English History
BOHN'S ANTIQUARIAN LIBRARY.
MATTHEW PARIS'S
ENGLISH HISTORY.
VOL. I.
MATTHEW PARIS'S
ENGLISH HISTORY.
FROM THE YEAR 1235 TO 1273.
TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN,
BY
THE REV. J.A. GILES, D.C.L.,
Late Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford,
VOL. I.
LONDON: GEORGE BELL & SONS, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
1889.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
PREFACE.
The name of Matthew Paris is too well known to the public to render any apology necessary for publishing an English translation of his valuable "English History",- a work wherein its author has condensed all that former writers had said about the times that preceded, and to which all succeeding writers must have recourse for the history of the period in which its author lived.
Of the life of this laborious writer, very little is known. He was a monk of St. Alban's Abbey, and was probably called Parisiensis, the "Parisian", which we generally interpret "Paris", from having been born or educated in the capital of France. Unlike most of the monks of the Middle Ages, who seldom were content to pass through life without bequeathing to posterity a weighty load of theological works, and commentaries on the Bible, Matthew Paris seems to have confined his attention wholly to the study of history, and, with a laudable patriotism, to the history of his own country. To this circumstance may be ascribed the pains which he took, even after his great work was completed, to improve it in every way, and to gather fresh stores from every available source. His writings may be thus enumerated:-
1. He compiled a work called Historia Major, extending down to the year of Christ 1273; the former part of which
vi PREFACE.
previous to the year 1235, has been lately ascertained to be Roger of Wendover's Flowers of History, with numerous additions by Matthew Paris,- not, however, so numerous as to entitle the compiler to claim the work, which he had appropriated, as his own. This was far from the intention of Matthew Paris and his copyists; for, in the margin of one of the early manuscript copies now remaining, at the year 1235, we read: "So far is copied from an old book"; and in another old manuscript of the same work are found the words, "Mister Roger of Wendover, formerly prior of Belvoir, has thus far digested his chronicles". The early part of Matthew Paris's work is now generally ascribed to its real author, and, as such, has been already translated and published in the present series. The work now offered to the public, begins at the year 1235, where Roger of Wendover's work leaves off and extends to its termination in 1273, about which time, probably, its writer departed this life.
2. A second work of Matthew Paris, supplementary to the former, contained, Lives of the two Offas, kings of Mercia, and of twenty-three abbats of St Alban's, together with Additamenta, or additions to the Historia Major, and Auctarium Additamentorum, or supplementary additions to the same. These additions stand somewhat in the light of notes to the original work.
3. The last work of Matthew Paris is his Historia Minor, a sort of abridgment of the greater work, and embodying a condensation of all his historical collections, with the exception of the lives of the Offas and the abbats of St. Alban's.
The Historia Minor is the only one of these three works
PREFACE. vii
which still remains in manuscript. The first two have been published, and the best edition of them is that of Dr. Wats, folio, London, 1640; reprinted with corrections, etc. London, 1684. From the text of Wats' second edition the present translation has been made.
A French translation of Matthew Paris, the result of a life's labour, has justly acquired great reputation, not only in France, but England. It has been compared, almost throughout, with the present work, and been of much service in helping to elucidate many of the obscurities with which our author abounds.
J.A. Giles.
MATTHEW PARIS'S ENGLISH HISTORY.
Thus far [1] have we replied to Envy -
So prythee, scribe, draw in thy pen:
In thine own orbit move again.
About the same time, the king received a hidage, namely, two marks on every hide, for the marriage of his sister Isabella; at whose marriage the king paid out to the emperor, within a short space of time, thirty thousand marks, besides the ornaments of the empress, and a crown of immense value.
Of the vengeance taken for the death of Earl Richard the marshal.
About the same time, one Henry Clement, a clerk, an envoy from the Irish nobles, unwisely boasted that he had been the cause of the death of Earl Richard, the marshal; who, he said, was a traitor, and a bloody enemy of the king, and all the kingdom. The man was shamefully murdered in London, where the king then was. Gilbert Marshal was accused of his death; but he adduced ample proof of his innocence.
About the same time, also, King Henry the Third employed the bishop of Carlisle to make a treaty of marriage with the earl of Worcester's [2] daughter, and to give his own pledge, as well as the king's, in that matter; but afterwards the king changed his mind, in consequence of a threat held out by the French king, that, if he persisted, the father
[1] Before the words "Thus far", Matthew Paris inserts "And so the malignings of envious abusers against her shall cease"; to follow the words "with the emperor", in the last page of Roger of Wendover. He consequently omits the metrical couplet with which the latter - or his copyist - concludes the Flowers of History.
[2] This should be the "earl of Ponthieu", for the king of France could have no right over the earl of Worcester.
2 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1235.
should be disinherited; and she was afterwards married to Alphonso, king of Castile, for her beauty.
Of the new Gregorian Decretals.
In these times also. Pope Gregory the Ninth, seeing the tedious prolixity of the Decretals, commanded them to be abridged and collected in a small compass, and then to be solemnly and authentically read and published throughout the whole worid. These Decretals, which we call Gregorian, from their author, behin thus: The king of peace, etc. Some particulars of them he altered, as for instance, that unqualified persons should not obtain bishoprics and ecclesiastical benefices, without first obtaining a dispensation of qualification from the Roman see; as he knew that many advantages accrued to the court of Rome for obtaining the same; in the same way, as from the statute of Innocentius, for a dispensation to hold more benefices than one.
Of the usury of the Caursines.
In these days prevailed the horrible nuisance of the Caursines, to such a degree that there was hardly any one in all England, especially among the bishops, who was not caught in their net. Even the king himself was held indebted to them in an incalculable sum of money. For they circumvented the needy in their necessities, cloaking their usury under the show of trade, and pretending not to know that whatever is added to the principal is usury, under whatever name it may be called. For it is manifest that their loans lie not in the path of charity, inasmuch as they do not hold out a helping hand to the poor to relieve them, but to deceive them; not to aid others in their starvation, but to gratify their own covetousness; seeing that "the motive stamps our every deed".
The form by which the Caursines bound their debtors.
"To all who shall see the present writings - the Prior and Convent of -, Health in the Lord,- Be it known to you that we have received on loan, at London, for the purpose of usefully settling matters concerning us and our church, from such an one, and such an one, for themselves and their partners, citizens and merchants of the city of -, 104 marks of good and lawful money sterling, each mark being computed at 13 shillings and 4 pence sterling. For which 104 marks,
A.D. 1235.] USURY OF THE CAURSINES. 3
we, in our own name and in the name of our church, do declare that we are quit, and do protest that we are fully paid, altogether renouncing any exception of the money not being reckoned, and paid, and handed over to us, and also the exception that the said money has not been converted to our own uses and to the uses of our church. And the aforesaid one hundred and four marks sterling, in the manner and to the number aforesaid, to be reckoned to the said merchants, or to one of them, or to their certain emissary, who shall bring with him these present letters, on the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula, namely, the first day of the month of August, at the New Temple, London, in the year of our Lord's incarnation one thousand two hundred and thirty-five, we promise by lawful covenant, and bind ourselves, in our own name and in that of our church, that we will pay and discharge in full. Adding moreover this condition, that if the aforesaid money shall not be paid and discharged at the place and term aforesaid, as has been said, we promise from that time, at the term always before completed, and bind ourselves by the same covenant, to give and render to the aforesaid merchants, or their certain emissary, every two months, for every ten marks, one mark of the said money, in recompense for losses, which losses and expenses these merchants might incur or receive therefrom, so that the losses and expenses and principal may effectually be claimed, as they have been stated above, and the expenses of one merchant, with one horse and one servant, wherever the merchant shall be, until the full payment of all the aforesaid. And the expenses incurred and to be incurred, for recovering the same money, we will render and restore to the same merchants, or one of them, or their certain emissary. Which recompense for losses, interest, and expenses, we promise the said merchants in no wise shall be reckoned towards the principal of the said debt; and not to keep back the said debt under pretence of the above-mentioned recompense, against the will of the aforesaid merchants, beyond the term aforesaid. For all which articles aforesaid, firmly and wholly to be fulfilled, and inviolably to be observed, we bind ourselves and our church, and our successors, and all our goods and those of our church, moveable and immoveable, ecclesiastical and temporal, in possession
4 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1235.
and hereafter to be in possession, wherever they shall be found, to the said merchants and their heirs, until the full payment of all the aforesaid; which goods we hereby recognise that we possess from them by a precarious tenure. And we consent on all the aforesaid to be convened in all places, and before any tribunal, and do renounce, for all the aforesaid, for ourselves and our successors, all the aid of law, both canon and civil, the privilege both of clerkship and of court, the letter of Saint Adrian, every custom and statute, all letters, indulgences, and privileges obtained, or to be hereafter obtained from the Apostolic See for the king of England and all the people of his kingdom, the constitution De duabus dietis, the benefit of full repayment, the benefit of appeal and of recusation, the inhibitory letters of the king of England, and all other exception, real and personal, which might be objected against this instrument or deed. All these things we promise faithfully shall be observed. In testimony of which matter we have thought it right to affix our seals to this present writing. Done on the fifth day of Elphege, in the year of grace MCCXXXV".
Such were the inextricable bonds by which the Caursines bound their debtors. They were truly named Caursines - if I may play upon the word - from causor, to cheat, or capio, to take, and ursine, bearish. They first enticed the needy with soft and honeyed words; but in the end pierced them through as with a spear; wherefore, on account of their written words, which were subtle and taken out of the lawbooks, and of a kin with the fallacies of pleaders, many men think that these transactions did not happen without the connivance of the court of Rome, according to the words of the Evangelist: "The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light". [1] Even the Jews, seeing this new kind of usury arise among Christians, derided our Sabbaths, not undeservedly.
The court of Rome favours the Caursines.
In the same year, Roger bishop of London, a learned and devout man, perceiving that the Caursines openly multiplied their usury without shame, and led a most filthy life, harassing religious men with various injuries, and amassing heaps
[1] Luke xvi. 8.
A.D. 1235.] THE MINORITE BRETHREN. 5
of riches from the numbers who were forced to submit to their yoke, was roused to violent indignation, and kindled with zeal for the cause of justice; wherefore he admonished them as schismatics to desist from such enormities, as they valued the salvation of their souls, and to do penance for their misdeeds. This warning they set at naught, with laughter and ridicule, and even threats; whereupon the bishop, arming himself with the weapons of spiritual justice, launched a general anathema against all of them, and briefly and decidedly ordered them to depart at once out of the city of London, which had until then been free from such a pest, that his diocese might not be tainted with such a stain. But they, swelling with pride, and trusting in the pope's protection, without difficulty or loss of time, obtained at the court of Rome that the said bishop, who was now old, weak, and ill, should be cited peremptorily to distant parts beyond the sea, before judges who were friends of the Caursines, and chosen at their option, that so he should appear and answer for the wrong done to the pope's merchants. But the bishop choosing, like Shem, to cover his father's nakedness rather than, with Ham, to expose it, put a peaceful end to the tumult that had been raised, and dissembling what had happened, committed his cause to the patronage of St. Paul, who, when he preached of the rigour and faith of justice, wrote thus: "Though an angel shall preach to you the contrary of these things, let him be accursed". [1]
The insolence of the Minorite Brethren.
At this time some of the Minorite brethren, as well as some of the order of Preachers, unmindful of their profession and the restrictions of their order, impudently entered the territories of some noble monasteries, under pretence of fulfilling their duties of preaching, as if intending to depart after preaching the next day. Under pretence of sickness or on some other pretext, however, they remained, and, constructing an altar of wood, they placed on it a consecrated stone altar, which they had brought with them, and clandestinely and in a low voice performed mass, and even received the confessions of many of the parishioners, to the
[1] Gal. i. 8. The Bible quotations being in the Vulgate, and different from our own version, are translated literally.
6 MATTHEW PARIS [A.D. 1235.
prejudice of the priests. And they said that they had obtained authority from the pope to receive from those of the faith the confessions which they were ashamed to make to their own priests, or scorned to make, because the priests had committed the same offence, or were afraid to do so because the priest was drunk; and to such they, the Minorites, gave absolution after having enjoined penance on them. In the mean time they sent a proctor to the Roman court with all speed, to plead their cause against the religious men, in whose territory they were staying, and obtained permission to remain there with some other benefit in addition. And if by chance they were not satisfied with this, they broke forth in insults and threats, reviling every order except their own, and asserting that all the rest were amongst those doomed to damnation, and that they would not spare the soles of their feet till they had exhausted the wealth of their opposers, however great it might be. The religious men therefore gave way to them in many points, yielding to avoid scandal and offending those in power. For they were the counsellors and messengers of the nobles, and even secretaries of the pope, and therefore obtained much secular favour. Some, however, finding themselves opposed at the court of Rome, were restrained by obvious reasons, and went away in concision; for the supreme pontiff with a scowling look said to them, "What means this, my brethren? to what lengths are you going? have you not professed voluntary poverty, and that you would traverse towns and castles and distant places, as the case required, barefooted and unostentatiously, in order to preach the word of God in all humility? and do you now presume to usurp these estates to yourselves against the will of the lords of these fees? Your religion appears to be in a great measure dying away, and your doctrines to be confuted". On hearing this they went away and began to conduct themselves more moderately, though they had formerly talked so boastingly, and refused to be guided by the will of others, although they were in houses not their own. In this year Cordova, a well-known city of Spain, was taken by the king of Castile, after slaying the brother of the Emir of the world, [1] and cutting his army to pieces.
[1] The king of Africa enjoyed this magnificent title. His ordinaiy name is Miramoulin. See further on.
A.D. 1236.] HENRY MARRIES ELEANOR. 7
The death of Robert Fitz-Walter and Roger de Sumeric.
In the same year, at the advent of our Lord, Robert Fitz-Walter, a baron of illustrious race, and renowned in feats of arms, went the way of all flesh; and in the same year, too, in the flower of his youth, Roger de Sumeric was taken away from amongst men, a man of singular elegance, respectable race, and of remarkable prowess. In this year, too, as a token of the continuation of his regard, the emperor sent a camel to the king.
King Henry marries Eleanor, daughter of the count of Provence.
Anno Domini 1236, which was the twentieth year of the reign of King Henry the Third, he held his court at Winchester at Christmas, where he observed that festival with rejoicings. He was at this time anxiously looking for the return of the special messengers, whom he had sent into Provence to Raymond, count of that province, with letters containing his own inmost thoughts about contracting a marriage with his daughter Eleanor. This said count was a man of illustrious race and brave in battle, but, by continual wars, he had wasted almost all the money he possessed. He had married the daughter of Thomas, the late count of Savoy, and sister of the present count, Amadeus, a woman of remarkable beauty, by name Beatrice. This lady had issue by the aforesaid count, two daughters of great beauty, the elder of whom, named Margaret, was married to Louis, the French king, as we are told by a clerk named John de Gates; and the king of England had now, by the aforesaid messengers, demanded the younger one, a young lady of handsome appearance, in marriage. In order to obtain this favour, he had secretly sent Richard, prior of Hurle, in advance, who faithfully and with diligence brought the matter to a conclusion. On the prior's returning and telling the king the result, the latter sent him back to the count with some other messengers, namely, the bishops Hugh of Ely, and Robert of Hereford, and the brother of Robert de Sandford, the master of the Knights Templars. These messengers were received by the count on their arrival in Provence with the greatest honour and respect, and from his hands received his daughter Eleanor, for the purpose of being united to the king of England; she was also attended by her uncle, William, bishop
8 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
elect of Valentia, a man of distinction, and by the count of Champagne, a relation of the English king. The king of Navarre, on learning that they would travel through his territories, went joyfully to meet them, and accompanied them as a guide through his dominions during a journey of five days and more; he also, from his natural generosity, paid all their expenses, both for horses and attendants. Their retinue consisted of more than three hundred horsemen, not including the people who followed them in great numbers. On reaching the boundaries of France, they obtained not only a safe but honourable passage through that country, under conduct of the French king and his queen, the sister of the lady about to be married to the English king, and also of Blanche, the French king's mother. They embarked at the port of Sandwich, [1] and with full sail made for Dover, where they arrived, after a quick passage, before they were expected. Having thus safely landed, they set out for Canterbury, and were met by the king, who rushed into the arms of the messengers, and, having seen the lady and received possession of her, he married her at Canterbury; the ceremony being performed on the fourteenth of January, by Edmund, archbishop of that place, assisted by the bishops, who had come with the lady, in the presence of the other nobles and prelates of the kingdom. On the 19th of January the king went to Westminster, where an extraordinary solemnity took place on the following day, which was Sunday, at which the king wore his crown and Eleanor was crowned queen. Thus was Henry the Third married at Canterbury, and the nuptials were celebrated in London, at Westminster, on the feast of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian.
