Note 616 — Chapter IX · FALL AND DEATH OF GEOFFREY.

Chronicle of Abingdon, ii. 178, 179. Assigned to "probably about the Christmas of 1135" (p. 542).

[617] See p. 143. They are Earl Geoffrey, Robert de Ver, William of Ypres, Adam "de Belnaio," and Richard de Luci. The sixth, "Mainfeninus Brito," we have seen attesting Stephen's first charter to Geoffrey in 1140 (p. 52). Another charter, perhaps, may also be assigned to this period, namely, that of Stephen (at Oxford) to St. Frideswide's, of which the original is now preserved in the Bodleian Library. For this, as for the preceding charter, the date suggested is 1135 (Calendar of Charters and Rolls), but the names of William of Ypres and Richard de Luci prove that this date is too early. These names, with that of Robert de Ver, are common to both charters, and if Richard de Luci's earliest attestation is in the summer of 1140, it is quite possible that this charter should be assigned to the siege of 1142.

[618] Rog. Wend., ii. 233; Mat. Paris (Hist. Angl.), i. 270; Hen. Hunt., p. 276.

[619] No clue to this date, important though it is for our story, is afforded by any of the ordinary chroniclers. The London Chronicle, however, preserved in the Liber de Antiquis Legibus (fol. 35), carefully dates it "post festum Sancti Michaelis."

[620] Mon. Ang., iv. 142; Mat. Paris (Hist. Angl.), i. 270, 271; William of Newburgh, cap. xi.; Gesta Stephani, pp. 103, 104; Hen. Hunt., p. 276.

[621] See p. 47.

[622] "Acceptam ab eo injuriam rex caute dissimulabat, et tempus opportunum quo se ulcisceretur, observabat."

[623] "Subtili astutia ingentia moliens."

[624] "Nisi enim hoc egisset, perfidia consulis illius regno privatus fuisset."

[625] Compare the words of the Gesta: "Ubique per regnum regis vices adimplens et in rebus agendis rege avidius exaudiretur et in præceptis injungendis plus ei quam regi obtemperaretur."

[626] "Tandem vero a quibusdam regni majoribus, stimulante invidia, iniqua loquentibus, quasi regis proditor ac patriæ dilator erga regem mendaciter clanculo accusatus est.... Vir autem iste magnanimus subdola malignantium fraude, ut jam dictum est, delusus" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142).

[627] "Tum quia Galfridus, ut videbatur, omnia regni jura sibi callide usurparat, tum quia regnum ut in ore jam vulgi celebre fuerat, comitissæ Andegavensi conferre disposuerat, ad hoc regem secreta persuasione impulerunt, quatinus Galfridum de proditionis infamia notatum caperet, et redditis quæcunque possederat castellis, et rex post hinc securus, et regnum ipsius haberetur pacatius" (Gesta).

[628] "Rege multo tempore differente, ne regia majestas turpi proditionis opprobrio infameretur, subito inter Galfridum et barones, injuriis et minis utrinque protensis, orta seditio" (ibid.).

[629] "Cumque rex habitam inter eos dissensionem, sedatis partibus, niteretur dirimere, affuerunt quidam, qui Galfridum de proditionis factione in se et suos machinatâ, libera fronte accusabant. Cumque se de objecto crimine minime purgaret, sed turpissimam infamiam verbis jocosis alludendo infringeret, rex et qui præsentes erant Barones Galfridum et suos repente ceperunt" (ibid.).

[630] This story, being told by Mathew Paris alone, and evidently as a matter of tradition, must be accepted with considerable caution. He makes the singular and careless mistake of speaking of Earl Geoffrey as William (sic) de Mandeville, though he properly terms him, the following year, "Gaufridus consul de Mandeville." On the other hand, it is possible to apply a test which yields not unsatisfactory results. Mathew tells us that the Earl of Arundel was unhorsed "a Walkelino de Oxeai [alias Oxehaie] milite strenuissimo." Now there was, contemporary with Mathew himself, a certain Richard "de Oxeya," who held by knight-service of St. Albans Abbey, and who, in 1245, was jointly responsible with "Petronilla de Crokesle" for the service of one knight (Chron. Majora, vi. 437). Turning to a list of the abbey's knights, which is dated by the editor in the Rolls Series as "1258," but which is quite certainly some hundred years earlier, we find this same knight's fee held jointly by Richard "de Crokesle" and a certain "Walchelinus." Here then we may perhaps recognize that very "Walchelinus de Oxeai" who figures in Mathew's story, a story which Richard "de Oxeya" may have told him as a family tradition. Indeed, there is evidence to prove that this identification is correct.

