
be wrapped in a double cloak. It is Isaiah who says, ‘Ye who
begin the web and put your trust in the darkness of Egypt, await the
day of bitterness.’ You publicly make it your boast and vaunt
that it was you who created this tumult, that it was you who deceived
him when not on his guard, and that it was you induced the multitude
to attack with arms an unarmed man, and an innocent man with
insidiousness. Why boast of your malice, you, who are so powerful in
your iniquity? Why vaunt of your malice, which in most countries, as
your infamous character has become circulated, is in the mouths of
all classes? But about you and persons like you it may justly be
said, ‘They rejoice when they have done evil, and they exult at
things that bring the greatest disgrace.’ Besides, it is the
remark of the wise man, that he ‘ who rejoiceth at the ruin of
another, shall be punished;’ and Solomon says, ‘ Rejoice
not when thine enemy falleth—lest the Lord see it, and He turn
his wrath upon thee.’ Indeed, it was always the usual
accomplishment, and one peculiar to your family, to sow the
materials for dissension; and the pestilent branch has contracted its
evil qualities from the root of the noxious tree. Oh evil generation!
Oh provoking race! ‘Oh generation of vipers, who hath taught
you to flee from the wrath to come?’ Do you think that God will
not behold this, and require an account thereof? It was for this same
reason that the wicked man caused the anger of the Lord, ‘For
he said in his heart, he will not require the same.’ But,
beyond a doubt, the Lord will require it; He will also require to
know as to whose misfortunes you are now boasting; and at a future
day, by the bounty of the Lord, he shall breathe again. For wisdom
will not forsake the righteous man when sold, and in time shall he
gain respect. It rather befitted the gravity of your rank to promote
peace among the people, to allay sedition, and especially
in England, which, receiving you poor enough, amplified you with
mighty honors. Also, when speaking to those who were in the
Babylonish captivity, he says: ‘Seek the peace of the city, in
which the Lord hath caused you to be carried away captives, for in
the peace thereof shall ye have peace.’ On another occasion I
wrote to you, and with salutary warning entreated you to abstain from
such courses. However, the harp of David never fully allayed the
madness of Saul; and your hand has been extended to the commission of
such deeds as these. Therefore, remember, man, if only man you are,
remember, I say, your condition; remember the shortness of this life;
remember the strict and dreadful judge; remember the punishment so
fearful, so terrible, so interminable, and so intolerable, which is
reserved for you to everlasting, if you desist not from such a course
of wickedness.”
In eight days after this, John, earl of Mortaigne, gave orders that the
chancellor should be liberated from prison, and should take his
departure. Accordingly, he took his departure, and, crossing the sea,
landed at Witsand, in Flanders. But while he was on his road, some
nobles of that country, whom he had injured while in England, laid
hands upon him, and kept him till he had made satisfaction to them.
Proceeding thence, he arrived at Paris, and gave to Mauricius, the
bishop, sixty marks of silver, upon condition that he should be
received there with a procession, which was accordingly done. After
this, he returned into Normandy; but, by the command of the
archbishop of Piouen, he was considered there as an excommunicated
person, and in every place to which he came, throughout the whole of
the archbishopric of Rouen, an end was put to Divine service as long
as he was staying there.
On this, he sent messengers to pope Celestinus, and to his lord the king
of England, informing them, how John, earl of Mortaigne, and his
accomplices, had expelled him from the kingdom ; and, complaining of
the injuries done him, he demanded restitution of what had been taken
from him, at the same time making offer, on his part, to obey the
law, and further stating, that if his acts and expenditure should not
prove satisfactory to his lord the king, he would in all things give
satisfaction according to his demands. Upon this, the Supreme Pontiff
was provoked to anger, and wrote, to the following effect, to all the
archbishops and bishops of England:—
The Letter of pope Celestinus to the prelates of England, in behalf of
William, bishop of Ely
“Celestinus the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brethren
the archbishops and bishops throughout the kingdom of England
appointed, health, and the Apostolic benediction. Whereas our dearly
beloved son in Christ, Richard, the illustrious king of the English,
having assumed the cross, and prepared himself for avenging the
injuries done to the Redeemer, has therein, like a prudent man and
one who seeks the Lord, considered that the cares of governing his
kingdom ought to be postponed to the performance of his duty, and has
left the same under the Apostolic protection : it is, therefore, our
wish and our duty, with the greatest zeal, to preserve the integrity
and the rights of his realm, and the honor of himself, in the same
degree that, trusting in our protection, he has exposed his person
and his property to the greatest danger for the upholding of the holy
religion, and is known, in obedience to the Creator, to have behaved
himself in a praiseworthy manner, the Lord dealing with him and
giving good tokens of success, and most zealously, as is manifest
from his exploits. Therefore, inasmuch as we have heard that certain
attempts have been made upon his kingdom itself, as well as against
your venerable father, William, bishop of Ely, the legate of the
Apostolic See, to whom he has committed the government of his
kingdom, both by John, earl of Mortaigne, and certain other persons,
which in themselves contain some grounds of suspicion, and, if they
are true, are known to redound in no slight degree to contempt of the
Apostolic See, we have deemed it our duty at this early period to
meet such presumption, inasmuch as from delay very great injury might
possibly accrue to the king before - named and the land of Jerusalem,
and to ourselves and the Roman Church. Wherefore, by these Apostolic
writings, we do command the whole of you, and in virtue of your
obedience enjoin you, that if (as has been reported to us) the said
carl or any one else has dared to lay violent hands on the bishop
before-mentioned, or to seize him, or to extort from him any oath by
means of violence, or to keep him in confinement, or in any way to
change the state of the kingdom from the position in which it was
placed by his serene highness at his departure, in such ease, all
pretexts and excuses laid aside, you will meet together, and, with
candles lighted and bells ringing, all appeals and excuses, and all
respect for persons on your part utterly laid aside, publicly
announce as under the ban of excommunication the said earl, and all
his counsellors, advisers, accomplices, and abettors in the said acts
of presumptuous daring. You are also to cause them, when thus
excommunicated, to be strictly avoided by all, both in their own
lands as also in others which they may have invaded, and you are
entirely to forbid the celebration there of divine service, except
penance and the baptism of children, all obstacle thereto by appeal
being entirely removed ; until such time as, the said legate having
been released from confinement, as well as from the stringency of his
oath, and the kingdom having been replaced in the same position in
which it was left by the said king at his departure, envoys shall
come to the Apostolic See, with the testimony of letters from him and
from yourselves as well, for the purpose of absolution. And know for
certain that if, in the execution of this our precept, you shall be
negligent or remiss, we have resolved, with the help of God, to
inflict upon you no less a punishment than if the said injury had
been done to our own person, or to one of our brethren. Given at the
Lateran, on the fourth day before the nones of December, in the first
year of our Pontificate.”
Upon
the authority, therefore, of these letters of the Supreme Pontiff,
the said bishop of Ely wrote to Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, to the
following effect:
“William,
by the grace of God, bishop of Ely, legate of the Apostolic See, and
chancellor of our lord the king, to his venerable brother and most
dearly beloved friend, [Hugh], by the same grace, bishop of Lincoln,
health, and sincere love and affection. The more full the confidence
that we feel in your affection, the greater the constancy we have
found in you, so much the more confidently do we entrust to your
discreetness, and to that of the Church of God, the interests of our
lord the king, and our own, to be duly watched over; putting our
trust in God as to you, that your brotherly love will, in your
pontifical character, show all due regard to the Apostolic precepts
and our own. We do, therefore, in virtue of your obedience, enjoin,
and, on the strength of the authority which has been conferred upon
us, command you, that, for the purpose of performing the Apostolical
mandate issued to all the archbishops and bishops of England, as also
to all other your brethren whatsoever, you will with all speed
convene the same, to the end that the iniquity of the laity may no longer east a
slur on the Church of God and its priesthood, and lest, through any
tergiversation or dissimulation, their malice may he imputed as a
crime to yourselves. But as to the order which our lord the pope has
given with regard to the person of John, earl of Mortaigne, we have
modified the same, deferring the occasion until the Lord’s day
when “Esto mihi” * is sung; to the end that, if in the meantime
he shall think fit to repent, we may return thanks to God for the same, and in his behalf,
in the sight of our lord the pope, and of our lord the king of
England, the champion of Him who was crucified, pour forth our
affectionate prayers, that he may he deemed deserving of pardon for
his offence, and give him our strenuous aid and all efficacious
attention, saving always our fealty to our lord the king, and the
honor of our priestly office.
*
Quinquagesima Sunday; when the introit begins “Esto mihi in
Deum protectorem:” “Be thou, O God, protector to me.”
But,
on the lands of those excommunicated, you are to permit the
celebration of no Divine service, the baptism of children and penance
excepted. The names of those who have been excommunicated by our lord
the pope, and have been denounced as such by ourselves, of whose
doings the evidence is so notorious that it cannot by any
equivocation on their part be invalidated, are as follows: Walter,
archbishop of Rouen, Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, Hugh, bishop of
Coventry, William Marshal, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, William Bruyere, Hugh
Bardolph, Richard Malebisse and his brother Hugh, James and Simon
Fitz-Simon, Simon de Avranches, Roger FitzRemfray, Gilbert and
Rainfrid his sons, Gerard Camville, earl of Salisbury, John Marshal,
earl of Mellent, Gilbert Basset, Thomas Basset, Henry de Vere,
Jocelyn Fitz-Remfray, Stephen Riddel, chancellor of the earl of
Mortaigne; whom, both as bishop and as his legate, we do denounce to
you as excommunicated; as also Master Benedict, who, contrary to the
statutes of the king and the kingdom, and against our prohibition,
has dared to employ the seal of our lord the king, together with
John, archdeacon of Oxford. In addition to this, we do distinctly and
in especial order you publicly to denounce, as excommunicated, Hugh,
bishop of Coventry, whom we have solemnly excommunicated, not only
because in word and deed he has disowned the bishop, and because he
gave his bodily oath at the hand of Baldwin, archbishop of
Canterbury, of pious memory, as to not holding courts, but also
because he has been manifestly
a counsellor and adviser to the entire subversion of the realm of
England, a disturber of the peace, and a public advocate against the
royal dignity and interests; and to cause him to be strictly avoided
by all, that in future a sheep so diseased may not be able to blemish
and corrupt the flock of the Lord. But Hugh Bardolph, who took no
part in our expulsion and confinement, we do except from the said
sentence of excommunication, if, immediately upon being warned, he
shall surrender the castles of Scarborough, and those throughout the
whole of Yorkshire and Westmoreland which he holds in his hands, to
William de Stutevillc. You are also to forbid all persons in your
diocese, under pain of excommunication, to do anything in obedience
to those who conduct themselves in England as though they were
justices, or in any way to obey a power founded on violence and
usurpation. Farewell.”
The said bishop of Ely also wrote to Hugh, bishop of Lincoln,
to the following effect:
“William, by the grace of God, bishop of Ely, legate of the Holy Apostolic See,
and chancellor of our lord the king, to his venerable brother and
friend, by the same grace, bishop of Lincoln, greeting. By that
authority which has been conferred upon us, we do command you, and in
virtue of your obedience enjoin, that you seize and take into your
own hands, and retain possession of, the archdeaconry and all the
revenues of John, archdeacon of Oxford, until such time as you shall
have received commands from the Apostolic See, or from ourselves;
inasmuch as with his uncle, the Pilate of Rouen, he is disturbing the
peace and tranquillity of the kingdom of England, and is seeking to
do whatever mischief he possibly can to our lord the king and to his
realm, as being an enemy of the realm and to ourselves. For, by the
authority of our lord the pope, we have placed him under the ban of
excommunication. Farewell.”
The said bishop of Ely also wrote to a similar effect to some others of
the bishops of England; though not one of them performed the commands
of either the Apostolic See or of himself; as they did not consider
him as legate, or as the king’s chancellor. But the said
archbishop of Rouen, and the other justices of England, deprived him
of his bishopric, and collected his revenues for the behoof of the
king, in return for the king’s treasures which he had made away
with.
After this, the said justices and all the bishops, earls, and barons of
England joined in a letter, and wrote word to the king how his
chancellor had laid waste the kingdom of England and his treasures,
and how, by the common consent of the kingdom, he had been deposed.
On the other hand, the chancellor wrote to the king, signifying how
that his brother John had taken possession of his kingdom, and would
place the crown on his own head, unless he should make haste and
return with all speed.
Of the return of Philip, king of France, from Acre, and of his journey.
But now let us return to the king of France, who, in the meantime,
leaving the object of his pilgrimage unperformed, had departed from
the land of Jerusalem with fourteen galleys, and had passed before
the city of Baruth, which was then in the hands of the pagans; but he
did not attack them. He next passed before the city of Sibelet and
before the castles of Bitterus and of Hesse, and then came to the
city of Tripolis, where he made a stay of some days. Departing
thence, he passed before the castle of Arches, the castle of Albe,
and Le Culiat, a castle of the Hospitallers. He next came to the
episcopal city of Turcusa. It is worthy of remark, that before
Turcusa there is an island in the sea, Aredosa by name, for which
reason Turcusa is called the “Aredosan city.” He next
came to the good harbour of Maureda, departing from which place he
passed before Margat, a castle of the Hospitallers, where Isaac,
emperor of Cyprus, was kept confined in chains. He next came to the
city of Valentia, then to the city of Sibel, then to the city of
Melida, and then to the port of Saint Simeon. He next arrived before
the city of Antioch, departing from which he came to the port of
Bunel, then to the port of Alexandrietta. After this, he entered the
land of the Armenians, which is called Armenia, and is the territory
of Rupin de la Montaigne, being held under the prince of Antioch. He
next came to a large river, the name of which is Thil, where there is
a good city, which in like manner is called Thil. He then came to a
large river called Curk, where there is a fine city deserted, also
called Curk. He next came to a third large river, which is called
Salef, where, upon this river, there is a large city, which is in
like manner called Salef. It was in this river Salef that Frederic,
emperor of the Romans, was drowned, when he was leaving the
territories of the sultan of Iconium.
It is also worthy to be known, that from this territory came
those three kings who offered to our Lord Jesus Christ three precious gifts,
namely, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their names were as follow :
Jesphar, Pabtrar,* and Melchior; of whom one was king of Salef, which
is called the ‘Island,’ another the king of Malnustre,
and the third was the king of Terzol, that is to say, Tarsis, as to
which it is said in the Psalms, “The kings of Tarshish and of
the isles shall bring presents.” It is also worthy to be known,
that these three rivers, Salef, Curk, and Thil, rise in Turkia, which
is the name of the land of the Turks, who are subjects of the sultan
of Iconium; these divide the land of the Turks from the land of Rupin
de la Montaigne, and fall into the sea near the gulf of Satalia. The
river also, which is called Salef, is opposite to the island of
Cyprus, and is not distant from it more than fifty miles, according
to the calculations of mariners, as people can easily see from one
shore to the other.”
* V. r. Pabtizar, or Paptizar; evidently a corruption for
Balthazar, The first name stands for Caspar, or Jasper.
When the king of France had left this river Salef, he passed
near some very high mountains, which are called Cathimerdes. He next passed
before a castle, the name of which is Nessekim, and then came to a
fine city called Stamere, in which there is a noble abbey of the
Griffons. He next passed a deserted castle, which is called the
castle of Rote, and then came to a river, which is called Scalendros
: this river divides the territories of the Armenians from those of
the emperor of Constantinople. Here, on one side of this river, in
the territory of the emperor of Constantinople, is a castle, which is
called Antiochet,* while on the other side of the same river, in
Armenia, there is a castle, the name of which is Isanci. When the
king of France arrived at the castle of Antiochet, Constantine, the
lord of the castle, received him with marks of joy, and supplied him
and his people with all necessaries. The king of France made a stay
there of eight days, and dubbed the eldest son of the said
Constantine a knight. It is also worthy to be known, that the whole
land which extends from the river Scalendros towards the north as far
as the sea is the territory of the emperor of Constantinople, which
is called Romania, that is to say, Graecia.
* V. r. Annechet.
After taking his departure thence, he immediately entered the
gulf of Satalia. It is called a gulf when water extends inward between two
lands, and forms a bay. Satalia is a very fine castle, and from it
the gulf takes its name. Upon this gulf are two castles and cities,
both of which are called Satalia; but one of these is deserted, and
is called Old Satalia, while the other is called New Satalia, and was
founded by Manuel, emperor of Constantinople. Crossing the gulf of
Satalia, the king of France passed a mountain, which is called
Siredune, at the end of the gulf of Satalia. He then passed a very
high mountain, the name of which is called Resut. He next came to a
river, which is called Winke,[?] upon which there is a deserted
castle, which is in like manner called Resut. This river Winke is
also called the Port of the Pisans, because the Pisan pirates often
frequent the harbour. When the king of France came thither, he found
there four galleys belonging to the pirates, which he took; but the
pirates, leaving the galleys, fled to the mountainous parts, and so
escaped from his hands.
He next came to the city of Mirrhea, of which Saint Nicholas held the
bishopric, and which the Greeks call Stamira; after which he arrived
at a good harbour, and one secure from all winds and tempests, the
name of which is Karkois ; on both sides of which harbour there were
in ancient times fine and populous cities, the names of which were
Cake; there are also vast ruins there of walls to the present day,
but no one lives there, through fear of the pirates. They next passed
the Isles of Yse, in one of which there is a castle which is called
the castle of Ruge.
Here formerly dwelt a damsel, whose name was Yse, and from whose name
these islands were so called. The natives tell the story that a
certain knight loved this damsel, but she declined to assent to his
wishes so long as she lived. However, on her death, the knight came
and lay with her, saying, “What I could not do with her when
alive, I have done with her when dead;” on which Satan
immediately entered into her, and said, “Behold, thou hast
begotten by me a son, and when he is born I will
bring him to thee.” After nine months, when the time of travail
came, she brought forth a still-born son, and brought him to the
knight, and said, "Behold thy
first-born son, whom thou didst beget; cut off his head and keep it
in thy possession. And whensoever thou shalt wish to vanquish thine
enemy, or to lay waste his lands, let the features of the head so cut
off be disclosed, and let them look upon thy enemy or his lands, and
immediately they shall be destroyed ; and when thou shalt wish to
cease so to do, let the features be covered up again, and tribulation
will cease;” which was accordingly done. Now, a considerable
time after this, the knight married a wife, who often made enquiry of
him, by what art or device he thus destroyed his enemies without arms
and without an army; however, he was unwilling to tell her, but
rebuked her, and made her hold her peace. But it so happened, that
one day, when the knight was away from home, she approached a chest,
in which she hoped to find this secret of her lord, by means of which
he wrought such mischiefs, and accordingly found in the chest this
abominable head; on which she immediately ran away, and threw it into
the gulf of Satalia. The mariners have a story that whenever this
head lies with the face upwards, the gulf is in such a state of
commotion that no ship can possibly cross it; but when the head lies
with the face downwards, then a ship can pass over. “Let the
Jew Apella believe this, I will not.”
There
is also another wonderful thing that takes place once a month in
every year. It seems as though a black dragon of vast size comes in
the clouds of heaven, and plunges his head into the gulf of Satalia,
and sucks up the water, drawing it up with such violence, that if any
ship should chance to be there, even though it should be laden, it is
drawn up and carried aloft. It is therefore necessary for those who
wish to avoid this peril, as soon as they have seen the monster,
immediately to make a great tumult and raise loud cries, beating
pieces of wood together, in order that on hearing the noise the
dragon may be driven away from them. We, however, affirm that this is
not a dragon, but the heat of the sun, that attracts to itself the
waters of the sea. *
*
He evidently alludes to waterspouts, and the method of breaking them
by means of sound.
After
the king of France had left the Isles of Yse, he passed near a great
mountain, on the summit of which is situate the city of Patara, upon
which Saint Nicholas was born, and where he lived for a long time. He
next passed near a very lofty mountain, Turkia by name, which divides
the territory
of the emperor of Constantinople from that of the sultan of Iconium.
After this begins Romania, which is also called Graecia. The whole of
Romania is land on the continent, and under the dominion of the
emperor ; in the sea there are also many islands, which are called
the Isles of Romania. The capital of Romania is the city of
Constantinople. Romania is joined to Selavonia, Hungaria, Istria, and
Aquileia.
The
names of some of the principal islands which are in the Grecian sea
are as follow: The island of Sicily, which belongs to the king of
Sicily; the island of Crete, which is large and fertile, and in the
middle of which is a large mountain, called the Mountain of the
Camel; the island of Rhodes; the island of Cyprus; the island of
Biscopia; the island of Ischia, in which island grows abundance of
the substance called mastic; the island of Ysania; the island of
Ynexea; the island of Stuple; the island of Mil; the island of Quales
; the island of Cuuerfu;* the island of Serfent; the island of
Sasent; the island called Falede-Campan; the island of Andros, and
the island called Tine. Many however, of these, are deserted, through
fear of the pirates, and in many of them pirates dwell. There are
also some other islands, of which we have previously made mention,
and many besides which are not mentioned in this book.
* Here we can recognize a name known to us, Corfu.
When the king of France had passed the Cape of Turkia, he came to the isle
of Rhodes, and remained there some days at the city called Rhodes,
which was built by Herod, who caused the head of Saint John the
Baptist to be cut off, and given to the dancing damsel in a charger,
Between the isle of Rhodes and Romania there is a broad expanse of
sea, twenty miles wide, according to the mariners. It is also worth
knowing, that when the isle of Rhodes has been reached, one third of
the voyage has been accomplished between Acre and Brindisi. Between
Acre and Brindisi the distance is computed at one thousand eight
hundred miles; and between Marseilles and Sicily it is computed at
one thousand six hundred miles ; and between Sicily and Acre the
distance is computed at one thousand six hundred miles. In the middle
of the passage between Marseilles and Sicily lies the island of
Sardinia ; and in the middle of the passage between Sicily and Acre
is the island of Crete. It is also worthy to be known. that, if they
have a fair wind who are desirous to proceed from Marseilles to Acre,
they will leave the island of Sardinia, the island of Sicily, and the
island of Crete at a great distance on the left side of the ship;
and, if they keep straight on in their course, will not see land
until they see the land of Sulia. This way also is the shorter and
safer one ; but they must take care not to steer their course too
much to the right hand side of the ship, on account of Barbary and
many other islands in which the pagans live under the rule of the
emperor of Africa. But galleys cannot go by that route, or even
attempt it; for, if a storm overtakes them, they will quickly
founder; for which reason they are obliged always to coast along the
shore. The person, too, who wishes to pass along the coast of
Romania, from the Cape of Turkia, will have to pass a very lofty
mountain, which is called Serfent, near which mountain begins the Arm
of Saint George, through which you pass to the city of
Constantinople.
Next,
on the coast of Romania, is Maluaise, a large mountain. Then comes
the gulf of Witun, at the head of which gulf is a fine and
well-fortified castle, which is called Maine. At the head of this
gulf also is a fine large episcopal city, which is called Curun,
where grow such large quantities of olives, that it is said that in
the whole world there is no place where there is made such vast
quantities of olive oil. At the mouth of the said gulf of Witun is
the deserted city of Muscun, which was destroyed by Roger, king of
Sicily; and, before the entrance of this city are two islands: one of
which is called Sapientia, and the other the Isle of Vultures. After
passing this, not more than about twenty miles from the land there is
a crag of round form, and very dangerous, being nearly sunk in the
waves, the name of which is Tiffat. Between this crag and Muscun, the
distance is computed to be fifty miles. It is necessary for those who
pass this way not to take their ships out to too great a distance
from the shore, until they have passed this dangerous spot.
Beyond
this, about a hundred miles from this perilous spot, is an island out
at sea called Serfent: this, and two other islands, one of which is
called Cephalenia, and the other Jagert, are islands belonging to
Margarite. Next comes port Guiscard. It deserves to be known that
Robert Guiscard was born in Normandy, and, being made a knight, was
long one of the household of Henry, king of England, son of William
the Bastard. Although he was a knight of prowess in arms, he was
still unable to find any favour with the king, whereby to enrich
himself. In consequence of this, with his wife and children and
brother, he left Normandy and went to Rome; where, having received
from the Supreme Pontiff permission and advice to subjugate the
barbarous nations, a great multitude of valiant men resorted to him
as his adherents. On this, he departed thence, and, entering Apulia,
on seeing that it was a fine and fertile country, and that its
inhabitants were unskilled in arms, he often attacked them with a
strong and armed hand, and conquered them, and took possession of
their territory. The whole of Apulia, Calabria, and the principality
of Capua he also subjugated, and, taking them out of the hands of the
emperor of the Romans, gave them to his son Tancred.
He
then collected a large fleet, boasting that he would invade the
empire of Constantinople, and subjugate the whole thereof. In the
meantime, while his fleet was being equipped, it happened that he,
and Tancred, and Boamund, his sons, on the same day, fought with our
lord the pope, the emperor of the Romans, and the emperor of
Constantinople; Robert Guiscard himself engaging with the emperor of
Constantinople, one of his sons with the pope, and the other with the
emperor of the Romans; and he, and each of his sons, gained a victory
on one and the same day. After this, Robert Guiscard embarked on
board of his fleet, and his wife with him, and subjugated the island
of Cuuerfu, the island of Crete, the Isle of Rhodes, and many other
islands, which he took from the emperor of Constantinople. He next
came to the harbour which now, after his name, is called Port
Guiscard. While he was preparing to proceed thence, and to enter
Romania, the emperor of Constantinople, being in great dread of his
approach, sent word to his wife, that, if she would put to death the
said Robert Guiscard, and so free his territories from all dread of
him, he would marry her, and make her empress of Constantinople.
On
this, the woman agreed to what the emperor requested; and, having
gained an opportunity both as to time and place, gave her husband,
Robert Guiscard, poison to drink: on which he died, and was buried in
the island which to this day is called Port Guiscard, and the whole
of his army was dispersed. The woman fled to the emperor of
Constantinople, who immediately fulfilled all his promises, and
married her, and had her
crowned empress; and when all the proper solemnities had been
performed, both as to the marriage, the coronation, and the nuptial
ceremonies, so becomingly, that she said to the emperor, “My
lord, you have now graciously performed all the terms of our
agreement,” the emperor caused silence to be made, and in the
presence of all, showed the agreement which he had made with her, and
how she had put her husband to death, and then requested them to
pronounce judgment upon her; on which, they condemned her to death.
Accordingly, she was removed from the nuptial ceremony to the place
of punishment, and was thrown upon a lighted pile, and reduced to
ashes.
Roger,
the brother of the said Guiscard, waged war with the people of
Sicily, and subjected the whole of that island, and became the earl
of Sicily. This Sicily is a large island, and, before the said Roger
subdued it, was inhabited by pagans, and under the dominion of the
emperor of Africa. But Roger before-mentioned, having expelled the
pagans, established the Christian religion, and erected in it two
archbishoprics and six bishoprics. After this, he married a wife, by
whom he had an only son, whom, after his own name, he called Roger,
and made him duke of Apulia, and gave to him Calabria and the
principality of Capua, after the decease of Tancred, the son of
Robert Guiscard, without issue. The said Roger, earl of Sicily, then
died; on which, his son Roger, duke of Apulia, succeeded him in the
earldom of Sicily, and shortly after, with the consent of his earls
and barons, caused himself to be crowned king of Sicily; and thus the
said Roger was crowned the first king of Sicily. He married a wife,
and by her had two sons and one daughter; the first of whom was
called Roger, and the other William,* while his daughter was called
Constance. He gave to his eldest son the dukedom of Apulia and the
principality of Capua. This son married against the will of his
father, and by his wife had an only son, whom he called Tancred;
after which he died, in the lifetime of his father.
* V.r. Walter.
After this, his father died, who was king of Sicily, and was succeeded in
the kingdom by his son William, who married, and by his wife had an
only son, whom he called William, after his own name. This William,
last-mentioned, succeeded his father in the kingdom, and gave to
Tancred, the son of his uncle, the earldom of Laleche. He also gave
Constance, the sister of his uncle, in marriage to Henry, king of the
Germans, son of Frederic, emperor of the Romans. He also caused the
kingdom of Sicily to be secured to him on oath in succession to
himself, in case he should die without issue; shortly after which,
William, king of Sicily, married Joanna, daughter of Henry, king of
England, son of the empress Matilda; he died however, without issue.
On his decease, Tancred, the earl of Laleche above-mentioned, unmindful
of the oath which, with the rest, he had taken to Henry, king of the
Germans, usurped the kingdom of Sicily, and was crowned king thereof.
On Henry, emperor of the Romans, hearing of this, he levied a large
army and entered the territory of king Tancred, bringing with him his
wife Constance, who was heir to the kingdom of Sicily ; and then
laying siege to Salerno, within fifteen days, that place was
surrendered to him and his wife, whom he left there. Proceeding
thence he laid siege to Naples, where having stayed six weeks, in
that time he lost nearly the whole of his army through pestilence ;
he himself also fell sick and nearly died. When he saw that he could
not effect his object, he took his departure, and went to his city of
Milan. On the people of Salerno hearing of this, they laid hands on
their mistress, the empress Constance, and detaining her, delivered
her to Tancred, king of Sicily; on which the emperor of Germany,
grieving and in confusion at the loss of his wife, wrote to pope
Celestinus, that by his aid he might recover her: and after some
time, by the intervention of our lord the pope, he was restored to
him.
When
Philip, king of France, had taken his departure from the isle of
Rhodes, and had come to the coast of Romania, he passed a great
mountain which has the name of the Cape of Melia; after which he came
to the gulf of Witun, and passed by the castle of Maine. He next came
to a city which is called Curun, and then to a deserted city, the
name of which is Munzum, which lies at the end of that gulf. He then
passed by the island of Triffat, and then came to the islands, of
which the one is called Cephalenia and the other Fale de Compar.
These two islands are called Port Guiscard. On the opposite side, in
Romania, there is a town called Saint Salvator, where, at nearly all
seasons, pirates are lying in wait for passers-by.
On the king of France departing thence, he came to the island, the
name of which is Cuuerfu. At the entrance of the isle of Cuuerfu,
towards the land of Sulia, there are dangerous sands, extending
through the middle from the island of Cuuerfu to the coast of
Romania; the sea being not deeper upon the sands than four ells and a
half. The island of Cuuerfu is large and fertile, and yields a yearly
revenue to the emperor of Constantinople of fifteen quintals of
gold—a quintal being a hundred pounds. The island of Cuuerfu is
six miles distant from Romania, and in some places the sea is so
narrow between Cuuerfu and Romania, that from one shore to the other
one man may be heard by another. The length of Cuuerfu is fifty
miles; and between Cuuerfu and Apulia, the distance is computed to be
one hundred miles. Cuuerfu can easily be seen by those in Apulia, but
not the converse, because Apulia lies low, and Cuuerfu is high land.
At
the extremity of the island of Cuuerfu, in Romania, there is a
deserted castle, the name of which is Butentrost, in which the
traitor Judas was born. After this, when you have almost come to the
entrance of the straits, there is a deserted city at the extremity of
the island of Cuuerfu, which is called Gaszope, in which there is
such a vast quantity of serpents that no one dares to land near it on
that side. Just opposite to it, on the coast of Romania, is a
deserted city, the name of which is Santa Carenta, where there is a
good harbour, wide and deep. At the mouth of this harbour, at the
entrance of the straits, there is a rock resembling a half-ruined
tower, which extends almost to the middle of the harbour and lies
concealed beneath the waves, so that it is necessary for those
passing by to hug the shore of the island of Cuuerfu. At the
extremity of the island of Cuuerfu are four islands, the name of one
of which is Fanum. After this, about forty miles from the island of
Cuuerfu, there is a lofty mountain on a cape of Romania, which is
called Paxo ; from this mountain to Octrente, [Otranto] an
archiepiscopal city in Apulia, is a distance of fifty miles ; and
from this mountain to Brindisi, a hundred miles.
At
this mountain, called Paxo, begins the Gulf of Venice, which is a
hundred and fifty miles in length and a hundred in width. Persons
passing up this gulf, on their way to Venice, will leave behind
Romania, Sclavonia, and Istria. In Apulia, on the sea-coast, are the
ports known by the following names: the first port of Apulia is
called Leuke; next to which is a port called Castre, then the port
called Octrente, next the port called Leliche, and then the harbour
called Brandiz, the same as Brindisi. After this, you come to the
port of Monopola, and the port of Bar, where Saint Nicolas reposes;
then the port of Trani, and next the port of Barlet. You next come to
the port of Sipontum, then the port of Bestia, and then that of
Tremula. This port of Tremula is the last port of Apulia. After this
comes Ortona, the first port of the territory of Venice; then the
port of Atri, and then the port of Pescara; after which you come to
the ports of Ancona, and of Ravenna, and then to Venice, a splendid
city with a fine harbour.
When
the king of France had arrived at Cuuerfu, he sent envoys to king
Tancred, and asked his permission to pass through his territories,
which was accordingly granted him. He then came to Apulia, where he
landed at Octrente, on the sixth day before the ides of October,
being the fifth day of the week. Proceeding thence, he sent his
forerunners to Henry, emperor of the Romans, and asked his leave to
pass through his territories; which permission was granted him. On
his arrival at Rome, he said many evil things of the king of England,
in presence of our lord the pope and of all the cardinals-, asserting
that the king of England had forced him to leave the land of
Jerusalem, and accusing him of treachery. However, neither our lord
the pope nor the cardinals put any faith in his words, knowing that
this proceeded rather from envy than from any bad conduct on the part
of the king of England. Our lord the pope, however, received him with
all honor and attention, and supplied him with all things necessary
for a period of eight days. Moreover, in consideration of the love of
God and his own affection, he devised a new method of relief for the
pilgrims; for, both the king, and all who had come with him, or who
came after him, he absolved from their vows, and from going on the
expedition to Jerusalem, and, even though they had not performed
their vows, he still distributed palms among them, and hung crosses
from their necks, thus enacting that they were pilgrims. After this,
the king of France prevailed upon the emperor of the Romans to lay
hands upon the king of England, in case he should pass through his
territory.
The
king of France, upon arriving at length in his own territory, defamed
the king of England with his neighbours, making many charges against
him. Producing also the charter of the king of England which had been
executed at Messina, he demanded of William Fitz-Ralph, the seneschal
of Normandy, his sister Alice, whom the king of England was to have
taken to wife; the seneschal of Normandy, however, refused to give
her up.
In
the same year, [1191] Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, while making his
visitation of the houses of the religious in his diocese, came to the
abbey of the nuns at Godstow, which lies between Oxford and
Woodstock. On entering the church to pray, he saw a tomb in the
middle of the choir, before the altar, covered with cloths of silk,
and surrounded with lamps and tapers; on which he asked whose tomb it
was, and was told that this was the tomb of Rosamond, who had
formerly been the mistress of Henry, king of England, son of the
empress Matilda, and that he, for love of her, had shown many favours
to that church. On this the bishop made answer: “Take her away
from here, for she was a harlot; and bury her outside of the church
with the rest, that the Christian religion may not grow into
contempt, and that other women, warned by her example, may abstain
from illicit and adulterous intercourse;” which was accordingly
done.
In
the same year, Hugh, bishop of Coventry, expelled the monks of
Coventry from the cathedral church of his diocese, and placed canons
secular therein. In the same year also, the monks of Canterbury made
choice of Reginald, bishop of Bath, as their archbishop; but just
then he fell ill and died, fifteen days after his election, and was
buried at Bath. In the same year, Hugh, bishop of Durham, in
consequence of the feelings of indignation which he entertained
towards Geoffrey, archbishop of York, used every possible endeavour
to obtain a release from all subjection to him, on which the said
Geoffrey wrote to him to the following effect:—
The
Letter of Geoffrey, archbishop of York, to Hugh, bishop of Durham
“Geoffrey,
by the grace of God, archbishop of York and primate of England, to
Hugh, by the same grace, bishop of Durham, greeting. While, with all
ardour you have been hastening onward with impetuous career to reach
the highest position among the clergy, you have made choice to become
the master of all others, and wish to be subject to no one. And
indeed in your case we see the words fulfilled, ‘ I will ascend
into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will be
like the most High;’ while you do not keep in mind the words,
‘God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble ;’
and that ‘ He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he
that humbleth himself shall be exalted."1
For both ourselves and our church of York you are zealously, indeed
with the ardour of an enemy, attacking, contrary to your own
profession and the obedience due to ourselves and to the church of
York; desiring to withdraw and exempt yourself, which may God
prevent, from our jurisdiction. Wherefore we, wishing, as becomes us,
to consult the rights of our church and our own dignity, do, by the
Apostolic authority and our own, strictly enjoin you, as being our
suffragan, on the Monday next ensuing after the feast of Saint
Michael, to be present at York at the synod held there in our mother
church, and on no pretext whatsoever to delay so to do, for the
purpose of shewing due reverence to ourselves, and of paying
canonical obedience, in conformity with the Apostolic mandate
oftentimes shewn to you by our letters and in our behalf; as also to
make answer why for the last two years you have presumed, contrary to
the ordinances of the law, to deprive our church of York of the
processions from ancient times its due, and the oblations due on the
day of Pentecost, from Hovedenshire and Alvertonshire, [Howden and
North Allerton.]
and why, not dreading to put your sickle in the harvest of another,
you have usurped the power to administer in spiritual things to our
clergy and those of our diocese.”
On
hearing this, Hugh, bishop of Durham, would neither come to him nor
do obedience or make profession thereof to him. For he said that he
had once already done obedience and made profession to the church of
York, and to Roger, archbishop of that see, and that he was not by
law bound to repeat it; and, in order that the said archbishop might
not oppress him as to this matter, he appealed to the presence of the
Supreme Pontiff a first, second, and third time, submitting himself
and the cause of his church to the decision of our lord the pope and
of the Roman Church. The archbishop, however, not paying any regard
to the appeal of the bishop of Durham, in the spirit of his wrath
pronounced sentence of excommunication against the bishop of Durham,
relying on the mandate of our lord the pope, in which it was stated,
that if the bishop of Durham should either be unwilling, or should
improperly delay to pay to him due obedience, he was, all appeal
removed, to compel him by ecclesiastical censure so to do. However,
the bishop of Durham, though he saw that sentence of excommunication
was pronounced against him, after appeal made by him to the presence
of the Supreme Pontiff, determined not to observe it, but celebrated
Divine service, and caused it to be celebrated just as boldly as
before.
On
this, the archbishop broke down the altars where the bishop of Durham
had celebrated divine service, and broke the chalices with which any
one had performed service in his presence in his own diocese; he also
held as excommunicated his brother John, earl of Mortaigne, because
he had eaten in company with the bishop of Durham after that sentence
was pronounced, and refused to hold communication with him till he
should come to be absolved, and to make due satisfaction.
When
the bishop of Durham found that most people avoided speaking, and
eating or drinking with him, he sent messengers to pope Celestinus,
to relate to him, first in private, and afterwards in presence of all
the cardinals, how rashly the archbishop of York had pronounced
sentence of excommunication against him, paying no regard whatever to
his appeal. On learning this, our lord the pope and all the cardinals
pronounced the sentence to be null, and that it should not be
observed. Accordingly, our lord the pope wrote to the following
effect:—
The
Letter of pope Celestinus, nullifying the sentence pronounced upon
the bishop of Durham
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brethren
the bishops of Lincoln and Rochester, and to his dearly beloved son
the abbot of Burgh, health and the Apostolic benediction. Whereas the
things which are enacted by our venerable brethren our fellow
bishops, with prudent circumspection and due precaution, we ought to
preserve inviolate, so in like manner those things which are done
inconsiderately, it is our bounden duty to correct with a more
extended foresight, and to reinstate the same in their proper
position. Now inasmuch as our venerable brother Geoffrey, archbishop
of York, has pronounced sentence of excommunication
against our venerable brother Hugh, bishop of Durham, and certain
other persons, and, messengers from them having come to our presence,
a foil discussion has been held on both sides in our consistory in
relation to the said sentence and certain other matters ; we,
considering that the sentence that has been fulminated against him as
well as against the other persons, has been inconsiderately
pronounced, and corroborated by no grounds of reasonable cause for
the same, have, by the advice of our brethren, publicly pronounced
that the same shall not hold good, nullifying the same, and
forbidding that it shall have any authority whatever. To the end,
therefore, that what we have decreed may in your country be publicly
promulgated, we do by these Apostolical writings, command you to
declare throughout your churches, that the said sentence has been
nullified by the authority of the Apostolic See ; that the faithful
may in security live in brotherly communion both with the others as
well as with the bishop so unjustly put under the said ban, and may
not in any way avoid intercourse with them on account thereof. Given
at the Lateran.”
In
addition to this, our lord the pope, by other letters, directed the
said bishops of Lincoln and Rochester and abbot of Burgh, that if
they should ascertain that, after appeal made to the Roman Pontiff,
the archbishop of York had broken the altars and chalices with which
the bishop of Durham, either himself or by means of another, had
celebrated the mass, then, by reason thereof the bishop of Durham
should not be bound to make any submission to the said archbishop of
York so long as the two should live. When the said archbishop and
bishop had come into the presence of the said delegates at
Northampton and a long discussion had taken place on both sides in
relation to the above matters, at length, by the advice and
suggestion of the lord bishop of Lincoln, the discussion was
postponed till the octave of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist,
in order that, mutually anticipating the decision, they might, by the
grace of God, be more easily induced to agree to a full
reconciliation, all things in the meantime in dispute between them
remaining in the same state in which they then were. It was further
resolved, that if a reconciliation could not in the meantime be
effected, the letters directed by our lord the pope to the delegates,
should have the same force that they would have had, if the said
space of time had not intervened ; for such time all exceptions on
both sides being saved
and reserved ; it being also arranged that the citation, if it should
be necessary to be made, should be made at the end of the said
intervening time, and in like form to that used on the day on which
it had first been made, that is to say, on the day of Saint Calixtus.
In
the same year, [1191] Roger, the constable of Chester, in whose hands
the chancellor had placed the castles of Nottingham and Tickhill,
took two prisoners, Alan de Lec and Peter de Bouencourt, of the
number of those to whom he had entrusted the charge of the said
castles, and hanged them both, because they had consented to the
treachery of Robert de Crokston and Eudo de Diville, who had
delivered those castles to John, earl of Mortaigne. The earl of
Mortaigne, being exasperated at this, laid waste the whole of his
lands which were in his jurisdiction.
In
the same year, William, king of the Scots, sent his envoys to
Celestinus, the Supreme Pontiff, for the purpose of confirming the
liberties of the churches of his realm, and found grace in the eyes
of our lord the pope; upon which our lord the pope wrote to him to
the following effect:
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his most dearly
beloved son in Christ, William, the illustrious king of the Scots,
health, and the Apostolic benediction. Whereas all who are subject to
the yoke of Christ ought to find favour and protection with the
Apostolic See; still those, in especial, is it right to strengthen,
with every possible encouragement, whose fidelity and dutifulness
have been in many instances experienced; to the end that they may be
more fully induced to gain the favour of His love, and with more
duteous affection show Him all reverence, the more they feel assured
that they shall obtain the pledge of His benevolence and favour.
Wherefore, most dearly beloved son in Christ, holding in mind the
feelings of reverence and dutifulness which, for a long time past, we
have known you to entertain towards the Roman Church, in the page of
this present writing we have thought fit to enact that the Scottish
Church shall be subject to the Apostolic See, as an especial daughter
thereof, without the intervention of any person whatever; in which
the following are recognized as the episcopal sees, namely, the
churches of Saint Andrew’s, Glasgow, Dunkeld, Dumblane,
Brechin, Aberdeen, Moray, Ross, and Caithness. Also, it is to be
lawful for no one but the Roman Pontiff, or his legate ‘a
latere, to pronounce against the kingdom of Scotland sentence of excommunication
or interdict; and, if such shall be pronounced, we do hereby decree
that the same shall be of no effect. We do also add that to no one in
future, who is not a native of the kingdom of Scotland, shall it be
permitted to exercise the office of the legateship therein, except
such person as for that especial purpose the Apostolic See shall have
commissioned from its own body. We do also forbid that the disputes
which shall have arisen as to possessions in that kingdom shall be
brought for judgment before judges appointed out of that kingdom,
except in case of appeal to the Church of Rome. And further, if any
writings shall appear in contravention of this statute of liberties
which have been already obtained, or if hereafter such shall happen
to be obtained, mention not being made therein of this concession; in
such case nothing shall hence arise to the prejudice of yourself or
your kingdom in relation to the concession of this prerogative. And
further, the liberties and immunities granted to you, or to your
kingdom, or to the churches established therein by the Pontiffs of
Rome, our predecessors, and hitherto observed, we do hereby ratify,
and do enact that the same shall remain, to all future time,
inviolate. Let no man, therefore, presume to infringe upon the
enactments of this page of our constitution and prohibition, or in
any way to contravene the same. And if any one shall presume so to
do, let him know that he will incur the indignation of Almighty God
and of the holy Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Given at the
Lateran, on the third day before the ides of March, in the first year
of our pontificate.”
In
the same year, after the rebuilding of Cæsarea and Joppa, the
king of England gave them both to Geoffrey de Lusignan, brother of
king Guido. After this, the king of England fortified the castle of
Planes, and then the castle of Maen; and on the second day before the
Nativity of our Lord, he came to Tours des Chanalets, and remained
there during the Nativity of our Lord; after which, he wished to
proceed to lay siege to the city of Jerusalem; but the duke of
Burgundy and the French refused to follow him: saying, that the king
of France, their lord, forbade them at his departure to stay any
longer in that land. In consequence of this, the king of England was
forced to desist from. his purpose, as both men and money failed him.
In
the same year, [1191] Boyac El Emir Amimoli, the emperor of Africa,
(who in the previous year had entered the territory of the king of
Portugal with a large army, and had taken a castle called Torrenova,
and laid siege to a castle called Thomar, and abandoned them both to
the Christians, through fear of the pilgrims who had come in the
fleet of the king of England, and who, taking to flight, had
pretended that he was dead, as already mentioned,") after all
the fleet of the king of England had passed by, assembled a large
army, and again entered the territories of the king of Portugal, and
took by storm the city of Sylves, and Alcaz, and Almada, and
Palmella, and laid waste the territory of the Christians. The king of
Portugal, however, was unable to make head against his forces, and
Boyac El Emir Amimoli gave the before-named cities which he had
taken, to his brother, the king of Cordres, or Corduba.
It
is worthy of remark, that in the territories of the king of Navarre
there is only one episcopal city, the name of which is Pampeluna; but
there are many castles in this territory ; one of which is Tudela,
situate on the river Ebro, another is called L’Estella, and
there are many others besides. In the territories of the king of
Castille there is only one archiepiscopal city, the name of which is
Tulette, [Toledo] and which lies on the river Tagus, and has the
primacy of Spain; in the same state there is also an episcopal city,
the bishop of which is called the bishop of Muscerause, that is to
say, Suriens. 74
In the same city there is a mountain from which every day there are
taken more than a hundred camel loads [of earth], and yet it never
decreases; for although a cavern of very great depth is thereby made,
still by the next day it is filled up if rain had fallen upon it. The
earth that is taken thence is carried throughout the adjoining
provinces, and is sold for the purpose of washing the hands and
clothes of men, both Christians and pagans.
The
archbishop of Toledo has under him eleven suffragan bishops; namely,
the bishop of Muscerause, the bishop of Alarchas, which is near
Cordres, or Corduba, the bishop of Plazencia, the bishop of Trugel,
the bishop of Avila, the bishop of Segovia, the bishop of Alarghes,
the bishop of Siguenza, the bishop of Soyra, the bishop of Osma, the
bishop of Palencia, and the bishop of Bursa. In the kingdom also of
the king of Castille there are more than two hundred fine castles, of
which one is called Le Gruin.
In the territory of the king of Saint Jago there is one archbishopric,
namely, that of Saint Jago;* which has under it eleven suffragans,
namely, the bishop of Leon, the bishop of Sturghe,[Astorga] the
bishop of Auzemore, the bishop of Salamanca, the bishop of Citras
Rodrike, [Cuidad Rodrigo] the bishop of Cooire, [Coira] the bishop of
Santa Maria de Lugo, the bishop of Saint Salvador de Wede, the bishop
of Villamaur, the bishop of Orense, and the bishop of Tine. [Tuy] In
the kingdom of the king of Saint Jago there are also many castles.
* Or Compostella.
In the territory of the king of Portugal there is one archbishopric, at
a city called Braga; which has seven suffragans, namely, the bishop
of Portigal, [Oporto] the bishop of Cuvillana, the bishop of Lamego,
the bishop of Wiscou, [Viseu] the bishop of Cunumbre, [Coimbra] the
bishop of Evere, [Evora] on the borders of the Saracens, and the
bishop of Lisbon, on the river Tagus.
Thence extends the part of Spain, which, is called Saracenic, under the
dominion of the emperor of Africa; and here begins the territory held
by the king of Cordres, or Corduba, the brother of El Emir Amimoli
before-named; the same place as Corduba, the city of which Lucan
says,— “Corduba me genuit, rapuit Nero, praelia dixi,
Quac gessere pares, hinc soeer, inde gener.”
Here are also the cities of Palmella, Almada, Alchaz, Sylves, and Santa
Maria de Hairun, the city of Badeluz, upon the river Guadiana,
Merida, which was formerly an archiepiscopal city, Sibylla, [Seville]
which also was formerly an archiepiscopal city, and which, with
Corduba, is situate on the river Guadalquivir, the city of Granada,
and the city of Jubellaria. [Gibraltar]
Next begins the territory of the king of Gahang, likewise in Spain, and
under the emperor of the Africans; this king also is brother of El
Emir Amimoli, and has under his rule the castle of Gehem, and the
city of Baence, the city of Aubdene, the city of Segurra, as also the
city of Malaga, where large quantities of red morocco leather are
made, and the city of Melita, on an inlet of the sea; each of which
is situate on a river which is called Segura. Next, still in
Saracenic Spain, begins the territory of the king of Murcia, who is a
brother of the said El Emir Amimoli; and in whose rule are the city
of Murcia, the castle of Oriola, the castle of Urgelet, the city of
Almeria, the city of Carthagena, the castle of Chinchele, and the
castle of Lapanne de Scumpere. Next, still in Saracenic Spain, begin
the territories of the king of Valencia, who is brother of the said
Emir Amimoli, and under whose rule are the castles of Oedeeb, and
Stuve, the city of Valencia, the city of Burrianz, and Peniscle, and
many other fortified places.
Next begins the territory of the king of Arragon, in Spain ; at the
commencement of whose kingdom is the castle of Ampost, and next the
episcopal city of Tortosa. Then comes Saragossa, an episcopal city,
then the castle of Caletau, then the castle of Doroke, then the
castle of Torol, and then Santa Maria Abenrazin, a city on the
borders of the Christians and the pagans. Next comes Tarragona, an
archiepiscopal city, then Tarraguna, an episcopal city, then the city
of Oske, then the city of Jake, and then the city of Ride, upon the
river Segre. After this comes the city of Wike, then the city of
Barcelona, then Sain de Urget, then the city of Gironda, then the
castle of Turezla, the name of which once was Purpallar Beyond Sea.
After this come the high mountains called Portas de Laduse, then
Chastillon, and, after that, the castle d’Empires.
Next to this comes the land called Roussillon, in which there is a fine
city called Alne, and then the city of Narbonne, after which come the
cities of Bediers, and of Agde, and then Villeneuve, the bishopric of
Magdalena, near to which is the port of Montpellier, which is called
Lates.
1192 A.D.
In the year of grace 1192, being the third year of the reign of Richard,
king of the English, Philip, king of France, was in France safe and
sound, at Fontaine Blaud, [Fontainebleau] on the day of the Nativity
of our Lord, which fell on the fourth day of the week, insolently
boasting that he would before long lay waste the territories of the
king of England. On the same day of the Nativity of our Lord, John,
earl of Mortaigne, brother of Richard, king of England, was at
Hovedene, together with Hugh, bishop of Durham. On the same day of
the Nativity
of our Lord, queen Eleanor, mother of Richard, king of England, was
at Normandy, at Bonville sur Toke.
On
the same day of the Nativity of our Lord, Richard, king of England,
was in the land of Sulia, at Tours, of Ascalon, intending, after the
Nativity of our Lord, to lay siege to the city of Jerusalem; and, on
the day of Saint Hilary, he held a conference there with the Templars
and Hospitallers and the whole army, as to besieging the city of
Jerusalem. However, they were of opinion that he ought not to move
onward, but that he should return for the purpose of fortifying
Ascalon ; on which, he proceeded to Ascalon, and fortified it, and in
fortifying it expended a considerable time.
Fifteen
days before Easter, the duke of Burgundy and the Franks left him,
saying that they would stay no longer with him, unless he would
supply them with necessaries; but the king declined to supply them
with anything. During Lent, the king of England fortified Blanchward,
Galatia, and Gazere; and on Easter day he held there a general
festival, in tents outside of the town. After Easter, he rode through
the territories of the pagans, and found their corn ripe; on which,
he caused it all to be gathered by the Christians, as forming half
their supply of corn. He made a stay on the plains of Ascalon until
Pentecost, and, on the last day of Pentecost, rode to Le Darun, a
strongly-fortified castle, near the great river Euphrates, and in
this excursion took prisoners twenty-four pagans and one Ren6, who
had formerly been a Christian, and had denied our Lord Jesus Christ;
on which, the king set him up as a mark for arrows, and he was
pierced to death. On the Monday after the close of Pentecost, he laid
siege to Le Darun, and on the Friday following took it by storm, and
found there nineteen hundred pagans alive, whom he at once gave to
Henry, count of Champagne.
In
the meantime, after Easter, a great dissension had arisen between the
Pisans and the Genoese who were before Acre; so much so, that they
slew one another; and the duke of Burgundy, at the request of the
Genoese, sent to Tyre for the marquis Conrad, wishing to appoint him
king. On this, the Pisans sent to the king of England, who at this
time was staying at Ascalon, and informed him of the intentions of
the duke of Burgundy. Accordingly, the king came to Acre, and
demanded of the duke of Burgundy fifteen hundred pounds of silver
which he had lent him; on which, the duke, not having wherewithal to
pay, delivered to the king Carakois, the Saracen, in full
satisfaction of the debt.
After
this, the king returned to Ascalon; and, while he was staying there,
two of the servants of the king of the Accini, or Assassins, who had
for a long time served at the court of the marquis Conrad, and had
been members of his household, slew the said Conrad, in his city of
Tyre; on which, they were immediately arrested by the bystanders.
This took place on the fifth day before the calends of May. On being
interrogated, they said that they had done this by command of the
king of the Accini, their master; upon which, one of them was
immediately put to death, while the other was flayed alive. The
Franks, however, averred that this was entirely done by the
suggestion of the king of England. After the assassination of Conrad,
his wife married Henry, count of Champagne, the nephew of the king of
England and the king of France; immediately on which, by the choice
of the whole army, the said Henry was elected king of the land of
Jerusalem. The king of England also gave to king Guido the island of
Tyre, in exchange, to hold the same for life. After the capture of
Damn, that is to say, on the same Friday on which the king of England
had taken it, the Franks returned to Ascalon, and placed themselves
at the mercy of the king of England : on which, the king came there
to meet them, and afterwards, with the consent of the whole army,
marched forward to lay siege to Jerusalem.
When
they had come as far as Bethonople, the king rode on with some of
them to view Jerusalem; and then proceeded to the chapel of Saint
Elias, which is three leagues distant from Jerusalem. Here he found a
certain cross of wood, said to be made of the wood of that of our
Lord, sealed up within the walls of a chapel, which was called the
Cross of the Syrians ; upon which, he carried it away, and returned
to his army. In the meantime, his spies returned to the king of
England, and informed him that a caravan of Saladin was coming from
Babylon to Jerusalem, for the purpose of supplying it with provisions
and arms : the king, accordingly, believed them, and, taking with him
five thousand picked men, went to meet the caravan, which was
escorted by eleven thousand pagans. The king met them on the vigil of
the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, at about the first hour of
the day, and, engaging with them, gained a victory, and slew nearly
the whole of them, taking possession
of their spoils, with three thousand camels, and four thousand horses
and mules and she-mules, besides those that were killed.
After
having gained this victory, the king returned to Bethonople, whence
he had set out, and gave to the knights of the army a portion of the
spoils of the slain. After this, holding a conference with the duke
of Burgundy and the Franks, he offered to make oath that he would
proceed to Jerusalem and lay siege to it, and not depart therefrom as
long as he had a single horse left to eat, until he had taken the
city, and requested that the Franks and the whole of the army would
take the same oath. On this, the duke of Burgundy and the Franks made
answer that they would not take the oath, or remain any longer in the
land, but would depart from it as soon as they could, in obedience to
the commands given to them by the king of France, their master.
Accordingly, they left the king upon bad terms, and returned to Acre,
the king following them. On this, Saladin immediately came down from
the mountains, and laid siege to Joppa, which the king of England had
delivered into the charge of Alberic de Rains; and, as he found
himself unable to defend it, he surrendered it to Saladin, upon
condition that he might depart with safety to life and limb. However,
after having received from Saladin the selected arrow as a sign of
the treaty with him, on hearing of the approach of the king of
England, he returned to Saladin, and gave back to him his arrow, and
renounced the treaty. Upon this, Saladin immediately took him
prisoner, and captured the whole of the city, with the exception of
the fortress of the castle; to which a few retired and sent word to
the king of England to inform him of these recent events: immediately
upon which, he gave his troops, consisting of horse, to Henry, count
of Champagne, for the purpose of being led thither by land, while he
himself, with only seven galleys, proceeded by sea. On the third day,
being Saturday, he arrived at Joppa, on the morning after the feast
of Saint Peter ad Vincula; on which, he entered the castle, and had
an interview with his people there, instructing them to follow him.
After this, he went forth and a few with him, and suddenly made an
attack upon the army of Saladin, and, shouting his war-cry, he
valiantly charged them, and drove them out of the city, and slew many
of them with the edge of the sword, and Bo
liberated
the city from their hands.
Three
days after this, Saladin sent word to the king that he
would fight him in a pitched battle; which message greatly pleased
the king. But, just as everything had been ready prepared for the
pitched battle, five galleys arrived from Acre with soldiers, by way
of succour for the king; upon which, Saladin declined to engage with
him.
In
the meantime, Hugh, duke of Burgundy, Ralph do Courcy, and the
viscount de Pinkenny, died at Acre, on the eighth day after their
arrival there. Shortly after, Saladin sent word to the king of
England that he would repay him all his expenses which he had been
put to in fortifying Ascalon, and would make with him and the other
Christians who should remain in the land of Jerusalem a truce to last
for three years, from Easter then next ensuing, and would keep the
peace with them until the said time, if he would reinstate Ascalon in
the same condition in which he himself had left it. Accordingly, the
king of England, seeing that both men and money and health were
failing him, by the advice of the Templars and of the whole army,
closed with the said offer which Saladin had made him: on which, upon
oath, they agreed that peace should be observed for that period.
After
this, the king of England placing everything in the hands of Henry,
count of Champagne, hastened to return to his kingdom, by reason of
the sinister reports which he had heard both as to the king of France
and the expulsion of his chancellor, as also the earl of Mortaigne,
his brother, who had seized the castles of the kingdom, and would
have taken possession of the whole thereof if he could have found the
opportunity. Accordingly, the king of England came to Caiaphas, where
he fell sick, and proceeded thence-to Acre. Here, after the feast of
Saint Michael, being the eighth day before the ides of October, and
the fifth day of the week, he embarked on board of a large buss, and,
within a month from that day, arrived at the island of Cuuerfu, where
he went on board a boat, and sailed towards three galleys which he
saw on the opposite side off the coast of Romania, and hired them to
take him as far as Itagusa, for two hundred marks of silver; after
which, he returned to his buss, and the said galleys with him; and,
having made terms with them, he took with him Baldwin, the advocate
of Bethune, and twenty other companions, and embarked on board one of
the said galleys; and on landing at Gazera, near Ragusa, declined to
tell them that he was king of England, but said that they were
pilgrims. However, although he had a
long beard and long hair and garments, and everything else to
resemble the people of that country, he was unable to remain unknown,
in consequence of his great expenditure, which was quite foreign to
the usage of the people of that country.
Immediately,
the people of the province guessing that he was the king of England,
prepared to capture him and deliver him to the emperor of the Romans,
who hated him, on account of the aid he had given to king Tancred,
and for the death of his kinsman, the marquis Conrad. Upon the king
of England being informed of this by one of his followers, he placed
his retinue in charge of Baldwin, the Advocate of Bethune, and
ordered him to remain the next four days at that place, making a more
lavish expenditure than he himself had done; after which, he himself,
with a single attendant, having mounted a swift horse, his attendant
doing the same, set out late at night, and, hastening day and night,
arrived in the neighbourhood of Vienna; at a little village, not far
from which place he and his attendant took up their abode. While the
king’s attendant was gone to buy food, the king, being fatigued
by the labour of his journey, immediately threw himself upon a bed
and fell asleep. In the meantime, his attendant, while endeavouring
to exchange some money, was recognized by a servant of the duke of
Austria, and taken prisoner, and brought before the duke; and, when
he could conceal it no longer, disclosed to him the lodging of the
king; on which, they came, and, finding him asleep, took him
prisoner. As for the Advocate of Bethune, and those who were with
him, on attempting to leave the town, they were taken prisoners, and
not allowed to depart.
In
the meantime, the king of France, holding a conference with the
seneschal and nobles of Normandy, demanded of them his sister, Alice,
whom they had in their charge in the castle of Rouen: he also
demanded the castle of Gisors, the county of Auch, and the county of
Aumarle, and showed him the written agreement made between him and
the king of England, at Messina. To this, the nobles of Normandy made
answer that they had received no commands upon the subject from their
master, and were, therefore, unwilling to comply with his demands.
Upon
this, the king of France, levying a large army, was desirous to
invade Normandy in a hostile manner, but the nobles of his kingdom
would not agree thereto, saying that our
lord the pope had excommunicated all those who should make war on the
territory of the king of England before his return, and that they had
sworn to keep the peace towards him arid his territory until his
return.
During
Lent, in the same year, the archbishop of York came to London by
command of the king’s justices; but when he came to Westminster
with his cross, he was forbidden by the bishop of London and the
other bishops of England thenceforth to presume to carry his cross in
the province of Canterbury. On this, he contumaciously made answer
that he would not lay it aside for them ; but, listening to the
advice of his own people, he hid it from before the face of the
people, lest a tumult might arise among the clergy. The bishop of
London, however, holding him as an excommunicated person, in
consequence of this transgression, suspended the New Temple, at which
place the said archbishop of York had taken up his abode, from the
performance of Divine service and from the ringing of bells, and in
consequence, he was obliged to leave the city; but before he left,
queen Eleanor, the archbishop of Rouen, himself, and all the nobles
of the kingdom, met together and swore fealty and faithful service to
Richard, king of England, and his heir, against all men.
During the same Lent, the bishop of Ely, the chancellor,
returned to England, by command of the earl of Mortaigne, and remained some days
in the castle at Dover, not daring to proceed any further. The earl
of Mortaigne, however, in consideration of five hundred pounds of
silver which the chancellor had promised him for the restoration of
his office, tried in every way to induce the chief men of the kingdom
to receive the chancellor in his former position; but they refused,
and sent word to the chancellor, that if he did not make haste and
leave the kingdom with all speed, they would take him prisoner. On
hearing this, the chancellor, not daring to stay in England against
the will of the chief men, crossed over at the Supper of our Lord.
In the same year, Geoffrey, archbishop of York, gave, and by his charter
confirmed, the priory of Saint Clement’s, at York, to the abbey
of Godstow. But the nuns of Saint Clement’s, who had always
been free from the very foundation of that church, refused to pay
obedience to the abbey of Godstow, and appealed to our lord the pope
in behalf of the liberties of their church.
In
the meantime, the clerks of the archbishop of Rouen, whom he had sent
to Rome to oppose the chancellor, wrote to him to the following
effect:—
The Letter sent by his clerks to Walter, archbishop of Rouen.
“To Walter, by the grace of God archbishop of Rouen,
their most dear lord and father, his clerks, greeting. We will omit the perils and labours
which in our journey we have oftentimes been obliged to endure, and
how, after having frequently escaped from dangers by the way, we at
length fell into the hands of robbers, and, being despoiled of all
our property, except a few horses and our letters, arrived destitute
of all provision whatever in this magnificent city, on the third day
before the ides of February, the court then staying at the church of
Saint Peter. Here we found the clerks sent by the chancellor,
uttering many boasts, and, as it appeared to us, exulting in complete
success. For the office in full of legate having been granted to him,
our lord the pope and certain of the cardinals had sent letters to
the bishop of Ely addressed therein as legate, but the principal
letters conferring the legateship under the authority of the bull not
having been yet delivered, the deputies before-mentioned were
preparing for their speedy departure. Moreover, we found the pope
fully inclined to take the part of the chancellor; while those who,
as his familiar friends, are much in the society of our lord the
pope, and are constantly at his side, were promoting his interests as
though they were their own. However, by the grace of God, in
consequence of our arrival, those letters were detained, some persons
who zealously attend to our interests, often and repeatedly remarking
that the presence of your deputies had hitherto been much needed.
After this, as soon as we had obtained permission, having gained an
audience, in the presence of our lord the pope and the whole of the
cardinals, we presented the letters sent by you, and by the bishops,
prelates, and justiciaries of England, with due care adding thereto
all other things that we believed were consistent with your
intentions. After the deputies of the bishop of Ely had made an
attempt to raise objections both to our answers and our assertions,
our lord the pope made many remarks militating against your
interests, with indignation and bitterness, inculcating in many
words, and affirming as follows:—We know that the illustrious
king of the English left the administration of the whole of his
kingdom to our lord of Ely, and left .no one his equal or superior.
We have seen letters of our lord the king to that effect; those which
revoke them or are contrary thereto we have not seen, nor do we see,
nor yet a signed copy thereof with the seals thereto appended and
duly authenticated. However, many venerable persons have written
against the lord chancellor ; and in favour of the lord chancellor we
have received letters from many venerable persons. But the letters
that you bring axe from those who have expelled the lord chancellor;
and we are not very much surprised if they do seem to write in their
own favour. We know that our lord the king never showed to any mortal
so much love, or paid such high honor, as he has done to our lord of
Ely. He made him not only bishop of the venerable and most wealthy
see of Ely, but his chancellor as well, and, besides, has entrusted
to his sole charge the whole of the kingdom of England. And yet, with
all this our lord the king was not content, but begged our lord
Clement of happy memory, and ourselves as well, to bestow the office
of legate upon the lord chancellor. Consider how affectionately he
loved him ; what man is there whom he loves as much, or has loved ?
At the entreaty of our lord the king, and at his urgent request, we
have granted the legateship for the present to the lord bishop of
Ely. That the king has withdrawn such great favour thus suddenly from
the man whom he used to love we can hardly believe, unless we see his
letter and the royal seal. And what we have granted to our lord the
king, to wit, the legateship of our lord of Ely, we cannot possibly
suspend or take away without suffering the stigma of falsehood.
Moreover, all the bishops of England have sent us letters begging us
to confirm him in the office of legate, and, unanimously supplicating
us, have put forward many recommendations in favour of the
chancellor. And that now, the contrary should be asked by them, seems
to us to deserve to be imputed to a feeling of levity. Even your own
master, too, the archbishop of Rouen, sent to us letters, full of
professions of devotion, in favour of the bishop of Ely; inasmuch as
he could write in his favour as long as he enjoyed prosperity.
Consequently, it is a hard matter to listen to those against him,
when oppressed with the calamity of exile, as to whom it has been
written, ‘So long as you are fortunate, you will reckon many a
friend; if the times become cloudy, then
you will be alone.’ Moreover, when he was exulting in his
former state of prosperity, and was performing the duties of legate
among you, what church, what monastery, what beneficed clergyman,
what person of low station or of high, ever sent word or complaint to
us about the exactions of the lord bishop of Ely, or any grievances
of the churches ? All applauded him when prosperous, all murmur
against him when fallen. These were friends of fortune, who took
their leave together with the favour of fortune.” These and
many other objections made by our lord the pope could not be
otherwise than of great weight and moment, as being put forward by
one who has no superior, a Supreme Pontiff and a judge, and one whose
will there is no one to resist. Still more, it seemed to some to make
very greatly against us, that our lord the king of England, upon your
return, had begged in your behalf that your legateship might be
transferred to the parts of Normandy and other parts beyond sea;
consequently, at the first blush it seemed likely to no one that it
was the king’s wish that you should hold authority in England,
and the office of legate in Normandy, inasmuch as for one and the
same man to hold authority in England and the office of legate in
Normandy, seemed a thing neither easy nor convenient. Moreover, the
intimation of the royal wish, which had been sent in your behalf to
the chancellor by the king, was said to have been transmitted by the
king to the seneschal of Normandy, in order that he might in Normandy
enjoy the benefit of your counsel. Although we made suitable answers
to these objections and the like, still the favour of our lord the
pope and his predilections leaned on the other side. However, being
at length forced to feel some hesitation, both at our instance as
also at that of some of the cardinals whom we had got to favour our
views, having called all the cardinals together, he required the
opinion of each; and, after our business had been discussed in many
deliberations, adjourned from. time to time for a long period, our
lord the pope, sitting in judgment, pronounced sentence to the
following effect, that is to say, to state it shortly and in a
condensed form; he absolved the chancellor from your denunciation and
that of our lord the dean of Rouen, and, conversely, he publicly
adjudged to be null and void the sentence which the bishop of
Ely had pronounced under the pretext of certain letters92
against you and the dean and certain others who were obnoxious to the
chancellor. Moreover, our lord the pope, proceeding in his sentence,
pronounced the chancellor excused for the injury he had done to the
archbishop of York without any prescribed form [of trial]. He also
declined to take away from him either his legateship or the powers
attached thereto, as he had but lately conferred the same at the
urgency of the king’s entreaties, and at the request of
yourself as well as of all the bishops of England. However, he
pronounced that he should perform the duties of the legateship with
this exception thereto appended, that in the meantime he should not
have the power of pronouncing sentence of suspension or
excommunication against you, or against the dean of Rouen, or against
the bishops of England, or the justiciaries and nobles thereof. Of
this sentence we trust that we shall have a more precise version, and
that we shall be enabled to transmit to you the very words themselves
in the letters of the pope himself. To the said judgment he also
added, that, convoking a council of the cardinals, and inviting
ourselves thereto as well as the deputies of the lord bishop of Ely,
he will nominate some venerable persons in your parts through whose
mediation peace and reconciliation may possibly be effected between
you and the lord chancellor, at least so far as to assuage the
rancorous feelings that exist between you. From the tenor, however,
of the deliberation that took place, and from the form of the
sentence which we have mentioned, we believe that for certain those
letters will be entirely revoked, which, although they were directed
to the bishops of the whole of England, still upon the pretence
thereof the said chancellor pronounced you and many others under the
ban of excommunication. With reference, however, to this
denunciation, when, in conformity with the request of our lord the
dean of Rouen, we laid open his complaint in full consistory before
all the cardinals and the people, on the said letters being read and
examined, the pope protested with the loudest voice possible, in the
presence of all,
that the said letters had never originated in his conscience, while
the assemblage of cardinals shouted aloud to the same effect as
regarded themselves in most emphatical terms ; and when the deputies
of the bishop of Ely most urgently exclaimed against those
statements, he refused to lend an attentive ear to any of them.
Farewell.”
On
the following night the deputies of the bishop of Ely went to our
lord the pope, and censured him, for thus, in the presence of all the
cardinals, protesting that the confirmation of the sentence which the
chancellor had pronounced against the archbishop of Rouen and his
accomplices who had abetted him in procuring his overthrow, had not
proceeded from his conscience; and entreated him, for the love of God
and the honor of the Roman Church, to recall to mind the services
that the chancellor had dutifully performed for him and the Church of
Rome, and that, testifying to the truth, he would remove this
opprobrium from the chancellor and his people, in order that their
enemies might not exult at their unjust condemnation.
Our
lord the pope, on being applied to with these exhortations and others
of a like nature, sitting the next day in judgment in presence of the
cardinals and all the people, confessed that those letters which the
day before he had on oath disowned had been written by his command,
and sent to England to confirm the sentence of excommunication which
the chancellor had pronounced against the archbishop of Rouen and his
accomplices who had expelled him from the kingdom.
In
addition to this, the clerks of the archbishop of Rouen sent word to
him that they had conversed four days at Rome with Hugh de Gurnay,
William de Pessy, Drogo de Trnbleville, and many others whom the king
of England had sent to his dominions; and that fifteen days after,
Andrew de Chavency came to say that the king was much pleased that
the chancellor had been deposed, but that he was also much displeased
that the corporation of London and the whole of England had been
pledged by oath to earl John. The king also requested that our lord
the pope would make null and void all donations of ecclesiastical
revenues which the chancellor had made after the king’s
departure; but our lord the pope was unwilling so absolutely to
nullify those donations, though he nullified in common ail donations
of ecclesiastical revenues that belonged to the king, by whomsoever
they had been made, and on this matter our lord the pope appointed
the bishops of Lincoln and London judges. On the letters being given
to the clerks of our lord the archbishop of Rouen, they came to our
lord the pope, and said to him, alluding to the chancellor, “Behold
how he loved him!”
In the same year, our lord the pope sent two cardinals as
legates a latere, namely, Octavianus, bishop of Ostia, and Jordan de
Fossa Nova, to put an end to the dissensions that existed between the chancellor
and the archbishop of Rouen. On their arrival at Gisors, in Normandy, the
gate was shut against them, and they could not obtain admittance;
When they ascertained that this was done by William FitzRalph,
seneschal of Normandy, they excommunicated him and all his
accomplices and coadjutors, advisers and abettors in the said piece
of presumption, and laid the whole of Normandy under interdict. On
this being told in England, queen Eleanor and the archbishop of Rouen
sent to them Hugh, bishop of Durham, that they might revoke the
sentence they had pronounced against the seneschal of Normandy and
Normandy itself. At first the bishop of Durham found them at Paris,
after which he followed them to Vezelay, but they would by no means
remit the sentence until they had been received in Normandy. However,
our lord the pope revoked the interdict placed upon Normandy, and
caused it to be revoked by the legates; but still they did not enter
Normandy.
In the same year, while the seneschal of Gascony lay ill, the count de
Perigord and the viscount de Marke and nearly all the barons of
Gascony, began to ravage the territories of the king of England; and
in the meantime, the seneschal could neither obtain peace nor truce,
although he frequently, and more than frequently, requested it.
Having at length recovered, he attacked the castles and fortresses of
the said count, and besieged and took them all, fortifying some on
behalf of the king, and levelling others with the ground. In like
manner, he took all the castles of the said viscount, and reduced the
whole of that county to final subjection to the king. Shortly after,
the son of the king of Navarre came to his assistance with eight
hundred knights ; on which, they together entered the territory of
the count of Toulouse, and took many castles in the vicinity of
Toulouse, and, after taking them, fortified them in the king’s
behalf, and levelled many other fortresses with the ground, after
which they proceeded as far as the gates of Toulouse, and passed the
night almost under its very walls.
In
the same year, many pilgrims who had come away with the king of
England from the land of Sulia, returned before the Nativity of our
Lord to England, hoping there to find the king; and, on being asked
about the king, where he was, they made answer, “We know not,
but his ship on board of which he embarked, we saw nearing the shore
at Brindisi, in Apulia.” In the meantime, Leopold, duke of
Austria, who had taken the king of England, delivered him into the
hands of Henry, emperor of the Romans; in consequence of which, the
said emperor wrote to Philip, king of the Franks, to the following
effect:
The
Letter of Henry, emperor of the Romans, to Philip, king of France, in
reference to the confinement of Richard, king of England
“Henry,
by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans and ever august, to his
beloved and especial friend Philip, the illustrious king of the
Franks, health and sincere love and affection. Inasmuch as our
imperial highness does not doubt that your royal mightiness will be
delighted at all things in which the omnipotence of the Creator has
honored and exalted ourselves and the Roman empire, we have thought
proper to inform your nobleness by means of these presents, that
while the enemy of our empire and the disturber of your kingdom,
Richard, king of England, was crossing the sea for the purpose of
returning to his dominions, it so happened that the winds brought
him, the ship being wrecked on board of which he was, to the region
of Istria, at a place which lies between Aquileia and Venice, where,
by the sanction of God, the king, having suffered shipwreck, escaped,
together with a few others. A faithful subject of ours, the count
Maynard of Gortze, and the people of that district, hearing that he
was in their territory, and calling to mind the treason and treachery
and accumulated mischief he had been guilty of in the Land of
Promise, pursued him with the intention of making him prisoner.
However, the king taking to flight, they captured eight knights of
his retinue. Shortly after, the king proceeded to a borough in the
archbishopric of Saltzburg, which is called Frisi, where Frederic de
Botesowe took six of his knights, the king hastening on by
night, with only three attendants, in the direction of Austria. The
roads, however, being watched, and guards being set on every side,
our dearly-beloved cousin Leopold, duke of Austria, captured the king
so often mentioned, in an humble house in a village in the vicinity
of Vienna. Inasmuch as he is now in our power, and has always done
his utmost for your annoyance and disturbance, what we have above
stated we have thought proper to notify to your nobleness, knowing
that the same is well pleasing to your kindly affection for us, and
will afford most abundant joy to your own feelings. Given at Creutz,
on the fifth day before the calends of January.”
On
these rumours being spread through England as to the capture of the
king of England, Walter, archbishop of Rouen wrote to Hugh, bishop of
Durham, to the following effect:—
The
Letter of the archbishop of Rouen to the bishop of Durham, relative
to the captivity of Richard, king of England
“To
his venerable brother in Christ and his most dearlybeloved friend
Hugh, by the grace of God, bishop of Durham, Walter, by the same
grace, archbishop of Rouen, health in all that is truly healthful.
Various rumours having been spread abroad relative to the arrival of
the king, at length, as the truth could no longer be concealed,
everything relative thereto has become known to us. But, whether in
adversity or in prosperity, it behoves us to display equanimity, as
we cannot avert the will of God; and inasmuch as His judgments are
secret, we commend the fortuitous results of things to His mercy and
providence. With grief of mind are we compelled to confess that it
has befallen the lord our king otherwise than would have been
expedient for his realm and all his faithful subjects; and if we look
more fully into his meritorious deeds, this misfortune is in no way
the due of his actions. For he, who, for the sake of God exhausted
all his patrimony, and indifferently entrusted the blood of himself
and of his subjects to the fortune of war, deserved in all his
wanderings to have received the protection of God. But this
adversity, which is so opposed to our good wishes, is a test of his
virtues, and not a mark of censure. And why are we obliged to say
more than we could have wished ? We have thought proper to transmit
to you a copy of a letter of the emperor of Germany which he has sent
to the king of the Franks, relative to the capture of our lord the
king of England, folded within this present page. Now, there is need
not of your tears but of your promptness, as we must not meet the
attacks of fortune with lamentations, but, concealing our sorrow,
must endeavour to make trial of our prowess; perhaps ‘Weeping
may endure for a night, but joy will come to us in the morning.’
And inasmuch as, next to the mercy of God, the greatest portion of
our hope is reposed in your bosom, with a breast bedewed with tears,
and with our entire heart, we do suppliantly, devotedly, and as being
most dear to you, entreat you that in this trouble which, thus
momentous beyond all conception, has befallen our lord the king, you
will with all your energies act the part of diligence and of
circumspection, and that, through no consideration of difficulty, no
prospect of adversity, no pretext, no consideration of temporal
benefits or of your own welfare, you will refuse to us and to our
lord, or rather to yourself, your counsel, which with all our bowels
we are longing to receive. And whereas the mind is more fully opened
to one present than to a person when absent, and in the presence of
persons counsel under present difficulties will shine forth with
greater effulgence, and the Lord will bestow on the same a more
healthful effect, we do consequently beg of you, tearfully and with
all the affection before expressed, all excuse as to difficulties
laid aside, to meet us and other faithful servants of our lord the
king at Oxford, on the Lord’s day before ‘ Lætare
Jerusalem’ *
is sung. For the present matter requires that degree of prompt
attention, that all excuses whatsoever should be laid aside; and it
is our belief that the love which is due to our lord the king,
should, in the case of which we speak, be fully made proof of. You
must also know that the lord bishop of Bath has already had several
interviews with our lord the emperor, on the subject of setting our
king at liberty; for he is using every labour and exertion to show
him all due obedience, and to pay that homage which is due from his
respect for the crown, acceptable to the king’s honor, and as
advantageous under present circumstances, as it has also been on
other occasions ; this we have learned from those persons who were
present at the interview which the lord bishop of Bath had with our
lord the prince respecting the liberation of our master. And whereas,
under all circumstances, the Divine aid of God ought to be implored,
we beg that throughout the whole of your diocese you will cause
prayers to be put up for him to the Most High. ‘ The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,’ and the
importunate woman in the Gospel was deemed deserving to be heard,
and, as it is there said, Christ raised her son, because for him many
tears were shed. Farewell.”
*
The introit for the fourth Sunday in Lent, which begins “Rejoice,
Jerusalem, and meet together, all you who love her.”
Accordingly,
upon hearing of the confinement of the king, Walter, archbishop of
Rouen, and the other justiciaries of our lord the king, sent the
abbot of Boxley and the abbot of Pont Robert to Germany, to seek the
king of England. After having passed through the whole of Germany,
and not finding the king, they entered Bavaria, and met the king at a
town, the name of which is Oxefer, where he was brought before the
emperor, to hold a conference with him, on Palm Sunday. On hearing
that the before-named abbats had come from England, the king showed
himself courteous and affable to them; making enquiries about the
state of his kingdom and the fidelity of his subjects, and the health
and prosperity of the king of Scotland, in whose fidelity he placed a
very strong reliance: on which they testified to what they had heard
and seen. A conference accordingly taking place between them, the
king made complaint of the treachery of his brother, John, earl of
Mortaigne, on whom he had conferred so many favours and boundless
honors, and who had thrown himself into the hands of the king of
France against him, and, having broken the ties of brotherhood, had
made a league with death and a compact with hell. The king, though
greatly afflicted upon this subject, suddenly broke forth into these
words of consolation, saying, “My brother John is not the man
to subjugate a country, if there is a person able to make the
slightest resistance to his attempts.”
During
his journey of three days, while on the road to meet the emperor, it
was the admiration of all, how boldly, how courteously, and how
becomingly he behaved himself, and they judged him worthy of the
imperial elevation who so thoroughly understood the arts of command,
and how, with uniform self possession, to rise superior to the
two-faced events of fortune. On a day named, after he had held a
conference by messengers with the emperor, they were unable on that
day to have an interview with him, because the emperor had made of
him many demands, to which the king had determined not to yield, even
though his life should be perilled thereby. On the morrow, however,
while all were despairing, with joyous success ensued joyous
consolation.
For,
on the emperor accusing the king of many things, and charging him
with many misdeeds, both with his betrayal of the land of Sulia, and
with the death of the marquis of Montferrat, as also with reference
to certain covenants made between them and not observed by him, the
lung made answer with such frankness, such self-possession, and such
intrepidity, that the emperor thought him worthy not only Of his
favour and pardon, but even of his praise. For he raised the king
when bending before him, and received him with the kiss of peace, and
made a treaty of friendship with him, and, loading him with honors
and succour (the people standing around and bursting into tears for
very joy), made a promise that he would reconcile the king of England
with the king of France. After this, with the mediation of the duke
of Austria, the king of England promised that he would pay to the
emperor for his liberation, by way of ransom, one hundred thousand
marks. The emperor also promised that, if by his means the king of
England and the king of France could not be reconciled, he would send
the king of England home without exacting the money.
In
the same year, pope Celestinus, thinking that the king of France and
the earl of Mortaigne, the brother of the king of England, were
waging war against the king of England, wrote to the bishops of
England to the following effect:
The
Letter of pope Celestinus to the archbishops and bishops of England
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable
brethren, the archbishops and bishops throughout England appointed,
health, and the Apostolic benediction. Whereas, for the purpose of
repelling the injuries done to the people of Christendom, and wiping
away that stain to our common faith which the pollutions of the
pagans, in the capture of the Holy Land, which has been named the
inheritance of the Lord, had perniciously and violently imprinted
thereon, and for cleansing the Holy City and the Sepulchre of our
Lord from the abominations of the Saracens and others, who held
possession thereof, as also for the purpose, with the assistance of
the Divine mercy, of rescuing it from their power, the Apostolic See,
remembering what was its bounden duty, sent its nuncips to different
parts of the world, and letters of admonition, and, putting its trust
in the Divine clemency, granted great indulgences to those proceeding
thither; although, as your brotherhood may have perceived, to do this
at its exhortations, very many manfully and duteously devoted
themselves, and oftentimes, in parts beyond sea, so many of the
faithful ones of Christ were for this purpose assembled together,
that their multitude seemed in no slight degree to exceed the numbers
of their antagonists, and also to be superior in resources and
strength, they were still unable to effect much, or to make head
against those who were fighting against them, because (as one may
perceive from the result) the attempts and the actions of those who
had set out for those parts were, in a great measure, displeasing
unto the Lord. Wherefore, on the ground of their other offences,
because they trusted not in God but in their own strength, and the
fear of God was not before their eyes, by reason of their
preconceived vanity, their heart was allowed to be darkened, that so
they might do other things as well, which were by no means befitting,
thus provoking against themselves, by their perversity, the Divine
vengeance. But, inasmuch as the mercies of’ the Lord are
manifold, although, in order to bend the refractoriness of the
wicked, and to bow the necks of stiff-necked men, for the purposes of
correction He makes heavy the weight of his hand in administering
discipline, and depresses that He may raise, and smites or scourges
that He may heal, if, with due humility we return unto Him, fully
chastened for our sins, and if we resolutely make it our purpose with
more fervent zeal to observe for the future the commands of our
Creator, we may then, without any hesitation, conceive hopes that He
will more abundantly and more graciously assist us, and will, with
His indulgence, grant us from heaven a full victory over the enemies
of Christ; so much so, that all the grievances which we have hitherto
suffered may be committed to oblivion, all those being turned back,
and falling with deserved confusion, who hate Zion, and have presumed
to defile her with the pollutions of the heathen. When we consider,
however, and examine the matter with diligence and earnestness, what
was the nature of the threats which the Divine power pronounced
against the people of Israel, when, according to promise, they
entered the land above-mentioned, there cannot be a particle of doubt
to present itself in this our examination why it is that our attempts
thus begun on behalf of God have not been crowned with the hoped-for
success. For they were told to abstain from the impurities and
filthiness of the inhabitants of that land, and not to deem their
vices worthy of imitation, which might redound to the ruin of
themselves, but to observe the law of the Lord with firmness of
purpose and with every effort of zeal and earnestness; and that, if
they should duteously and humbly obey these admonitions, one of them
should conquer a thousand, and ten of them ten thousand. And this
they shortly after became sensible of from a more assured experience,
inasmuch as a few of them slew a vast and almost infinite multitude
of their enemies; and, so long as they dutifully obeyed the Divine
commands, there was not a city or a fortified place that was able to
withstand their attacks, or by any resources or counsels to be
rescued from becoming subject to their power. And yet, when their
sons, who, as it is there said, ‘knew not the Lord,’ had,
in their rashness, begun to fall away from the observance of those
things which in the promulgation of the law had been enjoined them,
then did their foes, rallying their forces against them, often
subject them to their power; whom once again, by the Divine aid, they
conquered, when, being penitent for the excesses committed by them,
and acknowledging their guilt, with pious devotion they numbly turned
to God. And you may know beyond a doubt, that it was in consequence
of the discords that arose, that the achievement of the hoped-for
victory was taken away from the Christian chivalry by reason of the
quarrels and frequent rancours that had sprung up in the army, and
because they had made the flesh their arm, and had withdrawn their
hearts from the Lord. If, then, it is our wish without great labour
to obtain a glorious triumph in all things, with the downfall of our
adversaries, let us not faint in spirit by reason of the grievances
hitherto endured ; but, with all humility and contrition of heart,
seeking the mercy of the Creator, to their lasting confusion we shall
be enabled to hope agreeably to our deserts for a complete victory,
in reliance upon the accustomed beneficence of the supreme mercy.
Induced, therefore, by this consideration, we have entreated all the
princes of the world, for the remission of their sins, that, out of
regard for the Divine love and their own salvation, if any one has on
any ground entertained feelings of rancour against another, and has
despised the advice of man, he will for the Creator do away with the
same; lest grounds for mutual dissension may still exist, which have
hitherto, as you are well aware, deprived us of the achievement of
victory, and have, without any advantage, brought the greater part of
this multitude into peril of death.
“And, among themselves, let them make it their care, with all
earnestness of mind, to consider the means by which, in the meantime, that little
of the land, the portion of the Lord, which is still held under the
sway of the Christians, may be yet preserved unshaken, and without
any fear defended against the attacks of the wicked, that so it may
not fall into the hands of the unbelievers; and that, lastly, a
multitude of the faithful may put themselves in readiness, who may
with all due and duteous humility proceed thither, and, conquering
and utterly treading under foot the frantic might of those in
possession thereof, liberate the land and the Sepulchre of the Lord.
And further, inasmuch as there hence arises too abundant cause for
tearfulness to ourselves and all Christian people, and we are bound
in every way to be sorrowful and not to rejoice, so long as the land,
on which have stood the feet of the Lord and where the sacraments of
our salvation were revealed, is held in the occupation of the
Gentiles, we do utterly forbid tournaments, which were invented for
the sake of mirthfulness and for the exercise of the prowess of
novices in the art of war, to the end that he who wishes to exercise
himself may repair to that land, where the prowess of his mind and
his body may both manfully and healthfully be proved. Let them also
so make it their care to maintain unit}-, peace, and concord one with
another, that there may be no one to wage war against another, or to
presume to avenge an injury with arms, but rather let them make it
their common study, what means may, through zeal and diligent
attention, soothe all conflicting spirits. But if any one, a thing we
do not believe, laying aside all fear of God and respect for
ourselves, and through contempt for the Christian faith, shall with
any rashness presume to act contrary hereto, then let him know that
we do strictly command yourselves and the other archbishops and
bishops to place under ecclesiastical interdict the lands of such
persons as shall think proper contumaciously to follow a course of
this kind, as also, if there shall be a necessity, to place under the
ban of excommunication their persons as well, and to cause both
sentences to be inviolably observed. We do therefore by these
Apostolic writings strictly enjoin and command you, that you will
prepare yourselves with all haste to fulfil what we have above
mentioned, all tardiness and hesitation laid aside, and will make it
your endeavour throughout your dioceses, no delay or appeal being
allowed, to put the same into execution. Given at St. Peter’s,
at Rome, on the third day before the ides of January, in the second
year of our pontificate.”
Richard, king of England, being still detained in captivity by Henry, emperor
of the Romans, in order that he might escape from this captivity, by
the advice of Eleanor, his mother, abdicated the throne of the
kingdom of England, and delivered it to the emperor as the lord of
all, and with his cap invested him therewith. However, the emperor,
as had been prearranged, immediately restored to him, in the presence
of the nobles of Germany and England, the said kingdom of England, to
hold the same of him for five thousand pounds sterling, yearly,
payable as tribute; and the emperor invested him therewith, with a
double cross of gold. However, the said emperor, at his death,
released Richard, king of England, and his heirs from these and all
other covenants whatsoever.
1193 A.D.
In the year of grace 1193, being the fourth year of the reign of
Richard, king of England, Philip, king of France, was in France on
the day of the Nativity of our Lord, being the sixth day of the week,
in great sorrow and confusion, because the seneschal of Normandy
refused to deliver up to him his sister Alice; he also frequently
sent messengers to England, to John earl of Mortaigne, the king’s
brother, telling him how the king was detained in captivity, and
would never escape from the custody of the emperor of Germany;
adding, that if he would acquiesce in his wishes and designs, he
would give him his sister Alice in marriage, and restore to him
Normandy, Aquitaine, and Anjou, and all the other territories beyond
sea, that his father, Henry, king of England, had ever possessed, and
would secure for him the kingdom of England; for Richard, the king of
England, was still kept in confinement by the emperor of Germany.
Upon
this, immediately after the Nativity of our Lord, John, earl of
Mortaigne, the king’s brother, crossed over to Normandy, upon
whose arrival the seneschal of Normandy, and other faithful subjects
of the king of England, went to meet him, and requested that he would
come with them to a conference at Alencon, to treat on the affairs of
the king and his liberation. To this he made answer, "If you
will receive me as your lord, and swear fealty to me, I will come
with you and will be your defender against the king of France ; but
if not, I will not come to you.” On hearing this, the nobles of
Normandy refused to obey him, or to swear fealty, trusting that by
the help of God, their lord, the king of England, would return safe
and sound.
Upon
this, John, the king’s brother, repaired to the king of France
and did homage to him for Normandy, and for the other territories of
his brother beyond sea, and for England as well, as some said. He
also made oath that he would marry his sister Alice, and released to
the king of France all claims upon Gisors and the whole of the Vexin,
in Normandy; on which the king of France gave to him, with his said
sister, that part of Flanders which belonged to him, and swore to him
that he would, to the utmost of his ability, assist in gaining
England and the other territories of the king of England on his
behalf. After this, the said earl of Mortaigne returned to England,
bringing many foreigners with him; immediately on which, the castles
of Wallingford and Windsor were surrendered to him. The earl next
came to London, and demanded of the archbishop of Rouen and the other
justiciaries of England the kingdom, and the fealty of the subjects
of the realm, asserting that the king of England, his brother, was
dead. However, they did not place any confidence in his words.
On
this, being repulsed by the justiciaries and the other nobles of the
kingdom, he withdrew, and, excited by indignation, fortified his
castles and fortresses, and in his hostility invaded the lands of the
king, his brother. Accordingly, multitudes resorted to him, deceiving
themselves; on which, being scourged by the deserved retribution of
God, they lost everything that they possessed. For the justiciaries
of England and the faithful subjects of our lord the king manfully
resisted the said earl of Mortaigne, and inflicted upon him much
loss; they also strengthened with garrisons the seaports and all the
maritime places, with such care, that the Franks and Flemings, and
many others, who had promised their aid to the before-named earl, did
not dare to land in England. Some, however, of their number who did
land in England, were taken prisoners and placed in chains.
The
king of France, also, unmindful of the oath which on his departure
from the land of Sulia he had made to the king of
England, as to maintaining peace, entered Normandy in a hostile
manner, and ravaged the king’s territories with fire, and
carried off much spoil. However, Robert, earl of Leicester, who had
shortly before returned from the land of Sulia, and the other nobles
of Normandy, made a stout resistance against him.
In
the meantime, the above-named abbats of Boxley, and of Pont Robert,
whom the justiciaries of England had sent in search of the king,
returned to England after Easter, informing them that peace had been
made between the emperor and the king of England, on the day of the
Supper of our Lord, upon the following terms :—”The king
of England shall give to the emperor of the Romans one hundred
thousand silver marks as his ransom, and shall find fifty galleys,
with all their equipments, and twenty knights for his service for one
year:” and stated that they themselves were present at the said
treaty.
After
this treaty had been made, there arrived envoys from the king of
France, who, on his behalf, defied our lord the king. To them the
emperor immediately made answer, that whoever should molest the king
of England would also offend the emperor himself; such great love and
lasting concord had been established between them. And because the
king of England made offer to obey the demands of justice in the
court of his lord the king of France, as to all matters with which
the king of France or any other person of his party might charge him,
the emperor attempted to have a conference held between him and the
king of France, but it was not proceeded with. The king of England,
on this, sent to England for ships, and for Alan Trenchemere, the
pilot of his own ship, as also for hostages to be given to the
emperor as a security for his performance of the treaty made between
them. These commands he gave, and they were all complied with ; after
which, Robert de Turnham, one of the king’s household, came to
London, being sent to England with the king’s armour.
Upon
this, all the principal men of the kingdom met together, and laid
siege to Windsor, the castle of the earl of Mortaigne. Geoffrey,
archbishop of York, Hugh Bardolph, the king’s justiciary, the
sheriff of York, and William de Stuteville, assembling their forces,
came to Doncaster, and fortified it. But when the archbishop of York
wished to proceed thence, and lay siege to Tickhill, a castle
belonging to the earl of Mortaigne, Hugh Bardolph and William de
Stute ville
would not agree thereto, because they were liegemen of earl John; on
which the archbishop of York left them, with his people, calling them
traitors to the king and his realm.
In
the meantime, the king of France, with a strong hand, entered
Normandy, and laid siege to Gisors ; on which Gilbert de Guascoil,
who had charge of the castle of Gisors and the castle of Nefle,
surrendered them both to the king of France, and became his adherent.
However, he was despised among them for the treason he had been
guilty of to his master the king of England, who had, in the fullness
of his favour, sent him from Messina to take charge of the said
castles. After this, the king of France came to Rouen, and said to
the inhabitants of that place: “John, earl of Mortaigne, has
done homage to me for England, and has given up to me Normandy and
all other lands on this side the sea ; and I have come hither to take
possession of this city, which is the capital of the whole of
Normandy; allow me to enter peaceably, and I will prove a kind and
just master to you."
To
this they made answer: “See, the gates are open; enter if you
like ; no one opposes you.” On which the king replied: “I
will speak to my people about it;” and then, after consulting
his people on the matter, declined to enter. Accordingly, the king of
France being thus deceived in his hopes, retired from Rouen with his
army, and burned his stone engines, twenty-four in number, which he
had posted around the city: he also broke his wine-casks, and having
poured forth all the wine, took his departure, sending word to the
citizens that he would visit them with a rod of iron.
The
king of England still remaining in the custody of the emperor of the
Romans, all people were surprised at his thus delaying; and some, in
consequence of the predictions of the earl of Mortaigne, who always
predicted that he would never return, doubted about him and his ever
returning. In consequence of this, Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and
the other ‘ justiciaries of England, although they had
compelled the earl of Mortaigne to surrender, and had nearly taken
his castle of Windsor, to which they had been laying siege, made a
truce with the earl of Mortaigne until the feast of All Saints, the
castles of Nottingham and Tickhill remaining in the charge of the
earl, as before. But the castles of Windsor, and of Wallingford, and
of the Peak, were given into the hands of queen Eleanor, the mother
of the said earl of Mortaigne, and of some other custodians, who were
to deliver them into his hands if the king, his brother, should not
come in the meantime. When Hugh, bishop of Durham, who had in the
meantime been laying siege to the castle of Tickhill, heard of this,
he was greatly vexed. as he now felt sure of taking it; but, by the
command of the said justiciaries, he took his departure, leaving his
task incomplete.
Shortly
after this, there came messengers to England with letters from the
king, addressed by him to all the archbishops, bishops, abbats,
earls, barons, clerks, and freeholders; and by them the king humbly
entreated that all persons, both clergy as well as laity, would give
such assistance in ransoming him as should secure his grateful thanks
to them; and, in order that they might do this with the more full
assurance, the emperor of the Romans wrote in general terms to all
the subjects of the king of England, informing them that their lord
the king of England had come to an agreement with him as to the sum
to be paid for his ransom; but he did not state the amount of the
sum. Our lord the pope Celestinus also wrote in like manner, in
behalf of the king, to all the ecclesiastics of the kingdom of
England, to the effect that the emperor and the whole of his empire
would be placed under interdict unless the king of England were
speedily liberated from his custody. He likewise issued a command
that the king of France and his kingdom should be laid under
interdict unless he should desist from persecuting the king of
England, so long as he remained in the emperor’s hands. Moved
by these and other admonitions of our lord the pope, and the whole of
the cardinals, and the advice of prudent men, the Roman emperor and
the king of England became reconciled : on which the king of England
wrote to his faithful servants throughout England, to the following
effect:—
The Letter of Richard, king of England, to queen Eleanor, his mother, and
his justiciaries in England.
“Richard, by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to Eleanor, by the same grace, queen of England,
his much-loved mother, and to his justices, and all his faithful
servants throughout England, greeting. Be it known unto you all,
that, after our beloved servants, the venerable Hubert, bishop of
Salisbury, and William, of the Church of Saint Mary, our
prothonotary, had
departed from us, our most dearly beloved chancellor, William, bishop
of Ely, came to us, and, he faithfully negotiating between our lord
the emperor and ourselves, the result was, that we came from the
castle of Trevelles, in which we were confined, to meet the emperor
at Haguenau, where we were honorably received by the emperor and the
whole of his court. Here, too, our lord the emperor and our lady the
empress honored us with many and various presents, and, what is of
especial importance, a mutual and indissoluble bond of friendship was
formed between our lord the emperor and ourselves ; whereby each of
us is bound to aid the other against all living men in gaining his
rights and in retaining possession of the same. For becoming reasons
it is that we are prolonging our stay with the emperor, until his
business and our own shall be brought to an end, and until we shall
have paid him seventy thousand marks of silver. Wherefore we do beg
of you, and by the fealty by which you are bound to us, do adjure
you, that you will use all earnestness in raising the said sum of
money, and that you, our justiciaries, who are placed above the
others in our kingdom, will set an example to others; that so you may
honorably and nobly afford of your own means for our assistance, and
also raise what you can on loan from others, in order that you may
set an example to our other faithful subjects for doing the like. The
whole of the gold and silver, also, of the churches, you are with
careful attention, and with a written inventory, to receive from the
prelates of those churches; and you are to assure them by your oath,
and by that of such others of our barons as you shall think fit, that
full restitution shall be made for the same. You are also to receive
hostages from all our barons, in order that when our most trusty
chancellor, as soon as our business has been settled in Germany,
shall come to England, he may find the same hostages with our
much-beloved mother, that so he may with all expedition transmit to
us such of them as may have been agreed upon between ourselves and
the emperor; to the end that our liberation may not suffer any delay
in consequence of the absence of the hostages and your neglect. Also,
money there collected is, in like manner, to be delivered to our
mother and such persons as she shall think proper. He whom, in the
moment of our necessity, we shall find to be prompt, in his necessity
will find us a friend, and ready to reward; and it will be more
pleasing to us if, in our absence, any person shall in any way assist
us, than
if, in our presence, he should give us twice that amount of aid. We
do also desire that the names of each of the nobles, and their
subsidies which shall be made on the present occasion, shall be
signified unto us under the seal of our mother, that we may know how
far we are bound to return thanks to each. Know for certain that, if
we were now in England, free and at our own disposal, we would give
as great or a greater sum. of money to our lord the emperor than we
now give for obtaining the terms which, by the grace of God, we have
gained: and, moreover, if we had not such sum of money in our
possession, we would deliver up to the emperor our own body until the
said money should be paid, rather than that which has been agreed
upon should be left incomplete. Under the golden bulla of our lord
the emperor, our chancellor brings to you the attestation
above-mentioned. Witness ourselves, at Haguenau, the thirteenth day
before the calends of May."
Accordingly,
upon the authority of this letter the king’s mother and the
justiciaries of England determined that all the clergy as well as the
laity ought to give the fourth part of the present year’s
revenue for the ransom of our lord the king, and to add as much from
their chattel property, whereby the king would be bound to know whom
he had to thank. They also exacted from each knight’s fee
twenty shillings, and from the abbeys of the Cistercian order and the
houses ‘ of the order of Sempringham the whole of their wool
for the current year, and the whole of the gold and silver of the
churches, as the king by his mandate had directed. After this, his
said chancellor came to England on behalf of our lord the king,
bringing a letter from his lordship the emperor, ratified by the
golden bulla, and to the following effect:
The
Letter of the emperor Henry to the nobles of England, on behalf of
king Richard
“Henry,
by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans and ever august, to his
loving friends the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, nobles, and
all persons throughout England to whom this present page shall come,
greeting and good will. We have deemed it proper and reflecting
credit upon our high Estate, most earnestly to engage the whole of
you in every way that we possibly can, to take those steps which are
due to the honor of our most dearly beloved friend your lord Richard,
king of England, to the end that the constancy of your dutiful
attachment, and the merits of your fidelity, may not seem to be dead
as regards his advantage, but rather may appear to live in obedience
to himself and to his rule. Wherefore to all whose duty shall be
proved to be sincere and pure to their said king in his absence, we
shall return most abundant thanksgivings, wishing it to come to the
knowledge of you all that his imperial highness is upon terms of
concord and lasting peace with his royal nobleness. Wherefore,
whatever shall be said to his disparagement, will be productive of
annoyance and inconvenience to ourselves equally with him.
Accordingly, to the honor and advantage of his duteous and faithful
subjects, and to the condemnation and uprooting of those who molest
him, we will always give our zealous assistance; and, because in
heart and soul we are united, shall always fully consider the acts of
your king to be especially our own and those of our empire, and shall
look upon injuries done to him as offered to ourselves and to our
imperial crown; nor, with the will of God, will we pass over the same
without vengeance and the heavy punishment and destruction of those
who have been guilty of the same. Given at Haguenau, on the
thirteenth day before the calends of May.”
After
this treaty of peace was made between the emperor and the king of
England, the emperor proposed an interview between him and the king
of France, for the purpose of effecting a reconciliation between him
and the king of England, through the mediation of William, archbishop
of Rheims, uncle of the king of France, and a kinsman of the king of
England; on which they appointed a day for an interview on the morrow
of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, being the sixth day of the
week, between Vaucouleurs and Toul.
The
king’s chancellor, on his arrival in England, went to Saint
Alban’s with great humility, where our lady the queen, the
king’s mother, with the lord archbishop of Rouen, and the other
justiciaries of our lord the king, met him. There also the said
chancellor gave to the justices the golden bulla of the emperor,
containing the indissoluble treaty made between his lordship the
emperor with our lord the king, asserting that neither as justiciary,
legate, nor chancellor, but as a simple bishop, he had come to
England; not as a dweller therein, but as a stranger; indeed, as a
messenger only from our lord the king. He also enjoined certain of
the barons to accompany him to the king, namely, Gilbert, bishop of
Rochester, Sefrid,
bishop of Chichester, Benedict, abbot of Burgh, Richard, earl of
Clare, earl Roger Bigot, Geoffrey de Say, and several others.
Here,
also, it was arranged in whose hands the money, when collected, was
to be placed, namely, in the charge of Hubert Fitz-Walter, archbishop
elect of Canterbury, the lord bishop of London, William, earl of
Arundel, Hamelin, earl of Warenne, and the mayor of London, under the
seal of our lady the queen, and the seal of the lord archbishop of
Rouen. Here it may be remarked, that after the arrival of Hubert
Fitz- Walter, bishop of Salisbury, in England, the monks of the
metropolitan church of Canterbury met together, and elected us their
archbishop the said Hubert, bishop of Salisbury. Against this
election Hubert, archdeacon. of Canterbury, appealed to the Supreme
Pontiff, both because the king was in confinement, as also because
the bishops of England, whose duty it was to be present at the
election, were not present at that election.
In the same year, while the king of England was in the
custody of the emperor, Saladin departed this life in the first week of Lent;
upon which occasion the duke of Venice wrote to the said king of England
to the following effect:
The Letter of Dandolo, duke of Venice, Dalmatia, and Cherum,* to Richard,
king of England, on the death of Saladin.
* Probably a misprint for Croatia.
“To his most serene lord Richard, by the grace of God,
king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, Henry Dandolo, by
the same grace, duke of Venice, Dalmatia, and Cherum, health, and
sincere and duteous affection. Know ye that it has been intimated to
us from a source that can be relied on, that Saladin, that enemy of
the Christian religion, is dead: and one of his sons, whom he is said
to have appointed heir to the whole of his dominions, is at present
in Damascus, while the other one is ruling at Babylon and Alexandria.
His brother is in the vicinity of Babylon with a numerous army, and
the greatest dissension exists between them. Farewell."
In
the meanwhile, as the time approached for the interview between the
emperor and the king of France, the king of England found, through
other signs, that if this interview should take place, the emperor
and the king of France would form a confederacy against the
archbishops of Cologne and Mentz,
and the dukes of Louvain, Lemberg, and Saxony, and many other
chieftains and nobles who had conspired against the emperor, on
account of the death of the bishop of Liege, brother of the duke of
Louvain, which had been contrived by the emperor. The king of England
was also apprehensive that if this conference should take place, he
himself would without doubt be delivered into the hands of the king
of France. Consequently, the king exerted himself to the utmost of
his power that the conference might be broken off, and that peace
should be made between the emperor and the said nobles.
Accordingly,
at his urgent entreaty, the emperor and the said nobles concluded
between themselves a treaty of peace and reconciliation to the
following effect: The emperor caused a great number of bishops,
earls, and barons to make oath upon his own soul that he had neither
commanded nor wished that the said bishop of Liege should be put to
death, and that when he knew it, he was greatly grieved thereat; and,
by way of satisfying them, he restored to every one of the persons
aforesaid, who had conspired against him, all the castles that his
father or he himself had taken from them; on which they became
reconciled, with the sole exception of the duke of Saxony. The
interview, also, which was to have taken place between him and the
king of France at Vaucouleurs was broken off. and did not take place.
These
matters being thus arranged, on the Friday next after the feast of
the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, the emperor came to Worms,
where our lord the king of England then was. Here a conference was
held between them for four days, at which were present the bishops of
those parts, the dukes of Louvain and of Lemberg, and many earls and
barons. Of the king of England’s party, there were present the
bishops of Bath and Ely ; and on the fourth day, which was the vigil
of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, there came to the king of
England William Bruyere and Baldwin de Brun; for as yet all quite
despaired of the liberation of the king of England. But, by the mercy
of God, on the day of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul,
matters were finally arranged between the emperor and the king in the
following manner: "Our lord the king will pay to the emperor one
hundred thousand marks of pure silver, Cologne weight, and another
fifty thousand marks of silver, instead of the assistance which he
was to have given the emperor in regaining Apulia. Also, the king
will give the sister of Arthur, duke of Brittany, his
nephew, in marriage to the son of the duke of Austria, and will set
at liberty the emperor of Cyprus, but without restoring to him his
empire ; and, in like manner, will liberate the daughter of that
emperor, whom he will cause to be delivered up to the duke of
Austria, as being her uncle. The said hundred thousand marks, our
lord the king is to bring at his own risk to the borders of the
empire, and so soon as they shall have entered any part of the
empire, our lord the king shall freely and quietly return with a safe
conduct to England.” To this, the bishops, dukes, earls, and
all nobles who were then present made oath upon the soul of the
emperor : on which, the agreement was reduced to writing, as made
between the emperor and the king of England to the following effect
:—
The
form of the agreement made between the emperor Henry, and Richard,
king of England
“In
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.
This is the form of the agreement made between our lord the emperor,
ever august, and our lord Richard, the illustrious king, of England.
Our lord the emperor shall send his messengers with the messengers of
the king of England, who shall proceed to London, and there receive
one hundred thousand marks of pure silver, Cologne weight; which
money, on being received by the messengers of the emperor, and duly
weighed, shall be sealed in the presence of his messengers, and shall
be escorted under the king’s charge through the territories of
his kingdom; so that if it shall chance to be lost in his kingdom, it
shall be so lost at the said king’s risk.^ After the said money
shall have come to the borders of the empire, it shall be handed over
by the messengers of the king to the messengers of our lord the
emperor, who shall immediately there receive it, and if it shall
happen to be lost within the territories of the empire, it shall be
so lost at the risk of the emperor, and the king shall not be
damnified, nor yet his hostages, thereby. The king shall also give
another fifty thousand marks of silver to the emperor and the duke of
Austria, and shall give hostages for the same, namely, to our lord
the emperor, sixty hostages for thirty thousand marks, and to the
duke of Austria, seven hostages for twenty thousand marks. And when
the hundred thousand marks shall have been paid and the hostages
given, the king shall be at liberty to depart. But if our lord the
king shall keep the promise which he has made to our lord the emperor
as to Henry, the former duke of Saxony, the emperor will then release
and discharge the king from payment of the said fifty thousand marks,
and, for the king, will give to the duke of Austria twenty thousand
marks; and the king shall not be bound to give to the duke of Austria
the seven hostages, or to the emperor the sixty. When, therefore, the
king shall have fulfilled his aforesaid promise as to Henry, the
former duke of Saxony, and shall have paid the said hundred thousand
marks, he shall be at liberty to depart. Moreover, the king has
caused oath to be made upon his soul, that he will deliver his niece,
the daughter of the duke of Brittany, in marriage to the son of the
duke of Austria, within seven months after he shall have been set at
liberty, and shall have returned into his own territory, and will
send her to the entrance of the empire, if they shall think fit to
receive her; and if they shall not, he shall be released therefrom.
Also, if the promise as to Henry, the former duke of Saxony, shall
not be fulfilled, the fifty thousand marks, remaining unpaid, shall
be paid within seven months after he shall have been set at liberty,
and shall have returned to his territory. When the king shall have
been set at liberty, and shall wish to return, the emperor shall give
him a safe conduct through his dominions to the limits of his empire,
and in the harbour where he shall embark, so long as he shall there
remain, and until he shall depart with a fair wind. Moreover, all
things, both in these as also in other familiar letters, sealed with
the emperor’s seal, with reference to the contracts that have
been made between them, each according to his own ability, will
ratify and confirm, and will with good faith observe.”
When
the king of France heard of this, he immediately sent word to earl
John that he must take care of himself, for the devil was now let
loose. Accordingly, earl John, understanding that this was said in
reference to the king, his brother, immediately crossed over from
England to Normandy, and became an adherent of the king of France,
not daring to await the arrival of the king, his brother, in England.
After this the king of England sent William, bishop of Ely, his
chancellor, and William Bruyere, and other discreet men to make peace
on some terms or other with the king of France; who accordingly made
a treaty of peace with him to the following effect:—
The
Form of the Treaty of Peace made between the kings of France and
England
“Know
all men to whom these present letters shall come, that William,
chancellor of Richard, king of England, bishop of Ely, and legate of
the Apostolic See, and, with him, William de Roches, John de
Pratelles, and William Bruyere, have come to the king of France, on
behalf of the king of England, with letters patent to the said king,
in which it is stated that such terms as they shall agree to and
conclude with him, the said king of England will fully ratify and
confirm. Wherefore they have agreed to the following effect, and
have, on behalf of their lord the king of England, made the following
covenants with the king of France. Richard, king of England, agrees
with his liege lord, the king of France, as to the whole of the land
which the king of France has taken from him and his subjects, and
which is held by himself and his subjects, that he shall retain as
much of the same as he shall think fit for himself and his people.
And, as to earl John, the following shall be the terms agreed to. If
the men of the king of England shall be able fully to make proof in
the court of our lord the king of France that the said John has sworn
to obtain money for the liberation of the king of England, and has
made agreement to that effect, then the said John shall be held bound
to pay the same; also, the whole of the lands which he held, when the
king of England, his brother, took his departure to go beyond sea, he
shall hold, on both sides of the sea, as freely as he previously held
the same; excepted always, that he shall be released from the oath
which he made as to not entering the territory of England; and, on.
this point, the said king of England shall give to the lord John
security, both by himself and by the barons,* archbishops, and
bishops of his dominions, as also by the king of France. But, if the
said earl John shall attempt to deny that the said letters were his,
or that he swore to that effect, the men of the king of England shall
sufficiently prove in the court of the king of France, by fit and
proper witnesses, that he did swear to obtain money to procure the
liberation of the king of England.
* By oath made by them to that effect.
And
if it shall be proved, as has been said, that the said earl swore to
seek money for the liberation of the king, or if he shall fail in
making his proof, then the king of France shall not interest himself
about earl John, if he shall think fit to make peace in relation to
his own territory above-named. As to count Louis, the following shall
be the terms agreed to: The king of England shall, according to the
advice and to the satisfaction of the king of France and the
archbishop of Rheims, assign to him a yearly revenue in his own
territory of five hundred pounds Anjouin, or more if more there shall
be, and shall cause promise to be made to him on oath that he will
render to count Louis the rights and services that his father
rendered to count Theobald; and the king of England shall repay to
count Louis as much money as he retained after the death of count
Theobald, and which he ought to have paid him. As to Hugh de Gurnay,
the following shall be the terms agreed to: Hugh shall hold all the
lands which he has anywhere held of the king of France, unless it
shall so be that the said Hugh, of his own free will, and without
compulsion, and without desertion of the king of France, shall wish
to return to the king of England; and the king of France shall be
ready to interrogate the said Hugh thereon, without employing force
and losing any rights of his own thereby. But, if Hugh shall be
unwilling to return to the king of England with the lands which he
holds of the king of France, and shall wish to hold other lands of
his in England and Normandy of the king of England, and not to
receive anything in exchange for such land, nor to accede to any
terms entered into by the king of France and the king of England
relative thereto, then the king of England shall be bound to make to
the said Hugh a reasonable warranty relative thereto. The count of
Angouleme and his people shall be set at liberty, and shall safely
return to his territory, and he and his people shall be in the same
state in which they were before the war; nor shall he or his receive
any detriment for anything that shall have taken place during the
war. The count of Perche shall hold his revenues in full in England,
and the king of England and his people shall preserve the peace
towards him. The count of Mellent shall again enjoy his lands in the
territory of the king of England. When the king of England shall have
made peace with the king of France, he shall do service and pay all
lawful dues, in the court of the king of France, for every fee which
he holds of him, in such manner as each fee is bound to pay. Also,
the king of England shall pay to the king of France twenty thousand
marks of silver, good and pure, Troy weight, payable to him in two
years,
at the following periods : at the end of the first half year, from
the day of his liberation from the custody of the emperor, five
thousand marks; at the end of the next half year, from that period,
five thousand marks; at the end of the next half year, from that
period, five thousand marks ; and at the end of the next half year
from that period, the remaining five thousand marks of silver. As
security for the observance of all these covenants, the king of
England shall deliver to the king of France Loches and Chatillon sur
Saone, and to the archbishop of Rheims, Driencourt and Arches. These
four castles also shall be maintained at the expense of the king of
England on the following terms: William des Roches, or he who shall
be in his place, shall deliver to the king of France two thousand
pounds Anjouin each month, which shall suffice for a month; and he
shall always place in the said castles as much provisions as shall
suffice for two months; in Loches, for eleven knights and a hundred
and forty men-at-arms; in Chatillon, for four knights and forty
men-at-arms. For Driencourt and Arches, the seneschal of Normandy
shall make arrangements for provisions and garrison according to the
will and option of the archbishop of Rheims. In case all the
aforesaid covenants shall be fully observed to the king of France,
then, when five thousand marks of silver shall have been paid on
behalf of the king of England to the king of France, the king of
France shall restore to him such one of the aforesaid castles as the
king of France shall think fit. And, again, when five thousand marks
of silver shall have been paid on behalf of the king of England to
the king of France, the king of France shall restore to him another
such one of the aforesaid castles as the king of France shall think
fit. But, if ten thousand marks shall be paid at the same time to the
king of France, on behalf of the king of England, the king of France
shall restore to him such two of the said four castles as the king of France
shall think fit. And, if fifteen thousand marks shall be paid at the same time
to the king of France, the king of France shall restore to him such three of the
said four castles as the king of France shall think fit. And, if the
whole twenty thousand marks shall be paid at the same time to the
king of France, the said four castles shall be restored to the king
of England. The king of France, however, shall restore not one of the
said four castles unless the said covenants as to paying the afore
* “Domino,” is clearly a misprint for “duo."
said sum of money, as to earl John, as to count Louis, as to the count of
Angouleme and his people, as to the count of Perche, and as to the
count of Mellent, shall be duly observed by him and his. Also, when
the king of France shall have received possession of Loches and
Chatillon, and the archbishop of Rheims of Driencourt and Arches, the
king of France will receive the king of England into his favour for
the carrying out of the aforesaid covenants, according to the tenor
of this present instrument, and will entreat the emperor to set the
king of England at liberty. The said chancellor, and William des
Roches, John de Pratelles, and William Bruyere, have also sworn upon
the soul of the king of England that the king of England shall
observe the covenants which are contained in the present instrument,
and that, when the king of England shall return, he shall, in his own
person, make oath within a reasonable time after he shall have been
summoned by the king of France, that he will observe the aforesaid
covenants, and will give to him his letters patent thereon. In
addition to this, the four persons aforesaid, and with them the
constable of Normandy, Robert de Harencourt, and Stephen de
Longchamp, have made oath that, if the king of England shall not
observe the aforesaid covenants, they will, at Paris, place
themselves in the custody of the king of France.. Such of the
archbishops, bishops, and barons of the territory of the king of
England, as the king of France shall think fit, shall, when called
upon, make oath that they will, at Paris, place themselves in the
custody of the king of France, if the king of England shall not
observe the aforesaid covenants, according to the tenor of this
present treaty. And if the king of England shall chance to die before
the king of France shall have restored the said four castles, then
the king of France shall restore the said four castles to his right
heir, in consideration of his performing the said covenants,
according to the tenor of this present treaty, saving always the
rights of the king of France. To the end that all the matters
aforesaid may remain ratified and inviolate, I, William, bishop of
Ely, chancellor of the king of England, and I, William des Roches,
and I, John de Pratelles, and I, William Bruyere, have, by command of
our lord the king of England, corroborated the same with the
attestation of our respective seals. Done at Mayenne, in the year
from the Incarnation of our Lord one thousand one hundred and
ninety-three, on the eighth day before the ides of July."
In the same year [1193], Richard, king of England, while he was
still in the custody of the Roman emperor, gave to Hubert Fitz-Walter,
archbishop of Salisbury, the archbishopric of Canterbury, to Savaric,
archdeacon of Northampton, the bishopric of Bath, and to Henry
Marshal, dean of York, the bishopric of Exeter; also, to Master
Philip of Poitiers, his clerk, the king gave the archdeaconry of
Canterbury, to Henry, abbot of Glastonbury, he gave the bishopric of
Worcester, and to the said Savaric, bishop of Bath, he gave the abbey
of Glastonbury. Accordingly, on Henry Marshal, the dean of York,
being elected to the bishopric of Exeter, Geoffrey, archbishop of
York, who was at this time staying at Ripen, gave to his brother
Peter the deanery of York, in presence of Hamo, the precentor, Simon
of Apulia, and a considerable number of his other clerks. But because
the said Peter was at this time at Paris, and Richard, king of
England, most urgently demanded that the archbishop would give the
deanery to John, prior of Douay, brother of the Advocate of Bethune,
the said archbishop, by the advice of his people, gave the deanery to
Simon of Apulia, his clerk, and by this method evaded the king’s
request.
But, some time after, the archbishop wanted to undo what he had done; and
told the said Simon that he had only given the deanery into his
charge to be kept in behalf of his brother Peter; on which the canons
of the church of York, with one consent, elected the said Simon as
their dean, though contrary to the wishes of the archbishop. In
consequence of this, the said archbishop, in order that he might
please the king, gave to the aforesaid master Philip,* clerk to the
king, and one of his household, the said deanery; on which a
dissension broke out between the archbishop of York and his canons;
of which the following was the cause and origin.
* Philip of Poitiers, archdeacon of Canterbury aforementioned.
At the time when Richard, king of England, on his return from the land
of Jerusalem, had been made prisoner and detained in Germany, and an
agreement had been entered into between him and the emperor, as to
obtaining his release by ransom, the king had, by his letters,
especially entrusted to the archbishop of York the charge of his
territories and the liberation of his person. On receiving this
command, being moved with sorrow for his brother’s captivity,
he called upon those canons with whom he was most familiarly
acquainted, and whom he had enriched and exalted, and advised and
entreated them to give the fourth part of their revenues towards the
liberation of the said king, as had been already done in other parts
of the kingdom. To this they objected, and, getting the other canons
to join their party, asserted that, in this case and other similar
ones, he was wishful to subvert the liberties of their church; and
accordingly withdrew from his acquaintanceship, and all converse and
communication with him.
At
this time, as already-mentioned, the deanery of the church of York
was vacant, the presentation to which the archbishop asserted to
belong to himself, while the chapter declared that the election lay
in their hands. Consequently, an appeal was made on behalf of the
archbishop to the Apostolic See; but for all this, the chapter
proceeded to the election of master Simon of Apulia as dean; after
which, the said Simon crossed over to the king, who, as previously
mentioned, was at this time in Germany. Messengers were also sent by
the archbishop to the Apostolic See for the purpose of urging the
appeal, but so as to pass through Germany and see the king on their
road. On their coming before the king and paying their respects to
him, and declaring the causes of their journey, the king forbade
either side going for this reason to the Roman Court, and forbade the
person who should attempt to do so, without his consent, to enter his
kingdom, declaring that he would, without delay, effect a
reconciliation between them.
Accordingly,
one of the messengers of the archbishop returned to him with letters
from the king, signifying that he was, with all haste, to come to
him, as, indeed, he had purposed, but was hindered by circumstances
of an emergent nature. For, in the meantime, the canons of York had
suspended the great church from the usual celebration of Divine
service, and the bells from being rung as usual; on account of which
the whole city was in commotion. They also stripped the altars, and
placed a lock on the archbishop’s stall in the choir; they also
locked up the door by which he entered the church when coming from
his palace and chapel thither, and did many other things for the
purpose of insulting him.
Consequently,
when he was just ready to embark, he returned to his church from the
coast, and sent before some of his clerks to warn and command the
servants of the church, to observe the ancient forms, and to perform
the service therein ; but, setting at nought his warning and
commands, they left the church empty, and deprived of the celebration
of Divine service therein.
In
the same year, pope Clement sent the pall to Hubert Fitz-Walter, the
archbishop elect of Canterbury. In the same year, Philip, king of
France, married Botilda,* daughter of Waldemar, the former king of
Denmark, and sister of Canute, the then reigning king of Denmark, at
Amiens, on a Saturday, in the month of September; and on the
following day had her crowned and consecrated queen of France before
the envoys of the king of Denmark who had escorted her to him, with
the intention that the said king of Denmark might be induced to
invade England with a naval armament. But, on the morrow after the
first night on which the said king of France had known his said wife,
after having consummated the marriage, he wished to send her away.
However, when he wanted to place her in the hands of the envoys of
her brother, they declined to receive her, but departed in all haste
and returned to their own country, while she remained in the hands of
the king of France, her husband; and, shortly after, a divorce was
effected between them by William, archbishop of Rheims, and, upon the
oaths of Reginald, bishop of Chartres, Philip, bishop of Beauvais,
Robert, count de Drues, the count de Nevers, Walter, the chamberlain
of the king of France, and many other persons, who swore that the
said daughter of the king of Denmark was cousin of the earl of
Hainault, whose daughter the said king of France had previously
married. But the reason for the king of France acting thus, was, that
he might marry the daughter of the count Palatine of the Rhine, in
Germany, the uncle of the before-named emperor of the Romans.
However, when she was offered by her father and her other relations
to the king of France, she refused to have him; and, by the advice of
her mother, she married Henry, duke of Saxony, nephew of Richard,
king of England.
* Roger of ‘Wendover calls her “Ingelburg."
In the meantime, Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and the other justiciaries
of England, received for the king’s ransom, from every knight’s
fee, twenty shillings, and the fourth part of all the incomes of the
laity, and all the chalices of the churches, besides the other
treasures of the church. Some of the bishops, also, took from the
clergy the fourth part of their revenues, while others took a tenth,
for the ransom of the said king. The same was done throughout all the
king’s territories beyond sea, and in this way they amassed an
endless amount of money. After this, the emperor’s messengers
came to London, and there received the greater part of the king’s
ransom by weight and measure, and delivered the same, under the
attestation of their seals, to persons who were to take it to the
borders of the empire, at the risk of the king of England. The said
emperor also gave to the king of England the lands under-written:
Provence, Vienne, the Viennais, Marseilles, Narbonne, Arles-le-Blanc,
and Laon-sur-Rhone, as far as the Alps, and whatever the emperor
possessed in Burgundy, as also the homage of the king of Arragon, the
homage of the count of Diziers, and the homage of the count of Saint
Gilles. It deserves to be known that in these territories there are
five archbishoprics and thirty-three bishoprics. It ought also to be
known that the emperor was never able to establish his dominion over
the said territories and subjects, nor would they, upon the
nomination of the emperor, accept of any superior lord.
The
king of England immediately sent to England for queen Eleanor, his
mother, and for Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and many other persons,
to come to him in Germany, and appointed Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury, chief justiciary in England. In the meantime, Henry,
emperor of the Romans, by the advice of the principal men of his
empire, named as the day for the liberation of Richard, king of
England, the second day of the week ensuing after the expiration of
three weeks from the day of the Nativity of our Lord; 2
on which the king of England wrote to Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury, to the following effect:—
The
Letter of Richard, king of England, to Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury, on his liberation
“Richard,
by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to the venerable father in Christ, and his most
dearly-beloved friend, Hubert, by the same grace, archbishop of
Canterbury, health and the fullness of his sincere affection.
Inasmuch as we feel certain that you greatly long for our liberation,
and that our liberation will very greatly delight you, we do
therefore desire that you should be partakers of our joy. For this
reason it is that we have thought proper to make known to your
affection. that his lordship the emperor has appointed a certain day
for our liberation, namely, the Monday next ensuing after the
twentieth day from the day of the Nativity of our Lord; and on the
Lord’s day then next ensuing, we shall be crowned king of the
kingdom of Provence, which he has given unto us. Wherefore, we do
send into England to you the letters patent of our lord the emperor
relative hereto, as also to the rest of our friends and well-wishers
; and do you in the meantime, to the best of your power, endeavour to
console those whom you know to love us, and whom you know to long for
our release. Witness myself at Spires, this twenty-second day of
September.”
The
Letter of the emperor Henry to the nobles of England, on the
liberation of Richard, king of England
“Henry,
by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans, and ever august, to his
dearly-beloved friends, the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons,
knights, and all the faithful subjects of Richard, the illustrious
king of England, his favour and every blessing. We have thought
proper to intimate to all and every of you, that we have appointed a
certain day for the liberation of our dearly-beloved Mend, your lord,
Richard, the illustrious king of the English, being the second day of
the week next ensuing after the expiration of three weeks from the
day of the Nativity of our Lord, at Spires, or else at Worms; and we
have appointed seven days after that as the day of his coronation as
king of Provence, which we have promised to him; and this you are to
consider as certain and undoubted. For it is our purpose and our will
to exalt and most highly to honor your aforesaid lord, as being our
especial friend. Given at Thealluse, on the vigil of Saint Thomas the
Apostle.”
But
before this treaty was confirmed between the emperor and the king,
the king sent William, bishop of Ely, his chancellor, and other
envoys, into France, to earl John, his brother, and prevailed upon
him to return to Normandy, and to swear fealty and peace to the king,
his brother, against all men. The king also gave orders that all the
castles of the honors which he had given to him, on either side of
the sea, should be delivered up to him; but their keepers,
notwithstanding the king’s writ, refused to deliver up to him
any of the said castles. The earl, being enraged at this, returned to
the king of France, and became his adherent; on which the king of
France delivered to him the castle of Driencourt, and the castle of
Arches, which were to have been delivered to William, archbishop of
Rheims.
In the same year, Berengaria, queen of England, Joanna, queen of
Sicily, and the daughter of the emperor of Cyprus, came to Rome, under the
charge of Stephen de Turnham, and were honorably received by our lord
the pope, Celestinus, and the nobles of Rome; and they stayed there
nearly half a year, through fear of the emperor. When they departed
thence, our lord the pope gave them into the charge of Master Mellur,
a cardinal; on which they proceeded to Pisa, thence to Genoa, and
thence to Marseilles. At Marseilles they were received by the king of
Arragon, who paid them all due honor and respect, and escorted them
to the borders of his kingdom, on which the count of Saint Grilles
escorted them through his territory ; and thus they arrived in
Poitou.
1194 A.D.
In the year of grace 1194, being the second year of the captivity
of Richard, king of England, the said Richard was still in the custody
of the emperor of the Romans, at Spires, in Germany, on the day of
the Nativity of our Lord, which took place on a Saturday ; and there
he remained until the time of his liberation which the emperor had
appointed for him, that is to say, the second day of the week after
the expiration of three weeks from the day of the Nativity of our
Lord. After the emperor had arrived there, together with the
archbishops, bishops, dukes, and nobles of his empire, and had
discussed at length the liberation of the king of England, there came
to the emperor envoys from the king of France, and envoys from John,
earl of Mortaigne, brother of the king of England; and they made
offer to the emperor, on behalf of the king of France, of fifty
thousand marks of silver, and on behalf of earl John of fifty
thousand marks of silver, on condition that he should keep the king
of England in his custody until the Feast of Saint Michael the
Archangel next ensuing; or, if the emperor should prefer it, they
would pay him at the end of every month, so long as he should detain
the king of England in his custody, one thousand pounds of silver;
or, again, if the emperor should prefer it, the king of France would
give him one hundred thousand marks of silver, and the earl John
would give him fifty thousand marks of silver, on condition that he
would deliver up to them the king of England, or at least detain him
in his custody for the space of one year from that time. Behold, how
they loved him! After hearing them, the emperor
put off the day of the liberation of the king of England, and
appointed another day for his liberation, namely, the day of the
Purification of Saint Mary, and at Mentz.
In the meantime, Geoffrey, archbishop of York, on the eighth day before
the Nativity of our Lord, came to York, and, by the advice of prudent
men, appointed ministers for the metropolitan church of York, which
he found deserted, in order that they might, as was fitting, perform
Divine service in the said church. And this was accordingly observed,
until the canons and their chaplains, by means of the influence and
violence of the laity, were restored. After this, four of the chief
men of the church, who, in consequence of the suspension of service
in the said church, had been excommunicated, crossed over to the king
who was then set at liberty, and, receiving permission from him,
because he was angry that the archbishop had not come as he had been
commanded by him, set out for Rome. Against them, deputies were also
sent thither by the archbishop.
Each
side accordingly appearing in presence of pope Celestinus, the
election of the dean was discussed at great length, and after due
deliberation, as it was acknowledged to have taken place after appeal
duly made, it was therefore to be annulled, or rather to be
pronounced as having been null and void. Our lord the pope, also,
being wishful for the present to avoid pronouncing a decision in the
matter, whether the presentation to the deanery of right belonged to
the archbishop or to the chapter, relying on his own power, the
extent of which it is lawful for no one to question, saving always
for the future the rights both of the archbishop as also of the
chapter, gave the deanery to the before-named Simon of Apulia, and
confirmed, and with his golden ring invested him with the same.
This
matter being thus disposed of, they immediately proceeded to slander
and accusations against the said archbishop, declaring that he was a
violent spoliator of themselves and the other clergy, a dishonest
extortioner, that he had with an armed band broken open the doors of
churches, had simoniacally divided and retained in his own hands
ecclesiastical benefices, that he had paid no regard to appeals, and
had set at nought the privileges of the Roman Pontiff, and, to
express it in a few words, asserted that he quite despised his duties
as archbishop, and was devoted to hawking, hunting, and other
military pursuits. For these, and for other reasons, they sought
to depose him ; and they in especial, whom he had enriched with the
greatest honors, and with inestimable wealth and revenues in the
church of York, and beyond what, with due regard to God, he ought to
have done. Of such it is, that the Lord saith, “I have
nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against
me.” Therefore, let them beware, lest the just Judge despise them, and
lest with the traitor Judas they be condemned to hell.
These allegations being made, our lord the pope wrote to Hugh, bishop of
Lincoln, and his fellow judges, that if there should be any to accuse
the archbishop on these charges, they should carefully hear what was
alleged on either side, and after enquiry into the truth thereof,
send their report, sealed with their seals, to the Apostolic See.
But, if no accuser should appear, and the archbishop should be
attacked by public rumour, they were to call upon him to clear
himself by the testimony of three bishops and as many abbats. But, as
the archbishop had appealed before the citation of the judges, and
had proceeded on the road for the purpose of urging his appeal, the
said judges, in accordance with the contents of the rescript of our
lord the pope, assigned him a space of three months for the said
appeal, appointing the calends of July as the day for his appearance.
The archbishop, however, did not appear at the time so named, both on
account of the king’s prohibition, as also by reason of the
unwholesomeness of the atmosphere that then prevailed at Rome. His
clerks, however, who were at this time staying at the court of Rome,
alleging the above as the causes of his absence, obtained of the
pope, that whatever had been done against the archbishop in the
meantime, after his appeal, should be revoked, as being null and
void; because it was not his fault that he had not come to the court
of Rome; and the time on which he was to present himself in the
Apostolical presence was fixed by our lord the pope, upon the octave
of the feast of Saint Martin, then next ensuing. But because not even
then he appeared in the Roman court, either personally, or by
sufficient proxy, he was at the Nativity of our Lord next ensuing,
suspended from the performance of all episcopal duties.
The liberation of Richard, king of England.
In the meantime, Henry, emperor of the Romans, with the nobles of his
empire, and Richard, king of England, with queen Eleanor, his mother,
Walter, archbishop of Rouen, William, bishop of Ely, his chancellor,
and Savaric, bishop of Bath, met at Mentz, on the Purification of
Saint Mary, and, a conference being there held as to the liberation
of the king of England, the emperor wished, in his eagerness for the
money which the king of France and earl John had offered him, to
recede from his agreement. Bringing with him the envoys from the king
of France and the envoys from earl John, in whose number was Robert
de Nunant, brother of Hugh, bishop of Coventry, he delivered to the
king of England the letters of the king of. France and of earl John
for him to read, which they had sent to prevent his liberation. On
seeing and reading these, the king was very much disturbed and
confused, and despaired of his liberation.
Accordingly, by his summons, the emperor convened on this subject the archbishops
of Mentz, Cologne, and Saltzburg, the bishops of Worms, Spires, and
Liege, the duke of Suabia, the brother of the emperor, the dukes of
Austria and Louvain, the count Palatine of the Rhine, and the other
nobles of the empire who had been sureties on behalf of the emperor
between him and the king of England for his performance of the
articles agreed upon between them. These boldly appeared before the
emperor, and reproved him most severely for attempting in so
shameless a manner to recede from his agreement, and prevailed upon
him to release and dismiss the king of England from his custody: a
stipulation, however, having been made that the king of England
should deliver to the emperor Walter, archbishop of Rouen, Savaric,
bishop of Bath, Baldwin Wac, and many others of his earls and barons,
as hostages for the payment of the remainder of the money due for his
ransom, and for his keeping the peace towards the emperor and his
empire, and all the lands of his dominions.
Accordingly, the archbishops of Mentz and Cologne delivered him, free and released
by the emperor, into the hands of his mother Eleanor, on the day
before the nones* of February, being the sixth day of the week, an
Egyptian day, or what the people of modern times call an unlucky day;
and so, upon an unlucky day, the Lord restored him to liberty. On the
said king asking Robert de Nunant, brother of Hugh, bishop of
Coventry, to be one of his hostages, Robert made answer that
he was a liegeman of earl John, and, therefore, declined to be a
hostage for him; at which the king being incensed, ordered him to be
seized and thrown into prison, which was accordingly done.
* The 4th February: other writers say that it was the 2nd February.
On the same day on which the king was set at liberty from the custody of
the emperor, he sent one Salt de Bruil, as his messenger, to his
nephew, Henry, count of Champagne, in Sulia, and the other Christian
princes, informing them of the day of his liberation; and that, if
God should grant him vengeance against his enemies, and peace, he
would come by the time appointed to succour them against the pagans.
He also promised to the said Salt de Bruil that he would give him
lands to the value of forty pounds on his return from the land of
Sulia. On the same day, the king, by his letters, summoned Hugh,
bishop of Coventry, to appear in his court, and to take his trial
before the bishops, because he himself was a bishop, and before
certain laymen, because he held under him a layman’s office,
upon the charges that were made against him.
On the same day, the emperor of the Romans, and the archbishops,
bishops, dukes, and counts of the empire, joining in a letter in
common, and appending their seals thereto, sent word to the king of
France and to earl John, immediately upon sight of the said letter to
restore to the king of England the castles, cities, fortresses,
towns, lands, and all other things which they had taken from him,
while he had been in the custody of the emperor; and, unless they did
so, they were to know for certain that they would aid the king of
England to the utmost of their power, in recovering everything that
he had lost. After this, the king of England made promise of, and by
his charters confirmed, to certain archbishops, bishops, dukes, and
counts, and many of the barons of the empire, yearly revenues, for
their homage and fealty, and aid against the king of France. He
accordingly received the homage of the archbishop of Mentz, the
archbishop of Cologne, the bishop of Liege, the duke of Austria, the
duke of Louvain, the marquis of Montferrat, the duke of Nemburg,* the
duke of Suabia, the brother of the emperor, the count Palatine of the
Rhine, the son of the count of Hainault, the count of Holland, and
many others, saving always their fealty to the emperor.
* Probably meaning Mecklenburgh.
It ought also to be known that the king of England was in captivity with
the emperor during a period of one year, six weeks, and three days.
On the king being set at liberty, all who wore present shed tears of
joy. The emperor then gave to the king a safe conduct as far as the
port of Antwerp. On the king reaching Cologne, the archbishop of
Cologne received him with joy; and, in his delight at his liberation,
celebrated the following mass:— “Nunc
scio vere, quia misit Dominus angelum mum, et eripuit me de manu
Herodis, et de expectation plebis Judisorum,” &c.
And, when the king took his departure thence, the said archbishop
escorted him as far as the gate of Antwerp, where the river Rhine
falls into the sea.* On the king arriving at this place, he embarked
on board the galley of Alan Trenchemere, in order that in it he might
more easily pass among the islands ; but each night he left the
galley and went on board a large and very fine ship which had come
from Rye, and lay on board of it at night, and then, in the daytime,
returned on board the galley, until he arrived at the port of Swiene,
which is in Flanders, in the territory of the count of Hainault,
having been four days on his voyage from the port of Antwerp to the
port of Swiene; and he made a stay of five days in the port of
Swiene. On the sixth day, about the third hour, he left the port of
Swiene; and, on the day after, about the ninth hour, landed in
England, at the port of Sandwich, it being the third day before the
ides of March,** and the Lord’s Day.
* Our Chronicler is at fault in his geography here.
** The 12th March.
In the meantime, there came into England, not long before the king’s
arrival, Adam of Saint Edmund’s, a clerk, and one of the
household of earl John, being sent by him to England with letters for
the purpose of fortifying his castles against the king, his brother.
Having come to London, and it being in his power to cross over
without any hindrance, he went to the mansion of Hubert, archbishop
of Canterbury, and dined with him; where he uttered many boasts about
the prosperous circumstances of his master, and the familiar
acquaintanceship that existed between the king of France and his
master, and mentioned that the king of France had delivered up to him
the castle of Driencourt and the castle of Arches, which were to have
been placed in the hands of the archbishop of Rheims, according to
the terms of the writing above-mentioned, and
said that he would have delivered still more to his master, if his
master had had men in whom he could place confidence.
The consequence was, that with these and similar boasts he exasperated
the lord archbishop of Canterbury, and all who heard these speeches;
but still, from respect to the table, no one laid hands on him.
However, after dinner, when the beforenamed Adam was on his return to
his lodging, the mayor of London laid hands on him, and detained him,
and. took possession of all his documents, in which were contained
the commands of earl John, and gave them up to the archbishop of
Canterbury. On the following day, having convened in his presence the
bishops, earls, and barons of the kingdom, he shewed them the letters
of earl John, and the purport thereof; immediately on which, by the
common consent of the council of the kingdom, it was decided that
earl John should be disseised of all his lands in England, and that
his castles should be besieged; which was accordingly done.
On the same day, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, Hugh, bishop of
Lincoln, Richard, bishop of London, Gilbert, bishop of Rochester,
Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, the bishops of Worcester and Hereford,
and Henry, bishop elect of Exeter, together with the abbats and many
of the clergy of the province of Canterbury, met together in the
chapel of the Sick Monks at Westminster, and pronounced sentence of
excommunication against earl John, and all his abettors and advisers,
who had disturbed the peace and kingdom of the king of- England, or
should disturb the same, unless, desisting from their hostilities,
they should come to give him satisfaction. They then appealed to the
presence of our lord the pope, against William, bishop of Ely, in
order that he might not in future discharge the duties of the
legateship in England, and, confirming their appeal with their seals,
sent the same to our lord the king, and then to the Supreme Pontiff,
for his confirmation. This appeal was made on the fourth day before
the ides of February, being the fifth day of the week.
Upon this, all the persons who had charge of the siege of the castles
belonging to earl John, returned to their homes.*
Accordingly, the bishop of Durham, to whom had been entrusted the
siege of the castle of Tickhill, levied a large army in Yorkshire and
Northumberland, and other parts of his lands,
and laid siege to it. Earl David, also, brother of the king of
Scotland, with Ranulph, earl of Chester, and the earl of Ferrers,
with a great army, laid siege to Nottingham castle. The archbishop of
Canterbury, also, with a large force, laid siege to Marlborough,
which was in a few days surrendered to him, safety to life and limb
being granted to the garrison. In like manner, the castle of
Lancaster, of which Theobald Fitzwalter, his brother, had charge in
behalf of earl John, was surrendered to him; Saint Michael’s
Mount, in Cornwall, was also surrendered to him, which Henry de la
Pomeroy, after expelling the monks, had fortified against the king ;
and the said Henry, on hearing of the king’s arrival, died of
fright.
* This seems contradicted by what follows, unless we take “patrias
suas” to mean “their respective districts.”
These three castles, however, Marlborough, Lancaster, and Saint Michael’s
Mount, were surrendered before the king’s arrival; while the
other two, namely, Nottingham and Tickhill, made a stout resistance
to the besiegers. But, on hearing of the king’s arrival, the
people in the castle of Tickhill, with the permission of the bishop
of Durham, sent two knights to see if the king really had returned,
and to offer their castle to him. The king, however, refused to
receive it, unless they would place themselves at his mercy, without
any exception; and accordingly they returned, and told Robert de la
Mare, the constable of the castle, and the rest of the garrison, the
king’s intentions. Upon this, after conferring with the bishop
of Durham, who had promised them safety to life and limb, they
surrendered to him, in the king’s behalf, the castle of
Tickhill.
The garrison, however, of the castle of Nottingham did not send any of
their number to meet the king. The king, being consequently much
exasperated, came to Nottingham on the day of the Annunciation of our
Lord, being the sixth day of the week, with such a vast multitude of
men, and such a clangour of trumpets and clarions, that those who
were in the castle, on hearing and seeing this, were astonished, and
were confounded and alarmed, and trembling came upon them; but still
they could not believe that the king had come, and supposed that the
whole of this was done by the chiefs of the army for the purpose of
deceiving them. The king, however, took up his quarters near to the
castle, so that the archers of the castle pierced the king’s
men at his very feet. The king, being incensed at this, put on his
armour, and commanded his army to make an assault on the castle; on
which a sharp engagement took place between them and the people in
the castle, and many fell on both sides,
killed and wounded. The
king himself slew one knight with an arrow, and having at last
prevailed, drove them back into
the castle, took some outworks
which they had thrown up without the gates, and burned the outer
gates.
On the same day came thither Hubert, the archbishop of Canterbury,
having his cross carried before him. Geoffrey, archbishop of York,
however, did not have his cross carried, but made complaint to the
king about the archbishop, who had caused his cross to be carried in
the diocese of York. When the archbishop of Canterbury heard this,
and saw that the archbishop of York did not have his carried, he made
answer, “I carry my cross throughout the whole of England, and
I ought to carry it, as being primate of the whole of England;
whereas you do not carry your cross, and, perhaps, you ought not to
carry it; and therefore, matters standing as they do, I make
appeal to my lord the pope.”
On the twenty-sixth day of the month of March, the king of England
ordered his stone-engines to be put together, having come to the
determination that he would not make another assault on the castle
until his engines of war had been got in readiness; but he ordered
gibbets to be erected near the castle, on which he hanged some
men-at-arms of earl John, who had been taken prisoners outside of the
castle.
On the twenty-seventh day of the month of March, Hugh, bishop of Durham,
and those who were with him at the siege of the castle of Tickhill,
came to the king at Nottingham, bringing with them the prisoners who
had been taken in the castle of Tickhill; on which the king went
forth to meet them. On seeing the king the bishop of Durham
dismounted, and the king, in like manner, went to meet him and
embraced him; after which, remounting their horses, they repaired
to the siege. On the same day, while the king was sitting at dinner, Ralph Murdac, and
William de Wendeval, constables of the castle 01 Nottingham, sent two
of their companions to see the king ; who after having seen him,
returned to the castle, to tell those who had sent them what they had
heard and seen respecting the king and his preparations.
When William de Wendeval and Roger de Montbegum heard of this, they went
forth with twelve others, from the castle, and threw themselves upon
the king’s mercy, and returned to the castle no more. On the
twenty-eighth day of March, through the mediation of the archbishop of Canterbury, Ralph
Murdac, Philip de Worcester, and Ralph de Worcester, his brother, and
all the rest who were in the castle, surrendered the castle to the
king, and threw themselves on the king’s mercy, for life, and
limb, and worldly honor.
On the twenty-ninth day of March, Richard, king of England, went to see
Clipston and the forests of Sherwood, which he had never seen before,
and they pleased him greatly; after which, on the same day, he
returned to Nottingham. On the thirty-first day of March, being the
fourth day of the week, Richard, king of England, held the first day
of his council at Nottingham, at which were present queen Eleanor,
the king’s mother, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, who at
that council sat on the king’s right hand, Geoffrey, archbishop
of York, who sat on his left hand, Hugh, bishop of Durham, Hugh,
bishop of Lincoln, William, bishop of Ely, the king’s
chancellor, William, bishop of Hereford, Henry, bishop of Worcester,
Henry, bishop of Exeter, John, bishop of Whitherne, earl David,
brother of the king of Scotland, Hamelin, earl of Warenne, Ranulph,
earl of Chester, William, earl of Ferrers, William, earl of
Salisbury, and Roger Bigot.
On the same day, the king dispossessed Gerard de Camville of the castle
and shrievalty of Lincoln, and Hugh Bardolph of the shrievalty of
Yorkshire, and of the castle of York, and of Scarborough, and of the
custodianship of Westmoreland, and set up all the offices
before-mentioned for sale. Accordingly, after the chancellor had
offered to give the king for the shrievalty of Yorkshire, the
shrievalty of Lincolnshire, and the shrievalty of Northamptonshire,
one thousand five hundred marks at the beginning of the agreement,
and every year an additional hundred marks for each of the said
counties, Geoffrey, archbishop of York, offered the king three
thousand marks for the shrievalty of York, and every year an
additional hundred marks ; on which, the chancellor being outbid, the
archbishop obtained the shrievalty of York, and accordingly became a
servant of the king, and threw himself into the king’s power.
On the thirty-first day of the month of March, that is to say, on the
day before the calends of April, the king of England held the second
day of his council, at which he demanded judgment to be pronounced
against earl John, his brother, who, against the fealty which he had
sworn to him, had taken possession of his castles, laid waste his
lands on both sides of the sea, and had made a treaty against him
with his enemy, the king of France. In like manner, against Hugh de
Nunant, bishop of Coventry, he demanded judgment to be pronounced,
who, being aware of their secret plans, had devoted himself, and had
given his adherence to the king of France and earl John, his enemies,
devising all kinds of mischief to the injury of his kingdom. Judgment
was accordingly given, that earl John and the bishop of Coventry
should be peremptorily cited, and if they should not come within
forty days to take their trial, they pronounced that earl John had
forfeited all rights in the kingdom, and that the bishop of Coventry
would be subjected to the judgment of the bishops, because he himself
was a bishop, and of the laity, because he had been a sheriff under
the king.
On the calends of April, being the first day of that month, the said
king of England held the third day of his council, on which he
enacted that there should be granted to him, out of every carucate of
land throughout the whole of England, the sum of two shillings,
which, by the ancients, was called Temantale. *
He then commanded that every man should render to him the third part
of a knight’s service, according as each fee would bear, in
order to make preparations for crossing over with him to Normandy He
then demanded of the monks of the Cistercian order all their wool for
the current year; but as this was to inflict a grievous and
insupportable burden upon them, they made a pecuniary composition
with him.
* “Conscium “appears to be a mistake for “conscius,”
Holinshed calls this “Tee men toll,” or “They nae
toll.” There is some doubt as to the origin of the name,
whether it is derived from “tenementum,” or, more
probably, from the Saxon, meaning “a toll paid by ten men,”
or “decenniers,” the whole of which would amount to a
pound.
On the second day of the month of April, being Saturday, he held the
fourth and last day of his council, upon which all, both clergy as
well as laity, who wished to make complaint to him of the archbishop
of York, made their complaints, which were many in number, as to his
extortions and unjust exactions ; the archbishop of York, however,
gave them no answer. After this, by the advice and artifices of the
chancellor, as it is said, Gerard de Camville was arraigned for
harbouring some robbers, who had plundered the goods of certain
merchants going to the fair of Stamford ; and it was said that they had set out
from his residence for the purpose of committing the robbery, and
after committing it, had returned to him. They also accused him of
treason, because he had refused to come at the summons of the king’s
justices, or take his trial as to the aforesaid harbouring of the
robbers, or produce them before the king’s justices; but made
answer that he was a vassal of earl John, and would take his trial in
his court. They also arraigned him for having taken up arms, and
aiding earl John, and others of the king’s enemies, in taking
the castles of Tickhill and Nottingham. Gerard de Camville, however,
denied all these charges which were so made by them against him; on
which they gave pledges to follow their suit, and Gerard de Camville
gave pledge to defend himself by one of his freeholders.
On the same day, our lord the king appointed as the day of his
coronation, at Winchester, the. close of Easter. On the same day, the
king also proceeded to Clipston, to meet the king of the Scots, and
gave orders that all who had been taken at the castle of Nottingham,
the castle of Tickhill, the castle of Marlborough, the castle of
Lancaster, and at Mount Saint Michael, should come and meet him at
Winchester the day after the close of Easter. On the third day of the
month of August, namely, Palm Sunday, the king of England stayed at
Clipston, and the king of the Scots at Worksop, on account of the
solemnity of the day. On the fourth day of the month of April, the
king of England and the king of Scotland came to Sewell. On the fifth
day of the month of April, the king of England and the king of
Scotland came to Malton, where the king of Scotland demanded of the
king of England the dignities and honors which his predecessors had
enjoyed in England. He also demanded that the earldoms of
Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland, and the earldom of
Lancaster, should be given up to him, as of right enjoyed by his
predecessors: to which the king made answer, that he would satisfy
him according to the advice given by his earls and barons.
On the sixth day of the month of April, the said kings came to the house
of Peter the Forester of Rutland. On the seventh day of the month of
April, the said kings came to Gaindinton. On the eighth day of the
month of April, the said kings stayed at Gaindinton, out of respect
for the day of the Preparation of our Lord*. On the ninth day of the
month of April, on the vigil of Easter, the said kings arrived at
Northampton; and on the tenth and eleventh days of the month of
April, the said kings stayed at Northampton, where the king of
England, taking counsel with his bishops, earls, and barons, after
due deliberation in the council, made answer to the king of Scotland
that he ought on no account to do what he had requested as to
Northumberland, and especially in those times, at which nearly all
the powerful men of the kingdoms of the Franks were at enmity with
him. For, if he were to do so, it would seem that this was rather the
effect of fear than of affection.
* “Parasceue,"—Good Friday.
However, in the presence of his mother Eleanor, Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury, Hugh, bishop of Durham, Jocelyn, bishop of Glasgow, and
many others, both clergy and laity, of both kingdoms, the king
granted, and by his charter confirmed, to William, king of the Scots,
and his heirs for ever, that whensoever they should, at his summons,
come to the court of the king of England, the bishop of Durham and
the sheriff of Northumberland should receive them at .the river
Tweed, and should, with a safe conduct, escort them as far as the
river Tees, and there the archbishop of York and the sheriff of York
should receive them, and escort them, with a safe conduct, to the
borders of the county of York, and so, by the respective bishops and
sheriffs, they should be escorted from county to county, until they
should have arrived at the court of the king of England ; and that,
from the time that the king of Scots should enter the territory of
the king of England, he should have daily from the king’s purse
one hundred shillings for his livery; and when the king of Scotland
should have arrived at the court of the king of England, so long as
he should be staying at the court of the said king of England, he
should have daily thirty shillings for his livery, and twelve
wastels* for the lords’ table, twelve simnels for the lords’
table,** and four gallons of wine for the lords’ table, and
eight gallons of household wine, two pounds of pepper, four pounds of
cinnamon, two stone of wax or else four waxen links, forty long and
thick lengths of best candle, such as is used by the king, and eighty
lengths of other candle for household purposes : and that, when he
should wish to return to his own country, he should be escorted by
the bishops and sheriffs from county to county, until he should have
arrived at the river Tweed: and should in like manner have daily one
hundred shillings from the purse of the king of England for his
livery.
* Wastels were a peculiar kind of delicate bread, probably something
like the rusks of the present day. “Dominicus” is added
to describe the quality, as probably meaning that these articles of
provision were to be of the best kind, and suited for the lords’
table.
** Simnel cakes were probably so called from being made of “simila,”the
finest wheat flour. There were the “siminelli sali,” and
the “siminelli dominici,” the inferior, and the best
bread, the latter being unfermented. They were made in the shape of
plates, or cups, and were sometimes marked with the figure of the
Virgin Mary. They are made in. Shropshire at the present day.
The charter of this grant and confirmation of the king of England was
delivered to William, king of Scotland, in the town of Northampton,
on the second day of Easter, by the hand of William, bishop of Ely,
the king’s chancellor.
In the year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 1194, which
was also the fifth year of the reign of king Richard, on the twelfth
day of the month of April, being the third day in Easter week,
Richard, king of England, departed from Northampton, and proceeded as
far as Selveston ; and Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, and Hugh,
bishop of Durham, proceeded to Brackley, where was a lodging prepared
for the bishop of Durham, which he had held for thirty years past at
the award of the marshal of king Henry. When his entertainment had
been prepared, the servants of the king of Scotland came up and
attempted to expel the servants of the bishop, but were unable.
However, they purchased provisions for the king, and prepared the
same in a house belonging to the same estate. When the bishop of
Durham came thither, and was told by his people what had taken place,
he was determined not to move a step thence, but boldly entered his
lodging, and ordered the tables to be set. While he was at dinner,
Hubert, the archbishop of Canterbury, came and offered him his
lodging, and advised him to leave that one to the king of Scotland,
and quit the house.
When the king of Scotland, at a late hour, returned from hunting,
and was informed of what had happened, he was greatly offended, and refused
to go there, but ordered all that had been prepared for him to be
given to the poor, while he himself went to the king at Silveston,
and made complaint to him of the insult he had received from the
bishop of Durham; on which, the king, being greatly vexed, censured
the bishop of Durham.
On the thirteenth day of the month of April, the king came to
Woodstock. On the fourteenth day the king came to Freemantle.
On the fifteenth day of the month of April, the king of England came
to Winchester, and on the same day dispossessed Godfrey, bishop of
Winchester, of the castle and county of Winchester, and of the two
manors which the bishop had bought of him before his departure for
Jerusalem, and of a great part of his inheritance. On the sixteenth
day of the month of April, after dinner, the king of England left the
castle of Winchester for the priory of Saint Swithin, and lay there
that night, and took the hath; and he sent word to Geoffrey, the
archbishop of York, not to come next day to his coronation with his
cross, lest there might happen to be a dispute between him and the
archbishop of Canterbury. Because he was forbidden to carry his
cross, he declined to be present at the king’s coronation.
The Coronation of Richard, king of England, after his liberation.
On the seventeenth day of the month of April, [1194] being the
Lord’s day, and the octave of Easter, there being assembled in the
church of Saint Swithin, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, John, archbishop
of Dublin, Hugh, bishop of Durham, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, Richard,
bishop of London, Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, William, bishop of
Ely, Sefrid, bishop of Chichester, Henry, bishop of Exeter, William,
bishop of Hereford, and the bishops of Worcester, Saint David’s
and Bangor; and, many of the abbats, clergy, and people being there
present, Richard, king of England, arrayed in royal robes and having
a crown of gold on his head, proceeded from his chamber, carrying in
his right hand the royal sceptre, on the top of which was a
representation of the cross, and in his left hand a wand of gold, on
the top of which was the figure of a dove. On his right hand walked
William, bishop of Ely, his chancellor, and on his left Richard,
bishop of London. A procession also preceded them in due order, of
archbishops, bishops, abbats, monks, and clerks. The earls also, and
barons, and knights, and a great multitude of the common people,
followed the king. A canopy of silk, supported on four lances, was
carried over the king, by these four earls, Roger Bigot, earl of
Norfolk, William, earl of the Isle of Wight, the earl of Salisbury,
and the earl of Ferrers. Three swords also, taken from the king’s
treasury, were borne before the king, one of which was carried by
William, king of the Scots, while Hameline, earl of Warenne, carried
another, and Ranulph, earl of Chester, carried the third; in the
middle of them walked the king of the Scots, with the earl of Warenne
on his right hand, and the earl of Chester on his left. And thus,
wearing the crown, he was led into the metropolitan church of Saint
Swithin up to the altar; where, falling on his knees, he devoutly
received the benediction from Hugh, archbishop of Canterbury, and was
then led to his seat. Eleanor, the queen’s mother, was seated
with her maids of honor on the northern side of the church, opposite
the king. The archbishop of Canterbury also celebrated the mass ; and
the king was led by the before-named bishops to the offertory, and
was then re-conducted to his seat.
After the celebration of the mass, the king was re-conducted to his
chamber, the procession going before him in the order above stated.
Having taken off his more weighty vestments and his crown, the king
put on lighter garments and a lighter crown, and then entered the
refectory of the monks to dine there; on which the before-mentioned
archbishops and bishops, with the king of Scotland, and the earls and
barons, took their seats at table, each according to his rank and
dignity, and feasted magnificently. The citizens of London, having
made the king a payment of two hundred marks, served in the cellars,
notwithstanding the claim of the citizens of Winchester. The citizens
of Winchester, however, served in the kitchen. On the same day, at a
late hour, after dinner, the king returned to his mansion in
Winchester castle.
On the eighteenth day of the month of April, being the day after the
king’s coronation, Jollan, brother of Henry de la Pomeroy, was
accused of having traitorously taken part in the capture of Saint
Michael’s Mount, in Cornwall, and he chose rather to be
banished from England than take his trial on the charge in the king’s
court. On the nineteenth day of the month of April, Hugh, bishop of
Durham, of his own accord, no one compelling him so to do, gave up to
the king the county of Northumberland, with its castles and other
appurtenances; and the king ordered him to deliver the same to Hugh
Bardolph.
When William, king of Scotland, heard of this, he immediately offered the
king of England fifteen thousand marks of silver for Northumberland
and its appurtenances; saying that earl Henry, his father, held it by
gift of king Henry the
Second, and that after him, king Malcolm, his son, held it in peace
for five years. Upon this, the king of England, after taking counsel
with his people, made answer to the king of Scotland that he would
give him the whole of Northumberland, excepting the castles, for the
said sum; but the king of Scotland declined to receive it without the
castles. On the twentieth day of the month of April, the king of
England caused the more wealthy persons to be separated from the rest
of those who had been taken prisoners in the castles of Tickhill and
Nottingham, and the other castles of earl John, and to be placed in
prison to be ransomed; while the others he let go, on their finding
sureties that they would appear at his summons, and abide by the
judgment of his court; on which each of them found sureties for a
hundred marks, if he should not return to the court of the king.
On the twenty-first day of the month of April, William, king of the
Scots, again made an attempt to see if he could in any way obtain the
earldom of Northumberland with the castles ; but it did not suit the
purpose of the king of England to trust him with any castles.
However, he gave him hopes of obtaining them at a future time, after
his return from Normandy. On the twenty-second day of the month of
April, being the sixth day of the week, William, king of Scotland,
left the court of the king of England, sorrowful and in confusion at
the repulse he had there received. On the same day, the king of
England left Winchester, on his way to the sea, for the purpose of
crossing over, on account of the unfavourable reports which he had
heard from Normandy, and lay at Waltham.
On the twenty-third day of the month of April, the king of England
remained at Waltham, and Geoffrey, archbishop of York, came thither
to the king, and caused his cross to be carried before him. On this,
Hubert Fitz-Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, greatly complained to
the king ; but the king made answer that the matter was not one for
him to decide, but rather our lord the pope. On the same day, the
king restored to Geoffrey, archbishop of York, Baugy and Langis, in
Anjou, and by his charter confirmed the same.
On the twenty-fourth day of April, the king made peace and final
reconciliation between Geoffrey, archbishop of York, and William,
bishop of Ely, his chancellor, as to all the matters in dispute
between them, both the arrest of the arch bishop
of York, at Dover, as also the expulsion of the chancellor from
England, upon condition that the said bishop of Ely should, at the
summons of the archbishop of York, make oath, at the hands *
of one hundred priests, that he had neither ordered nor desired that
the said archbishop of York should be arrested. After this
reconciliation was effected, on the same day, the king departed from
Waltham, and proceeded to Portsmouth, for the purpose of crossing
over, and queen Eleanor, his mother, with him.
* One hundred priests making oath with him to this effect.
On the twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh days of the month
of April, the king was staying at Portsmouth. On the twenty-eighth
day of the month of April, the king left Portsmouth, and proceeded as
far as Stansted, for the sake of hunting; but, after his departure,
the Welch and the Brabanters had a hostile meeting, and slew one
another. On the twenty-ninth day of April, the king returned to
Portsmouth, for the purpose of quelling the dissensions of the Welch
and the Brabanters, which was accordingly done.
On the thirtieth day of the month of April, and the first day of the
month of May, on the feasts of the Apostles Saint Philip and Saint
James, the king was staying at that place ; which appeared to him to
be very tedious. On the second day of the month of May, being the
second day of the week, the king ordered all his fleet to be laden
with men, horses, and arms, and, against the advice of his mariners,
entered one of his long ships, hoping to be able to sail across; and
although the wind was unfavourable, he refused to return. The other
ships, however, remained in harbour, while the king and those with
him were tossed about on the waves ; for there was a mighty tempest,
and their hearts became fearful. On the following day, the king
returned to the Isle of Wight, and then to Portsmouth. After a stay
there and in that county of eight days, on the ninth day, being the
fifth day of the week, and the feast of Saint Nereus, and Saint
Achilleus, and Saint Pancratius, the Martyrs, he again embarked on
board of his ships with his army, and passed over to Normandy, and
landed at Harfleur with a hundred large ships, laden with warriors,
horses, and arms: on which he immediately hastened to Verneuil, to
which the king of France had laid siege. On hearing of his approach,
the king of France, without the knowledge of his army, left the siege
of Verneuil on the vigil of Pentecost, after having made a stay there
of eighteen days at the siege. In the meantime, John, earl of
Mortaigne, the king’s brother, returned to the king his
brother, and through the mediation of queen Eleanor, their mother,
the king and he became reconciled : but the king refused to restore
to him any castle or lands. As to the army of the king of France,
which he had left besieging Verneuil, on seeing that their king had
taken his departure, his troops followed him on Monday, in the week
of Pentecost.
The king of England, being full of activity, and more swift than the
discharge of a Balearic sling, on hearing that the king of France was
laying siege to Verneuil, hurried on to that place with all haste,
and on not finding the king of France there, pursued his retreating
army with the edge of the sword. The king of England then hastened to
Verneuil, and fortified the parts that were most unprotected. After
so doing, the king hastened to Montmirail, to which the people of
Anjou and Maine were laying siege; but, before he arrived, they had
taken it and levelled it with the ground.
The king of England next hastened with all speed to the castle of Loches,
passing by the castle of Tours, where he received two thousand marks
from the burgesses as a voluntary gift. The knights of Navarre,
however, and the Brabanters, laid siege to the castle of Loches. The
chieftain and leader of these was Aufuns, son of Sancho, king of
Navarre, and brother of Berengaria, queen of England; but he did not
lead them as far as Loches, for, before he had arrived there, word
was brought to him that his father, the king of Navarre, was dead;
for which reason he returned to his country, and was received as king
by the people of that kingdom.
On the king of England arriving before the castle of Loches, he there
found the before-mentioned Navarrese and Brabanters, amid watching’s,
and hunger, and other hardships, labouring in vain at the capture of
that castle: on which, immediately with his own men and the others
who were there, making assaults upon it day and night, he at length
took it by force of arms, and captured in it five knights and
four-and-twenty men-at-arms, on the second day of the week after the
feast of Saint Barnabas the Apostle.
In the meantime, messengers from the king of France appointed a
conference with the seneschal, and constable, and nobles of Normandy,
at Pont d’Arches. Accordingly, on the day appointed, Walter,
archbishop of Rouen, together with the said seneschal, constable, and
nobles, came to the place appointed
for the conference, and with them awaited the arrival of envoys from
the king of France; but to no purpose. The king of France, with no
small army, came before a small castle, four miles distant from
Rouen, called Fontaines, and laid siege to it; and after labouring at
the siege for four days, more than could be conceived, he at length
took it, and it was levelled with the ground.
In the meantime, earl John, the brother of the king of England, with
Robert, earl of Leicester, and many other barons, had met at Rouen ;
but as they had no one under whose guidance in especial to act as
they would under our lord the king, and because they were much
inferior in numbers and strength to the king of France, they did not
dare attack that king. But when the king of France had destroyed the
above-mentioned castle, and was on his road thence, he found the earl
of Leicester off his guard; he having gone forth from Rouen by night
for the purpose of laying an ambush against him, and made a rash
sally into the lands of Hugh de Gournay for the purpose of laying
them waste; upon which, with a few of his men, he was made prisoner
by the king of France.
After this, by the common consent of both kings, William, archbishop of
Rheims, the count de Severs, the count de Bar, master Anselm, the
dean of Tours, and many others, on behalf of the king of France, and
Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and seneschal and constable of Normandy,
and many others, on behalf of the king of England, met near the Val
Rodol, on the sixth day of the week after the feast of Saint Barnabas
the Apostle, for the purpose of making a truce between the said
kings. Accordingly, after a long deliberation held between them, they
at length agreed to the following terms :—
The king of England (it being in nowise against the will of the king of
France) was to hold all the lands that he then held in his own hands,
and in like manner the king of France was to hold in peace the
castles which he had taken or then held; and, in the meantime, they
were each to be at liberty to fortify and strengthen all the
fortresses which whole and unhurt he then held in his hands; but
those that had been destroyed, neither was in the meantime to be at
liberty to rebuild. But if any other person besides them should wish,
in rebuilding his castle, to build houses that had been destroyed or
burnt, he was to be at liberty unmolested to make all provision for
himself, either in erecting buildings, or in getting in crops of
corn, or other fruits of the earth. It was also agreed that all
churches and ecclesiastical persons who, by the ravages of the said
war, had been deprived of their property or incomes, everywhere
throughout the territories of both kings, should have full
compensation made them.
But, because the king of France wished that all those who had adhered to
him or to the king of England should be included in the said truce,
so as to receive molestation from neither of them, as also, that no
one of those who had changed sides, should be subject to hostile
proceedings, the truce was broken off. For the king of England was
unwilling to violate the customs and laws of Poitou, or of any other
of his territories, in which, from ancient times, it had been the
custom of the nobles to settle their own disputes with the sword.
Accordingly,
the matter being broken off, they all separated who had begun the
said conference, and from that day the said kings became still more
hostile, and with greater violence made attacks on each other with
ravages and excessive conflagrations. The king of France came to the
city of Evreux, and utterly destroyed it, and levelled its churches,
sparing neither age nor sex, and carrying off the relics of the
saints. This he did because the citizens of Evreux, having left him,
had returned to their duty and allegiance to their lord the king of
England. After the king of France, having destroyed the city of
Evreux, was on his departure thence, and had appeared before a town
called Freteval, the king of England came to Vendome, to lie in wait
for him; and, as that place was not surrounded by a wall, or suited
for defence, the king ordered his tents to be pitched outside the
town; and in them he awaited the approach of the king of France, who
had sent him word that that day he would visit him with a hostile
band, as unconcernedly as if he had been shut up within walls. The
king of England joyously receiving his message, sent word back to him
that he would wait for him, and, if he should not come, would pay him
a visit on the following morning. On the king of France hearing this,
he did not visit the king of England that day.
Accordingly,
early next morning, the king of England ordered; his troops to arm,
and went forth for the purpose of engaging with the army of the king
of France: on hearing of which, the king of France and his army fled
before the face of the king of England, who pursued them ; and, in
the flight, many of the troops of the king of France were slain, and many
taken prisoners. Vast treasure of the king of France was also taken,
with the furniture of the king’s chapel, and the papers of all
the subjects of the king of England who had deserted him and become
adherents of the king of France and earl John.
In the flight, however, the king of France left the multitude and
entered a certain church, at a distance from the high road, for the
purpose of hearing mass; but the king of England, not knowing that
the king of France had concealed himself, still pursued his course,
breathing forth threats and slaughter against the men of the king of
France, and sought him, that he might either put him to death or take
him alive.
Being informed by a certain Fleming that the king of France had now got to
a considerable distance, the king of England was deceived thereby,
and proceeded on a horse of the greatest swiftness a little beyond
the territories of France and Normandy; on which his horse failing
him, Marcades, the chief of his Brabanters, gave him another horse.
However, the king of England, not meeting with the king of France,
returned to Vend6me with a vast amount of booty in prisoners, and
horses, and large sums of money. After this, the king proceeded to
Poitou, to attack Geoffrey de Rancon and the viscount d’Angouleme,
who had gone over to the king of France and earl John against him,
and he defeated them: on which, he wrote to Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury, to the following effect:—
“Richard,
by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to the venerable father in Christ, Hubert, by the
same grace, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England,
greeting. Know that, by the grace of God, who in all things has
consideration for the right, we have taken Tailleburge and
Marcilliac, and all the castles and the whole of the territories of
Geoffrey de Raneon, as also the city of Angouleme, and Neufchatel,
Munciniac, La Chese, and all the other castles, and the whole of the
territories of the viscount of Angouleme, with all things thereto
appendant and appurtenant. The city of Angouleme and the borough we
took in a single evening; while on the lands which we have captured
in these parts, we have taken full three hundred knights and forty
thousand armed men. Witness, myself, at Angouleme, on the
twenty-second day of July."
In
the meantime, some members of the household of the king of France and
of that of the king of England, by the
consent of both kings, met between Vernueil and Tiliers, for the
purpose of a conference, in order to treat upon a truce between them;
on which an agreement was made between them upon the terms hereafter
stated.
The
Letter of Drogo and Anselm on the truce made between the kings of
France and England
“Drogo
de Merlot, constable of France, Anselm, dean of Saint Martin at
Tours, and Ursin, chamberlain of our lord the king of France, to all
to whom these present letters shall come, greeting. Know ye, that, by
command of our lord Philip, king of France, we have made oath, and
have, as his envoys, by our hand pledged our faith, that our lord the
king of France shall observe the truce as here underwritten, and the
covenants of the said truce. Now, the said truce has been made on the
following terms:— Our lord the king of France, God so disposing
him, at the prayers of the cardinal and of the abbot of Cisteux,
grants to the king of England and his people a truce, and further
grants that he may, if he shall be so disposed, fortify Nieubourg,
Driencourt, Concas, and Breteuil. The other fortresses which were
dismantled in the war, either by the king of France or by their own
people, shall not be repaired during the time of this truce, unless
it shall so happen that they are repaired during a peace which shall
be made between the king of France and the king of England. The king
of France and his people shall be in all respects in the same
position as to their tenures in which they were on the day on which
the truce was made. As to the Val Rodol, the following shall be the
terms agreed on: The king of France shall hold the Val Rodol in such
manner as he has hitherto done, that is to say, Rodol itself, and the
whole of that town, with the churches; also Lovers, Aquigenere,
Laire, and the other places as far as Haie Malherbe, and as far as
Pont d’Arches. Out from Haie Malherbe and beyond, and from Pont
d"Arches and beyond, shall belong to the king of England. Also,
as to all the fortresses which the king of France shall hold on the
day of this truce, it shall be agreed as follows : the king of France
shall, during the continuance of the truce, fortify, or destroy, or
burn the same if he shall think fit; and he shall be at liberty to
act according to his will and pleasure as to all the lands which he
holds. The king of England shall in like manner fortify, or destroy,
or burn all the fortresses which he shall
hold on the day of this truce; but the king of England shall not he
at liberty to fortify any one of the fortresses that have been
dismantled by the king of France or by his own people, with the
exception of those four which have been mentioned above. Further, the
king of France includes in this truce all those who before the war
were more liegemen of himself than of the king of England; as also
these [places] which were [held by] vassals of the king of England,
whom we will here name : Arches, and Driencourt, as the king himself
now holds the same and his people; the county of Auge, as he now
holds the same and his people; Mortemer, and the lands which William
de Chahou holds; the lands of the earl of Boulogne, which he held on
the day on which the truce was made; Hugh do Gournay, and Aumarle,
and the feud of Beauvais and its lands, as he now holds the same;
Neumarche and the lands thereof, as William de Garland and his people
now hold the same; Gisors, and Vexin, in Normandy, as the king of
France and his people now hold the same; Vernon and Gallon, and the
lands thereto belonging, as the king of France and his people now
hold the same; Pascy and the lands thereto belonging, as the king and
his people now hold the same; Hers and Marcilliac, and the lands
thereto belonging, as the king and his people now hold the same ; Loy
and the lands thereto belonging, as the king and his people now hold
the same; Novancourt and the lands thereto belonging, as the king,
and earl Robert, and his people, now hold the same; Thiellerie and
the lands thereto belonging, as the king, and Gervaise, and their
people, now hold the same; Nevelon and his people, and Fretteval and
the lands thereto belonging, as they now hold the same; the count of
Bruttie, and his people and lands, if he has any, as he now holds the
same; the count of Angouleme, and his people, his lands, and his fee,
as he now holds the same; also, John de Rouvere, Baldwin de Aquigny,
and the count of Mellent, and his lands, as he now holds the same:
both the lands aforesaid, as also the people that are upon them; and
the said truce shall remain in force for one year from the feast of
All Saints next ensuing. The king of France has mentioned all the
persons aforesaid by name, because he wishes the king of England to
mention by name those men of consequence whom he shall wish to be
comprehended in the truce, within a period of fifteen days from the
said truce : for if, after the fifteenth day from the said truce
being made, he shall wish to name any, the king of France will
decline to include them; and if they shall confess that they have
aided the king of England, they shall be included in the truce. All
supporters of either side within fortified places shall also be
included in the truce. The king of France has chosen two arbitrators,
and, in like manner, the king of England two, by whose award, or by
that of the greater part of them, if either of the kings shall take
anything from the other, or any one of their subjects shall do so,
reparation shall be made for the same within forty days therefrom.
And the said arbitrators shall make oath on the holy Evangelists,
that they will neither for love, hate, fear, nor reward, be guilty of
any omission, but will with good faith make their award. And if it
shall so happen that any seizure shall be made beyond the Loire, in
the direction of Bourges, then the arbitrators shall meet between
Exodun, and Chateau Raoul, for the purpose of compensation being
made, and the arbitrators of the territory in which the seizure shall
have been made shall summon the other arbitrators; and they, on
hearing the summons, shall with good faith meet on fitting days at
one of the places above named ; and if any seizure shall happen to be
made on this side the Loire, in the direction of Normandy, then the
arbitrators shall meet between Vernueil and Tiliers, for the purpose
of compensation being made. And if there shall happen to be any
misunderstanding between the arbitrators, then Master the legate of
the highest standing,* shall, with good faith and at peril of his
soul, enquire into the truth thereof, and shall pronounce upon him
who shall refuse to make satisfaction for the seizure and the
offence, sentence of excommunication, all right of appeal being
withdrawn, and shall place his lands under interdict. But if the
evildoer shall belong to the territory of the king of France, then
the king of France shall, in good faith, aid in obtaining reparation
for the same, without any loss to himself; and the king of England
shall do the same, in good faith, as to his subjects. If the king of
France shall make any aggression upon the king of England, or the
king of England upon the king of France, then the cardinal shall
place an interdict upon the lands of the party making the aggression,
if he shall refuse to make amends for such aggression, at the award
of the arbitrators, or the major part of them. Richard, king of
England, and his people, shall hold their lands on this side the
Loire, towards Normandy, in the same manner in which they were
holding them on the day on
which the truce was made, and beyond the Loire they shall hold them
in the same manner in which they held them on the day on which he and
his people were able, within so many lawful days, to hear of the
truce being made.** The king of England includes in the truce all
those who were more liegemen of himself than of the king of France
before the truce. As to the prisoners, it shall be thus agreed on
both sides : those prisoners whom the king of France detains, shall
be rescued upon giving such security as they shall offer, if it shall
so please the said king; but if it shall not please him, then his
arbitrators shall upon oath declare what security shall be given in
addition thereto, in order that the king of France may be secure that
the prisoner will return to the custody of the king of France fifteen
days before the end of the truce, if the prisoner is then alive; and
the same shall be done as to the prisoners of the king of England by
his arbitrators.
*
The legate of France or of Normandy.
**
Probably a certain distance being reckoned for each lawful day.
All
these things both kings shall swear to observe with good faith, arid
shall make oath at the hand of the cardinal; and they shall give
their letters patent as to keeping and observing the aforesaid truce
and covenants. Before us, on part of the king of France, Gervaise de
Chatillon has made oath and sworn, on behalf of the king of France,
that this truce shall be observed; such persons also shall make oath,
both clergy as well as laity, subject to the arbitration of the
umpires, as the king of England shall require. In addition to which,
be it known to you that we who have sworn to this agreement for a
truce, have hereupon had letters patent on behalf of the king of
France for the confirmation of the same, expressing that whatever we
shall ordain as to observing the truce, that same he will ratify and
confirm. Done between Vernueil and Tiliers, in the year from the Word
made Incarnate one thousand one hundred and ninety-four, on the
twenty-third day of July.”
After
the king had crossed over, on Hugh, bishop of Durham, returning home,
Hugh Bardolph demanded of him’ the earldom of Northumberland,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and the castle of Bamborough, which the said
bishop had promised to the king that he would deliver up. However,
the bishop delayed doing this, because his messenger, by whom he had
made offer to the king of two thousand marks of silver for retaining
the said earldom and the above-mentioned castles, had not yet
returned. When he returned, he brought with him a letter from the
king, by which the king informed Hugh Bardolph that if the said
bishop of Durham should give him security for the payment of the said
two thousand marks, he was to deliver to the said bishop the
before-named earldom, together with the castles.
On
the king’s letter being delivered to Hugh Bardolph, he
accordingly made answer to Hugh, bishop of Durham, saying: “If
you wish me to act according to the king’s commands, deliver up
to me the castles and the earldom, and I will re-deliver them to you,
as the king has commanded, if you give me security for the receipt of
these two thousand marks, on behalf of the king.” To this the
bishop of Durham replied: “There is no need for me to deliver
them to you to deliver them to me again, as I have got them, and hold
them in my possession.” On hearing this, Hugh Bardolph
immediately sent word to our lord the king, what answer he had
received from the bishop; at which the king being incensed, ordered.
the bishop of Durham to be disseised of the castles and the earldom
above-mentioned, and the two thousand marks to be demanded of him.
The king also, in the fury of his anger, ordered the bishop of Durham
to be dispossessed of the manor of Sedbergh, with the knight’s
fees and wapentake which the said king had given to Saint Cuthbert
and the Church of Durham, and the said bishop, as a pure and
perpetual alms-gift, and by his charter had confirmed the same, in
manner previously stated; which was accordingly done.
In
the meantime, the canons of the church of York, making complaint to
the archbishop of Canterbury, the king’s justiciary, of the
injuries that had been done them by the archbishop of York, the
archbishop of Canterbury, by the royal authority with which he was
invested, sent to York, earl Roger Bigot, William de Warenne, William
de Stuteville, Hugh Bardolph, William Bruyere, Geoffrey Habet, and
William Fitz-Richard, a clerk, to hear the dispute between the
archbishop of York and his canons, and to settle the same as justice
should require. Having accordingly come thither, and heard the
appeals of the canons, and the answer of the archbishop and his
adherents, they ordered the men of the archbishop who had been
charged with robbery, to be seized and thrown into prison. And
although the archbishop was ready to give his warranty for what they
had done, he still was unable to bail them. After this, they summoned
the archbishop to come and receive their judgment, and, because he
refused, they dispossessed him of all his manors, with the sole
exception of the manor of Ripon, to which the archbishop had retired;
after which, they caused the canons to be reinstated in their stalls
of which the archbishop had dispossessed them. On their departure,
they appointed William de Stuteville, and Geoffrey Haget, to exercise
supervision in Yorkshire over the archbishop and his shrievalty.
Shortly
after, in the month of September, justices itinerant were sent in the
king’s behalf throughout each of the counties of England, and
proceeded, in giving their judgments, in conformity with the tenor of
the heads hereunder stated.
THE
FORM OF PROCEDURE IN PLEAS OF THE CROWN OF THE KING.*
*
The text of Wilkins has been followed here.
“In
the first place, four knights are to be chosen from out of the whole
county, who, upon their oaths, are to choose two lawful knights of
every hundred and wapentake, and these two are to choose upon their
oath ten knights of every hundred or wapentake, or, if there shall
not be knights sufficient, free and lawful men, in order that these
twelve may together make inquisition on each of the following heads
in every hundred or wapentake.
Heads of Pleas of the Crown of the King.
“Of Pleas of the Crown, both new and old, and all those
which have not yet been concluded before the justiciaries of our lord the king.
Also, of all Recognizances and all Pleas on which summons has been
issued before the justiciaries, by writ of the king or of the chief
justice, or which have been sent before them from the supreme court
of the king. Also, of Escheats, what these now are, and what they
have been, since the king set out on his expedition to the land of
Jerusalem, and what there were at that time in the king’s
hands; and again, what there arc now in his hands or otherwise; and
of all Escheats of our lord the king, if they have been taken out of
his hands, how, and by whom, and into whose hands they have come, and
of what kind, and if any person has had any profits from the same,
and what they are, and what was the value thereof, and what is the
present value; and if there is any Escheat, which belongs to our
lord the king, which is not at present in his hands. Also, of Churches which are in the
gift of our lord the king. Also, of Wardships of children, which
belong to our lord the king. Also, of Marriages* of maidens, or of
widows, which belong to our lord the king. Also, of Malefactors, and
their harbourers and abettors. Also, of forgers. Also, of Murderers
of the Jews, who they are, and of the pledges of Jews so slain, their
chattels, lands, debts, and writings, and who has the same; and how
much each person owes them, and what pledges they had, and who holds
the same, and how much they are worth, and who has the profits
thereof, and what they are; all the pledges and the debts of the Jews
so slain are to be seized for the king ; and those who were present
at the murder of the Jews, who have not made a composition thereon
with our lord the king, or with his justiciaries, are to be arrested
and are not to be liberated except by our lord the king, or his
justiciaries. Also, of all Aids given for the ransom of our lord the
king, how much each person promised, and how much he has paid, and
how much is still due from him. Also, of the adherents of earl John,
and such of them as have made a composition with our lord the king,
and such as have not. Also, of the Chattels of earl John or his
adherents, which have not been converted to the use of our lord the
king; and how much the sheriffs and their bailiffs have received; and
who has given anything contrary to the ancient customs of the
kingdom. Also, of all the Lands of earl John, of his Demesnes, and
Wards, and Escheats, and his gifts, and for what reason the same were
given to him, and all the gifts to earl John are to be seized for our
lord the king, except those which have been confirmed by the king.
Also, as to the Debts and Fines which are due to earl John, and for
what causes; and all the same are to be demanded on behalf of our
lord the king. Also, of Usurers, and the Chattels of such of them as
are dead. Also, of Wines sold contrary to the assize, and of false
measures for wine as also for other things. Also, of such Crusaders
as have died before setting out for the land of Jerusalem; and who
possesses their chattels, and what they are, and to what extent.
Also, of Grand Assizes, which are of lands a hundred shillings in
value or less.
*
“Maritagiis,” the right of giving them in marriages and
receiving a fee for the same.
Also,
in every county there are to be three knights chosen, and one clerk,
who are to be keepers of the Pleas of the Crown;
and no sheriff is to be justice in his shrievalty, nor yet in any
county which he has held since the first coronation of our lord the
king. Also, an inventory is to be made of all the Cities, and
Boroughs, and Demesne Lands of our lord the king.
Also,
the said justices, together with the bailiffs of ‘William of
the Church of Saint Mary, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, William de Chimelli,
William Bruere, Hugh Bardolph, and the sheriff of each place, are to
cause the knights mentioned on the roll to be summoned in their
respective counties, to appear at a time and place which they shall
signify to them, and to make them swear in their presence that they
will use all their lawful endeavours to restore the Lands and
Escheats belonging to our lord the king, and to value the same to the
advantage of our lord the king, and not through hatred, favour, or
regard for any person, to omit so to do. And the said knights
before-named shall, upon their oath, make choice of twelve lawful
knights, or free and lawful men, if knights shall not be found for
the purpose, in the different parts of each county on the circuit of
the said justices itinerant, as shall seem expedient; who shall, in
like manner, make oath that they will use all their lawful endeavours
to restore, and to value and establish the rights of Wardship and
Escheat in those parts, and will give their counsel and assistance to
advantage the king therein, as before-mentioned. The said j jurors
shall also, upon oath, choose from free men as many and such as they
shall think necessary for the performance of the aforesaid business
of our lord the king as to Escheats and Wardships, in such manner as
may be best done for the advantage of our lord the king. It is also
to be known, that the said Wardships and Escheats shall be made good
out of the revenues arising therefrom up to the feast of Michaelmas,
as also from the revenues at that time due; and, if they shall not
suffice, then the deficiency shall be supplied by a toll of our lord
the king: it being understood that those who hold the said Wardships
and Escheats to farm, shall, after the feast of Saint Michael, answer
for the same thenceforward as for farms in husbandry. And as for
those who shall hold the said Wardships and Escheats to farm, our
lord the king shall give them warranty for the same from year to year
until the termination thereof; so that, although our lord the king
should give any of them to any person, the fanner shall still hold
his farm, to hold the same by farm till the end of the year, by
paying to him to whom our lord the king shall have so given it, the
rent which shall be due from him for the same until the end of the
year. The right to the escheat, however, which he shall have so given
is to remain with our lord the king, unless our lord the king shall
have given it by name. The farmer, when he shall give up his farm, is
to have all his stock which he shall have placed upon the farm, and
all his property over and above the property of the king there,
freely and without diminution. They shall also have letters patent of
our lord the archbishop, containing the tenor of the charter of our
lord the king made relative thereto.
Most
diligent enquiry shall also be made what is the rental assessed upon
each manor in demesne, and the value of all other assessments in the
said manors, and how many carucates there are, and how much they are
each worth, not estimating them at a fixed value of twenty shillings
only, *
but, according as the land is good or bad, whether the value is
likely to increase or decrease. Those persons who shall take these
farms shall stock their farms as already mentioned, according to the
sum named as to the revenues of the escheats and wardships. Enquiry
is also to be made with how many oxen and plough horses each carucate
ought to be stocked; and how much stock, and to what amount each
manor is able to support; and the result thereof is then to be
speedily and distinctly reduced to writing. The price set upon a bull
shall be four shillings, and upon a cow the same, upon a ploughhorse
the same, upon a sheep with fine wool ten pence, upon a sheep with
coarse wool six pence, upon a sow twelve pence, and upon a boar
twelve pence; and when the farmers give up their farms they shall be
answerable in the aforesaid sums, or in animals payable for the same,
at the option of the farmers ; and when all the aforesaid stock shall
be placed thereon and duly valued, they shall all be enrolled openly
and distinctly, and the register thereof shall be deposited in the
exchequer. From this assize are to be excepted bishoprics and abbeys,
and lands of barons who are nearly of age. Also, let enquiry
previously be made, by the oath of the parties aforesaid, as to all
wardships and escheats which are not in the hands of
our lord the king, and they are to be taken possession of by our lord
the king, and dealt with as other lands and escheats.
*
Probably the rental of each carucate, or plough land of one hundred
acres, was assessed at twenty shillings, for the purpose of
collecting the carucage or land tax levied thereon.
Heads as to the Jews.
All debts and pledges of Jews are to be enrolled, as also their
lands, houses, rents, and possessions. Any Jew who shall make concealment of
any one of these things, shall forfeit to our lord the king his body,
as also the thing concealed, and all his possessions, and all his
chattels; and no Jew shall ever be allowed to recover what he has so
concealed. Also; let six or seven places be appointed at which they
shall make their loans, and let two lawful Christians and two lawful
Jews and two lawful scribes be appointed, and in their presence, and
in that of the clerks of William of the Church of Saint Mary and of
William de Chimelli, let such loans be made, and let a deed
describing the loan be made, after the manner of an indenture. One
part* is to remain in the hands of the Jew, sealed with his seal to
whom the money is paid, while the other part is to remain in the
common chest; on which there are to be three locks; whereof the two
Christians are to keep one key, the two Jews another, and the clerks
of William of the Church of Saint Mary and of Master William de
Chimelli the third; as also three seals, those who have the keys
setting thereon their seals. The clerks also of the two Williams
aforesaid are to have a register containing copies of all the deeds,
and as the deeds are altered so shall the register be altered. For
each deed shall be paid three pence; a moiety thereof by the Jew, and
a moiety by him to whom the money is lent; of which the two scribes
are to have two pence, and the keeper of the register the third: and,
for the future, no loan shall be made, no payment made to Jews, no
alteration of the deeds, except in presence of the persons
aforenamed, or the major part of them, if all shall be unable to be
present. The said two Christians also are to have a register of
receipts for payments made henceforth to Jews, and the two Jews are
to have one, and the keeper of the register one. Also, every Jew
shall make oath upon his register that he will cause all his debts,
pledges, rents, and all his property and possessions to be enrolled,
and that, as above stated, he will not conceal anything; and that, if
he shall be able to learn that any one has concealed anything, he
will secretly disclose the same to the judges sent to them, and that
forgers of deeds and clippers of money, when he shall know of such
persons, he will give information against, and detect the same, and
the like with regard to the deeds so forged.
* The script, the other part being the rescript.
Also, inquisition shall be made relative to the holdings of and seizures
made by all bailiffs of the king, both justices as well as sheriffs,
and constables, and foresters and their servants, since the time of
the first coronation of our lord king Richard, and why such seizures
were made, and by whom; and of all the chattels, gifts, and promises made on the occasion of seizure
of the lands of earl John and his supporters; and who received the
same, and what they were, and what delay was caused by command of
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, at that time the king’s chief
justice."
In
the meantime, Richard, king of England, having settled his affairs in
Poitou to his satisfaction, returned to Anjou, and fined all his
bailiffs, that is to say, forced them to pay a fine ; and did the
same in Maine. After this, he came into Normandy, and was vexed with
what had been done in relation to the truce above-mentioned, and
imputing it to his chancellor that this had been done through his
agency, took away from him his seal, and caused a new seal to be
made, and had proclamation made throughout all his territories, that
nothing would be held as ratified that had been done by means of his
old seal, both because his chancellor had wrought more indiscreetly
with it than was becoming, as also because that seal had been lost
when Roger Malchine, his vice-chancellor, was drowned at sea, before
the island of Cyprus. The king also gave orders that all persons who
had charters should come to renew the same with the new seal.
The
king also ordered tournaments to be held in England, and by his
charter confirmed the same ; upon condition that whoever should wish
to tourney, should pay him a sum according to the terms underwritten,
namely; an earl was to give, for permission to tourney twenty marks
of silver, a baron ten marks of silver, a knight, holding land, four
marks of silver, and a knight, not a landholder, two marks of silver;
and the king gave orders that no knight should come near the places
where the tournaments were held unless he had first paid him the said
sum of money. The charter of this grant the king delivered into the
custody of William, earl of Salisbury; and Hubert Fitz-Walter, the
king’s chief justice, appointed
his brother, Theobald Fitz-Walter, to be collector of this money.
In
the same year, Roger, the son of Tancred, king of Sicily, whom his
father had caused to be crowned king of Sicily, and who had married
the daughter of Tursac, emperor of Constantinople, departed this
life; after whose decease, king Tancred caused his son William,
brother of the said king Roger, to be crowned king of Sicily. Shortly
after this, the said Tancred died: on hearing of which, Henry,
emperor of the Romans, assembling a large army, entered Apulia in the
beginning of the month of August, and subdued it, and, fifteen days
before the feast of Saint Michael, took Salerno by storm; and because
the people of Salerno had behaved treacherously towards him, as above
stated, in delivering the empress Constance into the hands of king
Tancred, to avenge the said betrayal he either put to death all the
more powerful citizens of that city, or else condemned them to exile,
and put up their wives and children for sale to his troops. He also
found in the great Tower there a large treasure, valued at two
hundred thousand ounces of gold, and his army was enriched by the
spoils of the people of Salerno. After this, the emperor proceeded to
the city of Amalfi, which was immediately surrendered to him; and,
while he was staying there, all the cities of Apulia were surrendered
to him, three of which he levelled with the ground—Salerno,
Spinchola, and Polichore.
Before
the feast of All Saints, he came to the city of Messina, in Sicily,
with such honor and glory, that it had never been heard of any person
entering that territory with greater honor and glory. Here he was
honorably received by the archbishops, bishops, earls, and barons of
the kingdom of Sicily, and departing thence proceeded to Palermo;
having arrived at which place, the queen of Sicily, formerly the wife
of king Tancred, and Richard de Therne, her brother, surrendered to
him the palace of the king of Sicily, as also, king William, son of
king Tancred, the widow of king Roger, daughter of Tursac, emperor of
Constantinople, and the king’s treasure of gold and silver
inexhaustible, which the kings of Sicily had laid up. After this, all
the cities and fortresses of the kingdom of Sicily were delivered up
to him, and the admiral Margarite surrendered to him the castle at
the port of Palermo, on which the emperor gave him the dukedom of
Durazzo, the principality of Tarento, and the principality of La
Mare. There also came to the before-named emperor of the Romans all
the pagans and Jews who were in the kingdom of Sicily, and, paying
him certain sums, remained in the kingdom of Sicily, each in his own
place, in the same condition in which he had been before.
The
emperor then caused himself and the empress Constance, his wife, to
be crowned at the city of Palermo, in presence and with the consent
of the archbishops, bishops, and principal men of the kingdom. The
emperor then caused the bodies of king Tancred and king Roger, his
son, to be disinterred, and spoiled them of their crowns and
sceptres, and other royal ornaments, saying that they were not kings
by right, but rather usurpers of the throne, and holders thereof by
violence. The emperor next gave in marriage to Philip, his brother,
duke of Suabia, the above-mentioned daughter of Tursac, emperor of
Constantinople, and put out the eyes of king William, son of king
Tancred, and had him emasculated.
In
the same year, [1194] the citizens of Rome elected fifty-six
senators, and placed them in authority over themselves: whereas,
previously, they had had but a single senator, whose name was
Benedict, a worthy man, who had ruled over them two years, and after
him they had had another senator, who was called John Capuche, and
had similarly reigned over them another two years; in whose times
Rome was better governed than at the present day, in the time of the
fifty-six senators.
In
the same year, Swere, prince of Norway, contrary to the prohibition
of our lord the pope, had himself crowned king of Norway; on hearing
of which, Eustace, archbishop of Drontheim, chose rather to go into
exile than be present at his coronation ; he accordingly departed,
and the said Swere, son of Siward, king of Norway, gave orders that
all the bishops of Norway should meet together at Bergen, on the
feast of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, for the purpose of
crowning him. Among these was the bishop of Wie, whose name was
Nicholas. He declared that he was unwilling to be present at the
coronation, because of the absence of the archbishop; on hearing
which, Swere caused the bishop to be seized, and to be bound on the
sea-shore on a small eminence, so that the waves of the sea, flowing
on, nearly entered his mouth; upon which, the bishop being terrified,
assented to the wishes of Swere Birkebain, and crowned and
consecrated him king at Bergen, on the feast of the Apostles Saint
Peter and Saint Paul, the bishops, Martin of Bergen, Eric of
Stavangre, Thore of Burgunde, and Absalom, being present and
assenting thereto. On the same day, when the said Swere, the king and
priest, was dining in regal state with the bishops and principal men
of his kingdom, he caused the head of Siward, the son of Adestan, the
former king of Norway, to be cut off, and to be brought before him
and his guests, as they sat at table. It is worthy of remark that
this Swere Birkebain conquered fifteen kings in fifteen naval
battles, and slew them, with all their followers, before he was able
to secure the crown; their names were as follows,—king Magnus,
king Borgher, king Siward, king Ordus, king Guthrum, king John
Cuvelung, king Belue, king Zether, and six others, with the above
Siward, son of Adestan. It also deserves to be known, that it is the
custom of the kingdom of Norway to the present day that every one who
is known to be the son of any king of Norway, although illegitimate,
and the issue of a bondwoman, has equal right to lay claim to the
kingdom of Norway with the son of a king legally married, and being
the son of a free woman; the consequence of which is, that there are
battles going on between them without ceasing, until one of them is
conquered and slain.
The
same year, [1194] a little before the feast of Saint Michael, there
came to York, Hamo, precentor of the church of York, Geoffrey de
Muschamp, archdeacon of Cleveland, and Master William Testard,
archdeacon of Nottingham, who had gone to Rome with Master Simon of
Apulia, and Ralph, the archdeacon of the West Biding, relative to the
injuries which Geoffrey, archbishop of York, had inflicted on them
and their fellow-canons, he having excommunicated them and all who
held communion with them, and, on their appeal to the Supreme
Pontiff, laid an interdict on their churches. They also brought with
them letters of absolution both from the excommunication and the
interdict, and letters for the restitution of what had been taken
from them ; undertaking the execution of which at the mandate of pope
Celestinus, Hugh, bishop of Durham, came to York, and on Saint
Michael’s day celebrated mass in the mother church there,
declaring before the clergy and the people, that the sentence which
Geoffrey, archbishop of York, had pronounced upon his canons and
those holding communion with them was null and void.