The ceremonies at the marriage of Henry the Third.
There were assembled at the king's nuptial festivities such a host of nobles of both sexes, such numbers of religious men, such crowds of the populace, and such a variety of actors, that London, with its capacious bosom, could scarcely contain them. The whole city was ornamented with flags and banners, chaplets and hangings, candles and lamps, and with wonderful devices and extraordinary representations, and all the roads were cleansed from mud and dirt, sticks,
[1] This should be "Quentavic" or "Wissant".
A.D. 1236.] CEREMONIES AT THE MARRIAGE. 9
and everything offensive. The citizens too, went out to meet the king and queen, dressed out in their ornaments, and vied with each other in trying the speed of their horses. On the same day, when they left the city for Westminster, to perform the duties of butler to the king (which office belonged to them by right of old, at the coronation), they proceeded thither dressed in silk garments, with mantles worked in gold, and with costly changes of raiment, mounted on valuable horses, glittering with new bits and saddles, and riding in troops arranged in order. They carried with them three hundred and sixty gold and silver cups, preceded by the king's trumpeters and with horns sounding, so that such a wonderful novelty struck all who beheld it with astonishment. The archbishop of Canterbury, by the right especially belonging to him, performed the duty of crowning, with the usual solemnities, the bishop of London assisting him as a dean, the other bishops taking their stations according to their rank. In the same way all the abbats, at the head of whom, as was his right, was the abbat of St. Alban's (for as the Protomartyr of England, B. Alban, was the chief of all the martyrs of England, so also was his abbat the chief of all the abbats in rank and dignity), as the authentic privileges of that church set forth. The nobles too, performed the duties, which, by ancient right and custom, pertained to them at the coronations of kings. In like manner some of the inhabitants of certain cities discharged certain duties which belonged to them by right of their ancestors. The earl of Chester carried the sword of St. Edward which was called "Curtein", before the king, as a sign that he was earl of the palace; and had by right the power of restraining the king if he should commit an error. The earl was attended by the constable of Chester, and kept the people away with a wand when they pressed forward in a disorderly way. The grand marshal of England, the earl of Pembroke, carried a wand before the king and cleared the way before him both in the church and in the banquet-hall, and arranged the banquet and the guests at table. The wardens of the Cinque Ports carried the pall over the king, supported by four spears, but the claim to this duty was not altogether undisputed. The earl of Leicester supplied the king with water in basins to wash before his meal; the Earl Warrenne
10 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
performed the duty of king's cupbearer, supplying the place of the earl of Arundel, because the latter was a youth and not as yet made a belted knight. Master Michael Belet was butler ex officio; the earl of Hereford performed the duties of marshal of the king's household, and William Beauchamp held the station of almoner. The justiciary of the forests arranged the drinking cups on the table at the king's right hand, although he met with some opposition, which however fell to the ground. The citizens of London passed the wine about in all directions, in costly cups, and those of Winchester superintended the cooking of the feast; the rest, according to the ancient statutes, filled their separate stations, or made their claims to do so. And in order that the nuptial festivities might not be clouded by any disputes, saving the right of any one, many things were put up with for the time which they left for decision at a more favourable opportunity. The office of chancellor of England, and all the offices connected with the king, are ordained and assized in the Exchequer. Therefore the chancellor, the chamberlain, the marshal, and the constable, by right of their office, took their seats there, as also did the barons, according to the date of their creation, in the city of London, whereby they each knew his own place. The ceremony was splendid, with the gay dresses of the clergy and knights who were present. The abbat of Westminster sprinkled the holy water, and the treasurer, acting the part of sub-dean, carried the paten. Why should I describe all those persons who reverently ministered in the church to God as was their duty? Why describe the abundance of meats and dishes on the table? the quantity of venison, the variety of fish, the joyous sounds of the glee-men, and the gaiety of the waiters? Whatever the world could afford to create pleasure and magnificence was there brought together from every quarter.
Heavy falls of rain.
About the same time, for two months and more, namely, in January, February, and part of March, such deluges of rain fell as had never been seen before in the memory of any one. About the feast of St. Scholastica, [1] when the moon
[1] February 10th.
A.D. 1236.] A MESSENGER FROM THE EMPEROR. 11
was new, the sea became so swollen by the river torrents which fell into it, that all the rivers, especially those which fell into the sea, rendered the fords impassable, overflowing their banks, hiding the bridges from sight, carrying away mills and dams, and overwhelming the cultivated lands, crops, meadows, and marshes. Amongst other unusual occurrences, the river Thames overflowed its usual bounds, and entered the grand palace at Westminster, where it spread and covered the whole area, so that small boats could float there, and people went to their apartments on horseback. The water also forcing its way into the cellars could with difficulty be drained off. The signs of this storm which preceded it, then gave proofs of their threats; for on the day of St. Damasus, [1] thunder was heard, and on the Friday next after the conception of St. Mary, [2] a spurious sun was seen by the side of the true sun.
A messenger arrives in England from the emperor.
When the nuptial rejoicings were concluded, the king left London and went to Merton, where he summoned the nobles to hear a message lately brought from the emperor, and to discuss the business of the kingdom. For messengers had come direct from the emperor to the king with letters, asking him without delay to send his brother Richard, earl of Cornwall, whose circumspect skill report had spread far and wide, to make war on the king of the French. He also promised, by way of assistance, to send all the Imperial forces, especially in order to enable the English king not only to recover his continental possessions, but also, when they were regained, to extend his former possessions. To this, the king and the nobles there assembled, after due deliberation, replied that it would not be safe or prudent to send one so young out of the kingdom and to expose him to the doubtful chances and dangers of war, since he was the only apparent heir of the king and kingdom, and the hopes of all were centred in him next to the king. For the king, although he was married, had no children, and the queen his wife was still young, and did not know whether she was fruitful or barren. But if it was agreeable to his excellency the emperor to summon any other brave man he chose, from
[1] December 11th.
[2] December 8th.
12 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
amongst the nobles of the kingdom, for the purpose, they, the king, and all his friends and subjects, in accordance with his request, would at once render him all the assistance in their power. The messengers, on receiving this reply, returned to inform their lord.
Certain new laws made by Henry the Third.
About the same time, king Henry the Third, for the salvation of his soul and the improvement of his kingdom, influenced by a spirit of justice and piety, made some new laws, and ordered them to be inviolably observed throughout his kingdom.
In the first place with respect to widows, who, after the death of their husbands were deprived of their dowry, or could not hold it and their quarentin without a plea, it was decreed, that whoever should deforce them from their dowry, from the tenements of which their husbands died possessed, and the widows should afterwards recover their dowry, by plea, and the deforcing party shall be convicted of unjust deforcement, they shall make the damages good to the said widows, to the full value of the dowry falling to them, from the time of the decease of their husbands to the day on which they recovered possession by judgment, and nevertheless the deforcers themselves shall be at the king's mercy. Also, all widows shall henceforth be at liberty to bequeath all the corn on their land, as well from their dowries, as from other lands and tenements, saving the services which are due to their lords from their dowries and other tenements. Also, whoever shall have been disseised from his free tenement, and shall have recovered possession by assize of a new disseisin before the justiciaries, or shall have made a disseisin with their cognizance, and when disseised shall have held possession through the sheriff, if the said disseisers shall have disseised them after the circuit of the justiciaries or during the same, and shall be convicted thereof, they shall be taken and detained in a prison of our lord the king, until by him they are liberated, either by ransom or in any other manner. And the following is the form of conviction to be observed with regard to them: When the complainants come to the court, they shall have a brief from the king directed to the sheriff in which shall be contained their evidence of the disseisin
A.D. 1236.] NEW LAWS MADE BY HENRY THE THIRD. 13
made on disseisin, and therein the sheriff shall be ordered to take with him the overseers of the pleas of the crown, and other legal officers, and to go in person to the tenement or pasture about which the complaint has been made, and in their presence, by jurors first, and by other neighbours and liege men, to make a careful inquisition in the matter, and if they shall discover it to be disseised as above mentioned, then they shall proceed according to the provisions before declared, but if not, then the complainants shall be at the mercy of the king, and the other party shall go away quit. The same shall be done in the case of those who recover possession by assize of the death of their predecessor; the same also shall be done in the case of all tenements recovered by juries in the king's court. Also, whereas several of the nobles of England have enfeoffed knights and their free tenants of small tenements in their manors, and have complained that they cannot effect their conveniency as regarded the residue of their manors, as of wastes, woods, and pastures, so that the feoffees might have sufficient as was proper according to their tenements, it was provided and granted, that feoffees of this kind, from whomsoever they should hereafter bring an assize of a new disseisin, if before the justiciaries it shall be proved that they have sufficient pasturage, in proportion to their tenement, together with free ingress and egress from their tenements to that pasture, they shall be content with the same, and those of whom such complaint has been made shall be satisfied with having effected their will in the matter of their waste lands, woods, and pastures; but if they say that they have not sufficient pasture or sufficient ingress and egress, then the truth shall be inquired into by assize. And if it is discovered by assize that there was any obstruction in the ingress or egress, or that the pasture was not sufficient, as aforesaid, then he shall receive possession after inspection by the jurors, so that at their discretion and on their oaths, the complainants may have sufficient pasture and free ingress and egress, in the form above stated. And the disseisers shall remain at the mercy of the king, and shall pay damages, as they used to be paid before this provision; but if it shall be found by assize that the complainants have sufficient pasture and free ingress and egress, as aforesaid, then the other party shall be
14 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
allowed to do what is right with the residue, and shall depart quietly. It is also granted by our lord the king, with the consent of the nobles, that from this time, interest shall not accumulate against a minor from the time of the decease of his predecessor, whose heir he is, till he lawfully comes of age; but that on this account the payment of the principal shall not be delayed. Also, with respect to those who commit offences in parks and warrens, a discussion was entered upon, but not decided, for the nobles demanded to have each his own prison for offenders they might take in their parks and warrens; but this the king would not grant them, and therefore this remains as formerly.
A writing sent to the pope concerning the origin and laws of Mahomet.
About the same time, a letter was sent to his holiness, Pope Gregory the Ninth, from the countries of the East, by the preachers who were travelling in those parts. And when it was published to the world, the false doctrine, yea, the madness of Mahomet, the prophet of the Saracens, an account of whom was given therein, excited the derision and mockery of all. But these things have been previously treated of in their proper place, namely, in the year DC., when the Mahomedan plague commenced.
The Saracens perversely think that they are so called from Sarah; but they are with greater truth called Agarenes from Agar, and Ismaelites from Ismael, whom Abraham begat by Agar his servant; and from Ismael were begotten in succession, Calcar, Neptis, Alumesca, Eldamo, Mulier, Escicip, Iaman, Avicait, Atanan, Maath, Nizas, Mildar, Hinclas, Materic, Humella, Karmana, Melikar, Feir, Galib, Luhei, Muyra, Heelib, Cuztei, and Abdimelnef, who had two sons, Escim and Abdicemuz; Escim, one of these two, begat Adelmudalib; Adelmudalib begat Abdella, from whom sprung Maumath, who is considered the prophet of the Saracens; and from him were begotten successively Abdicemuz, Humenla, Abilaz, Accan, Morcan, Abdelmelibe, Mavia, Abderachaman (by some called Abdimenef); and from him sprung Mahomet, who is now worshipped and reverenced by the Saracens, as their chief prophet. It should be known that the names Mahometh, Machometh, Macomet, Machomect, Mahum, Maho, have the same meaning in different
A.D. 1236.] PRACTICES OF MAHOMET. 15
languages. Mahomet was succeeded both in his kingdom and in his superstition by Catab; Catab was succeeded by Homar, a contemporary of Gosdroe, [1] who was slain by the emperor Heraclius.
Of the practices in which Mahomet was brought up.
This man, called Mahomet the Ismaelite, on the death of his father, Abdimenef, was taken charge of by a man named Hebenabecalip, who acted as his guardian, and brought him up; a man who attended to the idols at a place called Calingua, and also Aliguze. When he arrived at the age of youth, he became a hireling to a certain woman named Adige, the daughter of Hulaith, who gave him an ass for his service, to bring goods into the provinces of Asia, for which she was to receive the value. At length, he secretly cohabited with this woman, and married her, and grew very rich by her money. He became greatly elated at this, and began to boast, and endeavoured to establish himself as ruler over all the tribes and his own nation; indeed, he would have presumed so far as to call himself their king, if some more noble and stronger than himself had not opposed this usurpation. He then declared that he was a prophet sent from God, and that all people ought to believe his words. The ignorant Arab rustics, who had never seen a prophet, believed him; there was also a certain apostate there who had fallen into heresy, and was excommunicated, and he taught the same creed, and wrote his doctrines. This said Machometh enticed into friendship with him any freebooters and robbers that he could collect, and placed them in secret out-of-the-way places, for the purpose of robbing the merchants on their way to and from Asia. One day, as he was coming from the cities of Jerveth and Matham, he found on the road a camel belonging to a man named Abige Heli, the son of Hyesem, which he immediately seized and fled to the city of Macta; but the inhabitants of that place, not considering him a prophet, insulted him, and expelled him from the city as an impostor, detesting him as a robber and despoiler of travellers. He then went to a city in the desert, where the inhabitants were partly Jews and partly Pagans, idolaters, poor, and ignorant men; there he with his followers built a temple, in
[1] Chosroes in Roman history.
16 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
which to put forth his false doctrines to the simple people. After this he sent a follower of his, named Gadimelic, with forty soldiers, to rob the merchants who were travelling with large sums of money. These men were met by Abige Hely, the son of Jesem (whose camel Mahomet had carried off), attended by three hundred men of his city, and at sight of these, the robbers sent by Mahomet took to flight, and that pseudo-prophet could not foresee this event to guard against it, for he had not the spirit of prophecy; the Saracens therefore lie when they say that he always had ten angels with him who served him in everything. At another time, this Mahomet sent a man named Gabeit, the son of Alcharith, with forty soldiers to collect booty; and these were attacked by Abizecheim, the son of Nubar, and his companions, who defeated and dispersed these robbers, slaying some of them, and no angel of Mahomet assisted them. Again, on a third occasion, Mahomet sent a follower of his, named Gaif Ajunacar, with a number of men, to a place called Alicar or Alevafa, to seize on all the asses which were about to pass that way loaded with money and other goods, but the merchants and the asses had passed by the day before they arrived at the place, and if Mahomet had been a prophet, he would not have sent such a number of his followers on a bootless errand, for it is not usual for prophets to be baulked in their purposes. On a fourth occasion, Mahomet himself went with his followers to seize some asses with their burdens, but on arriving at a place called Udeny, he there discovered Mozi, the son of Gamzual Muzeni, and being quite unable to give him battle, he retreated in confusion, conquered and without any booty. A fifth time he went forth to seize some merchants' horses laden with goods, but on arriving at a place called Nath, on the road to Asia, he found Immarah, son of Allaha Algomachi, at sight of whom he was struck with alarm, and fled, without gaining any advantage by his expedition. On a sixth occasion he sallied forth from Carchana, to look for some asses coming from Churays into Asia, and on arriving at a place called Mahoeth, he found himself deceived, and gained nothing, and during his retreat many of his followers were lost or slain. In these six expeditions, it is proved that no angels favoured his cause, and that he was not endowed with the spirit of prophecy. Oftentimes
A.D. 1236.] ADULTERY AND SENSUALITY OF MAHOMET. 17
too, he sent his followers by night to the houses of his enemies, secretly and treacherously to slay the inmates. On one occasion, he sent a man named Alchilia, son of Ragatha Alazar, to murder Achym, the son of Deden Ebraeum Maybar; in this manner he in his hatred ordered Zely, the son of Gomahir, to go and murder Acuan, an old and infirm man, and he was killed in his bed. Again, he sent Gabdallah, the son of Geys Alapsad, with twelve of his followers, to Abla, to hear the news and bring it back to him, and as these men were on their road, they met Gary, the son of Melcadram, with a large sum of money, and immediately murdered him, giving a fifth part of their booty to Mahomet. Again, the son of Phenuf went by his orders to a certain town, murdered the men, women, and children, and brought the fifth part of the booty he had seized to Mahomet, saying, "So much is your share. Prophet of God"; and Mahomet willingly accepted of it. Some time after this, in one of his battles, his teeth were struck out, his upper lip cut, and his jaw broken; a man named Talcha, the son of Jube of Alcha, then lifted up his hand to protect him and ward off the blows, and his finger was cut off. Mahomet, however, did not show any gratitude to the injured man, nor did he offer any opposition to the man who wounded him, and no angel offered any assistance to him when wounded himself.