[631] The coincidence of language between these two passages, beginning respectively "eodem tempore" and "eodem anno," ought to be noticed, for it has been overlooked by Mr. Howlett in his valuable edition of William of Newburgh for the Rolls Series, though he notes those on p. 34 before it, and on p. 48 after it, in his instructive remarks on the indebtedness of William of Newburgh to others (p. xxvi.).

[632] "Vir iste nobilis, cæteris in pace recedentibus, solus, rege jubente, fraudulenter comprehensus, et, ne abiret, custodibus designatis, detentus est" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142).

[633] "Ne regia majestas turpi proditionis opprobio infamaretur."

[634] "Milites autem beati Albani, qui tunc, ad ecclesiæ ejus custodiam et villæ fossatis circumdatæ, ipsum vicum, qui juxta cænobium est, inhabitabant, ipsi regi in faciem viriliter restiterunt, donec ecclesiæ, quam quidam ex regiis ædituis violaverant, satisfecisset ipse rex, et ejus temerarii invasores.... Et hoc fecit rex contra jusjurandum, quod fecerat apud Sanctum Albanum, et contra statuta concilii nuper, eo consentiente, celebrati" (Mathew Paris, Historia Anglorum, i. 271).

[635] An incidental allusion to this conflict between the followers of the king and the abbey's knights is to be found, I think, in a curious passage in the Gesta Abbatum S. Albani (i. 94). We there read of Abbot Geoffrey (1119-1146): "Tabulam quoque unam ex auro et argento et gemmis electis artificiose constructam ad longitudinem et latitudinem altaris Sancti Albani, quam deinde, ingruente maxima necessitate, idem Abbas in igne conflavit et in massam confregit. Quam dedit Comiti de Warrena et Willelmo de Ypra et Comiti de Arundel et Willelmo Martel, temporibus Regis Stephani, Villam Sancti Albani volentibus concremare." The conjunction of William of Ypres with Abbot Geoffrey dates this incident within the limits 1139-1146, and there is no episode to which it can be so fitly assigned as this of 1143, especially as the Earl of Arundel figures in both versions.

[636] "Et licet multi amicorum suorum, talia ei injuste illata ægre ferentium, pro eo regem interpellarent" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142).

[637] "Rex igitur Galfridum, custodiis arctissime adhibitis, Londonias adducens, ni turrim et quæ miro labore et artificio erexerat castella in manus ejus committeret, suspendio cruciari paravit; cum salubri amicorum persuasus consilio, ut imminens inhonestæ mortis periculum, castellis redditis, devitaret, regis voluntati tandem satisfecit" (Gesta, p. 104). "Igitur, ut rex liberaret eum reddidit ei turrim Lundoniæ et castellum de Waledene et illud de Plaisseiz" (Hen. Hunt., p. 276). "Eique arcem Lundoniensem cum duobus reliquis quæ possidebat castellis extorsit [rex]" (W. Newburgh, i. 45). The castle of (Saffron) Walden, with the surrounding district, was placed by Stephen in charge of Turgis d'Avranches, whom we have met with before, and who refused, some two years later, to admit the king to it (Gesta, ed. Howlett, p. 101). Mr. Howlett appears to have confused it with another castle which Stephen took "in the Lent of 1139," for Walden was Geoffrey's hereditary seat and had always been in his hands.

[638] "Regnique totius communem ad jacturam, tali modo liberatus de medio illorum evasit" (Gesta, p. 104). "Quo facto, velut equus validus et infrænis, morsibus, calcibus quoslibet obvios dilaniare non cessavit" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142).

[639] "Episcopus vero Elyensis pro tam imminenti sibi negotio auxilium Dominæ Imperatricis et suorum colloquium requirendum putavit" (Anglia Sacra, i. 622).

[640] This might lead us to suppose that the incident belonged to the latter half of 1142, when Wareham was in the king's hands. The date (1143), however, cannot be in question.

[641] Historia Eliensis, p. 623. Theobald, from his Angevin sympathies, supported Nigel's cause.

[642] See Appendix Z: "Bishop Nigel at Rome."