But
Ralph, the archdeacon of the West Riding, died while on his return
from Rome; on which, Geoffrey, archbishop of York, gave his
archdeaconry, first, to his own brother, Peter, and afterwards to
Peter de Nunant. The said archbishop then making appeal against his
canons and their acquisitions, crossed over from England to Normandy,
to Richard, king of England, his brother, and obtained from him a
letter to the following effect:—
The
Letter of Richard, king of England, on the reconciliation of the
archbishop of York
“Richard,
by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to his dearly beloved and faithful subjects,
William of the Church of Saint Mary, and Hugh Bardolph, greeting. We
do hereby inform you, that Geoffrey, archbishop of York, our brother,
has come to us, and over and above those thousand marks which he paid
us in England, has done our will as to the other thousand marks; and,
as he has informed us by a certain person, would willingly have
before this made satisfaction for the debt if he had been able so to
do, and has long been greatly vexed that he has thus long delayed so
to do. Accordingly, we have received him into our favour and
protection, and have granted him in the fullest manner our kind
interest in his behalf. We have also sent our messenger to England
with his messenger, to the end that he may see in what way he makes
satisfaction to us for the remaining thousand marks; for he has made
a promise to us that he will satisfy us thereupon as soon as he
possibly can. Wherefore we do command you to make restitution to him
of his lands and all his property in full, without delay; and
whatever of his rentals or of his property shall have been sold on
account of the said debt, whatever of the same we have had, you are
reasonably to set off the same against the residue of his debt; and
if any part thereof shall have been sold at a less price than it
ought, either through love or hatred for any person, you are to cause
reparation to be made for the same by those who have so done, and the
same to be credited to the archbishop on account of his debt. His men
also who have been taken or detained, both clergy as well as laity,
you are to cause to be held on bail and set at liberty without delay,
according to the custom of England. Also, you are not to allow the
lay power to disturb him in exercising his right of ecclesiastical
censure throughout the whole of his archiepiscopate, as in reason he
ought. You are also to compel the men of Beverley to make good the
injuries they have done him, and to do towards him what they are
bound to do, and what they have been accustomed to do to his
predecessors. Witness myself, at Mamerz, on the third day of
November.”
The
said archbishop of York also obtained another letter from our lord
the king to the following effect:—
“Richard,
by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to William, of the Church of Saint Mary, and Hugh
Bardolph, greeting. Know ye, that we have learned, that at the time
of the death of our father, without our command and consent, Geoffrey
de Muschamp obtained letters under his seal to hold the archdeaconry
of Cleveland; and William de Stigandby and Master Erard, similarly
obtained letters to hold prebendal stalls in the church of York,
which were then vacant, and at our disposal. Wherefore, we do command
you, without delay, to deprive the persons aforesaid of the
archdeaconry, and the said prebends, and exact from them whatever
they have received, since they have so fraudulently and
surreptitiously gained possession of the said revenues. Witness
myself, at Mamerz, on the third day of November.”
Oh
shameful disgrace! “Tis base for the censurer to be himself
convicted of the fault.” For the said archbishop, while still
chancellor of the king, his father, had that seal in his own
possession; by means of which the said archdeaconry and those
prebendal stalls had been given to the persons before-named.
In
the same year, John Belesme, archbishop of Lyons sur Rhone, resigned
his archbishopric; and, being content with a revenue of one hundred
pounds sterling belonging to the archbishopric of Lyons, lived an
unspotted life, pleasing to God and man, to the end of his existence,
in the house of Clairval.
In
the same year, while Leopold, duke of Austria, was still remaining
under the sentence of excommunication which our lord the pope had
pronounced upon him for the captivity of Richard, king of England
and, not repenting thereof, the Lord
scourged his territories in the following manner. In the first place,
all of the cities of his dominions were destroyed by fire, and yet
the cause of none of these fires was known. In the second place, the
adjoining country was overflowed by an inundation of the river
Danube, in which ten thousand persons or more perished. In the third
place, whereas all the earth in the middle of summer ought to, and
usually does, possess vitality, at that period the whole of his
territory, contrary to the usual and ordinary course of things,
became parched up. In the fourth place, when the seeds of corn ought
to have shot up into blade, they were changed into worms. In the
fifth place, the most noble persons in his dominions were smitten
with a mortality.
Although
the Lord had smitten his territory with plagues so many and so great,
he still was unwilling to repent, but his heart was hardened, so much
so, that he took an oath that all the hostages of the king of England
whom he had in his hands should undergo capital punishment, unless
all the covenants were speedily performed which the king of England
had made with him. Consequently, Baldwin de Bethune, who was one of
those who had been given as hostages to the duke of Austria for the
ransom of the king of England, by the common consent of the hostages,
was sent to the king of England to declare to him the duke’s
purpose; and, on his arrival, the king, taking compassion on them,
delivered to him the sister of Arthur, duke of Brittany, and the
daughter of the emperor of Cyprus, to escort to the duke of Austria;
the sister of Arthur for the purpose of being married to the son of
the duke of Austria, and the daughter of the emperor of Cyprus to be
delivered into the hands of the duke.
1195 A.D.
In the year of grace 1195, being the sixth year of the reign of Richard,
king of England, the said king Richard was at Rouen, in Normandy, on
the day of the Nativity of our Lord, which fell on the Lord’s
Day, being intent on supplying himself with all things necessary, in
money and men, against Philip, king of France. For the truce which
had been agreed upon between them as to last until the feast of All
Saints was far from observed, the subjects of both kingdoms making
excessive ravages. On the same day of the Nativity of our Lord,
Henry, emperor of the Romans, was crowned at Palermo, in Sicily, with
the crown of the kingdom of Sicily.
In
the same year, before the Nativity of our Lord, on the
day of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, when the heart of Leopold, duke
of Austria, was hardened, nor could be softened by means of the
plagues previously mentioned which the Lord inflicted on his
territories, the Lord scourged his body in the following manner.
Having convened the elders of his territory to celebrate the festival
of the Nativity of our Lord, while the said duke was on his road, on
Saint Stephen’s day, to take recreation with his knights, his
horse fell upon him and crushed his foot, in such a manner that the
bones, being broken on both sides, projected through the middle of
the skin, and were exposed to the extent of the palm of one’s
hand: the surgeons, however, when they came, applied to the foot what
they thought best for it. On the following day the foot was found to
have turned black, and to be in such a state that it ought, in the
opinion of the surgeons, to be taken off; but, upon his ordering this
to be done, there was not a person found to acquiesce in his wishes:
for no one dared, or could for sorrow, lay a hand on his master.
At
length, he sent for his son and heir, and begged and commanded him to
cut off his foot, and put an end to his pain; and, on his refusal as
well, he sent for his chamberlain, who being compelled so to do, the
duke himself, with his own hand, held an axe close to the bone of the
leg, while the chamberlain, wielding a mallet, after three blows,
with great difficulty, cut off the foot; the surgeons, however, after
applying remedies, on visiting him the next day, found in him no
hopes of life. The duke, being consequently reduced to despair,
caused the archbishops, bishops, and great men of his dominions, who
had come to be present at the festival, to be assembled together;
and, on asking to be absolved from the sentence which our lord the
pope had pronounced against him, for the injuries which he had done
to the king of England, was answered by the whole of the clergy that
he could, under no circumstances, procure absolution, unless, by
making oath, he should give security that, as to the said injuries,
he would abide by the judgment of the Church; and, unless others of
the chief men of his dukedom should join him in the said oath: and if
he should be overtaken by the common destiny of man, they would use
their exertions in every way that satisfaction might be made to the
Holy Church, in order that the judgment of the Church might not be
carried out with respect to him. Accordingly, being absolved through
means of the judgment of the Church, he ordered all the hostages of
the king of England that he had in his possession to be set at
liberty, and forgave the sum of money owing to him from the king of
England. After his decease, his heir, with some of the nobles,
opposed the things beforementioned being done; on which, the clergy
would on no account allow the body of the duke to be buried :
consequently, his body was kept above ground for eight days, until
all the hostages given by the king of England had been set at
liberty; some of whom, on their coming to England, related all these
things as what they had seen and heard. They also asserted that, at
their departure, there was produced and offered to them, four
thousand marks and more, money belonging to the king of England, to
be brought back; but that, on account of the perils of the journey,
they had not dared on any account to take charge thereof.
All
these things were done by God, that He might abase the haughty, and
manifest His power before mortals; and when He pursues with His
deserved vengeance the injuries done to Him and His, we are to
believe that the same has happened not only for our sakes, but also
to assert His power; nor must we boastfully ascribe to ourselves what
has been wrought solely by the mercy of the Lord. In the meantime,
when Baldwin de Bethune had come near the territories of the said
duke of Austria, and heard of his death, he did not proceed any
further, but returned to the king of England, and brought back the
ladies before-named, and restored them to the king.
In
the same year, [1195] Walter, archbishop of Rouen, gave to Philip,
king of France, one thousand pounds of money Anjouin for the ransom
of his lands, which the said king of France had taken possession of
during the war; and, at the same time, Robert, earl of Leicester,
offered to Philip, king of France, for his ransom, one thousand
pounds sterling, and to release him from all claim for ever, by
himself and his heirs, to the castle of Passy with all its
appurtenances, and to ask a confirmation of the same from our lord
the pope, and a confirmation from the king of England. But, as there
was not yet an end of the war between himself and the king of
England, he put off for the present the consideration of the offers
which the earl of Leicester had made him.
In
the same year, in the month of January, being the Lord’s Day
next after the octave of the Epiphany, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln,
Master Winmer, archdeacon of Northampton, and Hugh, prior of
Poutefract, to whom our lord the pope, Ce lestinus,
had entrusted the charge of enquiring into the excesses of which
Geoffrey, archbishop of York, was accused by his canons of the church
of York before the pope and cardinals, arrived at York, and proceeded
in conformity with the mandate of our lord the pope; which was to the
following effect:
The Letter of pope Celestinus, directing an inquisition to be made into
the alleged excesses of the archbishop of York.
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother,
the bishop of Lincoln, and his dearly beloved sons, the archdeacon of
Northampton, and the prior of Pontefract, greeting. Jesus Christ, the
mediator between God and man, whose foresight in His ordinances is
not deceived, has willed that the source of the discipline of the
whole Church, and the direction of the holy Church of Rome should be
reserved for Himself, and that all other [churches] should also be
subject to His government and supervision: that so, the plenitude of
power being expressly reserved unto Him, it may belong to Him to
correct the excesses also of other [churches], and, with the
authority of the Apostolic sway, approve of what is done in a manner
deserving of praise. Wherefore, inasmuch as by Divine providence we
have been chosen to the governance thereof, it is our wish so to love
our brethren and fellow-bishops, with due considerateness and
discretion, that we may not seem to prefer their affection and
friendship to the duties unto which we are called; and the more
especially, as love has its limits, and each is bound to love the
man, but not the errors of the man. And whereas, it has come to our
hearing, from the information of the clergy and the chapter of the
church of York, and the testimony of our dearly beloved sons Robert
of York, and Roger of Selby, and of eleven other abbats of the
Praemonstratensian order, seems manifestly to declare the same, that
our venerable brother, Geoffrey, the archbishop of York, disregarding
the oaths of the office entrusted to him, being uselessly engaged in
hunting, hawking, and other military pursuits, has given neither hand
nor thought since his promotion to the ordination of the clergy, the
dedication of churches, or the celebrations of synods, nor yet has
pronounced a blessing upon any abbat, although with sufficient
indiscretion he has accustomed his tongue at his own pleasure to
pronounce maledictions against and to excommunicate both clerks and
abbats ;
the liberties and approved customs of his church he nullifies and
subverts; appeals which are wont to be the refuge of the oppressed,
he has, to the injury of the Roman See, brought into contempt. Many,
because they have made appeals to ourselves, he has ordered to be
thrown into prison and placed in irons; the beneficed clergy of his
church, after appeal made to us, he has spoiled of honors and
benefices, and some of the canons, despising their appeal, he had
subjected to excommunication. In his presence, the privileges of the
Roman Pontiffs are utterly deprived of all authority; and he, who
otherwise would probably have been safe by pleading our privileges in
his presence, loses the benefit of the protection he thereby hoped to
gain. When it so happens that any one has been restored to a church
or26
possession by the judges delegated by our authority, the person by
whom the said judgment is to be put in execution, he immediately
looks upon as an enemy. Indeed, many so restored, he has reduced to
destitution; and entering their churches by force, by means of his
servants, is said to have broken down the doors of the churches, and
to have by violent means expelled them. Many persons also he has
perniciously made to incur the danger of perjury, withdrawing them by
means of violent compulsion from the obedience which by oath they had
canonically promised his archdeacons to observe. Still more,
attacking the greater church with a multitude of armed men, he has
caused the doors of the chapter-house to be broken open by force and
carried away; the property of the canons, and that of many other
persons who had deposited their possessions in the church as in a
treasury, he has caused by violence to be withheld from them;
respecting all which matters, the chapter of York has made appeal to
our presence. We have also understood from the testimony of the
persons before-named, that sometimes when churches have been vacant,
he has not admitted fit and proper persons when presented by those to
whom the presentation belongs, but has given the same to either
youths or persons of bad character, thus discharging the duty both of
him who presents and of him who institutes; or else at his own sole
will he causes them to be vacated, in order that their revenues may
be applied to his own use, and that which was intended for the
sustenance of some worthy clerk, he does not hesitate to retain in
his own hands. They have
also stated in addition, that, whereas spiritual gifts ought to be
bestowed without reward and without corruptness, frequently, when he
gives a benefice, he either splits it into two parts, contrary to the
canonical statutes of the church, or else retains upon it a new and
unusual charge; many, too, who have been excommunicated or suspended,
he has absolved, through the intervention of nothing else than money.
In his sight, religious and honest men are despised and contemned;
while low and suspected persons easily obtain his familiar
acquaintanceship and favour. Wherefore, if such is his mode of life,
and among such is his conversation, it is to be feared lest he may
prove to the flock entrusted to his charge, rather a rock of offence
and a stumbling-block, than an example of erudition, or a solace or
protection against spiritual wickedness. Wherefore, inasmuch as the
things that have been here stated, demand the care of an enquiry, we
have thought proper to entrust to your discretion, in which we have
full confidence, the enquiry into these matters, giving you, by these
Apostolic writings, our commands forthwith to repair to the church of
York, and, convoking the abbats, priors, and other ecclesiastical
persons of the diocese of York, to make diligent enquiry whether he
has thus negligently and perniciously treated the church and province
of York. And if, upon the matters above stated, lawful accusers shall
come forward, you are to hear what they shall think proper to allege
against the aforesaid archbishop, and, after diligently hearing and
learning the same, to make it your care to transmit to us their
attestation, enclosed under your seals, assigning to the parties a
fitting time within which, being sufficiently instructed thereon,
they are to appear at the Apostolic See, there to receive, the Lord
so providing, what is directed by the canons of the Church. If,
however, accusers shall not be forthcoming, and if public report
shall be in his disfavour, then you are, by our authority, to call
upon him to clear himself by [the oaths of] three bishops and as many
abbats, all obstacle of appeal removed. And if he shall chance to
make any default therein, you are to cause him to be suspended from
his archiepiscopal duties and administration, and to appear in the
Apostolical presence, to the end that, the Lord instructing him, he
may there be taught how it befits him, and those like him, to
minister in the house of the Lord. And if the said archbishop shall
think fit to allege
anything against them, you are to hear the same as well, and to
transmit it to us, enclosed under your seals, in order that a
determination may, in due conformity with the canons, be come to
thereon. Moreover, if the said archbishop shall, for the purpose of
eluding our mandate, before your citation shall reach him, have
interposed an appeal, or have commenced his journey on his way to the
Apostolic See, you are to appoint him a time within three months,
upon which he is to be bound, in his own person, to appear in our
presence. And if he shall fail so to do, you shall, by our authority,
from that period, pronounce him suspended from all pontifical duties,
and from the administration of the archbishopric, all power of appeal
set aside. And if you shall be unable all of you to take part in
carrying out these instructions, then any two of you shall carry out
the same. Given at Saint Peter’s, at Rome, on the sixth day
before the ides of June, in the fourth year of our pontificate.”
Accordingly,
upon the authority of these letters, the said bishop of Lincoln and
his colleagues came to York for the purpose of making the said
enquiry, and, having summoned before them in the cathedral church,
the abbats, priors, and ecclesiastical personages of the diocese of
York, proceeded, according to the tenor of this Apostolic mandate, to
make diligent enquiry upon all the heads which were contained in the
said writing. Many abbats, priors and other persons of good
character, accused the said archbishop on all the above heads, in
presence of the clerk and people of the household of the said
archbishop, who excused him as far as they could, and said that
before their citation the said archbishop had made an appeal, and had
set out on his road to the Supreme Pontiff: after hearing whom, the
said bishop of Lincoln and his colleagues, attentively hearing the
accusations of the adversaries of the archbishop of York, and having
committed the same to writing with all care, had the same transmitted
to the Supreme Pontiff, enclosed under the testimony of their seals,
assigning the archbishop a time within three months, in obedience to
the precept of the Supreme Pontiff; and of their own kindness they
gave him an additional term of six weeks, within which he was
personally to appear in the Apostolical presence: adding, that if he
should not do so, he was to know that he was from thenceforth
suspended from all pontifical duties by the Apostolic authority, as
also from the administration of the archbishopric. They also assigned
to the adversaries of the archbishop a time at the
beginning of the calends of June, by which, having made all
sufficient preparations, they were to present themselves at the
Apostolic See, there to receive, the Lord so providing, what is
adjudged by the canons of the Church.
Accordingly,
the aforesaid adversaries of the archbishop appearing at Rome in the
presence of our lord the pope, at the time named, urgently made
accusation against their archbishop; but the archbishop did not come
at the time appointed, both by reason of the king’s
prohibition, and the pestilence which at that time prevailed at Rome.
His clerks, however, appeared at the given time at the Roman court,
and alleging these as the causes of his absence, obtained that
whatever had in the meantime been done against the archbishop since
his appeal, should be repealed as null and void: and the pope then
appointed as the time for his coming to Rome, the octave of Saint
Martin next ensuing. But because not even then did he make his
appearance at the Roman court, either himself or by a sufficient
proxy, at the feast of the Nativity of our Lord next ensuing, he was
suspended from all episcopal duties.
During
the before-mentioned meeting of abbats, that took place at York, to
oppose the archbishop, Roger, abbot of Selby, died, and was buried at
Selby; and, at the presentation of king Richard, was succeeded by
Richard, prior of the same house, who received his benediction from
Hubert Fitz-Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, at this time, legate of
all England.
In
the same year, [1195] while the king of England was staying at
Chinon, in Anjou, certain assassins, fifteen in number, came to the
king’s court. But when they attempted to approach the king of
England, for the purpose of killing him, some of them were taken and
made prisoners, on which they stated that the king of France had sent
them to assassinate the king of England; but the king of England
pretending not to know that these had been the designs of the king of
France, deferred pronouncing judgment upon them, until such time as
their associates should have been arrested.
In
the same year, in the month of February, Master Simon of Apulia, dean
of the church of York, returning from the parts beyond sea, with the
plenitude of the king’s favour, and his confirmation of his
appointment to the deanery of the church of York, on his approaching
the city of York, there went forth to meet him the clergy and people
of the city in
great multitudes; among whom were some of the household of archbishop
Geoffrey, namely, Master Otui and William de Bonville, and two
others, who forbade the said dean, on behalf of our lord the pope and
the archbishop of York, to approach the mother church as dean
thereof, until the dispute which existed between the archbishop and
himself, as to the said deanery, should have been duly disposed of by
the Roman Pontiff, and appealed thereon to our lord the pope. And
because the said dean would not desist from his purpose, they laid
violent hands on him; but being immediately excommunicated
themselves, on account of this violence, they allowed him to go; on
which he proceeded on his way and came to the mother church, and the
canons of the church received him in solemn procession, this taking
place on the Lord’s day next before the beginning of Lent: and,
at the beginning of Lent, Hugh, bishop of Durham, came to York, and
confirmed the sentence of excommunication pronounced upon those who
had laid violent hands upon the dean. While the said bishop of Durham
was on his road thence to London, and had arrived at Doncaster, he
fell ill, and being unable to proceed any further, was carried by
ship to his vill of Hoveden.
In
the same month of February, in the country of the king of Scotland,
died Gregory, bishop of Ross, who was succeeded by Reginald, surnamed
"the Lean,” a monk of Melrose. It is stated, that in the
cathedral church of the bishopric of Ross, which is called Rosmarein,
Saint Boniface, the pope who was the fourth from Saint Gregory, was
buried. About this Boniface we read in the Ecclesiastical histories,
that he prevailed upon Phocas Caesar, the emperor of the Romans, to
present the Temple at Rome, which was previously called the Pantheon,
to the church of God; and, after banishing therefrom the abominations
of Devils, he dedicated it in honor of the blessed Mary, the Mother
of God and ever a virgin, and of all the Saints, appointing that
festival to be celebrated every year, at the beginning of the calends
of November.
In
the same year, in the month of March, on the third day of that month,
being the sixth day of the week, Hugh, bishop of Durham, departed
this life, at his vill of Hoveden, and was buried at Durham, in the
chapter house of the monks; but before his body had entered Durham,
Walter de Ferlington delivered to Hugh Bardolph the castle of Durham,
and hung up the keys of the castle over the shrine of Saint Cuthbert.
Rodolph
de Stavely inconsiderately rushing on for the purpose of seizing
them, fear suddenly came upon him, and, going hack, he hung up the
keys over the shrine where they previously were; but before leaving
the church, by the judgment of God he was scourged with a severe
attack of illness, and died in a few days after. The said keys,
however, were afterwards delivered by the hands of the prior and of
the monks to Hugh Bardolph, who made oath that he would faithfully
keep them to the honor of Saint Cuthbert and the king. After this,
Hugh de Ferlington delivered to Hugh Bardolph the castle of Norham,
by command of the king’s justiciary.
In
the meantime, at the instance of the canons of York, pope Celestinus
wrote to the following effect to Roger de Leicester and Winemer de
Northampton, archdeacons of the church of Lincoln:—
The
Letter of pope Celestinus against Geoffrey, archbishop of York
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his dearly beloved
sons, Haimo, dean of Lincoln, Roger de Leicester, and Winemer de
Northampton, archdeacons appointed in the diocese of Lincoln, health
and the Apostolic benediction. Our most dearly beloved sons, Simon,
the dean, and the chapter of the church of Saint Peter at York, have
informed us that, after appeal made to us, the clerks of the chapel
of our venerable brother, the archbishop of the said church, and some
other persons, have been intruded into the cathedral church of the
said city, to the great prejudice of the canons, the vicars and
clerks of the said church being excluded therefrom, for the purpose
of ministering therein, and, contrary to the ancient and approved
custom, usurping the places and stalls of the clergy in the choir and
chapter, have presumed to contravene the regulations of the church.
Wherefore, wishing, as is right and proper, to put an end to
presumptuous acts of this nature, we do by our precept, by means of
these our Apostolical writings command, that, if what we have before
stated is true, you will compel these presumptuous persons, by force
of ecclesiastical censure, all power of appeal being taken away, in
your presence to make due satisfaction for these matters to the
church of Saint Peter, and the canons thereof. You are also to cause
reparation to be made for the losses which shall appear to have been
inflicted by the same clerks upon the aforesaid chapter in
such manner as shall be just. And if you shall not be able all of you
to take part in the performance hereof, then two of you are to carry
out the same. Given at Saint Peter’s, at Rome, on the second
day before the calends of June, in the fourth year of our
pontificate.”
Accordingly,
on the authority of these letters, the said dean of Lincoln and his
colleagues appointed for the parties a time and place, first at
Torkesey, and next at Avechester, where, in their presence, they
proved the losses of the priors and canons of the church of York,
which they had sustained by the archbishop of York and his intruders,
to be of the value of one thousand marks of silver.
In
the same year, Richard, king of England, forgave his brother, John,
all the wrath and displeasure he felt towards him, and restored to
him the earldom of Mortaigne, the honor of Eye, and the earldom of
Gloucester, and all the appurtenances thereto belonging, with the
exception of the castles : and, instead of all his other earldoms and
lands, the king gave him eight thousand pounds of money Anjouin per
annum.
In
the same year, the Supper of our Lord approaching, on John, bishop of
Whitherne, the suffragan and deputy of Geoffrey, archbishop of York,
coming near to York, that he might there, according to usual custom,
consecrate the chrism and the oil at the Supper of our Lord, the dean
and clergy of the church of York refused to receive him.
Consequently, he went to Sewell, and there consecrated the chrism and
oil at the Supper of our Lord, and delivered them to the officials of
the archbishop to distribute to the churches in the archbishopric. It
is even said that Geoffrey de Musehamp, archdeacon of Cleveland,
received the chrism and oil, and immediately threw them upon a
dunghill. However, the other canons of the church of Saint Peter
declined to receive any part thereof, but sent to Hugh, bishop of
Lincoln, to obtain the oil and chrism of him ; they were deceived,
however, in their expectations: for Peter, archdeacon of Lincoln,
brother of archbishop Geoffrey, forbade the bishop to give them the
oil and chrism, and appealed on the matter to the Roman Pontiff.
In
the same year, [1195] the king forgave his wrath and displeasure
against Hugh, bishop of Coventry, and restored to him the bishopric,
for five thousand marks of silver, which he paid to him; but Robert,
the brother of the said bishop, died in the custody of our lord the
king, at Dover.
In
like manner, our lord the king forgave his brother Geoffrey,
archbishop of York, his wrath and displeasure, and received him with
the kiss of peace; in consequence of which, the said archbishop being
beyond measure elated, so exasperated the king by his insolent
speeches, that he ordered him to be deprived of his archbishopric and
the shrievalty of York. Would that the archbishop had read the
warning of the philosopher, who says : “Stir not the fire with
the sword.” The Lord, also, inculcating humility in us, says,
by the mouth of His Apostle, “Servants, be obedient to your
masters in the Lord.” I say not only to the wise and modest,
but also to the morose: Be ye subject to the king as pre-eminent, and
to his ministers sent by him for the punishment of the wicked and the
praise of the good. Behold the ships! large though they be, and are
threatened by mighty winds, by a small helm are they turned round,
wherever the intention of him who steers shall guide them: so, too,
though the tongue is a small member, it leads to great results.
Behold! the fire, however small, how great the wood it can burn ! The
tongue is truly a fire, and from the tongue all iniquity is carried
into effect, which pollutes and inflames the whole body; and no one
is able to control the tongue, but he who is wise and circumspect.
Therefore, let us circumcise our hearts ; for, from the uncircumcised
heart proceed fornications, adulteries, murders, thefts,
false-witness, blasphemies, contentions, and strifes, and the like to
these, which are the things that defile a man ; and on the contrary
to this, out of the clean and circumcised heart proceed charity,
cheerfulness, peace, patience, longsuffering, kindness, benignity,
meekness, fidelity, modesty, continence, chastity, and other things
like unto these, which are the fruits of the soul, and lead it unto
God its Creator, for ‘ out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaketh,’ whether it be good or whether bad."
In
the same year, there came a hermit to king Richard, and, preaching
the words of eternal salvation to him, said: “Be thou mindful
of the destruction of Sodom, and abstain from what is unlawful; for
if thou dost not, a vengeance worthy of God shall overtake thee.”
The king, however, intent upon the things of this world, and not
those which are of God, was not able so readily to withdraw his mind
from what was unlawful, unless the revelation should come to him from
above, or he should behold a sign. For he despised the person of his
adviser, not understanding that sometimes the Lord reveals to babes
the things that are hidden from the wise; for the lepers announced
good tidings to Samaria, and the ass of Balaam recalled its master
from the unlawful way. Wherefore, the hermit, leaving the king, went
his way, and hid himself from before his face. In process of time,
however, although the before-named king despised the admonition of
the poor hermit, still, by the inspiration of the Divine grace, he
retained some part of his warning in his memory, having faith in the
Lord that He who recalled the publicans and the Canaanitish woman to
repentance, in His great mercy would give to him a penitent heart.
Hence
it was, that on the Lord’s day in Easter week, the Lord visited
him with a rod of iron, not that he might bruise him, but that he
might receive the scourging to his advantage. For on that day, the
Lord scourged him with a severe attack of illness, so that, calling
before him religious men, he was not ashamed to confess the
guiltiness of his life, and, after receiving absolution, took back
his wife, whom for a long time he had not known: and, putting away
all illicit intercourse, he remained constant to his wife, and they
two became one flesh, and the Lord gave him health both of body and
of soul. Oh ! happy the son, whom. in this pilgrimage, the father’s
severity chastens for his correction, and not for his destruction !
For the father corrects his son sometimes in kind words, and
sometimes in harsh, that, by the one means or the other, he may
recall him to do what is right. And thus, in the furnace of justice
does the Lord try His gold; there does He in adversity prove His holy
one, that He may promote him to a crown. Truly, great and
inexpressible are the works of the Lord, and His mercies are over all
His works. For this king, over whose head his iniquities had passed
away, was adopted by Christ as His son, and turning from his
wickedness unto the Lord, was received by Him as a son.
For
God, in whose hands are the hearts of kings, and who turneth them
whichever way He thinketh fit, instilled it into the heart of the
king, that he should so quickly change his life and conversation for
the better: for, rising early every day, he first sought the kingdom
of God and its justice, and did not al l
depart from the church until, after the usage of the Church, the
whole of the Divine service had been performed. A glorious thing
indeed is it for a prince to begin his daily actions, and to finish
them in Him who is the beginning without beginning, and who judges
the limits of the earth.
The
said king, mindful also of those words which say, “Blessed is
he that considereth the poor and needy; the Lord will deliver him in
time of trouble,” ordered each day, many poor to be fed, both
in his court, as also in cities and in his vills, whom he daily
increased, according as there was need. For there was a great famine
in this land, and the poor resorted to him that they might be fed. By
the example of such, is faith confirmed, hope upraised, charity
nourished, humility protected, devotion increased, and a desire to do
good excited. The said king also caused many chalices of gold and
silver to be made, which he distributed among the churches, from
which their chalices had been taken for the purpose of paying his
ransom. “Woe unto that man through whom the offence cometh; ”
for it ought not to be imputed to the king that through him those
chalices had been given for his ransom, but rather it ought to be
laid to the charge of those who gave such counsel to him, inasmuch,
as “Evil communications corrupt good manners,” and we
read in the Gospel, “Wherefore he hath the greater sin who hath
delivered me up unto thee.”
In
the same year, pope Celestinus, at the prayer of Richard, king of
England, appointed Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, legate of the
whole of England; on which occasion, the said pope wrote to him to
the following effect:
The
Letter of pope Celestinus on the legateship of Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury.
“Celestinus,
the pope and bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable
brother, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, legate of the Apostolic
See, health and the Apostolic benediction. That sincerity in its
duteousness and in its established faith, which the church of England
has always maintained towards the holy Church of Rome, has, as we
fully trust, flourished once again under your energy and prudence,
and has received an acceptable increase of tranquil fervour For such
an opinion of your brotherhood has gone forth to the Church of Rome,
that by the odour of your good works we are refreshed, and are
strengthened by the vigour of the constancy which you manifest; so
much so, that we may now more openly by our deeds disclose the
confidence we have placed in your probity. Wherefore, at the entreaty
of our most dearly beloved son in Christ, Richard, the illustrious
king of the English, and all the suffragans of the church of
Canterbury, that the church of England might have a legate from the
Apostolic See, for its ‘ own advantage, as also that of the
kingdom; as also, in consideration of the feelings of devotion which
we entertain towards the church of Canterbury for the merits of its
glorious martyr, and out of respect for your virtues and honesty, we
have given our assent and favour to their prayers; and this in
especial, because we believe that it will greatly conduce to the
advantage of the Church and of the kingdom if she receives such a
person, acting in the above-named kingly office, as the urgent
prayers of the said king and of others pronounce you to be, in
commendation of the meritoriousness of your life, and of your
devotion to the faith. Therefore we do for the honor of God, for the
safety of the church of Canterbury, and for the peace of the whole
kingdom of England, all exceptions or privileges granted to our
venerable brother, Geoffrey, archbishop of York, or to his church, or
any other, notwithstanding, grant unto you the office of legate,
enjoining you by these Apostolic writings, to receive the same with
the humility of fraternal obedience, and, in accordance with the
powers granted you by heaven, for the purpose of amending the things
that require amendment, and of enacting what requires to be enacted,
to apply the hand of diligence to the exercise of the authority of
the legateship: so observing in all things, with ready dutifulness,
the respect due to your mother, the Roman Church, that, through the
profitableness of the ministry, which with joy she entrusts to you,
you may, by your acts, render her even more joyful. Given at the
Lateran, on the fifteenth day before the calends of April, in the
fourth year of our pontificate.”
The
said pope Celestinus wrote also to the following effect to Geoffrey,
archbishop of York, and all the bishops, abbats, priors, and others,
appointed prelates of churches throughout the kingdom of England:—
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brethren
in Christ, the archbishop of York, and all bishops, abbats, priors,
and others, appointed prelates of
churches throughout the kingdom of England, health and the Apostolic
benediction. The inscrutable depths of the Divine wisdom have
established the Holy Church throughout the breadth of this world, and
have, in its inimitable foresight, so willed its rule and governance
to be carried out, that, for the purpose of its healthful governance,
many should be associated in the care thereof, although, for the
purpose of establishing ecclesiastical unity, the Roman Church has
received the fullness of power therein. For it has willed that, in
accordance with what is said by the Prophet in reference to the
Church, some should be born unto the fathers, who, being appointed
princes over the earth, might by the merits of their virtues, and by
the words of doctrine, train those ignorant of the faith, when more
advanced, to righteousness. Wherefore, the holy Church of Rome, to
which Church the Lord has given rule over the others, has, in her
motherly care, had regard for the others from the beginning, and has
with a laudable practice, hitherto used all watchfulness, that she
might from different parts of the world appoint prudent men to
undertake the ministry of them, whose authority and doctrine, under
the control of the Roman Pontiff, may minister to churches far
distant those things which he himself is not able. Accordingly, we,
who, insufficient as our merits may be, have been raised to the lofty
elevation thereof, following in the footsteps of our forefathers, so
endeavour with the help of God to perform the duties enjoined on us
in reference to the neighbouring churches, that a due and proper
foresight may not be withdrawn from those, from ‘which, by
distance, we are far separated. Wherefore in especial, looking with
the eye of our fatherly regard at the present state of the English
Church, for its safety and for its especial advantage in Christ, we
have, by the common advice of our brethren, decreed that our
venerable brother, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, in whose merits
and virtue, wisdom and learning, the whole church rejoices, taking
upon himself the duties of the legateship, shall, at will, perform
our functions to the honor of the Church, and the safety and peace of
the entire realm, throughout the whole kingdom of England, all
exceptions or privileges granted to you or to your church, or to any
other brother archbishop, notwithstanding. Therefore, by our
authority, we do command the whole of you, through these Apostolic
writings, to show to him all due reverence and honor as legate of the
Apostolic See, and humbly to receive his
healthful warnings and commands, and to obey the same, steadfastly
observing the things that, by the authority of the legateship, which
by the will of the Lord he holds, he shall think fit and proper to
ordain. Given at the Lateran, on the fifteenth day before the calends
of April, in the fourth year of our pontificate.”
Accordingly,
upon the authority of these letters, the said archbishop of
Canterbury, legate of the Apostolic See, sent to York Master Peter,
the prior of Bineham, in Norfolk, and Master Gervaise, with the
letters of our lord the pope, and letters from himself to the canons
of York, and to the officers of the archbishop of York, sending word
to them, that he should shortly come thither on the authority of his
legateship, for the purpose of amending the things that required to
be amended, and of enacting the things that, with the sanction of the
Lord, required to be enacted; and he commanded them, convoking the
clergy, to show to him, as the legate of the Apostolic See, due honor
and obedience, adding, that he had already pronounced sentence of
excommunication upon all those who in this respect should contravene
the mandates of our lord the pope. He also sent, relative thereto,
his letters patent to Simon, the dean of York, instructing him, if he
should find any rebellious against the said mandate of our lord the
pope, to denounce them as excommunicated. Accordingly, both the
canons, as also the officers of the archbishop of York, answered the
messengers of the legate, that they would receive him in his
character of legate of the Apostolic See, but not as archbishop of
Canterbury, or primate.
The
legate arrived at York, on the feast of Saint Barnabas the Apostle,
being the Lord’s day, and was received by the clergy in solemn
procession ; and, being escorted to the church of the Cathedral See,
on the Monday following caused assizes to be held by his servants, of
all pleas of the crown of the king, and of novel disseisin and of
mort d’ancestor; while he himself and his officers held pleas
of spiritual matters. On the following day, being the third day of
the week, the legate proceeded to the abbey of Saint Mary of York,
and was there received in solemn procession by the monks of the said
church. He then entered the chapter-house of the monks, and on the
monks making complaint to him that Robert their abbot could not, by
reason of sickness, and his bad state of health, discharge his duties
to the house, he removed him from his pastoral charge, and from the
government of the house, protesting against the same, and appealing
thereon to the Supreme Pontiff.
On
the two following days, namely, the fourth and fifth days of the
week, there being assembled in the church of Saint Peter at York,
Simon, the dean of that church, Hamo, the praecentor, William
Testard, and Geoffrey de Muschamp, the archdeacons of Nottingham and
Cleveland, John the chancellor, and Robert, the prior of Beverley,
together with some of the canons of the said church, and nearly all
the abbats, priors, officers, deans, and parsons of the churches of
the diocese of York, the legate sat installed in an elevated place,
and held a full synod; in which he enacted that the following
statutes should be observed.
The
Decrees of the Synod of York
“Whereas,
among the other Sacraments of the Church, the host of salvation is
pre-eminent in importance, therefore ought the devoutness of the
priesthood to pay the more earnest attention thereto, that the same
may be made with humility, be received with fear, and be dispensed
with reverence; and the minister at the altar ought to be certain
that the bread and wine, and water, are placed ready for the
sacrifice, nor should it be celebrated without a literate minister
officiating thereat. Care is also to be taken, that the host is kept
in a clean and fair pyx, and is received on each Lord’s day."
“As
often as a communion is to be celebrated for the sick, the priest in
his own person, in a clerical dress befitting a Sacrament so
important, is to carry the host, a light going before him, unless the
inclemency of the weather, or the difficulty of the way, or some
other reason shall prevent it; because the mystery of the mass is
frequently found to be corrupted, either by errors in the writing, or
through the age of the books, so as not to be able to be distinctly
read.
“The
attention of the archdeacon is also to provide that in each church
the canon of the mass is compared with all diligence, with a true and
approved copy thereof.
"We
do also forbid any priest through cupidity to enjoin any layman when
he comes to receive absolution, to have masses performed; and we have
thought proper to forbid that any priest shall make a bargain for the
celebration of mass at a stated price, but he is to receive that
alone which is offered at the mass.
“We
do also enact, that in baptism not more than three sponsors shall
receive a child from the holy font, two males and one female a male
child, and two females and one male a female child.
“Also,
where a child, the fact of whose previous baptism is unknown, is
found exposed, whether with salt or whether without salt, *
it is to be baptized, since ‘that is not known to be repeated
which is not known to have been already done.’
*
By the decrees of the church, salt was ordered to be placed about the
persons of children exposed, signifying that they had not been
baptized. Judging from the present enactment, it seems to have been
considered that no confidence could be put in the observance of this
order; and, indeed, it was not likely that those who exposed their
children, would be very particular about their welfare in another
existence.
“We
do also decree, that, unless under the pressure of great and urgent
necessity, no deacon shall baptize, or shall dispense the body of
Christ to any person, or shall impose penance on one making
confession; as, according to the tenor of the canons of our
forefathers, antiquity determines to have these things of right to
belong to the order of the priesthood.
“According
to the tenor of the same institutions, we do also enact, that as
often as a priest is called upon to baptize a child, or to
communicate with a sick person, he shall not presume to be guilty of
delay.
“Whereas,
in the house of prayer, which is called ‘ The house of God,’
there ought to be nothing unbecoming, nothing left unprepared, we do
order that the parsons and vicars of churches shall make it their
object to provide, in proportion to their incomes received, according
as reason demands, and approved custom requires, in order that those
churches which stand in need of repair may be repaired.
“Also,
Divine service is to be performed with the furniture suitable to that
service.
“Also,
the sacrament of the Eucharist is to be celebrated with a silver
chalice, where there are means for so doing; and as the time for
carrying out this ordinance, we do appoint one year from the
beginning of our legateship; and if, in the meantime, this ordinance
shall not have been carried into execution, we do decree that before
the expiration of that time our order shall, out of the revenue of
the churches, be carried into effect.
“We
do also enact, that clerks who have received the tonsure from the
bishops, shall retain that tonsure and shorn head; and if they shall
neglect to retain the same, then they are to be
compelled so to do by deprivation of their benefices, if they have
any; and as for those who have not any benefices, let them, whether
they will or no, be shorn by the archdeacon or by the deans.
“We
do also command that priests shall not go in hoods with long sleeves,
but rather in vestments suited to their order; that in the same
degree in which they excel others in dignity of station, they may
more fully set the pattern and example of propriety.
“Inasmuch
as the Scripture testifies that he is blessed ‘who shaketh his
hands from holding of bribes,’ attention must be paid with
earnest zeal that justice is done without reward, and no one is to
presume to receive any reward whatever for doing the same in causes
ecclesiastical, or for withholding it, or for accelerating it, or for
deferring it, that so at the fitting time the just Judge may give him
the reward of justice.
“Inasmuch
as tithes are the tribute of souls that stand in need, and are bound
to be given in obedience to the command of God, it is not for him
that pays them to diminish the same. We do therefore enact, that of
those which are yearly renewed, the due and customary tithes shall be
paid entirely and in full; so that in the first place tithes are to
be given without any diminution to the Church, and after that, out of
the remaining nine parts, the wages of the reapers and of the other
servants are to be paid at discretion.
“The
profession of religious sanctity demands that monks and canons
regular and nuns should be kept religiously and in obedience to
rules. To the end, therefore, that all opportunity of going astray
may be taken away from them, we do forbid that they shall hold those
revenues to farm which go under the name of obediences, *
or shall go upon distant pilgrimages, or beyond the monasteries,
without a certain and reasonable cause, and they are not to go
without the society of other persons whose character is assured and
beyond all doubt. Also, as to nuns, we do especially add, that they
are not, without the society of the abbess or prioress, to go beyond
the precincts of the monastery.
*
“Obedientiæ” was the name given to cells, farms,
and granges that paid certain rentals to abbeys, and were often
presided over by monks delegated for that purpose from the abbey.
“We
do also, in addition, forbid any layman to take any church or tithes
to farm, whether solely, or whether in partnership with a clerk.
“That
the dishonesty of calumniators, and the wickedness of rash swearers
may be checked, through fear of the Divine judgment, we do order
that, for the future, every priest, three times in the year, with
candles lighted and hells ringing, shall solemnly excommunicate those
who, in recognizances and other matters of testimony, shall have
knowingly and wilfully been guilty of perjury, and those who shall
wickedly cause others to he guilty of perjury, and shall on every
Lord’s day denounce them as excommunicated; to the end that the
frequent repetition of the malediction may withdraw those from their
iniquity, whom the accusation of their own conscience does not deter
therefrom. But if they repent of their perjury, let them he sent
before the archbishop or bishop, or, in the absence of the archbishop
or bishop, general confessor of the diocese, for the purpose of
receiving absolution from him. But in cases where persons are in the
last extremity, penance is to be suggested, and not to be enforced;
and they are to be strictly enjoined, if they shall survive, to go
before the archbishop or bishop, or, in the absence of the archbishop
or bishop, the general confessor of the diocese, to the end that due
penance may be imposed on them.
“Because
it is the word of the Lord,’ If any priest shall sin, he will
make my people to sin,’ 29
and ‘ A wicked priest is the ruin of the people,’ the
excellence of so high an order requires that priests should abstain
from public drinkings, and from taverns, and that those who are bound
by a vow of chastity, should by no means give way to acts of
uncleanness. We do, therefore, forbid them to have harlots in their
houses, or, when expelled therefrom, in fraud of our enactments, to
have access to them in the houses of others. But if they shall
persist in their uncleanness, and the superiors, concealing it, shall
not bring the same to the notice of their prelates, they shall be
suspended from their duties; but those who, inflamed by zeal for God,
have told the prelates of their excesses, shall obtain the favour of
the Divine blessing.
“Also,
the punishment of those who publicly keep harlots, shall be as
follows: as being infamous, they shall be disabled from making
accusation against others, and from bearing
witness : but if, not even through a fear of this punishment they
shall come to a sense of their duty, then let them know that they
shall be suspended from their offices and benefices.
“A
person who is suspected of a crime by common report, or by probable
tokens, is to be admonished in a friendly manner by the superior of
the place, a first, second, and third time, to amend his life; and if
he shall not do so, then the superior, taking with him two or three
others, to whom the common report in his disfavour is known, shall
rebuke him for the same; and if even then he shall not seem to be
changed for the better, let it be told unto the Church, that is to
say, let him be accused in the chapter, in order that, being
convicted, or having confessed, he may be canonically punished. But
if he cannot be convicted, then let him be called upon to make
canonical purgation of himself; so however, that the number of his
witnesses may not exceed twelve, within which number, more or less
may be received according to the condition of the person, and the
nature and extent of the infamy, according to the opinion of those
giving judgment. And forthwith, on the first day on which he, who is
under the stigma of infamy, shall be in a condition to exculpate
himself, let the purgation take place, that, through fear of vexation
arising from delay, money may not be extorted. This and the above
enactments we have made, saving in all things the authority and
dignity of the Holy See.”
At
this synod, also, Master Peter De Dinant demanded full restitution to
be made to him of the archdeaconry of the West Riding, which
Geoffrey, archbishop of York, had given him, instructing the chapter
of York, by his letters, to receive and install him; on which Simon,
the dean, and the chapter of York, made answer, that the archbishop
could not give that archdeaconry to any one, because he had delayed
to present to it beyond the time appointed by the statute of the
council of the Lateran, in which council pope Alexander the Third
enacted that when it shall happen that prebends, livings, or any
offices shall be vacant in any church, they shall not remain too long
in a state of suspense, but shall, within six months, be conferred on
persons who shall be able worthily to discharge the duties of the
same. And if the bishop, when the presentation shall belong to him,
shall delay to present, then be it performed by the chapter; and if
the election belongs to the chapter, and, within the time prescribed,
it shall not so do, then let the bishop, with the aid of the Lord,
and with the counsel of religious men, perform that duty: or in case
all shall happen to neglect so to do, let the metropolitan of the
bishops, with the aid of the Lord, dispose thereof, without any
gainsaying on their part.
Accordingly,
on the authority of this enactment, and under the protection of the
privilege granted to the church of York by the indulgence of pope
Celestinus the Third, the said dean and chapter of York asserted that
to them belonged the presentation of the aforesaid archdeaconry, and
of the other benefices vacant in the church of York, to which their
archbishop had not presented within the time fixed by the council of
Lateran. But the deputies of the archbishop of York, namely, Master
Gerard de Rowelle, and Master Honorius, made appeal against this
privilege, and renewed the appeal which their lord the archbishop had
made on his departure, in regard to the state of his church, before
the legate and the whole synod; and although in that privilege it was
stated to be one without appeal, the legate still deferred to the
appeal of the deputies of the archbishop of York.
In the same year, [1195] William, king of the Scots, fell ill at a vill
of his, the name of which is Clackmannan, and named Otho, son of
Henry, duke of Saxony, and nephew of Richard, king of England, his
heir to the kingdom of the Scots, upon condition that the said Otho
should marry his eldest daughter, and take her with the kingdom.
Although the king had a great many who consented to his wishes
herein, still earl Patrick and many others opposed them, saying, that
they would not receive the daughter as queen, because it was not
the custom in that realm that a woman should possess the kingdom, so
long as there was a nephew, or brother, of her race, who might,
according to law, possess the kingdom. However, shortly after, by the
mercy of God, the king of the Scots recovered from his illness,
abiding in the same determination that he had made, as to giving his
daughter in marriage to the said Otho, ... together with his kingdom.
In the same year, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, legate of the
Apostolic See, and justiciary of the whole of England, deposed
Robert, abbot of Tournay, he protesting against the same, and
appealing to the presence of our lord the pope; and he kept him in
prison and in irons for a year and a half, at Gloucester. In the same
year, the said archbishop, as justiciary of the whole of England,
sent throughout England a form of oath to be taken as follows:
“That all subjects of the kingdom of England, shall, to the best of their
power, keep the peace of their lord the king; that they shall not be
thieves or robbers, nor yet harbourers of them, nor shall in any way
abet them; and that whenever they shall be able to know of any
malefactors of that character, they shall, to the best of their
ability, endeavour to take them, and deliver them up to the sheriffs,
and they shall on no account be liberated but by our lord the king,
or his chief justice ; and if they shall not be able to arrest them,
they shall give notice of them, whoever they may be, to the bailiffs
of our lord the king. When a hue and cry is raised for the pursuit of
outlaws, robbers, thieves, or the harbourers of such, all shall join
in pursuit of them to the best of their ability ; and if they shall
see any one, and it shall be clear that he has not joined in the said
pursuit, or that he has, without permission, withdrawn himself
therefrom, they shall take such same persons, as though they were the
offenders, and deliver them. to the sheriffs, not to be set at
liberty, but by the king, or by his chief justice.
“Also,
the knights who are appointed for that purpose, shall make all
persons of their respective districts, of the age of fifteen years
and upwards, appear before them, and shall make them swear that they
will keep the peace of our lord the king, in manner above-mentioned,
and that they will not be outlaws, robbers, or thieves, nor yet
harbourers of them, nor will in any way abet them; and that they
will, in manner above stated, make full pursuit of them, and, if they
shall take any one in the commission of an offence, will deliver them
to the knights placed over them in their respective districts and for
that purpose appointed, who shall deliver him into the custody of the
sheriff; and in like manner, on a hue and cry being raised for the
purpose of pursuing the said offenders, if they shall see any person,
or it shall be known to them that any person does not join in the
pursuit, or if he shall, without leave, withdraw himself from the
pursuit, they shall take him as the offender, and deliver him to the
aforesaid knights, for the purpose of being delivered into the
custody of the sheriff, as though he were the offender himself; and
he shall not be liberated, except by the command of our lord the
king, or his chief justice."
Accordingly,
for the purpose of carrying out these orders, select and trustworthy
men were sent throughout all the
counties of England, who, upon the oaths of trusty men, arrested many
in their respective neighbourhoods, and put them in the king’s
prisons. Many, however, being forewarned thereof, and having bad
consciences, left their homes and possessions, and took to flight.
In
the same year, [1195] after the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist,
Henry, emperor of the Romans, sent to Richard, king of England, a
massive crown of gold, of great value, as a token of their mutual
affection; requesting him, by the fealty which he owed him, and as he
took an interest in his hostages, that they might not come to harm,
to make a hostile invasion of the territories of the king of France,
on which the emperor himself would give him ample succours for the
purpose of avenging the injuries done him by the king of France.
However, the king of England, fearing that in this message there
might be some treachery lying concealed, sent to the emperor,
William, bishop of Ely, his chancellor, for the purpose of enquiring
what kind of succours, and when and where the emperor would give him
aid against the king of France. For it was well known to the king of
England that the said emperor, above all things, desired that the
kingdom of France might become subject to the Roman empire; while’,
on the other hand, the king of England conjectured that if an
alliance were formed between the emperor and the king of France, the
whole would redound to his own detriment.
Accordingly,
the king of France, being aware that the chancellor of the king of
England would pass through his territory, attempted to take him; but
being deceived in his expectations, sent word to the king of England
that there was an end to the truce; immediately on which, the armies
of both, engaging, did the greatest damage on both sides in the
destruction of men, and in ravages and conflagrations. The king of
France, however, seeing that he could in nowise defend himself
against the king of England, destroyed many castles in Normandy,
which the king of England soon after rebuilt, and rendered still
stronger than they had been before.
However,
one day, before the destruction of the castle of Val Rodol, the said
kings came to hold a conference near that castle; but while they were
holding it, a great part of the walls of the castle fell, through the
operations of the miners of the king of France; seeing which, the
king of England left the conference, and made an attack upon the army
of the king of France ; on which the king of France and his men took
to flight, and while he was crossing a bridge, the bridge fell down,
and he himself with his people was almost drowned in the river Seine.
However, at last, with great difficulty reaching the opposite side,
he pitched his camp there on the banks of the river; on which, the
king of England returned to the castle of Rodol, and took many of the
household of the king of France, and then levying a large army from
all his territories on both sides of the sea, entered the territories
of the king of France ,in many places, and made a great slaughter of
those who resisted, reaped the standing corn though not yet ripe,
rooted up the vines and fruit-bearing trees, and burned the towns.
In
the same year, on the occasion of the dissensions that existed
between Philip, king of France, and Richard, king of England, Boyac
El Emir Amimoli, emperor of Africa, with a large army, entered the
territories of the Christians of Spain, and defeated them, and took
their cities, castles, and fortresses, and destroyed them; he also
defeated Alphonso, king of Castille, in a pitched battle, and after
he had driven him from the field, besieged him in his city of Toledo;
but being able to effect nothing there, withdrew with his army.
When
the king of France and the king of England came to hear of this, they
met to hold a conference upon making peace between themselves, and
came to an agreement to the following effect: Louis, son and heir to
the king of France, was to many the sister of Arthur, duke of
Brittany, the niece of the said king of England ; and the said king
of England was to quitclaim to them and to their heirs Gisors, and
None, and Baudemont, with the Norman Vexin, Vernon, Ivery, and Pascy,
and was also to give them twenty thousand marks of silver, while, on
the other hand, the king of France was to quitclaim to the king of
England all that he demanded of him in the county of Angouleme, and
was to restore to him the county of Aumarle, the county of Auch, the
castle of Arches, and many other castles which he had taken from him
in Normandy and other of his territories in the war.
All
these arrangements, however, were delayed until the octave of All
Saints, in consequence of the prohibition of the emperor of the
Bx1mans, who forbade the king of England to make peace with the king
of France, unless with his advice and consent. Moreover, at the same
conference, the king of
England restored to the king of France his sister Alice, whom he
shortly after gave in marriage to John, count de Pontif.
In
the meantime, the pagans, laying waste the territories of Sancho,
king of Portugal, came to the abbey of Alcobaca, and slew the monks
of the Cistercian order, who were there serving God, and those who
offered resistance to them. Next going thence, they came to another
house of the same order; on which the monks, coming forth to meet
them, fell at the feet of the pagans, asking for life and mercy ; and
the pagans, taking compassion on them, granted them their lives; and,
hearing of their life and conversation, praised them, saying that
they would wish to be saved with that order, if they only had women;
for it must be known that the especial religion of the pagans is
sensuality.
In
the same year, [1195] Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, gave to Richard, king
of England, one thousand marks of silver, for the purchase of the
freedom of the church of Lincoln; for the king, according to the
custom of his English predecessors, demanded yearly of the bishop of
Lincoln, one mantle furred with sable, and, for the release of all
claims for ever on the part of the said king and his heirs of the
said mantle, the said bishop of Lincoln gave to the before-named king
the said sum of money, and received from the king his charter
quitclaiming the same.
In
the meantime, William, bishop of Ely, and the other envoys of the
king of England who had been sent to the emperor, returned, stating
that that form of peace which had been agreed to between him and the
king of France did not please the emperor, because it seemed
disgraceful to the emperor that the king of England should quitclaim
anything that was not in his power; and for the purpose of recovering
what the king of England had lost in consequence of his captivity,
the emperor forgave him the sum of seventeen thousand marks of silver
for his ransom. Accordingly, the time for the conference approaching,
which the king of England and the king of France had agreed on, to be
held between them near Verneuil on the octave of All Saints, the king
of England made haste, the hour for the conference being at hand, to
have this interview with the king of France : however, William,
archbishop of Rheims, came to meet him, and told him, on behalf of
the king of France, that there was no necessity for him to be in such
haste, because the king of France was still in consultation with his
people. Accordingly, the king of England believed him, and returned
to the place from which he had set out; and, having waited until the
ninth hour, he declined to wait there any longer, but approached, in
order that he might hold the conference with the king of France. On
this, Philip, bishop of Beauvais, said to him, in presence of the
king of France, "My master the king of France charges you with
breach of faith and perjury ; because you swore and gave your word
that you would come to-day at the third hour, and did not come,
therefore he defies you;” accordingly, the conference was
broken up, and each king returned into his own territory.
The
third day after this, the people of the king of France made fierce
ravages in Normandy, and in the other territories of the king of
England, attended with great tumult; and coming to the town of
Dieppe, which the king of England had built shortly before, they
burned it, and the ships in the harbour, to ashes by discharging
Greek fire against it. After this, Philip, king of France, after many
and various casualties of war, came with his army to Issodon, and
took the castle. On this being told to the king of England, who at
this time was staying in Normandy, at Val Rodol, laying aside all
other matters, he made three days’ march into one, and came to
Issodon, and entered Ids castle which the king of France had been
besieging; upon which a numerous multitude of troops flocked to him
from every side.
The
king of France, being greatly terrified at his arrival, asked
permission to depart thence with his army without molestation, which
being refused him, he requested to have an interview with the king of
England, and the same accordingly took place. At this interview,
through the mediation of the archbishops, bishops, and many of the
men of either party, an oath was taken by both sides, to the effect
that, from that day, that is to say, from the Saturday next after the
feast of Saint Nicholas, they would agree to peace and reconciliation
between themselves, and their subjects, and territories, until the
feast of Saint Hilary next ensuing; at which time, they would meet at
Louviers, for the purpose, in a larger assemblage of their subjects,
of making peace and a final reconciliation between them. And as the
Nativity of our Lord was close at hand, and the said kings had not in
those parts means enough to suffice for the expenses of royalty,
during such a high festival, they returned into their respective
territories. .The king of England proceeded thence to Poitou, where
he was at the feast of the
Nativity of our Lord, which fell on the second day of the week.
In
the meantime, Alphonso, king of Castille, levying an army, and having
faith alone in the mercy and goodness of God, fought a battle with
the army of the Pagans, and defeated them, and slew the greater part
of them with the sword, and drove the rest from his territories.
In
the same year, [1195] the canons of the church of York often and
repeatedly pressed Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, to pronounce sentence of
interdict and suspension upon Geoffrey, archbishop of York. For it
was known that the said archbishop had not made his appearance in the
presence of our lord the pope, at the time appointed for him so to
do. The bishop of Lincoln, however, made answer to them that he would
rather be suspended himself than suspend the archbishop; on hearing
which, the before-named canons sent messengers to Rome, to pope
Celestinus, complaining that the bishop of Lincoln, and his other
judges delegate, had not proceeded according to the tenor of the
Apostolic mandate.
In
the same year, Henry, bishop of Worcester, departed this life, and
was succeeded in the bishopric by John de Coutances, dean of the
church of Rouen. In this year, also, died William de Fortz, earl of
Aumarle, and was succeeded in the earldom by Baldwin de Bethune, at
the presentation of Richard, king of England ; who also married the
countess of Aumarle. In this year, also, died Isaac, the former
emperor of the island of Cyprus, whom Richard, king of England, had
taken.
In
the same year, also, died Guido, the former king of Jerusalem, to
whom Richard, king of England, had sold the island of Cyprus; after
whose decease, his brother Aymer became ruler of Cyprus.
In
the same year, Philip, king of France, took to wife the daughter of
the duke of Genest, in Germany ; on which, Canute, king of the Danes,
brother of the before-mentioned Botilda, queen of the Franks, made
complaint to pope Celestinus, of the injury which the said king of
France had done to his sister, in having divorced her without a cause
being known for his so doing. He also made complaint against William,
archbishop of Rheims, who, without the Apostolic authority, sitting
in judgment, had effected the divorce between the said king of France
and Botilda his wife, without enquiry into the cause. He also made
complaint against Stephen de Noyon, Philip,
bishop of Beauvais, Reginald, bishop of Chartres, Guido, bishop of
Orleans, and Rotrod, bishop of Chalons; and against Robert, count de
Drues, Louis, count de Blois, Theobald, count de Champagne, and
Stephen, count de Nevers; also, against the barons, Simon de
Castelane de 1’Isle, Peter de Mainil, and Walter, chamberlain
of the king of France, who had made oath before the archbishop of
Rheims, that the said Botilda, and the daughter of the earl of
Hainault, who had been the wife of the said king of France, were so
closely related in consanguinity, that the said king of France ought
on no account to, nor indeed could, take the said Botilda to wife.
But, although the said king of the Danes was ready to prove that they
had borne false testimony against her, and that the said divorce was
null and void, and ought not to hold good, still, on account of his
good understanding with the king of France, pope Celestinus declined*
to listen to him relative thereto.
* Roger of Wendover, however, says that the pope pronounced the
divorce to be null and void, and gives a copy of this Apostolic letter to
that effect.
1196 A.D.
In the year of grace 1196, being the seventh year of the reign of
Richard, king of England, the said king was at Poitou, on the day of
the Nativity of our Lord, which fell on the second day of the week;
and on the same day, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, justiciary of
all England, and legate of the Apostolic See, was at York, being
sent, on the king’s behalf, to hold a conference with William,
king of the Scots, on the subject of contracting a marriage between
Otho, son of Henry, duke of Saxony, and nephew of Richard, king of
England, and his daughter Margaret. For there had been an agreement
made between Richard, king of England, and William, king of Scotland,
that the said king of Scotland should give to the before-named Otho
his daughter Margaret in marriage, with the whole of Lothian; and
that the king of England should give to Otho, and the daughter of the
king of Scotland, and their heirs, the whole of Northumberland, and
the county of Carlisle ; and that the king of England should have in
his charge the whole of Lothian, with its castles; and the king of
Scotland should have in his charge the whole of Northumberland, and
the county of Carlisle, with its castles. But, because the queen of
Scots was at that time in a state of pregnancy, the king of Scotland
was unwilling to abide by the said agreement, hoping that the Lord
would give him a son.
In
the same year, on the fifth day of the Nativity of our Lord, Bertram,
prior of the church of Durham, met Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury,
at Alverton; and there, in his presence, elected Master Philip, a
clerk, and one of the household of the king of England, bishop of
Durham.
In
the same year, pope Celestinus, at the urgent request of the envoys
of the dean and canons of York, wrote to the following effect to
Simon, dean of the church of York.
The
Letter of pope Celestinus to Simon, dean of York, on the
administration of that diocese.
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his dearly beloved
son, Simon, dean of York, health and the Apostolic benediction.
Whereas, insufficient as we are, the government of the universal
Church has been, by the favour of the Divine grace, entrusted to
ourselves, and we are bound in everything to take due precautions
against casualties, and to provide for the interests of the same, so
are we bound with the greatest care to use all precaution that
churches may not incur any injury in things temporal or spiritual, in
those matters on which it is our object to consult their honor and
convenience. And whereas, on considering the merits of persons, and
diligently examining into the same, a person may, according to the
merits of his actions, be found deserving to he suspended by us from
the exercise of his dignity, and to be removed for a time from the
prelacy of churches, to the end that matter may not be furnished to
private persons, placed under his pastoral care, for speaking ill of
him, and that all occasions for litigation may be removed ; we are
still bound in such case to provide them with a person who shall know
how to decide the disputes of those engaged in litigation, and to
correct the excesses of those subject to him, and, so far as the
duties of his office will allow, to love and cherish them with all
affection. Wherefore, inasmuch as, his deeds so requiring and his
contumacy demanding it, for abusing our patience, and not ceasing
from his iniquities, nor yet presenting himself before us within the
term, mercifully, by our indulgence, granted him, the archbishop of
York has been, by our authority, suspended both from the use of the
pall, from the discharge of Episcopal duties, and from all
ministration, in things spiritual as well as temporal, and from the
receipt of all profits thereof; we have thought proper, on the
authority of these presents, to show our indulgence to your
discreetness, that thereby, with the sanction of the canons residing
in the church of York, you maybe enabled to correct the excesses of
the clergy of the diocese of York, and canonically to settle the
disputes of clergy, as well as laity, in the diocese of York, engaged
in litigation, which require to be terminated by ecclesiastical
judgment; that so, all power of appeal taken away, you may be able to
smite him. with canonical rigour who shall think fit herein
contumaciously to oppose you, until such time as, in our solicitude,
it shall have been otherwise provided for the Church. Therefore, be
it lawful for no man to infringe upon this page of our conclusion so
made, or, with rash presumption, to contravene the same : but if any
person shall dare attempt so to do, let him know that he will incur
the indignation of Almighty God, and of Saint Peter and Saint Paul,
the Apostles. Given at the Lateran, on the tenth day before the
calends of January, in the fifth year of our pontificate.”
Another
Letter of pope Celestinus relative to the same matter
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his dearly beloved
sons, all the abbats, priors, archdeacons, deans, and other clergy,
and to the earls, barons, and other persons in the province of York
appointed, health, and the Apostolic benediction. How mercifully the
Roman Church has dealt with the deeds of the archbishop of York, is
easily to be seen, if you, with due care, consider the tenor of our
letters which both parties have at different times obtained from the
Apostolic See. For when, our dearly beloved sons, the dean and
chapter of York, and not a few of the abbats, priors, and other
prelates of the church in the kingdom of England established,
informing us thereon, it had come to the hearing of our Apostolate
that the said archbishop, neglecting the duties of his Apostolic
office, was involved in secular affairs, and not in his sacred
duties, not in ordaining the clergy, not in dedicating churches, not
in holding synods, not in pronouncing benedictions on abbats, but, on
the contrary, was giving the whole of his attention to hunting and
hawking, and was engaged in other things which were derogatory in no
slight degree to the pontifical office entrusted to him and to his
honor, we did not immediately form a judgment against him, but
thought proper to entrust the enquiry into these reports to our
venerable brother the bishop of Lincoln, and our dearly beloved sons
the archdeacon of Northampton and the prior of Pontefract, calling
upon the said archbishop, under penalty of suspension, if those
things which had been signified unto us should be established, or, if
the same should not be lawfully proved, then through canonical
purgation, which we had caused to be prescribed to him with three
bishops and as many abbats, to withhold him from such excesses, and
thereby to recall him to the path of truth. But, inasmuch as the said
archbishop, before the citation of the said judges had reached him,
had made appeal to the Apostolic See, the said judges, in accordance
with the tenor of our letters, indulging him with a space of three
months, were careful to assign the same to him as the period within
which he was not to delay the prosecution of his said appeal. And
further, after the said archbishop had commenced his journey for the
purpose of coming to the Apostolic See, fearing lest, through the
inclemency of the weather, some danger might befall his person, when
by letters and messengers he begged us mercifully to extend the time
that had been granted to him, we, assenting to his requests, and
imagining that on that account he would more speedily repent of his
excesses, as he had found us so propitious and ready to listen to his
prayers, appointed until the octave of Saint Martin last past as the
time for presenting his appeal for the purpose of exculpating
himself; giving it as our command, nevertheless, to the aforesaid
judges, that, if by such time the archbishop should have neglected to
present himself before us, in such case they were from that time to
proceed in his cause according to the tenor of our letters, and make
it their object to carry out the instructions given them therein. And
whereas the said time has now expired, and he has neither come to the
Church of Rome nor sent any proxy in any way to make excuse for his
absence, and, in consequence thereof, considering his disobedience
and contumacy, we have thought proper to suspend him from the use of
the pall, and from the performance of his pontifical duties, and from
all ministration in things temporal as well as spiritual, and from
the receipt of profits, giving orders by our Apostolic writings to
the aforesaid judges, publicly to announce throughout the whole
diocese and province of York, that he has been suspended by us.
Wherefore, we do command the whole of you, by these Apostolic
writings, that you will not henceforth presume to make answer to the
said archbishop or to his officers, either in matters spiritual or
temporal. But if it shall happen that any questions shall arise
between any of you in the diocese of York, which ought to be settled
by ecclesiastical judgment, you are to take the same
questions for the hearing of our dearly beloved son, Simon, dean of
York, and to receive his judgment thereon with humility and firmness;
knowing that we, in accordance with the customary mercy of the
Apostolic See, have shewn indulgence in appointing the said dean,
that, with the advice of the canons residing in the church of York,
he may correct the excesses of the clergy, and may settle such
questions of them and the laity in the diocese of York as require an
ecclesiastical decision. Given at the Lateran, on the tenth day
before the calends of January, in the fifth year of our pontificate.”
Another
Letter of the same pope on the same subject
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother,
the bishop of Lincoln, and his dearly beloved sons, the archdeacon of
Northampton and the prior of Pontefract, health and the Apostolic
benediction. Inasmuch as the holy Roman Church, being founded with
perpetual stability upon an immoveable foundation, that is to say,
upon a stone squared and true, the Truth, thus speaking of Himself—
’Upon this rock will I build my church,’ has, through the
merits of Saint Peter, received the governance and primacy over all
other churches, the Lord commanding the chief of the Apostles, ‘
If thou lovest me, feed my sheep;’ and has received judicial
power not only over bodies, but over souls, the same Chief of the
Apostles hearing it said by the Lord, ‘ Whatever thou shalt
bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven’—we, whom not our
own merits, but the Divine mercy alone, has summoned to the elevation
of the Supreme Pontificate, if we wish to form our judgments with
true and prudent deliberation, and not to abuse the power to us
entrusted, ought, so far as human frailty will permit us, to follow
the example of him by whom the Apostolic See was founded, and from
whom she has received the care of the other churches, and the
fullness of the power of binding and of loosing. For God is wondrous
above all things, and inscrutable are the depths of the divine
wisdom; and yet, although incomprehensible are His judgments, and
unsearchable His ways, still, from the things that He works among us
here below, if we look upon them aright, He suggests to us and the
other prelates of the churches something for imitation in the form of
His judgments; inasmuch as, when, according to the account contained
in the Gospel, he gave orders for the barren tree in his vineyard to
be cut down, that it might not cumber the ground, he prefaced the
same, saying: ‘Behold, these three years I
come
seeking fruit on this fig-tree and find none; therefore cut it down;’
we, though but the least, and subject to the defects of human
frailty, considering the same with constant meditation within
ourselves, on hearing the excesses of the archbishop of York, and the
rumours of his disgraceful mode of life and his frivolous
conversation being repeated in the hearing of ourselves and of our
brethren, we did not immediately form a judgment against him, but,
after the manner of Him whose mercies are beyond the rest of His
works, ceased not, by multiplied letters and mandates, to exert
ourselves, for no small period of time, for his correction, that the
barren tree might shoot forth to fruit, and recover the vigour which
it had lost; at one time, by our admonitions, recalling him to the
ways of salvation, at another, by threats of suspension from his
duties and benefices, deterring him from the paths of his iniquity
and error, as, indeed, we believe is manifest to yourselves, who have
known the whole circumstances of the case, and the whole process of
these matters, in the order in which they have taken place. And
whereas it has come to our hearing, from the information of the
clergy and the chapter of the church of York, and the testimonies of
our dearly beloved sons, Robert of York, and Roger of Selby, and
eleven other abbats of the Premonstratensian order, seem manifestly
to declare the same, that Geoffrey, archbishop of York, disregarding
the oaths of the office entrusted to him, uselessly occupying himself
with hunting and hawking, and other military pursuits, has, since his
promotion, given neither hand nor thought to the ordination of the
clergy, dedication of churches, or the celebration of synods, nor yet
has pronounced a benediction on any abbat, although both against
clergy and abbats he has accustomed himself indiscreetly to let loose
his tongue, at his own will and pleasure, for the purpose of uttering
maledictions and pronouncing sentence of excommunication. The
liberties and approved customs of the Church he nullifies and
subverts, appeals, which are wont to be the refuge of the oppressed,
he has, to the injury of the Roman See, brought into contempt, and
many persons, because they have made appeal to ourselves, he has
ordered to be thrown into prison and placed in irons. The beneficed
clergy of the church, after appeal made to us, he has spoiled of
dignities and benefices, and some of the canons, despising their
appeal, he has subjected to excommunication. In his presence the
privileges of the Roman Pontiffs are utterly deprived of all
authority, and he who, under other circumstances, would probably have
been safe by pleading our privilege in his presence, loses the
benefit of the protection he thereby hoped to gain. When it so
happens that any one has been restored to a church or possession by
the judges delegate through our authority, the person by whom the
said judgment is to be put in execution, he immediately looks upon as
an enemy. Indeed, many so restored he has reduced to destitution, and
entering their churches by means of his servants by force, is said to
have broken down the doors of the churches, and by violent means
expelled them. Many persons also he has perniciously made to incur
the danger of perjury, withdrawing them by means of violent
compulsion from the obedience which by oath they had canonically
promised his archdeacons to observe. Still more, attacking the
greater church with a multitude of armed men, he has caused the door
of the chapter house to be broken open by force, and to be carried
away ; the property of the canons, and that of many other persons who
had deposited their possessions in the church as though in a
treasury, he has caused to be violently withheld from them;
respecting all which matter the chaplain of York has made appeal to
our presence. We have also understood, from the testimony of the
persons before-named, that sometimes, when churches were vacant, he
has not admitted fit and proper persons when presented by those to
whom the presentation belongs, but has given the same to either
youths or persons of bad character, thus discharging the duty both of
him who presents and of him who institutes; or else at his own will
and option, he causes them to be vacated, in order that their
revenues may be applied to his own use; and that which was intended
for the sustenance of some worthy clerk, he does not hesitate to keep
in his own hands. They have also stated, in addition, that whereas
spiritual gifts ought to be bestowed without reward and without
corruptness, frequently, when he bestows a benefice, he either splits
it into two parts, contrary to the canonical statutes of the church,
or else retains upon it a new and unusual charge; and many who had
been excommunicated or suspended, he has absolved through the
intervention of nothing else than money. In his sight
religious and honest men are despised and condemned, while low and
suspected persons easily obtain his familiar acquaintanceship and
favour. Wherefore we, hearing of rumours so disgraceful, not once but
many times, and that by the letters both of the aforesaid parties as
also of others in the kingdom of England and in the province of York,
after having frequently given ear thereto, wishing to withhold him
from these excesses, and to recall him to the performance of the
duties of the pastoral office, have thought proper to entrust to you
the inquiry into these reports, that convening the abbats, priors,
and other ecclesiastical persons of the diocese of York, you might
make diligent enquiry on the matters aforesaid, and if lawful
accusers should come forward against him, after hearing what is
alleged on the one side and on the other, reducing the deposition of
the witnesses to writing, make it your duty to transmit to the
Apostolic See their attestations, signed with your seals, assigning
to each party a fitting time within which to present themselves
before us, for the purpose of hearing sentence pronounced. We also
remember that there was inscribed in the some letters, that in case
of accusers not being forthcoming, and if public report should he in
his disfavour, you were, all obstacle of appeal removed, to call upon
him to clear himself with [the oaths of] three bishops and as many
abbats. And if he should chance to make any default therein, you were
of our own authority to denounce him as suspended from all pontifical
duties, and the management of the archbishopric. But inasmuch as the
said archbishop, before he was cited by you to a hearing, as he
informed us by his letters and his deputies, had thought fit to
appeal to the Apostolic See, and you assigned him the calends of
January as the term for prosecuting the said appeal, being disposed
to be considerate of his exertions and expenses, and fearing that if
he should come to the city in the hot season, some danger might
result to his person from the inclemency of the weather, as soon as
it had been intimated to us that he had set out upon his journey, for
the purpose of coming to the Apostolic See, and was prepared to make
answer on the offences imputed to him, we, in accordance with the
wonted beneficence of the Apostolic See, thought proper to "put
off the time of making his appeal from then until the octave of Saint
Martin last past, suspending all that had been determined on against
him until the said time, and recalling to its
former state whatever had been done by us or by others after appeal
made to us on presentation of his first letter. We did also, by our
Apostolic writings, distinctly command you, that unless he should
present himself before us, on the octave of Saint Martin, according
to the form of our first commission, in such case, all obstacle of
any gainsaying or appeal whatsoever removed, you were on no account
to delay to proceed against him. But inasmuch as the before-named
archbishop, abusing our patience, has neither come to the Roman
Church, nor sent any proxy to excuse his absence, even when in our
mercy, we made it our care to wait for him no small time beyond the
period that had been appointed for him, although he seemed to have
made confession as to the changes, in neglecting to appear before us,
we have only thought proper to suspend him. from the use of the pall,
and from the execution of all episcopal duties, and from the
administration of all matters, spiritual as well as temporal, and
from the receipt of the revenues of the church of York, and of that
province; that so, at least, coming to a proper sense, from the
pertinacity of his iniquity, he may not require the censures of
canonical severity to be exercised against him with still greater
rigour. We do, therefore, by these Apostolic writings, command your
discretion, and enjoin that you will publicly announce him as
suspended by us throughout all the churches of the diocese and
province of York, strictly enjoining all the clergy and laity of that
province, in our name, not to presume to make answer to the said
archbishop, or to his officers, in matters temporal or spiritual,
until we shall have thought proper to come to some other
determination as to the said archbishop. We do also command and will,
that it shall be announced by you in the diocese of York, that, if
any questions shall chance to be mooted between any persons, which
ought to be determined by ecclesiastical decision, they are to take
the same for the hearing of our dearly beloved son, Simon, the dean
of York, to whom, in conjunction with the council of the canons
residing in the same church, we both entrust the correction of the
excesses of the clergy, and the decision of controversies existing
between both clergy and laity, and humbly to receive his judgment,
and strictly to observe the same. In addition to which, all
provisions, which on the authority of our letters, before our second
notification had reached you, you have prudently and reasonably made
in matters relative to the said archbishop, both as to the
restitution of what
has been taken away by him, as also other matters, we have thought
proper to remain in force, as fully ratified by us; and we do command
you, relying upon our authorization, to repair to the church of York,
according to the tenor of our first letters, both for the purpose of
enquiry into these evil reports, and for making restitution to the
canons of the things of which they have been deprived, and to proceed
therein, appeal or absence of the aforesaid archbishop, or any
letters hitherto obtained to the prejudice of our first letters,
notwithstanding. And further, on the authority of these presents, we
do enjoin you, that you pronounce to be utterly null and void the
sentence of excommunication pronounced upon certain canons, vicars,
clerks, and servants of the canons of the church of York, by the said
archbishop, after appeal made to us; taking care, however, for the
sake of greater precaution, to absolve the said canons, and others
named in the said sentence, by the authority of the Apostolic See.
Also, all those who have rashly laid hands upon Benedict, clerk of
the above-named dean, Walter, the priest, Richard de Semare, and the
five clerks of Cavel, and other clerks of the church of York, or have
commanded violence to be used against them, you are to pronounce, all
power of appeal removed, to be placed under the ban of
excommunication, until they shall have made fitting satisfaction to
those who have suffered this injury, and have come, with the
testimony of your letters, to the Apostolic See, for the purpose of
there obtaining absolution. If all of you shall be unable to take
part in carrying out these injunctions, then any two of you may carry
out the same. Given at the Lateran, on the tenth day before the
calends of January, in the fifth year of our pontificate.”
Accordingly,
upon the authority of these letters, the officers of the archbishop
of York were deprived, although Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, the
legate of the Apostolic See, had again given them leave to continue
in performance of their duties, after having first suspended them
because they had refused to entertain him at York, as legate. All
power was, therefore, according to the tenor of the Apostolic
mandate, handed over to Simon, the dean of York; and the king’s
servants put in the royal purse all the property and possessions of
the said archbishop.
In
the meantime, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, wrote to the officers
of the archbishopric of York, to the following effect:—
The
Letter of Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, to the officers of the
archbishopric of York
“Hubert,
by the grace of God, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all
England, and legate of the Apostolic See, to his dearly beloved sons
in Christ, the officers of the archbishopric of York, health in the
Lord. We have received letters from our lord the pope to the
following effect:—
‘Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, and legate of the Apostolic See,
health, and the Apostolic benediction. On your part it was alleged,
in our presence, that there are many in England who have assumed the
cross of our Lord, in order that they might visit the sepulchre of
the Lord, and give opportune aid to that holy land upon which had
stood the feet of our Lord ; and although they are in a position to
be able to fulfil their vow, still, to the danger of their souls,
they are withholding themselves therefrom. There are some also, who,
although they have assumed the cross, are still unable to fulfil the
vow they have undertaken in such manner as they ought, in consequence
of poverty, infirmity of body, or other just cause. But, inasmuch as
your brotherhood has thought proper to consult us with reference to
what was to be done with these, we do, on the authority of these
presents, give you for answer, and by these Apostolical writings
enjoin you, that all those who have taken such vow as above-stated,
and have means enough to enable them to do the same, unless they
shall have a just reason to prevent them from so doing, you will, by
ecclesiastical censure, all power of appeal removed, compel to
perform the vow which they are said gratuitously to have made. But as
to those who, through poverty and infirmity of body, or any other
just impediment, are unable, as they ought, to fulfil a vow which
they are known to have taken, we do will that when the truth as to
these matters shall have been declared unto you, enjoining on them a
suitable penance, you shall give them leave to remain; strictly
enjoining them that, as soon as full liberty shall have been given
them of carrying out their vow, they are without delay not to
postpone doing the same. But as to those who, on account of
infirmity, you shall be satisfied cannot possibly, under any
circumstances, in their own persons fulfil their vows, let them send
one fit and proper person, or more (according as their means will
allow), beyond sea, at their own expense, to serve for one year or
more at their will, there to serve in obedience to Jesus Christ.
Given at the Lateran, on the second day before the ides of January,
in the fifth year of our pontificate.’ Therefore, inasmuch as
it is a perilous thing to vow and not to perform, since the result of
vows that have been solemnly made and not performed, is both the
anger of the Lord, and the rise of offences in His house, we do, on
the authority of the letter which we have transcribed, by our
precept, command you forthwith to make diligent and anxious enquiry
throughout each parochial church of the archbishopric of York
respecting those who, having assumed the cross for the purpose of
repairing to the sepulchre of the Lord, have not performed their vow
so made to the Lord; forbidding universally under threat of
excommunication, that through the insane taciturnity of any person
the truth shall be suppressed to the prejudice of this scrutiny; and
after either their own admissions, or your unerring enquiries, shall
have signified the names of each person, let the same, distinctly
stated by a trusty messenger, be made known to us before the Lord’s
day on which is sung ‘
Lætare
Jerusalem.’*
*
“Rejoice, 0 Jerusalem.” The beginning of the introit of
the fourth Sunday in Lent.
In
addition to which, we do command and enjoin your discreetness, that,
maintaining with constant zealousness the cause of Him who was
crucified, you will try to prevail upon all such in the diocese of
York, by means of charitable exhortations and frequently conversing
with them thereupon, persuading them, under the form of advice, that
they should faithfully fulfil what they have liberally promised, and
that what they have vowed unto the Lord in the sight of all His
people, they should perform with His prophet in the midst of
Jerusalem, in the courts of the house of the Lord. And thus, by their
voluntary sacrifices may the most High be appeased, and, their
payments duly made, may the annoyance of these offences be nullified.
You are also to advise the persons aforesaid, all and each of them,
that they shall, as a sign of true devotion, before the day of our
Lord’s Passion next ensuing, reassume the cross which they have
laid aside, and, bearing the. same with reverence and veneration,
protest by this outward sign against the perverseness by which they
are inwardly enthralled; and let them not from poorness of spirit be
ashamed of that from which they will obtain full and abundant fruit.
But if they shall rather despise warnings of this nature as vain, or
shall pertinaciously close their ears against listening to the same
as obdurate, to the end that lawlessness may not be granted them by
reason of their going unpunished, you are to take care to have it
published by general notice, that all who shall not for the
performance of their vow have resumed the cross which they had laid
aside, within the time named, shall, at the ensuing Easter of our
Lord, beyond a doubt he excluded from receiving the body of Christ
and the communion of the faithful. But, in order that the words of
such warning may not be thought or deemed to be frivolous, or to be
wanting in due effect, we do will, and, by the Apostolic authority,
command, that the aforesaid punishment shall, on the said day, be
inflicted entirely according to the form, and quite as fully as is
herein-before stated, upon all who shall show themselves
contumacious. For in this way from the homely seed of rigour, it will
shoot up hereafter as the fruit thereof, that the authority of
prelates will be weighed with a truer balance against canonical
severity; and those who shall be ready to rush into contempt, will be
less audacious in expecting a full indemnity. Farewell.”
In
the same year, [1196] after the feast of Saint Hilary, Philip, king
of France, and Richard, king of England, had an interview at
Louviers, where, after holding conference with their retainers, the
following terms were agreed to : the king of France quitted claim to
the king of England and his heirs, on part of himself and his heirs,
of Issodun with its appurtenances, and of all right which he had in
Berry, Auvergne, and Gascony, and gave him quiet possession of the
castle of Arches, the county of Auch, the county of Aumarle, and many
other castles which he had taken during the war. In return for this,
the king of England quitted claim to the king of France of the castle
of Gisors, and the whole of the Norman Vexin; and that all these
terms might be ratified, they determined between themselves on a
penalty of fifteen thousand marks of silver, so that he who should
break this peace, should pay to the other fifteen thousand marks of
silver; and, as to the same, they found sureties on either side.
The
king of France also demanded for himself Andely, a manor which
belonged to the archbishop of Rouen ; and when he could on no account
obtain it, he demanded fealty to be done to him, by Walter the
archbishop of Rouen, for that part of the archbishopric which lies in
France, namely, in the French Vexin. However, the archbishop of
Rouen, seeing that this was grievous and disgraceful to himself,
appealed to our lord the pope, as to the interests of his church, and
departed, fearing lest his lord, the king of England, would compel
him to do this, to gain the favour of the king of France.
O
ambition, how ever blind! O presumption most disgraceful! O, how much
does he lose of his right, who grasps at what is not his right! For
Philip, king of France in attacking an earthly kingdom, assaults a
heavenly one; hankering after things worldly he rushes upon things
Divine; doomed to wickedness, prompt to run into peril, ready for
criminality, he considers not the cause of innocence, repudiates all
justice, confounds right and wrong; vice is his companion, equity is
his hate, iniquity is ever his friend; he lives by slaughter, he
fortifies himself by bloodshed, he reigns amid cruelty, with him
everything is determined by death, nothing is settled by love.”
“If Jove should hurl his thunders as oft as men should sin, in
a short time he would be disarmed.”
However,
in process of time, the king of France repented that he had made such
an agreement with the king of England, and, collecting a large army,
laid siege to Aumarle; on which, the king of England ordered seizure
to be made in every place in his dominions, on either side of the
sea, of all the goods and possessions of the abbats of Marmoutier,
Cluny, Saint Denis, and la Charite. For the said abbats were sureties
to the king of England, that the king of France would observe the
above-named treaty; and if he should not do so, they were to pay to
the king of England fifteen thousand marks.
In
the same year, Robert, earl of Leicester, after giving to Philip,
king of France, two thousand marks of silver, and quitting claim to
him of his castle of Pascy, was liberated from captivity. In the same
year, the king of England sent Philip, the bishop elect of Durham,
and the abbot of Caen to England, for the purpose of making enquiry
as to the levies of the justices and the sheriffs, and their
servants; but while the said abbot of Caen, on the Lord’s day,
being the day of the Passion of our Lord, was dining with Hubert,
archbishop of Canterbury, and
chief justiciary of all England, he was taken ill at table, and died
on the fifth day after, at London. In the meantime, Philip, king of
France, took the castle of Aumarle by assault, and destroyed it, on
which, the king of England gave him three thousand marks of silver,
as a ransom for the knights and their followers, who had been taken
at Aumarle. After this, the king of France took Novancourt by
assault, while John, earl of Mortaigne, brother of Richard, king of
England, took the castle of Jumieges.
In the same year, [1196] a disturbance arose between the citizens of
London. For, more frequently than usual, in consequence of the king’s
captivity and other accidents, aids to no small amount were imposed
upon them, and the rich men, sparing their own purses, wanted the
poor to pay everything. On a certain lawyer, William Fitz-Osbert
byname, or Longbeard, becoming sensible of this, being inflamed by
zeal for justice and equity, he became the champion of the poor, it
being his wish that every person, both rich as well as poor, should
give according to his property and means, for all the necessities of
the state; and going across the sea to the king, he demanded his
protection for himself and the people. Hubert Fitz-Walter, archbishop
of Canterbury and the king’s justiciary, being greatly vexed at
this, issued orders that wherever any of the common people should be
found outside the city, they should be arrested as enemies to the
king and his realm. Accordingly, it so happened, that at Mid-Lent
some of the merchants of the number of the common people of London
were arrested at the fair at Stamford, by command of the king’s
justiciary.
The
said justiciary then gave orders that the above named William
Longbeard should be brought before him, whether he would or no; but
when one of the citizens, Geoffrey by name, came to take him, the
said Longbeard slew him; and on others attempting to seize him, he
took to flight with some of his party, and they shut themselves in a
church, the name of which is the church of Saint Mary at Arches, and,
on their refusing to come forth, an attack was made upon them. When
even then they would not surrender, by command of the archbishop of
Canterbury, the king’s justiciary, fire was applied, in order
that, being forced by the smoke and vapour, they might come forth. At
length, when the said William came forth, one of them, drawing a
knife, plunged it into his entrails, and he was led to the Tower of
London, where he was condemned to
be hanged. Accordingly, he was tied to the horse’s tail, and
dragged through the lanes and streets of the city to the gibbet, [a t
Tyburn ]
where he was hanged, together with eight of his confederates. The
other citizens of London who had joined him, threw themselves upon
the king’s mercy, and gave hostages as security that they would
keep the peace towards the king and his realm. The monks, however of
the Holy Trinity at Canterbury, on hearing that their church at
London, called Saint Mary at Arches, had been thus subjected to
violence by order of their archbishop (who, although he was a servant
of the king, ought still to have kept the rights of the Church
inviolate), were indignant thereat, and their heart was grieved at
him, and they were unable to hold communication with him on any
matter in a peaceable manner.
In
the same year, Richard, king of England, gave to his nephew, Otho,
the earldom of Poitou. In the same year, also, when the countess of
Brittany had come, by command of king Richard, into Normandy, for the
purpose of holding a conference with him, Ranulph, earl of Chester,
her husband, went to meet her at Pont D’Urse, and took her and
shut her up in his castle at Saint James de Beverun. When her son
Arthur found himself unable to procure her release, be became an
adherent of the king of France, and ravaged the territories of the
king, his uncle, with conflagrations, on which the king of England,
collecting a large army, entered Brittany in a hostile manner, and
laid it waste.
In
the meantime, Geoffrey, archbishop of York, having at length arrived
at the Apostolic See, made a long stay there, and, in transacting all
matters relative to himself, he found the pope very hard to be moved,
and vexed with him beyond measure. In process of time, however, a
hearing was given to him, and his adversaries then present; and when
the matters previously mentioned, and many other things, were alleged
against him, all of which the archbishop steadfastly asserted to be
false, his adversaries, being asked whether they were ready to prove
their allegations, made answer, after time for deliberation had been
asked and conceded to them, that they were not willing to undertake
the burden of proving the same. The archbishop, however, sufficiently
proved that he was not guilty of the matters charged against him; and
consequently our lord the pope, by the advice of his whole court,
restoring him to his office and benefices, gave it as his command to
all the prelates and other clergy appointed throughout the diocese of
York, that they should pay him due respect and obedience in all
things as archbishop; stating also in his rescript how the archbishop
had shown that he was not guilty of the matters charged against him,
and that all that had been spread abroad by his adversaries about
him, was false and fictitious.
On
notice, however, of his restoration coming to the king of England,
who had already despoiled the archbishop of his temporalities, and,
as was said, was aiming, together with his adversaries, at his
deposition, he was greatly disturbed, and commanded two of his
adversaries to take upon themselves the care of spiritual matters,
and not allow the archbishop, or his officers, to have any share in
the management thereof. The king, also, at his own will, gave and
distributed among his clerks the prebends of the church of York, and
the other benefices that were vacant. Accordingly, the archbishop of
York being on his return, and staying in France, did not dare to
enter the king’s territories, on seeing that he could not find
grace in the sight of the king, so as to congratulate himself on
being in possession of either temporalities or spiritualities, but
turned back, and set out on his return to the Roman court.
In
the meantime, our lord the king of England, at the request of Arthur,
duke of Brittany, and of other influential men, gave leave to Peter
de Dinant to take proceedings against Adam de Tournouere, as to the
archdeaconry of the West Riding, which the king had given to the said
Adam. At length, an agreement was come to between them, on the
following terms : Master Simon of Apulia, dean of the church of York,
and the chapter of that church, by the concession and consent of the
said Adam, were to receive Peter de Dinant as archdeacon of the West
Riding, and install him both in the chapter and the choir; and the
said Peter gave the office of deputy, and the management of the said
archdeaconry, to the said Adam de Tournouere, subject to an annual
payment of sixty marks, providing that the said Adam should hold the
said archdeaconry, and every part thereof, all the days of his life,
and should make him thence an annual payment of sixty marks ; and if
Peter should survive Adam, then he was to receive the archdeaconry of
the West Riding, without any contradiction or diminution. It was also
agreed between them, that when they should both
be in York at the same time, one of them should occupy the stall in
the choir, as archdeacon, on the one day, and the other the same en
the next day, and that they should thus take their turns every other
day, so long as they should he staying at the same time at York; and,
that this agreement, made between them, might be ratified, and remain
inviolate, the chapter of York confirmed the same with their seal.
But before knowledge of this agreement had reached the archbishop of
York, he sent his letters patent into England, to the following
effect:—
“Geoffrey,
by the grace of God, archbishop of York, and primate of England, to
the deans, priests, and all the clergy throughout the archdeaconry
appointed, health and the paternal benediction. Be it known to all of
you, that we, in consideration of the love we bear to him, have given
to Peter de Dinant, our clerk, the archdeaconry of the West Riding,
into which, as we have been most credibly informed by many persons,
Adam de Tournouere has, by whose authority we know not, intruded
himself, and has usurped the name of archdeacon, although the
disposal of archdeaconries, dignities, and churches, in our
archbishopric, belongs to ourselves alone, on whom the same has, by
the Divine mercy, been bestowed. The said Adam has also, by the
instigation of the devil, since restitution made to us by our lord
the pope, exerted himself in the administration of spiritual matters,
against ourselves and our officers. Wherefore we, rendering void, and
by our authority, utterly nullifying whatsoever the said Adam has
done in institutions, in excommunications, in suspensions, and in
other things which he has done, under the name of archdeacon, do now
excommunicate the said Adam, enjoining you, and by virtue of your
obedience commanding you, not to answer him in any orders given by
him, but to consider him as excommunicated. We do also notify unto
you, that we do ratify and confirm the sentence pronounced upon
Paulinus de Eburford and others, who, contrary to the obedience which
they owe to ourselves and others, have obstructed our officers,
Master Ralph de Kime, and Master Honorius. Farewell.”
In
the same year, in the month of July, Philip, bishop elect of Durham,
was ordained priest, by Henry, bishop of Llandaff, in the church of
Saint Cuthbert, at Durham, on the seventeenth day before the calends
of July, being Saturday in the week of Pentecost.
In
the same year, [1196] William, king of the Scots, having collected a
large army, entered Moray, for the purpose of warring against Harold
Macmanud60 who had taken possession of that territory; but before the
king arrived in Caithness, Harold fled to his ships, being unwilling
to engage with the king. On this, the king of the Scots sent his army
to Turrehain, a town belonging to the said Harold, and destroyed his
castle at that place. Accordingly, Harold, perceiving that the king
would entirely lay waste his lands, came to the king’s feet,
and threw himself upon his mercy, the more especially, as there was a
storm raging at sea, and the wind was contrary to him when attempting
to reach the Orkney islands : he also made oath to the king, that he
would bring to him all his enemies, on the next occasion that the
king should return to Moray, and on that account the king allowed him
to hold the moiety of Caithness ; the other moiety of Caithness the
king gave to Harold the younger, the nephew of Reginald, former earl
of Orkney and Caithness.
The
king then returned into his territories, and Harold to Orkney. After
this, in the autumn, the king of the Scots returned to Ilvernarran,
in Moray, for the purpose of receiving his enemies at the hand of
Harold; but, after Harold had brought them to the port of Locloy,
near Ilvernarran, he allowed them to depart. The king returning late
from the chase, Harold came to him, bringing with him two boys, his
nephews, for the purpose of delivering them to the king, as hostages;
and on being asked by the king where his enemies were, whom he was to
deliver up to him, and where his son Torphin was, whom he had
promised to deliver to him as a hostage, he made answer, “I let
them go, knowing that if I delivered them to you, they would not
escape out of your hands; and as for my son, I could not bring him,
because in this land I have no other heir.”
Consequently,
because he had not observed the covenants which he had made with his
master, the king, he was condemned to remain in the king’s
custody, until his son should appear and become a hostage; and
because he had allowed the king’s enemies to escape, he was
adjudged to have forfeited the lands which he held of the king. The
king accordingly took Harold with him to the castle of Edinburgh, and
kept him in prison until his people in Orkney had brought his son
Torphin; on which, delivering him to their lord the king, as a
hostage, they released Harold from the king’s custody, and he
returned to Orkney, and there remained in peace and quietness, until
Harold the Younger, having obtained permission from Swere Birkebain,
king of Norway, to claim a moiety of Orkney, brought with him Siward
Murd from Hegland, and many other warriors, and invaded Orkney; on
which, Harold the Elder was unwilling to engage with him, but leaving
Orkney, went to the Isle of Man, where he collected a fleet and many
men.
Harold
the Younger did the same, and came to the Isle of Man, wishing to
have an engagement with Harold the Elder; but the latter, before the
arrival of Harold the Younger in Man, departed with his fleet for
Orkney by another road, and slew all whom he found there. On hearing
of this, Harold the Younger returned to Wick, in Caithness, and there
engaged with Harold the Elder; and in this battle the younger Harold
and the whole of his army were slain. On the death of Harold the
Younger, Harold the Elder came to the king of the Scots, with the
safe conduct of Roger and Reginald, the bishops of Saint Andrew’s
and Ross, and offered the king a large sum of gold and silver for
liberty again to hold Caithness : on which the king made answer, that
he would give him the said land if he would divorce his wife, the
daughter of Malcolm Mathar, and take back his former wife, the sister
of Duncan, earl of Fife, and deliver to him as hostages, Laurentius,
his clerk, and Bonavar, the son of Iggemund; which Harold declined to
do. Upon this, Reginald, son of Sumerled, king of Man, came to
William, king of the Scots, and purchased of him Caithness, saving to
the king his yearly revenues therefrom.
In
the same year, Richard, king of England, gave to William de Chimely,
archdeacon of Richmond, the bishopric of Evreux, in Normandy ; and
the said king gave to master Eustace, his seal-bearer, the
archdeaconry of Richmond.
In
the same year, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of the whole
of England, and legate of the Apostolic See, by his messengers, often
and repeatedly entreated his master, Richard, king of England, to
relieve him from the government of the kingdom, pointing out that he
could not possibly attend to both the government of the church and of
the kingdom. Although the king was unwilling to do this, because
there had been no one found like to him as a guardian of the laws and
ordinances of the kingdom; still listening to his entreaties, he
expressed himself willing to relieve him of the anxieties of
government; on which he repented having made such a request of the
king, knowing by experience that, for the guardianship of the laws, a
heavy retribution would be exacted. After examining his books and
auditing his accounts, he sent word to the king that, in the two
years last past, he had acquired for his use eleven hundred thousand
marks of silver from out of the kingdom of England; adding thereto,
that if his services should appear necessary to him, he would not
refuse the labour, nor yet allege his declining years. O, unhappy
prelate! although he had so often read that “no man can love
two masters, for either he must hate the one and love the other, or
else he will hold to the one and despise the other;” he still
preferred to neglect his sacerdotal duties, to which, by his vow, he
had been bound, he was not ashamed to appear in the camp of the king
of England.*
* Probably meaning “in arms.”
In the same year, [1196] Richard, king of England, granted to Philip,
bishop elect of Durham, licence to coin money in his city of Durham,
which for a long period past had not been granted to his
predecessors. In this year, also, there was in England, and in all
its borders, a great famine and mortality among men.
In the same year, the earl of Saint Gilles took to wife Joanna, the
sister of Richard, king of England, and former queen of Sicily. In
the same year died Henry, bishop of Worcester, who was succeeded, at
the presentation of king Richard, by John de Coutances, dean of
Rouen. In the same year died William, earl of Salisbury, son of earl
Patrick, whose daughter and heiress Richard, king of England, gave to
wife, together with the earldom of Salisbury, to William, his bastard
brother.
In the same year died Maurice, bishop of Paris. In this year, also, died
Bela, king of Hungary, after whose decease his wife Margaret, sister
of Philip, king of France, who had formerly been queen of England,
and wife of king Henry the Younger, assumed the cross and set out for
Jerusalem, and remained at Acre, in the land of Jerusalem, in the
service of God, until the end of her life. In the same year died
Bucard, the treasurer of the church of York, whose treasurership
Richard, king of England, gave to master Eustace, his seal-bearer. In
the same year died Peter de Ros, after whose decease Richard, king of
England, gave to Aimeric, nephew of Philip, bishop elect of Durham,
the archdeaconry of Carlisle; and Philip, the bishop elect of
Durham, gave to the said Aimeric, his nephew, the archdeaconry of
Durham and the church of Acelet, which the before-named Bucard had
held.
In the same year, Richard, king of England, fortified a new castle in
the island of Andely, against the consent and prohibition of Walter,
archbishop of Rouen; and because the king would not desist from his
purpose, the said archbishop pronounced sentence of interdict upon
Normandy, and then repaired to the Supreme Pontiff.
In the same year, a combat taking place between the followers of the
king of France and of the king of England, Hugh de Chaumont, a
valiant and wealthy knight, and a very intimate friend of the king of
France, was taken prisoner, and delivered to the king of England; on
which the king of England delivered him into the custody of Robert de
Ros, and Robert delivered him to William de 1’Espinay, his
retainer, to keep in the castle of Bonville-sur-Toke; who keeping a
negligent guard over him, by night he descended from the wall, with
the consent and connivance of the said William de 1’Espinay.
The king of England being greatly enraged at this, because Hugh de
Chaumont had thus made his escape from out of his hands, took Robert
de Ros and imprisoned him; and exacted from him twelve hundred marks
of silver as his ransom; and William de 1’Espinay, who was a
traitor to his lord, was hanged on a gibbet.
In the same year, Ralph de Wigetof, a clerk of Geoffrey, archbishop of
York, was taken ill at Rouen, even to the point of death, and, in the
presence of our lord the pope and all the cardinals, made confession
that he had obtained many forged letters in the court of Rome, both
relative to the business of his master, the archbishop of York, as
also his own private business, and that he had now sent them to
England: whereupon our lord the pope gave orders to Hubert,
archbishop of Canterbury, that if there should be any letters found
relative to the business of the archbishop of York, containing
anything contrary to equity and justice, the same were to be retained
in his possession.
In consequence of this, Roger of Ripon, a clerk, the bearer of these
letters. who also carried poison with him, was found at London, who
said that Ralph de Wigetof had delivered them to him. He also said
that the poison had been given to him for the purpose of making away
with Master Simon, the dean of the church of York, and some other
persons, canons of the said church. Accordingly, at the summons of
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, the king’s justiciary, the
said dean of York came to London, and the poison was delivered to
him, with golden rings, and a very beautiful belt that was drugged
for the purpose of burning him; at the delivery of which an immense
multitude of men and women assembled at the place called Totehil* to
witness the burning of them, where they were accordingly committed to
the flames, and reduced to ashes: the bearer of them, however, was
kept in confinement, and the adversaries of Geoffrey, archbishop of
York, cast all the blame of the crime on him.
* Tothill, in the vicinity of Westminster Abbey.
In the same year, John, earl of Mortaigne, the king’s brother,
and Marchadès, the leader of the infamous tribe of the Brabanters,
on the fourteenth day before the calends of June, being the second
day of the week, made an excursion before the city of Beauvais; and
while they were intent on the capture of booty, Philip, bishop of
Beauvais, and William de Merle, together with his son and many
knights and armed people, came forth from the city, being themselves
in arms; but they were very quickly worsted in the combat, and the
said bishop of Beauvais, and William de Merle and his son, and
several knights were taken prisoners, and of the common people the
greater part was slain. On the same day, after this capture, the earl
John and Marchadès proceeded to Milli, the castle of the said
bishop of Beauvais, and took it by assault, and levelled it with the
ground: and then, gloriously triumphing, they returned to Normandy,
and delivered to the king of England the bishop of Beauvais, and
Walter de Merle and his son, and many others who had been taken
prisoners.
1197 A.D.
In the year of grace 1197, being the eighth year of the reign of
Richard, king of England, the said Richard was at Burun, in Normandy,
on the day of the Nativity of our Lord, which fell on the fourth day
of the week, greatly vexed, because Walter, archbishop of Rouen,
would not revoke the sentence of interdict which he had laid upon
Normandy; for the bodies of the dead were lying unburied throughout
the lanes and streets of the cities of Normandy. Accordingly, the
king sent William, bishop of Ely, his chancellor, to the bishop of
Lisieux, and Philip, the bishop elect of Durham, to plead his cause
in the presence of our lord the pope, against the said archbishop of
Rouen. On their arrival in Poitou, William, bishop of Ely, the king’s
chancellor, fell ill, even unto death, and died and was buried; and,
as long as he appeared to be in the mortal agony, a wooden crucifix
in the cathedral church of the same city, which is called the cross
of Saint Martial, was seen to weep so vehemently, that streams of
water, as it were, poured down from its eyes, and moistened the face.
The people indeed said that this now happened for the third time; the
first time at the death of a bishop of the said city, the second time
on the departure of John Belesmains, bishop of that city, and the
third time on the death of this William, bishop of Ely.
After his decease, the bishop of Lisieux, and the bishop elect
of Durham, proceeded upon the business of their master. Our lord the king,
however, not unmindful of the services which the said chancellor had
rendered him, gave to his brother Robert, prior of Ely, the abbey of
Saint Mary at York; and Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, and legate
of the Apostolic See, consecrated him abbat.
The
said archbishop of Rouen, and the bishop of Lisieux, and the bishop
elect of Ely now meeting in the presence of our lord the pope, the
archbishop of Rouen asserted his right which he had over Andely, and
the injury which Richard, king of England, had done him in fortifying
a castle upon the possessions of the church of Rouen thus unjustly,
and against his will and consent. To this the above-named envoys of
the king made answer, that the king their master had often and
repeatedly made him offer, through his envoys, venerable men and
discreet bishops, abbats, earls, and barons, that he would make him
reparation in every respect, according to the estimate formed by
honourable men. For, as they asserted on the king’s behalf, he
could on no account give up the said island of Andely, on which, he
had fortified the castle, because the king of France and his people
every now and then were making inroads into Normandy, and frequently
ravaged it, in consequence of which the king of England had fortified
that place for the defence of
his territory against the king of France. Upon these matters the said
archbishop of Rouen, and the aforesaid envoys of the king submitted
to the decision of our lord the pope and of the Roman Church.
Accordingly, after our lord the pope and the cardinals had long
deliberated on the matter, considering the losses and inconveniences
that would result to Normandy, if the said place of Andely should not
be fortified, they advised the said archbishop of Rouen to settle the
matter with the king his master on amicable terms, and to receive
from him a sufficient recompense for what had been taken from him,
according to an estimate formed by honourable and prudent men,
saying, that the king was fully at liberty, and indeed any potentate
was, to fortify the weaker portions of his territory, that injury
might not result therefrom to himself and his people.
In the meantime, our lord the pope Celestinus consecrated Philip, the
bishop elect of Durham, to the bishopric of Durham, on the Lord’s
day on which is sung “Misericordia Domini,” * which
in this year fell on the twelfth of May. The bishop of Durham having
been thus consecrated, pope Celestinus revoked the sentence of
interdict which Walter, archbishop of Rouen had pronounced against
Normandy, on account of the fortification of the castle of the island
of Andely, and then dismissed them. Accordingly, the said archbishop
of Rouen, and the bishops of Durham and Lisieux returned to our lord
Richard, the king of England, with a form of reconciliation between
the said king and the archbishop of Rouen, drawn up by the advice of
our lord the pope, and the cardinals.
* The beginning of the introit for the second Sunday after Easter
On this, the said king, having convened the bishops, abbats, earls, and
barons of Normandy, gave to Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and his
successors, by way of compensation for his town of Andely, the town
of Dieppe with all its appurtenances, the valley of Malendai, the
mills of Robec, in the city of Rouen, and Louviers with its
appurtenances, and by his charter confirmed the same; in return for
which, Walter, archbishop of Rouen, quitted claim to Richard, king of
England, and his heirs, of Andely with its appurtenances, on the part
of himself and his successors.
In
the same year, [1197] Richard, king of England, came to Saint Valery,
and burned that town to the ground, and having de stroyed
the monks that were there in the service of God, carried away with
him into Normandy the shrine, with the relics of Saint Valery: in
that harbour he also found some ships, which had come from England,
laden with corn and provisions, on which he seized them and ordered
the sailors in them to be hanged, and then burned the ships, and
distributed the corn and provisions among his people.
In
the same year, the people of Champagne and Flanders, and the Bretons,
deserting the king of France, became adherents of the king of
England, hostages being given on either side that they would not come
to a reconciliation, nor make peace with the king of France, unless
with the common consent of both parties. For the king of England had
brought over them, and nearly all the most powerful men of the
kingdom of France, with presents; as his bounteous hand in its gifts
surpassed all other gifts. “Nor yet in giving does he go beyond
all bounds; nay rather, to each he assigns a purpose fixed and
definite.”
Accordingly,
he gave to Baldwin, earl of Flanders, for his assistance five
thousand marks of silver; and he gave hostages that he would not make
peace with the lung of France, unless with the consent [of the king
of England, and the king of England did the same with him. After
this, William Crespin, constable of Anjou, being compelled by force,
surrendered to Richard, king of England, the castle of Anjou, which
the king immediately placed in a sufficient state of defence with
men, arms, and provisions; and the king of France shortly after
assembling a large army laid siege to it. While these things were
going on, Richard, king of England, proceeded to Auvergne, and took
ten of the castles of the king of France and of his followers. But
before the king of England could return to Normandy, the king of
France took the castle of Anjou, granting to the knights and
men-at-arms therein safety to life and limb; and after he had levied
from them five hundred marks of silver for their ransom, he gave them
liberty to depart, and fortified the castle and retained it in his
own hands.
In
the meantime, Baldwin, earl of Flanders, laid siege to the castle of
Arras; on hearing of which, the king of France came thither with a
numerous army. Upon his approach, the earl of Flanders raising the
siege, returned into his own territories, the king of France pursuing
him. When the king of France had proceeded to a considerable
distance, the earl of Flanders caused the bridges to be broken down
that lay both in front and rear of the king of France, so that
neither provisions nor his army could come near him. Upon this, the
king of France being placed in a dilemma, entreated the earl of
Flanders that he would not cast a blot on the crown of France,
alleging that he had entered Flanders with the intention of making
amicable arrangements with him, and swearing that he would give him
all his rights if he would forsake Richard, king of England, without
making peace with him. As the earl of Flanders declined to act in
contravention of the terms which he had made with the king of
England, a conference took place between the king of France and the
king of England, on the fourth day of the week after the Exaltation
of the holy Cross, between Gaillon and Andely; and so, the king of
France, escaping capture by the earl of Flanders, returned into
France, but would observe none of the covenants he had made with the
earl of Flanders.
In
the same year, Richard, king of England, gave to Master Eustace, his
vice-chancellor, the bishopric of Ely. In the same year, Joanna,
sister of Richard, king of England, and wife of Raymond, earl of
Saint Gilles, was delivered of her first-born son, and his name was
called Raymond. In the same year died king Rees, the son of Griffin;*
after whose death a dissension arose among his sons, which of them
should reign in the place of their father; for the purpose of putting
an end to which, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, the king’s
justiciary, repaired to the Welch territory, and established peace
between them.
*
Rice ap Griffydd.
In
the mean time, Philip, bishop of Bcauvais, having sent his brother,
the bishop of Orleans, to Rome, while he was still in captivity with
the king of England, wrote to Celestinus, the Supreme Pontiff, to the
following effect:—
The
Letter of Philip, bishop of Beauvais, to Celestinus, the Supreme
Pontiff
“To
his venerable lord and master, Celestinus, the Supreme Pontiff,
Philip, bishop of Beauvais, health and duteousness in all canonical
obedience. The favour of the supreme power has raised on high your
felicity and your manifold successes, bringing
to mind that maxim of the law, ‘ He invites the guiltless to
offend who passes the guilty by unpunished.’ It is a thing now
almost notorious to all the churches, how disrespectfully, and how
inhumanly, the king of England has, for some time past, been in
rebellion against his lord, the king of the Franks; like a man who,
fastening a rope round a large mountain, tries to throw it down.
Accordingly, bringing with him fire and sword, and supported by
apostate companies of Brabanters, he has made attacks upon our
country, ravaging it on every side. Upon seeing this, being not
unmindful of the legal maxim, ‘It is lawful to repel force by
force,’ and of that other one, ‘ Fight for your country,’
mingling in the throng of warriors and citizens, and in the ranks of
the nobles, I went forth to meet the enemy in their onward career.
But fortune, that stepdame of human counsels, brought my intended
purpose to an unhappy result; for there I was taken prisoner, and
thrown into heavy chains and fetters; neither the dignity of my
order, nor reverence for God, afforded me any relief or mitigation.
In such wise, then, the king of England has not dreaded to rage
against Christ, our Lord, after the manner of a wolf. Nor do I
suppose that this has been unknown to your ears. Why, then, do you
dissemble? What father would see his son doing wrong, and be silent
thereon? Who would not chasten his son with a rod, that he might not
run upon a sword ? The father despairs of his son, when he chasteneth
him not with threatening, or with the whip. Indeed, it is clearer
than light itself, that the king of England, and the rest of his
accomplices, who have violently laid hands on us, have rendered
themselves subject to the visitations I have above mentioned;
wherefore, attentively listening to the injuries done to ourselves,
and the grievous enormities committed against your fatherly
affection, do with mercy condescend to listen to our tears, and to
our petition. For it were an unworthy thing that the petition, made
to you by those subject to you, should return useless and of no
effect; one too that savours of all humility, and that is based on
the firm support of reason. ‘He, in fact, is not entirely free
from a fault, who, when he can correct it, pretends that he cannot
rectify it; nor is he free from some suspicion of secret connivance,
who forbears to prevent a manifest misdeed.’ Wherefore, holy
father, do not wonder that I have to such a length multiplied the
words of sorrow. Perpetual
grief knows not how to, indeed cannot, be buried in the recesses of
the breast! I bid your fatherly goodness farewell.”
The
Rescript of pope Celestinus, to Philip, bishop of Beauvais
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his dearly beloved
brother, Philip, bishop of Beauvais, health, and a speedy return from
his course of error. That it has turned out unfortunately for you, is
not to be wondered at. For ‘He deserves the hatred of all men,
who shows himself to be the common enemy of all.’ For, throwing
aside the peaceful bishop, you have assumed the warlike knight,—in
your rashness perverting the order and course of things, you have
borne the shield in place of the chasuble, the sword in place of the
stole, the hauberk for the alb, the helmet for the mitre, and the
banner for the pastoral staff; not wishing, as you allege, to repel
violence but valour, by violence; not fighting for your country, but
against your country. For, as to your Gaul, we may now publicly
declare, ‘Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child !’
For he, having corporeally made oath to the king of the English, was
bound to observe the same, as faithfully maintaining the integrity of
his cities and of his territories, at least until his return from his
pilgrimage. Whereas, shamefully contravening his plighted faith and
his oath, coming to the cities of the aforesaid king, he has
violently seized them, and, with hostile hand, has cruelly laid waste
his territories. Returning at length from the scene of his labours,
that king has manfully met your king, placing his trust not in
multitudes, but in the Lord; for not by the amount of men or of
might, but by the virtue of the cause is the battle gained. In behalf
of the king of England, humility has hitherto been fighting against
pride, justice and equity against injustice, moderation and modesty
against arrogance and intemperance. For, defended by numerous virtues
and not by men, do persons gain the victory. The laws and ordinances
permit an injury, when done by arms, to be repelled by the remedy of
arms; consequently, at last, late though it be, the king of England
has manifested himself and his anger; inasmuch as it is hardly
possible that valour, closed up, can lie concealed, the warmth of
anger be extinguished and the small spark of prowess be shut up; for
valour knows not how to lie concealed, and the smothered fire breaks
forth into flame. Added to this, you have shown yourself not only the
unbridled counsellor of your master’s frenzy, but also an
accomplice as foolish as insolent; you sought and you have found; you
struck, and struck again, you have been levelled with the ground;
into the pit which you have made you have deservedly fallen; where
you have been found, there you have been judged accordingly.
According as we understand from the tenor of your letters directed to
us, imputing to us the excesses of your country, you strive to throw
the fault upon us, asserting that we are luke-warm and dissemblers.
What now, is to be the consequence if the sheep turn upon the
shepherd, if the son rises against the father? There will not be a
shepherd who will not have cause to repent that he fed the sheep, not
a father who will not regret that he brought up his son. Wherefore it
is a hurtful weapon for a man, to soften down malignant craftiness
under the guise of simplicity. Still, we have addressed letters of
entreaty to the king of England in your behalf; for after examining
most thoroughly the circumstances of your captivity, we cannot and
ought not in such a case to command, but only to entreat. The
conqueror then must be overcome by the resources of wisdom, for it is
written, ‘Wisdom excels folly.’ For which reason it is
that we entreat in your behalf not importunately, but opportunely.
For an importunate urging of entreaty is a proof of distrust, and
patient waiting gains its object more easily than importunate demands
extort the same. But in the meantime, consigned to chains and
lamentations, do you resignedly and patiently endure those chains,
according to the words of the poet, ‘Whatever you endure
deservedly, you must bear resignedly; the punishment that comes
undeservedly, comes as a cause for grief;’ and that deservedly
requires to be expiated with lamentations, which the belly has gained
at the expense of its shame. Given, &c.”
In
the same year [1196] died William, bishop of Poitiers, and, although
his life had seemed to men very reprehensible, still after his death
he was distinguished by miracles. In the same year, Philip, king of
France, and Richard, king of England, agreed upon a truce for one
year from the feast of Saint Hilary, intending once more to make
between them a peace and final
reconciliation. After this, Baldwin, earl of Flanders, came into
England on a pilgrimage to Saint Thomas the Martyr, of Canterbury. In
the same year, the son of Henry, emperor or the Romans, whom the
empress Constance, daughter of Roger, the former king of Sicily, had
borne to him, was baptized, and his name was called Frederic.
In
the same year, Jordan de Courcy, brother of John de Courcy, prince of
the kingdom of Ulster, in Ireland, was slain by an Irishman, a member
of his household. For the purpose of avenging his death, the
before-named John, his brother, fought a battle with the petty kings
of Ireland, of whom lie put some to flight, slew others, and
subjugated their territories; of which he gave no small part to
Dunecan, son of Gilbert, the son of Fergus, who, at the time that the
said John was about to engage with the Irish, came to assist him with
no small body of troops.
In
the same year, Nicholas, bishop of Wic, in Norway, fought a battle
with Swere Birkebain, and being routed by him, took to flight, nearly
all his followers being slain. In the same year, the before-named
bishop of Orleans, who had gone to Rome to procure the liberation of
his brother Philip, died at Sens la Vielle. In the same year, Henry,
emperor of the Romans, sent a great army into the land of Sulia,
under the command of the bishop of Mentz, Henry, duke of Saxony,
count palatine of the Rhine, the duke of Louvaine, the duke de
Saringes, the duke of Austria, son of duke Leopold, the duke of
Suabia, the duke of Bavaria, Walran, brother of the duke of Lemburg,
and many counts.
The
said Walran landed with his forces, before the rest, in the land of
Jerusalem, and immediately attacked the pagans, and, slaying as many
of the pagans as he could, violated the peace and truce which the
king of England, at his departure from the land of Jerusalem, had
agreed to between the Christians and the pagans. Saphadin, the
brother of Saladin, and the other pagans, being greatly enraged at
this, slew all the Christians they could find, and laid siege to
Joppa. On this, Henry, count of Champagne, who, by the election of
the kings of France and of England, and of the Templars and
Hospitallers, had the chief command in the land of Jerusalem,
assembled the army of the Christians for the purpose of raising the
siege; but while he was leaning against the pillar of a window in an
upper room, addressing the multitude, the pillar gave way, and,
falling
to the ground, he broke his neck, and expired; shortly after, the
Saracens took Joppa, and slew in it more than twenty thousand
Christians.
After
the death of Henry, count of Champagne, the duke of Louvaine, and
Henry, duke of Saxony, withdrew to the city of Acre; but they were in
possession of no territory beyond the gates of the city, and no
provisions could be brought to them, through fear of the pagans. In
the meanwhile, the army of the emperor, which had proceeded by sea on
its road to Jerusalem from Germany and other parts of his
territories, made its way past Normandy and England; and then,
holding straight onward in its course for Spain, rescued the city of
Silves from the hands of the pagans; which, however, they utterly
destroyed, not leaving stone upon stone; for they feared that if
they should give it into the charge of the king of Portugal, he would
lose it as he had done before.
In
this pilgrimage of the troops of the people of the said emperor, an
unusual miracle occurred, and one unheard-of by mankind. It so
happened that two Germans, who were neighbours and friends, engaging
in a partnership, agreed that during the pilgrimage to Jerusalem they
would go together, sharing their lodging and their expenses. When the
time for departure was close at hand, one of them came to the house
of the other to lodge there that night; and after he had shown to the
master of the house the money which he was going to take with him
upon the journey, the latter, by the advice of his wife murdered him,
and took his money, and then placing the body of the murdered man on
his shoulders, set out for the purpose of throwing him into a river;
but [on arriving there] he could by no possible means cast him away;
so returning at daybreak with the body fast upon his shoulders, he
lay in concealment for three days. However, when he could endure this
no longer, he went to the bishop for the purpose of consulting him,
what was to be done by him in the matter; on which the bishop
enjoined him, in virtue of the obedience he owed him, to carry the
body with him to the land of Jerusalem, that so, expiating his
crimes, he might restore his soul to the abodes of heaven.
Accordingly, induced by a feeling of penitence, he proceeded with the
other pilgrims, carrying the dead man on his shoulders, to the praise
of the good and the terror of the wicked.
In the same year, [1197] Henry, emperor of the Romans,
arrested the nobles of Sicily, and threw some of them into prison,
while others he put to death, after inflicting upon them various
tortures. He also caused the eyes to be put out of Margarite, the
admiral, to whom he had given the dukedom of Durazzo, and the
principality of Tarento; and after that had him emasculated. On this,
the empress Constance, seeing the evils that the emperor had
inflicted upon her people, formed a conspiracy against her husband
the emperor, and, proceeding to Palermo, seized the emperor’s
treasures which the kings of Sicily had laid up from a distant
period. In consequence of this, the principal men of the kingdom,
becoming emboldened, laid hands on the German followers of the
emperor, and slew them; upon which, the emperor, taking to flight,
shut himself up in a strong fortress, intending, if he possibly
could, to return to his own country; but his adversaries had so
obstructed the paths against him, that in no direction was there safe
egress for him.
In the meantime, Saphadin, the brother of Saladin, after the
capture of Joppa, collecting a large army of pagans, fought a battle with
the chiefs before-mentioned, and the counts and army of the emperor of
the Romans, which he had sent into the land of Jerusalem; and the
army of the Christians prevailed, and in the battle the Christians
took the two sons of Saladin, and more than sixty admirals, and
Saphadin, the brother of Saladin, being mortally wounded, made his
escape with difficulty. The Christians also took the city of Sidon,
and Laliche, and the greater Gybel; and they were in hopes that the
son of Saladin, who held the city of Jerusalem, would become a
Christian, for news had been brought to that effect by the messengers
that carried the communications between them.
In
the meantime, the pagans who were in the city of Baruth, fearing an
attack of the Christians, levelled the walls of the city, and drew
into the castle provisions, necessaries, and arms, with the stones of
the walls for the defence of the castle. One day, however, while they
were intent with the greatest diligence upon this object, having left
only five Christian captives, in fetters, and a single Saracen
gate-keeper in the castle, the archbishop of Mentz, chancellor of the
emperor of the Romans, suddenly came upon them with a great naval
force, and Aimeric, lord of the isle of Cyprus, and the before-named
leaders and chieftains, with an army of horse and foot. The
Christians who were in the castle, seeing this, ran as well as they
could, and, shutting the gates of the castle, slew the Saracen
gatekeeper, and then, ascending to the top of it, shouted with a loud
voice the war-cry of the Christians, “Christ, the Son of God,
aid us and his Holy sepulchre.” Alarmed at the cry, the pagans
fled to the mountains, leaving the castle, the city, their
provisions, and their arms, on which the Christians were received
into the city and the castle with gladness.
After
this, the said archbishop of Mentz, by the advice and wish of the
chief men of Germany, gave to Aimeric, lord of Cyprus, Acre, and
Tyre, and Baruth,* and the other cities which they had taken; and
then gave him Milicent to wife, who had been the wife of Henry, count
of Champagne, and crowned them in the city of Baruth; on which
Aimeric became the liegeman of Henry, emperor of the Romans, for the
isle of Cyprus.
*
Beirut
Of
the Exile of John, Archbishop of Dublin
In
the same year, Hamo de Valence, and the other guardians of Ireland,
liegemen of earl John, brother of Richard, king of England, did great
injuries to John Cumin, archbishop of Dublin. Consequently, the said
archbishop, preferring to go into exile, rather than endure that
these enormities against him and his church should any longer go
unpunished, excommunicated the said presumptuous men, and,
pronouncing sentence of interdict upon his archbishopric, took his
departure. He also ordered the crosses and, images of the cathedral
church to be laid on the ground, and to be surrounded with thorns,
that thus these malefactors might be smitten with fear, and be
checked in their intentions to rage against the property of the
church. But while they were still persevering in their malignant
purposes, a miracle happened, in our times quite unheard of.
There
was, in the cathedral church of Dublin, a cross, on which the figure
of Christ was carved with great exactness; this, all the Irish, as
well as others, held in the greatest veneration. Now, while this
crucifix was lying prostrate on the ground, and surrounded with
thorns, on the sixth day of the week, it fell into an agony, and the
face appeared to be suffused with an exceeding red colour, just as
though it were before a heated furnace, and a violent sweat ran down
from the face, and from its eyes fell drops, as though it were
weeping; and at the sixth hour of the day, blood and water came forth
from the right side, and the right breast. This the ministers of the
church carefully collected, and sent a deputation after John Cumin,
the archbishop, stating to him the happening of these circumstances,
under testimony of the seals of venerable men, for the purpose of
being mentioned to our lord the pope.
But
as for the rest of the bishops of Ireland, although they had often
read the proverb, "Your own property is at stake when your
neighbour’s party wall is on fire,” still, shutting their
eyes thereto, they passed by the losses and injuries that the
above-named servants of John, earl of Mortaigne, had done to their
brother bishop, and, becoming as rams having no horns, fled from
before the face of the pursuer. However, John, the archbishop of
Dublin, going into exile, went to Richard king of England, and John,
earl of Mortaigne, his brother, but could obtain no redress or
restitution of what had been taken from him.
In
the same year, [1197] Henry, emperor of the Romans, having made a
reconciliation with his wife, and the chief men of Sicily, fell ill,
and sent Savaric, bishop of Bath, his relative and chancellor, from
Burgundy, to Richard, king of England, and offered to repay him the
money he had exacted from him for his ransom, either in gold and
silver, or in lands. But while the said Savaric was gone on this
embassy, the before-named emperor of the Romans died, at Messina, in
Sicily, on the vigil of Saint Michael, being excommunicated by pope
Celestinus, for his detention of Richard, king of England, and
exacting from him a ransom; in consequence of which, the said pope
forbade his body to be buried, although the archbishop of Messina
made great entreaties in his behalf.
Accordingly,
the said archbishop waited on pope Celestinus, for three reasons. In
the first place, that the body of the emperor might receive burial;
in the second place, that Marchowald, the chief justiciary of the
emperor, might be liberated from the siege by the people of Rome, who
were then besieging him in the marshes of Guarnero, not allowing him
to depart; in the third place, that Frederic, son of the aforesaid
emperor, might be crowned king of Sicily. To the first of these
prayers, our lord the pope Celestinus made answer, that he would not
allow the body of the emperor to be buried, except with the consent
of the king of England, and unless the money which he had received
from the king of England, should be returned.
To the second prayer, our lord the pope made answer, that he could
not liberate the said Marchowald of his own authority, without the
consent of the people of Rome. To the third prayer, our lord the pope
made answer, that he would consent, if it should please his brother
cardinals, that Frederic, the son of the before-named emperor, should
be crowned king of Sicily; which coronation accordingly took place, a
thousand marks of silver having been given to our lord the pope on
his own behalf, and a thousand marks of silver in behalf of the
cardinals. The empress, also, made oath, touching the Holy
Evangelists, that the said Frederic was issue of the lawful marriage
of the said emperor Henry and herself.
In
the same year, Roger, the brother of Robert, earl of Leicester, being
elected bishop of Saint Andrew’s, in Scotland, received
priest’s orders and pontifical consecration from Matthew,
bishop of Aberdeen. In the same year, Margaret, formerly queen of
England and then queen of Hungary, died at Acre.
On
the demise of Henry, emperor of the Romans, a great part of Tuscany,
which the said emperor and his predecessors had taken from the Roman
Pontiffs, was restored to our lord, Celestinus, the Supreme Pontiff,
namely, Aquapendente, Saint Crispin, Monte Fiascone, Redecoces, and
Saintclere, with all their appurtenances; there were also restored to
him Sicily, Calabria, Apulia, and all the territories which had
belonged to the king of Sicily, as being the proper patrimony of
Saint Peter, over which, as above-mentioned, he made Frederic, son of
Henry, the Roman emperor, king.
Shortly after this, our lord the pope, Celestinus, gradually sickened, just
before the Nativity of our Lord, and having called before him all the
cardinals, recommended them to take measures for the election of his
successor; for he was using every possible endeavour that the lord
John de Saint Paul, cardinal priest and titular of Saint Prisca the
Virgin, might succeed him in the papacy, in whose wisdom, sanctity,
and justice, he placed great confidence. Indeed, he so greatly loved
him beyond the rest, that he had appointed him in his own place to
perform every duty except the consecration of bishops, which belonged
to the duties of the cardinal bishop of Ostia.
The pope also made an offer to resign the papacy, if the
cardinals would consent to the election of the said John de Saint Paul.
All the cardinals, however, with one voice, made answer, that they
would not elect him conditionally, and alleged
that it was a thing unheard-of for the Supreme Pontiff to abdicate.
Consequently, a division ensued among them; for the lord cardinal
bishop of Ostia used every possible endeavour that he might be
elected pope, and, in like manner did the lord cardinal bishop of
Portuenza, the lord Jordan de Fossa Nova, the lord Gratianus, and all
the rest, struggle, each to the utmost of his power, that he might be
made Supreme Pontiff.
In the same year, William, king of the Scots, following a good
example, caused the subjects of his kingdom to make oath that they would keep
the peace to the best of their ability, and that they would neither
be thieves, nor robbers, nor outlaws, nor harbourers of them, nor
would in any way abet them; and that, whenever they might hear of
any such offenders, they would use the utmost of their ability in
arresting and destroying them.
An Assize of Measures made by Richard, king of England
“It is enacted, that all measures, throughout the whole of
England, shall be of the same capacity, both for corn and for pulse, as also for
other things of a like nature, that is to say, one good and
reasonable horse load; and this is to be the measure established,
both within cities and boroughs, and without. The measure also of
wine, ale, and all liquors, is to be of the same size, according to
the various natures of the liquors. Weights also, and scales, and
other measures of dimension, are to be of the same quantity
throughout all the kingdom, according to the different nature of the
commodities. Also, in the measures of corn, and of liquors, such as
wine and ale, let pegs of iron be driven into them, that false
measure may not fraudulently be given. It is also decreed, that
woollen cloths, wherever they are made, are to be made of the same
breadth, that is to say, two ells wide within the lists; and all are
to be of the same goodness in the middle, and in the sides. The ell
is to be the same throughout the whole kingdom, and of the same
length, and is to be made of iron. It is also forbidden to all
traders throughout the whole kingdom of England, that any trader
shall hang up before his
shop, red or black cloths, or penthouses, or anything else, by means
of which the sight of the purchaser is often deceived in choosing a
good cloth. It is also forbidden, that any dye shall be sold, or that
any, except black alone, shall be made anywhere in the kingdom,
except in cities, or in county boroughs. It is also enacted, that in
each city or borough, four or six lawful men of the said place,
according to the size thereof, together with the sheriff, or together
with the chief officer of the city or borough, if the same shall not
be in the hands of the sheriff, 66
shall be appointed to keep this assize, in the following manner; they
are to see and be assured that all things are sold and bought by the
same measure, and that all measures are of the same quantity,
according to the different nature of the wares. And if they shall
find any person who shall make confession, or be convicted of selling
otherwise than by statute measure, let his body be seized, and let
him be committed to prison, and let all his chattels be seized to the
king’s use; and such persons are not to be set at liberty,
except by our lord the king, or his chief justice.
“As to the guardians themselves, it was enacted, that it they should
exercise the said guardianship so negligently, that they should be
convicted by means of others than themselves, before the justices of
our lord the king, of transgressing any one of the before-written
statutes, either as to the measures of provisions, or of other wares,
or the width of cloth, the guardians themselves should be amerced out
of their own chattels by our lord the king.
“It was also commanded, that after the feast of the Purification
of Saint Mary, no person should sell anything in any county, except by the
prescribed measure, which was to be of the same quantity; and that no
one should, after the fair which is held at Mid-Lent, at Stamford,
sell any cloth of less width than two ells within the lists.”
1198 A.D.
In the year of grace 1198, being the ninth year of the reign of Richard,
king of England, the said Richard, king of England, was at Rouen, in
Normandy, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord, which fell on the
fifth day of the week. On the same day of the Nativity of our Lord,
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, legate of
the Apostolic See, and chief justiciary of all England, was at
Hereford, in Wales, and there received possession of the castle of
Hereford, the castle of Briges,* and the castle of Ludlow, having
expelled therefrom the keepers, who had long held charge of them, and
gave them into the care of other keepers on behalf of the king.
*
Bridgnorth
After
this, the said archbishop came to Coventry, and by the mandate of
Celestinus, the Supreme Pontiff, reinstated the monks in the
cathedral church of that city, whom Hugh de Nunant, the bishop of
that place, had expelled from the said church by violence and an
armed hand, and had instituted in their places canons secular, and
endowed them with the property of the church, which had been bestowed
for the sustenance of the monks there serving God; but the canons
being now expelled, the property of the church was restored for the
use of the monks.
The
Letters Apostolic for the reinstatement of the monks in the church of
Coventry
“Celestinus,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his dearly beloved
sons the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of Lincoln, and the
abbot of Saint Edmund’s, health and the Apostolic benediction.
Whereas it is our wish that such provisions as have been made by
enactment by our predecessors with prudent deliberation, should in
nowise be invalidated or infringed, so also it is our desire that
such things as have been surreptitiously obtained from them to the
detriment of ecclesiastical propriety should be corrected, and
brought into a better state. Wherefore, inasmuch as, according as we
have heard, or rather indeed, as we well know, the monastic order has
been established in the church of Coventry, almost from the time of
the first introduction of the Christian faith into England, and has
performed therein with such well-regulated observance all duties,
that it has been deemed deserving to receive privileges from the
Apostolic See, and to be endowed and enriched by kings of England of
famous memory, we are greatly afflicted that our venerable brother,
the bishop of Chester (on the pretext of certain letters, which, as
it is said, but we can hardly believe, he obtained by means of a
false suggestion from our predecessor pope Clement, of blessed
memory, without our concurrence, and that of our brethren), has with
violence expelled our dearly beloved sons, the prior and community of
monks, from the said monastery, and established canons secular
therein. Now, inasmuch as the same may redound to the disgrace of the
monastic order and the discipline of the whole Church, and it is our
belief that our said predecessor would not have granted his authority
or favour to so great an irregularity, unless he had been imposed
upon, we do by these Apostolic writings command your brotherhood, and
do, in virtue of your obedience, strictly enjoin you, the letters
aforesaid or other privileges of confirmation or indulgence in any
way notwithstanding, to remove the secular clergy from the said
monastery who have been instituted therein by the above-named bishop,
and, without being impeded by any question or doubt whatsoever, to
reinstate therein the monastic order, installing therein the monks
who have been expelled, and who shall return thereto, as also such
persons as are bound and desire to observe the rules of the order of
Saint Benedict. You are also, by means of ecclesiastical censure, all
power of appeal removed, to compel the aforesaid bishop, and all
withholders of the property of the said church, to make restitution
of the same. We do further will and command, that, relying on our
authority/you will render null and void the presentations of the said
bishop, as also the enfeoffments, leases, alienations, and purchases
made by the said church since the time aforesaid, smiting those with
canonical censure who shall presume to contravene the same, all
obstacle of appeal removed; and that those who have laid violent
hands upon the said monks you will denounce as excommunicated; and
they must come for absolution to the Apostolic See, furnished with
the testimony of your letters. Given, &c.”
At
the Nativity of our Lord, there came to Rouen, envoys from the
archbishop of Cologne, envoys from the archbishop of Mentz, and
envoys from the other nobles of Germany, to wait upon king Richard,
and to inform him, on behalf of the persons aforesaid, that all the
nobles of Germany would meet at Cologne on the eighth day before the
calends of March, for the purpose of electing an emperor; and they
enjoined him, in virtue of the oath and fealty by which he was bound
to the emperor and to the Roman empire, all denial and pretext
whatsoever laid aside, to come to Cologne at the time aforesaid, in
order that he, as an especial member of the empire, might be with
them on the occasion of their electing, by the help of God, a fit and
proper emperor for the empire.
After
hearing them, Richard, king of England, having first conferred with
his people, sent, with the aforesaid envoys of the Germans, Philip,
bishop of Durham, Eustace, the bishop elect of Ely, William de
Chimeli, the bishop elect of
Anjou, the bishop elect of Evreux, as also Baldwin de Bethune, the
earl of Aumarle, William de Pratelles, William de L’Estang, and
Brice, his chamberlain, that they might be present at the election of
emperor in his stead. For he greatly feared to go thither, and once
more to fall into their hands, unless security should be given him
for a safe conduct going and returning. And no wonder, for he had not
yet paid what he had promised to give to the nobles of the land for
his liberation, and for his sake it was that the body of the emperor
was lying unburied.
The
king of England, however, used every possible endeavour that Henry,
duke of Saxony, his nephew, might be made emperor. But as he had not
yet returned from his pilgrimage, and delay brought danger with it,
the said king of England wrought so effectually with the archbishops
of Cologne and Mentz, and ‘ some of the other principal men of
Germany, that they elected his nephew Otho, brother of the
before-named duke of Saxony, emperor. It deserves to be known, that
in the election of the emperor of the Romans, the mode of procedure
is as follows:
The
manner of electing the Emperor of the Romans
On
the death of the emperor, the archbishops, bishops, abbats, dukes,
counts, and all the other nobles of Germany, meeting together, elect
twelve persons in common, and present them to the archbishop of
Cologne, the archbishop of Mentz, the duke of Saxony, and the Count
Palatine of the Rhine; and whosoever these four elect from the twelve
so selected as aforesaid, is to be the king of the Germans, and to be
crowned as such at the Chapel of Hays,* where Charles the Great lies
buried.
*
Aix-la-Chapelle
Accordingly,
the before-named Otho, being one of the twelve persons so selected in
common, as aforesaid, on the urgent prayers and intercession made by
Richard, king of England, [on his election,] was received by the
archbishops of Cologne and Mentz, and was crowned by them king of the
Germans, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in presence of the dukes of Lemburg,
Louvaine, and many other dukes and many bishops, Baldwin, earl of
Flanders, being also present, and Henry, count of Namur, his brother,
and many other counts. On this, the said Otho took to wife the
daughter of the duke of Louvaine, and on the day of the coronation of
the said Otho, she sat together with him on the royal throne, but was
not crowned at that time.
Henry,
duke of Saxony, also Count Palatine of the Rhine, the brother of the
before-named Otho, after his return from the land of Sulia,
sanctioning what had been done with reference to his brother, and
expressing his gratification thereat, confirmed his election. But, as
Philip, duke of Suabia, son of Frederic, the former emperor of the
Romans, and brother of Henry, emperor of the Romans, lately deceased,
was one of the twelve selected, he would not agree to his election,
but attacked Otho in every way he possibly could; and although Otho
defeated him in a pitched battle, he still refused to desist from his
attempts.
In
the same year, [1198] Aimeric, archdeacon of Durham, disseised the
monks of the church of Durham of the vill which is called Hersewell,
which Henry Pudsey had given them as a free and perpetual alms-gift,
for the maintenance of monks at Pinchale, for the service of God. His
servants, who had been sent for the purpose of making the said
disseisin, broke open the doors of the monks’ dwellings, and,
with violence, ejected the monks they found there. When, however, the
said Aimeric was asked if this violence had been committed by his
orders, he answered, &ldquot;No:”
on which, the monks of Durham, having convened the clergy and people
of the city in the church of Saint Cuthbert, excommunicated the
perpetrators of this violence, as also their advisers and abettors,
with candles lighted and the great bells of the church ringing.
In the same year, Richard, king of England, through Hubert, archbishop
of Canterbury, required that the people of the kingdom of England
should find for him three hundred knights to remain in his service
one year, or else give him so much money as to enable him therewith
to retain in his service three hundred knights for one year, namely,
three shillings per day, English money, as the livery of each knight.
While all the rest were ready to comply with this, not daring to
oppose the king’s wishes, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, a true
worshipper of God, who withheld himself from every evil work, made
answer, that, for his part, he would never in this one matter
acquiesce in the king’s desires, both because, in process of
time, it would redound to the detriment of his church, as also,
because his successors would say: “Our fathers have eaten sour
grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge." And,
turning to Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, he urgently recommended
him to do nothing of which he would he ashamed, “By reason
whereof shame might place a mark on his forehead, and self accusation
torture his mind, or disgrace blemish the glories of his fair name."
In
the same year, queen Eleanor, the mother of Richard, king of England,
came to Rouen, and sent for Hugh FitzErnest de Neville and the other
keepers who had charge of Philip, bishop of Beauvais, in the fortress
of Rouen, and begged them, for the love they bore her, to allow the
said bishop to come to her lodging to speak to her: and, although it
was a perilous matter for them, still, being unable to resist the
queen’s entreaty, they allowed the said bishop, in fetters, to
go beyond the gates of the fortress, while they accompanied him. Now,
it so happened that they had to pass by the porch of a certain
church; to the door of which, although it was closed, the said bishop
ran as fast as he could, and, seizing the knocker of the said church,
cried with a loud voice, saying, “I seek the protection of God
and of the Church.” At these words, his guards, being greatly
alarmed, laid hands on him, and, dragging him away from the door of
the church, led him to the fortress whence he had come, and kept him
in still stricter custody, imputing it to the queen that this had
been done by her advice. On hearing of this, the king of England sent
the said bishop to Chinon, to be kept in closer confinement.
In
the same year, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated Eustace,
bishop of Ely, at London, on the Lord’s Day on which is sung
“Lætare Jerusalem,” * the ceremony being performed at Westminster,
on the eighth day before the ides of March.
* The beginning of the Introit for the fourth Sunday in Lent.
In the same year, pope Celestinus, sinking under the weight of old age
and a grievous malady, departed this life, at Rome, in the month of
January, on the sixth day before the ides of the said month, being
the sixth day of the week, in the seventh year of his papacy, and was
buried at the Lateran. On the day after his death, the cardinals,
meeting together, elected as Supreme Pontiff Lothaire, a cardinal
deacon, a young man, about thirty years old or a little more, who
assumed the name of pope Innocent. Immediately after his election, he
wrote to all the archbishops and bishops of England and Scotland to
the following effect:—
The
Letter of pope Innocent on the occasion of his Election
“Innocent,
bishop elect of the Apostolic See, servant of the servants of God, to
all his venerable brethren, the archbishops and bishops throughout
England appointed, health and the Apostolic benediction. The
ineffable wisdom of the Deity hath so, in His exalted counsels,
disposed all things from everlasting, and, by His wondrous
dispensation, so rules them through the vicissitudes of ages as they
roll on, that there occurs neither error in the order thereof, nor
defect in the workmanship; inasmuch as, Holy Scripture testifying the
same, He has made every thing by weight, by number, and by measure.
Wherefore, although he ordains nothing upon earth without a certain
cause, and appropriate reason for the same, still, the imperfect
state of human nature, not only fails in investigating the causes of
His works, but, even in viewing the results themselves of those
causes, can hardly be sufficiently astounded [at the marvellousness
thereof]; indeed, it was while considering this, that the Apostle
exclaimed, ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways
past finding out!’ For, although, the prophet bearing
testimony thereto, ‘All the ways of the Lord are mercy and
truth,’ and ‘All His works are done in truth,’
still, to such a degree does the right hand of the Lord, great though
it is, work out the successes of mankind, both their humiliation and
their exaltation, that it is a cause to ourselves of no slight
astonishment that, in the bestowal of power, He sometimes places the
younger before the elder ones, and, as the prophet says, ‘ Sons
are born in place of the fathers,’ who, being appointed to
govern all the earth, are to remember the name of the Lord. And so in
our case, ‘ This is the Lord’s doing, and it is
marvellous in our eyes.’ For Celestinus, of blessed memory, our
father and predecessor, having gone the way of all flesh, on the
sixth day before the ides of January, and having been honorably
interred, according to custom, in the church of the Lateran, our
brethren, that is to say, the cardinal bishops, priests, and deacons,
and ourselves with them, met together, that with the more freedom and
safety,
we might discuss the election of a pontiff, thus great being the
necessity for holding the said discussion with all due deliberation,
and coming to a conclusion after using the most guarded
circumspection in so doing. Accordingly, after the solemn service of
the mass had been performed in honor of the Holy Ghost, the wishes of
all directed their views upon ourselves, insufficient as we are,
perhaps thinking, in their human sagacity, to find the silver cup in
the sack of Benjamin; although many of them might, on the grounds of
age, rank, and merit, have been more worthily called to the elevation
of a dignity so exalted. And, although our sense of our inefficiency
utterly recoiled from the weight of a dignity so great, as being a
burden unsuited to the weakness of our shoulders, still, confiding in
the example of Him, who strengthened the weakness of Saint Peter,
which had been previously tested by his three denials, after the
words of his thrice-reiterated confession, by bestowing on him the
guidance of His sheep; that which the manifold imperfections of our
nature declined, we accepted at their desire, lest our opposition
thereto might produce injury, by reason of prolonged divisions, or we
might seem, in a measure, to be struggling against the ordinance of
God, hoping that He who giveth to all abundantly and grudgeth not,
and who raised the youngest son,* the man after His own heart, to be
king, will raise up from the stones a son to Abraham, calling the
things which are not, even as the things which are, and that by
raising up the weak, He will put the strong to confusion. Wherefore,
we,
undertaking
the onerous duties of the government of the church, and placing no
small confidence in you, whom the Lord hath willed to be partakers in
our cares, to the end that the weight of a burden so great may press
the more lightly upon us, do ask, advise, and exhort the whole of
you, in the Lord, to aid our inefficiency with your prayers unto the
Lord, and, diligently and profitably watching over the flock of the
Lord that has been entrusted to us and to you, to show yourselves
ready to make up for our defects, and with watchful zeal to aid in
supporting the weight of the ecclesiastical dignity which has been
conferred upon us. And further, it is our earnest intention to show
to you all honor as being distinguished members of the church, and,
so far as the Lord shall aid us in so doing, to assist you in your
emergencies. Given at the Lateran, on the fifth day before the ides
of January."
*
King David.
Accordingly,
upon the election of the said Innocent as Roman Pontiff, having been
from his infancy acquainted with all the blemishes of the Roman
court, and wishing to change things for the better, immediately after
his election he dismissed the greater part of the janitors and
doorkeepers of the court, in order that both clerks as well as
laymen, who had any complaint to make, might enjoy freer access to
him.
On
the fifth day before the ides of March, in the same year, Mary,
countess of Champagne, departed this life, the mother of Henry, count
of Champagne, who was lord of Acre. The said countess was sister of
Philip, king of France, on the father’s side, and sister of
Richard, king of England, on the mother’s side.
In
the same year, [1198] Geoffrey, archbishop of York, came into
Normandy by command of his brother, Richard, king of England, in
hopes of making peace with the king. For the king had sent for the
deans and canons of York to come to him in Normandy, wishing to make
peace between the archbishop and them; however, the archbishop,
before the canons had arrived, had made a reconciliation with the
king his brother; upon which the king made him full restitution of
his archbishopric, and ordered Robert his chaplain to cross over into
England with Master Honorius, the clerk and deputy of the said
archbishop, to be present at the said restitution, on which the said
archbishop conferred on the said Master Honorius the archdeaconry of
Richmond; for the king had made a promise to the archbishop that for
the future he would not throw any difficulty in the way of his
presentations. As the dean and canons of York did not make their
appearance before the king at the time appointed, nor yet send a
sufficient proxy in their behalf, the archbishop, having received
leave from the king, withdrew from the court, for the purpose of
going to Rome on the king’s business as well as his own.
However,
on the third day after, the deans and canons of York came to the
king, and prevailed upon him to allow the restitution which he had
granted to the archbishop to be delayed until the archbishop’s
return; and, having thus impeded the business of the archbishop, the
dean and canons returned to York, making great boasts of the favours
they had received from the king, and saying that they had the king’s
charter that he would not come to any complete understanding with the
archbishop unless they were included in the reconciliation.
In
the same year, on the first Sunday in Lent, Innocent, the bishop
elect of the Roman See, was consecrated Roman Pontiff at Saint
Peter’s at Rome, by Octavianus, bishop of Ostia, on the
fifteenth day before the calends of March, and, immediately after his
consecration. the prefect, senators, and tribunes of the city, and
others of the Roman people, demanded of him the revenues and customs
which the Roman Pontiffs, his predecessors, had been in the habit of
paying them; to which he made answer that he would never do so,
inasmuch as if he should do so, he would be doing it against the will
of God, and to the prejudice of the Church of Rome. The Romans, upon
hearing this, made an attack upon his possessions, and plundered
them, on which he excommunicated them.
In
the month of March, in the same year, Hugh de Nunant, bishop of
Coventry, died at Betherlevin, in Normandy, on Good Friday, being the
sixth day before the calends of April, and was buried there in the
convent of the monks, being succeeded in the bishopric of Coventry by
Geoffrey de Muschamp, archdeacon of Cleveland, who was presented
thereto by Richard, king of England, and consecrated at Canterbury by
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury.
In
the same year, [1198] the king of England with the earl of Saint
Gilles, and Joanna his wife, the former queen of Sicily, were at Le
Mans, at the festival of Easter, which fell on the fourth day before
the calends of April. In the same year, Richard, king of England,
levied from each carucate or hide of land throughout all England five
shillings as an aid; for the purpose of collecting which, the said
king sent through each county of England one clerk and one knight;
who, with the sheriff of the county to which they were sent, and
lawful knights elected for the purpose, making oath that they would
faithfully perform the king’s business, caused to appear before
them the seneschals of the barons of the said county, and the lord or
bailiff of every vill, and the reeve, together with the four lawful
men of the vill, whether freemen or villeins, as also two lawful
knights of the hundred, who made oath that they would faithfully and
without fraud declare what was the amount of carucates in each vill
that were in tillage; namely, how many were held in demesne, how many
in villanage, and how many in almoign bestowed on religious orders,
which the givers thereof were bound to make warranty of, or to pay
for, or for which the said re ligious
were bound to do service; and upon each carucate in tillage, by the
king’s commands, they first levied two shillings and then three
shillings; all of which was reduced to writing. Of all this the clerk
had one register, the knight another, the sheriff a third, and the
seneschals of the barons a fourth register as to the land of their
lords.
This
money was received by the hands of two lawful knights of each
hundred, and by the hands of the bailiff of the hundred, and they
were answerable for the same to the sheriff, and the sheriff
answerable for the same according to the before-mentioned registers
to the exchequer, in presence of the bishops, abbats, and barons
appointed for the purpose.
Also, for the punishment of the jurors who, contrary to their oath, should
be guilty of concealing anything in the said matters, it was enacted
that whatever villein should be convicted of perjury he should
forfeit to his lord the best ox of his plough, and should, out of his
own property, be answerable for as much money for the use of our lord
the king as should be proved to have remained concealed by means of
his perjury; but if a free man should be convicted, he was to be
amerced by the king, and was to refund as well out of his own
property as much as had been concealed by him, in the same manner as
the villein.
It was also enacted, that every baron should, with the aid of the
sheriff, make levies upon his tenants; and, if by default of the
baron, such levies should not be made, then there was to be taken
from the demesne of the baron, what should remain payable by his
tenants, and the baron was to take the same from his tenants.
Frank-fees of parish churches were exempted from the said tallage;
and all escheats of barons which were held in the lands of our lord
the king contributed thereto. But serjeanties* of our lord the king,
which were not attached to knights’ fees, were excepted,
although they were placed on the register, as also the number of the
carucates of land, the values of their lands, and the names of those
holding by serjeanty; and all those so holding, were summoned to be
at London on the octave at the end of Easter, to hear and perform the
king’s commands.
* Freehold lands exempt from all services, but not from homage.
The persons who were chosen for that purpose, and appointed by our lord
the king, according to the estimation of lawful men, set down a
hundred acres of land for each carucate of land in cultivation.
In the same year, the monks of the Holy Trinity at Canterbury, setting
out for Rome, made complaint to pope Innocent, that Hubert,
archbishop of Canterbury, contrary to his orders and his dignity, was
acting as justiciary of the kingdom, and as judge in matters of life
and death, and was so involved in secular matters, that he could not
possibly give attention to the management of the affairs of the
church; it being wisely said, that “When the sense is intent on
many objects, it is less intent on each.” They also laid
charges against him, saying, that it was by his command that the
peace of the church of Saint Mary at Arches, at London, had been
violated, and William Longbeard had been violently dragged therefrom,
and tied to horses’ tails, and dragged away to the gibbet,
together with nine of his associates similarly torn away from that
church, and then hanged on the gallows. On this, our lord the pope,
with a fatherly exhortation, recommended Richard, king of England, as
he valued the safety of his soul, not to allow the said archbishop
any longer to discharge secular duties, and in future not to admit
him or any other bishop or priest to a secular office; he also
ordered all the prelates of churches, in virtue of their obedience,
not with rash presumption to undertake the discharge of secular
duties. Accordingly, the archbishop of Canterbury being removed from
the management of the kingdom, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter succeeded him in
the same.
They
also accused him, alleging that, to the prejudice of the mother
church of Canterbury, he had built a new church at Lambeth, and had
placed therein canons secular, endowed with the property and
benefices of the monks of Canterbury, and had therein, against the
custom and dignity of the church of Canterbury, consecrated bishops;
and that, unless a remedy was speedily put thereto, they feared that
the dignity of the church of Canterbury might be diminished, and
might appear to be transferred to this apostate chapel. Our lord the
pope, being considerably influenced by this, wrote to Hubert,
archbishop of Canterbury to the following effect:
The
Letter of pope Innocent to Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, ordering
the demolition of the chapel at Lambeth.
“Innocent
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his dearly beloved
brother, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, health and the Apostolic
benediction. The more sincere the affection with which we love your
person, the greater the grief with which we are afflicted, so often
as we hear of actions of yours which are derogatory to pontifical
propriety. For, whereas the church of Canterbury, over which you are
known to preside, is considered among the churches of England to hold
the foremost rank, and in religion has been accustomed to stand
pre-eminent among the rest, we and our brethren are both afflicted
and amazed that (as our dearly beloved sons, the prior and convent,
have with humble complaint showed unto us,) you occupy yourself in
manifold ways, and exert your utmost endeavours in the building of
the chapel at Lambeth, contrary to the prohibition of Urban and
Clement, the Roman Pontiffs, of blessed memory, which were issued
against your predecessor Baldwin, relative thereto. After multiplied
appeals to the Apostolic See, to the great prejudice of the church of
Canterbury, you have still in your rashness proceeded therein, and
have installed canons in the same, endowed with the property of the
said church, whereas, better consulting yourself and your honor, you
would have entirely desisted from the building of the said chapel, if
you had been ready to shew that respect and obedience which you owe
to the Church of Rome, and would have sought to make provision and
shew all anxiety for the church committed to your charge, and would
not have made it your study to proceed in that which you know to have
been so strictly forbidden to your predecessor by the Apostolic See.
Wherefore, inasmuch as we ought not nor will we on any account put up
with the lessening of the church of Canterbury, walking in the
footsteps of our aforesaid predecessors, by the advice of our
brethren, we do, by these Apostolic writings, command your
brotherhood and strictly enjoin you, all delay and excuses laid
aside, that if you should be absent from your church, anything
whatever notwithstanding, whatever is known to have been done in the
building of the aforesaid chapel, after the appeals made both in the
time of your predecessors as also in your own to the Apostolic See,
as also the prohibitions thereof by our predecessors, you will,
within
thirty days after the receipt of these presents, not delay to destroy
at your own expense, utterly revoking as null and void, and undoing
whatever has been done, or whatever innovation has been made,
contrary to all rule, as to the instalment of canons and other
persons in the said chapel. The clergy also, who, after the Apostolic
prohibitions, have performed Divine service in the said chapel, you
are to hold suspended from their duties and benefices until such time
as they shall have made due satisfaction for the same, all the works
being destroyed which they have dared to erect at the said chapel.
All matters of grievance also, which, after appeal made by them, they
have been subjected to, by the intrusion of strangers, and by the
invasion of their churches and other rights, you are to replace, all
power of appeal removed, in their former state in which they were
before the appeal was made; the sentences also of excommunication or
interdict which you are said in your rashness to have pronounced upon
some of the brethren themselves, you are publicly to announce as null
and void. And for the future, as regards the state of the said
monastery, you are not on any pretext relative to this matter to
presume, contrary to our prohibition, to make any innovation therein,
but are, by the ban of excommunication, to compel the unlawful
invaders of the vills, possessions, and revenues of the brethren
aforesaid, to make due and proper satisfaction for the same. But if
(a thing that we do not believe) you shall neglect or delay, within
the stated time, to fulfil our commands, because it is just that
obedience should be withdrawn from him who neglects to pay obedience
to the Apostolic See. we do, by these our writings, command our
venerable brethren, your suffragans, thenceforth not to pay obedience
or respect to you. And if it shall so be, that, contrary to this our
prohibition, you shall exact obedience and respect to be shewn to you
by them, or any of them, you are to know that you are thenceforth
suspended from the episcopal dignity, and that you will be subject to
the said sentence, until such time as you shall present yourself in
our presence to make satisfaction for the said contempt. And further,
we do not make any distinction as to whether, in the place forbidden
by our predecessors or in any other place, you shall proceed to act
to the prejudice of the church of Canterbury, by the building of the
said chapel, and
the institution of canons therein, the same cause for forbidding it
still existing; except that we are of opinion that it is still more
derogatory to the said church, that the building has been transferred
to a place so distant.* Given at Saint Peter’s, at Rome, on the
eighth day before the ides of May, in the first year of our
pontificate.”
*
Alluding to the transfer of the intended chapel by archbishop Baldwin
from Akington, or Hackington, near Canterbury, to Lambeth.
The
said pope Innocent also signified, by his letters to all the
suffragans of the church of Canterbury, that he had given commands to
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, not to delay, within thirty days
after the receipt of his letter, at his own expense, to destroy the
chapel of Lambeth, and revoke as null and void whatever had been done
as to the institution of canons and other persons in reference to the
said chapel, as also the other matters that were contained in his
said letter. He also Commanded the said suffragans that, if the said
archbishop of Canterbury should delay to do any of the things that
were contained in his said letter, then, in such case, for the
future, they were to pay him no respect or obedience.
However,
the said archbishop, being supported by the king’s protection,
hoping that he could not be defeated by his adversaries, caused all
the revenues of the monks, and the offerings at the tomb of the
blessed Martyr Thomas, to be seized on the king’s behalf, and,
disregarding the mandates of the Supreme Pontiff, would not allow the
monks of the Holy Trinity to go beyond the precincts of that church.
At last, however, at his own expense, he destroyed the chapel at
Lambeth.
In
the same year, [1198] Geoffrey, the archbishop of York, and Simon,
the dean, together with the canons of York, appearing in the presence
of Richard, king of England, at Andely, in Normandy, each of them
alleged the injuries done to the one side and the other; and, as it
was in accordance with. the king’s wishes that the said
archbishop, dean, and canons of York should submit to the arbitration
of the lord archbishop of Rouen, and the lords bishop of Winchester
and Worcester, the said archbishop consented to the king’s
desire on the subject : but the dean and canons of York made answer,
that they would not submit to the judgment of any person, except the
judgment of canons secular, and they alleged injustice on the part of
the king, because this mode of reconciliation was productive of long
delays, and, in the meantime, the archbishop would not confirm the
presentations which the king had made to them in the church of York.
The
king, being incensed at this conduct, gave the archdeaconry of
Richmond to Roger of Saint Edmund’s, his clerk, which the
archbishop of York had previously given to Master Honorius, his
clerk; who, although he had received the fealty of the clergy of the
said archdeaconry by command of the archbishop, and the archbishop
had, by his letters, generally given a command to the like effect to
the whole chapter of York, ordering them, in virtue of their
obedience, to receive the said Honorius and install him, had still
been rejected, Simon of Apulia opposing him on the ground that the
archbishop had not made especial mention of him in his letters as
being dean of the said church. And accordingly, the aforesaid dean, a
disturber of the peace, and unmindful of the profession which he had
made to the said archbishop, received Roger of Saint Edmund’s,
and installed him, and invested him with the archdeaconry of
Richmond, after appeal made by Master Honorius to the Supreme
Pontiff. On this, the clerks of the archdeaconry of Richmond, through
the violent coercion of Simon of Apulia, and the stern commands of
the king, paid fealty to Roger of Saint Edmund’s, in
contravention of the canonical obedience which they had previously
paid to Master Honorius. In the chapter of York, consisting of the
said Simon, the dean, and the other canons of the said church, the
aforesaid dean, in the violence of his wrath, paying no deference to
the appeal made to the Supreme Pontiff, excommunicated Hugh Murdac,
his fellow-canon, because he refused to sanction their proceedings,
or take any part whatever in the conspiracy formed against his
archbishop. For, as he said: “The wringing of the nose bringeth
forth blood.” On the same day, when the said Hugh entered the
choir to attend vespers, the dean ordered him to go out, as a person
excommunicated; and, as he refused to depart, the dean ordered the
tapers to be put out, and left the choir.
In
the same year, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, the justiciary of England,
assembling a large army, proceeded to Wales, to succour the people of
William de Braose, whom Wenhunwin,* the brother of Cadwallan, had
besieged in Maud’s Castle, and on arriving there, he fought a
pitched battle with the said Wenhunwin and his people, and, although
the Welch in arms were very numerous, still, not being able to make
resistance to the forces of the English, they were put to flight, and
throwing away their arms, that, being less burdened, they might run
more swiftly, there were slain more than three thousand seven hundred
of them, besides those who were captured, and those who being fatally
wounded escaped from the field; while on the side of the English,
only one person was killed, being accidentally wounded by an arrow
incautiously aimed by one of his companions.
*
M ore
generally called Owen.
In
the same year, in the month of August, Ermengard, the queen of the
Scots, was delivered of her first-born son, and his name was called
Alexander, he being baptized by Jocelyn, the venerable bishop of
Glasgow.
In
the same year, [1198] the truce being ended, which the king of France
and the king of England had agreed to, until such time as the corn
should have been gathered in on both sides, their direful fury
immediately blazed forth, and, all conferences being put an end to,
each entered the kingdom of the other in hostile form, and,
depopulating the lands, carried off booty, took prisoners, and burned
towns. The king of France also, finding a new method of venting his
rage against the people, caused the eyes to be put out of many of the
subjects of the king of England whom he had made prisoners, and thus
provoked the king of England, unwilling as he was, to similar acts of
impiety.
In
the same year, the Duke of Louvaine, the count de Brene, Baldwin,
earl of Flanders, the count de Gynes, the earl of Boulogne, Geoffrey,
count de Perche, the earl of Saint Gilles, the earl of Blois, Arthur,
duke of Brittany, and many others, forsaking the king of France,
became adherents of Richard, king of England, making oath to him, and
he to them, that they would not make peace with the king of France,
unless with the common consent of all. On this, the earl of Flanders
laid siege to the town of Saint Omer, and took it by storm, and in
like manner Arras, and many other towns of the king of France.
In
the same year, Henry, duke of Saxony, nephew of Richard, king of
England, came to Andely, in Normandy, to visit his uncle, the said
king of England, being on his return from the land of Sulia; and was
honorably entertained by the king, in such manner as befitted a man
of such eminence, and his own nephew. In the month of September, in
the said year, Philip, king of France, and Richard, king of England,
had an engagement
between Jumieges, a castle of the king of England, and Vernon, a
castle of the king of France, in which combat the king of France and
his people being put to flight, he lost sixty of his knights, and
more than forty 86
men-at-arms, besides many horse and foot; the king of England
pursuing the king of France with the edge of the sword, until he shut
himself up in his castle of Vernon.
In
the same year, Philip, bishop of Durham, received, by command of king
Richard, the manor of Sedbergh, with the wapentake and knights’
fees, and all other things thereto pertaining, as fully and wholly as
the charter of the said king witnessed that the same grant was made
to Hugh, bishop of Durham. The king also gave him permission to
enclose with a ditch and hedge the wood of Cliff and the wood of
Raie, and quitted claim to him of view of forest as to them both, and
of all molestation on part of his foresters.
In
the month of September in this year, on the fifth day before the
calends of October, being the Lord’s day, Richard, king of
England, took by assault a castle of the king of France, which is
called Curcelles, and another castle of the same king called Burris;
and, on the day after the capture of the said castles, namely, on the
calends of October, being the second day of the week and the vigil of
Saint Michael, Philip, king of France, having assembled a large body
of troops and citizens, marched forth from Mante on his road to
Curcelles. On hearing of this, the king of England went forth to meet
him, and fought a pitched battle with him between Curcelles and
Gisors, on which the king of France, being worsted, fled to the
castle of Gisors; and, while he was crossing the bridge of the town
of Gisors, the bridge broke down on account of the multitude of those
crossing it, and the king of France fell into the river Ethe, and had
to drink of it, and, if he had not been speedily dragged out, would
have been drowned therein. In this battle, Richard, king of England,
laid three knights prostrate with a single lance, and there were
taken prisoners many illustrious men among the knights of the king of
France, whose names are as follows: Galis de Port, Matthew de
Montmorenci, Alan de Rusci, Gerard de Choir, Philip de Nanteuil,
Peter L’Eschars, Robert de Saint Denis, Theobald de Walengard,
Cedunal de Trie, Roger de Modlen, Aimer Thiers, Reginald d’Ascy,
Balde de Levigny, Thomas d’Asgent, Feri de Paris, Peter de la
Truie, Guido de Levers, Turmentin, [of Champagne,] Terric d’Anceis,
Amfrid de Baalim, Eborard de Montigny, Puncard, Walter Le Rouge,
Ernulph de Lenni, Odo de Muntiun, William de Sauciai, Jollan de Bray,
Peter de Poncy, Dembert [d’Auge,] Puncard Duchatel Empurchamp,
William de Merle, John de Gauge, Theobald de Brune, Robert de
Beauburg, Geoffrey de Borhai, Peter de Maidnil, Fulk de Gilerval,
John de Serni, [ Alard] de Loenais, Ralph de Vallucel, Ferri de
Brunaye, Thomas de Castel, William de Rochemont, Theobald de Misci.
And, besides the knights already mentioned, the king of England took
one hundred knights, and one hundred and forty horses, covered with
iron armour, and of men-at-arms, both horse and foot, a great number.
On
this occasion the said king wrote to Philip, bishop of Durham, to the
following effect:
The
Letter of Richard, king of England, to Philip, bishop of Durham,
relative to the above-mentioned victory.
“Richard,
by the grace of God, king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and earl of Anjou, to his dearly beloved and faithful subject,
Philip, by the same grace, bishop of Durham, greeting. You are to
know that on the last Lord’s day, before the feast of Saint
Michael, we entered the territory of the king of France, in Anjou,
and made an assault on Curcelles, of which we took the castle, with
the town, as also the lord of the castle, and all the rest who were
therein. On the same day we assaulted the fortified mansion of
Burris, and took the whole that was in it, together with the mansion,
and at a late hour returned with our army into Anjou. On hearing of
this, on the following day the king of France came forth from Mante,
with three hundred knights, and with men-at-arms and citizens, for
the purpose of succouring the castle of Curcelles, as he did not
believe that it was taken. On this, as soon as we learned that he was
approaching, we went forth with a small number of troops, but sent
the main body of our forces to line the bank of the river Ethe, as we
supposed that he would come upon our people on the opposite bank of
the river from the side of Anjou. He, however, with his forces made a
descent in the direction of Gisors, on which, we put him and his
people, after taking to flight, into such consternation on their way
to the gate of Gisors, that the bridge broke down beneath them, and
the king of France, as
we have heard say, had to drink of the river, and several knights,
about twenty in number, were drowned. Three also, with a single
lance, we unhorsed, Matthew de Montmorency, Alan de Rusci, and Fulk
de Gilerval, and have them as our prisoners. There were also
valiantly captured as many as one hundred knights of his, the names
of the principal of whom we send to you, and will send those of the
rest, when we shall have seen them, as Marchadès has taken as
many as thirty whom we have not seen. Men at arms, also, both horse
and foot, were taken, of which the number is not known; also, two
hundred chargers were captured, of which one hundred and forty were
covered with iron armour. Thus have we defeated the king of France at
Gisors; but it is not we who have done the same, but rather God, and
our right, by our means; and in so doing, we have put our life in
peril, and our kingdom, contrary to the advice of all our people.
These things we signify unto you, that you may share in our joy as to
the same. Witness ourselves, at Anjou.”
On
the thirtieth day of September, Philip, king of France, entered
Normandy, with a large army, while the king of England had not with
him sixty men, as he had scattered his army over different places.
However, he hung upon the rear of the Franks, with a few of his
troops, until there had met him, in obedience to his command, about
two hundred knights and Marchadès with his Routiers.
Accordingly, the Franks, although they were many more in number, on
seeing the king of England and his men, after having burned about
eighteen towns, retreated with hasty steps; and while the king of
England pursued them in the rear, Marchadès, with his
Routiers, met them in front, and there were taken of the French,
about thirty knights and men-at-arms, and one hundred horses, in
addition to those slain. This took place near Vernon; for they did
not return by the road by which they had come, that is, across the
fords of Anjou, but, in their trepidation took to flight in the
direction of Vernon; and it is still spoken of, as a matter of
disgrace to the French people, that, leaving his men, their king made
his escape on an old dark brown horse, which they say he had had for
ten years, and took nothing with him out of Normandy, except,
perhaps, three or four knights and a single man-at-arms.
After
this, the king of England, collecting an army, entered France by the
ford of Anjou, and took, as above-stated, Burris
and Curcelles, and another castle, while his troops, with continued
ravages and conflagrations, laid waste the whole of the French Vexin.
When the king of England was on the point of levelling the fortress
of Curcelles, the king of France, collecting his forces, came down
upon him, and an engagement taking place between them, the king of
France, giving rein to his horse, was put to flight in the midst of
his territory, on which the king of England pursued him with his
troops, and took of the knights of the king of France at least
eighty-three in number, besides men-at-arms, arbalisters, and those
who were drowned in the river Ethe; and in consequence of the
excessive trepidation of the Franks, the bridge over the Ethe, before
Oisors, broke down beneath them, and the king of France fell into the
water, so that he was with difficulty dragged out by the leg, and was
nearly drowned. A great many others were also drowned, among whom
were Milo de Pudsey, count de Bar, and John, the brother of William
des Barres, a knight; who with many others were drowned in the river
Ethe. William, also, the castellane and lord of Curcelles, died
immediately after he was taken prisoner.
After
this, the king of France assembling an army, entered Normandy, and
burned Evreux and seven other towns. Earl John also, brother of king
Richard, burned Neuburg, which the king of France thinking to have
been done by his own people, sent some knights to forbid them to
proceed in their ravages; and of these eighteen knights were taken,
together with many men-at-arms. Shortly after, Marchads, with his
Routiers, entered Flanders, and attacked the fair held near
Abbeville, and spoiled the merchants of France, and returning into
Normandy with a great booty, filled the land with the spoils of the
Franks, and slew many of them, and took with him many captives to be
put to their ransom.
After
these events, Robert, earl of Leicester, came with forty knights and
a few men-at-arms, before the castle of Pasci, which had belonged to
him: on which the knights of the castle sallied forth with a great
number of men-at-arms and the citizens of the town, for the purpose
of capturing him and his followers; and he, being able to offer them
no resistance, escaped with difficulty, and lost four of his knights.
On
the following day, however, the said earl, having called to his aid a
considerable number of the knights of the household of the king of
England, came before the castle of Pasci, having first disposed the
knights and great numbers of men-at-arms in different places, to lie
in ambush for the people of the castle. Accordingly, when the knights
of the castle, who had driven him from the .field the day before,
espied him, they sallied forth with great vigour, and he fled before
them, until they fell in with those lying in ambush, on which
eighteen knights of their number were captured, and a great number of
the common soldiers.
In the meantime, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, crossed over from
England to Normandy, and immediately, at the request of the king of
France, and with the permission of the king of England. proceeded
into France, to treat of making peace between those two kings. On
this, the king of France made offer that he would, for the sake of
peace, surrender to the king of England all his lands and castles
that he had seized, with the exception of the castle of Gisors, as to
which, he would abide by the decision of six Norman barons, whom he
himself should name, and of six barons of France, whom the king of
England should name, which of the two had the greatest right to
retain possession of the castle; but the king of England declined,
unless the earl of Flanders, and all the others who had abandoned the
king of France and become his adherents, were included in the treaty.
In the same year, Hugh Bardolph, Master Roger Arundel, and Geoffrey
Hacket, to whom, as judges itinerant, had been entrusted
Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland,
Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Lancaster, held pleas of the king’s
crown.
Heads of the Pleas of the King’s Crown.
Of pleas of the crown, new and old, which were not disposed of in the
presence of the justices of our lord the king. Of mort d’ancestor.
Of novel disseisin. Of grand assize, as far as ten pounds’
value in land, and below. Of advowsons of churches. Elections also
under the jurisdiction of the grand assize are to be taken before
them, in obedience to the mandate of our lord the king, or of his
chief justice. Of churches vacant or not vacant, which were in the
presentation of our lord the king, as to who has presented them, or who has them,
and through whom, and what is their value. Of escheats of our lord
the king, and their values, and who has them, and through whom. Of
daughters and sons of nobles, and unmarried women who are or ought to
be at the disposal of our lord the king, and the value of their
lands, and which of the said males or females has married, and
enquiry is to be made to whom, and by whom, and since what time.
Enquiry is also to be made as to what widows have not compounded for
marrying of themselves,* and the fine is to be exacted on behalf of
our lord the king. Of serjeanties of our lord the king, and who has
the same, and through whom, and what is the value thereof; and as to
who have not made composition for aid to our lord the king, and who
have made it, and the fine is to be exacted. Of usury by Christians,
and the chattels of those who are dead. Of those who lie at the mercy
of the king, and have not been amerced. Of pourprèstures** of
our lord the king. Of ways of our lord the king that have been
stopped up. Of treasure troves. Of offenders and their harbourers. Of
persons accused who have fled and returned since the last assize. Of
the renewal of all weights and measures, and ells; and if the four
men who have been deputed to keep the same, have in each town done
what is enacted by statute relative thereto, and if they have
attached all transgressors of the said assize; and if they have not
attached them as they ought, then let them be punished as though
themselves the transgressors. All wine belonging to such persons as
shall have sold the same contrary to the assize shall be seized on
behalf of our lord the king, and the owner of the wine, as well as
the sellers, shall be amerced to the king. Enquiry is to be made
throughout all the counties as to the hides and carucates therein;
and whether the justices who have been appointed for the purpose have
duly behaved themselves, and whether they have received from all
persons, and whether they have concealed anything. Of the keepers of
the seaports; if they have received anything which they have not
paid, and if they have received any bribe for withholding the king’s
rights, and if any person has received anything who has not been duly
appointed for the said purpose. Enquiry is to be made, if all appear,
who such person is, and what is his name; for it is by these and
other vexations, whether justly or unjustly, that all England has
been reduced to poverty from sea to sea.
*
Without the king’s permission.
**
Encroachments by enclosure of the king’s lands.
But
before these troubles were at an end, another kind of trouble arose,
to the confusion of the subjects of the realm, by means of the
justices of the forests, namely, Hugh Neville, chief-justice of all
the king’s forests in England, whose surname was Envellu, Hugh
Wac, and Ernest de Neville. For it was commanded the said justices
itinerant of the forests, on the king’s behalf, throughout each
county through which they should proceed, to convene before them, to
the pleas of the forests, the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons,
and all freeholders, and the reeve of each town, and four other men,
to hear the king’s commands.
In
the first place, our lord the king gives notice, that if any shall
commit an offence against him, relative to his venison, or his
forests, in any way, he does not wish such to place their confidence
in the fact that he has hitherto amerced them solely in their
chattels, who have offended against him relative to his venison, or
his forests. For if any persons henceforth shall commit any offence
against him relative thereto, and shall be convicted of the same, it
is his intention that the full punishment shall be inflicted on them,
as in the days of Henry, the grandfather [actually great-grandfather]
of our lord the king, that is to say, they are to lose their eyes and
their virility. Also, our lord the king forbids that any person shall
have bows or arrows, or dogs, or harriers, in his forests, unless he
has the king as his surety, or some one else to act as his surety in
so doing. The king also forbids that any one shall give or sell
anything to the destruction of his woods, or the waste that lies in
the king’s forests; but he gives full permission for them to
take anything that is necessary for them from their own woods, but
without waste and this in view of his forester and verderers. He also
orders all those who have woods within the boundaries of a forest of
our lord the king, to place fit and proper foresters in their woods;
for which foresters those to whom such woods belong are to be
sureties, or are to find fitting sureties, who may make reparation,
if the foresters should offend in anything that relates to our lord
the king. He also orders that his own foresters shall have
supervision over the foresters of the knights and others, who have
woods within the boundaries of a forest belonging to our lord the
king, in order that the woods may not be destroyed. For if, after
this, these woods shall happen to be destroyed, they to whom such
woods shall belong are distinctly to understand, that by themselves
or from their lands reparation shall be made, and not by any one
else. The king also orders that his foresters shall make oath that,
to the utmost of their ability, they will observe his assize which he
has made relative to his forests, and that they will not be guilty of
vexatious conduct towards knights or respectable men, by reason of
this supervision which the king has given them over their woods. The
king also orders that in every county in which he keeps venison,
twelve knights shall be appointed to keep watch over vert and venison
in his forests, and that four knights shall be appointed for
agisting* his woods, and for receiving his pannage,** and for the
purpose of guarding and protecting the same. He also orders, that no
one shall agist his own woods within the limits of his forests,
before their woods shall have been agisted; and notice is given, that
the agistments of our lord the king begin fifteen days before the
feast of Saint Michael, and continue for fifteen days after the said
feast. The king also orders that, if his forester has in his charge
demesne woods of the king, and those woods are destroyed, and he
cannot, and knows not how to, show a just cause why such woods are
destroyed, nothing is to be exacted of the said forester beyond his
own body. He also orders that no clerk shall commit any offence
against him relative to his venison or his forests, and he gives
strict orders to his foresters, if they shall find them so offending,
not to hesitate to seize them, in order to prevent them so doing, and
to make them prisoners; as he will exact sureties of them in
consequence of so doing. The king also orders that all his assarts***
shall be viewed every third year, after regard,**** both old and new,
and the same as to all pourprèstures, and all wastes in his
woods; and that each of the same shall be registered by itself. The
king also orders that the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons,
knights, and freeholders, and all men in his lands, shall come at the
summons of his
chief forester, to hold pleas as to his forests. It is also to be
forbidden, at the pleas held at the forests, that any carriage shall
go out of the high road into the king’s forests, or that there
shall be any swine in the king’s forests in the fence
times,***** that is to say, between fifteen days before the Nativity
of Saint John the Baptist, and fifteen days after that feast. It is
also to be known, that whoever shall commit an offence in the king’s
forest, with relation to his venison, and shall be attainted of the
same, he shall be at the mercy of the king for loss of his eyes and
of his virility.
*
“To agist,” is to find the cattle of strangers in the
king’s forest, and to receive the money due for the same.
**
“Pannage,” is the money so taken by the agistors.
***
Forest lands from which the trees have been rooted up, and are thus
rendered fit for cultivation.
****
View by the regarders of the forest.
*****
Fawning season
But
he who shall be guilty of an offence in the king’s forests, as
to vert, whether by cutting down wood, or by cutting down branches,
or by digging turf, or by rooting up heather, or by cutting
brushwood, or by making assart, or new pourpresture by hedge or
ditch, or by removal of a mill, or of a water-course, or of a
sheep-cote, or of other houses, or by reaping or making hay beyond
his hedges or ditches, shall be amerced by the king out of his own
money, unless he shall have the king’s verderers or foresters
as his warranty for so doing. In like manner, they who carry bows or
arrows, or who lead dogs without a couple through the king’s
forests, and shall be attainted of the same, shall be amerced by the
king.
It
is also enacted, that view of forest shall always be made every third
year; and in regard of forest, the several matters above-mentioned
are to be seen to. Also, in regard, new assarts are to be viewed. and
what old ones have been sown since the last regard, and with what
corn or pulse they have been sown. Fresh assarts shall be seized to
the king’s use; if old assarts shall have been sown with wheat
or with winter wheat, then each acre shall pay to the king twelve
pence from the said crop; and if they shall have been sown with
oats, barley, beans, peas, or any other pulse, then each acre shall
pay to the king six-pence from the said crop.
It
is also deserving to be known, that in the time of king Henry, son of
the empress Matilda, it had been allowed for ditches to be made
within the boundaries of the forests instead of hedges.; and the said
Henry enacted at Woodstock, that whoever should commit an offence
against him as to his forests, relative to the venison therein, on
the first occasion, safe sureties should be exacted of him; if he
should offend a second time, safe sureties were to be similarly
exacted of him; but if he should likewise offend a third time, for
the third offence no sureties were to be exacted, but the offender’s
own body.
In
the same year, [1198] the men of the religious orders refused to pay
the king five shillings for each carucate in tillage, as the other
subjects of the kingdom did; on which, an edict went forth from the
king, that whoever in his kingdom should commit an offence against a
clerk or any other member of the religious orders, he should not be
compelled to make satisfaction to him; but if any clerk or other
member of the religious orders should commit an offence against any
layman, he should be immediately compelled to make satisfaction to
him; in consequence of which, the members of the religious orders
were compelled to ransom themselves”[from this grievance].
The
king also issued orders, that all persons, both clerks as well as
laymen, who had charters or confirmations under his old seal, should
bring them to be renewed under his new seal; and if they should omit
to do so, nothing that was done under his old seal should be held to
be ratified.
In
the same year, pope Innocent sent letters of entreaty to Richard,
king of England, in favour of Geoffrey, archbishop of York, begging
him and, with paternal admonitions, exhorting him to receive the said
archbishop, after his prayers and services, into his favour and
brotherly love, and permit him in peace to return to his place, in
order that he might not be obliged to proceed to ecclesiastical
censure against him and his kingdom. In consequence of this, Richard,
king of England, sent to the said archbishop, Philip, bishop of
Durham, Eustace, bishop of Ely, Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, John,
bishop of Worcester, and Savaric, bishop of Bath, begging, in a
spirit of humility, on the king’s behalf, that he would ratify
the presentations which the king had made in the church of York, on
which, the king would restore to him his archbishopric in its full
entirety.
To these persons the archbishop made answer, “You are
my fellow-brethren, and I will do what you advise me, if you will give
me your assurance in writing under the testimony of your seals, that
you will stand by that advice in the presence of our lord the pope.”
On this, the said bishops made answer, “We shall give you no writing,
but it must be left to your own discretion; you are of sufficient age,
therefore speak for yourself;” and so saying, those who had been sent
returned to the king with the archbishop’s answer.
On this, the archbishop set out for Rome, and the king of England
sent envoys to Rome to oppose him, who [afterwards] wrote to him to the
following effect: "Our lord the pope writes to you with earnest
supplications, that you will restore to the archbishop of York his
archbishopric in full, together with the revenues that have been
received from the archbishopric, upon condition, however, that he
shall pay the sums of money in which we have alleged him to be
indebted to you, wholly, and in full. He has also written to our lord
the cardinal and some others, that they are to advise and induce you
to do so; and if you persist in refusing the same, they are to compel
you, first, by interdict of the province of York, and after that by
interdict of the whole kingdom, all power of appeal withdrawn.
Furthermore, according to the aforesaid instructions, your clerks are
to be strictly compelled, by the cardinal, to give up all the
revenues which in the meantime they have received, unless they can
defend themselves, either on the authority of the Church of Rome, or
on the grounds of delay [to present] within six months, according to
the statute of the council of Lateran, the time of his suspension
being excepted therefrom. The canons of York are to be advised to
come to a reconciliation, and if any new point shall arise, both
parties are again to present themselves before our lord the pope, the
privileges of the canons [meantime] remaining in their usual force."
In
the same year, during the summer, in a certain city in Italy, not far
from Genoa, a thing took place that deserves to be related. In this
city, first, one of the citizens, his sins so demanding it, became
possessed, that is to say, a dæmoniac; and in a few days the
number of them increased to such a degree, that each person was in
dread for himself, lest a similar danger might befall him. Upon this,
by the common advice of the citizens, some religious men were
summoned to the city, and especially the abbot of Lucca, of the
Cistercian order, who was called, and seemed to be the greatest
authority among them in matters of religion, in order that they might
deliberate upon what was to be done for the citizens thus
terror-stricken. Accordingly, a fast for three days was proclaimed.
On the third
day the daemoniacs were summoned into their presence, and the said
abbot adjured them in the name of Jesus Christ, that they would
explain the cause why they had. dared to annoy that city more than
others, and to depart from the servants of Christ who had been signed
with this name.* On this, one of them, crying out with a loud and
terrible voice, exclaimed: “Are you for compelling us to come
forth from the vessels that have been reasonably assigned to us ?
Why, we are that legion of devils which your Jesus, after casting
them out from the man, allowed to hurl the swine from the rock into
the sea. But now, being released from the chains in which we were
bound, we have received power over the blasphemers only of the Virgin
Mary; and in this city we have found such persons, and having found
them, it is our duty to torment them as they deserve. Wherefore, if
we are driven out, know that you, hypocrite, and jour order we shall
torment the next.” At his second command, however, they came
forth, though with great difficulty, leaving the traces of their foul
footsteps behind.
*
In baptism.
In
the same year, [1198] Aimeric de Lusignan, king of Baruth,* Accaron,
prince of the Isle of Cyprus, and the other Christians in the land of
Sulia, and the pagans, made a truce, to commence from the feast of
the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, and to last for the next six
years, unless some powerful king of the Christians should arrive in
those parts. In the same year also, Richard, king of England, and
Philip, king of France, made a truce in the month of November, to
last till the feast of Saint Hilary next ensuing.
*
Beirut
In
the same year, Philip, bishop of Durham, at the petition of Robert de
Turnham, granted him, in the king’s presence, a jury of twelve
lawful men of the vicinity of Clif, to enquire which of them had the
greater right to the said manor of Clif: that is to say, whether the
said Robert ought to hold the said manor of the bishop of Durham, and
to do homage to him for the same, or whether the bishop ought to hold
it in demesne. Accordingly, on the oath of twelve lawful men, it was
declared that that manor was the hereditary right of the wife of the
said Robert, daughter of William Fossard, and so the said bishop lost
the manor of Clif, which his predecessors had, for a long period,
peaceably and inviolably held. This took place at York, before Hugh
Bardolph, Master Roger Arundel, and Geoffrey Hacket, at this time
justices of the pleas of the crown.
In
the same year, upon the death of Master Richard of Coldingham,
Philip, bishop of Durham, and Bertram, prior of the church of Durham,
disagreed as to the right of presentation of the churches of the
aforesaid Richard. For the bishop said that the presentation belonged
to him, as bishop and abbot of the church of Durham; to which, the
prior made answer, that the presentation belonged to him, because his
predecessors and himself, without any one gainsaying it, had
presented the same as priors and lords of the soil, and that they
held all the power of abbot in the choir, and in the management of
the house, and of their revenues, by grant of the king, and through
institution by the bishops of Durham, and confirmation by the
Pontiffs of Rome. But this controversy was not allowed to rest,
indeed it increased to such a degree, that by order of the bishop of
Durham, Aimeric, the archdeacon of Durham, blockaded the church of
Saint Oswald, in Elvet, to which the monks had retired, and would not
allow provisions to be carried to them. One day even, after appeal
had been made to the pope by the monks, the said Aimeric caused fire
to be set to the door of the church, that thus, by means of the smoke
and vapour, the fire might expel the monks. However, God changed the
feelings of the bishop for the better, and, out of respect for Saint
Cuthbert, he bestowed the said church on the monks, for their sole
use, and by his charter confirmed the same; he also granted them the
free disposal of their churches, though with but a tardy assent on
his part.
In
the same year, [1198] pope Innocent, during the affliction of the
Christians who were in the land of Jerusalem, wrote to the following
effect:—
The
Letter of pope Innocent, on giving succour to the Holy Land
“Innocent,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable
brethren, the archbishop of York and his suffragans, and his dearly
beloved sons, the abbats, priors, and other prelates of churches, and
the earls, barons, and all the people of the province of York, health
and the Apostolic benediction. After the sad fall of the kingdom of
Jerusalem, after the lamentable slaughter of the people of
Christendom, after the deplorable invasion of that land on which the
feet of Christ had stood, and where God, our king, had deigned to
work salvation in the midst of the earth, after the ignominious
retreat of the vivifying Cross
on which the salvation of the world had been suspended, and had
thereby blotted out the handwriting of former death, the Apostolic
See, alarmed at the sad occurrence of mishaps so unfortunate, was
affected with agonizing grief, exclaiming and bewailing to such a
degree that, from her continual crying, her throat became hoarse, and
from excessive weeping, her eyes became dim. But, in the words of the
prophet, ‘ If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand
forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave
to the roof of my mouth.’ Still does the Apostolic See shout
aloud, and like a trumpet does she raise her voice, endeavouring to
arouse the nations of Christendom to fight the battles of Christ, and
to avenge the injuries done to Him crucified, using the words of him
who says, ’All ye that pass by, behold and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow.’ For behold, our inheritance has
gone to strangers, our houses to other people, ‘The ways of
Zion mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts . . her
adversaries are the chief.’ The Sepulchre of the Lord, which
the prophet foretold should be so glorious, has been profaned by the
unrighteous, and has been thereby made inglorious. Our glory, of
which the Apostle speaks when he says, ‘God forbid that I
should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ is
held in the hands of the enemy, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who, by
dying for us, led our captivity captive, as though Himself a captive,
is driven in exile from His inheritance. In former days, when the ark
of the Lord of Sabaoth abode in tents, Uriah refused to enter his
house, and withheld himself from the lawful embraces of his wife. But
at the present day, our princes, the glory of Israel having been
transferred from its place, to our disgrace, give themselves up to
adulterous embraces, thereby abusing their luxuries and their wealth;
and, while they are harassing each other, with inexorable hatred,
while one is using all his endeavours to take vengeance on another
for injuries done, there is not a person who is moved by the injuries
of Him crucified, not considering that now our enemies are insulting
us, saying, ‘Where is your God, who can neither deliver himself
nor you from our hands? Behold! now have we profaned your
sanctuaries; behold! now have we extended our hands to the objects
of your desires, and have, at the first attack, with the hand of
violence seized upon those places; and, whether you will or no, we
hold possession of the spots in which you pretend that your
superstition took its rise. Already, have we weakened and broken
asunder the lances of the Gauls, baffled the efforts of the English,
crushed the strength of the Germans, and now for the second time
subdued the haughty Spaniards; and though you thought to arouse all
your might against us, hardly in any of your attempts did you
succeed. Where then is your God? Let him arise now and help you, and
let him be the protector of yourselves and of himself. The Germans
indeed, who presumed that they should gain over us unheard-of
triumphs, with ardent spirits crossed the seas to our land: and after
they had taken the single fortified place of Baruth, when no one was
defending it, unless the assistance of flight had come to the aid of
them and the rest of your potentates, they would have woefully
experienced upon themselves our might, and their descendants would
have for ever bewailed the slaughter we had made of them. And as for
your kings and princes, whom we formerly drove out of the lands of
the East, in order that they may conceal their terror by putting on a
show of daring, after returning to their skulking places, we will not
say kingdoms, they prefer to attack each other, rather than once more
experience our strength and our might. What then remains except that,
those being cut off by the avenging sword, whom, running away, you
dismissed for your own purposes and to restore peace to your
territories, we should make an attack upon your territories, for the
purpose of destroying your name and your memory?’ How then,
brethren and sons, are we to rebut the insults of these insulters, in
what terms shall we be able to answer them? When are we to see them
on their side in pursuit of the truth, judging by what has lately
reached our hearing upon certain information ? For we have received
letters from parts beyond seas, to the effect that when the Germans
had reached Acre with their fleet, they seized the castle of Baruth,
there being no one to defend it; while the Saracens, making an
assault upon Joppa on the other side gained possession of it by
storm, and having slain many thousand Christians therein levelled it
with the ground. As for the Germans, on hearing rumours of the death
of the Emperor, not waiting for the usual time of making the passage,
they embarked on board their ships for the purpose of returning home.
On this, the Saracens, who had collected a numerous army, raged with
such violence against the territories of the Christians, that it was
not possible for the Christians without great danger to go out of
their cities, nor yet to remain in them without dread; and too truly
their sword has its horrors without, its anxious fears within. Take,
therefore, my sons, the spirit of fortitude, the shield of faith, and
the helmet of salvation, putting your trust not in numbers or in your
strength, but rather trusting in the power of God, to whom it is not
difficult to save whether with many or with few, and rush to the
succour of Him by whom you exist, and live, and have your being. For
in your behalves it was that He made himself of no reputation, and
took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of
men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; and yet,
while He is poor, you abound, while He is put to flight, you are at
rest, and do not, while He is in want and exile, come to His aid.
Who, then, in a case of such great emergency, shall refuse to pay
obedience to Jesus Christ? When he comes to stand before His tribunal
to be judged, what answer will he be able to make to Him in defence
of himself? If God has submitted to death for man, is man to hesitate
to submit to death for God? ‘For the sufferings of the present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us.’ Shall, then, the servant deny to his lord
temporal riches, when his lord bestows upon the servant riches that
are eternal; ‘ which eye haft. not seen, nor ear heard, neither
hath it entered into the heart of man
to
conceive? Therefore it is that a man should ‘lay up treasures
in heaven, where thieves do not break through nor steal, nor moth nor
rust corrupt.’ Let each and all, then, prepare themselves, that
in the month of March next ensuing, each city by itself, and, in like
manner, each of the earls and barons may, according to their
respective means, send forth a number of warriors to the defence of
the land of the nativity of our Lord, to be supported at ascertained
sums, and there to remain for two years at least. For, although daily
anxieties in behalf of all the churches are pressing upon us, still,
this in especial do we conceive as one of our anxieties, our desire
to apply every energy to the rescue of the lands of the East; lest if
succour should chance to be delayed, the bruch* may devour the
residue of the locust, and the last state become worse than the
first.
*
This seems to have been an ancient proverb. The “bruchus”
was a kind of small locust; it seems to have no name in the English
language.
But,
that we may not seem to lay grievous and insupportable burdens on the
shoulders of other men, and to be unwilling with our finger to move
the same, saying so much, and doing little or nothing at all, and,
inasmuch as he who both does and teaches is to be called great in the
kingdom of heaven, after the example of Him who began to do and to
teach, to the end that we, who, unworthy as we are to act as His
vicars upon earth, may set a good example to others, we have
determined, both in person and in deed, to aid the Holy Land; and
have appointed our dearly beloved son, Stephen, cardinal priest and
titular of Saint Praxedes, and Peter, cardinal deacon and titular of
Saint Mary in Viâ Latâ, legates of the Apostolic See, men
fearers of God, famous for their knowledge and their probity,
powerful both in word and deed, and whom, among our other brethren,
we do in especial love and esteem, after having, with our own hand,
placed upon them the sign of the cross, humbly and devoutly to
precede the army of the Lord, and not to be supported by offerings
given through charity, but at our own cost, and at that of our
brethren; by whom also we have determined upon sending other
available aid to the said land. Wherefore, in the meantime, we have
sent the said Peter, cardinal deacon and titular of Saint Mary in Viâ
Latâ, unto the presence of our most dearly beloved sons in
Christ, the most illustrious kings, Philip, king of the Franks, and
Richard, king of the English, for the purpose of effecting a
reconciliation between them, or at least obtaining a truce for five
years, and exhorting the people to obedience to Him crucified: and
whom, as legate to the Apostolic See, we will and command to be
honored by all, and obedience to be humbly shewn to his mandates and’
enactments. But the aforesaid Stephen, cardinal priest and titular of
Saint Praxedes, we are about to send to Venice, to obtain succour for
the Holy Land. Moreover, by the common advice of our brethren, we
have resolved, and do strictly enjoin and command you, our brethren
the archbishops and ‘bishops, and our dearly beloved sons, the
abbats, and other prelates of churches, forthwith to levy a certain
number of soldiers, or, in place of such certain number, a fixed
amount of / money, in the month of March next ensuing, due
consideration being had of the means of each, for the purpose of
attacking the barbarous tribes of the pagans, and preserving the
inheritance of the Lord, which with His own blood He has obtained.
But if any person, (a thing that we cannot believe,) shall dare to
oppose an ordinance so pious and so necessary, we have determined
that he shall be punished as a transgressor of the sacred canons, and
do order that he shall be suspended from his duties until such time
as he shall have made due satisfaction for the same. Wherefore,
trusting in the mercy of God, and in the authority of the blessed
Apostles, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and in that power of binding
and unloosing which, unworthy as we are, God has bestowed upon us, we
do, in the case of those who, in their own persons and at their own
expense, shall undergo the labours of this expedition, grant them
plenary pardon for those sins for which they have done penance with
voice and heart, and do promise them the blessing of everlasting
salvation as the reward of the just. And, to those who shall not have
gone thither in their own persons, but only, at their own expense,
shall have, according to their means and rank, sent fit and proper
men, to stay there for two years at least, and to those likewise,
who, although at the expense of others, shall, in their own persons,
have undergone the labours of the pilgrimage which they have
undertaken, we do also grant plenary pardon for their sins. We do
also will that all persons shall be partakers in this remission, who
shall give suitable aid to the said land at their own cost, according
to the amount of the aid they shall so give, and especially in
proportion to the feelings of devotedness they shall manifest. And,
in order that all persons may prepare more expeditiously and more
securely for going to the aid of the land of the nativity of our
Lord, we do take their property from the time that they shall have
assumed the cross, under the care of Saint Peter and of ourselves;
and the same is likewise to be under the protection of the
archbishops, bishops, and other prelates of the church of God; it
being our order that until their death or return is to a certainty
ascertained, the same shall remain safe and untouched.
And
if any person shall presume to contravene this ordinance, he is to be
forced by ecclesiastical censure to the observance thereof.
Therefore, let no person entirely withhold himself from this work,
inasmuch as the same has not been commenced by ourselves, but by the
Apostles themselves, who made collection among the nations, that they
might succour the brethren who were labouring in Jerusalem. And
further, we do wish you not to despair of the Divine mercy, however
much the Lord may be offended at our sins, who, by your hand may
effect, (if, as you ought to do, you set out upon your pilgrimage
with all humility of heart and of body,) that which he did not grant
to your forefathers. For, probably, our forefathers would have
conspired together, and would have said, ‘our own high hand,
and not the Lord hath done all this;’ and to themselves, and
not to the Lord they would have ascribed the glory of the victory. We
do also trust, that He will not in His wrath withhold His mercies,
who, when He is angered, does not forget to show mercy, admonishing
and exhorting us, saying, ‘Turn unto me, and I will turn unto
you.’ We do also believe, that if you walk in the law of the
Lord, not following in the footsteps of those, who, going after
vanity, have become vain, who gave themselves up to junkettings and
to drunken revellings, and did those things in the parts beyond sea,
which, in the land of their own nativity, they would not dare to do
without having to endure great infamy and considerable disgrace, but,
placing your hopes of victory in Him alone, who does not forsake
those who put their trust in Him, and abstain not only from what is
unlawful, but also from many things that are lawful, He, who
overthrew the chariot and the hosts of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, will
render weak the bow of the strong, and will sweep away from before
your faces the enemies of the Cross of Christ as though the very dirt
of the streets; not, indeed, giving to us or to you the glory, but to
His own name, who is glorious in His Saints, wondrous in His majesty,
a worker of marvels, and, after tears and weeping, the giver of joy
and gladness. Moreover, if any of those who shall go on the
pilgrimage, shall at the time be bound by oath to pay interest, we
do, brother archbishops and bishops, command their creditors in your
several dioceses to be compelled by you, by force of ecclesiastical
compulsion, all obstacle by appeal removed, entirely to absolve them
from their said oaths, and to cease to demand from them any further
interest. And if any one of their creditors shall compel them. to
payment of interest, then let him he compelled by you, by means of
similar compulsion, all obstacle by appeal removed, to make
restitution of the same. Jews also, you princes our sons, we do
command to be compelled by you, and by means of the secular power, to
forego all interest from such; and until such remission shall have
been made, we do, under sentence of excommunication, order every kind
of communication with them to be withheld by all the faithful of
Christ, either in matters of trade or in any other matters
whatsoever. Also, for the purpose of more expeditiously and more
perfectly carrying out these commands in your province, we have
thought proper to depute you, our sons, the prior of Thurgarton and
Master Vacarus, to announce the words of the Lord to the others, and,
inviting our venerable brethren, your archbishop and his suffragans,
and the others, to the fulfilment of this Apostolic mandate, so to
promote the cause of the Lord that you may both be partakers of this
remission, and that in this your devoutness may more fully shine
forth. Also, for the more laudable promotion of the same, you are to
associate with yourselves herein one of the brethren of the order of
the Temple, as also one of the brethren of the Hospital of Jerusalem,
men of character and prudence. Given at Saint Peter’s, at Rome,
on the ides of. August, in the first year of our pontificate.”