The adultery and sensuality of Mahomet.
Mahomet had a servant named Zeid, whose wife, Zemah, was a very beautiful woman, and for whom Mahomet had conceived an affection; the servant Zeid, however, discovering this, and being aware of his master's sensuality, said to his wife, "Take care that my master does not see you, for if he does, I will at once repudiate you". One day, however, during the servant's absence, Mahomet went to his house, and called him, and as he did not answer, Mahomet continued knocking at the door so long that the woman, becoming annoyed, replied, "Zeid is not here". On arriving some time afterwards, Zeid found his wife talking with his master, and on the departure of the latter he said to her, "Did I not tell you that if my master should see you and converse with you, I would repudiate you", and he at once turned her out of his house. Mahomet then took her to
18 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
himself, but, fearing lest he should be accused of adultery, he pretended that a letter had come to him from heaven, in which God ordered him to pronounce it as a law amongst the people, that, whenever any man should repudiate his wife, and another man should take her to himself she should be the wife of the man who took her. And to this day this is a law amongst them, and originated from the aforesaid cause.
Of this repudiated adulteress and the wives of Mahomet.
A certain man named Gary, the son of Abytaliph, reproved Mahomet for his adulteries, particularly because he loved this adulteress most of all his wives: "Oh prophet of God", said he, "on account of that woman whom you are keeping, you incur great scandal from every one": he, however, influenced by his lust, did not send her away, but palliated his adultery by false arguments. This Mahomet had fifteen wives; two of them free women, the rest his servants: the first was Adige, daughter of Ulaith; the second was the above-mentioned repudiated adulteress; the third was Zoda, daughter of Zunga; the fourth was Aza, daughter of Gomar; the fifth was Mathezelem; to this latter one of his wives he granted whatever she liked best for a dowry; the sixth was Zeinah, daughter of Gnar; to this one he, in a fit of anger, swore that he would not lie with her for a month, but overcome by his lust he broke his oath and lay with her; the seventh wife was Zeinaph, daughter of Vrynaph; the eighth, Abbap, daughter of Abifiziel; the ninth, Mannona, daughter of Alfaritalim; the tenth, Geotheria, daughter of Alimisitasy; the eleventh, Zafia, a Jewess, who was formerly called Anazalia, daughter of Haby; the twelfth, Aculevia, daughter of Fantima; the thirteenth, Umaia, daughter of Aldacal; the fourteenth was a daughter of Annomen, named Halae Idia; and the fifteenth was Malicha, daughter of Gathial. His servants were Miriam, daughter of Ibrasus, his son; and Eamath, daughter of Simeon.
The law of Mahomet, and the penalty for transgressing it.
Mahomet often said to his disciples and hearers, "Do not believe what men may say of me, for there never was a prophet whom the people of his own nation did not accuse falsely, and I also fear that my people may say the same of me, and lay false charges against me; do not therefore
A.D. 1236.] DEATH OF MAHOHET. 19
listen to the words of disparagers, nor think otherwise of me than as you read in the book which I have given to you; what is related in the book I have said and done, but anything more than is contained therein I have not said or done". He also said, "I am not sent to you with signs and miracles, but with a sword to punish the rebellious; whoever, therefore, does not receive my prophesies and obey my commands, and does not willingly enter into this our faith, shall, if he be under our jurisdiction, be put to death, or be compelled to pay a tribute as an atonement for his incredulity, and may then live. I enjoin war and strife against those who do not profess this faith, who dwell in other countries, until they are by force converted to it. All those who do not abide by our doctrines shall be put to death, and their wives and children be condemned to perpetual servitude".
A mode of refutation.
Here Mahomet confesses with his own mouth that he never had and never should perform any miracle; therefore those which the Saracens relate concerning him must be considered as false. They say that a wolf once met him on the road, and that, on Mahomet's raising three of his fingers, the animal took to flight: they also relate a story of a bull that held converse with him: they also say that a fig-tree, on being called by him, prostrated itself to the ground, and in that way came to him: again, they state that he divided the moon into two parts and united them again. They also state that some poison was mixed with the flesh of a lamb for him by a woman named Zanab, the daughter of Acharith, and wife of Zelem, the son of Muzil Hebraeus; but as he was sitting at table with a follower of his, named Abarah, the lamb spoke to Mahomet and said, "Do not eat of me, for I am full of poison": his follower Abarus did, however, eat of it, and died. Eighteen years from that day, Mahomet himself died by poison, and if he had been a true prophet, he could have prayed for the life of his dead follower, or at least have saved himself and that follower from poisoned food, as Elijah and Elisha are once said to have done, saying, "There is death in the pot".
Death of Mahomet.
At the hour of death, Mahomet, knowing himself to be
20 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
poisoned, said to his friend and relations, "When you see that I am dead, do not bury me, for I know that my body will, after three days, be carried to heaven. His followers, therefore, kept his body for twelve days from the day of his death, which took place on a Monday, but, seeing that his words were void of effect they buried him in the month called by the Arabs, "Rabea granvil", in the sixtieth year from his nativity, after having kept him sick fourteen days, and watched his body thirty days to see whether it would be carried to heaven or earth, even after burial. When they at length found out the truth of the matter, they proved that all which he had foretold was false, and they then again placed him in the tomb. The wise men seceded from his faith, but the simple and ignorant populace, through the preaching of his relatives and disciples, who published his law for the sake of gain, observed his commands in after times. After Mahomet's death, a man named Abuzer, son of Abubalip, by the assistance of a man named Chatab, who was a chief amongst the disciples who survived him, arose amongst them, and began with moderation to persuade every one, and by flattery to gather followers together and to excite people to join him, fearing that every one would secede from that faith, and, being anxious to obtain the chief power therein for the future in the place of Mahomet. But Achali, the son of Abibalip, who was the father-in-law of Mahomet, was highly indignant at hearing this, and, being influenced by desire of gain and worldly honour, persevered in his efforts till he had deprived him of his sovereign authority. Another of them named Xenes, one of the followers of Mahomet, endeavoured by various stratagems and promises to recall to their faith those who had seceded from it; some he brought over to his faith by threats, others he seduced by means of worldly pleasures, until at length immense numbers returned to that faith. Other people too in distant parts of the world, hearing of the luxury and carnal pleasures permitted and enjoined by that law, willingly received it, considering the Christian religion and chastity as much too strict and severe, and thus a host of people were seduced to paganism. The chief cause of the Mahometan faith gaining ground is said to have been a monk, formerly a Christian, named Solius, [1] who being
[1] Or Sergius.
A.D. 1236.] BELIEF OF THE SARACENS. 21
excommunicated for heresy and expelled from every church of God, in his desire to revenge himself upon the Christians, went to a place called Thenme, and from thence he went into the desert of Malse, where he found men holding two modes of belief, for the greater portion of them were Hebrews, and the smaller portion worshipped idols. There, this apostate monk and the father-in-law of Mahomet met, and, after a conference, became friend. The monk changed his name, taking that of Nastorius, and taught him many prophesies and attestations out of the Old and New Testament, and the writings of the Prophets, which he skilfully annexed to the law of Mahomet, and thus, by the aid and advice of these men, this seducer began to be exalted above all the tribes; for the men were rude, uncultivated, and of a simple character, easy to be led away, and carnally disposed according to the words of the Prophet.
Et nos in vitium prona caterva sumus.
[We are but cattle prone to vice.]
The belief of the Saracens according to the commands of Mahomet.
Many of the Saracens believe that there is one God, the Creator of all men: they have, however, no belief in the Trinity, which they reject entirely. According to the writings of Mahomet they abominate idolatry, for he mixed some good doctrines with his evil ones, in order the more warily to make persons drink his poison seasoned with honey. They state that our Lord Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, by the Holy Ghost, and they say that he was a Creator by the virtue of God, as also, they say was Adam, for they place him on a level with Adam, or Moses, or one of the prophets. They also believe that he was taken to Heaven and still is alive there, for, as he came from God, so he has returned to, and remains with God, and they expect that he will still reign for forty years on earth. His crucifixion, suffering, and death, they altogether deny, and say that some other man was substituted to suffer in his stead, and, that when he was about to suffer, it became so dark in order that this might not be found out. They also declare that, from the days of Noah, all the patriarchs and prophets, and Jesus Christ himself have observed the same law as they, and by it have been saved. They say that we have
22 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
perverted the law of the Gospel, and have erased the name of Mahomet from it. For the scripture of the Saracens has it that, before the heavens and the earth were made, the name of Mahomet existed with God, and if there had been no Mahomet, there would have been no heaven, earth, paradise, or hell; wherefore, from this sole sentence, so pregnant with folly, all wise Saracens may see the vanity of his other doctrines. They expect and believe in the resurrection, but they say that, at the day of judgment, no one of their adherents will perish or be doomed to punishment, but that they will all be saved. For they say, that all who keep their law will obtain salvation of God by the intercession of Mahomet, and will never be punished. They believe that, after this temporal life, they will live eternally, and dwell for ever in paradise, whence there flow forth rivers of honey, wine, and milk, for the enjoyment of every one living there; and that whatever any of them may ask to eat and drink, will at once be sent to them from heaven. Also, that however many male or female children any one of them may desire to be born, they shall at once be born to him; they declare that there no one will mourn or be sorrowful, but that they shall be refreshed with various and universal delights and enjoy endless felicity, and they believe that the advantages, riches, and pleasures of the present life will not prevent their future happiness.
Of marriage amongst the Saracens.
According to their law, a man may take three or four wives, if he has sufficient means to support them; their wives ought to be free women; but of female slaves and concubines, they keep as many as they can manage or feed; contrary to what is said in Genesis, "There shall be two in one flesh": it does not say, "three or four". Again, Lamech, who first introduced polygamy, was rebuked by God, and punished worse than the first murderer. If any one among them is displeased with his wife, or if any contention, dispute, or hatred arises between them, a divorce is at once effected both on the part of the husband and of the wife, and each releases the other. If, however, a man, after putting away his wife, repents of so doing, and wishes her to be restored to him, unless she has previously formed a connexion with
A.D. 1236.] FURTHER FACTS CONCERNING MAHOMET. 23
another man, and she herself consents to return to him, he is in no wise allowed to take her to wife; this is so, because amongst them there is no legitimate marriage. They pay their dowries, not according to the law, but after the manner of the heathens, for they have no doctrinal guidance in these things, and no blessing is bestowed upon their nuptials.
Their superstition.
They chiefly have connexion with their wives during their time of festing, thinking that they the better please God by this. They fest only one month in the year, and then from the morning till night; from the beginning of the night till the morning they eat continually; on their days of fasting it is not proper for them to pray with an empty belly, but then they mostly have intercourse with their wives, as if they will obtain a greater recompense. If at the time of fasting any one is sick, or troubled in any way, or is on a pilgrimage, he is allowed to eat, and to renew his fasting when he is restored to health. At their time of fasting they eat flesh and all richer sorts of food, except wine. They hold no intercourse with their wives when pregnant, but only before conception, alleging as an honourable motive, that they ought not to do it unless to obtain offspring. They always perform their devotions looking towards the south; and they reverence Friday above all other days. In their judgments, whoever is accused of murder, if he is proved guilty, by any witnesses, is at once condemned to death as an atonement for his crime; and in their law it is written, "If any one does not observe the law, and denies Mahomet, let him be kept till the third day; and if he does not then repent, let him be put to death".
Some further facts concerning the said Mahomet.
As we have commenced to give an account of this impostor, Mahomet, which we heard from a celebrated preacher of great renown, who preached in rebuke of the law of the said Mahomet, having been sent to the countries of the East for that especial purpose, we have thought proper to insert it in these pages. The aforesaid Mahomet taught and wrote in his book the Alcoran (which the Saracens use, and consider as authentic as Christians do the Gospel), that the first and chief command of God, in importance as well as in point of
24 MATTHEW OF PARIS [A.D. 1236.
time, was this, "Increase and multiply"; and "whoever disobeys this commandment sins irremediably. Hence, in order that the Saracen nation might multiply, like horses and mules, which have no understanding, Mahomet ordered and enjoined on them to have as many wives and concubines as they could support, and to use and abuse them at their pleasure; and if any one has a less number than he could feed and govern, regard being had for his property, he is accused of transgressing the law, and of avarice, and more are assigned to him by the decision of the authorities. Thus Mahomet thought little of angelic virginity as being barren, and, slighting continence, condemned it as imfruitful, not considering that the Lord gave only one Eve to one Adam as a helpmate and to bring him an offspring. Thus, therefore, Mahomet, by multiplying wives, established polygamy, not being warned by the example of Lamech, that man of blood, who was the first to introduce bigamy, and afterwards paid for his crime, was reproved by the Lord, and blotted from the face of the earth by the flood. Hence it is that the weak and effeminate Saracens give loose to lust and uncleanness, following the orders of their most filthy prophet, Mahomet, who introduced this custom only to propagate and increase his sect and people, and thus to strengthen his law by their numbers, and that in this might be fulfilled what is written in Revelations, "The dragon with his tail has dragged a portion of the stars from heaven". Truly was this Mahomet a poisonous dragon, a beast blooded with the slaughter of many, sucking in a river and not wondering, still having confidence that "the Jordan will flow into his mouth". For this said false prophet Mahomet declared that God said to him, "Son of man, Mahomet, go not in the ways of other prophets, who have been before you, in miracles, signs, and prodigies. He who wishes to believe, and by his belief to be saved, let him of his own accord, uninfluenced by miracles, come to the faith, in order that, by his good will, a greater reward may be accumulated for him"; and this he pretended, knowing that his merits were not of so much importance in the sight of God, that God would work any miracle for him. He moreover stated, and preached, and wrote (it is not known on what grounds or authority he relied), that there had only been three prophets, and that there would not be
A.D. 1236.] FURTHER FACTS CONCERNING MAHOMET. 25
any more, namely, Moses amongst men, Jesus from heaven, and Mahomet, who drew his testamentary law from the earth. Moses, through the law given him by God, taught what suited his own age, Jesus through the Gospel, preached and taught what suited his time, and in the same way Mahomet gave such laws as were adapted to his generation. When therefore the time of the law was expired, the Gospel succeeded; when the time of the Gospel expired, the law of Mahomet succeeded, as if supplying the defects of the aforesaid which were past. Hence it is that Mahomet, wishing to please the believers of both Testaments, preached some doctrines which appertain to the law, and others pertaining to the Gospel; circumcision from the Old Testament, baptism from the New. For the Saracens are circumcised, and also wash the lower parts of their bodies in running water, that they may thus be purified by some sort of baptism. Again, they believe that Jesus Christ was conceived and born of the Virgin, according to the Gospel of Luke, who says, "An angel was sent", etc., but they deny that he was God; they, however, affirm that he was the greatest of the prophets. They also declare that there will be a resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. When Mahomet was asked about the deluge, the ark of Noah, and the universal extermination caused by the flood, of which Moses writes in Genesis, as to whether it was true and ought to be believed, he in reply said to his disciples,- Jesus, the chief prophet, when passing through the country of Jerusalem, was asked by his disciples concerning this matter, and impressed on their wavering minds the certainty of such an occurrence, and, seeing a piece of turf near his feet, he kicked it, saying, "Arise Japhet, son of Noah"; on this Japhet arose, as it were, from the piece of turf, a large and tall gray-headed man, and stood in astonishment and alarm. Jesus then asked him why he was afraid, to which he replied, "Lord, I was alarmed at hearing the trumpet of thy voice, believing that I was called to the general judgment of the resurrection". Jesus then replied, "Do not fear, for the hour of resurrection and judgment is not yet arrived; I summoned you from the dead in order that you, who were in the ark with your father, may relate to these people round me the whole truth of this matter". Japhet, then, taking up his
26 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
parable, thus commenced his narrative: "When the deluge overwhelmed the earth, we were in the ark, the men in one part, and the animals and beasts in their third story, which was on one side of the ark, and the hay and corn on the other side. After a lapse of four months the ark began to heel over and incline to that side on which the cattle were placed. The animals, accumulating dung, having by degrees consumed the corn distributed for their eating, overbalanced the ark; one side, that where the corn was placed, was raised, and the side which contained the animals was depressed, and we were in danger, and became greatly alarmed, and we did not dare to do any great work without asking advice of the Lord. We therefore made a sacrifice and offered up prayers, and the Lord being appeased, said to us, 'Make for yourselves a pile for an altar out of the earthy matter collected from the dung of men and camels, and when you have made a sacrifice on it, you will receive a remedy for your tribulation'. After we had done so, there arose from the pile a very large kind of sow, which at once placed itself in the hold of the vessel, and, dispersing the great heap of earth, by which the ark had been nearly upset, thus effected our preservation. After some days, however, when its work was accomplished, this sow, being now useless, became quite abominable to us, and it was the opinion of some that it ought to be thrown into the sea, but as it had been given to us by God, and had effected our preservation, we bore with it, although unwillingly. As a punishment for this offence, the Lord sent a plague on us in the following manner: the sow, as it were, sneezing, emitted from its nostrils a number of large hungry mice, which, overrunning the ark, did great damage to us, by gnawing and destroying its joints and ropes, and devouring the corn; and thus the sow, which at our request was given us to help us, became, owing to our transgression, a source of injury. When at length we repented and cried to the Lord in our trouble, he was appeased, and said, 'You have with you a lion; strike him on the forehead with a hammer, not however to kill him, and you will obtain safety'. When we had struck him according to the order of the Lord, he, with a roar, emitted a cat from his mouth, which destroyed the mice and released the ark from their annoyance. And that you may not
A.D. 1236.] FURTHER FACTS CONCERNING MAHOHET. 27
doubt that the sow sprang from the dung of men and of the camel, this plain argument proves; for the sow in its inner parts is like a man, and in its exterior, as it is of the race of quadrupeds, is not unlike a camel, and always delights in digging up and turning over heaps of earth and dung. And that you may believe that mice came forth from its nostrils, mice always burrow and dwell in holes in the earth, whence it is called a mouse, from the moisture of the earth. And that you may not doubt that a cat proceeded from the mouth of the lion, a cat is like a lion, as if descended from the same species, in its disposition of body and in its plundering and robbery of food. From that time the ark floated safely till the deluge was at an end.- Thus, Mahomet asserted that Japhet informed Christ and his disciples, who asked him about the ark; but to any wise man this seems frivolous, and entirely dissonant with truth.
