Fasti eboracenses. Lives of the archbishops of York

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FASTI EBORACENSES.

EASTI EBORACENSES.

LIYES

AECHBISHOPS OF YORK.

THE REV. W. H. DIXON. M.A.,

CANON RESIDENTIAHY OF YORK, ETC.

EDITED AND ENLAEGED

BY

THE REV. JAMES RAINE, M.A.,

SECRETARY OF THE SURTEE8 SOCIETY.

VOLUME I.

LONDON :
LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, AND ROBERTS.

1863.

LONDON :

MITCHELL AND SON, PRINTERS,

WARDOUK STREET, W.

PREFACE.

When a work like tlie present emerges from tlie press, a work
long-promised and long-delayed^ on wliicli the toil of many
years lias been lavished, the reader may naturally wish to know
somewhat of its origin and progress, and it is only right, in
this instance, that his curiosity should be gratified. These
explanations may be appropriately prefaced by a short account
of the beginner of these biographical annals, to whose industry
and judgment the present volume is intended to be a memorial.

William Henry Dixon was the son of Henry Dixon, vicar of
Wadworth, in the deanery of Doncaster, and was born at that
place in the month of November, 1783. His mother was the
half-sister of the poet Mason, who basked for many years in
the favour of the family of Darcy at the neighbouring rectory
of Aston, which he has immortalized in his verse. The estates
of that well-known writer came into Mr. Dixon^s possession,
together with some literary treasures of much interest and
value, including several volumes in the beautiful handwriting
of Gray. These have now foimd a resting-place in the minster-
library at York.

Mr. Dixon received his education at the grammar-schools at
Worsbrough and Houghton-le-Spring. In 1801 he was matri-
culated at Pembroke college, Cambridge, and in January, 1805,
he graduated in arts. In 1807 he entered into orders, and
with the curacy of the pleasant village of Tickhill he began his
clerical career in the diocese of York, with which he was con-

o

i.m 1Q99

vi PREFACE.

nected during the remainder of his life. Throughout the
whole of Yorkshire there were few clergymen more useful than
Mr. Dixon, and none, perhaps, more generally beloved. He
passed through all the grades of clerical life, and did his duty
in each, whether he was acting as a parish-priest or a canon, or
in the weightier and more delicate position of adviser to the
primate, for he was domestic chaplain to two archbishops. For
many years he was a prebendary of Ripon, but he gave that
office up in 1852, and he held also, in succession, the perpetual
curacy of Mappleton, the vicarage of Wistow and curacy of
Cawood, the vicarage of Topcliffe and the rectory of Sutton-on-
the-Forest. At the time of his decease he was prebendary of
Weighton and a canon residentiary at York, rector of Etton,
and vicar of Bishopthorpe. In the last-mentioned position he
was brought frequently into daily contact with the primate, who
had the greatest confidence at all times in his wisdom and dis-
cretion.

In his private life no one merited or won more universal
respect and regard than Mr. Dixon. Gifted with ample means,
and with a heart as open as his purse was large, he was never
appealed to in vain, and he rejoiced to do good. In almost
every parish in which he laboured he left behind him some
substantial token of his munificence, and in everything that he
did he exhibited the considerate kindness and the courteous
demeanour of a Christian gentleman. His unobtrusiveness
made these points in his character more observed and valued,
for he was singularly modest and retiring, and yet when from
the necessities of station he was brought prominently before
the public eye, he never shrank from doing his duty in a posi-
tion to which he was naturally averse. The refinement of his
manners threw a charm over everything that he said and did.
Nearly ten years have passed away since his decease, but even
now there is no one in York who does not speak of Mr. Dixon
ynih an honest warmth of feeling which is beyond the suspicion
of affectation. An almost universal homage is still paid to his

TREFACE. VU

courtesy and goodness. In this brief tribute to his character
the writer can only give the echo of the popuhir voice. It is a
matter of deep regret to him that he never even saw the gentle-
man of whom he is now speaking, and whose literary labours
it has been his privilege to take up and enlarge.

In the glorious choir at York, surrounded by carving and
colours such as no other Christian temple can exhibit, a pious
hand has erected a memorial of brass, enriched with the cun-
ning workmanship of the graver, to an uncle and a nephew.
Upon it the names of William Mason and William Dixon are
inscribed^ although neither of them is sleeping in that sacred
dust over which you walk. One is resting in a neighbouring
graveyard, the other is lying in " Aston^s secret shade," which
he loved so well. Yet in the noble fane at York, in which they
were both sometime dignitaries, how appropriately are these
two kinsmen commemorated and connected ! That shrine in
which they worshipped gave to each of them of its inspiration.
It evoked Mason^s verse, and the choir of the cathedral and its
music were almost his chief care : it induced Dixon to recount
and recall the great deeds of those who had ruled and minis-
tered in that sanctuary of which he was so proud.

The worthies and the annals of the church of York have at
all times excited an unusual amount of attention. Putting
aside many historical works of a general interest and bearing in
which the capital of the North and its ecclesiastical superiors
are mentioned very frequently and fully, there are many pieces
which are specially devoted to the Fasti of that cathedral.
From the writings of Beda and Alcuin we may learn the history
of Paulinus and Cliadd, of Egbert, Albert, and the Eanbalds,
but we have separate and distinct lives of as many as five of the
early primates, Wilfrid, St. John of Beverley, Oswald, Thiirstan,
and St. William. In the twelfth century the famous chronicler,
Symeon of Durham, addressed a brief but interesting letter to
Hugh, the dean of York, in which he gave him a short account
of the archbishops up to his day, and about the same time, or

PREFACE.

;i littU- later, the poet, Hugh de Sotevagina, wrote down the
lives of the first four primates after the Conquest, and his work
is as yet unpublished. The historians of the chiu'ch of Hexham
rei'ord many interesting particulars relating to the archbishops
and the eathedral of York, with which they were officially
conneetcd. In the fourteenth century, Thomas Stubbs, a Do-
minican friai', compiled his well-known clironicle containing the
biography of the heads of the Northern province from its
foundation to the eiul of the reign of Edward III., and this
was subse([uently continued by an unknown hand to the period
of the Reformation. In addition to this there is more than
one poem in which the glories of the church of York are described
in lively verse, ascending from the middle of the fifteenth cen-
tury until the mists of antiquity conceal all historical informa-
tion but that which suggests itself to the imagination of the
enthusiastic bard. After the Reformation there is a long pause
in the annals of York, broken only by the biographies of the
Northern archbishops which occur in the great work of Godwin,
by Ilacket's delightfid life of archbishop Williams, and a work
by another hand on the same theme. Towards the close of the
^seventeenth century we come to a man of whom no Yorkshire-
man ought to speak without respect and admiration, James
Torre, the York antiquary.

He was a scion of a good Yorkshire family, and in his zeal
for antiquity he was not unworthy of the county which was the
mother of Roger Dodsworth and many other scholars of repute
and fame. His powers of application must have been pro-
digious, for although he was but a middle-aged man when he
died, he had filled scores of folio volumes with materials for
history, biography, and genealogy, all written in that curiously
mmute hand which was one of the characteristics of the literaiy
men of that age. The nerves and the heads of those who are
now living shrink from the very thought of what persons like
Prynne, Dugdale, Dodsworth and Torre could elFect and endure.
I do not think that James Toitc of York was inferior in appli-

PREFACE. IX

cation to any of the scholars that have been mentioned. If we
form our estimate of him merely from the three or four volumes
of his manuscripts which are preserved at York in the registry
of the dean and chapter, we can see that he Avas a man of ex-
traordinary powers. In the space of three or four years he
literally made an abstract of most of the official documents in
the registers of the archbishops and the chapter. The succes-
sion of clergy in every living in the diocese, up to the time in
which he lived, is given as far as he could ascertain it. Tlie
testamentary burial of e^^ery person of importance, all instru-
ments and deeds connected with endowments of livings and
chantries are mentioned, and in many instances church notes
are added besides. These are some of the contents of these
wonderful volumes.

The most extraordinary, however, of them all, is that which
is specially devoted to the minster at York. There is in it a
history of the church from the earliest times ; there is a perfect
survey of the fabric, all the glass is described, every monument
is measured and drawn, and its inscription and decorations are
given in the most minute way, by which many things are pre-
served which have long since disappeared. The endowments of
the church are all given : there is even an abstract of the leases.
There are full lists of the parsons, vicars, and chantry-priests.
But the greatest wonder in the volume is that part which may
appropriately be called the Fasti of the Cathedral. It is a list
of all the archbishops, deans, dignitaries and canons of the
church to the time in which Torre lived ; all their preferments
in the diocese are specified ; the exact dates are given, with
references for each statement, but here, as a general rule, the
compiler ends. These things are merely the diy bones of a
skeleton, but each is in its proper place, and Torre has left to
others the more difficult and laborious task of clothing them
with flesh and blood. He has made the framework of the Fasti
himself, and in doing that he has accomplished a great deal.

Torre died at a comparatively early age, and little has been

PREFACE.

since (lone to illustrate the biography of the dignitaries of the
minster. His lists appeared witli a few additions in the M^orks
of Le Neve and Browne Willis, and the Fasti Ecclesice Angli-
ca/ue have been still more improved in the reeent edition by
Mr. T, I). Hardy. The antiquary, Francis Drake, wrote the
lives of the archbishops and published them in his Eboracum,
but they contain little information of any novelty or value, and
tluy are disfigured in several places by those caustic remarks of
which that historian was too fond. There are memoirs also of
archljisliop Sharpe and of several of the later primates, but the
Fasti of the industrious Torre still occupy the first position in
importance. They are not free of course from errors of omission
and commission, — the character of the work precludes the pos-
sibility of that — but on the whole these unrivalled collections
arc marvellously exact.

iVIr. Dixon's connection Avith the church of York, the taste
for letters which he inherited, and the natural bent of his own
mind, induced him many years ago to turn his attention to the
manuscripts of Torre, and the history of the minster and its
officers. As he was unable to decipher the mediaeval hands, he
took the greater interest in the more modern period, and with
much industry and perseverance he drcAV up a volume which he
entitled, " Fasti Eboracenses ; or, A catalogue of the Members
of the Cathedral of York from the Great Rebellion to the pre-
sent time." These are written in a stout folio of five hundred
and fifty pages, drawn up with much care, and illustrated with
information derived from many persons and sources. The work
is by no means a dull and dry catalogue of names, but it con-
tains numerous extracts from printed books, and many facts
which could only have been ascertained by personal enquiry, and
with much trouble and research.

I'or many years Mr. Dixon confined himself to the limits
wlucii have just been mentioned, but at the suggestion of the
late learned and amiable Archdeacon Todd, he subsequently de-
termmed to take a wider range, and to attempt the biographies

PREFACE. XI

of the worthies of the minster from the very earliest times.
This extension of his subject seems to have suggested to ^Ir.
Dixon another method of arranging his materials. In the first
portion of his work he had marshalled the dignitaries in regular
succession under the offices which they occupied ; in the latter
he adopted a purely chronological order, with no regard to
offices at all, and at the head of each century lie placed a short
essay on the general history of the church during that period.
This plan was an intelligible and a good one, but the great
length to which the lives of the primates alone have extended,
has rendered its rejection necessary. Between the first and the
second portion of Mr. Dixon^s work there is no comparison in
value and importance. The latter part (in point of time the
earlier) was commenced far too late in life to present any appear-
ance of the industry and research which are apparent in the
other, and which would have been evident to a great extent in
this if a longer career had been vouchsafed to INIr. Dixon. As it
was, through the aid of the manuscripts of Torre, he had laid
down a pretty substantial framework for his book. From the
same invaluable collection he had derived many notices of the
livings and offices which each dignitary enjoyed, and he had
added, besides, some extracts of his own from other sources.
There was no attempt, however, at composition, and for the
most part Mr. Dixon^s collections for the mediaeval portion of
the Fasti are little more than a bare catalogue of names and
dates.

Soon after Mr. Dixon^s lamented decease, which occurred in
the month of February, 1854, his widow, acting under the
advice of Mr. Canon Harcourt and the late Dr. Raine, resoh cd
to prepare for publication the Fasti Eboracenses as a memorial
to her husband. In compliance with his father^s wishes, the
charge of the work was undertaken by the editor, who was at
that time a mere stripling as Avell in years as in literary experi-
ence. Neither he nor any one else who was interested in the
book had at that time any idea of the real extent and weight of

PREFACE.

tlic burden wliich lie was fastening to his shoulders. It was
obvious, in whatever light the undertaking was regarded, that
much toil and research would be required from the editor. In
what form his labours were to be connected with those of his
predecessor was not so evident. Dr. Raine, in the first instance,
was of opinion that ]Mr. Dixon^s manuscript should be made use
of as a text, and that the additions of the editor should appear
in the form of notes, but he soon discovered that this arrange-
ment was impossible, as it would be mere folly to have ten and
often twenty or thirty lines in note-type to illustrate only one of
text. Mr. Harcourt, by whose advice, together with that of
Dr. Raine, the editor has been guided in any case of diJBBculty,
at Mrs. Dixon^s request, stated from the very first that Mr.
Dixon^s manuscript should merely be used as a foundation on
which the work should be constructed. At all events the general
understanding was that what was wrong should be struck out,
and what was wanting added. To do all this was a very weighty
and serious office. No one, I believe, was at tliat time conscious
of the toil that it would entail, least of all the writer of these
words.

Ten years liave almost passed away since this resolution was
arrived at, and the present volume at least will shew that the
editor has tried in all honesty and honour to adhere to it. These
ten years have brought great changes to him as well as to others.
Tliey have removed from his sight one in particular, whose
memory he can never dwell upon with aught but love and re-
verence, who before his decease had begun to look with some
regret and fear upon the labour entailed by the work which he
had counselled the editor to u^ndertake. Those fears, however,
have been happily belied, and the hopes and aspirations that
ever accompanied them, as the writer humbly trusts, would not
have been entirely disappointed, had his sire been spared to look
upon this volume. The old words, Spai'tam nactus es, have
been continually in the editor's mind, and he has been animated
throughout his work by a wish, and why should he be ashamed

PKEFACE. XUl

to own it ? tliat lie might do some little honour to the name of a
father of M'liom his ehiklren have so much reason to be proud.
But the editor has been upheld throughout his labour by a
higher motive still. He was requested to add to and correct Mr.
Dixon^s manuscript, supplying as far as he could whatever was
deficient; a commission as unlimited as the labour which it
necessitated. He accepted it voluntarily and cheerfully in its
fullest and widest sense, and in its fullest and widest sense, as a
matter of duty, he has endeavoured to fulfil it. He felt at all
times that he could not conscientiously do otherwise, and in
spite of labour which, in one word, has been tremendous, in
spite of sacrifices as severe as they have been various, in spite
of several very heavy discom'agements, under w^hich many would
have shrunk and fainted, he has persevered in doing his duty by
his work. He could never have done so if he had not been
strong in body and stout in heart, and he cannot be too grateful
to One wdio orders and sustains both, that his health has been
uninjm*ed, and his resolution, although sometimes sorely tried,
still buoyant and undaunted.

The whole of the present volume has been written by the
editor, and nineteen-twentieths of the materials have been col-
lected by him. It was his wish to have issued the two volumes,
in which the lives of the archbishops are to be comprised, at
one and the same time, that the second, in which Mr. Dixon^s
work will be more apparent, should appear contemporaneously
with the first, which the editor, owing to the paucity of the
materials collected for it, has been obliged to winte himself;
but, at the request of Mrs. Dixon, the first volume has been
issued without its intended companion. The editor has also
been desired by the same lady to write or re-write the Avhole of
the second volume. It will not be necessary, however, for him
to do that entirely. Mr. Dixon's own collections for the later
portion of his work will save the editor much trouble and re-
search, and the public before long wall have an opportunity of
fully estimating the merits of an undertaking which, but for

XIV PREFACE.

Mr. Dixon, would never have been begun, and which is offered
up as a memorial to his industry and judgment, not less sincere
and lasting, it is to be hoped, because so much of it has been
constructed by an alien, although a friendly, hand.

The perusal of this volume will shew the reader that this is
not a woi'k that has been hastily or carelessly constructed, and
will at once explain the delay in its appearing, although it
contains the lives of only forty primates. Many, however, will
be surprised when they are told that the editor has made con-
temporaneously, in behalf of the Fasti, collections, on the same
scale, for the biography of some seventeen hundred other per-
sons, extending over a period of tvvelve centuries, and compris-
ing, among the very greatest men in the Church and State, three
hmidred English and foreign bishops, three popes, and at least
sixty cardinals. It is not too much to say that almost the whole
range of the history, biography, and topography of England,
and, in part, of other countries, has been ransacked for these
Fasti. This, as every student knows, could not be done without
great labour. He is aware, also, that for mediaeval biography
mediaeval documents and annals must necessarily be examined,
and that few have the inclination, still fewer the ability, to have
recourse to them. Some may, perhaps, smile when the editor
tells them that he has given up nearly a whole year to daily toil
among original evidences in the public offices to make his work
as complete as possible. New matter is what is wanted in these
days, and that can only be derived from repositories like these.
We wish also to hear of new men — not of persons like Wolsey
and Cranmer, to whose biography there are perhaps few additions
of any importance to be made ; but of bishops like Thurstan and
Thoresby, Bek, Skirlaugh, Hatfield and Langley. We want to
know what they did and how they worked, who were the officers
and clergy that were under them, what was the discipline of the
chm'ch in their day, the state of the monasteries, the private
and public life of the parish priests and canons. At present we
know almost nothing about our early church history and bio-

PREFACE. XV

graphy, and for the simple reason, that men will not take the
trouble to seek for information where alone it ean be found. In
preparing the Fasti the editor has made an honest, although
very imperfect, attempt to fill up and supply a manifest defect,
and he has not shrunk from the drudgery which the nature of
his work required. He may ventui^e to say with bishop Hackct,
" I drew the knowledge of those things of most moment which
I shall deliver from the spring-head, and I trust in God that 1
have incorporated them into this frame with integrity .^^ In
these days of book-making, one work with a loud-sounding title
succeeds another, repeating the old errors and the old conclu-
sions, which the absence of new evidence prevents the writers
from discarding. All that they can do is to put the old mate-
rials in a new and a more pleasing setting, although this is not
often the case. The book is the old dish served up again, the
" cramhe repetita," against which the great Roman satirist shot
his arrow.

No one is more sensible of the great defects of this work
than the writer. What exertions can be worthy of so noble and
so grand a subject ! The editor's sensations are like those of
the scholar who comes into a vast library, or of a person who
finds himself suddenly introduced into the presence of a great
multitude of men. The one regards himself as a dot or an unit
in such a concourse, the other sees what a pigmy he is in genius
when he gazes on those ponderous tomes which express the
thoughts and the feelings and the deeds of the almost forgotten
dead. The editor is well aware of the grandeur of his theme,
although he has not risen to the high level on which it ought to
have been placed. He does not believe that he has gathered
together a third of the information which may be discovered
about many of the primates whose lives he has been bold enough
to attempt, and of this volume one third, perhaps, will be
found to be incorrect. The very nature of the work precludes
the possibility of complete accuracy and exactness, and if the
writer had waited for them, his labours would never have been

PREFACE.

ready for the press. It is a great thing to lay a foundation for
futui-e research, and to give people something to correct. It is
a matter of deep regret to the editor that so few of the national
documents, especially the Close and Patent Rolls, are in the
hands of the public. He is well aware that they may destroy
many of his conclusions, and supply facts of which he is com-
pletely ignorant; but he must throw himself in this respect
on the consideration of others. All will allow that he has not
shrunk from toil, and he has been equally anxious to avoid harsh
criticism and controversy. Of conrse he has not refrained from
expressiiig his opinion about men and things, but he has en-
deavoured to make his way by stating what he believes to be
the truth, and not by shewing where others are in the wrong.
He is so well aware of the hidden fires that are smouldering
under his own feet, that he has no wish to evoke them by
censui*ing or attacking others.

One great difficulty that the writer has been obliged to con-
tend with is this, that this work is restricted to a certain limited
space, and he has thus been unable to do full justice either to
his subject or himself. The strong hand of compression will be
apparent in every page of this work. The life of more than one
primate, were it fully entered into, would form a volume of itself.
On account of this want of room many things have necessarily
been omitted ; facts have been stated, but the conclusions to be
drawn from them have been left to others, and many critical
remarks upon difiicult and disputed points have been abbreviated
or abandoned. But with all this compression the lives of the
archbishops alone will occupy the space which was intended at
one time to be filled by the whole Fasti of the cathedral ; and
with these lives, to be completed, it is expected, in another
volume, this Avork will come to a termination. The reader will
not be introduced to those many hundreds of other dignitaries,
aljout whom such a mass of information has been collected. It
would require ten or twelve volumes like the present to do jus-
tice to their biography, and the annals of the archiepiscopate

PREFACE. XVU

must not be ruthlessly curtailed. It is with no little regret
that the editor is obliged to throw aside five-sixths of the mate-
rials which he has gathered together, especially as a third
volume, comprising the lives of the deans, sub-deans, chancellors,
precentors, treasurers and archdeacons of York, would not only
constitute the history of the cathedral to which the biography
of its remaining members could easily be appended, but it would
also disclose a vast body of information about many good and
great, although hitherto unknown, dignitaries, which would be
of gi'cater novelty and interest than that which is now laid
before the public. It would be a matter of much concern to
the editor to see the subject continued on a scale less extensive
than the present, but flesh and blood, somehow or other, cannot
but shrink from the thought of the labour which such an under-
taking would require, although in this case it would be merely
the construction of an edifice out of the materials that have
already been collected. It is certain, however, whatever people
may say or think, that until the Fasti of one cathedral or diocese
are exhausted in the way that has been suggested, we can know
but little of the true history of the English Church. At present
we are only catching at straws and pursuing shadows. We
want to see what the ecclesiastics of other days believed and
did, how they lived and wrote and died. At the present time
we scarcely know their names.

This book professes to be nothing more than biograph3% It
is not the history of the English Church or of any part of it. It
has nothing to do with what are called '' the times " of the arch-
bishops or of any of them, — that vague and unsatisfactory term
which is almost invariably the title of a bad book. It has
simply to do with the men themselves with whom the work
professes to deal, and collateral information is brought in only
with the intention of setting off their characters and history.
This book is addressed ad clerum rather than ad populum, to
the bees and not the butterflies. It is written to bring out
truth, and not to please fancy or prejudice, or merely to attract

b

XVm PREFACE.

the popular eye. Too many sacrifices have been made to these
already, and scholars who are worthy of better things have been
frightened by the bugbear of popularity. Popularity of course
must have its due Avcight in the mind of every one, reader or
student, and it is but folly for the scholar to kick against the
jn-icks by professing to despise it, but it must not be everything.
If this is to be a book of reference, — and it can scarcely expect
to rise to that dignity, — why should it be made a bad one,
merely to gratify the taste that shrinks from dry details. This
is an enquiring age, and what it wants are new facts from which
new conclusions may be drawn. The true gold of literature and
learning is far below that surface on which too many in these
days are content to work. In quest of that gold the editor has
not been ashamed to dig, and he has tried to do so in an honest
and a kindly spirit. He is well aware that the main reason
why people shrink from early biography and history is, that they
cannot realize those times, they cannot think and feel as the
men of those days thought and felt, of whom they know so little.
You may see their portraits, if you wish, in the memorials that
they have left to us. You may trace out the finer features of
their character in their works, and rise up a better man than
you sat down. The editor would fain hope that he has sojourned
not altogether in vain among those great and holy men with
whom he has endeavoured to surround himself, that he has
drawn their true portraiture, and ascribed to them thoughts and
words and deeds that are not unworthy of them. His labour
has shewn to him, and he trusts to others also, that in those
ages which many pass by as unenlightened and uninteresting,
there were learning and true greatness, and a spirit of devotion
and self-sacrifice of which few in these days can fully and pro-
perly conceive. Men like these belong not to one party, but to
all, and they are England's noblest and greatest sons. Their
very presence seems to act as an inspiration in the places which
they once haunted. Who can enter the glorious fane of York
without feeling this, although he is a stranger to its history and

PREFACE, XIX

its fortunes? A kind of sacred influence seems to hang around
you there, a legacy to tlie present from the past. Associations
throng around you, for great things have been done within those
walls. Roman emperors walked over this ground when as yet
this temple was not. It was here, in the dayspring of Chris-
tianity, that the Northumbrian monarch stood with Paulinus
at the font, and made vows and promises which he was not
long spared to keep. On this sacred site was the church of
which Wilfrid was the founder, lovingly enshrining in its heart
the little chapel which had witnessed the baptism of the king.
Recollect that Bede was in it twelve centuries ago, and that in
this place were the home and the school of Alcuin, of which
he spoke with true filial gratitude and enthusiasm among the
Paladins of Charlemagne. Kings and nobles have stood where
you now stand, and many of the princes of Northumbria, Norse-
men, and mighty men of renown, are sleeping beneath your
feet. What sights and scenes have these time-honoured walls
beheld ! They have seen, speaking only of more recent events,
and what I may call only modern days, they have seen the
areat king; surrounded bv his court when St. William^s bones
were placed in a new tomb. They have looked upon the
minions and the reprovers of his unwarlike son, Lancaster and
Bohrm, Clare, Argentine, Gaveston and Despenser. They have
seen the marriage of Edward III. to Philippa of Hainault.
They have witnessed the triumphant progress into the North of
the victor at Agincourt, that he might pay his orisons at the
shrine of the great saint at Beverley who had given him, as he
thought, his victory. They have seen the mutilated remains of
Harry Hotspur laid at last in the cold earth, and the presence
of Richard III. and his youthful son, on a day of short-lived
triumph, among his rejoicing Northmen. This is the transept
which Walter Gray erected, and there in it he is reposing under
that high-towering tomb. That is the monument in which
Scrope's bleeding corpse was laid, and there on the screen is
the image of the cruel king who slew him, still bearing upon its

PREFACE.

face a puerile token of tlie disgust which his injustice aroused,
and almost by his side is his unhappy grandson's statue, to
which the foolish and impassioned Lancastrian in after days paid
a fruitless worship. No one can look on that nave and on that
glorious window, the finest perhaps in the whole world, without
thinking of the great primate who filled it with those glowing
colours which, after the lapse of five centuries, look down upon
you with a softer and a more solemn light, and then go into the
choir, and forget Thoresby if you can. Stone and marble and
glass are voiceful there, and they tell you with one tone of the
good deeds of him who, with no memorial but themselves to
preserve his name, is sleeping in front of that eastern window
before the old altar of St. ISIary, which he once reared, and
which he loved so well.

In conclusion, the editor must acknowledge, and he does so
with pleasure and gratitude, the aid which he has received from
others during the progress of his work. Many a helping hand
has been held out to him, and he has met with much sympathy
which he cannot easily forget. To the Dean and Chapter of
York he is under the deepest obligations : he has had unrestrained
access to all the raunimeuts they possess, as well as to theii* choice
library; and from the chapter- clerk, C. A. Thiselton, Esq., he
has received far more than merely formal courtesy, the unvary-
ing attention and kindness which have extended over many
years. To ^lessrs. Hudson and Buckle he is equally grateful
for the readiness and the pleasure with which they have allowed
him at all times to consult the records in. the archbishop's
registry, without which permission this volume would have
been comparatively worthless.

The editor's most sincere thanks are due to Mr, Canon
Harcom-t, one of the greatest promoters of literature and science
that York has ever known. If it had not been for him, this
work would never, perhaps, have appeared in its present form,
and he has been at all times most desirous, not only to smooth
away any difficulties which may have arisen in the writer's path,

PREFACE. XXI

but to give, what has been still more valued, many a kind word
of encouragement and advice. The editor is also wishful to
express his acknowledgments to Archdeacon Churton for his
assistance, which few are as competent and none more willing to
bestow. He cannot but feel that the lives of the archbishops
of York would have proceeded from Archdeacon Churton^s pen
m^ore appropriately than from his own, and that no one could
do greater justice to the worthies of a cathedral among whom
he himself occupies so high a place.

It would be impossible for the editor to enumerate and
thank, as he could wish, all those who have helped him in his
work. He cannot, however, pass over the Rev. William Stubbs,
J. R. Walbran, Esq., and W. H. D. Longstaffe, Esq., who have
afforded valuable assistance in securing the accuracy of this
volume ; nor must he omit two tried and always kind friends,
Robert Davies, Esq., and the Rev. John Lees, who have been
good enough to examine every sheet as it issued from the
press, and to render aid and counsel with a readiness and a
pleasure which he cannot prize too highly.

It is painful to speak of those who are not, but it would be
unjust to pass those by who took no little interest in the progress
of a work, the completion of which they have not been per-
mitted to behold. To none would the sight of this volume have
afforded more sincere gratification than to two beloved kinsmen,
scholars themselves of repute and fame, who have gone into the
new country, and the writer^s fondest recollections are centred
in a father and an uncle. But there are others, also, now no
more, whom the editor cannot forget. From Joseph Hunter,
Esq., the historian of South Yorkshire, he received at all times
an almost parental kindness, and the aid which a master of his
art is so pleased to render to the son of an old fellow-labourer
in the great cause of letters, when he adopts his father's tastes
and manifests a desire to make them hereditary. Of the Rev.
Charles Wellbeloved the writer can only speak and think with
affectionate regard, and he will always remember one who at

Xxii PREFACE.

an age, whicli few are permitted to reach, retained unimpaired
the wisdom of tlie constans atas, together with the warm zeal
and l)U()yancy of youtli. Nor must the editor pass by the late
Archbishop Musgrave. lie will ahvays be deeply sensible of
the considerate sympatliy of the late primate, and of his over-
flowing kindness, of which he was frequently the recipient.

Tlie writer must also express the great obligations he is
luider to the printer, Mr. Mitchell. He does not think that
any house in London could prepare more creditable proofs than
those which jNIr. Mitchell has submitted to him.

J. R.

YOKK, April 25, 1863.

REFERENCES AND AUTHORITIES.

The editor, for several reasons, has not placed his references
at the end of each life, but has appended them to the fact to
which they especially refer. Their number may perhaps be
reprehended, but the writer has wished to put in each note an
exhaustive list of the authors who have mentioned the particular
circumstance to which it refers. The reader may not, perhaps,
have access to every work that is referred to, but when many
authorities are given, it will be in his power, if he wishes to do
so, to test the accuracy of the narrative by examining at least
one of them.

Exact references have been given to everything but the
manuscripts at York. Any fact can be found without difficulty
in the registers of the archbishops, which are arranged chrono-
logically, and divided into archdeaconries, etc. Into the Act-
books of the Dean and Chapter it is not so easy to enquire.
Torre^s fanciful titles, if given here, would only bewilder the
enquirer, and a new system of lettering must be adopted when
they pass, as they soon will, through the binder^s hands.

Where there is a variety of editions of the same work, it
will be necessary to mention those which the editor has made
use of. This will assist the reader and facilitate investigation.

Alcuini Opera. 2 vols. FoL, 1777.

Baronii Annales. 11 vols. Fol., 1589, and the Continuation, 3 vols. Lyons,
1678.

Beda, ed. Smith, Fol., Cambridge, 1722.

Dugdale's Monasticon. The new edition.

Foedera. The new edition.

Florence of Worcester. 4to, London, 1592. The continuation from the new
edition by the Engl. Historical Society.

Peter Langtoft. £d. Hearne. The reprint.

Chron. de Mailros. Ed. Bannatyne Club. 4to, Edinb., 1835.

William of Newburgh. Ed. Hearne. 2 vols. 8vo, Oxon., 1719.

Matthew Paris. Ed. Wats. Fol., London, 1681.

Chron. Petrib. Ed. Giles.

Polydore Vergil, HLstoria Anglise. Fol., Basilese, 1556.

Savile's Scriptores post Bedam. Fol. London, 1596.

Saxon Chronicle. Ed. Ingram, 4to. London, 1823.

Triveti Annales. 8vo, Oxon., 1719.

AVendover. Ed. Giles, 2 vols. 12mo.

A LIST OF THE LIVES CONTAINED IN THE PRESENT
VOLUME.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.

Paulinus .
Chadd .

WlLFEID I.
BOSA

John .
Wilfrid II. .
Egbert
Albert .
Eanbald I.
Eanbald II. .

■\VULFSY
WlGMUND
"WrLFERE .

Ethelbald
Redewald .
"Wulstan I. .
Oskytel
Ethelwold .
Oswald
Adulph .
Wulstan II.
Alfric .

KiNSIUS

Aldred .
Thomas I. .
Gerard .
Thomas II. .

Thurstan
Henry Murdac

AViLLIAM

Roger de Pont l'Eveque
Geoffrey Plantagenet
Walter de Gray
Sewal de Bovill .
Godfrey de Ludham
Walter Giffaed .

AViLLIAM DE WiCKWAINE

John Romanxjs
Henry de Newark .
Thomas de Coebridge .
William de Greenfield
William de Melton
William la Zouche .
John de Thoresby .

A.D. 627—633

A.D. 664—669

A.D. 669—709

A.D. 678—705

A.D. 705—718

A.D. 718—732

A.D. 732—766

A.D. 766—782

A.D. 782—796

A.D. 796—812

A.D. 812—831

A.D. 837—854

A.D. 854—895

A.D. 895

A.D. 928—930

A.D. 931—956

A.D. 956—972

A.D. 972

A.D. 972—992

A.D. 992—1002

A.D. 1002—1023

A.D. 1023—1050

A.D. 1050—1060

A.D. 1060—1069

A.D. 1070—1100

A.D. 1101—1108

A.D. 1108—1114

A.D. 1114—1140

A.D. 1147—1153

A.D. 1143—1154

A.D. 1154—1181

A.D. 1191—1207

A.D. 1216—1255

A.D. 1256—1258

A.D. 1258—1265

A.D. 1265—1279

A.D. 1279—1285

A.D. 1286—1296

A.D. 1296—1299

A.D. 1300—1304

A.D. 1304—1315

A.D. 1317—1340

A.D. 1342—1352

A.D. 1352—1373

pp. 35 — 46

pp. 47 — 55

pp. 55—83

pp. 83—84

pp. 81—92

pp. 92—94

pp. 94—100

pp. 100—106

pp. 106—109

pp. 109—111

p. Ill
pp. 111—112
pp. 112—113
p. 113
p. 114
pp. 114—116
pp. 116—117

p. 118
pp. 118—128
pp. 129—131
pp. 131—134
pp. 134—137
pp. 137—138
pp. 138—146
pp. 146—158
pp. 158—163
pp. 163—170
pp. 170—210
pp. 210—220
pp. 220—233
pp. 233—251
pp. 251—279
pp. 279—295
pp. 295—299
pp. 300—302
pp. 302—317
pp. 317—327
pp. 327—349
pp. 349—353
pp. 353—361
pp. 361—397
pp. 397—437
pp. 437—449
pp. 449—494

FASTI EB0RACENSE8.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.

The history of the archiepiscopate of York commences with the
mission of Paulimis. The lamp of truth begins at that time to
shed abroad its full light, althoixgh several centm-ies had passed
away since it was first kindled. An enquiry into the origin and
progress of the Northern Church will be a necessary and appro-
priate introduction to the biography of its leaders. This, how-
ever, must be made in the briefest and the most summary man-
ner, and I shall not pui'sue it after the arrival of the Norman
conqueror.

It is not easy to sa.y to whom we are indebted for the first
preaching of Christianity in Britain. No one has as yet given
any satisfactory solution of this doubtful point, and the bigotry
of contending partizans has enveloped it in additional obscurity.
It seems evident that there was in the British church an Eastern
as well as a Western element ; indeed it is quite possible that
Judaic traditions had been brought to England before the birth
of the Redeemer. The Eastern origin of the inhabitants of these
islands, the frequent visits which they received from Asiatic
merchants, could not fail to make the Britons more or less ac-
quainted, at a very early period, with the truths of Christianity,
and there are traditions which such a supposition can alone ex-
plain. We must either take it for granted that Greek forms
and opinions, the Grsecanitas of which Mabillon speaks, were
at one time the tenets of the universal church, a point which
mil not be readily conceded, or that there was some direct
communication at a very early period between Asia and Britain,
which originated those peciiliar variations from Roman disci-
pline and ceremonial that were once rife in England. However
this question may be settled, it is equally certain that Chris-
tianity Avould flow into this country from the Eternal City. It is
very probable that our little group of islands, which were so

2 FASTI EBORACENSES.

well kno^u at Rome for their fertility, their mineral wealth,
and the valour and independence of their inhabitants, would be
honoured with a special visit from some of the early propagators
of the fiiith ; but, even if they had never reached our shores,
v>e may be sure that the truths which they inculcated every-
where, with such energy and success, would come to Britain
soouer or later from the eraporiiim of the world. The early
Christians shunned neither the camp nor the forum ; every place
and profession was thronged with converts to the tnie faith, and
we may be certain that there would be many of them in this
country, in attendance upon the imperial court, or in the ranks
of the Roman armies. Wherever there were Christians they
would have their assemblies and congregations, and they would
proljably imitate, as far as possible, the example of their bre-
thren at Jerusalem, where " all that believed were together, and
had all things comraon.^^

From little beginnings a church would gi^adually be esta-
blished. I do not mean to say that Clu^stianity would at once
become the national faith ; very far from it ; but still it is re-
markable that we find no trace of any opposition being made to
the new creed by the professors of the native religion. Into no
country could Christianity be introduced with greater chances
of success. It would soon encounter Druidism, and it does not
appear that the meeting produced any angry collision. The
I^astern origin of both creeds, the sacred mystery that enveloped
them, the retired lives of their teachers, would disarm the sus-
picions of even the gifted critic. A kind of alliance seems to
have been made between Christianity and Druidism, and, as is
generally the case, the new and more active religion stepped
before long into the place of the old. It became, in this way,
more or less the national faith. Securing the favour of the na-
tive princes, and encoimtering little opposition, if any, from
the Druids themselves, the Christian religion got possession of
their holy places and consecrated them to a more exalted wor-
ship, Bangor, a name appropriated to several ancient monas-
teries, signifies " the great circle," thus connecting the place at
once Avith Druidical Avorship and Druidical remains, and shewing
liow Christianity had occupied or superseded them. And on
other occasions the Christians in Britain have displayed a similar
a(h-oitness. As soon as they gained the good opinion of the
ruhng i)0wers, they have quietly taken possession of the holy
places of the lately recognized creed, keeping a firm hold of their
new position, but, nevertheless, disarming criticism and conei-
hatnig public opinion, by adopting, to a certain extent, all that
\vps good and politic in the preceding svstem. It was one of
the pieces of advice which Gregory gave to Augustine, that he

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 3

should use the temples of the Roman deities, and in this respect
that sagacious prelate only followed the example of Arcadius
and Honorius. A little purification was enjoined, and tlien
these heathen shrines might be dedicated to (iod. The catlie-
dral chm-ch at Canterbmy occupied the site of a Roman temple,
so did old St, PauFs and Westminster Abbey. The crypt of
the monastery at Hexham exhibits workmanship of very great
antiquity.*^

It must have been a great boon to the Saxons to have cities
ready built for them, as the Britons had too great a regard for the
Romans to destroy their works. Beda speaks with admiration
of the memorials of their skill and energy that were standing
in his time, temples, aqueducts, and bridges ; but how grand
they must have been nearly three centmies before his day, Avhen
the Saxons ftrst arrived. They had all their public buildings
ready, a mighty step towards civilization for a nation that was
ignorant of everything but Avar. They were sheltered from
their foes by Roman bulwarks ; they could sleep, if they chose,
in Roman houses ;* they could pray, when they had learned the
value and the need of prayer, in a Roman temple. It was from
these edifices that the Saxons themselves learned how to build.
What is now called Saxon architecture is only a rude imitation
of the work of Roman masons. Nor were the Saxons indebted
to Italian art merely for the shrines in whicli they worshipped
— it gave them also the sacred vessels for the sanctuary. In
the ancient Ritual of the church of Durham, and in the Ponti-
fical of Egbert, archbishop of York, there are special forms of
prayer for the consecration of vessels that were found in heathen
places. This tends to shew that every nook and cranny in the
Roman cities and camps has been ransacked long ago for hid
treasure. And that the Saxons carried off everything of value,
the paucity of the Roman remains discovered at the present
day is a sufficient proof. No one who examines the seals that

" There are no remains of this an- of remarkable interest. They occiijiy
tiquity in York. The minster stands the highest ground \^dthin the city. Is
within the old Roman camp, but there this the hill on which the earliest bishop
is nothing to shew that it either occu- that visited Eburacum set up his tent,
pied the site, or was constructed out of and which, after the fashion of our spi-
the remains, of any heathen temple. ritual ancestors, w:is crowned at once
The old name of Christ's Church, was with a Christian temple ? There are
the church of the Holy Trinity in the precedents for such a step, and the sup-
king's court. What king ? Did it ])osition will explain a name about
stand within the precincts of the palace which there has been some doubt,
of the monarchs of Northumbrian The * The Saxon remains which have
recent restorations of the two church<!S been occasionally discovered in Roman
upon Bishophill, disclosed some very camps in the North of England, seem to
early fragments of masonry and sculp- shew that these places were inhabited
ture, and the two buildings, as they after the departure of their builders,
stand at present, exhibit several features

4 FASTI EBORACENSES.

rirc appended to the earliest charters ean fail to see how many
of them are impressions of Roman gems. The seal of the great
monastery of Durham is a remarkahle instance. On the one
part is the well-known cross of St. Cnthhert, but on the other,
now lost, the monks Avished to represent the head of their bene-
factor, king Oswald, so they graved upon a rim of brass the
legend. Caput Osivaldi Regis, and fastened to it in the centre
a tine gem, the spoil of some Roman camp, a magnificent head
of Jui)itcr Tonans !

We cannot accept unreservedly the statement of Beda, that
Britain was first converted to Christianity by missionaries who
\\cre sent from Rome by Eleutherius at the request of the
British chieftain Lucius, about the year a.d. 180. It is plain
that glimpses of the truth must have previously reached these
islands, however vague and uncertain they might be. It was
prol)ably the Avish for some more definite and accurate teaching,
suggested perhaps, as Dr. Lappenberg observes, by the differ-
ences of opinion between the followers of the Eastern and the
Western ceremonials, that tempted Lucius to send to the bishop
of Rome for his assistance and advice. With the advent of this
mission the British episcopate is said to have commenced.
How it was distributed and an'anged it is impossible to say.
Tlic traditionary account asserts that there were twenty-eight
prelates, one for each of the greater British cities, who occupied
tlie position of the Roman flamines. Over them were three
presidents.

The cities which were governed by an archbishop were
London, York, and Caerleon-upon-Usk, or the City of the
Legions. What the duties or the exact rank of these high
officials were Ave are not informed, only Ave are told by William
of NcAvbiu'gh that there was no archbishop, that is in the sense
of a later age, in the early British clim-ch. York is the only
city of the three that has preserved its ancient honours, and
one of its mediaeval chroniclers has proudly recorded —

" Deficimit reliquse, primo frustrantur honore,
Ast Eboracensis sola manet stabilis !"

The origin of Eburacum is concealed in the mists of antiquity.
Far be it from me to dwell upon the fables of which the chroni-
clers of the past ages were so fond. I shall leave to them the
glories of king Ebrauc, and the prestige of a city which was
the seat of a monarch at least twelve centuries before the advent
of Christianity ! Eburacum may be satisfied Anth a humbler
and yet a nobler origin. It is from the pages of the Roman
amialist that Ave must learn the story of its grandeur. It is
not probable that the Roman armies were well acquainted with

INTRODUCTORY CIIAPTF.R. 5

Ehuracnm before the expedition of Ag^'icola into the North,
which took place towards the close of the first ccntnry after
Christ's birth. There the great captain would discover, what
the name imports, an ancient Celtic city. Could we see the
place as the intrepid Italian then beheld it, we should be loth
to dignify it with such a title. There would be before us a col-
lection of dirty hovels crowded together within an enclosed
space, and a population of half-naked and painted barbarians
living among their flocks and herds, and surrounded on all sides
by wild-wood and water. But wretched as Eburacum must then
have been, it could never have been so great under the lloman
rule had it been of little consequence before. The Romans
knew well how wise it was, in a strange and savage country, to
take possession of a place of antiquity and note ; where, prob-
ably, there was the only market in the district, and towards
which all the forest paths converged. Here they could have a
rendezvous for their armies in the North, and a direct commu-
nication with the ocean by the waters of the Ouse. It is scarcely
possible to exaggerate the importance of Eburacum during the
greater part of the first three centuries after Christ's birth. It
was one of the most important places, if not the capital, of
lloman Britain, and as Britain became more potent in the
comrcils of the Empire, so did Ebiu'acum become one of the
greatest cities in the great Roman world. It is probable that
every emperor who visited this island took up his abode in that
city, and when he was absent the legate was the occupant of
the imperial palace. Two emperors, Severus and Constantius
Chlorus, died within its walls. Two claimants of the purple,
Carausius and Allectus, were connected with the district, and
the former is said to have been nominated Imperator at Ebu-
racum. How magnificent must have been the city v/hich was
thus connected with stirring incidents and men of enterprize
and energy ! Thronged it would be with that noble soldiery
which was as yet invincible, and filled with all the hixury and
pomp that nestle about a palace or a court. Fortifications of
the most massive character were around it, and within Avere
public buildings, as fair and as grand as those which Italian
architects had reared beneath the softer skies of their own de-
lightful country. The historian, in a later age, when he gazed
upon tlieu' ruins, accustomed though he was to more striking
outlines and more delicate forms of beauty, could rebuild in
fancy the shattered fabrics of Eburacum, and say proudly to
himself that the noble city must indeed have been another
Rome.'' With what amazement would the Briton look upon

' Richard of Cirencester tells us that two lloman municipia in Britain.
Verulainium and Eburacum were the Alcuin, in his poem Be Sanctis et

6 FASTI EHORACENSES.

the magnificence that Alcuiu admired. The very sight of such
grandeur -woukl captivate the simple-minded savage^ and in the
fascinating hixury that encircled and ensnared him, Eburacum
would be to him/ as his conquerors desired, a second Capua.

It may be safely assumed that there Avas a Christian con-
gregation' at Eburacum ])resided over by a bishop, if indeed the
episcopate were established at that time in Britain, which there
is no reason to doubt. How the good seed that was brought
from Rome ripened to the harvest it is impossible to say.
Among the Romans themselves it is not probable that the new
creed experienced less success than it met with at their hands
in other countries ; nay, it is likely enough that they would look
upon it Avith greater favour, as they were here removed from all
those dangerous fascinations of place and form that attracted
them in other lands to their idol-v/orship. Among the Britons
it would be the more readily accepted, as it chimed in Avith their
traditions from the East, which must have been cherished even
by those Avho had no intercourse A\dth the merchants from Asia
or from Gaul. However this may have been, it is evident that
Christianity obtained a sure footing in this country whilst it was
in the possession of the Romans. We know, also, that its pro-
fessors Avere for a long time mimolested.*^ The persecutions that
desolated the adjacent continent, and gave to the church of
Lyons many a noble martyr, never reached these shores. There
is no record of Severus, an apostate from Christianity and an
active opponent clseAvhere of the true faith, raising his hand
against any believer in Britain, although he w^as for some time
a resident in the island. The Romans were more tolerant here
than they were in Italy and Gaul. They w^ere less secm-e, and
consequently had less time to spend in religious controversies.
Perhaps the Britons Avere so attached to the Christian faith that
the Romans did not dare to i-uffle them. Perhaps the British
church was so insignificant that it was entu'cly overlooked.

In the great persecution of Diocletian which began in the
year 29 1, the British Christians w^ere not spared, and the
emperor Avould not be disposed to favour the island on account
of its recent revolt. The care of this country was at that time

Pontificilus eccl. Ebor., says that the likewise in Torke, named also Victrix,

Romans built the cit3^ of the legion Victoria, or altera Homa

Ut foret emporium tcrrse commune marisque; (because of the beautie and fine build-

Kt fiei-et ducibus secura potentia rogni, ' ing of the same), I mvselfe can partlie

Et dwus imperii, terronine hostiiibus amis : witnesse, that have seene and often had

Jssset ab extreme venientibus hospita portu ^,f fi,„,^ -e u„++^ + *•

Navibus oceano, etc. i' v 01 tuem ; it better testimonie were

wanting."
Harrison, in his Description of JBri- <> "Susceptam fidem Brittani usque

tain, speaking of Eoman treasures, in tempora Diocletiani principis invio-
observes, " What store hath beene seene latam integramque quieta in pace ser-
of them in the citie of London,— and vabant." Beda

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 7

entrusted to Constantms Chlonis^ one of Diocletian's associates
in the empire. When the order for the persecution was com-
municated to him, Constantius was probably at York. Eusebius
in his laboured panegyric upon his son, Constantino the (ircat,
would lead us to believe that the wishes of Diocletian Avere dis-
regarded, and that Constantius was most liberal and tolerant in
his views and conduct. Beda, however, a more trustworthy
authority, gives us a very different account. He tells us of the
number of the martyrs and confessors that there were at that
time in Britain — how the chiu'ches were thrown doA\ii, and the
trembling believers were obliged to flee for refuge to the deserts
and the mountains. And yet, in spite of all this cruelty and
intolerance, the great Saxon historian speaks of Constantius as
"vir summse mansuetudinis et civilitatis,'"' and Theophanes
bestows upon him the flattering epithet of ')(piariav6(ppQ)v, thus
justifying, to a certain extent, the praises of Eusebius. He
was, in all probability, the imwilling executor of the wishes of
Diocletian, and, like Obadiah, could spare when he was ordered
to destroy. And this is the more probable from the fact, that
when he became a free agent he embraced that faith against
which, in bygone years, he had been compelled to set his face.
When Diocletian put off the purple in 305, Constantius divided
the empire with Galerius. He then professed himself a Chris-
tian. The desolated churches were rebuilt, the sacred ceremonial
was restored, and the joyous worshippers emerged at length from
their hiding-places in the forests and the mountains.'' There
was peace at last for the scattered and affrighted flock, but after
reigning for a few months the peace-maker was removed from
it, and his ashes were laid to rest in the city of Eburacum.
The first of his two consorts is still remembered for her virtues
and her sufferings. She is said, on very slight authority, to
have been a British lady, and it was this belief, together with
the memory of her excellence, that caused three churches in
ancient York to be dedicated to the sainted lady whose husband
died within its walls, the good empress Helena.

The fame of the mother and the sire pales before the merits
of the son, for to whom does the Christian church owe a deeper
debt of gratitude than to Constantino the Great ? The state-
ment that he was born in Eburacum rests upon no better
authority than the assertion of the English ambassadors at the
councils of Basle and Constance in the beginning of the fifteenth

' "At ubi turbo persecutionis quieAit, structas, basilicas sanctorum martyrum

progress! in publicum fideles Christi fundant, 'jonstruunt, perficiunt, ac

qui se tempore discriminis silvis ac dc- veluti, victricia signa passim jjropalant,

sertis abditisve speluncis occulcrant, dies festos celebrant, sacra mundo corde

reuovant ecclesias ad solum usque de- atque ore conficiunt." Beda, i., 8.

8 FASTI EBORACENSES.

century ; but it Avas in Eburacum that some period of his early
lite must have been spent, and it was in Eburacum that he was
saluted as imperator. At that time he was not a Christian, but
soon afterwards he deliberately adopted his father's faith.
I'Aiscbius tells us that he was influenced by the good example of
his sire, and any Englishman may be proud to think that the
faith of one of the great regenerators of the heathen world may
have been strengthened, if not kindled, by the sight of the piety
and fervour of the imperial household,, and the Christian con-
gregations in Ebm'acum.

We should natm'ally expect that Constantine through his
connection with our island would take some notice of its church,
and, accordingly, we find that three British bishops, including
one from the city of York, were present at the coimcil of Aries
in A.D. 314. The same episcopate was also represented at the
councils of Nicsea, Sardica, and Ariminium. And from the
accounts that are preserved of the deliberations at these sacred
meetings we may gather that the British bishops were thoroughly
catholic and orthodox. They were not afraid, also, of standing
up for the faith when it was imperilled by the machinations of
heretics. Against the Arians they took so decided a part that
they are mentioned with honour by Athanasius; and Hilary,
writing from his place of banishment to the bishops of Germany
and Britain, says of them, " Gratulatus sum in Domine incon-
taminatos vos et illsesos ab omui contagio detestandse heresios
perstitisse.^'

Tradition has handed down to us the names of several of the
early bishops of Yoi^k, for, as Weever observes, " I finde a suc-
cession of British archbishops long before the time of Paulinus."
The evidence on this point is very scanty and unsatisfactory,
and there is no possibility of acquiring any accurate informa-
tion.

A person of the name of Tam-inus is said to have been
bishop of York in the beginning, apparently, of the second
century, and to have suffered martyi'dom. A clerical error is
the origin of this statement. Taminus was not "episcopus
Eboracensis," but "Ebroicensis," i. e., of Evreux in France, with
which place his name is still honourably comiected. He must
l)c expunged therefore from the Fasti of the English Chmxh, as
with Fidler, we must be "conscientiously scrupulous not to
take or toucli a thread which is none of our own."

Archbishop Ussher mentions an assertion made by a chronicle
of York in 1160, to the efl'ect that Fagan was the first bishop of
l^buracum. Fagan is said to have been one of the Clmstian
missionaries who were sent from Rome by Eleutherius. If
Fagan really presided over the cliurch of York, Lucius must

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 9

have been kin": of the same city, an honour which the metrical
chronicle of Ebm-acum ascribes to him when it says,

" Sanctus Faganus, collega suus Damianus
Eegem cum populo niundificant lavacro.
Templo mundato, consecrate, reparato,
Metropolis sacra conditur ecclcsia."

The temple which was thns purified is stated by the })oet to be
the shrine in which king Ebrauc and his descendants had observed
their pagan rites for twelve hundi'cd years, and Avliich, on the
ari'ival of the Roman missionaries, had been given up to Christ.
The whole statement is probably fabulous, and the assertion that
Lucius appointed Theodosius to the see of York rests only upon
the authority of Harrison's description of Britain which is pre-
fixed to the well-knowTi chronicle of Holinshed.

For the name of Eborius, who is stated to have been present
at the council of Aries, in a.d. 314, as '' episcopus de civitatc
Eboracensi, provincia Brittannia,'' there is somewhat stronger
evidence. Aries was one of Constantine's councils, and we must
remember that we may expect to find British bishops associated
with an emperor who was almost a Briton himself, and that of
all those prelates he would, we should think, be most of all dis-
posed to invite a bishop of Eburacum. The presence of Eborius
is mentioned in an ancient catalogue of those present of very
fail" authority. The name is so closely akin to that of the city
over which he presided that we cannot consider it to be the
same that he usually bore. He had, in all probability, some
uncouth British name which was changed by the Roman officers
at the council for one more euphonious which bore a special
reference to the city which he represented; so that Eborius
Episcopus may be considered to be the same as Eboracensis
Episcopus. A grave doubt, however, is thrown upon the con-
nection of Eborius with York, as in another list of those who
were at Aries he is said to have presided over a different city in
the province of Byzantium.

The next name that we find in connection with the see of
York is Sampson, or St. Sampson as he is generally called,
and it seems probable that he was actually the bishop of that
place. He is said to have lived in the fifth centmy. The
metrical chronicle of Y^ork asserts that Sampson was bz'ought to
Eburacum by king Aurelius, who rebuilt the ehm'ch which the
Angles had destroyed, and made Sampson its ruler. It is by
no means easy to discern the track of real history among the
mists of fable ; but it is probable that Ijeforc the Saxons obtained
full possession of Ebm"acum they had plunderc;d and injured
the city in some of their flying excursions, and that the British

10 FASTI EBORACENSES.

chieftains recovered it for a time, and restored what had been
destroyed or changed. The life of St. Sampson has been more
than once written/ but the account that is given of the saint is
by no means clear and satisfactory. We are told that he was a
native of Glamorganshire, and a student in the monastery of the
celebrated Iltutus. Here he made such progi'ess that in course
of time he became the president of the house, and as years
passed on, after various changes, he was induced by king Am'clius,
or Ambrose, to become bishop of Eburacum. It is not probable
that he held that office long. We are told that he was driven
out of the city by the Pagans, and that he fled to St. David's
and became the bishop of that see. But even here there was
no rest for him. A dreadful plague that was ravaging Wales
obliged him, much against his will, to cross the seas into
Brittany, where he became archbishop of Dol. At that place
Sampson died and was interred. This is the sum and substance
of the accounts of St. Sampson. They aboiuid, however, with
conflicting statements into which there is no necessity to enter.
It is probable that he was at York, and, singularly enough, there
is a church in that city dedicated to him; the only one, I
believe, in England of which he is the patron.

The old chronicler of York, relying upon the fabulous account
of Geoffi'ey of Monmouth and Wendover, mentions another
bishop of the name of Pyramns or Pyrannus. The legend about
him runs as follows. The famous king Arthur, the last tower
of British strength, Adsited York one Christ-tide after the de-
parture of St. Sampson and his clergy, and grieved at finding
tlie holy places desolated and the churches half consumed by
the fires which the Pagan invaders had kindled, he ordered them
to be restored, and made Pyramus, his chaplain, bishop of the
city. Although the whole of this story is probably fabidoiis,
we can well imagine what a struggle there would be in the North
beti\'een the Britons and the Saxons. The latter were heathens,
and would studiously desecrate the holy places of their enemies,
in many of which, for centm'ies, worship of some kind or other
must have been paid. The sacrilegious invasion of a time-
honoured shrine Avould make the Briton sorrow over the injury
as deeply as the pagan Roman would bemoan the loss of the
tutelary deities of his household. There are probably the germs
of truth in the traditions that have been mentioned. They give
us a vague and indistinct pictm^e of confusion and change.
York must have been lost and recovered several times before

f One life, by an anonymous author, was written by Balderic, archbishop of

has been pubhshed by Mabillon in his Dol, in the twelfth century. I have

Beneihciine Ads. There is another in thought it unnecessary to go minutely

the Bibholheca Floriaeensis. A third into the subject.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 11

the Saxons won it, and we may be sure that as often as the
Britons reg;ained their lost position they Avould re-estal)lish the
religion which their enemies had despised. At last the torrent
of invaders became so strong that it swept them ont of York for
ever. The last British bishop is said to have been Tadiocus,
and when he saw the hostile armies poiunng in he joined
Theonus, bishop of London, and fled for his life to Wales.^
After this time the names Welsh and British are identical.
Thenceforward for a gloomy century there is deep night hanging
over the North, and it lasted until Paulinus dispelled the dark-
ness by rekindling the old light in the new kingdom of
Northumbria.

Of the condition and extent of the British church it is im-
possible to speak with certainty. Some are disposed to think
that the absence of any early memorials of Christianity is a token
of its insignificance or nonentity. The argument, however,
proves too much. By the same course of reasoning you might
shew that the neighbouring establishments in Gaul, and the
seven Asiatic chui'ches themselves, had no existence. Every
relic of the faith that illumined these in the earliest ages has
disappeared, but who can say that the sacred light had not once
shone ? The accordant testimony of the fathers chimes in with
the narratives of our own chroniclers and the voice of tradition,
when they assert the zeal, the sufferings, and the piety of the
old British church. It is painful and yet cheering to be obliged
to trace the progress of Chi'istianity by heresies and persecutions.
Melancholy although they are, they can still pui*ify and ennoble.
Diocletian was, in one sense, as great a benefactor to England
as Constantine the Great. The British Church had its bishops,
who were stalwart champions of the faith ; it had its confessors
and its martyrs. Chrysostom tells us that there were British
versions of the Bible. We know that heretical teachers found
their way to this island ; their very presence shews that there
was something to corrode. But what real and satisfactory pro-
gress could any church make when change and violence were on
every side of it ? Its bishops could only be missionary bishops,
and we know from the records of the council of Ariminium that
they had no regular endowment. Its clergy could only work
ineffectively, if they worked at all, when their lives were en-
dangered by the inroads of foreign marauders and the petty
warfare of the native chieftains. Organization woidd be impos-

«■ The following passage is a fair Arohipontificum T.idiarus sedis Ehorum,

STmnlp of ihc nipt-vifnl phroniplp of Ultiraiis ex liritonuiii Krntibus ille fuit.

^mple 01 llie meincai cnroniCie OI Corpora Sauctomra.simul omnia vasasacrorum,

York, from which it is taken. Cunctas ros rcUquas transtulit ille saeras.

" Turbatis rebus Archipresul Tadiacus, Expulsi ni-itonesnomeii patriamquerelinquunt,

Ecclesiae sedera deserit et patriam

Dicti Walk'iises uoiniiie bai'bario."

12 FASTI EBORACENSES.

Bible, and we cannot be surprised therefore at the existence of
that deterioration of morals and manners among the clergy
which Gildas so strongly reprehends. Discipline alone could
])revent this, and how was it to be enforced ? Life was to be
first protected and secured. As the wave of Pagan violence
broke slowly over Britain, the ministers of Christ fled as it drew
near them ; they rested not till they were behind a barrier which
the waters could not penetrate or overthrow — the secluded val-
leys and the moimtain fastnesses of Wales.

In Wales the trembling fugitives were secure : there was an
asylum for them in that noble province which has so frequently
been the home of freedom and independence. The cradle of
Christianity in Britain was destined to be its sanctuary. The
earliest glimmerings of the sacred light illumined the country of
St. David. The Asiatic merchant, who braved in his little bark
the perils of the seas^ foimd in that land the descendants of
those Cimmerians who, restless like himself, had sought for a
new home beneath another sun, and he would boast himself of
the same lineage, and recognize a kinsman in the host that en-
tertained him. Between the Welsh and the Asiatic churches
there was a marked similarity, and time did not obliterate the
resemljlance but increased it. When Constantino had ascended
the imperial throne, and after his decease, the news was brought
out of the far East to Britain, how the pious Helena and her
illustrious son had decorated the holy places in Palestine, and
erected shrine after shrine to commemorate Him whose divine
presence had consecrated that land, and from every corner of
the West there were pilgrims setting forth to visit those hallowed
abodes of which such great things Avere spoken. There were
holy men in the East already, whose love and labom-s had added
to its renown, if any supplement were needed. The sight of the
pillar on which Simeon had watched and died was enough to
tempt the devout Briton across the storm-swept seas. With
what delight would he listen to the fervid eloquence of Chrysos-
tom ! With what reverence would he gaze on Jerome in his
cell at Bethlehem ! Every city and hamlet had its associations
and its memories. Some holy presence that had ennobled it
seemed to linger in it still. There was another lesson, also,
which the British pilgrims would learn during their sojourn in
the East. All along their route they would observe the retreats
for pious and self-denying men that were springing up around
tlicm. Here was a cavern in which some impassioned zealot
was striving to obliterate, by solitary penance, the ofl'ences of
the past. Here a band of devotees had crowned some frowning
precipice with their tabernacle, where their only companions
were the raven and seagull, croaking and screaming as they

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 13

swooped tlirough the clear blue air above the foaming breakers.
They could see the fearless inmates of these awe-inspiring shrines
as they descended from their home among the clouds down the
face of that insulated peak which raised them out of the Avorld
beneath, and then their thoughts would jiass away to their
own wild fatherland, and they would long for such sanctuaries
there Avhich the spoiler could never reacli, where the world-
worn sinner could strive to forget the past, and the pious enthu-
siast could muse in lowly pride upon the perfections of Him
who is the God of the hills as well as of the valleys, and securely
devise some great scheme of love and laboiu' to enhance, if pos-
sible. His glory. They came home and erected in their OAvn land
the great monastery of Bangor, which was once the residence of
above 2000 monks. There is no trace of it remaining now :

" Tantuin rcvi longiaqua valet mutare vetustas."

Blit shortly before the Reformation you could mark the decaying
walls looking down upon the " sacred Dee.^^

It w^as this great sanctuary that fed the streams of Chris-
tianity which watered Wales and Ireland. In the beginning of
the seventh century it was divided into seven portions, each of
them containing at least 300 monks who supported themselves
by manual labour. In this and in other points there was a
striking similarity between the British monks and those in the
Thebais of ^gypt and other parts of the East. The positions
chosen for the monasteries and the habits of their inmates were
identical. The learned Selden, no mean authority, speaks of
the Alexandrine rule being introduced into Britain at a very
early period, and Rudburn says that in the second century
Fagan and Dervan filled the church of Winchester with monks
professing the rule of St. Mark. William of Malmesbiuy
asserts that the monastery of Glastonbirry, the origin of which
is encircled with Eastern traditions, was governed after the
^Egyptian fashion. The Culdees of lona always looked up to
St. John as their founder. These, assuredly, are signs and
tokens of a very early connection with the East.

Between Wales and Ireland, the British and the Scottish
tribes, there would at all times be a direct communication.
Ireland is said to have been converted by St. Patrick who was
sent from Rome. It is most probable, however, that the Chris-
tian faith had reached that country before the time of that saint,
and Mabillon himself confesses that the peculiarities of the
British church, in spite of better teaching, were dominant in
early times in Ireland. My readers miist not be led away by
the ingenious and fallacious arguments of modern partizans, and
imagine that these peculiarities involved any material diflference

14. FASTI EBORACENSES.

in doctrine. There was nothing of the kind. In faith they
were as firmly united as they were in the great councils in the
fourth century ; the only discrepancies were in comparatively
trivial points of disciplhie and form^ and the persistence of the
Britons and Scots was mainly nourished and kept up by their
old feeling of national independence. It would be idle, however,
to deny that between the Roman and the old Welsh, Irish, and
Scottish chm-ches there were many differences in form and dis-
cipline. St. Bernard, in his life of Malachy, bishop of Connor,
gives strong evidence on this point. The monasteries which he
describes as existing in Ireland followed the same rule that was
observed in Wales. The peculiarities which that rigid dis-
cii^linarian censured may be briefly enumerated. In the first
place, as a general rule, there sc^ms to have been a secular and
a married clergy resvdting in the evils of worldly-mindedness ;
and, as at Armagh and St. Andrew^s, in an hereditary sacer-
dotage, the greatest bane by which any chm'ch can be afflicted. _
Another, and a famous, point of difference was in the manner
of observing Easter, to which allusions will be subsequently
made. In the mode of administering baptism, in the form of
the tonsure, in the celebration of matrimony and episcopal
ordination,'' there were also variations. The Scottish people,
also, gave no tithes or firstfruits, and they neglected or despised
confession and the rite of confirmation. Several of these
peculiarities may be traced to other countries than our own, and
there is no one point that has been alluded to which would
make the Briton or the Scot either a heretic or a schismatic in
the full sense of those terms.

The name generally ascribed to the early devotees in these
islands was Colidei or Culdees, the origin of which is involved
in some little obscurity. It is probably equivalent to Cultores
Dei. By them Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, were in the earliest
times, to a great extent, overspread. In their observances and
rubrics they were guided by the traditions of their spiritual fore-
fathers, and it was the feeling of ancestral and national pride
that tempted them to despise the invitations to full conformity
M ith the church catholic which were so frequently held out to
them. To the Culdees the early Christian memorials in Ireland
and Scotland are, in all probability, to be ascribed. We owe to
them that delicate interlacing work, itself of Eastern origin, by
which the earliest crosses and manuscripts are adorned. In
working with their own hands they shewed to others the utility
of labom' ; they became the patrons of industry and agriculture.

* The Culdees have actually been terianism ! It is unnecessary to allude
held forward, by modern Scottish further to such absurd and unfounded
writers, as the originators of Presby- statements.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 15

In this manner tliey were the promoters of civilization as well
as of religion. That the system of the Culdees was a popular
one is shewn by the success that attended it. Its professors
were, socially, hut little different from those around them.
There was nothing in it that baffled imitation; it so nearly
resembled Druidism that it seems to have supplanted it. It
taught the people useful and necessary arts, whilst, at the same
time, it raised their thoughts to higher and better things. It
did its work. It was just the system to attract the attention
and the sympathy of a rude and ignorant people ; but something
more decisive and more refined would be necessary for the social
and religious advancement of a more civilized nation. A body
of secular clergy like the Culdees would have but little influence
there.

It was in the middle of the sixth century after Christ's birth
that the Culdee Coliunba passed over from Ireland to lona, and
planted there a little colony of holy men, which growing in in-
fluence and numbers, exercised in after years such a mighty in-
fluence over the kingdom of Northumbria. This was not the
first visit that Christian missionaries had paid to Scotland. I
shall say nothing of the journey of the abbot Regulus from
Greece with a few of the relics of St. Andrew. We are told
that some of those who escaped from the persecution of Dio-
cletian fled for safety to Mona and Albania — the Isle of Man
and the southern part of Scotland ; and at the close of the same
century, the fourth, Ninias or Ninian, as he is called, preached
the Gospel in "that district, and erected a church of stone, the
first that had been seen in that country, at Candida Casa, or
Whithern, in Galloway. Thus there were believers in Scotland,
and thirty or forty years after this. Pope Celestinus sent Pal-
ladius to be their fu'st bishop. But it is to St. Columba and his
followers that the credit of evangelizing Scotland is to be espe-
cially ascribed ; and the home that they selected for themselves,
with the leave of king Connal, was the island of Hii or Icolm-
kill, better known in these days by its more modern name of
lona, or the Island of the Waves.

Close to the western shores of Scotland lies that solitary
island, hallowed still by the noblest associations that any Chris-
tian sanctuary can boast of. A thousand years have passed
away since the Culdees were there, but their great leader and
his followers are not yet forgotten. The ruins that you see
aroimd you are the remnants of the shrine Avhich a foreign
order of monks erected, and not of that in which Columba
prayed. But still at lona you never think of the Cluniac but
of the Ciddee ! You are treading upon holy ground. This is
the cradle of the Christianity of the North ; and here, beneath

IQ FASTI EBORACENSES.

vour feet, are the sea-kings sleeping! Rob it of its associa-
tions, and there is nothing to attract you to that island. It
could be no selfish motive that drew Columba over the storm-
swept channel to a place like that. A nobler impulse led him
there than tlie quest of pleasure or the promptings of wayward-
ness or caprice. It was the love of God that guided the bark
of that apostolic brotherhood to their sanctuary in the sea.
Tlie memories of the happy past, the thoughts of others who
were loving and praying for them in the home that they had
deserted, could not Avean them fi'om their high resolve. The
winds might howl around the frail tabernacle that they had set
up, the spray miglit di'ench them through and through, but
they remembered that they had devoted themselves to Him
" whose way is in the sea," and they cared not for the tempest
or the waves. Here they could pass away in peace, without a
dread of that dissolution for which they had made a lifelong
preparation ! Here they could train themselves in deep seclu-
sion for a higher reach in holiness, or meditate upon new victo-
ries over the unenlightened hearts that were beating with no
love for them upon the adjacent continent ! If the Pagan held
out to them a friendly hand, they could reach him in a few
minutes in their little boat. If that hand were threatening de-
struction, the timid evangelists could flee again to their old
home across the protecting water.

How peaceful and liow happy must have been the life of
that devoted brotherhood in their sanctuary at lona ! Every
day had its varied occupations, and in each there^ was a charm.
Without, there were their nets and boats, for the sea was their
meadow and their tillage. Within, there were the voices of
supplication and praise, rising heavenwards even in the watches
of the night — the sacred page rich with some divine story — the
class room ^vith the little knot of pupils to listen and to learn.
Brighter and brighter shone the holy flame that was kindled
at lona, and to distant shores Avas its radiance diffiised. There
wevG not wanting intrepid evangelists to carry it with them
among the rock-bound Hebrides ; they were not afraid of en-
countering even the icebergs of the Baltic and the seas that
rolled arovmd the shores of Iceland. A halo of sanctity hung
around Columba and his isle. The abbats who succeeded him
were the greatest ecclesiastics in the North.

Whilst the lamp of truth was thus burning in the North, as
well as in Ireland and in Wales, there was thick darkness hang-
ing over Northumbria and the other provinces of England.
The Saxons did not even tolerate Christianity, and its professors
fled in terror as they drew near. It was to"^ convert them that
the pious Gregory sent forth Augustine, encouraged by the fair

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 17

youthful faces of some natives of Deira or Yorkshii*e that he
saw in the slave-market at Rome. The history of that mission
and its success need not be dAvelt upon here. A few years after
the arrival of Augiistine, Gregory addressed to him a letter in
which he recommended him to make York a metropolitan sec,
with twelve sufii'agans under it. This is quite enough to shew
the importance of that city more than twelve centuries ago.
As a personal compliment to Augustine he was to have control
over the new see and its prelates during his life ; but his suc-
cessors were to inherit no such authority, and the question of
precedence was to be determined by priority of election. And
to shew that the new episcopate Avas to be invested with the
power of a metropolitan, it was to receive a pall from Rome
without which no one coidd have suffragans under him.

Some time elapsed before any opportunity occurred of
attempting to carry this scheme into effect, as Northumbria
was dark with pagan idolatry, which the Culdees of lona, strange
to say, seem not to have endeavoui'ed to remove. The enterprize
was undertaken in the beginning of the seventh century by the
missionary Paulinus, who was made the first primate of North-
umbria. Of his laboui's and their fruits I have elsewhere given
an accoimt. But the question may be asked, and it is a very
interesting one, how is the great success of Paulinus to be
accounted for ? Even under the teaching of an apostle, converts
did not rush into the arms of the church by tens of thousands.
It may be said, and plausibly too, that the people did but follow
the example of their monarch ; but it is observable in the con-
version of king Edwin and Coifi, the high priest, that they were
guided to a great extent by the popularis aura. Why, let me
ask, should the people be favourably disposed towards Chris-
tianity? I can scarcely believe that an intolerant rule, even
though it lasted for eighty years, could have obliterated every
trace of a religion which seems to have had a strong hold on
the North before the Saxons reached it. Wilfrid, at a later day,
strove to recover as many of the holy places of the Britons as
he could trace, and if there were traditions then, would they
not be much stronger when Paulinus was at his work ? Chris-
tianity had been the religion, it may be conceived, of the de-
feated party, a,nd would it be forgotten by the remnant ? It is
a most curious circumstance also that the Pseudo-Nciniius as-
cribes the conversion of Edwin and his subjects, not to Paulinus,
but to Rum the son of Urien. Urien was a well-knoAvn British
chieftain who had struggled long and stoutly against the Saxon
usurpation. Can his son, after his father's fall, have gone to
Rome and become a priest, assuming on that occasion the
Latin name of Paidinus, by which we know him ? What person

c

18 FASTI EBORACEXSES.

more likely to be sent by Gregory from Rome to the country
of his birth ? What person more likely to be ordered by Hono-
rius into the North to evangelize a people that had suffered and
bled Avith his sire ?' If these suppositions are correct the suc-
cess of Paidinus is a matter of no sm-prise. His career, how-
ever, as a missionary was a short one, for it ended with the
death of Edwin in 633. The land was scarcely ready for the
seed when the sower was taken away.

With what cui'iosity must the Culdees in the North have
watched the progress and the fortimes of Paulinus ! The novelty
of the euterprize and the zeal of the missionary could not fail
to interest them. There is no record of any meeting, or of any
intercourse between them. The interview between Augustine
and the Welsh Christians had been anything but satisfactory.
The Britons regarded the Saxons with the bitterest animosity.
Charity was forgotten in the memory of national wi'ongs. Be-
fore there could be any cordiality there were many injuries to
be Aviped out. Even after their conversion, Beda boldly says
that the Britons set the Saxons at nought, and treated them
like Pagans. It is sad to think that Cadwalla, the Cumbrian
prince, who drove Pavdinus out of his diocese and slew Edwin,
was a Christian in name. The Irish prelate, Dagan, refused to
eat bread or to come under the same roof with archbishop Lau-
rence, and we can easily imagine that a little of the same feel-
ing Avould actuate the Culdees of lona, when, whilst they were
active in every other direction, they made no attempt to convert
the Saxons in Northumbria. A more favom'able opportimity
for missionary exertion was soon offered to them, and under
different auspices. The year after Paulinus left the North, Os-
wald ascended the Northumbrian throne, and he had been con-
verted to Christianity whilst he sought protection across the
Tweed. Accordingly, when he became king, he longed to
propagate his recently acquired creed, and he sought for that
purpose the assistance, not of Paulinus, who was in Kent, but
of the Culdees from lona. A missionary of the name of Cor-
raan was the first person who was sent into Bernicia, but he
could make no progress with the rude inhabitants of the district,
and he returned to lona to give a piteous account of his mission,
and to discourage the efforts of any fiitm-e evangelist. He
seemed to be quite unaware that the fault had been in himself
rather than in the natives, and that a little more tact and pa-
tience might have effected a conversion which he now considered
to be impossible. Another inmate of the same monastery, of
the name of Aidan, was listening whilst Corman told to his

■■ This ha-s been pointed out for the first time bj' Mr. Hodgson Hinde.

INTRODUCTOKY CHAl'TKll. 19

brethren the story of his own failnrCj and lie criticized the me-
thod and the plan that Gorman had adopted with so much wis-
dom and judgment, that he was himself prevailed upon to take
up the holy cause that had been abandoned, and to ^o forth as
a missionary into ISorthumbria.

The place on which, with the king's permission, he set up
his tabernacle was a characteristic one. It still bears the name
which the piety of its inmates won for it, the Holy Isle. Rock
and sea and sky there were on all sides, enhanced by that dread
charm of solitude which captivates the saint. As the evangelist
looked towards the south he could see before him king Ida's
tower, the Joyeuse Garde of story, crowning the gi'ey clift' of
Bambrough, in which his patron was residing, and near them
across the angry waters of the frith were the bleak rocks of
Fame, which St. Cuthbert has immortalized. Reared he had
been himself on another island amid the Avestern seas, and now,
mindful of his old home, he chose for his abode in the strange
land that he was to convert, a scene that would daily remind
him of a place with which he had been long familiar, yea,
another Salamis in the bosom of the deep, that was to be con-
secrated for ever by grander and holier memories than any
earthly victory can evoke. Twice a day did a belt of liA'ing
water encircle that little sanctuary ; and Avhen it was migirt,
there were the quicksand and the shoal, the scream of the seagull
and the curlew. Here there was a safe retreat ; for what spoiler
could ventui'e to approach ? Here there was that solitude with-
out which no great work for God can be conceived or matm-ed.
And in the evening, when the sea mists were away, the devoted
bishop could see in the distance the lights in king OswakUs cas-
tle, and pray that they might long be fellow-workers in the path
of Christian duty. Thankful he might indeed be for such patrons
as Oswald and his brother Oswdn, and his spiritual childi'en in-
herited the ^'atitude of their sire. When the news was brought
to Bambrough of that disastrous field in which Oswin had been
slain, the saintly Aidan laid himself down to die, and expired
with his head resting upon one of the buttresses of that little
chui'ch of wood in which they had w^orshipped God together,
and when the monks of Durham enshrined in after years the
body of St. Cuthbert, they placed reverently upon his breast,
as one of their most precious treasures, the mutilated head of
Oswald.

On the career of Aidan in Northumbria, Beda, who had no
partiality for the Scottish school, is eloquently minute. The
life of the brethren at lona was imitated at Lindisfarue. Hum-
ble, patient, intrepid, Aidan was the very man to win his way
with such a monarch and sucli a people. His whole time lAas

0() FASTI EBORACENSES.

•riven up to his p-eat work, instruction, prayer, and preaching.
Two entire days in cacli week did he pass in abstinence and pe-
nance. He visited his diocese on foot, and all his worldly sub-
stance was surrendered to the poor. How pleasing it must have
l)ecn to see him endeavouring to explain to the rustics, as well
as a foreigner could, the promises and the claims of Christianity,
uncoutldy it may be, but still with words and gestures that
shewed the earnestness of the speaker, whilst, whenever there
was any obscurity in what he said, the good king Oswald, who
was a listener also, was the intei-preter and explainer.

" 'Tis a i^icture for remembrance."

It was not forgotten by the Northumbrians who gazed on it.
The simple piety of Aidan, his love and labours, were copied
iin])licitly by his successors in his see and the holy brotherhood
tliat obeyed them. They acted like a spell upon the warm and
uuprejndiced hearts of the people of the North.

The influence that these men exercised in Northumbria was
very great indeed. For thirty years they were paramount within
that vast district. The large tracts of land that were given to
Aidan and his successors by the kings stood in need of cultiva-
tion, the monasteries that they erected required inmates, and,
tlierefore, at the instigation of the bishops of Lindisfarne, the
Scottish Ciddees came pouring daily into Northumbria, preach-
ing and teaching, building churches and occupying religious
houses. They penetrated, also, into the southern pro\'inees of
Britain. We can trace them in Iceland and in the Baltic. We
find them in France and on the Rhine, at Cologne, Wiirsburgh,
Ratisbon and Vienna. Those who assert that the Cvddees were
despisers of missionary exertion are egregiously misinformed.

With the churches and ministers of the Culdees there spread
at the same time their discipline and ritual, which after the
advent of Augustine were subjected to much hostile criticism.
The Italian monks could not but dislike those differences in
form which separated the native clergy from themselves. All
attempts to bring about an amicable arrangement were unsuc-
cessful. In vain did Augustine and his successors speak of the
vast benefits that would result from imity, how undesirable it
Avas that the common voice of Christendom should be set at
nought by a little party in an obscure island, but they spoke to
deaf ears. Dislike of the Saxons, with whom the foreign mis-
sionaries were allied, embittered the opposition of the Culdees ;
they clung to their peculiarities with an obstinacy worthy of a
better cause. The bitterest controversies in religion are generated
by little things.

As the influence of the Italian missionaries increased, a

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 121

collision between the two religious parties became unavoidable.
Finan^ the successor of Aidan, had a sharp dispute with a
Northumbrian of the name of Ronau, Avho denounced the views
of his superior in no measiu'ed terms. Soon after this an event
occui'red which brought prominently before the people of the
North the necessity of miion or compromise. Oswy, the North-
umbrian monarchy took for his wife a princess who observed the
Roman mode of keeping Easter. Thus, in point of fact, the
festival was observed twice in one year in the same court ;
whilst the king was celebrating the feast with merriment and
joy, the queen was still busy with the fasts and the prayers of
Lent, Taking new coui'age at this obvious inconsistency, and
aided by the active co-operation of prince Alcfrid and the queen,
the Italian party prepared to strike a heaw blow at the system
that thwarted them. OsA\y summoned a great council at
Streonshal at which the question was to be decided. Tlie
result of that meeting is well known. It ended in the triumph
of the Roman party, which was completed by a hasty and in-
considerate step which bishop Colman then took ; he gathered
his Culdees together, and found a refuge eventually in Ireland.
Some attempts were subsequently made to recover for them
their lost position, and they were temporarily successful. When
Wilfrid, at Alcfrid's request, had accepted the bishopric of
Deira, and had crossed the seas to receive there the rite of con-
secration, Oswy, disliking that step, advanced Chadd to the see
of York. The vacancy had been made by the decease of
Tuda, who had succeeded Colman. After a brief tenm-e of
office, Chadd voluntarily resigned it, and thenceforward no Cul-
dee was ever the president of the see of York. All the intel-
lect and the energy of the North were, for the future, on the
side of Rome. Wilfrid, Benedict Biscop, and Cuthbert, intro-
duced the Benedictine rule, or some modification of it, which
seems to have worked efficiently for a time. Theodore and
Egbert refused to recognize the ordination of the Scottish or
British prelates without some proper confirmation of it. Egbert
wrote, for the benefit of his clergy, several works on discipline
and ceremonials. Eanbald probably introduced into his diocese
the Roman service books. In spite of all this organized and
continuous opposition, the system of the Culdees was for a very
long time not entirely obliterated in Northumbria. The brethren
in the monastery at York retained the name of Colidaji, or
Culdees, until the time of Henry I. The spii-itual descendants
of the old Scottish monks flourished for a long Avliile after this
beyond the Tweed, in spite of the war that was being constantly
waged against them by the regular orders. The arclibisho])s of
York could do but little against them there, although on one

;>2 FASTI EBORACENSES.

occasion Thurstan was bold enough to send the prior of Nostell
to be bishop of St. Andrew's. He wished, no doubt, to obliterate
all traces of the Culdees, but the destroyer found himself in a
nest of hornets.

The ancient title of the prelates, upon whose biogi-aphy I
shall soon enter, was merely that of bishop of York, an appella-
tion borne by all the presidents of that see between Paulinus
and Egbert. The possession of the pall gave them the power of
having suffragans under them, and they were then called arch-
bishops of the Northumbrians. The two titles were subsequently
combined. The right of electing the prelate seems to have
rested, according to Alcuin, in the brethren of the monastery of
York ; and that distinguished scholar congratulates them upon
the possession of that right, and the honest and excellent use
that they had made of it up to his time. In the eleventh
century the canons rejected Egelric of Peterborough, who had
been nominated to the see. The NorthimLibrian monarch seems
to have had the poAver of approval, and, on one occasion at least,
there was a popidar element in the election. It is curious also
to observe that Wilfrid II. and Eanbald I. were marked out for
the primacy by their predecessors, to whom they seem to have
acted for some time as coadjutors. This step was in all pro-
bability taken with the consent of the brethren of the house.
For several generations the archbishops were school-masters,
having been exalted to the see from the class-rooms in the
monastery : after the Conquest, when the power of the state
became paramount, they were generally the chaplains of the
king.

Many of the Saxon primates of York were courtiers and
statesmen, and their biography is intimately connected not only
with the annals of the chui'ch, but with the history of England.
Paulinus was a royal chaplain, and left the North in the same
suite to Avhich he was first attached. The great Wilftid basked
in the smiles of a com't before he suffered fi*om its scorn, and
during his whole life he was the favom-ite or the foot-ball of
kings. Egbei-t was son and brother to a monarch of North-
umbria. Wulstan was an intriguing politician, and played,
witli varying success, a very conspicuous part in the perils of
his time. Oswald shared with Dunstan the responsibility of
advising Edgar, and pushing the scheme of ecclesiastical reform.
Adulph was chancellor to the same prince, and Alfric was either
the jirompter of some of the wicked deeds of Hardicanute or
his tool. Akb-ed, with the exception of earl Godwin, was pro-
bably the greatest man in England in his day, and his influence
M'lth Edward the Confessor cannot be exaggerated. He steered
the Saxon chm'ch successfully through the perils of the Norman

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 23

conquest, and it was only after his decease that William conld
obtain his full ends. The archbishops of York held a very high
position among the great men of England. They had a diocese
extending from the gates of Lincoln far into the North, and to
which another see in the South was temporarily united. They
had a mint and other pi^vileges of their own. They were the
lords of many a broad acre, and moved about with an almost
royal retinue. The number of regal grants which they witnessed
shews how frequently they were in the presence of the sovereign.
It must not hoAvever be imagined that, although they were
thus occasionally occupied, the northern prelates were oblivious
of the high calling to which they were especially devoted. It
was a duty as well as a necessity for them to conciliate the favour
of the great, but public offices and employments did not inter-
fere with the ru'gent claims of the flock, or the studies and de-
votions of the shepherd. The lives of the northern bishops
present to us many a noble trait of piety and zeal. The mis-
sionary work of Paulinus and Wilfrid is not yet forgotten. We
remember the patience and loyalty of the one, and the self-
sacrificing toil of the other. We can see the humble-minded
Aidan, unkind to no one but himself, deserting the table of the
monarch, and hastening to the crowd that was waiting for the
good news from God. Chadd is before us, wandering through
his diocese on foot, or prostrating himself in lowliest obeisance
amid the roaring of the thunder. We hear St. John observing,
" It is more suitable for a bishop to be at his monastery, in at-
tendance upon the poor, than revelling at the tables of the
wealthy V How noble were the fruits of the labours of the
scholar-prelates, Egbert and his three successors : the first, a
prince in birth and energy, toiling with his pen as well as with
his lips, and all glorious advancers of the cause of Christian
education ! A sacred light still encircles the memory of Oswald.
In the holy time of Lent, Kinsius went from village to village,
preaching and bestowing alms, very frequently with bared feet.
But in the midst of all this active employment houi's Avere still
found for solitary devotions and solitary penance. Of all the
characteristics of our early Christian prelates this is perhaps the
most remarkable. Each of them seems to have had an oratory,
or some secluded spot, the predecessor of the private chapels
of our bishops, to Avhich he could resort.

" "Wisdom's self
Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude."

Aidan devoted two days in each week to solitary prayer. Cuth-
bert ended his life upon that barren island which he had been
so unwillina: to desert. Chadd was in his oratory when the hea-

21 FASTI EBORACENSES.

vcnly messengers arrived to tell him that he was soon to leave
it. John, Avho in his earlier years had been a hermit on the
Tync, gave up his bishopric at York to watch for his end at
l^everloy, and two of his successors, Wilfi'id and Albert, follow-
ing his example, devoted the latter portion of their lives to se-
clusion and ])ra}er. In a later age, when the light of holiness
was less Inight,' there Avcre to be found some good men who in
their solitary devotions had not forgotten the practice of Chris-
tian antiquity. Archbishop Sharpe is said to have walked very
fro(puMitly fi'om Bishopthorpe to Acaster Malbis in the early
nu)rning,' and to have knelt down and said his prayers to God
in the porch of that little chm'ch. In the grounds of his own
palace at Bisliopthorpe he caused a labyrinth, as he called it, to
be constructed, and that was his oratory. Thither would he
resort many times a day. The book was closed, the friends
were left behind, the cabinet of coins was locked, and the de-
vout prelate sought the privacy of his cell, to banish the cares
of earth and to meditate upon heaven.

The most influential of all the means by which the North of
England Avas evangelized was vaidoubtedly the establishment of
monasteries,'^ and the archbishop of York could wield no more
effective w capon for the overthrow of paganism and vice. Peo-
ple in these days are too apt to depreciate the debt of gratitude
which we owe to the early monks. The best interests of church
and state were by them nurtui'ed and advanced. The pious de-
votee could in the monastery pray and meditate ; the scholar
could think and learn ; the world- worn pilgrim could at length
repose. Two monarchs of Northumbria, Coenwulf and Eadbert,
ended their days in a convent. Within those walls there was a
sanctuaiy from the world and the vengeance of the pursuer.
The rescued fugitive would there gaze upon a scene as fascinat-
ing as it was new. He would witness the dcA'otions of the in-
mates in their never-pausing but never-wearying round. He
would see the labours of the school-room, shared in by the
children of the neighbouring nobles and the instructors of an-
other generation. He would visit the library and the scriptorium,
and observe the care with which each precious tome was trea-
sm-ed up and cojued ; and how music, architecture, painting, and
caligraphy had their imitators and admirers. If there had been
no monasteries w^e should have had no books, and we should
have lost the Latin language, the noblest legacy that antiquity
has l)e(pieathed to us. And if we regard monasticism in its
effects upon the outer world, we shall soon see how it softened
and ennobled it. I pass by the hmnanizing influence of a life

■'It is my intention to enter at greater duction to the lives of the Deans of
length into this suhjcct in the intro- York.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 25

devoted to worship and literary pursuits, and turn to other
points in which the monks advanced, if they did not ori2;inatc,
the cause of civilization. When they were not enj^ag^ed in the
services of the church or cloister they were generally busy Avith
some manual employment. There was a saying among the
Egyptian devotees that a labouring monk was onlj'^ tempted by
one devil, and in the English monasteries there Avcre none to
depreciate the usefulness of labour. The inmates Avere regularly
trained to it, and even the bishops were obliged to be acquainted
with some handicraft. And what they professed and practised
themselves they taught to others. One of the reasons for the
selection of the desert or the wild-wood as the site of the earliest
retreats was undoubtedly the desire to bring the country into
cultivation. The founder usually endowed the house with a
portion of land sufficient to maintain a certain number of families.
Upon it the monks were regularly employed. They tilled and
soAved it with their own hands, reclaiming the moor from the
heather, and clearing away the wood and water. They chased
and killed the wolves, which were then abundant. They hunted
and snared their own game, they caught their own fish. Before
Wilfrid arrived in Sussex, the inhabitants were ignorant of the
gentle art. They won their own hay, and reaped and ground
their own corn. Agriculture was thus advanced and commerce
followed in its wake. The progress of the early civilization of
the North is coincident vrith the growth and influence of the
monasteries. How many of these retreats there were in North-
umbria prior to the Danish invasion it is scarcely possible to say.
Mr. Hodgson Hinde makes out a list of tAventy-onc. The very
site of some of them is forgotten. They Avere overthroAvn by
the savage men Avhom they tried in A'ain to soften. The situa-
tions which the earliest houses of religion occupied are a suf-
ficient index of the perils of the times. Many of them Avere
on the banks of some stream on which the inmates could launch
their little barges and escape from the invader, or in some path-
less desert that no stranger could approach. Even in the days
of Henry VIII. the royal commissioners were unable to discover
the abbey of Blanchland, in the comity of Durham, till they
were recalled to the search which they had given up by the
tones of the convent-bell Avhich the monks were ringing, too
prematurely, for joy at their escape ! The sea Avas the defence
of such AAdld and lonely retreats as Lindisfarnc, Tynemouth,
Hartlepool and Whitby. It was in a later age, AA'hen peace and
law were at last paramount, that the ecclesiastical orders Avcre
able, in the sites and construction of their aljodes, to blend toge-
ther in one sAveet imion the beauty of nature and of art. Then
it was that they deserted the sea-beaten cliff and the little strip

26 FASTI EBORACENSES.

of green tiu-f among tlie moors for a fairer resting-place, the
charmingly seqviestered valleys and the wood-embosomed haughs
which are washed by the Coquet and the Wharfe, the Swale
and the Rie.

It is difficult to say at what time the earliest churches in
the North of England were erected. Wilfrid, in his oration at
the dedication of llipon minster, speaks of the holy places which
the British Christians had deserted, and that he succeeded in
his attempts to recover some of them seems to be partly evident
from the fact, that under the walls of one or two Saxon churches
in the North Riding of Yorkshire, human remains, belonging
to a very early period, have been disinteiTcd. The church of
Whithern in Galloway, a building of stone, is said to have been
erected by Ninian in the sixth century, Alcuin, whilst speaking
of king Edwin, tells us that he began the minster of York.

" Ecclesiasque suis fundavit in urbibus amplas."

The first temple between the Tees and Tweed was that at Lin-
disfarne, and to the energy of Aidan and his successors is due
the erection of most of the early churches in Bernicia. Their
dedications are very suggestive. Several of the houses of God
in Cumberland and Westmerland shew the names of Irish and
Scottish saints, which were brought into the country by their
founders. Brancepeth, in the county of Durham, owes its name
not to an idle legend, but to St. Brendan, to whom the church
is dedicated. St. Columba presides over Warcop and Topcliffe.
At Whitby, the ancient Streonshal, St. Ninian had once a
shrine. The name of Patrington in Holderness is derived, not,
as Mr. Kemble suggests, from the Patringas, but from the patron
saint of Ireland who presides over the chiu'ch ; whilst the neigh-
bouring shrine of Winestead, as well as the abbey of Selby,
the creation of a later age, are dedicated to St. Patrick^s friend,
Germanus, the sainted bishop of Auxerre. All these names
seem to point to a very early Christianizing of the country, in
all probability by the Ciddees. The chui'ches themselves were
of the rudest possible description. They were made of planks
of wood, and were thatched with reeds or turf. Stone, if attain-
able, seems to have been very rarely used. The perils of the
times were a bar to anything like expense or ornament. It is
curious also to observe how many of the early chm-ches are on
the margin of some stream. One great reason for this pro-
pinquity Avas that which induced St. John to take up his abode
upon the banks of the Jordan. When the word had been de-
livered and received, the preacher and his audience went into
the water, and the convert was there admitted a member of
that church to which he was eager to belong. As the popula-

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 27

tion migrated or some enemy approached, the little churcli of
wood could easily he deserted or removed, and the minister
could retire to some monastery or fastness. His usual abode,
in the earliest times, was within the walls of some convent,
where he was under the eye of the superior, and svihject to the
control of the bishop, and he left it at their bidding to visit
his flock in the wilderness, and to officiate in his little fcld-kirk.
In coiu'se of time, as peace and order became more firmly esta-
blished, parochial arrangements began to be made, and the
country was gradually divided into properly-endoAved eccle-
siastical districts. The present state of the church in several of
the English colonies Avill throw some light upon their progress
and formation. In New Zealand and Australia one clergyman
has frequently a tract of land thii'ty or fifty miles in circum-
ference under his charge. So it must have been in Saxon Eng-
land. Those large parishes which are gradually disappearing
from Lancashire and Yorkshire owe their size originally to a
scanty population and a paucity of teachers.

In many other ways, also, did the Saxon primates of North-
umbria endeavoiu' to advance the spiritual welfare of their
charge. The school, the teacher, and the church were not
allowed to languish for want of encouragement and support.
Proper endowments for them all were gradually made by the
wealthy and devout, in addition to the regular contributions of
the faithfal. The aiding of the ministry, the maintenance of
the fabric and services, and the feeding of the poor, were the
objects for which these offerings were made. Over their appro-
priation and use the archbishop exercised a salutary supervision.
Any defect in discipline or ritual was remedied by his own in-
dependent authority, or by the agency of a council. Synods
also were occasionally convoked. The personal character of
many of the archbishops added strength and potency to their
official acts. They were men of piety and learning, of splendid
tastes, and com'tly influence. Their munificent gifts to the
monasteries must have been copied and admired. The com-
mons would gaze with wonder and yet pleasure upon the intro-
duction of new arts and treasures, at the glazing, sculpture,
painting, and embroidery which they saw l^efore them. The
train of masons and artizans by which Wilfrid was accompanied
would surely have some good fruits. The Italian music that
James and Benedict introduced was not forgotten. The sight
of such temples as Hexham and Ripon, Beverley and York,
could not fail to produce a marvellous efl'ect and devotion :
civilization and taste Avould necessarily be fostered by it. Each
familiar shrine would evoke the memory of some once potent
name. A holy influence seemed to linger around it still.

28 FASTI ERORACENSES.

Beauty there was there, and between the creative and the sym-
pathetic mind there is a strong bond of imion. Great men
U)nf,' since f^one down into silence, who had been reverenced by
their contemporaries, woukl sur\ive in the gratitude and for the
veal of posterity. The aged and withered staff seemed to
l)k)ssom and bear fniit again.

In spite of all this attention and activity on the part of the
Northern primates, it is impossible to say that the church made
any marked and efficient progi'css in Northumbria prior to the
Conquest. Their labours were practically as fruitless as those
of the Danaides. I can scarcely think that the cause of these
shortcomings is to be ascribed to the listlessness or opposition
of the peojjle. There must have been among them many Pagan
usages and traditions such as were reprobated in the time of
Eanbald, but the presence of those relics of heathenism did not
mar the progress of the church in other districts where they were
equally rife. A thoughtful mind will detect several more pro-
bable reasons for the failm-e. One is, without doubt, the size of
the district which the archbishops professed to moderate. Gre-
goiy^s recommendation about the appointment of twelve suffi-a-
gans had never been carried out, and the primate, therefore, had
a diocese which the intellect and the energies of the strongest
man were unable to direct. Good work indeed was begiui, but
there were none to foster and encoui'age it. Monasteries sprung
up in which, as Beda says, worldliness and vice dressed them-
selves in the garb of religion. The archbishop, with his many
avocations and his frequent presence at the court, was unable to
check this. There were many parts of his diocese which he
could rarely, if ever, visit. How could any newly-introduced
faith advance when there was such a want of super\dsion and
direction? This state of things would not be improved by the
feud which was long maintained between the Culdees and their
religious opponents. Wilfrid and his party carried the day,
and introduced a stricter rule, but his subsequent misfortimes
impeded its nurtm-e and its growth. He pulled down the
house of his enemies, but could erect little in its room. One
system neutralized the other. Christianity, if it is to prosper,
cannot long dwell in tabernacles in the wilderness. It must
have fixed places, discipline, and rulers. All these were more or
less wanting in Northumbria. The church, therefore, kept
wavering to and fro like a storm-tossed ship. Practices crept
in which Catholicity rejected, and there were none to check
them. At the time of the Conquest the canons of Dm^ham,'
with the example of St. Cuthbert before them, retained but one |
pomt of tlie Benedictine rule which they once observed. Theyi
sang the hom-s in a peculiar manner. At Hexham, Whalley,

w

OLD LEEDS CHANTRIES.

sends t]u». following additional information

reply to " B. D." (see Nos.

X. V. T.

pectinsj the above,
T6-7): —

["he fhaiitry at Beeston was founded by Will, de
eston, 19th May, 1256. It, is stated that a great oon-
tion took place between William de- B«cs-ton and Holy
inity, York, concei-ninf^ this chapel, in 1258 (42 Hen.
[.).— See Harl. MSS., 797, fo. 8, Brit. Mus.. &c.
>f the chantry at Farnlcy, no foundation is shown in
Henry YIII. liord Mount«agle was the patron, " with
cm the innimb'^nt, (xabricl Croft, rcmaini'th, and
i"e<th the same, by Thos. (iibson, liis dejHity." The
ome was derived, fixmi lands in Holbeek, &c.
h' St. Alary-on-the-Bridge little is known, except that
*tood " super pontem de Lecdes." A similar chapel
y st-ill be feen at Wakefield, &c. Thoresby states that
his time there was a school at Leeds Bridge on its

V.

it. Helen's, Holbeek, mentioned in Pope Alexander's
Srmation of Ralph Paganell's grant to the Convent
Holy Trinity, York, was not the only chantry in that
'Hship. Tliere was St. Helen's Chapel, to the site of
ich access was gained by St. Helen's bridge,
sresby believed that the medicinal well at that place
>one of those which in different parts of the country
dedicated to St. Helen, and that the chapel had been
It in consequence.

LS to the cha.ntries of our Lady, that in which the
wn was placed was founded by the parishioners, July
h, 1500. The bandlets on the crown are not found
ore the time of Henry YII. Robert Fell was the
est at this altar, 27th Henry VIII. The other
■ntry is supposed to have been situated at the east
1 of the aisle immediately north from the liigli choir,
was founded by the parishioners at the same time,
I John Mathew was its priest. The measurements
the chantries were 20ft. by 20ft. and 17ft. by 20ft.
pectively. With respect to the former, see Harleian
.3., 802, Brit. Mus.. &c.

!,egarding the chantry-donative in the chapel of Hol-
k, no foundation is shown in 27th Henry VIII., but
m Dyneley was the incumbent, and " useth daily to
Mass therein," and is taken from a stipendiary priest,
"ing no tithes, and recei^-ing a yearly rent of £4,
d by Sir Arthur Darcy, out of the lands of Holy
nity, York. — Adam' Alan, chaplain of Holbeek ; will
le 9th November, 1434, proved 10th March, 1434-5, at
pk. To be buried in churcli at Lecd=. Sir Thos.
liell. of Holbeek, priest ; will madu 25rd January,
'■. proved 14th April, 1535, at York.

lotas^c
(led.

YORKSHIRE WORTHIES.
IL V. T." continues his Y''orkshire sketches and
axkable incidents (resumed in 1,139) : —

AKCH BISHOP IyOM>i,KY.
>ngley Rig-ht Rev. Charles Thomas. D.D.. Bishop of
'>n, and eighty-fifth Arcibbishop of York, was bom
Fuly, 1790, being the fifth son of John Ijongley,
itime Recorder of Rochester. He was educated at
'''"'"=to.,SnlY>o],,3.pd^(;iy7^Q)yi,rf:lj, Xi^ford^ \yheje

to the Frith of Forth on the other.

kept pace with the growth or cvirtailing of the kingdom, al-
though they occasionally asserted and maintained a still wider
spiritual empire. These claims^ as will be seen liereafter, were
frequently the cause of much controversy and bitterness.

It was the wish of Gregory that England should be divided

vrxER.

29

obtained. Confes-

jNIany of the clergy

> followed their example.

astical reform. And even

I smaller, and less subject

d state of public attairs

l)i'ovement. AVhat could

ig against chief, and race

'il and more gentle airs.

le, and Norman caused

Can we Avonder, then,

lie, and its influence so

u the spiritual province

)w so earnestly. Many

;h he was, were spent i)i

lid robbed Northumbria

iccked the usefulness of

id Aldred are too well

' mournful to turn from

3 the sufferings of their

sword. The Danes de-

(Forthumbria. The Avan-

are full of thrilling and

with the body of their

nd poet. A talisman it

'^y bore along with them.

LU'ch depended upon their

)lace was long denied to

l)eyond the seas. They

nd green glades of York-

of trial that they found

led crag which they have

English Sion. " A fair

t binding charm attaches

(c Avithin thy walls, oh my
till loving child, bids thee

)rians had in the earliest
thumbria, extending from
de, and from the Humber
The power of the ])relates

28

FAS!

t«am?m ike liuKaiSin-e Smicrf" CSS»hpe«aafi— Svnnr.qb
Widnes, Wigan. Stockport, St. Helen's, Altrinoham,
Barrow. Radoliffo, Millfmt. Birkenhead, Ko^^hdjfc |
llomcta, T/mcastcr, and Morecambe — they will domaeljl

betUr than tlK>y wonW have done had they remain«^i
in the York<;hire Senior Competition. They are ij<|t|r
•without hopes of winning the oompeiition, and bejt||i
placed in the I/ea^rue in the eeaeon of 1902. 4*
originally arran^wl, the Rovers will play Swindon a^Hbt
on Soptomber 7th, ,St<x?kport. afld Swintou a.t home fi,
llnll FaJr week, and Sooth Sliielde away. Shoulii
Tluil and Kingston Rovere survive the first rmind e
the Xortham ITnion Cup, they will meet in the
round on the Rovera' ground at Hull.

Beauty there ^va.^ there, ;ii
])atl»i'tie mind there is a
loiij; sinee f^oiie down into
tlieir eontemporaries, won
ueal of posterity. The
})lossom and bear fmit ag;.
In spite of all this attt
Nortlieru primates, it is in
any marked and effiei( a
('()n(|uest. Their labo.n
of the Danaides. I can
shortcomings is to be asc
of the people. There mii
usages and traditions sii
Eaubald, but the prescnc
mar the progress of the el
eciually rife. A thonghti
bable reasons for the faih
the district Avhieh the arc
goiy^s recommendation al
gans had never been carri
a diocese which the iutell
man were unable to direct
there were none to foster ;
up in which, as Beda sa}>
selves in the garb of ]( liu
avocations and his freciiu-i)
check this. There were
could rarely, if ever, visit
faith advance when there
direction ? This state of 1
feud which was long maint
religious opponents. Wil
and introduced a stricter r
impeded its nurture and
house of his enemies, but
system neutralized the oth
cannot long dwell in tabc
have fixed places, discipline

less wanting in Northum ^ - . • ■ - ^^ o «c-.

wavering to and fro like a storm-tossed ship. Practices crept
in which Catholicity rejected, and there were none to cheek
them. At the time of the Conquest the canons of Dui'ham,
with the example of St. Cuthbert before them, retained but one
pouit of the Benedictine rule which they once observed. Thev
sang the hom-s in a peculiar manner. At Hexham, Whallev,

lo ^on'dj -e eawjeq pwe 'xigl ™ ©auep -y^ eiq ^c
»H -aapuqccreo 'aSonoD s Surg ptre 'uo^g; q-e spjBAua
ptre 'x^fiFH •'^" 'I«^H''S HTB^H ^"^ paa-Bonpa SE.ii
•SI raBpiaiiTuiMex^ aj^q.vi 'pieg-aTte^ JBaa 'a<Uoifi^ed<i
JO XcTEjno'i^madlisd eip ^}vv. •&S5>n«>0 ^'^'P J^ aSB^oj
Qm m 'idisujeg ivsu. -ppgJBa i° »^^'^LV ®M'^ PPM »]
'eSpiiquTBO ■33«lloO ^^mij, p •eppsuoq mtof A&a "
JO nos ^sapp oqi sBAi aji ■piag^^B^\i J^" •urKpJ<»l
-Ma.isT paTiBJ 3ov\d v %-^ -gSLI 'HUl ^^niref ujoq i
'ppgqoiq JO doqsrg; 'aa '°M*^f '''^^ '^^^-^ ai^jpsuor

aiTasxoT dOHSia
•3^ '898T Pn« '2981 '9^81 -^o} ..'sMa^ nopn-j
pa^EJ^snin,, s^% pun : 8931 "^si; AjTBuaqdj JOj ./ara-l
;u ;£Bpuns ads *uiiq jo :>i-Bj^od puB ^0'^^■i[s l^oiH*!
-oiq B joj:" -gi pa^'E '8981 '^.UZ -s^qo^tao pjip »H I
'k&reqOuoir-J'si.v,, snoiamnu q'^ija. t 2,981 .. rasiiOTl
puB AHimiri aitL,, :298I ..'W«^ ^M'* J° ^f*^l
aq-j SaipioH.. pauoifjuaui aq ^bui s^a^qdniBa
suonijos paqsqqnd snojaranu siq Saouiv ■i4I'rs|
onv i;^ua>>aTsstq JOj 'sjaq'jo ^q :}nq 'qoanqQ ptl
-qeis^^^ aqi jo sjequiaai j£q i£[no ?oa 'paoiaa^sa Aij
stjAV 'oq oaiqsi[.io\ uj -s-inoq-ei siq papjUMaa q:|
frsaoons priuE]fcqns ^q•:^ JOj pa:tqaput sv/a aq sai^il
as.->q^ oj puB 'uonisodsip jo ssanqpniJ} puB aaul
JO A!;iABns".ii}[nSui's':^q paqsmSui:>si'p sbjs. ojj -a^'I
-uioo'pauBA s;i jo'sass^p iiB'q:>!Ai ■jou^noa i^aonbajjl
vn'i ]qi3uojq (lUB "ji^nnoo aq^ jo s:p-Bd \[t3 ui jbiI
uiiq a[)'Bin "JlJOj^ jo asaaoip aqj in A:puanbosqml
•iiodia JO asaooTp aq? ut eeiuapisa.i Hw \ sijj •uoti
nut; 'rtijids paao^-qisiq aures aq'} puB •uolJBi'^s^|
siionu'oiojKoo aoi'cs ijq; ; saBa/C ia[[jBa siq pasi
-■nqi pBq ^cq; j{.io,w siq o; uoi^jOAap ara-BS aq^ p&.il
eq aaajj •Jauinng uq; jo q'lBap oq^t uo 'Aanqj
JO doqsiqq.ijy "2981 ni pu'i : aABjSsnj^ -xq; jo
eq) uo '3[ao-^ jo 'doqsiqx[oay eoiBaeq aqi
sjijai jnoj aa^jB pu-B : ./Cqq-BjA;; -JO! 3aq|
'iireqjnQ jo doqstg apBin stivv. aq 9gjl
•sjVfaX AinaAj Joj X;ii-Bn.iBduit pue x^^ ejuf
, pagJBqosip aq qoiqA\ josaijup aqi 'uodty; jo eav,'
Xi-viau aqj oj pa^uioddc sbav oq uaqAi 'gggx o\ 6Z<j
looqag AvojiBji jo jajsrjin p^aq sbav a^ •japBjj.
JO ssauapuaS aq; jo ;,unoooB uo „'aso}X eqj, <. f,
-moo siq jfq panBO s^.\v an uo^nj, a^anct) P"^ f'^
B aracoaq puB 'uoitpai^sip x'boiss'b^o q^iq poA

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 29

and Bcdlington an hereditary saccrdotagc obtained. Confes-
sion seems to have been much disregarded. Many of the clergy
were married men, and several bishops followed their cxam})le.
There was great need indeed of ecclesiastical reform. And even
if the diocese of Northumbria had been smaller, and less subject
to religious contentions, the troubled state of public affairs
wmdd have precluded or retarded improvement. What could
Christianity do when chief was Avarring against chief, and race
against race ? It required a kindlier soil and more gentle airs.
Tlie troubles which Briton, Saxon, Dane, and Norman caused
in Northumbria are matters of history. Can avc Avonder, then,
that the light of religion was so feeble, and its influence so
partial ? Paulinus fled for his life fi'om the spiritual province
which he had begun to plough and sow so earnestly. Many
years of Wulstan's life, fearless althoiigh he was, Averc spent in
exile. The dangers which beset Eanbald robbed Northumbria
of Alcuin. The Danish incursions checked the usefulness of
OsAvald. The troubles of Wilfrid and Aldred are too Avell
knoA\ai to be repeated. It is still more moiu-nful to turn from
the disasters which befell the pastors to the sufl^erings of their
flocks, and the ravages of the fire and sword. The Danes de-
stroyed almost every monastery in Northumbria. The Avan-
derings of the monks of Lindisfarne are full of thrilling and
romantic incidents. Their pilgrimage Avith the body of their
saint has been described by historian and poet. A talisman it
w^as dearer far than life itself which they bore along Avith them.
The very existence of the Northern church depended upon their
safety, and they knew it. A resting-place was long denied to
them. They sought for it in vain beyond the seas. They
sought for it in vain among the hills and green glades of York-
shire, and it Avas very late in their day of trial that they found
a sanctuary at last, the wood-embosomed crag which they have
crowned AA'ith the gTcy towers of the English Sion. " A fair
place^^ indeed it is, and memory^s most binding charm attaches
me to that " holy hill.''-' May peace be within thy Avails, oh my
nursing mother ! A w^andering, but still loving child, bids thee
prosper and be blessed.

The archbishop of the Northumbrians had in the earliest
times the control of the Avhole of Northumbria, extending from
the Mersey to the Clyde on the one side, and from the Humber
to the Frith of Forth on the other. The poAver of the prelates
kept pace with the growth or curtailing of the kingdom, al-
though they occasionally asserted and maintained a still Avider
spiritual empire. These claims, as Avill be seen hereafter, Averc
frequently the cause of much controversy and bitterness.

It was the wish of Gregory that England should be divided

30 FASTI ERORACENSES.

into two large provinces ; the Northern to be under the rule of
an archbishop, Avho was to act as metropolitan over twelve
suffragans. This arrangement was subsequently confirmed by
Leo III., but for various reasons it was never carried into effect.
The following sees were in existence in Northumbrian or were
imder the control of the Northern primate anterior to the Con-
quest.

LiNDisFARNE. The seat of sixteen bishops, beginning with
Aidan in 635, and ending with Eardulph. It was then trans-
ferred to Chester-le-Street. The first four bishops of Lindis-
farne had the sole charge of Northumbria after the flight of
Paulinus.

Hexham. This see was founded in 678, when the diocese
of York was divided by Theodore. It had a succession of
thirteen bishops, the last of whom was Tydfrith, who died
in 821.

LiNDSEY. Established by Theodore in 678. The seat of
the episcopate was probably at Sidnacester or Stow, and Eadhead
was the first and the last bishop. Lindsey, although a part of
Mercia, was at that time under the rule of the Northumbrian
monarch by right of conquest ; it was soon recovered by the
Mercians, and Eadhead retired to Ripon. The claim, however,
to Lindsey was not surrendered. When the see of Lincoln was
established soon after the Conquest, archbishop Thomas asserted
that Lincoln, Stow, and a great part of Lindsey belonged to
the province of York, and resisted the appointment and the
acts of Remigius and his successor, Robert de Bloet, in the
most determined way. The primate seems to have been in the
right. The dispute was arranged, much against the will of
Thomas, by pope Paschalis and William Riifus. Lindsey was
to be henceforward a part of the diocese of Lincoln, and the
see of York, in the place of it, was to have the abbey of Selby
and the monastery of St. Oswald at Gloucester. The bishop of
Lincoln became thenceforward a suffragan of Canterbury.

RiPON. Founded in 679 (?) . Eadhead went there wdien he
retired from Lindsey. He was the first and the last bishop.

Galloway. A see established in 681, the district having
been added to Northumbria by Ecgfrith. Trumwin was the first
prelate, and he was called the bishop of the Picts. The seat of
the episcopate was at Whithern or Candida Casa, where there
was a succession of six bishops. Shortly before the year 800
Galloway came again into the possession of the Picts, and several
centuries elapse before we hear again of Christianity at Whit-
hem.

Chester-le-Street. The bishopric at Lindisfarne was re-
moved to this place about 880, and continued here for nearlv a

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 31

century, when it was taken to Dm'liam. There was a succession
of nine hishops at Chester.

Durham. The series of bishops began here in 990, and is
still going on. There has l)een much controversy and wrangling
between the sees of Dui'ham and York on the question of unh-
jeetion. The bishops of Durham were men of too great influ-
ence and spirit to be suffragans to any one, but they ought
undoubtedly to have paid ecclesiastical obedience to York. The
contest was carried on for a long time Avith varying success, and
even at the present day the power of York over Durham is not
altogether admitted. The temporal power of the bishops of
Durham was greater than that of the archbishops of York, and
their appeals to the sovereign were frequently listened to, on tliat
accoimt, with the greater favour.

Glasgow. Magseu and John, bishops of this see, were con-
secrated by archbishoj) Kinsius shortly before the Conquest, and
acknowledged themselves the suffi-agans of York. Their pro-
fession was disoT\Tied by their successors, nay, their very names
are excluded from the fasti of the church of Glasgow by Scot-
tish AATiters.

It will be seen that at no period anterior to the Conquest
were there more than five prelates within Northumbria. On
the arrival of the Normans the archbishop of York had only
two suffragans, the bishops of Dm-liam and Glasgow. In 1132,
Henry I. established a bishopric at Carlisle, and subjected it to
York. Cumberland, Westmerland, and Lancashire, with the
adjacent islands, had been a part of Northumbria from the
time of Ecgfrith in the seventh century, and were probably
visited by the chorepiscopi, or the Scottish and Irish missionary
bishops. The see of Sodor and Man was not formally subjected
to York until the year 1458, although it had formed a portion
of the old kingdom of Northumbria, and had on several occa-
sions been connected with York. The see of Chester was
founded by Henry VIII., and since that period only two bishop-
rics have been erected in the North. The suffi-agans of the
archbishop of York at the present day are the bishops of Dur-
ham, Carlisle, Sodor and Man, Chester, Ripon, and Manchester.

With regard to the Scottish bishops and their subjection to
York there has been mvicli angry contention. It was undoubt-
edly designed in the first instance that the Scottish prelates
should be suftragans of York, and before the Conquest such of
them as were canonically appointed rendered their obedience to
that see. The rest that we hear of were, probably, merely the
chorepiscopi. After the arrival of the Normans there seems to
have been for some time a desire for unity, and we find the
bishops of St. Andrews, Glasgow, Whithern, Orkney, and the

33 FASTI EBORACENSES.

Isles, recognizing the supremacy of the archbishop of York. A
change, however, soon si)rang up. The influence of the Culdees
and the chorepiscopi, and their increasing dislike of the English,
soon made the Scottish bishops l)reak off their connection with
an ecclesiastical head Avhom they never saw in their own
country, and from Avhom their own national feelings more and
more alienated them. They began to receive consecration at
the hands of their brethren at home, and the bishops of St.
AndrcAvs began gradually to take the lead. At the commence-
ment of the tAvelfth century pope Calixtus urged upon the Scot-
tish king and his nobles the duty and the propriety of having
their bishops properly consecrated by the metropolitan of York
to Avhom they Avere subjected. In 1175 the question was again
mooted at the council at Northampton, and the result of the
debate was that the bishops and abbats of Scotland rendered
their submission to the archbishop. The practice was soon
given up, and in the reign of Edward I. pope Alexander took
the Scottish bishops imder his protection during the struggle
Avith England. The wars which noAV ensued Avere an effectiial
bar to the claims of York, and in the fifteenth century the pope
formally exempted the Scottish chm'ch from any obedience to
an English metropolitan, and made the bishop of St. Andrews
primate. The decree Avas Adgorously resisted by the archbishop
of York, but the pope told him that no enemy ought to be
metropolitan of Scotland. In the following century it was the
intention of archbishop Lee to have revived the claim, and to
have submitted it to a general council, but the ecclesiastical
troubles of the age were an effectual bar to any legislation. The
church of Scotland is altogether exempt from any English
jurisdiction, but that freedom has been the greatest curse which
has befallen it.

The last point to be remarked upon is the relation that
has existed betAveen York and Canterbury, which has not
ahvays been of the most amicable kind. The original intention
was that the tAvo metropolitans should be entirely independent
of each other. When one died the sm-vivor Avas to consecrate
his new brother, and until that event took place he was to con-
secrate all bishops, croAATi the sovereign were it necessary, and
sing high mass before him on the three great festivals. It was
intended that the Northern primate should have twelve suffragans
under him, and the pall, which he Avas to receive from Rome,
Avas to be the title-deed as it Avere of his authority. In position
and power the tAvo archbishops were to be exactly equal.

It Avas not so. For a century after the departiu'c of Paulinus
from the North no bishop of York either sought for or obtained
the i)a]l. Witliout this he could have no suffi-agans, and he was

INTRODUCTORY CII.M'TKR. 33

himself in point of fact nndcr the anthority of Caiitcrbiny. It
was the absence of the pall from York that accounts for the snc-
cessful interference of Theodore with Wilfi'id. Egbert, how-
ever, at Beda^s suggestion obtained that privilege which was
continued to his successors. The position of the two primates
was now equal, although tlie influence of York even then must
have been less than that of Canterbury, on account of the few
suffragans that it had, and the disasters that fell upon North-
umbria. Soon after the Conquest Lanfranc made a successful
attempt to subject York to Canterbury. He refused to conse-
crate Thomas of Bayeux unless he made his profession of
obedience. Thomas, unfortunately, made his submission at the
request of the king whose chaplain he was, but the controversy
was immediately resumed. The result was unfavourable to
York, as the Northern province was formally subjected to Can-
terbury at a great sjTiod held in 1073. This decision, how-
ever, was as formally reversed by pope Honorius, fifty years
afterwards, at the request of archbishop Thurstan, and the two
metropolitans were henceforward independent of each other.
Peace and amity were not so speedily restored. I shall mention,
in their chronological order, the scenes and animosities which
this want of friendly feeling occasionally produced.

These prefatory remarks are merely introductory to the
biography with which I profess especially to deal ; and many of
the points which have been already briefly alluded to will occur
again to my readers in their proper sequence and position.

THE ARCHBISliOrS.

THE ARCHBISHOPS OF YORK.

^]^aulinU|5 was the first missionary from Rome that preached
the Gospel in the Saxon kingdom of Northumhria. We are
told that he was a Roman by birth/' and this statement is
strongly corroborated by Beda^s description of his personal ap-
pearance.* The words of the famous historian are thus rendered
by a Christian poet : —

" Who comes with, functions apostolical ?
Mark bim of shoulders curved and stature tall,
Black hair and yivid eye and meagre cheek,
His prominent feature like an eagle's beak, —
A man whose stature does at once appal,
And strike with reverence."

On the other hand, however, we have the assertion of the
Pseudo-Nennius that it was not Paulinus who baptized king
Edwin and the many converts in Bernicia and Deira, but Hum,
the son of Urien, who was the well-known opponent of the
Saxons in the North.'' Can we identify him with Paulinus, and
regard the latter name merely as the Latin title which the mis-
sionary assumed when his patronymic was discarded ? If this
were the case, Paulinus Avas a Briton. An able historical
writer'^ observes that " the following sequence of events is far
from improbable : — that on the death of Urien of Reged, and
the expulsion of his family from the throne, his son Rum re-
tired to Rome, and there entered into holy orders ; that when
Gregory was looking about for missionaries to send to Britain,
he should gladly avail himself of the services of a Britisli priest
highly connected, more especially when we knoAv how anxiously

" Alcuin de SS., etc., Ebor., apud who says, " Run mapur Bcghen., i.e..

Gale, i., 709. PauUnus."

* ijeda, ii., 16 : " Vir longse staturae, '' Mr. Hodgson Hinde, in the first

paululum incurvus, nigro capillo, facie volume of the History of Northumber-

macilenta, naso adunco pertenui, vene- land, 77. It maybe asked, ^\'hy should

rabilis simul et terribilis aspectu." the son of a British chieftain go to

' Gale, i., 117. Lei. Coll., iii., 49, Rome ?

D 2

3G FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Augustine strove, though without success, to obtain the co-
operation of the British clergy in the work of converting the
Anglo-Saxons ; lastly, that when the Kentish king had to select
from the ecclesiastics about him a chaplain to accompany his
daughter into Northumberland, he should make choice of a
native of the district/^

Paulinus left Italy in 601,' at the bidding of Gregory, whose
disciple he is said to have been,/ to labour in the harvest-field
of England, where there was a great lack of reapers.^ His
companions were persons of repute, and the names of the mem-
bers of the party make up, singularly enough, an hexameter

line* —

Mellitus, Justus, Paulinus, Eufinianus.

They bore with them a missive to Augustine, in which Gregory
announced his desii'c that York should be a metropolitan see,'
with twelve suffragans. Little, perhaps, did Paulinus at that
time think that liis own shoulders would be decorated with the
pall.

Many years elapsed before the intentions of the chief pontiff
could be can'ied into effect, and during this period Paulinus
was, probably, one of the coadjutors of Augustine and Justus
in the evangelization of Kent. A wider field of duty was before
him — the great Saxon province of Northumbria.

The monarch of Northumbria between 593 and 617 was
Ethelfrith, the slaughterer of the monks of Bangor. He suc-
ceeded his father Ethelric on the throne, which properly be-
longed to Edwin, his ^vife^s brother. The reign of Ethelfrith
was a veiy prosperous one, and yet he Avas by no means free
from care. As the brother-in-law, whom his father had wronged
in his infancy, grew up to manhood, the " destrictus ensis "
seemed to hang over Ethelfi'ith by a more slender thread, and
his anxiety aroused the fears of Edvrin, who, trembling for
his life, fled at last to the com't of Redwald, king of the East
Angles, after he had sought for protection in other kingdoms
and other hiding places. Thither, also, do the hate and fears of
Ethelfrith pursue him. Bribes are freely offered for the fugi-
tive, but without effect, and then comes the more potent threat
of war, which induces the timid Redwald to pledge his word to

' Saxon Chron., 28. Asser, apud uninteresting compilation.

Gale, i., 113. Stubbs, col. 1GS7. PI. e Beda, i., 29.

Wigorn. (232) makes the date 626. '' Beda, i., 29. Hist. Mon. S. An-

Yita S. Gregorii, apud Mabillon, Acta gust. Cautuar., 96. Anglia Sacra, i.,

SS. ord. S. B., sajc. i., 422. Vita S. 1, 65. Baronii Annales, viii., 147.

Aug., apud Angl. Sacram., ii., 62. '' Beda, ut supra. Vita S. Augustini,

J Ric. of Kexham, col. 285. Acta apud Mabillou, Acta SS. ord.'S. B.,

SS. mouse Oct., ex Laur. Surio. The sicc. i., 515. Labbe, Concilia, v., col.

life of Pauhnus in the Acta SS. is an 1558. Spelmanni Cone, 90.

627 633.] ARCHBISHOP PAULINUS. 37

the monarch of Northumbria that he would either piit to death
or suiTcnder the unfortunate refugee. The news of this decision
was brought to the unhappy Edwin by a friend, who promised
to shew him a safer place of retreat, but he would not avail
himself of his offer. Fortune had been so luikind to him that
he cared not now whether she smiled or frowned. Redwald
had welcomed him to his halls — why should he question his
good faith by fleeing from them? He would stay where he
was and avv^ait the end.-^

It was night, and the homeless wanderer was seated on a
stone bench before the royal palace, musing on his unhappy h)t,
and very sad at heart. Suddenly there stands before him in
the gloom a wondrous visitor ; his features were unknown, and
his attire, like his face, was strange. Who could he be ?

" Frigidns horror
Membra quatit, gelidusque coit formidine sanguis."

The stranger was the first to speak : " All men are now asleep ;
why art thou awake and sitting sorrowlFully in this place T'
Edwin gave a hasty answer, deprecating the intrusion upon his
privacy ; but the questioner heeded not the angry words, and
told him that he knew well the cause of his anxiety. " But
what,^^ he said, " would be the reward of him who should banish
all thy sorrow, and persuade Redwald neither to injm^e thee
himself, nor to give thee up to thy foes V '' Any good that I
could do him,^^ was the reply ; and the speaker again resumed,
" What reward should be his were he to pledge his word that
thou shouldest be restored to thy lost throne, and that thou
shouldest become a greater monarch than England has yet
seen V " Anything that I could give and do for him to shew
my gratitude," was Edwin's bolder and more grateful answer.
" If all this is granted to thee," said the mysterious stranger,
" and he who now speaks to thee has proved himself a true
prophet, wilt thou listen to his words and his advice Avhen he
shews to thee a better rule of life than any of thy sires have
known before thee ?" " Yea, that I will, in all things," was
the reply of Edwin; and then the stranger's hand was laid
upon his head^ — an act of authority not likely to be forgotten
by the speaker or the promiser,^ — and the striking words fell
upon the exile's ear, " When this sign shall come again to thee,
recollect then this hour and these words, and delay not to do as
thou hast promised." The injunction was scarcely uttered

i The whole storv is in Beda, ii., 12. Ann. Ben., i., 332, 3.

Alcuin de SS. Ebor., apud Gale, i., * " Yatis siguum," as Mabillon calls

"704, 5. Bromton, col. 781. Eoger of it. Cf. iEn., ix., 300. Juv. Sat., vi.,

AVendover, ed. Giles, i., 76. Mabillon, 17. Ovid, Trist., v., 4, 45.

38 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

before the speaker had vanished like a spirit through the gloom,
and Edwin, trembling and astonished, found himself alone in
the friendly darkness.

Pauliuus, in all probability, was the stranger who thus spoke
and acted, and the whole scene is just such a one as an Italian
monk would devise to influence an impressible mind. Redwald
was at that time half a Christian, and the missionary would,
perhaps, be flitting about the court in the hope of subjugating
him entirely to the true faith. The event surpassed Edwin^s
most sanguine expectations. The friend who had counselled
him to flee had acquainted the queen wdth his determination,
and she, in pity for his sufferings, had moved her husband, who
had probably been influenced by the mysterious stranger, to
take up the exile^s cause. Not only did Redwald protect the
distressed fugitive, but he restored him to his lost inheritance,
slaying the intruder Ethelfrith in a battle near the sluggish
waters of the Idle.

Thus, in 617, Edwin became the monarch of Northumbria.
The words of the mysterious stranger were accomplished, but
no one asked him to fulfil his promise, and he thought, no
doubt, that it was a spirit that he had seen. The end had not
yet come. In 625, Edwin, still a pagan, wooed for his second
consort Ethelburga, a daughter of Ethelbert, king of Kent,
Avho had been converted by Augustine. Her brother, who was
the king, rejected the proposals of the Northumbrian monarch
Avith the scornful answer that a Christian virgin could not take
to herself a pagan husband. This difficulty was soon met by
Edwin. He not only promised to allow* the lady, if she became
his wife, to worship God with all her suite, but he professed his
readiness to listen to the arguments of Christianity, and to adopt
them, if they w^ere deemed irresistible by men of prudence and
discretion.'

The marriage takes place, and Paulinus accompanies the
princess as her chaplain, having been consecrated bishop of the
Northumbrians by archbishop Justus on the 21st of July, 625,'"
to preside over the mission. No one could go into the North
with greater chances of success. He knew a token that would

' Beda, ii., 9. Stubbs, col. 1687. Gosceline's life of Aui^ustine in the

Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i., 332. Anglia Sacra, ii., 66, T.'^it appears that

'" Beda, n., 9. Saxon Chron., 32. Augustine paid a visit to York after
Flor. Wigorn., 232. Roger of Wen- the massacre at Bangor ! Two of his
dover, ed. Giles, i., 74. Chron. S. Cru- miracles are recorded. At the same
CIS, apud Wharton, i., 153. Hist. Mon. time he is said to have baptized an ex-
b. Aug. Cantuar, 153. Had. deDiceto, traordinary number of converts in the
CO .437. Bromton,col.740,80. Stubbs, Swale ! Cf. Smith's Beda for the ex-
col. 1687. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i., planation of this story.
332. Buronii Annales, viii., 268. In

627 633.] ARCHBISHOP PAULINUS. 39

soften the king's heart when everything else had failed, l)ut
that was a resoui'ce not to be lightly or incautiously made use
of. The most potent argument was to be the last. In the
meantime he could make but little progress. He gained no
couA^erts. All that he did was to preserve the queen's suite by
his daily teachings and celebrations from the pagan superstitions
of the country."

Neither the arguments of the preacher nor the entreaties of
the queen coidd induce Edwin to adopt the Christian faith.
But Paulinus was patient and observant. He could read the
king's feelings^ and he saw that time alone could change them ;
when once converted, he knew that Edwin would act boldly and
consistently, and the missionary, grieved and yet hopeful, was
waiting for the event. It was precipitated by one or two re-
markable circumstances. An unsuccessful attempt Avas made
upon the king's life by a minion of a king of Wessex, and, on the
same evening, Edwin's queen gave birth to a daughter. The
king thanked his gods, but Paulinus poui'ed forth his praises to
his Creator, to whose agency he ascribed these two signal
favours, with such fervoiu', that Edwin, struck by his earnest-
ness, promised that if the God whom Paulinus worshipped
would enable him to vanquish the king of Wessex, he would
renounce his creed, and, as a pledge of his sincerity, he allowed
his new-born daughter to be baptized. Eleven members of the
royal household accompanied her to the font."

The victory was Edwin's, but still the conqueror believed
not. He talked about the new faith to Paulinus and his nobles,
but he did nothing. A letter arrived from pope Boniface at this
juncture, exhorting him to embrace the creed of his wife, but it
was ineft'ectual.^ Ethelbui'ga spoke to no purpose. The words
of Paulinus were listened to, but rejected. The king was dis-
satisfied with himself, for he had made a promise, and he had
not kept it. The fear of giving offence deterred him from
revealing what were the convictions of his mind. " He durst
not entertain truth, a lawfull king, for feare to displease cus-
tome, a cruell tyrant."* He was moody and careworn, sitting
by himself and musing over what was uppermost in his thoughts.''
The crisis had at length come, and the preacher knew it. Well
might he say with Ulysses, —

« Beda, ii., 12. Stubbs, col. 1687. tized uith the princess. Baronii Ann.,

Malmesbury, apud Savile, 9, a. Ba- viii., 275.

ronii Ann.,"viii., 269. p Beda, ii., 10. Hist. Mon. S. Aug.

" Beda, ii., 9. Flor. Wigorn., 232. Cant., 155, 162-3. Bromton, col. 781.

Chron. S. Crucis, apud Wharton, i., Labbe, Concilia, v., col. 1659. Spel-

153. Bromton, col. 781. Nennius, apud manni Concilia, 135. Baronii Aim.,

Gale, i., 114, 15. Roger of Wendover, viii., 269. « Fuller's Church Hist.,

i., 76, who sa3's that thirty were bap- book ii., 72. "■ Beda, ii., 12.

40 FASTI EBOKACENSES. [a.D.

" rj jiiaXa vw'i
r/i/wao/iieO' uWrjXivv, kcu Xwioi^' tan r^/ap y^iiv
arfi-iaO', a Brj Kal fw'i KeKpvfijxeva I'c^iev air uWwv.

Alone tlie monarch was wlien Paulinus passed into his presence,
and the "svcU-known sign was again made ; the hand was laid
upon the head which it had touched twelve years before amid
the darkness of the night. " Rememherest thou this ?" said the
missionary to the king : Edwin would have cast himself at his
feet had he not been prevented ; and then, at last, there sounded
in his ea s the tones of a voice no longer unfamiliar to him,
" Behold, thine enemies have fallen in the battle ; that is the
Lord's gift to thee ; behold, the kingdom that thou didst covet
is thine, that hath the Lord given thee likewise ; remember thy
third promise, and welcome the faith and the rule of Him who
hath done for thee such great things : an earthly throne He
hath given to thee already, hearken to His will that I declare
to thee, and thou shalt share with Him His kingdom in the
heavens."''

There was no resisting an appeal like this. The king gave
way, and told Paulinus that his wishes coincided with his duty,
and that he should become a Christian. He desired, however,
to confer with his council before he made any public annoimce-
ment of his conversion. To this Paulinus woiild willingly assent,
for the subject was not a new one to many members of that
assembly. The bias of Edwin would now be known and woidd
have its due weight. The opinions of the councillors were taken
individually ; and althovigh the king cautiously spoke of the new
faith as a " doctrina eatenus inaudita,"'^ the answers that were
elicited, if they did not prove that the speakers believed in
Christianity, still tended to sIicav that they had no confidence in
then' own creed. The speech of Coifi, the pagan high priest,
was a very striking one. He said plainly, that in his own reli-
gion there was neither merit nor use. He, he observed, had
served his gods more faithfidly than others, and what had they
done for him ! Coifi took a very utilitarian view of religion in
general, but it was the popular one, and the council assented to
his Avish to hear more of the new doctrine, and to adopt it if it
were approved of.

Then it was that Paulinus had the opportunity for which he
waited so many years. " Exspectate venis !" Eight in front of
him, perhaps, was the great idol-temple of Northumbria;" around

' Beda, ii., 12. Eoger of Wendover, " Dr. Hook imagines that tlie Council

'•' ]"• . was lield at York, and describes the ride

■♦1 r-u'" ■^^' • ^^ ^'ccome acquainted of Coifi to Godmundham,— the whole

with '.hristianitv at the court of Red- scene being a pleasing invention. Coifi

wald. IJeda, n., 13. did not mount the king's horse because

627 633.] ARCHBISHOP PAULINUS. 41

him were the great men of the provmce eager at length to liear
the good tidings which they had so long rejected; tlierc was
the monarch, deaf no longer to his entreaties, but a listener and
a believer. Well might Paulinus speak with eloquence and
fervour, before an audience like that. There is no record of
what he said, but he must have spoken with the dignity and the
power of an apostle. The result was a most marvellous one."
Coifi was the first to renounce his idolatry, and wildly eager to
atone for his past blindness, he vaulted, by permission, on
the king^s steed, and girding on his sword, rode, lance in
hand, to desecrate the idols and the shrine that he had so
long revered. When the people saw him on horseback and in
arms, as no priest had ever been before him, they thought tliat
he was mad. But soon, more vulgi, they Avere carried away by
his impetuosity ; they bui'st into the temple and its enclosures,
profaning and destroying what they could. All this was done at
Godmundham near Market Weigliton, a place which in after
years came into the possession of the church of York by the gift
of the famous Ulphus.

This important event occurred, I believe, in the spring of
627, and upon Easter day (April 12) in this same year a most
striking ceremony was witnessed at York.^ This was the bap-
tism of Edwin. A little church or chapel of wood was hastily
constructed at the bidding of the king,^ and dedicated to St.
Peter, and in it did the monarch become a member of the true
faith. Two of his children were baptized at the same time,
together with Iffi the son of Osfrid, and many other persons of
distinction and royal birth. J' Around that little oratory, which
he had so much reason to remember, the grateful monarch, at

there was any journey to make to the ^ The Ps. Nennius (Gale, i., 115) says

temple, but simply to shew his contempt that 12000 persons were baptized with

for the pagan rule that a priest should Edwin in one day, and that for forty

only ride upon a mare ! days Paulinus " non cessavit baptizans

" Teinplo, lucisque sacratis omne genus Ambronum, i. e. Ald.-Sax-

Cornipedes arcentur equi." onum." Roger of AVendovcr, i., 78,

" Beda, ii., 13. Hist. Mon. S. Aug. goes farther, and says that soon after

Cant., 163-4. Henry of Huntingdon, there was not one unbeliever left. Be-

apud Savile, 187-9. Bromton, col. 782. da, ii., 14. Angl.Sacra, i., 153. Rad. do

Alcuin de SS. etc., Eccl. Ebor., apud Dioeto, col., 438. Bromton, col., 782.

Gale, i., 706. Stubbs, col., 1688. Lei. Coll., iv„ 69.

'*' Chron. S. Crucis, apud Wharton, Gaimar, I'estorie des Englcs, apud Mon.

i., 153. Roger of Wendover, i., 77. Hist. Brit. 777, 9, sa}'s :

Chron. Cantuar., col. 2230. Flor. Wi- „ lj ,.gis ^dwinc estrcit done reis ;

gorn. places the baptism in 628. Si prist les Cristiene lei.s:

'^ Saxon Chron., 33. Hist. Mon. S. Pe Everwic ert : ico savon,

Aug. Cant., 165. Anglia Sacra, i., 153, ^ u„'^'.^u"^eSor"at,

The altar at which Edwin was baptized e a Seint Pere la donat.

was afterwards dedicated to St. Paul. Cf. Ic'st reis fu del linage Kile,

Alcuin de SS. Eccl. Ebor., and Symeon, ^!^^^^^''-

col. 113. Paulins out non, Deus mult I'amat.''

42 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

the instigation of Paulinus, began to erect a church of stone
which he never lived to complete.

" Euboricse solidis suffulta columnis
Nobilis ilia manet celso speciosa decore,
Qua statione sacra fuit ille lavatus in unda."-

It was in the form of a square with the shrine in the middle.
However unsightly the latter may have been, we cannot but
admire the feeling' which prompted its preservation. Amid the
temples and the gorgeous buildings on the Capitoline hill the
Romans lovingly preserved the straw-thatched cottage of their
founder ; in the*^ ancient church of York you could see the ora-
tory of Avood in which the sacred Avater had been poured for the
first time upon a monarch of Northumbria.

A glorious field was now^ opened to Paulinus, and every one
was ready to listen and assist. Edwin fixed the seat of his epis-
copate at York/ and, at the request of that monarch, pope
Honorius rewarded the zeal of the good bishop by the welcome
gift of a pallium.* The labom's of the great missionary during
his residence in the North must have been prodigious.'^ The
kingdom of Edwin stretched from beyond Lincoln and South-
well far into the lowlands of Scotland, and the whole of this
immense district seems to have been traversed by Paulinus.
Tradition has preserved some traces of his footsteps. In North-
umberland there is a Paulinas well, and Pallinsburn in the
northern part of the same comity is the burn or rividet of Pau-
linus. There^ are still ancient crosses with which his name is
connected at Dewsbury and Whalley, and there was another
near Easingwold in the time of Edward I.'' They were memo-
rials, in all probability, of a visit of the archbishop whom the
people of Bemicia and Deira had good cause to remember. He
moved about with the court, for he was the royal chaplain, and
w^herever it halted there was w'ork for him to do. Rarely has
any missionary had so successful a career. There were no ora-
tories or baptisteries when he begun his work,^ and he needed
them not ; for w^herever there was w^ater he could baptize, and
he could find a pulpit anywhere. At Adgebrin or Yeavering
near the Cheviots he is said to have spent thirty-six days in
catechizing the converts and baptizing them in the waters of

= Alcuin de SS. etc. Eccl. Ebor., apud ' " Per sex annos continues verbum

Gale, i., 706. " Saxon Chron., 33. DeiinNorthanimbroruniprovinciapre-

An.<;l. Sacra, i., 153. dicabat." SymeonisEp.de Arch. Ebor.,

* Saxon Chron., 34. Beda, ii., 16, col. 77.
17. Hist. Mon. S. Aug. Cantuar., 170. '' Archgeol. ^liana, n. s., l, 154. Ni-

Bromton, col. 783. Stubbs, col. 1688. chols' Collect. Topogr., i., 149-54. Wal-

Labbe Concilia, V., col. 1683. Spel- bran on the Saxon church of Ripon, 70.

manniConc, 138, 9. BaroniiAnn.,viii., Whitaker's Whalley, 50. Loidis and

32C. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i., 336. Elmete, 299. <■ Beda, ii., 14.

627 — 633.] AKCii BISHOP paulinus. 43

the Glen/ In the province of Deira^ where a great portion of
his time was passed, he woukl generally be baptizing at Catterick
or Tanfield (Donafield) in the SAvale and Yore.^ It was, doubt-
less, at the instigation of Paulinus, that Edwin prevailed upon
Eorpwald, king of the East Angles, the son of his old protector
Redwald, to become a Christian;* and hence it is that he is
traditionally connected with the infant- university of Cambridge.'
Hilda first heard of Christianity from Paulinus..'' We hear, also,
of the missionary in Lindsey and Nottinghamshire. In Lindsey''^
he was the earliest propagator of Christianity, and Blecca, the
prefect or reeve of Lincoln, was his first convert: he erected a
church, the predecessor of that glorious temple with which that
" sovereign hill " is crowned, and in it, in 627, did he consecrate
archbishop Honorius.^ He is said to have fomided the church
of Southwell about the year 630,'" and, nearly a century after
this, Beda heard from a Lincolnshire abbat a description of the
personal appearance of the great evangelist as it was given to
him by one who had been baptized by him, wdth many others,
in the presence of king Edwin, in the waters of the Trent."

The support and countenance of Edwin must have been a
great aid to Paulinus, but, unfortunately he did not long enjoy
them. Cadwal, a British sovereign, aided by the fiery and
savage Penda, broke into Northumbria and slew its king in a
great battle at Haethfelth or Hatfield Chase in 633." The loss
of her protector was a sad blow to the Northern chiu'ch. His
bloodstained head was brought to York, and was interred in the
porch or chapel of St. Gregory^ within the minster that he was
building.* His sufferings and his zeal have enshi'ined his name

/ Beda, ii., 14. Bromtoii, col. 782 ; ' Beda, ii., 16. Sax. Chron., 34. Eo-

Stubbs, col. 1688. ger of Wendover, i., 78. Anglia Sacra,

«■ Beda, ii., 14. Archdeacon Cbiirton i, 154. Hist. Mon. S. Aug. Cantuar.,

(Hist, of Early English Church, 53) 170. Rad.de Diceto, col. 438, Bromton,

thinks that Donafield was near Don- col. 782. Stubbs, col. 1688.

caster. I agree with Mr. Hodgson '" Dugdale's Monast., vi.. 1312.

Hinde in placing it at Tanfield on the " Beda, ii., 16, ed. Smith and Mon.

Yore. Hist. Brit., 168. n. Lei. Coll., iv., lOO.

* Beda, ii., 15. Wm. Malmesbury, " Beda, ii., 20. Brointon, (;ol. 784;
apud Savile, 14 a. Stubbs, col. 1688. Harpsfeld, 89. Lyfc

'■ Sprotti Chron., 271, ex Cantelupi of Saynt Werburge, ed. Chethani Soc,

Antiq. Univ. Cant. Fuller's Ch. Hist., 16.

bk. ii., 74. '' Beda, ii., 20. Bromton, ut supra.

i Beda, iv., 23. Roger of Wendover, i., 81.

* Beda, ii. 16. Saxon Chron., 34. * It was finished by king Oswald.
Roger of Wendover,i., 78, Bromton, col. Beda's description of this church is an
782; Stubbs, col. 1688. Archdeacon interesting one (ii. 14). "Curavitma-
Churton and Dr. Hook speak of Blecca jorem ipso in loco & augustiorom de
beingthefounder of the church of Lin- lapide fabricare basilicam, in cujus
coin, but Beda's words may bear a medio ipsum quod prius fecerat, ora-
ditferent construction. Cf. Hist. Mon. torium includcrctur. Preparatis ergo
S. Aug. Cant., 169,and Henr. Hunting- fundaraentis in gyro prioris oratorii per
don, apud Savile, 188. Lei. Coll., iv., 69. quadrum ccepit sedificare basilicam. Sed

44 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

ill the calendar/ and few people are perhaps aware that the
capital of Scotland is the burgh of Edwin, who shewed his taste
by laving the foundations of a city amid the finest scenery in
Eui'ope.

After the death of Edwin it was imsafe for his widow to
remain in Northumbrian and as Paulinus had been in her suite
ever since she came into the North, it was clearly his duty now
to take measures for her protection. He found a ship on which
he placed the queen and her family, and with the assistance of
Bassus, one of Ed^^dn^s warriors, the party reached the shores of
Kent. Here there Avas a hearty welcome for them from arch-
bishop Honorius and king Eadbald, the brother of Ethelburga.^

The fugitives carried a,way Avith them the treasures of king
Edwin, and among them were a cross and chalice of gold which
had been used at the celebrations on the altar. Beda tells us
that they were preserved in his day in the church of Canterbury.'
Paulinus also took with him his pall ; and more than a century
elapsed before York was again an archiepiscopal see." One
missionary there was who remained behind in the deserted king-
dom at the bidding of his leader, and that was James the deacon,
who had been the companion of Paidinus during his residence
in the North. He resided for some time at Akebargh, James'
toAATi, near Catterick in Deira, and was very diligent in teaching
and baptizing. But he was especially famous for his great skill
in singing and his fondness for the Gregorian tones, which he
taught as well as chanted. He is supposed to be buried in the
chui'chyard of Hauxwell, and to be commemorated by an ancient
cross."

Such was the termination of the mission of Paulinus into
Northumbria. A failure it undoubtedly was, but a failure for
which the missionary cannot well be censured. The system
that he pursued, or rather his want of system, has been severely
criticized. Possibly in the outset he might appeal too strongly
to the temporal advantages that would accompany Christianity ;

priusquam altitudo parietis esset con- Roger of Wendover, i., 81. Hist. Mon.

summata, rex ipse impia nece occisus S. Aug. Cantuar., 173. Angl. Sacra,!.,

opus idem successori suo Oswaldo per- 155. Higden, apud Gale, i., 207. Rad.

ficiendum roliquit." Alcuiu (Gale, i., do Diceto^ col. 438. Bromton, col. 784.

707, 8) gives the following account of Stubbs, col. 1688. Baronii Annales,

Oswald's church building. viii., 328. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i., 360.

" Extruit ecclesias donisque exornat opimis, ' Beda, ii., 20. Bromton, col. 784.

Vasa miuisteriis prsestans pretiosa sacratis Eoo'Cr of Wendover i 81

Argento gemmis aras vestivit et auro, iT tj^^o •• oa tj-'\ h'/i o a

Serica parietibus tendens velamina sacris, , ueaa, U., ^O. tllSl. iVion. &. Aug.

Auri blateolis pulcre distincta coronis, Cant., 182. Higden, apud Gale, i., 207.

Sanctaque suspendit variasper tectalucemas." i' Beda ii. 16 20' iii. 26" iv. 2.

•■ There is an account of St. Edwin, Bromton, col. 785. Arch. JEl., n. s., i.,

king and martyr, in Capgrave's Nova 185. Possibly the word Hawkswell is

Legenda, 116—20. Jake's-well, iust as Akebargh is Jake's-

' Beda, ii., 20. Saxon Chron., 35. bargh. W. H. D. L.

627 — 633.] ARCHBISHOP paulinus. 45

but was it -wrong to make use of an argument which was inno-
cent in itself, and would have great Avcight with the pcojjle of
the North ? The power to discover this approach to their hearts,
and to avail himself of it, tends to shew that Paulinus possessed
discernment as well as tact. When royal favour at last smiled
upon him, and a kingdom more than 300 miles in leiigtli l)ccame
his field of labour, did he neglect his work ? The evidence of
history and the whisper of tradition still tell us that he was not
" an unprofitable servant.^' It is idle to suppose that a man,
with few fellow-laboui'crs and an immense diocese filled with
heathen, could in six years mature what we call " organization."
That comes after the rougher work has been done. Before there
is any arrangement there must be something to arrange. The
word must be first heard and the listeners received into the
fold, and then " organization " folloAvs. Paulinus Avas no slug-
gard in preaching and baptizing. But when the network of a
great religious system might have been advantageously woven,
he was, unfortunately, removed. He was no recreant to his
duty in following his widowed mistress. Had it not been for
her he never would have reached Northumbria at all, and now
he was bound to protect her by the most solemn obligations
that loyalty and gratitude could suggest. But why did he not
return, it may be asked, when Oswald became king ? It must
be remembered that it was som.e time before the influence of
Oswald extended into Deira. Paulinus was becoming an old
man, and would he be wise in returning to a district where
security, perhaps, was not firmly re-established ? He would be
less able to work than before, and in addition to this, was not
the necessity for his return removed to a great extent by tlie
exertions of Aidan and the monks of Lindisfarne ? We must
remember, also, that James the deacon was still his deputy in
Northumbria. Paulinus, however, was not idle after he left the
North, and he never shrank from the hard path of duty. His
position in the South was, indeed, a humbler one, but, as Fuller
charmingly observes, " he minded not whether he went up or
down hill, whilest he went on strait in his calling to glorifie
God and edifie others ; sensible of no disgrace, when degrading
himself from a great archbishop to become a poor bishop. Such
betray much pride and peevishness, wlio, outed of eminent places,
will rather be nothing in the church, tlien anything lesse tlien
what they liave been before."'"

The bishopric to which the ([uaint historian alludes was that
of Rochester, which Paidinus accepted at the request of Ilono-
rius and Eadbald.'' We know little, henceforward, of his mis-

"■ Fuller's Ch. Hist., book ii., 77. Cf. and Harpsfeld, Hist. Angl., 67.
"VVm, of Malmesbury, apud Savile, 132 ; ^ Beda, ii., 20. Saxon Chron., 35.

46

FASTI ERORACENSES.

[a.d.

sionary work. He was a great benefactor to the monastery of
Glastonbury, rebuilding the church and covering it with lead,
and we are told that he lived some time within the walls of that
ancient house.!' He died on the 10th of October, 644/ and was
interred in the secrctarium or chapter house of the church of
St. Andrew at Rochester which king Ethelbert had built." He
w^as commemorated by the following epitaph.

" Sisle gradum, claina, qui perlegis hoc epigramma,
Paulinum plora quern subtraxit brevis hora
Nobis per funus: de presulibus fuit unus,
Prudens, veredicus, constans et firmus amicus.
Anni sunt rati Domini super astra regentis
Quadraginta dati quatuor cum sex quoque centis."*

The name of Paulinus was placed in the calendar after his
decease, and he became the great patron saint of Rochester.''
Archbishop Lanfranc translated his remains, and deposited them
in a silver shrine which he presented to the church, giving at
the same time a cross to hang over the feretory.'^ Among the
relics in the minster of York were a few of his bones and two
teeth.'' The monks of Durham wrote his name in golden letters
in their Liber Yitse/ He had never been a benefactor of theirs,
for in Beda's day and long after it, there was " nulla cognitio
Dunelmi,"^ but they gratefully commended him to God as one
of the earliest Christianizers of the North.

Roger of Wendover, i., 8 1 . Hist. Mon.
S. Aug. Cantuar., 173. Rad. de Diceto,
col. 438. Stubbs, col. 1688. Reg. Rof-
fense, 4. Dugd. Mon., i., 152. Wee-
ver's Funerall Mon"- 310. Mabillon,
Ann. Ben., i., 360. Gaimar, I'estorie
des Engles, apud Mon. Hist. Brit., 779,
says,

"Eadbald li reis bien les recuilli,
Mult honora Paulins e joi.
Quant arcevesque ue pot estre,
Evesque en fit a Roucestre."

y Wm. of Malmesbury, apud Gale, i.,
300. Dugd. Mon., i., 3.

- Saxon Chron., 38. Flor. "VVigorn.,
237. Anglia Sacra, i., 154, 341. As-
serii Ann., apud Gale, i., 144. Hist. S.
August. Cant., 182. Roger of Wen-

dover, i., 87, gives the date 646. Her
manni Contracti Chron., apud Canisii
Lect. Ant., iii., 234. Baronii Ann.
viii., 365. Mabillon Ann. Ben., i. 388.

" Angl. Sacra, i., 154. Lell. Coll., iv.
81. Reg. Roffense, 22.

* Weever's Funerall Mon*'- 310, 11
and Dugd. Mon.,i., 152, from a metrical
chron. Archiep. Ebor. inter MSS. Cot-
ton. Chron. S. Aug. Cantuar., 182.

" Malmesburj^ apud Savile, 132. Reg.
Roffense, 33. Acta SS, sub. Oct. 10.
Capgrave's Nova Legenda SS., 264-5.

'' Reg. Roffense, 126.

" Fabric rolls of York minster, ed.
Surtees Soc, 151.

/ Publ. by Surtees Soc, p. 7.

e Flor. Wigorn., 368.

664 — 669.] BISHOP chadd. 47

^Tfatltia, or (fTljatltl, for I shall give him the name by Mhich
he is generally known, was one of those holy and apostolic men
of whom the early church had so much reason to be proud. He
was, probably, a native of Northumbria,'' and was the yoimgest
of four brothers,' Cedd, Cynibill and Cajlin, all of whom were
priests,' the first of them being the bishop of the East Saxons
whom he converted to the Christian faith.

Chadd first became acquainted with the monastic life m Ire-
land.* He was, subsequently, an inmate of the monastery at
Lindisfarne, and was one of the twelve pupils under the guid-
ance and instruction of the venerable Aidan.' He was educated,
therefore, in the tenets of the Scottish school which had been
brought to that place from lona.

About the middle of the seventh century, bishop Cedd, by
the permission of Ethelward, king of Deira, founded the monas-
tery of Lastingham near Kirkbymoorside, in accordance with
the Scottish rule.™ The remains of that little sanctuary may
still be seen. They are standing on the slopes of a long hill
that looks toAvards the North, and the heather creeps up towards
its foot as if it were envious of the bright green tru'f that lies in
the hollow below the church. Solitary is the village now, and
solitary it must have been at all times. In that little shrine are
resting the bones of the evangelizer of the East Saxons, and to
the cell which once stood near it came the venerable Beda to
learn from the brethren of the house how their two first abbats,
Cedd and his brother Chadd, had lived and died."

In the year 664 Cedd" went to his rest at Lastingham, hav-
ing previously commended his infant monastery to the charge of
his brother Chadd, who succeeded him as abbat.^ Of Chadd^s
rule at Lastingham there is very little known. Beda tells us

* Beda, iii., 23, speaks of Cedd's cus- iii., 23.

torn " suam, id est Nordanhymbrorum, " The names of the two brothers are

provinciam revisere," from which Dr. frequently confused, especially by Hen.

Smith infers, and reasonably enough, of Huntingdon and Bromton. Fuller

that it was his patria. (Ch. Hist., bk. ii., 83) quaintly observes

' Bollandists, Acta SS., March 2, " though it be pleasant for brethren to

where there is a short account of Chadd live together in unity ; yet it is not fit

compiled principally from Beda. Cf. by errour that they should be jumbled

Lei. de Script. Brit., i., 78. together in confusion."

i Beda, iii., 23. '' Beda, iii., 23. Flor, "Wigoru., 244,

* Beda, iv., 4. Eddii vita S. Wilfr., Bromton (col. 789) says, that Cedd died
apud Gale i., 58. Flor. Wigorn., 246. " tempore mortalitatis," and probably,
Higden, apud Gale, i., 186. " therefore, of the great plague, and

' Beda, iii., 28. Symeonis Hist. Henry of Huntingdon (Savile 190 a) in

Eccl. Dunelm., 29. Bromton, col. 788. addition to this makes the incorrect

Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i., 557. statement "cui successit in episcopatu

'" Beda, iii., 23. Flor. Wigorn,, 239. frater ejus Ceadda." Dugd. Mon., i.,

" Beda, pref. to history. Cf. ibid., 342.

48 FASTI EBOEACENSES. [a.D.

liow a party of thirty brethren became the inmates of that
house, whilst he was tliere, out of love to their old master,
Ccdd, Avho had placed them in a monastery in his diocese.
The i)criod of their sojourn at Lastingham was but short, as
the whole party, with the exception of a little boy, was cut off
by a pestilence.*

The year 664 Avitnessed the great struggle between the
Roman and the Scottish parties, and Chadd, doubtless, would
be deeply interested in the controversy and its result. He would
little think, however, that it would effect so gi*eat a change
in his own life and fortunes. The decision of the royal president
of the council of Streonshal gave such offence to bishop Colman
and the Scottish monks, that that prelate, accompanied by a
number of his adherents, retired from Northumbria. This was
probably an unexpected triumph to the Roman party, which
■nere strong enough, soon afterwards, to advance their leader,
Wilfrid, to the northern primacy. Wilfrid refused to be con-
secrated by the British bishops, and on that account, by the
permission of Alchfrid, the prince-regent of Deira, he Avent
abroad to receive that rite in France. During his absence the
Scottish party were not idle. They gained the ear of Oswy,
the king of Northumbria. They coidd not forget the injuiy
that Wilfi'id had done to them at Streonshal, and the insult
that he was now offering to the native prelacy by seeking con-
secration in France. They would endeavoiu' to arouse suspicions
in Oswy^s mind against his son, Alchfrid, who was only his
deputy in Deira. They commented severely upon the injiuy
that Northumbria was sustaining by Wilfrid^s prolonged and
miaccountable absence.'' Oswy, who, in all probability, had
never expected that Colman would desert his see, was influenced
by them. He prevailed upon the humble-minded Chadd to
leave his cell at Lastingham and to become bishop of his pro-
vince.^ With great adroitness he placed the seat of Chadd^s
episcopate, not at Lindisfarne or Hexham, but at York. Thus
there was no room for Wilfrid. Alchfrid could not introduce
a second bishop into Deira, and with Bemicia he had nothing
to do.'

Chadd was thus placed in a position for which, however
alien to his disposition, his piety and humility peculiarly fitted
him. His appointment would be regarded as a party triumph ;
for although Cedd, before he died, renounced the Scottish

* Beda, iii., 23. i., 173) s^ys that Wilfrid was abroad

*• Eadmer, "S^ita Wilfridi, apud Acta for three years.
SS. ord. S. B. S8PC. tert., i., 203. Eic. ' Stubbs, col. 1689. Fridegodus,

of Hexham, col. 294. Fuller's Ch. Vita S. Wilfr., apiid Acta SS. ord. S. B.

Hist., bk. 11., 86. Wright (Biog. Lit., ssec. tert., i., 179. ' Beda, iii. 25, 27.

664 — 669.] BISHOP chadd. 49

mode of observing Easter," we are told that Cliadd did not re-
linquish it." At the request of OsAvy, the bishop-elect went
to seek for consecration at the hands of Deusdedit, but on liis
arrival in Kent he found that that prelate was in the tomb.
What was to be done? Wina bishop of Winchester was at
that time the only prelate in England Avho had been consecrated
according to the Roman ritual, and to him Chadd went.'" Wina
called in to his assistance two of the British bishops who still
adhered to their old method of observing Easter, and the cere-
mony took place. This was the first occasion on which British
and Roman bishops were associated together. I cannot think
that there would have been any union even at this period, if
the Welsh bishops had not thought that by their assistance
they were checking the dreaded and impetuous Wilfrid. In
Chadd they knew that they had a brother, and their presence at
his consecration was at the same time a tribute of respect to
the simplicity of his character and the purity of his life.

Chadd was now bishop of York, and the spiritual ruler of
Northumbria, and he was not unequal to the requirements of
that high office. He had none of the restless energy and fiery
zeal of Wilfrid, but he surpassed him in all those gentler virtues
which should bud and blossom in the true Christianas heart.
More congenial to his quiet and retiring disposition woidd have
been the pui'ple heaths and the silent woods of Lastingham,
but his was a spirit capable of adapting itself to any position,
busy or secluded, to which the path of duty guided it. Every
ancient \vriter speaks of Chadd with reverence and affection.
Gentle he was, and amiable, illustrating by his blameless life
the holy rule that he taught others to abide by. The Scrip-
tures were his constant study and his guide. In his manage-
ment of his diocese, the lives of his old master Aidan and his
brother Cedd were his exemplar. There was no place that he
did not visit on his missionary journeys. If he passed through
the gateway of the hall he did not despise the hovel of the serf,

« Beda, iii., 26. Flor. Wigorn., 242. 98; Flor. Wigorn., 244; Henr. of

" Beda, iii., 28. Eddius, Vita S. Huntingdon, apud Savile, 191, J; Ric.

Wilfr., apud Gale, i., 58. Mabillon, of Hexham, col. 293 ; Bromton, ibid.,

Ann. Ben., i., 478, says, that Oswy sum- 789 ; Gervase, col. 1636 ; Stubbs, ibid.,

moned Chadd out of Ireland, and Col- 1689; Chron.S.Crucis, apud Angl. Sao.,

gan, on that account I suppose, makes i., 155. Rad. de Diceto (col. 439)

Chadd an Irish saint. Tritliemius calls places the consecration in 665, and it

Chadd a Benedictine ! (Acta, SS., Bol- must be remembered that Agilbert, by

landists, Mar. 2). whom Wilfrid was made a bishop, was

" Asser (Gale i. 146) says that Chadd not promoted to the see of Paris until

was consecrated in 654. The usual date 665 (Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i., 478). (,'f.

is 664, and it is assigned by the follow- Hist. Mon. S. Aug. Cantuar., 197 ; and

ing authorities, Beda, iii., 28; Saxon Eadmer, Vita S. AVilfr., apud Acta SS.

Chron., 48; Roger of Wendover, i., ord. S. B., ssec. tert., i., 203.

50 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

travelling always on foot from place to place like the holy men
of old/

It must have been very galling to Wilfrid on his return
from France to find himself deprived of his expected see, and
one of the Scottish party in his room. It was useless to make
any opposition, and he shewed his discretion by remaining quiet
in his monastery at Ripon, exercising his episcopal functions in
tlic pastorless district of Kent, and elsewhere, whenever his ser-
vices Avere required-J- In 669 Theodore came to England as
metropolitan, and was soon actively engaged in measures of
reform. He paid especial attention to the episcopate, and he
Avould soon come into contact with Chadd.^ Chadd, it must be
remembered, had no pall, he was only bishop of York ; so that
the rule laid down by Gregory about the independence of the
two metropolitan sees was not now in force, and Theodore knew
that w ell. Indeed, from the power that he seems to have exercised
in the North I have actually found him invested with the title of
archbishop of York," an honoiu" to which he had no claim. Chadd
and Theodore, the Briton and the Greek, meet face to face, and
the contrast is a striking one. Both were men of piety and good-
ness, but the respect of Theodore for Chadd would be lessened
by the idea that he had taken possession of Wilfrid^s see, and
that he had been consecrated in an irregular manner.* He
hesitated not to tell Chadd what he thought, and possibly, with
some asperity. The reply that Chadd made, " humillima voce,^^
was characteristic of the man. " If,^' said he, " I have not been
consecrated in due form, I willingly resign my office; I never
at any time deemed myself worthy of it, but at my monarches
bidding I accepted it, unworthy as I was, for it was my duty to
obey him.^^'^ Any latent pique that there was against the
speaker in Theodore's mind, must have been driven away by
this reply. " The soft answer tiu'neth away wrath." He an-
swered, that he ought not to resign his see,*^ but Chadd's determi-
nation Avas made. Peace and quiet had been the object of his
life, and he would seek them now. He voluntarily gave up his
bishopric in favour of Wilfrid,* and returned with pleasure to his
old home at Lastingham.'^

It has been said that Chadd was removed from his see,^ but

* Beda, iii., 28. Hist. Mon. S. Aug. ' Beda, iv., 2. Ead. de Diceto, (;ol.
Cantuar., 197. Gervase, col. 1637. 439 ; Bromton, col. 789.

Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i., 557. ^ Beda, iv., 2.

y Beda, iv., 2. Eddius, apud Gale, i., ' Eddius, apud Gale, i., 59.

58. Bromton, col. 789. / Beda, iv., 3. Flor. Wigorn., 244.

' Beda, iv., 2. Eddius, 58, 59. Eadmer, apud Acta SS. ord. S. B. sa>c.

" Vita S. Cuthberti, apud X Scr., tert., i., 205. Ric. of Hexham, col. 293;

67, 70. Stubbs, col. 1689. Anglia Sacra, i., 426.

* Beda, i v., 2. Eddius, apud Gale, i., 59. «• Some writers say that Theodore

664 — 669.] BISHOP chadd. 51

the whole of Theodore's conduct towards him seems to contradict
this assertion, and he had not the power to displace him witliout
the consent of Oswy, even if he had had the wish. It would
be equally unfair to charge Wilfrid with intrigue because he
stepped into Chadd's place. It was only proper that he should
succeed him. A man to whom a bishopric had been promised,
and who, when he had lost it, had lalioured patiently for tliree
years in another and a humbler vineyard, deserved to be thus
rewarded. The meekness of Chadd induced him to give way,
and is he to be blamed for it ?

This change took place in 669,^' and Chadd returned to
Lastingham. His days, however, were not to end in that
secluded monastery. Jarumnan, the bishop of Mercia, died
about this time, and Wulfhere, the king of the province,
requested Theodore, to whom he was greatly attached, to fill up
the vacant see. Theodore, unwilling to consecrate a new bishop,
named Chadd/' whom he had never forgotten, to the king, and he
mth the assistance of Oswy and the archbishop induced the
humble-minded recluse to accept the proffered honom*.-' It was
then, in all probability, that yielding to the solicitations of
Theodore, Chadd was re-ordained "per omnes gradus ecele-
siasticos.'"* The propriety of the step may be questioned, but
it shews how anxious Chadd was for peace and unity.

If the old traditions of the abbey of Peterbrough are true,
there was a connection between Wulfhere and Chadd, or his
brother Cedd, which easily accoimts for Wulfhere's wish to
make Chadd the bishop of the Mercians. The legend says that
he was converted by him.' The king had two sons, Wulfade
and Rufine. Wulfade was a mighty hunter, and was pursuing

removedChadd, i.e.,Edclius, 59. Tride- > Beda, iv., 3. Eddius, 59. Eadmer,

godus, apud Acta SS. ord. S. B. sa?c. ut supra, 205. Bromton, col. 789-90.

tert., i., 180. Roger of Wendover, i., 99. Gervasius, col. 1638. Lyfe of Saynt

Wm. of Malinesbury, apud Savile, 147, Werburge, 21.

I ; Eic. of Hexham, col. 293, and Anglia " To graunt them a bysshop of holy lyvyngo,

Sacra, i., 65. Eddius, however, in an- To govcme the people by spyrytuall techynge,

nthpnilapp si v« tint Wilfrirl'^ annniiit- To shewe to his subjectes the ensampleof vertu.

Diner place, sa\S tnat \\ UlriO s appoiUl ^^^^ ^^ preche and teche the fayth of Chryst

mentwas made With Chadd sco»se«^. Cf. jhesu."

Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i., 495. * Chadd's re-ordination, or perhaps,

'' Chadd is said to have been bishop of the completion of his prc\ious cou-

York for three years. Symeon de Arch. secration, is alluded to in Beda, iv., 2.

Ebor., col. 78. Stubbs, col. 1689. Rites Eddius, apud Gale, i., 59. Flor.

of Durham, publ. by Surtees Soc, 43. Wigorn., 215. Gervase, col. 1638.

■ Beda, iv., 3. Eddius, 59. Hen. of ' Appendix to Smith's Beda, 745.

Huntingdon, apndSavile, 191, S. Brom- Gunton's Church of Peterbro', lOl,

ton, col. 789-90. Eddius .says that etc. Lei. Coll., i., 1, 2. Fuller's Ch.

Wulfhere promoted Chadd to Lichfield Hist., book ii., 84. Gunton (2, 3) says

at the request of Wilfrid. Malmesbury that AA'ulfhere was converted b}' Finan.

(Savile, 148, b) says that Wilfrid aided Lyfe of Saynt Werburge, 40-6. I say

Chadd to Lichfield, " suffragio suo," al- nothing of the stor}' of Chadd hanging

hiding probably to some council. his garment on a sunbeam !

E 2

52 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

a stag one dav when it led him past the cell in which Chadd was
living the life of a hermit. The story is a beautiful one, and it
was told in nine of the old mndows in the west cloister at
Peterbrough.'"

" The hart brought Wulfade to a well
That was besyde Seynt C baddy's cell.

" Wulfade askyd of Seynt Chad,
Where is the hart that me hath lad ?

" The hart that hither thee hath brought
Is sent by Christ that thee hath bought.

" Wulfade prayd Chad that ghostly leech
The faith of Christ him for to teach.

" Seynt Chad teacheth Wulfade the feyth
And words of baptism over him seyth.

" Seynt Chad devoutly to mass him dight,
And hoseled Wulfade Christy's knight."

Wulfade induces his brother Rufine to be baptized, and the
end is that the brothers were siu'prised by their father in Chadd's
cell and were killed by him. Remorse, however, followed, and
the penitent sire adopted the faith of his murdered children, at
the instance of Ermenilda his queen.

" Wulfere contrite hyed him to Chad
As Ermenyld him counselled had.

" Chad bade Wulfere for his sin
Abbeys to build his realm within.

" Wulfere endued with high devotion
The abbey of Brough with great possession."

I mention this story merely as a legend, but it is too
picturesque to be discarded. It is quite possible that there are
in it some shadows of the truth. It is not known at what
period of his life Wulf here became a Christian. Chadd may,
perhaps, have lived a solitary life in Mercia, and may have con-
verted its monarch. At all events, when he became bishop at
Lichfield, he had a fast friend in Wulfhere, who gave him a
piece of ground, large enough to maintain fifty families, on which
he was to erect a monastery at a place called Ad Barue."

The seat of the bishopric of Mercia was at Lichfield, and
Chadd had an immense diocese extending over a great portion of

"* Destroyed in 1603. Cf. Gunton, billon Ann. Ben., i., 557. Dr. Smith,

337-8. the learned editor of Beda, thinks that

" Beda, iv., 3. Flor. Wigorn., 246. Ad Barue may be Barton on Humber.

Bromton, apud X., Scr. col. 790. Ma- It is, rather, Barrow.

664 — 669.] BISHOP chadd. 53

the Midland counties." He ruled over it for two years and a
half/ and illuminated it with those virtues which distinguished
him in the North.? His good deeds and his holy life are not yet
forgotten. His joiu'neyings in his diocese were all made on foot,
and it was with difficulty that archbishop Theodore, who was
struck by his simple piety, prevailed upon him to ride, and
helped him to mount his horse with his own hands.'' He might
well be proud of such a suffragan as Chadd.

The story of Chadd's end is given by Beda* with all tliat
power of description for which he is so remarkable. He lived,
the historian tells us, near his church at Lichfield, and there
were with him seven brethren, with whom, when their labours
were over, he woidd read and pray. In addition to these seven
there was a monk of the name of Ouini.'^ He had been in old
days one of the suite of the queen in the court of East Anglia,
and having given up all for God when his fortunes were at their
height, had gone in the dress of a humble labourer to live with
Chadd at Lastingham. Thenceforward there was between him
and his master a bond of union that was knit together by
common feeling and mutual regard. One day at the end of
February, whilst the brethren were at their devotions in the
church, and Chadd was in his cell at prayer, Ouini was away from
them. Suddenly he heard the sweet voices of a celestial choir
" descending as from heaven,^^ and singing as they came.
Jubilee there was there, and not a note of sadness. His eye
could discern nothing whilst his ear was drinking in the melody.
The band seemed to hover around the little oratory in which
Chadd was praying ; it entered in, and, after a while, pouring
forth a still more glorious burst of music, it passed away as it
came, and the strain

" Then seemed to go right up to heaven and die among the stars."

As Ouini was musing anxiously on what he had heard, the
window of the little cell was opened, and his master summoned
him with his accustomed signal. " Haste,''^ he said, " to the
church, and call to me my seven brethren, and come with them

" The title given to him was, " Mer- several traits in the life of the saint

ciorura et Lindisfarorum episcojuis ;" which are omitted here.

Lindisfarorum referring to Lindsey. ' In Ely cathedral is a portion of a

Eeda, iv., 3. Flor. Wigorn., 246. cross which was found in the adjacent

Gervase, col. 1638. village of Hadenham, bearing the fol-

p Beda, iv., 3. Anglia Sacra, i., lowing inscription, "+. Lucem tnam

425-6. Stubbs, col. 1690. Ovino da. Dens, et requiem. Amen."

"> Eeda, iv., 3. It is supposed that this was the friend

"■ Beda, iv., 3. Gervase, col. 1638. of Chadd. Ouini was commemorated

» Beda, iv., 3. Beda's affection and in the Benedictine Martyrulogj^ on

veneration for Chadd's memory seem to March 11. Cf. Bentham's Ely, 50,

have been very great. He records 51.

54 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

thyself/^ And when tliey came, he bade them live together in
love and holiness, and told them that he should soon leave
them. " The sweet stranger that has visited om* brethren has
come to me to-day, and I have had my summons. Go, bid the
bretlu'en in the chm'ch commend me to the Lord, and let them
never forget that they mnst die themselves." Hallowed by his
blessing and sad at heart they went upon their errand, but
Ouini returned, and prostrating himself at his master^s feet,
begged of him imploringly, " Tell me, father, tell me, if I may
ask, what melody that was which I heard,-"^ " Heardest thou
that ?" said Chadd to him. " I charge thee in the Lord^s name
to speak of that to no one before I die. Thou didst hear the
voices of the angels bidding me to those joys of heaven that I
have loved and longed for always. In seven days they shall be
mine, for they shall then come for me."

" So now I think my time is near. I trust it is. I know
The blessed music went that way my soul will have to go."

Seven days after this prophetic announcement, on the 2nd of
March, 672," he was taken to his rest ; and was it a wonder,
says Beda, " si diem mortis, vel potius diem Domini laetus
aspexit, quem semper usque dum veniret, sollicitus curavit."''
A life like his, hallowed by the practice of every virtue, humble,
prayerful, and self-denying, had generated that perfect love of
God by which fear is driven out.

" With as much zeal, devotion, jnetie.
He always liv'd, as other saints do die."

And w^hen his summons came, as Eddius beautifully observes,
" tempore opportuno in viam patrum exegit, expectans diem
Domini in judicio venturo, ut credidimus sibi mitissimum, sicut
dignum est."'"

They buried him at Lichfield, near the church of St. Mary,^
by the waterside f and when a fairer temple, dedicated to St.
Peter, was erected, they enshrined his remains \\dthin it in a
feretory of wood. Miraculous powers are said to have belonged
to them even in Beda^s days,- and in after ages the renown
of Lichfield and its wonder-working shrine was very widely
spread." A place was found for Chadd in the calendar, and his
day is the 2nd of March.* In the Sarum and Aberdeen brevi-
aries there was an ofiice appropriated to him,'" and his life was

" Beda, iv., 3. Flor. Wigorn., 246. ' Beda, iv., 3.

Peterbro' Chron., 2. " Hen. Huntingdon, apud Savile,

" Beda, iv., 3. 191, b. Bromton, col. 790.

" Eddius, apud Gale, i., 59. * Acta SS., BoUandists, Mar. 2,

' Beda, iv., 3. where there is a short life of Chadd

y Hickesii Dissert. Ep., 118. Lei. compiled principally from Beda,

Coll., iv., 80. c _A.cta SS.

669 709.] BISHOP AVILFRID. 55

inserted in the Nova Legenda:' Proud of his having l)een
brought up at Lindisfarne^ the monks of Diu-hara inscribed liis
name iu golden letters in the Liber Vitce of their church ;'' and in
one of the mndows in the Galilee of their cathedral was Chadd's
portraiture " in fyne eoidored glass, as he was aceustomcd to
say masse, with his myter on his head, and his crosier staft'e in
his lefte hand exquisitelie shewed/^-/ At Lichfield a text or
evangelistariimi, said to have been Chadd^s, is still preserved.^

^^^^tlfritl, a very great name in the ecclesiastical annals of
the North of England. He was, I believe, a native of Northum-
bria, and his parents are said to have been persons of some con-
sequence and position.'' I pass by the marvels that are said to
have attended his birth, which occurred, according to Eadmcr,
in 634, but probably, a little earlier. When he was thirteen
years of age he was precocious enough to wish to desert his
home, and to devote himself to Code's service. The mainspring
of this desire was probably the harshness of his step-mother,
who was not slow to encoiu'age him in his design. She gave
him and his companions everything with which boys would be
delighted, arms, horses, and brave attire, all that would set off
a comely youth, and produce a favourable impression at the
court, for thither would each aspirant after a name bend his
steps. Eanfleda was then the queen of Northumbria, and to
her notice was Wilfrid introduced. He soon won her favour,
for even at that early period of his life Wilfrid seems to have
been a courtier. Cudda, an aged and faithfid member of the
royal household, retired to Lindisfarne to spend the remainder
of his days, and with him the youth was sent. In that secluded
monastery the boy became a favourite

" IncetisEO pietatis ardor
Prodidit sese, micuitque primo
Flore juventa?."

He was a zealous and an attentive student. He committed
to memory the whole of the Psalms according to Jerome's ver-

'' Capgrave, 58, 59. Homily, " In natale S. Ceaddoe Episc."

' Publ. by Surtees Society, p. 7. (Smith's Cat.)

/ The Kites of Durham, publ. by >> Eddii Vita S. AVilfr., apud Gale, i.,

Surtees Society, p. 43. 44. Wm. of Alalmcsbury, apud Savile,

«■ Nichol's Literary Anecdotes, i., 86. 147, I. Eadmer, Vita S. Wilfr., apud

Among the MSS. of Fr. Junius in the Acta ord. S. 13., ill., ssec. i., 198.
Bodleian library, 5136, is a Saxon

50 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

sion, together with several other books, and he won the hearts
of all by his docility and jijeutleness.'

Years passed away, and Wilfrid was still at Lindisfarne, but
a commandiufj; s])irit such as he possessed could not brook the
idea of a life-long exclusion in that solitary island. Ambition
was a stranger to those simple hearts that beat around him, but
Wilfrid was longing to see more of that world which the holy
l)rotherhood had renounced. He had mastered himself, and
now he would fain master others. Far away across the angry
seas that surrounded him, and beneath softer skies, there was a
city of which he would often hear, and a mind like his would
never be wearied with the recital of its present and departed

glories.

" The city, that by temperance, fortitude,
And love of glory, towered above the clouds.
Then fell — but, falling, kept the highest seat.
And in her loneliness, her pomp of woe.
Still o'er the mind maintains, from age to age,
Her empire undiminished."

Everywhere the young scholar would hear with rapture of
the light that had radiated in all ages from the eternal city.
Oh ! that he could, visit the limina Apostolorum, and behold the
hallowed shrines of which such great things were spoken! To
Rome, therefore, he resolved, if possible, to go.^^

His royal patroness, Eanfleda, encouraged him in his design,
glad, perhaps, to rescue her favourite from the hands of the
Scottish monks. She sent him to her kinsman, Erconbert, king
of Kent, who gave the youth a kindly welcome, and recom-
mended him to tarry at his court till he could find companions
for his journey. During his stay in Kent he neutralized the
effect of what he had been taught at Lindisfarne by learning
the Psalms after the fifth edition of the Roman use. Wearied
at length with the delay, he set sail from England in 652. He
went with a single companion, Benedict Baducing, who is better
known by the name of Benedict Biscop."^'

Lyons was the first place at which the pilgrims halted. A
prelate of the name of Dalfinus' is said to have occupied at
that time the chair of Irenseus, and in him Wilfrid fomid a most
sincere friend. Dalfinus did all he could to induce his guest to

■ My authorities for this paragraph degodus, 173, who says that he was in

are Eddius, ut supra, and AVm. of Kent '-triquadro anno." Eadmer, 199.

Malmesbury.Stubbs, col. 1690, Eadmer, Stubbs, 1690, Malmesbury, 148.
ut supra, 198; and Eridegodus, Vita S. ' Mabillon observes that no such

AVilfr., apud Acta SS. ord. S. B., iii., prelate as Dalfinus occurs in the Fasti

srcc, i., 172. of Lyons, and he conjectures, probably

■^ Eddius, 41. Beda, v., 19. Eadmer, enough, that the bishop here mentioned

198. Fridcgodus, 172. William of was Annemundus. Dalfinus' comes was

Malmesbury, apud Savilc, 148. the brother of Annemundus, and hence

* Efcda, v., 19. Eddius, 44-5. Fri- the error. Act. Ben. i., 443.

669 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 57

remain viiili him ; he offered to adopt him as his son — to marry
him to his niece'" — to make him governor over a part of (Jaul —
but it was all in vain. Wilfrid^s face was set towards Rome ;
and to Rome, after a long but necessary delay, did he make his
way."