In
the same year, [1198] there was in France a certain priest, named
Fulk whom the Lord magnified in the sight of kings, and gave him
power to make the blind to see, to cure the lame, and dumb, and
others afflicted with divers maladies, and to drive out devils. Even
harlots, escaping from the bonds of unchasteness, he converted unto
the Lord, and led usurers, by inviting them to that heavenly
treasure, which neither rust nor moth corrupteth, nor thieves steal,
to distribute for the use of the poor all that substance which their
usury and exactions had devoured.
He also foretold to the kings of France and England, that one of them
would die an unfortunate death before long, ‘Unless they
speedily desisted from their hostilities’. And, because at this
time the harvest was plentiful, and the workmen few, the Lord joined
unto him wise men, to preach the words of salvation, Master Peter and
Lord Robert, and Eustace, the lord abbot of Flaye, besides some
others, who, being sent throughout the earth, preached in every part,
the Lord assisting them and confirming their words by signs attending
them.
One day the before-named Fulk came to Richard, king of England, and said
to him, “I warn thee, O king, on behalf of Almighty God, to
marry as soon as possible the three most shameless daughters whom
thou hast, lest something worse befall thee. Oh, place thy finger on
thy lips, for he will prove an accuser who has told the truth. No man
is born without faults; blessed is he who is burdened with the
fewest; and elsewhere are we informed that there is no man living
free from fault.” To this the king is said to have made answer:
“Hypocrite, to thy face thou hast lied, inasmuch as I have no
daughter whatever;” on which Fulk replied and said, “Beyond
a doubt, I do not lie, because, as I said, thou hast three most
shameless daughters, of whom one is pride, the second avarice, and
the third sensuality."
Accordingly, having called around him many earls and barons who were present, the
king said: “Listen, all of you, to the warning of this
hypocrite, who says that I have three most shameless daughters,
namely, pride, avarice, and sensuality, and recommends me to get them
married: I therefore give my pride to the Knights Templars, my
avarice to the monks of the Cistercian order, and my sensuality to
the prelates of the churches.” Oh great disgrace, to create a
laugh at the expense of the wretched !
After this, Fulk, leaving the king, departed, preaching the word of God
from city to city; and when, so preaching the word of God, he had
entered the city of Lisieux, the clergy of that city, whose unclean
lips this man, filled with the Holy Ghost and good works, had
reproved, laid hands on him, and, binding him with chains, threw him
into prison. But neither chains nor prisons could restrain him, and
so, being permitted to depart, he came to Caen, preaching the word of
God, and did many miracles in the sight of the people. The keepers,
however, of the castle, thinking that it would please the king, laid
hands on him, and, placing him in fetters, threw him into prison; but
bursting forth from the prison and the fetters, he came forth
unharmed, and went his way rejoicing that he had been deemed worthy
to suffer reproach for the name of Christ, and, going from the
castle, he shook the dust from off his feet as a testimony against
them.
In the same year, on the fifth day before the ides of October, being the
Lord’s day, at the entreaty of the officers of Geoffrey,
archbishop of York, Philip, bishop of Durham, at Hoveden, consecrated
Adam, abbot of Sallaie, and Hamo, abbot of Beiland, profession of
canonical obedience being made to the church of York and its vicars,
saving always the dignity of their order. In the same month, William,
surnamed Coke, a servant of Richard, king of England, while keeping
charge of the castle of Leuns, took of the household of the king of
France, twenty-four men at arms, horsemen, and forty men at arms,
foot, whom the king of France had sent for the purpose of guarding
the castle of Newmarche.
In the same year died Richard, bishop of London, John, bishop of
Worcester, William de Ver, bishop of Hereford, the bishop of Saint
David’s, and Amfrid of Tours, the first husband of the
before-mentioned Milicent, wife of Guido, the former king of
Jerusalem.
In the same year [1198] died at Palermo, in Sicily, Constance, the
former empress of the Romans, wife of the emperor Henry; whose son
pope Innocent received into his charge, together with the kingdom of
Sicily, the dukedom of Apulia, and the principality of Capua.
In the same year, Philip, bishop of Beauvais, offered to Richard, king
of England, a thousand marks of silver for his ransom. In this year
also, Richard, king of England, founded a castle on an island at the
mouth of the Seine, which he called Buttevant,* and the king of
France fortified a castle opposite to it, which he called Bulecut. In
the same year, Richard, king of England, gave to master Malgar, his
clerk, the bishopric of Worcester.
* It was also called Chateau Galliard.
Upon the decease of pope Celestinus, pope Innocent the Third being
appointed in his place, he again suspended Alphonso, king of Saint
Jago, and the whole of his territory from the celebration of Divine
service, on account of his wife, the daughter of the king of
Castille, for they were cousins in the third degree; and although the
king of Saint Jago offered to our lord the pope Innocent and the
cardinals twenty thousand marks of silver, and to keep and pay two
hundred knights during the space of one year for the defence of the
Christians against the Pagans, only on condition that our lord the
pope should allow them to remain together, until God should give them
issue, or at least for three years, our lord the pope Innocent
utterly refused to sanction their doing the same.
1199 A.D.
In the year of grace 1199, being the tenth and last year of the reign of
Richard, king of England, the said Richard was at Damfront, in
Normandy, on the day of the Nativity of our Lord, which took place on
the sixth day of the week, and Philip, king of France, was on the
same day at Vernon, in Normandy. Otho, king of the Germans, and
nephew of Richard, king of England, was on the same day at
Westphalia, in Almaine, which is distant nine days’ journey
from Cologne, and which places Otho, by his prowess and valour, had
gained against Philip, duke of Suabia, son of Frederic, the former
emperor of the Romans.
Immediately after the Nativity of our Lord, the said Otho divided his army into
two parts, and laid siege to two cities of the before-named Philip.
The kings of France and England, however, met for a conference
between Andely and Vernon, on the feast of Saint Hilary; on which
occasion the king of England came thither in a boat up the river
Seine, and not wishing to land, spoke from the boat with the king of
France. who, sitting on horseback on the banks of the river,
conversed with the king of England face to face; and there they
appointed another day for holding the conference, when, in presence
of a greater number of their followers, through the mediation of the
lord cardinal deacon Peter of Capua, titular of Saint Mary in Viâ
Latâ, legate of the Apostolic See, and in accordance with the
advice of other influential persons on either side, they agreed upon
a truce to be observed between them, from the said feast of Saint
Hilary, to last for the period of five years, with good faith and
without evil intent, their property and tenements remaining on both
sides in the same state in which they then were; and after these
arrangements had been made and confirmed by oath, each returned to
his own country; and they allowed their armies, after returning them
their thanks, to return to their homes.
While, however, Marchadès, with his Routiers, was returning towards
his own country, four counts of the kingdom of France, through whose
lands Marchadès had to pass, met him with a hostile force, and
worsted him, and slew many of his men. But the king of France
disowned this deed, and swore that it had not been done through him.
After this, while the king of England, in expectation of enjoying
peace and in observance of the aforesaid treaty, had gone towards
Poitou, the king of France erected a new castle between Buttevant and Guaillon,
and rooted up a forest belonging to the king of England, in the
neighbourhood of the said place.
On the king of England hearing of this, he returned into Normandy, and
sent word to the king of France, by Eustace, bishop of Ely, his
chancellor, that the truce was broken, unless he should cause the
said new castle to be levelled. The legate accordingly advised the
king of France to demolish the said castle, in order that a truce so
solemnly confirmed might not, for such a reason, be broken; and, at
his solicitation, the king of France promised that he would shortly
level the said castle. But Richard, king of England, being far from
contented with this, desired that either a full understanding should
be come to between them, or else that no peace should be made between
them.
Accordingly, a treaty was made between them, to the following effect: that the
king of France should restore to the king of England, the whole of
the territories which he had taken from him, whether in war, whether
in any other way, with the sole exception of the castle of Gisors; in
return for which, the king of France, granted to Richard, king of
England, the presentation to the archbishopric of Tours. It was also
arranged, that Louis, the son of the king of France, should marry the
daughter of the king of Castille, the niece of Richard, king of
England, and that the king of France should make oath, that he would,
to the utmost of his ability, aid Otho, the nephew of the king of
England, in gaining the Roman empire. In return for this, Richard,
king of England, was to give to Louis, son of the king of France, the
castle of Gisors, with his said niece in marriage, and was also to
give him twenty thousand marks of silver. However, all these things
had to be delayed till such time as Richard, king of England, should
return from Poitou.
Philip, king of France, however, that sower of discord, sent
word to the king of England, that John, earl of Mortaigne, his brother, had
entirely placed himself in his hands, and that he would show him the document
signed by John himself to that effect. A thing much to be wondered
at! the king of England believed the king of France, and held his
brother John in hatred, so much so, that he caused him to be
disseised of his lands on both sides of the sea. When, however, the
said John enquired what was the cause of this indignation and hatred,
it was told him, that the king of France had sent the above message
relative to him to the king his brother. In consequence of this, the
said earl of Mortaigne sent two knights in his behalf to the court of
the king of France, who offered in every way to make proof that he
was innocent of the said charge, or to defend him, according as the
court of the king of France should think proper. But in this court
there was not found a single person, either the king, or any one
else, who was willing to receive this proof of the matter, or
challenge of defence. In consequence of this, from this period the
king of England received his brother John into greater favour, and
gave less credit to the. messages of the king of France.
In the meantime, Richard, king of England, by the advice of
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, took away from Savaric, bishop of Bath,
the abbey of Glastonbury, and gave it to Master William la Pie, on which
he was made abbot thereof.
At this period, Guidomar, viscount de Limoges, having found
a great treasure of gold and silver on his lands, sent to Richard, king
of England, his liege lord, no small part of the same; but the king
refused it, saying that he ought in right of his grant* to have the
whole of the said treasure; a thing that the said viscount would on
no account agree to. Accordingly, the king of England repaired with a
large force to his territory, for the purpose of attacking the said
viscount, and laid siege to his castle, the name of which was Chains,
in which he hoped that the said treasure was concealed; and when the
knights and men-at-arms, who were in the castle, came forth and
offered him the castle, on condition of safety to life and limb, and
of retaining their arms, the king refused to receive it, but swore
that he would take them by storm and hang them all.
* As lord of the demesne.
Accordingly, the knights and men-at-arms returned to the castle in sorrow and
confusion, and prepared to make a defence. On the same day, when the
king of England and Marchadès were reconnoitring the castle on
all sides, and examining in which spot it would be most advisable to
make the assault, a certain arbalister, Bertram de Gurdun by name,
aimed an arrow from the castle, and struck the king on the arm,
inflicting an incurable wound. The king, on being wounded, mounted
his horse and rode to his quarters, and issued orders to Marchadès
and the whole of the army to make assaults on the castle without
intermission, until it should be taken; which was accordingly done.
After its capture, the king ordered all the people to be hanged, him
alone excepted who had wounded him, whom, as we may reasonably
suppose, he would have condemned to a most shocking death if he had
recovered.
After this, the king gave himself into the hands of a physician of
Marchadès, who, after attempting to extract the iron head,
extracted the wood only, while the iron remained in the flesh; but
after this butcher had carelessly mangled the king’s arm in
every part, he at last extracted the arrow. When the king was now in
despair of surviving, he devised to his brother John the kingdom of
England and all his other territories, and ordered fealty to be done
to the aforesaid John by those who were present, and commanded that
his castles should be delivered to him, and three-fourths of his
treasures. All his jewels he devised to his nephew Otho, the king of
Germany, and the fourth part of his treasure he ordered to be
distributed among his servants and the poor.
He
then ordered Bertram de Gurdun, who had wounded him, to come into his
presence, and said to him, “What harm have I done to you, that
you have killed me?” On which he made answer, “You slew
my father and my two brothers with your own hand, and you had
intended now to kill me; therefore, take any revenge on me that you
may think fit, for I will readily endure the greatest torments you
can devise, so long as you have met with your end, after having
inflicted evils so many and so great upon the world.” On this,
the king ordered him to be released, and said, “I forgive
you my death.” But the youth stood before the feet of the king,
and with scowling features, and undaunted neck, did his courage
demand the sword. The king was aware that punishment was wished for,
and that pardon was dreaded. “Live on,” said he,
“although thou art unwilling, and by my bounty behold the light
of day. To the conquered faction now let there be bright hopes, and
the example of myself.”* And then, after being released from
his
chains, he was allowed to depart, and the king ordered one hundred
shillings of English money to be given him. Marchadès,
however, the king not knowing of it, seized him, and after the king’s
death, first flaying him alive, had him hanged.*
*
The chronicle of Winchester says that this ruffianly Boutier
surrendered Gurdun to Joanna, the king’s sister, and that she
tore out his eyes. and put him to cruel tortures, in the midst of
which he expired.
The
king then gave orders that his brains, his blood, and his entrails
should be buried at Chalus, his heart at Rouen, and his body at
Fontevraud, at the feet of his father. He departed this life on the
eighth day before the ides of April, being the third day of the week
before Palm Sunday, and the twelfth day after he had been wounded; on
which his people buried him in the above-named places, as he had
commanded.
In
relation to his death, one writer says: “In this man’s
death, the lion by the ant was slain. 0 evil destiny ! in a death so
great the whole world fell."
Another
wrote to this effect: “Valour, avarice, crime, unbounded lust,
foul famine, unscrupulous pride, and blind desire, have reigned for
twice five years; all these an archer did with art, hand, weapon,
strength, lay prostrate.”
Another
wrote thus, “If birth and prowess could have escaped the
confines of death, I should not have entered on the path of fate. But
think you the man exists, to whom, from the very first, death has
announced his end, and repeats aloud, ‘He is mine! he is my
own!’ Long is the hand of death; than mighty Hector is death
more mighty; man takes cities, death, man.”
Another
has written these words: “His valour could no throng of mighty
labours quell, whose way and onward progress no obstacles did retard,
no roaring, no rage of the sea, no abysses of the deep, no mountain
heights, no bold and steep ascent of the lofty range, no roughness of
the path by rocks made rugged, no windings of the road, no devious
unknown track, no fury of the winds, no clouds with showers drunk, no
thunders, dreadful visitations, no murky air.” [None of
these dangers prevented him] from making trial of the prowess of the
Sicilians, of Cyprus, of Saladin, of the pagan nations, in arms. “And
with no lagging foot does the result follow upon the aspirations,
together do they onward speed; at the same moment that the will is
born, the result is born as well.”
On
the decease of king Richard, Savaric, bishop of Bath, immediately
urged his claims against Master William La Pic, abbot of Glastonbury,
and asserted his right before our lord the pope Innocent, in presence
of all the cardinals, saying that Richard, king of England, had given
him the said abbacy of Glastonbury, to hold the same for life, and
that afterwards, listening to bad advice, he had unjustly taken it
from him; he also constantly affirmed, being prepared in every way to
prove the same, that in ancient times there was at Glastonbury an
episcopal see, which is the one now at Bath; and he demanded
restitution to be made to him thereof, that he might be enabled to
transfer thither the episcopal see which is now at Bath.
Immediately
on the death of king Richard, Philip, king of France, made a hostile
attack on the city of Evreux, and took it, and subjugated the whole
of that county.
In
the same year, [1199] on Saint Patrick’s day, that is, on the
sixteenth day before the calends of April, being the fourth day of
the week, Jocelyn, the venerable bishop of Glasgow, departed this
life, at Melrose, of which place he had been the revered abbat; and
was buried there, in the choir of the monks, on the northern side of
the church.
On
the death of pope Celestinus and the election of pope Innocent in his
place, Canute, king of the Danes, sent envoys to Rome, to wait upon
pope Innocent, and to complain to him of Philip, king of France, who
had unjustly repudiated his wife Botilda, his sister, and taken
another wife in her stead. He also made complaint to our lord the
pope, against William, archbishop of Rheims, and the other bishops,
counts, and barons of France, through whom this divorce had been
effected between the king of France, and queen Botilda, after appeal
made by her to our lord the pope. Accordingly, at the instance of
Canute, king of the Danes, our lord the pope Innocent gave orders to
Peter of Capua, the cardinal, and legate of the Apostolic See, to use
every possible endeavour to induce the king of France to put away his
adulteress, and to take again his wife Botilda, and if he should not
do so, to pronounce sentence of interdict upon the kingdom of France.
KING
JOHN.
On
the decease of Richard, king of England, John, earl of Mortaigne, his
brother, who was then staying in Normandy, immediately sent to
England, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, and William Marshal, earl
of Striguil, in order to preserve the peace in England, together with
Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, the justiciary of England, and other barons of
the kingdom. John himself then proceeded to Chinon, where the
treasures of his brother were; which Robert de Turnham, who had the
charge thereof, delivered up to him, together with the castle of
Chinon, the castle of Saumur, and others of the king’s castles
of which he had the charge. Thomas de Fumes, however, the nephew of
the before-named Robert de Turnham, delivered to Arthur, duke of
Brittany, the city and castle of Anjou. For the chief men of Anjou,
Maine, and Touraine, had met together, and given in their adhesion to
Arthur, duke of Brittany, as their liege lord, saying that it was
their opinion and the custom of those parts, that the son of the
elder brother should succeed to what was due to him as his patrimony,
namely, the inheritance which Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, the father
of Arthur, would have had if he had survived Richard, king of
England, his brother; and, consequently, they delivered up to Arthur,
Anjou, Touraine, and Maine. On this, Constance, countess of Brittany,
the mother of Arthur, came to Touraine, and delivered to Philip, king
of France, her son Arthur; whom the king of France immediately sent
to Paris, to be placed in the charge of his son Louis, and seized the
cities, castles, and fortresses that belonged to Arthur, and gave
them in charge to keepers appointed by himself.
John,
earl of Mortaigne, however, came to Le Mans, and captured the castle
and the city; after which, he levelled the walls of the city, the
castle, and the houses in the city that were built of stone, and made
the citizens prisoners, because they, against the fealty which they
had sworn to himself, had received Arthur as their lord. John, earl
of Mortaigne, was at Beaufort, in Anjou, on Easter day, which fell on
the fourteenth day before the calends of May. The said earl then
proceeded to Rouen, and, on the Lord’s day, being the octave of
Easter, and the seventh day before the calends of May, and the feast
of Saint Mark the Evangelist, was girt with the sword of the dukedom
of Normandy, in the mother church of that city, by the hand of
Walter, archbishop of Rouen; on which occasion, the before-named
archbishop placed on the head of the duke, a circlet of gold, having
on the top thereof, around the border, roses worked in gold. The duke
made oath in the presence of the clergy and the people, upon the
relics of the Saints and the Holy Evangelists, that he would preserve
the Holy Church and its dignities inviolate, with good faith and
without evil intent, and would exercise strict justice, and destroy
unjust laws, and establish good ones.
In
the meantime, queen Eleanor, the mother of the said duke, and
Marchadés, with his Routiers, entered Anjou, and ravaged it,
because its people had received Arthur. Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury, and William Marshal, who had been sent to preserve the
peace in England, made the subjects of that kingdom, both in the
cities, as also the boroughs, and the earls, and barons, and
freeholders, swear fealty, and to observe the peace towards John,
duke of the Normans, son of king Henry, the son of the empress
Matilda, against all men. However, the whole of the bishops, as well
as such earls and barons as had castles, strengthened the same with
men, provisions, and arms. Upon this, Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury, William Marshal, and Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, justiciary of
England, met at Northampton, and summoning before them those persons
of whom they had the greatest doubts, namely, David, brother of the
king of the Scots, Richard, earl of Clare, Ranulph, earl of Chester,
William, earl of Tewkesbury, Walran, earl of Warwick, Roger,
constable of Chester, William de Mowbray, and many others, earls as
well as barons, they pledged their word to them, that John, duke of
Normandy, would give to each of them his due, if they would preserve
their fealty to him, and keep the peace. Accordingly, on these terms,
the aforesaid earls and barons swore fealty and faithful service to
John, duke of Normandy, against all men.
William,
king of the Scots, however, sent his envoys to John, duke of
Normandy, demanding restitution of his patrimony, namely,
Northumberland and Cumberland, with their appurtenances, on which he
would swear fealty to him, and faithfully serve him against all men.
But the archbishop of Canterbury, William Marshal, and Geoffrey
Fitz-Peter, would not allow the messengers of the king of Scotland to
cross over to the duke; but sent word to him by earl David, his brother,
that he must wait with patience until such time as the duke should
come into England. In like manner, John, duke of Normandy, sent word
to William, king of the Scots, by Eustace de Vesci, his son-in-law,
that on his return to England, he would satisfy him on all his
demands, if in the meantime he would keep the peace towards himself.
In
the meantime. Master Honorius, who, through the royal power and the
malice of the dean and chapter of York, had been deprived of the
archdeaconry of Richmond, which Geoffrey, archbishop of York, had
conferred on him, was received in the said archdeaconry by the clergy
of the said archdeaconry, who swore to him fealty and canonical
obedience, after expelling the officers of Roger of Saint Edmund’s,
who had been intruded by means of the royal power and the authority
of the dean and chapter of York. On the other hand, the dean and
chapter of York excommunicated the before-named Honorius and his
abettors for such presumptuous conduct; on which the duke of Normandy
ordered that all the rights of the church of York should remain in
the same state in which they were on the day on which his brother
Richard, king of England, had been alive and dead.
Shortly
after, the said duke John crossed over from Normandy into England,
and landed at Scorham,* on the eighth day before the calends of June,
being the third day of the week, and, on the next day, that is to
say, on the vigil of the Ascension of our Lord, came to London, for
the purpose of being crowned on the following day.
*
Shoreham.
Accordingly,
upon the arrival of the before-named duke, there assembled in London
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, John, archbishop of Dublin, the
archbishop of Ragusa, William, bishop of London, Gilbert, bishop of
Rochester, John, bishop of Norwich, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, Eustace,
bishop of Ely, Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, Henry, bishop of
Exeter, Sefrid, bishop of Chichester, Geoffrey, bishop of. Coventry,
Savaric, bishop of Bath, Herbert, bishop of Salisbury, Philip, bishop
of Durham, Roger, bishop of Saint Andrew’s in Scotland, and
Henry, bishop of Llandaff, Robert, earl of Leicester, Richard, earl
of Clare, William, earl of Tewkesbury, Hamelin, earl of Warenne,
William, earl of Salisbury, William, earl of Striguil, Walran, earl
of Warwick, earl Roger Bigot, William, earl of Arundel, Ranulph, earl
of Chester, and many barons. Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury,
crowned and consecrated the beforenamed John, duke of Normandy, king
of England, in the church of Saint Peter the Apostle, at Westminster,
on the sixth day before the calends of June, being the fifth day of
the week, and the day of the Ascension of our Lord; Philip, bishop
of Durham, protesting against the same, on the ground that the
coronation ought not to take place in the absence of Geoffrey,
archbishop of York, primate of all England.
On the day of his coronation, king John girded William Marshal
with the sword of the earldom of Striguil, and Geoffrey Fitz-Peter with the
sword of the earldom of Essex; which parties, although they had been
before styled earls, and had had the management of their counties,
had not been girded with the swords of their earldoms; and on the
same day, being girded with their swords, they served at the king’s
table. On the day also of his coronation, the said king conferred on Hubert,
archbishop of Canterbury, his chancellorship. While he was exulting
in the power so conferred on him, and boasting greatly of his favour
with the king, Hugh Bardolph answered him: “My lord, by your
leave I say it, if you really were well to consider the power of your
name, and the dignity of your position, you would not impose on
yourself the yoke of slavery; for we have never seen or heard of a
chancellor being made out of an archbishop, but we have seen an
archbishop made out of a chancellor.”
In the meantime, William, prior of May, Walter, prior of the
Island of Saint Columba, and William de Haye, who had been sent on behalf of
William, king of Scotland, came to John, king of England; and,
through them, the king of Scotland demanded of the king of England
Northumberland and Cumberland, with their appurtenances, in right of
inheritance from his father. He also promised that if the king should
restore them to him, he would faithfully serve him with all his
might; but if not, he would, if he possibly could, obtain the whole
of his rights. To this, king John made answer: “When your
master, the king of the Scots, my much-loved cousin, shall come to
me, I will do for him what is just, both in relation to this and his
other demands.”
After this, John, king of England, sent Philip, bishop of Durham,
to meet the king of the Scots, hoping that he would come at his command; and
he, in the meantime, came to Nottingham,
and remained there on the day of Pentecost, and stayed in those
parts, awaiting the arrival of the king of Scotland. However, the
king of Scotland refused to come, but sent again to the king of
England, Roger, bishop of Saint Andrew’s, and Hugh Malebise,
whom the king of England had sent for him, and demanded that the king
of England should restore to him Northumberland and Cumberland; and
if he did not, he was to know for certain that, to the best of his
ability, he would gain possession of the same; and for receiving the
king’s answer on the subject, he appointed a truce of forty
days, while he himself, in the meantime, levied a large army. On
this, the bishop of Saint Andrew’s, and Richard Malebise,
followed the king of England as he was hastening towards the
sea-shore.
In the meanwhile, John, king of England, had delivered to
William de Stuteville Northumberland and Cumberland, with the castles and
earldoms thereof, to be held in his charge, a charge which Hugh
Bardolph had previously held. He also gave in charge to Roger de
Lascy, constable of Chester, his castle of Pomfret, having first
received from him his son and heir as an hostage. The king next
ordered Stephen de Turnham, who had now for nearly two years held the
archbishopric of York in his charge, to deliver up the custody of the
said archbishopric to Master Ralph de Kime, William Ward, and Roger
de Bavent, on behalf of the archbishop; on which, the said Stephen
wrote to the following effect to all his servants :—
“Stephen de Turnham, to all his servants throughout the
manors of the lord archbishop of York, greeting. Our lord the king has, by
his letters, commanded me to deliver up the custody of the manors of the lord
archbishop of York to Master Ralph de Kime, William Ward, and, with
them, Roger de Bavent, on his behalf: and has ordered that the
proceeds of the manors are to be laid out in the cultivation of the
lands, and the repair of the boundaries Wherefore I do command you,
when the persons before-named, or their deputies, shall come to you,
to deliver up to them, without delay and difficulty, the charge of
the said manors. Farewell.”
This was accordingly done: but the king, acting upon bad advice,
after the time of Pentecost, retained in his own hands the rents of the manors;
making promise, that on the return of the archbishop, he would pay
them all to him. As for the archbishop of York, after settling his
affairs, as previously stated, he had proceeded eight days’
journey on his road homewards, when, hearing of the death of king
Richard, he returned to Rome, in order to make such alterations in
his affairs as the turn of events should require.
John, king of England, after settling his affairs in England,
crossed over from England to Normandy, and landed at Dieppe, on the Lord’s
day, shortly before the feast of the Nativity of Saint John the
Baptist; and on the day of the Nativity of Saint John he was at
Rouen, where a multitude of horse, and an army of foot, came flocking
in to him from every quarter; immediately after which, a truce was
agreed upon between him and the king of France, until the day after
the Assumption of Saint Mary. On the very day of the conference.
Geoffrey, archbishop of York, having settled his affairs with our
lord the pope to his heart’s content, returned into Normandy,
and was honorably and affectionately received by his brother John.
In the meantime, Philip, earl of Flanders, did homage to John,
king of England, at Rouen, on the sixth day of the week before the Assumption
of Saint Mary; and the brother of the said earl of Flanders
voluntarily resigned into the hands of Geoffrey, the archbishop of
York, the prebend of Husthwaite, which he had held in the church of
York at the presentation of Richard, king of England. The same was
done by many others, who felt that those presentations had been made
against God, and to the detriment of the Holy Church. Immediately on
this, the said archbishop gave to the before-mentioned brother of the
earl of Flanders the prebend which had belonged to Peter de Dinant,
in the church of Saint Peter at York; for the said Peter had, before
this, been elected to the bishopric of Rennes, in Brittany; the
archbishop also ordered the archdeaconry of West Biding, which he had
held in the church of York, to be taken possession of in his behalf:
but Adam de Tornouere, who at this time held possession of the said
archdeaconry, declined to trust him, relying on the king’s
patronage and the authority of the chapter of York.
In the meantime, Henry, count de Namur, brother of Philip,
earl of Flanders, and Peter de Douay, a most valiant knight, and one of the
household of the earl of Flanders, and the bishop elect of Cambray,
brother of the before-named Peter, were made prisoners by some of the
household of the king of France, and delivered up to him. On this,
Peter de Capua, cardinal, and legate of the Apostolic See in France,
upon his arrival, laid an interdict upon France, for the capture of
the said bishop elect of Cambray, and upon Normandy, for the
captivity of Philip, bishop of Beauvais : and, before the said
sentence was revoked, Philip, king of France, set the before-named
bishop elect at liberty, and John, king of England, gave his liberty
to Philip, bishop of Beauvais, after he had paid two thousand marks
of silver for the expenses incurred upon him and through him in the
time of Richard, king of England, and since the death of king Richard
up to the day of his liberation. The said bishop of Beauvais also
made oath, in presence of the before-named cardinal and other
ecclesiastics, that for the future he would never, in all his life,
bear arms against Christians.
Philip,
king of France [at this time], made Arthur, duke of Brittany, a
knight, and received his homage for Anjou, Poitou, Maine, Touraine,
Brittany, and Normandy. On the day after the Assumption of Saint
Mary, and the following day, there was a conference held between the
king of England and the king of France, through their envoys, at a
place between Buttevant and Guleton, and on the third day after, the
kings had an interview in person. However, the king of England found
no favour with the king of France; and, on the king of France being
asked why he held John, king of England, in such great hatred, who
had never done him any injury, he made answer, that he had, without
his permission, taken possession of Normandy and other territories;
and that he ought first to have come to him, and to have asked them
of him as of his right, and to have done homage to him for the same.
At this interview also, the king of France demanded, on his own
behalf, the whole of the Vexin, that is to say, the whole of the
country that lies between the forest of Lyons, the Seine, the river
Andely, and the river Ethe. For he asserted that Geoffrey, earl of
Anjou, the father of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, had
given the same to Louis the Fat, the king of the Franks, in return
for his assistance in gaining Normandy, against Stephen, king of
England. He also demanded, on behalf of Arthur, Poitou, Anjou, Maine,
and Touraine, and made other requests to which the king of England
would on no account accede, nor ought he so to have done; and so
disagreeing, they separated.
Upon
this, the counts and barons of the kingdom of France who had adhered
to Richard, king of England, came to John, king of England, and did
homage to king John, and made oath to him that they would not make
terms with the king of France, unless with his sanction and consent;
and he swore to them that he would make no treaty with the king of
France, unless they were included therein.
In
the meantime, pope Innocent and the Romans elected as their emperor,
Otho, king of Germany, and rejected Philip, duke of Suabia, and all
the others who had been selected. Accordingly, the election of the
said Otho being confirmed by pope Innocent and the Roman Church, pope
Innocent proceeded to excommunicate Philip, duke of Suabia, and all
his adherents, advisers, and abettors, if they should not desist from
their attacks upon the said Otho; who was publicly proclaimed in the
Capitol and throughout the whole of the city, in the words, “Long
live our emperor Otho!” Accordingly, being elected emperor,
Otho sent word to John, king of England, his uncle, to wait a little
time, and defer making peace with Philip, king of France, as he
himself, God willing, would, before long, give him the very best aid
that his imperial highness could possibly give him.
In
the meantime, Philip, king of France, took Conches, the castle of
Roger de Toni; this happened in the month of September.
In
the same month of September, Joanna, wife of Raymond, earl of Saint
Gilles, the former queen of Sicily, and sister of John, king of
England, departed this life, at Rouen, in Normandy; and, being
carried to the abbey of Fontevraud, was there interred among the
nuns.
In
the month of October the king of France took the castle of Balun, of
which Geoffrey de Burelim had charge, and levelled it with the
ground. When William des Roches, the leader of Arthur’s army,
knew of this, he was greatly vexed, and strongly censured the king of
France, saying that it had not been so arranged between him and his
lord Arthur; to which the king of France made answer, that for his
lord Arthur he should not forbear doing just as he pleased with
reference to his gains from the enemy.
After
this, the king of France laid siege to Lavardin, but the king of
England surprised him with his army, and the king of France,
abandoning the siege, betook himself to the city of
Le Mans. However, on the king of England pursuing him with his army,
the king of France left Le Mans, and took his departure. In the
meantime, William des Roches, by means of extreme cunning, recovered
Arthur from the hands of the king of France, and made peace between
him and John, king of England, to whom he delivered the city of Le
Mans, which the king of France and Arthur had delivered into his
charge.
On
the same day, Arthur was informed that the king of England intended
to take him and throw him into prison. On this day also, the viscount
de Tuaz,* who had charge of the castle of Chinon, came to the king of
England, at his summons, at Le Mans, and, being forced so to do,
surrendered to the king the castle of Chinon, and the seneschalship
of Anjou; on which the king of England immediately delivered the
castle of Chinon into the charge of Roger, constable of Chester,
until such time as the king should have found another custodian for
the same.
*
Probably “Thouars”
On
the following night, however, Arthur, and his mother, and the said
viscount de Tuaz, with many others, left the king of England and took
their departure, and withdrew to the city of Anjou. For the mother of
Arthur, having left her husband, Ranulph, earl of Chester, had
married Guido de Tuaz, the brother of the before-named viscount de
Tuaz.
On
the sixth day before the ides of July, in this year, died Hugh,
bishop elect of the church of Glasgow, and was buried at Geddewerde.
[Jedburgh
] In
the month of October, in the same year, William Maivoisin was elected
bishop of the church of Glasgow.
In
the meantime, Peter de Capua, cardinal, and legate of the Apostolic
See, who had been sent by Innocent, the Supreme Pontiff, for the
purpose of putting an end to the dissensions between Richard, king of
England, and Philip, king of France, and at whose instance the said
kings had promised that they would observe a truce for the space of
five years, now that the said truce had failed, in consequence of the
death of Richard, king of England, used every possible effort that
the said truce should be observed between the king of France before
named, and John, king of England, the heir of the before-named
Richard. The consequence was, that a truce was agreed to between them
until the .feast of Saint Hilary. In the same year, Philip, bastard
son of Richard, king of England, to whom the said king, his father,
had given the castle and the manor of Cuinac,* slew the before-named
viscount of Limoges, in revenge for his father.
*
Now Cognac.
In
the same year, [1199] there were in England, and the various parts
thereof, such vast floods of water that bridges, mills, and houses,
were carried away. The bridge of Berwick having . been carried away,
by command of William, king of the Scots, earl Patrick, the governor
of Berwick, and the then chief justiciary of the whole kingdom of
Scotland, attempted to rebuild the bridge; on which he was forbidden,
on behalf of Philip, bishop of Durham, to sink a foundation for a
bridge on his land; but the bridge could not be made unless it had
its foundation on the land of the bishop of Durham, as it had before.
At length, however, the bishop of Durham, by the advice of William de
Stuteville, allowed the bridge to be made, and to have its foundation
on his own land, saving always the covenants that had been made
between the king of Scotland and Hugh, bishop of Durham, his
predecessor.
In
the same year, Geoffrey, the archbishop of York, Simon, the dean,
Haimo, the treasurer, Reginald, the precentor, Adam de Tornouere, and
William Testard, the archdeacons, and the other canons of the church
of York, having met in the presence of Peter de Capua, cardinal
deacon and titular of Saint Mary de Viâ Latâ, and legate
of the Apostolic See, Geoffrey, archbishop of York, and the
above-named clergy of the church of York, submitted the decision of
their disputes to Hugh, the lord bishop of Lincoln, Master Roger,
dean of the said church, and Master Columba; on which occasion, the
archbishop promised, on the word of truth. that if he should refuse
to abide by the decision of the before-named arbitrators, he would
pay to the dean and canons of York two hundred marks by way of
penalty; the dean also, and the before-named clergy of the church of
York, made oath distinctly that they would not refuse to abide by the
decision of the before-named arbitrators, but would dutifully receive
and dutifully observe whatever should be determined by them.
After this, when the officers of the archbishop of York, on
various grounds, attempted, by the pope’s letters, to summon them
to trial before other judges, they made claim against the archbishop of
the said two hundred marks of silver, by way of penalty. Also, while
the said archbishop was staying with the king in Normandy, Hubert,
archbishop of Canterbury, and Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, the king’s
justiciary, at the entreaties, and in behalf of, the chapter of York,
sent word to the king and advised him not to allow the archbishop of
York to return to England without him, for, they declared, if he
should come into England, he would be bringing a sword, and not
peace.
Some Statutes enacted by king John.
In the same year, John, king of England, enacted that no wine
of Poitou should be sold at a higher rate than twenty shillings the tun,
and that no wine of Anjou should be sold at a higher rate than
twenty-four shillings the tun, and that no French wine should be sold
at a higher rate than twenty-five shillings the tun; unless the said
wine was so good that any one would be willing to give for it as much
as two marks at the highest. He also enacted, that no wine of Poitou
should be sold at a higher rate than four-pence the gallon; and that
no white wine should be sold at a higher rate than sixpence the
gallon. He also enacted, that all the tuns which should in future
come into England from Rech,* after the present vintage, should be
changed. This statute he ordered to be observed from the octave of
Saint Andrew in December and thenceforward; and, for the observance
thereof, ordered that in every city and borough in which wine is sold
twelve inspectors should be appointed, and should make oath that they
would cause the said assize to be kept and observed. And, if they
should find any vintner selling wine at the tap contrary to the said
assize, the sheriff was to arrest his body, and have him kept in safe
custody in the prison of our lord the king, until he should have some
other command relative to him, and all his goods were to be seized on
behalf of our lord the king, on view of the said twelve men. If any
one was also found who should buy or sell a tun or tuns contrary to
the said assize, both parties were to be seized, and placed in safe
custody in prison, until some other command should be received
relative to them; and it was enacted, that no wine should be bought
for regrating, out of the wines that should have been landed in
England.
*
Rochelle.
However,
this first ordinance of the king had hardly been enacted, when it was
immediately done away with; as the merchants could not bear up
against this assize. Accordingly, leave was given them to sell a
gallon of white wine for eight pence, and a gallon of red wine for
sixpence; and so the land was filled with drink and drinkers.
In
the same year, when William, king of the Scots, was purposing to
invade England with an army, he went to the shrine of Saint Margaret,
the former queen of the Scots, at Dunfermline, and passed the night
there; on which, being warned by a Divine admonition not to invade
England with an army, he allowed his army to return to their homes.
In
the same year was decided that most ancient dispute between the
churches of Tours and Dol, as to the metropolitan rights which the
church of Dol claimed against the church of Tours, in the following
manner : Our lord the pope Celestinus, of blessed memory, had
determined that, with the Lord’s assistance, in his time an end
should be put to this most ancient and most lamentable dispute, which
had been carried on between the churches of Tours and Dol.
Accordingly, for this purpose he had appointed to each party a
peremptory day, on which, being sufficiently provided with all their
reasons which they might consider that they should be in want of at
the trial, all appeals, delays, and excuses laid aside, they were to
appear in the Apostolic presence. But, inasmuch as it was not granted
from above that the above-mentioned question should be settled by him
(for he was removed from the world before the appointed time had
arrived), our lord the pope Innocent, formerly Lothaire, cardinal
deacon of Saints Sergius and Bachus, on succeeding the said lord
Celestinus, adopting the commencement that had been made by his
predecessor relative to the above-mentioned question by the citation
of the parties, and wishing by a discussion on the matter, with the
help of the Lord, entirely to put an end thereto, for the same
reason, gave orders that the parties should repair to the Roman
Church, in order that the said matter might be brought to an end by
him, if, perchance, Divine Providence should spare him.
Because
the archbishop of Tours at this time was labouring under very great
infirmity in all his body, he did not appear in person in presence of
the Supreme Pontiff; however, he took care to send discreet and
prudent men in his place, namely, the chancellor of his church and
three of his fellow-canons, together with some other persons.
Accordingly, the bishop of Dol elect, and the before-named
commissioners of the said archbishop, having
come into the presence of the Supreme Pontiff and the cardinals, his
brethren, and many things having been alleged on the one side and the
other, in defence of their rights, the said lord Innocent began, like
a most kind father, as also did his brethren, to attempt to effect a
reconciliation between them; and in order that they might have time
to deliberate, he put off the further hearing of either party at
intervals.
Although
the commissioners from Tours were at last induced to make an offer to
concede an archiepiscopal see to the church of Dol, with two
suffragans only, and on condition that it should be subject to the
lord archbishop of Tours as its prince, and that the archbishop of
Dol should receive from his hand, or that of the church of Tours, the
pall that was sent to the said church of Tours from the pope, as also
consecration; still, because two of the adjacent bishoprics were
refused by the envoys of the archbishop of Tours to the said bishop
elect of Dol, he would on no account accept of their said offer; a
refusal indeed, which redounded to his own inconvenience, as will be
heard in the sequel.
Accordingly,
the pope, seeing that the said dispute could not be settled on
amicable terms, listened to the citations and allegations made on
either side in full consistory, more freely and fully than before.
After hearing and understanding them more fully, he was ready at
length, with his brethren, to pronounce a definite sentence. But,
once more seeking the ways of peace, he invited them to make an
arrangement.
When,
however, he could at length avail nothing whatever by these means,
the lord Innocent, sitting in judgment, his brethren acting as his
assessors, publicly pronounced sentence, in the second year of his
papacy, against the church of Dol, and in favour of the church of
Tours, to the effect that the church of Dol, as being the suffragan
of the church of Tours, its metropolitan, should, all exemption or
exception laid aside, for the future be subject thereto; that the
bishop of Dol should in all things pay obedience and respect to the
archbishop of Tours; that when he was elected, he should receive
confirmation, and, when the proper time required it, consecration
from him; and, in addition to this, he granted a general privilege to
the church of Tours, illustrated with manifold arguments and reasons
for the same, and sent to the archbishop of Rouen, and some other
persons, his Apostolic writings relative to the said subject, all of
which will appear more fully from what follows.
But
when the bishop elect of Dol heard that sentence was pronounced
against him, being vexed, and not without reason, and very
dispirited, he came into the presence of our lord the pope, and,
wishing to depose himself, resigned to our lord the pope the church
of Dol. But our lord the pope, on seeing this, answered without
hesitation, “Thou art the bridegroom, and the bride requireth
thee. Thou canst not do that which is against our will, without our
own consent; and, in virtue of thy obedience, we enjoin thee, after
summons made by the archbishop of Tours, to repair to him within the
space of forty days, all excuse whatever laid aside, for the purpose
of receiving from him the gift of consecration.”
In the same year, [1199] master Giraldus,* the bishop elect of Saint
David’s, raised a controversy as to the metropolitan right over
the church of Saint David’s, publicly asserting the right of
the said church and its ancient metropolitan dignity, in presence of
our lord the pope Innocent the Third, and the cardinals, namely,
Octavianus, cardinal of Ostia, the cardinal of Portuenza, John,
cardinal bishop of Albano, Jordan de Fossil Nova, Sephred, John de
Saint Paul, John de Salerno, Gratianus, Ugolino, and Hugeson.
* Giraldus Cambrensis, the famous scholar and historian.
It ought to be known that after Saint Dubricius, the archbishop of the
city of Chester, choosing the life of a recluse, had resigned the
honor of his dignity to Saint David, the latter forthwith transferred
the archiepiscopal dignity to Menevia,* and was made archbishop of
that province; and, in succession to him, twenty-four persons
received the pall and the full metropolitan dignity, the last of whom
was Saint Samson, who, on account of the jaundice, which pestilence
was committing fatal ravages amongst the people of Wales at that
time, crossed over by ship to Armorican Brittany, and was appointed
over the church of Dol, which then chanced to be vacant, and there
made use of the pall of Saint David, which he had brought over with
him.
*
The Latin name formed from the British one of Saint David’s.
On
this pretext it was, that the church of Dol, by continually laying
claim to the pall, had shown itself rebellious to the church of
Tours, down to the time of the before-named pope Innocent the Third,
in whose second year this cause was decided, and this adventitious
dignity was withdrawn from the church of Dol.
As
for the church of Saint David’s, from the same cause, either
through slothfulness or poverty, its bishops had always hitherto gone
without the pall. Still, however, all the bishops of the church of
Saint David’s, that is to say, nineteen bishops, from the
departure of Saint Samson until the time of Henry, the first king of
England, enjoyed the whole of the archiepiscopal dignity, except the
pall, and had seven suffragans, namely, Llandaff, Saint Paternus in
Kerdikan, (which see, because the people thereof slew their pastor,
had been long since abolished, and united with the diocese of Saint
David’s), Bangor and Saint Asaph; while in Wales, beyond the
Severn, which had been lately taken possession of by the English,
there were the bishoprics of Chester, Hereford, and Worcester.
*
Cardigan
However,
the before-named king Henry, having rendered Wales subject to his
rule, and, consequently, wishing to render the said church of Saint
David’s, and the other churches in Wales, suffragans of the
church of Saint David’s, subject to the church of his own
kingdom, namely, to the church of Canterbury, had Bernard, the clerk
of his chamber, appointed in place of bishop Wilfrid, in the church
of Saint David’s, and then, by violent measures, had him
consecrated at Canterbury; he being the first bishop of the church of
Saint David’s who was consecrated by the archbishop of
Canterbury. After him, David and Peter were in like manner compelled
by the kings of England to receive consecration from the archbishops
of Canterbury, oaths having been previously extorted from them, in
contravention of the canons, not at any time to raise any dispute as
to their metropolitan right against the church of Canterbury.
Bernard,
however, on the decease of king Henry the First, did move the
question, as to the metropolitan rights of his church, against
Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury; on which occasion, pope Eugenius
wrote to Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, to the following
effect:—
The Letter of pope Eugenius, on the metropolitan dignity of the church of
Saint David’s.
“Eugenius,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother,
Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, health and the Apostolic
benediction. Our venerable brother, Bernard, bishop of Saint David’s,
coming into our presence, has asserted that the church of Saint
David’s was formerly metropolitan, and has personally demanded
restitution to be made by us of the said dignity. When, however,
watching over the interests of his said application, he had made a
long stay at our court, you, brother archbishop, in his presence,
rising to oppose him, did, in our presence, make complaint against
him, that he had withdrawn the obedience due to you as the chief
metropolitan, and had shown himself disobedient and rebellious
towards you, inasmuch as he had been consecrated by your predecessor,
as being chief metropolitan, and had, both personally and in writing,
made profession to the church of Canterbury, and had afterwards, like
the other suffragans, shown obedience to you in many matters, and
waited upon you. On this, he could not deny the fact of consecration,
but utterly denied that he had made the profession, and had shown
obedience; hearing which, you publicly produced two witnesses, who
gave testimony that in their seeing and hearing, after his
consecration, both in words and writing, he had made profession to
the see of Canterbury. Accordingly, after hearing the reasons of both
parties, and diligently weighing the same, and having carefully
examined your witnesses, with the general sanction of our brethren,
we received their depositions upon oath, and, justice so dictating,
commanded that the said bishop should show to you, as chief
metropolitan, all obedience and respect. Wherefore, inasmuch as it is
our wish to preserve for each church, and for ecclesiastical
personages, their own dignities and what is their respective due, we
have named a day for you and for him, the Feast of Saint Luke in the
year next ensuing, upon which, in the presence of all the parties, we
may learn the truth as to the dignity of the church of Saint David’s
and its liberties; and we will then decree relative thereto, by the
Lord’s help, what shall be found to be conformable with
justice. Given at Meaux, on the third day before the calends of
July."
Now
this letter, the before-named Master Giraldus found in the register
of pope Eugenius: and accordingly, on these grounds, and at the
instance of the said Giraldus, who publicly asserted the rights of
his church in the court of Rome, pope Innocent, by his letters, cited
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, as to the state of the church of
Saint David’s and the metropolitan dignity; which letters the
said Giraldus also caused to be entered in the register of that pope,
as a perpetual testimony of what had been done. The said pope also
gave orders to the before-named archbishop, so to give consecration
to the said Giraldus, the bishop elect of Saint David’s, as not
to exact from him the unlawful oath which his predecessors had been
in the habit of extorting from the bishop of Saint David’s,
namely, as to not asserting their metropolitan rights against the
church of Canterbury, but solely canonical obedience according to the
usual form. The said pope also commanded the bishops of Lincoln,
Durham, and Ely, if the archbishop of Canterbury should delay to
consecrate Giraldus, so often named, that they, supported therein by
the Apostolic authority, should not delay to consecrate him
themselves.
1200 A.D.
In the year of grace 1200, which was the second year of the reign of
king John, that king was at Burun, in Normandy, on the day of the
Nativity of our Lord, which fell on Saturday; and this was the first
Feast of the Nativity of our Lord after the first coronation of king
John. After the Nativity of our Lord, the said John, king of England,
and Philip, king of France/met to hold a conference between Andely
and Gaillon; at which interview, it was agreed between them, that
Louis, son of the king of France, should take to wife the daughter of
Alphonso, king of Castille, and niece of John, king of England; on
which, king John would give and quitclaim to the said son of the king
of France, together with his said niece, the city of Evreux, together
with the whole county thereof, and all the fortresses and castles
which the king of France had in Normandy, on the day on which
Richard, king of England, was living and dead; besides which, he was
to give him thirty thousand marks of silver. He also made oath, that
he would give no aid to his nephew Otho, either in money or in men,
for the purpose of gaining the Roman empire.
All these matters, however, were put off until the octave of the Nativity
of Saint John the Baptist. After the conference, John, king of
England, sent his mother, Eleanor, to Alphonso, king of Castille, to
obtain his daughter in marriage for Louis, son of Philip, king of
France.
In
the meantime, John, king of England, crossed over from Normandy into
England, and levied from each carucate throughout all England the sum
of three shillings as an aid. At Lent, king John came to York,
expecting that William, king of the Scots, would come to him, as he
had commanded
him; the king of the Scots, however, did not come; on which, the king
of England returned to Normandy.
In
the same year, [1200] pope Innocent, on hearing of the tribulations
of the Christians in the land of Jerusalem, which the Lord had
brought upon them, our sins demanding the same, wrote to all the
prelates of Holy Mother Church, to the following effect:— ‘
The
Letter of pope Innocent on giving succour to the land of Jerusalem.
“Innocent,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the prelates of
the Holy Mother Church to whom these letters shall come, health and
the Apostolic benediction. The sad miseries of the lands of the East,
and their urgent necessities, we now are, our sins demanding the
same, compelled to lament rather than recount; inasmuch as it is a
matter of necessity that succour should be given thereto, in their
present state, (if state, indeed, the train of calamities can be
called, which with grief we recite), and that resistance should be
offered to the attempts of the pagans. It may, indeed, be supposed,
that but few of the Christians who had devoted themselves to the
defence of the inheritance of the Lord, and to obedience to Him
crucified, will make drunk the arrows of the enemy with the shedding
of their blood, and expose their throats to the swords of the pagans,
inasmuch, as by this, nearly all the pilgrims have returned from
those parts, as so many remnants of the desolation of that land, to
be totally lost without any hope of human aid, and to fall into the
possession of the foe. Hitherto, indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ, to
the end that He might the more strongly prove our faith, and might
find who are His own, has, in His mercy, prevented this, by turning
their hands against themselves, and allowing them, in their various
dissensions, to vent their rage upon each other, in order that, in
the meantime, the Christians being aroused to the aid of the said
land, a more easy means might be granted them of recovering what was
lost, and of triumphing over the foe. For we have received letters
from our venerable brethren, the Patriarchs of Jerusalem and Antioch,
and from the archbishops and bishops of both provinces, as also, in
like manner, from our most dearly beloved sons in Christ, Aimeric,
king of Jerusalem, and Leo, king of Armenia, and our own dearly
beloved sons, the Masters of the Hospital and of the knights of the
Temple, and many others, fully explaining the miseries and
necessities of that land, and asking for the aid that was so long
looked for; for that there, strong hopes were entertained, the Lord
so disposing, that at the present time a few would be of more avail,
in consequence of the dissensions among the Saracens, than hitherto a
numerous army had been. It was also added, that, as arrangements were
being made among the Saracens for the establishment of peace, if a
full reconciliation should be effected among them before assistance
should be given to the province of Jerusalem, inasmuch as it is
almost entirely destitute of men and resources, unless God alone
should interpose, there would be no one able to withstand their
violent attacks. Wherefore we, with our brethren, summoning also the
bishops and other religious men who were then staying at the
Apostolic See, after considering the mode of succouring that land, in
order that we might not seem to be laying heavy burdens on the
shoulders of those who bore them, and not to be willing to touch the
same even with our finger, talking only, and, as the saying is, doing
little or nothing, in order that an example might be set by ourselves
to you, and then by you to the laity, in doing good, after the
example of Him who began to do and to teach [at the same time], made
it our care to set aside the tenth part of all our revenues, and of
all our receipts, for the assistance of the Eastern lands,
withdrawing not the slightest portion therefrom for our necessities,
to which indeed, inasmuch as they are more pressing than usual, and
on that account demand a more heavy expenditure, our present means do
not suffice; to the end that, although we were giving nothing of our
own, we might, at least, repay to Him a small portion of what is His,
who, in His mercy, has bestowed all things upon us. And not only in
resources, but also in personal attendance, did we make it our
anxious endeavour to provide the requisite aid for the Holy Land; for
we determined to dispatch thither our dearly beloved sons, Stephen,
cardinal priest and titular of Saint Praxedes, and Peter, cardinal
deacon and titular of Saint Mary in Viâ Latâ, as legates
of the Apostolic See, on whom we had already placed the sign of the
Cross, in order that they might act in our behalf in preceding the
army of the Lord, and that, to them, as to a single head, all might
resort. But, inasmuch as we look upon this as slight, aye, slight
indeed, and as by no means sufficing to the necessities so numerous
of that land, we do, by these Apostolic writings, command the whole
of you, and I, in behalf
of Almighty God, do, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, under pain
of God’s judgment, strictly command, that each of you shall
appropriate the fortieth part of all ecclesiastical revenues and
profits, (interest, however, being first deducted therefrom, of which
payment cannot be avoided), for the aid of the Holy Land. To all
clerks, subordinates as well as prelates, who shall spontaneously and
faithfully pay such fortieth part, trusting in the mercy of Almighty
God, and in the authority of the blessed Apostles, Saint Peter and
Saint Paul, we do remit one fourth part of the penance that has been
enjoined them, supposing always, that no fraud is made use of, and
that pious devotion is supported thereby. For know, that he is acting
culpably and obdurately, and shows himself obdurately culpable, who
refuses to give so small an aid, in such an emergent necessity, to
his Creator and Redeemer, from whom he has received his body and his
soul, and all the blessings that he enjoys; and we, who, unworthy as
we are, act as His vicar upon earth, can on no account conceal the
obduracy of such an offence. And you must not by any means suppose
that, by these means, it is our wish to establish a law at the
expense of yourselves, in order that, in future, the fortieth part
may be required of you, as due and customary; for, on the contrary,
we wish nothing whatever to result herefrom to your prejudice, as we
grieve that a case of such great necessity has occurred to us and to
you, and it is our wish that, in future, the like may not occur. We
do further will, and by this our precept command you, that you,
brother archbishops and bishops, shall make it your care, without
delay, to meet in your metropolitan church, or, if it cannot be done
there, by reason of disagreements or any other evident impediment, in
two or three other places of your province, and there consider among
yourselves, according to the tenor of the Apostolic mandate, the
succour of that land; and, after each of you shall have returned into
his diocese, he is to convene a synod without delay, and there,
relying upon our authority, enjoin the abbats and priors, both
exempt46
as well as others, as also the archdeacons, deans, and all others
whatsoever of the clergy throughout his diocese, appointed by a fair
assessment to tax their revenues and profits, and within three months
after the command so given to them, not to delay to send to some
fitting place in his diocese the fortieth part of the
value thereof; employing, nevertheless, for the sake of greater
precaution, the services of some faithful and discreet laymen
therein: which, also, brother archbishops and bishops, we do strictly
command you to do. From these general terms, however, we have
excepted the Cistercian monks, the Præmonstratensian canons,
and the recluses of Grammont and Canterbury, to whom we give,
relative to this matter, especial commands. We are also unwilling
that those who have taken diligent care to value their revenues and
profits shall incur the penalty of transgressing the strict
injunctions above given; but those who shall not of their certain
knowledge, but rather through ignorance, have subtracted from their
fortieth part, shall still, when they shall have afterwards found it
out, fully make up for the deficiency they have so made in their
payment. If, also, which God forbid, any person shall withdraw, of
his own
certain
knowledge, any portion of the fortieth part so to be paid, the same
person, when he shall have made due satisfaction, shall be entirely
free from any penalty for such transgression.
And
let not any one be surprised, or even wonder, that we order this with
such strictness, inasmuch as it is an extreme necessity that demands
it. For, although obedience to the Divine will ought to be a
pleasure, we still read in the Gospel that, of those invited to the
marriage feast, the Lord gave orders that they should be compelled to
go in to the same. We do further command that you, brother
archbishops and bishops, after exacting and collecting the said
fortieth part throughout your dioceses, shall faithfully cause the
same, according to the manner above stated, to be deposited in a
place of safety, and shall, so soon as can possibly be done, signify
unto us, by your letters, and through special messengers, the amount
of the whole thereof. For this purpose, we do order that a hollow
chest shall be placed in each of your churches, fastened with three
keys; the first to be in the hands of the bishop, the second with the
priest of the church, and the third with some pious layman, by them
to be kept; and each of the faithful is to be moved to deposit
therein alms for the remission of their sins, according as the Lord
shall have inspired their minds in relation thereto; and in all
churches mass shall be publicly said once a week for the remission of
sins, and especially of those who shall make offerings. We do also
grant unto you, brother archbishops and bishops, that, in relation to
those who shall be willing with their property to aid the Holy Land,
after, using therein the counsels of discreet men, you shall have
duly considered the rank of such persons and their means, and shall
have taken into consideration the intensity of their devotion, you
shall have power to change works of penance that have been enjoined
for works of almsgiving. We do further will, that, joining with you
two brethren, where the same can be found, one of the Hospital of
Jerusalem and the other one of the Knights of the Temple, as also
other religious laymen, you shall provide for discreet knights, or
other soldiers, who have assumed the sign of the Cross of our Lord,
if they shall be unable to make the voyage at their own expense, a
suitable supply out of the said sum, having taken from them a
sufficient security that they will remain in defence of the Eastern
lands one year or more, according to the amount of the assistance
they shall have received; and that if, which God forbid, they shall
die on the way, they will not apply the amount so received to other
uses, but will, on the contrary, restore it, to be applied in payment
of the troops; and such persons, when they shall have returned, shall
not be discharged from the sureties which they have given, before
they shall have presented to you letters from the king, or Patriarch,
or Hospital of Jerusalem, or order of the Temple, or else from our
legate, giving full testimony to the fact of their attendance there.
But, inasmuch as supreme necessity demands, and common utility
requires, that the people of Christendom should, not only in
resources, but in person, render aid to the Holy Land without delay
against the attacks of the pagans, we do by these Apostolic writings
inform your brotherhood, forthwith, prudently and diligently to make
it your care to exhort and induce the faithful, both of yourselves
and by means of other fitting persons, to the end that those who are
capable of fighting the battles of the Lord, may, in the name of the
Lord of Sabaoth, assume the sign of the Cross. Let the rest also,
according to the extent of their means, bestow their pious alms.
We
also ourselves, trusting in the mercy of God, and in the authority of
the blessed Apostles, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, by virtue of that
power which, unworthy as we are, God has bestowed upon us, of binding
and loosing, do indulgently grant to all who shall in their own
person undergo the labours of this expedition, and incur the expense
thereof, plenary pardon for those sins, for which they shall have
shown repentance both with voice and
heart, and promise them the blessings of eternal salvation as the
reward of the just. To those also who shall not personally go
thither, but who shall at their own expense have sent thither fit and
proper men to stay there for one year at least, as also to those who,
at the expense of others, but in their own persons, shall have
undergone the labours of the pilgrimage so undertaken, we do grant
plenary pardon for their sins. Of this remission also, we do will
that all shall be partakers according to the amount of their aid and
the intensity of their devotion, who shall give suitable aid out of
their resources in support of the said land. Their own persons also,
and their property, from the time of their assuming the Cross, we do
take under the protection of Saint Peter and of ourselves, and they
are to be under the care of the archbishops and all prelates of the
church of God; it being by us enacted, that until the fact of their
death or their return is known to a certainty, the same shall remain
safe and untouched. And if any person shall presume to act contrary
hereto, he is to be compelled by ecclesiastical censure, all power of
appeal removed. If also any persons among those proceeding thither
shall be bound by oath to the payment of interest, then do you,
brother archbishops and bishops, by the same means of coercion,
compel their creditors throughout your dioceses, all obstacle by
appeal removed, entirely to absolve them from their oaths, and to
make them desist from any further exaction of interest. But if any
creditor shall compel them to payment of interest, you are, by like
measures of coercion, to force him to make restitution thereof, all
power of appeal removed. We do also order that Jews shall be
compelled by the secular power to remit all claim against such for
interest, and, until they shall have remitted the same, we do order
that, through sentence of excommunication, all communication whatever
with them shall be withheld. These matters also, brother archbishops
and bishops, we do wish and command each of you to carry out in his
respective diocese; and you are so diligently and so faithfully to
follow the same, that in the strict enquiry made at the last
judgment, when you shall be standing before the judgment seat of
Christ, you shall be enabled to give a becoming account thereof.
Given at the Lateran, on the sixth day before the calends of January,
in the second year of our pontificate.”
In
the same month of January, [1200] immediately after the Nativity of
our Lord, the heart of Philip, king of France, being
hardened, he could be prevailed upon neither by kind nor by harsh
measures, to get rid of his adulteress, and take once more his lawful
wife: on which, Peter de Capua, the before-named cardinal and legate
of the Apostolic See, pronounced sentence of interdict on the kingdom
of France, and took his departure, commanding the clergy, in virtue
of their obedience, to allow no Divine service to be performed,
except baptism and confession; but pope Innocent, on confirming this
sentence, excepted therefrom all who had assumed or should assume the
Cross of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, enacting that they might hear
mass, and have Christian burial, while all others were to go without
the mass and Christian burial.
When,
however, the king of France remained immoveable in his evil purposes,
our lord the pope proposed to revoke the sentence of interdict, and
to excommunicate the king of France, saying, “It is better that
one should be punished, than that the whole nation should perish.”
On hearing this, the king of France repeatedly sent envoys to the
Supreme Pontiff, requesting that the sentence of interdict might be
revoked; and, although he suffered a repulse a first and second
time, still, at last, it was definitely arranged by our lord the
pope, envoys from the king of France acting in his behalf in presence
of our lord the pope and the cardinals, that the king of France
should put away his adulteress, and take again his wife Botilda, and
treat her honorably as a queen and as his wife; and if during the
next year the king of France should wish a divorce to be effected
between them, the same should be signified to the king of Denmark and
the other friends of the queen, when and where the king of France
should desire the said divorce to be effected, if the same ought of
right to be effected, in order that the queen’s friends might
be able to attend; and the same was to be signified to our lord the
pope and the court of Rome, in order that discreet men might be
present on their behalf, to the end that a divorce of such solemn
nature might be legally accomplished.
In
the same year, Sancho, king of Navarre, hearing of the losses and
mischiefs that were inflicted upon his territories by Alphonso, king
of Castille, and the king of Arragon, who had gained possession of
nearly the whole thereof, returned from Africa, and, again entering
his territories, made a truce with the said kings, his adversaries,
to last for the space of three years.
In
the same year, that is to say, from the year of the Incarnation of
our Lord one thousand two hundred, John, king of England, was at
Worcester, in England, on Easter day, which fell on the fifth day
before the ides of April, and shortly after he crossed from England
into Normandy.
In
the meantime, queen Eleanor, the mother of John, king of England,
whom he had sent to Alphonso, king of Castille, for the purpose of
giving the daughter of the said king of Castille in marriage to
Louis, the son of Philip, king of France, returned, having obtained
the daughter of the king of Castille. When she had arrived at the
city of Bordeaux, and was staying there, on account of the solemnity
of Easter, Marchad^s, the chief of the Brabanters, came to her, and
on the second day in Easter week the said Marchadès was slain
in the said city of Bordeaux, by a man-at-arms in the service of
Brandin. After this, queen Eleanor, being fatigued with old age and
the labour of the length of the journey, betook herself to the abbey
of Fontevraud, and there remained; while the daughter of the king of
Castille, with Elias, archbishop of Bordeaux, and the others who
attended her, proceeded to Normandy, and there delivered her into the
charge of king John, her uncle.
On
the octave of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, Philip, king of
France, and the king of England, met to hold a conference between
Buttevant, a castle belonging to the king of England, and Gaillon, a
castle of the king of France, on the eleventh day before the calends
of June, being the second day of the week. At this conference, the
king of France restored to John, king of England, the city of Evreux,
and the whole county thereof, and all the castles, cities, and lands
of which he had gained possession in Normandy during the war, as also
in the other territories of the king of England; and John, king of
England, immediately did homage for the same to Philip, king of
France, and forthwith bestowed the whole thereof on Louis, the son of
the said king of France, as a marriage portion, with his niece, the
daughter of Alphonso, king of Castille; and on the following day,
that is to say, on the tenth day before the calends of July, being
the third day of the week, the before-named daughter of the king of
Castille was married to Louis, the son of Philip, king of France, at
Purmor, in Normandy, by the before-named archbishop of Bordeaux, many
bishops and other religious being present, as also many counts and
barons of the kingdom of France. But at this time
the kingdom of France was under an interdict on account of queen
Botilda, whom the king of France had put away. Immediately after his
marriage, the said Louis took with him into France his wife, the
daughter of the king of Castille.
While
these things were going on, upon the same day, Philip, king of
France, and John, king of England, held a conference at Vernon, at
this time a town of the king of France; and here Arthur, duke of
Brittany, did homage to his uncle John, king of England, for Brittany
and his other territories, with the sanction and advice of the king
of France; but Arthur, being given up by the king of England,
remained in the charge of the king of France.
In
the same year, [1200] John, king of England, gave to Zachary, the
prior of Saint Alban’s, the abbacy of Burgh, and to the prior
of Burgh he gave the abbacy of Ramsey. In this year also, Robert,
count de Drues, brother of Philip, bishop of Beauvais, departed this
life. In the same year, on Easter day, which fell on the fifth day
before the ides of April, nearly the whole of the city of Rouen was
destroyed by fire, together with the church of the archiepiscopal
see, and many other churches besides.
In
the same year, Otho, king of the Germans, who had been elected
emperor of the Romans, sent Henry, duke of Saxony, and William of
Winchester, his brothers, to his uncle John, king of England, to
demand of him the earldom of York and the earldom of Poitou, which
Richard, king of England, had given him, as also two-fourths of the
whole of the treasures of Richard, king of England, and all the
jewels which the said king had left him by devise. But John, king of
England, would not accede to any of these requests, in consequence of
the oath which he had sworn to the king of France, to the effect that
he would give no assistance whatever to Otho against the duke of
Suabia.
In the same year, shortly before the festival of Saint Peter ad
Vincula, a pitched battle was fought between the beforenamed Otho and Philip,
duke of Suabia, at Brunswick; in which battle, Otho came off
victorious, and took prisoners more than two hundred knights of the
household of the duke of Suabia.
In
the same year, John, king of England gave to Philip, bishop of
Durham, leave to hold a fair each year at Hoveden, and at Alverton.*
To William de Stuteville also, the said king gave permission each
year to hold a fair at Butterham and at Coggingham, and to build
castles at those places. The said king also gave a license to Richard
de Malebise to fortify a castle at Oweldric; but after he had nearly
built it, the citizens of York, thinking that this had been done to
their detriment and disgrace, prevailed upon William de Stuteville,
at this time sheriff of York, on the king’s behalf, to forbid
Richard de Malebise to fortify the said castle, and accordingly in
that state it remained.
*
North Allerton.
In
the same year, William de Stuteville gave to John, king of England,
three thousand marks of silver, to obtain judgment for the barony of
William de Mowbray, which the said William de Stuteville claimed in
the king’s court, against the said William de Mowbray. For it
should be known, that Robert Grundebeof, the great grandfather of the
said William de Stuteville, held the said barony on the conquest of
England; but the said Robert Grundebeof, leaving Henry, king of
England, son of king William the Bastard, who had subdued England in
war, gave in his adhesion to Robert Curthose, duke of Normandy, when
he claimed the kingdom of England in right of his father against the
aforesaid Henry, king of England, his younger brother; and in the
battle which took place between the said two brothers, that is,
between Henry, king of England, and Robert Curthose, his brother,
duke of Normandy, at Tenchebrai, Henry, king of England, was
victorious, and took Robert Curthose, his brother, and kept him in
prison until the end of his life, as he also did Robert Grundebeof;
and king Henry gave his barony to Nigel de Aubigny, the great
grandfather of the said William de Mowbray. It ought also to be
known, that Robert de Stuteville, the father of the before-named
William de Stuteville, in the time of king Henry the Second, laid
claim to the said barony against Roger de Mowbray, the father of the
before-named William de Mowbray; on which an arrangement was made
between them, by which Roger de Mowbray gave to Robert de Stuteville
Kirby-in-Moreshead, with its appurtenances, together with nine
knight’s fees, for his homage, in full discharge of his claim.
But, because this arrangement had not been confirmed in the king’s
court, and sanctioned by his authority, the said William de
Stuteville again laid claim to the said barony, in the court of John,
king of England.
However,
after the contention had been long carried on, at length, by the
consent of the kingdom, and at the king’s desire, peace and a
final reconciliation were made between the said William de Stuteville
and William de Mowbray, to the following effect:— William de
Stuteville renounced his claim which he made against William de
Mowbray respecting his barony, and William de Mowbray gave to William
de Stuteville, for his homage and for the renunciation of his claim,
nine knight’s fees in addition, and twelve pounds of yearly
revenue. And thus, all their disputes being settled on both sides,
they became reconciled in the presence of John, king of England, in
the second year of his reign, at Lue in Lindesey, a vill of the
bishops of Lincoln, on the first Sunday in Septuagesima.
In
the same year, Philip, king of France, gave to the Jews permission to
reside at Paris and in his other cities, he having expelled them
therefrom in the first year of his reign.
In
the same year, John, king of England, immediately after the agreement
made between him and the king of France, set out for Aquitaine with a
large army, but no one was found to make head against him.
In
this year also, a divorce was effected between John, king of England,
and Hawisa, his wife, daughter of William, earl of Gloucester, by
Elias, bishop of Bordeaux, William, bishop of Poitou, and Henry,
bishop of Saintes, because they were related in the third degree of
affinity. After this divorce had taken place between John, king of
England, and his wife, the king of England, by the advice of his
lord, Philip, king of France, married Isabel, the daughter of Ailmar,
count of Angoulême, whom the said count, by the sanction and
advice of Richard, king of England, had previously given to Hugh Le
Brun, count de la Marche; and the said count had acknowledged her as
his wife, by promise made as pledge for the future, and she had taken
him for her husband by promise made for the future; for because she
had not yet attained marriageable years, the said Hugh declined to be
united to her in presence of the church. However, the father of the
damsel, on seeing that John, king of England, had a fancy for her,
took her out of the custody of Hugh Le Brun, and gave her in marriage
to John, king of England; and she was immediately married to John,
king of England, at Angoulême, by Elias, archbishop of
Bordeaux.
In the same year, a serious dissension arose between the students and
citizens of Paris, the origin of which was as follows. There was in
Paris a German student, of noble family, being one of those selected
for the office of bishop of Liege. While a servant of his was buying
some wine at a tavern, he was beaten, and his wine-vessel broken. On
hearing of this, a meeting took place of the clerks of German birth,
and, entering the tavern, they wounded the master of the house, and,
after severely beating him, took their departure, leaving him nearly
dead. On this, there was an outcry among the people, and the whole
city was in commotion; so much so, that Thomas, the mayor of Paris,
in arms, together with the populace of the city, who were likewise
armed, made an assault upon the quarters of the German students; in
which conflict the said noble scholar, who (as before-mentioned) was
one of those selected for the office of bishop of Liege, was slain,
together with some of his companions.
On this, the masters of the schools at Paris went to Philip,
king of France, and made complaint to him against Thomas, the mayor, and his
accomplices, who had slain the said scholars; and, at their request,
Thomas, the mayor, was arrested. Some of his accomplices were also
seized and thrown into prison, while others of them took to flight,
leaving their homes and possessions; on which, the king of France,
being incensed, caused their houses to be levelled with the ground,
and their vineyards and fruit-bearing trees to be rooted up.
As to the mayor, the following determination was come to: he
was to be kept in the king’s prison, not to be released therefrom,
until such time as he should have cleared himself by the judgment of water
or of iron; and, if he were cast, he was to be hanged, and if
acquitted thereby, he was, at the king’s mercy, to abjure the
realm. However, the scholars, taking pity on him, entreated the king
of France that the mayor and his accomplices, after being whipped in
the schools after the manner of scholars, might be discharged, and
restored to their possessions. This, however, the king of France
refused, saying, that it would be most derogatory to his honor if any
other person than himself were to inflict punishment on his
offenders.
The king of France also, being apprehensive that the master
of the scholars, and the scholars themselves, might withdraw from the city,
made satisfaction to them by enacting, that in future no clerk should
be brought before a secular tribunal, for any offence whatsoever that
he might have committed; but that if a clerk should be guilty of any
offence, he should be
handed over to the bishop, and be dealt with according to the
judgment of the clergy. The king of France also enacted, that whoever
should be mayor of Paris, should make oath that he would keep faith
with the clerks, saving always his fealty to the king. The said king
also gave to the scholars an assurance of his protection, and, by his
charter, confirmed the same.
As
for the mayor, after he had been confined several days in the king’s
prison, he determined to escape by flight, but while he was
descending from the wall, the rope broke, and, falling from a height
to the ground, he was killed.
In
the same year, Margarite, the leader of the pirates, whom Henry,
emperor of the Romans, had caused to be deprived of his sight, came
to Paris, to Philip, king of France, and offered him, if he would
follow his advice, to make him emperor of the Romans, or emperor of
Constantinople, whichever he should prefer. To this, the king of
France gave a ready assent, and prepared all necessaries for his
expedition, horses, arms, men, and equipments. Margarite, then
preceding the king of France, in order that he might arrange as he
had promised, sent word throughout all parts of his dominions for all
his galleys to meet him at Brindisi; but on his arrival at Rome, he
was slain by a servant of his, whom he had maltreated; and so, this
accident intervening, the king of France was baulked of his hopes.
In
the same year, died the archbishop of Mentz, who, in the city of
Mentz, had acknowledged Philip, duke of Suabia, as his lord, and had
crowned him king there. On his decease, the clergy and people of the
city made choice of a certain noble clerk of their number for
archbishop, and presented him to Philip, duke of Suabia; but he
rejected him, and wished, contrary to their desire, to appoint one of
his own relations bishop of that place. Being greatly indignant at
this, the clergy and people of Mentz, rejecting the duke of Suabia,
gave their adhesion to Otho, king of the Germans, and acknowledged
him as their lord; and he, upon their presentation, received the
person whom they had chosen as archbishop; while Otho himself was, on
the day of the Nativity of our Lord, crowned king at Mentz, by the
said archbishop of Mentz. On hearing of this, Philip, duke of Suabia,
ordered the treasures to be conveyed to him which he had in those
parts; which coming to the knowledge of Otho, he kept a watch night
and day upon the street along which the duke’s men were to pass
with his treasures; and so, taking no precaution against the same,
while on their road, they fell into the hands of Otho, and they and
the treasures were captured; and thus Otho was enriched with the
treasures of the duke of Suabia, his enemy.
In
the same year, [1200] one of the companions of the above-named Fulk,
Eustace by name, the lord abbot of Flaye, came into England from the
country of Normandy, to preach the word of the Lord, and did wondrous
things during his life. Among these, he did one work that is wondrous
in our eyes. For the said Eustace came to a town not far from
Canterbury, of which the name is Wye, and there he bestowed his
blessing on a certain spring, on which the Lord poured forth so
exceedingly His grace, that whoever drank of the spring so blessed,
the blind received their sight, the lame their power of walking, the
dumb their speech, and the deaf their hearing, and every infirm
person who drank thereof, rejoiced that he was restored to health.
On
this, a certain woman came to the abbat, being possessed by devils,
and stout to a degree beyond what is credible, as though swollen by
dropsy, and sought to be restored by him to health; to whom the abbot
made answer, “Daughter, have faith, and go to the pools of the
spring at Wye, which the Lord hath blessed; drink thereof, and thence
thou shalt receive health.” She departed, and, drinking
thereof, was seized with a vomiting, on which there came forth from
her two large black toads, which were immediately transformed into
dogs of immense size and very black, and shortly after took the forms
of asses. As to the woman, she stood astounded, and soon after ran
after them, raving, and trying to catch them; but a certain man, who
had been appointed to take charge of the said spring, sprinkled some
of the water from the spring between the woman and the monsters; who,
immediately departing, flew up into the air, leaving behind them foul
traces of their footsteps. The woman was made whole from that hour,
magnifying God, who had given such power unto men.
Also,
the said abbat, coming to Rumenel,* where there was a deficiency of
water, at the request of the people, struck a stone in the church in
that town with his staff, on which water flowed forth, the draughts
of which are a cure for various maladies. He also, by his preaching,
turned the hearts of many to the release of claims for interest, and
to the assumption of the Cross in the expedition to Jerusalem. At
London also, and many other places throughout England, he effected by
his preaching, that from that time forward people did not dare to
hold market of things exposed for sale on the Lord’s day.
*
Romney
He
also enacted in London and several other places, that in each church
that had the means, there should be always a lamp kept burning, or
some never-failing light, before the body of our Lord. He also
caused, by means of his preaching, that many of the citizens and
other discreet men kept daily upon their table an alms-dish, in which
to place some part of their food for those poor who have no means of
their own. Accordingly, for these and other works of mercy, the enemy
of mankind raised against this man of God the ministers of iniquity,
who said to him, “It is not lawful for thee to reap another’s
harvest;” to which he replied, “The harvest truly is
great, but the labourers are few.” However, the said abbat, on
being censured by the ministers of Satan, was unwilling any longer to
molest the prelates of England by his preaching, but returned to
Normandy, unto his place whence he had come.
In
the same year, Raymond, earl of Saint Gilles, did homage to John,
king of England, for the lands and castles which Richard, king of
England, had given him as a marriage portion with his sister Joanna,
upon the understanding that when Raymond, his son by his wife Joanna,
should come to the years of discretion, he should have all the
estates before-mentioned, and should do homage for the same to John,
king of England, his uncle; but if he should depart this life without
issue, the same were to revert to the earl of Saint Gilles: and he
himself, and his heirs after him, were to hold all the same as of
hereditary right of the earl of Poitou, by the service of coming with
five hundred knights to serve the earl of Poitou as often as the earl
of Poitou should go into Gascony with his army, for one month at his
own expense, but if he should stay there longer than that period, the
earl of Poitou was to provide all necessaries.
After
this, John, king of England, came to Anjou, and received from it one
hundred and fifty hostages as pledges that it would preserve its
fealty to him, whom he placed under ward.
In
the same year, died John of Oxford, bishop of Norwich, and was
succeeded in his bishopric by John de Gray, at the presentation of
king John; on which, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated
him bishop. In the same year, John, king of England, gave to Gilles,
son of William de Braose, the bishopric of Hereford, and he was
consecrated bishop by Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury. In this year
also, John, king of England, received from Walter, archbishop of
Rouen, six hundred pounds of money Anjouin, and by his charter
confirmed to him the possession of all those places which Richard,
king of England, had given him in exchange for Andely, that is to
say, the town of Dieppe with its appurtenances, Louviers with its
appurtenances, and the forest of Aliermont, together with the mill of
Robeck.
In
the same year, Geoffrey, archbishop of York, and his adversaries,
namely, Simon, the dean, and the other clergy of the church of Saint
Peter at York, met at Westminster, in presence of Herbert, bishop of
Salisbury, and Alan, abbot of Tewkesbury, judges delegate of our lord
the pope; and, after the allegations on both sides had been fully
stated, the said judges endeavoured by every method to bring them to
a reconciliation, and at length, by the aid of God, succeeded in
inducing the said archbishop to receive with the kiss of peace,
first, William Testard, archdeacon of Nottingham, then Reginald
Arundel, the precentor, and, last of all, Simon, the dean, of the
church of York, on condition that they should give satisfaction to
each other respectively as to their disputes in the chapter at York.
In
the same year, peace and final reconciliation was made between
Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, and the monks of the church of the
Holy Trinity at Canterbury, by Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, Eustace,
bishop of Ely, and Samson, abbot of Saint Edmund’s, who were
appointed judges in that matter by our lord the pope Innocent. But,
as the lord bishop of Lincoln was unable to take part in the
settlement of the said dispute, he appointed, as his substitute,
Roger de Robleston, dean of the church of Lincoln.
Accordingly,
an arrangement was made between them to the following effect: that
the said archbishop of Canterbury might, if he should think proper,
rebuild the chapel of Lambeth in the same place, though not upon the
same foundations, on which it had been previously built, and that he
should not establish there canons secular, but should be at liberty,
if he should think fit, to establish there canons regular of the
Præmonstratensian order,
to be in number thirteen at the least, and twenty at the most; and,
for their support, the archbishop was to give, if he should think
proper, out of the churches in his presentation, one hundred pounds
of money yearly at the most; but in the said church he was neither to
make the chrism, nor consecrate bishops.
Also,
as to the four churches which Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, of
blessed memory, had given to the use of the said monks, it was thus
arranged: Simon, archdeacon of Wells, was to pay to the aforesaid
monks of the Holy Trinity, at Canterbury, ten pieces of gold, yearly,
during his life, as being the payment made by the church of Monkton,
in Thanet; and, after the decease of the said Simon, a moiety of the
tithes of corn and pulse belonging to the said church, was to be
applied to he augmentation of the alms of the monks aforesaid; while
the remaining moiety belonging to the said church, and the offerings
at the altar, were to be at the disposal of the archbishop. The same
also was to be done as to the church of Eastry, in consideration of
Master Ralph, the possessor thereof, during his life, making
to the said monks a yearly payment of six pieces of gold. Robert
Belesmains, the former archbishop of Lyons, was to be at liberty to
retain possession of the church of Aylesford during his life, and,
after his decease, the aforesaid monks of Canterbury were to receive
in augmentation of their alms, the third part of the tithes of corn
and pulse belonging to the said church, and all the rest belonging to
that church was to be at the disposal of the archbishop. The same was
to be done unto the church of Meopham, except that Virgilius, the
holder thereof, was to pay from the same to the aforesaid monks of
Canterbury one piece of gold, by way of annual payment, during his
life.
As
to the yearly gifts which the monks demanded from their manors, they
were to remain with the archbishop during his life, and, after the
death of the said archbishop, his successor was to enjoy the
possession thereof, saving always the share of the monks. As to the
division of the marsh lands belonging to the archbishop and the
monks, it was provided that, on the oaths of twelve or more lawful
men, it should be ascertained how much ought to belong to the
archbishop, and how much to the monks; which very same thing the
archbishop had repeatedly offered them. The archbishop also allowed
them to hold a court for their own tenants, without making any
payment for the license. All the matters above stated were agreed
upon
between them, and duly confirmed, reserving always the authorization
thereof by our lord the pope.
In
the same year, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, held a general synod
at London; this took place at Westminster, in spite of the
prohibition of Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, earl of Essex, at this time chief
justiciary of England. At this synod, the said archbishop published
the decrees under-written, and enacted that the same should be
inviolably observed by those subject to him:—
The
Decrees of Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury.
“Inasmuch
as, in the celebration of Divine service, errors are made, not
without peril to the body as well as to the soul, we do, with the
healthful advice of this synod, enact, that by every priest who
officiates, the words of the canon shall be fully and distinctly
uttered, and that the time shall not be cut short by too great haste,
nor yet prolonged by excessive slowness. For it is proper not to
delay too long at the same, because of thoughts that spring up,
which, like dead flies, destroy the sweetness of the ointment. In
like manner, all the hours, and all the offices, are to be openly and
distinctly repeated, so as not to be cut short from excessive haste,
nor are the words to be clipped. If this ordinance shall not be
observed, those priests who do not observe it, after the third
admonition, are to be suspended until such time as they shall have
given full satisfaction. This, saving in all things the honor and
privileges of the Holy Church of Rome.”
The
same Priest is not to be allowed to celebrate [the mass] twice in the
same day.
“A
priest is not to be allowed to celebrate [the mass] twice in the same
day, except in case of urgent necessity; and then in cases where the
same person shall officiate twice in one day, after the first
celebration and the receiving of the blood, nothing more is to be
poured into the chalice. Also, after the first celebration, the drops
are to be most carefully dried up from out of the chalice, and the
fingers are to be sucked or licked with the tongue, and then washed,
the rinsings thereof being reserved in a clean vessel, especially
appropriated for that purpose, which same rinsings are to be received
after the second celebration. This is to be done, unless there be
present at the first celebration a deacon, or some other fitting
minister, who, in such case, may take the said rinsings. To this we
add, that the Eucharist is to be kept in a clean and fair pyx, and
that the same is to be carried to the sick, in a clean and fair pyx,
a linen cloth being placed over the same, and a lantern and cross
preceding it, unless the sick person shall happen to be at a very
great distance. Also, the host itself is to be renewed each Lord’s
day, and certainty is to be observed relative to the Eucharist, so
that what is unconsecrated may not be taken as though it were
consecrated. To this we have thought proper to add, that the
communion of the Eucharist is not to be given in secret to any person
asking for the same; but it is to be given, publicly and immediately,
to him who asks for it, unless his offences are of a public nature.
This, saving in all things the honor and privileges of the Holy
Church of Rome.”
Of
Baptism or Confirmation, if there are doubts thereon
“As
to baptism or confirmation, if there are doubts thereon, following
the enactments of the holy canons, we do enact that the same shall be
given, ‘ because that cannot be said to be repeated which is
not known to have been already done. Therefore, children exposed,
about whose baptism there are doubts, are to be baptized, whether
found with salt, or whether without salt.* We do also add, that no
person shall be held at confirmation, by his father or mother,
step-father or step-mother. Also, it is not to be allowable for
deacons to baptize, or to give absolution, except in two cases of
necessity; because either the priest cannot, through absence, or will
not, through foolishness, and the death of the child or sick person
is imminent. And, if in a case of necessity, a child is baptized by a
layman, which may be done by the father or mother, irrespective their
being married, let the service that follows the immersion, though not
that which precedes it, be performed by a priest. This, saving in all
things the honor and privileges of the Holy Church of Rome.”
*
By church decrees, salt was ordered to be placed about the persons of
children exposed, signifying that they had not been baptised. However
parents abandoning a child would possibly not be concerned about it’s
fitness for heaven.
Of
Penance
“Inasmuch,
as in penance, which is a ‘‘second plank in shipwreck,’
the more necessary reparation is after a lapse, the greater the
circumspection that must be employed; we, following the enactments of
the holy canons, do command, that enjoining penance, priests shall
diligently attend to the circumstances, that is to say, the position
of the person, the extent of the offence, the time, place, cause, and
period occupied in the sin, as also, the devoutness of the feelings
of the penitent; and such a penance is to he enjoined on the wife,
that she may not he rendered suspected by her husband of any secret
and enormous sin, and the same is to he observed as to the husband.
Also, no priest, after a lapse, is to presume to come to the altar,
to celebrate [the mass], before he has made confession. This also we
do add, in order to restrain the avarice of the priesthood, that
masses are not to be enjoined, by way of penance, to any persons who
are not priests. This, saving in all things the honor and privileges
of the Holy Church of Rome.”
In
what manner the archbishop, bishop, and their officers are to be
entertained by their subjects
“Inasmuch
as among the enactments that have been made by the fathers of modern
times, those of the council of Lateran are most distinguished and
most worthy in every way to be observed; we, humbly and devoutly
following the instructions thereof, do enact, that an archbishop,
when visiting his province, shall on no account exceed the number of
forty or fifty, and a bishop twenty or thirty horses; while an
archdeacon shall not have more than five or seven, and deans who are
appointed under bishops are to be content with two. They are not to
go about with hounds or hawks, but are to proceed so as to appear to
seek not their own things, but those of Christ. We do also forbid
them to presume to oppress those in subjection to them with tallages
and exactions. However, we do permit them, considering the many
necessities that sometimes arise, in case a manifest and reasonable
cause shall exist, to be at liberty with all brotherly love to ask of
them some slight assistance. For whereas the Apostle says, ‘
The children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for
the children,’ it seems to be at variance with fatherly
affection, if those who are the governors should be burdensome to
those in subjection to them, whom, like shepherds, they ought in all
their necessities to cherish. Archdeacons or deans are to presume to
demand no exactions or tallage from priests or clerks. Further, what
has been above said as to the number of horses, is to be observed in
those places of which the revenues and the property of the church are
ample; but in poor places it is our will that such limits should be
observed, that the lesser ones shall not have to complain that a
hardship is inflicted by the arrival of the greater; so that those
persons who have hitherto employed a smaller
number of horses, may not suppose that they are to be indulged with
leave to use more. It belongs also to the duty of visitation, in the
first place to attend with all diligence to those matters which
relate to the saving of souls, and to see that each church has a
silver chalice, and sufficient and proper sacerdotal vestments, the
necessary books and utensils, and other things that relate to worship
and due respect for the sacrament. Further, to put an end to the vice
both of avarice as well as negligence, relying on the authority of
the council of Toledo, we do command that no visitor shall presume to demand entertainment,
or a sum in lieu of entertainment, from a church in which he has not
in the customary manner performed the duties of visitation. This,
saving in all things the honor and privileges of the Holy Church of
Rome.”
That
no person shall be ordained without a certain title
“We
do also, in conformity with the decrees of the council of Lateran,
enjoin that it shall be strictly observed, that if a bishop shall
ordain any person without a certain title deacon or priest, he shall
support such person until such time as he shall provide him in some
church a suitable salary for clerical duties; unless the person who
is so ordained shall be able to maintain himself by his own means or
on property inherited from his father. We do enact the same as to the
ordination of subdeacons, and do add, that if, without the especial
command of his bishop, a church deacon shall present any one of the
parties before named for ordination, and such person shall, upon his
presentation, be ordained, he shall be subject to the penalty
above-mentioned.* Thus saving in all things the honor and privileges
of the Holy Church of Rome.”
*
Of having to support the person ordained.
That
it is not allowable to pronounce sentence of excommunication unless
canonical admonition shall have preceded it.
Again,
following the decrees of the council of Lateran, we do order that
prelates shall not pronounce sentence of suspense or excommunication
on those subject to them, unless the same be a fault which, by its
very nature, entails the penalty of excommunication. Also, those
subject to prelates are not, contrary to ecclesiastical discipline,
before the commencement of the trial, to seek to take refuge in the
words of appeal. But if any person shall think that it is a matter of
necessity for him to appeal, then a competent time is to be named for
him to prosecute his appeal: and if he shall neglect to prosecute it
within such time, then the bishop shall be at liberty to exercise his
authority. If also, in any matter any person shall make an appeal
[against another], and on the person appealed against making his
appearance, the person who has made the appeal shall not appear, he
is to make a competent return to the other for his expenses, in order
that, being at least checked by this fear, a person may not be too
ready to appeal to the prejudice of another; and in religious houses
we do especially desire that this shall be observed, to the end that
neither monks nor any other person of the religious orders, when they
shall require correction for any excess, shall, contrary to the
regular discipline of their prelate and chapter, presume to appeal,
but humbly and dutifully receive whatever may have been for the more
effectually securing their salvation enjoined them. Also, for the
purpose of checking the viciousness of many, we have thought proper
to adjoin hereto, that, every year, sentence of excommunication shall
be pronounced upon sorcerers, perjurers upon the Gospels,
incendiaries, thieves, and daring robbers, each in his class. Also,
we do enact that those who shall knowingly have committed perjury at
the expense of any person shall not be absolved therefrom; nor shall
penance be enjoined them by any person but the bishop of the’
diocese, or upon his authority, except at the point of death; and
they are to be enjoined at the moment that they shall recover to go
to the bishop to receive penance from him or upon his authority.
This, saving in all things the honor and privileges of the Holy
Church of Rome.”
That
nothing is to be demanded for the administration of the sacraments
“As
it has been, in the Council of Lateran, healthfully provided by the
holy fathers, so do we forbid that anything whatever shall be exacted
from ecclesiastical personages when
being installed in their sees, or from priests, or any other clerks,
when being instituted, or for burying the dead, or for blessing the
newly - married, or for the chrism, or for my other of the
sacraments. And if any person shall presume to contravene this
enactment, let him to know that he will have his portion with Gehazi,
whose deeds he has imitated by this exaction of a disgraceful gift.
To this we do add, that nothing shall be demanded from priests for
license to celebrate divine service, or from masters for teaching;
and, if any such sums shall have been paid, the same are to be
returned. On the authority also of the same council, we do forbid
that new imposts shall be exacted from churches by bishops, or
abbats, or other prelates, or that the old ones shall be increased,
nor are they to presume to appropriate any part of the revenues
thereof to their own use; but, with good will, let those of higher
rank preserve for their inferiors that liberty which they desire be
preserved for themselves. And if any person shall act contrary
hereto, let that which he shall have so done be deemed of no effect.
Also, no ecclesiastical offices, or benefices, or churches, be given
or promised to any person before they are vacant; to the end that no
person may seem to long for the death of his neighbour, to whose
place or benefice he believes he shall succeed. For whereas, in the
very places of the heathens we find this forbidden by law, it is most
disgraceful, and most deserving of the censures of the Divine
judgment, if, in the Church of God, expectation of succession should
hold a place, which even the heathens themselves have taken care to
condemn. This, saving in all things the honor and privileges of the
Holy Church of Rome."
That
Tithes are not to be diminished under pretence of wages of servants
or of the reapers
“Inasmuch
as Abraham, by his actions, and Jacob, in his promises, signified
that tithes ought to be given to God and to the priests of God, and
the authority of the Old and the New Testament, as also the
enactments of the holy fathers, have declared that tithes ought to be
paid of all things which are yearly renewed, we do decree that the
same shall be inviolably observed, and that no diminution shall be
made of the tenth part under pretence of wages of servants or of the
reapers, but the same is to be paid in full. Priests are also to have
the power, before the commencement of autumn, of excommunic ating
all curtailers of their tithes, and of absolving the same, in due
ecclesiastical form. To this sanction we do also add, that, from
lands newly brought into cultivation, tithes are not to be paid to
any other than the parish churches within the limits of whose
parishes the lands are cultivated from which the said tithes arise.
Also, withholders of tithes, in accordance with the enactment of the
council of Rouen, if, on being warned a first, second, and third
time, they do not correct their excesses, shall be brought by the ban
of excommunication to make condign satisfaction. This, saving in all
things the honor and privileges of the Holy Church of Rome.”
That
Clerks in holy orders shall not keep concubines
“We
do enact that, in churches of which the yearly revenues do not exceed
in amount the sum of three marks, no person shall be instituted,
unless he shall be willing to perform duty there in his own person.
We do also, reverently following the enactments of the Council of
Lateran, enact that clerks in holy orders, who, bearing the character
of incontinence, shall be keeping young women in their houses, shall
either put away the same and live chastely, or else be removed from
their ecclesiastical duties and benefices. To this we do also add,
that clerks shall not be present at taverns or at public drinkings.
For hence arise contentions and strifes, so that laymen, by sometimes
striking clerks, render themselves amenable to canonical censures;
and, when these are brought before the pope, it is not just that the
clerks, who have in some measure caused the offence, should remain
unpunished. All clerks are also to wear the clerical dress and the
tonsure prescribed by the canons. But archdeacons, as also the others
who hold dignities, and priests, are to wear hoods with long sleeves
attached thereto. This, saving in all things the honor and privileges
of the Holy Church of Rome.”
What persons may enter the Marriage state.
“A man is not to marry any female relative by blood of his former wife; and,
in like manner, the wife is not to marry any male relative of her
former husband. He who has been received at baptism, is not to marry
the daughter of him who baptized him, or of him who received him [at
the font], whether born before or since that time. Also, no marriage
is to be contracted without notice thereof being thrice given in the
church, nor yet if the persons shall not be known. Also, no persons
are to be united in marriage, except publicly in face of the church
and in presence of the priest; and, if this shall not be observed,
those parties are to be admitted into no church whatsoever, except by
the especial authority of the bishop. Also, it is to be allowable for
neither of two married persons to undertake a distant pilgrimage,
unless upon publication of the consent of both. This, saving in all
things the honor and privileges of the Holy Church of Rome.”
That
Purgation is to be enjoined on those who are accused by public
report
“Those
who are accused by public report, or on probable evidence, of any
crime of which they cannot be convicted, are to be warned a first,
second, and third time to confess and make satisfaction. But if,
making no amends, they shall persist in their denial, then let
purgation be enjoined them, and let it not be put off from day to day
as a pretext for receiving money; but let the same be received on the
first day on which it is en...ined, if the person is ready; and let
not the number prescribed by the canons be exceeded. This, saving in
all things the honor and privileges of the Holy Church of Rome.”
That
Lepers are to have a burial ground and chapel of their own
“Being
induced by a regard for piety, and relying on the enactment of the
council of Lateran, we do enact, that wherever there shall be a
sufficient number of lepers assembled together to be able to build a
church, with a burying ground attached, and to enjoy the services of
their own priest, they shall be allowed, without any opposition, to
have the same. They are to take care, however, that they are not
detrimental to churches previously established; for that which is
conceded to them on grounds of piety, we do not wish to redound to
the injury of other persons. We do also enact, that of vegetable
produce and the young of animals belonging to such persons, they
shall not be obliged to pay tithes. This, saving in all things the
honor and privileges of the Holy Church of Rome.”
That
no person shall, without the authority of the bishop, receive
ecclesiastical benefices at the hands of laymen.
“Paying
all due attention to the enactments of the council of Lateran, we do
decree that neither the brethren of the Temple nor of the Hospital,
nor any other person of the religions order, shall receive either
tithes or any other ecclesiastical benefices at the hands of laymen,
without authority of their bishops, and excepting therefrom those
which up to the present time they have received, contrary to the
tenor thereof. We do enact that such persons as shall be
excommunicated, and shall, in accordance with the sentence of the
bishops, be by name laid under interdict, shall be avoided by them as
well as all others. In their churches, which do not belong to them by
full legal right, they are to present priests for institution to the
bishops, that they may be answerable to them for their care of the
people, and give to themselves a full account as to the temporal
things thereof. Also, those who have been instituted, they are not,
without the sanction of the bishops, to presume to remove. If
Templars or Hospitallers should come to a church under interdict,
they are only once in a year to be admitted to the performance of
divine service therein, nor even then are they to bury the bodies of
those under interdict therein. As to the fraternities, we do also
enact that if they shall not [upon warning] entirely join the
brethren before-mentioned, but shall think proper to reside upon
their own properties, still for all this they are on no account to be
exempt from the sentence of the bishops, who are to exercise their
authority over them just the same as they do in the case of others in
their dioceses, when they require to be corrected for their excesses.
What has been stated as to the brethren before named, we do also
command to be observed with regard to those of other religious
orders, who, in their presumption, wrest from the bishops their legal
rights, and dare to enter upon a course contrary to their own
canonical profession, and the tenor of our own privileges. And if
they shall infringe upon this ordinance, both the churches in which
they have presumed so to do, shall be laid under interdict, and all
that they shall have done, shall, by the authority of the said
council, be deemed null and void. Monks also are not to be admitted
into monasteries for money, nor are they to be allowed to hold
private property of their own; nor are they to be placed alone in
vills and towns, or in any parish churches; but they are to remain in
the general convent, or with some others of the brethren, and not
alone among secular people to await the attack of their spiritual
foes; for it is Solomon who says, ‘Woe to him that is alone
when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up.’ And
if any person, on demand made, shall pay anything for his admission
he shall not be admitted to canonical orders; and he who receives the
same, is to be punished by loss of his office. If any [monk] also
shall have any private property, unless he shall have received
permission from the abbot for the administration of certain duties
enjoined, the said person is to be removed from the communion of the
altar; and for him who at the point of death shall be found to be in
possession of private property, no offering is to be made, and he is
not to receive burial among the brotherhood. The same also, we do
enact, with reference to the various religious orders; and the abbot
who shall not with due diligence pay attention to the same, is to
know at he will thereby incur the loss of his office. Priorships
also, or abbacies, are to be given to no person for the receipt of
money; and if this shall be transgressed, let both the giver and the
receiver, be removed from the administration of their ecclesiastical
duties. Also, when priors shall have been appointed to conventual
churches, they shall not, except for manifest and reasonable cause,
be changed; unless, for instance, they have been guilty of
dilapidation, or lived incontinently, or have been guilty of any
offence of a like nature for which they shall appear to deserve to be
removed, or if they shall have to be transferred through the
necessity of their filling some higher office. It seems also proper
to be added, that monks or black canons, or black nuns, are not to
use coloured hoods, but black ones; and
they are to use cloaks of only black or white, with the skins of
lambs, cats, or foxes. Monks also, and other persons of the religious
orders, are not to use hats, or to go away from their convents on
pretence of making pilgrimages. We do also enact, that in every
church of monks, or of any religious persons canonically appropriated
to their use, a vicar shall, under the superintendence of the bishop,
be appointed, who shall receive a fair and sufficient maintenance from the property of the
church. [These, saving in all things the honor and privileges of the
Holy Church of Rome.]
In the same year, Octavianus, cardinal bishop of Ostia, and legate of
the Apostolic See, came into France, being sent as legate by our lord the pope Innocent, in order to enquire into the divorce that
had taken place between Philip, king of France, and queen Botilda,
his wife, and in the first place, before entering upon the question,
to compel the beforenamed king of France to put away his German
adulteress, and to take again his wife Botilda, and treat her in a
due and becoming manner.
This
accordingly took place upon the vigil of the Nativity of the blessed
Mary, the Mother of God and ever a Virgin, the said cardinal and the
archbishops, bishops, and clergy of France, having met at the church
of Saint Leodegar, at Nivelle. Thither, also, came Philip, king of
France, and Botilda, his queen, and his German adulteress; and the
king of France, at the admonition of the said cardinal, and by the
advice of his people, put away his adulteress, and took back his
queen Botilda; immediately after which he made complaint against her
to the cardinal, saying, that legally he ought not to have her for a
wife, as they were too closely connected by consanguinity, and that
this he was prepared in every way to prove: and he therefore demanded
that a divorce should be effected between them.
Upon
this, the before-named cardinal appointed for them a space of six
months, six weeks, six days, and six hours from the vigil of the
Nativity of the blessed Mary, within which to deliberate upon the
matter, and, at the choice of queen Botilda, appointed Soissons as
the place for trial. On the same day, that is to say, on the vigil of
the Nativity of Saint Mary, after the king of France had put away his
adulteress, and had taken again his wife Botilda, the sentence of
interdict upon the churches in the kingdom of France was immediately
repealed, and, the bells ringing, there was great joy among the
clergy and the people, as the interdict had now lasted for more than
thirty weeks, and the bodies of the dead had been buried outside of
the town, along the lanes and streets. Shortly after this, the woman
before mentioned, whom the king of France had put away, gave birth to
a son, who was called Philip, after the name of his father. The said
king of France had also had, by the same woman, a daughter, who was
five years old on the very day on which he put her away; which
daughter the king of France promised that he would give in marriage
to Alexander, the son of William, king of Scotland.
In the same year, on the ninth day before the calends of October,
being the last Saturday [of the autumnal fast] of the four seasons before
the feast of Saint Michael, William, surnamed Malvoisin, the bishop
elect of Glasgow, was ordained priest at Lyons, by the archbishop of
that city; and on the following day, namely, the Lord’s day,
being the eighth day before the calends of October, he was
consecrated bishop of Glasgow by the same archbishop, by order of
pope Innocent the Third. In the month of October, in the same year,
after settling his affairs in Normandy and his other territories
beyond sea, John, king of England, crossed over from Normandy to
England, bringing with him his wife Isabel; and on the eighth day
before the ides of the said month, being the Lord’s day, he and
his wife Isabel were crowned at London, at Westminster, by Hubert,
archbishop of Canterbury. In the meantime, by command of the said
king, Geoffrey, archbishop of York, his brother, was deprived
of all the manors and property of his archbishopric. On this
occasion, James de Poterne, who was the then sheriff of York,
violently entering upon the manors of the said archbishop, made waste
of his property; on which the archbishop excommunicated the said
sheriff, and all the authors and abettors of the said violence, with
candles lighted and with bells ringing. He also excommunicated all
who had excited or wished
to excite his brother John to wrath or indignation against him
without any fault on his own part. He also excommunicated the
burgesses of Beverley, and suspended that town from the celebration
of Divine service, and from the ringing of bells, because the said
burgesses had broken into his park, and had disturbed and lessened
his other possessions, which Roger, archbishop of York, his
predecessor, and he himself, for some time, had held without
molestation.
In process of time, however, John, king of England, following the advice
of prudent men, restored to the before-named archbishop his
archbishopric, and named a day for him to come to court, for the
purpose of showing why he had not crossed over with him,
in order to make a treaty with the king of France, when he had been
summoned so to do; as also, why he had not permitted his servants to
receive the money levied upon the carucates in his hands, as had been
done in other parts of the kingdom, and why he had beaten one of the
servants of the sheriff of York; and in order that he might repay to
the king three thousand marks of silver, which he had owed to
Richard, king of England, his brother.
Immediately after his coronation, John, king of England, sent Philip, bishop of
Durham, Roger Bigot, earl of Norfolk, Henry de Bohun, earl of
Hereford, nephew of William, king of Scotland, David, earl of
Huntingdon, brother of the said king of Scotland, Roger de Lacy,
constable of Chester, William de Vesci and Robert de Ros, sons-in-law
of the said king of Scotland, and Robert Fitz-Roger, sheriff of
Northumberland, to William, king of the Scots, with letters patent
from the king, giving a safe conduct for the purpose of bringing the
said king of the Scots to the king of England, and naming the morrow
of the feast of Saint Edmund as that of his appearance at Lincoln.
In
the meantime, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, returning to England from the
parts beyond sea, fell ill at London, being attacked by a quartan
ague; on which John, king of England, came to visit him, and
confirmed his will, and promised him, in the name of the Lord, that
for the future, in his time, he would ratify all reasonable
testaments of prelates of churches. Shortly after, in the month of
November, sixteen days before the calends of December, being the
fifth day of the week, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, departed this life at
London.
In
the same month of November, [1200] on the eleventh day before the
calends of December, being the third day of the week, John, king of
England, and William, king of Scotland, had an interview at Lincoln;
and, on the day after, that is to say, on the tenth day before the
calends of December, being the fourth day of the week, John, king of
England, fearlessly, and contrary to the advice of many of his
followers, entered the cathedral church of Lincoln,* and offered on
the altar of Saint John the Baptist, in the new buildings there, a
chalice of gold. After this, on the same day, he and William, king of
the Scots, met for a conference, outside of the city of Lincoln, upon
a lofty hill; and there, in sight of all the people, William, king of
the Scots,
did homage to John, king of England, as of his own right, and swore
fealty to him, upon the cross of Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury,
for life and limb, and his worldly honor against all men, and for
preserving the peace toward him and his realm, saving always his own
rights, the following being witnesses thereto: Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury, John, archbishop of Dublin, Bernard, archbishop of
Ragusa, Philip, bishop of Durham, William, bishop of London, Gilbert,
bishop of Rochester, Eustace, bishop of Ely, Savaric, bishop of Bath,
Herbert, bishop of Salisbury, Godfrey, bishop of Winchester, Gilles,
bishop of Hereford, John, bishop of Norwich, Roger, bishop of Saint
Andrew’s, in Scotland, Henry, bishop of Llandaff, and Roger,
bishop of Bangor; Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, justiciary of England, earl of
Essex, Roger Bigot, earl of Norfolk, Hamelin, earl of Warenne,
Baldwin de Bethune, earl of Aumarle, William, earl of Salisbury,
Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, the earl of Clare, the earl of
Ferrers, David, brother of William, king of the Scots, earl of
Huntingdon, Roland, son of Uctred, son of Fergus, prince of the men
of Galloway, Patrick, earl of Lothian, Griffin, son of Rees, king of
South Wales, and many besides, from the kingdom of Scotland; and in
presence of the following barons of England and Normandy; Roger,
constable of Chester, Eustace de Vesci, Robert de Ros, William de
Stuteville, Ralph Chamberlain of Tankerville, Warine Fitzgerald,
Stephen de Turnham, and Robert, his brother, Gilbert Basset, and
Thomas and Alan, his brothers, Roger de Huntingfield, Saier de
Quincy, William de Hastings, Jolan de Neville, Simon de Chancy,
Gerard de Camville, and many others of the barons of England and
Normandy.
*
This is an allusion to the superstitious notion, that misfortune
would befall those kings who entered the city of Lincoln.
Accordingly, after doing homage, William, king of Scotland, demanded of John, king
of England, his lord, the whole of Northumberland, Cumberland, and
Westmoreland, as his right and inheritance; and after this had been
discussed between them at considerable length, and they could not
come to an agreement, the king of England demanded of the king of
Scotland a truce, for the purpose of deliberating until Pentecost
next ensuing. This being granted, on the day after, that is to say, on
the ninth day of the calends of December, being the --th day of the
week, early in the morning, William, king of the Scots, set out on
his return to his own kingdom, under the safe conduct of the persons
before named, who had escorted him to the king of England.
On
the same day, that is to say, on the ninth day before the calends of
December, the body of Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, was carried to
Lincoln, for the purpose of being buried there; on which, John, king
of England, and the above-named three archbishops, and thirteen
bishops, together with the said earls and barons, went forth to meet
it, and received the body; and the king himself, with the earls and
barons, carried the body on their shoulders to the porch of the
cathedral church, rejoicing in thus showing obedience to God and to
his blessed minister. At the door of the church the above-named
archbishops and bishops received the body, and then it was carried on
the shoulders of the priests into the choir, where it remained for
the night. While the service of the dead was being performed around
it, a certain woman, who for seven years had been blind of one eye,
recovered her [perfect] sight. There too a certain cut-purse cut away
the purse belonging to a woman, immediately upon which both his hands
became contracted, and he stood motionless, crying aloud, and saying,
“I repent, alas! if belief is ever accorded to any of the
wretched, 1 repent, and am tortured by my deeds. I, who confess that
torments still more severe are by me deserved, though hardly can I
endure them more severe. And yet, although this punishment is merited
by my deeds; still, great hopes have I in the mercy of God. Hope it
is that makes even the delver, chained with the fetter, to live on,
and to fancy that from even the iron his legs will be released. Hope
it is that, when on every side no land he sees, makes the shipwrecked
sailor still strike out in the midst of the waves. Full oft has the
skilful care of the physicians abandoned him, whom, as the pulse died
away, hope did not forsake. Those in prison fast enclosed are said to
look for the day of safety, and many a one as he bangs on the cross,
still breathes forth his vows. Lo, hope ! how many, when around the
neck they have tied the noose, has she forbidden to die by the
purposed death ! Sometimes at the altar does the violator of the
temple take refuge, nor does he dread to invoke the offended Deity’s
aid.”
Then,
returning to himself, he exclaimed, “Be silent, thou my tongue,
nothing more art thou allowed to say.” After which, turning to
the clergy, he said, “Pity me, do you, at least, pity me, ye
friends of God, and pray for me unto the Lord, that He in His
ineffable mercy may have mercy unto me. For Satan and his works I
renounce.” And immediately, upon prayer being made for him unto
the Lord, the chains of Satan were loosed, by which his hands had
been bound together, and he was made a whole man from that hour,
praising and glorifying God. “At praises being given such as
thine, do they in heaven rejoice, that so, what their power is able
to effect, by testimony they may prove. Full oft do they alleviate
punishments, and restore the light withdrawn, when they see that a
sin has been sincerely repented of.”
On
the eighth day before the calends of December, being the sixth day of
the week, the body of the said Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, was, after
the solemnity of the mass, carried into the new church which he
himself had founded in honor of the Bl essed
Mary, the Mother of God and ever a Virgin; and he was buried by the
before-named archbishops and bishops, near the altar of Saint John
the Baptist. Oh! how great was the grief of all, how great their
lamentations! and those of the clergy in especial. For he was
truthful in word, just in judgment, --eeseing in counsel, conspicuous
in virtue, and remarkable in every endowment of manners; and his life
shed a glorious light upon all churches. “The closing day of
man must ever be awaited, and before his death and the last rites
ought no man to be pronounced happy." For to live is not a
glorious thing, but to live well is the thing to be gloried in. Also,
while John, king of England, was staying at Lincoln, there came to
him twelve abbats of the Cistercian order, and, falling at his feet,
begged for mercy, saying that his foresters
had destroyed their cattle, by which they and the poor of Christ were
sustained, and had driven them away from the royal pastures and
forests; on which the king made answer, "Arise.”
Accordingly, all these men arose, and the king himself, by the
inspiration of the Divine favour, fell on his face before their feet,
asking pardon, and said to them, "My protection I do give and do
grant to you, that you may feed your cattle in my pastures and
forests, in the manner in which the said privilege is known to have
been granted to you by my predecessors the kings of England; in
addition to which, look out for some suitable place in my kingdom for
you to found an abbey of your order, and I will build it for the good
of my soul and those of my parents, and for the establishment of my
kingdom, and there, God willing, will I be buried."
In
the month of December, in the same year, [1200] Roland, prince of
Galloway, died at Northampton, in England, on the fourteenth day
before the calends of January, being the third day of the week, and
was buried there, in the abbey of Saint Andrew.
In
the same year, Dunecan, son of Gilbert, the son of Fergus, carried
off Evelina, the daughter of Alan Fitz-Walter, lord of Renfrew,
before the return of William, king of Scotland, from England into his
territories. The king, being greatly enraged at this, exacted from
Alan Fitz-Walter twenty-four hostages, as pledges that he would keep
the peace towards him and his territories, and that he would exact
redress for that offence.
In
the month of September, in the said year, Hugh, bishop of Lincoln,
within fifteen days after his death, appeared, in his sleep, to
Master Roger de Roleston, dean of the church of Lincoln, and said to
him, “Our Lord Jesus Christ has, in His favour, granted unto
me, that one of you my brethren shall before long come to me to reign
with the Lord. Be ye, therefore, prepared and watch, for ye know not
the day nor the hour when the Lord shall come;” and so saying,
he departed. When the morning came, the before-named dean related
this vision in the chapter-house to the brethren, and they were all
with one mind desiring with great desire to be relieved from the
great burden of the flesh, and to be with Christ. But this vision
was, at this time, fulfilled in one brother only of their number,
Robert Deschapelles. For he immediately fell ill, and, breathing his
last within three days, took his departure unto the Lord. [After his
death] his body was found to be sewed up in sackcloth, from the head
to the knees, which he had been long in the habit of wearing beneath
a white garment.
In
the same month of December, a little before the Nativity of our Lord,
there appeared by night, in the province of York, five moons in the
heavens, at about the first watch of the night. The first appeared in
the north, the second in the south, the third in the west, the fourth
in the east, and the fifth in the middle of the first four, having
with it many stars; and this latter one, with its stars, made the
circuit of the four moons previously mentioned five or six times.
This phenomenon appeared, in the sight and to the great surprise of
many, for about a period of one hour; after which, it vanished from
the eyes of those who beheld it.
In
the same year, [1200] at Mid-Lent, in the month of March, Philip,
king of France, and queen Botilda, his wife, met, with their
respective partisans, at Soissons, in the presence of Octavianus, the
bishop of Ostia, the judge-delegate of our lord the pope Innocent. On
behalf of the said queen also, there were there present bishops, and
other worthy and discreet men, who had been sent by Canute, king of
the Danes, her brother, and who, before the commencement of the
trial, demanded of the king of France security to be at liberty to
answer and to make allegations, and to depart from his territories.
These being accordingly granted, the king of France stoutly demanded
that a divorce should take place between himself and Botilda is wife,
saying, that they were so closely connected in the ties of
consanguinity, that he was bound by law to have no intercourse with
her.
To this, the envoys of the king of the Danes made answer in
the following terms: “We both know, have heard, and have seen,
that, when the venerable men, your envoys, whom your excellency sent
to our lord Canute, the king of the Danes, for the purpose of
contracting a marriage between you and Botilda, his sister, were in
his presence, and had stated that you had desired, with exceeding
great desire, to take to wife his sister Botilda, a distinguished
maiden, and of royal birth, and urgently requested that she might be
sent to you, our lord Canute, the king of the Danes, the mighty
triumpher over his foes, whom no one with impunity opposes, upon
hearing the opinions of the nobles of his kingdom, thought proper to
listen to your requests. Upon this, your said envoys made
oath upon your soul, and upon their own souls as well, that,
immediately the said Botilda should enter within the limits of your
kingdom, you would have her married to you, and crowned queen, and
would treat her honorably as your wife, so long as you two should
live. And, as to this, you sent unto our master, the king of the
Danes, your instrument, which we have here in our hands, and we have
the instruments of your nobles as well, who made oath to the same
effect. And inasmuch as you have treated the before-named Botilda,
your wife, otherwise than as was sworn to by your nobles, we do
accuse them of perjury and of breach of faith in presence of our lord
the pope; we do also appeal to our lord the pope from the judge here,
Octavianus, the lord bishop of Ostia, who is suspected by us,
inasmuch as he is your kinsman by blood, as he admits, and shows too
great favour to your cause. In like manner, also, queen Botilda
herself appealed, in her own behalf, to our lord the pope. On this,
Octavianus, bishop of Ostia, and legate of the Apostolic See, hearing
that appeal was made to the Supreme Pontiff, said to the envoys of
the king of the Danes, “Wait till such time as my colleague,
who has been associated with me by our lord the pope, and who will be
here before long, shall come, and then receive the decision that he
shall give.” They, however, took their departure, saying, “We
have appealed.”
After
three days, the other legate arrived, in whose sanctity and justice
our lord the pope had full confidence, and, sitting in judgment, he
found no cause why there should be a divorce between Philip, king of
France, and queen Botilda, his wife; but when it was his intention to
pronounce final sentence thereon against the king of France, the
king, being forewarned thereof, took his departure before the
sentence was pronounced, taking with him his wife, Botilda, whom he
placed in still closer confinement.
In
the same year, [1200] this treaty of peace and final reconciliation
was made between Philip, king of France, and John, king of England:—
The
final Treaty made between Philip, king of France, and John, king of
England
“Philip,
by the grace of God, king of the Franks, to all to whom this present
writing shall come, greeting. Know ye, that this is the form of the
treaty of peace made between us and our dearly beloved and faithful
John, by the grace of God, king
of England: that is to say, he will observe the treaty of peace
towards ourselves and our heirs, which king Richard, his brother,
made with ourselves between Chastel Heraud and Charoton; with the
exception of those things, which in this present instrument are
excepted or changed by reason of the exceptions which the said king
Richard made in the said treaty of peace so concluded with us. And to
this further effect; that the said John has given to us and to our
heirs, as being the right heir of his brother Richard, the city of
Evreux and the Evreusin, with all he fees and demesnes thereof; in
such manner as the underwritten boundaries set forth. The said
boundaries are placed between Neubourg and Evreux. The whole of the
land that shall lie within the said boundaries on the side of France
shall belong to me; while that which shall be on the side of Neubourg
shall belong to the king of England. Also, as much land as we have
extending towards Neubourg, so much shall he have extending towards
Conches, and towards Akemu a similar extent, in the direction where
the abbey of Noa is situate, according to the course which the river
Icogne there takes. Gurtebo also, as far as it extends, he has given
unto him; Tiliers, with its appurtenances, and Danville remain in the
hands of the king of England; also, as much as the lord of Bruroles
shall have (namely, that which he shall be entitled to have) in the
lordship of Tiliers, just so much is the lord of Tiliers to have
(that is, to be entitled to have) in the lordship of Bruroles. He has
also granted unto us as much of the bishopric of Evreux as lies
within the said boundaries; for which the bishop of Evreux shall be
answerable to us and to heirs: while the said bishop shall be
answerable to the king of England, and to his heirs, for as much
thereof as shall lie without the said boundaries. Be it also known,
that neither he nor the king of England shall be at liberty to erect
fortifications within the boundaries established between Neubourg and
Evreux, nor yet at Gurtebo, neither we on our side nor the king of
England on his side, except where fortifications have been already
erected within the before-mentioned boundaries. Also, fortresses of
Fortes and of Landes shall be immediately delivered, and no
fortresses shall be allowed to be rebuilt at the same places. And
further, the king of England has caused the right heir to Evreux to
quit-claim to us of all places which the
count of Evreux used to hold within the said boundaries. With regard
to Hulcasme, in Normandy, the following shall be the terms agreed on:
the fees and demesne shall remain in the hands of the said king of
England and his heirs, just as the archbishop of Rouen held the same
on the day on which he made the exchange for Andely; beyond which the
whole of the Hulcasme belongs to us. Also, we are not to be at
liberty to erect fortifications beyond Jumieges, on our side of
Normandy, nor beyond the borders of the forest of Vernon, but within
the same. The king of England has also given as a marriage portion to
our son Louis, together with his niece, the daughter of the King of
Castille, the fief of Heraud, the fief of Carsarre, and the fief of
Butures, just as Andrew de Calumac held the same of the king of
England; and of all the same we shall stand seised until such time as
the said marriage shall have been consummated. And whatever may
happen as regards the said marriage, after the same shall have taken
place, we are to hold the said fiefs all the days of our life; and
after our death, the said fiefs are to revert to the said king of
England and his heirs, if the before-named Louis, our son, shall not
have an heir by the niece of the king of England. But if the king of
England shall chance to die without an heir by the wife now married
to him, then, together with the fiefs aforesaid, the king of England
shall give to our son Louis, together with his said niece, by way of
marriage portion, the fief of Hugh de Gournay, on this side of the
sea of England, and the fief of earl Patrick, just as they hold the
same of the king of England, on this side of the English sea. Also,
the king of England has given to us thirty thousand marks of silver,
full weight and lawful money, according to the law by which they were
made, that is to say, of the value of thirteen shillings and
four-pence each mark, as an equivalent for our reliefs and our fief
of Brittany, which we have transferred to the king of England. King
John has also received Arthur as his liegeman, so that Arthur will
hold Brittany of the said king of England. Also, the said king of
England, as being right heir of his brother, king Richard, shall hold
of us all fiefs in such manner as his father and king Richard, his
brother, held the same, and in such manner, as they are entitled to
the fiefs, with the exception of those above mentioned, which remain
with us, as before stated. With regard to the count of Angoulême
and the viscount of Limoges, the said king John shall receive them as
his liegemen on condition that he will allow them to remain in
possession of all their rights. Also, as to the earl of Flanders and
the earl of Boulogne, it shall be thus arranged; the earl of Flanders
shall hold that which he holds in our territory, and he shall
continue to hold of the earl of Boulogne what we now hold, that is to
say, the demesnes, fiefs, and other things which are in the hands of
the count of Pontigny, which fiefs and demesnes shall remain to us
and to the count of Pontigny; and all which the earl of Flanders
holds of us, he shall do homage to us for the same. Also, if the earl
of Flanders, or any one of our liegemen, who are or ought to be
rather liegemen of ourselves than of the king of England, shall
attempt to do us any evil or injury, the king of England shall not be
at liberty to aid them against us, and to support them, nor we, in
like manner, his liegemen, who are or ought to be rather liegemen of
him than of ourselves, saving always the contents before mentioned of
this present treaty of peace. Among these covenants, the king of
England has also made a covenant that he will give no aid to Otho,
either with money or with troops, or with knights, or in any other
way, unless with our consent. As to Arthur, it is thus arranged, that
the king of England shall not deprive him of the fief or of the
demesne of Brittany on this side of the sea of England, except upon
the lawful judgment of this court. The king of England has given us
sureties by his liegemen whose names are underwritten—Baldwin,
earl of Aumarle, William, earl of Pembroke, Hugh de Gournay, William
de Humezt, constable of Normandy, Robert de Harcourt, John de
Pratelles, William de Kay, and Guarine de Capuin —who have made
oath to the following effect, that they will come over to us with all
their fiefs on this side the sea, if the king of England shall not
observe this treaty of peace and covenant as arranged. We also have
given sureties by our liegemen, whose names are underwritten: Robert,
count de Dreux, Geoffrey, count de Perche, William Garland,
Bartholomew de Roye, Gervaise de Chastel, Walter Chamberlain, the
father, and Urso, his son, Philip de Leuns, and Walter Chamberlain
the younger: who have in like manner made oath that they will go over
to that king with all their [fiefs] if we shall not observe this
treaty of peace, as the same has been arranged. And further, we and
our pledges before named have sworn strictly and faithfully to
observe the same in good faith, and without any evil intent
whatsoever. And that this same may be of lasting validity, we do, by
the authority of our seal, confirm this present instrument. Done at
G--- , in the year from the Incarnation of our Lord 1200, in the
month of May."
A
similar instrument to the above was received by the king of France,
with the change only of the names.
Customs
of the Exchequer as to enquiries into debts due to our lord the king.
It
has been enacted in England, and the same is, by command of king
John, confirmed, that no sheriff shall receive any one at the
presentation of a baron for a seneschal, who cannot be answerable for
his amercement consequent on a breach of faith, if he should chance
to be guilty of the same. And in case, at the presentation of a
baron, a seneschal shall make oath that he will account to the
sheriff for the debts due from his master to the exchequer, it is to
be understood that he is to account for the debts due according to
the computation of the sheriff; and if he shall not do so, he shall
be put in the prison for that purpose named, according to the laws of
the exchequer, and the debt due to the king shall be levied from the
chattels of his master, in conformity with the laws of the exchequer.
If also he shall not keep the faith to which he has pledged himself,
so as not to appear at the time and place of payment to the sheriff,
or if he shall make his appearance, and shall depart without leave
given, his body shall be seized and placed in the king’s prison
for that purpose named, and he shall not be set at liberty but by the
especial command of our lord the king. Also, persons shall be sent
upon the lands of the master, whose seneschal has committed the
default, and payment shall be made from out of his chattels of the
money which, according to the law of the exchequer, is due : and if
the said money is due for a fine on land, and chattels are not to be
found, then the land on account of which the fine became due shall be
seized for the use of our lord the king, and be retained until such
time as the money shall be paid in conformity with the law of the
exchequer. As a punishment for his breach of faith the seneschal who
shall have been guilty of such breach, shall never be believed on his
oath as to this or any other sums due whatsoever, nor shall he be
received; nor shall his master be believed, or to be listened to as
to the said debt, unless by favour, and at the desire of the king, in
conformity with the law and custom of the exchequer.
In the same year, John, king of England, sold for five thousand
marks, to William de Braose, the whole of the lands of Philip de Worcester,
and the whole of the lands of Theobald Fitz-Walter, in Ireland. On
this, Philip, with difficulty escaping from the hands of the king,
returned into Ireland, passing through the territories of the king of
the Scots, and recovered part of his lands by waging war [against the
king]. Also Theobald Fitz-Walter, by the mediation of Hubert,
archbishop of Canterbury, his brother, paid to William de Braose five hundred
marks, in order to regain possession of his lands, and did homage to
him for the same.
Of
the Philosopher Secundus and his determined silence
In
the time of Adrian flourished the philosopher Secundus, who
philosophized, keeping silence all the time, and leading the life of
a Pythagorean. For, when a little child, having been sent there to be
taught, he had heard among the Scots, that every woman is a harlot
and unchaste. At length, becoming perfected in philosophy, he
returned to his country, following the usual customs of a person on a
pilgrimage, carrying a staff and a wallet, with the hair of his head
and his beard growing long. [On his return] he was entertained in his
own house, no one of the servants recognising him, nor yet his own
mother; and, wishing to prove, as of women, if what he had heard was
true, he called one of maid-servants, and promised her ten pieces of
gold if she would induce his mother [to comply with his desires]; on
which, yielding assent to the maid’s proposal, she had him
introduced to her in the evening. And whereas she supposed that she
was about to have carnal connexion with him, he embraced her just as
though she had been his own mother, and lay upon her breast until the
morning.
When
the morning came, and he wished to arise and depart, she caught hold
of him, and said, “It was to try me, that you did this;”
on which he made answer, "By no means, madam, my mother; but it
would not have been a proper thing for me to defile the vessel from
which I came forth.” On this she enquired who he was; when he
made answer, “I am your son Secundus.” Accordingly, on
considering within herself, not being able to bear her alarm, she
died from fright.
Secundus,
now feeling sensible that it was through his words that his mother’s
death had happened, exacted it as a punishment upon himself for, the
future not to speak again; he, accordingly, preserved silence until
the day of his death It so happened, that about the same time the
emperor Adrian, coming to Athens, heard of him, and, sending for him,
in the first place saluted him; the other, however, remained silent.
On this, Adrian said, “Speak, philosopher, that we may hear
something of thee.” He, however, still persevered in his
determined silence; on which Tyrpon called to a headsman, and said,
“As this person does not choose to speak to the emperor, we do
not choose that he shall live. Take him away, and put him to the
torture.” At the last moment, Adrian secretly took the headsman
aside, and said to him, “Speak to him on the road, and persuade
him to speak; and if at your persuasion he makes answer, then behead
him; but if he makes no answer, then bring him back to me.”
Accordingly,
Secundus was led by the headsman to the place of torture; and the
headsman said to him, “O Secundus, why dost thou die in silence
? Speak, and thou shalt live.” However, caring but little for
life, in silence he awaited death; and the headsman, leading him to
the appointed place, said to him, “Stretch forth thy neck, and
receive the sword thereon:” on which, he extended his neck, and
preferred silence to life.
On
this, the headsman took him, and led him to Adrian, telling him how
that Secundus had persisted in his silence even unto death. Adrian,
admiring the firmness of the philosopher, said to him, “Since
this law of silence which thou hast determined upon can in no way be
broken, take that tablet and write, and at least speak with thy
hand.” Secundus, then taking up the tablet, wrote to the
following effect: “As for me, O Adrian, I fear thee not,
because thou seemest to be the prince of this world; thou mayest indeed hear me, but thou hast no
power whatever to compel me to use my voice.”
Adrian, accordingly, read what he had written, and said, “Thou art
fully excused. But still I would propose to thee some questions for
thee to answer me thereon; of which the first is, ‘What is the
world?” “In answer to this, the other wrote, “The
world is a circle without end, a sightly commodity, a form made of
many forms, an eternal course, a revolution without error.”
&ldquot;What is the ocean?” “The embracer of the world, the encircling
limit, the dwelling-place of the rivers, the fountain of the
showers.”
"What
is God?” “An immortal mind, an unimaginable loftiness, a
form of many forms, a research that defies investigation, an eye that
sleeps not, all-embracing, light, good.”
“What
is the sun ?” “The eye of the heavens, a circle of heat,
light without setting, the ornament of the day, the distributor of
the hours.”
"What
is the moon?” “The ornament of the heavens, the rival of
the sun, the enemy of evil-doers, the solace of wayfarers, the guide
of mariners, the signal for solemnities, the bestower of dew, the
presager of tempests.”
“What
is the earth?” “The foundation of the heavens, the centre
of the universe, the guardian and the mother of fruits, the cover of
hell, the mother of those who are born, the devourer of all, the
store-house of life.”
“What
is man ?” “A mind incarnate, an apparition for a season,
a looker-on of life, a slave of death, a traveller on his road, a
guest on the spot, a struggling spirit, an abode for a short season.”
"What
is beauty?” “A fading flower, a carnal felicity, object
of desire to mankind.”
“What
is woman ?” “The confusion of man, an insatiable beast, a
continual anxiety, a never-ceasing strife, the ship-wreck of an
unchaste man, a human slave.”
“What
is a friend ?” “A desirable name, a man seldom seen, a
refuge in distress, an endless blessing.”
“What
are riches ?” “A weight of gold, a servant of cares, an
unpleasing delight, an insatiate envy, an ever-craving desire, an
exalted face, a hateful object of desire.”
“What
is poverty ?” “An odious blessing, the mother of
health, freedom from cares, the refresher of the wise, business
without loss, possession without claim thereon, happiness without
anxiety.”
“What
is old age ?” “A wished-for evil, the death of the still
living, a safe weakness, a living death.”
“What
is sleep?” “The image of death, a rest from labour, the
wish of the sick, the desire of the wretched.”
“What
is life?” “The delight of the happy, the sorrow of the
wretched, a waiting for death.”
“What
is death ?” “An eternal sleep, the fear of the rich, the
desire of the poor, an inevitable event, the robber of man, the
flight of life, the dissolution of all things.”
"What
is a word?” “The betrayer of the mind.”
“What
is the body ?” “The resting-place of the spirit.”
“What
is the beard ?” “A distinction of sex.”
“What
is the brain ?” “The guardian of the memory.”
“What
is the forehead ?” “The image of the mind.”
“What
are the eyes ?” “The guides of the body, the vessels of
light, the discoverers of the mind.”
“What
is the heart ?” “The receptacle of life.”
“What
is the liver ?” “The retainer of heat.”
“What
is the gall ? ““The producer of anger.”
“What
is the spleen ?” “The storehouse for laughter and mirth."
“What
is the stomach ?” “The cook of the food.”
“What are the bones ?” “The strength of the body.”
“What are the feet ?” “A moving foundation.”
“What is wind ?” “A disturbance of the air, a movement of the
waters, a dryness of the earth.”
"What are rivers ?” “A never-failing course, the refreshers of
the sun, the waterers of the earth.”
"What is friendship ?” “A wonderful certainty of a thing
unknown.”
"What is it that will allow no man, though weary, to desist?” “Gain.”
1201 A.D.
In the year of grace 1201, being the third year of the reign of king
John, the said king was at Guilford, in England, on the day of the
Nativity of our Lord, which fell on the second day of the week. On
the same day, William, king of the Scots, was at Lanark, in his
territories. On the same day, Otho, king of the Germans, nephew of
John, king of the English, was crowned at Mentz. After the Nativity
of our Lord, on the fifth day before the ides of January, there was a
great earthquake in England, at York, and in the neighbourhood. After
tie Nativity of our Lord, John, king of England, came to Lincoln, but
he could not come to an agreement with the canons f the church of
Lincoln as to the election of a bishop. For the king wished to make
an election according to his own pleasure, and the canons also wished
to be at liberty to elect; which, however, the king would not concede
to them. In the same year, in the month of January, on the day of the
Conversion of Saint Paul, being the fifth day of the week, John, king
of England, crossed over the river Humber, and came to Cottingham,
and was entertained by William de Stuteville; and, on the next day he
came to Beverley, where, being induced by a sum of money so to do, he
made a stay with John Le Gros, who had been excommunicated by
Geoffrey, archshop of York; and when the canons of Beverley wished to
receive him with a procession and the ringing of bells, he refused to
be so received, and would not allow them to be rung. On his
departure from Beverley, Henry des Chapelles, a servant of Geoffrey,
archbishop of York, was seized and thrown to prison, because he would
not allow the king to take any of the archbishop’s wines. The
said king also gave orders that all the servants of the archbishop of
York, wherever they might be found, should be arrested; which was
accordingly done.
In
the month of February, at the Purification of Saint Mary, John, king
of England, and queen Isabel, his wife, were at Scarborough, from
which place the king proceeded as far as the borders of his kingdom,
and went through the land, and ..t the subjects of his kingdom to
their ransom, that is to say, impelled them to pay fines; charging
them with having laid waste his forests. When he had come to
Extoldesham, he heard that at Choresbridge there was a treasure
concealed, on which he made people dig there; but nothing was found
beyond some stones, sealed with brass, iron, and lead. In the same
year, at the vigil of the Purification of Saint Mary, William, bishop
of Glasgow, landed at Dover, in England, on his return from his
consecration. In the same year, immediately after the Purification of
Saint Mary, Philip, bishop Durham, crossed over between Dover and
Witsand, for the purpose of going on a pilgrimage to Saint Jago. In
the same year, between the Nativity of our Lord and the
beginning of the fast, Roderic and Machdunlef were slain in Ulster,
in a barn belonging to the White Monks, by the servants of John de
Courcy, the said John not knowing thereof, as it is said; and, after
he heard of it, he was very sorry, and, for this crime, sent the
murderers into banishment.
At
Mid-Lent, John, king of England, and queen Isabel, his wife, were at
York, and Geoffrey, archbishop of York, made his peace with the king
on payment of a pecuniary fine, upon the understanding that, by the
decision of four bishops and four barons, elected on behalf of the
king and on behalf of the archbishop, amends should be made for the
faults committed by either side. Here also, William de Stuteville and
James de Poterne, whom the archbishop had excommunicated, received
absolution from him.
In
the meantime, Reginald Arundel, precentor of the church of York,
departed this life; on hearing of which, Geoffrey, archbishop of
York, wished to give the precentorship to one of his own people, but
the dean and chapter would not allow thereof, but, against the will
of the archbishop, gave to Hugh Murdac the archdeaconry of Cleveland,
which the said bishop had the day before given to Master Ralph de
Kime, his own officer; and, when the archbishop wanted to install him
in place of the precentor, the dean said to him, “You have no
right to instal any one, and you shall not instal him; for, by the
authority of the council of Lateran, we have given away this
archdeaconry.” As the archbishop could not succeed according to
his wishes, he proceeded to excommunicate Hugh Murdac.
In
the meantime, Honorius, archdeacon of Richmond, proceeded to Rome, on
account of the injuries which Geoffrey, archbishop of York, had done
him; he having, contrary to the ancient dignities of the archdeaconry
of Richmond and the customs thereof, laid claim to the right of
institution to churches and the synodals. For the archbishop alleged
that the said Honorius had resigned all these things to him, and, by
his charter, confirmed the same. This Honorius in every way
contradicted, and made complaint to pope Innocent of the injuries
which the archbishop of York had done him, and obtained from him a
letter to the following effect:—
The
Letter of pope Innocent to Geoffrey, archbishop of York
“Innocent,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the archbishop of
York, health and the Apostolic benediction.
If you recognized the authority of the Apostolic See, and the
reverence due to the same, you would not presume in any way to
derogate from the fullness of its power, and the privileges of its
dignity, inasmuch as, you, who have been set apart by her to share
her anxieties, have more frequently found her acting as your
assistant in the emergencies into which, in your rashess, you had
brought yourself. For you cannot excuse yourself, as you ought to
have been able to do, on the ground that you were ignorant of that
privilege, by which the means of appealing to the Apostolic See lie
open to all who have been unjustly aggrieved, inasmuch as you
yourself have sometimes appealed to our presence, and from grievances
committed by you, appeal has been made to us, not once only, but many
times, so that it is not possible for you to be ignorant of the said
privilege. But, to let alone other considerations, if on this ground
only, you ought to have abstained from all molestation of those
subject to you, when they invoked our name, because, in many and
arduous emergencies, you have both asked and obtained that favour
should be shown to you by the Apostolic See. But, as the result of
circumstances sufficiently shows, you neither regard our authority,
nor recognize the favour that has been shown to you, nor do you pay
any deference to appeals which are interposed, by those aggrieved, to
the Apostolic See. For instance, when our beloved son, Master
Honorius, the archdeacon of Richmond, being in full possession of the
liberties of the archdeaconry of Richmond, had, together with his
clerks, appealed from you to the Apostolic See, by reason of manifest
grievances and serious injuries, you nevertheless pronounced upon
him, and some of his clerks, sentence of suspension, and upon some
churches in the same archdeaconry you pronounced sentence of
interdict. And, not content with this indiscretion, after he had set
out on his journey for the purpose of coming to the Apostolic See,
suspending some of his clerks, and laying an interdict on their
churches, and excommunicating others, (in deed only, for of right you
could not,) you extorted from the rest a certain sum of money,
disturbing and molesting, in many respects, hiis state of quiet, as
also that of his clerks. Wherefore, because we neither will, nor
ought to, leave the excesses of such great presumption uncorrected,
we do, by these Apostolic writings, enjoin and command your
brotherhood, of yoursef, to correct such matters as have been
previously mentioned, in order that you may not compel us to be
incensed against you to a greater degree, having hitherto borne with
your temerity on so many occasions. Otherwise, know that we have, by
our writings, sent word and enjoined our venerable brother, the
bishop of Ely, and our dearly-beloved son, the abbot of Waltham, that
they are to denounce the aforesaid sentences of excommunication,
suspension, and interdict, in such manner pronounced by you, as being
null and void, and, on pain of ecclesiastical censure, all power of
appeal removed, to compel you to make restitution of all that which
you have extorted either from the clerks or from the churches of the
said archdeaconry, after appeal to ourselves lawfully interposed, as
also compensation for their losses sustained; and whatever they shall
find left unchanged by you or your people, to the prejudice of him or
of his people, they are, relying upon our authorization, to replace
in its former state; and are, by means of the stringent measures
before stated, to prevent you from unjustly molesting the archdeacon
or his clerks, or presuming to disturb their quiet or their liberties
; and you shall know for certain that it is a hard thing for you to
kick against the pricks, unless you abstain from conduct of this
nature, and reverently pay obedience to our mandates. If otherwise,
we shall proceed still further, perchance, to lay our hands upon you
more heavily than you apprehend, that so your excesses may not be
laid to our charge. Given at the Lateran, on the third day before the
nones of February, in the fourth year of our pontificate.”
In
the same year, that is to say, in the year from the Incarnation of
our Lord 1201, being the third year of the reign of John, king of
England, the said king, and queen Isabel, his wife, were crowned at
Canterbury, by Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, in the cathedral
church there, on Easter day, which fell on the ninth day before the
calends of April, being the feast of the Annunciation of our Lord, in
presence of John, archbishop of Dublin, William, bishop of London,
Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, Eustace, bishop of Ely, and John,
bishop of Norwich.
Shortly
after Easter, the king issued commands that the earls and barons of
England should, at Pentecost, be at Portsmouth, ready, with their
horses and arms, to cross over with him. For the men of Poitou had
prevailed against the guardians of his territories, and had laid
siege to his castles, and Guarine de Clapion, the seneschal of
Normandy, had, by command of his lord, John, king of England, laid
siege to the castle of Driencourt, which Richard, king of England,
had given to Ralph de Issoudon, count de Auche, brother of Hugh Le
Bran. But, on hearing of the approach of the king of England, Philip,
king of France, raised all the aforesaid sieges, before the king of
England had arrived in Normandy.
In
the meantime, the earls of England met to hold an interview* between
them at Leicester, and, by common consent, sent word to the king that
they would not cross over with him unless he should restore to them
their rights. On this, the king, following bad advice, demanded
possession of their castles, and, beginning with William d’Aubigny,
demanded of him the castle of Beauvoir; on which the said William
satisfied him by delivering his son as a hostage, and so retained
possession of his castle.
*
The first step towards gaining the Magna Charta.
In
the same year, William de Stuteville was appointed by the king
sheriff of York. In the same year, Philip, bishop of Durham, on his
road to Saint Jago, was, on Easter-day, at Saint John d’Angely,
where the head is kept of Saint John the Baptist, which Herod caused
to be cut off in prison, and gave in a charger to the dancing-girl,
the daughter of Herodias, his wife. On the same day, William, king of
the Scots, was at Karel, in Scotland.
In
the same year, pope Innocent the Third reigning in the city of Rome,
Saphadin, the brother of Saladin, in the Holy City of Jerusalem,
Alexander, *
the fratricide, in the city of Constantinople, Leo in Armenia,
Aimeric de Lusignan in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, and in Acre, and
the Isle of Cyprus, Raymond being prince of the city of Antioch,
Otho, brother of Henry, duke of Saxony, being, in Germany, elected
emperor of the Romans, Philip reigning in France, John in England,
Swere Birkebain in Norway, Canute in Denmark, William in Scotland,
Gurthred in the Isle of Man, and John de Courcy in Ulster, our
learned men declared that the old dragon was let loose, which is the
same as the Devil and Satan, saying, “Woe, woe to those who
dwell upon the earth, inasmuch as the old dragon is let loose, which
is the Devil and Satan !” according to what was said by Saint
John the Apostle and Evangelist, who at the [last] Supper reclined
upon the breast of the Lord, and who drank the streams of the Gospel
from the sacred spring itself of the breast of the Lord: “I,
John, saw an angel come down from heaven, having the keys of the
bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand; and he laid hold on
the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan. and bound
him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut
him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations
no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that,
he must be loosed a little season.”
*
A mistake for Alexis.
Accordingly,
our learned men asserted that these thousand years were now
fulfilled, and that the Devil was loosed. Woe unto the earth and to
the inhabitants thereof, for if the Devil, when bound, has brought so
many evils upon the world, how many and how great will he bring when
loosed? Let us, therefore, suppliantly pray to God, that in our daily
actions He will preserve us from evil—that He will check and
curb our tongues—that the dreadful din of strife may not
resound—that He will protect and cherish our perception—that
He will not allow us to follow after vanity—that the inmost
recesses of our hearts may be pure—that folly may be removed
afar—that moderation in food and drink may destroy the pride of
the flesh—that, when Christ, the Judge, shall come, at the end
of the world, He will make us sharers in joy everlasting.
In
the month of May, in the same year, on the vigil of the Ascension of
our Lord, Walter de Ghent departed this life, the first abbot of the
canons regular of the holy Cross at Waltham. In the same year, in the
week of Pentecost, when the barons of England were assembled at
Portsmouth, for the purpose of crossing over with the king, the king
received from each of them the sum of money which they had intended
to expend in his service, and allowed them to return home; after
which, he sent before him into Normandy, William Marshal, earl of
Striguil, with a hundred knights, and Roger de Lacy, constable of
Chester, with another hundred knights, in order to make head against
the attacks of his enemies upon the territories of Normandy. The king
also gave to Hubert de Burgh, his chamberlain, a hundred knights, and
made him keeper of the marches of England and Wales.
After
this, the said king remitted his wrath against Geoffrey, archbishop
of York, and restored him his manors and his servants, whom he set at
liberty, and by his charter confirmed to him the liberties of the
church of York, and of its archbishopric, in such manner as Roger,
archbishop of York, had held the same. In return for the said
confirmation, the said archbishop engaged to pay to the king, in the
course of one year, one thousand marks sterling, and for the
performance thereof, the said archbishop pledged his barony to the
king.
Shortly
after, the king of England sent Geoffrey, bishop of Chester, Richard
Malebise, and Henry Pudsey to William, king of the Scots, and
requested that the time for giving an answer to the demand he had
made of the county of Northumberland, which the king of England had
fixed at Pentecost, might be put off till the feast of Saint Michael.
The king of England, and queen Isabel, his wife, then embarked and
crossed over, in the second week of Pentecost; but the king landed in
the Isle of Wight, while the queen, his wife, embarking in another
ship, and having a fair wind, landed in Normandy.
After
he had stayed some days longer in England, king John again went on
board ship at Portsmouth, and crossed over to Normandy; immediately
upon which, a conference was held between him and the king of France,
near the isle of Andely, and they came to a full agreement, no one
but themselves being aware of what passed at the interview between
them. Three days after this, at the invitation of the king of France,
king John went to Paris, and was lodged in the palace of the king of
France, and honorably entertained; the king of France having removed
to take up his dwelling in another quarter. On his departure thence,
the king of England proceeded to Chinon; while here, Berengaria, the
former queen of England, and wife of king Richard, came to him; on
which, John, king of England, made satisfaction to her for her dowry,
in conformity with the testimony of Philip, bishop of Durham, and
others who had been present at her marriage.
In
the meantime, pope Innocent, having the bowels of compassion for the
afflicted, wrote to the prelates of the churches to the following
effect:—
The
Letter of pope Innocent on giving aid to the land of Jerusalem
“Innocent,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable
brethren, the archbishop and bishops throughout the kingdom of
England appointed, health and the Apostolical benediction. Our just
and merciful God, who reproves and chastens those whom He loves,
forgets neither to show mercy, nor does He withhold His compassion in
His wrath. Although He spares not the rod, that He may not seem to
hate His sons,
still, so does He moderate the severity of His just judgments against
those who offend, that He scourges not so as to destroy, but, as it
were, by His scourges to raise those who are fallen; wishing not for
the death of sinners, but rather that they may be converted and live,
as there is more joy among the angels of God over one sinner that
repenteth, than over ninety-nine just persons who need not
repentance. For, inasmuch as the senses of all men are prone to evil
from their youth upwards, and human nature is more inclined to sin,
in order that, if exalted only by prosperity, they may not wax proud
and their pride may ever hold the ascendancy over them, He allows
them to be humbled, that so, when they shall feel sensible that they
are afflicted according to their deserts, they may recognize the
justice of the judge, and, washing away the faults of their
repentance with their tears, may be turned unto the Lord, and the
Lord may be turned unto them; a thing which in the depopulation of
the Eastern lands may readily be perceived by all. For when men who
had now grown old in the world, had grown old in well-doing as well,
and young men, like boys, had waxed wanton in the paths of vice, for
now these hundred years past, and, almost all, like sheep going
astray, being given up to the lusts of the flesh, wandered, every one
his own way, the Lord willed by the loss of the province of
Jerusalem, so to punish our misdeeds, as, by renewing in some measure
the mystery of His passion, to open a gate to repentance, and a way
unto us to salvation. For He who in his body suffered for our sins
upon the Cross of wood, once again suffering crucifixion on that wood
for the remission of our sins, allowed himself, as it were, to be
afflicted, in suffering the Cross upon which our Salvation hung, and
which He stained with His own blood, to be taken by the Saracens, and
to be so long held in their possession, that He might see if any one
would grieve at his griefs; if there should be any one to seek that
his body should be given up to him; if there should be any one to
wrap it in a napkin, and to place it in the sepulchre, and, when
deposited in the tomb, to place thereupon spices of sweet smelling
savour. But we rejoice in the Lord that He who gave the cause for
repentance, has also bestowed upon many the feelings of repentance,
and has in His mercy inspired them with a wish, assuming the sign of
the Cross, to avenge the injuries done to Jesus Christ, fulfilling
the precept of the Gospel, ‘If any man will come after me, let
him deny himself, and
take up his cross and follow me:’ that so, leaving behind the
burden of its hump, the camel may pass through the eye of the needle,
and the rich man, becoming poor, may enter the kingdom of heaven, and
may for things temporal receive the things eternal. But because many,
as we have heard, and with grief we mention it, have gone back and
have laid aside the emblem of the Cross, that they may not appear to
have come in vain, if they do not perform that which they intended,
we do by these Apostolic writings strictly command and enjoin your
brotherhood, all indulgences to the contrary notwithstanding (in case
it should appear that there have been surreptitiously obtained any
such from our predecessors), that you are to compel all such to
assume the sign of the Cross, after due warning given, by means of
sentence of excommunication and interdict, all power of appeal being
withdrawn; and that you are on each Lord’s day and on
festivals, with bells ringing and candles lighted, stating the names
of those of whom you have or shall have notice, publicly to denounce
the same as excommunicated, and to forbid Divine service to be
celebrated in their presence wheresoever they shall come. You are
also strictly to warn all who have received the sign of the Cross,
and, if it shall be necessary, by ecclesiastical rigour to compel
them, at the time at which our dearly beloved sons, those noble men
the earls of Flanders, Champagne, and Blois, and the others, shall,
after prudent deliberation, by the advice of the wise, have
determined, during the ensuing summer, to perform their intended
pilgrimage, to the end that, in the way which shall be considered to
be most conducive to the interests of the Holy Land, they may
together pay their obedience unto the Lord. The punishment, also,
which we command to be inflicted upon those who have laid aside the
sign of the Cross, in order to compel them to resume the same, you
are, in like form, to inflict upon those who, within the next five
years, shall presume to frequent tournaments, and are not to revoke
the sentence which you shall have pronounced on such persons, until
they shall have solemnly abjured tournaments for the said period,
that so the blood that should be consecrated to the Lord, and
whereby, at these times, a heavenly reward may easily be obtained,
may not be shed unto devils, to the injury of the body and the danger
of the soul. Each of you in his diocese is healthfully to remind the
members thereof thus to do, and diligently to exhort them, frequently
explaining to them the tenor of the Apostolical remission, to assume
the sign of the vivifying Cross, in order that at least they may,
with their property, according to their means, give some assistance
to the Holy Land; lest, if they shall, in this moment of emergency,
refuse to assist Christ, they may now and hereafter in vain ask for
assistance at His hands. Also, as to all these matters, brother of
Canterbury, we do appoint you our delegate, diligently to arouse the
negligent to the performance of the same. We do further strictly
enjoin and command you, that, in accordance with the commands which,
in our other letters, we have given you, you will, each of you, in
his respective diocese, urgently demand the fortieth part of all the
revenues of churches and ecclesiastical persons, and of the incomes
of clerks, and, after obtaining it, diligently collect the same, and,
after collecting it, have the same trustily kept, without any
diminution thereof, to be laid out in giving assistance to the Holy
Land; and so fulfil the Apostolic mandate, that, from your works we
may perceive your obedience, and may fully understand how you proceed
as regards others in this emergency, not so much your own as of
Christ. Given at the Lateran, on the third day before the nones of
May, in the fourth year of our pontificate.”
In the same year, Eustace, abbot of Flaye, returned to England,
and preaching therein the word of the Lord from city to city, and from
place to place, forbade any person to hold a market of goods on sale
upon the Lord’s day. For he said that the commandment
under-written, as to the observance of the Lord’s day, had come
down from heaven.
On the observance of the Lord’s day.
“The holy commandment as to the Lord’s day, which
came from heaven to Jerusalem, and was found upon the altar of Saint Simeon,
in Golgotha, where Christ was crucified for the sins of the world. The
Lord sent down this Epistle, which was found upon the altar of Saint
Simeon, and after looking upon which, three days and three nights,
some men fell upon the earth, imploring mercy of God. And after the
third hour, the Patriarch arose, and Acharias, the archbishop, and
they opened the scroll, and received the holy Epistle from God. And
when they had taken the same they found this writing therein:
“I
am the Lord, who commanded you to observe the holy day of the Lord,
and ye have not kept it, and have not repented of your sins, as I
have said in my Gospel, ‘ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but
my words shall not pass away.’ Whereas I caused to be preached
unto you repentance and amendment of life, you did not believe me, I
have sent against you the pagans, who have shed your blood on the
earth; and yet you have not believed; and, because you did not keep
the Lord’s day holy, for a few days you suffered hunger, but
soon I gave you fullness, and after that you did still worse again.
Once more, it is my will, that no one, from the ninth hour on
Saturday until sunrise on Monday, shall do any work except that which
is good. And if any person shall do so, he shall with penance make
amends for the same. And if you do not pay obedience to this command,
verily, I say unto you, and I swear to you, by my seat and by my
throne, and by the cherubim who watch my holy seat, that I will give
you my commands by no other Epistle, but I will open the heavens, and
for rain I will rain upon you stones, and wood, and hot water, in the
night, that no one may take precautions against the same, and that so
I may destroy all wicked men. This do I say unto you; for the Lord’s
holy day, you shall die the death, and for the other festivals of my
Saints which you have not kept: I will send unto you beasts that have
the heads of lions, the hair of women, the tails of camels, and they
shall be so ravenous that they shall devour your flesh, and you shall
long to flee away to the tombs of the dead, and to hide yourselves
for fear of the beasts; and I will take away the light of the sun
from before your eyes, and will send darkness upon you, that not
seeing, you may slay one another, and that I may remove from you my
face, and may not show mercy upon you. For I will burn the bodies and
the hearts of you, and of all of those who do not keep as holy the
day of the Lord. Hear ye my voice, that so ye may not perish in the
land, for the holy day of the Lord. Depart from evil, and shew
repentance for your sins. For, if you do not do so, even as Sodom and
Gomorrah shall you perish. Now, know ye, that you are saved by the
prayers of my most holy Mother, Mary, and of my most holy angels, who
pray for you daily. I have given unto you wheat and wine in
abundance, and for the same ye have not obeyed me. For the widows and
orphans cry unto you daily, and unto them you show no mercy.
The
pagans show mercy, but you show none at all. The trees which bear
fruit, I will cause to be dried up, for your sins; the rivers and the
fountains shall not give water. I gave unto you a law in Mount Sinai,
which you have not kept. I gave you a law with mine own hands, which
you have not observed. For you was I born into the world, and my
festive day ye knew not. Being wicked men, ye have not kept the
Lord’s day of my resurrection. By my right hand I swear unto
you, that if you do not observe the Lord’s day, and the
festivals of my Saints, I will send unto you the pagan nations, that
they may slay you. And still do you attend to the business of others,
and take no consideration of this ? For this will I send against you,
still worse beasts, who shall devour the breasts of your women. I
will curse those who on the Lord’s day have wrought evil. Those
who act unjustly towards their brethren, will I curse. Those who
judge unrighteously the poor and the orphans, upon the earth, will I
curse. For me you forsake, and you follow the prince of this world.
Give heed to my voice, and you shall have the blessing of mercy. But
you cease not from your bad works, nor from the works of the devil.
Because you are guilty of perjuries and adulteries, therefore the
nations shall surround you, and shall, like beasts, devour you.”
Accordingly,
Eustace, the lord abbot of Flaye, came to York, and, being honorably
received by Geoffrey, the archbishop of York, and the clergy and
people of the city, preached the word of the Lord, and on the
breaking of the Lord’s Day and the other festivals, and imposed
upon the people penance and gave absolution, upon condition that in
future they would pay due reverence to the Lord’s Day and the
other festivals of the Saints, doing therein no servile work, and
that on the Lord’s Day they would hold no market of things on
sale, but devoutly attend to good works and to prayer. This ordinance
he appointed to be observed from the ninth hour on Saturday until
sunrise on Monday.
Upon
this, the people who were dutiful to God, at his preaching, vowed
before God that, for the future, on the Lord’s Day, they would
neither buy nor sell any thing, unless, perchance, victuals and drink
to wayfarers. They also vowed, that from each five shillings’
worth of such things as they might sell, they would give one farthing
towards buying lights for the church and the burial of the poor. And,
for the collection of these sums, the said abbot directed that in
each church
a hollow chest should be placed, under the care of two or three
trustworthy men, into which the people might throw the money before
mentioned. The said abbot also appointed that an alms’-dish
should be placed every day upon the tables of the rich, in which they
might place a part of their victuals for the benefit of the poor, who
had nothing of their own. The said abbot also forbade any person to
buy or sell any thing, or to plead causes, in churches or in the
porches thereof.
Accordingly,
through these and other warnings of this holy man, the enemy of
mankind being rendered envious, he put it into the heart of the king
and of the princes of darkness to command that all who should observe
the before-stated doctrines, and more especially all those who had
discountenanced the markets on the Lord’s Day, should be
brought before the king’s court of justice, to make
satisfaction as to the observance of the Lord’s Day. But our
Lord Jesus Christ, whom it is better to obey than man, and who, by
His Nativity, and Resurrection, and Advent, and by sending the Holy
Ghost upon His disciples, rendered glorious this day, which we,
accordingly, name the Lord’s Day, and hallowed it as being the
most distinguished, aroused the miraculous powers of His might, and
thus manifested the same against some breakers of the Lord’s
Day.
One
Saturday, a certain carpenter of Beverley, who, after the ninth hour
of the day was, contrary to the wholesome advice of his wife, making
a wooden wedge, fell to the earth, being struck with paralysis. A
woman also, a weaver, who, after the ninth hour, on Saturday, in her
anxiety to finish a part of the web, persisted in so doing, fell to
the ground, struck with paralysis, and lost her voice. At Rafferton
also, a vill belonging to Master Roger Arundel, a man made for
himself a loaf and baked it under the ashes, after the ninth hour on
Saturday, and ate thereof, and put part of it by till the morning,
but when he broke it on the Lord’s Day, blood started forth
therefrom; and he who saw it bore witness, and his testimony is true.
At
Wakefield also, one Saturday, while a miller was, after the ninth
hour, attending to grinding his corn, there suddenly came forth,
instead of flour, such a torrent of blood, that the vessel placed
beneath was nearly filled with blood, and the mill-wheel stood
immoveable, in spite of the strong rush of the water; and those who
beheld it wondered thereat, saying, "Spare us, O Lord, spare thy
people!” Also, in Lincolnshire a woman had prepared some dough,
and taking it to the oven after the ninth hour on Saturday, she
placed it in the oven, which was then at a very great heat; but when
she took it out, she found it raw, on which she again put it into the
oven, which was very hot; and both on the next day, and on Monday,
when she supposed that she should find the loaves baked, she found
raw dough. In the same county also, when a certain woman had prepared
her dough, intending to carry it to the oven, her husband said to
her, “It is Saturday, and is now past the ninth hour, put it
one side till Monday;” on which the woman, obeying her husband,
did as he had commanded : and so, having covered over the dough with
a linen cloth, on coming the next day to look at the dough, to see
whether it had not, in rising, through the yeast that was in it, gone
over the sides of the vessel, she found there the loaves ready made
by the Divine will, and well baked, without any fire of the material
of this world. This was a change wrought by the right hand of Him on
high.
And
yet, although by these and other miracles of His might, the Lord
Almighty invited the people to the observance of the Lord’s
day, still, the people, fearing more the royal and human favour than
the Divine, and fearing those who kill the body, but are able to do
no more, rather than Him, who, after he has killed the body, has
power to send the soul to hell, and fearing more to lose the earthly
things than the heavenly, and things transitory than things eternal,
have, oh shame! like a dog to his vomit, returned to the holding of
markets on the Lord’s day.
In
the same year, Hugh Bardolph, and some others of the Icing’s
justices, came to the fair of Saint Botolph, intending to seize in
the king’s name the woollen cloths that were not two ells in
width between the lists, in conformity with the assize of king
Richard. On hearing of this, the dealers prevailed with the judges
before mentioned that their cloths should not be seized, and that the
said assize of king Richard should be no longer observed, either as
to the width of cloth or the measure of corn, and that they might be
allowed in future to make their cloths wide or narrow, just as they
pleased. On this occasion, to the injury of many,* the said justices
obtained a large sum of money for the king. “Base means of gain
ought to he shamed."
*
Who were afterwards cheated by the dealers.
In
the same year, John, king of England, making satisfaction to queen
Berengaria, widow of his brother Richard, king of Eng land,
for her dowry, gave her the city of Bayeux, with its appurtenances,
and two castles in Anjou, to hold the same for life, with a yearly
payment of one thousand marks sterling, of which she was to receive
each year five hundred marks, at the king’s exchequer at
London, and another five hundred marks at Caen, in Normandy. This was
done at Chinon, in presence of Elias, archbishop of Bordeaux, and
Philip, bishop of Durham.
In
the same year, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, being on Saint
Bartholomew’s day at Westminster, in London, commanded all his
suffragans, in virtue of their obedience, and in the name of our lord
the pope, to make diligent enquiry throughout their respective
dioceses, and if they should find any persons who had abandoned their
vows to assume the cross, to make them resume the same, and to depart
on their pilgrimage, appointing as the time for them to resume the
cross, at the very latest, the feast of Saint Martin next ensuing,
and as the time for their setting out, the Purification of Saint Mary
next ensuing.
In
the same year died Theobald, count of Champagne, leaving as his heir
an only daughter, whom he had by Blanche, his wife, sister of
Berengaria, queen of England. In the same year died the German woman,
the daughter of Genest, the wife of Philip, king of France, whom pope
Innocent, in his letters, called an adulteress; and by whom the said
king had a son and a daughter; which daughter the said king of
Trance promised that he would give in marriage to Alexander, son of
the king of Scotland.
In
the same year died Constance, the mother of Arthur, duke of Brittany.
In this year, also, died Margaret, mother of the said Constance,
sister of William, king of the Scots, and mother of Henry de Bohun,
earl of Hereford. In the same year, also, died Robert, prior of the
church of Beverley, whose office Geoffrey, archbishop of York,
conferred on Morgant, his brother, a son of king Henry, as was said,
in spite of the appeal of Simon, dean of the church of York, who said
that the same priorate had been given to him by the said archbishop,
while the beforenamed prior Robert was still alive.
In
the same year, Philip, bishop of Durham, returned to England from
Saint Jago, having performed his pilgrimage. In the same year, John
of Salerno, cardinal priest, titular of Saint Stephen in Monte Celi,
and legate of the Apostolic See in Scotland, Ireland, and the islands
adjacent, came to York. Although he had been one of the two selected
for the office of Roman Pontiff after the decease of pope Celestinus,
he declined the election, although ten cardinals would have agreed to
his election; and he, with the other cardinals, elected Lothaire,
cardinal deacon, Pontiff of Rome, under the name of pope Innocent the
Third.
The
said John never ate flesh, nor did he drink wine or cider, or any
thing with which he might become intoxicated; but for gold and
silver he had a considerable thirst. In presence of this cardinal,
Geoffrey, archbishop of York, made offer to Simon, the dean, and to
the chapter, of York, to abide by his judgment as to all the matters
in dispute between them; saving always the dignities and privileges
of either party, and saving their rights. But this single
expression—”saving their rights"—was
burdensome and insupportable to them, whom the knowledge of their own
doings accused; and they used every endeavour that the clause—”saving
their rights"— might be expunged.
In
the same year, in order that the peace might be more lasting between
Philip, king of France, and John, king of England, it was enacted,
and by writing confirmed, that if the king of France should in any
way break the peace which he had made with the king of England, the
barons of France, whom he had given as sureties for the observance of
the treaty of peace, being released, with all their men, from fealty
to the king of France, should go over to the king of England, in
order to aid him against the king of France; and that it should be
the same as to the barons of the king of England, whom he had given
as sureties for the preservation of the peace, and that they should
become subject to the king of France, together with their men, being
released from their fealty to the king of England, if that king
should commit a breach of the peace.
In
the same year, Walter de Lacy, a powerful man in Ireland, had an
interview with John de Courey, lord of Ulster, and, attempting by
treachery to seize him, slew many of his people. Upon this, when the
said John had taken to flight, Hugh de Lacy, the brother of the
before-named Walter, said to him : “My lord, come with me, and
I will receive you in my castle, for which I am your liegeman, until
such time as your troops shall have assembled, in order that you may
take vengeance on those who have always held you in hatred.”
Accordingly, the said John believed him, and entered his castle in
safety from the before-named Walter. But when he wished to depart
therefrom, Hugh would not let him depart; indeed, he had taken him
for the purpose of delivering him up to the king of England, who had
long wished to take him. However, the men of the said John did not
cease night and day to ravage with fire, sword, and famine the lands
of the said Walter and Hugh de Lacy, until they had delivered their
lord, John de Courcy, from the custody of the said Hugh de Lacy.
In
the same year, John, king of England, wishing to challenge the barons
of Poitou with treachery to himself and to his brother, hired many
men, and took with him persons well skilled in the art of fighting in
single combat, and chosen from his territories on both sides of the
sea. But the barons of Poitou, being warned thereof, would not come
to his court; saying that they were answerable to no one but to their
father. And thus, the king of England, being baulked of his hopes,
returned to Normandy, and the men of Poitou from this time became
still more hostile to him. For the purpose of quelling their
violence, the king of England appointed Robert de Turnham his deputy.
In
the same year, [1201] Master Honorius claimed the archdeaconry of
Richmond against Roger of Saint Edmund’s, and obtained a letter
from our lord the pope Innocent upon the subject, to the following
effect:—
The
Letter of pope Innocent to the dean and chapter of York, in favour of
Master Honorius
“Innocent,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his dearly beloved
sons, the dean and chapter of York, health and the Apostolic
benediction. Our dearly beloved son, Master Honorius, the archdeacon
of Richmond, has signified unto us, that whereas he has on many
occasions shown obedience and ready duteousness to our venerable
brother the archbishop of York, the archbishop, returning him bad for
good, and repaying love with hatred, has in many ways molested him,
contrary to the dignities and liberties of his archidiaconal office;
and that, at length, in order to injure him still further, and to
aggravate him still more, he has raised his adversary, Roger of Saint
Edmund’s, a clerk, with whom the said Master Honorius had made
a compromise, to the said office; who, on the pretext of letters
obtained to our dearly beloved sons, the abbats of Saint Edmund’s
and Sibbeton, and the prior of Norwich, by a concealment of truth, is
in many ways molesting him. Wherefore,
inasmuch as we have made it our care to revoke the said letters, as
being surreptitiously obtained, and directed to judges who lie under
our suspicion, we do, by these Apostolic writings, command and enjoin
your discreetness, to make it your care to defend and maintain the
said Master Honorius in his rights; and so to assist him as your
fellow-brother and companion, that for so doing, you may merit our
commendation, and he; himself may, as a matter of duty, be rendered
still more attached to you.”
The
Letter of pope Innocent to the bishop of Ely and the archdeacon of
Northampton.
“Innocent,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother,
the bishop of Ely, and to his dearly-beloved son, the archdeacon of
Northampton, health and the Apostolical benediction. When our dearly
beloved sons, Master Honorius, archdeacon of Richmond, and Master
Columbus, our subdean, and the delegates of our venerable brother,
the archbishop of York, came to the Apostolic See, we thought proper
considerately to give them audience in our consistory. On part of the
said archbishop it was alleged, that the institution of
ecclesiastical personages and the care of vacant churches in his
diocese belongs to him both by common law, as also by general custom
; but that, some of his predecessors had entrusted to some of the
archdeacons personally, both the institution as well as the care [of
churches], though they still retained the same for some time in their
own hands, and freely enjoyed the same, as was their right; just as
the archbishop, who is now set over the church of York, by special
favour formerly granted the same to the archdeacon of Richmond, at
the prayer of Richard, king of the English, of famous memory, who
having been afterwards elected bishop, the archbishop then retained
possession of them as his own; and that, when it was his intention to
confer the said archdeaconry on the before-named master, both before
he conferred the same, as also on the conferring thereof, he
expressly stated that he reserved in his own hands the right of
institution as also the care [of vacant churches]; on which, the
archdeacon made answer, that he should be acting against God, and in
derogation of canonical rights, if he should presume to usurp the
right of institution to churches, which belonged to the archbishop
alone. And that, then renouncing those rights, he reduced his
renunciation thereof to writing,
and, for the sake of greater precaution, by his own seal corroborated
the same, and finally gave his corporeal oath that he would in nowise
intermeddle therewith. In answer to this, the archdeacon himself
stated, that, when Henry the First, of glorious memory, king of
England, wished to create a new episcopal see at Carlisle, because by
that step the archdeaconry of Richmond received injury, that king
requested one of the archbishops of York, of blessed memory, by way
of recompense for some portion of what was withdrawn from the said
archdeaconry, to grant the before-mentioned dignities thereto; on
which, the archbishop acceded to his requests, and presented the
rights of institution, as also the care [of vacant churches], not
personally to the then archdeacon, but by a real and free grant, with
the consent of the chapter of York, to the archdeaconry for ever; and
that, whereas the said archdeaconry had been in continuous possession
thereof, as also of other privileges, in the times of many
archbishops, kings, and archdeacons, and the archbishop so often
named, without any condition being made, granted him the same, after
having so conferred it, the said archbishop asserted that he had
given the same with all its liberties, the right of institution and
the care of vacant churches excepted. That he, however, knowing full
well the habit of the said archbishop, easily to give, and speedily
to repent, and fearing lest if he should expressly contradict him,
inasmuch as he had not yet gained possession of the archdeaconry,
either his obtaining the same might be altogether hindered, or might
for a long time be put off, made answer that not only about that
matter, but as to all his revenues as well, he would act in such
manner as should be agreeable to the archbishop. That, after he had
entered into possession of the archdeaconry, he freely enjoyed the
liberties thereof, as his predecessors had been in the habit of
doing. That afterwards, when, contrary to all justice, the archbishop
had deprived him of the said archdeaconry, and he could in no way
obtain restitution thereof, without by deed renouncing the said
privileges, he, knowing that his right would still hold good, being
thus despoiled, gave to the archbishop himself, a letter of
renunciation thereof, sealed with his own seal; but that he never
did, as alleged by the other side, abjure the same, but, on
the contrary, with the object of obtaining the benefit of
restitution, enjoyed the same privileges as before, although the said
archbishop, in manifold ways, aggrieved him and his clerks in
relation thereto and to other matters, after appeal had been lawfully
interposed. That, the grant of the before-mentioned liberties was not
as it were that of one person to another person, but the same were
rather granted as it were by the actual dignitary himself, and were
delivered, not by special favour to any individual, but as a matter
of right, together with the archdeaconry, of the entirety of which,
they doubtless, from the original gift made by way of compensation,
formed a part. That, although any archbishop might perhaps enjoy the
same while he held the archdeaconry in his own hands, still, no
prejudice could be produced thereby to the archdeaconry, as it is
understood as a matter of course that they are afterwards granted
therewith.96
Moreover, inasmuch as, by the council of Tours, all withholdings of
prebends, dignities, and benefices, are prohibited, and the council
of Lateran, where it forbids new taxes to be imposed, or old ones to
be increased, adds thereto, ‘ Let no one presume to appropriate
to his own use any part of the revenues,’ it is evident that
the archbishop ought not to, and cannot, deprive the archdeaconry of
any of its dignities and privileges. That besides, it cannot be
believed that before the grant [of the office], or on the occasion of
the grant, it was agreed that the archbishop should retain possession
of the aforesaid privileges, because, if he had chanced to attempt
thus to usurp possession of what did not belong to himself, he would
have seemed to be incurring the guilt of simony. That his
renunciation could not injure the archdeacon, as he had renounced the
same when despoiled thereof, and that pope Alexander, of blessed
memory, our predecessor, asserted that a renunciation of that nature
is not valid. Besides, although the collation to the archdeaconry
belongs to the said archbishop, the entirety thereof belongs to the
dignities of the church of York, and neither the archbishop nor the
archdeacon could, without the consent and knowledge of the chapter of
York, inflict so great an injury upon the dignities and privileges of
the said archdeaconry. With reference to these points, the other side
replied, that although renunciation or abjuration might not injure
the archdeaconry, still, in consequence thereof, the archdeacon was
deprived of all means of attempting to recover the same.
To
this, however, the archdeacon made answer, that he was not attempting
to recover the same, inasmuch as he was freely exercising them, just
as formerly, at the time when he set out on his way to the Apostolic
See, and was in enjoyment of the possession thereof. He also added,
that inasmuch as the archbishop had, by shamefully retaining the
dignity in his hands against the law of the constitution [of the
Church], mutilated the same, he ought not, alleging, as it were, his
own infamy, to be heard against him, the possessor thereof, on the
point of his subsequent renunciation, or even his abjuration, if such
there had been. Accordingly, after hearing what was alleged on both
sides, and fully understanding the same, we announced that the
archdeacon must be left in full possession of the privileges of the
said archdeaconry, until it should have been proved by the other
side, that the said liberties had been conceded [personally]by the
archbishops to the archdeacons; for in such case, the archbishop
would be at liberty, both before and after, as well as at the moment
of granting [the archdeaconry], lawfully to make reservation thereof,
as being his own; or else, until it should have been lawfully proved
that the archdeacon had abjured the said privileges; but that in the
latter case, if the concession of them was a valid one, no right or
benefit could accrue to the archbishop thereby, for that we, on
petition of the church of York, or of ourselves, should consult the
benefit of the said archdeaconry thereon. If, therefore, either of
these positions shall be lawfully proved, let silence be imposed upon
the archdeacon as to the said privileges; if neither, then upon the
archbishop. We do therefore strictly command, and by these Apostolic
writings enjoin you, forthwith to call the said parties before you,
and to hear what shall be alleged on both sides, according to the
form in the precedents set forth; always remembering, that if any
change has been made by the archbishop or his people relative to the
said privileges since appeal was lawfully interposed, or since the
archdeacon set out upon his way to Rome, you are, at the commencement
of the investigation, all power of appeal withheld, to replace the
same in its former state: and you are, all obstacle by appeal
removed, to bring the same to a due conclusion, if you shall be
unable, by the consent of the parties, to settle the same; or else,
you are to refer the case, fully drawn up, to us for decision. If we
were to have due regard to the doings of our venerable brother the
archbishop of York, and wished to answer him, in accordance with his
deserts, we should not only deprive him of the power of inflicting
injury, but should even curtail his authority, who thus misuses it
for oppressing those subject to him. For how and how long he has
annoyed our dearly-beloved son Honorius, the archdeacon of Richmond,
whom, in consideration of his learning and his integrity, he ought to
have honored, the complaints of the archdeacon have fully shown to
us; for he has both, as he therein asserts, for some time, without
cause, deprived him of his archdeaconry, and has frequently, at the
impulse of his own will, launched against him and his clerks, and
others as well, sentence of excommunication and suspension.
Consequently,
if we made it our care duly to provide for the welfare of the said
archdeacon, we should take care to pronounce him for ever exempt from
the jurisdiction of the said archbishop, as one of our predecessors
is known in his time also to have exempted certain persons. However,
it being our wish so to protect the archdeacon, as not for the
present to curtail the authority of the said archbishop, we do
command and enjoin you, upon our authorization, carefully to warn the
said archbishop, and to forbid him to presume, without manifest and
reasonable cause, and only in a reasonable manner, to pronounce
sentence of excommunication, suspension, or interdict upon the said
archdeacon, or his clerks or laymen, or churches in his archdeaconry.
But if he shall do so, you are, supported by our authorization, to
pronounce the sentences so given, to be null and void in law, all
power of appeal on his part withheld; and you are carefully to
protect the archdeacon and his people for the future against the
excesses of the archbishop, revoking as null and void, all power of
appeal withheld, whatever attempts, in his rashness, he shall think
proper to make against them. And further, if he shall disdain to
listen to your advice, we shall make it our care duly to provide
against the same, not without confusion and disgrace to himself and
his advisers.”
The
Letter of pope Innocent on the same subject, to king John
“Innocent,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the illustrious king
of the English, health and the Apostolic benediction. It is the
interest of your royal highness to protect
churches and ecclesiastical persons in their rights, and powerfully
and lawfully to bridle the attempts of evil doers, ‘when
striving to molest them. Wherefore, inasmuch as our beloved son,
Master Honorius, archdeacon of Richmond, is a man so learned and so
virtuous, that, not only from his learning and virtue, honor is
reflected upon the church of York, but his duteous services may
possibly prove advantageous to yourself, we do ask, advise, and
exhort your serene highness in the Lord (and the more urgently,
inasmuch as we are aware that he has attended not less diligently
than faithfully to the business committed to his charge by your
serene highness at our court,) to maintain and defend him in his
rights, and not to permit him or his clerks, in contravention of the
privileges of the archdeaconry of Richmond, to be aggrieved by
molestation on part of any person whatsoever. Farewell.”
Another
Letter of pope Innocent on the same subject
“Our
dearly-beloved son, Honorius, archdeacon of Richmond, having come to
our presence, and having presented to us his petition, has shown to
us that, whereas we did formerly entrust to our dearly-beloved son,
Peter, cardinal deacon and titular of Saint Mary in Viâ Latâ,
legate of the Apostolic See, the adjudication of the questions which
were moved against those who had been intruded into the prebends and
dignities of the church of York, he, reserving to himself the final
sentence thereon, did entrust to our venerable brother, the bishop,
and our dearly-beloved sons, the dean and subdean of Lincoln, the
hearing of the charge which was made against Roger of Saint Edmund’s,
in relation to the archdeaconry of Richmond. But although, observing
due and legal form, they would have proceeded to pronounce a definite
sentence, at last, through the mediation of the chapter of York,
there was an amicable and fair compromise effected between Honorius,
the archdeacon, and the before-named Roger, which each party, on
oath, promised to observe. However, shortly after, the said Roger,
not taking into consideration the compromise made, and the oath which
he had taken thereon, obtained letters from ourselves against the
said archdeacon, addressed to you, who, as he asserted, attempted in
many ways, contrary to justice, to injure him. For he alleged that,
whereas he had set out to come to our presence, to set forth his
legitimate exceptions, and had utterly declined you, son, abbot of
Saint Edmund’s,
as being suspected by him, both because the said [archdeacon] was on
too close terms of intimacy with you, and because, as he asserted, he
himself is related to you by blood, as also because you had
manifestly shown favour towards the said archdeacon in relation to
the said matters, and had shown opposition to the said Roger, by
petitioning our most dearly-beloved son in Christ, the illustrious
king of England, and our venerable brother, the archbishop of
Canterbury, although he had offered to make good his objections to
you, in presence of judges chosen for the purpose. you, nevertheless,
our sons, the abbot of Sibbeton and the prior of Norwich, presumed,
as it was stated, to pronounce judgment. And, further, that whereas
mention was made unceasingly in our letters of the revenues that had
accrued from the archdeaconry, you, contrary to the laws and canons,
deprived him of the benefit of such command. On the other hand,
although the said archdeacon had objected in our presence, that his
said adversary was an excommunicated person, and was ready to prove
the same within a competent time, and to make corporeal oath that he
had not made such allegation as a cause for delay, you, nevertheless,
not allowing the exception, pronounced that he was not to be heard,
unless he should prove forthwith that which he had by way of
objection alleged. Wherefore, when the said archdeacon felt that he
was aggrieved by you on these and other points, he appealed to our
presence, and set out on the road, for the purpose of prosecuting his
appeal. But you, as it is said, being by no means withheld from
taking cognisance of the cause, after appeal made, proceeded
therewith, both to the prejudice and in favour of, the said
archdeacon. Wherefore, inasmuch as we wish no one, in contravention
of justice, to be aggrieved, and the bearing or decision of causes so
to proceed, that neither party may have a just cause for complaint,
we do, by these Apostolic writings, command your discreetness, that
since, if, in the letters which the said Roger obtained to you from
us no mention is made of the compromise that took place as to the
archdeaconry, and of the oath that was taken, because he obtained the
same by means of suppression of the truth,
and because, according to the canonical sanctions, a lying suitor
ought to lose his suit, we will that the said letters shall have no
validity whatever. If also, you have refused to admit of the lawful
objections of the before-named archdeacon, and have presumed, after
appeal lawfully interposed, to take further proceedings in the said
cause, we do will nevertheless, and do command you, entirely to
desist from any further proceedings in the said cause, and to
pronounce what has been done by you therein to be utterly null and
void. We do also will, that the cause itself shall be placed in the
hands of such judges as ought to be suspected by neither party, or
else shall be terminated before ourselves, due justice being done
therein. And if you shall chance to neglect our commands, in
consequence of the favour or fear of any person, know that we, by our letters, have
commanded our venerable brother, the bishop of Rochester, and our
dearly-beloved sons, the abbot of Foxley and the prior of Leeds,
learning the truth thereon, to perform our commands, all obstacles
whatsoever, by way of contradiction or of appeal, removed. Given at
the Lateran, on the thirteenth day before the calends of January, in
the third year of our pontificate."
Another Letter of pope Innocent on the same subject.
“Innocent, the pope, to the abbots, priors, deans, parsons, sheriffs, clerks,
and laymen throughout the archdeaconry of Richmond appointed,
greeting. Our dearly-beloved son, Master Honorius, your archdeacon,
has explained to us that whereas he had canonically obtained the
archdeaconry of Richmond, and had for some time been in possession
thereof, a disagreement afterwards ensuing between him and our
venerable brother, the archbishop of York, Roger of Saint Edmund’s,
a clerk, calling himself the archdeacon of Richmond, keeping silence
on the truth of the matters aforesaid, obtained letters from us to
our dearly-beloved sons, the abbats of Saint Edmund’s and of
Saint Benedict de Holwey, and to the prior of Tofts, directing them,
having first given you warning, by ecclesiastical censure, all power
of appeal withheld, to compel you to show to him all obedience and
respect, and to make him satisfaction for the injuries that had been
done to him. But, inasmuch as a lying suitor ought, according to
lawful enactment, to lose his suit, we do, by these Apostolic
writings, enjoin and command the whole of you that, inasmuch as we
have commanded the said letters to be revoked, as being obtained and
sent to judges held in suspicion, by means of the suppression of
truth and the assertion of falsehood, inviolably preserving the
rights of the said archdeacon, you will, the said letters
notwithstanding, all power of appeal withheld, show to him and his
officers due obedience and respect, just as you paid the same to him
before he set out on his road to the Apostolic See. And if not, such
sentence as he or his officers shall think proper reasonably to
pronounce upon you for the same, we do will to be ratified by us, and
inviolably observed.” Accordingly,
upon the presentation of these and other letters of our lord the
pope, which Honorius produced, Roger of Saint Edmund’s making
answer thereto, the judges delegate abovenamed, in consequence of the
appeals made by both parties, and of the varying testimony of
witnesses, having drawn up the case to the best of their ability,
sent the cause to our lord the pope, to be determined by him; and the
said Honorius and Roger prosecuted their appeals.
The
Letter of the Master of the Hospital at Jerusalem to the Prior and
his brethren throughout England.
“The
Master of the Hospital at Jerusalem to the Prior of England,
greeting. As rumours transpire, it is our desire to inform the minds
of our friends thereof. Accordingly, in conformity with our usual
custom, we were sending you the rumours that were circulating in the
land of Jerusalem on the mournful occasion of the lately attempted
passage; but, the ship being wrecked on the sea-coast of Tripolis,
before Biblius, the bishop of Acre, and many most deserving men among
our brethren, who had been despatched to you upon the affairs of the
Holy Land, it so pleasing God, to the grief and sorrow of the whole
people of Christendom, perished, together with many pilgrims both of
noble and of the lower rank. Since this shipwreck, we believe that no
ship has made a passage, at least it is so said by all; for some
ships, on board of which were our messengers, making the attempt to
proceed upon the voyage, after leaving Acre and sailing three days or
more, having lost their sailyards through the usual violence of the
winds and the tempests, returned to Tripolis, with great difficulty
escaping shipwreck. Having, however, obtained such opportunity as we
could, of a ship sailing, we have to inform your brotherhood, that
that most wicked enemy of the Christians, Saphadin, the lord of
Damascus,
has been made lord of Babylon, for, like a perfidious and perjured
man, he has expelled his nephew and others, whose rights to the
succession he dreaded, from the kingdom of Babylon. There still
flourish between him and the Sultan Aleph, and many others, great
dissensions, which can never come to an end, and will never cease or
fade away. Saphadin also, himself, being odious and abominable to his
own followers, is in dread of domestic treachery, and, thinking
himself safe in no place (as he has proved a traitor and perjured to
his nephews, whom he is attempting also utterly to disinherit), does
not dare go out of Babylon, a thing which, in the last year, has
proved our safety and protection. For he had, in his boisterous
manner, and going beyond all bounds, been making preparations to
overrun us, and utterly to demolish the remnants of Christianity that
still remained. But God has struck with the rod of His power the
regions of Babylon in that river of Paradise, [the Nile] which used
to water the lands of the enemy, so as to cause it not to flow, and
in the past year it has sent forth no stream. In consequence of this,
they are perishing by famine, and have lost their animals; many of
them have not scrupled to sell their sons, the rich the poor, the
powerful the weak, that so they may preserve their lives from the
famine, which they apprehend will be the result of the river being
dried up, if it does not flow. Any prudent person indeed might
imagine this, that if the river, by the will of God, should not flow,
and thereby irrigate the fields, they will be in great danger of
their lives. Consequently, infinite multitudes, compelled by
necessity and the severity of famine, have now filled our lands like
swarms of locusts, for the purpose of sustaining their bodies; where
some moil at the soil belonging to the Church, some, after the manner
of beasts, feed upon the shrubs in the woods, while others, dying of
hunger, are found in spots in the woods wondrously eaten away by
worms and birds. Wherefore, we, putting our trust in the Lord, who,
when He wills, puts an end to battles, do hope that He is about to
make a beginning of shewing compassion upon the Christian people,
when He thus bruises their enemies. There is also afforded matter for
astonishment among the nations, in that, a certain Saracen, of
youthful age and of low
degree, having been brought up in simplicity among shepherds from his
youth, has on a sudden appeared to all so learned, that all are in
admiration of his wisdom; he also publicly preaches the name of Jesus
Christ, and so successfully, that already, more than two thousand of
the pagans have believed in him, and, at his exhortations, have
become converted to our faith, and have been born again at the font
of holy baptism, and grieve that they submitted to the pain of
circumcision. However, our enemies are exulting with unbounded joy,
because they know that we are but few in number, and impoverished in
means, and think that we are in want of troops. Wherefore, unto you
do we cry with the voice of lamentation, and do piteously entreat
you, that, among both the higher and the lower classes, you will
think us worthy to be aided by your counsel and assistance, and will
make it your care promptly to induce our lord the king of England,
and whatever other persons you can, to aid us, and diligently advise
them to come to our succour. For we tremble on account of their
infinite resources, and the more so, as their wealth is increased by
the merchandize brought by many merchants, a circumstance which
strikes us all with greater-alarm than usual; and considering that,
whereas against the single kingdom of Babylon or of Damascus the
whole people of the Land of Promise used to be hardly able to defend
itself, at the present time two kingdoms, joined under one master, by
their threats inspire terror in us, a residue so small in number.
This is assuredly the true state of the Land of Promise and of the
enemies of Christ; which, if it remained as at present, if we were to
receive sufficient aid from Christendom, we should with the
propitious favour of heaven, suppose ourselves able to avenge both
the injuries of Christ and the disgraces of the Christians.
Wherefore, good brother, as it suffices to say but little, you,
knowing full well what necessities and how great are imposed upon us,
hear now what beyond measure afflicts us. The land of the kingdom of
Sicily is being ravaged both by the Germans and the Lombards, our
house at Baroli has been deserted, our brethren remain within, [shut
up] in the city; our houses outside, from which we received our
support, have been brought to ruin, and no one is for staying in the
city. Moreover, since you left the land, we have had no assistance
whatever from the kingdom of Sicily up to the present time, and for
this year past we have had to buy corn, wine, barley, flesh-meat,
cheese, and all necessaries for the whole of our houses and
fortresses, upon all which the necessary outlay has been
incalculable. Unless we shall receive some money from our houses
beyond sea, we shall be unable to obtain it elsewhere; and it is now
a long time since we have received anything whatever for the support
of our expenditure. Know also, that we have incurred a great number
of debts; and, awaiting your help and that of our other good
brethren, we do, by the love of God and our own, entreat you, so far
as you can, by the first ship that makes her passage in the month of
March, to send us some assistance. Farewell.”
On
hearing of this, our lord the pope Innocent sent a cardinal to the
king of France and to the king of England, requesting that assistance
might be given by their territories towards the relief of the land of
Jerusalem; and accordingly, at his command the said kings agreed to
give towards the relief of the land before-mentioned the fortieth
part of all their revenues for one year. This the king of England
ordered to be given from his rents, his escheats, and his wardages in
England; and he ordered that all the laymen of his territories
should, in like manner, give the fortieth part of their revenues, as
an alms-gift for the succour of the land of Jerusalem. Upon this
occasion, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, at this time chief justice of England,
wrote to the sheriffs and bailiffs of England to the following
effect:—
The
Letter of Geoffrey Fitz-Peter as to the collection of the fortieth
part of revenues for the succour of the Holy Land
“Geoffrey
Fitz-Peter, earl of Essex, to all the sheriffs in his jurisdiction,
greeting. Know ye, that our Lord the king of England, at the instance
and at the preaching of a certain cardinal sent into France by the
Supreme Pontiff, has, from the parts beyond sea, by the advice of his
nobles, granted, for the succour of Holy Jerusalem, the fortieth part
of the value of all his revenues and lands for one year, including
those accruing from wards and escheats in his hands. The same also
has been voluntarily contributed by his nobles themselves beyond sea.
At their instance also, our lord the king of England has, by his
letters patent, written to all the nobles of England, begging and
entreating that they will, with pure heart, and from motives of
Christian love, make a like grant from the value of all their
revenues and lands for the space of one year; which, however, is
neither conceded nor demanded as a matter of right, or of custom, or
of compulsion, or as based upon any other Apostolical authority
whatever. Wherefore, he has ordered that all the earls and barons in
each jurisdiction shall immediately be advised and carefully urged,
forthwith, each for himself, to make the said collection on his
lands, in the following manner, namely; each is to contribute the
fortieth part of the value of each vill that belongs to him,
according to the sum at which it might be let to farm per annum. And
if in the said vill there shall happen to be any tenants by knight
service, they are to contribute the fortieth part in manner
aforesaid: and if there shall be freeholders, they are likewise to
pay a similar portion in manner aforesaid, on a computation of the
annual rent which they are paying to their lords. This collection
also they are to make by means of discreet and lawful persons, who
both can and understand how, to perform the same, and who are to
receive it from the earls and barons aforesaid. And after the same
shall have been collected by their hands, the receivers of the said
collection are to have it reduced distinctly and openly to writing
how much they have received from each person, both earls as well as
barons, knights, and freeholders; as also the names of each, and of
the vills, and how much they have received from each, and to whom
each vill belongs; all which they are to have duly registered. The
sums also, received from the demesnes, and from the wards, escheats,
and rents of our lord the king, they are to have separately
registered. Also, if any clerk shall have a lay fee in any
jurisdiction, or any tenants holding a lay fee, the said collection
is to be made upon their lands by the said collectors in manner
aforesaid. On the lands also of those who have assumed the cross, the
said collection is to be made in manner aforesaid, but so that the
money received from them is set apart from the rest; and the amount
of the said money is to be set down, and the names of each person by
whom the said money shall have been so paid is to be written beneath
it, in order that those who shall have set out on the expedition, may
promptly receive repayment of their money. Also, due care is to be
taken that the said money is so collected, that each sheriff,
together with the collectors, has it in readiness at the New Temple,
in London, within fifteen days after the day of Saint Hilary, as also
a register drawn up in manner aforesaid, that is to say, stating the
amount of the money, the names of those who have paid it, the names
of the vills from which the said money has been paid, and how much
has been paid by each. And if any persons shall refuse to give their
consent to the said collection, their names are to be entered in the
register, and made known to us at London at the time aforesaid; and
the present writ and the names of the collectors are to be there
presented. Farewell.”
...
et nominibus villarum de quibus data fuerit pecunia prædicta,
et quantum de qualibet datum fuerit. Si qui autem contradixerint huic
collectæ assensum præbere, nomina eorum imbrevientur et
coram nobis repræsententur apud Lundonias ad terminum
prædictum, et hoc breve et nimoina collectorum ibidem
habeantur. Valete.”
CHRONICLE OF ROGER OF WENDOVER
1201 A.D.
Ut rex anglorum et regina apud Cantuarium coronam portaverint.
Anno grati æ MCCI. Anglorum Johannes celebravit natale
Domini apud Guildeford, ubi multa militibus suis festiva distribuit indumenta;
Hubertus vero, Cantuariensis archiepiscopus, quasi cum rege a pari contendens,
eodem modo fecit apud Cantuariam ….
How the king and queen of the English were crowned at Canterbury.
A.D. 1201. King John kept Christmas at Guilford, and there he distributed
a number of festive garments amongst his knights; and Hubert
archbishop of Canterbury, striving to make himself on a level with
the king, did the same at Canterbury, by which he roused the
indignation of the king in no slight degree. Afterwards the king set
out to Northumberland, and exacted a very large sum of money from the
inhabitants of that county. He then returned to Canterbury in company
with his queen, and on the following Easter-day they were both
crowned at that place; and at the ceremony the archbishop of
Canterbury was at great, not to say superfluous, expense, in
entertaining them. On the following Ascension-day at Tewkesbury the
king issued a proclamation, that the earls and barons, and all who
owed military service to him, should be ready with horses and arms at
Portsmouth, to set out with him for his transmarine provinces at the
ensuing Whitsuntide; but when the appointed day came, many of them
obtained permission to remain behind, paying to the king two marks of
silver for each scutcheon.
How king John and his queen crossed the sea to Normandy.
After
keeping the festival of Whitsuntide at Portsmouth, the king with his
queen embarked on the following day, and, after much trouble, arrived
in Normandy. Shortly afterwards the English and French kings held a
conference near the isle of Andelys, where terms of peace were agreed
on; and three days after king John, at the invitation of the French
king, went to Paris, and was entertained in the palace of that
monarch there, who himself took up his residence elsewhere. After
being entertained there honourably and as became a king, he left and
went to Chinon. At the same time, in order that the peace between the
kings might be more firmly secured, it was determined and confirmed
by writings, that, if the French king should in any way violate the
terms of the before-mentioned peace, the barons of the French
kingdom, whom he had found as sureties for him, should be absolved of
all fealty to him, and should join the king of the English in
attacking the French king, and compelling him to keep the said peace.
The same agreement was made on the part of the king of England. In
this year dreadful storms of thunder, lightning, and hail, with
deluges of rain, alarmed men’s minds and did great injury in many
parts. About this time too, at the instance of pope Innocent, the
fortieth portion of the incomes of all churches was given in aid of
the land of promise; and the nobles and commoners alike, who had laid
aside the symbol of the cross, were with apostolic severity compelled
to resume it.
1202 A.D.
Of a disagreement which arose between the French and English kings.
A.D. 1202. King John kept the festival of Christmas at Argentan in
Normandy; and in the following Lent, a conference was held between
the French and English kings near the castle of Guletune. At this
interview the French king, urged by deadly hatred against the king of
England, indignantly ordered him immediately to give up to Arthur
count of Brittany, all the possessions which he held on that side of
the sea, namely, Normandy, Tours, Anjou, and Poictou, and required
many other things from him, which the English king refused to comply
with. The French king, not succeeding in his purpose at the
interview, on the following day made a sudden attack on the castle of
Butavant, and levelled it with the ground; and marching on from
thence he by force took possession of the town of Augi, with the
castle of Liuns, and several other fortresses; he also besieged the
castle of Radepunt for eight days, but, on the king of the English
coming upon him, he retired from that place in confusion. But after a
few days he turned off to Gournaye, and by breaking through the lake,
caused such a rush of water, that a great part of the walls which
surrounded the city were knocked down; on this all the garrison fled,
and the king of the French entered and subdued the city without any
one to oppose him. He then returned to Paris, and placed Arthur in
charge of safe persons, giving him two hundred French soldiers to
accompany him into Poictou, that by warlike incursions they might
subdue those districts for Arthur. But as this troop was marching
forth with a pompous noise, word was brought them that queen Eleanor
was staying in the castle of Mirabeau, attended by a small garrison;
they therefore by common consent directed the fury of their attacks
against that castle, and laid siege to it; as there was not strength
in the garrison to resist them, the castle was surrendered to them
except a tower into which queen Eleanor had thrown herself with a few
soldiers, and this they could not gain possession of. They therefore
directed their attacks against the tower; and at this place there
came to the assistance of Arthur all the nobles and soldiers of rank
in Poictou, and one in particular was Hugh, surnamed Le Brun, earl of
March, who was a declared enemy of the English king, on account of
queen Isabel, whom the said earl had engaged as his wife by word of
mouth before she was married to king John; and thus they formed a
large force there, and continued the most fierce assaults on the
castle in order to gain possession of it as soon as possible.
Of a glorious victory gained by king John at Mirabeau.
The queen being placed in this predicament, sent messengers with orders
to use all speed, to the king, who was then in Normandy, earnestly
beseeching him by his filial affection to come to her assistance; on
receipt of this intelligence, the king hastily set out with a strong
force, and travelling night and day, he accomplished the long
distance quicker than is to be believed, and arrived at Mirabeau.
When the French and the people of Poictou learned that the king was
on his way, they went out with a pompous array to meet him, and give
him battle; but when they met each other in battle order, and had
engaged, the king bravely withstood their turbulent attacks, and at
length put them to flight, pursuing them so quickly with his cavalry,
that he entered the castle at the same time as the fugitives. Then a
most severe conflict took place inside the walls of the castle, but
was soon determined by the laudable valour of the English; in the
conflict there two hundred French knights were taken prisoners, and
all the nobles in Poictou and Anjou, together with Arthur himself, so
that not one out of the whole number escaped who could return and
tell the misfortune to the rest of their countrymen. Having
therefore, secured his prisoners in fetters and shackles, and placed
them in cars, a new and unusual mode of conveyance, the king sent
some of them to Normandy, and some to England, to be imprisoned in
strong castles, whence there would be no fear of their escape; but
Arthur was kept at Falaise under close custody.
How the French king retired in confusion from the siege of the castle of Argues.
Whilst these events were passing at the castle of Mirabeau, the French king
with a large army marched against the castle of Arques, and laid
siege to it. So arranging his engines all round, it, he for fifteen
days endeavoured, by means of petrariae, and balistae, to break
through the walls; the garrison, on the other hand, resisting
bravely, endeavoured by a continued discharge of stones and arrows to
drive the enemy to a greater distance; but as soon as the report of
the capture of Arthur and his own followers reached the ears of the
French king, he retired from the siege in vexation. In his retreat he
destroyed and burned every place he came to, and even reduced the
monasteries of the religious men to ashes: at length he reached
Paris, and remained inactive there for the rest of that year.
Of the death of Arthur, count of Brittany.