By such empty discourses, this inveigler of souls, Mahomet, infatuated the minds of many persons. In his early life he was exalted and raised from the lowest condition by a noble woman named Adige, whom he had seduced and polluted by a clandestine connexion, and afterwards married; he then began to boast and exalt himself above all the powerful and wise men of the East, usurping the name and office of a prophet. The Lord therefore struck him with incurable epilepsy, and when it attacked him, he frequently fell down, as those who suffer from that disease usually do, on which, in order that he might not lose his accustomed authority, and thus be treated with contempt, he pretended that he was conferring and advising for the salvation of man with the archangel Gabriel, and could not endure his splendour standing. It happened one day, when surfeited with feasting and wine, in which, according to his preaching, he greatly indulged, that he fell on a dungheap overcome by illness, assisted, as was stated, by poison administered to him in his food that day by some nobles who were indignant at his pride. There he lay, in tortures, rolling about and vomiting, owing to his sins, and deprived of all consolation from his followers; whilst lying there half dead, he was discovered by an ugly sow, with an unweaned litter of pigs, and being stuffed with food, the smell of which he breathed forth, and parts of which he had brought up in his sickness, he was
28 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
by them smothered; and for this reaaon the Saracens till this day hate and abominate pigs more than all other animals. By means of the followers of Mahomet, who cloaked his wickedness as much as they could, his law began creepingly to gain a footing in the countries of the East; and that they might the more easily attain their ends, they continued to preach doctrines agreeable to the lusts of the flesh, not such virtues as raise man, when not effeminated, to heaven. Wherefore it is to be wondered at that Mahomet, by such prevarications, inclined men of wisdom and power to his faith. But because God knows who are his own, he has given their hearts to an evil way of thinking; and "his judgments are a great deep", and there is no one to say, "Why doest thou this"? and now to Him be honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The heresy of the Paterinians and Bugarians.
About this time, the heretical wickedness of the people, commonly called Paterinians and Bugarians, who dwelt in the transalpine provinces, and of whose errors I would rather be silent than make mention, gained such ground that they dared to disturb the parity of the faith in the territory of France and Flanders. But by the diligent ministry and unwearied preaching of the Minorites, Preachers, and Theologians, and especially of one of the order of Preachers, Robert (who was surnamed Bugre, because he had been converted from that faith and assumed the habit of a Preacher), and who was called the hammer of the heretics, their superstition was confounded, and their error was discovered. Several of both sexes, who refused to be converted to the true faith, he caused to be burnt; and within two or three months he caused about fifty people to be burned or buried alive.
Disagreement between the emperor and the Italians.
About this time, the anger of the emperor was kindled against the Italians to such a degree that, fuel being daily added to it, it burst forth into a most implacable hatred. He therefore made a serious complaint of their insolence to his holiness the pope, asserting that the pride of those who hated him always prevailed, and asking the pope, with the assistance of the whole of the Roman court, to give all his
A.D. 1236.] CONFERENCE HELD AT LONDON. 29
attention to bring about the restoration of an honourable peace between him and them; or else to afford him effectual assistance, so that he might, with outstretched arm, tame and subdue them, and reduce them to their accustomed subjection; as the pope required assistance to be given him by him, the emperor, if the Roman church should happen to want it: wherefore the Roman church was straitened with anxiety and was undetermined how to act. The emperor complained most severely of the city of Milan, which was the nurse and protectress of heretics and rebels against the empire, to attack which place he had in the same year assembled a large army. His son Henry, who was accused of treachery against his father, he detained in close confinement.
A conference held at London.
In the same year, on the 28th of April, the nobles of England assembled at a council at London, to discuss the affairs of the kingdom. It was a cause of astonishment to many that the king followed the advice of the bishop elect of Valentia more than he ought, despising, as it appeared to them, his own natural subjects, and at this they were annoyed, and accused the king of fickleness, saying amongst themselves, "Why does not this bishop elect betake himself to the kingdom of France, as the French king has married the elder sister of our queen, to manage the affairs of the French kingdom, like he does here, by reason of his niece the queen of that country"? And they were highly indignant. On the first day of the council the king went to the Tower of London, and gave great cause of discontent to many about this matter, and more unfavourable than prosperous conjectures were entertained. The nobles would not either singly or in numbers go to the Tower to the king, fearing lest he, yielding to evil counsel, should vent his rage on them, and being warned by the words of Horace,-
Quia me vestigia terrent
Omnia te venum spectantia, nulla retrorsum.
[Became the footsteps of these beasts all point towards your den,
But none of them, as far I can see, come back again.]
The king, nevertheless, restrained by motives of prudence, went from the Tower to his palace, there to discuss the urgent
30 MATTUEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
business of the kingdom more suitably with his nobles. After discussing several matters, he came to one praiseworthy determination, which was, that all the sheriffs should be dismissed, and others appointed in their places, because they had been corrupted by bribes and deviated from the paths of truth and justice. The king, therefore, substituted in their places men who possessed more tenements, who were richer, and of more noble race, who would not be driven by necessity to covet presents, nor to be corrupted. He also made them swear that they would not accept any gifts, unless in food and drink, and that only moderately and not to excess; or any present of land by way of reward, by which justice would be corrupted. To this council the king of Scotland sent special messengers, who urgently demanded from the king the rights which pertained to their lord, the said king of Scots, concerning which they said that they held a charter and had the testimony of a great many nobles; but the determination of this matter was put off for the present. At the same time, too, the king, because he could not reestablish peace between Earl Richard, his brother, and Richard Seward, banished the latter from the kingdom, saying that he would rather incur his anger than that of his brother. He also, to the astonishment of many, removed from their offices and dismissed from his councils, Ralph Fitz-Nicholas, seneschal of his palace, and several other high officers of his household. He also demanded instantly his seal from the bishop of Chichester, his chancellor; although he had blamelessly discharged the duties of his office, proving himself a remarkable pillar of truth at court. This, however, the chancellor refused to do, seeing that the king's violence exceeded the bounds of moderation, and said that he could on no account give it up, since he had undertaken the charge by the general consent of the kingdom, and therefore could not resign it without that same consent. About the same time, too, the emperor sent messengers to the king, demanding from him a large sum of money which he, the king, had promised him with his sister.
Of a battle fought in Scotland.
About the same time, several nobles and powerful men from the various provinces of the West, namely from Galloway,
A.D. 1236.] BATTLE FOUGHT IN SCOTLAND. 31
the Isle of Man, and parts of Ireland, assembled at the instance of Hugh de Lacy, whose daughter had been married to Alan of Galloway, lately deceased, and they all united together for the purpose of restoring Galloway to the illegitimate son of the aforesaid Alan, and of annulling by force the just disposition made by the king of Scots, who had distributed the inheritance amongst the three daughters of Alan, to whom it belonged by hereditary right. In order, therefore, to revoke and annul his distribution, and to restore the territory to the aforesaid Thomas, or to the son of Thomas, Alan's brother, or at least to one of that family, these presumptuous chiefs flew to arms, and, bursting forth into insolence, endeavoured to free themselves from the authority of the king. And in order to bring their attempts to the desired result, they entered into a strange kind of treaty, by means of a certain mode of divination, yet according to an abominable custom of their ancestors. For all these barbarians and their chiefs and magistrates drew blood from a vein near the heart, and poured it into a large cup, they then stirred and mixed it up, and afterwards, drinking to one another, quaffed it off as a token that they were from that time forth allied by an indissoluble and, as it were, kindred treaty, and indivisible both in prosperity and adversity, even at the risk of their heads. They therefore provoked the king and the kingdom to war, burning their own houses and those of their neighbours, that the king, when he arrived, might not find either shelter or food for his army, and indulged in rapine and incendiarism, heaping injury on injury. On hearing of this, the king of Scotland collected his forces from all quarters, and, marching to meet them, drew up his forces in order and engaged them in open battle; and the fortune of war turning against the Galwegians, they were put to flight, and the royal troops, pursuing them at the sword's point, slew many thousands of them, and those who were taken alive by the king and his soldiers were put to an ignominious death without any chance of ransoming themselves. Some threw themselves on the king's mercy, and were consigned to close imprisonment by him till he could consult as to what should be done with them, and all of them, together with their descendants, he, not without good reason, disinherited. Having gained this victory the
32 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
king glorified God, the lord of armies, and listening to good counsel, he sent word to Roger de Quincy, earl of Winchester, John Baliol, and William, the son of the earl of Albemarle, that, as they had married the three sisters, the daughters of Alan of Galloway, they might now, as the disturbances were quelled, hold peaceable possession of the rights pertaining to them. This battle took place in the month of April, the fortune of war favouring the king of Scots.
A disturbance in the French kingdom.
In the spring of the same year, many of the nobles rose in insurrection, to make war against the kingdom of France, for it excited their indignation that France, the kingdom of kingdoms, was governed by a woman's counsel. Men of rank and renown, and who had been trained to arms from their early youth, joined in the insurrection; the king of Navarre, that is, the count of Champagne; the count de la Marche, the count of Brittany, and a great many other nobles, allied themselves together by treaty and oath.
Death of William Daubeny.
About this time, too, on the 6th of May, William Daubeny the elder, a bold and magnanimous knight, and one endowed with all noble qualities, closed his life at an advanced age, leaving his son William, his legitimate heir, who took after his father in every respect.
Cordova is taken, and the city of Cepta makes a truce.
In the same year the inhabitants of Genoa, assisted by the Pisans and Marseillese, and the king of Arragon, suddenly attacked a noble city of Spain, called Cepta, on which the pagan citizens, who had for a long while inflicted much harm and injury to the said invaders, in alarm at the great numbers of their enemies, and at their sudden attack, surrendered to their authority, making a truce for a time on the condition, that if their lord, the king of Africa, who was commonly called the Emir of the World, [1] should not send them effectual assistance within three years, they would willingly, and without any difficulty, surrender themselves and the whole city to them; that in the mean time the king of Arragon and his allies might, at any time during the
[1] See p. 6, ante.
A.D. 1236.] A PRODIGY. 33
three years, peaceably build a tower and fortify it at their pleasure, on a bridge which they had gained possession of before the arrangement of this truce. The city of Cordova, then being taken, and Cepta being ready for capture, the hopes of the Christians were raised, and alarm seized on the Saracens, and especially on the king of Africa.
A prodigy.
About this same time, in the month of May, near an abbacy called Roche, in the northern part of England, there appeared bands of well-armed knights, riding on valuable horses, with standards and shields, coats of mail and helmets, and decorated with other military equipments: they issued from the earth, as it appeared, and disappeared again into the earth. This vision lasted for several days, and attracted the eyes of those who beheld it, as if by fascination; they rode in arrayed troops, and sometimes engaged in conflict; sometimes as if at a tournament, they shivered their spears into small fragments with a crash; the inhabitants saw them, but more from a distance than near them, for they never remember to have seen such a sight before, and many said that the occurrence was not without its presage. This occured more plainly in Ireland and its confines, where they appeared as if coming from battle, and dragged their horses after them wounded and broken down, without a rider, and the knights themselves were severely wounded and bloody: and what was more wonderful, their track plainly appeared impressed on the ground, and the grass was borne down and trampled on. Many people on seeing this vision fled before them in alarm, and betook themselves to the churches and castles, thinking that it was not an illusion, but a real battle. These occurrences came to our knowledge some years after they happened, from a report and true account of the event obtained from the earl of Gloucester, and by the evidence of many other persons.
The king endeavours to revoke some grants he had made.
In the same year, Peter de Rivaulx and Stephen Segrave, of whom we have made mention above, were received into favour by the king. In this year, too, on the eighth of June, the nobles of England assembled at Winchester in presence of the king, when the latter endeavoured, by a
34 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
warrant from the pope, to annul some grants which he had made to some of them before he had contracted his marriage, as though he was unable of himself without the connivance of the pope, to whom, as he said, the giving of rights in the kingdom belonged. Many were astonished at this, and said that the king was endeavouring much more than became him, or was his duty, to place his kingdom in slavery, and to reduce it to its last extremity.
Some of the English nobles assume the cross.
About the same time, Earl Richard, the king's brother, Earl G. Marshal, John, earl of Chester and Lincoln, the earl of Salisbury, G. de Lucy, his brother, Richard Seward, and many other nobles, assumed the cross. Earl Richard at once ordered his woods to be cut down and sold, and endeavoured by all the means in his power to raise money to sustain his pilgrimage. Not long afterwards, by means of Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, and (as was reported) Peter de Rivaulx, Richard Seward unjustly incurred the king's anger, and was taken and imprisoned; but was soon afterwards released with the same ease.
The massacre of the Jews.
At this time a great slaughter of the Jews took place on the continent, especially in Spain; and those on this side of the sea, fearing that they would suffer in the same way, made the king a present of money, on which he caused a proclamation to be made by the crier, that no one was to do any injury or cause any annoyance to any of the Jews.
The emperor's present.
In this year, about the feast of St. Benedict, the emperor sent a handsome present to the king of England, consisting of eighteen valuable horses, and three mules laden with silks and other costly presents. He also sent some valuable horses and other desirable things to Earl Richard, the king's brother.
A long drought and scorching of the crops.
In the summer of this year, after a winter beyond measure rainy, as has been mentioned, a constant drought, attended by an almost unendurable heat, succeeded, which lasted for four months and more. The marshes and lakes
A.D. 1236.] PACIFICATION OF THE FRENCH NOBLES. 35
were dried up to their very bottoms; water-mills stood uselessly still - the water being dried up; and the earth gaped with numerous fissures; the corn, too, in a great many places scarcely grew to the height of two feet.
Pacification of the French nobles.
In the same year, as the summer was drawing to a close, the nobles of France, who had engaged in the disturbance of that kingdom, made some terms of peace, and were received into favour by the king. About this time, too, some bold but rash young nobles in England - we know not by what spirit seduced - conspired together and entered into an execrable alliance to ravage England, like robbers and night-walkers. Their designs, however, became known; and the chief of the conspiracy, one Peter de Buffer, a door-keeper of the king, was taken prisoner, and by him others were accused. A dreadful machine, commonly called a gibbet, was erected at London to hang them on; and on it two of the chief conspirators were suspended, after having engaged in single combat; and one of them being killed in the struggle, was hung with his head cleft open; and the other, living, breathed forth his miserable life an the same gibbet, amidst the lamentations of the multitude assembled.
A disagreeement between the citizens of Orleans and the clergy.