We can well imagine the enthusiasm with which tlie pilgrims
would gaze upon the eternal city. An ardent mind, such as
Wilfrid possessed, might indeed think with the poet,

" I am in Home ! Oft as the morning ray
Visits these eyes, waking at once I cr}^
Whence this excess of joy ? AVhat has befallen me ?
And from within a thrilling voice replies.
Thou art in Eome ! A thousand busy thoughts
Rush on my mind, a thousand images ;
And I spring up as girt to run a race."

The piety and earnestness of Wilfrid soon attracted the
attention of an archdeacon, of the name of Boniface, who found
in the youthful Saxon a ready and intelligent scholar. He
taught him the rides and customs of the Roman ritual, and
shewed him the correct mode of obser"sdng Easter." He explained
thoroughly to him the four gospels, and, pleased with his pupil,
he introduced him to the pope, who laid his hand upon the
young scholar^s head and blessed him.^ Wilfrid^s attachment
to the Scottish system would be on the wane when he left Rome
for Lyons, and on his arrival in that city he received the tonsure,
after the Roman fashion, from Dalfinus, who completed the con-
version which Boniface had begun. ? Wilfrid remained with the
good prelate for three years,*" and would in all probability have
been his heir, had not his patron lost his life in a persecution
raised by Baldhild, the widow of Clovis II.'' The church of
Lyons may well glory in its martyrs. Dalfinus was added to
the noble list, and Wilfrid was all but suffering with him.
"Who is that fair youth that is making himself ready for death?"
was the question of the murderers. " A Saxon from Britain,"
was the reply, and then came the unexpected rejoinder, " Let
him go, and touch him not."*^ There was still a great work for
the youthful confessor to perform !

In 658, after an absence of five years, Wilfrid returned to

'" A son of Wilfrid is mentioned by Eadmer, 200. Malmesbury, 148.

Eddius and Frithegode, but he was only » Beda, iii., 25. Eddius, 46.

an adopted child (61, 85.) ■• Eddius, 46. Stubbs, col. 1690.

" Beda, v., 19. Eddius, 45. Eadmer, ' There is a difficulty here, as Ba-

199. Eridegodus, 173. Malmesbury, thildis was a good Christian ; other
148. MSS. read Brunichildis. Cf. Mabillon,

" Beda, v., 19. Eddius, 45. Eadmer, Ann. Ben. i., 413.

200. Stubbs, col. 1690. Malmesbury, . ' Beda, v., 19. Eddius, 46. Eadmer,
148. 200. Eridegodus, 175.

^ Eddius, 45-6. Eridegodus, 174.

5S FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

England. Great changes had taken place whilst he was abroad.
In Northnmbria Alcfrid was now, mider his father Oswy, the
ruler of Deira. His Mend, Coemval, king of the West Saxons,
had persuaded him to adopt the views of the Roman party," and
it was vnth no little joy, therefore, that Alcfrid heard of the
return of Wilfrid. What an opportunity for the dissemination
of the opinions which he had adopted ! He begged Wilfrid to
come to him, and the missionary was ready enough to obey.
Alcfrid did everything to induce him to reside permanently
within his kingdom. He became, as it were, his scholar." He
gave him lands in East Stanford,"" and, soon after, the monastery
of Ripon. Over this house Wilfrid was abbat, and introduced
within its walls the Benedictine rule,'' the Scottish monks re-
tiring at the accession of their new superior, rather than give
up their views. 2^ Wilfrid directed the establishment for at least
five years, at the close of which period he was ordained a priest
by Agilbert the French bishop of the West Saxons, at the re-
quest of Alcfrid, in the monastery of Ripon. ^

This event seems to have occurred in 664, a year in
which great changes took place in the Northumbrian church.
The painful contrast between the Scottish and the Roman party
was becoming every day more discernible, especially in the ob-
servance of Easter. In the Northumbrian coui't there was, on
this point, a most annoying discord. King Oswy, who had been
brought up and baptized by the Scottish monks, whose language
he also spoke, observed their method of keeping the great festi-
val, but Eanfleda his queen, with her suite and Romanus her
chaplain, followed the Roman rule. Thus, in point of fact, the
festival might be celebrated twice in the same year in the same
court, and whilst the one party was full of joy at the arrival of
the anniversary of the resurrection, the other might be still
observing the fasting and the humiliation of the solemn period
that preceded it. Something clearly ought to be done to remedy
the scandal and the discrepancy. The Italian party was gaining
strength, and resolved to siippress the e\dl against which it con-
tended. It had among its supporters the queen and Alcfrid,
the regent of Deira, who was under the influence of Wilfrid.
Agilbert was ready to give his assistance, for he had been dis-

"Eddius, 46. " Beda, iii., 25. S. Aug. Cant., 198-9. Preface to Fride-

Eddius, 46. Eadmer and Fr., ut supra, gode's life of Wilfrid, apud Acta SS. ord.

lloger of Wendover, i., 96. S. 33., iii. ssoc, i., 170.

" Beda, v., 19, who gives the date y Beda, iii., 25. Gervasius, apud X

661. Eddius, 47. Wright, Biog. Lit., Scr., col. 1636. Roger of Wendover, i.,

i., 170. Dr. Haigh thinks that the 96, gives a rather different account,

place is Stamford, CO. Lincoln. Cf.Arch. -' Beda, iii., 25. Eadmer, 201. Fride-

M. n. s., i., 161. godus, 176. Wendover, i., 97. Stubbs,

' Beda, iii., 28 ; iv., 11. Hist. Mon. col. 1690.

669 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 59

placed for a while from his see by a Scottish bishoji. K\\\^
Oswy is induced to summon together a comicil at Strconshal
to settle, if possible, the points in dispute, and to come to some
unity in practice.

On the one side was Colman the Northumbrian bishop, with
his Scottish clergy, the abbess Hilda and bishop Cedd ; on
the other, were Agilbert and his priest Agatho, Wilfrid, James
the deacon, the fellow-worker of Pauliims, and Romanus. Cedd
acted as interpreter between the two parties, as they spoke
diflferent languages.

The arguments made use of and their result are so well
known that it is unnecessary to repeat them here. Colman
grounded the practice of his party in keeping Easter, on the
authority of St. John the Divine and Columba. Wilfrid, the
spokesman of the other side, claimed the countenance of St.
Peter. Peter, as Wilfrid asserted, was the rock upon which
Christ had built his church, and to him had been given the
keys of heaven. The argument was a fallacious one, but Oswy
was unable or unwilling to see its defects. " Is it true,^^ he
said to Colman, " that our Lord said that to Peter ?" Colman
could but assent : and then the monarch resumed, " Can you
shew that any such authority was given to Columba?^'' He
could not say that. " Do you then both agree that Peter re-
ceived the keys from our Lord ?" They assented. " If it be
so,'' said Oswy, " I cannot gainsay the power of him that keeps
the keys, ' for fear (as he said) lest coming to heaven-gate, St.
Peter should deny him a cast of his office, and refuse to let him
into happiness.' "" The reply, seemingly given half in earnest
half in jest, pleased the bystanders, and Colman, to his great
disappointment, found himself the loser, it having been arranged
at the commencement of the sitting, that the defeated party
should alter its practice. The tone of levity Avhich the king had
assumed would be more galling, perhaps, to Colman than the
adverse decision, and he took a step which in more sober mo-
ments he would, probably, regret. He practically contemned
the decision of the monarch by which he had promised to al)idc,
and, deserting his diocese, retired eventually with his monks to
Ireland.*

W^ilfrid's victory was thus complete ; indeed, it would be far
greater than either he or Alcfricl could have possibly antici-
pated. The field was now their own. A person of the name
of Tuda was appointed to succeed Colman, but he occupied the

" Fuller's Church History, book ii., 56. Eadmer, 201, 2. Fridegodus, 176,

85. 7. Flor.Wi(,'orn.,242. SpelmanniCono.,

* An account of the whole confer- 145, etc. Stubbs, 1690. AVendovcr, i.,

ence is given in Beda, iii., 25. Eddius, 97, 8.

GO FASTI EBORACENSES. ' [a.D.

see for a very short time, and his death caused another vacancy.
These changes Avere dangerous, and the Roman party would feel
the necessity of vigorous and instantaneous action. They must
have a bisliop who would press forward their views with prompti-
tude and energy. Wilfrid had won for them the victory at
Streonshal ; who was more worthy to be the new bishop ? It was
Wilfrid that they chose.'' Eddius tells vis that he was unwilling
to accept the office ; but his scruples, which are perhaps magni-
fied, were overcome. He objected, however, to be consecrated
by ai\y of the native bishops, whom he regarded as schismatics ;
and lie requested permission to receive that rite in France. The
royal assent was obtained, and Alcfrid sent his favourite across
the seas to his old friend Agilbert, who was then at Paris.'^
Wilfrid was consecrated at Compiegne. There was at the cere-
mony all that pomp and show of v/hich he was so fond. Twelve
bishops were present on that occasion, and they carried their
new lirother, with hymns and joyous music, in a golden chair.

These things were done in 665,* when Wilfrid was about
thirty years of age. Everything that he had hitherto taken in
hand had prospered. His most ardent aspirations were being
realized. His party was victorious, and he was at its head. If
strength of intellect and strength of hand could stamp the
Benedictine rule on England, he was the man to do it. Little,
however, did he think, when he set sail for England, that the
cloud was even then gathering over his head which was to
darken the remainder of his life.

His disasters began as soon as he left France. He was
caught by a tempest in the Channel, and was dashed upon the
coast of Sussex. The savage wreckers rushed to the stranded
vessel. A struggle took place in which the priest of the pagan
plunderers was slain. Exasperated at this, they assailed the
voyagers, who, after four contests in which they sustained some
loss, made good their retreat to the ship, which was set afloat
by the returning tide. A fair wind carried them, at length, into
the port of Sandwich./ After he had landed, Wilfrid woidd
soon learn that he had suffered a worse shipwreck than that
from which he had just escaped. The see of York was lost to

■^ Eddius, 56. Fridegodus, 1V8. Ric. ' Asser (Gale i., 146) makes the date

of Hexham, col. 293. 654, a manifest error. The Saxon

"* Beda, iii., 27 ; v., 19. Eddius, Chron. (48) places it in 664. Ead. de

57. Eadmer, 202-3. Eridegodus, 178. Diceto (439) in 665, and the event

Wendover, i., 98. Flor.Wigorn., 243. could not have occurred earlier, as

Ric. Hexham, col. 293. Rad. Diceto, Agilbert became bishop of Paris in

col. 439. Bromton, col. 789. Gervase, that year. Cf. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i.,

col. 1636. Stubbs, col. 1690. Hen. 478. The Peterbro' Chron. (2) puts it

Huntingdon, apud Savile, 191, a. b. in 664. / Eddius, 58. Eadmer,

Hist. Mou. S. Aug. Cantuar., 193. 203. Fridegodus, 178-9.

669 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 61

him. His long absence^ had aroused the Scottish party, and it
had gained the ear of Oswy. Alcfrid was either dead'' or un-
able to assist his old favourite ; the Culdees were again para-
mount, and the holy Chadd was now the bishop of Northumbria,
Wilfrid must have been deeply mortified when he heard of
this news, but he shewed his good sense by shaping himself,
with all resignation, to his altered fortiuies. The character of
Wilfrid was always most noble in adversity. He is said to have
retired to his monastery at Ripon, of which he was still the
abbat.

" Spe meliore manet latebris contectus in illis"'

is the assertion of his poetical biographer, but I can scarcely
believe that he would seek a permanent abode in the ])rovince
of his successfid rival. The greater part of his time seems to
have been spent in Kent and Mercia, where he exercised his
episcopal functions without let or hindrance/ and won the good
opinion of all by his piety and zeal.'''

Thus was Wilfrid employed till Theodore arrived in Eng-
land, in 669, and through his means, as has been previously
shewn, that active prelate was reinstated in the see of York.'
He was now in the position which he had so long coveted, and
who could have a nobler or a more responsible charge ? Oswy
had extended his kingdom far into Scotland, and the whole of
his vast realm was under Wilfrid^ s spiritual superintendence.'"
He was not unequal to the duties of his high office. Earnest
and energetic he seems to have been at all times, and his efforts
were crowned with signal success. Firmly and boldly did he
moderate his churches, introducing, wherever he could, the
Benedictine rule, or something like it, and multiplying in every
direction the clergy and the shrines. He joiumeyed through
his diocese, preaching and baptizing. It was a common thing
for the presidents of religious houses to make him their heir.
Many were the gifts that he received for sacred purposes, and
the nobles generally shewed their confidence by entrusting to

«■ Fridegodus, 179. Ric. of Hex- 204. Fridegodus, 179-80. Stubbs, col.

ham, col. 294. 1690.

* Cf. Arch. vEl., n. s., vol. i., a paper * IJcda, iii., 28. Eddius, 58. Ric.
by Dr. Haigh, who considers the cross of Hexham, col. 293. Gervasius, col.
at Bewcastle to be the monument of 1636. Henr. Huntingdon, a.\nid Sa%ile,
Alcfrid, and that he died in 664. He 191, b. Hist. Mon. S. Aug. Cant., 198.
says that the words " Wilfrid preaster" ' Cf. Chadd. Flor. AVigorn., 204.
occur on the stone, shewing, as Dr. Eddius, 59. Simeon, col. 78. Brom-
Haigh thinks, that Alcfrid died before ton, col. 790. Gervasius, 1636. Stubbs,
"Wilfrid was a bishop. I am inchned 1690. Fridegodus, 180.

to doubt all this. '" Heda, iv., 3. Symeon, Hist. Eccl.

• Fridegodus, 179. Eddius, 58. Dunelm., 41. Gervase, col. 1638.
J Beda, iv., 2. Eddius, 58. Eadraer, Stubbs, col. 1690.

(32 FASTI EBOEACENSES. [a.D.

him the education of their children." The influence of the
Scottish party began quickly to disappear. Many gave in theii*
adhesion to the new ride, and those who saw that there was no
chance of tlieir own retrn-n to power, retired to those districts
Avhere Coluniba was not yet forgotten."

Temperate and sparing as Wilfrid seems to have been in his
personal expenditure,^ he was well aware of the importance of
outward forms and beautiful sights and sounds in religious wor-
ship. He was wise enough to know what a powerful auxiliary
to deep fervoui' and lioliness is to be found in a highly orna-
mented temple. It was not for nothing that he had visited the
eternal city, and gazed with rapture upon those glorious shrines
that were even then there ! What a contrast to the humble
edifice of wood and reeds in which he had prayed at Lindis-
farne ! Now, happily, he was in a position to raise the religious
tone of his diocese by improving and decorating its chui'ches.
With the assistance of Eddius and ^ona he taught the Chris-
tian worshipper that simple and yet exalting music with which
the name of Gregory is immortally connected. The temples,
also, in which were heard the voices of the sweet singers, were
made more worthy of the chants with which they now re-
sounded. Masons, glaziers, and limners, the ministers of civi-
lization as well as art, were always in the train of W^ilfrid.*
At Hexham, on " the silver Tyne,''^'' arose at his bidding that
beautiful shrine, which the Scot afterwards despoiled,'' the
" pulchcrrimae habitationes" of which even Alcuin could speak,'
and which justified the boast of Eddius and Hexham^s learned
prior, that their peer did not exist on this side of the Alps."
At York, also, the great renovator was not idle. The church
that Edwin and Oswald had erected was greatly in decay, and
it grieved the energetic Wilfrid to see the Lord^s house thus
desolate and forlorn. A new roof of lead was put upon the
minster. Glass was placed in the windows, for the first time,
so that the birds coidd no longer fly in and out, and defile the
sanctuary within. The walls were covered with plaster, the
altar was decorated with appropriate furniture, and means were
found to keep the temple continually in repair, and to maintain
its ministers." But it was on Ripon that Wilfrid^s choicest gifts

" Eddius, 62. Eadmer, 207. (Lei. Coll., iv., 108). The author of

" Beda, iii., 28. p Eddius, 62. the Mirac. S. Wilfr., apud Acta SS.

« Beda, iv., 2. Eddius, 58. ord. S. B., sscc.tert., i., 230, says that

"■ Were Cowley living now, he would Wilfrid merely restored an old church,

alter his epithet. " ab antiquissimis fundata regihus."

• Chron. de Lanercost, 174-5. Cf. Eddius, 62 ; Eadmer, 208 ; Fridego-

' Alcuini Opera, i., 196. Canisii dus, 183 ; Ric. of Hexham, col. 289-94.

Lect Ant., ii., 405. " Eddius, 59. " Basilica? oratorii

" The site wa.s given by Etheklroda Pei, officiasemirutalapidea eminebant.

669 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 63

were showered, for no place was clearer to his heart than that
little monastery whieh he had ruled in prosperity and adversity.
Eddius speaks with rapture of the shrine that Ripon now be-
held, and with which he himself was so intimately connected.'"
Of polished stone, it was with its pillars and its porches, a copy,
no doubt, of some temple in that famous city that Wilfrid had
longed to ^isit amid the solitude of Lindisfarne. Woidd that
we could see the precious text that, among other splendid gifts,
he bestowed upon his favourite church, written in golden letters
upon pvirple vellum, and enclosed in a jewelled case !^ And
when all things were completed, the founder resolved that the
new shrine should be solemnly set apart for God, and that the
feast of the dedication should be observed as in the days of oUl.
You might see at that time all the pomp and circimistauce
that befitted so high a ceremony, and which Wilfrid was so fond
of manifesting and educing. King Eegfrid and his brother
Alwin came, with the princes and nobles of Northumbria, the
abbats and the various officers who bare rule both in church and
state. In the presence of that great concourse did Wilfrid
dedicate the church and the altar, vesting it^' with precious
coverings of purple and of gold. And then, after the celebration
of the eucharist, the consecrator turned himself to the wor-
shippers, and, like the great Eastern potentate, declared what
great things had been done for God. All the gifts that princes
and holy men had made on that day to the church did he recite ;
and then, purposely no doubt, he enumerated, as far as he could,
the possessions of the British priesthood which had passed into
other hands when the Saxons had come in. The lesson which
he meant to teach would be obvious to all. "Follow the exam])le
that has been this day set you. Give back to us the rightful

Nam culmina antiquata tecti distillan- Fomice marcebant cataractse dilapidate,

tia, fenestrfeque apertse, avibus nidi- His ita contuitis, exhnmiit iiicet aiti

ficantibus iatro et foras volitantibus, ^^^^^'^^^^^^ZX^^^^'"''

et parietes mcultse, omni spurcitia Nee minus approperant opicizi eniblcmata
inibrium et avium, horribiles mane- proni

!-,„„+ PriminTi piilTnina porrimta tprii ■^^'^^ incultoB hyalino claudere velo.

Oanl— ri imum CUimina corrupta xecn Pondus et informes atlantes ferre priorcs

renovans, artmciose plumbo puro te- Jussitetexpletum:lymphisperfimditurabsis,

gens, per fenestras introitum avium Albanturque suis lustrata altaria peplis."

et imbrium vitro prohibuit, per quod „. t^it m tin ai • a

tamen Intro lumen radiebat. Parietes ^, Z-*^'^!,"/; ^?' ,^?; . ^'^"-""' ^l

quoque lavans, super nivem dealbavit." ^.f' '- ^^^J'''^ ^i;' '

Cf. Eadmer, 205. Lei. Coll., iii., 258. ^^'!T'i-^^- .^n " T ol fMl' iv im n

mi 1 ■ \- e T? •!„. „,i„„ ;. „^,„ iidduis, 60. IjcI. Loll., iv., 110-11,

The description of Iridesrodus is new , ,, '. , ,' ,n e

I o where there is an extract from a life of

(180)-

Wilfrid by Peter de Elois, once in the

" Ecclesiae vero fundamina cassa retustaj, vo«fi-v nt Tf innn

Culmina dissuto violabant trabe palumbes. M-sirj- <iu -ivipuu. . .

Humidacontrito stillabant assere tecta: *' Altare Cum bastbus SUlS DominO

Livida nudato suggrundia parietc passa dedlcailtes." The word hasihus has OC-

lmbncibusnuilis:piuviiEquacumquevagan- ^asioned some little difTiculty. It is

Pendula disscissis fluitant laquearia tignis, clcarly an error for vasihtis.

64- FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D,

possessions of our church, and thus we will employ them/' The
striking ceremony was over, and it was followed by a banquet
for all comers which lasted for three days and three nights/

Wilfrid was now at the height of his prosperity. By the
commonalty he was regarded with a kind of adoration. The
simple natives would gaze with astonishment upon the tokens,
everywhere evident, of his wealth and popularity, the numerous
monasteries that he had erected and endowed, the splendour and
length of his train when he rode abroad, dressed and armed as
if it had been the escort of a king." But there was a Nemesis
amid all this prosperity which a little discretion on the part of
Wilfrid might easily have appeased. Shrewd and mischievous
observers were not wanting who would point out to the monarch
of Northumbria the increasing influence of the prelate, greater
than any subject ought to possess; they would whisper in his
ear that Wilfrid's pomp and magnificence was alien altogether
from that humility which was the true master-chord of the reli-
gion he professed, and alien, also, from the simple lives of men
like Aidan and Chadd, whom he apparently despised. Those who
affect greatness are liable to the evils that attend it.

O TrXovre icai rvpavvL Kai ■re'^^vq 7e')(vq's
'Y'7rep(pepov(ra Tt? ttoXv^tjXw /S/w,
0<T09 Trap v/iuv o (p06vo<i (pvXaaaeTai.

The arrow was shot against Wilfrid, and there were many
that watched its flight.

Ecgfrid was the son of Wilfrid's old patron Oswy,* and he
seems to have inherited for a while the affection of his father
and brother for their favourite prelate. This kindly feeling,
however, only lasted for a time. The first consort of Ecgfrid
was the princess Etheldreda, the great patron-saint of Ely, and
she made and observed a foolish vow of perpetual virginity.
^^ ilfrid had over her, as he had over every one, a very great
influence, and Ecgfrid sought his aid in endeavouring to alter
the resolution of his wife, promising him almost anything if he
could succeed. It was to no purpose. If Wilfrid tried to dis-
suade her from her resolve he was imsuccessful ; but from the
record of the circumstances wliich Beda gives I cannot but think
that he applauded her resolution, and, in the end, after a twelve
years' union with Ecgfrid, he permitted her to take the veil in
the nunnery of Coldingham.'^ The king could not fail to regard

^ Eddius, 60. Fridegodus, 180-1. monarch made a vow to go with him to

Lei. Coll., IV., 109, 495. Cf. a valuable Eome to end his days, if he recovered

paper by Mr. AY albran for the Yorkshire from the illness that killed him. Beda,

Architectural Society. " Eddius, 63. iv., 5.

* AVilfrid obtained a great influence ' The authorities of this paragraph

over Oswy before his death. The are Beda, iv., 19. Eadmer, 208. Wen-

669 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 65

Wilfrid as Balak did Balaam, " I called tlicc to curse mine
enemies, and beliold, tliou hast altogether blessed tliem. I
thought to promote thee to great lionom*, but the Lord hath kept
thee back from honour.^^

The ill-matched couple Avere divorced, and Ecgfrid took for
his second wife a daughter of the king of Wessex. She is said
to have been a woman of a hasty and impetuous disposition,
and there soon sprang up an implacable feud betAveen her and
Wilfrid.'^

" Quse tantum accenderit i<<nem
Causa latet — ■'

What the cause of that enmity was it is impossible to say,
but bitter words must have been spoken, and bitter feelings
generated, if we may judge from the result. A little of Chadd^s
gentleness might have prevented all this acrimony and conten-
tion, but Wilfrid had a very different disposition. Nine years had
elapsed since he had stepped into Chadd's place ; now the same
hand that placed him in it was to make him a wanderer and an
exile, seeking for justice at the hands of a foreign potentate,
and finding his decree, after all his trouble, to be but a bruiutn
fulmen.

When this quarrel was at its height in the Northumbrian
court, archbishop Theodore was busily engaged with his measures
of reform. Much there Avas for him to do, and, aged though
he was, he did not shrink from the undertaking. One point to
which he especially directed his attention was the subdivision
of the English dioceses, for, undoubtedly, they were far too
large to be managed efficiently by any one man. He began
with the province of Mercia, and then he would look, naturally
enough, to Northumbria. How to proceed in this case was a
matter of some difficulty. It was undoubtedly to the interest
of the southern metropolitan to have as many suffragans as
possible, and it was equally desirable to keep the bishop or
bishops of Northmnbria subject to the same authority ; but how
Avas this to be effected ?* To make several bishoprics in
Northumbria Avould add materially to his OAvn power. Pie

(lover, i., 106. Hist. Eliensis, apud said that Etheldreda

Gale, i., 510— apud Angl. Sac, i., 598. „ ^^r^^ revcrontly receyred into relygyoii,

Ric. of Hexham, col. 294. Capgravc's And after the yere of her probaoyon

Nova Lesenda, fol. cxli. Wilfrid made Professed tlicre was by bysshop Wylfryde;

her abbess of Ely, and was of great use ^^'^«"-° '^^ ^'"'•''"y *^°"°"'-« «'"^ '"' °" ^y^^'

in aiding her in arranging her convent '' Eddiiis, 63. Eadmer, 208. Fride-

and securing its privileges. Cf. Vita S. godus, IBS-l. Hist. Eliensis, apud Angl.

Etheldreda3, apud Acta SS. ord. S. B., Sacr., i.,598. Simeon, col. 78. llic. of

sa3C. ii., 747-57. Bromton, col. 791, Hexham, col. 294. Stubbs, col. 1691.

and Bentham's Ely, 24, 57. In the ' Eddius, 63. Oudinus do Script.

" Lyfe of Saynt Werburge " (72) it is Eccl, i., 1661-2.

G() FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

might subdiWde that kingdom in virtue of the legantine au-
thority, but this was rather a bokl step to take. He might pre-
sume upon the absence of the pall at York, for Wilfrid had never
received it, and consider Wilfrid as a suffragan of his own, but
to do as he wished, and to intnide within Northumbria, he
Avould require the consent of the king. And just at the time
when that consent was needed it was voluntarily offered. The
queen had made her husband Wilfrid's enemy, and the feud was
then raging, and Theodore, who was watching his opportunity,
rejoiced to find himself invited into Northumbria by its sovereign.

He went, and the king and he, without consulting Wilfrid,
proceeded to subdivide the diocese of Northumbria. The plan,
as it was finally arranged, in addition to York, placed a bishop at
Lindisfarne, Hexham, and Whitherne./ There is nothing to be
said against the policy of extending the episcopate, indeed thei'e
is nothing to shew that Wilfrid was in this instance averse to it,
but the change was effected in a manner which is liable to grave
censure. Decency, to say nothing of law and justice, ought to
have suggested to Theodore and Ecgfrid the propriety of con-
sulting Wilfrid on a step in which he was especially concerned.
It was not to be expected that Wilfrid would submit to such
treatment. He went to the two dividers, and demanded of them
what he had done to be thus plundered. " We have no fault to
find with thee," was the reply, " but we cannot alter what we
have done." Disappointed in this manner of the justice that
he had demanded, the indignant prelate turned to his last
resource ; he made an appeal, which was then for the first time
heard before an English sovereign — "appellatus est ad Csesarem"
— he referred his cause to the decision of the pope.^

There is a fascinating account of his adventures on the way.
It reminds us, strikingly, of the Odyssey, and of the varied
fortunes of one, who, like Wilfrid, was a visitor at strange

^ In the first instance, Eata was over the Picts, and Eadhaed, Lindsey

placed at Hexham and Eadhaed in being lost to Northumbria, became

Lindsey, which was annexed to North- bishop of Eipon. Cf. Beda, iv., 12.

umbria by Ecgfrid. (Saxon Chron., Fridegodus, 184. Wendover, i., 104.

54, says that Bosa and Eata were first Hist. Mon. S.Aug. Cant., 275. Symeon,

appointed.) After Wilfrid went abroad Hist. Eccl. Dunelm., 44. Rio. of

Eata seems to have had the charge, for Hexham, col. 294.

a while, of the whole of Northumbria, «• Beda, v., 19. Saxon Chron., 61.

except Lindsey, and on that account I Eddius, 63. Eadmer, 209. Fridegodus,

find him called archbishop of York 184. Simeon, col. 78. Ric. of Hexham,

O^ita S. EatiJe, Biogr. Misc., Surtees col. 294. Diceto, col. 440. Bromton,

Soc, 125. Walbran on the Saxon col. 792-3. Gerva.sius, 1638. Stubbs,

Church of Ripon, 96 d.) Bosa was 1691. Malmesbury, apud Savile, 10, 6.

soon made bishop of York, and in 680 Hen. Huntingdon, ib., 191, b. Symeon,

or 681 Eata was translated to Lindis- Hist. Eccl. Dunelm, 44. Chron. S.

fame, Trumbert succeeding him at Crucis, apud Angl. Sacr., i., 155.
Hexham. Trumwin, also, was placed

669 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 67

courts, and could adapt himself, with equal readiness, to the
inhabitants of the wild lands on which he was driven with his
companions by the stormy waters. Both possessed unto the end

" One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak bj' time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

Wilfrid left the shores of England in 678/ ^nth a large
train, regretted deeply by the thousands of monks whom he had
left behind him in Northumbria. But, even now, the hatred of
his enemies, changing, perhaps, into that fear which is more
diabolical than hatred, concerted measm-es for his overthrow.
A message had been sent to Theodoric, king of Neustria,
desiring him to detain Wilfrid on his journey, and he, with the
assistance of Ebruin, his chief minister, prepared to arrest the
exile. He escaped from them in a very singular manner. By
a most extraordinary coincidence Wilfrid or Winfrid, bishop of
Lichfield, was wandering at that time in Neustria. Deceived
by the remarkable similarity of name, Ebruin seized upon him
and his companions, and most cruelly were they used. Wilfrid,
however, escaped from one peril to fall into another. A contrary
wind drove him out of his course, and he landed among the
savage tribes upon the shores of Fi-iesland.' And here, with
that noble and energetic spirit of devotion, to which his own
interests were at all times subordinated, he remained till he had
taught the heathen natives and their monarch, Adalgisus, the
rudiments of the true faith. It was the first time that the
saving word had been preached upon the shores of the northern
seas. Fuller has beautifully remarked that "as nightingales
sing the SAveetest when farthest from their nests, so this Wilfrid e
was most diligent in God^s serAdce when at the greatest distance
from his own home.^'-^ There was nothing in such a coimtry to
tempt ambition or elicit pride. The love of self could never
have induced a man like Wilfrid to sojourn in a district like
that, and, to his credit be it spoken, at every period of his life
when he was required to sm-rendcr personal considerations to the
cause of God that sacrifice was willingly made. The princes
and the people were baptized by thousands, and they shewed

* Saxon Chron., 54. Asser, aiuid vitam S. Willibrodi. Mabillon, Ann.

Gale, i., 146. Flor. Wigorn. (251) Ben., i., 510, who says that Wilfrid,

makes the date 677. knowing the designs of his enemies,

'■ Beda, v., 9. Eddius, 64. Eadraer, sailed voluntarily to Friesland. AVillib.

210. Fridegodus, 185. Alcuin, de Bosschaert de primis veteris Frisisc

Pont. Ebor., apudGale, i., 713. Wen- Apostolis, ed. 1G50, and Batavia Sacra,

dover, i., 105. Flor. Wigorn., 252. ed. 1714, p. 24, where there is a short

Diceto, col. 440. Stubbs, col. 1691. life of Wilfrid drawn up from the

Chron. Petrob., 3. Mabillon, Acta SS. Acta SS., etc.
ord. S. B. ssec. iii., i., 603, prolog, in ' Church Ilistorv, book ii., 88.

r 2

G8 FASTI EBORACENSES, [a.D.

their gratitude to their converter by rejecting with scorn the
proffered bribes of Ebruin/ who was striving to remedy his
en'or which he had at length discovered.

In the beginning of the spring Wilfrid proceeded on his
journey, finding friends at every halting-place. Dagobert, a
PVench prince, had not forgotten the hospitable reception that
Wilfrid had once given him in England, when he was an exile,
and, recollecting that kindness, he gave the wanderer a most
hearty Avelcome.^ Having failed to induce Wilfrid to take up
his abode in France by offering him the see of Strasburg, he
sent him on, with rich presents and bishop Deodatus for his
guide, to Berehtar the monarch of the Lombards, who had
refused to be a party to the evil designs of Ebruin and Theodoric.
From that eom't the pilgrims passed onwards to the eternal city."*

Five and twenty years had elapsed since the humble scholar
from Lindisfarne joiu-neyed into that city of which such great
things were told him. At that time he was unknoAATi to every
one when he entered it, but now he was escorted on his Avay by
kings and princes, and the father of the Christian faithful was
expecting the arrival of one of the greatest of the bishops.

" Quas ego te terras et quanta per sequora vectum
Accipio, quantis jactatum, nate, periclis !"

The story of Wilfrid^s sufferings and labours was known in
Rome long before he was there to tell it. Coenwald, the mes-
senger of Theodore, had arrived before him, but Agatho and his
bishops had turned a deaf ear to his tale. An appeal, the first
appeal, from an English bishop to the court of Rome was an
event of no slight importance. It gave the pope an opportunity
of setting the seal of his authority upon the British chui-ch in
what appeared to be a just cause. The decision of the synod
was unanimously in favour of Wilfrid. He sat among the
bishops who were deliberating against the Monothelites as the
representative of his church," and, flattered and honoured by all,
he crossed the seas in triumph, bearing with him the papal
mandate Avhich authorized the restitution of his see, and hurled
against the gainsayers of that bull all the terrors that the court
of Rome could wield."

Wilfrid reached Northumbria, little dreaming, perhaps, of
the reception that awaited him. His respect for the authority
of Rome was so great that he imagined, no doubt, that every

* Eddius, 64. Eadmer, 210. Tride- " Beda, v., 19. Wendover, i., 105.

godus, 185. " Eddius,66-8. Eadmer, 212. Frid.,

' Eddius,65. Eadmer,21l. Fr.,186. 187. Flor. Wigorn., 252. Diceto,

"■ Eddius, 65. Eadmer, 211. Fr., col. 441. 13romton, 793. Stubbs, 1691.

186. Gaimar, I'Estorie des Engles, Labbe, Concilia vi., col. 582. Spel-

apud Mon. Hist. Brit., 782. manni Cone, 160.

669 — 709.] BISHOP wiLVRii). 69

one would give way to it. In this he committed an egregious
mistake. The independence of the Saxon church was at that
time very strongly marked, and Theodore, himself an emissary
from Rome, was most active in maintaining it. But among the
native princes the idea of submitting to any foreign jurisdiction
had never once been mooted. Wilfrid's hulls and letters were
treated with derision by the Northumbrian court. Ecgfrid
regarded him merely as a rebellious subject. He was cast
immediately into prison. His bulls were taken away from him.
The reliquary that he had brought from Rome became the play-
thing of the queen. Nine months elapsed before the prisoner
regained his liberty at the intercession of the abbess Ebba, the
king's aunt, and then he was banished from that kingdom with
which his name will be immortally connected. Wherever he
went the hate of Ecgfrid pursued him. He paused for a while
in Mercia with prince Berthwald, but king Ethelred, to serve
Ecgfrid, compelled him to depart. The queen of Wessex was
the sister of Ermenburga of Northumbria, so there was no
sanctuary for him there. It was at length the high privilege of
a heathen province to give an asylum to a bishop whom every
Christian kingdom had rejected.^

It was in Sussex, in 681, that Wilfrid found a sanctuary at
last.? He little thought, when on his return from his first joui*-
ney he escaped with difficulty from the wild wreckers on that
coast, that in after years he Avould find in that country a peace-
fid resting-place. Ethelwalch, the sovereign, and his queen had
been baptized at the instigation of Wulfhere king of Mercia,
and there was a little monastery at Bosham which Dicul, a Scot,
had founded. It had but five or six inmates, and neither they,
nor the king and queen, had made any converts to the faith
which they professed. The adjacent kingdom of Kent had been
the first to welcome the message of Augustine, and the light
that shone there had radiated to the farthest extremities of
England. How strange that Sussex should have been still in
darkness ! As Fuller truly observes, " herein it was verified,
' Many that are first shall be last, and the last first.' Yea the
Spirit ' which bloweth where it listeth,' observes no visible rules
of motion; but sometimes taking no notice of those in the
middle, reacheth to them that are farthest ofl'."''

The more difficult the task Avas, the more eager was the
great heart of Wilfrid to accomplish it. He threw himself into

'' Eddius, 71-2. Eadmer, 213-15. i., 713. Wendover, i., 105. Flor.

Fridesodus, 189. Lei. Coll., iv., 109. Wigorn.,252. Diccio, col. 441. Stiibbs,

1 Eddius, 72. Eadmer, 216-17. col. 1691. Huntin.>,^don, apud Savile,

Fridegodus, 191. Beda, iv., 13; v., 19. 191, h. Spelmaiuii Concilia, 178.
Alcuin de Pont. Eccl.Ebor.; apud Gale, ' Church History, bk. ii., 88.

70 FASTI EBORACEXSES. [a.D.

the evangelization of Sussex with the energy of an apostle. The
inhabitants of the district were not only heathens, but it seems
that they were ignorant of all those arts in which savage tribes
are generally adepts. When Wilfrid came among them the
land was being desolated by a famine. It was by no means an
unusual thing to see the emaciated natives assemble in parties
of forty or fifty, and, hopeless for the future, grasp hold of each
other's hands,' and throw themselves from the clifls to end their
miseries in the sea. At this conjmicture Wilfrid happily arrived.
He taught the half-starved sufferers how to fish and pro\-ide for
themselves, endeavouring

" By slow prudence to make mild
A ru2£red peofile, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good."

Civilization was thus the herald as well as the companion of
religion. Gratitude to their benefactor winged his words to the
hearts of the natives, and they adopted the faith which he
preached to them. On the day of their baptism the windows of
heaven were again opened, and the rain descended upon the
long barren ground.''

Grateful for the sen-ices that Wilfrid had rendered to him-
self and his subjects, Ethelwalch give him a piece of land at
Selsea.' This was the beginning of an ecclesiastical foundation
which was aftemards removed to Chichester. At Selsea Wilfnd
immediately erected a monastery, over which he presided for
five years, exercising at the same time his episcopal functions in
the adjacent country, and gi^-ing the natives a practical lesson
on the vice of slavery." In 686 he again reaped the benefit of
the courtesy which he had at all times shewn to fugitives and
exiles. When Cadwalla, a scion of the royal house of Wessex,
was in banishment, Wilfrid had been his friend, and now, when
the tide had at length turned in his fortimes, Cadwalla was not
forgetful of his former benefactor. By force of arms he took
possession of Wessex, Kent and Sussex. He then gave to Wilfrid
the bishopric of Wessex and a fouith part of the Isle of Wight,
which the energetic prelate brought over to the Chi'istian faith."
But the greatest \-ictory of all was the conversion of Cadwalla.
The conqueror was a pagan till he became firmly seated on his
throne, and then, through policy as well as conviction, he re-

' Beda, iv., 3. Eadmer, 217. Brom- ' The credit of evangelizing the is-

ton, col. 798. Huntingdon, apud Sa- land is, perhaps, to be shared with Wil-

vile, 1 91, b. frid, bishop of the Mercians, and Eoppa.

' Beda, iv., 13. Eddius, 72. Ead- Cf. Beda, iv., 13, 16 ; v. 19. Saxon

mer, 217. Hist. Mon. S. Aug. Cant., Chron., 47. Eadmer, 217. Wendover,

198. Stubbs, col. 1691. Lei. Coll., iv., i., 105. Flor. Wigorn., 256. Hen.

70. « Beda, iv., 13. Huntingdon, 192. Stubbs, col. 1691.

669 — 709.] BISHOP wilfrid. 71

solved to embrace that faith wliich the majority of his subjects
professed, and of ■which Wilfrid was the preacher. He deter-
mined that the pope should baptize him. And to shew that he
was impelled by no sordid or common impulse, the youthfid
monarch, in the very flush of greatness, had the courage to
throw aside his sceptre, and to prepare himself in the seclusion
of a monastery for that solemn rite of which he was so soon to
be the recipient.'"

There was one person who woidd observe the progress of
Wilfrid with the greatest interest, and that was Theodore. He
could not but be struck by the energy and success of his exiled
brother. He was too good a man himself to allow any personal
feelings to prevent him from admiring so much industry and
self-denial. And then, doubtless, a self-accusing thought would
flit across his mind that it was through his means that Wilfrid
had been excluded from a larger sphere of duty, where he might
have done, if that were possible, a still greater work for God.
There had been, in all probability, no intercomse between the
two since that memorable scene in the halls of Eegfrid. Were
they to " go down to the grave in silence," without an attempt
at reconciliation, or a single word of kindness and forgiveness ?
Theodore was approaching the patriarchal age of ninety, and
Wilfrid^s climacteric year was rapidly coming on,

" Lenit albescens aminos capillus."

A reconciliation was happily efifected,^ Theodore making the
first advances. He was not deterred by the pee^vishness of age
from acknowledging his error, and Wiliind, with his heart soft-
ened by adversity, was able to forgive. Theodore now shewed
the sincerity of his regi'et by many acts of kindness. He woidd
fain have nominated his old foe to be his successor in his see,
but Wilfrid's thoughts were centred in his own kingdom in the
North, and, coiu'teously declining the proffered gift, he begged
to be reconciled with the sovereigns who ought to have been his
friends. None can better value the blessings of peace than
those who have been scathed and seared by discord. Theodore's
good offices were immediately at Wilfrid's ser^dces. He restored
him to the favour of Ethelred, king of jSIercia, whose king-
dom, through Ecgfrid's interests, had been closed to him, and
that monarch gave him lands and monasteries, and permitted
him to act as a bishop within his province. But Theodore did
still more for him. He wi'ote in his behalf to Aldfrid, an ille-

"Beda, v., 7. Eddius, 72-3. Ead- 594. Smith's FloresEccl. Hist., 126, a

mer, 217. Fridegodus, 191-2. Won- very badly arranged and badly written

dover, i., 115. Bromton, col. 799. Hen. work.

Huntingdon, 193. Baronii, Ann., viii., ^ Eddius, 73. Eadraer, 218.

72 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

•ritimate son of Oswy, who had recently succeeded his brother
Ecgfrid on the Northurahrian throne. Aldfrid invited Wilfrid
to return into the North. The sees of Lindisfarne and Hexham
were at that time vacant, and they were given to Wilfrid, who
left them soon afterwards for his old bishopric of York, Bosa,
proliably, surrendering the charge to which he subsequently
returned.-'

All these things were done in 68G, and Wilfrid was thus
restored to his dignities and honours, and for five years did
he enjoy them." But there was to be no rest for him even now.
Affliction, alas ! had taught him only a temporary lesson. An
insane love of change Im-ed him, a second time, to his fall. What
injury has been done to the progress of true religion by men
Avho have been thus minded. The conduct of Wilfrid on this
occasion was inexcusable. He ought to have been well ac-
quainted by this time with the feelings of the native princes of
Northumbria, and yet he adopted a course of conduct which
would be sure to outrage them. The highest spiritual victories
have been won by men of a gentler and a more forbearing tem-
perament. He had been but five years in his old diocese when
he kindled, for the second time, the flame of contention. He
was again shipwrecked by making an attempt to undo every-
thing that had been effected during his absence. He wished to
recover for the church of York its privileges and possessions, of
Avhich it is obscurely said by Eddius it had been deprived. He
was desirous of obliterating the see of Ripon, which he would
look upon with a jealous eye from its vicinity to York. He was
eager, also, to abrogate the constitutions and decrees of his old
rival Theodore, made whilst the two prelates were enemies, by
which the Northumbrian province had been moderated for some
years. King Aldfrid, who was a man of learning and discre-
tion, would not assent to the wishes of Wilfrid, and the dis-
appointed prelate, who wanted the patient endurance of Paulinus
and the gentleness of Chadd, determined to have his own way
or nothing. He retired to the Mercian court, where he acted
as a bishop, and consecrated iEtla and Suidbert of Friesland.'*

Actuated by a sincere wish to make peace among his divided
churches, Aldfrid, with Berthwald, Avho was now the Southern
primate, and the greater part of the English bishops, met in a

y Beda, iv., 29. Eddius, 7i. Ead- raneoruin Anglorum," and Leicester

mer, 219. rridcyodiis, 193. Flor. was, probably, the place at which he

Wigorn., 256. Simoon, Hist. Eccl. Dii- resided. Beda, v., 11. Eddius, 75.

nelm., 60. Rio. of Hexham, col. 295. Eadmer, 220. Eridegodus, 193. Flor.

Diceto, col. 441. Stubbs, col. 1691. Wigorn., 258. Ric. of Hexham, col.

Chron. S. Crucis, apud Angl. Sacr., i., 296. Diceto, coh 441 . Chron. S. Crucis,

156. Chron.Petrib.,3. -' Beda, v., 19. apud Angl. Sacr., i., 157. Acta SS. ord.

« AVilfrid became bishop " Mediter- S. B., sjec. tert., i., 242.

669 — 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 73

great synod at Edwine^s ])atli. Wilfrid, also, was there bv the
desire of the council, and after a long debate it was resolved to
perpetuate the reg-ulations of Theodore. Wilfrid profcs.sed his
readiness to obey the decrees of the synod so long as they
Avere in consonance with the canons ; but he boldly, and
most injudiciously, asked the deliberators how they could ven-
tm'e to prefer the judgment of Theodore to tliat of Agatho,
Benedict and Sergius. After considting for a while in private,
they endeavoui'cd to persuade him to resign all his offices into
the hands of Berthwald, in the hope, as they seemed to imply,
of having some compromise effected, but perhaps, as Eddius
asserts, to deprive him of everything, and to say that he had
given it up. This was a strong step to take, and one which
shewed how little confidence they had in Wilfrid. A friend,
however, had warned him of their design, and he met their
request with the reply that he would bow to the decision of the
archbishop, so long as it was not opposed to the rules of the
holy fathers. Annoyed at Wilfrid's pertinacity, they began to
threaten him, saying, in the end, that he should be deprived of
everything save the monastery of Ripon, and that he should not
be allowed to go beyond its precincts without the permission of
the king. Wilfrid, upon this, broke out into an indignant ex-
postulation, which would have come with better taste from other
lips. " Was it for this that he had laboured as a bishop for
nearly forty years ? Was it for this that he had torn the Scottish
system up by the roots, teaching the Northumbrians the correct
mode of calculating Easter, and giving them the proper tonsure,
the Benedictine rule, and the knowledge of chanting? And,
after all this, forsooth, he was to be entrapped into putting his
name to a decree Avhich was meant to be his ruin \" Full of in-
dignation he made his appeal, for the second time, to the court of
Rome. The archbishop and the king were disposed to throw
him into prison for this, but the other members of the synod
reminded them that as Wilfrid had come among them with a safe
conduct he could not honoiu^ably be detained. He was per-
mitted, therefore, to depart, and he returned to the court of
Mereia, and Ethelred kindly promised to do nothing to his pre-
judice till the question in dispute had been arranged at Rome.*
To Rome, therefore, did Wilfrid journey when he was
above threescore years old. Age, however, could not tame that
intrepid spirit. The chm'ch, which he had done so much to
serve, drove him out of her commmiion, but he looked for justice
at other hands. There were still some at Rome who recollected

' Eddius, 75-7. Eadmer, 220-1. Wendover, i., 117. Stubbs, col. IfiOl.
Labbe, Concilia, vi., col. 1382-6. Spel- Chron. Petrib., 4 (in 691).
manni Concilia, 200. Fridegodiis, 11)5.

74 FASTI EBORACENSES.

[A.D.

liim when he came there with a splendid retinue and backed by
the support of kings. Now, he was in a far humbler guise, but
the papal com-t could not but shew their gratitude to so valuable
a servant. His accusers had anticipated his amval, but their
tale was disregarded. Wilfrid w^as absolved from all blame,
and the pope, John VI., wrote an admonitory letter in his behalf
to Ethclred and Aldfrid. At Home Wilfi'id must have spent
many years. Fain Avould the aged prelate have ended his days
in tlie holy citv which he had ^dsited in joy and sorrow. Chris-
tian heroes had consecrated it for ever ; men of spiritual prowess
who had passed through the fire of persecution before they had
won the victory. Glorious shrines were covering the places
which had been watered with their blood; and there would
AVilfrid, who had passed under the share himself, have been a
watcher and a suppliant, willing to copy their death as he had
imitated their life, and to pass away, like them, into the presence
of the Ineffable One. His bones, however, were to rest in the
country of his fathers. The pope and his council desired him
to retm-n to England to claim that justice to which he was en-
titled. He set his face once more towards England in 703 or
701, when he was seventy years of age. The jom-ney was a
tedious one, for the old man could not travel rapidly. A very
dangerous illness, a shadow of the end, assailed him by the way
at Meaux, and his life was with difficulty saved. Acca, one of
his companions, who in after years became bishop of Hexham,
had a marvellous tale how the archangel Michael shewed him-
self to his sick master, and told him that the same mercy should
be vouchsafed to him that was granted to Hezekiah, and that
four years should be added to his life.''

When AVilfrid arrived in England he had an intei-vdew Avith
archbishop Berthwald. He was a gentle and a conciliatory
prelate, and there was soon peace and amity between them.
The letter that AVilfrid had brought to him from the pope could
not fail to influence him, and he promised to exert his influence
to abrogate the decision of the synod. From Berthwald AVilfrid
passed on to the Mercian court, where he found that his old
patron Ethelred had become a monk at Bardney. At the sug-
gestion of the new sovereign, Wilfrid sent two messengers to
Aldfrid to request permission to visit his kingdom, and to bring
with him the letters from the pope. The monarcb of North-
umbria was obdurate. Not one w ord in any decree would he
alter in obedience to a papal mandate, and he refused, hence-
forward, to listen to the request of AA^ilfrid. Aldfrid died shortly

<■ Beda, v., 19, 20. Eddius, 79—83. 297. Fridegodus, 195.

Eaditer, 222-3. Ric. of Hexham, col.

669 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 75

afterwards, and the partizans of Wilfrid assert that he shewed
his penitence on his death-bed. The throne of Nortlinml)ria
was now occupied by Eadulf, and to him, also, did Wilfrid, still
longing for his old charge, send his messengers. His hopes,
however, were dashed to the ground by the harsh response that
if he and his friends tarried for six days within his kingdom,
they should lose their lives for their disobedience. With this
answer Wilfrid woidd be sorely disappointed, for, expecting a
kindly welcome, he had visited his old monastery at Ripon.
Two months after this everything was reversed. Eadulf was
banished, and Osred, the youthful son of Aldfrid, was on the
throne of Northumbria, with Wilfrid for his friend.''

The case of Wilfrid woidd soon force itself upon the con-
sideration of the yoimg monarch and his council, and a great
synod was assembled on the banks of the river Nidd^ to adjudi-
cate upon it. Osred was there accompanied by the three bishops
of the province (Bosa, John, and Eadfrith) and the abbess
Elfleda. Archbishop BerthAvald was also present with the thanes
and princes of Northumbria, and Wilfrid was by his side.
Berthwald began by reading over the letters of the pope. Very
few of the auditors would be acquainted with the language in
which they were written, and the archbishop was requested to
interpret them. In reply, he said how difficult it would be to
do that with exactness, and professed his readiness to give a
brief summary of their contents. He had thus an opportunity
of softening down, or omitting, all the harsher portions of the
letters, which, if properly understood, would have frustrated
altogether his sincere wishes for peace. The epistles, as he
said, desired that all the ecclesiastics of the province should be
reconciled with Wilfrid. The bishops were either to restore to
him his churches, or to shew cause to the conti'ary in the Roman
court, and excommunication was to be the punishment of their
disobedience. The voices of the three interested prelates were
at once raised against this decree. They brought forward, on
the other side, the solemn decisions of Eegfrid and Aldfrid,
alleging that they could not be altered : they quoted, also,
against the archbishop, not only the example of Theodore, a
prelate sent from Rome, but his own words on a previous occa-
sion. This was the crisis of the conference, for not only did
the law seem to be against Wilfrid, but Berthwald was, as it
were, convicted of inconsistency. The abbess Elfleda now
asserted that Aldfrid, on his death-bed, had regretted his treat-
ment of Wilfrid, and that he had promised, if his life were
spared, to rescind his decree against him and the papal au-

'' Beda, v., 19. Eddius, 84-5. Ead- Wendover, i., 118. Labbe, Concilia,
mer, 223. ^ Eddius, 85-6. vi., col. 1389. Spelmanui Cone, 203.

76 TASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

tliority; and Berclitfrid, the confidential minister of Aldfrid
and Ills son, mentioned a vow that his late master had made at
Bcbhanhm-j?, wlien tliat fortress was besieged, ty which he
pledged himself to restore Wilfrid, should he be victorious ; and
he said, authoritatively, "It is the Avill of the king and his
council that the wishes of Aldii'id should, in every respect, be
adhered to." It was evidently the desire of the powers that be
tliat A\'ilfrid should return. The bishops could not fail to see
this, and they retired to hold a consultation by themselves.
After a long deliberation, in which Berthwald and Elfleda took
a part, a compromise was effected. Wilfrid was not, indeed,
restored to York, but Ripon and Hexham w^ere given up to him,
and the prelates, glad, no doubt, that there was concord and
amity at last, gave each otlier the kiss of peace.-^

For the second time did Wiifi^d become bishop of Hexham.
Many years had passed away since the sainted Etheldreda gave
him that little portion of ground by the waters of the Tyne, on
which he raised the fair shrine which Eddius describes, and to
that temple did the aged prelate at length retiu'n. Once he
Avould never have submitted to the compromise that gave Hex-
ham to him again, but age and trouble had robbed him of his
old fire. Peace he would now seek, for he had had enough of
the storms of life. That place of rest was to be his soon, where
he would never hear their sound. The shadows of death were
already darkening around him. He was attacked by the same
complaint which had nearly carried him off as he returned
from Rome, but the prayers that the faithful put up for him
were heard, and the end Avas not yet. The sickness, however,
was not without its admonitory lesson. The aged prelate in the
presence of several of the brethren of the monastery of Ripon,
which was a private possession of his own, appointed his kins-
man, Tathbercht, the ruler of that house, and made the follow-
ing disposition of his worldly estate. He divided it into four
portions. One share Avas bestowed upon the churches of the
Virgin and St. Paul at Rome, the city to which he had never
appealed in vain. Another was given to the poor. A third was
be(]ueathed to the rulers of his two religious house's at Ripon
and Hexham, for the benefit of their monasteries. With the
remaining share he rewarded the companions of his sufferings
and triumphs,

" Fortes pejoraque passi
Meciun ssepe viri."

And then, when this necessary duty was dispatched, did he tell

/ Bcda, v., 19. Eddius, 85-6. Ead- ham, col. 296. Stubbs, col. 1691. Ma-
mcr, 221. Hist. Men. S. Aut,'. Cant., billon, Ann. Ben., ii., 14-15. Baronii
280. Diceto, col. 442. Itic. of Hex- Ann., viii., 652-3.

6G9 — 709.] BISHOP wiLFiuD. n

his admiring audience that he had another journey yet to make
before he traversed the valley of the shadow. Two alibats had
arrived to bid him to the iNIercian court, for Coelrcd, the suc-
cessor of the faithful Ethclred, begged him to inspect and put in
order the monasteries within his kingdom. And he woidd go.
Even Avhen the hand of death was chilling him, that undecaying
spirit was still ardent when there was any good work to be done
for God. The scene among the monks of Ripon reminds us
strongly of St. PaiiFs last interview with the Ephesian elders.
Wilfrid spoke, indeed, of the possibility of his return, but could
they expect that ? He told them also of another more probable
contingency to which their hearts would sorrowfully assent.
They threw themselves at his feet, and amid theii' prayers and
tears he commended them to the Lord. They never looked
upon that face again .^

To Mercia he joui'ueyed, and set everything in order as the
monarch wished. The exertion was too great for his aged frame.
He fell sick in the monastery of Oundle, which he had himself
established, and there, on the 12th of October,'' 709, did he
pass into his rest.^ His "life was like an April-day, often
interchangeably fair and foul; and after many alterations, he
set fair in fall lustre at last.^^-' For seventy-six years had
Wilfrid been a Christian soldier, but he was at length released.
The final struggle is over ; the victory complete ; and as the
moiu'ners were gazing upon that face now so motionless and
still, they fancied that there was around them the sound of
rustling wings. Could it have been the spii'its who were bear-
ing away their new brother on his homeward journey ? Do
they now come for him, and, as Daniel Heinsius beautifully
says ; —

" Circiimque voluti
Couceatus edunt varies, aeteruaque funduiit
Murmura, sed sensus non admittentia nostros ?"

A very great man passed away that day, for, in many
respects, we may consider Wilfrid as the star of the Anglo-
Saxon church. It is not often that we meet with such a com-
bination of intellect and energy. He lived in an age when a
master-hand was needed, when church reform was especially
required. The system of the Culdees was not calculated to
make any permanent impression. It wanted discipline and

B Eddius, 87. Eadmer, 221-5. i., 118. Eio. of Hexham, col. 296.

* Mabillon, Ann. Ben., ii., 24, makes Eromton, col. 794. Stubbs, col. 1692.

8th kal. May the day of his death. Hen. Huntincrdon, 193, h. Chron.

Wendover is in error as to the date. Petrib., 5. Hist. Csenob. Burgensis,

Cf. i., 118, 130. apud Sj.arke, 13.

' Beda, v., 19. Eddius, 78. Saxon i Fuller's Church Historj', bk. ii.,

Chron., 61. Eadmer, 225. Wendover, 9i.

78 FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

autlioritv to direct it. The vigorous intelleet of Wilfrid at once
detected its defects, and, with the laudable ambition of a man
who is conscious of his own powers, he strove to remedy them.
It recniircd no little boldness and skill to influence the mind of
Oswv, and to ]tull down the supremacy of Colman and his
monks. But Wilfrid did all tliis, and effected a reform without
which Theodore could have done little, and to Avhich Dnnstan
and Oswald, in after years, were greatly indebted for their
success, lint AVilfrid had not only a destnictive genius, but he
evinced at the same time great constructive and administrative
ability. He built up the Benedictine ride upon the ruins of the
system of Columba. He brought it in in all its comprehensive-
ness, and set every part of its deMcate and varied machineiy in
motion — its discipline — its ritual — its accompanying graces of
ai-chitccturc and music were all of them attended to. Hexham
and liipon are two only of the many monasteries of which he
Avas himself the founder. It is no slight honour to have aided
the establishment of such abbeys as Ely,* as Evesham^ and
Mcdhamstead.'" In doing all this, however, he had no little
opposition to contend with. The reformer has always troubles
in his path, and Wilfrid, also, experienced them. And in meet-
ing them he exhibited the defects in his character. He wanted
tcm])er and he wanted judgment. I cannot blame him, as
many do, for appealing to the court of Rome, for it was natural
enough that he should regard Rome as the head of that mission
to England Avhich she had herself so recently established.
Rome had, at that time, as much right to moderate the eccle-
siastics in England, as we have in these days to give our own
ritual and discijjline and ])ishops to heathen territories abroad.
And when justice was denied to him at home, to what other
arbitrator could he refer his cause? Wilfrid's error was not so
much in making these appeals as in the manner in which he
made them. He would make no allowance for the feelings and
opinions of his opponents. His quick mind could detect what
otlu-rs could not see, and he had not the patience to wait till
their ])owers of A-ision and apprehension became stronger. He
tlms stumbled Avhcre others, with half his intellect, would have
succeeded. You may be conscious of your inferiority yourself,
1)11 1 it is by no means pleasant to be taunted with it by another.
W ilfrid was in this way continually offending national pride,

* ^V'^J'-^^e 65. 53. Hist. Csenobu Burgensis, apud

Mabillon, Acta SS. ord. S. B., Vita Sparke, 12. Labbe, Concilia, vi., col

b. L^wirii Ep. Wigorn., 170. 576. Spelmanni Concilia, 181. Lei

"■ It Ls i.o.s.sible that another WDfrid Coll., i., 5. Gunton's Peterbro', 128

waa concerned with Medbamstead or Wright's Biogr. Lit., i., 170. Arcba^ol'

I'eterbro . Saxon Chron., 42, 46, 50, Ml., n..t. i. 163

669 — 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 79

and provoking contention and dislike. And there is the less
excuse for him Avhen we consider the extraordinary influence
that he coidd exert^ his winning demeanour and address, and his
marvellous powers of fascination. Any one thus higldy endowed
ought to manifest a little forbearance and consideration for his
less gifted brethren. Glorious indeed is the i)icture of Wilfrid
in his prosperity, basking in the smiles of courts, and scattering
his treasures with no sparing hand, but, if he had thus lived
and thus died, we should never have known him as the evan-
gelizer of Sussex and the apostle of the Frisians. The land-
scape that is garish beneath the meridian sun, is fairer far
beneath the shadows of the cloud, and lovelier still under the
cool soft lights of evening. When Wilfrid was in exile, and
advanced in years, we may all admire him. We never thiidv of
the hasty temper and the imperfect judgment, when we see how
his proud spirit coidd humble itself to suit his altered fortmies,
and how, when age and sorrow lay heavily upon him, he could
devote himself with unconquerable ardour to the great cause of
God. That must have been an honest and a noble heart that
coidd thus forget the troubles that afflicted it, and biu'n, at such
times, oblivious altogether of its own sufferings, with greater
love and sympathy for others. These, surely, are some of the
signs and the tokens of a Christian hero.

The aged prelate was not laid in the graAc in his monastery
at Oundle. His heart, amid its feeble throbbings, still trembled,
like the magnet, towards its beloved North, and they carried
his remains, at his own request, to his old home at Ripon." He
was entombed, by the south side of the altar," with all the
honours of the dead.

Forty years had passed away since Wilfrid stood before that
holy place and consecrated it to God. Little thought he at that
solemn festival that his OAvn name would be connected with that
work for perpetual generations. That abbey became one of the
three great churches in Yorkshire, and it was famous throughout
England. The privilege of sanctuary and the right of using the
ordeal were among the honours conferred upon it by Athelstan.'''
The power of working miracles, which is said to have belonged

" Beda, v., 19. Saxon Chron., 61. of the old presbyter^y," says Mr. Wal-

Eddius, 88. Eadmer, 225. Flor. bran, " the shrine of St. "Wilfrid was

Wigorn., 264. Chron. S. Crncis, apud removed to the eastern extremity of

Angl. Sacr., i., 157. Eic. of Hexham, the north side of the choir, where

col. 296. Hickesii, Dissert. Epist., 118. Leland saw it shortly before the lie-

Mabillon, Ann. Ben., ii., 24. formation nnder the arch by the high

" Beda, v., 19. Wendover, i., 118. altar." Cf. Lei. Itin., viii., 21-2.

The remains were afterwards translated " reliquiae ejus sub arcu prope magnum

by archbishop Grey (Walbran's Church aUare nunc sublatse." p Lei. Coll.,

of Tlipon, 96). " After the extension iv., 10, ex libro Petri Blesensis.

HO

lASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

to AVilfVid in liis life-time, added in after years to the glories of
his shrine. His seal was a sovereign specific for the murrain.*
His banner went out frequently, as a talisman, to the wars.
Many churches were dedicated to God in his name, and there
arc few cathedrals that did not possess an altar and a chantry of
St. Wilfrid. At Durham, in the beautiful Galilee that bishop
Pudscy erected, there was a figm'C of the saint in a window "in
fyue coulored glasse, as he was accustomed to say masse, with
his myter on his head, and his crosier staffe in his lefte hand."^
Under his feet was an inscription which recorded his titles,
among Avhich the monks of Durham would read with no little
l)ridc " imo anno rcxit episcopatum Lindisfarnensem.-'^'' Among
the relics in the minster of York, there was one of Wilfrid's
ai-nis, set in silver, and two texts, or evangelisteria, which had
l)clonged to him. In the side of one of them there was a
crucifix inserted, and both were richly decorated with gold and
silver.*

There used to be some little controversy with reference to
the final resting-place of the remains of Wilfrid. Fuller
observes " as he had been a great traveller, when living, so his
bones took one journey after his death."' It is said that they
Avere removed to Canterbury. One chronicler gives to Dunstan
the credit of translating them," but Frithegode asserts that Odo
removed them, having found the shrine most grievously neglected
when he visited the church." Lanfranc, in after years, deposited
them in a splendid shrine.'" The Northerns, however, allege
that the remains of Wilfrid II., and not those of his predecessor,
were removed into the South.^ Several passages^' are brought
forward to shew that the bones of the saint were preserved at
Ripon, especially an indulgence of archbishop Grey, in which
it is stated that they were then perfect, and that they were
exhibited to the worshipping beholders. It may be said with
truth that another skeleton might easily be substituted for that
of Wilfrid, and that the passages which speak of the bones and

» Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres., publ. ing that Oswald and Odo have been

Surtees Soc, Appx., 410. confused. Eadmer says that Oswald

•• Kites of Durham, publ. by Surtees carried to Worcester the bones of

Society, 42. Wilfrid's name was in- Wilfrid junior, whom, however, he

scribed in golden letters in the .Durham calls a saint ! " Eadmer, 227.

Liber "V \tjc (7). ■»■ A point of some importance in the

' Fabric llolls of York Minster, contest for precedence between York

publ. by Surtees Society, 221-3. Hist. and Canterbury, cf. Eadmer, 226-7

Mon.de Abuigdon, ii., 47. Anglia Sacra, i., 66, ii., 50, 206. Ger-

' Church History, book ii., 94. vasius, col. 1291 and 1301. Bromton

" ;f\ <^'o"- 1-. 216. col. 863. Higden, apud Gale, i., 266.

l-.admer, 227. Diceto, col. 455. Malmesbury, apud Savile, 153.

i.admer tells a similar story of arch- y Lei. Coll., i., 10, iv., 80. John of

bLshop Oswald, and I cannot help think- Hexham col. 273

6 9 709.] BISHOP WILFRID. 81

body of the Saint do not prove that they were really liis. One
of his arms, it must be remembered, was in tlie treasury of York
at the dissolution.

The epitaph that was Avritten for Wilfrid, and which was set
up over his shrine at Ripon, is recorded by Beda.'^ It consists
of twenty hexameter lines mentioning his good works, and
setting them forth for the imitation of posterity.

" Wilfridus hie Diagnus requiescit cor})ore prsRsiil,
Hanc Domino qui aulam ductus pietatis aiuore
Fecit, et eximio sacravit nomine Petri,
Cui claves ca3li Christus dedit arbiter orbis ;
Atque auro a(; Tyrio devotus vestiit ostro.
Quin etiam sublime crucis radiaute metallo,
Hie posuit trophseum, necnon et quattuor auro
Scribi Evangelii pra^cepit in ordine libros ;
Ac tliecam e rutilo his eondignam eondidit auro :
Paschalis qui etiam sollemnia tempora cursus
CathoHci ad justum correxit dogma canonis,
Quem statuere patres, dubioque errore remote
Carta suae genti ostendit moderamina ritus :
Inque locis istis monachorum examiua crebra
Colligit, ae monitis cavit qua3 regula patrum
Sedulus instituit : multisque domique forisque
Jactatus nimium per tempora longa periclis,
Quindecies ternos postquam egit episcopus annos,
Transiit, et gaudens caelestia regna petivit.
Dona, Jesu, ut grex pastoris calle sequatur."

The name of Wilfrid was duly entered on the calendar.
His feast was appointed to be observed on the 12th of February,
and that of his translation on the 24th of April. His depositio
or burial was commemorated on October 12th."

Several works have been ascribed to the pen of Wilfrid, but,
apparently, on very questionable authority. Amongst them
were the following : — " De Celebratione Paschse, lib. i. Pro
Clericorum Tonsiu-a, lib. i. Edicta Pharensis Synodi, lib. i.
Epistolse, ad Diversos, lib. i."*

Few persons have had more biographers than Wilfrid, but
hardly any of these seem to have taken a fair and impartial
view of his life. Beda, who could have thrown a great deal of
light upon his character, is so sparing of information and praise,
that I cannot but thirdc that Wilfrid Avas no lavom'itc of his.
In Beda's account of the treatment of Chadd there are one or
two most remarkable omissions. We are obliged, therefore, to
seek for information in the laudatory and highly-coloured works
of Wilfridus friends or partizans. Modern writers, for the most

- v., 19. Eadmer, 228. Flor. « The obituary of the church of

Wigorn., 264. Higden, apud Gale, i., Durham fixes it on 3rd Oct. Cf. Lib.
245. Diceto, col. 442. Lei. Coll., ii., 592, Vila?, publ. by Surtees Society. 146.
ex Ann. EUens., with some variations. * Baheus de Script. Brit., cent., i., 86.

G

82 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

part, liave treated the sxibjcct w ith so much ignorance and party-
spirit, that no reliance can be placed upon what they say.

Tiic first biographer, in time and reputation, is ^Edde, or
Eddius Stcphanus, as he is called, the chaplain of Wilfrid, and
the great teacher of the Gregorian music. His narrative was
drawn up at the request of Acca and Tathbercht. It aboimds
M'ith valuable information, and it is one of the most curious
l)ieees of l)iography that we possess. It is, of coiu-se, very
liighly coloured, but there are many minute touches which bear
u])on them the impress of truth and affection. The work has
been twice printed : by Mabillon, in his great work on the
Saints of the Benedictine order, and by Dean Gale, in his valu-
able collection of English historians.''

The next in order is Fridegodus, a monk of Dover, who
wrote a life of St. Wilfi-id, at the request of Odo, arch-
bishop of Canterbury, in hexameter verse. Odo carried Wil-
frid's remains to Canterbury, and Fridegodus became his bard.
His poem is a metrical version of the work of Eddius, given in
striking l)ut uncouth language, and full of Graecisms. It is
])i'intc(l by ]\Iabillon.'' Oudinus thinks that Fridegodus was the
author of the poem, De Sanctis et Pontificibus ecclesise Ebor.,
which seems to be properly ascribed to Aleuin by Dean Gale.
Mabillon, however, regarded the question as an open one.

Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, is said to have written a life
of Wilfrid in heroic verse.^ Some suppose that it is to be iden-
tified with the poem of Fridegodus, but Mabillon observes that
the specimen of it cited by Eadmer belongs to a different work.
Odo's ])oem is not known to be in existence. A letter of his
referring to it is printed in the Anglia Sacra.-^

' Printed by Mabillon, in Acta SS. iv., 154). There was another among

or<l. S. B., ssec. iv., i., 670—722, from the MSS. of Henry Jones, rector of

a :MS. in the Cottonian library, which Sunningwell, Berks (Smith's Caf).

wa,s copied for him by Dean Gale. <' Acta SS. ord. S. B., tert. siec, i.,

Gale gives it himself in his XV. Scr., 171-96; ssec. iv., i., 722-6. Ex. MS.

vol. i., 40—90, with additions, etc., codice bibl. Corbeiensis in Gallia. There

from a ^IS. at Salisbury. The MS. is an interesting account of Fridegode

which both authors made use of is in in Oudinus, ii., col. 467. See Wm.

the Cottonian Library, Vespasian, D. Malmesbury, apud Savile, 200. Bale,

VI., but the learned Dean had one de Script. Brit., cent, ii., 32. Vossius,

of his own (Smith's Cat"). In the 346. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., ii., 24.

same collection, in Titus, A. 19, there Wright, 433.

isa short treatise of two folios, "DeOrtu ^ There was a copy of it in the li-

ct Vita S. Willridi." See Beda, iv. , 2. brary at Glastonbury (Lei. Coll., iv.,

Oudinus, de Script. Eccl., i., col. 1672. 154). Cf. Mabillon, Acta SS. ord. S. B.,

Vossius de Hist. Latinis, 278. Cave, ssec. tert., i., 169.

Hist. Lit, 480. Tanner, Bibl. Angl., / ii., 50. A most pompous and af-

T f" oo^'^'t',"^;^^- ^^'right, Bibh fected piece of Latinity. Wharton

i^it., <i-9. Lei. Script., 103. There regards it as the preface to the life by

was a copy of the life, by Eddius, in Fridegode, but, apparently, without

the library at Glastonbury (Leh Coll., just cause

678 — 705.] BISHOP BOSA. 83

Eadmer, the chaplain of archbishop Anselm, dvvv/ up
another life of Wilfi'id, founded npon the narratives of preced-
ing wi'iters^ and giving only some new miracles. Anselm trans-
lated the remains of Wilfrid, and, probably, desired his cha[)laiii
to record the merits of a Saint who was now connected witli
his church. Eadmer's work has been printed by Mabillon, and
by the Bollandists in their Acta Sanctorum.^

Leland gives extracts from a life of Wilfrid, by Peter de
Blois, archdeacon of Bath, which he found in the vestry at
Ripon. This was dedicated to Geoffrey, archbishop of York.''
Gerald Cambrensis, also, wrote verses "in portieu eccl. S.
Mariae ab Wilfi'ido episcopo constructa."* There is some
account of Wilfrid, and much novel information about Hexham,
which is unknown to our Northern historians, in the treatise on
the Saints of the church of Hexham, and their miracles, which
was drawn up in the middle of the twelfth century by a canon
of that house.-'

►OSa was one of the five bishops who were educated at Stre-
onshal under the abbess Hilda.* Of his history there is very
little known. When Wilfrid lost his see in 678, Bosa was one
of the persons among whom his vast diocese was divided, and
he received for his share the province of Deira, the seat of his
episcopate being placed at York.' He was consecrated by
Theodore.'" In 685 we find him witnessing a grant of king
Ecgfrid," but this charter is generally supposed to be a forgery.
There is some doubt as to the length of Bosa^s tenm'c of the

«■ Acta SS. ord. S. B., ssec. tert., i., Leland (De Script. Brit., i., 92) says

196-228. Acta SS., 24 Apr. From a that Hilda procured his elevation to the

MS. in the Cottonian library. See see of York.

Oudinus, ii., 1072, and seqq. ' Beda, iv., 12. Saxon Chron., 54.

* Lei. Coll., iv. 109. Wendover, i., 104. Flor. Wigorn.,
' Ibid., iii., 114. 252. Symeon, Hist. Eccl. Diinelm.,
■' Printed from a MS. in the Bodleian 46-7. Asser, apud Gale, i., 146.

library, by Mabillou, Acta. SS. ord. Huntingdon, apud Savile, 191 J. Di-

S. B., ssec. tert., i., 228-46. Other ceto, col. 440. Bromton, ibid., 792.

notices of Wilfrid may be found in "• Beda, iv., 12. Flor. Wigorn.,

Capgrave's Legenda Nova, 300-7. 252. Vita S. Eatcc inter B^iogr.,

Harpsfeld, 94-6, etc. Bp. Smith's Miscell., publ. by Surtccs Soc, 123.

Flores Hist. Eccl., 117-18. Lei. de Huntingdon, apud Savile, 191 J. Di-

Script Brit., i., 103. In Benet Coll., ceto, col. 410. Bromton, ibid., 793.

Cambr., is a " Vita Wilfredi" (Smith's . Gervasius, ibid., 1638.

Cat"). At Winchester there is a MS. " Lei. Coll., ii., 517. Trithemius de

intituled, "Eevelatio Wilfredi, ai'ch. Viris illustr. ord. S. B., lib. iv., cap.

Ebor." (Ibid.) 6 k App" to Smith's Beda, 782. Ho.sa

* Beda, iv., 23. Flor. Wigorn., 251. witnes.ses a charter of Ecgfrid in 685
Wendover, i., 107. Vita S. Begse, 57. (Codex Dipl., i., 29).

G 2

84 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

sec of York. It seems probable that he lost his position on
'W'iHVid's return in G8G or 687," but he regained it in the course
of two or three years, and held it until his death, which occurred
in 705.^ The mandate of pope John which required him to
meet Wilfrid, and come to some arrangement about the see of
York, was therefore useless.* The little that we know of Bosa
is \ cry much to his credit. He was the instructor of Acca, who
became bishop of Hexham.'" In the life of Eata, Bosa is spoken
of as " sanctus et Deo amabilis vir."* Symeon calls him '' sanc-
tissimus et Deo dilectus /'' and Florence of Worcester tells us
that he was a person " multse sanctitatis et humilitatis.""
Alcuin also bestows upon him no ordinary praise. A short
extract fi'om his panegyric Avill suffice : —

" Prsefuit ecclesise venerandus Bosa sacerdos,
Condignus gradiii meritis nunc temporis alto,
Vir monachus, prsesul, doctor moderatus honestus.
Quern divina sacris virtutum gratia sertis
Conipserat, et multis fecit fulgescere donis.""

Bosa ocem's in the calendar as a bishop and confessor. The
day set apart for him is Jan. 13.'"

J 0\}\\, or, as he is generally called, &t So^U of Bcbcrlcg,
is said to have been the son of noble parents/ and to have been
born at Harpham^' in the East Riding of Yorkshire. In his
youth he Avas entrusted to the care of archbishop Theodore/
who educated him, and gave to him his name of John." Sub-
sequently he became one of the pupils of Hilda, the abbess of

" Eddius,apudGale,i.,85-6. Eadmer, 211. Symeon, col. 102. Eic. of Hex-

apud Acta SS. ord. S. 13., sx'c. tert., i., ham, ibid., col. 297.

21'J. I'Videgodus, ibid., 193. » Misc. Biogr., publ. by Surtees

p Dr. Smith, the learned editor of Soc, 123.

Beda, fixes tlie dat« of his death in 687, ' X. Scr., col. 102, quoting Beda, v.,

ha\ing been misled by AV barton in the 20. " Chron., 255.

Angl. Sacra, i., 695. The error is cor- " Be SS. et Pont. Eccl. Ebor., apud

reeled in the app^ (p. 759), by the Gale, i., 718.

editor's accomplished son. The editor " Acta SS., BoUandists, where there

of Heda, in the Mon. Hist. Brit., 233, is an uninteresting life of Bosa compiled

makes a similar blunder. Florence from Beda, etc. Another day is as-

(255) saj's that he died in 708. The signed to him. Harpsfeld, 147.

mandate of poi)e John shews that he ^ Stubbs, col. 1692

wa.s ahve in 703 or 4.' Stubbs, Reg. p Lei. Coll., iv., 100. Acta SS., men.'se

Sacrum Angl., 4. Maio.

' Eddius, apud Gale, i., 82. -- Stubbs, ut supra. Bromton, ibid.,

' Beda, v., 20. Mirac. S. AVilfr., col. 794

aj.ud Acta SS. ord. S. B., sa'c. tert., i., <■ Stubbs, col. 1692.

705 718.] BISHOP JOHN OF BEVERLEY. 85

Streonshal,* " a circumstance," as Fuller observes, " which
soundeth something to her honour and nothing to his disgrace,
seeing eloquent Apollos himself learned the primar of his Chris-
tianity partly from Priseilla."'' He is claimed, also, by the uni-
versity of Oxford as her first master of arts.'^ We may conclude,
therefore, that he was a person of more than ordinary learning.

" His light," as his biographer Folcard observes, " Avas not
hid under a bushel." He soon began to preach the Gospel to
the people. He arrested their attention by his eloquence and
learning; and his holy life winged his words to their hearts.
At the same time he did not neglect his oavu scholastic studies.
Like every person of consequence and ability, he was the centre
of a circle of pupils who came to him for instruction. He was
an excellent expounder of the Scriptures, and was well versed in
history and other subjects.'' Among those who profited by his
teaching was the venerable Beda, whom he afterwards ordained.-''
It was no slight honour to have been the master of such a scho-
lar, and it was, probably, from John that Beda derived that
taste for historical pursuits which has won for him an undying
reputation.

The zeal and learning of John could not fail to attract the
attention of the Northumbrian court, and his connection with
Theodore would be sure to contribute to his advancement. King
Aldfrid was his patron,'' and through his means, in all proba-
bility, John succeeded Eata in the see of Hexham. This ap-
pointment is enveloped in some mystery, which may, perhaps,
be cleared away in the following manner. Eata died, I believe,
in the autumn of 686,^ and about the same time Wilfrid retiu'ued
into Northumbria, and was allowed to take possession of the sees
of Hexham and Lindisfarne, which were then vacant. We know
that Wilfrid was only bishop of Lindisfarne for a year,' and we
are told that John was consecrated bishop of Hexham on the

* Beda, iv., 23. Wendover, i., 107. Coll., 129. Fuller (Worthies, ii., 497)

Vita S. Begse, 57. Folcard (Acta SS.) says of him, " I remember his picture

calls him the pupil of Elfleda, at in a window in the library at Sali.sbur}',

Whitby. Stubbs (col. 1692) is also with an inscription under it, allirmin.i?

wrong in calling John's instructress hira the first master of arts at Oxford."

Elfrida. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., i., 474, It has still to be proved that there was

commits an error when he speaks of an university at Oxford at that time.

John as " AVicciorum Episcopus." ' Folcard, apud Acta SS. Stubb.s,

' Fuller's Worthies, n.e., ii., 497. col. 1092.

'' Caius de Antiq. Univ., Cant, i., / Folcard, ut supra. Triveti Annales,

106. Acta SS., ut supra, pref. Ilarri- 262. Mabillon, Acta SS., Ord. S.B.,

son's description of Britain, 158. Tvvyni socc. tert.,i., 5.'^6, ex vita Bcdse, perCeol-

Antiq., Acad. Oxon, 169. Wood's Anti(i. fridum. Lei. de Scrijjt. Brit., i., 116-18.

Univ. Oxon, i., 28, and Hist. Univ. s Lei. Col., iv.. 100. * Saxon

Oxon., iv., 37-8. His figure, as a fellow, Chron., 63. llcg. Sacrum Angl., 4.

was in one of the windows of the chapel ' Beda, iv., 29. Flor. Wigorn., 256.

at Univ. Coll. Smith's Annals of Univ. Symeon, Hist. Eccl. Dunelm., 60.

^(J FASTI EBOILVCENSES. L^-D-

25th August, 687 J It may be inferred, therefore, that Wilfrid
took possession at that time of the see of York, which was ceded
to him, voliiutarily or involuntarily, by Bosa, and that he left
tlie northern portion of the ^reat diocese of Northumbria to
John and Eadbert. With Hexham John was very well ac-
(luaiuted. For some time before he was raised to the see he had
li\i'd in an hermitage at Harneshalg or Harneshow, otherwise
caikHl P^aglesmonnt, on the Tyne,* so that the field of labour to
\\ hii'h he was noAV introduced was by no means unfamiliar to
him. He presided over the see for about eighteen years, but
we know very little of his labours and his life. At a little village
called Carnesbroc, distant a mile and a half from Hexham, on
the opposite bank of the Tyne, he consecrated a church which
Avas dedicated to St. Michael.^ To it, especially m Lent, John
was accustomed to retire to watch and pray in secret. Thither
did the needy and the sick resort, and their benefactor did not
iicdect them. We have an account of a miracle that John is
said to have worked at Carnesbroc.'"

On the death of Bosa in 705," John was translated from
Hexham to York, and Alcuin, when speaking of the new prelate
and his appointment, is by no means sparing of his praise.

" Tntcroa Bosa felioia regna petente,
Accipit ccclesiac regimen clarissimus ille
Vir pietate, fide, meritis et mente, Joliannes,
Ponlificalis apex, priscorum formula patrum,
Flumina doctrinse fundens e pectore pure.""

} The Saxon Chronicle (fi3) is the chronology.

authority for this date. Cf. ibid., 56. * Lei. Coll., iv., 100. Stubbs (col.

Dr. Smith, in his edition of Beda, v., 2, 1692) calls the place Arneshange.

and Richard of Hexham (X Scr., col. Richard of Hexham (col. 291) calls it

295), say that John became bishop of ErnSshou, and Higden (apud Gale, i.,

Hexham in 685 ; "VVendover (i., 112) ; 247), the oratory of St. Michael or Har-

Y\oT. Wigorn. (255), and Diceto (col. neshow. Higden and Richard identify

4H) put tlie !i]>])ointmcnt a year later. the oratory and the hermitage.

Richard of Hexham (col. 295) and ' Beda, v., 2. Folcard, ut supra. Lei.

Folcard (Acta SS.) say that John held Coll., iv., 100. Rich, of Hexham, (col.

Hexham for a year, and they, as well as 292) says that the church of St. Michael

Bromton (col. 794) and other authori- was begun by Wilfrid and finished by

lies, .say that he went to York in 686 or Acca. The only church at present dedi-

7, Bosa being then dead, whereas he cated to St. Michael in the neighbour-

wa.s alive in 705 (cf. Reg. Sacr. Aug., 4. hood of Hexham is that of Warden.

Lingard'sAnglo-Saxon-Church,i.,144). There is a village bearing the name of

Wm. of Malmesbury (Savile, 153) ; St. John's Lee, on the opposite bank of

Anglia Sacra, (i., 65) ; and Hist. Mon. the Tyne.

S. Aug. Cant., (279-80) say that John "• Beda, v., 2. Folcard, ut supra.
wa.s driven out of Hexham to make " Saxon Chron., 56. Fl. Wigorn.,
room for Wilfrid. The Anglia Sacra 268. Symeon, col. 76. Ric. of Hex-
says that Bosa was expelled from York ham, ibid., col. 296, who says that he
also, and Malmesbury says that John was bishop of York thirty-three years.
went from Hexham to York, i.e , from " Alcuin de SS., etc., eccl. Ebor.,
the less to the greater! Mabillon (Ann. apud Gale, i., 722, where there is an
r3cn., ii., 24) is quite at fault in the interesting life of St. John in verse.

I

705 718.] BISHOP JOHN OF BEVERLEY. 87

Of tlic good work that John did in Yorkshire we have several
pleasing memorials. I say nothing of the miraculous powers
which he is said to have possessed. It is enough to watch his
good example in the ordinai'v path of duty. With king Osi-cd''
he seems to have been a favourite. He joined with that
monarch and his nobles^ and in synod assembled they made
many wise enactments for the management of the Northumbrian
church.* John saw, also, that they were carried into effect, for
he was very diligent in visiting his monasteries and attending
to the poor. When he was asked to a banquet after the con-
secration of Burton clmrch, he uttered the noble sentiment,
"Magis episcopum decere ad monasterium redire, et Deo in suis
pauperibus servire, quam per domos divitum convivari.^^'' In
the midst of his labours he did not neglect the solitary watches
and the prayers of the recluse. His own residence in York was
adjacent to the church of St. Michael the archangel, and thither
he retired at stated periods to humble himself before God.*
There would be a charm to him in that familiar name. It would
remind him of the little oratory in which he had once prayed by
the waters of the Tyne.

Amid the many duties that waited upon his high office John
never forgot the lessons and the example of Theodore. He had
always around him a little company of pupils to whom he was
the Gamaliel. Beda indeed had left him, and was preparing
in his solitary cell the works that we still admire, but there
were others now at the feet of his old master. St. Sigga was
there, and Herebald, the abbat of Tynemouth in after years,
and at this time the companion as well as the pupil of John.
Bercthune, another of his scholars, became abbat of Beverley, and
narrated to Beda those miracles of the good bishop which the
great historian has recorded. Of Wilfrid, the pupil Avho suc-
ceeded him in the see, I shall elsewhere speak.''

Bale asserts that John was the author of the follomng works.
" Pro Luca Exponendo lib. i. HomelicC Evangeliorum, lib. i.
Ad Hyldam Abbatissam, lib. i. Ad Herebaldum Discipulum,
Epist. i. Ad Audoenum et Bertinum, Epist. ii., et alia.^^"

It is with Beverley and the East Biding of Yorkshire that
the name of John is especially connected.

" Natale solum dnlcedine cayitos

Ducit, et immemores nou sinit esse sui."

p Folcard, lit supra. Lei. Coll. iv., 100. • Folcard. Eromton, col. 791.

' and "■ Folcard, ut supra. I believe ' Folcard. Bromton, ut supra,

that this is the synod which is said to Stubbs, col. 1693. Lei. Coll., iv., 100.

have been held at Alne in 709, and " Scrijjt. Brit., cent, i., 89. Bale is

about which there is some mystery and yirobably drawing, as usual, upon his

doubt. Labbe, Concilia, vi., 1401. Spel- imagination,
manni Cone, 215.

88 FASTI EBOKACENSES. [a.D.

This was the charm that bound him to that district. Among
tho woods and lakes witli Avhich it then abounded he foimd a
villa^a- of tlic name of Indcrawood, which a later generation
changed to IJcverlcy, from the heavers that then sported in the
waters of the Hull." At that time, no doubt, it was an oasis
among the wild Avoods in which it was embosomed. A little
church was there, dedicated to the beloved disciple/ the name-
sake of the holy prelate Avho now gazed in rapture upon the scenery
aroimd him. Fascinated by what he saw, and a mighty impulse
moving him, John became the owner of the place. He added a
choir to the existing church, and converted it into a monastery.
Seven priests were placed in it with as many clerks. On the
south side of the church John erected an oratoiy, which he
dedicated to St. Martin, and made into a nunnery. Neither
was there any want of permanent endowments. The founder
l)ought and appropriated to his monastery lands in Ridings,
Welwick, Bilton and Patrington, and stimulated by so good an
exam])le, the nobles in the neighboiu'hood most generously
assisted him. One gave to him North Burton, and another the
manor of AValkington. Churches were erected, and the founda-
tions of a great ecclesiastical settlement were laid, of which
John had miich reason to be proud.-^

This noble Avork was the great effort of John^s life, and it is
natural enough that he should be attached to that place which
he had honoured and adorned. The affections always nestle
around the labour of the head and hand. Dear to John, with-
oiit doubt, would be the temples that Wilfrid had erected;
Lastingham woidd remind him of the toil and the love of Chadd,
and at Streonshal he w^ould muse Avdth affection upon his old
instructress,

" He gathers round him, and revives at will
Scenes in his life — that breathe enchantment still."

But none of these places or scenes would possess the charm
that attracted him to Inderawood. It was his own offering to
God in the coimtry of his birth. There the aged prelate could
say with Cicero, but in a far higher sense, " hie sacra, hie genus,
hie majorum midta vestigia, — Quare inest nescio quid, et latet
in animo et sensu meo, quo me plus hie locus fortasse delectet."
There he could meet with that solitude which the court and the
crowded city could never give him. There he could watch over
the infant society of which he was the founder, and, at the same

I \^\ ^°\\"' '•^■' ^^- ' Folcard, apiid Acta SS. Gaimar,

Lei. Coll., IV., 100. Sanctuar. Du- I'Estorie des Enf,des, apud Mon. Hist.

nelm. and Beverlac, publ. by Surtees Erit., 783. Lel. Coll., iv., 100-101.

^^^•' ^°- Dugdale's Mon., ii., 127.

705 718.] BISHOP JOHN OF BEVERLEY. 89

time, endeavour to reacli a higher step on the great ladder of
perfection. As each succeeding winter left its mark u])on his
brow, he would long more and more for the quiet that he had
found in his hermitage on the Tyne, and covet that rest which
the busy world denied him.

" For there the soul, released from human strife,
Smiles at the little ills and cares of life."

The desire was irresistible. In 718 he deserted the see of
York, which he had occupied since the death of Bosa, and,
nominating as his successor his old pupil Wilfrid, he retired to
spend his days among the solitude of Inderawood.J' Bercthune,
a beloved scholar, was the abbat of the monastery, and by him
he was affectionately welcomed."^ For foui' years was the aged
prelate an inmate within those walls, and then his prayers and
his watchings were concluded. On the seventh day of May, 721,
he was called away to his rest."

He was buried in St. Peter's porch,* within the chm-ch that
he loved so well,'^ and from which he is called to this day St.
John of Beverley. His remains, like those of St. Chadd, were
deposited in a feretory of wood, which was beautifully carved.''
In 1037 he was solemnly canonized at Rome by Benedict IX.,
and in that year archbishop Alfric removed his bones, and de-
posited them in a precious shrine which was radiant with gold,
and silver, and jewels.* The care of the pious archbishop was
fruitless, for the shrine was, probably, destroyed or lost in the
fire by which the church of Beverley was consumed in Sep-
tember, 1187. Five years after this John's remains were dis-
covered, and deposited in another place. In 1664-, whilst a grave
was being dug, the ashes of the Saint were found in a case of

y Saxon Chron., 56. Flor. Wigorn., says of him,
272. Beda, v., 6. Alcuin de SS., etc.,

apud Gale, i. , 724. Folcard, apud Acta " celurki^isfrBeverli ''''°'''
SS. Symeon, col. 76. Eic. of Hexham,

ibid., 296. * Folcard, apud Acta SS., says that

- Bromton, col. 794. he was buried " in portion S. Joh.

" Beda, v., 6. Saxon Chron., 63, hav- Evang."

ing been a bishop thirty-three years, ^^ Beda, v., 6. Saxon Chron., 63.

eight months, and thirteen days. Wen- Folcard, ut supra. Higden, ajiud

dover, i., 135. Folcard, apud Acta SS. Gale, i., 247. Eic. of Hexham, col.

Liber Vitai Dunelm., ed. Snrtees Soc, 296. HickesiiDissert. Ep., 118. Stubbs,

143, in which St. John's name is en- col. 1693. Lei. Coll., iv., 34, 80.

tered in golden letters (7). Higden, Dugdale's Mon., ii., 166. Capgravo

apud Gale, i., 247. Stubbs, col. 1693. and others are wrong when they say

Bromton, col. 794, who says that he that John Avas buried at Sarum. Cf.

was bishop of York twenty-three years. Twyni Autiq. Acad. Oxon., 169.

Chron. Petrib (5) says he died in 722. '' Stubbs, ut supra, col. 1700.

Lei. Coll., iv., 101. 'Gaimar, I'Estorio ' Stubbs, ut supra. Lei. Coll., iv.,

des Engles, apud Mon. Hist. Brit., 785, 102.

(j() FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

lead, and were re-interred by the order of the archbishop of the
day/ Thev were aj^ain broiifrht to lijiht in 1736.^

' A'erv g^'rcat Mas the sanctity of that shrine in the days of
old ; many pilj?rimaf(es were made to it, and many miracles are
said to have been wrought through the agency of St. John.*
^Vith the exception of Cuthbert of Durham, no Northern Samt
was regarded with more veneration than St. John of Beverley.
Mystenous virtues are said to have proceeded from his shrine,
anil a holy oil to have flowed from his tomb.* The fame of
Beverley and its Saint attracted the attention of king Athelstan,
who, like David of Scotland, Avas "ane soir sanct for the crown.''
"When he was on his way to Scotland he is said to have gone to
Beverley to obtahi the* assistance of St. John, promising his
church niany privileges and gifts if he were successful, and
leaving behind him his "cultellum"' as a pledge that he would
redeem.-'

" He went to Beverlay
And praied to the bishop Jon in fertre wher he lay,
That he wild bede his bone, imtille the Trinite,
And he suld gyve his kirke franchise and fe,
To haf and to holdo als he was kyng leall."*

The monarch carried with him into Scotland the banner of St.
John, and success attended him. I pass over the marvellous
story of the sword, which reminds us of the adventure of king
Arthur. On his return to England the victor did not forget his
promise. He fomided at Beverley a college of secular canons,
adding to the old endownnent divers lands in Lockington and
Brandesburton.^ He gave it, also, among other rights, the pri-
vilege of sanctuary, which the church of Beverley enjoyed until

f Dugdale's Vis" of Tks., ed. Sur- oil which is now observed to gush from
tees Soc, 22, where a long account of the tomb more largely and abundantly
the discover}' is given. Thoresby's tlian usual, for the healing of all faith-
Diary, ii., 43 i. Anth. a Wood's Life, ful worshippers." The monks of Mean x
ed. BHss., liO. Camden's Brittannia, had some of this oil in an ampul.
». c, iii., 325. Poulson's Beverlac, 666. (Poulson's Holderness, ii., 313). Cap-

«■ Poulson's Beverlac, 681. grave's Nova Legenda. Harpsfeld, Hist.

* Bcda, v., 2-6. Alcuin de SS. Angl., 147-8, where there is a short

Ebor., apud Gale, i., 723-4. Wen- account of St. John. Twyni Antiq.

dover, i., 135. Folcard, Liber Vitoc, Acad. Oxon., 170.

cd. Surtees Soc, 143. Hist. Mon. S. i Folcard, apud Acta SS. Sanctuar.

Aug. Cant., 280. Scala Chronica, 6, Dunelm. et Beverlac, ed. Surtees

210. Ric of Hexham, col. 291-2. Soc, 98. Triveti Annales, 321. Ail-

Bromton, col. 794. Stubbs, col. 1692-3. red, col. 356-7. Bromton, col. 838.

liol. Coll., iv., 100, etc Capgrave's Cart. Domus S. Leon. Ebor., MS.,

Nova Legenda SS., 189-91. Cotton., Nero D., iii., ha. Higden,

' On June 14, 1413, Archbishop apud Gale, i., 262. Lei. Coll., iv.,

Ken-pe granted an indulgence of 100 100-101. Rymer's Fsedera, i., 771-2.

days to those who visit the tomb, * Peter Langtoft'sChrou., 29. Chron.

" which is now very famous, especially Petrib., 28. In 938.

for the very healthftd supply of sweet ' Acta SS. Lei. Coll., iv., 101-2.

705 — 718.] BISHOP JOHN OF BEVERLEY. 91

the Reformation.'" The words in which these grants were made
have been handed down by tradition : —

" Als fre make I thee
As hert may thenk
Or eghe may see."

I find them mentioned in a confirmation of the privileges of the
chm'ch which was made by Henry IV.," and yon may still see
them on a tablet in Beverley minster under a portrait of Athel-
stan, which it is unnecessary to describe. The canons would be
glad to preserve a memorial of the monarch who regarded St.
John " as his tutelar Saint,"" and the piety of Athelstan was
duly recited in the legend.^

The example of Athelstan was copied by other kings who
were glad to honour the Saint, and to confirm the chartered pi-i-
vileges of his town. Edward the Confessor was a benefactor to
the minster. William the Conqueror and Stephen were pre-
vented, it is said, by miraculous interference, from plundering
its lands, and William became its patron.? John visited the
town and added to its privileges, but not without a befitting
consideration for his generosity.'' Edward I. carried with him
the banner of the Saint, as a talisman, to the wars in Scotland,
and made his offerings at the tomb at Beverley on more occa-
sions than one.^ Henry IV. came to Beverley and confirmed
its priA^leges,' but it was his son, Henry V., who paid the
greatest honour to St. John. The victory of Agincoui't was
won on the 25th of October, the day on which the translation
of the remains of the Saint was commemorated, and the monarch
attributed his success to St. John''s intercession." He shewed
his gratitude by making a pilgrimage to the shrine Avith his
queen." But he did more than this. It was probably at the
desire of Henry that archbishop Chicheley wrote, on Dec. 16,
1416, to the bishop of London, requesting that in consequence
of the great victory, the day of St. John's burial, i. e., the 7th
of May, should be observed with due state and ceremony, "cum
*regimine chori, ad modum festi unius confessoris et pontificis."

"' Folcard. Lei. Coll., iv., 101. The ' Liber Garderolw, 27. The king

register of the sanctuary has been ma^le his offerings at the tomb, " ii1)i

published by the Surtees Society. S. Joh. prima se])eliebatur." Triveti,

" Fsedera, viii., 369. Codex Dipl., Ann., 321. Langtoft, ii., 303.

ii., 186. " Weever's Funerall "Befor Saynt Jon ho woke a nyght or lie

Monuments, 181. Sanctuar Bev., ed. t'lein nam."

Surtees Soc, 98. ' FcX-dera, viii., 369.

/" Triveti, Ann., 321. Lei. Coll., iii., " Fiicdera, ix., 421. Sir Harris

4. Capgrave's Nova Legenda. Nicolas' ace' of Agincourt, 176. Dugd.,

? Acta SS. Lei. Coll., iv., 102-3. Men., ii., 166.

"■ Poulson's Beverlac, 63, 537. " Poulson's Beverlac, 595.

9.2 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

The honours of Oct. 25 ^vcre shared with SS. Crispin and
Crispiuian.'"

A life of St. John has heen written more than once. His
jjrincipal biograplicr was Folcard, a monk of Canterbury, who
wrote his work in the elevcntli century at the request of Aldred,
ar('hl)ishop of York, to Avhom he dedicated his book.* It is
pi-iuted in extenso by the Bollandists in their Acta SS., under
the 7th of May; ami it may also be found, in an abridged form,
with another short life by a nameless author, in the great work
of ]\Ial)illou.i' The narrative of Folcard is meagre and unin-
teresting, and is evidently the production of a person who knew
little of his subject. Subjoined to Folcard^s life is a collection
of the miracles ascribed to St. John, some of which were written
down by William Kecel, a clerk of Beverley. I believe him to
be identical with Asketyll, who is said to have compiled a life
of St. John.^ Leland, in his Collectanea, gives extracts from
two lives of St. John." The first is that by Folcard. The
latter, which is by an anonymous author, is divided into three
l)arts, and contains much interesting information. There is a
brief accomit of him in Capgrave's Nova Legenda SS.°

ilfritl d., or Junior, as he is called, to distinguish him

from his illustrious namesake. He was a favourite pupil of
John, who resigned the bishoj)rie of York in his favour, when old
age had rendered him unequal to the duties of the office.''

"■ FsDdera, ix.,421. Du?d., Mon., ii., Fibroleganus. Wright's Biogr. Lit., i.,

Ifi6. Preface to Folcard's life in Acta 231.

SS. Lyndewode's Provinciale, fol. 57, = Vossius de Hist. Latinis, 514.

cd. 1501, and more at lcn;,4h in the " Acta SS. ord. S. Ben., ed. 1734,

app" to the ed. of 1679, p. 70. socc. iii., i., 410-13.

' The tran.script which the Bollan- <• Lei. Coll., iv., 99-104.

di.><t.s u.*ed, wa.s sent from En>rland by a * Fol., 189-91, ed. 1516. A short

person of the name of Leander Prichart. ace' in Smith's Flores Hist. EccL,

Other copies of the MS. are in Eng- 118. Pitseus, 122. My friend, Mr.

land, viz., inter MSS. Cotton., Faustina Stubbs, informs me that there are some ^

B., IV., 156-78. Otho, C. 16, and MS. extracts from an unpublished Ufe of St.

Harl., 560. A copy \va,s recently sold John among the Wharton MSS., in

at the dispersion of the Savile MSS. the library at Lambeth,

for £-81, a very large sum wiien we re- '■ Eeda, v., 6. Alcuin de Pont. Ebor.

nu-mber the uninteresting character of apud Gale, i., 724. Saxon Chron., 56^

the MS., and that it is already in print. Flor. Wigorn., 272. Folcardi, Vita S

Loland saw a copy in the library of St. Job., apud Acta SS., mense Maio

Marys, lork (Coll., iv., 37). There is Symeon, col. 78. Stubbs, coh 1694

another among the Parker MSS., A. who calls him St. John's chaplain.

ii(l.at). bee \ossms de Historicis Higden, apud Gale, i., 247. Mabillon.

Lalinis, 377. Oudinus de Script. Eccl., Ann. Ben., i., 474, where he is said to

"«' A ,V ''"'^- ^,? Script. Brit., i., have been one of Hilda's pupils. Ibid.,

/8, under the uncouth name of Joannes ii., 50. Harpsfeld 148

718 732.] BISHOP WILFRID II. 93

Before this Wilfrid had been the vice-dominus, or abbas, of tlie
monastery at York, the bishop himself being the domiiuis or
ruler. Wilfrid gave to the church of York several noble gifts,
furnishing the altar Avith sacred vessels, and covering it aiul the
crosses with plates of silver gilt. He was munificent, also, to
other churches, and he seems to have attended diligently to his
episcopal duties.'^ AVilfrid is said to have sanctioned the accusa-
tion that was brought against Beda, of promidgating heretical
opinions in his treatise, De sex cetatibus mundi, and the historian
made against him the counter- charge of indulging to excess in
the luxiu'ies of the table.* The words of Alcuin are probably
corroborative of the testimony of Beda, when he says,

" Hos mentes dapibus, illos sed carnis alebat :
Hos fovet setheriis, illos carnalibus auget."./'

The poet, however, speaks in laudatory terms of Wilfrid's
energy and goodness. There is some difference of opinion
among the historians as to the year in which he vacated the see,
but the difficulty is removed by the following passage, which
some modern writers have overlooked.

" At sua facta bonus postquam compleverat ille
Pastor in ecclesiis, specialia septa petivit,
Quo servire Deo tota jam mente vacaret :
Contemplativse seseque per omnia vitse
Dans, mundi varias curasque reliquit inaues."«^

It thus appears that Wilfrid followed the example of his old
master, John, and devoted the last portion of his life to solitude
and prayer. He took this step in 732,* the year in which lie is
said to have died, but the closing scene was deferred until the
29th of April, 744;^ or 745. -^ What the "specialia septa'' were
to which he retired it is impossible to say. The dignitaries of
York, in after times, asserted that he was interred at Bipon, and
that archbishop Odo carried away his remains, and not those of
his more illustrious namesake, from that church to Canterbury.*

"^ Alcuin, apud Gale, i., 724. ed. 1777, vol. i., xvi.

' Bedse Epist. ad Ecgbertum, ed. ' Saxon Chron., 67, he havini,' been

Smith, 306. Vita S. Beda3, inter Acta bishop of York thirt}^ ivinters. Flor.

SS. ord. S. B., ssec. tert., i., 548. App'' Wigorn., 272. Higden, apud Gale, i.,

to Smith's Beda, 802. 249. jMabillon (Ann. Ben., ii., 21) puts

^ Alcuin, apud Gale, i., 725. the depositio of S. Wilfr. (/.e., jun.) on

s Ibid. Smith's Beda, 315. 8 kal. June. AVendover, i., 145, makes

* The year in which Egbert came Wilfrid die in 743.

to the see. Hoveden (Savile, 231) says J Symeon, col. 104. Chron. de

that Wilfrid died in that year, and he Mailros, 4. Addit. ad Bedam, ed.

is followed by Mr. Stubbs' in his Eeg. Smith, 224.

Sacr. Angl. Symeon (col. 78) says that * Anglia Sacra, i., 66. Hist. IMon.

Wilfrid was bishop for fifteen years. S. Aug. Cant., 281. Malmesbury de

Hen. of Huntingdon (Savile, 195 b) Pont., apud Savile, 153.

says for ten. Cf. Prooem. ad op. Alcuini,

Qj^ FASTI EBOKACENSES. [a.D.

1- admrr. however, maintains that his hones were carried away
from Kipon to Worcester hy the celebrated Oswald.

~0 tjljfrt was the son of Eata, and a member of the royal family
of Nortluimbria. He was fii'st cousin to king Ceolwulf, the
" most glorious Ceol^-ulf/' to whom Beda dedicates his history.'"

" Regali stirpe creatus,
Nobilium coram seclo radice parentum.""

The youthful noble was sent by his father to a monastery to
receive his education. After awhile he went to Rome, with his
brother Ecgrcd, to extend and complete his studies, and there he
was admitted into deacon's orders. His brother ha^'ing died at
Rome, Egbert returned into Northumbria.^

In 732 Wilfrid resigned the bishopric of York, and Egbert
was appointed by Ceolwulf to succeed him.^ The selection was
an excellent one. By his learning Egbert was peculiarly fitted
for that high office, and his noble blood would add greatly to
his influence with the coiu't and people. Soon after he was
raised to the see of York, Beda, Avho was now di'awing towards
the close of his pilgrimage, wi'ote a long letter to him filled with
sensible advice as to the management of his diocese. It gives
us an admirable pictiu'c of what, in the opinion of the ^-riter,
were the duties of a Christian bishop, and sets vividly before us
tlie condition of the Northern chm*ch.

In the first place, the great historian recommends Egbert to
illustrate personal teaching by personal holiness ; to give to study
and contemplation the hours that many waste in idle conversa-
tion, and to eschew the society of useless and worldly com-
panions. He then advises him to ordain a larger number of
priests to teach and administer the sacraments in the villages,

' Anglia Sacra, ii., 206. The in- with regard to this passage. He makes

pcription stated that they were the Eata the bishop and not the prince,

bones of Si. Wilfrid. Wilfrid II. was Mabillon (Ann. Ben., ii., 94) falls into

never canonized. The evidence is most the same mistake, and so does Mr.

conflicting, and " adhuc sub judice lis "Wright (Biogr. Brit. Lit., i., 297).

est." p See Wilfrid's life. The Saxon

"• Saxon Chron., 66. SjTiieon, Hist. Chron. makes the date 734 (66). Flor.

Eccl. Dunelra., 83, 84. Wigorn. puts it in 744, " archiepisco-

" Alcuin de SS. Eccl. Ebor., apud patus insigni sublimatus" (272). Cf.

Gale, i., 725. Earonii Ann., ix., 110. Wendover

' Syraeon, Hist. Eccl. Dunelm., 83. (i., 144) makes the date 743. Addit.

" A patre Eata in monasterium tra- ad Bedam (Smith, 223) make the date

ditus est." Dr. Smith, in a note to his 732.
edition of Beda, 312, commits an error.

I

732 766.] ARCHBISHOP EGBERT. 95

and also to translate the Creed and the Lord's Prayer out of the
.Latin into the Saxon tongue, as well for the use of the listeners
as for those who officiate in the chnrehes. Beda, in the next
plaee, expresses his wash that the episcopate should be extended.
There are many places, he says, among the woods and hills of
Northumbria, that a bishop has never visited for years, although
all are regularly taxed for his support. This disinclination for
subdivision was to be ascribed to the pride and avarice of the
prelates themselves. Against the evils which necessarily resulted
from such a system, there was an adequate remedy in the in-
junction of the pious and forecasting Gregory that there should
be twelve bishops in the Northern province, and Beda begs his
friend to secure for himself the pall, and to obtain the permis-
sion of king Ceonwulf to carry this recommendation into eft'ect.
Several of the larger monasteries could be converted with ad-
vantage into the residence of a bishop. From this point Beda
passes on to the corruptions Avitli which these religious institu-
tions were filled, and the urgent necessity for reform. They
were hotbeds of the grossest vice; no rule or discipline was
observed in them, and luxury and excess, of every kind, were
rife within their walls. Ever since the days of Aldfrid it had
been the common practice, not only of persons of distinction,
but of officers of the com-t, to obtain grants of land for tlie
purpose of founding a monastery ; and, when it was established,
and freed, in this way, from secular jm'isdiction, it was merely
converted into the residence of the founder with his family and
friends, who had nothing of religion but the cloak. The whole
diocese, as Beda said, was fidl of disorder and corruption, and
it woidd require all the determination and skill of a bold
reformer to suppress them.!? The existence of several of these
evils in the Northern province is mentioned with regret in
a letter that was addressed to Egbert by the pious and energetic
Boniface.''

These warnings and suggestions were not lost upon Egbert.
His first endeavour was to obtain the pall, which was given to
him by Gregory III. at Rome, in 735. He thus became the
second archbishop of York. More than a century had cla})sed
since Paulinus fled into Kent, carrying his pall with him, and
no one since that time had sought for the lost honour, a neglect
which was made, in after years, a strong argument for the pre-

' Bedse, Epist ad Ecgberctum an- Spelmanni Cone, 232, 237. Tn MS.

tistitem., ed. Smith, 305-12. Mabillon, Cotton., Vesp. A., xiv., among many

Ann. Ben., ii., 97-8. Acta SS. ord. of Alcuin's letters, is said to be one

S. B., soDC. tert., i., 548-9. from Paul the First, " ad Ethberklum

*■ Bonifacii Epist., apud Bibl. Max. Archiepiscopum et Eadberhtum filiiim

Patrnm, xiii., 73, 106. Baronii Ann., regis." Cf. Wilkias' Concilia, 1.,

ix., 110. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., ii., 101. 144.

96 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

cctlcncc of Caiiterl)ury, when the famous controversy arose
between the two metropolitan sees/ When Egbert thiis became
archbishop lie stepped at once into a commanding position, and
every bishop in the Northern province was made his suffragan.
In 7;38 his hands were still farther strengthened. In that year
his brother ]']adbcrt mounted the Northrmibrian thi'one, and the
protection of the state was thereby assured to the archbishop.
lie could now act with authority and decision. It is impossible
to say to what extent he carried out the reforms which Beda
and Boniface recommended, but, at all events, it is certain that
he was diligent in his duties.^ The books that he wrote shew
that he had the interests of his diocese at heart, and if he took
so much pains to commit to wri*^ing a system of discipline and
ecclesiastical rule, Ave may safely infer that he would do his best
to see that they were properly observed. All the works of
Egbert seem to presuppose the existence of a regular clerical
organization, and as he occupied the throne of Paulinus, with
such commanding influence, for above thirty years, he would
have time enough to see the system in full play. Alcuin ac-
quaints us with his piety and energy." He is said to have been
the first prelate who possessed a mint at York." He paid great
attention to the services and music of his church, introducing
the observance of the liours. He was, also, a benefactor to the
fabric of the minster, bestowing upon his cathedral the choice
work of the jeweller and the goldsmith, and giving to it figured
curtains of silk of foreign workmanship.'" He was, in all pro-
bal)ility, the first introducer of the parochial system into the
North. His works were of great repute in the Anglo-Saxon
church. They comprise a Pontifical,-^ or a series of special oflEices
for the use of a bishop, a volume of Excerptiones, or extracts
from the Fathers and canons on matters of discipline,-^ a Dialogue

' Saxon Chron., 66. Addit. ad 725. Hist. Mon. S. Aug. Cant., 281.

Bedani, cd. Smith, 224. Chron. de " Da\ies on the York Mint, 3.

Maiiros, 3. Wcndover, i., 145 (in •" Alcuin, apud Gale, i., 725.

745) Symeon, col. 100. Stubbs, col. ' Published for the first time by the

1697. Chron., J. AVallingford, apud Surtees Society, from a MS. in the

Gale, i., 529. Higden, ibid., i., 249. Imperial Library at Paris, which for-

Hoveden, apud Savile, 230, J.— "Caeteri merly belonged to the church of Evreux.

c-piscoi.i inter Paulinum et Egbertum Tt has been reprinted by the monks of

nichil altius quam simplicis episcopi Solesmes (Sarthe) in their Spicilegium.

yocabulo anhelaruut." Anglia Sacra, There are some extracts from it in

1., 66. llist. Mon. S. Aug. Cant., 281. Martene de Ant. Eccl. Kit., t. ii., lib.

Bonifacii Epist., apud Bibl. Max. ii., c. xiii. The peculiarities of the

Patrura, xui., 73. Malmesbury, apud Pontifical are pointed out in Mr.

Savile, 12 h., 153. Maskell's Monumenta Ritualia.

'Alcuin, apud Gale, i., 723. Addit. * Printed entire in Thorpe's Ancient

ad I itnitentialc Egberti, in Laws, etc., Law.s and Institutes of England, ii.,

ol England, u., 233-5. 326-42, and, partially, in Wilkins' Con-

" Alcuin de SS. Ebor., apud Giile, i., cilia, i., 101-12. Labbe, Cone. vi.

735 766.] ARCHBISHOP EGBERT. 97

de Ecclesiastica Institutione ;- a Confession ale" and a Pieniten-
tiale/ the two latter works boinji" in the native as well as in the
Latin tongue, and for an ohvions reason. Other treatises are
also ascribed to him.'^ Egbert seems to have studied deeply,
and to have borrowed much from the "OTitings of his prede-
cessors, especially from those of Theodore. Everything that
he has done shcAVs that he was a rigid disciplinarian. Some of
his rules are severe to an excess, some of his penances arc
fi'ightful. His ideal of a faithful Christian must have been
something far too high to be attained by frail erring man.
And yet we cainiot doubt his sincerity and earnestness. A
person who would commit to writing such minute directions for
moral conduct and mental control Avas a man of more than
ordinary powers. That heart must indeed have been crucified
itself before it could thus teach others how to crucify the
world. The enemy of all must have been battered down by
long vigils and tears in the closet and in the desert. And
having won the victory at length, that heart could shew others,
yea, all, how to strive and conquer. An ennobled purity seems
to envelop it ; it reposes in the still light of holiness, but it is
the brightness that siuTOunds an angel.

There are other reasons, besides his literary labours, which
entitle Egbert to the gratitude of posterity. He is said to have
been the founder of the celebrated school of York and of the
library connected Avith it.'' There was no nobler place of edu-
cation at that time in England. The renoAvn of the scholars
and their master was mentioned with delight among the Paladins

col. 1586—1604. Spelman's Cone, bridge. Cf. Wanle}', ii., 109. Leland

258-80. There is a manuscript in found another in the library at Sarum

MSS. Harl., 438; another, once be- (Itin, iii. t)2). See Oudinus, ut supra,

longing to the church of Worcester, and Leland, De Script. Brit., i., 114, and

in the library of C. C. C, Cambridge. Wright, 305. Fuller (Ch. Hist., bk.

Cf. Wanley, ii., 109. Mabillon, Ann. ii., 101) is anything but compHmentary

Ben., ii., 210-11. Oudinus, i., 1796. about the tendency of these works.

"" Ancient Laws and Institutes of '^ Sc. " Eruditiones Discipulorum,

England, ii., 87-96. Bedic, Ep. Labbe, lib. i. Homelia; et Lcctioncs, lib. i.

Concilia, vi., col. 1604-11. Wilkins, i., Ad Eoclesiarum Pastores, lib. i. Ad

82-6. Leland found a copy in MS. in Zachariam pro Pallio, epist. i. Ad

the library at Sarum (Itin., iii., 92). Eadbertum fratrem, regem, epist. i.

There is one in MS. in MSS. Cotton., Ad Atinium diaconum, epist. i^lures,

Vitelhus, A, xii. See Oudinus, i-, 1796. etc. (15alo, Script. Brit., cent, ii.,

Lei. de Script. Brit., i., 114. 109.) I'itseus, 153-4; a most inaccu-

° Ancient Laws and Institutes of rate writsr.

England, ii., 128-69. There is a copy in '' Iligden, apud Gale, i., 249. Lei.

MS. in MSS. Harl., 438. See Oudinus. Coll., iii., 259. Alcuini Op., ed.,

'' Ancient Laws and Institutes of 1777, prooem. to vol. i., xvi. Baronius,

England, ii., 170—239. Extracts from ix., 338. Sraithi Flores Hist. Eccl.,

it, sub nomine Bedsc, in Labbe, vi., 153. There is a long account of Eg-

col. 1611-19, and Spelman, 281-8. bert's literary labours in Oudinus, i.,

Wilkins, i., 113-44. There is a MS. 1796. Cave, Hist. Lit., 486. Cf. Harps-

of it in the library of C. C. C, Cam- feld, 148. Lei. Script. Brit., i., 114,

H

1)8

FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

of Charlemagne/ Beda, in his cell of Jarrow, rejoiced to hear
of the good work which was being done at York, and longed to
throw aside the infirmities of age, that he might pay another
visit to his illustrious diocesan/ From all parts of Europe
youths of noble birth foimd their way to the seat of the Northern
jprimacy to be taught by the prince-bishop.^ Egbert himself
was the moderator of the school, and Albert was the vice-
dominus or abbas, the former giving lessons in divinity, the
latter in grammar and in the arts and sciences/' The reputation
of one of Egbert's scholars is enough to rescue his name from
oblivion. It was no slight honour to have cultivated the tastes
and fostered the genius of Alcuin.*

In the life of Alcuin there is an interesting description of the
daily work of his master in the monastery of York whenever his
attention was not distracted by weightier and more important
matters. The cares of his diocese would occupy of course the
first place. " As soon as he was at leisure in the morning he
sent for some of the youug clerks, and sitting on his couch
taught them successively till noon, at which time he retired to
his private chapel and celebrated mass. After dinner, at which
he ate sparingly, he amused himself with hearing his pupils
discuss literary questions in his presence. In the evening he
recited with them the service of complin, and then calling them
in order, he gave his blessing to each as they knelt in suc-
session at his feet.''-'

The pen of Alcuin was not dipped in gall when he spoke of
his instructor. The verse may haply be uncouth, but it cannot
conceal the affection of the writer.^ He tells us of the learning
of Egbert, of the suavity of his manner, of his gentleness and
goodness. Stern he could be where a rebuke was merited, and
yet who was more lo^dng or beloved ? Alcuin could descend from
the height to which his own surpassing genius had raised him,
and speak of his old teacher Avith the aifectionate humility of a
child. That is no slight tie which binds the scholar to his
master. It will be long before I forget mine, although those
once observant eyes are closed, and that well-remembered voice
is still.

Towards the close of his life Egbert seems to have resigned

' Hist. Mon. S. Auf^. Cantnar., 281. 1V77, i., Ixi.-iii. Mabillon, Acta SS.

Malmesbury.apudSavile, 12, b. Higden, Ord. S. B., sjec. iv., 148. Lei. Coll., hi.,

apud Gale, i., 250. Lei. Coll., iii., 259. 259. Baronii Ann., ix., 338. Lei. de

/ Bedsc Epist. ad Egbertum, ed. Script. Brit., i., 121.

Smith, 305. i Lingard, i., 98. Vita Alcuini, apud

^ Vita Alcuini, procem. ad Op., ed., Acta SS. ord S. B. ssec. iv., i., 149.

1777, i., Ixi. * Alcuin, ap. Gale, i., 725. Malmes-

*Lorenz, Life of Alcuin, 9. hmy, apud Savile, 12, J. Mabillon,

' Vita Alcuini, proa;m. ad Op., ed., Ann. Ben., ii., 94.

735 — 766.] ARCHBISHOP Egbert. 99

the management of his school to Albert and Alcuin.' It could
be in no better hands. He himself had weightier matters to
attend to now. Tranquil must have been his life within the
walls of his monastery at York, happier far than if he had tarried
in his father's court. And noAV, when the heat of the day was
over, there was the contemplation of the future left to him ;
there was also the remembrance of the past, and to him in his
declining years there would be pleasure in the retrospect. " Est
enim quiete, et pure, et eleganter actee aitatis placida ac lenis
senectus." Whilst the aged prelate was watching in his cloister,
his brother Eadbert was on the Northumbrian throne, and amid
the cares of royalty he would envy the peacefalness of that life
which the archbishop had adopted. He would see him resign-
ing his scholastic duties to prepare himself for a very dift'erent
scene ; and then the monarch would muse upon those startling
thoughts which a later poet so beautifully moulded into verse.

" The glories of our birth and state
Are shadows, not substantial things ;
There is no armour against fate ;

Death la3's his icy hand on kings :
Sceptre and crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor humble scythe and spade."

Was he ready for the change which even he was to expect ?
He voluntarily laid aside his honours, and, taking the tonsure
like his micle Ceonwulf, entered his brother's monastery in 757.
to spend with him in quietude and prayer the remainder of his
days.'" It was a sight worthy of an exalted age. The remnant
of their earthly lives was devoted to Him " who seeth in secret,"
and ere long they passed into His presence. The archbishop
was summoned first, on the 19tli November, 766, having been
the ruler over his see for thirty-four winters." His brother
followed him on the 19tli August, 768." They were laid side by
side in one of the porches or chapels in the cathedral of York.-p

' Alcuini opera, ed., 1777., prooera. of Huntingdon, apud Savile, 196, b.

to vol. i., xxii. Lorenz, Life of Al- Hoveden, ibid., 231, h. Chron. Petrib.,

cuin, 10. Malmesbury de Pont., apud 8. Symeon, Hist. Eccl. Uunelm., 81.,

Savile, 153, b. where he is said to have been bishop

"■ Saxon Chron., 72, Wendover, i., thirty-two years. Mabillon, Ann. Bon..

149. Wallingford's Chron., apud Gale, ii., 210-11. Wendover, i., 151, says

i., 529. Chron. Petrib., 7. Baronii that Egbert died in 767, and that Ean-

Ann., ix., 119. bald succeeded him. Addit. ad Bcdam,

" Some writers say that he was bis- ed. Smith, 224, make the date 766.

hop thirty-six winters. Sax. Chron., " Saxon Chron., 74.

74. Flor. Wigorn. (276) gives the 14 p Alcuin, apud Gale, i., 725. Saxon

Cal. as the day of his death. Symeon, Chron., 66. Malmesbury, apud Savile,

col. 106. Chron. de Mailros, 7. Hen. 153. S^Tneon, Hist. Eccl. Dunelm., 83.

n 2

!()() FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Fuller, therefore, is slightly incorrect when he says, " In that
age tlie greatest princes and prelates their corpses came no
nearer than the church-porch ; though in after ages the bodies
of meaner persons were admitted into the church, and buried
therein."* I camiot but call to mind the directions which good
bishop Hall gave in his last vnW to his executors, " My body,"
lie savs, "I leave to be interred a^ ithout any funeral pomp, with
this only monition, that I do not hold God's house a meet re-
pository for the dead bodies of the greatest saints."''

J^iX^iXX, who succeeded Egbert in the archbishopric, was the
son of parents of influence and rank/ He was educated in the
monastery of York, where he was soon regarded as a youth of
no ordinary ability. Egbert the prince-bishop was his kins-
man, and the ties of blood, which at that time were valued and
regarded, would link the two together; but they had another
bond of union, afar nobler one than the accident of birth, — in the
fascinating tastes Avhich they both cultivated and enjoyed. With
what i)leasure and affection would the prelate look down upon
the youthful scholar ! Hoav delightful to watch the spreading
of those radiant fires of genius which he had himself enkindled V
He marked Albert out for a career of usefulness and distinction.
He raised him in course of time to the priesthood. He associ-
ated him with himself in the charge of his pupils, making him
the master of the schools, and also the defensor cleri. It is not
exactly known what were the duties of this officer. In all pro-
bability he was the abbas or vice-dominus, who has been already
mentioned, and, therefore, the superintendent of the clergy
within the walls of the monastery, if not beyond them.

Lei. Coll., iii., 259. Gaimar, I'Estorie apud Savile, 196 h. S^Tneon, De Arch,
(les Engles, apud Mon. Hist. Brit., 785. Ebor., col. 78. Stubbs, ibid., 1697.

" Ecberith Entinc out nun son frcre ; ^H^?'*''?,' -'^"'^- ^^^•' ^ 211,212.

Arcevesque ert, c gentii ere. Albert s name IS not inserted among

Ambcdcus gisent, pies a pres, the archbishops of York by Malmes-

A Everwich, a portices." fcury, nor is it in the Hist. Mon. S.

1 Church History, book ii., 101. ^^^^- Cantiiar. Hen. Huntingdon in-

*■ Winstanley's Worthies, 358. ''^^ts his name and then contradicts

' For this memoir the poem of Alcuin himself,

de SS. et Pontificibus Ebor. is the chief Albert consecrated Frithwald bp. of

authority (Gale, i., 727, etc.) Hexham at York, and Ethelbert to the

Albert's name is variously spelt. I ^^™® ^^^ ^" '^'^^- Saxon Chron., 73, 76.

find aim called Ethelbert, Adalbert, Huntingdon, apud Savile, 191 b.

Edbert and Albert, alias Csena. Saxon ' " Pontifieique comes Ecgbert conjunctus

Chron., 71. Tl. Wigorn., 276. Liber ^ . =iti''a=«'t.

Vitce Eccl. Dunelm., 7. Huntingdon, ^"' prnquusr^"'""" ^'"" ^"^' '^'■"

766 782.] ARCHBISHOP ALBERT. 101

The renown of the school of York was spread at this time
through the greater part of Europe. Egbert had l)uilt it up,
and it was a triumph to the genius of Albert to be al)lc to in-
crease it. It was a noble work that these two illustrious scholars
were then doing. Egbert, indeed, when Albert became his
assistant, merely gave instruction in the New Testament, but
Albert explained the Old Testament, and gave lessons generally
in the arts and sciences. He led his numerous scholars into a
wide field of learning — grammar, rhetoric, law, poetry, astro-
nomy and natui'al philosophy. And not onh* was he the master
of such stores of erudition, but he had the happy power of im-
parting them to others. He was able at the same time to com-
municate and evoke. Wherever there was the slightest ray of
genius, however tremulous and feeble, he could detect and
strengthen it. His pupils, also, could love their instructor whilst
they admired his learning. Fascinating he was and affectionate,
with a winning kindliness of manner that entwined itself aromid
the hearts of all. There have been many like him since who
have sacrificed their very lives for others, and for the sacred
cause that they have striven to advance. The busy world has
too often marked them only to censure the modest tastes that
shnuik from its follies, and to sneer at a disposition which it could
neither appreciate nor understand. Neglected or unobserved,
those teachers of the young, the thinker and the scholar, have
gone down to their graves in silence, liAdng only in the hearts of
those who have drunk in from their lips the lesson of their
lives. There is a day coming on which men of genius and learn-
ing shall emerge from the darkness in which posterity has buried
them, to witness a strange cancelling of opinions and reversing
of degrees. How often in this world has the fame of a great
man been rescued from oblivion by an accident or a chance ! If
there had been no Alcuin, we should have known, perhaps,
nothing of the toil and work of Albert !

Alcuin was Avithout doubt the greatest scholar of his age,
and one of the brightest stars in the Anglo-Saxon church. He
was a native of York, and a pupil in the school of Egloert. We
have already seen how he loved and venerated his master. To
Albert he was bound by the closest ties of affectionate regard.
He was his companion and his friend as well as his pupil. Alcuin
became an assistant in the school," and subsequently, Avlien ele-
vated to the see, Alljert appointed him one of the canons of the
minster, and raised him to the lionoiu'able and arduous office of
magister scholarum. In that position Alcuin won for himself
an undying name. The learning and the character of such men

" Appointed by Egbert. Alcuini Op., 1777, vol. i., proa-m., xxii.

102

FASTI EnORACENSES. [a.D.

as Sigiilf, Eaubald, St. Liudger and Fridugisus confer immortal
honour on Alcuin and York/

Not only did Albert devote liis energies to the school-room,
but it was lus ambition to leave behind him a splendid collection
of books for the benefit of his college. There were some there
already which Egbert had collected, but Albert may be called
the fomider of that library, although his predecessor had begun
it.'" He was anxious that the fruits of his zeal should sundve to
generations yet unborn, long after his own lips were silent.
Books, as he well knew^, were

" The only men that speak aloud for future times to hear."

And he resolved to leave behmd him a noble library for the

benefit of posterity. This Avould ensm-e to the North of England
a continuance of the school for which York was now so famous,
for wherever there was a library there would be students, and
wherever there was learning the light of religion would never be
extinguished. To gather books together in that illiterate age
was a" noble enterprize, but Albert was not appalled by the diffi-
culty of the undertaking. He threw himself into it with all the
ardour of a bibliomaniac. The English collections could not
allay his thirst for literatm'c. More than once did he cross the
seas with Alcuin for his companion,'' never caring for the perils
with Avhich the traveller was beset, if only he could secure some
of the precious tomes that he saw for his library at home. Italy
was one of the countries that he A-isited, and he wandered among
its monasteries and shrines on the same ground which, in a later
age, tempted the author of the Philobiblon to desert his monarch
and his see. The treasures which fascinated Poggio and Petrarch
were as yet imknown, and there Avere no Medici to patronize
and commend. Albert had a welcome everywhere, for his repu-
tation had preceded him. Fain would they have detained him
in Italy to scatter there the rich seeds of learning which were
springing up in England, but he would not desert his scholars
aiul his school. He came back to York bringing with him the
treasures that he had collected. Alcuin speaks wdth raptiu'e of
these precious volumes in a Avell-known passage which, although
often quoted, must not be omitted here. It describes the eon-
tents of the library at York, which he calls in another place the

^ Alcuini Op., i., prooem., xxii. Ibid., Influence Litteraire, etc., par Fr. Mon-

Ixiii., Sigulf is called " custos Heboricse nier, 10.

civitatis ecclesise." He goes to Eome " On the table of benefactors in the

"ad eccles. ordinem discendum — et minster Albert is called " Quartus fun-

causa cantus." Vita S. Liudgeri, apud dator. Primus bibliothecam condidit."

Mabillon, Acta SS. ord. S. B. ssec. iv., Gent, 61.

i., 37, and VitaB. Alcuini, ibid., 150, 2. >• Alcuini Op., i., prooem., xvi., 287.

Ann. Ben., ii., 186, etc. Alcuin, ct son Lorenz' Life of Alcuin, 9, 10.

766 782.] ARCHBISHOP ALBERT. 103

flowers of Britain." It will be seen that the authors of the
ancient world were very fairly represented in that collection.

" lUic invenies veterum vestigia Patrum,
Quidquid habet pro se Latio Romanus in orbe,
Grsecia vel quidquid transmisit clara Latinis :
Hebraicus vel quod populus bibit imbre superno,
Africa lucifluo vel quidquid lumine sparsit.
Quod pater Hieronjinus, quod sensit Hilarius, atque
Ambrosius pra3sul, simul Augustinus, et ipse
Sanctus Athanasius, quod Orosius edit avitus :
Quidquid Gregorius summus docet, et Leo papa ;
Basilius quidquid, Fulgentius, atque coruscant
Cassiodorus item, Chrysostomus atque Johannes.
Quidquid et Althelmus docuit, quid Beda magister,
Quaj Victorinus scripsere, Boetius, atque
Historici veteres, Poinpeius, Plinius, ipse
Acer Aristoteles, rhetor quoque Tullius ingens.
« Quid quoque Sedulius, vel quid canit ipse Juvcncus,
Alcuinus et Clemens, Prosper, Paulinus, Arator,
Quid Fortunatus, vel quid Lactantius edunt.
Qua3 Maro Virgilius, Statius, Lucanus et auctor
Artis Grammaticse, vel quid scripsere magistri.
Quid Probus atque Focas, Donatus, Priscianusve,
Servius, Enticius, Pompeius, Comminianus.
Invenies alios perplures."

We may picture to ourselves the life of Albert and his pupils
in the monastery of York when these heroes of past ages were
their companions. Horace was not there^ nor the lighter writers
of antiquity. They listened not to the melodious numbers and
the glorious poetry of Greece^ but they could open the pages of
the historian, and read for themselves the thrilling legend, and
the exploits of the warriors and statesmen of that mighty city,
which, rising even when it fell, had become the abode of the
greatest bishop in the West. Here they could drink in the
persuasive arguments and the glowing eloquence of the standard-
bearers of their o^vn church, men of prowess and renown, who,
whilst they lived on earth, were fit already for the society of
angels. Here, before them, was the story of their sufferings
and their victories, the sighings and the vigils of the recluse,
the fiery trials which the martyrs met and scorned, the ecstasies
of the enraptured devotee, the heaven-born words that had
flowed from the lips of the departing saint, when the light of
another world was already beaming upon his face. The heart
of the youthful Saxon would burn within him when his master
told him of the triumphs of faith that had been achieved, and
of the glories that he could himself secure. With delight he
would hear how many of these holy men had lived and died in

* Malmesbury, De Gestis Pont., apud Savilo, 153. Alcuini Op., i., 53.

lOl- FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

the seclusion of a monastery, working as he Avorkecl, and he
woukl study to be like them. The remembrance of this would
be with the pupil in the class-room and the dormitory ; it would
make his eye groAV brighter when it rested upon the sacred page ;
it would guide his hand when it Avrote down the words by v/hich
he was enthralled ; it would nerve him for his daily occupations,
and sanctify them all. What a happy life Avas his when the
silence of the study was broken only by the summons to the
house of God, where the voice of prayer and praise chimed in
with those secret aspirations which it strengthened and ennobled !
Monotonous it may seem, but it was not wearisome. A holy
light illumined it, unchanging and serene as that heaven from
Avhich it came.

The highest honoiir in the North awaited Albert. At the
death of archbishop Egbert in 766 Albert was appointed his
successor, in compliance with the wishes of the people.* He was
consecrated, together with Alchmund, bishop of Hexham, on
the 24th of April, l^l .'' In 773 pope Adi'ian sent to him the
pall." The gi'eat scholar Avas an excellent archbishop. He was
a strict disciplinarian, as we might expect, and a terror to evil-
doers, but a true folloAver of the Good Shepherd in his affection
for his flock. It is such a leader that the sheep love to follow
to the still waters and the pleasant fields. And they who had
knoAvn him in the loAvlier position which he had previously
adorned Avere conscious of no alteration in his manner or dis-
position. The pomps and luxuries of the cornet could not ensnare
or dazzle him ; the old simplicity of his habits and his kindliness
of heart Avere still unchanged.

To his church at York Albert Avas a great benefactor, for
he Avas a man Avith splendid tastes, and personal frugality had
not led him to neglect the decoration of God^s house. In 741
the minster had been greatly injiu'ed by a fire,* and it was
reserved for Albert to erect AA'hat Avas really a new temple. His
first care Avas bestowed upon the sanctum sanctorum, the little
chapel in Avhich Paulinus had baptized Edwin.^ The great altar

' Symeon, col. 107. Chron. de Mail- Minster, i., 3, 4. Fabric Eolls ed. Sur-

ros, 7. Hovedcn, apud Savile, 231 b. tees Soc, pref., ix. Gent's York, 61.

The Saxon Chron. says 766. Bentham's Ely, 25-6. Mr. AVillis is of

" Symeon, De Archiep. Ebor.,78. De opinion that Albert built two churches,

testis, col. 107. Stubbs, col. 1697. the one, vidth the altar at which Edwin

Uiron de Mailros, 8. Hovcden, apud was baptized, was the minster, the

bavile, 231 *• other with the thirty altars, a different

* Uovedcn, apud Sa\ile, 231. "Mo- building. It seems to me that they

nastenum in Eboraca civitate succen- were the same (pref. ix.), and Edwin's

sum^ est nono. Cal. Man, feria prima, chapel was probably renovated, in the

cVp wir . * , •. . , -r.. /^«!5 «»5i;«Mce, that it might be used for

f VI \f- ! ^^""cnitectural History service whilst the minster was being

of \ ork Minst«r, 4-5. Browne's York erected.

766 782.] ARCHBISHOP ALBERT. 105

in it lie renovated and dedicated to St. Paul, and lie made
another near it. All the sacred vessels and crucifixes were of
silver or gold, and were inlaid with precious stones. Around
this little shrine Albert began and completed a new church, a
good work that Avon for him the title of one of the founders of
the minster.'' Alcuin and Eanbald were the superintendents of
the work, which remained tuiinjured until the Norman Con-
quest. It contained as many as thirty altars, and was probably
of that Byzantine style of architectui'e which was then so
prevalent abroad.

The lamp of life was now flickering out ; the days of Albert
were drawing towards their close. Rich in good Avorks and
active piety as they had been, the aged prelate, Avhen he looked
back upon the past, coidd only see that it Avas full of oppor-
tunities neglected or misused, of numberless shortcomings. He
would sigh to himself, —

" O quid solutis est beatius curis
Quum mens onus reponit !"

And he resolA'cd to tear himself from that world by which he
had been enthralled. He would follow the example of John
and Wilfrid, and the remainder of his days should be dedicated
to God, Like the aged Jacob, he called around him his spi-
ritual children. Eanbald, a beloved pupil, he nominated his
coadjutor in the see, and consecrated him to that high office.*
To the faithful Alcuin he gave up the school on which so much
of his energies had been spent, and the care of the library that
they had collected, and then he entered upon his solitary Avatch,
to atone, as far as he could, for the offences of the past.

Two years and two months were spent in this retirement./
Ten days before his eyes Avere closed in death, he was permitted
to Avitness the completion of the church that he had begun, and
to join Eanbald in dedicating it to God. He retired to his cell
to die. The affectionate Alcuin was a witness of his end, and
among the last words that Albert uttered Avas a desire that his
friend shoidd cross the seas, and pay a A^isit to France and

■* This title is <nven to Albert on the HajcnimisaUadomussolidissuflFultacolumnis,

bnnrrl nrosprverl fn the minsfoi- wliirh Suppositaa quic statit curvatis arcubus, intus

poam pieservea in me mmhiei, wuicu Kraicat egregiis laqueaHhus atque foiiestris,

IS ot the age Ot Dean bale, who was Pulcliraqueporticibusfulgetcircumdatamultis,

thoroughly conversant with the history I'lurima diversis retincns solaria tfictis,

of the cathedral. Gent (p. fil) gives a Q""" t"^''*"'^ te"*^' """"'^ omatibus aras."

cop.y of it in his account of York . ch^on. de Mailros, 8. Hoveden,

Alcuin s description of Albert s apud Savilc ''3'' a

church is too curious and valuable to / SvnieonrDe Archiep. Ebor., col.

be omitted :— yg. Stubbs, col. 1697. Mabillon, Ann.

" Ast nova hasilicns miric structuva dicbus Beu., ii., 255.
Pnesulis hujus erat jam caepta, poracta, sacrata.

106 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Ilomc.^ Al])ert was taken to his rest at York* on the 8th of
November, 781 or 782,' at the sixth hour of the day. A noble
procession of laymen and ecclesiastics accompanied him to his
bm'ial, all full of grief for the patron whom they had lost, yet
with that sorrow there would be the conviction in every mind
that the great scholar was at rest, and each would share in the
thought which Alcuin has thus expressed : —

" Jam cui Christus, amor, potus, cibus, omnia Christus ;
Vita, fides, sensus, spes, lux, via, gloria, virtus."

^ftiulialtl C was the pupil and the successor of Albert. The
greater part of his life had, in all probability, been spent in the
monastery of York, and there he had made himself acquainted
with the stores of learning that Egbert and Albert could impart.
From a student he became a teacher, and, with the famous
Alcuin, he shared the affections of Albert. Eanbald was pro-
bably the \'ice-dominus of the monastery, and when the good
bishop in his declining years threw aside the cares of his high
office, he made Eanbald his coadjutor, thereby nominating him
as his successor. Eanbald had already evinced his aptitude for
business by taking the charge, with Alcuin, of the rebuilding
of the minster. It was his high privilege to join his aged bene-
factor, Albert, in dedicating it anew to God. He was then in a
more exalted position than he had occupied when the work
began. The mitre was upon the brows of the architect.-'

Eanbald took the place of Albert in 782, and the first care
of Alfwold, king of Northumbria, was to provide him with the
pall.* Alcuin himself, at the request of his friend, went to
Rome to bring it.'

" I tamen, pro me, tu, cui licet, aspice Eomam,"
and on his return Eanbald was solemnly confirmed in his office.

«■ Alcuini Op., i. Yita in prooem., Gale, i., 730. Sjraeon, De Gestis, col.

Ixiii. 107. Ma]mesbury(Savile, 153 a) makes

* Saxon Chron., 77. Huntingdon one Eanbald and not two, missing out

(196 6) and Hoveden (235), by a mis- Albert; so does Wendover, i., 151.
take, say that he died at Chester. * Saxon Chron., 77. Chron. Mailros,

'Saxon Chron., 77. Chron. de 9. Huntingdon, apud Savile, 197.

JIailros, 8, and Symcon, De Gestis, col. Hoveden, ibid., 235 b. Symeon, De

108, make the date 780. Fl. AYigorn., Gestis, col. 108. Bromton, col. 797.

278, and Chron. Petrib., 9, say 781. Stubbs, col. 1697. Labbe,Bibl., i., 323.
Mabillon, Acta SS. ord. S. B., ssec. iv., ' Mabillon, Acta SS. ord. S. B.,

1., lo2. Alcumi, Op., i.. Vita Ale, ssec. iv., i., 152. Vita Ale, prooem.,

procem., Ixuk Op. i., Ixiv. Recueil des Historien.s

■' Alcuin, De Pont. Eccl. Ebor., apud des Gaules, v., 445

782 796.1 ARCHBISHOP EANBALD I. 107

Between the two scliolars there existed the closest intimacy and
regard. They worked and taught together. Eanbald, like his
master and his namesake, lives for us in the light of Alcuin !

The state of Northumbria during the archiepiscopate of
Eanbald was anything but favoiu'able to the progress of Chris-
tian teaching. The country was full of violence and bloodshed.
Alfwold ascended the throne at the expulsion of king Ethelred,
and was murdered after a short but useful reign by one of his
own captains. Within a twelvemonth his successor and nephew,
Osred, died a violent death. Tempted by the chances of success,
amid the general confusion, the exile Ethelred seized his old
kingdom, and, after wreaking a futile vengeance upon his ene-
mies, fell a victim soon after to a conspiracy among his own
nobles. To add to the general dismay, the Danes broke in upon
the di\ided and unhappy country. They desolated that sacred
shrine which Aidan reared at Lindisfarne, and in Avhich Wilfrid
and Cuthbert had watched and prayed. Those holy men would
think in their day that no foeman would ever reach that little
temple which cliff and wave had made into a sanctuary, but
the sea-kings cared neither for rock nor storm. The startled
inmates were slaughtered at their altars. In the succeeding
century they deserted their insecure abode, and, after many
wanderings, found a resting-place at last, yea, another Salem
with its holy hill, beside the waters of the Wear.

All this trouble and confusion must have materially crippled
the Northumbrian chm'ch. What satisfactory progress would
it now make? The labours of the school of York went on,
although there were, probably, fewer pupils. The great library
was used and treasured, and there would always be scholars
when Alcuin was the master. That illustrious teacher, however,
was at this time very frequently abroad. The royal court of
France had for him far greater charms than the devastated
kingdom of Northumbria. Peace he found there and security,
a noble patron, the most accomplished court in Europe, and the
society of men of letters and intelligence. Can we wonder that
in 790, troubled by the confusion around him, he deserted
York for France? Six years after this, in a letter to king Off a,
he says that it had been his wish to return, had the violence of
the pagans not deterred him from making the attempt.'" But
although he was thus absent, he was still present in heart and
spirit vnih Eanbald and his old associates at York. He corre-
sponded with them, and strove to mitigate the disasters that
appalled them. He rebuked Ethelred and his nobles, and gave
them good advice which they forgot." He reminded the brethren

'" Ale, Op., i., 57. " Ibid., i., 17, 20.

108 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

at Hcxliam and their bishop of the light of Christian excellence
that hud illumined their bcautifvd shrine^, and bade them recollect
and cherish it." He begged the inmates of the monasteries of
Wearraouth and Jarrow to call to mind the spiritual renown of
]icda, Benedict and Ceolfrid, and exhorted them to patience and
cudurance.^' He consoled the monks of Lindisfarne for their
sufferings and affliction.? To the brethren at York he speaks in
terms of the most affectionate regard.*" He praises them for
their constancy and zeal in a manner which shews that they had
not yet fallen, in spite of all their troubles, from their first estate.
He gives them advice in a tone that expresses his firm conviction
that they would adopt it. He yearns towards them with sym-
l)athy and kindness : "You/^ he says, " are ever in my heart. I
pray for you first of all. Oh, for the love of God, cherish with
heart and tongue youi* son Alcuin ! Oh, remember me, fathers
and brothers mine, who are all most dear to me. I am yours in
life or death. And haply it may be mercifully allowed that my
body, in its old age, may repose with you who nurtui-ed it in its
youth. But if another resting-place shall be mine, yet, if God
will, there shall be rest for my soul, wherever it may be, through
youi' holy prayers. I trust in you. For — we believe that the
souls of our brotherhood are to be gathered into the same abode
of bliss. Although a difference in merit shall necessitate a
difference in reward, still the nature of eternity is such, that all
must be happy who enjoy it. And like as there is one sun that
shines on all, a sun that all see alike, whether they are near or
distant, so a never-ending bliss shall be given to all the righte-
ous in God^s kingdom, although the height of their excellence
may crown some with a greater glory. Oh, most beloved bre-
thren, make yourselves ready to attain to that glory with the
fullest intention both of will and deed.^''' These are indeed the
aspirations of a poet and a saint ! His bones were not laid
Avhere he wished, in the city of his birth. They are resting in
the country of his adoption.

There is little more to be said about Eanbald. His lot was
cast in troublous times. He would look, however, upon the last
public act of his life as a sign and promise of peace to his dis-
tracted diocese. This was the coronation of Eardulf, on whose
hand he placed the Northumbrian crown on the 25th of June,

" Ale., Op., i., 196. quadragesimali tempore in Heboraca

p Ibid., i., 21, 80, etc. civitate, quae est caput totius regni, in

' -tbid., i., 11. ecclesia Beati Petri principis Aposto-

[ In a letter to Ethelred (i., 20) Al- lorum, vidimus, de borealibus domus,

cuin mentions a singular portent that sereno aere, de summo tecti minaciter

occurred in the church of York shortly cadere ? Nonne potest putari a borea-

before the arrival of the Danes. "Quid libus partibus venire super terram san-

significat pluvia sanguinis quam in guinem?" ' Ale, Op,, i., 8, 9.

796 812.] ARCHBISHOP EANBALD II. 109

796, the bishops of Whithern, Lindisfarne and Hexham assist-
ing him.'' On the 10th of August Eanbald died at tlie monastery
of Etlete or Edete." They bore his remains to York with a
noble procession, and interred them in St. Peter's minster.''

JE^atlbaltl 3I3I* was consecrated bishop of York in a monastery
called Sochasburg, on Sunday, the 14th or 15th of August, a.d.
796. Ethelbert, Higbald and Badulf were the officiating pre-
lates." On the 8th of September in the following year, being
the festival of the nativity of the Virgin, Eanbald was solemnly
confirmed in the archbishopric, having received the pall from
Rome"^ w^hich qualified him for that high position.

Eanbald was one of the presbyters of his predecessor,^ and a
very favourite pupil of Alcuin. That illustrious scholar was in
France w^hen Eanbald I. died, and he was summoned thence to
York, as one of the fratres of that cluirch, to proceed to the
election of a new president. The choice, in all probability, w^ould
have fallen upon himself. Unwilling to desert the French court
and schools, and to venture into a divided and unhappy country,
Alcuin gave up all idea of journeying again to England, and he
had the satisfaction of hearing that his pupil Eanbald had been
raised to an honour which had been within his own reach."

Between Eanbald and his old master there was maintained
the most affectionate intercourse. Alcuin addressed him under
the friendly title of Symeon." He held him up as a pattern to
the recreant Osulf.* He spoke in his praise to Charlemagne, and
the " prsefulgidus " David honoured him with an epistle. He
sent him a ship's load of metal to be used in the bell-tower of

' Saxon Cbron., 81 — the date made ros, 12. S3Tneon, De Gestis, col. 11-t.

795. Huntiugdon, apud Savile, 197 a. Hoveden, 233.

Hoveden, 23. "■ Saxon Cliron., 82. Chron. de IMail-

" Stubbs, 1697, calls this place Aclete. ros, 12. Sjmeon, De Gestis, col. 111.

"Where is it ? It may be Yokefleet, in Stubbs, col. 1G97. Hoveden, apud Sa-

Torkshire. May it not rather be Ay- vile, 233.

clitre, in the county of Durham, where ■•■ Saxon Chron., 83. S3Tneon, etc.,

there are some early Saxon crosses ? ut supra. ^ Labbe, Bibl., i..

There were ecclesiastical meetings at 323. Stubbs, col. 1697.

Acle, whilst Eanbald was archbishop - Alcuini Op., i., 62-3. Malmesburj'-,

(Saxon Chron., 79; Ric. Hexham, col. apud Savile, 153. " Dignite reservee

298. Huntingdon, 196 h). Symeon a Alcuin, s'il cut vouleo roster dans sa

(De Gestis, col. 138) speaks of a place patrie." Monnier, Vie d'Alcuiu, II.

called Aclea in the South, and calls it " Ale. Op., i., 230-1, etc.

" campus quercus." '' Vita Ale, prooem. ad Op., i., xxiv.,

" Saxon Chron., 82. Chron. de Mail- and Op., i., 217.

1X0 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

his church/ When the lawlessness of the times had originated
a general declension in manners and morals in Northumbria,
esi)ecially in the monasteries, Alcuin wi'ote to Eanbald one of
his most useful and remarkable letters of advice. It is easy to
see from the tone of the epistle that the prelate had been the
writer's pupil. It recommends the archbishop to be a rigid
disciplinarian, to attend to the rules and customs of the Roman
chm-ch, to bestow especial care upon the management of his
school. It lays down many rules for Eanbald's instruction as
to his own deportment, and the governing of his churches and
clergy,'' and contains many sound and practical suggestions.
There is, unfortunately, an absence of any specific information
as to the state of the Northern archiepiscopate. The writer
speaks of what ought to be done, and not of what had been
done, and he leaves the general impression that there was gi'eat
room for improvement in the management and discipline of the
vast diocese of Northumbria.*

As far as can be ascertained, Eanbald appears to have been
an active prelate. He did his best to recover for Ethelard of
Canterbmy, at the request of Alcuin, the portion of his diocese
which had been taken away from it by Offa./ He presided in a.d.
798 over a synod at Pinchenheale, at which, according to Symeon,
some mse and judicious enactments were made relating to the
ecclesiastical courts and the observance of Easter.^ There is no
evidence to shew that he was the author of a book of synodical
decrees.'' If he was, the fact is a slight proof of the assertion
that he introduced into the churcb of York the Roman ritual.
Eanbald enjoyed the priAdlege of coining money.'

There is one portion of Eanbald's life which is involved in
some mystery, — his connection with Eardulf, the Northumbrian
king. Before the close of Alcuin^s life we find the archbishop
reprehended by his old instructor for placing himself in opposi-
tion to his sovereign. He protected the lands and persons of
the enemies of Eardulf, adding to his own territories, and main-
taining a greater number of military retainers than any of his
predecessors, to the discredit of his office and the overburdening
of the monasteries at which he chanced to be a guest. With
regard to the first charge, Eanbald pleaded the dictates of Chris-

<^ Ale. Op., i., 231, "Utdomuscula Mon. S. Aug. Cantuar., 281. Wen-

cloccarum stagno tegatur." dover, i., 167.

■* One of the offences of the North- s Chron. de Mailros, 13. Symeon,

umbrian clergy at this time was fox- De Gestis, col. 114. Stuhbs, col. 1697.

hurting! Labbe, Cone, vii., col. 1148. Spelmanni

' Canisii Lect. Antiquae, ii., 450. Ale. Cone, 316.

Op., i., 63, etc. * Pitseus, 164-5. Tanner, Bibl. Brit.,

^ Ale, Op.,i., 80, 233-4, etc. Malmes- 248.

bury De Pont., apud Savile, 153 7j. Hist. ■' Davies on the York mint, 7.

812 854.] ARCHBISHOPS WULFSY AND WIGMUND. Ill

tian charity as his excuse, and it was not a bad one. With
regard to the number of his followers, he might have said with
justice that it was necessitated by the turbidence of the times.
But we hear of the archbishop again in connection Avith the
same matter.-' In a.d. 808, when Eardulf was deposed, Eanl)ald
was concerned in the negotiations that preceded his restoration
by Charlemagne, and Ave arc told that the archbishop and king
Kenulf were suspected by pope Leo of unfair dealing in that
aflfair.* It was probably his past regard for the city of York in
the time of Alcuin that induced Charlemagne to become a peace-
maker in Northumbria.

Eanbald is said to have died in 812, in the reign of Eanred ;'
there is, however, some uncertainty about the exact date.

XllfSg was the successor of Eanbald. The date that has
been generally fixed for his consecration is 812. Symeon tells
us that he became archbishop in the reign of Eanred, who came
to the throne of Northumbria in 810. Of the official acts of
Wulfsy there is little known, and the history of the North at
that period is involved in equal obscimty. In the Cottonian
library there is a letter addressed to Wulfsy, by Egred, bishop
of Lindisfarne, about an alleged miracle.'" Wendover says that
Wulfsy died in 831."

tgmUTttl became archbishop whilst Eanred was king of
^Northumbria, about the year 837. This may be inferred from
the statement of Symeon, who says that Widfere died in 900,
having been bishop forty-seven years, and that Wigmund, his
predecessor, held the see for sixteen years. Some coins of this
prelate, issued from the York mint, are in existence."

There are one or two interesting allusions to the church of
York at this period among the letters of Lupus, the Avell-known
abbat of Ferrieres, which have been printed by Baluz.^

J Ale, Op. i.— Cf. Lingard, Anglo- 153 b) calls liim Wilfrid.
Saxon Church, i., 126. " S3meon, De Arch. Ebor., col. 78.

* Mabillon,Ann.Ben., ii.,383. Re- Stubbs, col. 1698. AVendover, i., 183.

cueil des Historiens des Gaules, v., 602. Liber Yitse Dunelm., 7, where he is

' Symeon, De Gestis, col. 78. called Wimund. Davies on the York

'" Lei. Coll., ii., 298. MS. Cotton, mint, 7. On the stycas the archbishop's

Tib. A., 15. name is Vigmund.

" Labbe, Bibl., i., 323. Stubbs, col. p Lupi Epist., ed. Baluz, ed. 1710,

1698. Wendover, i., 176. Liber Vitfe 103-4. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., ii., 681.

Dunelm., 7, where he is called Uulf- He makes the date of the letters 849.
sige. Malmesbury, De Pont. (Savile,

112 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

One epistle is addressed to Guigmund, bishop of York, and
to the eongrcgation under him. It informs them that the writer
liad recovered a cell that he had lost, and expresses a wish for
the renewal of friendly intercourse between the two houses.

There is another letter addressed by the same dignitary to
Altsig, the abbas (or vice-dominus) of the chui'ch of York, re-
peating the request that he had made to Guigmund.

These letters are valuable in several respects. They shew
that there was a friendly feeling at that time between the
monastery of York and the society of Lupus, and that the com-
munication between Northern and foreign houses, which existed
to so great an extent in the preceding centmy, was still kept up.
They tell us, moreover, that the monastery of York was under
the same government that was described, sixty years before, in
the writings of Alcuin, and that the famous library was still in
existence, inasmuch as Lupus solicits the loan of a manuscript of
Quintilian, one of the Questions of St. Jerome on the Old and
New Testament, with a similar work by Beda.

UlfcrC is said to have succeeded Wigmund in 854-, in
which year he received the pall, and thereby became archbishop
of the Northumbrians J'

The kingdom of Northumbria dm'ing the latter half of this
century was in the most lamentable condition. It was torn in
pieces by internal dissensions, and the incursions of the Danes
were very numerous and appalling. The suiferings of the famous
Regnar Lodbrog on his bed of snakes were bitterly avenged.
The sea-kings covered the ocean with their fleets, and fire and
blood marked their track through the desolated country. Nearly
all the Northern monasteries were destroyed by them. What
progi'css could Christianity make ? The preacher could scarcely
save his o^ti life.?

In 872 the Northumbrians expelled Egbert their king, who
had been appointed by the Danes, and Wulfere is said to have
gone into exile at the same time.'' They are said to have gone
to the court of Burhed, the monarch 'of the Mercians.* The

p Chron. de Mailros, 18. Symeon, Be 159, where it is said of the city of York,

Oestis col. 121, 1.39. Stubbs, col. 1698. " Non tunc adhuc ilia civitas firmos et

liiberVitjeDunehn.,7. Hoveden,apud stabihtos muros illis temporibus hab-

bavile,232a. Wendover,i.,183. Labbe, ebat."

oV/'L-^P' . '• Symeon, DeGestis, col. 145. Hove-

" Mabillon Ann. Ben., iii., 169. den, 233 h. S^nneon, Hist. Eccl. Du-

Moveden, 232 b. Asser, apud Gale, i., nelm, 95. In 870. ' Wendover, i., 206.

895 928.] WULFERE AND ETHELBALD. 113

following year witnessed the death of Egbert, and the restoration
of the archbishop/ But this was not the only trouble that
Wulfere is said to have experienced. At another period of his
life, probably in 867, when York was captured by the Danes,
Wulfere made his escape and got himself away to Addingham
in Wharfdale. He is said to have stayed there for seven years."
If this was the case, we are involved in a chronological difficulty.
Possibly the year that Wulfere spent in exile in 872 may form
a part of the seven ? In the chi'onicle of Melrose it is asserted
that that prelate retui-ned to York at the death of Egbert, by
whom he was driven out." Egbert, it will be remembered, was
supported by Danish influence, which Wulfere would, in all pro-
bability, despise. It is reasonable enough to conjecture that
Wulfere fled from the Danes in 867, and that he returned at
the decease of Egbert in 873 " when he heard that Herod was
dead.^"* This will do away with the chronological difficulties
which this paragraph presents.

There is much uncertainty as to the peri(^d of Wulfere^s
death. Symeon says in one place that he died in 892 ; in an-
other, that he lived eight years longer, thus making him preside
over the Northumbrian archiepiscopate for the long period of
forty-seven years.'" Hoveden places his death in 890.*

^J^tf)Clfaclltl succeeded Wulfere. He witnessed a charter which
was made in the year 895. It has been generally said that he
was consecrated in 900, receiving the pall four years afterwards.
There is nothinar whatever known of him.i'

' Wendover, i., 207. S3-ineon, De Wulfere die in 892. S5'meon, De Arch.

Gestis, col. 145. Ebor., col. 78, says in 900, " anno xlvii.

" Symeon, De Arch. Ebor., col. 78. episcopatus." Stubbs, col. 1698.

Stubbs, col. 1698. Asser, (Gale, i., 172) ' Apud Savile, 211 b.

under the year 893, sa.ys, "Eodem an- y Codex Diplom., ii., 126. Chron. de

nocapta est civitas Ebroacensis a Nord- Mailros, 25. Symeon, De Arch. Ebor.,

mannis, sed episcopus, Sebar nomine, col. 79; — De Gestis, col. 133, 151.

Deo auctore, evasit." This is Evreux, Labbe, Bibl., i., 323. Liber Vitse Du-

not York. nelm., 7. Stubbs, col. 1698, says that

" Chron. de Mailros, 20. Stubbs, Ethelbald received the pall four years
col. 1698, seems to countenance this after his consecration, " regnante Ed-
view, vvardo seniore,Elfredi regis filio." Hove-

" Symeon, De Gestis, col. 133 and den (Savile, 241 h) dates his consecra-

150, and Chron. de Mailros, 24, make tion in 898. Malmesbury, Savile, 153 6.

I

ll-l FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Ji^rtirUJaltl, IxOtlClXialtl, or Hotijrtoartl, followed after Ethel-
hald, Init tlie year of his cousecratiou lias not been ascertained.
I find liiiti witnessing cliarters between 928 and 930, but there
is nothing to throw any liglit upon his acts and deeds/

^^^^ulStaU occurs as archbishop of York as early as 931 ; in
which year we find him witnessing a charter which has been
printed by Mr. Kemble."

Wulstan is said to have been raised to the see by the famous
Athelstan.* That monarch was the first of the English kings
who reduced Northumbria to subjection, and a considerable
portion of his reign seems to have been spent in the North of
England. Athelstan's affection for Christianity was very strongly
marked. To the church of Beverley, at the instigation of Wul-
stan, and in gratitude to St. John, he granted several noble
privileges and possessions. To the minsters of York and Ripon
he was eqiially munificent. His generosity woidd, to a certain
extent, be prompted by the wish to conciliate the good opinion
of his new subjects, and, in the dispensing of it, he would, in
all probability, be guided by the advice and suggestions of
Wulstan.

After the death of Athelstan Wulstan appears in a new
character. He comes before us as a diplomatist and a soldier.
Gratitude to his benefactor Athelstan ought to have strengthened
his loyalty to his successor, but we find the archbishop intriguing
with the Danes, and joining the Northumbrians in renoiuicing
their allegiance to Edmund. In the first instance, indeed, he
had shewn himself a peacemaker, as, in conjunction with Odo
of Canterbury, he interposed his authority, and prevented a

' Symeon, De Arch. Ebor., col. 79. that time the whole of Amounderness

Stubbs, col. 1698. Malmesbury, apiid to York. Symeon, de Arch. Ebor.,

Savile, 153 5. Codex Diploni.,ii., 163-4. col. 79. Polydore Vergil, 114. Smithi

" Codex Diplom., ii., 168. In the Flores Hist. Eccl. Angl., 191. Leland

same collection there are other deeds (Coll., iii., 3) mentions the following

to which Wulstan wa.s a witness. There story : —

are some in the Hist. Mon. de Abing- " In the time of king Athelstan,

don, i., 66, etc. One of the titles as- when the king lay in his tentes beside

suraed by the archbishop was, " VVulf- York, the king of Scottes faynid him-

sanus archons servitutis officio man- self to be a mynstrelle, and harped be-

cipatds, Eboracse civitatis archiepis- fore king Athelstane, only to espy his

copus." ordinanuce and his people. The same

Sanctuar. Dunelm.etBeverlac.ed. night he cam to the host and slew

burtees Soc, 98. Stubbs, col. 1698, Targe, archebishop of York, and al the

where it is said that the king gave at people in his ward."

928 956.] REDEWALD AND WULSTAX I. 115

combat between Edmund and the Northumbrians near Lincohi/
This was in 941, but, soon afterwards, AA'ulstan allied himself
with Anlaf the Dane, forgetting how the father of his youthfid
patron had but a year or two before swept away or desolated
more than one Christian establishment in his diocese/ Anlaf
was subsequently baptized, — a fact which seems to account for
the conduct of the archbishop ; but the ministers of the chiu-ch
ought to pause, under any circumstances, before they throw
their influence into the scale of violence and bloodshed.

The sympathies of Widstan seem to haA^e been henceforward
on the side of the Danes. In 943 he was with Anlaf when he
stormed Leicester, and when that city was besieged by Edmmid,
the prelate and the prince with difficulty made their escape by
night." A treaty was soon after made, and there was a hollow
peace, which lasted for a few years. In 946 Edmund was assas-
sinated, and was succeeded by his brother Edred. Wulstan,
with the Northumbrian magnates, took the oath of allegiance
to him at a place called TaddenscliflFe / this concession having
been brought about, according to Ingulph, by the good offices
of Tm'ketyl, the archbishop^s cousin, who was at that time the
king^s chancellor, and afterwards the abbat of Croyland.^ As
a thank-offering, in all probability, for this reconciliation,
Edred is said to have given two silver images to the church of
York.^ The gift, to say the least, was a premature one. The
sympathies of the Northumbrians in favour of a Danish line of
monarchs soon overpowered their loyalty. In 947 the arch-
bishop and his compatriots broke out into open rebellion, and
made Eric, a Northman, the son of Harold Harfager, their
king.' This treachery necessitated a hostile invasion of North-
umbria by Edred, in which, among other disasters, the monas-
tery of Ripon was destroyed.' The wayward people then sought
and obtained a reconciliation with Edred, and made specious
promises that were speedily to be broken. The homage of the
Northumbrians for the next few years was given alternately to

« Chron. de Mailros, 29. Symeon, held with the chancellorship, " pin-

De Gestis, col. 134. Hoveden, apud guissimam prsebciulam in eccl. Ebor;"

Savile, 242 6. Wendover, i., 251. a statement which throws discre(Ht

■^ Symeon, De Gestis, col. 134. AVen- upon the authenticity of Ingulph's

doveri i., 251. Hovedea, apud Savile, Chronicle, as there were no prsebendje

242 h. *■ Saxon Chron., 147. at York at this time. There were but

/ Saxon Chron., 148, in 947. Fl. seven canons, who seem to have lived

Wigorn., 352. Symeon, De Gestis, col. upon a common fund. Ingulph is not

156, in 949. Wendover, i., 253. Hove- to be relied upon,

den, apud Savile, 243. * Symeon, De Gestis, col. 156.

e Ingulph, apud Gale, iii., 31. Ma- ' Saxon Chron., 148. Symeon, ut

billon, xVcta SS. Ord. S. B., ssec. v., stipra. Ethelwardi Chron., apud Mon.

496. Turketyl was the son of Cilward, Hist. Brit., 520. Aluredus Beverlac,

Wulstan's uncle. He is said to have 111. > Wendover, i., 255.

I 2

116 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Eric and Anlaf. In all these convulsions Wulstan must have
played a cons])icuous part, and it was the fear of his influence
and his treachery that induced Edred, in 952, to throw him
into prison at Jedbur^^h.'' The nominal reason for his incarcera-
tion, accordinjr to Wendover, was his putting to death many of
the citizens of Thetford in revenge for their having mijustly
killed the abbat Aldelm.' Wulstan was in restraint for a short
time," and then the king, out of respect to his office, allowed
him to resume his episcopal functions at Dorchester.'' Malmes-
bmy, however, informs us that the prelate scornfully rejected
the proffered pardon, and died soon afterwards, probably of
disappointment and baffled pride." We hear nothing more of
Wulstan, as the hopes of the Danish party were destroyed by
the death of Eric and the banishment of Anlaf. He died at
Oundle on the 26th of December, 955, and he was there in-
terred.^ At the same place the light of life had deserted his
famous predecessor Wilfrid, but the greatness of the apostle of
the Frisians demanded a nobler sepulchre than was accorded to
his spiritual descendant. Both had been tossed about by the
Avaters of affliction, but they exalted the one whilst they over-
whelmed the other. The one was only a scheming politician,
the other was a confessor and a Saint.

<§)Sfe2tCl, the successor of Wulstan, was a kinsman of Tm^ketyl,
the celebrated abbat of Croyland,? and a friend and coadjutor
of St. Dmistan. In 950 he was made bishop of Dorchester/

* Withabury or Juthanbury. Saxon merely resumed his episcopal functions

Chron., 149, makes the date 952. Fl. at that place.

"VVigorn., .353. Chron. de Mailros, 31. ° De Pont., apud Savile, 153 h.

Synieon, De Gestis, col. 156. Malmes- The passage is obscure, "Datam veniam

bury, De Gestis, apud Savile, 153 5. indignatus vitam e vestigio exierit."

Hoveden, ibid., 243. Ingulj^h (Gale, p Saxon Chron., 150. Fl. Wigoru.,

iii., 41). Chron. Petrib., 29, giving 354. Chron. de Mailros, 31. Symeon,

the date 949. ' AVendover, i., 256. De Gestis, col. 157. Stubbs, col. 1699.

'" The chronolog}^ is much confused. Hoveden, apud Savile, 244. Wulstan

Ingulph, Gale, iii., 41, says that Wul- witnessed a charter in 956. Codex

Stan was released in 948. In Hist. Diplom., ii., 331.

Mon. de Abingdon, he appears as a ? Saxon Chron., 158. Ingulph, apud

witness to charters granted in 951, 2, 3. Gale, iii., 41. Turketyl is said to have

He could only have been in prison for been a canon of York. Oskytel is pro-

a short time. -bably the person mentioned in the Hist.

" Saxon Chron., 149. Fl. "VVigorn., Eliensis, apud Gale, i., 482. Ord.

353. Chron. de Mailros, 31. Symeon, Vitalis, apud Duchesne, 541.

De Gestis, col. 154. Wendover, i., 256. ^ Saxon Chron., 158. Vita S. Os-

Hoveden, 243. Wulstan was not made waldi, apud Angl. Sacr.,ii., 197. Stubbs'

bishop of Dorchester, as some say, but Episcopal Succession, 15.

956—972.]

ARCHBISHOP OSKYTEL.

117

from which post, in 956, he was translated to the see of York/
with the consent of king Edward and his council/ He made a
journey to Rome to procure the pall, his kinsman and suc-
cessor, the well-known Oswald, being his companion across the
chamiel."

There is but little kno'mi of OskyteFs career at York or
elsewhere. He was a man of piety and learning." To Oswald
he was extremely kind. He aided him in his distress after the
decease of his uncle Odo, and, subsequently, he sent for him to
Fleury to request his aid in making reforms in his diocese, — a
good work which Oswald was ready enough to assist in.'" Os-
kytel was, therefore, a coadjutor of Dunstan in his endeavours
to introduce the Benedictine rule. How far he was successful
it is impossible to say, but the number of charters to which he
appears as a witness shews that he was frequently absent fi'om
his see.^ In 968 he consecrated Elfsig to the bishopric of
Chester. 2^ He joined with archbishop Dunstan in confirming
the privileges of Croyland,^ and his intimacy Avitli Turketyl led
him to shew much kindness to that monastery.''

Oskytel died at Thame on Allhallow-mass night (Nov. 1),
972.* The event evoked much sorrow and regret. "^ Turketyl,
his friend and kinsman, carried his remains to Bedford, where
he was the abbat, and there the archbishop was interred.'^

Sir Simonds D^Ewes had in his library an accoimt of the
lands that belonged to Oskytel, in right of his archbishopric,
written in Saxon.*

» Fl. Wigorn., 354. Chron. de Mail-
ros, 31. Symeon, De Gestis, col. 157.
De Archiep. Ebor., col. 79. Stubbs
(1699) saj'.s that he was sixteen years
at York, and Wendover (i., 256), asserts
that he became archbishop in 954.

' Saxon Chron., 158. Symeon, De
Gestis, col. 157.

" Eadmer, Vita S. Oswaldi, apud
Angl. Sacr., ii., 197. Hist. Rames.,
apud Gale, i., 392.

" Wendover, i., 256. Smithi Flores
Hist. Eccl., 202.

■" Ang. Sacr., ii., 197. Servatus,
prior of Worcester, speaks of Oskytel
in a way that seems to imply that he
was only a learner, " Erat enim rudis
adhuc in castris Domini, novitas ei ex-

tranea, novorum traditio aliena" (MS.
at Durham, fol. 10).

'^ Oskytel subscribes himself as " Os-
cytel Eboracensis basilicas primas inseg-
nis." Hist. Mon. Abingdon, vol. i.,
261, and many other places. Codex
Diplom., ii., 374, etc.

V Symeon, Hist. Eccl. Dunelm., 138.

' Ingiilph.apudGale, iii., 44. Dugd.
Mon., ii., 116.

" Savile, 501. Mabillon, Acta SS.
ord. S. B., sa3c. v., 505.

* Saxon Chron., 158. Higden, apud
Gale, i., 267. Fl. Wigorn., 354. Chron.
Mailros, 33, and Symeon, De Gestis,
(col. 159). ' Angl. Sacr., ii., 203.

'' Saxon Chron., 158.

' "Wanley, 306.

118

FASTI EIJORACENSES. [a.D.

"jEttirltooltl is said by two clironiclers to have succeeded
Oskytel, and his name appears on the okl lists at York. We
are told that he resigned his see, preferring a quiet life/ This
is all that we know about him. He must not be confused with
" the father of monks," Ethel wold, the benevolent bishop of
Winchester.

^^Sbjaltl was the son of Danish parents of high rank and
consequence. His father was a great favourite of king Athelstan.
His uncle, Odo, presided over the see of Canterbury, and to
another archbishop, Oskytel of York, he was related by the ties
of blood.^

The youth was gifted by nature with a noble bearing. His
manners were fascinating and attractive, and there was every
prospect of success in the path to greatness. But even in those
early years, from which holy thoughts and aspirations are too
frequently excluded, the boy was nursing a high and a deter-
mined sj)irit. The sports of other children had for him no
charm. The honour of his family should suffer nothing in his
hands, but could it not be enhanced, he thought, if he became
the servant of the King of heaven ? Frithegode, the poetical
biographer of Wilfrid,* was his instructor, and placed before the
youth the authors of antiquity, but it was upon the page of the
Divine story that Oswald loved especially to dwell. His ardent
spirit burned within him at the glorious recital. Dane although
he was, he could there observe a wisdom deeper and more sub-
lime than the greatest Northmen could have imagined. There
were poetry and adventure grander and more vivid than those of
the most impassioned sagas. And then Frithegode would tell
him what great men, in later days, had learned out of that book
the lesson of their lives. He would hear of Benedict and his
noble rule — of Augustine and his spiritual triumphs — how Beda

f Symeon, De Arch. Ebor., col. V9. Athelstan, and a nephew, Elfwin. (Cf.

Stubbs, col. 1691). Mr. Stubbs omits Thomas' Worcester, 41-7.) Oswald,

his name altogether. another nephew, was a monk at Eamsey

f Eadmer, Vita S. Osw., apud Angl. (Hist. Raraes., 430), and an author
Sacr., ii., 192-3, compared with MS. (Pitseus, 181. Bale, cent, ii., 150). A
Cotton, Nero, E. i., and the life by grammarian of the name of Constan-
Servatus, prior of Worcester, in the tine, according to Leland, wrote a
library of the dean and chapter of Dur- poem in Latin Elegiacs, which he ad-
ham, B. iv., 39, B. Chron. de Mailros, dressed to archbishop Oswald in com-
33. Hist. Ramesiensis, apud Gale, i., mendation of his learned nephew.
39J- * Eadmer, 193. Hist. Rames., 391.

Oswald had two brothers, Osulf and Mabillon, Ann. Ben., iii., 541.

972 992.] ARCHBISHOP OSWALD. 119

toiled and died — liow Wilfrid worked and suffered for the cause
of God. There was his uncle Odo with the pall of primacy
upon his shoulders. Why should not he follow in the steps of
those who had done great things for God ? The die was cast,
and the boy^s resolution was firmly taken.

He was sent by his uncle to Winchester, and there he be-
came, in the first instance, an ordinary canon, and, afterwards,
the superior or dean.' The glories of Winchester had not yet
arisen. The ecclesiastics there were merely secular canons.
They were married men, and their lives were anything but what
they ought to have been.-' The evil was too firmly seated to be
remedied by a youthful superior, and Oswald was too conscien-
tious to be a silent spectator of what he could not cure. He
went in sorrow to archbishop Odo* and acquainted him with his
difficulties and scruples. He told him how unprofitable to him-
self and others had been his life at Winchester. He was dis-
gusted with the pride and avarice of his brethren. Their praises
sickened him. He was resolved to attach himself to a religious
order and become a monk. He would seek for the repose,
which he had not yet found, within the walls of Fleury, and
learn the rule of Benedict at the resting-place of its holy founder
by the waters of the Loire.

Odo was overjoyed at his nephew's determination, and sent
him on his way with commendatory letters, and blessings, and
advice. He had passed some time at Fleury himself, and the
toilsome honours of age had not banished from his recollection
that sacred shrine. The youthful scholar was received within
the same walls, and professed himself a monk. The same ardent
longing that led Wilfrid to the eternal city from the solitudes of
Lindisfarne, directed the steps of Oswald to the " Queen of
Monasteries.'' The noble stranger was received with open arms
by the abbat and his brethren. They watched with affectionate
admiration the zeal of the youthful devotee. They had grown
grey themselves in the path of duty, but when they looked at
Oswald they were not ashamed to confess that they could still
take a lesson from one so much younger than themselves.

'■ Elected dean " ooncanonicorura terrestres, nee vero honores quos ser-

conciliante suffragio." MS. Dunelm., vavit Christo non sibi, siout postea rei

fol. 7. probavit eventus. In diebus illis non

J The following account of Oswald's monastic! viri ipsius sanctaj institu-

life at Winchester is taken from the tionisregulseerantinregioneAnglorum,

MS. in the Cottoniau library. " Erat sed orant religiosi et dignissimi clerici,

enim valde inclitus in omnibus operibus qui tamen thesauros suos quos avidis

suis, amabilis et affabilis omnibus ami- adquirebant cordibus non ad ecclesiae

cis suis. Eulgebat cotidie in sericis honorem sed suis dare solebant uxori-

vestibus, et epulabatur per singiilos bus."
soles splendide, cui suppeditabant gazoe * Eadmer, 193-4, Hist. Eames., 391.

120 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Docility there was in him, and a gentle manner far beyond his
years. * He would watch and pray in secret over the require-
ments of his hi"h calling. He mastered all that the brethren
could teach him, moving quietly among them with a happy
countenance. Several years' passed away, and he was still at
Fleury. He had taken upon himself all the orders of the
church. He was noAV a priest, and his highest aspiration was
that he might pass away to his rest Avithin those walls where he
had leai'ned the lesson, that there is joy and pleasure even in
the cloistered cell.

Odo was delighted when he heard what his nephew had
done at Fleury, how he had answered, and more than answered,
his warmest wishes and desires. His own day of life was closing,
and, before it ended, he was eager to see again his kinsman, of
A^liom he was so proud. He besought him to return to England,
to aid him in his diocese, to visit him once more. The sum-
mons was not one that an affectionate heart could refuse. The
brethi-cn would fain have detained Oswald, and wept at his
departure, but he hastened across the channel. With all his
speed he was too late. The primacy was vacant before he
reached the shores of England. The death of his uncle caused
him the most poignant affliction. He went to Canterbury, but
the sight of the place awakened many bitter memories. His
patron, his dearest kinsman, was lost to him. Whither should
he now turn ?'"■

Oskytel, another relation, had just become the head of the
Northern province. He welcomes Oswald with open arms. The
prelate sets out for Rome to secure for himself the pall, and his
kinsman accompanies him. Oswald, however, was unable to
pass by the walls of Fleury. He left the train of Oskytel, and
turned aside to his favourite abode. The inmates welcomed
him with joy ; and he returned with a happy heart to his old
path of duty.

Whilst he was at Fleury the archbishop returned to England,
but in the management of his vast diocese he soon missed the
energy and experience of his kinsman. He entreated him to
desert the Loire for the Ouse, and to revive within his province
a stricter f()rm of discipline ; and Oswald, nothing loth, accepted
his invitation." The English monasteries were at that time in

' Mabillon, Ann. Ben., iii., 511, .says died in 961.

that O.swald went to Fleury circa 959. " Eadmer, 197. Hist. Eames., 392.

It was probably earlier than this. Re- " velut Joseph uterinum Benjamin,

cueil das Histonens des Gaules, \-iii., cepit eum amplexibus fovere; quern

607. .Mabillon, Acta SS. ord. S. B., secum retinuit plurimis diebus, com-

^^«,' T?'\ '■' ^^V -rr mendans ipsura omnibus amicis suis,

i^admer, 191-6. Hi.st. Eames., 391. presertim Dunstano" (MSS. Cotton,

Malmesbury, ap.id Savile, 153 b. Odo Nero E., i., 6, a. b.) " In omni man-

972 — 992.] ARCHBISHOP oswald. 121

great need of a reformer. They were filled, principally, with
secular canons wlio observed no discipline, and were guided, for
the most part, by no religious rule. Time and neglect had all
but obliterated the lessons of Theodore and Wilfrid. A master-
spirit, hoAvever, was now arising, who was bold enough to cor-
rect the evil and to enforce, as far as he could, the great system
of which Benedict was the author. Dimstan was now sitting
in the chair of Odo. That energetic man had heard of the
fame of the monk of Fleury. Who woidd be more able to assist
him in his projects of reform ? They met, and the most affec-
tionate intercourse ensued. As a proof of his esteem, and that
Oswald might have a larger sphere of usefulness, Dunstan pre-
vailed upon king Edgar to advance his friend in the year 961 to
the bishopric of Worcester, which he had himself recently
vacated."

Oswald was a most energetic prelate. The main object of
his endeavoirrs was the revival of the ancient order and discipline
of the church, which had been too long neglected, and he saAV
no other method of bringing this about except by the re-intro-
duction of the Benedictine rule and the suppression of the
houses of secular canons. In these designs he had two able
coadjutors in the archbishop and Ethelwold of Winchester, the
triple light, as the historian calls them, which scattered the
darkness from ofl' the face of England.^ The position of Dim-
stan gave him the greatest amorait of influence, especially with
the king, but Oswald was in reality the designer and chief
mover in the reformation. The sovereign was induced to pass
a decree at a council of the church, ordering the expulsion of
the married clergy, and the name of ' Oswald^s law ' which was
given to it, points to the bishop of Worcester as its originator.??
That prelate had already established a little colony of twelve
monks from Fleury at a place called Westbury, under the cliarge
of Germanus, and the sight of that house was so gratifying to
the king that he directed more than forty monasteries to be
constructed after the same model.'" As soon as the " law " was
passed, Oswald expelled the secular canons from seven churches

svietudine susceptus, mansitabat a latere Eadmor, Hist. Novorum, apud Anselmi

ejus ill magnificentia dies non paucos" Op., 28. Turketyl of Croyland was a

(Servatus., 10). great friend of the three (Ord. VilaUs,

" Eadmer, 198. Flor. Wigorn., 356. apud Duchesne, 541). Polydore Yer-

Hist. Rames., 392-3. Chron. de Mail- gil, 119.

ros, 32. Wendover, i., 2G0. Symeon, i Eadmer, 200. Hi.st. Eamcs., 393.