After some lapse of time, king John came to the castle of Falaise, and
ordered his nephew Arthur to be brought into his presence; when he
appeared, the king addressed him kindly, and promised him many
honours, asking him to separate himself from the French king, and to
adhere to the side of himself, as his lord and uncle. But Arthur
ill-advisedly replied to him with indignation and threats, and
demanded of the king that he should give up to him the kingdom of
England, with all the territories, which king Richard possessed at
the time of his death; and, since all those possessions belonged to
him by hereditary right, he affirmed with an oath, that unless king
John quickly restored the aforesaid territories to him, he should
never enjoy peace for any length of time. The king was much troubled
at hearing his words, and gave orders that Arthur should be sent to
Rouen, to be imprisoned in the new tower there, and kept closely
guarded; but shortly afterwards the said Arthur suddenly
disappeared.* In this same year, king John came to England, and was
crowned at Canterbury by Hubert archbishop of that place, on the 14th
of April, and after this he again sailed for Normandy. On his arrival
there an opinion about the death of Arthur gained ground throughout
the French kingdom and the continent in general, by which it seemed
that John was suspected by all of having slain him with his own hand
; for which reason many turned their affections from the king from
that time forward wherever they dared, and entertained the deepest
enmity against him.**
* “The same year pope Innocent proposed to exact
a large sum of money from the Cistertian order, for the use of the crusade, as he professed,
but in reality to gratify his own avarice. He was, however,
admonished by the holy Virgin, and in alarm, ceased from his
intention. He had also ordered the fortieth part of all rents to be
collected throughout all England, for the use of the crusaders. About
this time died the nobleman, William de Stuteville.” —M.
Paris.
**
“The same year, the king caused proclamation to be made that the legal
assize of bread should be observed, under severe penalty. The assize
was proved by the baker of Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, justiciary of
England, and the baker of R. de Thurnam; so that the bakers might
make a profit of threepence on the sale of every quarter, besides the
bran, and two loaves for the oven, four oboli for four servants, a
farthing for two boys, an obolus for salt, an obolus for yeast, a
farthing for the candle, three pence or the wood (fuel), and an
obolus for the refuse. When corn is sold for six shillings, then the
bread from the quartern, white and well-baked, shall weigh sixteen
shillings of twenty (lora); and the bread from the whole corn shall
be good and well-baked, so that nothing shall be deducted, and it
shall weigh twenty-four shillings. When corn is sold for five
shillings and sixpence, the white bread shall weigh twenty shillings,
and from all the corn twenty-eight shillings. When corn is sold for
five shillings, the white bread shall weigh twenty-four shillings,
and the bread from the whole corn, thirty-two shillings. When com is
sold for four shillings and sixpence, the white bread shall be at
thirty-two shillings, and from all the corn, forty-two shillings.
When corn is sold at four shillings, the white bread shall weigh
thirty-six shillings, and from all the com, forty-six shillings. When
corn is sold at three shillings and sixpence, the white bread shall
weigh forty-two shillings, and from all the com, forty-four
shillings. When com is sold for three shillings, the white loaf shall
weigh forty-eight shillings, and from the whole corn sixty-four
shillings. When corn is sold for two shillings and sixpence, the
white bread shall weigh fifty-four shillings, and from all the com,
seventy-two shillings. When corn is sold for two shillings, the white
bread shall be at sixty shillings, and from all the corn at four
pounds. When corn is sold at eighteen pence, the white loaf shall
weigh seventy-seven shillings, and from all the corn at four pounds
eight shillings. This proclamation was made throughout the whole
kingdom.” —M. Paris.
1203 A.D.
How the nobles of England deserted king John in Normandy.
A.D.
1203. King John spent Christmas at Caen in Normandy, where, laying
aside all thoughts of war, he feasted sumptuously with his queen
daily, and prolonged his sleep in the morning till breakfast time.
But after the solemnities of Easter had been observed, the French
king, having collected a large army, took several castles belonging
to the king of England, some of which he levelled to the ground, but
the stronger ones he kept entire. At length messengers came to king
John with the news, saying, the king of the French has entered your
territories as an enemy, has taken such and such castles, carries off
the governors of them ignominiously bound to their horses’ tails, and
disposes of your property at will, without any one gainsaying him. In
reply to this news, king John said, “Let him do so; whatever he
now seizes on I will one day recover:” and neither these
messengers, nor others who brought him the like news, could obtain
any other answer. But the earls and barons, and other nobles of the
kingdom of England, who had till that time firmly adhered to him,
when they heard his words and saw his incorrigible idleness, obtained
his permission and returned home, pretending that they would come
back to him, and so left the king with only a few soldiers in
Normandy. Hugh de Gournaye, to whom king John had in all honour
entrusted the castle of Montfort, delivered it up to the king of the
French, and admitted his soldiers into it by night, and in this
manner, renouncing himself his fealty to his liege lord, fled to the
king of France. In the meantime, the king of the English was staying
inactive at Rouen with his queen, so that it was said that he was
infatuated by sorcery or witchcraft; for, in the midst of all his
losses and disgrace, he showed a cheerful countenance to all, as
though he had lost nothing. The French king, in the meantime, with an
immense army, came to the town of Ruyl, where there was a noble
castle, which he at once surrounded with his engines of war; but
after he had arranged them in order, even before he had made one
assault, Robert FitzWalter and Sayer de Quincy, the noblemen to whom
the charge of the castle had been entrusted, delivered it up
uninjured to the French king, and as the least stone of that castle
was not damaged, so not one hair of the heads of the garrison was
hurt; but the king of the French, who was much enraged against them,
ordered them to be chained, and kept in close confinement at
Compiegne, where they were retained in disgrace till a heavy ransom
was paid for their release. All opposition to him in Normandy and the
other transmarine territories having ceased, the French king marched
through the provinces at will and without hindrance, and regained
possession of several castles; he also at this time laid siege to
the fine castle of the Rock of Andelys, which Richard had built, but
by the prowess and incomparable fidelity of Roger de Lacy, to whose
care that fortress had been entrusted, he gained nothing by the
siege, except that by refusing egress to the besieged, he prevented
them from obtaining supplies. Whilst these events were passing, some
of the Normans seceded altogether from the king of the English, and
others only feigned adherence to him.
How
king John came to England and exacted large sums of money from the
nobles.
King
John at length seeing his fault, and that he was destitute of all
military supplies, took ship in all haste and on St. Nicholas’s day
landed at Portsmouth. Then urging against the earls and barons as an
excuse, that they had left him in the midst of his enemies on the
continent, by which he had lost his castles and territories through
their defection, he took from them the seventh part of all their
moveable goods; and in this act he did not refrain from laying
violent I hands on the property of conventual or parochial churches,
inasmuch as he employed Hubert archbishop of Canterbury as the agent
of this robbery in regard to the church property, and Geoffrey
Fitz-Peter, justiciary of England, for the goods of the laity, and
these two spared no one in the execution of their orders. The French
king, when he learnt that the king of England had left his
transmarine territories, went in great strength to each of the towns
and castles of the district, explaining to the citizens and governors
of castles that they were deserted by their lord. He also said that
he was the principal lord of those provinces, and that if the English
king should ignominiously abandon them, he had no intention of losing
the superior authority which belonged to him; wherefore he begged of
them as a friend to receive him as their lord since they had no
other; but he declared with an oath, that if they did not do this
willingly, and dared to contend against him, he would subdue them as
enemies and hang them all on the gibbet or flay them alive. At
length, after much disputing on both sides, they unanimously agreed
to give hostages to the king of the French, for their keeping a truce
for one year; after which time, if they did not receive assistance
from the king of the English, they would thence forward acknowledge
him as their ruler, and give the cities and castles up to him; having
effected this the French king returned to his own territories.
The promotion of William bishop of Lincoln.
In the same year Master William, precentor and canon of the church of
Lincoln, was consecrated bishop of the same church at Westminster, on
St. Bartholomew the apostle’s day, by William bishop of London.
Gilbert bishop of Rochester appealed in favour of his own claim, but
did not succeed; for Hubert archbishop of Canterbury was lying very
ill at the time.
1204 A.D.
How subsidies for war were generally granted to the king.
A.D. 1204. King John kept Christmas at Canterbury, Hubert, archbishop of
that place, supplying all necessaries for the festivity to the king.
After which, on the day after the circumcision, the king and the
nobles of England met at Oxford at a conference, when supplies for
war were granted to the king, two marks and a half from each
scutcheon; nor did the bishops and abbats depart without giving a
promise to the same effect.
How
the oil of the image of the mother of God wonderfully became flesh.
In
the same year, on the third day before Easter, there happened a most
wonderful miracle concerning the oil of the image of the mother of
God at Sardenai, which was as follows: it happened in the prison of
the Christian soldiers, in the castle of Damascus, that a certain
soldier took from his box a phial, in which he had put some of the
oil which drops from the image of the mother of God at Sardenai; but
as he looked carefully at the bottle, in which the oil had been put
as clear and transparent as water, the oil in it appeared to become
fleshy, but divided into two parts, for one portion adhered to the
lower part of the phial, and the other portion to the upper part. The
soldier then took his knife and endeavoured to join the upper part to
the lower, but as soon as the edge of the knife touched the incarnate
oil, drops of blood flowed from it to the astonishment of the
chaplains, knights, and all the other prisoners who were looking on
at it; and since many are ignorant of the truth concerning this image
of the mother of God, it is most proper that we should relate the
origin of it, to those who do not know it, to the praise of the said
mother of God.
Of
the origin of the said image, and some of its miracles.
There
lived at Damascus, the capital city of Syria, a certain venerable
matron, who took the habit of a nun and made it her business to serve
God most devoutly; and, that she might be more at liberty to perform
her religious duties, and to avoid the noise of the city, she retired
to a place called Sardenai, six miles from the above-named city, and
there building for herself a house and oratory in honour of the holy
mother of God, she performed the duties of hospitality to pilgrims
and the poor. Now it happened that a certain monk, from the city of
Constantinople, came to Jerusalem for the sake of devotion and of
seeing the holy places, and he was charitably received as a guest by
the aforesaid nun; the latter, on learning that he was going to the
holy city, humbly and earnestly besought him to bring with him on his
return from Jerusalem some image, that is some painted picture, for
her to put in her oratory, which would show her, when she prayed, the
likeness of the mother of God, and he faithfully promised that he
would bring her one. After he had reached Jerusalem, he fulfilled his
devotional duties, and when they were finished he prepared to return,
forgetting his promise to the nun; and after he had got out of the
city on. his way back, a voice came from heaven saying to him, “Why
dost thou return thus empty-handed? Where is the image thou didst
promise to take to the nun?” Being thus reminded of the thing,
the monk returned into the city, and going to a place where images
were sold he bought one which pleased him, and carried it with him on
his return. On his reaching a place called Gith, a fierce lion, which
lay concealed in a den there devouring human beings, came to meet the
monk on his way and began to lick his feet, and thus under the
protection of the divine grace he escaped unhurt. Afterwards he fell
into the snares of robbers, and when they were about to lay violent
hands on him, they were so frightened by the voice of some angel
which rebuked them, that they could not speak or move at all. Then
the monk, looking at the image which lie held, knew that some divine
virtue lay concealed in it; and then he vainly troubled himself in
deliberating how he could cheat the nun, and carry the image away
with him to his own country. On his arrival at the city of Acre, he
went on board a ship, wishing, if possible, to return home; but after
they had run with full sails for some days, a sudden storm arose, and
they were in such peril, that every one threw the goods which
belonged to him into the sea. But when the monk amongst the rest was
about to commit his satchel to the waves, the angel of the Lord said
to him, “Do not do thus, but lift the image up in your hands
towards the Lord;” and when he, in obedience to the commands of
the angel, lifted the image on high, the storm immediately ceased;
but as the crew did not know where they were going they returned to
the city of Acre. Then the monk learning God’s will from the image
and desiring to fulfil his promise, returned to the nun and again
enjoyed her hospitality; she, on account of her frequent guests, did
not know him, and consequently did not ask him for the image, on
seeing which the monk again thought of taking the image with him on
his return home. But early in the morning when he had obtained leave
to depart, he went into the oratory to pray, and when, after having
performed his devotions, he wanted to go out, he could not find the
door; he therefore put the image which he held on the altar of the
oratory, on which he beheld the door open; but when he again took up
the image and endeavoured to go out, he again could not find the
door. At length when he saw that the divine virtue surrounded the
image, he put it on the altar of the oratory, and going back to the
nun, he related in order all the wonderful circumstances connected
with the image as has been related above; he therefore said that it
was the will of God for the image to remain there, and be worshipped
with all due honour. The nun therefore took it, and blessed God and
his mother, for all that the monk had related to her, the monk too
determined to pass the rest of his life at that same place, on
account of the miracles which he knew the Lord had effected by means
of the image of his mother. The image then began to be greatly
revered by all, and all admired the great and wonderful works of God
in it.
How
the image of the mother of God emitted oil.
After
these events the nun built a place, that seemed to her more
honourable in which to put the image, and asked a priest, as being
more worthy than herself and one remarkable for his sanctity, as she
believed, to put on his sacred robes, and transport the image to the
before-mentioned place. He, however, was afraid to touch it, because
when it had been placed on the altar it had begun to drip, and from
that time it had never ceased to give forth a very clear liquor like
oil; the nun had at first wiped this moisture away with a fine linen
cloth, but afterwards she procured a small brass vessel and caught
the oil, which she administered to the sick, and whenever this was
done in the name of the Lord and his mother, they were then cured of
their diseases and remain in health to this time. But when the
above-mentioned priest approached the image carelessly to take it
away, as soon as he touched the liquor which flowed from it his hands
became withered, and after three days he departed to the Lord. After
this no one presumed to touch the image or to remove it from its
place, except that nun alone. At length the religious woman placed a
glass vessel under the image, that the oil flowing from it might be
caught in that vessel, and kept to supply the wants of the sick.
How
the same image gave forth teats of flesh.
In
course of time a wonderful and hitherto unheard-of circumstance
happened, for the aforesaid image, in the sight of all, produced by
degrees breasts of flesh, and began to be clothed with flesh in a
wonderful way; so that from the breasts downwards it seemed entirely
covered with flesh, and from this flesh the liquid dropped
incessantly. The brothers of the temple, during the truce with
Saladin, took some of this oil to their own houses to distribute it
to the pilgrims who came there to pray, that they might with
reverence exalt the honour of the mother of God in the various
quarters of the world. There are indeed monks in some parts of the
monastery who perform religious duties, but the dignity and authority
of the nuns is out of respect to the aforesaid woman who first
inhabited that place, and built an oratory there in honour of the
holy Mary, mother of God.
How
a certain sultan recovered his sight by the agency of this image.
It
happened at that time that the sultan of Damascus, who had been blind
of one eye, was attacked by a disease in the eye with which he could
see, and became totally blind; and he, hearing of the aforesaid image
by which God wrought so many miracles, went to the place and entered
the oratory; and although he was a pagan, he had faith in the Lord,
that, through the image of his mother, his own health might be
restored, and falling to the earth, he remained prostrate in prayer;
and when he arose from his devotions, he saw the light burning in the
lamp which hung before the image of Mary the mother of God, and found
to his joy that he had recovered his sight. He therefore, and all who
were with him and saw this, gave glory to God; and because he had
first seen the light burning in the lamp, he made a vow to the Lord,
that he would from that time give annually sixty measures of oil for
the lamps of that oratory, in which he, through the merits of the
blessed Mary, mother of God, had recovered his sight.
How Normandy with other transmarine possessions yielded
to the rule of the French king .
About
that time the French king’s army which for almost a year had been
besieging the castle of the Rock of Andelys, had undermined and
knocked down a great part of the walls. But the noble and warlike
Roger, constable of Chester, still defended the entrance against the
French; but at length his provisions failing him, and being reduced
to such want, that no one had a single allowance of food, he
preferred to die in battle to being starved: on which he and his
soldiers armed themselves, flew to horse, and sallied from the
castle: but after they had slain numbers opposed to them, they were
at length taken prisoners, although with much difficulty. Thus the
castle of the Rock of Andelys fell into the hands of the French king
on the 6th of March, and Roger de Lacy with all his followers were
taken to France, where, on account of the bravery which he had shown
in defence of his castle, he was detained prisoner on parole. On this
all the holders of castles in the transmarine territories, with the
citizens and other subjects of the king of England, sent messengers
to England to tell him in what a precarious situation they were
placed, and that the time, according to the terms of the treaty, was
near, when they must either give up the cities and castles to the
king of the French, or consign to destruction the hostages which they
had given him. To which message king John answered; and intimated by
the same messengers to all of them, that they were to expect no
assistance from him, but that they each were to do what seemed best
to him. And thus, all kind of defence failing in those provinces, the
whole of Normandy, Tours, Anjou, and Poictou, with the cities,
castles, and other possessions, except the castles of Rochelle,
Thouars, and Niorz, fell to the dominion of the king of the French.
When this was told to the English king, he was enjoying all the
pleasures of life with his queen, in whose company he believed that
he possessed everything he wanted; moreover, he felt confidence in
the immensity of the wealth he had collected, as if by that he could
regain the territory he had lost.
Of
the death of Godfrey bishop of Winchester, and the succession of
Peter de Rupibus.
On the 1st of April in this same year, in the first watch of the night,
there appeared in the northern and eastern quarters of the heavens
such a redness, that it was believed by all to be real fire; and what
was to be wondered at most, was that in the thickest part of this
redness there appeared some glittering stars; this phenomenon lasted
till midnight. In the same year Godfrey bishop of Winchester died,
and was succeeded by Peter de Rupibus, a man of knightly rank, and
skilled in warfare; he was appointed to the bishopric by the interest
of king John, and set out to Rome; and, after bestowing his presents
there with great liberality, he hastened to the church at Winchester
to be consecrated bishop. In this year too the last day of Easter
fell on the day of the evangelist St. Mark.
1205 A.D.
Of certain remarkable events.
A.D. 1205. King John kept Christmas at Tewkesbury, but scarcely
stayed there one day; and in the same month of January the land was frozen
to such a degree that all agricultural labour was suspended from the
14th of January till the 22nd of March, on account of which, in the
following summer a load of corn was sold for fourteen shillings.
About Whitsuntide in this same year king John assembled a large army,
as if he was about to cross the sea, and, although the archbishop of
Canterbury and many others dissuaded him from it, he ordered a large
fleet to be collected at Portsmouth; he afterwards embarked with only
a small company on the 15th of July, and put to sea with all sails
spread; but, changing his purpose, he on the third day landed at
Studland near Warham. On his return he took an immense sum of money
from the earls, barons, knights, and religious men, accusing them of
refusing to accompany him to the continent to recover his lost
inheritance. In this year, on the eve of St. John the Baptist’s day,
the castle of Chinon was given up to the French king.
Of
the death of Hubert archbishop of Canterbury, and the election of the
sub-prior of the church at Canterbury.
On
the 13th of July in this same year Hubert archbishop of Canterbury
died at Tenham, to the great delight of the king, by whom he was
suspected of being too familiar with the king of the French. After
the death then of the archbishop, even before his body was consigned
to the tomb, some of the juniors of the conventual church at
Canterbury, without asking the king’s consent, elected Reginald the
subprior, to be their archbishop, and in the middle of the night,
after electing him, they chanted the “Te Deum ,” and
placed him first upon the great altar, and afterwards in the
archiepiscopal chair; for they were afraid that if this election
without the king’s consent should reach his ears, he would endeavour
to prevent their proceeding with it. Therefore in that same night the
said sub-prior having made oath that he would not consider himself
elected without the permission and special letters of the convent,
nor show to any one the letters which he held, took some monks of the
convent with him, and went to the court of Rome. But all this was
done that that election might be concealed from the king till they
found out whether they could at the court of Rome carry the election
they had commenced into effect. But the aforesaid archbishop-elect,
as soon as lie landed in Flanders, disregarding the oath he had
taken, openly declared that he was elected archbishop of Canterbury,
and was going to the court of Rome to confirm his election; he
moreover showed every one the letters of the convent which he held;
believing that by this he should in no small degree forward the
merits of his cause. Arriving at length at Rome, he forthwith made
known his election to our lord the pope and his cardinals, and openly
showing his letters to all, he boldly required the pope to confirm
his election by the apostolic benediction: but the pope answering in
haste, said that he would take time to consider of it, in order that
he might be more assured of the truth of the before-named
circumstances.*
*
About the same time pope Innocent wrote the following letter to the
suffragans of Canterbury, in defence of the monks of that church:—
“Innocent,
bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brothers the
suffragans generally of the church of Canterbury, health and
apostolical benediction.—Whereas, in the time of the Jewish
law, which, as we read, never brought any man to that which is
perfect, parents after the flesh were held in such honour by their
children after the flesh, that whoever cursed them was sentenced by
the law of God to death, much more does it become those who are
placed under the law of grace, and for whom the doors of Paradise
have been opened through the most precious blood of Christ, to take
heed lest by transgression they incur the sentence of damnation,
seeing that detriment to the soul is more to be feared than any
danger that can happen to the body. If therefore worldly parents are
to be held in so much honour, what shall we say of spiritual parents
? Shall they not be held superior in honour to earthly parents, in
the same proportion as the soul surpasses the body? We have premised
thus much, my brethren, inasmuch as, in our care for your salvation,
we fear lest the present tribulation, which has been raised, it is
said, by your means, should be productive of danger to the soul,
concerning the church of Canterbury, which you are bound to reverence
as your mother; and that the detriment to the said church be such
that it may not be remedied for a great length of time. We therefore
exhort your brotherhood in the Lord, by these our apostolical
letters, that you diligently keep in view what concerns your honour
and the salvation of your souls, and not molest the church of
Canterbury your mother, whose privileges you are bound to defend,
lest she have cause to complain of you, and to say she has nourished
sons, who have not only not known her, but have persecuted her most
severely. In saying these things we have no wish to detract from your
rights, but in pious solicitude to prevent you from injuring others
on pretence of asserting your own claims. May God enlighten your
hearts, my brethren, and enable you without contention to pay all
obedience to your mother-church, and do nothing in defiance of divine
or human law, which you would not wish others to do towards
yourselves.—Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, Dec. 8, in the 8th
year of our pontificate.“
Of
the election of John bishop of Norwich, at the request of the English
king.
The
monks of Canterbury in the meantime, as soon as they heard that their
sub-prior had violated his oath, and had, as soon as he arrived in
Flanders, declared that he was elected, thus revealing their secret,
were much enraged against him, and immediately sent some of the monks
from the convent to the king to ask his permission to choose a pastor
who was suited to them; the king immediately and without any
hesitation kindly granted their request, and speaking confidentially
to them, hinted that the bishop of Norwich was a great friend of his,
and that he alone of all the English prelates was aware of his
secrets; on which account, he asserted, that it would be to the
advantage of himself and the kingdom, if they could transfer the said
prelate to the archbishopric. He therefore requested of the monks,
that they, together with his clerks whom he would send to the
convent, would set forth this his request to them, and promised to
confer many honours on the convent if they should determine to listen
to him. The monks on their return home related the commands of the
king to the other inmates of the convent, and they assembled
thereupon in the chapter-house, and in order to conciliate the king,
whom they had offended, they there unanimously elected John bishop of
Norwich, and at once sent some monks of the convent to the archbishop
elect, who was at York managing the king’s business, to tell him to
come with all haste to Canterbury. The messengers hastened on the
prescribed journey, and found the said bishop at Nottingham; and he
at once settled the king’s business and hurried to the southern
provinces, where he met with the king, and they set out together for
Canterbury. On the following day, a great multitude assembled in the
metropolitan church, and the prior of Canterbury, in the king’s
presence, openly announced to all the election of John de Grai bishop
of Norwich; then the monks taking him up carried him to the great
altar chanting the “Te Deum ,” and finally placed him in
the archiepiscopal chair. After all this ceremony the king put the
archbishop elect into possession of all property belonging to the
archbishopric, and all returned to their homes; and thus in this
election a new kind of error was made, worse than the former one, as
the result plainly shows.
1206 A.D.
Of the controversy between the suffragan bishops of the church of
Canterbury and the monks of the same place, about the choice of an
archbishop.
A.D.
1206. King John kept Christmas at Oxford; and about the same time
sent some monks of the church of Canterbury, amongst whom, in
particular, was Master Elias de Brantfield, to the court of Rome, and
supplied them with large presents from the treasury in order to
obtain from our lord the pope the confirmation of the election of
John bishop of Norwich. At the same time, too, the suffragan bishops
of the church of Canterbury sent agents to Rome to lay a serious
complaint before our lord the pope, namely, that the monks of
Canterbury had audaciously presumed to make election of an archbishop
without them, although they ought, by common right and ancient
custom, to have been present at the election as well as the monks;
the said agents also set forth, decrees and examples on the foregoing
matters, bringing some witnesses, and producing testimonials, whereby
they endeavoured to show that they, the said suffragans, had chosen
three metropolitans conjointly with the monks. The monks, on the
contrary, asserted, that, by a special privilege of the Roman
pontiffs, and by a proved and old custom, they had been accustomed to
make elections without the bishops, and promised to prove this by
fitting witnesses. After the allegations on both sides had been
heard, and the witnesses admitted and carefully examined, the 21st of
December was fixed on by our lord the pope for declaring judgment
between the parties, and that they were then to come and hear what
the law appointed.
How
king John crossed over to Poictou and took forcible possession of the
castle of Montauban.
At
Whitsuntide of this same year king John assembled a large army at
Portsmouth, and taking ship on the 25th of June, he landed on the 9th
of July at Rochelle; on hearing which the inhabitants of those
provinces were delighted, and, instantly flying to the king, gave him
sure promises of money and assistance. After this then he marched
forward with more confidence, and subdued a great portion of that
territory. At length he arrived at the noble castle of Montauban, in
which all the warlike nobles of that district, and especially his own
enemies were shut up, and immediately disposed his engines of war
around it. And when, after fifteen days, they had destroyed a great
part of the castle by the incessant assaults of their petrariae, and
the missiles from their balistas and slings, the English soldiers,
who were greatly renowned in that kind of warfare, scaled the walls
and exchanged mortal blows with their enemies. After some time the
English prevailed, and the garrison failing, the well fortified
castle of Montauban was taken, a castle which at one time Charlemagne
could not subdue after a seven years’ siege; and the names of the
nobles and illustrious men who were taken in the castle with their
horses, arms, and spoils innumerable, the English king afterwards
mentioned by letter to the justiciaries, bishops, and other nobles of
England. This castle was taken on the day of St. Peter’s “ad
vincula .” [August 1]
Of
the legateship of John of Ferentino, to England.
In
the same year John of Ferentino, legate of the apostolic see, came
into England, and travelling through it collected large sums of
money, and at length, on the day after St. Luke the evangelist, he
held a council at Reading; after which the hasty traveller packed up
his baggage and started for the sea coast, where he bade farewell to
England. About this time, too, some religious men of foreign parts
anxiously interfered to make peace between the kings, and on All
Saints’ day they obtained from them a promise to keep a truce for two
years. King John therefore returned to England, and landed at
Portsmouth on the 12th of December. On the eve of Ascension day in
this same year William bishop of Lincoln departed this life; and in
this year Jocelyn of Wells, who had been elected bishop of Bath by
the agency of William bishop of London, received the blessing of
consecration.
The
definitive sentence of pope Innocent with regard to the monks of the
church of Canterbury.
About
that time pope Innocent sent his definitive sentence to the suffragan
bishops of the church of Canterbury, to this effect: “The
authority of the church and an approved custom hands it down to us
that the greater questions in church matters are to be referred to
the apostolic see. Since therefore a controversy has arisen between
you and our beloved sons, the prior and monks of the church of
Canterbury, as to the right of choosing the archbishop; you setting
forth that, not only by common right but also by old custom, you
ought to make the election of the archbishop conjointly with them;
and they, on the contrary, answering that, by a common right and
special privilege, as also by an old and approved custom, they ought
to elect the archbishop of Canterbury without you; on the cause of
dispute being lawfully argued by proper agents before us, we have
carefully heard what both parties have set forth in our presence.
Your party has set forth both decrees and examples, bringing forward
also some witnesses, and showing testimonials by which you attempted
to prove that you had chosen three metropolitans conjointly with
them; whilst it was proved by letters and evidence that you in
another place and at another time had not made elections of this kind
without them. But the witnesses brought forward on the part of the
monks have legitimately proved that the prior and convent of the
church of Canterbury have, from times long past up to this time, made
elections of bishops in their chapter-house without you, and have
obtained confirmation of those elections from the apostolic see. By
us and our predecessors it is laid down in the book of our
privileges, that, at the decease of an archbishop of Canterbury, no
one should be appointed to his place by any fraud or violence, but
one whom the majority of the monks of sound judgment shall in the
Lord according to the provisions of the holy canons determine to
elect. Therefore, having heard, and clearly understanding all that
has been alleged to us, since it plainly appears by your own
assertions, that you ought not to make an election without them, and
when the monks are excluded from it your election is not valid; and
also that an election of the monks made without you, inasmuch as it
was worthy of being confirmed by the apostolic see, was valid, and
since in either case it must of necessity be confirmed, we, by the
common advice of our brethren, for ever impose silence on you as to
the right of choosing an archbishop, and by this our definitive
decree absolve the monks of Canterbury from all attack and annoyance
on the part of you and your successors; and also by our apostolic
authority, decree that the monks of the church of Canterbury and
their successors shall in future elect an archbishop without you.
Given at St. Peter’s, at Rome, this 21st day of December, in the
ninth year of our pontificate.”
Of
a vision of purgatory, the punishment of the wicked, and the glory of
the blessed.
In
this year, a certain man of simple habits, and hospitable as far as
his humble means would allow, who lived in a town called Tunsted, in
the bishopric of London, was employed, after the hour of evening
prayer, on the eve of the day of the apostles St. Simon and St. Jude,
in draining his field, which he had sown that day, when, raising his
eyes, he saw a man hastening to him from a distance; after looking at
him, he began the Lord’s prayer, when the stranger stepping up to
him, asked him to finish his prayer and speak to him: and,
accordingly, as soon as his prayer was ended, they exchanged mutual
greetings. After this, the man who had come to him asked him where,
amongst the neighbours, he could meet with a suitable lodging for
that night; but when the questioned person extolled the great
hospitality of his neighbours, the inquirer found fault with the
hospitality of some who were named. The labourer then understanding
that the stranger was acquainted with his neighbours, eagerly asked
him to accept of a lodging with him, on which the stranger said to
him, “Your wife has already received two poor women to lodge
with her, and I too will turn to your house for to-night, in order
that I may lead you to your lord, namely saint James, to whom thou
hast even now devoutly prayed; for I am Julian the entertainer, and
have been sent on your behalf, to disclose to you by divine means
certain things which are hidden from men in the flesh; therefore,
proceed to your house, and endeavour to prepare yourself for a
journey.” After these words, the man who was conversing with
him, disappeared from the spot. But Turchill, for that was the
labourer’s name, hurried home, washed his head and feet, and found
the two women entertained there, as St. Julian had foretold.
Afterwards he threw himself on a bed which he had prepared in his
house, apart from his wife, for the sake of continence, and slept
outside the room; and as soon as all the members of the household
were asleep, St. Julian woke the man, and said, “Here I am, as
I promised; it is time for us to be going. Let your body rest on the
bed, it is only your spirit which is to go with me; and, that your
body may not appear to be dead, I will inspire into you the breath of
life .” In this way they both left the house, St. Julian
leading the way, and Turchill following.
How
the man being released from the body was taken to a certain church,
where there was an assemblage of spirits.
After
they had travelled to the middle of the world, as the man’s guide
said it was, towards the east, they entered a church of wonderful
structure, the roof of which was supported only by three pillars. The
church itself was large and spacious, but without partitions, arched
all round like a monk’s cloister; but on the northern side there was
a wall not more than six feet high, which was joined to the church
which rested on the three pillars. In the middle of the church there
was a large baptistery, from which there arose a large flame, not
burning, yet unceasingly illuminating the whole of the church and the
places around, like a meridian sun; this brightness proceeded, as he
was told by St. Julian, from the decimation of the just. When they
entered the hall, St. James met them, wearing a priest’s mitre, and
seeing the pilgrim for whom he had sent, ordered St. Julian and St.
Domninus, who were the guardians of the place, to show to his pilgrim
the penal places of the wicked as well as the mansions of the just,
and after speaking thus, he passed on. Then St. Julian informed his
companion that this church was the place which received the souls of
all those who had lately died, that there might be assigned to them
the abodes and places, as well of condemnation as of salvation by the
atonements of purgatory, which were destined by God for them. That
place, through the intercession of the glorious virgin Mary, was
mercifully designed that all spirits which were born again in Christ,
might, as soon as they left the body, be there assembled free from
the attacks of devils, and receive judgment according to their works.
In this church, then, which was called the “Congregation of
spirits ,” I saw many spirits of the just, white all over, and
with the faces of youth. After being taken beyond the northern wall,
I saw a great number of spirits, standing near the wall marked with
black and white spots, some of whom had a greater show of white than
black, and others the reverse; but those who were of a whiter colour
remained nearer to the wall, and those who were farthest off had no
appearance of whiteness about them, and appeared deformed in every
part.
Of the unjust decimators.
Near the wall was the entrance to the pit of hell, which incessantly
exhaled a smoke of a most foul stench, through the surrounding
caverns, in the faces of those who stood by, and this smoke came
forth from the tithes unjustly detained, and the crops unjustly
tithed; and the stink inflicted incomparable agony on those who were
guilty of this crime. The man, therefore, after twice smelling this
same stink, was so oppressed by it that he was compelled to cough
twice, and, as those who stood round his body declared, his body at
the same time coughed twice. St. Julian then said to him, “It
appears that you have not duly tithed your crop, and therefore have
smelled this stench .” On his pleading his poverty as an
excuse, the saint told him that his field would produce a more
abundant crop if he paid his tithes justly; and the holy man also
told him to confess this crime in the church openly to all, and to
seek absolution from the priest.
Of the fire, lake, and bridge of purgatory, and of a church
situated on the mount of joy.
On the eastern side of this said church was a very large purgatorial
fire, placed between two walls; one of these walls rose on the north
side, and the other on the south, and they were separated by a large
space, which extended a long way in width on the eastern side, to a
very large lake, in which were immersed the souls of those who were
passing through the purgatorial fire; and the water of the lake was
incomparably salt and cold, as was afterwards proved to the man. Over
this lake was placed a large bridge, planted all over with thorns and
stakes, over which every one was obliged to pass before he could
arrive at the mount of joy; and on this mountain was built a large
church, of wonderful structure, which was large enough, as it
appeared to the man, to contain all the inhabitants of the world.
Then the blessed Julian conducted him altogether unhurt through the
aforesaid fire, to the above-mentioned lake, and the two then walked
together on the road which led from the church through the midst of
the flames; no wood material supplied fuel to this said fire, but a
sort of flame rising, like what is seen in a fiercely-heated oven,
was diffused over the whole of that space, and consumed the black and
spotted spirits for a shorter or a longer period, according to the
degrees of their crimes. And the spirits which had got out of the
fire descended into that cold salt lake at the command of the blessed
Nicholas, who presided over that purgatory; and some of these were
immersed over head, some up to the neck, some to the chest and arms,
others up to the navel, some up to the knees, and others scarcely up
to the hollow of their feet. After the lake, there remained the
passing of the bridge, which is on the western side of the church, in
front of the same; some of the spirits passed over this bridge very
tediously and slowly, others more easily and quicker, and some passed
over at will and fast, experiencing no delay or trouble in crossing;
for some went through the lake so slowly that they stayed in it many
years; and those who were not assisted by any special masses, or who
had not in their life-time endeavoured to redeem their sins by works
of charity towards the poor, those I say, on reaching the
before-mentioned bridge, and desiring to cross over to their destined
place of rest, walked painfully with naked feet amidst the sharp
stakes and thorns which were set on the bridge; and when they were no
longer able to endure the extreme agony of the pain, they placed
their hands on the stakes to support themselves from falling, and
their hands being directly pierced through, they, in the violence of
their pain and suffering, rolled on their belly and all parts of
their bodies upon the stakes, until by degrees they grovelled along
to the further end of the bridge, dreadfully bloody, and pierced all
over; but when they reached the hall of the aforesaid church, they
there obtained a happy entrance, and recollected little of their
vehement tortures.
How
St. Michael and the apostles Peter and Paul apportioned the spirits
to the places ordained for them by God.
After
then, having beheld all these things, St. Julian and the man returned
through the midst of the flame to the church of St. Mary, and there
stopped with the white spirits which had lately arrived; and these
spirits were sprinkled with holy water by St. James and St. Domninus,
in order that they might become whiter. Here at the very first
daylight of the sabbath, came St. Michael the archangel and the
apostles Peter and Paul, to allot to the spirits assembled inside and
outside the church the places ordained for them by God according to
their deserts; for St. Michael gave to all the white spirits a safe
passage through the midst of the flames of purgatory, and through the
other places of punishment to the entrance of the large church which
was built on the mount of joy, with a door on the western side always
open; but the spirits stained with black and white spots, which were
lying outside the hall on the northern side, were, without any
discussion as to their works, brought by St. Peter through a door on
the eastern side into the purgatorial fire, that they might be
cleansed by that raging flame of the stains of their sins.
Of
the weighing of good and evil.
The
blessed Paul, too, sat inside the church at the end of the northern
wall: and outside the wall, opposite to the apostle, sat the devil
with his satellites; and a flame-vomiting aperture, which was the
mouth of the pit of hell, burst out close to the feet of the devil.
On the wall between the apostle and the devil was fixed a scale
hanging on an equal balance, the middle part of which hung without in
front of the devil; and the apostle had two weights, a greater and a
lesser one, shining like gold, and the devil also had two, sooty and
dark. Then the black spirits approached from all directions with
great fear and trembling, one after the other, each to try in the
scale the weight of their deeds, good or evil; for the aforesaid
weights estimated the deeds of each of the spirits according to the
good or evil they had done. When, therefore, the balance inclined
itself towards the apostle, he took that spirit and brought it
through the eastern door which was joined to the church, into the
purifying fire, there to expiate its offences; but when the balance
inclined and preponderated towards the devil, he and his satellites
at once hurried away that spirit, wailing and cursing the father and
mother for having begot it, to eternal torment, and, amidst great
grinning, cast it into the deep and fiery furnace, which was at the
feet of the devil who was weighing. Of the weighing of good and evil
in this way, mention is often made in the writings of the holy
fathers.
Of a certain spirit which the devil had changed
into the form of a horse.
On
the sabbath day near the hour of evening, whilst St. Domninus and St.
Julian were in the aforesaid church, there came from the northern
part a certain devil riding with headlong speed a black horse, and
urging him through the many turnings of the place amidst much noise
and laughter; and many of the evil spirits went forth to meet it,
dancing about and grinning at one another over the prey which was
brought to them. St. Domninus then commanded the devil, who was
riding, to come directly to him and tell him -whose spirit it was
that he had brought; but the devil dissembling for a long time, for
the great delight which he experienced over the wretched spirit, the
saint immediately snatched up a whip and severely lashed the devil,
on which he followed the saint to the northern wall, where stood the
scale of the spirits. The saint then asked the devil whose spirit it
was that he was tormenting so by riding; to which the latter replied
that “it was one of the nobles of the kingdom of England, who
had died on the preceding night without confession and without
partaking of the body of the Lord; and, amongst the other faults
which he had committed, his principal crime was his cruelty towards
his own men, many of whom he had brought to extreme want, which he
had chiefly done at the instigation of his wife, who always incited
him to deeds of cruelty. I have transformed him into a horse, since
we are allowed to turn the spirits of the condemned into whatever
form we please; and I should have already descended with him into
hell, and should be consigning him to eternal punishment, if it were
not that Sunday night is at hand, when it is our duty to desist from
our theatrical sports, and to inflict more severe tortures on
wretched spirits .” After he had spoken these words, he
directed his look on the man, and said to the saint, “Who is
that rustic standing with you?” To which the saint answered,
“Do you not know him?" The demon then said, “I have
seen him at the church of Tidstude in Essex, on the feast of its
dedication.” The saint then asked, “In what dress did you
enter the church?” He replied, “In the dress of a woman;
but when I had advanced to the font, meaning to enter the chancel,
the deacon met me with the sprinkler of holy water, and sprinkling me
with it, he put me to flight so precipitately, that I uttered a cry,
and leaped from the church as far as a field two furlongs distant.”
The man and several others also of the parishioners bore witness to
this same circumstance, declaring that they had heard that cry, and
were entirely ignorant of the cause of it.
Of
the theatrical sports of the devils.
After
this, St. Domninus said to the devil, “We wish to go with you
to see your sports.” The devil answered, “If you wish to
go with me, do not bring this labourer with you, for he would on his
return amongst his fellow mortals disclose our acts and secret kinds
of punishment to the living, and would reclaim many from serving us.”
The saint said to him, “Make haste and go forward, I and St.
Julian will follow you.” The demon therefore went on in advance
and the saints followed him, bringing the man with them by stealth.
They then proceeded to a northern region, as if they were going up a
mountain; and behold, after descending the mountain, there was a very
large and dark-looking house surrounded by old walls, and in it there
were a great many lanes (plateae) as it were, filled all around with
innumerable heated iron seats. These seats were constructed with iron
hoops glowing white with heat, and with nails driven in them in every
part, above and below, right and left, and in them there sat beings
of divers conditions and sexes; these were pierced by the glowing
nails all over their bodies, and were bound on all sides with fiery
hoops. There was such a number of those seats, and such a multitude
of people sitting in them, that no tongue would be able to reckon
them. All around these courts were black iron walls, and near these
walls were other seats, in which the devils sat in a circle, as if at
a pleasant spectacle, grinning at each other over the tortures of the
wretched beings, and recapitulating to them their former crimes. Near
the entrance of this detestable scene, on the descent of the
mountains, as we have said, there was a wall five feet high, from
which could plainly be seen whatever was done in that place of
punishment. Near this wall, then, the before-mentioned saints stood
outside looking on at what the wretched beings inside were enduring,
and the man lying concealed between them plainly saw all that was
going on inside.
Of
a proud man, and his tortures.
When
the servants of hell were all seated at this shameful scene, the
chief of that wicked troop said to his satellites, “Let the
proud man be violently dragged from his seat, and let him sport
before us.” After he had been dragged from his seat and clothed
in a black garment, he, in the presence of the devils who applauded
him in turn imitated all the gestures of a man proud beyond measure;
he stretched his neck, elevated his face, cast up his eyes, with the
brows arched, imperiously thundered forth lofty words, shrugged his
shoulders, and scarcely could he bear his arms for pride: his eyes
glowed, he assumed a threatening look, rising on tiptoe, he stood
with crossed legs, expanded his chest, stretched his neck, glowed in
his face, showed signs of anger in his fiery eyes, and striking his
nose with his linger, gave expression of great threats; and thus
swelling with inward pride, he afforded ready subject of laughter to
the inhuman spirits. And whilst he was boasting about his dress, and
was fastening gloves by sewing, his garments on a sudden were turned
to fire, which consumed the entire body of the wretched being;
lastly, the devils, glowing with anger, tore the wretch limb from
limb with prongs and fiery iron hooks. But one of them put fat with
pitch and other greasy substances in a glowing pan, and fried each
limb as it was torn away with that boiling grease; and each time the
devil sprinkled them with the grease, the limbs sent forth a hissing,
like what is caused by pouring cold water on boiling blood; and
after his limbs had been thus fried, they were joined together again,
and that proud man returned to his former shape. Next, there
approached to the wretched man the hammerers of hell, with hammers
and three red hot iron bars nailed together in triple order, and they
then applied two bars at the back part of his body, to the right and
the left, and cruelly drove the hot nails into him with their
hammers; these two bars, beginning at his feet, were brought up his
legs and thighs to his shoulders, and were then bent around his neck;
the third bar, beginning at his middle, passed up his belly, and
reached to the top of his head. After this wretch had been tortured
for a length of time in the manner above described, he was
mercilessly thrust back into his former seat, and when placed there,
he was tormented in all parts by the burning nails, and by having his
five fingers stretched; and after he had been thus taken from this
place of punishment, he was placed in the abode which he had made for
himself when living, to await further tortures.
Of
a certain priest.
A
priest was next dragged forth with violence from his fiery seat to
the sport, and placed before these inhuman goblins by the servants of
sin, who forthwith, after cutting his throat in the middle, pulled
out his tongue, and cut it off at the root. This priest had not, when
he could, repaid the people entrusted to his care for their temporal
goods which he had taken from them, by holy exhortation, nor by an
example of good works, and had not given them the support of prayers
or of masses. Afterwards, as we have related of the proud man, they
tore him limb from limb, and again restoring him entire, they placed
him in a chair of torture.
Of
a certain soldier.
After
him was brought forward a certain soldier, who had spent his life in
slaying harmless people, in tournaments, and robberies. He sat,
accoutred with all his weapons of war, on a black horse, which, when
urged on by the spur, breathed forth a pitchy flame, with stench and
smoke, to the torture of its rider. The saddle of the horse was
pierced all over with long fiery nails; the armour and helmet, the
shield and boots covered with flame, severely burdened the rider by
their weight, and at the same time consumed him to the very marrow
with no less torture. After he had, in imitation of his former custom
in war, urged his horse to headlong speed, and shaken his spear
against the devils who met him and derided him, he was by them
dismounted and torn piecemeal, and his limbs were fried in the
execrable liquid abovementioned; and after having been fried, they
were again joined together in the same way as with those who had come
before, and were fastened by three bars, and when thus restored he
was violently thrust back into his own seat.
Of
a certain pleader.
After
the soldier, a man well-skilled in worldly law was dragged forth into
the midst with great torture, which he had brought on himself by a
long course of evil living, and by accepting presents for perverting
judgment. This man was well known throughout the English territories
amongst the higher ranks, but had closed his life miserably in the
year in which this vision was seen; for, dying suddenly without
executing any will, all the wealth that he had amassed by his
rapacious greediness, was entirely alienated from him, and spent by
strangers to him. He had been accustomed to sit in the king’s
exchequer, where he had oftentimes received presents from both of the
litigating parties. He, too, being dragged forth to the sport, in the
presence of the wicked spirits, was compelled by the insulting
goblins to imitate the actions of his former life; for, turning
himself at one time to the right, at another to the left, he was
teaching one party in setting forth a cause, and another in replying
to it; and whilst doing this, he did not refrain from accepting
presents, but received money at one time from one party, at another
from the other, and after counting it, put it in his pockets. After
the demons had for a length of time looked on at the gestures of the
wretched man, the money suddenly becoming hot, burned the wretch in a
pitiable manner, and he was forced to put in his mouth the pieces of
money, burning as they were, and afterwards to swallow them : after
swallowing them, two demons came to him with an iron cart-wheel,
studded all round with spikes and nails, and, placing it on the back
of the sinner, they whirled it round, tearing away his whole back in
its quick and burning revolutions; and compelled him to vomit forth
the moneys which he had swallowed with great agony, in still greater
torture; and after he had vomited them up, the demon ordered him to
collect them again, that he might in the same way again be fed with
them; afterwards, the servants of hell becoming enraged, exhausted
on him all the tortures which have been mentioned above. The wife of
this man was sitting in one of the fiery spiked seats, because she
had been excommunicated in several churches about a ring, which she
had unknowingly put in her casket, and declared to have been stolen;
from which decree she had never been absolved, having been prevented
by sudden death.
Of
an adulterer and adulteress.
There
was now brought into the sight of the furious demons an adulterer,
together with an adulteress, united together in foul contact, and
they repeated in the presence of all, their disgraceful venereal
motions and immodest gestures, to the confusion of themselves and
amid the cursing of the demons: then, as if smitten with frenzy, they
began to tear one another, changing the outward love, which they
before seemed to entertain towards one another, into cruelty and
hatred: their limbs were then torn in pieces by the furious crowd
around them, and they suffered the same punishment as those who had
preceded them. All the fornicators, also, who were present, were
tormented in like manner, and the intensity of their sufferings was
so great that the pen of the writer is inadequate to portray them.
Of
slanderers.
Amongst
the other wretched beings, two from a company of slanderers were
brought into the midst, who, with continual distortions, gaped their
mouths open to their ears, and turning their faces on each other,
they gazed at each other with grim eyes; in the mouths of both of
them were put the ends of a kind of burning spear, eating and gnawing
which with distorted months, they quickly reached the middle of the
spear, drawing close to each other, and in this manner they tore each
other, and stained their whole faces with blood.
Of
thieves and incendiaries.
Amongst
others there were brought forth thieves, incendiaries, and violators
of religious places, and these were by the servants of hell placed on
wheels of red hot iron, set with spikes and nails, which from their
excessive heat sent forth a constant shower of sparks of fire; on
these the wretches were whirled round, and endured horrific tortures.
Of
the tradesmen.
Then
there came to the spot a tradesman with false scales and weights, and
also those who stretch the new cloths in their shops to such a degree
in length and breadth, that the threads are broken, and a hole is
made, and afterwards, cunningly stitching up the holes, sell these
same cloths in dark places; these were cruelly torn from their
seats, and compelled to repeat the motions of their former sins, to
their disgrace, and as an increase of their punishments; and
afterwards they were tortured by devils, in the way we have .related
of those before them. Besides this the man saw, near the entrance of
the lower hell, four courts, as it were; the first of which contained
innumerable furnaces and large wide caldrons filled to the brim with
burning pitch and other melted substances; and in each of these the
spirits were heaped together boiling fiercely, and their heads, like
those of black fishes, were, from the violence of the boiling, at one
time forced upwards out of the liquid, and at another times fell
downwards. The second court in like manner contained caldrons, but
filled with snow and cold ice, in which the spirits were tortured by
the dreadful cold in intolerable agony. The caldrons in the third
court were filled with boiling sulphurous water and other things,
which emitted a stench mixed with a foul smoke, in which the spirits
who died in the foulness of their lusts were particularly tormented.
The fourth court contained caldrons full of a very black salt water,
the bitter saltiness of which would immediately take the bark off any
kind of -wood thrown into it. In these caldrons a multitude of
sinners, murderers, thieves, robbers, sorceresses, and rich men, who
by unjust exactions oppressed their fellow men, were incessantly
boiling; and the servants of iniquity, standing all round them,
pressed them together inside that they might not escape the heat of
the molten liquid. Those who had been boiling for seven days in this
burning grease, were on the eighth day plunged into the dreadful cold
which was in the second court, whilst those on the other hand who had
been tortured in the cold, were put into the boiling liquor; in the
same way those, who had been boiling in the salt water were
afterwards tortured in the stench; and they always observed these
changes every eight days.
Of
the church situated on the mount of joy, and of the intercession made
for the spirits.
After
having seen these things, when the morn of the Lord’s day was just
beginning to appear, the aforesaid saints, with the man whom they
were conducting, proceeded to the mount of joy through the purifying
fire, and the lake, and over the spiked bridge, until they arrived at
a hall on the western side of the before-mentioned temple, which was
situated on the mount; and there was a handsome and large gate always
open, through which the spirits, which had been made entirely white,
were brought by St. Michael; and in this hall were assembled all the
purified spirits praying with all the eagerness of expectation for a
happy admission into the place. In the southern quarter outside the
temple the man beheld an infinite number of spirits, all of which,
with their faces turned to the church, were praying for the
assistance of their friends who were alive, by which means they might
deserve to gain admission into that church, and the more especial
assistance they received, the nearer they approached to the church.
In this place he recognised many of his acquaintances, and also all
those of whom he had the least knowledge in life. And St. Michael
informed the man about all these spirits, for how many masses each
spirit could be set free and be permitted to enter the temple. The
spirits too which were waiting for admission there suffered no
punishment, unless they were waiting for any special assistance from
their friends; nevertheless, all the spirits which stood there daily
approach the entrance to that church by the general assistance of the
whole church.
Of
the various stages of the said church.
This
man, being brought into the temple by St. Michael, there saw many
whom he had seen in life of both sexes in white apparel, who were
climbing up to the temple and enjoying great felicity; and the
further the spirits climbed up the steps of the temple, the more
white and shining they became. In that great church were to be seen
many most beautiful mansions, in which dwelt the spirits of the just,
whiter than snow, and whose faces and crowns glittered like golden
light. At certain hours of each day they hear songs from heaven, as
if all kinds of music were sounding in harmonious melody, and this so
soothes and refreshes all the inhabitants of the temple by its
agreeable softness, as if they were regaled with all kinds of dainty
meats; but the spirits which stood in the halls outside did not hear
anything of this heavenly song. In this place too several of the
saints had abodes of their own, where they receive with joy those who
especially serve themselves next to the Lord in any thing, that they
might afterwards present them in the sight of God.
Of
Paradise, and Adam our first parent.
After
this they turned aside to the eastern part of the aforesaid temple,
and came to a most pleasant place, beautiful in the variety of its
herbs and flowers, and filled with the sweet smell of herbs and
trees; there the man beheld a very clear spring, which sent forth
four streams of different coloured water; over this fountain there
was a beautiful tree of wonderful size and immense height, which
abounded in all kinds of fruits and in the sweet smell of spices.
Under this tree near the fountain there reposed a man of comely form
and gigantic body, who was clothed from his feet to his breast in a
garment of various colours and of wondrously beautiful texture; this
man seemed to be smiling in one eye, and weeping from the other.
“This ,” said St. Michael, “is the first parent of
the human race, Adam, and by the eye which is smiling, he indicates
the joy which he feels in the glorification of his children who are
to be saved, and by the other eye which is weeping, he expresses the
sorrow he feels for the punishment and just judgment of God on his
children who are to be condemned. The garment with which he is
covered, though not entirely, is the robe of immortality and the
garment of glory, of which he was deprived on his first
transgression; for from the time of Abel, his just son, he began to
regain this garment, and continues to do so throughout the whole
succession of his righteous children, and as the chosen ones shine
forth in their different virtues, so this garment is dyed with its
various colours; and when the number of his elect children shall be
completed, then Adam will be entirely clothed in the robe of
immortality and glory, and in this way the world will come to an
end.”
How the man returned to his body.
After proceeding a little way from this place they came to
a most beautiful gate adorned with jewels and precious stones; and the wall
round it shone as if it were of gold. As soon as they had entered the gate,
there appeared a kind of golden temple, much more magnificent than
the former in all its beauty, in its pleasant sweetness, and in the
splendour of its glittering light, so that the places which they had
seen before appeared not at all pleasant in comparison with that
place; and after they had gone into this temple, he beheld on one
side a kind of chapel, refulgent with wonderful ornaments, in which
there sat three virgins shining in indescribable beauty; these, as
the archangel informed him, were St. Catherine, St. Margaret, and St.
Osith. Whilst he was thus admiringly contemplating their beauty, St.
Michael said to St. Julian, “Restore this man directly to his
body, for unless he is quickly taken back to it, the cold water which
the bystanders are throwing in his face will altogether suffocate
him;” and directly after these words had been spoken, the man,
not knowing how, was brought back to his body and sat up in his bed.
He had been lying on his bed, as it were senseless, for two days and
nights, that is, from the hour of evening of the sixth day of the
week, till the evening of the Sunday following, oppressed as if with
a heavy sleep. As soon as morning came he hastened to the church,
and, after the performance of mass, the priest, with others of the
parishioners, who had seen him as it were lifeless a short time
before, besought him to inform them of what had been revealed to him;
he however in his great simplicity, hesitated to relate his vision,
until on the following night St. Julian appeared to him giving him
orders to reveal all that he had seen, because, he said, that he had
been taken from his body for the purpose of making public all he had
heard. In obedience to the commands of the saint, he, on All Saints’
day, and at times afterwards, related his vision plainly and openly
in the English tongue, and all who heard him wondered at the unusual
gift of speech of a man who had formerly, from his great simplicity,
appeared clownish and unable to speak; and by his continual narration
of the vision he had seen, he moved many to tears and bitter
lamentations.
1207 A.D.
How Geoffrey archbishop of York went into exile.
A.
D. 1207. King John kept Christmas at Winchester in the company of the
nobles of the kingdom. Afterwards, at the purification of the blessed
Mary, he levied a tax throughout England of the thirteenth part of
all moveable and other goods, on the laity as well as the
ecclesiastics and prelates, which caused great murmuring amongst all,
though they dared not gainsay it. Geoffrey archbishop of York was the
only one who did not consent to it; he openly spoke against it, and
departed from England privily; and at his departure he anathematized
especially all those who were the agents of this robbery in the
archbishopric of York, and in general against all the invaders of the
church or the church property. In this same year, on the 27th of
February, about midnight, a sudden and violent storm of wind arose,
which destroyed buildings, tore down trees, and, being attended by
immense falls of snow, caused destruction to flocks and herds of
sheep and cattle. In this same year the emperor Otho came to England
and had an interview with his uncle, after which, and receiving five
thousand marks of silver from the latter, he returned to his own
kingdom.
About
this time there sprang up, under the auspices of pope Innocent, a
sect of preachers called Minorites, who filled the earth, dwelling in
cities and towns by tens and sevens, possessing no property at all,
living according to the gospel, making a show of the greatest
poverty, walking with naked feet, and setting a great example of
humility to all classes. On Sundays and feast days they went forth
from their habitations preaching the word of the gospel in the parish
churches, eating and drinking whatever they found amongst them to
whom they preached; and they were the more remarkable for their
regard to the business of heaven, the more they proved themselves
unconnected with the matters of this life, and with the pleasures of
the flesh. No sort of food in their possession was kept for the
morrow’s use, that their poverty of spirit which reigned in their
minds, might show itself to all in their dress and actions,
The
elections of the bishop of Norwich, and the sub-prior of Canterbury
annulled.
About
this time the monks of the church of Canterbury appeared before our
lord the pope, to plead a disgraceful dispute which had arisen
between themselves; for a certain part of them, by authenticated
letters of the convent, presented Reginald, sub-prior of Canterbury,
as they had often done, to be archbishop-elect, and earnestly
required the confirmation of his election; the other portion of the
same monks had, by letters alike authentic, presented John bishop of
Norwich, showing by many arguments that the election of the sub-prior
was null, not only because it had been made by night, and without the
usual ceremonies, and without the consent of the king, but also
because it had not been made by the older and wiser part of the
convent; and thus setting forth these reasons, they asked that that
election should be confirmed, which was made before fitting witnesses
in open day and by consent, and in presence of the king. When this
side of the question had been heard and plainly understood, the
pleader on the part of the sub-prior set forth that the second
election was null and void, inasmuch as, whatever might have been the
nature of the first election, whether just or unjust, that said first
election ought to have been annulled before the second was made;
wherefore he firmly demanded that the first election should be deemed
valid. At length, after long arguments on both sides, our lord the
pope, seeing that the parties could not agree in fixing on the same
person, and that both elections had been made irregularly, and not
according to the decrees of the holy canons, by the advice of his
cardinals, annulled both elections, laying the apostolic interdict on
the parties, and by definitive judgment ordering, that neither of
them should again aspire to the honours of the archbishopric.*
*
M. Paris adds:— “In
fine, this was the cause and fertile source of error. The king had
given his word by the mouth of twelve monks of Canterbury that he
would accept whomsoever they should elect. Now it had been agreed
between the king and them, on oath, that they would elect no other
person than John bishop of Norwich; and to the same effect they also
had letters from the king. But the monks themselves, when they knew
that the election of the aforesaid John was displeasing to the pope,
were induced by the pope and cardinals to affirm that they could
elect any one they pleased, and to elect secretly, provided that they
made choice of an active man, and one who was a genuine Englishman,
wherefore they chose, with the pope’s advice, master Stephen Langton,
cardinal, and equal, if not superior, to any in the court for probity
and learning. From that time, therefore, the pope would not desert
him in his manifold tribulations.”
Of the promotion and consecration of master Stephen Langton.
The aforesaid elections being thus annulled, our lord the pope, being
unwilling to permit the Lord’s flock to be any longer without the
care of a pastor, persuaded the monks of Canterbury, who had appeared
before him as pleaders in the matter of the church of Canterbury, to
elect master Stephen Langton, a cardinal priest, a man, as we have
said, skilled in literary science, and discreet and accomplished in
his manners; and he asserted that the promotion of that person would
be of very great advantage, as well to the king himself, as to the
whole English church. The monks, however, in answer to this, declared
that they were not allowed, except by the king’s consent and the
choice of the canons, to consent to any person’s election, or to make
any election without them: but the pope, as if taking the words out
of their mouths, said, “You may think that you have plenary
powers in the church of Canterbury, but it is not the custom that the
consent of princes is to be waited for concerning elections made at
the apostolic see; therefore, by virtue of your obedience, and under
penalty of our anathema, we command you, who are so many and such,
that you fully suffice for making the election, to elect as
archbishop the man whom we give you as a father and as pastor of your
souls.” The monks, dreading the sentence of excommunication,
although reluctantly and with murmuring, gave their consent; the only
one out of all of them who would not consent being master Elias de
Brantfield, who had come on the part of the king and the bishop of
Norwich, the rest of them chanted the "Te Deum ,” and
carried the said archbishop-elect to the altar. He afterwards
received consecration from the pope aforesaid at the city of Viterbo,
on the 17th of June.*
*
M. Paris adds:— “About
this time pope Innocent, desiring to gain John over to favour his
plans, and knowing that he was covetous and a diligent seeker after
costly jewels, sent the following letter to him with such presents as
may be seen in the same. * Pope Innocent the Third, to John king of
the English, greeting, &c.—Amongst the riches of the earth,
which the eye of man desires and longs for as more precious than
others, we believe that pure gold and precious stones hold the first
place. Although perhaps your royal highness may abound in these and
other riches, however, as a sign of regard and favour, we send to
your highness four gold rings with divers jewels. We wish you
particularly to remark in these, the shape, number, material, and
colour, that you may pay regard to the signification of them rather
than to the gift. The rotundity signifies eternity, which has neither
beginning nor end. Therefore your royal discretion may be led by the
form of them, to pray for a passage from earthly to heavenly, from
temporal to eternal things. The number of four, which is a square
number, denotes the firmness of mind which is neither depressed in
adversity, nor elated in prosperity; which will then be fulfilled
when it is based on the four principal virtues, namely,—justice,
fortitude, prudence, and temperance. In the first place, understand
justice, which is to be shown in judgment; in the second, the
fortitude which is to be shown in adversity; in the third, prudence,
which is to be observed in doubtful circumstances; and in the
fourth, moderation, which is not to be lost in prosperity. By the
gold, is denoted wisdom : for as gold excels all metals, so wisdom
excels all gifts, as the prophet bears witness, ‘The spirit of wisdom
shall rest upon him,’ &c. There is nothing which it is more
necessary for a king to possess. Wherefore the peaceful king Solomon
asked wisdom only of the Lord, that by those means he might know how
to govern the people entrusted to him. Moreover the greenness of the
emerald denotes faith; the clearness of the sapphire hope; the
redness of the pomegranate denotes charity; and the purity of the
topaz good works, concerning which the Lord says, ‘Let your light
shine,’ &c. In the emerald, then, you have what to believe; in
the sapphire, what to hope for; in the pomegranate, what to love;
and in the topaz, what to practise; that you ascend from one virtue
to another till you see the Lord in Zion.’ When these gifts were
brought into the king’s presence, he at first was much pleased with
them; but not many days afterwards the pure gold was turned to dross
and derision, the jewels into groans, and love into hatred, as the
following narrative will show.”
How pope Innocent sent letters to the king of England asking him to
receive Stephen Langton, already consecrated, as archbishop.
After this matter was settled, pope Innocent sent letters to the king of
England humbly and earnestly asking him to receive with kindness
master Stephen Langton, a cardinal priest of St. Chrysogonus, who was
canonically elected to the archbishopric of Canterbury, and who
tracing his origin from his kingdom, had not only gained the title of
master in secular learning, but also that of doctor in theology; and
especially since his life and morals surpassed the greatness of his
learning, his character would be of no small advantage to the king’s
soul as well as his temporal affairs. Having by many arguments of
this kind, alike gentle and persuasive, done his best to induce the
king to consent; he, by letters ordered the prior and monks of
Canterbury, by virtue of their obedience, to receive the above-named
archbishop as their pastor, and humbly to obey him in temporal as
well as spiritual affairs. When at length the letters of our lord the
pope came to the notice of the English king, he was exceedingly
enraged, as much at the promotion of Stephen Langton as at the
annulling of the election of the bishop of Norwich, and accused the
monks of Canterbury of treachery; for he said that they had, to the
prejudice of his rights, elected their sub-prior without his
permission, and afterwards, to palliate their fault by giving
satisfaction to him, they chose the bishop of Norwich; that they had
also received money from the treasury for their expenses in obtaining
the confirmation of the said bishop’s election from the apostolic
see; and to complete their iniquity, they had there elected* Stephen
Langton, his open enemy, and had obtained his consecration to the
archbishopric. On this account the said king, in the fury of his
anger and indignation, sent Fulk de Cantelu and Henry de Cornhill,
two most cruel and inhuman knights, with armed attendants, to expel
the monks of Canterbury, as if they were guilty of a crime against
his injured majesty from England, or else to consign them to capital
punishment. These knights were not slow to obey the commands of their
lord, but set out for Canterbury, and, entering the monastery with
drawn swords, in the king’s name fiercely ordered the prior and monks
to depart immediately from the kingdom of England as traitors to the
king’s majesty; and they affirmed with an oath that, if they (the
monks) refused to do this, they would themselves set fire to the
monastery, and the other offices adjoining it, and would burn all the
monks themselves with their buildings. The monks, acting unadvisedly,
departed without violence or laying hands on any one; all of them,
except thirteen sick men who were lying in the infirmary unable to
walk, they forthwith crossed into Flanders, and were honourably
received at the abbey of St. Bertinus and other monasteries on the
continent. Afterwards, by the orders of the king, some monks of the
order of St. Augustine were placed in the church of Canterbury in
their stead to perform the duties there; the before-mentioned Fulk
managing, and even distributing and confiscating, all the property of
the same monks, whilst their lands and those of the archbishop
remained uncultivated. The aforesaid monks were driven from their
monastery into exile on the fourteenth of July.
How the king of England sent threatening letters to the pope.
After having thus banished the monks of Canterbury, king John sent
messengers with letters to the pope, in which he expressly and as it
were threateningly accused him of having disgracefully annulled the
election of the bishop of Norwich, and of having consecrated, as
archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, a man altogether unknown
to him, and who had been for a long time familiar with his declared
enemies in the French kingdom; and what redounded more to the
prejudice and subversion of the liberties which belonged to his
crown, his consent was not duly asked by the monks who ought to have
done so, and he, the pope, audaciously presumed to promote the same
Stephen; and he asserted that he could not sufficiently wonder that
he, the pope, as well as the whole court of Rome, did not recollect
of how much consequence the regard of the English king had been to
the Roman see till now, inasmuch as more abundant profits accrued to
them from his kingdom of England than from all other countries on
this side of the Alps. He added, moreover, that he would stand up for
the rights of his crown, if necessary, even to death, and declared
immutably that he could not be deterred from the election and
promotion of the bishop of Norwich, which he knew would be
advantageous to himself. Finally, he summed up the business by
saying, that if he were not attended to in the foregoing matters, he
would stop the track by sea against all who were going to Rome, that
his territories might not be emptied of their wealth, and he himself
be thus rendered less able to drive his enemies away from them; and,
as there were plenty of archbishops, bishops, and other prelates of
the church, as well in England as in his other territories, who were
well stored in all kinds of learning if he wanted them, he would not
beg for justice or judgment from strangers out of his own dominions.
When all this had been brought to the notice of the pope by the
king’s messengers, that pontiff wrote in reply as follows:
Answer
of our lord the pope to the English king.
“Innocent
bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his well beloved son in
Christ, the illustrious John, king of the English, health, and the
apostolic blessing. When we wrote to you on the matter of the church
of Canterbury, humbly and carefully, and with gentle exhortations and
requests, you, if I may so speak, with all deference to your
highness, wrote in reply to us contumaciously and waywardly, with
threats and reproaches; and whereas we defer to you more than we
ought, you show us less consideration than you ought; for if your
devotion is very necessary to us, still our regard is no less
advantageous to you. And, although in such a case we have never paid
such honour to any prince as we have to you, you are endeavouring to
lessen our dignity in a way that no prince has, in a like case,
presumed to do; you set forth some frivolous excuses by which you
assert that you cannot give your consent to the election of our
beloved son, master Stephen, entitled a cardinal priest of St.
Chrysogonus, because forsooth he has been intimate with your enemies,
and is not personally known to you. Moreover, as the proverb of
Solomon says, ‘The net is cast in vain before the eyes of birds,’
since we know that it is not to be imputed as a fault, but rather to
be reckoned as a glory to him, that, when he was for a time at Paris
studying the liberal arts, he made such advance in them that he was
rewarded with the title of teacher, not only in civil acquirements,
but also in theological learning; and so, whereas his life agrees
with his doctrines, he was rewarded with the prebendal stall in the
church of Paris; wherefore, we think it a wonder, if a man of such
renown, and who derived his origin from your kingdom, could, as far
as report goes, be unknown to you, especially when you wrote to him
three times after he was promoted to the rank of cardinal by us,
that, however you were disposed to summon him to your service, you
nevertheless were glad that he was raised to a higher office. But it
ought rather to take your attention, that he was born in your kingdom
of parents who were faithful and devoted to you, and that he had been
made a prebend in the church at York, which was a far greater and
higher situation than that of Paris; whence, not only by reason of
flesh and blood, but also by his holding ecclesiastical benefits and
office, he was proved to have a sincere affection for you and your
kingdom. But your messengers gave to us another reason for your not
giving your consent to his election, which was forsooth, because you
had never been asked for it by those who ought to have asked your
consent to it; and they declared that the letters in which we ordered
you to send fitting agents to us on this matter had not reached you,
and that the monks of Canterbury, although they had appeared before
you on other business, had not sent letters or messengers to ask your
consent to this. Wherefore, the same messengers asked with much
earnestness, that, as far as it pleased us we would reserve to you
the honour that the monks of Canterbury should ask the consent of
their king, since it had not been done, and that we would grant a
fitting delay for it to be done, that nothing derogatory to your
rights might happen: putting forth something at last against the
person of the archbishop elect, which, being done openly, ought to
have restrained their tongues; especially as, even if true, it could
no longer impede his election. Although it is not the custom, when
elections are made at the apostolic see, to wait for the consent of
any prince. However, two monks were sent to you for the special
purpose of asking your consent, but they were detained at Dover, so
that they were not able to fulfil their instructions; and the
before-mentioned letters about the agents were in our presence
delivered to your messengers that they might faithfully deliver them
to you. We, too, who .hold full authority over this same church of
Canterbury, have condescended to ask a favour of a king; and our
courier, who delivered the apostolic letters to you, also delivered
the letters of the prior and monks, who, by command of the whole
chapter of the church of Canterbury, had made the aforesaid election,
which were written to ask your consent, and therefore we did not deem
it our business again, after all these circumstances, to ask the
royal consent; but we endeavoured, without inclining to the right or
to the left, to do that which the canonical ordinances of the holy
fathers order to be done, so that there may be no delay or difficulty
in making proper arrangements that the Lord’s flock may not be longer
without the care of a pastor. Wherefore, let no one suggest it to
your royal discretion or prudence, that we can in any way be diverted
from the consummation of this business; since, when a canonical
election is made according to rule without fraud or cunning of a
fitting person, we could not, without loss of our good name or danger
to our conscience, delay the completion of it. Therefore, well
beloved son, to whose dignity we have yielded deference more than we
ought, endeavour to pay proper deference to our dignity, that you may
be rewarded more abundantly with the grace of God and our favour; but
perhaps, should you act otherwise, you may bring yourself into
difficulties from which you will not easily be extricated; for it
must be that He is supreme to whom every knee is bent, of those in
heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and whose functions on earth
we, although undeserving, are appointed to perform. Do not therefore
acquiesce in the plans of those who are always longing to disquiet
you, that they may fish better in the troubled water, but commit
yourself to our good pleasure, which will surely tend to your praise,
glory, and honour; because it would not be safe for you in this
matter to show resistance to God and the church, for which the
blessed martyr and glorious high priest Thomas recently shed his
blood; especially, too, since your father and your brother of
illustrious memory, at the time they were kings of England, abjured
this wicked custom before the legates of the apostolic see. And we,
if you with proper humility acquiesce in our wishes, will take care
that no injury shall happen to you in this matter- Given at the
Lateran in the tenth year of our pontificate."* In this same
year, on the feast of St. Remigius, Isabel, queen of the English,
bore to king John her first-born son, and he was named Henry, after
his grandfather.
1208 A.D.
An eclipse of the moon.
A. D. 1208. King
John kept Christmas at Windsor, where he distributed festive dresses
amongst his knights; and on the day after the purification of St.
Mary, an eclipse of the moon took place, which first appeared of a
blood red and afterwards of a dingy colour. About the same time
Philip bishop of Durham, and Geoffrey bishop of Chester, paid the
debt of nature. In this year, too, queen Isabel bore a legitimate son
to king John, which she named Richard.
*
“About
that time died Simon, bishop of Chichester. All the property of the
monks of Canterbury was confiscated on the day of the translation of
St. Swithun; but Geoffrey, archbishop of York, secretly fled across
the sea, not choosing to agree to the exaction of the thirteenth
part. An eclipse of the sun took place, which lasted from the sixth
to the ninth hour, and one of the moon too on the same day.” —M.
Paris.
The
king of England admonished by our lord the pope.
In
the same year pope Innocent, on learning that king John’s heart was
so hardened, that he would not either by persuasion or threats be
induced to acquiesce in receiving Stephen as archbishop of
Canterbury, was touched to the heart with grief, and, by advice of
his cardinals, sent orders to William bishop of London, Eustace
bishop of Ely, and Mauger bishop of Winchester, to go to the said
king, about the matter of the church of Canterbury, and to give him
wholesome counsel to yield to God in this matter, and so secure the
Lord’s favour; but if they found him contumacious and rebellious as
he had hitherto been, he ordered them to lay an interdict on the
whole kingdom of England, and to denounce to the said king that, if
he did not check his boldness by that means, he, the pope, would lay
his hand on him still more heavily; since it was necessary for him to
conquer, who for the safety of the holy church had made war on the
devil and his angels, and despoiled the cloisters of hell. He also,
by letters of the apostolic see, gave orders to the suffragan bishops
of the church of Canterbury, and to the other prelates of that
diocese, that, by virtue of their obedience, they were to receive the
aforesaid archbishop as their father and pastor, and were to obey him
with all due affection.
How
England was laid under general interdict.
The
bishops of London, Ely, and Winchester, in execution of the
legateship entrusted to them, went to king John, and after duly
setting forth the apostolic commands, entreated of him humbly and
with tears, that he, having God in his sight, would recall the
archbishop and the monks of Canterbury to their church, and honour
and love them with perfect affection; and they informed him that
thus he would avoid the shame of an interdict, and the Disposer of
rewards would, if he did so, multiply his temporal honours on him,
and after his death would bestow lasting glory on him. When the said
bishops wished, out of regard to the king, to prolong the discourse,
the king became nearly mad with rage, and broke forth in words of
blasphemy against the pope and his cardinals, swearing by God’s
teeth, that, if they or any other priests soever presumptuously dared
to lay his dominions under an interdict, he would immediately send
all the prelates of England, clerks as well as ordained persons, to
the pope, and confiscate all their property; he added moreover, that
all the clerks of Rome or of the pope himself who could be found in
England or in his other territories, he would send to Rome with their
eyes plucked out, and their noses slit, that by these marks they
might be known there from other people; in addition to this he
plainly ordered the bishops to take themselves quickly from his
sight, if they wished to keep their bodies free from harm. The
bishops then, not finding any repentance in the king, departed, and,
in the Lent following, fearlessly fulfilled the duty required of them
by the pope, and accordingly on the morning of Monday in Passion
week, which that year fell on the 23rd of March, they laid a general
interdict on the whole of England; which, since it was expressed to
be by authority of our lord the pope, was inviolably observed by all
without regard of person or privileges. Therefore all church services
ceased to be performed in England, with the exception only of
confession, and the viaticum in cases of extremity, and the baptism
of children; the bodies of the dead too were carried out of cities
and towns, and buried in roads and ditches without prayers or the
attendance of priests. What need I say more ? The bishops, William of
London, Eustace of Ely, Mauger of Winchester, Jocelyn of Bath, and
Giles of Hereford, left England privily, thinking it better to avoid
the anger of the enraged king for a time, than to dwell without any
good effects in a country which lay under interdict.
How
king John, on account of the interdict, confiscated all the property
of the clergy.
The
king of England being greatly enraged on account of the interdict,
sent his sheriffs, and other ministers of iniquity, to all quarters
of England, giving orders with dreadful threat, to all priests as
well as to those subject to them, to depart the kingdom immediately,
and to demand justice to be afforded him by the pope for this injury;
he also gave all the bishoprics, abbacies, and priories, into the
charge of laymen, and ordered all ecclesiastical revenues to be
confiscated; but the generality of the prelates of England had
cautiously turned their attention to this, and refused to quit their
monasteries unless expelled by violence; and when the agents of the
king found this out, they would not use violence towards them,
because they had not a warrant from the king to that effect; but they
converted all their property to the king’s use, giving them only a
scanty allowance of food and clothing out of their own property. The
corn of the clergy was every where locked up, and distrained for the
benefit of the revenue; the concubines of the priests and clerks were
taken by the king’s servants and compelled to ransom themselves at a
great expense; religious men and other persons ordained of any kind,
when found travelling on the road, were dragged from their horses,
robbed, and basely ill-treated by the satellites of the king, and no
one would do them justice. About that time the servants of a certain
sheriff on the confines of Wales came to the king bringing in their
custody a robber with his hands tied behind him, who had robbed and
murdered a priest on the road; and on their asking the king what it
was his pleasure should be done to the robber in such a case, the
king immediately answered, “He has slain an enemy of mine,
release him and let him go.” The relations, too, of the
archbishop and bishops, who had laid England under an interdict,
wherever they could be found, were by the king’s orders taken, robbed
of all their property, and thrown into prison. Whilst they were
enduring all these evils, these aforesaid prelates were sojourning on
the continent, living on all kinds of delicacies instead of placing
themselves as a wall for the house of God, as the saying of the
Redeemer has it, “When they saw the wolf coming, they quitted
the sheep and fled.”
How
king John received the homage of the nobles of England.
In
the midst of these and similar impious proceedings, king John, on
reflection, was afraid that, after the interdict, our lord the pope
would lay his hands on him more heavily by excommunicating him by
name, or by absolving the nobles of England from allegiance to him;
he, therefore, that he might not lose his rights of sovereignty, sent
an armed force to all the men of rank in the kingdom especially those
of whom he was suspicious, and demanded hostages of them, by which he
could, if in course of time they were released from their fealty,
recall them to their due obedience; many acquiesced in the king’s
demands, some delivering to his messengers their sons, and others
their nephews and other relations in the flesh. When they at length
came to William de Brause, a man of noble blood, and demanded
hostages from him, as they had done from others, Matilda, wife of the
said William, with the sauciness of a woman, took the reply out of
his mouth, and said to the messengers in reply, “I will not
deliver up my sons to your lord, king John, because he basely
murdered his nephew, Arthur, whom he ought to have taken care of
honourably.” Her husband on hearing her speech rebuked her, and
said, “Thou hast spoken like a foolish woman against our lord
the king; for if I have offended him in anything, I am and shall be
ready to give satisfaction to my lord and that without hostages,
according to the decision of his court and of my fellow barons, if he
will fix on a time and place for my so doing.” The messengers,
on their return to the king, told him what they had heard, at which
he was seriously enraged, and privily sent some knights and their
followers to seize this William and his family; but he, being
forewarned by his friends, fled with his wife, children, and
relatives, into Ireland. In this same year the white monks, who at
the commencement of the interdict had ceased their functions,
afterwards, at the command of the chief abbot of their order,
presumed to perform sacral duties; but this piece of presumption
coming to the notice of the supreme pontiff they were again suspended
to their greater confusion.
1209 A.D.
How the king of the English sent a great sum of money to his nephew Otho.
A.D.
1209. King John was at Bristol at Christmas, and there he forbade the
taking of birds throughout all England. After this Henry duke of
Suabia came from Otho king of Germany to England to see king John,
and after receiving a large sum of money for the said Otho’s use he
returned home again. In this year too, by the intercession of Stephen
archbishop of Canterbury, the indulgence of performing divine duties
once in the week was granted to the conventual churches in England;
but the white monks were debarred from this indulgence, because,
although they had at the commencement of the interdict abstained
therefrom, they had afterwards, at the bidding of their principal
abbat, presumed to perform them without consulting the pope. About
this same time, Louis, son of Philip king of France, and his first
born and legitimate heir, was by his father made a belted knight at
Compiegne, and a hundred other nobles with him.
How
the king of the English entered into a treaty of alliance with the
king of Scots.
About
that time king John collected a large force, and turned his arms
against Scotland. When he came to the county of Northumberland, to a
castle called Norham, he there drew up his army in order of battle
against the king of Scots; but when the latter monarch was told of
this, he was afraid to engage with him, since he knew the English
king’s proneness to all kinds of cruelty, but he came to meet that
monarch to treat for peace. But the king of England, being enraged,
bitterly reproached him with having received in his kingdom his
fugitive subjects and open enemies, and with having afforded
assistance and shown kindness to them, to the prejudice of him the
English king. However when John had set forth all these matters to
the said king of Scots, they entered into an agreement, by which the
latter was to give to the English monarch twelve thousand marks of
silver as a security for peace, and should moreover, for the better
security of it, give him his two daughters as hostages, that, by this
arrangement the peace might be more confirmed between them. The
latter king then departed from the above-mentioned castle on the 28th
of June, and gave orders for all the hedges to be burnt and the
ditches to be levelled throughout the forests of all England, and for
the pasturage to be laid open for the consumption of cattle.
Afterwards he received homage from all his free tenants, and even
from boys of twelve years old throughout the whole kingdom, and after
they had given their fealty he received them with a kiss of peace and
dismissed them. And, what had never been heard of in times past, the
Welsh came to the king at Woodstock and there did homage to him,
although it was burdensome to rich as well as poor. In this same year
Otho son of the duke of Saxony, and nephew of the king of England,
was consecrated emperor of Home by pope Innocent on the 4th of
October.
About
this same time a certain clerk, who was studying the liberal arts at
Oxford, accidentally slew a woman, and when he found that she was
dead he consulted his own safety by flight. But the mayor of the city
and several other persons coming up, and finding the dead woman,
began to search for the murderer in his house, which he had rented,
together with three others his fellow clerks, and not finding the
murderer, they made prisoners of his three fellow clerks, who were
altogether ignorant of the murder, and thrust them into prison; and a
few days afterwards they were, by order of the king, in contempt of
the rights of the church, taken outside the city and hung. On this
the clerks to the number of three thousand, masters as well as
pupils, retired from Oxford, so that not one remained out of the
whole university; some of these went to Cambridge, and others to
Reading to pursue their studies, leaving the city of Oxford empty. In
the same year Hugh archdeacon of Wells, and chancellor of the king,
was, by the management of the said king, elected to the bishopric of
Lincoln, and immediately after the election was made, he received
from the king free jurisdiction over the whole bishopric.
How
king John was excommunicated by name.
King
John had now for nearly two years, as has been said before,
unceasingly continued throughout England, on account of the
interdict, a most severe persecution against the clergy as well as
some of the laity, and had entirely destroyed all kind of hope in
every one of any improvement or satisfaction, and pope Innocent could
no longer put off the punishment of his rebellion; wherefore, by the
advice of his cardinals, he, in order to cut up by the root such an
insult to the church, gave orders to the bishops of London, Ely, and
Winchester, to declare the said king excommunicated by name, and
solemnly to publish this sentence every Sunday and feast day in all
the conventual churches throughout England, that thus the king might
be more strictly shunned by every one. But after the aforesaid
bishops had, by the apostolic authority, entrusted the publication of
this sentence to their fellow bishops who had remained in England,
and to the other prelates of the church, they all, through fear of or
regard for the king, became like dumb dogs not daring to bark,
wherefore they put off fulfilling the duty enjoined on them by the
apostolic mandate, and failed to proceed according to the usual
course of justice. Nevertheless in a short time the decree became
known to all in the roads and streets, and even in the places of
assembly of the people it afforded a subject of secret conversation
to all; amongst others, as Geoffrey archdeacon of Norwich was one day
sitting in the Exchequer at Westminster, attending to the king’s
business, he began to talk privately with his companions who sat with
him, of the decree which was sent forth against the king, and said
that it was not safe for beneficed persons to remain any longer in
their allegiance to an excommunicated king; after saying which, he
went to his own house without asking the king’s permission. This
event coming soon after to the knowledge of the king, he was not a
little annoyed, and sent William Talbot a knight, with some soldiers,
to seize the archdeacon, and they, after he was taken, bound him in
chains and threw him into prison; after he had been there a few
days, by command of the said king a cap of lead was put on him, and
at length, being overcome by want of food as well as by the weight of
the leaden cap, he departed to the Lord.
Of
the evil counsel of the wicked Alexander.
During
the time of the interdict a pseudo-theologist, one Master Alexander,
surnamed the Mason, insinuated himself into the king’s favour, and by
his iniquitous preachings he in a great measure incited the king to
acts of cruelty; for he said that this universal scourge was not
brought on England by any fault of the king’s, but by the wickedness
of his subjects; he also declared that he, the king, was the rod of
God, and had been made a prince in order to rule his people and
others subject to him with a rod of iron, and to break them all “like
a potter’s vessel ,” to bind those in power with shackles, and
his nobles with manacles of iron. By some specious arguments he
proved that it was not the pope’s business to meddle with the lay
estates of kings or of any potentates whatever, or with the
government of their subjects; especially as nothing, except the power
only over the church and church property, had been conferred by the
Lord on St. Peter. By these and the like fallacies, he so gained
favour with the king, that he obtained several benefices which had
been taken from religious men by the said king’s violence; but as
soon as the perversity of this man came to the ears of the supreme
pontiff, he was, by the pope’s own management, deprived of all his
goods and benefices, and at length reduced to such wretchedness, that
he was compelled by necessity in the poorest clothing to beg his
bread from door to door; and the multitude looked on him with
derision saying, “Behold the man who did not make God his
helper, but put his trust in the multitude of his riches, and
strengthened himself in his vanity; let him therefore be always
before the Lord, that the recollection of him may perish from the
earth, because he did not call it to his mind to show compassion;
therefore the Lord will destroy him to the end, and his speech shall
be against him as a sin, so that his habitation may be blotted out
from the land of the living.”
Of the consecration of Hugh bishop of Lincoln.
In this same year Hugh bishop elect of Lincoln, obtained leave from the
king to cross over to France, that he might receive consecration from
the archbishop of Rouen, but as soon as he had landed in Normandy, he
went to Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, and after making his
canonical submission to that prelate, he was by him consecrated on
the 20th of December. When this was discovered by the king, he
immediately took possession of all the said bishopric, and converted
all the emoluments of it to his own uses: he also gave up his seal to
Walter de Gray and appointed him his chancellor, and he made the
king’s pleasure his business in managing all the affairs of the kingdom.
1210 A.D.
How the Jews were compelled to pay a heavy ransom.
A.D. 1210. King John was at Windsor at Christmas, and all the nobles of
England were present and conversing with him, notwithstanding the
sentence under which he was bound, a rumour of which, although it had
not been published, had spread through all parts of England, and come
to the ears of every body; for the king endeavoured to work evil to
all who absented themselves from him. Afterwards, by the king’s
order, all the Jews throughout England, of both sexes, were seized,
imprisoned, and tortured severely, in order to do the king’s will
with their money; some of them then after being tortured gave up all
they had and promised more, that they might thus escape; one of this
sect at Bristol, even after being dreadfully tortured, still refused
to ransom himself or to put an end to his sufferings, on which the
king ordered his agents to knock out one of his cheek-teeth daily,
until he paid ten thousand marks of silver to him; after they had for
seven days knocked out a tooth each day with great agony to the Jew,
and had begun the same operation on the eighth day, the said Jew,
reluctant as he was to provide the money required, gave the said sum
to save his eighth tooth, although he had already lost seven.
Of the excommunication of the emperor Otho.
About that time, Otho the Roman emperor, remembering the oath
which he had made on his elevation to the empire by the pope, namely, that he
would preserve the dignity of the empire and, as far as lay in his
power, would recall its scattered rights, caused an inquiry to be
made, on the oaths of legal men, concerning the castles of his
domain, and other rights appertaining to the imperial dignity, and
whatever was found to belong to the throne he endeavoured to convert
to his own use. On this there arose a serious dispute between the
pope and the emperor, because when the throne of the empire was
vacant, the said pope had taken possession of several castles with
other things which pertained to the empire; wherefore the emperor,
because he endeavoured to recover what was his own, aroused the
hatred of the pope without deserving it. The same emperor also
seriously annoyed Frederic king of Sicily, who had, in the same way,
when the imperial throne was unoccupied, taken possession of some
fortified places; whereupon the said pope by messengers and letters
frequently warned the said emperor to desist from this persecution of
the church of Rome, as well as from disinheriting the king of Sicily,
and the guardianship entrusted to the apostolic see. In reply to
these messengers of the pope the emperor is said to have made this
answer; "If ,”said he, "the supreme pontiff desires
unjustly to possess the rights of the empire, let him release me from
the oath which he compelled me to take on my consecration to the
imperial dignity, namely, that I would recover the alienated rights
of the empire, and maintain those which I had .” At length as
the pope refused to absolve the emperor from the oath which all
emperors at their consecration are bound to take on the holy gospel,
the emperor on the other hand refused to give up the rights of the
empire, which he had, for the most part, recovered by force; the said
pope, therefore, pronounced the sentence of excommunication against
the emperor, and absolved all the nobles of Germany, as well as of
the Roman empire, from allegiance to him.
How
the king of England led an army into Ireland.
In
this same year king John assembled a large army at Pembroke in Wales,
and set out for Ireland, where he arrived on the sixth of June. On
his arrival at the city of Dublin, more than twenty of the chiefs of
that district met him in the greatest alarm, and did homage, and
swore fealty to him; some few of them however would not do this,
scorning to come to the king because they dwelt in impregnable
places. He there made and ordained English laws and customs,
appointing sheriffs and other agents to govern the people of that
kingdom according to English laws; he appointed John, bishop of
Norwich, justiciary there, who caused a penny to be coined for that
country the same weight as the English penny, and he also ordered a
halfpenny and a round farthing to be coined. The king also ordered
that that money should be used in common by all, as well in England
as in Ireland, and that the penny of both kingdoms should be placed
alike in his treasury. Of the roundness of this money the prophet
Merlin prophesied— “The form of commerce shall be
divided, and the half will be round.” After this the king
proceeded in great force, and took several of the fortresses of his
enemies, and Walter de Lacy, a man of noble race, fled before him,
together with several others, who were afraid of falling into his
hands. When he came to the county of Meath, he besieged the wife of
William de Brause, and William her son, with his wife in a fortress
there, and making prisoners of them he sent them loaded with chains
into England, and ordered them to be closely confined in Windsor
Castle. At length king John, after arranging matters at his pleasure
throughout the greatest part of all Ireland, embarked triumphantly,
and landed in England on the twenty-ninth of August; he then hurried
off to London and ordered all the prelates of England to meet in his
presence. To this general assembly there came abbats, priests,
abbesses, templars, hospitallers, the governors of vills, of the
order of Cluny, and of other foreign districts, men of every rank and
order, and they were all compelled to pay such heavy ransoms, and to
make so great an expenditure of the church property, that the amount
of the money extorted is said to have exceeded a hundred thousand
pounds sterling; the white monks, too, of the kingdom of England,
exclusive of the rest, after being deprived of their privileges, were
compelled to pay forty thousand pounds of silver to the king in this
taxation. In this year, too, the noblewoman Matilda, wife of William
de Brause, and her son and heir William, with his wife, who had been
imprisoned at Windsor by order of the English king, died of
starvation at that place.
1211 A.D.
How
the king of England subdued the Welsh princes.
A.
D. 1211. At Christmas, king John was at York in company with the
earls and barons of his kingdom; and in this year, too, the said king
collected a large army at Whitchurch, and marched into Wales on the
eighth of July, and penetrated in great force into the interior of
that country as far as Snowdon, destroying all the places he came to;
he subdued all the princes and nobles without opposition, and
received twenty-eight hostages for their submission for the future.
After these successes he returned, on the day of St. Mary’s
Assumption, to Whitchurch, from which place he went to Northampton,
and there he met two messengers with letters from our lord the pope,
namely Pandulph, a subdeacon and a cardinal of the apostolic see, and
Durand, a brother of the knights of the Temple, who had come for the
purpose of restoring peace between the king and the priesthood. The
king, after advising with the messengers, willingly granted
permission for the archbishop of Canterbury and the monks, as well as
all the proscribed bishops, to return to their homes in peace; but as
he refused to make good to the archbishop and bishops the losses they
had sustained, or to satisfy them for their property which had been
confiscated, the messengers returned to France without concluding the
business. King John, after this, levied a tax on the knights who had
not been with the army in Wales, of two marks of silver for each
scutcheon. In this year a man of noble blood, the renowned knight
Roger, constable of Chester, closed his life.
How
the French king banished Reginald count of Boulogne.
About
this time Reginald count of Boulogne, a bold and warlike man, was
unjustly expelled from his county by the French king, and deprived of
all his property; and, after his expulsion, the said king gave his
own son Philip, the same county, together with the daughter and
legitimate heiress of the said count, to be held by him as his right
for ever. But count Reginald came to England and was honourably
received by king John, from whose generosity he received three
hundred pounds of landed revenue, on which he did homage and swore
fealty to the said king.
Of
the death of William de Brause.
About
the same time William de Brause the elder, who had fled into France
from king John, closed his life at Corbeil, and was buried with
honours at the convent of St. Victor at Paris. In this year, too,
pope Innocent, being astonished beyond measure at king John’s
contumaciousness in rejecting the wholesome advice of the messengers
he had sent to treat with him, absolved from all fealty and
allegiance to the English king, the princes, and all others, low as
well as high, who owed duty to the English crown, plainly and under
penalty of excommunication, ordering them strictly to avoid
associating with him at the table, in council, or converse. At the
time of this interdict the king had most evil counsellors, the names
of whom, in part, I will not omit to mention here; William brother of
the king, and earl of Salisbury, Alberic de Vere earl of Oxford,
Geoffrey FitzPeter justiciary, three courtier bishops, Philip of
Durham, Peter of Winchester, and John of Norwich, Richard Marshal
chancellor, Hugh de Neville master of the forests, William de Wrotham
warden of the sea-ports, Robert de Vipont and Ivo his brother, Brian
de Lisle and Geoffrey de Luci, Hugh de Baliol and Bernard his
brother, William de Cantelu and William his son, Fulk de Cantelu, and
Henry de Cornhill sheriff of Kent, Robert de Braybrook and Henry his
son, Philip d’Ulecote and John de Bassingbourne, Philip Marcy,
castellan of Nottingham, Peter de Maulei and Robert de Gaugi, Gerard
de Atie and Engelard his nephew, Fulk and William Briuere, Peter
Fitz-Herebert and Thomas Bassett, with many others, to mention whom
would be tedious; and all these, in their desire to please the king,
gave their advice, not according to reason, but as the king’s
pleasure dictated.
1212 A.D.
How
the king of England knighted Alexander son of the king of Scots.
A.D.
1212. King John was at Windsor at Christmas; and on Easter Sunday in
the Lent following, the said king held a feast at London, at St.
Bridget’s, in the hospital of Clerkenwell, where, at table, he
knighted Alexander, son and heir of the king of Scotland. In the same
year died at Pontigny, Mauger bishop of Winchester, who was an exile
and proscribed man for his protection of the rights of the church,
and his maintenance of justice.
How
the king of England was forewarned of treachery against himself.
About
this time the Welsh burst fiercely forth from their hiding-places,
and took some of the English king’s castles, decapitating all they
found in them, knights and soldiers alike; they also burnt several
towns, and at length, after collecting great quantities of booty,
they again betook themselves to their retreats without any loss to
themselves. When these events became known to the English king, he
was very indignant, and collected a numerous army of horse and foot
soldiers, determining to ravage the Welsh territories, and to
exterminate the inhabitants. On his arriving with his army at
Nottingham, before he either ate or drank, he ordered twenty-eight
youths, whom he had received the year before as hostages from the
Welsh, to be hung on the gibbet, in revenge for the above-mentioned
transgressions of their countrymen. Whilst he was, after this,
sitting at table eating and drinking, there came a messenger from the
king of Scotland, who delivered letters, warning him of premeditated
treachery against him; soon after which there came another messenger
from the daughter of the same king, the wife of Leolin king of Wales;
this second messenger brought letters unlike the former ones, and
told the king that the contents were a secret. After his meal the
king took him aside and ordered him to explain the meaning of the
letters; these, although they came from different countries, were to
one and the same effect, which was that, if the king persisted in the
war which he had begun, he would either be slain by his own nobles,
or delivered to his enemies for destruction. The king was greatly
alarmed on learning this; and, as he knew that the English nobles
were absolved from their allegiance to him, he put more faith in the
truth of the letters; therefore, wisely changing his intention, he
ordered his army to return home, he himself going to the city of
London, where, on his arrival, he sent messengers to all the nobles,
of whose fidelity to himself he had suspicions, and demanded hostages
from them that he might thus find out who were willing, and who
unwilling, to obey him. The nobles, not daring to disobey the king’s
commands, sent their sons, nieces, and other relatives at the
pleasure of the king, and thus his anger was in some small degree
assuaged; however, Eustace de Vesci, and Robert Fitz-Walter, who had
been accused of the above-mentioned treachery, and were strongly
suspected by the king, left England, Eustace retiring to Scotland,
and Robert to France.
Of
Peter the hermit and his prophecy.
About
this time there dwelled in the county of York a certain hermit named
Peter, who was considered a wise man, on account of his having
foretold to a number of people many circumstances which were about to
happen; amongst other things, which, in his spirit of prophecy, he
had seen concerning John the English king, he openly and before all
declared, that he would not be a king on the next approaching
Ascension-day, nor afterwards; for he foretold that on that day the
crown of England would be transferred to another. This assertion
coming to the knowledge of the king, the hermit was, by his orders,
brought before him, and the king asked him if he should die on that
day, or how he would be deprived of the throne of the kingdom: the
hermit replied, “Rest assured that on the aforesaid day you
will not be a king; and if I am proved to have told a lie, do what
you will with me.” The king then said to him, “Be it as
you say;” and he then delivered the hermit into the custody of
William d’Harcourt, who loaded him with chains, and kept him
imprisoned at Corfe to await the event of his prophecy. This
declaration of the hermit was soon spread abroad even to the most
remote provinces, so that almost all who heard it put faith in his
words as though his prediction had been declared from heaven. There
were at this time in the kingdom of England many nobles, whose wives
and daughters the king had violated to the indignation of their
husbands and fathers; others whom he had by unjust exactions reduced
to the extreme of poverty; some whose parents and kindred he had
exiled, converting their inheritances to his own uses; thus the said
king’s enemies were as numerous as his nobles. Therefore at this
crisis, on learning that they were absolved from their allegiance to
John, they were much pleased, and, if report is to be credited, they
sent a paper, sealed with the seals of each of the said nobles, to
the king of the French, telling him that he might safely come to
England, take possession of the kingdom, and be crowned with all
honour and dignity.
How
sentence of deposition was passed upon king John.
About
this time Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishops William
of London, and Eustace of Ely, went to Rome and informed the pope of
the divers rebellions and enormities perpetrated by the king of
England from the time of the interdict up to the present time, by
unceasingly laying the hands of rage and cruelty on the holy church
in opposition to the Lord; and they therefore humbly supplicated the
pope in his pious compassion to assist the church of England, now
labouring as it were in its last extremities. The pope then being
deeply grieved for the desolation of the kingdom of England, by the
advice of his cardinals, bishops, and other wise men, definitively
decreed that John king of England should be deposed from the throne
of that kingdom, and that another, more worthy than he, to be chosen
by the pope, should succeed him. In pursuance of this his decree, our
lord the pope wrote to the most potent Philip, king of the French,
ordering him, in remission of all his faults, to undertake this
business, and declaring that, after he had expelled the English king
from the throne of that kingdom, he and his successors should hold
possession of the kingdom of England for ever. Besides this, he wrote
to all the nobles knights, and other warlike men throughout the
different countries, ordering them to assume the sign of the cross,
and to follow the king of the French as their leader, to dethrone the
English king, and thus to revenge the insult which had been cast on
the universal church: he also ordered that all those who afforded
money or personal assistance in overthrowing that contumacious king,
should, like those who went to visit the Lord’s sepulchre, remain
secure under the protection of the church, as regarded their
property, persons, and spiritual interests. After this the pope, on
his part, sent Pandulph, a sub-deacon, with the archbishop and
bishops above-named, into the French provinces, that in his own
presence all his commands above related might be fulfilled; Pandulph,
however, on leaving the pope when all others were away from him,
secretly inquired of his holiness what it was his pleasure should be
done, if by chance he should find any of the fruits of repentance in
John, so that he would give satisfaction to the Lord and the church
of Rome for all matters in regard of this business. The pope then
dictated a simple form of peace, and said that if John determined to
agree to it, he might find favour with the apostolic see. A
description of the terms of this is hereafter contained.*
*
“About
the same time the king ordered Geoffrey of Norwich, a faithful clerk
of his, a prudent and skilful man, to be seized and imprisoned in the
castle of Nottingham, where he was put to death with the most
exquisite tortures. On learning this, master William Neccot, a
companion of the said Geoffrey, and a man of great courage, fled into
France, and secreted himself at Corbeil, that he might not be put to
death without cause like Geoffrey. About the same time too, king John
sent for Faulkes, whom he had appointed to take charge of some place
in the marshes of Wales, that he might join him in venting his rage
on the barons, knowing that he did not fear to commit any crime. This
wicked freebooter was a Norman by birth, and illegitimate. He even
acted much more cruelly against the barons than he had been ordered
to, as will be related hereafter; and on that account the king,
becoming favourable to him, gave him in marriage a noble lady named
Margaret de Riparia, with all the lands belonging to her. In this
same year, on the night of the translation of St. Benedict, the
church of St. Mary at Southwark, in London, was burned, and also the
bridge of London between three pillars, as well as a chapel on the
bridge, besides a great portion of the city, and part of the town of
Southwark, the fire making its way across the bridge. By this
calamity about a thousand people were killed, including many women
and children” —M.
Paris.
1213 A.D.
The return of the archbishop of Canterbury and of the said bishops, from
the apostolic see, and the death of Geoffrey archbishop of York.
A.D. 1213. King John held his court at Christmas as Westminster with only
a very small company of knights in his train; and about that time
died Geoffrey archbishop of York, who had been an exile for seven
years owing to his defence of the rights of the church and his
maintenance of justice. In the month of January, in this same year,
Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, and William and Eustace the bishops
of London and Ely, returned from the court of Rome, and held a
council on the continent, at which they with due solemnity made known
the decree which had been sent forth against the English king for his
contumacy, to the king of the French, to the French bishops and
clergy, and to people in general; afterwards, in the name of our lord
the pope, they enjoined on the king of the French as well as all
others, that, as a remission of their sins, they should all unitedly
invade England, depose John from the throne of that kingdom, and
appoint another, under the apostolic authority, who should be worthy
to fill it. The king of the French, seeing what he had long desired
come to pass, made his preparations for war, and ordered all his
subjects alike, dukes, counts, barons, knights, and attendants,
equipped with horses and arms, to assemble in force at Rouen in the
octaves of Easter, under penalty of being branded with cowardice, and
of incurring the charge of treason. He likewise ordered all his own
ships, and as many others as he could collect, to be well supplied
with corn, wine, meat, and other stores, that there might be
abundance of all necessaries for so large an army.
King
John’s preparations to resist his coming enemies.
King
John, learning, by means of his spies, what was going forward in the
transmarine provinces, prepared to make the best defence he could
against the plans prepared against him; he therefore ordered a list
to be made of all the ships in each of the ports of England, by a
warrant which he sent to each of the bailiffs of the ports to the
following effect: “John, king of England, &c.—We
command you that, immediately on receipt of these our letters, you go
in person, together with the bailiffs of the ports to each of the
harbours in your bailiwick, and make a careful list of all the ships
there found capable of carrying six horses or more; and that, in our
name, you order the masters as well as the owners of those ships, as
they regard themselves, their ships, and all their property, to have
them at Portsmouth at Midlent, well equipped with stores, tried
seamen, and good soldiers, to enter into our service for our
deliverance; and that you then and there make a true and distinct
list of how many ships you find in each port, whose they are, and how
many horses each ship can carry; and you then inform us how many and
what ships are not in their harbours on the Sunday after
Ash-Wednesday, as we had ordered; and this shall be your warrant for
the same. Witness, myself, at the New Temple, this third, day of
March .” Having thus arranged about the ships, the king sent
other letters to all the sheriffs of his kingdom to the following
effect: “John, king of England, &c.— Give warning by
good agents to the earls, barons, knights, and all free and serving
men, whoever they be, or by whatever tenure they hold, who ought to
have, or may procure, arms, who have made homage and sworn allegiance
to us, that, as they regard us, as well as themselves and all their
own property, they be at Dover at the end of the coming Lent,
equipped with horses and arms, and with all they can provide, to
defend our person and their persons, and the land of England, and let
no one who can carry arms remain behind under penalty of being
branded with cowardice, and of being condemned to perpetual slavery;
and let each man follow his lord; and let those who possess no land,
and who can carry arms, come to take service with us as mercenaries.
And send, moreover, all victualling conveyances, and all the markets
of your bailiwick to follow our army, so that no market may be held
elsewhere in your bailiwick, and do you yourself attend at that place
with your agents aforesaid. And be sure that we wish to know in what
manner all come from your bailiwick, and who come, and who do not;
and see that you come properly supplied with horses and arms, so that
we may not be obliged to deal with you in person. And see that you
have a roll, so as to inform us of those who remain .” On
these letters being spread abroad throughout England, there assembled
at the sea-ports in different parts which most attracted the king’s
attention, such as Dover, Feversham, and Ipswich, men of divers
conditions and ages, who dreaded nothing more than the name of
coward; but after a few days, on account of their vast numbers,
provisions failed them, therefore the commanders of the army sent
home a large number of the inexperienced men, retaining only at the
coast the soldiers, attendants, and free-men, with the cross-bow men,
and archers. Moreover, John bishop of Norwich came to the king from
Ireland with five hundred knights, and a body of horse soldiers, and
was graciously received by him. When the whole of the forces were
assembled at Barnam Down, the army was computed to consist of sixty
thousand strong, including chosen knights and their followers, all
well armed; and had they been of one heart and one disposition
towards the king of England, and in defence of their country, there
was not a prince under heaven against whom they could not have
defended the kingdom of England. The king determined to engage his
enemies at sea, to drown them before they landed, for he had a more
powerful fleet than the French king, and in that he placed his chief
means of defence.
Pandulph comes to the king.
Whilst the English king was with his army waiting the approach
of the king of the French near the sea-coast, two of the brothers of the Temple
arrived at Dover, and coming to the king in a friendly manner said to him,
“We have been sent to you, most potent king, for the benefit of yourself
and your kingdom, by Pandulph the subdeacon and familiar of our lord
the pope, who desires to have an interview with you; and he will
propose to you a form of peace, by which you can be reconciled to God
and to the church, although you have by the court of Rome been
deposed from your right to the sovereignty of England, and been
condemned by decree of that court.” The king then, on hearing
the speech of the templars, ordered them immediately to cross the sea
and fetch Pandulph to him. Pandulph therefore, on this invitation of
the king came to him at Dover, and spoke to him in these words,
“Behold, the most potent king of the French is at the mouth of
the Seine with a countless fleet, and a large army of horse and foot,
waiting till he is strengthened with a larger force, to come upon you
and your kingdom, and to expel you from it by force, as an enemy to
the Lord and the supreme pontiff, and afterwards, by authority of the
apostolic see to take possession of the kingdom of England for ever.
There are also coming with him all the bishops who have for a long
while been banished from England, with the exiled clergy and laity,
by his assistance, to recover by force their episcopal sees and other
property, and to fulfil to him for the future the obedience formerly
shown to you and your ancestors. The said king moreover says that he
holds papers of fealty and subjection from almost all the nobles of
England, on which account he feels secure of bringing the business he
has undertaken to a most successful termination. Consult therefore
your own advantage, and become penitent as if you were in your last
moments, and delay not to appease that God whom you have provoked to
a heavy vengeance. If you are willing to give sufficient security
that you will submit to the judgment of the church, and to humble
yourself before Him who humbled himself for you, you may, through the
compassion of the apostolic see, recover the sovereignty, from which
you have been abjudicated at Rome on account of your contumacy. Now
therefore reflect, lest your enemies shall have cause to rejoice over
you, and bring not yourself into difficulties, from which, however
you may wish to do so, you will not be able to extricate yourself.”
How
king John was aroused to repentance.
King
John, hearing and seeing the truth of all this, was much annoyed and
alarmed, seeing how imminent the danger was on every side. There were
four principal reasons, which urged him to repentance and atonement;
the first was that he had been now for five years lying under
excommunication, and had so offended God and the holy church, that he
gave up all hopes of saving his soul; the second was, that he dreaded
the arrival of the French king, who was waiting near the sea-coast
with a countless army, and planning his downfall; the third was, he
feared, should he give battle to his approaching enemies, lest he
should be abandoned to himself in the field by the nobles of England
and his own people, or be given up to his enemies for destruction;
but his fourth reason alarmed him more than all the rest, for the day
of our Lord’s ascension was drawing near, when he feared that,
according to the prophecy of Peter the hermit mentioned above, he
should with his life lose the temporal as well as the eternal
kingdom. Being therefore driven to despair by these and the like
reasons he yielded to the persuasions of Pandulph, and, although not
without pain, he granted the underwritten form of peace; he also
swore by the holy gospels in the presence of Pandulph, that he would
be obedient to the church’s sentence, and sixteen of the most
powerful nobles of the kingdom swore on the soul of the king himself,
that, should he repent of his promise, they would, to the utmost of
their power, compel him to fulfil it.
Charter
of king John for giving satisfaction to the archbishop and monks of
Canterbury, and other prelates of England, and for the restitution of
their confiscated property.
On
the 13th day of May, which was the Monday next preceding Ascension
day, the king and Pandulph with the earls, barons, and a large
concourse of people, met at Dover and there they unanimously agreed
to the underwritten form of peace:—
“John
king of England, to all to whom these presents shall come,
greeting.—By these our letters patent, sealed with our seal, we
wish it known, that, in our presence and by our commands, these our
four barons, namely, William earl of Salisbury, our brother, Reginald
count of Boulogne, William earl Warenne, and William count of
Ferrars, have sworn, on our soul, that we will in all good faith keep
the subscribed peace in all things. We therefore in the first place
solemnly and absolutely swear, in the presence of the legate, to
abide by the commands of our lord the pope, in all the matters for
which we have been excommunicated by him, and that we will observe
strict peace and afford full security to those venerable men, Stephen
archbishop of Canterbury, William bishop of London, Eustace bishop of
Ely, Giles of Hereford, Jocelyn of Bath, and Hubert of Lincoln, the
prior and, monks of Canterbury, Robert Fitz-Walter, and Eustace de
Vesci, and also to the rest of the clergy and laity connected with
this matter; we, at the same time, in the presence of the same legate
or delegate, publicly make oath that we will not injure them in
property, or cause or permit them to be injured in person or
property, and we will dismiss all our anger against them, and will
receive them into our favour, and observe this in all good faith;
also that we will not hinder the aforesaid archbishop and bishops, or
cause or permit, them to be hindered from performing their duties in
all freedom, and enjoying the full authority of their jurisdiction,
as they ought to do. And for this we will grant our letters patent as
well to our lord the pope as to the said archbishop and to each of
the bishops, causing our bishops, earls, and barons, as many of them
as the aforesaid archbishop and bishops shall select, to set forth by
their oath and by letters patent that they themselves will use their
endeavours to see this peace and arrangement firmly kept; and if by
any chance, which may God avert, we should, either by ourselves or by
others, contravene this, they will then abide by the apostolic
commands on behalf of the church against the violators of this peace
and arrangement, and may we for ever lose the wardship of the vacant
churches. And if by chance we cannot induce them to agree to the last
part of this oath, namely, that, if we contravene it either by
ourselves or others, they will abide by the apostolic commands on
behalf of the church against the violators of this peace and
arrangement, we have, for this, by our letters patent, pledged with
our lord the pope and the church of Rome, all the right of patronage
which we possess in the English churches. And we will transmit all
these our letters patent, which are granted for the security of the
aforesaid prelates, to the archbishop and bishops before they come to
England. But, should we require it, the aforesaid archbishop and
bishops shall, saving the honour of God and the churches, give
security on oath, and in writing, that they will not, either
personally or by others, make any attempt against our person or
crown, as long as we afford them the security above-mentioned, and
keep the peace unbroken. We will also make full restitution of the
confiscated property, and satisfy for their losses the clergy as well
as laity who are concerned in this business, not only as regards
their property, but also their rights, and we will protect their
restored rights; the archbishop and the bishop of Lincoln we will
indemnify from the time of their consecration, the rest from the
commencement of this disagreement. And no agreement, promise, or
grant shall be an impediment to these indemnifications for loss, or
the restoration of the confiscated property of the dead as well as
the living. Nor will we retain anything under pretence of service due
to us, but afterwards a proper recompence shall be given for service
done to us. And we will forthwith release, dismiss, and restore to
their rights all the clergy whom we are holding under restraint, as
well as any of the laity, who are detained in custody on account of
this business. And immediately on the arrival of a fit person to
absolve us, we will, in part restoration of the confiscated property,
deliver to messengers deputed by the said archbishop, bishops, and
monks of Canterbury, the sum of eight thousand pounds lawful sterling
money, for discharging what is due, and for necessary expenses to be
carried to them without let or hindrance on our part, that they may
be honourably recalled and returned to England as soon as possible,
namely, to Stephen archbishop of Canterbury two thousand five hundred
pounds, to William bishop of London seven hundred and fifty pounds,
to Eustace of Ely seven hundred and fifty pounds, to Jocelyn of Bath,
seven hundred and fifty pounds, to Hubert of Lincoln seven hundred
and fifty pounds, and to the prior and monks of Canterbury a thousand
pounds; and as soon as we know that this peace is confirmed, we will
assign without delay to the archbishop and bishops, to the clergy and
to each and all of the churches, by the hands of their messengers or
agents, all the moveable property with free management of the same,
and dismiss them peaceably. And we will also publicly revoke the
sentence of outlawry which we have pronounced against the
ecclesiastics, declaring by these our letters patent, to be delivered
to the archbishop, that it in no wise pertains to us, and that we
will never again pronounce that sentence against the ecclesiastics;
we moreover revoke the sentence of outlawry pronounced against the
laity concerned in this matter, and restore all that we have received
from ecclesiastics since the interdict, except the custom of the
kingdom and the liberty of the church. But if any question shall
arise about the losses and confiscations, or the amount of
computation of them, it shall be determined by the legate or delegate
of our lord the pope, after hearing evidence on the matter; and after
all this is duly arranged the sentence of interdict shall be
withdrawn
As
to the other points, if any doubts, worthy of being entertained,
arise, if they are not set at rest by the legate or delegate of our
lord the pope, they shall be referred to the pope himself, and
whatever he determines shall be abided by. Witness myself, at Dover,
this 13th day of May, in the fourteenth year of our reign.
*
“About
the same time king John accused Robert Fitz-Walter of treachery and
rebellion, and on the day after the feast of St. Hilary, which was a
Monday, he ordered Baynard’s castle at London to be pulled down by
the Londoners. On the Thursday following, Nicholas bishop of
Tusculum, came to England as legate, and went first to Westminster;
there he stayed eighteen days, and entered into a careful discussion
with the conventual assembly of that church on the reformation of
spiritual and temporal matters. On the feast of St. Edmund he went to
Evesham, and for evident reasons deposed Roger the abbot of that
church, appointing Ralph prior of Worcester in his stead. In the same
year, too, died Geoffrey Fitz-Peter justiciary of England.” —M.
Paris.
How king John resigned his crown and the kingdom of England into the
hands of pope Innocent.
Matters having been thus arranged on the fifteenth of May, which was the eve
of Ascension-day, the English king and Pandulph, with the nobles of
the kingdom, met at the house of the knights templars near Dover, and
there the said king, according to a decree pronounced at Rome,
resigned his crown with the kingdoms of England and Ireland into the
hands of our lord the pope, whose functions the said Pandulph was
then performing. After having resigned them then he gave the
aforesaid kingdoms to the pope and his successors, and confirmed them
to the latter by the underwritten charter;—
“John,
by the grace of God, king of England, &c. to all the faithful
servants of Christ who shall behold this charter, health in the
Lord.—We wish it, by this our charter signed with our seal, to
be known to you, that we, having in many things offended God and our
mother the holy church, and being in great need of the divine mercy
for our sins, and not having wherewithal to make a worthy offering as
an atonement to God, and to pay the just demands of the church,
unless we humiliate ourselves before Him who humiliated himself for
us even to death; we, impelled by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
and not by force or from fear of the interdict, but of our own free
will and consent, and by the general advice of our barons grant to
God, and his holy apostles Peter and Paul, and to the holy church of
Rome our mother, and to our lord pope Innocent and his catholic
successors, the whole kingdom of England and the whole kingdom of
Ireland, with all their rights and appurtenances, in remission of the
sins of us and our whole race, as well for those living as for the
dead; and henceforth we retain and hold those countries from him and
the church of Rome as vicegerent, and this we declare in the presence
of this learned man Pandulph, subdeacon and familiar of our lord the
pope. And we have made our homage and sworn allegiance to our lord
the pope and his catholic successors, and the church of Rome in
manner hereunder written; and we will make our homage and allegiance
for the same in presence of our lord the pope himself, if we are able
to go before him; and we bind our successors and heirs by our wife
for ever, in like manner, to do homage and render allegiance, without
opposition, to the supreme pontiff for the time being, and the church
of Rome. And in token of this lasting bond and grant, we will and
determine that, from our own income and from our special revenues
arising from the aforesaid kingdoms, the church of Rome shall, for
all service and custom which we owe to them, saving always the St.
Peter’s pence, receive annually a thousand marks sterling money; that
is to say, five hundred marks at Michaelmas, and five hundred at
Easter; that is, seven hundred for the kingdom of England, and three
hundred for Ireland; saving to us and our heirs all our rights,
privileges, and royal customs. And as we wish to ratify and confirm
all that has been above written, we bind ourselves and our successors
not to contravene it; and if we, or any one of our successors, shall
dare to oppose this, let him, whoever he be, be deprived of his right
in the kingdom. And let this charter of our bond and grant remain
confirmed for ever. Witness myself at the house of the knights of the
Temple near Dover, in the presence of Henry archbishop of Dublin,
John bishop of Norwich, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, William earl of
Salisbury, William earl of Pembroke, Reginald count of Boulogne,
William earl Warenne, Sayer earl Winton, William earl of Arundel,
William earl of Ferrars, William Briuere, Peter Fitz-Herebert, and
Warin FitzGerald, this fifteenth day of May, in the fourteenth year
of our reign.
Of
king John’s homage to the pope and church of Rome.
This
charter of the king’s, as above-mentioned, having been reduced to
writing, he delivered it to Pandulph to be taken to pope Innocent,
and immediately afterwards in the sight of all, he made the
underwritten homage : “I, John, by the grace of God, king of
England and lord of Ireland, will, from this time as formerly, be
faithful to God, St. Peter, the church of Rome, and to my liege lord
pope Innocent and. his catholic successors; I will not act, speak,
consent to, or advise, anything by which they may lose life or limb,
or be exposed to caption by treachery; I will prevent damage to them
if I am aware of it; and, if in my power, will repair it; or else I
will inform them as soon as in my power so to do, or will tell it to
such a person as I believe will be sure to inform them of it; any
purpose which they may entrust to me themselves, or by their
messengers or letters, I will keep secret, and, if I know of it, will
not disclose it to any one to their injury; I will assist in holding
and defending the inheritance of St. Peter, and particularly the
kingdoms of England and Ireland, against all men, to the utmost of my
power. So may God and the holy gospel help me, Amen."—
This happened, as we said before, on the eve of Ascensionday, in the
presence of the bishops, earls, and other nobles. The day of our
Lord’s Ascension on the morrow was looked for with mistrust, not only
by the king, but by all others, as well absent as present, on account
of the assertions of Peter the hermit, who, as was stated before, had
prophesied to John that he would not be a king on Ascension-day or
afterwards. But after he had passed the prefixed day, and continued
safe and in health, the king ordered the aforesaid Peter, who was
detained a prisoner in Corfe Castle, to be tied to the horse’s tail
at the town of Wareham, dragged through the streets of the town, and
afterwards hung on a gibbet, together with his son. To many it did
not seem that he deserved to be punished by such a cruel death for
declaring the truth; for if the circumstances, stated above to have
happened, be thoroughly considered, it will be proved that he did not
tell a falsehood.
How
Pandulph returned to France with a portion of the confiscated
property restored.
After
this, Pandulph crossed the sea into France, taking with him these
aforesaid charters, and also eight thousand pounds sterling money,
that he might in part make restitution for their losses to the
archbishop, bishops, and monks, of Canterbury, and others who were
living in exile on account of the interdict. As the purport of the
charters and the form of the aforesaid peace gave satisfaction to all
of them, Pandulph strongly advised the aforesaid bishops to return
peaceably to England, to receive there the rest of the
indemnity-money. After this, he earnestly advised the French king,
who had made preparations to invade England by force, to desist from
his purpose and to return home in peace; for he could not, without
offending the supreme pontiff, attack England or the king himself,
since that monarch was ready to give satisfaction to God, the holy
church, and its ordained ministers, as well as to obey the catholic
commands of our lord the pope. The French king was much enraged when
he heard this, and said that he had already spent sixty thousand
pounds in the equipment of his ships, and in providing food and arms,
and that he had undertaken the said duty by command of our lord the
pope, and for the remission of his sins; and to speak the truth, the
said king would not have yielded to the suggestions of Pandulph, only
that Philip count of Flanders refused to follow him, for that prince
had made a treaty with the king of the English, and would not act
contrary to his agreement. Moreover the count said that the war,
which he had undertaken to subdue the English king, was unjust, since
none of his ancestors till then had claimed any right in the kingdom
of England; he added moreover, that the French king had
unjustly seized on his the count’s lands and castles, and was then
detaining his inheritance against the laws of justice; and these were
his reasons for refusing to go with him to England.
How
the king of the French made an attack on the count of Flanders.
The
French king was greatly enraged at these words of the count of
Flanders, and, having no confidence in him, ordered him to leave his
court at once; and after his departure he invaded the count’s
territories, destroying every place he came to by fire, and putting
the inhabitants to the sword. He also gave orders to the sailors and
commanders of his fleet, who, as we said before, had been waiting at
the mouth of the river Seine, equipped with stores and arms, to set
sail without delay towards Swine, a port of Flanders, and to make all
haste to come to him there, which they did. The count of Flanders,
who was much alarmed at this attack of the French king, sent word of
it in all haste to John, earnestly imploring him to send some troops
to help him. At this news the English king sent to the assistance of
the count, his brother William earl of Salisbury, William duke of
Houtland, and Reginald count of Boulogne, able soldiers, with five
hundred ships and seven hundred knights, with a large number of
soldiers horse and foot; and these nobles, setting sail with a fair
wind, soon arrived at the port of Swine. On their arrival there they
were astonished to behold such a concourse of shipping, and by means
of scouts they learned that this was the French king’s fleet, which
had lately arrived, and they also found out that there were scarcely
any in charge of it except a few sailors; for the soldiers, to whose
charge it had been entrusted, were gone out to collect booty, and
were ravaging the count’s territory. When the chiefs of the English
army learned this, they flew to arms, fiercely attacked the fleet,
and, soon defeating the crews, they cut the cables of three hundred
of their ships loaded with corn, wine, flour, meat, arms, and other
stores, and sent them to sea to make for England; besides these they
set fire to and burned a hundred or more which were aground, after
taking all the stores from them. By this misfortune the French king
and almost all the transmarine nobility lost all their most valuable
possessions. Afterwards, some of the English nobles, incited by
animosity beyond bounds, burst forth from their ships, mounted and
armed, and set off in hot pursuit of those of the French who had fled
from the slaughter; but the French king, who was not far off from
the conflict, sent some of his most trusty soldiers to keep the enemy
in check, and to find out for certain who they were. They accordingly
took to their arms and soon met with the hostile party, and both
parties engaged; but the English nobles were put to flight with loss,
and with difficulty escaped to their ships; and after they had
re-embarked, the French returned to their own quarters. To the king’s
inquiries as to what had happened, and whence the strangers had come,
the soldiers said that it was the army of the king of England which
had been sent to the assistance of the count of Flanders, and they
then related the misfortune which had happened and the irreparable
damage done to his fleet; on learning which king Philip retired in
confusion from Flanders with great loss to himself and to his
followers.
The king of England absolved at Winchester.
The English king, on hearing what had taken place in Flanders,
was greatly rejoiced, and in the joy of his mind at knowing that the
approach of the French king was suspended at least for a time, he
ordered the nobles and the whole army which he had collected near the
sea-coast, for the defence of their country, to return to their
homes; he then sent a large sum of money to the soldiers in Flanders,
and promising them the assistance of the emperor, to invade the
French king’s territory with fire and sword. The king himself
assembled a large army at Portsmouth, intending to cross over into
Poictou, determining to harass the French king and his kingdom in the
western parts, as those who were in Flanders did in the east, and to
use all his endeavours to recover the territories he had lost to his
dominion. But things turned out contrary to his expectations, for the
English nobles refused to follow him t unless he was previously
absolved from the sentence of excommunication. In this difficulty,
then, the king sent the warrants of twenty-four earls and barons to
the aforesaid archbishop and bishops for greater security, telling
them to lay aside all fear, and to come to England, there to receive
all their rights, and the indemnity for the property they had been
deprived of according to the terms of the above written peace. By the
advice of Pandulph, therefore, when all was ready for their return
home, Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishops William of
London, Eustace of Ely, Hubert of Lincoln, and Giles of Hereford,
embarked in company with others of the clergy and laity who were in
exile on account of the interdict, and, landing at Dover on the 16th
of July, they set out to see the king, and came to him at Winchester
on St. Margaret the virgin’s day. The king, when he heard of their
approach, went out to meet them, and when he saw the archbishop and
bishops, he prostrated himself at their feet, and besought them in
tears to have compassion on him and the kingdom of England. The said
archbishop and bishops, seeing the king’s great humility, raised him
from the ground, and taking him by the hand on each side, they led
him to the door of the cathedral church, where they chanted the
fiftieth psalm, and, in the presence of all the nobles, who wept with
joy, they absolved him according to the custom of the church. At this
absolution, the king swore on the holy gospels that he would love
holy church and its ordained members, and would, to the utmost of his
power, defend and maintain them against all their enemies; and that
he would renew all the good laws of his ancestors, especially those
of king Edward, would annul bad ones, would judge his subjects
according to the just decrees of his courts, and would restore his
rights to each and all. He also swore that, before the next Easter,
he would make restitution of confiscated property to all who were
concerned in the matter of the interdict; and if he did not do so, he
would consent to have the former sentence of excommunication renewed.
He moreover swore fealty and obedience to pope Innocent and his
catholic successors, as was contained in the above-written charter:
the archbishop then took the king into the church, and there
performed mass, after which the archbishop, bishops, and nobles,
feasted at the same table with the king, amidst joy and festivity.
The next day the king sent letters to all the sheriffs of the
kingdom, ordering them to send four liege men from each town in their
demesne, together with the warden, to St. Alban’s on the 4th of
August, that through them and his other agents he might make
inquiries about the losses and confiscated property of each of the
bishops, and how much was due to each. He then set out in all haste
to Portsmouth, that he might thence cross to Poictou, and gave charge
of the kingdom to Geoffrey Fitz-Peter and the bishop of Winchester,
with orders that they were to consult with the archbishop of
Canterbury in arranging the business of the kingdom. On the king’s
arrival at Portsmouth, there came to him there an immense number of
knights, complaining that, during their long stay there they had
spent all their money, and that therefore unless they were supplied
with money from the treasury, they could not follow him. This the
king refused, but, flying into a rage, he embarked with his private
attendants, and after three days landed at Guernsey, whilst his
nobles returned home; and the king, seeing himself thus abandoned,
was compelled to return to England himself.
Declaration
of laws and rights.
Whilst
this was passing, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter and the bishop of Winchester
held a council at St. Alban’s with the archbishop, bishops, and
nobles of the kingdom, at which the peace made by the king was told
to all, and, on behalf of the said king, it was strictly ordered,
that all the laws of his grandfather king Henry should be kept by all
throughout the kingdom, and that all unjust laws should be utterly
abolished; the sheriffs, foresters, and other agents of the king were
forbidden, as they regarded life and limb, to extort anything from
any one by force, or to inflict injuries on any one, or to make
tallage any where in the kingdom as had been their custom. King John
in the meantime, finding himself deserted by some of the nobles as we
have said, collected a large army to bring these rebellious ones to
their duty; but as soon as he had begun to take up arms, the
archbishop went to him at Northampton and told him, that it would
redound very much to the injury of the oath which he had taken on his
absolution, if he were to make war against any one without the
decision of his court; the king, hearing this, angrily said that he
would not put off the business of the kingdom on the archbishop’s
account, as lay matters did not pertain to him. The next day
therefore he set out on his march in a rage, taking the way to
Nottingham, the archbishop, however, still followed him, boldly
declaring that, unless he desisted from his undertaking, he would
anathematize all who made war against any one before being absolved
from an interdict, besides himself alone, and thus the archbishop
diverted the king from his purpose, and did not leave him till he had
prevailed on the king to name a convenient day for the barons to come
to his court, and there submit to justice.
The
reason of the irritation of the barons against the king.
On
the 25th of August in the same year, Stephen archbishop of
Canterbury, with the bishops, abbats, priors, deacons, and barons of
the kingdom assembled at St. Paul’s, in the city of London, and there
the archbishop granted permission to the conventual churches, as well
as to the secular priests, to chant the services of the church in a
low voice, in the hearing of their parishioners. At this conference,
as report asserts, the said archbishop called some of the nobles
aside to him, and conversed privately with them to the following
effect, “Did you hear ,”said he, “how, when I
absolved the king at Winchester, I made him swear that he would do
away with unjust laws, and would recall good laws, such as those of
king Edward, and cause them to be observed by all in the kingdom; a
charter of Henry the first king of England has just now been found,
by which you may, if you wish it, recall your long-lost rights and
your former condition .” And placing a paper in the midst of
them, he ordered it to be read aloud for all to hear, the contents of
which were as follows:—
“Henry
by the grace of God king of England, to Hugh de Boclande justiciary
of England, and all his faithful subjects, as well French as English,
in Hertfordshire, greeting.— Know that I, by the Lord’s mercy,
have been crowned king by common consent of the barons of the kingdom
of England; and because the kingdom has been oppressed by unjust
exactions, I, out of respect to God, and the love which I feel
towards you, in the first place constitute the holy church of God a
free church, so that I will not sell it, nor farm it out, nor will I,
on the death of any archbishop, bishop, or abbat, take anything from
the domain of the church or its people, until his successor takes his
place. And I from this time, do away with all the evil practices, by
which the kingdom of England is now unjustly oppressed, and these
evil practices I here in part mention. If any baron, earl, or other
subject of mine, who holds possession from me, shall die, his heir
shall not redeem his land, as was the custom in my father’s time, but
shall pay a just and lawful relief for the same; and in like manner,
too, the dependants of my barons shall pay a like relief for their
land to their lords. And if any baron or other subject of mine shall
wish to give his daughter, his sister, his niece, or other female
relative, in marriage, let him ask my permission on the matter; but I
will not take any of his property for granting my permission, nor
will I forbid his giving her in marriage except he wishes to give her
to an enemy of mine; and if on the death of a baron or other subject
of mine, the daughter is left heiress, I, by the advice of my barons,
will give her in marriage together with her land; and if on the death
of a husband the wife is surviving and is childless, she shall have
her dowry for a marriage portion, and I will not give her away to
another husband unless with her consent; but if a wife survives,
having children, she shall have her dowry as a marriage portion, as
long as she shall keep herself according to law, and I will not give
her to a husband unless with her consent; and the guardian of the
children’s land shall be either the wife, or some other nearer
relation, who ought more rightly to be so; and I enjoin on my barons
to act in the same way towards the sons and daughters and wives of
their dependants. Moreover the common monetage, as taken throughout
the cities and counties, such as was not in use in king Edward’s
time, is hereby forbidden; and if any one, whether a coiner or any
other person, be taken with false money, let strict justice be done
to him for it. All pleas and all debts, which were due to the king my
brother, I forgive, except my farms, and those debts which were
contracted for the inheritances of others, or for those things which
more justly belong to others. And if any one shall have covenanted
anything for his inheritance, I forgive it, and all reliefs which
were contracted for just inheritances. And if any baron or subject of
mine shall be ill, I hereby ratify all such disposition as he shall
have made of his money; but if through service in war or sickness he
shall have made no disposition of his money, his wife, or children,
or parents, and legitimate dependants, shall distribute it for the
good of his soul, as shall seem best to them. If any baron or other
subject of mine shall have made forfeiture, he shall not give bail to
save his money, as was done in the time of my father and my brother,
but according to the degree of the forfeiture; nor shall he make
amends for his fault as he did in the time of my father or of my
other ancestors; and if any one shall be convicted of treason or
other crime, his punishment shall be according to his fault. I
forgive all murders committed previous to the day on which I was
crowned king; but those which have been since committed, shall be
justly punished, according to the law of king Edward. By the common
advice of my barons, I have retained the forests in my possession as
my father held them. All knights, moreover, who hold their lands by
service, are hereby allowed to have their domains free from all
amercements and from all peculiar service, that as they are thus
relieved from a great burden, they may provide themselves properly
with horses and arms, so that they may be fit and ready for my
service and for the defence of my kingdom. I bestow confirmed peace
in all my kingdom, and I order it to be preserved from henceforth. I
restore to you the law of king Edward, with the amendments which my
father, by the advice of his barons, made in it. If any one has taken
anything of mine, or of any one else’s property, since the death of
my brother king William, let it all be soon restored without
alteration; and if any one shall retain anything of it, he shall on
being discovered, atone to me for it heavily. Witness Maurice bishop
of London, William elect of Winchester, Gerard of Hereford, earl
Henry, earl Simon, earl Walter Gifford, Robert de Montfort, Roger
Bigod, and many others .” When this paper had been read and its
purport understood by the barons who heard it, they were much pleased
with it, and all of them, in the archbishop’s presence, swore that
when they saw a fit opportunity, they would stand up for their
rights, if necessary would die for them; the archbishop, too,
faithfully promised them his assistance as far as lay in his power;
and this agreement having been settled between them, the conference
was broken up.
Of
the heresy of the Albigenses, and the declaration of a crusade
against them.
About
that time the depravity of the heretics called Albigenses, who dwelt
in Gascony, Arumnia, and Alby, gained such power in the parts about
Toulouse, and in the kingdom of Arragon, that they not only practised
their impieties in secret as was done elsewhere, but preached their
erroneous doctrine openly, and induced the simple and weak minded to
conform to them. The Albigenses are so called from the city of Alba,
where that doctrine is said to have taken its rise. At length their
perversity set the anger of God so completely at defiance, that they
published the books of their doctrines amongst the lower orders,
before the very eyes of the bishops and priests, and disgraced the
chalices and sacred vessels in disrespect of the body and blood of
Christ. Pope Innocent was greatly grieved at hearing these things,
and he immediately sent preachers into all the districts of the west,
and enjoined to the chiefs and other Christian people as a remission
of their sins, that they should take the sign of the cross for the
extirpation of this plague, and, opposing themselves to such
disasters, should protect the Christian people by force of arms; he
also added, by authority of the apostolic see, that whoever undertook
the business of overthrowing the heretics according to his
injunction, should, like those who visited the Lord’s sepulchre, be
protected from all hostile attacks both in property and person. At
this preaching such a multitude of crusaders assembled, as it is not
to be credited could have assembled in our country.
Of
the movements of the crusaders against the Albigenses.
When
therefore they were all assembled and prepared for battle, the
archbishop of Narbonne, the legate of the apostolic see in this
expedition, and the chiefs of the army, namely the duke of Burgundy,
the count of Nevers, and the count de Montfort, struck their camp and
marched to lay siege to the city of Beziers. But before they got to
it the lords of some of the castles, having little confidence in
themselves, fled at the sight of their army; the knights and others
who were left in charge of the said castles, went boldly as good
catholics and surrendered themselves with their property, as well as
the castles to the army of the crusaders; and, on the eve of St. Mary
Magdalen, they surrendered the noble castle of Cermaine to a monk,
the lord of the castle, who also possessed several others of great
strength, having taken to flight. They warned the citizens of
Beziers, through the bishop of that city, under penalty of
excommunication, to make choice of one out of two alternatives;
either to deliver the heretics and their property into the hands of
the crusaders, or else to send them away from amongst them, otherwise
they would be excommunicated, and their blood be on their own heads.
The heretics and their allies scornfully refused to accede to this,
and mutually swore to defend the city; and, when they had pledged
their faith, they hoped to be able for a long time to sustain the
assaults of the crusaders. After the city was laid siege to, on the
feast of St. Mary Magdalen, the catholic barons considered how they
could save those amongst them who were catholics, and made overtures
for their liberation; but the rabble and low people, without waiting
for the command or orders of the chiefs, made an assault on the city,
and, to the astonishment of the Christians, when the cry to arms was
raised, and the army of the faith was rushing in all directions to
the assaults, those who were defending the walls inside threw out the
book of the gospel from the city on them, blaspheming the name of the
Lord, and deriding their assailants; “Behold ,”they said,
“your law, we take no heed to it; yours it shall be .”
The soldiers of the faith, incensed by such blasphemy and provoked by
their insults, in less than three hours time crossed the fosse and
scaled the walls, by the Lord’s assistance. Thus was the city taken,
and on the same day it was sacked and burnt, a great slaughter of the
infidels taking place as the punishment of God; but, under his
protection, very few of the catholics were slain. After the lapse of
a few days, when the report of this miracle was spread abroad, the
Lord scattered before the face of the crusaders, as it were without
their assistance, those who had blasphemed his name and his law, and
at length the followers of this heretical depravity were so alarmed
that they fled to the recesses of the mountains, and what may be
believed, they left more than a hundred untenanted castles, between
Beziers and Carcassone, stocked with food and all kinds of stores,
which they could not take with them in their flight.
The
capture of the city and castle of Carcassone.
The
crusaders, moving their camp from this place, arrived on the feast of
St. Peter “ad vincula” at Carcassone, a populous city,
and till now glorying in its wickedness, abounding in riches, and
well fortified. On the following day they made an assault, and within
two or three hours they crossed the entrenchments and scaled the
walls amidst showers of missiles from the cross bows, and the blows
of the lances and swords of its wicked defenders. After this they set
up their engines of war, and on the eighth day the greater suburb was
taken after a great many of the enemy, who had incautiously exposed
themselves, were slain, and the suburbs of the city, which seemed
larger than the body of the town, were altogether destroyed. The
enemy being thus confined in the narrow streets of the city, and
suffering as well from their numbers as from want of provisions more
than is credible, offered themselves and all their property, together
with the city to the crusaders, on condition of their lives being
preserved out of mercy, and of being saved for at least one day.
After holding a council, therefore, the barons received the city
almost as it were under compulsion; in the first place because, in
men’s opinion, it was deemed impregnable; for another reason because,
if that city were altogether destroyed, there would not be found a
nobleman of the army who would undertake the government of that
country, as there would not be a place in the subdued land where he
could reside. Therefore, that the land, which the Lord had delivered
into the hands of his servants, might be preserved to his honour and
the advantage of Christianity, the noble Simon de Montfort earl of
Leicester was, by the common consent of prelates and barons, chosen
as ruler of that country; and into his hands was delivered as a
prisoner the noble Roger, formerly viscount and ruler of that
country, together with the whole of the province, including about a
hundred castles, which, within one month, the Lord designed to
restore to the catholic unity; and amongst these same castles were
several of such strength that there would have been, in the opinion
of men, but little cause to fear any army. After effecting this, the
count of Nevers and a large part of the army returned home, whilst
the illustrious duke of Burgundy and the rest of the nobles proceeded
with their army to the extirpation of this heretical depravity, and
after this they delivered into the hands of earl Simon de Montfort
several more castles which they took either by fair means or by
threats.
Messengers
sent to Toulouse by the crusaders.
As
the city of Toulouse had been reported to have been long tainted with
this pestiferous sin, the barons sent special messengers, namely, the
archbishop of Santonge, the bishop of Foroli, the viscount of St.
Florentius, and the lord Accald de Roussillon, to the inhabitants of
that city with letters from them, ordering them to deliver up to the
army of the crusaders the heretics of that city, and all their
property. But if by chance they should say that they were not
heretics; that those who were signified and expressed by name should
come to them to make a plain declaration of their faith, according to
Christian custom, before the whole army; and should they refuse to do
this they would, by the same letters, excommunicate their chief
officers and counsellors, and place the whole town of Toulouse with
its dependencies under an interdict. In this year, [1213] on the
fourteenth of October, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, justiciary of England,
closed his life.
Of
the death of the king of Arragon at Murelles.
About
this time the king of Arragon, after being crowned at Rome by pope
Innocent, although he had received a most strict injunction not to
render assistance or show kindness to the enemies of the faith, not
devoutly attending to the commands of the holy father, contumaciously
began to kick against the apostolic mandate. For as soon as he
returned home, he joined the heretics in that very country which had
been just recovered, under God, by the assistance of the crusaders,
and uniting with the counts of Toulouse, Foix, and Commenges, he with
the citizens of Toulouse and a large army on the third day of the
week after the nativity of St. Mary, laid siege to the castle of
Murelle. At this news the venerable fathers, the bishops of Toulouse,
Nismes, St. Agatha, Bourdeaux, Uzes, Louvaine, and Commenges, and the
abbats of Clairvaux, Magneville, and St. Tiberius, all of whom the
archbishop of Narbonne, the legate of the apostolic see had ordered
to assemble for the purpose of managing the business of the crusade,
set out together with Simon de Montfort, and an army of crusaders, to
render assistance to the besieged castle. On the Wednesday of the
above-mentioned week they arrived at a castle called Savardon, whence
they sent messengers to the besieging commanders at Murelle, saying
that they were come to treat with them about peace, and therefore
they wished safe conduct to be granted them. On the following day, as
the urgency of the case so much required it, the crusading army left
Savardon, and hurried to the assistance of the castle of Murelle; the
aforesaid bishops, however, determined to stay at a castle called
Hanterive, half-way between Savardon and Murelle, about two leagues
from either of them, there to await the return of their messengers;
these when they did return brought word to the bishops from the king
of Arragon, that he would not grant safe conduct to them, because,
having come with such a large army, they did not want it. The
bishops, when they heard this, entered Murelle with the crusading
army on Wednesday of the same week, and immediately sent two
religious men to the king and the inhabitants of Toulouse, but they
received with derision from the king the answer, that they wanted to
have a conference with him on account of the four ribalds, which the
bishops had brought with them; but the citizens of Toulouse told
them, the messengers, that they were allies of the king of Arragon,
and would not do anything except the said king’s pleasure. When the
messengers had related this to the bishops, the latter determined to
go unshod in company with the abbats to the king; but when their
approach in this way was made known to the king, the gates of the
city having been thrown open, and earl Montfort and all the crusaders
being unarmed, because the bishops were gone to treat for peace, the
enemies of God treacherously attempted to force their way into the
town, but by the grace of God they were balked in their design. The
earl and the crusaders, seeing their pride, and being themselves
wholesomely cleansed from their sins by contrition of heart and
verbal confession, put on their armour and went to the bishop of
Toulouse, who by authority of the lord archbishop of Narbonne, was
discharging the functions of the legateship there, and humbly asked
his permission to sally forth against the enemies of the faith. As
matters were at a crisis permission was granted them, and in the name
of the Holy Trinity they sallied out in three bodies, but the enemies
of the faith, on the other hand, came forth from their well fortified
camp in several masses of troops, and although they were a host in
comparison with the crusaders, the servants of Christ, trusting to
his assistance, and armed with valour from on high, bravely attacked
them.
And
immediately the virtue of the Most High, by the hands of his
followers, broke through the enemy, crushing them in a moment; for
they turned their backs and fled like dust before the wind; some
escaped death altogether by flight, some escaping the sword perished
in the water, while others were slain on the field. For the
illustrious king of Arragon who fell amongst the slain, much grief is
to be felt that he united with the enemies of the faith, and wickedly
annoyed the catholic church.* A correct account of the number slain
cannot be given by any means; but of the crusaders one knight only
besides a few of the soldiers fell. This battle took place on the
sixth day of the week after the octaves of the nativity of St. Mary,
in the month of September, 1213.
*
“Earl Simon knew from his scouts that the king of Arragon was
ready to sit down to table to take his breakfast, and on receiving
the information he jokingly said, when he was sallying out, ‘Of
a truth 1 will wait on him at the first dish.’ And the said
king was the first who was killed, being pierced by a sword before he
had swallowed three mouthfuls of bread.”— M. Paris.
The
arrival in England of Nicholas bishop of Tusculum, and legate of the
apostolic see.
About
Michaelmas of the same year, Nicholas bishop of Tusculum and legate
of the apostolic see, came to England to settle, by the apostolic
authority, the disagreements between the throne and the priesthood,
and although the country was under an interdict, he was everywhere
honourably received with solemn processions, with music, and by the
people dressed in holiday clothes; and on his arrival at
Westminster, he immediately degraded William the abbat, who was
accused by his monks of wasteful expenditure and incontinency. At
that place there came to him seeking absolution the citizens of
Oxford, by whose agency and presumption the two clerks, of whom we
have made mention above, had been hung; in appointing penance for
them he, amongst other things, ordered them to go to each of the
churches of the city, laying aside their garments, and with naked
feet, carrying scourges in their hands, and there to chant the
fiftieth psalm, and thus obtain absolution from the parochial
priests; and they were only allowed to go to one church on each day,
that they and all others might be afraid to show such presumption in
future. Thus the legate, who had come into England with only seven
horsemen in his train, shortly walked abroad with a train of fifty,
and attended by a numerous household. At length the archbishop of
Canterbury, with the bishops and nobles of the kingdom, met at London
in presence of the king and of the cardinal, and there for three days
a discussion was carried on between the throne and the priesthood as
to the losses of the bishops, and their confiscated property; on
behalf of the king, an offer was made, as a full restitution, of a
hundred thousand marks of silver, to be paid immediately; and if on
inquiry it could be found that the guardians of the churches or other
agents of the king had taken away more, he the said king made oath
and gave security, that, by the decision of the bishops and the
legate himself, he would before the ensuing Easter make satisfaction
in full for all their confiscated property. The legate agreed to
this, wishing it to be settled immediately, and was indignant that
the offer was not accepted at once; and on this account it was
suspected that the legate took the king’s side more than was right.
The bishops however prolonged the business, objecting to the terms
offered, in order that they might, after holding a council, make
inquiry as to the confiscated property and their losses, and might
state the amount thus found out to the king, and at the same time
receive what they demanded. The king hearing of this delay, which
suited him, at once gave his consent, and thus they went away on that
day without settling their business.
How
king John resigned his crown with the kingdoms of England and Ireland
into the hands of the legate.
On
the following day they all again assembled in the cathedral church at
St. Paul’s, where after many and divers discussions about the removal
of the interdict, before the great altar in presence of the clergy
and people, that notorious though dishonourable submission was again
exacted from the king, by which he resigned his crown and kingdom
into the hands of the pope, and surrendered the dominion of Ireland
as well as the kingdom of England; the charter of the king too, which
had been before sealed with wax and delivered to Pandulph, was now
stamped with gold, and resigned to the legate for the use of our lord
the pope and the church of Rome; and for the restitution of the
confiscated property, they appointed to meet at Reading on the 3rd of
November. On the appointed day, when all had as before assembled, the
king did not make his appearance, but on the third day after they
again all assembled at Wallingford; and there the king, as before,
willingly promised that he would satisfy the bishops and all the rest
for the property which had been confiscated; but this seemed of
little use to those whose castles had been thrown down, houses
destroyed, and whose orchards and woods had been cut down; therefore
the king and the bishops alike agreed to abide by the decision of
four barons, and thus all would be satisfied by their decision. On
the 6th of November they again assembled at Reading, the king and the
legate, the archbishop and bishops, the nobles, and all the religious
men connected with the business of the interdict, and at this
conference they each and all produced a paper containing the amount
of the confiscated property and their losses; but as the legate
showed favour to the king, the payment of all was postponed except in
the case of the archbishop and bishops who had been so long exiled
from England, who there received fifteen marks of silver.
Pope Innocent to Nicholas bishop of Tusculum, about the vacant churches.
At this time pope Innocent sent letters to Nicholas, legate of the
apostolic see, to the following purport:
“As the Lord’s churches cannot better be provided for than
when suitable pastors are appointed to them, who will desire not so much to have
authority over them as to promote their welfare, we, by these
apostolic letters, enjoin your brotherhood, in whom we have full
confidence, to cause suitable persons, according to your own
judgment, to be ordained to the bishoprics and abbacies in England
now vacant, either by election or by canonical appointment, who shall
be remarkable, not only for their mode of life, but also for their
learning, and at the same time faithful to the king, and of use to
the kingdom, and also efficacious in giving assistance and advice,
the king’s consent being previously obtained. When therefore we by
our letters command the chapters of the vacant churches to abide by
your advice, do you, always having the Lord in view, consult on these
matters with prudent and honourable men, who may fully be aware of
the merits of persons, less you may be overreached by the craft of
any one; but if any shall gainsay you or prove contumacious, do you,
by means of the censure of the church, compel them to obey, without
appeal. Given at the Lateran, on the first of November, in the
sixteenth year of our pontificate.”
The legate, on receiving this authority from the pope,
rejected the advice of the archbishop and bishops of the kingdom, and, going to
the vacant churches with the clerks and agents of the king, presumed to make
appointments to them, according to the old evil custom of England, of persons
little suited to those offices; and some of various orders, who, on manifest
cause of complaint, appealed to the hearing of the supreme pontiff,
he suspended and sent to the court of Rome, and to them he showed
himself so destitute of humanity, that he did not allow them even one
penny out of their own money to pay their expenses on the journey.
Moreover he distributed the parochial churches which were vacant in
various places amongst his own clerks without asking the consent of
the patrons; for which he deserved the malediction of many instead of
their benediction, inasmuch as he changed justice into injury, and
judgment into forejudging.
1214 A.D.
The appeal of the archbishop of Canterbury as to the appointments of
vacant churches.
A.D. 1214. King John at Christmas held his court at Windsor, when he
distributed festive dresses to a number of his nobles. Afterwards,
Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, and his suffragans, met at
Dunstable to discuss the affairs of the English church there; for
they were beyond measure annoyed that the legate, as we have before
stated, in attending to the king’s pleasure without consulting with
them, had appointed unfit persons to the vacant churches more by
force than by canonical election. After various discussion on one
subject and another, the archbishop of Canterbury at length sent two
clerks to Burton on the Trent where the legate then was, to forbid
him. by the interposition of an appeal on the part of the archbishop
of Canterbury, to appoint prelates in the vacant churches in
disregard of his, the archbishop’s, high office, to which the
appointment to the churches in his own diocese of right belonged. The
legate however paid no attention to this appeal, but, by the king’s
consent, despatched the before-named Pandulph to the court of Home to
counteract the intentions of the archbishop and bishops; on his
arrival there he, in presence of the supreme pontiff, vilified the
character of the archbishop in no slight degree, but he extolled the
king of England with so much praise, declaring that he had never
before seen such a humble and moderate king, that John gained great
favour in the eyes of the pope. One person at that court however
opposed Pandulph, which was master Simon de Langton, brother of the
archbishop of Canterbury; but, as the gold-sealed charter of the
subjection and tribute of the kingdoms of England and Ireland had
been lately brought to our lord the pope by Pandulph, master Simon
could not obtain a hearing for his opposing arguments. Moreover the
said Pandulph declared in the presence of the pope, that the
archbishop and bishops were too strict and covetous in their
exactions, and about the restitution of the property confiscated at
the time of the interdict, and that they oppressed the king himself
and the rights of the kingdom in an unjust manner. And thus the
purpose of the archbishop and bishops was delayed for a time.
How
king John crossed sea to Poictou.
In
the same year, [1214] king John sent a large sum of money to the
chiefs of his army in Flanders, to enable them to harass the king of
the French, and to ravage his territory, and destroy his castles in
their hostile incursions; they therefore, in obedience to the king’s
commands, laid waste the territory of the count de Guisne with fire
and sword; they laid siege to the castle of Bruncham and destroyed
it, taking away in chains a number of knights and their attendants
who had been obliged to surrender themselves; they also besieged
Arria, and, after subduing it, destroyed it by fire. They took the
castle of Liens by assault, slaying a great many, and imprisoning
those who were taken; they also ravaged the territory of Louis son of
the French king, in that district. King John himself after having
sent messengers to Rome for the withdrawal of the interdict, embarked
on the day of the Purification of St. Mary at Portsmouth, accompanied
by his queen, and in a few days landed with a large army at Rochelle;
and at news of his arrival, several barons of Poictou came and swore
fealty to him. Afterwards proceeding in great force, he reduced a
great many castles belonging to his enemies; but whoever wishes to
know more of what happened there, let him read the letters sent by
the king to the justiciaries of the treasury.
King John’s letter about his proceedings in Poictou.
“John,
by the grace of God, &c.—Be it known to you, that when the
truce was at an end which we had granted to the counts of La March
and Augi, and as we found them not disposed to make a peace suitable
to us, we on the Friday next preceding Whitsuntide, crossed with our
army to Miervant, a castle belonging to Geoffrey de Lusignan; and
although many might not believe that it could be taken by assault,
we, on the day after, which was the eve of Whitsuntide, took it by
force after one assault, which lasted from early in the morning till
one o’clock. On Whitsunday we laid siege to another castle of this
same Geoffrey’s, called ‘Novent,’ in which Geoffrey with
his two sons had shut themselves; and when, after repeated discharges
from our petraries for three days, a fitting opportunity for taking
the aforesaid castle was approaching, the count de la March came to
us, bringing it about that the aforesaid Geoffrey threw himself on
our mercy, together with his two sons, his castle, and every thing in
it. Whilst we were still there, news was brought us that Louis, son
of the king of France, had laid siege to a castle belonging to the
same Geoffrey called ‘Muneuntur;’ on hearing this, we
immediately turned in that direction to meet him, so that on the day
of the Holy Trinity we were at Parthenay, and there the counts de la
March and Augi came to us with the aforesaid Geoffrey de Lusignan,
and did homage and swore fealty to us. And, because we had formerly
treated with the count de la March as to giving our daughter in
marriage to his son, we granted that favour to him, although the king
of the French had requested her for his son, but with treacherous
designs; for we remembered our niece who was married to Louis, son of
that monarch, and the result of that affair; and may God grant us
more success in this marriage than in the former one! Now, by the
grace of God, an opportunity is afforded us of attacking our mortal
enemy the king of the French beyond Poictou. And we inform you
thereof that you may rejoice in our successes. Witness myself at
Parthenay, in the sixteenth year of our reign.” On
the 24th of June, in the same year, died Gilbert bishop of Rochester.
Letter
of pope Innocent on the withdrawal of the interdict.
About
this time pope Innocent wrote to Nicholas bishop of Tusculum, about
the withdrawal of the interdict, as follows: “Innocent
bishop, &c. Our venerable brother John bishop of Norwich, and our
beloved son Robert de Marisco archdeacon of Northumberland, and the
nobles Thomas and Adam de Hardington, the ambassadors of our
well-beloved in Christ, John the illustrious king of England of the
one part, and master Stephen de Langton A. and G. clerks, messengers
of our beloved brother Stephen archbishop of Canterbury of the other
part, having appeared before us, have, by common consent and
deliberately declared, that, to avoid great loss of property and
serious danger to their souls, it was necessary to the kingdom as
well as the priesthood that the sentence of interdict be withdrawn
without delay; wherefore we, in our paternal regard have, for their
preservation and for the advantage of peace, carefully entertained
the matter between them, and at length, with their acquiescence, we
have devised and determined on the underwritten terms:—“Let
the aforesaid king pay to the archbishop of Canterbury, and the
bishops of London and Ely, or to others whom they may appoint to
receive it, so much money as, when added to what the said king has
already paid to us, shall amount to the sum of forty thousand marks;
on the payment of which by him, and his giving the undermentioned
security, do you immediately withdraw the sentence of interdict,
doing away with all appeal or gainsaying. And after this he must pay
twelve thousand marks yearly, at two fixed periods, namely, six
thousand marks on the commemoration of All Saints, and the same
number at the feast of our Lord’s ascension, until the whole amount
be paid. And, for the due fulfilment of this, the said king has bound
himself by his own oath and by letters patent under his own seal, and
also by the suretyship of the bishops of Winchester and Norwich, the
earls of Winchester and Chester, and William Marshal; that the heirs
of the said king and their successors shall be held bound by a
similar engagement; wherefore we command you, by these our apostolic
letters, to proceed in this matter according to the form above-named,
unless the parties of their own freewill determine to settle the
matter otherwise. Given at the Lateran in the sixteenth year of our
pontificate.”
Of the restitution of the confiscated property.
At the time when Nicholas bishop of Tusculum, legate of the
apostolic see, received this warrant by the messengers of our lord the pope,
the king of England was in the transmarine provinces; but as he had,
on leaving England, entrusted his part in this business to the legate
and William Marshal, the said legate convened a grand council at St.
Paul’s in the city of London, at which were assembled the
archbishops, bishops, abbats, priors, earls, barons, and others
concerned in this affair of the interdict. The said legate there
explained to all the terms of restitution of the confiscated
property, and of satisfaction for losses which had been arranged by
the pope at Rome with the consent of the parties; and he clearly
ordered that a certificate should be given of the quantity of money
paid to the bishops and others by the king’s agents on account of the
interdict; so that, by what money had been paid, it might be known
how much remained to be paid. It was there proved by a sure
computation, that the archbishop and the monks of Canterbury, with
the bishops of London, Ely, Hereford, Bath, and Lincoln had, before
they returned to England from their exile, received twelve thousand
marks of sterling money by the hands of Pandulph; also that, since
their arrival, the said bishops and the monks aforesaid had, at the
council which was held at Beading on the sixth of December, received
fifteen thousand marks to be divided amongst them; and this sum,
together with the former one received, made a total of twenty-seven
thousand marks. The other fifteen thousand which remained to be paid
to make up the before-mentioned complement of forty thousand marks,
remained under the suretyship of the bishops of Winchester and
Norwich, with letters patent from the king besides for further
security, according to what was contained in the letters of our lord
the pope.
Of the withdrawal of the interdict.
After thus arranging matters, on the apostles, St. Peter
and St. Paul’s day, Nicholas bishop of Tusculum, legate of the apostolic
see, went to the cathedral church, and there amidst the ringing of bells
and the chanting of the “Te Deum ,” solemnly revoked the
sentence of interdict which had lasted for six years, three months,
and fourteen days.
How
the legate put off the restitution of the confiscated property.
On
the removal of the interdict, as above-mentioned, the legate was
beset by an innumerable multitude of abbats, priors, templars,
hospitallers, abbesses, nuns, clergy and laity, asking for
satisfaction to be made to them for losses and injuries suffered by
them during the time of the interdict; for they asserted that,
although they had not left England, they had endured the incessant
persecution of the king and his agents, both in person and property,
until all their property being confiscated and their persons ill
used, they knew not whither to turn from the fury of their enemies.
But the legate in reply to this multitude of complainants, said that
of their losses and injuries no mention had been made in the pope’s
letters, wherefore he ought not and could not lawfully go beyond the
bounds of the apostolic mandate; but he nevertheless advised them to
lay a complaint of their losses and injuries before the pope, and to
ask for full justice to be shown to them. On hearing this, however,
the whole of that assembly of complaining prelates, having no hope of
better luck, returned again to their homes. In the same year, on the
day of St. Kenelm, the king and martyr, John abbot of the church of
St. Alban’s, a religious and learned man, closed his life at a good
old age, in the nineteenth year of his prelateship.*
*
About that time Ralph of Arundel, abbot of Westminster, was deposed
by the aforesaid legate on the day after the feast of St. Vincent,
his seal having been broken in the chapter-house by N. abbot of
Westham, who was sent on behalf of the legate; in Ralph’s place was
appointed William de Humes, prior of Frontignac, a monk of Caen.
How king John led his army into Brittany.
About this time king John led his army forward from Poictou into
Lesser Britain, and there stayed three days and three nights. On arriving
near a city called by the inhabitants Nantes, he determined to attack
it; but the citizens and knights who had been left in charge of the
place by the French king, on learning the approach of the English
monarch, went out to meet him, and at a bridge not far from the city
they gave battle to the English king’s army; but king John, by good
luck, gained the victory, taking twenty knights in the battle, and
amongst the rest the son and heir of Robert de Drus, uncle of the
French king; this knight the king loaded with chains, and took away
with him on his return. After this the said king marched with his
army to the castle of Rocheau Maine, and laid siege to it; on hearing
which Louis, son of the French king, who had been sent by his father
to check the incursions of king John, hastened with a large army to
the assistance of the besieged. The English king, when he learned
their approach, sent scouts from his army to find out the number and
strength of the approaching enemy; these messengers, soon performing
the duty assigned to them, returned and told the king that he, the
English king, had a much larger force, and therefore earnestly
persuaded him to engage the enemy in open battle, because, by doing
this, he would without doubt gain a victory over the enemy. He
therefore, being inspirited by the information of his messengers,
ordered his soldiers to arms as soon as possible, to give open battle
to Louis, but the barons of Poictou refused to follow the king,
saying that they were not prepared for a pitched battle. King John
then, knowing too well the accustomed treachery of the nobles of
Poictou, although the capture of the castle was almost certain,
retired in great annoyance from the siege. Louis too, when he heard
that the English king had moved his camp, feared that he would attack
him, and fled in an opposite direction from king John’s; and thus
each army ignominiously taking to flight, turned their backs on one
another.
How the king of the French marched against the army of
the English king in Flanders.
At this time the English king’s array in Flanders had spread
its ravages through several provinces, and was now laying waste Poictou
in a most relentless manner; in this expedition were the warlike and tried
men William duke of Holland; Reginald, formerly count of Boulogne;
Ferrand count of Flanders; and Hugh de Boves, a brave soldier though
a cruel and proud man, for he showed his cruel disposition in those
regions by sparing neither the female sex nor the young children.
King John had appointed his brother William earl of Salisbury,
marshal over that army, and over the knights of the kingdom, to fight
in conjunction with them, and also to give the pay from the treasury
to the other soldiers. These warriors were moreover assisted and
favoured by Otho the Roman emperor, with all the forces of the dukes
of Louvaine and Brabant, who were equally exasperated against the
French. When all these proceedings came to the knowledge of Philip
king of the French, he was much alarmed lest he should be unable to
defend that part of the country, having lately sent his son Louis
with a large army into Poictou to oppose the English king, and to
check his hostile incursions there; and although the said king often
thought on the common proverb—
“Whose
mind to many schemes is bent,
On each can
scarcely be intent.”
He
however collected an army of earls, barons, knights, and soldiers,
horse and foot, together with the commoners of the cities and towns,
and advanced in great force to meet his enemies, giving orders to the
priests, religious men, clerks and nuns, to give alms, to offer
prayers to God, and to perform services for the firm standing of his
kingdom; after which he boldly marched with his army against the
enemy. Hearing that the latter had already arrived as far as the
bridge of Bovines in the territory of Pontoise, he led his forces in
that direction, and arriving at the aforesaid bridge, he crossed the
river with his army, and there pitched his camp. The heat of the sun
was very great, as is usual in the month of July, on which account
the French determined to halt near the river for the sake of
refreshing the men as well as horses. They arrived at the
before-mentioned river on a Saturday, about the hour of evening; and,
having arranged the carts, waggons, and all the vehicles in which
they conveyed their food and arms, engines of war and weapons; to the
right and left they appointed watches all round, and rested there for
the night. When morning came, and the English commanders were
informed that the French king had arrived, they held a council, and
unanimously determined to give open battle to the enemy; but, as it
was Sunday, it seemed to the more prudent men of the army, and
especially to Reginald, formerly count of Boulogne, that it was
improper to engage in battle on such a festival, and to profane such
a day by slaughter and the effusion of human blood. The Roman emperor
Otho coincided in this opinion, and said that he had never gained a
triumph on such a day; on hearing this Hugh de Boves broke forth into
blasphemy, calling count Reginald a base traitor, and reproaching him
with the lands and large possessions he had received as gifts from
the king of England; he added also that, if the battle was put off
that day, it would redound to the irreparable loss of king John, for
“delays are always dangerous when things are ready .” But
count Reginald, in reply to the taunts of Hugh, said indignantly,
“This day will prove me faithful, and you the traitor; for even
on this very Sunday, if necessary, I will stand up in battle for the
king, even to the death, and you, according to your custom, will, by
fleeing from the battle, show yourself a most base traitor in the
presence of all. By these and other abusive words of the said Hugh,
the whole multitude were stirred up and excited to battle; they
therefore all flew to arms and boldly prepared for fighting. When all
were armed, they arranged themselves in three bodies, over the first
of which they appointed Ferrand count of Flanders, Reginald earl of
Boulogne, and William earl of Salisbury, as commanders; the command
of the second they gave to William duke of Holland, and Hugh de
Boves, with his Brabant followers; the command of the third was
assigned to Otho the Roman emperor and his fighting men: and in this
manner they slowly marched forth against the enemy, and arrived in
sight of the French army. When the French king saw that his enemies
were prepared for a pitched battle, he ordered the bridge in his rear
to be broken down, that, in case any of his army should endeavour to
fly, they should have no where to fly except amongst the enemy. The
French king having drawn up his troops, surrounded by his waggons and
other vehicles, as already mentioned, there awaited the assault of
his enemies. In short, the battalions commanded by the above-named
counts burst upon the ranks of the French with such impetuosity, that
in a moment they broke their ranks, and forced their way even up to
where the French king was. Count Reginald, when he saw the king who
had disinherited him and expelled him from his county, couched his
lance against him, and having forced him to the ground, was preparing
to slay him with his sword; but one of the soldiers, who had been
appointed as a body-guard for the king, exposed himself to the blows
of the count and was killed in his stead. The French, seeing their
king on the ground, rushed impetuously and in great force to his
assistance, and re-mounted him on his horse; then the battle raged on
both sides, swords glistened like lightning around helmeted heads,
and the conflict was most severe on both sides. The before-mentioned
counts with the body of troops under their command had become
separated from the rest of their fellow soldiers, and their retreat,
as well as the advance of the rest of the army to their succour was
stopped; and thus their small body not being able to withstand the
attacks of such numbers of the French, at length gave way, and in
this manner the aforesaid counts with the whole of the band which
they commanded, were, after showing great bravery, taken and made
prisoners.
Conclusion
of the battle.
Whilst
these events were passing round king Philip, the counts of Champagne,
Perche, and St. Paul, with many other nobles of the French kingdom,
made an attack on the troops above-mentioned to be commanded by Hugh
de Boves, and put that noble to flight, together with all the troops
collected from the different provinces; and in their base flight
they were pursued at the sword’s point by the French as far as the
position of the emperor; therefore, after their flight, all the
weight of the battle was in an instant thrown on the latter. The
above-named counts then summoned him and endeavoured to slay him or
to compel him to surrender; but he, holding his sword, sharp on one
side like a knife, with both hands, dealt such insupportable blows on
all sides, that he either stunned all whom he struck, or levelled
riders and horses with the ground. His enemies, fearing to come too
near him, killed three horses under him with their lances, but by the
bravery of his troops, he was each time remounted, and renewed his
attacks more fiercely; at length his enemies left him and his
followers unconquered, and he retreated from the battle without harm
to himself or his followers. The king of the French, in his joy for
such an unexpected victory, gave thanks to God for having granted him
such a triumph over his enemies. The three counts above named, with a
great number of knights and others, were taken away to be imprisoned.
This battle took place on the 27th of July. By this misfortune the
English king ineffectually spent the forty thousand marks which he
had taken from the monks of the Cistercian order during the time of
the interdict, thus verifying the proverb, “Inglorious spoil
will never end in good .” When at length the news of this event
came to king John’s knowledge he was thrown into dismay, and said to
those about him, “Since I became reconciled to God, and
submitted myself and my kingdoms to the church of Rome, woe is me,
nothing has gone prosperously with me, and every thing unlucky has
happened to me .” In this same year John bishop of Norwich,
when returning from the court of Rome, died in the territory of
Poictou, and his body was brought to England, and buried with honour
in the church at Norwich.
Of a truce made between the French and English kings.
After the events above-mentioned, by the intervention of religious men, a
truce was agreed on in the transmarine provinces between Philip and
John, the French and English kings, in this form:—"
Philip, by the grace of God, king of the French, to all who shall see
these letters, greeting. Be it known to you, that we have granted to
king John and his men who have appeared in the field on his behalf
since this last war, up to the Thursday next after the exaltation of
the Holy Cross in September, a truce in due form from us and our men,
who have appeared on the field in our behalf, until next Easter, that
shall be in the year of our Lord 1215, and for five full years after
the said Easter; saving however to us, our prisoners whom we have in
our power, and saving the oath which the towns of Flanders and
Hainault made to us; and saving in a like manner to king John the
prisoners he has in his power. And we and our subjects and
adventurers will remain in the same position as we were on the
aforesaid Thursday, till the end of the aforesaid five years. And
those who are to dictate and arrange the terms of this truce made
between us and the king of England, shall be, on behalf of us, P.
Savary, Guy Turpin, abbot of Marmontier, and G. archdeacon of Tours;
on behalf of the king of England, Hugh de Bourg seneschal of Poictou,
R. de Ponte abbot of St. John in England, and the dean of Christaton.
And all these have sworn in good faith that, for the settlement of
all differences and complaints which may arise in Poictou, Anjou,
Brittany, or Tours, they will meet at the convent of Fulcirelle; and
for other complaints which may arise in Bourges, Auvergne, the
counties of La Marche and Limosin, they will meet to arrange matters
in those provinces.” On the 5th of October in this year
Richard dean of Salisbury, and Walter de Gray chancellor of England,
were, by Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated bishops, the
former to the church of Chichester, and the latter to that of
Winchester. About this time too, on the 19th of October, king John,
having settled all his business in the transmarine provinces,
returned home to England.
Of
a conference held by the barons against king John.
About
this time the earls and barons of England assembled at St. Edmund’s,
as if for religious duties, although it was for some other reason;
for after they had discoursed together secretly for a time, there was
placed before them the charter of king Henry the First, which they
had received, as mentioned before, in the city of London from Stephen
archbishop of Canterbury. This charter contained certain liberties
and laws granted to the holy church as well as to the nobles of the
kingdom, besides some liberties which the king added of his own
accord. All therefore assembled in the church of St. Edmund, the king
and martyr, and, commencing from those of the highest rank, they all
swore on the great altar that, if the king refused to grant these
liberties and laws, they themselves would withdraw from their
allegiance to him, and make war on him, till he should, by a charter
under his own seal, confirm to them every thing they required; and
finally it was unanimously agreed that, after Christmas, they should
all go together to the king and demand the confirmation of the
aforesaid liberties to them, and that they should in the meantime
provide themselves with horses and arms, so that if the king should
endeavour to depart from his oath, they might by taking his castles,
compel him to satisfy their demands; and having arranged this, each
man returned home.
Of William, abbot of the church of St. Alban’s.
In this year, John, abbot of the church of St. Alban’s,
was succeeded by William, a monk of the same church, who was solemnly elected
on the day of St. Edmund the king and martyr, which was the fifth day of the
week, and, on the day of St. Andrew the apostle, which was the first
Sunday of our Lord’s advent, he was pontifically and solemnly
consecrated before the great altar in St. Alban’s church by Eustace
bishop of Ely; and the promotion of this man is said to have been
shown in a nocturnal vision to some of the brothers of that
monastery, even before the election was made. The first abbot of the
church of St. Alban, the English protomartyr, was Willegod, who was
appointed abbot, and ordered to observe a regular course of life on
the first of August in the year of our Lord seven hundred and ninety
four, by Offa king of the Mercians, after the martyr’s body had been
found, and the monks introduced, though the church was not then
built; to Willegod succeeded Edric, Wolsius, Wolnoth, Edfred, Wolsin,
Alfric, Eldred, Edmar, Leofric, who was made archbishop of
Canterbury; to him succeeded Alfric, brother of the said Leofric; to
Alfric succeeded Leofstan, Frederic, Paul, Richard, Geoffrey, Ralph,
Robert, Simon, Warin, John, and to John succeeded William the
twenty-second abbot, who was appointed to the office in the sixteenth
year of king John’s reign.
1215 A.D.
Of the demand made by the barons of England for their rights.
A.D. 1215 which was the seventeenth year of the reign of king John;
he held his court at Winchester at Christmas for one day, after which he
hurried to London, and took up his abode at the New Temple; and at
that place the above mentioned nobles came to him in gay military
array, and demanded the confirmation of the liberties and laws of
king Edward, with other liberties granted to them and to the kingdom
and church of England, as were contained in the charter, and
above-mentioned laws of Henry the First; they also asserted that, at
the time of his absolution at Winchester, he had promised to restore
those laws and ancient liberties, and was bound by his own oath to
observe them. The king, hearing the bold tone of the barons in making
this demand, much feared an attack from them, as he saw that they
were prepared for battle; he however made answer that their demands
were a matter of importance and difficulty, and he therefore asked a
truce till the end of Easter, that he might, after due deliberation,
be able to satisfy them as well as the dignity of his crown. After
much discussion on both sides, the king at length, although
unwillingly, procured the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishop of
Ely, and William Marshal, as his sureties, that on the day pre-agreed
on he would, in all reason, satisfy them all, on which the nobles
returned to their homes. The king however, wishing to take
precautions against the future, caused all the nobles throughout
England to swear fealty to him alone against all men, and to renew
their homage to him; and, the better to take care of himself, he, on
the day of St. Mary’s purification, assumed the cross of our Lord,
being induced to this more by fear than devotion. In the same year
Eustace bishop of Ely, a man well skilled in divine as well as human
knowledge, died at Reading.
Of the principal persons who compelled the king to grant the laws and
liberties.
In Easter week of this same year, [1215] the above-mentioned nobles
assembled at Stamford, with horses and arms; for they had now induced
almost all the nobility of the whole kingdom to join them, and
constituted a very large army; for in their army there were computed
to be two thousand knights, besides horse soldiers, attendants, and
foot soldiers, who were variously equipped. The chief promoters of
this pestilence were Robert Fitz-Walter, Eustace de Vescy, Richard de
Percy, Robert de Roos, Peter de Bruis, Nicholas de Stuteville, Saer
earl of Winchester, R. earl of Clare, H. earl Clare, earl Roger
Bigod, William de Munbray, Roger de Creissi, Ranulph Fitz-Robert,
Robert de Vere, Fulk Fitz-Warine, William Mallet, William de
Montacute, William de Beauchamp, S. de Kime, William Marshall junior,
William Maudut, Roger de Mont-Begon, John Fitz-Robert, John
Fitz-Alan, G. de Laval, O. Fitz-Alan, W. de Hobregge, O. des Vaux, G.
de Gant, Maurice de Gant, R. de Brackele, K. de Muntfichet, W. de
Lanvalei, G. de Mandeville earl of Essex, William his brother,
William de Huntingefeld, Robert de Greslei, G. constable of Meautun,
Alexander de Puinter, Peter FitzJohn, Alexander de Sutune, Osbert de
Bobi, John constable of Chester, Thomas de Mulutune, and many others;
all of these being united by oath, were supported by the concurrence
of Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, who was at their head. The king
at this time was awaiting the arrival of his nobles at Oxford. On the
Monday next after the octaves of Easter, the said barons assembled in
the town of Brackley: and when the king learned this, he sent the
archbishop of Canterbury, and William Marshal earl of Pembroke, with
some other prudent men, to them to inquire what the laws and
liberties were which they demanded. The barons then delivered to the
messengers a paper, containing in great measure the laws and ancient
customs of the kingdom, and declared that, unless the king
immediately granted them and confirmed them under his own seal, they
would, by taking possession of his fortresses, force him to give them
sufficient satisfaction as to their before-named demands. The
archbishop with his fellow messengers then carried the paper to the
king, and read to him the heads of the paper one by one throughout.
The king when he heard the purport of these heads, derisively said,
with the greatest indignation, “Why, amongst these unjust
demands, did not the barons ask for my kingdom also ? Their demands
are vain and visionary, and are unsupported by any plea of reason
whatever .” And at length he angrily declared with an oath,
that he would never grant them such liberties as would render him
their slave. The principal of these laws and liberties, which the
nobles required to be confirmed to them, are partly described above
in the charter of king Henry, and partly are extracted from the old
laws of king Edward, as the following history will show in due time.
The
castle of Northampton besieged by the barons.
As
the archbishop and William Marshall could not by any persuasions
induce the king to agree to their demands, they returned by the
king’s order to the barons, and duly reported all they had heard from
the king to them; and -when the nobles heard what John said, they
appointed Robert FitzWalter commander of their soldiers, giving him
the title of “Marshal of the army of God and the holy church
,” and then, one and all flying to arms, they directed their
forces towards Northampton. On their arrival there they at once laid
siege to the castle, but after having stayed there for fifteen days,
and having gained little or no advantage, they determined to move
their camp; for having come without petrariae and other engines of
war, they, without accomplishing their purpose, proceeded in
confusion to the castle of Bedford. At that siege the standard-bearer
of Robert Fitz-Walter, amongst others slain, was pierced through the
head with an arrow from a cross-bow and died, to the grief of many.
How the city of London was given up to the barons.
When the army of the barons arrived at Bedford, they were received with
all respect by William de Beauchamp. There also came to them there
messengers from the city of London, secretly telling them, if they
wished to get into that city, to come there immediately. The barons,
inspirited by the arrival of this agreeable message, immediately
moved their camp and arrived at Ware; after this they marched the
whole night, and arrived early in the morning at the city of London,
and, finding the gates open, they, on the 24th of May, which was the
Sunday next before our Lord’s ascension, entered the city without any
tumult whilst the inhabitants were performing divine service; for the
rich citizens were favourable to the barons, and the poor ones were
afraid to murmur against them. The barons having thus got into the
city, placed their own guards in charge of each of the gates, and
then arranged all matters in the city at will. They then took
security from the citizens, and sent letters throughout England to
those earls, barons, and knights, who appeared to be still faithful
to the king, though they only pretended to be so, and advised them
with threats, as they regarded the safety of all their property and
possessions, to abandon a king who was perjured and who warred
against his barons, and together with them to stand firm and fight
against the king for their rights and for peace; and that, if they
refused to do this, they, the barons, would make war against them
all, as against open enemies, and would destroy their castles, burn
their houses and other buildings, and destroy their warrens, parks,
and orchards. The names of some of those who had not as yet sworn to
strive for these liberties were, William Marshal earl of Pembroke,
Ralph earl of Chester, William earl of Salisbury, William earl
Warrenne, William earl of Albemarle, H. earl of Cornwall, W.
d’Albiney, Robert de Vipont, Peter Fitz-Hubert, Brian de l’Isle,
G. de Lucy, G. de FurnivaL Thomas Basset, Henry de Braibroc, John de
Bassingeburne, William de Cantelu, Henry de Cornhulle, John
Fitz-Hugh, Hugh de Neville, Philip de Albeney, John Marshal, and
William Briuerre; the greatest part of these, on receiving the
message of the barons, set out to London and joined them, abandoning
the king entirely. The pleas of the exchequer and of the sheriff’s
courts ceased throughout England, because there was no one to make a
valuation for the king or to obey him in any thing.*
* “About the same time the king
concealed his secret hatred of the barons under a calm countenance, and planning
revenge, caused the seals of all the bishops to be counterfeited, as it is
commonly called, and wrote word in their names to all countries, that the English
were all apostates, and to be detested by the whole world. And whoever would
attack these apostates, he would bestow on him, with the consent of
them, and by authority of the pope, all their lands and possessions.
But when the people of foreign countries heard these promises, they
put no faith in them, because they knew that the English were of all
Christians the most steadfast; and when they discovered the truth
they detested such crimes and falsehoods, and thus the king fell into
the net which he had himself spread.” —M. Paris.
The conference between the king and the barons.
King John, when he saw that he was deserted by almost all, so that
out of his regal superabundance of followers he scarcely retained seven
knights, was much alarmed lest the barons would attack his castles
and reduce them without difficulty, as they would find no obstacle to
their so doing; and he deceitfully pretended to make peace for a time
with the aforesaid barons, and sent William Marshal earl of Pembroke,
with other trustworthy messengers, to them, and told them that, for
the sake of peace, and for the exaltation and honour of the kingdom,
he would willingly grant them the laws and liberties they required;
he also sent word to the barons by these same messengers, to appoint
a fitting day and place to meet and carry all these matters into
effect. The king’s messengers then came in all haste to London, and
without deceit reported to the barons all that had been deceitfully
imposed on them; they in their great joy appointed the fifteenth of
June for the king to meet them, at a field lying between Staines and
Windsor. Accordingly, at the time and place pre-agreed on, the king
and nobles came to the appointed conference, and when each party had
stationed themselves apart from the other, they began a long
discussion about terms of peace and the aforesaid liberties. There
were present on behalf of the king, the archbishops, Stephen of
Canterbury, and H. of Dublin; the bishops W. of London, P. of
Winchester, H. of Lincoln, J. of Bath, Walter of Worcester, W. of
Coventry, and Benedict of Rochester; master Pandulph familiar of our
lord the pope, and brother Almeric the master of the knights-templars
in England; the nobles, William Marshal earl of Pembroke, the earl of
Salisbury, earl Warrenne, the earl of Arundel, Alan de Galwey, W.
Fitz-Gerald, Peter Fitz-Herbert, Alan Basset, Matthew Fitz-Herbert,
Thomas Basset, Hugh de Neville, Hubert de Burgh seneschal of Poictou,
Robert de Ropeley, John Marshal, and Philip d’Aubeny. Those who were
on behalf of the barons it is not necessary to enumerate, since the
whole nobility of England were now assembled together in numbers not
to be computed. At length, after various points on both sides had
been discussed, king John, seeing that he was inferior in strength to
the barons, without raising any difficulty, granted the underwritten
laws and liberties, and confirmed them by his charter as follows:—
Charter
of king John as to the grant of common rights to the barons.
“John,
by the grace of God, king of England, etc. Be it known, that we,
looking to God and for the safety of our soul, and those of our
ancestors and our heirs, have, for the honour of God, the exaltation
of the holy church, and the amendment of our kingdom,* conceded to
God, and by this our present charter have confirmed, on behalf of us
and our heirs for ever, that the church of England be a free church,
and keep its laws entire, and its liberties uninfringed, and we wish
it to be observed so, inasmuch as it appears that the liberty of
elections, which is considered to be of the greatest importance and
most necessary to the English church, was granted by us, of our own
free will, and confirmed by our charter, before any open disagreement
had arisen between us and our barons, and we obtained a confirmation
of it from our lord pope Innocent the third, and we will keep it
ourselves and wish it to be observed by our heirs in good faith for
ever.
*
Paris inserts here:—" By the advice of our venerable
fathers, Stephen archbishop of Canterbury primate of all England, and
a cardinal of the holy Roman church, Henry archbishop of Dublin, and
the bishops William of London, Peter of Winchester Jocelyn of Bath
and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William of
Coventry, and Benedict of Rochester, of master Pandulph, sub-deacon
and familiar of our lord the pope, the master of the knights-templars
in England, and of the nobles William Marshall earl of Pembroke, W.
earl of Salisbury, William earl Warrenne, William earl of Arundel,
Alan de Lewey constable of Scotland, Warin Fitz-Gerard, Peter
Fitz-Herbert, Hubert de Bourg seneschal of Poictou, Hugh de Neville,
Matthew Fitz-Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip Daubeney,
Robert de Ropesle, John Marshall, John Fitz-Hugh, and others of our
faithful subjects amongst the first."
“Also
to all our free subjects of the kingdom of England, we, for ourselves
and our heirs for ever, have granted all the underwritten liberties,
to be had and to be held by them and their heirs from us and our
heirs. If any one of our earls, or barons, or any others holding
possession from us in chief by knight’s service, shall die, and,
after his decease, his heir shall be of age, and shall owe relief, he
shall take his inheritance by the old relief; that is to say, the
heir or heirs of an earl shall pay a hundred pounds for the entire
barony of the earl the heir or heirs of a baron a hundred marks for
the whole of his barony, and the heir or heirs of a knight a hundred
shillings at most for the whole of his knight’s fee, and whoever owes
less let him pay less, according to the old custom of fees. But if
the heir of any one of these shall be under age, his lord shall not
have custody of him or his land, before he has received his homage,
and after that such heir shall be in wardship, and attain the age of
twenty-one years, he shall take up his inheritance without relief or
fine; so that if the heir himself, whilst under age, be made a
knight, nevertheless his land shall remain in the custody of his lord
till the before-named period. The guardian of the property of an heir
under age, shall take from the land of the said heir only reasonable
outgoings, reasonable customs, and reasonable service, and these
without destruction of, or damage to, person or property. And if we
entrust the guardianship of such land to any one, either a sheriff or
any other, who ought to answer to us for the outgoings of that land,
and he in his guardianship causes destruction or waste to it, we will
take compensation from him, and the land shall be entrusted to two
liege and prudent men of that fee, who shall in the same way answer
to us as above-mentioned. But the guardian, as long as he holds
charge of the land, shall, from the produce thereof, support all
houses, parks, warrens, lakes, mills, and other appurtenances of that
land; and shall, when the heir comes of age, restore the land to him
furnished with ploughs and all other things, at least as well as he
received it.
“All
these rules shall be observed in the guardianships of archbishoprics,
bishoprics, abbacies, priories, churches and vacant dignities, which
belong to us, except that the wardships of these ought not to be
sold. Heirs may marry without disparagement. A widow, after the death
of her husband, may immediately, and without any difficulty, take
possession of her marriage portion, and her inheritance, and shall
not give anything for her dowry, marriage portion, or the inheritance
which she and her husband possessed on the day of that husband’s
decease; and she may remain in the principal house of her husband for
forty days after the death of her said husband, during which time her
dowry shall be allotted to her, unless it has been previously
allotted to her, or unless that house be a castle; and if she goes
away from a castle, a fitting house shall be provided for her, in
which she can stay in a becoming manner till her dowry is allotted to
her, according to what has been stated above, and she shall have a
reasonable allowance for herself out of the common property; and
there shall be allotted to her for her dowry a third portion of all
her husband’s land, which was his in his life-time, unless she
received less as a dowry at the door of the church. No widow shall be
bound to marry when she wishes to live without a husband; but if she
holds property of us she shall give security that she will not marry
without our consent. And we and our bailiffs will not seize any land
or property for any debt as long as the chattels of the debtor, then
in his possession, are sufficient to pay the debt and the debtor
himself is willing to satisfy our demand out of them. And the
debtor’s sureties shall not be bound as long as the debtor personally
is able to pay the debt, and if the debtor himself fails to pay the
debt, not possessing means of payment, or refusing to pay although he
is able, his sureties shall be answerable for the debt; and if they
wish it they shall have the lands and income of the debtor, until
they are satisfied for the debt, which they have pre-paid for him,
unless the debtor himself shows that he was quit of it to the said
sureties. The city of London* shall have all its old liberties and
its free customs. Moreover we will and grant that all other cities,
towns, and villages, and barons of the cinque ports, and all our
ports, shall have all their liberties and customs free.
*
“Whoever
accepts a loan from a Jew, be it more or less, and dies before paying
that debt, the debt shall not be charged with interest as long as his
heir is under age, of whomsoever he may hold; and if that debt should
fall into our hands we will only seize the chattels mentioned in the
charter. And if any one dies, owing a debt to Jews, his wife shall
receive her dowry, and shall not pay anything for that debt. And if
any children of the deceased survive, who are under age, they shall
be provided with necessaries according to the tenement which the
deceased held, and with what remains the debt shall be paid, saving,
however, the service due to their lords. And the same shall be the
case when debts are contracted with others besides Jews. We will not
levy any scutage or tax in our kingdom without the advice of the
kingdom in general, unless it be to ransom our body, to make a knight
of our eldest son, and to marry our eldest daughter once, and for
this only a reasonable tax shall be levied. And the same shall be
observed with regard to the taxes of the city of London; and the city
of London shall enjoy all its old liberties and free customs both by
land and water. And moreover we will and grant leave for all other
cities, boroughs, and towns, and the barons of the cinque ports, to
enjoy all their liberties and free customs. And in order to obtain
the general opinion of the kingdom as to levying taxes in any cases
except those three above-mentioned, and as to levying scutages, we
will summon, by our letters under our seal, the archbishops, bishops,
abbots, earls, and chief barons of the kingdom. And we will moreover
by means of our sheriffs and bailiffs, summon all others in general,
who hold of us in chief, to meet at a fixed place, and at a fixed
time, namely, at the term of forty days at least. In all our letters
of summons we will set forth the cause of that summons; and after
having thus summoned them the business shall be proceeded with on the
appointed day according to the plans of those who may be present,
although all who were summoned may not have come. Henceforth we do
not permit any one to levy a tax from his freemen, unless to ransom
his body, or to make his eldest son a knight, or to marry his eldest
daughter once, and only a reasonable tax shall be levied for this
purpose.” —M. Paris.
“No one shall be bound to do greater service for a knight’s fee, or for
any other free tenement than he ought to do for it. The common pleas
shall not accompany our court, but shall be held in some fixed place.
Recognizances for new disseising, and the death of an ancestor, shall
only be taken in their own counties and in this manner. We, or if we
are out of the kingdom, our chief justiciary, will send our
justiciaries through each county once a year, who will, with the
knights of the counties hold the before-mentioned assize in each
county; and those things, which at their arrival in the counties
could not be determined by the aforesaid messengers at the aforesaid
assizes, shall be determined elsewhere by the same messengers on
their journey; and those things which could not, on account of some
difficulty in the points in question, be determined by the said
messengers, shall be referred to our justiciaries of the bench and
there determined. The assizes concerning the last presentation to the
churches shall always be held before the justiciaries of the bench,
and there determined. A freeman shall be fined for a small offence
only according to the degree of his fault, and for a great offence
according to the greatness of his offence, saving his tenements; and,
in the same way, a merchant, saving his merchandise; and a villain of
any other person except ourselves shall be amerced in the same
manner, saving his wannage,* if he throws himself on our mercy. And
none of the aforesaid allowances shall be made, unless on the oath of
tried and lawful men of the neighbourhood in the county. Earls and
barons shall only be fined by their peers, and then only according to
the degree of their offence. No ecclesiastic shall be fined according
to the degree of his ecclesiastical benefice, but according to his
lay possessions, and the degree of his offence. No town or person
shall be bound to make bridges over rivers, unless bound in duty to
do so by old custom and by right. No river shall be embanked anew,
unless those which were embanked at the time of king Henry our
grandfather. No sheriff, constable, or coroner, or other bailiffs of
ours shall hold pleas of our crown.**
* Farming-stock.
**
Paris adds:— “All
countries, hundreds, wapentakes, and tithings, shall be set at their
ancient farmage without any increase, except the manori of our
domain.”
“If any one holding lay fees from us dies, and our sheriff or bailiff
shows our letters patent, with a warning from us of the debt which
the deceased owed us, it shall be lawful for our sheriff or bailiff
to attach and reduce to writing the chattels of the deceased which,
are found in his lay fee, to the value of that debt, according to the
decision of legal men, so that nothing may be moved from thence till
our debt is ascertained and paid, and then the residue shall be left
to the deceased’s executor to execute his will; and if he owes us
nothing, all the chattels shall go out to the deceased, except
reasonable portions for his wife and his sons.* No constable or
bailiff of his shall take the corn or chattels of any one who does
not belong to the town where the castle is situated, unless he
immediately pays him money, or has regard for the same at the will of
the seller; but if he belongs to that town, he shall pay the price
within forty days. No constable shall compel any knight to pay him
for taking care of his castle, if he wishes to do it personally, or
by some other approved person, if he cannot do it by reasonable
cause; and if we shall send him to the army, he shall be quit of his
wardship as long as he is detained by us in the army, as regards the
fee for which he served in our army. No bailiff, sheriff, or other
agent of ours, shall take horses or carts belonging to any one for
carriage of goods, unless he pays the livery determined on of old;
that is to say, for a cart with two horses ten pence a day, and for
one with three horses fourteen pence a day. No cart belonging to any
ecclesiastical person, or knight, or any lady, shall be taken by the
aforesaid bailiffs; nor will we, or our bailiffs, or any others take
wood belonging to another to make our castles or to do our work,
unless by consent of the party to whom the wood belongs. We will
retain the lands of those convicted of felony only for one year and
one day, and then they shall be given up to the lords of the fees.
All the weirs shall be hereafter done away with entirely in the
Thames and the Medway, and throughout all Europe except at the
sea-coast. The brief called ‘præcipe,’ shall
hereafter not issue to any one for any tenure whereby a free man may
lose his court.
*
Paris gives in addition:—“If any free man dies intestate,
his goods shall be distributed, according to the decision of the
church, by his relatives, parents, or friends, saving to each of them
the debts which the deceased owed him.”
“There
shall be one measure for wine and beer throughout the whole of our
kingdom, and one measure for corn, namely, the London quarter; and
one width for dyed cloths, russets, and hauberjets, namely, two ells
inside the binding; and with weights it shall be as with measures.
Nothing shall hereafter be given for a writ of inquisition by any one
requiring an inquisition as to life or limb, but it shall be granted
free without denial. If any one holds from us by fee farm, or
soccage, or burgage, and holds land from another person by knight
service, we will not have the wardship of his heir or his land, which
is of another’s fee, on the pretext of that feefarm, soccage, or
burgage. Nor will we hold the wardship of that fee-farm, soccage, or
burgage, unless the fee farm itself owes knight service. We ought not
to have the wardship of the heir or land which he holds from another
by knight’s service, on the pretext of any petty sergeantry, which he
holds from us by the service of offering a knife, arrow, or any other
thing of the kind. No bailiff shall henceforth put any one to the law
or to his oath, on his simple assertion, unless credible witnesses be
brought to that effect. No free person shall be taken or imprisoned,
or shall be dispossessed of any free tenement of his, or his
liberties or free customs, nor shall he be outlawed, or be punished
in any other way, nor will we come upon him, nor send him to prison,
unless by legal decision of his equals, or by the law of the land. We
will not sell the right and justice to any one, nor will we refuse it
or put it off. All traders, unless openly forbidden, shall have free
egress from and ingress to England, both to stay and to go, both by
land and water, to buy or sell without any extortion, according to
old and just customs; unless in time of war, and they belong to the
country at war with us; and if such be found in our territory at the
beginning of the war, they shall be seized without damage to their
persons or property, until we, or our chief justiciary, learn how the
merchants of our country are treated in the country at war with us
and, if our merchants are safe with them, theirs shall be safe with us.*
*
Paris adds:— “It
shall be henceforth lawful for every one to leave, and return to, our
kingdom safely and securely by land and water, saving our faith,
unless in time of war, for a short time for the advantage of the
kingdom, except in the case of prisoners and outlaws, according to
the law of the kingdom, and the people warring against us, and their
merchants concerning whom the rules above-mentioned shall be observed
.”
“If any one holds from any escheat, as from the honour of Wallingford,
Boulogne, Lancaster, Nottingham, or from other escheats which are in
our hands, and are baronies, and dies, his heir shall not give any
other relief, nor do any other service for us than he would do for a
baron, if that barony was in the hands of a baron; and we will hold
it in the same way as the baron held it; nor will we on the pretext
of such barony or escheat, hold any escheat* or wardship of any of
our subjects unless he who held the barony or escheat, held elsewhere
from us in chief. No freeman henceforth shall give or sell so much of
his land to any one, that he is disabled from discharging, out of the
residue, the service which is due to his lord for that fee. All the
patrons of abbacies, who have from the king of England charters of
advowson, or who hold through ancient tenure or possession, shall
have charge of those abbacies, when they become vacant, as they ought
to have, and as has been above declared. No man shall be taken or
imprisoned, on the appeal of a woman, for the death of any one except
that woman’s own husband. No county shall henceforth be held unless
from month to month; and where the term has been used to be longer,
it shall be longer; and no sheriff or bailiff of it shall make his
term in the hundred more than twice a year, and then only at the
proper and accustomed times, that is to say, once after Easter and
again after Michaelmas. And in like manner, the view of frank pledge
shall take place at the said term of Michaelmas without fail, so that
each person may have his own liberties, such as he had, and has been
accustomed to have, at and since the time of king Henry our
grandfather, or which he has gained since; and the view of frank
pledge shall be held, so that our peace may be kept, and that the
tithing may be unharmed as it used to be; and that the sheriff shall
not seek pretexts, and that he shall be content with receiving what
the sheriff has been accustomed to receive for making his view in the
time of our grandfather king Henry.
*
Paris adds:—”People who dwell out of the forest, shall
not henceforth appear before our justiciaries of the forest unless
they be impleaded, or are pledges of any person or persons who are
attached on account of the forest. And all the woods, which were
afforested by our brother king Richard, shall be immediately
deforested, except those of our domain."
No
one shall henceforth be allowed to give his land to a religious
house, so as to resume possession of it to be held of that same
house, nor shall any religious house be allowed so to receive land as
to give it back in tenure to him from whom they received possession
of it; but if any one henceforth thus gives his land to a religious
house and is convicted of so doing, his gift shall be altogether
annulled, and the land shall fall into the possession of the lord of
that fee. Scutage shall henceforth be taken as it used to be taken
in the time of our grandfather king Henry. And all these aforesaid
customs and liberties, which we, as far as pertains to us, have
granted to be held in our kingdom, towards all our subjects in our
kingdom, shall be observed both by our clergy and laity, as much as
pertains to them, towards their dependants, saving to the
archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, templars, hospitallers, earls,
barons, knights and all others, ecclesiastics as well as seculars,
the liberties and free customs which they formerly had. Witness
these, &c .” The liberties and free customs of the forest,
which could not be contained in the same sheet as the above-written
liberties because it was not large enough, are contained in this
underwritten charter as follows:—
The
liberties of the forest.
“John,
by the grace of God, king of England, etc. Be it known that we,
looking to God, and for the safety of our soul, as well as those of
our ancestors and successors, have for the exaltation of the holy
church, and for the improvement of our kingdom, of our own free will,
on behalf of ourselves and our heirs, granted these under-mentioned
liberties to be had and held for ever in our kingdom of England. In
the first place all the forests, which king Henry our grandfather
made, shall be inspected by approved and legal men; and if any one
has made forest of any other wood than that belonging to his own
domain to the injury of the owner of the same, it shall be
immediately disforested; and, if he has forested his own wood, it
shall remain a forest, saving the common of herbage, and other things
in the same forest, to those who used to hold it. All men living
without the bounds of a forest shall hereafter not come before our
justiciaries of the forest by ordinary summons, unless they be
impleaded or be securities for some person or persons who are
attached on account of the forest. All woods, which were forested by
our brother king Richard, shall be immediately disforested, unless
they are woods of our demesne. Archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors,
earls, barons, knights, and free tenants, who have wood in the
forest, shall hold possession of their wood as they did at the time
of the coronation of our aforesaid grandfather king Henry, so that
they shall be for ever free from all annoyances, waste, and clearages
made in those woods from that time till the commencement of the
second year of our coronation; and whoever henceforth commit waste,
nuisance, or make clearance, in those woods without our permission,
shall be answerable for such waste, annoyance, or clearance. Our
inspectors shall go through the forests to take account, as was the
custom at the time of the coronation of our said grandfather king
Henry, and no otherwise. Inquisitions or views concerning the footing
of dogs in a forest shall be taken henceforth when survey ought to be
taken, that is to say, every third year; and then it shall be taken
according to the view and testimony of legal men, and no otherwise;
and if any person’s dog is then found not footed, he shall pay three
shillings for alms. Henceforth no oxen shall be taken for footing;
but such footing shall commonly be by assize, that three claws shall
be taken from his hind foot without the ball. Dogs henceforth shall
not be footed, unless at the place where they used to be footed at
the time of the coronation of our said grandfather king Henry. No
forester or bedel shall henceforth make a tallage, or shall collect
sheaves of oats or other kinds of corn, or sheep or pigs, or make any
collection, and when the inspection is made, so many foresters shall
be appointed to guard the forests as, in the view and on the oath of
twelve inspectors, shall seem sufficient in reason for the purpose.
No swainmote shall be hereafter held in our kingdom except three
times a year, namely, fifteen days before Michaelmas, when our
officers go round to levy tax for maintaining the fences of our
woods; and at Martinmas, when the same officers collect our pannage;*
and at those two swainmotes the foresters, verdurers, and
collectors,** shall assemble, and no one else, by writ of distringas.
*
Money paid for hedge-waste which cattle fed on.
**
Of taxes for repairing the bounds of a piece of ground.