In the same year, about Whitsuntide, a lamentable dissension sprung up between the clergy and the citizens at the city of Orleans, which originated about, and was promoted by, a chattering, brawling woman; and the tumult was fanned up and increased to such a pitch, that some scholars, illustrious youths of noble family, were slain in the city by the townsmen. Amongst these were the nephew of the Count de la Marche, the nephew of the count of Champagne, king of Navarre, a relation by blood of the count of Brittany, a blood relation of the noble baron Erkenwuld de Bourbon, and many others, some of whom were drowned in the river Loire, and others were killed; some, however, escaped with difficulty, and, hiding themselves in caves, vineyards, and other secret places, thus escaped death. On hearing of this, the bishop of the city, inflamed with zeal for justice, went out of the city, excommunicated all the perpetrators of this crime, and laid an interdict on the whole
36 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
place. The above-named nobles, too, hearing of the murder of their relatives, attacked the city, and put many of the inhabitants to death at the sword's point, without awaiting the formality of a trial; some others, too, they, with their swords still reeking with blood, beheaded on the road as they were returning from some market with their panniers laden with merchandise. This sedition did not cease till the royal mandate, at the wish of both parties, made terms between them, and calmed the tumult. About the same time, too, several cities and provinces of the French kingdom were laid under an interdict; amongst which were Rheims, Amiens, Beauvais, and other places, schisms having arisen amongst them from various causes.
A discord which sprang up at Oxford.
In the same year, a quarrel arose between the clergy and the citizens of Oxford, and it was with difficulty, and after a long time, that the strife was lulled to rest by the interference of the king and nobles, the bishops, and other men of rank and authority, and the university restored to its former state.
In the month of August of the same year, the bishops, John of Worcester, and Thomas of Norwich, departed this life; and about the same time died Henry, abbat of Croyland, a man of illustrious family, and renowned for his piety, after having governed his church, almost the whole of which, together with the buildings, he had rebuilt, for nearly fifty years.
The complaint of the king of Scotland.
In the same year, the king, by the advice of his nobles, proceeded to York to consult with them and make arrangements for settling the dispute between him and Alexander, king of Scotland, and which had now grown into hatred. For to wise men, who weighed future events in the scale of reason, it seemed foolish that the kingdom of England, surrounded on all sides by enemies on the continent, should secretly generate internal hatred. The origin of this discord was (it is said) as follows:- The king of Scotland had constantly demanded the county of Northumberland, which King John had given him as a marriage portion with his daughter Johanna, and for which he declared that he held a charter.
A.D. 1236.] THE PREACHING OF THE CRUSADE. 37
and had the evidence of a great many bishops and clergy of rank, as well as earls and barons; and he declared that it was an unworthy and execrable action to revoke what proceeded from the lips of kings, and to annul a compact made between persons of such noble station. He also added, that unless the English king would peaceably give him what plain reason proved to be his right, he would seek it at the sword's point. He was inspired with confidence by the secret, although suspected, friendship of Llewellyn, and by his alliance and affinity with Gilbert Marshal, who had married his sister Margaret, a most handsome lady. The hostility of his continental states, too, was always in conspiracy against him, and moreover, his cause was just, as was proved by the muniments of former kings. After much discussion on both sides, the king of England, for the sake of peace, and for the protection of his kingdom, as far as lay in his power, offered the king of Scots a revenue of eighty marks from some other part of England, in order that the boundaries of his kingdom might not be broken in upon in the northern parts. But whilst he waited until the affair should be settled to the satisfaction of both parties, the conference ended, and all for the moment remained at peace.
About that time, the knight, Philip Daubeney, a noble devoted to God, and brave in battle, after fighting for the Lord during several pilgrimages to the Holy Land, at length closed his life by a praiseworthy death there, and obtained a holy burial in the Holy Land which he had long desired when living.
The preaching of the crusade.
In the same year, on a warrant from the pope, a solemn preaching was made, both in England and France, by the brethren of the orders of Preachers and Minorites, and other famous clerks, theologians, and religious men, granting to those who would assume the cross, a full remission of the sins of which they truly repented and made confession. These preachers wandered about amongst cities, castles, and villages, promising to those who assumed the cross much relief in temporal matters, namely, that interest should not accumulate against them with the Jews, and the protection of his holiness the pope for all their incomes and property given in pledge to procure necessaries for their journey, and
38 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
thus incited an immense number of people to make a vow of pilgrimage. The pope afterwards sent also Master Thomas, a Templar, his familiar, into England, with his warrant, to absolve those crusaders, whom he chose and thought expedient, from their vow of pilgrimage, on receiving money from them, which he considered that he could expend advantageously for the promotion of the cause of the Holy Land. When the crusaders saw this, they wondered at the insatiable greediness of the Roman court, and conceived great indignation in their minds, because the Romans endeavoured thus impudently to drain their purses by so many devices. For the Preachers added, that if any one, whether he had assumed the cross or not, should be unable in person to undertake such a toilsome journey, he must not omit to contribute as much of his property as his means permitted, for the assistance of the Holy Land, and that thus he would fully enjoy the before-mentioned indulgence; but all these things rendered their hearers suspicious; for they said, "Will our dispenser prove faithful"? And so it turned out; for the pope, conceiving indignation against the people, made war, extorted money, collected a tenth part from all countries, and accumulated an endless sum of money to defend the Church; but peace was soon made, and he and the emperor became friends; the money, however, was never restored, and thus the devotion of many became daily weakened, and their confidence was abated.
The emperor's preparations to conquer Italy.
About the same time, the pope, by mandatory letters, strictly forbade the emperor to invade Italy; for the latter had, in the summer, called together all the Imperial forces he could muster, to attack the insolent Italians, and especially the inhabitants of Milan, for that city was a receptacle for all heretics, Paterines, Luciferians, Publicans, Albigenses, and usurers; and it seemed to the emperor to be an ill-advised plan for him to assist the Holy Land by the presence of himself and such a large army of God, and to leave behind him false Christians, worse than any Saracen. He moreover wondered beyond measure that the pope should be in any way favourable to the Milanese, or should seem in any manner to afford them protection, since it became him to be a father to
A.D. 1236.] THE EMPEROR MARCHES INTO ITALY. 39
the pious, and a hammer to the wicked. In reverence, however, for such a great father as his holiness the pope, the emperor modestly and prudently replied to him as follows.
The emperor's answer to the pope.
"Italy is my inheritance, and this is well known to all the world. To covet the property of others and abandon my own, would be ambitious and sinful, particularly as the insolence of the Italians, and especially the Milanese, has provoked me, showing no proper respect to me in any way. Moreover, I am a Christian, and, however unworthy a servant of Christ, I am prepared to subdue the enemies of the cross. Since, therefore, so many heresies are not only springing up, but are even growing thick in Italy, and the tares are beginning to choke the wheat throughout the cities of Italy, and especially Milan, to proceed to subdue the Saracens and to leave these unpunished, would be to rub the wound where the steel has entered with superficial fomentations, and to cause an ugly scar not a cure. Again, I am alone and am human, and therefore not capable of such a great undertaking as that of subduing the enemies of the cross, without a great force to assist me; as they are so numerous and powerful. Again, as I am not of myself sufficient to carry out such an arduous matter without a great deal of money, I have determined to apply the wealth of the said country to lend assistance to, and to avenge the crucified One; for Italy abounds in arms, horses, and wealth, as all the world knows".
The emperor marches into Italy to take Milan.
The pope, on hearing such profound reasonings, in order that he might not seem opposed to such incontrovertible arguments, pretended to give his consent; and that he might cross the mountains and enter Italy according to his purpose, his holiness promised, without fail, as far as he was able, to afford him his paternal assistance in every necessity. The emperor, encouraged by this, having by an imperial edict collected all the forces he could muster, entered Italy, followed by a large body of troops. The Milanese, not without reason, fearing his terrible anger, sent to the pope, asking advice and effectual assistance from him; and he, after receiving a large sum of money, with a promise of more, sent them much relief and assistance, to the injury of the emperor, and this
40 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1236.
seemed incredible and contrary to every one's opinion, that in such case of necessity the father would be converted into a stepfather. The citizens then sallied forth from the city in great force, to the number of about fifty thousand armed men, and proceeded with their standard (which they called "carruca", or "carrochium"), to meet the emperor, sending word that they were ready to fight him. About this time, a certain knight named Baldwin de Vere, had come from England as a messenger from the English king to the emperor, to arrange some secret business concerning the said king and the emperor; and on all these matters he afterwards gave his hearers full information. When the emperor heard that the Milanese had broken out into such audacity as to kick against him, he at once prognosticated that they had conceived this boldness, depending on the support of others than themselves; and after the matter had been carefully weighed in council with his nobles, it was agreed by acclamation that all who were present on the side of the emperor, from the highest to the lowest, should, without delay, fly to arms and attack this Milanese rabble, which dared, like mice coming from their holes, to provoke their lord to battle and to try their strength with the imperial forces. When this determination was made known to the Milanese, they halted for a little, and one of the elder citizens, on whose judgment the opinion of all depended, arranged the others in a circle around him and spoke as follows: "Hear me, noble citizens. The emperor is at hand in great power and with a large army, and he, as is known to the whole world, is our lord. If this lamentable struggle should take place, irreparable harm will arise from it; for if we are victorious in it, we shall obtain a reproachful and bloody victory over our lord, but if we are conquered, he will destroy our name, and that of our people and our city for ever, and we shall be a disgrace to every nation. Since, therefore, in every event it is dishonourable and dangerous to proceed further in a hostile manner, I consider it a wise plan to return to our city, where, if he chooses to attack us, it will be lawful for us to repel force by force; and whether he allows us to make peace with him, or compels us to drive him from our territory by force, our city will be preserved and our good name will remain unimpaired". All the rest
A.D. 1236.] THE EMPEROR'S RETURN INTO GERMANY. 41
acquiescing in this plan, they acted upon it, which was a pleasant sight to the emperor; however, that no fear or alarm might be shown on his part, he pursued them and prepared for a siege. Whilst all these events were passing, either by the instrumentality of the Roman church, or the enemies of the emperor, an internal discord was stirred up in the German provinces, by the duke of Austria, to quell which, letters and messengers were sent with all haste, explaining the great urgency of the case, and to summon him to return immediately. The emperor therefore raised the siege, for which he had made preparations, and returned into Germany, and the Milanese, on hearing this, seized by force on some castles, which the emperor had taken, and their garrisons, and put all the knights and soldiers of the emperor to death. When the emperor heard of this, he was much enraged, and not without good reason, and poured forth all his just indignation against the author of this evil and punished the duke of Austria, by depriving him of his honours, lands, castles, and cities, scarcely granting him his life; so that vengeance for the crime perpetrated by him against King Richard, on his return from the Holy Land, seemed even at this time unsatisfied, as the prophet says, "Although late, God severely punishes wickedness", and "visits the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation".
In this year, about Michaelmas-day, Baldwin de Vere, a discreet, faithful and eloquent man, returned to England and brought the emperor's reply to the king, and gave a full account of all those matters to all who chose to listen to him.
About the same time, too, Peter, bishop of Winchester, returned fiom the continent, deprived of his bodily strength by disease. Near about the same time, too, namely on the Monday following that feast, deluges of rain fell in the northern parts of England, to such a degree that the rivers and lakes, overflowing their usual bounds, caused great damage by destroying bridges, mills, and other property near the banks.
In the same year, on the 16th of August, died Thomas de Blundeville, bishop of Norwich. And about the same time died William of Bleis, bishop of Worcester, and Henry de Sandford, bishop of Rochester. Thomas, abbat of Evesham,
42 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1237.
also died in this year, and was succeeded by Richard, prior of Hurle.
Violent storms of wind and destructive inundations.
On the day after the feast of St. Martin, and within the octaves of that feast, great inundations of the sea suddenly broke forth by night, and a fierce storm of wind arose, which caused inundations of the rivers as well as of the sea, and in places, especially on the coast, drove the ships from their ports, tearing them from their anchors, drowned great numbers of people, destroyed flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle, tore up trees by the roots, overthrew houses, and ravaged the coast. The sea rose for two days and the intermediate night, a circumstance before unheard of, and did not ebb and flow in its usual way, being impeded (as was said) by the violence of the opposing winds. The dead bodies of those drowned were seen lying unburied in caves formed by the sea, near the coast, and at Wisbeach and the neighbouring villages, and along the seacoast, an endless number of human beings perished: in one town, and that not a populous one, about a hundred bodies were consigned to the tomb in one day. In the night of Christmas eve, also, a very fierce storm of wind raged, attended by thunder and a deluge of rain, and shook towers and other buildings, and the confusion of the elements rendered the roads and seas impassable. And thus in that year about the equinoctial season, the storm twice repeated ravaged England with irreparable damage. The Lord indeed seemed, owing to the sins of the people, to have sent this flood as a scourge to the earth, and to fulfil the threat contained in the Gospel,- "There shall be upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring".
The king of England exacts the thirtieth part of all moveable property throughout the whole kingdom.
In the year of our Lord 1237, which was the twentieth of the reign of King Henry the Third, he held his court at Christmas, at Winchester, whence he forthwith sent royal warrants throughout all the English territories, ordering all nobles belonging to the kingdom of England, namely, archbishops, bishops, abbats, installed priors, earls, and barons, all to assemble without fail in the octaves of the Epiphany at
A.D. 1237.] COURT HELD AT WINCHESTER. 43
London, to arrange the royal business and matters concerning the whole kingdom. The nobles on hearing this immediately obeyed the king's summons, and accordingly on the day of St. Hilary, a countless multitude of nobles, namely, the whole community of the kingdom, came to London, and proceeded to the royal palace at Westminster to hear the king's pleasure. When they had all taken their seats, there stood up in the midst of them, one William de Kaele, a clerk and familiar of the king's, a discreet man and well skilled in the laws of the land, who, acting as a sort of mediator between the king and the nobles, disclosed to them the king's pleasure and intentions. "My lord the king", he said, "informs you that, whatever he may have done heretofore, he now and henceforth will, without hesitation, submit himself to the advice of all of you, as his faithful and natural subjects. But those men who have till now, in the management of his affairs, been in charge of his treasury, have rendered him an incorrect account of the moneys received by them, and owing to this the king is now destitute of money, without which any king is indeed desolate; he therefore humbly demands assistance from you in money, on the understanding that the money which may be raised by your good will shall be kept to be expended for the necessary uses of the kingdom, at the discretion of any of you elected for the purpose". When the assembled nobles heard this speech, they each and all, not expecting anything of this sort, murmured greatly, and-
Alter in alterius jactantes lumina vultus.
[Each hearer lost in dire amaze,
Turned on his neighbour's face his gaze.]
And they said to one another,
Fuderunt partum montes: en ridiculus mus.
[The labouring mountains shook the earth,
And to a paltry mouse gave birth.]
They then replied with indignation that they were oppressed on all sides, so often promising and paying now the twentieth, now the thirtieth, and now the fiftieth part of their property, and they declared that it would be unworthy of them, and injurious to them, to allow a king so easily led
44 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1237.
away, who had never repelled or even frightened one of the enemies of the kingdom, even the least of them, and who had never increased his territories but rather lessened them, and placed them under foreign yoke, to extort so much money, so often, and by so many arguments, from his natural subjects, as if they were slaves of the lowest condition, to their injury and for the benefit of foreigners. When the king heard this, he wished to calm the general discontent, and promised on oath that he would never again provoke or annoy the nobles of the kingdom by injuring them in that way, provided that the thirtieth part of all moveable property in England was granted and paid to him for his present use; because the large sum of money which he had a little while before sent to the emperor (as he stated) for the marriage of his sister, and also what he had spent at his own marriage, had in a great degree exhausted his money. To this they openly replied that he, the king, had done all this without the advice of his liege subjects, and they ought not to share the punishment as they were innocent of the crime. They however withdrew to a private place to consult about obeying the king's demand, and supplying his necessities, and to discuss the kind and quantity of assistance which was demanded. As they were withdrawing for this purpose, Gilbert Bassett said to the king in the hearing of all, and with less circumspection of speech than he ought,- "My lord king, send some one of your friends to be present at the conference of your barons". He was, when he said this, sitting on one side of the king, with only a few persons between them, and, in reply to his speech, Richard Percy, who had been at the conference of the nobles, and was, not without cause, angry at it, said, "What is it, friend Gilbert, that you said? are we too foreigners, and are we not amongst the number of the king's friends"? And Gilbert felt himself rebuked by this unpleasant and sudden speech. And thus by a multiplicity of arguments the conference was protracted for four days.
The terms on which the thirtieth on moveables was granted to the king.