De Gestis, col. 158. Hoveden, apud Labbe Cone, ix., 690-9. Spelman, 476.

Savile, 244. Chron. Petrib., 30, where AVilkins, i., 239, 24G-9. The circuui-

the date 960 is given. Dunstan was the stance was recorded in the windows at

consecrator. Worcester. (Thomas, 16, 31.)

p Malmesbury, apud Savile, 31 b., ' MSS. Cotton, Nero E. i., 7 b.

122 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

in his diocese, putting monks in their room, Pershore and
"\^'in(•hc()mhe being, prohahly, two of the places in which the
cliange was made.* But the career of the reformer was beset
with many difficulties. He was powerfid enough to remodel the
monasteries of Ely and St. Albans;' nay, one chronicler goes so
far as to say that he had a controlling power over all the reli-
gious houses in England," but he was foiled within his own
diocese, where the secular canons had great influence. He
could do little with his own church at Worcester. He endea-
voured to lessen the authority of the canons, and granted leases
of their property." He built, also, by Dunstan^s advice, a rival
church in the cemetery of that belonging to his opponents. In
it he was accustomed to officiate himself, and by his personal de-
meanor and holy life, accompanied by a little justifiable adroit-
ness, the new sanctuaiy became gradually thronged with wor-
shippers, and was regarded as the principal temple in the diocese.
The secular canons were slowly but surely pushed out of their
places."'

The year 972 witnessed the end of Oskytel of York, and
Dunstan seems to have been exceedingly desirous that the
Northern primacy should fall into the hands of some one who
■would uphold the Benedictine rule. The struggle between the
two religious parties was at its height, and York, as Dunstan
felt, could not be safely given up. Who was so well qualified
to moderate the vacant see as Oswald, who had worked in the
province under his kinsman Oskytel ? He induced Edgar to
offer it for his acceptance, and, after some hesitation, Oswald
was prevailed upon to take it.* But that the good work which
was going on in the diocese of Worcester should neither be
prevented nor retarded, the new occupant of the chair of
Pauliuus was allowed, at Dunstan^s suggestion, to retain in
commendam the ecclesiastical superintendence of his bishopric
in the Soiith.^ It was quite impossible, as was proved by the

• Eadmer, 200. BaroniiAnn.,x., 937. seem to say that more or less force was

' Eadmer, 201. used. Wendover, i., 262. Hovedeu,

" Ord. Vitalis, apud Duchesne, 517. 244 b. Symeon, De Gestis, col. 155.

" Quia multiplici tam sagacitate quam Chron. Petrib., 31 . Higden, apud Gale,

honitate pollebat, omnibus Anglise cse- i., 267. This seems to have taken place

nobiis pra.'positus erat." in 969.

" Thomas's Bishops of Worcester, ■^ Symeon, De Gestis, col. 159. Labbe,

40, etc. Oswald justified this practice Bibl., i., 323. Chron. de Mailros, 33.

to the king. Codex, Diplom., i., pref. Hoveden, apud Savile, 244 b. Higden,

XXXV. In that valuable work, vol. iii., apud Gale, i., 217. Several writers

the.-e are many of these grants. make the year 971. Fl. Wigorn., 359.

" "Non vi pulsis sed arte circum- Eadmer, 203. Wendover, i., 268.

yentis" (Malmcsbury, apud Sa\'ile, 153 Symeon and Hoveden. Stubbs, col.

6) Eadmer, 202-3. Fl. Wigorn., 359. 1699. Servatus, fol. 14.

Chron. Mailros, 33. Other writers y Eadmer, 204. Bad. de Diceto, col.

972 992.] ARCHBISHOP OSWALD. 123

result, for any one to do justice to such a charge, and nothing
but a very cogent reason ought to have suggested even the
temporary union of two dioceses which were so far apart.

Immediately after his acceptance of the Northern see,
Oswald set out for Rome and obtained the pall at the hands of
John the pope.- On his return to England he was solemnly
installed at York. A biogi*apher of the archbishop gives us an
interesting account of the city at that early period." The walls
and the magnificent buildings were greatly in decay, which had
been accelerated no doubt by the neglect of its inhabitants and
the assaults of invaders. From a strong military position it
was being gradually changed into the mart for commerce, which
was its glory in the middle ages. The wealth of the city, even
then, was in its shops and warehouses. It was thronged Avith
Danish merchants. The adult population was at least thirty
thousand. All this seems to shew that the accounts of the
gi"eat mischief which the Danes did to York has been exaggerated.
They seem to have occupied the city and not to have spoiled or
destroyed it. Oswald, who was a Dane himself, would be wel-
comed by the inhabitants. The ceremonial at his installation
was a magnificent one. When his devotions in the chm'ch were
over, he went to his own hall which was sprinkled with holy
water. He then distributed the pa?iis benedictus with his hands
in the shape of a cross, according to ancient custom. The
banquet then began.* After this the chroniclers are silent, and
we know next to nothing of what Oswald did at York, although
he presided over that see for twenty years. There was no
Northern writer to speak of what he effected in Northumbria.
One biogi'apher records a visit which the archbishop paid to
Ripon, where he discovered the remains of Wilfrid and the
early abbats of that place. He placed the bones of that great
prelate in a feretory and carried them, as Eadmer says, to
Worcester.'^ The same writer, in another work, has told us that
Odo had prcAdously removed the bones of the Northern worthy

456, says that the two sees were held edificata et i5rmiter muris constructa,

together because the Danes had wasted quse nunc dimissa vetustate ; quae tamen

Northumbria. gaudet de multitudine populorura, non

' Some writers say poyje Stephen. minus virorum ac muHeruni, exceptis

Eadmer, 20t. Chron. de Mailros, 33. parvulis et pubetinis, quaiu x.xx milia

Symeon, De Arch. Ebor., col. 79. in eadem civitate numerati sunt, quae

Stubbs, col. 1699. Fl. Wigorn., 359. inediciabiliter repleta et mercatorum

The pope was John XIII. Cf. L'art gazis locupleta qui undique adveniunt,

de verifier les Dates, i., 272, ed. 1783. maxime ex Danorum gente."

" This new and most valuable in- * MS. Cotton, Nero, E. i., 16.

formation is taken from MSS. Cotton, ' Eadmer, 205-6. He says that the

Nero, E. i., 15 6. " Est civitas Eboraca resting-place of these good men was

metropolis totius gentis Northanim- revealed to Oswald in a dream. The

brorum, quae quondam erat nobiliter Cottonian MS. omits this.

12 i FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

to Canterbury, and he speaks of tliis Wilfrid as if he were the
second bishop of that name, forgetting entirely that that prelate
■Nvas never canonized. The whole story must be looked upon
with suspicion.

AVe hear a good deal of Oswakrs reforms in the South, but
there is little to shew us that he made any change in the Northern
monasteries. From this want of evidence it has been inferred
by some that the Benedictine rule was already in existence in
the North, and that there was nothing for him to reform. With
this opinion I cannot agree."^ I do not believe that the Bene-
dictine rule was ever firmly established in the North till after
the Conquest. The minster at York was never occupied by
monks. The observance of order and discipline may have been
pressed upon the canons, and it may, perhaps, have been partially
attended to imder a diligent archbishop, but they never became
monks, in the proper sense of that word. They lived upon a
common fund and had a common dormitory and refectory, from
which it may be inferred that they were unmarried, but they
Avere never Benedictines. Had they been so, the minute in-
structions which Alcuin AATote to the brethren at York would
have been unnecessary ; and within thirty years after the death
of Oswald the canons rejected a strict archbishop, and they were
thence called " osores monachorum."'' If the Benedictine in-
fluence had been strong in Northumbria the bones of Wilfrid
would never have been removed into the South, assuming that
they were actually taken away. I believe that Oswald accepted
the see of York, not with the certainty of being able to carry
out his reforms in that pro\dnce, but to keep some religious
opponent out of the position. To attend adequately to the
two dioceses was impossible. The whole of the North was
seamed and scarred by the sanguinary warfare of the native
princes in years gone by, and the incursions of the Danes.
How could Oswald work there? There were troubles enough
in his old diocese of Worcester. The duke of Mercia was
taking the part of the secular canons, and he was to be with-
stood. He Avould carry the day if the archbishop remained in

'' In the Cottoiiian MS. is the follow- account of the visit to Eipon, and

ing remarkable passage, "De loco in probably refers to that church or to

quo ejus pontificalis cathedra posita est, that of Worcester. The writer, it will

quid referam, quidquedicam? Nonne be observed, speaks with doubt and

in eo in quo quondam mansital^ant uncertainty, and knew little or nothing

diaconcs et struciones(sie)fecit Deo ser- about Northern affairs. Ripon had been,

viremonachos? Edificavit novse Hiero- in the first instance, a Benedictine

solimse portas, construxit ipsius cajnobii house, and had been recently destro3'ed

nova fundamenta qua? ad perfeccionem by the Danes.

perrecit,^et cum simplicitate cordis Deo <■ This title is given to them by

optiiht." Leland. See the beginning of the life

ihis comes immediately after the of Alfric, p. 134.

972 — 992.] ARCHBISHOP Oswald. 125

Northumbria. It was wiser to strengthen the honsc wliich he
had erected in the Sonth, than to try to erect another in the
North with its fonndations on the sand.

The number of charters in existence which were granted by
Oswald in connection with the see of Worcester, shews how
permanent was his continuance in that diocese.^^ J3ut he liad
many other avocations, and during the reign of Edgar he seems
to have occupied a very important position in the state. He
was a witness to the charter of privileges granted to the abbey
of Peterborough by king Edgar ; he was present when the same
monarch re-founded the ancient monastery at Glastonbury .i'
He took an active part in the coronation of Edgar, Edward,
and Ethelred.'' But when the sceptre fell from the grasp of
Edgar, a series of troubles began which embittered the remainder
of Oswald's life. The power of the secular canons revived
under the influence of Elf here of Mercia ; his favoimte monks
were neglected or expelled, and the plans upon which the best
of his energies and intellect had been spent were scattered to
the winds.' This was a cruel issue for a life full of honest
purposes and self-sacrificing devotion.

There was one place, however, where Oswald was not for-
gotten, and which he watched and tended in prosperity and
adversity, and that was the monastery of Ramsey. There it
was that he had prevailed upon the pious Alwine to erect a shrine
to God, and he had himself assisted him. Lonely that place
was before that temple was erected, girt with stagnant pools, and
covered with reeds and brushwood that love the water ; but even
there three holy men had fixed their abode, and the voice of
praise was heard among the rushes as they trembled in the
wind and startled the bittern from its resting-place. The walls
of a church were raised upon that island, for such it then was ;
a colony of monks soon nestled within them, fostered and
endowed by the oflferings of the faithful. As years passed on
there was a shrinking in the treacherous fen ; two towers fell to
the ground; the pillars and arches cracked and terrified the
trembling inmates. A nobler shrine was now reared upon the
old foundations, and one of the last acts of Oswald's life Avas its

-'■ Codex Diplom., ii., 383, etc. Hist,. 704. Spelman, Cone, 483. Du^^cl.

Moil, de Abingdon, i., var. loc. Tliere Mori., i., 51.

are also charters granted or witnessed * Chron. de Mailros, 33, 35. Y\.

by Oswald in Wanley, 199, 200, etc. Wigorn., 359, 362. lugulpb, apud

MSS. Cotton, Vesp. A. v. Appendix Gale, iii., 54. "Wendover, i., 265-7.

to Smith's edition of Beda, 773-4, 8. lloveden, 244-5. Symeon, De Gestis,

Hickes' Dissert. Ep., 70. Wilkius, i., col. 159-60. Diccto,' col. 457-9. Ger-

258. vase, col. 16 17. Stubbs, col. 1 699.

s- Saxon Chron., 156. Malinosbury, ' MSS. Cotton, Nero, E. i., 12 i.

apud Gale, i., 321. Hist. Caenobii Mabillon, Ann. Ben., iii., 638.
Burg. (Sparke), 19. Labbe, Cone, ix.,

12G FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

consecration. This was in November, 991. It must have been
a touching and a melancholy sight. The archbishop and his
frieiul Alwine met there for the last time. The aged prelate
was bowed down with years, and sorrow had sets its mark upon
his brow ; and all felt within themselves, as they gazed upon
his face, that the light of this earthly sun would not long illumine
it. " I am geing hence,''^ he said, in that strangely prophetic
tone which the world-worn saint can use, " I must leave you all
soon ; may Christ make us all one in paradise."-'

These were his last words ; and with tears and blessings he
returned to Worcester to prepare himself for the end. The
summons, however, was not given for awhile. The winter came
and was passing away with its snows and showers. It was now
the holy season of Lent, In addition to his many acts of piety
and devotion it was the custom of the aged prelate at that sacred
time to wash day by day the feet of twelve poor persons, kissing
and wiping them with a towel after the example of the Mag-
dalene and her Lord. One day the brethren found him stand-
ing beneath the open canopy of heaven and gazing, with silent
prayer upon his lips, on the skies above him. " I am looking,"
was his answer to an enquiry, " on the way that I am to take.
Oh, my children, let me have a little foretaste of the joys that
are to be mine. The morrow shall not pass before I see that
eternal rest for which I have laboured until now." He spoke
and re-entered the little oratory that he had left, but his eye
Avas still bright, and there was no symptom nor shadow of the
end that was so near.

The morrow came with its customary work, and the holy
eucharist was given to him, for he desired it. The twelve poor
people came to him according to their wont. He tottered as he
stooped to them, but he would stoop. He washed their feet
and kissed them as of old. It was done, and the verses of the
psalm — " Oculi mei semper ad Dominum" — mine eyes are ever
waiting upon the Lord — were over, and he was in the midst of
them. When he came to the doxology they bowed in suppliant
obeisance. " Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto "* was
what he said. There was a pause. He spoke no longer to
earthly ears, and yet, perchance, that sentence was completed in
another state and in a more exalted presence.^

The day of his departure was the 28th of February, 992.'"

J Eadmer, 207-8. Hist. Rames., ' Eadmer, 208-9. Chron.de Mailros,

apud Gale, i., 395. Chron. de Mailros, 38. Hoveden, apud Savile, 245 b. Hig-

38. Fl. Wigorn., 365. Chron. Petrib., den, apud Gale, i., 267. MabiUon, Ann.

31,5 Hoveden, col. 245 6. Syraeon, Ben., iv., 81. Baronii Ann., x., 1024

De Gestis, col. 162. Stubbs, col. 1699. -5.

* The venerable Beda departed with -" Saxon Chron., 168. Eadmer, 210.

the same words upon his lips. Hist. Rames., 426. Wendover, i., 271.

972 992.] ARCHBISHOP OSWALD. 127

They laid his bones in his own church at Worcester," and his
successor^ Adulph, placed them honourably in a scrinium or
feretory." Miracles are said to have been wrought there, and a
halo of sanctity hung around the memory of Oswald.^ He was
entered on the calendar. Two of that name were enshrined in
that sacred page. The one was the holy prelate of whom we
are now speaking; the other was the good king of Northumbria
who earned for himself a crown of martyrdom on the battle-
field. The former sleeps in the church that he erected; the
mutilated head of the latter was laid, where it still reposes, on
the breast of St. Cuthbert in his tomb at Dui-ham.

The portiphor of St. Oswald is still preserved in the library
at C. C. C. Cambridge.? His infula or stole of purple and gold,
set with gems and of radiant beauty, was treasured in the
minster at Beverley in the time of Stubbs. This was probably
the stole which Adulph found in his tomb at Worcester.'"

Oswald is said to have been the author of several works
which are now lost. They were, a Collection of Letters to his
uncle Odo ; a work inscribed to his friend Abbo, commencing
with the words Praescientia Dei monachus ; a treatise. Ad Sanctos,
composed whilst he was at Fleury, and beginning Oswaldus,
supplex monachus ; and Statuta Synodalia, in one book."

Oswald, himself, has had several biographers. The first in
age and importance, is an unknown monk of Ramsey, whose
work is now in the British Museum.^ It is a MS. of the
noblest kind, written certainly within twenty or thirty years

Symeon, Higden, FL, Stubbs, Hovedeu, Biogr. Lit, i., 467.

Chron. Petrib., and Mailros, ut supra. ' One of the finest MSS. that I ever

" Symeon, Higden, Flor., Wen- saw. It is entituled, " Vitae et Passiones

dover and Eadmer, ut supra. Lei. Coll., Sanctorum," and is written, in various

iv., 81, 160. Hickes, Dissert. Ep., 120. hands, by a very bold scribe upon the

Mabillon, Ann. Ben., iv., 81. finest vellum. It is of the folio size,

° Servatus, fol. 21. Chron. de Mail- and the caligraphy is excellent. The

ros, 40. Diceto, col. 461. Dr. Thomas, class mark is Nero, E. i. The life of

in his history of Worcester (61), gives Oswald is written in double column,

an engraving of a tomb attributed to and occupies twent^^-one folios. On

Oswald, the work of a later age. I the first leaf is a note in the hand of

have, unfortunately, been unable to the celebrated archbishop Ussher, sug-

examine a copy of Hemmiug's Chronicle gesting that Elfric was the author,

of Worcester. Dr. Thomas, however, The writer, however, disj^roves this by

has made great use of it. saying (15 a) whilst speaking of a

p Eadmer, 209. miracle, " Est hujus rei testis Elfricus

1 Among the Parker MSS., K. 10 archiepiscopus civitatis Cautise. Sunt

(Catalogue, pr. in 1722. Wanley, 110. alii quam plurimi conspicui viri (qui

Smith's Cat. of MSS). The book for- dicant) quod vera sunt quaj dicimus."

merly belonged to the church of Wor- The following passage shews that the

cester. author was a monk at Ramsey or Wor-

' Stubbs, col. 1699. Servatus, fol. cester, " Nobis autem prscposuit Jithel-

21. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., iv., 81. nothum, et illis, qui sub eo erant in

' Bale, cent, ii., 141. Pitseus, 180. civitate, anteposuit VVynsinum,quierat

Tanner, Bibl. Brit., 560. Wright, nostri cenobii gimnasio eruditus."

128 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

after the decease of Oswald, and full justice has not yet been
done to it. The style is occasionally inflated and dift'use, but
the life contains some novel and valuable information.

There is another life of the archbishop by Eadmer, the
biographer of Wilfrid, which is printed in the Anglia Sacra."
This is merely an abstract, at times carelessly and clumsily done,
of the earlier account by the monk of Ramsey. There is an
abridgment of the life by Eadmer among the Lansdowne MSS.''
in the British Museum, which forms the text, I believe, that is
adopted by Mabillon.'"

Servatus, who was prior of Worcester in the twelfth century,
drew up an account of Oswald. There is a copy of this MS.,
which is generally believed to be lost^ in the valuable library of
the dean and chapter of Durham. It is founded upon the earlier
biographies, especially upon that of Eadmer, and makes use
very frequently of the same sentences and words. It is e^ddently
a compilation for the use of the church of Worcester, with
additions to the previously received accounts ; one, in particular,
describes the translation of Oswald^s remains by Adulph.-^

Alfric of Canterbury and Folcard, the biogi'apher of St. John
of Beverley, are said to have described the acts and deeds of
Oswald, but their works are not known to be in existence.^'
There is much interesting information about Oswald in the
history of Ramsey abbey, which has been published by dean
Gale.* The chroniclers of that house had good reason to re-
member and commemorate him.

" Anglia Sacra, ii., 191. Cf. i)r8efat. are three lives, one abridged from Ead-
ad eandem, xiv. mer, another extracted from the Ram-
" No. ccccxxxvi., 76-81. Among sey chronicle, and the third, a compila-
other lives of the Saints written in tion from Capgrave and the Bollandists.
the fifteenth century. The book once There is a life in Capgrave's Nova Le-
belonged to Eamsey abbey. genda, ccli., etc.
- Acta SS. ord. S. B., saoc. v., 728. ' Other works relating to Oswald are
' A most beautiful MS. of the in existence which I have not seen, but
twelfth century, in small folio. The it is not probable that they contain
class mark is B. iv., 39 B. The volume, anything new, e.c/. "Vita S. Oswald!
also, contains the life of St. AYulstan, archiepiscopi, ejusdemque miracula"
and probably belonged at one time to (MSS. Bodl. F. 6,2130, 15) and "Mira-
the church of Worcester. It has been cnla S. Oswald! Ebor. archiepiscopi"
at Durham for many centuries, as is (Benet Coll. Cambr.)
evident by the foUomng inscription In the old library of the monks of
upon a fly-leaf, " Iste liber assiugnatur Peterbro' were " Versus magistri Hen-
communi almariolo Dunelm. ex pro- rici de vita S. Oswald!" (Gunton's
curatione domini Johannis de Eypon Peterbro, 205). In MSS. Bodl., 3886, is
monachi et medici." a tract " De Vita et miraculis S. OS-
S' Ord. Vitahs, lib. ii. Oudinus !!., waldi," given by Thomas Lord Fairfax ;
1076. There are lives and notices of and there is a similar life in the library
Pr'''']rp\"'H*''^^-^^^-' ''"'•"'•' '^^3- of St. John's Coll. Oxford (Smith's
56 (raken from Eadmer). Mabillon, Cat.) These may, perhaps, refer to king
Acta bb. ord. S. B., socc. v., where there Oswald, and not to the archbishop.

992 1002,] ARCHBISHOP ADULPH. 129

J^^tiulp!}, tlie abbat of the monastery of St. Peter at Burgh,
was the successor of Oswald. The retreat, of which he was
the president, was founded three centuries before his time by
Wulfere of Mercia. It was then known by the name of Medes-
hamstead, and had a munificent endowment. The Danes at
length laid it in the dust, and it was the privilege of Ethelwold
of Winchester, in the latter part of the tenth century, to prevail
upon his royal master, Edgar, to restore it. The inmates were
henceforward to observe a new rule, and the place received at
the same time a new name. It was called the burgh or town of
St. Peter, a title that still survives to us in the modern Peter-
borough.

The history of Adulpli and his connection with Burgh is a
remarkable one. Like others of his day, he held a high posi-
tion at court, and was chancellor to king Edgar. A domestic
affliction is said to have opened his eyes to the vanity of earthly
honours, and to have changed the whole current of his life.
He had an only son who was unhappily overlaid by his parents
as he slept between them. The distressed father was appalled
at this involuntary crime, and was about to cross the seas to
seek for absolution at Rome, when bishop Ethelwold told him
that he could best atone for what had occurred by deeds of
mercy and charity at home. The old abbey of Medeshamstead
was in ruins : Croyland had already arisen in beauty through
the care of Turketyl; there was an example for him to copy
and a field to work upon. The resolution of the nobleman was
soon taken. He went to Medeshamstead, and there, in the pre-
sence of the monarch and his court, devoted his worldly sub-
stance to the restoration of that ruined temple. He resigned
his office, and assuming the dress of a Benedictine, gave up the
remainder of his days to unlearn the ways of the world that
he had renounced.''

Adulph could not have been long at Burgh before he was
raised by Ethelwold to the post of abbat of that monastery.*
Who was more worthy of that honour? To his munificence
and energy was due the restoration of that shrine, and he had
set an example which the monarch and his nobles had been
glad to follow.'' A church of rare beauty had arisen in that

" Hist. Coenobii Burg., apud Sparke, S. Ethelwoldi, apud Mabillon, Acta SS.

18. Chron. Petrib., 35. Lei. Coll., i., ord. S. B., sacc. v., 616. Hist. Mon. de

6, 7. Gunton's Peterbro', 10-11. The Abingdon, ii., 262.

metrical hist, of Peterbro' in Sparke, <• Hist. Coenob. Burg., 18. Adulph's

217, which begins thus :— gift to the church when he became a

" Un chaunceier avoit le rei, Aduif lapcii; mouk was a remarkable oue, " plenam

Cii en out un petit fiz, quii tant aniat." hastam armillis extra argentum et variis

* Ingulph, apud Savile, 502 b. Vita oruamentis."

K

130 FASTI KBOKACENSES. [a.D.

^vild rountry. The brakes and forests were cleared away, the
fV'us were drained, and moss and moor at length owned the
sni)remacy of man.'' Good Avork like this cannot be too highly
praised, and, nnfortnnately, avc know too little of i^s author.
AVc arc told that Adulph was present at the consecration of
Ramsey abbey," and, in the year 975, he and the abbat of
Thorney committed their friend Tnrketyl to the tomb.-^ For
the next seventeen years his energies seem to have been quietly
and unostentationsly devoted to the interests of his monastery.

In 992 the death of Oswald vacated the sees of York and
Worcester, and the abbat of Burgh was appointed his successor
bv the common voicc.^ He held both these arduous and
honourable posts for the same reason, in all probability, that
liad imited them in the person of his predecessor. We know-
little of his episcopal career. He did not, as it is said, make
his obedience to Canterbury.'' The prelate who did so was
Adulph a bishop of Lindsey. Like Oswald, he was a great
friend and benefactor to Fleury.' We find him making and
witnessing a few grants,-' and we hear nothing more of him.
But who can say that that life was fruitless and those years
misspent about which the chroniclers are mute ? Out of that
silence there seems to come the sound of a far more approving
voice Avhich whispers to us of the good deeds of one " whose
praise is not of man but of God.^^

There was, however, one great scene at Worcester in which
Adulj)h took a part, the translation of the remains of Oswald
to a more befitting resting-place. This was done on the loth
of April, 1002. King Ethelred was there with a long array of
bislioi)s and holy men, and the ceremonial must have been a
magnificent one.* Six weeks after this, on the 5th of June,'

'' Saxon Chron., 156. Lei. Coll., i., * Fl. Wigorn., 370. Chron. de Mail-

6,7. Gtinton, 9-10, 248-9. ros, 40. Chron. Petrib., 38. Wen-

' Gunton, 11. dover, i., 276. Hoveden, apud Savile,

/ Tngulph, apud Savile, 505. 246. S3^meon, col. 164. Diceto, col.

s Saxon Chron., 169. Chron. Mail- 461. Stubbs, col. 1699. There is a
ros, 38. Anglia Sacra, i., 473. Syuieon, rather long account of the ceremony in
De Gestis, col. 162. "Omnium con- the life of Oswald by Servatus (MSS.
sensu, vel voluntate regis et episco- Dunelm., B. iv., 39, B., 21). The au-
poruni, cleri et populornm " (Hist. Coe- thor speaks of Adulph as " vir habitu
nobu Burg., 31). In 995 he signs a monachus et mandatorum Domini ex-
charter a.s "electus in episc. Ebor." imius executor."
(Hist. Mon.de Abingdon, i., 391) Was ' Ann. Wigorn. (apud Angl. Sacr.,
he at that time without the pall ? i., 473) make him die on May 6th ; so
Angha Sacra, i., 78. Textus llof- do Fl. Wigorn. (370) and Symeon (col.
fensis 248. 165.) A Worcester obituary says that

• Ma racsbury, apud Savile, 154. he died on June 4 (AVharton i., 473.)

J ^'''},^'' Diplom., iii., 280, 295, etc. The Peterbro' Obituarv, on June 5

Hist. Mon de Abingdon, i., 365, etc. (ibid.), the day on which his depositio

Thomas A^ orcester, 56. was commemorated in that church

1002 1023.] ARCHBISHOP WULSTAN II. 131

Adiilph^s own body was laid in the grave in the same chiu'ch in
which his predecessor was sleeping, whose holy life he had made
the model for his own.

^^ulStaU H* was raised to the archiepiscopate of York
and the see of Worcester on the death of Adulph,"' Of his
previous history there is little known. He is said to have been
a monk and an abbat." His family was an honourable one ;
many of his kinsmen were persons of consequence, and his
sister's son Brihteage became bishop of Worcester."

Like most of the prelates of his time Wulstan was a courtier,
and he is said to have been an especial favoui'ite of Ethelred,
Edmund, and Canute. I find him witnessing at York the gift
of Darlington which Ethelred made to St Cuthbert,^' and he
was present in 100^ when the same monarch confirmed the
foundation of Burton abbey. ^' About 1006 he was at the council
at Eynsham in Oxfordshire, when thirty-two canons were
enacted for the direction of the church and state, with a special
reference to the ravages of the Danes.'" In 1018 he witnessed
king Canute's grant of privileges to Canterbury.* In 1020 he
was with the same sovereign at the dedication of his church at
Assington.' In the same year he consecrated archbishop
Ethelnoth, and one of his own sufi'ragans, Edmund, bishop of
Durham." He was a kind benefactor to the church of Ely, and
was a man of consequence and repute both in the church and
the court.

The character of Widstan has been very severely assailed.
William of Malmesbury attacks him for holding two sees at one

(Dugd., Mon. i., 362.) A Lambeth uberibus proximorum industria edu-

Calendar makes tlae date June 5 (Gun- catus," The same thing was said of

ton, 248, 9.) The Peterbro' Chron. archbishops Kinsius and Frewen !

says, wrongly, that he died in 1003 (38). p Symeon, Hist. Dunelm., 149.

Cf. Saxon Chron., 176. Chron. Mail- ' Ann. Burton, apud Gale, iii., 246.

ros, 40. Hoveden, 246. SyTneon, col. •■ Spelmanni Cone, 510.

165. Stubbs, col. 1699. ' Ibid. There are other grants wit-

'" In 1002 or 1003, Fl. "Wigorn., 370. nessed or made by him in Codex Uiplom.,

Chron. de Mailros, 40. Symeon, De iii., 330, etc. ; iv., 1, etc. Chron. de

Gestis. col. 165. Wendover, i., 276. Abingdon, i., 380, etc. Smith's App^

" Fl. and Symeon, ut supra. Diceto, to Beda, 778-9. Hist. Eliensis, apud

col. 461. Hoveden, apud Savile, 246 6. Gale, i., 522-3. Dugd., Mon., i., 51.

Ann. Wigorn., apud Angl. Sacr., i., 473. Wanley, 300, etc.

Hist. Eliens., apud Gale, i., 506, where ' Saxon Chron., 202. Fl. Wigorn.,

it is said that he was a monk. 392. Hoveden, 250, h. Symeon, col.

" Fl. Wigorn., 397. Hoveden, 251. 177. Diceto, col. 467. Stubbs, col.

Hist. Eliens., 506. Symeon, col. 178. 1700. Hi.<t. Eliens., apud Gale, i.,

In the Hist. Eliens. (Gale, i., 506) it is 506.

said of Wulstan, " Secto matris utero " Saxon Chron., 202. Symeon, Hist,

in banc lucem productus fuerat et vaccae Dunelm., 156.

k2

132 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

time/ whilst he never eensurcs Oswakl and Adulph who did
the same thinj^. " Bip^amy of bishops/' says Fuller, " ^oes by
f\ivonr, and it is condemnable in one what is commendable in
anotlier/'*^ The Worcester historians are more severe than
Malnicsbnry. Abuse is recklessly showered upon Widstan.
Uc is called a plunderer and a robber.'^ They charged him
with taking away some of the lands of the see of Worcester and
appropriating them to that of York. Dr. Thomas, however, a
more recent chronicler of the church of Worcester,^ takes a
juster Adew. He says that, in all probability, the estates of the
two bishoprics had become so mixed together that it was
extremely difficult to separate them, and that, therefore, it is
unfair to attribute to design what may merely have been the
residt of accident. It was intended also, I believe, at this
time that the two sees should be always united. This scheme
sccnis to have had its origin, as I have already stated, in the
l)olicy of Dunstan and OsAvald; but afterwards when Nortli-
umbria Avas ravaged by the Danes, the possession of the Southern
Inshojjric was found to be necessary for the maintenance of the
Northern primate. It Avas on this ground that Edward the
(yonfessor subsequently decided in favour of their union.^ The
archliishops of Canterbury Avoidd not be likely to oppose it, as
the primate of the North would thus be placed in the position
of a suffragan to the successors of Augustine.

Wulstan is very honourably connected with Anglo-Saxon
literature. It is generally believed that he was the author of
the Homilies, to Avhich the name of Lupus Episcopus is affixed."
All of them are still unpublished, with the exception of one
Avhich is a striking addi'ess to his countrymen on the Danish in-
vasion.* It Avas Avritten in the year 1012, and exhibits a fearful
pictm-e of the vice and laAvlessness of the age. Wulstan was
also the author of an Encyclical Letter to the inhabitants of his

" De Gestis Pont., apud Savile, 154. Cotton, Nero, A. i. ; and others, called

He says that Wulstan ouglit not to " conoionunculse," in Tiberius, A. iii.

have held Worcester, because he dif- There is a transcript of five made by Fr.

fered from his two i)redecessors, " sane- Junius, with collations, in MSS. Bodl.,

titale et habitu." He was, however, a 5213 (Smith's Cat.) See Oudinus, ii.,

monk, and we can form an opinion now, 501 . There is a list of these Homilies

as well as Malmesbury, as to his sane- and much interesting information about

titas. them in Wanley, 27 — 30, 140-3.

" Church History, book ii., 130. ' This is in MS. in C. C. C, Cambr.

' Imijrobus wa.s the epithet generally (Smith's Cat.), and a copy by Junius in

applied to him. Thomas' AVorcester, 57. MSS. Bodl., 5213. It is printed in

v Hist. Worcester, 57. Hickes' Dissert. Ep., 99—106, edited

■• Thomas' AA orcester, app', i. by W. Elstob. A separate edition in

« \V anley (140) made this discovery. folio was published at Oxford in 1701,

1 hesc Honnhes are among the Parker " Sermo Lupi Episcopi, Saxonice. La-

rw . m,^" ^' ^■' Cambridge (Smith's tinam interpretafionem notasque adiecit

Cat.) There are some of them in MSS. GuUelmus Elstob."

1002 10.23.] ARCHBISHOP WULSTAN 11. 138

diocese/ and lie is said to have hccn tlie promulgator of a code
of rides which are called the Laws of the Northumlirian priests. "^
We are indebted to him, besides, for two Pastoral Letters which
Alfric Bata translated, at his suggestion, into Anglo-Saxon from
the Latin in which they were originally composed.* Wulstan,
therefore, in spite of what has been said against him, was a man
of piety and learning. He dared to be a censor at a time Avhcii
it was dangerous to rebuke. He was not ashamed of literature
when there were few to cultivate or appreciate it. Haymo
studied under his care at York/ Alfric Bata assisted him in
his literary labours ; and Alfric of Canterbury, another scholar,
remembered him affectionately in his will.^

There is a curious story connected Avitli Wulstan's end. He
had come to the monastery of Ely, a place to which he was
much attached, and the brethren welcomed him to their abode
with a reverent procession. The archbishop placed himself at
its head, and as he was moving up the church the staff, on which
he was leaning, sank deep into the groimd. " Here shall be
my resting-place,^^ ^* he said ; and so it was.^ He died at York
on the 28th of May, 1023,-' desiring again, before his eyes were
closed, that his bones should be removed to Ely. They laid
him in the ground at the appointed place, and miracles are said
to have borne witness to the sanctity of the archbishop. When
the monks of Ely restored their cathedral they were obliged to
disturb his remains, and they were laid for a while in the
cemetery of the brotherhood before they found a resting-place
in the renovated choir. The body had returned to its kindred

' In MS. at Corpus, Cambridge. dex Diplom., iii., 352.

There is a copy of it by Junius in MS S. * Hist. Eliens., apud Gale, i., 606.

Bodl., 5150, collated with MSS. Cotton, Diceto, col. 467. The legend of St.

Tiberius, A. iii. (Smith's Cat.) Cf. Wulstan thrusting his statf into the

"VVanley, 85, 137. stone will be remembered.

■^ There is a copy of this in MS. at ' Leland (Coll., i., 13) says that ho

Corpus. The Laws have been printed died at Ely, and expressed a wish to bo

in Labbe, Cone, Lx., col. 495; in Laws interred at Peterbro'. He was buried

and Institutes of England, ii., 290— at Ely. Fl. Wigorn., 393. Ilovedon,

303, and in Wilkins, i., 218-21, where 250, b. Ann. Wigorn., apud Angl.

they are put among documents of the Sacr., i., 473. Symeon, col.177. Diceto,

tenth century. Wilkins' Anglo-Saxon col. 467. Stubbs, col. 1700. In the

Laws, 98-102. Hist. Crenob. Burg. (45), it is said that

* Oudinus, ii., col. 494. In MS. at Wulslan had given to Peterbro' "se et

Coi^uis, and in MSS. Harl., 438, and omnia sua. Sed cum isset ad visitanda

elsewhere. Published in Laws and In- Sanctorum loca, et venisset ad Ely, ibi

stitutes of England, ii., 364-89, and in inlirmatus est et mortuus et sepultus."

Wilkins'Anglo-SaxonLaws, 161— 172. i Saxon Chron., 203. Fl. Wigorn.,

/ Tanner, Bibl. Brit. Pitseus, 181. 393. Ann. Wigorn., apud Angl. Sacr.,

s "And he becwoeth Uulfstane i.,473. Chron. de Mailros, 45. Symeon,

a?rcebiscope ane sweor-rode (a cross for col. 177. Stubbs, col. 1700. Iloveden

the neck), and anne ring and anne (Savile, 250, h), .says that he died on

psaltere" (Hist. Mon. de Abingdon, i., the 29th. Chron. of Winchester, ed.

416). Hickes, Dissert. Epist., 62. Co- Stevenson, 390.

131 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

dust wlien the grave was opened, but the vestments were uii-
decayed. The dress of the prelate was complete, and the won-
dering monks beheld the pall with its golden pins.*

_^^lfrtC, surnamed Piitta or Puttoe, was the next archbishop
of York.' At the time of his appointment he was provost of the
church of Winchester, one of the most important positions in
England. He was consecrated at Canterbm-y by archbishop
Egelnoth in 1023/" and received the pall at the bands of pope
John at Rome on the 12th of November, 1026." The see of
Worcester, in this instance, did not accompany the Northern
primacy, as Leofsi seems to have occupied it since about 1016,
acting probably as a suffragan to Wulstan during his life."

Alfric was closely comiected with the court, and for many
years took a prominent part in public affairs. In 1026 or
1027, when Canute, eager to atone for the offences which had
raised him to the throne, went as a pilgrim to Rome for absolu-
tion, he wrote a letter to the two archbishops acquainting them
and his subjects inth his design, and he addressed another to
them on his return.-?' In all probability the two prelates had
recommended that joui'ney, and speaking to the monarch of
the crimes of his earlier years had said to him,

" For, save alone
The hand of Christ's high vicar upon earth,
A hurt so heinous what may heal ?"

Not long after he came back the king was called away from
the kingdoms that he had Avon before a higher Sovereign, and
Alfric assisted his brother of Canterbmy in placing the crown
upon the head of Harold Harefoot.* In 1039 the throne was
again vacant, and Hardicanute took up the sceptre to which he

* Hist. Eliens., 507. Benthani's Ely, archiepiscopum esse" (Hist. Csenob.

^^' 91- Burg., apud Sparke, 45).

' Puttoc (Tl. Wigorn., 393). Putta •" Saxon Chroii., 203. PI. Wigorn.,

(Chron. Mailros, 45). Puttoc signifies 393. Chron. de Mailros, 46. Hoveden,

a kite, and the name, probably, is an apud Savile, 250 h. Symeon, col. 177.

unpleasant allusion to some of Alfric's Diceto, col. 468.

cruel acts. I am indebted to arch- " Saxon Chron., 205. Stubbs, col.

deacon Churton for this suggestion. 1700. Plor., etc., ut supra.

It -,vas at this vacancy, probably, that » Lei. Col., iii. 259. Thomas' Wor-

liigelnc (afterwards bishop of Durham) cester, 60.

was chosen archbi.shop, but w^as re- p Wendover,!., 298. Plor Wigorn.,

jected by the canons, " quia psone na- 394. Ingulph, apud Gale, iii. 59.

turaie est eis semper mvideremonachis; Malmesbury, De Gestis Eegum, apud

quia monachus erat, nolucrunt pati eum SaAale, 41 b. 'i Gervase, col. 1651.

1023 1050.] ARCHBISHOP ALFRIC. 135

had been previously entitled. One of the fii'st public acts of
the new king was the manifestation of a miserable and unfeeling
spite against his predecessor, which Alfric, unfortiniately for liis
own character, is said to have suggested as well as to have
carried out. The body of Harold was torn from its grave, and
was cast, without its head, into the Thames, to shew that lie
had been monarch by a false title.'' In 1040 the archbishop
appears as an informer. He accused earl Godwin, and Living,
bishop of Worcester, of being implicated in the murder of
Alfred, the half-brother of the king. The earl was too powerfid
to be assailed, but the prelate was driven away from his see,
which became the prize of the archbishop. Whilst he was in
possession of Worcester he had an opportunity of giving a blow
to the people of that city which they would long remember, and
which was prompted, it is said, by the angry disappointment
that he felt at their not choosing him originally as their bishop.
One of the unpopular taxes of the day was being collected, and
the people arose against the king^s servants who were gathering
it in, and two of them were slain. Upon that the archbishop
is said to have advised his master to plunder and bui'n the city
as a punishment for the offence.* His advice was adopted, and
Alfric is said to have been the chief agent in perpetrating the
crime. In the following year Alfric gave up the bishopric, and
permitted Living to return.^ All this does not place the arch-
bishop before us in a favourable light. The example of his old
master^ Canute, might have taught him a very ditferent lesson,
to say nothing of the words of a still greater Sovereign which
he professed especially to follow. In 1043, Alfric assisted at
the coronation of Edward the Confessor." We find his name
appended to numerous deeds, especially to one which Canute
made to the monks of Croyland."

There is some good to be set against the evil. I cannot
indeed attribute to Alfric the works that were composed by a
writer of that name.'" The head and the hand which prompted

" Malmesbury, De Gestis Pont. (Sa- ' Fl. Wigorn., 402. Wendover, i.,

vile, 154), brings this accusation against 303. Hoveden, Symeon, and Leland,

Alfric. Other writers do not allude to ut supra.

it, e.y., Fl. Wigorn., 401. Malmesbury, ' Symeon, col. 180.

DeE,eg.,43. Hoveden, 251 J. Symeon, " Fl. Wigorn., 40 k Chron. Mailros,

col. 180. Diceto, col. 474. Broraton, 48. Chron., Petrib., 46. Alurcd liev.,

col. 933. Higden, apud Gale, i., 276. 119. Wendover, i, 300. Symeon, col.

Lcl. Col., iii., 259. The chief argument 181. Diceto, col. 474. Bromton, col.

brought forward to shew that this 936. Stubbs, col. 1700. Ailred, col.

Alfric was not the writer, is his poli- 366 and 375. Gervase, col. 1651.

tical character, and he is condemned on " Dugd. Mon., ii., 118. Hist. Mou.

the sole testimony of Malmesbury. The de Abingdon, i., 54, 438, etc. Codex

point seems to be yet an open one, but Diplom., iv., 22, etc.

I leave it as I found it. " As there were several persons of

136 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

tliem were animated by a nobler and a more Christian spirit.
Hut tlicre are still some acts of cliarity and generosity which
-will buoy up the arclibishop's memory. He was a noble bene-
factor to Beverley and Peterborough. On the 25th of October,
1037, he took up the remains of his predecessor, St. John, and
translated them to a new shrine with a gorgeous ceremonial,
John had been canonized in the same year, probably at Alfric's
request. The bones were placed in a rich case, bright with gold
and silver and precious stones, which was deposited in a feretory
of cunning Morkmanship and marvellous design. In the same
church he established a sacrist, a chancellor and a precentor,
and added to the endowments by purchasing and presenting
lands in Middleton, Fridaythorpe, and Holm. He also ob-
tained from Edward the Confessor a gi'ant of three annual fairs
to be held in Beverley.^ To the abbey of Peterborough he
was also most munificent. He bestowed upon it some precious
vestments and plate. Their end was an unfortunate one.
Aboiit the year 1100 some Flemish and French thieves broke
into that famous monastery and stole a large cross, which stood
upon the altar, set with gems, two chalices with their patens,
and two candlesticks, all of pure gold, which had been given by
archl)ishop Alfric. The robbers were subsequently capttired,
but their booty came into the possession of the king.J'

Alfric died at Southwell on the 22nd of January, 1050,- and
was interred at Peterboi'ough," that nursery and resting-place
of Saints and prelates to which York owes so miich. Gunton,
the historian of Peterborough, who wrote in the seventeenth
centmy, mentions a discovery which revealed the tomb of the
archbishop. " On the north side of the choir in the cathedral,
in two hollow places in the wall, were found two chests of about
tln-ee foot long a piece, in each of which were the bones of a
man, and of whom appeared by a plate of lead in each chest,

the name ofAlfric living about the same •'' Stubbs, col. 1700. Lei. Coll., iv.,

time, it is not easy to discover which 102.

of them was tlie grammarian. The y " Dedit cum corpore suo albam de
learned Henry Wharton wished to purpura cum optimis aurifriciis para-
shew that he was our archbishop, and tarn et duas cappas optimas, et stolas, et
wTote a dissertation to prove it (Dis- dalmaticam albam, et altare cum reli--
sertatio utrumElfricus Grammaticus?) quiis optime cum auro paratum, tria
which he printed in his Anglia Sacra, pallia et baculum suum," etc. (Hist,
i., 125. The other side, on behalf of Ccenob. Burg., 45). Lei. Coll., i., 12,
Alfric of Canterbury, was taken up, 15.

apparently with success, in the follow- ^ Saxon Chron., 224, "Averyvene-

ing \york, " Edwardi-Rowei Moresi de rable man, and wise."

^Elfrico, Dorobernensi archiepiscopo, " Ibid. Fl. Wigorn., 410. Chron.

commentarius : edidit Grimus Johannes Mailros, 49. Chron. Petrib., 48. Ho-

Thorkelin, 4to. Loudon, 1789." Cf. veden, 251, b. Ingulph, apud Gale,

» right, 180. Oudinus, ii., col. 489, iii., 64. Symeon, col. 184. Diceto, col.

etc. Cave, 588-9. 475. Stubbs, col. 1700.

1050 1060.] ARCHBISHOP KINSIUS. 137

whereon the name of the person was engraven. In the one was
Elfricns, on the other Kynsius, both which had been arclibishojis
of York, and, being dead, their bodies were interred in the
monastery of Peterborough, where formerly they had been
monks/^'^

.tUStUS, the next archbishop,'' began his religious career as
a monk at Peterborough.* In course of time he became the
chaplain of Edward the Confessor, and when the see of York
was vacant by the death of Alfric, Kinsius was advanced to that
honourable post,^ after it had been retained for some time in the
king's hands.^ In 1055 he jom'ueyed to Rome, and obtained
the pall from pope Victor.* Kinsius was at York for a very
short period. His name is appended to a few charters.' In
1059 I find him witnessing a grant which his royal master
made to the abbey of St. Denys, near Paris,-' and, in the same
year, he was acting the part of a peacemaker together with
Egelwin, bishop of Durham, and Earl Tosti, in preventing a
war with Scotland, by prevailing upon king Malcolm to make
some timely concessions.'*' On the 22nd of December, 1060,
the archbishop ended his days at York, having in the earlier
part of that year consecrated the abbey at Waltham.' They
earned him to Peterborough, and laid him honourably in the
monastery in which his earlier years had been spent, and where
he wished to be interred.'" His resting-place was in the choir,
close to the high altar, on the north side."

The historian of Peterborough speaks in high terms of the

•^ Gunton's Feterbro', 98. '" Saxon Chron., 250. Fl. Wigorn.,

•^ The S- ,on name of this prelate is 421. Chron. de Mailros, 54. Symeon,

Kynes'^e. Stubbs (col. 1700) men- Dc Gestis, col. 190. Ingulph, apud

tio'ifl the mg'ilar circumstance, "quod Gale, iii., 66. Hoveden, apud Savile,

;ion natui sed Je ventre matris caisus 255. The Peterbro' Chron. (32), says

fuit." that he died at Peterbro', and Dugdalo

' Ingulph, apud Gale, iii.,66. Chron. (Mon. i., 363), says that his depositio

Petrib., 48. Hist. Ccenob. Burg. , apud was observed in that monastery, on

Sparke, 45. Dec. 20.

^ PI. Wigorn., 410. Chron. de " " Jacct tumulatus in scrinio ju.\ta

Mailros, 49. Wendover, i., 308. Sy- magnum altare in parte boriali" (Chron.

meon, I)e Gestis, col. 184. Hoveden, Petrib., 52. Gunton (History of Peter-

apud Savile, 253. bro', 98), says, " For Kynsius, I have

«■ Bromton, col. 943. * Ibid., 243. heard my father, who was well read in

' Codex Diplora., iv., 140, etc. the antiquities of this church, say, that

J Histoire de I'Abbaye de St. Denys, the marble monument, now lying on

126, & I'appendix, 85. the north side of the quire, was his. It

* S^'meon, De Gestis, col. 190. bears the portraicture of a shaven monk

' Chron. de Waltham, ed. Stubbs, 18. lying on the top."

138 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

piety of the archbishop's life. Whilst there was a lavish expen-
diture among his clerks and household, Kinsius himself was as
abstinent as a hermit. He lived upon the coarsest fare. During
Lent it was his wont to joiirney from village to village, preach-
ing and bestowing alms, fi'cquently with bared feet, and making
no use of a litter or a horse. To avoid ostentation and vain
glory, he travelled generally by night." Such, doubtless, were
the traditions in the monastery at Peterborough, and they are
pleasing reminiscences.

Kinsius was a great benefactor to the Church. He built a
large tower of stone at Beverley, and hung in it two bells, be-
stowiug also upon the minster divers books and ornaments. He
gave other bells to the churches of Southwell and Stow.^' To
tlie abbey of Peterborough he gave, with his body, the vill of
Tinwell, a text or copy of the Gospels decorated with gold, and
jewels and treasures to the value of £300. These were lost
afterwards to the house through the cupidity of queen Edgith.'^

j9^ lt)rctl« the last of the Saxon archbishops of York, was a
person of extraordinary energy and influence. He was brought
up in the famous monastery of Winchester, which had so recently
furnished a primate to the Northern province in the person of
Alfric. After a while he was appointed abbat of Tavistock.''
That house had been recently endowed and renovated by bishop
Living of Worcester, and, in 1046, after a life remarkable for
its strange vicissitudes of fortune, that prelate was laid in the
tomb by the monks of Tavistock, who had great reason to re-
member him. Their abbat, Aldred, became his successor in his
bishopric.""

In this position Aldred had a wide scope for the exercise of
his varied and extraordinary powers. There was in him much
restless energy and versatility of talent. He could take up
arms, were it rcqiured, and attack the marauders on the Welsh
marches ; he could toil at another time for the rule of Benedict,
and establish new houses of monks to observe it, but he was
more at home in the palace than in the convent. He was pro-

" Hist. Coenobii Burgensis, apud col. 1700. Eudborne, apud Angl.

Sparke, 45. Sacr., i., 240.

' Stubbs.col.noO. Lei. Coll., iv., 102. ' Saxon Chron., 216. Symeon, col.
_ 1 nist. Coenobii Burg., 45. Lei. 182. Diceto, col. 475. Aldred, how-
Coll., i., 12-13. Tinwell was " de pa- ever, makes his subscription as a bishop
tnmonio suo." before this. Possibly he had acted as

"■ Hoveden, apud Savile, 252. Stubbs, coadjutor to Living.

1060 1069.] ARCHBISHOP ALDRED. 139

bably indebted to bishop Living, a friend of Edwai'd the Con-
fessor, for his introdnction to state affairs, in -vvliich he played
so conspicuous a part. With that monarch, who was easily
subjected to ecclesiastical influence, Aldred was a great favourite,
and he served him loyally and well. His first achievement as
a statesman was the effecting a reconciliation between the king
and Sweyn, the son of Godwin, who had recently murdered his
cousin Biorn.' In 1049 he and Herman bishop of Sherburn
went as the royal ambassadors to Rome, and they prevailed
upon the pope to absolve their master from the vow which he
had formerly made of going on a pilgrimage to that city." To
the circumstance of EdAvard's staying in his own kingdom we
owe the re-foundation of the stately abbey of Westminster, in
which he sleeps." Soon after this we hear of Aldred as the
commander of an expeditionary force which the king sent forth
to secure earl Godwin and his restless sons, but they had escaped
before it arrived.'" Shortly afterwards Aldred was very roughly
handled by Griffin, a Welsh prince, when he was leading his
men against a band of Irish pirates in the neighbourhood of
the Wye.^ In 1054 he was honoured by the king with a com-
mission of great national importance. This was an embassy to
Germany, to the emperor Henry III., who was then residing
at Cologne. Aldred, who was treated with the utmost courtesy,
was in that famous city for a whole year as the guest of the
archbishop, and, with his assistance, he prevailed u^pon the
emperor to allow his nephew by marriage, the son of Edmund
Ironside, to retm'n to England with his family.^ The English
monarch was wishful that he should succeed him on the throne.
The hand of death, however, was laid upon the future monarch,
and the crown of his uncle, which was intended for him, was
afterwards placed by Aldred upon the brows of Harold.- To
Edward the bishop seems to have attached himself Avith the
pliant readiness of a courtier. In 1058 he crossed the seas

' Fl. Wigorn., 409. Hoveden, 252 h. 416. Chron. Mailros, 51. Higden,

Symeon, col. 184. Stubbs, col. 1701. apud Gale, i., 280, Symeon, col. 187.

Knyghton, col. 2331. Ailred, col. 366, 381. Bromton, col.

" Saxon Chron., 223. Chron. de 945. Stubbs, col. 1701. Knyghton,

Mailros, 49, where the date 1050 is col. 2333. Wendover (i., 311) makes

given. S^aneon and Stubbs, ut supra. the date of this mission 1057. Angiia

Lives of Edw. the Confessor, ed. Luard, Sacra, ii., 249. The emperor gave hira

70, where Aldred is prematurely called a Sacramentarium and a Psalter, about

archbp. of York. which there is a curious story.

" Ailredus, Vita Edw. Conf., col. 385. • El. Wigorn., 427. Symeon, col.

Spelm. Cone, 635. Wilkins, Cone, i., 193. Diceto, col. 479. Bromton, col.

316. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., iv., 610, 958. Stubbs, col. 1702. Knyghton,

672. " Saxon Chron., 229. col. 2339. Higden, apud Gale," i., 284.

•^ Flor. Wigorn. Thomas' Wor- Hist. Eliens., ibid., 515. Hoveden,

cester, 67. apud Savile, 256. Ingulph, ibid., 511.

v Saxon Chron., 243. Fl. Wigorn., Hi.st. Mon, de Abingdon, i., 489.

140 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

again on a very different progress — a pilgrimage to Jerusalem."
The enterprize itself, and the way in which it was carried out,
are indicative of the character of the man. The Bedouins of
the desert had never gazed upon an English bishop before. The
pomp and dignity on which they looked ill beseemed a disciple
of the poor carpenter of Nazareth. The illustrious pilgrim
stood iipon those holy hills, on which, in after years, the noble-
hearted Godfrey was content to watch and weep. He offered a
precious chalice at the sacred tomb in which there was once
laid, for a few memorable hours, the corpse of one who stinted
not to any the riches of His grace, whilst He knew not Himself
where to lay His head.

Whilst Aldred was actively engaged in the service of the
state, he was not obli^dous of his higher calling. In 1055 the
charge of the see of Wilton was entrusted to him, which Her-
man had resigned, and he held it until 1058, when he restored
it to that prelate, who was at length willing to receive it.* In
1056 prince Griffin, the restless leader of the Welsh, broke into
the English territory, and slew the bishop of Hereford and his
clerks at Glastbrig. The vacant see was committed to the
charge of Aldred, who held it, in commendam, with that of
Worcester, and his first business was to effect a reconciliation
between Griffin and the king.'' About the same time he had a
munificent benefactress to Worcester in Godiva,"^ the fair lady
of Coventry, — the same who

" took the tax away.

And built herself an everlasting name.'

In 1058 Aldred dedicated the abbey church of Gloucester,
which he had himself erected, and made the holy Wulstan the
aljbat.* The rule of Benedict was observed there, for Aldred,
although a com"tier, was a disciplinarian, and came back from
Germany with larger views on ecclesiastical matters, and a
strong resolution to enforce them, which he did also in the
North./

At Christmas, 1060, the death of Kinsius vacated the see of
York, and Aldred succeeded liim,^ resigning the bishopric of

" Saxon Chron., 249. Chron. de 189. AiLred, col. 389. Knyghton, col.

Mailros,53. Chron. Petrib., 52. Anglia 2334.

Sacra, i.,474. Symeon, col.190. Stubbs, ^ Saxon Chron., 249. Sjoneon, col.

col. 1701. 189. Diceto, col. 477. Stubbs, col.

' Symeon, col. 189. Bromton, col. 1701. Hoveden, 255. Lei. Coll., i.,

946. Stubbs, col. 1701. Knyghton, col. 28; iii., 262. Dugd. Mon., i., 531.

2335. Higden, apud Gale, i., 281. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., iv., 583.

■^ Saxon Chron., 247. Fl. Wigorn., / Stubbs, col. 1701.

418. Symeon, col. 189. Stubbs, col. ^ Wendovcr, i., 318. Symeon, col.

1701. Hoveden, apud Savile, 254, b. 190. Diceto, col. 478. Malmesbury

" Wendover, i., 315. Symeon, col. (Savile, 154), says that Aldred bought

lOGO — 10G9.] ARciinisiiop aldred. 141

Hereford/ but retaining that of Worcester. In the following
year he went to Rome for the pall. Earl Tostij one of the most
illustrious subjects in England^ was his companion. The honour
was not obtained, for the pope was indignant at the proposed
tenm^e of the two sees by one person, and that his licence had
not been solicited for Aldred's promotion. He also charged the
petitioner with simony and want of learning. He deprived him of
all his honours, and the degraded prelate quitted the eternal city
in disgrace. Other misfortunes were awaiting him. The bishop
and his friends had gone about a day^s journey fi'om Rome on
their way homewards when they fell into the clutches of a party
of brigands, who maltreated the travellers, and stripped them
of everything they possessed. In a happy moment the thought
occurred to the despoiled prelate that he would return to Rome
as he was, and make a last appeal, in forma pauperis, to the
mercy of Christ^s vicar. It was successful. After Aldred had
promised to resign the see of Worcester, the archbishopric was
confirmed to him, together with the honom* of the pall. The
conversion of the pope was caused, in all j)robability, by what
earl Tosti said to him. The rage of the stalwart Saxon was
excessive at the insult and the robbery. It boiled over in lan-
guage seldom heard at the papal court. " What distant nation,"
he said, " would heed the excommiuiication of the pope, if vil-
lains at home despised it? Why should he trample on sup-
pliants, and leave the bandits to themselves? If the goods
which they had lost were not restored by him who should have
taken care that no one touched them, the king of England
would repay them out of the Peter-pence when they crossed the
seas." The words are worthy of a son of the patriotic Godwin.^
As soon as Aldred arrived in England he vacated the see of
Worcester, and Wulstan was his successor, whom he consecrated
at York, Stigand of Canterbury being under suspension.-;' The
king, however, subsequently made Wulstan of Worcester a suf-
fragan of York,^ and Aldred, in consequence of the poverty of

his way to the archbishopric. Malmes- apud Angl. Sacr., ii., 251. MSS. Lansd.,

bury has scarcely one good word for ccccii., 29. Baronii Ann., xi., 337.

Aldred. J Vita S. Wulstani, apud Angl. Sacr.,

'' Wendover and Symeon, ut supra. ii., 250-1. Chron. de IMailros, 50.

Bromton, col. 952. Stubbs, col. 1701. Symeon, col. 191. Diceto, col. 478.

Hoveden, 255. Ingulph, apud Gale, Bromton, col. 952. Knvghton, col.

iii., 66. 2336. Hoveden, 255, b. " AVendover,

'• Saxon Chron., 250. Fl. Wigorn., i., 318. Anglia Sacra, 471., 541. ¥\.

421. Symeon, col. 190. Diceto, col. Wigorn. (424) says that at the time of

478. Bromton, col. 952. Stubbs, col. consecration Aldred professed before

1701. Knyghton, col. 2336. Malmes- the king to claim no subjection from

bury, apud Savile, 154. Hoveden, ibid,, Wulstan. Knvghton, col. 2367.

255. Higden, apud Gale, i., 282. * In 1062, Edward the Confessor

Wendover, i., 318. Vita S. Wulstani, made a grant to Aldred of the church

142 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

the Northern province, which had not Vet recovered from the
incursions of the Danes, appropriated to it twelve of the manors
belonging to his late bishopric in the South.' For this act,
which may be justified, the Worcester historians have not been
si)aring of their censure, but they seem to forget that, even after
liis departure into the North, Aldi*ed was a noble benefactor to
tlie church of which he had been deprived."' Meanness was not
an element in his character. He scattered abroad his treasm^es
with tlie liberality of a prince. The York historian is trumpet-
tongued in his praise, and well he might be. Aldred was a
great builder and endbwer. He established stalls at Southwell,
now for the first time rising into importance," and at York, ac-
cording to Leland, he finished a refectory and a dormitoiy in
the Bedem. He completed, also, a similar suite of rooms at
Beverley which his predecessors had begun." To the minster
in that place he Avas an especial benefactor. He added to it a
presbytery, and rebuilt the whole of the old chui'ch towards the
west as far as the great tower of Kinsius. He decorated the
roof with glowing colours, till it looked like another heaven.
He made a pulpit of Teutonic work of marvellous construction,
and rich in costly metals and ingenious devices.^ He directed
the pen of Folcard to describe the virtues of St. John.? The
privileges of the sanctuary were extended by him, and he pro-
cui^ed for the town the grant of an annual fair. He prevailed
upon king Edward to give to the church the lordship of Leven,
and he converted the seven canonries into prebends, adding an
eighth to the number, and giving them fixed endowments and
subsidiary vicars. •■

Whilst Aldi'ed was thus generous and active, he was not
without his share of troubles. The state of the North was any-
thing but satisfactory. The intrigues of his old friend, earl
Tosti, filled that part of England with tumult and dismay. In
1066, after Harold had been crowned by Aldi'cd, these disorders
were midtiplied. Tosti broke into Yorkshire to win for himself

of Worcester on account of the desolate " Stubbs, col. 1704, 13. The His-

condition of the see of York. The tory of Southwell (276) seems to take

bishop was to be his vicar or deputj'. it for granted that Aldred was buried

This was evidently a personal favour to there.

Aldred, and not a grant in perpetuity " Lei. Coll., iv., 102-3. Stubbs

to his church. The deed is in Thoma,s' speaks only of a refectory at York.

Worcester, App^ i. z- Stubbs, 1704. Lei. Col., iv., 102-3.

' S\Tneon, col. 190-1, 202. Bromton, i Folcard de Vita S. Joan. Bev., apud

col. 952. Stubbs, 1702. They were Acta SS., mense Maio. In the dedica-

restored by Thomas. The Worcester tion to the archbishop Folcard speaks

hi.storiaus, on this account, are ex- of Aldred as " Lucerna ardens et lu-

tremely violent against Aldred. cens in caliginoso loco, Auglorum

'" Thomas's Worcester, 72. Anglia archipr^sul."

Sacra, i., 474. r stubbs and Lei., nf supra.

1060 1069.] ARCHBISHOP ALDRED. 143

a kingdom, and brought with him the king of Norway, the
famous Harokl Hardrada, with a vast host of followers. They
were met in the fields of Water- Fulford, in front of the present
palace of the archbishops of York at Bishopthorpe, by the earls
Edwin and Morkcre, but the invaders carried the day, and there
was a vast slaughter of ecclesiastics as well as soldiers, for the
feelings of the clergy and their spiritual head were with Harold
and the Saxons. Harold himself arrived a few days after this,
and the rebels were completely vanquished in a battle near
Stamford-bridge. Tosti, the brother of the victor, was slain
in spite of his great personal bravery. Hardrada never returned
to his home in the Avild North. The treasures which he had
won in the far East were lost to him. The famous Landeyda
was taken on the field, and the conqueror Harold, overjoyed at
his success, went to celebrate his triumph in high state at York.

There soon came to him in that city the tidings of another
advent which silenced at once the revel and the song. William
the Norman had arrived in England. The spoils of the Norse-
men were left behind in the charge of archbishop Aldred, and
Harold hastened into the Sovith with all the strength that he
coidd gather together to o})pose the new invader. The results
of that disastroiis field are too well known to be repeated. The
independence of the Saxon church, the freedom of a noble people,
the glories of the house of Godwin, were obliterated, when the
bravest of the Anglo-Saxon princes died at Hastings.*

The position of Aldi-ed Avas now a perilous one, but he was
fully equal to the emergency. His connection with Harold was
well known. He was still holding the spoils which had been won
at Stamford-bridge. Would the Saxon primate throw himself
and the church into the arms of the victorious invaders ? He
could not surrender his patriotism at once, however necessity
might demand the sacrifice. We are told that it Avas the wish
of the archbishop and the chief men of London to place the
crown upon the head of Edgar Atheling,' the grandson of
Edmund Ironside, for whose family he had toiled and laboured
in the days of Edward the Confessor. But the scheme was
impracticable, and the temper of the Norman coiupieror Avould
brook no doubt or delay. Aldred's opposition might destroy
the Anglo-Saxon church, of which he was the spokesman and
the chief ornament. He was not ready to precipitate such an
end as that. With the good judgment which seems to have

• Saxon Chron., 260-3. Symeon, col. 134-5. Gaiinar, ed. Petrie, 827.

194. Ailred, col. 404. I)iceto, col. ' Saxon Chron., 263. Fl. Wigorn.,

479. Bromton, col. 958. Knyghton, 430. Symeon, col. 195. Diccto, col.

col. 2339. Wendover, i., 327. ' Hove- 480. Bromton, col. 961. Knyghton,

den, 257. Master "NVace, his Chronicle, col. 2343. Hoveden, apud Savile, 257 S.

111. FASTI EliORACENSES. [a.D.

guided him at every crisis the archbishop gave way." He met
the conqueror at Berkliamstead, on his way to London, and
took the oaths of allegiance." But he did more than this. On
mid-winter day, 1066, in the absence of Stigand of Canterbury,
who was not permitted to officiate, Aldred crowned the new
monarch in the abbey church at Westminster."'

" This noble due Wyllam hym let crownyng kyng.
At LondoDj a myde wynter day, noblyche thorw alle thyug,
Of erchebyssop of Euerwyk, Aldred was hys name."''

But before the prelate would celebrate that rite he made the
conqueror pledge his word, in the most solemn manner, that he
would reverence the laws, and pay due respect to the rights and
liberties of the church.2' Vain hope ! In a few years the old
Saxon fabric was rent in pieces, and a new race of bishops
occupied the chiu'ches which had been reared by the piety of
the native princes and the now despised nobles.

William kept his word to Aldred as far as he was able to
observe a promise. He was wise enough to conciliate the favour
of so influential a prelate ; and Aldred, also, saw the necessity
of being a courtier. He was frequently with the king.^^ In
1068 he consecrated the countess Matilda, queen.'' Aldred was
treated by the monarch with uniform respect, and, in the end,
he and the bishops of Worcester and Rochester were the only
native prelates who were allowed to retain their sees.* The arch-
bishop, however, was indebted for the respect which was shewn
him to his own firmness and independence. He was a fearless
champion of the rights of the church. On one occasion when
Urse, the sheriff of Worcester, had infringed upon the sanctuary
of the canons by building a castle or residence on the south side
of theii' chui'ch, Aldred excommunicated him, and laid his pos-

" Hemingford, apud Gale, ii., 437. Bev., ut supra. Malmesbury, 154 5.

Wm. Neubrig., i., 15. Bromton, col. Huntingdon, 210 b. Gesta Willelmi

962. ducis, apud Eecueil des Historiens des

" Saxon Chron., 264. Hoveden, 258. Gaules et de la France, xi., 100.

Symeon, col. 195. Diceto, col. 480. ■ Maseres, 166. I find him witness-

"■ Saxon Chron., 264. Fl. Wigorn., ing royal charters. Gunton's Peterbro',

431. Chron. Mailros, 55. Chron. 141-2. Histoire de I'abbaye de St.

Petrib., 54. Ord. Vitalis, apud Du- Denys, appendix, p. 88. Smith's Beda,

chesne, 503. Alured. Bev., 127. Sy- app", 782. Hist. Mon. de Abingdon,

meon, col. 195. Diceto, col. 480. i., 454, etc. Wanley, 299, etc. There

Bromton, col. 962. Stubbs, col. 1702. are many deeds witnessed by him in

Knyghton, col. 2343. Malmesbury, Kemble's Codex Diplom., vol. iv.

apud Savilc, 58. Huntingdon, ibid., " Saxon Chron., 268. Maseres, 212.

211. Hoveden, ibid., 258. Hist. Hoveden, 258. Symeon, col. 197.

Eheus., apud Gale, i., 515. Wendover, Diceto, col. 482. Bromton, col. 953.

1., 333. Matthew Paris, 4. Jludborne, Stubbs, col. 1702. Knyghton, col. 2344.

apud Wharton, i., 248. » Hist. Mon. de Abingdon, i., 490.

' Robert of Gloucester, ii., 367. Mapes, De Nugis Curialium, 224.

y Hoveden, Symeon, Stubbs, Alured.

1060 1069.] ARCHBISHOP ALDRED. 145

terity under a curse which is said to have been marvellously ful-
filled/ On another occasion, at York, some of his own carts,
whilst on their way to his farms, were seized by the king^s
officers, and all compensation and justice were contemptuously
refused. The indignant archbishop hastened up to London with
that decision and energy which he could always exhibit. The
king was in the abbey of Westminster when he found him.
Aldred refused him the customary salutation, and stood fear-
lessly before him with his pastoral staff in his hand. " Did
not I give thee the crown and bless thee,^^ he said, " when thou
earnest from another country, and didst win this kingdom which
the just vengeance of the Lord surrendered to the destroyer ?
Now thou hast broken the oath that thou didst take, and thou
shalt have a curse, and not a blessing."^ Stricken with a terror
which he rarely felt, the monarch threw himself at Aldred's feet,
deprecating the expected malediction. It came not. The story
of the wrong was told; justice was at once done; and the bene-
diction flowed from the lips of the intrepid prelate which had
been opened to condemn."'

The lesson, however, was only partially remembered, and
Aldred must have watched with sorrow and dismay the progress
of the king. A conqueror is too frequently the servant of his
followers, and so it was with William. He, as Fuller says, soon
began to make " the Normans his darlings, and the English his
drudges. ^^^ From church and state old faces gradually dis-
appeared. Discontent increased to be repressed by force. There
was soon an iron domination. In 1069, the two sons of Sweyn
king of Denmark, Harold and Canute, landed in the Humber
to make an attempt on England.-^ The whole North welcomed
them with open arms. Aldred had striven to make peace, and
there was no peace. All his endeavours had been fruitless.
His labours were unrequited, and those for whom he had toiled
— the country and the church which he had loved so well — were
on the brink of ruin. The heart of the afflicted patriot was
broken, and his last prayer was that he might be spared the
sight of the misery which he anticipated. He died on the 11th
of September, 1069, the day of SS. Protus and Hyacinthus,
and his remains were interred in the minster at York.^

' Malmesbury, apud Savile, 154 b. ' Church History, book iii., 2.

Thomas' Worcester, 72. The curse -^ Symeon, col. 198. Hoveden, 258 h.

took the form of a rhyme. «■ Saxon Chron., 270. Fl. Wigorn.,

"Hightest thou Urse? 433. Chron. de Mailros, 55. Alured.

Have thou God's curse!" Bev., 128. Hoveden, apud Savile, 258 J.

'' Stubbs, col. 1703-4. Malmesbury, Thos. Wikes, apud Gale, ii., 22. Sy-

154 6, tells the story in a slightly dif- meon, col. 198. Piceto, col. 482.

ferent form. Wm. Neubrig, i., 16. Bromton, col. 965. Stubbs, col. 1708.

Baronii, Ann., xi., 492. Knyghton, col. 2344.

L

J4.G FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Aldred was indeed removed " from the evil to come." In a
later age, the ruin that he saw around him and the desecration
of God's' house hastened the end of bishop Hall, and, as his
panegyrist Duport observes,

" Pati hsec nescius hinc abivit ultro."

Aldred was happily delivered from that sight. Within a little
while after his decease the city of York, captm-ed and re-captured,
was in ashes; the minster with its treasures— its muniments,
and the glorious libraiy which had been the pride of Saxon
England — all were sm-rendered to the flames. The archi-
episcopal lands Avere wasted.'' Beverley was the only place in
Yorkshire that escaped.^ The vengeance of the conqueror suf-
fered scarcely a single homestead to remain between the Humber
and the Tees. The last of the Saxon primates of York was
scarcely laid in the tomb before the church in which he rested
was sacked and burned.-?

r^t^tlOntaS of BagCUX,* was the successor of Aldred, and with
him there commences a new dynasty of archbishops. He was
born at Bayeux, a little town in Normandy. The names of his
parents were Osbert and Muriel.' His father was a priest,'" and
Sampson, afterwards bishop of Worcester, was his brother."
From his earliest years Thomas was distinguished for the
elegance of his taste and his ardoiu' in the pursuit of literary
distinction. The schools in his own country were insufficient
to satisfy his cravings after knowledge, and he sought for addi-
tional supplies in Germany and Spain. When he returned to
Bayeux, his learning attracted the attention and gained for him
the intimacy of Odo the bishop of that place, who was a
brother of the Conqueror of England and a person of com-
manding influence. Odo is said to have taken Thomas and
Sampson under his protection, and to have sent them to study
at Liege and other places. Thomas became the favourite of the

* Ellis' Introduction to Domesday, Vitalis, apud Duchesne, 515.

i-, 319. * He is also called Thomas Major,

' Miracles of St. John of Beverley, and Thomas the Norman,

ap'id Acta SS., mense Maio, 174. ' Liber Vitse Dunelm., ed. Surtees

J A vivid account in Sj^meon, col. Soc, 139-40.

199. Saxon Chron., 271. Bromton, '" Bromton, col. 969.

col. 966. Knyghton, col. 2344. AVen- " Eic. of Hexham, col. 303, says

dover, i., 337. Symeon, Hist. Eccl. that Thomas was " ex nobilissima pro-

Dunelm., 183. Hoveden, apud Savile, sapia oriundus, vir magnificus."
258 J. Malmesbury, ibid., 154 6. Ord.

1070 — 1100.] ARCHBISHOP THOMAS I. 147

prelate, and was made the treasurer of the church of Bayeiix.
When Odo crossed the channel to visit his royal brother Thomas
accompanied him, and had soon the honom- of becoming one of
the king^s chaplains."

In the year 1070 William shewed his regard for Thomas b}^
raising him to the see of York. This was done at Windsor at
the feast of Pentecost.^' A difficulty at once arose about his
consecration. In the ordinary course of things that ceremony
ought to have been performed by the archbishop of Canterbury,
but at this time there was no Southern primate, and, in the
North, the see of York, by an accident, had not a sufficient
number of suffi'agans to officiate. f? Thomas therefore, most
provokingly, was obliged to wait until Lanfranc was made
archbishop in the month of August. He then went to him to
be consecrated. This Lanfranc refused to do unless he would
first profess obedience and subjection to Canterbury. Thomas
at once refused, and stated his case to the king, who sent him
back to Lanfranc with an order that the rite shoidd be performed
without the condition. That prelate then went to William, and
defended the course which he had adopted. He said that it
was necessary for the safety of the comitry that England should
have one primate as well as one sovereign. An archbishop of
York might easily side with some of the foreigners who visited
his diocese, and set up a new monarch, thus splitting the king-
dom into two.*" The argument was a plausible one, and had its
due weight with the Norman courtiers, who forgot that Thomas
was one of their own countrymen, and that there was no reason
to doubt his loyalty. It convinced the king, who tried in vain
to alter the determination of Thomas. What soft words were
unable to produce, threats at last eft'ected. William told him
that if he persisted he would bring doA^Ti upon himself his
heaviest displeasure, and that all his kindred should be banished
from Normandy and England. After this, Thomas went to

" Stubbs, col. 1705. Ord. Vitalis, account of the controversy with Lan-

apud Duchesne, 516, 665. Dugd., Bar., franc,
i., 24. Thomas' Worcester, 103. "■ " Porro utile esse ad regni integri-

p Fl. Wigorn, 435. Chron. Petrib., tatem et firmitatem conservandam, ut

55. Hoveden, 259 h. Symeon, col. Britannia tota uni quasi jirimati sub-

202. Diceto, col. 483. Bromton, col. deretur. Alioquin contiugere posse vol

968. Stubbs, col. 1706. Knyghton, suovel successoruin tempore ut de Dacis

col. 2345. seu Norensibus siviScotis quiEboracum

» Stubbs, 1706. The information navigio veuientes reguum infestare sole-

which this writer gives is derived from bant, unus ab Eboi'acensi archicpiscopo

the life of Thomas by Hugh Sotevagina, et a provincise illius indigenis mobilibus

the precentor and archdeacon of York, et perfidis rex crearetur, et sic reguum

which is preserved in the Eegistrnm turbatum scinderetur" (Hugh). Moh-

Magnum Album in the office of the ler, in his Life of Anselm (ed. 1842, pp.

dean and chapter of York. Full use 112-13) commends tliis policy,
has been made of it, especial! v in this

l2

148 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Canterbury prepared to submit. " Wilt thou be subject to the
church of Canterbury, to me and my successors?'' was
Lanfranc's question. '" To thee/' was the reply, " but not to
thy successors."* The tears rushed from the eyes of the
petitioner when he thus spoke, and no farther would he go.
Lanfranc was not too exacting, and the wished-for consecration
took place.'

This occurred in 1070, and in the following year Thomas and
Lanfranc went to Rome together to obtain the pall. Remigius,
the bishop of Dorchester, accompanied them." The three
prelates excited the admiration of the Romans by their ready
wit, their munificence and their learning." Whilst they were
in that great city Thomas mooted before the pope the question
of the subjection of his church to Canterbury. He raised at
the same time another point of interest. He claimed for his
successors the supremacy over the sees of Dorchester (Lincoln) ,
Worcester, and Lichfield. The connection between York and
Worcester has been already mentioned. The other two places
were in the old province of Mercia, and had, therefore, been
occasionally dependent upon Northumbria. Lanfi*anc was
taken by surprise, but he soon recovered himself. He met the
first part of Thomas's claim by the somewhat unfair assertion
that Gregory wished York to be the equal of London, but not
of Canterbmy, which had become the seat of the primacy.
Lanfranc then made a terrible counterstroke, and turned the
tables most completely upon Thomas and Remigius. He
charged them with being uncanonically elected; Thomas, be-
cause he was the son of a priest, and Remigius, for having been
guilty of simony. Alexander, who was a great admirer of
Lanfranc, decided against them, and took from each his pastoral
staff and ring. These he subsequently restored at the request
of Lanfranc, who had no wish to injure his companions. Upon
the main point in the dispute, the question of subjection,
Alexander very cautiously refrained from expressing an opinion,
but he referred the settlement of it to a national synod in
England. The controversy about Worcester was to be ter-
minated by the decision of Lanfranc himself.'^ The three

• Lanfranci 0pp., ed. 1648, 11-12. controversy between York and Canter-

Bromton, col. 969. Stubbs, col. 1706. bury, on the question of the profession,

' ri. Yvlgorn., 435. Chron. Mailros, in the Anglia Sacra, i., 65-77.

56. Malmesbury, apud Savile, 117. " Chron. Mailros, 56. Fl. Wigorn.,

Symeon, col. 203. Diceto, col. 483. 437. Hoveden, 260. Symeon, col. 203.

Bromton, col. 969. Gervase, col. 1653. Diceto, col. 483. Knyghton, 2348.

Knyghton, col. 2343. Baronii Ann., MSS. Lansdowne, 402, col. 29.

ix., 512. The Saxon Chron. (273), " Ord. Vitalis, apud Duchesne, 248.

says that he wa-s consecrated on his re- " Eadmer, Hist. Nov., apud Anselmi

turn from Rome after making the pro- 0pp., 30. Diceto, col. 484. Bromton,

fession. There is a long account of the col. 970.

1070 1100.] ARCHBISHOP THOMAS I. 11.9

prelates now returned to England, ha^dng halted for a while at
Evreux, where they were the guests of Gislebert, the bishop of
that place/

When they arrived in England, a synod was held in the
presence of the king, at which the controversy between Canter-
bury and York was thoroughly considered. The result was
favourable to Lanfranc and his church. That prelate, who had
far more eloquence and ready wit than his opponent, drew up
his case in the most elaborate manner, and the listeners took
his part. The Humber was made the Southern boundary of tlie
diocese of York. The Northern archbishops were to swear
allegiance to Canterbury, and to appear with their suffragans at
all the councils, etc., within that province to which they should
be bidden. By a subsequent order, made in 1075, they were to
sit at the right hand of the primate. ^^ The archbishops of
Canterbury were to be consecrated at home by their brethren
from the North, who were to come to the same place to receive
the same rite. All this was against Thomas and his see;
indeed, he seems to have made but little opposition. He was
spared, however, at the king^s request, the shame of taking the
oath of obedience. He simply made his profession in WT^"iting,
and nothing farther seems to have been required of him."^
Lanfranc was overjoyed at his success. He announced it to the
pope in a lengthy and jubilant epistle." It was communicated,
also, to a fi'iend of his at Rome who was rapidly rising into
importance, the energetic and fearless Hildebrand.*

The controversy between York and Worcester must next be
considered. The relations between the two sees were of a most
peculiar kind. Oswald and his two immediate successors held
the Southern diocese conjointly with that of York, partly no
doubt for influence, and partly to eke out their archiepiscopal
income. Edward the Confessor made a grant of the see of
Worcester to Aldred for his life, with power to nominate a
deputy, and in right of his authority over that diocese Aldred

■^ Gallia Christiaiia, xi., 573. kins, i., 326.

y Gervase, col. 1654. Malmesbury, In Stubbs (1706-7), a letter from

66 S. Labbe, Cone, X., 347-8. VVilkins, Urban II. to Thomas is alluded to, re-

1., 363. ferrinj,' to the profession. It is ^iven

■ Lanfranci Oijp., 12, 301. Eadmcr, at length by Hugh the Chautor. The

Hist. Nov., apud Ansehni 0pp., 30. pope rebukes Thomas severel}' for mak-

Mabillon, Acta SS. ord. S. B., ssec. vi., ing the profession contrary to Gregory's

ii., 651. Anglia Sacra, i., 1. 5, 253. decree, and oi-ders him to explain his

Malmesbury, apud Savile, 65-6, 111, conduct either to himself or to his

118. Diceto, col. 484-5. Broraton, legate. He speaks as if the profession

col. 970-2. Gervase, col. 1653. Knygh- had only recently been made, and ho

ton, col. 2348-9. Mat. Paris, 6-7. Ca)i- had just'heard of it. There is a chro-

grave, 130. Baronii Ann., xi., 522. nological difliculty in this, as Urban

Labbe, Cone, ix., 1211. did not become pope till 1088.

" Labbe, Cone, ix., col. 1213. Wil- * Lanfranci 0pp. 304.

150 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

took away from it twelve vills, aud appropriated them to York,
As that arehbishop had only a life-interest in the see^ it is clear
that these estates ought to have been restored at his decease.
When he died, however, they passed with his other estates into
the hands of the king. Wulstan, the bishop of Worcester, was
not disposed to give them up. He desired that they should be
restored at the council of Winchester at Easter, 1070, but as
the archbishopric of York was then vacant, the consideration of
the question was deferred.^ It will be remembered, that when
Thomas went to Rome for the pall, he claimed the bishop of
Worcester as a suffragan. Thiu: question was left by the pope
to the determination of Lanfranc. It was settled in a spiod
which was held in 1072. Odo, bishop of Bayeux, was on the
side of Thomas, but Lanfranc decided against him. The twelve
vills were to be given up, and Worcester was for the future to
be subordinated to Canterbury, and not to York.*^ In this
judgment, Thomas seems to have quietly acquiesced. Wxilstan
and he became friends, and he requested him to pay him a visit
in the North.^

We now come to the dispute between Thomas and Remigius
with reference to Lindsey. It will be recollected that Paulinus
and Blecca erected the first church in that district, and that
Sidnacester, or Stow, was under the especial care of the arch-
bishops of York, who claimed and seem to have exercised the
right of controlling the spiritual affairs of that part of England
previous to the Conquest. In 1067, Remigius, a Norman, was
advanced to the see of Dorchester. He seems to have been
soon dissatisfied with the seat of the episcopate, and was desir-
ous of transferring it to Lincoln. This project would meet
with the strenuous opposition of the archbishops of York. In
1071, when Thomas and Lanfranc went to Rome Remigius
accompanied them, and the question about Lindsey was mooted.
Alexander refen'ed it to the decision of a synod at home.
Among the decrees of that assembly, which was held in 1072,
there is no special reference to Lindsey, but the resolution that
the Humber slaould be the boimdary of the diocese of York on
the South was practically a settlement of the controversy.
Thomas, however, by no means regarded it in that light. About

' Mat. Paris, 17. Hoveden, 259 J. col. 203. Diceto, col. 483. Bromton,

Symeon, col. 202. Diceto, col. 483. col. 976. Hoveden, 260. Mat. Paris,

Bromton, col. 968. Stubbs, col. 1709, 18. Baronii Ann., xi., 532. Labbe,

who says that Thomas enjoyed the Cone, ix., col. 1204. The date of this

twelve \11is for a while of the king's svnod is variously given between 1070

gift, but that William afterwards took and 1072.

*'^^"^i^^^'a-J^ "molimine Lanfranci." ' Malmesbury, apud Savile, 66 b.

Vita S. Wulstani, apud Angl. Sacr., Wendover, i., 374.
n., 255. Plor. Wigorn., 437. Symeon,

1070 1100.] ARCHBISHOP THOMAS I. 151

1078 Remigius had his see formally transferred to Lincoln, and
began to erect a cathedral on that " sovereign hill/' It was
finished in 1092, bnt Thomas refused to dedicate it. Upon
this Remigius sought the assistance of the king, and with the
aid, as it is said, of a bribe, prevailed upon him to summon a
large number of the English bishops to officiate on the occasion.
This arrangement, however, was broken through. The time
was fixed, Ijut two days before the ceremony was to take place
Remigius died. Robert Bloet, the chancellor of England, Avas
his successor. Thomas refused to consecrate him, and when in
the following year he performed that rite for Anselm, the new
archbishop of Canterbury, he forbade him to lay his hands on
Bloet. Thomas had no objection to his being made bishop of
Dorchester, but not of Lincoln, because he claimed that place
and a great part of Lindsey for his OAvn see. Bloet w as stand-
ing by when Thomas spoke to Anselm, and he took a sm'cr
course than argument to gain his end. He is said to have paid
a large sum of money to William Rufus to enable him to carry
his point./ The king, in spite of the strenuous opposition of
Thomas, brought the dispute to a termination. Lincoln and
Lindsey were taken away fi-om York, and were transferred to
Canterbury, and, in their room, the Northern primate received
the abbey of Selby and the monastery of St. Oswald at Glou-
cester.^

f Various sums are stated by the gretur, et per redempcionem generis

chroniclers, from £500 to £5000. humani angelica dampna reparet ; liac

s There is an account of this con- consideracione, ego Willelmus Dei gra-

troversy in Fl. Wigorn., 458. S3'meon, tia rex Anglorum, Willelmi regis filius

col. 217. Diceto, col. 490. Bromton, qui Edwardo regi hereditario jure suc-

col. 983, 988. Stubbs, col. 1711. cessit, videns ecclesiam Anglorum ex

Knyghton, col. 2364. Malmesbury, parte divisam et discordantem, resartire

apud Savile, 165 h. Huntingdon, ibid., concupimus quod male scissum fuerat,et

213. Hoveden, 265 h. Mat. Paris, ad unitatem verge caritatisrevocare quod

13-15. Vita S. Remigii, apud Mabillon diu indiscussum sub discordia manserat.

Acta SS. ord. S.B., ssec. vi., ii., 766, Redemi igitur de meis propriis posses-

and Anglia Sacra, ii., 410, etc. Dugd. sionibus calumpuiam quam habet Ebo-

Mon., vi., 1269-70. racensis ecclesia et Thoma.s ejusdem

William's deed arranging the dispute ecclesise archiepiscopus super Lincolnia

is in Dugdale's Mon., vii., 1177. The et super Lindissim et super mansiones

confirmation by pope Paschal is in the Stou et Ludam, et dedi pro eis ecclesise

Reg. Magnum Album at York, fol. 42. Sancti Petri Eboracensis jure perjietuo

The king's charter is so curious that I ])0ssidendas abbaciam Sancti Gcrmani

give it in extenso. It is taken from the de Saleby et ecclesiam Sancti Oswaldi

Kegisterof ArchbishopGreenfield, i.,45. de Gloecestria, cum omnibus ad eas

jure pertinentibus, et ita dedi archi-

" Carta Regis T\ illelmi. episcopo Thoma; et successoribus ejus

" In nomine Patris et Pilii, et Spi- abbaciam Sancti Germani, sicut arclii-

ritus Sancti, amen. Summi Patris episcopus (.'antnarieiisis habet episco-

fuit consilium ut sanctam civitatem palum Rofonsom. Et projitcr ha-c pre-

suam, celestem scilicet Jerusalem, quae dicta bencfu-ia benigne dimisit et

superbiadiaboli divisaerat, mortedilec- gratanter Thomas archiepiscopus in

tissimi Filii Sui intercedente, redinte- eternum, consenciente clero ejus, pre-

152 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

It may perhaps be thought from what has been said that
Thomas had an angry and a contentious spirit. It was not so.
Those were days in which great changes were being effected in
the Englisli church ; new landmarks were being laid down, and
it was necessary for every prelate to be on the alert in the
defence of his diocese. Violence and encroachment were too
frequently triumphant. If Thomas had been better acquainted
Avith English precedents and customs he would probably have
been more successful than he was. He tried boldly and ho-
nestly to do his duty, and he cannot be blamed for doing so.
When he was defeated he cherished no ill-will against his
opponents. Wulstan and he became good friends, and it was
the same with Lanfranc. Thomas had promised to obey him as
long as he lived, and he kept his word. They corresponded
together. Thomas requested his brother- archbishop to allow two
of his suffragans to consecrate for him a bishop of the Orkneys,
and it was done. In 1075 he was present at the council at
Ijondon :'' in 1089 he was at Canterbury when the remains of
Lanfranc were laid in the tomb.^ He would fully appreciate
the virtues and the learning of that great and good man.

The see of Canterbury was vacant after the death of Lanfranc
for several years, and diu'ing this time Thomas oflEiciated in
the Southern province when his ser^dces were required. He
consecrated the bishops of Norwich, Chichester, and Bangor.-?
In 1093 he was requested to do the same thing for Anselm, the
archbishop-elect. Thomas went up fi'om York, accompanied
by the dean and the dignitaries of his cathedral, and there
was a goodly ari'ay of bishops to join in the imposing ceremo-
nial. The officiating prelates were in their robes, and Anselm^s
petition was read, in which he solicited consecration as primate
of all England. This was too much for Thomas, who had sub-
jected himself to Lanfranc during his life, but not to his suc-
cessors. He was now free to act as he chose. He retired to
the vestiy with the officers of his own cathedral, and began to
unrobe himself. The Southern bishops were excited and
alarmed ; they followed the Northern primate, and Walkeline
of Winchester threw himself at his feet and implored him to
return. He would not. "There are two metropolitans in
Britain," lie said, " and one of them can only he master at the
expense of the other. I shall consecrate no one to rule un-
justly over myself.'' Thomas was at length the master of the

dictam calumpniam, in presencia mea larius meus extiterat."

et episcoporum et procerum meorum, * Lanfranci 0pp., 305-6. Vita ejus-

mihi et Roberto episcopo Lyncoln et dem, ibid., 13-14. Wilkins, i., 362.

succepsoribus ejus. Hujus autem ca- * Gervase, col. 1655. Wilkins, i.,

lumpnise redempcionem feci ego gratia 369.

ejusdem Roberti episcopi quia cancel- •' Stubbs, col. 1707.

1070 1100.] ARCHBISHOP THOMAS I. 153

position, and he knew it. This was the counter-stroke of the
scene in the synod of 1072. The bishops were very lu'gent and
importunate : they promised largely. The petition Avas altered,
and the words, metropoiitan of Canterbury , were substituted for
primate of England, and then the prelates returned into the
church, and the ceremony was completed.* The advaiitage
which the see of Canterbuiy had gained twenty years before
was now lost. Anselm, indeed, did not give the question up,
but, in all probability, the troubles in which he was involved
and his unpopularity with the king caused the matter to be
shelved.

When William Rufas was killed Anselm was in exile, and
it devolved, therefore, upon Thomas, according to ancient
custom, to crown the new king. Thomas was at Ripon when
the news was brought to him, and he hastened up to London to
perform his office. He was too late, for Henry, fearful of delay,
had availed himself of the services of some of the Southern
bishops. Thomas was greatly annoyed, but the king and the
prelates acquainted him with the reason for the haste, and
begged him to overlook what had been done. He was easily
appeased, and having paid his homage to the new sovereign,
the weak and aged archbishop was allowed to return into the
North to die.' I must now speak of his good works in the
diocese of York.

I have elsewhere alluded to the wretched state of the North
at the death of Aldred. All the fury of the Conqueror and his
opponents had fallen upon it, and the result was indeed appal-
ling. There was scarcely a village or a homestead between the
Tees and York which escaped from the fire or the plunderers.
To add to the horrors of the time, a famine slew the greater
part of those whom the sword had spared.'" It was when all
this wretchedness was at its height that Thomas reached the
diocese of which he was to be the spiritual head. The prospect
was not a pleasant one. The bishopric of Durham was vacant,
and the head of that see was his only sufli-agan in England.
Upon the Scottish prelates no reliance could at any time be

* Eadmer, Hist. Nov., apud An- time b}' Hugh tlic Chantor. The chro-

selmi 0pp., 37. Symeon, col. 219. niclersgivea different account. Malmes-

Diceto, col. 491. Gervase, col. 1658. bury and several others say that Thomas

Stubbs, col. 1707. Wendover, i., 365. crowned Henry. The chronicle of Pe-

Hoveden, 266. torbro' informs us that Maurice, bishop

Sir Thomas Grey also says, " En le of London, consecrated the king, but

temps William le Conquerour comensa that he was crowned by Thomas (69).

le debate entre lez ercevesques de Can- "Walsinnham, in his Upodigma Neu-

torbirs et Euerwik pur le porter de lour stri* (C'amden, 443), says that both

croitz en autry dyocys " (Scala Chron., officiated.
2). '" There is a sad account in S3-mcon,

' This fact is mentioned for the first col. 199, and Stubbs, col. 1708.

154 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

placed. There was no one to consecrate him when he was
elected to the archbishopric ! The greater part of the monas-
teries also had been destroyed or injui'ed, and Durham and
Beverley were almost the only two which had escaped. The
light of religion in the North had been almost quenched ! But
Thomas w'as an energetic man, and he was not to be easily
appalled. With the Norman love of labom* and organization,
he set himself manfully to work to reconstruct and restore.
He began very properly with the principal city in his province.
The muister at York had been gutted and set on fire, although
many of the old walls were probably still standing ; the orna-
ments and furniture had of course disappeared, and the muni-
ments and library had been given to the flames. Thomas
rebuilt and renovated the cathedral as far as he could, putting
on a new" roof, and procuring new service-books and decora-
tions." He restored the old endowments, and added others in
the shape of estates and chm*ches to such an extent that
MalmeslDury charges him with impoverishing his see ;" he con-
tributed from his private piu'se towards the necessities of the
minster and its inmates, and repaired the dormitory and refec-
tory ; he made still greater changes in the constitution of the
cathedi'al, — he completely remodelled it. Up to this time the
number of the canons had only been seven, — the old Culdee
number, and those at York still retained that peculiar name.
Of these, one had been the abbas or superior, another the m«-
gister scholarum/ and a third the custos civitatis. They had
all lived together upon a common fund. Of these seven three
only were at York when Thomas arrived ; the rest were either
dead or in some other place. The survivors were now recalled
and reinstated under a difterent regime, although they were still
seculars. A dean took the place of the abbas, the magister
scholarum became the chancellor, and the treasurer was the

« There is some doubt as to the ex- In 1075 an invading Danish force

tent of these restorations. " Perpul- went to York, broke into St. Peter's

cram ecclesiam construxit, clericos minster, and took away much treasure

multiphciter ditavit " (Bromton, col. (Saxon Chron., 282).

9G9. Knyghton, col. 2345). " Eccle- « Malmesbury, apud Savile, 155 b.

siam a fundamentis inchoatam consum- p This office seems to have fallen into

mavit" (Malmesbury, 155 i). " Ec- desuetude, and was revived by Thomas

clesise recoopertce, et juxta possibili- before he proceeded to re-arrange the

tatem suam restructse, canonicos resti- minster. Stubbs, whilst describing the

tuit " (Stubbs, col. 1708). See " The creation of the dean, treasurer, and

Architectural History of York Cathe- precentor, says that Thomas " magis-

^T 'aV— ^'■o^^^so'" ^'Vlllis, pp. 14-15. trum scolarum antea statuerat."

Mr. Wilhs IS of opinion that Thomas I hope to speak at greater length

first renovated the Saxon church, and about the origin and duties of these

afterwards erected a new cathedral, or, officers in my account of the diguita-

at all events, the greater part of one. ries of the cathedral.
Cf. Lei. Coll., ii., 337.

1070 — 1100.] ARCHBISHOP thomas I. 155

custos civitatis : a chantor or precentor was added, and the
number of the canons was increased. The diocese was mapped
out, and placed under the charge of archdeacons. Those
officers, indeed, had been for some time in existence, as they
are mentioned in the Laws of the Northumbrian Priests, but
their duties and their districts seem to haA^e been at this time
properly defined. The common property of the minster was
also broken up and divided, and to each office there was assigned
a separate endowment. This was done to allow each canon to
attend to and improve his own allotted portion, and due pro-
vision was at the same time made for any other stalls which
might subsequently be established.* Thomas was also a bene-
factor to the minster in another way. He prevailed upon the
Conqueror to increase the endowments of the hospital of St.
Peter, which was better known in after years as that of St.
Leonard.''

There were at this time three other collegiate churches
within the diocese of York, — Beverley, Southwell, and Ripon,
all of which Avere held by secular canons. All the three had
been remodelled within the last century, but so firmly rooted in
the North had the secular system become that in each instance
it was perpetuated. Aldred was the first person who placed
prebendaries at Southwell, and he is said to have established
them at Ripon.* Alfric made alterations in the constitution of
the church of Beverley as it had been arranged by Athelstan.
He foimd there seven canons and seven clerks; he added to
them an eighth canon, a precentor, a chancellor, and a sacrist.
This was the state of things at Beverley when Thomas came
into the North. In course of time some complaints reached
his ears about the management of the property of that church,
and he met the difficulty by appointing a provost. The first
officer who bore that title was his own nephew and namesake,
who was afterwards archbishop.'

The monastic system in the North was at this time literally
extinct. The Danes had done their work well, and many of the

1 Stubbs, col. 1708-9. E-ipon at tbe time of the Domesda}'.

•■ MSS., Cotton, Nero, D iii., 5 a. Thomas is supposed to have be,L,nm the

St. Leonard's Chartulary, a magnificent new minster at liipon (AA'albran's Ri-

book. The writer fixes this grant at pon, 31). In Leland (Coll., ii., 337) it

Pentecost, 1069,— a manifest error. is said that Aldred founded stalls at

The archiepiscopal seal of Thomas llipon, York, and Beverley,

(not the matrix) is in existence. After ' Lcl. Coll., iv., 103. i)ugd. Mon.,

him the series is nearly complete, and vi., 1308. Scaum's Bevcrlac, 522.

may be found among the archives of Oliver's Bevcrle}^ 385. This appoint-

the dean and chapter of Durham. mont was too good a one to verify the

' I have nowhere seen the authority old saying with regard to bishops, " Fi-

for this statement, which has been fre- lios Deus abstulit, Sathauas dedit nc-

quently made. There were canons at potes !"

156 FASTI EBORACENSES, [a.D,

early religious houses had totally disappeared ; others were to
he recognized only hy charred beams and tottering walls. The
seculars were the masters everywhere, and they were few in
number and poorly endowed. Durham was the only place
where any semblance of discipline was retained, and yet that
famous monastery was at that time in the hands of secular
canons, who, save in one point, had abandoned altogether the
Benedictine rule. This was the state of things in the North
when, in 1074, three wandering Benedictines from Winch-
combe and Evesham made a pilgrimage into that district to
visit the holy shrines of which they had read in the history of
Beda : a single ass carried everything that they possessed. A
change had come over the country since the days of the great
chronicler. J arrow and Wearmouth were in ruins, and there
were none to tell them there of Benedict or Beda ; Whitby and
Lastingham were neglected and destroyed. It is to those three
faithful and energetic men that the North of England is in-
debted for the re- establishment of monasticism. They took up
their abode at Monkchester, or Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and,
after many adventures, became at last the founders, as we may
call them, of three famous Benedictine houses, — Durham,
Whitby, and St. Mary's, York." With each of these establish-
ments archbishop Thomas was more or less concerned. Whitby
and St. Mary's were in the diocese of York, and the monks
could not be located there without his support and consent. He
looked indeed on St. Mary's for some time with a jealous eye,
perhaps on account of its propinquity to his own minster," but
he subsequently became its friend. He was intimately con-
nected with the church of Durham and its bishops. He con-
secrated St. Carileph and Flambard, and administered the last
offices to the former.'" He must have observed with pleasure
the activity and the munificence of St. Carileph when he replaced
the secular canons of Durham by a colony of Benedictines,
and reared a noble cathedral upon that grey rock which over-
hangs the Wear. He permitted the monks of that place to
possess their lands in Yorkshire free from any payment or
ecclesiastical exaction.'^ There is a curious story connected

" Symeon, col. 199, 20G, 210. Hist. bus facile valuit reperiri " (Hist, Mori.

Eccl. Diinolm., 198, etc. Bromtou, Seleb., apud Labbe,Nov. Bibl.,i., 601).

col. 973. Malmesbury, apud Savile, Thomas was a benefactor to Selby.

15 1 b. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., v., 84, " Drake, ut supra, 579.

257. Lei. Coll., ii., 382. Drake's " Fl. Wigorn, 446. Symeon, col.

Eboracum, 578-9, ex Hist. Fundatiouis 224. Stubbs, col. 1709. Hoveden,

S.M. Ebor. 263,268. Symeon, Hist. Eccl. Dunelm.,

A\ hen Selby abbey was founded " per 218, 245, 255. Lei. Coll., ii., 384. Ca-

totam Eboraci Siriam, excepta Dunelm- rileph had been connected with Bayeux.

ensi congregations nee monachus nee ^ Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, ed. Sur-

monachorum locus aliquis in illis die- tees Soc, appendix, xi.

1070 1100.] ARCHBISHOP THOMAS I. 157

with his charter of exemption. The archbishop had been ill
for two years, and was a martyr to attacks of fever. " Pliy-
sicians were in vain." A vision Avarned him to seek for relief
in Dm-ham, at St. Cuthbert's tomb. He Avent and passed tlic
night there in great distress and pain, as might reasona])ly be
expected. Weariness at last brought on sleep, and the slum-
berer beheld the saint standing by him : he ran his hand over
his limbs, and the torture went away. But before the healer
departed he must have his fee : he desired the prostrate arch-
bishop to manifest his gratitude by granting to his favourite
place and see the immunities which were afterwards bestoAved.
Thomas, in an encyclical letter, narrated his sufferings and his
cure.^

Thomas seems to have vindicated and exercised his right to
be the head of the Scottish bishops. The ecclesiastical super-
intendence of that country was entrusted to him at the council
in 1072. He consecrated Ralph bishop of the Orkneys. Fode-
roch, the bishop of St. Andrews, came to him at the bidding of
Malcolm and his queen in the character of a penitent. He had
been consecrated at home, but he acknoAvledged his offence,
and made his profession of obedience to Thomas. He is said to
have acted as a suffragan within the province of York.- These
names, it must be observed, do not appear in the fasti of the
Scottish Church. There must either be some forgery in this
matter by the York historians, or a suppression of the truth
by the Scottish chroniclers.

Thomas died at York on the 18tli of November, 1100," having
been archbishop for aboiat thirty years. He had been infirm
for some time before his death, and he must have been an old
man. He was buried at York, and was interred in the minster
near his predecessor Alcked. The following epitaph commemo-
rated him : —

" Orba pio, viduata bono pastore patrono

Urbs Eboraca dolet, vix babitura parem.
Qualia vix uni persona, scientia, vita,

Contigerit, Tbomic nobilis, alta, bona.
Canicies, hilaris facies, statura venusta,

Angelici vultus splendor et instar erat.
Hie numero atque modo doetrinae sen probitatis

Clerieus oniiiis erat ut magis omnis homo.
Haec domus et clorus sub tanto presule felix,

Pene quod est et habet, muneris onine sui est.
Octavis Sancti Martini transiit ille,

Qui pietate Dei sit comes in rcquie.*

^ Ibid. Hoveden, apud Savile, Margan, apud Gale, ii., 3. Hoveden,

263 h. 268 h. Mat. Paris, 47. Stubbs, col.

' Stubbs, col. 1709. 1709, who says that he died at Ripon

" Saxon Chron., 321. SjTneon, col. " Octavis S. Martini."

226. Chron. Mailros, 62. Fl. Wigorn., * Hugh the Chantor. Stubbs, col.

472. Chron. Petrib., 70. Ann. de 1709, has several variations.

158 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

These words are liif^hly eulogistic, but the see of York owes
a deep debt of gratitude to archbishop Thomas. I can see him
even now as Malmesbury describes him in his later years — the
graceful figure retaining even then the spring and energy of
youth; the noble presence, and the covu'teous bearing which
captivated all ; the handsome florid countenance, and his hair
as white as the do"v\ai upon a swan. No one could impugn the
pnrity and correctness of his life." As to his learning and ability
the chroniclers are for once unanimous. He brought with him
into England the literary stores of three countries.'^ It was
his delight to have his clergy around him to read with them
and to argue. But music was his master-passion. He knew it
thoroughly, and was a composer as well as a singer. He could
play upon the organ, and was acquainted with its construction.
If he chanced to hear any light or trivial au', he would parody
it, as it were, with marvellous — may I say unfortunate — facility
into a hymn. He made chants and services,'' eschewing espe-
cially aU soft and effeminate music. -^ One specimen only of his
powers as a versifier has been handed down to us, an elegy upon
the death of William the Conqueror.^ As the theme was an
unfavourable one the effusion must be read with some little
indulgence.

" Qui rexit rigidos Normannos atque Britannos,
Audacter \icit, fortiter obtinuit,
Et Cenomanenses \artiite coercuit enses,

Imperiique suis legibus applicuit,
E,ex magnus parva jacet hie Gulielmus in urna,

Sufficit et magno parva domus domino.
Ter septem gradibus se volverat atque duobus
Virginis in gremio Phoebus, et hie obiit."

^TcrartJ, bishop of Hereford, was translated to the arch-
bishopric of York at the feast of the Epiphany, 1101.'^ He was
the nephew of Walkeline, the Norman bishop of Winchester,
and of Symeon, abbat of Ely ; and he was, therefore, a distant

■^ Malmesbury, 156 h. Wm. Neubr., ed. Hearne, appendix

" Vita S. Wulstani, apud Angl. Sac., 684-5, where this and two other epi-

ii., 255. Ric. of Hexham, col. 303. taphs are given.

Stubbs, col. 1705. Rob., de Monte, * Hugh the Chantor, who wrote a

ed. Stevenson, 680. Huntingdon, life of Gerard, which is in the Reg.

216 h. Magnum Album at York. Chron. Mail-

' Bromton, col. 968. Knyghton, col. ros, 62, in 1100. Symeon, col. 226. Di-

2345- ceto, col. 499. Bromton, col. 999. Cot-

/ Malmesbury, apud Savile, 155 b. toni Chron., 412. Hoveden, 268 h.

^ Ord. Vitalis, apud Duchesne, 663. Mat. Paris, 47.

1101 1108.] ARCHBISHOP GERARD. 159

connection of the Conqiieror.' We first hear of Gerard as the
chantor or precentor of the chnrcli at Kouen.-' He next l)ecame
one of the chaplains of William Rnfns, and in tliat capacity he
was sent by the king to Rome to make enqniries for him aljout
the relative merits of the two rival popes.''' It is also said that
he was chancellor to William I. and II,' Gerard was consecrated
to the see of Hereford at London, in June 1096,'" by the two
archbishops, having been raised to the priesthood at Lambeth on
tlie preceding day." In 1100 he was present at the consecration
of the new church at Gloucester/ and soon after this he is said
to have officiated at the coronation of queen Matilda.^ In
1101 he was translated to York. Walter Mapes tells a curious
story to account for his removal from Hereford. He says that
Gerard crowned Henry I., who, as a reward for his ser\-ices,
promised him the first vacant archbishopric. On the death of
Thomas the king repented of what he had undertaken, and
endeavoiu'ed to keep Gerard at Hereford, being willing to confer
upon that see an income equal to that of York and Canterbury,
and a position as important as that of the bishop of Durham.
Gerard, however, would have nothing to do with this arrange-
ment, and held the monarch to his word.? I do not set any
value upon the story, but it is necessary to mention it.

When Gerard was translated to York the old question of
subjection was again opened out. Anselm demanded his pro-
fession, but he refused to make it. He had desired Anselm to
give him letters to the pope to enable him to obtain the pall, but
he was told that they should be given upon one condition, that
he shoidd either make his profession at once or on his return
from Rome. Gerard was ready with his reply. " When he
came back he would do what was just and right,^-' and thereupon
he crossed the seas.'' He carried with him, also, a missive from
the king to Paschal, begging him to bestow the pall upon the
bearer.'' Gerard, however, had another errand to the eternal
city. He went there as ambassador from the king of England.'

' Ord. Vitalis, apud Duchesne, 764. Stubbs, Reg. Sacr. Angl., 24.

Malmesbury, apud Savile, 155 b. An- " Eadmer, Hist. Nov., 45.

glia Sacra, i., 611. " S3'meon, col. 225.

> Chron. Bob., de Monte, ed. Steven- '' Recueil des Historiens des Gaules,

son, 680. xii., 679. Synieon (col. 226) says that

* Eadmer, Hist. Nov., apud Anselmi Anselm crowned and consecrated her.

0pp., ed. 1721, 44. ' De Nugis Curialinm, 22t. Symeon

' Hugh the Chantor. Stubbs, col. (225) says that Maurice, bishoj) ot Lon-

1710, Lei. Coll., ii., 337. Perhaps don, crowned Henry. Gerard, how-

cancellarius is a clerical error for capel- ever, was present ("VVendover, i., 488.)

lanus. The name of Gerard appears in '' Stubbs, col. 1710.

no list of the chancellors that I have ' Bromton, col. 999.

seen. ' Eadmer, id supra, 61. Malmes-

'" Fl. 'Wigorn. says on June 15. bury, 92 b, 127 h, 155 b. Malmesbury

160 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

The dispute between Anselm and Henry as to the right of
investiture was running high, and the king was desirous of
having the pope on his side. Paschal was too adroit a politician
to take any decided part in such a controversy. Geraixl obtained
the pall, and was flattered and caressed. His learning was
commended ; his advice was sought for," whilst the king^s
ambassadors, as well as those of Anselm, returned to England
with the firm conviction that the pope was their friend."

The true state of things would soon be discovered, and some
little coolness between Anselm and Gerard would probably
ensue. The relative position of the two prelates was a very
critical one. They took diflerent sides in the church politics of
the day, and it must have been very diificult to avoid a collision.
We find them, however, associated together in a great council
held at Westminster in September 1102, at which many ordi-
nances were made relating to ecclesiastical discipline, but par-
ticularly to the marriage of the clergy.''' Even at that meeting-
there was a little manifestation of angry feeling. A seat had
been placed for Gerard below that of his brother of Canterbury.
He kicked it over and ordered it to be replaced on a level with
that of Anselm, invoking the wrath of God upon the perpetrator
of that injury to his see.'^

In the following year the quarrel between the king and
Anselm was at its height, and Gerard was made a party in it.
Three bishops stood in need of consecration, and Anselm refused
to officiate unless they received investiture from himself. This
the king forbade, and requested Gerard to take the place of
Anselm and act as consecrator. He was ready to do so, although
his consenting manifested neither good feeling nor good taste.
" Perhaps," as P'uller says, " he hoped thereby to hitch his
church and degree the higher,"^' perhaps only to oblige the king.
The ceremony, however, did not take place. William Giffard,
the bishop elect of Winchester, made so strenuous an opposition
to the intrusion of Gerard, that the other prelates shrunk from
the responsibility, and Giff'ard himself went abroad.^ Anselm,
also, wearied and disgusted, sought again the protection of the
pope.

charges Gerard with having given to iv., 126. Eadmer, Hist. Nov., 61.

the king a false report of the pope's '" Fl. Wigorn., 474. Malmeshur3%

opinion with regard to investitures. apud Savile, 129 6. Hoveden, 269.

This is probably the circumstance to Symeon, col. 227. Bromton, col. 1001.

which the pope alluded in a letter to Gervase, col. 1660. Stubbs, col. 1710.

Gerard, which is given by Eadmer. Eadmer. Hist. Nov., 63-4. Labbe,

" MSS. Lansdowne, ccccii., 27 b. Cone, x., 728.

Bromton, col. 1000. Stubbs, col. 1710. ' Stubbs, col. 1710.

- ^A'e hear of Gerard and his brother y Church History, book iii.. 20.

ambassadors being at Marseilles on their ^ Saxon Chron., 324. Fl. Wigorn.,

return in Martene, Thes. Nov, Anec, 475. Eadmer, 64. Malmesbury, 128.

1101 1108.] ARCHBISHOP GERARD. 161

During the next three years, which Anselm spent in exile,
we know little of the archbishop of York. A letter from pope
Paschal is presented, in which he is exhorted to be on better
terras M'ith Anselm f and that advice seems to have had its due
weight. A portion of the correspondence that passed between
the two prelates is before us ; it evinces much kindly feeling,
although it discloses the existence of some jealousy and bitter-
ness.* Gerard joined his brother bishops in an affectionate but
fruitless appeal to Anselm to return to England.'' He wrote
himself to the exiled primate, and spoke of their friendship and
past intercourse. He told him how much he wished that all
this should be renewed, and assured him of his kind offices with
the king in his behalf.'' It is quite possible that to Gerard^s
agency is to be ascribed the retiu^n of Anselm, which took place
in the autumn of 1106. After this there was another chance of
a feud between the two primates. Anselm required from Gerard
his profession of obedience, and he was backed in this demand
by a letter from the pope.^ The king now questioned the neces-
sity of the claim, as the profession had been made before when
Gerard became bishop of Hereford. Anselm, however, was not
satisfied with this ; and Gerard is said to have laid his hand in
that of Anselm, and to have promised to pay him the same
obedience which he had rendered to him in a lower sphere.-'' It
is only just to say that some doubts have been thrown upon the
truth of this statement. The reconciliation, however, seems to
have been complete, and Gerard assisted his brother-primate in
consecrating five bishops — the greatest number that had parti-
cipated in that rite, at one time, since the days of archbishop
Plegmund.^

Gerard induced the king to give the church of Laughton to
the dean and canons of York, and this was made into a prebend.
He also obtained from him six other churches. Of these, he
gave one, that of Snaith, to Selby Abbey. The other five, those

Hoveden, 269 b. Symeou, col. 228. <' Anselmi 0pp., 436.

Diceto, col. 499. Bromton, col. 999. "■ Ibid., 413. Diceto, col. 497. ^Mal-

Hemingford, apud Gale, ii., 470. Mat. mesbury, apud Savile, 155 6. Labbe,

Paris, 49. Chron. Petrib., 71. Moh- Cone, x., 617.

ler's Life of Anselm, ed. 1842, 100. In / Eadmer, 7G-7. Fl. AYigorn., 479.

Baluzii Misc. Sacra, ed. Mansi, ii., 173, Hoveden, 270. Symeon, col. 230. I)i-

there is a letter from Anselm to Henry ceto, col. 500. Gervase, col. 1G59.

protesting against any injury being Stubbs (1710) denies this. Cotton

done to Giffard on account of his re- (Chron., 412) says that Gerard made

sistance. his profession and obedience.

"Anselmi 0pp., 436. Diceto, col. •? Eadmer, 77. Malmesbury, 129&.

497. Hoveden, 270. Symeon, col. 230.

* Anselmi 0pp., 389, 431, 443. Bromton, col. 1003. Chron. Petrib.,

' Eadmer, 73. Ans. 0pp., 410. Wil- 74. Gerard consecrated a bishop of

kins, i., 384. Mohler's Life of Anselm, Orkney (Stubbs, col. 1710).

104.

M

163 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D,

of Driffield, Killiam, Pocklington, Pickering and Burgh, were
bestowed upon his minster/ He seems to have been a muni-
ficent person; indeed, his successor complained that he had
impoverished the see.' Gerard was a great disciplinarian, and
acted occasionally under the advice of Anselm.-' He is said to
have been fond of correcting abuses, and on that accoiint he
secured for himself the dislike which too many are ready enough
to manifest towards a conscientious and active reformer.*

Gerard has some pretensions to a literary reputation ; indeed
among his contemporaries he was famous for his eloquence and
learning.' Hugh the Chantor is guilty, perhaps, of a little cle-
rical adulation Avhen he tells us he was quite able to contest
the palm with Virgil in metre, and Tully in prose ! The letters
of Gerard, which are preserved, are well enough in their expres-
sion and Latinity, althoiigh in both respects they are inferior to
those of Cicero.'" The following specimen of his verse is the
only one that I have been able to recover. It is scarcely equal
to the melodious number of the Eclogues or the Georgics. But
it is hardly fair to judge a poet by eight lines, two of which are
not his own.

" Eex citharista David, Salomon, Paris, et Menelaus,

Occidit, liquid (Uquit ?J prodidit, introiit,
Uriam, Dariam," IMenelamn, Troica castra,

Ingenio, mouitis turpibus, arte, dolis.
Si fortuna velit, fiet de rethore consul,
Si velit lasec eadem, fiet de consule rethor.
In preoio precium nunc est, dat census honores,

Census amicitias. Pauper ubique jacet.""

The death of Gerard was a somewhat remarkable one. It
occurred at Southwell, on his way to the court at London,^ on
the 21st of May, 1108.* He was suffering from a slight illness.
After dinner he went to take his repose in the garden adjoining
to his palace, and lay down to sleep in the open air among the
grass and floAvers with a cushion under his head. His clerks
left him for a while at his request, and on their retrain their

* Stubbs, col. 1710. Eot. Chart., '" One of Gerard's letters is in Ans.
121. Lei. Coll., li., 337. Tn the Life of 0pp., 436. There is one in the library
Thurstan, in MSS. Cotton, Titus, A, at Corpus, Cambridge.

xix., 55, it is said that the churches of " The allusion here is not quite clear.

Pickering, Pocklington and Kilham, "Was Gerard thinking of Hiram ? Per-

were given to the deanery of York, haps of Pharaoh ?
which had been previously poor, by " MSS., Cotton, Titus D, xxiv., 61.

Henry I., at the request of archbishop p Eadmer, 78.

Thurstan. ' Eadmer, 80. » Saxon Chron., 331. Symeon, col.

■/ Anselmi 0pp., 386, 431. 231. Stubbs, col. 1711. Ann. de

* Mirac. S. Joann. Beverlac, apud Margan,apudGale,i.,4. Ann.Waverl.,
Acta SS., May 2. ibid., ii., 146. Eob. de Monte, ed.

' Ibid., Wm. Neubrig., i., 25. Mai- Stevenson, 680. Hoveden, 270. Chrou.
mesbury, 155 h. Stubbs, col. 1710. Potrib., 74.

1108 1114.] AECHBISHOP THOMAS II. 1C3

master was dead. He had passed quietly away. His opponents
asserted that this was a fitting termination of a wicked life.
He had departed " unhouselled, unanealed.^^ A few persons
carried his remains to York; but^ on account of the way in
which he died^ they were not received^ it is stated^ with the
customary procession of the citizens and clergy. The boys
pelted the bier as it passed along, and, the canons denying the
corpse a resting-place within the minster, it was interred igno-
miniously without the walls of the cathedral.'" It was sub-
sequently buried within the church by his immediate successor
in the see.^ These are the things which a monkish opponent is
so fond of recording. Gerard was a reformer and a successful
politician, and in both these characters he would be sure to
create enemies. The most upright man is not exempt from this.
Gerard is arraigned by more than one chronicler for deceit and
an evil life.' He is also charged with being addicted to curious
and forbidden arts. A treatise on magic, by Julius Firmicus,
is reported to have been found under his pillow in his garden at
Southwell, and he is said to have been much attached to it."
The book was merely a work on astronomy. The same petty
and vexatious spirit of ignorance which regarded Gerard as
akin to a sorcerer, threw Galileo into a dungeon.

r^lfjOttiaS KE«, the namesake and the nephcAv of the first
Norman archbishop, was the next primate of the Northern
province, succeeding, as it were, by hereditary right." He was
a member, strange to say, of a great clerical family. His
father, Sampson, became bishop of Worcester ; and his brother,
Richard, presided over the see of Bayeux from 1108 to 1133.'"
Thomas owed his advance in life to the care of his uncle, whom
he resembled in disposition, and under whom he was brought
up at York."^ In 1092, when the minster at Beverley was
reformed, Thomas was made by his uncle the first provost, and

•■ Wm. Neubrig., i., 25-6. Malmes- Eboracum, 415.

bury, 155 6. MSS. Cotton, Vesp., A. " Hu<<li the Chanter. Stubbs, col.

ix. Harleian Misc., ix. 309. 1711. Knyghton, col. 2377. Hoveden,

' Malinesbury, ibid. apud Savile, 270. Mat. Paris, 53.

' Wm. Neubrig., i., 25. "Vita " Gallia Christiana, xi., 360. Ric. of

lubricus, in emungendis per indecoras Hexham, col. 303. Malmesbury, apud

etiam occasiones subditorum marsupiis Savile, 155 b. Stubbs, col. 1711.

callidus, et, ut plurimi asseverant, raali- Tanner, Eibl. Brit., 709. Thomas's

ficiis etiam assuetus." Worcester, 144; and Appendix, 4.

" Knj'ghton, col. 2375. Drake's ■»' Hugh the Chantor.

M 2

164

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

he held that office till the year 1108.^ He was also one of the
royal chaplains. The year 1108 witnessed the decease of
Maurice, bishop of London, and Thomas was nominated to the
vacant post. Before the appointment was completed archbishop
Gerard died at Southwell. At that time, Hugh the dean, and
several of the canons, of York, were at the court, and they
entreated the king to give them for their new primate the
bishop-elect of London. Their petition was listened to, and
Thomas became archbishop of York.^ The chapter of that city
would be delighted to welcome a prelate who had been so
intimately connected with their OAvn body.

No sooner was the election of Thomas made known, than
the monks of Canterbury prevailed upon Anselm to require
from him the profession of obedience.'* Thomas resolved to
take the opinion of the king, and set off for London from York,
where he had been already most kindly received. He had
accomplished half his journey, when a messenger overtook him,
urging him to be firm in terms which a long intercourse and
familiaiity could alone justify, and demanding that he should in
no way commit or dishonour his chapter. Thomas at length
reached the king, who forbade him making the profession which
had been demanded ; and the opinion of the court was decidedly

y Symeon, col. 231. Stubbs, 1711.
The lists of the provosts of Beverley ia
Poulson and Oliver are filled with
errors, many of which have their origin
in the account of tho.-e officials, drawn
up before the Eeformation by Simon
Russel.

Archbishop Thomas was the first
provost. He seems to have been suc-
ceeded by another person bearing the
same name, who devoted himself to the
Cistercian rule at Clairvaux, but broke
his pledge, much to St. Bernard's grief.
The Saint tells us that he died, " Subita
et horrenda morte." St. Bernard wrote
to, and about him (S. Bern. 0pp., ed.
1G90, i., 11 1-15, 363-4). This Thomas
was succeeded by a person of the name
of Thurstan, but not the archbishop,
as has generally been stated. He died
in 1153 or 1151 (John of Hexham, col.
280), and was succeeded by Thomas a
Becket,who seems to have beeu indebted
for his appointment to archbishop
Theobald (Becket's works, ed. Giles, i.,
10). Benedict of Peterborough records
a miracle wrought in behalf of Thomas
de Etton, knt., who had been an
opponent of Becket whilst he was
provost (Bened. Petrib., Vita S. Thomse

Cant., ed. Caxton Soc, 104).

' Saxon Chron., 331. MSS. Lans-
downe, ccccii., 20 h. Symeon, col. 231.
Diceto, col. 500. Wendover, i., 461.
Chrou. Petrib., 74. Dachery, Spici-
legium, iii., 506.

" The account of this controversy is
taken from several sources. The chief
authority is the life of Thomas, by
Hugh Sotevagina, thechantor and arch-
deacon of York, which supplies some
fresh information. See, also, Stubbs,
col. 1711-13. Anselmi 0pp., 420-1,
448-50. (Several of these letters are
not in their proper chronological order).
Eadmer, Hist. Nov., ibid., 79-83.
Diceto, col. 500-1. Gervase, col. 1660.
Malmesburv, apud Savile, 156. Labbe,
Cone, X., 758-61. Wilkius, i., 888-92.
Ivonis Carnotensis Epp., ed. 1610, 790.
Jo. Saresber., 0pp., v., 346, etc. Anglia
Sacra, ii., 172.

In 1108 there is said to have been a
meeting of the clergy, at which Anselm
and Thomas were present. Some enact-
ments were passed at it about the arch-
deacons and the clergy (Symeon, col.
231. Hoveden, 270 6. Labbe, Cone,
X., 756).

1108 1111.] ARCHBISHOP THOMAS II. 165

ill his favour. In the meantime Anselm was not idle. He tried
to gain the king^s ear, but in vain. He then sent Herbert,
bishop of Norwich, to Thomas, to propose that the profession
should be dispensed with, if he woukl only recognize the primacy
of Anselm. Thomas, however, relied on the king's support, and
declined to do so. Anselm now began to act with promptitude
and energy, and it was time. Tui'got of Durham, the bishop-
elect of St. Andrews, was waiting to be consecrated. Thomas,
of course, could not officiate ; but Ranulph Flambard, the bishop
of Durham, was willing to act in his presence, with the assist-
ance of the Scottish prelates. Anselm refused to alloAv the
ceremony to take place. He forbade Thomas to exercise any
episcopal functions. He told him that no bishop ought to be
miconsecrated for more than forty days, and desired him to be
at Canterbury to receive that rite on the 6th of Septemljcr fol-
lowing ; saying that if he should be disobedient he would him-
self step into his place in the North, and enter upon the duties
which he was neglecting. Thomas wrote to Anselm in reply,
and told him that he would come to Canterbury as soon as he
conveniently could. At present he was in want of money, as
the see had been much impoverished by his predecessor; and
he was preparing also, with the king^'s permission, to send a
messenger to the pope to procure the pall. Anselm, upon this,
forbade him to seek the pall before his consecration, and desired
him to be at Canterbury on the 27th of September, He wrote
also to the pope, requesting him to withhold, for the present,
the honour which Thomas wished to obtain. Thomas, in reply,
told Anselm that he could not act against the will of his chapter ;
and that body, about the same time, conveyed to Anselm the
opinions which they had so strongly impressed upon their spi-
ritual head. Anselm fixed another day for the consecration of
his new brother, but to no purpose. He then resolved to try
the effect of mediation, and sent the bishops of London and
Rochester into the North. Thomas met them at SoutliAvcll,
but all their arguments and entreaties were in vain. He said
that he would gladly come to Canterbury to be consecrated if
the objectionable condition was given up. He was now expect-
ing, as he told them, the return of his messenger from Normandy
whom he had sent to consult the king. This alarmed Anselm
when he heard of it. He wrote a letter to Sampson, bishop of
Worcester, the father of Thomas, begging him to prevail upon
his son to adopt better counsels. The cautious prelate returned
an evasive and an unsatisfactory reply.

In the meantime, Hugh, the dean of York, and some other
friends of Thomas, had arrived at the court in Normandy.
Henry wrote to Anselm, desiring that the dispute should stand

166 I'ASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

over till lie retm-ned to England ; and the archbishop unwillingly
acquiesced. The king, also, shewed his partiality towards
Thomas by Aviiting a letter, which Hugh carried with liim to the
pope. It contained a request that he would send over to
England some competent person to settle the quan*el between
the two sees, and to bring with him the pall which Thomas was
unable to seek at Rome in his own person. The pope readily
assented, and Ulric, a cardinal, returned with the dean. Before
they could reach Normandy and the court, Anselm had passed
away out of this troubled scene into the peace and stillness that
are beyond it. He had been failing for some time, and, pos-
sibly, this controversy Avith Thomas may have embittered and
distm'bed the last months of the old man^s life. Upon his
death-bed he is said to have indited a most striking letter, in
which, in the sight of the Most High, he besought Thomas to
return to his allegiance to Canterbury. The curse of God was
invoked upon him if that allegiance were withheld. There is
something very a^vful in this. Sui'ely a death-bed is a place for
blessings, and not for curses. Anselm, however, was then seek-
ing for others, and not for his own aggrandizement, what he
considered to be right. He dared to vindicate it as he was
passing away to one whose highest attribute is His justice.
That noble heart, palsied by suffering but mivanquished, was
honest and faithful unto the end.

Whilst this was going on in England, Ulric and his com-
panions came to Henry at the Norman court, and he sent them
into his own kingdom, promising to be soon with them. When
he came, the great cause between Canterbury and York was
mooted, and each side did their best to carry the day. It was
debated at the feast of Pentecost. The result was that the king
was prevailed upon by the dignitaries of the Southern province
to alter his determination, and he requested the astonished and
dismayed Thomas to make the required profession to Canterbury,
■\\ithout any prejudice to his successors or his church. He flatly
refused to do so. The hot blood of the Norman prince boiled
oyer when he heard him. He threatened to ruin him and all
his kindred if he remained obstinate. Thomas was still disposed
to resist. Every influence Avas now brought to bear upon him.
Robert, comte de Meulent, whose good offices Anselm had pre-
viously requested, endeavoured to persuade the mimlling prelate.
Stephen de AVhitby, the abbat of St. Mary's, York, entreated
him to give way. Bishop Flambard sought in vain to warp the
king's mind by a proffered bribe of a thousand marks of silver
to himself, and an hundred of gold to the queen, but Henry
would not relent. The mediation of the cardinal was begged
for ; but he declined to embroil himself in a controversv which

1108 1114.] ARCHBISHOP THOMAS II. 167

might be productive of so much danger to himself and his
church. The king would not give way : Avoukl the ])rehite
submit? At tliis crisis the father and brother of Thomas,
fearful for their own safety and for his, went to him, and at
their earnest entreaty he was induced to alter his determination.
Stern necessity seems to have compelled liim, and he gave uj)
his position most sorrowfully and unwillingly. On the morrow,
Sunday, the 27th of June, 1109,* he made his profession, and
was consecrated at London by the bishop of that diocese. He
obtained, however, some little compensation for his concession.
The bishops of Norwich and Durham declared aloud in the
church, at the king^s request, that Thomas had made his sub-
mission to Canterbuiy in obedience solely to his royal master's
Avish, and not upon the merits of the controversy. Henry also
gave him a kind of encyclical letter which repeated everything
that the two bishops had asserted, and added, besides, that the
act was in no respect to compromise the rights and privileges of
the church of York and its archbishops.

Soon after this Thomas and the cardinal set out for York,
where there was a noble welcome for them. In the beginning
of August the pall was solemnly given to him in the minster ;
and when the ceremonial, together with the mass, at which
Thomas officiated, were over, the new archbishop, in the presence
of Ulric, consecrated Turgot of Dm-liam, who had long been
waiting for that rite, to the bishopric of St. Andrew's.'^ After
a stay of three days, the cardinal, loaded Avitli presents and
thanks, set out on his journey towards the South. Thomas
escorted him as far as the Trent ; and, when they were about to
part, the archbishop, instead of a friendly farewell, was astonished
to receive a summons to Rome. Ulric told him that in making
his profession to Canterbmy he had broken the decree of Gregory
and the canons, and that he must answer for this at Rome.
Why had not the cardinal expressed the same opinion when his
advice had been previously sought for, and when it ought to
have been given ? The entreaties, hoAvever, of Thomas and his
friends induced Ulric to recal his words, and the two separated
with mutual assurances of friendship and good will.''

The life of Thomas was too short to allow him to do much
within his diocese. We find, however, that several of the Scottish
prelates came to him for consecration. Turgot of St. Andrew's

* n. AYigorn., 482. Symeon, col. '' Hugh the Chantor. Symeon (232)

232. Diceto, col. 501. Eadmer, 83. and Fl. AYigorn., (182) sn,}' that the pall

Hoveden, 270 6. Chron. Petrib., 75. was given on July 30. llovodcn (270 6)

Chron. Mailros, 64. Mat. Paris, 53. makes the day Aug. 1. ]Malmesbury,

Labbe, Cone, x., 761. 156. Stnbbs, col. 1712. Chron.

<■ Anselnii 0pp., 421. Eadmer, ibid., Petrib., 75.
79.

168 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

has been already spoken of, but he was more renowned for his
connexion with Durham, and his literary reputation, than for
anything that he did at his see in Scotland. Wimund of the
Isles, Michael of Glasgow, and Ralph of Orkney, were also
consecrated by Thomas, and paid to him their spiritual homage.
To the two last the diocese of York was under some obligations.
The bishop of Glasgow, who came to York at the desire of
jjrince David, was on intimate terms with Thomas, and acted as
a suffi'agan within his diocese. He died on one of his episcopal
journeys, and was buried in the church of Morland in West-
merland. The history of Ralph, the bishop of Orkney, was a
remarkable one. He was a natiA^e of the city of York; and
because he was consecrated without the consent of prince, clergy,
or people of Orkney, he was rejected by them all. He re-
mained, therefore, in England, and acted as a suffragan to the
diocesans of Durham and York. He was a great friend of arch-
bishop Thurstan in all his vicissitudes of fortune, and represented
him at the famous battle of the Standard.*

We find but few traces of Thomas in the domestic affairs of
his diocese. Two new stalls were founded at York in his time
l)y Roger, abbat of Whitby.-^ Thomas obtained from the king
a grant of privileges to the church of Southwell, and freed the
canons and their church from the claims and exactions of him-
self and his successors. These endowments had been made by
Aldred at his own cost, but he had been unable to secure the
exemptions which were now obtained.^ The greatest work, how-
ever, which Thomas effected, was at Hexham.'^ That once
famous house had fallen from its first estate. A succession of
twelve bishops had worn the mitre which rested on the brows of
Wilfrid, but three centuries had elapsed since the death of the
last of these prelates. The church and lordship, for some time,
seem to have belonged in turn to the archbishop of York and
the bishop of Durham, but at the beginning of the twelfth
centmy, they seem to have been bestowed in perpetuity upon
the Northern primates. The church up to this time was under
the control of a provost, the son succeeding the father in the
charge for several generations. Thomas I. appointed to this
office a canon of Beverley of the name of Richard de Maton,
and attached it to the stall of Holme at York. Maton seems to
have been non-resident, but a person of the name of Eilau, well

' Symeon, col. 232. Stubbs, col. meon, col. 235. Stubbs, col. 1713.

1713. Keith's Scottish bishops, n. e., Mirac. S. Wilfridi, apud Acta SS. ord.

7, 220, 297. S.B., ssec. iii., i., 215-lG. Lei. Coll., ii.,

■^ Hugh, the Chantor. Stubbs, (col. 337-8, 391. There is an interesting

17l3)makesThomashimselfthefoimder. paper by Mr. LongstafFe, on "The

s Stubbs, col. 1713. hereditary sacerdotage of Hexham," in

'' llic. of Hexham, col. 303-6. Sy- the Arch. Ml., n. s., iv., 11-28.

1108 1111.] ARCHBISHOP THOMAS II, 169

known in tlie chronicles of the church of Durham, was his
deputy. It was clearly wrong that a church of antiquity and
reno^yn should languish under so feeble and imperfect an
administration. The abbey seems to have been used as the
parish chiu'ch, and, with the exception of Eilau, there are no
traces at that time of any resident ecclesiastics. On the first of
November, 1113, Thomas was able to introduce a new system.
During his visitation of the monasteries in his diocese he had
made himself acquainted with the state of Hexham. He pre-
vailed upon the provost to resign his post into his hands, and
made it thenceforward a house of regular canons under the con-
trol of a prior ; Eilau, who promoted, and was anxious for, the
change, being permitted to retain a life-interest in the endow-
ments. This he subsequently resigned, and ended his days as a
professed monk among the Benedictines at Durham. Ailred,
the learned prior of Rievaux, was his son. The path was now
clear for Thomas and his changes. He established a new
regime. He gave to the canons, who were Augustinians by
rule, four vills, a mill on the Tyne, and a fishery in that river.
He bestowed upon them one hundred shillings a year for their
clothing. He furnished the church with its books and orna-
ments, and, had his life been spared, he would have been a still
greater benefactor.

In the life of bishop Eata, there is an interesting account of
an adventure of Thomas at Hexham. The church of York had
no saint enshrined within its walls, and the want gave much
annoyance to the dignitaries of the minster. They entreated
Thomas to bring away from Hexham the remains of Eata. The
canons of that place were in despair as the archbishop had made
up his mind to deprive them of their saint. A singular cir-
cumstance is said to have deterred him. He had come to
Hexham and was asleep, when suddenly Eata himself appeared to
him in a vision. Not only did he chide Thomas in the strongest
language, but he gave him two blows on his shoulder with his
pastoral staff!

" Bis baculo tangens liumerum."

The poor archbishop was half-dead with pain and fear, and of
course nothing more was done about remoAdug the remains.'

One of the two learned priors of Hexham commends Thomas
very highly for his kindliness of heart, his pleasant manners
and countenance, his hospitality and learning.-? Like his uncle
he had a great taste for music, and he is said to have composed

' Biogr. Misc., ed. Surtees Soc, 124. i Wm. Neubri^.i i., 26. Symeon,

Mabillon, Acta SS. ord. S. B., iii., sscc. col. 236. Eic. of Hexham, col. 303,
i., 222. Stubbs, col, 1713. Malmosbury, 156.

170 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

some hymns, together with an Officiarium for the benefit of his
church at York.* A single letter of his addressed to Anselm is
preserved.^ In his personal appearance Thomas is said to
have been stout and iinwieldy, and to the inertness, which so
frequently results from corpulency, the York historians have
ascribed the too hasty surrender of the privileges of his see to
the encroachments of Canterbuiy.™

Thomas died at Beverley on the 24th of February, 1114,"
and was interred at York near his uncle and his predecessor
Aldred." He had for some time been suffering from a peculiar
complaint, and he might have survived it, if he had not had
some conscientious scruples in applying the prescribed remedy.
He felt it first when he was provost of Beverley, but he is said
to have obtained some temporary relief from the aid of his
predecessor St. John, whose assistance he had besought.? The
complaint, however, returned and carried him ofi'. It was the
same which in after years terminated the life of James Rossa,
the archbishop-elect of Lisbon. Thomas was still a young man
when he was called away.*

I^IiIi}UrStatt, a well-known name in the North of England, was
the next archbishop of York. It is impossible to do full justice in
a few pages to this great and noble-minded man. Like several of
his predecessors, he was the son of an ecclesiastic. Auger, pre-
bendary of Kentish Town, in the church of London. *■ Thurstan
was a native of Bayeux,^ and his brother, Audoenus, was for
many years the bishop of Evreux.^ Thurstan^s sagacity and

* Bale, cent, xiii., 132, where be is ? Wm. Neubr., i., 26. Stubbs, col.

confused with his uncle. Tanner Bibl. 1713.

Brit., 709. Wright Biogr. Lit., ii., "" Newcourt, i., 169. Godwin, ed.

109. Richardson, 668. Auger was succeeded

' Eadmer, Hist. Nov., apud Anselmi by his son, who is called " Audoenus

0pp., 80. frater archiepiscopi."

"' Hugh the Chantor. Stubbs, col. ' Ord. Vitalis, apud Duchesne, 858.

1712. ' He was born at Bayeux, and was a

" Fl. Wigorn., 488. Hoveden, 271. very learned man. He was scribe and

Ric. of Hexham (306) makes the date afterwards chaplain to Henry I. He

Feb. 16, and Stubbs (1713) Feb. 18. was bishop for twenty-four years, and

Sax an Chron., 331.. Cliron. Petrib., died in 1139, having rebuilt his church

77. Chron. Mailros, 65. Wikes, apud which had been burnt down. He was

Gale, ii., 25. Symeon, col. 236. Matt. interred at Merton, having before his

Paris, 55. death taken upon him the habit of a

» Ric. of Hexham, col. 306. Stubbs, canon. (Gallia Christiana, xi., 573-6.

col. 1713. Recueil des Historiens des Gaules, xii.,

p Ric. of Hexham, col. 303-1. 769. John of Hexham, col. 265.)

I

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 171

energy of character soon gained him a position in the Avorld.
He became a member of the household of William Rufus, and
was a great favourite of his master. At the death of tliat
monarch, Thurstan was made the chaplain and the confidential
secretary of his brother, the new king." He was clearly marked
out for gi'eatness, but up to this time the only clerical appoint-
ment which he enjoyed was a canonry at St. Paid's."

Archbishop Thomas died in 1114, and Thm'stan was nomi-
nated by the king to succeed him. This was done at Win-
chester on the festival of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin."'
The difficulties which had beset his predecessors soon forced
themselves upon his consideration. Thurstan had a stouter
spirit and far greater influence than those who went before him,
and he was not disposed to submit to the claims of Canterbury,
to which they had been obliged to succumb. He speaks about
the matter to the king.* He tells him that it was improper
that a metropolitan should make two professions of ecclesiastical
subjection, one to the pope, and the other to his brother metro-
politan. Supposing that a dispute arose between the kmg and
the Southern primate, the archbishop of York, in consequence
of his oath, would be obliged to obey the latter. The king, in
reply to these words, told the comte de Meulent that he would
not require Thurstan to make any profession to Canterbury.

Thurstan, at this time, was only a subdeacon, but in the

« Saxon Chron., 334. Chron. de " Saxon Cliron., 334. PI. "Wigorn.,

Mailros, 65. Stubbs, 1714. 488. Chron. Mailros, 65. Symeon,

" His stall was the prebend Con- col. 236. Bromton, col. 1005. Hove-

sumpta per mare, the corpus having den, 271. Hemingford, apnd Gale, ii.,

been swallowed up by the sea before 472. Eadmer (Hist. Nov., 90) says that

the Conquest. (Newcourt, i., 141.) he was elected "connivente Eadulfo

When Thurstan became archbishop, the archiepiscopo, et aliam quam rei exitus

bishop of London allowed him to re- probavit, de eo habente opinioneni."

sign this stall. (Hugh Cantor.) Eob. de Monte, 688.

The Beverley historians made Thur- ' The narrative of the troubles and

stan the second jirovost of that church, exile of Thurstan is taken from the

but there is no proof that he was at accountof his life by Hugh the Chantor,

all connected with the place (Poul- which is still unpublished. The writer

son, 646. Oliver, 385.) Herbert de was an oflicer in the church of York and

Losinga wrote a letter to a person whom was well acquainted with Thurstan, and

he addressed as " Thurstin, monachus," tells us a good deal about him, which

who may perhaps be identical with our has been hitherto unknown. I have

archbishop, recommending caution and based m3' life of the archbishop u]iou

freedom from worldly-mindedness, and this MS. The character of Thurstan

beginning "tuam abhorreus hseredita- has been judged and condemned up to

tern, frater Thurstine, peregrinis delec- this time on the testimony of the par-

taris divitiis, et nostra arundinea con- tizans of Canterbury, now audi alteram

dempnens tuguria, marmoreis habitas partem. Stulibs has taken from Hugh

in palatiis" (Epist. ed. Anstruther, 8vo, the greater part of his narrative, omit-

1846, 58). In the same volume (217) ting much that is important (col. 1714-

there is also a letter from Elmer, prior 20). \ have given references to other

of Canterbury, " ad Turstanum, archi- writers when they corroborate or dilfer

diaconum," ou religious subjects. from Hugh.

172 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

month of December he was advanced to the diaconate by his
old friend and patron, William, bishop of Winchester. He
then paid a visit to the North. At York he met with an honour-
able reception, and was solemnly enthroned in the minster by
Robert, bishop of Lichfield. He went from thence to Durham,
and became the guest of bishop Flambard, an unprincipled but
potent statesman. He there beheld, probably for the fij'st time,
the noble cathedral which St. Carileph had begun, and within its
walls he had an interview with Turgot, who had left his see of
St. Andrew's to die in the monastery of St. Cuthbert, of which
he had been the ornament and the head. The great scholar
was stretched upon that bed which he never left alive. 2' He
was delighted to see his new superior, and promised him his
allegiance if he were spared to render it. Thurstan spent, after
this, a few days at Hexham to supervise the good work of
Thomas, and then he retui'ned to York. As soon as the bishop
of Lichfield left him he began to busy himself with the aff'airs
of his new cure, and to meditate upon the future. The thought
of the dreaded profession which he would soon be required to
make induced him to seek for counsel from his chapter. They
declined to give him any advice, as their past difficulties were
still remembered. They told him, however, that on his side
there Avould be custom, justice, and the decree of Gregory ; on
the other, the king and nearly the whole of England : no one
was more conversant with the canons than himself, and it was
not for them to recommend him what to do : if he declined to
make the profession, and should be ejected for his contumacy,
they would obey no one else. The frankness of this reply would
please Thui'stan, and he told them that he was unwilling to
make the required profession of inferiority, and that he would
go to Rome, if possible, and refer the matter to the pope. They
then gladly acknowledged him as their ecclesiastical superior,
althoiigh he was only in deacon's orders. They drew up letters
to the pope announcing his election, and Thurstan, having
selected several of the canons to accompany him, prepared him-
self to cross the seas. The king had' been for some months in
Normandy, and Thurstan wished to see him.

The archbishop of Canterbury had already desired him to
come to him to be consecrated priest and prelate, and now the
summons was repeated. It was declined, and Thurstan, about
Christmas, 1114, reached the court in Normandy. He re-
s' Tn Eadmer (90, 97-100) are letters prompted the pen of Nicholas to write
from the king of Scotland to archbishop the letter on the right of the see of
Ralijh announcing Tnrgot's death, and York to the primacy of Scotland, which
asking his advice about his successor. is printed in the Anglia Sacra, ii.,
Eadmer's own difficulties about this see 230-6.

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THUUSTAN. 173

quested permission to visit Rome, but the archbishop had anti-
cipated his petition, and the kinj;- put his veto upon the proposed
journey. The cardinal-bishop of Pra^neste was at that time the
papal, legate in Fi'ance, and Henry, who scarcely knew how to
act, sought for his advice. What was he to do with Thurstan,
who was not a priest, and whom the primate of Canterbury
would not consecrate without the profession which the other
would not make ? The answer of the legate was prompt and
decisive. He told the king that Thurstan might easily be
ordained priest by one of the suffragans at the com't; when
that ceremony was over, he would himself direct him to the
pope, who would solve the difficulty at once by consecrating
Thurstan himself, and giving him the pall. This advice was
only followed in part. To the consecration at Rome Henry
would not consent, but he permitted Flambard, bishop of
Durham, to ordain Thurstan priest. This, according to Stubbs,
was done at Bayeux in Normandy.

The year advanced, and things remained as they were. The
court, however, returned to England. The delay was most
annoying and wearisome to Thurstan, but this was only the
beginning of his troubles. About Michaelmas there was a
council at London, and the king alluded to the unfortunate
dispute between Canterbui'y and York. The comte de Meulent
and Nigel d^'Albeni- were standing by, and Thurstan, availing
himself of the opportunity, complained with justice of the
great delay in his consecration. Henry advised him to take
some honourable and trustworthy person, and to go and ask the
archbishop to grant his often-preferred request. If any unjust
demand should be made, he had the king's permission to refer
the matter to the pope. Upon this Thvu'stan went to Ralph ;
Geoffrey, archbishop of Rouen, John, bishop of Lisieux, his
old friend Ranidph Flambard, and many others, accompanying
him. Ralph, however, refused to consecrate without the pro-
fession. Thurstan then announced his intention of appealing
to Rome. " If the pope were to meet me face to face, and
order me to waive my demand and consecrate you, 1 Avovdd not
obey him,'' was the hasty and ill-judged reply. The party
then returned to the king, and Thurstan begged earnestly to be
permitted to visit the papal court. He Avas emboldened l)y
what Henry had recently said, and he spoke out, " It was a sin
and a crime that the matter should remain so long unsettled.
The church of York was being injured ; the diocese was going

• There is a long account of this dis- name of Mowbray, and was the pro-

tingiiished person in L'Art de verifier genitor of a long line of illustrious

les Dates, ed. 1784, ii., part ii., 692. barons.
Nigel d'Albeni afterwards assumed the

174- FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

to ruin. It was hard to be an archbishop in name only without
the power to act. The king woukl be blamed at Rome for
sanctioning all this, and was that right ? Would Henry allow
him to go, or, at all events, to send a messenger to Rome ?"
The king would not move. He was too indolent to be an active
partizau, and the archbishop of Canterbury reproached Thurstan
in his hearing for having summoned him to Rome without the
permission of the sovereign. Henry had neither the spirit nor
the fairness to say that that leave had just been given.

In the meantime the letters which the chapter of York had
written to the pope announcing the election of Thm-stan, and
deprecating any farther delay in his consecration, have been
lost sight of. They were drawn up in the Avinter of 1114, bvit
a whole year elapsed before they were delivered." Before that
time the chief pontiff must have heard of the dispute from other
som-ces.* He at last received the letters of the chapter, and
answered them immediately. The reply was everything that
coidd be wished for. Paschal confirmed the choice of the
chapter, and directed the archbishop of Canterbury to conse-
crate Thurstan without any profession and without delay. The
bearer of these missives arrived in England in Lent 1116, when
the king was holding a council at Salisbury. Henry had gra-
dually been brought over to take the part of Canterbury, and a
vigorous attempt was now made to bring Thurstan to submission.
The king brought his influence to bear upon him. He sent the
comte de Meulent, William, earl of Warren his brother-in-law,
William the chamberlain, and Nigel d^Albeni to Thurstan, be-
seeching him, in recollection of the kindness which he had
received from himself and his brother, not to break the customs
of the land, and scandalize the chiu'ch by withholding the pro-
fession. Thurstan made a noble and a bold reply. He acknow-
ledged with pleasure his debt of gratitude to the king and his
brother. No one shall question his loyalty or his love of order.
Where is the injury to the law or the scandal to religion in his
standing up for his own chiu"ch, Avhich it is his duty to protect ?
To defend the right is one half of the diadem of the king, — '^ the
brightest jewel in his crown,^^ — and the judge ought not to

" Eadmer (90) speaks of Thurstan 1610, 482). There is another courte-

sending letters to the pope which were ous and comphmentary letter from Ivo

of no avail. to Thurstan in the same work (375).

* Ivo, bishop of Chartres, writes to Hildebert, bishop of Mans, writes to

Pa-schal begging him to defend the see Thurstan contradicting the report that

of York and to confirm Thurstan's he wished to go to E.ome to take the

election, " Qui, quantum ad personam part of Canterbury against him (Hilde-

pertinet, continentis est vitte et ho- bertiepisc. Cenomanens. 0pp., ed. 1708,

nestDc famse, et utilis, quantum humana appendix, p. 1. Ivonis Carnotens. episc.

conscientia de alterius vita potest judi- Epist., 790).
care, sanctse Dei ecclesiae " (Epist., ed.

1114 1110.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 175

make himself a partizan. Let the real originator of the scandal
recollect who it Avas that said, " Woe to that man hy whom the
offence cometh." He neither can nor dare make this profession
in contravention of the decrees of Gregory;, Honorius, and
Urban. If his predecessors rashly or by compulsion did other-
Avise, what is that to him ? The sanctuary of God cannot be
inherited. He humbly intreated the king to judge according
to the right by himself and his chui'ch. The royal messengers
returned and told the king "svhat Thurstan had said. He was
then in his chapel with archbishop Ralph. The hot blood of
his father boiled within his veins. He sent them back to
Thiu'stan to tell him that if he continued to refuse to make the
profession, banishment and ruin should befall him and all his
kindred, and that he should lose York altogether.'' It was this
threat Avhicli extorted the compliance of two of his immediate
predecessors, but Thurstan was undaimted. He paused awhile,
for it Avas a time for deliberation, and then he made the courage-
ous reply, " It is painful indeed for me to incur the king^s
perpetual dislike, but it is much more painful to be a conscious
offender against God and the church of Rome. I shall do
neither : I shall restore to the king everything that he has
given me." The Avords Avere reported to the king. Hoav strange
they must have sounded in the ears of Avorldly and selfish men !
The archbishop Avould not believe that they had been spoken.
The comte de Meulent, who was kindly disposed towards
Thurstan, then observed that he did not luiderstand that Tluu'-
stan had refused to do what was required. Let him be sum-
moned and ansAver for himself. He came and repeated Avhat he
had said before. He laid his hand on that of the king and siu"-
rendered to him, as his suzerain, everything that he possessed.''
The scene was an affecting one, and many were in tears, nay,
even the king was moved. Pleasure, however, was A'isibly
Avritten upon the face of Ralph, who had not yet received his
letter from the pope, for Thurstan had forgot to bring it with
him. With a strange Avant of feeling he turned to the York
clergy, and blamed them for depriving their head of his arch-
bishopric by their evil counsels. They Avere all Avcc])iug, aud
the voice of Thurstan was raised at once in their behalf. He
bore a noble testimony to the honesty of^ their motives, their

' Eadmer, 90, who is quoted by S}'- up and promised never to seek for it

meon, col. 237. Diceto, col. 502. again durinf; his life. This is copied

Brointon, col. 1006. Gervase, col. by Fl. Wi<,'orn., 490. lioveden, 271 6.

1661. Knyghton, 2379. Hoveden, Synieon, col. 237. Gervase, col. 1661.

2716. Matt. Paris, 55. Chron. Pe- Eromton, col. 1006. Hemingford, apud

trib., 78. Wilkins, 1., 393. Gale, ii., 473.— Malmesbury, 156.

"* Eadmer (90) says that he gave it

176 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

learning and their excellence, and declared that with their help
he was still ready to maintain the right.

The news spread far and wide through the English dominions
on cither side of the channel. Astonishment and sorrow were
uppermost in men's minds ; astonishment, that so loyal and
trusty a subject had been thus treated ; and sorrow, that he had
suffered in the cause of right and justice. The chapter of York
wrote an affectionate letter to Thurstan, commending his past
conduct, and exhorting him to endurance. The pope sent a
sharp reproof to Ralph, and ordered him to give way, but he
neglected this mandate as he had despised the other. In the
meantime Thurstan entreated the king to have pity upon the
diocese which should have been his, and to appoint another
archbishop. Henry, however, did not do this : he felt, pro-
bably, that he had gone too far already, and nothing more was
done.

Henry now paid another visit to Normandy, and Thurstan
went with him. He was still treated by his master with respect.
The present position of himself and his chiu'ch was uppermost
in his thoughts. When he had requested Henry to nominate
an archbishop in his room, he had declined, with the remark
that the see, in his opinion, was not vacant. What could now
be done ? Thurstan began to regret his recent resignation : he
could not properly make it, as he thought : how could he give
up to the king what he had not received from him ? it was the
pope who had confirmed his election ; the pope ought clearly to
be the arbiter. He m-gently entreated Henry to allow him to
go to Rome, and his friends seconded his prayers. It was all
in vain.^ The king was unmoved, and Thurstan remained at
the court in what was, in point of fact, a kind of honourable
restraint.-^ He could not steal away from his master, and he
was afraid of exasperating him farther. Henry himself had
sent the bishop of Exeter to Rome to take the advice of the
pope about the question in dispute, and he now returned after
a fruitless journey. He gave, however, a hint to the arch-
bishop of Canterbury, of which that prelate at once availed
himself, and the primate, at his suggestion, started at once for
the papal court.

After a lapse of three months several representatives of the
York chapter reached the king. That body had resolved to
demand theii' archbishop as a matter of right and justice, and
for that purpose they sent two of their archdeacons — a canon of

' Eadmer, 90. Chron. Mailros, 63. / " Ab Anglia longa cathena retentus

Sj-meon, col. 238. Gervase, col. 1661. in Normanniam quasi sub custodia de-
Hoveden, 271 b. tinebatur" (Hugh).

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 177

Beverley and a monk of St. Mary's Abbey. When these per-
sons solicited an interview, Henry sent them a message to
demand why they had crossed the seas without his permission.
They replied that they thought that in such a case the royal
licence would be unnecessary. The king would not see them
then, but fixed the day and the place for an interview. He now
began to weary them with delays. They Avere disappointed
three or four times, but at length they obtained the wished-for
meeting, Flambard, bishop of Durham, and several other friends,
accompanying them. They required their archbishop at the
king's hands, speaking of the injury which his absence was
doing to the chui'ch and diocese of York. It was at their
request that Thurstan had been ordained deacon and priest ;
they had made him the provost of their souls, and had promised
to obey him, why shorild they lack his superintendence ? If
they could not have him, whom were they to have ? The pope
alone could absolve them from their oath of subjection to
Thurstan, and give them another archbishop.^ There was much
reason in what they said, and the king, at their most earnest
request, promised to take the subject into his immediate con-
sideration. After a conference with Thiu'stan they proceeded
homewards. As soon as they were gone Thurstan renewed his
old petition, but without effect. He Avas desired to wait till the
archbishop of Canterbury returned. Thu^rstan then mentioned
a report that Ralph had resolved to make a pilgrimage to Jeru-
salem, in which case there was little chance of his coming home.
" It matters little to me," said the king, " what either of you
say or do ; it is my Avish to hear the opinion of the pope from
his own lips.'' Ralph at last came back vexed and disappointed
with his journey, and Thurstan again made a fruitless appeal to
Henry, reminding him of his past promises. The heai"t of the
king was hardened like that of Pharaoh. Ralph had been whis-
pering in his ear that his adversary, if he went to Rome, might
perhaps be consecrated, and that was, of all things, to be pre-
vented. Thurstau was bitterly disappointed. He would not
make the king his open enemy, but hoAv vain it was to hojie for
an alteration in his opinion. He began to cast in his mind
what he should do. It was ignominious and imjust that he
should be thus treated. He seems to have thought of leaving
the court without the king's permission, and in this emergency
he again sought the advice of the chapter. They entreated him,
if it were possible, to retain Henry's good opinion. If his
departure should be sanctioned he might take any of their body
with him : in any case he might have them, but if he left the

s This embass}' is mentioned in Eadmer, 92.

178 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

court by stealth it would be unsafe and unfair to leave them
behind.' William de Beverley, their last messenger to the pope,
had been very closely questioned by the king. At the same
time the chapter sent to Thurstan another epistle, which he was
to deliver to the pope. In it they appealed to his justice and
compassion. Their hopes and hearts were fixed upon him.
They told him that Ralph had inveighed against the venality of
the papal court, which all the world, they said, knew to be a
false charge. The letter was an adroit mixtvu'e of flattery and
abuse. It Avas conveyed, in all probability, to Paschal by some
messenger of Thurstan or the chapter.

The pope's reply reached the English com-t in Normandy
by the hands of Anselm, afterwards abbat of St. Edmund's,
who was a nephew of the celebrated archbishop, and the legate
to England. Paschal requested the king to restore the see of
York to Thurstan and to hasten his consecration, and he took
upon himself to settle any dispute which might arise.'' He
ordered Ralph to do his duty at once without the profession,
which he had no right to demand; if he persisted in refusing,
the suflragans of the see of York shoidd act in his stead. This
letter, however, was not given to the archbishop at the time.
The decision of the royal council was unanimous in Thurstan's
favour, and he was restored to his lost position.' It was his
intention to place the pope's missive in the hands of Ralph as
soon as he retm'ned to his pi-ovince, where alone he coidd con-
secrate him. In the meantime, full of joy at his good fortune,
Thurstan Avent back to Y'ork. Several months pass away, and
Ralph never comes to England. He was e\idently loitering
abroad to avoid the fulfilment of the papal mandate.

It was now the month of February, 1118, and there was
every expectation at York that the great dispute would speedily
be terminated. " There is many a slip between the cup and the
lip." The unexpected news was brought of the death of Paschal,
and of the accession of John Gaetano to the papal chaii' under
the title of Gelasius 11. Everything Avas to be begun again,
and no time was to be lost, as the new pontiff was in France.
A messenger was at once sent off to state the case, and enlist
the sympathies of the pope, and Thurstan prepared to follow
him. He must cross the seas to Normandy, and pass on to
have an intervieAv, if possible, vnih Gelasius. It was treason to
leave the countiy without the permission of the king, and the
utmost secresy Avas necessary. Thurstan and a few companions
make their way to London, seemingly upon a different errand.

* This letter is also printed in Ead- nis Carnotens. Episc. Epistolse, 793.
mer, 92, and Malmesbury, 156. Labbe, Eymer's Fccdera, «. e., i., 9. '

Cone, X., 655. Wilkins, i., 376. Ivo- * Eadmer, 92.

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 179

They now separate to reach the coast as they best can. A
rendezvous in Normandy had been appointed. Tliurstan con-
descended to disguise himself, and rode to Dover with his father,
and got safely across : the rest of the party took ship at Hastings.
The plans of the adventurers had been laid with the greatest
secresy, but still some rumours had reached the king, and
Thurstan had been waiting for the rest a single night in Nor-
mandy when he was discovered. Henry demanded the reason
of his coming,-' and Thui'stan, who was too honest to slur over
or conceal the truth, gave him a prompt reply, " It is neither
fit nor decent for myself or my church that I should remain in
York an archbishop merely in name. I know too that the arch-
bishop of Canterbury is the cause of this. He is aAvare that I
have letters fi'om the pope commanding him to consecrate me.
By his staying here to thwart me he has deprived both York
and Canterbuiy of its metropolitan. I have come to see the
new pope, that he may release me from my sinecui'C, but I shall
not go to him without your knowledge and consent." The
king, satisfied apparently with the answer, told him that he
would reply to what he had said on the morrow. Some letters
from Gelasius, evoked no doubt by Thurstan^'s messenger, had
already reached him. The pope took up the cause of York
with more warmth than his predecessor. If the dispute were
continued, he desired Henry to send both Ralph and Thurstan
to the papal court. To the former he used the strong language
of indignant reproof.

Soon after this Thurstan had an interview with Ralph, and
offered to give him Paschal's letters which he had so long
retained. Ralph would not receive them. Of what use are they,
he cried, for that pope is dead ? At last he promised to inspect
them, and then to give his answer. He now began to defend
his conduct. He could not, he said, consecrate Thurstan out of
England, and, at present, he had no intention of returning, as
he was going to see the French king. Thurstan upon this again
begged Henry to allow him to meet the pope, but in vain. He
might send a messenger, if he liked. Another delay now un-
expectedly arose. Thurstan^s messengers were with the king of
France at Vercignies when they heard that Gelasius was dead,
and that he had been interred at Clugny.

Guy, archbishop of Vienne, was his successor under the title
of Calixtus II. He was elected to the papal chair in the begin-
ning of February, 1119. As he had been so recently appointed,
he very properly declined to proceed to the immediate considera-
tion of appeals. He spent some time in a tour through l^ur-

•' Eadnicr (93) says that Thurstan bade his journey " donee certiorem dc
came to the king at Rouen. He for- processu papsc sententiam edisceret."

X 2

180 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

gundy and Aquitaine, and at length held a council at Narbonne.
He there heard from many mouths the story of the wrongs of
Thurstan. He wrote at once an angry letter to Ralph rebuking
him for his pride and disobedience. The archbishop was
alarmed^ and wished to explain his conduct in a personal inter-
view ; but the king of France and the comte de Angers, who
had warmly espoused the cause of Thurstan, refused to grant
him letters of safe-conduct, or to allow him to enter their
territories. Ralph, therefore, could only write a deprecatory
letter. He begged not to be censured unheard. He expressed
his willingness and ability to explain everythmg to the pope, if
he were only permitted to visit him. He had not received the
mandates of Paschal and Gelasius whilst they were alive ; how
then could he obey them ? In a subsequent epistle he spoke in
a somewhat humbler tone, and endeavoured to vindicate himself
from the charge of pride.

It was most necessary for Thurstan^s interests that he should
have an interview with Calixtus, but he was retained by the
king^s side. Ralph was now thoroughly alarmed. He knew
that the pope was offended at him, and that Thurstan had many
powerful supporters. Calixtus was at no great distance, and he
was terrified at the idea of his opponent reaching him. He
entreated Henry to send Thurstan home to England. He, it
vnW be imagined, was as anxious to remain. Of what use, he
said, can I be in my church of York at the festival of Easter
which is approaching ? How can I consecrate or celebrate as I
ought? The matter was deferred j but Henry expressed a wish
that he should return as soon as Easter was over. Thurstan
placed himself at the disposal of God and of the king.

The pope had now resolved to hold a council at Rheims;
and summoned to it the prelates who bare office in France,
Germany, Burgundy, and Provence. He requested Henry to
send his two archbishops, and told Ralph that he would there
be obliged to answer for his disobedience. The king was per-
plexed. Thurstan saw by this time the folly of trusting to his
promises, and resolved to leave Normandy before long, whether
Henry wished it or not. He sought, for the last time, his leave
to be present at the council to which he had been invited ; but
it was refused unless he would pledge himself not to receive
consecration from the pope. Thurstan wordd promise nothing ;
and sheltered himself under a text, that never-failing resource
of ecclesiastics when they were in a difficulty. He would
render unto Ceesar the things that were Csesar's, and imto God
the things that were God's.'^ At this crisis the bishop of Exeter,

* Eadmer (94) says that Thurstan would not be consecrated, or do any-
was under a strict obligation that he thing to the prejudice of Canterbury,

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN, 181

the well-known William de Warlewast^ came to Henry from
Calixtus, and told him that Thurstan might safely be permitted
to depart, as there was no chance of his being consecrated. The
king, therefore, allowed him at last to go.

Thui'stan left the court with the delight which the released
captivejeels. He had been too long one of Pharaoh's bonds-
men not to value the blessings of liberty and freedom. He was
speedily at Chartres, where several of his friends were waiting
for him who had promised to aid him in his flight, for which
preparations had been made. They were overjoyed to find that
he was not a fugitive. Four days after this the party reached
the papal court at Tours. His reception was cordial in the
extreme. Pope and prince seemed to vie with each other in the
warmth of their praises and attentions. The sufferings which
the honest-hearted English priest had borne so heroically for
five long years had won the sympathy of all.' He met Calixtus
at the celebration of the great feast of Easter in the church of
St. Maurice at Toiu's, and for half a year he was scarcely ever
from his side. The charm of manner which had fascinated the
Red king, and captivated or mollified his successor was now
visible to all. Thurstan played the courtier with the ease and
dignity which were native to him. He was full of ready Avit,
with a great facility of expressing himself, and a marvellous
power of adapting himself to others. No one was more ready
to receive or to manifest a kindness. He became a great
favourite with king Louis and his nobles. He was flattered and
admired by all. And yet in those days France had children of
her own who were full of piety and genius. What country has
not heard of Clairvaux and its sainted founder? How many
have wept and wondered at the learning and the loves of
Abelard ?

There would be much curiosity to know what Calixtus would
do to restore Thurstan to his right. At the castle of Blois two
of the York archdeacons and a scholar, who had accompanied
the exile, placed his case before the pope, who promised, in kind
terms, to consult with the Sacred College. They spoke to him
again near Paris, some time after this, when Calixtus was leav-
ing the church of St. Martin des Champes, and he expressed
his hope that everything would be arranged at the coimcil.

and that the pope had also made a col. 1661. Wendover, i., 470. Chron.

promise to Sietfrid, the king's nies- Petrib., 79.

senger, that he would do nothing to ' Eadmer (94') insinuates that he won

injure the see of Canterbury. This their favour by bribes. He is followed

statement has been adopted and followed and quoted by Diceto, col. 503. Brom-

by Symeon, col. 240; andMalmesbury, ton, col. 1014. "Wendover, i., 470.

1 56 h ; and, partly, by Diceto, col. 503. Chron. Petrib., 79.
Bromton, col. 1008, 1014. Gcrvasc,

182 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

That assembly was held at Rheims in October, 1119. It was to
begin on the Monday. On the Saturday evening the pope sent
for Thurstan, and told him, to his great delight, that he shoidd
be consecrated on the morrow. The archbishop of Canterbury
was not coming, and the bishops from Normandy and England
had not yet arrived. E-alph, bishop of Orkney, was at Thm'stan^s
side. He had come to Rheims two days before with one of the
York archdeacons, on a visit to the exiled primate.

The scene at Rheims on Sunday, the 20th of October, 1119,
must have been a magnificent one. Many a brilliant spectacle,
many a stirring adventure, has that fair city witnessed. It is
associated with French history from the very earliest times.
The sovereigns were crowned within its walls. We think of the
triumphs and the munificence of Clovis, and the most striking
incident in the victorious career of the Jungfrau. We see her
looking upon the city, and listening to the words of the black
knight : —

" Schau bin ! Dort hebt sich Rheims mit seiner tliurmen,
Das ziel und ende deiner fahrt — die kuppel
Der hohen kathedrale siehst du leucliten,
Dort wirst du einziehii im triumphgeprang,
Deinen konig kronen."

Flodoardus has described the glories of the archbishopric which
dates from the close of the third century. No less than nine of
the early prelates who presided over it are enshrined in the
calendar. We can still read of the learning of Hincmar, of the
miracles of Remigius, and his wondrous walk. In the beginning
of the twelfth century Rheims was one of the greatest sees in
Europe. At least fifteen councils had been held at that place ;
and, at the most recent, the terrors of excommunication had
been thundered against the emperor Henry. On the occasion
which I shall now describe, the great church of St. Mary was
crowded with illustrious ecclesiastics who had come to take part
in the deliberations that were to begin on the morrow. An
honest and simple-hearted priest was in that tlrrong to witness,
after years of suffering and neglect, his own triumph. There
would be but few there who were ignorant of Thurstan and his
trials. Now he was to be rewarded. Calixtus summoned him
forth, and consecrated him with his own hands before that vast
assembly.'" One voice alone was raised against that act. John,

•" Saxon Chron., 334. Eadmer, 94. ton, col. 1008. Gervase, col. 1661.

"Fl. AVigorn., 494. Chron. Mailros, 66. Knygliton, col. 2379, who censures

Symcon, col. 240. John of Hexham, the pope. Malmesbury, 131J, 156 S.

col. 266, who says that Thurstan was Hoveden, 272. Mat. Paris, 56. Ann.

consecrated " intercedentibus cardi- Waved., apud Gale, ii., 147. Heming-

nalibu.s." Diccto, col. 503. Erom- ford, ibid., 474. Labbe Cone, ix., 878.

11 14; — 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 183

archdeacon of Canterbury and the nephew of the archbishop,
was the only representative of his church who was there. Un-
daunted by the presence in which he found himself, and careless
of sympathy or aid, he arose, and, with an honest intrepidity,
protested against this apparent \iolation of the privileges of his
luicle and his see." What he said was disregarded. The Italians
laughed at him; and as he left the church, he heard around
him several expressions of contumely and insult. Ralph, when
he heard of what had occurred, wrote a long expostulatory
letter to Calixtus."

Late on the same day, the English and Norman bishops
arrived at Rheims. Henry had desired them to oppose the
consecration of Thurstan, and to send him home if he should
be disposed to neglect their advice. As they neared the
city they heard of what had been done. They were greatly
troubled and perplexed. There were some who looked with
sorrow upon the too certain consequences of Thui'stan's dis-
obedience. The bishop of Exeter, in particular, reproached
himself for advising the king to permit him to leave the coui't.
All, however, were agreed as to the folly and heinousness of
the offence, and they resolved to have no communication with
the culprit. On the morrow, when they went to the council,
they kept aloof from him. Flambard, his own suffragan, would
not sit beside him lest he should offend the king. The faithful
bishop of Orkney was the only prelate who was near him.
Several of his old friends, however, seem to have seen Thm-stan
secretly during the continuance of the council. He heard
from them that he would certainly be disseised of his archi-
episcopal lands. The king of England was excessively indignant
when he heard what had occmTcd. He vowed that Thurstan
should never return to his country during his own life unless he
professed obedience to Canterbuiy.J' He then made enquiries
about the pall, but no one could say that it had been given.
The pope presented it to Thurstan on the twelfth day after the
conclusion of the council, and enjoined him to mention the cir-
cumstance to no one as long as he was in France. Soon after

" Eadmer, 94. Labbe, x., 878, where i., 396-40 A, where the letter is printed

it is said that the archbishop of Lj'ous entire. Souiner's Canterbury, part ii.,

kept away from the council on account 1 19.

of what was to be done. Tlic pope, in p The chroniclers say, in general

answer to what John said, vindicated terms, that he was forbidden to return,

himself from the charge of breaking e.g., Saxon Chron., 310. Eadmer, 94.

his word, " Quod feci, semper salva Symeon, col. 211. Diceto, col. 503.

justicia Cantuariensis ecclesire, si qua Bromton, col. 1008. Gervase, col. 1661.

est, facio" (Hugh). In Martene (Thes. Knyghton, col. 2379. Malmcsbury,

Anecd.,iii., 884) it is said that Thurstan 156 6. Mat. Paris, 56. Ann. Waverl.,

was at Rheims with two suffras^ans. aimd Gale, ii., 147. llomingford, ibid.,

» Twysdcn, col. 1735-48, Wilkins, 473.

184 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

this, when they were at Beauvais, Calixtus gave him a letter to
his suffragans in the North of England, in which the bishops of
Durham, Orkney, and Glasgow were addressed. The pope in-
formed them that Thurstan had been duly consecrated, and
desired them to regard him as their ecclesiastical superior.

The coTmcil lasted eight days, and the pope was detained in
Rheims for fifteen more, by an attack of illness. During this
time Thurstan was not idle. Everything now depended upon
his reconciliation with Henry ; and how was it to be effected ?
He joined Conon, bishop of Prseneste, and the other cardinals in
entreating Calixtus to have an interview with the king, and to
make peace, if that were possible, between France and England.
He was desirous, also, that the pope should speak to the English
king in his behalf. After much hesitation, Calixtus desired a
conference, and mentioned a day and the place where they could
meet. Henry readily assented, for the pope and he were
cousins. They saw each other at a church between the castles
of Chaumont and Gisors,? in the neighbourhood of Rouen,
The king of France was at that time at Sens. On the question of
peace, very little seems to have been said.*" Both sides expressed
their wishes for it, which it is easy enough to do when you have
war all the while in your heart. The dispute with Thurstan
was then brought forward, and the pope and cardinals urged its
speedy termination. Calixtus was indignant at Ralph of
Canterbury and his disobedience. He had himself consecrated
Thurstan, he said, to leave the matter undecided, and he was
desii'ous of adjudicating upon it at Rome. He implored Henry
to receive Thurstan kindly, as rumours of his punishment had
already reached him. Henry, after accounting for the absence
of Ralph from the council on the score of ill health, assured
Calixtus that he could not gratify him. He had made a vow
that Thm'stan should not enter England during his life-time
without making the profession of obedience to Ralph, but not
to his successors. Would the pope sanction and confirm this ?
Calixtus Avould not do so, and he told the king that as the pro-
fession would be unlawful, his vow was unlawful also, and ih^t
he would absolve him from it; but Henry cautiously observed
that he could not act otherwise without deliberating with his
council. All attempts to alter the king^s determination were
fruitless. It would have been undignified if Calixtus had
begun to beseech. Nothing more, therefore, was said at that
time, although the pope was deeply offended and annoyed.

' This castle was built by William '' There is an account of this inter-

llufus, and strengthened by Henry, view in Eadmer, 94-5. Symeon, col.

who frequently resided there (Wm. 2il. Bromton, col. 1008. Hoveden,

Ciemiticonsis, apud Camden, 673). 272 b.

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 185

Before Heniy went away, some overtures were made to
Thurstan, and lie was entreated, for the sake of peace, to yield.
They were indignantly rejected.

After this meeting, Hemy returned at once to England and
disseised Thurstan of his archiepiscopal property, without
meddling with that of his clergy. He was reconciled with
difficulty to the bishop of Orkney and the archdeacon who had
been at Rheims, although they protested that their presence
at the council had been accidental. Hard measui'es were dealt
out to Thui'stan at home, but, abroad, he was regarded with
much sympathy and compassion. The pope was severely cen-
sured for not seeing justice done to him. Calixtus assured him
that he should want for nothing from the church of Rome till
he was restored. The cardinals made him their friend and
companion. He heard causes among them, and was with them
eAcn in their secret conclaves. They gave him money and every-
thing that he required. They openly expressed their displeasure
at his not having been fairly treated by Rome. The archbishop
of Rouen spoke on that point in strong terms. When the king
and queen of France met them at the abbey of Ferriere, they
begged him to advance Thurstan to a bishopric or some higher
office, and he consented. When Calixtus was leaving Ferriere
for Sens, he made Thurstan his legate in France, Aquitaine, and
Normandy. This honour would have involved a separation
from his friends and the retarding of his restoration. The exile
would now think, —

" Quam fessis finem rebus ferat, unde laborum
Tentare auxilium jubeat, quo vertere cursus."

With tears and most earnest entreaties he begged for a continu-
ance of their good offices. They were at once promised, and
from that time Thurstan was constantly in their company. They
seemed to treat him with increasing kindness. At Auxerre he
contracted a friendship with two great and learned scholars, car-
dinal Peter de Pisa, and Guy de Castro, archdeacon of Pisa, and
the friend of St. Bernard,^ better known in after-times as
Celestine II. When the pope was crowned, Thurstan rode in
the procession by the side of the bishop of Ostia, the most
distinguished of the cardinals, and Calixtus gave him two
hundred bezants of gold, the same sum which all the cardinals
received. He raised, at the pope's request, the provost of
Geneva to the three minor degrees of orders, preparatory to his
consecration as bishop of that beautiful province. He officiated
at the dedication of churches, and arranged the programme on
•such occasions. He was allowed to wear his pall even in the

• S. Bornardi 0pp., cd. 1690, i., 307.

186 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

presence of the pope^ a very high and unusual privilege. Every
little attention seems to have been shewn to him, which would
gratify an upright man and raise the spirits of an exile/

Archbishop Ralph now made a last attempt to recover the
ground which he had lost. Henry, at his request, sent the
bishop of Exeter to the pope to see what could be done. Conon,
the papal legate in France, had heard of his mission, and wrote
about it to Thurstan and the cardinals. Bishop Warlewast
found Calixtus at Valencia. He was an old politician, and was
well acquainted with the ways of the Roman court, but now he
could do nothing. The cardinals and the pope were obdurate.
As a last resource, he desired Calixtus to make Thurstan render
the required profession, and then to send him as his legate into
England. The meaning of this was so patent that there was no
chance of its being acceded to. Warlewast^s bribes were of no
avail, and his embassy was fruitless. He returned to Henry,
having shewn some better feeling towards Thurstan before he
went. The shrewd politician had probably observed some symp-
toms of a change. He must have witnessed the regard which
all manifested towards Thurstan. Some too zealous clients of
the Roman court were even desirous of molesting the ambas-
sador on his homeward journey.

Calixtus at last resolved to act with energy and decision.
He was in the neighbourhood of Rimini, the point nearest to
Rome that Thurstan then reached." It was resolved that the
church of York should be for ever freed from the profession to
Canterbury, and that to the charter of exemption the papal bull
should be affixed. This, together with letters to the clergy of
the diocese of York and to Henry, who was threatened with
excommmiication if he were contumacious, was to be conveyed
to the English court by the archbishop of Tours and the bishop
of Beauvais. Thurstan now made himself ready for his de-
parture. The pope gave him his benediction, together with
some relics which Thurstan had desired, and which were trea-
sured long afterwards in the minster at York.^ He made him
a present, also, of some holy oil. " If you had asked me for
my own blood," Calixtus jocularly observed, "you should not
have been refused.-"^ The bishops and cardinals escorted him
without the town, and bade him farewell with many tears and
expressions of their affection. Eor half a year he had lived
with them as a brother, and he was deeply grateful for their
kindness. Before he started on his journey he had heard of the

.. mi?'^^'^®'" ^^^^ ^^y^ ^^'^ ^ ^^^*^^' " '^^^ ^2Jiou Chron. (341) tells us

ihurstanus papain secutus est, sed that he went to Rome,

non dm ab eo, ne prsesentia ejus gra- " Fabric Rolls of York Minster, ed.

varctur, deientus." Surtees Soc, 152.

1114 — 1110.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 187

death of his old adversary, Ralph of Canterbury, and every one
would noAv feel that the chief stumbling-block in the Avay of his
restoration had been removed. The news, hoAvever, was pre-
mature : Ralph had been seized with the palsy, but he survived
this attack for two yeai's.'*'

Thurstan^s journey resembled in some respects a triumphal
progress. All along the route he was treated with courtesy
and respect. Every castle was open to him, and he was wel-
comed everywhere by the clergy and the laity. They assured
him that if their resources had not been crippled by the recent
visit of the pope he should have had a far more befitting recep-
tion, Thurstan entered France, but, prudently and like a good
patriot, avoided an interv^iew with the king, who was an enemy
of England. He became the guest of Adele, countess of Blois,
and her son count Theobald. That high-bom lady was a
daughter of William the Conqueror, and was sister, therefore,
to Henry I. She was delighted to receive Thui'stan. He soon
paid a visit to Rheims, and thanked the archbishop, who seems
to have supported him to a great extent during his exile, for his
kindness. At Soissons he met the legate Conon, who had
always been his friend. After an aflPectionate greeting, Thur-
stan told him about the letters from the pope, and desired him
to make provision for their transmission to the English court.
After this he returned to the countess of Blois, and was with
her several days.^ During this time he had many conversations
with her about taking the veil, and she resolved to do so. On
Easter-day, 1120, he sang the high mass in the chiu^ch of
Coulomb, the first occasion of the kind on which he had worn
his pall. Three days after this he had another interview with
the legate, who informed him that the archbishop of Toiu's and
the bishop of Beauvais were too much occupied to go on the
mission to Henry: two persons of repute and learning, an abbat
and a prior, would act in their stead. Thiu'stan now went back
to the countess of Blois, and with a noble train accompanied
her to the convent of Marcigny, where she professed herself a
nun. She had been the wife of Stephen, count of Blois, in
1081, and had borne him six children, one of whom was Stephen,
king of England. She was a woman of a masculine and intrepid
spirit, with little feminine delicacy or softness.^ Her elder son
was disinherited by his father through her instrumentality.