And
the third swainmote shall be held fifteen days before St. John the
Baptist’s day, for the foddering of our cattle, and at that swainmote
the foresters, verdurers, and collectors shall assemble, and no
others, by writ of distringas. And moreover every forty days
throughout the year the verdurers and foresters shall assemble to
inspect the attachments of the forest, as well with regard to the
turf as the venison on the presentation of those foresters, and they
shall be attached in their presence. But these said swainmotes shall
only be held in the counties where they used to be held. Every free
man shall collect the tax to repair the bounds of his own wood in the
forest at will, and shall receive his own pannage. We also grant
permission to every free man to bring his pigs through the wood of
our domain, free and without hindrance, and to enclose them in his
own woods or elsewhere at his pleasure, and if any freeman’s pigs
wander in our forest for one night, it shall not be made a pretext
for him to be deprived of any of his property. No one shall be
deprived of life or limb for hunting in our forest; but if any one
shall be taken and convicted of stealing venison, he shall pay a
heavy ransom, if he has the means to do so, and if he has not the
means he shall be imprisoned for a year and a day. And if, at the
expiration of a year and a day, he can find sureties he shall be
released from prison; but if not, he shall abjure our kingdom of
England. If any archbishop, bishop, earl, or baron, in coming to us
by our orders, passes through our forest, he may take one or two
beasts in sight of the forester, if the latter be present, and if
not, let him sound a horn that he may not appear to be taking them by
stealth; he may also act in the same way on his return. Every free
man may henceforth, without hindrance, in his own wood or on the land
which he holds in the forest, build a mill, make a warren, lake,
marl-pit, or ditch, or may lay out arable ground beyond what is
enclosed in arable land, so that it may not be to the injury of any
neighbour of his. Every free man may in his own woods have aviaries
of sparrow-hawks, falcons, eagles, and herons, and in the same way
may have the honey found in his own woods. No forester, who is not a
forester paying fee-farm to us for his bailiwick, shall henceforth
take any road-tax in his bailiwick; but a forester who pays fee-farm
to us for his bailiwick shall take road-tax; namely, for every cart
two-pence during a half-year, and two-pence for the other half-year;
and for a baggage horse one farthing for half a year, and a farthing
for the other half-year; and only from those who come from out of his
bailiwick to trade by his leave in his bailiwick, to buy wood,
timber, bark, or coal, and to take them elsewhere to sell, wherever
they please; and from no other cart or beast of burden shall any
road-tax be taken, and the said road-tax shall only be taken in the
places where it used to be taken formerly. But those who carry on
their shoulders their wood, bark, or coal for sale, shall not,
although they live by this means, pay any road-tax. No road-tax for
the woods of other people shall be paid to our foresters, but only
from the woods of our domain. All who have been outlawed concerning
forest matters, from the time of our grandfather king Henry till our
coronation, may return peaceably without hindrance, and shall find
good securities that they will not again make forfeiture to us with
respect to our forest. No chastellain or other person shall hold
pleas of the forest, either with regard to the turf or the venison,
but any fee-forester may attach pleas of the forest, as well
concerning the turf as the venison, and shall present them to the
verdurers of the counties; and, when they are enrolled and under the
seals of the verdurers, they shall be presented to the chief
forester, when he comes to that part of the country to hold pleas of
the forest, and shall be determined in his presence. And it is our
will that all the aforesaid customs and liberties which we have
granted to be had and observed in the kingdom towards our men, on our
part, shall be observed by all the people of the kingdom, clergy as
well as laity, on their part towards their men.
Of
the twenty-fine barons, who were appointed by the king to revise the
aforesaid laws.
“Since
we, out of love to God, and for the amendment of our kingdom, and the
better to set at rest the disagreement which has arisen between us
and our barons, have granted all these things, wishing to preserve
them entire and on a firm footing, we give and grant the underwritten
security to them, namely:—That the barons shall choose
twenty-five barons of the kingdom, whomsoever they please, who shall
with all their power observe, keep, and cause to be observed, peace
and the liberties which we have granted, and by this our present
charter have confirmed to them, so that, if we personally or by our
justiciary, or bailiff, wrong any one in any way, or break through
any one of the articles of this peace or security, and the injury
shall be proved to four out of the twenty-five barons, those four
barons shall come to us, or, if we are out of the kingdom, to our
justiciary, and, explaining what is wrong to us, shall require us to
give satisfaction without delay. And if we, or, if we are out of the
kingdom, our justiciary, do not give satisfaction within forty days,
reckoning from the time when it was pointed out to us, the said four
barons shall refer the matter to the rest of the twenty-five; and
those barons with the whole community of the country shall annoy and
harass us, by all the means in their power, such as taking our
castles, lands, and possessions, and any other means, till we give
them satisfaction according to their decision, saving always our
person, and the , persons of our queen, and our children; and when we
have given satisfaction, they shall obey us as they did before. And
let every one in the kingdom who chooses to do so, swear that, to
obtain all the aforesaid terms, he will obey the commands of the
aforesaid twenty-five barons, and will harass us in conjunction with
them, to the utmost of his power; and we give open and free
permission to swear this to any one who chooses to do so, and we will
never forbid any one to swear this. But all those in our kingdom who
choose to swear to unite with the barons in annoying and harassing
us, we will cause to swear to obey our commands as above-mentioned.
But in all cases which are entrusted to the management of those
twenty-five barons, if by chance they disagree amongst themselves on
any point, or any of them when summoned refuse or are unable to be
present, whatever the majority of them shall determine and order
shall be ratified and confirmed, as though the twenty-five had all
agreed to it. And the twenty-five barons shall swear that they will
faithfully observe the aforesaid terms, and to the best of their
ability cause them to be observed; and we will do nothing personally
or by another, by which any of the said grants and liberties shall be
revoked or deteriorated; and if any such grant shall have been made,
it shall be null and void, and we will never make use of it ourselves
or by Vol. n. if any other person. And all the bad disposition,
indignation, and rancour which has arisen between us and our
subjects, clergy as well laity, from the commencement of our
disagreement, we entirely dismiss and pardon in respect of all. And
the better to harass us, the four castellans of Northampton,
Kenilworth, Nottingham, and Scarborough, shall swear to the
twenty-five barons that they will do with the said castles whatever
they or the majority of them may enjoin and command them to do; and
there shall always be appointed to those castles, castellans who are
faithful and will not break their oath. And we will send away from -
our kingdom all foreigners, all the relatives of Gerard d’Athie,
namely, Engelard, Andrew, Peter, and Guy de Chanceles, Guy de
Ciguigny, the wife of the aforesaid Gerard with all their children,
Geoffrey de Martenn and his brothers, Philip Mark and his brothers,
and G. his nephew, Falco, and all the Flemings and robbers who do
injury in our kingdom. Moreover all offences which have been
committed on account of this disagreement from the last Easter, which
was in the sixteenth year of our reign, till this renewal of peace,
are by us freely forgiven to all, clergy and laity, and as far as
concerns us are fully pardoned. And moreover we have caused
testimonials and letters patent to be granted them from our lords,
Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, Henry bishop of Durham, and
Pandulph subdeacon and familiar of our lord the pope, and also from
the aforesaid bishops, as a security for this and for the aforesaid
grants. Wherefore we will and strictly order, that the English church
be free, and that all subjects of our kingdom shall have and hold all
the aforesaid liberties, laws, and customs, well and peaceably,
freely and quietly, fully and entirely, to themselves and their heirs
from us and our heirs, in all matters and places for ever, as
aforesaid. An oath also has been made in presence of the above-named
witnesses, as well on behalf of us as of the barons, that we will
observe all the aforesaid articles in good faith, and without
fraudulent reservation. Given under our hand in the field called
Runnymede, between Staines and Windsor, on the fifteenth day of June,
in the seventeenth year of our reign.*
*
M. Paris here inserts:— “In
the same year too, John, in order the more to gain the good-will of
the prelates and nobles, granted free elections in all the churches
of England; and the king himself, as well as the nobles and;
prelates, procured a confirmation of this charter and grant from the
pope, and, for better security, the king’s charter was inserted,
sealed in the pope’s warrant of confirmation. The twenty-five barons
chosen were as follow:—The earls of Clare, Albemarle,
Gloucester, Winchester, and Hereford; earls Robert, Roger, Marshall
the younger, Robert Fitz-Walter the elder, Gilbert de Clare, Eustace
de Vescy, Hugh Bigod, William Mersbray mayor of London, Gilbert de
Laval, Robert de Roos constable of Chester, Richard Percy, John
Fitz-Robert, William Malet, Geoffrey de Say, Roger de Mowbray,
William of Huntingfield, Richard de Montfichet, and William de
Albeney. These twenty-five barons, at the king’s request, swore on
their souls that they would observe these customs in every point, and
would compel the king to observe them by force, if he should by
chance wish to withdraw his consent. The following nobles swore on
their souls to obey the commands of the twenty-five barons; the earl
of Clare, the earl of Arundel, earl Warrenne, Henry Doyly, Hubert de
Bourg, Matthew FitzHerbert, Robert Pinkney, Roger Huscarl, Robert de
Newburg, Henry de Pont Omar, Ralph de la Haye, Henry de Brentfield,
Warren Fitz-Gerald, Thomas Basset, William de Rokeland, William St.
John, Alan Basset, Richard de Bankes, Hugh de Beneval, Jordan de
Sackville, Ra. Musgard, Ri. Aflenvast, Robert de Ropele, Andrew de
Beauchamp, Walter of Dunstable, Walter Folioth, Faulkes, John
Marshal, Philip de Albeney, William Pare, Ralph de Normanville,
William de Percy, William Agorlun, Engerus de Protest, William de
Cirent, Roger de Zucha, Roger Fitz-Bernard, and Godfrey de Cracombe,
who all swore that they would obey the commands of the twenty-five
barons.”
How the king of England by letters patent ordered the aforesaid liberties
to be observed.
After this king John sent his letters patent throughout all the English
territories, strictly ordering all the sheriffs of the whole kingdom
to make the inhabitants in their jurisdictions of every rank, swear
to observe the above-written laws and liberties, and also, as far as
lay in their power, to annoy and harass him, the king, by taking his
castles till he fulfilled all the above-mentioned terms, as contained
in the charter. After which, many nobles of the kingdom came to the
king asking him for their rights of land and possessions, and the
custody of the castles, which, as they said, belonged to them by
hereditary right; but the king delayed this matter till it was proved
on the oath of liege men, what of right was due to each; and, the
more fully to effect this, he fixed the 16th of August as a day for
them all to come to Westminster. Nevertheless he restored to Stephen
archbishop of Canterbury the castle of Rochester and the Tower of
London, which by old right belonged to his custody: and then breaking
up the conference, the barons returned with the above-named charter
to London.*
*
M. Paris here adds:—“King
John, wishing that these things should be on a more secure footing,
sent to pope Innocent, asking him to grant the favour of confirming
this by his bull; and as he had become an obedient vassal of the
pope, and an apostolic king, he soon obtained what he wanted in the
following form:— ‘Innocent, bishop, &c, to all his
venerable brothers and all his beloved sons, the prelates of the
churches throughout England, health and the apostolic blessing. We
worthily laud the magnificence of the Creator, who is terrible and
wonderful in his counsels on the sons of men, for that, when he has
once taught us our weakness by causing the storm to blow, he has
again said to the winds, Peace, be still, and has suffered the
sailors to enter the desired port. Whereas a great controversy has
long existed between the sovereign and the priesthood of England, not
without much danger and loss, concerning the elections of prelates,
however by the wonderful working of Him to whom nothing is
impossible, and who breathes where he wishes, our well beloved John,
the illustrious king of the English, has, of his own free will, and
by the common consent of his barons, for the salvation of the souls
of himself, his predecessors, and his successors, liberally granted
to us and confirmed by his letters, that henceforth in all and
singular the churches and monasteries, both cathedral and conventual,
of all England, the elections of all prelates whatsoever, whether the
superior or inferior, shall be for ever free. We therefore, in
ratification thereof, by the apostolic authority and by these present
letters, ratify and confirm this grant to you, and, by your means, to
the churches and your successors, as we have seen it contained in the
said letters of the king; and, for better security and in lasting
memory of this grant, we have caused the aforesaid letters of the
king on this matter to be united to these presents; the tenor of
these letters is as follows:— “John, by the grace of God,
king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and
count of Anjou, to the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, knights,
bailiffs, and all to whom these letters shall come, greeting.
Whereas, under God’s favour, a full arrangement has been, by the
voluntary consent of both parties, come to between us and our
venerable fathers Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all
England and cardinal of the holy Roman church, William bishop of
London, Eustace of Ely, Giles of Hereford, John of Bath and
Glastonbury, and Hubert of Lincoln, concerning their losses and
property which was confiscated at the time of the interdict, we wish
not only to give satisfaction to them as far as lies in our power
with God’s assistance, but also wholesomely and advantageously to
provide for the whole church of England for ever. Therefore, whatever
custom may have been hitherto observed in the English church in the
times of ourself and our ancestors, and whatever right we may have
hitherto claimed for ourselves, henceforth in each and all of the
churches and monasteries of England, conventual and cathedral, the
elections of prelates shall be free for ever, of whatever order they
may be, superior as well as inferior; saving to us and our heirs the
custody of the vacant churches and monasteries, which belongs to us.
We also promise that we will not hinder, nor permit, or cause our
agents to hinder the electors in each and all of the churches and
monasteries when the prelacies are vacant from appointing any pastor
they may choose for themselves, but permission to do so must be
previously asked of us and our heirs, which we will not refuse or put
off. And if it should happen that we should refuse or delay to give
permission, the electors shall proceed to make a canonical election.
And likewise after the election has been made, our consent to it
shall be asked, which we will not refuse, unless we set forth and
legitimately prove a reason why we ought net to consent to it.
Wherefore it is our will and strict order that no one, in vacant
churches or monasteries, shall dare in any way to contravene this our
grant and decree; and if any one shall at any time contravene it he
will incur the malediction of the omnipotent God and of us. As
witness these, Peter bishop of Winchester, W. Marshal earl of
Pembroke, William earl Warrenne, R. earl of Chester, S. earl of
Winchester, G. de Mandeville earl of Gloucester and Essex, W. earl
Ferrers, G. Briwere, W. Fitzgerald, W. de Cantwulf, H. de Neville,
Robert de Iver, and W. Huntingfield. Given under the hand of master
Robert Marsh our chancellor, at the New Temple at London, this
fifteenth day of January, in the sixteenth year of our reign. "Let
no man therefore presume to infringe or rashly to oppose this our
letter of confirmation. But if any one presumes to attempt such a
thing, let him be assured that he will incur the anger of the
omnipotent God, and his blessed apostles Peter and Paul. Given at the
Lateran, this thirtieth day of March, in the eighteenth year of our
pontificate.”
When
this was completed and approved of by both parties, they all exulted
in the belief that God had compassionately touched the king’s heart,
had taken away his heart of stone and given him one of flesh, and
that a change for the best was made in him by the hand of the
Almighty; and all and every one hoped that England, being by the
grace of God freed in their time from, as it were, the Egyptian
bondage, by which it had been for a long time previously oppressed,
would enjoy peace and liberty, not only by the protection of the
Roman church, under whose wings they thought they were sheltered, and
thus as it were under the divine shield, to serve which is to reign,
but also on account of the wished-for humiliation of the king, who
they hoped was happily inclined to all gentleness and peace. But far
otherwise was it—oh shame!—oh sorrow!—and far
differently from what was expected, did events happen. Fortune was
believed smilingly to have offered them nectar, when it prepared
draughts of gall and poison: for lo, on the instigation of the devil,
who by old custom is jealous of the prosperity of mankind, the sons
of Belial, like wicked freebooters, who love war rather than peace,
whisperingly instilled their words of discord in the ears of the
king: for they said gruntingly and with much laughter and derision, ‘
Behold this is the twenty-fifth king in England;— lo! he is not
now a king, nor even a petty king, but a disgrace to kings; he had
better be no king at all than be one of this kind. Behold a king
without a kingdom, a lord without a domain; a worthless man and a
king contemptible to his people. Alas ! wretched man, and slave of
the lowest degree, to what a wretched state of slavery have you
fallen ? You have been a king, now you are the scum of the people;
you have been the greatest, now are you the least. Nothing is more
unfortunate than to have been fortunate.’ And thus arousing his anger
they fanned the fire into a general conflagration.
The alienation of the king’s heart.
The too credulous king then, at the whisperings of these abominable
bandits, whom, according to custom and to his own injury, he had too
freely entertained, giving up his own natural subjects, changed his
mind and inclined his heart to the very worst devices; for it is
easy to turn a wavering man, and one prone to evil it is easy to
hurry headlong into wickedness. The king then deeply sighing,
conceived the greatest indignation, and began to pine away himself,
giving vent to lamentations and complaints. ‘Why,’ said he, ‘did
my mother bring me forth, unhappy and shameless woman that she was?
Why was I nursed on her knees, or suckled at her breast? Would that I
had been slain rather than suffered to grow to manhood.’ He
then commenced gnashing his teeth, scowling with his eyes, and
seizing sticks and limbs of trees, began to gnaw them, and after
gnawing them to break them, and with increased extraordinary gestures
to show the grief or rather the rage he felt. And on that very night
he at once secretly prepared letters and sent to Philip Marc
constable of the castle of Nottingham, a native of Poictou, and to
all his foreign-born subjects, in whom his soul most confided,
ordering them to supply their castles with provisions, surround them
with trenches, garrison them, and to prepare cross-bows and engines,
and to make arrows; telling them, however, to do this cautiously and
without open blustering, lest the barons should happen to find it out
and prevent the anger of the ting from proceeding further. But as
there is nothing done in secret which is not discovered, these
dangerous preparations and designs were soon made known to the nobles
by passers-by; on which some of the more prudent of them went to the
king to find out if what had been told them was true, and if so, to
endeavour by wholesome representations and advice to dispel his
anger, and to recall him from his unjust purpose before it was
commenced. The king however, in the presence of his nobles, concealed
his inward bitterness under a calm countenance, and boldly swore by
the feet of God that he designed nothing underhanded; and thus by
false assertions he deceitfully lulled the report which had arisen.
Nevertheless, as it is difficult for a furious man to restrain
himself, these nobles discovered by many indications, before the
interview was broken off, that the affection of the king was
estranged from them, and that his look was dejected, and they
pondered the event in their minds, using these words: ‘Woe to
us, yea to all England, since it has not a true king, but is
oppressed by a tyrant who endeavours to make his people miserable. He
has already placed us in subjection to Rome and the Roman court, that
we might obtain protection from it; it is to be feared that we shall
find the assistance from that place injurious to our posterity. We
never heard of any king who was unwilling to withdraw his neck from
slavery; but this one willingly succumbs to it.’ And with these
sorrowful reflections they left the king and departed.”
How king John retired clandestinely to the Isle of Wight and
laid plans against the barons.
After the barons, as has been stated, had gone from the conference,
the king was left with scarcely seven knights out of his proper body of
attendants. Whilst lying sleepless that night in Windsor castle, his
thoughts alarmed him much, and before daylight he fled by stealth to
the Isle of Wight, and there in great agony of mind devised plans to
be revenged on the barons. At length, after divers meditations, he
determined, with the assistance of the apostle Peter, to seek revenge
on his enemies with two swords, the spiritual and temporal, so that
if he could not succeed with the one, he might for certain accomplish
his purpose with the other. To strike at them with the spiritual
sword, he sent Pandulph the pope’s subdeacon with other messengers,
to the court of Rome, to counteract, by the apostolic authority, the
intentions of the barons. He also sent Walter bishop of Winchester
and chancellor of England, John bishop of Norwich, Richard de
Marisco, William Gernon, and Hugh de Boves, with his own seal, to all
the transmarine territories to procure supplies of troops in those
parts, promising them lands, ample possessions, and no small sum of
money; and the more to secure the fidelity of the people there, he
ordered them if necessary to give warrants of security for their pay
to all the soldiers who would join them; and he arranged that, at
Michaelmas, they should come to him at Dover with all whom they could
allure to them. He moreover sent letters to all the governors of his
castles throughout England, ordering them each and all to furnish
their castles with all kinds of provisions and arms, and to
strengthen their garrisons with soldiers so as to be able to defend
them at a day’s notice. He himself in the meantime, with a few
followers whom he had begged from the retinue of the bishop of
Norwich, took on himself the business of a pirate, and employed
himself in gaining the good-will of the sailors of the cinque-ports;
and thus, hiding as it were in the open air in the island and near
the sea-coasts, without any regal show, he for three months led a
solitary life on the water and in the company of sailors, for he
preferred to die rather than to live long unrevenged for the insults
of the barons. All this time different reports were circulated by
different people concerning him; and by some he was said to have
turned fisherman, by others a trader and a pirate, and by some be was
said to have become an apostate; and after he had been, on account of
his protracted absence, sought for by several without success, they
believed that he was drowned, or had perished in some other way. The
king however bore all these reports with equanimity, awaiting the
expected arrival of his messengers, some of whom he had sent to the
court of Rome, and others to raise troops to assist him.
How
the barons of England prepared for tournaments.
The
barons meanwhile, who were staying in the city of London as if the
whole matter was at an end, agreed amongst themselves to assemble at
Stamford, there to enjoy the sports of the tournament; they therefore
sent letters to the noble William d’Albiney to the following
effect:—“Robert
FitzWalter, marshal of the army of God and the holy church, and the
other nobles of the same army to the noble William d’Albiney,
greeting. You well know of how great importance it is to you and to
us all, to keep possession of the city of London, which is a place of
refuge for us, and what a disgrace it would be if, through any fault
of ours, we were to lose it. Be-it known to you as a fact, that we
have been forewarned that there are some who are only waiting for our
departure from the aforesaid city, to take possession of it on a
sudden; therefore, by the general advice of all, we have put off the
tournament, which was commenced at Stamford on the Monday next after
the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul, to the Monday next after
the octaves aforesaid. But there will be a tournament near London, in
Staines Wood, and at the town of Hounslow; and this we have done for
our safety and for the safety of the aforesaid city. And we therefore
enjoin, and earnestly beseech you to come to the tournament aforesaid
well provided with horses and arms, that you may there obtain honour.
Whoever performs well there will receive a bear, which a lady will
send to the tournament. Farewell.”
In
the same year pope Innocent convoked a general council of the
prelates of the church universal, namely, patriarchs, archbishops,
bishops, primates, archdeacons, deacons of cathedral churches,
abbots, priors, templars, and hospitallers, who were all ordered, as
they wished to avoid the punishment of the church, to appear in the
presence of our lord the pope at the city of Rome on the 1st of
November.
Of
the statements made by the messengers of the king of England to the
pope.
At
the same time the king of England’s messengers appeared before our
lord the pope at Rome, setting forth the rebellion and injuries which
the barons of England had perpetrated against the said king, in
extorting from him certain unjust laws and liberties, which it did
not become his royal dignity to confirm; and when, after much discord
between them, the said king and barons had met several times to treat
about peace, the king openly declared before them all that the
kingdom of England by right of dominion belonged to the church of
Rome, and therefore he could not and ought not, without the knowledge
of our lord the pope, make any new arrangements, or alter any thing
in the kingdom to the detriment of that pontiff. On which, although
he had made an appeal, and had placed himself and all the rights of
his kingdom under the protection of the apostolic see, the said
barons, paying no regard to his appeal, had taken possession of the
city of London, the capital of his kingdom, which had been
treacherously given up to them, and even now retained possession of
it; and after this they flew to arms, mounted their horses, and
demanded from the king that the aforesaid laws and liberties should
be confirmed to them, and the king, through fear of an attack from
them, did not dare to refuse what they required. The said messengers
then gave the pope a written paper containing some of the articles of
the said charter which seemed most to help the cause of the king. The
pope, after reading them carefully, exclaimed in astonishment, “Are
the barons of England endeavouring to drive from the throne of his
kingdom a king who has taken the cross, and who is under the
protection of the apostolic see, and to transfer to another the
dominion of the Roman church? By St. Peter we cannot pass over this
insult without punishing it!" Then, after taking counsel with
his cardinals, he, by a definitive sentence condemned and for ever
annulled the said charter of grants of the liberties of the kingdom
of England; and in testimony of this, he transmitted to the English
king the following immunity:—
How,
by the immunity from the apostolic see, the. liberties granted to the
English barons were annulled.
“Innocent,
bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the faithful ones of
Christ, who shall see this paper, health and the apostolic blessing.
Although our well-beloved son in Christ, John the illustrious king of
the English, has greatly offended God and the holy church, for which
we fettered him with the bonds of excommunication, and placed his
kingdom under an interdict, nevertheless the said king, by the
merciful inspiration of Him who desires not the death of a sinner but
that he should be converted and live, at length, after reflection,
atoned in all humility to God and the church, inasmuch as he not only
gave recompense for losses, and made restitution of confiscated
property, but also granted full liberty to the English church;
moreover on the withdrawal of both decrees, he yielded his kingdom of
England as well as that of Ireland to St. Peter and the church of
Rome, receiving them from us in fee on condition of the annual
payment to us of a thousand marks, and making an oath of fealty to
us, as appears by his privilege sealed with the golden bull. And
desiring still more to give satisfaction to the Almighty, he assumed
the sign of the living cross, in order to go to the assistance of the
Holy Land, for which he was preparing himself with much expense. But
the enemy of the human race, whose custom it is to be envious of good
actions, by his crafty arts excited the barons of England against
him, so that, the order of things being perverted, he was, after
being converted and making atonement to the church, attacked by those
who stood by him in his offence against the church. When at length a
cause of difference arose between them, and after several days had
been appointed to treat about peace, special messengers were sent to
us; and after a careful discussion of the matter with them, we, after
full deliberation, wrote by the same messengers to Stephen archbishop
of Canterbury, and the bishops of England, ordering them to give
diligent attention and efficacious assistance to restore true peace
and concord between the parties, to proclaim all confederacies and
conspiracies, if any had been formed since the commencement of the
dispute between the king and priesthood, annulled by the apostolic
authority, and to forbid, under penalty of excommunication, any one
to show such presumption for the future; at the same time prudently
and effectually to warn and enjoin the nobles and men of rank in
England, to endeavour by evident indications of devotion and humility
to make their peace with the king, and then, if they intended to
demand anything of him, to ask it of him not insolently, but with
humility, observing towards him the respect due to a king, and
rendering to him the usual service which they and their ancestors had
rendered to him and his ancestors; since the king ought not to be
despoiled by them without judgement, and that they might thus more
easily obtain what they were trying for. We also requested and
advised the said king by our letters, and enjoined on the aforesaid
archbishop and bishops to request and warn him, as a remission of his
sins, to treat the aforesaid nobles with kindness, and to give
favourable attention to their just petitions, so that they might both
learn to their joy that he was altered for the better, and that by
this means they and their heirs would more readily and more devotedly
serve him and his heirs; also to grant them full security to come, to
stay, or to depart, that, if perchance peace could not be arranged
between them, the differences which had arisen might be set at rest
in his court by their deputies according to the laws and customs of
the kingdom. But before the said messengers returned with this
prudent and just advice, these barons, utterly disregarding their
oath of fealty, (for even if the king had unjustly oppressed them,
they ought not so to have acted against him, as to be at once judge
and executioners in their own cause, vassals openly conspiring
against their lord, knights against their king,) dared, in
conjunction with others his declared enemies, to make war against
him, taking possession of, and ravaging, his territories, and
moreover took possession of the city of London, the capital of the
kingdom, which had been given up to them through treachery. But in
the meantime when the above messengers returned, the king offered, in
accordance with our mandate, to show them due justice, but they
rejected it and turned their hands to worse offences; on which the
king himself, appealing to our attention, offered to do them justice
in presence of us, to whom the decision of this matter belonged by
right of dominion, and this- they altogether rejected. Then he
proposed to them that four skilful men should be chosen as well by
him as them, who might, in conjunction with us, put an end to the
disagreement which had arisen between them, promising that, above all
things, he would remove all the abuses which might have been
introduced into England in his time; but they did not condescend to
try this. At length the king explained to them that, since the
dominion of the kingdom belonged to the church of Rome, he could not
and ought not, without our special mandate, to make any alteration in
it to our prejudice; and he then again appealed to our hearing,
placing himself and his kingdom with all its dignities and rights
under the protection of the apostolic see. But as he did not gain
anything by any of these means, he asked the archbishop and bishops
to fulfil our mandate, to defend the right of the church of Rome, and
to protect him according to the terms of the privilege granted to
those who assume the cross. Besides this, when they would not agree
to any of these terms, he, seeing himself destitute of all aid and
counsel, dared not refuse whatever they presumed to demand; therefore
he was compelled by force and through fear, which even the bravest of
men is liable to, to enter into an agreement with them, which was not
only vile and base, but also unlawful and unjust, much to the
disparagement and diminution alike of his rights and his honour. But
as has been told us by the Lord through his prophet, ‘I have
appointed thee over people and kingdoms, to pluck up and destroy, to
build and to plant,’ and also by another prophet, ‘Cast loose the
bonds of wickedness, shake off the oppressing burdens,’ we do not
choose to pass over such wicked audacity, tending to the contempt of
the apostolic see, the detriment of kingly right, the disgrace of the
English nation, and danger to the cause of the cross, which would
assuredly happen to it, unless by our authority every thing was
revoked which had been thus extorted from such a prince who had also
assumed the cross, even though he were willing to keep them. We
therefore, on behalf of God the omnipotent Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost, by the authority of his apostles Peter and Paul, and by
our own, by the general advice of our brethren, reprobate and
entirely condemn an agreement of this kind, and forbid the said king,
under penalty of excommunication, to keep, and the barons and their
accomplices to compel him to keep either the charter, or the bonds or
securities, which have been given for its observance, and we
altogether annul and quash the same so that they may never have any
validity. Let none therefore, &c. Whoever, &c. Given at
Agnano on the 24th of August in the eighteenth year of our
pontificate.”
The pope’s rebuke to the barons of England for their
persecution of the king.
Having
thus annulled the aforesaid liberties, the pope wrote to the barons
of England in the following terms:—, “Innocent, bishop,
servant of the servants of God, to the nobles of England, the spirit
of a wiser counsel. Would that, in the persecution which you have
rashly practised against your lord the king, you had more carefully
attended to your oath of fealty, the right of the apostolic see, and
the privilege granted to those who have assumed the cross; because,
without doubt, you have not proceeded so to act, but that all who see
it detest the offence, especially since in your cause you have made
yourselves both judges and executioners, although the said king was
prepared to grant you ample justice in his own court, and by the
decision of your peers, according to the laws and customs of the
kingdom, or in the presence of us to whom the decision of this cause
belonged by right of dominion, or even in the presence of arbiters,
to be chosen on both sides, who would proceed in the matter
conjointly with us. Therefore, since you would not try any one of
these plans, he appealed to our hearing, placing himself and the
kingdom, with all its dignities and rights, under the protection of
the apostolic see; and he openly declared that, since the sovereignty
of the said kingdom belonged to the church of Rome, he could not and
ought not to make any alterations in it to our injury. Seeing then
that the agreement of whatever sort it is, which you have by violence
and threats induced him to make, is not only vile and base, but also
unlawful and unjust, so that it ought to be justly reprobated by all,
chiefly on account of the means used to obtain it, we, who are bound
to provide for the spiritual as well as the temporal good of the king
as well as the kingdom, by these our apostolic letters order, and in
all good faith advise you, to make a virtue of necessity, and
renounce of your own accord an agreement of this kind, and make
reparation to the king and his followers for the harm and injuries
you have inflicted upon him, that he, being appeased by your manifest
indications of devotion and humility, may of his own accord make any
concessions he ought by rights to grant; and to this we ourselves
will also persuade him, since, as we do not wish him to be deprived
of his rights, so we wish him to cease from harassing you, that the
kingdom of England may not under our dominion be oppressed by evil
customs and unjust exactions; and whatever is decreed in such a way
shall be confirmed and ratified for ever. May He, therefore, who
wishes no man to perish, incline you to acquiesce with humility in
our wholesome advice and commands, lest, if you act otherwise, you be
reduced to such straits from which you will not be able to escape
without much trouble; since, not to speak of other matters, we cannot
conceal the great danger of the whole business of the cross, which
would be in imminent danger, unless, by our apostolic authority, we
altogether revoke all the promises which have been extorted from such
a king, and one who has assumed the cross, even although he wished
them to be kept. Wherefore, when the archbishop and bishops of
England appear before us at the general council which we intend to
hold to expedite the more urgent matters of the church, do you also
send fit proctors to appear before us, and entrust yourselves without
fear to our benevolence; because we, under God’s favour, will so
ordain matters that, by altogether doing away with the abuses in the
kingdom of England, the king may be contented with his just rights
and dignities, and the clergy as well as the people in general may
enjoy the peace and liberty due to them. Given at Agnano, the 24th of
August, in the eighteenth year of our pontificate .” The
English nobles, however, even after they had, by the king’s
management, received these letters, alike admonitory and threatening,
would not desist from their purpose, but harassed him the more
severely.
William d’Albiney takes command of Rochester castle.
In
the meantime the noble William d’Albiney, after frequently receiving
letters from the barons at London, and being blamed in no slight
degree for delaying to come to them, at length at Michaelmas,
furnished his castle of Belvoir with a sufficiency and even a
superabundance of all kinds of provisions and arms, and entrusted it
to the care of men who were faithful to him; he then went to London
and was received there with great joy by the barons, who immediately
communicated to him a plan they had determined on, namely, to block
up the road against the king, so that no way of approach might be
open to him in any direction to lay siege to the city of London; they
therefore picked out a strong body of troops, and appointing William
d’Albiney to the command of them, as a man bold and tried in war,
they sent them to occupy the town of Rochester. That castle had a
short time before been confidentially entrusted by the king to the
archbishop, who nevertheless, by what feelings instigated I know not,
though the Lord does, delivered it up to the enemies of the king. The
latter, on entering it, found the place destitute not only of arms
and provisions, but also of every kind of property, except what they
themselves had brought with them, on which they in their
disappointment thought of abandoning it; but William d’Albiney,
exhorting and continually animating the minds of his companions to
deeds of valour, said that it was not lawful for knights to desert,
lest, what would be a great disgrace to them, they should by and by
be called knights-deserters. And thus all of them being powerfully
encouraged by his words to bravery, they brought into the castle only
what provisions they could find in the town of Rochester; and as
these knights were a hundred and forty in number with all their
retinues, there was no time left them to collect booty in the country
around, or to provide themselves with any supplies of any kind.
How king John besieged the castle of Rochester.
After
William d’Albiney and his companions had, as has been mentioned,
taken possession of the aforesaid castle, king John, after three
months’ stay in the isle of Wight, issued forth from that island and
sailed to Dover; at the latter place his messengers, whom he had sent
to the transmarine provinces, came to him bringing with them such an
immense multitude of knights and soldiers, that all who beheld them
were struck with fear and dismay. From, the provinces of Poictou and
Gascony, the noble and warlike Savaric de Maulion, and the two
brothers Geoffrey and Oliver de Buteville came, attended by a large
body of knights and soldiers, and promised faithful obedience to the
king; from the provinces of Louvain and Brabant came the brave
knights Walter Buck, Gerard, and Godeschal de Soceinne, with three
battalions of soldiers and cross-bow men, who thirsted for nothing
more than human blood; besides these there came to the king from the
country of Flanders and other transmarine provinces, all those who
coveted the property of others, and thus gave great hope of defence
to the king who had before given up all hope. John, as soon as he
heard that William d’Albiney and his followers had entered the city
of Rochester, marched thither with all the before-mentioned multitude
with all speed, and on the third day after they had entered the
castle, he blocked up all their ways of egress and besieged them. As
soon as he had arrayed his petrariae and other engines, he severely
annoyed the besieged by incessant showers of stones and other
weapons; the besieged, however, bore their assaults without flinching
and bravely defended themselves.
The
death of Hugh de Boves.
In
the meantime Hugh de Boves, a brave knight but a proud and unjust
man, came with a large army to the port of Calais in Flanders to
assist the king of England, and at that place he embarked with all
his forces and sailed for Dover; but a sudden storm arising before he
reached his destined port, they were all shipwrecked, and swallowed
up by the waves. The body of the said Hugh was cast ashore not far
from the town of Yarmouth, with those of several other knights and
followers, and at each of the ports on that part of the sea coast
there was found such a multitude of bodies of men and women that the
very air was tainted by their stench; a great number of bodies of
children were also found, who being drowned in their cradles were
thus washed ashore, and afforded a dreadful spectacle to the
multitude. They were all however given up to be devoured by the
beasts of the sea and the birds of the air, so that not one out of
forty thousand men escaped alive. All these people had come to
England with their wives and children, with the intention of
expelling and totally exterminating all the natives, and of
possessing the land themselves by perpetual right; for the king had
by his charter, as was said, given to their leader, the said Hugh de
Boves, the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, but the grace of God
altered their purpose for the better. But when the news of the loss
of all these people was brought to the king’s knowledge, he was
dreadfully enraged and took no food that day, but remained until the
evening as if he were possessed by madness. Being scarcely able to
contain himself, he pined away in bitter fretting. In the night on
which Hugh de Boves was lost, there arose an unusual storm of wind,
rain, thunder, and lightning, such as had never been seen before. It
happened that a certain monk of St. Alban’s named Robert de Weston,
who was staying at Bingham, was going to Norwich to fulfil the duties
of his calling, and at midnight, when he was about halfway on his
journey that storm rose, and in the storm he saw a countless army of
men riding on very large black steeds, with torches of sulphur, and
they remained near the monk, observing a sort of order in their
movements.
The capture of the castle of Rochester, and imprisonment
of those taken there.
About
this time the barons of England, when they learned that William
d’Albiney and his companions were besieged in the castle of
Rochester, became greatly alarmed, because before William d’Albiney
would enter the castle, they had sworn on the holy gospels that if he
should happen to be besieged they would all march to raise the siege.
In order therefore that they might seem to be doing something in
accordance with their oath and plighted faith, they immediately flew
to arms, and took their march towards the town of Deptford, thinking
to force the king to raise the siege in one assault; but although
only a mild south wind was blowing in their faces, which does not
generally annoy any one, they retreated as though they had met a
number of armed men, and left the expedition unaccomplished; and
although we ought not too easily yield to every breath, they turned
their backs on the besieged William and his followers, and returned
to their old haunt. When they returned to the city of London, they
well fortified it, and amusing themselves with the dangerous game of
dice, drinking the best of wines which they chose at their own
option, and practising all other vices, they left their besieged
companions at Rochester exposed to the danger of death, and enduring
all kinds of misery. When the king learned how pompously the barons
had approached to raise the siege, and how basely and ignominiously
they had returned, he became bolder, and sent out foragers in all
directions to collect provisions for the support of his army, and yet
did not allow the besieged in the meantime any rest day or night; for
amidst the stones hurled from the petrariae and slings, and the
missiles of the cross-bow men and archers, frequent assaults were
made by the knights and their followers, so that when some were in a
measure fatigued, other fresh ones succeeded them in the assault; and
with these changes the besieged had no rest. The besieged too,
despairing of any assistance from the barons, endeavoured to delay
their own destruction, for they were in great dread of the cruelty of
the king; therefore, that they might not die unavenged, they made no
small slaughter amongst the assailants. The siege was prolonged many
days owing to the great bravery and boldness of the besieged, who
hurled stone for stone, weapon for weapon, from the walls and
ramparts on the enemy : at last, after great numbers of the royal
troops had been slain, the king, seeing that all his warlike engines
took but little effect, at length employed miners, who soon threw
down a great part of the walls. The provisions of the besieged too
failed them, and they were obliged to eat horses and even their
costly chargers. The soldiers of the king now rushed to the breaches
in the walls, and by constant fierce assaults they forced the
besieged to abandon the castle, although not without great loss on
their own side. The besieged then entered the tower amidst the
attacks of the king’s soldiers, who had entered the castle through
the breaches; but William d’Albiney with his soldiers, after slaying
many of them, compelled them to quit it. The king then applied his
miners to the tower, and having after much difficulty broken through
the walls, an opening was made for the assailants; but while his army
was thus employed, they were often compelled to retreat from the
destruction caused in their ranks by the besieged. At length, not a
morsel of provisions remaining amongst them, William d’Albiney and
the other nobles who were with him, thinking it would be a disgrace
to them to die of hunger when they could not be conquered in battle,
after holding counsel together on St. Andrew’s day, all the garrison
almost unhurt left the castle, except one knight who was killed by an
arrow, and presented themselves to the king. This siege had lasted
almost three months, and the king, on account of the number of his
troops slain, as well as the money he had spent on the siege, was
greatly enraged, and in his anger ordered all the nobles to be hung
on the gibbet; but the noble Savaric de Mauleon standing up before
the king, said to him, "My lord king, our war is not yet over,
therefore you ought carefully to consider how the fortunes of war
.may turn; for if you now order us to hang these men, the barons, our
enemies, will perhaps by a like event take me or other nobles of your
army, and, following your example, hang us; therefore do not let this
happen, for in such a case no one will fight in your cause .”
The king then, although unwillingly, listened to his advice and that
of other prudent men, and William d’Albiney, William of Lancaster, W.
d’Einford, Thomas de Muletan, Osbert Gyffard, Osbert de Bobi, Odinell
d’Albiney, and other nobles were by his orders sent to Corfe castle
to be there placed under close custody; Robert de Chaurn, and Richard
Giffard, with Thomas of Lincoln, he ordered to be imprisoned in the
castle of Nottingham, and others of them in divers other places. All
the soldiers, except the cross-bow men, he gave up to his own
soldiers to be ransomed; and some of the cross-bow men who had slain
many of his knights and soldiers during the siege he ordered to be
hung. By these misfortunes the cause of the barons was much
weakened.*
*
Paris here adds :—“One day during the siege of Rochester
castle, the king and Savaric were riding round it to examine the
weaker parts of it, when a cross-bow man in the service of William de
Albeney saw them, and said to his master. ‘Is it your will, my lord,
that I should slay the king, our bloody enemy, with this arrow which
I have ready?’ To this William replied, ‘No, no; far be it from us,
villain, to cause the death of the Lord’s anointed.’ The cross-bow
man said, lsquo;He would not spare you in a like case.’ To which the
knight replied, ‘The Lord’s will be done. The Lord disposes events;
not he.’ In this case he was like David, who spared Saul when he
could have slain him. This circumstance was afterwards known to the
king, who notwithstanding this, did not wish to spare William when
his prisoner, but would have hung him had he been permitted.”
The
excommunication of the barons of England in general,
At
this time pope Innocent, seeing the rebelliousness of the barons of
England in not desisting from their persecution of the king,
excommunicated them, and entrusted the fulfilment of this sentence to
the bishop of Winchester, the abbot of Reading, and to Pandulph
subdeacon of the church of Rome, in the following letter: “Innocent,
bishop, &c., to P. bishop of Winchester, the abbot of Reading,
and Master Pandulph subdeacon of the church of Rome, health and the
apostolic benediction.—We are very much astonished and annoyed
that, although our well-beloved son in Christ, John the illustrious
king of England, gave satisfaction beyond what we expected to God and
the church, and especially to our brother the , archbishop of
Canterbury and his bishops, some of these showing no due respect, if
any, to the business of the holy cross, the mandate of the apostolic
see, and their oath of fealty, have not rendered assistance or shown
goodwill to the said king against the disturbers of the kingdom,
which, by right of dominion belongs to the church of Rome, as if they
were cognizant of, not to say associates in, this wicked conspiracy;
for he is not free from the taint of participation who fails to
oppose transgressors. How do these aforesaid prelates defend the
inheritance of the church of Rome? how do they protect those bearing
the cross? yea, how do they oppose themselves to those who endeavour
to ruin the service of Christ? These men are. undoubtedly worse than
Saracens, since they endeavour to expel from his kingdom him who it
was rather to be hoped would afford assistance to the Holy Land.
Therefore that the insolence of such men may not prevail, not only to
the danger of the kingdom of England but also to the ruin of other
kingdoms, and, above all, to the subversion of all the matters of
Christ, we, on behalf of the omnipotent God the Father, and the Son,
and the Holy Ghost, and by the authority of the apostles Peter and
Paul, and by our own authority, lay the fetters of excommunication on
all these disturbers of the king and kingdom of England, as well as
on all accomplices and abettors of theirs, and place their
possessions under the ecclesiastical interdict; and we most strictly
order the archbishop aforesaid and his fellow bishops, by virtue of
their obedience, solemnly to proclaim this our sentence throughout
all England on every Sunday and feast-day amidst the ringing of bells
and with candles burning, until the said barons shall give
satisfaction to the king for his losses and for the injuries they
have inflicted on him, and shall faithfully return to their duty. We
also on our own behalf enjoin all the vassals of the said king, in
remission of their sins, to give advice and render assistance to the
said king in opposing such transgressors. And if any bishop neglects
to fulfil this our injunction, be it known to him that he will be
suspended from his episcopal duties, and the obedience of those under
him will be withdrawn, because it is right that those who neglect
their obedience to their superior should not be obeyed themselves by
their inferiors. Therefore that the fulfilment of our mandate may not
be impeded through the irresolution of any one, we have entrusted the
business of excommunicating the aforesaid barons to you, together
with the other matters connected with this business; and by these our
apostolic letters immediately, postponing all appeal, to proceed as
ye may think expedient. But if all do not ..” &c.
The election of Master Simon Langton to the see of York.
About that time the canons of the church of York having been
for some time without a pastor, obtained the king’s permission and assembled
together to make election of one; and although they had been much
entreated by the king to receive Walter de Gray bishop of Worcester,
as their pastor, they on account of his ignorance refused him, but
proceeding with their election, chose master Simon Langton, brother
of the archbishop of Canterbury, hoping by his learning to obtain the
favour of the supreme pontiff. But when this election was made known
to the king, he sent messengers to the court of Rome, and they, in
the presence of our lord the pope, set forth objections to the
election as follow: they asserted that the archbishop of Canterbury
was the open enemy of the king of England, since he had given an
incentive to the English barons to act against the said, king, and
had given his consent to their so doing, and therefore, if the said
Simon, who was the said archbishop’s brother, were promoted to the
archbishopric of York, the peace of the king and kingdom could not be
of long duration. By setting forth these and other similar
disadvantages, they induced the pope to agree with them, whereupon he
wrote to the chapter of York as follows:—
“Innocent,
bishop, &c. When master Simon Langton lately appeared before us
with some other canons of York, we verbally forbade him to endeavour
to obtain the archbishopric of York, because for certain reasons we
could not permit it, and he, as far as words went, with all
reverence, promised obedience to this command; therefore we are
astonished and annoyed, if his ambition has so blinded him that,
although he knew he could not, after our prohibition and his express
promise, be lawfully elected, he should give his consent to such an
election, which, even if no one else opposed it, we should consider
null and void. But that this may not be the occasion of a new error
in England, worse than the former, and that the church of York may
not any longer be without a pastor, we, by the general advice of our
brethren, by these our apostolic letters, order and strictly enjoin
yon by virtue of your obedience, notwithstanding this election, as we
do not choose and ought not to endure insolence and machinations of
this sort, without any pretext or irresolution, to send some of your
brotherhood with full powers in common to our approaching council,
and that they appear before us by the 1st of November, there with our
advice to elect or demand a fitting person as a pastor for you, or
else from that time we will ourselves provide a suitable prelate for
you, and will seriously punish all gainsayers or opposers, if any
there be, by canonical censure. And if the aforesaid Simon has given
his consent to this election, we, as a punishment for his
presumption, decree, that he be henceforth ineligible, without the
dispensation of the apostolic see, for the election to the pontifical
dignity. Given on the thirteenth of September, in the eighteenth year
of our pontificate.”
Stephen
archbishop of Canterbury suspended.
Soon
after this, Peter bishop of Winchester, and Master Pandulph, the
familiar of our lord the pope, went in person to the archbishop of
Canterbury, and on behalf of the said pope, ordered him to charge his
suffragan bishops of the Canterbury church to publish the sentence of
the apostolic see which was issued at Home against the barons of
England in general, and also himself, as far as his duty bound him,
to make it public throughout the whole of his diocese on each Sunday
and feast-day. The archbishop had already embarked on board ship to
go to Rome to attend the council, and therefore asked a respite till
he could have an interview with the pope; firmly declaring, as to
publishing the sentence, that a tacit sentence had indeed gone forth
against the barons, but that he would not in any way make it public
until he learned the pleasure of the supreme pontiff on the aforesaid
matters by word of mouth. The aforesaid agents in this matter, when
they found that the archbishop disobeyed the commands of the pope, by
virtue of the authority with which they were invested, suspended him
from entering the church and performing divine service; and he
observing this in all humility went to Rome a suspended prelate. Then
the bishop of Winchester, with his brother agent Pandulph, declared
all the barons of England who had endeavoured to drive the king from
his kingdom to be excommunicated, and published the sentence
pronounced against them every Sunday and feast-day; but as none of
them had been mentioned by name in the pope’s warrant, they paid no
attention to the said sentence, but considered it as invalid and of
no effect.
Of the general council held by pope Innocent at Rome.
In the same year, namely, A.D. 1215, a sacred and general synod was held
in the month of November, in the church of the Holy Saviour at Rome,
called Constantian, at which our lord pope Innocent, in the
eighteenth year of his pontificate, presided, and which was attended
by four hundred and twelve bishops. Amongst the principal of these
were the two patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem. The
patriarch of Antioch could not come, being detained by serious
illness, but he sent his vicar, the bishop of Antaradus; the
patriarch of Alexandria being under the dominion of the .. Saracens,
did the best he could, sending a deacon his cousin in his place.
There were seventy-seven primates and metropolitans present, more
than eight hundred abbots and priors; and of the proxies of
archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors, and chapters, who were absent,
the number is not known. There was also present a great multitude of
ambassadors from the emperor of .Constantinople, the king of Sicily,
who was elected emperor of Rome, the kings of France, England,
Hungary, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Arragon, and other princes and nobles,
and from cities and other places. When all of these were assembled in
the place above-mentioned, and, according to the custom of general
councils, each was placed according to his rank, the pope himself
first delivered an exhortation, and then the sixty articles were
recited in full council, which seemed agreeable to some and tedious
to others. At length he commenced to preach concerning the business
of the cross, and the subjection of the Holy Land, adding as follows:
“Moreover, that nothing be omitted in the matter of the cross
of Christ, it is our will and command, that patriarchs, archbishops,
bishops, abbots, priors, and others, who have the charge of spiritual
matters, carefully set forth the work of the cross to the people
entrusted to their care; and in the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost, the one alone and eternal God, supplicate kings,
dukes, princes, marquises, earls, barons, and other nobles, and also
the communities of cities, towns, and villages, if they cannot go in
person to the assistance of the Holy Land, to furnish a suitable
number of soldiers, with all supplies necessary for three years,
according to their means, in remission of their sins, as in the
general letters is expressed; and ii is also our will that those who
build ships for this purpose be partakers in this remission. But to
those who refuse, if any be so ungrateful, let it be on our behalf
declared, that they will for a certainty account to us for this at
the awful judgement of a rigorous Judge; considering, before they do
refuse, with what chance of salvation they will be able to appear
before the only God and the only-begotten Son of God, to whose hands
the Father has entrusted all things, if they refuse to serve that
crucified one, in this their proper service, by whose gift they hold
life, by whose kindness they are supported, and by whose blood they
have been redeemed. And we, wishing to set an example to others, give
and grant thirty thousand pounds for this business, besides a fleet,
which we will supply to those who assume the cross from this city and
the neighbouring districts; and we moreover assign for the
accomplishment of this, three thousand marks of silver, which remain
to us out of the alms of some of the true faith. And as we desire to
have the other prelates of the churches, and also the clergy in
general, as partakers both in the merit and the reward, it is our
decree, that all of them, both people and pastors, shall contribute
for the assistance of the Holy Land the twentieth portion of their
ecclesiastical profits for three years, except those who have assumed
the cross or are about to assume it and set out for the Holy Land in
person; and we and our brethren the cardinals of the holy church of
Rome will pay a full tenth part of ours. It is also our order that
all clerks or laymen, after assuming the cross, shall remain secure
under our protection and that of St. Peter; and also under the
protection of the archbishops, bishops, and all the prelates of God’s
church, and that all their property shall be so arranged, as to
remain untouched and undisturbed until certain information is
obtained of their death or their return. And if any of those who go
on this crusade are bound by oath to the payment of usury, their
creditors shall by ecclesiastic authority be compelled to forgive
them their oath and to desist from exacting their usury; and we make
the same decree with regard to the Jews by the secular authority,
that they may be induced to do this. Moreover be it known, that the
prelates of churches, who are careless in granting justice to
crusaders, or their proxies, or their families, will meet with severe
punishment. Moreover, by the advice of wise men, we determine that
those who thus assume the cross, shall prepare themselves so as to
assemble on the first of June next ensuing, and those who determine
to cross by sea will assemble in the kingdom of Sicily, some at
Brindisium, and others at Messina, at which place we also have
determined, under God’s favour, to be present, that by our assistance
and counsel the Christian army may be duly regulated, and may set out
with the blessing of God and the apostolic see. And we, trusting to
the mercy of the omnipotent God, and to the authority of the blessed
apostles Peter and Paul, by virtue of that power which the Lord has
granted to us, unworthy though we are, of binding and loosing, grant
to all who shall undertake this business in person and at their own
expense, full pardon for their sins, for which they shall be truly
contrite in heart, and of which they shall have made confession, and
in the rewarding of the us we promise an increase of eternal
salvation; and to those who do not come in person, out at their own
expense send suitable persons according to their means, and also to
those who come in person though at the expense of others, we likewise
grant full pardon for their sins. And it is also our will that those
should share in this forgiveness who out of their own property shall
furnish proper supplies for the assistance of the said country, or
who have rendered seasonable counsel and assistance on the aforesaid
matters. And for all those who proceed on this expedition the holy
and universal synod bestows the favour of its prayers and good
wishes, to the end that they may better obtain eternal salvation.
Amen.”
Of
the accusation made at Rome against Stephen archbishop of Canterbury.
At
this council there appeared the abbot of Beaulieu, and the knights
Thomas Hardington, and Geoffrey de Crawcombe, as proxies of the king
of England, against the archbishop of Canterbury, openly accusing him
of connivance with the English barons, and asserting that he showed
favour and gave advice to the said barons in their attempt to expel
the said king from the throne of the kingdom; and although he had
received letters from the apostolic see, ordering him by
ecclesiastical censure to restrain the nobles from their persecution
of the king, he refused to do so, on which he was suspended by the
bishop of Winchester and his colleagues from the performance of
divine service and from entering the church, and then hurrying to
this council he thus by evident indications showed himself rebellious
against the apostolic commands. On hearing these and many other
allegations against him the archbishop, as if at once convicted, was
not a little confused, and made no answer, except asking for the
withdrawal of his suspension; but to this the pope is said
indignantly to have made this answer, "Brother, by St. Peter,
you will not so easily obtain absolution from us, after having
inflicted such and so many injuries not only on the king of England
himself, but also on the church of Rome. We will, after full
deliberation with our brethren, decide how we are to punish such a
rash fault .” And at length, after having discussed the matter
with his cardinals, he confirmed the sentence of suspension against
the archbishop by the underwritten letter.
Of
the confirmation of the suspension of the said archbishop.
“Innocent,
bishop, to all the suffragans of the church of Canterbury, greeting.
We wish it to be known to you all in common that we have ratified the
sentence of suspension, which our venerable brother P. bishop of
Winchester, our beloved son P. the subdeacon, and our familiar, the
elect of Norwich, by the apostolic authority, pronounced against
Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, and we order it to be strictly
observed, till the said archbishop, who observes it in all humility,
may deserve to be released from it, giving security according to the
form of the church, by the substitution of one obligation for
another; wherefore by these apostolic letters we order the whole
brotherhood of you, that you bishops also strictly observe the
aforesaid sentence, and in the meantime that you do not show any
obedience to the said archbishop. Given at the Lateran this 4th of
November.” After
this the canons of York presented master Simon Langton to the pope,
demanding the confirmation of his election; but to them the pope
said, “Know that we do not consider him elected, because, for
certain reasons we could not suffer him to be promoted to such a high
dignity; and because that election has been made in opposition to our
prohibition, we entirely annul and for ever condemn it, and it is our
decree that he be ineligible to be elected to the pontifical dignity
without a dispensation of the apostolic see .” Having thus
annulled this election, the pope ordered the canons to proceed in
another, and if they did not he would himself provide a fit pastor
for them. The canons then, as they had before provided, elected
Walter de Gray bishop of Worcester, on account, as they said, of his
carnal purity, as one who had continued chaste from his birth till
that time; to this the pope is said to have answered, “By St.
Peter, chastity is a great virtue, and we grant him to you .”
Therefore, after receiving the pall, the said bishop returned to
England, being bound at the court of Rome in the sum of ten thousand
pounds of sterling money. The knights Thomas Hardington and Geoffrey
de Crawcombe, having thus accomplished their mission, returned to
England, and went to the king, who had, as before told, subdued the
castle of Rochester, to tell him this agreeable news. The king was
much elated in his mind when he heard that the barons of England were
excommunicated, the archbishop of Canterbury suspended, Walter de
Gray promoted to the archbishopric of York, and that he could arrange
matters as he chose at Rochester castle, and he at once moved his
camp and proceeded in all haste to St. Alban’s. On his arrival at
that place, he went to the chapter-house in the presence of the
monks, and ordered the letters about the suspension of the archbishop
of Canterbury to be read, and at once demanded of the conventual
assembly that a confirmation of the aforesaid suspension under their
seal should be sent to all the churches of England, conventual as
well as cathedral, to be made publicly known; this was willingly
granted by the conventual assembly, and immediately after the chapter
he retired with a few of his advisers into the cloister and devised
plans for overthrowing his enemies, and arranged as to the payment of
the foreigners who were fighting under him. At length the king
disposed his army in two parts, that with one he might check the
irruptions of the barons who were staying in the city of London,
whilst with the other he could go himself to the northern parts of
England to ravage the whole country with fire and sword. These events
at St. Alban’s took place on the 20th of December. The commanders
appointed to the army which the king left behind, were W. earl of
Salisbury, his own brother, Falkasius a man of experience in war,
Savaric de Mauleon, with the troops of Poictou, William Briwere with
all his force, and Walter surnamed Buck, who commanded the
Brabantians; there were also others besides these, whom, on account
of the number, I omit to mention.
How king John marched to the northern parts of England and ravaged the country.
King John then, leaving the town of St. Alban’s, proceeded northward,
taking with him William earl of Albemarle, Philip d’Albiney, John
Marshal, and of the leaders from the transmarine provinces, Gerard de
Sotengaine, and Godeschal, with the Flemings and cross-bow men, and
other lawless people who neither feared God or regarded man. He
rested a little while that night at Dunstable, but before day-light
he set out on his march towards Northampton, and, spreading his
troops abroad, burnt the houses and buildings of the barons, robbing
them of their goods and cattle, and thus destroying everything that
came in his way, he gave a miserable spectacle to all who beheld it.
And if the day did not satisfy the malice of the king for the
destruction of property, he ordered his incendiaries to set fire to
the hedges and towns on his march, that he might refresh his sight
with the damage done to his enemies, and by robbery might support the
wicked agents of his iniquity. All the inhabitants of every condition
and rank who did not take refuge in a church-yard, were made
prisoners, and, after being tortured, were compelled to pay a heavy
ransom. The chastelains, who were in charge of the fortresses of the
barons, when they heard of the king’s approach, left their castles
untenanted and fled to places of secrecy, leaving their provisions
and various stores as booty for their approaching enemies; the king
placed his own followers in these empty castles, and in this manner
marched with his wicked followers to Nottingham.
Of
the ravages committed by his army in the southern part of England.
In
the meantime William earl of Salisbury, and Falkasius with the troops
before mentioned, whom the king had left at St. Alban’s, ordered the
castellans of Windsor, Hertford, and Berkhampstead with a strong body
of troops to pass and repass to and from the city of London, to watch
and harass the barons and to endeavour to cut off their supplies,
after which they themselves roved through the counties of Essex,
Hertford, Middlesex, Cambridge, and Huntingdon, collecting booty and
indulging in rapine; they levied impositions on the towns, made
prisoners of the inhabitants, burnt the buildings of the barons,
destroyed the parks and warrens, cut down the trees in the orchards;
and having spread fire as far as the suburbs of London, they took
away an immense booty with them; and when messengers came from
various places reporting all this to the barons they looked at one
another and said, “The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken
away ,” &c. On the 28th of November in this year, Falkasius
took the town of Hanslape, * belonging to William Maudut; and on the
same day the castle of Tunbridge, belonging to the earl of Clare, was
taken by the castellans of Rochester. Soon after this time Falkasius
arrived at the castle of Bedford and demanded it of the garrison who
obtained a truce of seven days, and, finding that they received no
assistance from their lord William de Beauchamp in that time, they
surrendered the castle to the aforesaid Falkasius on the 2nd of
December.
*
Probably Hounslow.
And
when they heard that, amongst other abominable excesses perpetrated
by the king and his wicked accomplices, their wives and daughters
were exposed to insult, they said sorrowfully, “These are the acts
of the well beloved son in Christ, of that pope who protects his
vassalin humiliating this noble kingdom in such an unusual way .”
Oh sorrow! He who ought to heal his languishing people openly spreads
poison amongst the paupers, whom we ought to call the church. “The
more conspicuous the man is the greater is his crime .”
[Juvenal, 8. 140.] In the same year on the 28th of November, Faulkes
took the castle of William de Hanslape and destroyed it. On the same
day the castellans of Rochester took the castle of Tunbridge,
belonging to the earl of Clare. Soon afterwards Faulkes went to the
castle of Bedford and demanded its surrender by the garrison; he
however granted them a truce of seven days, and they, receiving no
assistance during that time from their lord, William Beauchamp,
surrendered the castle to Faulkes on the 2nd of December. The king
being quite under the power of Faulkes, who made no distinction
between right and wrong, gave him the castle of Bedford and a noble
lady, Margaret de Riparus, for his wife, together with all her
property, and also gave him the lands of many of the barons of
England, that he might increase the rage of all of them against him.
In the same year, on the day of the conversion of St. Paul, William
de Cornhull was consecrated to the bishopric of Chester, on the 22nd
of February, master Benedict, precentor of St. Paul’s at London to
that of Rochester, and master Richard dean of Salisbury to that of
Chichester.
1216 A.D.
The surrender of Belvoir castle to the king.
A.D. 1216. Which was the eighteenth year of king John’s reign,
he was at the castle of Nottingham on Christmas day, and on the day after he
moved his camp, and arrived at the town of Langar, where he passed
the night; in the morning he sent special messengers and with threats
demanded its surrender from the garrison. This castle was in the
charge of Nicholas a clerk, son of William d’Albiney, and the knights
William de Studham, and Hugh de Charneles, who immediately asked the
opinion of their fellow knights, as to what should be done; for they
had been told on behalf of the king, that, if he received a single
refusal to surrender the castle, W. d’Albiney should never eat again
but should die a disgraceful death. The besieged were thus in a
perplexity in every way, and did not know what to do; at length,
however, by the general advice of all, they agreed to save their lord
from an ignominious death by surrendering the castle rather than, by
retaining it, to lose their lord as well as the castle. Then Nicholas
d’Albiney and Hugh de Charneles, taking the keys of the castle with
them went to the king at Langar, and surrendered the castle to him on
the condition that he would deal mercifully with their lord, and that
they themselves might continue secure under his protection. On the
following day then, which was St. John the Evangelist’s day, the king
came to the castle, and gave it into the charge of Geoffrey and
Oliver de Buteville, two brothers, who came from Poictou, and after
the oath of fealty and faithful obedience to him had been taken by
all, he granted them his letters patent securing to them an indemnity
of all their property.
Of the various kinds of sufferings endured by the Christian people.
In the meantime a part of the king’s army came to Dovington,
a town belonging to John de Lacy, and finding it untenanted, it was
immediately razed to the ground by order of the king; after this he
separated his wicked army, and took his march towards the northern
provinces, burning the buildings belonging to the barons, making
booty of their cattle, plundering them of their goods and destroying
everything they came to with the sword. The whole surface of the
earth was covered with these limbs of the devil like locusts, who
assembled from remote regions to blot out every thing from the face
of the earth, from man down to his cattle; for, running about with
drawn swords and open knives, they ransacked towns, houses,
cemeteries, and churches, robbing every one, and sparing neither
women or children; the king’s enemies wherever they were found were
imprisoned in chains and compelled to pay a heavy ransom. Even the
priests whilst standing at the very altars, with the cross of the
Lord in their hands, clad in their sacred robes, were seized,
tortured, robbed, and ill-treated; and there was no pontiff, priest,
or Levite to pour oil or wine on their wounds. They inflicted similar
tortures on knights and others of every condition, some of them they
hung up by the middle, some by the feet and legs, some by the hands,
and some by the thumbs and arms, and then threw salt mixed with
vinegar in the eyes of the wretches, taking no heed that they were
made after God’s image, and were distinguished by the name of
Christian; others they placed on tripods or gridirons over live
coals, and then bathing their roasted bodies in cold water they thus
killed them, and when, in their tortures, the wretched creatures
uttered pitiable cries and dreadful groans, there was no one to show
them pity, and their torturers were satisfied with nothing but their
money. Many who had worldly possessions gave them to their torturers,
and were not believed when they had given their all; others, who had
nothing, gave many promises, that they might at least for a short
time put off the tortures they had experienced once. This persecution
was general throughout England, and fathers were sold to the torture
by their sons, brothers by their brothers, and citizens by their
fellow citizens. Markets and traffic ceased, and goods were exposed
for sale only in church-yards; agriculture was at a standstill, and
no one dared to go beyond the limits of the churches. Amidst all
these sufferings which were occasioned by the barons, they themselves
were lying in the city of London like women in labour, giving all
their attention to their food and drink, and thinking what new dainty
could be set before them, which, by removing their nausea, might give
them new appetite; but, although they slumbered, the king slept not,
until he had got all their lands and possessions, castles and towns,
in his own power from the southern to the Scotch sea.
Of
those who were appointed governors of the subdued castles.
When
he had, as above-mentioned, disposed of the property of the barons at
will, the king gave charge of the whole district between the river
Tees and Scotland with the property and castles to Hugh de Baliol and
Philip d’Ulcote, allowing them knights and soldiers sufficient for
the defence of that part of the country. In the city of York he
appointed Robert Oldbridge, Brian de Lisle, and Geoffrey de Lacy,
guardians of the property and castles, allotting soldiers to them. To
William earl of Albemarle he gave charge of the castles of Rockingham
and Sauvey, and a castle called Biham belonging to William de
Coleville. To Falkasius he entrusted the castles of Oxford,
Northampton, Bedford, and Cambridge. To Ralph le Tyris he gave the
castle of Berkhampstead; and the castle of Hertford was given into
the custody of Walter de Godarville, a knight in the service of
Falkasius. To these and to all others throughout England the king
gave orders, as they valued their bodies and their property, to
destroy all the property of the barons, namely, their castles,
buildings, towns, parks, warrens, lakes, and mills, and as he had
begun, to finish the business with equal cruelty; they not daring to
oppose the king’s commands exercised such cruelty in the duty
assigned to them, that in sight of all they made a lamentable
spectacle of the houses and other property of the barons.* And thus
the king returning from the north arranged everything at his own
pleasure, so that there-only remained in the power of the barons the
two castles of Montsorrel and another belonging to Robert de Roos in
the county of York. Having subdued all this country with dreadful
slaughter, he went along the boundaries of Wales to the southern
provinces, and exercising his cruelty on all who opposed him, he
besieged and took several of the castles of his enemies; some of
these he destroyed and others he garrisoned with his own soldiers.
*
Paris adds:— “As
he who was not very wicked seemed good, and he who did not do as much
injury as he could did none, it seemed to be advantageous. The king
then, roused to a high pitch of rage, marched to the cismarine
districts of Scotland, and after taking the castle of Berwick and
others, which seemed impregnable, he taunted king Alexander
therewith, and alluded to his red hair, saying, ’Thus we will rouse
the red fox from his lair.’ And there he would have spread slaughter
and destruction, if he had not been recalled by urgent necessity.”
Of the especial excommunication of the barons.
About this time the English barons, who had been formerly excommunicated in
general by the supreme pontiff at the king of England’s suit, were,
by the following letter, excommunicated by him by name, and
individually, in the following terms, “Innocent,
bishop, to the abbot of Abingdon, the archdeacon of Poictou, and
master Robert an official of the church of Norwich, greeting. We wish
it to come to your knowledge that at our late general council, we, on
behalf of the Almighty God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and by
the authority of the blessed Peter and Paul his apostles, and by our
own authority, excommunicated and anathematized the barons of England
with their aiders and abettors, for their persecution of John the
illustrious king of the English, a king who has assumed the cross and
is a vassal of the church of Rome, inasmuch as they are endeavouring
to take from him the kingdom which is known to belong to the Roman
church. Moreover we excommunicate and anathematize all those who have
lent their assistance or money in attacking that kingdom, or to
hinder those who go to the assistance of the said king, and we lay
the lands of the said barons under the interdict of the church. We
also lay our hands more heavily on them if they do not desist from
their designs, since in this respect they are worse than Saracens;
and it is our decree that, if any priest of any rank or order shall
dare to violate the aforesaid sentences of excommunication or
interdict, he may rest assured that he is struck with the sword of
the interdict, and will be deposed from every office and benefice.
Wherefore we, by these apostolic letters, entrust it to your
discretion to publish the aforesaid decrees throughout all England,
and with our authority to cause the same to be observed inviolate
notwithstanding the interposition of any condition or appeal. It is
moreover our will and command, that you, by the apostolic authority,
publicly throughout all England denounce as excommunicated, and cause
to be strictly avoided by all, certain barons of England, whom our
venerable brother the bishop of Winchester, and our well-beloved sons
the abbot of Reading, and master Pandulph our sub-deacon and
familiar, by us delegated, have personally declared excommunicated,
because they found them guilty in the aforesaid matters, to wit those
citizens of London who have been the chief promoters of the aforesaid
crime, and Robert Fitz-Walter, S. earl of Winchester, R. his son, G.
de Mandeville, and William his brother, R. earl of Clare, and G. his
son, H. earl of Hereford, R. de Percy, E. de Vescy, J. constable of
Chester, William de Mowbray, William d Albiney, W. his son, R. de
Roos and William his son, P. de Brus, R. de Cressy, John his son,
Ralph Fitz-Robert, R. earl Bigod, H. his son, Robert de Vere, Fulk
Fitz-Warren, W. Malet, W. de Montacute, W. Fitz-Marshall, W. de
Beauchamp, S. de Kime, R. de Mont Begon, and Nicholas de Stuteville,
and also several others expressed in the decree by name as guilty of
the aforesaid offences, together with their accomplices and abettors;
and that on each Sunday and feast day you solemnly republish this
sentence, and order it to be strictly observed; and that you lay the
city of London under the interdict of the church, putting aside all
appeal and checking the opposition of all gainsayers, under penalty
of the church’s censure. We also command that you publicly denounce,
as excommunicated, master Gervase chancellor of London, who, as we
have heard from the aforesaid arbiters, has been a most open
persecutor of the said king and his followers, and that you threaten
him with more severe punishment unless he make a meet reparation for
his offences. And if all do not, &c. Given at the Lateran, the
16th day of December in the eighteenth year of our pontificate.”
The
aforesaid sentence enforced.
On
receipt of the above-mentioned letters the arbiters wrote to all the
churches of England, cathedral and conventual, to the following
effect:— “Innocent,
bishop, &c. We strictly command you by authority of this our
mandate to denounce as excommunicated, the barons of England,
together with all their aiders and abettors, who are persecuting
their lord, king John of England, and all those who have lent their
assistance or money to seize or attack the said kingdom, or to
obstruct those who go to the assistance of the said king, and to make
it public that the lands of the said barons are laid under the
ecclesiastical interdict. Also that you denounce as excommunicated
all the barons, who are personally mentioned in the above letter of
our lord the pope, together with all others mentioned by name in the
sentence of the aforesaid arbiters, namely, Walter de Norton, Osbert
Fitz-Alan, Oliver de Vaux, H. de Braibrock, R. de Ropele, W. de
Hobregge, W. de Mauduit, Maurice de Gant, R. de Berkley, Adam of
Lincoln, R. de Mandeville, W. de Lanvaley, Philip Fitz-John, William
de Tuintuna, W. de Huntingfield, Alexander de Puintune, R. de
Munfichet, R. de Gresley, Geoffrey constable of Meantune, W.
archdeacon of Hereford, J. de Fereby, R. chaplain of Robert
Fitz-Walter, Alexander de Suttune, W. de Coleville, R. his son,
Osbert de Bobi, Osbert Giffard, Nicholas de Stuteville, Thomas de
Muletune, the citizens of London, and master G. the chancellor, and
that you publicly declare the city of London as laid under the
ecclesiastical interdict. And you will cause these sentences of
excommunication and interdict to be published and solemnly renewed on
each Sunday and feast day in the churches, as well conventual as
parochial, which belong to you, strictly fulfilling each article of
the apostolic mandate, and duly observing it yourselves on your own
part, that you may not incur the censure of the church, which is due
to the contumacious. Farewell .”
When
these sentences of excommunication and interdict were published
throughout England, and became known to all, the city of London alone
treated them with contempt, inasmuch as the barons determined not to
observe them, and the priests not to publish them; for they said
amongst themselves, that all the letters had been obtained under
false representations and were therefore of no importance, and
chiefly for this reason, because the management of lay affairs did
not pertain to the pope, since the apostle Peter and his successors
had only been entrusted by the Lord with the control and management
of church matters; they therefore paid no regard at all to the
sentence of interdict or excommunication, but held worship throughout
the whole city, ringing bells and chanting with loud voices.
The
ravages in the isle of Ely,
In
the meantime Walter Buce with his Brabantians entered the isle of Ely
near Herebeie,* and plundered all the churches in that island,
compelling the inhabitants by most cruel tortures to pay heavy
ransoms; and there was no place of refuge where they could place
their property or even themselves out of danger; for the earl of
Salisbury, and Falkasius with Savaric de Maulion, coming from the
neighbouring districts, entered the island by the bridge of
Stunteney, laying waste the whole country, and robbing the churches,
and seized all that had been left by the before-mentioned robbers.
They at length entered the cathedral church with drawn swords, and
after they had plundered it, the prior of the place with difficulty
redeemed it from being burnt by the payment of nine marks of silver.
The lord Stephen Ridel was dragged out of the church by force and
lost all that he was possessed of, his horses, books, household goods
and utensils, and with much difficulty preserved his person from the
tortures by payment of a hundred marks. Fifteen knights were taken
prisoners in this island, with many others of divers condition and
rank. The richer and more noble of the knights made their escape over
the sea with much difficulty and fled to London; some of these,
however, were not able to accomplish the journey owing to the failure
of their horses from weakness, and were made prisoners. And thus
everything in the island fell into the possession of these robbers
without opposition.
*
“i.e. The station of the army, and was the old fortification,
where the conqueror’s army lay."— Tyrrell, ii. p. 790.
How the barons of England chose Louis for their king.
The barons of England having now lost all that they most cared
for in the world, as appears from the foregoing narrative, and having no
hope of an improvement in affairs so as to recover by their own means what
they had lost, were in consternation and did not know how to act; at
length, by general consent, it was determined to choose some powerful
man as king, by whose means they could be restored to their
possessions and former liberties; * and after long irresolution as to
whom they should choose, they unanimously determined to appoint
Louis, son of Philip the French king, as their ruler, and to raise
him to the throne of England.
*
Cursing the king’s fickleness, tergiversation, and infidelity
they thus gave vent to their grief, “Woe to you, John, last of kings, detested
one of the chiefs of England, disgrace to the English nobility! Alas
for England already devastated, and to be further ravaged! Alas!
England, England, till now chief of provinces in all kinds of wealth,
thou art laid under tribute; subject not only to fire, famine, and
the sword, but to the rule of ignoble slaves and foreigners, than
which no slavery can be worse. We read that many other kings, yea,
and princes, have contended even to the death, for the liberty of
their land which was in subjection; but you, John, of sad memory to
future ages, have designed and made it your business to enslave your
country which has been free from times of old, and, that you might
drag others with you into slavery, like the serpent who dragged down
half the host of heaven, have in the first place oppressed yourself;
you have, from a free king, become a tributary, a farmer, and a
vassal of slavery, you have bound by a bond of perpetual slavery this
noble land, which will never be freed from the servile shackle,
unless through the compassion of Him who may at some time deign to
free us and the whole world, whom the old servitude retains under the
yoke of sin. And what is to be said of you, O pope ! who ought to
shine forth an example to the whole world, as the father of holiness,
the mirror of piety, the defender of justice, and the guardian of
truth; do you agree to this, do you commend and protect such a one ?
But because he inclines to you, you defend this drainer and extorter
of the wealth of England and the English nobility, that everything
may be absorbed in the gulph of Roman avarice, but this plea and
excuse, this sin and accusation are before God .” And the
barons in their complaints and lamentations, uttered curses on the
king and the pope, thus sinning without hopes of atonement, since it
is written, “Thou shalt not curst the king;" and thus
transgressed the truth and their reverence, since they declared that
the illustrious king John was a slave, when to be a slave to God is
to be a king. At length they determined to choose some other prince,
by whose means they could be restored to their former condition;
thinking that no king could reign more tyrannically than John, then
adopting the following maxim: “When fate on man its force has
spent, He need not fear the next event.” —M.
Paris.
Their reason for this was, that the host of foreigners by whom
the king of England was surrounded, were, for the most part, under the dominion
of Louis and his father, and if, by means of these latter, John could
be deprived of their assistance, being thus left destitute both at
home and abroad, he would be left to himself and unable to contend
against them. This resolution being satisfactory to all, they sent S.
earl of Winchester, and Robert Fitz-Walter as special messengers to
king Philip and Louis his son, with letters under the seals of all
the barons, earnestly beseeching the father to send his son to reign
in England, and the son to come there to take the crown. These
messengers immediately made all haste and delivered the aforesaid
letters to the French king and his son Louis; but Philip, after he
had read the letters and understood their purport, told the
messengers in reply that he would not send his son before he had, for
greater security, received good hostages from the barons, at least
twenty-four of the most distinguished men in the whole kingdom. The
messengers, on hearing this, made all possible speed and reported the
answer they had received to the barons, who, having no other resort,
sent hostages to the French king at his pleasure to the number
above-mentioned. The hostages on their arrival were committed to safe
custody at Compiegne, and Louis, somewhat encouraged, made
preparations for the expedition which he desired above all things;
but as his own departure on such an arduous expedition could not be
effected in a hurry, he sent messengers in advance to give the barons
hope and also to try their fidelity. The names of these were, the
castellan of St. Omar, the castellan of Arras, Hugh Thacun, Eustace
de Neville, Baldwin Bretel, W. de Wimes, Giles de Melun, W. de
Beaumont, Giles de Hersi, and Biset de Fersi; all these with a large
retinue of knights and followers came by the river Thames, and, to
the great joy of the barons, arrived at London on the 27th of
February. In this year Stephen archbishop of Canterbury gave security
at Rome that he would abide by the decision of the pope on the
matters before mentioned, and was released from his suspension, but
on condition that he would not go to England before peace was fully
restored between the king and barons.
The renewal of the sentence passed against the barons
for their contumacy.
In the same year at Easter, [1216] the abbot of Abingdon and his
co-arbiters, seeing the contumaciousness of the barons and of the
citizens of London, laid their hands on them more heavily, and,
repeating the edict, they gave orders to all the conventual churches
of England to publish the sentence which had been issued in the
following form: “H., by the grace of God, abbot of Abingdon, &c.
In pursuance of the apostolic mandate imposed on us, as the purport of our
letters which we lately transmitted to you, has more fully informed you,
we have not merely once, but often, sent our letters containing the words of
our lord the pope’s warrant to the chapters of St. Paul and St.
Martin, to G. de Boclande, dean of the said church, and to the
conventual assembly of the Holy Trinity at London, by the apostolic
authority, ordering them at once to publish and inviolably observe
the sentences of excommunication and interdict which are issued
against the persecutors of the said king and the city of London; but
they irreverently presume to set at defiance the apostolic mandate,
for they contumaciously refuse to publish the said sentences or even
to observe them, knowingly taking part in divine services with those
excommunicated, and thus in every respect proving themselves
transgressors of the decrees of our lord the pope, and open despisers
of his mandate; of which we have full and sure information, by
letters patent of the chapter of St. Paul and St. Martin, specially
sent us by the clerks and messengers of the said dean, and by other
sufficient proofs. Moreover there have lately arrived from the French
kingdom, certain nobles with an armed band of knights and followers,
all of whom we also undoubtedly wish to be fettered with the sentence
of excommunication, for they invade the kingdom of England, in
opposition to our lord the pope and the Roman church, are daily
robbing it, and in part keep possession of it, as is evident to all
in England as well as elsewhere; wherefore, by virtue of the
apostolic authority, of which we discharge the duties in this
business, we denounce, as excommunicated, the said nobles, namely,
the castellan of St. Omar, Hugh Thacun, Eustace de Neville, the
castellan of Arras, Baldwin Bretel, W. de Wimes, Giles de Melun, W.
de Beaumont, Giles de Hersi, Biset de Fersi, with their accomplices,
and all those who have lent their assistance or money against the
king, to invade or take possession of the kingdom of England, and
also the above-mentioned dean, and also all canons and clerks of
every rank and order in the aforesaid churches and city, to whose
knowledge the mandate had come, who have either absented themselves,
or by any means prevented its reaching them. And by the same
authority we also enjoin you publicly to denounce as excommunicated
all those above-mentioned, and to cause it to be published throughout
the whole of your parish, expressly naming as well the dean as the
aforesaid nobles, so that, by showing attention to this matter, as
well as that which was contained in his first letters to you, you may
not be accused of negligence to the supreme pontiff, but rather be
commended for your diligence. Farewell.”
How
Louis sent consolatory letters to the barons.
About
this time Louis wrote to the barons who were staying in London and to
the citizens as follows: “Louis,
eldest son of king Philip, to all his friends and allies in London,
health and sincere affection. Rest assured that on the approaching
Easter Sunday we will be at Calais ready, under God’s favour, to
cross the sea. Inasmuch as you have conducted yourselves strenuously
and bravely in all my affairs, we return you abundant thanks; and we
earnestly ask and require that, as you have always done, you will
continue to conduct yourselves with courage. We also wish you to be
assured that, in a short time you will have us to assist you; and we
earnestly beg of you in this matter not to trust to any other false
suggestions, or letters, or messages, for we believe that you will
receive false letters and misleading messengers. Farewell.”
About
this time the barons went from the city of London, in company with
the knights who had lately come from France, to enjoy the sport of
tilting with only lances and cloth armour; and after spending great
part of the day in urging their horses to speed and striking one
another with their lances, one of the French knights in the sport
couched his lance against Geoffrey de Mandeville earl of Essex, and
mortally wounded him; the earl however forgave the man who had
wounded him, and a few days afterwards died to the regret of many.
How
Walo came as legate to the French king.
About
this same time master Walo was sent by the pope to France by the
apostolic authority, to forbid Louis to proceed to England; he on
coming to king Philip delivered to him deprecatory letters from the
pope, the contents of which were, that he was not to permit his son
Louis to go to England as an enemy, or to harass the English king in
any way, but to protect and love him as a vassal of the church of
Rome, and as one whose kingdom, by right of dominion, belonged to the
said church of Rome. The French king, when he read this, immediately
answered, “The kingdom of England never was the inheritance of
Peter, nor is it, nor shall it be. For king John, in times long past,
attempted unjustly to deprive his own brother king Richard of the
kingdom of England, on which he was accused of treachery, convicted
of the same in that monarch’s presence, and condemned by the decision
of the said king at his court, and sentence was pronounced by Hugh de
Pusaz bishop of Durham; therefore he was not a true king, and could
not give away his kingdom. Besides this, had he ever been a lawful
king, he afterwards forfeited his kingdom by the murder of Arthur,
for which deed he was condemned in our court .” He also said
that no king or prince could give away his kingdom without the
consent of his barons, who were bound to defend that kingdom; and if
the pope was determined to defend that error, it would be a most
pernicious example to all kingdoms. The nobles then exclaimed with
one voice that they would oppose that point to the death, namely,
that a king or prince could at his pleasure alone give his kingdom
away, or make it tributary, whereby the nobles of the kingdom would
become slaves. These events took place at Lyons on the fifteenth day
after Easter.
How
the same legate forbade Louis to go to England.
On
the following day, at his father’s request, Louis came to the
conference, and looking on the legate with a scowling brow, took his
seat near his father; the legate then, with many entreaties, begged
of Louis not to go to England to invade or seize on the inheritance
of the church of Rome, and entreated his father, as he had done
before, not to permit him to go. The French king, however,
immediately replied to the legate in these words, "I have always
been a devoted and faithful ally of our lord the pope and the church
of Rome, and in all transactions have till this time effectually
promoted their welfare, neither shall my son Louis now have my advice
in attempting anything against the church of Rome; however, if Louis
can prove any claim that he has to the kingdom of England, let him be
heard, and let what is right be conceded to him.” On this, a
certain knight, whom Louis had appointed to plead for him, rose, and
in the hearing of all, answered, “My lord king, it is a fact
well known to all that John, called king of England, was, by the
decision of his peers in your court, condemned to death for his
treachery to his nephew Arthur, whom he murdered with his own hands;
and was after that deposed by the barons of England from his
sovereignty over them, on account of the many murders and other
offences he had committed there, and for this reason the said barons
had made war against him, to drive him from the throne of the
kingdom. Moreover, the said king, without the consent of his nobles,
gave his kingdom of England to our lord the pope and the church of
Rome, that he might again resume possession of it from them, on the
annual payment of a thousand marks. And if he could not give the
crown of England to any one without the baron’s consent, he could
however resign it; and as soon as he resigned it, he ceased to be a
king, and the kingdom was without a king. A vacant kingdom could not
be settled without asking the barons; on which they chose Louis as
their lord, by reason of his wife, whose mother, namely, the queen of
Castile, was the only survivor of all the brothers and sisters of the
said king of England. The legate then pleaded that king John had
assumed the cross, on which account he ought, according to the decree
of the general council, to have peace for four years, and all his
possessions ought to remain secure under the protection of the
apostolic see; and therefore Louis ought not in the meantime to make
war on the said king, or deprive him of his kingdom. To this the
proctor of Louis replied, “King John, before assuming the
cross, had made war on our lord Louis, and besieged and destroyed the
castle of Buncham; he had likewise taken Aria, and burnt the greatest
part of it, and, having made prisoners of several knights and their
followers at that place, he still detains them prisoners. He also
besieged the castle of Liens, and slew a great number at that place;
the county of Gisnes, which is the lawful fee of our lord Louis, he
ravaged with fire and sword; and even after assuming the cross, he
is still at war against Louis, wherefore, he can justly wage war
against the said king .” The legate, however, not content with
these reasons, forbade Louis, as before, under penalty of
excommunication, to presume to enter England, and also his father to
permit him to go. On hearing this, Louis said to his father,
“Although I am your liege subject in the fee which you have
given me in the provinces this side of the sea, it is not your duty
to determine anything concerning the kingdom of England; I therefore
throw myself on the decision of my peers, as to whether you ought to
hinder me from seeking my rights, and especially a right in which you
cannot afford me justice. I therefore ask of you not to obstruct my
purpose of seeking my rights, because, for the inheritance of my wife
I will, if necessary, contend even to death;” and with these words
Louis retired from the conference with his followers. The legate
seeing this, asked the king to grant him safe conduct as far as the
sea-coast; to which the king replied, “We will willingly grant
you safe conduct through our territory, but if you should by chance
fall into the hands of Eustace the monk, or any other of Louis’s
friends who are in charge of the seas, do not blame me for anything
untoward that befalls you.” On this, the legate departed from
the court in a rage.
How Louis obtained his father’s permission, and went to England.
On the following day, which was that of St. Mark the evangelist,
Louis went to his father at Melun, and begged of him not to obstruct his
proposed journey; he also added that he had given his oath to the
barons of England that he would come to their assistance, and
therefore, he would rather be excommunicated by the pope for a time,
than incur the charge of falsehood. The king, seeing the firmness and
anxiety of his son, granted him his permission, and dismissed him
with his blessing. Louis then sent messengers to the court of Rome,
there to set forth in the presence of the pope the right which he
claimed for himself to the kingdom of England, and then, in company
with his earls, barons, knights, and numerous followers, he made all
haste to the sea-coast, that he might reach England before the
legate. When they all reached the port of Calais, they found there
six hundred ships and eighty cogs, all well equipped, which Eustace
the monk had collected there against Louis’s arrival; they therefore
all immediately embarked and put to sea with all speed, making for
the isle of Thanet, where they landed at a place called Stanhore, on
the twenty-first of May. King John was then at Dover with his army,
but as he was surrounded with foreign mercenaries and knights from
the transmarine provinces, he did not venture to attack Louis on his
landing, lest in the battle they might all leave him and go over to
the side of Louis; he therefore chose to retreat for a time, rather
than to give battle on an uncertainty. He therefore retreated before
Louis, leaving Dover castle in charge of Hugh de Burgh, and continued
his flight till he arrived first at Guildford, and afterwards at
Winchester. Louis, finding no one to oppose him, disembarked at
Sandwich, and soon subdued the whole of the district, with the
exception of the castle of Dover. He then went to London, and was
there received with great joy by all the barons; he then received
homage and fealty from all of them, and from the citizens who had
been waiting his arrival there, whilst he himself swore on the holy
gospels that he would grant good laws and restore their inheritances
to each and all of them. He also wrote to the king of Scots and to
all the nobles of England who had not yet done homage to him,
ordering them to make their fealty to him, or to retire with all
speed from England. At this command, there came to him William earl
of Warrene, W. earl of Arundel, W. earl of Salisbury, W. Mareschal
the younger, and many others besides them, abandoning king John, as
though they were quite sure that Louis would obtain the kingdom.
Louis appointed Master Simon Langton his chancellor, who preached to
the citizens of London, as well as the excommunicated barons, when
they performed divine service, and also induced Louis himself to
agree to it.
Walo
the legate follows Louis to England.
About
this same time, Walo the legate, when he was informed of Louis’s
departure to England, as a diligent agent of the apostolic mandate,
crossed the sea to follow him, and passing through the enemies
unhurt, he came to king John at Gloucester; the latter received him
with great pleasure, and rested all his hopes of being able to oppose
his enemies on him. The legate then convoked all the bishops, abbots,
and clergy whom he could muster, and, amidst the ringing of bells,
and with lighted tapers, excommunicated by name the said Louis, with
all his accomplices and abettors, especially Master Simon Langton, at
the same time ordering the said bishops and all others to make this
sentence public throughout all England, on every Sunday and feast day
; but to all this, Master Simon Langton and Master Gervase
d’Hobregge, precentor of St. Paul’s church at London, and several
others, made reply, that they had appealed on behalf of Louis, and
therefore that they considered that sentence as null and void. At
this time, all the knights and soldiers from the country of Flanders
and the transmarine provinces, except only those of Poictou,
abandoned the cause of king John, some of them, joining Louis, and
others returning home.
How
Louis subdued the southern provinces of England.
Louis
about this time left the city of London with a large body of knights,
and invaded the county of Kent, and, as no one opposed him, he soon
subdued it, with the exception of Dover castle. Marching onward, he
by force gained possession of Sussex, with all the towns and
fortresses; but here a young man named William, refusing to make his
fealty to Louis, collected a company of a thousand bow-men, and
taking to the woods and forests with which that part of the country
abounded, he continued to harass the French during the whole war, and
slew many thousands of them. Louis at length came to the city of
Winchester, and reduced it to subjection, together with the castle
and the whole country round. Hugh de Neville went to Louis,
surrendered to him the castle of Marlborough, and did homage to him.
After this, Louis went to Odiham, a town belonging to the bishop of
Winchester, and laid siege to the tower. In this tower were only
three knights and ten soldiers, but they boldly defended it; on the
third day after the French had arranged their engines round the
tower, and had made frequent and fierce assaults on it, the aforesaid
three knights and their soldiers made a sally from the tower, and
seizing the same number of knights and soldiers on the adverse side,
regained the tower without loss to themselves. However, after the
siege had lasted eight days, they surrendered the tower to Louis, and
came out themselves only thirteen in number, saving their horses and
arms, to the great admiration of the French. All the southern
districts had thus fallen into the power of Louis, except the castles
of Dover and Windsor, which, being well garrisoned, awaited Louis’s
approach. In the meantime, William de Mandeville, Robert Fitz-Walter,
and William de Huntingfield, with a powerful army of knights and
soldiers, had reduced to subjection under Louis the counties of Essex
and Suffolk. Whilst all this was going on, king John had laid in good
supplies of provisions and arms in the castles of Wallingford, Corfe,
Wareham, Bristol, Devizes, and others too numerous to mention.
The proceedings of Louis’s messengers at Rome.
At this time, the messengers whom Louis had sent to the
court of Rome wrote to him as follows: “To our most puissant
lord, Louis, eldest son of the king of the French,
D. de Corbeil, I. de Montevisito, and G. Limeth, messengers, health
and faithful service. Be it known to your excellency, that on the
Sunday ‘ad mensem Paschce’ we went to our lord the pope,
without harm to our persons and property, and at once went before him
on the same day. We found him cheerful, but apparently having cause
of sorrow; and when we had presented our letters and saluted him on
your behalf, he answered us, saying, ‘Your lord is not worthy
of our salutation.’ I immediately answered, ‘Father, I
believe that when you have heard the reasons and excuses of our lord,
you will find him worthy of your salutation, as a Christian, a
catholic, and one always devoted to you and the church of Rome;’
and thus we retired from his presence that day; but, as we were going
away, his holiness most kindly told us that he would willingly grant
us audience when and as often as we wished. On the following Tuesday
our lord the pope sent an attendant of his to your dwelling, ordering
us to come to him, on which we immediately went before him; and after
we had stated our case, he said much in reply to us which seemed to
blame your actions and your reasons, and as soon as he had finished
his discourse, he said, striking his breast and groaning in spirit,
‘Woe is me that in this affair the church of God cannot escape
trouble; for if the king of England is conquered, we are mixed up
with his trouble, because he is our vassal, and we are bound to
protect him; if your lord Louis is conquered, in his harm the church
of Rome is harmed, and we consider an injury to him as one to
ourselves; we always indulged the hope, and we indulge it now, that
he would be in all its times of need the arm, in oppression the
solace, and in persecution the refuge of the church of Rome.’ And
finally, he said that he would sooner die than that any harm should
befall you in this business; and thus we left him that day.
Moreover, by the advice of some of the cardinals, we are waiting for
the day of Ascension, that no decree may be made against you, as on
that day it is the pope’s custom to repeat his sentences; for the
pope had himself told us that he expected messengers from the lord
Walo. Farewell!”
Here are given the charges of Louis and the barons of England
against king John.
The first statement laid before our lord the pope against king John,
by the aforesaid messengers, was, that he had treacherously with his own
hands killed his nephew Arthur, by the worst kind of death, called by
the English, murder; for which crime the said king had been
condemned to death at the court of the French king, by the judgement
of his peers. To this charge the pope made this opposition, namely,
that the barons of Trance could not adjudge him to death, because he
was an anointed king, and therefore their superior; by the barons, as
his inferiors, he could not be condemned to death, because the higher
rank in some measure destroys the power of the inferior; and besides,
it seems contrary to civil law as well as in opposition to the
canons, to give sentence of death on a man who is not present, not
summoned, convicted, or confessed to be guilty. To this the
messengers replied, “It is the custom of the French kingdom
that the king should have all kind of jurisdiction over his liege
subjects, and the king of England was his liege subject, his count
and duke; therefore, although he was elsewhere an anointed king,
yet, as an earl and duke he was under the jurisdiction of our lord,
the king of the French. And if an earl or duke committed this offence
in the French kingdom, he could, and ought to be condemned to death
by his peers; and even though he were not a duke, or a count, or a
liege subject of the king of the French, and had committed the
offence in the French kingdom, the barons could, for a crime
perpetrated in that kingdom, condemn him to death; otherwise, if the
king of England could not, because he was an anointed king, he
condemned to death, he might come into the kingdom of France, and
with impunity murder the barons as he murdered Arthur."* In
answer to this, the pope said, “Many emperors and princes, and
even French kings, are reported by history to have slain many
innocent persons, yet we do not read that any one of these was
condemned to death; and when Arthur was imprisoned at Mirebeau, not
as an innocent person, but as being guilty, and a traitor to his lord
and uncle, to whom he had done homage and sworn allegiance, he could
lawfully be condemned to the most disgraceful death without any
trial.
* Paris here adds: “The
truth of this matter is as follows,—John in fact was not justly
or formally deprived of Normandy; because, when he was deprived of
it, not judicially, but by force, he, to obtain the restoration of
it, sent special messengers, men of prudence, to Philip, the French
king, namely, Eustace bishop of Ely, and Hubert de Burgh, men of
learning and eloquence, to tell that monarch that he would willingly
come to his court to assert his claim, and to answer all accusations
in that matter, on condition that safe conduct was granted him.
Philip, though not with a calm countenance or cordially, replied,
‘Willingly, let him come safe and in peace.’ The bishop
then said, ‘And may he return? my lord.’ The king
replied, ‘Yes, if the judgements of his peers allows of it.’
And when all the messengers begged of him that John might have safe
conduct to and from his court, Philip became enraged, and replied
with his usual oath, ‘By the saints of France, not unless by
the judgement of his peers.’ The bishop then spoke of the
dangers which might happen through his going to the French king’s
court, and said, ‘My lord king, the duke of Normandy could not
come to your court unless the king of England also came, since the
duke and the king are the same person, and this the barons of England
would not allow, even though the king himself wished to come; for
there would be imminent danger, as you know, of his being made
prisoner or being killed.’ To this the king replied, ‘And
what of this, my lord bishop? It is well known that the duke of
Normandy, who is my tenant, gained possession of England by force,
and if anything accrues to a subject, does the superior lord thereby
lose his rights! Not so.’ The messenger then being unable to
make any reasonable reply to this, returned to the king of England,
and told him all that had passed. The king, however, would not trust
to chance, or to the judgement of the French, who did not like him;
especially as he feared that he would be accused of the shameful
murder of Arthur, as says Horace, ‘All the foot-marks led to
the lion’s cave, but none led back again.’ The French nobles,
however, proceeded to trial, which they ought not to have done by
rights; and by their judgement John was condemned when absent, though
he would have appeared if he could. Wherefore, as king John was
condemned by his enemies, he was not properly condemned.
The second charge made by the above against king John.
The second charge against the king was, that, though often summoned, he
did not appear in person to take his trial, and sent no one to answer
for him in the court of France. To this charge the pope replied,
that, if the king of England had been so contumacious as not to
appear or send when summoned, no one ought or could be punished with
death on account of contumaciousness; therefore the barons of France
could not condemn him to death, but could punish him in another way,
namely, by depriving him of his fee. The messengers to this made
answer, "It is the custom in the French kingdom, when any one is
accused before his judge of the cruel crime of murder, and the
accused does not appear, and pleads no legitimate excuse for not
appearing, to consider him as guilty, and to adjudge him as if he
were guilty of all the charges, even to suffer death, as though he
were present .” In answer to this the pope said, that, between
the king of France and the duke of Normandy, there might be an
agreement or an old custom, that the duke of Normandy was only bound
to come, on the citing of the king of France, as far as the borders;
and therefore if he did not come when summoned, he did not commit an
offence, nor could he, on that account, be punished in such a way.
The pope also said, that if the sentence had been pronounced On the
king of England, it had not however been carried into effect, as he
was not yet put to death; and therefore his children which were born
afterwards, ought to succeed him in the kingdom, because the king of
England had not committed the crime of treason or of heresy, for
which offences only the son is disinherited for his father’s crime.
The messengers in reply to this pleaded, “It is the custom in
the kingdom of France, that when any one is condemned to death, his
offspring begotten after his condemnation does not succeed him, but
those children born to him before his sentence ought to succeed him;"
but the messengers however would not dispute this point. The pope
next said, that although the king of England was condemned to death,
and sons of his flesh were born, Blanche ought not to succeed him but
those nearer related to his family, namely, the children of his
eldest brother, and therefore the sister of Arthur, or Otho, who was
the son of his eldest sister; and if it were decided that the queen
of Castile ought to succeed him, and consequently Blanche as her
daughter, it would not be proper, because a male ought to be
preferred, namely, the king of Castile; and if there was no male, the
queen of Leon ought to be preferred as the eldest. To this the
messengers said, “The brother’s sons ought not to succeed him,
as the brother was not living when the sentence was pronounced, and
the sister of his nephew, Arthur, ought not to succeed him, because
she was not his lineal descendant, although the daughter of his
brother; likewise the mother of Otho was not living at the time of
the sentence, therefore she did not succeed him, consequently Otho
ought not to succeed him; but the queen of Castile was alive, who was
his sister, and therefore succeeded, and on the death of the queen of
Castile, her children succeeded and ought to succeed. To this the
pope replied, that the king of Castile ought to succeed as he was the
male heir, or the queen of Leon as the eldest female heir. The
messengers replied, that when there were several heirs, who ought to
succeed a person, and the one who came first in succession, was still
in the matter, or neglected to enter on his inheritance, the one who
came after him in succession, if he wished to enter on the
inheritance, ought to be invested with it, according to approved
custom, saving however the right of the other if he reclaimed it; and
therefore our lord Louis enters on the kingdom of England as his own,
and if there is any nearer relative who wishes to lay a claim in this
matter, our lord Louis will do what is right in it.
The third objection against king John.
The pope then said that the kingdom of England was his own and
under his rule by reason of the fealty, which had been sworn to him concerning
it, and also by reason of the revenue which was paid to him out of
the kingdom; and therefore, as he had committed no crime, Louis ought
not to make war on him, or to deprive him by force of the kingdom of
England, especially as the king of England held many possessions in
fee of the king of France, for which he might make war on him. In
reply to this the messengers said, “War, and a just war, was
entered upon against the king of England before that kingdom belonged
to your holiness; but William Longsword and many others with him came
with a powerful force from the kingdom of England, and inflicted many
injuries and caused much loss to our lord Louis, therefore he may
with justice make war against the king of England.” To this the
pope replied, that, although the king of England made war on Louis,
the latter ought not to have made war on him, but ought to have
complained to his lord, namely the pope, to whom the king of England
as a vassal was subject. The messengers then said that the custom
was, when war was made on any one by the vassal of another on his own
authority, he who was attacked could make war on the other on his own
authority, and was not bound to complain to the lord of the other;
and if the lord himself defended that vassal as long as he continued
such war, the lord himself was said to make war. The pope then said,
that, at the general council it had been decreed, that there should
be peace or a truce for four years between all who were at
difference, in order to give succour to the Holy Land, and therefore
Louis ought not during that time to make war on the kingdom of
England. The messengers replied, that, on his departure from France,
Louis had not been called on to keep the peace or truce; and even if
he had, they believed that there was so much ill will in the king of
England, that he would not keep either peace or truce. The pope next
said that the king of England had assumed the cross; wherefore by a
decree of the general council, he and all his possessions ought to be
protected by the church. To this the messengers answered, that the
king of England had made war on Louis before he took the cross, and
had inflicted many injuries on him, had taken his castles, and even
now detained his knights and soldiers in prison, being still at war
against Louis, and will not make peace with him or grant him a truce,
although he had been often asked to do so. The pope then told them
that, by the common consent of the general council, he had
excommunicated the barons of England and all their abettors, and
therefore Louis had incurred that sentence. The messengers replied
that their lord Louis did not assist the barons of England nor abet
them, but only sought his own rights; and Louis did not, and could
not believe that the pope or the council would excommunicate any one
unjustly, for at the time of the sentence his holiness did not know
that Louis had any claim to the kingdom of England, and as this had
been proved to him, Louis did not believe that the council would take
away his right from him. The pope next said that the French king, as
well as his son Louis, even after the sentence had been pronounced
against the king of England by the French barons, had called John a
king, considered him as a king, and had made treaties with him as
king of England. To this the messengers answered, that, after the
declaration of the sentence against the king by the barons, they had
never considered him a king, but had called him “the deposed
king,” in the same manner as an abbot or any one else is said
to be deposed. Lastly the pope said, that he would determine on these
matters before the messengers arrived from Walo.*
*
C. and B. insert here:— “One day, however, Louis thinking
to corrupt the fidelity and firmness of Hubert de Burgh, by trying
his avarice, sent word that he wished to have a peaceable interview
with him; and when Hubert consented to this, Louis sent special
messengers to him to a postern gate which seemed a fit place for the
interview. The messengers who were sent to him were the earl of
Salisbury, surnamed William Longespee, who brought with him for
security Thomas de Burgh, brother of the said Hubert, who had been
taken prisoner by Louis at the castle of Norwich, and three of the
most noble of the French. Hubert then came to the postern, followed
by five cross-bow men with bows bent and arrows fitted, so that if
there was necessity, they should not spare their enemies. Earl
William then said, ‘The death of king John, once our lord, is, I
believe, no secret to you, Hubert, nor are you ignorant of the oath
of Louis, who has sworn, that when he takes possession of this castle
by force of arms, all found in it shall be hung without fail. Consult
therefore your own safety and honour. You cannot long retain this
castle; the power of our lord Louis increases daily, while that of
the king decreases, by strong daily assaults; or you will at least
perish of hunger, unless you be wise and yield to my advice, for you
see all hope of help has vanished: therefore without any delay or
difficulty, give up this castle to Louis, and you will not be branded
with perfidy, since you cannot hold possession of it much longer; and
you see that others vie with one another in giving their fealty to
him.’ Thomas, his brother, moreover said to him with tears, ‘My dear
brother, have compassion on yourself, on me, and all of us, by
yielding to the advice of these nobles; for we shall then all be
freed from impending destruction.’ The earl added, ‘Listen to my
advice, Hubert, and obey the will of our lord Louis, and he will give
you, as an inheritance, the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and you
will also become his chief counsellor and friend; but, if you do not
this, your brother Thomas will be hung, and you in a short time will
suffer the same punishment.’ To this Hubert then replied: ‘Earl,
wicked traitor that you are, although king John, our lord and your
brother, be dead, he has heirs, namely your nephew, whom, although
every body else deserted him, you, his uncle, ought not to abandon,
but ought to be a second father to him; why then, base and wicked man
that you are, do you talk thus to me?’ then casting a scowling look
on him and breaking out into a harsher tone, he added, ‘Do not speak
another word, because by the lance of God, if you open your mouth to
say any thing more, you shall all be pierced with numbers of arrows,
nor will I even spare my own brother.’ The earl therefore, and those
who were with him seeing that they would be killed in the flash of an
eye, because the cross-bow men were ready to discharge their weapons,
retreated at once, glad to escape alive and uninjured. When Louis
heard this, although he was sorry and enraged, he greatly applauded
the firmness of Hubert."
How
Louis ravaged the eastern provinces of England.
About
this time Louis made an incursion into the eastern part of England,
pillaged the cities and towns of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, and
finding the castle of Norwich deserted he garrisoned it with his own
soldiers and imposed a tax on all those districts; he also sent a
large force against the town of Lynn, which he reduced, and, taking
the inhabitants away prisoners, he compelled them to pay a heavy
ransom; after this the French returned with great booty and spoil to
London. At that place Gilbert de Gant came to Louis, and was by him
presented with the sword of the county of Lincoln; Louis then sent
him there to check the incursions of the garrisons of the castles of
Nottingham and Newark, who had destroyed with fire all the abodes and
fine buildings of the barons in that district, and had taken their
lands into their own possession. At the same time Robert de Roos,
Peter de Brus, and Richard Percy reduced the city of York with the
whole county to subjection to Louis; Gilbert de Gant, and Robert de
Roppelle took the city of Lincoln and that county, with the exception
of the castle, and imposed an annual tax on the whole of it; thence
marching into Hoyland, they plundered it, and levied a tax on it; the
king of Scots subdued the whole county of Northumberland for Louis,
except the castles which Hugh de Baillul, and Philip de Hulecotes
most courageously defended against the attacks of the enemy; however
all these provinces were subdued and swore allegiance to Louis. In
this year Walo the legate exacted a tax on proxies from the cathedral
churches and religious houses throughout all England, namely, for
every procuration fifty shillings; moreover he sequestrated all the
benefices of the clergy and religious men, who had given assistance,
or advice, or favoured the cause of Louis, all which he converted to
the use of himself and his clerks.
Of the siege of Dover castle by Louis.
In the same year [1216] on the day of the nativity of St. John the
Baptist, Louis, with a powerful force of knights and soldiers laid
siege to Dover castle, having first sent to his father for a petraria
which was called in French “Malvoisine;” and the French
having disposed this and other engines before the castle, they began
to batter the walls incessantly; but Hubert de Burgh, a brave knight,
with a hundred and forty knights and a large number of soldiers who
were defending the castle, destroyed many of the enemy, until the
French feeling their loss removed their tents and engines farther
from the castle; on this Louis was greatly enraged and swore he would
not leave the place till the castle was taken and all the garrison
hung. They therefore, to strike terror into them, built a number of
shops and other buildings in front of the entrance to the castle, so
that the place appeared like a market; for they hoped that they
would, by hunger and a protracted siege, force them to surrender, as
they could not subdue them by force of arms.
The capture of the castle of Cambridge.
About this same time a party of the barons who were staying at London, made
an incursion into the country near Cambridge, pillaged it, and took
the castle at that place, where they made prisoners of twenty
soldiers whom they found in it, and took them away with them. From
thence they marched on, roving through the counties of Norfolk and
Suffolk, pillaging the country as well as all the churches; they
extorted large ransoms from the towns of Yarmouth, Dunwich, and
Ipswich; and then, after collecting booty about Colchester, and
ravaging the country there in like manner, they returned to their old
haunts at London.
The siege of Windsor castle.
After these events the barons assembled a large force, and laid siege to
the castle of Windsor; the command of this army was given to the
count de Nevers, a descendant of the traitor Guenelon; and having
arranged their engines they made fierce assault on the walls. This
castle was in the custody of Ingelard d’Athie, a man well tried in
war, who was attended by sixty knights with their retainers, and
these stoutly defended the castle against their enemies. As soon as
John learned that the castles of Dover and Windsor were laid siege
to, he assembled a large army of the garrisons of his castles,
followed by whom he overran the lands of the earls and barons at
harvest-time, burning their houses and crops and doing great damage
to his enemies; afterwards he roved through the counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk, causing similar havoc amongst the possessions of the
earl of Arundel Roger Bigod, William de Huntingfield, Roger de Cresi,
and other nobles. When all these events were told to the barons, who
were gaining little or no advantage at the siege of Windsor castle,
they determined to raise the siege, in order to cut off the retreat
of king John, who, as has been said, was now pillaging and collecting
booty about the coast of Suffolk; therefore, by the advice of the
count de Nevers, who, it was said, had been bribed by presents from
the king, they raised the siege at night, and, leaving their tents,
marched with all haste towards Cambridge in order to circumvent the
king. He however, by means of good scouts, was forewarned of this,
before the barons arrived at Cambridge, and like a cunning traveller
betook himself to the town of Stamford. From thence he soon proceeded
northward, and hearing that the castle of Lincoln was besieged he
made all haste to that place, Gilbert de Gant and the other Normans,
who were besieging it fled before him, dreading his presence as they
would lightning. The barons, too, who had followed the king, when
they found that they were deceived, indulged in rapine and robbery,
and gave all their attention to the destruction of property; they
then returned with their booty to London, where they appointed some
knights to guard the city, and then marched to join Louis at Dover.
King John in the meantime proceeded towards the boundary of Wales,
besieging and taking the castles of the barons in that direction, all
which he ordered to be razed to the ground; and the cruel destruction
which he caused amongst the houses and crops of the said barons
afforded a pitiable spectacle to all who saw it. In the month of
November in the same year Alexander king of Scots, for fear of king
John, came with a large army to Louis at Dover, and did homage to him
for the right which he ought to hold from the king of the English;
but on his way to him, as he was passing Bernard’s castle, in the
province of Haliwercfolk, and which was in the fee of Hugh de
Baillul, he, with the nobles of that district, rode round the castle
to see if it was open to assault in any part; whilst thus employed a
cross-bow man in the castle discharged his weapon, and wounded a
noble of high rank, Eustace de Vesci, in the forehead, and, the
weapon piercing his brain, he died on the spot. This said Eustace had
married the sister of the king of Scotland; and therefore the latter
as well as all the party of the barons was much grieved. The said
king however did homage, as he had pre-arranged, and returned home.
The
treachery of the French detected.
It
happened about this time that the viscount de Melun, a French
nobleman who had come into England with Louis, fell seriously ill at
London; and when he found that his death was approaching, he sent for
some of the barons who had been left in charge of the city to speak
with him, and in the hearing of them all made the following
confession. "I grieve ,” said he, "for your
desolation and ruin, because you know not the danger which hangs over
you; for Louis and sixteen other French counts and barons with him
have sworn, that, if he subdues England and is crowned king, he will
condemn to perpetual banishment all those who are now fighting with
him and persecuting king John, as traitors against their lord, and
will destroy the whole race of them from the kingdom; and, that you
may not doubt this, I, who am now lying here at the point of death,
declare to you at the risk of my soul, that I am one of those who
have taken this oath with Louis. Therefore I now sincerely advise you
to provide for your safety for the future, and to keep secret what I
have now told you;" and with these words that nobleman
immediately expired. When this information was spread amongst the
barons they were in great consternation, for they knew that they were
in trouble on every side; for Louis had, notwithstanding their
murmurs, given their land and castles, which he had subdued in
various places, to the French, and, what hurt them most, had branded
them with treachery; their alarm was increased too, by the
circumstance of their being excommunicated day after day, and
deprived of all earthly honour, and they consequently fell into great
trouble both of body and mind. Many of them thought of returning to
their allegiance to king John; but they were afraid, that, on account
of the many and great injuries by which he had been provoked to anger
against them, he would not receive them though penitent.
Of
the death of king John.
Whilst
Louis was continuing the siege at Dover for a length of time and
without success, John with a large force had been committing terrible
ravages in the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. At last he took his
way through the town of Lynn, where he was received with joy by the
inhabitants, and received large presents from them. He then took his
march towards the north, but in crossing the river Wellester, he lost
all his carts, waggons, and baggage horses, together with his money,
costly vessels, and everything which he had a particular regard for;
for the land opened in the middle of the water and caused whirlpools
which sucked in every thing, as well as men and horses, so that no
one escaped to tell the king of the misfortune. He himself narrowly
escaped with his army, and passed the following night at a convent
called Swineshead, where, as was thought, he felt such anguish of
mind about his property which was swallowed up by the waters, that he
was seized with a violent fever and became ill; his sickness was
increased by his pernicious gluttony, for that night he surfeited
himself with peaches and drinking new cider, which greatly increased
and aggravated the fever in him. He however left that place at early
dawn, although in pain, and proceeded to the castle of Lafort to take
up his quarters, and at this place he was in such pain, that on the
following day it was with difficulty that he reached Newark on
horseback; there his disease gained ground, and he confessed himself
and received the eucharist from the abbot of Croxton. Afterwards he
appointed his eldest son Henry his heir, and made his kingdom swear
allegiance to him; he also sent letters under his own seal to all the
sheriffs and castellans of the kingdom, ordering them one and all to
obey his said son. Being then asked by the abbot of Croxton, where he
would wish to be buried in case he should die, he answered, “To
God and St. Wolstan I commend my body and soul.” After this, on
the night next after St. Luke the Evangelist’s day, he departed this
life, having reigned eighteen years and a half; his body was dressed
in royal robes and carried to Worcester, and was there honourably
buried in the cathedral church by the bishop of that place. When the
king was drawing near his death at Newark, messengers came to him
there with letters from about forty of the barons who wished to make
their peace with him again; but as he was at the point of death he
could not give his attention to them.*
*
The abbot of the canons of Croxton, a man well skilled in medicine,
who was the king’s physician at that time, opened the king’s body
that it might be better carried to the grave, and having well salted
his entrails had them carried to his abbey and honourably buried
there. King John reigned eighteen years five months and five days,
during which time he caused many disturbances and entered on many
useless labours in the world, and at length departed this life in
great agony of mind, possessed of no territory, yea not even being
his own master. It is, however, to be confidently hoped that some
good works, which he performed in this life, may plead in his favour
at the tribunal of Jesus Christ; for he founded a monastery of the
Cistercian order at Beaulieu, and, when dying, gave to the monastery
of Croxton land worth ten pounds.
Some one has composed his epitaph and an inscription for
his tomb in the following lines:
Hoc in sarcophago sepelitur regis imago,
Qui moriens multum sedavit in orbe tumultum.
Hunc mala post mortem timor est ne fata sequantur.
Qui legis haec, metuens dum cernis te moriturum,
Discute quid rerum pariat tibi meta dierum.
King John reigned eighteen years five months and four days.*
* A profane rhymer thus says of him,
“With John’s foul deeds England’s whole realm is stinking,
As doth hell, too, wherein he now is sinking.”
But because it is dangerous to write against him who can so easily
proscribe a man, it is not my business because it is not safe, to
blame his endless reprehensible faults, as says the poet Juvenal,
“I’ll aim my shafts of satire at the dead.”
Of
the coronation of Henry the Third, king of England, and of the
occurrences in his reign.
After
the death of king John, on the eve of the day of the apostles Simon
and Jude, an assembly was convened at Gloucester in the presence of
Walo, the legate of the apostolic see, at which there were present,
Peter bishop of Winchester, and Silvester bishop of Worcester, Ralph
earl of Chester, William Marshall the earl of Pembroke, William earl
of Ferrers, John Marshall, and Philip d’Albiney, with abbots, priors,
and a great number of others, to arrange for the coronation of Henry
the eldest son of king John. On the day following all preparations
for the coronation having been made, the legate, in company with the
bishops and nobles aforesaid, conducted the king in solemn procession
to the conventual church to be crowned; and there, standing before
the great altar, in the presence of the clergy and people, he swore
on the holy gospels and other reliques of the saints that he would
observe honour, peace, and reverence towards God and the holy church
and its ordained ministers all the days of his life; he also swore
that he would show strict justice to the people entrusted to his
care, and would abolish all bad laws and customs, if there were any
in the kingdom, and would observe those that were good, and cause
them to be observed by all. He then did homage to the holy church of
Rome and to pope Innocent for the kingdoms of England and Ireland,
and swore that, as long as he field those kingdoms, he would
faithfully pay the thousand marks which his father had given to the
Roman church; after this, Peter bishop of Winchester placed the crown
on his head, and anointed him king with the usual ceremonies of
prayer and chanting observed at coronations. After mass had been
performed, the bishops and knights above mentioned clothed the king
in royal robes, and conducted him to table, where they all took their
seats according to their rank, and feasted amidst mirth and
rejoicing. On the following day the king received the homage and
fealty of all the bishops, earls, barons, and all others present, and
they all promised faithful allegiance to him. Henry was crowned in
the tenth year of his age, on the day of the apostles Simon and Jude,
which was the 28th day of the month of October. After his coronation
he continued under the guardianship of William earl of Pembroke, the
grand marshal, who immediately sent letters to all the sheriffs and
castellans of England, enjoining them each and all to obey the newly
crowned king, and promising them possessions and many presents
besides, on condition of their faithfully adhering to the said king;
and thus all the nobles and castellans who had served his father
adhered more firmly to him, because they all thought that the sin of
the father ought not to be charged to the son; wherefore all began to
prepare for defence and to fortify their castles as strongly as
possible. Those who had taken the side of the king were encouraged,
because they saw that his accomplices and abettors were
excommunicated each Sunday and feast-day.
How Louis, on hearing of John’s death, departed from Dover.
When Louis and the barons who were besieging Dover castle received news of
the death of king John, they were all greatly pleased, as they
confidently expected that they now had the kingdom of England in
their own power. Louis then summoned Hubert de Burgh, constable of
Dover castle, to a conference, and said to him, “Your lord king
John is dead, and you cannot hold this castle against me for long, as
you have no protector; therefore give up the castle, and become
faithful to me, and I will enrich you with honours, and you shall
hold a high post amongst my advisers.” To this offer Hubert is
said to have replied, “Although my lord is dead, he has sons and
daughters, who ought to succeed him; and, as to surrendering the
castle, I will deliberate with my fellow knights.” He then
returned to the castle and told his friends what Louis had said, but
they were all unanimous in refusing to surrender it to him, lest they
might be branded with treachery for a cowardly submission. When this
was announced to Louis and the barons, they determined to reduce the
smaller castles throughout the country, that, after the lesser
fortresses were in their power, they might attack the larger ones;
they then raised the siege, and returned to the city of London.
Directly after their retreat, the knights who had defended the castle
sallied out and burnt the houses and buildings which Louis had
erected in front of the castle, and then ravaging the country, they
procured a plentiful supply of necessaries for the garrison.
Of the siege and capture of the castle of Hertford.
After this, Louis marched on the morrow of St. Martin’s
day with a large army to the town of Hertford, and laid siege to it, arranging his
engines of war round the castle to batter the walls; but Walter de
Godardville, a brave knight of the retinue of Falcasius, defended it
with his soldiers, and caused a great slaughter amongst the French.
However, after the latter had, at great expense, protracted the siege
from Martinmas till the feast of St. Nicholas, the town was
surrendered to Louis, saving the garrison, their property, horses,
and arms. The town being thus given up, Robert Fitz-Walter made a
demand of it, saying that the charge of it belonged to him by old
right; Louis then asked the advice of the French knights on the
matter, who told him that the English were not worthy of holding
charge of such places, as they were traitors to their own sovereign.
On this Louis told the aforesaid Robert to wait patiently till the
kingdom was subdued, when he would give every one his rights. In the
same year on the day of St. Catherine the virgin and martyr, the
noble William d’Albiney was released from prison, after paying a fine
of six thousand marks for his ransom; he then did homage to king
Henry, who delivered into his custody the castle of Lafort, which he
vigorously maintained.
Capture
of the castle of Berkhampstead.
After
reducing the castle of Hertford, as above-mentioned, Louis marched on
St. Nicholas’s day to the castle of Berkhampstead and surrounded it
with his engines of war. Whilst the English barons, after pitching
their tents, were employed in setting them in order, the knights and
soldiers of the garrison made a sally, seized the baggage and
conveyances of the barons, and gained possession of the standard of
William de Mandeville, with which they returned to the castle,
regretting that they could do no further injury to them. On the same
day, whilst the barons were sitting at table, the knights and
soldiers of the garrison again made a sally, and, in order to put the
barons in confusion, they carried before them the standard which they
had taken a short time before, and thought to come upon them
unawares; but the latter were forewarned of this, and drove them back
into the castle. When the following day dawned Louis ordered the
petrariae and other engines of war to be erected round the city,
which being done, they kept up a destructive shower of stones; but
Walleran, a German, well tried in warfare, made a brave resistance
against them and caused great slaughter amongst the excommunicated
French. However at last the aforesaid Walleran, after a protracted
siege, by command of the king surrendered the castle to Louis, saving
their horses and arms, on the 20th of December. On the following day
which was St. Thomas’s day, Louis, after placing his own followers in
the castle, went to St. Alban’s, and required the abbot to do homage
to him; to this the abbot replied that he would not do homage to him,
till he was released from the homage which he had made to the king of
England, on which Louis became greatly enraged, and swore that he
would burn the convent and the whole town unless he did what was
required of him. At last the said abbot, after being dreadfully
threatened, on the intervention of Sayer earl of Winchester, paid a
fine for himself and for the town, giving to Louis for a truce till
the purification of St. Mary eighty marks of silver; and on this
Louis returned to the city of London.
Events connected with the land of promise.
In the same year, [1216] on the expiration of the truce made
between those of the faith in the land of promise and the Saracens, at the
first passage after the general Lateran council, the army of the Lord
assembled in great force at Acre, under the three kings of Jerusalem,
Hungary, and Cyprus. There were also present the dukes of Austria and
Bohemia, with a large knightly array from the kingdom of Germany, and
several counts and men of rank. The archbishops of Nicosia,
Salzburgh, Argia, Hungary, Bayeux, Bawerge, Ciceno, Munster, and
Utrecht, and with them the noble and powerful Walter d’Avennes.
Besides these, the patriarch of Jerusalem, amidst much humility of
clergy and people, reverently carrying the symbol of the life-giving
cross, set out on the sixth day after All Saints from Acre for the
camp of the army of the Lord, which had gone forward to Recordana.
This being a piece of the Lord’s cross had, after the loss of the
Holy Land, been kept concealed by those of the faith till this time;
for in a conflict between the Saracens and Christians, in Saladin’s
time, the cross, as we have heard from our elders, was cut, and a
part of it being carried into the fight, was there lost, but the part
left behind still remained and was now shown. The army of the faith,
furnished with this for a standard, marched through the plain of Faba
to the fountain of Tubannia, and suffered much in that day’s march.
Scouts were then sent out, who saw the dust which was caused by the
enemy, but were uncertain whether they were in retreat or advancing
to meet them. On the following day they marched between the mountains
of Gelboe on their right hand and a lake on their left, and reached
Bethany, where the enemy was encamped; the latter, however, in dread
at the approach of the army of the living God, which was so numerous,
and marching in such order, struck his tents, and, taking to flight,
left the country open to the ravages of the soldiers of Christ. On
the eve of Martinmas the army of the faith crossed the Jordan,
bathing their bodies in that river, and there rested quietly for two
days, finding an abundance of provisions. They then made three stages
along the sea of Galilee and passed through the places where our
Saviour deigned to work his miracles, and conversed in person with
men. They saw Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, then reduced
to a small fortress; they also saw the places where Christ called his
disciples, walked on the sea with dry feet, fed the multitudes in the
desert, went up the mountain to pray, and where, after his
resurrection he ate with his disciples; and then they returned by way
of Capernaum to Acre, carrying their sick with them. After this they
made another expedition and proceeded to Mount Tabor, where at first
they found a scarcity of water, but afterwards by digging they
discovered plenty; the chiefs of the army gave up all hopes of
ascending the mountain, until they were told by a Saracen boy that
the castle could be taken. They therefore held a council, and on the
first Sunday in Advent, when was read the gospel, “Go to the
castle which is over against you,” the patriarch went in
advance with the symbol of the cross, and amidst the prayers and
chanting of hymns by the bishops and clergy the army reached the side
of the mountain; and although it was rugged on every side, and as it
seemed insurmountable, except by a winding path, yet they all
undauntingly climbed it. John king of Jerusalem, with the soldiers of
Christ, struck from their horses the castellan and an emir, who at
the first onset had boldly met the enemy outside the gates, to defend
the mountain, and were putting them to confusion and flight. But the
glory which the king gained in his ascent of the mountain, he lost in
the descent; for a number of the templars, hospitallers, and seculars
were wounded, when the enemy recovered their courage, though but few
were killed. In this expedition, as also in the former one which we
mentioned, the Christians brought back a great number of men, women,
and children with them to Acre, where the bishop of Acre baptised all
he could obtain by entreaties or for money; the women he distributed
amongst the nuns, and had them taught to read. In a third expedition,
at which the patriarch was not present with the clergy and the symbol
of the crosses the army of the faith endured many inconveniences, as
well from robbers as from the severity of the winter, especially on
the eve of Christmas day, when, as they were on their march, the
weather was disturbed by storms of wind and rain; in the
neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon too, near Sarepta, they suffered many
hardships, as well from the inclemency of the season as from bodily
suffering.
1217 A.D.
How
the barons of England reflected on the wretched state of their
affairs.
A.D.
1217. The young king Henry was at Christmas at Bristol, in company
with Walo the legate, and William Marshall the guardian of the king
and kingdom. At this time there was a great deal of wavering amongst
the barons of England, to which ruler they should entrust themselves,
whether to the young Henry or to Louis; for they were treated so
contemptuously by the French that many of them rejected their
assistance. This gust of excitement, moreover, was increased by Louis
himself, who, in disregard of his oath, and in spite of their
complaints, had retained in his own possession the lands,
possessions, and castles of the said barons, which he had subdued
with their help, and had placed foreign knights and people in charge
of them. On the other hand, it seemed a disgrace for them to return
to their allegiance to a king whom they had renounced, lest they
should be like dogs returning to their vomit; and, being thus in
difficulty in every way, they could not mend the broken reed. In the
same year, on the 20th of January, the knights and soldiers of the
garrison of the castle of Montsorrel made a sally to rob and pillage
the country; but the knights of Nottingham, on being informed of it
by their scouts, went to meet them, and giving them battle, made
prisoners of ten knights and twenty-four soldiers of the opposite
party, and killed three, after which they returned in triumph.
How Falkasius pillaged the town of St. Alban’s.
In the same year, on the 22nd of January, the wicked robber Falkasius
assembled a force of knights and robbers from the garrisons of the
castles of Oxford, Northampton, Bedford, and Windsor, and went to St.
Alban’s, it being the night of St. Vincent’s day, at dusk, and making
an unexpected attack on the place, pillaged it and made prisoners of
men and children, whom he committed to close confinement; at the very
door of the church there he slew a follower of the court who was
endeavouring to take refuge in the church, and after the perpetration
of this wicked crime by these agents of the devil, he sent orders to
the abbot William at once to deliver him a hundred pounds of silver,
or else he would directly burn the whole town, with the monastery and
other buildings; on which the abbot, after much hesitation, paid the
sum demanded, having no other remedy. Falkasius after this, with his
excommunicated companions in arms, made all speed to the castle of
Bedford, taking with him his booty and prisoners; from that place he
marched with his followers to the forest of Walburg, and there made
prisoner Roger de Coleville and sixty clerks and laymen with him, who
were lying concealed there for the sake of collecting booty.*
* Paris adds:— “One
night afterwards, the said Faulkes saw in a vision a large stone from
the tower of St. Alban’s fall like a thunderbolt on him, and crush
him to dust; alarmed by this, he awoke, and told his wife the vision.
She then advised him, as her husband, lord, and friend, to go with
all due devotion to the blessed Alban, whom he had without doubt
offended, and make his peace with that saint by a proper atonement;
for she understood that this was a presage of some future punishment
for the crime he had committed. Faulkes then consented to do so after
some trouble, thus fulfilling the saying of the apostle, ‘a faithless
man shall be saved by a faithful woman.’ He afterwards, not to offend
his wife, went to St. Alban’s, and entered the chapter-house without
his armour, carrying a rod, and asked and obtained absolution,
kissing the monks one by one, as if he could thus make his peace with
them all; but he did not restore any of the property he had seized,
or make any reparation to the poor followers of Christ for the injury
he had done them. The servants of Christ stood at the door of the
chapter-house, hoping for some reparation to them; but when he saw
them waiting, he spurned them and passed on, not knowing that
threatening prophecy as to the punishment which the Lord God of
vengeance, at the complaint of the blessed Alban, has reserved for
him, ‘Woe unto you, robber, for you shall be robbed.’ And this he
learned by experience in the end, as the ensuing narrative will
show.”
Of the treaty made between the king of England and Louis.
About this time, the messengers of Louis who had gone on his behalf to the
court of Rome, brought word to him, that unless he left England the
sentence of excommunication which the legate Walo had pronounced
against him would on the day of the Lord’s supper be confirmed. On
account of this a truce was made between Louis and king Henry to last
till the Easter month, by which it was agreed that everything was to
remain till that time in the same state as it was on the day of the
truce being sworn to, with respect both to castles and other
possessions. Louis then crossed the sea during Lent, on such a
footing, that he never again had the good will of the barons of
England as he had formerly; for of that party, William earl of
Salisbury, William earl of Arundel, William earl of Warrenne, and
many others, at once returned to their allegiance to king Henry, and
adhered to his cause from that time : the grand marshal too recalled
his eldest son William to his allegiance to the king, and thus
Louis’s party was in a great measure broken up.
Events
in the land of promise.
The
army at Acre was at this time divided into four parts; the kings of
Hungary and Cyprus went to Tripoli, where the young king of Cyprus
died. The king of Hungary, after staying there for a short time, took
his departure to the injury of the cause of the Holy Land; for he
took away with him pilgrims and galleys, horses, cattle, and arms,
and although much entreated by the patriarch not to leave, he went
away with his retinue, and was excommunicated. Another portion,
consisting of the lazy and timid, and the wealthy, remained in Acre.
The king of Jerusalem and the duke of Austria, with the hospitallers
of St. John, and many prelates, and others of the crusaders, in a
short time had strengthened the castle at Caesarea in Palestine,
although frequent reports of the approach of the enemy were brought
to them. At this latter place, the patriarch with six prelates
celebrated the feast of the Purification with all due solemnity. The
templars too, with the lord D’Avennes, and other pilgrims, and the
hospitallers of the Teutonic order, fortified a castle formerly
called “The District ,” but now the “Pilgrim’s
Castle ,” which lies between Caiffa and Caesarea, not, far
from the sea; wherefore, those who went up and down the narrow road
on their way to Jerusalem, called it “The District .” The
chief advantage of this castle was, that the brotherhood of the
Templars, after leaving the city of Acre, which was full of all sin
and debauchery, would remain in it as a garrison till the walls of
Jerusalem were repaired. The district round it abounded in fisheries,
lakes, woods, pastures, meadows, fields, herbage, vineyards, gardens,
and orchards. Between Acre and Jerusalem, the Saracens were not in
possession of any town, on which account the infidels suffered much
loss. Six miles distant from mount Thabor, between Jerusalem and the
Jordan, there is a good natural harbour; and therefore the Saracens
could neither plough nor sow in the extensive plain which lies
between, on account of its being under the protection of this castle.
The army of the Lord then, after fortifying this castle, returned to
Acre.
Of
signs in the heavens by which the province of Cologne was incited to
assist in the crusade.
In
the month of May in this year, on the sixth day before Whitsuntide,
the province of Cologne was awakened to its duty to the Saviour; for
at the town of Bebon in Friesland there appeared in the sky the form
of the cross in three places, one towards the north of a white
colour, another towards the south of the same form and colour, and
the third in the middle of a dark colour, with the form of the
crucifix, and the figure of a man suspended on it, with uplifted and
extended arms, with nails driven through the feet and hands, and with
the head bent down; this one was in the middle between the two
others, on which latter did not appear the image of a human body; at
another time and place too, namely, at a town of Friesland called
Fuserhuse, there appeared near the sun a cross of a blue colour, and
more people saw this than those who had seen the former crosses: a
third cross appeared at the town of Doctham, where saint Bonifacius
was crowned with martyrdom; at this place on the feast of the said
martyr, many thousand men having collected together, a large white
cross was visible, as though two planks were placed artificially
across one another; this cross moved gradually from the north towards
the east, and many thousands saw it.
The
siege of the castle of Mountsorrel.
In
the same year after Easter, by the orders of William Marshall
guardian of the king and kingdom of England, there assembled, to lay
siege to the castle of Mountsorrel, Ralph earl of Chester, William
earl of Albemarle, William earl of Ferrars, Robert de Vipont, Brian
de L’Isle, W. de Cantelupe, Philip Marc, Robert de Gaugi, Falkasius
with his castellans, and many others from the garrisons of the
different castles, and they at once arranged their engines of war in
suitable positions and invested the castle. The commander of the
place was Henry de Braybrooke, and there were with him ten knights,
men of great valour, and a number of attendants, who courageously
returned stone for stone and weapon for weapon on their assailants;
the besieged, after they had defended the castle for several days, in
order that they might not be reduced to want through a protracted
siege, sent to Sayer earl of Winchester, who was then at London,
begging him to come at once to their assistance. The said earl then,
to whom the castle belonged, went to Louis who had lately returned to
London from the transmarine provinces, and demanded of him to send
some assistance by which the siege might be raised; after consulting
with each other they came to the determination to send a body of
knights to raze the siege and to reduce the whole district to
submission to Louis. In pursuance of this plan there went forth from
the city of London six hundred knights and more than twenty thousand
soldiers, who all coveted the property of others; and this array was
under the command of the count of Perche mareschal of France, Sayer
earl of Winchester, Robert FitzWalter with many others, whom they
esteemed fit to command the expedition. They moved their camp on the
30th of April, which was on the Monday next before our Lord’s
Ascension, and marched to St. Alban’s pillaging all the places they
passed. These wicked French freebooters and robbers roved through the
towns around them, sparing neither churches nor cemeteries, and made
prisoners of the inhabitants of all ranks, and, after dreadfully
torturing them, extorted a heavy ransom from them; the convent of St.
Alban’s too, the abbot of which had a snort time before satisfied the
demands of Louis by the payment of a large sum of money, escaped the
hands of the robbers, so that they stole nothing except meat and drink.
Of a miracle of the Lord’s cross.
On the following day they moved their camp, proceeding towards
the town of Dunstable, and, at the town of Redbourn, they pillaged the church
of St. Amphibalus, and stripped the monks even to their inner
clothing; they also took the relics of the saints from above the
great altar and polluted them with their impious hands. One among
them seized on a silver and gold ornamented cross, in which was
contained a piece of our Lord’s cross, and hid it in his wicked bosom
unknown to his companions; but before he had left the oratory, he was
possessed by a devil, and fell down grinding his teeth and foaming at
the mouth, then rising quickly on the instigation of the devil, he
endeavoured to strike at his companions with his sword; they,
however, pitying his agony, tied his hands, and, not knowing the
cause of it, took him to the church of Flamstead in a state of the
wildest frenzy. As these robbers were entering that church for the
purpose of robbing it, they were met by the priest, clad in white
robes, in order to check the evil disposition of those impious men;
however, being alarmed about their mad companion whom they had
brought with them, they refrained from plunder, and there, in the
presence of the superior and many others, the aforesaid cross leapt
forth from the madman’s bosom and fell on the ground; the superior
then took it up with reverence and astonishment, and, holding it up,
asked the robbers what it was. At length on consideration they found
out, by means of this visitation of God, that he had clandestinely
taken it from the monks whom they had robbed in the adjoining town,
and they were all in a state of great perplexity and fear, lest the
evil spirit should possess them also, and torture them, as it had
done their companion. They therefore in great alarm delivered the
cross up to the superior, beseeching him, by the virtue of God and in
peril of his order, before he took any food, to go to the place and
restore the cross to the monks; the superior therefore made all haste
to the oratory of St. Amphibalus, and with due reverence delivered
the cross, and related all the wonderful events connected with it to
the prior and brethren.
The
raising of the siege of the castle of Montsorrel, and of the siege of
Lincoln castle.
The
army of Louis and the barons of England arrived at Dunstable, and
there passed the night. In the morning it took its march northward,
hastening to the relief of the before-mentioned castle of Montsorrel
; earl Ralph of Chester and the others who were with him besieging
it, being informed of this by their scouts, raised the siege, and
retreated to the castle of Nottingham, where they determined to watch
the progress of their approaching enemies. When the barons then
arrived at the castle of Montsorrel, after pillaging in their usual
custom all the cemeteries and churches on their march, it was
determined unanimously to march to Lincoln, where Gilbert de Grant
and other barons above-mentioned had carried on a long siege without
success. They therefore marched through the valley of Belvoir, and
there everything fell into the hands of these robbers, because the
soldiers of the French kingdom being as it were the refuse and scum
of that country, left nothing at all untouched, and their poverty and
wretchedness was so great, that they had not enough bodily clothing
to cover their nakedness. At length they arrived at Lincoln, and the
barons then made fierce assaults on the castle, whilst the besieged
returned their showers of stones and missiles with stones and deadly
weapons with great courage.
How
the king of England assembled an army to raise the siege of the
castle of Lincoln.
Whilst
these events were passing at this place, William Marshall, the
guardian of the king and kingdom, by the advice of Walo the legate,
Peter bishop of Winchester, and others by whose counsels the business
of the kingdom was arranged, convoked all the castellans belonging to
the king, and the knights who were in charge of castles in different
parts of the kingdom, ordering them, on the command of the king, to
assemble at Newark on the second day in Whitsun week, to proceed
together with them to raise the siege of Lincoln castle. They, having
an ardent desire to engage with the excommunicated French, and also
to fight for their country, joyfully came at the time and place
pre-arranged on, and with them also there came the legate himself,
and many other prelates of the kingdom, with horses and soldiers, to
assail with prayers as well as arms these disobeyers of their king,
and rebels against their lord the pope; for it appeared to them they
had a just cause of war, especially as he was innocent, and a
stranger to sin, whom his enemies were endeavouring in their pride to
disinherit. And when they were all assembled together, there were
reckoned in that army four hundred knights, nearly two hundred and
fifty cross-how men, and such an innumerable host of followers and
horsemen were present, who could on emergency fulfil the duties of
soldiers. The chiefs of this army were William Marshall and William
his son, Peter bishop of Winchester, a man well skilled in warfare,
Ralph earl of Chester, William earl of Salisbury, William earl of
Ferrars, and William earl of Albemarle; there were also there the
barons, William d’Albiney, John Marshall, William de Cantelo,* and
William his son, the renowned Falcasius, Thomas Basset, Robert de
Vipont, Brian de L’Isle, Geoffrey de Lucy, and Philip d’Albiney, with
many castellans of experience in war. They made a stay of three days
at Newark, to refresh the horses and men, and in the meantime
employed themselves in confession, and strengthened their bodies by
partaking of the body and blood of our Lord, asking his protection
against the attacks of their enemies; and thus all of them were
prepared for extremities, and were determined to conquer or die in
the cause of right.
* Before called Cantelupe.
How, when the king’s army was assembled, the legate encouraged them all to
battle.
At length, on the sixth day of Whitsun week, after the performance of
the holy sacrament, the legate rose and set forth to all of them how
unjust was the cause of Louis, and the barons who had joined him, for
which they had been excommunicated and alienated from the community
of the church; and in order to animate the army to battle, he put on
his white robes, and, in company with the whole clergy there,
excommunicated Louis by name, together with all his accomplices and
abettors, and especially all those who were carrying on the siege of
Lincoln against the king of England, together with the whole
provinces, inclusive and included. And to those who had undertaken to
assist in this war personally, he, by the power granted to him from
the omnipotent God and the apostolic see, granted full pardon for
their sins, of which they had made true confession, and as a reward
to the just he promised the reward of eternal salvation. Then, after
all had received absolution and the blessing of God, they flew to
arms, mounted their horses at once and struck their camp rejoicing.
On their arrival at Stowe, eight miles from Lincoln, they there
passed the night without fear. In the morning, seven dense and well
appointed battalions were formed, and they marched against the enemy,
only fearing that the latter would take to flight before they reached
the city; the cross-bow men all the time kept in advance of the army
almost a mile; the baggage waggons and sumpter-horses followed
altogether in the rear with the provisions and necessaries, whilst
the standards and bucklers glittered in all directions, and struck
terror into those who beheld them.
How the barons went out of the city of Lincoln and reconnoitred the
king’s army.
The
barons who were in the city and the French felt such great confidence
of success in their cause, that when their messengers told them of
the approach of their adversaries they only laughed at them, and
continued to hurl missiles from their mangonells, to destroy the
walls of the castle. But Robert Fitz-Walter, and S. earl of
Winchester, when they heard that the enemy were approaching the city,
went out to watch their approach and to count their numbers; and when
they had made a careful survey of the approaching enemy they returned
to the city to their companions, telling them, “The enemy are
coming against us in good order, but we are much more numerous than
they are; therefore, our advice is that we sally forth to the ascent
of the hill to meet them, for, if we do, we shall catch them like
larks .” In reply to them, the count of Perche and the
mareschal said, “You have reckoned them according to your own
opinion: we also will now go out and count them in the French fashion
.” They then went out to reconnoitre the coming army of the
king, but in their estimation of them they were deceived; for when
they saw the waggons and baggage in the rear of the army, with the
guards who followed the squadrons which were already disposed in
order of battle, they thought that this was an army of itself,
because they beheld there a great multitude of men with standards
flying; for each of the nobles had two standards, one, as we have
already said, following the troops at a distance in the rear, with
the baggage, and another preceding the persons of each of them, that
they might be known when engaged in battle. And the count of Perche
with the mareschal, being thus deceived, returned in a state of
uncertainty to their companions. On their return into the city they
proposed this plan to their companions, whose advice they did not
despise, namely, to divide the nobles that the gates might be guarded
and the enemy prevented from entering by some, until the others had
taken the castle, the capture of which would soon be effected. This
plan was approved of by many, but several disagreed with it. They
then secured the gates, appointed guards to them, and prepared for a
defence.
Of the battle fought at Lincoln called by some the "Fair."
The king’s army in the meantime approached the city on the side nearest
the castle, and when it was discovered by the castellans they sent a
messenger by a postern door of the castle to the commanders of the
army, to inform them of what was being done inside. This messenger
told them that if they wished they could enter the castle by the
postern, which had been just opened on account of their arrival; the
commanders of the army, however, would not enter the castle that way,
but sent Falcasius, with all the division under his command, and all
the cross-bowmen, to force open at least one gate of the city for the
army. The whole body then marched to the northern gate and
endeavoured to force it open, the barons, notwithstanding this,
continuing to cast heavy stones from their petrariae against the
castle. But during this time, Falcasius entered the castle with the
company of troops under his command, and with the cross-bow men, and
stationed them on a sudden on the roofs of the buildings and on the
ramparts, whence they discharged their deadly weapons against the
chargers of the barons, levelling horses and riders together to the
earth, so that in the twinkling of an eye they made up a large force
of foot-soldiers, knights, and nobles. Falcasius then, seeing a great
many of the more noble of the enemy struck to the earth, boldly burst
forth with his followers from the castle into the midst of the enemy
; he was, however, made prisoner by the number who rushed on him, and
carried away, until he was rescued by the bravery of his cross-bow
men and knights. The great body of the king’s army having in the
meantime forced the gates, entered the city and boldly rushed on the
enemy. Then sparks of fire were seen to dart, and sounds as of
dreadful thunder were heard to burst forth from the blows of swords
against helmeted heads; but at length, by means of the cross-bowmen,
by whose skill the horses of the barons were mown down and killed
like pigs, the party of the barons was greatly weakened, for, when
the horses fell to the earth slain, their riders were taken
prisoners, as there was no one to rescue them. At length, when the
barons were thus weakened, and great numbers of their soldiers had
been made prisoners and safely secured, the king’s knights rushed in
a close body on the count of Perche, entirely surrounding him; and
as he could not withstand their force as they rushed against him,
they called on him to surrender, that he might escape with life. He,
however, swore that he would not surrender to the English, who were
traitors to their lawful king. On hearing this, a knight rushed on
him, and striking him in the eye, pierced his brain, on which he fell
to the ground without uttering another word. Then the French
battalions, seeing the fall of their commander, took to flight, both
horse and foot-soldiers, with great loss; for the flail of the
southern gate through which they took their flight had been replaced
in a transverse way across the gate, which greatly impeded their
flight; for when any one came up and wished to go out at that gate,
he was obliged to dismount from his horse and open it, and after he
had passed the gate was again closed, and the flail again fell across
it as before, and thus this gate was a great trouble to the
fugitives. The king’s troops pursued the flying barons and French,
but although several were made prisoners in their flight, yet the
king’s men only feigned to pursue them, and if it had not been for
the effect of relationship and blood, not a single one of all of them
would have escaped. But not further to prolong the account to no
purpose, of the commanding barons were made prisoners, Sayer earl of
Winchester, Henry de Bohun earl of Hereford, count Gilbert de Gant,
whom Louis had lately created earl of Lincoln; and the count of
Perche lay dead there. There were also made prisoners, the barons
Robert Fitz Walter, Richard de Montfitchet, William de Mowbray,
William de Beauchamp, William Maudut, Oliver d’Haencurt, Roger de
Creisi, William de Coleville, William de Roos, Robert de Roppele,
Ralph Chainedut, and many others, to mention whom would be tedious.
Three hundred knights were taken, besides soldiers, horse and foot,
not easily to be counted. The count of Perche was buried in the
orchard of the hospital outside the city. Reginald, surnamed Crocus,
a brave knight of Falcasius’s retinue, who was slain there, was
honourably buried at the monastery of Croxton. There was also slain
in this battle a soldier of the barons’ party, not known to any one,
who was buried outside the city at the meeting of four roads, as one
excommunicated. And only the above-mentioned three are mentioned as
having been slain in this great battle.
Of the plunder and pillage of the city.
After the battle was thus ended, the king’s soldiers found in the city the
waggons of the barons and the French, with the sumpter-horses, loaded
with baggage, silver vessels, and various kinds of furniture and
utensils, all which fell into their possession without opposition.
Having then plundered the whole city to the last farthing, they next
pillaged the churches throughout the city, and broke open the chests
and store-rooms with axes and hammers, seizing on the gold and silver
in them, clothes of all colours, women’s ornaments, gold rings,
goblets, and jewels. Nor did the cathedral church escape this
destruction, but underwent the same punishment as the rest, for the
legate had given orders to the knights to treat all the clergy as
excommunicated men, inasmuch as they had been enemies to the church
of Rome and to the king of England from the commencement of the war;
Geoffrey de Drepinges precentor of this church, lost eleven thousand
marks of silver. When they had thus seized on every kind of property,
so that nothing remained in any corner of the houses, they each
returned to their lords as rich men, and peace with king Henry having
been declared by all throughout the city, they ate and drank amidst
mirth and festivity. This battle, which, in derision of Louis and the
barons, they called "The Fair ,” took place on the 19th
of May, which was on the Saturday in Whitsun-week; it commenced
between the first and third hour, and was finished by these good
managers before the ninth. Many of the women of the city were drowned
in the river, for, to avoid insult, they took to small boats with
their children, female servants, and household property, and perished
on their journey; but there were afterwards found in the river by the
searchers, goblets of silver, and many other articles of great
benefit to the finders; for the boats were overloaded, and the women
not knowing how to manage the boats, all perished, for business done
in haste is always badly done. After thus finishing this business,
William Marshall ordered all the castellans to return to their
castles with the prisoners, and there to keep them in close custody
till they should learn the king’s pleasure concerning them. The said
William Marshall returned the same day, before he took any food, to
the king, and told him in presence of the legate what had happened,
and they, who had been praying to God with weeping, soon changed
their tears to smiles. In the morning messengers came to the king and
told him that the knights at Montsorrel had left that castle and
fled; on which the king ordered the sheriff of Nottingham to go in
person to the castle and to raze it to the ground.
Of
the flight of the barons and the French from Lincoln.
After
the count of Perche was slain, as above stated, they all took to
flight, horse as well as foot-soldiers, towards the city of London,
and the foremost among them was the mareschal of France, with the
castellan of Arras, and all the French; many of them however, and
especially almost all the foot-soldiers, were slain before they got
to Louis; for the inhabitants of the towns through which they passed
in their flight, went to meet them with swords and bludgeons, and,
laying snares for them, killed numbers. About two hundred knights
reached London and went before to Louis to tell him of their sad
losses; he however sneeringly told them that it was owing to their
flight that their companions had been made prisoners, because if they
had remained to fight, they would perhaps have saved themselves as
well as their companions from capture and death. It must be believed
that this defeat happened to Louis and the barons of England by a
just dispensation of God, for as they had now continued nearly two
years under sentence of excommunication, unless they were corrected
by divine punishment, men would say, “There is no God ,”
and so there would be none who acted rightly, no, not one.
Of
the death of pope Innocent.
On
the 16th of July in the same year, pope Innocent paid the debt of
human nature, after filling the pontifical chair for eighteen years
five months and four days; he was succeeded by Honorius, formerly
called Cencio, who held the see in the Roman church ten years seven
months and nineteen days.
How
Louis sent to his father for troops.
About
this time Louis, owing to the misfortune which had befallen him at
Lincoln, despaired of effecting his purpose, he however by good
advice sent messengers to his father, and to his wife the lady
Blanche, telling them of the irreparable losses which had befallen
him and the barons of England at Lincoln, which he said was brought
on them by God more than by man; for the king of the English had now
become so powerful, that he with a large force paraded through the
cities and towns round London, and precluded him and his companions
from leaving the city. "Moreover ,” said he, "all
kinds of provisions are failing us and our followers in the city, and
even if they abounded there, we have no means of buying them;
therefore I inform you that I have no means of resistance, or of
leaving England, unless you supply me with strong military aid .”
When this news reached the father from his son, and the wife from her
husband, they were much concerned at his being placed in this strait;
* and as the king was afraid to give assistance to his excommunicated
son, as he had been often severely rebuked by the pope for granting
his consent, he laid the burden of the business on the wife of Louis,
who was not slow in fulfilling the duty imposed on her, but sent off
to her husband’s assistance three hundred brave knights, well
equipped with supplies for war, and attended by a large body of
soldiers. But all this could not be concealed from the king of
England, who, having now recovered his courage, had, with a large
army, taken possession of the southern coasts, and had determined to
lay siege to the city of London; he therefore, by the advice of the
grand marshal, deputed Philip de Albiney and John Marshall, with the
sailors of the cinque ports and a large body of troops, to watch the
seas carefully, and to look out for and prevent the approach of the
French.
* Paris adds:— “The
French king, on hearing this, said, ‘Does not William Marshall still
live?’ And on being told that he did, he said, ‘I have, then, no
fears for my son.’ From this, William Marshall was ever after branded
as a traitor.”
On the day of the apostle St. Bartholomew, the French fleet was
entrusted to the command of Eustace the monk, a most disgraceful man
and a wicked pirate, to conduct it in safety to London, and to
deliver it to Louis. The above-mentioned troops then put to sea with
a swelling fair wind, which drove them quickly towards England, but
they were entirely unaware of the preparations which were made for
them. When therefore they had proceeded a good way on their course,
the commanders of the king of England’s fleet came on an oblique
course with eighty ships to oppose them, on which account the French
were afraid to engage with them at sea with only their few ships,
which did not exceed forty in number, galleys and ships together;
but by the event which had taken place at Lincoln, in which a few had
triumphed over a great many, they were inspirited and boldly attacked
the rear of the enemy; when the French discovered this, they flew to
their arms and made a bold resistance against them. Philip de Albiney
with his cross-bow men and archers sending their missiles amongst the
French, soon caused great slaughter amongst those who opposed them.
They had moreover galleys peaked with iron, with which they pierced
the ships of their adversaries and sank many of them in an instant;
they also threw hot lime-dust on the sea, which, being borne by the
wind, blinded the eyes of the French. A severe engagement took place
between the fleets, but that of the French, who were not well skilled
in naval warfare, was soon defeated; for the crews were struck down
by the weapons and arrows of the English sailors, who were used to
naval fights, pierced them with their javelins and arrows, or cut
them down with swords and lances, whilst others bored holes in their
ships’ bottoms and sank them; therefore the French having no hopes of
escape, threw themselves of their own accord into the waves, that
they might not be taken alive by their enemies, for they preferred
death to being taken prisoners by the English. The French nobles who
survived, were taken prisoners, and the victorious English, towing
after them the captured vessels, set sail after their glorious
victory for Dover. The garrison of that place, on beholding this
unexpected goodness of God, went out to meet their approaching fellow
countrymen, and put into closer ward the unlucky French prisoners.
Amongst other prisoners, that traitor to the king of England and
wicked pirate Eustace the monk, after being long searched for was at
length found, and dragged forth from the hold of one of the ships;
and when he found himself a prisoner, he offered a large sum of money
for his life and bodily safety, and promised for the future to fight
faithfully under the English king; Richard, the illegitimate son of
king John, who seized him, said to him, “Never again in this
world, wicked traitor, shall you deceive any one with your false
promises;" and with these words he drew his sword and cut off
his head. The king’s followers then collected all the spoil from the
French ships consisting of gold, silver, silk cloths, and arms; and
the prisoners having been committed to safe custody, Philip de
Albiney told the king what had been done, who immediately gave praise
for this heaven-sent victory to the Lord, who is always and every
where wonderful in his works amongst men. When this event came to the
knowledge of Louis, he was more concerned for it than for his
misfortune at Lincoln.*
* C. inserts here, “When Hubert de Burgh was informed of
the arrival of such a formidable host, he said to the bishop of
Winchester, the marshal, and other nobles, ‘If these people
come to England unopposed, the kingdom is lost. Let us therefore meet
them with courage, for God is with us, whilst they are
excommunicated.’ To this they replied, ‘We are not
sailors, pirates, or fishermen, do you go therefore and die.’
Hubert then went to a little distance from the place and sent for his
chaplain Luke; he at once received the wholesome viaticum, and then
assuming the boldness of a lion, he said to his particular
attendants, to whom he had entrusted the charge of Dover, “I
beseech you, by the blood of Christ, if I should by chance be taken
prisoner, to allow me to be hung rather than give up the castle to
any Frenchman, for it is the key of England.” They with tears
promised him this on their allegiance and oath. He then, in company
with two distinguished knights, Henry de Turville and Richard Seward,
and some others, though few in number, embarked on board a ship,
taking with him some sailors from the cinque-ports. There were under
his command about sixteen well-armed ships, not including some small
ones which accompanied them to the number of twenty. They then
proceeded boldly on their course, and luffed as if they were going to
Calais. When Eustace the monk, the French leader, saw this, he said,
“I know that these wretches intend to go to Calais, but it is
to no purpose, for the inhabitants are forewarned against them.”
But the English, finding that the wind failed them, suddenly altered
their course, and the wind being now fair for them, they eagerly
rushed on the enemy; as soon as they reached the vessels of their
adversaries they threw grappling-irons and made them fast to their
own vessels, and boarding them with their axes, they cut away the
rigging supporting the mast and yards, and, the expending sail
falling, the French were caught like birds in a net; the English then
attacked them and making prisoners of all of rank amongst them, cut
the rest to pieces. Amongst others they discovered Eustace, who had
disguised himself, concealed in the hold of a ship, on which they
dragged him forth and beheaded him. This man was a Fleming by birth,
and on the deaths of his brothers without children, he, in order to
obtain their inheritance, abandoned the monk’s habit and apostatized
from his order; he then became a pirate and a bloody pirate leader,
causing great injury to numbers, but at length the robber was himself
taken and received the reward of his deeds. When Hubert, after his
miraculous victory, reached the English coast all the bishops who
were in that quarter came out to meet him clad in their sacred robes,
attended by the knights and people, and bearing crosses and
standards, singing psalms and praising God.”
Of the peace and agreement made between Henry king of England,
and Louis.
After this the marshal, the king’s guardian and regent, assembled
a large army of knights and soldiers, and marched in great force to the city
of London which he blockaded all round, both by land and water; and,
by thus cutting off all supplies of provisions from the garrison, he
thought to compel them to surrender. Louis being thus critically
situated sent word to the legate and the marshal, that he was willing
to comply with their terms in everything, on condition that they
would make suitable terms of peace, saving his honour, and without
injury to his followers. They therefore, since the matter rested with
them, and as they desired beyond measure to be rid of Louis, sent
back to him terms of peace reduced to writing, telling him that, if
he would agree to them, they would bind themselves to grant free
egress from England both for himself and all his fellow adventurers;
but if not, they would cause his destruction and injure him in every
way. When Louis and his counsellors saw these terms of peace, they
were much pleased to be allowed to leave England, as it seemed
useless for them to stay there any longer; he therefore sent word to
the legate and grand marshal, to appoint a time and place for the
above-mentioned treaty to be carried into effect. The parties then
agreeing to the terms, they came to a conference, near the town of
Staines on the river Thames, to conclude the peace; king Henry with
the legate, grand marshal, and many others on one side, and Louis
with the earls, barons, and others of his followers on the other; and
there, by the divine favour, they all agreed to the underwritten
terms of peace on the 11th of September.
Of
the form of peace and the heavy punishment of those who had been
excommunicated on account of the king.
In
the first place Louis and all those who were excommunicated and all
his fellow adventurers, swore on the holy gospels that they would
abide by the decision of the holy church, and would thenceforth be
faithful to their lord the pope and the church of Rome. Louis also
swore that he would immediately leave England with all his followers,
and would never, again in his life return with evil designs; and that
he would use his best endeavours to induce his father Philip to
restore to the English king, Henry, all his rights in the transmarine
provinces. He also swore that he would immediately give up to the
king and his followers all castles and all lands, which he and his
followers had seized in England during the war. The king of England,
with the legate and the marshal, swore on the holy gospels, that they
would restore to the barons of England and to all others in the
kingdom, all their rights and inheritances, together with all the
liberties formerly demanded and on account of which the dispute had
arisen between John king of England and the barons. With regard to
the prisoners, all those who had, before the arrangement of the
peace, ransomed themselves, as well as those who had paid part of the
money agreed on for their ransom, should not recover what had been
paid; but from whatever remained to be paid should be entirely
released. All the prisoners taken at Lincoln, or in the seafight near
Dover, whether on the side of the king, or on that of Louis, should
be everywhere immediately set free without any difficulty, and
without any ransom or tribute. After all this was settled Louis
together with his followers was absolved according to the form of the
church, and each and all gave one another the kiss of peace, many of
them deceitfully pretending a joy that was but feigned; after this
Louis returned to London, where he received five thousand pounds
sterling to meet his necessities, and then under the conduct of the
grand marshal he went with all speed to the sea coast, and thence, in
lasting ignominy, crossed to France. From the benefit of this
absolution and pacification were excluded all the bishops, abbots,
priors, canons, seculars, and a number of the clergy, who had given
advice and shown favour to Louis and the barons, and especially
master Simon de Langton, and master Gervase de Hobregge, who had gone
so far in their obstinacy as to cause divine services to be performed
for Louis and the excommunicated barons by excommunicated priests;
they therefore were excluded from all benefit, and were obliged by
the legate to go to Rome. Immediately after Louis’s departure from
England, the legate sent inquisitors through all the counties of
England, to find out all who were guilty of the slightest
implications in the rebellion of whatever order or rank they might
be, and after suspending them and depriving them of all benefit, to
send them to the legate, and he distributed all their benefices
amongst his own clerks, and from the losses of others enriched all
his own followers. Hugh bishop of Lincoln, too, came to England, and
to regain his bishopric paid a thousand marks of sterling money for
the pope’s benefit, and a hundred to the legate; and following his
example several others, priests and religious men, regained the
legate’s favour at ruinous expense. By such an immoderate draining he
emptied the coffers of the clergy and secular canons, so that,
according to the word of the gospel, he collected in one place all
that had been scattered abroad, and from several portions made one
great heap.
How
the inhabitants of Cologne and Friesland prepared to march to the
Holy Land.
About
that time there was a great movement of the brave and warlike men in
the provinces of Cologne and Friesland, for since the commencement of
the preaching of the crusade after the general council, they had with
great eagerness built three hundred ships and having embarked in
them, to fulfil to the Lord their vows of pilgrimage, they set sail,
and the greater part of them, with a large array of soldiers, had
arrived at Lisbon, where a disagreement arose amongst them about
laying siege to a strong castle called Alchatia, some being anxious
to proceed, and others wishing to winter where they were; so the
fleet was divided, and one part of it wintered at Gaeta and Sorrento,
and the other part under the command of two chiefs, namely, William
duke of Holland, and George count of Weise, laid siege to Alchacia.
Whilst they were still employed in the siege, a large force of
Saracens was assembled against them, but the Christians bravely gave
them battle, and, by the divine assistance, conquered the infidels.
One king amongst the pagans was slain, and numbers of others were
killed and made prisoners; the castle was at last taken by the
Germans, and held by the Christians.
1218 A.D.
Of
the siege of the castle of Newark, and Robert de Gaugi.
A.D.
1218. At Christmas, king Henry was at Northampton, where Falcasius
supplied all the necessaries for the royal festivity. There were at
this time, in England, many nobles whose chief delight had been
during the past war to live by plunder, and now, even after peace had
been declared and granted to all, they could not restrain their hands
from pillage; the chief incentors to this work were William earl of
Albemarle, Falcasius and his castellans, Robert de Vipont, Brian de
l’Isle, Hugh de Baliol, Philip Marci, and Robert Gaugi, with many
others, who, in defiance of the king’s prohibition, and against the
consent of the owners, presumed to retain in their own possession the
castles of some of the bishops and nobles with their lands and other
property. Amongst these Robert de Gaugi, even after several warnings
from the king, refused to deliver up to Hugh bishop of Lincoln, the
castle of Newark, with the town and its appurtenances, which of right
belonged to that prelate. This circumstance aroused the anger of the
grand marshal, who, by the king’s orders, assembled a large army and,
accompanied by the king himself, marched against the aforesaid
castle; and when they arrived in the neighbourhood of it, they sent
soldiers in advance to prevent the garrison from leaving the castle
that they might not, as was often done, sally forth and burn the
town. When Robert and his companions learned that this army was come,
they made a sortie on them, but were obliged to retreat again by the
attacks of the king’s troops; in this attack William de Diva, a
knight of the household of Hugh bishop of Lincoln, was slain as he
was pursuing the enemy in their retreat to the castle, and several
others were wounded; the king and the marshal were much concerned at
this and ordered their engines of war to be disposed around the
castle to batter the walls with continued assaults from their
petrariae. The siege lasted for nearly eight days, during which the
friends of the said Robert made overtures of peace to the bishop of
Lincoln, and at length, the two parties with the king’s consent, came
to this agreement, namely, that the said bishop should give to Robert
de Gaugi, a hundred pounds sterling for the stores in the castle, and
on these terms the siege was raised, and every one returned to his
home.
Of
the march of the crusaders from Acre to Damietta.
In
the same year was carried into effect the plan of pope Innocent which
had been determined on at the Lateran council, namely, to bring the
army of Christ into the land of Egypt. In the month of May, then,
having prepared cogs, galleys, and a number of other vessels of
burden, John king of Jerusalem, and the patriarch, sailed from Acre,
accompanied by the bishops of Nicotia, Acre, and Bethlehem, the duke
of Austria, and the masters of the templars and hospitallers of St.
John and St. Mary of the Germans, and a large host of Christians. The
wind beginning to rise a little, the army of the Lord had a
favourable voyage, and arrived on the third day at the port of
Damietta. Some of the army then landed and took possession of this
hostile land without bloodshed; a few Saracen knights however met
them, when a certain Frieslander, kneeling with his right knee on the
ground, guarded himself with his shield in his left hand, and shook
his lance and sword with his right. A Saracen who beheld him thought
that he was in sport, but being suddenly wounded by the Frieslander,
the knight and horse were struck to the ground, the others taking to
flight; and thus the army of the faith measured out their camp
between the coast and the banks of the Nile, and there pitched their
tents without obstruction. God also wrought the following miracle for
his faithful people; the water of the river near the sea, which at
their first arrival was sweet to the taste afterwards became salt as
far as Casale, which is a mile above Damietta. After the arrival of
the Christians there was a total eclipse of the moon, which the
Christians interpreted to denote the defeat of the Saracens, for they
attribute great prophetic influence to the increase and decrease of
that luminary.*
*
Paris here gives a letter sent by pope Honorius to the English king,
urging him to the practice of virtue, &c.; but we forbear to
insert it, as those letters, although they might have been
interesting to those of former times, are not of the least interest
to us of the present day.—Ed.
Of
the siege of the tower of Damietta on the river Nile.
After
this the followers of Christ saw in the middle of the river Nile, not
far from Damietta, a high and handsome tower strongly built of stone,
from which an immensely thick iron chain was extended across the
river to the city which stood on the other bank of it. It was the
opinion of all that this tower ought to be reduced before laying
siege to Damietta, but the Frieslanders, with their usual impatience,
crossed the Nile and took away the horses of the Saracens, and,
wishing to pitch their camp on the further bank of the river, they
stood fighting against the Saracens, who came from the city to attack
them; they were however recalled by the patriarch on their oath of
obedience, because it seemed to the chiefs of the Christians to be
disadvantageous to leave behind them a tower filled with pagans. The
chiefs of the army of Christ, though anxious to take possession of
this tower, saw that it could not be reduced by hunger on account of
the vicinity of the city; nor by undermining it, on account of the
velocity of the river which surrounded it; nor could it be reduced by
the missiles from their petrariae and trebuchets, because, although
they had attempted it for several days, they had gained little or no
advantage. In this dilemma they all came to the following
determination, namely, to join some ships and cogs together and to
prepare scaling ladders on the tops of the masts; on these they
placed cross-bow men and soldiers, and by this plan they hoped to
effect their purpose. The duke of Austria then and the hospitallers
of St. John constructed two scaling ladders on two of the cogs, which
were raised against the tower about the feast of St. John, the
Saracens all the time making a brave resistance. That of the
hospitallers however was, sad to relate, broken, and their soldiers
were precipitated into the river; the second ladder too, that of the
duke of Austria, in like manner fell with the mast of the vessel, and
the brave knights and soldiers were drowned in the Nile, but Christ
took the souls of all of them to heaven crowned with glorious
martyrdom. The Egyptians were overjoyed and derided the crusaders,
sounding their trumpets to taunt them, while on the contrary the
Christians were overcome by grief and despair. The Frieslanders and
Germans under the command of Adolphus de Monte, a brave and powerful
noble, then fortified a ship with bulwarks and a small kind of castle
at the top of the mast. This ship was fiercely attacked by the
soldiers of the city, the tower, and bridge, with Greek fire and
missiles, and was at length set on fire; and when the Christians were
afraid that it would be entirely consumed, the crew of the vessel by
great exertions extinguished the fire, and then the cross-bow men
inside caused great destruction amongst the Saracens; other ships of
the crusaders were, during this assault, fortified with bulwarks, and
being made fast to the tower by anchors, sustained great loss of men
and property.
Of
the capture of the aforesaid tower, and the wonderful prowess of the
Christians.
At
length the Almighty having pointed out the following plan, and the
architects, by his inspiration, having made provision for its
execution, the army of the faith, at the expense of the German
knights and Frieslanders, and by the co-operation of the same, joined
two cogs together with planks and ropes, and so having given it a
firm footing, they erected four masts and yards to the same, and on
the top of them fixed a turret made of basket-work, and covered with
hides to keep off the Greek fire. Under the turret they constructed a
scaling ladder, hung with strong ropes, and reaching thirty cubits
beyond the prow of the vessel, and this great work was finished in a
very short time. The chiefs of the crusaders were then summoned to
inspect it, that whatever was deficient either in expense or human
ingenuity, might be supplied; and on their answering that such a
machine had never before been constructed of wood, the crusaders
thought that they ought at once to apply this contrivance against the
tower, because by the incessant missiles from their machines, the
bridge, by which the enemies of the faith reached the tower, had been
in a great measure destroyed. On the sixth day before the feast of
St. Bartholomew, the crusaders devoutly marched barefooted in solemn
procession to the holy cross, the clergy in advance chanting and
reading the service, and humbly implored the divine assistance that
the affair might be free from all jealousy and vain boasting on the
part of any people then in the army. They summoned several of the
commanders to see the result of this attack, although the
Frieslanders and Germans would suffice to fill and manage the
vessels. On St. Bartholomew’s day, which was the sixth day of the
week, although the Nile was much swollen, and the force of the stream
much impeded the business, this machine was, although with much
difficulty and danger, drawn to the tower; the ship however to which
it was attached went under sail, while the patriarch and clergy
walked along the banks praying to the Lord. When they reached the
tower this double machine could not be brought to the western side,
it was therefore worked straight to the northern side and there made
fast, and was at length secured with ropes and anchors, although the
force of the swollen waters seemed to be threatening to drive it
away. When the Saracens saw this, they erected six engines on the
towers of the city to destroy the machine, but one of these, more
destructive than the rest, was broken after a few discharges, and
remained useless; they did not however cease their efforts but sent
forth frequent and destructive showers of stones. The first ship
attached to the machine was placed at the foot of the tower, in no
small danger; for the Greek fire which was hurled therefrom fell on
it like lightning, and caused no small alarm to the crusaders, but by
means of vinegar, gravel, and other extinguishing matter, the fire
was subdued. Then a fierce assault was made by those who managed the
machine, whilst the patriarch lay prostrate on the ground before the
cross, and the clergy standing barefooted cried aloud to Heaven. The
enemies of the cross and defenders of the tower stretched forth their
lances and sprinkled oil on the foremost part of the scaling ladder,
and then applying the Greek flame, set fire to it; the crusaders, who
were inside, rushing forward to extinguish the fire, by their weight
so depressed the head of the ladder, that the turning bridge placed
against the front of the tower sank downwards. The standard-bearer of
the duke of Austria fell from it, and the pagans seized on the duke’s
standard amidst much derision; then, thinking themselves victorious,
they raised a shout which shook the air. But the Christians, on
seeing this, prostrated themselves in prayer, and with clasped hands
continued to call on the Lord. At this devotion and upraising to
heaven of the hands of the people of Christ, the divine love raised
the scaling ladder, and the tears of those of the faith extinguished
the fire; and then the crusaders, regaining courage, bravely
contended with the defenders of the tower with lances, swords,
spikes, arrows, and other weapons of war. A brave young man of the
diocese of Liege was the first to climb the tower; a young
Frieslander then ascended it, holding in his hand an iron flail used
for threshing grain, but made into a weapon for fighting, with which
he boldly cut down the enemies of the faith on the other side of the
ramparts to the right and left, and amongst others he slew a Saracen
who carried the yellow flag of the soldan, which he carried off; then
one after another followed in the ascent, although they met with
great resistance from their fierce and cruel enemies. The pagans
however were at length overcome, and the weeping and lamentation of
the Christians was succeeded by joy and triumph; for the Saracens not
being able to endure the pressure of numbers in the tower,
endeavoured to escape by throwing themselves from the windows, and
many of them were drowned, the water being too much for them; about a
hundred of them were taken alive and reserved for ransom. The
Saracens, who had retreated inside the tower, then set fire to the
roof of it, on which the victorious Christians, unable to endure the
heat, returned to their scaling ladder: they then let down the
bridge, which was placed in the lower part of the machine, to the
foot of the tower, which was narrow by reason of the waters which
flowed round it; they however attacked the door of the tower with
iron mallets while the Saracens inside defended it. The double
machine was still firmly fixed to the tower, but the wood of the
scaling ladder was broken in many places. The walls of the machine,
although pierced in many places by the missiles from the engines,
continued immovable from the ninth hour on the sixth day of the week
till the tenth hour of the following Saturday. At length the Saracens
entirely failing in their defence of the tower, asked for a truce,
and surrendered themselves to the duke of Austria on condition of
their lives being spared. The tower being thus reduced, the crusaders
supplied themselves with provisions and with fresh soldiers, hoping
next to subdue the city as they, had the tower.
Of
the death of Saphadin, and the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem.
After
the capture of the tower in the river Nile, Saphadin, who had grown
old in days of wickedness, the disinheritor of his nephews, and the
wicked usurper of the kingdom of Asia, being overcome, as was said,
with grief, died and was buried in hell; he was succeeded by his son
Coradin, a fierce and cruel man, who, in revenge for the siege of
Damietta, utterly destroyed the famous city of Jerusalem, and reduced
to a heap of ruins the walls and towers of that city, except the
temple of the Lord and the tower of David. They then held council as
to destroying the noble sepulchre of our Lord, which they had
threatened to do in letters, which they sent to the citizens of
Damietta for their consolation. However, on account of the reverence
in which the place was held, no one of them dared to lay hands on it;
for in their book, the Alcoran, it is written, that our Lord Jesus
Christ was conceived and born of the virgin Mary, whom they confessed
to have lived without sin amongst men, and to have been a prophet,
and more than a prophet; they also asserted in addition, that he
restored sight to the blind, cleansed lepers, and brought the dead to
life; they also believed that the word and spirit of the living God
had ascended to heaven. On this account, when during the truce, their
wise men went to Jerusalem and demanded to be shown the book of the
gospels, they worshipped it, and admired the purity of the law which
Christ taught, and especially the gospel of Luke, “The angel of
the Lord was sent ,” which their learned men often discoursed
on and repeated. But their law, which, at the instigation of the
devil and by the agency of the apostate and heretic monk, Sergius,
Mahomet had written in Arabic and delivered and taught to the
Saracens, commenced with the sword, was kept by the sword, and is
ended by the sword. This Mahomet was an illiterate man, as he himself
proves in his Alcoran; for he himself preached what the above-named
heretic dictated, and, being a powerful man and a chief of the Arabs,
he by his threats caused that law to be observed. He was moreover a
luxurious and warlike man, and so from uncleanness and vanity he gave
a law, which his carnal followers observe to the gratification of
their own pleasures; and as purity and truth confirm the law of
Christ, so worldly and human fear and carnal pleasure support their
erroneous doctrine.
Of
the arrival at Damietta of the legate Pelagius and other pilgrims
After
the tower of Damietta was subdued as above related, a great number of
pilgrims came from various quarters to assist in the crusade then
being carried on; and amongst others came Pelagius bishop of Albano,
a legate of the apostolic see, together with master Robert de
Courcon, and several Romans. A number of bishops also came with the
count of Nevers, who when danger threatened, departed, to the
confusion of the Christians. At the same time too there arrived from
the kingdom of England the illustrious Ralph earl of Chester, with
the earls Sayer of Winchester, and William of Arundel, the barons
Robert Fitz-Walter, John, constable of Chester, and William de
Harcourt, with large retinues, and Oliver, son of the king of
England. There came also the earl of March, the earl of Bar with his
son, as well as William de Carnot, Iterius de Tocce, Hervey d’ Urson,
and many others.
Of the two attacks made by the Saracens on the Christians at Damietta.
After this, on the feast of St. Dionysius, the Saracens came unawares with
vessels and troops, and attacked the outskirts of the camps where the
Romans had pitched their tents; they were however repulsed by a small
body of Christians, and made a hasty retreat to their vessels; but
they could not escape the swords of their pursuers and the torrent of
the river, for, as the Christians afterwards learned from the pagans,
about five hundred were drowned in the Nile. Again on the feast of
St. Demetrius, at early dawn, the enemy attacked the camp of the
templars, but did little injury to the Christians; for they were put
to flight by some cavalry sent against them, and driven to the bridge
which they had built at a distance off, and there about five hundred
of them were slain by the crusaders.
Of an inundation of the river Nile, by which the Christians suffered great loss.
On the following feast of St. Andrew the apostle, in the middle of the
night the waves of the sea rose and made dreadful inroads, even up to
the camp of the crusaders, whilst an inundation of the river took
them unawares on the other side. Tents were floating about,
provisions were lost, the fishes from the sea and river were carried
into the tents of the crusaders, who, although they caught them by
hand, would rather have been without those dainties; and had it not
been for the ditch, which by a prudent plan had been sometime before
made, although for a different purpose, the united force of the sea
and river would have carried away men and horses, and ships loaded
with provisions and arms, into the power of the enemy. This fate was
not indeed escaped by the four cogs on which the ramparts had been
built for attacking the tower; for these, together with a fifth ship
which was jammed between them, were all driven in a heap on to the
opposite bank and there destroyed by the Greek fire before the eyes
of the crusaders. God indeed spared the machine of the Frieslanders
and Germans, by which the tower had been taken; but the transports in
the harbour parted their cables and were lost.
Of
a disease which attacked many of the Christian army.
About
that time many in the army were assailed by a disease for which the
physicians could find no remedy in their art; for the pain suddenly
attacked the feet and legs, on which the skin appeared corrupt and
black, and in the gums and teeth a hard black substance took away all
power of eating,* and numbers who were attacked, after suffering thus
for a long time, departed to the Lord; some however who struggled
against it till the spring, were by the beneficial warmth of that
season preserved from death.* In this same year by the intervention
of Walo, legate of the apostolic see, Richard de Marisco, a clerk who
had been one of the household and intimate friends of king John, was
appointed bishop of Durham, and was consecrated on the 24th of July.
* C. inserts, “In
the same year a church was dedicated at Worcester to St. Mary, and on
the same day the body of the renowned bishop Ulstan was translated in
the presence of the bishops and nobles too numerous to mention; this
took place on the 7th of June, Dominical letter G, namely the Sunday
in Whitsun week; and bishop Silvester, formerly prior and monk of the
said church, was appointed to preside over it, and the relics of St.
Ulstan were divided in order to be the more reverenced. One rib was
given to the church of St. Alban’s, which William abbot of that place
reverently enclosed in silver and gold. About the feast of St.
Andrew, Walo left England on his way to Rome, and was succeeded in
his legateship by Pandulf, bishop elect of Norwich. King Henry the
Third took the royal seal into his own possession."
1219 A.D.
The death of William Marshall.
A.D. 1219. King Henry in the fourth year of his reign was at
Winchester at Christmas, where Peter, the bishop of that place, provided the
necessary entertainment for him. In this year too died William
Marshall, the king’s guardian and regent of the kingdom; and after
his death king Henry remained in the guardianship of Peter bishop of
Winchester.*
* C. inserts: “And
was buried with honours in the church at the New Temple, on
Ascension-day, the 16th of March, and after his death the said king
remained in the care of Peter bishop of Winchester. The following
epitaph is said to have been written on the said William :—
’Sum quem Satumum sibi sensit Hibernia, Solem
Anglia, Mercurium Normannia, Gallia Martem.’
For he was obnoxious to the Irish on account of subduing them;
he was the honour and glory of England; a trader with the Normans, for he
purchased many places in that country; and to the French he was
warlike and invincible. In this year in the time of Hugh the second
bishop of Lincoln, and William abbot of St. Alban’s, an amicable
arrangement was made between the churches of Lincoln and St. Alban’s.”
Of the siege of Damietta and the sufferings of the Christians.
About this same time Pelagius, the legate of the apostolic see,
in his ardent desire to besiege the city of Damietta, after the taking of
the tower, advised the Christians to cross the Nile. They therefore,
although with much danger, proceeded with their ships up the river
between the city and the captured tower, but were much obstructed by
the engines of the city and by the Greek fire; one of the ships of
the templars, being driven by the force of the current was forced
towards the bank near the city, and being thus thrown in the enemy’s
reach, they attacked it for a length of time with barbottes and iron
grapnels, hurling Greek fire on it from the city towers; and not
being able to accomplish their purpose on account of the bravery of
its defenders, the infidels climbed on board and impetuously attacked
the templars, when, after fighting for a length of time, the ship was
bored through, either by the infidels, or, as was rather believed, by
the crusaders themselves, and went to the bottom of the river with
Christians and infidels together, leaving only the top of its mast
above water; and like Samson who slew more enemies when dying than
during his life, so these martyrs for Christ took more enemies with
them into the abyss of waters than they could destroy by their
swords. The pagans then repaired the bridge and left but a narrow
opening, so that the ships of the crusaders could not come up without
danger from the force of the river; however the Frieslanders and
Germans, inflamed with just indignation, bravely attacked the bridge
with the largest ship, by means of which the tower had been taken;
and, having no other aid but that of Heaven, less than ten men of the
aforesaid nations, opposed by all the strength of Babylon, reached
the bridge, and broke it in sight of all the Christian host, who were
lost in admiration of their boldness; and then taking possession of
the four ships on which the bridge was placed, they returned with
them in triumph, and thus left a free and open passage for the
Christians to sail through. When this had been effected, the
Saracens, seeing the danger which threatened them, fortified the bank
of the river facing the Christians with trenches, mounds of earth,
wooden ramparts, and other defences, and placing their petrariae
there, they thus deprived the Christians of all hopes of passing that
place. From Casale which is nearly a mile from the city where this
new fortification terminated, they had also sunk ships across the
river and driven stakes under water in the bed of it; but the
soldiers of Christ and their cogs, with their forts and bulwarks
ready filled with armed men, followed by the galleys and other ships,
under the guidance of Christ, entirely escaped all these hidden
snares. The enemies of the faith however laying aside all fear, drew
up three ranks of troops to oppose the naval station of the
Christians; one of foot soldiers, drawn up in order on the bank of
the river with ta--- of the second rank behind the first, and of the
same kind; and the third a long and imposing array of horse-soldiers,
who severally harrassed the crusaders with showers of stones and
weapons. But the true God, who does not permit his people to be tried
beyond what they can bear, looked on the camp of his servants, and
turned the grief and sorrow of the crusaders into exultation and joy;
for on the night of the feast of St Andrew the martyr, when the army
of Christ was arranged in order for crossing the river on the
following day, the winds and rain caused much distress to the
Christians; but on the same night by the interposition of God, the
soldan of Babylon and his army were so terror-struck, that they left
their tents unknown even to the pagans, who he had ordered to
[oppose] the crusaders, and consulted their safety by flight. On ---
a certain apostate, who, having transgressed the law of the
Christians, had for a long while fought under the soldan, came to the
bank of the river and cried out in the French language, “Why do
you delay? what do you fear? The soldan has fled:” and after
saying this, he asked to be taken on board a Christian ship, and thus
inspiring the Christians with confidence, he urged them to cross the
river. At early dawn then, when the service of the mass, “Let
us all rejoice in the Lord ,” had been performed, the king and
the legate were informed of this by the prayers of the Christians.
The crusaders, therefore, on the flight of the Saracens, crossed the
river without bloodshed and free from all opposition; but so muddy
and difficult of approach was this hostile land, on account of the
deep water, that horses could, with difficulty climb the bank. The
templars, who were the first to ascend the bank, hurried to the city,
striking down the infidels, who boldly came out of gates to the
oppose the approaching Christians; but they being driven back into
the city, the army of Christ took possession of the tents of the
soldan and the spoils of the fugitive pagans They also plundered a
number of targes, galleys, barbottes and other vessels, which were
found below Casale as far as the city; and on account of the
unexpected crossing of the river by the Christians, a multitude of
infidels fled from Damietta, leaving their wives and children behind
them. Damietta was then blockaded all round, for the troops extended
by means of a bridge to both banks of the river.
Of the first attack made by the Christians after the siege commenced.
After the city was then blockaded, the enemies of the faith regained their
courage, and with the soldan and the troops of Aleppo, took
possession of the place from which the Christians had so unexpectedly
crossed, and had it not been for the divine counsel and aid, and
chiefly by the bravery of the Germans, the first camp, which was
between the sea and the river would have been regained by them, and
the cause of Christ would have been in great danger; for the
Saracens, being full of deceit had become so rash, that at [dawn] of
the sabbath before the Sunday on which is chanted, "My eyes are
always on the Lord ,” they, unknown to the crusaders, threw
themselves in an immense mass as far as the trench, but, by the
bravery of the troops, both horse and foot, they were repulsed; for
the Christians had made a broad and deep trench in their rear, as a
protection, that if the enemies of the faith should make an attack on
them they might be safe behind this trench.
Of
the second attack made on the Christians
On
Palm Sunday, the enemy, having collected a large and powerful force,
again attacked the trench of the crusaders in all quarters, and
especially the bridge of the templars and the duke of Austria, which
the latter, in conjunction with the Germans, bravely defended; the
Saracen knights with their picked troops dismounted from their horses
and fought desperately with the Christians. Numbers lay dead and
wounded in all directions, but the infidels at length gained ground
so much that they gained the bridge and burnt a part of it. The duke
of Austria ordered his followers to retreat from the bridge and allow
the enemy to cross it, which they did not however dare the women all
this time intrepidly supplied the Christian soldiers with water,
wine, bread, and missiles; the priests, too, assisted with their
prayers, blessing God and binding up the wounds of the wounded. On
that holy day the Christians were not allowed an opportunity of
carrying any other palms than cross-bows, bows, lances, swords,
shields, and arrows; for their enemies in their desire to free the
city from its besiegers, kept up their attacks so incessantly, that,
from sunrise till the tenth hour of the day, they allowed the
crusaders no rest; but, being at length wearied themselves they
retreated from the place of battle with great loss. Again on
Ascension day the infidels in their usual way attacked the Christians
by land and water, and after repeated assaults they could not gain
their ends, but insulting them near their camp each party did much
injury to the other.
Of the third fierce attack made by the infidels on the Christians.
After this the enemies of the faith on the 31st of July collected all the
forces which they could muster, and, after protracted assaults,
crossed the trench notwithstanding the troops of the templars, and,
forcing their lines, put the Christian infantry to flight, so that
the whole army was in imminent danger. The knights, with the secular
horse and foot soldiers three times endeavoured to repel them, but
without effect; the insulting Saracens then raised a shout, and the
alarm of the Christians increased. But the spirit of wisdom and
bravery inspired the templars, for their grand master, with the
marshal and others of the brotherhood, made a sally through the
narrow opening, and by their bravery put the enemy to flight. The
Germans and Frieslanders, counts and barons, and knights of various
nations, seeing the soldiers of the Temple in danger, burst through
the places of egress nearest to them to assist them; a hundred of the
foot soldiers of the infidels throwing away their shields were slain,
besides those who fell into the trench and died. The Christian foot
soldiers next sallied out, and the enemy retreated a short distance;
the Christian troops then stood to their arms until the dusk of the
evening put an end to the conflict; the Saracens retreated before
that time. Numbers of slain lay near the ditch, and besides them
mortally wounded were brought into the camp. By the grace of God, and
owing to the bravery of the templars, but few of the crusaders were
killed or made prisoner. Whilst these things were passing at this
place almost all the engines of the crusaders, which had been erected
against the city, as well as the scaling ladders, were burnt by the
garrison of the place, to the great injury of the Christians. After
the soldan had made these attacks he did not again dare to give
battle to the Christians, but pitching his camp near the besieging
army he there remained in ambuscade.
Of a pitched battle between the Christians and Saracens.
When the army of Christ had for a long while endeavoured to destroy the
walls of, the city by their petrariae, trebuchets, and other engines
of war, but without effect, the wiser part of them plainly discovered
that Damietta would not be taken unless by the interposition of God;
on this a murmuring arose amongst many in the camp, for the
punishment of their sins and discord; for it was the opinion of some,
that they ought to give battle to the soldan who remained in his camp
near the Christians in ambuscade, so that by subduing him they might
also reduce Damietta. On the other hand, it was the opinion of the
king of Jerusalem, and many others besides him, that the siege,
having been so long carried on, should be continued until, either by
the interposition of God or by hunger, the garrison should be
compelled to yield; for all, who escaped either by way of the postern
gate or let themselves down from the walls, by their swollen and
famished condition plainly showed the sufferings of their fellow
citizens. The party who were determined to give battle to the
Saracens at length prevailed, and on the day of the beheading of St.
John the Baptist, they all, although disagreeing amongst themselves,
marched in a body against the camp of the Babylonians, and with
difficulty could men be found to remain and carry on the siege. They
therefore marched and discovered the enemies of the faith in their
camp between the sea and the river, where no fresh water could be
found to drink, but the enemy, on their approach, struck their tents
and feigned flight; and when the crusaders had proceeded far enough
to see that they would not give them open battle, the chiefs of the
army held a long council as to whether they should proceed or return.
Opinion was so divided amongst them, that the different bodies broke
up without coming to any determination, except those who were kept
together by discipline and military obedience; the cavalry of Cyprus,
who were placed on the right flank of the army, first showed signs of
fear, when the Saracens attacked the flank; the Roman foot soldiers
were the first to fly, and after them the knights of various
countries, and some of the hospitallers of St. John, although the
legate, and the patriarch, who carried the cross, entreated them,
although in vain, to withstand the enemy. The heat of the sun was
very , great and the foot soldiers were overpowered by the weight of
their armour; the heat increased the toil of the march, and those who
had brought wine with them in the agony of thirst drank it pure, for
want of water, and these fled after the first fugitives till they
were out of breath and fell dead without being wounded. The king of
Jerusalem, however, with the templars, and the Teutonic order, and
the hospitallers of St. John, and the earls of Holland, Wiche,
Salisbury, and Chester, Walter Bertold, Reginald de Pont, and the
French, Pisans, and knights of various countries, sustained the
attack of the pagans, and were as it were a wall for the fugitives
whenever the enemy showed their faces; the king of Jerusalem indeed
was almost destroyed by the Greek fire. In this conflict were made
prisoners of the Christians the bishop elect of Beauvais, and his
brother Andrew de Nantes, the sheriff of Beaumont, Walter chamberlain
to the French king, and his son John of Arc, and Henry of Ulm.
Thirty-three templars were slain and made prisoners, besides the
marshal of the hospital of St. John, and some brothers of the same
order; and the Teutonic order did not escape without loss. Many
others besides were slain and taken prisoners. The knights of the
temple, who were always first in attack, were last in the retreat;
therefore although they were the last of the Christians to reach the
trench, they bravely opposed the enemy till all those before them had
entered the fortifications; the Saracens then returned to take away
their prisoners and to collect booty; and, as the crusaders
afterwards learned from the Saracens, the heads of five hundred
Christians were presented to the soldan. It was very evident to the
Christians that the infidels too had suffered heavy loss in their
principal soldiery, for the soldan sent one of his prisoners to the
Christians to treat for a truce or for peace, and during this treaty
the Christians properly repaired their trench and engines of war.
How several pilgrims left Damietta without permission.
About that time some sailors, traitors to Christianity, and several
Christians with them, before the time of the usual passage, left the
army of Christ in its greatest danger, and by their departure added
to the sorrow of the Christians and the boldness of the Babylonians;
therefore, the infidels breaking off the treaty, on the eve of St.
Cosmas and St. Damian,* and the following day, attacked the
Christians with their accustomed rage and barbarous ferocity, with
galleys and armed barbottes, by sea and by land, with mangonelles,
targes, and faggots for filling up the trench, and by this sudden
attack slew numbers of them; but the triumphant One of Israel, the
Omnipotent God, provided for the safety of his camp, for Savaric de
Maulion arrived by sea with armed galleys and a great number of
soldiers. The Christians then seeing this, in their eminent peril
cried out to heaven, giving praise to God, and became encouraged, and
bravely giving battle to the enemy, compelled the infidels to retreat
by the favour of Him who preserves those who trust in him.**
* 26th September.
** C. inserts here, “About
this time, St. Elizabeth, the daughter of the king of Hungary, and
wife of the Landgrave of Duringen, a woman renowned for miracles,
distinguished above all her sex for her miracles and sanctity of
life, nourished in Germany. At her exhortation, her husband, the
landgrave, by name Louis, joined the crusade, and died at Damietta,
when he was received into heaven through the prayers of his most holy
wife. After his death, St. Elizabeth, now a widow, received the habit
of a nun from Master Conrad, a religious man, and thus she proceeded
from virtue to virtue, till the whole of Germany, before she died,
became renowned by her virtues. It should also be known that this
Elizabeth was the daughter of the queen of whom a certain person was
accused of having used the following ambiguous sentence, ‘Reginam
interficere nolite timere; bonum est: et, si omnes consenserint, ego
non contradico.’ [Fear not to slay the queen; it is
commendable so to do; if all agree, I do not oppose.] But pope
Innocent put a more favourable interpretation upon it, thus,
‘Reginam interficere nolite, timere bonum est; etsi omnes
consenserint, ego non, contradico.’ [Do not kill the queen; to
hesitate is commendable; though all consent to it, I do not, but
oppose it.]”
Of the mortality amongst the garrison of Damietta.
We will now relate some of the events which happened in the city.
The people of Damietta having suffered during its long siege from
attacks, hunger, and disease, more than can be described, placed
their confidence only in the hope that the sultan, as he had
promised, would, if their case was imminent, make terms with the
Christians, that they might thus escape death; indeed, at this time
famine was so prevalent in the city that the besieged were without
provisions, for the corn of Egypt is not durable on account of the
soft land in which it grows, except in the higher parts near Babylon,
where it is kept* nearly a year. The infidels then blocked up the
gates that no one might get out to tell their sufferings to the
crusaders, for every day they suffered dreadfully; the stock of
provisions amongst the army of the sultan, which surrounded the
crusaders outside, began to fail them, and to such a degree that one
fig was sold for twelve bezants. Amongst other sufferings endured day
and night by these wretches, they were attacked by a complaint, and
could see nothing even with their eyes wide open. Besides this, the
Nile, which usually overflows and waters the plains of Egypt from the
feast of St. John the Baptist till the elevation of the cross, did
not this year rise as usual, but left a great part of the land dry,
and they could not either sow or plough in that part; the soldan,
therefore, in dread of a famine, and being desirous of retaining
Damietta, endeavoured to make arrangements for peace with the
Christians. His intention of making arrangements was strengthened by
the wonderful capture of the tower, and by the firmness in battle of
the Christians, who with only a small force of those of the true
faith had so often bravely attacked the whole pagan force, and put
them to flight, besides slaying many thousands of them.
*
The author of “Captio Damiettas" adds the word
“artificiose."
How
the soldan offered the kingdom of Jerusalem to the Christian!, on
condition of their retiring from Damietta.
The
soldan, therefore, thus troubled in mind, convoked a council of his
nobles and faithful counsellors, and addressed them as follows: “The
God of the Christians ,” said he, "is great, and a
faithful and powerful ally in battle, which we have all found out,
and especially in the present emergency, in which he plainly fights
for our enemies against us, and undoubtedly, all that we can do will
be of no effect as long as they have his assistance. The capture of
Damietta is at hand, which is the key of all Egypt; and should it be
taken, great loss will ensue to us and our law, for although it has
been often besieged by the Christians, it has not yet been subdued by
them. Therefore, I think it will be to our advantage to restore to
the God of the Christians all that belonged to him, that he may not,
in regaining his own, take from us what is our own; and inasmuch as
he is a just God, and does not covet the possessions of others, if
the Christians refuse these just terms of peace, which will be most
honourable to them, they will thus provoke their God to hatred
against them, on account of their wicked covetousness, and he,
despising their pride, will depart from them, and they will find an
enemy in him, who formerly gave them his merciful assistance .”
Although this advice was displeasing to many, he however sent
messengers to the Christians, and offered to restore to them the true
cross, which had been some time before taken by Saladin, and also to
release all the prisoners that could be found alive, throughout the
kingdom of Babylon and Damascus, and to pay the necessary expenses
for repairing the walls of Jerusalem, and restoring the city to its
former state. He also offered entirely to give up the kingdom of
Jerusalem, except Crach and Mount Royal, for the retention by him of
which two places he offered to pay a yearly tribute of twelve
thousand bezants as long as he held them. These are two castles in
Arabia, having seven strong fortifications, and situated 6n the road
by which the pagan merchants and pilgrims usually travel to and from
Mecca, and whoever held these places would be able to do much injury
to Jerusalem, and the vineyards and fields. The king of Jerusalem,
the earl of Chester, and all the French and German chiefs resolutely
asserted that these terms ought to be accepted, and would be
advantageous to \ Christianity; nor is it to be wondered at, as the
Christians would have been contented with much less advantageous
terms of peace, which had been offered them before this, if they had
not been prevented by wise counsel. The legate, however, in his
desire of gaining possession of Damietta, and owing to him, the
patriarch and all the clergy, opposed these terms, constantly
asserting that Damietta above all other places ought to be taken
possession of; this difference of opinion caused disagreement, at
which the soldan’s messengers departed much pleased. When the soldan
was told of this, he secretly sent a large force of foot soldiers
through the marshes to Damietta; two hundred and forty of these, when
the Christians were sleeping on the Sunday night after All Saints’
day, attacked their camp, but by the shouts of the sentries the army
was roused, and they were taken prisoners or slain, and the captives
amounted to a hundred or more.
Of
the miraculous capture of the city of Damietta.
After
these events, the Christian army having made fierce assaults on the
city of Damietta, they at length saw that the ramparts were destitute
of defenders, on which the crusaders with all haste applied their
scaling-ladders to the walls and eagerly entered the city; and thus
by the interposition of the Saviour of the world, on the fifth of
November the city of Damietta was taken without opposition, without
noise, and without pillage; so that the victory is to be ascribed to
the Son of God alone; and although the city was taken in sight of the
king of Babylon, he did not dare as usual to attack the Christians,
but fled in confusion and burnt his own camp. Under the guidance of
Christ then his soldiers entered Damietta, and found the streets
strewed with the corpses of the dead, and were met by an intolerable
stench from them and the most squalid-looking human beings. The dead
had killed the living; husband and wife, father and son, master and
servant, had perished from the stench of one another. And it was not
only the streets which were full of the dead, for corpses were lying
about in houses and bedchambers; boys and children had asked for
bread, and there was no one to break it for them; infants hanging at
the breasts of their mothers were rolling over the bodies of the
dead; the pampered rich died of hunger though surrounded with heaps
of corn. From the commencement of the siege eighty thousand persons
had died in that city, except those whom the crusaders found there
healthy and sick, who amounted to three thousand and more; of these
three hundred of the higher ranks were kept by the Christians alive
to exchange for their countrymen who were prisoners of the infidels,
except those who had believed in Christ and were baptized. This city
was first besieged by the Greeks, who failed in capturing it; it was
next besieged by the Latins under Almeric king of Jerusalem, but they
did not succeed; on this, the third time, the King of kings and Lord
of lords delivered it to his servants, even our Lord Jesus Christ,
who liveth and reigneth for ever and ever.
Of
the costly spoils of Damietta.
The
crusaders found in the city great quantities of gold and silver,
silk, cloth, costly garments, with worldly ornaments, and various
kinds of goods in great abundance. They all swore in common that the
spoil should be carried away, and given up to be equally divided
amongst the conquerors. This had been ordered by the legate under
pain of excommunication, but the greediness of the eyes made many
thieves. They took for the general use a great portion of the wealth
of Egypt in gold and silver, pearls, fruit, amber, gold thread,
phylacteries, and costly cloths, which were distributed amongst the
army of the Lord, together with the corn found in the city. The
bishop of Acre baptized all the children who were found alive in the
city, thereby giving to God the first fruits of souls. The legate
also, out of the great mosque in the city, constructed a church in
honour of the blessed Virgin Mary and all the apostles, to the glory
and exaltation of the faith of the Trinity. The city of Damietta,
besides the natural position of the place by which it is defended, is
surrounded by three walls, having a low wall outside to protect the
outer ditch, a second higher than the first, and the third higher
than the second. The middle wall had twenty-eight principal towers,
with double and treble breastworks, which all remained uninjured,
except one, which had been somewhat battered by the frequent missiles
from the trebuchets of the templars, for God wished to deliver that
city to his servants entire, as the key and outwork of all the land
of Egypt. The city lies between Ramesses and the plain of Tannis in
the land of Gersen, which, as the Christians conjectured, was the
pasture whither the children of Israel fled from Pharaoh at the time
of the famine, as is related in the Old Testament.
Of
the capture of the castle of Tannis.
Damietta
being thus taken, about a thousand men were, on the feast of St.