[643] "Hugone quoque, cognomente Bigot, viro illustri et in illis partibus potenti, sibi confœderato" (Gesta, p. 106).

[644] Mon. Ang., iv. 142.

[645] "Homines regis erga locum fratrum Ely insidias unanimiter paraverunt, adversum quos cum custodes insulæ non sufficerent rebellare, Galfridum comitem, tunc adversarium [Stephani regis,] incendiis patriam et seditione perturbantem, suscipiunt; cui etiam castrum de Ely, atque Alrehede, ob firmamentum tuitionis, submiserunt" (Historia Eliensis, p. 623).

[646] Here again we are indebted for the date to the London Chronicle (Liber de Ant. Leg., fol. 35), which states that Geoffrey "in adventu Domini fecit castellum Ecclesiam de Rameseya." Geoffrey's doings may well have been of special interest to the Londoners.

[647] "Ira humanum excedente modum, ita efferatus est, ut procurantibus Willelmo de Saye et Daniele quodam falsi nominis ac tonsuræ monacho, navigio cum suis subvectus Rameseiam peteret, ecclesiam Deo ac beato patri Benedicto dicatam summo mane ausu temerario primitus invadendo subintraret, monachosque omnes post divinum nocturnale officium sopori deditos comprehenderet, et vix habitu simplici indutos expellendo statim perturbaret, nullaque interveniente mora, ecclesiam illam satis pulcherrimam, non ut Dei castrum sed sicut castellum, superius ac inferius, intus ac extra, fortiter munivit" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142). "Hic totus in rabiem invectus Ramesiam, nobile monasterium invadens, fugata monachorum caterva, custodiam posuit" (Leland's Collectanea, i. 600).

[648] Chronicon Abbatiæ Ramesiensis, pp. 327-329.

[649] "Monachis expulsis, raptores immisit, et ecclesiam Dei speluncam fecit latronum" (Hen. Hunt., p. 277).

[650] "Vasa autem altaris aurea et argentea Deo sacrata, capas etiam cantorum lapidibus preciosis ac opere mirifico contextas, casulis cum albis, et cæteris ecclesiastici decoris ornamentis rapuit, et quibuslibet eruere volentibus vili satis precio distraxit unde militibus et satellitibus suis debita largitus est stipendia" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142). "Cœnobiumque sancti Benedicti de Rameseiâ non solum, captis monachorum spoliis, altaribus quoque et sanctorum reliquiis nudatis, expilavit, sed etiam expulsis incompassive monachis de monasterio, militibusque impositis castellum sibi adaptavit" (Gesta, p. 105). "Cum manu forti monasterium ipsum occupavit, monachos dispersit, thesaurum et omnia ecclesiæ ornamenta sacrilega manu surripuit et ex ipso monasterio stabulum fecit equorum, villas adjacentes commilitonibus pro stipendiis distribuit" (Chron. Ram., p. 329).

[651] "Galfridus igitur, ubique in regno fide sibi et hominio conjuratis in unum secum cuneum convocatis, gregariæ quoque militiæ sed et prædonum, qui undecumque devote concurrerant, robustissima manu in suum protinus conspirata collegium, ignibus et gladio ubique locorum desævire" (Gesta, p. 105). "Crebris eruptionibus atque excursionibus vicinas infestavit provincias" (W. Newburgh, i. 45).

[652] "Castellum quoddam fecerat apud Waltone" (Chron. Ram., p. 332).

[653] "Inde recessum habuit per Ely quiete: Fordham quoque contra hostes sibi cum valida manu firmare usurpavit" (Historia Eliensis, p. 623).

[654] "Similiter apud Benewik in transitu aquarum" (ibid.).

[655] "Omnia adversus regiæ partis consentaneos abripere et consumere, nudare et destruere" (Gesta, p. 105). "Maneria, villas, ceteraque proprietatem regiam contingentia primitus invasit, igni combussit, prædasque cum rapinis non minimis inde sublatas commilitonibus suis larga manu distribuit" (Monasticon, iv. 142).

[656] Cont. Flor. Wig., ii. 119, 128. Compare the Peterborough Chronicle: "Ræuedan hi & brendon alle the tunes" (Ang. Sax. Chron., i. 382).

[657] Gesta.

[658] "Talique ferocitate in omnem circumquaque provinciam, in omnibus etiam, quascunque obviam habebat, ecclesiis immiseranter desæviit; possessiones cœnobiorum, distractis rebus, depopulatis omnibus in solitudinem redegit; sanctuaria eorum, vel quæcumque in ærariis concredita reponebantur sine metu vel pietate ferox abripuit" (ibid.).