The king, in great alarm, and desiring to conciliate the good-will of the barons, then and thenceforth submitted himself to the advice of his liege and natural subjects, contrary to what he had formerly done. Moreover, with regard
A.D. 1237.] TAX ON MOVEABLES GRANTED TO THE KING. 45
to the report that he was endeavouring, by means of a warrant from the pope, to invalidate the grants he had formerly made and confirmed to them by charter, the king said that it was false; and if such a thing had been suggested to him, he declared it to be of no effect, and that he altogether renounced such a purpose; and besides this he, with a calm countenance and of his own free will, promised from that time inviolably to observe the rights of the great charter, towards all the liege subjects of his kingdom. And because he seemed to be not entirely free from the sentence which the archbishop Stephen and all the bishops of England had pronounced against all violators of the aforesaid charter; which he by ill advice had in a measure violated himself he ordered the aforesaid sentence to be publicly renewed against all gainsayers and violators of the said charter; so that by this, if he himself, through any malice, should by any chance fail to observe it, he would be more deeply involved in that sentence, and the result of this proceeding was, that by his words he wonderfully conciliated the hearts of all his hearers towards himself. It was also determined that it would be harsh to remove from the king the councillors he at present had, as if they were wicked; they therefore strengthened their number by the addition of some other nobles, appointing the Earl Warrenne, William Ferrers, and John Fitz-Geoffrey as additional ones; and the king, as he had formerly done at Windsor, made them swear that they would in no wise, for presents or by any other means, deviate from the path of truth, but would give him, the king, good advice, and what was for the benefit of the kingdom. On these conditions a grant of the thirtieth part of all moveable property in the kingdom was made to the king, to replenish his treasury, saving, however, to every one his silver and gold, his horses and arms, which would be devoted for the public advantage; which thirtieth part was to be collected throughout each county in the following manner and form:- Four trustworthy knights were to be chosen, besides one clerk, whom the king would appoint; and these knights, together with the clerk, having taken an oath of fealty to the king, were to collect the money, which, when collected, was to be placed in some convent, sacred house, or castle, so that if the king should endeavour to
46 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1237.
retract his promises, the property of each should be restored to him, and a correct distribution made. The archbishop of Canterbury and his bishops and clergy first agreed to this; and on this condition, the thirtieth part of all moveable property in the kingdom was granted to the king, to be collected throughout the whole kingdom in general from every prelate and knight according to the tenement of his barony. It was, however, often annexed to the conditions, that the king would then and thenceforth reject the advice of foreigners (who were always friends to themselves, and not to the kingdom, and generally wasted its wealth instead of increasing it), and of all unnatural advisers, and would abide by the counsel of his liege and natural subjects. The council then thus broke up, not however before a great deal of secret anger and discontent was excited, because it was with great difficulty that they could turn the king's mind to their wholesome counsel, and induce him to comply with the advice of those from whom he held all earthly honour; and each returned to his home.
Victories of the Christians in Spain.
In the same year, churches and prelates were ordained at Cordova, a large city of Spain, which, as has been before mentioned, was taken on Tuesday in Easter-week. In this city Lucan states that he was born, and says, "Cordova gave me birth". It was captured by Alphonso, the most Christian king of Castile; and on its surrender to the Christians, joy was heaped upon joy, by the capture also of the great and rich pagan island of Majorca, which was filled with pirates and vagabonds, and was most particularly inimical to the merchants and pilgrims who travelled by sea between the countries of Africa and Spain. This island contains thirty-two castles. And to increase our joy, in the year last past the large city of Burianna was taken, and also the most impregnable castle of Peniscola by the king of Arragon; [1] and thus he fulfilled by exquisite cunning what it was impossible to accomplish by force. Thus within two years were taken the city of Cordova, the island of Majorca, the city of Burianna, and the castle of Peniscola; and all those places
[1] Paris adds, "per ingeniam asperrimum, arietum ad Pascha paganorum mmolandorum", which I cannot translate.
A.D. 1237.] MARRIAGE OF THE EARL OF GLOUCESTER. 47
were given up to the Christian power in Spain, and yielded to God for the honour of his holy church. Our people therefore prepared under happy auspices to attack Valentia, another large and famous city of Spain, keeping up their courage and good hopes by the remembrance of past events. The city of Cepta, too, was fearing a like downfell.
Llewellyn asks the king of England to confirm their treaty.
In this year Llewellyn, prince of Wales, by special messengers sent word to the king that, as his time of life required that he should thenceforth abandon all strife and the tumult of war, and should for the future enjoy tranquillity and peace, he had determined to place himself and all his possessions under the authority and protection of him, the English king, and would hold his lands from him in all faith and friendship, and enter into an indissoluble treaty; and if the king should be proceeding on any expedition, he would to the best of his power, as his liege subject, promote it, by assisting him with troops, arms, horses, and money. To confirm and ratify this treaty, the bishops of Hereford and Chester were sent as mediators to bring the aforesaid matter to a conclusion. The cause of this message is said to have been that the said Llewellyn, owing to an attack of paralysis, was unable of himself to oppose the grievous attacks of his son Griffin, who was making war against him. Many of the nobles of Wales agreed to this treaty, and confirmed it at the same time as Llewellyn; some of them, however, strongly opposed their compacts. The faith of the Welsh is a want of faith, and they show no mercy when they have it in their power; and when fortune befriends them, they persecute those who fall into their power; but when defeated, they either fly or humble themselves: and such persons are never to be trusted, as the poet says, "I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts"; the philosopher Seneca also says, "You will never make safe treaty with any enemy".
The marriage of Richard, earl of Gloucester.
About the same time, the king's anger was again kindled against the earl of Kent, Hubert de Burgh, because Richard, earl of Gloucester, still a boy, under the king's care, secretly married Earl Hubert's daughter Margaret, without his, the king's, permission or connivance. For he had determined
48 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1237.
(as it was stated) to unite the said youth, the earl of Gloucester, together with his county and all his honours, to a young lady, a near relative [1] of William, bishop elect of Valentia, a native of Provence. The king's anger was, however, at length set at rest by the intercession of a great many people, and on Hubert's declaring that he had not been aware of it, and that it had not been done by him, and on his promising a sum of money to the king. In the same year, by the management of the emperor Frederick, another senator was created at Rome, in order that, by the united skill and power of two senators, the insolence of the Romans might be checked, and the city be pacified, and governed more safely, and easily ruled by their counsels.
The insolence of the Greeks towards the Roman church and their emperor.
About this time the usual insolence of the Greeks burst forth in its madness, as well against the Roman church as against their lord the emperor of Constantinople, and so exasperated the pope and the whole Church that the opinion and wish of many were to send the army of the crusaders against them; for the emperor, in order to avoid their fury, had departed to the western countries to ask advice and assistance from the Roman church.
The pope summons the count of Brittany to his counsels.
At this time the pope summoned the count of Brittany to his counsel, to the astonishment of many, who wondered that he should call on a man notorious for such manifold acts of treachery to manage his arduous business. But he had chosen and selected the said count before all others, as a man most skilful in warfare, bold in fight, of illustrious family, and one who had gained experience by frequent conflicts both by sea and land, to intrust to him the guidance and command of the Christian army, and to consign to him the money to be expended in the necessary preparations for the march of the crusaders.
Heavy falls of rain again break forth.
As the first of March was drawing near, namely on the feast of St. Valentine, heavy storms of rain inundated the
[1] The original has "proximo" and "nato", a mistake, probably, for "proximae" and "natae".
A.D. 1237.] THE BISHOP OF VALENTIA LEAVES ENGLAND. 49
country, which, by destroying the banks of the rivers, rendered the fords and roads impassable for eight successive days. And in order that, from some cases, other similar ones may be imagined, the Thames in England, and the Seine in France, with their swollen floods, washed away cities, bridges, and mills, lakes springing up in formerly dry places, and spreading over a wide extent of country, so that for fifteen days, in consequence of the floods, it was scarcely possible to distinguish the roads on the banks.
William, bishop elect of Valentia, leaves England, but soon returns.
About this time William, bishop elect of Valentia, to whom the king had entirely intrusted the reins of government, seeing that the nobles had, not without reason, conceived great indignation against him, on that account took his departure for his own country; his lands and rich farms, which the king had given him, he placed in the hands of Aaron, a Jew of York, in the form of a pledge, receiving from him, by way of loan, nine hundred marks of new sterling money in hand. He then directed his steps towards Dover, under the guidance of the king himself with the packsaddles of his beasts of burden full of gold, silver, and divers royal presents, besides some desirable jennets and valuable saddle-horses. And so cunningly had this man managed matters, that the king, abandoning the example set him by the noble emperor and the careful king of France, who did not permit their backs to be trodden upon by their wives and their relatives and countrymen, deprived and drained of all his money, and become a needy man, suffered this bishop to pull his kingdom to pieces, and, being under the influence of his wife, allowed him, on the least pretence, to consume the produce of his own territories. He also allowed foreigners,- Poictevins, Germans, Provencals, and Romans,- to fatten themselves on the good things of the country, to the injury of his kingdom. The aforesaid bishop elect of Valentia then went to France, whence, after paying his respects to the king and his sister, he was without delay sent away in peace, and allowed to depart without any presents. He then sent the presents he had brought from England to Provence, and there distributed them, together with some horses loaded with an immense sum of money, and then returned
50 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1237.
empty-handed to England, where he was received by the king with open arms.
The election of Walter Cantelupe and John, prior of Norwich.
The venerable bishops of Worcester and Norwich, of pious memory, having gone the way of all flesh, the monks of Worcester elected Master Walter de Cantelupe, son of the powerful and illustrious William de Cantelupe, to be their prelate and the pastor of their souls, and the pope accepted of him without any difficulty, and consecrated him as bishop. The Norwich monks elected their prior, a religious and discreet man, to be their head; but his election, though duly made, displeased the king, and, owing to the ridiculous reasonings and objections of some who opposed it, was for a long time hung in suspense, not without certain scruples arising from suspected misdeeds.
The wretched condition of England.
During all this time, the small fire of the true faith began to die away, so that it was almost reduced to ashes, and seemed scarcely to emit a single spark. For simony was now practised without a blush, and usurers openly, by various arguments, extorted money from the people and from minors; charity expired; the liberty of the church was crushed; religion was trodden upon, and of no value; and the daughter of Sion became, as it were, a shameless harlot without a blush. Illiterate persons, of the lowest class, armed with the bulls of the Roman church, bursting forth into threats, daily presumed, despite of the sacred privileges we enjoy from our holy ancestors, to plunder the revenues left by pious men of old times for the maintenance of religious men, for the support of the poor, and to afford hospitality to pilgrims; and, by thundering forth sentences of excommunication, they at once obtained what they demanded. And if any of the injured or robbed parties resorted to the remedy of appeal, or to the plea of privilege, they immediately suspended and excommunicated them by means of some other prelate, on the authority of a warrant from the pope, and in this way, not by prayers, not canonically, but by imperious extortion, did they rob the simple-minded, according to the saying of the poet,-
Armato supplicat ense potens.
[The man in power begs with a drawn sword.]
A.D. 1237.] DEATH OF JOHN DE BRIENNE. 51
Hence it came to pass that, where formerly noble and bountiful clerks, guardians and patrons of churches, used to make themselves renowned throughout the whole of the adjacent country, by entertaining travellers and refreshing the poor, there debased men, void of morals, and full of cunning, agents and farmers of the Romans, now scraped together all that was useful and valuable, and transmitted it to foreign countries to their lords, who were living daintily on the patrimony of Christ, and bragging on the possessions of others. Then was to be seen heartfelt grief, the cheeks of the saints became wet with tears, and sighs and complaints were heard to burst forth and multiply, and many said with a sigh, "It were better to die than to behold the sufferings of our people and our saints". Woe to England! which, once the chief of provinces, mistress of nations, the mirror of the church, and a pattern of religion, is now laid under tribute; ignoble men have trampled her under-foot, and she has fallen a prey to degenerate men. But the manifold offences of the English have brought these scourges on themselves, through the anger of Him, who, for the sins of the people, makes the hypocrite to reign, and the tyrant to bear rule.
Death of John de Brienne and of brother Jordan.
In this year was taken from amongst us the renowned John de Brienne, of immortal memory, formerly king of Jerusalem, and who had almost attained the imperial sovereignty of the Greeks; who would have closed a happy and peaceful life in sunshine, if he had not brought on himself the enmity of the great Frederick, the emperor of the Germans. Between winter and spring of this year, too, brother Jordan, prior of the order of Preachers, a man of distinguished sanctity and a renowned preacher, was drowned in a storm, whilst sailing along the coast of the southern barbarians, for the purpose of gaining them to God by his preaching. His body was brought to land by some of those shipwrecked, whom chance had snatched from death, although with much labour and danger, and consigned to the tomb in an honourable and becoming manner. As they were burying his holy body, they smelled a remarkable fragrance proceeding from his clothes, as well as from his person, the
52 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1237.
sweetness of which continued to perfume their hands for a long time.
About this same time was canonized and enrolled in the list of saints, St. Dominic, a brother of the order of Preachers.
The death of Richard, the second bishop of Durham of that name.
About the same time, namely on the 15th of April, died Richard, the second bishop of Durham of that name; a man of unparalleled piety and profound learning, who had strenuously ruled over three episcopal churches; namely, those of Chichester, Salisbury, and, finally, that of Durham, which he had presided over with all prosperity, and had released it from a heavy debt, incurred by the first Richard, sumamed Marsh, his predecessor. The sum of money which the aforesaid bishop, the second Richard, paid by way of settlement of the debt, was reckoned at more than four thousand marks. It also redounds to his immortal praise, that he transferred the church of Salisbury from a hollow, dry place in the neighbourhood of the earl's castle, to a fitting situation, and by the help of some famous architects, whom he had summoned from distant provinces, he laid a large foundation, and himself placed the first stone; to promote which work, not only the bishop, but also the king, and a great many nobles, lent a helping hand. Hence some versifier gives,-
Rex largitur opes, fert praesal opem, lapicidae
Dant operam; tribus his est opus, ut stet opus.
[The king finds money, the stonemason hands,
The bishop aids, and so the building stands.]
Besides this, he founded an establishment of nuns, at Tarent, and gave it to the queen, where he chose his burial-place. When the time of his dissolution drew nigh, the bishop, seeing that the hour was come for him to pass from this world, preached a special discourse to the assembled people, and told them that his death was at hand; on the following day, as his disease gained ground, he again assembled the people, and repeated his discourse, bidding them all farewell, and asking pardon of whomsoever he had offended. On the third day he summoned his family, and those to whom he was bound particularly to afford protection, and divided amongst them whatever appeared necessary to be distributed, to each one according to his deserts; and, having arranged
A.D. 1237.] CAUSE OF THE EMPEROR'S RETURN FROM ITALY. 53
and completed all his affairs with proper deliberation, and taken leave of his friends one by one, and, finally, performing the midnight devotions, he uttered the verse, "I will both lay me down in peace and sleep", and fell asleep in the Lord in all happiness. The monks of Durham, then, after invoking assistance from above, elected their prior, Thomas, a religious and discreet man, as their bishop and pastor of their souls.
The cause of ihe emperor's return from Italy.
About the same time, the emperor Frederick, finding that the malice of his enemies had recalled him to Germany from his intended expedition, and that, to his disgrace, he was obliged to raise the siege and retire from Milan, instituted an inquiry as to who had caused him this obstruction, and finding that the duke of Austria had stirred up internal discord in Germany, and that he was the cause of his being hindered in his purpose, attacked him and deprived him of his lands, honours, and wealth.
The emperor summons all the princes of Christendom.
In the same year, the emperor Frederick, by special messengers and imperial letters, summoned all the great Christian princes of the world to assemble on the day of St. John the Baptist's nativity, at Vaucouleurs, which is on the confines, or near, the confines, of the empire and the French kingdom, there to discuss some difficult matters concerning the empire as well as the kingdom. The king of France, as if entertaining suspicion of this conference, proceeded at the time fixed to the place appointed, attended by a large army, which he had assembled for the purpose, and thus set dreadful and pernicious example to others, inasmuch as he went to discuss matters of peace in the same way as he would to attack his enemies. The king of England made reasonable excuses for not coming in person; but sent a peaceful embassy, consisting of some of the chief men of the kingdom; namely, Richard earl of Cornwall, his brother, with some other nobles, fit to manage a conference, under the guidance of the venerable archbishop of York and the bishop of Ely, and other trustworthy persons selected for the purpose. The bishop of Winchester, although selected before all others, absolutely refused to go, and, not without reason, gave the following as the cause for excusing himself: "My lord king", said he,
54 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1237.