"■ In the Anglia Sacra (i., 7) it is Ludovici et principum totius Franciae,

said that this attack disabled Ilaliih, nulla prudencior, nee melius composita,

and made Thurstan bolder. nee magis virilis virago ex muUa retro

' John of Hexham (col. 266) speaks sctate in tota Gallia cxtitorat" (Hugh),

of the influence Thurstan had over Ivo, bislio]i of Chartres, did hot hesi-

this lad}\ tate to rebuke her in strong language

'J " Qua, quidem, testimonio regis (Epist., ed. 1610, p. 322). Hildcboi't,

188 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Her husband died in the East in 1102/ and after his decease,
in conjunction with her son Theobald or Thibaut, she ruled
over the lands of Blois. She died in the convent of Marcigny
in 1137, having been a mm for seventeen years.*^ She went to
that place in all probability at the suggestion of Thurstan, who
had been present when it was consecrated by Calixtus a few
months before the countess took the veil.* About the same
time, or a little later, we hear of Thurstan joining Geofii*ey,
archiaishop of Rouen, and attending upon Eudo, the dapifer,
in his last sickness/

The two ambassadors now started for the English court, and
fomid Henry in Normandy. The letters were delivered au-
thorizing the restoration of Thurstan, doing away with the
profession, and quietly speaking of other weapons which the
pope could wield if his wishes and directions should be dis-
regarded."^ The king^s answer was, as usual, delayed. After
three disappointments the messengers hinted to Henry the
necessity of wise counsels, as he would be wi-itten to, in the
next instance, in a very diiferent tone. The king expressed
his vrish to follow the advice of the legate, with whom he had
hitherto been on unfriendly terms. Conon refused to meet
him, and charged him with deceit and treachery, but at last he
was prevailed upon to agree to the inter\TLew, which took place
at Chateaux-Landon on the Sunday after the Ascension. Thur-
stan, who was at Marcigny, knew what was being done, as he
had a fi-iend at court. At the king^s request he came to the
place of meeting, and whilst Henry and the legate were talking
to each other, Thurstan was in the castle hard by. Henry told
Conon that on account of his vow he could not gratify the
pope^s wish unless Thm'stan would make the profession to Can-
terbury. Conon told him what Calixtus had previously said,
that as the profession was wrong the vow was also unwarrant-
able, and that he should be, and was, released from it. After
a long and a somewhat angry debate, Henry promised to re-
invest Thurstan, and give him the temporalities of his see if he
would not enter England for a time, and he desired the legate
to assent to this. Conon refused, and there was every chance
of the negotiation being broken off, when some one hinted to
the king that Thurstan, perhaps, might be more compliant than

bishop of Mans, thought somewhat dif- these works the countess is said to have
ferentlj' of her, especially when she become a nun in 1122.

took the veil (Hildeberti Epist., ed. » Eecueil des Hist, des Gaules, xii.,

1/08, 5 — 7). 75. It was an ancient foundation, but

Triveti Ann., 4. the inmates now became nuns instead

" L' Art de verifier les Dates, ii., part of canons (Mabillon, Ann. Ben., vi.,

11., 615-16, ed. 1784. Eecueil des 86-7).
Ilist. des Gaules, xi., 58J-. In both '■ Ibid., 791. '' Eadmer, 101.

1111 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 189

his friend. It was a happy suggestion. The exile was waiting
eagerly for the issue, and when Conon told him what had hap-
pened, he entreated that the point might be given up. With
some difiicidty he induced him to cede it, and the two friends
returned into the presence of the king. After many months,
nay years, of anxiety and neglect, there was peace at last be-
tween the monarch and his subject. Kind words were at length
spoken with mutual assui'ances of forgiveness and goodwill.
Things were to remain as they were till Michaelmas, but Thm'-
stan might come and go in Normandy as he pleased. A mes-
sage was sent to England to announce his re-investiture. The
party now proceeded into France, and Thurstan had an oppor-
tiuiity of exhibiting his diplomatic skill, and of retiu'ning good
for e^dl. His influence with the legate and the chief estates of
France was the chief cause of the restoration of peace wdth
England.* Henry was most grateful and delighted. It was
this ill-feeling between the two nations, and the peril which
consequently threatened his French possessions, that had de-
tained him so long in Normandy, and he was now eager to go
home. It was Michaelmas, and the king was ready for his
journey. The peacemaker would gladly have accompanied him,
but he was again detained. The delay bore some good fruits to
Henry and his subjects. A council was held at Beauvais in
October, 1120, under the presidency of Conon. Henry was
desirous that the Norman bishops should be exempted from
attendance, and they stayed at home. The prelates who were
at Beauvais pronomiced them guilty of contempt and worthy of
excommunication, which would probably have been their
punishment had not Thurstan hastened to Beauvais when he
heard of the danger, and mediated successfully in their behalf.
Henry woidd now be more grateful than ever. He expressed
his friendly feelings towards the legate in an interview at Gisors
in the presence of the bishops of Chalons and Senlis, when he
paid him the great compliment of asking him to superintend
the sees and abbeys in Normandy. Conon, upon this, ventured
to hope that the negotiations about Thurstan woidd speedily be
arranged to the satisfaction of Calixtus. Henry reciprocated
the wish, and promised that they should be completed. j\Iany
kind words were spoken on both sides, and Henry, conscious at
last of Thurstan^s value, told his bishops that he would as lief
have lost five hundred marks as have been without him. The
king was ready noAV for his homeward joui-ney, and moved by
slow stages towards the sea. He set sail from Barflcur on the
25th of November, 1120. He had previously requested Thur-

' Symeon, col. 242. Iloveden, 273.

190 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Stan to remain behind till Christmas, as he wished to have an
interview with the bishops of the English church, and the arch-
bishop assented./ William, Henry^s son, followed his father in
another vessel with a great company of nobles. The hand of
Providence was upon Thurstan when he stayed behind. In a
freak of mad folly the young prince and his friends allowed
their ship to run upon a rock, and every person on board, but
one, was lost. The disconsolate father was an altered man after
that sad November : he was never observed to smile after his
son was droA\Tied.

" The bark that held a prince went down,

The sweeping waves rolled on ;
But what was England's glorious crown

To him that wept a son ?
He lived — for life may long be borne

Ere sorrow break its chain ;
Why comes not death to those that mourn ?

He never smiled again !"

Thurstan was mth the legate at Chartres when this disaster
occurred, and his heart bled for the master who in bygone days
had so deeply injured him. Henry, in turn, remembered him,
for he was changed for a time and softened by aflQiction. At
Christmas he called together the archbishop of Canterbury and
his suffragans, and shewed them the letters and the mandates
of Calixtus. They did not dare to disobey them, and a royal
messenger left England to summon Tliui^stan to his country.^
He was at that time at Rouen, and he was not slow in obeying
the welcome invitation. Three days before the feast of the
Piuification he crossed the seas and hastened to the court at
Wmdsor. The king, the queen, and every one seemed desirous
of making amends for the past. But he did not tarry there
long. He hastened into the North. When he drew near to
York a vast multitude was ready to receive him. Great num-
bers of people, on horseback and on foot, lined the road along
which he was to pass. Knights and nobles, canons and monks,
men and women of every grade and age, welcomed their long-
lost diocesan. That Lent would not soon be forgotten in the
North : nor would the delight of the listening and admiring
throng be diminished when, seated in St. Peter's chair, in that
noble church which Thomas the Norman had so recently
adorned and renovated, on the third day after his arrival, he
recited in the ears of that vast crowd of worshippers'' the papal

f Hoveden, 272. ibid., 475.

fi- Saxon Chron., 341. Symeon, col. * John of Hexham (267) says that

244. John of Hexham, col. 266-7. Thurstan was enthroned on this occa-
Bromton, col. 1014. Malmesbury, sion. A repetition of this ceremony
156 i. Hoveden, 272. Ann. Waverl., would probably be necessary,
apud Gale, ii., 148. Hemingford,

11 14 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 191

privilege with tlie immunities to his church of which he was so
proud. To win this he had spent years of exile and disgrace, —
sufferings, too, under which a craven spirit would have given
way, and injiu'ies and injustice that would have palsied any hut
an honest and an intrepid heart. At last he had been triumph-
ant, and this was his reward ; and even then, when he most of
all required the aid of others, he was careless of himself. A
poor neglected exile returning from a banishment in which he
was entirely dependent on the charity of others, might surely
have accepted, what others generally were at all times too ready
to evoke, the generous benevolence of his compatriots and his
clergy. But Thurstan would not. Instead of relieving himself,
as he might very properly have done, he at once began to
lighten the burdens which pressed upon his diocese.

Fain would Thurstan have spent the rest of his days in
peace, studying the spiritual welfare of the North, from which
he had been too long separated. There was to be more annoy-
ance for him still. It was scarcely to be expected that the
church of Canterbury would forget her defeat. Archbishop
Ralph, with the cold touch of the palsy already benumbing him,
began another attack. He gained the ear of Henry, who seems
to have been always amenable to his influence. He told him
that the monks of Canterbury had discovered several papal
grants and privileges, assuring to their church the rights on
which Calixtus had trenched.' He said that as there was one
king, so there ought to be but one primate. Henry, too prone
to gossip and mischief-makers, listened to what he said. In
August, 1121, he sent a messenger to Thurstan to summon him
to a great council which was to be held at Michaelmas. When
the archbishop arrived, Henry, to his great astonishment,
revived the old subject of dispute in bidding him make his pro-
fession to Canterbury. Thurstan^s answer was an excellent one.
" If I refused to make this profession before I was formally
exempted from it by the pope, I am much less likely to submit
to it now. Why does the king ask me to do this, which, if
done, would bring me under an anathema ?" Henry lost his
temper, according to his wont, but it was to no purpose. Thur-
stan told him that if the papal order were recalled he would
profess at once. The privilege granted by Calixtus was sent
for, and tears of rage and vexation gushed from Henry's eyes
as he read it. Flambard and Nigel d'Albeni, an old friend of
Thurstan, were standing by in sorrowful amazement. The do-
cument was then shewn to the bishops, at the king's request,
by some of Thurstan's officers, in the absence of their master.

' These are recited in Eadmer, 95-6.

193 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

" It is a forgery !" they cried. " It cannot be that/^ said one
of the York clergy, " as I saw it myself come from the pope's
hands ; nay, there is one line of it which he wrote himself."
No reply could be made to this, and the men of Canterbury
were miite. Two or three days after this Ralph was seized with
the attack of illness under which he ultimately sank.

Thurstan's troubles were not yet over. In 1122 there came
a messenger from Rome summoning the two English archbishops
to a council at the Lateran. Ralph had already gone to his
account, but Thvu'stan received the papal mandate. It was soon
whispered to the king that ht had done so without the royal
sanction, and Henry ordered him to be at court to explain his
conduct at the next festival of the Pvirification, and to bring
the messenger with him. This was quite impossible, as Thur-
stan had not the least idea where the man was gone. A council
was to be held at Gloucester in February, 1123, to choose a new
archbishop of Canterbury. Three days before it met, Thm'stan
was ^vith the king, and little, if anything, was said about the
papal letter. He went in the royal train to Gloucester. William
de Corbeil was there elected, after much angry debating, to fill
Augustine's chair. " Who is he T' asked the king, and then
Thm'stan and Adelulf, the prior of Nostell, who was afterwards
the first bishop of Carlisle, spoke in high terms of his piety and
learning. Thurstan himself had taken no part in the election,
as he was the head of another province, and the bishops would
not permit him to be present. The duty of consecrating
Corbeil, according to ancient custom, now devolved upon Thur-
stan. The king, who was aware perhaps that there might be
some difficulty in the case, asked him if he should oppose the
consecration of the new archbishop by his own suffragans ? He
told Henry, after some deliberation, that out of regard to him
he would be ready to waive his claim on this occasion, but he
desired every one to know that he was ready to do his duty.
He then sent Geoffrey abbat of St. Mary's York, Adelulf,
prior of Nostell, and others of the York archdeacons and canons
to Corbeil to give him the same intimation. The archbishop-
elect Avas with the bishop of London when they arrived. He
told them that the separation of York from Canterbury had
abrogated the old custom.-? In reply to this Thurstan's friends
informed him that the assigning to each see its proper rights
and privileges did not constitute division, and expressed, on the
part of their master, his readiness to do his duty. The two
prelates returned an evasive answer, that for the present it could

_ J Symeon (col. 248) puts the follow- ordinare, libenter me manibus vestris
ing words into Corbeil's mouth : " Si inclinabo, sin autem, inconsulte contra
me ut primatem totius Anglise volueris morem antiquam nolo ordinari."

1111 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 193

not be done. Thurstan now spoke to Kcnry of the pope's
recent summons to the council, and asked his permission to set
out. The king begged him as a favour to delay his journey till
the archbishop of Canterbury could go mth him to procure
the pall. He imdertook, also, to acquaint the pope with the
cause of his absence, and promised that the bishops from Nor-
mandy, and Jeremias, archdeacon of Rouen, should remain in
Rome, after the council was over, till they arrived. Corbcil
and he were then requested to be at Woodstock on the first
Sunday in Lent that they might start from thence to Rome.
All this was done in the spring of 1123. They met at the
appointed time, Corbcil in the meanwhile having taken the
unwarrantable liberty of receiving consecration at the hands of
the bishop of London and his own suffragans.* Thurstan, how-
ever, seems to have made no complaint. At Woodstock Henry
requested him, through the prelates and nobles, to assist his
brother, when they were at Rome, to the utmost of his power,
and to make no unjust claim upon him whilst they were there.
To this Thurstan assented, and the two started on their journey.'
By an accident Thurstan reached the papal court before his
fellow-traveller, and he found there many of his old friends, who
were rejoiced to see him. Corbcil arrived shortly afterwards
with a long train of ecclesiastics, among whom were Bernard,
bishop of St. David's, and the abbats of Glastonbury and St.
Edmund's.™ He now became a suppliant for the pall. On this
question there was a long debate. It was alleged that Corbeil's
election and consecration had been uncanonical, and it was
decided that the pall should not be given to him, but that he
should be permitted to accept a bishopric. Thurstan now
pleaded in his behalf; indeed, during the whole controversy he
acted towards Corbeil in the most generous and honourable
manner. He praised his piety and learning, and entreated the
pope and the sacred college to alter their decision in consi-
deration of his royal master and the emperor, who had fur-
thered the suppliant's cause. After a suspense of fifteen days,
through the agency of Calixtus the sentence was rescinded, out
of respect to the emperor, and Coi'beil received the pall. His
party noAv turned upon Thurstan in the most ungrateful manner.
As soon as the pall had been secured, the bishop of St. David's
raised the old question of the profession and the primacy in a
tone which he afterwards regretted. He assured Calixtus that

* Symeon, col. 218. Gervase, col. the Saxon Chron. (217), it is said that

1662. Thurstan was reconciiod to Corhcil,

' n. Wigorn., 497. Chron. Mailros, and swore subjection to him !

67. Chron. Petrib., 81. Huntingdon, •" Symeon, col. 248-50. Diceto, col.

apud Savile, 219. Hoveden, 274. In 604.

194 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

the recent papal grant was in direct contravention of the old
privileges of the clmrch of Canterbury. Thurstan seems to
have deprecated any discussion ; he observed that he was quite
imprepared for anything of this kind ; he had come at the pre-
sent time to please the king; had he thought of himself he
would have been at the recent council. Bernard was ordered
to produce the pri^dleges of which he spoke. He read them.
They had a show of genuineness without the sapor. He was
now assailed with some awkward questions. " Had these pri-
vileges the bulls appended to them T' " No ; but the originals
had which were at home.^^ " V/ould they swear that T' After
some hesitation they said that the bulls were either wasted
away or lost. At this there was a general titter. " If the
leaden bulls had wasted away, was it likely that the parchment
was remaining ?" They then hinted the possibility of the non-
existence of the bulls at that early time, but this straw was
plucked away from them. Bribery seems now to have taken
the place of argument, and the chamberlain of the pope, — a
person of great influence at Rome, — seems to have been bought
over. Thurstan was asked about the muniments of the see of
York, but he had none of them with him. One of his fol-
lowers, however, had several copies, and the letters and decrees
of Gregory, Honorius, Urban, Paschal, and Calixtus were re-
cited. They could say nothing about the originals possessing
bulls. It would, therefore, have been clearly unfair to decide
the matter at present in favour of either disputant. Calixtus
proposed to fix a time when the matter could be debated upon
proper e^ddence. Thurstan was ready to agree to this arrange-
ment, but Corbeil declined to do so without the permission of
his sovereign. The two archbishops, therefore, returned home ;
the one with letters from the pope announcing the reception of
the pall, the other with a commendatory epistle to Henry, in
which Calixtus spoke in high terras of the wisdom and useful-
ness of his old friend. As soon as the Canterbury party
reached the court in Normandy, many unkind speeches were
made against Thurstan, but the slander seems to have made no
impression upon Henry, if we may judge from the welcome
Avhich the archbishop of York received on his arrival. He was
accompanied by abbat Anselm" and others, who told the king a
very diff'erent story from that which he had heard. They said
that Thurstan had behaved towards Corbeil in the most honour-
able manner, and that without his generous mediation he would

" Anselm was not a favourite. In to lose his abbey of St. Edmund's than

1134, when he was elected to the see of to gain a bishopric. He was not allowed

London, Thurstan wrote to the pope to be consecrated (Diceto, col. 506-7).
and told him that Anselm was more fit

llli 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 195

never have received the pall. In the following September
Calixtus wrote to Corbeil blaming him for his attacks on Thur-
stan, and entreating him to banish malice from his heart.

In 1124; Calixtus died, and was succeeded l)y Honorius II.,
who sent the cardinal of Crema as his legate into England.
Corbeil now renewed his claims and complaints against Thur-
stan, and desired the pope to authorize his legate to bring them
to an amicable adjustment. About Pentecost the two arch-
bishops received a mandate from Honorius summoning them
both to Rome. They went to the court in Normandy. Thur-
stan was astonished when he heard the king require him to put
his churches in the position which they had occupied during the
reign of his father and brother, otherwise he should regard him
as a traitor and an enemy. Thurstan, with his usual address,
defended himself from the charge of treason, and said that he
w^ould gladly allow his chiu'ches to remain as they were in the
time of his predecessor Aldred, who had crowned the Con-
queror. " No,^^ replied Heniy ; " they must be in the state in
which my father left tliem.^^ Thurstan declined to do this,
and appealed to the papal privilege as his warrant. He Avas
now, he said, on his way to Rome, was it fair that he should be
obliged to defend himself in two places against the same attack ?
Every effort was made by the king and his council to bring the
matter to a conclusion. An oflFer was even made that if Thm'-
stan would merely verbally acknowledge Corbeil as primate,
committing his successors to a more humiliating form of sub-
jection, the see of Canterbury should be dismembered, and the
bishoprics of Lichfield, Bangor, and another, which is not
named, should be given up to York. This scheme was to be
formally proposed to the pope, and about this, as well as the
other plans that were to be mentioned at Rome, the king com-
manded that on the part of the English prelates there should be
no controversy or dispute. The most important proposition
was this, that the legantine power should be secured, if possible,
for Coi'beil and his successors. This would give them an excel-
lent title for superiority as the immediate representative of the
pope. Of all the plans that could be devised for terminating
the never-ending feud between York and Canterbury, this,
perhaps, was the most sure. The cardinal of Crema had made
anything but a favourable impression in England, and if the
archbishop of Canterbury became the permanent legate there
would be no necessity for the appointment of a foreigner.

The two archbishops visited Rome in 1125," Thurstan being

" Ann. Waverl., apud Gale, ii., 119. meon (25'1) says in 1126, with the
The Saxon Chron. (352) and Chron. Ic.tjate; and again in 1127 by themselves,
Mailros (68) make the date 1126. Sv- when Corbeil was made legate.

o 2

196 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

accompanied by his brother and faithful companion in trouble,
Andoenus, bishop of Evtcux.^p The controversy in the presence
of the pope exhibited many phases and fluctuations. Nothing,
lio^vever, seems to have been done except the appointment of
Corbeil as legate in England. This was done entirely in accord-
ance with the wish of Thurstan, who, at that time, had a very
favourable opinion of Corbeil. He soon had occasion, unfor-
tunately, to regard him in a very different light. The archbishop
of Canterbury owed his very election to Thurstan, but he
returned him evil for good. He took the part of the Scottish
bishops when they endeavoured to break away from their alle-
giance to York. He forbade him to bear his cross erect within
his proA^ince, or to take, any part in the coronation of the king.*
When Corbeil, in virtue of his power as legate, called together
a council at London, he summoned Thurstan to it, but he very
properly stayed away.*" The Southern primate complained of
tliis to Henry, and the king told him that his past ingratitude
to Thurstan had fully merited that slight. For some time there
was no communication whatever between the two archbishops.

An allusion has been made to the feud between York and
the Scottish bishojis. This was only a continuation of the old
controversy. The claims of York were nearly always questioned
])y the Scottish prelates long before they were for ever set aside.
Ralph Nowell, bishop of Orkney, resided generally with Thur-
stan, as the people of Scotland and Norway^ rejected him on
account of his English consecration, in spite of the remon-
strances of Honorius and Calixtus. Thurstan is said to have
made Gilaldane bishop of Whitherne.' He also consecrated
Robert, prior of Nostell, to St. Andrew^ s, after the death of
Turgot and the intrusion of Eadmer," but at the earnest request
of king David he required from him no profession." It was the
■Hash of the Scottish people and king that the bishop of St.
Andrew's should be the metropolitan of Scotland, and on that
account they were frequently coquetting with Canterbury to

'' In 1132 Audoenus and Thurstan two letters in his behalf from j)opes Ca-

dedicatcd the church " 15. M. de casa lixtus and Honorius addressed to kings

Dei parthenonis Fontebraldensis" (Gal- of Norway,
lia Christiana, xi., 575). ' Stubbs, col. 1720. In Dugd.

» This occurred atAVindsor at Christ- Mon., vi., 1187, there is a letter from
mas, 1126. Diceto, col. 504. Bromton, pope Honorius to the bishop of Whit-
col. 1016. Gerva.se, col. 1664. Fl. Wi- heme, ordering him to obey the North-
gorn., 502. Chron. Petrib, 83. In em primate.

1127, Wendover, i., 476. In Dugd. " Symeon, col. 251. The consecra-

Mon., vi., 1188, is a letter written by tion was delayed for a time on account

Honorius to king Henry, de.siring him of the subjection.

to allow Thurstan to bear his cross and " Dugd.' Mon., vi., 1187. Although

to crown him according to ancient he was acanonof York (Flor. Wigorn.,

custom. -• Diceto, col. 504. 506). Fordun, Scotichronicon, ed.

' In Dugd. Mon., vi., 1] 86, there are Goodall, i., 340. Anglia Sacra, ii., 237.

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 197

obtain the emancipation of that see fi'om York."" But it was in
John^ bishop of Glasgow, that Thurstan found his strongest
and most pertinacious adversary. He is said to have ])een a
person of piety and learning, and had been the tutor of prince
David. Pope Paschal consecrated him bishop of Glasgow in
1115. He would render no submission whatever to the see
of York, and the result was that Thurstan suspended him for
insubordination. This was in 1122. John now went to Rome
to appeal against this sentence, but, his cause lia\dng been given
against him, he went off to Jerusalem, and spent several months
with the patriarch, acting as his suffragan. In the following
year Calixtus summoned him home, and ordered him to his
diocese.-^ But still he rendered no profession of obedience, and
paid no attention to any papal order. In 1125, when Thiu"stan
and Corbeil were at Rome, John, in an unlucky hour, was there
in the train of the archbishop of Canterbury. Thurstan, un-
willing to lose so good an opportunity, pounced upon John
before the papal court, reproaching him for his neglect of the
mandates of Paschal and Calixtus, ^ his desertion of his diocese,
and his disobedience to himself : he made at the same time a
general complaint against all the Scottish prelates. John de-
fended himself by saying that he was there as the ambassador
of the king of Scotland. Honorius told him in a warning tone
that he must not expect to be released from the obligation laid
upon him by Gelasius and other popes,^ and a day was fixed in
the follo^^ng Lent when John and the Scottish bishops should
meet Thurstan before the papal court, and the question should
be decided. Christmas came on, and the day of meeting was
drawing near. Thurstan was at the court at London, and there
he met with David, king of Scotland, John^s old pupil, and
Conan, earl of Brittany. David with some trouble induced
Thurstan, as a personal favour, to beg the pope to put off the
hearing of the cause for another year. This arrangement was
with difficulty effected, but there is nothing to shew that John
ever made the submission that was required." Innocent II.
followed the example of his predecessors, and ordered him,
apparently in vain, to obey Thurstan.* In 1138, when Alberic,

" There are letters on this subject Chautor, where there is a long account

between Alexander kin<^ of Scotland of the scene at Rome,

and archbishop Ralph in Eadnier, Hist. " Symeon (col. 252) says that in

Nov., 90, 97 — 100. 1125 "Honorius AVTote to king David,

' Symeon, col. 245, 218. saying that he had empowered his

y I have not seen these letters of les^ate to settle the disimte between

Paschal. Those of Calixtus are in Dugd. Thurstan and the Scottisli bishops.

Mon., vi., 1187-8. These are partly * Dugd. Mon., vi., 1187-8. In Wil-

about John and partly about the Scot- kins, i., 480, is a bull of pope Inno-

tish bishops. Wilkins, i., 481. cent II. subjecting the Scottish bishops

' Stubbs, col. 1719. Hu^h the to Thurstan.

198 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

bishop of Ostia, was in England as legate, he was told that
John had deserted his charge, and professed himself a monk at
Tiron, and he was summoned home to answer for his conduct.
John died in 1147, and was bui'ied at Jedburgh.'' He is said
by the Scottish writers to have atoned for his wandering and
restless disposition in early life by his subsequent activity in
advancing the interests of his see.''

So much of Thurstan^s life had been spent in controversy,
which he could not shun, that he had but little time to take that
position in the affairs of the chrrch and state at home for which
he was marked out by his genius and energy. In 1129 he was
present at the council at London,^ and in 1133 he had the
honour of presiding over that which was held at Northampton.-^
In 1135 he was at the coronation of king Stephen, but he did
not officiate.^ In the same, or in the following year, Stephen
was at York, and Thurstan, who had known him in another
country and in an humbler sphere, would give him a hearty
welcome. In 1137 there was a cloud gathering in Scotland,
and Thurstan went to that country as ambassador, and had an
interview with king David at Roxburgh, at which he induced
that restless monarch to make a truce with England till the
return of Stephen from abroad.'' In the following year the
Scottish army broke into the North, and, after sweeping the
whole countiy before them, the invaders found themselves at
Cowton moor, near Northallerton, a little after Easter. The
crisis was a most serious one, but Thurstan, broken down as he
was with age, was not \mequal to it.^ He was carried about on
a couch or litter wherever he was required. He did everything
in his power to excite the spirit of the North. He sent the
priests with crosses and banners and relics through the parishes
to arouse the inhabitants. He gathered together with speed

<^ John of Hexham, col. 264, 276. s Opera Thomse Becket, ed. Giles,

Ric. of Hexham, 325. Fordun, Scoti- iii., 69.

chronicon, i., 419, where it is said that * John of Hexham, col. 259. Chron.

John, accordin^^ to old custom, acted Mailros, 70. Chron. Petrib., 89. Liber

as a bishop in Cumberland. Henrj^ I., Vitse ed. Surtees Soc, 59, 67.

at Thurstan's desire, made a bishop of ' John of Hexham, col. 261-2. Rio.

Carlisle, and upon this John went to of Hexham, col. 320-1. Ailred, col.

Tiron. 338, etc. Fl. Wigorn., 524. Diceto, col.

'' Keith's Scottish Bishops, ed. 1824, 506. Bromton, col. 1026-7. Gervase,

231-2. col. 1346. Knyghton, col. 2385. Hun-

' Huntmgdon, apud Savile, 220. tingdon, apud Savile, 222-3. Hoveden,

Hoveden, ibid., 274 b. Wendover, i., 277. Triveti Ann., 6. Hemingford,

478. Ann. Waverl., apud Gale, ii., apud Gale, ii., 480. Peter Langtoft,

150. Mat. Paris, 60. Rob. de Monte, n. e., 114-15. Scala Chronica, 33. Mat.

701. Labbe, Cone, x., 910, 940. Se- Paris, 63-4. Chron. Petrib., 90. Rob.

veral dates are given for this meeting. de Monte, 712. Dachery, Spicilegiura,

J Fl. Wigorn., 519. Labbe, x., 991. iii., 144.
A\ ilkins, i., 413.

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 199

and labour the great barons of the district, allaying their
jealousies and fears, and an army was soon collected. The
ensign which the archbishop sent with it to the scene of conflict
gave to that field the name of the battle of the Standard. The
mast of a ship was erected upon a car, and from it were flutter-
ing the holy baimers of the saints of York, Beverley, and
E-ipon. A silver pix, in which the blessed sacrament was en-
closed, was fastened to the summit. A sacred influence would
thus seem to hover around the little baud of Yorkshiremen.
Thurstan would fain have been there himself had not the barons
insisted upon his absence, but his suffragan, the bishop of
Orkney, the archdeacons and the clergy were on the field to bid
the God of battles go forth with their compatriots to the fight,
and to minister consolation to the dying. The aged prelate was
thinking all the while of those whom he coidd not see ; he was
prajdng for them with bitter tears, and commending them and
their arms to the Lord, when the welcome news arrived of the
victory that had been won. He might well be satisfied with his
own personal exertions in securing it, for he had certainly saved
the North of England.

" How oft has strength, the strength of heaven,
To few triumphantly been given !
Still do our very children boast
Of mitred Thurstan, what a host
He conquered ! — Saw we not the plain
(And flying shall behold again)
Where faith was proved ? — While to battle moved
The standard on the sacred wain
That bore it, compassed round b}' a bold
Fraternity of barons old ;
And with those grey-haired champions stood,
Under the saintly ensigns three,
The infant heir of Mowbray's blood —
All confident of victory !"

The province of York had good reason to remember the
good deeds and the energy of Thurstan. The example which
he set was worthy of all imitation, and his clergy might well
regret his prolonged absence from his see. He was a man of
learning, and several works have been attributed to his pen.
Of these we have nothing but two or three letters. In that
which is addressed to archbishop Corbeil, describing the seces-
sion from St. Mary^s abbey, much kindly and devotional feeling
is expressed, and the style is extremely good and pleasing.-'

i Bale, cent, ii., 185, says that Thur- The first of these works will be men-

stan wrote " De origine Fontanensis tioned afterwards. Pits, 216. Vossius,

csenobii, lib. i. De suo priraatu, ad De Hist. Latinis, 413. AVright, IJiogr.

Calixtum, lib. i. Contra juuiorem Lit., ii., 109. Tanner, 728. Oudinu.s,

Anselmuui, lib. i., et alia quEedara." ii., 1122.

300 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D,

The personal character of Thurstan was unimpeachable.* He
had learned in other lands the necessity of a stricter discipline
tlian that which he saw at home, and, full of honest zeal and
fervent piety, he was not afraid of practising it himself. Luxury
was a stranger to his table. In his di-ess and demeanour he was
almost an ascetic. The poor blessed him for his kindness and
munificence, for they had no surer friend than Thurstan. He
was frequently on his knees, and tears streamed from his eyes
when he administered the eucharist. He wore sackcloth next
his skin, and disciplined himself ^nth the scourge. Men of piety
and learning found in him a patron and a friend. He was
affable and courteous, stern when severity was needed, and yet
at all times ready to forgive. Thurstan did a great deal for his
diocese, far more indeed than any of his predecessors. Pope
Innocent advised him to divide the large parishes within his
district, and this recommendation was most probably obeyed.^
At his enthronization he exempted his chiu'ches from the
regular charge for the crisma, and made the fees for bui'ial,
extreme unction, and baptism, vohmtary and not necessary.™
He made also an ordinance about the income of the canons
throughout his churches, which was beneficial to themselves as
well as to the minsters in which they were located." Thurstan
was most useful, too, and active in seeing that all the ministers
and ecclesiastical corporations were properly remunerated and
endowed. At York, Hexham, Ripon, Beverley, and Southwell,
he was a great benefactor;" and in 1137 there was a fire in the
minster at York, Avhich would be sure to evoke his munificence.^
He is also called the founder of the hospital of St. Peter, or
St. Leonard, which was in connection with the cathedral. How
far this title was merited is somewhat doubtful. In 1122
Henry I. kept his birthday at York; and at the request of
queen Matilda, who was instigated by Thurstan, the king
granted several privileges to that establishment himself, and
prevailed upon his barons to add to the endowments of the
house.? It was burned in 1137; and, soon afterwards, it w^as

* John of Hexham, col. 267. Ric. est epis% et, extra muros, ecclesia B.

of Hexham, col. 306. Stubbs, col. M., ubi est abbatia, cum egregio hos-

1'714. jjitali quod fundavit Turstinus archi-

' Reg. Magn. Album at York, 53. episcopus." Lei. also, apud Coll., i.,

'" Stubbs. col. 1717, from Hugh. 45. The fire in the minster was pro-

" Ibid., 1720. Thurstan's Consti- bably only partial in its efiects and

tution, " De dcbitis clericorum de- extent.

functoruni," is in Wilkins, i., 412. i MSS. Cotton, Titus A., xix., 55.

" John of Hexham, col. 267. Ric. Symeon, col. 246. There is a noble

of Hexham, col. 306-7. Walbran's chartulary of St. Leonard's among the

^11"^"' 25. Cottonian MSS., Nero D. iv. Some

p Gervasc (col. 13 13) snys that on of the yearly account rolls of the hos-

sec. nonas Junu 1137, apud Eboracum jatal are also in existence.

combusta cr.t B. Petri ecclesia, ubi sedcs

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 201

rebuilt by Stephen on a much larger scale, and received the
name which it has since borne, that of the hospital of St.
Leonard.'' At Ripon, Beverley, and Southwell, Thiu-stan was
the fomider of new prebends ;' and he was, doubtless, the means
of the establishment, in 1133, of the bishopric of Carlisle, to
which his old friend Adelulf, the prior of Nostell, was appointed.'
This was effected at the death of Ranulph Flambard, bishop of
Durham, and the election of his successor, Geoffrey Rufus,
whom Thurstan consecrated at York." The see of Durham
now subsided within the territorial boundaries which enclosed
it until the Reformation. Within the last half-century it had
been deprived of a great deal. It had lost Tynemouth and
Hexham, Cumberland, Westmerland, and Teviotdcvle. The
vnles and the instability of Flambard had, without doubt, been
the main cause of this great dismemberment of his diocese."

Thurstan is especially to be commemorated as the reviver of
monasticism in the North. His intercourse with the ecclesiastics
of other countries; the religious houses which he would see
dui'ing his exile, exhibiting, as far as human agency could effect
it, the perfection of discipline and organization, would open his
eyes to the wants of his diocese at home, and make him eager to
meet and remedy them. The example and the exhortations of
St. Bernard, with whom he was acquainted, would stj'engthen
and nerve his hand. The letter which he wrote about the poor
Cistercians of Fountains shews that he was thoroughly satiu'ated
^yiih. the monastic principle. His knowledge of it was of a kind
that long study and practice could alone impart, and it seems
to me that Thurstan, together with St. Bernard and two or three
othei's, are to be regarded as the great Church reformers of the
twelfth century. It was at Thurstan^s suggestion that pope
Honorius confirmed the privileges of the monastery of Savigny,
and he witnessed the grant of a hundred marks of silver which
was made by Henry I. to the monks of Clugny,'" to which order
the archbishop was especially attached. When Thurstan arrived
in the North he woidd find there a very small number of religious
houses, one or two of Avhich were occupied by Augustine canons,
and the rest by Benedictines. A new impetus was now given
to the diffusion of the monastic principle. The two existing

•■ Lei. Coll., i., 38. pleted by kin<^ Stephen. Reg. Magn.

' Dugd. Moa., vi., 1313-14. Wal- Album, at York, 53.

bran'.s llipon, ed. 1858, 25. Poulson's " Ilexham, tit supra. Sj-meon,

Beverlac, 531. Fsedera, 1., 10, n. e. Hist. Eccl. Dunelm., 261. Stiibbs,

Thoroton's Notts, 310. Lei. Coll., ii., col. 1720. Chron. Jluilros, G9.

391. " Syraeon, ut supra, 256, etc.

' John of Hexham, col. 257. Hove- "^ MartenC, Thes. Nov. Anecdot., i.,

den, 275. Mat. Paris, 60. The foun- 361, 382.
dation of the see of Carlisle was com-

203 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

orders were reformed and enlarged, and the Cluniacs and Cis-
tercians, monks of a stricter rule, were brought in. The time
for their introduction and for the revival of discipline was well
chosen. The Norman and the Saxon elements in the English
Church were now happily blended together. Everything in
religious as well as civil affairs was now settled and laid down.
The great baronies and fees throughout the country were for
the most part marked out. Peace and rest superinduced other
and better thoughts. Many of the great knights and nobles
had grievous offences to atone for. They were living upon the
possessions of others — very frequently upon church property;
and their lives had been stained with violence and bloodshed.
The wish to make amends as well as to honour God^ led them
to establish monasteries where their souls might be prayed for,
and to which their names, " in perpetuam rei memoriam," might
be honourably attached. When one leads, another soon will
follow, and the erection and endowment of religious houses soon
became the fashion, but like every freak and sudden feeling of
that kind it was only temporary. It began with the twelfth
century, and it did not outlive it. Thurstan was eminently suc-
cessful in kindling this spirit of zeal in the North, for he was
just the man that the feudal chieftains woiild most admire,
although, on one occasion at least, he was ill-treated by them.*
The energy with which he fought in his 0"v\Ta conflicts was very
much akin to theirs, for he was illustrious both in arts and
arms. Between the years 1120 and 1125 six houses of Augus-
tine canons seem to have been established in Yorkshire. Kirk-
ham owed its origin to that great patron of religion^ Walter
FEspec,^' and Gisburgh to Robert de Brus, an ancestor of the
well-known warrior, who was guided in w^hat he did by Calixtus
II. and Thurstan.' Bridlington, which overhangs the sea, was
founded by Walter le Gant," and the archbishop, who had pro-
bably directed him in his good work, was a witness to his charter
of endowment. William de Meschines about the same time
began to draw together the body of ecclesiastics which settled
filially in the beautiful solitudes of Bolton, and Thurstan, to shew
his sympathy, appropriated to them the neighbouring churches of
Skipton and Kildwick.^ The piety of Ralph Adlave, the con-
fessor of Henry I., first selected the retirement of Nostel,*^ from
which, after a life full of romantic incidents, he was summoned in

' John of Hexham, col. 268. It is ' Bromtou, col. 1018. Dugd., vi.,

not quite clear that the offence here 267. Burton, 340. There is some

mentioned was perpetrated in Thur- doubt as to the date of this foundation.

Stan's life-time. = Burton, 212. * Dugd. Mon.,

y Ailred, de Bello Standardi, col. vi., 203-5. Burton, 115.

338. Dugd. Mon., vi., 210. Burton's <• Burton, 300. Hunter's South

Mon., Ebor., 373. Yorkshire ii., 201, etc.

1114) 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 203

1133 to be the president of the new see of Carlisle. In 1130,
or thereabouts, Thui'stan himself established the first nunnery
that had existed in the North since the Conquest, a house of
Benedictines, at Clementhorp near York.'' In 1131 the beautiful
monastery of Rievaiix was founded, in memory of his lost son,
by Walter FEspec, and some Cistercian monks, who had be en
sent to England three years previously by St. Bernard, found a
resting-place in that charming valley.'' William Paynel, at the
instance of Thurstan, made a house for Austin canons at Drax,
and another was erected at Wartre in 1132 by Geoffrey Trusbut,
and was appropriated to the same order./ The religious colony,
also, which found its way to Byland, was greatly indebted to
Thiu'stan for its success. The abbat of Furness and his monks
had fled before the Scots, and had found an asylum in York,
where the archbishop welcomed and supported them. He re-
commended them to the kind offices of the widow of his old
friend Nigel d^Albeni, who had assumed the well-known name
of MoAvbray, and she placed them at Hode till they were removed
to Byland in 1138 by her son Roger, who was also the founder
of the house of Newburgh.^ Thurstan had a gTeat deal to do
with the aflJ'airs of Selby Abbey,'' and he is said to have been
mainly instrumental in restoring the church of Bardney.^ The
York historians inform us that he was the founder of eight
religious houses. How far this is to be interpreted it is difficult
to say ; at all events he seems to have been the chief agent in
the erection and the establishment of many of those noble monas-
teries which used to be the pride and the boast of Yorkshire.
With the history of these retreats very few are acquainted.
There are scarcely any who know the records of the adventui'cs
of their first inmates, which are invested with all the thrilling
interest of romance; their struggles to maintain themselves;
their simple and earnest piety, and their subsequent success.
As long as the incurious reader turns away from subjects like
these he will know very little indeed of the inner working, nay

'' Dugd. Mon., iv., 323. This house Mirseus, Chron. Cisterc, ed. IGli, p.

was given b}' archbishop GeoUrey in 89. The Rescripts of pope Alexander

1192 to the nuns of Godstow (Benedict III. in Labbe, Cone, x. Mabillon,

Petrib., 732). Ann. Ben., vi., 158-9. Chron. Mailros.

^ John of Hexham, col. 257, where / Dugd. Mon., vi., 297. Burton,

the date 1132 is given. Ailred, col. 100, 381.

338. Broniton, col. 1028. Wm. Neu- *' John of Hexham, col. 259. Brom-

brig., i., 51. Dugd. Mon., vi., 274. ton, col. 1028. Wm. Neubr., i., 52-4.

Burton, 358. There is some interest- Dugd. Mon., v., 343-9 ; vi., 317. Bur-

iug information about the early history ton, 328.

of Rievaux in 0pp. S. Bern., ed. 1690, '• Hist. Fund. Mon. de Selby, apud

i., 98-9. Martene, Thes. Nov. Anecd., Labbe, Bibl., i., 608-10— a very curi-

iv., inter Statuta Capit. Gen. Ord. Cis- ous historical tract with which few are

terc. ; Henriquez, Fascic. Ord. Cist. ; acquainted. ' Lei. Col., iii. 263.

204 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

I will say, of the outward features of the Church in the middle
ages. If' he will only take the trouble to examine them he will
fiud that, with all their faults, there were piety and devotion in
times which too many have considered to be dark, and that
there was some learning nursed and cherished within the cloister
which later generations, with all their increased intelligence,
ha\e been unable to surpass.

There was another monastery, greater than any which have
yet been mentioned, of which Thurstan, to a great extent, was
the originator, and that was the far-famed abbey of Fountains.-^
The history of its foundation, as it has been described by Thur-
stan himself and the chronicler of the house,* is a most touching
and charming narrative. In 1132 there was, what we may call,
a rebellion in the monastery of St. Mary without the walls of
York. That well-known abbey had been but for a short time
in existence when the Benedictine ride, which its inmates pro-
fessed to follow, was practically despised. Innovations had crept
in. Want of discipline and neglect of duty had borne their
bitter fruits. All, however, were not polluted by the taint.
Richard the prior and Gervase the sub-prior, upon whom the
charge of the monastery to a great extent devolved, groaned in
spirit over the growing e^il. Full of sorrow they sought counsel
of their abbat, a kind-hearted but indolent man. Richard told
him of his daily troubles, and of the insubordination of the
monks. The inmates of the house were noisy brawlers. They
chattered and quarrelled when not a word ought to be spoken.
In food and dress and many minute points their rule was
neglected. How different they were from the monks of Sa\igny
and Clairvaux whom they had recently seen, and whose religious
life was a mirror in which all might dress themselves for God.
What was to be done ? The abbat, like a timid man as he was,
hesitated and delayed the matter, but rumours of the complaints
which had been made reached the ears of the monks, who were
excessively indignant. They banded themselves together against
the reformers; threats were uttered, and there was malice
written upon their faces. Fearful for the issue, Richard and his
friends had an interview with Thurstan, to whom the state of
things at York was not unknown. After some deliberation with
the abbat and the officers of the house, a day was appointed on
which the archbishop promised to visit the monastery and
enquire into the alleged misconduct. When the time arrived,

J John of Hexham, col. 257. Ail- 70. Mahillon, Ann. Ben., vi., 204-5.

red, col. 338. Bromton, col. 1028. * The treatise, "De origine domus

AVm. Neubrig., i., 50-1. Mat. Paris, Font.," by Hugh de Kirkstall, is partly

59. Lei. Col., 1., 54; ii., 338; iv., 105. printed by Dugdale in the Mon., vi.,

Dugdale, v., 293, etc. Burton, 141. 293, etc. It is now being printed in

Uennquez, Phcenix Eeviviscens, 69- extenso by the Surtees Society.

1114 — 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 205

he rode up to the gates with a goodly company which included
several dignitaries of the minster, Hugh the dern, William the
treasurer, archdeacon Plugh Sotevagina the historian and poet.
William, the prior of the recently established monastery of Gis-
burgh, was also there, together with Robert, who appears to have
been the master of the adjacent hospital of St. Peter. The
party halted at the gate by which you still enter those sacred
precincts, and, leaving their horses there, went on foot towards
the chapter-house ; at the door of that building, which was filled
from end to end by monks, strangers as well as residents, the
abbat of the house received them, and deprecated the presence
of any one but the archbishop and his clerks. When Thiu-stan
ventiu'cd to remonstrate, an uproar arose within which would
have appalled a less intrepid man ; they hooted and yelled like
madmen. Theyrushed towards Thui'stan wdth their arms stretched
out as if they were eager for a wrestling match. They roared
out that if he entered they woidd all of them depart. Thurstan^s
indignation was justly aroused. He told them that he had only
come there to do his duty, and, as they interfered with him, he
put their house under an interdict. What did they care ! "Stop
it for a hundred years V was the shout of a fellow of the name
of Symeon, and the rest yelled their assent. " Catch them, get
hold of them \" was now the cry, and they seized the unfortunate
prior and his comrades, and were going to imprison them or
carry them off. The intended victims flung tlieu' arms around
Thurstan and implored his aid. It was with some difficulty that
the archbishop and his party, suppliants and friends, got away
into the church, followed by discordant shouts of hatred and
vengeance. The servants of the monastery were at every door
and window, and the populace, aroused by the disturbance, was
rapidly assembling. Thurstan ordered the cloister door to be
secured, and, after a brief deliberation in the church, finding that
action was impossible and the rioters impracticable, he returned
home. The prior and twelve of his brethren accompanied him,
and deserted their old abode to which they never afterwards
returned. The archbishop now liefriended these poor outcasts.
He wrote a long and most graphic letter to archbishop Corbeil
in refutation of the erroneous reports which were flying about,'
in which he gave a full account of the insurrection at St. ]\Iary^s,
and expressed simply and earnestly his own views on discipline
and monasticism. He sheltered the wanderers for awhile, and
then gave them a piece of ground for themselves in a rocky and

' This letter is being printed entire lished, in part, in Dugd. Mon., vi.,

for the first time by the Surtees Society 293, etc., and in 8. Bernardi 0]»p., i.,

in tlieir forthcoming volume on Foun- 386-91. Cf. Avesbury's Edw. III.,

tain's abbey. It has already been pub- appendix, 271.

206 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

secluded dell near his residence at Ripon. It was in the winter
that they sought for the first time their solitary abode, but they
cared not for the storm-winds or the snows. For awhile they
were sheltered only by the rocks which hung over the waters of
the Skell, and, afterwards, they nestled beneath a large elm,
which was spoken of and cherished by their descendants in a
far distant generation. They now communicated their sorrows
and aspirations to the compassionate ears of St. Bernard, and
placed themselves at his disposal.™ That holy and intrepid man
wrote to the abbat of St. Mary^s, who had requested his advice,
and desired that his former brethren should follow out the course
which they had adopted. He expressed his gratitude also
to Thurstan for the kindness which he had shewn to these
afflicted monks." There was much in common between those
two noble-hearted and energetic men, and they had pro-
bably become acquainted whilst Thurstan was in exile. For
two whole years the devoted and enduring monks subsisted
merely uj)on roots and leaves f but their poverty and self-denial
were the parents of their wealth. They had obtained St. Ber-
nard's ])ermission to seek another sanctuary, where they could
keep life together, when, most providentially, wealth began to
flow into their empty coffers : a chiirch was built, broad lands
were given to endow it, and a noble abbey arose by degrees
upon the scene of their sufferings and their triumph. From the
many springs which bubbled up beside it they gave to their
abode the suggestive name of Fountains,^ and, by that title, one
of the noblest monasteries in England was henceforward known.
You may see its decaying walls in that beautiful valley which
seven centuries have not robbed of its repose, and which reminds
us, even in these latter days, of the munificence of Thurstan
and of the piety and zeal of its first Christian colonists. The

"' S. Bernardi, 0pp., ed. 1690, i., cism, drew a great many thoughts and

inter notas ad finem, xl. images from the word Fontes. He

« Ibid., i., 99-100. At p. 292 there speaks of the "qiiatuor fontes Salva-

is another letter to abbat Geoflfrey, cen- toris," the " quinque fontes Salvatoris,"

surmg him for the want of disciphne and the " quatuor fontes spirituaUs

in his house. Paradisi."

° In this they resembled the monks The name of his birthplace, Fon-

of Clairvaux, "qui pulmentaria sicpius taines in Burgundy, was probably one

ex fohis fagi conficiebant" (S. Bern. great cause of his fondness for the

0pp., u., 1073. There is a long account word. The eldest daughter of Clair-

of the trials of these poor monks in vaux, who was placed in the diocese of

the narrative of Hugh de Kirkstall. Chalons-sur-Marne, had the name of

'' A\m. Neubng. (i., 51) says, " Et Trois-fontaines given to her by St.

vocatur locus ille Fontes : ubi extunc Bernard. Foutenay, Mellifont, and

et deincops tanquam de fontibus Sal- Font-Morigny were children of the

va,toris tam multi hauserunt aquas same parent (S. Bern., 0pp., i., 70-2 ;

salientes m vitam scternam." ii., 1087. Mirsei Chron. Ord. Cist., ed.

»t. liernard, with his love of mysti- 1614, 35. Mabillon, Ann. Ben., vi., 27).

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 207

springs are still welling forth, and their waters are trickling into
the Skell as they did when Richard saAv them ; bnt the voice of
worship is no longer heard Avithin those walls which it once
consecrated to God. Roof and roof-tree have been torn away,
althoiigh yon gaze still with a saddened eye npon the overhang-
ing rocks which covered many centuries ago a little band of
Christian heroes.

Thmstan^s day of life was drawdng to its close. His health
had been for some time failing. This prevented him from being
present in 1138 at the battle of the Standard, and he Avas unable
to attend the council which was held at London in the same
year under the presidency of Alberic the legate. He had already
given a hearty welcome to that dignitary, and he sent William,
the dean of York, to represent him at the meeting.'/ He Avas
too feeble to be there himself, for he was

" Jam propior leto fessusque senilibus annis."

He had been loved and honoured, he had done great things,
but success cannot obliterate the eiiect of the trials by Avhich it
has been secured. Throughout his career he had been honest
to his country and his see, but not AAdthout much suffering and
affliction in body and in mind.*" His heart Avould mourn Avithin
him Avhen he beheld the blood which seemed destined to track
the footsteps of king Stephen. Oh that he could lay aside the
cares of office for which he was unfit, and enjoy a foretaste of
that repose which the world-Avorn pilgrim shall one day find !
He Avould see that others had already reached it, if it were to be
found on earth, in the cells of Clairvaux, in the valley of the
Skell, and by the waters of the Rie. In 1139 he Avas Avishful
to resign his see in favour of his brother Audoenus, the bislio}) of
Evreux ; and, to bring his desire to pass, he sent Richard, abbat
of Fountains, to Rome, to secure Avhat was uppermost in his
mind, and to represent him at the council. A higher poAver
brovight everything to nought. Richard reached his destination,
but he died there ; and Audoenus folloAved him to the tomb,
having assumed a little before his death the habit of a canon in
the monastery of Merton.^ What Avas Thiu-stan noAv to do?
He communicated his secret thoughts and Avishes to St. Bernard,
and there is still extant a letter wliich that great man addressed
to the aged and enfeebled prelate full of affectionate advice.
He bids him retain his sec, the Avife to whom he had been so

' Joha of Hexham, col. 264. Eic. nitate tutanda, et multa incommoda

of Hexham, col. 327. Malmesbury, perpessus e.st et ssepissime in periculo

apud Savile, 103. Labbe, Cone, x., fuit" (Polyd. Virgil, 210). IMahues-

992-4. burj', ISfJ. Dachory, Spicilegimn, iii.,

"■ "Pro salute patriae, tarn pro dig- 506. ' Ric. of Hexham, col. 329.

208 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

long wedded, and from whom, without the sanction of the pope,
he could not ])roperly be divorced. Go, rather, and shew to the
simple monk that he may find in a mitred bishop the pattern
of a true ascetic. Dread not the nakedness or the poverty of
that path. The barer it is the greater will be its pm-ity. God
be with you during the day, and may He give you in the even-
ing that reward which lightens the toil and the heat, the penny
which bears the image of the heavenly Caesar.'

These words, so inspiriting and so sound, sank deep into the
old man^s heart. He set his house in order at York, rewarding
his faithful followers, making restitution where it was required,
and snapping lirdv by link that chain which had bound him to
the world. In his youth he had made a vow at Clugny that
he would ally himself to the monks who there worshipped ; and
he now resolved to join a little congregation of Cluniacs, at
Pontefract, which occupied the monastery of St. John. His
parting from the ministers of his church in York was a most
striking one. He called them to him in his chapel in the
minster, and, after making his confession, prostrated himself
Avith bared limbs before the altar of St. Andrew, and, confessing
with many tears his past offences, he submitted himself to the
scourge. When this was over he went to Pontefract, a great
number of the clergy and the laity accompanying him. On the
festival of the Conversion of St. Paul he took upon himself the
vows and the garb of a monk within that little monastery, and
devoted the remainder of his life to contemplation and devotion.
He had only been there a few days when he felt the hand of
death upon him ; and he prepared to wrestle with the foe with
that serene intrepidity which had characterized his life. The
conflict took place on the fifth of February, 1140, and it was
not one which the bystanders, and there were many there from
York, would ever forget. The dying archbishop recited in
solemn tones the scr^dce for the dead, whom he was so speedily
to join. He chanted, with sobs and groans, the awful verses of
the Dies Ira ; and then, whilst the rest were kneeling and pray-
ing around him, he passed away to await in the land of silence
the coming of that day of wrath, so terrible to all, of which he
had just spoken."

He was interred, Avith befitting honour, before the high

' S. Bernard! 0pp., i., 297. Spicilegium, iii., 147.

" John of Hexham, col. 267, is the Tliere is some doubt as to the exact

authority for this paragraph. Brom- day on which Thurstan died. Gervase

ton, col. 1028. Gervase, col. 1350. and Stubbs say that he died on Feb. 5.

Knyghton, col. 2385. Hemingford, John of Hexham on the 6th. His

apud Gale, ii., 485. Chron. Mailros, obit was observed at Durham on the

71. Wm. Neubrig., i., 50. Stubbs, 8th (Liber Vitse, ed. Surtees Society,

col. 1720-1. Trivet, 16. Dachery, 139). Hugh the Chantor places the

1114 1140.] ARCHBISHOP THURSTAN. 209

altar in the monastery at Pontefract, and, after many years,
when a party of too curious monks looked into his grave, they
found, it is said, the body robed in its vestments without a
symptom of decay."

A few days after his decease Thurstan is said to have
appeared in a dream to Geoffrey Troeope, archdeacon of Not-
tingham. It was in the stillness of the night, and there was
his old master before him in his archiepiscopal attire. The
thought of the fearful death-scene which he had so recently
witnessed perhaps prompted the question, " Is there a hope of
thy salvation, oh my father?^' and, then, from the fleshless lips
there issued the solacing reply, ^' To me to live is Christ, and to
die is gain," which the listening friend thus turned into verse,

" Vivere carne mihi fuerat, sed carne resolvi
Est niodo vera salus, vita beata milii.""'

Geoffrey, in conjunction with a person of the name of
Hugh de Pontefi'act, drew up a life of Thurstan, partly in
prose and partly in verse, which is preserved in the Cottonian
library.* It adds nothing to the information which we possess
from other sources, and is singularly meagre and uninteresting.
A short extract will shew the calibre of archdeacon Geoffi-ey in
the sweet path of poesy. It is a lament for Thurstan.

" Gemma sacerdotum, jubar ecclesiffi, monachorum
Dux, flos pastonim, claustri speculum, via morum,
Semita justorum, supplantator vitiorum !
In te cunctorum viguit mixtura bonorum.
Transiit antistes ad gaudia summa jjolorvun,
Prsemia sumpturus inde tinita laborum.
Proli dolor ! Anglorum flos marcuit, aruit iste
Mundo, sed celo vivat te prseside, Christe.
Heu nulli precio mors horrida, mors metuenda,
Mors pietate carens, mors invida, mors fugienda.
Incutis liorrores, infers truculenta pavorcs,
Fundis mrerores faeis et post le^a dolores.

Ergo uon doleat quisquis licet Lie moriatur,
Celica vita beat hunc qui Cliristo famulatur."

There is another account of Thurstan, also unpublished, by
Hugh Sotevagina, the precentor and archdeacon of York.^

day on the Ides, meaning, I presume, Thurstan in Henriquez, Phoenix Pevi-

the 13th. visccns, 160 — 175. He saj-s that the

" John of Hexham, col. 268. " Re- archbishop was a Cistercian monk, and

pertum est odoriferum et iucorruptum" tbat he died in 1 1 36 !

(Hugh dePontefract, 55). 'J In the Eeg. Magnum Album be-

•" John of Hexham, col. 267-8. longing to the dean and chajiter of

^ Titus, A. xix. Vita S. Thurstani York, — a splendid volume containing

Archiepiscopi Ebor. partim oratione the most ancient ])rivilegcs and evi-

ligata, partim soluta, per Hugonem de denccs of the church. The}' have been

Pontefracto monachiim, et Galfridum transcribed at a comparatively lale pe-

de Nottingham. There is a life of riod, as the writer confesses his inability

P

210

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

Hugh was Thurstan's contemporary and friend, and he gives us,
tlicreforc, much infoinnation about liis j)atron which is not else-
where to be discovered. He restricts himself, however, too
much to what may be called the foreign policy of Thurstan and
his church. We should have been even more obliged to him
had he told us a little more about the private life of the arch-
bishop, and his work within his diocese. His account, also,
terminates abruptly, and we know nothing from the writer about
the battle of the vStandard or of Thurstan^s latter days.

tSf^CUrg fHurtiaC, abhat of Fountains, was the next actual
archbishop of York, biit his accession to the see was attended
Avith much contention and generated much ill-feeling. I shall
say in another place how it arose.

Murdac seems to have been a Yorkshircman hy birth. His
family was one of distinction, and he inherited from his pa-
rents both wealth and reputation. Through the kindness of
archbishop Thurstan he was heneficed in the cljurch of York.*
He gave up everything, and assumed the humble cowl of a
Cistercian to watch and pray ))y the side of St. Jicrnard within
the walls of Clairvaux." The letter by which the saint in-
duced him to desert the world is still preserved. Murdac seems

to decipher the Saxon chartera which
he x>rofessc.H to give ; indeed, he haa
ma<]c many blunders in his copy of
Hugh. The lives, of which Hugh is
suppwcd t() be the author, oc/;upy
about seventy pages. Stubbs has availed
himself, not always judiciously, of his
labours. The c<^>ncluding paragraph of
Hugh's life of Thurstan is as follows :
" Quanta audivimus et cognovimus, ea
patres nostri narraverunt nobis, filii
qui naaccntur ot exurgentet narrabunt
filiis Huis. Tu autem, Dorninc, miserere
nostri." After this there w>mes a life
of archbishop Murdac and the history
of the famous wntroversy, taken from
John of Hexham.

This "White Jiegister" is the book
on which archbishop Ijcc set such store.
He lent it to Polydore Vergil as the
great/Cst treasure belonging to his
church. It still bears, I believe, in the
margins the notes of the great arch-
deacon of Wells as well as those of the
learned VVanley.

• Eic. of Hexham, col. 274. Hugh

Murdac, a justice itinerant, became
archdea/xm of Cleveland in 12W. lie
was the founder of the Gilbortinc
7>riory of St. Andrew at York. There
is a y)edigree of the family of Murdac
of Compton Miirda*; in J^iigdale's War-
wick.shire, 404, and another among the
Dod.swort-h MSS. at Oxford. Henry
Murdac was a justice itinerant in 118'J
(Foss's J udges, i., 404) . Ral ph M u rdac
was con.stable of Nottingham castle
temp. llic. I. (Hovedcn, 419). Galfrid
Murdac witnesses a charter granted
by archbishop Thurstan in 1128 (An-
giia Sacra, ii., 2.37).

" Vita S. Hfirnardi, apud 0pp., ed.
inOO, ii., in 2. Contin. Hist. Croy-
larid, apud Gale, iii., 112. Wm. Neubr.,
i., .58. Trivet, 17. llecueil des His-
toricns des Gaules, xiv., 368. Hob. dc
Monte, 724. J>a/;hery, Spicilegnum,
iii., 147. Mabillon, Ann. IJen., vi.,
189, 223, where Murdac is called " no-
bilis Anglus," and "in schola praj-
fectus."

1147—1153.]

ARCHBISHOP MURDAC.

211

to liave had some communication with him before it arrived.
How tenderly Bernard entreats him to taste of that fountain
whose waters he himself liad found so sweet ! He pleads with
the enthusiasm of a poet and the deep fervour of a saint.
Oh ! the charms of retirement which the Saviour himself
delighted in, and which He left at last to join His fisher-brethren
and evangelize the world ! Believe me, thou wilt find more in
woods than in books; the stocks and stones shall teach thee
what a master cannot. Thinkest thou not that honey can trickle
for thee from the rock, and oil from the fiinty crag? Cannot
the mountains drop with sweetness; the hills flow with milk
and honey, and the valleys laugh and sing with corn? Oh,
that thou wouldest become my fellow-learner in this holy school
■with Jesus for oiu' master !* ^Iiu'dac was persuaded by these
touching entreaties, and avcU he might be. They were made to
others in the North of England with a like effect. The abbeys
of Rievaux and Fomitains Avere the fruits of that earnest pleading.
It drew the robe of a Cistercian, within the walls of Clairvaux,
over a prior of Hexham,*" and all but induced Thomas, the
provost of Beverley,'' to resign his post.

Those Avlio are well acquainted with the life and writings of
St. Bernard cannot wonder at the influence that he exercised.
Seven centuries have not lessened the feeling of veneration with

* S. Bern., 0pp., i., 110. " O si
scmel paululum quid de adipe fru-
menti, unde satiatur Jerusalem, de-
gustaros ! quam libenter suas crustas
rodcudas littcratoribus Juditis reliu-
q acres ! O si te umquaiu in scliola
pietatis sub magistro Jesu mercar ha-
bere sodaleiu ! O si mihi liceat purifi-
catum prius tui pectoris va^iculum sup-
pouere unctioni, quaj docet de omnibus !
O quam libeus tibi pariter calidos panes,
quos utique adbuc fumig-antcs, et quasi
uiodo de furno, ut aiunt, recens tractos,
de cojlcsti largitate crebro Christus
suis pauperibus frangit ! Utinam si
quam mihi guttam quaudoque de plu-
via vohuitaria, quam segregavit here-
dilati sua;, stillare dignetur in dulcedine
sua pauperi Deus, mox earn tibi ]iossem
refundere, et rursus a te \-icissim reci-
pere quod senseris ! Experio crede :
aliciuid amplius invenies in silvis quam
in libris. Ligna et lapides doccbunt
te, quod a magistris audire non possis.
An non putas posse te sugere mel de
l)etra, oleumquo do saxo durissimo ?
An non monies stillant dulcediucm, et
colles tiuunt lac et mel, et valles abun-
dant frumouto." St. Bernard addresses

ilurdac as " magister," which seems to
shew that he was a graduate.

"Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Conic, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music ! On my life
There's more of wisdom in it.

" And hark ! how blithe the throstle sings !
He, too, is no mean preacher :
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

" She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless ;
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

" One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man, —
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can."

<■ John of Hexham, col. 271.

"* S. Bcrnardi 0pp., i.. 111-17,363.
Thomas changed his mind, and died,
as St. Bernard tells us, " subita et hor-
renda morte." A new edition of the
works of St. Bernard, ]>roperly cor-
rected, is a great desideratum. The
Paris edition of lS;i9 is merely a re-
print of that by ^Mabillon, in which
even his errors are perpetuated. Even
that of Migue can be much improved,
r 2

212 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

which " the last of the fathers '' is regarded. We still see before
us tliat frail and yet striking figure attenuated by the most
friglitful discipline; Ave gaze upon that countenance with its
uucai-thly pallor, and yet so beautifully transparent that you
would deem it " lit with an inner light/'^ and think that his
soul in all its purity and holiness was looking through it; we
may listen in fancy to that voice so touching and so earnest,
that the very breath was held lest a single accent should escape.
What multitudes flocked around him, to embrace him, to kiss his
feet, to touch his very garment, and yet flattery and honours
coidd not attract him. A simple, honest-hearted, self-denying
monk he lived and died. But this was the man on whose word
all Christendom used to hang in breathless expectation \f This
is he who preached a crusade, who elected a pope, chose bishops
and archbishops, and chided kings ! All these things our fathers
have told us, but we can read for ourselves the words by which
they were carried away, the heavenly contemplations, the almost
divine musings with which they were fascinated. Surely the
pen that handed them down to us

" Dropped from an angel's wing."

Never did any man^s innermost thoughts and feelings colour
his writings with a more vivid, a more speaking light. His
whole soul shines through them like the sun at mid-day through
his veil of clouds. The radiance appals us. We shrink, alas,
too conscious of our own unworthiness and inferiority, from the
presence of so much purity and holiness.

The life of Murdac is intimately connected with the history
of Fountains abbey. The first abbat of that house was Richard,
the quondam prior of St. Mary^s, and to him, with the assistance
of Geofirey, St. Bernard's friend, is due the credit of the esta-
blishment and arrangement of that monastery, especially in

' Tennyson's Poems, ed. 1833, from facundia, ut virtutis ejus, vel in mo-
a poem in one of the rare editions dico, culmen attingam ? Vir scientia
which has not been reprinted. Eichard clarus, sanctitate notissimus, sine fuco
Crashaw, " poet and saint," thus ex- sanctissimus, scriptor insignis, prsedi-
presses the same tliought : — cator egregius, ordinis speculum, eccle-
•• A soul slioath'd in a christal shrine, '^'.^ dilatatio, sui temporis sol, nebulae
Through which all her briglit features shine, dissipatio, abjectus sibi, mundo Chris-
As when a piece of wanton lawn, toque carissimus, sacerdos magnus. qui
A thin aerial veil, IS drawn ,i;„u • t^ i j. • j. •
O'er beauty's face, seeming to hide, diebus suis Deo placens et Justus in-
More sweetly shews the blushing bride." ventus, iracundiro tempore in ipso
/• T i i- • /. ,. niirabiliter operante Domino Jesu, dis-
hii ^^"°.° ? . J""" • '^^''^'''S, sidcntium factus est reconciliatio. Quern
St uLn ,/P T-^'.ua'T^A"""^ y"™i corporalis intuebatur oculus,
pi f ,? ^^ r '■' ^^^^ '■ ^ '^'''' """^1" despicabilis habebatur. Quum
ovL ^ ?"' V^tovem ilium sane um spiritualis attendebat, nostri temporis
°,^m nidfn J^'"i ''™^"'' y^'-«^^ll^"- hominem longe virtutum meritis ante-
menorem P ^ ;';"«^;'^"™',d'^e com- ibat. Quis ejus labores digne referat."
memorem f iims mihi stilus aut quae -^ j o

1147 1153.] ARCHBISHOP MURDAC. 213

discipline. The saint, who dvu'ing his life appears to have exer-
cised over Fountains a protecting care, commended the progress
that had been made, in a letter to the abhat and his brother-
hood.5' Richard was a man of no mean character and learning.
In 1138, when Alberic cardinal-bishop of Ostia, the papal legate,
arrived in England, the abbat of Fountains and the bishop of
Hereford were the two persons whom he chose to accompany
him on his torn".'' In the following year Richard went to Rome
on behalf of archbishop Thm'stan, who was desirous of giving up
his see, and it was at the eternal city that he died.' His place
at Fountains was siipplied by a namesake and a friend who had
originally been a Benedictine at St. Mary^s.-' This person, who
took some interest in the controversies about Thurstan^'s suc-
cessor in the see of York, died at Clairvaux in 1143.'^ St. Ber-
nard himself annomiced his decease to Alexander the prior of
Fountains and his monks, and desired them to make choice of
a fitting superior with the advice and assistance of William the
Cistercian prior of Rievaux and the abbat of Vauclair.^

Murdac was the person who is last mentioned. After resid-
ing for some time at Clairvaux, and winning the confidence of
St. Bernard, he was sent by him in 1135 to found a Cistercian
house at Vauclair, in the diocese of Leon, and to be its first
abbat.™ When Richard, the second superior of Fountains, died,
Mm'dac was engaged in a sharp controversy with Luke the
abbat of the neighbouring monastery of Prsemonstratensians at
Cuissi." St. Bernard intended him to move in a very diff'erent
sphere. In the letter which he wrote to the prior and the monks
of Fountains, he told them that Murdac was coming in his
behalf to inspect their house, and that in the selection of their
new head they were to be guided by his opinion." Walter, the
bearer of this epistle, would no doubt convey to them the wishes

«■ S. Bernardi, 0pp., i., 101, and Hist, des Gaules, xiii., 698, ex chro-

Dugd. Mon., v., 298. nico Alberici. Gallia Christiana, ix.,

* John of Hexham, col. 261. Hie. 633, where he is said to have been
of Hexham, col. 325, where he is ahbat 1135-8. Mirscus, Chron. Ord.
called "magnse religionis et avictori- Cisterc, ed. 1614, 94. There is an
tatis virum." Dugd. Mon., v., 299. account of Vauclair in the Voyage Lit-

' John of Hexham, col. 265. Eic. teraire de deux Cenedictins, in which

of Hexham, col. 329. Murdac is mentioned. He was the

J S.Bern., 0pp., i., 101, annot- greatest abbat of that house. Mabillon,

* John of Hexham, 274, the place Ann. Ben., vi., 223; where the year 1131
not being mentioned. Dugd. Mon., is given as the date of the foundation.
v., 300. ' S. Bern., 0pp., i., 297-8. " S. Born., Opp., i., 298, annot.,
Mabillon seems to ignore the existence ex Hermanno moiiacho Laudun', iii.,
of this second Richard. He says that cap. 16. There is nothing about this
Eichard died at Clairvaux on May 15, dispute in the account of Cuissi in the
1138, and that Murdac succeeded him. Ann. Prasmonstrat. Ord., i., Ixiii., etc.

' S. Bern., Opp., i., 297. " S. Bern., Opp., i., 298. Dugd.

'" Ibid., i., 298, annot. E-ecucil des Mou., v., 301.

214 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

of the saint that Murdac should be the new abbat, and, at the
same time, Bernard sent a letter to Murdac himself, entreating
him to accept the post should he be appointed to it. Bernard
spoke as if his election were a certainty, and promised, if he
would go into England, to look well to the abbey of Vauclair,
which he would be obliged to leave.^ Murdac was appointed
abbat of Fountains, and he accepted the proffered honour.

Murdac went to Fountains in 1143.* He was a rigid dis-
ciplinarian, for he had been brought up in a strict school. He
was soon actively engaged in his new charge. He put every-
thing in order; for although the Cistercians had only been at
Fountains for ten years, the full severity of their rule was not
entirely observed. It was otherwise now. The endowments of
the house began to increase, and the revenues were administered
in a noble manner. Before the monastery, still in the freshness
of her youth, had come of age, she had become the parent of
seven religious houses. Seven daughters had been born to her,
" All daughters of one mother."

Five of these, Woburn, Lisa, Kirkstall, Vaudy and Meaux,
came into existence whilst Murdac was the abbat.'' One of
these cells, — that of Lisa, otherwise called the House of Light,
was founded at the request of the bishop of Bergen, who came
to see Murdac, and she carried the discipline and the fame of
her parent to the wild shores of Norway. Meaux, the youngest
of the family of seven, was born in 1150, and then the still
youthfid mother ceased to bear.^ All her energy was hencefor-
ward devoted to the development of her own resources, and the
purifying of the flame which arose to heaven from her own altars.
Where could there be a better place for a Cistercian monas-
tery than that secluded valley ? Here was their Jerusalem, their
abode of peace ; and they could say of it, as St. Bernard said of
Chiirvaux, " Lo, we heard of the same at Ephrata, and found
it in the wood.'^'

"Here man more purely lives, less oft doth fall,
More promptly rises, ivalhs ivitTi stricter heed.
More safely rests, dies happier, is freed
Earlier from cleansiny fires, and gains withall
A brighter crown. On yon Cistercian wall
That confident assurance might be read."

f S. Bern., 0pp., i., 298-9. Dugd. progress of Fountains is to be found in

Mon., v., 301. John of Hexham (col. the work of Hugh de Kirkstall, which

27-*)sa3-sthatSt.Bernardappointedhim. is being printed by the Surtees Society.

' There is a chronological difficulty A great part of it is in Dugd. Mon.,

here. Richard, abbat of Fountains, v., 298, etc.

died on Oct. 12, 111.3. From John of » " Hajc novissima filiarum quas

Hexham it may be gathered that Mur- genuit mater nostra, et cessavit iterum

dac did not become abbat till 1145. parere" (Dugd. Mon., v., 302).

■■ A fidl account of the origin and ' S. Bern., 0pp., i., 64.

1147 1153.] ARCHBISHOP MURDAC. 215

Where could a place be fomid more fit to convince the
recluse, if it Avere only by the force of contrast, that the retire-
ment Avhich he enjoyed was superior to the charms of the world
beyond him ? Where could he live more pm-ely, more devotedly,
to God ? The great book of nature Avas daily open to the Cis-
tercian there, and he Avould see in it what to other readers was
meaningless and vain. The heavens looked down upon him
with their many eyes piercing him through and through, and
telling him that everything was visible to their viewless Lord.
Strange voices seemed to commune with him from between the
wings of the wind as it arose and fell in that solitary vale. In
everything around him, pure and simple as it was, tlun'e was
something to dii'cct him heavenwards, a type or symbol of some
better thing to come.

" Sum nemorum studiosus, ait."

" There was a spirit in the woods^^ through which he walked, and
he would think of the green tree and the dry. The murmm-ings
in the elm, the twinkling leaves of the beech which St. Bernard
loved to watch, the wanton airs which ran in and out like spor-
tive children among the branches of the oak, were as significant
to him as the prophetic breeze which stirred of old " the tops of
the mulberry-trees.^^ In those rocks, once a shelter to him
when he came for the first time into that " weary land,^^ he
woidd see a type of that great " spiritual rock " on which the
Church was built, and he would beseech Him who had " poured
doAvn the stones into the valley," to be to him " a house of
defence," and " a rock of habitation."" The Avaters which bub-
bled up and sparkled among the clefts would remind him of the
" pure fountain of life and the crystal sea ;" and wdien he mused
upon the perfections of Him who had sent those " springs into
the valleys," he would join in the exclamation of the Psalmist,
" All my fresh springs shall be in Thee. Benedicite, Fontes,
Domino. ^^

At the death of archbishop Thurstan in 1110, no small con-
troversy arose as to his successor. The court Avas in favour of
William Fitzherbcrt, the treasm'er of York, Avho Avas actually
elected and consecrated. As there was some suspicion of his
liaAing used undue influence in securing his appointment, Wil-
liam encountered the most strenuous opposition from all the
reformers of the day. The Avhole of the Cistercian order seem
to haA^e been banded together against him, and among them
Avere two abbats of Fomitains, Richard" and Murdac. Murdac,

" S. Bern., 0pp., i., 317. A letter had gone to Rome to oppose "William
to tlie pope on behalf of the monks of in 1141. John of Hexham, col.

Fountains, who, as Mabillou (hinks, 271.

216 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

indeed, seems to have led the opposition in England." He was
a sufferer for Avhat he did. In 1146 pope Eugenius, instigated
by St. Bernard, suspended William, and some of the archbishop's
kinsmen in England determined to wreak then- vengeance upon
Murdac, Avhom they would consider to be the chief agent in the
degradation of their master. They made their way to Fountains
to seize the abbat. They could not find him. They bm^st open
the doors, and sacked the monastery and its buildings. They
then set the place on fire, and everything is said to have been
consumed with the exception of a part of the oratory. All the
while Murdac was stretched in prostrate adoration before the
altar, expecting, momentarily, his end ; but he was not observed.
When the destroyers had departed he thankfully commenced
the restoration of his house. Archbishop William, in after years,
made amends for the excesses of his adherents, and expressed
his deep sorrow for what had occmTcd.'"

This act of violence created a great sensation at home and
abroad. It was probably the immediate cause of the deprivation
of William by pope Eugenius,^ as Murdac was at Rheims when
tlie sentence was passed.2' This was done in 1147, and on the
vigil of the festival of St. James in that year a great clerical
assembly was held at the monastery of St. Martin, near Rich-
mond, to elect a new archbishop. Robert de Gaunt the dean of
York, and Hugh de Puiset the treasurer of that church, who
had l)een preferred by William, were in favour of Hillary, one
of the chaplains of the pope, who was afterwards raised to the
see of Chichester. These two, in all probability, would express
the Avish of the court, as the former was the chancellor of
England, and the latter the king's nephew. Opposed to them
Avere the bishops of Durham and Carlisle, William de Augo
the precentor, and the archdeacons of York, who were in
favour of Murdac, and he seems to have been elected, although
not Avitliout much controversy and opposition.^ Murdac after
this Avcnt to Clairvaux to pay a visit to St. Bernard, his old
friend and ad\ iser," who had been actively employed in promot-
ing his election.* From thence he went to the papal court at
Treves, where he had a hearty welcome. Eugenius put an end

" John of Ilexham, col. 275. " Plu- " S. Bern., 0pp., i., 249. Bernard

rimiini priusumcns sibi do gratia Apos- wrote to the pope on this occasion urg-

tuHci." Diigd. Mon., v., 302. iug prompt action.

" Dugd. Mon., v., 302. Lei. Coll., > Gervase, col. 1363.

iv., 108. John of Hexham (col. 275) - John of Hexham, col. 276. Mi-

givcs a different account from the rseus, Chron. Cisterc, ed. 1614, 122.

Fountains chronicler. He merely .says, " Dugd. Mon., v., 302. Lei. Col.,

" Qiiandam posse.ssionem monachorum iv., 108.

do Foutibus cuin copiis opum qua> ibi * S. Bern., 0pp., i., 298, aunot.
congcsta; consorvabautur inccnderunt."

1147 — 1153.] ARCHBISHOP murdac. 217

to all difficulty and contention by consecrating him archbishop
on the 7th of December, and giving him the pall/

Murdac retm'ued to England in the following year to find a
scene of tumult and dissension, for which he was not prepared.
The deposed archbishop was a cousin of the king, and a person
of winning demeanoui', and his sufferings had won for him
universal sympathy. Stephen wotdd not receive INIurdac. lie
sequestred the stalls at York, and fined the inhabitants of
Beverley for admitting the archbishop within their walls. The
kinsmen of the deposed prelate were loud in their threats of
vengeance, and caught the senior archdeacon, who escaped with
difficulty alive. The citizens of York, however, were Murdac's
bitterest opponents. They closed the gates of their city against
him, and if any one went out to join him, the offender, if he were
caught, was djiven from the place and mulcted of all his pro-
perty. The archbishop, upon this, excommunicated Hugh de
Puiset, the treasurer of York, and all his enemies in that city.
Puiset returned the compliment ; and, as he was omnipotent in
the minster, he would not allow the services to be suspended.
They came, however, to an end, but Eustace, the king^s son,
made an order that they should go on ; an act of interference
which induced the archbishop to complain, formally, to the pope.
Murdac took up his residence at Ripon whilst this unseemly
distui'bance was going on.*^ He would there be near his old
monastery of Fountains, which he is said to have moderated
duiing his life.^ He made several excursions from Ripon. He
paid a visit to the bishop of Durham; and at Carlisle he had an
interview with king David, and was welcomed by his suffragan
Adelulf./

In 1150 there was peace at last between Murdac and his
foes. Hugh de Puiset, at the request of the pope, was absolved
from excommunication, and was reconciled to the archbishop at
Yarm ; and Eustace, the king^s son, became his friend. In the

' John of Hexham, col. 276. Ord. Turold got into some trouble, and was

Vitalis, apud Duchesne, 983. Chron. removed from Fountains to Trois Fon-

Mailros, 73. \Vm. Neubrig., i., 58. taines. St. Bernard defended this ap-

Trivet, 17. Bromton, col. 1029. Ger- pointment against the strictures of the

va,se (col. 1363) says that he was con- bishop of Ostia, and said that if he

secrated at Auxerre. In Dugd. (Mon., had been an unworth}' person Murdac

v., 302) it is said that he got the pall would never have given him an olUce

at Rome. Acta SS., Bollandists, June " cui ipse prafuerat.'" This seems to

8. shew the continuance of Murdac's con-

"* John of Hexham, col. 277-8. Wm. nection with the monastery, but not in

Neubr., i., 58-9. Trivet, 17-18. Da- the capacity of abbat. There are lives

chery, Spicilegium, iii., 117. of Maurice, Thorold, and Ric. Fas-

" Turold and Maurice were pro- tolph, abbats of Fountains, and their

bably the principals of the monastery works, in Henriquez, Phwuix Revi-

under Murdac. Cf. S. Bern., 0pp., viscens, 82, 159.

i., 286-7. John of Hexham, col. 274. f John of Hexham, col. 277.

218 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

following year Murdac regained the favour of Stephen, and was
solemnly enthroned at York on the day of the conversion of
St. Paul. He laid upon the high altar on that occasion the
ancient privileges, etc., of the church, which he had recovered
and redeemed. They had been pawned, with many other trea-
sures, by William to raise money to defray the expenses of his
journeys to Rome. Mui'dac now invoked the curse of God upon
any one who dared to alienate them again. He gave, also,
probably at this time, several reliques to the minster.^ Soon
after this the archbishop crossed the seas, and spent his Easter
Avith poi)c Eugenius at Rome. He went there in the capacity
of an ambassador; and he was to procure from the chief pontiff,
among other things, a formal recognition of the right of Eustace,
king Stephen's son, to succeed to the throne of England.'^

In 1153 Murdac was in another difficulty, into which he was
forced by his conscientious wish to do his duty, regardless of
consequences. William de St. Barbara, bishop of Durham,
died, and Laurence the poet-prior, Wazo and Ranulph the arch-
deacons, and the rest of the clergy, chose Hugh de Puiset as
his successor. This appointment gave great offence to Murdac
and St. Bernard, not only on account of the character of Puiset,
his youth, worldly-mindedness, and inexperience, but because,
in their opinion, the metropolitan ought to have been consulted
before the election was made. Wazo, and Nicholas the prior of
Brinkburne, went to Beverley to announce formally to the arch-
bishop what had been done. He astonished them by setting
the election at naught, and by excommunicating the prior and
the archdeacons. This act of severity gave much offence.
When the offenders came to York to beg the mercy of Murdac,
the citizens, indignant at the treatment which they had received,
arose against their diocesan, calling him a traitor, and threaten-
ing him with their vengeance. He made his escape from the
city, and never returned to it again. King Stephen and his son
entreated him to be lenient, but, with the true Bernardine spirit,
he scorned to please them by his compliance, at the expense of
what he deemed to be his duty. The culprits followed him
from York to Beverley, and there, at the request of archbishop
Theobald, Murdac at length absolved them, but not before they
had submitted themselves to his authority, and had been publicly
scourged at the entrance of the minster. Puiset went to Rome,
where he was consecrated by the pope. Laurence accompanied
him, but he died on the journey as he was passing through
France.^

«- Fabric Rolls of York Minster, ed. ■ Hist. Diinelm., Scr. Tres., ed. Sur-

Surtecs Society, 152. tees Society, 4-5. Symeon, Hist. Eccl.

John of Hcxbaui, col. 279. Dunelm., 293, and appendix, 3S5.

1147 1153.] ARCHBISHOP MURDAC. 219

Murdac stayed for so short a time at York that he liad not
the opportunity of doing much. lie spent a great ])ortion of
the summer of 1152 at Hexham, and tried to bring the canons
of that place under a stricter discipline. In 1153 he removed
the prebendaries fi'om the chm-ch of St. Oswald, at Gloucester,
introducing canons-regular in their room, and placing them
under the charge of Humphrey, a monk from Lantony abbey.
He "was desirous also of etfeeting a similar change at BcA^erley
on the death of Thurstan the provost, but his own decease
prevented it being carried out.-' Mm'dac, it will have been
seen, was a most severe disciplinarian, and it was a matter of
conscience with him to see that every one did his duty to the
fullest extent. This unbending sternness made him unpopular,
for the Cistercian rule was obnoxious, fi'om its very strictness, to
a great part of the Christian world. The chm'ch reformers of
that age would hear of no compromise, and would not tolerate
what they saw around them. A little judgment and common
sense would have secured for them a strong and enduring
position. As it was, the influence of the Cistercians, to a great
extent, passed away when they lost St. Bernard. Excessive
severity was not the way to secirre the favour of the English
barons. Whilst many of them were building and endowing
monasteries, others seem to have been as careless of the simplest
principles of religion ; a strong reaction was, as it were, setting
in against discipline and reform. The tm'bulent Compi turned
the chm'ch of Merrington into a fortress. Alan, Earl of Rich-
mond, plundered the possessions of the see of York, and breaking
with an armed band into the minster at Ripon, insulted arch-
bishop William as he stood near Wilfrid^s shrine.'^' The murder
of Becket was the climax of this feeling of irreverence. Two
strong waves were at this time meeting, and the collision was a
startling one. But however indiscreet the Cistercians and the
other church reformers may have been, no one can impugn the
honesty of their purpose, or the sincerity and simplicity of
their lives. If they censured others they did not spare them-
selves. In this respect Murdac resembled his master St. Bernard.
He wore sackcloth continually, and practised the severest
austerities.' Murdac died at Beverley on the 14th of October,

Gervase, col. 1375. John of Hexham, of T}Ticmouth, abbat of Selby, to re-
col. 281. Hutchinson's Durham, i., vive the discii^line of that house (Matt.
166-7. Paris, de S. Albani abb., 1018)— an

J John of Hexham, col. 280. Dui^d. appointment which caused a great iip-

Mon., vi., 82. Tosbroke, in his His- roar in the monastery (Hi.-^t. Mon.

tory of Gloucester (p. 288), says that Sclcb., apud Labbe, 13ibl. Nov., i., 620.)

the priory of St. Oswald was built by * John of Hexham, col. 273. Sy-

Thurstan. There Avas a good, deal of meon, Hist. Eecl. Dunelm., 288.

controversy about it in after years. ' Stubbs, col. 1721. "Homo niag-

Murdac, also, made Germanus, prior nauimus ct in causa (iu)justitia; omuino

220 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

1153. His remains were brought to York, and were inteiTed
in tlic minster in the place where the archbishops were laid.'"
S(?be time after his decease he is said to have appeared in a
vision to an inmate of the nunnery of Watton, and to have
miraculously assisted her." It is imnecessary to make any
farther allusion to this case. Ailred, in my opinion, has not
added to his reputation by detailing, as meritorious, an instance
of revenge of the most disgraceful and fanatical kind.

The same year in which Murdac died witnessed the decease
of two men, to whom, of all others, he was under the greatest
obligations, pope Eugenius and 3t. Bernard. The sun of the
Cistercians set -with their sainted leader. The historian of
Fountains, when speaking of the death of the archbishop, makes
a touching allusion to those flowers of the chm'ch which had
been plucked before him. Murdac went to the tomb, he tells
us, " sequens eos quos amavit. Dilexerunt se im-icem in vita
sua, in morte non separati, duces gregis Domini, columnse
domus Dei, luminaria mundi.""

^_ illiam jFitjf}eril£rt, better known imder the name of
StT^Villiam of York, was a person of noble origin. His father
was Count Herbert, who is said, by Stubbs, to have been
chamberlain and treasui-er to king Henry; and his mother,
Emma, was a grand-daughter of the Conqueror, and was sister to
king Stephen ; from his infancy, therefore, William was brought
up in the lap of luxui'y and wealth.^

About the year 1130 we find William, as treasurer of the
church of York, Avitnessing aichbishop Thui'stan^s charter of

invincibilis, eligens magis pro justitia to do with the foundation of this nun-

pericUtari quam ut justitia se presente nery (Dugd. Men., vi., 955).

periclitetur " (Dugd. Mon., v., 301). " Dugd. Men., v., 303. Bromton,

"• John of Hexham, col. 282. S. col. 1029. Weudover, i., 509. Wm.

Bern., 0pp., i., 298. annot. ex necro- Neubr., i., 87. In Foliot's Letters (i.,

log. Yallis Claraj. S}'meon, Hist. Eccl. 92, 107) there is a letter to Murdac

Dunelm., 294. Stubbs (col. 1721) says begging his kind offices on behalf of

that he died at Sherburn, in which he Gilbert, the precentor of York. Miu"-

agrees with the statement in the " pre- dac is also mentioned in 0pp., Joaun.

sident" book of Fountains, which fixes Saresber., i., 3.

the date of Murdac's death on " prid. p John of Hexham, col. 274. Brom-

Id. Oct., 1153." Chron. Mailros, 75. ton, col. 1029, 1040. Stubbs, col. 1721.

Ann. Waverl.,apud Gale, ii., 158. Rob. Wm. Neubr., i., 58. I do not find

de Monte, 735. count Herbert mentioned by any other

" Ailredus.DesanctimonialideWat- -wTiter as an officer of Henry; indeed,

ton, col. 419. Murdac had something there is nothing known about him.

1143 — 1151.] ARciinisnop william. 221

foundation of the nunnery of Clementliorp.? There is a deed,
also, '^athout a date, in which Henry I. grants the churches of
Wallop and Wichtoua, and the chapel of Grateleia, in which
William the treasurer had a life interest, to he the corpus of a
new prebend at York/ I have seen a charter of king Stephen,
in which that monarch grants to William, the treasurer of York,
his chaplain, the churches of Weaverthorpe, Londcsburgh, Clcve,
with their chapels, and the church of Stanton ; all of which
he held of the fee of his brother Herbert/ This probably is
the nobleman whom Dugdale introduces in his Baronage,' and
of whose parentage there has, hitherto, been nothing known.

Archbishop Thurstan died in 1140, and the chapter of
York seem to have had gi'eat difficulty in selecting a person to
succeed him. At the instance of Henry de Blois, bishop of
Winchester, and the king^s brother, they fixed upon his nephew,
Henry de Sully. That ecclesiastic was the abbat of Fecamp in
Normandy, and the pope would not allow him to become arch-
bishop because he refused to give up his monastery." In January,
1141-2, the clergy again met to choose a president, and the
majority fixed upon William, the treasurer." As he was one of
the king's nephews, the court influence seems to have been
brought to bear upon the chapter, and William, earl of
Albemarle, was present at the election, in which he took an
especial interest. That nobleman, unfortunately, shewed him-
self a hasty partizan, and did much mischief to the cause of
William. Master Walter, of London, and the rest of the York
archdeacons were opposed to the choice which the clergy had
made, and were on their way to the king to state their case,
when the stout earl arrested them and shut them up in his
castle at Bytham. In the meantime the archbishop- elect went
to Stephen at Lincoln, and was kindly received, and invested

' Dugd. Mon., iv., 323. fifth of Stephen. Herbert filius Kcr-

•■ Chartular. thesaurar. Ebor., apud berti and WilUam, treasurer of York,

Ebor. About the same time, " J, his brother, are mentioned as bene-

clericus, fiUus regis, canonicus Ebor," factors to Nostel priory in Rot. Chart.,

quit-claims to the trea^surer the homage 215.

of Reginald, son of John, son of Swe,yn " John of Ilexham, col. 2GS, w hero

(ibid.). Who could this be ? The it is said, erroneousl}', that Sully was

name is quite new. abbat of Caen. He was a Chmiac monk,

' MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A ii., 107. and was the fifth abbat of Fecamp (Re-

This charter is printed in Dugd. 5Iou., cueil des Hist, des Gaulcs, xiv., 381),

vi.. 1196, where there are other deeds and died, holding that office, in 1188-9

connected with the same places, giving (Gallia Christiana, xi., 209). Mabillon,

some interesting information about the Ann. Ben., vi., 323, where he is called

sons and grandchildren of Herbert the Coilli. Chronicon Fiscanensc, apud

chamberlain. Labl)e, Nov. Bibl., i., 328.

' Dugd. Ear.,i., G21. Herbert seems " Diceto, col. 508. Bromton, col.

to have been the elder son, and to have 1028.
succeeded to his father's estates in the

222 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Avdth the temporalities of tlie see. The bishop of Winchester,
another nncle, who was at that time the legate in England, then
sent him to Rome.'"

The opposition, however, was not so easily quelled, and the
harsh measm-es of the earl of Albemarle would not allay it. The
discontented party determined to follow William to Rome, and
make their appeal to. the chief pontiff. It was a contest be-
tween the court and the most influential portion of the clergy.
The clerical party was ably represented, and was backed by the .
reformers in the church, particularly by the Cistercians. The
cause was heard in 1142 in the consistory of pope Innocent.
Walter of London, the archdeacon, who had escaped from the
clutches of Albemarle, presented the allegations against William,
which were supported by William abbat of Rievaux,^ Richard
abbat of Fountains, Cuthbert prior of Gisburgh, Waltheof
the famous prior of Kirkham, and Robert the master of the
hospital at York. William was charged by them with having
secured his election by bribery. Innocent listened to what was
said, but would make no decision at that time. He ordered both
parties to present themselves before him on the third Sunday in
Lent in the following year.^'

They came to Rome at the appointed time in 1143, and the
case was heard. The main point against the validity of Wil-
liam's election was this, that the earl of Albemarle had come
into the chapter-house, and had vitiated the proceedings by giving
a message from the king that William should be chosen. The
pope very properly declared that if, in addition to the personal
denial of the imputation of undue influence by William him-
self, the dean of York would state on his oath that no such
message from the king had been delivered, that then the arch-
bishop-elect might be consecrated. The dean also, who was not
present at the consistory, was to be allowed, if he chose, to take
the oath by deputy. That dignitary had other things to think
of, as he had just been nominated to the see of Durham by the

*° John of Hexham, col. 268, 271. tercians, and Henriquez gives a life of
Ann. Waverl., ed. Gale, ii., 154. Wal- him. St. Bernard wrote two letters to
thcof, prior of Kirkham, would ^iro- him exhorting him to bear "sequani-
babl}^ have been appointed archbishop miter " the election of William (Opp.,
of York on Thurstan's decease if king i., 320, 324). He died in 1145 (John
Stephen had not interfered. Waltheof of Hexham, 274), and his metrical
was a great favourite of David of Scot- epitaph, together with that of Robert,
land, and Stephen was afraid that, if abbat of Newminster, is in MSS. Cot-
appointed, Waltheof would play into ton, Titus D, xxiv., 81.
his hands (Acta SS., Bollandists, Aug. y John of Hexham, col. 271. Brom-
3)- ton, col. 1029, 1041. Stubbs (col.

' A person much concerned in the 1721) says that Osbert, the archdeacon

ecclesiastical reforms of the day. He of York, was the chief promoter of the

was a great light among the early Cis- attack on William.

1143 1154.] ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM. 223

prior and the clergy, William returned from Rome in Sep-
tember 1143, and following the advice of the legate, submitted
his ease to a council which was held at Winchester. Every one
seemed, not to request, but to demand, his consecration ; and
not a murmur was heard against anything that he had done.
The bishop of Durham had been expected to take the oath about
the election in the chapter-house at York, which had been pre-
scribed to him by the pope, but he was unavoidably absent.
Ralph bishop of Orkney, Sanaricus the abbat of St. Mary^'s,
York, and Benedict abbat of Whitby, took it in his behalf, and
swore to the absence of simony and undue influence. What
more could be required? On the 26th of September William
was consecrated at Winchester by the bishop of that diocese,
who was his uncle and his friend.^

In 1145 cardinal Hincmar, a legate from Lucius tlie new
pope, \dsited England, and brought with him a pall for William.
They did not meet, for William was a person of an easy and
indolent disposition, and saw no reason for promptitude or haste."
In the meantime the pope died and was succeeded by Bernard,
the abbat of the house of St. Anastatius at Rome, under the
title of Eugenius III. He was a rigid Cistercian, and hung
upon the lips of St. Bernard. The opponents of William now
began most ungenerously to reopen the old sore. They could
carry the day now, as they thought, and they resolved to try.
They were decidedly in the wrong. William had complied with
all the conditions which Innocent had laid down, and his conse-
cration had been regular and proper. Why was he to be opposed ?
There must have been some personal feeling prompting his
opponents, that curse which, under the colour of conscience and
justice, has in every age instigated so many great men to be
persecutors and maligners. William about this time shcAved his
love of peace by effecting a reconciliation between the bishop of
Durham and the turbulent Comyn.* With Alan, earl of Rich-
mond, he was not so fortunate.''

Hincmar returned to Rome in 1145, carrying the pall with
him, and, in the following year, William went in quest of it
himself to the court of Eugenius. The charges against liim had
been revived oy the Cistercians, Henry Murdac, the al)bat of

' John of Hexham, col. 272-3. Ger- viii., 475—535.

vase, col. 1357, 1665, who says that " John of Hexham, col. 274.

archbishop Theobald declined to con- ' Sj'meon, Hist. Eccl. Dunelm.,

secrate. Chron. Mailros, 72. liob. de 283-4, 292. There is a curious account

Monte, 714. I have used Mr. Steven- of an adventure at St. Cuthbcrt's tomb,

son's edition of the last-mentioned when "William was there, in Rc^'inaldus,

work. The original text may be found De admir. 13. Culhbcrti Virtutibus, ed.

among the collected works of Guibert, Surtees Society, 198.

and in Pertz, Monumenta Hist. Germ., " John of Hexham, col. 273.

224 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Fountains, taking a prominent part in the attack.'^ But William
had a more serious opponent in St. Bernard. That great man,
wliose zeal in this instance orerpowered his judgment, had been
a constant opponent of the appointment of William. He wi'ote
strong letters against him to popes Celestine and Innocent and
the cardinals. He now exerted for the same purpose the immense
influence which he exercised over Eugenius.* The cardinals, how-
ever, were in William's favour, and the pope was in a difficulty.
At length Eugenius resolved to deprive him, until the bishop of
Dmham should take the oath which had been formerly required
fi'om him, and the cardmal-bishop of Ostia read the sentence of
deprivation.-^ This was unfair treatment. It was tantamount
to trying a person a second time for the offence of which he had
already been acquitted. William left Rome in disgust, and spent
some time at the cornet of Roger king of Sicily, as the guest of
Robert, the chancellor of that monarch, who was an Englishman
by birth. Whilst he was staying there, the indignation of
Eugenius was aroused by the account of the attack upon Foun-
tains abbey which had been made by some of William^s indis-
creet partizans. This unfortunate occurrence, together with the
urgent appeals of St. Bernard, probably induced the pope to
take summary measures against William. Miu'dac and the York
clergy were present at a council which was held at Rheims in
1147, over which Eugenius himself presided, and there, in
comjjliance with their request, William was removed from his
archbishopric, and the bishop of Durham and the chapter of
York were ordered to proceed to the election of another primate
within forty days after the receipt of the papal mandate.^

Henry Mm-dac now stepped for awhile into the see of York,
as has been ab'cady stated, and William, returning from the
Sicilian com-t, fomid an asylum with his uncle at Winchester.
The opposition that was made to Murdac shews the sympathy
Avhich was felt for the ejected prelate. At his uncle's palace Wil-
liam received all the honours that could be paid to an archbishop.
Pligh and low regarded him with affection and compassion. He
made no mm-mur himself against the sentence of Eugenius.''

William, whilst he was at York, pro- f John of Hexham, col. 275, Stubbs,

mulgated some orders about the trees col. 1721. Wm. Neubr., i., 58. Chron.

and grass in churchyards (Wilkins, i., Mailros, 73, the bishop of Durham

42n. Labbe, Cone, x., col. 1131). " nolens eum sacramento pur^are."

John of Hexham, col. 275. Twisden's Historical Vindication of the

' S. Bern., 0pp., i., 229-37, 316. Church of En-knd in point of Schism,

Baluzii Misc., ed. Mansi, i., 146. There 58.

A ^ '"Jl? ^*^^'^""* *^^ *^i-^ controversy in * John of Hexham, col. 276. Brom-

ActaSS Bollandists.JuneS, 140;and ton, col. 1029, 1041. Hoveden, 278.

in Alfordi Annales, iv., y.t. ii., 35, etc. Wm. Neubr., i., 58. Jo. Saresber.,

Mabillon, Ann. Ben., vi., 326. 0pp.. ii., 172. Dachery, Spicilegium,

■/ Gervase, col. 1363. iii., 117 Trivet 17

1143 1154.] ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM. 225

" His duty is to stand and wait,
In resi<,niation to abide
The shock, and finalty secure
O'er pain and grief a triumph pure."

The luxury and inertness of his previous life seem to liave
deserted him. He was an altered man. He was sedulous in his
devotions and study. Not a harsh word against those who had
wronged him ever passed his lips. Affliction had wrought in
him the end for which it was designed. It had given him

" A soul by force of sorrows high
Uplifted to the purest sky
Of undisturbed humanity."

William seems to have lived in retirement at Winchester during
the whole of the archiepiscopate of Murdac. When that prelate
died in 1153 the hopes of the sufferer again arose. The majority
of the chapter of York elected him their superior, and he has-
tened at once to Home, not to complain of his past wrongs, but
to beg for present justice. All now seemed willing to befriend
him. Gregory, one of the most influential of the cardinals, took
up his cause with warmth, and William^s cousin, Hugh dc
Puiset, who was then at Rome to expedite his own consecration
as bishop of Durham, did what he could for him. Anastatius,
the new pope, was moved by the accoimt of his trials and the
earnestness of his pleading, and restored him to the honours of
which he had been deprived, giving him the wished-for pall.'
William returned to England with a light heart, and kept the
Easter of 1154 at Winchester, where he had so long resided.-'
Whilst he was in the South he is said to have paid a visit to
Canterbury, and there he had much friendly intercourse with
Roger the archdeacon. " That man shall be my successor/'' is
said to have been his remark.* And so he was.

William now set out for York. Before he had entered into
the city he was met by Robert the dean and archdeacon Osbert,
who had withstood his election by the chapter, and they, hoping
to prevent his approach to their church, announced their inten-
tion of appealing from the decision of their brethren to arch-
bishop Theobald. William^s progress, however, was not delayed
by their opposition.^ He reached the city on the 9th of May,
a vast and rejoicing crowd accompanying him. As the party
was crossing the Ouse, the bridge, which was then made of
wood, gave way, and a number of persons were precipitated into

* Diceto, col. 510. Bromton, col. Jlonte, 73G. Cotton's Chron., 69.

1029. Stubbs, col. 1722. Hoveden, J Gervase, col. 1376.

281. Wm. Neubr., i., 86-7. Matt. * Stubbs, col. 1722.

Paris, 77. Chron. Mailros, 75. Ann. ' Wm. Neubr., i., 88.
Waverl., apud Gale, ii., 158. Eob.de

Q

226 FASTI ERORACENSES. [a.D.

the river. William is said to liave wroviglit a miracle in their
behalf. We are told that he made his prayers with tears to
God for the sufferers, and, making over them the sign of the
cross, they were all saved.'" When a bridge of stone was erected
at that place, a chapel upon it, dedicated to St. William, re-
minded the Avayfarers of the legend.

William was in York but tliirty days. On Trinity Sunday
he officiated in the minster, and almost before the service was
over he was seized with a very sudden and alarming attack of
illness. He returned to his residence, which was hard by, and
a banquet was prepared for his friends, whilst the archbishop
sought his chamber, which he never left alive. Like many
others, he had a presentiment of what was coming on.** For
eight days he was on the bed of sickness, and then, on the 8th
of June, he died." There was a story current in the middle
ages to the effect that he had been poisoned by something which
his clerks or enemies had put into the eucharistic wine/ and on
that account he was afterwards regarded as a martyr. There is,
however, no allusion to this tale either in the MS. life of Wil-
liam, or in the account of him by Stubbs. William of New-
burgh, also, speaks contemptuously of the report, and denies it
on the authority of a monk of Rievaux of his acquaintance, who
had been intimately connected with the archbishop, and had
been present when he died. William died of a fever, and the
suddenness of the attack made his friends imagine that he had
been poisoned.'? Archdeacon Osbert, who had constantly opposed
AVilliam, was looked upon as the culprit. Symphorian, one of
the clerks of the deceased prelate, charged him with the crime
in the presence of the king and coimcil, and was desirous
that the matter might be decided either by the combat or the
ordeal. Osbert professed his willingness to abide by the de-
cision of an ecclesiastical tribunal. We are told by John of
Salisbury that he failed to purge himself from the charge, but
we do not know to what test he was subjected. Gilbert Foliot,
however, expresses a strong opinion as to the innocence of

'" Bromton, col. 1029, 1041. Stubbs, justicise circumdatus, ad prseparationem

col. 1722 (on 7 Id. May). Polydore evangelii calciatus, sacris altaribus de-

Ver.gil (210) makes the bridge at Pon- bitis horis libenter astabat, ut patri

toiract. filium imrnolare.t"

" The following extract from the " Stubbs, col. 1722.

MS. life of St. William contains aa p Gervase, col. 1376. Hoveden, 281.

allusion to his end :— " In omnibus, Chrou. Mailros, 75. Fordun, Scoti-

igitur, se exhibens ut Christi minister ; chronicon, ed. Goodall, i., 448. Mat.

post disciplinas diras quibus Domino Paris, 77. Ann. Waverl., apud Gale,

mulctabat, post lugubi-ationes noctur- ii., 158. Rob. de Monte, 736. Serlo,

nas et crebra.s, post fletus amarissimos the chronicler of Fountains, speaks of

quos prseteritorum delictorum record- the report (Dugd. Mon., v., 303).

atio ex imis pectoribus eructabat, lorica ? Wm. Neubr., i., 88—90.

1143 1154.] ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM. 227

the accused person, and the injustice of the proceedings against
him.''

William was interred' in the minster of York by his old
friend bishop Pudsey.' His sufferings and character, the gentle-
ness of his disposition and his untimely end, won for him general
sympathy. The church of York had no saint at that time
pecidiar to itself, and the chapter were most anxious, if possible,
to prociu'e the canonization of William. Thirty-six miracles
are said to have been wrought through the mediation of the
deceased archbishop," and a holy oil, one of the mediicval
accompaniments of supposed sanctity, is said to liave flowed
from his tomb." In 1227 the archbishop and the chapter of
Y ork entreated Honorius III. to enter William on the calendar,
sending as their representatives Godard the penancer, Elias
Bernardi, one of the canons, and Laurence, canon of Aquileia.
Indulgences were also granted by the archbishop of Canterbiuy,
the bishops of Rochester, London, Lincoln, Ardfert and Dublin,
to those who visited the tomb ;'" the papal assent, however, was
not immediately given, and a commission seems to have been
issued to make a full enquiry into the circumstances of the
case. The canonization was not completed until the pontifi-
cate of Nicholas III., when it was effected by the money and
ui'gent entreaties of the bishop-elect of Durham, the magnifi-
cent Anthony Bek, who was represented at Rome by his cousin

'' Foliot's Letters, i., 152. Joli. eccJesia post ohitum arcl/iejiiscopi Wil-
Saresb., Epist., i., 158, 170. The lielmi, eodem etiani nomlum sepuJto"
author of the histor^y of the foundation (Dodsworth MSS. I am indebted for
of Selby abbey says that after Murdao's this information to my friend Mr.
death archdeacon Osbert was de<?raded Walbran).
by the legate in synod assembled, for ' Hoveden, 281.
his conduct towards Selby abbey, and " MSS., Harl., 2. York Breviary,
that he went to the priory S. Trin. at 113. The thirty-six miracles are re-
York (Hist. Mon. Seleb., apud Labbe, corded by Dodsworth, who obtained
Bibl. Nov., i., 620). his information from a table in the

' There is a story of there being an registry of York minster (MSS. apud

accidental fire in York on the night of Oxon., 125). Tn the book of chapler

his death. A part of the " domus ora- acts the following extraordinary cir-

tionis," in which the archbishop's cumstance is said to have occurred on

corpse was laid, was consumed, but the St. William's day, 1290. I give it

body was preserved (Brev. in visum without comment. " Mutus quidam

eccl. Ebor., pars hyemalis, ed. 1526, ad tumbam ipsius Sancti usum lingnai

fol. cxiii). recepit in aurora diei, cujus lingua

There is a carious piece of evidence ante triennium per latrones fuerat ani-

in a charter, by which Alice de Gant, putata !"

widow of Roger de Mowbray, gives * Stubbs, col. 1722. Brev. Ebor.,

lands in Cave to the church of York. 114 b. Recueil des Hist, des Gaules,

" Hano donationem feci publice in ecde- xiii., 698. Chron. Joh. de Oxencdes,

sia Beati Petri et prsesentis cartse at- 148. Matt. Paris, 267, who seems to

testatione confirmavi, anno Incarna- say that the oil began to flow in 1223.

tionis Domini m" c" 1° quarto, v Idus " MSS. Cotton, Titus D. xxiv., 50 b,

Junii, regnante rege Stephano, vacanie etc.

Q

o

228 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Stephen de Mauley, archdeacon of Cleveland/ The depositio
of William was commemorated on the 8th of June/ and his
translation on the 8th of January. At a council held in the
minster on the 29th of October, 1478, the last-mentioned cere-
monial was transfeiTed to the Sunday next after the Epiphany,
and it was ordered to be observed as a double and principal
festival.'

The remains of William were inten-ed in the nave of York
minster, near the south-west pillar of the lantern ; they were
removed in solemn state to a nobler resting-place in the choir,
on the 8th of January, 1283-4." On no other occasion has the
cathedral received within its walls a more illustrious assemblage.
A double ceremony brought it there that day — the translation of
St. William, and the consecration of that noble-minded man
who had secured for the church of York the canonization of its
archbishop. Bek, who was called

" Le plus vaillant clerk de roiaume,"*

was surrounded by the chief estates of England, including
Edward I. and his gentle consort. The king had recently
fallen from an eminence, and had escaped unhurt. He ascribed
his good fortune to the agency of St. William, and hastened
to York to shew his gratitude by being present at the translation
of his body. The ceremonial on that occasion has been detailed
with an interesting minuteness. '^

On the night of the 6th of J anuary, archbishop Wickwaine,
attended by the dean and the canons, went into the minster,
Anthony Bek, and his brother Thomas, the bishop of St. David^s,
accompanying them. The solemnity of the place and the time

' Miscell. Doc. penes Dec. and Cap. datu : in preclara Parrhisiensi acade-

Dnnelm., 495. The whole history was mia : i edibus videlicet Francisci Reg-

detailed on a table which was formerly nauU impressum : ac expensis honesti

kept in the minster. Stopford's Errors viri Joannis Galcheti : in predicta

of Rome, 209. Eboracesi civitate comoratis : hie suum

v Martyrologium Usuardi, ed. 1714, capit exordium pro tempore hyemali.

325. Acta SS., Bollandists, June 8th. Anno nostre reparationis 1526." The

AMemorialof ancient British piety, 88. class mark is X. P. 7. I have com-

* York Breviary, ut supra, 113. pared it with another edition of the
" Trivet, 260. same work (X. O. 24), which is imper-

* Nicolas's Siet^e of Carlaverok, 53. feet at the beginning and the end. It
' Tliis account of the translation is contains a number of the festivals. The

taken from a most rare volume, a copy Bollandists have transferred the ac-

of the York Breviary, which was given count of the translation of St. William

in 1733 by Rokeby Scott, clerk, to the to their pages (June 8). Cf. Hist. Du-

minsterlibrary at York. I give a copy nelm. Scr. Tres., ed. Surtees Society,

of the title. The words in italics are 64, where a curious circumstance is

in red letters : " Breviarium ad usum mentioned about Bek and St. William's

insigis Metropolitane ecclesie Ebora- remains. Prynne's Coll., iii., 307.

censis : una cum pica diligentissime, Chron. Petrib., 154. Walsingham,

accuratLssimeque recognitum et emen- apud Camden, 51.

1143 1154.] ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM. 229

did not appal them^ for they were bent upon a lioly work.
They went to the tomb of William, and prostrated themselves
in lowliest obeisance. When their devotions were finished, they
arose and removed reverently the stone which served as a lid to
the sarcophagus in which the archbishop was laid. The body
still bore the vestments in which Puiset had committed it to the
grave^ and was steeped and redolent, as the narrator tells iis,
with an odoriferous oil. They began by removing the paten
and chalice which lay beside the remains ; and then the arch-
bishop and his companions carefully and devoutly gathered
together the bones from the head downwards, and rolling them
up, with the other things which were there, placed them for the
night in a capsule or case, which was sealed up and concealed
until the morrow. On the following day the reliques were
minutely examined, and everything that pertained to the body
was deposited and secured in an appropriate feretory. On the
day after this was the festival of the translation ; and about the
hour of prime the royal party, and a goodly company of lords
and prelates, were assembled in the church. The archbishop
preached a sermon in which he expatiated largely, no doubt,
upon the merits of his now sainted predecessor. When this
was over, the feretory was raised upon the shoulders of the king"^
and others, and was borne, probably with joyous music, around
a portion of the choir to the elevated shrine in which it was
henceforward to be preserved.

The place in which the feretory was deposited was in all
probability behind the high altar, in the vacant space between
it and the eastermost screen.* It was here that the shrine was
erected and decked with the offerings of the worshippers. It
seems to have been divided into two parts, one fitting into the
other. The smaller part, in which the reliques were enclosed,
could be lifted, and seems to have been borne processionally, on
solemn occasions, through the minster and the city. There
were appended to it the little gifts which piety or superstition
had suggested — images, beads, rings, girdles, and jewels of
every description, of gold, silver, or precious stone. The skull
of the saint was kept by itself in a case of silver gilt. It was
most richly decorated. When the storm of the Reformation
broke over the church, this relique had a curious fate. On the
2ith of October, 1541, the dean, Richard Layton, who Avas a
minion of the king, caused a chapter act to be passed by which

'' In the Liber Garderob. of Edward of York Minster, 152, 195, 221, 224.

T., p. 39, etc., will be seen the offerings When Henry IV. stopped the inflnx of

which he made at St. William's feretory worshippers to archbishop Scrope's

and tomb. tomb, their offerings were transferred

<■ Willis's Architectural History of to that of St. AVilliam. Test. Ebor.,

York Cathedral, 50-3. Fabric Rolls ed. Siirtees Society, ii., 233.

230 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

tlie head and its omamcnts were to be appropriated to the use
of the cathedral/ The bones of William were now unhoused.
In May, 1732, Mr. Drake, the historian of York^ removed the
stone in the nave of the minster under which the remains of
William were said to have been deposited, and found under
it, in a leaden box, a number of bones huddled carelessly to-
gether without any order or arrangement. It seems probable
from this that the reliques had been laid in their old resting-
place after the feretory and the capsule had been destroyed.^

The chapter of York in the middle ages paid great honour
to St. William, although, perhaps, his shrine had a less brilliant
reputation than that of any other Northern saint. As early as
1230 a chantry Avas founded at the place of his interment by
Elias Bernardi, one of the canons who had been most anxious
to seciu'c his canonization.* A chapel dedicated to him was
erected upon Ouse bridge, to commemorate what had occurred
when William came into the city before his death. ^ In the
fifteenth century, a college, which bears his name, was built
for the use of the ecclesiastics in the minster, at the east
end of the cathedral. A considerable portion of it is now in
existence.-' There is still in the choir of the church of York
" a storied window richly dight," detailing the principal events
in William^s life. The monks of Meaux treasured carefully
among their reliques some of the hair of the sainted arch-
bishop.^'

St. William is not without his biographer. Some unknown
writer has drawn up an account of his life, which is now pre-
served in the British Museum among the Harleian MSS., No. 2.
It is in a hand of the twelfth century, and belonged at one time
to Thornton abbey. The style is very inflated and diffuse, and
the work contains nothing that we were not previously acquainted
with through the pages of John of Hexham and William of
Newburgh. There was another life of William among the MSS.
formerly belonging to Sir Simonds d'Ewes, which I have been
unable to trace.' Capgrave, also, gives a short account of him
in his Legenda, AAhich has been transferred by the Bollandists
to their Acta Sanctorum:" The compilers of that invaluable

f Chapter Acts. This head ^vas the * Fabric Rolls of York Minster, ed.

greatest treasure that the church of Surtees Society, 305. MSS. Cotton,

York possessed. When Margaret, Titus D. xxiv., 50 b.

dau<;hter of Henry VII., visited the ' Drake's Eboracum, 280.

min.ster, the head was brought for her i Ibid., 570. Fabric Rolls of York

to ki.ss. Minster, 72. Dugd. Mon., vi., 1184.

«• Drake's Eboracum, 420. Torre's * Poulson's Holderness, ii., 313.

MS. account of York Minster, 162. ' Smith's Catalogue of MSS.

Gent's Ripon, 103. Drake gives an "' Capgrave's Nova Legenda, 310-11.

engravmg of the sarcophagus which he Acta SS. June 8.
found.

1143 1154.] ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM. 231

collection were unacquainted with the existence of any unpub-
lished life of the saint.

I now give two hymns addressed to St. William. The first
was discovered accidentally in the Cottonian library." Alford,
in his Annals ° could only quote a few lines of it; and the
writer of the life in the Acta Sanctorum, when he alludes to it,
says regretfully, " totum utinam dcdisset.'^ The second is
gathered from the Responsoria, etc., in the service for the trans-
lation of St. William in the breviaries of the York use. To
those who are accustomed to hexameters and pentameters the
metres will be novel and refreshing.

" Pasci greges de pasture
Aure discant, dicant ore

Jubilum preconii ;
Sat inel ori melos auri
Nomen nostri nunc thesauri

Quondam thesaurarii ;
Fraudulenter qui cassatus
Ab honore presulatus,

Latensque septennio,
Vacat contemplacioni ;
Magnum malum magni boui

Ssepe fit occa.sio.
Statu causae reformato,
Romam petit iterate,

Nullis adversantibus.
Eboracum presul redit,
Pontis casus nullum ledit

De tot turbse millibus.
In octavis Penthecostes
Quidam malignantes hostes

In eum pacifice,
Et ut ipsum privent vita
Celebrantis achonita

Propinat in calice.
Toxicatur a prophanis
Ille potus ille panis

Per quern perit toxicum.
Ambo presul amplexatur,
Ut per unum moriatur

Et vivat per reliquum.
Vivit moriturque quidem,
Sed non agunt circa idem

Permentum et azima.
Corpus obit prse fermento,
Azimorum alimento

Vegetatur anima.
Virus bibit nocuum risumque perpetuum brovi meroaris lacrima.
Mortem subit optimam dum sacraudo victimam fit et ipse victima.
O AVillelme, martir Christi,
Per eundcm (luem bibisti

" MSS. Cotton, Titus A., 19, 150. " Annalcs, iv., part ii., 35, etc.

232 FASTI EBORACENSES. [A-D.

Salutaris calicem,
Fer solamen mundo tristi
Et quern tibi placuisti

Nobis placajudicem. Amen."

II.

" In Willelmi laudibus laxet clerus ora.
Sit in hymnis canticis concio canora.
Pii patris hodie corpus est translatum
Quod in imo jacuit in alto locatum.''
Quondam thesaurarius jam thesaurus cleri
Dedit opus raedicum, nunc dat opem yeri.
Coelum solum sitiens gazas Christi miles
Ne scandentem retrahant calcat ut res viles.
In doctrina solidum cibum dat provectis
Et lactis dulcedinem miscet imperfectis.

Nostri patris in natalicio

Lsetas laudes dictet devotio,

Coeli regem lactet oratio,

Ut jungamur ejus consortio.*
Ortus clari germinis bunc nobilitavit,
Et mentis nobilitas genus geminavit.
In agendis strenuus, fidus in commissis,
Ad censuram rigidus, firmus in promissis.
Mitis in consortiis, in loquela rarus,
In responsis providus, in sensu prseclarus.
Voluntatis trutina non legis cassatus,
Virum novum induit coelitus mutatus.

J uventutis januas claudit cassatio.

Sic malum ssepius boni fit occasio.

Vir ad sui gloriam redit inglorius,

Ut unguenti vasculum mundetur melius.
Lachrimarum lavacro purgatis personis,
Confert divinitus munus unctionis.
Laceratum exulem morsibus malignis
Nee faux frangit odii, nee livoris ignis.
Probat bunc exilium sicut bj'ems laurum,
In fornace ponitur, purum exit aurum.
Ne Samsonem Dalida faciat perire,
Hie carnem spiritui cogit obedire.
Agrum mentis seminat sementis virtutum,
Et mundi delicias spernit velut lutum.
Ne recentes flosculi virtutum marcescant,
Hos scripturse rivulis irrigat ut crescant.
Pactus Jacob vigilat extra supra gregem.
Nee minus interius regum sapit Hegem.
Marthse ministerio copulat Mariam,
Uachelis amplexibus fruitur post Lyam.'
Fragrat odor prsesulis Romam venieiitis,
Occurrit fragrancise plebs unius mentis.
Ex longinquis veniunt nee sunt fatigati,
Longa via visa est curta caritati.

I' In the edition without date these service and not at the beginning.
two lines are substituted : — 'A Bernardine expression. There
" Pius pater hodie ex hac vaile fletus is Something similar to it in Poliot's
Ad suijernum solium Syon transit lastus." Letters, ii., 328, and in " Memorials
1 In the edition of 1526 the lines, of Fountains Abbey," ed. Surtees So-
up to this point, come at the end of the ciety, 74.

1154 1181.] ARCHBISHOP ROGER. 233

Plebs occurrit prsesuli, cadit i)ons dissutus,
Sed a casu populus mens redit tutus.
Uuda ruens poimlum recipit rueutem,
Et se pontem eflicit i)er Omnipotentem.
Ne cursus ad siiperos animo claudatur,
Mens Dei dulcedini tota copulatur.
Servit elemosinis manus insopita,
Quibus se dat funditus vir Israclita.
In sublime levat, ut palma, comam spoi,
Et iniputrescibilis vivit ccdrus Dei.
Fide fuit Finees, ut Job niansuetus,
Patiens ut Israel, ut Noe discretiis.
Fidelis ut Abraham, ut Loth hospitalis,
Sagax ut Samuel, ut Joseph liberalis.
Vivum Christus oleo tarn large linivit.
Quod adhuc in mortuo olei fons vivit.
IJt sit nomen pra;sulis oleum effusum,
Corpus fundit oleum ad aegrorum usum.
Adit Sancti tumulum languidorum coetus,
Et qui plangens venerat plaudens redit Isetus.
Prajsulis antidotum prtesens est egenis,
Quo devotos liberat pluribus a psenis.
Claudi recti redeunt, furor effugatur,
Epilepsis passio sanitati datur.
Purgantur hydropici, laudes fantur muti,
Datur paraliticis suis membris uti.
Lepre tergit maculas, membra dat castratis,
Lumen datur pluribus sine luce natis.
Hapiunt a pugile lex et hostis lumen
Quod per sanctum reparat coeco coeli numen.
Ab abyssi faucibus biduo submersum.
Mater natum recipit a morte reversum.

O Willelme, pastor bone,

Cleri pater et patrone,

Mundi nobis in agone

Confer opem, et depone

Vitse sordes, et coronac
Coelestis da jjaudia."

^l^Oger tic ^Ont ri£b?que, in Normandy, was the successor
of William. We first hear of him in the family, or cotu*t as it
was called, of Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury. That prelate
had many clerks around him who were conspicuous for their
abilities, and Roger was inferior to none of them. Theoljald's
residence seems to have been a little school of the prophets.
Among the companions of Roger there was a youth who was
destined in after years to surpass liirn in the vigour of his acts,
and the splendom* of his preferments. This was the well-known
Becket. One of the many biograpliers of the martyred primate
informs us, that at that time Roger was his superior in learning,
but not in character and bearing. We arc told that there was

234 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

some jealousy between them^ and that Roger on two occasions
attempted to deprive Becket of the good opinion of the arcli-
bishop. He Avas successfully defended by Walter, archdeacon
of Canterbury, who afterwards became bishop of Rochester/

In 1148 the consecration of Walter vacated the archdeaconry
of Canterbury, which was given by Theobald to Roger. ^ For
the next six years we know very little of his life, with the ex-
ception of the fact that he was made one of the royal chaplains."
He was also involved in a controversy about his office at Canter-
bury, from which his friend, bishop Foliot, strove to extricate
him." In 1154 William of York died; and Robert the dean,
and archdeacon Osbert, seciu-ed the election of Roger, even
threats being used, as William of Newburgh states, to gain the
suftrages of the chapter. This was brought about by Theobald,
who was well acquainted with the merits of his archdeacon, and
who would be glad to have a client and a friend at the head of
the Northern province."' The archbishop consecrated him in
Westminster abbey on the tenth of October, as many as eight
bishops being present.^ After this Roger went to Rome and
received the pall.^' He was present in December, 1154, at the
coronation of Henry II.*

The ecclesiastical history of England during the early part
of the reign of Henry II. centres in Thomas h Becket. It is
very difficult even now to make a proper estimate of the character
of that extraordinary man. Modern writers have weighed it
with too much partiality or severity. They have been bewildered
by the strong lights and shadows with which his life abounded.
There were in him many noble impulses, a vigorous and inde-
pendent Avill, a fearless intrepidity, swayed and marred occa-
sionally by a waywardness of disposition, and an infirmity of
temper to which exalted minds are too ft'cquently subject.
These defects very often set oflF a noble character. There is
true strength occasionally in weakness. Every one, however,
must admire that eight years^ struggle for the privileges of his

' Becket's "Works, ed. Giles, i., 10, obtinuerat." Roger was never provost

99, 184-5. Roger gave Becket the of Beverley. Wm. Neubrig., i., 90.

sobriquet of Thomas " cum ascia sive Bromton, col. 1042. Eob. de Monte,

securi," or " Baillehache." 736.

' Gervase, col. 1362. Somner's Can- Mapes mentions Eoger in connection

terbury, part ii., 150. with Cox wold (De Nugis Cur., 50).

" Stubbs, col. 1722. ' Gervase, col. 1376. Diceto, col.

" Epist. Gilb. Foliot, i., 30, 124. 529— with no profession. Bromton,

Joi.-nu. Saresber. 0pp., i., 175. col. 1042. Anglia Sacra, i., 8. Ann.

'" Becket's Works, i., 10. Eoger de Waverl., apud Gale, ii., 1 58. He-

Pontigny (ibid., 100) says that this was mingford, ibid., 489.

done with the connivance of the king, v Trivet, 23. Bromton, col. 1042.

and that Becket was preferred to the Stubbs (col. 1722) says that the pope

archdeaconry of Canterbury and the consecrated him.

provostship of Beverley "(luseRogerius ' Rob. de Monte, 738.

1154 1181.] ARCHBISHOP ROGER. 235

church and his see^ to which Becket sacrificed the ease and the
enjoyments of his position, and, ultimately, his life.

Becket succeeded Roger in the archdeaconry of Canterbury
in 1154, and in 1162 he was elevated, against his will, to the
archbishopric. The two clerks of Theobald were now at the
helm of the Church of England. They were soon placed in an
antagonistic position to each other, not that there was any ill-
will on the part of Roger towards his old friend, although many
have laid that to his charge, but in those days even moderate
and quiet men were obliged to take sides in the disputes of the
time, and Roger must not be condemned because he was
occasionally opposed to Becket. Becket was not a person who
could at all times be supported, and it was too much the
habit among the writers of that age, who were satm'ated with
his spirit, to decry all who refused to render to their favouinte
their unreserved and unqualified assistance. Whenever there
was a quarrel between the primate and the sovereign, the arch-
bishop of York was in a peculiar and critical position, from
which it was diflicult for him to extricate himself without
offending against his loyalty or against propriety. When
Becket became archbishop, Roger offered to consecrate him,
in accordance with the old custom, but his services Avere set
aside." Their friendship, however, was not then interrupted.
About Whitsuntide 1163 the two archbishops went to Tours to
a great council which was held by Alexander the new pope.
That dignitary was then insecure in his seat, and was grateful
for the support of the English prelates and their king. He
shewed his appreciation of it in a manner which would scarcely
please some of his friends abroad. At the council Becket,
by his desire, sat on his right hand, and Roger, who was
accompanied by the bishop of Durham, on his left.* When
they returned from Tours there was a beginning of the troubles
which embittered the remainder of Becket's life. Whilst he
was chancellor no one could be more active in advancing the
royal prerogative ; his time and thoughts were frittered away in
sports and le^dties which ill-beseemed an ecclesiastic, bvit as
soon as he was placed at the head of tlic English church he was
an altered man. He immediately adapted himself to his new
position, and resolved to do his duty as archbishop, however
painfully it might be contrasted with his previous life. He
felt that he had been in the wrong, and cared not for remarks
or consequences. He soon came into collision with royalty;
he began to assert the privileges of the church, and to censure
offenders of whom little notice had been hitherto taken. Henry

" Gervase, col. 1382.

* Matt. Paris, 84. Diceto, ool. 512, 535. Wendover, i., 539.

236 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

was now nettled, and began to oppose Becket ; he claimed for
the crown the privilege of punishing ecclesiastics in the ci\-il
courts, but in this he was resisted by the whole bench of bishops.
The king was clearly in the right. It was most improper that
the clergy should have for their ecclesiastical tribunals the
power of life and death, and it was most unseemly and wrong
that any clerk who had been guilty of a capital offence should
escape fi'om punishment by sheltering himself under the
privileges of his order. A case which illustrates the subject
in dispute occurred within the proAdnce of York.

Henry was at York in 1158, when one of the burgesses of
Scai'borough came to him with a complaint. He said that he
had been annoyed by a rural dean, who, without any witness,
had condemned his wife as an adulteress, and had extorted
twenty-two shillings from him on that account, contrary to the
custom of the realm. The offender was summoned before the
king, in the presence of archbishop Roger, the bishops of
Lincoln and Dm-liam, and John the treasurer of York, who
afterwards became the president over the see of Poictiers. The
rural dean asserted that the woman had been accused by a
deacon and a layman, and that the husband, to secure mercy
for his wife, had given twenty shillings to the archdeacon, and
two to himself. He said, besides, in justification of the practice,
that it was what the other archdeacons and rural deans, through-
out the country, were accustomed to do. The king, with the
barons and ecclesiastics, now began to think what should be
done. John, the treasurer of York, recommended that the
money should be restored to the burgess, and the dean handed
over to his archbishop. Richard de Lucy then asked, " What
satisfaction then shall the king have for this breach of the law?"
"None," said John, "for the offender is a clerk." The eccle-
siastics in this case seem to have carried the day, but not with-
out arousing some angry feeling.''

The general question of the correction of the delinquent
clergy was raised in 1163 at a council at London, and Becket
and Roger, with the whole bench of bishops, asserted and main-
tained the privileges of their order.*^ The king and Becket
were, consequently, enemies, but as long as the other prelates
took the side of the primate, Henry could do little or nothing.
About this time Arnulf, bishop of Lisieux, came over to England;
he was most earnest in his attempts to reconcile the king and
Becket, but without effect. At last he advised Henry to gain
some of the bishops to his side, as by so doing he would have
the best chance of making peace, or, at all events, of effecting

" Becket's Works, i., 213. '' Ibid., ii., 251.

1154 1181.] ARCHBISHOP ROGER. 237

a compromise. Henry adopted this advice, and called several
of the prelates to him at Gloucester. He talked quietly and
reasonably with them, expressing his wish for peace and justice,
and his disinclination to do any injury to the church. The
archbishop of York, and the bishops of Chichester and Lincoln,
assented to his views," and Becket, after this, spoke of Roger
with anything but kindness.-^ By the means of these prelates,
and the entreaties of a papal messenger, and the nobles of the
realm, Becket was induced to give way. The matter was then
settled in a formal manner. The points in dispute were met
and arranged in the well-known Constitutions of Clarendon,
which were then drawn up. One of the three copies of these
important enactments was placed in the hands of the archbishop
of York.^

Henry was grateful to archbishop Roger for the assistance
which he had given him. As a reward for his aid, and with
the wish, no doubt, of humiliating Becket, he was desirous
that the pope should make him his legate in Britain.'' Roger,
also, desired to have the power of bearing his cross erect in any
part of England, and that he might crown the king. These
were privileges which had been peculiar to the see of Cantcrbmy
for the last forty years. They depended upon the papal grant,
and, therefore, the same hand that gave them could also take
them away. They had been obtained in the first instance in a
questionable manner, and Roger cannot be blamed for making
an attempt to gain honours for his own archbishopric which
were only accidents to the other. The old feud between York
and Canterbury was revived, greatly to the indignation of
Becket and his party, who censured Roger in the strongest
language. The pope at first granted all that Roger sought for,
but the unflagging resistance of Becket made him waver, and
he changed his mind. The vacillation of Alexander was most
remarkable. He gave leave, in the first instance, to Roger to
act as his legate, then he requested him not to act for a while,

' Becket's Works, i., 25, 120 ; iii., " diabolum ilium !" Chron. Pctrib.,

22. Jo. Saresb. 0pp., i., 13. Hoveden, 10 L

282 h. Martene, Thes. Nov. Anecdot., «• Becket, ii., 10. Eosj^er and the

iii., 655. Pertz, Monumenta Germ. bishops of London and Salisbury are

Hist., viii., 458. said by Fitz Stephen, in his life of

/ Becket's Works, iii., 54, 68, 79, Becket, to have prompted some of the

" Arch. Ebor., qui malorum omnium conditions which were offered to him

incentor et caput est." 202, " (^ui ex before the council of Clarendon (ibid.,

quo a Cantuariensi ecclesia in archi- i., 217). Gervase, col. 1389.
episcopatum promotus est, ei quantas * The king preferred this request

scivit et potuit, tetendit insidias." through the bisliop of Lisieu.x and the

Becket's tongue was like a razor. Jo. archdeacon of Poictiers. Becket, i.,

Saresb. 0pp., ii., 260. Gervase, col. 32,128; iv., 1,2. Gervase, col. 1388.

1394, 1412, 1459. Hoveden, 301, Hoveden, 282 J.

238 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

then he ordered him not to act at all^ and not to bear his cross/
Avliich last injmiction^ however, seems to have been occasionally
disobeyed.-'

Soon after this some farther negotiations took place between
the king and Becket, between whom the bishops endeavoured
in vain to mediate. Their own position at this time was peculiar
and critical. They were divided in opinion, and scarcely knew
what to do. Becket reproached them bitterly for joining his
adversaries, and he charged them to take no part with the
barons at the trial to which he was to be brought. He put
himself under the protection of the pope, and when he came to
court, was bold enough to carry his cross erect, in token of his
authority. The archbishop of York and two or three others
remonstrated with him on the folly and imprudence of the act,
and told him that it would be considered as the beginning of an
attack in Avhich he was sui'e to be worsted. Becket^s reply was
that the spiritual sword could give a more deadly wound than
any weapon which the king could wield. '^

Henry was now in a towering passion ; he was desirous that
Becket should feel the full severity of the law, as he had broken
the pledge which he had made at Clarendon. The bishops,
however, would not venture to proceed against their superior
in England, but they resolved to appeal against his conduct at
Home, and procure there, if possible, his deprivation. Soon
after this Becket made his escape from England, and Henry
sent a noble embassy to the pope to state his case against the
primate, and justify his late proceedings.' Archbishop Roger
was at its head. The ambassadors found the pope at Sens, and
the bishops of London and Chichester, who were the chief
speakers, opened the case against Becket with some asperity of
manner. They endeavoured to exculpate themselves and defended
the policy of their master. Roger spoke afterwards in a more
moderate tone.'" He shewed his good taste by appearing in
the background. The efforts of the party were fruitless, although
Becket was unable to return to England. He spent several
yea,rs in exile, playing the courtier to Louis of France, or
delighting his friends, the Cistercians, by living a retired life
within the walls of Pontigny." He w^rote two expostulatory

'■ Becket, iii., 213 ; iv., 43, 46, 255. 279. Hoveden, col. 284. Twysden,

Matt. Paris, 93. Recueil des Historiens col. 714. Gervase, col. 1394. Labbe,

des Gaules, xv., 828-9. Labbe, x., Couc, x., 1436.

1194, 1219. m Becket, iv., 270. Gervase, col.

J Becket, i., 226 ; ii., 21. 1395.

* Becket's Works, i., 42-3, 137. " An anonymous friend, probably a

Hoveden, 283 b. Cistercian, told Becket in bis troubles,

9^- ^^^'^®*'^^ '^''^*'' V' ^1' 1^^' 1-^1' "ApudClarevallim, CisterciumetPon-

237, 240-1, 347. Foliot's Letters, ii., tiniacum, intercessione domini papje,

1154 — 1181.] ARCHBISHOP ROGER, 239

letters to archbishop Roger about this time, chidinj^ liim for
his opposition, and in one of them he enjoins him and the other
prelates to suspend the services in their dioceses until justice
should be done to their ecclesiastical superior." The pope backed
this letter by ordering Roger, on his obedience, to aid Rotro
archbishop of Rouen, and Bertrand bishop of Nevers, his legates,
who were to compel Henry, if possible, to make peace with
Becket by the threat of an interdict, and by directing him to
observe everything that they resolved upon.^ Henry, on his
part, was equally firm and energetic. Fitz Stephen says that
he ordered his subjects to take an oath that they would neither
receive, nor obey, any papal mandate about Becket, and that
Roger and the other bishops allowed it to be taken within their
dioceses.* In 1168 the king took a more violent step. He
sent a letter to the archbishop of Cologne, stating that he
was about to send an embassy to Rome, with Roger at its
head, to demand the immediate removal of Becket, and to
threaten the pope, if he withstood him, with his bitterest oppo-
sition. A partizan of Canterbury ascribed this obnoxious epistle
to the pen of Foliot bishop of London, and gravely tells us that
whilst that prelate was ruminating by night upon the subject,
the e\'il spirit endeavom'ed, in vain, to startle him by crying
out in a thrilling tone,

" O Gilberte Foliot,''
Dum revoh-is tot et tot,
Deus tuns est Ashtoroth !"

In 1170 Roger took a step which placed him in some peril,
and caused him much difficulty and annoyance. At the desire
of his royal master, in conjunction with the bishops of London,
Durham, Rochester and Salisbiuy, he crowned prince Henry
king of England in the middle of June.^ Becket, upon whom
that duty would have devolved, was not in England, and he
took it much amiss. He protested against the act, and made
great complaints.' Becket, who had heard of what Avas intended

oratur a.ssidue pro vobis" (Works, iv., do Oxenedes, 62. Chron. Mailros, 82.

255). Foliot's Letters, ii., 214, who Matt. Paris, 101. Trivet, 54. llob.de

says that Becket went to Pontigny at Monte, 773. Hemin.ifford, apnd Gale,

the desire of John bishop of Poictiers. ii., 497. Hoveden, 296 h. Wendover,

Herb, de Boseham, ii., 246. Diceto, ii., 11. Diceto, col. 552. Bromton,

col. 539. Gervase, col. 1398. col. 1061. Gerva-^e, col. 1112. Stiibbs,

» Becket's Works, iii., 227-9. col. 1722. Knyghton, col. 2396. Pertz,

p Ibid., i., 55; iv., 47-8,134. Monunienta Hist. Germ., viii., 413.

« Ibid,, i., 267-8. Benedict Petrib., 4. Contin. Fl. Wi-

*• Wendover, i., 556. Mat. Paris, 90. gorn., ii., 138.

• Becket's Works, i., 56, 157; ii., 25, ' Becket's Works, i., 274-5; ii., 26,

112; iv., 159. Chron. Mannia, ed. 112; iii., 67-9. Bromton, 1061. Be-

Stevenson, 394. Geraldus de lustit. nedict Petrib., 6. Contin. Fl. Wigorn.,

Princ, ed. Stevenson, 177. Chron. Joh. ii., 141.

240 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

before the ceremony took place," sent intelligence to the papal
court, and Alexander wrote to Roger forbidding him to officiate."
If Roger received the letter he disregarded the injunction, and
now paid the penalty for his rashness. The pope, at Becket^s
request, suspended him and his sufiragan, Hugh de Puiset,
whilst he excommunicated the Southern prelates who had
officiated at the coronation."' He expressed, however, his
willingness to withdraw the ban if the culprits would be obe-
dient to Becket, and render satisfaction to him for their conduct.*
The king, who was afraid of the papal censure, shewed some
disposition to abandon the prelates, although it was to please
him that they had got into this scrape.^

Roger and his brethren in trouble were undaunted, although
somewhat dismayed. The Popov's censure had not yet reached
them, although it had been entrusted to Becket^s charge. He
was coming back to England, and they tiied to prevent his
landing. The exiled primate heard of their design, and took
care that the letters should precede him, and they were delivered
at Dover to those for whom they were intended. He himself,
with some difficulty and risk, got safe to England. This was
in 1170. When Becket arrived at Canterbury, the messengers
of the archbishop of York and his friends who were in disgrace,
came to him, and reproached him for trampling down his brother
bishops, and for using fire and sword when he should have
sought and practised peace. Becket laid upon their masters
the guilt of the present strife. After this some persons came
from the court with an order that he should absolve the con-
demned prelates. He told them that it was not in his power
to reverse the decision of his superior, and that no one could do
that ; but if the bishops of London and Salisbury would pledge
themselves to obey the pope^s order, he would not object to
absolve tliem.^ This reply was brought to the bishops, who
were on the point of giving way, till they were told by Roger
that they could make no such promise without the king^s per-
mission, otherwise they would be guilty of treason. Their adviser
is also reported to have said, " I have J8000, God be thanked,
and I will spend it all to the last farthing to pull down the

" Becket, i., 268 ; iv., 287, 302. He Neubr., i., 185. Hoveden, 297. Di-

had spies, " amici," as they are called, ceto, col. 553. Bromton, col. 1062.

all over. Labbe, Cone, x., 1219-22. Wilkins,

" Ibid., i., 268 ; ii., 26 ; iii., 64 ; iv., i., 459. Benedict Petrib., 8. Contin.

47. Diceto, col. 513, 552. Labbe, Fl. Wigorn., ii., 142.

Cone, X., 1219. Rymer's Faed., n.e., •* Becket, iv., 102, 283.

i., 25-6. AYilkins, i., 459. v Gervase. col. 1412.

" Becket,!., 332; iii., 80 ; iv., 48— = Becket, i., 280-4; iii., 83. Job.

52, 64-5, 102. Chron. de Mailros, 83. Saresber., 0pp., ii., 243. Gervase, col.

Matt. Paris, 101-2. Peter Laugtoft, 1413. Hoveden, 298.
130. Chron. Petrib., 100. Wm.

1154 1181.] ARCHBISHOP ROGER. 241

arrogance of Becket, which is greater tlian liis courage. Let
us go to the king, who has hitherto stood oiu- friend. If you
retiu'n to Bcckct, the king, if he takes it amiss, will deprive us
of our possessions. What Avill you do then ?'^"

Roger, and the two prelates who had been persuaded by his
arguments, cross the Channel to Henry. They took with them,
at the king^s request, four or six clergy from the vacant sees to
represent their chapters in the Norman court, with the strange
expectation of being thus able to make a new election, and fill
up the places of the suspended bishops. When the party came
to the king, Roger Avas the spokesman. He protested against
the sentence pronounced against them, which was the penalty
of their loyalty to their sovereign. He spoke of the annoyance
and the unmerited disgrace to which they were subjected. He
told the king of Becket^s present movements in England, how
he was travelling about with guards and soldiers in a Avarlike
guise. The hasty temper of Henry now burst out against
Becket. Half angrily, half querulously, he deplored his own
unhappy position.* The fatal fruits which were borne by that
unfortunate speech are matters of history. Four daring and
unhappy men, with the words of the sovereign still tingling in
their ears, hastened across the seas to Canterbury, and demanded
of Becket the absolution of the bishops. His reply was the
same which he gave before, that it Avas beyond his poAver to do
Avhat they required. '^ Ere that day was over he was stretched
in death before the altar of his own church. He Avas laid in
the tomb within the Avails of that noble cathedral Avhich he had
served perhaps too faithfully and too Avell.

A thrill of horror ran through all Christendom at this deed
of wrong. Whatever Beeket^s faults may have been, and they
were many, he made a full atonement for them in his death.
Henry, the innocent cause of the murder, was stricken with
sorroAV and dismay, and Roger could not fail to be deeply moved.
An enquiry was immediately made into the case, to see Avhcther
he was in any Avay the inciter of the crime ; and he promised to
abide by the decision of the pope. The archbishop of Rouen
and the bishop of Amiens Avere the examiners. Roger met them
at Albemarle on the feast of St. Nicholas, and he there swore
that he was altogether imiocent of the death of Becket. He
also took an oath, that, before the recent coronation, he had
not received the pope's inhibitory letter. He Avas unanimously
acquitted from all blame, and his suspension was removed.''

" Becket's Works, i., 284 ; ii., 29- ' Ibid., i., 162-3. Jo. Saresb., ii.,

30. 241.

* Ibid., i., 289-90 ; ii., 130 ; iv., 308. '' Becket, iv., 67-8. Foliot's Letters,

Benedict Petrib., 9-10. ii., 260. Wendover, ii., 19, 20. Di-

li

242 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Roger wrote a long letter to his old friend, bishop Puiset of
Dixrham, and to the chapters within the diocese of York,
acquainting them joyfully with the result, and announcing his
speedy retiu-n/ The style of the epistle is somewhat peculiar
and inflated. The archbishop would have us believe, that during
the recent enquiry the radiant figui'e of the Redeemer had stood
on his right hand, shewing by His presence there the innocence
of the accused. About the same time Roger interceded very
warmly and kindly with the pope in behalf of Foliot, the bishop
of London, who had been for a whole year tmder the ban of
excommunication.'^ Roger was now enabled to return to his
province ; but the partizans of Canterbury never seem to have
withdrawn the charge that he was one of the chief causes of
the misfortunes of their now sainted favourite.^

Roger was not on the best of terms with Richard, Becket^s
successor in the see of Canterbuiy, indeed it was almost impos-
sible for the two archbishops in those days, whoever they might
be, to avoid bickerings and contention about privileges and
position. In 1175 Roger was not present at the synod which
Richard held at Westminster, nor did he explain his absence /'
his clerks, however, were there, and made several claims on the
part of their master.^ They asserted the right of the arch-
bishops of York to bear their cross erect within the province of
Canterbury ; and to have the spiritual control over the sees of
Lincoln, Lichfield, Worcester, and Hereford. On these two
points they summoned the archbishop of Canterbury to Rome.
They appealed also to the same authority against the sentence
of excommunication which Richard had passed against the
officers of the conventual church of St. Oswald at Gloucester,
which belonged to York, for refusing to pay him their obedience.-'
Nothing seems to have been done at the time, but soon after-
wards, at Winchester, the king tried to act as a peacemaker
between the two prelates. After a long debate he was partially
successful. Richard of Canterbuiy consented to absolve the
clergy of St. Oswald's, and to make that house as free and
independent as a royal chapel. It was also agreed that with
reference to the other points in dispute, especially that about
the cross, that they should be decided by the archbishop of

ceto, col. 558. Stubbs, col. 172.3. Matt. ■" Hoveden, 311. Eob. de Monte,

ParLs, 104-5. 787.

' Foliot's Letters, ii., 173. Joann. i Diceto, 583. Bromton, 1100-2.

Saresber., ii., 264. Chron. Jo. de Ox- Becket's Works, iii., 322. Foliot's

enedes, 65. Letters, i., 140. 0pp. Jo. Saresber.,

■^ Poliot's Letters, ii., 171-3. i., 33. Benedict Petrib., 94,106-7,

^ Becket's Works, i., 10, 99, 370. 126-7. Cf. Prjnne's Coll., iii., 984,

Bromton, col. 1062. 1026, and Reg. Ab. Corbridge.

* Diceto, col. 585. Matt. Paris, 109.

1154 1181.] ARCHBISHOP ROGER. 243

Rouen, and the French bishops in that neighboui'hood. They
resolved, in addition, to have a truce for five years, and to start
no new points of debate before the old were settled. This last
engagement was not entirely adhered to. The legate Iluguccio
was unconsciously the cause of a rather amusing but unl)ecom-
ing scene. In 1176 he had been with Roger at York, and he
accompanied him to the coui't at Nottingham.''' They were
together, soon afterwards, at the council at Westminster. The
old question of precedence in the presence of the legate was
then revived. Which of the two archbishops was to sit on the
right hand, a position which has excited angry feelings in nobler
minds than theirs ? Richard had taken the coveted place, when
Roger seems to have pushed himself in between the legate and
his rival — nay, he is even said to have sat down in Richard's
lap ; but this is probably only one of the Canterbury embellish-
ments with which the story seems to be garnished. This was
too much for the sensitive feelings of the friends of Richard.
Ecclesiastics and laymen alike manifested a strange excitement,
and even bishops

" Tantsene animis cselestibus irae ?"

shewed that they could be subject to the same passions which
mn riot occasionally in less exalted minds. They pounced upon
Roger and thi'ew him do^vn. They cuffed and beat him to their
heart's content. They trampled him under their feet. When
they were at length satisfied, the sufterer was permitted to rise,
with a torn cope, and covered with dust and shame. They
laughed at him when he remonstrated. When he went out to
seek the king and demand redress, they shouted after him the
old calumny, '' Away, away, betrayer of St. Thomas. His blood
is still upon thy hands."" Roger was excessively indignant,
and singled out from the others Geofi'rey Ridel, bishop of Ely,
as one of his most vehement assailants. Nothing, however,
seems to have been done. The scene was far too ludicrous to
necessitate any severe or vigorous remedy, but it was most dis-
creditable and unseemly.' An end, however, was put, about this
time, to the long-continued controversy about the profession.
A bull of pope Alexander settled the question in accordance

* Hoveden, 313. Bromton, 1107. glia Sacra, i., 9. Geraldus de Instil.

Benedict Petrib., 130. At another Princ, ed. Stevenson, 178. Fordun,

council'at Nottingham in 1181 Richard Scotichronicon, ed. Goodall, i., 475.

of Canterbury carried his cross erect in Hemingford, ed. Gale, ii., 50G. Beno-

the presence and within the diocese of diet Petrib., 139, 116. There is an

Roger (ibid., 368). amusing account of the scene, and a

' Diceto, col. 515, 589. Bromton, history of the controversy, in Fuller's

col. 1109. Gervase, col. 1183. Wm. Church History, book iii., 38-9.

Neubr., i., 232-3. Hoveden, 316. An-

r2

241

FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.V.

with the old decree of Gregory the Great, forbidding altogether
that token of submission. This was agreed upon at one of the
many comicils which were held at the Lateran, in 1179.™

Roger, like many of his predecessors, had frequent con-
trovers'ies'with the Scottish bishops. During the life-time of
Becket, he had a dispute with Richard, the bishop-elect of
St. Andi-ew's, who had refused to be consecrated at York ; and
he appealed against him to the pope, desiring that he might be
suspended, but without success. About this time Roger was
invested with the legantine authority, a power which, although
he was deprived of it in England, he seems to have always
exercised in Scotland. He held a meeting at Norham, on the
Tweed, and summoned thither the Scottish ecclesiastics, in the
vain hope of inducing them to own their subjection to York."
One of the clergy who was there, Ingelram, the bishop-elect of
Glasgow, set him still farther at naught by being consecrated
bv Alexander III. at Sens, in spite of the strenuous opposition
of the representatives of York." In 1174 Roger was at Falaise
in Normandy, when William king of Scotland, then a prisoner,
made a treaty of peace with Henry. In the following year the
two monarchs met at York, and the conditions assented to at
Falaise were solemnly sworn to and confirmed. They subjected
the state of Scotland entirely to England, and the church, also,
in all that was right and proper. In token of his submission
the Scottish king deposited his spear and shield upon the altar
of St. Peter in the minster, where they were for a long time
preserved.^ In 1176 there w^as a council held at Northampton ;?
at which the provisions of the treaty of Falaise were thoroughly
examined and discussed in the presence of the Scottish king
and his bishops. These prelates were required by Henry of
England, on the strength of their allegiance, to own their sub-
jection to the English church as they had hitherto done. Their
answer was that they had never been subject to that church,
and that the acknowledgment was unnecessary and unfair.
Archbishop Roger led the argument against them, and produced
documents which shewed, in particular, that the sees of Glasgow
and Whitherne had always been dependent upon York. Upon
this, the bishop of Glasgow asserted that his church was tmder

•" Diceto, col. 589. Foliot's Letters, Wilkins, i., 481.

ii., 71. Labbe, Cone, x., 1553, 1689. " Hoveden, 283. Chron. Mailros,79.

" Fordun, Scotichronicon, i., 461. '' Bromton, col. 1103-5. Hoveden,

Chron. Mailros, 79. The historian is 311-12. Eob. de Monte, 786. Bene-

not complimentary when he speaks of diet Petrib., 113. Knyghton, col.

Roger as " delphinvim ilium." As 2396. Chron. Mailros, 88.

soon as Roger had obtained the pall, » Bromton, col. 1108. Knyghton,

Adrian IV. wrote a letter to the Scot- col. 2396. Hoveden, 314 b. Benedict

tish bishops charging them to obey him. Petrib., 137-8.

1154 1181.] ARCHBISHOP ROGER. 245

the especial protection of Rome, and that it was subject to no
other power. No decision was then arrived at, principally, it is
said, through the means of the archbishop of Canterbiuy, who
was desirous of being the head of the Scottish church himself.
Fordun gives a different account of the debate at Northampton.
The bishops, he says, were summoned thither by the legate,
who endeavoured to induce them to own the supremacy of York,
and thus strengthen the efficiency of the Northern clim'ch.
They were silent for fear of giving offence, when a young eccle-
siastic of the name of Gilbert stood up, and combatted the
arguments of the legate on behalf of his compatriots with so
much boldness and ingenuity, that the demand was waived.
" Well shot, master Gilbert,^^ said Roger of York, laying his
hand on the shoulder of the youthful orator, " but that shaft
did not come from your own quiver."

" Ex propria pharetra non exiit ista sagitta."'

The truth of this story may be gravely questioned, at all events
Fordun seems to be in error when he says that the youth, as a
reward for his zeal, became bishop of Caithness ; St. Gilbert,
who actually presided over that see, did not die till 1245.
Soon after the meeting at Northampton cardinal Y^Adan, the
papal legate, held a council at Edinburgh, to which all the Scot-
tish bishops were summoned. Christian bishop of Whitherne
was not there, and the legate suspended him for his absence.
Chi'istian thew himself upon the protection of Roger, by whom
he had been consecrated, asserting that he was the papal legate
and the superior to whom his allegiance was due.'' In 1178 a
violent controversy broke out between the pope and YV^illiam
king of Scotland, in which Roger played a part. Richard bishop
of St. Andrews died in 1178, and John Scotus was chosen by
the chapter to succeed him. YV^hen the king heard of this
selection he was excessively indignant. He expelled John
from Scotland, and gave the see to Hugh, his chaplain, who
was consecrated by the Scottish bishops. John, upon this, went
to Rome and complained to the pope, who sent as his legate a
person of the name of Alexis, to enquire into the case. The
report was in favour of John, who was consecrated in 1180,
the election of his rival having been cancelled. The king, how-
ever, drove John, for the second time, into banishment. Upon
this, Alexander wrote to the Scottish bishops, confirming the
proceedings of his legate, and excommunicating Hugh. He
charged the king and his prelates to permit John to enter
quietly into his see, otherwise the archbishop of York, who was

"■ Fordun, Scotiolironicon, i., 476-8.

' Bromtoii, 1111. Hoveden, 32t. Benedict Petrib., 211-12.

246 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

his legate in Scotland, would put the country under an interdict.'
The warning, however, was despised, and, in 1181, Uoger, by
the desire of the pope, inflicted the threatened punishment, and
excommunicated the king." I shall mention in another place
what was the conclusion of the difficulty.

From what has been already stated it will have been seen
that Roger was one of the leading politicians of the day. There
were other occasions on which he was engaged in the sendee of
the state. He was very frequently in attendance upon the king."
In 1163 pope Alexander, through the means of Roger, and the
bishops of Evreux and Lisieux, endeavoured to persuade Henry
II. to ally himself to Louis of France."' In 1172 Alexander
would not allow him to crown Henry and his queen, although
he had officiated in that capacity before.^ In 1174 he took a
conspicuous part in the military affairs of the North. He en-
tertained and aided Geoffrey bishop of Lincoln, the king's son,
when he assaulted and captured the castle of Kirkby Malzeard ;
and, when he returned, the archbishop took charge of the for-
tress on behalf of the king.^' He also welcomed the barons who
were going against William of Scotland, and sent the news of
his capture to Henry.* Ralph de Tilli, the constable of the
archbishop's household, was at Alnwick when the Scottish
monarch was taken prisoner, and was one of the party who
rescued Prudhoe castle from the invading army." In 1177
Henry gave to Roger the custody of Scarborough castle.*

Roger was a man of learning and ability. He was as ready
with his pen as with his tongue. He wrote fluently and well.
At the little court of Theobald of Canterbury, where the talents
of Becket were of no repute, Roger had formed the acquaint-
ance of most of the scholars of his day, among whom he
occupied a distinguished place. With John of Salisbury he
was on familiar terms.*^ Gilbert Foliot and he were great friends.
They corresponded together, and when Foliot was under the
papal censiu-e, for his share in the opposition to Becket, he

' Labbe, Cone, x., 1239-41. Bene- Angl. Sacr., ii., 379. Benedict Petrib.,

diet Petrib., 346-9. 78.

" Stubbs, col. 1723. Hoveden, 341- ' Chronique de Jordan Fantosme,

51. Benedict Petrib., 331, 370. ed. Surtees Societ}^, 78-9, 91, 93.

" Bromton, col. 1108, 1126-7, 1133. « Hoveden, 308. Benedict Petrib.,

Benedict Petrib., 202, 231, 368. 74.

^ " Eecueil des Hist, des Gaules, xv., * Ibid., 323 h. Benedict Petrib.,

/85. There is a letter probably re- 203. Hinderwell (History of Scar-

fernng to this in Becket's Works, iv., borough, ed. 1832, p. 50) makes him

206- hold that office till he died. Roger

•^ Diceto, col. 560. Gervase, col. had also the custody of Roxburgh castle

1421 Matt. Paris, 109. (Ben. Petrib.)
o/^ i^^^T' J"""^- 1093. Hoveden, ^ 0pp. Joann. Saresber., i., 75.

^07 6. Vita Gerardi Archiep., apud

1154 1181.] ARCHBISHOP ROGER. 247

found an asylum at Beverley. Roger afterwards interceded in
liis behalf with the pope.'' Hugh de Puiset, the famous bisliop
of Durham, of whom there is too little as yet known, and the
archbishop of York, were intimately connected in prosperity
and adversity." Roger and pope Alexander III. corresponded
on matters of discipline and on the public events of the day./

It has been said that Roger was opposed to the monastic
system, and that he expressed his opinion that Thurstan's
greatest mistake had been the establishment of Fountains.^
This is, probably, merely idle gossip. It is quite possible, how-
ever, that Roger discovered the inherent defects of the monastic
system, which are not slow in developing themselves. He was
a bold man, and was not afraid of checking what he thought to
be wrong, and when we find him in collision with the canons of
Newburgh, and suspending the prior of Gisburgh,'' we avcII
understand how his activity sharpened those weapons of abuse
and railing which monkish chroniclers are too apt to use. It is
also a remarkable fact that, with the exception of the abbey of
Welbeck' and one or two other places, all the religious houses
which were founded in the diocese of York during the archiepis-
copate of Roger were Cistercian or Benedictine nunneries.-'
There was a superabundance of monasteries, and a reaction
had begun. The age of great endowments and large ecclesias-
tical establishments was passing rapidly away. The system
was being gradually refined, and consequently deteriorated.

Roger has also been charged with miserly and penm'ious
habits, and with impoverishing his clergy and his diocese.*
That he was a rich man there can be no doubt, for he had presided
over a wealthy see for nearly thirty years, and he was a prudent
husband of the fortune which he had amassed. We hear of
him endeavouring to recover, at the papal court, the property

■^ Foliot's Letters, i., 135-45,293; pendix, 711-12. Soon after 1172

ii., 75. Becket's AVorks, iv., 308. lloger witnessed the charter of foiinda-

' There is an account of a miracle tion of the monastery De Bosco Ra-

WTought on one of Eoger's clerks at herii, near Tours. (Martene, Thes. Nov.

St. Cuthbert's tomb, in Reginald, de Anecd., i., 573.)

admir. B. Cuthberti virtutibus, ed. i At least a dozen of these nunneries

Surtees Society, 261. may be reckoned up.

/ Hoveden, 325. Foliot's Letters, * Wm. Neubr., i., 267-8. Rob. de

ii., 72, 75 et seqq. Labbe, Cone, x., Monte, 805. Newburgh is outrageously

1245, 1488, 156i-7, 1573, 1585, 1590, violent against Roger, and .says, "In

1603-4, 1612, 1620-1, 1666-7, 168 1, vitasiiatondcndismagisqiiampascendis

1698, 1706, 1724. Baluzii Misc., ed. ovibus Dominicis intcndit." Benedict

Mansi, iii., 375. AVilkins. i., 487. of Peterborough (149) says that he

«■ Wm. Neubr., i., 268. Broniton, bought the chancellorship for Gcollrcy,

col. 1142. Hemingford, apud Gale, provost of IJeverley, for eleven tiiousand

ii., 506-7. marks. This person was Roger's nep-

* Labbe, Cone, x., 1597, 1626-7. hew, and was drowned in 1177 (ibid.,

' Annal. Ord. Praemonstrat., ii., ap- 250),

248 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

of which he had been deprived by the carelessness or waste of
his two immediate predecessors/ Although in this respect he
seems to have been unsuccessful, he took care that the deficiency
was made up from other sources. He whom the lips of calumny
have stigmatized as a miser, was the most munificent ruler that
ever presided over the see of York. He made the archbishopric
richer in every respect than he found it. Robert de Monte
tells us how he added to the endowments of his churches and
rebuilt all his residences so magnificently, that they could almost
rival those in the Southern province.'" He began a new basilica
at llipon, and gave to the woi'k the very large sum of £1000."
At York he erected the archiepiscopal palace on the north side
of the cathedral, of which scarcely any portion now remains.
He decorated the minster with a new choir, worthy of the
glorious work of Conrad, with which Canterbury had been
adorned." On the north side of the church, between his new
palace and the cathedral, he founded the chapel of St. Sepulchre,
Avhich was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Angels.
The endowment was a noble one. Eleven churches were appro-
priated to it, five of which he purchased with his o^vn funds.
A staff of thirteen officers belonged to it, all munificently pro-
vided for, and care was taken that there should be no jealousy
or collision between the officials of the chapel and the dignitaries
of the adjacent minster.^ Roger gave also to his metropolitical
chvu'ch one of the bones of St. Peter, and a portion of the sandals
of that apostle, which he brought from Rome. These, and some
of the more precious relics which the minster of York possessed,
were deposited in a hollow crucifix of gold, which was given to
the chapter by the same prelate. This and other treasures
belonging to the cathedral were given up to secure the ransom
of Coeur de Lion from his Austrian captivity, but they were
subsequently redeemed.?

In November, 1181, Roger, who had been prevented by
illness from attending a council in 1177,'' felt his end approach-
ing. He was at a place called Cowda ■/ and he called around
him the abbats, priors, and ecclesiastics of his diocese. In
their presence he made the following munificent bequests. He
gave more than five hundred pounds^ worth of silver to William,

' Becket's Works, iv., 237. » Fabric Eollsof York Minster, 152.

"' Rob. de Monte, 805. Heminfjford, ' Bromton, col. 1122. Benedict Pe-

apudGale, ii., 506-7. Trivet, 82. trib., 181.

" Walbran's Eipon, 25. ' Hoveden, 350 5. I cannot identify

" " Tundavit chorum et testudiues this place, i'erhaps it was Cawood ?

ejus, et capellara S. Stephani ad borialem Stubbs (col. 1723) says that Eo^'er died

partem tompli" (Lei. Coll., i., 121). at Sherburn. Antony a Wood makes

' Stubbs, col. 1723. Lei. Coll., i., him die at Osney abbey (Antiq. Univ.

38. Uugd. Mon, vi., 1181. Oxon., i., 166).

1154 1181.] ARCHBISHOP ROGER. 249

archbishop of Rheims, and the French bishops, for the needy in
their dioceses. A similar snm, for the same use, Avas ^ivcn to
the archbisliop of Rouen and the Norman prelates ; and a third,
equally large, to his brother of Canterbui-y and his suHVagans.
All the rest of his treasvu'c was also for the benefit of the poor.
After this Roger was removed to York, and there he died at
nightfall on the 22nd of November.' His noble bequests were
altogether misappropriated," and everything that he possessed
came into the hands of the king, to whom he had been a
faithfid servant." It was suggested to Henry that the deceased
prelate had made a rule within his diocese, Avhich had been
sanctioned by the pope, to the effect that no will of an eccle-
siastic should be valid which was made in his last sickness.
Who could interfere with what a dying archbishop bequeathed
but his sovereign ? The king immediately sent his messengers,
who seized upon the money, which was the property of the poor.
But he did more than this. The archbishop, it was well known,
had been possessed of immense wealth. He had died intestate ;
who was to have it ? The bait was too tempting for an avaricious
and ungrateful king ; and he ordered everything that had
belonged to Roger to be gathered together by the justices, and
appropriated to his OAvn use. The large sum of j611,000 of
silver, and plate, and valviables of every description, thus found
their way into the royal treasury. The curse of God, which
settled upon Ahab, seems henceforward to have rested upon this
plunderer of the poor. The gathering in of the spoil was not
made without difficulty and controversy. The king^s justices
heard that the bishop of Durham had received three himdred
marks of the archbishop^s money, and they required them at his
hands. Puiset told them, with the spirit which was native to
him, that the money had been given for the weal of his friend's
soul, in accordance with his desire, to the leper, the lame^ the
halt, and blind; that it had been spent in restoring churches
and bridges. He had none of it, and those who wanted it must
seek it for themselves. The king, upon this, was full of wrath,
and seized upon the castle of Diu-ham, regarding its high-spirited
owner with the bitterest ill-will.

' Hoveden, ibid. Chron. Mailros, 17. Benedict Petrib., 371, 378. Di-

91. Diceto (col. 613) makes him die ceto (col. 517, 611). He .says that the

on the 20th. Stubbs (col. 1723) on the confiscation was made when Roger was

26th. Gervase (col. 1459) says in on his death-bed. This robbery ac-

September. Cotton's Chron., 79. tually makes Foxe enshrine Roger in

" An account of the death-scene of his calondur of martyrs !
Roger, and the misappropriation of " Holder took the king's part when

his wealth, is to be found in Hoveden, his sons raised a rebellion against him.

350-1. Wra. Neubr., i., 267, etc. Benedict Petrib., 58.
Bromton, col. 1112. Matt. Paris, 116-

250 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Puiset performed the last solemn rites for Eoger, as he had

done, nearly thirty years before, for his predecessor William.
The remains of the archbishop were interred in the choir of the
minster which he had rebuilt ;'" and when, after a lapse of nearly
two centuries, it was again removed to make way for a more
magnificent structure, the body of Roger was probably trans-
ferred by archbishop Thoresby to a new sepulchre at the eastern-
most extremity of the choir/ Tradition has for centuines
ascribed to Roger the tomb in the north aisle of the nave, hard
by the entrance into the chapel of St. Sepulchre.^' The monu-
ment, however, is none of his. It is in a most debased style,
and is not earlier than the reign of Henry VII.

When archbishop Roger died, the king of Scotland was
under a sentence of excommunication, and his land under an
interdict. William was overjoyed when he heard of his decease ;
and, after conferring with his council, sent off Joceline bishop
of Glasgow, Arnulf abbat of Melrose, and others, to Lucius
the new pope, to procure, if possible, a reversal of the sentence ;
and, rather than they should return without it, they were to
promise that John, bishop of St. Andrew^s, should be deposed.^
The embassy was entirely successful. The ban was removed
from king and country, and two papal commissioners, Roland
bishop-elect of Dol in Brittany, and Silvan abbat of Rievaux,
were despatched to Scotland to examine into the dispute about
St. Andrew^s. The difference was settled for a time, by both
John and Hugh resigning their interest in that see into the
pope^s hands. Lucius then gave St. Andrew^s to Hugh, and
appointed John to Dunkeld. The quarrel was soon afterwards
opened out again by the jealous and contentious disposition of
the two prelates, and it ended at last, after much angry discus-
sion, in another compromise, into which it is unnecessary to
enter.

In 1191 pope Clement made a most important declaration
respecting the position and independence of the Scottish church,
at the request of the king. It refers to every see but that of
Whitherne, which seems to have been given up to York by
common consent. The Scottish church was made independent
of every authority but that of Rome, and no one was to excom-
municate or lay an interdict on the kingdom, unless he were
the chief pontiff or his deputy. No alien was to act for the
future as a legate within that district, unless he was a special
emissary from Rome; and nothing relating to Scotland was to
be settled in another country, except at the papal court. This

" Hoveden, 350 fi. Stubbs, col. 1723. * Torre's York Minster, MS., 135.

Benedict Petrib., 371. -" Hoveden, 351. Ben. Petrib., 371,

■^ Preface to York Fabric Rolls, xvii. 372.

1191 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 251

most important decree, it will be observed, disposes summarily
of the claims of the see of York. The archbishopric, it will be
remembered, was at that time vacant. It would have been more
just aud fair if this sentence had been delivered when there was
a Northern primate. He would then have had an opportunity
of asserting the claims of his church to the ecclesiastical control
of Scotland, which his predecessors had always vindicated to
themselves."

The see of York was all this Avhile vacant, the revenues
flowing into the royal coffers.* Henry II., however, on more
occasions than one, shewed some interest in the appointment of
a primate, and the welfare of the Nortliern diocese. In 1184
the canons of York, and Hugh bishop of Durham, met at the
king^s request to fix upon an archbishop, but nothing seems to
have been done."^ In 1186 Henry sent Puiset back to England
to be present at the festival of Easter in the province of York,
in which there was at that time no prelate^ In September,
1186, the canons of York were present at the council at
Marlborough, and nominated five persons in succession as arch-
bishop; Hubert Walter their dean, Hamund or Hamo their
precentor, Laurence archdeacon of Bedford, Bernard prior of
Newburgh, and Roger Arundel. All of them were rejected by
the king ; for what reason we are not informed." In the arch-
bishop who was ultimately selected, Henry himself had an
especial interest.

^eoffreg ^lantagenet, an illegitimate son of Henry II.
He was one of the king^s elder children.-/" His mother is said
to have been the well-known Rosamond Clifibrd, the Fair
Rosamond of story ; and this assertion gains some weight from
the fact that in after years Geoffrey appropriated the religious
house of Clementhorp, near York, to the niumery of Godstow,
in which Rosamond was interred.^ There are, hoAVCA^er, some

" For these Scottish aflfairs see Ben. supplied by a careful examination of

Petrib., 371-2, 375, 379, 381, 510, etc., the minor English chroniclers and the

528, etc., 538. Hoveden, 351-2, 354, writin^^s of Foreign historians.

356, 360-1, 368, etc., 371-2. Labbe, * Wm. Neubr^, i., 270. Madox,

Cone, X., 1735, 1743, 1753, etc. I Bar. Angl., 87.

have not gone into the subject at length, ' Ben. Petrib., 413.

as it is not my purpose to write a his- <* Ibid., 414. ' Ibid., 453.

tory of the Scottish Church. That -^ Gerald Cambrensis, apud Angl.

task has already been very creditably Sacr., ii., 378. The name of Geoffrey

and honestly performed b}^ Mr. Grub came from his paternal grandfather,

of Aberdeen. There are, however, Geoffrey comte d'Angers.

omissions in that work which maybe «■ Hoveden, 408 J. Ben. Petrib., 732.

252

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

chronological difficulties in the way/ and it seems probable that
Geoffrey had for his mother some more insignificant person.
Walter Mapes, if he is to be trusted, gives her the name of
Ykenai, and a very low character.*

Geoffrey is said to have been born in 1159. "When he was
merely a child he was made archdeacon of Lincoln;-' and in

1173, when, if the previous date be correct, he could not be
more than fourteen years of age, his father procured his election
to the bishopric of that see, and the appointment was confirmed
by the archbishop of Canterbury at Woodstock.''^ The pope,
also, seems to have winked at the irregularity. The youth,
however, was not in priest^s orders, and how could he be con-
secrated? Wikes tells us that Geoffrey himself was disposed
to wait, because he aspired to something higher -^ and there is
probably some truth in this statement, when we remember that
he had the same wish on a subsequent occasion. It was neces-
sary, however, to conciliate the pope ; and he crossed the seas in

1174, at his father^s suggestion, to visit the papal court in

'' Geoffrey was born, according to
the Kirkstall Chronicle, in 1159, whilst
Rosamond is called by Bromton a
'piiella in 1173. The Kirkstall Chron.,
from the quotation from it which I
have seen, appears to be singularly in-
accurate. The question of Geoffrey's
birth is discussed by Messrs. Bowles
and Nichols in their History of Lacock
abbey, 102. Cf. Sandford's Kings of
England, 71.

' "Imposuit autem ei in principio
regni sui meretrix quscdam publica,
nihil immunditise dedignans, filium
qnem a populo susceperat nomine Gau-
fridum, quern injuste minusque discrete
tanquam suum acceptans, in tantum
promovit ut hodie sit Ebor. archi-
episcopus. Nomen autem matris ejus
Ykenai" (Mapes, De Nugis Curialium,
228). Mapes, it must be remembered,
was very bitter against Geoflfrey.

The following illegitimate children of
Henry II. were also connected with
the North. Peter, brother of Geoffrey,
was archdeacon of Lincoln from about
1190 to 1202 (Le Neve., ii., 43). In
1194 Geoffrey tried to get him made
dean of York, but he was then at
Paris, and the opportunity was lost
(Hoveden, 415-16). A year or two
after this we find the brothers bitter
enemies (Ibid., 428).

Morgan, a brother of Geoffrey, and
an illegitimate son of Henry II., by

the wife of Sir Ealpli Bloeth (Hist.
Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 35 ; Sandford's
kings of England, 72), was advanced
by Geoffrey about 1201 to the provost-
ship of Beverley upon the death of
Robert (Hoveden, 468). In 1214 the
monks of Norwich elected him their
bishop, but the king knew nothing
about it, and the election was set '
aside (Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 31).
In 1223, being still provost of Beverley,
the monks of Durham chose him as
their bishop, and he went to Rome to
be consecrated. His illegitimacj' was
the cause of the pope's refusing to con-
firm his appointment (Ibid., 35 ; and
Lei. Coll., ii., 333.) Morgan was com-
memorated by the following epitaph
(Camden's Remaines, ed. 1674, p. 495).

" Larga, benigna, decens, jacet hie stirps regia,
raorum
Organa Morgano fracta jacente silent."

" John clericus, filius regis, canoni-
cus Ebor.," is mentioned in a chartulary
of the treasurers of York : cf. p. 221.

3 Ger. Cambrensis, ut supra, 378.

* Rob. de Monte, ed. Stevenson, 780.
Gerald, 378. Diceto, col. 568. Contin.
PI. Wigorn., ii., 157.

' "VVikes, apud Gale, ii., 32. Neubr.
(i., 176-7) ascribes the delay solely to
Geoffrey's cupidity, "oves Dominicas
nesciens pascere et doctus tondere."
This is a favourite phrase with New-
burgh.

1191—1207.]

ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY,

253

' - "'' icted very properly, and

or of St. fJcorge's. Bloomsbiirj- : Pi-eacher of Lin- i vpnrs " Thion tins

s Inn. and Principal of King's College. London. He meeycaiS. UpOlltms,

became Provost of Ebm. and Archdeacon of Middle- ssentcd tO tlllS deClSlOll,

He was consecrated Bishop of Lichfield. December - '^Prnirs "

1845. and died October 19th, 1867. aged 79. The \\ !^.' , , ^ ,

t>p. who \ras highly esteemed in his diocese, had ^ide hlS bOOKS, aS We nild
ided an educational meeting at Stafford during the His filial affcctioil WaS

noon, and had made two or three short speeches, , i IT , ' f

r he returned home, he complained of being unwell, ll rebellion arOSe agaillSt

diod beforo medical assistance could be obtained. . \)\\X the younsf bisllOp-

a photographic portrait of him see his " Life," 1868, ' ^- n • i i •

Sir Ldniund Beckett (Denison), Bart., Lord Grim- 'm ^IS allegiance and lllS
^,' ."'^-'^.J"^''"*^ <3'^® of his daughters; see also "Men cliailCellor he Collected a

e Time." 7ih edition, 1858. with an engraved portraiti • r i • ^ i-\ ^^>^ -.^^

»ound, &c. Statues of Bishops Lonsdale and Sehvyn lOCCSC tor hlS tatiicr S USe,

been placed in front of the south-west tower of priety of the exactioil, he
field Cathedral. In all 27 figures have now been „^\].pr(-A tno-pfher He

jd m their resioective niches. ^ gatnerea togetncr. xae

A LOKD CHIEF jTTSTicE , but ill a somcwliat un-

mghborough Ale.xr. V.'.-dderhurH, Lord, ex-M.P, i^acrs awav tO take up the

tlichmond, \ orkshire. and of Wedderburn Eouse, ^ ^ • "^ ■■ e ^ *■

•ogate, married the daughter of Mr. John Daw! hbourmg baron ot great

of The Hall, Morlry, near Leeds. On the south and Gcoftrey never paUSCd
lie o'd graveyard at Morley is the .sepulchre of i • p„„+1p i^i the Tslp of
f Loughborough, a person of rank and fortune- ^^^^ CastlC m tlie ibie OI

slab containing her memorial is of a soft blue \, he nOW passed Oliwards
N and the inscription is now illegible. The fol- | .^g- ^^^d tllC archbisllOp,

!ig is a copy of the epitaph :—" Within this tomb . ^^T^^^• c a xi i

the remains of the Right Hon. Lady Lough- unst VVllliam OI fecotland,

ugh, wife of Alexander Loughborough, Lord' ^^ He hastened at OnCC
f .Justice of the Common Plea*, She ^vas the i t- i tj 1 J

daughter of John Dawson, Esq., and his wife ^C archbisliop. Me Had a

bfith. Her Ladyship died the l-fth of February, n the city. The next day

aged 36." and was interred there on the 28th ,-,■ -ry ,-i • o „„!¥,,„„

-biuary. The following particulars, gleaned from lliam. U pon tniS U^COm ey

ler source, will furnish further evideooe of the wbray's fortresses^ that OI

ion and rank of this lady :-" 1781, February o-arrison to surrender after

Died at .Money Hail, and buried in the old ^ o ^^ • tt i

A graveyard, Betty Anne, daughter of John Daw- th OI allegiance to Hugh,

Esq., of -Morley. She was the wife of Alexandei^ ,^ ^f treason. A rumOUr
lerourn, who was born in ll6ii\ became Solicitor- i /• j.i ia c

ml in 1771 ; Attorney-General, 1778 ; Lord Chief Ug WaS bctorC the CastlC Ot

e of the Court of Common Pleas, 1781 ; created ^q^ The report llOWevcr,
1 Loughborough, in the county of Leicester, and * j • x xi c/ i.^ A

6 heirs male of his body, by patent, dated 14.h I'ned llltO tlie OOUtn. AS-

1780;" and Earl Rosslyn in 1801; and diad [its were ill the train of the

iry 3rd, 1805, a2:ed 72. See Cunniaghan 's . r, ,-, , tt„„x- -,„,i„,,

Bs!" vol. vi.. p. 434; Grainge's "History of 'IS father at Huntingdon.

(gate," and Smith's "History of Morley," &c. nd valour, and said OI him

. are several portraits of him, after Jaokson, by ^^i^^^. d^ildren are indeed
\ &c., with numerous anecdotes.

We hear little of Geodrcy after this for several years.' He
seems, however, to have done a great deal for his diocese of

•» Diceto, col. 582.

" Peter of Blois says this in a letter
to Eoger, dean of Lincoln. (Opp., i.,
222-4.) ° Ben. Petrib., 111.

p Ibid., 58. 1 Ger. Cambrensis, 378.

' Ger. Cambrensis, 379. Diceto, col.
577. Bromton, col. 1093. Ben. Petrib.,
77-8. Matt. Paris, 108. Hoveden, 307 b.

• Ger. Cambrensis, 380.

' It is stated in the Chronicle of
Kirkstall that Geoffrey was made a
knight in 1179, and several modern
writers have followed in its wake.
Hoveden (351) says expressly that the
person wlio received that honour was
Geoffrey, earl of Brittany.

252

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

CRICKET, CYCLING. SWIMMING, I

chronological difficulties ill ^^^^-„^ , „^ tw a fNmTif-n

Geoffrey had for his mot SPORTS AND PASTIME
VV alter Mapes, if he is tc ^

Ykenai, and a very low ch;

Geoffrey is said to ha\

mejely a child he was m: a,,^ .^ j^-,^ t„ bo'at Woroestet^hire at W„r.
Li/ 6, when, it the previo ©n Saturday la^, owing to the fact that Ranjiteinhji
more than fourteen years O not close the Sussex second innings till he was 400
to the bishopric of that see *** ^^ good. Wh«n the time came for drawing stt;
by the archbishop of Can ^^ '"^ *"^ Worowtershire men WBre together,
1 - ^ - - their side was 184 runs behind. Essex won the {

with Middlesex at Leyton by 94 rana within tw
minutes of time. Douglas made a splendid effcn
save ffhe game, scoring 151 out of the total of
Middleasx, of course, were greatly handicapped bj
absence of Trctt, who was able neither to bowl m
bat. Tlie Plampshire and Surrey match at Southajn
had to l>e abandoned as a draw. At Harrogate "i

also, seems to have wink(
however, was not in priest';
secrated? Wikes tells us
to wait, because he aspiret
probably some truth in thit
he had the same wish on a _^ .,, ._ _„ _^ „„ „ _, ^„,

Sary, however, to conciliate «hire defeats! the Santh Africans by 151 roas.

1174, at his father^s sugg

In every single particular, the opening of the «
7. ri «• 1 ,. Watch between the rival Roses at Headingky on Mo

puellam 1173. The Kirkstall Chr ,fct«,,dance on the first day wa* 30,004; on Monday S

irom the quotation from it whic people passed through the turnstiles— this includes i

Jiave seen, appears to be singularly l)er8 and county ticket-holders— and the receipts rea

accurate. The question of Geoffr '^ magnificent figure of £1,278 7s. 6d. During the

birth is discussed by Messrs. Boi ^^^ Yorkshire pkyera and others m^ade a coUectio;

and Nichols in their History of Lcac *^® ground, and the sum of £62 5a. wae realised, ao

abbey, 102. Cf. Sandford's Kint'-- *^ ^^^ rocedpbs were £1,540 IZa. 6d. Yorkshire

England, 71. '''

' "Imposuit autem ei in princ

regni sui meretrix qusedam publ

nihil immunditiffi dedignans, fili

qnem a populo susceperat nomine G;

fridum, quern injuste minusque discr

tan(iuani suum acceptans, in tanti

promovit ut hodie sit Ebor. arc!

episcopus. Nomen autem matris ej

Ykenai" (Mapes, De Nugis Curialiur
228). Mapes, it must be rememben
was very bitter against Geoffrey.