[659] "Locis sacris vel ipsis de ecclesiis nullam deferendo exhibuit reverentiam" (Monasticon, iv. 142).

[660] "Facti enim amentes cantitabat unusquisque Anglice," etc. The "Anglice" reads oddly. Strange that the sufferings of the people should be bewailed and made merry over in the same tongue!

[661] Stephen himself behaved no better, to judge from the story in the Chronicle of Abingdon (ii. 292), where it is alleged that the king, being informed of a large sum of money stored in the treasury of the abbey, sent his satellite, William d'Ypres, who, gaining admission on the plea of prayer, broke open the chest with an axe, and carried off the treasure.

[662] "Militum suorum numerositate immanior factus, per totam circumcirca discurrendo provinciam nulli cuicunque pecuniam possidenti parcere vovit" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142).]

"Crebris eruptionibus et excursionibus vicinas infestavit provincias. Deinde sumpta ex successu fiducia longius progrediens, regem Stephanum acerrimis fatigavit terruitque incursibus" (Will. Newb., i. 45).

[663] Gesta.

[664] "Exploratores vero illius, habitu mutato, more egenorum ostiatim oberrantes, villanis et cæteris hujusmodi hominibus pecunia a Deo data abundantibus insidiabantur, quibus taliter compertis intempestæ noctis silentio, tempore tamen primitus considerato, Sathanæ satellites a comite transmittebantur qui viros innocuos alto sopore quandoque detentos raperent raptos vero quasi pro magno munere ei presentarent. Qui mox immani supplicio, per intervalla tamen, vexabantur et tamdiu per tormenta varia vicissim sibi succedentia torquebantur, donec pecuniæ eis impositæ ultimum solverent quadrantem" (Monasticon, iv. 142). An incidental allusion to this system of robbery by ransom is found in an inquisition (temp. John) on the royal manor of Writtle, Essex (Testa de Nevill, p. 270 b). It is there recorded that Godebold of Writtle, who held land at Boreham, was captured by Geoffrey and forced to mortgage his land to raise the means for his ransom: "Godebold de Writel' qui eam tenuit captus a comite Galfrido, patre Willelmi de Mandevilla, tempore regis Stephani, pro redemptione sua versus predictum comitem acquietanda posuit in vadimonium," etc.

[665] "Propterea Rex Stephanus, irâ graviter accensus, omnia hæc reputavit ab Episcopo Nigello machinari; et jussit e vestigio possessiones Ecclesiæ a suis undequaque distrahi in vindictam odiorum ejus. Succisâ igitur Monachis rerum facultate suarum, nimis ægre compelluntur in Ecclesiâ, maxime ciborum inedia. Unde non habentes victuum, gementes et anxii reliquas thesaurorum," etc. (Historia Eliensis, p. 623).

[666] Cotton. MS., Tib. A. vi. fol. 117.

[667] "Hæc omnia episcopo, quamvis Romæ longius commoranti, satis innotuerunt, et gratiâ Domini Papæ sublimiter donatus, his munimentis tandem roboratus contra deprimentum ingenia, ad domum gaudens rediit" (Historia Eliensis, p. 623).

[668] Cotton. MS., Tib. A. vi. fol. 116 b. See Appendix AA: "Tenserie."

[669] Chronicle of Ramsey, p. 329.

[670] "Quum autem negotium feliciter ibi consummasset, reversus in Angliam infra tres menses per judices delegatos abbatiam suam, Rege super hoc multum murmurante, recuperavit" (ibid., p. 330).

[671] "Quum vero sæpedictus abbas in possessionem abbatiæ suæ corporaliter mitti debuisset, invenit sceleratam familiam prædicti comitis sibi fortiter resistentem. Sed ipse, Spiritu Dei plenus, inter sagittas et gladios ipsorum sæpius in caput ejus vibratos, accessit intrepidus, ignem arripuit, et tentoria ipsorum portamque exteriorem quam incastellaverant viriliter incendit et combussit. Sed nec propter incendium nec propter anathema quod in eos fuerat sententiatum locum amatum deserere vel abbati cedere voluerunt. Creditur a multis miraculose factum esse quod nullus ex insanis prædonibus illis manus in eum misit dum eorum tecta combureret quamvis lanceis et sagittis, multum irati, dum hæc faceret, mortem ei cominus intentarent" (ibid.).