"you lately laid a heavy complaint against me before the emperor, telling him that I, with some other nobles, disturbed your kingdom: whether you did this with justice, or unjustly, God knows; but I trust that I have saved my conscience in every respect. But if your words were now placed with confidence in my mouth and in your letters, and should declare that I was a familiar and faithful friend of yours; all this would appear as contrary, and he would accuse both you and me of instability; and this would blacken your fame in a great degree. Therefore, because it would be manifestly to your dishonour, I will not go on any account". And in the opinion of many, this reply gave sufficient excuse for him. When all preparations had been made, and they were all ready to set sail on this journey, they were met by letters from the emperor, to say that he could not go to the conference then, as he had purposed; but that what he could not do then, should, by God's favour, be carried into effect on the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in the following year; and thus each and all of them returned without effecting anything.
In this year, on the day of the Supper, the bishop of Hereford consecrated the holy unction in the church of St. Albans. About this time, too, John Scott, earl of Chester, closed his life about Whitsuntide, having been poisoned by the agency of his wife, the daughter of Llewellyn. The life of the bishop of Lincoln, too, was also attempted by the same means, and he was with difficulty recalled from the gates of death. In the same year, in the week before Whitsuntide, there fell storms of hail which exceeded the size of apples, killing the sheep; and they were followed by continued rain.
Arrival in England of Otto the legate.
In the same year, too, about the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, it was not known for what purpose, Master Otto, a cardinal deacon of St. Nicholas in the Tullian prison, came as legate to England on a summons from the king, unknown to the nobles; at which a great many of them conceived great anger against the king, and said, "The king perverts all laws, breaks his faith and promises, and transgresses in everything he does; he a little while ago united himself in marriage to a foreigner without consulting his friends and natural
A.D. 1237.] PHILIP'S LETTER TO THE POPE. 55
subjects; and now he has secretly summoned a legate to make alterations throughout the whole kingdom: at one time he gives away his own, and then endeavours to recall what he has given". In this way from day to day, according to the words of the Gospel, the kingdom, divided in itself, and in disorder, was dreadfully desolate. It was said that Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, reproached the king for acting in the way he did, and especially for summoning the legate, knowing that it would ere long be the cause of great loss to the kingdom, and to the prejudice of his dignity; but the king rejected his advice, as well as that of others of his counsellors, and would on no account abandon the purpose he had conceived in his mind. The aforesaid legate, therefore, came in grand pomp and in great power, and the bishops and clerks of distinction went as far as the coast to meet him; and some went off to him in boats, receiving him with acclamations, and offering him costly presents. Even at Paris, the messengers of several bishops met him, and offered him cloth of scarlet and valuable cups. For doing this they deserved general censure, both for the gift and the manner of giving it; for by the cloth and its colour it was made to appear that the office of the legateship and his arrival were accepted of. On his arrival, he did not receive all the presents offered to him, but only some; and what he did not take, he ordered to be kept for him; he then liberally distributed the vacant benefices amongst his followers, whom he had brought with him, whether deserving or undeserving. The king himself met him at the seaside, and bowed his head to his knees; after which he officiously conducted him to the interior of the country. The bishops also came, as well as abbats, and the other prelates of the churches, and received him with all honour and reverence, with processions and the music of bells, and with costly presents, as became them, and more than became them.
Letter of Philip, a brother of the order of Preachers, to the pope.
In the same year, pleasing news arrived from the Holy Land, that a certain great chief of the heretics of the East had abandoned his superstitious errors, and, influenced by the Holy Spirit, had been converted to Christianity by the urgent and diligent preaching and exhortation of brother
56 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1237.
Philip, prior of the order of Preachers, in the Holy Land, who without delay sent word of this to the pope and to brother Godfrey, the confessor of the pope, to delight them with the gratifying intelligence. The said brother Godfrey then wrote to all the priors of the order of Preachers in England and France, informing them of this circumstance, in the following words:- "To the venerable fathers in Christ, the priors of the order of Preachers, in England amd France, brother Godfrey, confessor of his holiness the pope,- health and joy in the Holy Spirit,- Be it known to you, that his holiness has received letters from brother Philip, provincial minister at the Holy Land, to the following purport:-
"To the most holy father amd lord, Gregory, by Divine calling supreme pontiff, brother Philip, the useless prior of the brotherhood of Preachers, due and devoted obedience in all things.- Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has in our time, holy father, by his clemency brought back to the shepherd the sheep which have been so long wandering. For in our days he has shown us a year of his kindness, and begins to fill his fields with abundance; inasmuch as he is bringing back to obedience to you, and to the unity of the mother church, the nations which have so long gone astray from that community. For in this year, the patriarch of the Jacobites of the East, a man of science and morals, and venerable age, with a large company of archbishops, bishops, and monks of his nation, came to worship in Jerusalem. To him we expounded the words of the Catholic faith; and, by the co-operation of the divine grace, we made such progress, that on Palm-Sunday, at the time of the solenm procession, which on that day usually comes down from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, he promised and swore to obey the holy Roman church; at the same time abjuring all heresy. He also delivered to us his profession in Chaldaic and Arabic writing, as a lasting evidence; and in addition to this, he at his departure adopted our habit. This man is chief over the Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, and Armenians, whose territories the Tartars have now ravaged to a great extent; and his prelateship extends so far in other kingdoms, that seventy provinces are under his subjection, in which numberless Christians dwell as slaves, and tributary to the Saracens, with the exception of the monks,
A.D. 1237.] PHILIP'S LETTER TO THE POPE. 57
whom they exempt from tribute. In the same manner did the two archbishops, one the Jacobin bishop of Egypt, and the other the Nestorian, in the East; they have their prelacies over the people which dwell in Syria and Phoenicia. And we, too, are now with all speed sending four brothers into Armenia to learn the language, at the urgent entreaties of the king and the barons. Concerning another man, also, who is at the head of all those whom the Nestorian heresy has separated from the Church, (and whose prelateship extends through Greater India, the kingdom of Prester John, and other kingdoms nearest to the East), we have already received several letters, informing us that he has promised brother William de Montferrat, who, with two other brothers learning that language, has stayed some time with him, that he would be obedient, and return to the bosom of the united Church. We also sent brethren into Egypt, to the patriarch of the Egyptian Jacobites, who usually go much further astray than those of the eastern countries, adding circumcision to their other errors, like the Saracens; and from him we have likewise heard that he wishes to return to the unity of the Church; and now, abandoning all his former errors, he forbade those in subjection to him to be circumcised. This man holds in subjection to him Lesser India, Ethiopia, Libya, and Egypt; the Ethiopians and Libyans are not, however, subject to the Saracens. The Maronides, who dwell in Libanus, have long since returned to, and still persevere in, their obedience to the Church. And whilst all these above-mentioned people acquiesce in the doctrines of the Trinity and our preaching, the Greeks alone persist in their wickedness, and everywhere secretly or openly oppose the Roman church; they revile all our sacraments; and every sect foreign from their own they call wicked and heretical. Wherefore we, seeing such a great gate open, in order that the truths of the Gospel may be published abroad, have given our attention to learning the language of these people, and have enjoined the same on each of the conventual assemblies, thus adding a new labour to our old one; and already, by the grace of God, they speak and preach in new languages, and especially in Arabic, which is more common amongst the people. But, alas! with all this pleasure and spiritual joy, which has arisen amongst
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us, owing to the conversion of the infidels, the Lord, from the depths of his judgment, has mixed some bitterness, in the death of the master of our order - if it were not that his death is converted into the life of the infidels. For we have heard from many who were present, and saw them, that such great miracles were shgwn there, that the dead preached much more effectually by miracle than the living could with words. Blessed be God, for all things. Wherefore, we have sent three Preachers to those Saracens, that we might not appear to be wanting to the grace of God. Your business, therefore, it is, holy father, to provide for the gathering together and the peace of those returning to the Church, lest they by chance fall from the arms of the nurse, and, becoming lame in both feet, be found worse than before; for some of them now are more than ever opposed to the jurisdiction exercised over them. I do not dare to detain your attention by more words; but what is deficient, the brothers who are the bearers of these presents will be able to relate to you. Besides the master, his followers, brother Gerald, clerk, and brother Ivan, a convert, have died. To thee, Jesus Christ, be all praise and glory, and thanksgiving, honour, virtue, and strength, world without end. Amen. Farewell". [All these things this neophyte did through fear of the Tartars, dreading their violence, and not being able to obtain assistance from those whose protection he hoped for, he fled to the sacrament of the Christians, and thus received effectual and speedy assistance; and in time of prosperity, by compulsion of his nobles, he basely departed from the faith.- An interpolation.]
The heresy of the Nestorians.
As mention has been made above of the Nestorians, we have thought proper to insert in this book an account of their superstitions. In the countries of the East, there are some barbarous people, very different from the Greeks and Latins, some of whom they call Jacobites, from a certain master of theirs called Jacob, a disciple of a patriarch of Alexandria. These men had, in times long past, been excommunicated by Dioscorus, the patriarch of Constantinople, and excluded from the church of the Greeks, and now inhabited the greater part of Asia, and the whole of the eastern regions; some dwelt amongst the Saracens, others in alliance
A.D. 1237.] HERESY OF THE NESTORIANS. 59
with the infidels, occupied their own provinces, namely, Nubia, which borders on Egypt, a great part of Ethiopia, and all the countries as far as India, containing (as they assert) more than forty kingdoms. They were formerly all Christians, having been converted to the faith of Christ by the apostle St. Matthew, and the other apostles; but afterwards the enemy sowed his tares amongst them, and they became for a long while darkened by a lamentable and wretched error, circumcising their children of both sexes, like the Saracens, therein not perceiving that the grace of baptism has rendered superfluous the circumcision of the flesh, in the same manner as the flowers droop and pine away on the advent of the fruit, of which the blessed apostle said to the Galatians, "If ye be circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing"; and again, "I testify unto every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law: Christ is become of no effect to you; whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace". Another of their errors, not less than the above-mentioned one, is, that they make confessions of their sins, not to the priests, but to God alone, placing some lighted incense near them, as if their sins would rise before the Lord in the smoke. These wretches err through not understanding the Scriptures, and perish from a defect of learning; they hide their wounds from spiritual physicians, whose business it is to distinguish between one leprosy and another, and, after pondering on the circumstances of the crime, to enjoin repentance, and, according to the keys intrusted to them, to bind and loose, and specially pray for those who confess to them. Thus, in the Gospel, our Lord says to the lepers, "Go show yourselves to the priests". Again, James says, "Confess your faults one to another"; and Solomon says, "Be not ashamed to confess your sins". Again, according to the Old Testament, the priest confessed the sins of the people on the head of the scapegoat: but how was he to confess their sins unless they were known, and had been confessed to him? Again, in the New Testament, in another part, St. Paul says to the Romans, "For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation": and of St. John the Baptist we read, "They were baptized by him, confessing their sins": for, shame and a
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sense of modesty, and the humility of the person confessing, are the chief parts of repentance, and those men are rendered more prone to sin, who do not think it right to reveal their sins to men, since it is written, "Whosoever hides his sins, shall not be set right; but whosoever has sinned, and confesses his sins, he shall obtain mercy". The third error of the aforesaid Jacobites, or Jacobins, is their gross ignorance, and, as it were, palpable darkness, inasmuch as many of them burn and mark their children before baptism, making an impression on their foreheads with a hot iron. Others of them mark their children in the form of a cross, on both cheeks, or on their foreheads, perversely thinking that they are purified by the fiery metal, because it is written in the Gospel of St. Matthew, that St. John the Baptist said of Christ, "He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire". Since, however, it is clear to all of the true faith, that the remission of sins is effected by spiritual fire, that is, the Holy Spirit, and not by visible fire; hence the Lord, by his prophets, frequently reproves the children of Israel, denouncing terrible curses against them, because, after the manner of heathens, they caused their children to pass through fire. In Deuteronomy he says, through his prophet Moses, "Take heed that ye imitate not the abominations of those nations; there shall not be any one among you who shall purify his son or his daughter by leading him through the fire". And it is evident to all Christians, that neither our Lord, nor his apostles, nor any of the holy fathers, left this custom to be observed in the Church, nor did they order people to be burned in this way; and we have seen the marks of burning in the arms of those who dwell amongst the Saracens, as well Jacobins as Syrians. They themselves offered to allow the sign of the cross to be impressed on them, to distinguish them from the pagans, and in their reverence for that holy symbol. And when we inquired of the Greeks and Syrians why they detested the Jacobites, and had expelled them from their community, they stated, that the principal reason was, that they had fallen into a damnable and most wicked heresy, in declaring that there was only one nature and one person in Christ; for heretics of this kind were excommunicated and condemned at the council of Chalcedon; and some of them wickedly asserted that Christ, after assuming the form of
A.D. 1237.] THE LEGATE'S MODESTY. 61
man, did not exist in two natures, but that only the Divine nature remained in him. This erroneous doctrine was introduced by Eutyches, an abbat of Constantinople; some, however, assert that, out of the two natures, there was only one in Christ. Two bishops of Alexandria, namely, Theodius and Galan, were the originators of this error. It is, however, evident, that, in accordance with the nature of human beings, Jesus Christ hungered, thirsted, and endured other wants; he also suffered death on the cross; but, in accordance with the nature of the Divinity, he brought the dead to life, and performed other good works, as he says concerning himself, "Before Abraham was, I am"; and, "I am the beginning, who am speaking to you"; again, he says, "I and the Father are one". But, in reference to his nature as a man, he says, "The Father is greater than I". And again, as to the cup passing away from him, he says, "Not my will, but thine be done". Having made most diligent inquiries of the aforesaid Jacobins, as to whether they declared that there was but one nature in Christ, they, I know not if through fear of confutation, or for some other reason, denied it. On my inquiring why they signed themselves with one finger, they replied, that they did so on account of the unity of the divine essence; but in three places, to designate the Trinity: in signification of the holy Trinity and Unity, they marked themselves in four places, in the shape of a cross. The Greeks and Syrians, however, were opposed to this, and, in signification of the Unity, which alone they believed to exist in Christ, they signed themselves with only one finger. Some of them used the Chaldaic character, and others the Arabic, which is called the Saracenic. Their laymen make use of different idioms, according to their different nations and provinces; but the language of their clergy, which they use in divine writings, the lower orders do not understand; for, although they use the Saracenic language, it does not resemble the vulgar Saracenic, but a sort of idiom peculiar to themselves, which the common people do not understand.
Of the legate's modesty.
The legate Otto, of whom mention has been before made, by conducting himself prudently and with moderation, and by refusing, in a great measure, the valuable presents offered to
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him, contrary to the usual custom of the Romans, calmed by his well-ordered conduct the angry feelings which had been conceived against him, as well by the clergy as the nobles, falling short of the opinion of many.
Pacification of the nobles.
In the first place, the said legate pacified some of the nobles, who, from some secret cause of dislike, were opposed to him, and by a kiss confirmed them in the faith. These were Peter bishop of Winchester, Hubert earl of Kent, Gilbert Bassett, Stephen Segrave, Richard Seward, and a great many others, who had been for a long time previously at enmity with him. And this hatred had almost come to a lamentable termination at a tournament held at Blith, at the beginning of Lent in this same year, at which the southern knights were opposed to those of the north, and the result was, that the southerners overcame their opponents, and some men of rank on the other side were taken, on which there ensued a regular conflict instead of a jousting-match; and in this encounter Earl Bigod particularly distinguished himself amongst them all. After the legate had appeased the anger of these nobles, he wrote to all the prelates of England to meet him at London, in the octaves of St. Martin, in St. Paul's church, to hear the pope's warrant, granting and intrusting to him the full powers of the legateship, and at the same place to arrange plans for the reformation of the English church, and to hold council in his presence.
The slaughter of the Knights of the Temple, near Damietta.