Clement,* sent as scouts in boats up a small river called Tannis, to
seek for provisions from the fortresses and towns, and carefully to
note the situations of places. On their approaching a castle called
by the name of the river the Saracens who garrisoned it, on seeing
the Christians, thought that the whole army was approaching,
therefore they secured the gates and took to flight, and the
Christians with only Christ as their leader eagerly entered the
castle. The crusaders, on their return, declared that they had never
seen a stronger castle on a plain; for it had seven strong towers,
and breastworks above it all round; it was surrounded by a double
ditch, walled on both sides, and had an outwork; a lake spread itself
around it to a distance, and on this account it was difficult of
access to horse-soldiers in winter, and in summer so inaccessible
that it could never be taken by siege by any army. This lake greatly
abounded in fish, for from the sale of fish from it four thousand
marks were paid to the soldan yearly. The place also abounded in
birds and salt-pits. Many castles around were subservient to this
one, for the city before the castle was once a well known place, and
larger than Damietta, but was afterwards a heap of ruins. This is the
Tannis of which the prophet David has made mention in the psalm, as
also Isaiah, “The foolish chiefs of Tannis,” &c. In
this city Jeremiah is said to have been stoned, as you are told in
the Old Testament. Tannis is a day’s journey distant from Damietta,
on the way by sea towards the land of promise, so that it would be
easy to place a garrison there, and to send provisions either by land
or sea from Acre or Damietta. It had done much injury to the
Christians during the siege of Damietta, when their ships, in going
to or coming from the army had gone near that place:, for the beach
before Tannis is sandy, and there is no harbour there, but there is a
wide bay, and ships which are driven into it cannot clear it without
a fair wind. In this year, the noble Ralph earl of Chester, after
fighting for nearly two years in the service of God, obtained
permission of the legate, and returned home with his blessing and the
good wishes of all the army.**
* November 23rd.
** Paris adds here: “In
this year about Easter, Hugh de Maneport bishop of Hereford died, and
was succeeded by Hugh Foliott, who was consecrated at Canterbury on
the feast of All Saints.”
How Louis attacked Toulouse, but was obliged to retreat in confusion.
About this time Louis, eldest son of Philip king of the French, at the
instigation of his father, collected a large army to attack the
heretic Albigenses, and marched with all his forces to lay siege to
the city of Toulouse, whose inhabitants were said to have been long
tainted with heresy. After disposing their engines round the city,
the French kept up continued assaults on it, but the citizens on
seeing this prepared for defence, and erected engine against engine;
and after the siege had been carried on for a long time without
effect, a great famine arose amongst the French army, which was
followed by dreadful mortality both of men and horses. Simon earl of
Montfort, the commander of the besieging army, was wounded before the
gate of the city by a stone hurled from a petraria, and, his whole
body being crushed, he died on the spot; his brother too, at the
siege of a castle near Toulouse, was in the same way wounded by a
stone, and died to the great grief of many. Louis therefore, after a
great mortality in his army from famine, as has been mentioned, and
having suffered great loss of all his property, returned in confusion
to France with the remains of his troops.
1220 A.D.
Of
the second coronation of king Henry.
A.D.
1220. At Christmas king Henry was at Marlborough, being still under
the guardianship of Peter, bishop of Winchester. In this year, on
Whit-Sunday, which was the seventeenth day of May, the said king, in
the fifth year of his reign, was again crowned at Canterbury by
Stephen, archbishop of that place, in the presence of the clergy and
people from all parts of the kingdom. On the following feast of St.
Barnabas* the apostle, Henry king of England, and Alexander king of
Scots, had an interview at York, where treaty was entered into for
the contracting a marriage between Alexander king of Scots and the
king of England’s sister, and the contract having been confirmed, the
king of Scots returned home.
*
11th of June.
Of
the canonization of St. Hugh bishop of Lincoln.
In
this same year, St. Hugh bishop of Lincoln was canonized by pope
Honorius, and admitted into the number of saints, an inquisition of
his miracles having been first held by Stephen archbishop of
Canterbury and John abbot of Fountain’s abbeys, which circumstance
was set forth in the following warrant of our lord the pope:
"Honorius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all his
beloved and faithful children in Christ, to whom these presents shall
come, health and the apostolic benediction. The divine mercy assigns
a place of felicity in heaven to its saints and elect, and whilst
they are on earth honours them with miracles, that the devotion of
the faithful may be thereby excited to ask for their intercession.
Whereas, we have enrolled in the number of saints, Hugh bishop of
Lincoln, of sacred memory, whom, as it is plainly evident to us, the
divine goodness has rendered illustrious by the number of his
glorious miracles, as well during his life as after he had put off
the garb of mortality, we command, and in the name of the Lord exhort
the whole brotherhood of you, devoutly to implore his mediation with
God; and in addition to this, we order, that from the day of his
death a feast in honour of him shall be solemnly observed each year
thenceforth. Given at Viterbo, this seventeenth of February, in the
fourth year of our pontificate.”
The capture of the castles of Sanney and Rockingham.
In the same year, on the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul * king
Henry suddenly took possession of the castles of Rockingham and
Sanney, against the will of William earl of Albemarle. When the said
king arrived at the castles to attack them he found them destitute of
all kinds of provisions, for they had not so much as three loaves of
bread in both of them.**
* June 29th.
** Paris adds: “In
this year a new chapel dedicated to Saint Mary was begun at
Westminster, of which king Henry was the founder, he himself laying
the foundation stone.”
Translation of St. Thomas archbishop of Canterbury.
In the same year, on the day after the octaves of the apostles Peter and
Paul, the body of St. Thomas the archbishop and martyr was taken out
of its marble tomb by Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, in the
presence of the king and almost all the bishops, abbots, priors,
earls, and barons of the kingdom. It was then placed with due honours
in a coffin elaborately worked with gold and jewels. At this
translation were also present archbishops, bishops, abbots, priors,
and numbers of others of the French kingdom, and various other
countries, who eagerly assembled to be present at this great
solemnity; for they considered it a most proper duty to honour and
worship this holy martyr in Christ’s cause, who shed his blood for
the universal church, and had unflinchingly fought for it to the
last.
1221 A.D.
Of
the siege of the castle of Biham, and the troubles in the kingdom.
A.D.
1221. At Christmas king Henry held his court at Oxford, at which the
earls and barons of the kingdom attended. At this place, when all the
royal services had been discharged with success and peaceably, he
liberally distributed to all what was due, according to the old
custom of the kingdom. William de Foret,* however, wishing to disturb
the peace of the kingdom, went away without leave on the following
night, and proceeded in all haste to the castle of Biham, where after
a few days he collected some troops, and attacked and plundered the
town of Tenham, and carried away the corn belonging to the canons of
Bridlington to Biham castle; he also plundered the town of Deping and
other places in the same county, made prisoners of the inhabitants,
and, after torturing them severely, obliged them to ransom
themselves. He was instigated to these acts, as was said, by
Falcasius, Philip Marc, Peter de Mauleon, Engelard d’Athie, and many
others, who privately sent him soldiers to disturb the peace of the
kingdom. During these disturbances the inhabitants of that part of
the country flew to the churches for safety, carrying all their
property into the cemeteries. In the meantime, the nobles of England
assembled before the king at Westminster to discuss the affairs of
the kingdom; but the earl, who had been summoned amongst the rest,
although he pretended that he would come there, like a cunning
traveller, changed his purpose and went to the castle of Fotheringay.
That castle was then in charge of Ralph earl of Chester, but almost
destitute of knights and soldiers; and when the aforesaid earl found
this out, he applied his scaling ladders to it, and gained admission
to it with his soldiers, and soon subdued it, making prisoners of the
few guards he found there. Then putting some of his own soldiers in
charge of it, he made all haste to the town of Biham. He next
plundered the whole of the adjacent county with his soldiers, and
supplied his own castle from the spoils of others. But when this
piece of audacity became known to the king and his council, he soon
assembled an army, and on the sixth day after the purification of St.
Mary, he surrounded the castle with his troops; and in short, they
placed their engines round the castle, and in a short time destroyed
the walls and buildings, so that the besieged had no place of safety
to lay their heads in; they, therefore, having no other resource,
all left the ruins of the castle, and on the eighth day of February
went before the king, who ordered them to be imprisoned till he
should consult as to what ought to be done with them. The earl of
Albemarle, in the meantime, came, under the conduct of Walter
archbishop of York, to the king, who at the recommendation of Walo
the legate pardoned him, on account of his having bravely and
faithfully served the said king and his father in their wars; all
the knights and soldiers also were released without punishment or
ransom by the king, who thus gave a bad example to others to rebel
against him with confidence in a like case.
*
The earl of Albemarle before-mentioned.
Of
a disagreement which arose between Richard bishop of Durham and the
monks.
About
this time a great dispute arose between Richard de Marisco bishop of
Durham and the monks of that church, about some ancient rights and
customs which the monks had enjoyed for a long time past. The bishop
fraudulently sent word to the monks aforesaid to come to him with
their privileges and the writings of their church, in order that if
anything was deficient in them, it might be supplied by his decision
: the prior, however, and the monks, who had suspicions of the
bishop’s deceit, would not on any account show their writings to him.
The bishop, therefore, not being able to get sight of their writings,
swore that he would convert all their property to his own uses,
adding also, that if he found any one of them outside the gate of his
convent, he would accept no other ransom from him than his head; he
also swore that as long as he lived the church of Durham should have
no peace. Not long afterwards, the followers of the bishop dragged a
monk by force from a church, and on the latter laying his complaint
for this treatment before the bishop, that prelate replied, that his
servants would have done better if they had killed him; and from
that time the said bishop was so hostile, and inflicted such injuries
on the aforesaid monks, that, out of necessity, they appealed to the
pope, and placed themselves and all their property under his
protection; they then sent clerks and some of the monks to Rome, who
laid many accusations against the bishop, in answer to which they
obtained the following letter from his holiness: “Honorius,
bishop, to the bishops of Salisbury, Ely, and others, greeting, &c.
So seemly is it for us to take pleasure in the good opinion of our
brothers and colleagues, that we will not connive at the vices of the
pestilent, since it does not become us, out of regard to our order,
to support sinners, whose sin makes them worthy of death, in
proportion to the examples of sin which they set to their people, who
imitate only such crimes as they behold with their own eyes. Hence it
is that when things have often been intimated to us concerning our
venerable brother the bishop of Durham, which are entirely at
variance with the episcopal dignity, we were at length so excited by
the appeals which are forced on our notice, that we could not suffer
the said bishop to continue any longer unchecked in his enormities;
for a glaring accusation has been made against him, that since his
elevation to the pontifical dignity, he has been guilty of bloodshed,
simony, adultery, sacrilege, robbery, perjury, and manifold offences,
of audaciously oppressing clerks, orphans, and religious men, of
obstructing the testaments of dying people, of defending the rights
of the king in opposition to the learning of our beloved son,
Pandulph, bishop elect of Norwich, and, although under the ban of
excommunication, of interfering in the performance of divine
services. Also, according to the appeals laid before us he does not
pay deference to the church of Rome, he does not observe the statutes
of the general council, he never preaches the word of God to his
people, and in his discourse and by the practice of his life, he sets
a bad example to those under him. In the presence of a great many
people he has sworn that the church of Durham shall have no peace
during his life. When a certain monk of Durham complained to him that
he had been dragged from a church by his the bishop’s servants, and
beaten till his blood was shed, he replied that it would have been
better if his servants had killed the monk. He has, moreover, in all
respects entirely trodden under foot the apostolic rule, which sets
forth what sort of a person a bishop ought to be. That we may not
therefore increase the fault of another, which we should do if we
were to pass over the great and numerous offences of the said bishop,
since such an outcry has reached us in this matter, that we can no
longer dissemble matters, we have thought proper to descend from the
dignity of our office to see whether these complaints are true or
not. Wherefore, we, by these apostolic letters, command the
brotherhood of you to make inquiries on these matters, and when you
have found out the exact truth, to send the result of your inquiries
enclosed under your own seal to us, that, by God’s assistance, we may
determine what ought to be done in the matter. Given at Viterbo, in
the fourth year of our pontificate.”
How
the bishop of Durham went to Rome to answer the monks.
When
the letters of our lord the pope came to the hands of his agents,
they, in compliance with the duty enjoined on them, summoned the
bishop of Durham, together with the abbots, priors, archdeacons, and
deans to their consistory court at Durham, as well as all others of
the laity and clergy of that province, whom they believed to be
cognizant of this matter. When they had all appeared at a fixed time
and place before these agents, the letters of the pope were read in
the hearing of all of them for the clear and distinct information of
every one; and after they had been read and were understood, the
clerks of the bishop of Durham rose up and set forth some frivolous
and fallacious excuses in reply to the said agents, and, that they
might not proceed in the said inquisition, they appealed to the
presence of the pope; and having made this appeal, the bishop
departed with his clerks after appointing a day for his accusers to
appear against him in the presence of the pope. Having thus
interposed his appeal, the aforesaid bishop went to the court of
Rome, after sending his clerks before him to procure favour for him
with the pope against his arrival; so that, before the monks of
Durham arrived at Rome, the aforesaid clerks had greatly weakened
their cause; therefore after much altercation on either side in the
pope’s presence, the bishop as well as the monks, after spending a
great deal of money, were sent back to England to the aforesaid
agents, for them to determine definitely what was right. This
disagreement, having once arisen amongst them, continued for a length
of time, until the death of the bishop put an end to the strife, as
he had himself declared.
Of
the building of a new castle at Montgomery.
In
the same year, about the nativity of St. Mary, Llewellyn king of
Wales, with a large army, laid siege to a castle called Buet
(Builth); Reginald de Brause, whose town it was, earnestly besought
assistance from the king that by his means the siege might be raised,
as he was not able to effect this by his own means. The king,
therefore, as he ought not to desert his nobles, marched thither with
a large army, and raised the siege, the Welsh, as was their custom,
taking to flight. The king then marched towards Montgomery with his
army, ordering all the property of the Welsh which they met with, and
their cattle, to be collected for the support of his followers who
were with him. On their arrival at Montgomery, after roving through
the country there, the commanders of the army thought that it was a
fit place to build a castle as the position of it seemed impregnable.
The king, therefore, for the security of that district ordered a
castle to be built there, on account of the well-known incursions of
the Welsh; and then all, having obtained permission, returned home,
the nobles being allowed to depart on payment of two marks of silver
for each scutcheon.
Of
the condition of the Holy Land after the capture of Damietta and
Tannis.
[About
this time the master of the knights of the temple sent the following
letter on the state of affairs in the Holy Land:] — “To
our reverend brother in Christ N., by the grace of God, bishop of
Elimenum, Peter de Montacute, master of the knights of the temple,
greeting. How we have proceeded in the business of our Lord Jesus
Christ since the capture of Damietta and the castle of Tannis, we by
these present letters set forth to your holiness. Be it known to you
then that, in the first passage after the aforesaid captures, such a
number of pilgrims arrived at Damietta that, with the rest of the
army which remained, they were sufficient to garrison Damietta and to
defend the camp. Our , lord the legate and the clergy, desirous to
advance the cause of the army of Christ, often and earnestly exhorted
the people to make an attack on the infidels, but the nobles of the
army, as well those of the transmarine provinces as those on our side
of the water, thinking that the army was not sufficient for the
defence of the aforesaid cities and castles, and at the same time to
proceed further for the advantage of Christianity, would not consent
to this plan; for the sultan of Babylon, with an innumerable host of
infidels, had pitched his camp near Damietta, and on each arm of the
river had built bridges to obstruct the progress of the Christians,
and was there waiting with such an immense army that the crusaders,
by proceeding further would incur the greatest danger. Nevertheless
we fortified the said city and camp and the coast round with trenches
in all directions, expecting to be consoled by the Lord with the
assistance of those who were coming to help us; the Saracens,
however, seeing our deficiency, armed all their galleys and sent them
to sea in the month of September, and these caused great loss amongst
the Christians who were coming to the assistance of the Holy Land. In
our army there was such a great deficiency of money that we could not
maintain our ships for any length of time. Therefore, knowing that
great loss would be incurred by the Christian army by means of these
said galleys of the Saracens, we immediately armed our galleys,
galliots, and other vessels to oppose them. Be it also known to you
that Coradin the sultan of Damascus assembled an immense army of
Saracens, and, finding that the cities of Acre and Tyre were not
sufficiently supplied with knights and soldiers to oppose him,
continually did serious injury to those places both secretly and
openly; besides this he often came and pitched his camp before our
camp which is called the Pilgrims, doing us all kinds of injury; he
also besieged and reduced the castle of Caesarea in Palestine,
although numbers of Pilgrims were staying in Acre. I have also to
inform you that Seraph, a son of Saphadin, and brother of the sultans
of Babylon and Damascus, is with a powerful army fighting against the
Saracens in the eastern parts, and has prevailed much against the
more powerful of his enemies, although not against all, for, by God’s
favour, he will not be able easily to conquer all of them; for if he
could bring that war to a conclusion, the county of Antioch or
Tripoli, Acre or Egypt, whichever of them he might turn his attention
to, would be in the greatest danger, and if he were to lay siege to
any one of our castles, we should in no wise be able to drive him
away; this said dissension amongst the pagans however gives us
pleasure and comfort. Moreover we have long expected the arrival of
the emperor and other nobles by whom we hope to be relieved, and on
their arrival we hope to bring this business, which has commenced by
the hands of many, to a happy termination; but if we are deceived in
our hope of this assistance in the ensuing summer, which I hope will
not happen, both countries, namely Syria and Egypt, and that which we
have lately gained possession of as well as that which we have held
for a long time, will be placed in a doubtful position. Besides, we
and the other people on our side of the water are oppressed by so
many and great expenses in carrying on this crusade, that we shall be
unable to meet our necessary expenses, unless by the divine mercy we
shortly receive assistance from our fellow Christians. Given at Acre
the 20th of September.” *
*
Paris here adds:— “In
this year too, William of the church of St. Mary, bishop of London,
of his own accord resigned his bishopric on the day after the
conversion of St. Paul. On the 25th of February Eustace de
Falconborg, then treasurer of the exchequer, was elected bishop of
London; his election was confirmed by the legate Pandulph, and on the
25th of April he was consecrated at Westminster. In the same year
ended the legateship of Pandulph, who returned to Rome. King Henry
gave his elder sister, Johanna, in marriage to Alexander king of
Scots; she was betrothed to him on the day after St. John the
Baptist, at York, and the nuptials were solemnized in the presence of
both kings; in the same city of York, Hubert de Burgh espoused the
sister of the king of Scotland. In this year William de Albeney earl
of Albemarle, died on the continent when on his return from Damietta,
and his body was brought into England by Thomas a monk of St.
Alban’s, and was buried at Wymondham, a priory of St. Alban’s, of
which the earl was patron. Eustace bishop of London, demanded from
abbot William and the conventual assembly of St. Alban’s the
right of procession, procuration, visitation, and general
jurisdiction; owing to which demands an appeal was made to the pope.”
1222 A.D.
Of the pilgrimage of Philip de Albeney to the Holy Land.
A.D. 1222. King Henry spent Christmas at Winchester, where Peter bishop of
that place provided the necessary entertainment for him. In this year
too, Philip de Albeney, a brave and honest knight, and who had been a
faithful instructor of the king of England, set out on his way to
Jerusalem, and arrived there after a prosperous voyage without
suffering any loss of property; and as soon as he found out the state
of affairs at the Holy Land, he sent the following letter to Ralph
earl of Chester:—
Of
the loss of Damietta.
“To
his worshipful lord and friend R. earl of Chester and Lincoln, his
ever faithful P. de Albeney, health and sincere affection. I have to
inform your excellency that on the day of the Assumption of the
Virgin Mary we sailed from the port of Marseilles, and on the Monday
before the Nativity of the same virgin we arrived before Damietta,
and there we saw many ships leaving the town, and I spoke with a
certain vessel, and made presents to the crew, on which they came to
speak to us, and brought us very sad reports. These were that our
people at Damietta and the nobles in that city, namely, the king of
Jerusalem, the legate, the duke of Bavaria, the templars and
hospitallers, with many others, amounting to about a thousand
crusaders and five thousand other knights with forty thousand
foot-soldiers, had all gone on an expedition towards Babylon, against
the wish of the king of Jerusalem, as was said, having set out on the
feast of St. Peter ad vincula; that they had been now absent on that
expedition three weeks or more, and were about half way between
Damietta and Babylon. The sultan of Babylon and his brother Coradin,
then came with all the forces they could muster, and often attacked
our people, and often lost some of their own men; and when our
people wished to return to Damietta, the river became swollen, and
for several days overflowed its banks, and our people were between
two branches of the river; the Saracens then made a canal from one
branch to the other in the rear of our army, whilst the river
increased so in height, that our people were in water up to their
legs and waists, to their great misery and suffering, and thus might
have been either slain or taken prisoners if the sultan of Babylon
wished it. In this condition our people agreed to a truce for eight
years with the sultan, on the condition that they should give up
Damietta and all the prisoners whom they held in captivity. For the
due observance of this truce, the king of Jerusalem, the legate, the
duke of Bavaria, and other influential people, remained as hostages;
and the sultan had given twenty hostages for the due observance of
the truce on his part. When we heard these reports we were much
grieved, as all Christians must need be; we therefore thought it
best, as ,we did not wish to be present at the surrender of Damietta,
to make our way to Acre, where we arrived on the day after the
Nativity of the Virgin Mary; on the day following Damietta was given
up to the sultan, and he himself set free all the prisoners in it. I
have also to inform you that his majesty the king of Jerusalem is
about to go to your country; therefore I beg of you that you afford
him assistance according to promises made towards the king and other
nobles, for it is difficult to describe his great and admirable
merits.”
Another
letter about the same matters.
“Brother
P. de Montacute, humble master of the knights of the temple, to his
well-beloved brother in Christ, A. Martel, holding the office of
preceptor in England, greeting. —Although we have from time to
time informed you of the prosperity which attended us in the affairs
of Jesus Christ, we now by this present letter relate to you in the
order they have happened the reverses which we, owing to our sins,
nave met with in the land of Egypt. The Christian army after the
capture of Damietta having remained quietly at that place for a long
time, the people of our side of the water, as well as those of the
transmarine provinces, cast reproofs and reproaches on us on that
account; and the duke of Bavaria having arrived, as lieutenant of the
emperor, explained to the people that he had come for the purpose of
attacking the enemies of the Christian faith. A council therefore was
held by our lord the legate, the duke of Bavaria, the masters of the
templars and hospitallers, and the Teutonic order, the earls, barons,
and all the rest, at which it was unanimously agreed by all to make
an advance. The illustrious king of Jerusalem also, having been sent
for, came with his barons, and with a fleet of galleys and armed
ships to Damietta, and found the army of the Christians lying in
their camp outside the lines. After the feast of the apostles Peter
and Paul, then his majesty the king and the legate, with the whole
Christian army, proceeded in order both by land and water, and
discovered the sultan with an innumerable host of the enemies of the
cross, who however fled before them; and so they proceeded without
loss till they arrived at the camp of the sultan; this was surrounded
by the river which they were unable to cross; the Christian army
therefore pitched its camp on the bank, and constructed bridges to
cross over against the sultan, from whose camp we were separated by
the river Tannis, which is a branch of the great river Nile. Whilst
we made some stay there, great numbers left our army without leave,
so that it was decreased by ten thousand men or more. In the meantime
the sultan, by means of a trench constructed previously, when the
Nile rose, sent galleys and galliots into the river to obstruct our
ships, that no supplies might come from Damietta to us, we being then
destitute of provisions; for they could not reach us by land, as the
Saracens prevented them. The road both by sea and land, by which
necessary supplies could reach us, being thus blocked up, the army
held council as to returning; but the brothers of the sultan, Seraph
and Coradin, the sultans of Aleppo and Damascus, and other sultans,
namely, of Camela, Haman, and Coilanbar, with many pagan kings, and a
countless host of infidels, who had come to assist them, had cut off
our retreat. Our army however departed by night by land and water,
but lost all the provisions in the river, besides a great many men;
for when the Nile overflowed, the sultan turned the water in
different directions by means of hidden streams, canals, and
rivulets, which had been made some time before to obstruct the
retreat of the Christians. The army of Christ therefore, after losing
amongst the marshes all its beasts of burden, stores, baggage,
carriages, and almost all their necessaries, and being destitute of
provisions, could neither advance nor retreat, nor had it any place
of refuge, neither could it give battle to the sultan on account of
his being surrounded by the river, and it was thus caught in the
midst of the waters like a fish in a net. Being therefore in this
strait, they, although unwillingly, agreed to give up to the sultan
the city of Damietta, with all the prisoners which could be found in
Tyre and Acre, in exchange for the true cross and the Christian
prisoners in the kingdoms of Babylon and Damascus. We therefore, in
company with other messengers deputed by the army in common, went to
Damietta, and told the people of the city the terms which were
imposed on us; which greatly displeased the bishop of Acre, the
chancellor, and Henry count of Malta, whom we found there: for they
wished to defend the city, which we should also have much approved
of, if it could have been done with any advantage, for we had rather
been consigned to perpetual imprisonment, than that the city should
be given up by us to the infidels to the disgrace of Christianity; we
therefore made a careful search throughout the city of all persons
and effects, but found neither money nor people wherewith it could be
defended. We therefore acquiesced in this agreement, and bound
ourselves by oath and by giving hostages, and agreed to a confirmed
truce for eight years. The sultan, till the arrangement was made,
strictly abided by what he had promised, and supplied our famished
army with loaves and flour for about fifteen days. Do you therefore,
compassionating our sufferings, assist us as far as you are able.
Farewell.”*
* Paris adds: “In
this year, a few days before the council held at Canterbury by
Stephen archbishop of that place, a man was discovered with five
wounds like those of Christ when crucified, on his body and limbs,
namely, in his side and in his hands and feet; and at the same
council, together with him a man of both sexes, or an hermaphrodite,
was brought before the council, accused of the same crime as the
former one; and being convicted of the crime, they made a public
confession, and were punished by the decision of the church An
apostate Jew was likewise brought before them who had become a
Christian, and afterwards a deacon, and he was likewise punished
judicially, for Faulkes had him seized and hung. And in the same year
also died Hugh de Neville, who, during his whole youth, in king
Richard’s time, had been a familiar friend of that king. Amongst
other examples of his prowess and daring, when he was in the Holy
Land he slew a lion, first transfixing him with an arrow, and
afterwards with his sword; hence we have the following rhyme:
‘Viribus Hugonis vires periere leonis.’
[Before Hugh’s strength, so goes the tale.
A lion’s strength was found to fail.]
His body was buried in the church at Waltham, in a handsome carved
marble vault.”
Of a wrestling match and disturbances in the city of London.
In the same year, on the apostle St. James’s day, the inhabitants of the
city of London met at the hospital of queen Matilda, outside the
city, to engage in wrestling with the inhabitants of the district
round the city, to see which of them was possessed of the greatest
strength. After they had contended for a length of time amidst the
shouts of both parties, the citizens having put their antagonists
into disorder, gained the victory. Amongst others, the seneschal of
the abbot of Westminster was defeated, and went away in deep
deliberation as to how he could revenge himself and his companions.
At length he fixed on the following plan of revenge; he offered a
prize of a ram on the day of St. Peter ad vinculo, and sent word
throughout the district for all to come to wrestle at Westminster,
and whoever should prove himself the best wrestler should receive the
ram for a prize. He in the meantime collected a number of strong and
skilful wrestlers, that he might thus gain the victory; but the
citizens being desirous of gaining another victory, came to the sport
in great strength, and the contest having been commenced by both
parties, they continued for some time to throw each other. The
seneschal, however, with his suburban companions and fellow
provincials, who sought revenge rather than sport, without any
reason, flew to arms, and severely beat the citizens, who had come
there unarmed, causing bloodshed amongst them. The citizens,
shamefully wounded, retreated into the city in great confusion. After
they had got into the city, a tumult arose amongst the populace, and
a general signal having been given, the citizens of all ranks
assembled, and the circumstances o£ the matter having been
told, they all proposed different plans of revenge. Serlo, the mayor
of the city, however, a wise and peaceable man, gave it as his
opinion that the abbot of Westminster should be summoned to answer
for this insult, and if he would give proper satisfaction for himself
and his followers, this would satisfy them all. In reply to this, a
great man of the city, named Constantine, amidst the acclamations of
the populace, gave it as his opinion that all the buildings of the
abbot of Westminster, as well as the house of the aforesaid
seneschal, should be razed to the ground, and when he had done
speaking, the edict went forth, that the plan of Constantine should
be carried into effect. What more is to be said ? The irrational
populace, with others of the city, went forth in disorder,
Constantine at their head, and entered upon a civil war, destroyed
numerous buildings, and did no small injury to the abbot.* But this
circumstance, as it could not be long a secret, having come to the
knowledge of Hubert de Burgh, justiciary of England, he collected a
force, and proceeded to the tower of London; thence sending
messengers into the city, he ordered the older inhabitants to come
with all haste to him. On their appearing before him, he inquired of
them who were the chief authors of this sedition and disturbers of
the king’s city, and who had dared to break the king’s peace. Then
Constantine, who was bold in his sedition, was more bold in his
answer, declaring that he would answer for what had been done, and in
the hearing of all complained that he had done less than he ought.
The justiciary, however, on hearing this admission, without any noise
detained him and two others besides; and in the morning sent
Falcasius with a body of soldiers by way of the Thames, who took
Constantine away to be hung. When the rope was placed round his neck,
and he had lost all hope, he offered fifteen thousand marks of silver
for his life to be spared, but to no purpose. He was then hung, as
well as his nephew Constantine, and one Geoffrey, who had proclaimed
the edict of Constantine in the city; and thus, as the citizens did
not know of it, the sentence pronounced on him was carried into
execution without any tumult. After this, the justiciary went into
the city with Falcasius and a body of soldiers, and seized on all who
were discovered to be guilty of the said sedition, and committed them
to prison, and after cutting off the feet of some and the hands of
others, he permitted them to depart; on this account numbers fled
from the city and never afterwards returned. The king, as a greater
punishment, deposed all the magistrates of the city, and appointed
new ones.
* Paris adds: “The
said Constantine calling out in a loud voice, as a sort of watchword,
‘Mountjoy, Mountjoy; may the Lord assist us, and our lord Louis!’
And this cry chiefly exasperated the friends of the king, and
provoked them to take the vengeance below related.”
Of thunder-storms and other tempests.
On the eighth of February in the same year, dreadful thunderings were
heard, and the lightning darting forth at their collision set fire to
the church of Graham in the county of Lincoln, from which there
proceeded such a stench that many who were in the church, being
unable to endure it, took to flight; at length, however, by lighting
the holy taper, and sprinkling holy water, the fire was after some
trouble extinguished, but the traces of the conflagration still
remain in that church. In the same year, too, at the exaltation of
the holy cross,* there was much thunder throughout all England, and
this was followed by deluges of rain, with whirlwinds and violent
gusts, and this tempestuous weather, together with an unseasonable
atmosphere, continued till the Purification of Saint Mary, doing
great damage to numbers of people, and especially the farmers; and
in the following summer a measure of corn was sold for twelve
shillings. In the same year also, on the feast of St. Andrew the
apostle, ** thunder was again heard throughout England in general,
which destroyed churches and church-towers, houses and other
buildings, walls and ramparts of castles. In a town called
Pilardeston, in the county of Warwick, the storm destroyed the house
of a certain knight, burying his wife, and eight persons of both
sexes, to the great awe of numbers who saw the calamity. After this,
the storm gaining power in its rage, in the same town fell on a
turf-pit surrounded by a lake of deep water, and in an instant dried
it up so that it left neither grass nor earth in it, and only the dry
stones remained. Again, on the eve of St. Lucy*** the virgin, a
strong and sudden storm of wind arose, which raged more fiercely than
the before-mentioned tempest, for throughout England in general it
threw down buildings, as if they were shaken by the breath of the
devil, levelled churches and their towers to the ground, tore up by
the roots the trees of the forest and fruit trees, so that scarcely a
single person escaped without suffering loss. +
*
September 14th.
**
November 30th.
***
December 13th.
+
Paris here adds: “In
the same year, master Stephen de Langton held a general council at
Oxford, when a number of statutes were made for the reformation of
the church and monastic orders in England, as is elsewhere more fully
mentioned in the said council. On the twentieth of May in the same
year, William de Humeto abbot of Westminster died; he was succeeded
by Richard Berking, prior of that church, who, on the eighteenth of
September in the same year received the benediction from Peter lord
bishop of Winchester, in the church of Westminster. In this year,
too, Ralph bishop of Chichester, formerly an official and afterwards
prior of Norwich, went the way of all flesh, and was succeeded by
Ralph Neville, who had before this been the keeper and bearer of the
royal seal; he was a faithful chancellor of the king, and he accepted
of this see by the assent of the whole kingdom, on the condition that
he should not be deposed from his office unless with the wish and
consent of the whole kingdom, so he still continued chancellor after
he became a bishop. He was elected about the feast of All Saints, but
was not confirmed till the following year. In the same year, died
William of Ely, treasurer of England. In this year too the
controversy between Eustace bishop of London and the chapter of St.
Paul’s of the one part, and abbot William and the monks of
Westminster of the other part, was settled by Stephen archbishop of
Canterbury; the bishops, P. of Winchester and R. of Salisbury, and
the priors, Thomas of Merton and Richard of Dunstable. whom both
parties had agreed on as arbiters and to arrange the terms of
agreement, and these umpires declared the monastery of Westminster to
be entirely exempt from all subjection to, and jurisdiction of, the
bishop of London, and they decreed that the church of Staines with
its appurtenances should be converted to the proper uses of the
church of Westminster, and the manor of Sumnebus to the possession of
the bishop of London, and the church belonging to the same manor
should be ceded to the proper use of the church of St. Paul for
ever.”
1223 A.D.
How Stephen archbishop of Canterbury demanded the rights of the charter
from the king.
A.D. 1223. At Christmas king Henry held his court at Oxford. Afterwards,
in the octaves of the Epiphany he came to London to a conference with
the barons, and was there asked by the archbishop of Canterbury and
other nobles to confirm to them the rights and free customs, to
obtain which the war had been entered on against his father; and as
the archbishop plainly proved, the said king could not avoid granting
this, since, on the departure of Louis from England, he and all the
nobles of the kingdom with him swore to observe all the aforesaid
liberties, and to cause them to be observed by all. William Briwere,
one of the king’s counsellors, on hearing this demand, made reply for
the king and said, “The liberties which you demand, since they
were extorted by force, ought not by right to be observed.” The
archbishop becoming angry at this reply rebuked him saying, “William,
if you loved the king you would not disturb the peace of the
kingdom.” The king then seeing the archbishop excited to anger,
said, “We have sworn to observe all these liberties, and what
we have sworn we are bound to abide by;" he then immediately
held a council and sent letters to each sheriff of the kingdom,
ordering them to cause an inquisition to be made on oath by twelve
knights or liege men of each county, as to what liberties there
existed in the time of king Henry his grandfather, and to send the
particulars of the inquisition to him at London within fifteen days
after Easter.
Of
a dispute between the Welsh and William Marshall.
In
the same year whilst William Marshall earl of Pembroke was in
Ireland, Llewellyn king of the Welsh, with a strong force, seized on
two castles belonging to the said William, and beheaded all the
people he found in them, and then went away leaving his own Welsh
followers in these castles. This circumstance, however, after a few
days reached the ears of William Marshall, and he returned in all
haste to England, where he collected a large force, and then besieged
and retook the two castles; and, because all his followers who had
been taken in these castles by Llewellyn had been beheaded by him, so
William Marshall, in retaliation, now beheaded all the Welsh he took
prisoners; and afterwards, the further to revenge himself, he invaded
Llewellyn’s territory and ravaged the country wherever he went with
fire and sword. Llewellyn, on hearing this, came to oppose Marshall
with a large force; but he having fortune on his side, boldly
attacked the enemy, and, after slaying numbers of the Welsh, put all
the rest to flight, and hotly pursuing them slew them without mercy;
nine thousand of them were computed to have been slain and made
prisoners, only a very few having escaped by flight. In the same year
about the time of the feast of our Lord’s Ascension, William Mauclerc
was consecrated bishop of Carlisle by Walter archbishop of York.
About the same time in the great church at York, a clear oily liquid
flowed from the tomb of St. William, formerly archbishop of that
church. In the same year it rained blood-coloured earth at Rome for
three days, to the great wonder of numbers of people.
Of
the death of Philip king of the French.
In
the same year about the feast of St. Peter ad vincula, died Philip
king of the French, whose death was indicated by a fiery-tailed
comet, which had appeared a short time before; and on his death being
made public, Henry the English king sent the archbishop of Canterbury
with three bishops to Louis his son, as soon as he was crowned,
asking him to restore Normandy and the other transmarine provinces to
him, as he had sworn to do with the consent of all his nobles on his
departure from England, when peace was made between him and the said
king of England. To this demand Louis replied that he held possession
of Normandy and other lands as his right, as he would be prepared to
prove in his own court if the king of England would appear to support
his claim there. He also added that the oath, which had been made on
the part of the king of England, had been violated, inasmuch as his
followers, who had been made prisoners at Lincoln, had been compelled
to pay a heavy ransom; and with regard to the liberties of the
kingdom of England, to obtain which war had been made, and which had
been granted at his departure and sworn to be observed by all, the
king of England had acted in such a manner, that not only were the
bad laws brought into force again in their old state, but others had
been made even worse than they, throughout England in general- The
archbishop and bishops on this reply, being unable to obtain any
other returned home and told the king.
An
antipope elected by the Albigenses.
About
that time the heretic Albigenses in the provinces of Bulgaria,
Croatia, and Dalmatia, chose for themselves an antipope in the person
of one Bartholomew, whose erroneous doctrines gained such force in
those districts that he enticed bishops and many others of those
countries to join in his depravity; and to oppose him the bishop of
Portus, the legate of the apostolic see in those provinces, wrote as
follows to the archbishop of Rouen: “To
our venerable fathers, by the grace of God, the archbishop of Rouen
and his suffragan bishops, greeting in our Lord Jesus Christ. Whilst
we are compelled to ask your assistance on behalf of the spouse of
the true crucified One, we are afflicted to sighs and tears. However
what we have seen we will tell you, and what we know we will bear
witness to. That lost man, who is elevated beyond everything which is
worshipped or which is called God, has now a forerunner in his
infidelity in the person of that arch-heretic, whom the heretic
Albigenses call their pope, and who dwells on the confines of
Bulgaria, Croatia, and Dalmatia, near the people of Hungary. The
heretic Albigenses flock to him to obtain from him answers to their
questions; this vicegerent of that antipope, Bartholomew by name, a
bishop of the heretics, was born at Carcassone, and pays most impious
reverence to that man; he has given up his abode and dwelling in the
town called Portus, and has betaken himself to the district near
Toulouse. This Bartholomew, in his letters which are sent about in
all directions, at the commencement of them thus intitules himself,
‘Bartholomew, servant of the servants of the holy faith, to such a
one, greeting.’ Amongst his other enormities he creates bishops and
wickedly presumes to ordain churches. We, therefore, by the authority
of the apostolic see, whose vicegerent we are in this district,
earnestly beg and beseech You by the blood of Jesus Christ, to come
in the octaves of the apostles Peter and Paul to Sens, at which place
the other prelates of France will, under God’s favour, assemble to
give your advice on the above matter, and, together with others, who
will be there, to take precautions against this heresy of the
Albigenses; otherwise we shall inform the pope of your disobedience.
Given at Planium the 2nd of July.”
The death of the above named antipope however soon put an end to this
disturbance.
How some of the barons endeavoured to cause a quarrel.
In the same year loud murmurs arose amongst the nobles of England, who
wished to disturb the peace of the kingdom, against Hubert de Burgh
the justiciary; for they said amongst themselves that he exasperated
the king against them, and did not act impartially in his government
of the kingdom. Besides this their ill-will was increased by the
arrival of the king’s messengers, whom he had sent to Rome, who
brought with them a bull from our lord the pope to the archbishops of
England and their suffragan bishops, which contained a decree, that
his holiness the pope had adjudged the king of England to be of full
age, thenceforth to take the chief management of the affairs of the
kingdom with the advice of his councillors. The pope too in these
letters gave orders to the aforesaid agents, by the apostolic
authority, to order the earls, barons, knights, and all others, who
held charge of castles, honours, and towns, which were under the
king’s authority, at sight of these letters to give them up to the
king at once, and to compel all gainsayers to give satisfaction under
penalty of the censure of the church; therefore a large party of the
barons, whose hearts were full of greediness, were indignant at these
commands and assembled together to endeavour to get up a war, and as
conspiracy is blown abroad without bellows, they laid hold of the
aforesaid matters as excuses for disturbing the peace of the kingdom
; they refused on the orders of the archbishops and bishops to
deliver up their charges as above mentioned, preferring to resort to
arms rather than to give satisfaction to the king in the aforesaid
matters. But of this hereafter.
The cross of our Lord brought to Bromholm.
In the same year [1223] divine miracles became of frequent occurrence at
Bromholm, to the glory and honour of the life-giving cross, on which
the Saviour of the world suffered for the redemption of the human
race; and since Britain, a place in the middle of the ocean was
thought worthy by the divine bounty to be blessed with such a
treasure, it is proper, nay most proper, to impress on the mind of
our descendants by what series of events that cross was brought from
distant regions into Britain. Baldwin count of Flanders, was from a
count made emperor of Constantinople, at which place he reigned with
vigour for many years; it happened at one time that he was dreadfully
harassed by the infidel kings, against whom he marched without
deliberation, and on this occasion neglected to take with him the
cross of our Lord and other relics, which always used to be carried
before him by the patriarch and bishops whenever he was about to
engage in battle against the enemies of the cross, and this
carelessness he found out on that day by dreadful experience: for
when he rashly rushed on the enemy with his small army, paying no
regard to the multitude of his enemies, who exceeded his own army
tenfold, in a very short time he and all his men were surrounded by
the enemies of Christ, and were all slain or made prisoners, and the
few who escaped out of the whole number knew nothing of what had
happened to the emperor, or whither he had gone. There was at that
time a certain chaplain of English extraction, who with his clerks
performed divine service in the emperor’s chapel, and he was one of
those who had the charge of the emperor’s relics, rings, and other
effects. He therefore, when he heard of the death (for all told him
he was killed) of his lord the emperor, left the city of
Constantinople privately with the aforesaid relics, rings, and many
other things, and came to England; on his arrival there he went to
St. Alban’s, and sold to a certain monk there, a cross set with
silver and gold, besides two fingers of St. Margaret, and some gold
rings and jewels, all which things are now held in great veneration
at the monastery of St. Alban’s; the said chaplain then drew from his
mantle a wooden cross and showed it to some of the monks, and
declared on his oath that it was undoubtedly a piece of the cross, on
which the Saviour of the world was suspended for the redemption of
the human race; but as his assertions were disbelieved in that place,
he departed, taking with him this priceless treasure, although it was
not known. This said chaplain had two young children about whose
support and for the preservation of whom he was most anxious, for
which purpose he offered the aforesaid cross to several monasteries
on condition that he and his children should be received amongst the
brethren of the monastery; and having endured repulse from the rich
in many places he at length came to a chapel in the county of
Norfolk, called Bromholm, very poor and altogether destitute of
buildings; there he sent for the prior and some of the brethren, and
showed them the above-mentioned cross, which was constructed with two
pieces of wood placed across one another, and almost as wide as the
hand of a man; he then humbly implored them to receive him into
their order with this cross and the other relics which he had with
him, as well as his two children. The prior and his brethren then
were overjoyed to possess such a treasure, and by the intervention of
the Lord, who always protects honourable poverty, put faith in the
words of the monk; they then with due reverence received the cross of
our Lord, and carried it into their oratory, and with all devotion
preserved it in the most honourable place there. In this year then,
as has been before stated, divine miracles began to he wrought in
that monastery to the praise and glory of the life-giving cross; for
there the dead were restored to life, the blind recovered their
sight, and the lame their power of walking, the skin of the lepers
was made clean, and those possessed by devils were released from
them, and any sick person, who approached the aforesaid cross with
faith, went away safe and sound. This said cross is frequently
worshipped, not only by the English people, but also by those from
distant countries, and those who have heard of the divine miracles
connected with it.*
* Paris inserts here: “On
the eleventh of August, as has been before stated, died Philip, the
wise king of the French, and was buried at St. Denis; he had
received the crown of the kingdom during his father Louis’s lifetime,
when he was fifteen years old, and reigned forty-four years; he was
succeeded by his son Louis; but how dissimilar were the father and
son ! About the octaves of the apostles Peter and Paul, John of
Brienne king of Jerusalem, and the grand master of the hospitallers
at that place, came to England to ask assistance in the cause of the
Holy Land. In the same year, about the feast of the exaltation of the
holy cross, master S. of Apuleia, bishop of Exeter, died, and near
about the same time William de Cornhill bishop of Chester. In this
year too, during each successive month deluges of rain fell, causing
the rivers to burst forth, attended also by an unhealthy atmosphere,
so that owing to the inclemency of the season, the crops were so late
in ripening, that in November there was scarcely any corn stored away
in the barns. In the month of January the towers and walls of the
churches, together with the trees of the forest, were shaken and fell
by the conflict of the winds. About the same time too, Llewellyn
prince of North Wales and some English, namely, Hugh de Lacy and his
followers, uniting together out of hatred to the king, and giving up
all hopes of good fruit coming from an evil tree, that is, despairing
of a good heir from king John, made frequent expeditions against some
of the barons of the king, and amongst the first against William
Marshal the elder, and afterwards against the younger Marshal, and
some others; but the whole country was excited to arm against them,
and they themselves were irreverently driven to the same course, and
those who became enemies in chief fell under the hands of their
enemies, never to rise again.”
1224 A.D.
How the king of England look into his own hands the castles of the crown,
against the wish of the barons.
A.D. 1224. At Christmas king Henry held his court at Northampton, the
archbishop of Canterbury being with him, as well as a great number of
knights; the earl of Chester, however, with his fellow conspirators,
kept that festival at Leicester, blustering and uttering threats
against the king and the justiciary, on account of the king’s
requiring him to give up the custody of his castles and lands. On the
following day, after the solemnization of mass, the archbishop of
Canterbury and his suffragan bishops, clad in white robes, and with
lighted tapers, excommunicated all the disturbers of the peace of the
kingdom, and the invaders of the holy church and church property; the
said archbishop then sent special messengers to Leicester to the earl
of Chester and his accomplices, informing each and all of them that,
unless by the following day they resigned into the king’s hands all
the castles and honours pertaining to the crown, he and all the
bishops would assuredly excommunicate them by name, as they had been
ordered to do by the pope. The earl of Chester then, and his
accomplices, were in great consternation, having been informed by
their spies that the king had a larger force than they, for, if they
had sufficient means, they would make war against the king on account
of the justiciary; but, knowing their deficiency, they were afraid to
enter upon a doubtful struggle, and moreover, they were afraid that
the archbishop and bishops excommunicate them unless they desisted
from their purpose; therefore, following the wisest plan, they all
went to the king at Northampton, and each of them, commencing with
the earl of Chester, resigned to the king the castles and towns,
honours and charges, which pertained to the crown. Their ill-will
against the king, however, still remained, because he would not
dismiss the justiciary. The promoters of this disturbance were the
earl of Chester, the earl of Albemarle, John, constable of Chester,
Falcasius with his castellans, Robert de Vipont, Brian de L’isle,
Peter de Mauleon, Philip Mare, Engelard de Athie, William de Cantelo,
William his son, and many others, who were all using their utmost
endeavours to disturb the peace of the kingdom.
How Louis the French king subdued Rochelle and the rest of Poictou.
In the same year, Louis the French king led a large army to Rochelle, to
subdue it by force or by bribery; and on his arrival there he offered
the inhabitants a large sum of money to give up the city, make their
allegiance to him, and obey him for the future. They, thinking that
they were abandoned by the king of England, and being overcome by the
entreaties and bribes of Louis, delivered Rochelle up to him. He then
placed his knights and soldiers in the city and castle, and, having
taken security from the whole of Poictou, he returned home peaceably
without bloodshed. Rochelle is a port in Poictou, where the kings of
England and their knights usually landed for the defence of those
districts; but now the way was closed against the king, owing to the
plots which were being prepared against him by his barons in
England.*
* Paris adds here: “Oh,
innate treachery of Poictevins! There was only one citizen who put
himself forward for the defence of his lord the English king, and he
was afterwards discovered to have hidden the standard of the king
where he could produce it when that monarch was again restored, and
he was seized by his treacherous fellow citizens, and hung; but as
he died for a just cause, it is clear that he was a glorious martyr;
his son, named William, was promoted to the government of the church
of St. Julian at St. Alban’s.”
Of the siege of Bedford castle and the council of Northampton.
In the same year, [1224] in the octaves of the Holy Trinity, the king,
the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, and many others, assembled
at a conference at Northampton to discuss the affairs of the kingdom;
for the king wished to have the advice of his nobles about the
transmarine possessions, which Louis had seized on by degrees, but
other matters occurred which he did not expect. There were at that
time at Dunstable some of the king’s justiciaries, whom we call
"itinerants ,” [Justices in Eyrie.] namely, Martin de
Pateshulle, Thomas de Muleton, Henry de Braibroc, and others, who
were there holding the king’s pleas for this new act of disseizin;
and there Falcasius, amongst others, who had robbed numbers of
people, was thrown on the mercy of the king for more than thirty
pairs of letters, for each of which he was liable to the payment of a
fine of a hundred pounds to the king. When Falcasius was informed of
this, he was greatly enraged, and in a most unadvised manner, ordered
the knights who composed the garrison of the castle of Bedford, to
proceed to Dunstable with a body of soldiers, seize on the aforesaid
justiciaries, and, after securing them prisoners, to bring them to
Bedford castle, and place them in close confinement there. The
justiciaries, however, found this out, and departed in haste wherever
chance led them; of this number, Henry de Braibroc, flying without
due caution, was taken prisoner by the above-mentioned knights, and
after being most cruelly treated, was imprisoned in the castle of
Bedford. A report of this being spread abroad, the wife of the said
Henry went to the king at Northampton, and with tears laid a
complaint of the detention of her husband, in the hearing of the
whole council. The king was highly incensed at this deed, and asked
the advice of the clergy and people assembled as to what ought to be
done to punish such an offence. They all unanimously gave it as their
opinion that they should without delay, putting off all other
business, proceed with a strong armed force to the aforesaid castle,
to .punish such audacity; this opinion meeting the king’s views, he
gave the order, and they all flew to arms, and, clergy as well as
people, marched to the castle of Bedford. The king, on his arrival
there, sent messengers to the chief castellans, asking admission, and
demanding the restoration of Henry de Braibroc, his justiciary.
William de Breaute, however, brother of Falcasius, and the others of
the garrison, told the messengers in reply that they would not give
up the castle unless they had orders to do so from their lord
Falcasius, especially as they were not bound by homage or allegiance
to the king. When this answer was brought back to the king, he was
very indignant, and in his anger, ordered his troops to surround the
castle; the besiegers, too, prepared to oppose them, and defended the
walls and ramparts in all parts. Then the archbishop and all the
bishops, with tapers lighted, laid the ban of excommunication on
Falcasius, and all the garrison of the castle. The castle was laid
siege to on the 16th of June, which was the Thursday next after the
octaves of Trinity. By orders of the king, the engines of war, such
as petrariae and mangonelles, were brought up, and, being disposed
round the city, the besieging army made constant fierce assaults on
the castle; the besieged, however, bravely defended the walls, and
sent forth showers of deadly missiles on the besiegers. To be brief,
many were wounded and slain on both sides. The king, whilst the siege
was being carried on, sent a body of soldiers to search for
Falcasius, and when found, to bring him into his presence; the
latter was, however, forewarned of this by his spies, and fled into
Wales, and the king’s messengers returned, acknowledging that their
labour was vain. The king being roused to anger, swore, by the soul
of his father, that if the garrisons were made prisoners by force he
would hang them all; they, however, being provoked to do further
wrong by the king’s threats, forbade the messengers of the king to
speak to them again on the subject of giving up the castle. This
deadly hatred increased from the numbers of the slain, so that
brothers spared not brothers, nor fathers their children. At length,
after great slaughter on both sides, the king’s workmen constructed a
high tower of wood, built on geometrical principles, in which they
placed cross-bow men, who could watch every proceeding in the castle;
and from that time no one in the castle could take off his armour
without being mortally wounded. The besieged, however, did not on
this account, cease to strike down their enemies; for, to the
confusion of the king’s army, they killed two knights of his, who
exposed themselves to death too rashly, thus provoking the anger of
their enemies against them by all the means possible.
The capture of the castle and hanging of the knights.
In the meantime the king ordered the corn and cattle on the manors and
lands of Falcasius throughout the kingdom to be seized and
confiscated, that by these means he might during this lengthened
siege obtain supplies at the expense of his enemy. At length the
king’s soldiers brought up, though not without much loss, two
penthouses, which the French call brutesches, and, attacking the
castle in all directions, forced the besieged to retire. The king’s
troops then entered the castle, and gaining possession of horses,
arms, provisions, and innumerable other things, returned in triumph;
the victors then attacked the tower, and destroyed a great portion of
the walls. After this, the besieged seeing that they could hold out
no longer, on the eve of the assumption of St. Mary, sent some of the
garrison from the castle to entreat the king’s mercy; but the king
ordered them to be kept in close confinement till he reduced the rest
to subjection. On the following day all the rest came out of the
castle dreadfully bruised and wounded, and were taken before the
king, who ordered them all to be hung; of the knights and soldiers
of the garrison, twenty-four were hung, who could not obtain mercy
from the king on account of the audacity which they had showed to him
in the late siege. Henry de Braybrook came to the king safe and sound
and returned him his thanks. Falcasius, in his false sense of
security, believed that his followers could defend the castle from
capture for a whole year; when however he learned for certain that
his brothers and the rest of his friends were hung, he came under the
conduct of Alexander bishop of Coventry, to the king at Bedford, and,
falling at his feet, begged him to show mercy to him in consideration
of his great services and expensive undertakings on behalf of him,
the king, and his lather, in times of war. The king then having taken
advice on the subject, deprived him of all his castles, lands, and
possessions, and delivered him into the custody of Eustace bishop of
London, till he should determine what ought to be done with him; and
thus, as it were in a moment, this Falcasius, from being the richest
became one of the poorest of men, and would afford a good example to
many, and especially to the guilty. Concerning this change of
fortune, some one thus writes:—
“Thus in a month fierce Falco lost
What he had gained by years of strife;
Fate stripped him now of what had cost
Him all his former life.”
The wife of the said Falcasius came before the king and the archbishop,
and said that it was not with her own consent that she had been
married to him; she therefore, as she had been seized by force in
time of war, and been married to him without her consent, asked for a
divorce from him. The archbishop then appointed a day for her to come
to him, that he might in the meantime determine what ought to be
done. The king however granted her all her lands and possessions
throughout England, and placed her under the care of William earl
Warrenne. The king, for the great labour and expense he had been at,
was granted a tax on ploughed land throughout England, namely two
marks of silver for each plough; and he granted a scutage to the
nobles, namely two marks of sterling money for each scutcheon; and
then they all returned to their homes. The king ordered the castle to
be pulled down and reduced to a heap of stones, and gave the houses
and all other buildings to William Beauchamp.*
* Paris adds:— “In
the same year the following bishops were consecrated : Master
Alexander de Stavensby to the see of Chester by his holiness the pope
at Rome, on Easter-day; and William, nephew of William Briwere the
elder to the see of Exeter, and Ralph de Neville to that of
Chichester, by Stephen archbishop of Canterbury: of these, Ralph
bishop of Chichester was the king’s chancellor, and in many dangers
afterwards he was found faithful and conspicuous in the king’s
business, and was a firm pillar of fidelity and truth. About this
time there was one Faulkes de Breaute, a native of Normandy, a
bastard by his mother’s side, who had lately come on a scurvy horse,
with a pad on his back, to enter the king’s service, and had
fortified Bedford castle, although on the land of another, when John
had given it to him in the time of the war. This man trusting in his
castle, his money, and some friends he had amongst the king’s
courtiers, all of which turned out to be no better than a reed to
support him, began to seize on the lands and property of his free men
and neighbours; above all he dispossessed, without judgement,
thirty-two free men in the manor of Luyton of their tenements, and
appropriated some common pastures to his own use. When a complaint on
the matter was laid before the king, the latter appointed Henry de
Braibroc and some other justiciaries, to take recognizance of the
disseizing of the complainants; and when after hearing the case and
the aforesaid premises which had been taken from them, were restored
to them by the decree of the judges, the said Faulkes was condemned
in a fine for damages and loss. Faulkes, annoyed at this and carried
beyond himself, in violation of the peace of the kingdom, seized by
force on Henry de Braibroc and imprisoned him in his castle of
Bedford. On hearing this, the king, who was at Northampton holding a
council about giving assistance to Poictou, changed his intentions at
this circumstance, and turning off to the castle of Bedford, where
the said Henry was confined, laid siege to it; for three successive
days he sent summonses to the knights in the castle to surrender it,
and S. archbishop of Canterbury, with the bishops, abbots, and other
prelates, who were present excommunicated Faulkes and those who were
united with them, and declared them to be outlaws. The royal troops
fiercely assailed the castle by engines and by assault, and some of
the king’s knights fell by the arrows of the besieged cross-bow men,
amongst others a distinguished knight named Giffard fell pierced by
an arrow. After they had continued the siege for about nine weeks the
castle was at length taken, and all the followers of Faulkes found
there with their commander Mantel de Breaute, Faulkes’s brother, were
made prisoners, besides several English and Norman nobles, who were
all condemned to be hung, as had been fully declared to them.
Count Baldwin the emperor returns into Flanders.
"After
a long imprisonment of some years and a repentant pilgrimage, Baldwin
count of Flanders and emperor of Constantinople, returned into
Flanders, and, on being recognized by a great many people who
formerly knew him, although he was much altered, he received homage
and fealty from many of the cities and towns of Flanders. His
daughter, however, hating him, excited the king against him,
declaring that he was not her father, and the person he made himself
out to be, and caused him to be hung ignominiously, for when he was
hung she caused two old dogs to be hung one on each side of him.
Many, to whom he made confession, assert that he deserved this fate
for his sins, for he and his imprisoned followers, who had been taken
in battle with him, escaped from their prison by the assistance of a
certain noble lady, on condition that she should be baptized as soon
as the liberated prisoners arrived in a Christian country; but
Baldwin on arriving with his companions and the lady herself, amongst
the Christians, caused her, whom he had promised to marry, to make a
Christian, and to instruct in Christian customs, to be secretly slain
before the font of regeneration, for which, whenever he reflected in
himself, he did penance so as scarcely to be known by his followers,
for the pope enjoined such severe penance on him, because he had
slain the lady before she was baptized. All who gave their consent to
this wicked crime perished by a shameful death; one of them on
reaching his wife, and being recognized by her, was by her orders
thrown into a well, because she had taken another husband, and had
children by him; and so also the rest perished, each as it happened,
through the anger of God, who does not choose evil to be returned for
good. Nor did their chief escape punishment, for he did not continue
his repentance, did not persevere in his humility and contrition, nor
give forth fruit worthy of repentance.”
1225 A.D.
The fifteenth portion of all moveables is granted to the king.
A.D. 1225. At Christmas king Henry held his court at Westminster, at which
were present the clergy and people and the nobles of the district.
After the feast had been kept with due solemnity, Hubert de Burgh the
king’s justiciary, on the said king’s behalf, set forth in the
presence of the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, and all the
rest, the losses and injuries which the king had suffered in the
transmarine provinces; by which, not only the king, but also many
earls and barons besides him had been deprived of their inheritances
; and since many were concerned in the business, the assistance of
many would be necessary. He therefore asked the advice and assistance
of all as to the means by which the English crown could regain its
lost dignities and old rights; in order to effect this properly, he
believed that it would be sufficient if the fifteenth part of all
moveable property throughout England were to be granted to the king,
alike from clergy and laity. This proposal having been made, the
archbishop and all the assembly of bishops, earls, barons abbots, and
priors, after some deliberation, gave for their answer, that they
would willingly accede to the king’s demands, if he would grant them
their long-sought liberties. The king therefore was induced by
covetousness to grant their request, and charters having been drawn
up under the king’s seal, one was sent to each of the counties of
England, and to those counties which were situated in a forest, two
charters were sent, namely, one of the common liberties, and the
other of the liberties of the forest; the contents of these charters
have been before written, in the history of king John’s reign, and
the charters of the two kings do not differ in any point. Then a day
was determined on in the Easter month for twelve knights and liege
men to be chosen from each county of the kingdom, who should on their
oath distinguish the new from the old forests, in order that all
those which should be discovered to have been afforested since the
coronation of the present king’s grandfather Henry, should be
immediately deforested; and thus the council broke up, and the
charters were sent each to their proper county, where, by the king’s
command, they were ordered under oath in writing to be observed by
all.
How
the English king sent his brother Richard into Gascony.
In
the same year, on the day of the purification of St. Mary, Richard
the king of England’s brother, was made a belted knight, and ten
others with him, who were appointed to attend him. In the spring
following, on Palm Sunday, the said Richard was sent by the king into
Gascony, accompanied by William earl of Salisbury, Philip de Albeney,
and forty knights, and after a prosperous voyage they all arrived
safely at the city of Bordeaux; and on their arrival being made known
to the archbishop and citizens, they were received with honours by
all. Richard then, having called the citizens together in presence of
the archbishop and the king’s messengers, showed them his brother’s
letters, in which he humbly begged that all his faithful subjects in
those districts would receive his brother amicably, and would give
him advice and assistance, by which he would be able to recover his
lost territories; all parties therefore received him on friendly
terms, and made their submission to the king of England through him.
A number of knights and soldiers then came to him from those
provinces, and remained in his service on receiving sufficient pay
from him; for the king, before he sent him into the transmarine
provinces, had given him the county of Cornwall, with the whole of
Poictou, for which reason he was called count of Poictou. Count
Richard then with his uncle William, earl of Salisbury, and Philip de
Albeney, attended by a large body of knights, marched through the
towns and amongst the castles of that district, and wherever they
found any opposers who would not do homage and give their allegiance
to the king, they besieged their castles and towns and reduced them
to subjection by force of arms; he after a long siege took the castle
of Rieux, together with the town, obtained possession of the city and
castle of St. Macaire, and besieged the castle of Bergerac, and
brought the lord of it back to his allegiance to the king. But whilst
he was besieging the castle of Rieux, and continually making assaults
on it, Louis the French king sent orders to the count of Marche and
other nobles of Poictou to march to the aforesaid castle, raise the
siege, and bring count Richard a prisoner before him. The count de la
Marche then, being joined by some barons and knights in arms, marched
with a strong force to raise the siege of the above castle; count
Richard however with his friends, being informed by their scouts of
the approach of the enemy, laid an ambuscade for them, and leaving
part of his army to carry on the siege, he, with a tried body of
troops, proceeded to a wood which was near, and there awaited their
arrival, and when the latter were passing the ambuscade, count
Richard and his followers rushed on them amidst the sound of
trumpets, brandishing their lances; a severe conflict then took place
between the two parties, but the enemy were at length put to flight,
on which count Richard hotly pursued them, and after slaying numbers
of the fugitives, captured their carts, baggage horses, silver
vessels, and other spoil, and thus he in a short time reduced the
whole of Gascony to subjection. In this same year John bishop of Ely
died, and was succeeded by Geoffrey de Burgh, archdeacon of Norwich.
Of the banishment of the traitor Falcasius.
About this time, namely in the month of March, the king of England
and his nobles assembled in council at Westminster, at which the king ordered
them to come to a final determination as to what was to be done with
the traitor Falcasius. The nobles agreed with the king, that as he
had for many years faithfully served his father, he should not be
deprived of life or limb, but all unanimously agreed in condemning
him to be for ever banished from England; the king then ordered
William earl Warrenne to conduct him in safety to the coast, and
having placed him on board a ship, to send him at once to sea. When
they arrived at the coast and Falcasius was embarking on board ship,
he begged of the earl with tears to carry his greeting to his lord
the king, and declared on his oath, that the disturbances which he
had caused in England, he had excited at the instigation of the
nobles of the kingdom. He then set sail with only five retainers for
Normandy, and immediately on his arrival there he was made prisoner
by the French king’s agents, and taken before Louis; but as he bore
the sign of the cross, they set him free, and he went to Rome, where,
in company with Robert Paslew his clerk, he appeared before the pope,
as will be related in its proper place.
Of the inspection of the forests, as to which ought to be exempt
from forest laws.
In the same year, [1225] about the month of Easter, Hugh de Neville and
Brian de L’isle, with other appointed persons, were sent throughout
England for the purpose of choosing, in each of the forest districts,
twelve knights or free and liege men, to perambulate the bounds of
the forests, and to determine, on their oath, what forests ought to
remain in their present state, and which ought to be deforested. The
king’s commands being very soon fulfilled, not, however, without
great opposition from many, each and all put these liberties in
practice, selling the produce of their own woods, making essarts,
hunting game, and ploughing the land which was before uncultivated,
so that all did as they chose in the deforested woods; and not only
men, but dogs also, who used formerly to be footed, enjoyed these
liberties. In short, the nobles, knights, and free tenants took
advantage of these liberties, so that not one iota contained in the
king’s charter was omitted.
Of
the collection of the fifteenth part of property for the king’s use.
About
this same time a moiety of the fifteenth part of all moveable
property was collected for the king’s use, a respite being granted
for the payment of the other portion till Michaelmas. In this year
too, Hugh Bigod earl of the East Anglians, paid the debt of nature,
and the king consigned all his possessions and dignities to the
charge of the justiciary.
Of
the concubines of priests.
In
the same year, a warrant was issued by the archbishop of Canterbury
and his suffragan bishops, to the following effect. The concubines of
priests and clerks, who are in holy orders and endowed with
benefices, shall not receive church burial, unless they truly reform
their lives, or show such repentance in their last days as will
entitle them to a dispensation. Moreover, they shall not be admitted
to the kiss of peace, nor shall they partake of the consecrated bread
in the church, as long as their paramours keep them in their houses,
or openly elsewhere. Also, if they bring forth children, they shall
not be purified, unless they shall previously give to the archdeacon
or his official, sufficient security that they will make proper
reparation at the next chapter after their purification. Moreover,
all priests in whose parishes the concubines of such persons dwell,
unless they give notice of it to the archdeacon or his official,
shall be suspended; and before they are absolved, they shall be
subjected to severe penance. Also, any woman who shall be convicted
of having been carnally acquainted with a priest, shall do public and
solemn penance, as though she were convicted of adultery, even though
she may have been absolved; but if a betrothed woman be convicted of
an offence of this kind, she shall be punished as if for twofold
adultery, lest impunity for such an offence shall lead others to
commit that fault.
How
the earl of Salisbury was preserved from shipwreck.
About
this same time, the earl of Salisbury, who had been fighting with
count Richard in the transmarine provinces, embarked to return to
England; but being exposed to great danger at sea, and being driven
in different directions by the violence of the winds for several days
and nights, in common with his sailors and all the rest of those on
board his ship, gave up all hopes of safety, and therefore, committed
to the waves his costly rings, and all his property in silver, gold,
and rich garments, which he had on board, in order that as he had
entered naked into mortal life, so he might pass to the regions of
eternity deprived of all earthly honours. At length, when they were
in the last state of despair, a large and brightly shining light* was
seen at the top of the mast by all on board the ship, and they also
saw standing near the light a female of great beauty, who kept the
light of the taper, which illumined the darkness of the night, alive,
notwithstanding the force of the winds and rain which beat upon it;
from this vision of heavenly brightness, the count himself, as well
as the sailors, conceived hopes of safety, and felt confident that
divine help was at hand. And though all the rest of the people in the
vessel were ignorant what this vision portended, the aforesaid earl
William alone assigned the honour of this mercy to the blessed virgin
Mary; for the aforesaid earl, on the day when he was first made a
belted knight, had assigned a wax taper to be kept constantly burning
before the altar of the blessed mother of God, during the mass which
was usually chanted every day at the hour of prayer, in honour of the
said virgin, and that he might receive an eternal in exchange for a
temporal light.
*
Sailors often see lights at the mast-head just after a storm, but the
Virgin Mary no longer interferes on such occasions.
How
the said earl escaped the snares of his enemies.
When
the next morning broke, the earl and his companions were driven by
the force of the storm towards the isle of Rhé, about three
miles from Rochelle, and, having got into their small boats, made
their way to the island. In that island was a convent of the
Cistercian order, to which the earl sent messengers, asking leave to
hide himself from his enemies, till a more favourable breeze should
arise; the abbot of the place willingly granted this, and received
him and his fellow voyagers with all honour. This island was then in
the charge of Savaric de Mauleon, who was then fighting under Louis,
the French king, and was watching several of the islands, with a
large body of soldiers: two followers of his who knew the earl well,
and who had been appointed with several others to guard this island,
went in a friendly manner to the earl, after he had lain hid there
for three days, and told him that, unless he left the island before
daylight of the following day, he would be taken prisoner by their
companions, who with them were watching the islands and seas round.
The earl then made the two soldiers a present of twenty pounds of
sterling money, and at once embarked, and put to sea, where he was
tossed about on the waves for three months before he landed in
England.
How
Master Otho came to England on the business of his holiness the pope.
In
the same year, Master Otho, a legate of the pope, arrived in England,
and presented letters to the king on urgent business connected with
the Roman church; but the king, on learning the purport of the
letters, replied that he could not and ought not of himself to give a
definite answer on a matter which concerned all the clergy and laity
of the kingdom in general. Therefore, by the advice of Stephen
archbishop of Canterbury, a day was appointed by the king, in the
octaves of the Epiphany, for all the clergy and laity to assemble at
Westminster, then to discuss the aforesaid matter, that whatever
seemed right to all might be determined on.
How the said Otho endeavoured to make peace between Falcasius and the
king.
Shortly afterwards, Master Otho, on behalf of the pope, humbly begged the
king of England to become reconciled to Faulkes, and to restore to
him his wife and all the possessions which he had lost, and to
receive him again on terms of friendship, as he had so faithfully
served his father and himself in time of war. To this the king
replied, that, for his open treachery he had, by the decision of his
court and with the consent of all the clergy and people of the
kingdom, been banished from England, and although the care of the
kingdom belonged especially to him, yet he ought to observe the laws
and established customs of the kingdom; and when Otho heard this, he
ceased to ask anything further of the king on behalf of Faulkes. Otho
then took two marks of silver from all the conventual churches of
England, under the name of procuration-money. It should also be
known, that when Master Otho came to England, the pope sent
messengers throughout the world, making unjust exactions, as will be
hereafter told.
Of a certain girl who gave up the world and retired to the order of the
Minorites.
About this time there was a certain girl of noble extraction in the
province of Burgundy, whom her parents had appointed heiress to large
possessions, and wished to give in marriage to a man of illustrious
descent; but the girl, who from her early years had been imbued with
a liberal education, had in the secret purity of her heart dedicated
her virginity to God. She therefore left her parents’ abode disguised
in the habit of a pilgrim, the more easily to escape their sight, and
betook herself to a convent of some brothers of the order of
Minorites; there, at her own request, she in accordance with the
rigorous rules of that order, laid aside her shoes, clothed herself
in sackcloth, and contemptuously cut off her luxuriant hair, thus
endeavouring, by all the means in her power, to transform her natural
beauty of person into every kind of deformity. After she had
attempted to do this but ineffectually, since she could not, against
the will of God, deform the beautiful arrangement of her body, which
was incomparable in all its proportions, she made it her only
endeavour to consecrate to the eternal Spouse, who is in heaven, that
purity of flesh which was internal; and, the more easily to carry
this purpose into effect, she of her own will chose a life of
poverty, took on herself the office of holy preaching, clothed
herself in rough garments, had a mat on a pallet to lie upon and a
stone for a pillow, and punishing the flesh by continual watchings
and fastings, she in urgent prayer employed herself in the
contemplation of heavenly things. At length when she had for many
years, in all perfection and sanctity of life, studied to please God
and to preach the gospel of peace through cities and castles, and
especially to the female sex, the enemy of the human race became
envious of her perfection, and for seven months surrounded her with
so many and great temptations, that, unless she had been supported by
divine assistance, she would have lost all the virtuous aspirations
of her former life; for day and night the devil brought back to her
mind the abundant possessions of her parents which she had left, the
produce of the fruitful vineyards, the pleasant meadows adorned with
various kinds of flowers, the delightful sound of the gushing
fountains and pleasantly murmuring rivulets, the lofty trees of the
forests, fertility in offspring, the embraces of a husband and the
enjoyments of love, the soft beds of the rich, the mirth of jesters,
the splendour of rings and jewels, and the sweet taste of fish,
poultry, and venison. Amidst these and other similar temptations the
girl was almost in despair and frequently indulged in divers
reflections, as to whether she should return to what she had left, or
persevere in the pursuit of religion, and in this state of torture
both of body and mind she passed days and nights; but the merciful
God, who does not permit those that trust in him to be tempted beyond
endurance, restored to the girl the eye of reason, that she might
discover how great and how full of care are all temporal things and
the pleasures above-mentioned, what disgrace in carnal intercourse,
with how much toil temporal wealth is gained and with what sorrow it
is lost, of how much importance virgin purity is with God, who wished
his own mother to be productive and yet to remain in virginity, the
reward which follows good works, the pleasure there is in holy and
divine contemplation, the union of the inhabitants of heaven, how
sweet and delectable is the enjoyment of holy spirits to reign with
Christ, where cold affects not, where hunger and thirst afflict no
one, and where none are oppressed by anger, quarrels, vain glory,
envy, pride, animosity, avarice, covetousness, or drunkenness. This
blessed virgin often entertained these and the like thoughts, and
amidst all this whirl of temptation she still preserved her former
virtues, and, being armed with the weapons of God, she happily
defeated all the deceitful wiles of the devil and sent him in
confusion to hell.
How this girl was released by a devil from a ravisher.
After a few days, when this girl had been altogether freed from these
attacks of the devil, he returned to her and, saluting her, said,
“Save you mistress of mine, and virgin well beloved of the God
of heaven; I am that Satan, who have for seven months lately led you,
although to no purpose, into so many temptations, in order to recall
you from your intentions and to ensnare you in those toils; but since
I have been overcome by you and failed in my deceitful arts, a
punishment has been imposed on me by the Lord of heaven, which is,
that I shall never henceforth be allowed to tempt any race of beings
or to hinder any one from good works. Moreover I am commanded by the
Lord, whom I must obey, at once to perform whatever you order me, and
also to undergo any punishment you may impose on me .” The girl
on hearing this, said to the devil, “May God preserve me from
any intercourse with you and from any attendance of yours, for He
knows that I never liked such a servant.” Soon after this, the
said girl, happening to go to a certain city to obtain a lodging,
entered the house of a woman and procured a lodging with her. In the
evening a young man, the son of the aforesaid woman, returned from
his accustomed business, and when he saw the young woman to whom his
mother had given a lodging out of charity, he began to admire the
natural disposition of all the girl’s limbs, which were covered by
such humble clothing, though she was pale and thin; for in her the
work of nature was so perfect, that from the soles of her feet to the
top of her head there was no defect, but by the disposition of her
whole body she plainly showed the nobility of her race. The young man
was fired with desire for the virgin, and approached her asking her
to grant his wish. She in reply firmly refused the young man’s
request, and declared that she had from her youth consecrated her
virginity to the Lord; and she moreover declared, that as chastity
was imposed on her by the vow of religion and of her order, it would
be wicked to break that vow; and with these words she went away to
take her nightly repose in a corner of the house where, according to
the strict rules of the order, she placed a mat under her for a bed
and a stone under her head for a pillow. The young man, inflamed with
lust, determined in his heart that if he could not obtain the girl’s
voluntary consent he would effect his purpose by force, he therefore
went to her and told her his determination. The religious woman then
was in great agony of mind lest her virgin purity should be destroyed
by the youth’s burning desire, but calling to mind what the devil had
told her, namely, that he would immediately fulfil any wish of hers,
she raised her voice and said, “Demon, where art thou?”
The devil immediately replied, “Mistress, here am I. What is
your will?” The girl then said, “Free me from this
villain who disturbs me, and does not permit me to sleep .” The
demon immediately took the young man forcibly by the feet and threw
him to a distance from the young woman; three times during that night
was she freed by the devil from the violence of the young man, and in
the morning she left the city a virgin as she entered it. What became
of the girl in the end is unknown to me, therefore what I have
related must content those who love piety and chastity.
Of a certain recluse who took no food for seven years.
In the same year [1225] there died in the city of Leicester a certain
recluse, who for seven years before her death had taken no food of
any kind, except when on Sundays she partook of the communion of the
body and blood of our Lord; and when this miracle reached the ears of
Hugh bishop of Lincoln, he put no faith in the truth of the story,
but disbelieved it entirely; he however ordered the said recluse to
be closely confined and watched by his priests and clerks for fifteen
days, when it was proved that during the whole of that time she
partook of no bodily nourishment. Her complexion was always white as
a lily and tinged with a rosy red colour, as an indication of modesty
and virgin purity.
How the countess of Salisbury refused to marry.
About this time news was brought to the king of England that William earl
of Salisbury, his uncle, had been drowned when on his return from the
transmarine provinces, and whilst he was indulging in grief at the
event, Hubert justiciary of the kingdom came to him, and asked him to
give the wife of the said earl William in marriage to his nephew
Raymond, to whom the honour of that earldom belonged by hereditary
right. The king having granted his request on condition that he could
bring the countess herself to consent to the match, the justiciary
immediately sent the aforesaid Raymond in his knightly apparel to the
countess, to endeavour to gain the affections of that lady. But when
the said Raymond by soft speeches and great promises endeavoured to
gain her consent, she with great anger replied, that she had lately
received letters informing her that her husband was safe and well;
she also added that if her husband had indeed been dead, she would
not on any account accept of him as a husband, because the nobility
of her family prevented such a marriage. "Seek elsewhere ,”
said she, "for a wife, because you will find by experience that
you have come here to no purpose .” Raymond on receiving this
reply went away in confusion.
1226 A.D.
How his holiness the pope demanded prebends for his own use.
A.D. 1226. King Henry kept Christmas at Winchester in the company of some
bishops and several nobles. After this festival had been duly
observed, he went to Marlborough, where he was seized with illness
and lay for many days in a hopeless state. In the meantime the period
fixed on for holding the council at Westminster at the feast of St.
Hilary was now come, at which the king, the clergy, and nobles of the
kingdom were bound to appear to hear the pope’s message. Many bishops
therefore, with others of the clergy and laity, assembled at the
above place, and master Otho the messenger of our lord the pope, of
whom mention has been before made, read the pope’s letters in the
hearing of them all. In these letters the pope set forth a great
scandal and old abuse of the holy church of Rome, namely, an
accusation of avarice, which is said to be the root of all evil, and
especially because no one could manage any business at the court of
Rome, without a lavish expenditure of money and large presents. "But
since the poverty of the Roman church is the cause of this offence
and evil name, it is the duty of all to alleviate the wants of their
mother and father as natural sons: because unless we received
presents from you and other good and honourable men, we should be in
want of the necessaries of life, which would be altogether
inconsistent with the dignity of the Roman church. In order therefore
utterly to destroy this abuse, we, by the advice of our brethren the
cardinals of the holy Roman church, have provided certain terms, to
which if you will agree, you may free your mother from insult, and
obtain justice at the court of Rome without the necessity of making
presents. Our provided terms are these: in the first place we require
two prebends to be granted to us from all cathedral churches, one
from the portion of the bishop and another from the chapter; and from
monasteries in the same way where there are different portions for
the abbot and the convent; and from convents the share of one monk,
on an equal distribution being made of their property, and the same
from the abbot .” After making these proposals, Master Otho, on
behalf of our lord the pope advised the prelates to consent, setting
forth the above-mentioned advantages contained in the letters. The
bishops and prelates of the church who were present in person, then
moved apart to consult on the matter, and after having deliberated on
the proposals for some time, they deputed John archdeacon of Bedford
to give their answer, who went before Master Otho, and gave the
following reply to his demands : “My lord, the things which you
set forth to us refer to the king in particular, and to all the
patrons of the church in general; they refer to the archbishops and
their suffragans, and to numbers of the prelates of England. Since,
therefore, the king on account of illness, and some of the
archbishops and bishops and other prelates of the church are absent,
we cannot, and ought not in their absence, give you an answer; for if
we were to presume so to do, it would be to the injury of all who are
absent .” After this, John Marshal and other messengers of the
king were sent to all the prelates who held baronies in chief of the
king, strictly forbidding them to engage their lay fee to the church
of Rome, by which he would be deprived of the service which was due
to himself. Master Otho, on hearing this, appointed a day in the
middle of Lent for those who were then present to meet, when he would
procure the presence of the king and the absent prelates, that the
affair might then be brought to a conclusion; they, however, would
not agree to the before-mentioned day, without the consent of the
king and the others who were absent, and in this way all returned
home.
Of the glorious death of William earl of Salisbury.
The king of England, in the meantime, had entirely recovered from his
illness at Marlborough, and at that place there came to him William
earl of Salisbury, who, after being long exposed to the dangers of
the sea, had with much difficulty landed in Cornwall at Christmas. He
was received with great joy by the king, and at once laid before him
a serious complaint against the justiciary, namely, that while he had
been in foreign parts on the king’s business, he, the justiciary, had
sent some man of low birth, who endeavoured to form a criminal
connection with his wife during his life-time, and to contract an
adulterous marriage with her by force; he also added, that unless
the king would make the justiciary give him full satisfaction, he
would himself take revenge for this great offence, to the serious
disturbance of the peace of the kingdom. The justiciary then, being
present, confessed his fault, and made peace with the earl by
presents of expensive horses and other large gifts; and having thus
made friends with the earl, the justiciary invited him to his table,
where, it is said, he was secretly poisoned, for he went to his
castle at Salisbury, and took to his bed, seriously indisposed. The
disease gaining power, and as he felt certain symptoms of death, he
sent for the bishop of the city to come to him, that he might receive
the rites pertaining to the confession and the viaticum of a
Christian, and also make a legal statement as to his property. When
the bishop entered the room where the earl lay, with no other
clothing than his trousers, the latter leaped from his bed in front
of the bishop, who was carrying the body of our Lord, and fastening a
rough cord round his neck, he threw himself on the floor, and with
incessant lamentation confessed himself a traitor to the supreme
king, and would not allow himself to be raised till he had made
confession and partaken of the communion of the life-giving
sacrament, to prove himself a servant of his Creator; and thus he
continued in the greatest state of repentance for some days, until he
resigned his spirit to his Redeemer. When his body was being carried
from the castle to the new church, about a mile distant, to be
buried, the tapers, which, according to custom, were carried, lighted
with the cross and censors, continued, notwithstanding showers of
rain and the violence of the wind, to shed a light during the whole
journey, thereby plainly showing that the earl being thus sincerely
penitent, belonged to the number of the sons of light.*
* His epitaph is thus given by Paris:—
“Flos comitum, Willelmus obit,
stirps regia, longua
Ensis vaginam caepit babere brevem.”
“When William, flower of earls, resigned
His princely breath,
His long sword was content to find
A shorter sheath.”
How Master Otho endeavoured to reconcile the king to Faulkes.
About this same time, Master Otho the pope’s messenger came to the
king of England, requesting him on behalf of his holiness to receive Faulkes
into favour, and to restore to him his wife, lands, and possessions,
and all other property which had been taken from him; but the king
replied, that Faulkes had, for open treachery, been condemned to
perpetual banishment by all the clergy and people, which sentence he
could not invalidate without acting in opposition to the
old-established customs of the kingdom. Master Otho, on receiving
this reply, desisted from making further requests in the matter. He
then sent his letters to all the cathedral and conventual churches
throughout England, demanding of them the procuration-money due to
the messengers of the Roman church, and limited the amount of each
procuration to forty shillings.
Of the council at Bourges, at which Romanus the legate to the
French presided.
About this same time Master Romanus was sent by our lord the pope
into France, to discharge the functions of legate there; on his arrival,
he summoned the French king, the archbishops, bishops, and the Gallic
clergy, together with the count of Toulouse, to attend at a council,
for which purpose he had been sent to that country, as the following
narrative will show. The council therefore assembled at Bourges, at
which were present the archbishops of Lyons, Rheims, Rouen, Tours,
Bourges, and Auxienne; the archbishop of Bordeaux was at Rome, and
the church of Narbonne was without one. About a hundred suffragans
from the nine provinces assembled, together with abbots and priors,
and proxies from each of the chapters, to hear the pope’s message;
but as the archbishop of Lyons claimed supremacy over the archbishop
of Sens, and the archbishop of Rouen over those of Bourges, Auxienne,
and Narbonne, and their suffragans, fears were entertained of
disagreement, therefore they did not sit as it were in council, but
only as if in consultation. When they were all seated, and the pope’s
letters had been read, there came before them the count of Toulouse
on the one part, and Simon de Montfort on the other, the latter of
whom demanded the surrender to him of the lands of Raymond count of
Toulouse, which lands the pope and Philip the French king had
conferred on him and his father, and he produced the writings both of
the pope and Philip concerning the said gift; he, moreover, added
that count Raymond had been adjudicated at the general council at
Rome, on account of heresy, at least of the greater part of the land
which he now possesses. Count Raymond in reply set forth that he
would do whatever he ought towards the French king and the Roman
church to retain his inheritance. The adverse party then asked him to
abide by the judgement of twelve peers of France, to which Raymond
replied, “Let the king receive my homage, and then I shall be
ready to undergo the trial, otherwise they will not perhaps recognise
me for a peer.” After much altercation on both sides, the
legate ordered the archbishops and bishops then present, each of them
to convoke his suffragans to a separate place, to deliberate on the
aforesaid matter, and to deliver to him the result of their
deliberations in writing; he then excommunicated all who should
disclose plans on this matter, saying that he wished to explain to
the pope, and to tell them to the French king himself.
How the legate deceitfully gave the proxies permission to depart.
After this council, the legate deceitfully gave leave to the proxies of the
chapters to return home, but detained the archbishops, bishops,
abbots, and common prelates; for this reason the latter were afraid,
and not without cause, that, in the absence of those of greater skill
and experience, and on account of their numbers, more able to oppose
the legate, some determination would be come to detrimentary to the
absent prelates. The said proxies, therefore, after long
deliberation, sent proxies from the metropolitan churches to the
legate, who thus stated their business to him : "My lord, we
have heard that you hold letters from the court of Rome concerning
the maintenance of prebends in all churches conventual as well as
cathedral; wherefore, we are much astonished that you did not at the
late consultation make them public in the hearing of us whom they
especially concern. We, therefore, beseech you in the name of the
Lord not to let that scandal arise in the French church by your
means, inasmuch as we know that such a plan could not be carried into
effect without great offence and inconceivable harm; because,
supposing any one person should agree to it, his assent would be of
no avail in a matter which concerns all of us, when almost all the
elders and the people in common, as well as the king himself and all
the nobles, are prepared to gainsay and oppose it, even to the danger
of their lives and the loss of all their dignities, especially as by
their offensive demand the ruin of the kingdom and the church in
general would be imminent. The reason for our fear is, that you have
not discussed this matter with other kingdoms, and have ordered some
bishops and abbots, whenever the prebends are vacant, to reserve them
for the benefit of the pope.”
How the legate demanded two prebends of the prelates for the use of the
church of Rome.
On receipt of the above message, the legate, who was endeavouring to
induce all to agree to his demand, then for the first time showed the
pope’s warrant, in which he demanded two prebends from each of the
cathedral churches, one from the chapter and another from the bishop;
and in the same way in monasteries, where there were different
portions, namely that of the abbot and of the convent, he demanded
two prebends, one from the abbot and another from the convent; from
the convent he demanded the share of one monk, when an equal
distribution of property was made, as the legate himself interpreted
it, and the same also from the abbot. He then set forth the
advantages which would arise from it, namely, that it would remove
from the Roman church, which is the mother of all churches, the
charge of avarice which is the root of all evil, as no one would be
obliged to offer any presents for transacting business at the court
of Rome, and no one would receive presents when offered.
The objections of the proctors to the above demands.
The proxy of the archbishop of Lyons, in reply to this demand, said, “My
lord, we by no means wish to be without friends at your court, or to
fail in bestowing of presents .” The other proxies in like
manner set forth the disadvantages which they would labour under,
such as loss of property, advice, assistance, and other attentions,
in this way: "For there will be continually in each diocese, or
at least in a province, a messenger, a Roman agent, who will live not
on his own means, but will make heavy exactions and procurations from
the larger churches, and perhaps from the lesser ones, so that no one
will remain with impunity, and the person called a proctor will
discharge the duties of the legateship .” They also said that
disturbances in the chapters would ensue, for perhaps the pope would
if he chose, order his proctor or some other person to be present on
his behalf at the elections, who would disturb them; and thus, in
course of time, the election would devolve on the court of Rome,
which would appoint Romans, or those who were most devoted to them,
in all, or at least in most of the churches; and thus there would be
no party of native prelates or chiefs, inasmuch as there were many
ecclesiastics who would pay more regard to the court of Rome than to
the king or kingdom. They also added, that if a proportionate
distribution of property was to be made, all that court would become
rich, since they would receive more than the king himself; and thus
the elders would become not only rich, but the richest of men. And
since the worm of the rich is pride, the superiors would scarcely
listen to complaints, but would put them off without end, and their
inferiors would write them unwillingly; the proof of which is
evident, for even now they prolong business, after receiving presents
and taking security; and thus justice would be endangered, and
complainants would be obliged to die at the doors of their sovereign
masters, the Romans. Also, since it is hardly possible for the
fountain of avarice to be dried up, what they now do themselves they
would then do by means of others, and would procure much larger gifts
for their agents then than now, for small gifts are of no weight with
avaricious rich men. Moreover, great wealth would put the Roman
citizens beside themselves, and thus, such great seditions would
arise amongst the different cliencies, that fears would be
entertained for the destruction of the whole city, from which it is
not altogether free even now. They also said, that although they who
were present might pledge themselves to this, they would not bind
down their successors, nor would hold the obligation as ratified.
Lastly, they thus wound up the matter : "My lord, may the ardent
affection of the whole church and of the holy Roman see move you,
because, if this general oppression were to be carried into effect,
we should fear that a general secession would be imminent, which may
God avert .” The legate, on hearing this, as though he were
moved to good-will towards them, replied, that he had never agreed to
this demand when at the court of Rome, and that he had received the
letters after he had come to France, and that he was very sorry for
these things; he also added, that he understood all his orders in
this matter to be on the tacit understanding that the empire and
other kingdoms should consent to it; he also said that he would make
no further attempts in the matter till the prelates throughout the
other kingdom should give their consent, which he did not believe
could happen.
How master Otho returned unwillingly to Rome.
In Lent of the same year, Master Otho, the pope’s messenger, was on his
way to Northumberland to levy the aforesaid procuration-tax, and had
reached Northampton, at which place there were brought to him letters
from the pope, granted on the application of the archbishop of
Canterbury; these letters contained an order for the said Otho
immediately at sight of them to come to Rome, as his influence there
was entirely destroyed. After having glanced at these letters, he
dejectedly threw them into the fire, and at once changing his plans,
he left England in confusion, having ordered Stephen archbishop of
Canterbury, as was expressed in the letters of the pope, to convoke
the king and all the prelates of the kingdom, and to send to the pope
their answer on the matter for which he, the said Otho, had been sent
into England. When therefore he had turned his back on England,
Stephen archbishop of Canterbury summoned all concerned in the
business to a council at Westminster after Easter, and there he, in
the presence of the king and the prelates of England who had all
assembled at his summons, read the above-mentioned letters concerning
the gift of presents to the Roman church; after they had heard the
letters read and understood their purport, they all laughed amongst
themselves at the greediness of the Romans who did not understand the
moral—
“It is not wealth but virtue that will make a man content;
Nor needy is the man who’s poor, but who on gain is bent.”
The king then called the prelates and some of the nobles apart, and
they gave the following answer to the archbishop: “;These grants,
which the pope advises us to agree to, concern the whole Christian
community; and as we are situated in an extreme corner of the world,
we will see how other kingdoms act in regard to these demands, and
when we have their example our lord the pope shall find us more ready
in our acquiescence with his demands than others.” And with
these words all were allowed to depart.
Of the great movement made against the count of Toulouse.
About the same time a crusade was preached throughout the French
provinces in general by the Roman legate, that all who could carry arms,
should assume the cross against the count of Toulouse and his followers,
who were said to be infected with the foul stain of heresy. At his
preaching, a great number of prelates as well as laity assumed the
cross, being induced to do so more by fear of the French king or to
obtain favour with the legate, than by their zeal for justice; for it
seemed to many to be a sin to attack a true Christian, especially as
all were aware that, at the council lately held at Bourges, the said
count had with many entreaties begged of the legate to go to each one
of the cities in his territory to inquire into the articles of their
faith, and had declared that if he, the legate, should find the
inhabitants of any city to hold opinions contrary to the catholic
faith, he himself would exact full satisfaction from them; and if he
found any city in a state of disobedience, he would, as far as lay in
his power, compel that city and its inhabitants to make atonement;
and as for himself he offered, if he had sinned in any way, which he
did not remember to have done, to give full satisfaction to God and
the holy church, as a faithful Christian; and if the legate wished
it, he would undergo a trial of his faith. All these offers the
legate refused, nor could this catholic count find any favour with
him without abandoning and forswearing his inheritance for himself
and his heirs after him. The French king at the preaching of this
legate assumed the cross, but would not proceed in this expedition
unless he first obtained letters from the pope to the king of
England, forbidding him, under penalty of excommunication, to annoy
him the French king, or to make war against him concerning any
territory he at present held, whether justly or unjustly, as long as
he was engaged in the service of the pope and the church of Rome, in
exterminating the heretic Albigenses, and their abettor and
accomplice the count of Toulouse, but should aid him with assistance
and advice in forwarding the cause of the faith. After this the
French king and the legate appointed our Lord’s ascension-day for all
those who had assumed the cross to assemble, under penalty of
excommunication, at Lyons, equipped with horses and arms, to follow
them on the proposed expedition.
How the king of England altered his intention of crossing the sea.
The king of England in the meantime, who was ardently longing to invade
the transmarine provinces, assembled his counsellors and read to them
the letters of the pope which had been sent to him, and asked their
advice as to what he ought to do in such a prohibition. All the
prelates and nobles gave it as their opinion that the wished-for
expedition should be put off until they should see the result of this
difficult and expensive undertaking of the French king. The English
king was at that time very anxious about his brother Richard, who was
then in Gascony carrying on the war, and longed for him to return
home; but whilst the king was thus anxious about his brother and was
wishing to assist him, messengers from his said brother came to him
telling him that he was safe and well, and that every thing went on
favourably with him. Amongst the king’s counsellors at that time was
one master William, surnamed Pierepunt, an astronomer, who boldly
declared before the king that if the French king attempted to fulfil
the expedition he had entered upon, he either would not return alive,
or would suffer great loss of his property and of his followers. The
king was overjoyed at hearing this, and agreed to the plan of his
counsellors.
Of the death of Richard bishop of Durham.
In the same year [1226] Richard de Marisco, bishop of Durham, when
hastening with a great number of noisy lawyers to be at London on the
appointed day to carry on the disgraceful cause against the monks,
lodged in the convent at Peterborough, where, after a rich repast, he
retired at night to his couch; and early in the morning, just as the
sun was rising, his clerks entered his room for the purpose of waking
him, when they found him dead; they were all in the greatest
consternation and kept his death a secret till the evening of that
day, because he had died without confession and the viaticum; they
then told the dreadful event to the prior and monks of the convent,
and then hastily constructed a litter and carried his body away to
the church at Durham for burial. This prelate died on the first day
of May, after holding his bishopric about nine years.*
* Paris inserts his epitaph as written by a monk of Durham :—
“Culmina
qui cupitis laudes pompasque sititis
Est sedata sitis si me pensare velitis
Qui populos regitis memores super omnia sitis
Quod mors immitis non parcit honore potitis
Vobis praepositis similis fueram bene scitis
Quod sum vos eritis ad me currendo venitis”
A circumstance connected with him we think ought not to be passed over
in silence, which was, that about two years before his death, the
late king John appeared one night in a vision to a certain monk of
St. Alban’s, who was then staying at Tynemouth; this monk was a
familiar of the kings Richard and John, and in performing their
business had been sent sometimes to Rome, sometimes to Scotland, and
to a great many other places, and by his ready services had gained
the favour of the said kings. Whilst this monk then was sleeping on
his pallet, the before-named king stood before him in his royal robes
of the cloth called imperial; the monk at once recognized him, and,
recollecting that he was dead, asked him how he was. The king
replied, “No one can be worse than I am, for these robes of
mine, which you see are so burning and heavy that no living being
could touch them on account of their heat or wear them on account of
their weight without being killed; but I nevertheless hope, by the
clemency and unspeakable grace of God, at some time to obtain mercy.
I therefore earnestly beg of your brotherhood, to tell Richard Marsh,
now bishop of Durham, that unless, before his death, he alters his
wicked life, and amends it by proper repentance and atonement, a
place is prepared for him in hell; and if he refuses to put faith in
your words and my message, let him lay aside all doubt by these
tokens, namely, that when we were alone together in a place well
known to him, he proposed to me a plan, prejudicial alike to me and
to himself, which was, that I should take from the Cistercian monks
their crop of wool for a year, and that he proposed to me many other
wicked designs, for which I now suffer unspeakable torments, which
also await him. And if he should still hesitate to believe my
message, let him recollect that at the same place and the same time
he gave me a precious stone, which he had purchased at great expense
.” With these words the king disappeared, and the monk awoke in
astonishment.
On the death of Richard bishop of Durham, the prior and monks of the
convent asked leave of the king to elect a pastor, on which he
proposed to them his chaplain Luke, and begged them to receive him as
their pastor. The monks however replied that they would receive no
one unless canonically elected; on which refusal the king declared
with an oath that they should remain without a bishop for seven
years, unless they would admit the aforesaid Luke to the pontifical
dignity. The monks however, not thinking him a person worthy of such
a high station, by the common consent of the community, elected their
clerk William, archdeacon of Worcester, a learned and honourable man,
and presented him to the king; the latter however made some frivolous
objections and refused to receive him, on which the monks sent some
of their order to Rome, to obtain a confirmation of the election by
the authority of the supreme pontiff. The king, when he heard of
this, sent the bishop of Chester and the prior of Llantony to Rome,
to oppose the monks and to frustrate their intentions; and as they
continued the dispute for a long time, the matter continued
undetermined.
Of the siege of Avignon by Louis the French king.
In the meantime our Lord’s ascension arrived, on which day all the
French crusaders had been ordered by the king and the legate to
assemble without fail. The king, having made all the necessary
preparations for the expedition at Lyons, proceeded on his journey
with, as it seemed, an invincible army, followed by the legate, the
archbishops, bishops, and other prelates of the churches; the army
was computed to consist of about fifty thousand knights and
horse-soldiers, besides foot-soldiers, who could hardly be counted.
The legate then publicly excommunicated the count of Toulouse and all
his abettors, and laid all his territory under an interdict. The
king, as we have said, set out with shields and standards glittering,
and his march was so awful that it looked like an army of castles in
motion, and at length entered the province of the count of Toulouse.
On the eve of Whit-Sunday they all reached Avignon, which was the
first city in the count’s dominion that they came to, and they
determined to commence their attacks there, and thus to subdue the
whole of the count’s territory with the inhabitants of it from
beginning to end. The king and the legate on their arrival there
deceitfully asked leave of the inhabitants to pass through the city,
saying that they had come thither with peaceable intentions, and
asked a passage through the city only to make a short cut in their
march. The citizens, however, after deliberating on this request, put
no faith in their assertions, and said that they wanted to get into
the city with treacherous intentions rather than to make a short cut.
The king then becoming enraged, swore that he would not leave the
spot till he had taken the city, and immediately ordered his engines
to be arranged round the place and a fierce assault to be made. A
severe attack was then commenced, and petrariae, cross-bows, and all
other kinds of military weapons were now put in constant use. On the
other hand the city, till that time unattempted by hostile troops,
was well defended by trenches, walls, turrets, and ramparts outside,
whilst within it was well garrisoned with knights and thousands of
soldiers, and well supplied with horses, arms, collections of stones
for missiles, engines and barriers, and was well stored with
provisions, and did not therefore fear the assaults of the besiegers;
for the defenders of the city bravely hurled on them stone for stone,
weapon for weapon, spear for spear, and dart for dart, inflicting
deadly wounds on the besieging French.
Of the mortality and famine amongst the besiegers.
After the siege had been carried on for a length of time, the provisions of
the besiegers failed them and numbers of the troops died; for the
count of Toulouse, like a skilful soldier, had, before the arrival of
the French, removed out of their way all kinds of provisions,
together with the old men, women, children, and the horses and
cattle, so that they were deprived of all kinds of sustenance. And it
was not only the men who suffered, but also the horses and cattle of
the army perished of hunger; for the count had caused all the fields
throughout the district to be ploughed up, so that there was no
supply of fodder for the cattle except what had been brought from the
French provinces; therefore large bodies of troops were obliged to
leave the camp to seek for provisions for the men and food for the
horses, and on these excursions they took many towns which opposed
them, and they often suffered great loss from attacks by the count of
Toulouse, who with his troops lay in ambuscade for them. At this
siege the French were exposed to death in many ways, from the
mortality which was raging dreadfully amongst their men and horses,
from the deadly weapons and destructive stones of the besieged who
bravely defended the city, and from the general famine which raged
principally amongst the poorer classes, who had neither food or
money. In addition to the other miseries, which assailed the army
without intermission, there arose from the corpses of the men and
horses, which were dying in all directions, a number of large black
flies, which made their way inside the tents, pavilions, and awnings,
and affected the provisions and liquor; and being unable to drive
them away from their cups and plates, they caused sudden death
amongst them. The king and the legate were in dismay, for if such a
great and powerful expedition were to return, with their purpose
unaccomplished, the French as well as the Romans would incur much
taunting. The chiefs of the army, then, to whom the delay seemed long
on account of such numbers of deaths, begged the inferior ranks as
well as their chiefs to attack the city; on this such a multitude of
troops marched against the city, that, in marching over a bridge
which was built over the Rhone, the bridge was broken, either by the
citizens, or by the weight of the troops who were fighting there, and
about three thousand men were precipitated into the rapid stream.
Then there arose a cry of exultation from the citizens, but dismay
and confusion pervaded the French army. After this the citizens,
watching their opportunity, sallied from the city one day in great
force when the French were sitting at table eating and drinking, and
rushing on them when unprepared for them, slew two thousand of the
French, and then returned into the city without loss to themselves,
and these sallies they continually made against them. The French king
was in dismay, and ordered the slain to be thrown into the Rhone, to
avoid the stench, for with such a number of dead bodies they had no
other burial place. They then made a wide deep trench between them
and the city, and the operations of the siege were carried on at a
greater distance from it. The legate and the whole assembly of
prelates during this time, having no other means of punishment,
excommunicated the count of Toulouse, the citizens, and all the
inhabitants of the province.
The death of Louis the French king.
At this time Louis king of the French, to escape the pestilence which
was committing great ravages in the camp, retired to a monastery
called Montpensier, near the besieged town, to await the capture of
the city; at that place Henry count of Champagne came to him, having
been employed forty days in the siege, and, according to the French
custom, asked leave to return home, and on the king’s refusing his
permission, he said that having served his forty days of duty he was
not bound to, nor would he, stay any longer. The king then, roused to
anger, declared with an oath, that if the count went away in this way
he would ravage his territory with fire and sword. The count then, as
report goes, being in love with his queen, caused some poison to be
administered to the king, and being urged on by the impulses of
desire he could not abide longer delay. After the departure of the
count, as he had said he would, the king was taken dangerously ill,
and, the poison working its way to his vitals, he was reduced to the
point of death; some however assert that he died not by poison but of
dysentery. On the death of the king, Roman the legate of the
apostolic see, who was present at the siege, and the prelates his
secret advisers, who were also there, concealed the death of the king
until the city should be surrendered; for if the siege were to be now
raised, a great reproach would be cast on them. The legate and the
prelates, therefore, who were at the siege, pretended that the king
was detained by severe illness, but said that in the opinion of his
physicians he would soon be convalescent, and then exhorted the
chiefs of the different battalions to attack the city with all their
power. They preserved the king’s body with large quantities of salt,
and, burying his entrails in the convent, they ordered his body to be
wrapped in waxed linen and bulls’ hides; it was then placed in safe
custody in the convent, and the legate and the prelates then returned
to the siege. However finding that they gained no advantage, but were
entirely failing owing to different misfortunes, the legate, by the
advice of the elders in the camp, sent a message into the city asking
them, on receipt of security, for safe conduct to and from the city,
to send twelve of the elders of the city to the legate as soon as
possible to make terms of peace.
How the city of Avignon was taken by the French by treachery.
After hostages had been given for their safety, twelve citizens came out to
a conference with the legate, when, after a long discussion about
peace, he earnestly advised the citizens to surrender themselves
saving their persons, their property and possessions, and all their
liberties, to the utmost extent that they had ever enjoyed them. To
this the messengers replied, that they would on no account surrender
themselves to live under the dominion of the French, whose pride and
fierce insolence they had often experienced. After much disputing on
both sides, the legate at length asked permission to go into the
city-with the prelates who were present, to put the faith of the
inhabitants to the test, declaring on oath that he had prolonged the
siege only to provide for the safety of their souls; he also added,
that the cry of infidelity, which had gained power in the city, had
reached the pope, and he therefore desired to know whether they
supported this cry by their actions. The citizens then, trusting to
the promises of the legate, and having no suspicions of treachery,
after an oath had been taken on both sides, on the above-named
condition, gave permission to the legate and the prelates to enter
the city without any others, and in company with them. But, as had
been pre-arranged, as soon as the gates were open, the French
treacherously, and in disgraceful disregard of the oath which had
been made by the legate, forced their way into the city and made
prisoners of the inhabitants, and having thus treacherously gained a
victory they destroyed the towers and walls of this noble place. The
legate then consigned the city to the charge of the French, and
raising the siege he ordered the body of the king to be carried to
Paris by the priests assembled, to be buried amongst his ancestors as
was the custom with kings. The king died, as they say, in the month
of September, but they concealed his death for a month or more. Of
those who went to the siege with the king, twenty-two thousand died
at the place, including those who were slain and drowned, as well as
those who died of the pestilence or by natural death, and thus left
great cause of tears and sorrow to their wives and children; hence it
seems clearly evident that an unjust war had been undertaken, of
which covetousness was the cause rather than the wish to exterminate
heresy.
Of the coronation of Louis king of the French, son of the late Louis.
On the death then of Louis the French king, his queen the lady Blanche,
summoned the archbishops, bishops, and other prelates of the
churches, as well as the nobles who owed allegiance to the crown, to
assemble at Paris on the thirtieth of November [1226] to crown Louis
the son of the late king. The principal party of nobles before the
appointed day asked, according to the French custom, for the release
of all prisoners, and especially Ferrand count of Flanders, and
Reginald count of Boulogne, who, for subverting the liberties of the
kingdom, had been now kept in close confinement for twelve years.
Some moreover demanded the restoration to them of their lands, which
Louis the father, and Philip the grandfather, of the young king, had
for a long time unjustly retained possession of. They also added that
no one in the French kingdom ought to be deprived of his rights
unless by a decision of twelve peers, and no one ought to be made war
on without a year’s previous notice; and as soon as all these
amendments had been made, they would not then delay coming to the
coronation. The queen, however, fearing that delay would cause
danger, by the advice of the legate, summoned the clergy of the
kingdom and the few nobles that she could muster, and on the day of
St. Andrew the apostle, caused her son, a boy scarcely ten years old,
to be crowned king. The duke of Burgundy however absented himself
from the coronation, as did also the count of Champagne, the count de
Bar, the count of St. Paul, and the count of Brittany, and, in short,
almost all the nobles who owed duty to the crown, and they made ready
for fighting more than for peace and good fellowship.*
Paris adds: “In
the meantime an unmentionable and sinister report was spread abroad
that the legate had behaved in an improper manner to the lady
Blanche; but it is wicked to believe this, because his rivals spread
this report, but a good disposition alway puts the best
interpretation on doubtful circumstances. On Sunday, the 4th of
October in this year, St. Francis took his flight to heaven at the
city of Assise where he was born, at St. Mary de Portiuncula, where
he himself founded the order of Minorites,
having passed twenty years, from the time when he became a perfect
follower of Christ, following the mode of life and the steps of the
apostles; and after having thus gained the glory of God, and
receiving the reward of his good works, he was buried in the said
city, and in the following year, namely 1227, his life, morals, and
rule, are more fully set forth.
The English king, on hearing of this disagreement amongst
the aforesaid nobles, sent Walter, archbishop of York, and the knight Philip
de Albeney to the transmarine provinces, together with other special
messengers, to the nobles of Normandy, Anjou, Brittany, and Poictou,
who were bound to be under allegiance to him, and demanded admission
amongst them; at the same time making large promises if they would
receive him in good faith.
Of the death of Falcasius, and the presage of that event.
In this same year Falcasius, who had been banished from England, when on
his return there, after arranging matters at the court of Rome,
closed his wicked life at St. Cyr. This iniquitous robber, Falcasius,
had, during his lifetime, cruelly pillaged the town of St. Alban’s,
slain some of the inhabitants, made prisoners of others, and had
extorted a large sum of money from the abbot as well as from the
town, to save the monastery, convent, and town "from being
burned by him; soon after this he happened to go to St. Alban’s
again, to have an interview with Pandulph bishop of Norwich; the
latter, on seeing him, in the hearing of the abbot himself and many
others, asked him if he had in any way offended St. Alban. On
Falcasius replying that he had not, the bishop added, “I asked
you the question, because one night lately, whilst sleeping on my
couch, I in a dream saw myself in the church of St. Alban’s, standing
before the great altar, and, on turning round after paying my
devotions, I saw you standing in the monk’s choir, and on looking
upwards I saw a large heavy stone fall from the tower on your head
with such force, that your head and your whole body were crushed, and
you disappeared suddenly as though you had sunk into the ground.
Wherefore I advise you, if you have given the least offence to the
martyr, to make proper amends to him and his followers, before the
stone does fall on your head .” But afterwards, that wretch
when he asked pardon of the abbot and monks for his offences,
expressly declared that he would not restore any of the property he
had carried off; therefore it was evident that such an atonement as
that was of no effect; for “the sin is not forgiven unless the
stolen property is restored .” He also felt the fall of the
stone * on his head, when, a short time after this at Bedford, his
brothers and friends having been already hung, he was himself sent
into exile a poor man, and now closed his life by a wretched death.
In the same year too died the bishops, Benedict of Rochester, and
Pandulph of Norwich; Pandulph was succeeded by Thomas de Blundeville,
a clerk of the king’s treasury, who was consecrated by Stephen
archbishop of Canterbury, on the Sunday next before Christmas.
1227 A.D.
Of the extortion of money by the English king.
A.D. 1227. King Henry kept Christmas at Reading, and in the same Christmas
week, to the grief of many, died William earl of Essex, a brave young
man, and one lavish in his generosity. The king then went to London
and accused the citizens of having, to his loss, given five thousand
marks of silver to Louis the lately deceased French king, on his
departure from England; he therefore, by the advice of quarrelsome
counsellors, compelled them to pay him the like amount. He moreover
took from them the fifteenth part of their moveables as well as of
their whole substance, the same as had been formerly granted to him
by all throughout England. He also took from the inhabitants of
Peterborough and the Northumbrians twelve hundred pounds, besides the
fifteenth part, which all paid throughout the kingdom in general.
Even the religious men and beneficed clergy were obliged to give up
the fifteenth part of all their goods, as well of ecclesiastic as lay
property; and an appeal to the pope was of no use, for, the order of
things being changed, archbishops and bishops, by authority of the
pope and the church’s censure, compelled those to pay whom the lay
power could not, and they were thus deprived of all relief.
How the king annulled the charters of liberties, at a council held at
Oxford.
In the month of February in the same year, the king assembled a council
at Oxford, and before all present he declared himself of legitimate
age to be released from wardship, and to take the chief management of
the kingly duties. And thus the former pupil and ward of William
Marshall during his life, and after his death of Peter bishop of
Winchester, now, by the advice of Hubert de Burgh justiciary of
England, freed himself from all counsel and restraint of the said
bishop and his friends, who had formerly been, as it were, his
school-masters, and dismissed them all from his court and from all
connection with him. At the same council too the said king annulled
and cancelled the charters of the liberties of the forests in all the
counties of England, after they had been in practice throughout the
whole of England for two years; and as a reason for this he alleged
that the charters had been granted, and the liberties written and
signed, whilst he was under the care of a guardian, and had no power
over his own body or his seal, and therefore as it had been an
unreasonable usurpation it could no longer stand good. On this a
great murmur arose amongst the council, and all decided that the
justiciary was the author of this trouble; for he afterwards became
so intimate with the king that all the other councillors of the
kingdom were thought nothing of. Orders were then given to the
religious men and others, who wished to enjoy their liberties, to
renew their charters under the new seal of the king, as they knew
that he held the old charters to be invalid; and for this renewal a
tax was levied, not according to the means of each of them, but they
were compelled to pay whatever the justiciary determined on.
How the king’s messengers who had been sent into France returned,
without effecting their purpose.
In the same year, pope Honorius died on the eighteenth of March, and was
succeeded by Gregory bishop of Ostia. In the same year about Easter,
the archbishop of York, the bishop of Carlisle, and Philip de
Albeney, the king’s messengers, returned to England from the
continent. They had been sent to the nobles of those countries, who
by right of old owed allegiance to the king of England; and they had
been ordered by the king to induce them by soft speeches and large
promises to receive him the said king, and to acknowledge him as
their natural lord. But, not to prolong the account uselessly, before
the king’s messengers had arrived in those provinces, the French
king, by the interference of his mother, had made peace with the
barons there and received their allegiance, after lavishly
distributing amongst them the lands and castles of the royal domain,
thus making friends of the “mammon of unrighteousness .”
The count of Brittany, whose daughter the said messengers demanded in
marriage for the English king, replied that he had made a treaty of
peace with the king of the French, which he would not violate on any
account. The messengers therefore returned and told king Henry what
they had done. In the month of May of the same year, Richard the
king’s brother arrived in England, and was received with much joy by
the king and nobles. And about the same time Henry de Sanfort
archdeacon of Chester, who had been canonically elected bishop of
Rochester, received consecration at the hands of Stephen archbishop
of Canterbury. On the fifth of February in the same year Hubert,
justiciary of England, was presented by the king with the sword of
the county of Kent.
How the barons rose against the king.
On the ninth of July in the same year, a disagreement sprang up between
the king of England and his brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the
cause of which was as follows; king John, the father of the present
king, had, during his lifetime, given to Walleran, a German, then
castellan of Berkhamstead, a certain manor belonging to the earldom
of Cornwall. Earl Richard, who had lately arrived from the continent,
on hearing that that manor belonged to his earldom, ordered the town
to be seized on his behalf, until he could find out what right
Walleran had to it, and when Walleran was told of this he came with
all haste to the king, and laid a complaint against his brother
Richard. The king then sent letters to his brother, ordering him
immediately on receipt of them to give up the manor to Walleran;
Richard however, after reading the letters, hastened to the king, and
without any advocate, pleaded alike reasonably and eloquently, that
the manor belonged to his right, wherefore he was prepared to abide
by the decision of the king’s court and the nobles of the kingdom.
The king and the justiciary were highly indignant at hearing him
mention the nobles, and the king, in an imperious and indiscreet
tone, ordered his brother immediately to give the manor up to
Walleran, or to leave the kingdom never to return. To this the earl
replied that he would neither give up his right to Walleran, nor
would he leave the kingdom without the decision of his peers, and
with these words he directly proceeded to his own house. The
justiciary then, fearing that the earl would disturb the peace of the
kingdom, advised the king, as it is reported, to send some armed
knights to seize his brother in his sleep on the next night, and to
consign him. to close custody, that he the king might enjoy lasting
peace; earl Richard was, however, forewarned of this by a friend, and
secretly hurried from, the city with only one knight in his company,
and did not draw rein till he arrived at Reading. His soldiers
followed him in the morning, and found their lord safe and sound at a
place agreed on with them; the earl then took his way towards
Marlborough, at which place he met William Marshall, his friend and
sworn ally, to whom he told all that had happened to him. The two
together then went to the earl of Chester and duly related all these
circumstances, they then swore to be true to one another, and sending
letters abroad they collected a large army; and in a short time
there assembled at Stamford, equipped with horses and arms, the earls
Ralph of Chester, William Marshall, Richard the king’s brother,
Gilbert of Gloucester, William of Warrenne, Henry of Hereford,
William earl Ferrers, and William of Warwick, besides a great number
of barons and a large body of soldiers; they then with haughty
threats gave the king notice at once to repair the injury he had
inflicted on his brother; but the blame of this offence they imputed
not to the king, but to the justiciary. They moreover insolently
demanded that the king would, without delay, restore to them, under
his seal, the charters of the liberties of the forests, which he had
lately annulled at Oxford; otherwise they would by force of arms
compel him to give them adequate satisfaction in these matters. The
king on receiving this message, ordered them to meet him at
Northampton the 3rd of August, that he might then grant due justice
to them. The parties then assembled at the above city on the
appointed day, and the king, at the urgent request of the nobles,
gave to his brother, earl Richard, the whole of his mother’s dowry,
adding to it all the lands which belonged to the domain of the count
of Brittany in England, and all the possessions of the lately
deceased count of Boulogne; and after this they all returned
peaceably to their homes.
In this same year, [1227] a certain hermit dwelling in the Alps beyond
sea was one day, as was his custom, reading his psalter, and on his
coming to the psalm commencing with “Let God arise ,” he
found that psalm erased, and in the place of it these words written
:—“Roman shall rise against Roman, and Roman shall he put
in the place of Roman; the rods of shepherds shall become light, and
there shall be comfort in rest; the diligent shall be disturbed and
shall pray, and in the tears of the multitude shall there be rest;
the lowly shall sport with the madman, and extinguishing favour shall
be soothed; a new flock shall creep to the tomb, and those who are
cleansed in the woods shall be fed with slight nourishment; the hope
of the confident and the rest of the consolers is frustrated in the
assurance on which they depended; those who walk in darkness shall
return to the light, and the things which were different shall be
consoled by things different; no small cloud shall begin to rain,
because the changer of the age is born; favour shall arise against
the simple, and simplicity shall breathe attenuated; honour shall be
turned to dishonour, and the joy of numbers into grief .” The
interpretation of this prophecy, ensuing events will declare more
clearly than the light, if they are carefully searched into.
How a great stir was made at this time to assist in the crusade.
In the same year at the end of June, a great stir was made to aid the
cross by all the crusaders throughout the world, who were so
numerous, that from the kingdom of England alone forty thousand tried
men were said to have marched, besides women and old men. This was
declared by master Hubert, one of the preachers in England, who
asserted that he had in fact set down as many as that in his roll.
All these, and especially the poor, on whom the divine pleasure
generally rests, entered upon the crusade with such devotion that
they, without doubt, obtained favour with the Almighty, as was shown
by manifest indications; for on the night of the nativity of St. John
the Baptist, the Lord showed himself in the sky as when crucified;
for on a most shining cross there appeared the body of our Lord
pierced with nails and with a lance, and sprinkled with blood, so
that the Saviour of the world by this showed his faithful followers
in the world that he was appeased by the devotion of his people. This
vision was seen by numbers, and amongst others by a trader, who was
carrying fish for sale near the town of Uxbridge; being struck with
astonishment at the strange apparition, and awed by the brightness of
it, he was, as it were, lost in ecstasy and stood in amaze, not
knowing what to do. His son, however, who was his only companion,
comforted his father, and asked him to stop his cart and give praise
to God for having condescended to show them such a vision. On the
next day, and indeed every day after, wherever he exposed his fish
for sale, he publicly told every one of the heavenly vision he had
seen, and added his son’s evidence to his own; many put faith in
their story, but some disbelieved it, till they were induced to
believe it by the number of visions which appeared about the same
time to many in various places; and in these the crucified One
himself deigned to open the heavens and to show to the incredulous
his wonderful glory with immense splendour. Amongst others who went
from England to join in the crusade were the bishops Peter, of
Winchester, and William of Exeter, who had now fulfilled their vow of
pilgrimage for nearly five years.
Of the progress of the crusade at this time.
How the business of the cross prospered in this crusade will plainly
appear by the following letter which pope Gregory sent to all the
faithful followers of Christ; “Gregory,
bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all faithful Christians,
greeting, &c. Be it known to the whole community of you that we
have received letters from the country beyond sea to the following
purport:—Gerald, by the divine mercy, patriarch of Jerusalem,
P. archbishop of Cæsarea, the humble and unworthy legate of the
apostolic see, and N. archbishop of Narbonne, P. bishop of
Winchester, and W. bishop of Exeter, the masters of the hospitallers,
of the knights of the temple, and of the Teutonic order of
hospitallers, to all to whom these letters may come, health in our
Lord Jesus Christ. We are compelled to inform the whole community of
you of our most urgent necessities, and of our progress in the cause
of Jesus Christ, who shed his blood for all of the true faith. It is
with much fervour of mind and shedding of tears, that his serene
highness the emperor did not, as we all hoped, come into Syria in the
month of August last past as he had promised. On this the pilgrims
from those districts, hearing that the said emperor had not arrived
in the aforesaid passage, amounting to more than forty thousand
strong men, returned in the same ships as they had come, putting
their trust in man rather than God. After their departure there
remained here nearly eight hundred knights, who continued to cry with
one consent, ‘Either let us break the truce or let us all
depart together;’ and they have been detained here not without
great difficulty, because the duke of Limburg, a man of noble birth,
has been appointed to command the army in the place of the emperor. A
council was therefore held, especially of the hospitallers, templars,
and of the German hospitallers, and it was agreed that the duke
aforesaid should act as seemed most expedient for the cause of
Christianity and the Holy Land; the duke then, having asked and
received advice on these points, appeared on a day specially
appointed for the purpose before us and some of the nobles of that
country, and there openly declared that he wished to break the truce,
and asked the assistance and advice of those present, as to how he
could proceed most advantageously in that intention. And when the
duke and his counsellors were told that it would be dangerous to
break the truce, and, as it was confirmed by oath, dishonourable as
well, they replied that his holiness the pope had excommunicated all
those crusaders who would not join in this crusade, although he knew
that the truce was to continue for two years more; and by this they
understood that he did not wish the truce to be kept, and, besides
this, the pilgrims would not remain there idle. There were also many
who said that, if the pilgrims were to go away, the Saracens would,
after their departure, attack them, notwithstanding the truce. Some
also thought that Coradin was engaged in a fierce war with the rulers
of Haman, Camyle, and Aleppo, and on that account was more than
usually afraid of the truce being broken by the Christians; and if
the truce were broken, they thought that Coradin, on seeing himself
pressed by war on all sides, would probably offer terms of peace. At
length after a long discussion on these matters, all unanimously
agreed to march to the holy city, which Jesus Christ consecrated with
his own blood; and that the approach might be more easy, it was
unanimously determined to fortify in the first place Caesarea, and
then Joppa, which they hoped undoubtedly to be able to do before the
passage of the ensuing August, and then they would be able in the
following winter to set out joyfully for the house of the Lord, under
his protection. This determination was made public outside the city
of Acre on the feast of the apostles Simon and Jude, in the presence
of all the pilgrims, and there they were solemnly enjoined to be
ready on the day after All Saints’ day, to set out towards Caesarea;
the pilgrims, who did not know of the plan which the army had
determined on, on hearing this, after strengthening the
above-mentioned fortresses, were suddenly seized with such a great
desire to proceed to Jerusalem that they wept abundantly, and they
felt so strengthened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, that each man
felt as if he could overcome a thousand enemies, and two could
conquer ten thousand. We need not therefore use many entreaties in
urging it on you, when such pressing necessity speaks for itself and
demands immediate assistance; for delay brings danger, and speed
will be productive of the greatest advantages. The blood of Christ
calls from this country on each and every one; this small and humble,
though devout, army entreats for speedy assistance, hoping and
trusting in the Lord that this business, commenced in all humility,
may be by his favour brought to a happy termination. Do you,
therefore, each and all of you, exert yourselves to assist the holy
land, since this may be considered the common cause both of your
faith and of the whole Christian people. And we, under God’s care and
guidance, will not cease to promote the cause, confidently hoping,
that it may prosper in the hands of the faithful who persevere with
confidence. Given at the Lateran, the 23rd of December, in the first
year of our pontificate."
How the crusade was impeded through the absence of the emperor.
In the mean time the emperor Frederic, who with other crusaders
had, under penalty of excommunication by the pope in the before-mentioned
passage, determined to fulfil his vow of pilgrimage, went to the
Mediterranean sea, and embarked with a small retinue; but after
pretending to make for the Holy Land for three days, he said that he
was seized with a sudden illness, so that he could not at the risk of
his life any longer endure the roughness of the sea and an unhealthy
climate, therefore he altered his course, and after three days sail
landed at the port where he had embarked; and on this, the pilgrims
from different parts of the world, who had preceded him to the Holy
Land in hopes of having him as a leader and protector in fighting the
enemies of the cross, were struck with consternation at hearing that
the emperor had not come, as he had promised in the passage of
August, and therefore, embarking in the ships in which they had
sailed to the Holy Land, they returned home to the number of about
forty thousand armed men; and this conduct of the emperor redounded
much to his disgrace, and to the injury of the whole business of the
crusade. It was on this account, in the opinion of many, that the
Saviour of the world showed himself, as above related, to the
Christians suspended on the cross, pierced with nails and sprinkled
with blood, as if laying a complaint before each and every Christian,
of the injury inflicted on him by the emperor.
Of the death of the brother, who first instituted the order of the
Minorites.
About that time a brother of the Minorite order, named Francis, who was
said to be the founder and master of that order, departed this life
at Rome. This said Francis was distinguished for the nobility of his
birth, but more distinguished by the correctness of his morals. He
from his boyhood began to reflect on the attractions of this life and
the mutability of worldly things, and constantly to consider how vain
and transitory are all temporal things; for he had learnt in books
and by the theological studies which he had pursued from his
childhood, till he had acquired perfect knowledge of it, how to
despise the mutability of perishable things, and to pant after the
heavenly kingdom. But, the more completely to carry out the resolves
of his mind, he gave up his large paternal inheritance and all the
pleasures of life, assumed the cowl and sackcloth, laid aside his
shoes, mortified his flesh with watchings and fasting, and choosing a
voluntary poverty, he determined to have nothing at all of his own;
for bodily sustenance he only took what he received from those of the
faith by way of charity, and, after partaking of a slight meal, if
any thing remained, he put nothing away for the morrow, hut gave it
to the poor. He slept in his clothes by night, having a mat for a
bed, and a stone for a pillow, and for covering by night he used only
the cowl and cloak in which he walked by day. In this manner walking
barefooted in the preparation of the gospel, and embracing the life
of an apostle, he fulfilled the duties of preaching on Sundays and
feast days in the parochial churches and other religious assemblies
of the Christians; and the more he refrained from satisfying the
desires of the flesh and from good living, the more powerful
impression he made on the minds of his hearers. This man of God,
Francis, in order to carry his wholesome purpose into effect, had
committed to writing the above mentioned articles with some others
which are most strictly observed by the brothers of that order till
the present time, and presented them to pope Innocent when sitting in
the consistory court at Rome, asking at the same time for a
confirmation of his petition by the apostolic see.
How the pope confirmed the aforesaid order by a privilege.
The pope gazed fixedly on the ill-favoured mien of the aforesaid brother,
his mournful countenance, lengthened beard, his untrimmed hair, and
his dirty, overhanging brow, and when he heard his petition read
which it was so difficult and impracticable to carry out, despised
him, and said, “Go, brother, go to the pigs, to whom you are
more fit to be compared than to men, and roll with them, and to them
preach the rules you have so ably set forth .” Francis, on
hearing this bowed his head and went away, and having found some pigs
he rolled with them in the mud till he had covered his body and
clothes with dirt from head to foot; he then, returning to the
consistory, showed himself to the pope, and said, “My lord, I
have done as you ordered me; grant me now, I beseech you, my petition
.” The pope was astonished when he saw what he had done, and
felt sorry for having treated him with contempt, at the same time
giving orders that he should wash himself and come back to him again;
he therefore cleansed himself from his dirt, and returned directly to
the pope. The pope, being much moved, then granted his petition, and,
after confirming his office of preaching as well as the order he
applied for, by a privilege from the church of Rome, he dismissed him
with a blessing. This servant of God, Francis, then built an oratory
in the city of Rome, where he might reap the fruits of his
contemplations, and, like a noble warrior, engage in battle against
evil spirits and carnal vices.
Of the preaching of the aforesaid brother, and his wonderful death.
Francis then devoutly fulfilled the duties of his preaching throughout all
Italy and other kingdoms, and especially in the city of Rome; but the
Roman people, the enemies of all righteousness, so despised the
preaching of this man of God, that they would not hear him or attend
at his holy exhortations. At length, as they continued for a long
time to despise his preaching, he severely rebuked their hardness of
heart; “I much grieve ,” said he, “for your
wretchedness, because you not only reject me as a servant of Christ,
but also despise him in me, since I have preached the gospel of the
Redeemer of the world to you; I therefore call on him to bear witness
to your desolation, who is my faithful witness in heaven, and go
forth from the city to your shame to preach the gospel of Christ to
the brute beasts and to the birds of the air, that they may hear the
life-giving words of God, and be obedient to them .” He then
went out of the city, and in the suburbs found crows sitting amongst
the dead bodies, kites, magpies, and several other birds flying about
in the air, and said to them, “I command you in the name of
Jesus Christ, whom the Jews crucified, and whose preaching the
wretched Romans have despised, to come to me and hear the word of
God, in the name of Him who created you and preserved Noah in the ark
from the waters of the deluge .” All that flock of birds then
drew near and surrounded him, and having ordered silence, all kinds
of chirping was hushed, and those birds listened to the words of that
man of God for the space of half a day without moving from the spot,
and the whole time looked in the face of the preacher. This wonderful
circumstance was discovered by the Romans passing and repassing to
and from the city, and when the same had been repeated by the man of
God to the assembled birds, the clergy, with a crowd of people, went
out from the city and brought back the man of God with great
reverence; and he then by the oil of his supplicatory preaching
softened their fruitless and obdurate hearts and changed them for the
better. His fame then began to be spread abroad throughout all Italy,
so that many of noble birth, following his example, left the world
and its vices and desires, and submitted themselves to his teaching.
This order of the brethren above mentioned soon increased throughout
the world, and they dwelt in cities and castles, and went forth in
those days by sevens and tens preaching the word of life through the
towns and in the parochial churches, and even amongst the field
labourers they planted the roots of virtue, and offered to the Lord
abundance of fruit even with usury; and it was not only amongst the
Christians that they scattered the seed of the word of God and the
dew of the heavenly doctrine, but they also went to the provinces of
the Gentiles and Saracens, bearing testimony to the truth, and, by
their means many of those nations attained the glory of martyrdom.
Of the assembling of the people at the death of the aforesaid brother.
At length, after this friend of God, Francis, had, with his brethren,
preached the gospel of peace for many years in the city of Rome and
the adjacent country, and like a good usurer had restored the talent
entrusted to him to the Giver with interest many fold, the hour came
for him to depart from this world to Christ, and as a reward for his
labours to receive the crown of life which God has promised to those
who love him. On the fifteenth day before his death there appeared
wounds in his hands and feet, continually emitting blood, such as
appeared in the Saviour of the world on the cross when he was
crucified by the Jews. His right side also was laid open and
sprinkled with blood, so that the secret recesses of his heart were
plainly visible. On this being known great crowds of people of both
sexes flocked to him who were astonished at such a strange
circumstance; amongst others cardinals came to him and inquired what
the vision meant. To this he replied, “This vision is shown in
me that you, to whom I have preached the mysteries of the cross, may
believe in Him who, for the preservation of the world, suffered on
the cross the wounds which you here see, and that you may know that I
am a servant of him whom I have preached to you, crucified, dead, and
restored to life, and that, all doubt being removed, you may
persevere in this faith to the end; these wounds in me which you now
see open and bloody, will, as soon as I am dead, become healed and
closed, so that they will appear like the rest of my flesh;"
and immediately without any bodily pain or suffering he was released
from the flesh, and resigned his spirit to his Creator. After his
death no marks of the wounds appeared either in his side, hands, or
feet. This man of God was buried in his oratory, and the Roman
pontiff admitted him into the number of saints, and ordered the day
of his death to he observed as a solemn feast.*
* Paris gives some
long letters of the pope as to how far the powers of the Minorite
order were to extend; the method of receiving brothers into the
order; stating their holy duties and how they are to live; forbids
them to receive money; as to the manner of performing their duties;
forbids them to have any property of their own; fixes the penance to
be imposed on them; the election of a general minister and the
chapter at Whitsuntide; forbids any of the brothers to preach without
leave from the diocesan, and concludes with an admonition, and
forbidding them to enter the convents of nuns, and instructs those
who go amongst the infidels how they are to proceed.
1228 A.D.
Of certain new laws made by the king of England.
A.D. 1228. King Henry kept Christmas with all due solemnity at York, and
immediately afterwards set out by the direct road for London. In this
journey he found a deficiency in the measures of corn, wine, and
beer, on which he broke some and burnt others, and substituting
larger ones, he ordered the bread to be made of heavier weight, and
that those who broke this law should be heavily fined.
In the month of January of the same year Roger de Theoney, a brave
knight of noble birth, closed his life near Reading; this noble’s
elder brother, Ralph, who was then absent, desired to converse with
him before he died, and came with all haste to him; but before he
arrived his much beloved brother was dead, and he found neither voice
nor sense in him. Ralph, who was in great grief for the death of his
brother, then began with tears and cries to adjure his brother
although he was dead, out of brotherly affection to speak to him; and
after reiterating his cries and entreaties in the presence of his
soldiers and many others, he said that he would never take food
again, unless he could converse with him. The dead man on this sat up
in the bed, and severely reproached his brother for disturbing his
spirit, and having recalled him to the body again. “have
already ,” said he, "seen the punishments inflicted on
the wicked, and the joys of the blessed, and with my own eyes have I
also beheld the great tortures to which I, wretch that I am, am
doomed. Woe, woe, is me, why did I employ myself in tournaments and
love them so devotedly ?" His brother then asked him, “And
will you not be saved ?" To this he replied, "I shall be
saved, for I have done one deed in honour of the perpetual virginity
of the blessed Mary, by which I shall obtain salvation .” Ralph
then said, “Cannot the torments to which you are doomed, as you
tell me, be lessened by good works, masses, and alms?” To which
Roger replied, “They can .” “Then ,” said
Ralph, “I faithfully promise you that I will, for the salvation
of us and our ancestors, build a religious house, and, when I have
filled it with monks, they shall continually call on the Lord to
release your spirit as well as those of our ancestors .” Roger
then said, “I am in great need of what you promise, but I do
not want you to promise any thing which you do not mean to fulfil;"
and then, taking leave of his brother and the others who stood by, he
again breathed forth his spirit. His brother Ralph then in the same
year built a convent in the west of England, and placed in it some
monks of the Cistercian order, and endowed the place with estates and
large benefits.
Of the translation of Richard bishop of Salisbury to Durham.
In the same year, the election of master William Scott bishop elect of
Durham having been annulled, Richard bishop of Salisbury was elected
and translated to that bishopric; and on his promotion the canons of
Salisbury elected master Robert Bingeham, their fellow canon, to be
their bishop, and the pastor of their souls. In the same year a
dispute between the monks of Coventry and the canons of Lichfield,
about the election of a bishop, was decided by a definitive decree of
the church of Rome, by which it was arranged that from that time they
should elect the bishops alternately, the monks should elect the
first, and on his death the canons should elect the next; on the
condition, however, that the prior of Coventry should always have the
first vote in the election. This decree seemed very much to lessen
the privileges of the monks, who till this time had always elected
the bishops without asking the consent of the canons. In this year
too the emperor of Constantinople paid the debt of nature, leaving as
his heir a young son who was not fit to assume the imperial dignity.
Of the sentence passed upon the emperor.
About that time, pope Gregory, who had, as it seemed to him, permitted the
emperor’s contumacy and contempt of Christ to go too long unpunished,
at length, that he might not seem like a dog unable to bark, by the
advice of his cardinals excommunicated the said emperor, and by
apostolic letters ordered this sentence to be published in the
various parts of the world. Amongst others whom he ordered to make it
public was Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, to whom he wrote as
follows :— "Gregory, bishop, to Stephen archbishop of
Canterbury, greeting, &c. The large vessel of Peter is placed on
the wide ocean, or rather is exposed to the storms and billows so
continually, that it sometimes happens that its pilots and rowers can
scarcely breathe amidst the violence of the deluging showers; for if
at one time it is making for port with full sail before a fair wind,
the wind suddenly rushes on it from an opposite quarter and, driven
on by Him who breathes forth flames of fire, the ship is carried into
deep water and to the wide ocean, where it is surrounded by the
billows, and yet it is not overwhelmed, for the Lord, who sits in it,
is awaked by the cries of his disciples, puts the stormy spirits to
flight, commands the sea and the winds, and there is a calm. Four
gusts are attacking this ship; for the infidel host of pagans
impiously retain possession of the famous land which is rendered holy
by the blood of Christ; the fury of tyrants, plundering worldly
possessions, destroys justice and tramples under foot the liberty of
the church; the madness of heretics endeavours to rend asunder the
garment of Christ, and to subvert the sacrament of the faith; and
the deceitful perversity of false brethren and sons shakes the bowels
and rends the side of their mother. And thus, outside there is
fighting, but fear within; the sword slays abroad, and in the houses
death is likewise threatened; and thus it often happens that the
church of Christ is overwhelmed with troubles; whilst .she thinks she
is cherishing sons, she is nourishing in her bosom fire, serpents,
and cockatrices, which endeavour to destroy all things with their
breath, their gnawing, and their flames. Hence it is, that, to
destroy monsters of this kind, to defeat hostile bands, and to
assuage the rough tempests, the apostolic see at this time, with much
care, educated a certain pupil, namely the emperor Frederic, whom it
received charge of as it were from his mother’s womb, suckled at its
breast, carried on its shoulders, and whom it has frequently rescued
from the hands of those seeking his life, whom it has brought up to
perfect manhood at much trouble and expense, exalted to the honours
of the kingly dignity, and finally advanced to the summit of the
imperial station, trusting to have him as the wand of defence and the
staff of its old age. And he, when he went into Germany to assume the
reigns of government, presented to his mother’s eyes what was
believed to be a happy omen, but which might more truly be considered
a dangerous one; for, of his own accord, not by our advice, and
unknown to the apostolic see, he affixed the cross to his shoulders,
making a solemn vow that he would go to the assistance of the Holy
Land. He then obtained a decree of excommunication against himself
and others who had assumed the cross, if they did not set out at a
certain time; subsequently, however, he asked, and received
absolution, having first given an oath to abide by the decision of
the church in this matter. The apostolic see, shedding its
overflowing grace on him, called him to the crown out of due order,
that he might more speedily proceed with succour to the Holy Land,
and he, not unwilling but invited thereto by many intercessors and
magnificent messages, has used the banner of the cross till this
time, for his own purpose. Afterwards, when he had received the crown
from the hands of Honorius, our predecessor, of happy memory in the
church of St. Peter, he re-assumed the cross from our hands, who were
then holding an inferior station, and publicly renewed his vow. He
induced several to assume the cross in the hopes of his support, and
fixed on a time for crossing the sea. He afterwards held a conference
with the Roman church at Veroli, when he publicly swore that he would
set out with all honours and like an emperor, at a fixed time to be
pre-arranged by the church of Rome. After this he, at a similar
conference at Ferentino, fixed on a period of two years from that
time to be the time for his sailing; he also promised on a solemn
oath that he would cross the sea, and take in marriage the noble
daughter of our well-beloved son in Christ, John king of Jerusalem,
who was also the heiress of that illustrious monarch; he added, that
by these means he should bind himself to the service of the Holy
Land, not like the other pilgrims, but like the templars, and
hospitallers, for ever. When, however, the appointed time drew near,
he began to make many excuses, declaring that he was not prepared to
go; and he offered many advantages and presents that a delay of
three years might be granted to him. But in order that the whole
affair, which chiefly devolved on this prince next to the Roman
church, might not be put an end to, and such great labour expended to
no purpose, the apostolic see took counsel with several bishops and
other men, omitting none of the circumstances of the case, and then
sent our venerable brother P. bishop of Albano, and G. cardinal
presbyter under the title of St. Martin, to confirm the promises,
which the emperor had voluntarily made, of giving assistance to the
cross. They therefore convened a council of several chiefs of Germany
at St. Germain’s, and there the emperor, of his own accord, swore,
that in two years from that time, that is, in the passage of August
last past, he would, laying aside all pretext for delay, set sail,
and would keep there for two years at his own expense a thousand
knights for the assistance of the Holy Land, and would, in the five
passages next ensuing, send a hundred thousand ounces of gold to be
paid to certain persons there. The cardinal priests then, with the
consent of the emperor, and by the authority of the apostolic see, in
sight of the chiefs and the surrounding people, publicly proclaimed
the sentence of excommunication which the emperor would incur if he
should fail in any one of the above-named promises. The emperor,
moreover, bound himself to bring and to keep beyond sea a hundred
chelanders and fifty galleys, and that, besides this, he would at
certain times grant, a passage to two thousand knights, swearing on
his soul that he would fulfil these promises which we have mentioned,
and willingly consenting to the fulfilment of the sentence against
him and his kingdom, if they were not kept. But you are now to learn
how he fulfilled these promises; for, at his pressing solicitation,
many thousands of crusaders, under penalty of excommunication, had
proceeded at the preconcerted time to the port of Brindisium; the
emperor had withdrawn his favour from almost all the cities of the
coast, and although he had been often warned by our predecessor and
by us to make all the necessary preparations, and faithfully to
fulfil all that he had promised, yet he disregarded those promises
which both by messengers and by his own letters, he had made to the
apostolic see and to the crusaders, of sending provisions and other
necessaries, and paying no heed to his own salvation, he detained the
Christian army in the height of the summer heat in a foul and deadly
climate so long, that not only great numbers of the common soldiers,
but also a considerable number of the nobles and men of rank perished
from disease, thirst, heat, and many other causes, and amongst them
died the bishops of Anjou and Augsburgh, of good memory. The
remaining part of the army, oppressed by sickness, retraced their
steps, and great numbers of them died in the woods and plains,
mountains and caves. Those who remained with difficulty obtained
leave to depart, and although there were not sufficient vessels at
hand to carry the men provisions and horses as had been promised, yet
on the feast of the blessed Virgin, when the season for returning was
at hand, they set sail, exposing themselves to danger for the name of
Christ, and believing that the emperor would follow in their
footsteps. He, however, evading his promises, and severing the bonds
by which he was bound, casting aside all fear of God, paying no
reverence to Jesus Christ, and little heeding the censure of the
church, abandoned the Christian army, left the Holy Land exposed to
the infidels, despised the devotion of the people of Christ, and, to
the disgrace of himself and Christianity, was enticed away to the
usual pleasures of his kingdom, and departed, making a frivolous
pretence of bodily infirmity, as is said. Pay attention, then, and
see if there is any grief like that of the apostolic see, your
mother, who has been so often and so cruelly deceived in the son,
whom she suckled, in whom she placed confidence that he would carry
out this matter, and on whom she has heaped such abundant benefits.
In the meantime he concealed his intention of abandoning the cause of
the Holy Land when an opportunity offered, paying no attention to the
banishments of priests, spoliations, captivities, and manifold
injuries, which he had inflicted on the churches, religious
professions, and clergy, and hearing the many complaints of the poor,
both populace and nobles, who cry out against him, and whose prayers
we believe have entered the ears of the Lord God of sabaoth. And
although the church of Rome ought to protect a son brought up with
such care and so highly exalted, it now mourns for him, conquered
without a battle, borne down without an enemy, and, to his utter
disgrace, so ignominiously debased. It no less bewails the
extermination of the Christian army, which has failed not owing to
the swords of the enemy, or to want of valour, but has been wasted
away by such a dreadful calamity. It also mourns that the remaining
portion of the troops, exposed to the dangers of the sea, and to the
tempestuous waves, without a guide, preceptor, or chief, are driven
they know not whither, doing but little good to the cause of the Holy
Land; and we are unable according to our vow to afford them
consolation or assistance, owing to the stormy state of the sea, and
the inclemency of the season. It moreover mourns for the ruin of the
Holy Land, which we were hoping was now to be rescued from the hands
of the pagans; which the Christian army would formerly, as it is
reported, have recovered in exchange for Damietta, had they not been
several times forbidden to do so by the letters of the emperor; and
he himself would not have been a prisoner in the hands of the pagans,
if a supply of ships had been provided as had been promised on his
part, and as could have been done; for Damietta, which, as was said,
was delivered into the charge of his messenger, and was decorated
with the imperial eagles, was on the same day cruelly pillaged, and,
after being shamefully damaged, was by them restored to the infidels.
It also adds to our sorrow and losses aforesaid, when we recollect
the labour and expense incurred at Damietta, as well as the mortality
amongst the Christians, and the time spent, all which were expended
to no purpose; and there is no one of all its children to comfort
it, or to wipe the tears from its cheeks. Since therefore her voice
has already sounded in Rama, and Rachel is with incurable grief
mourning, not only for her children but for all these mishaps, what
Christian can refrain from lamentation ? Which of the sons, on seeing
the floods of tears flowing from the eyes of the mother, will not
shed tears ? What one will not pity the sorrows of the mother, and
share in her deep grief ? What Christian will not, on account of
these events, be inflamed with more ardent desire to assist the Holy
Land, that the Christian youth may not seem to be entirely prostrated
and panic-struck by these unexpected events ? Ought not wise men, and
the sons of Jesus Christ, to be the more encouraged to assist the
Holy Land, the more they see that, from unlooked-for calamities,
disgrace rebounds on the Father and the Son, the Redeemer and the
redeemed, on Christ and on the people of Christ? We therefore the
more ardently long to take this business in hand again, and by more
careful plans purpose to find remedies, in proportion to our
necessities and the many sorrows we have endured; and thus when the
Lord shows himself slightly angry with his people, and does not
receive the sacrifice from their hands, yet the mercies of God are
not yet expended, nor is his compassion entirely worn out. For we
trust in the compassion of God, who shows us the way by which we may
arrive at a successful issue in this matter, and he will send men
after his own heart who will with pure hearts and clean hands lead on
the Christian army. We, therefore, by these apostolic letters,
beseech and order your brotherhood, faithfully to set these matters
forth to the clergy and people entrusted to your charge, and to
induce them to prepare their minds to carry out this business; and
also by diligent exhortation to call on them to revenge this insult
to Jesus Christ, so that when the apostolic see, after more mature
deliberation, shall think proper to ask their aid, it may find them
prompt and ready. However, that we may not be like dumb dogs unable
to bark, and that we may not seem to give way to this man in
disregard of God, without punishing him who has brought such great
injury on the people of God, we, although unwillingly, publicly
declare the said emperor Frederic to be excommunicated, inasmuch as
he did not cross the sea at the appointed time, nor did he send
thither the pre-arranged sum of money, neither did he bring there the
thousand soldiers to be kept for two years at his expense for the
assistance of the Holy Land, but failing in these three articles of
his agreement, he has of his own accord involved himself in the net
of the aforesaid excommunication; and we order him to be strictly
avoided by all, and command you publicly to announce this sentence
yourselves, and to cause it to be published by the other prelates of
the churches, and we will proceed against him more severely if his
contumacy calls for it. We, moreover, trust in the mercy of our holy
Father, who wishes no one to perish, that the darkened eyes of his
mind, when anointed with the salve of the church, will, if he be not
rebellious in heart, be enlightened, so that he may see his
nakedness, and may avert the disgrace which he is falling into, may
have recourse to the true Physician, and may return to the church his
mother, and, by due humility and meet atonement, may receive
salvation. For we do not wish his everlasting salvation in the Lord
to be at stake, for we formerly loved him sincerely when we were in
an inferior station. Given at the Lateran, in the second year of our
pontificate."
How the emperor declared that he was unjustly excommunicated.
When the emperor learned that he was excommunicated he was greatly
alarmed; and as the pope had by his letters ordered the sentence to be
published in all the countries of Christendom, so the said emperor
wrote to all the Christian kings and chiefs, complaining that the
sentence was wrongfully passed on him. He also told each and all of
them, that he had not abandoned the pilgrimage which he had entered
upon on frivolous pretexts, as the pope lyingly charged him with, but
on account of very serious illness, and in this he invoked the
testimony of Him who is a true witness in heaven. He moreover
declared that as soon as God should grant him bodily health, he
would, with all due honour, fulfil to the Lord his vow of pilgrimage
in a manner befitting an emperor. Amongst other catholic kings to
whom he wrote, he sent letters sealed with gold to the English king,
declaring in them that the Roman church was so inflamed with the
passion of avarice and with such evident greediness, that, not being
satisfied with appropriating the property of the churches at will, it
dared even to disinherit emperors, kings, and princes, and to make
them tributary to it. And the English king would himself find an
example of what he had stated in the case of his father, king John,
whom the said church had kept under excommunication for a length of
time until he had made himself and his kingdom tributary to it. They
also had an example in the case of the count of Toulouse, and many
other chiefs whose lands and persons it contrived to keep under an
interdict until it reduced them to a like state of subjection. And at
the conclusion of his letter he advised all the princes of the world
to guard against such iniquitous avarice in these words,
“Give heed when neighbouring houses burn,
For next perhaps may be your turn.”
How the emperor aroused a spirit of persecution against the pope.
By these means of excitement the emperor aroused a severe persecution
against the pope and the inheritance of the Roman church, and
attacking cities and seizing the castles belonging to it, of which
the pope informed Roman the legate in France in the letter which
follows.
Complaints of the pope against the emperor.
“Gregory bishop to Roman legate amongst the French, greeting, &c. Give
attention, we beg of you, and see if there is any sorrow like ours,
for in the son whom the church of Rome has brought up and raised to a
high station in the hopes of having in him a champion against the
infidels, it now finds a cruel persecutor and active enemy. And, not
to pass over in silence the atrocious injuries and dreadful damage
which the said emperor Frederic has continually inflicted on the
church and the ecclesiastics, he is now, by means of the Saracens and
others, attacking the inheritance of the apostolic see, and, what is
more detestable, he is making treaties with the sultan and other
Saracens, and shows kindness to them, but open hatred to the
Christians, to the extermination of the orders of the hospitallers
and templars, by whom the relics of the Holy Land have been hitherto
protected. For after the treaty between the Saracens and Christians
was by his command broken off, the Saracens made an incursion into
the territory of the above-mentioned orders, and when, after slaying
and making prisoners of a great number of their followers, they had
carried off a great quantity of booty, the templars attacked them and
took from them some of the booty to the value of six thousand marks;
but Thomas count of Aterrae, the emperor’s minister, furiously
attacked them as they were returning, and by force took from them
this booty, they, in obedience to the rules of their order, not
daring to raise an armed hand against Christians, and this booty the
said Thomas restored to the Saracens with the exception of some of
it, which he is said to have retained for his own use. And if the
Saracens took booty from the Christians he not only did not endeavour
to recover it, but even did not allow the Christians ever to take
booty from the Saracens; and by these means they became more insolent
and boldly attacked our people, and our people fearing treachery were
less bold in resisting them, and thus the effusion of Christian blood
sometimes turned out unluckily to the gain of the emperor. And this
said Thomas, or rather the emperor by his agency, is even now cruelly
persecuting the above-named orders, and has by violence robbed them
of their houses and possessions which they held, and, to the manifest
subversion of the liberty of the church, is endeavouring to deprive
them of the privileges of the apostolic see, and to bring them under
the imperial jurisdiction; he also collected a hundred slaves which
the hospitallers and templars had in Sicily and Apulia, and gave them
up to the Saracens without making any recompense for them to the said
orders; and thus, as is plainly shown from the foregoing
circumstances, he takes more account of the servants of Mahomet than
those of Christ. And you may believe it for a fact, that, although
the said emperor is reported to have put to sea with a few knights,
he has sent a large army of Christians and a host of Saracens to
attack the inheritance of the church, hereby giving a manifest proof
to all of his malignity. But, as I said, we have confidence in Him,
who establishing his church on the rock of faith, will not allow it
to be thrown down, however much the winds may vent their fury on it,
or the waters overwhelm it. Since therefore we see that he is thus
wickedly conspiring for the subversion of the Christian faith, and is
venting his impious rage, we may well fear extreme peril; but however
long the iniquity of this impious man may continue, he can never
prevail in his sin, but will rather be lost in it. Since, therefore,
by the duty imposed on us, unworthy though we are, we are compelled
to prevent this agent of Mahomet from any longer venting his rage
against the servants of Christ, but rather that he may be confounded
in his rage, and the glory of the Christian name be exalted, we, by
these apostolic letters command you to publish these matters
throughout the land of your legation, that, the faithful people of
Christ may stand up bravely for the faith in the observance of true
religion, as if they were pursuing each his own interest, in
accordance with the exhortation which you will employ. Given at the
Lateran, this 5th of August, in the second year of our pontificate.”
How the people of Rome seditiously rose against the Roman pontiff.
During the festival of Easter in the same year the people of Rome rose in
sedition against pope Gregory, and drove him from the city; they
then pursued him to his castle of Viterbo, and there increasing in
strength they drove him to Perusium. The pope, having no other means
of punishing them, excommunicated them all. In the same year the
French king sent a large military expedition into Provence against
the count of Toulouse, to drive that noble from those districts.
They, hearing that the count was then at a Saracen castle belonging
to his domain, determined to besiege him there; he, however, was
forewarned of their approach, and prepared an ambuscade against their
arrival, and with a large force hid himself in a wood, by which the
French would pass, and there awaited the arrival of his enemies. When
the French arrived at the place of ambuscade the count with his
troops rushed on them, and a severe conflict took place, in which
five hundred French knights were taken prisoners and a great many
were slain. About two thousand soldiers were taken prisoners, and
after they had been all stripped to the skin, the count ordered the
eyes of some to be torn out, the ears and noses of others to be slit,
and the feet and hands of others to be cut off, and, after thus
shamefully mutilating them, he sent them to their homes, a deformed
spectacle to their fellow Frenchmen; and the captive knights he
committed to close custody, after stripping them of all their
property. This battle was fought on the 18th of May at the Saracen
castle. And to speak briefly, expeditions were sent three times
during that summer, and in each case the French were put to flight,
or taken and imprisoned by the said count.
Of the death of Stephen archbishop of Canterbury.
On the ninth of July in the same year, Stephen archbishop of Canterbury
closed his life at his manor of Slindon, and was buried at Canterbury
on the 6th of the same month.* After he was buried, the monks of
Canterbury obtained the king’s permission, and on the third of August
elected master Walter de Heinesham, a monk of their church; but,
when they presented him to the king, he, after long deliberation,
refused to receive him on certain grounds. The first objection which
he stated to the monks was that they had chosen a man who was useless
to himself and to the kingdom; the second was that the father of
their elected had been convicted of theft and been hung; the third
was that he had taken part against king John, his father, at the time
of the interdict. The suffragan bishops of the Canterbury church,
moreover, objected to the election of the said Walter, because he had
formerly violated a nun and had had children by her; and they also
added that the election of an archbishop ought not to take place
without their being present. The archbishop elect however firmly
adhered to the election, and an appeal having been made, he took some
of the monks of Canterbury with him and made his appearance in the
presence of the pope, asking him to confirm his election; the pope,
however, on hearing that the election was opposed by the king and
bishops, postponed the business till he could learn the facts of the
matter. The king and the bishops when they learned that the
archbishop elect had gone to the court of Rome, committed the
above-mentioned objections to writing, and sent them, under the seals
of the king and the bishops, to the pope in the care of the bishops
of Rochester and Chester, and appointed master John archdeacon of
Bedford to manage this business. These messengers then went to Rome,
and delivered the letters of the king and the bishops to the pope,
who, after a careful inspection of them, by the advice of his
cardinals fixed on the day after Ash Wednesday for the parties to
appear, that he might then with due regard to justice definitively
decide the dispute.
*
I leave the reader to explain this absurd anachronism in the best way
he can.
During
the whole of the summer of this year dreadful storms of thunder and
lightning happened, which set fire to numbers of buildings in various
places, and destroyed men and cattle. In the following autumn
constant deluges of rain fell, which did much harm to the farmers at
harvest time.
Of
the irruptions of the Welsh.
In
the month of August of the same year the knights and soldiers of the
garrison of the castle of Montgomery, situated on the Welsh borders,
sallied forth with the inhabitants of the district, to widen and
render more safe a road near the castle, on account of the Welsh
banditti who robbed and murdered travellers there. They therefore
marched to the place with swords, axes, staves, and other weapons,
and commenced cutting down the trees, hedges, and shrubs, to render
the road wider for travellers. This circumstance having reached the
ears of the Welsh, they came in great force and attacked them,
forcing them to retreat into the castle, though not without some
slaughter on both sides; they then laid siege to the castle, but the
garrison immediately sent word to Hubert, the justiciary, to whom the
king had lately given that honour together with the castle, on which
the king marched in person with all haste to the place, and compelled
the Welsh to raise the siege. The king, who had arrived with only a
small force, expecting reinforcements, was soon after joined by them,
on which he marched with a large body of soldiers to the
above-mentioned wood, which as was said was very large, extending for
about five leagues; but although it was large and very difficult to
destroy on account of the thick growth of the trees, it was after
much difficulty cut down and burnt. The king then led his army
further into the country, and arrived at a place inhabited by some
monks of the White order, called Cridia, which, as the king had been
told, was a receptacle for the plunder taken by the Welsh. On the
orders of the king these buildings were set fire to and reduced to
ashes; and Hubert seeing the impregnable nature of the place, by the
king’s consent, ordered a castle to be built there. Before this was
completed, however, numbers were slain on both sides, and the noble
William de Braose, when on a foraging expedition, was seized by the
Welsh and taken away a prisoner. A knight too, who had been lately
belted by the king, had gone out with others to forage, and was with
his companions cut off by the enemy, on which he boldly dashed into
the midst of them; but, after slaying numbers who opposed him, he at
length fell slain together with some other of the king’s army.
Amongst the chiefs of the king’s army were many who were in
confederacy with Llewellyn, although they pretended to adhere to the
king; on this account, and as all kinds of provisions failed the
army, he was obliged to make a disgraceful peace, by which he agreed
that the castle, which was almost completed, and had cost great
labour and expense, should be pulled down at the king’s own cost, and
that Llewellyn should give to the king, for his trouble and expenses,
three thousand marks, and, this treaty having been ratified, each of
them returned home. And thus the king of England returned in shame,
after having spent nearly three months in building this said castle,
wasted an endless amount of money, and left the noble William de
Braose a prisoner in the hands of Llewellyn. The ridicule of many was
then aroused, because, when the building of the castle was commenced,
the justiciary had given it the name of Hubert’s Folly, wherefore,
when, after so much trouble and expense, they saw it razed to the
ground, they all said that the justiciary was not only a prophet, but
even more than a prophet.
How
the emperor Frederic arrived at the Holy Land and promoted the cause
of the crusade.
In
the same year the Roman emperor, Frederic, took ship at the
Mediterranean sea, and on the feast of the blessed virgin Mary,
landed at Acre, where the clergy and people of that place came to
meet him, and received him with the honours due to such a great man;
but when they found out that he was excommunicated by the pope they
did not confer on him the kiss of peace, nor did they sit at table
with him, but they advised him to give satisfaction to the pope and
return to the community of the holy church. The templars and
hospitallers, however, on his arrival, went on their knees and
worshipped him, kissing his knees; and the whole of the Christian
army which was present there gave praise to God for his arrival,
being now in hopes that by his means there would be salvation in
Israel. The emperor then complained bitterly to the whole army
against the Roman pontiff, that the latter had unjustly pronounced
the sentence against him, asserting that he had delayed marching to
the assistance of the Holy Land on account of serious illness. The
sultan of Babylon, when he heard of the emperor’s arrival in Syria,
sent him a number of costly presents of gold and silver, silks and
jewels, camels and elephants, bears and monkeys, and other wonderful
things which are not to be found in western countries. The emperor,
on his arrival at Acre, found the Christian army under the command of
the duke of Limburgh, the patriarch of Jerusalem, the archbishops of
Nazareth, Cæsarea, and Narbonne, the English bishops of
Winchester and Exeter, the masters of the hospitallers, templars, and
of the Teutonic order of hospitallers, who had under their joint
command about eight hundred red pilgrim knights, and about ten
thousand foot soldiers assembled from different parts of the world;
and all these, inspired with a common feeling of devotion, marched to
Caesarea, and had garrisoned some castles there, so that it now only
remained for them to restore Joppa and then to march on the holy
city. The emperor on learning the condition of the Holy Land, fully
approved of the plan of the pilgrims, and, having made all necessary
preparations to march forward, they set out preceded by the emperor,
and on the 15th of November arrived without obstruction at Joppa. But
as it was impossible for each man to carry by land provisions enough
for himself and his horses for several days, as well as his baggage,
ships had been procured at Acre for the purpose of bringing
provisions to the army, but a sudden storm arose and the sea became
so rough that for seven successive days the Christian pilgrims were
without provisions. Great alarm then arose amongst many of them, that
the Lord in his anger would destroy his people from the face of the
earth; however, the unspeakable mercy of God, which allows no man to
be tried beyond endurance, was at length aroused by the lamentations
of his faithful people, and he commanded the winds and the sea and
there was a calm; then a great number of ships arrived, under the
guidance of the Lord, at Joppa, loaded with immense quantities of
corn and barley, wine, and all kinds of provisions, so that there was
always an abundant supply of provisions in the army till the said
fortress was rebuilt.
Of
the Jew Joseph who is still alive awaiting the last coming of Christ.
In
this year a certain archbishop of Armenia Major came on a pilgrimage
to England to see the relics of the saints, and visit the sacred
places in this kingdom, as he had done in others; he also produced
letters of recommendation from his holiness the pope to the religious
men and prelates of the churches, in which they were enjoined to
receive and entertain him with due reverence and honour. On his
arrival he went to St. Alban’s, where he was received with all
respect by the abbot and monks; at this place, being fatigued with
his journey, he remained some days to rest himself and his followers,
and a conversation was commenced between him and the inhabitants of
the convent by means of their interpreters, during which he made many
inquiries concerning the religion and religious observances of this
country, and related many strange things concerning eastern
countries. In the course of conversation he was asked whether he had
ever seen or heard anything of Joseph, a man of whom there was much
talk in the world, who, when our Lord suffered, was present and spoke
to him, and who is still alive in evidence of the Christian faith, in
reply to which a knight in his retinue, who was his interpreter,
replied, speaking in French, "My lord well knows that man, and a
little before he took his way to the western countries the said
Joseph ate at the table of my lord the archbishop in Armenia, and he
had often seen and held converse with him .” He was then asked
about what had passed between Christ and the same Joseph, to which he
replied, "At the time of the suffering of Jesus Christ, he was
seized by the Jews and led into the hall of judgement, before Pilate
the governor, that he might be judged by him on the accusation of the
Jews, and Pilate finding no cause for adjudging him to death, said to
them, "Take him and judge him according to your law;" the
shouts of the Jews, however, increasing, he, at their request,
released unto them Barabbas, and delivered Jesus to them to be
crucified. When therefore the Jews were dragging Jesus forth, and had
reached the door, Cartaphilus, a porter of the hall in Pilate’s
service, as Jesus was going out of the door, impiously struck him on
the back with his hand, and said in mockery, "Go quicker, Jesus,
go quicker, why do you loiter?" And Jesus looking back on him
with a severe countenance said to him, "I am going, and you will
wait till I return .” And according as our Lord said, this
Cartaphilus is still awaiting his return; at the time of our Lord’s
suffering he was thirty years old, and when he attains the age of a
hundred years, he always returns to the same age as he was when our
Lord suffered. After Christ’s death, when the catholic faith gained
ground, this Cartaphilus was baptized by Ananias, (who also baptized
the apostle Paul,) and was called Joseph. He often dwells in both
divisions of Armenia, and other eastern countries, passing his time
amidst the bishops and other prelates of the church; he is a man of
holy conversation and religious, a man of few words and circumspect
in his behaviour, for he does not speak at all unless when questioned
by the bishops and religious men; and then he tells of the events of
old times, and of the events which occurred at the suffering and
resurrection of our Lord, and of the witnesses of the resurrection,
namely those who rose with Christ, and went into the holy city, and
appeared unto men; he also tells of the creed of the apostles, and
of their separation and preaching; and all this he relates without
smiling or levity of conversation, as one who is well practised in
sorrow and the fear of God, always looking forward with fear to the
coming of Jesus Christ, lest at the last judgement he should find him
in anger, whom, when on his way to death, he had provoked to just
vengeance. Numbers come to him from different parts of the world,
enjoying his society and conversation, and to them, if they are men
of authority, he explains all doubts on the matters on which he is
questioned. He refuses all gifts that are offered to him, being
content with slight food and clothing. He places his hope of
salvation on the fact that he sinned through ignorance, for the Lord
when suffering prayed for his enemies in these words, "Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do."
How
master Roger succeeded Eustace, bishop of London.
In
the same year Eustace bishop of London closed his life; and in his
place the canons elected master Roger, surnamed the Black, a canon of
their church, who was then presented to the king and received by him
without any opposition. In the same year too, in the month of
December, Geoffrey bishop of Ely died, and was buried in the
cathedral church on the 12th of the same month; and on his death the
monks by common consent elected Hugh abbot of St. Edmund’s, who, when
presented to the king, was willingly accepted of by him, and was
invested with all the property of the bishopric.
1229 A.D.
How
the continental nobles invited the king of England to come to them.
A.D.
1229. At Christmas king Henry held his court at Oxford, at which the
nobles of the kingdom were present. At that place the archbishop of
Bourdeaux, who was sent by the nobles of Gascony, Aquitaine, and
Poictou, came to him, and was received with due honour by the king,
and he kept Christmas with him. Special messengers also came to him
from Normandy, all of whom had one and the same business with him,
which was, on behalf of the nobles of the above-named provinces, to
invite him to come in person to those parts, and promising that they
would all come to him with horses and arms, and followed by the
people of the province, and would stand by him without flinching, so
that he might regain his lost territories. Henry in his simplicity
was doubtful how to act, and therefore consulted the justiciary, who
was his only counsellor, who advised him to postpone the matter till
a more favourable opportunity. And the messengers being unable to
obtain any other answer returned home.
How
the astronomers of Toledo wrote concerning the planets.
In
the same year the astronomers of Toledo sent letters to all Christian
people to the following effect:— "To all the faithful
followers of Christ to whom these letters shall come, master John
David of Toledo, and all the other masters of the same place, health
and the consolation of the Holy Spirit. From the year of our Lord one
thousand two hundred and twenty-nine for seven years, in the month of
September, the sun will be in the sign of Libra; all the planets will
then come together, and the sun will be in the tail of the Dragon;
and this will be a sign of wonderful and dreadful events; and there
will be a storm of wind throughout Saturn and Mars, and the sea will
rise unusually high; and there will be such a great clashing together
of the winds that they will stand almost together, and will obscure
and darken the whole world; and they will give forth dreadful sounds,
putting the hearts of men in disorder, destroying buildings and
trees; and several valleys will be raised to a level with mountains;
and they will hurl many cities to the ground, especially Babylon,
Baldach, Methas, and Tripolis, and chiefly cities lying in gravelly
and sandy places; but before all these things come to pass there will
be an eclipse of the sun, and from the third hour of the day till
mid-day the sun will be of a fiery red colour, which denotes great
effusion of blood; and after this will follow an eclipse of the moon
of mingled colours, which will denote great confusion among nations;
and after this there will be battles and slaughter in the east and in
the west, and there will be universal earthquakes throughout the
whole world, and a great mortality and disputing of nations and
kingdoms one with another, and a great emperor will die; and after
this tempest of winds few will remain alive, but as many as do
survive will abound in delicacies and wealth; a doubtfulness will
spring up amongst the Saracens, and they shall leave their mosques
and shall become one with the Christian. Therefore we, in common with
all the magistracy and all our learned fellow astrologers of Toledo,
having discovered these facts, have thought proper to disclose them
to you, and enjoin you in remission of your sins and for the
salvation of your souls, to publish them to persons not aware of
them, and to provide places of safety for yourselves to remain in as
long as these winds shall continue; they will blow in the month of
September, and then it will be difficult to find on the earth a safe
dwelling place. Prepare therefore caves on plains surrounded by
mountains, not covered with sand or gravel, and let the caves be
covered with planks, and place earth upon them, and let no trees be
near, by which the mouth of the cave can be blocked up, and in these
caves lay up food for yourselves for forty days; know also that in
this all the philosophers and astronomers of Spain, Greece, Arabia,
Armenia, and the Hebrews, are of the same opinion as ourselves. We
have heard too that the king of Manichin is building a tower of
excellent materials, in which all his neighbours are assisting him,
and the tower will be as large as a mountain. And we also declare of
the king of Sicily, the dangers which seem to us impending. Nothing
therefore remains for Christians at this present crisis, but for each
and all of them to endeavour to prepare their minds by fruitful
repentance, by pure and humble confession, and by proper atonement,
that when the Bridegroom cometh they may not meet him with empty
lamps, like the foolish virgins who had no oil, and, which God
forbid, find the door shut against them; but rather, like the wise
virgins, with their lamps trimmed, and may be allowed to enter with
the Bridegroom to the marriage-feast .” We confidently believe
that within the seven years following we shall see some things happen
to which, either in reality or by analogy, we may find Borne
adaptation to these letters of the astronomers. But of this
hereafter.
How
pope Gregory made war against the Roman emperor Frederic.
About
this time, pope Gregory, being annoyed because the Roman emperor
Frederic had gone to the Holy Land an excommunicated and rebellious
man, entirely despaired of his ever repenting, and make satisfaction
so as to return to the unity of the church; he therefore determined,
as he saw that he was rebellious and contumacious, to drive him from
his imperial dignity, and to appoint some other son of peace and
obedience in his stead. But since our information on this matter
could only have reached us by means of others, we will here give a
letter from a certain count Thomas, whom the emperor at his departure
had appointed, in conjunction with some others, to be guardian and
agent of the empire, which letter that noble sent to the emperor,
concerning this affair, and which we obtained from a pilgrim: "To
the high and mighty Frederic, by the grace of God, the august emperor
of the Romans, and the most potent king of Sicily, Thomas count of
Atterae, his faithful and devoted subject in all respects, health,
and victory over his enemies. After your majesty’s departure, Gregory
the Roman pontiff, the open enemy of your excellency, assembled a
large army by the agency of John de Brienne, ex-king of Jerusalem,
and some other bold men, whom he appointed chiefs of his expedition,
and invaded your territories and those of your subjects. and in
disregard of the Christian law, resolved to subdue you by the sword
of steel, since he could not, as he says, humble you by the spiritual
one; for the aforesaid John is collecting a large body of soldiers
from the kingdom of France and other adjacent countries, being in
hopes of obtaining the empire, if he can conquer you. and supplies
his soldiers with pay from the treasury of the apostolic see. This
said John then, and the other chiefs of the army of the apostolic
see, have invaded your territory and that of your subjects, and are
setting fire to the buildings and towns, seizing the cattle and other
booty, making prisoners of the inhabitants, and after torturing them
in various ways, compel them to pay a heavy ransom; they spare
neither age nor sex, and show no mercy to any one outside of the
churches or cemeteries; they are taking towns and castles, and give
no heed to the fact of your being in the service of Jesus Christ; and
if any one makes mention of the emperor, this John de Brienne
declares that there is no other emperor besides himself. Your
friends, most mighty emperor, are astonished at these things, and
especially the clergy wonder by what advice and with what conscience
the Roman pontiff can do such things, and make war against
Christians, especially as the Lord said to Peter as he was about to
strike the man with his sword of steel, “Put up your sword into
the seal* bard; for every one who strikes with the sword shall
perish by the sword .” And they equally wonder by what right
he, who every day as it were excommunicates robbers, incendiaries,
and tormentors of the Christians, and excludes them from the
community of the church, can authorize and give his consent to such
proceedings. I beseech you, therefore, most mighty emperor, to take
measures for your own safety, and to preserve your honour touching
the aforesaid matters, for your enemy, the aforesaid John de Brienne,
has garrisoned all the ports on this side the water with large
numbers of armed spies, in order that, if you should happen to return
from your pilgrimage, he may make prisoner of you, which God forbid.*
*
Paris adds: “In
the same year, on the second and third days of the week before Ash
Wednesday, on which days the student clerks are accustomed to make
holiday, some clerks left the city and went to St. Marcel, to enjoy
the sports there on account of its healthy air; and on their arrival
there, after refreshing themselves for a while with their games, they
discovered some very good and sweet wine in a tavern there. After
some time a quarrel arose between the clerks drinking there and the
vintners, as to the price of the wine, and they proceeded to strike
one another and tear each other’s hair, until the villagers came up
and rescued the vintners from the hands of the clerks, inflicting
severe blows on the opposing clerks, and at length after beating them
soundly, put them to flight. They returned bruised to the city, and
aroused their companions to revenge them; they all accordingly
sallied forth the next day with swords and clubs, and on arriving at
St. Marcel, they forcibly entered the house of one of the vintners,
broke all his wine vessels, poured the wine about the floor of the
house, and then, proceeding through the streets, they fiercely
attacked every one they met, and after beating them severely, left
them half dead. The prior of St. Marcel, on learning the great
injuries inflicted on the people whom he was bound to protect, laid a
complaint before the Roman legate and the bishop of Paris, who at
once proceeded together to the queen, who then managed the government
of the kingdom, and begged of her to give orders for the punishment
of such an insult. The queen, with a woman’s sauciness, and at the
first impulse ordered the prefects of the city and some of her
soldiers to arm themselves immediately, sally forth from the city,
and punish the authors of this act of violence, showing mercy to
none. These men being always ready to perform any cruelty, went
through the gates of the city, and found a number of clerks outside
engaged in their games, but who had not been at all concerned in the
above violence. The tumultuous clerks, who had caused the origin of
the contest were from the provinces adjoining Flanders, commonly
called Picards. Notwithstanding this however, the officers of the
city, although the officers saw that the aforesaid clerks were
unarmed and innocent, rushed on them, slaying some, wounding some,
and beating and merciless!? ill-treating others; some of them however
escaped and hid themselves in the vineyards and caves. Amongst the
wounded, two rich clerks of high station were found slain, one of
whom was of Flemish race, the other a Norman. When this enormous
crime came to the ears of the heads of the university, they all went
in a body before the queen and the legate, having first suspended all
reading and disputation, and demanded instant justice for the injury;
for they thought it highly unjust that, on such slight grounds, the
offence of a few contemptible petty clerks should redound to the
prejudice of the whole university; but that the one who had been
guild of the offence ought to give satisfaction. But as all justice
was denied them both by the queen and the legate as well as by the
bishop of the city, the whole body of masters and scholars departed
in different directions; the teaching of the doctors and the
discipline of the scholars ceased, and not one distinguished scholar
out of the whole number remained; and the city which used to glory in
its clericals was now deprived of them. The renowned English
scholars, masters Alan de Beccles, Nicholas de Fernham, John Blundus,
Ralph de Maidstone, and William of Durham departed amongst the rest,
and many others too numerous to mention; the greatest part of them
however chose the city of Anjou as the metropolitan city for
universal learning. Thus therefore the clerks left the city of Paris,
once the nurse of philosophy and wisdom, execrating the Roman legate,
and cursing the womanly haughtiness of the queen, and the infamous
unanimity between them. Some servants or dependants of the departing
scholars, or those who are called Goliardenses, composed the
following ridiculous verse:—
‘Heu! morimur strati, vincti, mersi, spoliati;
Mentula legati nos facit ista pati.’
‘Woe to us all, for die we must,
All owing to this legate’s lust.’
Some better versifier, however, by an apostrophe, makes the city of Park
say,
‘Clere, tremisco metu, quia vis contemnere me tu
Perfundor fletu, mea damna fleo, tua fie tu.’
‘Ye clergy I tremble with fearing,
You are too proud to give me a hearing;
I am thoroughly drenched with crying,
We are each for his own losses sighing.’
At length by the intervention of discreet persons peace was made between
the clergy and the citizens and the scholars were recalled.”
In the same year, as Ash Wednesday approached, which was the day
appointed for the archbishop elect of Canterbury and the king’s
messengers to hear the definitive decision of the pope as to what
ought by right to be done in the matter of the election, the said
messengers, and especially Master John de Houton, made continual
petitions to the pope and the cardinals, but finding them difficult
of persuasion, they were in great fear of being deceived in their
expectations; whereupon they held an abominable council on the above
matters, and at length, on behalf of the king of England, promised
the pope a tenth part of all moveable property from all England and
Ireland, to maintain his war against the emperor, on condition that
he would favour the king’s designs. The pope, who above all things
desired to humble the rebellious emperor, was delighted at these
promises, and induced to consent to their terms, and accordingly,
taking his seat in the consistory, he delivered sentence as follows.
The
election of Walter the monk, elect of Canterbury, annulled.
The
election in the church of Canterbury of a certain monk named Walter
has lately been brought to our notice, and we have since heard what
the said monk has pleaded on behalf of himself, and in favour of his
election; we have also heard the objections and exceptions made by
the bishops of England, as well against the aforesaid election as
against the character of the elect, which have been set forth in our
presence by our venerable brothers the bishops of Coventry and
Rochester, and our well-beloved son the archdeacon of Bedford, and we
entrusted it to our venerable brothers, the lord bishop of Albano,
master Thomas de Sta. Sabina, and master P., our cardinals, to make
an examination into the qualities of the archbishop elect. And when
the said elect appeared before them, and was asked concerning the
descent of our Lord into hell, whether he descended in the flesh, or
was released from it, he answered unsatisfactorily. Also when asked
about the consecration of the body of Christ at the altar, he
answered improperly. Again, when asked about Rachel, how she wept for
her children, he improperly replied, “When she was first dead
.” Again, when asked about the sentence of excommunication if
pronounced contrary to law, he answered improperly. Also, when asked
about marriage, if either of the contracting parties should die an
unbeliever, he gave an improper answer. On all these points he has
been carefully examined by the cardinals, and we say that he has
answered not only indifferently, but even most improperly. Since,
therefore, the church of Canterbury is noble, and should have a noble
prelate, a discreet and modest man, and one taken from the bosom of
the Roman church; and since this present elected one, whom we not
only pronounce to be unworthy for the office, but of whom, if we were
to act with strict regard to justice, we should be compelled to say
something more, is quite unfit to be raised to such a high station;
we therefore altogether annul the election that has been made with
regard to him, reserving to ourselves to provide for the said church.
Of the promotion of Richard to the archbishopric of Canterbury.
The above election then having been thus annulled, the agents of the king
of England and of the suffragan bishops of the church of Canterbury,
in the pope’s presence, produced authentic letters from the same,
namely, the king and bishops, in which they made a proposal in favour
of master Richard, chancellor of the church of Lincoln, declaring
that he was a man of eminent wisdom and learning, and of goodly
conversation, and that he would greatly promote the welfare of the
church of Rome, as well as of the king and kingdom of England; and
thus bestowing all kinds of praise on this person, they induced the
pope and his cardinals to consent to his election: and thus the
aforesaid Richard having been not elected, but given to the
archbishopric, his holiness the pope sent letters to the suffragan
bishops of Canterbury to the following effect, “Gregory,
bishop, &c., &c. In our care of the pastoral office which is
entrusted and granted by our Lord to us, unworthy as we are, we, in
the plenitude of our apostolic power, are, by emergencies daily
arising, compelled to undertake the care and management of all
churches, and when necessary, out of regard to justice and in
kindness, to provide for them with paternal diligence. Amongst all
other particular churches and metropolitan sees we open the eyes of
our consideration to the church of Canterbury, in its necessities, as
the most noble limb of the apostolic see, and which the mother of
churches, the apostolic see, ought to regard with the greater favour,
inasmuch as the divine mercy has shed more abundant grace on the
temporal and spiritual concerns of that see. This church, the Most
High, in his disposal of things, has planted as the paradise of
pleasure and the garden of sweets, in which he has produced the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil in his institution of the
metropolitan dignity, the tree of life in the religious order of
monks, and the discipline of regular observance of their tenets,
trees bearing fruit in the suffragan bishops, which by their good
works give delight to the sight, by the doctrines of faith please the
taste, and by good opinion refresh the smell. From the same place
flows forth a river by which is denoted the blood of the glorious
martyr Thomas, which in its course is divided into four heads, since
it restores life to the dead, health to the sick, liberty to slaves,
and courage to the timid. And when in careful meditation we discuss
his excelling miracles, we find the rare and extraordinary delights
of the divine plantation. Whereas, the guardian of this paradise,
Stephen of good memory, lately archbishop of Canterbury, a cardinal
of the Roman church, and a man most signally imbued with the gifts of
science and with the heavenly grace, has been taken from the workshop
of the flesh, and removed as we hope and trust to the enjoyments and
tranquillity of the heavenly paradise, our beloved sons of the
conventual assembly at Canterbury have brought to our notice an
election they have made of one Walter, a monk of Canterbury; and
whereas, after discussing the merits of that election, and examining
into the learning of that person, we in due regard to justice, have
annulled that election, and have thought proper to place in that
paradise, to manage and guard it, master Richard, chancellor of
Lincoln, a man of dignity, one by his life and knowledge,
understanding and disposition, made after the image and likeness of
God, and one by his wholesome doctrines having the breath of life,
and whom, as well from the evidence of our brethren who knew him when
pursuing his studies, as from that of our venerable brethren the
bishops of Rochester and Coventry, and of several others, we have
discovered to be a man of distinguished learning, goodly
conversation, unblemished fame, and great perseverance, and a zealous
protector of souls and of the liberty of the church, and have, by the
advice of our brethren, and in the presence of the above-mentioned
bishops, appointed the said Richard archbishop and pastor of the
church of Canterbury. Wherefore, by these apostolic letters, we warn
and exhort the brotherhood of you, as the sons of charity and
devotion, to receive and give heed to him, to the honour of God, the
apostolic see, and the church of Canterbury, with due humility and
sincere devotion, and humbly and devoutly to obey him as your father,
and the pastor of your souls, and as your metropolitan bishop. You
ought indeed to rejoice in the Lord that, chiefly by the co-operation
of the grace of him who both prevents and assists our exertions, a
praiseworthy provision has been made for that widowed church. Given,
&c .” *
*
C. inserts here: “It
is known, however, that the deposition of master Walter monk of
Canterbury, was obtained by the agency of master Alexander de
Stavenesby bishop of Chester, and master Henry de Sandford bishop of
Rochester, and some others, the chief of whom was master John de
Hetotoft archdeacon of Bedford, not in a proper manner, nor as was
advantageous to their souls. But this is, however, shown at
sufficient length above.”
How
the Holy Land was restored to the emperor Frederic.
In
the same year, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Consoler of the
world, visited his people in his compassion, and in compliance with
the prayers of the universal church, restored to the Christian people
in general, but to the Roman emperor Frederic in particular, the city
of Jerusalem and the whole country which the Lord our Redeemer and
Son of God had consecrated by his blood. Such was the good-will of
our Lord to his people, of him who exalts the merciful to eternal
life, that he may work vengeance on the nations, and dissension
amongst the tribes of the Saracens. For at that time the sultan of
Babylon was so severely harassed by internal wars in all directions,
that not being able to attend to more, he was compelled to make a
truce of ten years with the emperor, and to give up the Holy Land to
the Christians without bloodshed. And thus a good war was sent by the
Lord that a bad peace might be broken; but that this kindness of the
divine grace may be more clearly shown to the reader, let him read
the following letter of the Roman emperor which he sent sealed with
gold, to Henry king of England.
Letter
of the emperor to the English king on the above matter.
“Frederic,
by the grace of God, the august emperor of the Romans, king of
Jerusalem and Sicily, to his well-beloved friend Henry king of the
English, health and sincere affection. Let all rejoice and exult in
the Lord, and let those who are correct in heart glorify him, who, to
make known his power, does not make boast of horses and chariots, but
has now gained glory for himself in the scarcity of his soldiers,
that all may know and understand that he is glorious in his majesty,
terrible in his magnificence, and wonderful in his plans on the sons
of men, changing seasons at will, and bringing the hearts of
different nations together; for in these few days, by a miracle
rather than by strength, that business has been brought to a
conclusion, which for a length of time past many chiefs and rulers of
the world amongst the multitude of nations, have never been able till
now to accomplish by force, however great, nor by fear. Not therefore
to keep you in suspense by a long account, we wish to inform your
holiness, that we, firmly putting our trust in God, and believing
that Jesus Christ his Son, in whose service we have so devotedly
exposed our bodies and lives, would not abandon us in these unknown
and distant countries, but would at least give us wholesome advice
and assistance for his honour, praise, and glory, boldly in the name
set forth from Acre on the 15th day of the month of November last
past and arrived safely at Joppa, intending to rebuild the castle at
that place with proper strength, that afterwards the approach to the
holy city of Jerusalem might be not only easier, but also shorter and
more safe for us as well as for all Christians. When therefore we
were in the confidence of our trust in God engaged at Joppa and
superintending the building of the castle and the cause of Christ as
necessity required, and as was our duty, and whilst all our pilgrims
were busily engaged in these matters, several messengers often passed
to and fro between us and the sultan of Babylon; for he and another
sultan called Xaphat his brother, were with a large army at the city
of Gaza, distant about one day’s journey from us; in another
direction in the city of Sichen, which is commonly called Neapolis,
and situated in the plains, the sultan of Damascus, his nephew, was
staying with an immense number of knights and soldiers also about a
day’s journey from us and the Christians. And whilst the treaty was
in progress between the parties on either side of the restoration of
the Holy Land, at length Jesus Christ the Son of God, beholding from
on high our devoted endurance and patient devotion to his cause, in
his merciful compassion of us, at length brought it about that the
sultan of Babylon restored to us the holy city, the place where the
feet of Christ trod, and where the true worshippers adore the Father
in spirit and in truth. But that we may inform you of the particulars
of this surrender each as they happened, be it known to you that not
only is the body of the aforesaid city restored to us, but also the
whole of the country extending from thence to the sea-coast near the
castle of Joppa, so that for the future pilgrims will have free
passage and a safe return to and from the sepulchre; provided,
however, that the Saracens of that part of the country, since they
hold the temple in great veneration, may come there as often as they
choose in the character of pilgrims, to worship according to their
custom, and that we shall henceforth permit them to come, however
only as many as we may choose to allow, and without arms, nor are
they to dwell in the city, but outside, and as soon as they have paid
their devotions they are to depart. Moreover the city of Bethlehem is
restored to us, and all the country between Jerusalem and that city;
as also the city of Nazareth, and all the country between Acre and
that city; the whole of the district of Turon, which is very
extensive, and very advantageous to the Christians; the city of
Sidon too is given up to us with the whole plain and its
appurtenances, which will be the more acceptable to the Christians
the more advantageous it has till now appeared to be to the Saracens,
especially as there is a good harbour there, and from there great
quantities of arms and necessaries might be carried to the city of
Damascus, and often from Damascus to Babylon. And although according
to our treaty we are allowed to rebuild the city of Jerusalem in as
good a state as it has ever been, and also the castles of Joppa,
Caesarea, Sidon, and that of St. Mary of the Teutonic order, which
the brothers of that order have begun to build in the mountainous
district of Acre, and which it has never been allowed the Christians
to do during any former truce, nevertheless the sultan is not
allowed, till the end of the truce between him and us, which is
agreed on for ten years, to repair or rebuild any fortresses or
castles. And so on Sunday the 18th day of February last past, which
is the day on which Christ the Son of God rose from the dead, and
which, in memory of his resurrection, is solemnly cherished and kept
holy by all Christians in general throughout the world, this treaty
of peace was confirmed by oath between us. Truly then on us and on
all does that day seem to have shone favourably, in which the angels
sing in praise of God, “Glory to God on high, and on earth
peace, and good-will towards men .” And in acknowledgement of
such great kindness and of such an honour, which, beyond our deserts
and contrary to the opinion of many, God has mercifully conferred on
us, to the lasting renown of his compassion, and that in his holy
place we might personally offer to him the burnt offering of our
lips, be it known to you that on the 17th day of the month of March
of this second induction, we, in company with all the pilgrims who
had with us faithfully followed Christ the Son of God, entered the
holy city of Jerusalem, and after worshipping at the holy sepulchre,
we, as being a catholic emperor, on the following day, wore the
crown, which Almighty God provided for us from the throne of his
majesty, when of his special grace he exalted us on high amongst the
princes of the world; so that whilst we have supported the honour of
this high dignity, which belongs to us by right of sovereignty, it is
more and more evident to all that the hand of the Lord hath done all
this; and since his mercies are over all his works, let the
worshippers of the orthodox faith henceforth know and relate it fax
and wide throughout the world, that He, who is blessed for ever, has
visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up the horn of
salvation for us in the house of his servant David. And before we
leave the city of Jerusalem, we have determined magnificently to
rebuild it and its towers and walls, and we intend so to arrange
matters that, during our absence, there shall be no less care and
diligence used in the business than if we were present in person. In
order that this our present letter may be full of exultation
throughout, and so a happy end correspond with its happy beginning,
and rejoice your royal mind, we wish it to be known to you our ally,
that the said sultan is bound to restore to us all those captives
whom he did not, in accordance with the treaty made between him and
the Christians, deliver up at the time when he lost Damietta some
time since, and also the others who have been since taken. Given at
the holy city of Jerusalem, on the 17th day of the month of March, in
the year of our Lord, one thousand two hundred and twenty-nine."
Of the signs preceding the restoration of the Holy Land.*
* These two chapters are omitted in Paris, instead of which is a
description of the great seal attached to the emperor’s bull.
“The form of the emperor’s golden bull was as
follows:— On one side was the royal figure, and around it was written,
‘Frederic, by the grace of God, the august emperor of the Romans.’ On the
same side as the royal figure, over the left shoulder, was written, ‘King of
Jerusalem;’ in another part, over the left shoulder, were the words,
‘King of Sicily.’ On the other side of the bull was engraved a city,
representing Rome, and around it was written, ‘Rome, the head of the
world, holds the reigns of the round world.’ This bull was somewhat
larger than the pope’s.”
It
should be remarked concerning this restoration of the land of promise
and Jerusalem to the Christians, that as the astronomers of Toledo,
before this cause of general rejoicing and exultation amongst
Christians, wrote concerning the concourse of the planets, and of the
dreadful storms of wind, so that they would stand together, and at
the same time that there would be an earthquake, and an eclipse of
the sun as well as the moon, which has been before mentioned amongst
the events of this year, in the same way, before the taking of the
Holy Land and the cross of our Lord by that perfidious and cruel man
Saladin, some other astronomers then living in the same city also
wrote to pope Clement as follows: — From the present year,
which is the one thousand one hundred and seventy-ninth year of our
Lord’s incarnation, till the expiration of seven years, in the month
of September, the sun being in Libra and the tail of the Dragon,
there will be, if God so permit, an assembling of the planets in
Libra and the tail of the Dragon, and this is a wonderful
signification of a change of immutable events. And there shall follow
a dreadful earthquake, and the accustomed places of perdition shall
be destroyed by Saturn and Mars, &c. This conjunction of the
planets will produce a strong wind, which will thicken and darken the
air, and infect it with poison, and the sound of this wind will be
dreadful, disturbing the hearts of men; and from sandy regions it
shall raise the sand and overwhelm the cities lying nearest to them
in the plains, and in the first place the eastern cities of Mecca and
Babylon, and all cities lying near to sandy places; not one will
escape being overwhelmed with sand and earth. But signs of these
events will precede them; in the same year there will be, before the
planets assemble in Libra, a total eclipse of the sun, and in the
preceding conflict the moon will be totally eclipsed; and the
eclipse of the sun will be of a fiery and unsightly colour, denoting
that there will be a war amongst chiefs near a river in the east, and
likewise in western countries; and a doubtfulness shall fall amongst
the Jews and Saracens, until they shall altogether abandon their
synagogues and mosques, and their sect shall at the command of God be
entirely destroyed and annihilated; wherefore, when you see the
eclipse, know that you are to leave that land with all your
followers.
How
on account of the sins of man the Holy Land was lost.
At
that time there was much evil amongst men on earth, so that "all
flesh almost had corrupted its way before the Lord;" for the
practice of sin had burst forth amongst the people to such a degree,
that all, casting aside the veil of shame, everywhere inclined to
wickedness openly. Too tedious is it to enumerate the slaughters,
robberies, adultery, obscenities, lies, treasons, and other crimes,
especially so to us, who design to write of the events which
occurred. However the old enemy of man after having disseminated the
spirit of corruption far and wide in the world, invaded Syria in
particular, from which place other nations received their religion in
the first place, and from that place they then took the example of
all uncleanness. For this reason therefore the Lord and Saviour of
the world, seeing that the land of his nativity, suffering, and
resurrection had fallen into the depths of wickedness, scorned his
inheritance, and allowed the rod of his anger, namely Saladin, to
vent his rage to the extermination of that obstinate race; for he
preferred that the Holy Land should for a short time be a slave to
the profane rites of nations, than that those people should any
longer nourish, who were not restrained from unlawful actions by any
regard to probity. The approach of the destruction which was to
happen, was prognosticated by divers events, namely by a great
famine, frequent earthquakes, and eclipses of the sun and moon; but
the storm of wind, which the astronomers of Toledo, from an
inspection of the stars, had pronounced would come from the
assembling of the planets, together with a mortality and foul
atmosphere, was without doubt changed to signify this event; for in
the spring there was a heavy wind which shook the four quarters of
the world, and signified that its different nations would be stirred
up to battle and to the destruction of the Holy Land. And the holy
city of Jerusalem, with the whole land of promise, and also the
life-giving cross of our Lord, remained in the hands of the enemies
of Christ for forty-two years up to this present year, which is the
one thousand two hundred and twenty-ninth year of our Lord’s
incarnation, when at length the time arrived for our Lord in his
compassion to give heed to the prayers of his humble servants, and to
rebuild Sion, to appear in his glory in the place of his holy
nativity, suffering, and resurrection, to hear the lamentations of
his enslaved people, and to release the sons of the destroyed ones.
Truly and without doubt did the Lord hear the groans of his enslaved
people at the restoration of the Holy Land, which at that time was
brought about by the diligence of the emperor Frederic, with the
co-operation of the divine clemency, inasmuch as all the captives who
were in the power of the pagans and subjected to the vilest kinds of
slavery, were now released from the yoke of bondage and came to the
holy city of Jerusalem, where they showed themselves to many, and,
after having paid their devotions in the sacred places of the holy
city, returned to their own countries in various parts of the world,
praising and blessing God in all things, for they had heard and seen
what wonderful works the Lord had done for them and showed to them.
Of
the reconciliation of the holy city of Jerusalem and other places.
The
army of the Christians then, as we have said, entered the holy city
of Jerusalem, and the patriarch, with the suffragan bishops, purified
the temple of the Lord and the church of his holy sepulchre and
resurrection, and all the other sacred churches of the city; they
washed the pavement and walls with holy water, and forming
processions with hymns and psalms they reconciled to God all his
places which had been so long defiled by the filth of the pagans, but
as long as the emperor, who was excommunicated, remained inside the
city, no prelate dared to perform mass in it . However a certain
master Walter, a religious, wise, and discreet man, of the order of
preachers, who had been entrusted by the pope with the duty of
preaching in the army of Christ, which duty he had for a long time
prosperously fulfilled, performed divine services in the suburban
churches, by which he greatly excited the devotion of the Christians.
After then the prelates, inferior as well as superior, and all the
religious men had had their churches and old possessions restored to
them, and had rejoiced in all the heavenly gifts which had been
bestowed on them far beyond their expectations, they all set to work
in conjunction with the rest of the pilgrims, at great expense and
trouble, to rebuild the city, to surround the walls with trenches,
and to repair the ramparts of the towers; and not only was this done
in the holy city of Jerusalem, but also in all the cities and
fortresses of that land, which Jesus Christ had trodden with his holy
feet, and consecrated with his sacred blood.
The
pope’s causes of complaint against the emperor.*
*
Paris greatly enlarges on the dispute between the pope and the
emperor, and gives a long letter from Gerald patriarch of Jerusalem,
complaining of the emperor, written in the usual style of the letters
of those days.—Ed,
In
the same year master Stephen, a chaplain and messenger of the pope,
came to England to the king to collect the tithes promised by the
messengers of the said king to his holiness for carrying on his war
against the Roman emperor; for the pope had heard of many detestable
offences against the Christian law committed by the said emperor, on
account of which he had committed to writing, and caused to be
published in letters from the apostolic see throughout the different
parts of the world. In the first place he set forth against him that,
on the day of the annunciation of the blessed Mary, he, although
excommunicated, had gone into the church of the holy sepulchre at
Jerusalem, and there, before the great altar, had with his own hands
crowned himself, and when thus crowned, had sat there in the
patriarchal seat, and made a speech to the people extenuating his
wickedness, and accusing the Roman church of having acted unjustly
against him; and then going forth from the church, attended by a
crowd of his own followers, without any ecclesiastic official, had
worn the crown to the palace of the hospitallers. Also, that in his
palace at Acre he had eaten and drunk with Saracens, and introduced
Christian dancing women to perform before them, and, as was said,
that they had afterwards had connection with them. Also, that no one
except himself knew the terms of the treaty which he had entered into
with the sultan; and it plainly appeared, as far as could be judged
from external appearances, that he approved of the law of the
Saracens rather than that of our faith, inasmuch as he followed their
customs in several points. Also, that in the written agreement
between him and the sultan, which in the Arabic tongue is called
mosepha, there was contained a condition, that, during the truce, he
would assist the sultan against all men, Christians as well as
Saracens, and on the other hand the sultan would in the same way
assist him. Also, that he had deprived the canons of the holy cross
at Acre of some revenues, which were their due at the port of Acre.
Also, that he had plundered the archbishop of Nicosia in Cyprus.
Also, that in opposition to the patriarch, he had by the secular
power protected a certain bishop of the Syrians who had been ordained
by one who was excommunicated and schismatical. Also, that he had
robbed the canons of the holy sepulchre of the offerings at that
sepulchre, and the patriarch of the offerings at Calvary and
Golgotha, and had also robbed the canons of the holy temple of their
offerings, collecting all these offerings by his agents, for which
offences his brother Walter had excommunicated him and all his
followers in the city of Jerusalem. Also, that on Palm Sunday he had
ordered the preachers to be dragged by force from the pulpits where
they were preaching, and had maltreated and imprisoned them. Also,
that about the time of our Lord’s passion he had besieged the
patriarch, the bishops of Winchester and Exeter, and the templars in
their houses, but when he saw that he could not gain his ends he
departed in confusion. For these reasons, although there were not
wanting others, his holiness the pope paid no regard to whatever he
had done in the Holy Land, and made war against him, asserting that
it was just and necessary to the Christian faith, that a disturber of
the church should be deposed from the imperial station, and what was
still more abominable than all these offences, he had stirred up such
a grievous persecution against his mother, the church of Rome, had
taken possession of the castles, lands, and possessions belonging to
it, and even now detained them as a declared enemy.
Of
the tithes collected in England for pope Gregory.
About
this same time master Stephen the pope’s chaplain and messenger
explained the pope’s business and the cause of his coming to England
to the king, on which the latter, on the second Sunday after Easter,
convoked a council at Westminster of the archbishops, bishops,
abbots, priors, templars, hospitallers, earls, barons, rectors of
churches, and all who held in chief from him, to hear the aforesaid
message, and to discuss necessary business in common. When therefore
they were all assembled, laymen as well as prelates and their
dependants, master Stephen, in the presence of them all, read the
letters of the pope, claiming the tenth part of all moveable property
throughout all England, Ireland, and Wales, from clergy as well as
laity, in order to enable his holiness to carry on the war which he
had undertaken against the Roman emperor Frederic. He also declared
in these letters that he alone had undertaken this expedition on
behalf of the church universal, which the said emperor, so long
excommunicated and rebellious, was endeavouring to overthrow, as was
plainly evident, wherefore, as the apostolic see was not rich enough
to destroy him, he was forced by necessity to beg assistance from all
the sons of the church, by which means he might be able to bring to
the desired conclusion the expedition which he had commenced, and
which was in a measure now going on prosperously. At length, at the
conclusion of the letter the pope advised each and all of them as
limbs of the church, inasmuch as they were natural sons of the church
of Rome, which is the mother of all churches, to give powerful
assistance to her, lest, which God forbid, if they failed in so
doing, the whole body as well as the limbs should give way. By such
and such like arguments set forth in the pope’s letter, master
Stephen endeavoured to persuade all who were present to agree to the
demand, setting forth the honour and advantage that would accrue to
those who were obedient. The king, whom all the rest hoped would
assist them in opposing this exaction, could not oppose them, as he
had by his messengers at Home, as has been above-stated, promised to
pay these tithes, and as he made no answer, he seemed by his silence
to give consent. But the earls, barons, and all the laity plainly
declared that they would not give these tithes, as they did not wish
to pledge their baronies or lay possessions to the Roman church. The
bishops, abbots, priors, and other prelates of the churches, after
two or three days’ deliberation and no slight grumbling, at length
consented to it, being afraid that they should incur the sentence of
excommunication or interdict if they opposed the apostolic commands.