The following illegitimate children of
Henry II. were also connected with
the North. Peter, brother of Geoffrey,
was archdeacon of Lincoln from about

1190 to 1202 (Le Neve., ii., 43). In

1191 Geoffrey tried to get him made
dean of lork, but he was then at
1 aris, and the opportunity was lost
(Hoveden, 415-16). A year or two
alter this we find the brothers bitter
enemies (Ibid., 428\

Morgan, a brother of Geoffrey, and
an illegitimate son of Henry II., by

)

ciis Ebor.," is mentioned in a chartulary
of the treasurers of York : cf. p. 221.

J Ger. Cambrensis, ut supra, 378.

* Rob. de Monte, ed. Steven.son 780
Gerald, 378. Diceto, col. 568. Contin.
El. Wigorn., ii., 157.

' Wikes, apud Gale, ii., 32. Neubr.
(i., 176-7) ascribes the delay solely to
Geoffrey's cupidity, "oves Dominicas
nesciens pascere et doctus tondere."
Ihis IS a favourite phrase with New-
burgh.

1191 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 253

person, or by deputy.'" The pope acted very properly, and
deferred Geoffrey's consecration" for three years." Upon this,
Henry, who seems quietly to have assented to this decision,
sent his youthful son to be educated at Tours."

Geoffrey must soon have thrown aside his books, as we find
him back at Lincoln in the same year. His filial affection was
then put to the proof. An unnatural rebellion arose against
Henry, fostered by three of his sons; but the young bishop-
elect of Lincoln would not swerve from his allegiance and his
duty.^ At the suggestion of the lord chancellor he collected a
very large sum of money within his diocese for his father's use,
but having some doubt as to the propriety of the exaction, he
retui'ned every farthing that had been gathered together. He
now exerted himself in a more useful, but in a somewhat un-
clerical way. He threw the money bags aAvay to take up the
sword. Roger de Mowbray, a neighbouring baron of great
influence and power, was in rebellion, and Geoffrey never paused
till he had stormed and pulled doAvn his castle in the Isle of
Axholme.* Flushed with his success, he now passed onwards
into Yorkshire at the invitation of the sheriff and the archbishop,
who were anxious to have his aid against William of Scotland,
who was at that time invading England. He hastened at once
to York, where he was the guest of the archbishop. He had a
noble reception at the minster, and in the city. The next day
brought the news of the retreat of William. Upon this Geoffrey
led his troops against another of Mowbray's fortresses, that of
Malzeard near Ripon, and forced the garrison to surrender after
a short siege.'' He then put the oath of allegiance to Hugh,
bishop of Durham, who was suspected of treason. A rumour
now reached him that the Scottish king was before the castle of
Bowes, and he hastened to the rescue. The report, however,
was a false one, and Geoffrey returned into the South. As-
many as one hundred and forty knights were in the train of the
young soldier when he reached his father at Huntingdon.
Henry was delighted at his loyalty and valour, and said of him
before many bystanders, "All my other children are indeed
base-born, but this is my true son."''

We hear little of Geoffrey after this for several years.' He
seems, however, to have done a great deal for his diocese of

'" Diceto, col. 582. • Ger. Cambrensis, 380.

" Peter of Blois says this in a letter ' It is stated in the Chronicle of

to Roger, dean of Lincoln. (0pp., i., Kirkstall that Geoffrey' was made a

222-4.) " Ben. Fetrib., 111. knight in 1179, and several modern

'' Ibid., 58. * Ger. Cambrensis, 378. writers have followed in its wake.

' Ger. Cambrensis, 379. Diceto, col. Iloveden (351) says expressly that the

577. Bromton, col. 1093. Ben. Petrib., person who received that honour was

77-8. Matt. Paris, 108. Hoveden, 307 h. Geoffrey, carl of Brittany.

254 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Lincoln, although he was neither priest nor bishop. He attended
carefully to the property of his see, and promoted men of learn-
ing and reputation. He redeemed the ornaments of the church
of Lincoln, which had been pawned for three hundred marks to
Aaron, the Jew of Lincoln, and he added others, gi^ang besides
two large and fine bells to the cathedral." But still he was un-
consecrated, to the great injury of his diocese, although he was
all the while enjoying the revenues of the bishopric. The thi'ce
years prescribed to him by the pope had long since elrpsed,
when, in 1181, Alexander III took the matter up, and wrote to
the archbishop of Canterbury desiring him either to require his
youthful sufii'agan to receive ordination and consecration, or to
oblige him to give up Lincoln altogether. Geoffrey was now in
a difficidty, but he did not shrink from doing his duty. After
consulting with his father, brother, and several prelates, he
wrote from Marlborough to the archbishop giving up the see,
for which he modestly confessed himself to be unfit. He sent
a letter also to the chapter of Lincoln, begging that body to
aimul his election.''

Geofirey was no loser, in a worldly sense, by this change.
His father made him chancellor, and gave him offices and rents
to the yearly value of five hundred marks in Normandy and
England.'" Among these must probably be enumerated the
castles of Beaugi and Langeis, the archdeaconry of Rouen, and
the treasurership of the church of York.^ For the next few
years Geoffrey seems to have been generally with his father, to
whom he was tenderly attached. He was present in 1182 when
Henry made his will, in which his favourite son is made one of
the dispensers of his charitable bequests.2' He remained faithful
to his sire in spite of the disloyalty of his brothers. In 1187,

" Ger. Cambrensis, Vitse Episc. Lin- The Beverley historians claim Geof-

• coin., apudAngl. Sacr., ii., 418. There frey as one of the provosts of their

is a letter from him as bishop of Lincoln minster. He had nothing to do with

to a Mr. Ei. Blondus, censuring him it. Geoffrey provost of Beverley was

for disobedience and neglect of duty. a nephew of archbishop Roger, and

The writer seems to be Peter de Blois probably succeeded Becket in his office.

(Petri Bles. 0pp., i., 184-5). In 1176 his uncle bought for him, for

" Ger. Cambr., 380-1. Rob. deMonte, the large sum of 11,000 marks, the

802. Ben. Petrib., 354-5. Trivet, 82. post of chancellor to Henry Fitz-Henry

Diceto, col. 517, 613. Gervase, col. the young king. He was lost at sea in

1458. Stubbs, col. 1724. Hoveden, the montli of October in the following

348-9. Matt. Paris, 117. Angl. Sacra, year, as he was crossing from England

ii., 418. Fsedera, n. e., i., 37. into Normandy. He was also arch-

" Rob. de Monte, 802. Trivet, 82. deacon of York (Ben. Petrib., 149, 249.

Ben. Petrib., 356. Hoveden, 349. Uiceto, col. 589, 599. Hoveden, 315.

' Ger.Cambr., 380. Lei, Coll., i., 290, Trivet, 73. Bromton, col. 1115).
ex. Gualt. Coventr., where it is said that * Gervase, col. 1459-60. Gerald de

Richard I. gave these places and posts to Instit. Princ, ed. Stevenson, 160.

Geoffrey. Gerald is the sole authority Fsedera, i., 47. Nichols's Royal Wills,

for his having been treasurer of York. 7. Nicolas's Test. Vet., 2.

1191 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 255

when Philip of France raised the orijlamme aj^ainst Ilcnry of
England, Geoffrey buckled on his harness, and the king gave
him the command of a fourth part of his army.- He Avas with
his father in the town of Mans when it was surroimded and
fired by the French soldiery, and after many attempts to ex-
tinguish the flames, and a vigorous resistance, he made his
escape with Henry and his men to the castle of Fresnelles.
Many had fallen down by the way-side ft'om fatigue, and Henry
himself was worn out. Geoflrey desired him to repose, and
wished to watch on the outside of the castle to protect his father
from an assault. Henry would not permit him to do this ; and
replenished from his own stores the wardrobe of Geoffrey,
which had been lost at Mans. On the morrow Henry got him-
self away to Angers ; and Geoffrey, after a perilous journey, in
which he was followed by a hmidred knights, joined his father
at Savigny. What a contrast to the baseness of John, the
youngest, and the best beloved of all his ungrateful children !"

In June 1189 Henry was still abroad. After the capture of
Tours a discreditable peace was made with France, at the making
of which Geoffrey, full of indignation, would not permit his
sick father to be present. The end of the king was now at
hand, hastened as it was and embittered by the treachery of
John.* He was in the castle of Chinon,

" Zu Chinou halt der konig seineu hof,"

and Geoffrey never left his side. One day the head and the
shoulders of the sick man were resting on his breast ; he was
driving away with a fan the flies that buzzed around his father's
face, whilst a knight at the end of the bed held in his bosom
his master's feet. The eyes of the enfeebled monarch opened
and fell upon his son. His harshness was gone, and he spoke,
for at such times even stern and cold-hearted men cannot be
silent. He told Geoffrey that, basely-born although he was,
he had been a truer child than all his rightfid childi'en. Should
his life be spared that filial affection should not be unrewarded.
He bade him prosper and be blessed. The tears rushed fi'om
the listener's eyes, and muttering a few aftectionate words he
left the room and the scene which had caused him such poignant
sorrow. The fever meanwhile increased in violence, and
Geoffrey, unable to refrain himself, sought again the chamber
of his sire, Henry was now dying. His eyes were closed,
but when he heard the expressions of sorrow which his son was
unable to repress, they opened upon him again. He knew him

' Ben. Petrib., 467. Bromton, col. 452-3. Eecueil des Hist, des Gaules,
1133. xviii., 216.

" Ger. Cambrensis, 381. Ben. Petrib., * Polydore Vergil, 276.

256 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

and faltered out his wish that he might become bishop of
Winchester or archbishop of York. He blessed him for the
last time, and stretched out to him, as a final token of his
affection, a precious ring of gold, with a panther gi'aven on it,
which he had destined for his kinsman, the king of Spain. He
gave him, also, another more costly jewel, a I'ing with a noble
sapphire, which seems to have acted like a talisman.'' After this
the king passed away, and Geoffi'ey committed his remains
most reverently to the tomb. The body was laid upon the bier
in the church of Fontevraud, when Richard, one of the dead
man's rebellious children, unexpectedly and hastily came in.
He gazed for the last time iipon the face of his injured sire.
There he lay subdued at last, his countenance still retaining
the stem expression which it had worn in life. In that awful
presence Richard would remember that filial ingratitude had
made that proud heart cease to beat.

"Thy silver hairs I see,

So still, so sadly bright !
And, father, father ! hut for me

They had not been so white !
I bore thee down, high heart ! at last

No longer could thou strive ;
Oh ! for one moment of the jjast

To kneel and say — ' forgive.' "

He groaned in spirit, and throwing himself on his knees beside
the corpse, seemed to be deeply penitent."^

As soon as the funeral was over Geoffrey gave up the seals
of the chancery, which he had held for several years. There
seemed to be every prospect of peace and affection between
him and Richard. Vain hope ! Geoffrey, after visiting his
possessions in the vicinity of Tours and Angers, rejoined his
brother, who Avas then in Normandy, but he was met by cold
and angry looks. Evil influences had been unhappily at work,
and Richard's mind was Avarped. Geoff'rey returned to England.
When he arrived at London he was met by a large body of the
York ecclesiastics, informing him that he had been elected to
the see of York, which had been long vacant, and desiring him
to come to them. He declined positively to accept the honom-.
He was not fit for it. He told them that he was fonder of dogs
and hawks than of books and priests. The Yorkshiremen made
a characteristic reply ; they told him that it was not necessary
tiiat he should altogether abandon those tastes when he came

' A legacy which reminds us of the Annule, qui pestem, fsedumque arcere venenum
lines of Hugo Grotius in his Dactylic- Pectore, qui philtri crederis esse loco."

*^^<^^' '' Ger. Cambrensis, 381-2. Ben.

" Annulo, cui moriens, et villas credit et agros, Petrib., 347. Hoveden, 372 b. Matt.
Tutelamque suae prolls, opesque pater : Paris, 126.

I

1191 — 1207.] ARCiimsiiop geoffrey. 257

into the North/ This temjitation, and the recollection of his
father's Avish/ secured Geoffrey's consent. It may be well to
observe that his election by the chapter of York had been by
no means an unanimous one, and this division of opinion had
been caused, to, a great extent, by his own indiscretion. It
would appear that Richard had promised him the archbishopric
soon after his father's death, upon which Geoffrey had hastily
sent his clerks to England to displace the custodiers of the
temporalities and spiritualities of the see.^ On the 10th of
August the chapter of York met, in obedience to the royal
mandate, to elect a new archbishop, and knoAving as they did
the wishes of the late king and his successor,'' their choice,
naturally enough, fell upon Geoffrey. Hubert Walter the dean,
the bishop of Durham, and many of the canons were not present^
and the election therefore Avas objected to as informal. Walter,
Avho had at one time been himself nominated by the chapter,
appealed to the pope, and with the assistance of the queen-
mother, Avho had a stepmother's dislike to Geoffrey, he prevailed
upon Richard to make an order that everything at York should
continue as it was when his father died. The spiritual charge
therefore of the diocese returned into the hands of the dean, and
the temporal possessions to the care of their old custodiers.*
This Avas the state of things when Geoffrey, after accepting
the archbishopric at the hands of the representatives of the
chapter, Avent to the court at Windsor. Every one seemed to
be against him. After a long controversy the matter in dispute
was amicably arranged. The coronation of the king took place,
and, after Avards, on the 16th of September, Avhen they Avere at
PipcAvell abbey ,-^ Richard confirmed the election of his brother,
and the fact was formally announced by Puiset bishop of
Durham.

When this was over tlie king impressed upon his brother
the necessity of his being ordained a priest, and threatened in
the end, if he did not consent, to seize the revenues of the
archbishopric. Geoffrey was now in a dilemma. He had
some lingering hope of having a share in the kingdom ; he
would lose this if he became a priest ; if he should not be
ordained, he Avould be ejected from his see. After nnich hesita-
tion he Avas admitted to the priesthood at Southwell, by his

' Ger. Cambrensis, 382-3. letters bavin;,' been writlen to tbe cbap-

f Heminoford, apud Gale., ii., 518. ter to tbat eileot. llovcdcn. 373 6.
Fordim, Scoticbrouicon, i., 498. ' Ben. Tetrib., 553-1. Dicelo, col.

«• Ben. Petrib., 5i9. Wm. Neubr., 653. Bromton, col. 1156-7. Ilovcdcn,

357. Cbron. Jo. de Oxenedcs, 72. 373 6.

Bromton, col. 1155. Hoveden, 373 6. ■' Ben. Petrib., 562. Wni. Neubr.,

Malt. Paris, 127. 357. Diceto, col. 653.. Bromton, col.

'' Wm. Neubr. (357-8) speaks of 1161. Hoveden, 375 6. Malt. Par., 129.

S

258 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

siiifrcagan, John bishop of Whitlierne.* Puiset, the bishop of
Diu-ham, was an enemy of his, and Geoffi'ey would not allow
liim to officiate, a slight which Puiset never afterwards forgot.^
Geoffrey had also made iip his mind that the pope should con-
secrate him. In the month of October he paid a visit to York,
but amid the festivities and gratulations which greeted his
advent, he manifested his customary want of tact and infirmity
of temper. The new dean and treasurer, Henry Marshall and
Buchard de Puiset, a nephew of the bishop of Durham, besought
him to install them, but he refused, inconsiderately, to do so
till his own appointment had been confirmed by the pope. This
added fuel to a fire which had been for some time kindled.

One incident in the long contention which followed is
peculiar and amusing. Geofti'ey was coming to the vespers in
the minster, but being somewhat late, the dean and the treasurer
ordered the service to begin without him. He arrived soon
after with Hamo, the precentor, and several of the canons, and
was very indignant at the slight. He and the precentor bade
the ser\'ice cease, the dean and the treasurer giving a contrary
injunction. The singers, however, were silent, and Geoffrey
began the vespers again. The treasui'er then directed the tapers
to be extinguished, and there was an end of everything. The
archbishop-elect now put the church under an interdict. On
the morrow when, according to their wont, for it was a high
festival, the whole population of the city flocked to the min-
ster to hear the service, Geoffrey, the dean and his brethren,
were in the the choir endeavoimng to come to terms, but the
two culprits would render no satisfaction, and added insult to
injury. The crowd would have rushed upon them if it had not
been restrained by Geoffrey. Buchard and the dean were
greatly alarmed. One fled to the deanery and the other to
St. William^s tomb. They were excommunicated and the
interdict continued.'"

Complaints of the conduct of Geoffrey were made to the
king, and Richard, who for other reasons was annoyed at his
brother, took possession of all his private property at home and
abroad. When Geoffrey^s messengers wished to go to the
papal court, to obtain the pall for their master, the king would
not allow them to leave the country." The two brothers met
again in December. William king of Scotland was summoned

* Ger.Cambrensis,383. Ben.Petrib., ' C4er. Cambr., 383.

565. Bromton, col. 1162. Hoveden, '" Iloveden, 378 b.

375 S. Matt. Paris, 131. Diccto (col. « Ben. Petrib., 569. Bromton, col.

653) said that tbe ordination took place 1166. Hoveden, 375 J, who puts this

in the presence of Fulmar, archbishop occurrence in a somewhat diflerent

of Treves. place.

1191 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 259

to the English com*t, but he refused to come unless Geoffrey
would escort him. Richard, upon this, desired the archbishop-
elect to do so, and he attended the Scottish monarch from the
Tn^eed to Canterbury." He entreated the Scottish kino; to
prevail upon his brother to restore his property, and AVilliam
made a promise to do so, but forgot it. Soon after this Richard
made a vain attempt, through the bishop of Durham and
several other dignitaries, to induce Geoffrey to give up his
archbishopric on the plea that his election had been an informal
one, and when he refused to do so, he deprived him of the
temporalities which were entrusted to Puiset. A few days
afterwards the dispute came under the cognizance of John of
Anagnia, the papal legate. Every attempt was made to dislodge
Geoffi'ey, but to no purpose. Puiset and Hubert Walter, who
was now bishop of Salisbury, brought forward the informality
of his election ; the new treasurer and the dean depreciated his
character by saying that he was a homicide and born in adultery;
the messengers of the king tried threats and bribes. The
legate, however, was obdurate. At this crisis a compromise
was effected, and a general amnesty Avas proclaimed. Money,
carried the day when reason and argument were powerless.
Geoffrey promised his brother tlu'ce thousand marks towards
the expenses of the crusade, on which he was just embarking.
Richard, on his part, restored Geofl'rey^s private property and
the temporalities of his see, and prevailed upon him to confirm
the privileges of the York chapter and Puiset, the dean, the
treasurer and the bishop of Durham having relinquished the
appeals which they had made against him/ His election to
the archbishopric was solemnly confirmed by the legate and
the pope.'' Geoffrey^s chief anxiety now was to raise the
money for which he had pledged his word, and he was obliged
to ask his clergy for a subsidy. It would probably have been
given if the bishop of Diu'ham had not opposed it. Soon after
this, in the beginning of 1190, he was summoned abroad, and
found his brother at Lyons. When Richard heard that he had
come without the subsidy he was in a fury. It was in vain that
Geoffrey gave him the reason for his insolvency, and requested
him to take the revenues of his see till they satisfied his claims.
This was not enough for Richard, Avho seized upon them all
Avithout reserve. He sent also the bishop of Bath and Wells,
the dean of Mans and Buchard de Puiset to the pope, that Geof-
frey's election might be annulled. In this he was too late, for the
archbishop Avas a far readier politician, and had out-gcneralled

" Ben. Petrib., 575-6. Diccto, col. 577-9. Bromtoii, col. 1169. llovedcn,
649. Bromton, col. 1167. 377-8.

p Ger.Cambrensis,385. Ben. rclrib., 'i Diccto, col. 653. iMalt. TarLs, 131.

s 2

260 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

him. He liad already sent some of his clerks to Rome, and the
royal messengers met them as they were returning, bringing
with them the official confirmation of Geoffrey's appointment
as well as the pall/ Opposition was therefore useless, and the
two brothers were reconciled at Tours. An arrangement was
made about the payment of the money, and then Richard, who
had already assumed the staff and the scrip of the pilgrim,
went on his journey into the East. His favom-s, however, were
always marred by some qualification or reservation, for he was
full of mean subterfuges and petty jealousies. Before he went
away he left a strict injunction forbidding any archbishop in
his dominions to consecrate his brother. Geoffrey was all the
while in possession of a general licence from the pope which
authorized his consecration by any prelate of that high degree.
Richard is also said to have extorted a promise from his brothers,
John and Geoffrey, that they would not retiu^n to England for
three years after his departure without his special permission.
He subsequently withdrew this restriction in the case of John,*
and Gerald Cambrensis informs us that Geoffrey had the like
concession, but in this he seems to be mistaken.^

Geoffrey was now at peace with his brother, but he was not
a man who could remain long quiet. His old feud with the
family of Puiset seems to have revived. Geoffrey had ex-
communicated Buchard, the treasurer of York, but that
dignitaiy, nothing daunted, had made his way to Rome, and
pleaded his cause before Clement III., with such success, that
ixot only was the bar removed, but the pope had refused to con-
firm the election of Geoffrey and to send him the pall. He
liad allowed, also, the bishop of Durham to be altogether inde-
pendent of the see of York." In the spring of 1191 the queen-
mother seems to have gone to Rome, at the king's request, to
beg the pope to reverse his sentence and to consecrate Geoffrey."
Soon after this Celestine III. ascended the papal chair, but
Richard, as has been already stated, had changed his mind
with reference to his brother. The archbishop- elect, however,
dispatched Simon de Apulia,'" one of his clerks, who was a
Calabrian by birth, and a man of eloquence and learning, to
the papal court. He was accompanied by Hamo, precentor of
York, William Testard, archdeacon of Nottingham, and Ralph
de Wigetoe,'' canon of Ripon. They were so successfid that

"■ Gerald Cambrensis, 386-7. Dicoto, " Hovedeii, 392.

col. 663. '" Wm. Neuljr., 405. He was after-

' Ben. Petrib., 584. Hoveden, 378 b. wards dean of York and bishop of Ex-

Eic. Divis. Chron., 15. Bromton, col. eter.

1171. ' Ger. Cambrensis, 387. •^ There is an extraordinary story

« Ben. Petrib., 629. Hoveden, 3S7-8. about this man in Hoveden (437). He

Bromton, col. 1190. was sick unto death at Rome in 1196,

1191—1207.]

ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY.

2G1

not only was bishop Pniset deprived of his privilege and ordered
to render obedience to York/ but^ in addition to this, the
chiu'ch and diocese of York were exempted from the authority
of any papal legate, unless he was some cardinal of high degree
or honoured with some special mission. By the same messengers
there arrived an order from the pope addi'cssed to the archbishop
of Tours, commanding him to consecrate Geoffrey without
delay .^ The ceremony, therefore, took place in the church of
St. Mani'ice at Tours on the 18th of August, 1191. The arch-
bishop himself officiated, and was assisted by eight other prelates
with much pomp and circumstance." The archbishop of Canter-
biuy and his sufli'agans were greatly offended at what they
considered to be an infringement on the rights of the English
metropolitan. When Baldwin had first heard of Geoffrey's
election, he had made an attempt to assert the old privileges of
his see, and had made a fruitless order that the archbishop of
York should be consecrated by no one but himself.*

We now come to one of the most extraordinary scenes in
Geoffrey's life, a scene which possesses all the interest of a
romance. '^ He was wishful to return to England, and his
brother John urged him to embark, but there was his promise
to the contrary to prevent him. England was then imder the
charge of William, bishop of Ely, who is said to have had some
strong reasons for keeping Geoffrey out of the way •/ and at his

aud there he confessed tothepopeand the
cardinals that he had got many forged
letters in the Eoman court for himself
and his master Geoffre3\ The pope de-
sired the archbishop of Canterbury to
seize them. A man of the name of
Roger de Ripon was caught at London
with some of them in his possession, and
poison was found on him, which had
been given to him, as he said, to destroy
Simon d,e Apulia, then dean of York,
and several of the canons. Simon was
sent for to London, and the poison, some
gold rings and a beautiful zone, all
poisoned, were handed over to him and
were burned. The bearer was impri-
soned. Geoffre}' was blamed for all
this by his enemies. Recucil des Hist,
des Gaules, xviii., 77.

y Ben. Petrib., 691. Bromton, col.
1224.

-■ Ben. Pctrib., 694. Gerald, 387.
Bromton, col. 1222. Hoveden, 399.
Knyghton, col. 2102. ^Vm. Ncubr.
(405) says that the bishop of Ely was
the great cause of the delay in Gcolfrey 's
consecration, having seized and wasted

the archiepiscopal property whilst he
was abroad. Bromton (1224) sa3'sthat
the bishop seized Geoffrey's goods in
consequence of his consecration.

" Gerald, 388. Wm. Neubr., 405.
Ann. Waverl., ed. Gale, ii., 164. Ric.
Divis. Chron., 34. Diceto, col. 521,
663. Bromton, col. 1224. Contin. Fl.
Wigorn., ii., 159. Matt. Paris, 136.

* Ben. Petrib., 563-4. Hoveden,
375 b. Bromton, col. 1162. Gervase,
col. 1570-1. Anglia Sacra, i., 10. Hcn-
ri([uez, Phoenix Reviviscens, 20.

'■ This scene is described in Gerald,
389-92. Ben. Petrib., 695. Wm.
Neubr., 406. Ann de Margan, apud
Gale, ii., 10. Ann. "Waverl., ibid., 164.
liic. Divis. Chron., 34-6. Diceto, col.
663. Bromton, col. 1221. Gerva.se,
col. 1576. Hoveden, 399. Contin. Fl,
Wigorn., ii., 159. Matt. Paris, 136.
Polydore Vergil, 274. Recucil des
Hist, des Gaules, xviii., 63.

'' Too much abuse ha.s been heaped
upon the bishop for his share in this
advent ure. Tt seems to me that he was
only doing his duty.

262 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

request the countess of Flanders and Boulogne forbade the
archljishop to pass through her territories, or to sail from any of
her ports. His suite might go, if they chose, but they must go
without him, and they were to land at Dover. Geoffrey, who
had resolved upon the journey, was not to be kept behind. His
train reached Dover in safety, and whilst every one, no doubt,
was examining it with curious eyes for the archbishop, Geoffrey
was on the sea with a small party of his friends in an English
fishing-smack. The constable of the castle was brother-in-law
to the bishop of Ely, who seems to have ordered every one to
keep a sharp look-out. The exile neared the shore very early in
the morning, but he could not even then escape the vigilance of
the garrison. He had disguised himself, but a royal face is not
easily concealed. He was ordered into the castle, but he refused
to go. He got upon a swift horse and galloped towards the
priory. A horseman from the castle followed him in hot pursuit,
and stretched out his hand to seize hold of Geoffrey^s rein.
The archbishop, still mindful of his old prowess in the field,
gave the steed of his pursuer a kick with his right foot which
nearly overthrew it, and then escaped to the monastery. It Avas
immediately smTounded by a band of soldiers. The constable
of the castle sent messenger after messenger in vain, ordering
him either to take the oath of allegiance, or to return. What
had they to do with it ? He would do neither. The prince-
bishop was imdaunted, and confronted his foes with a fearless
bearing from his chair beside the altar, arrayed in his stole and
all), and bearing in his hand his crozier -v^TOught with ivory and
gold. When the soldiers gazed upon him as he sat, they would
think of the martyrdom and the intrepidity of Becket. A
sudden movement now came over them. They threw themselves
on their knees before the altar, and beat their breasts, as if to
beg forgiveness for what they were going to do, and then they
caught hold of Geoffrey by the arms and shoulders, and dragged
liim to the door. He resisted, and his head was dashed against
the pavement, but they carried him out by the feet and arms.
They tried to force him on his horse, but he would not mount
it, so they pushed him along through the wet and mud, still
bearing his crozier in his hand. They took him to the castle,
where the constable received him on his knees with tears
streaming down his cheeks. On that night a wind came roar-
ing over the sea, and a storm arose which shook those massive
walls to their fomidations.

Geoffrey was in Dover castle for eight days without fire,
water, or food, save such as his servants could buy for him in
the town. His horses were sent oflp to the bishop of Ely, who
was overjoyed at what had taken place, and he endeavoured to

1191 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 263

tempt his prisoner either to leave the country, or to take the
oath of allej?iance. He woukl do ncitlier; for a grievous insult
had been offered to him, and he knew that he would soon be in
a position to dictate terms instead of accepting them. The tide
of popular sympathy had already set in towards him. The
mob, Avhen they were carrying him to the castle, had shouted at
the soldiery, indignant that a priest and the king's brother
should be thus treated. The constable, who had been an mi-
willing tool, requested and obtained GeofFrey^s pardon for what
he had done. The news soon ran through the whole country,
and caused much indignation and excitement. The bishop of
Ely was anything but popular, and this fi'eak made him more
disliked than ever. The bishop of Lincoln at once excom-
municated the perpetrators of the outrage. The bishops of
London and Norwich threatened and remonstrated with their
brother of Ely. Prince John, who Avas at Lancaster, took up
the matter with great warmth. He ordered the regent, at his
peril, to release his brother from his prison. The bishop of Ely
did not dare to be disobedient. He sent Geoffrey's uncle,
Hameline earl of Warren, to Dover to authorize his discharge
on condition that he came to London to the council, and pro-
mised to abide by its decree. The pledge was given, and the
captive left the castle in the same humble guise in which he
entered it, passing through a rejoicing crowd. He halted for a
"while at Canterbury to visit the tomb of the martyred primate,
and, soon afterwards, arrived at London. At Reading he met
his brother John and many of the bishops and nobles of the
realm, making his complaint against the chancellor, and begging
for redress, which was soon promised. The bishop of Ely, how-
ever, would make him no amends. He set prince John's friends
at naught; he would not meet them, and received all their
overtures and proposals with the greatest contempt. He paid a
bitter penalty for his folly and want of tact. He was excom-
municated and deprived of his chancellorship, and was obliged
to seek safety by- an ignominious flight. Geoffrey now Avent on
a visit to Northampton, where he had formerly been a student,
and received a hearty welcome. He then set out for York,
where he was solemnly enthroned in the minster on the festival
of All Saints.*

Geoffrey was at this time in the middle of another con-
troversy Avith the l)ishop of Durham. That restless prelate had
left no stone mitvu'ned to procure the liberation of his see from
its allegiance to York. He made appeal after appeal to Rome.

' Gerard Cambrensis, 392-1-07. Ben. 6G 1-5. Bromton, col. 1225-8. Knvffh-
Petrib., 697-700. Wm. Neiibr., -lOG, ton, col. 2101. liovoden, 3D9-100.
etc. Eic. Divis., 37-42. Diceto, col. Malt. Tari.s, 139-140.

264 FASTI EBORACENSES, [a.D.

He refused to pay the sums which were due from those churches
withm the diocese of York which belonged to Durham. Geof-
frey Avrote in vain to him to demand redress, and to require his
submission. Puiset regarded his threats and his entreaties with
contempt. He said that he had made his profession long ago
to archl)ishop Roger, and that was quite enough. Geoffrey,
upon this, thundered at him the sentence of excommunication
from his minster, with candle, book, and bell.-^ His uncontrol-
lable temper manifested itself in several ways. He overthrew
the altars at which Puiset had officiated, and broke the chalices
Avhich he had used. He was very angry with his brother,
prince John, because he had been at the same table with the
bishop of Diu'ham after his excommunication; and he held
aloof from him till he had expressed regi'ct for what he had
donc.^ Puiset seems to have cared but little for these censures
of his rival. In the following year, 1192, the ban was repeated,
on the festival of the Purification, but it was looked upon with
contempt. Puiset, however, was on his way to the papal court
to prosecute his appeal, when he and Geoffrey had an intervicAV
at London, in the presence of the queen-mother. The case of
each was heard, and Puiset expressed his readiness to abide by
the decision of the queen and the archbishop of Rouen. Geof-
frey would have none of this, unless his rival Avould first come
to the church of York to seek for absolution, and to render his
obedience. Puiset then said that he would make no peace Avitli
him unless he Avould solemnly proclaim, in the same place, the
removal and the needlessness of the sentence which he had
passed. Geoffi^ey of course refused, and the matter was at an
end. It was during this visit that the archbishop excited the
wrath of the Southern prelates by having his cross carried erect
from his residence in the New Temple to Westminster. They
Avould have broken the sacred symbol unless some royal per-
sonages had interfered, and the bishop of London forbade the
celebration of divine service in the New Temple, which com-
pelled Geoffrey to loAver his cross and to desert his residence.
Puiset now pushed his appeal at Rome.'' He complained to the
pojoe that he had been excommunicated Avhilst his appeal to the
papal court Avas undecided, and Celestine revoked the sentence
on the gi-ound that it had been hastily and imprudently made.*
He also sent a message to the bishops of Rochester and Lincoln,
and the abbat of Peterborough, to the effect that if, upon

f Ben. Pctrib., 710-17. Bromton, * Ibid., 729-30. Bromton, col. 1237-8.

col. 1235. Gervaso, col. 1580. Hovoden, 408 6.

s Ben. Petrib., 727. Bromton, col. ■ Ben. Petrib., 733. Wm. Neubr.,

1236. 443-5. Bromton, col. 1238. Hoveden,

405-6. Labbe, x., 1769.

1191 — 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 2G5

enquiry, they found that Geoffrey had really destroyed the altars
and chalices, as was stated, that then Puisct shoidd be altogether
released from his subjection to Geoffrey during his life.-/ The
two combatants met after this at Northampton; and then, at
the request of the bishop of Lincoln, the farther consideration
of the question was deferred to a future day.

The feud between Geoffrey and the dean and chapter of
York had been temporarily settled, but this and every other
armistice only seemed to inspire them with new vigour for
assault and defence. The quarrel was now raging again, and
Puiset, who was a man of war himself, did his best to see that
the chapter were victorious. Heniy Marshall the dean, Buchard
the treasui'cr, Hugh Mui'dac and Adam de Tornovere, canons of
the church, and Peter de Ros, clerk of the bishop of Diu'ham,
had been put by Geoffrey under an anathema. The archbishop
of Rouen and the other justiciars of England ordered the
Northern primate to restore to them everything of Avhich they
had been deprived, and, if he refused to do so, William de
Stute\dll and other powerful barons were directed to compel
him, or to seize upon the temporalities of his see. Geoffrey
was inexorable, unless the culprits would present themselves at
the door of the minster in the guise of penitents, and receive
absolution; promising, at the same time, to abide by the
decision of the chapter in all future controversies. Wearied
Avith delays and opposition they complied with his request, and
another truce was made. The dean, however, a brother of
William the earl-marshal, refused to stoop to the conditions,
and spoke high words against his diocesan. Geoffrey met him
with equal spirit. He put the city under an interdict, and
would allow no divine service to be performed in it whilst the
dean was within the walls. '^'

In 1193, whilst Richard I. was in captivity, prince John, it
is well known, began to intrigue against his absent brother.
His conduct aroused the indignation of Geoffrey. Whilst the
barons in the South were taking up arms to jn'otect the rights
of their imprisoned sovereign, he collected together the forces
of the North. Hugh Bardolf, the sheriff of Yorkshire, and
William de Stutevill were with him, and they went to Doncaster,
and began to fortify the town. Geoffrey, mindfid of the
exploits of his youth, was eager to invest the neighbouring
castle of Tickhill which belonged to his rebellious brother ; but
Bardolf and Stutevill refused to accom])any him, on the plea
that John was their suzerain. The archljishop, full of wrath,
called them traitors to their king and country, and withdrew

J Bcu. Petril)., 711-2. * Bon. Putrib., 711-5. Eromtou, col. 1230-10.

266 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

from tliem with all his men. Geoffrey^ who with all his
impetuosity had an affectionate heart, was much concerned at
the misfortunes of his brother. Richard wrote to him from his
prison, begging him, above all others, to watch over his king-
dom, and to raise the necessary funds for his release. Whilst
the Cistercians and the Gilbertines were surrendering their
wool, and stripping their chm'ches of their plate, to contribute
their share towards the king^s ransom, the canons of York
refused to listen to their archbishop when he asked them to
give up a fourth part of their income for the same purpose.' It
was, no doubt, merely their personal dislike of the asker which
prompted their refusal. In course of time this opposition seems
to have been overcome, as the treasures and relics of the chui'ch
of York were pa-uTied for a while to alleviate the necessities of
Richard."' When that monarch returned to England, there was
on the whole but little friendship between him and his brother
Geoffrey, for the children of Henry II. were united together by
no strong fraternal ties. In 1195, after a visit to Sherwood
forest, and an interview, as the legend tells us, with the famous
outlaw Robin Hood," Richard held his first council at Notting-
ham. Geoffrey sat at his right hand, and purchased, for the
large sum of 3,000 marks and a rent of 100 marks per annum,
the shrievalty of Yorkshire." Many complaints were made at
that meeting, by ecclesiastics as well as laymen, of Geoffrey's
exactions and extortions, but he treated them with contemptuous
silence, and no investigation seems to have been made.? He
was not present at the coronation, as his brother would not allow
him to bear his cross.^' On the 23rd of April in the same year
(1195), when Richard was at Waltham, he confirmed to Geoffrey
his possessions abroad, and reconciled him to his old enemy, of
whom we have lost sight for some time, the bishop of Ely.
Soon after this the archbishop fell into disgrace for having
injiu'ed the canons of York, and was deprived of the temporalities
of his see, which remained for some time in the kmg's hands,
being held for him by William de Stutevill and Geoffrey
Haget.'" Geoffrey was at this time suspended from his spi-
ritual duties, and his fortunes were at their lowest ebb. The
only place that was left to him was the manor of Ripon, at
which he for some time resided ; and it was here probably that
he was brought into more immediate connection with the learned

' Hoveden, 412Z., 416. " Hoveden, 419. Madox, Hist. Ex-

'" Fabric Rolls of York Minster, ed. chequer, i., 459.

Surtees Soc, 152. p Hoveden, 419 h.

" " The kynge came to Notynghame, « Ibid., 420. Ben. Petrib. (556)

TT.Yt^l k»yghtes in grete araye, gays that he was there : SO do Bromton,

For to take that gentyll knygUt, „„i ith i t> ^ t ^ ej. i .o

And Kobyn Hode, U' he may." ^ol. llo/ ; and Peter Langtoft, «. e., 142.

"■ Hoveden, 420 b, 423.

1191 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 267

Peter de Blois, one of the canons of that place, and incited him
to commemorate, in a work adcb'cssed to himself, the life and
merits of St. Wilfrid.'' In the autumn of the same year Geof-
frey went into Normandy to see his brother, and purchased his
forgiveness for the sum of 3,000 marks, which restored to him
all the temporal possessions of Avhicli he had been deprived.
He seems to have lost them again immediately for his intem-
perate language against the king for dispossessing him,' for he
had not the slightest particle of discretion; and Fuller is not
far wrong when he says that Richard was kinder to him " than
his tumultuous natm'e did deserve. ^^" The king was again in
possession of the temporalities of the see. He woidd gladly
have seen Geoffrey deposed, and it was with gi'cat regret that
he heard, in 1196, of his being restored to the favour of the
pope. He was more bitter against him than ever, and deter-
mined to let and hinder him as far as he possibly could. He
persisted in giving away the stalls and offices at York, a course
of conduct which brought the two brothers into collision. This
state of things seems to have continued until 1198, Avhen Geof-
frey went to the court in Normandy at his brother^s request,
and they were again friends, Richard giving him back his
temporalities, and promising to interfere no more with the
appointments in his cathedral. He changed his mind a few
days after this in consequence of the representations of the
York chapter ; and it was in vain that pope Innocent, by pro-
mises and threats, endeavoured to persuade him to be reconciled
to Geoffrey.*' Richard^s sudden death, which took place shortly
afterwards, put an end to all negotiations.

It has been already stated that the chapter of York refused
to listen to Geoffrey when he urged them to contribute towards
the ransom of his brother. Their disinclination to grant what
he demanded was caused by the revival of the old feud, into
which it will be necessary, although perhaps tediovis, to enter.
A second quarrel between friends who have been temporarily
united is always worse than the first, and in this instance the
trite observation was completely verified. In 1191; the pro-
motion of Henry Marshall to the bishopric of Exeter vacated
the deanery of York. Geoftrey, who was then at llipon, gave
the post to his brother Peter. Peter, however, was then at
Paris, and the king urged his brother to bestow tlie dignity on
John, provost of Douay. Upon this the archbishop strove to

♦ Bale, cent, iii., 231. Vossius, 426. ' Hoveden, 425, 428. Ann. Burton.,

There is a letter from Peter de Blois apud Gale, iii., 203.

addressed to him exhorting him to " Fuller's Church History, bk. iii.,

resist heretics (Petri Bles. Opp.j i., 45.

350-1 . • Hoveden, 435 b, 442 b, 446 b.

268 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

extricate himself from the difficulty by giving the deanery to
one of his clerks, Simon de Apulia. When the chance of a
controversy seemed to be over, he endeavoured to prevail upon
Simon to occupy it merely as the deputy, and for the benefit of
Peter. As this was a very questionable transaction, the chapter
of York shewed their opinion of it by electing Simon at once
to the deanery. Geoffrey now made another move, and gave
the office to a great favourite of his brother, Philip de Poictiers,
archdeacon of Canterbury, who was subsequently bishop of
Dm'ham. The chapter were immediately in arras, and the
battle begun. They held aloof from their archbishop, and
claimed the right of electing their own superior. They would
contribute nothing towards the ransom of king Richard. The
messengers of Geoffrey were sent to make an appeal at the
papal court. They were to halt, however, in Germany to see
the king, and there they found that Simon had preceded them.
Richard forbade either party to appeal to Rome. He would
settle the dispute himself; and one of GeoflPrey^s friends was
sent to England to bid him hasten to his brother. In the mean-
time the canons had put an end to the service in the minster,
the bells were silent, and all the city was in a commotion. The
archbishop^s stall and the door which led into the nave from his
palace were locked. When Geoffi'ey sent to require the con-
tinuance of the service, they paid no attention to his request.
He went to the minster at Christmas, 1194, and finding it empty,
filled it with his own clerks, and excommunicated foui* of the
dignitaries of the cathedral for their contumacy. The sufferers,
accompanied by the superiors of the houses of St Mary^s, York,
and Sclby, and many of the Premonstratcnsian abbats, crossed
the seas to Richard, who was angry at Geoffrey^s disobedience,
and obtaining his consent proceeded to the papal com't, Avhere
the archbishop was also represented. The pope, on this occasion,
set aside the claims of both sides, and gave the deanery, of his
own authority, to Simon. The dean and his companions then
laid many seriou.s complaints against Geoffrey, relating for the
most part to his mal- administration of his diocese. They said
that he did nothing but hunt, and hawk, and busy himself with
military aftairs, whilst his spiritual charge was in the meanwhile
uncared for. There were no ordinations, no consecrations nor
synods; no abbat could obtain his benediction, although he
might find himself excommunicated. The liberties of the
minster of Y'^ork were set at naught. Some of the canons had
been put under an anathema; the vicars and officers of the
church had been ejected. If any one talked of making an
appeal to Rome he was thrown into prison. The archbishop
would not institute clerks to benefices, but gave them to boys

1191 — 1207.] ARCHBISHOP geoffrey. 269

and base persons. He made livings vacant at his pleasure to
obtain the revenues, and broke open the doors to get possession
of the clnirches. These were very serions charges, and Celestine
seems to have listened to them Avith attention. He determined
to have them thoroughly investigated. He issued a commission
of enquiry on the 8th of June, 1195, addressed to the bishop of
Lincoln and two others, authorizing them to examine into the
truth of these allegations. A few days before this, on the 31st
of May, the pope had written to Hamo dean of Lincoln, and
the archdeacons of Leicester and Northampton, authorizing
them to reinstate the vicars and ministers of the church of York
in their offices. The dean had told him that Geoflrcy had
ejected them, a statement which, if Hoveden, a contemporary,
is to be relied upon, was certaiidy unfounded.'" When the
j)apal mandate arrived at Lincoln the bishop found that Geof-
frey had already appealed to Rome, and that he was on his
way to that city. The day of the examination, therefore, Avas
deferred. Geoffrey never arrived at the pajial court, as Uichard
forbade his progress ; and he was afraid, besides, of the autumnal
fevers Avhich still ravaged the old capital of the world. His
clerks, however, acted in his stead, and obtained a decree which
frustrated every order that had been made in their master's
absence. He was ordered to be at Rome to answer for himself
at the following Martinmas ; and when he failed to appear either
in person or by deputy at that time and at Christmas, he Avas
suspended from his office. He had, shortly before this, met with
a sad reverse in England. Some of his servants had been
brought, at the instance of the canons of York, before the arch-
bishop of Canterbury, the king^s justiciar, and his felloAvs, on a
charge of robbery; and Geoffrey, failing to exculpate cither
himself or them, Avas disseised of the possessions of his archi-
episeopate, with the exception of the manor of Ripon, and he
lost his shrievalty as well.^ A short time before Michaelmas,
the dignitaries of the minster, Avho had been at Rome, retiu'ued
to York. They brought AAith them the pope's absolution from
the sentence of excommunication, Avhich Geoffrey had pro-
nounced against them; this Avas read solemnly in the cathedral
by bishop Puiset, and then, Avith the assistance of the secidar
arm, they were restored to their preferments. Ralph, arch-
deacon of the West Riding, had died as he Avas returning, but
Hamo the precentor and the archdeacons of Nottingham and
Cleveland reached York in safety. Geoffrey appealed against all
this to the pope, but Celestine merely suspended him on account
of his non-appearance at Rome in contravention of his promise. ^

" Hoveden, 415-17, 426-7. Labbc, ' llovedcn, 41G h, 423.

Couc, X., 1773, 1775. * Ibid., 417 b, 423, 425.

270 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

In the midst of tliis confusion, an event took place which
under another state of things would never have occurred. This
was nothing else than the presence of the archbishop of Canter-
bury at York, to hold a council in his capacity of legate, an
honour which the pope had conferred upon him on the 18th of
March, 1195/ Celestine, when he granted it, had stated that
his commission was to override any privilege that Geoffrey
might enjoy to the contrary, and this seems to shew that there
was some imderstanding between the pope and the archbishop
with regard to the council in the North of England. We may
be sure that there was great need for such a meeting, and for
the enforcement of discipline and order in the distracted diocese
of York. Hubert of Canterbury would be proud indeed to visit
the fair city of York as the representative of the pope, and
to enter that cathedral over which he had himself presided.
Geoffi-ey and he had come into collision on two or three occa-
sions about the bearing of the cross," but Hubert was a man of
wisdom and discretion, and was more ready to allay contention
than to excite it. It was clearly his duty now to go into the
North. In the summer of 1195, he sent two messengers, Peter
prior of Bineham and Master Geoffrey, to York to exhibit his
credentials, and to make arrangements for his intended visit. In
years gone by he would never have been permitted to enter
within the walls of the cathedi'al, and even now, in spite of their
dislike to Geoffrey, the dean and chapter still retained a shadow
of their old independence. They told him that he might come
to them as legate, but not as archbishop. Hubert arrived in
the metropolis of the North on the festival of St. Barnabas, and
for about a week was very usefully employed. He began by
holding an assize in his capacity of justiciar. He then visited
St. Mary's abbey, and deprived Robert the abbat for incom-
petency. After this he held a large assembly in the minster, at
which the greater part of the ecclesiastics of the North Avere
present. The legate shewed no ill-will towards his brother arch-
bishop. Geofirey's officers had, indeed, forbidden his approach,
for which they were excommunicated ; but he allowed them to
resume their duties, and they took a part in the proceedings of
the meeting. Every one seems to have been pleased with
Hubert, who was courteous and obliging.* The decrees which
were made at the two days" sitting at York have been preserved.*^

- Diceto, col. 679-80. Hovedeu, 429. the controversy for precedence between

Labbe, Cone, x., 1775. Canterbury and York, and in Bromton,

° Gervase, col. 1581-6, 1679. Ho- col. 1263, etc. Newbur^b says that

vcden, 418-9. Geoffrey was then abroad, " ad pla-

' Diceto, col. 694. Hoveden, 430 b. candam regis iram." Diceto, col. 693.

"^ An account is given in Wm.Neubr., Matt. Paris, 150. Hoveden, 429-30.

527, etc., together with the details of Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 17. Labbe,

1191 1207.] ARCHRISHOP GEOFFREY. 271

They relate, for the most part, to minute points of discipline
and ritualistic observances, the administration of the sacraments,
the dress and morals of the clergy, and the payment of titlies.
Two or three of the enactments are rather amusing. No clerk
^yas to drink in public, or to frequent taverns, and he was to
avoid flirtations and their consequences. Great attention was
to be paid to his tonsure. Any one who neglected it, and pos-
sessed a benefice, was to forfeit his cure. If he were not thus
pro%dded for, the riu'al deans and the archdeacons were to take
the oftender and deprive him, with their sacred fingers, of his
flowing locks.

We must not lose sight of the bishop of Lincoln and his
colleagues, whom the pope had empowered in June, 1195, to
examine into the quarrel between Geoffrey and his chapter and
clergy. The commissioners met at York, apparently to arrange
how to proceed, and afterwards at Torkley and Ancaster ; and
the chapter proved in their presence that they had been losers
through the archbishop of one thousand marks. "^ It was in
vain, however, that they begged the arbiters to proceed to
extremities against Geoffrey. " I would as lief be suspended
myself as suspend him,^^ was the bishop of Lincoln^ s* reply;
and so little seems to have been done that the complainants
were discontented, and sent messengers to Rome to tell the pope
of the negligence of his representatives. Celestine, however,
had anticipated their wishes, and had suspended the archbishop.
At the instance of the chapter he committed the spiritual
charge of the diocese to dean Simon and his brethren on the
23rd of December, and renewed the commission of enquiry
which he had issued a few months previously to the bishop of
Lincoln and his colleagues/ In February, 1196, the dean
returned from Italy to York to take possession of his office,
but some messengers of the archbishop met him, and protested
against his being installed until the controversy about the
deanery had been formally settled by the pope. Hot words and
blows ensued which brought upon the offenders the sentence of
excommunication. There Avas much angry feeling between the
combatants. When Geoffrey's suffragan, John bishop of Whit-
herne, came to York to consecrate the chrism and the oil, the
dean and chapter would not receive them ; and Avlicn he hallowed
them at SoutliAvell, Geoffrey Muschamp, archdeacon of Cleve-

X., 1791. "Wilkins, i., 505. Gervase, (Matt. Paris, 172.) He was canonized

col. 1589. Hubert went to Durham, in 1220 (Chron. Lanerco.^t, 28). There

and the Northern monasteries .seem to is a hfe of him in I'ez, Bibl. Ascetica,

have been regularly visited. ed. 1723.

<* Hoveden, 126, 428. ■'■ Hoveden, 131-2. Labbe, Cone,

^ Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, died in x., 1781-3. liecueil des Hist, des

1200, and Geoffrey was at his funeral. Gaules, xviii-, 77.

272 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

land, is actually said to have thrown them upon a dunghill.
This was, indeed, a most unhappy time for the Northern church.*
Whilst matters were thus complicated Geoffii-ey resolved to
pay the iisit to the papal court Avhicli he had too long neglected.
He went and was there a long time, as he could make but little
progress in his business. The pope was greatly annoyed at him,
and shewed his displeasure by the delays and impediments
which he threw in his way, and by his unfriendly bearing.* At
length he obtained a hearing, and the charges brought against
him were thoroughly examined. The verdict was unanimously
in GeoflFrey^s favour', and was a complete acquittal. He was
restored to his archbishopric, and the accusations of his enemies
Avere pronomiced to be worthless and malicious. He would now
be anxious to return to England, and to get possession of the
temporalities of his see ; but the king refused to see him, so he
retm'ned to Rome and resided there for some time.* In the
year 1198 Geoffi*ey and his chapter were summoned to Richard^s
covu-t in Normandy, as the king was most desirous that they
should at length be reconciled. The dean and the chapter did
not come at the appointed day, and the archbishop, who had
made his peace with Richard,-' went off to Rome on his o^n
affairs as well as on those of his brother. Three days afterwards
the York party arrived, and, with a bitter spirit of revenge,
evoked Richard^s feeling of jealousy against Geoffrey to such an
extent, that the performance of his promise that the temporalities
should be restored to him was for a Avliile deferred. The dean
and his friends returned home in high glee, boasting foolishly of
their intimacy with the king, and of the mischief which they
had eff"ected. In the same year the archbishop and his opponents
seem to have had another meeting in the presence of the king
in Normandy, and Richard was most Avishful that they should
consent to abide by the decision of the archbishop of R»uen,
and the bishops of Winchester and Worcester. Geoff'rey was
ready enough to do this, but the dean and his brethren would
refer the dispute to a tribunal of secular canons, and to no one
else; and they aroused the king's wrath by stating that the
archbishop had not confirmed the appointments which he had
made in their cathedral. It is impossible to reprehend in too
strong terms the conduct of the dean throughout this long con-
troversy. Geoffrey was indeed hasty and inconsiderate, but
Simon shewed himself to be full of malice and mischief-making.
In the same year the new pope. Innocent III., tried to mediate

^ Hoveden, 426, 427 b. reconciliation, and says that the cause

Gervase, col. 1590. Hoveden, 435 J. of Eicliard's anger was the deposition

' Gervase, col. 1597. Hoveden, 436. of the chancellor during his own cap-

} Matt. Paris (162) speaks of this tivity.

J

1191 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 273

in Geoffrey^s belialf. The kinp^ sent tlic bishop of Durliara and
four other prelates to his brother, to say that the temporalities
would be restored to him if he woidd confirm the presentations
which he had made to offices in the minster at York. Their
mission was fruitless, and the archbishop went again to Rome
followed by the king^s messengers. Innocent was now indig-
nant, and threats of an interdict were made if satisfaction were
not rendered to Geoffrey.^' Even these appear to have been
ineffective, and Richard's death, in all probability, prevented
anything being done. About this time Innocent wrote to
Geoffrey and the ecclesiastical dignitaries of his diocese, ex-
horting them to assist in the formation and equipment of a new
crusade.^

The death of Richard I., which took place in 1199, placed
his brother John upon the throne, and with him Geoffrey had
hardly ever been on familiar terms. The archbishop was still
without the temporalities of his see, and the quarrel with his
chapter was unsettled. Geoffrey's first step was by no means
favourable to the cause of peace. He was at Rome when
Richard died, but the bishop of Diu'ham was probably only act-
ing in his behalf when he protested against the coronation of
John taking place during his absence.'" No notice, however,
seems to have been taken of the slight; and John ordered
Stephen de Turnham, who for two years had been the keeper
of the temporalities of the archbishopric, to surrender them to
Ralph de Kyme and two others for the use of Geoffrey. They
were given up, although the king, full of avarice as he always
was, retained them in his own hands beyond the stated time.
Soon after this the two brothers met in Normandy, and many
mutual assm'ances of friendship and affection seem to have
passed between them. Whilst they were there a message came
to the king from the archbishop of Canterbury, and Geoffrey
Fitz-Peter the justiciar, entreating him, at the request of the
York chapter, to detain Geoffrey in Normandy till he returned
to England himself, as the coming of the archbisho]) would
produce nothing but dissension. Their wishes were not attended
to; and in the same year some propositions Averc made for

* Hoveden,442 5, 444, 446i. Baluz, pilgrims to the Holy Land had been

Epp. Innof!. III., i., 369-70. Ibid., addressed some time before tliis by

p. 647, the pope desires the bishop of Uubert to the oilicials of the see of

Ely, the dean of Lincoln, and the arch- York (Iloveden, 13 !• h).

deacon of Bedford, to examine into the '" Bromton, col. 1281. Iloveden,

charges brought against Geoffrey by 451. Matt. Paris, 1G6. Geoffrey is

his chapter, and (p. 746) there is a blamed by Jordan dc Brakelonda" for

letter to Geoffrey begging him to shew speaking ill of the archbi.shop of Can-

his good otBces to his nephew Otho. terbury before the pope whilst he wa.s

' Hoveden, 447. Fcedera, i., 66. A at Home (Chron., 15, 62).
somewhat similar letter in behalf of

274 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

making peace between Geoffrey and his chapter in the presence
of cardinal Peter de Capua, the papal legate. They agreed to
submit to the arbitration of Hugh bishop of Lincoln, and two
others; and Geoffrey promised to forfeit to the chapter two
hundred marks if he should act in contravention of this arrange-
ment. The chapter demanded the payment of the penalty soon
after this, Avhen they were impleaded by the officials of the arch-
bisho]) in obedience to a papal mandate. The referees seem to
have done nothing, as in the year 1200 we find Geoffrey and
his adversaries in Westminster abbey before the bishop of
Salisbmy and the abbat of Tewkesbury, who had been appointed
by the pope to examine into the case. That high dignitary had
done his best to make peace, and Geoffrey at length became
reconciled to William Testard archdeacon of Notts, Reginald
Arundel the precentor, and Simon the dean of York, on con-
dition that they rendered satisfaction to him for his claims in
their own chapter." In the autumn of the same year Geoffrey
was again in disgrace, and was deprived by his brother of all the
temporalities of his see." John was annoyed at him for several
reasons. Geoffi^ey had refused to accomj)any him to France
to be present at the making of a peace with that country, and
at the marriage of the king. He had also declined to allow the
sheriff of Yorkshire to collect the tax of a penny on each
carucate of land, and had beaten the servant of that official.
In addition to these offences, the sum of three thousand marks
which he had promised to his late brother Richard was still
unpaid. Geoffrey was excessively indignant at this treatment.
When the sheriff of Yorkshire, James de Poterna, entered
upon his manors, and wasted, it is said, all liis goods, the arch-
bishop excommunicated him and his men, together with all
those who had counselled the king to inflict upon him this
punishment. The same heavy sentence fell upon the burgesses
of Beverley for breaking into his parks, and injuring his effects ;
and their town was placed under an interdict.^' The king does
not seem to have met the archbishop in the same violent spirit,
as he restored to him his temporalities, merely appointing a day
on which he should come to court to reply to the charges he
had against him. We are told nothing of the result, but it
does not appear that the ill-feeling that existed between the two
brothers was removed. In 1201 John was in Yorkshire, which
had been startled in the month of January by an earthqiiake.
He went to Beverley, and shewed his contempt for his brother
by becoming the guest of a person of the name of John Crassus,
whom Geoffrey had excommunicated. The canons wished to

" Hoveden, 451 b, 452-3, 458. » Ibid., Rot. Chart., 102.

p Hoveden, 461. Matt. Paris, 170.

1191 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 275

receive their monarch with all the ceremony that their church
could afford ; but it was still under an interdict, and the arch-
bishop would not remove it even for the occasion. John Avas
very angry. He ordered all Geoffrey's servants to be seized,
and directed one of them, of the name of Henry de Capella, to
be thrown into prison for refusing to give him access to the
wine in his master's cellars U In the middle of Lent the king
and queen were at York, and the archbishop made his peace by
submitting to a fine ; and it was determined that the subjects
in dispute should be arranged by four bishops and foiu* barons.
John soon after this released his brother's servants, restoring his
possessions, which he confii-med to the see ; the archbishop
buying that favour at the cost of one thousand marks, to be
paid within a year.*" At the same time Geoffrey, who was never
quiet, was in the middle of another quarrel with his chapter
about the appointments to two archdeaconries, in which he
again availed himself of the thunders of excommunication.
One of the two sufferers, Honorius archdeacon of Richmond,
carried the story of his wrongs to the pope ; and Innocent
ordered that justice should be at once done to him, and chided
Geoffrey in language which he seldom heard.* The archbishop's
feud with the dean broke out again when he gave the provost-
ship of Beverley to his brother Morgan.'' John cardinal of
St. Stephen, on the Caelian hill, chanced to be at York in the
same year as the papal legate, and he tried in vain to settle the
dispute. This high dignitary, who might, perhaps, at one time
have occupied the papal chair, was what we call in these days a
teetotaller and a vegetarian. The deficiency in one taste was
supplied, as it very frequently is, by excess in another. The
cardinal, as Hoveden quaintly observes, had a great thirst after
gold and silver."

It is refreshing to tvirn aside from the unceasing record of
wranglings and dissensions to something of another kind,
although it also reveals to us a weakness, and shews to what an
extent credulity and folly may be carried. A fanatic of the
name of Eustace, who was the Cistercian abbat of Flay, came

» la 1201 the burgesses of Beverley taiiied the ofTice, as on the lltli of

paid a fine of five hundred marks for March, 1204, the king presented Simon,

the king's favour, and he promised to ]irovost of lieverlev, to the church of

protect them from the encroachments Cave (Rot. Pat., 39). Morgan perhaps

of Geoffrey (Eot. de Obi. et Finibiis, got the post when Simon was made

375. bishop of Exeter.

•■ Hoveden. Rot. de Obi. ct Fiuibus, " Hovedeu, 1G8. I now lose the

146. assistance of this able and excellent

' Hoveden, 464 6, 4G5, 406, 408, ei historian. His name ought properly

seqq. Matt. Paris, 170. to be written Houeden.

It would appear that Simon ob-

T )i

276 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

into England as a peripatetic advocate of Sabbatarianism." The
minds of the men of the day must have been singularly hungry
when they were willing to swallow the trash with which they
were fed by this wandering divine. His credentials professed to
be a letter foimd on Golgotha by the patriarch of Jerusalem,
which contain edj in our Lord^s hand, a general command that
no work whatever should be done between the ninth hour on
the Satm^day and sunrise on the Monday. On the strength of
this injimction Eustace paid a visit to England, where he had a
wonderful success. His subject Avas exciting, and it was some-
thing new, which was a great thing. The preaching of this
apostle seems to have borne considerable fruit. In the course
of his tour he found his way to York, and in their reception of
him Geoifrey and the clergy and laity of his diocese seem to
have been for once united. The people of the North were
carried aAvay by his words. They would sell nothing for the
future upon Sundays save refreshment to the wayfarer. A
portion of the profits of the vendor w^as to be devoted to sacred
purposes, and every church was to possess an alms box in which
it was to be deposited. Nothing was to be sold in or near a
church, which had been too frequently made into a fair, and the
wealthy were to be regularly taxed for the benefit of the poor.
No one can object to the adoption of such reforms as these, but
the means resorted to were oljjectionable, and the change, like all
other sudden movements and hasty impulses, was not lasting.
Eustace, however, seems to have done his best to bring about a
better state of morals and manners, and to make it permanent.
A flock of miracles is said to have attested the truth of what
he said, like the references which, in these matter-of-fact days,
bear Avitness to the potency of specifics of a less romantic kind.
A certain carpenter of Beverley, poor man, disregarded the
wholesome comisels of his wife, and made a wooden instrument
on a Saturday afternoon, for which he was struck vtdth paralysis;
and the like fate befel a woman who was weaving. Nafferton,
in the East Riding, a place which in these days is proverbially
famous for something very different, witnessed a strange scene.
A man had baked himself a cake on the Saturday, and, when he
broke it on the Sunday, blood came flowing from the fissure !
But Wakefield saw the most striking judgment on the sabbath-
breaker. Two worthies have already immortalized that merry
town, but the pair must now be turned into a trio by the addition
of a miller. He, unhappy man, was plying his trade on the
sacred day, when, lo ! blood rushed from between the stones
instead of meal, and the wheel, in spite of the pressure of the

" Hoveden, 466-7. Matt. Paris, 169. Bromton, col. 1274. Chron. Petrib., 112.

1191 1207.] ARCHBISHOP GEOFFREY. 277

water, refased to turn. Yorkshire is also said to have been
remarkable in this year for the appearance, at one and the same
time, of five moons !'"

A cloud hangs over the remainder of Geoffrey^s life, although
gleams of light break occasionally through the darkness. Had
everything been clear and bright we should probably have found
Geoffrey stUl embroiled in the dissensions of which he seems to
have been so fond. The chroniclers unfortunately desert us,
especially Hoveden ; but the Patent Rolls give us a faint picture
of what was occurring in the North. In 1202 there had been
a quarrel between Geoffrey and the king, arising from some-
thing that had been done by the royal servants; and John
informs the bishop of Ely that it was at an end.'' In 1204. the
archbishop was in arrear for his escuage to the crown, and
measures Avere taken by the king to secure its payment.^ In
March, 1205, John was at York, and the bishop of Durham,
the dean and cliaj)ter of York, and the great ecclesiastical
dignitaries of the province, expressed their willingness to be
obedient to Geoffrey ; but as a matter of precaution for them-
selves and their estates they appealed against him to the pope.*
This shews that the archbishop^s unhappy temper had again
been getting him into trouble, indeed his whole career seems to
have been one of determined opposition to propriety and the
law. In the spring of 1207 he was reconciled to his brother,
and was restored to the possessions of Avhich he had been
deprived." We are miacquainted with the cause of the quarrel
which was thus terminated, but soon after this in the same year
there was an irreparable breach between the king and Geoffrey.
The archbishop set his face most stoutly against the impopular
tax of a thirteenth, which John extorted from his indignant
subjects. He excommunicated those who ventured to collect it
within his province, and finding probaljly that his personal
liberty was in danger, he considted for his safety by flight.* He
left England, and never returned to it again. He appealed to
the pope against his brother^s conduct ; but the interference of
Innocent in his behalf appears to have been useless, although
he went so far as to put the church of York under an inter-

" Knyghton, col. 2417. Durluim, i., 189.) " Ibid., 58, 62.

' Eot. Pat., 5. * Chron. Joh. de Oxenedes, 119.

y Eot. Clans., 11. Prynne's Col- Cotton's Chron., 96. Matt. Paris, 186,

lections, iii., 9. Geoffrey is also men- 189. Contin. Fl. Wigorn., ii., 167.

tioned in connection with pa3-ments, Hist. Dnnelra. Scr. Tres, 23, 27. In

etc., to the king, in Rot. de Obi. et Chron. Petrib. (115) the date is made

Finibus, 43. Eot. Claus., 35, 46, 65, 1208. In Stubbs (col. 1721) it is said

75, 90, 99. that the thirteenth was exacted " usque

' Eot. Pat., 51. In 1204 the king ad diraidium baconem !" Eot. Curia)

took the chapter of York under his Eegis, ii., 196. Eecueil des Hist, des

protection. (Ibid., 40. Hutchinson's Gaules, xviii., 166.

278 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

diet." The remainder of his life, of which we know nothing, was
j)r()bably spent iipon his estates in Normandy that were given
to Jiini by his father, and Avhich he would be permitted to retain.
He died in 1212, it is said, at Grosmont in Normandy,*^ far
away from the country which had looked so often with dismay
upon the feuds and heart-buniings that he had originated. It
is to be hoped that he learned in retirement what a blessed
thing peace is.*

Geoffrey was a man who had warm friends and very bitter
enemies,-^ upon whose animosity he looked ^Yiih supreme con-
tempt. He was passionate and regardless of consequences,
like all the children of Henry II. It is quite possible that the
slur upon his escutcheon, with which he was often taunted,
woidd make him sensitive and impatient. It is a stain which
all Avho are in his position have continually in their thoughts.
Geoffrey, however, was capable of generous and patriotic actions,^
and his filial affection is not to be forgotten. He had, unfor-
tunately, been pushed into a path of life for which he was unfit.
He ought to have been a soldier. He borrowed from the pro-
fession of arms his spirit and his energy. They were alien
altogether from the quiet habits and the patient demeanour
which ought to characterize a bishop. Who can fully estimate
the mischief which was done to the cause of religion in the
North by Geoffrey's reckless animosities, his thoughtless assaults
on decency and order, and his jealousies and contentions? These
were the things which made him miserable at home, and
banished him in the end from his country and his see.

The story of the early part of Geoffrey's life has been
written down by that courtly sycophant Gerald Cambrensis,

' Baluz, Epp. Innoc. III., ii., 175-6, which may be seen in MSS. Cotton,

'^■2. Cleopatra, B, ii., 39 b :—

'' Ann. Waverl., ed. Gale, ii., 173. "Versus magistri Michaelis Male-

Stubb.s, col. 1724. Matt. Paris, 194, buche de Galfrido archiepiscopo Ebora-

196. Lei. Coll., i. 295. censi, qui filius Henrici regis genitus

Godwin (n. e., 677) is the sole au- de quadam meretrice,

thority for the statement that Geoffrey gpuH., quid jactas atavis te regibus ortum,

died at Lrrosmont. liecueil des Hist. Pi)lluit insigncs titulos ignobile scortum.

des Gaules, xviii., 169. I'atris ad alta volansTel matrisadimaperibis,

' Contin. EL Wigorn., ii., 140 Ma- a '■^° **""•" «e<Jium medio tutissimus ibis,

v^-ii A -n ". -,\„ ' -r. , Spurius es regis, clen fex, ordinis hostis,

muon, Ann. iJen., Al., 108. Prynne's Templl turbator, Veneris vas, presnlis umbra.

Collections, iii., 23. Dugd. Mon., vi., ^o" es sufficiens ad tanti culmen honoris,

1088. ^'e mihi suflSciat Deus bac at omnibus boris."

y" Among them was Walter Mapes, In the Flores Historiarum, p. 253, it
who gives a long account of his feud is said that when Geoffrey became
with Geoffrey in his Nugfc Curialium, bishop of Lincoln "extuuc i)eo et ho-
23o-7. Mapes alludes in a contemptu- minibus extitit reprobuset detestabilis."
ous way to his illegitimacy. The same «• Stubbs (col. 1724) speaks of Geof-
slur and the pride of the archbishop frey as " vir magnas abstinentise et sum-
evoked the following scurrilous lines, mse puritatis." '

1216 1255.] ARCHBISHOP GRAY. 279

and is printed by Wharton in his Anglia SacraJ' It Avas com-
posed^ in all probal)ility, at the request of the archbishop him-
self, and it terminates with the controversy with the bishop of
Ely. The writer probably fomid that he would injure his own
popularity by extending the biography. The work contains
some interesting historical information, but the style is ornate
and \\edivj, and is more worthy of a courtier than of a chronicler.
The character of the bishop of Ely is blackened in an extra-
ordinary manner, whilst the archbishop is elevated into a hero.
It is not to such men as Greoffrey that posterity will look for
an example.

After the flight of Geoffrey the temporalities of the arch-
bishopric came into the king's hands, and they remained in
them until the appointment of Walter de Gray in 1216. Brian
de Insula and Robert de Lexington had the charge of them,'
and the bishop of Whitherne seems to have attended to the
ecclesiastical requirements of the province.-' The care of the
spiritualities was in all probability committed to the dean and
chapter of York.

vSXtX tJC ffirag is next upon the list of archbishops of
which he was a most distinguished ornament. More than six
centuries have passed away since he was laid in the tomb within
his own cathedral, but his name is still mentioned with resi)cct
and gratitude. We think of the cautious and wise statesman
who was at the helm of England in times of danger and distress,
and remember the piety and munificence of the prelate among
the many memorials of his zeal and greatness which even now
survive to us. He found the province to which he was trans-
lated a barren wilderness, he left it a fruitful garden.

Walter de Gray^' was a scion of a family Avhich in its many
branches has accumulated both wealth and honours.' It has

* Anglia Sacra, ii., 374- — 408. Whar- and notices of the famil}' in Dnjjdale's
ton sa3-s that it was written in 1193. Baronage, i., 709; Baker's Xortliants,
There is a MS. of it in the library of i., 140 ; Nichols's Leicestershire, iii.,
C.C.C. Cambridge (Smith's Catalogue). 682 ; Lipscombe's Bucks, i., 160 ;

'■ Rot. Pat., 88. Rot. Clans., 208, Blore's Rutlandshire, 165; Blome-

etc, 222. field's Norfolk, w. <■., ii., 300-1 ; Archreo-

i Rot. Clans., 173, 181. logia, xxxii., .59 ; Frost's Notices of the

* I adopt the old mode of .spelling Town of Hull, 59 ; Slajileton's Account
this name. In his own roll at York of the Holy Trinity Priory, York, 151,
the archbishop is always called Gray or etc.; Ashniole's Berks, ii., 280. The
Gra. Close and Patent Rolls abound with

' The genealogist will find pedigrees information about the family.

280

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

given great men to England, and is still represented on the roll
of peers. The meraljer of it of whom we shall now speak was a
younger sou of John and Hawisia de Gray of Kotherfield.'" His
uncle, another John de Gray, who was a statesman of some note,
became bishop of Norwich and a justiciar, and died in 1214. It
was to his influence, no doubt, as well as to his own merits, that
his nephew was indebted for his introduction and his success at
court.

Walter de Gray received his education at Oxford," and in
after years that university, of which he was a distinguished
member, established a solemn service to commemorate him on
the anniversary of his decease.'' In 1242, when Henry III. was
going abroad, he made him the protector of that abode of learn-
ing,^ and it was, no doubt, the consciousness of the advantages
which he had reaped in Oxford that induced Gray to persuade
Edmund de Abingdon to devote himself to the study of theo-

'" This is a disputed point. Dugdale
makes him a son of Henry and Isolda
de Gray of Thurrock, and he is followed
by MM. Lechaude-d'Anisy et de S"=
Marie in their Recherches sur le Domes-
dajs i., 167. The objection to the arch-
bishop's being the son of John de Gray
is, that if this were the case, there were
two Johns, bi'others, in the same gene-
ration. This, however, is by no means
impossible, and I prefer to follow
Messrs. Nichols and Baker instead of
Dugdale. The following pieces of evi-
dence, which have never been applied
to the pedigree of Gray, militate against
Dugdale's view.

Ha^visia de Grey, widow, grants the
church of Cornwell to Oseney abbey,
" pro animabus antecessorum et prscci-
pue pro aninia Johannis de Grey, fra-
tris mei, quondam episcopi Norwicen-
sis, assensu domini Eoberti de Grey
filii et hseredis mei. Teste Waltero de
Grey episcopo "VYigorn., filio meo."
(Blomefield's Norwich, i., 478).

Sept. 17, 1235, archbishop Gray
grants to Sir Robert de Gray, his
brother, a carucate of land in Gouk-
thorpe, etc., and on Sept. 15, with the
assent of his brother, he grants to
Thoua,«, son of R. de Marese, in mar-
riage with Isabella, daughter of Robert
de Monasteriis, lands in Everton and
Beckingham (Rot. Gray. See Drake's
Eboracum, appendix, 64).

In 1210 (24) the archbishop grants
to his brother, Robert de Gray, " terram

quam ex concessione dominse Evse de
Gray habuimus in Rutherfeld, cinn ad-
vocatione ecclesise, excepto tamen ho-
magio et servicio dominse Hawj^sise de
Graj' matris mese (Rot. Gray). Hawisia
is mentioned as the mother of the arch-
bishop in 1227 (Excerpt, e Eot. Finium,
i., 161).

June 5, 1238 (22). Walter de Gray
was instituted "in eccl. de Semar ad
pres. abb. and conv. de Whitby " (Rot.
Gray). He was, I believe, prebendary
of Southwell in 1242 and 1257 (Le
Neve, iii., 461). Henry de Gray was
canon of York in 1241 (Dugd. Mon.,
vi., 1195).

April 28, 1246 (30), Walterus de
Gray, nepos domini archiepiscopi, habet
custodiamThomse deBurgo qui sororem
ipsius Walteri duxit in uxorem, cum
omnibus terris suis; item custodiam
terrse quae fuit Alexandri de Hylton in
Wyvestow (Rot. Gray.)

Walterus Gray, archiepiscopus, dedit
homagium Walteri de Mikelfeud do-
mino AValtero de Gray militi, nepoti
suo (Reg. Giffard). Of. Plac. de Quo
Warranto, 665.

1268, Robert de Gray, son of Sir
Walter de Gray, knight, presents his
brother, John de Gray, clerk, to a
moietj' of the church of Linton (Reg.
Gitfard). " Wood's Antiq. Univ.

Oxon., i., 232.

° On April 30. Avesbury's Edw.
III., 304. Rot. Hundred., ii., 805.

!' Antiq. Oxon., td supra.

1216 1255.] ARCHBISHOP GRAY. 281

logy.? His friend became archbishop of Canterbury^ and a
saint.

Walter de Gray^s preferments in the church were all of them
owing to the favour of king John. On the 23rd of January,
1206-7, that monarch gave him the prebend of Mallinges at
Rochester/" and a stall at Exeter, with the archdeaconry of Tot-
ness, on the 10th of INlay." On the 28th of August he was made
vicar of a moiety of the church of Holkham.^ On the 26th of
March, 1208, he became rector of Stradbroke in Norfolk," and
on the 3rd of December, 1212, he obtained the living of Cossey
in the same county." In the following February he became the
dean of St. Berians in Cornwall.'" On the 14th of July, 1213,
the king gave him the church of Kirkham for his life, but he
almost immediately resigned it.-^ Gray was destined to sit upon
the episcopal bench. Geoft'rey de Muschamp, bishop of Coventry
and Lichfield, died in 1208, and the chapter of Lichfield fixed
upon Gray as his successor, in opposition to the nominee of
the monks of Coventry. Pandulph, the papal legate, would
admit neither of the two to the see, and after much angry feel-
ing on the part of the electors a third person became the prelate.^'
Gray was more fortimate on another occasion. On the 20th of
January, 1213-14, he was made bishop of Worcester, resigning
the pieces of preferment which have been already enumerated.
He was consecrated at Canterbury on the 5th of October. Of
what he did at Worcester there is little known.^ The see of
York was all the while vacant, having been Avithout a pastor
ever since the retii-ement of Geoffi'ey in 1207, and several other
bishoprics were in the same condition, as the king woidd not
allow the chapters to elect in accordance with custom and law."

1 Martene, Thes. Nov. Anecdot., iii., Richtnond, for the loss which he thereby

1788. sustained (Prynae's Collections, iii.,

"■ Rot. Pat., 58. 373).

' Ibid., 71, 75. Le Neve, n. e., i., v Elected in 1211. Matt. Paris, 193.

401. Madox, Hist. Exch., ii., 42. - The king's assent to the election

' Rot. Chart., 169. was given on the 26th of January, on

" Rot. Pat., 81. Madox, ii., 42-3. which day he ordered the temporalities

" Rot. Pat., 96. Bloniefield's Nor- to be restored, and desired the arch-
folk, ii., 417. bishop of Canterbury to consecrate

■" Rot. Pat., 96. Oliver's Monast. Gray (Rot. Pat., 109. Prynne, iii.,

Exon., 7. 22). Mandate to the bishop of Win-

^ Rot. Chart., 193. Rot. Pat., 102. Chester to give him .sei.sin of his bishop-

On 7th June, 1238 (22), archbishop ric on July 7 (Rot. Claus., 168). Le

GrayinstitutedAYilliaradcEbor.,cauon Neve, iii., 51. Thoma,s's Account of

of York, to the living of Kirkham on the Bishops of AVorcestor, 123, etc.

the presentation of Richard earl of Reg. Sacr. Angl., 37. Matt. Pari.s.,

Cornwall (Rot. Gray). The church 212. Trivet, 161.

was appropriated by Honorius IV. to On the 28th of May, 1228, arch-

the abbey of Vale Royal, and in 1287 bishop Gray granted an indulgence for

Edward I. ordered that house to com- the cathedral of Worcester (Rot. Gray),

pensate Henry Newark, archdeacon of " Chron. Petrib., 118.

282 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

The election of a new archbishop had been more than once
suggested. In January, 1214, Jolm wrote to the dean and
chapter by the abbats of St. Mary's York, Beaulieu and Selby,
William Briwere and William de Cantilupe his seneschal, giving
them leave to choose a new primate with the assent of the
bearers of the royal missive. As this was clearly an encroach-
ment upon the privileges of the chapter nothing seems to have
been done. It was most necessary, however, that the Northern
province should have a superior, and on the 13th of May, 1215,
the king wrote again to the chapter urging them to elect and
demand no objectionable person.* This had reference to Simon
de Langton, brother of the well-known archbishop of Canter-
bury, whom the dean and canons of York were most desirous to
secure as their head in opposition to the wishes of the king."
On the 18th of June, 1215, the York dignitaries again received
the royal permission to proceed to an election, and the monarch,
perhaps too eagerly, expressed his desire that they should fix upon
the bishop of Worcester.'^ The chapter were obdurate ; and
passing Gray by as an illiterate person they nominated their
favourite Langton in direct contravention of the order of the
sovereign. When the king heard of this, he sent at once to the
pope to tell him that there would be no peace in England if
the brother of a traitor should become the Northern primate.
Innocent, upon this, wrote to the chapter on the 13th of Sep-
tember to say that he had rejected Langton, and had forbidden
him to press the matter farther, and enjoined them to send their
representatives to Rome by the 1st of November with some
other nominee. Their spokesmen arrived at the appointed time,
and clung to their old candidate, but the pope at once set him
aside, and told them that if they would name no one else he
should choose for them himself. The canons were provided
against this contingency, and mentioned the bishop of Worcester
whom they commended for his chaste life. "^'Per Sanctum
Petrum," said Innocent, "virginitas magna virtus est et nos
eum damns vobis.'' Gray was then at Rome, and when he
had received the pall he returned to England. The king was

* Rot. Pat., 141. LeNeve, iii., 101. in state affairs. He was also a hard

On the 23rd of May, 1215, pope Inno- student and an author, and died in

cent wrote to the chapter of York urg- 1248. (Somner's Canterbury, ii., 152.

mg them to select a proper person Foedera, i., 214, 218. Matt. Paris, 227,

(Baluz, Epist. Innoc. III., ii., 822). 230, 237, 254, 655. Eot. Glaus, etc.)

' Rot. Chart., 207. Hot. Claus., 269. He is said to have been a Lancashire

Simon de Langton at the time of his man (Baines's Lancashire, iv. 385), and,

disappomtment was canon of Strensall also, to have been born in Lincolnshire

at lork (Rot. Claus., 178. Cal. Rot. (Hist. Co. Lincoln, ii., 175). There is

if n ■ ■^^ afterwards was made an account of the family of Langton

chancellor of Danphiny and archdeacon in the Gentleman's Magazine for June,

01 Canterbury, and he took some part 1862. '' Matt. Paris, 227-8.

1216 1255.] ARCHBISHOP GRAY. 283

deliglited at his promotion. It is said, however, that the arch-
bishop was obliged to pay the immense sum of ten thousand
pounds to procure the papal assent to his election.*^

We must now turn to Walter de Graves offices in the state,
and his public acts which made him the favourite of two kings
and enabled him to pass through life enjoying the goodwill of
his contemporaries. With king John he was a great favourite,
but he is said to have won his regard by the readiness with
which he complied with his wishes.-^" We do not know when he
was first introduced to that monarch's notice, but he must have
gained a consideralile position in society when, on October 2nd,
1205, John made him chancellor of England, he having paid a
fine of five thousand marks to be permitted to hold that office
for his life.^ He seems to have retained it until the autumn
of 1214.'' On the 5th of August, 1206, his master made him a
present of a hmidi'cd marks in consideration of his faithful ser-
vices.^ We are not told by the chroniclers that Gray was one
of the adAdsers who counselled the reckless monarch to adopt
the measures which degraded his kingdom and nearly robbed
him of his throne; he was present, however, in 1213, when
John resigned his dominions into the hands of the pope,-' but,
if Lord Campbell is to be credited, the chancellor refused to set
his official seal to the conveyance.'^' In the same year Gray had
a great deal to do with the foreign affairs of the countiy. On
the 26th of June he and another received letters of credence
from the king to carry them to the count of Flanders,' and in
the following year he was in charge of the treasure which went
with the English force that crossed the seas to support the count
against the French. '"^ During the famous controversy with the
barons, that ended in the granting of the Magna Charta in
1215, Gray seems to have been on the side of the king, and he

* Ibid., 230. Ann. TVaverl., apud wioh, was his bondsman. Cal. "Rot.

Gale, ii., 183. Hemin^jford, ibid., 561. Pat., 2. Feed., i., 93. Madox, Hist.

Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 29. Labbe, Exeh., i., 63.

Cone, xi., 234. Recueil des Hist, des * Foss's Judges, ii., 79-80. Mr. Foss,

Gaules, xviii, 179. in a paper in the Arcliaiologia, xxxii,

He was translated to York on the 90, etc., says that Gray gave up the

27th of March, 1216 (MSS. Cotton office for a while in October, 1213,

Vitellius A, ii., iii. b. Stubbs, col. when he went into Flanders, l)ut re-

1724). The king ordered the tempo- sumed it in the month of January fol-

ralities to be restored to him on Feb. lowing.

19 (Rot. Claus., 218). Cf. Twisden's ' Rot. Pat., 66. An order to pay

Historical Vindication of the Church hira £40 on Jan. 20, 1214 (Rot. Claus.,

of England in point of Schism, 45. 161).

■'' " In omnibus regni agcndis regis i Fojdera, i., 115.
studuit facere voluntatem" (Matt. * Campbell's Li%-es of the Chancel-
Paris, 192). lors, i., 123.

«• Matt. Paris, 209, where a wrong ' Foedera, i., 113. Rot. Clans., 160,

date is given. Rot. de Obi. et Fini])us, 162.

368. His uncle, John bishop of Nor- '" Rot. Claus., 206. Matt. Paris, 208.

284 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

was present with him at Rnnnymede^ when that great deed of
priinlege was made, in which he is mentioned as one of the
advisers of the sovereign." He was also one of those whom
John despatched soon afterwards, when he repented of what he
had done, to collect forces abroad to resist the barons." It is
impossible to say what share Gray took in the many scenes of
^dolence and peril which occurred dimng the next two years.
His interests seem to have been bound up with the fortunes of
John, and he did not desert him in his adversity. The king,
who loved him well, was always showering his favoiu's upon his
trusty adherent. The public records contain many eA'idences of
the regard that he bore to him.^^

After the death of John, in 1215, the archbishop took the
part of his son, Henry III., in opposition to the barons and
their French allies. He was as great a favourite with the new
king as with his father. In conjunction with the legate he
anointed him sovereign. ^j' In 1217 Gray was at Lincoln when
the great battle took place between Henry and his enemies,''
and the youthful monarch and his ad^dsers shewed how highly
they appreciated his coimsel and support by giving him the
lands of several of the rebels and many other favours in addition.*
Shortly after this Gray removed the sentence of excommunica-
tion which the papal legate had passed against Alexander king
of Scotland for doing homage to the invaders/ and in 1221,
when William earl of Albemarle expressed his penitence for his
rebellion against the young sovereign, the archbishop of York
conducted him to Henry who pardoned him on account of his
loyalty in bygone years." Gray had previously been present at
the reduction of his stronghold at Bytham.'' The older Henry
grew the greater was the confidence which he seems to have
reposed in his father^s friend, and the more numerous the kind-
nesses which he shewed to him.'" In 1221 Gray formed one of
the escort of Alexander king of Scotland to York when he was
married to Joan the sister of the English monarch,'^ and the

« Matt. Paris, 215. Foedera, i., 131. Ahhrev. Eot. Orig., i., 24.

Statutes of the Realm, i., 8, 9. ' Chron. Mailros, 132.

." Matt. Paris, 222. « Matt. Paris, 261. Chron. Joh. de

p Rot. Claus., 160, 176, 189, 248. Oxenedes, 146. The earl got into

' Eecueil des Hist, des Gaules, xviii., trouble afterwards (Prynne, iii., 62).

345. In 1217 Gray was one of those " Rot. Claus., 475.

who prompted the granting of the "' Ibid., 361, 405, 421, 475, 497, 515,

royal charter De Foresta (Statutes of 535, 536, 573. Excerpta e Rot. Fi-

the Realm, i., 20). nium, i., 335.

' Chron. IMailros, 131. ^ Matt. Paris, 263. Rot. Claus.,

' The land of Robert Constable in 462, 476. Lei. Coll., ii., 536. Henry

Gloucestershire (Rot. Claus., 308) that was there four days. Chron. Laner-

of Robert de Everingham (ibid., 313). cost, 29. Chron. Mailros, 138. Scala

Rot. Claus., 297, 312, 341, 346, 351, Chron., 99.

354. Excerpta e Rot. Finium, i., 59.

1216 1255.] ARCHBISHOP GRAY. 285

archbishop officiated on the occasion. 2' The two sovereigns had
been in York in the preceding year^ -nhen the preliminaries of
the alliance were drawn np.^ In 1224', when the barons were
again disposed to be tnrbnlent, Gray demanded of the earl of
Chester the surrender of the castles and honours which he held
of the crown, and they were unwillingly given up." In 1225 he
"Was at Alnwick when Roger Bigod was married to Isabel sister
of the Scottish king.* In 1227 the diplomatic powers of the
Northern primate were again called into requisition. The hasty
coronation of the new king of France had given great offence
to many of his nobles, and Henry believing it to be a fit op-
portunity for endeavouring to regain his influence among the
magnates of Normandy, Anjou, Brittany and Poictou, who were
bound to pay him their allegiance, sent Gray and others to
make the attempt. The events of the last ten years had greatly
weakened their loyalty to their suzerain.'' In the month of
January the ambassadors were sent to Hugh count of March
and Angouleme, and they returned home about Easter; but
in the following September they went again with letters of
credence to the princes and prelates who were to meet at Ant-
werp.'^ Nothing, however, seems to have been done. In 1228
Henry kept his Christmas at York,* and he was there at the
same time in 1230 with Alexander king of Scotland. The arch-
bishop was also present with a large party of the nobility, and
the great festival was observed with miich splendour and rejoic-
ing./ In 1233 Gray objected in a formal manner to Alexander
being crowned in Scotland, to the prejudice of England and
his own see ; and, on the 6th of May, Henry III. endorsed his
protest.^ The result was probably unfavourable to the arch-
bishop, and in a subsequent year Innocent IV. gave another
blow to the priA'ileges of York by sanctioning the opposition of
the Scottish bishops. "^ In 1235 pope Gregory addressed Gray
and the bishop of Carlisle in the bidl in which he confirmed the
treaty which had been recently made between England and

y Chron. Petrib., 124. On 21st January, 1229, the king men-

=^ Matt. Paris, 260, the archbishop tioned his intention of being at York

taking a prominent part in the treat}"^ in Lent with Alexander (Fwd., i., 193).

(Prj'une, iii., 51-2). «• Foedera, i., 209. Prynne, iii., 85.

" Chron. Joh. de Oxenedes, 150. Cal. Rot. Pat., 16.

Gray had something to do with this '' Chron. Lanercost, 61. There is a

nobleman in 1217 when he wished to brief abstract of a letter from Gregory

leave England (Prynne, id supra, 37). IX. to Gray about the patronage of

* Excerpt, e Rot. Fin., i., 128. the church of Gamcford (Gainford ?)

' Matt. Paris, 282. in Lal^be, xi., 379. In 1238 I find it

^ Fcedera, i., 184, 187. stated, that the pope had permitted the

' Chron. Joh. de Oxenedes, 155. archbishop to grant dispensations to

Matt. Paris, 290. forty clerks within his province (Rot.

>■ Oxenedes, 159. Matt. Paris, 307. Gray).

286 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Scotland ; and, on tlie 12th of December in the same year,
Henry III. desired the archbishop and others to escort king
Alexander and his qneen to London, to be present at the cele-
bration of his nuptials.^ In 1237 Henry sent Gray with Richard
earl of Cornwall to a large meeting which was called together
by the emperor Frederick ; and in that year he took a great;
interest in the election of his suffragan the bishop of Durham^
and was present at the comicil in St. Paul's cathedi'al, which
was presided over by the legate Otho. The archbishop of Can-
terbury occupied the seat on the right hand, and Gray made
the usual protest and claim, which the legate adroitly put aside
for the time, leaving the question still open.-' There was a
meeting also of the kings of England and Scotland at York, at
which Alexander resigned his right to the counties of North-
umberland, Westmerland and Cumberland, and the archbishop
was present on the occasion.* In the following year Gray was
again associated with the legate at a comicil which was held in
the month of June,' and he was present in 1240 when a treaty
was made between the king and David son of Llewellyn prince
of Wales.'" In 1241 he was at the court when Henry paid some
extravagant honours to the representative of the pope," and he
was one of the prelates who met at Oxford and agreed that
prayers should be offered up for the weal of the church which
was at that time in a deplorable condition." On the 9th of Jmie
in the same year he consecrated Nicholas de Farnham bishop of
Dm^ham at Gloucester, and received his profession of obedience,
a concession upon which much stress Avas subsequently laid in
the controversies between York and Durham.^ In 1242 the king
miade up his mind to go to France, and the archbishop of York,
Richard earl of Cornwall and William de Eboraco provost of Be-
verley were the exponents of his wishes to the council of the nation.
When Henry set out on his voyage against the will of his sub-
jects, archbishop Gray had the high distinction of being appointed
the regent during his absence,? and he performed the many duties
of his oflfice in a manner which fully justified the confidence that
had been reposed in him. During the king's stay abroad, which
lasted for more than a year, the regent was variously employed.
The wardens of the Cinque ports sought his aid when they had

' Foedera, i., 214, 221. Wilkins' " Wilkins, i., 682.

Cone, i., 630. p Matt. Paris, 502. Nothing is said

i Matt, Paris, 371, 377-8. Hist. about this profession by the Hist. Dun.

Dnnehn. Scr. Tres, 38 ; and appendix, Scr. Tres, 41. When bishop Farnham

Ixviii. resigned his see in 1249, Gray was one

* Alatt. Paris, 377. Wilkins, i., 647. of the three prelates who made a pro-

Foedera, i., 233. vision for him (Matt. Paris, 658).

' Matt. Paris, 397. ? Matt. Paris, 515, 517, 789. Chron.

'" F(pdcra, i., 239. Joh. de Oxenedes, 170. rcedera,i., 244.

" Matt. Paris, 489. Cal. Rot. Pat., 19.

1216 1255.] ARCHBISHOP GRAY. 287

been roughly handled in their attempts to do mischief to the
French shipping. He collected men, money and stores, and
transmitted them to Henry. From the archbishopric of Canter-
bmy and the other sees which were at that time in the king^s
hand, he gathered together a vast quantity of provisions, but he
tried in vain to obtain a grant from the Cistercian liouscs in
England of a yearns income in the shape of the wool from their
sheep, which, in point of fact, was nearly everything that they
possessed. The king, however, to the archbishop^s great as-
tonishment, complained that scarcely any of the supplies had
reached him, and it was Gray^s belief that they had been lost
at sea. A new and hea\'y tallage was therefore exacted from
the citizens of London. In the meanwhile Henry repented of
the hasty counsels which had led him beyond the seas, and
ordered the regent to collect a fleet at Portsmouth and to be
ready with the nobles for his arrival. They Avere waiting for
him on the coast till they were all wearied. After many delays
Henry returned at length to his owar country which he ought
never to have left.*" In the same year the pope made the arcli-
bishop of York and the bishop of Durham his deputies to ad-
judicate in a controversy Avhich had arisen between Grostete
bishop of Lincoln and the monks of Canterbury,* and avc also
find Gray officiating at the marriage of the queen^s sister to
Richard earl of Cornwall.^ In 1244 he was constable of the
tower of London," and he was mainly instrumental in allaying
the quarrel that was likely to arise betAveen the kings of Eng-
land and Scotland;" and in 1248 he was present at the meeting
of the parliament at London, at Avhieh great fault was found
with Henry for his evil rule."' In the foUoAving year he and the
bishop of Hereford Avere employed on a fruitless negotiation, an
attempt to contract a matrimonial alliance between the royal
houses of England and Provence.^ In every important event
Avhich took place in the history of the nation Gray Avas more or
less concerned; but the cautious Avisdom which Avas able to
preserve his OAvn character from the reproaches of contcmpo-

•• Matt. Paris, 519, 522, 527—529, ' Ann. "Wavcrl, aiiud Gale, ii., 203.

531. Prynne, iii., 100. Foedora, i., " Cal. Rot. Pat., 20. Pa-dera, i.,

246-7, 250, 253. Wilkins, i., 683. 256. On Nov. 2, 1220, Gray was

' Matt. Paris, 535. Grostete's ordered to take the charge of Xcw-

Letters, 325. Grostete wrote again to ca.stle-on-Tyne on the death of Philij)

Gray in 1245, urging him to advocate de Ulcotes (Rot. Glaus., 473); and in

the claims of the bishop of Cervia the twenty-second of Henry III. Kenil-

(Ibid., 469, and Gratii PavScic. Rerum worth castle was given up to him as a

Expeteud., ii., 427). About this bishop residence for cardinal Ottoboui (Me-

and his affairs there is an account in moirs of Northumberland, 65).

Ughelli, Italia Sacra, ii., 469. He had " Chron. Petrib., 137. Chron. ]Mail-

a quarrel with the archbishop and ros, 156. " Matt. Paris, 616.

people of Ravenna. ■" Fttdera, i., 270, 277.

2g8 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

rarics and posterity could not moderate the follies and the
caprices of his master. After his decease, when the barons'
war broke out, Henry would at length appreciate the merits of
his faithful comicillor and wish that he had adopted his advice.
How often had Gray stood in the breach Avhen the storm was
lowering, and stilled it by his courteous and persuasive pleading
and the serenity of his bearing.

The most brilliant scene, perhaps, at which the archbishop
was ever present was witnessed at York in 1252. Henry III.,
his queen, and the whole court kept their Christmas in that
city, and they were joined there by i^ royal family of Scotland.
Then it was that Alexander, the youthful monarch of the Scots,
was married to Margaret, Henry's daughter. He did homage
for the territories which he held of England, and had been
made a knight,

" And on tlie morwe wlian the daj^ gan spring,
Of hors and harneis noise and clattering
Ther was in the hostelries all aboute :
And to the paleis rode ther many a route
Of lordes, upon stedes and palfreis."

The ceremonial in the minster at the celebration of the
nuptials must have been a magnificent one. More than a
tliousand knights in silken attire were in the train of the bride,
and, Avhen the wedding was over, such a banquet took place that
the historian of the occasion, conscious of his inability to describe
it, shrinks altogether from the task. No bill of fare has been
handed do'WTi to us, and we know nothing, most unfortunately,
of the dresses of the ladies. The archbishop contributed as
many as sixty oxen to the feast. Matthew Paris is most eulo-
gistic when he speaks of his hospitality. He seems to have
kept open house, and to have entertained his illustrious visitors
over and over again with a princely grandeur. To the poor he
was equally lavish of his charity and his munificence, and he is
said to have expended on this occasion the large sum of four
thousand marks. All this was done with a generous spirit,
which befitted the time, and with a dignity which was cha-
racteristic of the donor.2'

After this great meeting at York the archbishop seems to
have taken little interest in state afii'airs. He was an old man,
and stood in need of rest. There was another reason also for
las quiescence. He could not approve of all the measm'es of
the king, and he was too cautious to involve himself in difficulties
and annoyance. It was for this reason, no doubt, that he stayed

y Matt. Paris, 715-16. Contin. Fl. Lanercost, 56. Chron Mailros, 179.
"Wigorn., ii., 183. Knyghton, col. Chron. Petrib., 139. Fcedera, i., 278.
2414. Job. de Oxenedes, 146. Chron. Lei. Coll., iii., 6.

1216 — 1255.] ARCHBISHOP GRAY. 289

away from the parliament of 1252; at which there were some
dissensions between Henry and the bishops, in which Gray, if
he had been present, woukl have been obliged to take a promi-
nent part. He was absent also from the parliament in the
following year, pleading as his excnse his old age and the length
of the journey to London.^ In 1251, however, the archbishop
was draAvn from his retirement, for when the queen went abroad
to join her husband, who was in Gascony, he was made, for the
second time, the regent of the kingdom." There was no event
of any importance to annoy the aged prelate, who accepted most
unwillingly the responsibilities of office ; but his serene wisdom
coidd not fail to discern the tokens of the storm which Avas so
soon to biu'st upon his country. In the beginning of 1255 the
king returned to England, and a parliament was assembled in
London at which Gray was present. The time was a melancholy
one ; for never had the monarch been in greater disrepute, or
the nation in greater suff'ering. Hemy was an obstinate and a
thoughtless man, with little regard for the wishes and the
welfare of his subjects, if he could give the rein to his OAvn
folly and extravagance. He was overbm^dened with debt, and
he tried to free himself by starving his groaning and oppressed
people. There were many angry words, and much murmuring
and grumbling in that parliament, with great uneasiness and
discontent. The whole country was in a state of sullen indig-
nation. To add to the general alarm, the spring of that year
was most ungenial. From the middle of March not a drop of
rain had fallen, and any appearance of vegetation, which the
sun mercilessly elicited, was scorched and withered by a north
wind that never ceased to blow. It was in vain that the chief
men of the country humiliated themselves by fasting to procure
from the hands of the Great Giver the blessings of peace, and
a fruitful season. The severity of the religious exercise, and
the inclemency of the weather, only laid them on the bed of
sickness, and the heavens were closed.*

The aged archbishop of York was one of these sufferers.
He was borne down now with years, and was incapable of
exertion and fatigue. The fasting, which he liad daily ]n'actised,
had affected his head; and his mind was oppressed with a
heavy burden of anxieties and fears. The scenes in the recent
parliament had annoyed him greatly ; his life-hmg exertions for
his country had ai)pareutly been fruitless, and the future, alas,
was threatening and clouded. His heart gave way, and his

'■ Matthew Paris, 732, 71-5, 7oG, that Gray and Richard earl of Corn-
765. wall were the rcKenis.

« Ibid., 765. Wikes (Gale, ii., 49) * Matt. Paris, 778. Ami. Burton,

followed by Polydore \'ergil (306) say apud Gale, iii., 341 .

U

290 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

health accompanied it in its decline. His appetite was gone,
and his days seemed to be at an end. The parliament hadjjeen
dissolved, and, at the request of the bishop of London, the sick
man went to seek for quiet and repose at the palace of Fulham.
He had only been there three days when he died, on Saturday
the 1st of ISIay, 1255,'' having prepared himself for his departure
by receiving the last sacraments of the Church. His body'^ was
borne honourably to York under the escort of Walter Kirkham
bishop of Durham, who, to shew his reverence for the dead,
distributed large sums every dry in charity as the procession
advanced into the North. The remains of the archbishop were
iiiterred in the minster at York, within the south transept,
which he had himself erected. He had ruled over that church
and diocese for nearly forty years, and they lost in him a
munificent and an enlightened pastor, and England a true
patriot, and an honest and an upright statesman.

We must now turn from archbishop Gray^s faithful service
to his country and her kings, to the works for which he is still
remembered within the diocese of Y ork. I am not giving him
too high praise Avhen I call him the greatest prelate of the
century in which he lived. The same thoughtful care and
watchful prudence which made all men like him,*^ in an age
when there were Taanj bitter enmities, and secured for him the
uninterrupted favour of two kings, the same uprightness which
moderated all his actions in the court and council-chamber, the
same munificence which he manifested in all places, seem to
have been the uniform characteristics of his archiepiscopal
career. No one can examine the rolls on which his official acts
are recorded, without being profoundly struck by the vigour of
his pastoral rule, and the expansiveness of his charity. Every-
thing seems to have been done on the most perfect system, and
apparently under the personal inspection of the archbishop.
The carelessness and the recklessness of his predecessor had
tui-ned the diocese into a wild; it was Walter Gray's high
privilege to have the will and the means to till and sow the long
barren field, and God gave him length of days that he might
himself behold the harvest. It was the same in the temporalities
as in the spiritualities of his see. He was a good husband of
his revenues, and dispensed them nobly. Throughout his whole

' Stubbs, col. 1725. Knyghton, col. died at Osney abbey. In 1221, sin-

2444. MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii., gularly enough, Eichard Gray became

111 b. llemingford, apud Gale, ii., 561. abbat of that house (Rot. Glaus., 470).
Ann. Burton, ibid., in., 341. Tn the " "Facta anatomia." The process

iiiber \it£c of Durham (ed. Surtees need not be described. Matt. Paris,

hoc, 150) Gray is said to have died on 778.
May 6 (2 Noa) . ^^ike,^ ^^ q^^I ■■ r,Q_ p^i

Antony u AVood says that Gray dore Vergil, 311.

1216 1255.] ARCHBISHOP GRAY. 291

diocese he seems to have beeu the great re-organizer of the
parochial system, effecting subdivisions, and arranging tlie dis-
tribution of endowments. He held a provincial council at
York, and promulgated some valuable constitutions relating
especially to the fiu'nitui'e and ornaments of his churches, and
to tithes.-^ He was sedulously attentive to the interests of the
monasteries, and was their generous benefactor.^ The sub-
sequent archbishops of York had good reason to remember him.
He made a rule that on each of the manors belonging to the
see a certain quantity of stock should be reserved at the death
of each prelate for the benefit of his successor, and he obtained
the sanction of the king and pope for this arrangement, which
he inaugiu-ated himself.'' He purchased the village of St.
Audrewthorpe, which he appropriated to the see, charging it
merely with an annual payment of twenty marks, half of which
was to pro^dde for the keeping of his OAvn obit in the minster,
whilst with the other moiety the chaplain within the manor of
Thorp was to be supported.' This is the origin of the present
palace of the archbishops, for the name of St. Audrewthorpe
w^as soon changed to Bishopthorpe. It was to Walter Gray
also that his successors were indebted for their house in London.
The history of that palace is a remarkable one. It was the
residence of the famous Hugo de Burgh, earl of Kent, who
gave it in a fit of generosity to the Black Friars, fi'om whom
Gray purchased it, and presented it to his see. It bore the
name of York-place until the time of Henry YIII., when that
imperious monarch demanded it of Wolsey. It was given up,
and we know it for the future as Whitehall.

" Sir, you
Must no more call it York-place, that is past ;
For since the cardinal fell, that title's lost ;
'Tis now the king's, an<l call'd — Whitehall."

/ These are given in Wilkins, i., gave the monastery of Blyth an annual

698-9- Cf. ibid., 755. The archbishop pension of five marks out of the church

had a controversy with Robert de of Weston to enable the monks to keep

Thweng about the church of Lythe hospitality (Rot. Gray). lie made

(Matt. Paris, 460). parks in Hecksgrave, Hockwode, and

s To give instances. In the charter Nordwode, co. Notts (Rot. Huadr., ii.,

in which he confirms the foundation of 311).

Healaugh, he speaks of the " novellam * These gifts are mentioned in Stubb.s,

constructionem domus per soUicitudi- col. 1724-5. The grant of Thorp is

nem nostram" (MSS. Cotton, Ves- printed in Dugd. Mon., vi., 1194-5.
pasiau, A, iv., 7, 8). He obtained from ' The archbishop conveyed it to the

Henry IIT. a grant of fairs, and a chapter of York, and they engage to

market for Hexham (Ibid., Claudius, rc-convey it to the futiu-e primates on

li, iii., 95). He granted to the canons the payment uf the 20 marks. The

of Nostell twenty marks per annum chaplain was to pray, specially, for the

out of the church of South Kirkby souls of king John and archbishop

(Ibid., Uh). On June 10, 1250, he Grav (Domesday Book, apudEbor., 99).

u 2

293 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

If the walls of that palace could have spoken, they could have
tohl a wondrous tale. They beheld in turn the intrigues and
festivities of Wolsey and his master, the brilliant courts of
Elizabeth, the fawning servility of Steenie, and the execution
of Cliarles.

Areh])ishop Gray translated the remains of his predecessor
St. Wilfrid at Ripon, and placed them in a befitting shrine.

" Wilfridi reliquias de theca levavit.
In capsam argenteam digne collocavit."-'

lie founded the prebend of Stanwick in that church,* and I
agree with Mr. Walbran in ascribing to him the erection of the
beautifid west front of that cathedral.^ But it was upon the
church of York that his benefactions were showered. The
subdeanery and the subchantorship of the canons were esta-
blislied whilst he was archbishop, and it is quite possible that
he founded them ; at all events he attached the living of Preston
to the subdeanery. The stall of WistOAV was constituted about
tlie same time, and he revived that of Weighton, which had
fallen into decay. In 1218 he annexed the prebend of New-
tliorpe and the church of Acomb to the treasurership.'" He
appro])riated the living of Mappleton to the archdeaconry of the
East Riding, that of WaAvne to the chancellorship, Tunstall to
the newly established svibchantorship, and Withernwick to the
j)rcbend of Holme. He had obtained these benefices from the
abbat and convent of Albemarle, and he bestowed them upon
the minster with the consent of the dean and chapter." He
gave to the same chm-ch thirty -two copes of blue and purple,"
a valuable mitre, a chalice and paten of gold and precious

} From the metrical history of the erat !" The whole thing is ridiculously

archbishops in MSS. Cotton, Cleopatra, absurd.

C, iv. * Rot. Gray. On the 21st of October, 1222, Henry

' Matt. Paris (313), under the year III. ordered Galfrid de Neville to give

123t, gives a curious account of an to Gray ten bream out of the roval

adventure at llipon. It was a year of fish-pond on the Foss to stock his

famine, and the archbishop had ga- stew at Eipon. There is still a pond

thered together as much corn as possi- in Eipon parks which contains a num-

blc, to tlie injury, as we are informed, l)er of this rare fish. Were they ge-

of the poor. It was kept so long that nealogists they might make out a very

it decayed, and the creatures that found capital pedigree (Rot. Claus., 515).

a home in it were supposed to be special '" MSS. Torre. Rot. Gray,

emissaries of the evil one, and to be " Rot. Gray. Dugd. Mon., vi., 1191-

sent to punish the avarice of the arch- 2. In Le Neve, iii., 102, it is said

bishop. The bailiffs at first ran away, that Gray foiuided the subdeanery, the

and the rustics, whom they compelled succentorship, and two prebends at

to open out the stacks, were obliged to York. He augmented the prebend of

MUm their example when they heard Grendale to 40 marks (Rot. Gray),

a strange voice out of the corn bidding '■ Stubbs, col. 1725. In MSS. Cot-

tbem desist, "quia archiepiscopus et ton, Cleopatra, C, iv, the number is said

omnia qusc habebat diaboli possessio to be twentv-six.

1216—1255],

ARCHBISHOP GRAY.

293

stonesj a morse of gold in the shape of a rose, with a large ruby
in the centre, and other choice stones, weighing more than a
pound, and a tippet also decorated with gold and jewels./' lint
Gray's noblest work at York Avas the erection of the south
transept, in which he is interred. It is the choicest ])ortion of
that glorious temple, and the early English style of architecture
may there be seen in the supremacy of its beauty. In boldness
of arrangement and design, and in richness of decoration, the
south transept is without a peer. How many of those Avho gaze
with cm-ious and admiring eyes upon arcade and carving, arc
ignorant of the piety and merits, nay, of the very name of the
prelate who called them into being more than six centuries ago.*
There he lies on the eastern side of the same transept, in
the grave which received him on the A-igil of the feast of Pente-
cost, 1255.'' The place in which he is interred Avas in all pro-
bability selected by himself.^ The altar of St. INIiehacl, at
which the archbishop fomided a chantiy in 1241 for the weal of
his soul,' stood between the sepulckre and the wall; but all

p Fabric Rolls of York Minster, ed.
Surtees Society, 213, 215, 222.

9 Prom the fact that Gray granted
an indulgence for the church of York
in 1227, and that several other gifts to
the fabric were made about the same
time, it may reasonably be inferred that
the building of the transepts was then
going on (Fabric Rolls, 146-50). That
on the south side must have been com-
pleted before 1211, the year in which
Gray founded his chautr^^ at the altar
of St. Michael. Sewal de Bovill, who
became dean about that time, confirms
a grant of two bovates and two acres
of land in Milford which the arch-
l)ishop had made to Gilbert de Cor-
brigge, carpenter, "qui in ejus servicio
diu stetit et tam pro ipso quam pro
ecclesia Ebor. multum et fideliter la-
boravit" (MSS. Cotton, Claudius, B,
iii, 113 a).

The north transept, which is ascribed
to John Roman us, senior, was probably
built shortly before Gray's work. It
is less rich and probably, therefore, of
an earlier date. Romanus became sub-
dean in 1228, and died in 1256. lie
and Gray must have been great friends.
On Nov. 27, 1237, the archbishop
granted him an annual pension of 20
marks (Rot. Gray),

There is an interesting legend about
the beautiful little church of Skelton
near York. The anti(j[uary Gent, writ-

ing in 1731, " mounted on his courser "
to visit it, " because it is affirmed 'twas
built with the stones that remaiu'd
after the south cross of the miustor had
been finished by the archbishop "Walter
Grey " (Gent's Ripon, pt. ii., 3). There
is an account of this architectural gem,
I had almost said toy, in "The Churches
of Yorkshire," and a work has been
specially devoted to it, viz., " Archi-
tectural Illustrations of Skelton Church,
by Ewan Christian, with an account of
the building. Folio. London : 1816."

*■ Ann. Burton, apud Gale, iii., 311.

' As Professor A'\'i]lis observes, " The
pier arch under which the tomb stands
is made ^vider than the others, apjia-
rently to give it im])ortance." It was
probably made so that the founder
might rest beneath it (Architectural
History of York Cathedral, 20).

' Founded March 22, 1211, for one
priest, with two cha]ilains and a clerk
under him, and liberally endowed (Fa-
bric Rolls of York Minster, 297. MSS.
Cotton, Claudius, B, iii., 76 b). Stubbs
speaks of Gray ordaining three perjie-
tual chantries at this ahar (col. 1725).
Gray bad secured to himself the church
of Milium, with which the chantry
was endowed, between 1228 and 123(1,
but the actual deed of foundation was
not drawn uj) till 1211, when the tran-
sejit was probably completed. Arch-
bishop Gray was also commemorated

294 PASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

traces of it have disappeared, save a figure of tlie archangel in
the winrk)\v above, still thrusting his spear into his prostrate foe.
The monument on which you gaze is one of the most striking
memorials of the age in which it was set up. The archbishop,
who seems to have been of small stature and a slight frame, is
stretched out at full length with his pastoral staif in his hand,
which is thrust into the mouth of the serpent. The details of
the figure and its adjuncts are full of simple elegance. Above
the sleeping prelate, on ten light and gracefid pillars, there
towers a magnificent canopy, which terminates in finials of the
most beautiful design. Many will be surprised to learn that
these are of modem workmanship, and that they were moulded
less than a century ago by an Italian of the name of Bernasconi,
a sculptor of great merit. I cannot bestow too high praise on
what he has done, for he seems to have been imbued with the
true spirit of Christian art. He has crowned each finial Avith
two thrushes in full song, wrought with exquisite skill, and
resting upon wool-packs." Had the carving been really old I
should have ventured to suggest the meaning of the device.
The packs would have been an allusion to the office of chancellor,
which the archbishop once enjoyed, and in the thrushes there
Avould have been, perhaps, a canting allusion to his name. The
thrush in the North of England is at the present day frequently
called the gray bird. It may well be singing, for what an
offering of praise and worship is above it. The monument, I
must add, is surrounded by a brazen screen of excellent and
ai)])ropriate design. It was set in its present position by arch-
bishop Markham, and his gift prompted the following lines from
the earl of Carlisle : —

" From rude approach and from the touch profane
Thus gen'rous Markham guards this crumbhng fane ;
Eevive.s just praise to Grey, makes widely known
A course of Ub'ral actions like his own.
And should a baser age unmov'd survey
Our much lov'd prelate's mould'ring tomb decay.
View Time's coarse hand each grateful line efface,
Nor the broad tablet to his worth replace ;
Yet on the spot where once was plac'd his urn,
Sbull true religion ever weep and mourn ;
A reverential awe around shall spread,
And learning point where rests his holy head."

at the altar of St. Stephen, which was ment at York. Langton was interred

founded by William de Langton, nephew in the sacred corner where the remains

and heir of A^'illiam de Langton, late of archbishops Gray, Bovill, and Lud-

dean of York (Fabric Eolls, 301) . When ham were deposited.
we recollect that the dean was also " The finials are merely of plaster,

called Wilham de Rotherfield, Gray's Bernasconi has introduced a thrush on

paternal estate, we can see at once to one of the ornaments of the north side

whom he was mdebted for his prefer- of the tomb with less success. You

i

1.25G — 1258.] ARCHBISHOP sewal de rovill. 295

Walter de Gray is the first archbishop of York whose official
acts have been handed down to ns. These are registered upon
two rolls of unequal size called the major and the minor, wliich
have originally been one, and which ought to be re-united.
They commence, most unfortunately, wdth the proceedings of
the tenth year of Gray's archiepiscopate. They are of very
great length, and exhibit documents of great interest and value."
The writing, which is on both sides, is singularly beautiful and
minute J and no one can examine the roll without being deeply
struck, not only wdth the caligrajjliy, but with the piety and
energy of the archbishop, and with the perfect order and system
which he observed in the management of his diocese.

i0b3al tic ilJobill, dean of York, was Gray's successor. His
origin appears to have been an humble one, and of his early life
there is little known. He was one of the scholars who attended
the lectures of Edmund de Abingdon, afterwards St. Edmund,
at whose feet Grostete and Roger Bacon used to sit in the
University of Oxford.'" He Avould there be brought into contact
with some of the most learned men of the day, among Avhom
he is said to have distinguished himself by his w^orks.-^ Bovill
was greatly attached to his master, and, in after years, when the
merits and sufferings of Edmund began to attract both sympathy
and attention, he wrote to Innocent IV., urging him in strong
terms to canonize his old instructor. He speaks of his former
tutor in terms of the warmest praise and affection, and tells the

may see at once of what materials it is 1233, licence to tlie prior and convent

composed. In Drake's Eboracutn (427) of AVartre for a chaplain to pray for

there is an engraving of the tomb before the soul of Robert de Percy in tiie

Bernasconi meddled with it. It is at chapel in which he is interred. Nov.

present, I am sorry to sa3s in a dilapi- 15, 1251, a pension of 40s. per annum

dated condition. to Roger Fitz Adam, clerk, nephew of

Drake mentions a curious story which our most dear friend, Pr. William,

was believed in his day, that the arch- chiun])erlain of our lord the king,
bishop had died under a sentence of "■ jMartene, Tlios. Nov. Aneodot.,

excommunication, and that his body iii., 183H. Matt. Paris, 708. AVood's

therefore had not been laid in the Anticj. Univ. Oxon., i., 11)6. Bowles's

sacred earth, but in the canopy over Lacock Abbey, 202. In A\'alter de

the pillars. The too curious antiquary Gray's roll the title of mmjlxler is given

made an incision into the stone-work, to Bovill, which shews that he was a

and soon foiuid that there was no hollow graduate,
within. •* Bale (Cent, iv., 311-12) makes Bo-

" Two or three extracts may be vill tlie author of " Brevilo(|uiuiu ad

given. June 1, 1229, a pension of 5 Alexandrum ; Statuta Synodalia; Ad

marks from the church of Brancepeth suos Sacerdotes; Sermones et Episto-

to Peter de Vallibus, clerk. July 16, la.s."

296 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

pope that he had been his pupil in bygone days in the school of
arts at Oxford.^ Edmund, who seems to have had a deep insight
into character, had told Bovill what would come upon him in
after-life, and one part of his prediction had been already
verified. He said that his scholar should be advanced to a high
estate, but that he should be distinguished by his sufferings as
well as by his temporal success/

Bovill became the dean of York about the year 1240, hold-
ing at the same time the stall of Fenton/ He was also made
archdeacon of York in 1249, on the death of Laurence de
Lincoln, Avhose will he caused to be exemplified.* In compliance
with the wish of his friend, whom he succeeded, he established
a chantry at the altar of St. Laurence, in York minster, on the
16th of January, 1250.^

L^pon the death of Walter de Gray the chapter elected their
dean in his room, and the selection seems to have been a good
one, as Matthew Paris speaks in high praise of Bovill's modesty,
piety, and learning."^ The king, however, was too fond of money
to allow the temporalities of the see of York to pass so speedily
from his hands. " I have never had them before,^^ he is reported
to have said, " and they shall not slip out of my fingers yet.-"^
He took possession of everything he could to the great grief of
the archbishop-elect," and justified his proceedings by saying
that Bovill had been born out of lawful wedlock./ It was his
wish, I believe, to secure the see for his brother Ademar, bishop
of Winchester.^ The chapter, however, supported their late
dean with vigour and resolution. They borrowed two hundred
marks of Peter the subchantor, to enable them to prosecute the
matter at Rome; and on the 1st of October, 1255, they assigned
to him as a security the chm'ches of South Burton and Brother-
ton.'' The proceedings at Rome were entirely in Bovill^s favour.
The pope sent him a dispensation which obviated the irregula-
rity of his birth, confirming his election, and giving him the pall.^
The chapter now brought the matter to a termination with the
aid of Roger dc Holderness, their representative.'^ It was useless

* Martene, ut supra. temporalities had been in the hands of
' Matt. Paris, 7'J8, 803, 827. John Clarel and Adam de Hylton (Ab-
" From Rot. Gray it appears that he brev. Rot. Orig., i., 15).

had a stall in 1237. MSS. Cotton, ' Matt. Paris, 779, 784, 786.

Claudius, B,iii., 8, 34, 45. MSS. Torre. / Ibid., 786. Stubbs, col. 1725.

Le Neve, iii., 121, 184. e Wikes, apud Gale, ii., 50. A per-

* MSS. Torre. Le Neve, iii., 132. son of great influence with Henry III.
" Domesday Book, penes Deo. et Of. Mon. Francisc, 254.

Cap. Ebor., 57 a. York Fabric Rolls, '' Reg. Giffard, 108 h.

292. ( MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii.. 111.

'' Matt. Paris, 784. Wikes, apud \Yikes, apud Gale, 50.

Gale, ii., 50. Polydore Vergil, 311. J Matt. Paris, 784. "When Ludham

Fuller's AVorthies, n. e., ii., 539. The was made archbishop, Roger de Hoi-

125C 1258.] ARCHBISHOP SEWAL DE KOVILL. 297

for the king to resist. The royal assent to the nomination of
the c]^apter was granted on the 4th of May, 1250/' and BoAdll
was consecrated archl)ishop at York on Sunday the 23rd of
July.^

Soon after this ceremony took place Adam de Marisco, the
learned Minorite, addressed the new prelate in a letter which
assumes the character of a little treatise, as it extends to forty-
seven chapters.™ Bovill, who was a timid man, seems to have
acquainted his friend with the doubts and fears which his new
position aroiised in his mind, and to have solicited his counsel.
The reply of the celebrated friar reminds us of the letter which
Beda w^rote to Egbert. He begins by expressing the joy that
all good men feel at Bo\dlFs promotion," and then he touches
upon many points of great importance to a Christian bishop —
the kind of life that he should adopt, the necessity for wise
coadjutors, the care to be taken in making appointments and
choosing clergy. All this is to be done with the aid of One above
who is to be approached by prayer, uj)on the nature and degrees
of which Marisco speaks at some length. He then turns to a
subject upon which the Minorites were always eloqviently indig-
nant— the vices of the clergy, and he urges Bovill to repress
them with a strong hand. After this the writer speaks of religion
in its political aspect, and the wrongs which the church endured
at the hands of the civil governors. All this is to be withstood
temperately and firmly. Grostete is held up as a pattern worthy
of imitation, and Marisco tries to cheer his friend by telling
him that persecution is not only useful, but a blessing. We can
well conceive that Bovill had been speaking to Marisco about
the prediction of Edmund de Abingdon, to which the last piece
of advice has an especial reference. The letter is an interesting
document, and it is the key, no doubt, to BoAnll's subsequent
conduct.

BovilFs name occurs but once in connection with the state.
On the 20th of July, 1257, he was one of the commissioners
who were appointed to settle, if possible, the disputes between
the king of Scotland and his nobles." In the same year I find
him mentioned as a worshipper at the tomb of St. Alban.^ He

derness, alias de Skeflling, became " Marisco says of him, " Cujus in-

dean. dies usquequaquam per effectuura evi-

* Le Neve, iii., 102, ex Rot. Pat. dcntias uiiiversis clarescit ilhistrius et

' MSS. Cotton, iit supra. Stubbs, virtus invincibilis, et sensns inl'allibilis,

col. 1725. Anglia Sacra, i., 310. lie- et zolus intcmerabilis, et actus indefati-

mingford, apud Gale, ii., 578. Wikes, gabilis" (ibid., 410).

ibid., 50. Knygbton, col. 2M4. Matt. " Fu'dera. i., 3G2. Ilutcbinson's

Paris, 804. Flores Hist., 363. Durham, i., 210, where the date 1258

'" Printed among the Monumenta is given.

Franciscaua, 438-489. v IMatt. Paris, 80U.

298 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

did, however, some good work at York during his brief tenure of
the archieiiiscopate. He remodelled the constitution of the
chapel of St. Sepulchre, which had been founded by archbishop
Roger, changing the clergy into canons, and making provision
for the management of- the common property and the perform-
ance of the services.* Bovill, however, conferred a still greater
boon upon the church, and his vigour and persistency in stand-
ing up for the rights of his cathetb-al when they were menaced
by an insolent intruder, won for him the praises of his contem-
poraries, although they involved him in the troubles which his
old master had foretold.

The deanery of York, which BovilFs own promotion had
vacated, Avas given to Godfrey de Ludham, who succeeded him
also in the archbishopric. Ludham^s tenure of office was des-
tined to be an uneasy one. One day three strangers found their
way to the minster of York.*" No service was being performed,
for the priests and clerks at that time were otherwise employed.
The men entered into the cathedral, and found a solitary wor-
shipper at his devotions. They asked him which was the dean's
stall? "This is it," he said, pointing to the place. The three then
went up to it, and, one of them taking possession of the seat,
the other two said, addressing him, " Brother, we install thee
by the authority of the pope." The archbishop and his chapter,
nay, the whole of England, were amazed and indignant. With-
out a word having been said to any one, the pope had given the
deanery away to an Italian cardinal of the name of Jordan, who
had got possession of it by this audacious and discreditable trick.
Bovill, who seems to have been naturally of a quiet and retiring
disposition, had a just cause to defend, and he woidd not submit
to this dictation. The whole of England was being stocked
with these Italian priests, who came over hungering after pre-
ferment. They had for some time made a prey of the church
of York.'' On this occasion Bovill exhibited such a determined
front that the intruder went home, and made a complaint to the
pope. The archbishop was now subjected to the rancour of
disappointed and angry men, and endm-ed a bitter persecution.
lie was suspended from his office ; the minster was put under
an interdict; BovilFs cross was taken away from him, and,

1 Stubbs, col. 1725-6. Reg. Green- Eomanus, arclideacon of Richmond, is

field. Dugd. Mon., vi., 1182. blamed for urging the Romans to en-

' Matt. Paris, 803, 820, 827. Ann. rich themselves "in England (ibid.,

Burton, apud Gale, iii., 386. 792). Cf. Twisden's Historical Vindi-

' ilany instances might be given. cation of the Church of England in

In 1255 Magister Rustandus, the sub- point of Schism, 61. In 1207 the king

deacon of the pope, came to England, received QU. 4s. 6d. " de prebendis Ro-

and a stall at York was given to him manorum in dioc. Ebor." (Rot. Clans.,

by the kmg (Matt. Paris, 785). John 99).

I

i

I

1256 1258.] ARCHBISHOP SEWAL DE BOVILL. 299

finally, he and the dean were excommunicated. I cannot say
whether these marks of the papal displeasure were ever altogether
removed. It seems, however, probable that the sentence was
rescinded, as Matthew Paris mentions an arrangement, which
looks very like a compromise, that a pension of a hundred marks
should be paid yearly to Jordan till some other preferment
could be provided for him.'^

These troubles and persecutions broke BovilFs heart, and he
was soon upon his deathbed. At that solemn time the sinking
prelate raised his hands and his eyes towards heaven, and
appealed to the Redeemer fi'om the unrighteous dealing of His
pretended deputy upon earth. The dying man then thought
upon the bold words of his old college friend Grostete, and
resolved to follow his example and acquaint the pope with the
evil he had done, protesting against the injustice. He bade him
imitate the humility of his sainted predecessors, and not to
tyrannize over the church, " for the Lord said to Peter, feed my
sheep, and not, shear them, skin them, tear out their entrails,
or eat them up." This was strong language; but it seems
only to have provoked a smile of pity and contempt on the face
of him to whom it was written." There were many, however,
who would be proud to think that men were not wanting to
point out the eiils of the times, and to lay the lash upon the
real offenders.

Bovill died on the 10th of ]May, 1258.^' On the Easter day
before his decease he had made a great feast for the poor, and
he left it and them to take a part in the services of his chapel.
The memory of his virtues was long cherished in the North, and
miracles, etc., are said to have attested the holiness of his life.""

Archbishop Bovill was interred in the south transept of the
minster near the remains of Walter de Gray. A plain marble
slab charged with a floriated cross, and elevated upon low pillars,
still marks the spot. The ground was opened about 1735, and
a gold ring was taken out of the grave, which is now preserved
in the vestry. It is of simple workmanship, and without any
ornament.

' Matt. Paris, 813. In the Anglia the pope knowing nothing of it — a

Sacra (i., 494) it is said that Bovill most unlikely thing (Chron. Petrib.,

was excommunicated by the archbishop 142).
of Canterbury in obedience to a papal " Matt. Paris, 831.

mandate. Anotlier account is that " MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii., 111.

Jordan suspended him, and that he Stubbs, col. 1726.
was suspended at the time of his death, " Chron. Lanercost, 71-2.

300 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

^Otlfrr^ tic 5Llltlf)am, or tfC ItintOn, probably derived his
sunianicsl'rom the villages of Loudham and Kiiialton or Kins-
ton in Nottingbamshirc, of whicli county he seems to have been
a native. The Christian names of his parents were Richard and
Eda, and he had a brother, Thomas de Ludham, who was chap-
lain to the pope and a prebendary at York and Southwell.^

On the 17th of June, 1227, archbishop Gray granted to Mr.
Godfrey de Ludham a pension of ten marks per annum, and on
the 26tli of August, 1229, he collated him to a moiety of the
living of Peniston in the West Riding of Yorkshire.^' About
the year 1250 Ludham was precentor of York whilst Bovill
occupied the deanery,' and when the dean was advanced to the
arch])isho]3ric the precentor succeeded him in his office. He
was immediately involved in the troubles that overwhelmed his
diocesan. The pope, it will be remembered, attempted to thrust
a cardinal of the name of Jordan into the deanery, and excom-
municated Bovill and Ludham for opposing him.** There is,
however, reason to believe that this sentence was soon with-
drawn.

Eovill died in the beginning of May, 1258, and on the 29th
of that month the king authorized the chapter to elect another
archbishop.* They fixed upon Ludham on the 12th of July,*^
and the royal assent was given on the 25th.'^ Ludham took the
precaution of going himself to Rome to secure the favour of the
pope, and, after much trouble and expense,^ he was consecrated
there on the 22nd of September, and obtained the pall./ On
his return to England he boldly entered London bearing his
cross erect, and went to the court, where he was kindly welcomed
by the king. After this, he set out for the North. On the
1st of December he received the temporalities of his see, and
about Christmas he was enthroned with much rejoicing. He
soon shewed his regard for Roger de Holderness by giving him
the deanery. They had been friends for some time, and had
been associated together at St. Albans.^

' Fabric Rolls of York, 293. It is ■* Le Neve, iii., 102.

mentioned in Melton's JRe^nster, in a <■ Matt. Paris, 834, 839.

document relatinj,' to the prebend of f MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii., 111.

"Wctwang, that Thomas and Godfrey Cal. Rot. Pat., 31. Stubbs (col. 1726)

de Ludham were brothers. says that he was consecrated on Sept.

Wnlter de Ludham, knight, wit- 23.

nesscs archbishop Gray's grant of Thorp s Matt. Paris, 840. In 1260 the

(Dugd. Mon., vi., 1195). Cf. Thoro- archbishop was ordered to find men to

ton's Notts, 289. v Rot. Gray. serve in Wales (Feed., i., 399), and on

-■ MSS.Colton,Claudius, B,iii., 12 a. Sept. 3 he was commanded peremp-

« Anri^ Burton, apud Gale, iii., 386. torily to collect the disme in his pro-

Le Jseve, iii., 102. vince (ibid., 445).

' Chron. Lanercost, 66.

1258 — 12G5.] ARCHBISHOP LUDHAM. 301

There is very little known of Lndliam^s conduct as arch-
bishop. His rey'istcr has not been preserved, and the clironiclcrs
are silent about liim. We learn, liowever_, from Stu])bs that in
the third year of his archiepiscopate he put the city of York
under an interdict, Avhich lasted from the beginning of Lent to
the festival of the Invention of the holy cross/' and the chronicle
of Peterborough tells us that this severity was to punish the
citizens for some injuries which they had done to their diocesan
and the chapter of York/ In 12G1 Ludham held a provincial
council at Beverley,-' and the people of that town were for some
time under his displeasure for breaking into his parks. In the
register of archbishop Giffard mention is made of some statutes
which his predecessor drew up for the better management and
discipline of the regular orders.*

Archbishop Ludham died on the 12th of January, 1265,'
and AVas interred beside his predecessors Bovill and Gray in the
south transept of York minster. A simple cross carved in stone
marked the place of his sepultiu'e. When the old pavement
was taken up, about 1735, Ludham's monument was removed
to the presbytery. It was injured in the fire of 1829.'"

Ludham left a will, the provisions of which seem to have
been neglected. On the 8th of March, 1268, the executors were
called to account for their short-comings. They were four in
number; the prior of the house of the Holy Trinity, London,
William dean of York, Robert archdeacon of the East Riding,
and John de Steinton, a layman. Thomas de Berneby, sub-
deacon of the pope, and John his brother, a layman, two of
Ijudham's creditors, made a petition to Octobonus the papal
legate in England, that the executors should be obliged to pay
the debts and legacies of their late master, and they were
ordered to do so. On the 20th of February previous, archbishop
Giffard had issued a commission to Nicholas de Wudeford, canon "
of Westbury in the diocese of Worcester, empowering lum to
enquire into the effects belonging to his predecessor in the see."

Thomas de Ludham, the archbishop^s brother, founded a
chantry at the altar of the Blessed Virgin aiul St. John in York
minster, at which the souls of the deceased primate, the foimdcr,
and their parents, were to be especially rcmcml)ei'cd. Tlircc
chaplains were to officiate at it, and it was endowed with lands
in Skelton, Middleton and Boynton."

* Stiibbs, col. 1726. Cliron. Laner- ' Stubbs, 172G. AVikos, apnd Gale,
cost, 71. •' ChroD. Petrib., 113. ii., G6. MSS. Cotton, Vitellius A. ii.,

J FloresHist., 37i). Ill i.

* lleg. Giffard. The rules wliicli '" IJrowne's York Min.ster, 58.
Ludham laid down for the manas^'cuicnt " llc<(. Giflard.

of the monastery of Hexham are pre- " York Fabric Rolls, ed. Surtces So-

served, ciety, 293, and MSS. D. and C. Ebor.

302 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

On tlic 30tli of January, 1265, the king gave the chapter of
York permission to elect a new archbishop, and they again fixed
u])on their dean, William de Langton alias de Rotlierfield. This
api)oiutment was made on the 12th of March, and the king
assented to it on the 1st of April. The pope, however, set it
aside on the ground that Langton was a pluralist, although he
licld only a single living in addition to his deanery. Bonaven-
tura, the famous Franciscan, was nominated by Clement IV. in
Langton^s place, but he seems to have waived his claim, as there
was the prospect of a storm. ^ The diocese of York would indeed
have been honoured if that illustrious man had been placed at
its head. The piety and the works of the " seraphic " doctor
were famous throughout the Christian world. They attained
for him, among other honoiu's, the ride of the order of the Mino-
rites, the honours of the cardinalate, and a place in the calendar
of the saints.

William de Langton, dean of York, who was rejected by the
pope, was a great man. In 1265 he was summoned to parlia-
ment as dean, and in 1278 he declined the bishopric of Carlisle,
lie died in 1279, and Avas interred in the south transept near
his friend and patron, archbishop Gray. He was commemorated
by a very remarkable monument, Avhich is now destroyed. Wal-
ter de Langton, bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and a dis-
tinguished statesman, was his nejshew.

altfr (^iftartl was the son of wealthy parents, and could
boast of 04,1 illustrious ancestry. He was the son of Hugh Gif-
fard of Boyton, in Wiltshire, by Sibilla daughter and co-heiress
of Walter de Cormeilles.? The Christian name of the archbishop
was probably derived from his maternal grandfather, but it
would also remind him of Walter Giff'ard, lord of Bolbec and
Longueville, a great Norman baron who came into England
Avith the Conqueror, and fought by his side at Hastings.''

There is very little known of Giffard's early history. In 1256,

p MS. Vitellius, A, ii., 111. Knyghton, tate seems to have come into his hands,

col. 2154. Stubbs, col. 1726. Chron. There is a Ufe of Hugh Gifiard in

1 et. lb., 149. Le Neve, iii., 103,121. Cah Toss's Judges of England, ii., 351.

Kot. 1 at., 37. AYikes (apud Gale, ii., Godfrey Giffard, bishop of Worcester,

/4) says that Bonaventura resigned was the archbishop's brother, and I

' timens pelli suae." shall mention several others who were

» iioare s \\ iltshire— history of his kinsmen. Abbrev. Eot. Orig., i.,

Ueytesbury Hundred, 201, 238. Dugd. 23.

Bar., 59, 499, etc. The archbishop - Master Wace's Chron., 256, etc.
was probably the eldest son, a.s the es-

1265 1279.] ARCHBISHOP GIFFARD. 303

Henry IIL permitted him and his mother to reside in the eastle
of Oxford ■/ and on anotlier occasion he was indebted to the good
offices of Adam de Marisco, the learned Franciscan/ On the
22nd of May^ 1264^ Giftard was elected to the bishopric of J^ath
and Wells, being at that time a canon and an arclidcacon in
that church, as well as chaplain to the pope. Six days after this
the king assented to the choice which had been made, and on
the 1st of September Giftard received the temporalities of his
see." The archbishop of Canterbury was at that time abroad,
and the new prelate crossed the Channel in quest of the rite of
consecration, which he received at the hands of the bishop of
Hereford in the church of Notre Dame at Paris on the 4th of
January, 1265." The English barons were most unwilling that
he should leave the country for that purpose, and plundered his
manors when he went, an act whicli he requited on his return
by a sentence of excommunication."' Giff"ard Avas at that time,
and throughout his life, of a handsome presence, fond of gaiety
and humour, but of a luxurious disposition. He had afterwards
a tendency towards corpulency, which is said to have affected
both his temper and his health.-^

Whilst he was bishop of Bath and Wells Giffard experienced
many marks of the royal favour. In 1265 he was raised to the
honourable position of lord-chancellor of England, receiving
an annual pension of five hundred marks. He resigned the
office when he was translated to York. 2' Dviring the intestine
troubles of the time the king made him the keeper of Oxford
castle, and gave him instructions to furnish it with stores and
munitions of Avar." On the 15th of October, 1266, the pope
promoted Giffard to the see of York, which had been vacant for
more than a year." He Avas enthroned on the festival of All
Saints, and obtained restitution of the temporalities on the 26th
of December.*

» Excerpt, e Rot. Fin., ii., 243. ^ Foss's Judges, ii., 353.

' Monum. Francisc, 257-8. - Reg. Giflard, 76 6. On Aug. 12,

" Prynne's Coll., iii., 22 1. Anglia 1266, Henry III. leased to him his
Sacra, i., 566. Le Neve, i., 159. There manors of Pydingdon and Brchull, sub-
is a life of him, containing nothing new, ject to an annual payment of £30. On
in Cassan's Lives of the Bishops of Oct. 12, 1208, the king allowed him to
Bath and AVells, 139. add to the grouud belonging to his

" lleg. Sacr., Angl., 44. In arch- palace in York a piece of crown land

bishop Giffard's register at York his adjacent (ibid.) 56 lien. III., licence to

acts as bishop of Bath and AVells are the archbishop of York, " kernellare

recorded from 1264 to 1266. These domuni suam do Garrode ad moduni

are arranged under archdeaconries in castri " (Cal. Hot. I'at., 44).

the usual way. " MSS. Cotton, Vitollius, A, ii.,

" Wikes, apud Gale, ii., 67. Ill 6. Wikes, apud Gale, ii., 77.

' Chron. Lanercost, 71, 103. " For- Cin-on. Lan., 84. Matt. Paris, Addit.,

mosus et illustris clericus," or as 859. Knyghton, col. 2164. Trivet, 228.

Chaucer says, * Vitellius, ut svpra. "Wikes, 81.

" Now certainly he was a fayre prelat." Stubbs, col. 1726.

304 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Giffarcl still continued to take a part in public affairs after
he came into the North. In the autumn of 1268, he had a
quarrel with the archbishop of Canterbury about the right of
bearing his cross erect, as on the 15th of October in that year
Girtard's proctor, E. de Well, was at Lambeth, and in the pre-
sence of the archbishop made an ajipeal in behalf of his master
to the pope/ With Edward I. Giffard was a great favourite.
In August, 1270, when that monarch, then the heir apparent,
Avas starting on his crusade, he drew up his will, in which he
apjjointcd the Northern primate one of the tutors of his sons.''
In 1271, Henry III. made him custos of the counties of Not-
tingham and Derby, which his nephew Hugh de Babington
siiperintcnded as his deputy.* In the spring of 1272 I find that
he Avas constable of the tower of London ; another of his nep-
phcws, Sir J. Neville, acting in his room./ On the 23rd of
November in that year the archbishop was one of the persons
who announced to the prince his father's decease,^ and he was
present at the coronation of the new king.'^ For some time
after that Giffard was busily employed in receiving the oaths of
allegiance to his master/ and in 1273 he was acting in his behalf
in the affairs of St. Augustine's, Canterbury.'^ In 1275 he was
one of those to whom the charge of the kingdom was entrusted
during Edward's absence,* and in 1277 he sent his service against
Llewellyn prince of Wales, according to his summons.^

The best account of archbishop Giffard's official acts is to be
gathered from his register, which is preserved at York. It is
full of novel and curious information relating to the ecclesiastical
condition of the North of England. There are in it, among
many other things, the earliest ordination lists that I am ac-
qiiainted with ; documents which have never yet been brought
to bear, as they ought, upon the history of the clergy, and the
annals of the church. The register gives us a very favourable
idea of Giffard's attention to his diocese. In every respect he
seems to have been a faithful pastor. He was a strict and fear-
less reformer of abuses, in days when there were many offenders,
and startling deviations from discipline and order. Giffard
made a regular visitation of his clergy, and shewed no mercy to

" ^ef?. Giffard. the cross with the archbishop of Can-

" JiX'd., I, 481. Test. Vetust., 9. terbury (Ann. Waverl., apud Gale, ii.,

' Jladox, Hist. Exch., ii., 153. He 227).

held it till 1st Edw. I. Cf. Fuller's ■■ AnoHa Sacra, i., 499.

"\\ orthies. Archa^olog., xxviii., 272. J Prynne's Coll., iii., 124.

J Reg. Giffard. *' Feed., i., 497. * Cal. Eot. Pat., 46. Godwin (w. e.,

4 i5 1*' ^'^'"'^ ^^^®' "•' ^^^- ^^''^ 682), quoting the Close Eolls, says that

are told that the king would not allow Giffard was deputy in 1272, and again

him to be present when he was crowned afterwards.

in 1274, to prevent an outbreak about ' Pari. Writs., i., 195, 197.

1266 — 1279.] ARCHBISHOP gipfard. 305

titled culprits. He reprehended William de Percy, canon of
York and a brother of Sir Henry de Percy, for wasting liis
time among courtiers, and in undignified pursuits. He also
attempted to grapple with Bogo de Clare, a son of the great
earl of Gloucester, an ecclesiastic who gave much trouble to
more than one archbishop of York. Tlie history of this man is
a most remarkable one. His noble blood, j^crhaps, made him
spurn authority, and he paid no attention whatever to decency
and discipline. At one and the same time he held as many as
eighteen livings, in addition to the treasui'crship at York and
the deanery of Stafford. On one occasion w^hen a royal official
served a writ at his house in London, Bogo's servants com-
pelled the unhappy man to eat up the document, seals and all !
Of course his parishes were gi'ievously neglected, for Clare
merely valued the income which they produced. The treasury
at York was in such a state diiring his rule, that it was reported
against him that the vestments and ornaments of the church
were often used by women in childbed. In the church of
Simonburn in Northumberland, whilst he was the rector, the
chronicler of Lanercost observed in the place of the carving
which ought to have been beliind the altar some wdcker work
taken evidently from a stable, and still smeared with the dung
of oxen. In striking and painful contrast to this parsimonious
and guilty carelessness was the gift which Clare made to the
queen of France, a coffer for her trinkets in the shape of a car
on wheels. The coffer itself was of ivory, the wheels and all
the exterior fittings, even to the smallest key, were of solid silver,
whilst within everything was of gold or silk.

Archbishop Giffard paid much attention to the religious
houses wdthin his diocese. They stood at that time in great
need of supervision. More than a century had elapsed since
most of them were founded, but during this period the defects
of the system were seriously and alarmingly developed. The
following extracts will be the best illustrations of the subject.
They are taken from the reports of the investigations which
W'Cre made between 1274 and 127G.

Bolton in Craven. The whole convent conspired against
the predecessor of William de Danfield, the present prior.
Nicholas de Broc, the sub-prior, is old and useless. Silence is
not observed, and there is much chattering and noise. John de
Pontefract, the present cellarer, is incompetent. The cellarer
and sulD-eellarer arc often al)scnt from service and refections,
and have their meals by themselves when the canons have left
the refectory.'" The house is in debt to the amount of
324/. 5s. 7d.
'" These canons and many other ec- clesiastics within the diocese of York

X

306 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

SwvNE. The prioress cannot keep discipline. Sibilla de
Bella and another nun arc rebellious, and Alice de Scrutevile,
Beatrix de St. Quintin, and Matilda Constable, abet them.
The sick are neglected. The nuns have only a pair of shoes a
year, scarcely a tunic in three years, and a pallium in twenty,
but what their parents or friends may give them, or they are
able to beg. The prioress is full of suspicions, and is credulous
and hasty. The mms and sisters quarrel, the sisters pretending
to be equal to the nuns, and using black veils. There are two
windoAvs broken, through whicl^ victuals, etc., are carried out ;
and the niins and canons meet together in an unseemly way.
The household of Sir Robert de Hilton wander about through
the cloister and parlour, and talk suspiciously with the nuns.
The nims have nothing for their fare but bread, cheese, and beer,
and, on two daj'^s in the Aveek, water instead of beer, whilst the
canons live luxui'iously.

Selby. The church of St. Germanus in the town is a chapel,
and the rite of baptism was administered in it until children
were carried to the monastery. The chapel and its altar are not
dedicated, neither is the cemetery, because the dead are interred
in the burial ground of the abbey. The chaplain was ordained
in Ireland, but archbishop Gray allowed his orders. The abbat
" mulierculas habet in maneriis suis et in villa de Selby. ^■'

Newbrough. The prior is too easy, and the superior too
hot-tempered. A camera has been needlessly built at Thirsk.
The cellarer traffics in horses like a dealer, and has a rough
tongue. The keeper of the fabric is abroad at the cost of tlie
house, and has not given in his account.

Felley. Ralph, the prior, laid violent hands on Ralph his
brother-canon, and then took part in the serAdce. He is old and
infirm. He broke into the place Avliere the common seal was
kept, and took possession of it against the will of the monks.
(He is deprived.) Tlie canons lead very immoral lives.

Archbishop GifFard Avas bold enough to exercise his Adsita-
torial poAver Avithin the diocese of Dui'ham, even within the
Avails of the potent monastery of St. Cuthbert. The see was at
that time vacant, and, according to one of the Durham historians,
the right of the archbishop of York to act Avithin the bishopric
during the interregnum seems to have been conceded. The
chronicle of Lanercost, however, tells us that Giffard's Adsit
was not unattended by dissension. The prior of Durham
endeavoured to l)eguile his potent guest at his residence in the
country Avith the dainty cates of which Giffard was so fond, but
the archbishop did not forget the main object of his coming;

would be ^ of the same mind as Be- " Mon evC-que, triste et bigot,

ranger's Chanoine de I'Auxerrois : Pretend que je sens le fagot."

I

12GG 1279.] ARCHBISHOP GIFFARD. 307

and a quarrel arose, which ended in GifFard^s exclusion from the
cathcdi'al, and the excommunication of the prior and his re-
bellious brethren. AVe find also that Gifiard Avas more or less
mixed up in the controversy which preceded the election of
bishop de Insula."

Ai'chbishop GifFard must be reckoned among the benefactors
of the church of York. He augmented the chancellorship with
the living of Acklam, and appropriated the benefices of Map-
pleton, Withernwick, Waghen, and Tunstall^ to the archdeaconry
of the East Riding, the prebend of Holme, the chancellorship,
and the succentorship." He gave also to the minster a fair
mitre, a gold ring with a balas, two small saucers of gold, and
two precious phials of silver gilt, wrought with cunning work-
manship, and decorated with valuable stones.^

Among the grave and formal documents with which the
archbishop^s register abounds, there are several pages which are
devoted to an interesting subject, the private expenditure of
GifFard. From it we may gain what is of great value, a pretty
fair insight into that prelate^s character and life. I need make
no apology for giving a number of extracts. There is, unfor-
tunately, a provoking absence of minute details which is much
to be regretted. We have a glimpse, however, of the arch-
bishop^ s kindness to his relations, and his charities. The large
sums which he gave for wine seem to shew that he was, as the
Lanercost chronicler has described him, " socialis et dapsilis."
The expenses incidental to his taking possession of his sec were
in all probability so heavy that he was obliged to have recourse
to the Italian bankers, or usurers as he appropriately calls them,
to borrow money, and it is doubtful whether he was ever tho-
roughly extricated from their clutches. Many of their bonds,
to which he was a party, have been preserved, and he might
well complain of the " whirlpool ^^ into Avhich he had been
plunged.

In addition to the special charges for providing necessaries,
we find the record of large sums which Avere laid out for the
expenses of the archbishop's hospice. Under these would be
included the items of wages, provisions and travelling. For
1267 and 1268 the cost of the hospice amounted to 450A per
annum. In 1269 it was only 320/. In 1270 it was as high as
860/., or 870/., whilst in 1271, of wliicli year we have only an
imperfect account, it was above 600/. AH this seems to point
to an extravagant scale of expenditure, if we take into account
the relative value of money at that time and the present.

The chief cause of this outlay must undoubtedly have been

" Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, cd. Sur- " Eog. Giffard.

tees Soc, 56. Chron. Lanercost, 103. '' York Fabric Rolls, 213, 214, 21G.

X 2

308 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

the great number of retainers that the arehbishop was obliged
to support. He had his regular officers to preside over each
department of his household, with fixed and by no means small
stipends. In addition to these, at each of his numerous resi-
dences, some of his servants were constantly living to take
charge of the house, and at his various manors there were the
farm-labom-ers and the bailiffs, all of whom depended upon him
for theii- svdisistence. The archbishop would thus be put to a
very considerable expense. This would be greatly increased by
the* migratory life which the prelates of that age delighted in.
A bishop, like his sovereign, was rarely more than three days at
a time in one place. He was always passing from residence
to residence with all the pomp and ceremony of a gi-eat feudal
baron. Hawks and hounds were frequently his companions on
his travels, and he would turn aside every now and then from
the beaten causeway to flush the heron from its waterpool, or
to chase the red deer through the woods. Behind the arch-
bishop there rode a long train of domestics, who carried with
them the wardrobe and the plate, and a great part of the furni-
ture of their master. With these each of his manor-houses or
castles was equipped, to be stripped again when the visitors
deserted it. The bailiff' of the place had little more to do than
to provide the kitchen from his lands and streams, and to pay
over, when it was required, the balance of his account. A pretty
accurate itinerary of several of the northern prelates might easily
be constructed, and it would be most interesting and suggestive.

The following extracts will give my readers some idea of the
private expenditure of archbishop Giff'ard.

12G7, Sept. 17. To Luranc Bom, citizen and merchant of
Florence, the deputy of Reyner and Teclarius, merchants of the
same city,* 1000 marks. Sept. 21. To Locco Hugolini and
Gregory Sunclli, merchants of Sienna residing in London, 600
marks. Sept. 22. To our valet 11. de Ascoc", G4/. 3s., to buy
cloth in the fair of Bloccelegh.'' On the Monday after Michael-
mas day, to master Ruffinus,* archdeacon of Cleveland, 200
marks, in })art payment of the debt that we owe to the merchants
of Paris, contracted for the business of our church and ourself
in the court of Rome, and, also, an order to N. de Wodeford to
pay 350 marks for the same purpose. Nov. 3. To Sir Wm. d^Au-
beny, knight, a robe of the value of 20s., and another to Roger
Huse.' Nov. 9. To Hugh Everard, our clerk, 310/. 10s. 4d.,

1 There is a valuable paper on the fard was allowed to have a fair there

history of these foreign merchants and (Thomas's Worcester, 136).

their dealings with England in the » Euffinus died this year.

Archceol., xxviii., 207-326. ' Henry Hoese was one of the barons

"■ Blockley, co. Worcester. In the who fought against Henry III. He

fifty-fourth of Henry III. bishop Gif- had lands iu the counties of Wilts,

12G6— 1279.]

ARCHBISHOP GIPFARD.

309

towards the expenses of our hospice. Dec. 9. To Pauliniis, the
Roman jester, 5 marks of our gift. To dame Alice," our sister,
5 marks. Dec. 28. To Hugh de Cantihipe/ our precentor at
York, GO/.

1268, Feb. 10. To the merchants for 21 casks of wine,
bought at Hidl,'" 50/. 6s. 8d. April 12. To our valet, Richard
de Button*, for the expenses of oiu' hospice, 80/. Apr. 27. To
Ancherus, the cardinal,^ 80 marks. May 6. To Henry le Waleys
and Philip le Taillur, 100/. for Avine ; to Stephen le Munden,
26/. 13s. 4d., for jewels;- to Robert Neveracom, 73s. 4d. for
wine ; to Robert de Mumpaillars, 33s. 6d. for tlie debts of dame
Sibilla Giftard our mother; to Anketill, the mercer, 10/. 8s. 4d.
for cloth bought from him at Paris ; to Edmund, the baker, at
Loudon, 6/. 13s. 4d. for corn; to Simon de Insula," 40s. to
repair our houses in London. June 7. To Philip, our constable
at Oxford, for the expenses of Edmund de Mortimer,* 20/. ; to
my lord, the earl of Norfolk, for a palfrey and a saddle for his

Kent, etc. (Dugd. Bar., i., 633). In
1290 a Henry Hose was constable of
Porchester castle (Rot. Pari., i., 25.)

" Alice de Mandeville, who is men-
tioned afterwards.

" A member of the noble family of
Cantiluxie. An executor of the will of
"Walter de Cantilupe, bishop of Here-
ford (Thomas's Worcester, 136), arch-
deacon of Gloucester 1256-1284- (Le
Neve, iii., 77), rector of Stewkley,
Bucks, 1216-1271 (Lipscombe's Bucks,
iii., 472. MSS. Harl., 6950, 80 b). In
1285 Mr. Hugh de Cantilupe, a digni-
tary in Hereford cathedral, being dead,
John de Clara, his executor, gave £20
out of his effects for poor scholars at
Oxford (Antiq. Univ. Oxon., i., 324).

My readers must understand that
these notes do not contain a tithe of
what I could say about many of the
persons they commemorate.

"" A great place for wine-merchants.
The archbishop had the prisage there,
which will be alluded to afterwards.

■^ A kinsman, no doubt, of William
de Button, Giffard's predecessor and
successor at Bath and Wells. He was
precentor of "Wells (Cassan's Lives,
134). Cf. Abbrev. Plac, 152. Giffard
gave a stall at York to Thomas de
Button, afterwards bishop of Exeter
(Anglia Sacra, i., 565-6).

"William Button, the second, was nep-
hew of his namesake and was Giffard's
cousin (Cassan, 141). Giffard had the
charge of the temporalities during the

vacancy, and on March 8, 1267, he
wrote from London to order the bailiffs
of the manors, etc., throughout the
diocese of Bath and "Wells to surrender
them to Button, whose appointment
had been confirmed (Reg. Giffard, 81).
On July 7, Giffard sold to him for
600 marks all the winter-corn on the
manors belonging to that see, which
he had of the king's gift, having sown
it himself (ibid.).

Bishop Button made his will in June,
1275, from which it appears that the
archbishoj! owed him money. Thomas
de Button and Roger de Crukes, pro-
vost of '^Vells, were the executors
(ibid.).

y A Roman cardinal, to whom the
pope gave the stall of "Wetwang at
York. He resigned it, and a pension
of 80, and subsequently 100, marks
per annum was granted to him.

- "Jocalia" ma}-^ be more appro-
priately translated ornaments.

" In 1265 Simon de Insula was pre-
sented by Henry III. to the living of
Thornfagan (Reg. Giffard, Bath and
Wells).

' I do not know who this person
M'as. Edmund de Mortimer, a power-
ful baron, had a son Edmund who was
rector of Hodnet (Dugd. Bar., i., 138).
Edmund, son of Roger de Mortimer,
was made treasurer of York in 1265
(Effid., i., 4.58, and Reg. Giffard). Ox-
ford castle had been in Giffard's cus-
tody.

310 FASTI EllORACENSES. [a.D.

fee at our translation/ 5 marks and a half; to Hugh do Ba-
bington to buy a robe " et penulas " for the use of our mother,
4/. 5s. 5d. ; to James dc Lougeton to buy coffers and certain other
necessaries for dame Alice de Mandevill, 28s. 9d. ; a release to
our valet, Walter le Barber, of his accoimt of 100 marks which
he carried for us to Paris when we were elected to the see of
Bath and Wells.'' July 20. To our beloved sister, dame Alice
de Mandevill,* 10 marks, and to dame Matilda de Tywe,'^ 10
marks. Aug. 16. To Gilbert, our steward at Norton, 55s. 5d.,
which he has expended at our order for the staying of our dear
sister, dame Matilda, ^^ at Norton from the feast of St. Dunstan to
that of SS. Marcellinus and Peter. Oct. 1. To our valet, R. de
Ascoc', 83/. at St. Botulph's fair. Oct. 31. To Philip le Taillur
and Hemy le Waleys, citizens of London, 236/.

1269, March 2. To the friars preachers of Gloucester, two
quarters of corn, and one quarter to a woman at Gloucester.
March 4. To the bailiff of Norton, 28s. as a gift, and for the
pigs which we had of him at Wykham. March 27. For the
expenses of masters G. de Sancto Leofardo^ and H. de Bran-
deston' and J. de Wudeford, chaplain, 9/. 10s. ; to the clerks
officiating in the church of York on Easter day in our presence,
18s. April 2. To Hugh de Babington, 100/. to lay out for us
at St. Ives' fair. April 9. To Simon, bailiff of Cawood, 10/. to
buy stock. April 20. To the dean of York, 120/., which we
borrowed of him for the king's use.-'' June 1. To Hugh de

' The earl marshal required a palfrey appendix, 78-9).

caparisoned as his fee. * Official of the court of York (R«g.

'' Gififard was consecrated at Notre GifFard). On Oct. 22, 1274, Mr. G. de

Dame in 1266. S. Leofardo had the archbishop's letters

' An unnoticed sister of the arch- authorizing him to borrow 60 marks

bishop. In 1279 Edmund de Mande- for the business of Mr. G. (ibid.). In

ville resigned the stall of Stanwick at 4th Edw. I., he, Thomas de Munkegate,

Ripon (Reg. Wickwaine). In 1301 official of the court of York and'^Mr'

bishop Gilfard left 40s. to Edm. de Simon de Clervaus, etc., were in trouble

M., a friar mmor (Thomas, 80). Cf. for hearing matters not relating to

Dugd. Bar., i., 206. wills (Rot. Hundred., i., 108). He held

■/ John and Gilbert de Tjwe were many pieces of preferment, and was
canons of \ork m 1241. In 1225 Sir bishop of Chichester, 1288-1305
John deTywa, kmght, presented Gil- 'Dean of Sarum, archdeacon of
bert de Tywa to the living of Wath- Dorset and bishop of Salisbury in 1287
^o^n'^?o' r^}""""- ^^"°°^'' (^^^^- ^^^1-' (Prynne, iii., 359. Cassan, 197, etc.).
6950, 43 J) i On Feb. 6, 54th Henry III.,
1 , ?,,^ °1^ Giffard left to the the king acknowledges that the arch-
church of W orcestcr a vestment which bishop has lent him £120 in his great
had been given to him by his sister need. The sum of £20 has been repaid
dame ilabel Giffard, abbess of Shaftes- out of the profits of our mint, and we
ti!F;'''p -, ^® ^""^ ^° ^^"^ ^" "'^"- promise to pay the rest soon (Reg.
Tl\f f, ''"'^ ""^ ""^""^ " '^^'^'^^^ " ^^ff^''^' 7« *)• Giffard, it will be seeil
^\mZ ^f ^ \ monastery, a pot or was obliged to borrow the money of the

for wltPr 'ir"" /^"pi ''''"^; ^w ^"°*^^'^ ^^^''- He was frequently employed in
tor water, etc. (Thomas's Worcester, raising supplies for the king.

i

1266 — 1279.] ARCHnisHOP giffard. 311

Babingtoii, 553/. to pay our debts. Juno 7. To Fr. Th. Thulus
20 marks for a pallrey ; to dame S. de Ileriz^ three oaks from
our woods at Sherwood.' June 25. An order to the hailiff of
Chirchden to pay to Rop;er tlie miller of Oxford 20s. to ])rovide
necessaries for our kinsman William de Grenefeud'" at Oxford,
whilst he is studying there, because it would be difficult for us
to send money to him on account of the perils of the ways.
July 23. To Richard de Button, our valet, 20/. for the use of
master William de Bolynton." Sept. 22. To Wm. le Escoc' and
Wm. le Wareu^, of Pontefract, 27/. 10s. for 11 casks of wine.
Sept. 24. To William de Burdeaus, 32/. 8s. 8d., to Peter le
Gascopi, 72s., and to Galfrid de jNIaund, 4/. for wines bought of
them. Nov. 25. To Gregory, prior of the friars of Mount
Carmel at York, 30s. for certain things which we have ordered
him to procure. Dec. 1. To Reyner, citizen and merchant of
Florence, 200 marks.

1270, Jan. 16. To R. de Ascoc^ the monies which Wm.
Suwell has laid by, i.e., 52/. of the temporalities, and 30/. which
Clement, oiu' clerk, placed with him out of the synodals, etc.,
for the expenses of our hospice. Feb. 10. An order to pay 200
marks to the merchants to expedite our affairs in the court of
Rome '^ut usurarum voraginem vitemus ad prsesens.^' Feb. 19.
To Simon, bailiff of Sherburn, 200 marks towards the expenses
of our hospice. Feb. 27. To Mr. W. le Rus/ sub-dean of
Wells, and the other executors of J., once sub-dean of Wells, 20/.
for goods belonging to the said J., bought for our use. April 14.
To Robert de Ascoc', 100s. from the goods of persons who have
died intestate, for the use of our house. May 25. To Reyner
de Luk, or Thomas his deputy, merchant of Lucca, 200 marks
which we had of him at London for the expenses of our hospice.
July 11. To Baldwin de Frivil,^' our nephew, 60s. ; to two valets

* Tn 1244 Jollan de Nevill paid "' A very valuable entry. It refers,

20 marks to the king for his leave to no doubt, to William de Greenfield, a

marry Sara, late wife of John Heriz, kinsman of GiUard, and afterwards

who seems to have died in 1241 (Exc. archbisbop of York. Giffard, it seems,

e Rot. Fin., i., 3G3, 426. Dugd. Bar., educated his youthful relation at Ox-

i., 685). Sarah, daughter and heiress ford.

of Sir John de Heriz, married Sir E.0- " The archbishop's proctor at Rome,

bert Pierpoint, temp. Edw. II. (Coll. « On Oct. 20, 1265, the siibdeanery

Top., viii., 340). Ab. Rot. Orig., i., 19. of Wells was given to Mr. ^V. Ic Riis,

' There are several notices of Sher- the prebend of Buckland, ibid., to
wood in Giffard's register. Someone John do Holteby, the prebend of Hole-
is excommunicated for taking a hawk's combe to Roger, seneschal of my lord
nest. The deer, however, were the of Exeter, but be refused it, and then
chief care on the scene of the adven- it was given "in cra.st. S. Clem." to
tares of Robin Hood and his compa- Mr. AVm. archdeacon S. Sereni in tho
nions. Cf. Prynne's Coll., iii., 294. church of Quercy (Reg. Gilllird, as
" They wore outlaws, 'tis well known, bishop of Bath and ^^'ells at York,
And men of a noljle blood ; 70 b).

And many a time was their valonr shewn ,, ^ account of this family in Dugd.

In the lorrcst of merry bheerwood. .* "

812

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

of the carl of Warwick bringing deer to Scrooby ; to tlie

messenger of niv lord of Worcester/ 2s. ; to J. Giffard, 60/. ; to
Stephen de Cormille for J. Giffard;' 661. 13s. 4d. ; to our cook,
for his wages, 20s. ; to A. Giffard, 20s. ; to the valet of R. de
:Monteforti* at Henby, by the hands of H. Peverel, 13s. 4d. ; to
the messenger of my lord Octobonus/ 12d. ; to repair our houses
at London, 15/. 12s. 8d. ; to the recluse at Doncaster, 6s. 8d. ;
to Spirioc going to the Holy Land, 12d. ; to two recluses at
Blyth, 12d. ; to Bissop de Craucumb, 18d. ; to a poor man at
Wikham, 12d. ; to R., our almoner, to buy shoes, 4s. 8d. j to
friar William de Hothum," 26s. 8d. ; to the friars minors of
Nottingham, 10s.; to a lame clerk at Iveden, 2s. Oct. 5. To
our beloved nephew, Robert de Escoc'," 20/. to lay out for us in
the fair of St. Botulph ; to oui' nephcAV Hugh de Babington,"

2438, 2155). In 1269 there is a letter
from Ottobonus to the archbishop of
York about tlie disme granted by the
king to the pope (AVilkins, ii., 21).
There is much mystery about the war
with the barons. On Dec. 14, 1264,
the archbishop of York was one of
those appointed by Henry III. (then a
prisoner) to treat with Simon de Mont-
fort (roed., i., 449). When the rebel-
lion was suppressed, Giffard.then bishop
of Eath and Wells, was one of those
who arranged about the forfeited lands
(Dugd. Bar., i., 759).

" Some account of this great man
will be given afterwards.

■' In 1301 bishop Giffard left to Hugh
de Escoce lOZ. and armour, and a legacy
to Joan his wife (Thomas's Wor., 80).

" Of Burghley, co. York, and Eol-
leston, Notts. Constable of Nottingham
castle and sheriff of Notts and Derby-
shire in 1271 (Coll. Top., viii., 313.
Eot. Hundred., ii., 312), sheriff of
Huntingdonshire, 23rd Edw. I. (Pari.
Writs., i., 267), Inq. p. m. 25th Edw. I.,
dying seised of the manor of Burghley
(Cal. Inq., p.m., i., 133), Richard deBa-
bington being his son and heir (Abbrev.
Hot. Orig., 95). In 1301 bishop Gif-
fard left to Richard de Babington 10
marks and a horse (Thomas's, Wor-
cester, 79). On 12th September, 1312,
archbishop Greenfield granted to Lucy,
widow of Richard de Babington, who
held of him the manor of Burglile}'^ b3'^
knight's service, the marriage of Hugh,
son and heir of the said Richard (Reg.
Greenfield). Cf. Coll. Top., viii., 313-
15. Rot. Hundr., ii., 319. Thoroton's
Notts.

Bar., ii., 103. Cf. Thomas's Wor-
cester, appendix, 79-80. Exc e Rot.
Tin., i., 210, 227, 243, etc. Coll. Top.,
iv. 248.

« The archbishop's brother. The
carl of Warwick was William de Beau-
champ, who had just succeeded to the
title (Dugd. Bar., i., 227). In his will,
made in 1296, ho left to his countess a
cup which the bishop of Worcester
gave him (Test. Vet., 52).

"■ Sir John Giffard of Brimmesfield,
a kinsman of the archbishop, a soldier
and statesman, of whom there is an ac-
count in Dugd. Bar., i., 501. In 1271
he carried off and married a noble ladj',
Matilda Longspe, and paid a fine of
300 marks for espousing her (Feed., i.,
488). He married, secondly, Alice
Maltravers, and, thirdly, Margaret de
Neville (Feed., i., 663), by whom he had
a son. Sir John Giffard. The father died
at Boyton, 27tli Edw. I. On " die sabb.
p. f. S. Mich.," 1271, Sir Peter de Mau-
ley, kt., pays to archbishop Giffard 20^,
part of the debt he owed to Sir J. Gif-
fard, who made it over to him (Reg.
Giffard, 72 6). In 1301 bishop Giffard
left to John Giffard, his nephew, 10
marks ; to dame JIargaret de Neville,
sometime wife of Sir John Giffard, his
niece, a cuii, etc. (Thomas's Worcester,
appendix. 79). Ab. Rot. Orig., i., 107.

' A relation, probably, of the cele-
brated earl.

' A well-known officer of the papal
court. During the contention between
the kinf; and his barons he took refuge
in the Tower, and was rescued by the
archbishop of York and others. ' The
date of this is uncertain (Ivnyghton,

1266 1279.] ARCHBISHOP GIFFARD. 313

11/. 18s. 3d., to expedite our business at Nottingham castle.
Nov. 4. To tlic prior of Slielford three oaks from our wood of
Sherwood, for timber. Nov. 7. At Nottingham, to Steplicn dc
NorAvich, of our alms, 61. 2s. 9d., of the surplus of his account
for the year when he was our almoner ; to R., our chaplain, 4/.
to announce our election ; to friar H. de Misterton, 13s. 4d. ; to
our barber 2s. of our gift ; to a certain clerk of Hedon to buy a
shirt, 2s. ; to the nuns of Wilberfosse and Brunnum (Nunburn-
holme), 20s, each; to the friars preachers and minors* on the
day of the Nativity, B.M.V., 13s. 4d. each ; to friar William de
Hotham at St. Oswald^s, 2s. ; to the recluse of Eland, 3s. ; to
the nuns of Kirkeleye, 5s. ; to the nuns of Thikkeheued, 3s. ;
to the friars preachers of Donestaple, 2s. ; to J. de Neville,
133/. 6s. 8d. for the marriage of his wife ; to Simon de Insula,
28/. 6s. 8d. to repair our houses and quay at London ; to dame —
Peverel 113s. 4d. from her son^s church j^ to William de Grene-
feld 2s. for his expenses from London to Oxford; to Edward,
the king-'s son, 661. 13s. 4d. of our gift^ to Lucas de Luk,
71. 7s. for silks f to J. de Weston, 40s. for a silken zone for A. de
Manndevill; to master J,, called Le Romeyn,* 13/. 6s. 8d. of
our debt at Paris; to the clerks officiating in the church of
York at our mass on the festival of the Nativity, B.M.V., 18s. ;
to Agatha Giffard, 27s. 4d. ; to two minstrels, 40s. ; to master
J. de Craucumb,'' 40s. Nov. 14. To Roger Dousing, 8/., and to

' Each of the four orders of friars York. On oct., B. M. V. 1275, at

had a monastery in York, and the Mi- Skefling, Sir S. dictus Constabulariiis,

norites an important one. The warden- knii,'ht, confessed that he had com-

ship of York had within it seven houses, mitted adultery with Katherine, wife

— York, Doncaster, Lincoln, Boston, of Sir John Dentorp, kni^'ht, and he

Beverley, Scarborough, and Grimsby. was fined 100^. The archbishop, in

Martin de Barton was the first custos consideration of his contrition, gave

of the Franciscans at York, Eustacius him the sign of the cross (Reg. Giflard).

de Merc coming after him. Two min- AYe find the culprit in another cha-

isters provincial of the order in Eng- racter on June 26, 1281, when the

gland, John Mardiston and John Tys- primate decides in favour of a marriage

syngton, were buried at York (Mon. between him and Catherine, dauirhter

Francisc, 27, 43, 561, 579, 321). In of Philip de Wynelesby (Reg. Wick-

1277 bishop Giffard was admitted to the waine).

suflFrages of the friars minors (Tho- " " Pro sericis ct sindon."

mas's Worcester, appendix, 35). Cf, * Afterwards archbishop of York.

Wilkins, i., 762. ' A kinsman of the archbishop, and

!> I cannot find out to which branch probably a son of Alice de Cornieille,

of the Peverels this lady belonged. sister of Sibilla, who married — Crau-

- No doubt for the crusade on which combe (Dugd. Bar., i., 502. lloarc's
Edward went, having previously ap- AViltes, i(6 supra, 201). He was a
pointed the archbishop one of the person of great consequence — arch-
guardians of his sons. In 39 Hen. III. deacon of the East Riding, canon of
the friars minors were ordered to preach Grendale, and incumbent of PY>liskirk,
in favour of this expedition (Mon. dioc. Ebor., and of Gousel (Goxliill),
Francisc, 620). There is in Gilfard's dioc. Lincoln (MSS. Ilarl., 6951, ];)«),
register a long and very curious list of of Sulhraden in 1265 (Reg. Gilfard,
the cnicesignafi within the diocese of bishop of Bath and Wells). He was

311

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

Philip de Barton, 121., which they lent us at the fair of St.
Giles at Wincliester.

1271, April 2. To a certain writer for each qnire"^ that he
writes for my lord, 16d. June 2. To the friars preachers of
Gloucester/ a mark, and two logs of wood for their fire, and to a
poor matron there half a quarter of corn.

1274, July 13. To our clerk, E. de Well,/ lOOZ. to buy
goods for us at St. Botulph's fair.^ August 11. We hear that
the friars preachers are going to hold their general chapter at
York on the feast B.M.V., an order to provide a banquet for
them. Sept. 25. An order to the bailiff at Beverley to buy 13
casks of Avine. Nov. 3. To the friars Carmelites of York, two
quarters of corn and 30s.

1275, March 7. To Walter, ovu' butler, 19/. to buy wine at
Hull. To the marshal of our horses, six colts from our stud at
Beverley. An order to the bailiff of that place to educate John
Aucher* and his two companions, in the school of Beverley, pro-
■vdding them with e^ery necessary, and spending 30s. upon three
robes for them.

Archbishop Giffard died at York on the 25th of April, 1279,'
and was iuteiTcd in the minster, probably in the choir. When
that portion of the church Avas rebuilt, the remains of Giffard
and of several other archbishops were removed by the pious

summoned to parliament on several
occasions, and in 26th of Edward I.
bad the temporary charge of the great
seal at York. In 1295 he went to
Rome in the king's business, and is
called " a clerke gode and wys " (Pari.
Writs, vol. i. Cal. Rot. Pat., 59.
Fcpd., i., 817. Langtoft, ii., 262). He
died in 1308, and there was a chantry
at ivbich be was commemorated in
lork minster (Fabric Rolls, 299).

"* "Quaternus." Cf. glossary to " The
Priory of Finchale," 440.

' Giffard resided occasionally at his
manors, co. Gloucester. In 1217 king
John gave archbishop Gray timber to
build bis bouses at Escott and Otiuton
(Rot. Claus., 297).

■'' Edward de "Well, vicar of South
Kirkbv, ordained deacon at York, in
vigilia Paschse, 1268 (Reg. Giffard).

s There is an account of an extra-
ordinary scene at this famous fair in
1285 in Knyghton, col. 2466, and in
Trivet, 266.

* Robert le Archer married Alice,
niece of Alice de Craucombe. In 1244
Alice le Archer fined to the king for
the custody of the lands of her heirs.

In 1253 Archer's heir was a ward of
Sibilla de Giffard (Dugd. Bar., i., 502.
Exc. e Rot. Fin., i., 329, 411, 419 ; ii.,
168). In 1301 bishop Giffard leaves
40s. to bis niece, dame Margaret Aucber
of Shaftesbury, 101. and armour to his
nephew, Sir Henry Aucber, knight,
and 10 marks and armour to his nephew,
Richard Aucber (Thomas's Worcester,
appendix, 79). Abbrev. Rot. Orig.,
i„ 3, 5, 6.

On Nov. 28, 1315, archbishop Green-
field, another kinsman, orders his re-
ceiver at Southwell to pay 20Z. to dame
Margaret Auchier, a nun at Shaftes-
bury, elected abbess of that house, and
directs him to pay her every possible
attention if she stays at the manor of
Southwell (Reg. Greenfield.)

■ MSS. Cotton, YiteUius, A, ii., 111.
The date is doubtful. Wikes (Gale,
ii., 108) says that Giffard died on the
Yigil of St. Gregory soon after Easter.
Peter de Ickham, on April 22 (Le
Neve, iii., 103, and Reg. Sacr. Angl.,
44). Stubbs, on April 29 (col. 1726).
Inq. p. m., 27 April (Godwin, n. e., 682.
Le Neve, iii., 103).

1266 1279.] ARCHBISHOP GIFFARD. 315

Thoresby to the presbytery immediately before the great east
window, and placed under monuments which had been prepared
for them. It was there that Leland saw them when he came
on his antiqiiarian toiu* into the North in the reign of Ilemy
VIII. / and they were there in the eighteenth century.

After Giffard^s decease^ on the 28th of April, the king com-
mitted the custody of the see, during the vacancy, to Thomas de
Norman vill and Mr. Henry de Newark, who was afterwards
archbishop. Giffard was in debt to the king, but his property
was not seized, as the bishop of Bath and Wells and Nicholas
Wudeford pledged themselves that everything should be paid.'''
One of the executors of Giffard^s will was his brother Godfrey,
bishop of Worcester. On the 21st of July, 1280, archbishop
Wickwaine made a general order to his bailiffs, directing them
to assist the executors in gathering in the effects of his prede-
cessor. They were released from their trust on the 2nd of
December, 1281.^

Archbishop Giffard died seised of great estates. He pos-
sessed, iu a public or private capacity, manors in the counties
of Wilts (Boyton), Somerset, Hereford, Gloucester, Southants,
Notts, Oxford, and York.™ His brother, Godfrey Giffard,
bishop of Worcester, was fomid to be his heir." The favour
which the archbishop shewed to this kinsman excited some little
mm'muring and ill feeling. In 1270 one Adam de Filliby
complained at Rome of the conduct of the Northern primate
in making his brother archdeacon of York when he was only in
minor orders, and in giving him many benefices without a dis-
pensation, when he was deficient not only in clerical rank but in
learning. The archdeaconry seems to have been the only thing
that Godfrey Giffard held in Yorkshire, with the exception of
the living of Adlingflete, to which he was presented by John
de Eville in 1267." I find, however, that he had much prefer-
ment in the South. ^ Godfrey Giffard was a great man both in

J Lei. Itin. The antiquary gives a " Thorotou's Notts, 390. Dugd.

rough note of the inscription, " AValter Bar., i., 501.

Gisfart obiit vii Kal. Maii" — i. e., Apr. ° Reg. Giirard.

25. '' Coll. archdeaconry of Baruni Gth

* Reg. Wickwaine, 41. Prynne's November, 1265, res. 1267 (Le Neve,

Coll., iii., 224. Abbrev. Rot. Orig., i., 405), canon of Wells (Newcourt,

i., 33. The bishop of Bath and "Wells i., 59), rector of the greater niediety

was Robert Burnell, sometime arch- of the church of Atleburgh (Blome-

deacou of York. In 22nd of Edw. I. field's Norfolk,]., 523), April 28, 1267,

letters of protection were granted to collated to the archdeaconry of York

Mr. Nicholas de Wodeford, rector of (Reg. Giffard). Nov. 1, 1266, installed

FlatburyandWestbury (Prynne's Coll., to the living of Mells (Reg. Giffard, as

iii., 599). bishop of Bath and Wells, at York).

' Reg. Wickwaine. April 3, the archbishoj) gives him leave

'" Cal. luq. p. m., i., G7. Abbrev. to borrow 60 marks in the court of

Rot. Orig., 33. Rome (Reg. Giffard). John Giffard

310

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

church and state. He was a justice itinerant, chancellor of the
exchequer, and lord high chancellor of England. He presided
over the see of Worcester from 1268 to 1301, with many vicis-
situdes of fortune. The will of the bishop is a remarkable
document, and contains more than one allusion to his deceased
brother.? He bequeaths to the church of AVorcester his best
mitre which archbishop Giffard had given him, with amice, stole
and maniple, en suite, all covered with very precious pearls.
To the altar of the holy cross in that cathedral he left a cha-
sul)lc of red samite of his brother's gift.'' To his brother. Sir
William Giffard, he gave the ring of his chapel, a gemmel with
a ruby and an emerald Avhich the archbishop had left to him as
an heirloom, five ancient and costly rings on a silk riband
Avhich belonged to his ancestors at Boyton, together with four
bugle-horns at Boyton which were used as drinking cups, one
of Avhicli bad a foot of silver.* To his nephew, Mr. John de
Ebroycis (Evreux) ,' he bequeathed a mitre covered over vrith
pearls, which had once belonged to his uncle, the Northern pri-

was his nephew and heir (Abbrev. Rot.
Orig., i., 120).

1 Printed in the valuable collection
of records in the appendix to the His-
tory of AYorcester, by Dr. Thomas,
pp. 77-81.

"■ In the Anglia Sacra (i., 494) it is
stated that archbishop Giifard be-
queathed to Worcester cathedral, "in-
signia capella) pretiosa."

' These striking and beautiful objects
were frequently the title-deeds of es-
tates. Such was the noble horn of
Ulphus, which is still preserved at York.
There are others at Puscy and Queen's
college, Oxford. Dr. Whitaker gives
an engraving of one in the possession
of lord llibblesdale (History of Craven,
ed. 1812, 36). In 1612 John Ireland,
Esq., of the Hutt in Lancashire, be-
queaths to Gilbert his brother and heir
" my plate of silver and guilt, one
chaine of gold, one sealinge ringe or
slLTuett of armes that was my father's,
together with the Home of Crotonn "
(Reg. Test, apud Ebor.). Henry I.
gave to the church of Carlisle the tithes
of a part of the forest of Inglewood
" et ecclesiam inde feoffavit per quod-
dam cornu eburneum quod dedit eccle-
siif predictoe, et quod adhuc (1290)
habet" (Rot. Pari., i., 38).

' A son of — Giffard, the arch-
bishop's sister, by William de Ebroicis,
who was killed at the battle of Evesham
July 21, 1286, licence to him to be

absent from his stalls at Southwell and
Ripon, for three years, to study (Reg.
Romanus). He resigned the i^rebend
of Studley at Ripon in 1297, in which
year he was holding the stall of Oxton,
part ii., at Southwell (Le Neve, iii.,
449. Reg. Newark). Archdeacon of
Gloucester 1288-1295 (Le Neve, iii.,
77). In 22nd of Edward I. he had
letters of protection as archdeacon,
canon of Ripon and Southwell and
rector of Kempsey (Prynne, iii., 598).
On July 23, 1295, bisliep Giffard gave
him the living of Tredington (Anglia
Sacra, i., 517). Cf. Thomas's Wor-
cester, 142, and appendix, 50. Angl.
Sacr., ii., 509.