[672] "Aliud etiam illis diebus fertur contigisse miraculum, quod lapides murorum ecclesiæ Ramesensis, claustri etiam et officinarum quas prædones inhabitaverant, in magna quantitate guttas sanguinis emiserunt, unde per totam Angliam rumor abiit admirabilis, et magnæ super hoc habitæ sunt inter omnes ad invicem collationes. Erat enim quasi notorium, et omnibus intueri volentibus visu et tactu manifestum" (ibid.).

[673] "Dum autem ecclesia illa pro castello teneretur, ebullivit sanguis a parietibus ecclesie et claustri adjacentis, indignationem divinam manifestans, exterminationem sceleratorum denuntians; quod multi quidem, et ipse ego, oculis meis inspexi" (Hen. Hunt., p. 277).

[674] "Miserabilis abbas iste post tot labores et ærumnas quietem habere et domum suam recuperasse sperabat a qua dolens et exspes recessit, laboribus expensis ita fatigatus ut jam tæderet eum vivere. Non enim habebat unde modice familiæ suæ equitaturas et sumptus necessarios posset providere" (Chron. Ram., p. 331).

[675] "In omnibus terris dominicis totius abbatiæ unam tantum carucam reperit et dimidiam, reperit victualium nihil; debitum urgebat; terræ jacebant incultæ.... Oportuit præfatum abbatem xxiiii castell[?anis] vel amplius singulis mensibus pro rusticis suis redemptiones seu tenserias præstare, qui tam per Danielem quam per ipsos malefactores multum exhausti fuerant, et extenuati" (Chron. Ram., 333, 334). This description, though it is applied to the state of things which awaited the abbot on Earl Geoffrey's death, is obviously in point here. It is of importance for its allusion to the plough, which illustrates the language of Domesday (the plough-teams being always the first to suffer, and the most serious loss: compare Bishop Denewulf's tenth-century charter in Liber de Hyda), but still more for its mention of the tenseriæ. Here we have the very same word, used at the very same time, at Peterborough, Ramsey, and Ely. The correction, therefore, of the English Chronicle is utterly unjustifiable (see Appendix AA). Moreover, a comparison of this passage with the letter of Pope Lucius (ante, p. 215) shows that at Ramsey, as at Ely, the evil effect of this state of things continued in these tenseriæ even after the bishop and the abbot had respectively regained possession.

[676] "Suorum tandem consilio fretus, comitem Gaufridum adiit, monasterii sui detentorem, patenter et audacter ei ostendens tam ipsum quam totam familiam ipsius, tam ex ipso facto quam apostolica auctoritate interveniente, a Christianâ communione esse privatos, domum suam sibi postulans restitui si vellet absolvi. Quod comes vix patienter audiens, plures ei terminos de reddenda possessione sua constituit, sed promissum nunquam adimplevit ita ut cum potius deludere videretur quam ablatam possessionem sibi velle restituere; unde miser abbas miserabiliter afflictus mortis debitum jam vellet exsolvisse" (Chron. Ram., p. 331).

[677] "Sed prophani milites in sua malitia pertinaces nec sic domum Dei quam polluerant reddere voluerant; induratum enim erat cor eorum" (ibid., p. 330).

[678] "Oppresserat enim fames omnem regionem; et ægra seges victum omnem negaverat; per viginti milliaria seu triginta non bos non aratrum est inventus qui particulam terræ excoleret; vix parvissimus tunc modius emi poterat ducentis denariis. Tantaque hominum clades de inopiâ panis sequuta est, ut per vicos et plateas centeni et milleni ad instar uteris inflati exanimes jacerent: feris et volatilibus cadavera inhumata relinquebantur. Nam multo retro tempore talis tribulatio non fuit in cunctis terrarum regnis" (Historia Eliensis, p. 623).

[679] "Efferbuit enim per totam Angliam Stephani regis hostilis tribulatio, totaque insula vi potius quam ratione regebatur" (Chron. Ram., p. 334).

[680] "Potentes, per circuitum late vastando, milites ex rapinâ conducunt; villas comburunt: captivos de longe ducentes miserabiliter tractabant; pios alligabant in compedibus et nobiles in manicis ferreis" (Historia Eliensis, p. 623).