A Master Stephen then showed to all the prelates letters procuratory
from the pope, by which his holiness had appointed him his agent to
collect the said tithes, and that they were to be collected, not as
was done in levying the tax of the twentieth part, which had been a
little while before given to the king to obtain their rights, but in
the best way they could to the advantage of the pope, and that all
the goods and moveable property of each was to be taxed so as to
yield the most; namely, a tenth part of all incomes, yearly profits,
produce of ploughed lands, offerings, tithes, provisions for men and
beasts, and of all the revenues of the churches and other
possessions, under whatever name they were enrolled, on no occasion
deducting any debts or expenses. By these same letters, too, he was
authorized to excommunicate all gainsayers, and to lay the churches
under interdict; wherefore, after appointing his agents in each
county of England, he excommunicated all those who, either themselves
or by means of others, should practise any collusion or deceit, make
any unjust compacts, or any deduction in the matter of paying the
aforesaid tithes. And, since immediate assistance was necessary in
the matter, he ordered all the prelates and others, under penalty of
excommunication, either amongst themselves or in some way or other,
to give him up at once the money which was required, that he might
send it directly to the pope, and that afterwards they could recover
the same in full from the tithes which were to be taken from every
one. For he said that the pope was involved in so many debts, that he
did not at all know how he should sustain the war which he had
commenced. And then dissolving the council all went away murmuring.
Of
the grievous exaction of the said tithes.
After
this master Stephen sent letters to each of the bishops, abbots,
priors, and religious men of every condition throughout the kingdom,
ordering them, under the penalty of excommunication and interdict, to
send to him on such a day a certain sum out of the money which had
been lately proved, and made by the pennyweight, in order that he
might satisfy the pope’s creditors, and that they might avoid the
punishment of an interdict; in his execution of this business he
practised such unjust extortion, that he compelled every one to give
him the value of the tenth part, even from the crops of the coming
autumn, which were still in the blade. The prelates then, having no
other resource, took the chalices, goblets, phylacteries, and other
holy vessels from the churches, some of which they sold, and pledged
others at interest. The country was filled with incessant, although
secret, maledictions, and all prayed that such an exaction might
never be productive of advantage to their exactors. Ralph earl of
Chester was the only one who refused to reduce his territory to
bondage, and did not permit the religious men and clerks to
contribute these tithes from his fee, although England and Wales,
Scotland and Ireland, were all compelled to pay them. However in this
tithing one circumstance gave some slight consolation and comfort,
which was that the continental kingdoms and those at a distance were
not free from this taxation. When at length the full amount of money
collected in this way reached the supreme pontiff, he liberally
distributed it to John de Brienne and the other chiefs of his army,
and this caused serious injury to the emperor, for in his absence
they destroyed his towns and castles.
In
the same year, [1229] on the 27th of May. Robert de Bingeham bishop
elect of Salisbury, was consecrated at Shepton, by William bishop of
Worcester, assisted by the bishops Jocelyn of Bath and Alexander of
Coventry. In this year too, on Whit-Sunday, the 3rd of June, king
Henry conferred the belt of a knight on John, son of Hubert the
justiciary of England.
Of
the consecration of Richard archbishop of Canterbury, &c.
In
the same year, on Trinity-Sunday, the suffragan bishops of the church
of Canterbury assembled at that city, and on that day master Richard
the archbishop elect was consecrated by Henry bishop of Rochester,
without the pall, so that he was allowed either to ordain or to
dedicate churches. Together with him on the same day, which was the
10th of June, Roger bishop elect of London, and Hugh of Ely, were
consecrated by the same bishop before the great altar in the church
of the Holy Trinity. Of the great preparations of the king of England
to cross into France. About the same time, at Michaelmas, king Henry
assembled at Portsmouth all the nobility of the kingdom of England,
namely, the earls, barons, and knights, with such a host of soldiers,
horse and foot, as was believed none of his predecessors had ever
before got together; for such a host of knights and soldiers came to
him from the countries of Ireland and Scotland, Wales and Galway,
that all were wonder-struck; for with this great force the king
intended to cross the sea, to recover possession of the territories
which his father had lost. But when the chiefs and marshals of the
king’s army came to embark the provisions and arms on board the
ships, they found only such a few of them that there were not enough
to transport half the army; when the news of this was carried to the
king he was greatly enraged and laid the whole blame of this on
Hubert de Burgh the justiciary, and, in the hearing of all, called
him an old traitor, accusing him of having received five thousand
marks from the queen of the French to cause this deficiency in order
to frustrate his plans, and at length in a transport of rage he drew
his sword and endeavoured to kill the justiciary; on this Ralph earl
of Chester, and several others who were present, interposed and saved
him from death, but he withdrew himself from the king’s presence,
until his anger against him should cool down. In the meantime on the
9th of October, Henry count of Brittany * arrived at that port, to
conduct the king in safety to his territory, as had been agreed on
and confirmed by oath between them; but he, in conjunction with some
other prudent men of the army, advised the king to put off the
expedition till after the ensuing Easter, as it was dangerous to
undertake such a difficult voyage during the winter; on this the king
gave permission to all of the army to return home, and he and, the
justiciary became reconciled. The count of Brittany then did homage
to the king against all men for Brittany; and the king restored to
him all his rights in England, and, after giving him five thousand
marks for the defence of his territory, he sent him back to his own
province. In this same year, on the 23rd of November, Richard
archbishop of Canterbury received the pall which had been transmitted
to him by the pope, and in the presence of the king and the suffragan
bishops, performed divine service with the pall in the cathedral
church at Canterbury.
*
This should be Peter Mauclerc count of Brittany, Henry was the name
of the duke of Burgundy.
Of
the wicked death of a usurer.
About
this time there dwelt in Lesser Britain a certain usurer, who by
lending his money out at interest had amassed immense wealth.
Although often told by the bishop of the place that it was not lawful
for him to increase his property by usury, he would not listen to the
bishop, but still persisted in his endeavours to amass wealth,
although in this improper way; on this, the bishop, seeing that he
was incorrigible, excommunicated him and excluded him from the
community of Christians, but of this he made light, and not long
afterwards closed his life miserably, an excommunicated man. After he
was dead, without the viaticum or making confession, his wife and
sons went to the priest of the town and asked him to bury the
deceased with the ceremonials of the church, which the priest refused
to do, because he had died excommunicated, and ordered them to bury
him outside the town at a place where two roads met. On this the
widow went with her sons to the count and laid her complaint before
him, that the priest refused to bury a parishioner of his, but she
concealed the reason, namely, that he had died excommunicated. The
count then flew into a rage with the priest, and ordered his servants
to go to him and in his name order him to bury the dead man, and, if
the priest refused to do so to tie him to the dead man and bury them
both together. This order was carried into effect, and all the
bishops of Brittany excommunicated the count; on which an enmity
sprang up between the two parties, and all the bishops were driven
into exile by the count, and he himself remained under sentence of
excommunication, until it could be confirmed by the pope.
Of
the return of the Roman emperor Frederic to his own country.
In
the same year the Roman emperor Frederic, after restoring the Holy
Land to the Christian rule, the truce for ten years, which he had
obtained from the sultan of Damascus, having been mutually confirmed
by oath, embarked on the day of the finding of the holy cross, to
cross the Mediterranean sea on his return to his own country; but as
he had heard that John de Brienne was laving snares for him in the
ports on this side of the water, he did not dare to land
incautiously, and, therefore, that his enemies might not have to
rejoice in his capture, he touched at a safe place, and sent out
spies to conduct him to a harbour of safety. He at length arrived
safely with a small retinue in Sicily, and there heard that his
enemies had already subdued many of his castles and towns, and were
even now making free inroads in the imperial territory, there being
no one to oppose them; but when his arrival was made known, the
lawful subjects of the empire, who were bound by allegiance to him,
flocked to him, and surrounded by these, and being reinforced by
others who came to him, he boldly burst forth amongst his enemies,
and began by degrees to recover the lands and castles he had lost.
1230 A.D.
How
the king of England spent Christmas at York.
A.
D. 1230. At Christmas king Henry held his court at York, in company
with the king of Scots whom he had invited to the festival; the
archbishop of the city too was present there with the earls, barons,
knights, and a large retinue, and there the two kings distributed
many festive dresses amongst their knights. The English king was
profuse in his liberality to the king of Scots, presenting him with
valuable horses, rings, and jewels; and for three days they
continued the festival, banqueting splendidly every day, and
observing this great anniversary with all joy and exultation. On the
fourth day the party broke up and the king of Scots returned home,
whilst Henry hastened to London.
In
the same year, on the day of the Conversion of St. Paul, the bishop
of the city of London was standing before the great altar of the
cathedral church of that city wearing his mitre, and about to perform
divine service in the presence of the citizens who were assembled in
honour of St. Paul, when on a sudden the sky became covered with such
dense clouds and the sun became so obscured that one person could
scarcely see his neighbour in the church. Whilst all were in a state
of astonishment and suspected that the day of judgement was come,
such a dreadful clap of thunder burst suddenly over the church, that
the building itself, together with the lofty tower, seemed to be
falling on their heads, and from the mass of clouds there darted
forth such a flash of lightning that the whole church seemed on fire.
In the midst of this too there arose such an intolerable stench, that
all present were afraid they would be suffocated, and on this about a
thousand persons of both sexes who were in the church, fearing
certain death, made a hasty escape from the church, and in their
alarm fell to the earth, remaining there for some time without sense
or motion. Out of all the multitude assembled, only the bishop and
one of the deacons, who stood before the great altar clad in their
sacred robes, remained undismayed awaiting the Lord’s pleasure. At
length when the sky again became clear, and all the multitude, having
recovered confidence in their safety, had again entered the church,
the bishop devoutly completed the remaining part of the service.
Great astonishment was caused throughout the whole city by this
occurrence, and all feared that it prognosticated some great and
wonderful event about to happen.
In
the same year, during Lent, the Roman emperor had gained so much
ground against his enemies that he had by force regained possession
of all the castles and possessions which belonged to the empire; and
all those whom he took prisoners in the castles he either flayed
alive or hung on the gibbet. John de Brienne, his declared enemy,
afraid of falling into his hands, fled into France, his native
country. After this, on the interposition of friends and religious
men, a truce was agreed on between the pope and the emperor, until
they could arrange terms of peace. In the month of April in this same
year, the noble chief, William de Braose. was hung by Llewellyn the
Welsh chief, being caught, as was said, in adultery with the wife of
that prince.
In
the same year, [1230] on the demand of the king, the archbishops,
bishops, abbots, and priors throughout all England, gave to the king
a large sum of money to enable him to recover the provinces on the
continent which had been taken from his father. The citizens of
London too were compelled to redeem themselves by the payment of a
heavy amount for the same purpose; and the Jews, whether they would
or not, ware compelled to give up a third of all their property.
How the king of England crossed with his army into Brittany.
At Easter, king Henry assembled a large army at Reading, comprising all
the nobles of the kingdom who owed him military service, and great
numbers of others from different countries, and then moving his camp
from that place he marched to Portsmouth, where on the 30th of April
he embarked with his whole army. He then set sail, and by the
exertions of his ship’s crews he landed at St. Malo in Brittany on
the 3rd of May; a great part of the army who were unable to follow
the king’s track closely, landed in different places, but, by God’s
assistance, they all came to the king in Brittany without injury and
without loss of their property. The count of Brittany received the
king with due reverence and honour, and delivered to him the towns
and castles of that province, and many others of the nobles of the
province came and did homage and swore fealty to him. Andrew de
Vitre, however, and a few other noblemen refused to give their
allegiance to the king, and, supplying their castles with provisions,
made strong preparations for resistance. The French king, when he was
informed of the arrival of the king of England, assembled a powerful
army, and marched with shields and standards glittering to the city
of Anjou, where he measured out his camp, and made a long halt, to
obstruct the English king’s progress into Poictou. King Henry was at
this time at the city of Nantes, awaiting the arrival of a further
reinforcement of troops which were coming to him from various
quarters, and during his stay there the French king with his army
laid siege to a weak fortress called Oudon, nearly four leagues
distant from Nantes, and, easily gaining possession of it, destroyed
it, after which he again returned to the city of Anjou.
In
the same year on the 14th of May, which was the Tuesday in Rogation
week, an unusual eclipse of the sun took place very early in the
morning, immediately after sun-rise, and it became so dark that the
labourers, who had commenced their morning’s work, were obliged to
leave it, and returned again to their beds to sleep, but in about an
hour’s time, to the astonishment of many, the sun regained its usual
brightness. In this same year too the duke of Saxony, a relation of
the English king, came to England, and was received with all honour
by the citizens of London; this noble was so tall and of such a
size, that he excited every body’s wonder, and the people assembled
to gaze at him as if to see a pageant.
Of
the dissensions which arose amongst the French barons.
About
this time almost all the nobles of France were engaged in war one
against another, and the duke of Burgundy, the counts of Boulogne,
Dreux, Macon, St. Paul, and Bar, and the nobles Enguerrand de Courcy,
Robert de Courtenaye, and many others, who were, as was reported,
sworn allies of the king of England and Henry count of Brittany,
declared war against the counts of Champagne and Flanders; and all
of them having completed their forty days of service at the siege of
Anjou, obtained leave from the French king, and returned to their own
provinces. The king then, not being able to detain them, followed
them, in order to bring about a reconciliation amongst them, but this
he could not effect by any means, for the above-mentioned nobles
invaded the territory of the count of Champagne, and commenced
ravaging it with fire and sword. This count came to oppose them with
a large force, and gave them battle; but the above-mentioned nobles
were too powerful for him and his troops, and made prisoners of two
hundred of his knights, and slew thirteen. The count of Champagne
seeing his troops defeated, fled from the field of battle, having
lost all his companions; the enemy gave pursuit to him, putting to
the sword any of his adherents they met, and did not desist from the
pursuit till they had driven the count inside the gates of the city
of Paris. Then, not choosing to follow him further, they returned
into Champagne, and pillaged the whole of the province, razing
castles and towns to the ground, burning villages and cities, cutting
down the vine and fruit trees, and sparing nothing which they found
outside the churches. These nobles were carrying on this war against
the count for his treachery to the king, inasmuch as at the siege of
Avignon he had, as they said, poisoned their lord king Louis, on
account of his love for the queen; and although they had often laid
this accusation against him at the court of the French king and in
the king’s presence, and wished to prove the count guilty by the
ordeal of single combat, yet the queen, who, on account of the king’s
youth and inexperience, managed all the business of the kingdom,
refused to listen to them. For this reason they, the nobles
aforesaid, had withdrawn from their allegiance to the king and queen,
and had disturbed the kingdom by war; for they scorned to have such a
mistress as the queen to rule over them, who, as was said, had been
defiled, not only by the said count but also by the Roman legate. Of
the slaughter amongst the Irish, and the capture of one of their
kings.
In
the same year, in the month of July, a certain petty king of
Connaught in Ireland, when he learned that the king of England and
William Marshall were engaged in war upon the continent, and that the
kingdom of Ireland was as it were entirely free from military force,
collected a large army from all parts of the country, in hopes to
expel all of English race from the Irish boundaries; he therefore
invaded the territories of the English king, spreading fire and
destruction, and indulging in rapine and pillage. News of this
incursion was at length brought to Geoffrey de March, who performed
the functions of justiciary under the king in those parts, on which
he sent for Walter de Lacy and Richard de Burgh to join him, and with
them and a strong force he boldly proceeded against the enemy; his
army he divided into three bodies, giving the command of two of these
to the said Walter de Lacy and Richard de Burgh, and retaining the
command of the third himself; the two companies commanded by the said
Walter and Richard he hid in the woods by which the enemy would pass,
and thus laid an ambuscade for them; and the third, which he himself
commanded, he drew up to meet the enemy face to face, and provoke
them to a battle. The Irish at length approached them, and seeing
only one battalion of the English, rushed on them, as if certain of
obtaining victory; the English then feigned flight, and were pursued
by the Irish till they had entered the place of ambuscade. Those in
ambush then rushed forth from their concealment, and rending the air
with their shouts attacked the enemy in flank and rear; the first
body too, which had fled before them, now turned on the Irish, and a
dreadful slaughter ensued; for of the Irish soldiers there were said
to have been twenty thousand slain, and their king was taken and
imprisoned.
About
the same time Fulke Paisnel, a noble of Normandy, and William his
brother, abandoned their castles and territory, and came to Brittany,
where they did homage and swore fealty to the king of England. With
them also came sixty bold and powerful knights, and they all advised
the king to invade Normandy, telling him he would be sure to subdue
that province; the king willingly acquiesced in their plans, but
Hubert de Burgh would not allow them to be carried into effect,
saying that it would be beyond measure dangerous to attempt it. The
knights hearing this, then asked the king to allow them two hundred
knights from his army, to join them in invading Normandy, and
promised the king that they would without fail expel all the French
race from that province; this also Hubert the justiciary refused to
allow, asserting that it would he unwise for the king to expose his
soldiers to death just at his own pleasure. And thus these nobles
found themselves woefully deceived, for the French king immediately
disinherited them, and converted their castles and all their property
to his own uses. How the English king marched into Gascony, and
received homage there.
After
this the king of England, by the advice of Hubert de Bourg, marched
from Brittany with his army through Anjou, and arrived in Poictou;
from this latter province he proceeded into Gascony, where he
received the homage of the people, and, after making arrangements for
the security of that district, he returned into Poictou, and there he
received the homage of a great many of the inhabitants. In this
expedition, the king besieged the castle of Mirebelle, and owing to
the commendable valour of the English, who kept up fierce and
continued assaults on it, he compelled the besieged to surrender, and
then departed, taking them away as prisoners. In the month of August
of this year, his holiness pope Gregory and the Roman emperor
Frederick, by means of the interposition of Christians and allies on
both sides, came to terms of peace; the Roman emperor went to Rome
and was absolved, and all the places under the jurisdiction of the
empire were restored to him in their former condition. This great
priest and the most mighty emperor then feasted together for three
days in the palace of the supreme pontiff, and the cardinals and the
nobles of the empire rejoiced in this sudden confirmation of a peace
of which they had given up all hope.
In
the same year, Ralph earl of Chester garrisoned and supplied with
provisions and arms the castle at St. John de Beveron, which by
hereditary right belonged to the countess his wife; for Henry count
of Brittany had given up that castle to the earl, when he joined the
side of the king of England, and received from the king all his
possessions and rights in England.
Of
the peace made between the French king and the barons.
In
this year, [1230] in the month of September, the French king and his
mother the queen, and the nobles of that kingdom, who, since the
death of king Louis had been at war one with another, as has been
stated above, met at a conference to treat about a peace, which was
arranged on the following terms: it was unanimously determined by the
aforesaid nobles that the count of Champagne, who had been the
principal cause of this discord, should assume the cross, and with a
hundred knights should undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, there
to fight against the enemies of Christ; and the French king and his
mother swore on the holy gospels, that they would restore to each of
them their rights, and that they would administer justice to all the
subjects of that kingdom, in accordance with the customs which were
right and due to all Of the king’s return into England from Brittany.
The king of England all this time was lying with his army at the city
of Nantes, doing nothing except spending his money. The earls and
barons too, as Hubert the king’s justiciary would not allow them to
engage in battle against the enemy, gave entertainments to one
another, as was the custom of the English, and devoted themselves to
eating and drinking by turns, as though they were keeping Christmas,
and those amongst them who were poor disposed of their horses and
arms, so that from that moment they led an unhappy life.* At length,
in the month of October, the king having made all necessary
arrangements for the country, left there five hundred knights and a
thousand mercenaries, under the command of Ralph earl of Chester,
William Marshall, and William earl of Albemarle, with some other
chosen chiefs; he himself took ship, and after being exposed to a
great many dangers, on the 26th of October landed at Portsmouth,
where numbers of his subjects of different ranks came to pay their
respects to him with divers presents. Gilbert earl of Gloucester and
Clare died when on his return from the continent, and the king gave
the justiciary Hubert the charge of all his lands and honour.
*
Paris adds:— “In
the same year, Raymond de Bourg, a brave and noble knight, nephew of
Hubert de Bourg, chanced to be riding on the banks of the Loire, when
his horse by unlucky chance got into the stream. On attempting again
to climb the bank, which was very steep, he fell back with his rider,
and both were drowned.”
After the king of England’s departure from the continent, the earl of
Chester and the other chiefs of the king’s army there, with their
whole force made an incursion through the province of Anjou, and were
absent in that part of the country fifteen days. During this time
they took the castle of Gonnord, razed it to the ground, and burned
the town; they next took a new castle on the Sarte, destroyed it,
and set fire to the town at that place, after which they returned
again into Brittany with immense booty. Not long afterwards they made
a hostile descent upon Normandy, and took the castle of Pontoise,
which they destroyed, and after burning the town, they returned into
Brittany without loss to themselves.
In
the same year, on the 22nd of November, an eclipse of the moon took
place, which lasted for three hours, only a very small portion of it
being visible, it being then thirteen days old.
1231 A.D.
Of
the exaction of the scutage for the expedition to the continent.
A.D.
1231. At Christmas, king Henry held his court at Lambeth, where he
was entertained by Hubert the justiciary. On the 26th of January
following, the king convened the prelates and other nobles of the
kingdom to a conference at Westminster, at which he demanded a
scutage of three marks for each escutcheon, from all laymen as well
as ecclesiastics, who held baronies. This demand was boldly opposed
by Richard archbishop of Canterbury, and some of the bishops besides,
who said that ecclesiastics were not bound to be subservient to the
lay jurisdiction, as the scutage had been granted on the continent,
when they were not present. At length, after many arguments on both
sides, the business, as far as the opposing prelates were concerned,
was postponed till a fortnight after Easter; all the rest, however,
laymen as well as clergy and people, yielded to the king’s pleasure.
Of
the disagreement between the king and the archbishop.
About
this time Richard archbishop of Canterbury came to the king, and laid
a complaint against Hubert the justiciary, for unjustly detaining the
castle of Tunbridge, with the town and its appurtenances, and other
lands late belonging to Gilbert earl of Clare deceased, which
belonged to the jurisdiction of himself and the church of Canterbury,
and for which the said earl and his predecessors had given
acknowledgement, and done homage to him and his predecessors; he
therefore for that reason asked the king to restore to him the
custody of the said castle, with its appurtenances, and to preserve
uninjured the rights of the church of Canterbury. To this demand the
king replied that the aforesaid earl was a tenant in chief from
himself, and that the vacant trusts of the earls and barons, and
their heirs, (till they arrived at the age of maturity,) pertained to
his crown, and that he was at liberty to sell or give them to whom he
chose. The archbishop then, being unable to obtain any other answer,
excommunicated all intruders on the aforesaid possessions, and all
except the king who should hold communication with them, and then for
this as well as for other reasons he set out to Rome to obtain his
rights and those of his church. The king on the other hand sent
master Robert de Cantelo and some other messengers to Rome to plead
his cause.
In
the month of April of this year, after the feast of Easter, Richard
the king’s brother married the countess of Gloucester, who was the
sister of William Marshall earl of Pembroke, and scarcely were the
nuptial festivities concluded, when that bold knight William Marshall
closed his life lamented by many, and on the 15th of April was buried
in the New Temple at London near his father.
Of
the dreadful ravages committed by Llewellyn in Wales.
In
the month of May in this year, the Welsh burst forth from their
hiding places like rats from their holes, and spread fire and
devastation over the lands which formerly belonged to William de
Braose; but on the king of England’s marching thither with a small
military force, they, according to custom, retreated to their
fastnesses. The king then went to the northern parts of the country,
leaving Hubert the justiciary in this quarter to repel the incursions
of the Welsh; they however, as soon as they heard of the king’s
departure, again resumed their pillaging expeditions, and invading
the districts near the castle of Montgomery, they commenced
committing their ravages in that quarter. When this news was brought
to the knights of the garrison, they sallied forth to give battle to
the Welsh, in order to prevent their roving about the country thus
unopposed, and cutting off their retreat. they slew and made
prisoners of a great number of them; they then delivered all whom
they had taken alive to the justiciary, who ordered them to be
decapitated, and their heads to be sent to the king. Llewellyn, in
great indignation at this deed, collected a large army and committed
severe depredations on the lands and possessions of the barons, who
lived on the borders of Wales, sparing neither the churches nor
ecclesiastics; and burnt several churches, together with some noble
women and girls who had fled there for safety.
How
Llewellyn was excommunicated, and the king invaded Wales.
When
king Henry received intelligence of this great crime, he collected a
large army at Oxford on the 13th of July, and there, when the whole
of the nobility of the kingdom, clergy and people, had assembled, all
the bishops and other prelates of the churches, in the presence of
the king, excommunicated Llewellyn and his adherents, who had burnt
the churches; after which he led his army forward and marched with
all haste to Hereford. Llewellyn was then lying with his army near
the castle of Montgomery, in a field near the river, covered with
marshes, where he was waiting in ambuscade to attack the knights of
the garrison. From that place, as was said, he sent to the castle a
certain monk from a convent of the Cistercian order in the
neighbourhood, called Cumira; when the knights of the castle saw him
coming to them, they went out from the castle to speak with him, and
asked him if he had heard anything of king Llewellyn, to which the
monk replied that he had seen him with a small retinue in afield
near, where he was waiting for a larger force. The knights then asked
the monk if horsemen could cross the river and the field safely, to
which he replied, “The bridge by which passengers used to cross
the river has been broken by Llewellyn, because he feared an attack
on your part; but you can safely cross the river and the field on
horseback wherever you choose, and with a few horsemen easily conquer
the Welsh, or put them to flight .” Walter de Godarville, the
governor of the castle, gave credit to this false information of the
monk, and at once gave orders to his fellow knights and the soldiers
to fly to arms, and then, mounting their horses, they soon reached
the place. The Welsh, seeing them advancing impetuously, immediately
feigned a flight to a wood that was near; the knights of the castle
pursued them hotly till they were immersed in the before-mentioned
river and marsh up to their horses’ bellies, and especially the
foremost of them; those behind were forewarned by the immersion of
their companions, for whose misfortune they sorrowed greatly. The
Welsh, seeing the condition of their enemies, then rushed impetuously
on them, and with their lances caused a cruel slaughter amongst them,
as they rolled about in the mud. A severe conflict then ensued, but
at length, after much slaughter on both sides, the Welsh were
victorious. In this battle Giles, Son of Richard d’Argenton, a brave
knight, was taken prisoner, and some others with him, whose names I
have not heard.
Of
the vengeance taken by the king for this treachery of the monk, &c.
When
the calamity which had befallen his knights was told to the king of
England, he marched with all haste to the convent to which the monk
belonged who had betrayed the aforesaid knights, and as a punishment
for his treachery burnt a farm belonging to the convent, after
plundering it of everything, and then plundered the convent, ordering
that also to be burnt; the abbot, however, to save the buildings
which had cost so much money and labour, paid the king three hundred
marks, and thus his anger was averted for a time. After this the king
ordered the castle of Matilda in Wales, which had been some time ago
destroyed by the Welsh, to be strongly rebuilt of stone, and when it
was finished at great expense, he placed in it a garrison of knights
and soldiers, to check the incursions of the Welsh.
Of
the treaty made between the French and English kings.
In
the month of June of the same year, the French king led a large army
to invade Brittany; but Henry count of Brittany and Ralph earl of
Chester were informed of his approach, and lying in ambush for him,
attacked the waggons and carriages which were transporting the arms
and provisions in the rear, and took possession of all his baggage,
after which they burnt his engines of war, and carried off sixty
horses. The French then began to consider that Brittany was
impregnable, and despaired of a favourable issue to such a weak
commencement, so a treaty was entered into by the archbishop of
Rheims and Philip count of Boulogne on behalf of the French king, and
the count of Brittany and the earl of Chester on behalf of the
English king, and on the 5th of July a truce for three years between
the two kings was agreed on and confirmed by oath.
In this same month of July, Peter bishop of Winchester returned to
England, after having passed nearly five years in the land of
promise, in the fulfilment of his vow of pilgrimage, and on the 1st
of August was received with a solemn procession in the cathedral
church of Winchester. In the same year, after the confirmation of the
truce, the count of Brittany and the earl of Chester, with Richard
Marshall, came to England from the continent, and set out to the
king, who was still engaged in the building of the castle of Matilda
in Wales, and were graciously received by him. Richard Marshall
presented himself to the king as the heir of his brother William
Marshall, and offered to do homage to the king for his inheritance,
and whatever else he was bound to do for his rights. The king in
reply, by the advice of the justiciary Hubert, told him he had heard
that his deceased brother’s wife was pregnant, on which account he
could not listen to his demand till the truth of this matter was
discovered. The king also accused the said Richard of having
associated with his declared enemies in the French provinces, and for
this he ordered him at once to leave the kingdom for ever; and
declared, that if he was found in the kingdom at the expiration of
fifteen days, he should be consigned to perpetual imprisonment.
Richard then, not being able to obtain any other answer, at once
sailed to Ireland, where he was received with joy by all the knights
and followers of his late brother, who gave up to him all the castles
which had belonged to his said brother, and did homage and made
allegiance to him; he also regained possession of the castle of
Pembroke, with all the honours pertaining thereto, and then collected
an army, determining to regain the possession of his inheritance,
even against the consent of the king, if necessary. But the king at
length changed his mind, and fearing that the said Richard would
disturb the peace of the kingdom, received his homage and fealty, and
granted to him all his rights, saving only the customary fine due to
himself.
How
Richard archbishop of Canterbury went to Rome, and died on his
return
In
this year, Richard archbishop of Canterbury went to the court of
Rome, and made the following complaints to the pope. In the first
place, he complained against the king of England, that he managed all
the business of the kingdom according to the advice of Hubert the
justiciary alone, thus slighting all the other nobles. He also
complained of the justiciary that he had married a woman who was a
relation of his former wife, and that he seized on, and was still
unjustly detaining, some of the possessions of the church of
Canterbury. He also complained that some of his suffragan bishops,
neglecting their pastoral duties, sat in the king’s exchequer court,
examining into the causes of the laity, and giving judgement in cases
of life and death. He also complained that the beneficed clergy and
men in holy orders held several churches to which the care of souls
belonged, and that like the bishops, and following their example,
these men intermeddled with secular business and lay judgements.
Having thus laid these and other like complaints before the pope, he
asked that pontiff to apply the rod of correction for such
delinquencies. After a careful consideration of these matters, his
holiness the pope, seeing that all the archbishop’s complaints were
supported by justice and reason, immediately gave orders that the
business or petition of that prelate should be attended to, and due
justice administered. The king’s clerks pleaded a great many excuses
in reply, on behalf of the king and the justiciary, but without
effect; for, to speak briefly, the archbishop’s influence
obtained for him whatever he demanded. He then, having completed his
business to his satisfaction, set out on his return, but died on the
journey at St. Gemina’s, on the 3rd of August, and with him
died also all the advantages which he had gained in the above business.*
* Paris adds: “Connected
with him a wonderful event occurred: his body, as was the custom,
had been laid out in his pontifical robes to be buried, and in the
night some of the men of that country who had beheld his ornaments
with a greedy eye, opened his coffin, wishing to steal his ring and
other episcopal ornaments, but could not effect their purpose either
by force or skill, on which they went away, beating their wicked
breasts in alarm.”
How Henry was dissuaded from marrying the sister of the king of Scots.
In the same year in the month of October, the king of England, having
completed the castle of Matilda in Wales, returned to England. He had
determined then to marry the sister of the king of Scots much to the
indignation of all the earls and barons; for it was not proper, they
said, for the king to marry the younger daughter, when Hubert the
justiciary was married to an elder one; he was finally dissuaded from
his purpose by the count of Brittany, and he then gave to that noble
five thousand marks of silver, who then returned into his own
country.
Of the election of Ralph as archbishop of Canterbury, and its annulment.
On the death of Richard archbishop of Canterbury, above related, the
monks of Canterbury determined to demand as a chief priest over them,
Ralph de Neville bishop of Chichester, who was the king’s chancellor.
Accordingly, after making the election, they on the 24th of September
presented him to the king, who willingly accepted of him, as far as
he was concerned, and immediately invested him in the manors and
other possessions pertaining to the archbishopric. The monks, who
were about to go to Rome, then went to the archbishop elect and asked
him for assistance in defraying the expenses of their journey, but he
plainly told them that he would not give them one farthing for that
purpose. They nevertheless set out for Rome, and demanded of the pope
a confirmation by the apostolic authority of the election or
proposition they had made. The pope then caused an inquisition to be
made, as it is said, by master Simon Langton as to the character of
the proposed archbishop, and then replied that the archbishop elect
was a courtier and an illiterate man, for which reason he annulled
the said election and gave orders to the conventual assembly of
Canterbury to choose a profitable pastor of their souls, and one that
would promote the welfare of the English church, on which the monks
returned and told their brethren how they had been foiled in their
wishes.
Of the insolence of the Roman clergy.
About this time there arose in England a great excitement, yea, we may
truly call it an indiscreet act of presumption, on account of the
insolence of the Roman clergy, which drove the nobles of the kingdom
as well as those of inferior rank, to a rash mode of punishment, as
is related in the following writing:— “To
such a bishop and such a chapter, the whole community of those who
would rather die than be put to shame by the Romans, greeting. How
the Roman pontiffs and their legates have hitherto behaved themselves
towards us and other ecclesiastics of England, we are sure is no
secret to you, and how you have conferred the benefices of the
kingdom on their followers, at their pleasure, to the great prejudice
and injury of yourselves and all others of the kingdom; and that
they have fulminated sentences of excommunication against you and
your fellow bishops and other ecclesiastics, to whom the collation of
benefices properly belongs, to the intent that you shall confer no
benefices on a native until five Romans, whose names are not yet
known, namely, the son of Rumfred, and the sons of such and such
persons, shall have been provided for in each of your churches
throughout England, each of them with a revenue of a hundred pounds,
besides other burdens which they have imposed, both on the laity and
nobles of the kingdom, in the matter of their advowsons and charities
bequeathed by them and their ancestors for the maintenance of the
poor, as well as on clerks and other religious persons, concerning
their property and benefices. And not content with this, they wish to
take away from the clergy of the kingdom, to the very last, the
benefices which they hold in order to bestow them on their Roman
followers, not according to justice but at their own pleasure, and in
this way they endeavour to fulfil the prophecy, ‘They have
robbed the Egyptians to enrich the Hebrews, multiplying their people,
not increasing their joy;’ and thus they heap sorrow upon sorrow on
us and you, so that it seems to us to be better to die than to live
to be thus oppressed. Wherefore, although it may be difficult for us
‘to kick against the pricks’, since he who wipes his nose too hard
draws blood, we, considering the severity of those who first came
here as Roman strangers, but who now aim not only at judging but also
condemning us, imposing on us unbearable burdens, which they will not
move with even one of their fingers, have, by common consent,
determined, late as it is, to oppose them, rather than any longer to
subject ourselves to their intolerable oppression or to endure a
worse slavery. We therefore strictly forbid you, when we are
endeavouring to rescue the church, as well as the king and kingdom
from the yoke of such oppressive slavery, to interfere in the case of
those who introduce themselves in matters concerning the Romans and
their revenues; and rest assured that if you by any chance transgress
this order, which God forbid, all your property will be liable to be
burnt, and the punishment which the Romans incur in their persons you
will incur. Farewell.”
The
prohibition against the paying of farms or revenues to the Romans.
“To
the religious men, and others who hold churches in farm from the
Roman priests, the above community, greeting. Whereas, after the
innumerable oppressions and injuries, which as you know have been
inflicted by the Romans on the kingdom of England up to this time, to
the injury of the king and the nobles of the kingdom, in the matter
of their advowsons and their alms, and since they are endeavouring to
deprive the clergy of this kingdom of their benefices, in order to
confer them on the Romans, to the greater prejudice and shame of the
kingdom and ourselves, we, by the common consent of the nobles, have
determined, late as it is, to oppose them, rather than henceforth to
submit to their intolerable oppression, and so to check them by
withdrawing from them all their benefices throughout the whole
kingdom, that they may cease from harassing it any longer. Wherefore
we strictly order you henceforth not to pay to the Romans the farms
of the churches or the revenues of the lands which you hold from them
or owe to them, but to have the said farms and revenues ready, and
deliver them to our agent appointed by us by letter for the purpose
on the Sunday on which is chanted the psalm, ‘Let Jerusalem rejoice;’
the abbots and priors in their own churches, and the other
presbyters, and the clergy, and laity in their own churches; and rest
assured that if ye do not obey this, your property will be liable to
be burnt, and you will incur the danger to which the Romans in person
are liable. Farewell .” After
this the community aforesaid by means of their knights and agents
promulgated these letters, sealed with a new seal, on which were
engraved two swords, and between the swords was this inscription,
“Behold two swords are here ,” as was the custom with
citations to cathedral churches, signifying, that whomsoever they
found opposing them they would punish according to their decrees.
Of
the consistory court held at St. Alban’s, and of the capture of
Cincius
About
the same time on the 17th of December, a large consistory court was
held at St. Alban’s consisting of the abbots, priors, archdeacons,
and almost all the nobility of the kingdom, who had all assembled by
command of the pope, for the purpose of effecting a divorce between
the countess of Essex and her husband, if there were good reason for
it. On the following day after the council was dissolved, as they
were all returning to their different homes, a Roman clerk, named
Cincius a canon of St. Paul’s church at London, was, by the agency of
the above-mentioned society, as was said, seized and carried off by
some armed men with their heads covered; master John a Florentine
archdeacon of Norwich, who had been present at the council, escaped
being captured, and fled to London, where he remained concealed for
several days. After a lapse of five weeks too, Cincius was brought
back safe and sound to London, though, as was said, with his purse
emptied.
1232 A.D.
Of
the forcible seizure of corn at Wingham.
A.D.
1232. At Christmas king Henry held his court at Winchester, where
Peter, the bishop of that city provided the necessary entertainment
for him, and made presents of festive dresses to the king as well as
his own followers. During the week of Christmas the well-stored barns
at Wingham, belonging to a Roman priest were plundered by a small
body of armed men with their heads covered, who acted, as was said,
by orders of the above-mentioned society. The proctor and guardian of
that church, when he heard of this deed of violence, went to the
sheriff of the county and informed him of this violation of the
king’s peace and the injury inflicted on his lord. The sheriff then
sent his agents with some soldiers to the place, and ordered them to
discover what the matter was; on arriving at the barns the solders
there saw these armed men, who were entirely unknown to them and who
had by this time nearly emptied the granaries, and sold the corn on
good terms for the benefit of the whole district, and had also
charitably given . a portion of it to the poor who asked for it. The
soldiers, on coming up to them, asked them whence they came, and how
they dared to disturb the king’s peace and commit such depredations,
on which they called the soldiers aside and at once showed them
warrants from the king forbidding any one to obstruct them, and on
seeing these the soldiers themselves, as well as others who had come
there, went away quietly, and within fifteen days these armed men
having sold all the corn, went away with their pockets well filled.
Information of this occurrence having been carried to Roger bishop of
London, he summoned ten bishops, and on the day after the feast of
the blessed virgin Scholastica,[10th February] in St. Paul’s church
at London, they excommunicated all the authors of this deed of
violence, and including in this sentence all those who had laid
violent hands on Cincius the canon of the church at London, and also
the whole of the above-mentioned society, and all those who had
written and sealed the letters above-mentioned.
How
the king demanded pecuniary assistance.
On
the 7th of March in this year, the nobles of the kingdom, laity as
well as prelates, assembled in council at Westminster at the summons
of the king, who there explained to them, that he was involved in
heavy debts by reason of the war which he had lately carried on the
continent, and was therefore driven by necessity to ask the
assistance of them all in general. On hearing this, Ralph earl of
Chester, speaking for the rest of the nobles, replied to the king,
that the earls, barons, and knights, who were tenants of the king in
chief, and were there present in person, had expended their money so
lavishly to no purpose, that they had all left the continent poor
men, and therefore by right were not bound to give the king
assistance; and then all the lay nobles asked leave, and retired from
the council. The prelates, in answer to the king’s demand, said that
many of the bishops and abbots, who had been summoned were not
present, and they therefore asked for a postponement of the matter
till they should all assemble on a day appointed. A day was then
appointed a fortnight after Easter for them all to assemble and
determine what ought to be done by right.
In
this same year, the conventual assembly of Canterbury elected John
their prior to be their archbishop and the pastor of their souls, who
on his presentation to the king was accepted of by him, and then set
off to Borne to obtain a proper confirmation of his election from the
apostolic see.
Of
a remarkable vision concerning king Richard.
About
this same time Henry bishop of Rochester was performing divine
service, on the Sunday when is chanted the psalm, "Come to the
water, all ye that are thirsty ,” at a place called
Sittingbourne, in the presence of the archbishop elect of Canterbury,
and surrounded by the clergy and people, when he confidently made the
following declaration to them, “Rejoice all of ye, my brethren
in the Lord, who are here present, for be assured for certain that on
one and the same day lately, Richard formerly king of England, and
Stephen late archbishop of Canterbury in company with a chaplain of
the said archbishop, went out of the places of torture and appeared
before the divine majesty, and only those three left purgatory on
that day; and you may put sure confidence in my words, for this has
been revealed by a vision to me or some one else three times, so
plainly that all doubt is removed from my mind .” And as
mention has here been made of the noble king Richard, I will relate
an occurrence which happened to him, for the edification of my
readers.
How
Richard saw the image of Christ bend its head towards a worshipper.
During
the reign of the said king Richard, a certain English knight living
in the New Forest, who had long made a practice of clandestinely
hunting the king’s deer, was on one occasion caught with some stolen
venison, and by a decree of the court of the said king was condemned
to exile. This merciful king had mitigated the law in reference to
stolen venison, which, amongst his predecessors had been so severe,
that when any were caught committing that offence, their eyes were
plucked out, their members lopped off, together with their hands and
feet; but to the pious king Richard such a punishment seemed inhuman,
that men, who are made after God’s image, should be perilled of life
or limb for beasts, which, according to the law of nature, were given
for the general use of all, by which man was made to appear of less
importance than the wild beasts. He however considered it quite a
sufficient punishment for any one, who was caught committing that
offence, either to be banished from England or to undergo
imprisonment saving his life and limbs. The above-mentioned knight
then was sent into exile, and he, who had formerly enjoyed all the
dainties of life, was, with his wife and children, obliged to beg his
bread amongst foreigners. The knight, after some reflection, at
length determined to implore the king for mercy, and for his estate
to be restored to him, and he accordingly went to the king in
Normandy, where he found him early in the morning in a church, about
to hear mass. The knight tremblingly entered the church and did not
dare to raise his eyes to the king, for although he was the most
handsome of men to look upon, there was still something dreadful in
his look; he therefore went to an image of Christ on the cross, and,
weeping incessantly, he humbly on his bended knees besought the
Crucified One through his unspeakable grace compassionately to make
his peace with the king, by which means he might recover his lost
inheritance. The king seeing the knight thus earnestly and with
unfeigned devotion praying and weeping, witnessed an occurrence
wonderful and worthy of narration; for whenever the knight, who he
knew was not of his retinue, bent his knees to worship the image, the
image in all humility bowed its head and shoulders as it were in
answer to the knight, and the king was struck with wonder and
astonishment to see this repeated frequently. As soon as the service
of mass was ended, he sent for the knight to speak with him, and
inquired of him who he was and whence he came. The knight then
replied with fear and said. “My lord, I am your liege subject
as my ancestors also have been;" and then beginning his history,
he told the king how he had been deprived of his inheritance and
banished together with his family, having been caught with some
stolen venison. The king then said to the knight, “Have you
ever in your life done any good action in respect, and to the honour,
of the holy cross ?" The knight then, after carefully thinking
over the events of his past life, related to the king the following
deed which he had done in his reverence for Christ.
How the knight spared his enemy out of his reverence for Christ.
"My father ,” said he, "and another knight divided
between them a town which belonged to them by hereditary right; and whilst my
father abounded in all kinds of wealth, the other knight, on the
contrary was always poor and needy, and, becoming envious of my
father, he treacherously murdered him. I was then a boy, but when I
arrived at manhood and was installed in my paternal inheritance. I
made a resolute determination to slay that knight in revenge for my
father’s death; he was however forewarned of my purpose, and for
several years by his cunning escaped the snares I had laid for him.
At length, on the day of the Preparation, on which day Christ Jesus
bore his cross for the salvation of the world, as I was going to
church to hear mass, I saw my enemy before me, also on his way to
church. I hastened on behind him, and drew my sword to kill him, when
by some chance he looked round, and, seeing me rushing upon him, fled
to a cross which stood near the road, being worn down by age and
unable to defend himself. And when I endeavoured with upraised sword
to slay him and dash out his brains, he encircled the cross with his
arms, and adjured me in the name of that Christ, who on that day was
suspended on the cross for the salvation of the whole world, not to
slay him, and faithfully promised and vowed, that he would appoint a
chaplain to perform a mass every day from that time for the soul of
my father whom he had killed. When I saw the old man weeping I was
moved to pity, and thus in my love and reverence for him who, for my
salvation and that of all, ascended the cross and consecrated it by
his most holy blood, I forgave the knight for my father’s murder.”
The king then said to the knight, “You acted wisely, for now
that Crucified One has repaid one good turn by another.” He
then summoned the bishops and barons who were there with him, and, in
the hearing of all, related the vision he had seen, how at each
genuflection made by the knight, the image of Christ had humbly bowed
its head and shoulders. He then summoned his chancellor to him, and
commanded him by his letters patent to order the sheriff, whom the
knight should name to him at sight of the warrant, to restore to the
knight the whole of his property in the same condition as he received
it at the time of his banishment.
Of
the king’s patience in his persecutions.
Whilst
we are speaking of the virtues of the noble king, we ought not to
omit to mention, that as soon as he was crowned, he always afforded
strict justice to every one, and never allowed it to be subverted by
bribery. All the vacant bishoprics and abbacies he at once bestowed
without purchase on canonically elected priests, nor did he ever
consign them to the charge of laymen; he held all ordained prelates
and especially religious men, in such respect, and in his reverence
of Jesus Christ, was so afraid of offending them, that once on a time
when all the prelates of the kingdom were assembled before the king
by order of the pope, to make a grant of the twentieth part of all
moveable property for the assistance of the Holy Land, and were
sitting apart discussing the matter, the king said in a low voice to
Geoffrey Fitz-Peter and William Briwere, who sat at his feet, “Do
you see those prelates who are sitting there?” They answered,
“We do, my lord.” The king then said to them, “If
they knew how much I, in my reverence of God, am afraid of them, and
how unwilling I should be to offend them, they would trample on me as
on an old and worn-out shoe .” It is also to be remarked, how
he gave up the pleasures of his newly-gained kingdom in his love for
the Eternal King, and how liberally he expended his own money and
that of his late father in the service of Christ and for the
liberation of the Holy Land, and how bravely he wrested the whole
land of promise, besides the holy city of Jerusalem, from the hands
of the enemies of the cross. And when his money failed him there he
made a truce for three years and obtained permission from Saladin for
a priest to perform the mass of the cross at the sepulchre of our
Lord on each day till the termination of the truce at his own
expense; and then departing to his own country, he recruited his
forces and collected money, and at the end of the truce returned,
leaving the kingdom and all the possessions of which he was Lord in
the western countries, that he might be crowned king in the holy city
of Jerusalem, take command of the troops, fight the battles of the
Lord of sabaoth, and endeavour to subdue the enemies of the cross as
long as he lived. But the enemy of the human race, who is always
envious of good works and of the prosperity of Christians, stirred up
against this devoted king the duke of Austria and the Roman emperor,
who laid snares for him on his return from the Holy Land, when he was
taken by his enemies, and, like a bull or an ass, sold to the Roman
emperor. He was then imprisoned and vilely treated far otherwise than
was fit for such a great man, and was obliged to pay a heavy sum for
his ransom. The French king moreover obstructed his plans by invading
his dominions when he was employed in the service of the cross; and
being thus hindered by enemies in all quarters, he kept in mind the
martyrdom which he had not yet undergone in body, as he had
determined to do, in the land of promise, for he longed to return and
to die in the service of the cross. In addition to all these trials
of the said king, whilst he was absent on the crusade, earl John his
brother conspired to subdue England, besieged castles, and made war
on his brother, but by the commendable fidelity of the English, his
plans were frustrated. O wonderful firmness of this noble king, which
could never be bowed down by adversity, and was never elated in
prosperity, but he always appeared cheerful, and in him there never
appeared any sign of diffidence. These and other like virtues had
rendered our king Richard glorious in the sight of the most high God;
wherefore now, when the time of God’s mercy had arrived, he was
deservedly removed, as we believe, from the places of punishment to
the everlasting kingdom, where Christ his king, whom he had
faithfully served, had laid by for his soldier the crown of justice,
which God had promised to those who love him. Rejoicing in company
with him are those saints whose relics he redeemed at the land of
promise from Saladin for fifty-two thousand bezants, with the
understanding that those saints should in his extreme necessity
assist him by their intercessions in gaining God’s favour. These said
relics had been collected by the Saracens throughout all Judea and
Galilee at the time of the capture of the Holy Land and the revered
cross, and were placed in four ivory chests, each of which was so
heavy that four men could scarcely carry it. But these circumstances
have been more fully related amongst the events in the reign of the
said king Richard.
Of
the sale of the crops of the Roman clergy.
In
the same year the corn of the Roman clergy throughout almost all
England was carried off and sold by some men who were unknown, on
good terms and for the benefit of many; this audacious business they
commenced at Easter, and carried it through without any opposition.
They were liberal in bestowing alms on the needy who came to them,
and sometimes they threw money amongst the poor. The Roman clergy lay
concealed in the convents, not daring to murmur at the injuries
inflicted on them, for they preferred losing all their property to
being condemned to death. The agents in this audacious proceeding
were about eighty in number, and sometimes fewer; and their chief was
one William, surnamed Wither, whose instructions they obeyed in every
thing. Soon afterwards however, these proceedings came to the
knowledge of the supreme pontiff, who was highly incensed, and sent a
severe letter to the king of England, reproaching him for allowing
such robberies to be perpetrated on the ecclesiastics in his kingdom,
paying no respect to the oath which he had taken at the time of his
coronation, not only to maintain peace towards the church, but also
to observe strict justice towards the clergy as well as the laity. In
the same letter too, he strictly ordered the king, under penalty of
excommunication and interdict, to cause a diligent search for the
authors of this violence, and to punish the guilty ones severely, in
order that by punishing them, he might strike fear and dread into
others. He also sent letters to Peter bishop of Winchester, and the
abbot of St Edmund’s, ordering them to make a strict search in the
southern parts of England, and to denounce all whom they could find
guilty of this offence, as excommunicated, until they should come to
Rome to be absolved by the apostolic see. In the same way in the
north of England he entrusted the same inquisition to the archbishop
of York, the bishop of Durham, and John, a canon of York and a Roman
by birth, and ordered them to send those guilty of this violence to
Rome to be absolved, notwithstanding any appeal. Of the inquisition
made in the matter of the aforesaid robbery. An inquisition was
therefore instituted concerning this robbery by the king; the bishops
and the above-mentioned agents, and by means of examinations upon
oath and the production of witnesses, many offenders were discovered,
some of them principals, and others as abettors; and some of these
were the king’s bishops and clerks, some of the archdeacons and
deans, and numbers of knights and laymen. Some of the sheriffs also
and their provosts were, by the king’s orders, taken and imprisoned
for this offence, and others in their alarm consulted their safety by
flight and could not be found. Hubert de Burgh the king’s justiciary
is said to have been the chief transgressor in this matter, because
he had given those robbers warrants from the king and himself, to
prevent any one from obstructing them in the said robbery. Amongst
the rest there came to the king, Robert de Tuinge, a bold man, who
had assumed the name of William Wither, and with others abetting him
had sold the crops of the Roman clergy, and had engaged five armed
attendants to assist him in his violence. This man openly declared
that he had transgressed the law in hatred of the Romans, and for a
just retaliation; for these said Romans, by a decree of the Roman
pontiff, were fraudulently endeavouring to deprive him of the only
church which he held: he also added, that he would rather be unjustly
excommunicated for a time than be robbed of his benefice without a
trial. The king and the agents aforesaid then advised the knight, as
he had incurred the sentence pronounced, to hasten to Rome, and to
urge his claim before his holiness the pope, and to prove to him that
he held the church alike legally and canonically; the king also gave
him letters testimonial to the pope, and begged that pontiff in his
kindness to grant the knight’s request.
How
the election of the prior of Canterbury was annulled at Rome.
In
the Whitsun week of the Same year, the prior John, archbishop elect
of Canterbury, went to Rome and showed the warrant of his election to
the pope, who then ordered master John de Colonna and some other
cardinals to question him, and discover if he was a fit person to be
promoted to that dignified station. After an examination of three
days, during which they carefully questioned him on nineteen points,
as was said, they declared to the pope that they found no legitimate
cause for rejecting him. It appeared however to the pope that he was
too old and simple, and therefore unfit for such a high station, he
therefore advised him to resign; and the archbishop elect humbly
renounced the election which had been made, and asked leave to return
home. The pope then granted permission to the monks to elect another,
and ordered them to choose one to whom he could entrust his duty and
pastoral charge.
How
the English king dismissed some of his ministers from their offices.
About
this time, Llewellyn, the Welsh chief, invaded the territories of the
English barons, and, in his usual way, commenced ravaging the country
with fire and pillage. Peter bishop of Winchester, and some other
counsellors of the king, therefore went to him, and declared that it
was a great scandal on his crown, that those worthless robbers, the
Welsh, roved with impunity through their lands and those of the
barons, devastating all the places with fire, and leaving nothing
uninjured. The king in reply to them said, “I am told by my
treasurers, that the whole of the revenue in my treasury is scarcely
sufficient to procure me common food and clothing and to pay the
usual bounties, wherefore poverty prevents me from engaging in war .”
The king’s counsellors in reply to him said, “If you are poor,
blame yourself for it, for you transfer all the vacant honours,
trusts, and dignities on others, and so alienate them from the
exchequer, that you cannot be called a king from your riches, but
only in the name; for your ancestors, who were noble and rich in the
glory of their wealth, collected an endless amount of money from the
produce and emoluments of the kingdom .” The king then being
incited by those whom it would be wicked to mention by name, and
provoked by the insults of his counsellors, at once demanded of the
sheriffs, bailiffs, and other agents of his, an account of the
revenues, and every thing pertaining to the royal exchequer, and
whoever of them he discovered to be guilty of fraud, he deposed from
their offices and demanded the money due to him with interest, and
kept them in prison till they paid the whole debt. Ralph, surnamed
the Breton, a treasurer of his chamber, he deposed from office, took
from him a thousand pounds of silver, and appointed Peter de Rivaux,
a native of Poictou, in his stead. And so in a short time the king
replenished his empty coffers although not yet full to repletion.
How
the king demanded an account from Hubert the justiciary.
About
the same time the king, by the advice of Peter bishop of Winchester,
dismissed Hubert de Burgh, the chief justiciary, from his office, and
on the 29th of July appointed Stephen de Segrave a knight, in his
stead; and a few days afterwards, being enraged against the lately
dismissed Hubert, he demanded of him immediately an account of all
the money paid into his treasury, and the debts which were due to him
during the time of his father, and also in his own time. He also
demanded an account of his domains which had come into his possession
on the day of the death of William earl of Pembroke, his then
justiciary and marshal, and as to who held possession of them in
England, Wales, Ireland, and Poictou; also concerning the liberties
which he then held in the forests, warrens, counties, and other
places, as to how they were maintained and aliened; also concerning
the tax of the fifteenth and sixteenth parts, and other incomes due
to his treasury, as well as to the New Temple at London and
elsewhere. Also concerning the fines levied for relaxing his rights
in land as well as in moveable property; also concerning the losses
he, the king, had sustained by Hubert’s negligence; also respecting
what had been wasted either in war or in any other way, without any
advantage to himself; also respecting the liberties which Hubert
himself enjoyed in the lands, bishoprics, and trusts, which had been
assigned to him without warrant, and which belonged to the king
himself; also respecting the harm and injuries inflicted on the Roman
and Italian clergy, and on the pope’s messengers, against the king’s
wish, by the said Hubert, who would not give any advice that they
might be remedied, which he was bound to do by the duties of his
office as justiciary; also as to how the king’s peace had been kept
towards his subjects in his kingdom of England, Ireland, Gascony, and
Poictou, as well as towards foreigners; also as to what had been done
with the scutages, plough-land taxes, gifts, and presents, or the
proceeds of trust which belonged to the crown; also as to the
marriage portions-left in his care by king John at the time of his
death, and others entrusted to him in his the present king’s time. In
reply to this, Hubert told the king that he held a warrant from his
the king’s father, by which he released him from giving any account
of the money received or to be received in his treasury, for he was
so well assured of his fidelity towards him the king that he did not
wish to hear any account from him. Peter bishop of Winchester then
said, that that warrant lost its power at the death of king John, and
that therefore it did not become him, the present king, to abide by
the warrants of his father, but demand an account of the above
matters. These are some of the lighter matters on which the king
required a reckoning from Hubert. Several other serious charges
follow, in which the king accused Hubert of treason against his royal
person, and which were as follow:—
The
king’s first charge against Hubert was, that when he sent letters to
the duke of Austria, asking for that prince’s daughter in marriage,
he, Hubert, had at the same time sent letters to the duke to the
prejudice of the king and the kingdom, and dissuading the duke from
giving him his said daughter in marriage. Also, that when he had led
his army to the continent to recover his lost territories, Hubert had
dissuaded him from invading Normandy or the other possessions
belonging to his jurisdiction; whereby he had spent his money to no
purpose, as well as the nobles who accompanied him. The king also
accused him of having treacherously had connection with the daughter
of the king of Scots, whom king John had entrusted to his care in
order to marry her himself, and had begotten illegitimate children by
her, thus prostituting a noble lady, and had kept her to himself in
hopes of obtaining the kingdom of Scotland if she should survive her
brother. Also that he, Hubert, had surreptitiously taken from his
treasury a certain jewel, which rendered the wearer invincible in
battle, and had treacherously sent it to his enemy Llewellyn the
Welsh chief. Also that it was owing to letters sent by him to the
said chief, Llewellyn, that the noble William de Braose had been
treacherously hung like a robber. All these charges, whether true or
maliciously false, had been suggested by the rivals of the said
Hubert to the king, who with great eagerness ordered satisfaction to
be taken from the said Hubert according to the decision of his court.
The justiciary in this strait, as he had no other resource, asked for
time to be allowed him to deliberate on the aforesaid matters,
declaring that the charges were heavy and difficult to answer which
the king had made against him; and so having with great difficulty
obtained a respite till the exaltation of the holy cross, Hubert left
London in great alarm, and went to the priory of Merton. Thus this
Hubert, who had formerly excited the envy of all the barons of
England against him on account of the king’s regard and his care for
the kingdom, now deserted by the king, and without friends, was alone
and comfortless; Luke archbishop of Dublin, was the only one who
spoke to the king in his behalf, which he did with tears and urgent
entreaties, but as the justiciary’s offences were so great, his
request could not be granted.
Of
some serious charges made against the justiciary.
When
people saw the king’s regard for Hubert, whom he had once so
particularly favoured, changed into hatred, many of his enemies rose
against him and accused him of many enormous crimes. Some accused him
of having caused the death of the two nobles, William earl of
Salisbury and William Marshall earl of Pembroke, by poison, and that
he had killed Falcasius and Richard archbishop of Canterbury by the
same wicked means. The citizens of London laid a complaint before the
king that the said Hubert had hung their fellow citizen Constantine
unjustly, and without any trial, for which crime they demanded
justice; the king therefore issued a proclamation throughout London,
calling on all who had any complaint against Hubert, for any injury
to them soever, to come to him when they should have justice done
them. When Hubert heard of this, he fled in alarm to the church at
Merton, where he concealed himself amongst the canons.
In
the autumn of the same year, Master John, surnamed le Blund, a clerk
and student of theology at Oxford, was elected to the archbishopric
of Canterbury; and after being accepted by the king, he started with
some of the monks for Rome to obtain a confirmation of his election
from the apostolic see.
Of
the grant to the king of the fortieth part of property, &c.
In
the same season, about the time of the exaltation of the holy cross,
the bishops and other prelates of the churches and the nobles of the
kingdom, assembled in council before the king at Lambeth, when a
grant was made to the king to discharge the debts he owed to the
count of Brittany, of the fortieth part of all moveable property from
bishops, abbots, priors, clergy and laity, according to what they had
when the corn was gathered in autumn, in this the sixteenth year of
his reign. Hubert de Bourg, to whom the king had appointed a fixed
time to appear to answer the above-mentioned charges and demands
against him, fearing the king’s anger, did not dare to appear, for it
had been hinted to him that the king intended to condemn him to a
disgraceful death; he therefore fled to the church at Merton, and
hid himself till his affairs assumed a more favourable appearance.
The king at length sent word to him to come to his court to answer to
the charges against him; but he told the king through his messenger,
that, dreading his anger, he had taken refuge in the church, the last
resource of all who suffered injury, and that he would not leave it
till he knew that the feelings of him the king had taken a more
favourable turn towards him. The king at this flew into a rage, and,
although it was then evening, he sent orders by letter to the mayor
of London to take with him all the inhabitants of the city who could
carry arms to attack Merton, and to bring Hubert before him dead or
alive. The mayor then having rung the common bell, ordered the
citizens to assemble, and read the letter of the king to them,
ordering them all to fly to arms and to execute the king’s orders
early the next morning. The citizens were delighted when they
understood the purport of the letter, for they had conceived a mortal
hatred of Hubert,* they therefore left the city before it was light
the next morning to the number of twenty thousand men, and marched in
array towards Merton, to carry the king’s orders into effect. During
these proceedings however it was suggested to the king by the earl of
Chester, that if he stirred up such strife amongst the irrational and
foolish populace, there might be a chance of his being unable, when
he wished to do so, to calm the disturbance once commenced; the king
therefore altered his mind, and sent orders to the mayor at once to
recall the force he had sent out. So the citizens returned in a state
of astonishment without having accomplished their purpose.
*
Some
of the more prudent citizens, namely Andrew Buckrell, John Towers,
and some others, taking a better view of these matters, and weighing
in their minds the scandal which would arise, went in haste to the
house of Peter bishop of Winchester, at Southwark, and, awaking him
out of a heavy sleep, asked his advice in this matter; "for ,”
said they, “danger will accrue to the church of Merton, as well
as to the city, since the rage of such a disorderly and,
unrestrainable rabble could not be curbed, but they would plunder and
destroy every thing, and would not stop even at shedding blood .”
To this the bishop replied by the following cruel advice: "It is
hard on the one side, and dreadful on the other; however I
unhesitatingly advise you above every thing else to fulfil the
command of your lord .” They were astounded at hearing such
advice from a bishop, and proceeded in alarm with their expedition;
moreover the populace, greedy for revenge, ardently longed to carry
it out; and on the following day, before it was light, the citizens
went forth armed to the number of twenty thousand men, and marched
towards Merton to execute the king’s order. Hubert however, getting
information of this, prostrated himself in prayer before the great
altar, and with confidence entrusted his life to God. In the
meantime, whilst the armed citizens were on their march, uttering
threats against Hubert, it was hinted to the king by the earl of
Chester that if he excited such sedition amongst an irrational and
froward multitude, there would be reason for him to fear that he
might not be able to check it if once commenced, when he wished to do
so; and it would be made a subject of invective and irony throughout
the world, especially by the French, who of great faults always make
greater, and of evil deeds always make worse, and it would be said,
“What sort of a child is this English prince, who can thus
oppress his subjects and those who have nursed him under their wing?”
And of Hubert it would be said as of the sparrow feeding the cuckoo,
“Alis, ales, alis, alium ne longius ales.” Two messengers
then were sent to recall the multitude thus tumultuously rushing to
shed innocent blood; one of these mounted on a swift horse and
carrying the king’s warrant, recalled the foremost of them by its
authority; the other messenger, however, who hated the earl of Kent,
Hubert, and would rather have seen him slain than set free, although
ordered to use all speed, took his own time, and did not reach the
middle of them; for which he was visited by the Divine anger, for his
horse happening to stumble at some obstacle, although only proceeding
at a slow pace, he fell flat to the ground, and, breaking his back,
expired. This pious mission was effected by Ralph bishop of Chester,
then chancellor, a just man, and one faithful to the whole of the
kingdom, and who grieved for the sufferings of Hubert. At sight of
the warrant then, this army of citizens and populace was brought to a
stand; and thus the king changed his intentions and sent messengers
with all speed to recall the army he had sent forth, and the citizens
returned disappointed to the city without effecting their object.
How Hubert was dragged out of a chapel and thrown into the tower.
After these events the archbishop of Dublin, after much entreaty,
obtained for Hubert a respite till the octaves of the Epiphany, in order that
he might have time to deliberate on the above-named demands, which
were of a most urgent nature, and might then be able to give a
reasonable answer, and to make proper amends to the king. Hubert then
having received a guarantee for his security, as was believed, by
letters patent from the king, took the road to St. Edmund’s where his
wife was staying, and then passing through Essex, he took up his
abode in the house of the bishop of Norwich in a town which was under
the jurisdiction of the said bishop; this greatly enraged the king,
who was afraid that if Hubert thus got away from him, he would cause
a great excitement in the kingdom; therefore, repenting of the
respite he had granted to him, the king sent the knight Godfrey de
Craucumbe after him with three hundred soldiers, ordering him, on
pain of being hung, to bring Hubert back a prisoner, and to imprison
him in the tower of London. This party then marched with all haste,
and found Hubert in a church near his abode, holding the cross of our
Lord in one hand, and the body of Christ in the other: for he had
been forewarned of the approach of those who sought his life, and
rising from the couch where he had been sleeping, he fled naked to
the church. The aforesaid Godfrey however entered the chapel with his
armed followers, and ordered him in the king’s name to leave the
chapel and come to London to speak with the king. Hubert replied that
he would not leave the chapel on any account; on which Godfrey and
his accomplices snatched the cross and the body of our Lord out of
his hands, and, after securing him, placed him on a horse, and
conducted him to the tower of London,* where they placed him in close
confinement. When this was effected they told the king, who had been
anxiously waiting their arrival, what they had done, on which he
retired to his couch satisfied.
* Paris adds:— “Because
they had not found a willing workman. A certain smith, who was
summoned and ordered to put fetters on him, asked on whose legs he
was to fasten them, on which one of them said, ‘On those of
Hubert de Burgh, a convicted rebel and fugitive.’ The smith
however said with a sigh, ‘Do with me as you please; may God be
merciful to my soul, for the Lord liveth, but I will die rather than
put fetters on him. Is he not that most faithful and noble-minded
Hubert, who so often saved England from the ravages of foreigners,
and restored England to itself? Is it not he who in Gascony and
Normandy served his lord king John so faithfully and boldly, that he
was even obliged to eat horse-flesh, so that even our enemies praised
his remarkable boldness; who for a long time preserved for us,
against the king of France and a chosen army, the castle of Dover,
the key of England, and by defeating our enemies at sea, wrought our
safety? Need I mention his brave deeds at Lincoln and Bedford? Let
God decide between him and you, for you are treating him unjustly and
inhumanly, returning evil for good, yea even the worst for the best.’
Hubert on hearing these words, thought of the words of the gospel
where it said, ‘I confess to thee, Father of heaven and earth, that
thou hast hidden my cause from skilful and wise men, and hast
revealed it to the poor and humble; to thee, my God, have I revealed
my cause; for my enemies have risen against me,’ &c. But Godfrey
de Craucumbe and his followers paying little heed to these remarks,
Bound Hubert and took him away."
How
Hubert was brought back to the chapel.
Early
the next morning Roger bishop of London, on hearing how Hubert had
been dragged from the chapel, hastened to the king, and, boldly
rebuking him for having violated the sanctity of the holy church,
told him that unless he released Hubert and sent him back to the
chapel from which he had been dragged by force, he would
excommunicate all the authors of this deed of violence. The king
then, however unwillingly, knowing Hubert to be guilty, sent him back
on the 27th of September to the chapel from which he had been dragged
by the soldiers; after this he gave orders to the sheriffs of
Hereford and Essex, on pain of death, in person and with all the
inhabitants of the two counties to blockade the chapel and to see
that Hubert did not escape, or receive provisions from any one. The
aforesaid sheriffs then went according to their orders, and commenced
blockading it as well as the bishop’s house which was near, and dug a
deep wide trench around the chapel and the house, determining to keep
watch there for forty days. Hubert however bore all this with
equanimity, having a clear conscience, as he said, and trusting his
cause to God, continually asking of the divine mercy to protect him
from all danger, as he himself had always regarded the king’s honour
and safety above all things. The king however paid little regard to
the deserts of the man who had served him with such zeal, that he
made it his only business to please him, and gave a general
prohibition to all not to speak to him on behalf of Hubert, or to
make any mention of him in his presence. Luke archbishop of Dublin,
however, who was his only friend, incessantly begged of the king with
tears at least to tell him what he meant to do with respect to
Hubert; to this the king is said to have replied, that out of a
number of alternatives there was a choice for him, namely, either to
abjure England for ever, to undergo perpetual imprisonment, openly to
acknowledge himself a traitor, or throw himself on the king’s mercy.
To this Hubert replied that he would not accept of either of these
alternatives, as he had suspicions of the king’s designs, for he did
not recollect that he had ever done anything deserving of such
disgrace; nevertheless, that he would leave the kingdom for a time,
to satisfy the king, but would not entirely abjure it.* After this he
passed many days and nights blockaded in this chapel with two
retainers, who supplied him with provisions till, by the king’s
order, all kinds of food were denied them, and they themselves were
ejected from the chapel. Hubert in this extremity, thinking it
disgraceful to die by hunger, left the chapel of his own accord, and
surrendered himself to the sheriffs who were watching him; for, he
said, he would rather trust to the king’s mercy than die of hunger.
The sheriffs then made him well secure, and, placing him on a horse,
took him to London, where, by the king’s orders, he was closely
confined and shackled in the tower of the city.
*
Paris adds:— “In
the same year, on the 28th of October, Ralph earl of Chester and
Lincoln closed his life at Wallingford; his body was carried to be
entombed at Chester, but his bowels were buried at Wallingford. When
news of his death was brought to Hubert de Bourg, and it was told him
that one of his enemies was dead, he said with a sigh, ‘The Lord be
merciful to him. He was my man by his own doing, and yet never did me
good wherever he could do me harm.’ Then, taking a psalter, he placed
himself before the great altar in the chapel where he was blockaded,
and read a mass for the soul of the said Ralph. The latter was
succeeded in the earldom of Chester by John, his nephew, the son of
his sister by earl David, brother of the king of Scots; another
nephew of his on his sister’s side obtained the earldom of Lincoln,
and from being a baron thus became an earl; the earl of Arundel too,
another nephew of his, came into possession of five hundred librates
of land.”
Of
the collection of the fortieth part of property granted to the king.
“Henry
by the grace of God, king of England, to Peter de Thaneo, William
Culworth, and Adam Fitz-William, collectors of the fortieth part,
greeting. Be it known to you that the archbishops, bishops, abbots,
priors, and clergy, who hold lands which do not belong to their
churches, and the earls, barons, knights, freemen, and farmers of our
kingdom, have, for our assistance, made a grant to us of the fortieth
part of all their moveable property as field by them on the day
following St. Matthew’s day in the sixteenth year of our reign,
namely, of corn, ploughs, sheep, calves, pigs, studs of carriage and
cart horses, and others employed on their manors, excepting the
property, which the aforesaid archbishops, bishops, and other
ecclesiastical persons hold from parochial and prebendal churches, as
well as prebends, and the lands belonging or pertaining to prebends
or parochial churches. It has been also provided by our liege
subjects aforesaid in general, that the aforesaid fortieth part shall
be assessed and collected as follows: namely, that four persons shall
be chosen from the better and more skilful men of each town, together
with the provosts of each of the towns, by whom on oath the fortieth
part of all moveable property aforesaid shall be assessed and taxed
on each and all in the presence of the knights-assessors deputed for
the purpose; and afterwards, on the oaths of two liege men of the
same towns, the fortieth part of all moveable property, belonging to
the aforesaid four men and provosts, shall be taxed and assessed; and
it shall be strictly and plainly enrolled in whose barony each town
was either partly or altogether. And after the fortieth part has been
assized and committed to writing, the list of all particulars
concerning each village and each county shall be delivered to the
seneschal of each of the barons, or to the attorney of such
seneschal, or to the bailiff of the liberty, where any one may have
liberty, namely, that the baron or lord of the liberty may have the
power to collect the aforesaid fortieth part and to distrain for it;
but if he does not wish, or is not able to do so, the sheriffs shall
make the said distraint, so that they shall receive nothing from it,
but the whole of the said fortieth part shall be delivered to the
aforesaid knights-assessors in the largest and most safe town of each
of the counties. And from each town there shall be a chief account
kept between the seneschal of the baron, or his attorney, or the
seneschals of the lord of the liberty, and the aforesaid assessors.
And the money shall be placed by the assessors in some safe place in
the same town, so that they shall have their seals, locks, and keys
on the said money, and the sheriffs likewise shall put their seals,
locks, and keys on it. And immediately after the fortieth part has
been assessed, the assessors shall send their rolls for their whole
circuit to the treasury; and in like manner as soon as the aforesaid
money is collected, they shall send their rolls of their receipts to
the treasury, and the aforesaid money shall be kept in the place
where it has been deposited, until it is brought by our orders to the
New Temple at London. And nothing shall be taken by way of the
fortieth part from any man who is not possessed of moveable property
to the value of forty pence at the least. And we have appointed you
to assess the fortieth part in the county of Hertford, and we have
commanded our sheriff of Hertford, to summon all the villagers of his
county, by our command, to appear before you at a fixed time and
place which you are to appoint for him to do so, and also to assist
and obey you in all matters connected with the said business.
Farewell.”
Of
the death of Ralph earl of Chester.
On
the 28th of October in the same year [1232] Ralph earl of Chester and
Lincoln died at Wallingford, and his body was taken to Chester to be
buried. He was succeeded in his earldom by his nephew John, son of
his sister by David, brother of William king of Scots; another nephew
of his, a son of his second sister obtained the earldom of Lincoln,
and from being a baron, became an earl; the earl of Arundel too,
another nephew of his, came into possession of five hundred librates.
About
this time, just before Martinmas, it was hinted to the king that the
ex-justiciary Hubert had a large sum of money at the New Temple in
London, consigned to the care of the templars there. He therefore
summoned the master of the templars to an interview with him and
asked him plainly if it was the case, and he, not daring to deny the
truth to the king, confessed that a sum of money had been confided to
the care of him and the brethren, but they were entirely unaware of
the amount and quantity. The king then with threats demanded this
money of the monks, declaring that it had been stolen by Hubert from
the treasury; the templars however replied that they would not
deliver to any one the money which had been entrusted to them in
confidence, without leave from the person who had deposited it in the
Temple for safe keeping. As this money was consigned to the care of
the church the king did not think it advisable to resort to violence,
he therefor j sent the treasurer of his court with the justiciaries
of his exchequer to Hubert, who was all this time in fetters in the
tower of London, ordering him to assign all the said money to the
king. When the aforesaid messengers told Hubert their message on
behalf of the king, he immediately replied, that he would resign
himself and all he possessed to the king’s will. He therefore gave
instructions to the knights of the Temple to deliver up all the keys
in his name to the king, that he might do as he chose with the
property deposited there; this being done, the king ordered the
money to be correctly counted and lodged in his treasury, and a
written list of the property found there to be taken and shown to
him. The king’s clerks and treasurer found there eight thousand
pounds of silver of the best coinage, a hundred and forty goblets of
silver and silver set with gold, with also such a quantity of jewels,
that they exceeded in value, it was said, all the rest of the
property found there. When a report of this event was spread abroad
some of Hubert’s untiring persecutors went to the king, making
accusations against him and said, that now he was convicted of theft
and fraud, he deserved to suffer a disgraceful death; to which the
king replied as follows: "Hubert from his boyhood, as I am told,
has faithfully served first my uncle king Richard, next my father
king John, and, although he has acted ill towards me, he shall never
by my means suffer an unjust death; for I would rather be considered
a foolish and easy king, than a cruel and tyrannical one;" and
with these words he granted to Hubert all the lands which he formerly
held as a gift from his father, or by purchase, that he might provide
the necessary support for himself and his followers therefrom. Soon
after this earl Richard, the king’s brother, William earl of Warrene,
Richard earl Marshal, and William earl of Ferrers, became sureties
for Hubert, and he was sent to the castle of Devizes under the charge
of the above four knights, where he remained a prisoner on parole.
In
the same year, on the morrow of St. Martin’s day, were heard dreadful
thunderings which continued at intervals for fifteen days to the
great alarm of many, and especially of the citizens of London, who
were now quite familiarized to them, for whenever they occurred in
England they were never unheard in London; this was followed by a
lamentable dissension in the kingdom between the king and his nobles
as the following narrative will show.
Of
the visitation of the religious men of every order throughout the
world.
In
this year also pope Gregory appointed inspectors to visit the
religious men throughout the whole of Christendom, by the following
warrant, "Gregory bishop to his venerable brethren the
suffragans of the church of Canterbury, health and the apostolic
benediction. Satan has gone from before the Lord’s presence, putting
forth his hand to deeds of boldness, and, trusting to his
cunningness, hopes to entrap into vice those who have been elected
into God’s inheritance, and prepares greater snares against those in
whom he perceives the deepest corruption. Whereas it has frequently
come under our notice that the churches of the Canterbury district
have dreadfully fallen off in spiritual and temporal matters, owing
to the evilmindedness and carelessness of those employed in them, we
do not choose any longer to pass over their faults in silence, lest,
if we should suffer them to go uncorrected we should seem to take
them on ourselves, and have therefore appointed special visitors,
reformers, and correcters, as well in the head as the other limbs, to
visit those churches situated in that district which are known to
belong immediately to the Roman church; and have granted them full
authority in their visitation of those churches to correct and reform
the abuses which they may be certain require reformation and
correction, but so as not to disparage or in any way impair the
constitutions and amendments that have been duly made in the
provincial chapels. We however reserve to ourselves, to the full
extent, the general care of all which we have assumed; nevertheless
it is your duty, who have been called to participate in our care, to
be careful and watchful over the flock especially entrusted to your
care, that the sickly sheep may not perish; it is therefore our
advice and strict order to your brotherhood, that each and all of you
make it your business, both personally and by means of religious men
instructed for this purpose of visitation, to visit the abodes of the
monks, nuns, and regular as well as secular canons, which are subject
to you both in your cities and dioceses, and, by our authority as
well as your own, to make such general reformations and corrections
in their heads and other limbs, wherever you see such reformations
and corrections necessary, laying aside all favour and appeal, saving
all such regulations concerning religious persons therein according
to the decree of a general council, and to check all gainsayers by
the church’s censure and postponing all appeal; and you will so carry
out our instructions that, at that awful award of punishments, God,
who will repay every one according to his works, may not require
their blood at your hands, and we may not be obliged to apply the rod
of apostolic punishment. Given at Spoleto this 9th day of June in the
sixth year of our pontificate .”
Of
the visitation to be made in the excepted churches.
With
regard to the other churches and religious men, who were under the
immediate jurisdiction of the church of Rome, he did not appoint
bishops as visitors, but abbots and those especially of the order of
Cistercians and Premonstratensians, who were undiscerning and severe
men, and they proceeded in their visitation so insolently and
mercilessly that they exceeded the bounds of their duties in several
monasteries, and numbers were compelled to resort to an appeal
against them; those who did so went to Rome, and with much expense
and labour obtained other visitors. In short this visitation was
carried on throughout the whole world rather to the deformation than
the reformation of the several orders, inasmuch as those who had
followed the rule of St. Benedict in the various quarters of the
world, in consequence of the rules of this visitation are now so
discordant, that, amongst all the monasteries and religious houses
there are scarcely two who agree in their rule of life. A certain
abbot of Montebello, being in doubt as to how he should proceed in
this visitation asked the pope’s advice on some doubtful points, on
which he received the following reply.
How
the pope was consulted about the aforesaid visitation.
Those
duties which are wisely ordained for the honour of religion and the
safety of religious communities ought to be strengthened by the
apostolic protection, so as to be undertaken devoutly and observed
diligently. Whereas therefore our well-beloved brother the abbot of
Montebello has brought under our notice some points which seemed for
our honour and preservation, laudably appointed for the correction of
many transgressions and offences which he had found in some
monasteries, we have caused the matter to be examined and corrections
to be made, and we order you inviolably to keep the rules, which, by
way of security, we have sealed with the seals of our venerable
brethren of Ostia and Tusculum. And it is our will and by the
apostolic authority we order you to summon the visitors to a general
chapter, and also the priors where there are no abbots, in person,
exempt as well as unexempt, who have not usually held chapters; and
they will preside at this general chapter, laying aside all canonical
impediment. And those who shall refuse or neglect to attend shall be
compelled to do so by the church’s censure, and shall not cease till
they cause them to make a meet atonement, such as they shall duly
impose on them; and by the same censure shall cause the decrees of
the same chapter to be strictly observed; and they themselves, as
well as the visitors and some others, shall at the last judgement
render an account of their ministry to the Lord, to whom everything
is clear and visible, and they shall make it their business at the
visitation of the monasteries to use all care and diligence in
reforming and correcting the abuses of the several orders. Moreover,
when the visitors, according to the decrees of the general council,
shall proceed in the general chapter of abbots to fulfil their duties
of visitation, they shall carefully examine into the state of the
monasteries, and as to how the regular observances are kept, and
shall make such amendments and reformations as may seem to them to be
necessary, both in spiritual and temporal matters; so that they
shall cause offending monks to be punished by the abbot of the place,
and wholesome penance to be imposed on them, according to the rules
of St. Benedict, and to the apostolic institutions, and not according
to the wicked custom which has now grown into a law in some churches.
And the visitors themselves by regular censure, and without regard to
persons, shall in our stead punish any monks whom they may find
contumacious and rebellious, not sparing them on account of their own
pertinacity or the power of their friends, but shall: eject the
diseased sheep from the fold that he may not infect the healthy ones.
And if the abbots are discovered to be neglectful in correcting
themselves or their monks, according to the mandate of the visitors
and the regular decrees, they shall be proclaimed, seized, and
publicly punished in the general chapter, so that their punishment
will be an example to others. And if any abbot who is not exempt is
discovered by the visitors to be negligent and remiss, they shall
denounce him to the diocesan of the place, who shall, assign him a
trustworthy and prudent person to co-operate with him until the next
general chapter. But if he is found guilty of dilapidation or
deserving of removal on any other account, he shall after he has been
told of the matter by the visitor, be removed by the diocesan from
the government of his abbacy and from the monastery without the
bustle of a trial; and in the meantime a proper manager shall be
provided to superintend the temporal concerns of the monastery, until
it is provided with another abbot. But if the bishop by any chance
shall refuse or neglect to fulfil this duty, the visitors themselves,
or those who preside at the general chapter, shall, without delay,
give information to the apostolic see of the fault of that bishop. It
is our order that these same rules be observed with respect to the
exempted abbots, only reserving to the apostolic see the business of
deposing them; and that when any abbot, who is thought deserving to
be removed, is suspended from his office, a proper manager shall be
appointed to the monastery, either by the visitors or those who
preside at the chapter. And the offences of these persons and other
things deemed proper to be intimated to the chapters, the presidents
shall communicate to us by trustworthy and prudent messengers, whose
expenses shall be defrayed by a general contribution of the abbots,
each according to his means. And the visitors who come afterwards
shall carefully inquire and examine into the proceedings of the
former visitors, and shall communicate any offence and neglects of
theirs at the next general chapter, in order that they may be
punished according to their fault. These particulars concerning the
visitation will suffice.
In the same year Roger bishop of London was accused, amongst
the rest, of abetting the plunder of the crops of the Roman church; he
therefore went to Rome to prove his innocence.
1233 A.D.
How the king dismissed some of his ministers from his court.
A.D. 1233. The seventeenth year of king Henry’s reign he held
his court at Christmas at Worcester, where, by the advice of Peter bishop of
Winchester, as was said, he dismissed all the native officers of his
court from their offices, and appointed foreigners from Poictou in
their places. He also dismissed William de Rodune, a knight who
carried on the duties of Richard the grand marshal at his court. By
the same person’s advice the king also dismissed Walter bishop of
Carlisle, from his office of treasurer, and then took from him a
hundred pounds of silver, and also spitefully deprived him of some
trusts, which he the king had by his own charter confirmed to him for
life. All his former counsellors, bishops and earls, barons and other
nobles, he dismissed abruptly, and put confidence in no one except
the aforesaid bishop of Winchester and his son Peter de Rivaulx;
after which he ejected all the castellans throughout all England, and
placed the castles under the charge of the said Peter. The bishop
then, in order to gain the king’s favour more completely, associated
with himself Stephen de Segrave, a yielding man, and Robert
Passelewe, who kept the king’s treasury under Peter de Rivaulx; and
he entirely ruled the kingdom with the assistance and advice of those
men. The king also invited men from Poictou and Brittany, who were
poor and covetous after wealth, and about two thousand knights and
soldiers came to him equipped with horses and arms, whom he engaged
in his service, placing them in charge of the castles in the various
parts of the kingdom; these men used their utmost endeavours to
oppress the natural English subjects and nobles, calling them
traitors, and accusing them of treachery to the king; and he, simple
man that he was, believed their lies, and gave them the charge of all
the counties and baronies, as also of all the youths of the nobility,
both male and female, who were foully degraded by ignoble marriages.
The king also entrusted them with the care of his treasury, with the
enforcement of the laws of the country and the administration of
justice. In short, judgement was entrusted to the unjust, laws to
outlaws, the preservation of peace to the quarrelsome, and justice to
those who were themselves full of injury, and when the nobles of the
kingdom laid complaints before the king of the oppression they
endured, the said bishop interfered, and there was no one to grant
them justice. The said Peter too made accusations against some of the
other bishops of the kingdom, and advised the king to avoid them as
open enemies.
How
the marshal remonstrated with the king.
By
these and like injuries, high and low were alike oppressed, and carl
Richard, marshal of the kingdom, seeing this, and that the laws of
the kingdom were being destroyed, was incited by his zeal in the
cause of justice, and, in company with some other nobles, boldly went
to the king, and, in the hearing of numbers, reproached him with
having by ill advice introduced these foreigners of Poictou to the
oppression of the kingdom and of his natural subjects, and to the
subversion of the laws and liberties; he therefore humbly begged of
the king at once to put a stop to such abuses, owing to which, his
crown and kingdom were in imminent danger of destruction; he
moreover declared that, if he refused to amend matters, he and the
other nobles of the kingdom would withdraw themselves from his
councils as long as he held communication with these foreigners. To
this Peter bishop of Winchester replied, that his lord the king was
surely allowed to summon as many foreigners as he chose for the
protection of his kingdom and crown, and as many and such men as
would be able to reduce his haughty and rebellious subjects to their
proper obedience. The earl Marshal and the other nobles being unable
to obtain any other answer, left the court in dismay, and made a
fixed determination one with another to fight for this cause, which
concerned them all, till their souls were separated from their
bodies.
Of the thunder-storms.
In the same year[1233], on the 23rd of March, dreadful thunderings
were heard, followed by inundations of rain throughout the whole summer,
which destroyed the warrens and washed away the ponds and mills
throughout almost all England; and in the ploughed and harvest fields
and other unusual places in different parts, the water ran about in
rivulets and formed into lakes in the midst of the crops, in which,
to the astonishment of many, the fishes of the rivers were seen; and
mills were standing in various places where they had never before
been seen. In the same year, on the 8th of April, about the first
hour of the day, on the confines of Hereford and Worcester, there
appeared four spurious suns round the real sun, of different colours,
some of a semicircular form and others round. These suns formed a
wonderful spectacle, and were seen by more than a thousand creditable
persons; and some of them, in commemoration of this extraordinary
phenomenon, painted suns and rings of various colours on parchment,
that such an unusual phenomenon might not escape from the memory of
man. This was followed in the same year by a cruel war and terrible
bloodshed in those counties, and general disturbances happened
throughout England, Wales, and Ireland. About the same time in the
month of June, two immense snakes were seen by the inhabitants near
the sea-coast in the southern part of England, fighting in the air,
and after a severe struggle one overcame the other, and putting him
to flight, pursued him to the bottom of the sea, where they were both
lost to sight.
The
election of the archbishop of Canterbury annulled.
About
the same time, master John, surnamed le Blund, was elected to the
archbishopric of Canterbury. It was divulged at Rome, that after his
election he had received a thousand marks of silver as a present from
Peter bishop of Winchester, besides another thousand marks which that
bishop had lent him to help him in obtaining his promotion, and it
was therefore evident that the friendship of the said bishop was
rather injurious than beneficial to him; besides this the said John,
it was reported, had confessed at Rome that he held two benefices, to
which the cure of souls was entrusted, in opposition to the decrees
of the general council, whereby he incurred the charge of
presumption. But, inasmuch as the election of three of the
archbishops of the church of Canterbury had been annulled lately, the
aforesaid church had been for a long time without a pastor, he
therefore gave permission to the monks, who had come with the
rejected archbishop elect, to choose master Edmund, a canon of the
church of Salisbury, as the pastor of their souls, in order that a
metropolitan see of such importance might not be any longer without a
pastor, and at the same time sent him the pall. The monks however
resolved not to accept of him or of any one else, except by the
consent of their whole community.
Of
discord which arose between the king and the nobles of the kingdom.
All
this time Peter, bishop of Winchester, and his colleagues had so
perverted the king’s heart with hatred and contempt for his English
subjects, that he endeavoured by all the means in his power to
exterminate them, and invited such legions of people from Poictou
that they entirely filled England, and wherever the king went he was
surrounded by crowds of these foreigners; and nothing was done in
England except what the bishop of Winchester and this host of
foreigners determined on. The king then sent letters, and summoned
all the earls and barons of the kingdom to come to a conference at
Oxford on the feast of St. John; but they refused to come at his
summons, both because they feared treachery from these foreigners,
and on account of the anger which they had conceived against the king
for his having summoned all these foreigners in contempt of them the
said barons. On their refusal being carried to the king by special
messengers, he became much enraged, and ordered a decree to be passed
by which he could compel them to attend his court. It was then
decided that they should be summoned thrice, in order to see if they
would come or not. At this conference a certain brother of the order
of Preachers. who was preaching the word of God in the presence of
the king and some of the bishops, plainly told the king with a loud
voice that he would never enjoy a lasting peace till he dismissed
Peter bishop of Winchester, and Peter de Rivaulx his son, from his
councils. Many others who were present also told the king the same;
whereupon he sent word to the nobles aforesaid to come to a
conference at Westminster on the 11th of July, when he would consult
with them as to any amendment which ought to be made by right.* The
nobles however, having heard that numbers of these robbers, equipped
with horses and arms, continued to arrive from time to time on the
king’s invitation, and seeing no sings of tranquillity, declined to
attend at the appointed day, and, by special messengers, demanded of
the king the immediate dismissal of Peter bishop of Winchester and
his other counsellors the nobles of Poictou, otherwise they would, by
common consent, unite to drive him as well as his evil advisers from
the kingdom, and proceed to choose a new king.
*
Paris inserts here : — “The
king, after some deliberation, inclined his heart to reason, and a
certain clerk of the court, named Roger Bacon, a man of pleasant
speech, on seeing him softened, said pleasantly and wittily although
churlishly rebuking him, ‘My lord king, what is most dangerous to
sailors, or what frightens them most?’ The king replied, ‘Those whose
business is on the wide waters know best.’ The clerk then said, ‘My
lord I will tell you it is stones and rocks,’ [petrae et rupes,] as
though he meant to hint at Peter de Rupibus, the name of the bishop
of Winchester. The king therefore, &c. &c.”
How
the king banished some of his nobles.
The
king, as well as his whole court, were struck with dismay, and were
in great alarm lest the error of the son should be worse than that of
the father, inasmuch as the nobles were determined to drive him from
the throne of the kingdom. The aforesaid bishop Peter then advised
the king to make war against his rebellious nobles, take their
castles from them, and give them to the Poictevin nobles, who would
defend the kingdom against these traitors. The first against whom the
king vented his rage was Gilbert Bassett, a nobleman, whom he
deprived of a certain manor which he had received as a gift from king
John; and when he asked the king to restore him his rights, the
latter called him a traitor, and threatened that if he did not leave
his court he should be hung. He also ordered Richard Siward, a bold
knight, to be made prisoner and brought before him, for having, as he
said, married the sister of the said Gilbert without his permission.
Being also suspicious of all the other nobles and men of rank in the
kingdom, he demanded hostages of them, and sent orders to them by his
warrants to give up to him before the 1st of August such and so many
hostages, by which all suspicion of rebellion on their parts would be
removed from his mind.
How
the marshal was warned of treachery against him.
The
earls and barons in grand knightly array proceeded to London on the
1st of August to the appointed conference, and amongst the rest was
Richard earl marshal, who took up his abode with his sister, the wife
of Richard the king’s brother; she then asked him the reason of his
journey, to which he replied, that he had come to attend the
conference. She then said to him, “Know, my dear brother, that
your enemies are plotting to take you prisoner, and they will give
you up to the king and the bishop of Winchester, in order that they
may serve you the same as they did the earl of Kent .” The
marshal would hardly believe these words of his sister’s, until she
showed by evident proofs the manner of his capture, and by whom he
would be taken. He then began to believe her, and when night came on
he took the road, and did not draw rein till he arrived in Wales.
There came to the conference the earls of Chester and Lincoln, the
earl of Ferrers, and earl Richard the king’s brother, with some other
earls and several barons, but nothing was done there on account of
the absence of the earl marshal and Gilbert Bassett, and some other
nobles who did not make their appearance; on which the king, by the
advice of Peter bishop of Winchester, and Stephen Seagrave, sent
letters to all the nobles of the kingdom who owed him knight’s
service, inviting them to come, provided with horses and arms, to
Gloucester, on Sunday before the Assumption of the blessed virgin
Mary. Richard Marshal and some others however, who were confederated,
refused to come at the time appointed, and the king, treating them as
traitors, burnt their villages, destroyed their parks and warrens,
and besieged their castles. The nobles who were confederated with one
another, it was said, were the earl marshal, Gilbert Bassett and his
brothers, all distinguished soldiers, Richard Siward, a man trained
to arms from his youth, Walter de Clifford, a chosen knight, and many
others who joined their cause; all of these the king, without any
trial in his court by their peers, ordered to be declared banished
and proscribed men, and gave their lands to his Poictevin servants,
ordering their persons to be seized wherever they were found in the
kingdom.
How
the bishop of Winchester bribed the confederates of the earl marshal.
Peter
bishop of Winchester, who endeavoured by all the means in his power
to weaken the cause of the earl marshal and his confederates, bribed
the earls of Chester and Lincoln by the gift of a thousand marks to
abandon the marshal and the cause of justice, and to come over to the
king’s party; for Richard, the king’s brother, who at first adhered
to the cause of the marshal, had some time before returned to the
king’s side. When the marshal discovered this, he entered into a
confederacy with Llewellyn the prince of North Wales, and some other
chiefs of that province, and they mutually made oath that neither of
them would make peace with king Henry without the consent of the
other. On the day following the assumption of Saint Mary, a great
many soldiers arrived at Dover from the continent and went to the
king at Gloucester, on which he led his army forward to the city of
Hereford, attended by a host of these and many others.
Of
the injury done to Walter bishop of Carlisle.
About
the same time Walter bishop of Carlisle, on account of some injuries
inflicted on him by the king, as he seated, embarked at Dover to
cross the continent, cut some of the king’s agents arrived, and
taking him and all his followers out of the ship, forbade him, in the
king’s name, to leave the kingdom without the royal permission.
During this occurrence Roger bishop of London landed at this place on
his return from the court of Rome, and hearing of the insult offered
to the said bishop, he excommunicated all those who had laid violent
hands on him, and then went to the king, whom he found with a large
army at the city of Hereford in Wales, where, in the presence of the
king and some of the bishops, he renewed the above-mentioned sentence
of excommunication on account of the violence offered to the bishop
of Carlisle, notwithstanding the king’s murmurs, who forbade him to
pronounce the sentence; and all the bishops who were present united
with him in excommunicating all who had occasioned this disturbance.
Of
the defiance sent to the marshal, and siege of a castle belonging to
him.
After
this the king, by the advice of the bishop of Winchester, sent the
bishop of St. David’s to defy the marshal, and gave orders for making
war on him and for besieging his castles. He therefore entered the
territory of the earl marshal, and laid siege to a certain castle of
his, the name of which I do not remember; but, after keeping up a
fierce assault on it for several days, the provisions of the
besieging army began to fail, and the king, seeing he would be
obliged to raise the siege, was ashamed of ever having come there; he
therefore sent some of the bishops to the earl marshal and asked him,
in his respect for the royal person, and that the siege might not
seem to have been ineffectual, to surrender the castle, on condition
that he the king would restore it to him within fifteen days
uninjured, and stipulating that he would in the meantime, by the
advice of the bishops, who were his securities for this, make all
proper reformations in the kingdom. To carry out this plan, the king
appointed the Sunday next after Michaelmas for the said marshal and
the rust of the proscribed parties to meet him at Westminster; the
castle was then given up to the king and the siege raised.
Of
the escape of Hubert de Burgh.
About
this time Peter bishop of Winchester, who above all things desired
the death of Hubert de Burgh, who was a prisoner in Devizes castle,
without mentioning Hubert’s name, earnestly begged of the king to
give him charge of the said castle, being, as was said, in hopes of
thus obtaining a chance of putting him to death. Hubert however was
forewarned of all these plans by his friends at the king’s court, and
disclosed them to two retainers of the garrison of the castle who
attended on him, and they, pitying his sufferings, devised a plan by
which he might escape from death. They therefore watched their
opportunity, and on the night of Michaelmas eve, when the garrison
were asleep, one of them, whilst the other kept watch, took Hubert,
fettered as he was, on his shoulders, and descended from the tower
carrying his pious theft with which he passed entirely through the
castle, unheard by the garrison, till he reached the great gate,
where he went out, and, crossing a deep trench, though with much
difficulty, made his way to the parochial church, and did not set
down his burden till he arrived before the great altar. The two men
who had set Hubert at liberty then refused to leave him, considering
that it would be to their glory if they should suffer a temporal
death for preserving the life of such a great man.
How
Hubert was dragged by violence from the church and imprisoned.
When
the garrison awoke and found that Hubert was not in the usual place,
they were greatly alarmed, and sallying forth in troops with Ian
thorns and weapons, they traversed the country round in search of
him; after some time they heard that Hubert was in the church,
released from his fetters, on which they tumultuously rushed thither
and found him before the great altar, with the holy cross in his
hands; they at once fiercely seized him, and striking and driving him
along with their weapons and fists, they took him back to the castle
as well as his two liberators, where they confined him more strictly
than before. When this event reached the ears of Robert bishop of
Salisbury, he went to the castle and ordered these violators of the
church at once to release Hubert and to restore him to the sanctuary
of the church in the same condition as they found him; but the
castellans noisily told him they would rather that Hubert should be
hung than they; on which, as they refused to give him up, the bishop,
by virtue of the power entrusted to him, excommunicated by name all
those who detained him and who had laid violent hands on him. The
said bishop then, accompanied by Roger bishop of London, went to the
king and laid a complaint before him of the injury inflicted on
Hubert, and did not leave the king till he had obtained his release;
so on the 18th of October he was sent back to the church much against
the king’s wish, who sent orders by letter to the sheriff of that
county to blockade the church in order to starve Hubert to death.
How
the marshal retook the castle which he had given up to the king.
About
this time, the fifteen days having expired since the marshal
surrendered his castle to the king on condition that he would restore
it to him when he again asked for it, he sent to the king, asking
him, as the period was expired, to restore his castle to him
according to their treaty, for which he had made the bishop of
Winchester and Stephen Segrave, who at that time performed the
functions of justiciary, his guarantees, and which they had also
confirmed by oath. The king however angrily replied that he would not
give it up, but would more likely reduce his other castles to
subjection. The marshal then, seeing that no oath or terms of peace
were observed by the king’s advisers, collected a large army and laid
siege to the castle once his own, and placing his engines of war
round it, easily regained possession of it.
The
king was in the meantime at Westminster, where he attended the
conference on the 9th of October, as he had promised the nobles, in
order to consult with them as to the reforms necessary to be made in
the kingdom; but the evil advice which he followed prevented this
being carried out. Several of the bishops present humbly begged the
king, in the Lord’s name, to make peace with his barons and other
nobles whom he had condemned to banishment without any trial by the
peers, burning their villages and buildings, cutting down their woods
and fruit trees, and destroying their parks and lakes. The king
however said that they were traitors, although it was by their
assistance that he ought to arrange his plans and manage the business
of the kingdom. Peter bishop of Winchester also replied that the
peers in England were not like those in France; wherefore the king of
England had a right, by the justiciaries whom he appointed, to banish
any guilty persons from the kingdom and to condemn them after trial.
The bishops, on hearing these words, as if with one voice threatened
to excommunicate by name the principal amongst these evil advisers of
the king; and amongst these they especially named Peter bishop of
Winchester, and his son Peter de Rivaulx, Stephen Segrave the
justiciary, and Robert Passelewe the treasurer. To these threats
Peter of Winchester replied, that he had been consecrated a bishop by
the supreme pontiff at Rome, and was therefore exempt from their
authority, and he appealed to the apostolic see against their
pronouncing that sentence upon him. The bishops aforesaid then
excommunicated all those who had estranged the king’s affection from
his natural English subjects, and disturbed the peace of the kingdom.
How the king summoned all who owed knight’s service to appear before him.
During this conference, messengers came to the king informing him that the
earl Marshal had retaken his castle in Wales, and had slain some of
the royal knights and officers there. The king was much enraged at
this news, and ordered the bishops to excommunicate the marshal by
name, for having seized on the said castle; but the bishops replied
that he did not deserve to be excommunicated for only taking a castle
which was his own. The enraged king then sent letters throughout all
the English territories, ordering all who owed him knight’s service,
to assemble at Gloucester on the morrow of All Saints’ day, equipped
with horses and arms, to march where he wished to lead them.
About this same time Hubert de Burgh the ex-justiciary, was taken away from
the church at Devizes by some armed men, and, after being properly
clad in knightly apparel, was carried into Wales, where he joined the
enemies of the king about the first hour of the day on the 30th of
October.
How
the proscribed nobles attacked the king’s army at Grosmont.
The
king had by this time collected a powerful army at Gloucester, with
which he advanced towards Hereford in Wales, where he invaded the
marshal’s territory, endeavouring by all the means in his power to
deprive him of his inheritance, and to seize his person. That
cautious soldier had, however, before the king’s approach, withdrawn
all the cattle and provisions, wherefore the king, not being able to
stay there, owing to the failure of his provisions, turned off with
his army to the castle of Grosmont. After he had stayed there some
days, the marshal and his proscribed confederates found out by means
of their spies that the king passed the night inside that castle
while his army were encamped outside the walls. The whole body of
them therefore, except the marshal, who refused to attack the king,
marched for that place with the Welsh chiefs and a large army a
little after dusk on Martinmas day, and rushing on the king’s troops
who were lying asleep in their tents, took possession of more than
five hundred horses, with all their baggage and equipments, the men
themselves taking to flight nearly naked in all directions. The
conquerors however did not wish to wound or make prisoners of any of
them, and there were only two knights slain out of the whole number.
They then took all the waggons and carts containing the money,
provisions, and arms, and having carefully disposed of their booty,
returned to their safe hiding-places. The following nobles all were
witnesses of this occurrence, namely, Peter bishop of Winchester,
Ralph bishop of Chichester, Stephen Segrave the justiciary, Peter de
Rivaulx the treasurer, Hugh Bigod earl of Norfolk, William earl of
Salisbury, William Beauchamp, William Daubeney the younger, and many
others, who fled nearly naked, losing all their property; great
numbers of the king’s army then and especially those who had lost
their horses and all their money, went away in great trouble and
returned to their homes. The king, who had been thus left as it were
alone, in the midst of his enemies, then put his Poictevin
freebooters in charge of the castles of Wales, to repel the attacks
of his enemies, and gave the command of his army to the nobles, John
of Monmouth, and Ralph de Thoeny, to the latter of whom he also gave
the castle of Matilda, which belonged to him by old right; whilst he
himself, after making these arrangements, returned to Gloucester.
At the beginning of the month of November in this same year, thunder was
heard, and accompanied by dreadful flashes of lightning, for several
days; and it came to be a usual proverb amongst labourers, that a
woman ought not to weep for the death of her husband or her children,
but rather for the thunder-storms, for they always foreboded the
approach of famine or mortality, or some such things.
Of the fierce battle between the marshal and the Poictevins.
In the same year [1233] the marshal, on one of his foraging incursions
into the territories of his enemies, came to the town of Monmouth,
which was hostile to him, where he ordered his army to proceed on
their expedition, whilst he with a hundred of his fellow knights
turned aside towards the castle of that place to examine its
condition, as he purposed to besiege it in a few days; but as he was
riding round the walls of the town, he was seen by Baldwin de
Guisnes, to whom the king had entrusted the charge of that castle
together with several Poictevins, and understanding that the marshal
was there with only a few followers for the purpose of examining the
castle, he sallied out with a thousand brave and well-equipped
soldiers, and pursued him at full speed, designing to make him and
his followers prisoners and bring them into the town. The earl
Marshal’s companions however, when they saw the impetuous advance of
the enemy, advised him to consult their safety by flight, saying that
it would be rash for such a few of them to engage with such a number
of the enemy; to which the marshal replied that he had never as yet
turned his back on his enemies in battle, and declared that he would
not do so now, and exhorted them to defend themselves bravely and not
to die unavenged. The troops from the castle then rushed fiercely on
them and attacked them with their lances and swords: a severe though
very unequal conflict then ensued, yet although there were only a
hundred of the marshal’s party to oppose a thousand of their
adversaries, they fought for a great part of the day. But Baldwin de
Guisnes with twelve of his stoutest and best armed soldiers made an
attack on the marshal in person, and endeavoured to take him prisoner
and carry him off to the castle; he however kept them at a distance,
brandishing his sword right and left, arid struck down whoever came
within reach, either killing them or stunning them by the force of
his blows, and although engaged single-handed against twelve enemies,
defended himself for a length of time. His enemies at length, not
daring to approach him, killed the horse he rode with their lances;
but the marshal, who was well practised in the French way of
fighting, seized one of the knights who was attacking him by the
feet, and dragged him to the ground, and then quickly mounting his
adversary’s horse, he renewed the battle. The knight Baldwin was
ashamed that the marshal defended himself single-handed against so
many of his enemies for such a time, and made a desperate attack on
him, and seizing his helmet, tore it from his hi ad with such
violence, that blood gushed forth from his mouth and nostrils; he
then seized the marshal’s horse by the bridle, and endeavoured to
drag it with its rider towards the castle, whilst others assisted him
by impelling the marshal on from behind. The latter however, sweeping
his sword behind him, struck two of his enemies to the earth stunned,
but could not then release himself from their grasp. At this juncture
however a cross-bowman amongst the marshal’s company, seeing his lord
in danger, discharged an arrow from his bow, which, striking Baldwin,
who was dragging the marshal away, in the breast, entered his body,
notwithstanding his armour, and he fell to the earth believing
himself mortally wounded; his companions on seeing this, left the
marshal, and went to raise Baldwin from the ground, for they thought
that he was dead.
Of the slaughter by the marshal at the castle of Monmouth.
Whilst these events were passing, news had been carried to the marshal’s
army of the danger he was in, on which they marched with all haste to
his assistance, and soon put his enemies to flight. A bridge in the
neighbourhood of the castle, over which the fugitives hoped to make
their escape, was found to be broken, on which great numbers of them
threw themselves into the river and were drowned with their horses
and arms; others, having no means of escape, were slain by their
pursuers, and some were made prisoners; and few of those who had
sallied out from the castle returned safe. On the side of the
marshal, Thomas Siward, a brave knight, and two of his companions,
were taken prisoners and carried off into the castle. Of the troops
of the garrison, fifteen knights and great numbers of soldiers were
taken and carried off by the marshal, together with their horses,
arms, and other booty. Numbers of the slain remained lying on the
field of battle, amongst whom were to be seen Welsh, Poictevins, and
other foreigners, and Baldwin de Guisnes was carried to the castle
severely wounded. This battle took place near the above castle on St.
Catherine’s day. •
* November 25th.
After this battle the marshal with Gilbert Basset, Richard Siward, and his
other proscribed confederates, laid ambuscades for the Poictevins who
held charge of the king’s castles, so that whenever any of them went
out foraging, they were attacked, and no quarter was given them: the
consequence of which was, that the whole atmosphere in that part of
the country was tainted by the numbers of dead foreigners who lay
about in the roads and other places.
Of the earl marshal’s great prudence and regard for justice.
About this same time, on the Thursday next before Christmas, the earl
marshal happened to pass the night at the abbey of Margan, at which
place a brother of the Minorite order, named Agnell, an attendant and
adviser of the king, came to him to tell him what had been said
concerning him at the court, both by the king and his advisers. He
"had heard the king say ,” he stated, "that, although
the marshal had traitorously and unjustly taken arms against him, if
he chose, without making any other condition, to throw himself
altogether on the king’s mercy, he the king would grant him safety to
life and limb, and would also allow him a sufficient portion of land
in Herefordshire, to support him honourably. He had also heard from
Stephen Segrave that the terms of forgiveness would be made known to
the marshal by two of his trustworthy friends, who would tell the
marshal that he could with safety trust to the king’s mercy, but at
the same time that they were not to tell the marshal himself or any
other person, for that he was to do this without knowing the terms to
be granted to him. He had also heard from others at the court that it
was advisable for the marshal to do as above stated, that it was his
duty, would be to his advantage, and would be safe for him to do so.
It was his duty, because he had done injury to his lord, for he had,
before the king molested his property or person, invaded the king’s
territory, burning and destroying the crops, and slaying the people.
And if the marshal pleaded that he did so for the defence of his
person and inheritance, they said it was not so, for there had never
been any design against his person or property; that therefore he
ought not to have broken out into violence against his lord the king
till he discovered by ocular demonstration that the king had such
design against him, when it would have been justifiable for him to
act as he had now done .” To all this the earl marshal gave the
following reply to brother Agnell:— "To the first argument
,” he said, "as to its being my duty, because I have
invaded the king’s territory, this is not true; for although I was
always ready to abide by the law and the decision of my peers in his
court, and often asked the king by messengers to grant me this, he
always refused it to me, and himself invaded my territory and
attacked me contrary to all the laws of justice. And hoping to please
him by my submission, I freely entered into terms of peace with him,
which were very injurious to myself, by which it was agreed, that
unless those terms were observed on the part of the king towards me,
I should remain entirely in the same condition as I was before the
said peace was agreed on, namely that I should be free from all
homage to him, and in a state of defiance towards him, as I had
formerly been by the bishop of St. David’s; and therefore, as he
failed to observe the terms of peace in every particular, I was
justified according to my agreement in endeavouring to recover what
belonged to me, and in weakening his power by every possible means,
especially as he eagerly sought my destruction, to deprive me of my
inheritance, and to seize on my person; of this I have been well
assured, and, if necessary, can prove it; and, what is more, after
the truce of fifteen days, before I entered Wales, or took any
measures for my own defence against any one, he, without a trial,
deprived me of my office of marshal, which belonged to me, and which
I held by hereditary right, nor would he on any terms restore it to
me when I asked him; by this I was plainly convinced that he did not
mean to come to any terms with me, since after the truce he treated
me worse than before; therefore I am not his subject, but am released
from all fealty to him, although I would return to the terms of the
first state of defiance above stated, according to the agreement.
Wherefore I have been justified and am still justified in defending
myself, and in thwarting the malicious designs of his advisers by
every means in my power .” The king’s advisers also said, that
it would be to the marshal’s advantage to throw himself on the king’s
mercy, because the king was richer and more powerful than he was; and
if the marshal relied on the assistance of foreigners, for every one
that he could induce to assist him the king could bring seven; for
some of the foreign relations of the king had offered their
assistance, who were neither Scotch, French, or Welsh, who would come
into England and find work for all his enemies, for they would come
in such multitudes as to cover the whole face of the country. To this
argument the marshal replied, “It is true that the king is
richer and more powerful than I, but he is not more powerful than
God, who is justice itself, and in whom I place my hopes of safety
and of obtaining my rights in the kingdom: and I do not put my trust
in foreigners, nor do I seek their alliance, nor will I ask their
assistance, unless, which, God forbid, I am compelled so to do by any
unexpected and unavoidable emergency. And I well know that the king
can bring seven to my one, and I believe that he will very soon bring
so many of them to his councils, that he will not have the means of
freeing himself and the kingdom from them, for I have heard from
credible people that the bishop of Winchester has engaged to bring
all England to subjection to him, and this he engaged to do from the
time when he was with the emperor on the continent; and so he
commenced this war, that he might take the opportunity first of
asking assistance of the emperor, and might then summon the emperor
to come in person; and this appeared likely, because, when a
disagreement arose between him and the king, he left England, and now
he swore that he would send so many foreigners into England as would
cover the whole face of the country .” Again, the king’s
advisers said that it would be safe for the marshal to throw himself
on the king’s mercy, because he could trust to the king and his
advisers; to the king, because he was merciful and worthy of trust;
and to his advisers, because they had never caused any harm to the
marshal, for indeed in their hearts they loved him. In reply to this
the marshal said, “It may be true that the king is merciful,
but he is led away by the advice of those men, by whom we feel
ourselves seriously wronged. That the king is to be believed is
evident, as far as regards himself, but with regard to his advisers I
have this to say, namely, that no promise made to me as yet has ever
been kept. What his advisers say about never having caused harm to me
is false; for they have brought all my troubles on me, and to them I
chiefly impute them all. Nor can I believe them when they say that
they love me until I see them acting differently to what I have
always seen; for they have violated several corporal oaths, namely
with respect to the earl of Kent, to whom they all made three several
oaths, which they paid no heed to, and broke, as well concerning the
terms provided by the aforesaid earl, with regard to which they in
like manner perjured themselves, as in the oath concerning the
liberties contained in the great charter, which they also broke, and
for which they were excommunicated as perjurers. They also perjured
themselves with respect to the good counsel they swore they would
give to the king, for they always advised him contrary to justice.
Stephen Seagrave too, who had sworn to observe just laws, was now
corrupting them and introducing laws long out of use; for many other
reasons too, neither he nor his accomplices were worthy of being
trusted by God or man, for was he not, and were they not,
excommunicated ?" The next argument against the marshal urged by
the king’s advisers was, that he had attacked the person of his lord
the king at Grosmont before the king had entered his territory, and
therefore had offered an injury to him, wherefore it was his duty to
give himself up to the king’s mercy as above mentioned, in order to
do honour to him, and give no pretext to others for making an
insurrection against him. To this the marshal replied that, as far as
regarded him personally, it was false that he was present at that
attack; and if any of his retainers had by chance been present
there, they only attacked the king’s attendants and not his royal
person. “And if they did so ,” said he, “it was not
to be wondered at, when the king came into my territory with his army
to attack me and injure me in every way; and this is plainly proved
by the letters by which he summoned all throughout England to assist
in destroying me. And since the above offences imputed to me are
false, and it is true that the king behaved worse to me at the time I
was looking for his mercy than at any other time, and as he still has
the same design as he had then, and still relies on the counsels of
those men, by whose advice I know it is that all these injuries have
been brought on me and mine, we ought not and cannot submit to his
mercy. And it would not be any credit to the king if I were to yield
to his pleasure when it is not supported by reason, I should then be
rather offering an insult to him and to justice, which is a king’s
duty to exercise and to observe towards his subjects. And I should
set a bad example to every one, namely, that of abandoning the cause
of justice and the prosecution of my rights on account of an error in
judgement, contrary to all justice, and to the injury of his subjects
; for in such a case it would seem that we loved our worldly
possessions more than justice .” Again, the king’s advisers
stated against the marshal that he was allied with the king’s
principal enemies, the French, the Scotch, and the Welsh, and it
seemed to them that he had done this to the annoyance and injury of
the king and kingdom. To this the marshal replied, "As regards
the French, this is clearly false: the statement as regards the
Scotch and Welsh is also false, except as regards the king of
Scotland and Llewellyn the Welsh prince; they were not enemies, but
faithful lieges of his, until, by the injuries inflicted on them by
the king and his counsellors, they were unwillingly obliged, like
myself, to withdraw from their allegiance to him: and it is for this
purpose that I have formed an alliance with these princes, namely,
that we can better when united, than divided, contend for and defend
those rights of which we have been unjustly deprived, and in a great
measure robbed .” The said counsellors of the king again
stated, that the marshal need not put confidence in these allies of
his, for the king could, without any damage to his territories,
estrange them from him whenever he chose To this the marshal replied,
that “he had no doubt of that, and ,” says he, “this
circumstance clearly shows the wickedness of his advisers, for they
would make the king endure any kind of injury from those whom they
call his chief enemies, in order to injure me, who have always been a
faithful subject of his, as long as he allowed me, and I would still
be so if he would restore to me and my friends our proper rights .”
The next argument of the king’s advisers was, that the pope and the
Roman church had a particular regard for the king and kingdom, and
would excommunicate all his enemies; and this seemed now to be at
hand, because they had already sent for the legate. To this the
marshal replied, "I am glad to hear what they say respecting the
pope and the Roman church, for the more regard they may have for the
king and kingdom, the more they will wish him to govern his kingdom
and his subjects according to the laws of justice. And I am also
pleased to hear that the pope will excommunicate the enemies of the
kingdom; for they are those who advise the king contrary to justice,
as their acts prove them to be; for justice and peace go hand in
hand, and when justice is corrupted, peace also is violated. Again, I
am glad that the legate is coming; for the more people there are to
hear the justice of our cause, the more will the enemies of justice
be put to shame. And now, although I have particularly dwelt upon my
own grievances, I say the same with respect to all my friends and
allies; and on their behalf I make the same complaint as on my own,
and without them I can do nothing at all towards coming to a durable
arrangement.*
•
Paris adds: “About
the same time, in the seventeenth year of his reign, king Henry, at
his own expense, built a handsome church, fit for an assembly of
monks, with outbuildings adjoining, near the Old Temple at London,
where he established an order of the ‘Converted,’ for the redemption
of the souls of himself, king John his father, and his other
ancestors; and to this house all the converted Jews who had
abandoned the darkness of Judaism fled, in order to have a safe
refuge, with a certain rule of living for their lives, as well as
sufficient sustenance, without performing servile labour or living by
extortion and usury. In a very short time a large number of the
Converted assembled there and were baptized and instructed in the
faith of the Christians, living a praiseworthy life, and under the
rule of a learned rector especially appointed for the purpose. King
Henry also, inspired by the Holy Spirit and incited by a pious
motive, established a noble hospital at Oxford, near the bridge, in
order that sick men and pilgrims might there receive relief according
to their wants and be restored to health."
1234 A.D.
How king Henry kept Christmas at Gloucester.
A.D. 1234. Which was the eighteenth year of his reign, king Henry held his
court at Christmas at Gloucester, with only a small retinue; for he
had been deserted by a great many of the nobles, who had a short time
before been deprived of all their property at Grosmont castle, as
above related. At the same time the frost set in with such severity
that the crops in the fields were destroyed, the roots of the trees
in the gardens were rotted, and those of the apple trees were frozen
four feet down and died; and this continued without any fall of snow
till the Purification of St. Mary, putting a stop to all agriculture;
and this was followed, in the same year by such an unhealthy
atmosphere, and such unseasonable weather, that a great scarcity
ensued of all the produce of the earth.
How the marshal caused great slaughter amongst his enemies.
The day after Christmas day, John of Monmouth, a nobleman, who had fought
on the king’s side in Wales, collected a large army to surprise the
earl marshal; the latter was however informed of his intention, and
betook himself with his army to a wood by which the enemy would pass,
in order to delude those who thought to deceive him. When therefore
the enemy came to the place of ambuscade, the marshal and his army
rushed on them amidst the din of horns and trumpets, and taking them
unawares, soon put them all to flight, and closely pursuing them,
slew great numbers of the Poictevins and others, and John himself
with much difficulty escaped by flight. The marshal then marched
forward with his army, and pillaged and burned the villages and
houses, and other property belonging to the said John, thus making
him a poor man and a beggar instead of a rich man, as he had been;
and then he returned to his own territory laden with immense booty,
and carrying off large herds of cattle.
How the proscribed nobles excited great opposition to the king’s
counsellors.
At this same Christmas a grievous war was carried on against the king
and his counsellors, for Richard Seward, in conjunction with others
of the proscribed nobles, attacked the possessions of earl Richard
the king’s brother, near Brehull, and burnt his houses, crops, and
even the very cattle as they stood in the stables; they also attacked
Segrave, the native place of Stephen the justiciary, burnt the
splendid houses there with the cattle and crops, and then went away
taking with them some valuable horses and other property; they also
destroyed by fire a village belonging to the bishop of Winchester
near the last named place, and carried off a quantity of booty. These
soldiers, however, observed one good rule amongst them generally;
they did not do any one injury or attack any one, except these unjust
advisers of the king, by whose means they had been driven into exile;
but whatever belonged to these men they destroyed, burning their
woods, and plucking up their fruit-trees by the roots.
Of the expedition against Shrewsbury.
After this, during the octaves of the Epiphany, the earl marshal and the
Welsh chief Llewellyn collected all the forces they could muster, and
penetrating a good distance into the king’s territory, spread fire
wherever they went; so that, from the confines of Wales as far as the
town of Shrewsbury, there was not a place that escaped their ravages
; they then burned the town of Shrewsbury and then returned home with
valuable booty. King Henry, during all these proceedings of his
enemies, was lying inactive at Gloucester together with the bishop of
Winchester, for he had not a military force sufficient to oppose
them, therefore he retreated, overcome with shame, to Winchester,
leaving all that district exposed to the ravages of the enemy as was
plainly evident; it was a dreadful sight to travellers to see the
corpses of the slain, which were almost numberless, lying unburied
and naked in the roads, affording meals for the beasts and birds of
prey, the stench from which had so corrupted the air that the dead
killed the living. And so hardened was the king’s heart become
against the marshal, owing to the evil advice he listened to, that,
although the bishops advised him to make peace with that nobleman,
who only fought to obtain justice, he replied that he would never
come to any terms with him, unless he begged his mercy with a halter
around his neck, and acknowledging himself a traitor.
Of the treachery which the king’s advisers planned against the marshal.
About this time the bishop of Winchester, and Peter de Rivaulx his son,
with some others of the king’s evil counsellors, finding themselves
everywhere defeated by the marshal, and seeing with grief their towns
burned, at length devised a plan to conquer him by treachery as they
could not do so in open fighting; therefore, being frustrated in
their wishes, and seeing the countless numbers of the Poictevins
slain in Wales, they wrote letters containing designs of unheard-of
treachery, and forced the king, although ignorant of their purport,
to set his seal to them; besides which, eleven of them also affixed
their seals, and then sent this bloody missive into Ireland. This
treacherous letter was sent to the Irish nobles, Maurice Fitz-Gerald,
who performed the functions of king’s justiciary in that kingdom,
Walter and Hugh de Lacy, Richard de Burgh, Geoffrey de Marisco, and
others, who were sworn allies of the said marshal, although faithless
to him; and the purport of these letters was as follows. The king’s
counsellors, in the first place, told the said nobles that Richard,
formerly marshal of the English king, had, by a decree of the said
king’s court, on account of open treachery, been banished from
England and his possessions; that his villages and houses had been
burned, his parks and fruit trees cut down, his ponds and fish
destroyed, and, what was more than all this, had been for ever
adjudicated from his paternal inheritance; and, notwithstanding he
had been thus deprived of all his property, he still annoyed the
king, and persevered in his offences against him. “We
therefore order you on your oath, as faithful subjects of our lord
the king, to seize him if he should happen to come to Ireland, and
bring him, dead, or alive, before the king; and if you do this, all
his inheritance and possessions in the kingdom of Ireland, which are
now at the disposal of our lord the king, will be granted to you to
be divided amongst you, and to be held by you by hereditary right.
And for the faithful fulfilment of this promise to you by our lord
the king, all of us, by whose advice the business of the king and
kingdom is managed, will become securities if you bring the above
design to effect. Farewell.”
How the Irish nobles agreed to the offer of the king’s counsellors.
When the Irish nobles heard the contents of the king’s letters,
covetousness took possession of all their minds, and all conspiring
with one another, they sent messengers with letters to the aforesaid
counsellors of the king with an injunction to secrecy, telling them
that, if the promises contained in the king’s warrant would be
confirmed to them they would endeavour to carry the plan into effect.
The king’s advisers then, by a royal warrant made a grant to them of
all the rights of the marshal, to be divided between them, setting
forth the places, possessions, and rights which would fall to the lot
of each of them. When these traitorous Irish nobles received this
document, they immediately bound themselves by oath to accomplish the
detestable design when they saw an opportunity; and thus conspiring
against the life of an innocent man, they at once invaded the
territories of the marshal, and took some of his castles, dividing
the booty amongst them.
Of the slaughter of the heretic Albigenses in a pitched battle.
In this year [1234] the heretic Albigenses in Spain and those regions
became so audacious, that they ordained heretical bishops to preach
their evil doctrines, declaring that the Christian religion, and
especially the mystery of the incarnation, was false and ought to be
altogether abolished; they also collected an army and invaded the
territories of the Christians, burning churches and slaying the
Christians of both sexes and all ages without mercy. But when news of
this event was spread abroad, their superstitious presumption was
soon checked by the faithful followers of Christ, who assumed the
cross at the summons of pope Gregory, and came from the regions of
the west to the defence of the Christian faith; and in a pitched
battle fought in the spring, these heretics together with their
bishops were slain to a man. The Christians then took possession of
their cities, and placed followers of Christ in them; they also
ordained catholic bishops in them, and then returned victorious to
their own countries, and those who had come thither poor men returned
home rich.*
* Paris here says that the heretics in the provinces adjoining
Germany were also defeated by the Christians, and an immense number were
slain. He also mentions that in this year a truce was confirmed
between the king and William Marshall.
The bishops’ advice to the king about the disturbances in the kingdom.
Whilst these events were occurring in Spain, the English king on
the day of the Purification of St. Mary, held a council at Westminster, at which
he severely reproached some of the bishops and especially Alexander,
bishop of Chester, for being too friendly with the marshal, and
accused them of endeavouring to drive him from the throne of the
kingdom. That bishop, however, when he heard himself thus accused,
put on his pontifical robes and excommunicated all who were the
authors of this crime against the king, and then, on the interference
of the other bishops, the king became reconciled to him. At this
council master Edmund, archbishop elect of Canterbury, was present
with several of his suffragan bishops, and all of them unanimously
expressed their sorrow at the desolation of the king and kingdom, and
told the king, speaking from their hearts, “Lord king, we tell
you in the Lord’s name, that the counsel which you now receive and
act upon, namely, that of Peter bishop of Winchester, and Peter de
Rivaulx, is not wise or safe, but on the contrary is cruel and
dangerous to yourselves and to the whole kingdom. In the first place,
they hate the English people, and both call them traitors themselves,
and cause others to call them so; they estrange your affections from
your people, and those of your people from you, as is evident from
the conduct of the marshal, who is the best subject in your
dominions, and by the wicked lies which they tell you about your
people, they pervert all their words and deeds. It was by the acting
on the advice of this same man, the said bishop, that your father
also lost first the affections of his people, afterwards Normandy and
some other territories, and finally all his wealth, and almost the
sovereignty of England, and never enjoyed tranquillity afterwards. It
was owing to this same man’s counsels, that the kingdom was embroiled
and laid under an interdict, and these troubles at length brought on
your father’s death. By the same man’s counsel in our own time the
castle of Bedford was detained from you, and from this same cause you
lost the town of Rochelle. Again, this insurrection which is now
endangering your kingdom, has been caused by the evil counsels of
these two men; for if your people had been governed according to the
rules of justice and the proper laws of the land, this disturbance
would not have happened, you would not have had your possessions
ravaged, and your money would not have been expended. We also say, on
the allegiance we owe to you, that your plans are not those which
will give peace to your kingdom, but will only cause disturbances,
for these men, since they cannot increase their wealth by peace,
endeavour to do so by embroiling the people of the kingdom and by
depriving others of their inheritance. Also, that they hold your
castles and the strength of your dominions in their own hands, as
though you could not place confidence in your own people. Also, that
they have your treasury, and all the chief trusts and escheats under
their own control, and what kind of an account they will render to
you of them you will find out hereafter. Also, that there is scarcely
any business of importance in the kingdom transacted under your seal,
or by your warrant, without being also under the seal and by the
warrant of Peter de Rivaulx, from which it is clear they do not
consider you in the light of a king. Again, by the same counsel all
the natural subjects of your kingdom have been dismissed from your
court, therefore we entertain fears for you as well as the kingdom,
inasmuch as we know that you are more under their rule than they
under yours, as is evident in very many instances. Also, that they
hold under their control the princess of Brittany and your sister, as
well as several other noble dames and young women, with their wards
and marriage portions, and these they disparage by giving in marriage
to their own friends. Also that they misapply and pervert alike
justice and the law of the land, which you have sworn under penalty
of excommunication to defend, whence it is to be feared that they
will be excommunicated, and you incur the sentence also for
communicating with them. Also, that they do not fulfil their promises
to any one, they do not keep faith, their oaths, nor abide by any
written agreements, nor do they fear excommunication; wherefore those
who have departed from the truth have fallen into despair, and those
who abide by it are in alarm. We say this to you in good faith, and
we advise you in the presence of God and man, and we beg of and warn
you to dismiss such advisers, and, as is the custom in other
countries, to govern yours also by the assistance of the faithful and
sworn subjects of your own kingdom; for we have to inform you for a
fact that, unless you correct these abuses in a short time, we shall
proceed, by means of the censure of the church, against you and all
other gainsayers, and we are only awaiting the consecration of our
venerable father the archbishop elect of Canterbury .” On these
words, the king humbly begged a respite for a short time, saying,
that he could not dismiss his counsellors so suddenly, at any rate
until he had received from them an account of the money entrusted to
them; and thus the council broke up, and all departed in confident
hopes of soon obtaining peace in the kingdom.
How the proscribed nobles burst out into acts of vengeance.
After the aforesaid council was dissolved the king went to Bromholm to
perform his devotions, and on his road passed the town of St.
Edmund’s, where, moved by piety, he granted to the wife of Hubert de
Burgh eight manors out of her husband’s territories, which were then
under the charge of Robert Passelewe by his orders; then, after he
had performed his devotions, he returned to the western part of the
kingdom, and arrived at the town of Huntingdon. Whilst he was staying
at the latter place, Richard Seward, in company with Gilbert Bassett
and other proscribed nobles, went to Almondbury, a town belonging to
Stephen de Segrave, about two miles distant from where the king was,
and burned all the buildings belonging to the aforesaid Stephen, and
plundered the place. That nobleman, who was with the king, saw the
flames from his houses illuminating the whole country round, and at
once hastened with a large armed force to protect his property: but
when he heard that Richard Seward was the author of this deed of
violence, he turned back as if flying from a hostile force, and, not
sparing the spur, fled with all haste to the king, who, as well as
his attendants, was excited to laughter at him. About the same time
too, this same Richard Seward and his followers made prisoners of
some knights who attacked them in the Welsh territories, and
according to the law of war, compelled them to pay a heavy ransom.
In
this year on the Sunday on which the psalm, “Let Jerusalem
rejoice ,” is chanted, which fell on the 2nd of April, Edmund,
archbishop elect of Canterbury, was consecrated in Christ church at
that place by Roger bishop of London, in the presence of the king and
thirteen bishops; and on the same day he performed solemn mass,
wearing the pall.
How
the king dismissed the bishop of Winchester and the Poictevins.
About
this time, on the fourth Sunday in Lent, which fell on the 9th of
April, a council was held at Westminster, at which the king, the
earls, and barons, and the lately consecrated archbishop, with his
suffragan bishops, assembled to make proper provisions for composing
the disturbances in the kingdom. The archbishop then in company with
the bishops and other prelates present, approached the king, and gave
him his advice as well as that of the bishops concerning the desolate
state and imminent danger of the kingdom, and repeated to him the
disadvantages which had been set forth to him at the conference held
a little while before. He also boldly told the king, that, unless he
very soon abandoned his errors, and made peace with his faithful
subjects in his own kingdom, he, the archbishop, with all the other
prelates present, would at once pronounce sentence of excommunication
against him and all the other opposers and perverters of peace and
tranquillity. The king dutifully listened to the advice of the
prelates, and answered with humility, that he would yield to their
counsels in everything; and then, finding out his error, after a few
days he ordered Peter bishop of Winchester to go to his bishopric,
and attend to the cure of souls, and thenceforth on no account to
meddle with the affairs of the kingdom. He also ordered Peter de
Rivaulx, to whose pleasure the whole of England was subjected,
without fail to give up the royal castles to him, to render an
account of the royal money, and immediately to leave his court,
declaring with an oath that, if he were not a beneficed person, and
admitted to the rights of the clergy, he would order his two eyes to
be torn out. He also expelled all the Poictevins, as well from his
court as from the charge of his castles, and sent them away to their
own country, ordering them never to show their faces to him again. He
then, in his eager desire to bring about a peace, sent Edmund,
archbishop of Canterbury, with the bishops of Chester and Rochester,
into Wales, to make arrangements for peace with Llewellyn and Richard
the earl marshal. Having thus dismissed all his evil advisers, he
recalled to his service his natural subjects, and submitted to the
advice of the archbishop and bishops, hoping by their assistance to
bring back his disturbed kingdom to its proper state.
How the earl marshal went to Ireland and carried on the war.
About this time messengers came to Richard the earl marshal, telling him
how the Irish nobles had invaded his territory, taken some of his
castles, and were roving through the country indulging in pillage. As
the king had, since Christmas, given up his expedition against Wales,
and gone to the northern parts of the kingdom, the marshal set sail
for Ireland, about the day of the Purification of St. Mary, with only
fifteen knights, for the purpose of keeping the malicious designs of
his enemies in check. On his arrival there, there came to him
Geoffrey de Marisco who was his liege dependant, but had proved
faithless and had confederated himself with Maurice the justiciary,
Hugh de Lacy, Richard de Burgh, and others of the marshal’s enemies;
this man pretended to join his party; and advised him to make war on
the above-mentioned nobles his enemies, and to subdue Ireland. The
marshal then proceeded through his territory, collected an army, and,
attacking his enemies, regained some of the castles which they had
taken from him; he also, after a siege of four days, took Limerick, a
famous city of Ireland, and forced the inhabitants to give him their
allegiance; he then marched forward and took some castles belonging
to the king as well as to some of his other enemies, the castellans
of which he compelled to take an oath not to obstruct him in his
purpose. The Irish nobles did not dare to meet him, but fled before
him to a distant part of the country, where they collected knights
and horse soldiers with an innumerable host of foot, and prepared
themselves for a pitched battle; they incited all their followers by
distributing the king’s money amongst them, and by large promises, to
kill the marshal, in order that by his death they might become rich.
After this they sent some of the brothers of the temple to the
marshal, telling him that he was acting as a traitor to their lord
the king, on whom he was now making war in Ireland as he had before
done in England; they also added, that they to whom the king had
entrusted the charge of the kingdom of Ireland, being sworn faithful
subjects of the said king, could not endure this insult without
incurring the charge of treachery; they therefore demanded a truce
till they could learn from the king if he meant to defend Ireland,
and if he refused to do so, and determined to leave that country to
its fate, they would at once give up the whole country to the marshal
without strife and bloodshed.
Of
the justness of the war which the marshal engaged in against the
king.
On
receipt of this message, the earl marshal replied to their proposals
one by one as follows: "In the first place ,” said he, "I
reply that I have not acted as a traitor against the king; for he,
unjustly and without any trial by my peers, deprived me of my office
of marshal, ordered me to be declared an exile throughout England,
burnt my houses, and destroyed my possessions. Twice he held me in
defiance, although I was always prepared to appear in his court to
answer any charge made against me, and to abide by the decision of my
peers; for this reason I was no longer a liege of his, but was
absolved from all fealty to him, not by my own means but by himself
.” With regard to the other offers made to him, and the truce,
the marshal sent word by the said templars to the nobles, to come to
meet him in conference on the following day in a field pointed out by
him, there to make arrangements for peace; he however unhesitatingly
declared that he was fully justified in endeavouring to recover what
was his own, and in weakening the power of the king and his
counsellors by every means in his power.
Of the treacherous counsel of Geoffrey Marsh.
When the Irish nobles heard the marshal’s reply from the templars, they
were well pleased with the proposal to come to a conference, for they
knew that they had a larger force than the marshal; and they
determined not to return without coming to a battle. The marshal in
the meantime asked the advice of his knights on the above matter, and
said, “It seems to me that I ought to grant these nobles the
truce demanded by them, for their demand seems to me to be just and
reasonable; and I fear if I were to deny to them what is just,
something worse would befall me.” Geoffrey de Marisco, his
pretended adherent, who was aware of, and a confederate in, the
premeditated treachery, broke forth in words of blasphemy against
him, and speaking as if in kindness, said that he was not the son of
that great William Marshal, who surpassed all the knights of the
western empire in wisdom and prudence, as well as in courage and
daring. "And timid man that you are become ,” said he,
"you now in your slothfulness reject the chance of obtaining
possession of the sovereignty of Ireland which it is now in your
power to subdue; the truce indeed which your enemies demand is only
to deceive you, in order that they may obstruct your progress. But
you may rest well assured that all your enemies, when they see you
armed and ready for battle though with only a few followers will turn
their backs and take to flight .” There were there about eighty
other knights or more, who held lands in Ireland from the marshal,
and who had all been bribed by his enemies; and they advised the
same plan of proceeding, treacherously endeavouring to deceive him.
Of
the conference held between the Irish nobles and the earl marshal.
When
the morning came, Maurice the justiciary, Hugh de Lacy, and Richard
de Burgh came to the conference in the field pointed out to them,
attended by a hundred and forty strong and daring knights, whom they
had been picking out throughout all Ireland ever since they had
commenced their treacherous designs for the purpose of slaying the
marshal, and whom they had brought over to their purposes by large
gifts and promises, and they all desired a battle rather than a
conference. The marshal too came with his armed knights who, with the
exception of fifteen of his own particular retinue whom he had with
him, only pretended to be his adherents, and took up his station
about a mile distant from his enemies. They then, by means of the
templars, who carried the messages from either party, began to treat
about a peace. To be brief however, the Irish nobles, when they
learned that the marshal had come there with only a few attendants,
told him plainly that it was their fixed determination, unless he
granted the truce they demanded, they defied him, and would at once
try by force of arms which of the two parties was the strongest. The
earl marshal however, urged on to it by the advice of Geoffrey de
Marisco and his other pretended friends, unwillingly refused the
truce demanded, and frequently, by means of the messengers, demanded
that they should restore to him some of his castles which they had
unjustly seized, and still retained possession of, for it seemed
contrary to right for him to grant a truce when he had been robbed;
the Irish nobles however refused to do this, and drawing up their
troops in order of battle, they proceeded to attack the marshal as if
certain of gaining a victory. Geoffrey de Marisco on seeing this said
to the Marshal, "I advise you in good faith to grant them the
truce: for my wife is the sister of the noble Hugh de Lacy, and
therefore I cannot fight on your side against him with whom I am
allied by marriage .” To this the marshal replied, "Vile
traitor that you are, did I not but just now by your advice refuse
the truce, even against my own wish 1 I should indeed seem a man of a
wavering mind if I were thus quickly to grant them what I refused but
a little while since, for I should then appear to do so through fear
more than from regard to them. For I am well aware that I am doomed
to die this day; but it is better for me to die with honour in the
cause of justice, than to fly from the field and to endure the
reproaches of my fellow knights for ever. Then seeing his brother
Walter, a fine young man, he said to his followers, “Take my
brother to my castle near, and do not let the whole of my family
perish in this battle; for I trust in his bravery, if he attain the
age of maturity, to show himself a brave knight .” The Irish
nobles, fearing the prowess and daring of the marshal, gave their own
armour to the knights whom they had collected for the purpose of
slaying this innocent man; so that, although they wished to slay
him, they might not appear to be participators in the deed.
Of
the battle, in which the marshal was taken prisoner.
When
the troops were drawn up, the earl marshal saw that there were a
great many to engage with only a few, he however exhorted his men to
battle, asserting that he had undertaken this war for the sake of
justice and the laws of England on account of the oppression of the
Poictevins, thinking that they all were faithful to him, when in fact
they were traitors. He then dashed boldly into the midst of the
enemy, and forcing his way through them he opened a road for his
knights with his sword, but only fifteen knights, his own retainers,
followed him and endeavoured to disperse their enemies. His sworn
dependants and knights on whom he trusted, as had been pre-agreed
amongst these traitors, gave themselves up as prisoners to the
enemies without force, without being wounded either by lance or
sword, as if they were friends glad to see one another; some of them
fled, without striking a blow, to the churches and convents, leaving
the marshal with only fifteen knights. These however defended
themselves bravely, unequal as the struggle was, against a hundred
and forty; the whole weight of the battle however fell on the
marshal, who then first discovered the treacherous design against his
life, but, although attacked on all sides by his enemies, he still
defended himself and slew six of them. A knight of gigantic size, to
whom Richard de Burgh had given his armour, indignant at seeing this,
made a rush at the marshal in order to kill him at once, and
endeavoured forcibly to snatch his helmet from his head; the marshal,
when he saw this man, thought that it was Richard de Burgh, and
exclaimed, “Fly, vilest of traitors, lest I kill you;" to
which he replied, “I will not fly, but will come nearer you;"
he then lifted up his hands to seize the marshal’s helmet, but the
latter, by one blow of his sword, cut off both of his hands although
covered with armour. Another of them, seeing his companion wounded,
rushed with all the speed of his horse at the marshal, and exerting
all his force struck him on his head, but owing to his helmet the
blow took no effect; the earl however returned the blow and cut his
enemy in two as far as the middle, after which not one of them would
come near him for a long while. The leaders of his enemies, in a
state of consternation, then urged on a host of people who had come
there with lances, pitchforks, axes, and halberds, to surround the
marshal, kill his horse, and bring him to the ground; and they at
once surrounded and overwhelmed him, piercing his horse with many
wounds; they could not even then however dismount him, they
therefore cut off the horse’s feet with their axes; the marshal then
fell with his horse, overcome with fatigue, having been engaged
fighting from the first hour of the day till the eleventh, and his
enemies, rushing on him, lifted up his armour and mortally wounded
him in the back. The nobles themselves on learning that he was
mortally wounded, and lying as it were lifeless on the ground,
conveyed him with scarcely any signs of life, to his own castle,
which Maurice the justiciary had taken possession of but shortly
before, where he was placed in close confinement and attended by only
one young man of his party. He there remained in the hands of his
enemies. This battle was fought on Saturday the first day of April.
*
Paris here gives an account of the pope’s extortion of money
throughout Christendom, and which he practised principally in
England. He also gives a letter from his holiness, dated at Spoleto,
the 4th of September in this year. A similar letter to this is
hereafter given in the text of Wendover. He however states that the
progress of the crusade was much impeded by the avarice of the
Romans. He then gives the account of the marshal’s death and burial,
and relates how the exiled nobles carried on their system of pillage.
“While these events were passing ,”
he says, “Richard Seward and his companions employed themselves in
burning the buildings of the king’s adherents; they burned the Swainbourne,
a manor belonging to Robert Passelewe, and Ivinghoe belonging to Peter
bishop of Winchester, together with the crops and cattle; they also
laid an ambuscade and seized William Holwer sheriff of Kent, because
he was related to the said Robert, having married his sister, and
compelled him to pay a heavy ransom; they also, between Reading and
Wallingford, seized on seven baggage-horses belonging to Stephen de
Segrave and the bishop of Winchester. The nobles of Ireland in the
meantime took possession of the earl marshal’s castles, and divided
them amongst themselves as had been confirmed to them by the king’s
charter.
Of the death and burial of the earl marshal.
A few days afterwards the marshal began to recover strength
so that he could eat and drink, play at dice, and walk to and fro in his room.
His enemies when they saw this asked him, in the name of the king of
England, to give up all his castles and lands in Ireland, since his
body was now in the power and at the mercy of the king, and he could
be put to a most shameful death at the king’s pleasure, as he had
been by a decision of his royal court first exiled and afterwards
placed in a state of defiance, and now had been taken prisoner in a
pitched battle against him; “It will be to your advantage ,”
they said to him ,” to do this without opposition, and thus
obtain mercy from us .” They also showed him the king’s warrant
by which they were ordered, if he should happen to come to Ireland,
to take him prisoner and send him before the king dead or alive. The
marshal then, knowing himself to be in the power of his enemies, at
once gave orders by letter for the surrender of all his castles to
the king, being ignorant that they were, by the king’s warrants,
granted to those nobles to be distributed amongst them, and to be by
them held by hereditary right. His wounds now beginning to swell and
cause him grievous pain, he asked for a physician, on which Maurice
the justiciary, in whose charge he was, summoned one, rather however
with a design of killing him than of giving him relief. But the
marshal, like a true Christian, before he took any bodily medicine,
prepared for death by confession and the viaticum, and by making a
legal testament, and then commended to the Lord the question whether
he should live or die. The physician then came to him and with a
long-heated instrument laid his wounds open and probed them so often
and deeply with it that he drew blood from them. The marshal from his
great sufferings fell into an acute fever, and on the 16th of April,
which was the sixteenth day after he had been wounded in battle, he
slept in the Lord. He was buried on the following day at Kilkenny, in
an oratory belonging to some of the Minorite brethren, where he had
whilst living built a handsome tomb. Thus died the earl marshal, a
noble knight, one skilled in learning and distinguished by his
manners and virtues. He departed this life on Palm Sunday to receive
from the Lord in heaven a palm for his reward; amongst the sons of
men his person was so beautiful that nature seemed to have striven
with the virtues in its composition.
Of
the revenge taken by the exiled nobles on the king’s advisers.
It
was not yet known in England what had occurred to the marshal in
Ireland, but when it did become known, Richard Seward and some others
of the exiled nobles sought revenge on the king’s advisers by whose
means they had been proscribed, and on the fourth day in Easter week,
they burned some buildings at Swainbourn belonging to Robert
Passelewe, together with the crops, cattle, and other property found
there, and caused great loss to him; and a few days afterwards on
the 26th day of April they burned some barns near the town of
Staines, belonging to the said Robert, with the crops and other
property found there. Again, on the 2nd of May, they seized on six
baggage-horses laden, belonging to Stephen de Segrave, besides a
valuable riding horse, but whatever belonged to the king they let go
in peace; on the 12th of May they burned Ivinghoe, a village
belonging to Peter bishop of Winchester, together with the houses and
all other property, to the great loss of the bishop. In this same
year the Irish nobles took possession of the marshal’s castles and
rights in Ireland, which had been granted to them by the king’s
warrant, and divided them amongst themselves.
How all the proscribed nobles came and made peace with the king.
About the same time, soon after Easter, the king went to Gloucester for the
purpose of meeting the archbishop and bishops, whom he had sent into
Wales, as above related, and on reaching his manor of Woodstock he
passed the night there. At this place messengers came to him from
Ireland bringing news of the marshal’s death, at which to the
astonishment of all present he burst into lamentations for the death
of such a distinguished knight, declaring that when he died he had
not left his equal in the kingdom; then, at once summoning the
presbyters of his chapel, he ordered a solemn funeral service to be
chanted for his soul, and on the next day, after attending mass, he
bestowed a large amount in alms on the poor. Blessed indeed must such
a king be, who could love his enemies, and pray to God with tears for
his persecutors. Starting then from Woodstock, he arrived at
Gloucester, where he was met by Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, and
the bishops who had accompanied him on his mission to Llewellyn;
these messengers told the king that they had arranged a peace with
Llewellyn on condition that, before every other consideration, the
exiled nobles with whom he, Llewellyn, was allied, and who had been
proscribed owing to the evil counsels of his advisers, should be at
once received again into the king’s favour; and when this was
fulfilled the peace would be fully ratified. The king then, who
longed for peace by any means, issued letters, summoning all the
proscribed nobles to meet him at a council at Gloucester on the
Sunday next preceding Ascension day, which would be the 29th of May,
then and there to receive a full pardon and all their inheritances;
and they were to come there without any suspicion, under the safe
conduct of the archbishop and bishops. Accordingly, by the
intervention of the archbishop and bishops, they came to terms with
the king; Hubert de Burgh, the ex-justiciary, Gilbert Bassett and his
brothers, Richard Seward, and all those who had been banished with
them and on their account, and all of them were admitted by the king
to the kiss of peace on the 28th of May, and had all their rights
restored to them by him. At this same conference, Gilbert, the earl
marshal’s brother, came to the king announcing his brother’s death,
and demanded of him to be installed in his inheritance, and offering
to do homage to the king, and whatever else he was bound to do to him
as his lord. The king then by the advice of the archbishop, restored
to him all his inherited possessions in England as well as in
Ireland, and received his homage; and, on the Whitsunday following
he conferred the knight’s belt on the said Gilbert, and delivered to
him the wand of the marshal of his court, to be held with all the
honours which had been paid to his ancestors. He also admitted Hubert
de Burgh, Gilbert Bassett,* and Richard Seward amongst his private
and familiar advisers, and then fully discovered how he had been led
away by the craftiness of his former advisers, who, being pricked in
conscience, withdrew from the king’s presence.
*
Paris adds :— “And
the king regarding him with a calm look, embraced him and gave him
the kiss of peace, restoring him as well as the other proscribed
nobles to his former favour. Then Hubert earl of Kent, with a
grateful remembrance, clasped his hands and looking up to heaven
uttered the following heartfelt prayer: O Jesus, crucified Saviour, I
once when sleeping saw thee on the cross pierced with bloody wounds,
and on the following day, according to thy warning, I spared thy
image and worshipped it, and now thou hast in thy favour repaid me
for so doing at a lucky time .” That this apologue may be the
better understood by our readers, we will leave our story, and
explain it. When the war was raging in the time of king John, some
knights with their retainers, under Hubert’s command, were indulging
in rapine and pillage according to the customs of war, when it
happened that as Hubert was one night lying in a deep sleep on his
couch, the Lord appeared to him, suspended on the cross crucified as
he is usually represented by statuaries, and said to him, “When
you next see my image, spare me in it, carry it away and worship it.”
On the following day, as he was on his march, he met a priest
running, in great alarm, clad in white, wearing his gown and maniple,
and carrying on his shoulders a large cross with the image of Christ
on it. On approaching Hubert he cried with a mournful voice, “My
Lord, save the church which I serve, from these freebooters, who are
ravaging this country and plundering it of all its wealth .”
Hubert then beheld the image on the cross to be in every respect
similar to the one which he had seen on the past night, on which he
dismounted and worshipped it; and at once under the guidance of that
priest, he released his country, restoring all the property of the
despoiled church. He therefore now gave praise and glory to God, on
being reconciled to the king and his friends, and relieved from his
many oppressions and sufferings, which reconciliation the said Hubert
ascribed to God and not to man. The king then after reflection, led
by a similar spirit of piety, &c. &c.
The
king demands an account from Peter de Rivaulx. Etc.
At
the same conference, Edmund archbishop of Canterbury, in the presence
of the king and the whole assembly of bishops, earls, and barons
present, read a copy of the letters containing the treacherous orders
with regard to Richard the earl marshal, and which had been sent to
the nobles of Ireland by the king’s counsellors, at which the king
himself, and all the rest who heard them, were deeply grieved and
even moved to tears. The king acknowledged as a fact, he had, on the
compulsion of the bishop of Winchester, and Peter de Rivaulx and his
other counsellors, ordered his seal to be set to some letters which
were placed before him, but he declared on oath that he never knew
the purport of them. The archbishop in reply said to him, “Examine
your conscience, my king, for all those who caused those letters to
be sent and were aware of the treachery intended, are just as guilty
of the murder of the marshal, as if they had slain him with their own
hands .” The king then, after taking advice, issued letters
summoning the bishop of Winchester, Peter de Rivaulx, Stephen de
Segrave, and Robert Passelewe, to meet him at a conference on the
feast of St. John, to render him an account not only of his money
received and expended by them, but also of their misuse of his seal,
without his knowledge; and ordered them to appear on that day to
answer to the charge; they however, found their consciences plead
guilty to all the charges, and were in dread of the anger of the king
on one side, and on the other of that of the brothers and friends of
the marshal, whose death they had caused. The bishop of Winchester,
and Peter de Rivaulx, therefore fled to the sanctuary of the church,
and hid themselves in the cathedral church at Winchester, withdrawing
themselves entirely from the sight of men; Stephen de Segrave
concealed himself in the church of St. Mary at Leicester, and thus
he, who had formerly fled from his clerkship to take up arms, now
returned to his clerical duties and reassumed the chaplet which he
had abandoned without the consent of his bishop; Robert Passelewe
sought a hiding place which nobody was aware of, and many asserted
that he had gone to Rome; * and not even at the summons of the king
did they dare to cross the threshold of the church, for they
suspected that their enemies, who had burned their villages,
buildings, and barns stored with the crops, and every thing else of
value to them, would not spare their lives if they had an opportunity
of injuring them.
How
the king demanded an account from Peter de Rivaulx.
Edmund
archbishop of Canterbury, who was the mediator between the two
contending parties, at length obtained from the king permission for
these parties to appear before him, under the safe conduct of himself
and the bishops, on a certain day, to answer his demands, in order to
set all these dissensions in the kingdom at rest. The king therefore
appointed the 14th of July for them to appear at Westminster, on
which day they were brought before the king under charge of the said
archbishop and bishops. The first who appeared before the king to
answer the charge was Peter de Rivaulx, who came in a clerical dress
with his head shaved and wearing a broad chaplet, and reverently
greeted the king who was sitting on the bench with the justiciaries.
The king eyeing him with a scowling look thus addressed him, “Traitor
,” said he, “by your evil advice I unknowingly affixed my
seal to letters containing treacherous designs against the marshal;
it was also by your evil counsel that I banished him and others of my
natural subjects from my kingdom, and thus estranged their affections
and regard from me; and by your ill advice was it, that I made War
against them, and have wasted my own money as well as that of my
subjects.” He also demanded of him an account of his treasury,
and of the wardship of youths of noble families entrusted to his
care, as also of escheats and several other revenues incident to the
crown. When the king had thus accused him of these and many other
offences and charged him with treachery, he did not deny any of the
charges against him, but prostrating himself on the ground before the
king, implored his mercy, “My lord king,” he said, “I
was brought up and enriched in worldly property by you, therefore do
not destroy the man you have made, rather give me time for
deliberation that I may be able to give you a due account respecting
the things demanded of me.” To this the king replied, “I
will send you to the tower of London, there to consider on the
matter, in order to give me a proper account.” Peter replied,
“My lord, I am a priest and ought not to be imprisoned, or
consigned to the custody of laymen.” The king then said,
“The archbishop is here, and if he will become security for you,
I will give you into his charge, in order that you may give me a proper
answer to my demands.” To speak briefly, the king sent him to
the tower and took charge of all his lay possessions, for under his
clerical habit, he was armed with a coat of mail, which was not
befitting a clerk. He remained in the tower of London the Thursday
and Friday following his arrest, and was then released by the
archbishop, who sent him to the cathedral church at Winchester, where
he remained.
How Stephen de Segrave appeared before the king.
On the same day Stephen de Segrave under the archbishop’s protection
appeared before the king to answer to the charges made against him;
the king on his appearance accused him as a wicked traitor, of the
same offences as ne had Peter de Rivaulx, adding also that he had
advised him to dismiss Hubert de Burgh from his office of justiciary,
and to imprison and hang him, and to banish the other nobles from the
kingdom. After accusing him of these and many other crimes, the king
demanded of him an account of what he had received and expended in
his office of justiciary, which he had exercised after the dismissal
of Hubert de Burgh. With respect to these charges, the archbishop and
some of the bishops obtained from the king a respite till Michaelmas
in order to give him time for deliberation. As to the charge of
giving evil advice to the king, he replied, that as he had many
counsellors, the evil that had happened ought not to be laid to his
charge alone.* Robert Passelewe, who had filled the office of
treasurer after Walter bishop of Carlisle, hid himself and could not
be found by those who sought his life.
How the count of Brittany departed from his allegiance.
In the same year, on the nativity of St. John the Baptist,
at which time the truce made between the French and English kings in Brittany
terminated, the English king sent sixty knights and two thousand
Welsh to the count of Brittany in order to protect the weaker
portions of that noble’s territory. The French king, on the
expiration of the truce, collected a large army from the whole
strength of his kingdom, and laid siege to a castle belonging to the
count of Brittany. The knights of the English king and their Welsh
followers, however, met them and killed a number of their horses,
thus changing horse soldiers into foot, seized their carts and
vehicles containing their provisions and arms, carried off their
horses and other booty, and, after inflicting all this harm on their
enemies, returned to their own quarters without any loss to
themselves. The French king, annoyed at the injury done to him,
divided his army, and invaded Brittany in all directions. The count,
in this strait, asked for and obtained a truce till the feast of All
Saints, for the purpose of seeing if the English king, whose ally he
was, would come in person to his assistance; and, to obtain this
truce, he gave up to the French king three of his best castles, with
the understanding that, if the English king would not come in person
to the rescue of his territory in the prescribed time, he would give
up the whole of Brittany with the castles and cities therein to the
French king entire. After making this truce, the count of Brittany
sent the English king’s knights and Welsh followers home to England,
and they advised the king not to waste any more of the money of the
kingdom for the protection of the count of Brittany, inasmuch as he
had now entered into a treaty with the French king, to abandon him
and to make his peace with the king of France, only waiting to
exhaust all the English money. After a short time had elapsed the
said count came himself to England, and told the king that he had
expended all the money he had to obtain this truce from the French
king, and asked him to make him restitution of fifteen thousand
marks, which sum, he said, he had spent in the defence of his
territory and for the honour of the king of England. In reply to this
demand the king said, that the truce had been obtained and ratified
by him, and also added that the treasure of all England was not
sufficient for the defence of Brittany, as he had proved by three
years’ experience, and he did not wish to be further harassed by such
trouble and expense; if the count of Brittany however would think it
sufficient, he would send four earls from England with knights and
soldiers sufficient to defend that province against the French king.
The count, on hearing this, left the king in a rage, and, crossing to
his own country, fled to the French king; and, in order to palliate
his treason against that monarch, he went to him with a halter round
his neck, and, acknowledging his treachery, surrendered to him the
whole of Brittany with the towns and castles therein. The French
king, it is stated, answered him as follows: “Although, wicked
traitor that you are, you have well deserved a disgraceful death, yet
I will spare your life in respect to your rank, and I will give
Brittany to your son for his life, so that after his death the kings
of France shall inherit that province.” The count, being thus
deprived of all his possessions, like a traitor, by means of
messengers again tendered to the English king the homage he had
formerly done to him; the king however seized on all the possessions
of the count of Brittany in England, and deprived him of all his
dignities.
A miraculous circumstance relating to a certain bishop.
In this year, which was the third of the unfruitful ones, a dreadful
mortality and famine raged everywhere; and these pestilences were
doubtless brought on, as well by the sins of the inhabitants as by
the previous unseasonable state of the atmosphere and the general
sterility of the land. The poor in various places pined away and died
from hunger, and met with no good Samaritan to give them in charge of
the host to be fed, or to heal their deadly wounds. Almsgiving too,
which usually augments wealth, now languished, and the rich, who
abounded in worldly possessions, were struck with such blindness that
they suffered Christian men, men made after God’s image, to die from
want of food. Blind indeed were they, since they boasted that they
had amassed wealth, not by the gift of God, but by their own
industry. Disgraceful as this was to the generality of Christians, it
was most shameful in bishops and church-prelates, and amongst the
principal ones who were notorious for their avarice, I mention Walter
archbishop of York, as a sample of the rest; for when the provosts
and agents of several of his manors went to him and told him that he
had a great deal of corn which had been growing old for five years,
and which they very much suspected was either eaten away by the mice
or had grown rotten in some way, he, even at a time of such want,
showing no respect to God or regard to the poor, gave orders to his
agents and provosts to give this old corn to the labourers of his
manors, who, he said, should return him new for the old after the
autumn. It happened that the said archbishop’s agent was examining
the corn at the town of Ripon, and having put it outside the barns
for the purpose of thrashing it, there appeared, amongst the sheaves
the heads of vermin, such as snakes, toads and other reptiles; and
the servants who had come with the agent to look at the corn, fled in
alarm lest they should be injured by the vermin. When all this was
told to the archbishop, be was struck with shame, and sent his
seneschals to see what was necessary to be done. They, on coming to
the place, notwithstanding the hosts of reptiles, set ladders to the
rick, and compelled some labourers to ascend and examine the corn;
on their reaching the top, a black smoke issued from the rick
attended by such an unearthly and unendurable stench that they came
down from the rick in all haste to escape being suffocated, declaring
that they had never before smelt such a stench; they also heard a
voice telling them not to lay their hands on the corn, for that the
archbishop and everything belonging to him were the property of the
--- seneschal and those who had come with him, seeing the danger
which would arise from the numbers of reptiles, built a high wall
round this corn of the devil’s, and setting fire to it consumed it
all, that the reptiles might not escape and infect the whole
district.
Another miraculous circumstance concerning the avarice of a certain priest.
There was in the same county of York a certain rich vicar, distinguished in
his holy office of preaching, but withal avaricious; and about this
time he was taken ill, and, as his physicians thought, of a deadly
disease. Owing to the fame of the religious notions which he
entertained, which were opposed to the opinions of all the county, he
was visited by the neighbouring abbots and priors, all being unaware
that he was like the wolf in the fable, and a snake in the grass.
After respectfully greeting the prelates who had come to see him, the
sick man made no mention of the salvation of his soul, but told them,
that out of his regard for them he bequeathed them a large quantity
of corn which he had in his court not stowed away in the barns,
dividing it amongst them as it appeared best to him. The abbots and
priors then went out, by the sick priest’s orders, to look at the
corn bequeathed to them, but on approaching the ricks, they saw
standing near them a man like the sick vicar whom they had left in
the house, clothed the same, of the same bodily appearance, and in
every respect similar to him; this figure, addressing them sharply,
said to them, “What do you want here ? I would have you to know
that all this corn, as well as the person who is to all appearance
the owner of it, belongs to me; for the vicar who bequeathed it to
you is my subject, and all that belongs to him is mine, since he has
done homage to me with clasped hands. And you may rest undoubtedly
assured that on the fourth day hence he will die, and then I shall
fully recover all that is my own, together with the man whom I made
rich when he was poor .” The abbots and those with them, on
hearing this were struck with alarm, and returning to the vicar, whom
they new found in the last extremities, told him all they had seen
and heard; and on their telling him that the man belonged to the
devil, the vicar replied, “He speaks the truth, for it is now
twenty years since, when I was a poor man, I did homage to the devil
who has now spoken to you, in order that I might obtain earthly
honour and temporal wealth.” Immediately afterwards he resorted
to repentance and confession, renouncing the devil and all his works
and pomps, on which, by the divine compassion, he was at once
released from all bodily pain, and allowed a proper time for
repentance; whence it is quite evident that God desires not the death
of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live.
Of a remarkable miracle which happened during this year.
Although in the two above written chapters it has been plainly shown
in what detestation the crime of avarice ought to be held by all Christians,
I will add even a third case that every word may stand on the
testimony of two or three witnesses. When the year of which we have
spoken above had progressed as far as July, still pressing heavily on
the poor, who daily suffered from want, they rushed into the
harvest-fields in crowds, and plucked the ears of corn although not
yet ripe, and, bruising them up with their trembling hands,
endeavoured to sustain the spark of unhappy life, which scarcely
palpitated in their bosoms; and this fact can scarcely be
reprehensible in poor people since we read in the Acts of the
Apostles that Christ’s disciples did the same. The labourers of some
of the villages, however, who from their avarice always have
suspicions of poverty, were much annoyed, on passing through their
fields, at discovering this pious theft, and the inhabitants of a
town called Alboldesly, in the county of Cambridge, proceeded on the
following Sunday, which was the 16th of July, to their church, and
tumultuously demanded of the priest at once to pronounce sentence of
excommunication on all those who had picked the ears of corn in their
fields. Whilst all the husbandmen were urging this point, one of the
townsmen, a religious and pious man, on seeing that the priest was
ready to pronounce the sentence, rose and adjured him in the name of
Almighty God and all the saints, to exclude him and all his crops
from the sentence : he also added that he was well satisfied with the
poor people’s having taken what they did from his crops in their
state of want, and what remained he commended to the Lord’s care.
Whilst all the rest were persisting in their foolish purpose, and the
priest under compulsion had commenced pronouncing the sentence, there
suddenly arose a great storm of thunder, lightning, and whirlwinds,
attended by inundations of rain and hail; and the corn in the fields
was lifted up by a blast from hell; the cattle and birds, with
everything growing in the fields, Were destroyed as if trodden down
by carts and horses. Aloft in the air the angels of Satan were seen
flying about, who were believed to be the agents of this tempest.
But, as the divine goodness is always constant to just and good men,
when, after the storm which had caused such loss to his neighbours,
that honest and just man visited his fields, he discovered his farms
and lands, although in the midst of other person’s property, to be
without any trace of injury from it; and from this it appears clear
as light, that, as glory is given to God on high by his angels, so
there is peace and good-will on earth towards men. This storm
commenced on the boundaries of Bedford, and, passing towards the east
through the isle of Ely and Norfolk, reached the sea coast. In this
year indeed several storms of a like nature raged in various places
which were as dreadful as they were injurious to many; and it seems
likewise a remarkable circumstance that the crops which remained
standing after the storm was over were discovered to be so putrid
that neither horse or ass, bull or pig, goose or hen, would eat of
them, although given to them for consumption.
Of the dissension which arose between the pope and the Romans.
In this same year a serious dissension sprang up between the pope and
the citizens of Rome, the origin of which was as follows. The said
citizens claimed to themselves a privilege, which was, that the Roman
pontiff could not for any offence, excommunicate any one of the
citizens, or lay an interdict on the city. In reply to this the
supreme pontiff said, that although he was inferior to God he was
superior to man, and was therefore superior to the inhabitants of
Rome; and, since he was their spiritual father, he ought to, and by
right could, punish his erring children, as they were subject to him
in the faith of Christ, wherefore he could lawfully excommunicate
them and lay the city under an interdict where there was a reasonable
cause for so doing. Again, the city authorities and senators exacted
from the Roman church an annual tribute, which the Roman pontiffs
paid to them by a recent as well as old custom, and of which they had
been in receipt up to the time of the present pope. To this the pope
replied, that if in times of persecution the Roman church, for its
own defence and for the sake of peace, had sometimes bestowed large
presents on the authorities of the city, this ought not to be
construed into a custom, for that ought only to be considered a
custom which was founded on right and supported by reason; and, what
was more than all this, Christ on his cross had made it so free by
his blood, that not even the gates of hell would prevail against it.
For these and other causes of dispute between him and the Romans, the
pope left the city with his cardinals, and went to Perugia to stay
whilst the quarrel lasted. The Romans in the mean time, growing bold
in their opposition to him, pulled down some of his buildings in the
city, on which they were excommunicated by him; he also ingratiated
himself with the emperor, and assembled a large army to" resist
the attacks of the Romans. The united armies of the emperor and the
supreme pontiff then destroyed about eighteen villages inhabited by
these Romans situated round the city, and cut down the trees in their
vineyards; the citizens then enraged at this, sallied forth from Rome
on the 8th of October, to the number it is said of a hundred thousand
armed men, for the purpose of pillaging and burning the city of
Viterbo, which belonged to the pope; but when this senseless crowd
had got out of the city, and were proceeding without regard to
discipline and in disordered masses, the trained troops of the pope
and the emperor burst forth from places of ambuscade, and, rushing on
the Romans, caused dreadful slaughter amongst them, although with
some loss to themselves. About thirty thousand men fell on both
sides; the Romans, however, suffered the greatest loss as they took
to precipitate flight towards the city, scattering themselves in all
directions, and their hearts were now greatly exasperated against the
pope, because in this conflict many of the higher ranks in the city
had fallen. The contest between the opposing parties continued for a
length of time, but the Roman citizens always found the fortune of
war against them.
In this year Hugh Foliot, bishop of Hereford, died, and was succeeded by
master Ralph de Maidstone, a man remarkable for his learning, who
received consecration at the hands of Edmund archbishop of
Canterbury.*
* Paris states that the
crops were very scarce in this year; he also says, “In the same
year too, the island of Majorca, (so called to distinguish it from
‘Minorca’ or the smaller island,) which lies between Africa and
Marseilles, was taken after much loss, by the Christians, namely by
the king of Arragon and the citizens of Marseilles.”
1235 A.D.
Of the circumcision of a Christian boy by the Jews.
A.D. 1235, which was the nineteenth year of king Henry’s reign he held his
court at Christmas, at Westminster, attended by the bishops and
nobles of the kingdom. At the same time and place seven Jews were
brought before him, who had stolen a boy at the town of Norwich, and,
keeping him altogether out of sight of Christians, had circumcised
him, intending also to crucify him at Easter. Of this fact they were
found guilty, and in the king’s presence they acknowledged the fact,
and remained in confinement with their lives and limbs at the
pleasure of the king.
In the same year, on the 7th of February, died Hugh, bishop of Lincoln,
the enemy of all monks; he was buried in the cathedral church at
Lincoln on the tenth of the same month, and was succeeded by master
Robert Grosseteste, a good and religious man, well skilled in holy
learning, who was consecrated by Edmund archbishop of Canterbury, on
the 3rd of June, at Reading; the monks of Canterbury exclaimed
against his being consecrated any where except in the church of their
own town, but at length allowed it on this occasion, on condition
that it should not be made a custom of thereafter.
About
the same time, after the purification of St. Mary, Stephen de Segrave
and Robert Passelewe made their peace with the king by the payment of
a thousand marks, but were not however taken into their former favour
by him. Near about this time too, on the 24th of February, Henry de
Sandfort bishop of Rochester died, at whose decease the monks of that
place elected master Richard de Wendene, a man versed in liberal
learning; but when he was presented by the monks to Edmund archbishop
of Canterbury, for a confirmation of his election, he was not
received by that prelate, on which the monks appealed to the pope.
Of
the death of abbot William, and the succession of [John].
On
the day after the feast of the apostle St. Matthew in the same year,
William abbot of St. Alban’s died, after governing that church for
twenty years and almost three months, and was buried on the 27th of
February, in the monks’ chapter-house. The conventual assembly then
obtained the king’s permission to choose a fresh abbot; and, on the
day following the Annunciation of St. Mary they, with all due
solemnities, elected John prior of Hertford, one of their professed
monks as the pastor of their souls, who was presented to the king on
Palm Sunday and favourably received by him. Some of the monks and
clerks of that church, whose special duty it was, were then sent to
the court of Rome, to obtain a confirmation of the election, which
they procured without any difficulty, and returned to their own
country with the apostolic blessing.* On the day following the
Nativity of St. Mary, which was Sunday, the said abbot elect received
the benediction as abbot from Roger bishop of London; and during the
interval preceding this the abbey with all its appurtenances
remained, by the king’s kindness, under the charge of the monks,
without cessation of the rights of hospitality. In this year the Jews
obtained from the Roman pontiff the privilege of not being ill
treated by kings or princes in the way of extorting money from them,
or of being imprisoned.
*
Paris here says :—“Moreover
there was approved a form and method of proceeding in the election,
and all wondered that, amongst so many heads, there should be the
same opinion, and that the assent was unanimous; whence it was said
by many at the court of Rome, and even by the pope himself, that it
was not without the will of the Holy Spirit that it was arranged,
‘For the multitude had but one heart and one soul.’ And that it may be
known to our readers, we give the following mode of electing an abbot
at the church of St. Alban’s. Three or four confessors (inasmuch as
they know the hearts and dispositions of each) are ordered, by virtue
of the Holy Spirit, to choose twelve elect brothers of the convent,
faithful and learned men, who are to choose from amongst themselves,
or from the convent of the church, or from the cells, one fit brother
for abbot. In order that their election and deliberations may not be
invalid, they hold letters from and under the seal of the convent,
engaging to receive unanimously and willingly, and without
opposition, the one whom those twelve shall elect. This mode of
proceeding was much commended and admired by the supreme pontiff and
all who heard it, and the examination having been held, the election
was confirmed by the apostolic authority. But as the pope was not
clearly satisfied as to the character of the elect, he sent orders to
the bishops of Ely and London, to make a strict examination as to the
character of the abbot elect, and confirm him in the abbot’s
chair, with the benediction, and to install him in the management of
all the spiritual and temporal affairs of the kingdom. The said abbot
elect therefore, after the examination had been taken, on the
Nativity of St. Mary, which was on Sunday, received the benediction
as abbot from Roger bishop of London, for they could not both attend,
as ordered by the apostolic see. The abbot elect, being installed
with due solemnity, then before the altar read closed and sealed
letters, such as we never saw before, concerning the journeys of the
apostles, and visiting their threshold every three years, which we
heard with due respect. But this is more fully related hereafter.”
About
the same time, when Easter was approaching, Peter bishop of
Winchester went to Rome at the summons of the pope, to arrange the
proceedings of the war which he was carrying on against the Romans;
for that prelate, when a young man, had been in the service of the
renowned warrior Richard, as well as of John, the kings of England,
and with them he had of old learned the use of the hauberk before he
assumed the pontifical dress, and could draw up an army before he
could preach the word of faith.
Of the preaching of the crusade.
In this year, which was the eighteenth from that in which the truce of
ten years was made in the land of promise between the Roman emperor
Frederic and the sultan of Babylon, a preaching of a crusade was made
throughout all Christendom at the instance of pope Gregory, who sent
letters into the various parts of the world to the following effect:—
The pope’s warrant.
“Gregory
bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the faithful servants
of our Lord Jesus Christ dwelling in England, health and the
apostolic benediction. Like Rachel formerly when she saw the
beginning of those who grew in the knowledge of the true faith to
their own salvation, so also the holy Roman church, whose sorrow is
great over the mutual destruction of her children has sent forth and
still sends forth sighs and groans, which we hope may be heard in
heaven, that the faithful may weep and mourn, till the Lord takes
pity upon them. She grieves that the house of celestial bread, Mount
Sion, from whence the law was given forth, the city of the great
King, of which many glorious things are told, the land which the Son
of God has hallowed by shedding his blood there for us, has lost the
strength and beauty of its kingdom. It weeps because that once free
land is now under the yoke of impious tyranny. She weeps because,
where the multitude of the heavenly host uttered songs of peace,
there the oppression of a most impure people has stirred up offences,
concealed malice, and schisms, and, stirring up war, hath put forth
its hand and expelled from the temple of the Lord the ordinances of
the priest, and the laws of nature itself, that filth and abomination
may be introduced in their place; wherefore Jerusalem hath been
defiled in her sabbaths, and polluted by her enemies. For although
the said city, besides the temple of the Lord, was some time ago
restored to our well-beloved son in Christ, Frederic the Roman
emperor, the august and illustrious king of Sicily and Jerusalem,
yet, because the Almighty God did not deign then to confer more glory
on the Christians, the aforesaid emperor made a truce with the
sultan, the end of which is now so nigh, that the intervening time is
not thought sufficient for preparation, unless we hasten to make all
necessary preparations with speed, and the confidence and warmth of
faith. Let no one therefore be backward in undertaking the pilgrimage
to the succour of that land, to fight for their country with a sure
hope of victory, to die for a crown of glory and for life, to endure
hardships and difficulties for a time on behalf of Him, who despising
contempt, endured to be spit upon, beaten with the fists of his
persecutors, scourged and crowned with thorns, who stood before
Pilate as if he were guilty of many crimes, and finally was nailed to
the cross where he was given gall to drink, pierced with a lance, and
giving up his breath with a loud cry, he thus closed his earthly
career overwhelmed with insults, in order to preserve the human race.
He it was, to speak more fully, who did not disdain to descend from
the throne of his Father’s glory, bowing the heavens wonderfully
beneath him, to our state of mortality; he did not disdain, from
being God to become man, from being the Creator to become the
creature, and, although the Lord, to assume the form of the slave, in
order that we, who could not hope for forgiveness by our own
righteousness, might by this obtain unheard-of grace, might become
heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, sharers of the Deity, and
participators in eternal felicity. And although, through his grace we
have been adopted by him, we give daily proofs of ingratitude, yet He
abounds in goodness, inasmuch as to prove the faith of his followers,
he suffers the land, in which it was his will to be born, to die, and
to rise again, to be so long held by the infidels, although the hand
of the Lord is not weakened, nor his virtue in any respect
diminished, for he who had made all things from nothing could in an
instant set it free. He requires from men the graces of love and
compassion, to display the final consummation and fulfilment of the
law; he first deigned to take pity on man in his ruined state, and
would by no means have permitted impious hands to be so strengthened
against the pious, if he had not taken care that his own injury
should be avenged out of our confusion, and our disciplining accrue
from his victory. Thus plunged in the depths of sin, and unable
otherwise to make atonement, men would have been sunk despairingly in
that sea of evils, if a plank had not thus been offered to them, so
that by dying for Christ they might briefly attain to the
consummation of many years. For many, desiring to behold the lands
where our Lord stood, have reached the goal without the labour of a
race, the crown without the ordeal of the sword, through Him who
rewards his faithful soldier, and looks only for good will in his
service. We therefore, trusting in the mercy of Almighty God and the
authority of his apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and by the power to
bind and to loose, which God has given us, hereby grant to all who
shall undertake this work in their own persons and at their own
expense, or who shall provide fitting men in their stead, or who
shall go at the expense of others, or who shall supply money
wherewith to render meet assistance to the Holy Land, or who shall
render advice or assistance to the same end, a full pardon for all
the sins which they shall repent of in their hearts and confess with
their mouths; and we command that all, both clerks and laity, who may
take the cross, shall, both in their persons and property, remain
secure under the protection of St. Peter and ourself, and of the
archbishops, bishops, and prelates of the church, until certain
knowledge shall be obtained of their death or of their return, during
which time, also, no payment of usury shall be exacted from them,
either by Jews or Christians. Given at Spoleto, 4th September, in the
eighth year of our pontificate."
The
pope also appointed brothers of the order of Minorites and preachers,
to preach the cross throughout all the world, together with able
masters in theology, who went forth on the work of the gospel, the
Lord co-operating with them and confirming their preaching by signs
following: every province by the apostolic mandate had its
archdeacons and deans, who collected together all the people of the
diocese both men and women, anathematizing all who neglected to
attend their preaching.
A miracle connected with a woman whose limbs were contracted.
On the 11th of June in this same year, [1235] master Robert de Lawes, a
brother of the Minorite order, was preaching the gospel on behalf of
the crusade in the town of Clare, and a certain woman there, who had
been deprived of all use of her limbs for three years, fearing the
sentence of excommunication, gave what little money she possessed to
a neighbour to carry her on his shoulders to the place where Roger
was preaching; there she lay groaning and lamenting till the man of
God had finished preaching, when he, touched with compassion at her
lamentations, and seeing her lying there, went to her and asked her
the reason of her having come there. She replied that through fear of
excommunication, she had been brought to the place of his preaching,
on which he ordered her to go to her home, not knowing she had lost
the use of her limbs. On the bystanders informing him that she had
been entirely deprived of the use of her limbs for three years, he
asked her if she believed that God was powerful enough, if it were
his pleasure, to render her sound, to which she replied, “I do,
sir .” The man of God, then taking the woman in his arms lifted
her up with confidence, saying at the same time, ”May the
Almighty God, in whom you believe, render you sound .” On his
ordering her to get up she did so putting her trust in God, and as
she was rising, her bones and nerves began suddenly to crack so that
the bystanders thought that all her limbs would have been broken to
pieces; she was however thus restored to her former soundness, and
returned to her house rejoicing and glorifying God for having
bestowed such power on his servant.*
* Paris adds;— “About
this time two monks, the chosen messengers of the conventual church
of St. Alban’s, namely master Reginald the physician, and master
Nicholas of St. Alban’s, both priests, wise and eloquent men, with
their clerks, master Geoffrey Langley and Geoffrey Foccarius, their
serving man, and others, set out for the court of Rome, in the
octaves of Easter on the 15th of April, carrying with them the
procuratorial letters of the convent, and attended by the prayers of
the whole brotherhood ,” &c. He then gives the form of
these procuratorial letters, together with the rescript of pope
Gregory addressed to the bishops of London and Ely, the return of the
messengers with the pope’s warrant, and proceeds to give the
following account of the benediction of the abbot of St. Albans.”
The bishop of London therefore, the other bishop
making some excuse for not attending, proceeded to fulfil the orders of the apostolic
see, and after making a due examination of the abbot elect he found
nothing incorrect in his character, and therefore, on the day after
the nativity of the blessed Virgin, he solemnly conferred the
benediction on him in the church of St. Alban’s, where the letters
enclosed in the pope’s warrant were opened, and, as was the custom,
were read by the elect, who was to receive the benediction, in the
presence of the bishop, the conventual assembly, the clergy, and
people, and which contained the following declaration; “I, John,
abbot of the monastery of St. Alban’s, will from this hour be
faithful and obedient to St. Peter, to the holy apostolic church of
Rome, to my lord pope Gregory, and to his successors canonically
appointed to that see. I will not by advice, consent, or deed, cause
loss of life or limb to them, or caption of body . . . And the advice
which they shall entrust to me themselves or by their messengers or
letters I will not, to my knowledge, disclose to any one to their
injury. The Roman papacy and the royalties of St. Peter I will aid
both in holding and defending against all men, saving my order. The
legate of the apostolic see I will treat with honour both as he comes
and returns, and will assist him in his necessities. When summoned to
the synod I will come, unless prevented by any canonical impediment.
I will visit the threshold of the apostles every three years, either
in person or by my messenger, unless permission from the apostolic
see shall release me from so doing. The possessions belonging to my
monastery I will not sell, give away, pledge, nor enfee anew, nor
will I alienate them in any way without the advice of the Roman
pontiff. So help me God and the holy gospel.”
How the emperor demanded the sister of the king of England in marriage.
In the month of February of this year [1235] two templars,
with some knights and other special messengers, came to the king at
Westminster, charged with letters, sealed with gold, from the emperor
Frederic, demanding the hand of the English king’s sister, Isabel, in
marriage. They reached the king on the 23rd of February, and begged
for an answer to the letters and the demand, that they might announce
the king’s decision to their lord with all haste. The king then held
a careful deliberation with the bishops and nobles of his kingdom for
three days, when they all, after duly considering the matter,
unanimously agreed that the lady should be given to the emperor, and
on the 27th of February the king gave his answer agreeing to the
demanded alliance. The messengers then asked permission to see the
lady, and the king sent some trustworthy messengers to fetch his
sister from the tower of London where she was carefully guarded; the
messengers conducted her with all honour to the king at Westminster
where she appeared before the messengers of the emperor, a lady in
her 20th year, beautiful to look upon, adorned with virgin modesty,
and distinguished by her royal dress and manners. After they had
refreshed their sight for some time with gazing on the lady, they
decided that she was most worthy in all respects of the imperial
couch, and confirmed the marriage on the soul of the emperor by oath,
presenting her with a wedding ring in his name; after they had placed
it on her finger they proclaimed her empress of Rome, all exclaiming,
"Long live our empress .” They then sent messengers with
all haste to inform the emperor of what they had done, who,
immediately after Easter, sent the archbishop of Cologne, and the
duke of Louvaine, with a large array of nobles, into England to bring
the empress to him with due honour, and to complete the marriage
ceremony, in order that it might be consummated. Of the wedding
ornaments of the empress and of the noble preparations. There was
such a profusion of ornaments at this marriage that they appeared to
surpass kingly wealth; for the empress herself a crown had been most
elaborately constructed out of pure gold adorned with jewels, and on
it were carved likenesses of the four martyr and confessor kings of
England, to whom the king had especially assigned the care of his
sister’s soul. She shone forth with such a profusion of rings and
gold necklaces, and other splendid jewels, with silk and thread
garments, and other like ornaments, which usually attract the gaze
and excite the desires of women even to covetousness, that they
appeared invaluable. With bridal garments of silk, wool, and thread,
she was so well supplied, that it was difficult to say which would be
most likely to attract the emperor’s affections. Her couch was so
rich in its coverlets and pillows of various colours, and the various
furniture and sheets made of pure fine linen, that by its softness it
would invite those lying in it to a delightful slumber. All the
drinking cups and dishes were of the purest gold and silver; and,
what seemed superfluous to every one, all the cooking pots, large and
small, were of pure silver. And to take the management and care of
all these, some of the attendants of the courts were deputed, and to
wait on the empress and her family in kingly custom. After being
supplied with these and many other gifts by her brother and receiving
a dowry from him, the lady Isabel remained under the care of the
bishop of Exeter, and Ralph Fitz Nicholas, the king’s seneschal, and
other nobleman of his household, and attended by noble dames and
damsels, who, being all skilled in courtly manners, would suffice to
wait on and escort the empress. After he had thus arranged matters
the king, on St. John’s day, held a solemn festival before the Latin
gate at Westminster in company with the archbishop of Cologne and the
emperor’s other messengers; on the day following they all took the
road towards the borough of Dartford accompanied by the king with a
large train of earls and barons. The king had also procured for the
lady, in honour of her as empress, a number of horses remarkable for
their various colours and of gentle paces, which bore their riders
with a delightful gentleness, without annoying them by the motion of
their feet; the trappings and saddles too, gilt and carved, were of
such a variety, and the bridles and reins so elaborately worked in
gold, that they set off the rider as well as the horse. They
proceeded through the city of Rochester and arrived at the abbey of
Feversham, and starting from thence they went to Canterbury to
perform their devotions to the archbishop and martyr, Thomas; after
fulfilling their religious duties, they proceeded to the port of
Sandwich to the number of about three thousand knights. From that
port the empress and the archbishop of Cologne, with the noblemen and
ladies appointed as her suite, embarked on the 11th of May, and put
to sea under full sail; it was not however without weeping that the
brother and sister, the king and empress parted. Of the arrival of
the empress at Cologne. After a voyage of three days and nights they
entered the mouth of the river Rhine, and after a run of a day and
night up that river, they arrived at Antwerp, a city under the
imperial jurisdiction. On their landing at this place they were met
by an immense host of armed nobles, who had been sent by the emperor
to act as a guard to the empress, to keep vigilant watch round her
person day and night; for it was reported that some of the emperor’s
enemies, who were in alliance with the French king, were planning to
carry off the empress, and prevent the marriage. They were also met
by all the priests and clergy of the adjacent districts in solemn
procession, ringing bells and singing songs of joy, and with them
came all the best masters in every sort of music with their
instruments, who accompanied the empress with all kinds of nuptial
rejoicings during her journey of five days to Cologne. When her
approach became known at that place there went out to meet her, with
flowers, palm branches, and in festive dresses, about ten thousand of
the citizens, mounted on Spanish horses, who put them to full speed
and engaged in jousting with one another. Accompanied by these
rejoicing crowds the empress proceeded through the principal streets
of the city, which had been decorated in all kinds of ways against
her arrival; and, on learning that every one, and especially the
noble ladies of the city, who sat in the balconies, were desirous of
seeing her face, she took her cap and hood from her head, for all to
get a sight of her, for doing which every one praised her, and after
they had gazed at her gave her great commendations for her beauty as
well as her humility. She then took up her abode outside the walls of
the city on account of the noise therein, and there awaited the
emperor’s instructions.
Of the marriage of the emperor and empress at Worms.
At the time of the empress’s arrival at Cologne, the emperor was
engaged in a war against his son who had rebelled against him; his father,
however, led such a large army against him that he laid siege to ten
of his castles at one and the same time; in one of the strongest of
these the son had shut himself; but on his father’s laying siege to
it, he, dreading his father’s severity, left the castle, and throwing
himself at his feet begged his mercy. The latter however, without
pity, ordered him to be enchained* and took him away with him to
Worms, from which place he sent word to the empress to come to him
there, she having then been six weeks at Cologne. The archbishop of
Cologne and the bishop of Exeter, with the other nobles of her suite
then at once set out on their way to the emperor, and, after a
journey of seven days brought the empress to him amidst all kind of
nuptial pomp and rejoicing. She was received on her arrival by the
emperor with joy and respect, who was beyond measure delighted with
her beauty, and the marriage was solemnized at that place on Sunday
the 20th of July, and although her beauty pleased the emperor at
first sight he was much more pleased after marriage. After the
nuptial festivities had been continued for four successive days, the
bishop of Exeter and the rest who had attended the empress thither,
obtained leave from the emperor and returned joyfully to England,
taking with them as presents from him to the English king, three
leopards with other costly presents which were scarce in the
countries of the west, the emperor also promised to assist him
against the king of the French.
* Paris here adds, “When
he was released from prison, and the restraint of reverence for the
emperor was somewhat removed, the son is said to have procured poison
to give to his father; but being accused of this intended crime, he
was placed in closer confinement, and consigned to the custody of a
certain duke, who bore him imperishable hatred, because king Henry
had used all his endeavours to disinherit him; but now, fortune
having changed, the king was consigned to the pleasure of the duke.
The emperor therefore sent for the empress to come to him at Worms.”
Of the nobility of the extraction of this empress.
There were many however in the Roman empire who thought that it was
degrading for the emperor, who was so powerful and rich, and who was
as it were the lord and governor of the whole world, to marry the
sister of an English king. But as it is known to all that there is
greater dignity in being of a noble race than in being rich, the
reader ought to know that the father of this empress was John king of
England; that the then reigning king Henry was her brother; that the
illustrious kings Henry and Richard, and Geoffrey count of Brittany,
were her uncles. These kings of renowned race ruled in England and
Ireland, whence they were kings; in Normandy and Aquitaine, by which
they were dukes; in Poictou and Anjou, by which they were counts;
besides claiming jurisdiction over Touraine, Maine, Berry, and
Auvergne. In all these districts they had seven archbishops in
subjection to them, with the kings of Scotland and Wales, and of the
islands of Ireland and Man; and besides these an almost countless
number of bishops, earls, barons, and knights. The mother of the
empress was queen of all these countries; and of her two sisters,
one was queen of Scots, and the other countess of Pembroke. She had
five aunts, the first of which was the wife of Alphonso king of
Castile, and the mother of Blanche queen of France (whose son Louis
now reigned in that kingdom); Roger king of Sicily married another; a
third had married Henry duke of Saxony, and became the mother of
Otho, afterwards emperor of the Romans, whose brother of Henry duke
of Saxony was afterwards king of Jerusalem; a fourth was the wife of
Raymond count of Toulouse, and Rotroc count of Perche married the
fifth. By this and other things, it seems that the empress was
“descended from a race of kings ,” her father, as
aforesaid, being king John, the son of the renowned king Henry; and
the latter was the son of the empress Matilda, the daughter of Henry
the First, king of England, by his queen Matilda. This Matilda was
the daughter of Malcolm king of Scots, and his queen St. Margaret.
Margaret was the daughter of Edward by Agatha, sister to Henry the
Roman emperor. This Edward was the son of the English king Edmund,
surnamed “Ironsides,” who was the son of king Ethelred;
the father of Ethelred was Edgar the “Peaceful;” the father of
the latter was Edmund, and his father was the first Edward, who was
the son of the renowned king Alfred. The genealogy of this king is
carried back in English history to Adam our first parent. By this it
appears that an empress descended from such ancestors was in every
respect most worthy of a marriage with the emperor (and
so the malignings of envious abusers against her shall cease.– added by Matthew Paris)
Thus far extend the Chronicles of master Roger de Wendover:
“And thus in these pages the history of our age is,
There are writers still in store who’ll hereafter tell you more.”
… rex Anglorum Alfredus. Hujus genealogia in Anglorum
historiis perducitur usque ad Adam orimum parentem. Talibus autem imperatrix
genitoribus procreata imperialibus nuptiis (in omnibus) dignissima judicatur.
Huc usque scripsit cronica dominus Rogerus de Wendovre.
“Cernis completas . hic nostro tempore metas,
Si plus forte petas tibi postera nuntiet ætas.”
CHRONICLE OF MATTHEW PARIS
1235 cont A.D.
De invectione et accusatione contra Gilebertum, comitem Marescallum.
Circa idem tempus clericus quidam, Henricus Clemens dictus,
Hibernicus, dum minus sapienter se gereret, jactitando se causam fuisse mortis
Ricardi, comitis Marescalli, vocando eundem proditorem et cruentum
domini sui regis inimicum simul et regni, miserabiliter Londoniis;
rege ibidem existente, est interfectus. De qua morte, ....
Of the vengeance taken for the death of Earl Richard the marshal.
About the same time, one Henry Clement, a clerk, an envoy from
the Irish nobles, unwisely boasted that he had been the cause of the death of
Earl Richard, the marshal; who, he said, was a traitor, and a bloody
enemy of the king, and all the kingdom. The man was shamefully
murdered in London, where the king then was. Gilbert Marshal was
accused of his death; but he adduced ample proof of his innocence.
About the same time, also, King Henry the Third employed the bishop
of Carlisle to make a treaty of marriage with the earl of Worcester’s *
daughter, and to give his own pledge, as well as the king’s, in
that matter; but afterwards the king changed his mind, in consequence
of a threat held out by the French king, that, if he persisted, the
father should be disinherited; and she was afterwards married to
Alphonso, king of Castile, for her beauty.
* This should be the “earl of Ponthieu,” for the king
of France could have no right over the earl of Worcester.
Of the new Gregorian Decretals.
In these times also, Pope Gregory the Ninth, seeing the tedious
prolixity of the Decretals, commanded them to be abridged and
collected in a small compass, and then to be solemnly and
authentically read and published throughout the whole world. These
Decretals, which we call Gregorian, from their author, begin thus:
The king of peace, &c. Some particulars of them he altered, as for
instance, that unqualified persons should not obtain bishoprics and ecclesiastical
benefices, without first obtaining a dispensation of qualification from the
Roman see; as he knew that many advantages accrued to the court of
Rome for obtaining the same; in the same way, as from the statute of
Innocentius, for a dispensation to hold more benefices than one.
Of the usury of the Caursines.
In these days prevailed the horrible nuisance of the Caursines,
to such a degree that there was hardly any one in all England, especially
among the bishops, who was not caught in their net. Even the king
himself was held indebted to them in an incalculable sum of money.
For they circumvented the needy in their necessities, cloaking their
usury under the show of trade, and pretending not to know that
whatever is added to the principal is usury, under whatever name it
may be called. For it is manifest that their loans lie not in the
path of charity, inasmuch as they do not hold out a helping hand to
the poor to relieve them, but to deceive them; not to aid others in
their starvation, but to gratify their own covetousness; seeing that
“the motive stamps our every deed.”
The form by which the Caursines bound their debtors.
“To all who shall see the present writings— the
Prior and Convent of ----, Health in the Lord.— Be
it known to you that we have received on loan, at London, for the
purpose of usefully settling matters concerning us and our church,
from such an one, and such an one, for themselves and their partners,
citizens and merchants of the city of ----, 104 marks of good and lawful
money sterling, each mark being computed at 13 shillings and 4 pence
sterling. For which 104 marks, we, in our own name and in the name of
our church, do declare that we are quit, and do protest that we are
fully paid, altogether renouncing any exception of the money not
being reckoned, and paid, and handed over to us, and also the
exception that the said money has not been converted to our own uses
and to the uses of our church. And the aforesaid one hundred and four
marks sterling, in the manner and to the number aforesaid, to be
reckoned to the said merchants, or to one of them, or to their
certain emissary, who shall bring with him these present letters, on
the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula, namely, the first day of the month
of August, at the New Temple, London, in the year of our Lord’s
incarnation one thousand two hundred and thirty-five, we promise by
lawful covenant, and bind ourselves, in our own name and in that of
our church, that we will pay and discharge in full. Adding moreover
this condition, that if the aforesaid money shall not be paid and
discharged at the place and term aforesaid, as has been said, we
promise from that time, at the term always before completed, and bind
ourselves by the same covenant, to give and render to the aforesaid
merchants, or their certain emissary, every two months, for every ten
marks, one mark of the said money, in recompense for losses, which
losses and expenses these merchants might incur or receive therefrom,
so that the losses and expenses and principal may effectually be
claimed, as they have been stated above, and the expenses of one
merchant, with one horse and one servant, wherever the merchant shall
be, until the full payment of all the aforesaid. And the expenses
incurred and to be incurred, for recovering the same money, we will
render and restore to the same merchants, or one of them, or their
certain emissary. Which recompense for losses, interest, and
expenses, we promise the said merchants in no wise shall be reckoned
towards the principal of the said debt; and not to keep back the said
debt under pretence of the above-mentioned recompense, against the
will of the aforesaid merchants, beyond the term aforesaid. For all
which articles aforesaid, firmly and wholly to be fulfilled, and
inviolably to be observed, we bind ourselves and our church, and our
successors, and all our goods and those of our church, moveable and
immoveable, ecclesiastical and temporal, in possession and hereafter
to be in possession, wherever they shall be found, to the said
merchants and their heirs, until the full payment of all the
aforesaid; which goods we hereby recognise that we possess from them
by a precarious tenure. And we consent on all the aforesaid to be
convened in all places, and before any tribunal, and do renounce, for
all the aforesaid, for ourselves and our successors, all the aid of
law, both canon and civil, the privilege both of clerkship and of
court, the letter of Saint Adrian, every custom and statute, all
letters, indulgences, and privileges obtained, or to be hereafter
obtained from the Apostolic See for the king of England and all the
people of his kingdom, the constitution De duabus dietis, the
benefit of full repayment, the benefit of appeal and of recusation,
the inhibitory letters of the king of England, and all other
exception, real and personal, which might be objected against this
instrument or deed. All these things we promise faithfully shall be
observed. In testimony of which matter we have thought it right to
affix our seals to this present writing. Done on the fifth day of
Elphege, in the year of grace Mccxxxv.”
Such were the inextricable bonds by which the Caursines
bound their debtors. They were truly named Caursines— if I may play upon the
word —from ‘ causor’, to cheat, or ‘ capio’, to
take, and ‘ ursine ’, bearish. They first enticed the needy with soft
and honeyed words; but in the end pierced them through as with a spear; wherefore,
on account of their written words, which were subtle and taken out of the lawbooks,
and of a kin with the fallacies of pleaders, many men think that
these transactions did not happen without the connivance of the court
of Rome, according to the words of the Evangelist: “The
children of this world are wiser in their generation than the
children of light.” Even the Jews, seeing this new kind of
usury arise among Christians, derided our Sabbaths, not undeservedly.
The
court of Rome favours the Caursines.
In
the same year, Roger bishop of London, a learned and devout man,
perceiving that the Caursines openly multiplied their usury without
shame, and led a most filthy life, harassing religious men with
various injuries, and amassing heaps of riches from the numbers who
were forced to submit to their yoke, was roused to violent
indignation, and kindled with zeal for the cause of justice;
wherefore he admonished them as schismatics to desist from such
enormities, as they valued the salvation of their souls, and to do
penance for their misdeeds. This warning they set at naught, with
laughter and ridicule, and even threats; whereupon the bishop, arming
himself with the weapons of spiritual justice, launched a general
anathema against all of them, and briefly and decidedly ordered them
to depart at once out of the city of London, which had until then
been free from such a pest, that his diocese might not be tainted
with such a stain. But they, swelling with pride, and trusting in the
pope’s protection, without difficulty or loss of time, obtained at
the court of Rome that the said bishop, who was now old, weak, and
ill, should be cited peremptorily to distant parts beyond the sea,
before judges who were friends of the Caursines, and chosen at their
option, that so he should appear and answer for the wrong done to the
pope’s merchants. But the bishop choosing, like Shem, to cover his
father’s nakedness rather than, with Ham, to expose it, put a
peaceful end to the tumult that had been raised, and dissembling what
had happened, committed his cause to the patronage of St. Paul, who,
when he preached of the rigour and faith of justice, wrote thus:
“Though an angel shall preach to you the contrary of these
things, let him be accursed.”
The insolence of the Minorite Brethren.
At this time some of the Minorite brethren, as well as some
of the order of Preachers, unmindful of their profession and the restrictions of
their order, impudently entered the territories of some noble
monasteries, under pretence of fulfilling their duties of preaching,
as if intending to depart after preaching the next day. Under
pretence of sickness .or on some other pretext, however, they
remained, and, constructing an altar of wood, they placed on it a
consecrated stone altar, which they had brought with them, and
clandestinely and in a low voice performed mass, and even received
the confessions of many of the parishioners, to the prejudice of the
priests. And they said that they had obtained authority from the pope
to receive from those of the faith the confessions which they were
ashamed to make to their own priests, or scorned to make, because the
priests had committed the same offence, or were afraid to do so
because the priest was drunk; and to such they, the Minorites, gave
absolution after having enjoined penance on them. In the mean time
they sent a proctor to the Roman court with all speed, to plead their
cause against the religious men, in whose territory they were
staying, and obtained permission to remain there with some other
benefit in addition. And if by chance they were not satisfied with
this, they broke forth in insults and threats, reviling every order
except their own, and asserting that all the rest were amongst those
doomed to damnation, and that they would not spare the soles of their
feet till they had exhausted the wealth of their opposers, however
great it might be. The religious men therefore gave way to them in
many points, yielding to avoid scandal and offending those in power.
For they were the counsellors and messengers of the nobles, and even
secretaries of the pope, and therefore obtained much secular favour.
Some, however, finding themselves opposed at the court of Rome, were
restrained by obvious reasons, and went away in confusion; for the
supreme pontiff with a scowling look said to them, “What means
this, my brethren? to what lengths are you going? have you not professed
voluntary poverty, and that you would traverse
towns and castles and distant places, as the case required,
barefooted and unostentatiously, in order to preach the word of God
in all humility? and do you now presume to usurp these estates to
yourselves against the will of the lords of these fees? Your
religion appears to be in a great measure dying away, and your
doctrines to be confuted.” On hearing this they went away and
began to conduct themselves more moderately, though they had formerly
talked so boastingly, and refused to be guided by the will of others,
although they were in houses not their own. In this year Cordova, a
well-known city of Spain, was taken by the king of Castile, after
slaying the brother of the Emir of the world,* and cutting his army
to pieces.