The familv of Brun were connected
vvith the archbishop by the marriage of
Albreda, daughter and co-heiress of
Walter de Cormeiles, with Richard le
Brun (Dugd. Bar., i., 424). The pri-
mate gave the living of Schipwit (Skip-
with) to N. de Brun his kinsman, and
the prebend of Osbaldmck to R. de
Brun his chaplain (Reg. Giffard). On
Sept. 3, 1291 , archbishop Romanus gave
a pension of 5 marks per annum to
William, son of William le Brun, till
he provided him with a benefice (Reg.
Romanus). In 1295 Mr. W. Brun was
rector of Lake, dioc. AVorcester (Angl.
Sacr., i., 517). Archbishop Greenfield
made Edmund le Brun succentor cano-
nicorum at York.

1279 1285.] ARCHBISHOP WICKWAINE. 317

vante, ill the hope^ perhaps, that it miglit sometime rest upon
his brow. To the archbishop of Cauterbmy he gave a ring
with a lion graven on it set with emcrakls, to descend to his
successors in the see. The testator then mentions, singuhirly
enough, that he had received tlie sign of the cross in token
that he had devoted himself to the conquest of the Holy Land,
and he now leaves the sum of 50/. to equip a knight who is to
cross the seas in his stead on that adventurous voyage.

'ilUam tic SEickiXiainC seems to have been a native of
the South, but of his parents and early history there is nothing
known." He occurs to us for the first time on the 4th of
February, 12G2, Avhen he was instituted by the bishop of Lincoln
to the rectory of Ivinghoe, in Buckinghamshire. He was then
chancellor of the church of York, and held both these pieces of
preferment till he became archbishop." On St. Alban^s da)^, the
22nd of June, 1279, the chapter of York met to choose a new
diocesan ■,'^ eighteen of the votes Avere given to the chancellor,
two to Thomas de Corbridge, who was afterwards archbishop,
and one to Hugh de Evesham, a brother canon. ^ This was the
celebrated physician who obtained a place in the Sacred College
in 1281. Wickwaine was of conrse elected, and obtained the
royal assent to his appointment on the 4th of July.^ He then
went abroad to seek the pall. Nicholas III. referred the con-
sideration of the matter to the cardinals of St. Mark and St.
Mary in Porticu, and the decision of the chapter was thrown
over, not from any flaw in their nominee, but apparently from
some defect in the mode of procedure which they had adopted.
The pope, however, solved the difficulty by appointing Wick-
waine to the archbishopric of his own authority, as he had the
majority of votes, and that the see might be no longer vacant.
He consecrated him at Viterbo on the 19th of September, 1279,
and wrote a long letter on the same day to Edward I. acquaint-
ing him with what he had done.- On the 28tli of October the

" In 1282 Walter de "Wykewone, Stubbs, col. 1727. Licence to elect an

cellarer of Winchcombe, became al)bat archbishop was granted May 7, 1279

of that house (Angl. Sacra, i., .506). (Le Neve, iii., 103).

There are several places called AVicken ' I'rynne's Coll., iii., 225.

in the South of England. y Le Neve, iii., 103.

" MSS. Cotton, Claudius, B, iii., 89. ' Prynne, ut supra. Vitellius, ut

Lipscombe's Bucks, iii., 393. Le Neve, supra. Reg. AVickwaine. Ann. AVa-

iii., 163. verb, a])ud Gale, ii., 23 1, where he is

" MSS. Cotton,A''itelUus,A, ii., IIIJ. erroneously called treasurer. AA'ikcs,

318 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

king restored the temporalities of his see, and the new prelate
was entlironed at York at the festival of Christmas.'' A con-
temporary writer represents him as stern in disposition, careful
in liis hahits, and emaciated in his personal appearance, yet a
good and a most conscientious man.* The records of Wick-
waine's life that are still preserved fully verify this description.
He was evidently a strict disciplinarian, and the heart of a monk
beat under the robes of an archbishop. He is said also to have
been a man of learning and education, and to have written a
work called the Memoriale.''

As soon as Wickwaine arrived in England on his return
from the papal com't, he came into collision with the archbishop
of Canterbury on the old question, — the bearing of his cross
erect. It was set up, according to ancient custom, when the
travellers were in the middle of the sea and were in English
Avaters, and it was carried in the same position into the province
of Canterbmy. The missives of the Southern primate had
anticipated his arrival. The services were stopped in every
parish in which "VYickwaine halted ; if he had been a heretic
he could not have been treated worse, and, wherever he went_, he
could find no market, for the sentence of excommunication was
hurled against any one who ventured to sell to him. But the
worst has not yet been told. Adam de Hales, the official of the
archbishop of Canterbury, and his party, made an assault upon
Wickwaine and his friends. If the obnoxious symbol had not
been hastily removed, it would have been broken into frag-
ments. They abused and reviled the intruders to their hearts^
content, affirming that they had their master's authority for
wliat they did, and that he would bear them out. A large
number of armed men were meditating a' more serious assault
uj)on Wickwaine wlien he entered London, but the archbishop
was forewarned, and reached the court by a diiferent route, and
he there obtained the temporalities of York.'' The king called
Peckham, the Southern primate, to account for his violence,
obliging him to recall his orders to his officials, and charging
him to be more wary for the future.*

For the next five years Wickwaine was most actively and
usefully employed in the laborious charge of his diocese. He
seems to have devoted himself entirely to that work, for with
the exception of his sending his serAdce against the Welsh in
1282, and his being required to demand and collect several

ibid., 108. Trivet, 254. Stubbs, col. ' Bale, Script., cent, x., 42-3. Ful-

1727. Ani;!. Sacra, i., 501. Walsing- ler's Church Hist., book iii., 79.

ham apud Camdeu, 49. '' Eeg. Wickwaine. Wilkins, ii., 43,

' MSS. Cotton, VitelUus, A, ii., 119. Wikes, apud Gale, ii., 108.

* r.. ^^^'^^«'' "i-. 103. Floras Hist., 409. Cotton's Chron., 158.

Chron. Lanercost, 102. ' Prynne's Coll., 235-6.

1279 1285.] ARCHBISHOP WICKWAINE. 319

subsidies from the clergy of his province for the xise of the king,
we never find his name alhided to in connection with the state/
He stayed at home and worked diligently in his province. I
find the bishops of Carlisle, Worcester, and Sens assisting him
as suffi'agans on various occasions, but in his care for his flock
he seems to have relied almost entirely upon his own exertions.
He tried to do his own duty, and expected every one else to
copy his example. As I have said before, he was a rigid dis-
ciplinarian, and he paid more attention, perhaps, than any otlier
archbishop of York to the monasteries within his diocese. He
arranged and carried out a systematic visitation of all that he
had the power to reach. The reports of the commissioners
have in a few cases only been entered on the register, but that
volume contains what is of great importance, — the archbishop's
injunctions to each house, based of course upon the result of
tlie incpiiries that had been made. These disclose a great laxity
of discipline and a considerable falling away from rule and order.
I shall give my readers a portrait of the abbat of Selby in
December, 1278.

Thomas de Qualle (Whalley), abbat of Selby, does not ob-
serve the Benedictine rule ; he does not sing mass, nor preach,
nor attend chapter, nor keep discipline. He seldom eats in the
refectory, and never sleeps in the dormitory. He rarely enters
the choir, and scarcely ever hears matins but in his bed. He
does not \dsit the sick. He has his meals before laymen within
and without his monastery, and is quarrelsome, hot-tempered,
and altogether incorrigil)le. He has alienated some of the pro-
perty of his house, and gives its lands to the charge of grooms
and ribalds. He is grossly incontinent. He is under sentence
of excommunication for not paying the disme to the pope, but,
notwithstanding, he comes to the church. He laid violent
hands on brothers Robert of York and Thomas of Snaith, draw-
ing blood from them, and he dragged with his own hands Wil-
liam de Stormeworth from the choir of his church. He em-
ployed Elias Faunell, a sorcerer, to seek the body of his brother
when he was drowned in the Ouse, and gave him a large sum
of money. This valuable official was of course removed from
his post, but he Avas allowed to remain in the house, probably
as a simple monk. Many months had not elapsed before he
broke out of the monastery at night, carrying many things
away with him !

In the year 1280 Wickwaine endeavoured to carry his visi-
tation into the North, and to examine into the state of the

-'■ Ibid., 275, 285-6, 289, 302. Pari. 1276, he is ordered to o\commiraicate
Writs., i., 11, 224, 228, 233. AVilkins, Llewellyn (Foed., i., 511. Prjnne's
ii., 41-2. Feed., i., 538. In Febniarv, Coll., iii., 1212). Foed., i., G07, 625.

320 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

priory of Durham. The prior and the mouks most strenuously
resisted him. I shall not attempt to lead my readers through
the tedious mazes of the dispute, but shall content myself with
some of the more salient points in the controversy.^ The prior
was anxious to shelter himself under the wing of the bishop,
but the bishop went abroad and left the prior to his fate. He
proved himself to be an adept in the art of defence. Wick-
waine came to Durham, but he was met at the north gate
which led into the priory by the knights of the bishopric, who
would not suffer him to enter. Upon this he spoke to the
crowd aromid, and excommunicated all the officials of the
diocese. He then turned aside to Lanchester, appointing a day
for his return. When the time arrived, the sub-dean of York
and Robert de Pickering, who was afterwards dean, came to
hold the visitation in the place of their master, but they were
stopped upon Elvet bridge, and some partizans of the prior,
catching hold of the reins of their horses, would not suffer them
to approach. The contest, after this, went on with varying suc-
cess for the remainder of Wickwaine's life. Either party ex-
communicated the other. Commissioners were appointed by
mutual consent, who did little or nothing. Appeals were made
to Rome, but they were of little use. In 1283 the archbishop
paid another ^isit to Dm-ham in the hope of inducing the non-
contents to submit to him. The hope was a vain one. He went
to the church of St. Nicholas, and after he had addressed the
audience he was again on the point of excommunicating the
prior and his adherents, when some young fellows of the city
terrified him so much by their demeanour that he was obliged
to desist. He fled from the church, descending the steps which
still lead you towards the river, and, hastening across the Sands,
never paused till he found a sanctuaiy in the neighbouiing hos-
pital of Kepier. The ear of his palfrey, oh profane act ! was
cut off, and its master would have been very roughly handled
had not Guischard de Charron and Peter de Thorcsby, two
officers of the bishop's com-t, interceded in his behalf. " After
this he wisely kept aAvay from Dm-ham, and was never able
to oblige the prior to submit to him. This resistance rankled
in Wickwaine's mind as long as he lived, and it was the wish,
as a Durham chronicler tells us, to bring the papal power to
bear upon the offenders that induced him to set out in 1284 on
that journey to Rome from which he never returned.

The following extracts from archbishop Wickwaine's register
will give some idea of his life. In spite of his reputation for

f Hist. Duneltn. Scr. Tres, ed. Sur- are many documents relating to it in
- on^^^'^l^' ^^"^^- Prynne's Coll., Wickwaine's register.
lu., d09. Chron. Lanercost, 120. There

1279—1285.]

ARCHBISHOP WICKWAINE.

321

abstinence and parsimony the charges for the maintenance of
his household are large.

1279, Dec. 16. A bond to the executors of William Langton,
dean of York, for 200 marks, 27/., and 9/. for barley-malt sold
to us.* Dec. 27. A bond to Thomas Guydysion^ and the mer-
chants of Lucca for 316 marks. A pension of 20/. per annum
out of the stall of Kiiaresbro^ to John de Aletinghara,' one of
the king's clerks, till he be provided by us with some prebend.

1280, Jan. 16. We are indebted to the executors of Walter
GiflFard, our predecessor, in the sum of 95/. for hard corn fbla-
dum) and a stack (tassum) of old hay, viz., for the hard corn of
Scrooby, 18/., for that of Askham, 43/., for a stack and the corn
at Southwell, 34/. March 17. A bond for 20/. to the executors
of dean Langton for twelve dishes, twelve saucers, and two large
dishes of silver. On the feast of the Holy Trinity, another bond
to them of 6 marks for kitchen utensils, 10/. for wax, 16/. 6s. 8d.
for 7 casks of wine. May 24. The abbat of Furness repays
the archbishop 50 marks.'^ August 23. A request to the prior
of Birstall to provide for us in his lands beyond the sea two
dogs for the chase (canes perdriarios seu culherosj, and we will
repay him for them. Nov. 14. A bond for 300 marks to Peter
de Cestria.^' Nov. 29. An order to the bailiffs of Otley and
E-ipon to find provisions for our huntsmen whilst they are within
yom* bailywicks. Nov. 30. An order to the bailiff of Southwell
to supply us with geese, hens and other birds against the festival
of Christmas. Dec. 7. An order to the same officer to pay 100s.
to Simon, our poulterer, for his use ; and the bailiff of Beverley

says, " Look through all our histor}',
and you shall find that wherever the
clergy have smarted under any great
hardship, some of their own order have
been still at the bottom of it " (Rights
of Convocation, 358). There is no-
thing to shew that ]NIetinghara injured
the ck^gy in an}' way.

i Tiie abbat was " scolaris et disci-
pulus archiepiscojii " (Hist. Dnnelm.
Scr. Tres, G2). Cf. Beck's Ann. Fur-
ncsienses, 225.

* Supposed to have been an illegiti-
mate son of one of the Lacies, carls of
Chester. Prebendary of Bugthorpe
at York, provost of Beverley, rector
of Donford, Wliallev and Slaidburn,
etc. (A\'hitaker's Whalley, 50, 5'J ;
^Vhallcy Couchcr Book, i., 94, etc. ;
Bridges's Northants, ii., 232, etc.) ; a
justice itinerant and a baron of the
Exchequer (Dugd. Chron., 28. Madox,
Hist. Exchequer, ii., 322. Foss's
Judges, iii., 74). In the 22nd of Ed-

* Nov. 8, 1287, the executors of
Wickwaine have paid to those of dean
Langton 350^., which the archbishop
owed them.

' On Jan. 20, 1281, he was collated
to the prebend of Bole at York, which
he held till 1301, when he died (Reg.
Wickwaine, etc.). On April 13, 1301,
the stall of Weighton was ollered to
him, but he declined it. He was born
at Metingham in Suffolk (Fuller's AYor-
thies, ii., 337), and held a prebend at
Darlington in 1292 (Long.statl'e's Darl-
ington, 191). He was a great and an
upright law^'er, and was justice itine-
rant, and, in Eyre, a judge in the Com-
mon Bench and of Pleas (Dugd. Orig.
Jurid., 26, 44. Pari. Writs, var. loc).
He and Elias de Beckingham were the
only two judges who, in a corrupt age,
had the courage to remain honest
(Feme's Lacie's Nobilitie, 120. Fuller,
ii., 337). Atterbury, however, charges
him with injustice to the clergy, and

322

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

is desired to release the man and dog that he has captured, as
Sir Roger Grymet has explained the matter to us.

1281, April 7. At Hornby in Lonsdale, a pension of 10
marks per annum to Mr. Walter le Breton/ the king's clerk,
till we provide him with a benefice. April 14. A bond for 200
marks to Mr. Robert de Scarthburg,'" dean of York. April 20.
A bond for 120/. to ]VIr. H., archdeacon of Richmond." We
have taken, through our men, from the forest of Wervelmor,
belonging to the lord Edmund the king's brother, three deer
and five fawns. June 1. At Coverham; a bond for 100/. to Mr.
Simon de Clarevalle," rector of Bulmer. July 8. To Mr. W.
de Bolington,P our clerk, 100 marks for his expenses to court.
July 27. An order to the bailiff" of Chirchden to pay his son
Henry 52s., which we have given him as a mark of our affection.
To Mr. Thomas, chancellor of the church of York, money for
iiis expenses to Rome on behalf of our church.* Oct. 16. We
have received from Mr. Roger de Holt a Bible which once
belonged to Mr. Roger Pepyn.'' Oct. 28th. An order to the
bailiff' of Ripon to provide provisions for our huntsman whilst
he is in your district.^ Nov. 17. An order to Wm, de Malton
to make things ready for our coiners at York as he had promised.
Nov. 19. We have made Mr. P. and Mr. G. Guydon masters of
our mint.''

1282, Jan. 27. A pension of 10/. per annum out of our
chamber to our clerk Master Robert de Ros." March 14. To

ward I. he had letters of protection as
provost of Beverley and rector of Eud-
by and Whallejs canon of Lichfield
and Hereford, rector of Arksey, Eas-
inyton and Slaidburn (Prynne, iii.,
598-9). No wonder that he could lend
money.

' The kinc,' wrote to ask this favour,
Feb. 26, 1281 (Reg. Wickwaine). In
18th Edward I. Walter de Berton, clerk,
was in the Tower on a charge of treason
for counterfeiting the king's seal
(Prynne's Coll., iii., 410). In 24th
Edward I. "Walter de Berton, rector
of Bredon, dioc. Worcester, occ. (Rot.
Pari., i,, 227).

'" Eobert Ughtred, of Scarborough,
dean of York from 1279 to 1290^ a
statesman and a great man. I shall
not now describe his chequered life.

" Henry Newark, afterwards arch-
bishop of York.

" A son of Robert de Claris Vallibus,
citizen of York, by Eva, daughter of
William Fairfax (Longstaffe's Dar-
lington). In 18th Edward I. he, as
official of the archdeaconry of Cleve-

land, was in trouble in the king's
courts (Prynne's Coll., iii., 438). On
22nd April, 1301, he was allowed to
be non-resident on the rectory of Lythe
(which he had held for many years) on
account of ill-health (Reg. Corbridge).

p He was subsequently rector of
North Ferriby, near Hull.

» Thomas Corbridge, afterwards arch-
bishop.

"• Sub-dean of York. He died in 1267.

' B}'^ a clause in the forest charter of
1297 foresters were forbidden to take
oats, etc., for themselves (Statutes of
the Realm, i., 120).

-' For an account of the York mint
I must refer my readers to the able
work of mv kind friend, Mr. Davies.
Cf. Rot. Glaus., 361. Plac. de Quo
Warranto, 8-9th Edw. I., 198. There
is a list of the officers of the York
mint, 32nd of Henry III., in Chron.
Job. Oxenedes, 322. Hugh de Samp-
son was mint-master in the time of
archbishop Gray (Reg. Wickwaine).

" Prebendary of St. Pancras, London,
a stagiarius of that church and arch-

1279—1285.]

ARCHBISHOP WICKWAINE.

323

our treasurer, Walter cle Gloucestre/ 36Z. 7s. 9d. for 15 casks of
wine at Hull. March 30. To Walter, the goldsmith of York,
61. 9s. 3d., the remnant due to him for 12 silver bowls, and for
making them and the bowls of maser. April 16. To Sir Richard
de Baunfeld, om' seneschal, 20 marks for the expenses of our
advocates fnarrcttores) and servants in the next parliament at
London, and for other matters of om'S there. May 16. I'hc
bailiff of Ripon is ordered to pay 10/. to Walter, our clerk, to
make provision against Pentecost. Oct. 7. To Mr. Robert de
Scartheburg, dean of York, 100 marks. Nov. 19. To the war-
den and brothers of the friars minors of Beverley, 10 marks.
Nov. 23. To John Roual, chaplain of the chapel of Thorp, 70s.
for his stipend and for lights, for the term of St. Martin, 1281.'"
Nov. 26. To the fi-iars preachers of Beverley, and their prior,
10 marks. Dec. 11. To dan Wm. de Capella, 20/. to make
purchases for us in Cleveland.

1283, Jan. 4. To Robert de Exon,^ our brother, 17 marks
and a half which are in arrear for his payment in Bristol.
Jan. 8. To Elias Drury, valet of Hamundy Box,^' merchant,
33/. 5s. 9d. for wine bought of him. Jan. 15. To dan Simon,
our receiver at York, 6/. 13s. 4d. for " jocalia," which we have
bought, and 39s. 8d. laid out in "jocalia," and presents made to
my lord of Dublin,' etc. Jan. 23. To William de Bolington,
clerk, 100 marks to expedite our business in the court of Rome.
Feb. 18. To Mr. H., archdeacon of Richmond, 200/. for goods
deacon of Loudon, rector of Much time with Hull. Hamund Box was a

Hadham (Newcourt, i., 60, 829-31).
22nd Edward I. he had letters of pro-
tection as rector of Hadham (PrynnCj
iii., 594).

" A great man. Canon of Beverley
prebendary of Ajiesthorpe, archdea-
con of York, and incumbent of Nor-
manton on Sore. He held the livings
of Norton com. Oxon. and Woodston
com. Hunts (MSS. Harl., 6950, 37,
78), and w^as dean of Chichester (Le
Neve, i., 256), eschaetor south of
Trent, 1302-7 (Pari. Writs., i., 132,
379. Chrou. Thorn, col. 2006), and
frequently employed in state affairs.
He was sometime archbishop AVick-
waine's receiver. Cf. Foss's Judges,
iii., 275.

" Cf. Prynne's Coll., iii., 674. He
was appointed to Thorp on July 26,
1280 (Reg. Wickwaine).

■^ The only occasion on which this
person is mentioned.

* A merchant of Ijondon, and a
member of an honourable family in the
city whi(4i vvas connected at the same

sheriff of London in 1292 (Mon. Pran-
cisc, 503). July 22, 1289, licence for
two priests to be chosen by Hamundus
Box, citizen of London, to do service
in our chapel at Hull for the soul of
Robert de la Grave as long as the said
Hamund chooses (Reg. Romaruis).
March 14, 1309, licence for John Boox,
of Hull, to have service within his
manse there (Reg. Greenfield).

- John de Darlington, a friar
preacher, was the author of a Concord-
ance, etc. (Chron.Lan., 156). He was
confes.sor to Henry III., and in 1277
he was made collector of the disme in
England against the rule of his order
(Walsingham, apud Camden, 4-7). He
was a friend of AVickwaine, and is
mentioned in his register. He was
consecrated archbishop of Du])lin at
AA'althani on Aug. 27, 1279, by the
archbishop of Canterbury, and died
near London in 1284 (Contin. Fl.
AVigorn., ii., 222, 231). Prynne's
Coll., iii., 1230. Cotton's Fasti Eccl.
Hib., ii., 12.

y2

824 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

bought of him. Feb. 27. To Walter, the goldsmith. Ills, for
two silver cups bought of him at Christmas. March 8. A pen-
sion of 50 marks per annum from our chamber to Gerard de
(irandison/ nephew of Sir Otho de Grandison, counsellor of oiir
lord the king. April 14. To Alexander de Kirketon, our senes-
chal, 100 marks to lay out for us at the fair of St. Ives. June 14.
To Walter de Gloucester, our treasurer, 97/. 16s. 6|d. for wines.
June 15. Twenty marks to him to buy silver pitchers. June 22.
To Sir John de Eyvil,* 100/. f')r his expenses in making our
service in Wales. July 1. To ISIr. H., archdeacon of Richmond,
300 marks to advance our business in the court of Rome.
August 9. To Robert, rector of Sutton-on-Derwent, 20 marks
towards the reparation " pontis belli. ""^

1284, March 6. A mandate against the ribalds and beggars
who wander about our diocese, especially among the monasteries,
seeking alms and pretending to be our messengers or kinsmen.''
April 24. To Mr. John Clarell,"' 100/. to buy robes for us at the
fair of St. Ives. July 22. To Calmo, our baker, 180 marks to
make purchases for us at the same place. August 11. To the
prior of the friars preachers at York, 100s. of our gift. August
25. To Nicholas, of our chamber, 20/. to spend at St. Botulph's
fair. Sept. 10. To master William, the notary, 40/. for the
expenses of our clerks at Warwick. Nov. 25. To Mr. W. de
Eolington, our clerk, 200 marks to advance our business at
Rome. Dec. 13. To Alexander, our seneschal, 12/. 6s. 6d. to
buy sheep. Dec. 14. To master Bartholomew carrying 20/. for
the use of our lord the cardinal.

" He became prebendary of Apes- at Southwell from 1256 till he died iu

thorpe in November, 1283. His brother 1293 (Le Neve, iii., 437). In 3rd

Otho was recommended for a stall at Edward I. he and Henry le Vavasour

York in 1301. It is imjiossible to give were in trouble for making a park

an account here of this noble and illus- there (Hot. Hundred., ii., 311). In

trious family, and of the great services 1258-9 he was a messenger from the

which several members of it rendered king to the i)ope about Sicilian affairs

to the state and to letters. The name (Foed., i., 379). In June, 1275, Cla-

of John deGrandison, bishop of Exeter, rel), being the pope's chaplain, was

is quite enough to make it famous. made a proctor to represent the king of

* An account of him and his family, England in the French parliament
which resided co. Notts, is in Dugd. (ibid., 524). On July 2, 1282, arch-
Ear., i., 593. On 25th October, 1312, bishop "Wickwaine made him and two
an oratory was allowed to dame Matilda others his representatives at Eome
de Eyvill in the manor of Galmeton (Reg. V/ickwaine), and he was engaged
for vhree years (Reg. Greenfield). Sir in the dispute between that prelate and
John wa.s a justiciar (Prynne's Coll., the prior of Durham (Hist. Dunelra.
lii., 412). He seems to have taken the Scr. Tres, 61-2, 66). He occurs very
part of the barons in the war with frequently on the public records. The
llenrj' III. (Abbrev. Plac, 227). following notice of him is startUng.

' Ihese quastores or brevigeri were In 22nd Edward I. he had letters

very troublesome, and the archbishops of protection as prebendary of South-

rf^^'' u r^"^^^ *^^"°^^"'^^^ ^^^^°^- "■^''1' I'^ctor of the chapel of Tickhill

Prebendary of Norwell Overhall ca.stle, and of Peningston, Harewood,

1

1279 — 1285.] ARcnBisnop wickwaine. 325

1285, Jan. 13. To Richard de Bannfeld/ senesclial of our
house, to buy "jocalia/' 14/. 7s. 4d. Feb. 17. To the steward
at Wetwans:, 100s. for oats and peas, and 15/. to the executors of
Thomas de Liulham-'^ for sheep. April 18. To Walter, tlie bailiff
of Cawood, and dan Thomas de Sutton, everything necessary
for the construction of our quay at Thorp. April 24. To Calmo,
our chamberlain, 100 marks to spend for us at the fair of St.
Ives, and 20/. more on June 4. June 4. To master John, called
the Roman, 100/. in part payment of 1000/. we once received of
him. June 9- To the prior of Watton a loan of 200 marks.

On the 23rd of December, 1283, Wickwaine made a pro-
\dsion for which his successors had good reason to be grateful.
He had himself experienced the want of money Avhen he came
to York, and now he wisely and generously made an arrange-
ment which bound each archbishop for the future to leave a
certain quantity of stock and gear upon each of his manors for
the benefit of the prelate that came after him. He made a
rule, which the king confirmed on the 6th of October at Acton
Burnell, that the amount to be kept shoxdd be 602 oxen, 54
horses and 1000 sheep, to say nothing of the carts and other
necessaries, and these were to be distributed over twenty-three
places. On the part of Wickwaine this was neither more nor
less than a gift to his successors, and he evidently regarded it
himself in that light, for he says that he made it for the weal of
his own soul, and for those of the king and queen, Walter Gray,
sometime archbishop of York, and William de Rotherfield, the
late dean.^

We are told by Stubbs that Wickwaine was a great builder
of churches, and that the greater part of the places of worship
within his diocese were consecrated during his archiepiscopatc^
He is also to be remembered for the part that he took in the
translation of the remains of St. William in January, 1284.
As I have already given a description of the ceremonial on that
occasion, it is unnecessary to repeat it.

Wickwaine^s life was now drawing towards its close. On the
24th of August, 1284, Edward I. states that he had given the
archbishop leave to visit the papal court,' a journey which, as a
Durham historian informs us, had for its object the expediting

Babbeword, "Wbeteley, Estmarkam, <" In 4tb Edward T. Richard Baum-

Nortbwell, Walesby, Horeton, Edin^'e- fold, the archbishop's baiHlf at Otley,

ley, Briggeford, Liidham, Ileniiinge- was in trouble for some malvcrsaliou

ford, Staneford and Ouston. Trynne about a robber (Rot. Hundred., i. 106).

may well call him "an execrable plu- -'^ Canon of York, and brother of

ralist" (Coll., ill., 597). Cf. Hunter's archbishop Ludliam.

South Yorkshire, ii., 52. Clarcll was « Reg. "Wickwaine, and Prynne's

the founder of the friary at Tickhill Coll., iii., 311. '- Stubbs, col. 1727.

(Coll. Top., iv., 73). ' Prynne's Coll., iii., 321.

326 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

of liis suit with the great Northern priory .•?' The opposition
Avhich he met with from the monks of that house seems to have
hccn the chief cross and trouble of his life. He would gladly
have subjected them to himself, as his predecessor Murdac had
done more than a century before^ for he was animated by the same
energetic and vmcompromising spirit. To the latest hour of his
life he regretted that he had consecrated Anthony Bek, bishop
of Diu'ham/ for he rendered him no assistance in his claim.
Unable to obtain himself what he deemed to be right, he sought
for redress from Rome. Whether he ever reached that illus-
trious city and court it is difficult to say, but as he went or
returned he halted at the Cistercian house of Pontigny in Bur-
gmidy, a place of great renown in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries.

" Est Pontigniacum pons exulis, hortus, asylum,
Hie graditur, spatiatur in hoc, requiescit in illo."'

Beckct had passed two years of his exile within those sacred
walls ; and more recently they had witnessed the death and the
alleged miracles of St. Edmund of Canterbury. Pontigny was
uoAY the destination of many bands of pilgrims and a place of
repute."' Wickwaine, who had all the feelings and much of the
austerity of a monk, would gaze upon it with reverence. We
are told, indeed, that he assumed the cowl in that monastery ;"
and he woiild have many incentives for doing so, for everything
that he saw around him would reproach or attract him. Wea-
ried and perplexed as he had often been, he would long for rest,
and the time

" When the spirit stoops
To drink with gratitude the cr3'stal stream
Of unreproved enjoyment ; and is pleased
To muse, and be saluted by the air
Of much repentance, wafting wallflower scents
From out the crumbling ruins of fallen pride
And chambers of transgression, now forlorn.
O calm contented da3^s and peaceful nights !"

A deeper and a more lasting repose than the poet pictures
was soon to be Wickwaine's lot. He was seized with a fever at
Pontigny, and died there on the 26th of August, 1285." He
Av as interred within those walls which overshadowed the tombs
of Edmund of Canterbury and many of his comitrymen, far

J Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 69. 1254. Stubbs (col. 1727) says that he

* Chron. Lanercost, 122. resigned the archbishopric and retired

Henriq., Phoenix Revivisoens, 46. to Pontigny.

"• Wickwaine himself granted per- » Stubbs, col. 1727. MSS. Cotton

mission to Roger do Malton and Hugh Vitellius, A, ii.. Ill i, the 27th of

de Methley to make a pilgrimage to August. Wikes (apud Gale, ii., 108)

1 ontigny, s.a. Malton was master of about Pentecost. Trivet, 263. Chron.

bt. Leonard's hospital, York. Lanercost, 122. Contin. Flor. Wigorn.,

■• Martene, Thes. Nov. Anccdot., iii., ii., 236. Lei. Coll., i., 179.

1286 1296.] ARCHBISHOP ROMANUS. 327

away from the harder skies of Enj^land, and his own cathedral
beside the waters of the Ouse. The lioliness of his life has hxl
Stubbs to speak of him as a saint/' and he had that reputation
among many j)eople. His memory woukl be invested with addi-
tional renown by the fame of miracles said to have been wrouijht
at his tomb,* which seems to have acted as a febrifuge/ If the
church of York had l)een without a patron saint, the chapter in
all probability would have tried to secure the canonization of
Wickwaine.

On the 15tli of September, 1285, Edward I. committed the
custody of the temporalities of the see of York during the
vacancy to Sir Otho de Grandison, who made Malcolm de
Harcla his deputy. The proceeds, which amounted to the large
sum of 1812/. 12s. 4d., were devoted to the construction of the
royal castles in Wales.''

Wickwaine made a will, of which Walter de Gloucester,
archdeacon of York, and Thomas de Wakefield, the sub-dean,
were the executors. On the 18th of June, 1286, Roger Suayn,
canon of Ripon, was authorized to sell the goods of the deceased
prelate for the execution of his will. About Martinmas, 1287,
archbishop Romanus acknowledged himself indebted to the
executors in the sum of 1056/. for cattle, corn, etc., and on
November 9 he received from them 220 marks on the score of
dilapidations. On the 9th of April, 1293, he authorized Thomas
de Corbridge, canon of York, and William de Blida, sub-dean,
to make an enquiry about some of the chattels of his prede-
cessor, which, it was alleged, had been deposited in the church
of York, and had been carried away.^

J'0!}n 3^0manU5, or it IXoman, was the son of the treasurer
of York who bore the same names, and who seems to have
migrated from Italy to England." The father died at an ad-

p Stubbs, col. 1727. ' Pi-ynne's Coll., iii., 318, 433. Ab-
» Chron. Lanercost, 122. Stubbs, brev. Rot. Orig., i. In 1293 Malcolm de
col. 1727. Fuller's Church Histor}^ Harcley was one of the king's eschaetors
book iii., 79. Acta SS., June 8. The (Rot. Pari., i., 92), and he was much
author of the notice of St. William of employed in the service of the slate.
York in that collection , when at Pon- ' Reg. Romanus. In 12«() Harcley
tigny at the end of the seventeenth acknowledges the receipt of 100/. in
century, heard nothing of any worship ]>art payment for corn sold to Romanus
of Wickwaine, and supposed that his in the king's name,
reputation had been obscured by that " " Ex quadam pedissequa pro-
of St. Edmund. Liber de Melsa," inter creatus" (Knvghton, col. 2507).
MSS. Egerton, 1141, fol. 83. Stubbs, col. 1727. Prynne's Coll., iii.,
*■ Chron. Lanercost, 122. 542. Abbrev. Rot. Orig., i., 228.

328

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

ranced a<^e in 1256, having held in succession within the minster
of York the sub-deanery, the treasurership, and the archdea-
conry of Richmond. Matthew Paris" speaks in disparaging
terms of his avarice and peevish temper, but we must recollect,
on the other hand, that the north transept and the central
tower Avere erected by his munificence. The latter has been
re-faced or desti'oyed, but the former still delights the eye with
its grace and beauty. The treasurer was a friend of Grostete
and archbishop Gray, and was a person of consequence and
reputation.'"

His son, John Romanus, the archbishop, received his edu-
cation at tlie university of Oxford,^ and was well versed in
dialectics and theology.^ An imdated letter from Innocent IV.
is in existence which may possibly refer to him. It is addressed
to John, called Romanus, clerk, remembrancer of the papal

" Matt. Paris, 789, 792.

" Gray gave Romauus a pension of
20 marks per annum (Rot. Gray), and
Grostete vva.s liis correspondent (Gratii
Fascic, ii., 351. Grostete, Epp., 65,
203). He was a canon of York as
early as 1228, and was the first sub-
dean (ilSS. Cotton, Claudius, B, iii.,
16. Le Neve, iii., 127-8), in which
year the pope empowered him to super-
sede an appointment to a stall at Sarum
(Wilkins, i., 563).

He founded about the year 1240 a
chantry at the altar of St. Andrew in
York minster, which stood against the
north-west pillar of the lantern. It
was for the souls of the donor, John
and Mary his parents, Cincius his priest,
and Eichard I. (Fabric Eolls, 217).
Romanus also established an obit for
himself (Domesday Book, 82), and
granted land in Goodramgatc, York,
to the vicars choral (Reg. Magn. Al-
bum, part iii., 11).

This is probably the same Cincius, a
canon of London, who wa.s robbed, and
carried off for five weeks, near St.
Alban's in 1231 (Matt. Paris, 313-16).
Romanus was appointed to enquire into
the matter (ibid., 316). He may also
be the Cincius " vir disertissimus Ro-
manus," who is the author of a preface
to Plutarch's treatise, De Virtute et
Vilio, and who wrote a letter to Vel-
leius about the translation of the De
Contemncnda Morte of Socrates. Those
pieces are in the library of Benet Col-
lege, Cambridge (Smith's Catalogue).
The work ascribed to Socrates is of

course the well-known Phfcdo of Plato,
whom Daniel Heinsius commends in
his poem on the same great theme,—
' Namque illi Graiorum omnis sapieutia servit.'

Leland is quite v\Tong in saying
that John Romanus the son was trea-
surer of York. The father held that
post at his deatli, and, afterwards, the
succession of treasurers can be regu-
larly traced. This is an important fact
for deciding the date of the north tran-
sept of York minster, which was erected
by John Romanus, the treasurer.
Stubbs (col. 1727) makes the father the
treasurer, and says that he built the
north transept and the lantern tower
at his own cost, together with a great
part of the hospital of St. Leonard.
We are not necessarily to infer that he
built them lohilst he was treasurer :
Stubbs merely calls him so to distin-
guish him from his son.

•^ In 1295 archbishop Romanus writes
in behalf of the university, " Reco-
lentes memoriter ac sincero animo re-
censentes, quod quasi a primis cunabulis
scholastici studii ubera apud vos suxi-
mus in continuatione diutina donee
ad majorem solicitudinem Divina pro-
videntia nos vocaret" [Wilkins, ii.,
214]. On St. Stephen's day, 1289, the
arclibishop and the chapter of York
assigned the house in the close at York
belonging to the stall of Dunnington
for a school (Reg. Romanus).

V Chron. Lanercost, 126. Knyghton,
col. 2507. Trivet, 263. Polydore Ver-
gil, 325.

1

1286 1296.] ARCHBISHOP ROMANUS. 329

penitentiary, and in it tlic pope desires him not to accept a
bishopric without asking liis permission/ It is (piite possible
that the person here alkided to was the young Englisliman in
whom the prescient eye of his master had ah'cady detected signs
of future greatness. Many years, hoAvever, elapsed before it
arrived. The first preferment that John Romanus seems to
have enjoyed was in the cathedral of Lincoln. He became
prebendary of North Kelsey in 1258, and resigned it for the
stall of Nassington. In 1275 he was made chancellor, — a post
which he gave up for the precentorship in 1279." On the 7th
of December in that year he was collated by archbishop Wick-
waine to the prebend of Warthill at York,* the only piece of
preferment in that chiu'ch that he seems to have possessed.

Archbishop Wickwaine died in August, 1285, and on tlie
22nd of the following month the king authorized the chapter of
York to proceed to a fresh election. On the 29th of October
they chose Romanus^ and on the 30th informed Edward I. of
what they had done. He gave his assent on the 15th November^
and Romanus went abroad to receive the pall and to be conse-
crated by the pope. The ceremony took place at Rome on the
10th of February, and the temporalities were restored to him
on the 12th of April.''

When Romanus returned to England he was very nearly
having a collision with archbishop Peckham about the bearing
of his cross. On the 6th of April Peckham Avrote from Salt-
wood to the dean of the Arches and Mr. William de Haverbcrg
to inform them that he had heard that Romanus was to land on
Palm Sunday following with his cross erect, and directing them
to check him. An order Avas also given to the rural dean of
Dover forbidding any clerks to approach the intruder, and com-
manding the services to be stoj)ped in every parish where he
halted, if he made use of the obnoxious symbol of his authority.
The king had already heard that a quarrel Avas imminent, and
had tried to prevent it, ordering that provisions and everything
that Romanus and his suite required should be supplied to them
on their journey. On the 11th of April Peckham again wrote
to say that the archbishop, as he had heard, Avas in the priory
of Bermondsey Avith his cross erect, and he forbade every one

' Baluzii Misc., ed. Mansi, i., 211. nies re(!cived by Eomanus on account

" Le Neve, ii., 83, 92, 191, 196. of the choir boys at Lincoln during his

Prynne, iii., 268. In his capacity as preccntorshij) (lleg. Romanus).

precentor of Lincoln, in 1285, Romanus * Reg. AVickwaine, 58 6.

came into collision with the king for *■ Le Is^eve, iii., 104-. Prynne's Coll.

bringing a suit against the prior of iii., 355. Stubbs, col. 1727. Trivet,

Huntingdon (Prynne, iii., 354). Jan. 263. Chron. Lancrcost, 121. Wikcs

1, 1288, quit claim to John Tebaud, apud Gale, ii., 113. MSS. Cotton Vi-

chapter-clerk at Lincoln, of the mo- tellius. A, ii.. Ill b.

330 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.P,

to go near either the place or the prelate.*^ We hear nothing
more of the quarrel at that time, but Romanus, in all proba-
bility, proceeded quietly into the North, the king interfering in
his behalf to prevent any open dissension. The matter in dis-
pute was afterwards the subject of some fruitless debate and
negotiation/ The new archbishop was enthroned at York on
Trinity Sunday, the 9th of June, 1286/ His installation
banquet seems to have been on a magnificent scale. Several
of the letters of invitation whicii Romanus sent have been pre-
served, and from them we learn that among many others the
earls of Cornwall and Warren, the bishops of London and
Carlisle, the dean of Lincoln, Sir R. Sutton and Sir William de
Ros, knights, were asked to become his guests. i' The Latinity
of the archbishop was elegant and concise, and his epistles seem
to have been regarded as patterns of composition by his suc-
cessors in the see.''

Romanus, like some of his predecessors, was in want of money
on his accession to office, and was obliged to fill his empty cofi'ers
by borrowing large sums. The following are some of the per-
sons to whom he was indebted. My readers will observe how
large a portion of the money-lenders were clerks, and they must
draw their own inferences from the fact. The archbishop would
naturally turn to them for assistance rather than to the foreign
merchants. He was obliged^ however, to have recourse to the
latter.

1286, May 18. The archbishop authorizes Mr. William de
Lincoln,' clerk, to contract a loan of 500 marks for him in the
com-t of Rome. Jime 10. A bond to Robert de Scartheburgh,
dean of York, for 1000 marks. A bond to Roger de Saxton for
50/., and to Coppo de le Cotenne, citizen and merchant of
Florence, of the company of the Frissinbaldi, and his fellows,
for 200/. June 18. A bond to Mr. Thomas de Wakefeld,^' sub-

..Z Reg. Wickwcaine. Prynne's Coll., June 12, 1295, Bertrand and Simon,

ui'i 355. the cardinals, offer to act as mediators

■■ When Eomanus was elected he en- between the two primates, and their

deavoured to get this point settled at proposition was accepted by Eomanus

Eome (Eeg. Eomanus). In May, 1287, (Eeg. Eomanus).

archbishop Peckham ordered the bishop / MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii.. Ill J.

of AYorcester to prevent the Northern «■ Eeg. Eomanus.

primate from raising his cross within * Some of the letters of Eomanus

his diocese (Wilkins, ii., 128), and Eo- are inserted in the book which contains

manus was obliged to seek for letters of those of Thoresby. The epistles of

safe conduct from the king (Eeg. Eo- these two prelates seem to have been

maaus). On Oct. 9, 1291, Mr. H., regarded as models of orthography,

dean of York, William, archdeacon of ' Dec. 29, 1286, Mr. W. de Lincoln

Notts, and Thomas de Corbridge were was collated to a stall at Beverlev. In

appointed to treat with the archbishop 1 290 he was at Eome in the archbishop's

ol Canterbury (ibid.). In 1295 there behalf (Eeg. Romanus).

IS a etter from archbishop Winchilsea i Prebendary of Botevant, chancellor

on the subject (\Vilkins,ii., 216). On and sub-dean of York, and canon of

1286—1296.]

ARCHBISHOP ROMANUS.

331

dean of York, executor of William our predecessor, for 96/.
July 12. A bond to Richard de Horton and Philip de Werkes-
worth, executors of the will of John de Wydington, canon of
Lincoln/- for 100/. July 24. A bond for 200 marks to the
merchants of Pystoria. July 27. A bond to Peter de Ccstria,
provost of Beverley, for 200/. ; to Adam de Patrington for 100/.;
to Mr. Thomas de Dalton for 20/,, and to Mr. Simon de Clare-
vall for 100 marks. July 31. A bond to William, dominus de
Huks,^ for 200/. Sunday before the festival of All Saints, an
order to Henry, archdeacon of Richmond, to sell the arch-
bishop's houses at Paris.'" Nov. 3. A bond for 300/. to Mr.
Thomas de Grimston," archdeacon of Cleveland, Mr. William de
Langton, rector of Croft, Walter his brother,*^ and Henry de
Mileford, executors of William de Rotherfeud (Langton), late
dean of York. 1287, Jan, 3. Authority to R. de Bamfeld,
canon of Southwell and rector of Stillingfleet, to borrow for the
archbishop 110 marks from the merchants, Jan, 24, A bond
for 16/. 16s. to the executors of Mr, Henry de Skipton, arch-
deacon of Notts, for silver plate bought of them,^ March 3,
Authority to Mr, William de Lincoln, canon of Beverley, and
Peter Diirandi of Lincoln, to borrow 100 marks for the arch-
bishop.? April 11. Bond for 200/. to Mr. Simon de Clarevall.
May 10. Bond to Richard Guydicioniis for 200 marks. Nov.
24. Bond to Henry de Mileford, executor of dean Langton, for
100 marks. 1288, Trinity Sunday. A bond for 1000 marks to
the dean of York. 1290, July 19. A bond for 200 marks to

Ripon. He was a favourite with the
archbishop, who granted an indulgence
of forty daj's to all who listened to his
preaching. In giving Wakefield the
chancellorship the primate spoke of
"personse tuse nota probitas, meritor-
umque tuorum odorifera famositas."

* Prebendary of Lafford (Le Neve,
ii., 160). Horton was treasurer of the
same church. Executors at that time
seem frequently to have acted as
trustees of the estate of their deceased
friend, and to have made the most of
his effects bj' becoming money-lenders.

' He occurs in the Rot. Scotisc, and
was sheriff of Yorkshire 1305-7 (Drake's
Eboracum, 351),

'" On May 9, 1286, Romanus in-
forms bishop Bek that he had let his
houses in Paris to the nephews of
Matthew the cardinal. On Jan. 6,
• 1289, he desires his clerk, Robert de
Themlbj' to sell them for him, and, on
August 15, 1290, lie orders Mr. William
de Haxeby to sell them, and to examine

the accounts of William de Sens, citizen
of Paris, who had had the charge of
them.

Archdeacon Newark occurs as a
money-lender. On Dec. 27, 1286, he
lent the archbishop 20/, On March
16, 1287, he received from him 100
marks for first-fruits. On August 13
he lent the archbishop 47 maiks, 6s. 8d.

" Archdeacon of Cleveland 1280-
1289. Archbishop AVickwaine speaks
of him as "amatissimus et intimus
filius noster."

" The well-known bishop of Lich-
field and a great statesman. He was a
canon of York and master of St. Leo-
nard's hospital.

/' March 22, 1287-8, the archbishop
bu3's sheep of his executors for 10/.
April 1, he buys of the executors of
Mr. Thomas do Rarneby, rector of
Barmston, for 20 marks, the corn in
the laith and in the ground.

' The money was lent by Durandi
de Lincoln, the father of Peter.

332 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Richard dc Horton, treasurer, and Tliomas de Perar', canon of
Lincoln, executors of Mr. W. de Hancton/ canon of that church.
Jidy 24. A bond for 40 marks to Sir John de Reygate, kt.*

Archbishop llomauus took but little part in public affairs
after he came into the North ; indeed, at no period of his life
can we regard him as a statesman. In 1288 he had some dis-
sension with the king, for which he lost the temporalities of his
see ; it was, however, of short duration ; for, between the months
of March and August,' he was in Gascony with Edward." In
1290 he was present at the funeral of queen Eleanor, and at the
king's request he ordered prayers to be offered up throughout
his diocese for her soul." In 1291 he was required to render
military service against Scotland;'" and in the following year he
was mixed up in the negotiations about that kingdom.^ On
the 18th of June, 1294, he was enjoined to require the suffrages
of the people of his diocese for the success of the king and his
army on their way to Gascony, and on the 19tli of August he
was summoned to a council at Westminster about that country .2'
On two or three other occasions he was called to parliament ;-
but his name is not connected with any public office or with
any important act in connection with the state.

The whole of the time of archbishop Romanus seems to have
been devoted to his diocese. Henry, bishop of Whitherne," acted
for some time as his suffragan, and he was occasionally assisted
by one or two other prelates, but he seems to have relied for
the most part upon his own exertions. The annals of his life
are to be derived from his own official registers which are pre-
served at York, and they certainly shew that he was a zealous
and energetic archbishop. The acts of our early prelates have
been so little examined for biographical and historical purposes,

' Neither of these canons appears on procure a subsidy for him from the

the Lincoln Ta-sti. York clergy (Feed., i., 673).

' A commissioner of array in York- " On Sept. 9, 1286, he made his pro-
shire in 1300 (Pari. Writs., i., 345, fession of obedience to the archbishop
etc.). On Dec. 10, 1290, John de Eey- at Hexham, and had leave to go to
gate was bailiff of Sherburn (Eeg. Eo- Rome. He died Nov. 1, 1293 (Chron.
manus). ' Prjmne, iii., 1293. Lan., 155), being at that time cruce-
" Reg. Romanus. signatus. He .was at one time abbat
" Chron. Lanercost, 137. of S. Crux. On Jan. 13, 1294, John
" Feed., i., 753. Pari. Writs., i., 256. king of Scotland wrote to Romanus
' Feed., i., 762. In 1292 Gregory about Thomas de Kirkcudbright, chap-
IX. wrote to the archbishop of York lain of Robert Bruce, who had been
and the bishop of Carlisle urging them elected bishop by John, prior of Whit-
to exhort the Scottish king to keep the heme, and his convent. On May 30,
peace (Chron. Lan., 146). 1294, the new prelate made his pro-
s' Pari. Writs., i., 261. Feed., i., fession of obedience to Romanus, and
802, 808-10, 834. ^ the bishops of Carlisle and St. Asaph
_ ' Pari. Writs., i., 25, 30-2. Feed., were asked to assist at his consecration,
1., 822. In 1286 the king begs him which took place at Gedling " die dom.
and the archdeacon of Richmond to in crast. B. Dionisii, 1294."

1286—1296.]

ARCHBISHOP ROMANUS.

333

that a short series of extracts from those of Romanus will be
interesting and novel. In the first place I shall give a list of
those persons to -whom the archbishop gave an annual pension.
These sums were frequently spontaneously granted, either from
affection or interest. Occasionally the king, in addition to the
stalls and benefices which he filled up himself or begged, re-
quested the prelate to place some court favourite upon his list of
pensioners, or some foreigner gave a hint that he would like to
be upon it, as the price of his good offices at the papal court.
These persons became occasionally a very serious burden upon
the archiepiscopal revenues.

1286, May 12. A pension of 20 marks per annum to Bene-
dict, cardinal of St. Nicholas in Carcere Tulliano, for his good
oflSces towards us and our church. 1287, Feb. 4. A pension of
10/. per annum to Ralph de Hengham,* clerk. April 18. A
pension of 10 marks per annum to William de Bm-neton,'" and
on May 10 one of 100s. to William de Saham,"^ clerk. Another
of 5 marks to John de Ousthorp,* clerk, at the instance of friar
William de Hothum,-^ till we provide him with a benefice.

* Son of Sir Andrew de Hengham,
of Hengham, in Norfolk. Chief justice,
archdeacon of Worcester, chancellor of
Exeter, canon of Hereford, Exeter,
Lincoln and London. He occurs fre-
quently in state documents. Foss's
Judges, iii., 261. Weever, Fun. Mon.,
367.

■^ A justice itinerant in 1302. Foss,
iii., 68.

■* A justice of the King's Bench.
Ibid., 146.

' He was a prebendary of Howden
(Reg. ii., Prior, and Conv. Dunelm.,
69, 81).

/ Prior-provincial of the friars
preachers in England, and a person of
verjr pleasing manners and of great
piety and learning (Chron. Lan., 133-1.
Fffid,, i., 766. Cotton's Fasti Eccl.
Hib., ii., 12). He was educated at
Merton coUege, Oxford, and at Paris
(Hist. Univ. Oxon., i., 324; iv., 14.
Cotton ut supra). In Februar)', 1289,
he is mentioned in connection with
the king's intended expedition to Pales-
tine (Foed., i., 703. Prynne, iii., 428),
and on May 8, seq., he had letters of
credence to the pope from the king
(ibid., 708. Prynue, 389). In 1292
he was concerned in Scottish politics
(ibid., 766). He was also intimately
connected with Eleanor, the consort of
Edward I., and had much to do in

settling her affairs (Manners, etc., of
England, 103, etc.). In 1298 he was
preferred to the archbishopric of Dulilin,
and was consecrated abroad by bishop
Bek. He died on Aug. 28, 1298, the
year of his election, in the Dominican
convent at Dijon in Burgundy. His
body was brought to London, and was
interred in the church of the Domini-
cans. Caius says that he was an author
(Chron. Lan., 133-4. Trivet, 306.
Prynne, iii., 772-3. Cotton, ut swpraj.

And now for a romantic story to
enliven a dull note. It comes from
MSS. Harl., 912.

De Monte Chyviott. Dominus Jo-
hannes de Hothom Elj'ensis opiscopus,
audivit a fratre AVillelmo de Hothom,
nvunculo suo, historiam qua> .'icquitur.
lletulit vcro quod erat in transmarinis
partibus quidam nobilis qui onniia sua
dimiserat propter amorcm Dei, et duxit
vitam heremiticam in neniore. Hie,
ergo, audiens quod talis frater de An-
glia transiret per patriam illam versus
capitulum generale, misit ad eum ro-
gans quod presenter ei loqucretur. Ad
quern cum venirot (venerat 'r) qua\s-
ivit si novit aliquem monlem in Mar-
chia Scocioc qui vocarctur Chyviott ?
qui dixit quod sciret. Quare, igitur,
qusero indicabo tibi. L^na, igitur, nocte,
audivi extra tigurium meum quasi mag-
nus populus transiret, et, respiciens,

334

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

Dec. 9. A pension of 5 marks to James Simbaldi, clerk, till we
can provide him with a benefice. 1288, Nov. 6. A pension of
10 marks per annum to Mr. Robert de Ros, archdeacon of Lon-
don, and Mr. R. de Branndon,^ canon of London, till we can
give each of them a stall. 1290, May 13. A pension of 20/.
])er annum to Peter de Sabaudia,'' clerk, on account of his noble
birth and his relationship to the king, till we can find him a
prebend. Sept. 23. A pension of 5 marks to Nicholas, son of
Matthew Rugepall, merchant of Lucca, till we give him a bene-
fice. 1291, July 24. A pension of 10 marks per annum to Mr.
Richard de Herteford, till, etc. 1293, May 8. A pension of
100s. per annum to John de Vere, son of the earl of Oxford,
till we find him a stall at York.' Mem. He died in the same
year, and so the pension ceases. August 7. A pension of 100s.
to Thomas Brabazon, rector of Hungerton, dioc. Lincoln, on
account of the affection which his brother. Sir Roger Brabazon,-?
shews to us and our church, till we can give him a stall. 1295,
May 13. A like sum to Hugh de Cressingham,^'' clerk, till we
find him a prebend.

I now give in chronological order the following remarkable
series of extracts from the register of the archbishop. Their

vidi pedites transire in maxima multi-
tudinc, deiuque armigeros, deindeque
milites, ultimo tres reges nobilitatis
valde, unum a dextris et alium a sinis-
tris equitantes et quasi ducentes tertium
inter se. Et cum omnes trausissent
dolui nimis quod non conquisivi qui
essent. Et cito pervenei'uut trcs miseri
claudicantes a quibus conquisivi qui
essent illi precedentes. Qui responde-
runt quod omnes eraut demones excepto
uno, s(;ilicet illo ultimo, in medio, qui
fiicrat rex Arragonisc, — ductus ad mon-
tem Chyviott, qui est locus frigidus
valde, ut in frigido loco affligeretur
qui delectabatur in calidis cibis et potis.
Oh frigid and most impotent conclu-
sion ! and yet it is an appalling fate for
the disembodied spirit

" To reside
In thrilling regions of thick ribbed ice."

«■ Canon of Lincoln and London.
22nd Edward I. letters of protection to
him as rector of Littlebury (Prvnne's
Coll., iii., 594).

* A son of Thomas prince of Pied-
mont, and cousin of Edward I. Pre-
bendary of Newbald at York 1290-
1309, dean of Salisbury and Lyons, and
canon of Lincoln and Hereford. He
wa.s made archbishop of Lvons in De-
cember, 1308. Cf. Gall. Christ., iv.

161, 205. Baluzii Misc., i., 221, ed.
Mansi. L'Art de verifier les Dates, 8vo
ed., xvii., 168. Guichenon, Histoire
Generale de la Maison de Savoie, etc.

' A son of Robert earl of Oxford,
unnoticed byDugdale (Bar., i., 191-2).
He was prebendarj' of Scamlesby at
Lincoln (Le Neve, ii., 202).

i Sir Roger Brabazon was a justiciar
and a person of consequence.

* A great man, justiciar and trea-
surer of England. In 21st Edward I.
archbishop Romanus allows him and
his fellow-justiciars to hold assizes at
York in the time of Septuagesima and
Sexagesima (Prynne, iii., 579). 22nd
Edward I. letters of protection to him
as canon of St. Paul's and rector of
Enderby, Kingsclere, Hatfeld, Chalk,
Berles, Barnton, Dodington, Cressing-
ham and Reymerston, "an insatiable
pluralist " (ibid., 597) Rector of Rud-
by, dioc. Ebor., in 1296.

The record of his pension is can-
celled, for he was killed in Scotland,
and so great was the hatred that the
Scots had for him, that they actually
flayed his dead body and tanned his
skin, and, cutting it in pieces, kept
them as memorials of their foe. Cf.
Knyghton, col. 2519. Walsingham,
73. Chron. Lanercost, 190.

1286 — 1296.] ARCHBISHOP ROMANUS. 335

variety does not diminish from their interest. It would be diffi-
cult to find any historical notices of greater novelty and value.
1286, April 17. A letter from Edward I. to the archbishop,
requesting the prayers of the faithful for the soul of Alexander,
king of Scotland, who has recently died.^ April 23. An in-
dulgence for the brethren of the hospital of St. John Baptist
and St. Thomas the martyr at the bridge of Stanford, for the
repair of the said bridge, which has been destroyed by a
flood, and for the perpetuating of the mass B.M.V. thereon.'"
An indulgence to those who visit the church of Mansfield at
the dedication of two altars therein, viz., that of B.M. and S.
Katharine, and that of SS. William and Margaret, and another
for those contributing to the chapel of S.M. at Staner, near
Selby. An indulgence for the cathedral of Carlisle, which has
been destroyed by fire, and for the shrines of SS. Cuth])ert
and John at Durham and Beverley. An indulgence of 10 days
for the soul of John dictus Venesun, whose body lies in the
cemetery B. M. at Dover, on the north side. An indulgence of
40 days for the fabric of St. Saviour^s church, Bermondsey, and
one for the fabric of the house of the Augustinian hermits at
Huntingdon, which has been burned down. An indulgence for
the soul of Mr. William de Gyseley, Avho is buried in the monas-
tery of Kirkstall, and for the health of Richard de Halton
during his life and for his soul after his decease, together with
the souls of Robert and Alice, his parents, who lie before the
altar B. M. V. in the church of Halton, Lincolnshire. April 27.
An indulgence for the soul of dame Christiana Ledet," mother
of Sir Gerard de Furnivall, whose body lies buried before the
high altar of the priory of Byssemede, and her heart in the
church of the friars preachers at Cambridge ; also for the soul
of that noble lady dame Alice de Ros, whose body is interred in
the church of the friars minors at Lincoln. April 29. An

' Alexander was the king's brother- Agnes his wife. 1312, 23 Aug., ind.

in-law, having married Margaret, of forty da3's for the health of Hugh

daughter of Henry III. He fell from de Everesdon, ahbat of St. All)an's.

his horse in a dark night, and broke 1312, Nov. 14, ind. of forty days to all

his neck (Knyghton, col. 2468). who listen to the preaching of the

'" A series of extracts of great im- monks of Durham. Dec. 28, ind. of

portance and novelty. It is impossible forty days to those who visit the church

to illustrate each as it deserves ; indeed of Bliburgh, co. liincoln, dedicated to

I do not profess to do it, although I St. Alkmund, and for the soul of

have a superfluity of materials. A^'alter, sometime rector there, who is

" Cf. Dugd. Bar., i., 720. Plac. de buried in the church. Ind. of forty

Quo. Warr., 396. Hunter's Ilallam- days to those who visit tlie chapel of

shire. Thoroton's Notts, 455. Bisliop St. Leonard in Kirkstead abbey. lud.

Kellawe's register at Durham contains of forty days for the souls of Thomas

many entries of this nature. 1311, de Kellawe, Agnes his wife, and Wil-

15 Dec, ind. of forty days for the souls liam their son.
of Sir AValter Faucombrige and dame

336

FASTI EDORACENSES.

[a.d.

indulgence of 10 days for the souls of Elias de Stapleford and
Ilawis his wife, who are buried in the church of Stapleford."
May 1. An injunction to the people of the diocese of York
to pray for the good estate of the king and queen and their
children.^ An indulgence for the hospital of lepers dedicated to
S.M. Magd., near Pontefract, and another for the hospital of St.
Nicholas, near Beverley, Letters addressed by the archbishop
to the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Durham, William de Luda
and the archdeacon of Richmond, in behalf of John de Lither-
grynes,? who is not at present in the king^s service. June 15.
A royal mandate to the archbishop to summon before the justices
itinerant at York, Mr. William de Cliilbrd, Mr. Thomas de
Barneby, official of the bishop of Carlisle, and Mr. Henry Hay,
rector of Aughton, his clerks, for a transgression in hunting.''
July 6. An indidgence, to last for three years, for the brethren of
the hospital S. Spiritus de Saxia, at Rome.* July 7. Adminis-
tration of the effects of Sir Thomas de Huks, kt., to Adam de
Derlington and Hugh de Collum, his executors. '^ Sept. 10. An
indulgence of 40 days for the church of Whitherne containing
the relics of St. Niniau, which has been burned down. Dec. 5.
A gift of two oaks from our park of Beverley to Mr. J. de Pen-
ningston." The following clerks, all having the first tonsure.

" Aug. 25, 1322, a chantry is founded
in the church of St. Ellen, at Staple-
ford, for the souls of Hugh de Staple -
ford and Alice his wife (Reg. Melton).
€f. Thoroton's Notts, 213.

p Another order anno 3, and another
anno 9.

1 A person much employed in state
affairs. A justice itinerant (Foss, iii.,
124). 20th Edward I. he and Alice
his wife founded a chapel in their manor
of Lasenby, in which prayers were to
be said daily for the souls of Edward I.
and bishop Eek (Prynne, iii., 4G3).
In the same year the king authorized
him and the ahbat S. M. Ebor. to choose
a master for St. Nicholas's hospital,
York (ibid., 470). Eschaetor north of
Trent 25th Edward I. (Pari. Writs., i.,
21)6). He Avas sheriff of Yorkshire Ije-
tween 1280 and 1286 (Drake's Ebora-
cum, 351).

■■ Some of the archbishop's clerks
are in trouble for hunting. They were
of the same mind with Chaucer's
monk —

"He yave not of the text a pulled hen,
That saith, that hunters hen not holy men."

' This was the hospital to which the

pope wished to appropriate the stall of
Fenton at York. It will be again men-
tioned.

' There are many of these valuable
instruments in the early registers.
1287, Jan 24, administration of Sir
Robert Sutton, knight, to Stephen de
Sutton, his brother and executor. 1289,
May 3, (mm mission to receive the ac-
count of the executors of Sir Robert de
Ros. May 10, commission to hear the
account of Sir John Huse, Robert de
Sherington, and Jordan de Stokes, exe-
cutors of Sir Henry de Newmarch.
1293, JL1I3' 13, commission to hear the
account of the executors of Sir Robert
de Ros, knight. 1293, Dec. 5, the
will of Isabella de Fortibus, countess
of Albemarle, is proved at Tottenham,
and administration is granted to her
executors, the priors of Brommore and
Twynham and Sir William de Knouill,
knight. 1294, March 1, commission
to hear the account of the executors
of dame Amy de Percy.

" Canon of South Muskham at
Southwell, and probably of Beverley.
William Clifford, who has been recently
mentioned, was also a canon of South-
well.

1286 — 129G.] ARCHBisnop romanus. 337

are degraded this year ; Jolm de Ilovcden for stealing 3s. 6d.
at York; Henry de Novocastro for breaking into a house at
Hoton in Bulmershire and stealing a tabard ; John de Fainfoss
(Fangfoss) for stealing 5 marks at Hoton-on-the-Wold; William
de Baildon for stealing at York 4- silver spoons^ and Robert de
Karl' for stealing some decretals valued at 5 marks."

1287, Jan. 27. Laurence de Crepings, rector of Hoton, ac-
knowledges that he owes the archbishop 20/. as a punishment
for incontinence. Feb. 16. Licence for the brethren of the
hospital of St. Anthony, in the diocese of Vienne, to collect
alms; another for the hospital B.INI. without Bishopsgate, Lon-
don ; and a third, of twenty days, for the repairs of the bridge
of Gloucester and the hospital upon it. August 17. A com-
mission to the bishop of Whitherne to dedicate the churches of
Oswaldkirk and Edstone, and to the dean of Bulmer to act as
the archbishop's deputy in dedicating the churches of Thor-
manby, Dalby, Bulmer and Ellington. There remain to be
dedicated those of Scalton, Whenby, Foston, Helmsley and
Wheldrake. The archbishop binds the rector of Foston under a
penalty of 5 marks to have his church built and ready for dedi-
cation within three years.'" Sept. 24. Licence to Sir Robert de
Baliol to have an oratory in his manor of Redness."^ Dec. 27.
An order to the bailiff of Southwell to give to the prior of the
hospital at Jerusalem 10 wild animals, viz., deer, fawns, etc., as
they come to the nets.

1289, Dec. 29. To Walter de Maydeston,y 400/. for the 30th,
by order of the king.

1290, May 15. The archbishop grants the first-fruits of the
archdeaconry of Richmond to Sir Otho de Grandison to enable
him to go to the Holy Land.- June 11. A mandate of enquiry
to the official of the archdeacon of York ex parte Sir Fulk Fitz-
warren of Alljcbury, dioc. Hereford, kt. We have heard that
Agnes Bacun, lady of Edlington, deceased, the late Fulk's sister,
left him by will a precious stone called asiniu', which Agixes,
davighter of Robert le Gru of Northampton, the maid of the

" These convictions of clerks are of churcli (Ucg. Wickwaine). Baliol was

painful frequency. knight of the shire for co. York 25tli

"" Some valuable dates. It must and 29th Edward I. (Pari. AVrits., i.,

not, however, be imagined that churches 58, 94) .

were always dedicated as soon as they * Jan. 11, 1290, collated to a moiety

were built. There are some valuable of the church of Kendal (Keg. Ro-

notices of this kind in the York Fabric manus). May 5, 1.307, to have tlie

Rolls, 235-242. next vacant stall at York by papal

■^ Au unrecorded member of a great i)rovision (Ilcg. (Greenfield). Bishop

house. March 23, 1273, licence from of Worcester 1313-1317. He was a

Gregory X. to Robert de Baliol to gi-eat ])olitician.

build a chapel in his manor-house at ■ This great man and his family have

Redness on account of the inundations, been already meulioucd. Cf. Dugd.

etc., which keep him from the parish Bar., ii., 17.

Z

338

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

siiid Agues, lias kept on the plea tliat there are two persons of
the name of Fulk Fitzwarren ; one the brother, and the other
the nephew of her mistress." June 13. The arehbishop writes
to the bishop of Ely expressing his regret that he cannot be
present at his consecration.* Sept. 18. Licence to R., bishop of
Batli and Wells, to hold a special ordination within the diocese
of York to make J. de Langedon and Roger de Esserug, sub-
deacons.'' Nov. 28. A letter from Edward I. to the archbishop,
desiring the prayers of the faithftil for the soul of queen Allan or,
our wife, from our childhood.'' Dec. 5. Purgation of dame
Chi'istiana, wife of Sir Nicholas de Menil, kt., from the charges
of having prepared poison to kill her husband, and of having
committed adultery with Mr. W. de Grenefeud and Walter de
Hamerton.^

" A very curious stor}^ On Jan. 12,
1290, administration of dame Agnes
Bacun de Edlington, who died " in
crastino festi S. Nicholai," and was
buried on the Sunday after, to William
de Eosevill and Richard de Rokeley,
her executors (Reg. Ilomanus). For
an account of the noble house of Fitz-
warren, cf. Dugd. Bar., i., 445. The
first Fulk in the family was nearly
killed by prince John, afterwards king,
who broke his head with a chessboard.

* William de Luda (Louth), pre-
bendar}' of Ampleford at York. " Vir
magnificus et eminentis scientise "
(Wikes, apud Gale, ii., 121). Conse-
crated at Ely, in the church B.M.V.,
by John archbishop of Canterbury,
with great solemnity, on Nov. 23,
1290, having been ordained priest on
Oct. 1 (Contin. 11. Wigoru., ii., 243).
A great statesman. On Oct. 31, 1291,
on the marriage of a son of Sir John
de Potthou to a daughter of Sir Gilbert
de Luda, the archbishop ordered his
olHcial to pay over the money he held
belonging to the lady (Reg. Rouianus).
In 1292 Henry Newark occurs as one
of the executors of Gilbert de Luda
(Rot. Pari., i., 8G). Nicholas de Luda
was his son and heir (Abbrev. Plac,
307). Gilbert de Luda was mayor of
York in 1284 (Drake, 360).

' A great favour. The bishop had
been canon of Grendale and archdeacon
of York. He was lord chancellor, and
was a very great man. He left a will,
of which Mr. William Burnell, dean
of AVells, and William de Hamilton,
were the executors, and Philip de Bur-
nell was the testator's nephew and heir

(Act. Capit. Ebor., 22). Asherugge was
a place in Bucks where Edmund, earl
of Cornwall, founded a college. Walter
de Asherugge was chaplain of Edward
II. (Archaiol., xxvi., 340). Roger de
Asherugge was a clerk of the chapel of
Edward I. (Lib. Garderobse, 314).
Langton is, I presume, the same person
who became chancellor in 1293. He
was prebendary of Fridaj^thorp at York,
and held many valuable preferments,
the highest of which was the see of
Chichester, to which he was raised in
1305.

'' The king saj^s she died " die Martis
proximo ante festum S. Andrese apos-
toli" (Reg. Romanus). Ob. 4 kal.
Dec. (28 Nov.). (Acta Capit. Ebor.).
The chapter of York ordered a full
peal to be rung when they heard of her
decease (Lib. Garderobse, 29), and on
July 10, 1291, Edward sent to the
church from Scotland, in memory of
his late wife, a chasuble, alb, and amice
(Fabric Rolls, 154).

Romanus at once granted an indulg-
ence of forty days for those who should
pray for the qvieen's soul, and this was
repeated on Dec. 8, 1290. On June 7,
1291, the archbishop wrote to the king
to say that his wishes had been attended
to (Reg. Romanus). Cf. Prynne's
Coll., iii., 448. Contin. Fl. Wigorn.,
ii., 244. Archseol., xxix., 167, etc.

*■ A curious episode in the history of
this unhappy family. Greenfield after-
■\vards became archbishop of York. On
Jan. 29, 1293, Romanus writes to the
king, who had ordered him to make an
enquiry on the part of J\Ienyl against
his wife, and says that the husband

1286—1296.]

ARCHBISHOP ROMANUS.

339

1291^ Feb. 7. Roger de Wycliton is made the archbishop's
proctor to enquire of Mr. GiftVed de Vezano^ canon of Cam bray
and chaml)erlain of the pope^ about the will of H. the cardinal./
April 4. Dispensation for Thomas de Multon and Margaret his
wife. They have lived together^ and a son has been horn to
them, they not knowing that Isabel, the former wife of the said
Thomas, and Margaret, were first cousins.^ May 29. Licence
for Roger de Malton to go on a pilgrimage to Pontigny.* July
20. An order to pray for the soul of the queen-mother.' Sept. 4.
A commission to Mr. John Clarell, canon of Southw ell, to preach
in behalf of the crusade.-^ Oct. 10. Licence to dame Margaret
de Percy to reside for a year within the nunnery of Appleton,
provided that her attendants are not disorderly.'''

1292, Dec. 13. Licence to the archbishop of Dublin to use
his pall within the diocese of York.'

1293, Jan. 12. Licence to William de Mortimer and Alice
his wife to have an oratory at their pleasure within their manor
of Sibthorp. May 4. The archbishop requests the king to give
up to him Nicholas de Menill, clerk, who had been accused on
the testimony of two felons, William Cokerel and Reginald le
Hunter, of causing the death of William de Mowbray, Matilda
his wife, and William and Hilda their children, by firing their
houses and those of the vicar of Rudby. We have acquitted him

had driven his wife from his hoi*se and
refused to maintain her. His old age
made him disUke her (Reg. Romanus).
He was ordered to provide ahmony.
On May 13, 1310, archbishop Green-
field granted to dame Christiana de
Menyl, relict of Sir Nicholas de Menyl,
the marriage of Richard, son and heir
of Robert de Furneaux, knight, the
archl:>ishop's tenant at Lutterington
(Reg. Greenfield). Cf. Dugd. Ear., ii.,
110.

•f Hugh de Evesham, among other
preferments in the diocese of York, held
the prebend of Bugthorpe and the
livings of Spofforth and Hemming-
burgh. He was a famous physician,
and wrote several works on medicine
and divinity. In 1281 he was made
cardinal priest tit. S. Laur. in Lucina.
He died of the plague in 1287. Gf.
Knyghton, col. 2435. Ciacon., i., 773,
etc.

s- Cf. Dugd. Bar., i., 568. Nicolson
and Burn's Cumb'^., etc., ii., 218.

'' He had been there before. He
was master of St. Leonard's hospital,
York, and of the hospital B.M. Magd.
at Ripon. He resigned the latter in

1291. On May 30, 1276, the chapter
of York presented him to St. Leonard's
hospital, Thomas, the former rector,
having died on the Sunday after Ascen-
sion-day (MSS. Cotton, Claudius, B,
iii., 18).

' Eleanor of Provence, widow of
Henry III , who died in the nunnery
at Ambresl)ur3^

J This person has been already men-
tioned. A list of the places at which
Clarell was to preach is given in the
register. In 1291 a provincial council
was held at York about the Holy Land,
and the proposed union of the Templars
and the Hospitallers (Chron. Lanercost,
143-4). William de llotham was a
gi'eat advocate of this crusade (Pryune,
iii., 428), which came to naught.

* A privilege only granted to great
ladies. Archbisho]) Wickwaine per-
mitted the wife of Roger de Mowbray
and her family to reside for awhile in
the monastery of Newburgh.

' John de Saunford or Stanford, arch-
bishop from 1281 to 1294. He was a
Pranciscan, and a person of conse-
quence (Cotton's Fasti Eccl. Hib., ii.,
12).

z2

340 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

in oui- com-t. June 8. An order to use prayers for fine weather,
that the great rains may be stayed.'" August 27. Henry de
Br\irapton, an inhal)itant of Scarbrough^ about thirty years ago
made a vow to go to the shrine of St. James of Compostella.
On account of bodily infirmities he is unequal to the journey.
An order to Lam-ence de Wetwang, warden of the friars minors
at Scarbrough, to release him from his vow on the payment of
100s." Dec. 8. A general letter from the king. It has been
signified to us that William, son of Thomas de Lonesdale, lost
his right ear by the bite of a horse. This is not to be to his
prejudice."

1294, Jan. 30. A mandate to pray for the soul of Margaret,
some time queen of France.^ March 1. A letter from the arch-
bishop to the abbat of Fountains. We intend to pass a night
within your monastery on our way to Otley, but this visit is -not
to be used as a precedent.? June 16. We have received from
Robert de Percy 50 marks for the use of the hospital B.M.
ISIagd. at Ripon. The said Robert is to reside in the hospital
with one attendant, and to be maintained, and we give him a
robe yearly. Dec. 20. Licence for the canons of Furness, Cart-
mell and Cockersand to be ordained by the bishop of Carlisle.''

Archbishop Rom anus surpassed all his predecessors in his
hospitality and munificence. He had a great number of knights
among his retainers, and did everything in his power to advance
the dignity and the fame of his eathedi"ftl. His name will always
be remembered in connection with the fabric. On the 6th of
April, 1291, he laid with his own hands the foundation-stone of
the present magnificent nave. The dean and the canons were
standing around him Avhilst he invoked the blessing of the Spirit
upon the work which was then begun.^ The archbishop was at
the south-eastern corner of the nave, hard by the transept of
Walter Gray, and in front of him were the tower and the
northern transept which his father had erected. How many
memories of bygone years would rush into his mind, even amid

'" On July 12 there was an awful i These visits were very heavy bur-
thunderstorm in the diocese of York dens. In 1309 a statute was passed to
(Chron. Lan., 154). " Transit annus prevent them (Statutes at Large, i.,
isle multum frugifcr uec famelicus" 153). The monastery of Fountains
(Walsingham, 59). was at this time in a very bad state,

" Cf. Monumenta Francisc, 406. and the visit was a matter of neces-

Thus Piers Ploughman says, — sity.

"Tiij^rymes and paimcres " Dec. 10, 1289, licence to the bishop

Plightcn hem togidero, of Carlisle to Ordain the monks of Fur-

FortosekenseiutJame." ^^^^ Cartmell, Conishead, and Hex-

" It might otherwise have been ham, and a commendatory letter to the

thought that he was a felon. abbat of Furness, who is going to the

'' A similar order was made by the general chapter of the Cistercian order,

king in January, 1296 (Prynne, iii., Cf. Beck's Annal. Furnesienses, 238.
680. Feed., i., 83G). « Stubbs, col. 1728.

1286 129G.] ARCHBISHOP ROMANUS. 311

that concourse, wlien he looked and prayed ! It was indeed a
high privilege for a father and a son to call into being so large
a portion of that noble and beautiful cathedral.

Koraanus was the founder of the prebend of Bilton at York,
which he established in 1294. He contemplated also the division
of the stall of Mashani into three and that of Laugtuft into two.
The arrangements for the last step seem to have been nearly
completed, and canons were actually appointed, but the proposed
scheme after all seems to have fallen through, and it was never
attempted afterwards. The king put his veto upon the project,''
and the life of Romanus was too short, and his influence at court
too small, to enable him to obtain the consent of the sovereign.
The ai'chbishop was also a great benefactor to the church of
Southwell, and founded several stalls in that cathedral." One
great point in the life of Romanus was the opposition that he
offered to the encroachments of the papal power. His patience,
which was never great, must have been considerably taxed Ijy
the system of provisions to which he was obliged too frequently
to submit. Some of the best pieces of preferment in his church
and diocese were given away by the pope to foreigners, regard-
less of the wishes and the cognizance of the archbishop, who
saw that if this state of things continued his diocese would soon
run to waste. These favourites of the pope were of course non-
resident, and that feeling of annoyance and discontent Avas
already springing up which resulted, after a time, in the order
that no cardinal should be beneficed in England. In 1289 an
event took place which made a great stir throitghout the country.
The pope, Nicholas III., had given the stall of Fenton at York,
and that of Nassington at Lincoln, to his nephew Mattliew
Rubeus, cardinal deacon of S.M. in Via Lata, a man of great
learning and distinction, and tlie protector of the order of tlic
friars minors." The cardinal obtained the consent of his imclc
to the appropriation of the prebend of Fenton to tlic hospital of
the Holy Spirit at Rome, of Avhich he was the head. This
arrangement was so novel, and was fraught with so much danger
to the English church and her independence, that a great uproar
was at once made. The king wrote a strong letter of remon-
strance to the pope, in which he quietly hinted that Avhat lie
proposed to do would not be tolerated. The nobles of tlic king-
dom sent another missive couched in the same strain. But the

' Reg. Romanus. Prynne, iii., 783. tecture of tliis church will throw great

Each of the divided stalls of Miusham light upon that of Vork, especially that

was to be worth 50 marks per annum of the tower and chaplor-liouse. There-

(Act. Capit. Ebor., 15). gister of archbishop Romanus contains

" Dugd. Mon., vi., 1311-15. Lo some documents relative to the fabric.

Neve, iii., 421, etc. Thoroton's Notts, ^.•' Ciaconius, i., 721-2. The cardinal

313-14. An examination of the archi- crowned five popes.

342 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

most striking document in the whole controversy is a letter
addressed l)y Romanus to the cardinal himself, in which, with-
out raakinji; a personal attack upon that dignitary, he repre-
liends in vigorous aiid remarkable language the wrongs which
the church was suffering at the hands of the pope, who ought
to have been her protector.'" The examples of Grostete and
Bovill, his own predecessor, were no doubt in the archbishop's
mind, and he expresses himself with honest zeal and eloquent
indignation. I shall not apologize for placing the letter of
Romanus before my readers in the language in Avhicli it was
written, as a proof of the energy of his character, and as a speci-
men of his scholarship.

" Domino Matheo Rubecard pro prebenda de Fenton, cui in
annexionem hospitalis Sancti Spiritus de Urbe in Saxia de ilia
dicitur esse provisum.

" Domino M., Dei gratia Sanctae Mariae in Via Lata diacono
cardinali, J,, primas, ejusdem Ebor. archiepiscopus, etc., salutem.
Tacti sumus dolorc cordis intrinseeus, et taidio nobis est, nee
immerito, vita nostra, quum, ut videmus, commissa nobis Ebor.
ecclesia facta est nostris temporibus, utinam non nostris de-
mentis ! sub tributo ; tributo quidem gravissimo quo domesticis
suis et notis contra eursum materni moris occultantur ubera ejus
plena, et ignotisac alienigenis mutato caritatis ordine-suggenda
nudantur, sicque cogitur esurientibus propriis panem porrigere
alienis et lac sitientibus propriis extraneis propinare. Nee est
ex omnibus revera quos genuit qui occurrat; non utique qui
sustentet ex omnibus filiis quos nutrivit, dum inde imponuntur
onera humeris ejus, unde velut ab arce refugii relevaeionis dex-
teram implorare crediderat, inde gravamina venerimt unde pro-
fecto contra si)iritum procellse Dei auxilia proventura sperabat.
Nee solummodo collo ejus jugum lamentatur impositum, sed et
omnibus membris suis cum doloris ingeminacione deplorat.
Ecce etenim quod prater provisiones factas vobis et fratri do-
mini Portuensiis episcopi in ecclesia memorata, sanetissimus
pater, dominus noster summus pontifex, nunc tercio in provisione
cujusdam alterius eandem gravavit ecclesiam, et collegiatis etiam
ab ipsa velut a matre dependentibus non pepercit, sed provisiones
certis fecisse personis de vacaturis canonicatibus et prebendis
asseritur singulis earumdem, per quod et esedem ecclesise divinis
fraudantur obsequiis, cum non sit ex talibus personis qui pro
tympano psalmum reddant, et nobis prejudiciale nimis existat
cum collationes aliquae per nos factae personis idoneis per sedem
apostolicam jam annullatae dicantur, etprovidendi nostris elericis
et aliis indigcnis, qui personaliter residerent et divinaj hospitali-

"' Eeg. Romanus, 86.

1286 1296.] ARCHBISHOP ROMANUS. 313

tatis exhibitione debita septies in die laudis cantica personarent,
A'el adempta potestas, \el saltern ad loiiga tempora sit dilata.
Porro de provisioiie vestra in prefata ecclesia a prineipio Cjuando
illud audivimus gaudc1)amus, sed nnnc merito dolerc jjosscmns
prsecepto quod ad sustentationem hospitalis Sancti Spiritus dc
Urbe^ cujus habetis eustodiam, sicut fertur, facta vobis dicitur
provisio memorata. Sic nostra prebenda, virtute provisionis
hujus vobis in ecclesia ipsa collata, reputatur alienata i)ei'i)etuo,
cum verisimiliter presuinatur quod futuri post vos custodcs hos-
pitalis ejusdeni sint eidem prebendte ad ipsius hospitalis supi)or-
tanda onera quasi jure hereditario successuri. Ex quo provenit
quod canonici valde perpauci ccclesife memoratse dcservivuit
dum ejus peculium ad remotas nationes abducitur, et de ipsius
spoliis alienis necessitatibus subvenitur. Fit quoque quod vclut
ilia exigua corpore animalia, sed artis eruditione perniaxima,
gens apum, quse non sibi sed aliis nectar melleum in thecis cereis
thesaurisat, velut etiam quaj sibi non semper sed potius aliis
vellera ferunt oves, non sibi quoque sed aliis juga boves ....
propriam ecclesia prelibata, non sibi vel suis obsequiis, non proxi-
mis et vicinis, sed exterorura usibus et gentis ignotte profecti-
bus conquisivit. Spoliatur hoc modo Elwracensis ecclesia et
Romanum hospitale vestitur ; altare nudatur Eboracensis eccle-
siae et certum amictitur Sancti Spiritus hospitale. Tollitnr
Anglicis hospitalitas et transvehitur ad Romanos. Ilis dcmitur,
illis augetur. Hi denique seminant, illi metunt. Hi laborant,
illi vero manducant. Sic, sic, pater et domine reverende, El)or-
acensis tractatur ecclesia, sic patrimonium ejus expenditur, sic
proficit incrementis. Utinam sit qui adjuvet et non totalitcr
desoletur ! Verumtamen non fuit hoc pia intentio ac dcvota
clarje memoriae catholicorum regum Anglise et aliorum Ciiristi
fidelium, qui nedum prefatas nostras ecclesias, sed et totam
ecclesiam Anglicanam ad dilatationem fidei orthodoxse fundantes,
eas temporalium bonorum largitionibus dotaverunt ami)lissimis,
et libertatum immunitatibus munierunt, sed ea nimirum con-
sideratione constat sic cos eisdera ccclesiis fuisse nnuiificos ut,
cum delictorum expiatione, consequerentur per hoc salubre re-
medium animarum, cultus divini nominis augeretur, servaretur
hospitalitas, eleraosinai darentur pauperibus, et per niinistros
idoncos ad quos pro tempore ex eisdem bonis ecclesiastica sti-
pendia devenirent, servire prefatis ecclcsiis person alitcr tene-
rentur. Ad hajc pietatis opera pietatis amici ct miscricordiie
scctatores in extructione sanctarum ajdinm lapidcs jactavcre
primarios, ad hajc bona dotalicia concesscruiit, ad h;cc immuni-
tatem cirograplia sunt largiti. Non fuit corum in talil)us cogi-
tatus quod ipsorum eleraosinai in usus ccderent cxterorum, (pii
licet vellus evellere non tamen pecoris vultum agnoscunt, bala-

31 i FASTI EBOttACENSJbitJ. [a.D.

turn nesciunt, linguam i^orant^ et postes sacros nedum terere
pedibus scd videre iiegligunt aediura sacratarum, quamquam
ipsarum uberibus educentur. Sane mirari corapellimur vebc-
meiitcr quod vos saltern^ qui eidem ecclesise^ presertim post vestrse
pi'omotioiiis eventum^ jam eratis obnoxii, gravaminibus his sub-
secutis occurrere non curastis, cum^ sicitt firmiter credimus^ illis
resistere vestrfe circumspectionis industria potuisset, quae ad
obstacula majora tollenda et favoris exliibenda potiora sufFragia
vii'es habet, ad quae nihilominus bufFragari spes preconcepta debu-
erat, qtiam a longe retroactis temporibus et reposuimus in gi'atiae
vestrse sinu et adhuc nodis indissolubilibus repositam retinemus ;
reverendse dominacioni vestree devotissime supplicantes quod
recommendatam liabentes in caritatis visceribus ecclesiam me-
moratam contra persecutionum incursus et turbines^ eidem vos,
si placet, defensionis clypeum apponatis, et indempnitati ejus-
dem Eboracensis ecclesise quae canonicis residentibus orbatam
se fore conqueritur super alienatione prefatae prebendae, quam
perpetuitatem, occasione clausulae pro sustentatione predicti
hospitalis apostolicis insertae Uteris per quandam successionem
quasi heriditariam in successores vestros deputandos ad custo-
diam hospitalis predicti transfundendam, quod absit, non abs-
que gravi prejudicio ipsius ecclesiae comminatur, pro futuris post
vos temporibus tarn pie quam misericorditer dignemini prae-
cavere; exhibentes vos, si placet, inter tot gravamina quibus
premimur, procuratoribus nostris in curia favorabiles et benignos
super promotione propitia petitionum nostrarum quas ipsi vobis
nostro nomine duxerint exponendas, ut qui gravamur in plui^i-
bus saltem per vos in aliquibus relevemur. Datum apud Jaccam,
xij kalendas Octobris/''

The opposition of the archbishop and the king to this scheme
of alienation was successful, as the project was abandoned. The
sovereign indeed put his veto upon it, which was decisive. The
cardinal sometime afterwards endeavoui'ed in vain to induce
him to alter his determination.^

We must not shut our eyes to the defects in the character
of archbishop Romanus. Persons with his energy and resolution
are very frequently in extremes. He was subject to an unhappy
infirmity of temper, of which the Italian blood that was flowing
in his veins must have been to a great extent the cause. He
was nearly always involved in some quarrel or dissension which
had its origin in the clashing of contending interests, or some
petty jealousy or dislike. It is painful to trace the path of an
archbishop througli the darkness of the past by the light of
enmity and discord.

' PrynneV Coll., iii., 416-18, 625, 934. Rot. Pari., i., 33. Foed., i., 740, 754.

1286—1296.] ARCHBISHOP romanus. 315

The relations between arclibisliop Romanus and his chapter
were by no means of an amicable kind. He had a fend with the
dean, apart from his brother-canons. The dean, Robert Ugh-
tred of Searbrough, got into trouble, among other reasons,
because he was a pluralist, holding, in addition to his office, the
prebend of Husthwaite at York, a stall at Beverley, and the living
of Adlingflete. In September, 1287, the archbishop deprived
him summarily of his deanery and his canoury at York, and
ordered the chapter to elect a new superior. A com])romise
seems to have been effected, as in ]\Iay, 1290, the dean con-
sented to resign all his preferments, the archbishop giving him,
at the instance of the king, an annual pension of 400 marks for
his life. He did not enjoy it long, as he died in the same year.
At his decease he was in arrear to the archbishop, probaljly for
some due or fine for non-residence, and tlie executors of his will,
Sir Robert Ughtred, knight, and John his brother, were put
under a sentence of excommmiication, which was removed in
May, 1293.^

The archbishop^s contention with the chapter was on the
question of his right to hold a visitation of the minster, and
when he mooted this claim, he found that he was treading on
very delicate and dangerous ground. The controversy seems to
have been so warm that in 1287 the king authorized Edmund,
earl of Cornwall, to act as mediator between the combatants.*'
On the 20th of May, 1288, they agreed to submit the matter to
arbitration, the bishop of Norwich acting for the archbishop,
and William de Corner, the precentor of Y'^ork, for the dean.
On the 24th of September the bishop of Chichester took the
place of his brother of Norwich, who was prevented by illness
from attending. In consequence, probably, of their award, an
arrangement w^as made on the 21st of November, 1290, Avith
reference to the power of visiting the chapter. It contains a
great number of minute articles. The chief of them are as
follows : — The dean was to pay the archbishop canonical obedi-
ence without infringing upon the privileges of the chapter. The
archbishop might visit the minster once in five years, if he cliose,
but not by deputy. He must intimate his intention by letter
to the chapter, and they were to give the formal notice. The
archbishop alone was to enter the chapter-house, two members
of the cathedral body, who were to be sworn to secrecy, acting
with him. Any canon might then make his complaints. If
any fault were detected, the archlnshop was to allow the oficndcr
six months to amend it, and, in case of default or neglect, he
was to award proper punishment in the chapter-house, with the

* The account of these quarrels is taken chiefly from the archbishop's register.
' Fojd., i., 679.

316 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

advice of the canons. — This is the sum and substance of the
regulations about the visitation. Some arrangements were also
made about the hearing of causes, which are of little interest.

The greatest struggle that Romanus was engaged in, and
that Avliich caused him most annoyance and anxiety^ was that
which he had with Anthony Bek, bishop of Durham." There
had been for a long time a soreness between Durham and York
on the question of supremacy and the right to hold visitations,
which had given much trouble to archbishop Wickwaine. The
feud Avas running high when Romanus came to the see of York_,
but by the kind interference of cardinal Hugh de Evesham an
arrangement was made with the prior and convent of Durham,
by which the archbishop of York was allowed to have the con-
trol of the diocese during the vacancy of the see.* This seems
to have given satisfaction, and the sentence of excommunication,
in Avhich Wickwaine had involved the monks of Durham, was
now withdrawn. Romanus, however, was soon in the middle
of another controversy with Bek, the wealthiest and most
influential prelate of his day. It began, probably, about the
question of the subjection of the see of Durham to York, which
Bek was far too high-spirited to submit to. In 1290, when
Romanus was at the fimeral of queen Eleanor, the king in vain
endeavoured to reconcile the two Northern prelates. On the
31st of July, 1291, when the archbishop was at Hexham, he
sent his clerks, Henry de Tymparon and William de Thorneton,
to bishop Bek to propose that the dispute should be referred to
arbitration, but the offer was in all probability rejected. Roma-
nus now resolved, if possible, to go abroad and plead his cause
before the pope. The king, after much hesitation, allowed him
to make the journey, and he started on the 1st of November,
1291. He was honourably received at the papal court, and con-
tinued there till the spring of 1292, but from the silence which
exists about his mission we may conclude that it was unsuccessfid.
In the beginning of the following year, 1292, matters at last came
to a crisis. John de Amelia, a notary, and William de Wrelton,
alias De Piks, two of the archbishop's clerks, no doubt under
his directions, went to Durham to deliver to Bek or his servants
a citation from their master. Bek was then in Scotland with
the king, but his officials acted as their lord would have done if
he had been at home. John de Maydenstan treated the hostile
mandate with contempt, and, seizing the luckless messengers^

" The authorities are, Prynne's Coll., Angl., 150-1 ; Fuller's Worthies, n. e.,

m., 456, 560-5, 1293 ; Rot. Pari., i., ii., 540 ; Drake's Eboracum, 430.
102-5; Chron. Latierco.st, 110-11, 1,37; * Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 73, aud

Knyghton, col. 2502, 2507; Coiitin. appendix, 93, etc.
11. Wi-orn., ii., 267; Madox Bar.

1286 1296.] ARCHRISHOP ROMANUS. 3 17

shut them up in the dungeons of Durham castle, of which
he was the constable. Romanus was abroad when this adven-
ture took place, but he Avrote from Yitcrbo, where he was pro-
bably Avith the pope, on the 6th of April, 1292, to his ofKcial at
York, commanding him to denounce the bishop of Durham as
excommunicated. He sent also a recpiest to Bogo de Clare,
who, he probably thought, Avas bold enough to do anything,
desiring him to beard the lion in his den by proclaiming the
sentence in the priory of Durham, at the same time giving him
a quiet hint that it Avould be Avell for him to say nothing at all
about his being treasurer of York. Bogo would know Bek avcII,
and would do nothing of the kind. The thought that he would
refuse to act seems to hoxe occurred to the archbishop, as on
the 19th of April, a few days afterwards, he issued a like com-
mission to the prior of Bolton, who published the sentence of
excommunication. Like a Avise man, with the fear of imprison-
ment before his eyes, he kept within sight of Yorkshire, for he
performed the duty which was assigned to him at Northallerton
and Darlington. Bek had been thrice warned, but he cared
not a Avhit for the ban ; he kept the two unfortunate officials in
captiAity, and set at naught their master.

In the following year the dispute came under the cognizance
of parliament. It Avas laid before the king, in all probability,
by Bek, and EdAvard took the matter up with vehemence. It
appears that when the bishop of Durham Avas excommunicated,
he Avas with the kiijg in Scotland, and the monarch regarded
the denunciation of his favourite prelate, Avhilst he was thus
occupied, as a personal insult to himself. To obtain the release
of his clerks Romanus ought to have proceeded against Bek
in the king's court. The injury to the royal prerogative Avas
assessed by the officers of the crown at the large sum of 20,000/.
The archbishop pleaded his oavu cause, and tried to justify his
conduct. It had never entered into his head, he said, to offer any
slight to the king. The bishop of Durham Avas his suffragan ; after
repeated Avarnings he had been disobedient, and the archbishop
in excommunicating him had merely acted in accordance Avith
ecclesiastical laAv. In ansAver to this the royal advocate stated
that Bek Avas a temporal as Avell as a spiritual dignitary ; tliat
he was prince palatine as avcU as bishop of Durham, and that a
sentence of excommunication, Avhich Avas an ecclesiastical cen-
sure only, Avould injure him in his secular character. Bek had
a right to order the men to prison in his character of prince
palatine, with Avhich the arehl)ishop had nothing Avhatever to
do. The decision of the parliament Avas mianimous against
Romanus, and he Avas committed to the ToAver for his offence.
The nobles, however, interceded for him, and he placed himself

348 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.B.

at the king's mercy. He was, restored to the royal favour^ but
only after submitting to a fine of 4000 marks.

This was not the only reverse which E,omanus experienced
in the same parliament. Some time before this the king had
expelled the Jews from England^ and had appropriated their
possessions. Among the suft'erers Avas a person of the name of
Bonamy^ who had lived at York. When Romanus was on his
way home from the papal court he halted at Paris, where he
met Bonamy. The Jew told hin^ that he had lent the prior and
convent of I3ridlington the sum of 300/., which was still owing
to him, and begged him to recover it for him. It was afterwards
insinuated that the archbishop bought the debt; but this he
denied, and it is only fair to believe him. When Romanus
came back to England he made an official visitation of the priory
of Bridlington, and the existence of the debt being proved the
archbishop compelled the prior to pay the 300/. to one of his
officers. It was an obligation, he told him, which the convent
could not conscientiously diso^vn. Quite true, my lord arch-
bishop, but the money ought to have gone, not to yourself, but
to the Jew or the king. Romanus, by receiving it, put himself
at the mercy of the prior, who lost no time in complaining of
his diocesan for concealing money which belonged properly to
the crown. The case was of course decided against the arch-
bishop, but we are not told to what penalty he was subjected,''
His conduct, to say the least, was suspicious in the extreme ;
and most persons will be inclined to think that it was highly
reprehensible.

The catalogue of mischief and contention is not yet ex-
hausted. In 1294 Romanus quarrelled with the prior and
sub-prior of the monastery of the Holy Trinity at York, and ex-
communicated them, taking possession of their goods, although
they were exempt from his jvirisdiction.'^ He had also a keen
fight with Bogo de Clare, a well-known delinquent, and the
notorious pluralist who has been already mentioned.'' The
archbishop was clearly a hot-headed and a most indiscreet person.
Knyghton tells us that covetousness was his chief infirmity, and
his conduct in the case of the Jew would certainly seem to shew
that he had inherited that grovelling vice which is said to have
characterized his sire./ The contests in which Romanus was
perpetually involved bear a melancholy testimony to the way-

' Prynne's Coll., iii., 565-6. Rot. (Rej?. Romanus. Rot. Pat., i., 138).

Pari 1., 99, 100, 120. " Ibid., 610. / Col. 2507. The words which Eras-

Keg Konianus. Prjnne, in., 128i, mus uses in his colloquj^ on " Opulentia

etc. In 1293 he had suits with Thomas sordida " are applicable to him, " Illi in

ae mville and Nicholas de Segrave hujusmodi sordibus educato prccter lu-

lit?.; f^ ' ^''wPi; ^® ^^^'^ ^^^« ^ ^'"'m "il"l erat dulce" (Colloq., ed.
serious affray with Boniface de Saluciis 1650, 495).

129C — 1299.] ARCHBISHOP Newark. 349

wardness of his temper^ his impatience of control^ and his un-
willingness to brook even the idea of a rival,

" Ncc qnemquam jam ferre potest Cacsarvc priorem
Pompeiusve ijarem."

Tlie archbishop died suddenly at Burton, near Beverley,
where he had a residence, on the 11th of March, 129G. His
remains were brought to York, and were honourably interred in
the minster on the Saturday following.^ It is not known where
he was first laid ; but when archbishop Thoresby began the re-
building of the choir, he removed the bones of Romanus, and
deposited them in the presbytery, placing over them a marble
stone Avhicli was decorated with brass/'

Homanus died in the king^s debt, and security Avas obliged
to be taken that payment should be made as far as his effects
extended.' Knyghton tells us that the arclibishop^s executors,
of whom John de Leke was one,-' refused to act, and that the
charges of his funeral were borne by strangers, whilst no gifts
for pious uses were made on the day of his interment, and not a
prayer was offered up for the repose of his soul.* The charge
of the temporalities of the see during the vacancy Avas entrusted
to John de Lithegreynes.^

After the decease of Romanus his executors gave into the
king's wardrobe a cup of white silver and a ring with a sapphire,
which had belonged to him.™

iCnrg tic ll^Tctoarift was a native, in all probability, of a
little town in Nottinghamshire. Of his parentage there is no-
thing known, but he seems to have been a kinsman of William
de Newark, who was a canon of Southwell and archdeacon of
Huntingdon."

e MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii., II. in Foed., i., 987, 1005, 1009, lOlG ;

111 b. Stubbs, col. 1728. Prynne's ii., 10, 46. He was bishop elect of

Coll., iii., 642. Knyghton (col. 2507) Dunkeld in 1309 (Fwd., ii., 8G), and

speaks of a mean funeral. In the in 1311 the poi)C elected him archbishop

Chron. Lanercost it is said that the of Dublin (ibid., 132). He died in

archbishop died abroad (170). 1313, and was buried in Westminster

'' See Thoresby's Life. abbev (Cotton's Fasti, ii., 14).

'■ Reg. jMelton, 18, 31. Cf. Knyght- * Knyghton, col. 2507.

on, col. 2502. ' Prynne's Coll., iii., 674.

> Eeg. Newark. In 3ith of Edw. I. '" "Wardrobe Accounts, 315. A gift

John de Leke wa.s the king's almoner of his to the king is mentioned, ibid.,

(Prynne, iii., 1160). Chaplain of prince 318.

Edward, 28th Edward I. (Lib. Garde- " He was archdeacon of Huntingdon

robse, 31). There arc letters to the in 1281 and 1282, and died in the latter

pope in his behalf from Edward 1. and end of 1286 (Le Neve, ii., 49). He

350 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Newark appears to have risen in importance through his
state services and his connection with the court. He was one
of the clerks and chaplains of Edward I., and in that capacity-
lie was sent hy the king to the pope on the 12th of December,
1276, to announce the part which he intended to take in the
proposed crusade, and in the following year he was acting as
the king^s proctor at the papal court, and was busily engaged
in making preparations for that expedition." In 1281 he was
appointed to quiet the distui-bances between the English and
the Hollanders/ and in January, 1283, he was one of those
who were ordered to collect the subsidy for the expedition into
Wales within the bishopric of Durham.? On the 1st of Fe-
bruary, in the same year, he was selected to arrange the amount
of service that was due to the king from the knights to the
north of the Trent.*" In the summer of 1290 Newark was
sent as an ambassador to Scotland to contract an alliance be-
tween the heir to the English throne, and Margaret, daughter
of Eric king of Norway, queen of Scotland.* The year 1291
saw him with Edward I. at Norham, and he was deeply involved
in the intricacies of Scottish politics.^ In 1292 the king granted
him letters of protection." On the 1st of January, 1296, he was
one of the commissioners who were deputed to make a truce
with France, and treaties with Guelders and Flanders. *" Indeed,
he seems to have taken a very prominent part in public affairs
during the reign of Edward I., and to have been a thorough
man of business and a skilful and active statesman.""

Whilst Newark was thus engaged in the service of his
country he was in the possession of numerous and important
ecclesiastical preferments. In 1271 and 1275 I find that he

was also prebendary of Farrendon at de Egliston ; and the other 4 to the

Lincoln (Reg. Romanus). On July-11, nuns of Molseby by Mr. W. de Blida

1287, archbishop Romanus denounced (Reg. Romanus). Cf. Thoroton's Notts,

those who had abstracted a charter 197.

which testified to Thomas de Lincoln, On June 18, 1298, archbishop New-
clerk, being the heir of Mr. Wilham ark collated his chaplain, William de
de Newark. On Feb. 11, 1288, the Newark, to the stall of North Musk-
same prelate ordered Mr. Henry de ham at Southwell, which he had him-
Newark, archdeacon of Richmond, to self vacated. He seems to have held
convert to its intended purpose the it until 1340 (Le Neve, iii., 428-9).
100?. which Mr. William de Newark, " Prynne's Coll., iii., 193, 197. Feed.,
archdeacon of Huntingdon, gave in his i., 537, 542. /> Feed., i., 597.
will to hire a chaplain to sing for his i Prynne's Coll. iii. 303.
.-oul. 1289, March 21, the sum of 10 •■ Feed., i., 625.
marks which had been given to Ma- ' Ibid., i., 734-6. Prynne, iii., 395,
tilda Adelyn, of Newark, deceased, is 398-9.

paid over to the archbishop by Mr. W. ' Feed., i., 767, etc. Prvnne, iii.,

^f..,^'^^^"" ^^'^ tlie other executors of 504, etc. " Prynne, iii"!, 683.

\\ illiam de Newark ; 6 marks of it are " Ibid., 748. Feed., i., 834-5.

ordered to be paid by the archdeacon " Knyghton (col. 2528) calls him

of Richmond to the daughters of John " magnus clericus."

129G 1299.] ARCHBISHOP NEWARK. 351

was prebendary of Brownswood in St. PauFs cathedral/ and in
January, 1293, he occurs as a canon of tlie church of AVells.3'
In 1296 he vacated the living of Basingham, in the diocese of
Lincoln.- But it was with the proAince of York that he was
principally connected. On the 30tli of March, 1270, he was
presented to the living of Barnby, which he resigned in the
same year/ and on the death of archbishop Giffard in 1279 the
king made him and Thomas de Normanvill the keepers of the
temporalities of the see of York.* With archbishois Wickwaine
Newark seems to have been a great favourite. Soon after he
became primate he made Newark archdeacon of Richmond, and
on the 20th of December, 1280, he was collated to the stall of
Holme, which he resigned for that of Strensal on the 9th of
November, 1283. '^ In that year the archdeacon seems to have
been advancing his master^s interests in the coui't of Rome, and
they were associated together in more than one pecuniary trans-
action.'' Soon after archbishop Romanus came to the see we
find Newark lending him money, and the archdeacon found a
patron in that prelate, who gave him the stall of Great Musk-
ham at Southwell on the 4th of June, 1287,* and appointed
him his vicar-general on the 12th of March, 1288, dm-ing his
absence with the king in Gascony.-^ In the spring of 1290
Newark was elected dean of York. The archbishop ordered the
chapter to install him on the 12th of May, and that ceremony
took place on the 10th of June.^ Newark then resigned the
archdeaconry of Richmond, but he held the stall of Weighton
with the deanery till he was advanced to the primacy.'' In his
position as dean he had a collision with archbishop Romanus,
who endeavoured to extort from him a profession of obedience,
and an acknowledgment of his right to visit the cathedral.* I
have already stated how this disj)ute was arranged, and it is
unnecessary to refer to it again. Newark was present on the
6th of April, 1291, when Romanus laid the foundation-stone of
the new nave of the minster,-' and in the progress of that work
he could not fail to be deeply interested.

■»■ Newcourt, i., 120. Le Neve, ii., rebuilt tlie houses belonging- to it near

365. the minster (Reg. Konianus, 6\) a).

y Prj'nne, iii., 577. ■' The stall w;us burdened with an

' MSS. Harl., 6951, 32 S. annual pension of 50 marks to Adenul-

" Eeg. Giffard. phus, a cardinal, by an old arrange-

* Prynne, iii., 224. Normanville ment. Newark was one of the sureties

was a justiciar and eschactor be3'ond of Romanus for the payment of his fine

Trent (Rot. Pari., i., 38). to the king (Drake's Eboracum, 430).

" Reg. Wickwaine, 3, 114. Torre Reg. Romanus, 70 i.

says that he was made archdeacon of -f Reg. Romaiuis.

Richmond on Nov. 12, 1281. s He wa.s admitted on May 20 (Act.

'' Reg. Wickwaine. In 1286 Newark Capit.). * Le Neve, iii., 137.

farmed the prebend of Ulleskelf, and ' Acta Capit. i Stubbs, col. 1728.

352 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Archbishop Romanus died in March, 1296, and when on
the 26th of that month the king gave his permission to the
chapter to choose a new primate, they responded by electing
their OAvn dean on the 7th of May/ The appointment appears
to have satisfied the king, who gave his assent to what had been
done, on the 5th of June. Edward also wrote to the pope, beg-
ging him to shew favour to Newark, and to give him the pall.
He told him that he had made him a guardian of the kingdom
during his own absence in Flanders.' For some reason or other,
with which we are unacquainted, nearly two years passed away
before Newark was consecrated. That ceremony at length took
place in York minster on the 15th of June, 1298, Anthony Bek,
bishop of Durham, officiating, with the assistance of the bishops
of Lichfield, St. Asaph, and Cork.'" The temporalities had been
restored to him on the 22nd of June in the preceding year." It
was by the special permission of the pope that Newark was con-
secrated at York. He professed his inability to visit the papal
court on account of the wars which were then raging abroad."

Archbishop Newark has left very little at York by Avhich he
can be remembered. His life, after his accession to office, was
so short that he had no opportunity of distinguishing himself
in his new sphere of duty. In 1297 he was a member of the
council of Edward the king's son,^ and in that year and 1299
he was summoned to the parliament at London.* He is also
mentioned in connection with the gathering-in of the taxes
within his diocese,'' and once or twice he came into collision
with the royal prerogative in judicial matters ; the cases, how-
ever, were of slight moment.-' One pious act of the archbishop
has been handed down. He covered with buildings a piece of
waste ground at Hull, and with the rents he endowed a chap-
lain for each of the manors appertaining to his see, at Cawood,
Burton, and Wilton, and a chantry priest, who was to perform
service at the altar of St. William, in York minster, for the souls
of the kings and queens of England, and the primates of the
Northern province.'

Archbishop Newark died on the feast of the Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin, 1299, and was interred at York." He left

* Ibid. MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, p Pari. Writs., i., 61.

ii-. Ill*- » Ibid., i., 55,78.

' Eeg. Newark. PrjTane, iii., 675. <■ Prynne, iii., 671, 692, 740-1, 789.

'" EeK- NeAvark. Stubbs (col. 1728) Wilkins, ii., 235.

makes the day June 21, and MSS. Cot- ' Prynne, iii., 779, 793-4.

ton, Vitellius, A, ii., Ulh, the 25tli. ' Ibid., 862-3. Cf. Fabric Rolls, 236,

" Prynne, ni., 767. In Act. Capit. wliere some work of his at Newark is

Ebor., 8 J, is a hst of some stock be- perhaps alluded to.

longing to the treasury which the arch- " MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii.,

bishop had when he was first elected. 11 1 i. Stubbs, col. 1728. Trivet, 316

" Ibid., 642. Knyghton, col. 2507.

-circa.

1300—1304.]

ARCHBISHOP CORBRIDGE.

353

a •will, of which two distinguished brothers, William and Robert
de Pickering;, both of them deans of York, Averc the exccntors.
On the 18th of July^ 1306, archbishop Greenfield appointed
some commissioners to receive the acconnt of their administra-
tion. The task of the executors seems to have been a thankless
and a laborious one. They did not obtain their release till the
29th of March, 1311, and it was then found that they had
received 5592/. 16s. g^d.," and paid 6010/. 2s. O^d., so that
they were actually losers by their executorship.

J^MfjOl^^S tie ^OrtrttJge was bom within the pro\nnce of
York, and was a native, in all probability, of the little village of
Corbridge in Northumberland, which is situated on the Tyne.'"
It was formerly a place of so much importance that it sent
members to parliament; but its incipient greatness was soon

de Corbrig, rector of Kipask (Kippax),
to be non-resident for tbree years (Reg.
Greenfield). Feb. 28, 1318, a similar
permission (Reg. Melton), and on Sept.
7, 1327, lie was made collector of the
money to be raised for the nniversity
of Oxford (ibid.). In 1318, Thomas de
Corbridge, S.T.P., became canon of
Thorngate,at Lincoln,and hewasburied
there. His arms, on a cross fitche five
escallops, were on his tomb (Le Neve,
ii.,222). Pr3mne's Coll., iii., 903. Rot.
Pari., i., 394.. In 1313, Thomas do
Corbridge was ordered to go abroad with
the king (Foed., ii., 212).

Robert de Corbridge, instituted on
Sept. 25, 1301, to the living of Roos on
the presentation of Kirkham prior}'.
Sept. 26, licence of non-residence for
seven years " ad scolas." On Aiiril 9,
he had letters dimissory. He made hi.s
will on the Saturday after the feast of
the Circumcision, 13 17, being then
rector of Roos. To be buried at the
east end of the churchyard. 100s. for
his funeral expenses, and 15 marks and
his best ]»ortiphor noted to Peter de la
Wardrobe to celebrate for him for two
years. To the church a missal and his
better veslmcnt. ^ly sister Alice and
Stephen and Andrew her children, and
Peter, son of my lirothor Richard, called
Marcschall (Pr. Feb. 1, 1348).

" Peg. Greenfield. On "die Sabbati
p. f. Assump. B.V." Newark's exe-
cutors proved his will before the chap-
ter. On " die Martis p. f. S. Gregorii,"
at the request of Peter de Ros and R.
de la Ford, canons of York, the goods
of Newark were sequestered on account
of something due to the church. They
were deposited in the house of the friars
minors at York, and on the next day,
G., the chamberlain, and H. de Newark,
friars minors, brought nine large and
four small chests to the chapter (Act.
Capit., 9 b). On Nov. 21, 1301, a com-
mission was appointed to receive the
accounts of Newark's executors (Reg.
Corbridge).

"• Reg. Romanus. Several other
persons of the name of Corbridge, who
were probably related to the arch-
bishop, occur in the registers of York.

H. Corbridge was a clerk of arch-
bishop Giffard.

Thomas de Corbridge has licence to
be ordained, being then an accolite,
AprU 9, 1301. Sept. 25, 1301, Mr.
Thomas de Corbridge, dictus de Mal-
ton, to the church of Brunum. Sept.
26, licence to him to be non-resident
for seven years to study. Sept. 29, he,
being the archbishop's clerk, was col-
lated to a stall at Rii)on, which, after
all, he did not obtain (Reg. Corbridge).
1313, Oct. 4, licence to Mr. Thomas

A A

354 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

absorbed in the wealth and influence of the neighbouring town
of Newcastle. Hexham, with its stately monasteiy, was in the
immediate vicinity, and young Corbridge would thus be brought
into connection with the officers of the see of York, and their
lord and master. He received an university education, and was
a master in theology and a person of repiitation and learning.*
Stubbs commends his erudition in the highest terms, and speaks
of him as a kind of admirable Crichton.^

The first piece of preferment that Corbridge held at York
was the stall of Osbaldwick, but it is not known when he was
first proDioted to it.' This he gave up in 1279, when he was
advanced to the chancellorship on the elevation of Wickwaine
to the archiepiscopate." On the 16th of January, 1280, he and
Heniy de Newark, archdeacon of Richmond, were appointed to
enquire into the recent election of Robert de Scarborough to
the deanery.* On the 25tli of June he was collated to the pre-
bendary of Stillington,*^ and in 1281 he was at Rome on some
business connected with the minster, and archbishop Wickwaine
defrayed the charges of his journey. On the 16th of June, 1290,
he was made sacrist of the chapel of St. Sepulchre at York, and
he resigned the chancellorship.'^ This office, which was an
honourable and lucrative one, involved its occupant in no little
difficulty and annoyance. It had become vacant by the death
of Percival de Lavannia or Lavagna, an Italian of rank and
wealth, and at his decease Nicholas IV. gave archbishop Roma-
nus permission to bestow it upon an Englishman. Romanus
offered it to Corbridge, who accepted it on the condition that
he should have it without suit or annoyance of any kind. On
these terms he gave up the chancellorship, to which Thomas de
Wakefield, the sub-dean, was appointed, William de Blida suc-
ceeding him in that office. Corbridge, however, on taking
possession of the manors of the sacristry, foimd that there was
trouble and litigation enough," and, availing himself of the
condition that he had made, he again entered into his stall as
chancellor. He ought really to have known what the condition
of the sacristry Avas before he accepted it ; by his present con-
duct he threw the chapter of York into confusion, dislocated

' Trivet, 316. Knygbton, col. 2528. Hugh de Evesham to examine clerks

•' Stubbs, col. 1728. " Sacrse theo- (ibid.).

logiEc doctor egregius, et non solum " Eeg. Wickwaine, 59.

theologise, immo quod raro uni mor- <* For the account of this controversy

talium accidit, omnium artium libe- cf. Acta Capit., i., 2. Eeg. Eomanus.

rahum professor extitit incomparabilis." Stubbs, col. 1729.

/ Eeg. "Wickwaine, 59. Cf. LeNeve, ' The church of Calverley, the re-

^'•' 206. venues of which John Scot claimed

" Le Neve, iii., 163. against Corbridge. On July 6, 1290.

oTQ^f^'' ^^c^^a.ine, 58 b. Dec. 17. Eomanus ordered James de Langtoft,

1279, licence to the chancellor and Mr. his sequestrator, to seize them.

1300 130i.] ARCHBISHOP CORBRIDGE. 355

the arrangements which had been recently eftected, and made
Wakefiekl and Blyth his enemies. When his conductj which
was justifiable enough, came to the ears of the archbishop, he re-
garded him as an intruder and threatened to proceed against him.
Blyth now claimed to be installed as sub-dean, but the chapter
ci\dlly declined, and the choir was watched lest the archbishop
should come and bring about the installation. The precaution
was a wise one, for Romanus came to the minster, and the door
into the choir was not opened to admit him till he had promised
to do nothing about Blyth until the dean, Henry Newark, had
returned from Scotland. When the dean came back he visited
the archbishop at Ripon, and the primate begged him to recal
Corbridge who had started for Rome, and to get the dispute
quietly arranged. Newark assented ; but when he reached York
and called the chapter together, he would be astonished when
he saw Blyth present a citation from the archbishop, ordering
the dean and canons to appear before him. This looked very
like double dealing on the part of Romanus. The chapter now
despatched Philip de Alnwick, their auditor, and Andrew de
Tang, a notary, to the archbishop who was still at Ripon, to
expostulate and to express their dislike of controversies and
quarrels. The primate exhibited liis usual infirmity of temper
and spoke very angrily and indiscreetly, and the two emissaries
of the chapter were thrown into prison. The dean and his
brethren were now summoned to appear before Romanus at
Cawoodj but they were too cautious to pay any attention to his
bidding. Corbridge in the meanwhile was pushing his case at
Rome, but he was unsuccessful, and, refusing to cede his point,
he was excommunicated on the 27th of July, 1290, and the
sentence continued in force till the 24th of March in the follow-
ing year.

On the 5th of September, 1299, Edward I. gave the chapter
of York permission to elect a new archbishop in the room of
Henry de Newark./ They met on the 12th of November, and
John de Metingham, John de Cadamo and Robert de Pickei'ing
were appointed to scrutinize the votes. The majority fixed \ipon
Corbridge,^ and on the 16th the king assented to their choice.*
He went to Rome and was consecrated by Boniface VIII., on
the 27th of February, receiving at the same time the pall. The
pope, however, obliged him to resign his right of election into
his hands and afterwards gave him the archbishopiic of his own
authority. On the 30th of April Edward I. ordered the tem-
poralities of the see of York to be restored to him. They

•^ Le Neve, iii., 104. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii., 112. Stubbs,

«■ Prvnne's Coll., iii., 859. MSS. col. 1729. * Le Neve, iii., 101.

A A 2

356 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

had been in the custody of GeofiFrey Russell and Lambert de
Tiykinfjjham.*

' When Corbridge became archbishop of York he of course
resigned the sacristry of the chapel of St. Sepulchre and the
stall of Stillington. They were given by Boniface to his great-
nephew Francis, son of Peter Gaetano, a noble Italian.-' In
1301 Gactano seems to have resigned the sacristry, and Cor-
bridge, at the request of the pope, gave it to Gilbert de Segrave,
a person of great learning and ability, who was afterwards
bishop of London.^ Edward I., however, was most wishful that
one of his ovm. clerks, John de Bush, shovild have not only that
office, but the prebend of Stillington, considering that it was
his right to give them away as they had become vacant by the
archbishop^s accession to the primacy. Corbridge was now in
a difficulty ; he refused to admit the Idng's right, and pleaded
in his defence the wishes and claims of the pope. On the 6th
of June, 1304, Bush came to the archbishop at Selby, bringing
a letter from the king who was then in Scotland, in which he
remonstrated with the primate for his disobedience. The arch-
bishop replied that he was ready to appoint a commission to
enquire into the merits of the case. Bush murmured at this,
and denied the necessity of the proceeding, upon which Cor-
bridge quietly observed, that the king, when he presented him,
would of course do nothing contrary to the laAv. Bush now
tried a legal remedy, and he was successfid. The archbishop
was brought before the king's eoiu'ts and lost his cause, being-
deprived, as a punishment, of the temporalities of his see, which
remained in the king's hands till his decease. Bush recovered
the prebend of Stillington, for which he had been a petitioner.
The sacristry came into his hands at a later period. As soon as
Corbridge died, the chapter of York acted very ungenerously,
and did an act of gross injustice. They removed Gilbert de
Segrave from the control of the chapel of St. Sepulchre, and
entrusted it to Bush.^ The appointment, as the result shewed,
was a most unsatisfactory one, for the ne^v sacrist paid no atten-
tion to his duties.

•■ MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii., 112. dence. Ahbrev. Plac, 251-2.
Stubbs, col. 1729. Prynne's Coll., iii., * On Sept. 13, 1309, archbishop

860. Durinj,' this time the king and Greenfield empowered the abbat of St.

queen occupied the residences of the Mary's, "i'ork, and Robert de Ripling-

archbishop at their pleasure. We find ham, the chancellor, to enquire into a

them at London and Cawood (Lib. claim for 40 marks which Gilbert de

Garderobnt', St, 03, 108). Segrave, archdeacon of Oxford, made

■' For an a(;count of this controversy, on the executors of Corbridge (Reg.

see Trynnc, SGO, 1111, 1182. Feed., Greenfield).

1., 1000 ; ii., 21—24. Stubbs, col. 1729, ' A clerk of the king 28th Edward I.

where there are sewi-al statements (Wardrobe Accounts, 314) ; rector of

which are not verified by historical evi- Beckenham, Kent, in 1306 (Hasted,

1300 — 1304.] ARCHBisnop corbridge. 357

This was not tlie only collision that Corbridge had with the
king. There was a great deal of angry feeling between them
about the ehurch of Beverley. The archbishop gave great
offence by his conduct whilst Edward was in that town, and, as
a mark of his displeasure, the liberties of the place were taken
possession of by the crown. They were restored on the 1 1th of
June, 1301 .'" In 1304 Aymon de Carto, the provost of Beverley,
and Corbridge, had a very serious quarrel on the subject of
the visitation of the chiu'ch, to which the king was made a ])arty.
The provost was anxious that the matter in dispute shoidd be
decided, not at Rome, hut before the national courts, and Cor-
bridge was as eager to prevent this. The archbishop had many
charges against Carto for neglect of duties, extortion, etc., and
besides all this, he was a pluralist, as he held, in addition to the
superintendence of the church of Beverley, the precentorship of
Lyons, the provostship of Lausanne, and the church of Duncar-
nayn in the diocese of Lismore. In June, 1304, Carto was
excommunicated for his contumacy, and Robert de Al])er'\nck
was made provost of Beverley in his room. He was afterwards
raised to the episcopal bench abroad."

The debated point of the right of the Northern primate to
carry his cross erect was not lost sight of whilst Corbridge Avas at
York. On the 25th of April, 1300, the archbishop of Canterbury
wrote to the bishop of London to say that his brother in the North
had been following the obnoxious precedent which his prede-
cessors had set, and he ordered that no one should stoop to
receive his blessing. On the 25th of January, in the following
year, he sent a deprecatory letter on the same subject to his
suffragan the bishop of Lincoln."

The name of archbishop Corbridge occurs very rarely among
the state papers of the day. In 1294 he had the royal letters of
protection.^ In 1300 I find him attesting the exemplification
of the bull of pope Boniface for the extension of the truce be-
tAveen France and England.* In 1301 he Avas summoned to the
meeting of the parliament at Lincoln, and to those at West-
minster and London in 1302. In 1303 he was requested to
send his contingent to serve against the Scots. *■ The great
Northern war Avas now raging, and the names of Wallace, Brus
and Douglas would be ringing through the Avliole of Yorkshire.
The city of York Avould thus become the great rendezA'ous of

— , 88); canon of St. David's in 1307 '" Prynnc's Coll., iii., 861.

(Pari. Writs, i., 185) ; a imlilic notary " Eeg. Corbridge, 98-100. "Rot.

(Pell Records, 105); a trier of peli- Pari., i., 102.

tions in parliament, and nnichoccui)ied " Wilkins, ii., 255,201.

in parliamentary work (Foed., i., 973. '' Prvnrie, iii., 598. » Ibid., 872.

Rot. Pari., i., 182. Pari. Writs, var. " Pari. Writs, i., 89, 112, 114, 116,

locis, etc.). Stubbs, col. 1729. 367, 370.

358 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

the English armies and a place of unusual importance. In 1298
the courts were removed to it from Loudon, and they continued
there for seven years/ The king and his family were frequently
in the neighbom-hood/ The following extracts from the arch-
bishop^s register will throw some light upon the history of the
time as well as upon the proceedings of Corbridge within his
own diocese.

1301^ May 31. The archbishop receives from William de
Newai'k, canon of Southwell^ a missal of the York use, which
we promise to restore to him when it is required. June 14. The
will and codicil of dame Eva de Tibtoft" are proved before the
primate in the house of the fi'iars minors at Doncaster, and
administration is gi-anted to Roger de Wordham, rector of Ark-
sey, and Adam de Radegrave, rector of Little Blakham in the
diocese of Norwich. June 17. An indulgence of 40 days for
the chui'ch of Ripon in which the relics of that glorious con-
fessor, St. AVilfnd, are preserved.'' Jmie 19. The archbishop
wi'ites to Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln, allo\^"ing Michael de
!Merton and Reginald de Kington, friars minors, who are going
with him to the wars of Scotland, to act as confessors for natives
of the diocese of York."' Sept. 24. A dispensation of non-resi-
dence to Mr. Ralph de Ne\ill, rector of Middleham,-" to enable
him to study for two years. Oct. 3. A commission to Pati-ick
de Braferton and Richard de Stowe to enquire for those who
have deserted from the army in Scotland, having received their
wages.y Nov. 2. John de Cave and Ralph, oui' bailiff at Bever-
ley, appointed justices Avithin that liberty to see into the use of
bad money .^ Dec. 17. Edward de Clenient gives to the trea-

• Eot. Pari., i., 143. bishop's seal might be put to it, which

' See the "Wardrobe Accounts. TVal- was done. For the acts and deeds of

singham, 74. Knyghton (col. 2-524) this prince-like noble,— the greatest

mentions the subsidy granted by the man in the North of England, see

archbishop and the clergj' towards the Dugd. Bar., i., 105, etc.

^^ar. ^'^On Sept. 19, 1306. Ucence to Mr.

" Daughter of Pain de Chaworth Robert de Xeville, rector of Well, and

(Dugd. Mon., ii., 38). On Oct. 10, deacon, to studv for two 3'ears (Reg.

1298. the administration of the effects Greenfield). These were, no doubt,

of Sir Robert de Tipetoft, knight, was members of the baronial house of Ne-

grauted to dame Eva, his widow, Sir ville. On June 8, 1314, a confirmation

Baldwui de Manners, knight, and Roger of two chantries in the chapel of Tho-

de^SArtham, priest (Reg. Newark). Sir raldebv par. Avsgarth, made bv the

Robert was with. Edward I. in the Holv king, the earl of Richmond, and Mary

Land (Test. Vetust., 8). de Neville, lady of Middleham (ibid.).

" Cf. Fabric Rolls of York, ed. Sur- y In 31st Edward I. the sanctuarv-

tees Society, 235. Walbran's Ripon, men at Beverley and many thousands

_ of thieves and outlaws had been allowed

Un July 15, 1300, William Namy to enlist. This accounts for the cha-

tinngs the earl's will to Thorp with his racter of the army (Prvnne, iii., 1010).

seals appended, and delivers letters Cal. Rot. Pat., 60

li om his master begging that the arch^ ' In 1299 a statute was passed against

1300—1304.]

ARCHBISHOP CORBRIDGE.

359

surer and chancellor two piles and three ordinary trussels for
the archbishop's mint."

1301, July 19. The will of the countess of Warwick is proved
at Sprotburgh before Reginald de St. Albans and "William de
Beverley, the archbishop's clerks, John de Wolfington, dioc.
Worcester, representing two of the executors, Guy, earl of War-
wick and Sir John de Hastings, and J'ohn de Schukel)erewe
appearing for Robert, prior of Kenilworth, and JNlr. Thurstan de
Keswick, co-executors.* Sept. 15. A general letter against
those who have broken into Beverley park."^ Oct. 24. Licence
for George, rector of Dinnington in Morthen, to be absent from
his living for a year at the request of Sir Brian Fitzalan.''
Dec. 20. Sir William de Ros, jun., of Iiigmanthorp, does
homage to the archbishop in the chapel of Scrooby for tlie
manor of Muskham." Dec. 25. Licence to John de Drokenes-
ford,-/ canon of York, to have a private confessor.

1302, March. Licence for Roger de Blida, rector of a moiety
of the church of Rotherham, to be absent for a year in the ser-
vice of the earl of Warren.^ Nov. 29. A licence for Humphrey,
son of Walter de Beauchamp, rector of Harewood^ to be non-
resident for a year to enable him to study.''

false money, pollards, etc. (Statutes, i.,
131). In 1301 the use of foreign money
was prohibited. Walsingham, 77.
Foed., i., 919. Wikes, apud Gale, ii.,
127. Statutes of the Realm, i., 218.

" In ] 300 liberatio cuneorum. Pon-
tius de Couwers and Simon de Senis
the archbishop's monej'ers (Reg. Cor-
bridge).

* Maude Fitz Geoffrey, widow of
AVilliam de Beauchamp, earl of War-
wick, died in May or June, 1298 (Dugd.
Bar., i., 229). Cf. Test. Vetusta, 52-4.

" A statute was passed about break-
ing into parks in 1293 (Statutes, i., 111).
The parks at Beverley gave the arch-
bishops of York much trouble.

^ For the splendid services of this
great man see Dugd. Bar., i., 53. His
monument in Bedale church is one of
the finest sepulchral memorials in Eng-
land.

' Ingmangthorp is near Wetherby.
On Oct. 11, 1298, the archbishop re-
ceived at York the homage of Sir W"\\-
liam de Ros, jun., of that place, for
the manor of Muskham, which he held
by knight's service, and his brother,
Thomas de Ros, did homage for the
manor of Douseljy, co. Lincoln, which
he held by the same tenure. There is
a good deal of information about this

family in Thoroton's Notts, 346, 374.
In 1300 Thomas de Ros, son of Sir
"\Mlliam de Ros, of Ingmangtlior]), did
homage in the presence of Sir William
de Ros, his brother, for the manor of
Douseby.

^ He never actually obtained a stall
at York. A very great man, a courtier,
and a statesman. Canon of Northwell,
at Southwell, 1304-9 (Le Neve, iii.,
440) ; rector of Dalston, Cumberland,
1292 (Reg. Romanus) ; rector of Child-
wall, 1307 (Reg. Langton, at Lichfield);
canon of Lichfield, AVells, and Lincoln
(Le Neve, i., 595,038 ; ii., 191); keeper
of the king's wardrobe, 1301-5 (Pari.
Writs, i., 105, etc. Dugd. Chron., 34);
lieutenant, treasurer, and chancellor of
the exchequer (Cal. Rot. Pat., G8. Pell
Records, 116. Madox, ii., 165,305);
cf. Pari. Writs and Feed., in many
])laces ; chaplain to Ihe i»o])C ; bishop of
Bath and Wells, 1309-1329.

s A ver}' great man, and the gene-
ralissimo of the army in the North.
Trivel, 299, Knyghton, col. ^2524, Rot.
Scot., Vanl., and Pari. Writs, passim.
Cf. Dugd. iJar., i., 80, etc., Hunter's
South Yorkshire, and the History of
the House of Warren by Watson.

* Walter de Beanchsini]) of Alcester
was a Ijrothcr of A\illiam earl of AVar-

360 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

1303, Jan. 11. An indulgence of forty days to all praying
for the king and queen and their children, the peace of the
kingdom and the good estate of the church.* Feb. 15. A man-
date to the vicar of Thorp against those who have broken into
the treasury at Thorp, and carried away, among other things,
charters and muniments relating to our church. April 13. An
order to pray for the* king and queen, his son and the army
going against the Scots. May 27. Licence to Sir William de
Vavasour to choose a confessor whilst he is absent in the wars
in Scotland.-' August 4. We have received by the hands of
Robclard, our valet, from Walter de Ailesbury, executor of the
will of Edmund, late earl of Cornwall,'*' a ring of gold which was
bequeathed to us in his will.

1304, Feb. 28. Mandate to the chapter of Beverley to pre-
vent tournaments and duels in Lent.^ March 30. Licence to
Sir Geoffrey de Hotham, knight, to liave an oratory for life
within his manor at Cranswick.™ March 30. Commission to
consecrate the cemetery of the Carmelites who have lately taken
up their abode within the boundaries of the parish of St. Saviour,
York. June 11. An indulgence of forty days for the fabric of
York minster."

Archbishop Corbridge died at Laneham, Notts, on the 22nd
of September, 1304. His remains were removed to Southwell,
and were interred in the collegiate church on the 29th.'' His

wick (Diigd. Bar., i., 229). Cf. E,ot. at Asherugge, Bucks, where he had

Pari., i. 1539. He was seneschal of the founded a college, on Oct. 1, 1300, s. p.,

king's hospice (Lib. Garderoboe, 13, etc.) and was buried with great ceremony at

• Prynne, iii., 1153. The papacy Westminster abbey (Walsingham, 78).

was nowin trouble (AValsingham, 87-8). This ring was for the archbishop for

Mar. 26, 33rd Edward I., an order to the time being (Tabric Rolls, 214). On

the keepers of the spiritualities of York 28th August, 1304, the archbishop

for prayers to be offered up for the soul granted an indulgence of forty days for

of Blanche duchess of Austria, sister the repose of his soul (Reg. Corbridge).

of Margaret queen of England (Prynne, Fosd., i., 930. Lib. Gard., 32-3.

iii., 1107-8. Foed., i., 972). ' These jousts, etc., generally marked

i Of IlasleAvood, which he had leave the presence of the court or army,

tocrenellate, 18l,h Edward I. (Gal. Rot. They were sometimes put down with a

Pat., 53), custos civ. Ebor. 5th Edward high hand. Dec. 30, 1299, mandate

II. (ibid., 73), and a great soldier. Cf. to the sheriff" of Yorkshire to prohibit

Dugd.Ear.,ii.,19. HiswillisintheDur- tournaments (Feed., i-, 917).

ham Wills, ii., 13, etc. The church of '" Not mentioned by Dugdale or in

York will long treasure his name. Jan. any pedigree of the family. He was

1, 1300, Robert le Vavasour, subdeacon, one of the collectors of the quindisme

son of Sir AVilliam le Vavasour, to the in Yorkshire in 29th of Edward I. (Rot.

church of Freston (Reg. Corbridge). Pari., i., 242). Abbrev.Plac, 279. Ab-

Waher le Vavasour was son and heir of brev. Rot. Orig., i., 249. Pari. Writs,

Sir William. On Dec. 13, 1315, bishop var. loc. He was a partizan of Thomas

Kellawe grants the marriage of Alienor, of Lancaster (Feed., ii., 230). In 1330

his widow, " ratione manerii de Coke- he founded a house of Austin friars at

feld," to Nicholas, son of William de Hull (Coll. Top., iv., 132).

Holteby (Reg. Kellawe, 262 a). " Printed in the Fabric Rolls, 154-5.

A cousm of the king. He died " MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A,ii., 111.

1304 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 3G1

resting-place is beneath a large blue marble slab close to tlie
pulpit. It was originally covered with a brazen effigy of the
prelate Avhich has been destroyed, but the inscription which ran
around it might recently be deciphered.^

The archbishop left a will, of which Lambert de Trykingham,
Mr. John de Nassington, senior, and William de Jaftbrd were
the executors.? On the 5th of January, 1311, archbishop Green-
field appointed William de Estden'' and others to receive the
account of their administration, and on the 21th they wei'c
released from theii' responsibility. The care of the temporalities
of the see during the vacancy Avas placed in the hands of Lam-
bert de Tryldngham and John de Byron.'' The dean and chapter,
as usual, attended to the spiritualities.

'illiam tic ffircnfcuti, or ffircrnfi'cltl, was the next arch-
bishop of York. He was in every respect a most distinguished
man, being a wise and active prelate and an illustrious and
useful statesman. The presidents of the see of York during
the fourteenth century occupied a high position among the
great men whom it was the j)olicy of the Edwards to gather
around them, and their good deeds will be long remembered in
the North of England.

The birthplace and parentage of Greenfield have not been
discovered, but we know that he was connected with several
families of antiquity and distinction.' He was perhaps a native

Stubbs, col. 1729. Ob. Sept. 30 (Chron. St. Sepulchre's chapel at York. On

Lan., 202). 22nd August, 1312, Nicholas, vicar of

p History of Southwell, 277. Topclitre, and John de Eseb}', the exe-

' Lambert de Trykingham. A jus- cutors of his will, were released (Rcy.

ticiar and a baron of the exchequer Greenfield).

(Dugd. Orig., 36, 31), 41, etc.); rector "■ June 2, 1308, commission to confer

of Harby, co. Leicester, 1275 (Nichols's the next vacant stall at Beverley on our

Leicestershire, ii., 213); the king's clerk, William de Estden. In 1310

tallager, 33rd Edward I. (Jladox Ex., he was holding the prebend which once

i., 741) ; canon of Halloughton, at belonged to Mr. Peter Evmorici. On

Southwell, 1310 (Le Neve, iii., 423); Jan. 14, 1310, AVilliam de Estden,

mavster of Sherburn hospital, Durham, canon of Bevcrlev, Mr. Niciiolas do

1313 (Reg. Kellawe, 238). Cf. Pari. ("alveton, Robert 'do Bluutcsdon, and

Writs, var. loc. Toss's Judges, iii., Nicholas de Molcndinis, were ordered

533. to receive the accounts of tiie executors

John de Nassington. A canon of of Corbridgo (Reg. Greenfield). In

York. It is impossible to speak here of 20th Edward I. he was treasurer of the

this great man and the services and exchc(i[uer at Dublin (Cal. Rot. Pat.,

distinctions of his family. 55).

William de Yafford was rector of ' Pr3'nne's Coll., iii., 1085-7, 1114-15.

Croft, to which he was instituted Nov. ' ilentioned in Hist. Co. Lincoln,

2, 1300 (Reg. Coi'bridgc) ; a cauoa in ii., 149. In Carow's Survey of Corn-

362 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

of a little hamlet, which bears his name, in Lincolnshire, and
he was related to the ancient houses of Giifard, Babington, and
Freville. The university of Oxford was his ahna mater, and
the charges of his education were defrayed by his kinsman
archbishop Gifiard. Little did that prelate think that the
youthful cousin whom he befriended would at a fiiture time
repay his pious care by governing the same see which he himself
moderated, and surpass him in his zeal for the interests of his
church and in his brilliant services to his country and his king.
Greenfield was a student at Oxford in 1269 and 1270, and
became a doctor of civil and canon law." He was a courtier
also as well as a scholar, and Stowe happily describes him as
" an eloquent man and pithie in counsell."^"

Greenfield obtained preferment in the church at an early
age. On St. Thomas's day, 1269, whilst he was still at Oxford,
his kinsman archbishop Giffard collated him to the stall of
Halloughton at Southwell,'" which he resigned in the summer
of 1272, having been promoted on the 29th of July to a pre-
bend at Ripon.'' In the month of August, 1287, he occurs as
canon of Laughton in the church of York. 2' He was also pre-
bendary of Holborn in St. PauFs cathedral, and dean of Chi-
chester in 1299 and 1303.' I also find that he was incumbent
of Blockley in Worcestershire between 1291 and 1294," and in
the latter year, on the 22nd of September, he obtained the
rectory of Stratford- on- Avon, which he held till he became
archbishop.* He was also the temporal chancellor of the diocese
of Durhain.'^

We must now turn to Greenfield's services to the state,
which were numerous and valuable. He was one of the clerks
of Edward L, probably in connection with the chancery. On

wall (ed. 1602, ]). 59) it is said that he of Monkton, which was sequestered on

was a Cornish man. Fuller (Worthies, account of Greenfield's non -residence.

1., 212) makes the same assertion, pro- The sequestration was relaxed May 10,

bably confounding the name of Green- 130.3 (Reg. Corbridge). In the taxa-

field with Grenville. It must be remem- tion of pope Nicholas he is called canon

bered, however, that llichard de Gren- of Studley, and, in the Nova Taxatio,

ville, the founder of that family, came of Skelton. The inaccuracy of these

into England at the Conquest with taxations is well known.

AValter Giffard, earl of Bucks, whose " Keg. Romanus. He held it till he

daughter he married. Cf. Quart. Rev., became archbishop.

cii., 297; Wright's Essays, i., 134. ' Newoourt, i., 156. Le Neve, i.,

« Trivet, 339. Tanner, Bibl., 341. 256.

" Annals, ed. 1615, p. 209. Fuller's " Nash's AYorcestershire, i., 104.

Worthies, i., 212. " Vireloquentia,con- ' Dugdale's Warwickshire, w.e., 479.

silio el curialitate prseclarus " (Stubbs, Greenfield had letters of protection in

col. 1729). 1296 as canon of York and Ripon and

"■ Reg. Giffard. Le Neve, iii., 423. parson of Stretford super Avenam

' Coll. p. m. dom. Wm. le Vavacur. (Prynne, iii., 682).

(Reg. Giffard). The stall is not men- "^ MSS. Surtees. Hutchinson's Dur-

tioned, but it seems to have been that ham, i., 256.

1304 — 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 363

the 3rd of Febniary^ 1290, he was one of the three persons
Mhom the king sent to Rome about the sxi1)sidy for the crusade.''
This was the adventure in which the celebrated friar, "William
de Hotham, took so gieat an interest, and Greenfield, ])ossi])ly,
was indebted to him for his introduction to the notice of the
king. In 1291 Greenfield was engaged in treating with the
kings of Arragon, Sicily, and France.* In the following year
lie was ^dth Edward at Norham when he was busy with the
affairs of Scotland,/ and he and J. de Lascy were appointed to
pay the debts Avhich the king had incurred since his coronation.^
In 1295 he received a summons to the parliament at West-
minster, and he was called to the meetings of that bodv and of
the council in 1297, 1298, 1299, 1301, and 1302, in his capacity
as clerk of the council.''' On the 1st of January, 1296, he and
others were sent to make a truce with France and treaties with
Guelders and Flanders.' On the 25tli of April, 1302, he was
made one of the king^s proctors to carry on negotiations with
France, and on the 15th of Augvist he was empowered to treat
for peace with that country.' On the 30tli of September he
was advanced to the honoru'aljle position of lord chancellor of
England,^' having been previously a clerk in the chancery. He
held that office with credit and distinction for three years.'

On the 19th of October, 1304, the king authorized the
chapter of York to elect another archbishop,'" and on the Itli
of December their choice fell upon Greenfield, who was at that
time dean of Chichester and chancellor of England." He re-
ceived the royal assent on the 21th." He told the king in the
presence of his council at Lincoln that it would be necessary
for him to go to the papal court, and on the 31st of December
Edward wrote to the pope and cardinals in his l^ehalf, speaking
of his merits and ser\ices in terms of high praise. ^^ The pon-
tifical chair was at that time vacant through the decease of
Benedict X., and, as some time elapsed before his successor
was appointed, the stay of Greenfield at Rome was necessarily
prolonged. Edward urged upon the new pope and the cardinals
the necessity for haste, and on the 2nd of October, 1305, he
granted letters of protection to Greenfield, which were to remain
in force until the following Christmas.'^ On the 30th of January,

<* Foedera, i., 726, 741. Prynne, iii., ' Pr^'nne, iii., 1010.

429. ' Peed., i., 74-4-5. '" Le Neve, iii., 105.

f Ibid., i., 767. Prynne, iii., 506. " MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii., 112.

s Rot. Pari., i., 85. Stubbs, col. 1729.

* Pari. Writs, i., 29, 35, 65, 79, 91, » Le Neve, iii., 105.

103. Feed., i., 889. Prynne, iii., 884. z" Feed., i., 968. Prynne, iii., 1073-4.

' Feed., i., 834-5. Prynne, iii., 748. » Prvnne, iii., 1112. In Fad., i.,

i Foed., i., 940, 942, 945. Cf. Lib. 1008, Is a letter from the kin<r to the

Garderoba", 90. cardinals, dated on the 25th of January,

* Cal. Hot. Pat., 63. 1306, urgint; the consecration.

364 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

1306, the archbishop-elect was at leng:th consecrated by Cle-
ment V, at Lyons/ On the 10th of February the king gave
him a letter of safe conduct/ with which he returned to Eng-
land, and he received the temporalities of his see on the 31st
of March/

The cost of Greenfield^s residence at Rome, and the sums
which he was obliged to disburse to hasten his consecration,
were enormous." He came back to England literally a beggar.
On the 30tli of May he required of the dean and chapter the
profits which they had derived from their administration of the
spiritualities of the see during the vacancy/ He was obliged
also to borrow money on a very large scale, and his resources
were thus crippled for several years. On the 21st of November,
1306, he wi'ote to William, cardinal priest of St. Potentiana,
professing his entire inability to pay the money which he owed
at Rome, and begging the pope to respite him till Christmas.
He had not, he states, received any of the revenues of the
archbishopric for the current year, as they had been assigned to
a certain nobleman,'" and he could neither pay the disme im-
posed by the pope nor the troisdisme for the expedition to Wales,
to say nothing of the costly equipment of ten knights which he
was required to provide. On the 15th of February Greenfield
wrote to another cardinal to entreat for a little longer time, and
pleading as his excuse the great straits he was in and his poverty.*
On the 26th of June, 1307, Francis Rodolossi, and the company
of the Bellardi at Lucca, of which he was a member, entered
into an obligation to pay for the archbishop to the chamberlains
of the pope and the college of cardinals the large sum of four
thousand florins. 2^ This sum, probably, would release Greenfield
from his debts at Rome, but the borrowed money was to be
raised and repaid, and to do this he was obliged to throw him-
self upon the kindness of his friends. On the 26th of Decem-
ber, 1306, the abljat of Selby lent him 20/. On the 29th he
asked for the following loans, which he promised to repay in
two months. Mr. Thomas Eadberbury,^ canon of York, lent

"• MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A., ii., 112. "> John de Britannia, earl of Eich-

Stubbs, col. 1729. mond.

• Cal. Hot. Tat., 66. Prynne, iii., ^ On Jan. 25, 34th and 35th of Ed-

1146. ward I., the king wrote to J., cardinal

' Prynne, iii., 1145-6. LeNeve, iii., of SS. Marcellin and Peter, in behalf

105. of Greenfield (Prynne, iii., 1159).

" Fuller (Worthies, i., 212) say.s that v The archbishop might say with

Greenfield spent nine thousand five Piers Ploughman —
hundred marks, on what authority I

do not know He alsosays that Green- " ^t^,tl,\lTXtl^'''''
held received two benevolences from

his clergy in one year. = Canon, successively, of Osbaldwick

" Ileg. Greenfield. and AVetwang, and archdeacon of Cleve-

1304 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 365

him 100 marks, and the prior of Kirkham the same s\im ; the
abbats of Meaux and Whitljy, the priors of Bridlin<>ton, Gis-
bm-gh, and Nostell, each 40 marks ; the priors of Malton and
Newburgh each 20/. ; the prior of Watton and Mr. W. de Lin-
cohi, canon of BeA'erlcy, each 40/. ; the priors of Pontefract
and Drax and Mr. H. de Carleton, canon of Beverley, 20 maiks
each, and Mr. J. de Markenfiekl 60 marks. On tlie 5th of
March the archbishop was borrowing again ; lie obtained from
Walter de Gloncester, canon of Beverley, 100 marks and 40/. ;
from the priors of Bolton, Worksop, and Thurgarton, from each
20/., from the prior of Lenton 40 marks, for three months, and
from Walter de Langton, bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, the
large sum of 500 marks. On the 31st of May John de Droke-
nesford lent him 100 marks. He received 40/. from Stephen de
Bella Aqua, his valet, on the 5th of June, and at jNIichaelmas,
1308, he borrowed 100/. from Walter de Bedmnde." I have
reason to believe that these were onh^ a few of the archbishop's
creditors who aided him in extricating himself from his diffi-
cidties. It vnll be observed that all the money-lenders were
ecclesiastics. The Jcavs had disappeared some years before, and
the greater part of the treasure of the country was now stored
away in the chests of some wealthy clerk or in the coffers of tlie
monastery.

The city of York at this time must have been a place in
which any prelate woidd be glad to take up his abode, even
though it cost him the ransom of an emperor before he could sit
down in the chair of Paulinus. We should be much struck
Avith the appearance of the capital of the North at the begin-
ning of the fourteenth century. In the arrangement and build-
ing of its streets Ave should observe perhaps no difference between
it and any other mediaeval town. They resembled the close
narrow wynds which may still be seen in Scotland, and the
population, too large in proportion to the space that it occupied,
as well for protection as from choice, Avas crowded Avithin the
Avails. The houses Avould be principally of lath and plaster,
jointed together by beams of Avood turned and twisted in fan-
land. He was also precentor of Lich- co. York, treasurer of York, prebendary-
field (Le Neve., i., 579), vicar-^^eneral of Barnby at Ilowden, incumbent of
and prebendary of Wellington, ibid. Rijiple (Nash's ^^'orcos1ersllire, ii.,
(Shaw's Staffordshire, i., 299). He died 299). In 1323 he exchanged Ikrnby
35th Edward I., seised of nmnors, etc., for a stall at Credilon, and in 1329 ho
in Oxfordshire and IJerks (Cal. Tncj. gave up the treasury at York for the
P. M., 1., 216), and he left a will in living of North Fcrriby (Uog. ii., Pr.
which he bequeathed a cup of the value and Conv. Dunelui., 80. Keg. Mellon),
of twenty marks to archbishop Green- A remembrancer in the Exc!ie(|uer
field. (^ladox, ii., 2G7), and an a.<.<i.4ant of

" Reg. Greenfield. Walter de Bed- the council to the parliament, 1310
win, rector of Catton and Aughton, (Pari. Writs, ii., part i., 42), etc.

366 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

ciful devices, and there would be much picturesqueness in the
quaint gables and windows and buttresses that were around
you. A residence of stone, from the difficulty of procuring it,
must have been a great rarity. Here and there you would
come upon the abode of some person of consequence, whose inn
or hospice stood by itself in an enclosed com-t. The Jews had
till very lately been the moneyed class within the city, but their
recent banishment had directed the stream of wealth into other
channels, and the class of rich merchants was springing up
which made York so famous. The number of trades that existed
there in mediaeval times is indeed remarkable, and there was
considerable traffic upon the river. But whilst the coffers of
the citizens were being filled by honest exertion, art and reli-
gion were advancing with equal strides. The four orders of
mendicant friars had recently established themselves in the city,
and were begging their way, as fast as they could, to riches.
Most of the churches were in existence which even at this day
startle the traveller by their frequency, and they were being
filled with chantries and other memorials of the living and of the
dead. The number of the windows that they contain, and their
height in the walls, shew how difficult it was to obtain light in
the crowded localities in which they were erected. On the
Northern side of the city you will see many signs of the pro-
gress that religion had made and of the wealth that had been
la\dshed on her. Without the walls was the monastery of St.
Mary encircled by the haia and fossa, the petty cause of too
much bitterness and contention, and its stately church was now
rising from the ground in all its glorious beauty. Within the
fortifications, but in too close proximity to its neighbour, was
the spacious hospital of St. Leonard, which had its origin in the
munificence of Athelstan, and had recently been almost entirely
rebuilt by John Romanus, the treasurer of the minster. Far-
ther up the street you entered into the close containing the
residences of the canons and their dean, and archbishop Roger's
palace. In the centre of this space there was nothing now but
bustle and confusion. The magnificent nave of the cathedral
was rising inch by inch, and casting into the shade every edifice
around it, and you could hear on every side the creaking of the
wains as they rolled slowly up the narrow causeway from the
river to the minster, with the voices of the masons and the
chipping of the stone.

One great reason for this accession of wealth and influence
to York was the political importance with which it had been
invested. The wars with Scotland had converted it into a mili-
tary position, and it became for a time, as it were, the capital
of England. In 1298 Edward I. held a parliament in the city,

1304 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 367

and the archbishop and tlie clergy granted him a subsidy of a
fifth.* The courts of justice were also removed thither from
Loudon, and they did not return for seven years. In 1299 a
large army assembled at York under tlie command of John de
Warren, earl of Surrey, for service in Scotland. '^ There were
two more parliaments there in 1299 and 1300 in the presence
of the king,*^ and Edward spent some time in tlie city in 1306.
The position of the archbishop as a great potentate in tlie North
would necessarily involve him in negotiations with Scotland and
in the wars that too frequently interrupted them. He was
obliged, at a great cost, to find a contingent for the army, and
the presence of the court so near his own residence, although it
enhanced his dignity, woidd add greatly to his anxieties and
expenses. He Avould frequently be called upon to play the host
to the distinguished men who were passing to and fro, and his
assistance would be often sought for and required in the councils
of the nation. Archbishop Greenfield was summoned to the
parliament at Westminster in 1306,'' and on the 2nd of July
in that year he and the bishop of Lichfield were made the
guardians of the kingdom./ In 1307 lie was called to Edward's
last parliament at Carlisle, and there he proclaimed the peace
between France and England.^ After the death of that intrepid
monarch, which occurred shortly afterwards, his scejitre fell
into very feeble hands. Greenfield, however, was closely con-
nected with English politics during the reign of Edward II.
On the 26th of August, 1307, the new king summoned him to
the parliament at Northampton to deliberate, among other mat-
ters, about his coronation, and on the 18th of January he Mas
in^•ited to that ceremonial, which was to take place at West-
minster.'^ In consequence of the suspension of archbishop
Winchelsea the pope had desired Greenfield to ofliciatc on that
occasion, but a reconciliation was subsequently eftected between
the king and the Southern primate, who Avas thus enabled to
maintain and exercise his privilege.' The reign of the new king
was anything but a happy one. Greatness was always within
his reach, for he was ])y no means destitute of ability, but he
forgot it among the fops and fools Avho surrounded liini. His
partiality for Gaveston and tlie Despensers aroused the anger of
his barons, and Yorkshire spoke out against his folly through
the mouth of her favourite, Thomas earl of Lancaster. These

* Knyghton, col. 2528. Walsingham, s Pari. Writs, i., 182-3. Chron.

74 Lanercost, 206.

' riores Hist., 431. Knyghton, col. * Fopd., ii., 4, 27.

2530. Walsingham, 89. 'llot. Pari., « AVilkins, ii., 295. Somncr's Can-

i., 35. '' Walsingliam, 77. terbury, ii., 62. In Flores Hist., 458,

' Pari. Writs, i., 164. it is said that Greenfield and Eck con-

/ Feed., i., 989. Cal Rot. Pat., 66. serrated Edward.

368 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

troubles and dissensions and the easy temperament of the king
aroused the hopes of the Scots^ who were eager to avenge their
wrongs and vindicate their nationality. The war between the
two comitries broke out with redoubled fury, urged on by all
the fiery energy of Robert de Brus. The weapons of the church
were thrown into the scale against him, and the murder of
Cumyn and his brother in the friary at Dumfries had brought
upon him the sentence of excommunication which had been
hurled against him by the pope. It is not probable, however,
that " Carrick^s outlawed chiefs' cared much either for his
curses or his blessings. On the 12th of August, 1309, the
])ishops of Durham and Whitherne were desired to denounce
the culprit, and when they did so they would hear around them
the note of preparation and the clash of arms. On the 5th of
August the king requested the archbishop to raise one hundred
men on his manor of Hexham for Scottish service,-' and about
the same time Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, Edward's
nephew, who afterwards fell at Bannockburn,

" Indignus quern sors tarn sseva ma.neret,"

was Greenfield's guest at Bishopthorp, and his uncle, who was
then at York, assui'ed the primate that the visit should not be
regarded as a precedent to the injury of his successors or him-
self.^ In 1311 the archbishop was again asked to supply men
for Scotland.' The Christmas of that year was spent by Edward
in York, and he then ordered the walls of the city to be
strengthened, and to be made ready for defence. He was now
joined by Piers de Gaveston and his friends, whom his father
had \\dsely removed from his society, and the old favourite was
welcomed with open arms.'" Among the frivolities of that court
even the careless observer would detect angry looks and open
murmurings. The nobles and the commons were watching
their monarch in dismay. The disasters which soon fell upon
the country would be regarded as a righteous punishment of
weakness and evil-rule. The sword of the Scot became the
avenger of the national wrongs of his foemen. The summer
of 1314 witnessed the calamitous defeat at Bannockburn, when
the pride of Edward was laid low.

" And the best names that England knew
Claim'd in the death-prayer dismal due."

i Feed., 11. 83. Rot. Scotisc, 1., 70. archbishop was peremptorily ordered

* Ibid., 95. to come to the king before he started

' Eot. Scot., 1., 101. for France (Foed., 11., 210). Walter de

'" Walslnghara, 99, 101. Trokelowe, Langton,bishopofLichfield, was thrown

Ann. Edward II., 10, 117. Carte's Gas- into prison at York, for having been

con, etc., Eolls, 1., — . Stowe's Chron., the means of driving Gaveston Into

ed. 1615, 215. On May 1, 1313, the exile (Adam Murimuth, 13).

1304 — 1315.] Auciinisiiop Greenfield. 309

It \^•as with great difficulty that tlie English sovereign made his
escape from that field, and he seems never to have paused in his
flight till he foimd himself at York. He liad there a large
meeting of his council to discuss the affairs of the nation, and,
on the Thursday before Michaelmas, Edward, in his own chamber
within the palace of the archbishop, made John de Sandal,
archdeacon of Richmond, lord chancellor of England." Green-
field, like a loyal patriot, could not fail to be troubled at the
reverse which his country had sustained, and he took an active
part in the attempts to rescue her from her misfortunes. On
the 4th of January, 1315, he and the bishop of Durham were
excused from their attendance at parliament, as tlicy were then
busily engaged in protecting the marches of England against
the Scots."

Whilst this internecine Avarfarc was raging in the North of
England, a great, and I may call it an unhappy, movement was
taking place within the church. The famous society of the
Knights of the Temple was being destroyed. The leaders of
Christ^s flock manifested a strange ingratitude when they struck
a fatal blow at that illustrious order. A period, comprising
only two centuries, witnessed its creation and its ruin. It arose
when the swords of the conquering Moslems were already
gleaming over Europe, and it united against the bold invaders
the soul of the chivalry of the West. The pilgrims who came
out of the beloved but distant East had many a talc to tell of
their sufterings and their wrongs, how the infidel trod upon the
shrines which a glorious presence once ennobled, and the praises
of Mahmoud Avere heard where Christ once walked and spoke. ^
A shiver ran through the whole Christian world when it heard
the news. Uninvited and unaided a little band of knights
devoted themselves to the dangerous task of protecting the
travellers to Jerusalem, and they took their name from the holy
temple, which was its chief ornament. The zeal for (Jod's
cause and the spirit of adventure soon increased their numbers,
and they formed themselves into the sacred order of the Tem-
plars. The union in them of valour and devotion added greatly
to their popularity. The chivalrous daring of the knights, their
heroism in the field and in the cloister, the fascinating charm
of the enterprize that they took up, the stirring praises of St.
Bernard, soon won for them a position such as no religious Ijody

" Feed., ii., 255. Edward held a par- " Al grnn piaocr, che qi.ella prima visU

liameat at lork m 1313 (Murimiltll, Alta contrition succcsse, mista

20). l>c timoroso, e reverente nffetto.

« Ibid., 260. Rot. Scot., i., 137. ^'^''^ •'V P«na f;v:">=:"'- 1« yista

-r%T 1 ■ 1 i/->>T Ver la CittJi, di CliriHto iill)ergo elettoi

W alsitli^liam, 1U7. Dove morl. dove scpulto fue,

f Their feelings are easily imagined. Dove poi rlvesti le membra sue."

370 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

has since occupied. The heart of the whole of Christendom
was yearning towards the East. The Templars were delighted
to evoke this" feeling, and to join in the energetic action that it
prompted. They took the lead in every crusade, they were the
first to carry the standard of the cross into the Moslem van-
guard : —

" Chieftains, lead on ! our hearts beat high,

Lead on to Salem's towers !
Who would not deem it bliss to die

Slain in a cause like ours ?
The brave who sleep in soil of thine
Die not intombed, but shrin'd, O Palestine !"

The most dashing exploits were theirs ; they could exhibit the
most patient endurance. There were few places of note in
Palestine and the East Avith which the Templars were not asso-
ciated for some adventurous feat or some reverse heroically
borne. We think of the holy city so often lost by them and
retaken, avc think of Antioch and Damascus, of the shores of
Acre which have witnessed in a later day our own triumphs,
and of that host of noble warriors who fell among the hills
which overlook Gennesaret.

The close of the thirteenth century saw the last crusade, and
the Moslems, against whose progress the Templars had so long
been a successful barrier, were now unmolested in their advance.
The Red Cross Knights were now unoccupied, and they flocked
homewards to settle down upon their estates in Europe which
had been given to them in bygone years by kings and nobles.
They busied themselves with local politics, and amassed great
stores of wealth. The more interest they took in secular affairs
the more unpopular did they become. Men began to think,
and with some reason, that they were not in their proper sphere,
without remembering that it was not through the Templars'
fault that the passage to the East was closed. The enthusiasm
for the rescue of the holy places disappeared, and the exploits
of those who had shed their blood to win and keep them from
the infidel were forgotten. Avaricious monarchs heard with bated
and then quickening breath of the hoards of money which the
Templars had amassed, and Edward I. seized upon the treasure
in their house in London ; but, mimindful of the wrong, the
leaders of the noble brotherhood fought and fell by his side at
Ealkirk. In 1307 a deliberate assault was made upon the body
in France, where Philip le Bel was their oj)ponent. The new
pope, himself a Frenchman, was on the king^s side. The com-
mission of incredible crimes was laid to the Templars' charge —
the most atrocious offences against decency and morality, and
hideous blasphemy. Was it likely that a society which had

1304 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 371

especially devoted itself to the service of the cross, and had
surrendered fortune and life for the sacred cause which it had
adopted — was it likely that its members would belie their glo-
rious traditions and their practice and their vows ? It was
impossible. Doubtless there were among the Templars many Bois
Guilberts^ half priests half soldiers, with too great a share of
the spirit of the latter, but the conduct of the great mass of
the order seems to have been irreproachai)le. It was doomed,
however, to destruction, and the first blow was given in France
with frightful vehemence. E\idence, which a modern court of
justice would reject in derision, was listened to against the
society, and noble gentlemen were led to the stake and the
torture rather than confess themselves guilty of offences which
they had never perpetrated.*'

In the autumn of 1307 various attempts were made by
foreign potentates to prevail upon Edward II. to enter into the
league against the Templars. He discredited the stories which
were narrated to him, and withstood for a time the importmii-
ties of those who besought his co-operation. At the request of
the pope, however, he changed his policy, and acted with such
secresy and vigour that in January, 1308, the greater part of
the Templars, resident in England, and their property, were taken
possession of by the royal officers. Clement V. was now eager
for their punishment, and we must see how they fared in the
North of England. On the 12th of August, 1309, the pope
sent two bulls to the archbishop of York ; the one Avas a general
denunciation of the culprits, and especially of those Avithin the
province of York ; the other was a mandate for the institution
of an official enquiry. He also nominated the commissioners
who were to act in that behalf. They were the archbishop him-
self, the bishops of Durham, Lincoln, Chichester, and Orleans,
the abbats of Lagny and St. Germain des Champs in France,
M. Sicard de Vaur, canon of Narbonne, chaplain to the pope
and auditor of the causes of his palace, and Guy de A^ichy,
rector of Hesli fsicj in the diocese of London. The cxiiortations
the pope were backed by a letter from the king of France, in
which he earnestly requested the arcld)ishop^s co-operation.''
Greenfield evidently did not like the duty which he was called
upon to discharge. On the 26th of September he positively
declined to take any part against the Templars within tlie pro-
vince of Canterbury. He told the pope that the bishops of
Lincoln and Chichester could not act in the affairs of the pro-

1 There is an interesting account of •• The original letter is in Green-

this persecution in a volume entitled, lieUrs register. From that repository
" The Knights Templars, by C. G. my account of the Tomi^lars is drawn,
Addison, Esq. 8vo. London : 18 12." unless some other authority is given.

B B 2

372 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

vincc of York, and his peculiar relations with the Southern
primate would not allow him to go into their dioceses. He
expressed his readiness, however, to do what he could, and
wrote to tlic bishop of Lincoln to suggest a friendly meeting at
Lancham, Notts, on the 2nd of July, 1310, when the matter
might be considered. The abbat of Lagny and Sicard de Vaur
were in England, and for two years the clergy of the diocese of
York were taxed for their support. They were, no doubt, the
means of expediting the persecution. On the 11th of March
Greenfield wrote from London to summon a proAdncial council
to enquire into the allegations against the Templars. It was
to be held at York on the 20th of May. Before it assembled,
the culprits, who were confined in York castle, were examined.
They were twenty-four in number, and came from Yorkshire
and seven adjacent counties. They had been in the castle since
the autumn of 1309, although they had been in restraint for a
much longer period. The names of the sufferers must be per-
petuated. They were William de Grafton, senior, preceptor of
Ribstan, Ralph de Roston, Thomas de Stannford, Henry de
Kereby, Thomas de Belleby, of Peuhil, Robert de Langton,
William de la Fenne, preceptor of Faxflete, Richard de Kese-
wyk, Stephen de Radenhalgh, priest of Westerdale, Michael
de Sowreby, priest of Sorenty (?), in the diocese of Durham,
Godfrey de Arches, preceptor of Newsham, John de Walpole,
Ivo de Etton, Henry de Craven, Roger de Hugyndon, Henry
de Rouclyf, Galfrid de Wylton, Walter de Gaddesby, Richard
de Ripon, Thomas de Tliresk, Richard de Shefeld,* John de
Ebreston, William de Midelton, and Walter de Clifton. To
these a twenty-fifth may be added, Thomas Streche. The exa-
mination of the prisoners lasted from the 28th of April to the
4th of May, but it prodiiced no fruits. The knights had no-
thing to confess ; they denied the charges of blasphemy, etc.,
which were brought against them, and asserted the orthodoxy
of their faith.' They told but little of their own history.
Grafton said that he had been admitted into the order at
London, more than thirty- two years before, by Robert de Torvile,
then grand preceptor in England. William de la Fenne took
the oaths at Chaplay, in the diocese of Chichester, some fifteen
years previously from Guy de Foresta, at that time grand pre-
ceptor. Stannford had been a brother for thirty years, having
been niitiatcd in Cyprus by William de Beaujen. Roston had
been a member of the order for twenty-three years, and entered

' He is called E,o^'er in another list. apostatized from the order through fear
On May 17, 1311, the king wrote on of death,
hehalf of John de Eberston, who had ' Chron. Lanercost, 215.

1301— 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 373

it at Lciitini in Sicily." What stirring adventures and liow
much rongli life such men must have seen !

The council met at York on the 20th of jMa}^ and most of
the ecclesiastics of the North were there, with the exception of
Anthony Bck, bishop of Durham, who was then seriously ill."
Nothing, however, was done, as the examination of the knights
themselves had been unsatisfactory, and farther evidence was
required. The meeting, therefore, was adjourned to a future
day. In the meantime the archbishop was not idle. On the
25th of May he, in conjunction with the abbat of Lagny and
Sicard de Vaiu', cited the knights, who were still at large, to
appear before them at Laneham on the 2nd of Jidy. Only
eight are mentioned, so it is evident that the exertions of the
Northern sheriffs had been eminently successful. Thc}^ Avere
William de Grafton, jun., John de Usflet, Edmund de Latimer,
otherwise called de Garvyle, John de Poynton, Richard En-
gayne, Ralph de Bulcford, Stephen de Stapelbrigg,'" and Walter
le Rebel. On the 1st of June the archbishop commissioned
Henry de Botelesford, his penancer, and John de Hemming-
burgli, dean of the Christianity of York, to hear the confes-
sions of the Templars in York castle, if anything farther could
be extracted from them.* Every attempt was also made to
secure fresh evidence. On the 20th of June Greenfield ap-
pointed several of the clergj'^ to examine the servants and
retainers of the Templars who had been with them at their
houses or manors of Ribstau, Wetherby, Newsham, and Tem-
plehurst in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Eaxeflete and Wythcle
in the East Riding, and Foukebrigg, Westerdale, Penhill, and
Cowton in the North. What this enquiry produced avc are not
informed, but it is not probable that it brought to light any-
thing of importance. The archbishop was at Laneham on the
2nd of July, and the bishop of Lincoln was with him by
appointment. The Templars who were summoned never made
tlicir appearance, and they were excommunicated.

Before there Avas another meeting of the provincial council
at York some evidence Avas taken in London relating to the
proceedings of the Templars in the Northern province, Avhich
may be considered a fair sample of that Avhich was generally
produced against that body. It was mere hearsay of the most

" Wilkins, ii., 371. It is there said '" Stapelbrii^p: was cau,L,'ht at Salis-

thatthisexatninatiou was taken in May, biir^' in 1311, and made a confession,

1311. after which hewas reconciled (Ad(Uson).

" Bek seems to have been a friend of ' On Jniy 8, 1311, a similar coni-

the Templars. On May 2 1, 1308, Wm. mission was issued to AVilliam de Lan^'-

de la More, the English yraud master, toft and Mr. riiiiip de Boulton (110^.

was placed in his charge (Fu-d., ii., 45). Grccniield).

374 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

contemptible kind. Mr. John de Nassington/ the official of
tlie archbishop of York, deposed that he was told by Sir Miles
de Stapleton and Sir Adam de Everingham, that when they
were once the guests of the grand preceptor at a banquet at
Templehurst, they were informed that many of the knights had
come there to pay worship to a calf ! Sir John Eure, sheriff of
Yorkshire, said that he had once asked William de la Fenne,
the preceptor of Westerdale, to dine with him, and after dinner
the preceptor took out of his bosom a book Avhich he gave to
Lady Em'c to read, and she found a paper in it full of blas-
phemy against Christ. Like a prudent woman she shewed it to
her husband, who spoke about it to his guest, and he laughed
the matter off, and nothing more was said about it for six
years. De la Fenne, in answer, said that he recollected the
book, but knew nothing of the paper which it contained.
William de la Forde, rector of Crofton, deposed that William
de Reynbur, an Augustinian friar lately deceased, informed him
that he heard the death-bed confession of Patrick de Rippon,
Templar, son of William de Gloucester. He told him that on
his entrance to the order he was stripped to the shirt, and taken
to a secret chamber, where he was ordered to spit upon the
crucifix and dishonour it in a more gross way, and, finally, to
kiss and worship the image of a calf, which he did. The testi-
7nony of this witness was somewhat shaken when he acknow-
ledged that he had only heard of this story after the institution
of the proceedings against the knights. We find also that
several of the IMinorites came forward to give e\idence which
was of the most contemptible description. Robert de Otering-
ham asserted that he was once at Ribstan, and when grace was
said after a meal, the chaplain turned round to the brethren,
and made an observation which will read most appropriately in
Latin, Diabolus vos uret ! The same friar had a marvellous
tale of something that he saw at Wetherby at midnight through
a keyhole in the chapel, when he thought that he had sui-prised
the inmates at their orgies. Another Minorite had heard that
a Templar had been seen running about a field in a demented
state, and crying out that he had sold himself to the evil one."
These creatures had a purpose to falfil, and like their ancestors
in baseness whom the Roman annalist denounces, " Sic dela-
tores, genus homiuum publico exitio repertum, et pcenis qui-
dem numquam satis coercitum, per prsemia eliciebantur.'-'

* On Aug. 19, 1311, Eobert de Pick- in Pickering's hands during the arch-

eriny,\-icar-general, made him penancer bishop's absence (Foed., ii., 167). Pick-

for the Templars (Eeg. Greenfield). ering probably sent them to the

On Aug. 18, the king ordered the she- monasteries.
nfF of Yorkshire to place the Templars ' Wilkius, ii., 358-9.

1

1304 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 375

Greenfield, however lie might dislike severity, was obliged
to proceed against the accused Templars. On the 21st of Feb.,
1311, he summoned another provincial council" to consider
what was to be done. It was to meet at York on the 24th of
May. All the prelates and dignitaries of the North were invited
to it, together with several members of the mendicant orders,
who took an especial interest in the crusade against the knights.
They Avere Mr. John Gower, S.T.D., Mr. Thomas de Clifford,
William de Okam, S.T.D., friar Thomas de Middleton, S.T.D.,
Friars Preachers, Hichard de Wetwang, an Augustinian at York,
and Adam de Lincoln, a Minorite from the same city. The
council had eleven sittings, the last being on the 30th of July.
The proceedings commenced with the celebration of tlie mass of
the Holy Spirit, followed by a sermon from the archbishop,
who stood at the high altar. When this was over the primate
explained the object of the meeting, and the members then
went to their work. The result was, on the whole, a proof of
the good sense of the Northern clergy. The punishment of
death was not awarded, as in other countries, and there was no
cruelty nor torturing. The Templars, twenty-four in number,
were brought from the castle, and were persuaded to submit
themselves to the council. It Avas then ordered that each of
them should be sent to a religious house within the province of
York to do penance for his errors.* This decision gave some
umbrage to the monasteries,'' but the Templars, as a rule,
appear to have conducted themselves with propriety, and before
a year had expired the archbishop had released nearly the AA^hole
of them from the sentence of excommunication.'' A due pro-
vision for their wants Avas agreed upon and Avas granted by the

° Marcli 13, 1311, an order to the the vicar-gencral against the abbat and

sheriff of Yorkshire to bring the Tern- convent of Kirkstall for allowing,

plars before him (Reg. Greenfield). through their negligence, Roger de

* Eperston was sent to Salley, Craven Shefeld to leave their mon;i.stery.

to Pontefract, Keswick to Kirkham, Stannford gave some trouble at Foun-

Langton to Bridlington, Gaddesby to tains by using violent language and

Jervaux, Stannford to Fountains, Wil- refusing to comply with rules, but a

ton to Whitby, Sheffield to Kirkstall, sharp reproof brought him to his

Kerby to Rievaux, Walpolc to Byland, senses.

Radenachs to AYorksop, Clifton to Shel- '' All were released in 1312 (Reg.

ford, Hughendon to Gisburn, Streche Greenfield). They were kindly treated,

to Nostell, and Grafton to Selb^'. On Aug. 15, 1312, the archbishop per-

Stubbs (col. 1730) ascribes this arrange- mitted William de Grafton, sen., to

ment to the kindness of Greenfield, leave Solby abbey for a month, on ac-

but it did not, I think, originate with count of business in the dioceses of

him. York, Lincoln, and London (Reg.

'^ On March 1, 1312, a letter to the Greenfield). In the 4th of Edward

abbat and convent of Rievaux for re- III. William de Grafton was absolved

fusing to supply food to Henry de from his vows, and was allowed lo turn

Kerreby. They are ordered to do so. to a secular pursuit (Cul. Rot. Pat.,

At the same time there is a letter from 109).

376 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

king, amounting to a considerable sum, out of tlieir sequestered
estates/ Years passed away, and on the 31st of August, 1319,
the pope made an order that any Templar, if he chose, might
take the vows required by the monastery in which he was resid-
ing, hut two only seem to have availed themselves of his per-
mission Avithin the diocese of York/

Within a fortnight after the termination of the gathering at
York archbishop Greenfield took his journey towards the South.
Clement Y. had convoked a general council, which was to meet
in the month of October at Vienne in Dauphiny, and on the
1st of June Edward II. desired the Northern primate to come
to London, as he was anxious that he should go abroad to be
present at the great assembly in France, to which he had been
summoned. On the 26tli of July he directed him to remain at
home, and to come to the parliament at London. Greenfield,
however, after all, went to Yienne, the king giving him letters
of credence and safe conduct on the 10th of October.i' The
archbishop was welcomed by the pope, and occupied an honom^-
able position at the council, sitting next after the cardinals and
the archbishop of Treves.'' The afl'airs of the Templars and
their offences were fully discussed. The meeting was prorogued
till the month of April, 1312, and then, in the presence of
Greenfield, the ancient order of the Temple was finally dis-
solved. On the 15th of Aiigust in that year the archbishop
directed his official at Y'^ork to make the announcement that it
had ceased to exist.

A considerable light will be thrown upon GreenfieWs archi-
episcopal career by the following extracts from his register.
They not only illustrate his public and his private life, but give

' On Sept. 30, 1312, William de Rouclyf, Streche, and Gaddesby had an

Grafton receives from the archbishop annual pension of six marks (The

the sura of 95Z. 4s. for the stipends of Knif>-hts Hospitallers in England, ed.

himself and his twenty-three brethren Camden Soc, 209). June 6, 1321, a

within the diocese at York from the request to the prior of St. John at Je-

Sunday . . . the feast of St. Nicholas to rusalem to pay to Ealph de Boston,

the Sunday before the feast of St. Peter formerly a Templar, the stipend as-

ad Vincula next ensuing. On Dec. 6. signed to him by the general council

1311, the king ordered Alexander de (Reg. Melton).

Cave and Robert de Amecotes, keepers f Deo. 18, 1319, an order to the prior

of the lands, etc., of the Templars in and convent ofGisburgh to allow Robert

the county of York, to pay the wages de Langeton, once a Templar, to enter

above mentioned, which were agreed their house, and on Sept. 29, 1320, a

upon at the general council (Reg. similar direction to the abbat of Selby

Greenfield). The Templars lingered in behalf of Henry de Kerby.

for a long time in the monasteries. s Feed., ii., 135, 141, 145. Cal. Rot.

On April 2, 1335, an order wa.s made Pat., 73.

to pay to Thomas de Streche, who was '< Stubbs, col. 1730. Labbe, Cone,

at Nostell, the arrears of his pension of xi., 1557. Adam Murirauth, 15. Ba-

five marks per annum (Reg. Melton). ronii Ann., Raynaldi, xxiii, 533.

1304 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD.

377

us some curious glimpses of the state of manners and morals in
the North of England.

1307, ]\larch 25. A commission addressed from Rose castle
to the bishop of Lichfield and Coventry authorizing him to con-
secrate the bishop of Bangor at Carlisle.' April [), at Beaure-
payr, the archbishop certifies to a marriage having taken place
between John, son of Sir John de Eglesclif, knight, and Juliana,
daughter of "William de Eglesclif. They were married in the
church of St. Saviour in the Marsh in York on the 4th of June,
1294, by Stephen the rector.^ A letter to the pope recommend-
ing the translation of St. Robert of Lincoln.'^' April 28. An
order to cite Sir Nicholas de Meynell and Lucia, daughter of
Sir Robert de Tweng, to answer to a charge of adultery.' May
23. A commission to liberate from prison Sir William Sampson,
knight, who has been excommunicated for divers offences,
amongst others, for incest with Isold and Clemence his own
daughters. He is ordered to do penance at Nottingham, Newark,
and Southwell. June 5. Licence to the official at York to
sprinkle with holy water the churchyard of St. Martin in Mickle-
gate, which has been polluted. Two boys were fighting in it,
and the nose of one of them bled. August 7. An indulgence
of forty days for the soul of Edward I. " Marcuit et aruit flos
militiae.^^'"

1308, Jan. 9. An oratory to Sir John de Gray, knight, in
the manor of Farewath. Jan. 21. An indulgence for the fabric

' The bishop, Griffin ap Torweth,
was consecrated on the following day
by Walter de Langton, bishop of Lich-
field. The court was then at Carlisle.

J When parish registers were un-
known, ages, marriages, etc., could only
be proved by some such document as
this. The archbishop was at Beure-
paire, near Durham, the country-house
of the prior, of which some ruins still
remain.

* Bishop Grostete. Archbishop Ilo-
manus wrote a strong letter to the pojje
in favour of his canonization (Reg. ilo-
manus). On May 6, 1307, the king
made the same request (Feed., i., 1016.
Prynne, iii., 1185)), but in vain. Gros-
tete was not a person whom the papal
court would be likely to canonize.

' A very singular story. Nov. 2,
1305, the chapter of York announce
that William de Latimer has been ex-
communicated at the instance of dame
Lucy, daughter of Sir Robert de Tweng.
Sept. 4, 1309, commission to receive
the purgation of dame Lucy de Tweng,

wife of Sir William de Lat3-mer, knight,
for adultery and incest with Sir Nicho-
las de Me3'nyl. Ou the Friday after
the Epiphany, 1309, Meynyl and the
lady enter into a bond to jiay 10^. each
to dan Henry de Botelford, the keeper
of the fabric at York. On Jul\- 8,
previously, Meynyl as a punishment
liad been fined 10/. by the archbishop
(Reg. Greenfield).

The frailty of Lucy de Tweng cast a
doubt upon the legitimac}' of her lius-
band's son, but on July 1, 1328, it
was found out, upon a formal enquir}',
that Sir ^^'illiam, the rcpuled son of
Sif A^'illiam dc Latymcr, was ncjt ille-
gitimate, but the son of Latimer and
Lucy de Tweng (Reg. Melton).

'" The king died at Burgh on the
Sands, not far from Carlisle, on the
7th of July (Fir,-d., i., 1018). On Oct.
28 tlie archbisliop was desired to pray
fur the new king (ibid., ii., 9), " The
floure of Cristendara" (Peter Langtoft,
n. e., 311).

378

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

of the churcli of St, Andrew at Bordeaux." April 9. To Sir
Godfrey de Melsa, knight, a gift of two or three deer, out of
oiu' park at Beverley." April 11. The archbishop writes to
Stephen de Mauley, archdeacon of Cleveland, begging to see
the deeds relating to the privileges of the prior and convent of
Diu'ham in Howdenshire and Allertonshire, about which he has
spoken to him.^^ May 3. Commission to the bishop of Whit-
herue to dedicate the church of the Friars Preachers at Yarm
which has been lately built. June 13. At Meaux, William de
RoUeston of Beverley, Adam his servant, John Golding of
Beverley, and John de Esingwald laying their hands on the
archbishop's cross, promise that they will not again break into
the park of Beverley.? J^^ly 17. An order to Robert de Bar-
delby, canon of York, and William de Threntoft, rector of
Knesale, to fine to the king for five knights' fees, for which we
are bound to find service in Scotland. *■ August 23. A mandate
to the chapter of Ripon not to hold markets in the minster.
Sept 10. A licence for the consecration of the altar B.M.V. in
the church of the Carmelites at Nottinarham.^ Oct 6. An ora-

" A place of great consequence and
value to England. There was more
than one connection between it and
York. In September, 1308, Bertrand
de Fargis, a canon of Bordeaux, was
made archdeacon of the East Riding.
In 34th Edward I. Richard de Haver-
ings, a canon of York, was constable of
that town (Prynne, iii., 1094). This
is the person who was elected arch-
bishop of Dublin, but he never went
there, for a very strange reason. He was
so often prevented by stormy weather
from making the passage to Ireland,
that he gave it up, thinking that Pro-
vidence was against him. The story
reminds us of the famous De Courcy
and his adventure.