[681] "Furit itaque rabies vesana. Invicta lætatur malitia: non sexui non parcunt ætati. Mille mortis species inferunt, ut ab afflictis pecuniam excutiant: fit clamor dirus plangentium: inhorruit luctus ubique mærentium; et constat fuisse completum quod nunciatur in Apocalypsi Joannis: 'quærent homines mori et fugiet mors ab eis'" (ibid.).

[682] "Sed verum est quod vulgariter dicitur: 'Ubi dolor maximus ibi proxima consolatio'" (Chron. Ram., p. 331).

[683] "Herba viridissima emarcuit, ut eo surgente quasi præmortua videretur, nec toto fere anno viridatis suæ vires recuperavit. Unde datur intelligi quam detestandum sit consortium excommunicatorum" (Gervase, i. p. 128).

[684] "Accessit paulo post cum exercitu suo ad quoddam castellum expugnandum quod apud Burewelle de novo fuerat constructum, et quum elevata casside illud circuiret ut infirmiorem ejus partem eligeret ad expugnandum, ... quidam vilissimus sagittarius ex hiis qui intra castellum erant capiti ipsius comitis lethale vulnus impressit" (Chron. Ram., 331, 332). "Hic, cum ... in obsidione supradicti castelli de Burwelle in scuto et lancea contra adversarios viriliter decertasset, ob nimium calorem cassidem deposuit, et loricæ ventilabrum solvit, sicque nudato capite intrepidus militavit. Æstus quippe erat. Quem cum vidisset quispiam de castello, et adversarium agnosceret, telo gracili quod ganea dicitur eum jam cominus positum petiit, que testam capitis ipsius male nudati perforavit" (Gervase, i. 128). "Dum nimis audax, nimisque prudentiæ suæ innitens regiæ virtutis castella frequentius circumstreperet, ab ipsis tandem regalibus circumventus prosternitur" (Gesta, p. 106). "Post hujusmodi tandem excessibus aliisque multis his similibus publicam anathematis non immerito incurrit sententiam, in qua apud quoddam oppidulum in Burwella lethaliter in capite vulneratus est" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142). "Inter acies suorum confertas, a quodam pedite vilissimo solus sagitta percussus est. Et ipse, vulnus ridens, post dies tamen ex ipso vulnere excommunicatus occubuit" (Hen. Hunt., 276).

[685] "In quodam prædio consisteret quod ... ad Ramesense monasterium pertinebat, et pertinet usque in hodiernum diem.... Quod iccirco in fundo beati Benedicti factum fuisse creditur ut omnes intelligere possent quod Deus ultionum dominus hoc fecerat in odium et vindictam injuriarum quas monasterio beati Benedicti sacrilegus comes intulerat" (Chron. Ram., p. 331).

[686] "Cum nollet satisfacere, placuit fratribus ibidem Deo servientibus in transgressionis huius vindictam Crucem deponere si forte dives ille compunctus hoc facto vellet rescipiscere. Tradunt autem qui hiis inquirendis diligentiam adhibuerunt eadem depositionis hora Comitem illum ante castrum de Burewelle ad quod expugnandum diligenter operam dabat letale vulnus suscepisse et eo infra xl dies viam universe Carnis ingressum fuisse" (Harl. MS., 3776). See also Appendix M.

[687] "Verum tantarum tamque immanium persecutionum, tam crudelium quoque, quas in omnes ingerebat, calamitatum justissimus tandem respector Deus dignum malitiæ suæ finem imposuit" (Gesta, p. 106). "Quia igitur improbi dixerunt Deum dormitare, excitatus est Deus, et in hoc signo, et in significato" (Hen. Hunt., p. 277).

[688] "Letiferum sui capitis vulnus deridens nec sic a suo cessavit furore" (Gervase, i. 128, 129).

[689] "Pœnitens itaque valde et Deo cum magna cordis contritione pro peccatis suis supplicans, quantum taliter moriens poterat, Deo et hominibus satisfecit, licet a præsentibus absolvi non poterat" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142). Cf. p. 202, supra.

[690] "Quum igitur apud Mildehale mortis angustia premeretur, hoc audiens præfatus abbas ad eum citissime convolavit. Quo cum venisset, nec erat in ipso comite vox neque sensus, familiares tamen ipsius, domino suo multum condolentes, eum benigne receperunt et cum literis ipsius comitis eum ad filium suum scilicet Ernaldum de Magna Villa ... statim miserunt ut sine mora cœnobium suum sibi restitueret" (Chron. Ram., p. 332).