* The king of Africa enjoyed this magnificent title.
His ordinary name is Miramoulin. See further on.
The death of Robert Fitz-Walter and Roger de Sumeric.
In
the same year, at the advent of our Lord, Robert Fitz-Walter, a baron
of illustrious race, and renowned in feats of arms, went the way of
all flesh; and in the same year, too, in the flower of his youth,
Roger de Sumeric was taken away from amongst men, a man of singular
elegance, respectable race, and of remarkable prowess. In this year,
too, as a token of the continuation of his regard, the emperor sent a
camel to the king.
1236 A.D.
King Henry marries Eleanor, daughter of the count of Provence
Anno Domini 1236, which was the twentieth year of the reign of King Henry
the Third, he held his court at Winchester at Christmas, where he
observed that festival with rejoicings. He was at this time anxiously
looking for the return of the special messengers, whom he had sent
into Provence to Raymond, count of that province, with letters
containing his own inmost thoughts about contracting a marriage with
his daughter Eleanor. This said count was a man of illustrious race
and brave m battle, but, by continual wars, he had wasted almost all
the money he possessed. He had married the daughter of Thomas, the
late count of Savoy, and sister of the present count, Amadeus, a
woman of remarkable beauty, by name Beatrice. This lady had issue by
the aforesaid count, two daughters of great beauty, the elder of
whom, named Margaret, was married to Louis, the French king, as we
are told by a clerk named John de Gates; and the king of England had
now, by the aforesaid messengers, demanded the younger one, a young
lady of handsome appearance, in marriage. In order to obtain this
favour, he had secretly sent Richard, prior of Huile, in advance, who
faithfully and with diligence brought the matter to a conclusion. On
the prior’s returning and telling the king the result, the latter
sent him back to the count with some other messengers, namely, the
bishops Hugh of Ely, and Robert of Hereford, and the brother of
Robert de Sandford, the master of the Knights Templars. These
messengers were received by the count on their arrival in Provence
with the greatest honour and respect, and from his hands received his
daughter Eleanor, for the purpose of being united to the king of
England; she was also attended by her uncle, William, bishop elect of
Valentia, a man of distinction, and by the count of Champagne, a
relation of the English king. The king of Navarre, on learning that
they would travel through his territories, went joyfully to meet
them, and accompanied them as a guide through his dominions during a
journey of five days and more; he also, from his natural generosity,
paid all their expenses, both for horses and attendants. Their
retinue consisted of more than three hundred horsemen, not including
the people who followed them in great numbers. On reaching the
boundaries of France, they obtained not only a safe but honourable
passage through that country, under conduct of the French king and
his queen, the sister of the lady about to be married to the English
king, and also of Blanche, the French king’s mother. They
embarked at the port of Sandwich, and with full sail made for Dover,
where they arrived, after a quick passage, before they were expected.
Having thus safely landed, they set out for Canterbury, and were met
by the king, who rushed into the arms of the messengers, and, having
seen the lady and received possession of her, he married her at
Canterbury; the ceremony being performed on the fourteenth of
January, by Edmund, archbishop of that place, assisted by the
bishops, who had come with the lady, in the presence of the other
nobles and prelates of the kingdom. On the 19th of January the king
went to Westminster, where an extraordinary solemnity took place on
the following day, which was Sunday, at which the king wore his crown
and Eleanor was crowned queen. Thus was Henry the Third married at
Canterbury, and the nuptials were celebrated in London, at
Westminster, on the feast of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian.
The ceremonies at the marriage of Henry the Third.
There were assembled at the king’s nuptial festivities such a host of
nobles of both sexes, such numbers of religious men, such crowds of
the populace, and such a variety of actors, that London, with its
capacious bosom, could scarcely contain them. The whole city was
ornamented with flags and banners, chaplets and hangings, candles and
lamps, and with wonderful devices and extraordinary representations,
and all the roads were cleansed from mud and dirt, sticks, and
everything offensive. The citizens, too, went out to meet the king
and queen, dressed out in their ornaments, and vied with each other
in trying the speed of their horses. On the same day, when they left
the city for Westminster, to perform the duties of butler to the king
(which office belonged to them by right of old, at the coronation),
they proceeded thither dressed in silk garments, with mantles worked
in gold, and with costly changes of raiment, mounted on valuable
horses, glittering with new bits and saddles, and riding in troops
arranged in order. They carried with them three hundred and sixty
gold and silver cups, preceded by the king’s trumpeters and
with horns sounding, so that such a wonderful novelty struck all who
beheld it with astonishment. The archbishop of Canterbury, by the
right especially belonging to him, performed the duty of crowning,
with the usual solemnities, the bishop of London assisting him as a
dean, the other bishops taking their stations according to their
rank. In the same way all the abbats, at the head of whom, as was his
right, was the abbat of St. Alban’s (for as the Protomartyr of
England, B. Alban, was the chief of all the martyrs of England, so
also was his abbat the chief of all the abbats in rank and dignity),
as the authentic privileges of that church set forth. The. nobles,
too, performed the duties, which, by ancient right and custom,
pertained to them at the coronations of kings. In like manner some of
the inhabitants of certain cities discharged certain duties which
belonged to them by right of their ancestors. The earl of Chester
carried the sword of St. Edward, which was called “Curtein,”
before the king, as a sign that he was earl of the palace, and had by
right the power of restraining the king if he should commit an error.
The earl was attended by the constable of Chester, and kept the
people away with a wand when they pressed forward in a disorderly
way. The grand marshal of England, the earl of Pembroke, carried a
wand before the king and cleared the way before him both in the
church and in the banquet-hall, and arranged the banquet and the
guests at table. The wardens of the Cinque Ports carried the pall
over the king, supported by four spears, but the claim to this duty
was not altogether undisputed. The earl of Leicester supplied the
king with water in basins to wash before his meal; the
Earl Warrenne performed the duty of king’s cupbearer, supplying
place of the earl of Arundel, because the latter was a youth and not
as yet made a belted knight. Master Michael Belet was butler ex
officio; the earl of Hereford performed the duties of marshal of
the king’s household, and William Beauchamp held the station of almoner.
The justiciar of the forests arranged the drinking cups on the table at
the king’s right hand, although he met with some opposition
which however fell to the ground. The citizens of London passed the
wine about in all directions, in costly cups, and those of Winchester
superintended the cooking of the feast the rest, according to the
ancient statutes, filled their separate stations, or made their
claims to do so. And in order that the nuptial festivities might not
be clouded by disputes, saving the right of any one, many things were
up with for the time which they left for decision at a more favourable
opportunity. The office of chancellor of England and all the offices
connected with the king, are ordained --- assized in the Exchequer.
Therefore the chancellor, the chamberlain, the marshal, and the
constable, by right of their office, took their seats there, as also
did the bar--- according to the date of their creation, in the city
of London e whereby they each knew his own place. The ceremony was
splendid, with the gay dresses of the clergy and knights --- were
present. The abbat of Westminster sprinkled -- holy water, and the
treasurer, acting the part of sub-deacon carried the paten. Why
should I describe all those persons who reverently ministered in the
church to God as was their duty? Why describe the abundance of meats
--- dishes on the table, the quantity of venison, the variety of fish,
the joyous sounds of the glee-men, and the gaiety of the waiters? Whatever
the world could afford to create pleasure and magnificence was there brought
together from every quarter.
Heavy falls of rain
About the same time, for two months and more, namely in
January, February, and part of March, such deluge rain fell as had never been seen
before in the memory of one. About the feast of St. Scholastica, when
the moon was new, the sea became so swollen by the river torrents
which fell into it, that all the rivers, especially those which fell
into the sea, rendered the fords impassable, overflowing their banks,
hiding the bridges from sight, carrying away mills and dams, and
overwhelming the cultivated lands, crops, meadows, and marshes.
Amongst other unusual occurrences, the river Thames overflowed its
usual bounds, and entered the grand palace at Westminster, where it
spread and covered the whole area, so that small boats could float
there, and people went to their apartments on horseback. The water
also forcing its way into the cellars could with difficulty be
drained off. The signs of this storm which preceded it, then gave
proofs of their threats; for on the day of St. Damasus,* thunder was
heard, and on the Friday next after the conception of St. Mary,** a
spurious sun was seen by the side of the true sun.
*
December 11th.
**
December 8th.
A
messenger arrives in England from the, emperor.
When
the nuptial rejoicings were concluded, the king left London and went
to Merton, where he summoned the nobles to hear a message lately
brought from the emperor, and to discuss the business of the kingdom.
For messengers had come direct from the emperor to the king with
letters, asking him without delay to send his brother Richard, earl
of Cornwall, whose circumspect skill report had spread far and wide,
to make war on the king of the French. He also promised, by way of
assistance, to send all the Imperial forces, especially in order to
enable the English king not only to recover his continental
possessions, but also, when they were regained, to extend his former
possessions. To this, the king and the nobles there assembled, after
due deliberation, replied that it would not be safe or prudent to
send one so young out of the kingdom and to expose him to the
doubtful chances and dangers of war, since he was the only apparent
heir of the king and kingdom, and the hopes of all were centred in
him next to the king. For the king, although he was married, had no
children, and the queen his wife was still young, and did not know
whether she was fruitful or barren. But if it was agreeable to his
excellency the emperor to summon any other brave man he chose, from
amongst the nobles of the kingdom, for the purpose, they, the king,
and all his friends and subjects, in accordance with his request,
would at once render him all the assistance in their power. The
messengers, on receiving this reply, returned to inform their lord.
Certain
new laws made by Henry the Third.
About
the same time, [1236] king Henry the Third, for the salvation of his
soul and the improvement of his kingdom, influenced by a spirit of
justice and piety, made some new laws, and ordered them to be
inviolably observed throughout his kingdom.
In
the first place with respect to widows, who, after the death of their
husbands were deprived of their dowry, or could not hold it and their
quarentin without a plea, it was decreed, that whoever should deforce
them from their dowry, from the tenements of which their husbands
died possessed, and the widows should afterwards recover their dowry
by plea, and the deforcing party shall be convicted of unjust
deforcement, they shall make the damages good to the said widows, to
the full value of the dowry falling to them, from the time of the
decease of their husbands to the day on which they recovered
possession by judgment, and nevertheless the deforcers themselves
shall be at the king’s mercy. Also, all widows shall henceforth
be at liberty to bequeath all the corn on their land, as well from
their dowries, as from other lands and tenements, saving the services
which are due to their lords from their dowries and other tenements.
Also, whoever shall have been disseised from his free tenement, and
shall have recovered possession by assize of a new disseisin before
the justiciaries, or shall have made a disseisin with their
cognizance, and when disseised shall have held possession through the
sheriff, if the said disseisers shall have disseised them after the
circuit of the justiciaries or during the same, and shall be
convicted thereof, they shall be taken and detained in a prison of
our lord the king, until by him they are liberated, either by ransom
or in any other manner. And the following is the form of conviction
to be observed with regard to them: When the complainants come to the
court, they shall have a brief from the king directed to the sheriff,
in which shall be contained their evidence of the disseisin made on
disseisin, and therein the sheriff shall be ordered to take with him
the overseers of the pleas of the crown, and other legal officers,
and to go in person to the tenement or pasture about which the
complaint has been made, and in their presence, by jurors first, and
by other neighbours and liege men, to make a careful inquisition in
the matter, and if they shall discover it to be disseised as above
mentioned, then they shall proceed according to the provisions before
declared, but if not, then the complainants shall be at the mercy of
the king, and the other party shall go away quit. The same shall be
done in the case of those who recover possession by assize of the
death of their predecessor; the same also shall be done in the case
of all tenements recovered by juries in the king’s court. Also,
whereas several of the nobles of England have enfeoffed knights and
their free tenants of small tenements in their manors, and have
complained that they cannot effect their conveniency as regarded the
residue of their manors, as of wastes, woods, and pastures, so that
the feoffees might have sufficient as was proper according to their
tenements, it was provided and granted, that feoffees of this kind,
from whomsoever they should hereafter bring an assize of a new
disseisin, if before the justiciaries it shall be proved that they
have sufficient pasturage, in proportion to their tenement, together
with free ingress and egress from their tenements to that pasture,
they shall be content with the same, and those of whom such complaint
has been made shall be satisfied with having effected their will in
the matter of their waste lands, woods, and pastures; but if they say
that they have not sufficient pasture or sufficient ingress and
egress, then the truth shall be inquired into by assize. And if it is
discovered by assize that there was any obstruction in the ingress or
egress, or that the pasture was not sufficient, as aforesaid, then he
shall receive possession after inspection by the jurors, so that at
their discretion and on their oaths, the complainants may have
sufficient pasture and free ingress and egress, in the form above
stated. And the disseisers shall remain at the mercy of the king, and
shall pay damages, as they used to be paid before this provision; but
if it shall be found by assize that the complainants have sufficient
pasture and free ingress and egress, as aforesaid, then the other
party shall be allowed to do what is right with the residue, and
shall depart quietly. It is also granted by our lord the king, with
the consent of the nobles, that from this time, interest shall not
accumulate against a minor from the time of the decease of his
predecessor, whose heir he is, till he lawfully comes of age; but
that on this account the payment of the principal shall not be
delayed. Also, with respect to those who commit offences in parks and
warrens, a discussion was entered upon, but not decided, for the
nobles demanded to have each his own prison for offenders they might
take in their parks and warrens; but this the king would not grant
them, and therefore this remains as formerly.
A
writing sent to the pope concerning the origin and laws of Mahomet
About
the same time, a letter was sent to his holiness, Pope Gregory the
Ninth, from the countries of the East, by the preachers who were
travelling in those parts. And when it was published to the world,
the false doctrine, yea, the madness of Mahomet, the prophet of the
Saracens, an account of whom was given therein, excited the derision
and mockery of all. But these things have been previously treated of
in their proper place, namely, in the year DC, when the Mahomedan
plague commenced.
The
Saracens perversely think that they are so called from Sarah; but
they are with greater truth called Agarenes from Agar, and Ismaelites
from Ismael, whom Abraham begat by Agar his servant; and from Ismael
were begotten in succession, Calcar, Neptis, Alumesca, Eldamo,
Mulier, Escicip, Iaman, Avicait, Atanan, Maath, Nizas, Mildar,
Hinclas, Materic, Humella, Karmana, Melikar, Beir, Galib, Luhei,
Muyra, Heelib, Cuztei, and Abdimelnef, who had two sons, Escim and
Abdicemuz; Escim, one of these two, begat Adelmudalib; Adelmudalib
begat Abdella, from whom sprung Maumath, who is considered the
prophet of the Saracens; and from him were begotten successively
Abdicemuz, Humenla, Abilaz, Accan, Morcan, Abdelmelibe, Mavia,
Abderachaman (by some called Abdimenef); and from him sprung Mahomet,
who is now worshipped and reverenced by the Saracens, as their chief
prophet. It shoirid be known that the names Mahometh, Machometh,
Macomet, Machomect, Mahum, Maho, have the same meaning in different
languages. Mahomet was succeeded both in his kingdom and in his
superstition by Catab; Catab was succeeded by Homar, a contemporary
of Gosdroe, who was slain by the emperor Heraclius.
Of
the practices in which Mahomet was brought up.
This
man, called Mahomet the Ismaelite, on the death of his father,
Abdimenef, was taken charge of by a man named Hebenabecalip, who
acted as his guardian, and brought him up; a man who attended to the
idols at a place called Calingua, and also Aliguze. When he arrived
at the age of youth, he became a hireling to a certain woman named
Adige, the daughter of Hulaith, who gave him an ass for his service,
to bring goods into the provinces of Asia, for which she was to
receive the value. At length, he secretly cohabited with this woman,
and married her, and grew very rich by her money. He became greatly
elated at this, and began to boast, and endeavoured to establish
himself as ruler over all the tribes and his own nation; indeed, he
would have presumed so far as to call himself their king, if some
more noble and stronger than himself had not opposed this usurpation.
He then declared that he was a prophet sent from God, and that all
people ought to believe his words. The ignorant Arab rustics, who had
never seen a prophet, believed him; there was also a certain apostate
there who had fallen into heresy, and was excommunicated, and he
taught the same creed, and wrote his doctrines. This said Machometh
enticed into friendship with him any freebooters and robbers that he
could collect, and placed them in secret out-of-the-way places, for
the purpose of robbing the merchants on their way to and from Asia.
One day, as he was coming from the cities of Jerveth and Matham, he
found on the road a camel belonging to a man named Abige Heli, the
son of Hyesem, which he immediately seized and fled to the city of
Macta; but the inhabitants of that place, not considering him a
prophet, insulted him, and expelled him from the city as an impostor,
detesting him as a robber and despoiler of travellers. He then went
to a city in the desert, where the inhabitants were partly Jews and
partly Pagans, idolaters, poor, and ignorant men; there he with his
followers built a temple, in which to put forth his false doctrines
to the simple people. After this he sent a follower of his, named
Gadimelic, with forty soldiers, to rob the merchants who were
travelling with large sums of money. These men were met by Abige
Hely, the son of Jesem (whose camel Mahomet had carried off),
attended by three hundred men of his city, and at sight of these, the
robbers sent by Mahomet took to flight, and that pseudo-prophet could
not foresee this event to guard against it, for he had not the spirit
of prophecy; the Saracens therefore lie when they say that he always
had ten angels with him who served him in everything. At another
time, this Mahomet sent a man named Gabeit, the son of Alcharith,
with forty soldiers to collect booty; and these were attacked by
Abizecheim, the son of Nubar, and his companions, who defeated and
dispersed these robbers, slaying some of them, and no angel of
Mahomet assisted them. Again, on a third occasion, Mahomet sent a
follower of his, named Gaif Ajunacar, with a number of men, to a
place called Alicar or Alevafa, to seize on all the asses. which were
about to pass that way loaded with money and other goods, but the
merchants and the asses had passed by the day before they arrived at
the place, and if Mahomet had been a prophet, he would not have sent
such a number of his followers on a bootless errand, for it is not
usual for prophets to be baulked in their purposes. On a fourth
occasion, Mahomet himself went with his followers to seize some asses
with their burdens, but on arriving at a place called Udeny, he there
discovered Mozi, the son of Gamzual Muzeni, and being quite unable to
give him battle, he retreated in confusion, conquered and without any
booty. A fifth time he went forth to seize some merchants’ horses
laden with goods, but on arriving at a place called Nath, on the road
to Asia, he found Immarah, son of Allaha Algomachi, at sight of whom
he was struck with alarm, and fled, without gaining any advantage by
his expedition. On a sixth occasion he sallied forth from Carchana,
to look for some asses coming from Churays into Asia, and on arriving
at a place called Mahoeth, he found himself deceived, and gained
nothing, and during his retreat many of his followers were lost or
slain. In these six expeditions, it is proved that no angels favoured
his cause, and that he was not endowed with the spirit of prophesy.
Oftentimes too, he sent his followers by night to the houses of his
enemies, secretly and treacherously to slay the inmates. On one
occasion, he sent a man named Alchilia, son of Eagatha Alazar, to
murder Achym, the son of Deden Ebraeum Maybar; in this manner he in
his hatred ordered Zely, the son of Gomahir, to go and murder Acuan,
an old and infirm man, and he was killed in his bed. Again, he sent
Gabdallah, the son of Geys Alapsad, with twelve of his followers, to
Abla, to hear the news and bring it back to him, and as these men
were on their road, they met Gary, the son of Melcadram, with a large
sum of money, and immediately murdered him, giving a fifth part of
their booty to Mahomet. Again, the son of Phenuf went by his orders
to a certain town, murdered the men, women, and children, and brought
the fifth part of the booty he had seized to Mahomet, saying, “So
much is your share, Prophet of God;” and Mahomet willingly
accepted of it. Some time after this, in one of his battles, his
teeth were struck out, his upper lip cut, and his jaw broken; a man
named Talcha, the son of Jube of Alcha, then lifted up his hand to
protect him and ward off the blows, and his finger was cut off.
Mahomet, however, did not show any gratitude to the injured man, nor
did he offer any opposition to the man who wounded him, and no angel
offered any assistance to him when wounded himself.
The
adultery and sensuality of Mahomet
Mahomet
had a servant named Zeid, whose wife, Zemah, was a very beautiful
woman, and for whom Mahomet had conceived an affection; the servant
Zeid, however, discovering this, and being aware of his master’s
sensuality, said to his wife, “Take care that my master does
not see you, for if he does, I will at once repudiate you.” One
day, however, during the servant’s absence, Mahomet went to his
house, and called him, and as he did not answer, Mahomet continued
knocking at the door so long that the woman, becoming annoyed,
replied, “Zeid is not here.” On arriving some time
afterwards, Zeid found his wife talking with his master, and on the
departure of the latter he said to her, “Did I not tell you
that if my master should see you and converse with you, I would
repudiate you," and he at once turned her out of his house.
Mahomet then took her to himself, but, fearing lest he should be
accused of adultery, he pretended that a letter had come to him from
heaven, in which God ordered him to pronounce it as a law amongst the
people, that, whenever any man should repudiate his wife, and another
man should take her to himself, she should be the wife of the man who
took her. And to this day this is a law amongst them, and originated
from the aforesaid cause.
Of this repudiated adulteress and the wives of Mahomet.
A certain man named Gary, the son of Abytaliph, reproved Mahomet
for his adulteries, particularly because he loved this adulteress most of
all his wives: “Oh prophet of God," said he, “on
account of that woman whom you are keeping, you incur great scandal
from every one:" he, however, influenced by his lust, did not
send her away, but palliated his adultery by false arguments. This
Mahomet had fifteen wives; two of them free women, the rest his
servants: the first was Adige, daughter of Ulaith; the second was the
above-mentioned repudiated adulteress; the third was Zoda, daughter
of Zunga; the fourth was Aza, daughter of Gomar; the fifth was
Mathezelem; to this latter one of his wives he granted whatever she
liked best for a dowry; the sixth was Zeinah, daughter of Gnar; to
this one he, in a fit of anger, swore that he would not lie with her
for a month, but overcome by his lust he broke his oath and lay with
her; the seventh wife was Zeinaph, daughter of Vrynaph; the eighth,
Abbap, daughter of Abifiziel; the ninth, Mannona. daughter of
Alfaritalim; the tenth, Geotheria, daughter of Alimisitasy; the
eleventh, Zafia, a Jewess, who was formerly called Anazalia, daughter
of Haby; the twelfth, Aculevia, daughter of Fantima; the thirteenth,
Umaia, daughter of Aldacal; the fourteenth was a daughter of Annomen,
named Halse Idia; and the fifteenth was Malicha, daughter of Gathial.
His servants were Miriam, daughter of Ibrasus, his son; and Eamath,
daughter of Simeon.
The law of Mahomet, and the penalty for transgressing it.
Mahomet often said to his disciples and hearers, “Do not believe what
men may say of me, for there never was a prophet whom the people of
his own nation did not accuse falsely, and I also fear that my people
may say the same of me, and lay false charges against me; do not
therefore listen to the words of disparagers, nor think otherwise of me than as you
read in the book which I have given to you; what is related in the
book I have said and done, but anything more than is contained
therein I have not said or done.” He also said, “I am not
sent to you with signs and miracles, but with a sword to punish the
rebellious; whoever, therefore, does not receive my prophesies and
obey my commands, and does not willingly enter into this our faith,
shall, if he be under our jurisdiction, be put to death, or be
compelled to pay a tribute as an atonement for his incredulity, and
may then live. I enjoin war and strife against those who do not
profess this faith, who dwell in other countries, until they are by
force converted to it. All those who do not abide by our doctrines
shall be put to death, and their wives and children be condemned to
perpetual servitude.”
A mode of refutation.
Here Mahomet confesses with his own mouth that he never had and never
should perform any miracle; therefore those which the Saracens relate
concerning him must be considered as false. They say that a wolf once
met him on the road, and that, on Mahomet’s raising three of his
fingers, the animal took to flight: they also relate a story of a
bull that held converse with him: they also say that a fig-tree, on
being called by him, prostrated itself to the ground, and in that way
came to him: again, they state that he divided the moon into two
parts and united them again. They also state that some poison was
mixed with the flesh of a lamb for him by a woman named Zanab, the
daughter of Acharith, and wife of Zelem, the son of Muzil Hebraeus;
but as he was sitting at table with a follower of his, named Abarah,
the lamb spoke to Mahomet and said, “Do not eat of me, for I am
full of poison:” his follower Abarus did, however, eat of it,
and died. Eighteen years from that day, Mahomet himself died by
poison, and if he had been a true prophet, he could have prayed for
the life of his dead follower, or at least have saved himself and
that follower from poisoned food, as Elijah and Elisha are once said
to have done, saying, “There is death in the pot.”
Death of Mahomet.
At the hour of death, Mahomet, knowing himself to be
poisoned, said to his friends and relations, “When you see that
I am dead, do not bury me, for I know that my body will, after three
days, be carried to heaven. His followers, therefore, kept his body
for twelve days from the day of his death, which took place on a
Monday, but, seeing that his words were void of effect they buried
him in the month called by the Arabs, “Rabea granvil," in
the sixtieth year from his nativity, after having kept him sick
fourteen days, and watched his body thirty days to see whether it
would be carried to heaven or earth, even after burial. When they at
length found out the truth of the matter, they proved that all which
he had foretold was false, and they then again placed him in the
tomb. The wise men seceded from his faith, but the simple and
ignorant populace, through the preaching of his relatives and
disciples, who published his law for the sake of gain, observed his
commands in after times. After Mahomet’s death, a man named Abuzer,
son of Abubalip, by the assistance of a man named Chatab, who was a
chief amongst the disciples who survived him, arose amongst them, and
began with moderation to persuade every one, and by flattery to
gather followers together and to excite people to join him, fearing
that every one would secede from that faith, and, being anxious to
obtain the chief power therein for the future in the place of
Mahomet. But Achali, the son of Abibalip, who was the father-in-law
of Mahomet, was highly indignant at hearing this, and, being
influenced by desire of gain and worldly honour, persevered in his
efforts till he had deprived him of his sovereign authority. Another
of them named Xenes, one of the followers of Mahomet, endeavoured by
various stratagems and promises to recall to their faith those who
had seceded from it; some he brought over to his faith by threats, others
he seduced by means of worldly pleasures, until at length immense numbers
returned to that faith. Other people too in distant parts of the world,
hearing of the luxury and carnal pleasures permitted and enjoined by that
law, willingly received it, considering the Christian religion and
chastity as much too strict and severe, and thus a host of people
were seduced to paganism. The chief cause of the Mahometan faith
gaining ground is said to have been a monk, formerly a Christian,
named Solius, who being excom municated
for heresy and expelled from every church of God, in his desire to
revenge himself upon the Christians, went to a place called Thenme,
and from thence he went into the desert of Malse, where he found men
holding two modes of belief, for the greater portion of them were
Hebrews, and the smaller portion worshipped idols. There, this
apostate monk and the father-in-law of Mahomet met, and, after a
conference, became friends. The monk changed his name, taking that of
Nastorius, and taught him many prophesies and attestations out of the
Old and New Testament, and the writings of the Prophets, which he
skilfully annexed to the law of Mahomet, and thus, by the aid and
advice of these men, this seducer began to be exalted above all the
tribes; for the men were rude, uncultivated, and of a simple
character, easy to be led away, and carnally disposed according to
the words of the Prophet.
Et nos in vitium prona caterva sumus.
[We are but cattle prone to vice.]
The belief of the Saracens according to the commands of Mahomet.
Many of the Saracens believe that there is one God, the Creator of
all men: they have, however, no belief in the Trinity, which they reject
entirely. According to the writings of Mahomet they abominate
idolatry, for he mixed some good doctrines with his evil ones, in
order the more warily to make persons drink his poison seasoned with
honey. They state that our Lord Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin
Mary, by the Holy Ghost, and they say that he was a Creator by the
virtue of God, as also, they say was Adam, for they place him on a
level with Adam, or Moses, or one of the prophets. They also believe
that he was taken to Heaven and still is alive there, for, as he came
from God, so he has returned to, and remains with God, and they
expect that he will still reign for forty years on earth. His
crucifixion, suffering, and death, they altogether deny, and say that
some other man was substituted to suffer in his stead, and, that when
he was about to suffer, it became so dark in order that this might
not be found out. They also declare that, from the days of Noah, all
the patriarchs and prophets, and Jesus Christ himself, have observed
the same law as they, and by it have been saved. They say that we have
perverted the law of the Gospel, and have erased the name of Mahomet
from it. For the scripture of the Saracens has it that, before the
heavens and the earth were made, the name of Mahomet existed with
God, and if there had been no Mahomet, there would have been no
heaven, earth, paradise, or hell; wherefore, from this sole sentence,
so pregnant with folly, all wise Saracens may see the vanity of his
other doctrines. They expect and believe in the resurrection, but
they say that, at the day of judgment, no one of their adherents will
perish or be doomed to punishment, but that they will all be saved.
For they say, that all who keep their law will obtain salvation of
God by the intercession of Mahomet, and will never be punished. They
believe that, after this temporal life, they will live eternally, and
dwell for ever in paradise, whence there flow forth rivers of honey,
wine, and milk, for the enjoyment of every one living there; and that
whatever any of them may ask to eat and drink, will at once be sent
to them from heaven. Also, that however many male or female children
any one of them may desire to be born, they shall at once be born to
him; they declare that there no one will mourn or be sorrowful, but
that they shall be refreshed with various and universal delights and
enjoy endless felicity, and they believe that the advantages, riches,
and pleasures of the present life will not prevent their future
happiness.
Of marriage amongst the Saracens.
According to their law, a man may take three or four wives, if he
has sufficient means to support them; their wives ought to be free women; but
of female slaves and concubines, they keep as many as they can manage
or feed; contrary to what is said in Genesis, “There shall be
two in one flesh:" it does not say, “three or four.”
Again, Lamech, who first introduced polygamy, was rebuked by God, and
punished worse than the first murderer. If any one among them is
displeased with his wife, or if any contention, dispute, or hatred
arises between them, a divorce is at once effected both on the part
of the husband and of the wife, and each releases the other. If,
however, a man, after putting away his wife, repents of so doing, and
wishes her to be restored to him, unless she has previously formed a connexion
with another man, and she herself consents to return to him, he is in no wise
allowed to take her to wife; this is so, because amongst them there
is no legitimate marriage. They pay their dowries, not according to
the law, but after the manner of the heathens, for they have no
doctrinal guidance in these things, and no blessing is bestowed upon
their nuptials.
Their superstition.
They chiefly have connexion with their wives during their time
of fasting, thinking that they the better please God by this. They fast only one
month in the year, and then from the morning till night; from the
beginning of the night till the morning they eat continually; on
their days of fasting it is not proper for them to pray with an empty
belly, but then they mostly have intercourse with their wives, as if
they will obtain a greater recompense. If at the time of fasting any
one is sick, or troubled in any way, or is on a pilgrimage, he is
allowed to eat, and to renew his fasting when he is restored to
health. At their time of fasting they eat flesh and all richer sorts
of food, except wine. They hold no intercourse with their wives when
pregnant, but only before conception, alleging as an honourable
motive, that they ought not to do it unless to obtain offspring. They
always perform their devotions looking towards the south; and they
reverence Friday above all other days. In their judgments, whoever is
accused of murder, if he is proved guilty, by any witnesses, is at
once condemned to death as an atonement for his crime; and in their
law it is written, “If any one does not observe the law, and
denies Mahomet, let him be kept till the third day; and if he does
not then repent, let him be put to death.”
Some
further facts concerning the said Mahomet.
As we have commenced to give an account of this impostor, Mahomet,
which we heard from a celebrated preacher of great renown, who preached in
rebuke of the law of the said Mahomet, having been sent to the
countries of the East for that especial purpose, we have thought
proper to insert it in these pages. The aforesaid Mahomet taught and
wrote in his book the Alcoran (which the Saracens use, and consider
as authentic as Christians do the Gospel), that the first and chief
command of God, in importance as well as in point of
time, was this, “Increase and multiply” and whoever disobeys
this commandment sins irremediably. Hence, in order that the Saracen
nation might multiply, like horses and mules, which have no
understanding, Mahomet ordered and enjoined on them to have as many
wives and concubines as they could support, and to use and abuse them
at their pleasure; and if any one has a less number than he could
feed and govern, regard being had for his property, he is accused of
transgressing the law, and of avarice, and more are assigned to him
by the decision of the authorities. Thus Mahomet thought little of
angelic virginity as being barren, and, slighting continence,
condemned it as unfruitful, not considering that the Lord gave only
one Eve to one Adam as a helpmate and to bring him an offspring.
Thus, therefore, Mahomet, by multiplying wives, established polygamy,
not being warned by the example of Lamech, that man of blood, who was
the first to introduce bigamy, and afterwards paid for his crime, was
reproved by the Lord, and blotted from the face of the earth by the
flood. Hence it is that the weak and effeminate Saracens give loose
to lust and uncleanness, following the orders of their most filthy
prophet, Mahomet, who introduced this custom only to propagate and
increase his sect and people, and thus to strengthen his law by their
numbers, and that in this might be fulfilled what is written in
Revelations, “The dragon with his tail has dragged a portion
of the stars from heaven.” Truly was this Mahomet a poisonous
dragon, a beast blooded with the slaughter of many, sucking in a
river and not wondering, still having confidence that “the
Jordan will flow into his mouth.” For / this said false prophet
Mahomet declared that God said to him, “Son of man, Mahomet, go
not in the ways of other prophets, who have been before you, in
miracles, signs, and prodigies. He who wishes to believe, and by his
belief to be saved, let him of his own accord, uninfluenced by
miracles, come to the faith, in order that, by his good will, a
greater reward may be accumulated for him and this he pretended,
knowing that his merits were not of so much importance in the sight
of God, that God would work any miracle for him. He moreover stated,
and preached, and wrote (it is not known on what grounds or authority
he relied), that there had only been three prophets, and that there
would not be any more, namely, Moses amongst men, Jesus from heaven, and Mahomet,
who drew his testamentary law from the earth. Moses, through the law
given him by God, taught what suited his own age, Jesus through the
Gospel, preached and taught what suited his time, and in the same way
Mahomet gave such laws as were adapted to his generation. When
therefore the time of the law was expired, the Gospel succeeded; when
the time of the Gospel expired, the law of Mahomet succeeded, as if
supplying the defects of the aforesaid which were past. Hence it is
that Mahomet, wishing to please the believers of both Testaments,
preached some doctrines which appertain to the law, and others
pertaining to the Gospel; circumcision from the Old Testament,
baptism from the New. For the Saracens are circumcised, and also wash
the lower parts of their bodies in running water, that they may thus
be purified by some sort of baptism. Again, they believe that Jesus
Christ was conceived and born of the Virgin, according to the Gospel
of Luke, who says, “An angel was sent,” &c., but they
deny that he was God; they, however, affirm that he was the greatest
of the prophets. They also declare that there will be a resurrection
of the dead at the end of the world. When Mahomet was asked about the
deluge, the ark of Noah, and the universal extermination caused by
the flood, of which Moses writes in Genesis, as to whether it was
true and ought to be believed, he in reply said to his disciples,—
Jesus, the chief prophet, when passing through the country of
Jerusalem, was asked by his disciples concerning this matter, and
impressed on their wavering minds the certainty of such an
occurrence, and, seeing a piece of turf near his feet, he kicked it,
saying, “Arise Japhet, son of Noah;" on this Japhet arose,
as it were, from the piece of turf, a large and tall gray-headed man,
and stood in astonishment and alarm. Jesus then asked him why he was
afraid, to which he replied, “Lord, I was alarmed at hearing
the trumpet of thy voice, believing that I was called to the general
judgment of the resurrection.” Jesus then replied, “Do
not fear, for the hour of resurrection and judgment is not yet
arrived; I summoned you from the dead in order that you, who were in
the ark with your father, may relate to these people round me the
whole truth of this matter.” Japhet, then, taking up his
parable, thus commenced his narrative: “When the deluge
overwhelmed the earth, we were in the ark, the men in one part, and
the animals and beasts in their third story, which was on one side of
the ark, and the hay and corn on the other side. After a lapse of
four months the ark began to heel over and incline to that side on
which the cattle were placed. The animals, accumulating dung, having
by degrees consumed the corn distributed for their eating,
overbalanced the ark; one side, that where the corn was placed, was
raised, and the side which contained the animals was depressed, and
we were in danger, and became greatly alarmed, and we did not dare to
do any great work without asking advice of the Lord. We therefore
made a sacrifice and offered up prayers, and the Lord being appeased,
said to us, ‘Make for yourselves a pile for an altar out of the
earthy matter collected from the dung of men and camels, and when you
have made a sacrifice on it, you will receive a remedy for your
tribulation.’ After we had done so, there arose from the pile a very
large kind of sow, which at once placed itself in the hold of the
vessel, and, dispersing the great heap of earth, by which the ark had
been nearly upset, thus effected our preservation. After some days,
however, when its work was accomplished, this sow, being now useless,
became quite abominable to us, and it was the opinion of some that it
ought to be thrown into the sea, but as it had been given to us by
God, and had effected our preservation, we bore with it, although
unwillingly. As a punishment for this offence, the Lord sent a plague
on us in the following manner: the sow, as it were, sneezing, emitted
from its nostrils a number of large hungry mice, which, overrunning
the ark, did great damage to us, by gnawing and destroying its joints
and ropes, and devouring the corn; and thus the sow, which at our
request was given us to help us, became, owing to our transgression,
a source of injury. When at length we repented and cried to the Lord
in our trouble, he was appeased, and said, ‘You have with you
a lion; strike him on the forehead with a hammer,
not however to kill him, and you will obtain safety.’ When we had
struck him according to the order of the Lord, he, with a roar,
emitted a cat from his mouth, which destroyed the mice and released
the ark from their annoyance. And that you may not doubt that the sow
sprang from the dung of men and of the camel, this plain argument
proves; for the sow in its inner parts is like a man, and in its
exterior, as it is of the race of quadrupeds, is not unlike a camel,
and always delights in digging up and turning over heaps of earth and
dung. And that you may believe that mice came forth from its
nostrils, mice always burrow and dwell in holes in the earth, whence
it is called a mouse, from the moisture of the earth. And that you
may not doubt that a cat proceeded from the mouth of the Hon, a cat
is like a lion, as if descended from the same species, in its
disposition of body and in its plundering and robbery of food. From
that time the ark floated safely till the deluge was at an end.—Thus,
Mahomet asserted that Japhet informed Christ and his disciples, who
asked him about the ark; but to any wise man this seems frivolous,
and entirely dissonant with truth.
By
such empty discourses, this inveigler of souls, Mahomet, infatuated
the minds of many persons. In his early life he was exalted and
raised from the lowest condition by a noble woman named Adige, whom
he had seduced and polluted by a clandestine connexion, and
afterwards married; he then began to boast and exalt himself above
all the powerful and wise men of the East, usurping the name and
office of a prophet. The Lord therefore struck him with incurable
epilepsy, and when it attacked him, he frequently fell down, as those
who suffer from that disease usually do, on which, in order that he
might not lose his accustomed authority, and thus be treated with
contempt, he pretended that he was conferring and advising for the
salvation of man with the archangel Gabriel, and could not endure his
splendour standing. It happened one day, when surfeited with feasting
and wine, in which, according to his preaching, he greatly indulged,
that he fell on a dungheap overcome by illness, assisted, as was
stated, by poison administered to him in his food that day by some
nobles who were indignant at his pride. There he lay, in tortures,
rolling about and vomiting, owing to his sins, and deprived of all
consolation from his followers; whilst lying there half dead, he was
discovered by an ugly sow, with an unweaned litter of pigs, and being
stuffed with food, the smell of which he breathed forth, and parts of
which he had brought up in his sickness, he was
by them smothered; and for this reason the Saracens till this day
hate and abominate pigs more than all other animals. By means of the
followers of Mahomet, who cloaked his wickedness as much as they
could, his law began creepingly to gain a footing in the countries of
the East; and that they might the more easily attain their ends,
they continued to preach doctrines agreeable to the lusts of the
flesh, not such virtues as raise man, when not effeminated, to
heaven. Wherefore it is to be wondered at that Mahomet, by such
prevarications, inclined men of wisdom and power to his faith. But
because God knows who are his own, he has given their hearts to an
evil way of thinking; and “his judgments are a great deep, ”
and there is no one to say, “Why doest thou this? ” and
now to Him be honour and , glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The
heresy of the Paterinians and Bugarians.
About
this time, the heretical wickedness of the people, commonly called
Paterinians and Bugarians, who dwelt in the transalpine provinces,
and of whose errors I would rather be silent than make mention,
gained such ground that they dared to disturb the purity of the faith
in the territory of France and Flanders. But by the diligent ministry
and unwearied preaching of the Minorites, Preachers, and Theologians,
and especially of one of the order of Preachers, Robert (who was
surnamed Bugre, because he had been converted from that faith and
assumed the habit of a Preacher), and who was called the hammer of
the heretics, their superstition was confounded, and their error was
discovered. Several of both sexes, who refused to be converted to the
true faith, he caused to be burnt; and within two or three months he
caused about fifty people to be burned or buried alive.
Disagreement
between the emperor and the Italians.
About
this time, the anger of the emperor was kindled against the Italians
to such a degree that, fuel being daily added to it, it burst forth
into a most implacable hatred. He therefore made a serious complaint
of their insolence to his holiness the pope, asserting that the pride
of those who hated him always prevailed, and asking the pope, with
the assistance of the whole of the Roman court, to give all his
attention
to bring about the restoration of an honourable peace between him and
them; or else to afford him effectual assistance, so that he might,
with outstretched arm, tame and subdue them, and reduce them to their
accustomed subjection; as the pope required assistance to be given
him by him, the emperor, if the Roman church should happen to want
it: wherefore the Roman church was straitened with anxiety and was
undetermined how to act. The emperor complained most severely of the
city of Milan, which was the nurse and protectress of heretics and
rebels against the empire, to attack which place he had in the same
year assembled a large army. His son Henry, who was accused of
treachery against his father, he detained in close confinement.
A
conference held at London.
In
the same year, on the 28th of April, the nobles of England assembled
at a council at London, to discuss the affairs of the kingdom. It was
a cause of astonishment to many that the king followed the advice of
the bishop elect of Valentia more than he ought, despising, as it
appeared to them, his own natural subjects, and at this they were
annoyed, and accused the king of fickleness, saying amongst
themselves, “Why does not this bishop elect betake himself to
the kingdom of France, as the French king has married the elder
sister of our queen, to manage the affairs of the French kingdom,
like he does here, by reason of his niece the queen of that country?”
And they were highly indignant. On the first day of the council the
king went to the Tower of London, and gave great cause of discontent
to many about this matter, and more unfavourable than prosperous
conjectures were entertained. The nobles would not either singly or
in numbers go to the Tower to the king, fearing lest he, yielding to
evil counsel, should vent his rage on them, and being warned by the
words of Horace,—
Quia
me vestigia terrent
Omnia te versum spectantia, nulla retrorsum.
[Because
the footsteps of these beasts all point towards your den,
But
none of them, as far I can see, come back again.]
The
king, nevertheless, restrained by motives of prudence, went from the
Tower to his palace, there to discuss the urgent
business of the kingdom more suitably with his nobles. After
discussing several matters, he came to one praiseworthy
determination, which was, that all the sheriffs should be dismissed,
and others appointed in their places, because they had been corrupted
by bribes and deviated from the paths of truth and justice. The king,
therefore, substituted in their places men who possessed more
tenements, who were richer, and of more noble race, who would not be
driven by necessity to covet presents, nor to be corrupted. He also
made them swear that they would not accept any gifts, unless in food
and drink, and that only moderately and not to excess; or any present
of land by way of reward, by which justice would be corrupted. To
this council the king of Scotland sent special messengers, who
urgently demanded from the king the rights which pertained to their
lord, the said king of Scots, concerning which they said that they
held a charter and had the testimony of a great many nobles; but the
determination of this matter was put off for the present. At the same
time, too, the king, because he could not reestablish peace between
Earl Richard, his brother, and Richard Seward, banished the latter
from the kingdom, saying that he would rather incur his anger than
that of his brother. He also, to the astonishment of many, removed
from their offices and dismissed from his councils, Ralph
Fitz-Nicholas, seneschal of his palace, and several other high
officers of his household. He also demanded instantly his seal from
the bishop of Chichester, his chancellor; although he had blamelessly
discharged the duties of his office, proving himself a remarkable
pillar of truth at court. This, however, the chancellor refused to
do, seeing that the king’s violence exceeded the bounds of
moderation, and said that he could on no account give it up, since he
had undertaken the charge by the general consent of the kingdom, and
therefore could not resign it without that same consent. About the
same time, too, the emperor sent messengers to the king, demanding
from him a large sum of money which he, the king, had promised him
with his sister.
Of
a battle fought in Scotland
About
the same time, several nobles and powerful men from the various
provinces of the West, namely from Galloway, the Isle of Man, and
parts of Ireland, assembled at the instance of Hugh de Lacy, whose
daughter had been married to Alan of Galloway, lately deceased, and
they all united together for the purpose of restoring Galloway to the
illegitimate son of the aforesaid Alan, and of annulling by force the
just disposition made by the king of Scots, who had distributed the
inheritance amongst the three daughters of Alan, to whom it belonged
by hereditary right. In order, therefore, to revoke and annul his
distribution, and to restore the territory to the aforesaid Thomas,
or to the son of Thomas, Alan’s brother, or at least to one of that
family, these presumptuous chiefs flew to arms, and, bursting forth
into insolence, endeavoured to free themselves from the authority of
the king. And in order to bring their attempts to the desired result,
they entered into a strange kind of treaty, by means of a certain
mode of divination, yet according to an abominable custom of their
ancestors. For all these barbarians and their chiefs and magistrates
drew blood from a vein near the heart, and poured it into a large
cup, they then stirred and mixed it up, and afterwards, drinking to
one another, quaffed it off, as a token that they were from that time
forth allied by an indissoluble and, as it were, kindred treaty, and
indivisible both in prosperity and adversity, even at the risk of
their heads. They therefore provoked the king and the kingdom to war,
burning their own houses and those of their neighbours, that the
king, when he arrived, might not find either shelter or food for his
army, and indulged in rapine and incendiarism, heaping injury on
injury. On hearing of this, the king of Scotland collected his forces
from all quarters, and, marching to meet them, drew up his forces in
order and engaged them in open battle; and the fortune of war turning
against the Galwegians, they were put to flight, and the royal
troops, pursuing them at the sword’s point, slew many thousands of
them, and those who were taken alive by the king and his soldiers
were put to an ignominious death without any chance of ransoming
themselves. Some threw themselves on the king’s mercy, and were
consigned to close imprisonment by him till he could consult as to
what should be done with them, and all of them, together with their
descendants, he, not without good reason, disinherited. Having gained
this victory the king glorified God, the lord of armies, and
listening to good counsel, he sent word to Roger de Quincy, earl of
Winchester, John Baliol, and William, the son of the earl of
Albemarle, that, as they had married the three sisters, the daughters
of Alan of Galloway, they might now, as the disturbances were
quelled, hold peaceable possession of the rights pertaining to them.
This battle took place in the month of April, the fortune of war
favouring the king of Scots.
A
disturbance in the French kingdom.
In
the spring of the same year, many of the nobles rose in insurrection,
to make war against the kingdom of France, for it excited their
indignation that France, the kingdom of kingdoms, was governed by a
woman’s counsel. Men of rank and renown, and who had been trained to
arms from their early youth, joined in the insurrection; the king of
Navarre, that is, the count of Champagne; the count de la Marche, the
count of Brittany, and a great many other nobles, allied themselves
together by treaty and oath.
Death
of William Daubeny.
About
this time, too, on the 6th of May, William Daubeny the elder, a bold
and magnanimous knight, and one endowed with all noble qualities,
closed his life at an advanced age, leaving his son William, his
legitimate heir, who took after his father in every respect.
Cordova is taken, and the city of Cepta makes a truce.
In the same year the inhabitants of Genoa, assisted by the Pisans and
Marseillese, and the king of Arragon, suddenly attacked a noble city
of Spain, called Cepta, on which the pagan citizens, who had for a
long while inflicted much harm and injury to the said invaders, in
alarm at the great numbers of their enemies, and at their sudden
attack, surrendered to their authority, making a truce for a time on
the condition, that if their lord, the king of Africa, who was
commonly called the Emir of the World,* should not send them
effectual assistance within three years, they would willingly, and
without any difficulty, surrender themselves and the whole city to
them; that in the mean time the king of Arragon and his allies might,
at any time during the three years, peaceably build a tower and
fortify it at their pleasure, on a bridge which they had gained
possession of before the arrangement of this truce. The city of
Cordova, then being taken, and Cepta being ready for capture, the
hopes of the Christians were raised, and alarm seized on the
Saracens, and especially on the king of Africa.
A
prodigy
About
this same time, in the month of May, near an abbacy called Roche, in
the northern part of England, there appeared bands of well-armed
knights, riding on valuable horses, with standards and shields, coats
of mail and helmets, and decorated with other military equipments:
they issued from the earth, as it appeared, and disappeared again
into the earth. This vision lasted for several days, and attracted
the eyes of those who beheld it, as if by fascination; they rode in
arrayed troops, and sometimes engaged in conflict; sometimes as if at
a tournament, they shivered their spears into small fragments with a
crash; the inhabitants saw them, but more from a distance than near
them, for they never remember to have seen such a sight before, and
many said that the occurrence was not without its presage. This
occurred more plainly in Ireland and its confines, where they
appeared as if coming from battle, and dragged their horses after
them wounded and broken down, without a rider, and the knights
themselves were severely wounded and bloody; and what was more
wonderful, their track plainly appeared impressed on the ground, and
the grass was borne down and trampled on. Many people on seeing this
vision fled before them in alarm, and betook themselves to the
churches and castles, thinking that it was not an illusion, but a
real battle. These occurrences came to our knowledge some years after
they happened, from a report and true account of the event obtained
from the earl of Gloucester, and by the evidence of many other
persons.
The
king endeavours to revoke some grants he had made
In
the same year, Peter de Rivaulx and Stephen Segrave, of whom we have
made mention above, were received into favour by the king. In this
year, too, on the eighth of June, the nobles of England assembled at
Winchester in presence of the king, when the latter endeavoured, by a
warrant from the pope, to annul some grants which he had made to some
of them before he had contracted his marriage, as though he was
unable of himself, without the connivance of the pope, to whom, as he
said, the giving of rights in the kingdom belonged. Many were
astonished at this, and said that the king was endeavouring much more
than became him, or was his duty, to place his kingdom in slavery,
and to reduce it to its last extremity.
Some of the English nobles assume the cross.
About the same time, Earl Richard, the king’s brother; Earl G.
Marshal, John, earl of Chester and Lincoln, the earl of Salisbury, G.
de Lucy, his brother, Richard Seward, and many other nobles, assumed
the cross. Earl Richard at once ordered his woods to be cut down and
sold, and endeavoured by all the means in his power to raise money to
sustain his pilgrimage. Not long afterwards, by means of Simon de
Montfort, earl of Leicester, and (as was reported) Peter de Rivaulx,
Richard Seward unjustly incurred the king’s anger, and was
taken and imprisoned; but was soon afterwards released with the same
ease.
The massacre of the Jews.
At this time a great slaughter of the Jews took place on the continent,
especially in Spain; and those on this side of the sea, fearing that they would suffer
in the same way, made the king a present of money, on which he caused a
proclamation to be made by the crier, that no one was to do any
injury or cause any annoyance to any of the Jews.
The emperor’s present.
In this year, [1236] about the feast of St. Benedict, the emperor sent a
handsome present to the king of England, consisting of eighteen
valuable horses, and three mules laden with silks and other costly
presents. He also sent some valuable horses and other desirable
things to Earl Richard, the king’s brother.
A long drought and scorching of the crops
In the summer of this year, after a winter beyond measure rainy, as has
been mentioned, a constant drought, attended by an almost unendurable
heat, succeeded, which lasted for four months and more. The marshes
and lakes were dried up to their. very bottoms; water-mills stood
uselessly still—the water being dried up; and the earth gaped
with numerous fissures; the corn, too, in a great many places
scarcely grew to the height of two feet.
Pacification
of the French nobles
In
the same year, as the summer was drawing to a close, the nobles of
France, who had engaged in the disturbance of that kingdom, made some
terms of peace, and were received into favour by the king. About this
time, too, some bold but rash young nobles in England—we know
not by what spirit seduced—conspired together and entered into
an execrable alliance to ravage England, like robbers and
nightwalkers. Their designs, however, became known; and the chief of
the conspiracy, one Peter de Buffer, a door-keeper of the king, was
taken prisoner, and by him others were accused. A dreadful machine,
commonly called a gibbet, was erected at London to hang them on; and
on it two of the chief conspirators were suspended, after having
engaged in single combat; and one of -them being killed in the
struggle, was hung with his head cleft open; and the other, living,
breathed forth his miserable life on the same gibbet, amidst the
lamentations of the multitude assembled.
A
disagreement between the citizens of Orleans and the clergy
In
the same year, about Whitsuntide, a lamentable dissension sprung up
between the clergy and the citizens at the city of Orleans, which
originated about, and was promoted by, a chattering, brawling woman;
and the tumult was fanned up and increased to such a pitch, that some
scholars, illustrious youths of noble family, were slain in the city
by the townsmen. Amongst these were the nephew of the Count de la
Marche, the nephew of the count of Champagne, king of Navarre, a
relation by blood of the count of Brittany, a blood relation of the
noble baron Erkenwuld de Bourbon, and many others, some of whom were
drowned in the river Loire, and others were killed; some, however,
escaped with difficulty, and, hiding themselves in caves, vineyards,
and other secret places, thus escaped death. On hearing of this, the
bishop of the city, inflamed with zeal for justice, went out of the
city, excommunicated all the perpetrators of this crime, and laid an
interdict on the whole place. The above-named nobles, too, hearing of
the murder of their relatives, attacked the city, and put many of the
inhabitants to death at the sword’s point, without awaiting the
formality of a trial; some others, too, they, with their swords still
reeking with blood, beheaded on the road as they were returning from
some market with their panniers laden with merchandise. This sedition
did not cease till the royal mandate, at the wish of both parties,
made terms between them, and calmed the tumult. About the same time,
too, several cities and provinces of the French kingdom were laid
under an interdict; amongst which were Rheims, Amiens, Beauvais, and
other places, schisms having arisen amongst them from various causes.
A
discord which sprang up at Oxford
In
the same year, a quarrel arose between the clergy and the citizens of
Oxford, and it was with difficulty, and after a long time, that the
strife was lulled to rest by the interference of the king and nobles,
the bishops, and other men of rank and authority, and the university
restored to its former state.
In
the month of August of the same year, the bishops, John of Worcester,
and Thomas of Norwich, departed this life; and about the same time
died Henry, abbat of Croyland, a man of illustrious family, and
renowned for his piety, after having governed his church, almost the
whole of which, together with the buildings, he had rebuilt, for
nearly fifty years.
The complaint of the king of Scotland.
In the same year, [1236] the king, by the advice of his nobles,
proceeded to York to consult with them and make arrangements for
settling the dispute between him and Alexander, king of Scotland, and
which had now grown into hatred. For to wise men, who weighed future
events in the scale of reason, it seemed foolish that the kingdom of
England, surrounded on all sides by enemies on the continent, should
secretly generate internal hatred. The origin of this discord was (it
is said) as follows:—The king of Scotland had constantly
demanded the county of Northumberland, which King John had given him
as a marriage portion with his daughter Johanna, and for which he
declared that he held a charter, and had the evidence of a great many
bishops and clergy of rank, as well as earls and barons; and he
declared that it was an unworthy and execrable action to revoke what
proceeded from the lips of kings, and to annul a compact made between
persons of such noble station. He also added, that unless the English
king would peaceably give him what plain reason proved to be his
right, he would seek it at the sword’s, point.
He was inspired with confidence by the secret, although suspected,
friendship of Llewellyn, and by his. alliance and affinity with
Gilbert Marshal, who had married his sister Margaret, a most
handsome lady. The hostility of his continental states, too, was
always in conspiracy against him, and moreover, his cause was just,
as was proved by the muniments of former kings. After much
discussion on both sides, the king of England, for the sake of peace,
and for the protection of his kingdom, as far as lay in his power,
offered the king of Scots a revenue of eighty marks from some other
part of England, in order that the boundaries of his kingdom might
not be broken in upon in the northern parts. But whilst he waited
until the affair should be settled to the satisfaction of both
parties, the conference ended, and all for the moment remained at
peace.
About
that time, the knight, Philip Daubeney, a noble devoted to God, and
brave in battle, after fighting for the Lord during several
pilgrimages to the Holy Land, at length closed his life by a
praiseworthy death there, and obtained a holy burial in the Holy
Land, which he had long desired when living.
The
preaching of the crusade.
In
the same year, on a warrant from the pope, a solemn preaching was
made, both in England and France, by the brethren of the orders of
Preachers and Minorites, and other famous clerks, theologians, and
religious men, granting. to those who would assume the cross, a full
remission of the sins of which they truly repented and made
confession. These preachers wandered about amongst cities, castles,
and villages, promising to those who assumed the cross much relief in
temporal matters, namely, that interest should not accumulate against
them with the Jews, and the protection of his holiness the pope for
all their incomes and property given in pledge to procure necessaries
for their journey, and thus incited an immense number of people to
make a vow of pilgrimage. The pope afterwards sent also Master
Thomas, a Templar, his familiar, into England, with his warrant, to
absolve those crusaders, whom he chose and thought expedient, from
their vow of pilgrimage, on receiving money from them, which he
considered that he could expend advantageously for the promotion of
the cause of the Holy Land. When the crusaders saw this, they
wondered at the insatiable greediness of the Roman court, and
conceived great indignation in their minds, because the Romans
endeavoured thus impudently to drain their purses by so many devices.
For the Preachers added, that if any one, whether he had assumed the
cross or not, should be unable in person to undertake such a toilsome
journey, he must not omit to contribute as much of his property as
his means permitted, for the assistance of the Holy Land, and that
thus he would fully enjoy the before-mentioned indulgence; but all
these things rendered their hearers suspicious; for they said, “Will
our dispenser prove faithful?” And so it turned out; for the
pope, conceiving indignation against the people, made war, extorted
money, collected a tenth part from all countries, and accumulated an
endless sum of money to defend the Church; but peace was soon made,
and he and the emperor became friends; the money, however, was never
restored, and thus the devotion of many became daily weakened, and
their confidence was abated.
The emperor’s preparations to conquer Italy
About the same time, the pope, by mandatory letters, strictly forbade the
emperor to invade Italy; for the latter had, in the summer, called
together all the Imperial forces he could muster, to attack the
insolent Italians, and especially the inhabitants of Milan, for that
city was a receptacle for all heretics, Paterines, Luciferians,
Publicans, Albigenses, and usurers; and it seemed to the emperor to
be an ill-advised plan for him to assist the Holy Land by the
presence of himself and such a large army of God, and to leave behind
him false Christians, worse than any Saracen. He moreover wondered
beyond measure that the pope should be in any way favourable to the
Milanese, or should seem in any manner to afford them protection
since it became him to be a father to the pious, and a hammer to the
wicked. In reverence, however, for such a great father as his
holiness the pope, the emperor modestly and prudently replied to him
as follows.
The emperor’s answer to the pope
“Italy is my inheritance, and this is well known to all the world. To covet
the property of others and abandon my own, would be ambitious and
sinful, particularly as the insolence of the Italians, and especially
the Milanese, has provoked me, showing no proper respect to me in any
way. Moreover, I am a Christian, and, however unworthy a servant of
Christ, I am prepared to subdue the enemies of the cross. Since,
therefore, so many heresies are not only springing up, but are even
growing thick in Italy, and the tares are beginning to choke the
wheat throughout the cities of Italy, and especially Milan, to
proceed to subdue the Saracens and to leave these unpunished, would
be to rub the wound where the steel has entered with superficial
fomentations, and to cause an ugly scar, not a cure. Again, I am
alone and am human, and therefore not capable of such a great
undertaking as that of subduing the enemies of the cross, without a
great force to assist me; as they are so numerous and powerful.
Again, as I am not of myself sufficient to carry out such an arduous
matter without a great deal of money, I have determined to apply the
wealth of the said country to lend assistance to, and to avenge the
crucified One; for Italy abounds in arms, horses, and wealth, as all
the world knows.”
The emperor marches into Italy to take Milan
The pope, on hearing such profound reasonings, in order that he might not
seem opposed to such incontrovertible arguments, pretended to give
his consent; and that he might cross the mountains and enter Italy
according to his purpose, his holiness promised, without fail, as far
as he was able, to afford him his paternal assistance in every
necessity. The emperor, encouraged by this, having by an imperial
edict collected all the forces he could muster, entered Italy,
followed by a large body of troops. The Milanese, not without reason,
fearing his terrible anger, sent to the pope, asking advice and
effectual assistance from him; and he, after receiving a large sum of
money, with a promise of more, sent them much relief and assistance,
to the injury of the emperor, and this seemed incredible and contrary
to every one’s opinion, that in such case of necessity the father
would be converted into a stepfather. The citizens then sallied forth
from the city in great force, to the number of about fifty thousand
armed men, and proceeded with their standard (which they called
“carruca,” or “carrochium,") to meet the
emperor, sending, word that they were ready to fight him. About this
time, a certain knight named Baldwin de Vere, had come from England
as a messenger from the English king to the emperor, to arrange some
secret business concerning the said: king and the emperor; and on all
these matters he afterwards gave his hearers full information. When
the emperor heard that the Milanese had broken out into such audacity
as to kick against him, he at once prognosticated that they had
conceived this boldness, depending on the support of others than
themselves; and after the matter had been carefully weighed in
council with his nobles, it was agreed by acclamation that all who
were present on the side of the emperor, from the highest to the
lowest, should, without delay, fly to arms and attack this Milanese
rabble, which dared, like mice coming from their holes, to provoke
their lord to battle and to try their strength with the imperial
forces. When this determination was made known to the Milanese, they
halted for a little, and one of the elder citizens, on whose judgment
the opinion of all depended, arranged the others in a circle around
him and spoke as follows: “Hear me, noble citizens. The emperor
is at hand in great power and with a large army, and he, as is known
to the whole world, is our lord. If this lamentable struggle should
take place, irreparable harm will arise from it; for if we are
victorious in it, we shall obtain a reproachful and bloody victory
over our lord, but if we are conquered, he will destroy our name, and
that of our people and our city for ever, and we shall be a disgrace
to every nation. Since, therefore, in every event it is dishonourable
and dangerous to proceed further in a hostile manner, I consider it a
wise plan to return to our city, where, if he chooses to attack us,
it will be lawful for us to repel force by force; and whether he
allows us to make peace with him, or compels us to drive him from our
territory by force, our city will be preserved and our good name will
remain unimpaired.” All the rest acquiescing in this plan, they
acted upon it, which was & pleasant sight to the emperor;
however, that no fear or alarm might be shown on his part, he pursued
them and prepared for a siege. Whilst all these events were passing,
either by the instrumentality of the Roman church, or the enemies of
the emperor, an internal discord was stirred up in the German
provinces, by the duke of Austria, to quell which, letters and
messengers were sent with all haste,. explaining the great urgency of
the case, and to summon him to return immediately. The emperor
therefore raised the siege, for which he had made preparations, and
returned into Germany, and the Milanese, on hearing this, seized by
force on some castles, which the emperor had taken, and their
garrisons, and put all the knights and soldiers of the emperor to
death. When the emperor heard of this, he was much enraged, and not
without good reason, and poured forth all his just indignation
against the author of this evil; and punished the duke of Austria, by
depriving him of his. honours, lands, castles, and cities, scarcely
granting him his life; so that vengeance for the crime perpetrated by
him against King Richard, on his return from the Holy Land, seemed
even at this time unsatisfied, as the prophet says, “Although
late, God severely punishes wickedness,” and “visits the
sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth
generation.”
In
this year, about Michaelmas-day, Baldwin de Vere, a discreet,
faithful, and eloquent man, returned to England and: brought the
emperor’s reply to the king, and gave a full account of all those
matters to all who chose to listen to him.
About
the same time, too, Peter, bishop of Winchester, returned from the
continent, deprived of his bodily strength by disease. Near about the
same time, too, namely on the Monday following that feast, deluges of
rain fell in the northern parts of England, to such a degree that the
rivers and lakes, overflowing their usual bounds, caused great damage
by destroying bridges, mills, and other property near the banks.
In
the same year, [1236] on the 16th of August, died Thomas de
Blundeville, bishop of Norwich. And about the same time died William
of Bleis, bishop of Worcester, and Henry de Sandford, bishop of
Rochester. Thomas, abbat of Evesham also died in this year, and was
succeeded by Richard, prior of Hurle.
Violent
storms of wind and destructive inundations
On
the day after the feast of St. Martin, and within the octaves of that
feast, great inundations of the sea suddenly broke forth by night,
and a fierce storm of wind arose, which caused inundations of the
rivers as well as of the sea, and in places, especially on the coast,
drove the ships from their ports, tearing them from their anchors,
drowned great numbers of people, destroyed flocks of sheep, and herds
of cattle, tore up trees by the roots, overthrew houses, and ravaged
the coast. The sea rose for two days and the intermediate night, a
circumstance before unheard of, and did not ebb and flow in its usual
way, being impeded (as was said) by the violence of the opposing
winds. The dead bodies of those drowned were seen lying unburied in
caves formed by the sea, near the coast, and at Wisbeach and the
neighbouring villages, and along the seacoast, an endless number of
human beings perished: in one town, and that not a populous one,
about a hundred bodies were consigned to the tomb in one day. In the
night of Christmas eve, also, a very fierce storm of wind raged,
attended by thunder and a deluge of rain, and shook towers and other
buildings, and the confusion of the elements rendered the roads and
seas impassable. And thus in that year about the equinoctial season,
the storm twice repeated ravaged England with irreparable damage. The
Lord indeed seemed, owing to the sins of the people, to have sent
this flood as a scourge to the earth, and to fulfil the threat
contained in the Gospel, — “There shall be upon the earth
distress of nations, with perplexity; the
sea and the waves roaring.”
1237 A.D.
The
king of England exacts the thirtieth part of all moveable property
throughout the whole kingdom
In
the year of our Lord 1237, which was the twentieth of the reign of
King Henry the Third, he held his court at Christmas, at Winchester,
whence he forthwith sent royal warrants throughout all the English
territories, ordering all nobles belonging to the kingdom of England,
namely, archbishops, bishops, abbats, installed priors, earls, and
barons, all to assemble without fail in the octaves of the Epiphany
at London, to arrange the royal business and matters concerning the
whole kingdom. The nobles on hearing this immediately obeyed the
king’s summons, and accordingly on the day of St. Hilary, a
countless multitude of nobles, namely, the whole community of the
kingdom, came to London, and proceeded to the royal palace at
Westminster to hear the king’s pleasure. When they had all
taken their seats, there stood up in the midst of them, one William
de Raele, a clerk and familiar of the king’s, a discreet man
and well skilled in the laws of the land, who, acting as a sort of
mediator between the king and the nobles, disclosed to them the
king’s pleasure and intentions. “My lord the king,”
he said, “informs you that, whatever he may have done
heretofore, he now and henceforth will, without hesitation, submit
himself to the advice of all of you, as his faithful and natural
subjects. But those men who have till now, in the management of his
affairs, been in charge of his treasury, have rendered him an
incorrect account of the moneys received by them, and owing.to this
the king is now destitute of money, without which any king is indeed
[desolate; he therefore humbly demands assistance from you in money,
on the understanding that the money which may be raised by your good
will shall be kept to be expended for the necessary uses of the
kingdom, at the discretion of any of you elected for the purpose.”
When the assembled nobles heard this speech, they each and all, not
expecting anything of this sort, murmured greatly, and—
Alter in alterius jactantes lumina vultus.
[Each hearer lost in dire amaze,
Turned on his neighbour’s face his gaze.]
And they said to one another,
Fuderunt partum monte : en ridiculus mus.
[The labouring mountains shook the earth,
And to a paltry mouse gave birth.]
They then replied with indignation that they were oppressed on all sides,
so often promising and paying now the twentieth, now the thirtieth,
and now the fiftieth part of their property, and they declared that
it would be unworthy of them, and injurious to them, to allow a king
so easily led away, who had never repelled or even frightened one of
the enemies of the kingdom, even the least of them, and who had never
increased his territories but rather lessened them, and placed them
under foreign yoke, to extort so much money, so often, and by so many
arguments, from his natural subjects, as if they were slaves of the
lowest condition, to their - injury and for the benefit of
foreigners. When the king heard this, he wished to calm the general
discontent, and promised on oath that he would never again provoke or
annoy the nobles of the kingdom by injuring them in that way,
provided that the thirtieth part of all moveable property in England
was granted and paid to him for his present use; because the large
sum of money which he had a little while before sent to the emperor
(as he stated) for the marriage of his sister, and also what he had
spent at his own marriage, had in a great degree exhausted his money.
To this they openly replied that he, the king, had done all this
without the advice of his liege subjects, and they ought not to share
the punishment as they were innocent of the crime. They however
withdrew to a private place to consult about obeying the king’s
demand, and supplying his necessities, and to discuss the kind and
quantity of assistance which was demanded. As they were withdrawing
for this purpose, Gilbert Bassett said to the king in the hearing of
all, and with less circumspection of speech than he ought,— “My
lord king, send some one of your friends to be present at the
conference of your barons.” He was, when he said this, sitting
on one side of the king, with only a few persons between them, and,
in reply to his speech, Richard Percy, who had been at the conference
of the nobles, and was, not without cause, angry at it, said, “What
is it, friend Gilbert, that you said? are we too foreigners, and are
we not amongst the number of the king’s friends?” And
Gilbert felt himself rebuked by this unpleasant and sudden speech.
And thus by a multiplicity of arguments the conference was protracted
for four days.
The terms on which the thirtieth on moveables was granted to the king.
The king, in great alarm, and desiring to conciliate the good-will of the
barons, then and thenceforth submitted himself to the advice of his
liege and natural subjects, contrary to what he had formerly done.
Moreover, with regard to the report that he was endeavouring, by
means of a warrant from the pope, to invalidate the grants he had
formerly made and confirmed to them by charter, the king said that it
was false; and if such a thing had been suggested to him, he declared
it to be of no effect, and that he altogether renounced such a
purpose; and besides this he, with a calm countenance and of his own
free will promised from that time inviolably to observe the rights of
the great charter, towards all the liege subjects of his kingdom. And
because he seemed to be not entirely free from the sentence which the
archbishop Stephen and all the bishops of England had pronounced
against all violators of the aforesaid charter; which he by ill
advice had in a measure violated himself, he ordered the aforesaid
sentence to be publicly renewed against all gainsayers and violators
of the said charter; so that by this, if he himself, through any
malice, should by any chance fail to observe it, he would be more
deeply involved in that sentence, and the result of this proceeding
was, that by his words he wonderfully conciliated the hearts of all
his hearers towards himself. It was also determined that it would be
harsh to remove from the king the councillors he at present had, as
if they were wicked; they therefore strengthened their number by the
addition of some other nobles, appointing the Earl Warrenne, William
Ferrers, and John Fitz-Geoffrey as additional ones; and
the king, is he had formerly done at Windsor, made them swear that
they would in no wise, for presents or by any other means, deviate
from the path of truth, but would give him, the king, good advice,
and what was for the benefit of the kingdom. On these conditions a
grant of the thirtieth part of all moveable property in the kingdom
was made to the king, to replenish his treasury, saving, however, to
every one his silver and gold, his horses and arms, which would be
devoted for the public advantage; which thirtieth part was to be
collected throughout each county in the following manner and form
:—Four trustworthy knights were to be chosen, besides one
clerk, whom the king would appoint; and these knights, together with
the clerk, having taken an oath of fealty to the king, were to
collect the money, which, when collected, was to be placed in some
convent, sacred house, or castle, so that if the king should
endeavour to retract his promises, the property of each should be
restored to him, and a correct distribution made. The archbishop of
Canterbury and his bishops and clergy first agreed to this; and on
this condition, the thirtieth part of all moveable property in the
kingdom was granted to the king, to be collected throughout the whole
kingdom in general from every prelate and knight according to the
tenement of his barony. It was, however, often annexed to the
conditions, that the king would then and thenceforth reject the
advice of foreigners (who were always friends to themselves, , and
not to the kingdom, and generally wasted its wealth instead of
increasing it), and of all unnatural advisers, and would abide by the
counsel of his liege and natural subjects. The council then thus
broke up, not however before a great deal of secret anger and
discontent was excited, because it was with great difficulty that
they could turn the king’s mind to their wholesome counsel, and
induce him to comply with the advice of those from whom he held all
earthly honour; and each returned to his home.
In
the same year, churches and prelates were ordained at Cordova, a
large city of Spain, which, as has been before mentioned, was taken
on Tuesday in Easter-week. In this city Lucan states that he was
born, and says, “Cordova gave me birth.” It Was captured
by Alphonso, the most Christian king of Castile; and on its surrender
to* the Christians, joy was heaped upon joy, by the capture also of
the great and rich pagan island of Majorca, which was filled with
pirates and vagabonds, and was most particularly inimical to the
merchants and pilgrims who travelled by sea between the countries of
Africa and Spain. This island contains thirty-two castles. And to
increase our joy, in the year last past the large city of Burianna
was taken, and also the most impregnable castle of Peniscola by the
king of Arragon; and thus he fulfilled by exquisite cunning what it
was impossible to accomplish by force. Thus within two years were
taken the city of Cordova, the island of Majorca, the city of
Burianna, and the castle of Peniscola; and all those places were
given up to the Christian power in Spain, and yielded to God for the
honour of his holy church. Our people therefore prepared under happy
auspices to attack Valentia, another large and famous city of Spain,
keeping up their courage and good hopes by the remembrance of past
events. The city of Cepta, too, was fearing a like downfall.
Llewellyn
asks the king of England to confirm their treaty.
In
this year Llewellyn, prince of Wales, by special messengers sent word
to the king that, as his time of life required that he should
thenceforth abandon all strife and the tumult of war, and should for
the future enjoy tranquillity and peace, he had determined to place
himself and all his possessions under the authority and protection of
him, the English king, and would hold his lands from him in all faith
and friendship, and enter into an indissoluble treaty; and if the
king should be proceeding on any expedition, he would to the best of
his power, as his liege subject, promote it, by assisting him with
troops, arms, horses, and money. To confirm and ratify this treaty,
the bishops of Hereford and Chester were sent as mediators to bring
the aforesaid matter to a conclusion. The cause of this message is
said to have been that the said Llewellyn, owing to an attack of
paralysis, was unable of himself to oppose the grievous attacks of
his son Griffin, who was making war against him. Many of the nobles
of Wales agreed to this treaty, and confirmed it at the same time as
Llewellyn; some of them, however, strongly opposed their compacts.
The faith of the Welsh is a want of faith, and they show no mercy
when they have it in their power; and
when fortune befriends them, they persecute those who fall into their
power; but when defeated, they either fly or humble themselves: and
such persons are never to be trusted, as» the poet says, “I
fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts; the philosopher Seneca
also says, “You will never make safe treaty with any enemy.”
The marriage of Richard, earl of Gloucester.
About the same time, the king’s anger was again kindled against the
earl of Kent, Hubert de Burgh, because Richard, earl of Gloucester,
still a boy, under the king’s care, secretly married Earl
Hubert’s daughter Margaret, without his, the king’s, permission
or connivance. For he had determined (as it was stated) to unite the
said youth, the earl of Gloucester, together with his county and all
his honours, to a young lady, a near relative of William, bishop
elect of Valentia, a native of Provence. The king’s anger was,
however, at length set at rest by the intercession of a great many
people, and on Hubert’s declaring that he had not been aware of it,
and that it had not been done by him, and on his promising a sum of
money to the king. In the same year, by the management of the emperor
Frederick, another senator was created at Rome, in order that, by the
united skill and power of two senators, the insolence of the Romans
might be checked, and the city be pacified, and governed more safely,
and easily ruled by their counsels.
The
insolence of the Greeks towards the Roman church and their emperor
About
this time the usual insolence of the Greeks burst forth in its
madness, as well against the Roman church as against their lord the
emperor of Constantinople, and so exasperated the pope and the whole
Church that the opinion and wish of many were to send the army of the
crusaders against them; for the emperor, in order to avoid their
fury, -had departed to the western countries to ask advice and
assistance from the Roman church.
The
pope summons the count of Brittany to his counsels.
At
this time the pope summoned the count of Brittany to his counsel, to
the astonishment of many, who wondered that he should call on a man
notorious for such manifold acts of treachery to manage his arduous
business. But he had chosen and selected the said count before all
others, as a man most skilful in warfare, bold in fight, of
illustrious family, and one who had gained experience by frequent
conflicts both by sea and land, to intrust to him the guidance and
command of the Christian army, and to consign to him the money to be
expended in the necessary preparations for the march of the
crusaders.
Heavy
falls of rain again break forth.
As
the first of March was drawing near, namely on the feast of St.
Valentine, heavy storms of rain inundated the country, which, by
destroying the banks of the rivers, rendered the fords and roads
impassable for eight successive days. And in order that, from some
cases, other similar ones may be imagined, the Thames in England, and
the Seine in France, with their swollen floods, washed away cities,
bridges, and mills, lakes springing up in formerly dry places, and
spreading over a wide extent of country, so that for fifteen days, in
consequence of the floods, it was scarcely possible to distinguish
the roads on the banks.
William,
bishop elect of Valentin, leaves England, but soon returns
About
this time William, bishop elect of Valentia, to whom the king had
entirely intrusted the reins of government, seeing that the nobles
had, not without reason, conceived great indignation against him, on
that account took his departure for his own country; his lands and
rich farms, which the king had given him, he placed in the hands of
Aaron, a Jew of York, in the form of a pledge, receiving from him, by
way of loan, nine hundred marks of new sterling money in hand. He
then directed his steps towards Dover, under the guidance of the king
himself, with the packsaddles of his beasts of burden full of gold,
silver, and divers royal presents, besides some desirable jennets and
valuable saddlehorses. And so cunningly had this man managed matters,
that the king, abandoning the example set him by the noble emperor
and the careful king of France, who did not permit their backs to be
trodden upon by their wives and ’their relatives and countrymen,
deprived and drained of all his money, and become a needy man,
suffered this bishop to pull his kingdom to pieces, and, being under
the influence of his wife, allowed him, on the least pretence, to
consume the produce of his own territories. He also allowed
foreigners,— Poictevins, Germans, Provencals, .and Romans,—to
fatten themselves on the good things of the country, to the injury of
his kingdom. The aforesaid bishop elect of Valentia then went to
France, whence, after paying his respects to the king and his sister,
he was without delay sent away in peace, and allowed to depart
without any presents. He then sent the presents he had brought from
England to Provence, and there distributed them, together with some
horses loaded with an immense sum of money, and then returned empty
handed to England, where he was received by the king with open arms.
The election of Walter Cantelupe and John, prior of Norwich.
The venerable bishops of Worcester and Norwich, of pious memory, having
gone the way of all flesh, the monks of Worcester elected Master
Walter de Cantelupe, son of the powerful and illustrious William de
Cantelupe, to be their prelate and the pastor of their souls, and the
pope accepted of him without any difficulty, and consecrated him as
bishop. The Norwich monks elected their prior, a religious and
discreet man, to be their head; but his election, although duly made,
displeased the king, and, owing to the ridiculous reasonings and
objections of some who opposed it, was for a long time hung in
suspense, not without certain scruples, arising from suspected
misdeeds.
The wretched condition of England.
During
all this time, the small fire of the true faith began to die away, so
that it was almost reduced to ashes, and seemed scarcely to emit a
single spark. For simony was now practised without a blush, and
usurers openly, by various arguments, extorted money from the people
and from minors; charity expired; the liberty of the church was
crushed; religion was trodden upon, and of no value; and the daughter
of Sion became, as it were, a shameless harlot without a blush.
Illiterate persons, of the lowest class, armed with the bulls of the
Roman church, bursting forth into threats, daily presumed, despite of
the sacred privileges we enjoy from our holy ancestors, to plunder
the revenues left by pious men of old times for the maintenance of
religious men, for the support of the poor, and to afford hospitality
to pilgrims; and, by thundering forth sentences of excommunication,
they at once obtained what they demanded. And if any of the injured
or robbed parties resorted to the remedy of appeal, or to the plea of
privilege, they immediately suspended and excommunicated them by
means of some other prelate, on the authority of a warrant from the
pope, and in this way, not by prayers, not canonically, but by
imperious extortion, did they rob the simple-minded, according to the
saying of the poet,—
Armato supplicat ense potens.
[The
man in power begs with a drawn sword.]
Hence
it came to pass that, where formerly noble and bountiful clerks,
guardians and patrons of churches, used to make themselves renowned
throughout the whole of the adjacent country, by entertaining
travellers and refreshing the poor, there debased men, void of
morals, and full of cunning, agents and farmers of the Romans, now
scraped together all that was useful and valuable, and transmitted it
to foreign countries to their lords, who were living daintily on the
patrimony of Christ, and bragging on the possessions of others. Then
was to be seen heartfelt grief, the cheeks of the saints became wet
with tears, and sighs and complaints were heard to burst forth and
multiply, and many said with a sigh, “It were better to die
than to behold the sufferings of our people and our saints.”
Woe to England! which, once the chief of provinces, mistress of
nations, the mirror of the church, and a pattern of religion, is now
laid under tribute; ignoble men have trampled her under-foot, and she
has fallen a prey to degenerate men. But the manifold offences of the
English have brought these scourges on themselves, through the anger
of Him, who, for the sins of the people, makes the hypocrite to
reign, and the tyrant to bear rule.
Death of John de Brienne and of brother Jordan.
In this year was taken from amongst us the renowned John de Brienne, of
immortal memory, formerly king of Jerusalem, and who had almost
attained the imperial sovereignty of the Greeks; who would have
closed a happy and peaceful life in sunshine, if he had not brought
on himself the enmity of the great Frederick, the emperor of the
Germans. Between winter and spring of this year, too, brother Jordan,
prior of the order of Preachers, a man of distinguished sanctity and
a renowned preacher, was drowned in a storm, whilst sailing along the
coast of the southern barbarians, for the purpose of gaining them to
God by his preaching. His body was brought to land by some of those
shipwrecked, whom chance had snatched from death, although with much
labour and danger, and consigned to the tomb in an honourable and
becoming manner. As they were burying his holy body, they smelled a
remarkable fragrance proceeding from his clothes, as well as from his
person, the .sweetness of which continued to perfume their hands for
a long time.
About this same time was canonized and enrolled in the list of saints, St.
Dominic, a brother of the order of Preachers.
The death of Richard, the second bishop of Durham of that name.
About
the same time, namely on the 15th of April, [1237] died Richard, the
second bishop of Durham of that name; a man of unparalleled piety and
profound learning, who had strenuously ruled over three episcopal
churches; namely, those of Chichester, Salisbury, and, finally, that
of Durham, which he had presided over with all prosperity, and had
released it from a heavy debt, incurred by the first Richard,
surnamed Marsh, his predecessor. The sum of money which the aforesaid
bishop, the second Richard, paid by way of settlement of the debt,
was reckoned at more than four thousand marks. It also redounds to
his immortal praise, that he transferred the church of Salisbury from
a hollow, dry place in the neighbourhood of the earl’s castle, to a
fitting situation, and by the help of some famous architects, whom he
had summoned from distant provinces, he laid a large foundation, and
himself placed the first stone; to promote which work, not only the
bishop, but also the king, and a great many nobles, lent a helping
hand. Hence some versifier gives,—
‘Rex largitur opes, fert presul opem, lapicidae
Dant operam; tribus his est opus, at stet opus.’
[The king finds money, the stonemason hands,
The bishop aids, and so the building stands.]
Besides this, he founded an establishment of nuns, at Tarent,
and gave it to the queen, where he chose his burial-place. When the time of his
dissolution drew nigh, the bishop, seeing that the hour was come for
him to pass from this world, preached a special discourse to the
assembled people, and told them that his death was at hand; on the
following day, as his disease gained ground, he again assembled the
people, and repeated his discourse, bidding them all farewell, and
-asking pardon of whomsoever he had offended. On the third day he
summoned his family, and those to whom he was bound particularly to
afford protection, and divided amongst them whatever appeared
necessary to be distributed, to each one according to his deserts;
and, having arranged and completed all his affairs with proper
deliberation, and taken leave of his friends one by one, and,
finally, performing the midnight devotions, he uttered the verse, “I
will both lay me down in peace and sleep,” and fell asleep in
the Lord, in all happiness. The monks of Durham, then, after invoking
assistance from above, elected their prior, Thomas, a religious and
discreet man, as their bishop and pastor of their souls.
The cause of the emperor’s return from Italy.
About the same time, the emperor Frederick, finding that the malice of his
enemies had recalled him to Germany from his intended expedition, and
that, to his disgrace, he was obliged to raise the siege and retire
from Milan, instituted an inquiry as to who had caused him this
obstruction, and finding that the duke of Austria had stirred up
internal discord in Germany, and that he was the cause of his being
hindered in his purpose, attacked him and deprived him of his lands,
honours, and wealth.
The emperor summons all the princes of Christendom.
In
the same year, the emperor Frederick, by special messengers and
imperial letters, summoned all the great Christian princes of the
world to assemble on the day of St. John the Baptist’s nativity, at
Vaucouleurs, which is on the confines, or near the confines, of the
empire and the French kingdom, there to discuss some difficult
matters concerning the empire as well as the kingdom. The king of
France, as if entertaining suspicion of this conference, proceeded at
the time fixed to the place appointed, attended by a large army,
which he had assembled for the purpose, and thus set dreadful and
pernicious example to others, inasmuch as he went to discuss. matters
of peace in the same way as he would to attack his enemies. The king
of England made reasonable excuses for not coming in person; but sent
a peaceful embassy, consisting of some of the chief men of the
kingdom; namely, Richard earl of Cornwall, his brother, with some
other nobles, fit to manage a conference, under the guidance of the
venerable archbishop of York and the bishop of Ely, and other
trustworthy persons selected for the purpose. The bishop of
Winchester, although selected before all others, absolutely refused
to go, and not without reason, gave the following as the cause for
excusing himself: “My lord king," said he, “you
lately laid a heavy complaint against me before the emperor, telling
him that I, with some other nobles, disturbed your kingdom: whether
you did this with justice, or unjustly, God knows; but I trust that I
have saved my conscience in every respect. But if your words were now
placed with confidence in my mouth and in your letters, and should
declare that I was a familiar and faithful friend of yours; all this
would appear as contrary, and he would accuse both you and me of
instability; and this would blacken your fame in a great degree.
Therefore, because it would be manifestly to your dishonour, I will
not go on any account.” And in the opinion of many, this reply
gave sufficient excuse for him. When all preparations had been made,
and they were all ready to set sail on this journey, they were met by
letters from the emperor, to say that he could not go to the
conference then, as he had purposed; but that what he could not do
then, should, by God’s favour, be carried into effect on the Nativity
of St. John the Baptist in the following year; and thus each and all
of them returned without effecting anything.
In this year, on the day of the Supper, the bishop of Hereford
consecrated the holy unction in the church of St. Albans. About this
time, too, John Scott, earl of Chester, closed his life about
Whitsuntide, having been poisoned by the agency of his wife, the
daughter of Llewellyn. The life of the bishop of Lincoln, too, was
also attempted by the same means, and he was with difficulty recalled
from the gates of death. In the same year, in the week before
Whitsuntide, there fell storms of hail which exceeded the size of
apples, killing the sheep; and
they were followed by continued rain.
Arrival in England of Otto the legate.
In the same year, too, [1237] about the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul,
it was not known for what purpose, Master Otto, a cardinal deacon of
St. Nicholas in the Tullian prison, came as legate to England on a
summons from the king, unknown to the nobles; at which a great many
of them conceived great anger against the king, and said, “The
king perverts all Taws, breaks his faith and promises, and
transgresses in everything he does: he a little while ago united
himself in marriage to a foreigner, without consulting his friends
and natural subjects; and now he has secretly summoned a legate to
make alterations throughout the whole kingdom: at one time he gives
away his own, and then endeavours to recall what he has given.”
In this way from day to day, according to the words of the Gospel,
the kingdom, divided in itself, and in disorder, was dreadfully
desolate. It was said that Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury,
reproached the king for acting in the way he did, and especially for
summoning the legate, knowing that it would ere long be the cause of
great loss to the kingdom, and to the prejudice of his dignity; but
the king rejected his advice, as well as that of others of his
counsellors, and would on no account abandon the purpose he had
conceived in his mind. The aforesaid legate, therefore, came in grand
pomp and in great power, and the bishops and clerks of distinction
went as far as the coast to meet him; and some went off to him in
boats, receiving him with acclamations, and offering him costly
presents. Even at Paris, the messengers of several bishops met him,
and offered him cloth of scarlet and valuable cups. For doing this
they deserved general censure, both for the gift and the manner of
giving it; for by the cloth and its colour it was made to -appear
that the office of the legateship and his arrival were accepted of.
On his arrival, he did not receive all the presents offered to him,
but only some; and what he did not take, he ordered to be kept for
him; he then liberally distributed the vacant benefices amongst his
followers, whom he had brought with him, whether deserving or
undeserving. The king himself met him at the seaside, and bowed his
head to his knees; after which he officiously conducted him to the
interior of the country. The bishops also came, as well as abbats,
and the other prelates of the churches, and received him with all
honour and reverence, with processions and the music of bells, and
with costly presents, as became them, and more than became them..
Letter of Philip, a brother of the order of Preachers, to the pope
In the same year, pleasing news arrived from the Holy Land, that a
certain great chief of the heretics of the East had abandoned his
superstitious errors, and, influenced by the Holy Spirit, had been
converted to Christianity by the urgent and diligent preaching and
exhortation of brother Philip, prior of the order of Preachers, in
the Holy Land, who without delay sent word of this to the pope and to
brother Godfrey, the confessor of the pope, to delight them. with the
gratifying intelligence. The said brother Godfrey then wrote to all
the priors of the order of Preachers in England and France, informing
them of this circumstance, in the following words :— “To
the venerable fathers in Christ? the priors of the order of
Preachers, in England and France? brother Godfrey, confessor of his
holiness the pope,—
health
and joy in the Holy Spirit. —Be
it known to you, that his holiness has received letters from brother
Philip, provincial minister at the Holy Land, to the following
purport:—
“To the most holy father and lord, Gregory, by Divine calling supreme
pontiff, brother Philip, the useless prior of the brotherhood of
Preachers, due and devoted obedience in all things.—
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has in our
time, holy father, by his clemency brought back to. the shepherd the
sheep which have been so long wandering. For in our days he has shown
us a year of his kindness, and begins to fill his fields with
abundance; inasmuch as he is bringing back to obedience to you, and
to the unity of the. mother church, the nations which have so long
gone astray from that community. For in this year, the patriarch of
the Jacobites of the East, a man of science and morals, and venerable
age, with a large company of archbishops, bishops, and monks of his
nation, came to worship in Jerusalem. To him we expounded the words
of the Catholic faith; and, by the co-operation of the divine grace,
we made such progress, that on Palm-Sunday, at the time of the solemn
procession, which on that day usually comes down from the Mount of
Olives to Jerusalem, he promised and swore to obey the holy Roman
church; at the same time abjuring all heresy. He also delivered to us
his profession in Chaldaic and Arabic writing, as a lasting evidence;
and in addition to this, he at his departure adopted our habit. This
man is chief over the Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, and Armenians,
whose territories the Tartars have now ravaged to a great extent; and
his prelateship extends so far in other kingdoms, that seventy
provinces are under his subjection, in which numberless Christians
dwell as slaves, and -tributary to the Saracens, with the exception
of the monks, whom they exempt from tribute. In the same manner did
the two archbishops, one the Jacobin bishop of Egypt, and the other
the Nestorian, in the East; they have their prelacies over the people
which dwell in Syria and Phoenicia. And we, too, are now with all
speed sending four brothers into Armenia to learn the language, at
the urgent entreaties of the king and the barons. Concerning another
man, also, who is at the head of all those whom the Nestorian heresy
has separated from the Church, (and whose prelateship extends through
Greater India, the kingdom of Prester John, and other kingdoms
nearest to the East,) we have already received several letters,
informing us that he has promised brother William de Montferrat, who,
with two other brothers learning that language, has stayed some time
with him, that he would be obedient, and return to the bosom of the
united Church. We also sent brethren into Egypt, to the patriarch of
the Egyptian Jacobites, who usually go much further astray than those
of the eastern countries, adding circumcision to their other errors,
like the Saracens; and from him we have likewise heard that he wishes
to return to the unity of the Church; and now, abandoning all his
former errors, he forbade those in subjection to him to be
circumcised. This man holds in subjection to him Lesser India,
Ethiopia, Libya, and Egypt; the Ethiopians and Libyans are not,
however, subject to the Saracens. The. Maronites, who dwell in
Libanus, have long since returned to, and still persevere in, their
obedience to the Church. And whilst all these above-mentioned people
acquiesce in the doctrines of the Trinity and our preaching, the
Greeks alone persist in their wickedness, and everywhere secretly or
openly oppose the Roman church; they revile all our sacraments; and
every sect foreign from their own they call wicked and heretical.
Wherefore we, seeing such a great gate open, in order that the truths
of the Gospel may be published abroad, have given our attention to
learning the language of these people, and have enjoined the same on
each of the conventual assemblies, thus adding a new labour to our
old one; and already, by the grace of God, they speak and preach in
new languages, and especially in Arabic, which is more common amongst
the people. But, alas! with all this pleasure and spiritual joy,
which has arisen amongst. us, owing to the conversion of the
infidels, the Lord, from the depths of his judgment, has mixed some
bitterness, in the death of the master of our order—if it were
not that his death is converted into the life of the infidels. For we
have heard from many who were present, and saw them, that such great
miracles were shown there, that the dead preached much more
effectually by miracle than the living could with words. Blessed be
God, for all things. Wherefore, we have sent three Preachers to those
Saracens, that we might not appear to be wanting to the grace of God.
Your business, therefore, it is, holy father, to provide for the
gathering together and the peace of those returning to the Church,
lest they by chance fall from the arms of the nurse, and, becoming
lame in both feet, be found worse than before; for some of them now
are more than ever opposed to the jurisdiction exercised over them. I
do not dare to detain your attention by more words; but what is
deficient, the brothers who are the bearers of these presents will be
able to relate to you. Besides the master, his followers, brother
Gerald, clerk, and brother Ivan, a convert, have died. To thee, Jesus
Christ, be all praise and glory, and thanksgiving, honour, virtue,
and strength, world without end. Amen. Farewell.” [All
these things this neophyte did through fear of the Tartars, dreading
their violence, and not being able to obtain assistance from those
whose protection he hoped for, he fled to the sacrament of the
Christians, and thus received effectual and speedy assistance; and in
time of prosperity, by compulsion of his nobles, he basely departed
from the faith.— An interpolation]
The heresy of the Nestorians.
As mention has been made above of the Nestorians, we have thought proper
to insert in this book an account of their superstitions. In the
countries of the East, there are some barbarous people, very
different from the Greeks and Latins, some of whom they call
Jacobites, from a certain master of theirs called Jacob, a disciple
of a patriarch of Alexandria. These men had, in times long past, been
excommunicated by Dioscorus, the patriarch of Constantinople, and
excluded from the church of the Greeks, and now inhabited the greater
part of Asia, and the whole of the eastern regions; some dwelt
amongst the Saracens, others in alliance with the infidels, occupied
their own. provinces, namely, Nubia, which borders on Egypt, a great
part of Ethiopia, and all the countries as far as India, containing
(as they assert) more than forty kingdoms. They were formerly all
Christians, having been converted to the faith of Christ by the
apostle St. Matthew, and the other apostles; but afterwards the enemy
sowed his tares amongst them, and they became for a long while
darkened by a lamentable and wretched error, circumcising their
children of both sexes, like the Saracens, therein not perceiving
that the grace of baptism has rendered superfluous the circumcision
of the flesh, in the same manner as the flowers droop and pine away
on the advent of the fruit, of which the blessed apostle said to the
Galatians, “If ye be circumcised, Christ will profit you
nothing and again, “I testify unto every man that is
circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law: Christ is
become of no effect to you; whosoever of you are justified by the
law, ye are fallen from grace.” Another of their errors, not
less than the abovementioned one, is, that they make confessions of
their sins, not to the priests, but to God alone, placing some
lighted incense near them, as if their sins would rise before the
Lord in the smoke. These wretches err through not understanding the
Scriptures, and perish from a defect of learning; they hide their
wounds from spiritual physicians, whose business it is to distinguish
between one leprosy and another, and, after pondering on the
circumstances of the crime, to enjoin repentance, and, according to
the keys intrusted to them, to bind and loose, and specially pray for
those who confess to them. Thus, in the Gospel, our Lord says to the
lepers, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” Again,
James says, “Confess your faults one to another;" and
Solomon says, “Be not ashamed to confess your sins.”
Again, according to the Old Testament, the priest confessed the sins
of the people on the head of the scapegoat : but how was he to
confess their sins unless they were known, and had been confessed to
him? Again, in the New Testament, in another part, St. Paul says to
the Romans, “For with the heart, man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation:"
and of St. John the Baptist we read, “They were baptized by
him, confessing their sins:" for, shame and a sense of modesty,
and the humility of the person confessing, are the chief parts of
repentance, and those men are rendered more prone to sin, who do not
think it right to reveal their sins to men, since it is written, “
Whosoever hides his sins, shall not be set right; but whosoever has
sinned, and confesses his sins, he shall obtain mercy.” The
third error of the aforesaid Jacobites, or Jacobins, is their gross
ignorance, and, as it were, palpable darkness, inasmuch as many of
them burn and mark their children before baptism, making an
impression on their foreheads with a hot iron. Others of them mark
their children in the form of a cross, on both cheeks, or on their
foreheads, perversely thinking that they are purified by the fiery
metal, because it is written in the Gospel of St. Matthew, that St.
John the Baptist said of Christ, “He will baptize you in the
Holy Spirit and with fire.” .Since, however, it is clear to all
of the true faith, that the remission of sins is effected by
spiritual fire, that is, the Holy Spirit, and not by visible fire; hence
the Lord, by his prophets, frequently reproves the children of
Israel, denouncing terrible curses against them, because, after the
manner of heathens, they caused their children to pass through fire.
In Deuteronomy he says, through his prophet Moses, “Take heed
that ye imitate not the abominations of those nations; there shall
not be any one among you who shall purify his son or his daughter by
leading him through the fire.” And it is evident to all
Christians, that neither our Lord, nor his apostles, nor any of the
holy fathers, left this custom to be observed in the Church, nor did
they order people to be burned in this way; and we have seen the
marks of burning in the arms of those who dwell amongst the Saracens,
as well Jacobins as Syrians. They themselves offered to allow the
sign of the cross to be impressed on them, to distinguish them from
the pagans, and in their reverence for that holy symbol. And when we
inquired of the Greeks and Syrians why they detested the Jacobites,
and had expelled them from their community, they stated, that the
principal reason was, that they had fallen into a damnable and most
wicked heresy, in declaring that there was only one nature and one
person in Christ; for heretics of this kind were excommunicated and
condemned at the council of Chalcedon; and some of them wickedly
asserted that Christ, after assuming the form of man, did not exist
in two natures, but that only the Divine nature remained in him. This
erroneous doctrine was introduced by Eutyches, an abbat of
Constantinople; some, however, assert that, out of the two natures,
there was only one in Christ. Two bishops of Alexandria, namely,
Theodius and Galan, were the originators of this error. It is,
however, evident, that, in accordance with the nature of human
beings, Jesus Christ hungered, thirsted, and endured other wants; he
also suffered death on the cross; but, in accordance with the
nature of the Divinity, he brought the dead to life, and performed other
good works, as he says concerning himself, “Before Abraham was,
I am and, “I am the beginning, who am speaking to you again,
he says, “I and the Father are one.”. But, in reference
to his nature as a man, he says, “The Father is greater than
I.” And again, as to the cup passing away from him, he says,
“Not my will, but thine be done.” Having made most
diligent inquiries of the aforesaid Jacobins, as to whether they
declared that there was but one nature in Christ, they, I know not If
through fear of confutation, or for some other reason, denied it. On
my inquiring why they signed themselves with one finger, they
replied, that they did so on account of the unity of the divine
essence; but in three places, to designate the Trinity: in
signification of the holy Trinity and Unity, they marked themselves
in four places, in the shape of a cross. The Greeks and Syrians,
however, were opposed to this, and, in signification of the Unity,
which alone they believed to exist in Christ, they signed themselves
with only one finger. Some of them used the Chaldaic character, and
others the Arabic, which is called the Saracenic. Their laymen make
use of different idioms, according to their different nations and
provinces; but the language of their clergy, which they use in divine
writings, the lower orders do not understand; for, although they use
the Saracenic language, it does not resemble the vulgar Saracenic,
but a sort of idiom peculiar to themselves, which the common people
do not understand.
Of the legate’s modesty.
The legate Otto, of whom mention has been before made, by conducting
himself prudently and with moderation, and refusing, in a great
measure, the valuable presents offered to him, contrary to the usual
custom of the Romans, calmed by his well-ordered conduct the angry
feelings which had been conceived against him, as well by the clergy
as the nobles, falling short of the opinion of many.
Pacification of the nobles.
In the first place, the said legate pacified some of the nobles, who,
from some secret cause of dislike, were opposed to him, and by a kiss
confirmed them in the faith. These were Peter bishop of Winchester,
Hubert earl of Kent, Gilbert Bassett, Stephen Segrave, Richard
Seward, and a great many others, who had been for a long time
previously at enmity with him. And this hatred had almost come to a
lamentable termination at a tournament held at Blith, at the
beginning of Lent in this same year, at which the southern knights
were opposed to those of the north, and the result was, that the
southerners overcame their opponents, and some men of rank on the
other side were taken, on which there ensued a regular conflict
instead of a jousting-match; and in this encounter Earl Bigod particularly
distinguished himself amongst them all. After the legate had appeased the anger of these
nobles, he wrote to all the prelates of England to meet him at
London, in the octaves of St. Martin, in St. Paul’s church, to hear
the pope’s warrant, granting and intrusting to him the full powers of
the legateship, and at the same place to arrange plans for the
reformation of the English church, and to hold council in his
presence.
The slaughter of the Knights of the Temple, near Damietta.
About this time, lamentable rumours prevailed, spreading dismay throughout
the Holy Land. At the death of the sultan of Aleppo, the truce made
between the Knights Templars and the said sultan expired, when the
Templars, wishing to enlarge their territories for the honour of
Christ, made preparations for war, purposing to lay siege to a castle
called Guascum, situated at the north side of Antioch, and pitched
their camp in a grassy plain near the castle, appointing William of
Montferrat, a native of Auvergne and preceptor of Antioch, as their
chief. When, however, they approached the said castle in
battle-array, some captive Christians who were detained by the enemy
in chains, together with some apostates, seeing their approach, cried
out to them, “Fly, wretched men, fly; why are you rushing to
your own destruction? You are all dead men: your enemies are ready in countless numbers to
massacre you, by the command of the sultan of Aleppo, who has laid
ambuscades for you.” But the preceptor of Antioch, although he
heard this, despised their warnings, and called them apostates and
traitors. Many of the knights of the Temple, however, on calculating
the chances of war, and considering their own small force and the
multitude of their enemies, advised him to avoid the enemy’s
ambuscade till they were more fully assured of their strength. To
this the preceptor replied, that he did not wish to have such timid
people as were with him, in a doubtful struggle, to be partakers in
such a great victory, and called them false cowards; and in this
unadvised headstrong way, although numbers left him, he provoked the
enemy to battle. But the latter having assembled and come upon him
before he expected, he was unable to endure the shock of the battle;
and, contrary to the rules of the Templars, he turned his back and fled,
and with him some others of his followers had before encouraged the
rest. In this battle more a hundred knights of the Temple fell, and
three hundred crossbowmen, not including some other seculars, and a
large number of foot-soldiers; and of the Turks, about three thousand
were slain. In this unlucky conflict an illustrious Knight Templar of
English extraction, named Reginald d’Argenton, who was
standard-bearer on that day, was slain; but he, as well as the others
who fell, left a most bloody victory to their enemies, for he
unweariedly defended the standard till his legs and arms were cut
off. Their preceptor alone, before he was slain, sent about sixteen
of the enemy to the shades below, not including those mortally
wounded. This hateful conflict occurred in the month of June.
Theodoric, prior of the Hospitallers, is sent to the assistance of the Holy Land.
The Templars and Hospitallers dwelling in the western countries, hearing
of this misfortune, courageously prepared themselves to avenge the
blood of their brethren which had been shed for Christ. The
Hospitallers sent their prior, Theodoric, a German by birth, and a
most clever knight, with a body of other knights and stipendiary
attendants, and a large sum of money, to the assistance of the Holy
Land. They, having made all their arrangements, set out from their
house at Clerkenwell, in London, and proceeded in good order, with
about thirty shields uncovered, with spears raised, and preceded by
their banner, through the midst of the city -towards the bridge, that
they might obtain the blessings of the spectators, and, bowing their
heads, and with cowls lowered, commended themselves to the prayers
of all.
The emperor returns into Italy with a large army.
In the same year, about Michaelmas, the emperor, having quelled
the disturbances which had broken out in Germany, and pacified all
parties there, entered Italy in great force, with a determination by
all means to punish the manifold injuries so often inflicted on him
by the citizens of Milan. For when a short time before he returned
into Germany, at the time the internal disturbances took place, which
the duke of Austria had excited to his own ruin, the Milanese, on
hearing of it, as it were pursuing the emperor with .inexorable
hatred, cruelly murdered his followers, whom he had placed in the
castles which he had gained possession of in Italy; thus daily
provoking the emperor’s anger. He, therefore, that he might not incur
the charge of disobedience, often and with all humility, both by
supplicatory letters and by several special messengers, entreated the
pope himself, as the head of the Church, to assist him in obtaining
his inheritance, to punish the manifold injuries inflicted on him by
the Milanese citizens, and to root out the sin of heresy from every
infamous city of Italy, especially as it was the duty of the church
of Rome, if all others were silent, to oppose the insolence of all
such people. The pope, however, on hearing this, dissembled and
proceeded to Rome, as it were flying from before the emperor, being
unwilling, or unable to assist him. The Romans received him on his
arrival with delight, fancying that he would not thenceforth as
formerly go away from them; for they found that during his absence,
which had now lasted for ten years, they had incurred great loss of
money.
The war between the emperor and the Milanese.
The Milanese, on hearing of the approach of the emperor, whom they
had provoked to just anger, made all the preparations in their power for
war, supplying their towers with provisions, their quivers with
arrows, and famishing arms to those who were without them. When
therefore the emperor drew near with his large army, which was said
to have exceeded a hundred thousand men, besides his Saracen
mercenaries, and had proceeded to within a day’s march of the place,
the citizens, together with their allies, went forth without alarm,
in great strength and in battle-array to meet him, pitching a camp
till the day of battle should be determined, with a host of troops
amounting to about sixty thousand men, and fixed their carrochium
where the army seemed to be strongest. At sight of this the emperor
summoned his counsellors, and encouraged them by the following
warlike speech :— “See how these insolent Milanese, our
enemies, dare to appear against us, and presume to provoke me, their
lord, to battle, enemies as they are to the truth and to the holy
Church, and borne down by the weight of their sins. Cross the river
[for there was a river called the Oglio between them], unfurl my
banner, standard-bearer, and raise aloft my victorious eagle, and
you, my knights, draw your formidable swords, which you have so often
steeped in the blood of your enemies, and inflict your vengeance on
these rats, who have dared this day to come forth from their holes to
cope with the glittering spears of the Roman emperor.” And no
delay was allowed them, for the Milanese at once rushed on the
imperial troops, and eagerly attacking the Saracens, who were the
first opposed to them, in a short time slew .them all, and following
up their advantage, purposed committing a similar slaughter on the
rest of the army opposed to them. On seeing this, the emperor, with
his brave and invincible nobles, threw themselves in a body on the
enemy, and exerting all their strength, repulsed their attacks,
whilst the citizens, on the other hand, seeing that it was a matter
of life and death, mutually exhorted each other to keep up their
courage, and, attacking the enemy more courageously, they plunged
their glittering swords into their bodies, and converted the attack
into a most bloody battle. Great numbers fell on both sides, and the
air was filled with the shouts of the opposing troops, the groans of
the dying, the clash of arms, the neighing of horses, and the cries
of their riders urging them to speed, and the frequent hammering
sound of thundering blows. At length, however, after several bloody
assaults on both sides, the Milanese, being unable to sustain the
weight of the battle any longer that day, retreated into their city,
purposing to renew it on the morrow, and they sent word to the
emperor that they would, early in the morning, definitively try the
fortune of war, and either they or their enemies would then triumph,
according to the will of the Lord of Hosts, that their minds might
not be any longer kept in a torture of suspense by delay. On hearing
this, the emperor held a council, wisely and cautiously wishing to
repress the fury of his enemies rather than unadvisedly to continue
the doubtful struggle, and to commit himself and his wearied
followers to the uncertain chances of war, for a dreadful slaughter
of the nobles on both sides had taken place, to be lamented in
after-ages; but the Milanese got the worst of the battle, for the
emperor made prisoners of three thousand men of rank belonging to the
city, besides slaying a countless number of the common soldiers at
the sword’s point. Besides this he afterwards laid an ambuscade, and
made prisoners of three hundred nobles, took their carrochium and
their podesta, the son of the duke of Venice, who would rather have
fallen in battle, and also slew many other nobles. Their bishop, too,
either fell in battle or was taken prisoner; and it is a certain fact
that he left no one to give any account of him. Thenceforth,
therefore, the emperor ordered all. the roads and passes round the
city to be strictly guarded, and obstructed the ingress and egress of
merchants and husbandmen by posting guards day and night, broke the
bridges, and guarded the roads, in order, by these means, to weaken
the strength and tame the wildness of his raging enemies. The
citizens, raising their heel against God, became desperate, and
distrusting God, suspended the crucifix in the church by its heels,
and ate flesh on the sixth day of the week and in Lent, and many
throughout Italy were sunk into this abyss of despair, reviling and
blaspheming; they irreverently polluted the churches with filthiness
unfit to be mentioned, defiled the altars and expelled the
ecclesiastic officials. Fear and trembling then took possession of
the cities of Italy, and numbers of the inhabitants came to the
emperor offering valuable presents, and, that they might not be
involved in a similar calamity, surrendered themselves and their
cities to him, and gave him their right hands, humbled by the example
of others who had already suffered. Thus before the middle of Lent
the emperor had taken forcible possession of all Italy, besides
Bologna and four other cities, which had not the means of resistance;
the whole body of clerks at Bologna were in great alarm for
themselves, because, in the past year, the emperor had told them to
depart in peace, and they refused to obey his commands.
The indignation of the nobles of England against the king.
Whilst these events were passing in the transalpine provinces,
King Henry the Third, trusting to evil advice, contrary to what was his duty or
expedient for him, estranged himself from the counsels of his natural
subjects, and became stiff-necked against his well-wishers and those
who looked to the advantage of the kingdom, and managed its affairs
but little or not at all according to their advice. In order to have
some cunning pretexts for extorting money from them, he declared on
his oath, at a conference to which he had called the nobles from a
distance, that he was entirely destitute of money and in a state of
the greatest need; he therefore most urgently begged of them to grant
him the thirtieth part of property throughout the kingdom, that the
dignity of him, the king, and that of the kingdom, might be supported
in a more honourable manner, and be established on a firmer
foundation. The nobles were greatly troubled at hearing this, and
replied that they were so often oppressed in this way, and saw so
many foreigners fattening on their property, that the kingdom was
weakened by poverty, and that manifold dangers were impending over
it. However, after much discussion, inasmuch as the king humbled
himself and promised that he would thenceforth abide by their
counsels without hesitation, the thirtieth part of all moveable
property was granted to him, though not without great difficulty.
This he afterwards ordered to be collected and estimated, not at the
royal valuation, but according to the common value, and not to be
placed in convents and castles, as had been pre-arranged and
determined on, nor to be expended at the discretion of the nobles;
but without taking the advice of any one of the natural subjects of
his kingdom, he gave it to foreigners to be carried abroad, and he
became like a man bewitched, as if he had no sense. A murmur
therefore arose amongst the people, and the indignation of the nobles
waxed hot.
Earl Richard reproaches the king.
Richard, earl of Cornwall, the king’s brother, was the first
to call the king to account, and reproached him sharply for the great desolation
caused by him in the kingdom; and declared that he daily, on fresh
pretences, plundered the nobles and his liege barons of their goods,
and whatever he could get from them he unadvisedly distributed
amongst those who were plotting against him and his dominions. The
earl also added that the king had collected great revenues and
immense sums of money in his time, and that there was not an
archbishopric or bishopric except those of York, Bath, and
Winchester, which had not been vacant in his time. He also stated the
same with respect to abbacies, counties, baronies, wardships, and
other escheats, and yet that the king’s treasury, which ought
to constitute the strength and dependence of the kingdom, had never
felt any increase. Still, however, the king rejected his advice, as
well as that of his other natural subjects, grew worse and worse in
the madness he had conceived, and resigned himself so entirely to the
will of the Romans, and especially the legate, whom he had
unadvisedly sent for, that he appeared to worship his very footsteps;
for he also declared that he could not, either in public or private,
arrange any business of the kingdom, or make any alterations or alienations
without the consent of his lord the pope, or the legate, so that he might be
said to be not a king, but a vassal of the pope. By these and other similar
ravings, the king now drew blood from the hearts of his nobles; and
he also had as counsellors infamous and mistrusted men, who were said
to foment these deeds of his, and who, consequently, were exceedingly
hateful to the English nobles, although they derived their origin
from the same kingdom; and these were John, earl of Lincoln, S., earl of
Leicester, and G., a brother of the Temple.
The legate fattens himself on the good things of England.
In the mean time, costly presents were offered to the legate, of
palfreys, handsome vessels, soft and double-wove garments, various
skins of wild beasts, money, meats, and liquors; and one bishop alone, namely
Peter of Winchester, as it appeared to him that the legate was going to pass
the winter at London, sent him fifty head of cattle, a hundred measures of corn,
and eight casks of the purest wine for his support; and others made him similar
presents according to their ability and means. But the legate moderated the
Roman avarice, and did not accept of all the presents offered him;
some, however, he received willingly, with a benign countenance,
bearing in mind the philosophical remark of Plato, “To receive
all presents offered is greedy; to receive none is contumacious; but
to accept some is friendly.”
The king invites the count of Provence to visit him.
The king in the mean time earnestly entreated the count of Provence, the
queen’s father, both by letter and repeated messages, to condescend
to come to the land of his son-in-law, and to carry back some of his
money with him on his return; and it was believed by many that the
king extorted the thirtieth part for the purpose of distributing it
amongst him and other such people. The count, induced by the love of
gain, quickly came at the summons, not being detained by any
allurements or presents from the French, although the king had
married his eldest daughter; but before he reached the sea, internal war having been stirred up in the
districts of Provence, he was recalled in all haste; on hearing
which, King Henry at once sent him a thousand marks to pay his
travelling expenses, and to procure accoutrements in France.
An interview at York between the kings of England and Scotland.
In the same year, [1237] the king wrote to all his
nobles to assemble in the presence of him and the legate, at York, on
the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, to discuss some arduous
matters connected with the kingdom; the king of Scotland, too, had come to
that place to meet them, having been invited by the king and the
legate, to arrange terms for making peace between them, that by the
grace of God, all contentions between them might be set at rest, and
each of them might be satisfied with receiving what was his due. On
their arrival there, it was arranged that the king of Scots should
receive 300 librates [15,600 acres] of land in the kingdom of England,
without permission to build a castle on it, and should do homage to the king,
and that a treaty of
alliance should be confirmed between them; and that he should swear
to act faithfully towards the king of England, and to observe this
treaty; that by these means all complaint and claim on the part of
the king of Scotland might be set at rest. On the legate’s expressing
a wish to go into the kingdom of Scotland, to examine into
ecclesiastical affairs there, as he had done in England, the Scotch
king replied, “I do not remember ever to have seen a legate in
my territories, nor that it has been necessary for one to be summoned
there, thanks to God, and there is not now any need of one, for all
goes on well; neither was any legate allowed ingress into that
kingdom during the time of my father or any of my ancestors, and I
will not allow it as long as I am able. However, since report
pronounces you to be a man of sanctity, I warn you, if you should
happen to enter my territories, to proceed cautiously, lest anything
untoward happen to you. For ungovernable, wild men dwell there, who
thirst after human blood, and whom I myself cannot tame, and if they
were to attack you, I should be unable to restrain them; it is but
lately, as you have perhaps heard, that they wanted to attack me and
drive me from my kingdom.” At hearing this, the legate
moderated his eager desire to enter Scotland, and did not leave the
side of his king, namely, the king of England, who obeyed him in
everything; but an Italian, a relation of the legate’s, remained with
the king of Scotland, whom the latter, that he might not seem
entirely rebellious, honoured with knighthood, and conferred some
land upon him. The council thus broke up, and the English king
returned with the legate to the south.
The grand preparations of the legate for holding a council.
As
the time for holding a council drew near, the legate ordered a lofty
and stately seat, supported on long planks, to be built for himself
in the western part of St. Paul’s church, at London. He then sent his
letters to all the prelates of England, archbishops, bishops, abbats,
and installed priors, ordering them to bring or send procuratorial
letters of their convent or chapter, as well as in their own name,
that whatever he, the legate, should determine on at the council,
should be ratified on both sides. At this summons, all the prelates
of England under the jurisdiction of his legateship came, although
greatly harassed and fatigued in their own bodies, as well as those
of their horses, because the winter was coming on, attended by very
stormy weather.
A heavy and destructive storm of wind.
Amongst others who came to that council, was one Master Walter Pruz,
a clerk, who publicly declared that almost all the planets were then coming
together under one sign of the zodiac, namely Capricorn, and would
cause great commotion in the elements, and stir up heavy storms of
wind; and foretold that a great destruction of animals, especially
horned ones (which we call flocks or herds), would ensue, and added,
as if in jest, “May it not be of horned men,” that is,
“of bishops.” This prediction of his was not altogether
void of truth, for on a sudden, St. Paul’s church, where they were
all assembled, was suddenly shaken by such a storm of wind, that
great fear seized on all, and especially the legate. On the night of
St. Cecilia’s day, too, the moon being in its first quarter,
extraordinary black clouds, of tower-like form, appeared in the
western part of the heavens; thunder began to roar, lightning to dart
forth, and the wind to rise, and throughout that whole night and the
following day such a heavy storm of wind raged as was never
remembered to have occurred before, and this storm continued for
fifteen days more without interruption. Oaks were torn up by the
roots and fell; houses, towers, and other buildings, were thrown down
or shaken, so that the elements seemed to join in the perturbation of
man.
The assembling and preparation for the council.
Although the prelates of England assembled at St. Paul’s church,
in London, on the first day appointed for holding the council, which was the day
after the octaves of St. Martin, the legate did not appear, for the
bishops had asked of him, that on that day means might be afforded
them of examining the arrangements he purposed making, and of
deliberating on them, that no determination might be come to
prejudicial to their interests. On the next day, some armed knights,
and about two hundred soldiers, whom the king had, at his earnest
entreaty, furnished him with, were placed in ambush, for he was in
alarm on his own account, because it was said that he was enraged
against those who had several benefices, and especially against
illegitimates; and he himself appeared in the said church very early
in the morning, about dawn. The crowd of prelates waiting for him was
so great, that he had great difficulty in entering the church;
however, having made his way in, he arrayed himself in his pontifical
robes, namely, in his surplice and choral hood, covered with the fur
and skin of various animals, and put on his mitre, after which,
preceded by the archbishops of Canterbury and York in solemn
procession, bearing the cross and lighted candles, and repeating the
Litany, he ascended the steps to his seat, which, as has been before
stated, was prepared for him with much pomp, and was now made more
gaudy with tapestry and awnings; the archbishop of Canterbury then
placed himself at his right hand, and the archbishop of York on his
left, because a dispute bad arisen between them about the arrangement
of the session; and an appeal was made on behalf of the archbishop of
York, to obtain the rights which he claimed for himself; therefore,
after the Gospel, “I am the good shepherd," as well as the
proper Collects, had been read, according to custom, by the legate
himself, and the psalm, “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come,"
had been sung, the archbishop of York, as above stated, having made
his appeal, the two archbishops took their seats near the legate, the
archbishop of Canterbury on his right hand, and the archbishop of
York on his left hand. The legate, then, wishing to settle their
dispute without prejudice to either of them, said to them: “On
his holiness the pope’s bull, there appears the figure of Peter on
the right hand of the cross, which is impressed in the middle of the
bull, whilst that of Paul stands on the left; but between these great
saints there has never sprung up any dispute, for they are both
equally renowned. However, on account of his station as key-bearer,
and his being chief of the apostles, as well as his cathedral
dignity, and the priority of his call, it would seem his image ought
to have been placed on the right of the cross; but as Paul believed
in Christ, whom he had not seen, his image is placed on the right;
for ‘Blessed are those who have not seen,’ &c. Thus
his grace the archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and
who presides over the most illustrious church of Canterbury, as also
that of London, which belongs to St. Paul, ought, not without reason,
to be placed on the right hand and on the following days of the
council, the archbishop of Canterbury sat on the right hand of the
legate, and the archbishop of York on the left.” On the second
day of the council, there were sent, on behalf of the king, John,
earl of Lincoln, John Fitz Geoffrey, and William de Ræle, a
canon of St. Paul’s, to prohibit the legate, on behalf of the said
king and the kingdom, from coming to any determination at the council
derogatory to the king’s crown and dignity; and, in order that
this might be attended to, William de Ræle remained there robed
in his canonical hood and surplice, but the other two went away. On
the same day, in the hearing of all present, Simon, archdeacon of
Canterbury, requested of the legate, that the warrant of his
legateship, intrusted to him by his holiness the pope, should be read
in the hearing of all parties, and this was done. On the same day,
too, at the request of the king, a certain privilege was read,
concerning the celebration of the feasts of St. Edward throughout
England, and, by command of the pope, another concerning those of the
canonized saints Francis and Dominic. The legate, having heard whilst
at his lodgings that several persons who held benefices in several
churches, and who were noble by blood and property, and
illegitimates, and whom he had mentioned in a decree of the council,
had murmured, and planned treachery against him, he was attended to
and from the council by some nobles, namely, G., earl marshal, J.,
earl of Lincoln, and some of the king’s household, armed with
swords and other weapons, to protect him and his followers. During
the council, when the decree against those who held several benefices
was pronounced, which was in opposition to a decree of the Lateran
council, Walter de Cantelupe, bishop of Worcester, rose in the midst
of them, and taking off his mitre, thus addressed the legate :—
“Holy father, although several nobles, of the same blood as
ourselves, hold several benefices, who have never yet received
dispensations, and some of whom are of advanced age, and to the
present time have lived honourably, showing hospitality to the best
of their power, and have bestowed alms with open doors, it would be
very hard for such men to be deprived of their benefices, and to be
reduced to ignominious poverty; and some of the young ones, who are
bold and daring, would expose themselves to the greatest risks before
they would suffer themselves to be deprived of their benefices, with
the retention of only one; and this I can well judge on myself, for
before I was called to that rank, I determined, in my own mind, that,
if I should lose one benefice under pretence of such a decree, I
would lose all; and therefore it is to be feared that many persevere
to the present time in such a determination. Since, therefore, great
numbers are concerned in this question, we beg of your holiness, for
your own safety, as well as our own, to consult the pope ere coming
to a determination of this kind; besides, since your decree as to the
religious order of St. Benedict - extends itself in a like degree to
all, and it would be difficult for a great many, on account of the
poverty of their houses, and especially for nuns, as they are weak
and frail, to observe this decree, it is necessary to show discreet
moderation in the enforcement of this rigorous measure, and we,
therefore, beg of you, in this matter also, to consult his holiness
the pope.” In reply to him, the legate said that, if all the
prelates, namely, the archbishops and bishops present before him,
would write to the pope on these matters, he would agree to it
willingly. And it should be known that, because some people thought,
as had been given them to understand by the legate, that his decrees
would only be confirmed dining the time of his legateship, Master
Atho, one of his clerks, at his bidding, rose in the midst of the
assembly, and, opening a book of warrants, which was the register of
his holiness the pope, to increase his authority, and the more
effectually to do away with this opinion, read aloud a certain
decretal, which the legate distinctly proved the truth of, and by
which he plainly showed that, even after the said legate’s departure,
his statutes would be lastingly confirmed. It also should not be
omitted, that on the first day of the council, the archbishops of
Canterbury and York, having taken their places, as before - stated,
the former on the right, and the latter on the left of the legate,
and after the Gospel, “I am the good shepherd," had been
read, and the Collects appertaining to it, silence was enjoined, and,
the assembled crowd having been called to order, the legate, from his
seat, raised his voice, as it were a trumpet, and commenced his
discourse, preceding it by the following text: “In the midst of
the throne, and round about it, are four animals, full of eyes before
and behind.” In the course of his sermon, he intimated that the
prelates, like the animals with eyes before and behind, ought to be
wary in the management of worldly matters, and circumspect in
spiritual affairs, cautiously connecting the past with the future; and
after the sermon he ordered his decrees to be read distinctly, and in
a loud voice, which he ordered to be strictly observed, and these we
have thought proper to be mentioned in this book.
Commencement
of the council held in St. Paul’s church, at London, by the legate
Otto
“Since
holiness becomes the house of the Lord and his ministers, it is said
by the Lord, ‘Be ye holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.’
The cunning of the enemy of mankind is endeavouring to diminish
holiness, or to destroy it altogether; so that in many places he
hinders churches from being consecrated, and the ministers from
discharging their duties properly, by corrupting and vitiating their
morals and lives, in opposition to the rules and statutes of the holy
fathers, and obstructing everything which is to the advantage of the
Christian religion. This should, therefore, in all faith be resisted
with a strong hand by all true Christians; and to weaken its
endeavours, fresh and renewed strength should be employed, like as
Isaac first endeavoured to renew the wells which the sons of Abraham
had dug, but which the men of Palestine had filled up with earth, and
then dug other new ones. At length we, Otto, by divine mercy,
cardinal deacon of St. Nicholas in the Tullian prison, and legate of
the Apostolic See, have been sent by the said see, with the office of
legate to the province of England, relying on the divine aid and the
suffrage and consent of the present council, to strengthen and reform
the state of the church in England, saving other canonical
institutes, which we wish and desire to be kept with all respect, and
by the authority intrusted to us have thought fit that certain
decrees should be observed, which we have caused to be distinguished
and arranged under certain heads.”
The dedication of churches.
“The dedication of churches is known to have derived its origin from the
Old Testament, and in the New Testament it was observed by the holy
fathers; and in this it ought to be more worthily and studiously
observed, because formerly the slaughtered animals only were offered
as victims, but in the latter the heavenly sacrifice is living and
true, for the only begotten Son of God is offered on the altar for us
by the hands of the priest; wherefore, the holy fathers wisely
decreed that such a duty should not, except of necessity, be
performed in other places than those dedicated to God. Moreover, as
we have seen ourselves, and have heard from many, that such a
wholesome service is despised, or at least neglected by some, since
we find that many churches and even cathedrals, which have been built
of old, have not yet been consecrated with the oil of sanctification;
we, therefore, wishing to put a stop to this negligence, decree and
enjoin, that all cathedral, conventual, and parochial churches, which
have been built and completed, shall, within the space of two years,
be consecrated by the diocesan bishops in whose jurisdiction they
are, or by some other persons under authority from them; and in this
manner within the same period, it shall be done with all churches to
be rebuilt anew. And in order that this wholesome decree may not fall
into contempt, we decree that, if any churches shall not have been
dedicated within two years from the time of their completion, they
shall be interdicted from the performance of mass till they are
consecrated, unless any reasonable excuse can be alleged. In addition
to this, we by the present decree strictly forbid all abbats and
rectors of churches to presume to destroy the old consecrated
churches under pretence of building more beautiful or larger ones,
without permission and consent of the diocesan bishop; and the
diocesan should carefully consider whether it would be expedient to
give or refuse permission; if he give permission, he must give his
attention and use his endeavours to have the work completed as soon
as possible; which condition we decree shall be extended to those
already begun. With regard to the inferior chaplains, we have not
thought proper to make any fresh decree; leaving the manner and time
of their consecration to the decision of the canons.”
Of the church sacraments.
“The church sacraments, in which, as it were in heavenly vessels, the
remedies of salvation are contained, and also the holy oil and
chrism, we decree and order to be administered by the ministers of
the Church, with purity, and devoutly, free from all motives of
cupidity, making no difficulty in administering them, under pretence
of any custom, by which it may be said that anything should be paid
by any who receive them: and we have thought proper to mention what
and how many the principal sacraments are, for the information of the
more ignorant: —these are, Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, the
Eucharist, Extreme Unction, Marriage, and Ordination, each of which
is fully treated of and ordained in the sacred canons. But as it is
no light matter for a physician to be ignorant of the business of
healing, we decree that, in receiving the cure of souls and the
priesthood, candidates shall be examined on these points especially;
and the archdeacons at the meetings of their deaneries should chiefly
endeavour to instruct the priests on these matters, teaching them how
to act with respect to Baptism, Penance, the Eucharist, and
Marriage.”
Of baptism.
“For the solemn celebration of baptism, two Saturdays are
appointed by the holy canons for its solemnization, namely, the Saturday before the
Lord’s resurrection, and the Saturday before Whitsuntide; but some,
as we have heard, in these parts, have been led astray by the deceit
of the devil, and fear danger if children are baptized on those days;
but to think this, or to be afraid of either of these days, is
entirely opposed to the true faith, and is proved to be evidently
false, since the supreme pontiff personally performs that solemnity,
and solemnly baptizes children on the said days; and the Church
observes the same in other parts of the world. Wherefore, we decree
that the people be converted from this great error by frequent
preachings, and be induced to perform the ceremony of baptism, and to
baptize their children on the abovenamed days. We also decree that
parochial priests correctly learn the form of baptism, and frequently
explain it in public to their parishioners on Sundays; so that, if
necessity should arise for them to baptize any one, they may know it,
and be able to observe it; and let them afterwards diligently inquire whether
it has been observed.”
Avarice is to be avoided by the priests.
“We have heard with horror that some wretches of priests,
perhaps for the benefit of their vicarage, or to farm, or from some other cause of
gain, receive incomes arising from the altar, or from the penance of
those who come to them to confess, and do not admit those who confess
to penitence, unless some present is first placed in their avaricious
bosom, and they thus do the same with regard to the other sacraments:
and whereas, those who act thus are unworthy of the kingdom of God
and ecclesiastic benefit, we strictly enjoin and decree that a most
close inquisition be made by the bishops in this matter, and whoever
is discovered to have been guilty of any such offence be entirely
removed from the benefice which he holds, and be for ever suspended
from the office which he has corruptly filled.”
Who are to be appointed confessors.
"In approbation of what we have found laid down in a certain council, we
decree that throughout each deanery, wise and faithful men be
appointed by the bishop as confessors, to whom parsons and inferior
clerks who are ashamed or afraid, perhaps, to do so to the deans, may
be able to make their confessions; but in cathedral churches, we
order general confessors to be appointed.”
Of the quality of those to be ordained.
"The conferring of holy orders upon a worthy person is so much the more
important, as the other sacraments are conferred by him when he has
received those orders; wherefore, inasmuch as it would be dangerous
for improper persons, such as idiots, illegitimates, irregular
people, and foreigners, or any persons without a certified and real
title, to be ordained, we decree that before conferring orders, a
diligent inquiry be instituted by the bishop concerning all such
points; and to guard against reprobates introducing themselves
clandestinely, instead of being rejected as they ought, the number
and names of those approved of, shall be written down at the
examination, and those who have been approved of, shall afterwards,
previous to ordination, when the writing has been read, be questioned
with careful discretion; and the writing shall be kept by the bishop,
or in the church.”
Of farms and vicarships of the churches.
“The farming of churches, or the general appointment of a vicar in them,
we by no means wish to be supported by our authority; but in
consequence of the weakness of the numbers concerned in this matter,
we fear to issue a prohibitory edict against these things, lest we
may seem to throw out snares rather than to find remedies. But to
some customs arising from these matters, and which have been brought
to our notice, we are compelled to apply a remedy. For it very often
happens that those who are called farmers, wishing to gain more than
to pay, practise base extortions, which sometimes even sink into the
sin of simony. Wherefore, we henceforth strictly forbid the putting
out to farm of dignities or offices of deaconries, or the revenues
arising from the exercise of the ecclesiastical or spiritual
jurisdiction, from penance or the altar, or from any other
sacraments.”
How churches are to be farmed out.
“Since
it is altogether improper for churches to be farmed by laymen and by
any clerks for a long time, and might be injurious to the churches on
account of its long continuance, which usually causes danger, we
strictly forbid the churches to be farmed for more than five years,
either by laymen or even by ecclesiastical persons, nor, when the
five years are ended, shall they be renewed to the same persons,
unless some other persons shall have held them in the intermediate
time, and, that all things may be safe, we decree that the agreement
for farming shall be made in the presence of the bishops or
archdeacons, and several copies of the same shall be made, one of
which shall be left in their possession.”
Concerning the same.
"We have heard that it has sometimes happened, that when a rich church is
vacant, which some one wished to have, but did not dare, however, to
receive it in his own name, lest he should be deprived of the other
benefices which he held, has cunningly managed that that church
should be farmed to him perpetually,
so that he would pay some small sum for it to another under the name
of the parson, and keep all the rest to himself. On which account,
we, by an edict, decree, that whether a benefice be given, either
wholly or in part, to any one, such an attempt to contravene our
decrees shall be null and void.”
Who are to be ordained as vicars.
“We decree that no one shall be admitted as a vicar, unless an already
ordained priest, or at least a deacon, and that he shall be ordained
at the four next seasons of the year, and shall renounce all other
benefices which he holds, having the cure of souls, and shall swear
to take up his personal residence on the spot; otherwise we decree
that his appointment shall be null, and the vicarship be bestowed on
some one else. And thus that fraud is avoided, by which, oftentimes,
on payment of a small sum to any one under the name of parson, the
church was given to him under the feigned name of vicar, who,
dreading to lose his other benefices, was .afraid to receive it in
person. With respect to the vicars already appointed, who are not
priests, inasmuch as vicars are bound to serve parsons and churches,
we enjoin and decree that they cause themselves to be ordained as
priests within a year at furthest. Otherwise, if it be their fault
that they are not ordained within the year as we have stated, we
decree that they shall be deprived of their benefices from that time,
and the question of their residence shall be determined according to
what we have above laid down concerning institutions.”
The church of an absentee is not inconsiderately to be given to another.
"To destroy the deceits of the wicked, every lover of justice must employ
sagacious endeavours, lest, if the industry of their rulers should
grow torpid, simplicity be supplanted by cunning, and truth yield to
falsehood; for we have learnt by the statements of many persons that
some people, casting a longing eye on the benefice of an absent
person, spread reports declaring that they have heard that the
possessor was dead, or had resigned his benefice, and thus manage; by
some means or other, to intrude themselves into that benefice, and if
the dead man should revive and return to his church, this answer is
made him: ‘I know you not, brother’ and the door is shut against him.
Some, even, blinded by their great cupidity, do not hesitate to force
their way by stealth into the benefices, not only of absent persons,
but also of those present, or to take possession of them whenever
they can, and when they are in possession, neither sentences of
excommunication nor anything else can eject them, for they defend
themselves by force of arms. We, therefore, applying such remedies as
are in our power, in both cases, strictly forbid the benefice of any
absent man, under pretence of conjecture or report, which may be
given out concerning his death, or of his giving up his benefice, to
be given to any other person; but the prelate shall wait till he is
fully informed of the truth of either report. Otherwise we decree
that he shall be bound to make good all the loss suffered by the
absent person owing to this matter; and that the person who has
intruded himself in the benefice, shall be forthwith ipso
facto suspended from all office and benefice, besides making restitution
of the property. And this we mean also to extend to the case of any one who,
when another possesses an ecclesiastical benefice, presumes, on his
own authority, or rather by force, or by stealth, to seize upon that
benefice, or who, after it has been declared to belong to another,
endeavours to defend himself in the possession of it by force of
arms.”
That one church is not to be divided into several vicarages.
“Since the art of all arts, as witness St. Gregory, is the government of
souls, the ancient sophist never ceases to practise the stratagems of
his deceitful art, and to study the fallacies of false pretences, so
as to be able to surround with the principles of his art, and to shut
out from salvation those whom he finds ignorant or unwary. It is this
that makes them transgress the commands of God and oppose the rules
of the holy fathers, whilst neither divine discourse nor canonical
decrees can recall the sinners from their crooked path. Now our
catholic art demands that there be only one master in one church, who
shall be perfect in order, demeanour, life, knowledge, and doctrines,
and that the administration of the church should be pure and simple.
The opposition of the devil, however, causes many to deviate from
this decree, inasmuch as sometimes, at his suggestion, one church is
given not to one only, but to several, under pretence of having a
great number of patrons, so that there are several heads to one body,
and it seems as it were a monster. And sometimes the parson consents,
whatever the occasion may be, that something should be given to
another under the name of parsonage, and besides this, what is much
worse, that the church very often remains, though no parson remains
in it; nor even a perpetual vicar is to be found in it, but perhaps
some ignorant priest, who has no right nor shadow of light in it. And
if, perhaps, the parson should stay there, he is not so perfect in
his order, since he is not a priest, nor in his manners; since if he
were seen by any one, he would be thought not a clerk, but rather a
soldier; and he takes little care, alas! about his life, knowledge,
or doctrines! The arrangement of the church, too, is rarely made by
the simple eye as it ought; for the false machinations of the devil’s
art are not wanting there. For sometimes, as we have heard, a church
is given secretly to some one, expressly on condition that he who
institutes or presents should retain some benefit in it, or some
other person should receive some portion from it, who would perhaps
have retained it all if he had not refrained from doing so through
the weakness of his cause, or through fear of losing other benefices.
Sometimes, also, a man will resign a parsonage, and afterwards take
the vicarage from one who has been installed in it, which we may
presume is done not without fraud. We, therefore, reprobating these
diminutions, and especial assignments and changes, as contrary to our
profession, forbid them from henceforth being made, and strictly
decree that never for the future shall one church be divided into
several parsonages or vicarages. And those which have been divided up
to this time, shall, as soon as the means of so doing are afforded,
be made entire, unless, perhaps, it be a church so instituted from
times of old, where the bishop has to take care that the revenue and
the parish be equally divided between them. The diocesans also shall
arrange that there shall be always some one residing at the church
who shall be anxious in his attention to the cure of souls, and shall
employ himself usefully and honourably in the performance of divine
service, and in the administering of the sacraments.”
Of
residing in the churches
“With
regard to the rectors taking up their residence in the churches, it
seems to us that we must consult fact rather than statute law, for
the councils of the Roman pontiffs appear to speak of this matter as
clearly as light; for a stricter fulfilment of the statutes is
required, rather than an injunction of them. We also say and think
the same in all respects with regard to those who presume, without a
special dispensation of the Apostolic See, to detain several
dignities, parsonages, or benefices connected with the cure of souls,
in opposition to a statute of the general council, and to the peril
of their own salvation.”
The
dress of clerics.
“Whereas,
with regard to the dress of the clerks, which appears to be not
clerical, but rather military, a great scandal has arisen amongst the
laity, we strictly order and decree, that they shall, under penalty
of a deprivation of their benefices, be restricted by the bishops to
the form determined on in the general council, respecting the dress
of the clergy as well as the ornaments of their horses, so that those
who have undertaken the charge of churches and the cure of souls, may
wear garments of becoming measure, and shall wear close hoods when
appointed to holy orders, especially in their church, before their
prelates, at the assemblies of the clergy, and everywhere in then-
parishes. And that the bishops may be better enabled to restrict
others to a propriety of dress, and to a becoming tonsure, and also
to proper ornaments for their horses, they shall see that these
things are previously observed by their fellow clerks, following the
rule of clerical propriety in their garments, spurs, bridles, and
saddles.”
Against
the contracting of clandestine marriages by the rectors of the
churches
“It
has been brought to our notice by several credible persons, that many
of the clergy, unmindful of their own salvation, having contracted
clandestine marriages, dare to retain possession of the churches
after marriage, to acquire ecclesiastical benefices, and to be
promoted afresh to holy orders, in opposition to the decrees of the
holy canons. Afterwards, in course of time, it seems to be expedient
for the offspring begotten by this marriage, whether the parties
themselves are alive or dead, to prove, either by witnesses or by
instruments in writing, that such a marriage has been contracted. But
because, owing to the clergy being occupied with their marriages or
unlawful connections with women, the destruction of souls ensues,
their salvation is neglected, and the goods of the church are
plundered, we have decreed, to remedy a disease which has gained such
ground, as follows; namely, that if it be discovered that any have
thus contracted marriages, they shall be entirely deposed from their
churches and ecclesiastical benefits, of which we decree that they,
as well as any others who are married, shall be ‘ipso jure’
deprived. And if any property shall have been acquired after a
marriage of this kind, in whatsoever manner obtained, either by
themselves or by means of other persons, from their property, the
same shall not, on any account, be applied for the use of the wives
or children of such a marriage, but be forthwith devoted to the
churches which they held, or in which they held benefices. They
themselves, too, as in proper persons, shall on no account be
admitted to the churches or ecclesiastical benefices, or to holy
orders, until by their own deserts a canonical dispensation has been
granted them.”
Of
the clergy who keep concubines.
“Although
the rulers of the Church have always made it their study to banish
from her doors the foul contagion of lustful wickedness, by which its
beauty was seriously blemished, nevertheless the stain of this great
wickedness still continues impudently to put itself forward to public
view. We, therefore, being unwilling to pass over such a great
disgrace to the Church unchecked, as if winking at it, in pursuance
of the statutes of the Roman pontiffs and especially of the decree of
Pope Alexander, declared on this matter, do decree, that unless
clerks, and especially those in holy orders, who publicly keep
concubines in their houses or in those of others, dismiss them
therefrom within a month, never again to keep them or others on any
account, they shall be suspended from every office and benefice, so
that until they shall have made proper atonement for this offence,
they shall by no means introduce themselves into ecclesiastical
benefices; otherwise we have decreed, that they shall be deprived of
them. It is our will also, and we strictly order, that the
archbishops and bishops shall make diligent inquiries on this matter
throughout all their deaneries, and that what we have decreed shall
be observed.”
Of
those who succeed their fathers in their churches
“Although
the holy fathers have declared that ecclesiastical benefices may not
be held by hereditary right, and that in them the succession of a
lawful offspring may be interdicted, yet some, springing from a
nefarious connection, trampling with the foot of impudence on the
authority of the law and of honour, presume to force themselves into
benefices of this kind, which their fathers before them held by no
proper means, and with rash presumption detain possession of them.
We, therefore, who have come to this country to remedy this
misfortune of the Church’s honour, strictly forbid the prelates of
churches from presuming henceforth, under any pretext, or by any
fraud, to appoint or admit any such to the benefices of this kind,
which their fathers held by any kind of title, either to the whole or
part; and we also, by this present decree, order that those who have
already unlawfully obtained such benefices shall be deprived of
them.”
Against
those who protect robbers.
“To
oppose the crimes of robbers, with whom the English kingdom abounds,
as we have heard that it would be of no effect, if men of rank
protected and kept them, we have thought proper to decree, that no
one shall conceal, or protect, or keep in their houses or towns,
those whom they know to have committed robbery, or against whom there
is evident proof. And those persons who shall act contrary to this
decree, if, after being thrice warned by an ordinary ecclesiastical
judge, they do not cast the robbers from them, we declare to be
subject to ecclesiastical excommunication. And it is our will and
decree that a general warning will be sufficient, even though it
should be given without mentioning names of any one, or to any one,
provided that it is given so publicly and with such solemnity that it
may come to their notice.”
Of
the eating of flesh by the monks
”We
have heard, and are delighted, that the religious abbats of the order
of St. Benedict throughout England, have lately assembled at their
general chapter, like true sons of the Church, and, according to a
prophetic saying, returning to their limits, have wisely determined
that from henceforth, according to the rule of St. Benedict, they
will abstain from eating flesh, except the weak and sick, for whom,
according to the enactments of the same rule, it is to be provided
from the infirmary; and inasmuch as we approve of this, we decree
that it be inviolably observed. We also decree in addition, that when
novices at the end of their year of probation assume the monk’s
habit, they shall be obliged by the abbat, by ecclesiastical or
canonical authority, to make their profession according to the decree
or decretal of Pope Honorius, of happy memory; and no one who has not
made his profession shall be admitted to the rank of abbat or prior,
on any account. But this and what we consider proper to be done in
regard to making this profession at the expiration of the year of
probation, we have thought proper to extend to the regular canons and
nuns; and concerning other matters, which we know pertain to the
correction or reformation of canons, as well as of other regular
priests, we intend to make due provision, and with God’s permission
we will decree what will be to the advantage of their churches and
salutary to themselves, and we command that these statutes be
solemnly published throughout their chapters.”
The duty of archdeacons.
” With
regard to the archdeacons, we decree that they shall visit the
churches, and faithfully make inquiries concerning the sacred vessels
and robes; and as to the manner in which the church is served with daily and nightly
services, and about its temporal as well as spiritual affairs in
general, and carefully to make what reformations may be necessary.
They shall not, however, oppress the churches with superfluous
exactions, but shall demand moderate procuration-fees, and those only
when visiting them; they shall not bring strangers with them, and
shall be attended by a moderate number of attendants and horses; and
they shall not presume to accept of any bribe from any one not to
visit or correct him, nor to punish offences, and they shall not
include any one in their sentences unjustly, for the sake of
extorting money from them. And, since all such things savour of
simony, we decree that those who shall presume to act in such a way,
shall be compelled to bestow elsewhere the property so extorted, to
double the amount, at the discretion of the bishop, to pious uses,
saving, nevertheless, canonical punishment against them. They shall,
however, make it their anxious business frequently to be present at
the chapters in each deanery, at which they shall, amongst other
things, diligently instruct the priests in a proper knowledge and
sound understanding of the words of the canon and baptism, namely
those which are parts of the substance of baptism.”
That
nothing may be demanded for settling disputes
“Again,
we most strictly forbid the prelates of churches, and especially
archdeacons and deans, or their officials, or any others who are
appointed by virtue of their ecclesiastical jurisdiction or spiritual
offices, to decide causes generally, or any matters relating to the
jurisdiction of the Church, from presuming to impede the restoration
of peace and good-will amongst parties, with respect to their
quarrels or causes of complaint; but whensoever the parties choose,
they may withdraw from the court by compromise, if it be such a case
that a compromise can by law be effected; and there shall be no
payment exacted from the same on that account.”
The duty of the bishops.
“The duties which are incumbent on these venerable fathers, the
archbishops and bishops, their title, which is bishop,* that is, a
superintendent, plainly expresses. It is their business to watch over
their flocks, and in the words of the Gospel, ‘to keep watch by
night.’ Since, therefore, they ought to be the model of the
flock, to which all subject to them ought to conform and assimilate
themselves; which cannot be done unless they set an example
themselves to all, we exhort them, in the Lord’s name, and admonish
them to make some stay at their cathedral churches, and there in a
proper manner to perform masses, at least on the chief festivals, and
on the Sundays in Lent and Advent. They should, moreover, travel
through their dioceses at seasonable times, reforming and correcting
abuses, consecrating churches, and sowing the word of life in the
field of the Lord; the better to fulfil all which duties, they should
cause the profession which they made at their consecration to be read
to them twice a year, and throughout the greater part of Lent.”
* Episcopus, the Latin word for bishop, is
compounded of two Greek words translated as over, and look.
Decree against unskilful judges.
“Since not only power but also discretion and skill is most particularly
required in discerning matters, all should take especial care that no
judge or proctor be appointed by whose unskilfulness or ignorance an
improper or unjust sentence be passed, the guilty party acquitted,
and the innocent condemned; wherefore, we have thought fit to decree,
that matrimonial causes, which above all others require to be treated
with great skill and diligence, shall be intrusted to circumspect and
trustworthy men, and such as have a thorough knowledge of the law, or
at least competent experience in it. But if any abbats have an
archdeacon or deacon, by privilege or approved custom authorized to
inquire into the causes, let them take care to examine them
attentively, so that they themselves, as well as their delegates,
shall not proceed to a definitive sentence without having first held
careful deliberation as to the merits of the case with the diocesan
bishop, and without asking and obtaining his advice. For which
purpose, also, we wish them to be held exempted or protected by a
special privilege.”
The
oath of claim
“The
oath of claim in ecclesiastical causes, and also of speaking the
truth in spiritual affairs, that the truth may be more easily
disclosed and causes more quickly determined, we have decreed shall,
throughout the kingdom of England, in future be made according to
canonical and legal ordinances, any other custom to the contrary
notwithstanding. And to this decree we, for the good of all, make
this addition, that postponements of trial may be granted at the
option of the. judge, according to legal and canonical ordinances.”
Of
the appointment of proctors
“The
custom of employing proxies, which was introduced" into courts
of justice that the case of any person who could not attend himself
might be explained by another in his absence, the malice of the old
enemy has often converted into abuse. For, as it is stated, the
custom here is considered to be that the person summoned for a
certain day may appoint a proctor only for that day by letters signed
and sealed with his authentic seal; and it happens that if this proxy
either does not choose to obey the summons, or to create1 any
confidence in the letters, by producing witnesses, or some other
impediment occurs, nothing is done on that day; and on the next day
the office of the proctor expires, and so the business falls to the
ground without effect. We, therefore, being desirous of providing
against this insufficient provision, decree that, henceforth, in
ecclesiastical causes in the kingdom of England, the proxy shall be
appointed, not only for one day, but for several successive days, if
necessary, and the summons shall be proved by authentic writings,
unless he shall have been appointed at the moment, or the person who
appoints him could not find an authentic seal.”
The
manner of making citations
“So
craftily do opposite parties assail one another, that neither will
hesitate to trample on justice, and do everything to defeat his
opponent. And we have heard from many, that those who obtain
summonses send them by three boys to the place where the summoned
party is said to reside, at which place two of the messengers place
the summonses on the altar of the church at that place, or in some
other place there, and the third immediately takes it up again.
Hence, it happens that, as two of them bear witness that they have
summoned him, he is excommunicated according to the tenour of the
sentence and the custom of the district, or is suspended as
contumacious, though he was altogether innocent of contumacy, as he
was ignorant of the summons. We, therefore, in our zeal for justice,
to correct this detestable abuse, and other similar ones, decree,
that henceforth, in ecclesiastical causes in the kingdom of England,
summonses shall not be sent by those who apply for them, or their
messengers; but the judge, at a moderate cost to the applicant, shall
send them by a trustworthy messenger of his own, who shall diligently
seek out the party to be summoned; and if the messenger is unable to
find him, he shall cause the letters of summons to be read and
published, in the church of the place where the summoned party
usually resides, on Sunday, or some other holy day, when mass is
performed: or, at least the summons shall be sent to the dean in
whose deanery the summoned party resides, who, on the judge’s order,
shall faithfully effect this service personally, or by some of his
trusty and sure messengers, and shall without fail write to the
judge, and inform him what has been done in the matter.”
No one is to set his seal to the letters of summons
who was not present at the writing of them.
“The more necessary that the use of writings under authentic seals, (and
it is especially in the kingdom of England where there are no public
notaries,) the more carefully ought precautions to be taken that it
does not, through the inexperience of any persons, fall into an
abuse. For, as we have heard, the warrants are written and signed,
not only by inferior clerks, but also by prelates; in which warrants
manifest care is taken to show that they had procured some one to be
present at the contract or matter in hand, or that some one summoned
to trial should appear, or that letters of citation had been
presented to him, who had never been present, or even found, and who
perhaps at the time was living in another diocese or province. Also,
as letters of this kind plainly contain falsehoods, we strictly
forbid these or any similar things to be done; and, after careful
deliberation, we establish a decree, that those who may be convicted
of this offence, or who presume to persevere in issuing such
warrants, shall suffer the punishment due to forgers and those using
false instruments.”
Of
the Persons who ought to hold authentic seals.
“As
public notaries are not in practice in England, on which account it
is necessary that more credit be given to authentic seals, we decree
that not only archbishops and bishops, but also their officials,
shall hold seals, in order that their assistance may be obtained more
easily. Also, all abbats, priors, deans, archdeacons, and their
officials, rural deans, and also chapters of cathedral churches, and
other conventual assemblies, together with their rectors, or
separately, according to their custom or statutes, according to the
variety of each of the aforesaid, shall have each his own seal; that
is to say, the name of his rank, office, and college, and also the
name of those who enjoy the honour of perpetual rank or office,
inscribed in plain characters thereon, and shall thus hold an
authentic seal. Those who hold temporal office, such as rural deans
and officials, shall hold their seal, which shall have only the name
engraved on it; and at the expiration of their times of office shall
resign it without delay to the person from whom they received their
appointment. With regard to the custody of the seals, we order great
care to be taken; namely, each person shall keep his own himself, or
shall deliver it to only one person, in whom he can place confidence,
to be kept by him; and he shall swear to keep it faithfully, and that
he will not seal anything with it for any one from which anything
prejudicial could arise, unless what his lord had read and carefully
examined, and then ordered to be so sealed. In granting the use of
the seal, faithful and circumspect caution should be observed; faithful,
that it may be easily granted to those who require it, and
circumspect, that it may be denied to false and fraudulent persons.
We also decree, that at the beginning, and also the end of each
authentic writing, there shall be a proper insertion of the day,
time, and place.”
The oath to be taken by advocates.
“We have heard the cry of justice, complaining that it is greatly impeded
by the quibbles and cunning of advocates, and that it is very often
denied by unskilful judges, through ignorance, whom the parties often
deceive by their contumacy. For it sometimes happens that a person
who is put into possession for the sake of keeping property,
endeavours to retain possession, although the opposing party returns
within the year, and is prepared to satisfy justice in everything.
Sometimes, too, the person who is sent to take possession is not
able, although he be adjudged to be the true possessor, to gain
possession either within a year, or afterwards, the opposite party
resisting by force of arms. We, therefore, rising to the assistance
of justice, do, with the approbation of the council, decree, that
whoever wishes to obtain the office of advocate shall make oath to
the diocesan in whose jurisdiction he lives, that in cases in which
he may plead, he will plead faithfully, not to delay justice, or to
deprive the other party of it; but to defend his client both
according to law and reason. Otherwise, they shall not be admitted to
plead, in matrimonial cases and elections, unless they make a like
oath; and they shall not be admitted in other cases before the ecclesiastical
judge for more than three terms, without an oath of this kind, unless
by chance a demand is to be made on behalf of this church, or his
lord, or for a friend, or for a poor man, a foreigner, or any
wretched person. Let all advocates beware that they do not
themselves, or by means of others, suborn witnesses, or instruct the
parties to give false evidence, or to suppress the truth: those who
do so shall be, ipso facto, suspended
from office and benefice, until they have made proper atonement for
the same; and if they are convicted of so doing, they shall be duly
punished, all other matters notwithstanding. Judges, too, who are
ignorant of the law, should, if any doubtful point arise, from which
injury may accrue to either party, ask the advice of some wise person,
at the expense of both parties.”
Of committing the acts of courts to writing.
“We, moreover, decree that, as far as they are able, they shall in
observance of a decree of the general council, carefully and
faithfully keep in their possession all the original and authentic
acts, as well in ordinary as extraordinary trials, or shall cause
them to be kept by their writers, that they may be able to make a
copy of them for the parties, as they ought; and we order and decree
that, after they have all been copied by these writers, they shall
all be published, in order that, if there be any error in the
writing, it may be corrected, and the real facts of the case be made
apparent.”
On giving security.
“The judges, moreover, shall take care that, when they have determined to
put any one into possession, owing to the contumacy of the adverse
party as to restoring possession, with the produce, if he has
received any therefrom, after deducting lawful expenses, if the
opposing party return within the year, they shall take sufficient
security at the command of him who ought to have been put in
possession. “We also decree, that any one who presumes by force
to hold possession, to obtain which another person has been sent,
owing to his contumacy, even if he shall be appointed the true
possessor after a year, shall be deprived of whatever right he may
have in it.”
All these matters having been completed on the third day of the council,
the legate commenced chanting the “Te
Deum,&rdquot; all present rising from their seats; after which the anthem “In
viam pacis&rdquot; was sung, followed by the psalm “Blessed is the Lord God of
Israel;” he then read some special collects, and bestowed his
blessing, on which they all went away not a little delighted.
Letters from the Emperor to Earl Richard, informing him of his
victory over the Milanese.
In the same year, [1237] just before Christmas, that mighty conqueror of
his enemies, the Roman emperor Frederick, sent imperial letters,
sealed with gold, as was his custom, to Richard, earl of Cornwall, to
inform him, and others through him, of the victory granted to him by
Heaven over the Milanese, as mentioned above; the purport of which
letter was as follows:—
“Frederick,
by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus, king of
Jerusalem and Sicily, to Richard, earl of Cornwall, his beloved
brother-in-law, health and sincere affection.—
How audacious and rash have been the proceedings of the Ligurians
[Genoese] in rebelling against our royal person, experience and the
proximity of the place has informed neighbouring people, and the
report of inveterate wickedness has carried the news to people at a
distance. And we think that you are not unaware of what the world
knows, namely, that our constant system of passing over their
offences has continued so long, that, if we were to do so any
further, our endurance would lose the name of true patience, and
would incur the stigma of vile pusillanimity, instead of the
honourable name of virtue. Considering, then, after some little time,
that wounds which do not feel any effect from the application of
fomentations, ought to be cut with the knife, we of necessity
resorted to arms, arousing the sleeping empire from its lethargy; but
we could not, either in the past year, or during the present one,
induce our rebellious subjects to incur the risk of giving us open
battle, that we might at once gain a victory over them. By a
fortunate chance, however, it happened that the Milanese with their
allies were summoned to garrison Brescia, and thus a river was
interposed between us and them, by which they were surrounded, as it
were, by a rampart; on this we pitched our camp on the other side of
the river Oglio; but here the faithful knights and people of the
cities returned home, not being able any longer to endure the
tediousness of the unexpected delay, and the inclemency of the
season; we, however, with a chosen body of our army, directed our
steps along the banks on the other side of this swift river, to the
bridges, by which those returning home were obliged to cross. The
Milanese and their allies, not being able to stay any longer in their
hiding-places, owing to the scarcity of necessaries, crossed the
river Ogho by the fords and bridges, and came into the open plain,
thinking to escape from us by a secret flight, and perhaps not
imagining that we were so near. When, however, they knew of our
proximity, fear and terror fell on them like a clap of thunder from
heaven, and at sight of the advanced guard of our imperial army, even
before they could see the victorious standards, the imperial eagles,
they turned to flight before us in such confusion, that, till they
reached their carrochium, which they had sent forward to Nuova Croce,
as fast as horses could carry it, not one of our pursuing troops
could gain sight of the faces of the fugitives, and, as we believed
that it was necessary for us to hasten to the assistance of the
auxiliary troops, who had proceeded in advance in a small body, we
marched forward after them with all speed with the strength of our
army, and when we expected to find them repelled by the attacks of
the fighting enemy, we found our progress impeded by the numbers of
horses which were running hither and thither without riders, and by
the multitude of knights lying wounded or slain; whilst
those who were alive were either standing or lying on the earth,
having been bound by the esquires of the knights, who followed their
lords. At length we discovered their carrochium, near the walls of
Nuova Croce, surrounded by trenches, and protected by an immense body
of knights, and all their foot soldiers, who fought wonderfully in
its defence; we then directed our attention to the attack and capture
of this standard, and we saw that some of our troops, after having
forced their way over the top of the trenches, had, with commendable
bravery, forced their way almost up to the pole of the carrochium.
The shades of night, however, coming on, which our men ardently
wished for, we desisted from the attack till the following morning
early, lying down to rest only with swords drawn, and without taking
off our armour, determining to return to gain an undoubted victory,
and to get possession of the carrochium. When day broke, however, we
discovered it deserted, and left amidst a crowd of vile waggons
entirely undefended and deserted, and from the top of the staff where
the sign of the cross had been, the cross had been cut off, but
appearing to the fugitives to be too heavy, it had been left
half-way. The garrison and inhabitants of the castle of Nuova Croce,
under protection of which we thought that they would escape our
attacks, all abandoned it; their podesta, the son of the duke of
Venice, under whose command they had raised their sorrowful standard,
did not escape from our hands. To make a short account of the matter,
almost ten thousand men were said to have been taken and slain;
amongst whom a great many nobles and chiefs of the Milanese faction
fell. Of all these matters we send you word, to give you joy, that
you may see how our empire is exalted, by the news which we now tell
you. Given at Cremona, this fourth day of December, the eleventh
indiction.”
A credible Italian asserted, that Milan, with its dependencies,
raised an army of six thousand armed men with iron-clad horses.
A letter sent to the legate on the state of the Roman church.
In the same year, too, about Christmas, the lord cardinal J.
de Colonna, a powerful and special councillor of the Roman church, wrote to the
legate in England, as follows:—
“The brother to his brother, the Levite to His Levite, the
beloved one to the beloved one,— Health in Christ.—
If this letter which I have written could remain a secret to
strangers, and, owing to the distance of places, were not exposed to
danger, many things would be committed to writing which the tongue is
silent upon, and does not disclose to a friend. However, I ought not
to conceal it from your excellency, that the mother has very eagerly,
or rather, unadvisedly, immersed herself in the billows, and of her
own accord thrown herself into the wolf’s jaws, by the plan of two
only, though a third gave his concurrence, or rather, to speak more
truly, anticipated the plan. Hence it is, that liberty is thrown
away, slavery is begun, the star of the sanctuary is set, the
inheritance is reduced to slavery, the pride of the high and mighty
is exalted, a prison is purchased, honour is despised, confusion is
sought after, disquiet is armed, tranquillity is put to flight, no
regard is paid to the offence of brothers and strangers, and other
lamentable results ensue. It is well for you that you are removed
from these troubles, that you have gone to a distant country, so as
not to see the sufferings of your people and the saints, to be beaten
by daily blows, to be lacerated with frequent prickings. We wished,
as we have often tried to do, to reform the condition of the Church,
into which a shapeless state of desolation has crept: counsel is
administered in vain, where the wish is not restrained by the curb of
prudence, but, excited by its violence, it rushes forward to a
declivity, and cannot be stopped. In addition to the mass of our
other sorrows, that noble pillar which used so nobly to support the
fabric of the Church, our lord the bishop of Sabina, of cherished
memory, has been suddenly taken away from amongst us; at first, he
was struck with grief at our trouble, and afterwards attacked by a
slow disease, and died to enter into the power of the Lord, leaving a
lamentable scene of ruin to his mother. The brothers returned from a
country at discord with their chief, but no impressions of the
footsteps of peace appeared; for the followers of discord ,did not
obey the labourers of peace. The bishop of Antioch has withdrawn from
the community, and is not commended by those who return. Would that
my friend were attended by a smaller retinue, so as not to be a
burden to others, and to be torn by the teeth of disparagers. And as
the billows -of offences and sundry storms gain strength, you are
become necessary to the mother; therefore, prepare to return. Given
at Viterbo, on the feast of St. Lucy.”
The Greeks refuse to submit to the Roman church.
By
this, then, and other similar indications, it was manifest that the
Roman church had incurred the anger of God. For its chief men and
rectors sought not to call the people to devotion, but to collect
purses full of money; not to gain souls to God, but to seize on
revenues and amass money, to oppress religious men, and, by penances,
usury, simony, and various other devices, impudently to usurp the
property of others to their own use. No regard was paid to justice or
honour, and no attention to the instruction of the ignorant, and
whenever any one in any way was invested with an ecclesiastical
benefice, he immediately inquires how much money he will get from it;
the last question, if it was asked at all, that arose, was as to his
saint, or the name by which his church was entituled; hence
imprecations and murmurings were excited amongst the people, and the
anger of God was provoked daily, with good cause. At sight of such
wickedness and oppression, the Greek church rose against that of
Rome, expelled their emperor, and showed obedience only to their
archbishop of Constantinople, named German, who, in his ravings,
strayed from the Catholic faith, and boldly defended the erroneous
doctrines of the Greeks, as well the old errors as others newly
invented. Their foolish creed is as follows :—They assert that
the Holy Spirit proceeds not from the Son, but from the Father alone,
because it is found in the Scriptures written, “The spirit of
truth, which proceeds from the Father.” Moreover, they
consecrate the eucharist from fermented bread. In many points, too,
they contradict the Latins, and despise them, condemning the Roman
church in several points, more, however, regarding its acts than its
sayings. He has, therefore, like another Lucifer, established his see
in the north, that is to say, at Constantinople, the metropolitan
city of the Greeks, a degenerate son and an antipope, calling it his
church, and declaring that it is the most worthy; he
also says that the Roman church is its sister, not its mother,
because St. Peter, the chief of the apostles, in former times
established a cathedral see at Antioch, which is adjacent and belongs
to the Greek empire, before he came to Rome; he adds also, that
Antioch showed all the honour and reverence in its power to the
apostle of Christ, and in this way to Christ, on which account it was
honoured with the name of “Theophilus” whilst Rome, after
many insults and much contumely, condemned the said Peter and his
fellow apostle Paul to death. Thus, on the side of the Greeks, was
honour and reverence shown, whilst on that of the Romans, disrespect
and insolence was offered; wherefore, the Greeks, by right, deserved
to be called the sons, and the Romans the stepsons. However, as is to
be gathered from the tenour of the undermentioned letters, the said
Archbishop German wished to assemble his Greeks and the Latins, that
is, the Romans, together, in order that they might, after hearing the
arguments set forth on both sides of the question, come to the same
way of thinking, according as the support of arguments or authority
confirmed their opinions; that thus the whole Church fighting for God
might be called one and entire, and, according to the decree of our
Saviour, that there might be one shepherd and one fold throughout the
whole world. The said German, therefore, wrote to the pope as follows
:—
Letter of German, archbishop of Constantinople, to the Roman Pope Gregory.
“To the most holy and most excellent the Pope of Old Rome, and rector of
the Apostolic See, German, by the mercy of God, archbishop of
Constantinople at New Rome.—
Oh Lord Jesus Christ, grant me salvation. Oh Lord, give me good
success. For I place thee, the honoured, precious, elect
corner-stone, as the foundation of this negotiation which will bring
salvation to the whole world. For I have learned by thy prophet
Isaiah, that every one who believeth in thee as being this stone
shall in no way be confounded, nor can he be moved from the
foundation of his hope and this is the truth, and no one dares to contradict it, unless he be a
disciple of the father of lies. Thy work it is, who art the
corner-stone, to unite those things which are afar off from one
another, or which differ amongst themselves, and to assemble the
things which are separated in the unity of the faith. Thou it is who
hast preached the gospel of peace to those dwelling far and near,
who, by the elevation of thy hands above the cross, hast summoned the
ends of the earth to righteousness, and, after a father’s custom,
hast raised them upon thy shoulders. I therefore beseech thy
inestimable clemency, who art the omnipotent Word of the Father, of
the same substance in the wisdom of God, build in me an edifice of
this argument, and be thou both its foundation and its roof, who,
according to the divine saying of John, art the Alpha and the Omega,
as it were, the incomprehensible beginning and end of all things.
Thus far extends our prayer: and thus, having in the first place
raised our eyes to the heavenly mounts, whence we prayed that aid
might be granted us, we next address our discourse to you, most holy
pope, who have obtained the primacy of the Apostolic See; deign to
descend a little from the height of your glory, and give heed to my
words, who am of small consideration, wretched both in life and in
discourse; if you, I say, resemble him who dwells as God on high, and
looks down on things here below;—but here I will begin.
“The inscrutable wisdom of God, which out of nothing
produced everything, always restrains them within bounds, and wisely rules them,
has ofttimes made a custom on the least occasion to build great works
thereon, as if the foundation had been long before laid. Joseph was
sold into Egypt for silver, after having been let down into the pit,
and was afterwards thrown into prison, and the events which followed,
how glorious and how honourable they were, and how God was glorified
in the midst thereof, are well known to the wise understanding of thy
mind, most holy father. To what this discourse refers, and the
meaning of it, the brothers who are present, whose number is equal to
that of the wise virgins, and whom a dangerous meeting and an unjust
imprisonment have brought to our notice, will explain to your
holiness. The lamp of their works, with the light which emanates from
it, shines before men to the glory of the heavenly Father, and they
wisely always supply it with the oil of good works, that its light
may not be extinguished, and they themselves may not be drawn into
sloth, and thus be refused admission to the kingdom. They are all
without staves and slippers, and each of them has his own particular
garments. Now I think, according to the apostle, that their feet are
beautiful, as they are preaching the gospel of peace between the
Greeks and Latins, and they may briefly be called, as if without any
burden, most nimble and swift runners, hastening to God, who is the
goal of all good men; on their attaining which, they will cease
running, and receive their much-desired reward. These men, who,
according to God, are called Minorites, being thus united in one wish
and one purpose, and being equally distinguished by the number five,
appeared as a good sign, and gave good hope, with God’s consent, of
unity and concord being established amongst the five patriarchates.
Those brothers themselves, as I believe, have, by God’s providence,
who disposes all things to the best advantage, joined our house; and
after many arguments on both sides had passed between us, the
discourse turned above all other things on the long-standing schism
in the seamless garment of piety woven from the top throughout, with
which garment the hands of the apostles clothed the Catholic church
of the Christians. It is not the presumptuous hands of soldiers, but
dissensions of ecclesiastics which have split and divided it, and the
rent is great and of many years’ standing, and there is no one to
pity the spouse of Christ who is clad in a rent garment, or who will
lament her disgrace. This, as I believe, David also, in his
lamentations, says in the book of Psalms, ‘They have been separated
and not held compunction.’ But if we were to feel compunction, we
should grieve and be sorrowful; and
if we were to meet with trouble and grief, we should call upon the
name of the Lord; and as long as we sought him, he would come to our
assistance, as if in the midst of his disciples, pacifying those at
variance, and correcting the discordance of their thoughts. Are not
his bowels torn? are they not sorrowful on account of this
disagreement? Yea, very much so. For he is the Father, the most holy of all fathers, and
cannot bear to see his children mutually tearing and destroying one
another in this hostile way, and to see one devoured by the other,
after the manner of fishes, because the greater is elevated above the
less, and his more powerful oppresses the weaker. Are we thus taught
by that fisher of men, Peter, who, contrary to the nature of his
former art, led those whom he caught in his net from death to life?
Alas! ‘who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my
eyes, that I may weep day and night over the destruction of the new
Jerusalem,’ out of the nations of the congregated church?
how
have we, the elect people of God, been divided into Judah and Israel,
and our cities into Jerusalem and Samaria? The same circumstances as
occurred in the case of Cain and Abel, or Esau and Jacob, who were
brothers by birth, but enemies in mind, and thus opposed to one
another, are now occurring amongst us. I am grieved to insert these
things in my letter, lest I may seem to be injuring the primacy of
your fraternity, or may be thought to be endeavouring to steal the
birthright of the first-born. However, my Father has neither grown
old, nor have his eyes become dimmed; but he dwells in heaven, and
clearly sees all things, and on those who are unjustly oppressed he
bestows his blessing. These things are indeed bitter, and to a man of
understanding, are the worm that gnaws his bones, if they are
frequently brought to mind. But what remains to be said is more
bitter, sharper, and more cutting, than any two-edged sword, against
whatever sect of men it is directed, whether Greeks or Latins; and
what is this? Let us hear what Paul says: ‘But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you
than that which we have preached, let him be accursed.’ And he
strikes with the sword of this kind not only once, but also a second
time, that he, too, may bring on us greater sorrow by the second
blow, and that those who fear the death of their souls, may seek the
physician. What then shall I say more?
Let us shake off all other care and anxiety from our minds like dust from
off our feet, and let us use all our endeavours to discover whom this
two-edged and terrible sword touches, and who those are whom it
separates from their union with the limbs of the Church, of which
Christ is the head. If it touches us Greeks, show us the incision,
wash away the blood from the wound, apply the spiritual plaster,
bandage it up, and preserve your brethren who are in this danger,
lest they perish, and thus agree with Solomon, who gives this
proverb: ‘A brother is proved in difficulties.’ Let us, however,
chiefly listen to the Lord himself, who gave wisdom to this said
Solomon, and who says through the prophet, ‘Whoever separates the
valuable from the cheap, shall be as it were my bone.’ But if we
Greeks are without a scar, and free from a wound by this sword of
the anathema, and it is drawn against the Italians and Latins, and is
raised for the purpose of slaying and destroying some, we think that
you will not, through ignorance or a wicked pertinacity, suffer
yourselves to be separated from the side of the Lord, for whom each
of you would- willingly endure ten thousand deaths, if it were
possible. That either great discord, and contrariety of opinions, a
destruction of the canonical rules, or an alteration of the customs
which our fathers handed down to us, are the materials of the hedge
which separates those things which were formerly united in the bonds
of peace and concord, the whole world with one voice will declare,
calling God, and the heavens, and the earth to witness, that we have
most earnestly begged to be united hand in hand with you, or you with
us, by making a diligent inquiry
and sifting the truth to the bottom, and invoking the assistance of
the Holy Spirit, that we may no longer be exposed to a similar
schismatical scandal, and be spoken ill of by the Latins, or you be
reviled by the Greeks. And that we may arrive at the very pith of the
truth, many powerful and noble men would obey you, if they did not
fear the unjust oppressions, the wanton extortion of money which you
practise, and the undue services which you demand of those subject to
you. Hence it is that cruel wars arise one against another; hence
springs the desolation of cities; owing to this the seal is placed on
the doors of the churches; hence spring the schisms of brethren; and
by this, the operations of the priestly ministry cease, so that God
is not glorified in the Greek countries in a becoming manner. One
thing, as we believe, which has been long ago prescribed to the
Greeks from above, has till now been wanting, namely, the time of
martyrdom; but the time is now at hand for the cruel tribunal to be
opened, and the seals of torments to be put forward, for deluges of
blood to flow, and for us to descend to the arena of martyrdom, and
fight the good fight, that we may receive crowns of glory from the
right hand of the Almighty. The famous island of Cyprus knows what I
say is true; she knows, and has produced new martyrs, and seen the
soldiers of Christ, who first crossed the sea, and, being cleansed in
a bath of tears, and by sweat, at last even passed through fire, and
were led by God, who viewed their struggles, into the heavenly
resting-place. Are these things good, most holy pope, successor of
the apostle St. Peter? Does Peter, the gentle and humble disciple of
Christ, enjoin such things? Does he thus instruct the elders when he
writes, ‘The elders which are amongst you I exhort, who am also an
elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker
of the glory which shall be revealed? Feed the flock of God which is
amongst you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but
willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind: neither as
being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. And
when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of
glory that fadeth not away.’ This is the doctrine of Peter, and those
who do not obey him will see it. Sufficient consolation, however, is
afforded us by that part of his letter in which he orders those
who are sorrowful to rejoice under their various temptations, ‘That
the trial of our faith, being much more valuable than gold which
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise,
and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.’ But grant
me your pardon, most holy lord, and most merciful one of all your
predecessors of old Rome, and endure my words, although they contain
much bitterness, for they are the sighs of a languishing heart;
and
indulgence is granted by those discreet men who, owing to the great
sorrow of the heart, break forth into words mingled with sighs.
Gird
up, therefore, the loins of your strength, light the lamp of your
discretion, and seek for the drachma which is perishing for the unity
of the faith, and we will sympathize with your holiness, and we will
not spare our infirm body, nor excuse ourselves in the plea of old
age, nor will we complain of the long journey; for the more toilsome
the work that is undertaken, the more reason is there for several
crowns of glory; for each one will receive his reward according to
his toil, as says Paul, that general wrestler in the circus, and an
especial victorious obtainer of the crown of glory. We are not
ignorant, most holy father, that in the same way as we Greeks
endeavour to observe orthodox and pious doctrines in everything, so
as not in any way to stray from the statutes of the apostles and holy
fathers, so the church of old Rome, as we well know, strives on its
own behalf to think that it is not deceived in any point, and asserts
that it wants neither remedy nor correction; and this we know is said
in the church of the Greeks as well as in that of the Latins: for no
one can ever see anything ugly in his own face, unless he looks into
a looking-glass, or is informed by some other person how he looks in
the face, whether ugly or otherwise. We have many large and clear
looking-glasses, namely, the clear Gospel of Christ, the epistles of
the apostles, and the books of the divine fathers: let us look in
them; they will show how each man feels, whether spuriously or
legitimately. But whoever shall be invited to the mirror to make
trial, will, when he goes away, confess, although unwillingly, that
his face is deformed; and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under
his feet shortly, who is the author of discord: the peaceful one, who
is the cause of all good, shall bruise him
who hateth good, and causes scandals. And may he who is the God of
peace send to us, who are the shepherds of his rational sheep, the
angel of peace announcing great joy, as he formerly did to the
shepherds of brute sheep at the birth of Emanuel into the flesh; and
may he make us worthy to sing that wonderful song of praise, ‘Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will towards men;’
and also to salute one another with the holy kiss. The glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the peace of God the Father, and the communion of
the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen.”
Letter
from the same to the cardinals
“German,
by the divine mercy, archbishop of Constantinople, at New Rome, to
the most holy, discreet, and illustrious cardinals, the honour of the
Apostolic See.—
It is truly a great advantage to the world and very advantageous, for
all men to assemble together and hold counsel as to arranging
matters. For what God has sometimes concealed from one person he has
revealed to another, and thus whatever good he reveals to any one,
when it is brought forward in common, is transferred in an increased
degree to the advantage of the multitude subject to him; and if
there be several advisers, and they be learned and discreet men, how
much gain and how great advantages accrue to the whole community of
people subject to them. For if a man who acts without counsel opposes
himself, as Solomon with truth says; therefore, on the other hand,
whoever has much and good advice draws his friends to him with great
affection, and even allures his enemies into friendship with him.
That this is a divine and heavenly plan, the prophet Isaiah bears
witness, where he calls the consubstantial word of the Father, and
the great angel of wisdom, the admirable counsellor, that it may be
understood, forsooth, how necessary it is in matters concerning the
Lord to distinguish the difference of persons. For, according to the
nature of the Divinity, there is one will of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit; therefore much honour accrues to the advisers of
good things, because from this they obtain a name in common with the
Lord, if they shall give counsel for human salvation according to
what is acceptable to him. Since, therefore, with the consent of
Providence on high, which disposes all things to the best
advantage,
great and illustrious Rome has placed you in authority over her as
worthy of her greatness and glory, and excelling all other cardinals
your predecessors in discretion and religion, as religious brethren
have informed us, humble as we are, I beg of you to rise and enter
into the spiritual struggle, put on the armour of the spirit, and
destroy the hedge of the old animosity existing between the church of
the Greeks and that of the Latins, for your arms are strong to
destroy works of this kind: and after this hedge is done away with,
pacify the divided parts, and bind together in the union of peace,
charity, and a common faith, those things which have been separated
for many years; and be ye also praiseworthy advisers and acceptable
to God, before the holy and excellent pope, a man according to your
desires, knowing him to be peaceful and mild in spirit, and,
according to his name, ever watchful, and praying, and waiting for
his Lord whenever he may come, that he may make him worthy of the
highest happiness, who, in the simplicity of his heart, feeds the
people of Christ, and by the agency of his hands shall lead them to
the pastures of paradise; for by hands, as you know, in Holy Writ, is
designated operation. We, indeed, being in hopes, from the true
promise of Christ, who perfects his truth in our weakness, have
already begun the work of union, and are sending letters to his
holiness the pope; and I pray of the King of Heaven, who put on the
form of the servant, on behalf of us Ids useless servants; who was
crucified, and who has exalted to a level with himself those who had
fallen into the depths of misery, to put away from your hearts all
pride of thoughts which raise themselves in opposition to our
brotherly union; and may he enlighten your understandings with the
light of knowledge, that we may speak one and the same thing, and
that there may no longer be schism between us;
and
may we continue to be instructed in one and the same mind, and may it
not be said amongst us as amongst the Corinthians of old, that ‘I
am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ‘
but that we may be all of Christ, as we are also called Christians.
May we also continue to be instructed in one and the same mind, and
practise charity, which is according to the law of Christ, that
having in our mouths those words of the Gospel, ‘One Lord, one
faith, one baptism,’ we may be allowed to confess the truth;
and put ye on the form of friends, that ye may be allowed to confess
it also. As it is written, ‘The words of the wise man, who
speaks the truth and reproves, are like nails fixed on high,’
and truth often begets enemies; however, although I may fear, I will
confess it. The separation of our union arose from your tyranny and
oppression, and from the exactions of the Roman church, which,
instead of a mother became a stepmother, and, like a rapacious bird
driving away from her its young, drove her sons away from her; and
the more humble and prone to obedience they are, the more she
tramples on them, and the more vile she considers them, not heeding
the saying of the Gospel, that ‘Whoever humbleth himself shall be
exalted.’ Let moderation, therefore, restrain you; and although the
Roman avarice is innately settled in you for a short time, let us
descend to a scrutiny of the truth, and, after having made a strict
examination into it, as regards both sides of the question, let us
return to a firm union; for we all, Greeks and Latins, were some
time since of the same faith, observing the same canonical rules, in
the enjoyment of peace amongst ourselves, lighting each for the
other, and putting the enemies of the Church to confusion. The
people, too, which came among us from the East during the tyrannous
oppression of the heretics, seeing that they had a safe place of
refuge, fled with all haste to us, and a part of them to you, namely
to great Rome, as it were an immoveable tower of strength, and
received comfort from both sides; and thus, in mutual charity brother
was received in the bosom of brother. And when Rome had been often
taken possession of by other nations, the Greek empire freed it from
their tyranny: Agapetus and Vigilius, too, fled for a time to
Constantinople, owing to the dissensions at Rome, and were honourably
received and protected; although you never afforded an asylum or lent
assistance to us when placed in a situation of difficulty; however,
it is our duty to act well even to the ungrateful; for the seas are
calmed for pirates, and God makes the sun to rise on the just and the
unjust. Alas! alas! by what a bitter disunion are we separated; one
detracts from another, and each avoids alliance with his neighbour,
as if it were exposing his soul to danger. What therefore shall we
say? If we fall, raise us up. Do not act merely to raise physically
from our fall, but act with us also for our spiritual resurrection,
and we shall perhaps confess that we owe you thanks: but if the
offence and commencement of the scandal has proceeded from old Rome,
and from the successors of the apostle Peter, read the words of the
apostle Paul addressed to the Galatians, who says, ‘But when Peter
came to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be
blamed,’ and other things which Paul afterwards said concerning
Peter. But as we ought piously to believe, a resistance of this kind
was not the cause of any discord or bitter contention, but rather of
examination and profound arguments arousing temporal condescension.
For they were united in Christ by the bonds of affection, of similar
faith and doctrines, and not distracted by any ambition or avarice;
and would that in these respects we were like them. But it has given
rise to offence in our minds, that you gape after earthly possessions
whencesoever you can scrape them together, and collect gold and
silver; and yet you say that you are disciples of him who says, ‘I
have neither gold nor silver with me;’
you
compel kingdoms to be tributary to you; you multiply money by
traffic; you unteach by your acts what you preach with your mouth:
let moderation restrain you, that you may be an example to us as well
as to the whole world. You see how good a thing it is for a brother
to be assisted by a brother: it is only God who does not need advice
or assistance from any one, but men require to be assisted each by
his neighbour. If I did not reverence the great apostle Peter, who is
the head of the apostles of Christ, and the rock of the faith, I
would bring to your memory how this rock was shaken to its
foundation, and agitated by a low woman, with Christ’s permission,
according to the judgments by which he foresees all things, whose
judgments are a great deep; who by the sound of the cock crowing,
brought to Peter’s memory the words of the prophecy, and aroused him
from the sleep of despair. He, on being aroused, washed his face with
tears, and confessed to God and to the whole world, and became an
example of patience, carrying the keys of the heavenly kingdom, and
running in the presence of all men, saying, ‘Does not he who
falls rise again?
Arise,
ye who have fallen, look on me, and obey me, as I am hurrying to the
celestial paradise, the gates of which I have received power to
open.’ I write thus to your holiness, and mention these things
only to recall your recollection; for I know that you are endowed
with all wisdom and knowledge, and agree with Solomon, whose words
are these: ‘Give occasion to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser;
teach a just man, and he will be eager to receive.’ This only I will
add, and will then finish my discourse, namely, that there are many
and great nations who think with us, and agree in all - points with
us Greeks. The first are the Ethiopians, who dwell in the first parts
of the east; then the Syrians, and others who are more influential
and virtuous, such as the Hyberians, the Lazi, the Alans, the Goths,
the Chazars, and a countless host of the people of Russia, and the
victorious kingdom of the Bulgarians: all these, as it were, are
obedient to our mother, and still persevere immoveably in the old
orthodoxy. But may the holy God, who, for our sake became man, and
was placed at the head of the Church assembled out of the nations,
again collect us in the unity of the faith, and suffer the Greek
church in union with her sister old Rome, to glorify Christ, the
prince of peace, by an unity of faith, for the restoration of the
orthodoxy, in which they have agreed from times long past. May the
hand of the Almighty God give to you, most holy cardinals, fraternal
affection, and guide you all, until you arrive with joy at the
tranquil port. The grace of God be with you all. Amen.”
Letters
from the pope
“Gregory,
bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother
German, archbishop of Constantinople, Health and the apostolic
benediction.—
Your brotherly letters having been presented to us and our brethren
by your messenger, and having been received with proper good
feelings, and their purport being fully understood, we have made
arrangements to send to you some religious men of tried knowledge, to
carry to you the words of life, and to explain to you more fully our
wishes. But inasmuch as ‘Out of the eater came forth meat, and
out of the strong came forth sweetness,’ lest out of the mouth
of the dead lion, with shame we write it, the honeycomb supplied by
the father be despised, we have thought proper to send a few words in
reply, lest, if we should not do so, it might seem that your letters
were despised;
for
when the wise man listens, he will become wiser, and if he
understands, will obtain the government. Although, as the contents of
your letter recalled to our recollection, Christ is the first and
chief foundation of the faith, which we acknowledge, beyond which no
other can be laid;
yet
in the second place, and as the secondary foundation, we will mention
the apostles and prophets, and the foundations of Sion in the holy
mountains; and the citizens of heavenly Jerusalem are said to have
been established on the foundations of the apostles and prophets.
Amongst these the first and chief is the blessed Peter, not without
reason, and by a special prerogative he was allowed to hear from the
Lord, ‘Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a
stone.’ As the full force of bodily sense is concentred into the
head, from which by some secret passages a portion flows into each of
the limbs, like a rivulet from a fountain, so the three orders of
those of the faith, Noah, Daniel, and Job, that is to say, prelates,
both monks and married persons, whom Ezekiel is said to have seen in
his vision as persons to be saved. By Peter is designated the rock on
which the Lord has built— not a house of the wood of Mount
Lebanon, nor a gallery of pillars, nor a house of the daughter of
Pharaoh, but his church for his faithful people, who are caught in
its net, as it were from the whole body of fishes of all kinds. He
is, as it were, the primate of primates, who drank streams from the
fountains of our Lord’s intelligence, whence the means of salvation
must be derived, and with all patience and teaching, not
contentiously nor by proud resistance, must the darkness of error be
removed. And what you state does not oppose this, if you make a
distinction of time and place, that Paul withstood Peter to his face;
since we may read that this has been done by orthodox fathers;
and
Peter, by professing the Mosaic* law, endeavoured to gain the Jews,
and Paul, shunning circumcision by all the means in his power, strove
to gain the Gentiles from this false doctrine. Otherwise it may be
argued that Paul, when travelling through Syria and Cilicia, having
arrived at Derbe and Lystra, circumcised Timothy, who was sprung from
a Gentile father, and by a widow of the true faith. In the second and
third place, the argument may be adduced that, when Paul sailed to
Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, and had shaved his bead
at Cencreae, for fear of the Jews, according to the law, he there
shaved the hair which he had let grow owing to a vow, and which the
Nazarenes, who had made a vow, usually did, according to the command
of Moses. If, dear brother, you fully understand the secret of the
dignity and the office of authority of Peter and Paul, and if you
consider their zeal, who only craved after the souk of men, you will
find that these two, whom the same faith and the same sufferings had
rendered truly akin to each other, differed not in doctrine either
during their lives, or at their deaths. For, although Peter and Paul
carried on their labours in different languages and by different
rites, supplying milk to the children and meat to those of more
advanced age, the former amongst the stiff-necked people of Judaea,
and the latter amongst the Gentiles, yet, when the full term was
expired, each of the two with one and the same spirit, preached one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, and the other articles of faith,
according to the grace bestowed on him by God. For according to the
words of the Lord, who spoke to Peter and the rest of the apostles in
these words: ‘Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto
them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.’ Paul was,
in conjunction with Peter, performing the mysteries of his office,
and according to these words of the same authority, expressed to
Peter in particular, ‘Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be
bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be
loosed in heaven!’ he thus recognised Peter’s dignity. He therefore
came to him as the chief and the fountain of the Gospel of the Lord
at Jerusalem, and afterwards, in conjunction with him and others,
preached the Gospel according to the revelation, that ‘he might not
have run in vain;’ and this same circumstance is confirmed by the
words of our Lord, spoken to Peter alone, in which he is enjoined,
‘If his brother sinned against him, to forgive him, not only seven
times, but seventy times seven’ to him alone, too, the Lord distinctly
intrusted his sheep, and he possessed such a special virtue in
performing miracles, that sick men were placed on their couches and
beds in the streets, and were healed by his shadow. His authority,
too, is also more expressly confirmed by the words of our Lord, when
he says to him, ‘Launch out into the deep,’ and as is
more fully subjoined: ‘Let down your nets for a draught.’ Since,
therefore, on account of the excellence of his faith, which with
truth acknowledged two natures in one Christ, when he said, ‘Thou art
Christ, the Son of the living God,’ Peter alone has received on earth
the keys of the heavenly kingdom. As there is one God, one faith, one
baptism, one beginning, one body of the church militant, and a body
with many heads is considered prodigious, and one without a head is
without a beginning, it only remains for the government of the Church
universal, which the said Peter, in conjunction with Paul, has
assembled from amongst the Greeks, Latins, and barbarians, that the
Lord should, by what has been before stated, appoint a chief of it,
and show who is to succeed him. He, however, foreseeing that the
Church would be trampled on by tyrants, lacerated by heretics, and
separated by schisms, said to him: ‘I have prayed for thee,
Peter, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren:’ from which it is plainly to be
inferred that all questions of faith ought to be referred to the see
of Peter. But, to use the words of your own letter, and we say it
with sorrow, the long and seamless vestment of the true Joseph has
indeed been presumptuously torn, not by the hands of soldiers, but by
the passions of ecclesiastical persons; and, therefore, let us see
who has torn it. Inasmuch as the Greek church seceded from the unity
of the Roman see, it immediately forfeited its privilege of
ecclesiastical liberty; and she who had been formerly free, became a
slave of the secular power, that by a just dispensation of God, she
who would not recognise in Peter the divine primateship, might endure
secular rule, however unwillingly;
under
which, despising things of no slight importance, backsliding by
degrees, professing a meaningless faith, and waxing cold in its
brotherly affection, rushed back through the field of licentiousness;
so that, without rebuke from any one, it concealed what was lawful
under what was unlawful; and, seceding from the temple of Peter, is,
as it were, ejected by the Lord from his hall, which John, in
accordance with the Lord’s prohibition, does not measure out with his
staff, since it is given to the Gentiles, as you see visibly brought
to completion. And because Samaria, too, which seceded from the
temple of God, from Judah, and from the confession of the true faith,
and became idolatrous, was worn away by continual wars and borne down
by the weight of its sins, (although Elijah and Elisha shone there
like two great luminaries in a dark place,) it was given to the
nations, and was cast outside, in punishment of its fornications and
idolatry, by which it separated itself from the Lord . But if the
church of the Greeks considers that she has the authority of Paul,
let her show it, or recognise him when shown with Peter, by the
successor of Peter, and the vicar of Jesus Christ, in the church of
the apostles, built by Constantine. It has also denoted the mystery
of his office, although, in your letter it is mentioned as a cause of
reproach, that Peter was thrice aroused and awoke at the crowing of
the cock, and was made the porter of paradise, in order that he, who
was to have command, might know how to suffer and to sympathize, and
by virtue of his authority, thrice repeated, ‘Feed thou,’ not ‘Feed
ye, my sheep,’—not the sheep of others,—he might transmit
to his successor the example of the true shepherd, and the spirit of
lenity, correct the excesses of the people, returning to the unity of
the Church; deliver to Satan those that wander, and bring back the
sheep, however unwilling, to the true fold. But if, from compassion,
you return like a true Israelite to the primate of the Apostolic See;
and if your bowels are moved by contrition for the rending of the
seamless garment of Joseph, we compassionate your suffering, and,
together with the apostle, condole with you in your grief; and we
rise to give thanks to him who has opened the eyes of a blind son;
and humbly beg of him who restored sight to the eyes of Tobias by
means of salve made from the gall of a fish, to enlighten the hearts
of the followers of the Greek church, as well as your own, and by his
divine providence in our time and yours to bring us back to one fold
and one shepherd. Receive, therefore, dear brother, the book of which
mention has been made by John in the Revelations, and look earnestly
into it; and although it may embitter your stomach, by the pricks of
contrition, which pierce in the beginning of it, nevertheless, it
will be sweet as honey in your mouth, according to the words of the
betrothed, in the Psalms, ‘Thy words shall sound in my ears; for they
are sweet.’ Consult, then, the dictates of your wisdom without any
superstition; and when enlightened, you will find that the Roman
church, which is the head and mistress of all churches, finds nothing
in the mirror mentioned by you, namely, in the Gospel, the epistles,
or the doctrines of other learned men, which, taken either
interpretatively or dispensatively, does not agree, according to the
statutes of the holy fathers, with the unity of the spirit. On
opening this book, you will find that the Roman pontiff is become all
things to all men, that all may be safe, and is called to his
station, not for the sake of filthy lucre, or of his own wish, but by
his brethren, through divine inspiration; and at once becoming a
servant of the servants of God, he, together with his brethren,
places himself forward as a wall for his brethren and fellow-bishops,
and those subject to them, in opposition to heretics, schismatics,
and tyrants, and for the defence of ecclesiastical liberties. And
although there may be some exceptions, yet the church of Rome in
modern times breathes freely from the incursions of all parties. But
if the Greek church can (to use your own words) patiently endure
words which nettle it, besides the dangers to souls which arise from
their secession, these troubles ought to have given them sufficient
sense, for in their hands the ecclesiastical order being divided out
in various parts of opposing nations of the East, is put in
confusion, the liberty ©f the Church is oppressed, and the
dignity of the priesthood is trampled under-foot, and there is not
one of its dear children to console it, since, being as it were,
without a head, they refuse to return to the head of the Church:
Return, therefore, oh! Shunamite, return, that we may look upon thee
for then indeed can brother be assisted by a brother. If the son who
by dissolute living has consumed all his substance, shall, by the
Lord’s inspiration, arise and say, ‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called
thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants;’ then the father
runneth to meet him, not as a servant, but as a returning son, and
‘bringing forth the best robe, will kill the fatted calf,’
and making a general feast for all the faithful followers of Christ,
will announce with all exultation and joy that the brother and son
who was dead, has come back to life; the piece of money which was
lost, is found; and thus will we receive you in the bosom of the
Church, your mother; and you will plainly see the truth in the mirror
of purity, which does not receive stain or blemish. Given at Reate,
&c., in the sixth year” [of
our pontificate.]
Another letter from the Pope.
“Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the venerable archbishop
of the Greeks, Health and the apostolic benediction.—
Whereas, according to the testimony of the truth, errors may occur,
and there may be an ignorance of the Scriptures, it is expedient for
all to read or to hear them, because, whatever the divine inspiration
has inserted in them for the instruction of after-ages, it has wished
to hand down as a caution to people of modern times. The division of
the tribes, in the time of Jeroboam, who, as we read, ‘caused
Israel to sin,’ plainly signifies the schism of the Greeks; and
the multitude of the abominations of Samaria, denote the various
heresies of the multitude who have now seceded from their worship of
and reverence for the true temple, namely, the church of Rome. That
Chrysostom, Nazianzen, the great Basil, and Cyril, were distinguished
in the councils of the dissentients, was as much a proof of the
heavenly wisdom, as the residence of Elijah and Elisha, and the sons
of the prophets, amongst idolaters. Since in the letter which we
lately sent to you we more fully explained to you this authority and
other matters of the reasons which favour the primacy of the Roman
church, we now add only this, namely, that, according to the reading
of the Gospel, we hold, that both swords belong to the Roman pontiff.
When Jesus was speaking to his disciples of the possession of the
spiritual sword, they showed him two swords which were placed there,
and these our Lord considered to be sufficient for the coercion of
both spiritual and corporal offences. Since you allow that the
material sword pertains to temporal power, listen to what our Lord
says to Peter in the Gospel of St. Matthew: ‘Put up thy sword into
its place’. By saying ‘thy sword,’ he meant the material sword with
which Peter smote the servant of the high priest : as to the
spiritual sword, no one can doubt, since the Lord, by the authority
of a sort of spirituality, intrusted to him (that is, to Peter), the
power of binding and loosing. Both of these swords are intrusted to
the Church; but by it one only is used; the other is to be drawn on
behalf of the Church by the secular power; one is applied by the
priests, the other, at the will of the priests, by the soldiers.
Owing, therefore, to these and other circumstances, which, after a
careful examination of the truth, may bring about a proper affection,
instead of schism, we have thought proper to send to you, as bearers
of these presents, the brothers Hugh and Peter, of the order of
Preachers, and Haymon and Ralph, of the order of Minorites, men
conspicuous for their religion and virtue, renowned for the probity
of their morals, and endowed with a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures,
according to the tenor of the abovenamed. letters; so that if you
discuss boldly, and converse sociably with them on all points that
concern the matter in question, you may hear the sound of thunder in
the wheel which appeared below the wheel of Ezekiel, and observe in
the glassy sea, that one Adam was placed in Paradise, to enjoy and
take care of it; that he took to himself one wife; that our Lord
Jesus Christ was created in one justice, and took his one spouse,
the church; that Lamech, which means humble, whilst he divided one
wife into two, became a bloody man, and killed a man to his hurt;
that we read of only one ark, which was steered safely over the
deluge by one patriarch, saving alive a small but chosen number of
souls; how the Lord gave a law a second time to be different, yet the
same; how the faces of the two cherubims, which overshadow the
mercy-seat, are not turned away from it, but look on each other; that
Joseph had one garment reaching to his feet, and our Lord had one
seamless garment. However, if your belief is different from ours, and
attributes a sense of duality to the sacrament of the Eucharist,
consider that the Greeks and Latins celebrate the mystery of our
salvation in the same manner, through one Lord Jesus Christ, who was
subject to human passions when he took on himself human nature for
our sake, but after his death was free from all passions. The Greeks,
following the example of the younger disciple, and not unmindful of
such mercy, daily commemorate God’s mercy in becoming subject to
human passions, use a host of leavened bread, in order that,
according to the apostle, the leaven may typify the corruption to
which, before his resurrection, our Lord was subject. But the Latins,
after the example of the elder apostle, St. Peter, who was the first
to enter the tomb, look rather to the linen clothes which had
enveloped his sacred body, that is, the Church, and the napkin which
was about his head, and celebrate the sacrament of his glorified body
more wonderfully by the unleavened bread of sincerity. Both, however,
are plain bread before the sacrifice, and, therefore, cannot be
distinguished as leavened or unleavened; but one of these is rather
believed to have been the living bread which descended from heaven,
and gave life to the world. Such are the doctrines which the Holy
Spirit and sound reason have taught the Holy See; and I pray that
you, following the example of the younger disciple, who saw and
believed, may at length enter in also, and, comprehending everything,
may sing with us that psalm of David, ‘Behold how good and joyful a
thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ Given at the
Lateran, the 17th of May, &c. &c.”
How the Greeks seceded from all obedience to the Roman church
The Greeks, although they heard these salutary warnings, paid no heed to
them, nor did they submit themselves to the Roman church, perhaps,
either through fear of its tyranny and avarice, or else, being
contumacious, according to the words of the Evangelist, that those
who were invited to the supper would not come, “but all with
one consent made excuses," being humble in their excuses, but
proud and contumacious in the performance of their work. On this, the
pope and his cardinals held a deliberate discussion on this matter,
and determined to send the whole army of the crusaders against them;
and, accordingly, a crusade was preached, and some assumed the cross
to proceed against the Greeks, and especially the
Constantinopolitans. The origin of this schism and dispute between
the Greek and the Roman churches was as follows:— A certain
archbishop, having been canonically elected to a noble archbishopric
in Greece, or having been nominated thereto, went to Rome to be
confirmed, but could not obtain a hearing there, without a promise of
an immense sum of money, in return for obtaining what he demanded; but
he, detesting the simony of that mercenary court, went away without
effecting his purpose, and told the circumstance to all the Greek
nobility; evidence was also given by others who had gone to Rome, of
similar cases, or worse ones, and therefore all of them, in the time of this
Gregory, withdrew themselves from all subjection to the Roman church.
In the week before Christmas, Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, set sail
and went to Rome, nor would he return, although the legate recalled
him; owing to which, from that time, they became enemies to one another.
During the whole of this year, the atmosphere was stormy
and unsettled, injurious to men, and unhealthy; and never, in the memory
of any one, had so many people suffered from the quartan ague.