» The most important of all the
archbishop's parks. De Melsa was the
head of a good Holderness familv. In
5th Edward II. William de Melton
paid three hundred marks to the king
for the custody of some of the lands of
Godfrey de Melsa (Abbrev. Eot. Orig.,
i., 190). Cf. Hot. Pari., i., 326.

p Mauley was a great man and a
member of the Yorkshire house. A
cousin of bishop Bek (Misc. Doc. treas.
Durham, 495), prebendary of Bug-
thorpe, archdeacon of Cleveland, rector
of Baynton and Hemmingburgh, co.
York. He had the living of Ouston,
CO. Lincoln (MSS. Harl., 6951, 32), the

deanery of Auckland, and the rectories
of Houghton and Haughton, co. Dur-
ham (Reg.Kellawe, 22,29). Seneschal of
Durham castle, and vicar-general (MSS.
Surtees), dean of Wimborne, and arch-
deacon of Lichfield (Hutchins' Dorset,
ii., 534). He had much to do with the
translation of St. William. He died
on the Friday after the feast of St.
Laurence, 1317, and was buried in York
minster, — but see Prynne, iii., 1243.
Abbrev. Plac, 258.

For the dispute about Howdenshire,
etc., see Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 105.

? In 1323 a special commission was
issued to try those who had broken into
Beverley park (Pari. Writs, ii., part ii.,
228).

'■ This service was a great burden to
the archbishop. Bardelby was a clerk
in the chancer3\ I shall speak of him
afterwards.

' Nov. 23, 1310, licence to the Friars
Minors of Nottingham to have their
church and its altars consecrated. May
17, 1311, licence to the Carmelites of
Hull to have their church consecrated
(Reg. Greenfield). Sept. 17, 1314,
licence to the bishop of Enachdune to
dedicate an altar newly erected in the
house of the Friars Minors at York
(ibid.). John Bate was the chief orna-
ment of the last-mentioned house (Lei.
de Script. Brit., 434).

1304—1315.]

ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD.

379

tory to Anora de Pirponut in tlie manors of Holm, Wodehouse,
and Weston.'

1309, Jan. 15. The archbishop grants to Thomas, son of
Robert de Grenefeld, and Joan, daughter of John Attcwcll,
and their heirs, two mesuages, four bovates, and eight acres of
arable land, and six and a half acres of meadow in Sherburn."
May 21. Bull of Clement V. excommunicating Robert le Brus
for many enormities, and for killing with his sw ord John and
Robert de Comyn, of the diocese of Glasgow, knights, for
refusing to join him in his proceedings against the king, one in
the cloister and the other in the church of the Friars Minors at
Dumfries, near the high altar." Nov. 9. We have corrected,
on her own confession, dame Joan de Corewenne, relict of Sir
Thomas de Corewenne, knight, for adidtery with Sir Simon
Ward, knight.'"

Among these friars there were many
distinguished men who were natives of
Yorkshire and of the Nortli of Eng-
land. Among the Carmehtes were John
de Eboraco, Galfrid Ahevanti, "Walter
Kellaw, John Chelmerton, and John
Goldston — all of them Yorkshiremen.
Stephan de Patringtou was the con-
fessor of Henry V. Robert Baston was
a brother of Philip Baston, prior of the
house at Scarbro', and was born at
Yox'k. He wrote several works on
Scottish politics. Bishop Scrope is well
known (Bibliotheca Carmelitana, i.,
coll. 534, 581, 809, 836, 853 ; ii., 149,
686, 764, 829, 971-2).

Among the Preachers were Robert of
York, John de Derlington, Thomas
Stubbs, John de Heglescliff, and Holcot
(Quetif, Scriptores Ord. Predic, i.,
prefat., xxv, 395, 625, 631, 671). Nor
must archbishop Hotham, who has
been already mentioned, be forgotten
(ibid., i., 459-60). " Huomo da com-
parare con i piii rari soggetti del suo
tempo, nella dottrina et bonta della
vita" (Pio, Hiiomini illustri di S. Do-
menico. Bologna, 1607. Part ii., 107).
Cf. Ware's History of Ireland, ed. 1764,
ii., 326. Touron, Histoiredes Uommes
Illustres de I'ordre de Saint Dominique,
i., 603-8, ed. Paris, 1743. Tanner,
Bibl. Brit., 414.

' Annora, daughter and heiress of
John Manners, married Sir Henry
Pierpoint (Coll. Top., viii., 345). Ab-
brev. Plac., 222.

" A settlement on their marriage.
On Jan. 7, 1311, Thomas, son of Robert
de Grenefeld, was made keeper of the

woods and warren at Sherburn and Ca-
wood. On Tuesday, the feast of the
Purification B.V., Robert de Grenefeld
and William his son were made guard-
ians of the lands of Godfrey de Melsa
at Hodeleston on account of the mi-
nority of John his son and heir (Reg.
Greenfield). Robert de Grenefeld is
mentioned in Abbrev. Plac, 250.

" A document, hitherto unknown, of
much historical importance.

" The church of God saw Comyn fall."

The murder itself is described with
painful minuteness. "In ejus refrige-
rare sanguinem calentem gladio nou
contentus, nisi sanguinem ipsum cj us-
que cerebrum, avulsum de capite, super
dictum altare feritate difl"underet besti-
ali." Cf. Chron. Lan., 203. Poed., i.,
982, 987. Prynne, iii., 1021.. On Jan.
14, 1315, an order to denounce as ex-
communicated Brus and his accom-
plices (Reg. Greenfield).

'" On 21st September Ward promi.ses
that he will forfeit 20^. if it occurs
again (Reg. Greenfield). On June 17,
1298, Sir Simon AVard did homage at
Ripon for lands in Guiseley, Gevildalo,
and Kirkby Wharf, held by kuight-
ser\'ice, and for Newby, held for the
service of the fourth part of a knight's
fee (Reg. Newark). On Nov. 21, 1306,
Sir Simon le Wardc, knight, jun., son
of Sir Simon le AVard, decea.sed, did
homage for Guiseley, etc. In July,
1309, he was a justice of assize for tlie
liberty of Ripon (Reg. Greenfield). Ho
^^•ill occur again. He was sheriff of
Yorkshire 1315-1321 (Drake, 351).

380 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

1310, April 5. Licence for William de Ayketon, rector of
Berewyk, to be absent from his living for a year in the service
of Alesia de Lascy, countess of Lincoln/ June 8. To John le
Warner, of Eipon, at the oversight of Sir Robert de Conyers,
knight, two oaks from our wood at Thornton, one for our house
at Kipon lately belonging to John Trenys, and the other to
mend the bridge at Killingdall. June 9. A letter to William,
bishop of St. Andrew's, in behalf of Beatrix de Hodsak, late a
nun at Coldstream, which place she left on account of the war.
She is now living at a house of anchorites near Doncaster, and
the archbishop asks for her to be allowed to return. s' June 22.
Commission to receive the probate of the will of Beatrix, late
wife of Geoffrey, son of Robert le Staunton, co. Notts.* July
22. A deer from our park at Hecksgrave to Sir John Lysours,
knight, and another to William de Dogmerfield, our seneschal
of Sherwood forest. August 24. Robert de Hendeley, Adam
his brother, and Ythell his groom, have beat and womided
William Tyas, esquire of the countess of Lancaster, in the church
of Pickering : a commission to the chapter to enquire and to
exact satisfaction. August 28. Licence to John de Rolleston,
one of the seven clerks in the church of Beverley, and chaplain
of the chantry of the fraternity of St. Nicholas, to carry the
standard of St. John of Beverley to the wars in Scotland, by
the king's order." Sept. 15. Licence to Margery, sister of the
late Sir Brian Fitzalan, to have an oratory for three years in the
manor of Baynton.* Oct. 17. The archbishop gives sixteen
shillings from his tenement near Otley which the lepers hold of
him, to repair the bridge of Otley. Dec. 31. An order to the
bailiff of Ripon to provide the necessary materials for the con-
struction of a chapel in our manor at Ripon. '^ The archbishop
writes to the bishop of Norwich to say that Walter de Boynton^

•^ The wife of Henry the last earl. to be the harbinger of victory, like that

'J In 1296, when Edward I. was in of St. Cuthbert of Durham.
Scotland, he made his headquarters in „ ^nd thus with girdle round his waist,

the nunnery of Coldstream (Trivet, whereon the banner-staff might rest

289). These wandering nuns are men- At need, he stood, advancing high

tioned in Walsingham, 79. '^^"' gli""-'»s ^'^^^^^^ pageantry.

* A good old family, co. Notts. Edward T. went to Beverley in 1289 to

" Oct. 13, 129G, an order to John de visit St. John's shrine (Walsingham,

Warren, earl of Surrey, and guardian 75). He was frequently there, and

of Scotland, to prefer to the next vacant Beverley was sometimes put in anta-

bcnefice of the value of 20Z. or marks gonism with York. The battle of

Gilbert de Grj-mmesby, for bringing Agincourt was fought on St. John's

the banner of St. John of Beverley day. Cf. Lib. Garderob., 27, etc. John

and staying with it in Scotland during de Ilolleston was master of the hospital

the war (Feed., i., 848. Prvnne, iii., of Newton in Holderness, 5th Edward

667. Lib. Garderoba", 51, 331). The II. (Abbrev. Eot. Orig., i., 195).
banner was returned 29th Edward I. * Not mentioned in Dug. Bar.

(Prvnne, 910). The ensign was deemed ' Oct. 15, 1314, ordination of a per-

1301 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 381

rector of Ersham, in liis diocese, a native of the East Riding,
has broken Avith his servants into oiir park at Beverley, to hunt.
The bishop is requested to correct him.

1311, Jan. 18. John Tankard, of Pontefract, layman, has
struck and di-awn blood from Henry, vicar of Aldbro\ lie is to
o-o to Rome for penance. Jan. 19. Letters dimissory, for minor
orders, to John de Wyclyve, rector of Wyclyve.'' Marcli 30.
Licence for Sir Ralph de Buhner, knight, to choose a confessor.
April 5. A relaxation of the sentence of excommunication pro-
nounced against Mr. Robert de Baldock and Roger de Waltham
for impeding the archbishop's visitation of the diocese of Dur-
ham. May 16. Proving of the will of Henry de Lacy, earl of
Lincoln, and administration granted to Nicholas de Reding,
Robert de Silkeston, John de Sandale, the king's treasurer, and
Sir Henry le Scrop, knight, executors.'^ June 4. A gift to the
prebendary of Wistow of ten loads of thorns and other brush-
wood to enclose his placea at Wistow. June 19. We have given
to master Peter de Insula four or five bucks, noAV fat, in Cawood
park, and three oaks there, and licence to Sir John de Insula,
or some one in the name of the said Peter, to take and hiuit
the ^y\\d beasts within our liberty of Hexham.-^

1312, Feb. 24. Licence to the parishioners of Newark to
remove a certain chapel built by H., our predecessor, in the
churchyard. It is useless, and the room is wanted : the mate-

petual chantry in the chapel built a baron of the exchequer and a great

within the archbishop's manor of Ripon, man. The public records contain nnicli

and William Swaynby appointed the information about him. On March li),

priest (Reg. Greenfield, and Acta Ca- 1323, Eudo de Crosgat, rector of Fyn-

pit., 134-3-1368, 50). The chantry was gale, Ralph de Dalton, of \Vlialt(Mi, and

well endowed. Cal. Rot. Pat., 78. Richard de Knageston, executors of the

Abbrev. Rot. Orig., i., 212. will of Sir John de Insula, knight, are

** A famous name. cited to say why they have not admi-

* The great earl died in 1312 (Dugd. nistered to his effects.

Bar., i., 105). On Sept. 27 Henry de On Nov. 20, 1298, archbishop New-

Pluckele and Thomas de Folcardeby ark gave Robert, son of Sir John do

were appointed " coadjutores " of Joan, Insula, a stall in St. Sepulchre's cliajiel,

countess of Lincoln, a minor, for the York (Reg. Newark). Richard de In-

dioce.se and city of York. She mar- sula, another son, was precentor of

ried Thomas, earl of Lancaster. On IJeverley and rector of Hotham. In

Dec. 22, 1313, she had leave to choose 1306 and 1308 he had i>ermission to

a confessor {Reg. Greenfield). Her be non-resident (twice) for two years

shrift would be a long one. at the request of his father (Reg.

•'' Peter de Insula was canon of Bole Greenfield). On Feb. 2, 1311, he w;us

and sub-dean of York. He was pro- made penancor for the diocese of Diir-

bably born at Bywell in Northumber- ham (Reg. Kellawc). On Oct. 21, 1317,

land, and, on that account, archbislioi) he gave n\) Ilotluunand the prcccnlor-

Corbridge, the native of an adjacent ship for the living of Long Newton,

village, calls him " carissiraus." Insula dioc. Durham (Reg. Jlolton). In 1313

was archdeacon of Carlisle, AV'ells, Exe- Richard de Insula, rector of Stockton,

ter, and Coventry, and dean of AVells. was ordered to go abroad with the king

He died in 1311. (Feud., ii., 212).
Sir John de Insula, his brother, was

382 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

rials are to be used in the clmrcli. Feb. 26. A commission to
Robert de Pykerino;, canon of York, to receive the vow of
cliastity of Alice, widow of Sir Richard de Bingham, kniglit.
August 2. A general letter against those who detain the relics
and muniments belonging to the hospital of St. John at Not-
tingham. Sept. 4. A mandate to the bishops of Durham, Car-
lisle, and Whitherne to pray for the king and queen and the
peace of the kingdom. Sept. 13. Licence to J. de Amcotes,
one of the seven clerks of the belfrey at Beverley, to be absent
for a year in the service of Stephen de Mauley, archdeacon of
Cleveland.^ Oct. 24. A commission against Sir Richard le
Waleys, knight, and Paulina, wife of Sir John de Graas, who
is with him in his house, living in adultery.^' Nov. 12. Licence
for Cristiana, daughter of Nicholas de Cayli, to reside in the
nunnery of Clementhorp till she is nine years old, at the request
of her father and friends.' Nov. 13. A monition to the parish-
ioners of Worksop to repair the north-west tower of their church,
which is in decay .•^ Dec. 27. Purgation of Sir Gerard Salvayn,
knight, and Margaret, wife of Sir Robert de Percy, knight,
who were charged with adultery.* An order to the bailiff of
Beverley to take twenty-four deer in our park there and give
them to our friends in those parts, as we shall tell you viva
voce. Dec. 31. Licence to the prior and convent of Hexham to
sell a corrody to Sir John de Swinburn, for a lady a cousin of
his.^

1313, Feb. 17. Citation of Mr. Francis de Luco, vicar-
general of Francis Gaytani, archdeacon of Richmond, for extor-
tions from the clergy, etc. He travels about with fifteen and

s April 13, 1313, licence for John le Colville, to stay at Swyne till she is

Porter, one of the seven clerks at Be- twelve. Oct. 27, 1315, licence to Mar-

verle.y, to be absent in the service of garet, sister of Sir Nicholas de Meynil,

Sir llenry de Perc}^, knight (Reg. sheriff of Yorkshire, to stay for a year

Greenfield). at Clementhorpe (Reg. Greenfield).

* John le Graas, of Studley Royal, J A valuable architectural notice,

was sheriff of Yorkshire in 1309. On Another monition was given on Jan. 5,

March 14, 1334, an order to pay the 1314. On May 7, 1314, the prior and

cost of an enquiry in a case of bastardy convent of Worksop had the arch-

of Isabel, daughter and heiress of John bishop's permission to fell, for the use

le Graas (Reg. Melton). See Walbrah's of their house, two hundred oaks in

acco\mt of the lords of Studley. Aug. their wood of Roumwode (Reg. Green-

22, 1313, a commission against dame field).

Juliana, wife of Sir Roger deGrimston, * Salvin was high sheriff of York-
knight, and, on June 8, another against shire in 1310, 1312, and 1313. Cf.
Margaret, widow of Sir John de Grey, Surtees's Durham, iv., 117. He was
knight (Reg. Greenfield). Adultery, a hot-tempered man, and was fre-
etc, were too frequent. quently in trouble. Eschaetor ultra

' March 24, 1312, the abbat and Trentam 1st Edward II. (Abbrev. Rot.

monks of Selby are prohibited from Orig., i., 156), a soldier and statesman,
visiting Clementhorp or spending the ' Not mentioned in the pedigree of

night there. Nov. 13, 1314, licence Swinburn in Hodgson's Northumber-

to Agnes, daughter of Sir William de land, vol. i., part ii., 231, etc.

1301—1315.]

ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD.

383

sometimes witli tAventy-four horsemen, each accompanied by a
dog, for hunting. It is a great burden to tlie clergy to be
obliged to entertain them.'" April 9. The archbishop prohibits
any adoration of an image of the Virgin lately set up in the
chm-ch of Foston. There is a great flocking of simple people to
it, as if there were any more virtue in it than in any other
image." April 16. At Burton, the archbishop absolves Sir Peter
de Mauley, knight, for incest with Alyna, daughter of Sir
Thomas de Furnivall, his wife^s sister, on the condition that he
pays one hundi-ed marks to the fabric of York minster." June
27. Mandate to Peter de Dene to summon Sir Ranulph de
Nevyll, Anastasia, his daughter, Alexander and Sir Robert de
Nevyll, knight, sons of the said Sir Ranulph, jNIaria their sister,
and Christian de Sutton, to reply to certain articles.^ June 28.
Commission to enjoin penance on dame Alianor, wife of Sir
Walter le Vavasour, knight, for divers excesses.'? July 14<. To
Sir Robert Hastang, knight, of our special favour, eight oaks
from our wood of Thornton, fit for timber. Sept. 19. The arch-
bishop requests the abbat of St. Mary^s, York, to give an annual
pension to his clerk, Robert de Grenefield, on account of his
confirmation.'' Dec. 31. Licence to G., bishop of Enachdune,
to ordain Robert de Holden, a domestic chaj)lain of the earl of
Lancaster. Dec, 31. Licence to John de Stapelton to have
service, for two years, performed by a competent person in a
chapel of old foundation in the churchyard of Melsanby.*

'" An official gets into tronble : —

" He was a prickasoure a right :

Greihoundes he hartde as swift as foul of flight :
Of pricking and of hunting for the hare
Was all his lust, for no cost wolde be spare."

Luco afterwards became canon of
Laughton at York. Francis Gaetano,
archdeacon of Richmond, was cardinal
deacon of S.M. in Cosmedin. He was
nephew of Boniface VIII.

" A very remarkable entry (^Vilkins,
ii., 423). On Feb. 20, 1314, sentence
against those who worship an image of
the Virgin in the monastery of Brid-
lington (Reg. Greenfield). This re-
minds us of the words of bishop Becok.
The Lollards in after years raised the
same cry against images (Walsingham,
363).

0 A titled culprit, who wUl be men-
tioned again. Fines of this kind were
frequently devoted to the fabric.

p Bishop Kellawe is said to have
made Sir Ranulph Neville do penance
for incest with his own daughter (Lei.
Coll., ii., 334). These are frightful
revelations. On Sept. 13, 1312, dame

Petronilla de Nevyll had leave to have
service performed in her manor of
Rudham. She was old and could not
go to Banbj'Wisk (Reg. Greenfield).

There is a long a<;count of Peter de
Dene, his romantic life and his strange
fortunes, in the Journal of the Arcluco-
logical Institute.

» This lady and her husband have
been already mentioned. The early
wills of the Vavasors disclose a curious
state of morality. In 13tli Edward II.
Rol)ert le Vavasour gives lands in
Thorpuuderwood and Einewyk to
Fountains abbey for the souls of AVm.
le Vavasour, his father, and Walter,
his brother (Abbrev. Plac, 335). In
my extracts from the registers and
other books of records I have preserved
the spelling of the names and places as
I found them.

"■ A customary claim. The king
a^ked Greenfield to do the same thing
for Robert de Cottingham on his own
accession to the .see (Prynne, iii., 1153).

' A chantry was founded in the
church of Melsanby for the souls of

384 FASTI EBORACENSES, [a.D.

1314, March 25. Commission to Henry de Wilton, official,
and John de Wodehonse, rector of Sntton-on-Derwent, to de-
noimce in the church of York the insnlt done to us by some
one on the part of Pandnlph de Sabellia, throwing in certain
papers at the gates of our manor of Cawood.^ April 3. Com-
mission to absolve Sir Ralph de Neville from excommunication
for. striking Alan de Morton, canon of Marton in Graltres, and
for a matter relating to tithes. May 2. Licence to the prior
and convent of Newburgh to receive into their house, as an act
of charity, among the poor of Chi-ist, a chaplain broken down
with age, Stephen de Sandale, who officiated for a long time in
the chapel of Sandbeck near Maltby. May 16. The archbishop
pardons his tenants at Hexham 59/. 14s. 6d. on account of the
losses they have sustained from the Scots by plundering and
fire." August 4. A mandate from the archbishop to Mr. J. de
Nassington, jun., INIr. Philip de Nassington, and Mr. William
de Stanes, proctors in the court of York, ordering them to plead
the cause of Joan, daughter of the late comte de Bar, against
John de Warren, earl of Sm'rey, in a suit for divorce." Sept. 8.
Citation of Joan countess of Surrey. John, earl of Surrey, tells
us that when he was a minor and a ward of Edward I. he was
obliged by certain noble men and women of England to marry
her through fear, although related to her in the third and fourth
degrees. The citation is to be made at the castles of Conisbro''
and Sandal, and she is to be summoned to appear before the
archbishop. Sept. 15. An oratory to John, earl of Surrey, at
Clifton, near York, during the continuance of the present par-
liament, provided that Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, does
not go there with his cross erect.'*' Oct. 18. Licence to Sir
Henry de Percy to have service in his chapel at the Friars
Preachers, York.* Dec. 10. Sir Nicholas de Menyl has sum-
Alan and Henry de Melsanby (Reg. cident, upon which these extracts throw
Cart. Mon. de Easby). Alan de Mel- much light. The lady was a daughter
sanby and Adam and Henry his brothers of Henry, comte de Barr, and a grand-
are enshrined in the Liber Vitaj of daughter of Edward I. The marriage
Durham, p. 96. was an unhappy one, but no divorce

' Some libellous papers. Savclli, an could be procured. The two, however,
Italian, had a contest with Eichard de lived apart (Hunter's South Yorkshire,
Cornubia for the slall of l^orth New- ii., 108, and Watson's History of the
bald, which was decided at Rome in house of Warren, ii., 8, etc. Coll. Top.
favour of the former. Great violence and Geneal., vii., 133).
was used, and armed men were em- " A cautious provision. York was

ployed (Reg. Greenfield and Melton. now filled with persons of distinction,
Feed., ii., 142, 202). Savelli was no- in attendance upon the court and par-
tary of pope John XXII., and died in liament. The king gave the archbishop
1320. leave to erect his cross in the city

" There is an account of these de- (Feed., ii., 253).
structive raids in the Chron. of Laner- ■^ The family of Percy had an " inn"

co.st. in Walmgate. On Dec. 27, 1313, the

" An obscure and extraordinary in- archbishop appointed a commissioner

1301 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 385

moned clivers rectors, vicars, etc., to come to liim at Easino^Avokl
with horses and arms for service in Scotland. "We forbid them
to fi:o.^ Dec. 19. Licence for Richard, bishop of Durham, to
dedicate an altar transferred from one place to another in his
chapel at Welhalle.' Dec. 25. Licence for Albreda, daughter
of Sir Robert de Percy, knight, to have an oratory in her
manor of Sutton-upon-Derwent, where she resides."

1315, Jan. 9. Mandate to pray for the soul of Philip, late
king of France, at the request of Edward IL, who says of him
that he has on all occasions been a well-wisher and a friend of
us and oui* kingdom.* Jan. 14. A commission to Mr. John
Gower, S.T.P., rector of Wheldrake, to preach at Northallerton
on Monday, the feast of S.S. Fabian and Sebastian, before the
army on its way to Scotland, and the Friars are desired to preach
against the Scots.'' Jan. 17. A letter to the abbat S.M., York,
enjoining him not to exact 2d. in each mark from the dignities
and stalls at York for the Scottish war."^ Jan. 29. A mandate
to the executors of Sir John de Barton, of Oswaldkirk, knight,
who has been killed in Scotland, to prove his will.^ March — .
A commission to correct offences and misconduct in our house-
hold at Cawood. March 11. A commission to the parish priest
of Birkin to hear the confession which a parishioner of his.
Sir William de Holand, knight, is most anxious to make.-^
August 6. A general denunciation of those who with an armed
force have taken possession of the church and manse at Eg-
manton. The corpse of Roger de Bergh, the late rector, is in

to hear the confession of Sir Henry de The praise he bestows was excessive

Percy (Reg. Greenfield). I shall not (Walsingham, 77). April 13, 3;kd

attempt to describe his greatness and Edward I., an order to praj^ for the

his magnificent services. soul of Joan, queen of France (Prynne,

y Menyl was high sheriff of York- iii., 1107). Feed., ii., 258.

shire. An arra}'' was being made to ' The Friars were the great preachers

protect the Marches and to avenge of the day. Gower was probably an

Eannockburn. orator, —

' Bishop Kellawe built this manor- „ . . „ ,, ., ■
■. tr 1 /TT- i x\ 1 o " An specially anoven every thing
house near 1 ork (Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Excited he the peple iu his prechyng."
Tres, 97). Every trace of it has dis-
appeared, but I have a portion of a "^ Jan. 17, 1315, licence to the dean
minute survey of the place made in the and chapter to take 2d. from each
reign of Elizabeth, when many of the mark " contra Scotos " (Reg. Green-
residences of the bishop were allowed field),
to fall into decay. ' He was summoned to serve in

" Sir Robert, who is elsewhere men- Scotland on June 30, 1314 (Rot. Scot.,

tioned, was the owner of Bolton Percy i., 145).

and Sutton-on-Derwent and a great •'"A gallant soldier, who occurs as a

benefactor to York minster (Abbrev. partizan of the earl of Lancnster in

Plac, 210). In 21st Edward I. he had 131(5 (Knyghton, 2533). In 7th of

licence to crenellate his residences at Edward it. the king pardoned him for

Sutton and Bolton (Cal. Rot. Pat., 56). his share iu the death of Gaveston

* The father-in-law of Edward II. (Pari. AVrits, ii., 66).

C C

386 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

the house and it cannot be interred, nor can service be per-
formed.

It is through such materials as these that the past comes
back to us with the lights and shadows with which it was once
chequered. Great men who have long since mouldered into
dust are again alive. We hear of the wars at which their hearts
once beat. We see them in their homes, — their joys and sor-
rows are laid open ; we know what they did and gave ; we can
criticize their virtues and their crimes, and we forget for awhile
that these men lived and died more than five centuries ago.

It is very pleasing to have so many witnesses of archbishop
Greenfield^s piety and zeal. His register, a stout folio in two
parts, speaks to us with many tongues. The primate was a
most excellent and pains-taking diocesan. The details of mo-
nastic life which his acts exhibit are most remarkable. Green-
field tightened the cords of discipline around his monasteries in
a way that none of them would like. He was constantly visit-
ing them and correcting offences even of the most minute kind.
He was very strict also with his clergy on the question of non-
residence, but he must have been much thwarted and annoyed
by the number of foreigners who w^ere sent over to him for
preferment. It would be most mortifying to him to find that
when he had collated one of his own clerks to a benefice, some
stranger arrived with a provision from the pope which he could
not venture to oppose, and that, occasionally, a thii'd claimant
would spring up for it in the person of the king. When this
was the case, as it not mifrequently was, how could the arch-
bishop reward the men who deserved his favour ? He was
dragged into the courts of justice or before the papal consistory,
angry and disgraceful brawls took place in the churches them-
selves, and much scandal and bickering ensued. Greenfield,
however, did his best to attend to the interests of his flock, and
he laboured, for the most part, with success. It was almost
impossible for him to do everything himself. I find therefore,
withovit surprise, the bishops of Whitherne and Enachdune^
acting as his suffi-agans, and he now and then was aided by his
brethren at Carlisle and Durham.

The relations between Greenfield and the ecclesiastics within
the diocese of Durham, although not entirely satisfactory, were
generally amicable. The arrangement that had been made be-
tween Bek and Corbridge seems to have been adhered to.
Greenfield and Bek had but little intercourse. We find them
associated together in the enquiry about the Templars, to whom

«■ In 1306 and 1313 Thomas, bishop to that effect. In 1314 G., bishop of
of'V^ hitherne, was acting as suffragan. Enachdune, was acting (Reg. Green-
April 11, 1314, a commission to him field).

130-4—1315.]

ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD.

387

both were favourable. Bek died in the spriiif^ of 1311, and
Greenfield then went into his diocese and rviled it during the
vacancy of the see. He removed the sentence of suspension
which the deceased prelate had laid upon some of the monks of
Durham for their opposition to him during his visitation, but
on the 26th of March he himself excommunicated William the
prior,^ Henry de Stannford the sub-prior, the sacrist, and Adam
de Boy\ill, one of the monks of Durham, together with Robert
de Baldock^ and Roger de Waltham,-' two of the clergy of the
county, for endeavouring to impede him in his work. With the
exception of Boyvill, they were forgiven soon afterwards.'^
During his stay in Durham Greenfield visited the archdeaconries.

* Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 96, 98.
Stannford became prior of Finchale.

' A great but unfortunate man. His
preferments were numerous. In the
North he was rector of Bradford (Reg.
Melton) and Welton (Reg. ii., Prior,
and Conv. Dunelm., 67), rector of
Whickham and canon of Chester (ibid.,
22-3). He had a pension of 100s. from
the priory of Durham, which he gave
up on the 4th of May, 1314, for one of
10 marks (ibid., 26). Richard de Bal-
dock, prebendary of Weighton at York,
was his brother. Robert de Baldock
became lord chancellor of England.
The chroniclers give an account of his
unhapp}^ fortunes and his end.

J Of this person some account may
be acceptable. He was a native of Wal-
thani (Fuller's Waltham Abbey, 20).
Rector of Arksey 1294-1319 (?) (Hun-
ter's South Yorkshire, i., 327). Mar.
31, 1304, Benedict XI. grants him a
dispensation to hold the rectories of
Long Newton and Egglescliffe, and ca-
nonries at London, Darlington, Auck-
land, and Chester, and bishop Kellawe
confirmed it 23rd March, 1314 (Reg.
Kellawe, 118). April 5, 1306, Clement
V. allowed him, being then bishop
Bek's private chaplain, to hold bene-
fices of the value of 200 marks per ann.
(ibid., 119). He was temporal chan-
cellor of Durham (MSS. Surtees and
Prynne, iii., 996), and a pensioner of
the monastery there (Misc. doc. Pr.
and Conv. Dunelm., 3439, 4562). He
was prebendary of Cadington Minor
at London, and a royal chaplain (New-
court, i., 130), and on June 28,~1322,
the king made him archdeacon of Bucks
(Le Neve, ii., 68). In 1334 he had
licence of non-residence on his rectory

of Hatfield (Reg. Melton). He was
keeper of the king's wardrobe at the
time of his death, which took place in
1342 (Reg. ii.. Prior, and Conv. Du-
nelm., and Reg. Kellawe, 347). He
gave some messages, etc., in London
to keep two priests to pray in the
chapel of St. John Baptist for his soul,
those of his parents, and bishop Bek,
and gave it costly vestments, some of
which were set with precious stones.
He also founded an oratory on the
south side of the choir, with a glorious
tabernacle, splendidly carved and co-
loured (Dugdale's St. Paul's, n. e., 21-2).

Waltham wrote a book called the
"Compendium Morale," which was
very popular in the middle ages. It
is somewhat in the style of Valerius
Maxim us, and is pleasantly drawn up.
There is a fine copy at Diu'ham (B, iii.,
24) in the library of the dean and
chapiter, which ends thus : —

"Exjilicit Compendium Morale de
quibusdam dictis et factis, exemplaribus
antiquorum, per Roger um de Waltham
canonicum London, compilatum, qui
simplici opere suo hio concludeus, cum
0\idio, libro de Ponto, ait
' Leta quidem letiis cecini, cano tristia tristis,

Conveniens operi tempus utrumrjue suo.'

Sic Domino et Beatac Maria) Virgini se
commendans. Amen."

I can trace six other <;opies of this
book. Fuller says that \A"altliam wrote
other works, especially one called " Ima-
gines Oratorum." His account as kecjier
of the Great AVardrobe was among the
Stowe MS.S., and is now in the pos-
session of lord Ashburnham. Cf. Lei.
Comm. de. Script. Brit., 264, and Bale,
cent, iv., 302.

* Reg. Greenfield.

c c 2

388 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

and the call-roll of the clergy and the proceedings of the visitor
are presented at York. This is the earliest list that we possess
of the incumhents of any district in the North. The archbishop
took some interest in the election of Richard de Kellawe to the
vacant see, the whole process of which he entered in his register.
He consecrated him at York on Whit Sunday, 1311/ receiving
from his new suffragan the profession of obedience^ which he
always carefully observed.

We must not expect to find that the old feud about the cross
between the two primates had been given up. It broke ovit
several times while Greenfield presided over the Northern pro-
vince, but with no great violence. When the archbishop-elect
went abroad after his election, the king wrote a letter to the pope
begging that he might be allowed to carry his cross erect on his
retm-n.'" In February, 1306, when Greenfield came back to
England, Edward sent an order to the archbishop of Canterbury
that no violence should be offered to him, although it had been
intended." On his route the Northern primate paid a visit to
the abbat of St. Augustine^ s, Canterbury, but he took especial
care that his presence should entail no annoyance upon his
host." In the spring of 1312, when Greenfield was on his way
to the council at Vienne he met with such rough usage at the
hands of the servants of the archbishop of Canterbury that the
king again stepped in to protect him as he returned.^ When
he arrived in York, on the 1st of December, Greenfield em-
powered Adam de Osgodby, Robert de Bardelby, John de
Markingfeld, William de Melton, and Mr. John de Franceys,
canons of York, to state his position in the controversy to one
of the cardinals. In the autumn of 1314, when the coiu"t was
at York, there was a great risk of a collision. The archbishop
of Canterbury was on his way to that city, and it was not likely
that he would cede a single point to his rival in the North. On
the 31st of August Greenfield ordered his official and the dean
and chapter of York to resist him if he asserted the offensive
privilege, and directed the ser\dces to be suspended at every
place and church at wliich he halted, unless it were the royal
chapel. Instructions were also given to the archdeacon of Not-
tingham to check the Southern primate on his entrance into the
diocese.' The king, hovrever, put an end to the danger by
ordering Greenfield to allow his' brother to carry his cross erect
during his stay in York.'' He would submit most unwillingly.

' Hist. Dunelin. Scr. Tres, 92. In ° Chron. W. Thorne, col. 2005.

1311 Greenfield granted an indulgence Prynne's Coll., iii., 1146.

of forty days to those visiting the shrine p Feed., ii., 167.

at Durham (Raine's St. Cuthbert, 103). » Reg. Greenfield.

•" Fa'd., i., 969. •■ Feed., ii., 253. Trokelowe Ann.,

" Wilkins, ii., 284. 29.

1304 — 1315.] ARCHBISHOP Greenfield. 389

On the 12tli of June in the following year, when there was a
chance of Greenfield going into the diocese of Worcester, a
strict injunction was given to the hishop by his superior that he
should not permit the sacred symbol to be raised.*

The clergy of Yorkshire were indebted to archbishop Green-
field for some useful constitutions which were promulgated at a
synod held at Ripon on the 30th of September, 1306. They
are identical, as Wilkins observes, with those dra^ai up in 1289
by Gilbert, bishop of Chichester, one of GreenfielcFs oldest
friends, and a kind patron to him. Some special injunctions
were added to the eff'ect that no appeal or obedience should be
paid to Canterbury. The arclibishop had another meeting of
his clergy at Laneham in 1311, and he there gave them another
set of constitutions.'

Turn we now from official duties and state employments to
the private life of the arclibishop. Let us look at him in his
palace and home, and not in the council-chamber or on his
throne. The following graphic details, which require little com-
ment or illustration, give us an interesting picture of his every-
day life.

1307, May 14. An order to pay to Thomas Dodington and
John de Marcadel 34/. 14s. 9d. for wines. May 26. For 180
sheep bought of Thomas de Marston, 12/. 15s. June 4. To
Mr. Robert de Hampton and the executors of Walter Oliver,
36/. for 300 sheep and 180 ewes reckoned by the greater hun-
dred. August 13. To the abbat of St. Mary^s, York, the col-
lector of the disme for the relief of the Holy Land, 100/."
Dee. 29. We have received of John de Ripon, bailifi* of Sher-
burn, 20/. in part payment of 100 marks for oaks sold out of
Outwode.

1308, April 11. To William de Grenfeld," our nephew, 120
marks for cloth bought at Stannford fair. May 12. To Richard
de Pole'" 55/. for 15 casks of wine bought of him. June 1. To
John le Warnner, of Munketon, money to j)ay for 40 oxen and
80 sheep purchased for our larder. June 17. To Nicholas de
Molendinis 20/. for certain business of ours which he has to
transact at London. Oct. 21. To Mr. John de Nassington,

' Reg. Greenfield. Aug. 4 the abbat and convent received

' Wilkins, ii., 285, 409-15. 100 marks from him as a subsidy to the

" The money was never u,-ed for church of Rome (Reg. Greenfield),

that purpose. The abbats of St. Mary's, " On Nov. 1, 1318, AVilliam de

York, were frequently collectors for the Greenfield, one of the adherents of the

pope. On Dec. 5, 1307, there was earl of Tiancaster, has a <,'enoral pardon

another payment of 100 marks to him (Pari. Writs, ii., part ii., 131).

for the Holy Land. On May 2, 1308, *" One of the De la Poles of Hull, a

Greenfield paid him 100 marks on family afterwards ennobled. He was

account of the " decima bienuialis " kniLchted, and died in 1315. Cf. Test,

which was due to the king, and on Ebor., i., 7-

390 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Mr. J. de Craucumbe, and dan Adam de Sheffeud^ executors of
Mr. John de Craucumbe, archdeacon of the East Riding,
34/. 13s. 2d. for sheep, lambs, and hay. Oct. 24. To Giles le
Morton, onr servant at Thorpe and at the granges at York, 12/.
for com for seed.

1309, Jan. 25. To Giles le Morton, servant at our granges
at York, the money necessary for making a foss in the Old
Baily,-^ for procuring plants to put in the said foss, and for
repairing the road to the mills. Feb. 5. For six casks of wine,
18/. Feb. 18. To Eudo de Assarto, our chamberlain, 100/. for
the expenses of our hospice. March 10. To John le Graas,
sheriff of Yorkshire, fom' oaks for timber in our wood at
Thornton. March 24. To Clement, shipman of the abbat of
St. Mary's, York, 5s. which he spent whilst canying timber to
our manor at Patrington. July 21. To Richard de Wystowe
10/. to buy animals to give to our lord the king if he chances to
journey to Scotland this way. July 27. To Lambert de Triking-
ham, seneschal of out lands, 20/. in part payment of his fee
(which was 40 marks). August 7. Matthew, rector of Little
Saudal, pays to Eudo, our chamberlain, 40s. for the reconciling
of the churchyard of Little Sandal.^ August 9. To Toctus,
brother of Frysotus de Monte Clare, 64/., in which John de
Britannia, earl of Richmond,- says that he is bound to him for
corn during the vacancy of the see. The letter was dictated
by the archbishop.

1310, March 24. To Giles le Morton, keeper of our granges
at York, 66s. for hay bought of John de Pelham," keeper of
the king's oats. The said John has intimated to us that he has
oats for horses to sell at York at 4s. a quarter, and that he can
sell as much as we want. April 11. To Thomas, bishop of
Whithenie,* 100s. as a gift, and an honest hospice at York
against the time of our general council. May 2. To Giles le
Morton, keeper of our gi*anges at York, money sufficient for
the repairs of our manor at Thorp and our palace at York.

•^ The Old Bailey is in York on the Nov. 5, tlie churchyard of Harewood.
Micklegate side of the Ouse, in the 1310, April 16, the churchyard of kS.M.
direction of Clementhorpe. It will be at the <<ate of York castle. The shed-
again mentioned (Drake's Eboracum, ding of blood was the cause of the
265). pollution. The cost of reconciling a

» A slip of parchment inserted in churchyard was, it appears, 40s.

Greenfield's register tells us that the ' Cf. Dugd. Bar., i., 51.

following churches, etc., were recon- " He is mentioned once or twice in

oiled during the year 1309. June 30, the Pari. Writs.

the church of West Eetford ; July 8, » He made his profession of obedi-

the churchyard of Little Sandal ; Au- ence at Scrooby on the 26th of June,

gust 3, the chapel of Laxton Morhous ; 1306 (Reg. Greenfield). On 20th Sep-

Oct. 10, the churchyard of Dunham ; tember, 1314, the king gave Thomas,

Sept. 24, the churchyard of Bramham ; bishop of AVhitherne, leave to visit his

Nov. 4, the churchyard of Bardesey; diocese (Rot. Scot., i., 131).

1304 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 391

May 19. To Nicholas de Molendinis 57/. to make provision for
us in the fair of St. Ives. IMay 21. To repair our mills at
Ripon 17 oaks, under the supervision of Sir Robert de Coygners'^
and the bailiff of Ripon. June 1. To William, son of Robert
de Grenfeld oiu' kinsman, 20/. for the repairs of the houses of
the manor of the clim^ch of Bolton Percy. July 4. To John de
Wynton our butler, 71/. 7s. lid. for wines iDought at Hull.
Anj:?ust 25. To Sir Thomas de Cohdlle, knight, lord of Coke-
wold, 100/. for the service due from us to the king in the Scot-
tish war. Oct. 14. To Sir Rol)ert de Coyners, knight, 50/. for
a horse sold by him to us at Ripon fair for the use of John
Giffard.-^

1311, March 4. An order to pay the expenses incurred by
our messengers holding a provincial council at Durham. July 4.
To the bishop of Whitherne 20/., for acting as our suffragan
during our absence. July 8. An order to pay the money for
building om' study in our camera at Cawood, and for repairing
the front of our chapel at Burton.

1312, August 21. To William de Langtoft, keeper of the
fabric of the church of York, 100/., which we have promised
and graciously conceded for the said fabric* Sept. 12. To
H. de Wodhouses, servant of our manor of Cawood, money
sufficient to carry on our work there to its completion. Nov.
13. For Avines bought at Hull, 8^ marks. Nov. 15. An order to
Henry de Henney, canon of Ripon and our receiver there, to pay
10/. to the keeper of the fabric of two bridges near Ripon which
have been broken down. Nov. 23. To Roger de Thornton, our
receiver at York, 24s. lid. for repairing our old crozier.-/" For

*■ Probably of Ripon. On June 1 5, to Eobert Coigners (Reg. Melton).

1304, lie and Adam deMiddleton, clerk, This is, I presume, the person whose

were made justices of assize for the marriage archbishop Melton bought in

libert}' of Ripon. On Aug. 30, 1310, 1333 for Joan his niece for the sum of

he, Adam de Middleton, rector of Arn- 60 marks. He is a witness in the

cUffe, and Thomas de Fyssheburue, had Scrope and Grosvenor Roll (ibid., ii.,

a similar commission, and Conyers had 317).

another on Jan. 18, 1314. On Nov. '' Probably Sir John Giffard of Brim-

11, 1309, he was appointed to enquire mesfiold, the archbishop's kinsman, or

into a dispute between the archbishop one of the Gitfards of Weston. On

and the abbat of Fountains about the Feb. 10, 130!), Greenfield gives an ac-

boundaries of the moor or pasture near quittance to dame Margaret Gilfard for

the vill of Colhou (Reg. Corbridge and 50 marks, part of a debt of 100/. in

Greenfield). which she was bound to us for Sir .John

June 7, 1313, dom. Thomas le Con- Gilfard of Weston (Reg. Greenfield).

yers occurs as the sequestrator of the ' On May 21, 1306,_ Greenfield

archbishop within the archdeaconries granted an indulgence of forty days in

of Notts, Cleveland, and the East Rid- behalf of the minster. In the preface

ing (Reg. Greenfield). to the Fabric Rolls, p. xi, T have stated

On August 11, 1336, a loan of 10 erroneously that he gave a donation of

marks to Sir Robert Coigner.s, knight. 500 marks to the fabric. The real

June 25, 1338, another of 20/. to' his donor was his successor Melton,

executors. August 3, another of 25/. / The parcels are, " In cruce domini

392 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

making a new one^ 40s. For furs to set upon our mantle bought
by Thomesyne, 12s. For the York fairs on the feast of St.
Peter ad Yiucula^ 26s. 8d. Dec. 16. A loan of 40/. to the prior
of Watton in his great necessity. Dec. 21. To Peter de Badde-
fosse 16 marks for four casks of wine.

1313, Jan. 5. To the Friars Preachers at York 40s., to the
Friars Minors 2 marks, to the Augustinians 20s., and to the
Carmelites 20s., to enable them to keep the festival to-morrow. i'
Jan. 14. To Adam Munketon, goldsmith of York, for making
our new crozier, 20s., and 16d. for testing the silver used
thereon ; for quicksilver 6d., and for three gold florins bought
for g-ilding the said crozier, 12s. lOd. For a saddle bought for
John Fauconberge,^ 5s. 6d. Jan. 29. To Walter de Brikyuhale,
5s. 7d. for the cost and apparatus of our Bible. Feb, 11. To
Nicholas de Molendinis 40/. for certain matters which we told
him to do. Feb. 13. To the goldsmith for making the cover of
our cup, 12s. ; for one florin bought to gild it, 4s., and for mak-
ing it, 3s. March 5. To a wine merchant 9| marks for two
casks of new wine. March 29. To Adam de Munketon, gold-
smith, 14/. 7s. 9d. for the making and the metal (pondere) of
seven salvers (scutellarum) and six cups of silver. April 27.
To Gaylard de Laden, 10/. 16s. 8d. for four casks of wine bought
for our use at Hull, and to Arnald de Leulk, 40/. for 16 casks of
wine bought there. June 7. To ]\Iargery de Wyghtou for straw
fUteria/ bought for our use, 10 marks. June 13. To William
de Grenefeld, our nephew, 40 marks on our business. June 19.
To John de Sandwich 40 marks to make provision for us at
London. July 26. We have pardoned Robert de Mering, of
Southwell, 40s. in consideration of a colt we have bought of
him. July 15. To Robert de Bluntesdon, 200/. to make pro-
vision for us at the next fair at St. BotulpVs. Sept. 3. To
Mr. John de Weston,-' the king's chamberlain in Scotland, or to

facieuda; in liondere, primo, 7s. 3d. "Our Lord Jesu, as holy writ devlseth,
la diminutione operis, 8d. : in vivo Yave us ensample of fasting and praieres.

„„„„„4 i 1 A T ■ p riierfore we mendicants, we sely freres,

argento empto pro eadem, 4d. : m fac- Ben wedded to poverte and continence."

tura ejusdem crucis, 6s. 8d. : in ij flo-

rinis et di. auri emptis, 9s." Their life, soon after tlieir introduction

«■ In the Wardrobe Account of Ed- into England, must have been any-

ward I. (ii, etc.) similar gifts occur. thing but pleasant, as Eccleston speaks

The Friars were not ignorant of good of their cro\vding together for warmth,

living if Piers Plowman, Chaucer, and " like a litter of pigs?'
Buchanan are to be believed. Their * A son of Walter de Fauconberge

migrator}^ life was one of their chief and a ward of the archbishop of York,

characteristics : that they would justify He will be again mentioned.
in the words of Erasmus, " Tales er- ' Lib. Garderobse Edward I., 33.

rones eraut apostoli; talis erat et Do- ■> Paj-master at Berwick 1299, 1300

minus Jesus;" and for their fasting, (Lib. Garderobse, 145). An eschaetor

etc., the lines of the poet might be and much concerned in Scottish affairs

their warrant :— (Foed., ii., -199. Eot. Scotiie, i., 61

1304 1315,1 ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 393

Peter Bonavicta, merchant, of the company of the Bardi, 100
marks. Oct. 25. To the ahhat of St. Mary's York, 100/. which
we are compelled to pay in these days in hehalf of onr predecessor
J. Romayn for a certain disme imposed in his time. Nov. 16.
A loan of 120 marks to Mr. P. de Dene* which he has horrowcd
from us in the time of his gi^eat need. Dec. 23. To the }i;old-
smitli at York for the metal and the making of six silver cups,
41. 18s. 7d. To Peter de Badefos, 15/. for five casks of wine
which he sent to Cawood.

1314, Jan. 25. An order to pay the money required for
making a new gate in our manor of Hexham and for other
works there. Feb. 11. A loan of 40/. to the prior and convent
of Hexham on account of the frequent inciu'sions of the Scots.
Feb. 20. To John de Sandwich money sufficient to buy half a
web of cloth of the suit of our winter livery, and a thick
variegated far for dan William de Melton.' To the Friars
Preachers and Minors of Y^ork, 40s. each, and to the Augus-
tinians and Carmelites, 20s. each, of our alms, and let each
convent be asked to permit every priest in their houses to say a
mass for the soul of Robert de Grenefeld, our brother, lately
deceased. March 22. To John the goldsmith at York, and others,
71. 7s. 6d. for certain small things. May 12. To Thomas Frere,
William Curtays and Roger de Upton of Doncaster 20 marks
for the repairs of the causeway between Doncaster bridge and
a bridge outside the town called Wylghebrigg. May 26. To
the keepers of the fabric of the church of St. Peter, York, 50
marks, of our special favour. May 28. To William de Yasconia,
Avine merchant, 25/. 2d. for 8 casks of red wine bought of
him, and to Peter de Badefosse, 33/. 16s. Id. for 10 casks of red,
and 1 pipe of white wine bought of him. May 31. To the repairs
of 2 bridges at Ripon, 10/. June 18. To John de Merkingfeld
100/. as a loan to restore his fortunes, with God's help, for we
are much concerned at his unhappy case.'" July 18. To John

etc.). Constable of the Tower of Lon- ward II. he was chancellor of the Ex-
don (The French Chron. of London, checincr (Madox, ii., 320), liavin-,' been
55). Constable of Bordeaux, 1st of ap]iointed to the ottice two years before,
Edward III. (Cal. Rot. Pat., 99). when he had the royal permi-ssion to
* Prebendary of Grendale at York, crenellate his house at Markenfield,
which he gave up in 1322, when he near Ripon, which still remains (Cal.
took the cowl in the monaster}^ of St. Rot. Pat., 70). He was occupied occa-
Auf^ustine, at Canterbury'. He made , sionally in state matters (Rot. Scot., i.,
a will in favour of that house, but tirinj,' 70. Rot. Pari., i., 419. Pcrd., ii., 219,
of his profession, ran away. Thome 409), and lent money to the monastery
gives an amusing account of his re- of l)urham {\lv^. Kellawc, 71). lie
capture. was executor of WilUam de Hamilton,
' Afterwards archbishop. dean of York and lord chancellor of
'" Prebendary of Warthill at York England, M'ith \vhom he had been long
and Studlej"^ at Ripon, and rector of coiniccted. He got into trouble and
Escrick. In the 5th and 6tli of Ed- was excommunicated on account of his

394 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

de Okham/' tlie king's cofferer, 100 marks for our service in the
Scottish war in 1313. July 22. To Nicholas de Molendinis,
10/. IGs. 8d. for cloth and furs for our use, and to Peter de Bade-
fosse, 40/. 6s. 8d. for a pipe of wine. July 12. To Henry de
Cawod, our poulterer (poletarioj, 171. 3s. 5d. to buy oxen, sheep,
and pigs for gifts to the king and queen." August 6. To
Nicholas de Molendinis, 200/. to provide for us at St. Botulph's
fair. August 14. To John de Sandale, lieutenant of the
treasury, 40/. which we have granted to the king for the wages
of forty footmen who are to be sent to Berwick to guard that
town in its great need.^ August 19. To a goldsmith at York,
69s. 2d. for the metal and the making of four silver cups. To
a certain baker at York for consecrated bread fpanis DominicusJ
lately sent to Sir Hugh le Despenser, and Ralph de Mehermer.'?
Sept. 22, To Sir John de Wylmerton, knt., 200 marks which we
have granted to om' kinsman Sir John Giffard of Brymmesfield
to help tov^ards the payment of his ransom in Scotland. To
Sir Henry de Wylmerton, knight, 100 marks which we have
given to Sir Baldwin de Fryvill, knight, oiu* kinsman, towards his
ransom in Scotland. Oct. 3. To Sir Simon Warde, knight, 20/.
for the same purpose.'' Sept. 24. To John de Sulle,'' 10/. which
we have lent him in his great need. Nov. 6. To William de
Ponteburgi, our bailiff at Sherburn, money to pay for fifty fiu's
bought at Pontefract for our winter livery. Nov. 21. To the
Friars Preachers of Beverley tlu'ce qiiarters of corn. Dec. 9.
To the bailiff of Sherburn money to pay the wages of John
Lousing our carpenter. Dec. 10. To Peter de Badfos 50 marks

maladministration of that trust, and qurc et absentibus et catecbumenis, jus
this,probably, is tbe"miseria" to which suraendse eucharistia3 non habentibus
Greenfield alludes. Markenfield's will mittebantur, ut ipsis essent vice sacra-
was made in 1321, and is in the registry menti. Fractio panis dicebatur eulo-
of the dean and chapter of York. giarum benedictio, quae a presbyteris
" A baron of the Exchequer. vel episcopis fiebant ante cibi sump-
» Walsingham, lOi. tionem seu prandium ; quas eulogias
p Cf. Chron. Lanercost, 224, etc. amicis vel convivis in communionis
Fa?d., ii., 248. symbolum distribuebant." See also
" England was roused — on every side Ducange sub voce Eulogia.
Courier and post and herald hied, r rpj^g consequences of the defeat of
To summon prince and peer, -p, ■, ^ -nr n .1 • i,„,„
At Berwick bounds to meet their liege Bannockburn. V> e see from this how
Prepared to raise fair Stirling's siege the ransoms of the prisoners were
With buckler, brand, and spear." raised. Wylmerton had been a captive
' It is impossible to speak here of himself, and Ward is, erroneously, said
these great men. The panis may be to have been killed on that fatal field.
thus explained, "Quoque appellata Wylmerton is probably the same person
sunt eulogia ea panis KXaafxara, qiise that was executed for treason at Bristol
in veteri ecclesia ad alias paroecias, aut in 1322 (Murimuth, 37). Miracles are
ad peregrinos (TriSrtixovvras, ut dictum, said to have attested his excellency,
mitti solebant. Similiter etiam Latini ' Chamberlain of Edward I. in 1306
eulogias dixere frusta panis benedicti (Feed., i., 998). Abbrev. Eot. Orig.,
quidem, sed non in usum eucharistiae, i., 36.

1304 1315.] ARCHBISHOP GREENFIELD. 395

for red vestments of " siklatmi/^' which belonged to Sir Henry
de Percy, with parures, stole, and maniple, embroidered.

1315, Jan. 14. To Hugh Saunterre," our valet, and Giles de
Morton, " domicello nostro," money to buy for each of them the
following arms, "one aketun, one haubergcon, and one bacinet,^^
and gamitlets and a lance. Jan. 27. To Gaillard Cessime, wine
merchant of Gascony, 20 marks 13s. for 4 casks of wine.
Feb. 13. To Stephen de Bella Aqua,'' bailiff of Southwark, 74s.
8d. which he paid for stone and flint bought for making a
certain chamber in our manor of Scrooby. To John de Moubray
and Peter de Mauley 50 marks each, as captains of these parts,
appointed by us and our clergy for the defence of this province
against the Scots.'" March 30. INIandate to the receivers at
Chirchedon to buy 3 casks of good wine, as we intend to
come there this summer. April 8. To the bailift' of Sherburn
for 55 lambs^ furs, bought for our use at Pontefract, the
necessary money. April 18. To Wm. de Grenefield, our nepliew,
50 marks for certain business of ours. April 26. To William
de Thorp, our baker (panetarioj , 20/. to buy horses for our use
at Ripon fair. IMay 5. To Sir Robert Coigners, 20/. which we
have lent to him. May 6. To Peter de Badefos, 49/. 14s. 2d.
for 15 casks of wine at Hull. May 17. To the keeper of the
bridges at Ripon,^ 20/. To our steward at Scroby, money to
buy certain things required to build a chamber in our manor
there. May 28. To the keeper of the fabric of the church of
York, 50 marks for the more expeditious progress of the work
this summer, August 11. A loan of 50 marks to Sir Ralpli
Pitzwilliam.y August 23. A loan of 20/. to Henry de Knares-
burgh minister of the house of St. Robert of Knaresburgh
and his convent on account of their great need. August 31.

' In 1295 the cope of John Mansel Vavasonr for 200 marks (Reg. Green-

" de panno aureo qui vocatur ciclatona" field). Plac. de quo Warranto, 188,

was in the treasury of St. Paul's (Dug- 193, 212.

dale's St. Paul's, n.e., 1318). Other "" On 16th March 200 marks more

instances occur in Ducange under the were given to four captains, and a like

word cyclas. Cf. Knyghton, col. 2740. sum on the 26th (Reg. Greenfield).

" Walsingham, 107. There was a ' On 26th August another sum of

great levy ahout this time in Yorkshire lOZ. for them to A^'illiam le Littester,

(Rot. Scot., i., 165). burgess of Ripon (i1)id.).

" He was bailiff of Ripon in 1307. -" In 21th of Edward I. he occurs a.s

The family belonged to Nottingliam- brother and heir of Geoifrev Pitz-

shire. Cf. thoroton's Notts, 321. John william (Abbrev. Rot. Orig., "i., 96).

de Bella Aqua (Uellew) married Lade- He was custos of Ncwca.stle and Car-

rina, one of the daughters and co-heirs lisle in 1315 (Rot. Scot., i., MO), and

of Peter de Brus (Madox, Bar. 51). was much cmiiloyed in the service of

On " die Dom. in crast. Omn. Sanct.," the state. Por an account of him and

1309, Isabella de Bella Aqua granted to his ]irinccly fortunes, see Hodgson's

William, son and heir of Sir John de Nortlnnuborland, vol. ii., part ii., 27-i.

Bella Aqua, her son, his own marriage Poss's Judges, iii., 89.
which she bought of Sir William le

396 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

To the prioress and convent of Clementhorpe, 40s. of our alms,
and to a poor man, who made a ditch in the garden of our
palace to carry off the superfluous water, 2s. Sept. 5. To
the prior of St. Mary's York, 20/. for the covering of our houses
at Westminster. Sept. 10. To Stephen de Bella Aqua money
to buy 50,000 or 60,000 turves, and 6 marks for making a
certain mill of ours at Laneham. Nov. 18. To the Friars
Preachers and Minors of York, each 5 marks, and to the
Augustinians and Carmelites 40s. each, on account of the
excessive dearness at the present time.*

Archbishop Greenfield died at his manor house at Cawood
on the festival of St. Nicholas, Saturday, December 6, 1315,"
and was interred within the minster of York to which he was a
generous benefactor. He lies in the north transept on the
eastern side, in the corner adjacent to the choir aisle. The
monument which commemorates him, although much mutilated
and injured, is a very striking one. The marble slab that
covers his remains has been plated with brass, of which nothing
is in existence save a portion of the figure of the archbishop
which time and neglect have almost entirely obliterated. He
wears his mitre, and is clad in fall canonicals, and his hand is
raised in the act of benediction.* Above the figure there towers
a lofty overarching canopy of rich decorated work surmounted
by a statuette of Greenfield who is seated in his chair. '^ This is
a valuable memorial of the skill of a recent master mason of the
cathedral. Between the tomb and the wall there once stood
the altar of St. Nicholas, for, as the decease of the archbishop
occurred on the festival of that saint, this place, most happily
and appropriately, was selected for his interment. At the
time of Greenfield's death two chantries were in existence at
that altar, and on the 28th of April, 1316, Richard de Cestria,
canon of York, added a third at which the soul of the archbishop
was especiallj^ commemorated.'^

About 1735 the tomb was opened and a fine gold ring with
a ruby was taken from the dead man's finger. It is now deposited
among the treasures in the vestry. The lines of Hugo Grotius
may be applied to it : —

' Kn3^ghton (col. 2532) speaks of the * Engraved in Waller's Sepulchral

" caristia tritici " in 1307, but he does Brasses, and in Drake, 432.

not allude to this year. Murimuth, ' It was 1)ehind this tomb that the

however, mentions it (p. 24), and says wretched fanatic Jonathan IMartin se-

that a quarter of wheat was worth 30s. creted himself in 1829 when he set fire

and more. Cf. Sprotti Chron., 77, and to the minster. In 1434 the arch-

Trokelowe, 34. The corn could not bishop's tomb was enclosed (Fabric

ripen in consequence ofthe wet weather. Eolls, 53).

" MSS. Cotton, Vitelliiis, A, ii., 1 12. * Fabric Eolls, 299. Domesday book

Stubbs, col. 1730. penes Dec, and Cap. Ebor., 52 b.

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 397

" Aunulo, qui thecam potcras liabiiisse scpulclirum,
Hscc, natalis erit nunc tibi, tlieca, locus."

I find also that Greenfield bequeathed another ring to the dean
and chapter to decorate the feretory of St. William. This came
into their possession on the 7tli of January, 1316."

Goodwin tells us, without stating his authority, that the
archbishop bequeathed his library to the monastery of St.
Alban^'s,-^ which at that time was in very high repute. His will
has not occui-red to me. Thomas de St. Albans^, canon of South-
well, and William, son of Robert de Greenfield, the testator^s
nephew, were the executors.^ They were released from the
responsibility of their charge on the 16th of August, 1322.'''

^^^^tlliam XiC lilcltOn, the forty-second archbishop of York,
was a person of whom all contemporary writers si)eak Avith
respect and admiration, and he must be regarded as one of the
greatest prelates that ever presided over the Northern province.
He was of humble origin, but he raised himself to distinction by
his natural abilities and his unflagging energy, and became one
of the most conspicuous and useful statesmen of the age in wliich
he lived. Nor were his services to the church less remarkable
from his connection with the court. ^ It is, indeed, difficult
to do full justice in a narrow space to so illustrious a man.

He was a native of a little hamlet, called INIelton, in the
parish of Welton near Howden,-' which is situated aljout five
miles from North Cave, and nine from Beverley and Hull. Tlic
district in which he was born Avas under the control of the see
of Dui'ham from very early times, and the prior and convent
of that renowned monastery were the patrons of the churcli in

' Fabric Rolls, ed. Surtees SocicW, of the executors. Oct. 10, 132i, the

214. There was in the treasury, by king orders Mr. Thomas de St. Albans

the gift of Greenfield, a pontifical ring to be summoned to pay the sum of

with an emerald in the middle sur- 193^. I7s. 5^d. to archbishop Melton

rounded by four rubies and four large (Reg. Melton),

pearls (ibid.). ' " Licet de curia regis esset assnmp-

/ De Prsesuhbus, M. e., 685. He pro- tus, religiosam tamen vitam habuit ct

bably derived his information from the honestam" (Lanercost Chron., 233).

famous Golden Book of St. Albans' > Mr. Nichols makes him a native of

which is in the Cottonian library. Melton Mowbray (History of Lciccs-

«• Drake's Eboracum, 432. tershire, ii., 25'J). There are pedi-
' '' March 4, 1319, commission to Mr. « grces of the family in Baker's North-
Dennis Avenel, canon of Beverley, and ants, i., 673 ; Poulson's Holderness, ii.,
Thomas de Cave to receive the accounts 199j Hunter's South Yorkshire, ii., 162.

398 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

which Melton would worship in his boyhood. They befriended
him in his struggles Avith the world, but it was in all probability
to bishop Bek and archbishop Greenfield that he was mainly
indebted for his rapid progress in the court and church. The
neighbourhood from which he sprang produced another great
man about the same time, John de Hotliam, lord chancellor of
England and bishop of Ely.

In 1300 Melton occurs as one of the ostiarii of the wardrobe
of Edward I., and he was comptroller of the same department at
the accession of his son, an office which he was holding in
1315.'^ In the spring of 1308 he went abroad with Edward II.,
being at that time the secretary of that monarch, in the charge
of the temporary seal.^ On the 20th of April, 1310, the king
sent a commendatory letter in his favour to the pope, praising
him highly, and saying that he had been in his service from
his boyhood. This seems to shew that there was then some
prospect of Melton's rising to greatness, and this is the more
probable from the fact that Edward wrote in the same strain to
the pope and cardinals on the 12th of November, 1312.™ On
the 12th of August, in the same year, he went as a commissioner
from the king to the barons and probi homines of the Cinque
ports," and he was sent abroad on May 3, 1313, with letters of
protection, on the king's business, and the constable of Dover
was ordered to make arrangements for the passage of Melton
and his companions." On the 1st of August, in the same year.
Melton was one of the commissioners who were to look to the
protection of the marches of England against the Scots, and on
the 12th of June, 1314, he and others had letters of credence
to archbishop Greenfield, as the representatives of the king, in
the convocation of the clergy that was to meet at York to consider
the subject of the expedition into Scotland which ended in the
disastrous defeat at Bannockburn.^

Whilst Melton was thus employed, he was a pluralist of the
first water. He seems, indeed, to have been beneficed in every
part of England, but it must not be inferred that he held all
his pieces of preferment at the same time. In 1299 he was
presented to the rectory of Refham, in the diocese of Lincoln,
which he was holding in the following year, 5' On the 10th of

* Liber Garderobse, 45, 87,95, 166, " Feed., ii., 211.

181,332. Madox, Hist. Exch., i., 74. p Ibid., 249. Rot. Scotije, i., 113.

Rot. Scotise, i., 143. Pell Records, 118. Pari. Writs, vol. ii., part i., 421 ; part

Pari. AVrits, vol. ii., part ii., 10. ii., 77. On August 13, 1313, he was

' Feed., ii., 29. Pari. Writs, vol. sent to various prelates within the pro-

ii., part ii., 11,43. In 1343 he gave vince of York to ask for loans against

the great seal to the keepers thereof by the Scots (ibid., vol. ii., part ii., 65).

the king's order. i MSS. Harl., 6951, 33. Cal. Inq.

'" Feed., ii., 107, 187. Post. Mort., i., 165.

" Pari. Writs, vol. ii., part ii., 43.

1317 1310.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 399

July, 1301, he was instituted, at the presentation of the abbat
and convent of St. Mary^s York, to the rectory of Hornsea in
Holderness.'" On the 2nd of January, 1305, he obtained the
first part of the prebend of Oxton cum Crophill at the church
of Southwell,"" and on the 13tli of March, 1308, he was instituted
to the rectory of Lytlie, at the presentation of Sir Peter de
Mauley, and he made a diligent enquiry into the dilapidations
of his living.'^ On the 27tli of August, 1308, he was made dean
of the college of St. Martin-le-grand," and archdeacon of
Barnstaple, in the church of Exeter on the 13th of October."
In 1309 he became prebendary of Louth at Lincoln."' On the
3rd of May, in that year, he gave up his stall in the collegiate
church of Westbury, in the diocese of Worcester, to Mr. William
de Lincoln for his prebend at the altar of St. Michael at
Beverley, to which he was collated. On the 2nd of June he
was presented by Edward 11. to the stall of South Cave at
York, but it was found upon enquiry that Neapolio, a Roman
cardinal was in possession of it in virtue of a papal provision,
and Melton did not obtain it.-^ On the 30th of July he was
collated by archbishop Greenfield to the prebend of Northwell
at Southwell which John de Drokenesford had held, and on the
6th of October he was preferred, by the same prelate, to the
provostship of Beverley .^^ In the same year he was presented
by the king to the rectory of Thorpland in Norfolk.- On the
23rd of March, 1310, he was collated to the stall of Driffield at
York, exchanging for it, with John de Cadomo, his prebend in
the collegiate church of Darlington, and he was installed by
the chapter on the 15th of August." On the 4th of August he
was instituted to the rectory of Spoffbrth at the presentation of
Sir Henry de Percy.* In 1312, on the 4th of July, Richard
Kellawe, bishop of Durham, granted him an annual pension of
20/. for the good service he had rendered him,'^ and Melton Avas
in the receipt of a similar gift of ten marks per annum from
Weaker de Langton, bishop of Coventry and Litchfield, which
he gave up on the 12th of November, 1318, when he no longer
needed it.'' On the 8th of April, 1312, the prior and convent

*■ Eeg. Corbridge, 33 h. Reg. Green- Oliver's Beverley, 390. Cal. Rot.

field, part i. Instituted again May 7. Chart., Ul, 147. Plac. de quo War-

' Le Neve, iii., 447. ranto, 636.

' Reg. Greenfield. - Blomefield's Norfolk, vii., 98.

" Newcourt, i., 426. Kempe's St. <" Reg. Greenfield. ActaCapit., 16 J.

Martin-le-Grand, 102. Mon. Francisc, In August, 1311, when Robert de

506. Plac. de quo Warranto, 452. Cal. Pickering was elected dean. Melton

Rot. Chart., 140. " Le Neve, i. , 406. received the vote of Robert de Rippling-

*" Ibid., ii., 180. ham, the chancellor.

' Reg. Greenfield, part i., 12-13. * Reg. Greenfield, part i., 80 a.

y Ibid., part i., 46 6. He was col- '' Reg. Kellawe, 4 b.

lated to it previously on Oct. 22, 1308. '' Reg. Melton. He had also a pen-

400 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

of Dm-hara gave liim tlie rectory of Welton, his native parish,
Ijut he resigned it on the 14th of September following/ and ou
the 13th of January he is said to have been preferred to a stall
in the church of Howden/ On the 21st of November, 1314,
he received the living of Castre, Northants, which he gave up in
1316/ and in September, 1317, he resigned that of Brigham, in
Cumberland, upon his promotion to the archbishopric of York/'
The death of archbishop Greenfield in December, 1315,
vacated the see of York, and on the 13th of that month the
king gave the chapter leave to proceed to a new election. On
the 2 1st of January they fixed upon Melton at the king^s request,
and on the 5th of February Edward assented to their choice.
On the 8th the king ^Tote in Melton^s behalf to the pope and
gave him letters of safe conduct to enable him to leave the
kingdom.^ On his arrival at the papal court he was subjected
to a lengthy and tedious delay occasioned, no doubt, to a great
extent by the death of Clement V. His wishes, however, were
thwarted by some attaches of the papal court, among whom
may be mentioned Pandulph de Savelli, George de Poregia, and
Fi'ancis Gaetano, all of whom were beneficed in Yorkshire and
had some gnidge, in all probability, against the archbishop-elect.
On many occasions the king wrote to the pope and cardinals in
Melton^s favour, at one time protesting against the delay, and
expressing the mischief which it might occasion in consequence of
the incursions of the Scots, at another time remonstrating with
the opponents of the confirmation and imploring that it might at
once be made.-' Smooth words, however, as well as rough were
impotent, and the consecration was actually delayed until the
25th of September, 1317, when it took place at Avignon.* On

sion from the prior and convent of prebend of Driffield, taxed at 100?. per

Coventry. There is a singular letter annum; the stall of St. Michael at

from prince Edward relating to it in Beverley, worth 17Z. ; and the provost-

33rd Edward I., which certainly shews ship worth 40?.

that Melton was fond of money (Ninth ' Stubbs, col. 1730. Le Neve, iii.,

Eeport of the Deputy Keeper of Public 106. Fopd., ii., 285. Cal. Eot. Pat.,

Records, appendix, ii., 247-8). 79. On 19 kal., Jan., 1315, the chap-

' Reg. ii., Prior, and Conv. Dunelm., ter asked the king's leave to proceed to

i.. Ill J. ^Yhen Melton was elected a new election (Reg. Dec. and Cap.,

archbishop he wrote a kind letter to the sede vac).

prior asking him to be present at his i Foed., ii., 297-8, 300, 305-7, 310,
entbronization. He also lent the con- 312-15,318-19,327,332-3,341. Ed-
vent 100 marks (Misc. Documents penes ward calls Melton "prsedilectns clericus
Dec. and Capit. Dunelm., 4603, 4967). et familiaris noster." On April 20,

■^ MSS. Torre. Hutchiason's Dur- 1317, the pope wrote to the king to

ham, iii., 451. say that he had ordered a cardinal-

«■ MSS. Hark, 6951, 57 b. Bridges' bishop to hear the matter (Feed., ii.,

Northants, ii., 501. 326). Carte's Gascon, etc., Rolls., ii.,

* Reg. Melton. He resigned at the 6—9.

same time the rectory of Hornsea, * Stubbs, col. 1730. MSS. Cotton,

valued at 50 marks per annum; the Yitellius, A, ii., 112.

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 401

the 8tli of October Edward restored to Melton the temporalities
of liis see.^ The new primate was at Beverley during the cele-
bration of the next Advent^ and on the 14tli of February he
was solemnly enthroned at York, the festivities on that occasion
lasting for three days.™

When Melton returned into the North he was plunged into
the vortex of Scottish politics which occupied his attention for
the remainder of his life. The peace of the Borders was being
continually broken, and it was necessary for the English soldiers
and statesmen to be always on the alert. On the 27th of
January, 1318, the archbishop was summoned to a meeting of the
parliament at Lincoln," and on the 18th of ISIarch he was one
of the commissioners appointed to make a truce with Scotland."
Negotiations, however, were throAvn aside, and on the 8tli of
Jmie the proposed meeting at Lincoln was deferred in conse-
quence of the news that the Scots were at that time in England.
The restless marauders broke into Yorkshire in the month of
May, plundering and burning what they could as they passed
along. The towns of Northallerton, Boroughbridge, Knares-
brough and Skipton in Craven were destroyed, and Ripon was
only saved from ruin by the tenants paying down to the invaders
the large sum of 1000/.^ On the 5th of June the archbishop
excommunicated the Scots for the mischief they had caused at
Ripon and Otley. They had done very serious injmy, besides,
to a large portion of his diocese. The value of chui'ch property
in Yorkshire was depreciated by that raid to the large amount
of 1000 marks, and as many as sixty benefices were injured.
The chm'ch of Tadcaster was destroyed, and that of Pannal
burned, as the invaders had tarried at that village. The toAvcr
of the church of Knaresbrough still bears the marks of the fire
that was kindled around it in the vain hope of bringing it to the
ground and destroying the fugitives whom it sheltered. The
abbey of Fountains was for some time the head- quarters of the
Scots, and, as may be expected, the substance of that noble
house was entirely wasted or taken away.* Corpses and smok-
ing Aillages marked the path of the retreating foe. The utmost
vigilance was required to prevent the recurrence of the inroad.
The archbishop was made one of the keepers of the marches,*"

' Feed., ii., 344. 437. Beg. Melton, where there is a

'" Stubbs, col. 1731. The bishops, list of the places injured. On Jan. 1,

abbats, justiciars, etc., were invited to 1319, the archbishop ordered his own

the enthronization (Reg. Melton). tenants at Ilipon to pay their quota.

" Pari. Writs, vol. ii., part i., 173, In Lcland (Coll., i., 250) it is said that

175, 178. the Scots killed many of the clergy,

" Feed., ii., 358. Rot. Scotiae, i., etc., at Ripon. This information is in

179. Murimuth, 38.

p Chron. Lanercost, 235. Pari. i Reg Melton. Cal. Rot. Pat., 83.

Writs, vol. ii., part i., 181. Feed., ii., •■ Cal. Rot. Pat., 83.

D D

402 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

and on the 10th of June and the 25th of August he was ordered
to array his servants and send them against the Scots/ On the
20th of October he was summoned to the parliament at York,
and, on the 16th of December and the 13th of January follow-
ing, he was again desired to prepare his tenants for service
across the Tweed/

The year 1319 found Edward II. keeping his Christmas at
Beverley, as he was eager to punish the Scots for their recent
foray into England. The attempt of Edward Brus upon Ireland
had ended in a signal failui'e, and his brother Robert had been
formally excommunicated by the pope. On the 6th of May
the archbishop was summoned to a parliament to be held at
York." The king was gathering together for his expedition all
the forces that he coidd collect, when he was distressed to hear
that the governor of Berwick had treacherously surrendered
that town to the enemy, and he hastened northwards to recover
it. On the 21st of July archbishop Melton wrote to the bishop
of Durham, the dean and chapter, and the official, of York, solicit-
ing the prayers of the faithful on behalf of the expedition, and
granting an indulgence of forty days to those who offered them.
On the 4th of September the primate wrote to the abbat of St.
Mary^s and other dignitaries requesting them to meet him on
the ensuing Friday at the chiu'ch of the Holy Trinity in Mickle-
gate, York, and to join in a solemn procession, with its custom-
ary litany of supplications, for the success of the royal forces."
On the same day a very different order was issued by the king,
and it came to York — the herald of alarming news. It told the
archbishop that whilst the English monarch and his chivalry
were at Berwick, Randolf, earl of Moray, and the famous Doug-
las were making a raid into the kingdom in another direction,
and Melton and the chancellor, John de Hotham, bishop of Ely,
were ordered to array and lead against them the 2^osse comitatusy
The crozier seems to have been thrown aside for a more potent
weapon, and the warrior-bishops seem to have taken aU the
precautions that civilians could adopt.-^ The soldiers were absent

• Pari. Writs, vol. ii., part i., 502, days to those who complied (Reg. Mel-

505, 511, 512. ton). "What a contrast to the spirit

' Ibid., 182, 511-12. Feed., ii., 382. and the temper of the present age ! la

Rot Scotisc, i., 190. Wilkins, ii., 485. 1321 Melton granted another indulg-

" Pari. "Writs, ii., part i., 197. ence of forty days to all who prayed for

" Reg. Melton. On March 10, 1318, the king, and another in July, 1319

Melton enjoined the people of his dio- (Hist. i)unelm. Scr. Tres, appendix,

cese to pray for peace, there being at 123).

that time dissensions between the king "• Pari. Writs, ii., part i., 525. Rot.

and his barons (ibid.). On the 20th of Scotis, i., 202.

July the king asked for their prayers ^ We think of the archbishops of

(Feed., u., 402), and, on October 3rd, Orange and Poggio in the Gierusa-

JMelton granted an indulgence of forty lemme Liberata :—

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 103

in the Nortli, but tlic exhortations of their diocesan Avoiikl ])ring
the clergy into active service with as many of their parishioners
as they could persuade to accompany them. A motley crew of
10,000 men is said to have been collected, many of whom Mere
better acquainted with the breviary than the sword, and all
seem to have been completely ignorant of discipline and military
ari'ay.^* Parsons, ^dcars, friars of divers orders and hues, citizens
of York who left unwillingly their merchandize, grooms and
ribalds were sent into the field. The invaders had made a daring
but unsuccessful attempt to seize the queen in the neighbour-
hood of York ; they had actually destroyed the suburbs of that
city, and were now lying about twelve miles off on the promon-
tory between the Swale and the Ouse, near the little village of
Myton where the two streams unite. On the 12th of October
the English 10,000 came up to them in disorderly array and
shewing a front that any enemy would rejoice to encounter.
The Scottish forces must have watched them with eager satis-
faction till they crossed the river by which their retreat was
intercepted. Several haystacks were now fii'cd, and the smoke
drifting into the eyes of the Englishmen blinded and bewildered
them. In the middle of the confusion and right through the
smoke, the Scots came down upon them, and they tm'ned and
fled to the right hand and the left. They were thrust into the
river to be drowned, or perished by the sword upon its banks.
Great numbers were killed, whilst others were carried away into
captivity, amongst whom was William de Armin who was sub-
sequently bishop of Norwich. Nicholas de Fleming, the mayor
of York, was one of those wdio fell, and the fugitives seem to
have been rescued from complete destruction only by the night.
The marauders now made their way homewards and escaped
from the English army, carrying with them an immense booty.
The Scots, in memory of the profession of a great number of
their opponents, gave to that contest, if such it may be called,
the title of the white battle ; and the English soldiers, in bitter
ridicule of the prowess of the clerical warriors, called that meet-
ing and its debate " the chapter of Myton."*'-

"Poi duo pastor de'popolispiegaro The Brus, ed. 1856, p. 404-5, the fol-

Le squadre lor, Guglielrao ed Ademaro. i„..,; i;„„„

L'uno, e I'altro di lor, che ne' divini lowing hnes occur :—
Uffici gia tratto pio ininistero, " The archbisliop of York tha mad

Sotto relmo premendo i lunghi crini, 'I'liar oapitanL', and till consalo

Essercita de Tarme hor I'uso fero." Has taiie that tlia in plaiip battale

Wald assale the Hcottisiiien,
y There is an account of the battle That fer fewar thin tha war then.

in Chron. Lanercost, 239. Lei. Coll., Than he diKpiait his baner

Ar-.-\ AHt n 1 T, ti i And other bischopis that tliar wer.

11., 462-474. 13 uchanan, Herum ocot. » . .

Hist., 8vo, Francofurli, 263. Muri- Of tha yhet thro, hundrctu war

muth, 30. Walsindiam, 112. Troke- i'!-«st]s "'»' <l<\'t '"'i'l that chas;

» .K ° Tharfore that bargane calht was

lowe, 40. 'f l,p chaptour of Mytoun, for thar

' Rot. Scot. , i., 204. In Barbour's Slaue sa mony prestis war."

D 1) 2

404 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

If archbishop Melton was present at this disastrous adven-
ture, it was the first and the last time that he tried his fortunes
in the field. How the English soldiers would laugh at his puny
and unsuceessful efforts when the army came back from Ber-
wick ! Edward returned to York with all speed as soon as he
heard the news. On the 15th of September Melton and several
other commissioners were sent to Carlisle to propose an armis-
tice, to which the Scots, who had secured everything that they
desired, very readily assented." In the following month the
courts of justice were removed from London to York, and re-
mained in that city for half a year. The hopes of England
seemed now to centre in the metropolis of the North. The
king was there, full of indignation at tlie recent mishap and yet
fearful for the future. He was dealing with a subtle and potent
enemy, and time was necessary to bring together another army.
On the 15th of January, 1322, Melton Avas ordered to explain
Edward^s intentions by causing his declaration to be read in
the churches,* and on the 19th he was authorized to treat with
Hobert de Brus.'' On the 7th of February, and on two other
occasions in the same year, he was directed to supply men or
money for the Scottish war and to provide his customary service. "^
His diplomacy, therefore, had been unsuccessful. In the autumn
of 1322 there was another inroad of the Scots into Yorkshire,
They swept over much of the same ground which they had
devastated in 1319. The king sent John de Britannia, earl of
Richmond, with a body of soldiers to watch their movements,
but he incautiously allowed himself to be surprised among the
hills between By land and Rievaux. The invaders, who were
at home among the rocks, made prisoners of the English com-
mander and a number of his men. Edward, never dreaminsr
tliat danger was so near, was all the while in the monastery of
Rievaux. He fled in haste, two of the monks serving as his
guides, leaving all his plate and treasure behind him, of which
the enemy possessed themselves. After scouring the country
towards the east and south as far as the Wolds, and receiving a
large sum of money from the inhabitants of Beverley for sparing

In Hardyng's Chronicle, n. e., 309, And xv hundreth Englyshe there he slewe,

there is the following description of the ^"'' ''T® '"^ ''"'"* "■"** ^^""^ Kdward full

1 ff . glad,

Daiue : With prysoners many, mo then men knewe,

" To Boroughbrydge by East and West he The byshop fled fro the felde full woo bestad,

brent With his clerkes that then were full mad."
And home agayne with many a piysoner.

Without hanne or lette of his entent, « "Pmd ii 4.^4. Pari "WrifB ii

With mykell good, but in Myton medowe, <■ oon ' '

nere pari 1., ^60.

To Swale water, laye then with great power * Pari. Writs, ii., part ii., 17.

Walter Wareyn among the hay kockes e J'oecl. ii. 441.

Upon"the bvshop) sodeiiiy with Scottes "" ^^^^- Writs, ii., part i., 544, 558,

yssued. ■ 568, 620. Wilkins, ii., 514.

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 405

their town, they returned leisurely into Scotland.* They carried
off with them the earl of Richmond, and several years passed
away before he could be ransomed. He had already become
acquainted with the troubles of captivity, as he had been taken
prisoner in his youth in the wars in France.

A very distinguished man comes prominently forAvard about
this time in the history of the North of England, and plays a
conspicuous part in the annals of the nation. It was long before
Yorkshire forgot one of the greatest of her favourites, Thomas,
earl of Lancaster. Royal blood was flowing in his veins, for he
was a grandson of Henry III., and he had a spirit far more fitted
to control an empire than that which animated his feeble-minded
cousin who now sat upon the throne. An alliance with the
heiress of the Lacies gave him imbounded influence and a
princely fortune. He was far too powerful to look with in-
diflierence upon the busy world of politics around him, and too
honest to countenance the follies of the monarch and his
courtiers. When the hireling Gaveston was in the flush of his
ambitious career, Lancaster was one of the nobles who drove
him into exile and set themselves to work to correct the abuses
in the administration of the kingdom ; and when that haughty
minion subsequently returned, the stout earl was one of those
who took him prisoner and sentenced him to death. After this
event there was a turn in the tide of the fortunes of Lancaster.
The king regarded him with the most bitter hatred; but domestic
affliction was the thorn which rankled in his side. His wife
dishonoured her ancient name by her disloyalty to her husband,
and the monarch rejoicing at his trouble, contemptuously re-
jected his demand for redress. The indignant noble, when he
looked around him, found that other peers were as discontented
as himself. He rushed into rebellion, for he was a man with a
vast number of friends and retainers and a fearless spirit. He
raised a large army to vindicate his rights, but a little subtle
diplomacy on the part of Edward caused it to be disbanded.
In 1321 the ridiculous partiality of the king for tlie Pespenscrs
again aroused the anger of the nobles, and there was a meeting
at Sherbuju in Elmet where a confederacy was organized which
resulted in the banishment of the favourites. Untoward circum-
stances, however, produced the dismemberment of the league,

' Walsinfrlmm, apud Camden, 113. '' Schir Jnhne of nrotanc thar was tane

Chron. Petrib., 163. Chron. Lauer- Ami ncht feleof his folk war slane.

cost, 247. In Leland (Coll., i.. 250) The Bulk of the Croniclis of Scotland,

it is said that the burgesses of Beverley iii., 256. Murininth, 38. Walsins^-

paid down the sum of 400/. Buchamm, ham, 113. Galfr. lo Baker, 66. Ot-

Rerum Scot. Hist., 8vo, Francofurti, terbourue, i., 62, 110, " apud Bydlaud

265. Fordnn, Scotichronicon, ii., 279. baukes." Trokcloue, 64.
Barbour's The Brus, ed. 1856, 434.

406 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D,

and in the following year Edward had the opportunity presented
to him, which he had so long coveted, of efl'ecting the ruin of
Lancaster. The earl and his followers came into collision with
the royal forces at Boroughhridge and were compelled to submit
to them. The captors led him in triumph to Pontefract with
every mark of ignominy, and there, on the 22nd of March, he
was put to death in the sight of his own castle.-^ The circum-
stances attending the execution were calculated to impress the
scene upon the beholders, and encircled the memory of the
dead with fond and affectionate regrets. The victim had always
been a favourite, and when he died, as the people thought, in
his country^s cause, their sympathy was exhibited in a remarkable
way. The same sufferings which led the people of the North
to desire the canonization of archbishop Scrope, and Henry VI.,
induced them to regard Thomas of Lancaster as a saint. His
mutilated body was interred in the parish church of Pontefract,
and, on the 7th of October, 1322, archbishop Melton issued a
mandate forbidding any one to approach his tomb for the pur-
poses of devotion. He found it necessary to repeat his injunc-
tion on the 24th of August in the following year. On the 24th
of February, 1327, when the tide was turned in favour of the
friends of Lancaster, he adopted a very different tone. The
concourse of worshippers to Pontefract had not slackened, and
the country was ringing with the report of miracles which had
attested the sanctity of the deceased earl, when Melton wrote a
letter to the pope to mention what had occui'red, and to request
the appointment of a commission to enquire into the circum-
stances of the case.^ Nothing in all probability was done, but
the fame of the gi-eat nobleman was not soon extinct. On the
30th of October, 1343, archbishop Zouche, at the earnest en-
treaty of Henry, earl of Derby, set at nought the prohibition of
Melton, and permitted service to be done by a monk in a
chapel on the hill at Pontefract,'' and on the 21st of May, 1354,
archbishop Thoresby made a similar concession.' The chapel

f Lei. Coll., ii., 46J>-5. Chron. La- reported miracles (Coll., ii., 466). The

nercost, 244, etc. Trokelowe, 10, 53- beads of the earl were treasured in the

63. Mon. Malmesb., Vita Edward II., monastery of Durham (Eaine's St.

124, 178, 220. Kny^hton, col. 2539- Cuthbert, 122).

41. Froissart, ed. Johnes, i., 4, etc. * Reg. Zouche. On Dec. 15, 1327,

Scak Chron., 148-9. Feed., ii., 478, a royal order was issued prohibiting

etc. Walsingham, 116. Galfr. le Ba- any unauthorized person collecting mo-

ker, 65. Hardyng {n. e., 310) says,— ney for the chapel on the hill where

"Tiiovoiio woe i,„„^„.i *T 1. „ the earl was beheaded (Foed., ii., 726.

iheie he was headed anone upon tlie hyll, r^e -i ■ i i-,r^H\ r\ ^n tit u t oorw

Aud buryed was there in a chapell fay/e." ^f. ibid., 707). On 7th March, 1330,

and April 3, 1331, the king wrote to

e Reg. Melton. Leland says that the pope requesting that he might be

lord chancellor Baldoek " caussid xiiij canonized (ibid., 782, 814). Cal. Rot.

Gasco}Ties well armid to watch the Pat., 100.

hiUe a certen tyme " on account of * Reg. Thoresby. On 24th of May,

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 407

was on tlie place of the earVs execution, and was perched on an
eminence adjacent to the town.

I have just alluded to archbishop Melton^s attempt to check
the expression of the feelings of the people of the North towards
their favourite. He had previously done what he could to assist
him, having induced his clergy to make a grant of 2000 marks
to Lancaster. On the 9th of April, 132.2, the king censured
him for his conduct and desired him to express his contrition
by making a similar gift to himself.-' Later in the same year
Melton was ordered to array his tenants beyond the Trent, and
was summoned to the parliament at YoTk, which was to have met
in the first instance at Ripon.''^ It was on this occasion that all
the enactments against the Despensers were annulled. The
monarch and his court spent their Christmas at York, and pre-
parations were being made for the renewal of the campaign
against the Scots. On the 5th of April, 1323, the archbishop
desired the people of his diocese to put up their prayers in
behalf of the proposed expedition.' There seems, however, to
have been little cordiality between Melton and the king. Edward
would not forget how the primate had aided Lancaster, and he
would see that he looked with disgust upon his follies and mis-
government. The feeling of the monarch towards Melton was
shewn in the tone in which he addressed him. On the 21st of
May the archbishop was peremptorily summoned to attend a
council at York early on the morning of the 23rd, and on the
30th he was at a similar meeting at Bishopthorpe, when the
subject of a truce with Scotland was mooted and considered.™
It was on this occasion that Henry de Beaumont was guilty of
rudeness to the king, for which he was sent to prison.'' On the
18th of June, 1323, Melton was made a justiciar for the county
of Notts, to try the commissioners of array who had been guilty
of malversation and oppression." On the 2nd of February,
1324, he had letters of protection to carry him to the parliament
at London.? On the 6th of August he was requested to give his
aid in arraying soldiers within the county of York, and on the

1361, the arclibishop confirms the ordi- * Feed., ii., 496. Pari. Writs, ii.,

nation of a chantry made by Simon part i., 567. Between 1317 and 1325

Symeon on the hill near Pontefraet, in Melton was frequently summoned to

the chapel where Thomas, earl of Lan- parliament (ibid., ii., part i., 173, 175,

caster, was beheaded (169). 20th Nov., 178, 182, 197, 215, 219, 23 1, 215, 261,

1361, ordinatio novaj vicaria; de Ponte- 290, 317-18, 329, 331, 350).

fract et cantarire pro anima Thoma} ' Reg. Melton,

quondam comitis Lane, (ibid., 109). '" Pari. AVrits, ii., part i., 286. Mu-

Cf. Test. Ebor., i., 281. rimuth, 37.

/ Pari. Writs, ii., part i., 566. On " Foed., ii., 520. Abbrcv. Plac, 342.

the 28th of February Melton had been " Pari. Writs, ii., part i., 634.

ordered to raise soldiers to oppose the '' Ibid., part ii., 268.
earl (ibid., i,, 550).

408 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

8th of November he Tvas desired, with others, to treat -with the
representatives of Robert le Brus.? On the 21st of December
he was summoned to send his service into Gascony, and on the
30th he was called to the council at Winchester/ Melton seems
now to have recovered altogether the good opinion of the king,
for on the 3rd of June, 1325, he received the honourable ap-
pointment of lord treasurer of England/ There are some letters
in his register relating to the fortifying and the victualling of
the castles of Dover and Rockingham,' which shew that his
office was no sinecure, but it does not appear that he held it
long,

A deep mystery is hanging over the history of the period,
and we know but little of the latter days of Edward II. and of
the intrigues which placed his youthful son upon the throne.
Upon the imprisonment of his old master, Melton seems to have
looked with great displeasure. The archbishop owed everything
to Edward^s kindness, and he did not forget him in his adversity.
He refused to be present at the coronation of the new sovereign,"
and although he did not desert the court, he would regard its
proceedings with vexation and distrust. On the 12th of May,
1326, he was ordered to prepare himself and his retainers to
defend his king and country,* and in the following year on the
15th of April, he had letters of safe-conduct to enable him to
join the court at Stamford.*" At Christmas he was at Walling-
ford with the young monarch and his mother,^ and he was one
of Edward's guardians.2' Soon after this the archbishop was
implicated, to all appearances, in a very dangerous intrigue, an
attempt to upset the government of the new king. Edmund,
earl of Kent, was the leader, and he is said to have been abetted
by several prelates, of whom Melton was one. The archbishop,
according to the confession of one of the delinquents, entered
with heart and soul into the enterprize, and promised to supply
the earl Avith men and money. He was arrested, and obliged
to answer for his share in the conspiracy. The verdict was one
of acquittal, and Melton brought an action against his accusers,
assessing the damages for the wrong which had been done to

' Feed., ii., 565, 578. curiales diu conversatus, mores tamen

•■ Pari. Writs, ii., part i, 326, 684. a con\ictu non traxit, set, obviatus An-

He was also ordered to send his service glorum cupiditati, per Dei graciam ini-

into Gascony on May 17 and August 2, imlutus semper permansit " (Mon.

1325 (ibid., 697, 714). Malmesb., Vita Edward TI., 237).

' Ibid., pt.u., 272. Dugdale (Chron. ' Reg. Melton.

38) says that he was elected on July 30. " Anglia Sacra, i., 367.

Cal. liot. Pat., 96-9. He had a lieute- " Pari. Writs, ii., part i., 749.

nant m that office (Madox, Hist. Exch., " Foed., ii., 703.

ii., 41). "Eboracensis ille, Willelraus ' Walsingham, 126.

nomine, olim curiaUs, in orani com- " Barnes's Edward III., 4.

misso fidelis extitit, et qnamvis inter

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 409

him at 1000/." This is scarcely reconcilcal)le with the state-
ment of the author of the Peterbro' chronicle, that the arch-
bishop fearlessly acknowledged his participation in the scheme,
and said boldly that for the good of the state he would emperil
his own life and everything that he possessed."

In the spring of 1327 the young monarch and his court were
at York making ready for an expedition into Scotland. He
and the queen- mother were residing in the monastery of the
Greyfriars, and around them were all the luxury and pom])
which that rich century could prodvice.* The city was filled
with soldiers and their captains, eager to avenge the reverses of
past years, and among them were the men at arms from Hainault
under the guidance of their gallant count. Every village, also,
in the neighbourhood was thronged with fighting men, many of
whom, as if in mockery of their profession, " were cloathed all
in cotes and hoods embrodered with floures and branches verie
seemelie, and used to nourish their beards,^^ a practice which
tempted a Scottish wag to fasten the following " rime" to one
of the church doors in the city,

" Longbeards hartlesse, painted hoods witlesse,
Gaie cotes gracelesse, make England thriftlesse."

I shall not detail the quarrels of that army in the camp, or its
adventures in the field among the forests and moors in the
wilds of Durham. The march was full of picturesque incidents,
sudden alarms,

" When those behind cried forward,
And those before cried back ;"

the startled deer leaping in and out among the spears and
ensigns, and the bold and gallant Douglas charging among the
English tents in the silence of the night.'' Whilst these things
were going on in the North, the queen-mother and her yoiuiger
children were the guests of archbishop Melton in his palace at
York, and the city was strictly guarded, the primate aiding the
mayor and citizens in rearing and manning the fortifications.''
On the 23rd of November, after the return of the army,

' "Walsingham, 129. Chron. Laner- * Lei. Coll., ii., 307-i75. Froissart,

cost, 265. Knyghton, col. 2555. Frois- i., 39-4.5.

sart, i., 83. Ivot. Pari., ii., 31-2, 5J.. <^ Froissart, i., 62, etc. Chron. La-

Miiriniuth gives the evidence against ncrcost, 260. Kn3'ghton, col. 2552.

Melton from the lips of the informer. Scala Chron., 154. Lei. Coll., ii., -1.75.

" Ly dit, qe le ercevesqiie de Evervvik Barbour's The Brus, ed. 1856, 456-7.

ly raanda per un chapelyn, Sir Aleyn, Murimuth, 54. Hardyng's Chronicle,

une lettre de credence, et fnt la ere- n. e., 316.

dence tiele : q'il ly aidroyt a la deli- '' Foed., ii., 709-11. There was some

verance soun frere de v niille Ii et outre controversy' between the archbishop

quant q'il aveit, e quant q'il pareit ren- and the corporation about tlie walls

dre." " Chron. Petrib., 165. (Keg. Melton). Stubbs, col, 1731.

410 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Melton was empowered by the king to treat for a peace with
Scotland, and he and the bishop of Lincoln were authorized to
grant letters of safe conduct to the ambassadors from that
country." On the 10th of December the archbishop was
summoned to a parliament which was to meet in York/ Soon
after this that fair city witnessed a more brilliant spectacle
than the sight of an army eager for the field or the assembling
of the council of the nation. This was the marriage of the
youthful monarch to Phillippa of Hainault which was solemnized
in the minster at the end of January 1328. Archbishop Melton
and John de Hotham, bishop of Ely, officiated at the ceremony,
and the whole country was wild with joy and excitement.^ Of
this alliance an illustrious off'spring was the fruit. There flowed
from it the noble chivalry of the Black prince, the generous
greatness of the progenitor of the royal house of York, and the
sage and cautious wisdom of " time-honoured Lancaster. ^^

In 1330 the conspiracy of the earl of Kent occurred which
has been already alluded to. Melton's assumed participation in
that rash attempt must have exposed him to no little danger
and must have lost him the favour of the king. Edward, however,
was too generous to be malicious or revengeful, and he was too
well aware of the merits and services of Melton to allow him to
continue in disgrace. On the 16th of February, 1331, the arch-
bishop was made a conservator of the peace between England
and Scotland,'' and on the 28th of November he was again
advanced to the post of lord-treasurer of England which he
held till the month of April in the following year.^ On the
26th of June, 1332, the king asked him for an aid towards the
marriage of his sister to the duke of Guelders, and, in the
autumn, Melton seems to have been present at the parliament
at Westminster.-^ On the 1st of December he, Robert de Strat-
ford and GeoflFrey le Scrope, or any two of them, were empowered
to open the council of the nation at its meeting in York.'^ The
parliament seems to have been summoned again to York in the
spring of 1334,^ and on the 12th of June in that year Melton was
desired to ask the clergy of his diocese to give their assistance
against the Scots who had recently been signally worsted at
Halidon Hill. After this Melton appears to have taken but

' Feed., ii., 723-4. Rot. Scotia, i., * Foed., ii., 809.

223. ' Dugdale, Chron. Jurid., 40. Cal.

/ Knyghton, col. 2552. Foed., ii., 'Rot. Pat., 109. J Knyghton, 2560.

725. On two occasions, on 18th Aug. Foed., ii., 840, 844.

and 23rd Sept., orders were given for * Feed., ii., 848. KnygMon, col.

the removal of the treasury to York 2562. Chron. Lanercost, 270. Jan. 4,

(Foed., ii., 713). 1333, breve regium pro pari, apud

«■ Different dates are assigned to this Ebor. (Wilkins, ii., 570). Rot. Pari.,

ceremony. Knyghton, col. 2552. Chron. ii., 67. Walsingham, 133.

Lanercost, 260. Lei. Coll., ii., 476. ' Barnes's Edward III., 83.

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 411

little 'interest in public affairs. We find liim now and then
engaged in tlie collection of subsidies and aids for the king,'"
and in 1339 he was on several occasions made a coramissoner
of array to gather men together for the wars in Scotland."

The great variety of Melton's avocations in connection witli
the state did not cause any delay or neglect in the administra-
tion of his diocese. He seems to have been a man who did
with all his might whatever he took in hand, and tliis, no doubt,
was the main cause of his success in life. His archiepiscopal
register, which extends to more than 1200 pages, shews that
he was an energetic prelate, prompt in action, zealous in the
suppression of vice and irregularity, and a good shepherd of his
flock. He lived in an eventful period and witnessed changes
around him such as no archbishop of York perhaps has ever
beheld. Two monarchs died whilst he was connected with the
court, the one surrounded by the warriors who were to fight
their country's battles, the other terminating an unhappy
existence by a still more unhappy end. Melton saw the rise
and the fall of Lancaster ; that drama so rich in incident and
misfortune was acted before his very eyes. He would hear with
joy or grief of the exploits on the IBorders, of the fatal rout at
Bamiockburn and of the triumph at Halidon Hill, of the
chivalrous daring of Brus and Douglas, Fitzalan, Bohun,
Percy and D' Argentine. The story of their gallant deeds Avould
be frequently recoiinted in the halls of Bishopthorpe and York,
and many a mass would be said and many a prayer would be
offered up for the champions and the cause of England. The
archbishop, however, had anxieties of his own in Yorkshire.
He would grieve bitterly over those oft-recurring inciirsions of
the Scots which turned his diocese into a wilderness. He was
obliged to welcome within the walls of York the troops who
were continually streaming towards the North bent on conquest
or revenge, and the city presented, far too frequently, all the
pomp and bustle of a camp. Their presence portended, as he
was well aware, a long succession of subsidies from his afflicted

•" Feed., ii., 888. On Oct. 23, 1334, pose (ibid., 1005). On Feb. 8, 1338-9,

and on July 5, 1335, Melton was de- a mandate to him to call upon the

sired to have prayers offered up for the clergy for a subsidy (10G9), and again,

kincr (Eeg. Melton, and Foed., ii., 89G). 10th Oct. seq. (10^2).

On 26th March, 1336, he was requested " On Feb. 16, May 4, and Oct. 10

to procure a subsidy from his clergy in (Feed., ii., 1070. Bot. Scotisc, i., 561,

the convocation at York against the 573). In 1338 Melton gave the king

Scots (Foed., ii., 935). On Aug. 21 five hundred quarters of wheat towards

and 28, 1337, he and others were made provisioning the Scottish army (Rot.

commissioners to raise money in York- Scotise, i., 554). Wilkins enumerates

shire for the French war (ibid., 991, the meetings of the clergy at York dur-

994). On Nov. 1 the king a.sked him ing Melton's archiepiscopate,ii., 519-20,

and his clergy for a loan for that pur- 546, 583, 623, 629, 673, 711, 727, 735.

412 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

clergy. The court also was very often in York, for it followed
after the army, and Melton had kings and queens under his
roof. He had been an attendant upon royalty from his youth,
and had long since discovered with Sejanus that

" The way to rise is to obey and please,"

but still when he became a courtier he did not forget to be a
patriot. The wish to advance the interests of his country led
him to support the cause of Lancaster, and, perhaps, all but
wrecked his prospects and position in the conspiracy of Edmund
earl of Kent.

Archbishop Melton had a good deal of trouble with his
brethren of Canterbury about the bearing of the cross. I do
not find that there was ever any actual outbreak, but care was
always necessary to prevent it. It is needless to enumerate the
many occasions on which precautionary measures were adopted ;
suffice it to say that neither primate ever left his province un-
accompanied by some order from the king to direct that no
violence should be used towards him during his progress." But
this was not the only contention which Melton was involved
in on behalf of the privileges of his see. In 1327 he had a
quarrel with the dean and' chapter of York about the visitation
of the church, which was of so violent a character that the king
wrote to the pope to beg him to interfere. In the following
year the dispute was amicably settled through the intervention
of John XXII., and the visitor was not impeded in the per-
formance of his duties.^ In 1328 and 1329 Melton had a
fierce controversy with Louis de Beaumont, bishop of Durham,
about his rights in the peculiar jurisdiction of Allertonshire.
The men of the Bishopric and the borderers from Northumber-
land and Tynedale Avere arrayed on the side of their diocesan,
and were ready, if necessary, to take the life of the intruding
primate, who laid them under a sentence of excommunication,

" Feed., ii., 499, 544, 574, 604, 7l6, Mon. Malmesb., Vita Edward TI., 237.
739, 766, 844, 888, 904. Pari. Writs, Carte's Gascon, etc., Eolls, ii., 8.
ii., part i., 263, 291, 318-19, 352. Ibid., p Stubbs, col. 1731. Foed., ii., 725.
part ii., 274-5. Cal. Rot. Pat., 115. "Wilkins, ii., 547. In 1327, "visitatio
Aug. 7, 1318, a letter to the archdeacon thesaurarise Ebor." The chapter resist.
of Notts to desire the archbishop of Nov. 25, a letter to the king " ad
Canterbury " ne crucem deferat in amovondumvimlaicalemabeccl.Ebor."
prov. Ebor." June 3, " 1334, litera 1332, " compositio inter Dec, et Cap.
officiali Ebor. ad tractandum cum arch. super formam visitationis " (Reg. Mel-
Cant, pro bajulatione crucis." July 4, ton). 1333, Feb. 3, letter to the pope
1335, " relaxatio sequestrationis inter- from the king asking him to take away
positsc in ecclesiis Ebor. pro bajulacione his sentence of suspension from the
crucis Cantuar " (Reg. Melton). Wil- church of York, %n account of the
kins, ii., 525, 526. There is a curious quarrel between "P. S. Stephani in
story about Melton and archbishop Re- Cselio Monte Card.," and Mr. William
gmald in the Anglia Saora, i., 365. de la Mare (Foed., ii., 819).

1317—1340.]

ARCHBISHOP MELTON.

413

for wliich they cared not. The church of Leek seems to have
been the centre of the attack^ and it was regularly garrisoned ;
but at length the king stepped in to prevent the shedding of
blood, and the controversy was stayed.'? On the death of Beau-
mont, Melton was for some time in disgrace with the sovereign
for advocating the claims of Robert de Graystanes, the historian,
to be his successor, and for consecrating him at York.*" The
appointment, however, was subsequently set aside, and none
can regret it who know that the great scholar Richard de liury
was the prelate who was selected. Archbishop Melton had also
a long controversy about the dues in the port of Hull.''

The following brief notes of some of the more remarkable
documents in archbishop INIelton's register will give some idea,
at all events, of the variety of his official duties. I have taken
no pains to extract the ordinations of livings, the foundations of
chantries, etc., which that noble volume contains. There is no
lack of materials for history and biography ; their very multi-
plicity obliges me unwillingly to pause.'

1318, Jan. 21. Licence to John de Hotham, bishop of Ely,
to have ser\dce performed in a fair chapel recently built at Thre-
houses, his birth-place." May 1. We have received from the
executors of our predecessor, 100/., in part payment of the sum

1 Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 104-6.
On Oct. 29, 1329, the king interfered
(Foed., ii., 774-5). Melton had ex-
communicated the bishop (Reg. Mel-
ton, 491). Cal. Eot. Pat., 106.

•• Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 120.
Chron. Lanercost, 276. Anonym.
Hist. Edward II., apud Hemingford,
ed. Hearne, ii., 404. Feed., ii., 882.
Cf. Murimuth, 74, where it is said that
peace was made between the king and
Melton at the intervention of Bury and
the nobles.

• Feed., ii., 697, 710, 850. Hot. Pari.,
i., 431-2; ii., 39, etc. Reg. Melton,
420, etc. Frost's Port of Hull, 120.
Tickell's Hull, 73, etc. Cal. Rot. Pat.,
108.

' I well remember placing this noble
volume some years ago in the hands of
my kind friend the late historian of
South Yorkshire. His words and looks
of astonishment are not forgotten. " I
have ventured," he said, " to write a
work on Yorkshire topography without
consulting this book, which I never saw
before. It would take me six months
to examine it properly."

" A very great man. He was a
Yorkshiremau by birth. The names

of his parents were Alan and Maude,
and his uncle was archbishop of Dublin.
He was canon of Dublin, rector of
Rowley and Cottingham in Yorkshire,
and prebendary of Stillington. In
1316 he became bishop of Ely, and he
held that post for twenty years. His
offices in the state were numerous and
his services considerable. He was suc-
cessively chancellor of the Irish and
the English exchequer, lord treasurer
and lord chancellor of England. It is
impossible to enumerate his acts in this
place. Cf. Feed. var. loc. Cal. Rot.
Pat., 69, 74, etc. Rot. Scot., i., 113,
etc. Anglia Sacra, i., &1-7. Fa.sti Eccl.
Hib., ii., 193. Thoroton's Notts, 449,
452. Bentham's Ely, 156-7. New-
come's St. Alban's, 412. Reg. Kellawe
at Durham, 115. Reg. Langton at
liichfield. Fo.ss's Judges, iii., 265,444.
Carte's Gascon, etc.. Rolls, i., 70.

On Dec. 7, 1318, arclihi.shop Melton
authorized liira to dedicate the church
of North Cave " de novo con.slrucla."
It had probably been built by Hotham
himself. On 24th Sei)tcmber, 1314,
bishop Kellawe, of Durham, whilst at
Naburn, granted an indulgence of forty
days in behalf of the chapel B.M.V.

414 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

of 200 marks due to us for oxen and horses appertaining to the
stock of the archbishopric, which is deficient." July 26. Letters
testimonial in behalf of Aveline, daughter of Peter de la Twyere,
who has been imjustly defamed.'*' August 24. A pension of 40s.
per annum to Wm. le Cossale.^ August 31. A commission to
dedicate the church of the Augustinians at Hull. Oct. 11.
Licence to the abbat and convent of Selby to have the chapel
of Armyn consecrated. Nov. 3. Permission to Sir John de
Segrave, knight/ and Christiana his wife to have as their con-
fessor William de Drayton, a Friar Preacher. Nov. 8. An
indulgence for the cathedral of Carlisle which has been burned
by the Scots. Dec. 7. To John de Fontibus, the queen^s clerk,
four marks for his annual pension." Dec. 16. Leave to J.,
bishop of Glasgow, and J., bishop of Ely, to hold an ordination
within the diocese of York.

1319, Feb. 12. Bond from Walter de Fauconberge, son and
heir of Sir John de Fauconberge, knight, deceased, to keep the
archbishop and the executors of his predecessor harmless. Dame
Ela de Fauconberge, his mother, is dead, and he promises to
divide her substance with John and William Fauconberge, his
brothers, and Arnebrough and Joan his sisters, of whom the
archbishop is the guardian." March 18. An indulgence of 30
days to all who hear the mass of Robert de Bardelby,* canon of

in the church of South Cave, for the ton's Notts, 228. Foss's Judges, iii.,

good estate of Alexander de Cave and 418.

Joan his wife, and for the souls of Peter * A great warrior. Custos Scotiai

and Elen de Cave, his parents, who are (Trivet, 340. Knyghton, col. 2530),

buried in the church of All Saints at where he shewed great valour (Walsing-

South Cave (Beg. Kellawe, 133). ham, 87). He was taken prisoner at

" Soon afterwards the archbishop Bannockburn.

buys a number of sheep. 190 wethers ' Elsewhere called John de Fonte-

and 33 ewes are bought at Wilton, 8 neio. • John de Fontenay, the king's

wethers and 19 ewes at Patrington, the clerk, had a controversy about the liv-

price of each being 2s. Id., — 28Z. 2s. 6d. ing of Utford, in the diocese of Lin-

41 lambs at Patrington and 172 lambs coin (Feed., ii., 449). A John de Fon-

at AVilton, the price of each 20d. ; sum tibus, the phj^sician of queen Margaret,

191. 8s. 4d. On the death of Greenfield, was advanced to a stall at Eouen in

Melton, then keeper of the king's ward- 34th of Edward I. (Prynne, iii., 1159).

robe, Walter de Norwich, the treasurer, a Cf. Thoroton's Notts, 448-9. Coll.

and John de Insula, bought the corn Top. and Genealog., iv., 262.

and wine belonging to the deceased * PrebendaryatDunningtonatTork,

primate (Abbrev. Rot. Orig., i., 223). which he exchanged in 1323 with Gil-

" A Holderness lady. On 28th Nov., bert de la Bruere for a stall at Chi-

1318, the king writes to the archbishop Chester ; canon of St. Sepulchre's cha-

and complains that some malicious cita- pel, and incumbent of Moor Monkton

tions and charges for adultery, etc., (Reg. Melton. Cal. Rot. Pat.,86). He

have been made in his diocese. He was a clerk in the Chancery, and was

requests they may be stopped (Foed., ii., much employed in parliamentary woi'k

379). Cf. the Frere's Tale in Chaucer. (Pari. Writs, Feed., Madox, Cal. Rot.

' A native of Cossale, Notts, aud a Pat., etc.). In 1316 he founded a

baron of the Exchequer. Cf. Thoro- chantry at the altar of St. Michael ia

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 415

York and the king's clerk^ on Easter day, and pray for the good
estate of tlie said Robert and his father and mother. April 20.
Sir Wm. le Constable is allowed to have an oratory in his
manors of Holm and Flay neb urgh during the archbishop's
pleasure. May 26. The archbishop grants time to dame Mar-
garet, relict of Sir Geoffrey Maucovenant, to enable her to re-
build the chancel of the church of Esington, in "Wytbistrande."*^
July 26. An order to pray for fine weather, on accoiint of the
excessive rains. Oct. 1. Licence for Martin de Alnewick,'' S.P.P.,
a Friar Minor, to hear the confessions of Sir Henry Fitz-
hugh and Sir Robert de Hastang, knights, Garnius de Weston,
Nicholas de Ask, Lady de Charmues and Sara her domicella in
the parts of Richmond and Hexham. Oct. 22. Elen, widow of
Nicholas Flemyng, mayor of York, takes the vow of continence
before the archbishop in his chapel at Bishopthorp.'^

1320, Jan. 29. An order to the bailiff of Chirchdon to give
three oaks for timber to Mr. William, the queen's chandler./
Feb. 1. Letters testimonial in behalf of John, bishop of Glas-
gow, who can receive nothing from his see on account of the
war with Scotland. March 1. Licence for Roger de la More,
rector of the moiety of the church of Ketilwell, to be absent from
his living in the service of Sir Henry le Scrop, knight, justiciar
of the king. May 16. A dispensation, "super defectunataliimi,"
to William, son of Henry le Scrop, knight. May 19. An order
to prevent tournaments and jousts near the city of York.^ June
17. The abbat and convent of Rufford enter into an obligation
to entertain for a day and a night each archbishop of York on
his first coming into his diocese. July 24. John de Pickering,
chaplain, is absolved from the sentence of greater excommuni-
cation for breaking into the close of the manor of Mr. Dennis
Avenel, canon of Beverley.'' August 18. An indulgence for the
conventual church of Pontefract. Sept. 9. An annual pension
of 40 florins to Oldred de Laude, and another of 20 florins
to Mr. John de Rocca, advocates in the Roman com't. Sept.
10. Licence of non-residence to John de Mauley, rector of

the cliurch of St. Dunstan in the West of St. Wilfrid at York (Reg. Melton).

(Newcourt, i., 336). Cf. Toss's Judges, This church, which is now destroyed,

iii., 50, 226. ' Sir Geoffrey is was in Lendal. A chantry was founded

mentioned in the Eot. Scotise. for Fleming in it (Drake 337).

'' Alnwick was divinity reader at -'' April 24, 1318, to "William de la

Oxford among the Friars Minors (Mou. Mare two oaks for timber Irom our

Francisc, 553), and an author (15ale, wood of Outwodo, and, on May 1st,

cent, v., 401). timber to mend the church of Cawood.

* Fleming was maj^or of York, and *' The usual accompaniments of an

was killed at the battle of Myton. army.

Aug. 22, 1320, an indulgence of forty '' Avenel was archdeacon of the East

days for the soul of Nicholas de Flem- Riding, an office to which he was prc-

ing, whose body is buried in the church ferred in 1322.

416

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

Baynton, that he may make a pilgrimage abroad.' Sept. 2G.
The archbishop amiounces the canonization of Thomas, late
bishop of Hereford.-' The 10th of October is the day appointed
for his commemoration.

13.21, Jan. 2. An order that no toll or custom be taken
from the citizens of York when they come to Beverley. Jan. 8.
Bull of Pope John XXII. for the safe conduct of Robert de
Brus and the Scottish bishops to the papal court.* Jan. 12. A
letter of safe conduct to our valet, John de Mar, to go to New-
castle to provide hay, fuel, oats, etc., for us, and a missive to
Richard de Emeldon, the mayor, in his behalf. Jan. 23. An
indulgence for the fabric of the church of York.' March 24.
Leave to the Carmelites of Scardeburgh to erect a chapel and
set up a tower with a bell in it in their house.'" May 28. An
indulgence of 20 days in behalf of the church of St. Patrick at
Lameley in the diocese of Durham, which has been destroyed
by the Scots." July 2. Licence to Margaret Malbys, a young
girl, sister of Sir Wm. Malbys, knight, to stay in the nunnery
of Swyne till she be ready for the veil. Sept. 3. An order to
break the seal of Peter de Wyverthorp, prior of Bridlington,
who has resigned his office." Dec. 21. Absolution of John de
AVhiteby, clerk, for using necromancy.^

' He is mentioned as seised of the
manors of Doncaster and Mulgrave in
the Ninth Eeport of the Deputy Keeper
of the PubHc Records, p. 76. What
was the motive that led Mauley across
the seas ?

" fXfyas 5e fxe 9vfxhs ineiyfi

Arj/xov is aWoSavaiv levat."

J The archbishop grants an indulg-
ence to those who visit his tomb. The
bull of canonization is given in Melton's
Register. The king was very anxious
for the canonization (Fopd., ii., 355,
363, 385, 443). The bishop, of course,
was Thomas de Cantilupe. Cf. Wil-
kins, ii., 651. The canonization was
solemnized in 1348 in great state
(Barnes's Edward III.. 420-1).

* Brus was anxious that the sentence
of excommunication that had been
passed on him should be recalled. For
this object he sent Randoli)h, earl of
Murray, to Avignon in 1323. In Feed.,
ii., 413, is a bull of John XXII. ex-
communicating Brus. In the Bulk of
the Cronicles of Scotland, iii., 258, are
these lines : —

" Quhen all this thing es brocht to sic an end.
Ambassadouris this ilk king Robert send,
Greit men of gude wer greitlie till advance,
Ane to the paip and uther unto Fiance."

' Another was granted on Jan. 6,
1324-5. On Feb. 12 there was a letter
for the qusestores. Cf. Fabric Rolls of
York, p. 159-60.

'" Richard I. gave the church of
Scarbro' to the abbey of Citeaux. The
Cistercians at Scarbro' were very jealous
of the Friars (Beck's Furness, 88), and
there was some contention between
them. The rector of Scarbro' seems
hitherto to have been desirous that the
Carmelites should worship

" Withouten noise or clatering of belles."

" A little nunnery in the upper part
of T3medale. It was destroyed by the
Scots in 1296 (Chron. Lanercost, 174),
and the marauders seem to have pene-
trated again into that wild and romantic
neighbourhood.

" The seal was broken, especially on
the decease of a dignitary. There is
much information on this point among
the muniments at Durham.

p What hadst been at, sir clerk ? at
what forbidden arts

" The time when scritch-owls cry, and ban-dogs
howl,
And spirits walk, and ghosts break up their
graves ?"

1317—1340.]

ARCHBISHOP MELTON.

417

1322, Feb. 7. Licence to Joan de Lacy, countess of Lincoln,
to liave John, chaplain of IMelclieburn, for her confessor.
March 22. Thomas de Brounetofte, a monk of Blyth, is sent
to the court of Rome to be absolved for consecrating Christ's
body twice over.? March 25. A commission to absolve Ilum-
plu*ey de Bohuu, earl of Hereford, from the sentence of excom-
munication.'" July 5. Sir Wm. de Brus, knight, is absolved
from the charge of drawing blood from Michael de Harcla. He
denies it.'' July 8. Licence to Thomas de Wake, lord of Lydel,
to build a monastery of Augustinians in his vill of Cottingham,
by the leave of the pope.' July 16. Administration of the
effects of Sir Nicholas de INIenill, knight, to Nicholas de Menill
and John de INIenill, brother of the deceased." A general sen-
tence against those who have concealed the deeds of Sir Henry
le Vavasour.

1323, Feb. 4. Sir Geoffrey de Upsale," knight, is ordered to
maintain his wife. April 4. An order to receive the purgation
of Sir Peter de Maidey, knight, who is charged with having
committed adultery with Alice Deyvill. April 21. A commis-
sion to dedicate the altars in the monastery of Thurgarton,
which has been constructed de novo."^ June 23. A general
sentence against those who have dragged Philip de Deen from

» A verj' heinous offence. The cul-
prit said that he did it ignorantly. On
June 8, 1323, the archbishop ordered
Bruntoft to be expelled from Blyth for
rebellion and insolence. There seems
to have been a great lack of discipline
in Blyth abbey.

»• He was killed on the 16th of March,
1321, at Boroughbridge, whilst he was
arrayed on the side of Thomas, eai'l of
Lancaster. He died in a very peculiar
way (Dugd. Bar., i., 184. Coll. Top.
and Geneal., iv., 76). He was buried
in the church of the Friars Preachers
at York. Kuvghton, col. 2540. Galf.
le Baker, 65. ^ De la Moor, 596.

• Sir William Brus founded a chantry
in the church of Pickering for the souls
of himself and Matilda his wife, Adam
and Matilda, his parents, Mr. William
and Mr. Robert de Pykering, his an-
cestors and heirs, his uncles and aunts,
and William and Alexander de Bergh
(Domesday Book, apud Ebor., 152).
Tlie Pickerings were cousins of the
founder. " In Pykering chirch I saw
two or three tumbes of the Bruses,
wherof one with his wife lay in a chapel
on the south syde of the quier, and ho

had a garland about his helmet. Ther
was another of the Bruses biried in a
chapel under an arch of the north side
of the body of the quier, and there is
a cantuarie bering his name" (Lei.
Coll., i., 6. Lei. Itin., i., 65, cd. 1769).

' The public records are filled with
notices of this great baron. See Dugd.
Bar. The establishment at Cottingham
was soon transferred to Ilautenprize.
The pedigree of the Wakes recently
published by the Architectural societies
is by no means a correct one. See Hot.
Pari., ii., 194, etc.

" On August 23rd the vicar of
Ormesby was made the coadjutor of
Nicholas Menyl, who was a minor.

" A commissioner of array N.R.Y.
in 1318 (Rot. Scotire, i., 185). He had
a pardon given to him for his share in
the death of Gaveston, being a retainer
of the earl of Lancaster (Feed., ii.,
230).

" A monastery co. Notts, which
was erected in the twelfth centui-}' by
Ralph Deyncourt. Its foundation
ought to have been mentioned among
the good deeds of archl>ishop Thurstan
(Thoroton's Notts, 302).
F, E

4\8 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

the church of the Augustinians at York, where he had taken
sanctuary, and removed him to the marshal's prison/

1324', Jan. 22. Dame Beatrix, widow of Sir Robert de Percy,
lord of Sutton-on-Derwent, took the vow of chastity before the
archbishop at Cawood. June 24. Commission to the arch-
bishop of Armagh to confer the first tonsure, and to confirm
children within the diocese of York. 2'

1325, Sept. 3. Absolution of Roger de Mora for saying
mass in the presence of the Scots who are excommunicated.*

1326, March 3. Licence to Thomas Wake, lord of Lydell,
to transfer his monastery from Cottingham to a place called
Hautenprise." March 17. An order to Robert, servant at the
Grange at York, to give to John de Waltham, the king's mes-
senger, a quarter of wheat, of our special favour. April 1 . The
king writes to the pope to say that thieves have broken by night
into the archbishop's chapel, and have carried off his pall and
other ornaments. He begs for another pall for him.* April 18.
An order to our bailiff at Beverley to give to Thomas White-
heade, our servant at Kynalton, two strong but not valuable
colts, and nine three-year-old colts, to work at Kynalton in
ploughing and waining, and the bailiff at Southwell is directed
to give him timber to repair the chancel of our church at Kyn-
alton. June 12. Certificate of the baptism and conversion of a
Jew, viz., Walter de Notyngham, in the church of St. Mary,
Nottingham, on Monday after the Octave S. Trin., 1325. Sir
Walter de Goushill and Richard de Whatton, knights, and

•^ In 33rd of Edward I. William, son Every orthodox churctnian would now

of Eichard de Whitgift, fled for pro- regard Brus with the utmost detesta-

tection to the churchyard and altar of tion ;—

the church of Whitgift, and was drag- « a wretch beneath the ban

ged away. The king ordered him to Of pope and church for murder done

be released (Prynne's Coll., iii., 1105). ^^y^l "" ^''f ff "•«'' altar-stone !

rni /. 11 • /«■ /. 1 »> ell mayst thou wonder we should know

_ y The following suffragans of arch- Such miscreant here, nor lay him low,

bishop Melton have occurred to me. Or dream of greeting, peace or trace

April 28, 1318, commission to David With excommunicated Bruce."

" Eecreensis episc," to reconcile the " Removed thither from Cottingham.

churchyard of Masham. He had been John XXII. sanctioned the change on

acting for two years (Reg. Sacr. Angl., Jan. 1, 1327. On Oct. 31, 1327, the

143). On Nov. 19, 1326, Rowland, archbishop granted a licsence for the

late archbishop of Armagh, was com- performance of service at Hautenprize.

missioned to celebrate orders. On 27th The founder nominated Thomas de

October, 1332, the bishop of Carlisle Overton, a monk of Broune abbey, dioc.

was made suffragan. In 1335 the Lincoln, as the first prior (Reg. Melton),

bishops of Lincoln and Norwich assisted In the 15th of Edward II. Thomas

the archbishop. March 28, 1340, the Wake, the king's cousin, had leave to

bishop of Corbavia was licensed to act. found a religious house at Newton

' Some tale hangs upon this entry, (Cal. Rot. Pat., 90), and to crenellate

but what was it ? More received a his manor-house at Cottingham in 1st

licence of non-residence in 1320 to join of Edward III. (ibid., 99).

the suite of Sir Henry le Scrope. * Feed., ii., 624.

1317 13^0.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 419

Orfranniaj wife of Robert Ingram of Nottingham^ were his
sponsors/

13,27, Jan. 28. Licence from the abbat of Westminster for
the bishop elect of Whithern to be consecrated in a chapel in
that abbey ."^ Feb. 24. Leave for dame Joan Lnterel, lady of
Gameleston, on account of old age, to eat whatever kind of
pnlse and stuffed meats she pleases. May 5. An agreement
between the archbishop and Robert le Constable of Flaynburg.
Constable is to perform the archbishop^s service in Scotland,
recei^dng for it 100/. May 26. An indulgence of 40 days to
those who hear the preaching of the monks of Durham.'

1328, Jan. 4. Penance enjoined by the archbishop to Sir
Peter de Mauley, knight, for adulteiy with Sara de London.
On every Friday in Lent, the Ember days and Advent, for seven
years, he is to fast on bread and small beer, and on Good Friday
and the vigil of the festival of All Saints, to use only bread and
water. He is to make a pilgrimage to the shrines of S. Wil-
liam of York, S. Thomas of Hereford, B.M. at Southwell, S.
John of Beverley, and S. Wilfrid of Ripon, and is to be " fusti-
gated " seven times before a procession in the church of York
" in sola basna, capucio deposito.^^-^ J^ily 29. An indulgence of
40 days for the fabric of the church of Ripon. Sept. 1. Licence
for Sir Wm. de Malbys, knight, to remove the bones of his
father and mother. Sir John and dame Agnes de Malbys from
the church of Acaster Malbys to Rievaux abbey, Avhere the
remains of his ancestors are interred.^ Oct. 11. An indulgence
for the dedication of the altar in the house of the Friars Car-
melites at York. The archbishop dedicated it on Tuesday, Oct.
5. Oct. 24. Licence for Wm. de Boy ton, rector of Lockington,
to take the body of Wm. Danyel from the churchyard into the
church.

' On March 21, 1334, the archbishop (Raine's St. Cuthbort, 103).

certified that Walter Con versus, for- f A salutary example. Mauley was

merly called Hagyn in the Hebrew an old offender, and the archbishop,

tongue, was baptized at Nottingham on probably, was glad to catch him. In

June 30, 1325. the 9th of Edward II. the king ordered

'' Commission to John, bishop of an enquiry to be made into an affair in

Carlisle, to consecrate him, which he which he, Maule\', and others were

did " die Dominica in vigilia i)urif. concerned. The}' had opened and car-

B.M.V.," the new prelate making his ried off a car containing as many as

profession of obedience to York. In seven nuns from Wattou abbey ! (Cal.

1323 the archbishop wrote letters Rot. Pat., 80).

against his being consecrated at Rome. «■ The little church of Acaster still

' There is a mandate from bishop remains, and would, probabl}', have

Hatfield in the same behalf issued in sheltered at the i)resent day the monu-

13i6 (Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, appen- ments of the Slalbis. The abbey of

dix, 135). In 1334 archbishop Melton Rievaux is in ruins, and there are no

granted an indulgence of forty days to memorials of the dead to be espied

those visiting St. Cuthbert's shrine within its walls.

E E 2

420

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

1329, May 30. Licence for Sir Eobert de Eccleshale, knight,
to enter a religious order with the consent of dame Matikla de
Codenoure, his wife/ August 10. The archbishop dedicated
and consecrated the church of Wakefield, the great altar in
honour of All Saints, and that of B.M.V, on the south side, the
altar of St. Nicholas on the north, and that of St. Peter in the
middle of the church.*

1330, March 8. Appropriation of the church of Stretford to
Eggleston abbey, the annual revenues of which before the war
used to be taxed at seven marks, but now, in consequence of
the war, they cannot be taxed at all.-^ Sept. 24. Licence of non-
residence to Mr. Robert Baldock, rector of Bradford.

1331, May 3. A loan of 100 marks to Wm. de Cusance.^
August 21. A letter in behalf of John Akerman of Bruges,
who has taken sanctuary at Norwich for killing Sir John Nele,
knight, at Courtrey.'

1332, Sept. 19. Acquittance from Cardinal Neapolio"' for
his pension of 80 florins. Dec. An acquittance to the abbat
and convent of Whitby for a pension of 100s. to Wm., son of
Henry de Melton."

1333, Feb. 12. A loan of 50 mai'ks to dan Richard de Bury,"

'' On Jan. 30, 1469, in the church of
Manfield, Joan, wife of "W'ilHam Coke,
of that village, gave formal permission
to her husband to take orders (Orig.
penes Tho. Witham, cler., de Larting-
ton).

' A valuable architectural date.

i This house was at all times borne
down with poverty. The remains of
the abbey exhibit the plainest work-
manship. Tlieir chief charm is derived
from the glorious combination of sce-
nery, tlie hill and wood and water that
are around them.

* Canon of Thorp at Ripon 1311-
1338, when he exchanged it with Wm.
de Dalton for a prebend at Auckland
and another in the chapel of 13 ridge-
north. Prebendary of Lincoln and
London, archdeacon of Cornwall, etc.
(Le Neve, i., 398; ii., 161, 44.4). He
was also keeper of the king's wardrobe
15th Edward III. (Pell Rei^ords, 149),
and treasurer of the exchequer, and
was much emplo3'ed in state affairs.

' Some interesting adventure of
which we know nothing. The lists of
those who took sanctuary at Durham
and Beverley have been published by
the Surtees Society.

'" Neapolio Ursinus, cardinal of S.
Hadrian in Tribus Foris, a Eoman by

birth, was one of the leaders of the Sa-
cred College, in which he had a seat for
nearly sixty 3'ears. He died at Avignon
in 1347 (Ciaconius, i., 904, etc.). He
was canon of South Cave at York and
Sutton at Lincoln. Cf. Foed., ii., 577,
etc. He had many benefices in Eng-
land.

" The archbishop's nephew and bro-
ther, who will soon occur again.

"The illustrious bibliomaniac, and
the gem and grace of the North of
England in the fourteenth century.
Statesman, bishop, scholar, " nihil te-
tigit quod non ornavit." How few in
that age would throw aside the cares of
office, for Bury had been chancellor and
treasurer of England, and solace them-
selves in the untrodden paths of litera-
ture and taste. What a delight it must
have been to the bishop to find himself
at Auckland with such companions as
Bradwardin, Fitz-Halph, Burley, and
Holcot, and refreshing himself among
the many tomes which he had collected,

" Ducere soUicitse jucunda oblivia vitse."

"Prelat pieux et charitable, politique
fin et habile, bibliophile savant et spi-
rituel, il sut se faire aimer par ses
contemporains, non pour ses dignites,
ni pour sa fortune, mais pour les pre-

1317—1310.]

ARCHBISHOP MELTON.

421

canon of York. Feb. 21. A loan of 200 marks to John, bi.s]iop
of Winchester.^ Oct. 19. A dispensation from John XXII. to
Sir Geoffrey Luterell, knight, and Agnes, daughter of Sir
Richard Sutton, knight, who have married, not knowing that
they are related in the third and fourth degrees. Dec. 3. A
licence to baptize, bury, etc., in the chapel and chapel-yard
B.M. at Hull.

1334, Feb. 23. A licence of non-residence to Robert de
Creyk, rector of Ackworth, as long as he officiates in the chapel
of queen Philippa. April 9. A commission to the abbats of
Fountains and Kirkstall to absolve the body of Sir Simon Ward,
knight, late deceased, from certain sins which he had committed.?
August 5. An order forbidding any one to listen to the teach-
ing of friar Henry de Staunton, hermit. Oct. 7. A licence to
beg for the fabric of Whitby abbey. Oct. 23. A similar licence
in behalf of the house of St. Sepulchre, at Jerusalem.'' Oct. 24.
A loan of 1000 marks to the king.

1335, June 6. To Robert de Malton, domestic chaplain of

cieuses qualites qui le distinguaient a
la fois, comme homme de Dieu, comnie
homme d'Etat et comme homme de
science " (Philobiblion par Ricliard de
Bury, ed. Paris, 1856. Notice Bio-
graphique, xvi).

p A very great man and a native of
Yorkshire (Hunter's South Yorkshire,
i., 54. Cal. Eot. Pat.,72). Arcladeacon
of Richmond, prebendary of Gevendale
and Riccal, canon of Beverley and
Southwell, incumbent of Stillingfleet
and Lockington, in Yoi'kshire, and
Eadcliffe-on-Sore, co. Notts, canon of
Lincoln and London, and treasurer of
Lichfield (Le Neve, ii., 417 ; ii., 140 ;
i., 581). Prebendary at Howden (lieg.
ii., Pr. and Conv. Dunelm., 10). Rec-
tor of Simondburne. Northumberland,
6th Edward II. (Reg. Kellawe, 177 b).
Rector of North Mimms, Herts, 1312
(MSS. Harl., 6951, 73. Clutterbuck's
Herts, i., 460). Chancellor of the ex-
chequer, treasurer and lord chancellor
of England, chamberlain of Scotland,
and much employed on state business
(Feed., Cal. Rot. Pat., Pari. AYrits, and
Rot. Scotia?, var. loc. Dugd. Chron.,
31, 36. Madox, Hist. Exch., ii., 53,
etc. Liber Garderobse, 5. Rot. Pari.,
i., 266-7. Introd., Pell Records, 44th
Edward III., xxiv., etc, Toss's Judges,
iii., 296).

1 Late sheriff of Yorkshire and a
man of importance. On 12th August,

1336, the archbishop says that Sir
Simon de Ward, late deceased, owed
him 221., and desires that the sum
should be raised out of his eflects at the
oversight of Sir John le "Ward. Melton
was very careful in looking after his
debts. On April 7, 1337, he ordered
the goods of Sir John Mauleverer, de-
ceased, to be sequestered, to recover
20^. which he owed to him. This sys-
tem of money-lending would give the
archbishop extraordinary influence.
Stubbs, indeed, says as much.

Monsieur Johan Warde is one of the
witnesses in the Scrope and Grosvenor
controvers3\ " Et dit auxi qil ad une
cliambre en un manoir q'homme ap-
pelle Gyvendale one lez armoz de Scrop
sont rays et depeyntez o'' la ])areye en
quelle chaumbre souut Ics armez du S''
de Nevyll, les armoz du S'' de Percy,
les armez du S'' de Clifford" (i., 118).
An interesting picture of an old manor.

•• On Scpt.'l6, 1336, Melton granted
a licence for begging to the representa-
tives of the ho.spitals of the Holy Sjiirit
at Rome and St. Anthony at Vienne,
and, on Nov. 20, another was given to
the master and brethren of the hospital
of St. Thomas the :\lartyr at East-
bridge near Canterbury. The whole
country seems to have been overrun
by these peripatetic mendicants, among
whom, necessarily'', were many impos-
tors.

122 FASTI EBOllACENSES. [a.D.

John, earl of Cornwall, the king^s brother, 200 marks as a loan
for the use of the said earl. Oct. 15. Licence for John de
Bampton, rector of Foxholes, to be non-resident. He is a tutor
in the family of Sir Geoffrey le Scrop, the king^s justiciar.

1337, March 11. Licence to remove the ancient and disused
chapel of St. Peter, in the churchyard of Dewsbury, employing
the materials on the fabric of the parish church.

1338, April 10, A mandate to the bishop of Carlisle to pray
for the king.*

1340, March 18. Licence to enclose Isold de Knesall in a
house contiguous to the wall of the church of Knesall.*

In the time of archbishois Melton ecclesiastical architecture
was at its full perfection, and great works w^ere going on in all
the cathedral churches within the province of York, to which
the primate must have been more or less a patron. No one
should shrink from rendering his homage to the age which pro-
duced these masterpieces of Clu'istian art.

" — tibi res antiquse laudis et artis
Ingredior, sanctos ausus recludere fontes :"

Piety, surely, coidd not be dead, when she bore such fruits
as these. It was to no momentary impulse or capricious influ-
ence that our cathedrals owed their origin. They were the
offerings of men full of devotion and self-sacrifice, who, if they
gave largely in the cause of Grod, never thought that they gave
too much. What they did was well done, and they built for
their spiritual descendants rather than for themselves. Arch-

' Feed., ii., 1026. William de Hat- (Fabric Eolls, 125).
field, one of the jounger children of ' During the latter years of each
Edward III., died about this time, and archbishop thedocuments in his register
Avas interred in York minster. He was generally become less numerous. The
born in 1336. The monument ascribed reason is an obvious one. The docu-
to him is in the north aisle of the choir. ments were not transcribed when they
The marble effigy of the youthful prince were drawn up, but were kept till a
is wrought with wonderful skill and certain number had been collected,
beauty. It has been said that the niche At the death of any archbishop many
in the wall in which it is laid was not of these would be frequently lost, and
made for it ; this is an error, as the some would l>e necessarily regarded
canopy above and behind the figure is with less interest, especially such as
powdered, as I discovered, with the related to private matters. The various
plaitagenista. The effigy, however, parts which constitute a register were
had been removed to another part of not bound together till after the decease
the church, and was restored to its of the archbi'shop, and then, occasion-
present position about eighty years ago ally, original documents which had
by the poet Mason when he was pre- been missed were inserted between the
centor (Corr. of Ma.son and Gra}^, ed. leaves. Even in those years with which
Mitford). The fact that one of her most care has been taken omissions
children was interred in the minster may sometimes be detected, when a
probably accounted for the gift of the comparison is made with some coutem-
richly embroidered bed of queen Phi- poraneous register,
lippa which was made to the chapter

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 423

bishop Melton gave at one time to the fabric of tlic clmrch of
York a sum which, in the money of tlie present time, is equi-
valent to many thousands of pounds." He restored the tomb
of St. William. He finished the western portion of the nave of
the minster/ and on the exterior, in the most conspicuous posi-
tion, on that glorious fagade, his munificence is strikingly com-
memorated. He sits above the central doorway, graven in
stone, in his archiepiscopal attire, with his hand still raised in
the attitude of benediction. Over his head is the finest Gothic
window in the world, built in all probability by himself, and
still beaming with the glowing colours with which he adorned
it. On either hand is an effigy of a benefactor of the church,
the heads of the noble houses of Vavasor and Percy, bearing in
their arms the wood and stone which they once gave. Any one
might be proud of a monument like that ! But this is not the
only architectural memorial which archbishop Melton has left
behind him. His name is traditionally connected with the
erection of the noble church of Patrington in Holderness. He
helped to raise the glorious minster, of which Beverley may still
be proud, and at Ripon"' and Southwell he is not yet forgotten.
Great indeed was he in the offices which he filled and in the
gifts that were prompted by his munificence ; but, with the true
spirit of the age in which he lived, he did not forget the little
hamlet in which he was born and the humble parents from
whom he sprang. He built and endowed a chapel in the village
of Melton, in which father and mother and son were to be com-
memorated. The worshipper in that tiny shrine Avould muse
with no little pride upon the noble fortunes and the piety of his
compatriot.

Many pleasing traits in the character and disposition of
Melton have been handed down to us, and the historian Stubbs
speaks of the archbishop in a manner which shews that he was
well acquainted with the prelate whom he commends. He
made great additions to the dignity and the revenues of the
archiepiscopate, without trespassing in any way upon the patri-
mony of the needy. His poor tenants had no oppression to
complain of. The fines imposed by Melton^s seneschals were
not exacted, rents were lowered, and debts and arrears were
frequently forgiven. Affluence and plenty were around him,
and the servant was revelling in abundance whilst the master

" When archbishop Zouchc visited deiitalem partem navis cc(;lesi?e beati

the chapter in 1313 this sum of 500 retri^Ebor., dcc Ubris argenti appositis

marks was still unpaid (Acta Capit. cousiinimabat (Stubbs, col. 1731).

Ebor.). '" In 1331 Mellon made slalutcs for

" Tumbam Sancti Willelmi sump- the church of Kipou (Dugd. Mon., vi.,

tibus XX libi'arum reuovabat. Occi- 13G8).

424 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

was as frugal as a hermit. Courtier altliougli he was, Melton
would fast and pray so often that his chaplains and officers
Av ere worn out when they tried to copy him. Matins he never
missed;, and the mendicant never appealed in vain to his cha-
ritable heart. His diocese was most sedulously attended to.
For many years he held in person or by deputy as many as five
ordinations. He frequently confirmed and visited the sick. It
was not unusu^al for him to absolve the bodies of the dea^l,
and he would leave his chariot, and, taking his stole and book,
release them from the guilt of the offences of their past lives.'^
When the chronicler mentions this circumstance, our thoughts
wander unconsciously to the scene of the disaster at Myton.
We see the archbishop, full of grief at the mishap, passing
hastily and anxiously among the dying and the dead, speaking
words of peace to those on whom the light of life was still rest-
ing, and pardoning or trying to pardon those who had gone into
that land of silence where earthly defeats as well as victories
are forgotten.

There is no evidence to shew that Melton was a person of
any literary distinction. He was too sagacious, however, and
too good not to pay due respect to the scholar and his work.
Bred as he had been in the service of his country, he coidd
value well the peace which the student covets and creates. Mel-
ton was a kind friend to the university of Oxford. On the 5th
of March, 1324', when that illustrious abode of learning was at
a low ebb from distui-bances withm its own walls, the archbishop
took it under his protection, and, on the 7th of September,
1327, he authorized the making of a collection throughout his
diocese for its relief, ^ On the 7th of March, 1331, he appro-
priated the church of Aberford to University College, It is

' Stubbs, col. 1731. to John de Hesele. He left the muui-
y Tleg. Melton. On Nov. 11, 1346, ficent sum of 300Z. to purchase advow-
Amandus de Hauwyk, clerk, proctor sons or lands to maintain j>erpetual
for the master and scholars of Uui- scholars or masters of arts in the uni-
versity hall, Oxford, received from the versity of Oxford, or in whatever place
chapter of York the sum of 101. in part the university should be transferred to
payment of a bequest in the will of Mr. (Reg. Test. Ebor.).
Robert de Riplingham, late chancellor Riplingham was a fellow of Merton
of York (Acta Capit., Ebor.). college, which had been founded about
Ri])lingham by his \vill, dated Jan. sixty years before by the bishop of
14, 1331-2, left lOOZ. to secure the Rochester. IMerton college was first
prayers of several priests for the souls established at Maldon, in Surrey, and
of himself, Walter de Merton, bishop it was from thence removed to Oxford,
of Rochester, archbishop Newark, and The troubles which had recentlj' assailed
others. To the scholars of Merton the university suggested to Ripling-
college he gave his silver spoons, a cup ham's mind the possibility of its re-
and a goblet, his books of Concordance, moval to some other place. The legacy
his book of Sentences, the Summa of above mentioned seems to have been
master Henry de Mandario, and all his lost (Wood's Antiq., Univ. Oxon., iv.,
other books save those which belonged 43, Smith's Annals of Univ., Coll., 99).

1317 1310.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 425

pleasing also to know that a member of that illustrious seminary,
the learned author of the Philobiblion, held a stall at York during
Melton^s arehiepiseopate, and to see that the great seholar found
a patron in his diocesan. A halo rests around the memory of
Kichard de Bury, the scholar-hishop of Durham, who first kin-
dled the lamp of learning within the classic walls of Auckland,
where a Tunstall, a ISIorton and a Butler have since worked and
thought. The annals of his life, his wanderings in quest of
books, the a\ddity with which he devoured them, the number of
his literary friends and his intimacy with Petrarch, form a bright
spot in the history of the North. What a contrast to the
unlettered pride of Louis de Beaumont his predecessor in the
Palatinate, who, although he was allied to kings and princes,
was ignorant, strange to say, of the Latin language. On tlic
day of his consecration, when he was making his profession of
obedience to the archbishop of York, he stumbled, with a readi-
ness which a refractory suffragan might envy, at the word
metropoliticce, and passed it over with the convenient words,
Seyt pur dit. On another occasion, whilst he was officiating at
an ordination, he faltered at the words in anigmate, and con-
fessing himself to be a Davus when he ought to have been an
(Edipus, he astonished the listening clerks by the observation.
Far Seynt Lowis, line fu pas curtays, qui c' est parole icy escrit.'
In spite of the disasters of the nation and of the warfare
which reduced many of the clergy in the North to beggary,
archbishop Melton was a very wealthy man. He Avas a cautious
and prudent person, and Avas very frugal and sparing in his
tastes and requirements. His register presents him to us as
one of the great money-lenders of the day. Scarcely a year
seems to have elapsed without some thousands of marks passing-
through his hands in the way of loans. The archbishop had
debtors in every class of society. The monarch himself required
money, and he found it in Melton^s coffers. The barons and
knights stood in need of it to provide their equipment for the
wars, or, perchance, to pay their ransom, if they were iu\fortu-
nate enough to be captured, and they got it from the northern
primate, occasionally leaving behind them as a pledge for its
repayment some of the plate which formed almost the sole orna-
ment of their castles and halls. The poor abbat, or prior, whose
granges had been destroyed by the marauding Scots, received a
loan from his diocesan which ena))led him to provide subsistence
for his distressed brethren. The a1)ility to supply the wants of
so many petitioners, shews that Melton Avas a man of great
wealth and substance. It would make him courted and treated

' Hist. Dunelin. Scr. Tres, 118.

426 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

with respect by all^ and would add very greatly to his influence/
It is quite possible that the possession of these riches would
dull some of the finer lines in Melton^s character^

" <I>X6oVTa'i' BivfiaTwu V7rep<pev
'Yvrep TO ^eXTiaTov —

It enabled him, however, to befriend his kinsmen, whom
he was, perhaps, too fond of advancing and pro\dding for. The
archbishop was desirous of " making a family," and he made it.
The greater part of his wealth seems to have come to the chil-
dren of his brother Henry. He was fond of purchasing and
trafficking in land for their use; and the knightly house of
Melton of Aston, which was fostered and upreared by his muni-
ficence, took its place soon after its founder^s decease among
the greatest families in Yorkshire.

Archbishop Melton maintained his household and lived in a
style which befitted his high position. The number of his
retainers was very considerable, and there was no want of hos-
pitality or munificence in his palaces. The following extracts
will give a more graphic picture of the requirements of the times
in which he lived and of the domestic economy of his household,
than any remarks or observations of mine.

1318, Jan. 22. To Simon Rose, our attorney, 100s., if neces-
sary, to provide counsel for the archbishop. Nov. 4. To John
de Ecclesclif, bishop of Glasgow, 5 marks towards his expences.*

1319, March 10. To Thomas Deyvill, our bailiff at Ripon,
40s. for the use of our tenants in the bailywick of Ripon, who
are coming to York to go with the king into the North for the
defence of the kingdom, and 20s. for a standard of silk for the
said tenants.*^ July 30. To Walter, the clerk, of Beverley,
79/. 16s. 8d. for cloth bought of him. Nov. 11. To Henry de
Melton, our brother, 20/. as a gift.

1320, Jan. 7. An order to the park-keepers at Beverley to
give to Mr. Richard de Melton, rector of Brandesburton, a deer.
August 5. To Mr. Richard de Melton,'^ rector of Lythe, 200/.
to make provision for us at St. Botulph^s fair.

1321, July 25. To William Lumbard, 112s. 3d. for our summer

" Stubbs, col. 1731. (Quetif. Scriptores Ord. Predic, i.,

* There is no bishop of this name in pref., xxv).

Keith's Fasti of the Scottish church. " It was in this year that the Scots

The bishop of Glasgow at this time was ravaged the Eipon country,

a person of the name of John Wiseheart. '' He occurs, also, as rector of Gilling

He was probably acting as a suffragan and seneschal of the archbishop's hos-

for Melton like the Irish prelate who is pice. On Jan. 19, 1327, Eichard de

mentioned below. Ecclesclitf has been Melton, rector of Brandesburton, was

mentioned before. He was a Friar collated to a stall in St. Sepulchre's

Preacher, and was successively bishop chapel at York,
of Bethlehem, Connor, and Llandaff

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 427

liverey.* August 8. To the Friars Preachers in their general
chapter at Pontefract assembled, 100s. August 20. An order
to repair the kitchen of the manor of Otley at the oversight of
John, ^acar of Otley.

1322, Jan. 23. To John, bishop of Clonfurt, 20s. as a gift.
May 22. To Gregory de Thornton, knight,/ 20 marks in part
payment of 100 marks due to him for our service to be rendered
in Scotland to the king, which he is to do. May 23. Sir Tho-
mas Ughtred, knight, releases the archbishop from the payment
of his wages due for the same service.^

1323, June 1 . To Thomas de Escrik and Richard de War-
wick, our household servants, for the use of the king and queen
and their servants, 94/. 6s. 8d., and for the use of Sir Hugh le
Despenser, jiin., the best silver cup in our chest, of which avc
send you the key, and a smaller cup to Eleanor his wifc^

1324, July 12. To Henry de Melton, our brother, two stots.
July 24. To Robert Valeyns,' canon of York, two deer for his
feast during his residence.

1326, Feb. 2. To Henry de Melton, our brother, a gift of
ten marks. June 18. To Richard de Gretford, our bailiff at
Hull, the money for ten casks of wine. July 19. An order to
pay ten marks for the expenses of the archbishop's horses in
London. Oct. 20. To Mr. Robert de Dufton and Mr. William
de Carleton, 40s. for their expenses in going to Scotland in oiu'
behalf. An order to give to William de Ayton, brother of Ralph,
late perpetual vicar of Sherburn, 4^ marks of silver, a silver*,
piece, a cup de murro, a portiphor of the Sarum use, and a pix
covered with pearls, and he to enter into a bond to answer to
us about the dilapidations of the vicarage. Oct. 21. An order
to Roger de Somervill, sheriff of Yorkshire, to pay for the arch-
bishop forty marks for the wages of Sir Henry Fitzhugh, knight,
who is going to the aid of the king in the train of John, earl of

' In Stubbs (col. 1731) it is said that covirtier to a ro3'al favourite.
Melton gave out his liverey twice a 3'^ear. ■' Robert de Valoit,'iics, precentor of

f A farther sum of 60^. was paid to York 1317-1320, in which year lie ox-

Lim on July 4, 1322. changed it with Thomas de Ecrton for

s The agreement between him and the rectory of Clive in the diocese of
the archbishop was made Sept. 9, 1318. . Worcester. In 1323 he became canon
Ughtred was to serve vnih. "x hommes of Warthill, which he held for twenty
d'armes od X chevauxcovertz." There j'ears. He died in 13 13, and was buried
is an account of several members of the in the chancel of the church of North-
house of Ughtred of Kexby in Dngd. fleet, of which he was rector. He was
Bar., ii., 141, and in the public re- probably a residentiary of York. In
cords. Sir Thomas was summoned to 1313, when archbisho]i Zouche visited
parliament 18-3Sth Edward III. He tlie minster, it wa.s rep(>rted to him that
died in 1365, and was buried at Catton, there were " dissensiones et discordiso
his son Thomas administering to him detestabiles " between Valoigncs and
on the 4th of July. John de Gilfard, a brother canon (Acta

* The archbishop is playing the Capit. Ebor.).

428

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

Surrey, and, on the same day, a loan of 200 marks to Sir Wil-
liam de Ros, lord of Hamelake.

1327, Jmie 30. To dan Nicholas de Hugate,-^' 100/. to give
to the king and qneen. July 2. To Robert de Wodehous,*
keeper of the king's wardrobe, for the king's use, 500 marks in
money and gold florins '' de agno, cathedra et mace,^'^ to the
value of 300 marks, as a loan. Nov. 9. The archbishop desires
Mr. Alan de Conyngesburgh, Lis proctor at the court of Rome,
to make a present for him of 1000 florins to the pope. Nov. 25.
To Mr. John de Thoresby going to the court of Rome, 20/.™

1328, August 12. To the king fifty marks to buy him a
palfrey. August 29. To Philip de Redmere, our valet, 20/. for
certain works of ours at Hull.

1330, April 9. An order to pay to Mr. Robert de Bridling-
ton for the use of William," son of Henry de Melton, 1000/.,

} Provost of Beverley 1315-1338.
Prebend of Barnby at York 1317.
Archdeacon of Gloucester 1317 (Le
Neve, iii., 77). Canon of Howden and
Saltmarsh at Howden (Reg. ii., Pr. and
Conv. Dunelm., 107). Master of St.
Nicholas's hospital at York (Dugd.
Mon., vi., 710). Incumbent of Lythe
and Welwick. In I7th Edward II. he
occurs as receiver of monies to be spent
in Aquitaine (Pell Hecords, 136. Ab-
brev. Rot. Orig., i., 276). In 2nd of
?41dward III. he was appointed to super-
intend the preparation of the apart-
ments in the palace of the archbishop
of York for the celebration of the king's
marriage (Pell Records, 140). He was
canon of Asgarby at Lincoln (Le Neve,
ii., 101), and his will was proved on the
12th of July, 1338 (MSS. Harl., 6954,
55 6). A chantry was founded for his
soul in York minster in 1357 at the
altar of SS. James and Katherine (Fa-
bric Rolls, 286).

* A younger sou of Sir Bertram de
Wodehouse, of Kimberley, by the heir-
ess of the Feltons (Blomefield's Norfolk,
ii., 543). Chaplain to Edward IL, clerk
of the wardrobe, chancellor and baron
of the exchequer and lord treasurer of
England (Feed., ii., 398, 419, 787,
1040. Cal. Rot. Pat., 105-6, 109, 132.
Rot. Scot., i., 139. Rot. Pari., ii., 79.
Madox, Hist. Exch., ii., 327. Dugd.
Chron., 39-42. Lib. Garderobsc, 73.
Foss's Judges, iii., 314, 539). Prebend
of Knaresbro' and archdeacon of Rich-
mond, canon of Hereford, Lincoln,
Southwell, and Lichfield, incumbent of

Boney and Tyverington. In his will,
which was made iu 1345 (Test. Ebor.,
i., 13), he desires to be buried in the
church of the Austin canons at Stam-
ford. The author of the metrical pe-
digree of the family of Wodehouse tells
us, whilst speaking of the nephew of the
treasurer, —

" His uncle Robert, being Uigli Treasurer
Of England, one who had sonietimc before
Bin Richmond's dean and chaplain to tlie

king,
So pious and discreet his life had bin."

' A most valuable description of these
coins, which, in the absence of gold at
home, English bankers, etc., wei'e most
anxious to procure. I believe that
coins of all these three types are not now
in existence. Peter de Dene in his will
made in 1322 mentions Florins "deagno
et mas" (Chron. W. Thorn, col. 2037).

'" Afterwards archbishop. He arose
into importance through his skilful di-
plomacy at Rome. A farther sum of
30/. was given to him by Melton on
Dec. 2nd at Newcastle. In 1326 he
occurs as receiver of Melton's chamber
and his private chaplain.

" Afterwards Sir William de Melton,
knight, of Aston, the archbishop's
nephew and heir, set. 23 in 1340. He
died in 1362, leaving a son and heir,
Sir William, set. 23, whose mother was
Joan, sister and co-heir in her issue of
Thomas lord Luc}', who died July 4,
1369 (Baker's Northants, i., 673. Hun-
ter's South Yorkshire, ii., 162). I
make some additions to the pedigree.

The will of Sir William Melton, the

1317—1340.]

ARCHBISHOP MELTON.

429

and for tlie use of Thomas, John and Joan the brothers and
sister of the said William, 100/. each. April 24. An order to
Simon de Swanlond to buy 10,500 small florins of Florence to
prosecute our cause in the papal court against the bishop of
Dm-ham." June 1. To dan. John de Elghton, chaplain, cele-
brating at Melton for the souls of our parents, a wage after the
rate of five marks per annum. June 8. Thomas Fox, the re-
ceiver at Hexham, is ordered to construct a good and a stout
gaol at that place.

1331, May 17. An order to the receiver at York to have
made for the archbishop a silver cup of the price of 40s., and
another of 2^ marks or 30s. May 21. To Adam Coppendale of
Beverley, 100/. 4s. for cloth bought of him for oui' summer
liverey. May 24. To Walter de Kelstern, 185/. 8s. Id. for
plates of white silver, and to Henry de Belton,^' 327/. 18s. 9d.
for plates of white silver received from him through the hands
of Mr. Robert de Bridlington and John de Nottingham.'?

second, is printed in Test. Ebor., i.,
246. He died in 1398, having been a
witness for the Scropes in 1386 (Scrope
and Grosvenor Roll, ii., 301), and his
widow, shortly afterwards, took the
vows before archbishop Scrope in the
following manner : —

" In the nome of Jhesu Crist, Amen.
Y Katerine de Melton de Aston, of the
erchebisshopricke of York, byfor you
hier, worsshepful fader in God and lord
Eichard by the grace of God erche-
bysshop of York, primat of Engelond
and legat of ye court of Rome, in the
wyrsship of Gode and h3's moder Seinte
Marie maiden and al seintz of heven, in
your holy handes make avowe and by-
hot that y shal kepe my body henfor-
word in chastitee, and in token of this
avowe y make this seyne of the holy
cros whith my owne honde ■\-."

A Mr. William de Melton was some-
time the archbishop's i-eceiver at Hex-
ham. Possibl}' he was the issue of the
following marriage which is entered in
archbishop Melton's register. Jan. 13,
1307, Clement V. grants a dispensation
to William, son of Nicholas de Melton,
and Christian his wife, who had married
although they were related, and had
had four children. The consanguinity
was thus shewn. A person called
"Anketinus diaconus," had two chil-
dren, Thomas and Agnes. Ralph " dic-
tus clericus" was theson of this Thomas.
Ralph had a son Ralph, the fatlier of
JIaud, mother of William de ^Melton.

Agnes, daughter of Anketinus above
named, was the mother of Alexander
Paslewe, who was the father of Geoffrey,
the sire of Christian. I scarcely think
that this document relates to the parents
of the archbishop.

On Oct. 4, anno 22, archbishop Mel-
ton writes to the bishop of Durham to
enquire about an exchange of benefices
as proposed by William ^Melton, rector
of Alston, and John de Bridlington,
rector of a moiety of the church of
Roxby in the diocese of Lincoln (Reg.
Bury, 311). June 22, 1370, ind. Mr.
AVilliam de Melton in vie. de Withornse,
having exchanged for it his rectory of
Brandesburton with Thomas de S. Mar-
tino (Reg. Thoresby). Mr. William de
Melton was ordained priest at York on
the Saturday after St. Lucy's day, 1358,
A^'illiam de Ferriby giving him a title
(ibid.).

" The contest betw'een Melton and
bj). Beaumont is elsewhere alluded to.

p Mayor of York 1334-7 (Drake,
360-1). On July 2, 1336, the prior
and convent of Durham allowed him
and the other parishioners of All Saints,
Ousegate (Pavement), to build houses
in the churchj'ard, where the dead were
not interred, to support a chaplain in
honour B.M.V. in the said church
(Keg. ii., Pr. and Conv. Dunelm., 1076).
Belton founded a chantry there on 4th
of July, 1347 (Drake, 294).

* A John de Nottingham was dean
of Lincoln in 1340 (Le Neve, ii., 32).

430

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

August 9. To Richard de la Mare*" and Thomas de Ergom their
expeuses, etc.^ in taking the fattest of the deer in our parks,
CO. Notts. August 20. To Mr. Richard de Snoweshull and
Richard de Grimeston of York, goldsmith, 1001b. of silver
plate.'' August 31. To Willliam de Cliff, the money necessary
for himself and men, his horses and dogs, whilst taking the
ferae in our park at Beverley, and salt for salting what he takes.'
Sept. 22. To William de Melton, son of Henry de Melton de-
ceased, our brother, 1000/. as a mark of our affection. Nov. 22.
To Mr. Richard de Eryom," canon of York, 100 marks to ex-

*■ A cousin of the archbishop. I shall
notice several other members of the
family.

' The York mint was in full play
during this archiepiscopate, and I shall
give some new and valuable notices of
its progress. A great quantity of mo-
ney seems to have been struck at York,
but there are few peculiar mint-marks,
such as are observed on the coins of the
bishops of Durham. Their absence may
be easily accounted for by the fact that
York was not a palatinate like Durham ;
such a privilege, therefore, as the use
of mint-marks could not properly be
assumed.

Mr. Eichard de Snoweshill was Mel-
ton's mint-master. Meltou made him
his receiver, and he became rector of
Huntington near York. He made his
will on the 27th of August, 1349, in
which he desired to be buried in the
choir of the church of All Saints at
Huntington, near the vestry- wall, if he
dies in the diocese of York. He gives
a legend to the church, and leaves 10s.
to buy a stone coffin in which his body
is to be laid. Pr. 7th August, 1349
(Eeg. Zouche).

The following extracts relate to the
operations of the York mint at this
time. August 7, 1331, an order to
Mr. John de Notyngham, the arch-
bishop's receiver at York, to give to
Mr. Eichard, the goldsmith, of Grimes-
by, whom we have appointed our ma-
gis^er cuneorum, all our silver plate in
your keeping. August 8, Mr. Eichard
Snoweshill appointed custos cambii, and
on the same day, Nottingham, the re-
ceiver, is directed to give him 200 lb.
of silver to hand over to Eichard, the
goldsmith, to coin into money. Aug.
28, 1331, the receiver is ordered to pay
Snoweshill 100^. for the use of the mint,
and on August 31 the same officer is

ordered to place in his hands the arch-
bishop's silver plate. Dec. 28, 1331, to
Mr. E. de Snoweshill, our receiver at
York, the mone}'' he has spent " circa
missionem cuneorum nostrorum apud
London et pro ipsis cuueis ibidem fabri-
candis," and for bringing them to York,
and, also, for making a chasuble for
our chantry in York minster. March
13, 1333-4, acq. of the accompt of
Snoweshill as keeper of the mint, 3110.
lib. arg. 4s. lid. remaining in his hands.
The accounts run from August 8, 1331,
to Michaelmas, 1333, and are jmssed.
Jan. 12, 1337-8, an order to the re-
ceiver at York to buy silver plate for
our use.

' August 5, 1334, an order to pay to
William de Cliff and his companions
the money they require for hunting for
us at Eipon.

" Prebendary of UUeskelf, which he
held from 1322 to 1338, when he died.
His history is a remarkable one. He
made his own way in the world, as in
June, 1304, he is mentioned in arch-
bishop Corbridge's register as " Eichard
de Er^'um super Tees, pauper clericus."
He soon rose into importance, Kellawe,
bishop of Durham, having taken him
by the hand. In 1313 he was pre-
bendary of Lanchester, and in receipt
of an annual pension of 66s. 8d. from
the convent of Durham (Eeg. ii., Pr.
and Conv. Dunelm., 35, 61. Hist.
Dunelm. Scr. Tres., appendix, 107).
On Dec. 3, 1315, the dean and chapter
of York ask Kellawe to ordain Mr.
Eichard de Erium, rector of St. Nicho-
las's, Durham (Eeg. Kellawe, 155 b).
In November, 1316, he was made canon
of Saltmarsh at Howden (Eeg. ii., nt
supra, 79 b). He is very frequentl}"
mentioned among the acts of bishop
Kellawe. In June, 1322, he exchanged
his stall at Howden with Eichard de

1317—1340.]

ARCHBISHOP MELTON.

431

pedite tlie business of ourself and our cliurcli at Rome. Nov. 28.
To Mr. John de Barneby, onr domestic chaplain^ 1500 Horius
for our affairs iu the court of Rome. Nov. 29. ^Vn order to tlie
receiver at Howden to give to John de Haytefekl as many hens
" de lak " at this time, and Avhenever he comes to you, as the
sumpter horses of our poultry store, can carry to us at York,
and the wheat and barley " de doddes," which are due to us
from Howdenshire, to be brought to our manor of CuAvood."

1332, Jan. 18. To Mr. John de Notingham, the expenses of
his journey to and from St. OswakFs, Gloucester. Jau. 19. To
Mr. Thomas Sampson,'" official of om* court at York, two deer
from our park at Beverley. Feb. 21. An order to pay 100s. for
building a grange at Boulton. April 5. To John le Waryner,
money to repair our camera at Ripon. May 14. An order to
Mr. Robert de Bridelington,-^ seneschal of om- lands, to pay
1000 marks of the money of our cousin which is in yoiu- hands
to David earl of Athol.^ May 25. To dame jNlargcry de Mel-

Osgodby for the prebend of Ulleskelf.
In April, 1323, he was presented to the
living of Brompton in Pickering Lj'th,
which he held till he died (Reg. Mel-
ton). On July 8, 1324, he was one of
the persons appointed to settle the dis-
putes between France and England
" ratione castri de Monte Pessato "
(Poed., ii., 558). He died in 1338. See
Hist. Dunelm. Scr. Tres, 104.

" Some curious customary rents. In
Best's Farming Book, which has been
published for the Surtees Society, there
is the following explanation of " doddes."
" Many have alledged y' white wheate
is ye best to mingle and sowe with rye
and y' it will bee ye soonest ripe, but
wee finde experimentally y' Kentish
wheate is ye best or y' wlaich (here-
abouts) is called dodde reade, and be-
sides it is a larger corne, and a wheate
y' will sell as well amongst rye as ye
other."

"■ A distinguished man. lie was
son, I believe, of John Sampson, who
was knight of the shire for Yorkshire
in 1298, and was closely connected
with the families of Sutton and Malbys.
He held at various times the livings of
Aca«ter Malbys, Halmby, and Mister-
ton, and was warden of the chajiel of
Sutton in Holderness, canon of Holme
at York, and a residentiary and pre-
bendary of Beverley. In 13 i2 the
canons of York elected him their dean,
but the appointment was set aside by

the pope after a long and angry con-
troversy. Sampson was cmplo^-ed in
state aflliirs(Foed., ii., 794, 870, 947; iii.,
116. Rot. Scot., i., 590-1. Hot. Pari.,
ii., 105). There are letters from him
in existence describing the victory at
Neville's cross (MSS. Bodl., 208G, 18),
and he was very useful in advancing
the building of York minster. He
died in 1319, having made a noble will
which is still unpublished. His wealth
was enormous.

^ Private chaplain of Melton. In
February, 1320, he exchanged his stall
in the church of All Saints, Derby, for
that of Welton at Lincoln (MSS. llarl.,
6951, 111). He was canon of Nuu-
wick at Bipon, AVoodburgh at South-
well, and South Newbald at York, the
last of which he obtained in 1330 in
exchange for the stall of Parva Cestria
at Derby. He held, also, the livings
of North Ferrib}^ Claworth, and El-
neley. He died in 1332. On Dec. 29,
1331, the custody of the marriage of
Richard, .son and heir of Richard do
Forncus, was entrusted to Bridlington.
Robert and William F., his brothers,
are mentioned (Reg. Melton).

v This was for the manor of Gains-
borough. The bargain was cancelled.
On March 15, 1333-4, the archbishop
desired the money .should be received
back from the earl, together with the
deeds.

432 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

touj our kinswoman, three quarters of wheat and five of malt.
June 16. To Richard de Danport, tanner of Pontefract, 107s.
for thirty-one hoods and twenty-one super-tunics furred with
hudge, and forty-four lambs^ furs for our summer liverey.
June 24. To Mr. Ivo, the mason, five marks for stone bought
at Tadcaster for our worlc at York. August^ 1. To the Augus-
tinians at Lincohi, in their general chapter there, two marks.
August 24. To dan Richard de Melton, seneschal of our hospice,
200 marks to make provision for us at St. Botulph's. Sept. 29.
To Mr. Robert, our cook, money enough to buy 2000 stockfish
in the next fair of St. BotulpVs, with his expenses. Nov. 12.
To John de Dyock, the money necessary to hire a ship to bring
"piastre ston^"* from Gainsbro^to Southwell.

1333, May 4. To "William de Fereby,- our domestic clerk,
100/. for the expenses of our hospice. Oct. 18. An order to
Mr. Richard de SnoweshuU, our receiver at York, to repair and
make a glass window in our chapel, the east window of our
chamber, a new window in our study, and a new partition
(particula) in the west end of the great hall of our palace, and
to pay 40s. for a silver gilt cup. Oct. 21. An order to pay 100s.
for a pontifical ring. Oct. 23. To Adam de Coppendale of Bev-
erley, 39/. 17s. for spices. Nov. 1. To Simon, master of the
schools at Newark, for the expenses of our kinsmen William
and Thomas de Melton and their tutor as long as they are
there, 2s. 5d. per week. Nov. 2. To John de Esk, 24/. for two
bovates of land bought for the use of our beloved kinsman Tho-
mas, son of Henry de Melton."

' A kinsman of the archbishop, and His will is in Test. Ebor., i., 103. Cf.
a member of a great clerical family Fabric Rolls, 123, 286, etc. Ferriby
which held many preferments in York- leaves to the fabric of York minster 20
shire. Ferriby is near the archbishop's marks, and all the books which for-
birthplace at Melton. It would be merly belonged to archbishop Melton,
tedious to enumerate minutely the pre- " A very interesting notice of the
ferments of William de Ferriby. Suf- education of the archbishop's nephews,
fice it to say that at one time or other The eldest has been already mentioned,
he held the archdeaconry of Cleveland, His uncle seems to have allowed him
the chancellorship and the stalls of 100s. a year after he left school.
Bilton, Holme, and Dunnington at On May 30, 1332, Mr. William le
York, where he was a residentiary. He Burton, vicar of Kirkby Moorside, re-
was also canon of Ripon, Southwell, ceived the charge of Thomas, son of
and Salisbury, dean of Hereford, chan- Henry de Melton, a bo^'. On May 14,
ceHor of Beverley, and prebendary at 1335, the care of Thomas and John,
Chester and Osniunderley. He held sons of Henry de Melton, was entrusted
the livings of Brompton, Claworth, to Mr. William de YafFord, parson at
Stokesley, North Ferriby, Hugate, the altar B.M. Magd. in York min-
Carleton in Lindrick, Kippax, Acaster ster. On Dec. 5, 1335, William de
Malbys, the mastership of Bawtry hos- Ferriby, the anihbishop's domestic chap-
pital, and the rectory of Watford, lain, ;vas made their curator (Reg. Mel-
Northants. He was executor of arch- ton). On March 30, 1351, there was
bishops Melton and Zouche, and dying a commission to ordain Mr. Thomas de
in 1379 was buried in York minster. Melton, rector of Hotham (Reg.

1317 — 1340.] ARCHnisiiop melton. 433

1331, Jan. 15, To Roger de Monkcton, jeweller of York,
52s. lid. for a cup and two pieces of silver. April 12. To Adam
de Coppandale of Beverley, 10/. 21 d. for two ells of canvass.
May 10. An order to reward Robert Parxyng, William Basset,
John de Trevanyon, William Scot and John dc Anlaghl)y, advo-
cates, of York, for their advice and assistance in our business.
May 19. To William de Popelton, seneschal of our hospice,
fifty marks as a gift to our lady Philippa the queen, and money
to buy two carcases of oxen, three of pigs, and six of sheep to
give to the king.* June 3. To Mr. Thomas Sampson, otficial of
our court at York, sufficient money for our cause agaiust the
archbishop of Canterbury.'^ July 10. To Richard Lune, steward
at Otley, 20/. for building and repairing oiir houses in the
manor there. August 1. To John Levenyng,'^ our valet, the
money required for hunting for us, and storing what he takes, at
Southwell and Scrooby. August 10. An order to pay the money
for the silver chain of our seal, and for a case to it. August 13.
To Robert the plumber, money for lead nails used in oiu' chapel
and oriole at York. August 21. An order to Nicholas de
Siglesthorn, our receiver at Beverley, to pay ten marks to the
keeper of the fabric, towards the fabric of the high altar there,
and twenty marks towards the fabric of the nave.*^ August 31.
To John de Worne, 100 marks for the charges at the custom-
house and the expenses connected with our wool which has been
exchanged in Flanders. Oct. 31. To Thomas de Ougtered,
knight, who is about to go to Scotland, 40/., and he requires
for the present the use of some part of his silver vases. His
request is granted.-^

1335, Feb. 19. Release of the accompt of Richard de Snowes-
liill, our receiver at York. He has in hand belonging to us,
1712/. 14s. 6d., thirty-six " florinos regales,^^ forty-nine '' de
agno," and forty-six " de Florentia," wdth a silver cup gilt and
enamelled, an ewer gilt and enamelled, pledged by Sir John
Cromwell^ for twenty marks, and two '^inpele,'' pledged by Sir

Zouclie). In 1358, on the Saturday as standing in the same relationship to

after St. Matthew's day, he was made that prelate.

deacon at York, his title being a chantry ' A very valuable date. About tlie

to which he was appointed by William year 1321- there was a papal indulgence

de Fcrriby. He was ordained sub- issued in behalf of the church of Be-

deacon on the vigil of the feast of verloy. Cf. Cal. Kot. Pat., 101-.

Trinity preceding (Reg. Thoresby). ^ Sir Thomas light red has borrowed

* In this year Edward III. won his money of Melton, leaving his plate as

great victory at Halidon hill. a pledge for its repayment.

''- No doubt arising from the haju,- s Apr. 11, anno pont. 10, a loan of

lalio criicis. 20 marks to Sir John Cromwell, who

■' A cousin of the archbishop. In gives as a pledge a cup and ewer of

1336 a Richard de Cardoyl is mentioned silver.

F F

434 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Fulk Fitzwarren, for 20/. April 2] . To William de Wirkes-
worth, 200 marks and more for our summer livery.

1336, April 5. To the prior of Wartre, 100/. at the oversight
of John de Melton, to the use of the said John and Margery
his wife our kinswoman. July 13. An order to Mr. Richard de
Snoweshill to give out fourteen ells of silk for our summer
livery. Dec. 11. We have received from our receiver at York,
842/. lis. lOd. of our new money. '^

1337, Jan. 8. To Thomas Fox, our receiver at Hexham, 23s.
4d. for making our mill at Alwenton.* April 27. To Sir Wil-
liam de Erghom, knight, ninety marks for a mesuage, a bovate
of arable land and the adA'owson of the chu.rch of Aston, which
we have bought of him.-' May 8. To Roger de Middleton, 100
marks for the manor of North Milford bought of him.

1338, June 7. To Mr. Thomas Sampson and dan Nicholas
de Hugate, canons of York, 500 marks to the use of the fabric
of the church.''' Sept. 21. To dan Richard de Melton, rector of
Brandesburton, 30/. for the making of the work of our chapel
at Melton, together with the sum of 20/. due from the ex-
ecutors of Nicholas de Hugate.

1339, Feb. 4. To Mr. Thomas Sampson or Thomas de Lud-
ham, keeper of the fabric of the church of York, 100 marks for
the glazing of the window newly constructed at the west end of
the cathedral.^ May 14. An order to Mr. Giles de Reddmere'"
to provide for us some good parchment at Lincoln, paying for

* Was this the jiroduoe of the York bishop of the manors of Ottery St.
mint or Florins, etc., which had been Mary, co. Devon, Kingsclere, and Bunt-
obtained in tlie way of exchange ? worth, Hants, and Killom, co. York

'■ Aug. 24, 1351, Thomas Fox, rector (Cal. Inq. P. M., ii., 62).
of Gilling in Ridale, and John Luk, * Stubbs (col. 1731) says that Mel-
rector of Haltwhistle exchange (Reg. ton gave 700 marks, and there is no
Zouche). reason to doubt his accuracy, although

J The manor of Aston, W.R.Y., the whole amount is not accounted for

came into Melton's hands in 1332, in the register. No one can suppose

when Thomas de Auuby passed it over that all the items of the primate's ex-

to him (Hunter's South Yorkshire, ii., penditure are entered in that book.
162). "Aston's secret shade "was in ' The beautiful west window, the

subsequent years the patrimony of the glass of which is still perfect,
family of Darcy, and, in still later days, '" A kinsman of the archbishop,

sheltered the poet Mason, who became Canon of Hungate at Lincoln (Le Neve,

precentor of the minster of York. ii., 99). He made his will on the Wed-

f n 1334 Melton granted letters of nesday before the feast of St. Barnabas,

attorney to Thomas de Lelom, his valet, 1347, in which he desired to be buried

to take possession in his name of the in Lincoln cathedral, before the great

manor of Killom from Peter, archbishop cross in the nave, near the tomb of Sir

of Rouen, and his chapter. The arch- William de Boloyn. To the fabric he

bishop knew in what peril the property: gave 40s. To Juliana, his sister, a nun

of aliens in Eugland was placed, and , at Irford, 2 marks. To Thomas de

he was wisely selling his lands in that Geynesburgh, chaplain, vicar in the

country (Reg. Melton). In 8th Edward cathedral, 20s., and his portiphor of

III. Melton was enfeoffed by the arch- the Liucoln use, and to him and Wm.

1317 1340.] ARCHBISHOP MELTON. 435

it 40s. or 50s. July 25. To dan Richard de Melton, 25/. for
our cliapel at Melton.

1340, Jan. 7. We have received from Sir Antony de Lucy,"
knight, 200/. in part payment of 400/. due to us for the marriage
of William de Melton our kinsman, and this money the arch-
bishop gives on the 13th, as a special favour, to his cousin
Richard de la Mar."

Archbishop Melton died at Cawood on the 4th or 5th of
April, 1340, and was interred in the north aisle of the nave of
York minster, near the font.^ Mr. Drake, the historian, thus
describes the opening of his tomb in 173 . ''On the laying
the new pavement of the church the stone which covered the
grave of this prelate was taken up. It was of blue marble, very
large, but quarterly cloven, and had been plated with brass on
the borders, and all over the middle part of it. Upon trial for
a vault the workmen came, at about two yards depth, to six
large unhewn stones, which laid cross and cross, as a drain is
covered. Upon removing two or three of them we discovered a
curious walled grave of ashler stone, in which the archbishop
was laid. He had been put in a lead coffin, and afterwards in
a mighty strong oaken one ; but both were so decayed that it
was easy to get to his bones. On the top of the uppermost
coffin, near his breast, stood a silver chalice and paten which
had been gilt. On the foot of the chalice was stampt a crucifix
of no mean workmanship, and on the inside of the paten a hand

de Redmer, his brother, all his books 25th November, 1365, and was buried

which are not set apart for the Friars in York minster.
Preachers at Lincoln. Pr. 20th June, Thomas de la Mare, brother of Wil-

1347 (Reg. Zouche). liam, also called " consanffuineus" by

Philip de Redmer " consanguiueus the archbishop, was sacrist of St. Se-
arch'"is mentioned in Melton's register, pulchre's chapel. In 1338 he became
Philip, son of John de Redmer, occurs canon of Weighton, exchanging for it
in Abbrev. Rot. Orig., i., 156. his rectory of Stratford, dioc. Lincoln.

" A great warrior and statesman. He died at Clareburgh, Notts, on 6th

Melton mai-ried his nephew to Lucy's of October, 1358, and was buried there,

daughter. His will is in Test. Ebor., i., 68. It

" The family of De la Mare were is a valuable document, and several of

connected mth the archbishop, and the Meltons are mentioned in it.
were preferred by him. The name is '' His obit was observed on the 4th

a suggestive one. (Reg. Magn. Album, part iii., 112).

William de la Mare " consanffuineus It is said that ho died on the 5th in

noster," once called W. de la Mare de Stubbs, col. 1731. MSS. Cotton, Vi-

Melton, held many offices. At various tclhus, A, ii., 112. On April 6, 1310,

times he was canon of South and North the dean and chapter of York send

Newbald andUUeskelf and treasurer at William de la Mare and two others to

York, prebendary in St. Sepulchre's the king to tell him that the archbishop

chapel. All Saints Derby, provost of died on the 5th, and to ask leave to

Beverley, incumbent of North Ferriby, choose a successor (Act. Capit.). Bur.

Wath.and Waltham. On Jan. 1, 1319, "in crast. S. Georgii" (Chron. Lan.).

he was made seneschal of all the arch- Mr. Baker (Hi.st. Northants) is wrong

bishop's manors and lands. He died in saying that Melton died on April 1 1.

F F 2

*

436 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

giving the benediction. We could not find that he had been
buried in his robes ; his pastoral staff laid on his left side, but
no ring could be met with. His bones, as they laid together,
measured six foot, which argues him to have been a very tall
man. His grey hairs were pretty fresh ; after w^e had taken a
short survey of the ewuvice of this once famous man, the grave
was closed up in the manner it was before ; but the chalice and
paten were carried to the vestry.^"?