[691] "Gaufridus de Magna Villa regem validissime vexavit et in omnibus gloriosus effulsit. Mense autem Augusti miraculum justitia sua dignum Dei splendor exhibuit" (Hen. Hunt., p. 277).

[692] "Et sicut, dum viveret, ecclesiam confudit, terram turbavit, sic, ad eum confundendum tota Angliæ conspiravit ecclesia; quia et anathematis gladio percussus et inabsolutus abscessit, et terræ sacrilegum dari non licuit" (Gesta, p. 106).

[693] "Illo autem, in discrimine mortis, ultimum trahente spiritum, quidam supervenere Templarii qui religionis suæ habitum cruce rubea signatum ei imposuerunt" (Mon. Ang., ut supra). But the red cross is said not to have been assumed by the order till the time of Pope Eugene (1145). See Monasticon Ang., ii. 815, 816.

[694] "Ac deinde jam mortuum secum tollentes, et in pomerio suo, veteris scilicet Templi apud London' canali inclusum plumbeo in arbore torva suspenderunt" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142). "Corpus vero defuncti comitis in trunco quodam signatum, et propter anathema quo fuerat innodatus Londoniis apud Vetus Templum extra cimiterium in antro quodam projectum est" (Chron. Ram., p. 332). This would seem to be the earliest mention of the Old Temple. Pomerium in Low Latin is, of course, an orchard, and not, as Mr. Freeman so strangely imagines (at Nottingham, in Domesday), a town wall.

[695] "Post aliquod vero tempus industria et expensis Willelmi quem jam pridem in Waldena constituerat priorem, a papa Alexandro, more taliter decedentium meruit absolvi, inter Christianos recipi, et pro eo divina celebrari" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142).

[696] "Ibique jacuit toto tempore Regis Stephani magnaque parte Regis Henrici Secundi, donec Gaufridus filius ejus, Comes Essexie, vir industrius et justitiarius Domini Regis jam factus Dominum Willelmum abbatem cæpit humiliter interpellare pro patre suo defuncto offerens satisfactionem, et quum ab eo benignum super hoc responsum accepisset, statuta die convenerunt ambo sub præsentia domini Cantuarensis, scilicet beati Thomæ martyris, super hoc tractaturi.... Quo facto, pater ipsius comitis Christianæ traditus est sepulturæ." The earl's grant runs as follows:— "Gaufridus de Magna Villa Comes Essexie, omnibus amicis suis et hominibus et universis sanctæ Ecclesiæ filiis salutem. "Satis notum est quanta damna pater meus, Comes Gaufridus, tempore guerrarum monasterio de Rameseia irrogaverit. "Et quia tanta noxia publico dinoscitur indigere remedio, ego tam pro eo quam pro suis satisfacere volens, consilio sanctæ Ecclesiæ cum Willelmo Abbate monachisque suprascripti cœnobii in hanc formam composui.... Et quia constat sepedictum patrem meum in irrogatione damnorum memoratæ ecclesiæ bona thesauri in cappis, et textis, et hujusmodi plurimum delapidasse, ad eorundem reparationem ad ecclesiæ ornatum dignum duxi redditum istum assignari" (Cart. Ram., i. 197). Compare p. 276, n. 3, and p. 415.

[697] Chron. Ram., pp. 306, 333. The king was probably at Windsor at the time, and the date is a useful one for Becket's movements.

[698] A curious archæological question is raised by this date. According to the received belief, the Templars did not remove to the New Temple till 1185, but, according to this evidence, they already had their churchyard there consecrated in 1163, and had therefore, we may presume, begun their church. The church of the New Temple was consecrated by Heraclius on his visit in 1185, but may have been finished sooner.

[699] "Cumque Prior ille corpus defunctum deponere et secum Waldenam deferre satageret, Templarii illi caute premeditati statim illud tollentes, et in cimiterio novi templi ignobili satis tradiderunt sepulturæ" (Mon. Ang., iv. 142). It was generally believed that his effigy was among those remaining at the Temple, but this supposition is erroneous, as has been shown by Mr. J. G. Nichols in an elaborate article on "The Effigy attributed to Geoffrey de Magnaville, and the Other Effigies in the Temple Church" (Herald and Genealogist (1866), iii. 97, et seq.).