Archbishop Melton left a will, of which "William de la Mare,
canon of York and provost of Beverley, William de Ferriby,
canon of York and rector of Stokesley, and William de Wyrkes-
wortli, rector of Slaidburn and prebendaiy in the chapel of St.
Sepulchre, were the executors, and they had their release on
the 6th of November, 1345. It appears that with all his wealth
the archbishop had not paid proper attention to the buildings,
etc., belonging to his see, as on the 14th of November, 1342,
the executors bound themselves to pay to his successor the large
sum of 4000 marks on the score of dilapidations.'' Melton,
however, left great wealth behind him, of which perhaps he was
a little too fond, and his nephew William de Melton of Aston
was found to be his heir, being at that time twenty-three years
of age.'' The archbishop died seised of the manors of Kings-
clere and Buntwortli, co. Southants, Killam, Aston and Towton,
within the honour of Pontefract, North Milford, Kirkbywharf,
Abholme and Sherburne in Yorkshire, and Upston, co. Notts. ^
All these estates came into the possession of his nephews, whose
descendants were among the highest knightly families in York-
shire.

On the 1st of February, 1355, William de Ferriby, an exe-
cutor of the deceased prelate, and probably in accordance with
his wishes, established two chantries to commemorate his bene-
factor and kinsman. The endowment consisted of twenty-six
marks per annum out of lands in Hotliam, Northcave, Melton,
Ferriby, Swanland and Elveley. The first of these chantries
was in the chapel of St. James at Melton, which the primate
himself had erected. The other was at the altar of the Holy
Innocents in York minster. Two priests ofiiciated there and
made special mention of the soul of the archbishop and that of
Edward of Carnarvon, king of England, through whose means
he had risen to greatness. Each of these chaplains received the
sum of five mai'ks per annum."

» Drake's EboracmVi, 433. Eot. Orig., i., 224.

•■ Eeg. Zouclie. " Keg. Thoresby. Domesday book,

• Baker's Northants, i., 673. penes Dec. et Cap. Ebor., 55-7. Fabric

' Cal. Tnq. P. ]\I., ii., 94. The names Rolls of York minster, 286. Hutchin-

of the keepers of the temporalities after sou's Durham, iii., 477.

Melton's death are given in Abbrev.

1342—1352.]

ARCHBISHOP ZOUCHE.

437

On the 20th of January, 1359-60 Elias de Walkington, the
siib-chantor of the vicars choral, made an arrangement with
Ferriby and De la Mare, by which the obit of the archbishop
was to be annually observed on the 4th of April."

^ ., illiani la EoudjC is said to have been a younger son of
William, lord la Zouche of Haringworth, Xorthants, by ]\Iaude
daughter of John lord Lovel, and to have been born at his
father's seat."' But whether these were his parents or not, his
very name bears witness to his illustrious birth. The lords of
Haringw^orth were famous for their hospitality, and in Kenneths
time the proverb, " to go a Zouching, was commonly applied to
an unbidden but welcome guest."''

Zouche w^as probably engaged in the service of the king in
early life, as we find him acting as a clerk of the wardrobe in
1332. y On the 8th of May, 1329, he was sent to France to
make provision for the king against his arrival ; and on the 6th

" Eeg. MagQvim Album, pt. iii., 112.
MSS. Cotton, Claudius, B, iii., 297.

" Bridges' Northants.ii., 318. There
are pedigrees of the family of Zouche
in Dugdale's Baronage, i., 688, etc. ;
— Warwickshire, 42 ; Nichols's Leices-
tershire, ii., 372, but the archbishop
is not mentioned in any of them. The
name Zouche is of French origin " de
stirpite sicco," as Camden says (Ue-
maines, ed. 1674, p. 191), the " durum
ex stirpe genus" of Virgil, and the
primate fully verified the derivation by
his prowess in the field.

On the 4th of November, 1314, arch-
bishop Zouche made his brother, Sir
Roger la Zouche, knight, his seneschal
at Hexham (Reg.). In February, 1346,
he was retained by him, with six others,
to defend the Marches of Scotland,
and on that account he wa.s excused
from going abroad with the king (Feed.,
iii., 69). 'On the 4th of July, 1315,
Sir Roger, who is described as belong-
ing to Leicestershire, had orders to
cross the sgas with the sovereign (ibid.,
52), and on 12th of January, 1359, he
and three others were desired to raise
an hundred archers for service (ibid.,
416, 441).

Henry la Zouche, perhaps a brother
of the archbishop, was presented in

1346-7 by Sir 'William la Zouche, of
Haringworth, to the rectory of Barb}',
Northants (Baker, i., 264). In the
year 1350 he was made prebendary of
South Cave at York, which he ex-
changed for the stall of Ami)lef()rd with
Henry de lugleby on the 12th of Aug.,
1351. He diedliolding it in March,
1361-2, being at that time archdeacon
of Sudbury, having been appointed in
January, 1351 (Reg. Zouche. Le Neve,
ii., 491).

' Kennet's Par. Ant., ii., 472-3. The
following testimony is borne to the hos-
pitality of the Herberts : " It was an
ordinary saying in the countrey (Mont-
gomeryshire) at that time, when they
saw any fowl rise, ' Fly where thou
wilt thou wilt light at Black-hall'"
(Life of Edward lord IIerl)ort of Cher-
burg, ed. 1770, p. 5). The inscription,
whicli was formerly engraved upon the
village cross at Sprotborough, was an
honour to the Filzwilliams (Hunter's
South Yorkshire, i., 318).

" Who so is huiiijiy and list well oate
Let him come to'Sprotbiirgh to his ineate,
Ami for a night and for a day
Ili.s lior.se shall have both corne and liny,
And no mane shall aske him where he goith
away."

y Pell Records, 142.

438 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

of June, 1335, he was present in the camera of the Friars
Minors at York, when the gi-eat seal was given to the arch-
hishop of Canterbury. Before this time, however, he had ob-
tained church preferment. On the 10th of December, 1329, he
was collated to the archdeaconry^ of Barnstable in the church of
Exeter, which he must have given up on the 12th of July, 1330,
when he was advanced to the archdeaconry of Exeter." He
exchanged this office with Thomas de Nassingtou for the rectory
of Jakelee on the 10th of June, 1331.* On the 9th of March,
1334, he was admitted by archbishop Melton, on the provision
of the pope, to the next vacant prebend at Southwell, but it does
not appear that he ever actually enjoyed one. On the 11th of
February, 1336, he was promoted in a similar way to a stall at
York. In 1336 the canons of that cathedral elected him their
dean, and he was installed on the 12th of November. On the
29th of June, 1338, Zouche made his obedience to archbishop
Melton in the chapel of the palace at York in the presence of a
goodly company of ecclesiastics.'^ He was collated to the pre-
bend of Ufton at Lichfield, of which he had only a brief tenure,
on the 9th of April, 13i0.'^

The deanery of York was an honourable and an arduous
office, but Zouche had still time to spend in the service of his
country. The post which he held had been already occupied
by several distinguished statesmen, for the deans of York had
rare facilities for making themselves useful in the controversies
and the wars with Scotland. Zouche, in this resj)ect, was no
exception to his predecessors, and he rose in early life to gi'eat-
ness. In 1337 he was made lord treasurer of England, and he
seems to have held the office in the 15th Edward III.* On the
23rd of April, 1337, he was one of the persons who were to
arrange about the wages of the soldiers who were on their way
to Scotland, and, on the 26th of June, he and others were
directed to summon the army to York./ On the 28th of the
same month he was ordered to be present at York to state the
king^s intentions about his turbulent neighbours in the North.
On the 28th of August he was one of the commissioners who
were appointed to raise money in Northants for the French war,^
and on the 6th of October he was requested to act upon the
Borders, in fortifying the towns, treating with the Marchmen

' Foed., ii., 762, 909. ' Cal. Rot. Pat., 128, 131; In 1339

" Le Neve, i., 393, 406. Zouche, as treasurer, was abroad in the

* MSS. Harl., 6951, 1015. Nas- king's behalf (ibid., 134). Dugd.
sington was canon of South Newbald Chron., 42. Avesbury's Edward III.,

at York, and died in 1346. 46. Feed., ii., 964, 1094.

' Reg. Melton. / Rot. Scot., i., 489, 494.

■* Le Neve, i., 633. e Fwd., ii., 979, 994.

1342 — 1352.] ARCHBISHOP zouche. 439

and other necessary business.'^ On the 19th of January, 1340,
Zouche, in his capacity of treasurer of England, together with
several others, was deputed to open the parliament at West-
minster in the absence of the king.'

Archbishop Melton died in the spring of 13 10, and, on the
13th of April, the king issued his conge d^elire to the authorities
at York. On the 2nd of May, the chapter assembled, and two
candidates were proposed, the dean and William de Kildesby,
Edward the Third^s secretary and favourite, who was a notorious
pluralist. The wishes of the sovereign seem to have been openly
expressed in Kildesby^s behalf, but they were disregarded ; as
out of eighteen voters who were present, Zouche obtained the
suffrages of all but five. The archbishop-elect and his friends
seem to have suspected that some controversy would ensue, and
Zouche took the singular but wise precaution of being installed
on the day of his election.-' A vehement contention now broke
out ; Kildesby leaving no stone unturned to carry his point, and
the king vigorously assisting him.^ On the 14th of March,
1341, Edward wrote to the pope entreating him to support his
favourite against Zouche.' The quarrel had the effect of delay-
ing the settlement of the question for more than two years, but
it ended in the defeat of Kildesby, as Zouche was consecrated
by Clement VI. at Avignon, on Sunday the 7th of July, 1342.'"
On the 8th of September the king granted him letters of safe
conduct to enable him to return home, and, on the 19th, the
temporalities were restored to him." On Sunday the 8th of
December, the festival of the Conception of the Virgin, the new
archbishop was solemnly enthroned in his cathedral, and there
was a banquet in the palace for which great preparations were

* Ibid., 1100. Eot. Scot., i., 503. privy seal (ibid., 1129. Rot. Pari., ii.,

'■ Foed.,ii.,1106. Rot. Pari., ii., 107. 132. Eot. Scot., i., 625. Cal. Rot.

> Stubbs, col. 1731. MSS. Cotton, Pat., 138). He was canon of Wetwang

Yitellius, A, ii., 112. Le Neve, iii., and treasnrer at York, warden of the

106. * Stubbs, col. 1732. chapel in Tickhill castle (Hunter's

' Feed., ii., 1118. South Yorkshire, i., 236), prebendary

"' Stubbs, col. 1732. MSS. Yitellius, of Darlington 20th October, 13 tl (Reg.

ut supra. After a long delay, for the Bury, 3 17), rector of Worfield, dioc.

pope " electos Eboracensem et Lincolni- Lichfield (\Yillis, i., 175), canon of

ensem tenuit in curia languentes, et Southwell, Bath and AVells, Ilowden,

nullatenusexpeditos" (Murimuth,115). Lincoln, Ijondon, etc. In 13i3, after

The same writer says that Clement YT. his disappointment at York, lie had the

appointed Zouche to York on June 26, king's permission to make a pilgrimage

whose election had been hindered on to Jerusalem, and was allowed to retain

account of an alleged resignation (p. all his preferments (^Fo'd., ii., 1220-2).

133). He died at Caen on the 20th of Jul}^

" Foed., ii., 1210-11. William de 1317, after an active life. Robert de

Kildesby was a great man. On Dec. 2, Kildesby, canon of South Cave at York,

13 to, he was made master of the rolls was his brother. Cf. Angl. Sacr., i.,

(Foed., ii., 1143), and between that 22, 40. Carte's Gascon, etc., Rolls, i.,

year and 1342 he was keeper of the 111.

440 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

made. One incident in the programme of that great day was
the presence of Hugh, the ahbat of Jorevaux, to render his sub-
mission to his diocesan."

For two or three years after archbishop Zouche^s arrival in
the North he seems to have devoted himself entirely to the re-
quirements of his diocese, and it is probable enough that his
collision with the king on the question of his appointment was
the cause of his being temporarily unoccupied in the service of
his country. Before long, however, he had an opportunity of
displaying in a pre-eminent degree his patriotism and his valour,
There began to be some uneasiness on the Borders, and all eyes
were turned towards their troublesome and restless neighbours.
In the autumn of 1345 a Scottish army broke into Cumberland
and did much mischief, but this foray was only the prelude to
a more serious camjjaign. In the beginning of the following
year, when the danger became imminent, the king shewed that
he had forgiven the archbishop by making him one of the war-
dens of the ]Marclies, and Zouche, in his new capacity, was most
actively employed.^ In the month of July Edward went abroad
and began his career of victory in France, and, about the same
time, David king of Scotland made another raid into Cumber-
land, but it was not of a grave character. The news of the
glorious triumph at Cressy came across the seas to England,?
but the conqueror^s mind was ill at ease when he heard of the
attitude which the Scots were assuming. On the 2nd of July
the archbishop was ordered to go to the Marches with all his
power,*" and, on the 25th, the king sent his clerk, Richard de
Saham, to bring him some news from the Borders. On the 20th
of August Edward desired the mayor of York and others to
levy men at the oversight of Zouche, Henry lord Percy and
Ralph lord Nevill whom he had made commissioners of array.*
All these precautions were salutary and wise. In the month of
October the Scots broke into England with a large army bent
upon something more than plunder. They rolled down Tyne-
dale, scattering the inmates of Lanercost and Hexham, and
wasting the country as they came. They passed from thence
into the bishoprick of Durham, and drew themselves up upon the
green hills which overlook the Wear from the west, and within
view of the stately towers which still adorn the capital of the
palatinate. The news of their arrival had run through York-

» MSS. Cotton, Vitellius, A, ii., 112. ' The king wrote to Zouche an-

Eeg. Zouche. nouncing the victory. The letter is

f Rot. Scot., i., 663, 670. Zouche printed in the Retrospective Eeview,

had given the king great offence, and, 7i. s., i., 120.

as Seneca says in his Medea, " Gravis "" Ibid., 672.

ira regum est semper." ' Foed., iii., 87, 89.

1342 135.2.] ARCHBISHOP ZOUCHE. 441

sliire, and the archbishop, nothing daunted by the peril of the
undertaking, immediately took the field. Queen Philippa re-
mained behind at York whilst the primate Avent forth to the
battle,

" Infula cui sacra redimibat tempora vitta,
Totus coUucens veste atque insignibus armis."

The heads of the gTeat houses of Percy, INIowbray, Neville,
Scrope and Rokeby went with him, and an army Avas soon
collected. It rested for awhile at Richmond, and then entered
the Bishopric at Barnard castle, under the command of the
archbishop. On the night of the 16th of October they were in
Auckland park, the troops being divided into three Ijodies, one
of which Avas led by Zouche.' Early on the morning of the 17th
he had a sharp skirmish with Sir William Douglas and a troop
of horsemen in which the Scots Avere Avorcited. On the mon-ow,
the 18th of October, the two armies met on the hills to the Avest
of Durham which look doAvn upon the city. It must have been
a striking sight to see the warrior-prelate going among his men,
cheering and encouraging them and giA'ing them his benediction.
His prayers Avere heard ; for before that day Avas over the royal
invader was a prisoner, and the floAver of the chivalry of Scot-
land Avas torn and dead. That was a A-ictory Avhich the monks
of Durham never afterwai'ds forgot. The chronicler of that
noble house has told us a romantic story of Avhat then occurred
to them." A vision is said to have Avarned the prior and his
brethren to be present at the fight, but they were not in warlike
guise, with spear and panoply and sAvord. They elevated on a
spear one of their most precious relics, the corporax cloth of St.
Cuthbert, and, fearless of injuiy or AATong, they Avent to pray
for their countrymen in the middle of the battle.

" — The prior of Durham with holy hand
Raised, as the vision gave command,
Saint Cuthbert's rehc — far and near
Kenned on the point of a lofty spear."

Some sacred influence seemed to hover around the suppliants,
for the foemen touched them not. They Avould hear the ring-
ing shouts around them, the cries of the vanquisher and tlie
wounded. They could see, Avhen they looked up, the ebb and
the flow of the fight, until at length the enemy Avas pushed ott'
the green romided hills, among Avhich they stood, and di-iven in

' Por an account of tile battle, etc., Poems, 39-44. Arch. iEliana, ». s.

see Chron. Lan., 3 IG, etc. ; Knyghton, Hardyng's Chron., n. e., 328. Galf. le

col. 2590; Stubbs, col. 1732 ; Lei. Coll., Baker, 172. Avesbury, 145. Fordun,

ii., 470. Murimuth (177) and the ii., 341.

Monk of Malmesbury (250) say that " Rites of Durham, ed. Surtees Soc,

the battle was chiefly won by the York 20-5, 50. Ilist. Dunelin. Scr. Tres,

clergy. Walsingham, 167. Minot's appendix, 434-5. Durham AV ills, 29-30.

442 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

wild confusion towards the North. With what joy and gratitude
would the delighted monks welcome the conquerors when they
returned to them ! They would lead them down the narrow
pass which opened out into the city, and there before the sacred
shrine the knees of the wearied soldier were bent in thankful
acknowledgment of his triumph. It was probably the first time
that archbishop Zouche entered that stately temple. When he
visited it again he would see the trophies of the battle which he
had done so much to win, the famous black rood of Scotland,
and the banners of the slain or captured nobles waving over St.
Cuthbert^s shrine.

The disgrace of archbishop Melton^s defeat at Myton was
now wiped out, and Zouche had Avon for himself not only com-
mendation for his energy and patriotism, but the reputation of
a successful general. He sent his valet, William de Hugate, to
the king with the news of the victory," and Edward was profuse
in his thanks and praises. He begs the archbishop to continue
his hitherto successful care in guarding the Marches. The
monarch speaks, in a spirit characteristic of that noble age, of
the mercies that had been vouchsafed to him, how thankful he
was for God's goodness, of which he was unAVorthy."' The cloud
which had hung between Edward and Zouche seems now to
have been removed. On the 10th of December the king re-
quested the archbishop and several of the great men in the
North to give him their presence and their advice at West-
minster, where the war might be discussed,^ and, on the 18tli
of November, 1350, he shewed his especial favour to the
Northern primate by condoning all his past shortcomings on
account of his great services, particularly in the battle of Dur-
liam.2' This concession is partly, no doubt, of a general cha-
racter, but it also has reference to the offence which Zouche
had given to Edward when he was elected to the see of York.

The archiepiscopal career of Zouche was not a long one, but
it was signalized by activity and a painstaking attention to his
duties. His was essentially a reign of peace, and no controversy
seems to have disturbed it." He received a subsidy from his

" On Dec. 11 the king orders him a coUigere" (Feed., iii., IVO), and on
reward of 10^. (Feed., iii., 98). Some March 1, 1351, he was asked to con-
two or three prisoners who had been voke his clergy, and obtain from them
captured in the battle fell to the arch- a subsid}' in aid of the French war
bishop's share, and there is some corre- (ibid., 214).

spondence about them in Feed., iii., 95, » Cal. llot.- Pat., 160. Feed., iii.,

105 ; Rot. Scot., i., 687. 210.

" Feed., iii., 91-2. Rot. Scot., i., ' Feb. 18, 1343, commission to Mr.

675. Thomas Sampson, jur. civ. prof, and

■^ Feed., iii., 97. Eot. Scot., i., 679. official, John de Aton, canon of Lin-

On Sept. 5, 1348, the king desired coin, and Robert de Askeby, our do-

Zouchc " prociuratioues cardiualium lucstic chajilain and rector of Washing-

1342 1352.] ARCHBISHOP ZOUCHE. 413

clergy on his accession to office, and, at the same time, lie re-
quested the heads of the various religious houses within his
diocese to give a benefice to some poor clerk. The register of
the see during this period mentions the establishment of a large
number of chantries and the appropriation of many livings. It
also contains the following entries.

1342, On the Sunday after All Saint's day, the archbishop,
at the request of the king, grants a pension of 100s. per annum
to Reginald de Donynton," clerk, till he can provide him with
a benefice. Nov. 17. An order to the receiver at York to })ay,
at the oversight of William de Popelton, the money required
to repair oui' houses at York to be ready for our installation
banquet.*

1343, June 15. To the nine canons in residence at York
two oaks each and their fagots, from our wood of Langwath.
August 4. Bull of Clement VI. denouncing Louis, duke of
Bavaria, as an enemy of God and an excommmiicated heretic.'^
August 27. An order to pray for fine weather.''

1344, July 18. Ralph, bishop of Lcthlyn," appointed siif-
fragan. Oct 21. Licence to John de Stafford, rector of St.
MichaeFs, Ouseb ridge, Y^ork, to be absent for a year in tlic
service of the earl of Derby. Nov. 10. To Thomas Wadilove,
the runner of our treasuixr at York, a stipend of a penny
a day.

1345, Jan. 21. To Mr. Robert de Askeby and John de
Sutton, clerk, our domestic chaplains, their expenses whilst
absent on the business of our mint. June 23. A mandate to
pray for the king and his army.

1346, April 17. Licence to the abbat of St. Mary's, York,
to hear the confessions of his monks. June 2G. A general
sentence against those who have entered Aberford church and
killed John de Byngham, clerk, whilst he was on his knees

ton in the diocese of Durham, to treat ' Cf. Chron. Lanercost, 253, 301,

with the archbishop of Canterbury etc. Knygliton, col. 2553, 2565. ]\Iu-

•' super bajulationecrucis." InZouche's riinuth, 60. The duke was mixed ui>

Register, 253-4, are some statutes made with the affairs of tlie anti-])ope and was

at a s3'nod at York. made emperor. Barnes's Edward 1 II.,

" In 13i7 the king presented him to 410. Cf. Earonii Ann., llaynaldi,

the stall of Barnby at York, and he xxiv.

died holding it in 1319. Cf. Feed., ii., '' On Oct. 24, 13 15, the chapter of

988, 1060. In 1325 Reginald do Do- York grant an indulgence of forty days

nington was sheriff of Lincolnshire to those who pray for the removal of

(Pari. Writs, ii., part i., 339). the " acris intemperics" (Acta Capit.,

* On the 9th of February the re- Ebor.).

ceiver, Mr. William de Wirkesworth, ' Another conunission to him on

was desired to pay for the provision Sept. 10. The archbishop gives him

that had been made for the banquet, at a pension of 10 marks per annum and

the oversight of .Tohn de Thorp " di- the fees. Jan. 20, 13 14-5, 10 marks to

lecti clerici nostri." him for his salary.

444 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

praying. August 9. An order to pray for the king and liis
army going to France/

13^7, May 3. To Mr. Thomas Sampson, official of the court
of York, 50/. for his fee.^ October 5. Licence for Simon de
Stowe, rector of a moiety of the chiu'ch of S.M. Castlegate,
York, to be absent in the service of dame Joan Fitzwauter, lady
of Egremont.

1348, Feb. 21. Commission to John de Coniston, a Carmelite
friar, to hear the confessions of Sir John de Haryngton, knight,
and his wife.'' March 5. Hugh, archbishop of Damascus, is
appointed suffragan with a pension of 40 marks per annum and
the fees.' April 11. Letters testimonial to a marriage between
Robert de Swylington and Avora, daughter of Sir Stephen
Waleys, knight, deceased. They Avere contracted on the Mon-
day before the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, 1347, in the
house of Thomas Easy in Micklegate, York, and were afterwards
publicly married. May 11. Sentence against those who have
hindered the procession at Southwell on the feast of Pentecost,
coming up to the high altar with swords, clubs, etc. June 11.
The feast of St. Bartholomew : the provost and scholars of
Queen^s college, Oxford, put themselves under the protection of
the archbishop and his successors.-' July 28. An order to pray
for the removal of the mortality and infection of the air.*

1349, Feb. 4. A commission to the official of the archdeacon
of York to hear confessions, on account of the mortality and
pestilence in various parts of our diocese. April 28. Mandate
to the bishops of Carlisle, Durham, Whitherne, etc., to publish
the letters of the pope about the indulgence on behalf of the
mortality. June 26. Commission to Hugh, archbishop of
Damascus, to dedicate the cemeteries of the chapels of Egton
and St. Thomas near Beverley. July 10. To dedicate in haste,
on account of the pestilence, the chapel and cemetery of St.
Oswald at Fulford. July 15. The cemetery and chapel of

■^ The year of the famous hattle of in part payment of his salary. On

Cressy. August 27, ISlt, Simon, bishop of

«■ Feb. 13, 1350, a similar sum to the Whitherne, made his obedience to the

official, Mr. Gilbert de Welton, doctor archbishop at Cawood. There is an

of laws. interesting notice of archbishop Hugh

* There are many other licences for in tlie Foed., iii., 229.

the friars to hear confessions and preach. > This college will be mentioned after-

On Nov. 16, 1348, Hugh de Warmesby, wards.

a Friar Minor of Doncaster, was au- * There is a dreadful account of this

thorized to act as confessor to dame pestilence in Knyghton, col. 2598, etc. ;

Margery de Hastinges and her family Murimuth, 178 ; Walsiugham, 1G8 ;

for a year. Foed., iii., 198, where it is said that a

' There are other commissions to him great ])art of the people, especially the

dated on June 5, 13 19, Jan. 27, 134-9- operatives and servants, died of the

50, and March 4th, 1351-2. March 6, plague.
1347-8, a payment of 10 marks to him

1342—1352.]

ARCHBISHOP ZOUCHE.

445

Cleseby par. Staynwegges. July 17. Tlie cemetery at Wilton.
July 23. The chapel and cemetery of Semer par. Kndby, and
the chapel of Brotton par. Skelton. August 1. The cemetery
of the chapel of Barton par. Gilling, to be used during the pes-
tilence, and, on August 7, the chapel of Eseby par. Stokesley.'

1350, Feb. 20. To John de Acome, canon of St. Sepulchre's
chapel, York, 20/. for oui' business in the court of Rome. Feb.
27. To Sir Henry Percy, sen., 50 marks for his fee. April 9.
To Sir Thomas de Hokeby, knight, late sheriff of Yorkshire,'"
20/. July 24. Licence of non-residence for a year to A\ illiam
Neuport, rector of Arncliff," in the service of lord Percy.

1351, Jan. 7. A letter to the chapter of York enjoining them
to make Roger de Ledes, a vicar-choral, do penance for drawing
blood from a clerk of the cathedral in the minster. Feb. 5.
Licence for John de Chesterfield,'' rector of Foston, to be absent
from his benefice for 2 years in the service of Sir "William la
Pole^ knight. June 7. To John de Flete of York 44 marks of

' Stubbs (ool. 1732) tells us tliat the
plague began at Micliaelmas. In 1319
there was a great mortality in the city
of York, which continued till St.
James's day. Avesbury (257) says,

" Mors prima communis mc ter i. minus uno."

The scourge, it will be seen, extended
to the most remote and the healthiest
villages in the county of York. These
orders for the consecration of cemete-
ries tell a sad tale. Cf. Galf. le Baker,
189. Fordun, ii., 317. The clergy
suffered very severely (Statutes of the
Realm, i.,-378).

"■ Sir Thomas Rokeby of Rokebv,
sheriff of Yorkshire 1337, 1343-50
(Drake, 352), a great soldier, and one
of the leaders at Neville's cross. For
an account of him see Scrope and Gros-
venor Roll, ii., 308-9. In 1327 he
brought Edward III. in sight of the
Scots at Stanhope park (Foed., ii., 717.
Barnes's Edward III., 12. Qiconomia
Rokebeiorum).

" A retainer of the noble house of
Percy. Rector of Arnchire 1319, which
he gave up for Spofforlh. This he ex-
changed in 1359 for the rectory of
Bishopwearmouth, co. Durham. In
1362 he again acquired the living of
Spofforth, and was allowed to hold that
of Bishopwearmouth with it. In 1365
he gave up Spofforth for the prebend
of UUeskelf at York (Reg. Zouche and
Thoresby. Reg. Hatfield, at Durham,

43, 52, 58). Newport died in 1366,
and his will is in Test. Ebor., i., 80.
A chantry was founded for him at tlie
altar of St. Gregory in York minster
(Fabric Rolls, 281).

The love of non-residence was in-
creasing. The words of Piers Plougii-
man may appropriately be cited : —

"Parsons anti parisshe preestes
Pleyned hf;m to tlie bisshope,
That hire piinsshes weien pouere
Sith tlie pestilence tyme.
To have a licence and leve
At London to dwelle.

Some serven the kyng,

And his silver tellen

In cheker and in cliauncelrie,

Chalangen hise dettes

Of wardes and of wardemotes,

Weyves and streyves.

And somme serven as servauntz
Lords and ladies,
And in stede of stywardes
Sitten and demen
Hire messe and hire matjnis
And many of hire houres
Am doon un-devout licke."

" The king's chaplain. Canon of
Grendale at York. Ordained accolile,
sub-deacon and deacon in 1319, being
then rcclor of Plcslay and Foslon (Reg.
Zouche). Ho had leave to be non-
resident at Foston in 1352, 1353, and
1361. Che.-iterfield was prebendary of
St. Stephen's, Westminster, 1318-58
(Newcourt, i., 7 17), and canon of Clialk
at Wilton, dioc. Sarum (Phillips's "NA'ilt-
shire Incumbents, 40).

446 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

silver for wines bought of him. Sept. 6. The archbishop orders
the use of a new service in honoui' of the Virgin, and others for
tlie translation of St. Thomas of Hereford and St. Ambrose.^
Oct. 4. A letter against the begging friars, ordering them not
to seek alms in the churches " libris apertis more qusestus."
Dec. 11. Commission to William, bishop of Sodor and Man, to
celebrate orders.

1352, Feb. 1. A mandate to pray for Henry, duke of Lan-
caster, who is going abroad against the enemies of the faith and
cross.? March 9. General letter against those who have dragged
William de Echardeby from sanctuary at Wetheral. April 11.
Licence to the dean of Pontefract to exhume the bodies of three
men interred in the churchyard of All Saints, Pontefract, who
were condemned by the justices, and to inter them " in loco de
Sancto Victore,^^ near the town, which is said to be dedicated,
where it has been the custom to bury criminals who have been
hung. May 6. Commission to William de Bokenham, prior of
the Carmelites at Coventry, to wash away with holy water a
stain of blood in Beverley minster. May 7. Licence for Thomas
de Percy ,*■ rector of Catton, to be non-resident for two years to
study. May 14. An acquittance to William de Newport, rector
of ArnclifFe, an executor of the will of Sir Henry de Percy, sen.,
knight, for a horse called Lyarde de Patrington, in our hands at
the time of our decease, as a mortuary on account of the church
of Catton, and also for a gold ring with a stone called an eme-
raude f and, on the same day, the executors release the arch-
bishop from the pension of 100 marks granted by him to the
said Henry, the archbishop paying 100/. for all arrears.

For some time before his death archbishop Zouche was
afflicted with a very serious bodily infirmity, and it -was the

p Both to be with Novem Lectiones, Catton, " ad pres. regis, custodis ter-

and the hymn Salvator, mundi domine, rarum patris tui dom. Henrici de

to be said on each double festival in- Percy." On June 17, the pope allowed

stead of that Te lucis ante terminum. him to hold a stall at Chester-le-street,

On Feb. 11, 1343-4, the archbishop he being then but 19, in respect for

makes some alterations in the services Edward Til. and Isabella his mother,

for the feast of the Conception B.M.V., Percy being their cousin (Reg. Zouche).

Good Friday, and the feast of St. Percy was bishop of Norwich from

Martha. They are to be specially kept. 1355 to 1369 (Le Neve, ii., 464-5. Test.

"1 Zouche calls him " regni Anglise Vet., i., 84).

membrum nobile et columpna una." » In his will made in Sept., 1349,

"\^liilst on his way to Palestine, he was Henry, lord Percy, leaves the archbishop

arrested at Cologne by the emissaries 100 marks, which he owes him, and

of Otho, duke of Brunswick. This " unum annulum pontificalem cum

origmated a duel, which will soon be ameraude" (Test. Ebor., i., 61), and he

alluded to (Barnes's Edward III., 465). bequeaths to Sir Balph Neville " duos

He was called the good duke of Lan- bacinos quos dominus archiepiscopus

caster, and was a famous warrior. mihi dedit."

•■ March 31, 1352, inst. in rect. de

1342 1352.] ARCHBISHOP ZOUCHE. 447

consciousness of its presence and the recollection of the perils
from which he had escaped, that induced him, we may helieve,
to make the last disposition of his worldly substance and commit
himself into the hands of his God, His will is dated at llii)on
on the 28th of June, 1349, and seems from internal evidence to
have been di'awn up in one of those blessed intervals of health
which sick persons are occasionally permitted to enjoy. There
is little in the document to interest my readers, indeed it seems
to have been prepared for the special purpose of securing the
foundation of a chantry. The testator simply directs his re-
mains to be interred within his cathedral, and leaves the sum of
300 marks for the establishment of a perpetual chantry in York
minster, which is to be served by two chaplains who are to do
service for his soul, and it is to be dedicated to God, his mother
the Blessed Virgin, All Saints, and especially to SS. Mary
Magdalene and Martha. The remainder of his estate is left to
the disposition of his executors, Ralph lord Neville of Raby, Sir
Roger Zouche, knight, his brother. Sir Marmaduke Constal)le,
Sir William de Place and Sir Christopher Mallory, knights, Mr.
Gilbert de Welton, William de Ferriby and Roger de Stiendby,
clerks, and Anketil Mallory, esq., the two last being placed in
the most responsible position, as nothing is to be done by the
executors without their cognizance. There is an allusion in the
will to the archbishop^s parents, which shews that they were
then alive.'

The erection of this chantry, although mentioned in the
archbishop's will, was not altogether left to the care of his
executors. The founder began the building of it himself. lie
wished it to be contiguous to the south wall of the choir, with-
out detracting in any way from the beauty of that part of the
fabric, and he was desirous, as the best means of carrying this
into effect, that the master-mason at the minster should have
the management of the work. It is pleasing to observe the
affectionate way in which the consent of the chapter of Yoi-k
was sought for and granted. They speak to each other Avith
the kind and touching sympathy of old friends, and in those
words, few although they are, the melancholy conviction seems
to be expressed that their intercourse in this Avorld would ere
long be at an end."

The erection of the chapel seems to have been begun in
1350," and it was the founder's intention to have been laid in it,

' Printed at length in Test. Ebor., i., mouth, rectori alt. S. Laurencii in ccd.

5-78. cath. El)or., iOL pro diversis expcnsis

" York Fabric Holls, ed. Surtees circa constructionem capellac nostras

Society, 168-9. ibidem. April 25, 1351, a similar sum

" Nov. 16, 1350, Roberto de Swet- for the same purpose, to John deAcome,

448 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

but before it was completed he was called away to his account.
He died at Cawood on the 19th of July, 1352, and on the 8th of
August he was interred before the altar of St. Edward, in the
nave, hard by the remains of his predecessor archbishop Melton."'
When Stubbs wrote his chronicle, no monument had been
erected to commemorate him ; " a proof," as the historian sar-
castically observes, " of the noble disposition of his parents
and of those whom he had benefitted exceedingly." But he
needs no memorial of that kind, when you gaze npon that
glorious nave Avith its triumphs of sculpture and of art, which
the prelate, who is now sleeping beneath your feet, once assisted
in creating !

The chapel Avhich archbishop Zouche began was probably
completed after his death ; but its subsequent history is involved
in mystery aiid doubt. Within eight years after his decease the
rebuilding of the eastern portion of the cathedral commenced ;
and as the Norman choir was gradually removed, the chapel
which was appended to it could not occupy the same position.
The new choir was wider than its predecessor, and the arcli-
bishop^s chapel, therefore, must have been taken down. After
that time no trace whatever of the chantry has occurred to me.
There might possibly be some difficulty about the rebuilding, and
the chapter may have appropriated the endowment to that pur-
pose ; perhaps the executors of Zouche^s will were as careless of
their trust as they were of erecting a memorial over their benefac-
tor^s grave, and the endowment was neglected. The present office
of the chapter clerk, which was at one time the vestry of the
cathedral, is supposed to be Zouche's chapel ; at all events it
cannot be far from the position which that building originally
occupied. At the east end there are still traces of an altar and
its accompaniments, but their presence in this place proves but
little, as we know that the service was transferred for awhile
from the minster to the vestry in 1394. The room is now the
depository of the records of the dean and chapter, which remind
me of the courteous attention that laid them open to me, and of
the many long hours that have been spent upon their pages.
The labours of past years, which have filled these volumes, rise

canon in the chapel of the B.V.M. and 25/. 9s. 7d. more than they received.

the Holy Angels. Nov. 18, 1351, an- «■ Stubbs, col. 1732. Acta Capit.

other sum of 40/. to Swetmouth and Ebor. His end is thus described in the

Acome. On May 10, 1352, the account metrical chronicle of the archbishops

of the two is passed. They are called of York in MSS. Cotton, Cleopatra, C,

" custodes novse fabricse capellse nostrse iv. : —

juxta latus australe ecclesise nostrse

"cathedralis Ebor. noviter inchoatse." "Hie Willelmus pontifex anno suonono

Tbp arfniint runs frnni Arivil 9"^ 1 q^O Quievit a labonbus suis fine bono,

j.ne account runs irom Apiil Z6, irfoU, ^p„j ym^m propriam Cawod vocitatam,

to April 28, 1352, and they have spent Eboracus habuit glebam tumulatam."

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 449

vividly before the writer wlien he accidentally finds himself
on this scene of his exertions,

" And as a hare whom hounds and horns pursue,
Pants to the place from whence at first he flew."

On the 2nd of April, 1353, archbishop Thorcsby cmpo-^cred
Mr. William de la Mare and John de Wodehouse, canons of
York, John de Crakhall, doctor of decrees, and Adam de Twy-
silton, commissary general, to enquire into the dilapidations of
the houses and woods belonging to the see, and into the damages
done by the executors of his predecessor. This strengthens tlie
inference that there was some neglect of duty on the part of
those officials.

Jli^OfjTl tl0 ^|}OlTSiijg was one of those great and good men who
were the glory of the fourteenth century. That was indeed, in
every respect, an illustrious age. Whilst the chivalry of Eng-
land was winning renown in the wars in France, every liberal
art was being fostered and cherished at home, and John de
Thoresby stood in the front rank of that band of worthies who
signalized themselves by their taste and learning. It is with a
feeling almost akin to veneration that I look back upon his
many services to his comitry, his pious zeal and his open-handed
munificence.

We are indebted to a scion of the family of Thoresby, in a
later age, for an account of his ancient house of whicli he was
so proud. The name of honest Ralph Thoresby, the Leeds
antiquary, would be a credit to any pedigree in Yorkshire.
There is a little hamlet of the name of Thoresby hard l)y the
well-knoAvn castle of Middleham in Wensleydale, and there, in
all probability, it was that the archbishop of York was born.
His father, Hugh de Thoresby, was the owner of the place, and
Ids mother was Isabel, daughter of Sir Thomas Grose of Suffolk.*

' Thoresby's Vicaria Leodiensis, 185, Richard de Thoresby, incumbent of

etc., where there is a Hfe of the arch- Bugbrooke, Northants, 13 18-9, and

'■ bishop. Ducatus Leodiensis, ed. Whit- rector of Oundle 1352 (Bridgcs's Nortli-

aker,69. Diary, i., 225, 366. Thoresby ants, i., 487; ii., 408). May 16, 1355,

gives an engraving of a figure of the coll. prcb. at St. Andrew's altar, Bcver-

archbishop taken from a window in the ley, exchanging for it with Thomas do

minster. He is holding a church in Helvvell, his prebend of Ilatherdon in

his right hand. the cha])el at AVolvcrhamjiton (Reg.

ThefoUowingpersons were, no doubt, Thoresby). June 25, 1355, collated by

related to the archbishop, but in what the archbishop to the free chapel of

degree I cannot say. Ferrybridge, which, on July 2ud, ho

G G

450

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

Far be it from me to question a genealogy of which a herald of
some note has said^ " In my opinion, I never saw any descent
so well travelled, nor so truly set down/^ It would ill be-
come me to differ from the decision of my compater,^ and the
illustrious authorities by which he is supported.

John de Thoresby was probably induced to take up the
profession which he adopted, by the good fortune of his uncle
Peter, who held several important offices in the bishoprick of

exchanged with John de Donyngton
for the stall of Sharow at Eipon (ibid.).
There is a letter extant from the arch-
hishop in behalf of his cousin, Eichard
de Thoresby, canon of Beverley, " super
ti'avis sibi debitis," in MSS. Cotton,
Galba, E, x., 80. On May 12, 1350,
there is an order from the king to
Ilichard de Thoresby, keeper of the
hanaper of the chancery, to pay for
him certain monies (Feed., iii., 106).

John de Thoresby, doctor of laws, in-
stituted on Oct. 24, 1353, to the rec-
tory of Lilford (Bridges's Northants,
ii., 242), which he resigned in 1373
for the provostship of Beverley (MSS.
Harl., 6952, 6). On Dec. 7, 1367, he
was admitted on the authority of the
pope to the stall of Grendale at York,
and on 19th of December, 1369, he ex-
changed his stall of Offle}' at Lichfield
with Mr. John Turke for the prebend
of Nunwick at Ripon (lleg. Thoresby).
On August 20, 1360, he and others
were appointed to treat with David
Brus(Foed., iii., 506). The archbishop
wrote to the bishop of Lincoln asking
him to grant a licence of non-residence
to his kinsman, John de Thoresby,
rector of Lilleford, " ad scolas " (MSS.
Cotton, Galba, E, x., 85). He was
one of the archbishop's executors (Test.
Ebor., i., 90).

'Elias de Thoreshy, on Nov. 7, 1361,
exchanged the hospital of Bawtry with
John de Grantham for a stall in St.
Sepulchre's chapel at York. On May
26, 1362, he exchanged his rectory of
Northcoles, dioc. Lincoln, with the
same person for the rectory of S. Trin.,
Goodramgate, York. On Feb. 9, 1362,3,
he exchanged the last-mentioned living
for that of St. Dennis in Walmgate,
which, on July 10, 1367, he exchanged
for the rectory of Gamelston, Notts.
This he again exchanged on Nov. 27
for the rectory of Weston. On Aug.
2, 1371, he was collated to a stall in St.

Sepulchre's chapel, York (Reg. Thores-
by). On December 16, 1391, Elias de
Thoresby, rector of Weston, makes his
will, desiring to be buried in the church
of Weston. He leaves 7 marks to be
given to the poor on the day of his
burial, and 10 marks for the expenses
of the funeral and the entertainment
for his neighbours, besides the corn
and malt and everything that can be
provided at the rectory. To the fabric
of the church of York he leaves 20s.,
and he leaves 40Z. to three chaplains
who are to celebrate for him at Weston.
To William Thoresby he gives 40s. To
the fabric of the bell-tower of Weston
church, 20s. To John, rector of '\\'i\-
ford, a silver cup with a cover. To the
prior of Bridlington, two silver cups.
To the prisoners at Lincoln, 40s. He
appoints as executors, John, rector of
Wilford, John, vicar of Wheatley, John
Golias, chaplain, and llobert de Thores-
by. The will is dated at Stretton, and
was proved at Tork on Jan. 14, seq.,
Thoresb3s one of the executors, re-
nouncing (Reg. Arundel).

William de Thoreshy, rector of a
moiety of the church of Cotgrave,
made his will on Friday, the feast of
S.S. Vitus and Modestus, 1347. To
be buried in the cemeter}^ of the church
of AH Saints at Cotgrave. To Juliana,
his sister, 5 marks. To Isold, his sister,
10 marks. To John, son of Beatrix de
Thoresby, 40s. and 10 ewes. To his
brother John, 20s. To his brother
Adam, a horse, etc., at Thoresby. Pr.
June 21, 1347 (Reg. Zouche).

In 1344 John de Thoresby, a friar
preacher, was ordained priest at Newark
(Reg. Zouche). On July 20, 1349,
John, son of Cecily de Thoresby, was
collated, at the presentation of the king,
to the living of Aldwalby, and died in
1355 (MSS. Harl., 6951, 110 J.)

* Mr. Surtees, in his History of
Durham, iv., 94.

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 451

Durham, in addition to the rectory of Aysgarth in his native
vale/ The young Yorkshireman went to Oxford, where he
became a scholar of repute and a great lawyer." His learning
and his energy soon made for him a pathway through the world.
He became beneficed in Yorkshire, being instituted whilst he
was merely an accolite, on the 15th of October, 1320, to the
living of Bramwith on the presentation of Thomas, earl of Lan-
caster. We know not to Avhat extent the youthfid clerk was
interested in the fortunes of that ill-fated nobleman, but we
soon find him connected with archbishop Melton, and he was
made one of the members of that prelate^s household who were
in close attendance upon his person. In 1326 he was re-
ceiver of the archbishop^s chamber and a domestic chaplain, an
office which he filled in the autumn of 1328. In 1327 he went
in his master's behalf to the coiu't of Rome, and, in 1334', he is
described as his attorney, being evidently a person wise in
counsel and learned in the law.* He became a great ecclesiasti-
cal advocate and a proctor to the papal court, an employment
to which he was indebted for his reputation and his advance-
ment.

Thoresby soon became possessed of high clerical preferment,
and archbishop Melton was not his only patron. A clever and
an active lawyer would gain many friends. Between 1325 and
1335 he was incumbent of Honington in Warwickshire.^ On
the 17th of June, 1327, he was admitted by archbishop ISIelton,
on the provision of the pope, to the next vacant prebend at
Southwell, which seems to have been that of Norwell Overhall,
which he was holding in 1329.'^ In August, 1335, he resigned
his stall in the chapel of St. Sepulchre at York.* In March
1338-9 he occurs as archdeacon of London.-^ On the 4th of
January, 1339-40, I find him, as rector of Elwick in the diocese
of Durham, making a grant of a messuage near his chin*ch to
the priory of Tynemouth, and in the spring of the following
year he resigned the mastership of the hospital of St. Edmund
at Gateshead.''' On the 22nd of jNIay, 1340, the king appointed

' Rector of Aysgarth, a son of Hugh University of Cambridge. He must

de Thoresby, and the archbishop's mean Oxford,

uncle (Ducatus Leodiensis, 69). Tern- * Hog. MeUon.

poral chancellor of Durham in 1289, " Dugdale's Warwickshire, n. e., 427.

and constable of Durham castle (MS8. He appropriated this living on Feb. 25,

Surtees, ined.). Master of Kepier hos- 1350-1, to the priory of Coventry (Tho-

pital in 1311 (Reg. Kellawe). Cf. Ab- mas's AVorccstcr, 180).

brev. Rot. Orig., i., 38). '' Reg. Melton. Le Neve, iii., 437.

" Vicaria Leodiensis, 189. A diritje Plac. de Quo AVarr., 6 18.

was performed for him at Oxford on *" Reg. Melton,

penult. Feb. (Avesbury, 302). Bale, ■'' Le Neve, ii., 320. Did he ever

cent, vi., 493. Godwin (687) says that enjoy it ?

Thoresby was a great benefactor of the «■ Reg. Bury at Durham, 321 b,

G G

9

452 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

him to the stall of South Muskham at Southwell/ and he is said
to liave held that of Warthill at York in 1343/ but I have seen
no documentary evidence of the fact. On the 29th of September,
1343, he was instituted to the rectory of Oundle, Northants,
which he held till 1347.-? In 1343 he resigned the li\ing of
Sibbesdon in the same county.''^ He was prebendary of (Thorn-
gate at) Lincoln in July, 1345, when the pope wrote to inform
him that he had advanced Thomas Lisle to the see of Ely.^

Thoresby, it will be observed, was indebted to Edward III.
for more than one piece of preferment. We know not when he
was first introduced to that monarches notice, but it is probable
that his abilities as a lawyer were the cause of his rapid advance
in honours and position. He seems to have been the king^s
proctor in the court of Rome, and to have won the good opinion
of all with whom he was connected by his diplomatic skill and
his integrity. On the 7th of March, 1330, Edward sent a letter
by Thoresby to the pope and cardinals, begging for the canoni-
zation of his father's foe, Thomas, earl of Lancaster,'" who had
given the ambassador his first li\ing. In 1336 Thoresby 's
friendly relations with the pope were imperilled by a singular
adventure. A summons to appear before the pope on some
question of appeal was served upon him in open court in Eng-
land ; the papal messengers were at once thrown into prison as
guilty of a contempt, and were only set free when queen
Philippa interceded in their behalf." This seems to have done
Thoresby no permanent injury, as on the 16th of March, 1340,
he went again to the papal court to procure a dispensation for a
marriage which was to take place between Hugh le Despenser
and a daughter of the earl of Salisbury." In the same year he
was a trier of the petitions which were presented to the parlia-
ment from England and Flanders,^ and he is said to have gone
as one of the royal envoys to Rome on the question of a peace
with France.? On the 21st of February in the following year
he was appointed master of the rolls, and he held that office till
the month of July, 1346.'- In 1343 and 1345 he had the tem-
porary charge of the great seal of England.^ In 1344 he was

340 J. On March 1, 1340-1, Mr. ' Foed., iii., 55. He was canon of

Walter Faucomberg was presented to Lincoln in 1347 (Le Neve, ii., 222).

the hospital of St. Edmund at Gates- '" Feed., ii., 782.

head, then vacant by the resignation of " Foss's Judges, iii., 523.

Mr. John de Thoresby. Mr. Gibson, ° Feed., ii., 1119.

in his Tynemouth Priory, gives a dif- p Rot. Pari., ii., 112.

ferent date to this grant to that house i Barnes's Edward IIL, 207.

(i., 149). * Le Neve, iii., 431. -■ Dugd. Chron., 45. Newcourt, i.,

■■ Ibid., iii., 220. 339. Foed., ii., 1151. Le Neve, i.,

J MSS.Harl.,6951, 103S. Bridges's 294.

Northants, ii., 408. ' Cal. Rot. Pat., 146. Foed., ii.,

* MSS. Harl., ut supra. 1231 ; iii., 53. Carte's Gascon, etc.,

1352 — 1373.] ARCHBISHOP tiioresby. 453

sent to the pope to tell liim how the truce with France had been
broken.' In 1345 he was present when John, dnke of lirittany,
did homage to the king." On the 25th of Noveml)er, in tlie
same year, Clement VI. addressed him in a friendly letter in
which he besought him to assist with all his energies tlie two
cardinals who were coming to England in the vain hope of pre-
serving the peace between that country and France." In 1315
and 1346 Thoresby had the charge of the privy seal,"" and in the
latter year he was variously employed. I find that he was one
of the collectors of the quindisme, and on the 8th of September
he was one of those who were desired to announce the king^s
wishes to the parliament. On the 22nd of October he was made
one of the commissioners who were appointed to treat Avith
France at the instance of the pope and cardinals, and Clement
wrote to him a letter full of gratitude for his services in the
cause of peace.* They had been attended hitherto by little
success. The crowning victory at Cressy, which had just been
won, scattered the pride and the hopes of the chivalry of France,
and was a bitter mortification to the chief pontiff and the court
of which he was the centre. Ten years after this, after the
defeat at Poictiers, which the cardinal of Perigord had done his
utmost to avert, some wag wrote the folloAving verses in Avhich
he treated with derision the partizanship of the pope : —

" Ore est le pape devenu Franceys
E Jesu devenu Eugleys,
Ore serra veou qe fra plus,
Ly pape ou Jesus. "y

In 1347 Clement VI. shewed his regard for Thoresby by
appointing him bishop of St. Da\dd's. The king gave him the
temporalities on the 14th of July, and he was consecrated on
the 23rd of September." There is nothing known of what he
did in his Welch bishoprick, but we hear of Thoresby in another
character and in a more conspicuous position. In the year in
which he was elevated to the episcopal bench he was in attend-
ance upon the king at Calais with ninety-nine persons in his
retinue," and he, no doubt, took part in the stirring incidents of
that romantic siege. On the IGth of June, 1319, Thoresby had
a still loftier step, for he was raised to the woolsack as lord
chancellor of England.* On the 4th of September in that year

Eolls., i., 114. Kalendars and Inv. of ' Feed., iii., 89,92. Rot. Rirl., ii.,

the Exchequer, i., 158, 160. 160.

' Barnes' Edward III., 313. Toss's " Knyshton, col. 2615.

Judj^^es, iii., 523. ' I^e Novc, i., 291. Jones and Free-

" l.^'oed., iii., 39. man's History of St. David's, 303.

f Ibid.,' 64. ° Vicaria Leodiensis, 189.

"• Ibid.', iii., 53, 86. * Le Neve, i., 294.

454 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

a papal bull translated him from St. David's to Worcester, and
the temporalities were restored to him on the 10th of January,
and the spiritualities on the lltli/ The duties of his office in
the state delayed his enthronization until the 12th of September,
13ol/ and Thoresby's connection with Worcester must have
been brief and unsatisfactory. He was destined to fill a higher
and a more honourable position. The Northern primacy was
vacant in 1352 by the decease of archbishop Zouche, and on the
25th of July the king desired the chapter to proceed to the
election'' of his successor. With one voice they fixed upon
Thoresby, and sent Gilbert de Welton to acquaint him with
their decision and to urge him to assent to their postulation
which had been forwarded to the pope. He gave them his reply
from London on the 6th of September, and his letter is couched
in that graceful and flowdng Latinity which Thoresby had al-
ways at his command. He expresses his extreme surprise at
the intimation which he has received, and wonders that the
electors have passed over better men among their own body.
Without giving them a decisive reply, he is profuse in his
expressions of gratitude and longs for an opportunity to shew
his kindly feeling towards his benefactors and their church. At
the same time Thoresby seems to have despatched another letter
to his patron Clement VI., desiring his advice. He thanks him
for his past goodness to him in raising him to two sees in suc-
cession, and, mentioning what has occurred, he refers the
matter to the pope's judgment. He will abide altogether by
his decision, relying upon that kindness which has so often been
shewn to him. The letter was one with Avhich Clement would
be pleased, and no one could better appi-eciate the merits of the
Avriter. The wishes of the chapter of York were acceded to.
The pope, however, appointed Thoresby of his own right, and
not as the person postulated by the electors. Clement wrote
from Avignon on the 22nd of October, 1352,^ and the tempo-
ralities were restored by the king on the 8th of February.^
Thoresby, it will be remembered, was at this time chancellor of
England, and was unable to disengage himself from the official
claims upon his time. On this plea he made William de la
Mare his vicar-general in the diocese of York, on the 20th of
January, 1352-3. Like many of his predecessors, Thoresby
was in want of money at his accession to his new dignity, and

' Ibid., iii., 57-8. was held on August 16 (Acta Capit.

'' Thomas's Worcester, 180. Anglia Ebor.).

Sacra, i., 534-5. / Printed in the appendix to Tho-

" On July 20 the chapter ^mte to mas's History of Worcester, 116-19.

the king to say that Zouche died on the The bull is in Foed., iii., 249. Reg.

19th, and to ask for leave to choose his Thoresby.

successor. A meeting for that purpose e Foed., iii., 251-2. Le Neve, iii., 107.

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 455

he complained of his necessities to the pope. The clergy, liow-
ever, assembled in synod on the 8th of IMay, and j:;rant(>d their
diocesan a very liberal subsidy, the seculars giving him 8d. and
the religious 12d. in each mark/' The new primate was all tlic
while engaged in the South, and from an order which the king
made on the 1st of Api'il that he should bear his cross erect
without being molested/ we can see that the old quarrel with
Canterbury had not yet died out. A few months after this
Thoresby turned his face towards the North. On the 8th of
September he was solemnly enthroned at York, and the cere-
mony was witnessed by a great concourse.-' The archljishoj)
then laid upon the high altar as an offering a small gilt crucifix
of great value, containing, among other relics, a portion of the
true cross. This was returned to him on the 10th of October,
that he might have the use of it for the remainder of his life,
an engagement having been made that it should be restored
after his decease under a penalty of 100/.'''

Thoresby, like S, faithful pastor, devoted for the future the
greater part of his time to the duties of his diocese, and gradu-
ally disentangled himself from all state employments. It was
some time, however, before he could release himself, and even
after his resignation of office his services were still occasionally
required. Men were loath to lose him, for he was one of the
most able and most popular statesmen of the day. He was one
of the sponsors of Philippa the infant daiighter of Lionel duke
of Clarence,' and Edward III., whom he very faithfully served,
held him in high esteem. In 1355 Thoresby Avas one of the
wardens of the cinque ports, and on the 1st of July, when the
king was starting on his French campaign, he was made one of
the regents of the kingdom during the absence of the sovereign.'"
On the 27th of November, 1356, the archbishop resigned the
charge of the great seal, which the king received with many
expressions of affection and regret." On the 16th of August,
1357, Thoresby was one of the commissioners appointed to treat
with the Scots for the ransom of their king who had been a
prisoner since the disaster at Neville's cross in 1316, and tlie
primate Avas engaged on several occasions in after years in the
same tedious negotiations." On the 20th of July, 1359, the

* Reg. Thoresby. '" Foed., iii., 305. Cal. Rot. Pat., 165.
'■ Feed., iii., 257. This date ought, " Fcrd., iii., Sll. In this year

perhaps, to be 1353. Thoresby begins to liold his ordinations

J Stubbs, col. 1732. at York himself. It is probable, therc-

* Fabric Rolls, ed. Surtees Society, fore, that before this he was generally
186-7. The treasury of York possessed non-resident. The ]>all seems to have
also of Thoresby's gift, " Una mitra been sent to him from Rome (Stubbs,
cum appeudiciis bene ponderans (ibid., col. 1732).

213). " Ibid., .365, 367-8, 372, 382, 506,

' Hardyng's Chron., n. e., 333. 659. Rot. Scotise, i., 809, 861.

456 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

king, as a compliment toThoresby, released his tenants in Hex-
hamshire from the payment of tenths and other state dues in
consequence of the good service which their lord had rendered
to his king and country.^ There is something very touching in
the manner in which Edward speaks of his faithful and affec-
tionate subject. He mentions his loyalty and goodness, and the
prayers which the trusty prelate had offered up in his behalf to
One who is mightier than man. He is now on the brink of old
age, and is eager for contemplation and repose, and the good
wishes and the blessings of his grateful sovereign are with him
in his retirement.*

That retirement was merely a new field of duty, holier indeed
and more peaceful than that which he had deserted. A good
man like Thoresby will find work for himself to do, wherever he
may be placed. Great and noble as were his services to the
state, we find the striking features of his character still more
pleasingly and usefully developed in his attention to his diocese.
He was truly great in everything that he attempted. He pos-
sessed a very practical mind, a thorough aptitude for business,
much energy and zeal, and a very kind and considerate heart.
These are qualifications which in any age are almost sure to
command success. Honest exertion, aided and set off with
habits of personal piety, and modulated by Christian charity, is
a noble gift. It was conspicuous in everything that Thoresby
did, and gave him an influence over others of which he could
scarcely be unconscious. Whenever money and labour were
required for others, he was always ready to bestow both without
any regard to his own ease or comfort, for he was thoroughly
unselfish. It is not often that we find a great statesman and
scholar surrendering his country for his flock, and making his
intellect subservient to the interests and welfare of his diocese.
I shall point out, one by one, the good deeds of the archbishop,
and shew with what success he moderated the great Northern
l)rovince. I shall first regard liim in the light of a peacemaker
*'lites et contentiones ubique delevit.^^'' MuKapLoc ol elpT^voiroLot.

The contention about the right to bear tlie cross erect had
been for several centuries a fertile and a painful source of con-
troversy between the Northern and the Southern primates.
This Thoresby very happily brought to an end. On the 20th of
April, 1352, a meeting took place, at the intervention of the
king,in the palace of Westminster, between archbishops Thoresby

'' Toed., iii., 436. On June 8, 1355, to the king "ehariotam cum attilio et

the archbishop was coiumissioned to sex equis de meUoribus quos habemus,

array Ilexharashire (Rot. Scot., i., 777). et dviobus valectis et duobus garcioni-

' There is a letter extant from bus :" he sent them by E(ichard) de

Thoresby to the king's secretary, in E(avenser) (Reg. Neville, part ii., 20).
which he asks him to present for him *■ Stubbs, coL 1733.

135.2 — 13/3.] ARcnBisHOP thoresby, 457

and Islipj and the following arrangement was effected. Each
primate was to be allowed to carry his cross erect in the pi'ovince
of the other, but, as an acknowledgement for this concession,
Thoresby, within the space of two months, and each of his suc-
cessors within the same period after his election, was to send a
knight or a doctor of laws to offer in his name at the shrine of
St. Thomas of Canterbury an image of gold of the value of 40/.,
in the fashion of an archbishop holding a cross or some other
jewel. At parliaments and councils the Southern primate, as
the tenant of the most ancient and dignified see, was to sit on
the right hand of the sovereign on the higher seat with his cross
erect, the archbishop of York being on the left. The beai'crs of
that insigne, when they met in the open street, were to walk
abreast, but in a gateway or a narrow passage the cross of Can-
terbury was to have the precedence.* The pope, also, had his
share in the arrangement, and, as Fuller says, " to end old di\i-
sions, made a new distinction, primate of all England and pri-
mate of England, giving the former to Canterbury, the latter to
York. Thus, when two children cry for the same apple, the
indulgent father divides it betwixt them, yet so, that he giveth
the bigger and better part to the childe that is his darling. ^^'
It seems rather to me, pace Master Thomas Fuller, to be a dis-
tinction without a difference. The papal confirmation was made
in 1354," and the king, who must have been delighted at the
result, shewed in the same year how highly he was gratified by
Thoresby^s acquiescence. There is an order for the payment of
71. 8s. 5d. to Richard de Grymesby, goldsmith, for certain
images made in honour of St. Thomas of Canterbmy, and deli-
vered to John archbishop of York, of the king's gift, for his
oblation at Canterbury.*

The good offices of archbishop Thoresby were also employed
in effecting a reconciliation between the mayor and citizens of
York and the abbat and monks of St. Mary's abbey. There
had been many disputes between them on the question of boun-
daries. As early as 1262 there was an affray in which some of
the servants of the abbey were killed, and in 1315 and 131G
there was an active and ^dolent renewal of the quarrel. It
broke out again soon after Thoresby became archbishop, and a
suit was begun in the king's courts. The primate was fortunate
enough to allay it, and an agreement was drawn up to prevent
any recurrence of the disturbances."'

• Re,?. Laiir. Booth, 77 a. Printed ' Church History, hook iii., 39.

in the Angha Sacra, i., 43, 75. Tlie " On Feh. 22 (An^'Ua Sacra, i., 77).

3'ear 1353 "is also given as the date of- " Pell Records, IGl.

this arrangement. Stubhs, col. 1732. " Sliibhs, col. 1733. Drake's Ebora-

Wilkins, iii., 31, 51. cum, 581, 5'J7.

458

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

I shall now gather some flowers from the archbishop^s official
acts.

1352. An order to the official at Worcester to solicit the
prayers of the faithful in behalf of Henry duke of Lancaster,
who is to be at Paris on the 4th of December to prove his in-
nocence and the justice of his cause in a single combat with the
duke of Brunswick/

1353, April 11. A licence of non-residence for three years
to Stephen Maulyon/ rector of Sandal, in the suite of the queen.
May 4. Licence to Sir John Meaux, knight, to have the bones
of Godfrey Meaux his great-grandfather, John Meaux his grand-
father, Godfrey Meaux his father, and Scolastica and Joan his
sisters removed from the clmrch of Aldbrough to the priory of
Hautemprise in consequence of the encroachments of the sea :
they are to be buried in a place, in which, as we understand,
Sir John himself intends to be interred.- August 16. Sentence
of excommunication at the instance of John de Clone," our
domestic chaplain, custos of the free chapel at Ferrybridge,
against those who have plundered the said chapel of its books
and ornaments. Sept. 12. A commission to Gilbert, bishop of
Carlisle,* to bless chalices, etc. Oct. 21. A commission to Wil-
liam, bishop of Sodor, to confer orders, etc.

' Lancaster chargcii the duke with
having arrested him whilst he was at
Cologne on his way to Palestine, and
challenged him to mortal combat. Cf.
Knygh'ton, col. 2603. Barnes's Edw.
III., 465-7. Froissart. Wilkins, iii.,
27, 52.

y A Fleming, rector of Sandal and
canon of Wetwang. In 1343 he was
archdeacon of Winchester (Le Neve,
iii., 25). In 1357 he was dean S. Gau-
cherii, and, afterwards, in 13G4, of
Camhray (Gallia Christiana, iii., 71).

- A valuable entry in more respects
than one. It completely overthrows
the pedigree of the family of Meaux
which is given in Poulson's Holderness.
It also shews us the date of the present
church of Aldborough, as Sir John
Meaux, to whom the present licence
was granted, was buried in it and not
at Hautemprise, in 1377. A rich altar
tomb, which bears his q'^^^j, comme-
morates him, and the church in which
it stands is at the distance of a mile
from the still encroaching sea. Aldbro'
church, therefore, was built between
1353 and 1377. Sir John de Meaux
in his will (Test. Ebor., i., 100) desires
to be buried in the aisle of B.M.V. in

the church of St. Bartholomew at Ald-
brough, and orders his corpse to be
dressed for the grave in the garb of a
Friar Minor, he having become a bro-
ther of that order.

" Chaplain and executor of arch-
bishop Thoresby. On July 5, 1371, he
was instituted to the rectory of Kirkby
Eavenswath, exchanging for it his liv-
ing of Birkin with John de Middleton
(MSS. Harl., 6978), 4 V). On Feb. 5,
1379-80, he exchanged Ravenswath
with Eobert de W3'cliffe for the rectory
of St. Crux in York (Reg. Hatfield at
Durham, 169 h), and on the 26th of the
same month he was instituted to the
stall of West Wittou at Auckland, a
part of the above-mentioned exchange
(ibid., 170 V). On April 30 he was ad-
mitted to a prebend in St. Sepulchre's
chapel at York (Reg. Neville). A John
de Clone was the king's attorney 1339,
1310 (Dugd. Chron., 43).

* Gilbert de Welton exchanges in
1313 his rectory of Wistow, dioc. Lin-
coln, with Thomas de Ripplingham for
the sLall of Eton at Southwell and tlie
rectory of Claworth. In 1347 he was
made canon of Osbaldwick at York,
and in 1348 he gave up Claworth to be

135,2 ISrS.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 459

1354j Jan. 25. An indulgence of 40 days in behalf of tlie
monastery of Helagli park^ which is in great decay.' May IG.
Licence for Alan de Corbrigg, rector of St. Peter the Little,
York, to be absent for two years from his benefice, to visit the
sepulchre of oui' Lord and the limina of S.S. Peter, Paul, and
James.

1355, Feb. 7. A bull of pope Innocent VI. granting an
indulgence of a year and forty days in behalf of the monastery
of St. Augustine, Canterbury, and another, ordaining that the
feast of St. Augustine be obser\^ed as a double festival throvigh
the whole of England.''

1356, March 19. Licence of non-residence to Thomas de
Langetoft, rector of St. Helena's in Stonegate, at the request of
the prince of Wales in whose suit he is. August 14. An order
to pray for the prince of Wales and Henry duke of Lancaster.*
August 28. Commission of enquiry to Mr, John de Crakall,
doctor of decrees and canon of Ripon. Hugh Knyght, priest,
informs us that he was attacked at Wath by certain armed
laymen, and that he killed one of them in self-defence.

1357, Jan 11. Licence to Sir Henry le Scrop,-^ knight, to
have service in an oratory in his manors, and a commission to
consecrate the area, etc., for the conventual church, etc., of the
Carmelites at Northallerton. Feb. 18. Indenture between the
archbishop and Laurence de Florence about the making of sterl-
ings in the palace at York.^ Dec. 20. Dispensation for Mr.
William de Carleton, canon of St. Sepulchre^s chapel, York, to

the chantry priest in the archbishop's ' A monastery at a short distance

manor of Eipon. In 1349 he obtained from York, of which some remains are

the prebend of North Leverton at still in existence. It seems to have

Southwell, and was appointed an exe- been rebuilt about this time.

cutor in archbishop Zouche's will. He '' Cf. Chron. W. Thorn, col. 2120.

was bishop of Carlisle from 1353 to Labbe, Cone, xi., 1930. Wilkins, iii.,

1363. Cf. Rejf. Zouche. MSS. Harl., 33.

6951,1036. Test. Ebor., i., 56. Foed., ^ The year of the battle of Poicticrs.

iii., 116. Le Neve, iii., 236. Nicolson Thoresby was desired by the king to

and Burn's Cumberland and Westmer- order thanks,<,nvinf,'s throughout his

land, ii., 266, etc. diocese for the victory (Barnes's Edw.

On Feb. 28, 1353-4, bishop Welton III., 517). In MSS. Bodl., C, iv.,

was empowered to celebrate orders, 2080, are letters from him reciting the

and, on the 28th, to consecrate the order of the king for the thanksgiving

oleum and chrisma. (Smith's Catalogue).

On Jan. 17, 1358, the king gave leave -'" First lord Scrope of Masham and

to Michael, bishop of Whitherne, suf- father of Richard Scrope, archbishoji of

fragan of the archbishop of York, to York. He died in 1391, set. 76 (Scrojio

come to England on business relating and Grosvenor Roll, i., 131).

to his church and himself (Foed., iii. «" On May 2, 1353, the king allowed

387). In the same year a strange pre- Thoresby " duos cuneos monetalcs " at

late, Thomas, bishop of Chrysopolis, York (Feed., iii., 258). On July 18

was attacked at Kexby, near York. He there is a valuable order from the king

charged the bishop of Durham with about the York mint (ibid., 261. Da-

the assault, but he was acquitted (ibid., vies's York Mint, 33-4).
389).

460 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

be absent from canonical hours on account of illness^ still receiv-
ing his distributions as a residentiary.

1358j Feb. 21. Absolution of William de Roston and John
his son. They were going through the fields at Esterton to
their work when John Pie, chaplain, lept upon them, being
armed. William Roston ran away, but a great dog belonging
to Pie pursued and caught him, and his master gave him a
grievous blow on the arm with a weapon called 2i glsham. Upon
this, the wounded man, to save his life, struck Pie on the head
cum, blado, and his son wounded him with an arrow. Sept. 6.
A mandate to pray for the soul of Isabella the queen-mother.'^
Sept. 17. Permission to Sir Robert de Hilton, knight, to remove
the bodies of Matilda and Margery his daughters, who have
been dead for some time, from the lower part of the porch or
aisle of the Holy Trinity in the church of Swyne to a higher
place in the same porch, where the said Sir Robert intends to
be interred with others of his kin.'

1359, July 3. A commission to Geoffrey archbishop of
Damascus-' to act as suffragan. Oct. 20. To William de Burton,
citizen and merchant of York, 8/. 6s. 8d. for a long woollen
cloth bought of him for our use.

1360, Jan. 15. To om* kinsman, Robert de Thoresby, 10/.
for different works in oiu' manor of Thorp. Sept. 14. To Wil-
liam de Hovjmgham, goldsmith of York, 10/. in part payment
of the price of a silver dish which we bought of him to lay alms
in at our table. Nov. 3. To Richard de Leven, citizen and
tanner of York, 20 marks in part payment for furs for our livery.*

1361, June 9. Mandate to the prioress and convent of
IVIolseby to re-admit to their house Elizabeth de Neville some
time an apostate. July 12. An order to pray for the removal of

* She died at Risings, near London, cestors, and Sir Ralpli de Greystock

on 22nd of August, 1358, and was (Reg. Melton). Curiousl}' enougli, the

buried at the Grey Friars (Barnes's manor of Swine afterwards came into

Edward III., 550-1). From April 30 the pos.session of the Meltons with the

to May 14-, 1358, she was residing in heire^;s of Hilton (Poulson'sHolderness,

London at the house of the archbishop ii., 198).

(Archa?ologia, XXXV., 453). Murimuth, i Ou August 10, 1359, Thomas,

191. Coll. Top. and Geneal., v., 278;. bishop of Norwich, was authorized to

' Extensive alterations were being confirm for the archbishop. He was a

made in this curious old church. In Percy, and was, therefore, connected

January, 1361-2, there is a monition with the North. Some suffragans of

to the parishioners of Swine to contri- the archbishop will be mentioned after-

bute to the new work of the nave and wards.

tower of their church (Reg. Thoresby). * June 10, 1361, 201. more to him

The monuments of the Hiltons are a for our livery against Christmas. Oct.

conspicuous feature in the Trinity aisle. 3, to Richard de Wateby, citizen of

On April 24, 1347, a chantry was York, 40Z. to provide our "liverey, and,

founded in the church of Wynestede on Feb. 4, 33^. 6s. lOd. to him "for the

by Sir Robert de Hilton, for the souls same purpose. 1362, April 18, to

of himself, Margaret his wife, his an- Richard Wardrober, 40/. for our hverey.

1352 — 1373.J ARCHBISHOP thoresby. 461

wars, pestilences, and other troubles of the kingdom.' July 21.
To the Friars Minors and Augustinians of York 5 marks each
for their general chapter to be celebrated at York. Oct. 1. To
Elias de Thoresby, receiver of our chamber, 1000/. for the
expenses of our hospice. Oct. 3. To Mr. AValter de Skirlawc,'"
our beloved clerk, 21/. 15s., for our expenses in the court of
Rome.

1362, Feb. 1. Licence to the inhabitants of Staynburn, par.
Kirkby Overblows, to have service in the cemetery of their chapel
there dui'ing the continuance of the pestilence." Feb. 26. Com-
mission to absolve Sir Adam de Everingham," knight, who has
been excommunicated for laying violent hands on Richard de
Halghton, rector of a moiety of the church of Derfeld. May 6.
To John Boys, 57Z. 16s. 9d. for 567 sheep bought at Ripon.

1363, April 18. An order to pray for the prince of Wales
and his army, they being detained by contrary winds. July 20.
An order to pray for fine weather on account of the harvest.
Oct. 2. William Strother, canon of Kirkham, is absolved from
the sentence of greater excommunication for giving the eucharist
to Robert Corbet, chaplain, without the leave of his curate.
The relaxation is to last till Michaelmas, 1364, on condition
that he goes to Rome for absolution.^

1364, June 29. To Robert de Thoresby, our esquire, 100s.
for the building of a new chamber in our manor of Thorp.? An

' There was a great pestilence this which the outUne of his crozicr could

year which carried oif three bishops easily be traced. He now lies in the

and Henry, duke of Lancaster (Muri- north aisle of the choir, between the

muth, 195). In Hardyng's Chron., organ and the wall, before the stone

330, it is said, — seat which he erected for the aged uiou

„ ^ ^, , o - i. ,r . '\^'ho were to sit thereon and offer ui)

" In that same yere was on Sainct Maury s, , , . /• i • i «

day, their i^rayers for his soul. A gorgeous

The greatewinde and earthquake mervelous, brass, fifteen feet ill length, onco CO-

That gi-eately gav the people all atfray, ^^j.^^ i^js remains. The matrix is now

So uredfull was it then ana perelous, i ■ i i /■ ii i^ l i •

Specially the wind was so hoistous laid before the altar-steps, and is erro-

The stone wailes, steples, houses and trees, neously ascribed to bishop Beaumont.
Were blow downe in diverse ferre coun- « Walsingham (179) says of this

*'^®®^' year, " Moriebantur plures morbo litar-

"' The great and good bishop of Dur- giae, inulta infortunia prophetantes :

ham. He was a Yorkshireman by muliercs insuper decessere per fluxum,

birth, and was a great benefactor to et erat communis pestis bestiarum."

his native county. He gave largely to Great winds also prevailed,
the choir and central tower of York ° 28th Edward I. Prob. set. Adoe de

minster, and a chantry was founded Evcringham fil. et hocr. Roberti de

for him at the altar of St. Cuthbcrt. Everingham (Abbrev. Plac, 2J2).

He was one of the greatest builders of ,, _ . ., • ,, , .- «• •,.

s-L.^ yya^ KjLx^Kix A,u.y^^^. n " To Wash this blood from off my guilty

his day, and was a man of prince-like '^ lumd."

muniiiceace. M}' collections for his

life are far too numerous even to abbre- ' 1301-5, lOl. more for it on Feb.

viate here. I saw him about fifteen 13. On IMarch 22, 10^. more. On

years ago at Durham, when his tomb May 2, 10^. more. On June 10, 100s.,

was disturbed, swathed in lead, through and 100s. on J uly 15.

462

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

indulgence of 40 days to those who relieve two brethren of
Armenia whose monastery has been destroyed by the Saracens.
1365, March 14. Lease of the archbishop's mint, for two
years, to Andrew de Florencia, at a rent of 20 marks per an-
num. April 27. Absolution of John de Gaytford, Gervase de
Pecco, etc., for cutting off the head of John de Wynteworth,
chaplain, till they can go to Rome for absolution. July 2. Ex-
communication of those who have broken into the monastery at
Pontefract and carried away plate, jewels, and a pix before the
altar of St. Leonard. August 5. Licence of non-residence for
two years to William Wyclyf,*" rector of Wyclyf, to enable him
to study. Sept. 9. An order to the parishioners of Worksop to

•■ An interesting extract. In 1361
a William de Wj'clitfe was one of the
fellows of Balliol whilst John de Wy-
clifFe, the reformer, was master of that
college (Fascic. Zizan.,prefat., xi). This
licence of non-residence was, in all pro-
bability, to allow him to return to
Oxford. He is probably identical with
William de WyclifTe, who was insti-
tuted on the 7th of August, 1363, on
the presentation of John de Wj'cliffe,
to the rectory of AA'yclifTe in Yorkshire
(MSS. Harl., 6978, 1, 2, extracts from
a register of the archdeacons of Rich-
mond which is now lost), and witli Mr.
William de WyclifFe, rector of Wy-
cliffe, wlio was ordained accolite at York
on the Saturday after St. Matthew's
day, 1363 (Eeg. Thoresby). After this
we hear nothing of him.

In 1368 another William de WyclifFe
was ordained accolite, sub-deacon, dea-
con, and priest at York, Easbj' abbey
giving him a title (Reg. Thoresby).

We now come to two greater person-
ages, who accompany each other through
life, as they began it, in the most per-
plexing propinquit3\ One of them is
the celebrated reformer.

On Saturday before St. Mark's day,

1350, John de VYhytecliff was made an
accolite in the house of the Eriars Mi-
nors at York, and John de AVycliffe an
accolite at the Friars Preacliers in the
same city on the Saturday after St.
Lucy's day in the same year. In
1350-1, also, John, son of William de
Wykliff, and John, son of S3'mon de
Wycliff (the names of the fathers being
fortunately given to distinguish the
two), were ordained sub-deacons at the
Friars Preachers, deacons at Pentecost,

1351, in St. Mary's abbe}"^, and priests

in York minster on the Saturday after
St. Matthew's day, 1351, the officiating
prelate being Hugh, archbishop of Da-
mascus (Reg. Zouche). This informa-
tion is entirely new.

Mr. Shirley has spoken about these
two persons in a note to the Fascic.
Zizan. I agree with him that an argu-
ment can be drawn with difficulty from
the spelling of an old name. It is still
remarkable tliat one of the two John
Wy(;lifles, i. e., the prebendary of Chi-
chester, was called John Whytcliff in
his will and before it. One of the ac-
colites at York is also " WhyteclifT,"
but only in that instance ; and as Wy-
klif is much more akin in sound to
Whytcliff than WyclifF (the name of
the village is always pronounced hard),
the presumption is that in John, son of
Symon de W3'clifF, we have the master
of Balliol and the reformer. I do not,
however, set much value upon this in-
ference.

It may, I think, be safely assumed
that the reformer is one of these two.
Both of them had their title from Eg-
gleston abbey, which is within three
miles of the little village of WyclifFe.
They were both, therefore, Yorkshire-
men. The genealogy of the W3'clifFes
at this earl3" period is beset with diffi-
culties, and I shall not now weary m\'
readers with a long piece of genealo-
gical criticism. The little church of
WyclifFe, with the sparkling Tees rush-
ing b3' it, will well repay a visit. It
contains some interesting sepulchral
memorials of the family, including one
to an only son, the last hope of that
ancient house, which was erected b3'^
his father, who reared it, as he observes
with much feeling, " non sine summo

1352 — 1373.] ARCiinisiiop thoresby. 4G3

desist from wrestling, archery, indecent dances and singing, in
their chui'chyard/

1366, Jan. 16. To John de Beverley, tailor, for a long cloth,
" de tanneto," 11/. 4s. April 20. Sentence against those who
have laid violent hands on the dean of Pontefract, and killed
John de Whitthened, his servant. July 7. To John de Hclwill,'
canon residentiary of York, two oaks in our wood of Langwath,
and their faggots, oirr accustomed gift at this time. Oct. 9. A
commission to absolve Adam de Wordelworth, chaplain, for
killing John de Staynton, at l?erneslay, in self defence. Nov.
17. An order to pray for the prince, who is going abroad to help
the king of Spain."

1367, April 13. Licence of non-residence for two years to
John de Ledcombe, rector of Castleford, to be in the king^s
service, and, on May 5, a similar licence to Elias Brithewell,
rector of Bramwith, in the service of John, duke of Lancaster.
Dec. 6. An order stopping markets being held on Sundays in
the porch and churchyard of Whitgift, and prohibiting eatings
and drinkings there.

1368, Oct. 26. An order to pray for the removal of the pes-
tilence.

1369, March 3. John, son of William Chapman, of Great
Driffield, aged 8, was giving hay on the feast of St. Edmund
the king, 1363, to a certain horse belonging to William Ichon,
of Crauncewj'k. The horse being unbroken, bit off the greater
part of the boy's right ear. A certificate to that effect. May 8.

rerum humanarum fastidio." As ' Canon residentiary of York and

Waller says of the only son of lord prebendary of Barnby from 1349 to

Andover, — 1387. He was also rector of Misterton

"'Tis not a single corpse alone does lie and Rowley. By his will, dated on the

Under this stone, but a whole family ; 3rd of March, 1386-7, he desired to be

His parents' pious care, their name, their ji^terred in York minster, and gave the

And ail their hope, lies buried with this sum of lOOs. to the fabric.

boy." " The famous expedition into Spain

My father was born within a mile of in behalf of king Pedro,

the villat^e of Wychffe, and I have often ,, ,, , . , ,, . ..,„,.,,

, II- ii i i vr u„ • ;« . „<• ' For wluclie the prince with all his hole power

heard him say that at the begmning of jj^^g j^^^ Spain to helpe hym to conquer."
the present century the dialect of the

neighbourhood was so identical with The great battle of Najara and the

the language of the reformer's version exploits of Sir John Chaiidos and his

of the New Testament that he would illustrious leader are matters of history,

undertake to read any chapter of it to There is a long account of the fight in

an old person, and it would be under- " The Black Prince," edited for the

stood thoroughly, with the exception Eoxburghe Clul), 250, etc. The prayer

perhaps of a word or two. of the victor is a striking one : —

' A practice which had arrested the „r. •

ji l^iu.v.;ivv y-, , ■ • "Que je ne sui pas cy venuz

attention of Giraldus Cambrensis in Fors pur droit estre sustenuz

the twelfth century. He speaks, in Et proesce et pur franchise

terms of reprobation, against the salta- Qe mon cocr scmontu et attiso

i ,., ' ," , . ■ De conquestre Tie de honour

tiones and cantilense then prevalent in j^ ^.^^j. guppUe qeu cesti jour

churches (Gemma Ecclesiastica, 119). Voillez gardcr moy et ma gent."

464

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

An order to pray for the king, queen, and prince, and for the
removal of the pestilence." May 20. To Mr. J. de Waltham,""
for his expenses in going to London, to the parliament to be
held at Westminster on the octaves of the festival of the Trinity.
June 5. An order to repair the nave of St. Peter the Little,
York. July 7. To Mr. Robert de Patrington, master-mason,
14 marks for repairing the -windows in the chapel of our manor
at Cawood, and to Henry de Miryman as much as is due to him
for the custody of our manor of Thorp.

1370, May 31. A commission to receive the vow of chastity
of Beatrix wife of Andrew Gower.^

1372, Feb. 18. Licence to Nicholas de Swanland, rector of
St. Cuthbert^s, York, to pull down some houses at the east end
of his church, built at his own cost, and to use the materials in
enlarging and repairing the choir. Nov. 9. Licence to Isabel
de Faucomberge, widow of Walter de Faucomberge, knight, to
remove his body from before the image of the Holy Cross in the
church of Gisburgh to that j)art of the church in which liis
ancestors are interred. 2'

1373, Nov. 5. A grant of the wardship and marriage of John
son and heir of John de Langton of York to William Gray,
citizen of York, and Robert de Wyclif,* rector of St. Crux,
York.

" There was a great pestilence, and
the corn was much injured by floods
fO'alsingham, 18-i).

" A person wlio had many prefer-
ments in the church. Canon of Lich-
field, York, Southwell, and Brom3'ard,
sacrist of St. Sepulchre's, York, ofhcial
of the court of York, master of the
hospitals at Bawtry and Beck, Norfolk,
canon of Lanchester, incumbent of
Hunmauby, Cortenale, Saxbj', Steeple-
Langford, Towcester, and Heversham
(Reg. Thoresby. Nichols's Leicester-
shire, ii., 312. Blomefield's Norfolk,
viii., 190. MSS. Harl., 6952, 4, 10;
ibid., 6978. Le Neve, i., 603. Misc.
Doc, penes dec. and cap. Dunelm.,
4196). He was an executor of arch-
bishop Thoresby in 1373 (Test. Ebor.,
i., 90), and was his kinsman (MSS. Cot-
ton, Galba, E, x., 85).

He was probably the uncle of John
de Waltham, archdeacon of Richmond
and bishop of Salisbury, one of the
favourites of Richard II., " who hadde
pleased the king so greatly that (though '
many murmured at it) he commanded
him to bee buryed at Westminster
among the kings." His brazen effigy

is still gleaming over his resting-place
on that sacred platform.

' A name to which the poet Gower
has given a great interest. Would that
his origin could be safely traced to the
county of York ! On Dec. 17, 1342,
archbishop Melton allowed Alice, widow
of John Gower, of Cold Ingleby, to
have an oratory for three years in her
manor there (Reg. Melton). The
question of the origin of the poet has
been discussed by Sir Harris Nicholas
in the Retrospective Review, second
series, ii.. Ill, and by Dr. Reinhold
Pauli in his introduction to the Con-
fessio Amantis. Their researches prove
that the poet lived in the South, and
had estates in Suffolk, but nothing
more. He might still have been a na-
tive of Yorkshire, as Leland says he
was. One of the persons mentioned in
the transfer of the Suffolk estates, Guy
de RoclifTe, who was also interested in
them, was a Yorkshircman, and it must
not be forgotten that Gower had a lease
of the manor of Southwell, co. Notts.

y Some notices of this family have
already occurred.

' The Langtons and the Grays were

1352—1373.]

ARCHBISHOP THORESBY.

465

The following horrible crime was committed at Beverley in
November, 1372. A shoemaker of the name of William de
Wattou, who had been for some time deranged, came into the
church of St. Mary in that town. The poor creature observed
a priest of the name of Peter de Aldegat, and went up to him,
as if to make his confession, with his hands folded after the guise
of a penitent. " Woe is me that ever I was born,^'' he said : " by
God's heart I will go and drown myself." " Far be this from
thee," said the priest, " for then thou wouldst be lost both in body
and soul." The lunatic then cried out, as if some sudden idea had
flashed across his mind, " He wanted to kill me unless I would
be friends with Adam de Coppandale. I will kill myself." Aid-
gate replied, "Away with the thought. Hope in God and pray
here, and I wall soon make Adam de Coppandale and all his people
thy friends." He then went away, and told the master and the
kinsmen of the madman to come and take him away, saying
that he was insane. On his return, Watton, who no doubt had

two wealthy and distinguished families
in York.

Of Eobert de WycliflPe, who was very
probably a near relation of the re-
former, perhaps a nephew, some account
may appropriately be given. He was
a man of wealth and influence. On
the 2nd of August, 1362, he was in-
stituted to the rectory of Wyclifle on
the presentation of Katherine, widow
of Eoger Wycliffe. He held it only
for a year (MSS. Harl., 6978, 1 a). In
1368 he was ordained sub-deacon at
York, being rector of St. Crux in that
city (Reg. Thoresby). On May 14,
1375, he was collated to a prebend at
Auckland (West Witton), vacant by
the death of David, son of Sir Thomas
de Ingilby, knight (Reg. Hatfield, 79«).
On Feb. 5, 1379-80, he exchanged the
rectory of St. Crux, York, for that of
Kirkby Eavenswath with Jolin de
Clune, and on the 26th of February
Clune was inducted into Wycliffe's
stall at Auckland, which was part of
the exchange (ibid., 169, 170). From
1377 to 1423 he was rector of Eudby,
having been appointed by Philip, lord
Darcy (Graves's Cleveland, 165), and
on Jan. 17, 1382-3, he was instituted,
at the king's presentation, to the rec-
tory of Romaldkirk, which he held till
he died (MSS. Harl., 6978, 10 b), hav-
ing obtained it in the way of exchange
with Richard de Middleham for the
living of Ravenswath.

He was closely connected with bishop

Skirlaugh. From 1399 to 1402 he was
constable of Durham castle. On Feb.
3, 1390-1, he occurs as temporal chan-
cellor of Durham, and he continued
so till Skirlaugh's death. He was also
his receiver-general (MSS. Surtees, and
Hutchinson's Durham, i., 324), and
one of his executors (Test. Ebor., i.,
311). Wycliffe died at Kepier hospital,
near Durham, of which he was master,
in 1423 (Surtees's Durham, iv., 65).

WyclilTe was connected as executor
or trustee 'witli several great person-
ages. He was an executor of ^larger}',
widow of Sir William de Aldeburgli, in
1391 (Test. Ebor., i., 152), of Philip,
lord Darcy, in 1399 (ibid., 255), and of
Sir John Depeden, in 1402 (ibid., 299).
His own will and schedule of be({uests,
full of interesting and valuable matter,
are in Durham Wills, i., 66, and Test.
Ebor., i., 403.

From notices of the Wyclitfes which
have been given before it will be seen
that they were a great clerical family,
I can scarcel}'^ identify the following
person with the ecclesiastic of whom I
liave been speaking. On March 28,
1338, Eobert de Wycliff was ordained
priest in the jiriory of Durham by
Boniface " Corbavien' episc," AV alter
de Sta))olton giving him a title of 5
marks (Eeg. Bury, 307 «). On the
vigil of the feast of the Trinity, 1363,
Nicholas, son of John de Wyclilf,
was ordained priest at York (Reg.
Thoresby).

II II

466 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

suspected his errand^ stabbed him in the breast with his knife,
and the priest died of the wound. The bailiffs, who were in the
chiirch hearing mass, at once seized the murderer, but his victim
adjured them by Christ^s body to do him no harm as he did not
know what he was doing, and he forgave him before God. The
prisoner was shut up in the house of Thomas de Waghen and
went raging about during the night with a drawn knife, saying
that he heard and saw his enemies devising his death. It was
discovered that on one occasion he had cut off his mother^s hair.
She submitted in fear and trembling to the operation, and the
maniac afterwards thanked God that he had not choked her.
This is a fearful pictm^e. It is dreadful to think of the times
when there were no receptacles for lunatics ; who were permitted
to wander about at their will among their friends and kinsmen.
It will be seen from the extracts which have just been given,
that several ^dolent assaults upon ecclesiastics are mentioned.
They are a very fair criterion of the spirit of the times. Those
are indeed evil days when the garb of a clergyman cannot pro-
tect him from insult and wrong. But, as a general rule, when
such is the case, the fault is to a great extent to be ascribed to
the church itself. The cords of discipline have been slackened
till it becomes perilous to draw them tighter. An evil example
has been set by those who profess to teach/ and, as Dryden
tells us,

" If they be foul on whom the peojtle trust,
Well may the baser brass contract a rust."

The trumpet has been giving an uncertain sound. And so
it was in the middle of the fourteenth century. There was, in
many respects, a great decline in morals and in devotion. We
find laymen and clerks killing and wounding one another,
churches desecrated, the privileges of sanctuary abused, and
all the grades of society distorted and confused.* The church
seems to have been powerless to correct or regenerate. Internal
weakness and corruption made her voice very weak, if it could
be heard at all. It is a very grand sight to see a man like
Thoresby pusli himself boldly forward in such a crisis into the
fore-front of the battle, with the skill to originate, the energy to
carry out his plans, and the honesty to scourge offenders whether

" Gower is not complimentary when In l^cke of hem, that ben unware

bp i«? "siiPnVincr of tliP nnstnrs of bis Shepherdes, which here wit beware

ne is speaKing oi ine pai^iors or nis ^-p^^^ ^^^ worlde iu other halve.

day m the prologue to his Coniessio The sbarpe pricke instede of salve

Amantis. After many severe words he They usen now, wherof the heie

gjjYg Tbey hurtc of that they shulden hele.

•I ' And what sheep, that is full of wulle

Upon his hacke, they toose and puUe."
For an account of several cases
DevoirredTsTn ev'ery'skie' *'"'"" sacrilege, see Knyghton, col. 2628.

'Lo, thus to-broke is Criste's foldc j Fnr nn npfnunf nf spvprnl fnsps nf

Wherof the flock withoute guide ^*^^ ^^ account 01 several cases ol

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 467

tliey were friends or foes. The archbishop of Canterbuiy made
bitter complaints to him about the wretched state of the churcli
of England ; how the high and mighty gave her no siipport^ and
how lier influence had departed.*^ Thoresby spoke to his brother
primate some strong and earnest words of comfort, and prepared
himself for the battle. His eagle eye saw at once that this was
the time for action, and his zeal for God^s cause induced him to
withdraw himself from the clash of party warfare in which he had
honourably achieved so many brilliant successes, that he might
strive to win a bolder victory, the reformation of the churcli.
There is nothing to prove the assertion which has been made,
that he was dissatisfied with his creed ; he merely cndeavoiu'ed to
purify and not to overthrow what was before him ; and yet there
are many points in his character that remind us of Wycliffe, and
it would be curious to know if there were any connection between
the primate and his compatriot. Both were natives of the
North Riding of Yorkshire, and it is possible enough that they
were kinsmen. Both were animated, in matters of discipline at
least, by the same earnest and fearless spirit, but Wycliffe step})ed
out of his way to do what Thoresby attempted to effect through
the ordinary paths which the church suggested to him. It was
indeed a time for energetic action, and Thoresby knew it. The
country around him had been desolated by the plague and the
wars, and the spirit of irreligion had crept in and established
itself too securely. The people were in a state of gross ignor-
ance, and many of the clergy, if they were disposed to work at
all, were not fit to teach. Some ivere wandering away from
their parishes in the trains of knights and nobles, or haunting,
in quest of secular preferment, the purlieus of the court. ]\Iany
livings were held at the same time by one man, whilst others,
through the system of papal provisions, were possessed by
foreigners.*^ A fierce fight was raging on this point between
the king and pope, in which the ecclesiastical sovereign and his
party were ultimately worsted. At the close of the reign of
Edward III. the power of the cardinals in this country came to
an end.^ It had been dominant for many years in tlie chiu'ch

" Reg. Al. Neville, part ii. Among "Thougbe that his chauncolle roof be alle to-

i liores by S letters. And on the hye awtere rcyne or snewe,

'' The poet Occleve gives strong evi- ire rekketlie nut, the cost may be forborne

deuce (De llegimine Principum, cd. fristoa house to repaire or make newe;

Roxburghe Club, 1860 ; p. 51):- ^"''i.owe °'" "'"' ''* *"""' '"""^ " ''"'""'

Undir his cure, he takethe of it no kepe :

" A dayes now, my sonc, as men may see, He rckkethc never how rusty ben his shepe."

O chirche to o man may nat suffise ; ...

But algate he mote have phiralitee, ' In tlie same register there IS a

Eiies he ban not lyve in no wise. strong letter from Edward III. to one

I'irrrSer^Soll-'S^'^t moule, "^ ^I'O cardinals reprehending him for

But to his cure loketb he full foule. Calling hun a fool ! it was probabl}'

468 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

of York to its exceeding detriment. Since the commencement
of the fourteenth century, more than thirty of these dignitaries
had held the highest offices in tlie minster whilst they were
of course non-resident. Between 13J;3 and 1385 the deanery
was in their hands. The first of the three who occupied it,
Helie Talleyrand/ cardinal-bishop of Alba, the fruitless inter-
cessor at Poictiers, might have been the "lucidum ecclesise
sidus," as his friend Petrarch called him in Italy, but he never
shone at York. He was far better acquainted with the intrigues
of the sacred college at Avignon, the vineyards of his ancient
house at Perigord, and his college at Toulouse. His successor
at York and in the cardinalate, Anglicus Grimaldi, adopted the
cause of the anti-pope, and was ejected from the deanery which
he never once saw. The wisdom and the learning of Adam de
Eston could not preserve him from the same fate, although they
saved him from the vengeance of Urban VI., when five of his
brother-cardinals, who had joined him in a conspiracy against
the pope, were fastened up in sacks and tlirown into the sea.
When the heads of the cathedral at York were thus non-re-
sident, it was not to be expected that there would be much order
or discipline observed in the church that they neglected. It was
not in the power of Thoresby to check the system of pro\dsions ;
he was indeed too closely bound to the papal court by the
strongest ties of gratitude to attempt to do so even if he had
possessed the power ; and there was a continuous influx of car-
dinals into his diocese whilst it was under his care.^ He did,
however, what he could to see that the church of York was
properly attended to. On the 12th of May, 1362, he visited
the chapter, and there he reprehended the system of non-resi-
dence, of which archbishop Melton had formerly complained to
him.* The dean, of course, was not there, and the forty poor

addressed to one of those dignitaries prolongatus est ad extraneos et alieni-

who had a stall at York. genas, qui velut surdi et muti suorum

-'' " Consanguineo di presso die tutti ovium balatum non intelligunt, de mor-

i Principi della Francia, uomo di gran- sibus luporum non curaut, sed velut

senno e valore pe' suvi tempi, e assai mercenarii videntes lupum venientem

lodato dagli Scrittori di quell' eta, e fugiunt, auferunt vellera lac et lanam,

sopra gli altri dal Petrarca, e da altri lucra captantes, semper dorsa ab oneri-

molti, per la dottrina e prudenza " bus divertentes, prout dolor ymmo im-

(Cardella, Memorie Storiche de' Car- mensus dolor, sed utinam ejus doloris

dinali, ii., 133). auferatur occacio potentia Salvatoris."

s In the letter and common place * The letter is in Neville's register,

book which is called the second part of part ii., 16 b. The archbi.shop speaks

archbishop Neville's register, fol. 6 b, of the non-residence of the canons at

is the following sentence which would York, and wishes to have the poor

express Thoresby's feelings about the stalls augmented with the rich. It is

cardinals, and it is probably from his possible that Zouche was the writer,

pen : — and not Melton.

" Heu niichi quia incolatus meus

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 469

persons, to whom he was bound to supply food, were forgotten.
The sub-dean, also, was non-resident, and his liouse in the elose
was in decay. Braidvtre, the treasurer, had never been in York
since he was appointed, and the sacristans and clerks of the
vestry had received from him no wages. The vicars experienced
a more than common share of blame. Many of tliem had bad
voices, and those who could sing sang wrong. Wlien they left
the Beddern and went into the city they were dressed after tlie
fashion of squires, in very unelerical attire, Avith knives sticking
in their girdles, and baselards dangling between their legs.'

Thoresby was not a man to be daunted by difficulties and
obstructions. Ignorance was one of the great vices of the age,
and he resolved to assail it. He caused to be drawn up, in tlie
form of a catechism, a brief statement of what he deemed to be
necessary for salvation, comprising the articles of belief, the ten
commandments, the seven sacraments, the seven deeds of bodily
and ghostly mercy, the seven Aartues and the seven deadly sins,
and in them we see the first faint shadowings of an English
ritual. These were prepared in a tw ofold form, and were issued
from Cawood on the 25th of November, 1357. The first was in
Latin, and was apparently to be perused by the clergy, to the
neglect and ignorance of whom the archbishop boldly and
sharply ascribes the existence of the evils of the times.-' The

' ^cta Capit. Ebor. Tab. Rolls, 242. et quod vice nostra injungant parocliia-

•' The preamble runs as follows : — nis suis, viris et mulieribus, quod ijisi

" Johannes, etc. ; dilecto filio archi- et eoruui singuli pra}raissa omnia dili-

diacono nostro, etc. Quia nonnulli genter audiant et addiscant, et quod

Christi fideles, quibus, licet immeriti, hoec parvulos sues, filios et lilias,

prsosidemus, non simt, quod doleuter clare doceant, et ipsos ad li;oc addi-

gerimus, saltern in grossis et necossa- scenda conipellant : et quod salteui in

riis Christianse legis observantiis in- singulis quadragesimis dicti curati ]ia-

structi, quod tarn ex nostra, quam ex rochianos suos, an ha}c sic didiscerint

rectorum, vicariorum et sacerdotum et sciverint et sic liberos snos instruxe-

parochialium, qui ipsos juxta susceptse rint, examinent; exquisite injungentes

curse debitum haberemus instruere, in- nou parent ibus in liac parte jKjcuiten-

curia, ne dicamus ignorantia, dicitur tiam salutarcm, quam pro tempore,

evenire, per quod, quod Deus avertat, prout eorum requirit iuobedientia, stu-

de facili via patere potest erroribus et deant aggravare. Et ne qiiis super hiis

gravibus periculis animarum. Nos vo- per iguorantiara se valcat excusare hipc

lentes, ut tenemur, super hoc reme- sub verbis planis et incultis, ut sic le-

dium apponere salutare, sacro appro- vius in publicam dediicantur notitiam,

bante cleri nostrarum diocesios et pro- fecimus annotare."
vincise consilio, super hoc sic duximus A^'e gather from this that the English

ordinandum.ut quilibet rector, vicarius, of the document that will be shortly

capellanus parochialis et curatus alius, given was of the plainest and rudest

saltem diebus Uoniinicis, sine exquisita kind.

verborum subtilitate exponant, seu ex- There are copies of this mandate,

ponere faciant, populo in vulgari, arti- the creed, etc., slightly varying from

culos fidei, prsecepta tam Novi quam the above, among the JISS. at Lam-

Veteris Testament!, opera miscricordise, both, 408, 577 (Tanner, IJibl. Brit.,

virtutes principales, gratise sacramenta 711). Of. Wharton's note ad Hist.

et peccata mortalia, cum sua sequela ; Dogmatic, Archiep. Ussher, ed. KI'JO,

470 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

other was in English verse, which is so uncouth that it is diffi-
cult to distinguish it from prose. This was translated from the
Latin by John de Taystek (Tavistock or Garrick ?) , a monk of
St. Mary's abbey, and it is entered on the register of archbishop
Thoresby's official acts. Mr. Halliwell has printed it in his
Yorkshire Anthology, and it is also to be found in the Vicaria
Leodiensis of Ralph Thoresby, who did not know, however, that
it was in verse.''' The English version was intended for the
benefit of the laity, and, that it should be properly understood
and a,ppreciated, the archbishop gave it as Avide a circulation as
he possibly could. Copies were multiplied and dispersed in
various forms, and the primate " sent them in small pagyantes
to the common people to lerne it and to knowe it ; of whiche
yet manye a copye be in England.''^ So wrote some one in the
fifteenth century. The word " pagyantes '^ opens out a very
interesting field of speculation. It is the name applied to the
miracle plays which were once so popidar and so common. Was
the North of England indebted to Thoresby for the introduction
of these instructive, yet somewhat profane, representations ? It
is very probable indeed that he would press them into his service
to arrest the attention of the wayfarers in the streets, and please
the eyes and ears of the unlettered crowd. The Crede or Belief
play was one that was once acted and recited in York.'" It will,

pp. 430-1. See also Hanner's Specimen Book of Martyrs, i., — .

of Errors ia Burnet's History of the '" B3- will, dated August 2, 1446,

Reformation, part i., 56-7. William Revetour, of York, chaplain,

* Yorkshire Anthology, 297-31 1. leaves " frateruitati Corporis Christi in
Vicaria Leodiensis, 213-35. Mr. Hal- Eboraco quemdam librum vocatum le
liwell derived his copy from MSS. Harl., Crede play, cum libris et vexillis eidem
1022,74-80. At the end of the poem pertinentibus " (Test. Ebor., ii., 117).
in this MS. is the following account of Tavistock's verse would certainly re-
its authorship : — quire all the paraphernalia of the ban-

" Transumpta crat ista predicacio a ners, etc., to render it attractive,

lingua Latina in nostram maternam Eor an account and specimen of these

liuguam de mandato domini Johannis plays at York, see Mr. Davies's volume

de Thoresby, Ebor. Archiep., per vener- of York Records of the Fifteenth Ceu-

abilem et discretum virum Johannem de tury ; Drake's Eboracum, appendix, 29-

Taystek, monaclium monasterii beatse 32 ; (Croft's) Excerpta Antiqua, 105-

Mariao Ebor., anno Domini millesimo 10 ; Camden Miscellany, iv., No. 3.

trescentesimo quiiiqnagesimo septimo." The manuscript collection of the old

' "Syr William Thorsby,archebishop York miracle pla3's, which was for-

of Yorke, did do drawe a treatise in merly in the possession of the corpora-

Eng'yshe by a worshypful clorke whose tion of York, is now in the library of

name was Garryk. In the whiche were tlie earl of Ashburnham. Among the

conteyned the artycles of beiefe, the vij many treasures from Stowe which that

dedly sines, the vij workes of marcy, nobleman has gathered together is the

the X comaundements ; and sent them . following work : —

in small pagyantes to the common " A poem on the Trinity by William

people to lerne it and to knowe it, of of Nas.syngton, a proctor or advocate

whiche yet manye a copye be in Eng- in the ecclesiastical court of York. 4to.

land'' (Dibdin's Ty])ogr. Ant., iii., 257). A curious MS. of 640 pages, ])artly on

Fascic. Zizan., prefat., xiii. Foxe's vellum and partly on paper, written

1352 — 1373.] ARcuBisirop thouesby. 471

I think be some day discovered that this is the poem by John
de Tavistock.

The poem, if such it can be called, is, with a few exceptions,
without rhymes. It was drawn up, as the archbishop tells us,
vrith studied plainness, and it is very uncouth and quaint. As
it has been printed twice before, although by no means accu-
rately, I shall only give on the present occasion the i)reamble
and the Ten Commandments. The document is a valuable one,
not only for philological purposes, but also as the creed of the
inhabitants of Yorkshire in the fourteenth century. The writ-
ings of Buonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas, the Seraphic
and the Angelic doctors, and those of that now almost forgotten
scholar, from A?hom they derived so much, Peter Lombard, the
Master of the Sentences, have supplied the author with many
of his materials, another verification of the words of the earliest
of our English poets,

" Out of olde fieldes, as men saitlie,
Conietli all this new corne from yere to yere ;
And out of olde bookes, in good faitbe,
Cometh all this new science that men lere."

My reader must tax his own ingenuity and patience to ex-
plain the many curious words that are presented to him.

Als that a gret clerk" shewes in his bokes, et est secundo Senfcnci-
aruin, distinctlone j^rima, of all the creatures tliat God made in lieven
and in erthe, in water, or in ayre, or in ought elles, the soveraignc
cause and ye skill whi that he inaide thainie was his oweu gode will
and his godenesse, thurgh whilk godenesse, als he is all gode, he wold
y* som creatiu'es of thas that he made were comnuuiers of that blisse
that evermore lastes. And for no creature might come to that ilk
blisse withouten knawyng of God, als that clerk techis, uhi supt'ct,
he made skilwise creatures angels and man of witt and of wisdome to
knawe God al myghten, and thurgh yaire knawyng love him and serve
him, and so come to that blisse that thai were made to. This maner
of knawyng had our forme fadirs in ye state of innocentz that thai
were made in, and so shuld we have had if yai had noght syniied
noght so mikell als hali saules has now in heven, hot mikel mare than
man has now in erthe ; for our forme fadirs synned, sais the prophet,
and we bore ye wickeduesse of thaire misdede.

Tren ultimo. For ye knawyng that thai had of God Almighten,
thai had it of Goddes gift at thaire begynnyug witli outen travaile
or trey or passyng of tyme, and all ye knawynge yat we have in yis

about the j^ear 1480." I should con- famous Abolard, for Ihoro were other

jecture that the date is a century earlier, things thought of besides love

and Nassinsrton, in all probabilit)', as- „„ „ , . , , .^ „ , .,

• i 1 mi 1 • I • V • 1 "Near Paraclete s white walls and Sliver

sisted Thoresby m his religious work. springs."

" Petri Lombardi Scntentia;, fol.

Lovanii, 1566. Lib. ii., distinctio pri- This preamble is in metre, but I

ma, 157-161. Peter Lombard owed print it, as a curiosity, in prose. It is

many obligations to the works of the written so.

472 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

world of him is of heryng and leryng and techyng of otliir of the
lawe and tlie lare yat langes till hali kirk, ye whilke al creatures that
loves God Almighten awe to knawe and to kun and lede yaire lyve
aftir, and so com to yat blisse yat never more blynnes. And forthi
that mikell folke now in yis world ne is noght wele ynogh lered to
knawe God Almighten, ne love him, ne serve him als thai suld do,
als thair dedis oft sithe openly shewes, in grete peril of thaime to
lyve and to saule, and peraventure ye defaute in thaime that has
thaire saules to kepe, and suld teche thaime, as prelates, persons,
vikers and prestes that er halden be deit for to lere thaime, oure
fadir ye erce bissshop, yat God Almighten save, that als Saint Paula
sais of Jhesu Crist (Paulus ad Thimo", secundo capitulo), will that al
men be saufe and knawe God Almighten : and namely thas undir-
loutes that to him langes has treted and ordayned for commune profet
thurgh the consaile of his clergie, yat ilkane that undir him has
kepyng of saules, openly on Inglis open Sonoundaies teche and
preche thaim, that thai have cure of, the lawe and the lore to knawe
God al mighten, yat principali mai be shewed in yis sex thinges. In
the fouretene poyntes that falles to ye trouthe. In ye ten comande-
mentez that God has gyven us. In ye seven sacrementez that er in
hali kyrk. In seven dedis of merci until our even Cristen. In ye
seven vertues that ilk man sal use, and in ye seven dedely sinnes that
man sal refuse. And he comandes and biddes in al that he may, that
all that haves kepyuge or cure undir him enjoygne thair parochiens
and thair sugettes that thai here and lere this ilk sex thinges, and oft
sithes reherce tham til that thai kun thaime, and sithen teche them
thair childer, if thai any have, what tyme so thai er of eld to lere
tham. And that persons and vikers and all paroche prestes enquere
diligently of thaire sugettes in the Lentyn tyme, when thai come to
shrift, whethir thai kun this sex thinges, and if it be funden that thai
kun thaim noght, that thai enjoygne tham opon his behalve and of
payne of penaunce for to kun them. And forthi that nane sal excuse
tham thurgh unknalechyng for to kixn them, our fadir the ercebissshop
of his godenesse has ordayned and bidden that thai be shewed openly
on Inglis omanges the folk. * * * *

The secund thyng of the sex to knowe God Almightea,
Is the Ten Comandemeutz" that he has gyven us.

" See Petri Lombard! Sent., lib. iii., ye ten comanndementis. Of feith,

distinct, xxxvii. l)e decern preceptis hope and charite. The Paternoster,

quomodo contineantur in duobus man- Tlie Ave Marie. Tlie Crede. The

datis charitatis. Cf. 0pp. S. Bonaven- werkis of bodih mercy. The werkis

turse, ed. 1609, v., 414-27. 0pp. S. of gostU mercy." An accoimt of the

Thomse Aquinatis, vi., 142, etc., ed. creation, baptism, etc., follows.
1^94. la a copy of the York Breviary,

In the library of the dean and chapter printed at Paris by Francis Regnault,

of York, xvi., L, 12, is a curious MS. some one had written the following

in English written soon after Thores- couplet, the meaning of which is ob-

by's period, and no doubt with the vious : —
same object that was so dear to his "Keep ten,

heart. A brief summary of the con- ^'^^ ff^^"'

tents may be given. " Here bigynneth AnTwin heaven."

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 473

Of the whilk ten, the thre that er first

Augh us haly to hakl oiientes oure God,

And the seven that er aflir ouentes our even Cristen.

The first comandement charges us and techis
That we leve ne loute nanc false goddes :
And in this comandement is forboden us
Alkyns m^^sbeleves and al mawmetries,
All fals enchauntementez and all sorceries,
Al fals charmes and al mtcliecraftes,
All fals conjurisons and all wicked craftcs
That men of mysbyleve traistes ojion.
Or hopes ony help in withouten God Almighten.

The secund comandement biddes us noght take

In ydelship ne in vayne the name of oure God :

So that we trow noght in his name, hot that is stedofast,

That we swere noght be his name but bihovely,

And that we ueven noght his name but worshipfully.

The third is that we sal liald and halowe our halida}',

The Sononnda^' and all otliir that falles to the yhere.

That er ordayned to halowe thurgh halikirk.

In whilk dales all folk lered and lawed.

Awe to gyf tham godely to Goddes service

To here it and say it aftir thair state is.

In worship of God Almighten and of his gode halowes ;

Noght than for to tent to tary with the world,

Ne lyve in lykyng ne lust that the flesh yernes,

Bot gladly to serve God in clennesse of lyfe.

The ferth biddes us do worship to fadir and to modir,

Noght anely to fleshli fadir and modir

That getes and fosters us forthe in this world,

Bot til our gastely fadirs that has hede of us.

And teches us how to lif til liele of oure saules,

And til our gastely modir that is halikirk,

To be buxom tharto and save the right of it.

For it is modir til all that Cristenly lyfes.

And als swa til ilk man that worshipfull is,

For to do worship aftir that it is.

The fift biddes us that we sla naman.

That is at say bodily ne gastely noutliir.

For als mony we sla in that at we mai

Als we sklaundir or bacbite or falsly defames.

Or fandes for to confound thani that noght serves,

Or withdrawes lyvelade fra tham that nede haves.

If we be of haveyng for to help tham.

The sext comandement forbedes us to syn,
Or for to foly fleshli with any woman,
Outhir sib or fremmed, wedded or unwedded.
Or any fleshly knawyng or deid half with any
Otliir than the sacrement of matermoyne excuse,
And the lawe and the lare of halikirke teches.

The sevent comandement biddes us noght stele.
In whilk is forboden robbyng and revyng,
Al wrangwise takyng or withhaldying.

474 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

Or liiding or belying of otliir men godes,

Oga3'ne thaire wit and thaire will that has right to tham.

The aughtand biddes us we sal here

No fals wittenes ogayne our even Cristen :

In whilk is forboden al maner of lesyng,

Fals conspiracie and forswerying :

Whare tburgh our even Cristen mai lese thair catell,

Faith, favour or fame, or any thyng elles

"VVhethir it be in gasteli or bodili godes.

The neynd is that we noght yerne oure neghtebure house.

In whilk is forboden al wrangwise covatise,

Of land or of lithe or of ought elles

That mai noght be lifted ne raised fro the ground,

Als thing that is stedefast and that mai not be stirred.

The tend and the last is that we yerne noght

The wife of our neghtebure, ne of our even Cristen,

Ne his maiden ne his knave, his ox nor his asse.

In whilk is forboden us to yerne or to take

Ony thing that may be stirred of othir men godes,

Als robes or richesse, or othir catell,

That we have no gode title, ne no right to :

For what thing so we gete, or tas in othir wise,

We mai not be assoiled of the tresjtas :

Bot if we make assethe in that at we may,

To tham that we harmed withaldand thaire godes.

And in cas that we have tburgh false athes,

Als in assises or othir enquestes,

Wittandly and wilfulli gert oure even Cristen

Lese thaire i?atermo3'ne or thaire heritage,

Or falsly be desesed of land or of lithe.

Or fals divorce be made, or ony man dampned.

Of al we do that we may unto the party,

Yit may we noght be assoiled of oure fals athe,

Bot of our bisshop or him that has his powere,

For swilk eas is rively reserved til him selven.

This ten comandementz that I have nowe rekend

Er umbilouked in twa of the godspell (Luce x° ca")

The tane is that we love God over al thinges,

The tothir that we love oure even Cristen als we do oure selven ;

For God augh us to love halye with hert.

With al oure might, with al oure thought, with word and with deid.

Oure even Cristen alswa augh us to love

Un to that ilk gode that we love us selven :

That is that thai welefare in bodi and in saule,

And cum to that ilk blisse that we think to,

Who so dos this twa fulfilles all the othire.

There is no evidence to shew what reception tlie remarkable
formulary met with, of which a specimen has been given, or
what effect it had upon the religious belief of the North of
England. But when the people looked at their archbishop,
they could see that he was in earnest. His practice was as pure
and simple as his precepts. He coiild be seen going about his
diocese exhorting and correcting, neglecting no portion of his

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 475

varied and extensive duties. His private life seems to have
been one continued round of work and devotion ; tlie day l)Cfj;au
with the celebration of matins, and the services for the hours
were regularly observed. The archbishop and his almost ex-
hausted clerks were present at them all.^ The clergy and the
primate fi'equently met for deliberation in synods and councils//
and many wise enactments were then made. On the 18th of
April, 1364, Thoresby promulgated a set of constitutions which
met some of the errors of the times.'' One of them was to pre-
vent the holding of markets, wrestling matches and archery
meetings, etc., in churches and chui'chyards. Another forljade
games and sports at wakes. Mothers and niu'ses were ordered
to keep their children out of their own beds for fear of overlay-
ing them. Priests and clerks were to be attired in a seemly
dress. All fraudulent assignments of property were reprobated,
and some minute directions were given about tithes, the stipends
of chaplains and others, and clandestine marriages.

It was of course Thoresby's great desire to improve the tone
and character of his clergy. Whilst archbishop Zouche presided
over the see, some thousands Avere admitted into orders, but a
great number of them were in all probability laid low by the
pestilence in 1349. A visitation of this severity is generally
followed by a great deterioration of morals and manners. When
Thoresby, therefore, came to York in 1352 he would find not
only a paucity of clergy, but much ignorance and inattention to
their duties among the ecclesiastics of Yorkshire. One of his
chief endeavours was to add to their numbers and increase their
efficiency. His ordination lists, which have been preserved,
shew us how he laboured. He very rarely permitted any one
to assist him in this part of his episcopal duties,'' and the care
which he bestowed upon it would soon bear its fruits. To give
some idea of the extent of his work, the proceedings of a single
year may serve as a specimen. In the year 13G9 the archbishop
held three special and four general ordinations, at which he
officiated himself. At these, as many as 300 became accolites,
187 sub-deacons, 163 deacons, and 161 priests. They Avere to
officiate in Yorkshire, a part of Nottinghamshire, and in those
portions of Lancashire and Westmerland which were comprised
in the archdeaconry of Richmond. When we contrast such
numbers as these with the scanty lists sent forth by the prelates

p Stubbs, col. 1733. In 1365 " Thomas episc. Magnassien' "

1 Wilkins, iii., 39,85,91,96. officiated thrice, and "Robert cpiso.

'' Reg. Thoresby, 141. Wilkins, ill., Lambren' " twice in 1366. From 1370

68. to the cud of Thorcsby's: Hfe the laliour

' From 1350 to 1361 Thoresby of- of the ordinations fell entirely on " Ric.

ficiated himself. In 1361-4, " fr. Galf. Sermon' episc."
episc. Milieu' " acted once in each year.

476 FASTI EBORACENSES. . [a.D.

at the present day, we may well be startled at the difference.
But we must not forget the reasons which, in the middle ages,
made so many throng into orders. Canons, and monks, and
chantry-priests, in addition to the regular parochial clergy,
come then before ns. The light is now quenched in the chapel
and the oratory, and the monastery, which once perhaps had a
hundred inmates, is now untenanted by one.

These ordination lists are a perfect study for the thoughtful
and enquiring mind. There are foui' or five of them in each
year of Thoresby's archiepiscopate, and the ceremonial usually
took place in York, at the minster, Bishopthorpe, St. Mary^s
abbey, one of the houses of the friars, or, perhaps, now and
then, elsewhere. We have no means of knowing to what ex-
aminations the candidates were subjected; but the test, in all
probability, was a slight one, and considering the humble origin
and the almost necessary ignorance of many of those who sub-
mitted to it, it could scarcely be otherwise. If a man was
desirous of a degree in an university, he frequently obtained the
permission of his diocesan to desert his li\dng for a year or two
in after life. Comparatively few, it will be observed, became
either deacons or priests : the duties of a cantarist could be
performed by persons of an inferior grade, and, possibly, the
two higher steps necessitated a stricter examination, from which
the majority would shrink. A benefice, indeed, could be held
by a person who was in no orders whatever, although of course
he could take but little part in the sacred duties that devolved
upon him. A mediaeval ordination list is a suggestive picture of
clerical life which very few have looked upon. The youth comes
before his diocesan frequently without a patronymic, and finding
for the first time in his life that he stands in need of a surname,
he adopts the title of his birthplace. Richard the son of Wil-
liam the baxter would convey a perfect notion of identity in
Ravenser, but not beyond it ; and, when he assumed the higher
orders, he called himself Richard de Ravenser, by which appel-
lation he was long honom^ably known. William or John Tho-
mases son, was not deemed euphonious or distinguishable by the
world in which he wished to rise. The patronymic, also, was
occasionally discarded for the name of the birthplace. Henry
Daniel of Wakefield became Henry de Wakefield bishop of
Worcester and lord treasurer of England. The prefix dominus,
dan or Sir, which so frequently meets your eye, is applied more
frequently, I think, to the possessor of a benefice than to a
graduate who comes before you with the word magister. Here
is a rector or a vicar from another diocese with letters dimissory
from his bishop, and next to him, perhaps, is a graduate of
Mcrton or of Baliol with his fellowship for his title. The ques-

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 477

tion of what constituted a title to orders is full of interest. No
one required one till he wished to become a sub-deacon ; and
then a canon, or a monk, or a beneficed clergyman had enough
when he mentioned his monastery or his living. No difficulty
was raised when the candidate had some means of liis own or
was in receipt of a stipend of five marks, about 80/. per annum
of our money, from his father or a friend. Any one who did
not come under the above category sought a title from some
religious house, for it had the privilege of gi\ing one. We
sometimes see a little monastery containing, perhaps, ten or a
dozen monks, giving five or six titles in a year. In all proba-
bility they could be bought. Some indeed might say that the
recipient had been subjected to some preliminary course of
training within its walls. This, no doubt, was in many instances
the case, but it could scarcely be so when the religious house
was a nunnery.

Another way in which it was in the power of Thoresby to
improve the tone of his diocese was by the encouragement of
learning and by promoting persons of eminence and reputation.
He was himself a man of no mean or ordinary attainments. He
received his education at Oxford, where he was well acquainted
with Divinity and the canon law.'^ The ease and happiness of
his Latin correspondence are great. His letters wej^e regarded
as masterpieces of composition by his contemporaries," and if
a selection from them were published in the present day, they
would be read with pleasure even by those who have derived
their style from the purest models of classical antiquity. A few
specimens of them will excite the interest and curiosity of my
readers.

I. Arcliiepiscopus significat ahhati Ehor. qualiter monachtis smts
jam redit ad monaster imn.

Salutem, etc. Venit ad nos," quasi columba suam radians ad
fenestram, confrater vaster fratar J. de Gr., commeusalis nostar caris-
simus, qui jam in prseterito festo Nativitatis Dominica? nedum Diviui
verbi pabulo sad gestus honasti modastia tam salubritar ([uam lauda-
bilitar nos rafecit, quam nostri considaratione habere velitis propansius
commendatum. Sibi fratarnae caritatis didcedinam at spiritualioris
communionis habundautiam petimus, impendentes per ([uod noa ad
votiva vestra iuvaniri volumus pro tempore promptioras. Et quia
quidam, ut dicitur, murmuraut contra eum, fiugautas eum quaidam
sinistra nobis contra vestrum aliquos praedicasse et correetiones in

' Bale, cent, vi., 493. many of them, also, in MSS. Cotton,

" There is a large collection of them Galba, E, x.

in that farrago of curious matter, the " This, probably, was the monk,

second part of the Eegister of arch- C4arrick, or Tavistock, vvho was busy

bishop Alexander Neville. There are with the creed, etc.

478 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

capitulo vestro fieri procurasse, ipsum ab impositis hujusmodi sub
verbo veritatis plenius excusamus, quia revera super hoc totaliter est
immuuis, et ideo nullus vestrum sibi improperet ex hae causa. Circa
vero principium quadragesimse ipsum libenter haberemus, nobis ad
maguum nostrum solatium assistentem, quern ad hoc liceuciare velitis
cum scripserimus pro eodem. Feliciter in Domino valeatis.""

II. Arcliiepiscojjus eleganter scrihit cardincdi.

Beneficiorum aifluentia multiplicium quae nobis, licet iumeritis, tarn
liberaliter impendidit vestra dominatio gratiosa eidem dominationi
supra vires nos efficit obligatos. Sed cum non habeamus quicquam
temporale condiguum quod vobis digne possimus rependere pro re-
ceptis, lUe, quaesumus, vobis tribuat, qui supra meritum prsemiat uni-
versos. Quoddam tamen memorale, beet modicum, aifectionis, et
obsequii debiti verum signum, unam videlicet capam, vobis trans-
mittimus per dilectum clericum nostrum W. de S(kirlaugh), presen-
tium portatorem, cui in dicendis ex parte nostra velitis credulam, si
placuerit, dare fidem.

III. Archiepiscopus eleganter significat alteri episcopo quaJiter
cura ecclesicB divisa est plurihus pastoribus in partern solicitudinis
vicarii Christi scilicet papce, ut sic qtiisque agnoscat gregem suam.

Convalescente dudum statu sanctse matris ecclesiae, cooperante
semine verbi Dei, fides sibi cultores allexit, sicque propagante sobole
distinctse fuerant per sanctos patres in ecclesia prelaturae, ut sub
plurium pastorum vigiliis qui in partem solicitudinis capitis ecclesise
vicarii, videlicet Jhesu Christi, sunt vocati, gregi melius provideretur
Dominico, et dum siium quisque pastorem agnosceret, salus proximior
cuilibet pararetur. Sed revera admirationem nobis jugiter multi-
plicem (sic) quod vestra circumspectio fines sic distinctos excedens, in
alienam segetem falcem mittit, non contenta terminis quos posuerunt
patres nostri. Nostis enim quod talis prioratus nobis et non alii
prseter Komanam ecclesiam insolidum est subjectus, tamen, ut dicitur,
voluntarie minis opprimitis, subtrahendo, etc.

IV. Archiepiscojms eleganter commendat magistrum Thomam de
Nevill^ iturum ad curiam Bomanam cardinali Petragoricensi et rogat
corditer pro eo.

Revereudissimo in Christo patri et domino domino Taillere Dei
gratia episcopo Albanensi Eboracensis ecclesiseque decano, Johannes
ejusdem ecclesise archiepiscopus, Angliae primas, cum votiva sua re-
commendatioue reverentiam omnimodam et honorem. Generis cla-
ritas et morum gravitas ordinata quibus filius in Christo carissimus
magister T. de Nevill, natus nobilis et praepotentis baronis domini
Eadulphi de Nevill, canonicus Ebor. et magister in artibus, qui etiam

"■ Erasmus in liis book, " De con- will be remembered how Pliny discusses

scribendis Epistolis," would scarcely this point with his friend Tacitus. Of

coincide with Thoresby in his liking course he is against brevity, and covets

for short letters, " Illic mihi blatero the ingens copia verborum.
quispiam arropta censoria virgula, So- " Of Thomas de Neville something

lonis leges dictabit, clamabitque de- will soon be said. The cardinal to

lendam esse epistolam quae non intra whom the letter was addressed was

duodecim versiculos constiterit." It dean of York. He died in 1364.

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 479

in jure civili lavite stiuluit et pro fecit emiueuter, noscitur insignitus,
digue proveuiente iutuitu attolli laudibus, et fidelis testimouii suii'ra-
gio propalari. Saue cum idem magister Thomas sacrosauctam lloma-
uam curiam ex certis de causis, per Dei gratiam adire disponat, ipsiim
quern ex familiari notitia sic fore scimus genere, moribus, et sciencia
couspicuum, domiuationi vestra^ revereudse, qua? ex mirata vobis
uobilitatis et bonitatis exuberautia libenter intelligitur super diguos,
votiviori quo possumus recommendamus aflectu : corditer suppli-
cantes quatiuus ipsum nostri consideratioue habere velitis, si placet,
propensius commendatum et gratiosoribus prosequi cousiliis et aux-
iliis in agendo paternitatem vestram.

Tlie following letters shew that the archbishop was not
devoid of humour.

Y. Ziitera testimonialis missa per arcMepiscopuvi alteri episcopo
quod talis clericus est superstes, et Icstus, et non mortuus, prout fama
laborat.

Eeverendo in Christo patri et amico nostro carissimo domino A.
de B., Dei gratia Exou. episcopo, J. eadem permissione, etc., salutem
et semper excrescentia fraterua? foedera cai'itatis. Quia locorum
distantia et relatorum levitas iucousulta plerumque veritatem ob-
nubilaut, et vias aperiuut ad errores, pium et meritorium fore credi-
mus fidum veritati testimonium perhibere. Cum igitur, ut audivimus,
quorumdam in partibus vestris habeat assertio socium nostrum caris-
simum venerabilem virum magistrum W. de Ex(on.)^ canonicum
ecclesia? nostrae Ebor. diem suum clausisse extremum, scire velit vestra
sinceritas pro constanti quod die datse praesentium idem magister W.
ad nos venit apud manerium nostrum de Cawode, sanus, hillaris, et
jocundus, et pro nobis, qui quandam discrasiam habemus, aptam
ordinavit sui gratia medicinam, et pro certo eum a magno tempore
non vidimus ita laetum ; quod vobis sub verbo veritatis fideliter con-
testamur. Incokimitatem vestram diu conservet, etc.

VI. Arcliiepiscopus concjratulatxir cuidam seni jyei' verba Jocosa, et
regratiatur sibi de Uteris sibi missis, et rogat ut habeat eum in precibus
suis.

Seni senex salutem, et in senectute bona diutine prosperare. Venit
nobis in suavitatem odoris receusita memoria specialis amicitiae, ac
gratoB liberalisque familiaritatis, quas semper in vobis pra3 ceteris
invenimus, et valde cedenter votis nostris pra?sentialiter vos videre ut
mutuis possemus colloquiis, et solatiis conibvcri. Sed cum hoc loco-
rum distantia commode non permittat, suppleat, qua-sumus, de-
fectum corporalis pra?seutia) meutalis pra?sentia? plenitude, qua? latius
se diifundit ; nam sicut scribitur " ho?z tebi animat est animn, quiii
verius ubi amaty Unde consideratioue amoris antiqui, quem inter
nos non antiquatum esse credimus, velitis in devotiouibus vestris
memores esse nostri, requireutes vos semper cum fiducia, si qua; volu-

J' William de Exonia, ma.sler in theo- about 1360. Cf. Ftcd., ii., 1101. Ful-

logy, arts, and medicine, became pre- Icr's Worthies, ii., 305. Fa-d., iii., 82.

bendary of Riccal in 1336. He held Queen Philippa prc^^ented him in 1339

stalls at Lincoln and Exeter. He died to the rectory of Castleford.

480 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

eritis nos facturos, ad quorum placabile complementum inveuietis ex
animo nos paratos. Sit diu vobis aetas valida, quae, licet pruinosa
iusenescat in capite, virtuosa tamen insenescat incremento.

VII. Arcliiepiscopus recommendat se mac/istris de cancellaria regis."
Socii et amici carissimi, cederet nobis ad augmentum lastitire de

prosperitate vestra audire placeutia, et quia de nobis similia libenter,
ut confidimus, audiretis, dilectioni vestr^e arridentem jam nobis, laud-
etur Deus, sauitatem corpoream nuntiamus, gerentes in votis vobis
et vestrum singulis facere quae sciverimus fore grata. Et quidem jam
rem novam aggredimur, nunc laboribus, nunc solatiis, indulgentiis,
plus quandoque vacantes in visitatione nostra venationi Veneris quam
ferarum. Et sic caveat dominus W. de L., ne commissa sua prae-
terita jam in lucem erumpant ; quod si forsan contigerit, propter
reliquias antiquae familiaritatis agemus mitius cum eodem. Alia non
occurrunt jam scribenda, sed agenda nostra penes nos, cum emer-
serint, habere velitis affectione solita, si plaeuerit, commendata, nos
semper in votivis fiducialiter requirentes.

VIII. ArcMejjiscopus scribit cuidam veteri amico suo, jocando, et
Togat eum vlsitare eum et habelit honum vinv/rn.

Venerunt ad nos in exultatione spiritus dilectionis vestrae literse
pluries nobis missae, quae, licet de veteri dicamus, inuecata procedant
pharetra, cum juvenem et Isetum animum repraesentant, dinn in eis
apta connexione jocosa sapidis ministretis. Et quidem merito dici
debet placabilis baec mixtura per quam avida mens scientia instruitur
et hillaritas provocatur, sed cum hillaritas floridam producat aetatem
debet potissime senibus esse grata. Et quia bonum vinum cor ex-
billarat, ut alludamus potatorum proverbio, vinum subtile facit in
sene cor juvenile, ipsius usum moderatum jocundo vobis consilio
sancimus ; ut cum ad partes veneritis nos personaliter visitetis, ut de
antiquis possimus communicare praeludiis, et de vino nostro cum
appendiciis ad recreationem vel reuovationem juventutis mutuae vobis
participabimus laeta manu.

We acquire from these letters a very pleasing impression of
Thoresby's powers of composition^ and they shew us, also, that
their benevolent writer was neither a bigot nor a fanatic. A
man who could use his pen with so much facility and in so
pleasing a manner, could speak no doubt with the same ease
and readiness. There must have been in him the voice and the
hearing of a courtier. The skill which he had manifested in
diplomacy must have aided him in his diocese, and there would

' An amusing and familiar letter, 1352 to 1370. Henry de Ingleby held,

■written probably soon after Thoresby in succession, tlie stalls of Ampleforth

became permanently settled in the and South Cave. Richard de Ravenser

North, to his old friends in the chan- was a canon of York and provost of

eery otEce. Several of them held pre- Beverley. The list might be increased,

ferments at York. Da\id de "Wooller, "Who the delinquent was to whom

master of the rolls, whom Thoresby Thoresby humorously alludes I know

speaks of as " socius noster carissimiis," not.
was prebendary of Fridaythorp from

1352 — 1373.] ARCHBISHOP thoresby. 481

be many even there to admire tlie learning which had attracted
the attention of Edward III. and Clement VI. John Bacon-
thorp inscribed to the archbishop his commentary on the Ethics
of Aristotle/ and Thoresby himself was not imknown in the
w orld of letters. He is said to have entered into the lists with
the INIendicant Friars/ who had been bold enough to preach
that mortuaries ought not to be rendered to the priest. Against
them, as Bale informs us, Thoresby wrote " Processum quendam"
in one book, commencing with the words " Pridem sanctisshnus
in Christo pater." The second part of archbishop Neville^s
register contains several pieces which may perhaps be ascribed
to his predecessor. They consist of a series of extracts from the
Vulgate and the Patristic writings, some fragments of letters,
and a portion of a Catholicon, or dictionary of difficult terms. '^
It does not go beyond the first letter of the alphabet.

Among the great men who became beneficed in York minster
during Thoresby^s archiepiscopate, it is enough to mention the
names of Alexander de Neville, his successor in the see, Robert
Bray brook, bishop of London, Henry de Wakefield, bishop of
Worcester and treasurer of England, cardinal Simon de Lang-
ham, archbishop of Canterbmy, William de Courtney, of whom
it is unnecessary to speak, and John de Waltham, bishop of
Salisbury. But there are two others with whom Thoresby was
intimately connected at York who must not be forgotten, Wal-
ter de Skirlaugh,'' bishop of Durham, his private chaplain and

" Vicaria Leod. and Bale. Cf. Bibl. abreviatus, in quo reperies omnes dif-
Carmelitana, i., col. 750. It is there ficultates sacrae scriptura;, qiue con-
said erroneously, that Thoresby died siieverunt legi et recitari communiter
in 1474, and Bacon in 1346. in ecclesiis, expositus, quantum ad ia-

* In Antiq. Univ. Oxon., i., 475, tellectum literalem ac moralem, se-
John Toresbie is mentioned as an op- cundumordinemalphabeticum." There
ponent of the begging friars, who by are two or three leaves of it.
their meddling had become an intoler- "* In MSS. Cotton, Galba, E, x., 74,
able nuisance. "Wycliffe, Fitzralph, and is a letter from Skirlaugh to the arch-
others, took the same side. Cf. Wal- bishoi) excusing, for many reasons, his
singham, 173. I do not suppose that long sta}' at Home. Thoresby writes,
Thoresby's encounter with the friars and says that Skirlaugh has told him
was an angry or a serious one. His that Peter, cardinal bishop of Pra'nesle,
will is enough to shew that there was archdeacon of York, has left by will
no ill-feeling towards them remaining 100 florins to the church of York ; and
in his mind. See the prefaces to the he desires that measures be taken for
Fascic. Zizan., and the Monum. Fran- securing it for the fabric (ibid., 82).
cisc, by Messrs. Shirley and Brewer. In 1354 and 1356 Skirlaugh was
Bale says the friars were " ad id invitati Thoresby's domestic chaplain. In 1358
ac concitati a quibusdam primoribus, he was ordained accolite, deacon, and
qui talia solvere jure debebant." subdeacon at York, by letters dimis-

'■ This account of Thoresby's works sory, his title being the rectory of

is taken from Bale, cent, vi., 493. Vi- Preston Bisset, co. Bucks. In 1361

caria Leodiensis, 189. Tanner Bibl. he was made archdeacon of the East

Brit., 711. Biding (Beg. Thoresby).

"Incipit tractus, catholicon dictus, Skirlaugh's connection with Thoresby

I I

482

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

correspondent, and the well-known William of Wykeham/
From these two distinguished ecclesiastics, so renowned for their
architectural taste, Thoresby, in all probability, derived many
hints for the work that he effected in his own cathedral, and it
is likely enough that the beautiful structiire which Skirlaugh and
Wykeham would gaze upon as it arose from the ground at York,
would awaken that zeal in the same cause which led them to
imitate the example of their patron at Winchester and Durham.
This brings before us the glorious choir which Thoresby
commenced at York, and which was far superior in beauty to
that which Conrad once raised in the sister-church of Canter-
bury. Years had passed away since archbishop Melton com-
pleted the western fa5ade, uncrowned still by its two stately
towers, and glazed the noble window which is its chief grace,
whilst, towards the east, the choir of archbishop Roger, in-
significant as it must have been in size and decoration, was still

and with York made him take great
interest in the rebuilding of the choir.
His arms, six osiers, in cross, inter-
laced, are cut in stone in the north
choir transept, which, perhaps, he
helped to build.

They also occur in the lantern tower,
"magnam partem campanilis, vulgo
lantern, minsterii Eboracensis con-
struxit, in medio cvjus operis arnia sua
posuit" (Hist. Dunelm. Scriptores
Tres, 144). This, however, was done
after his death. In his will, dated in
1403, Skirlaugh bequeathed 100 marks
to the fabric of the minster (Test.
Ebor., i., 309). In addition to this
sum, I suppose, his executors paid to
the keeper of the fabric in 1415 the
sum of 521. for the wages of six masons
for a year (Fabric EoUs, 32). The
lantern, probably, was being built in
this year.

I look, I must confess, with much
distrust upon the inferences drawn
from the appearance of shields of arms
in churches, and other heraldic devices.
They were frequently carved, I believe,
as is the case in the present da}', long
after the part of the building which
they ornament was completed. The
person to whom they carry us, was a
benefactor to the church, and probably
to that part of it, but the inference as
to the exact date is unsafe. These
shields, I believe, were often left blank
till the building wa.s finished, and for a
good reason. A work, for example,
extends over twenty years. If during

the first five all the stone shields were
covered with the bearings of those who
had contributed up to that time, there
would be no room left to commemorate,
perhaps, some far greater benefactor
at a later period, or towards the close
of the work. When everything was
done, a proper and a fair selection
could be made. Much caution also
should be used in inferring dates from
stained glass.

^ This great man was prebendary of
Laughton at York, when he was ad-
vanced to the see of Winchester. He
had also been a canon at Beverley and
Southwell. Thoresby wrote to con-
gratulate him when he became a bishop
(Reg. Neville, part ii., 26 aj; and be-
tween him and Wykeham there was
much intimacy and friendship.

In 1357 Wykeham was custos of the
royal works at Windsor castle, and at
the same time he was actually th«
keeper of the king's dogs at that place !
Eleven years after this he was bishop
of Winchester. The story of his life
is part of the history of England,
"neither do I doubt," says Stowe the
chronicler, "but he that thus lived is
now with God, whom I beseech to raise
up man}' like bishops in England."
Had not his birth-place been ascer-
tained, I should have tried to fix it in
Yorkshire, and yet Fuller says, " How
can his cradle be certainly fixed in any
place, when it is equally rockt betwixt
twenty villages of the same denomi-
nation."

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 483

untouched. The contrast would be deemed a painful one, and
would excite many a remark. On Trinity Sunday, 1318, Tho-
mas Sampson, a wealthy canon who had had somewhat to do
with the erection of the nave, left the sum of 20/. to the new
choir, if the work was begun within a year after his decease,
thus fulfilling a promise which he had frequently made to Tho-
mas de Ludham and Thomas de Patenham the keepers of the
fabric.-^ The time passed away and the legacy was unclaimed,
and it is probable enough that the French wars, the pestilence,
and the long continued illness of archbishop Zouclie were a great
bar to the commencement of the building. When Thoresby
came to the see in 1352, he found the minster overburdened with
debt,^ another reason for delay, but he was not a man to be long
satisfied with inactivity, and, as soon as he could disengage
himself from his state employments, he threw himself Avith heart
and soul into his work at York. The mifinished and neglected
condition of the cathedral caused him much grief.^ On the 25th
of January, 1354, he granted an indulgence of 40 days to those
who contributed to the fabric, and on the 19th of January, 1356,
the chapter wrote to ask him to give them timber to complete
the ceiling of the nave.' In 1359 and 1360 the archbishop gave
several sums of money to the fabric fund of the church.-' The
chapter and the primate had noAV made up their minds to begin
the erection of a new choir, the old one being removed by
degrees as it could be dispensed ^dth. On the 20th of July,
1361, Thoresby aided the good work by ordering his manor-
house at Sherburn to be pulled down, that the stone, a scarce
and valuable article, might be made use of in the minster.'^ Ten
days after this, he laid the foundation-stone of the new choir,
accompanying the act by a gift of 100 marks towards the under-

f Test. Ebor., i., 54. lapides sanctuarii in capite omuiuiii

«■ MSS. Cotton, Galba, E, x., 61. platearum. Et quae olim fueram for-

* Among the observations in Ne- mosa corruotristis et anxia, etc." (G i).

ville's register, part ii., is the following • Most oftliese documents, and others

which I refer to Thoresby and his connected with the fabric about this

church. He is using the Vulgate. period, may be found in the York

" No"^ ecclesia Ebor. (in margine). Fabric Rolls, published by the Surtees

Capud meum doleo, conturbatus est in Society.

ira ocLilus uieus, anima mea, et venter ^ 1359, April 20. To John de Cod-

meus, quia corona capitis fere deciditur, 3'ngham, master of the fabric of the

fere deficit in doloribus vita mea. Nam Church of York, 20/. for tiie more

ubi in primaria fundatione fueram in rapid completion of the said fabric,

reverentia, sicut domina gentium, 1360, Nov. 24. An order to pay the

princeps provinciarum, libertatibus et like sum to him. The same on Jan. 7,

privilegiis radiata et dotata, facta sum seq., and 30Z. on April 14, 1361. This

opprobrium gentium serviens sub money was i)robably sjient in com-

tributo ; facies mea qusc aliquando pleting what was wanting in the nave,

fuerat formosa pra} singultuosis sus- or in making preparations for tlie com-

piriis et nimium etfusis lacrimis supra mencement of the choir.

carbones denigratur, dura dispersi sunt * Fabric Rolls, 174-5.

I I 2

484

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

taking.' In addition to tliis sum, he prompted and stimulated
the munificence of others by indulgences granted by himself and
obtained from the chief pontiff, and during the remainder of his
life he gave yearly to the fabric fund the generous benefaction
of 200/."' I cannot estimate the amount of Thoresby^s gifts
to the choir only, in the money of the present day, at a lower
sum than 37,000/., and this, in all probability, is considerably
under the mark. When, in addition to this, we take into con-
sideration the money which must have been derived from other
sources, it is impossible to doubt the accuracy of the historian
when he tells us that the Lady-chapel or presbytery was finished
in the archbishop's lifetime."

In confirmation of the accuracy of the chronicler, we have

' The order to pay it is dated on
Aug. 1 (Reg. Thoresb}^). " In primi
positione lapidis centum marcis de suo
propria dotavit " (Stubbs, col. 1733).

'" " Postea annuatim, dum vixit,
fahriccB prcedicta ducentas libras per-
solvelat " (Stubbs). The following
extracts from Thoresby's register shew
the regularity of his payments, and the
accuracy of the chronicler. 1361.
Oct. 3, 50Z. 1362. April 13, 100?.;
Aug. 9, 100?. 1363. April 16, 100?. ;
Nov. 3, 100?. 1364. July 6, 100?.;
Dec. 4, 100?. 1365. June 13, 100?. ;
Oct. 16, 100?. 1366. June 24, 100?.;
Nov. 5, 100?. 1367. May 7, 100?.;
Oct. 23, 100?. 1368. April 20, 100?. ;
Nov. 14, 100?. 1369. Aug. 15, 100?.
1370. Jan. 28, 100?. ; July 28, 100?. ;
Nov. 25, 100?. 1371. June 15, 100?.;
Nov. 1, 100?. 1372. March 10, forty
marks in full paj^ment of 100?. ; 25 — ,
100?. 1373. Feb. 11, 100?. ; July 24,
100?. The keepers of the fabric during
this period were John de Codyngham
(Cottingham), John de Sandale, Adam
de Henedlay (Henley), John de Lagh-
ton or Leghton, and John de Ferriby.

The sum total of the above gifts is
no less than 2,376?. 13s. 4d., which was
bestovved entirely upon the choir ; in
addition to which there is the following
gift: April 5, 1362, To Robert de
Rithre, lord of Rithre, 20?. for twenty-
four oaks which we have bought of
him for the fabric of our church at
York. To bring this large sum to the
money of the present day we cannot
multiply it by less than fifteen, and
this produces nearly 36,000?.

" " Et ut opieri prcedicto suhvenire
devoiionem fidplmm. ar denims excitaret.

omnibus ejusdem fabric ce benefactoribus
indiilgentias largissimas a sanctissimis
patribus apostolicis concessas, sua peti-
tione impetravit, et ad remedium ani-
marttm suorum subjectorum et aliorum
quorumcunque manum adjutricem ^jrcE-
bentium, cum propriis indulgentiis et
henedictione miro affectu illas par-
iicipavit" (Stubbs). This is borne out
by the Fabric Rolls, 175-6, and other
places. Everything was done that
could swell the fabric funds. The
brevigeri were sent about even into the
diocese of Lincoln to beg (Fabric Rolls,
178 ; Lit. qusest. pro fabrica Ebor.,
21 Oct., 1356, etc.). In 1360-1 the
chapter made a tax of a twentieth, to
last for three years. On Oct. 12, 1365,
the dean of the Christianity of York
was ordered to levy the recent subsidy
to the fabric of 4d. in each mark from
the clergy of his deanery ; and on the
20th a commission was issued to collect
2d. in every mark from all spiritual and
temporal benefices in the diocese, to-
wards the fabric fund. In the eighth
of Richard II. the value of the church
property alone within the province of
York was taken at 40,000 marks per
annum (Chron. Thorn., 2164). By
these means large sums would be
gathered together, and I cannot think
that the f.ibric fund would in any year
in Thoresby's lifetime, after the choir
was begun, be vmder 600?., and this is
a low estimate when we recollect that
a third of it was contributed by the
archbishop. With such a sum as this
wielded by active hands the presbytery
could easily be finished in less than
twelve 3'ears.

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 485

decisive evidence tliat the presbytery was in nse within a short
period after the decease of its alleged builder. On the 17tli
of August^ 138J;, John de Waltham, sub-dean of York and
Thoresby^s kinsman, in a codicil to his will which was made at
Newbald near York, left the sum of 20/. to two chaplains who
were to perform service in the new ivork of the church of York,
for the souls of his master, archbishop Thoresby, Henry de
Ingelby and others. The new work was the choir, as is shewn
by many documents and Avills, and here we have an intimation
that a portion of it, which was of course the presbytery, Avas so
far complete that services could be done in it which were to ex-
tend over two years. It may be inferred from the mention of
this period of time that the work was finished, as the chaplains
could not, nor would they, be asked to sing for two years con-
tinuously in a place where they might be interrupted by car-
penters and masons, and stone and wood. It is well known that
these masses, for obvious reasons, were performed immediately
after the decease of the testator. If the presbytery had not been
ready to allow the priests to officiate in it, or if there was likely
to be any delay in carrying out the wishes of Waltham, the sub-
dean, of all people, would have known that, and would have
expressed himself differently. The conclusion, therefore, is irre-
sistible that the presbytery was finished in 1381. Where could
Thoresby be more appropriately commemorated than at the altar
which he had founded in that place ? Otherwise, some different
altar must have been in use in the same part of the cathedral
at that time, and why should it not ? In my memoir of arch-
bishop Arundel I shall give some new and decisive evidence as
to the date of the western portion of the choir.

One of the main wishes of Thoresby in all this labour and
expense was to provide a place where the mass of the Blessed
Virgin might be daily celebrated." Accordingly the work began

" " In ecclesia Ebor. non fuerat Lady qiieare tvlier they sinye messe be-

aliquis locus congruus ubimissagloriosse hynde the hiyhe aulter" and he was

Dei genetricis et Virginis Maria; cotidie buried at the east end of the church, as

in ipsa ecclesia celebranda decenter is said in his wife's will. This proves

poterat celebrari " (Fabric Eolls, 174. where the Lady chapel was and is :

Thoresby's words). This document most certainly it was not the chapel,

has reference to the choir onl}', and once adjacent to the north wall of the

Stubbs gives us the result when ho says, nave, of the foundation of archliishop

" Idem archiepiscopus, ut verus amator Roger. That was always called tiie

J^iryinis capellam ejusdem Dei gene- chapel of St. Mary and the Iloly

tricis et Viryinis Maria — pereyit " Angels, or that of St. Sc]iulchre, and

(Stubbs). The only portion of the never at any time the Lady chapel,

church which is or has been called What Thoresby of Leeds and Gent of

the Lady chapel is that at the east York say on this point is of no value,

end, where there was an altar of St. and no argument can be drawn from

Mar}'-, and in 1557 Sir Leonard Beck- the fact that some richly sculptured

with desired to be buried " in our stones have been discovered in houses

486

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

at the extreme east and proceeded westward, and there he con-
structed a Lady chapel or presbytery, full of rich sculpture and
painting, in the centre of which the altar to the Virgin was set
up. Tliis chapel occupies four bays of the choir towards the
wx^st, and the munificent founder, as Stubbs informs us, had the
priA'ilege of seeing it thoroughly completed in his lifetime.^
Before that altar of the Virgin he caused six marble stones to
be laid to commemorate six of his predecessors who had been
inteiTcd in the old choir, which was farther westwards. He
was well aware that in course of time, as the old building that
was around them was removed, their remains would be disturbed.
He therefore took up their bones and placed them in the Lady
chapel under the six stones which were wrought for him by the
master-mason of the cathedral.* When Leland was making his

authenticity of which has not been
questioned, wrote that of Thoresby also.
The circumstance of Thoresby's life
not being in every MS., which is easily
accounted for, would be regarded by
many as a proof of its authenticity.
There could be no possible reason for
ascribing it falsely to Stubbs, and not
a doubt was thrown upon it till the
controversy about the choir began.
Even if Stubbs was not the author of
it, it is taken from a MS. of undoubted
antiquity, and it would possess, there-
fore, an independent value of its own.

With regard to the alleged errors in
the life, they remain to be proved.
There is no chronicle, I believe, which
will bear in every place the searching
test of collateral information, and mi-
nute points are often discarded. I will
say this, however, for Stubbs : no one
could have submitted the work of an
historian to a more searching examina-
tion than I have that of his, and, though
occasionally inexact, he is on the whole
wonderfully correct, and his life of
Thoresby is perhaps more correct, as it
is also more interesting, than any other.
I have given my readers an ojiportunity
in these notes of seeing this for them-
selves. It could not have been written
by any one who was unacquainted with
the person that he speaks of, as is the
case with the life of Melton also, and
there is strong corroborative evidence
of almost every fact that he narrates.
With regard to the building of the
choir Stubbs is very decisive, and his
testimony is incontrovertible.

' " Idem arcTiiepiscopus — capellam
Virginis Marice — peregit. Ibique

at a little distance from the site of St.
S^ulchre's chapel. In the first place,
no one can say that the}^ belonged to
it, or to the minster at all, and, if they
did, the}^ cannot be brought forward
to shew that archbishop Thoresby
built it, for they are not of Thoresby's
time. They prove nothing. Stubbs
has described minutely the foundation
of St. Sepulchre's chapel b}^ archbishop
Roger, and its re-formation by Sewal
de Bovill in a way that leaves no doubt
as to its identity. Would he not have
been equally clear and precise in telling
us about Thoresby's alterations in it, if
he had made them ?

^ " Idem vero archiepiscopus, ut
verus amator T^irginis, capellam ejiisdem
Dei genetricis et Virginis Maria mira-
hili artis scvlptitra, atque notahili
pietura peregit" (Stubbs). Nothing
can be more decisive than this.
Thoresb}^ began a Lady chapel and he
finished it. If, therefore, this Ladj'^
chapel is the easternmost part of the
church, or the presbytery, and it can
be no other place, that part of the
minster was altogether built by Thores-
by, and, putting aside the corroborative
documentary proofs of this which are
given in the Surtees Fabric Eolls, the
architecture itself tells the same tale.

It has been said that the life of
Thoresby by Stubbs is not to be relied
upon, because it does not appear in
every MS. of that chronicler, and be-
cause there are blunders in it.

If criticism is of any value, internal
e\-idence will shew that the hand that
wrote the Uves, for instance, of Cor-
bridge, Greenfield, and Melton, the

1352—1373.]

ARCHBISHOP THORESRY.

487

tour in the beginning of the sixteenth century he observed the
stones where Thoresby placed them,'' and they still occupied the
same position at the close of the seventeenth century when they

plurimormn venerahUium pontificum,
prcBdecessorum siiorum, corpora, a choro
^uperius translaia, propriis expensis
fecit tumulari" (Stubbs).

It has been shewn where this chapel
was. A\'^e are now told that Thoresby
interred in it the remains of six of his
predecessors. The following evidence
and that in the succeeding notes will
again shew the exactness of the chroni-
cler, and fix decisively the position of
that chapel and the tombs in it even at
the beginning of the eighteenth century.

1369, Feb. 18, an order from arch-
bishop Thoresby to pa}^ to master Ho-
bert de Patrington, master mason of
the fabric of the new choir of our
church at York, for the making of six
marble stones for the tombs of our pre-
decessors, for which we have entered
into an agreement with him, lOZ. Aug.
23, 1369, 10 marks more to him for
the same purpose, in part payment of
40^. 1373, June 12, lOOs. more to him
(Reg. Thoresby).

In the Fabric Roll for 1434 (ed. Sur-
tees Society, 54), among the smaller
expenses, there is an entry which shews
that the stones had been laid down
before the altar of the Virgin, and that
the brazen imagery was then fixed in
them or re-set. " In vadio j horainis
firmantis ymagines episcoporum in pe-
tra coram altare B.M., 6s. 8d." Fetra
clearly refers to the stones in front of
the altar. I'etra never means a pier,
and, besides, there is no pier before the
altar of the Virgin in which they could
be placed, supposing them to be statues
or images, nor are there traces of any
fixings in the lateral piers.

»■ In Leland's Itinerar}'^, viii., 14,
ed. 1769, is the following passage : —

" Sepul. Archiepiscoporum in orient.

parte ecclesisc.
1277. Walterus Gisfart obiit 7 Cal.

Mail, anno Dom. 1277.
1153. Henry Murdak obiit anno Dora.

1153.
1108. Gerardus obiit 12 Cal. Jun. anno

Dom. 1108.

Defuit inscriptio
1373. Johannes de Thoresby, quondam

Menevensis, poslea Wigorn. et

Ebor archiejiiscopus, qui fabricani

.... obiit 6 die Novembris anno

Dom. 1373.
1113. Thomas junior obiit anno Doni.

1113, 5 idus Mart.
1295. Johan. Romanus obiit anno Dom.

1295."

We thus see that in the reign of
Henry VIII. Leland saw at the east
end of York minster the tombs of seven
archbishops, of whom Thoresby was
one. The altar of iSt. Mary is in that
part of the church, and nowhere else
were there the tombs of six primates
together. The position of Thoresby in
the middle shews clearly that the place
of his interment was marked before
these stones were laid down, for, as
Torre draws them, th.ey were contigu-
ous to each other, and as Tli<iresby tells
us himself in his will that he had fixed
upon the place in which he was to be
laid (in loco alias ordinatoj , it seems
naturally to follow that the tombstones
of his predecessors, and perhaps his
own, were then in their proper posi-
tion.

The evidence of Leland is strongly
confirmatory of what has been said al-
ready. But an attempt has been made
to throw discredit upon his testimony'.
The grounds taken for this are the con-
fused state of the MS. where this pas-
sage occurs ; the fact that the passage
occurs, not in Leland's own MS., but
in a copy of it made by Stovve the an-
tiquary. It is also assorted that from
the nature of the information itself, it
was not taken by Leland from personal
observation, but from a MS. of lord
Scrope's. 1. It is well known that tho
omissions and misplacements in Le-
land's MSS., which are very numerous,
were caused not through Leland's care-
lessness, for he was very accurate as
far as he professed to go, but from the
neglect of those who arranged and
bound his MSS. after his decease.
Proper allowance should be made for
this. 2. Even if it was copied hy Stowe,
it was copied from licland's MSS., and
it is therefore trustworthy, for Stowe
was a careful and learned man, and
would copy faithfully as far a* possible

488

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

were sketched and described by James Torre^ the well-known
and laborious antiquary/

At that altar of the Virgin in the new choir^ before which
the remains of Thoresby himself were laid among those of his
predecessors which he had so honourably entombed, a cantarist,
who bore the same rank as the persunm of the minster, offered
up prayers for the archbishop^s soul. Stubbs tells us that he
derived his income from houses and lands of the primate^s own
procui'ing, but the history of this altar is a somewhat remarkable
one/ Henry lord Percy, who died in 1351, expressed a strong
wish to his executors that chantries should be founded by them

what was before him. 3. Supposing,
for the sake of argument, that it tvas
copied, as is said, from a book belong-
ing to lord Scrope, no family would be
better able to know what was in this
part of York minster, as it was their
burial-plaoe. But Leland was in York
himself, as his Itinerary several times
shews, and it was unnecessarj', there-
fore, for him to take from others what
he could see himself, for if Torre saw
these monuments in 1700, much more
could Leland almost two centuries be-
fore. The notes are roughly taken,
after his fashion, and they must not be
criticized as if their writer intended to
give a full and accurate account of what
he saw. The objection proves too much.
If these notes are not Leland's making,
the whole of his work, nay, his works,
I may say, are an imposture. They
are Leland all over. Many passages
might be given very similar to this
about York, for brevity and meagre-
uess of description are his failing, al-
though he was a shrewd and close ob-
server. Take the following notice of
Hereford cathedral (Itin., viii., 55): —

" In australi parte chori.

1198. Gul. de Vere episcopus Here-
forden : prsefuit 12 annis. Obiit
9 call. Januarii anno Doni. 1198.
Dominus Robertus Foliot epis-
copus Hereforden.

1147. Robertus de Melum sedit annis
. . . tempore Henrici 2 filii . . .
Hie fuit in omni genere litera-
rum insigniter eruditus. Obiit
anno Dom. 1147.
Dominus Robertus Betune epis-
copus Hereforden.
Dominus Reinelmus episcopus
Hereforden.

1516. Dominus Richard Maiew episco-
pus Hereforden., doctor theolo-
gise, rector turbse Magdalenensis,
archedecon of Oxford, (shanselar
of Oxforde, elemosinarius Henri
the 7, prsefuit Hereforden. eccl.
11 annis et amplius. Obiit 8 die
April, anno Dom. 1516."

' Torre measured the stones, marked
their places in his map of the pavement
of the minster, and sketched them in
pen and ink. There were mitres upon
them, and other signs of archbishops,
formerly in brass, as he tells us, and
they were laid right in front of the old
altar of St. Mary, before the great east
window. An engraving of his drawings
and his verbal description of them is
given in the preface to my Fabric Rolls,
xviii. It will be seen therefore, by an
irrefragable chain of evidence, where
the altar of St. Mary and the chapel and
the tombs were of which Stubbs spjeaks,
and thus we know what part of the
church it was that Thoresby completed
before his death fperfecit — Stubbs).
Leland also tells us the same thing when
he says that Thoresby " de novo struxit
chorum," and "perfecit navim" (Lei.
Coll., i., 45, 121).

' "Ibidem {i.e., at St. Mary's altar)
pro anima sua et animabus omnium
fidelitim defunctorum capellanum pro
suo perpetuo celebratarmn constituit.
Quern quidem capellanum suosque suc-
cessores habitum personalem in ecclesia
cathedrali prcsdicta gestaturum, ad
perpeUiam ejus memoriam composuit,
domos et possessiones de suo proprio
acquisitas, perjjetuam eleemosynam prcB-
dicto preshytero et successoribus suis
pro suo p)e^petuo contulit duraturas "
(Stubbs).

1352 — 1373.] ARCHBISHOP thoresijy. 489

for the weal of his soul, but it was not apparently until 1362
that his son, Sir Henry Percy, and two of his executors, "William
Newport, rector of Spofforth and Sir Richard Tempest, knight,
carried his desire into effect. On the 10th of December in that
year the archbishop, in a very interesting and carefully con-
structed document, gave his consent to the establishment of four
chantries and laid down rules for their management. Three
were to be at Alnwick castle and one in the minster of York,
and they were all to be endowed with the profits of the church
of Kirkby Overblowers, which were ceded for that purpose by
Sir Henry Percy. Between the chantries at York and Alnwick
there is a marked and peculiar distinction. The three chaplains
at Alnwick were to pray for Henry lord Percy who was interred
in Alnwick abbey, Mary lady Percy, etc., and they were to bo
presented by the executors to the archbishop, and he was to
admit them. The cantarist at Y^ork, on the other hand, was to
be nominated by the archbishop and his successors, and pre-
sented by the executors. He was to pray for the good estate of
Thoresby and the canons during their lives, and for his soul after
his decease, together with the souls of his predecessors and suc-
cessors, and for those of lord Percy, etc., and others of his family.
There is no record here, it will be observed, of any endowment
in the shape of lands or houses by Thoresby himself, but still
the peculiar and prominent manner in which his name is con-
nected with the York chantry, makes it plain to me that he
must have been in some way or other pecuniarily interested in
its foundation." The fact, which we learn from Stubbs, that he
built and ornamented the place in which the chantry was erected,
is sufficient to account for this. Thoresby gave the executors
a position for the chantry chapel to which it was necessary to
add nothing in the way of decoration and appendages. Hence
it was that it was called the Thoresby-Percy chantry, and some-
times that of Thoresby only.*" It is impossible to suppose that
the archbishop would be allowed to take the lead in a chantry
in which he had no right and claim. The family of Percy would
not have tolerated such conduct. He could not be doing a wrong
or an injustice when the king, the chapter and Sir Henry
Percy sanctioned his proceedings, whilst the executors of the
deceased noble gladly accepted the arrangement, " scienter et
gratanter voto unanimi cum omnibus suis articulis acceptarunt,

" That this circumstance was not verbis adornant, non ideo pracdicaro

publicly declared is no proof against its quia fecerint, sed ut praedicarent, fe-

existence, and other feelings than those cisse creduntur. Sic quod magnificuni

of shame might easily prompt its con- referente aUo fuisset, ipso qui gesserat

cealment, as Pliny says to his friend recensente, vanescit."
Saturninus, " Si qui benefacta sua " York Fabric Rolls, 295, etc.

490 FASTI EBORACENSES. [a.D.

applauserunt et emologanint/^"' This looks as if tlie arch
bishop had been doing them a favour instead of receiving one.

The shades of evening may be for a long time delayed, but
they must come at last : the sun must at length set.^ And yet
we may apply to the pious and now aged man the words in
which Beza addressed Tiraquellus, when in his friendly warmth
he spoke of him as the Varro of his time,

" Fortunate senex ! te nulla oblivio mortis,
Te nunquam totum toilet avara dies."

The good archbishop, who must have been more that seventy
years of age, fell into his last sickness in the autumn of 1373,
at his palace at Bishopthorpe. On the 12th of September, a
notary was summoned into the sick prelate's bedchamber to
draw up his will. The sentences are evidently written down
as they fell from Thoresby's lips. There is no display, and
nothing can be more matter of fact and concise. There are
in the will as many as fortj^-four legacies, all, with the excep-
tion of five, in money, the highest sum bequeathed being that
of 40 marks. The following legacies are probably to relations.
To Agnes and Margaret de Thoresby, 80 marks. To John
de Thoresby, 40 marks. To Robert Thoresby, 20 marks. To
Elias de Thoresby, 10/. Robert de Hackthorpe, notary, the
writer of the will, Henry de Greymsby, John de Cloune, Elias
de Thoresby and Thomas de Midelton, are each rewarded with
a silver cup with a cover. The domestics of the dying prelate,
the butler, barber, brewer, the keeper of the pantry and the
larder, and the page of the chamber are all of them remem-
bered. Two friars, John de Thoresby and William de Haynton,
wxre to have five marks apiece, and Idonea de Brunnom, a nun
at Hampole, 100s. To each house of begging friars in York
a bequest of five marks was made. The following persons
were then appointed executors. Sir Richard le S crop, 2' knight,

" Domesday book penes Dec. et Cap. " The seas are quiet, when the winds give o'er.
Ebor., 62 a, etc. This contains the So, calm are we, when passions are no more,

jjijvji., uij M/, ^^'^- For then we know how vam it was to boast

elaborate ioundation ol the chantries ot fleeting things, so certain to be lost.

from which the information in this Clouds of affection from our younger eyes

parai'raph has been mainly derived. Conceal that emptiness which age descries

ll, o ,i . V, i 11 The soul s dark cottage, batter d and decay d,

Thoresby was very anxious, as he tells Lets in new light, through chinks that time

us, about these chantries, " desideranter has made :

cupimus, quantum cum Deo possimus. Stronger by weakness wiser men become,

' , , •• , • J- 1 X As they draw near to their eternal home :

quod cantariis hujusmodi de caetero Leaving the old, both worlds at once they

Ir.udabiliter deserviatur." The place, view

time and manner of celebrating the That stand upon the threshold of the new."

service at York were left to his discre-
tion, and we can easily imagine, there- " First lord Scrope, of Bolton. A

fore, why the altar of St. Mary in the .?reat soldier, and lord treasurer and

presbytery was selected. lord chancellor of England. He died

' The beautiful lines of Waller sug- in 1403, set. 75, and in his noble will

gest themselves :— made in 1400 he left lOZ. to the new

1352 1373.] ARCHBISHOP THORESBY. 491

Mr. John de Waltham/ and Mr. John de Thoresby and dan
Heiuy de Barton/ canons of York, and Mr. Henry de Grcymsby,
and, as a last request, they were desired to make a fui'ther ac-
knowledgment of the services of the servants of the testator,
if his estate should permit of it. There is nothing to shew
that Thoresby was a wealthy man, or that he had a large and
expensive household. He had probably laid his treasure \ip
where alone it can be found.

John de Cloune and Elias de Thoresby were standing by
whilst the notary took down these words, and on the 31st of
October the three were summoned into the archbishop's presence
to listen to a codicil which he wished to make. He had but little
to say and add. If it happened that he went the way of all
flesh by reason of the infirmity which afflicted him, he desired
that his body shoidd be interred within foiu" days after his
decease in the place which he had otherwise arranged. To John
de Cloune, who was standing by, he gave one of his better cups
of silver, and he begged his executors to reward with his silver
plate those clerks belonging to his household who had small
benefices. He forgave Robert de Thoresby 10/. which he owed
him. To Agnes and Margaret de Thoresby, daughters of the
late Galfrid de Thoresby,* he gave 100/. due to him from
Henry de Barton. To the vicar of the church of Leeds he left
a robe which he had worn.'' The sick man said nothing more,
and this is our last glimpse of archbishop Thoresby. On Sunday
the 6th of November,'^ being St. Leonard's day, he passed away,
and his good deeds went with him.

They laid his remains before the altar of the Virgin, for
whom he had a profound veneration, in the lady-cha})el at York,
the " novum opus chori " which he had himself constructed.''

work at York minster (Test. Ebor., i., in succession, of Biccal and Osbald-

275. Scrope and Grosvenor Roll, i., wick, and rector of Bolton Percy. Mas-

59). ter of the hospital of St. Mary Magd.,

'■ The archbishop's kinsman. Thores- near Southwell, and canon of Lincoln,
by asked the bishop of Lincoln to allow * In 1350 Geoffrey de Thoresby re-
John de Waltham, rector of Corten- ceived the dilapidations due to bishop
hale, bachelor of laws, to be non-resi- Thoresby at Worcester (Thomas's Wor-
dent, that he might go to the schools cester, 179). In the llth of Edward
(MSS. Cotton, Galba, E, x., 85). Mr. III. he was made " assaiator monetae
John de Waltham, rector of Cortenhale, regiaj" (Cal. Hot. Pat., 130).
was ordained sub-deacon by Thoresby " The will and codicil are in Test,
at W^estminster, by letters dimissory, on Ebor., i., 88, etc.
April 23, 1356, at a special ordination, '' Acta Capit. Ebor. On the 7th the
deacon on the vigil of S. Trin., 1361, chapter order llobort do Newton, their
having the sacristry of St. Sepulchre's chamberlain, and John de Feriby, to
chapel at York as his title, and priest sequcstre Thorcsby's effects. Stubbs,
on Saturday after the feast E.xalt. S. col. 1731. There is a short notice of
Crucis, 1361 (Reg. Thoresby). Thoresby in Stowe's Chron., ed. 1614,

" Thoresby's domestic chaplain in 270.

1360. Treasurer of York, prebendary, * " Sepultus est coram altari heatee

492

FASTI EBORACENSES.

[a.d.

His predecessors in the see, whose bones he had honourably
placed there, were sleeping on either side. It was a noble sepul-
chre for a noble-hearted man. The brazen imagery that once L
decorated his tomb, nay the stone itself, has disappeared ; but his
good deeds, so numerous and so apparent, will perpetuate his
memory better than either brass or marble.

MaricB Virginis in novo opere chori, die
Jonis, in vigilia Sancti Martini "
(Stubbs). He was thus connected in
death with that altar which he had
constructed and honoured during his
life. This makes the chain of evidence
about the choir complete. Speaking of
his place of sepulture in his will,
Thoresby merely desires to be interred
" in loco per ipsum patrem alias ordi-
nate." There was no reason for him
to say more, as the place would be well
known, and the blank stone or space
among the graves of his six predeces-
sors would shew to all for whom it was
intended.

That Thoresby was laid there is evi-
dent from the statement of the metrical
chronicler of York (MSS. Cotton, Cleo-
patra, C, iv.). This writer mentions
some facts which are not in Stubbs or
any other writer, and he has therefore
an independent authority of his own.
The work seems to be in two parts, the
first stopping with archbishop Scrope,
the other, in a rather different style,
coming down to the time of archbishop
"William Booth. A person who lived
in the time of archbishop Scrope is a
valuable witness as to what happened
thirty years before.

The poet thus describes Thoresby's
burial-place and death : —

" Apud Thorp defungitur mundanis esutus
Eboraci ponitur scenosis indutus,
In capella Virginis Matris graciosce,
Inter coepiscopos prcesul gloriose
Quos defuniUs operis fecit hie levari
Et sic honorijice ibi tuviulari,"

Leland describes the position of the
archbishop's tomb even more minutely.
Torre, Thoresby (Vic. Leod., 193),
Drake (Eboracum, 435), and Godwin
(6S7), give it the same position.

It has been suggested that a tomb on
the north side of the nave of the min-
ster commemorates Thoresby. From
the strongest and the most indisputable
evidence it has been shewn that he was
buried at the east end and not in the
nave. Tt has been said however (for

Stubbs's statement lias now been ad-
mitted to this extent) that the Lady
chapel in which he was interred was
that of St. Mary and the Holy Angels,
or that of St. Sepulchre, appended to
the nave. In answer to this I assert
that this chapel was never known as
the Lady chapel, and that the tomb,
now ascribed to Thoresby, is on the
outside of that chapel and not within
it, so that the words of Stubbs do not
apply to ic at all.

It may be said that the remains may
have been inside the chapel of St. Se-
pulchre, but that they have been re-
molded out of it. When could that
have been done ? Clearly not before
the Eeformation, for the chapel was
then in existence. "Who, I should like
to know, ever heard of the reforming
iconoclasts preserving or translating
a man's bones that were in their way ?
Nor could the removal have taken
place in queen Mary's days, because
then there would have been no wish to
destroy the chapel in which they were
placed. If Thoresby's remains were
removed at all from St. Sepulchre's
chapel, the change must have been
made at the Reformation, and then
either a new monument must have been
constructed for them, or a portion of
the old one set up in a new place. If
this were the case, the date of the
stone-work of the present monument
would be either 1373, the j^ear of
Thoresby's death, or at the period of
the Reformation. Both these hji^jo-
theses are completely overthrown by
the fact that the architectural fea-
tures of this sepulchral memorial prove
it to have been erected between 1480
and 1510, and they shew that it is not
a portion of an old tomb, but a new
one specially constructed for the posi-
tion that it occupies. Some years
after 1510 Leland saw Thoresby's
gravestone, with its inscription, in the
presbytery at the east end.

In December, 1862, this monument,
which had been injured, was completely

1352—1373.]

ARCHBISHOP THORESBY.

493

There seems to have been some little controA'ersy betM'een
the executors of Thoresby and arclibishop Neville on the ques-
tion of dilapidations. On the 4th of October, 1374, those officials
met the archbishop in a chamber in his palace, called Pountc-
nysyn, and there, in the presence of his brother John, lord
Ne^'ille, they submitted themselves to his decree. On the 13th
of April in the following year, the executors Waltham, Thoresby
and Barton, paid to the primate 2350 marks on the score of
dilapidations, and 612 marks to supply the deficiencies in the
stock which was to remain on the archiepiscopal manors.-^ The
safest and Avisest course, perhaps, that any prelate could adopt
was to leave the adjustment of these claims to his successor and
his executors.

It has been said that Thoresby was raised to the cardinalate
by Urban V. Bale is the first person who makes this statement,
and he gives him the title of St. Sabina.^ Torre goes farther
than this, and gives a rough drawing of his seal with this in-
scription, S. Johis tt Sci P. ad Vincula presbyteri cardinalisJ'
There is no documentary evidence whatever of Thoresby^s ever
having been a cardinal,, and Ciaconius and the other biographers

restored, and the restoration has been
such as to give it a much earUer date
1, than belongs to it. Some Uberties also
have been taken with the sculpture, as,
for instance, two birds holding scrolls,
on either side of the central figure of
the Virgin, have been metamorphosed
into eagles with ears of wheat in their
mouths. I cannot say a word, however,
against the skill displayed by the ma-
sons, but no ancient monument, in my
opinion, ought to be restored.

When the tomb was examined, a
long box, more than six feet in length,
was found containing bones and frag-
ments of vestments. Tt was too nar-
row to admit of the reception of a
body, so that these bones must have
been gathered together and translated
to this place at the latter end of the
fifteenth century. Tradition, for the
last century and a half, has ascribed
this tomb to archbishop Hoger. It,
no doubt, contains the bones of some
icclesiastic, perhaps an archbishop,
'hose grave was disturbed, and as
re was no stone elsewhere ascribed
lioger, who was buried originally in
choir, it may perhaps be his. The
point cannot at present be settled, for
even the fragments of robes, if their
date could be ascertained, could prove
nothing. Adhuo sub judice lis est.

/ Eeg. Neville.

s Cent, vi., 493. Thoresby, Godwin,
and Tanner quote Torre. Godwin,
however (». e., 687), questions the au-
thority of Bale.

* Through the kindness of my friend,
Mr. C. Sykes, I have been allowed to
examine the dramng made by Torre,
which is in the library at Sledmere.
The seal is a large oval one. In the
centre are the Virgin and child, under
rich canopies. To the right is a figure
of St. Peter with his keys, and below
him the letters S. Petrus. To the left
is a figure of pope Urban, with Ur-
banus under his feet. Below the Virgin
is a kneeling figure of a cardinal hold-
ing a crozier, and on either side is a
shield of arms. The charge on both is
the same, viz., two stags, one above
the other. The inscription in the text
occupies the usual position. Different
arms are assigned to Anglicus by Cia-
conius (ed. 1677, ii., col. 561). The
one bearing is probably that of his see,
the other that of his family. "Che
fu Decano della Slelropolitanadi York,
nato, o almeno oriundo dall'Inghilterra
per parte del padre, o sia dell'avo "
(CardcUa, Memorie Storiche de' Cardi-
naU, ii., 208). Cf. Gallia Christiana,
i., 823, etc.

494 FASTI EBORACENSES.

of the members of the Sacred College never mention his name.
The person to whom the seal refers was not Thoresby at ali^ but
John Anglieus Grimaldi^ who was created cardinal-priest of St.
Peter ad Vincula, in September, 1366, by his brother. Urban V.
In the month of November, in the same year, he was made
dean of York, an office of which he was deprived in 1381. The
archiepiscopal seal of Thoresby, of which there is a fine im-
pression in the British Museum, and at least a dozen at Durham,
is a glorious specimen of sigillary art, and is very much richer
than that of his contemporary the dean.

END OF VOLUME I.

ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA.

pp. 13-15, etc. The Culdees. This peculiar name cannot be traced, I believe,
earlier than the ninth century, and the Christians of lona, etc., should, perhaps,
be called Columbites. As far as the creed and the practice of the Culdees and
Colunibites can be ascertained, I find no substantial difference between the two,
and I have used the word Culdees as a generic term, the followers of Augustine
and Wilfrid being of course excluded from it. It is a very remarkable fact that
the canons of York were called Culdees in the reign of Henry I., another reason
why I should use that word.

p. 37, note j. Bromton. The surname of the chronicler ought to be
Brompton. This error runs through the volume.

p. 44, line 22, and note. Akebargh. " I never could think that Aykhurgh
or Ayksburghe was the place alluded to by Bede, and called after James the
Deacon. If it is Jakesburgh, what are we to say to Aykescarth, Aykescough,
Aikbjs and Aikton ? and could the same process transmute Jakeswcll into Hawks-
well ? AVliy should not Hackford, near Hawkswell, have not been changed ? In
Gale's map, Aikburgh is placed between Hawkswell and Tuustall, near Catterick,
but in reality, Aikber, as it is now called, is near Fingall, a farmhouse by the side
of Fingall beck. As to Hawkswell, I think I have seen the Saxon personal name
of Havoc in Domesday book, at all events it is called Havocswell there. I exa-
mined the cross at Hawkswell most minutely on the I7th of November, 1831, and
several times within four years afterwards, and I am willing to make an affidavit
that there was no inscription upon it then." — J. R. W.

p. 63, note t/. For clearly, read perliaps.

p. 67, note i. For Chron. Petrol., read Chron. Petrib.

p. 72, line 4 from foot of page. For ^tla, read Oftfor.

p. 77, note i. For Ccenob., read Coenob. So also in the note on the next page,
in note g, p. 125, note i, p. 133, and note I, p. 134.

p. 78, bis. For Medhamstead, read Medeshamstead.

p. 80, line 5 from foot of page. For Grey, read Gray.

pp. 91-2, notes. For Fcedera, read Foedera ; also p. 240, note v, and p. 254,
notes V and y.

p. 96, note t, and p. 97, line 1. For pcenitentiale, read poeniientiale.

p. 97, note d. For Alcuini Op., read 0pp. : this also occurs at pp. 98, 101-3,
106-11, 121.

p. 99, line 9 from foot of page. For Ceomoulf, read Coenwulf.

p. 106. The hexameter line at the foot of the page should be,
" I tamen, i pro me, tu, cui licet, aspice Eomam."

p. 109 and note u. Aclete is very probably Auckland, co. Durham. Sochas-
burg is either Sockburn or Sadberge in the same county. W. H. D. L.

p. 118, note y. For Servatus, read Senatus. The same correction may be
made at pp. 117, 121, 127, 128.

496 ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA.

p. 134. One of the pins found in Wulstan's grave is in the collection S. A.,
London.

p. 162, line 19 from top. For two, read/oifr.

p. 203. Ralph Deincourt founded the monastery of Thurgarton, Notts, by
the advice and at the entreaty of Thurstan (Thoroton's Notts, 302).

p. 209, line 6 of the poem on Thurstan. For indejinita, read indefinita.

p. 214. Fountains was the mother of eight religious houses, and not oi seven.

p. 220, line 7 from foot. There is a different account of the parentage of St.
William in Coll. Top. and Genealog., i., 219. It is there said that his mother
was Adela, daughter of Sir Robert Corbet, a concubine of Henry I.

p. 227, line 6 from foot. Honorius III. decreed the canonization of St. Wil-
liam by bull dated 15 Kal. Apr. anno x. (Addit. MSS., Br. Mus., 15351, fol. 311).
The translation took place as I have stated, and this may be regarded as the final
act of the canonization.

p. 230. In the treasury of York, circa 1500, there was " uuum feretrum
de berill " adorned with silver gilt, and precious stones, containing part of St.
William's hair (Fabric Rolls, 221). By will, dated April 24, 1506, Margaret
Norton, of Bilbrough, widow, left to Chr. Norton, " unam cathedram quae fuit
Sancti Willelmi Ebor. archiepiscopi " (Reg. Test. Ebor.).

p. 241, line 21 from top. For iinJiajjpy, read impious.

p. 245, line 25 from top. For thetv, read threw.

p. 291, note i. On " die Sabbati, qua cantatur Scicientes, 1221, apud Blidam,"
the archbishop ordained Richard de Popeleswiirch, priest, the master and brethren
of the Temple giving him a title, " ad celebrandum in capella Novi Templi, Lon-
don., pro anima Johannis quondam regis Angliai illustris" (Rot. Gray).

p. 292, line 12 from top. In Gray's roll I find these most important notices :
" Anno 19, 9 Kal. Dec. Indulgentia pro fabria ecclesise Sovithwell. On 5 Kal.
Dec, pro ecclesia Ripon. On 17 Kal. Aug. 17, pro ecclesia Beverlaceusi 'misera-
bili ruina enormiter deformata.' "

p. 295, note v, last line. For Mng, read pope.

p. 313, note a. Read sindorC.

p. 321. Canes perdriarios — (?) pointers or setters.

p. 328, note w. Archbishop Gray instituted Chinchius, Romanus clericus, to
the living of Elveley.

p. 394, line 16 from top. In 1306 Sir John Gifiard made over to his kinsman
the archbishop the manor of Boyton, co. Wilts. He was to stay with the arch-
bishop and to be maintained by him., together with two esquires, six horses, and
six garciones.

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