About this time, lamentable rumours prevailed, spreading dismay throughout the Holy Land. At the death of the sultan of Aleppo, the truce made between the Knights Templars and the said sultan expired, when the Templars, wishing to enlarge their territories for the honour of Christ, made preparations for war, purposing to lay siege to a castle called Guascum, situated at the north side of Antioch, and pitched their camp in a grassy plain near the castle, appointing William of Montferrat, a native of Auvergne and preceptor of Antioch, as their chief. When, however, they approached the said castle in battle-array, some captive Christians who were detained by the enemy in chains, together with some apostates, seeing their approach, cried out to them, "Fly,
A.D. 1237.] THEODORIC SENT TO THE HOLY LAND. 63
wretched men, fly; why are you rushing to your own destruction? You are all dead men: your enemies are ready in countless numbers to massacre you, by the command of the sultan of Aleppo, who has laid ambuscades for you". But the preceptor of Antioch, although he heard this, despised their warnings, and called them apostates and traitors. Many of the knights of the Temple, however, on calculating the chances of war, and considering their own small force and the multitude of their enemies, advised him to avoid the enemy's ambuscade till they were more fully assured of their strength. To this the preceptor replied, that he did not wish to have such timid people as were with him, in a doubtful struggle, to be partakers in such a great victory, and called them false cowards; and in this unadvised headstrong way, although numbers left him, he provoked the enemy to battle. But the latter having assembled and come upon him before he expected, he was unable to endure the shock of the battle; and, contrary to the rules of the Templars, he turned his back and fled, and with him some others of his followers who had before encouraged the rest. In this battle more than a hundred knights of the Temple fell, and three hundred crossbowmen, not including some other seculars, and a large number of foot-soldiers; and of the Turks, about three thousand were slain. In this unlucky conflict an illustrious Knight Templar of English extraction, named Reginald d'Argenton, who was standard-bearer on that day, was slain; but he, as well as the others who fell, left a most bloody victory to their enemies, for he unweariedly defended the standard till his legs and arms were cut off. Their preceptor alone, before he was slain, sent about sixteen of the enemy to the shades below, not including those mortally wounded. This hateful conflict occurred in the month of June.
Theodoric, prior of the Hospitallers, is sent to the assistance of the Holy Land.
The Templars and Hospitallers dwelling in the western countries, hearing of this misfortune, courageously prepared themselves to avenge the blood of their brethren which had been shed for Christ. The Hospitallers sent their prior, Theodoric, a German by birth, and a most clever knight, with a body of other knights and stipendiary attendants, and a large sum of money, to the assistance of the Holy Land.
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They, having made all their arrangements, set out from their house at Clerkenwell, in London, and proceeded in good order, with about thirty shields uncovered, with spears raised, and preceded by their banner, through the midst of the city towards the bridge, that they might obtain the blessings of the spectators, and, bowing their heads, and with cowls lowered, commended themselves to the prayers of all.
The emperor returns into Italy with a large army.
In the same year, about Michaelmas, the emperor, having quelled the disturbances which had broken out in Germany, and pacified all parties there, entered Italy in great force, with a determination by all means to punish the manifold injuries so often inflicted on him by the citizens of Milan. For when a short time before he returned into Germany, at the time the internal disturbances took place, which the duke of Austria had excited to his own ruin, the Milanese, on hearing of it, as it were pursuing the emperor with inexorable hatred, cruelly murdered his followers, whom he had placed in the castles which he had gained possession of in Italy; thus daily provoking the emperor's anger. He, therefore, that he might not incur the charge of disobedience, often and with all humility, both by supplicatory letters and by several special messengers, entreated the pope himself as the head of the Church, to assist him in obtaining his inheritance, to punish the manifold injuries inflicted on him by the Milanese citizens, and to root out the sin of heresy from every infamous city of Italy, especially as it was the duty of the church of Rome, if all others were silent, to oppose the insolence of all such people. The pope, however, on hearing this, dissembled and proceeded to Rome, as it were flying from before the emperor, being unwilling, or unable to assist him. The Romans received him on his arrival with delight, fancying that he would not thenceforth as formerly go away from them; for they found that during his absence, which had now lasted for ten years, they had incurred great loss of money.
The war between the emperor and the Milanese.
The Milanese, on hearing of the approach of the emperor, whom they had provoked to just anger, made all the preparations in their power for war, supplying their towers with
A.D. 1237.] WAR BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE MILANESE. 65
provisions, their quivers with arrows, and furnishing arms to those who were without them. When therefore the emperor drew near with his large army, which was said to have exceeded a hundred thousand men, besides his Saracen mercenaries, and had proceeded to within a day's march of the place, the citizens, together with their allies, went forth without alarm, in great strength and in battle- array to meet him, pitching a camp till the day of battle should be determined, with a host of troops amounting to about sixty thousand men, and fixed their carrochium where the army seemed to be strongest. At sight of this the emperor summoned his counsellors, and encouraged them by the following warlike speech:- "See how these insolent Milanese, our enemies, dare to appear against us, and presume to provoke me, their lord, to battle, enemies as they are to the truth and to the holy Church, and borne down by the weight of their sins. Cross the river [for there was a river called the Oglio between them], unfurl my banner, standard-bearer, and raise aloft my victorious eagle, and you, my knights, draw your formidable swords, which you have so often steeped in the blood of your enemies, and inflict your vengeance on these rats, who have dared this day to come forth from their holes to cope with the glittering spears of the Roman emperor". And no delay was allowed them, for the Milanese at once rushed on the imperial troops, and eagerly attacking the Saracens, who were the first opposed to them, in a short time slew them all, and following up their advantage, purposed committing a similar slaughter on the rest of the army opposed to them. On seeing this, the emperor, with his brave and invincible nobles, threw themselves in a body on the enemy, and exerting all their strength, repulsed their attacks, whilst the citizens, on the other hand, seeing that it was a matter of life and death, mutually exhorted each other to keep up their courage, and, attacking the enemy more courageously, they plunged their guttering swords into their bodies, and converted the attack into a most bloody battle. Great numbers fell on both sides, and the air was filled with the shouts of the opposing troops, the groans of the dying, the clash of arms, the neighing of horses, and the cries of their riders urging them to speed, and the frequent hammering sound of thundering blows. At length, however, after
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several bloody assaults on both sides, the Milanese, being unable to sustain the weight of the battle any longer that day, retreated into their city, purposing to renew it on the morrow, and they sent word to the emperor that they would, early in the morning, definitively try the fortune of war, and either they or their enemies would then triumph, according to the will of the Lord of Hosts, that their minds might not be any longer kept in a torture of suspense by delay. On hearing this, the emperor held a council, wisely and cautiously wishing to repress the fury of his enemies rather than unadvisedly to continue the doubtful struggle, and to commit himself and his wearied followers to the uncertain chances of war, for a dreadful slaughter of the nobles on both sides had taken place, to be lamented in after-ages; but the Milanese got the worst of the battle, for the emperor made prisoners of three thousand men of rank belonging to the city, besides slaying a countless number of the common soldiers at the sword's point. Besides this he afterwards laid an ambuscade, and made prisoners of three hundred nobles, took their carrochium and their podesta, the son of the duke of Venice, who would rather have fallen in battle, and also slew many other nobles. Their bishop, too, either fell in battle or was taken prisoner; and it is a certain fact that he left no one to give any account of him. Thenceforth, therefore, the emperor ordered all the roads and passes round the city to be strictly guarded, and obstructed the ingress and egress of merchants and husbandmen by posting guards day and night, broke the bridges, and guarded the roads, in order, by these means, to weaken the strength and tame the wildness of his raging enemies. The citizens, raising their heel against God, became desperate, and distrusting God, suspended the crucifix in the church by its heels, and ate flesh on the sixth day of the week and in Lent, and many throughout Italy were sunk into this abyss of despair, reviling and blaspheming; they irreverently polluted the churches with filthiness unfit to be mentioned, defiled the altars and expelled the ecclesiastic officials. Fear and trembling then took possession of the cities of Italy, and numbers of the inhabitants came to the emperor offering valuable presents, and, that they might not be involved in a similar calamity, surrendered themselves and their cities to
A.D. 1237.] INDIGNATION OF THE NOBLES. 67
him, and gave him their right hands, humbled by the example of others who had already suffered. Thus before the middle of Lent the emperor had taken forcible possession of all Italy, besides Bologna and four other cities, which had not the means of resistance; the whole body of clerks at Bologna were in great alarm for themselves, because, in the past year, the emperor had told them to depart in peace, and they refused to obey his commands.
The indignation of the nobles of England against the king.
Whilst these events were passing in the transalpine provinces, King Henry the Third, trusting to evil advice contrary to what was his duty or expedient for him, estranged himself from the counsels of his natural subjects, and became stiff-necked against his well-wishers and those who looked to the advantage of the kingdom, and managed its affairs but little or not at all according to their advice. In order to have some cunning pretexts for extorting money from them, he declared on his oath, at a conference to which he had called the nobles from a distance, that he was entirely destitute of money and in a state of the greatest need; he therefore most urgently begged of them to grant him the thirtieth part of property throughout the kingdom, that the dignity of him, the king, and that of the kingdom, might be supported in a more honourable manner, and be established on a firmer foundation. The nobles were greatly troubled at hearing this, and replied that they were so often oppressed in this way, and saw so many foreigners fattening on their property, that the kingdom was weakened by poverty, and that manifold dangers were impending over it. However, after much discussion, inasmuch as the king humbled himself and promised that he would thenceforth abide by their counsels without hesitation, the thirtieth part of all moveable property was granted to him, though not without great difficulty. This he afterwards ordered to be collected and estimated, not at the royal valuation, but according to the common value, and not to be placed in convents and castles, as had been pre-arranged and determined on, nor to be expended at the discretion of the nobles; but without taking the advice of any one of the natural subjects of his kingdom, he gave it to foreigners to be carried abroad, and
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he became like a man bewitched, as if he had no sense. A murmur therefore arose amongst the people, and the indignation of the nobles waxed hot.
Earl Richard reproaches the king.
Richard, earl of Cornwall, the king's brother, was the first to call the king to account, and reproached him sharply for the great desolation caused by him in the kingdom; and declared that he daily, on fresh pretences, plundered the nobles and his liege barons of their goods, and whatever he could get from them he unadvisedly distributed amongst those who were plotting against him and his dominions. The earl also added that the king had collected great revenues and immense sums of money in his time, and that there was not an archbishopric or bishopric except those of York, Bath, and Winchester, which had not been vacant in his time. He also stated the same with respect to abbacies, counties, baronies, wardships, and other escheats, and yet that the king's treasury, which ought to constitute the strength and dependence of the kingdom, had never felt any increase. Still, however, the king rejected his advice, as well as that of his other natural subjects, grew worse and worse in the madness he had conceived, and resigned himself so entirely to the will of the Romans, and especially the legate, whom he had unadvisedly sent for, that he appeared to worship his very footsteps; for he also declared that he could not, either in public or private, arrange any business of the kingdom, or make any alterations or alienations without the consent of his lord the pope, or the legate, so that he might be said to be not a king, but a vassal of the pope. By these and other similar ravings, the king now drew blood from the hearts of his nobles; and he also had as counsellors infamous and mistrusted men, who were said to foment these deeds of his, and who, consequently, were exceedingly hateful to the English nobles, although they derived their origin from the same kingdom; and these were John, earl of Lincoln, S., earl of Leicester, and G., a brother of the Temple.
The legate fattens himself on the good things of England.
In the mean time, costly presents were offered to the legate, of palfreys, handsome vessels, soft and double-wove
A.D. 1237.] MEETING AT YORK. 69
garments, various skins of wild beasts, money, meats, and liquors; and one bishop alone, namely Peter of Winchester, as it appeared to him that the legate was going to pass the winter at London, sent him fifty head of cattle, a hundred measures of corn, and eight casks of the purest wine for his support; and others made him similar presents according to their ability and means. But the legate moderated the Roman avarice and did not accept of all the presents offered him; some, however, he received willingly, with a benign countenance, bearing in mind the philosophical remark of Plato, "To receive all presents offered is greedy; to receive none is contumacious; but to accept some is friendly".
The king invites the count of Provence to visit him.
The king in the mean time earnestly entreated the count of Provence, the queen's father, both by letter and repeated messages, to condescend to come to the land of his son-in-law, and to carry back some of his money with him on his return; and it was believed by many that the king extorted the thirtieth part for the purpose of distributing it amongst him and other such people. The count, induced by the love of gain, quickly came at the summons, not being detained by any allurements or presents from the French, although the king had married his eldest daughter; but before he reached the sea, internal war having been stirred up in the districts of Provence, he was recalled in all haste; on hearing which, King Henry at once sent him a thousand marks to pay his travelling expenses, and to procure accoutrements in France.
An interview at York between the kings of England and Scotland.
In the same year, the king wrote to all his nobles to assemble in the presence of him and the legate, at York, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, to discuss some arduous matters connected with the kingdom; the king of Scotland, too, had come to that place to meet them, having been invited by the king and the legate, to arrange terms for making peace between them, that by the grace of God, all contentions between them might be set at rest, and each of them might be satisfied with receiving what was his due. On their arrival there, it was arranged that the king of Scots should receive 300 librates [15,600 acres] of land in the kingdom of England, without permission to build a castle on it,
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and should do homage to the king, and that a treaty of alliance should be confirmed between them; and that he should swear to act faithfully towards the king of England, and to observe this treaty; that by these means all complaint and claim on the part of the king of Scotland might be set at rest. On the legate's expressing a wish to go into the kingdom of Scotland, to examine into ecclesiastical affairs there, as he had done in England, the Scotch king replied, "I do not remember ever to have seen a legate in my territories, nor that it has been necessary for one to be summoned there, thanks to God, and there is not now any need of one, for all goes on well; neither was any legate allowed ingress into that kingdom during the time of my father or any of my ancestors, and I will not allow it as long as I am able. However, since report pronounces you to be a man of sanctity, I warn you, if you should happen to enter my territories, to proceed cautiously, lest anything untoward happen to you. For ungovernable, wild men dwell there, who thirst after human blood, and whom I myself cannot tame, and if they were to attack you, I should be unable to restrain them; it is but lately, as you have perhaps heard, that they wanted to attack me and drive me from my kingdom". At hearing this, the legate moderated his eager desire to enter Scotland, and did not leave the side of his king, namely, the king of England, who obeyed him in everything; but an Italian, a relation of the legate's, remained with the king of Scotland, whom the latter, that he might not seem entirely rebellious, honoured with knighthood, and conferred some land upon him. The council thus broke up, and the English king returned with the legate to the south.
The grand preparations of the legate for holding a council.
As the time for holding a council drew near, the legate ordered a lofty and stately seat, supported on long planks, to be built for himself in the western part of St. Paul's church, at London. He then sent his letters to all the prelates of England, archbishops, bishops, abbats, and installed priors, ordering them to bring or send procuratorial letters of their convent or chapter, as well as in their own name, that whatever he, the legate, should determine on at the council, should
A.D. 1257.] PREPARATION FOR THE COUNCIL. 71
be ratified on both sides. At this summons, all the prelates of England under the jurisdiction of his legateship came, although greatly harassed and fatigued in their own bodies, as well as those of their horses, because the winter was coming on, attended by very stormy weather.
A heavy and destructive storm of wind.
Amongst others who came to that council, was one Master Walter Pruz, a clerk, who publicly declared that almost all the planets were then coming together under one sign of the zodiac, namely Capricorn, and would cause great commotion in the elements, and stir up heavy storms of wind; and foretold that a great destruction of animals, especially horned ones (which we call flocks or herds), would ensue, and added, as if in jest, "May it not be of horned men", that is, "of bishops". This prediction of his was not altogether void of truth, for on a sudden, St. Paul's church, where they were all assembled, was suddenly shaken by such a storm of wind, that great fear seized on all, and especially the legate. On the night of St. Cecilia's day, too, the moon being in its first quarter, extraordinary black clouds, of tower-like form, appeared in the western part of the heavens: thunder began to roar, lightning to dart forth, and the wind to rise, and throughout that whole night and the following day such a heavy storm of wind raged as was never remembered to have occurred before, and this storm continued for fifteen days more without interruption. Oaks were torn up by the roots and fell; houses, towers, and other buildings, were thrown down or shaken, so that the elements seemed to join in the perturbation of man.
The assembling and preparation for the council.
Although the prelates of England assembled at St. Paul's church, in London, on the first day appointed for holding the council, which was the day after the octaves of St. Martin, the legate did not appear, for the bishops had asked of him, that on that day means might be afforded them of examining the arrangements he purposed making, and of deliberating on them, that no determination might be come to prejudicial to their interests. On the next day, some armed knights, and about two hundred soldiers, whom the king had, at his earnest entreaty, furnished him with, were placed in ambush.
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for he was in alarm on his own account, because it was said that he was enraged against those who had several benefices, and especially against illegitimates; and he himself appeared in the said church very early in the morning, about dawn. The crowd of prelates waiting for him was so great, that he had great difficulty in entering the church; however, having made his way in, he arrayed himself in his pontifical robes, namely, in his surplice and choral hood, covered with the fur and skin of various animals, and put on his mitre, after which, preceded by the archbishops of Canterbury and York in solemn procession, bearing the cross and lighted candles, and repeating the Litany, he ascended the steps to his seat, which, as has been before stated, was prepared for him with much pomp, and was now made more gaudy with tapestry and awnings; the archbishop of Canterbury then placed himself at his right hand, and the archbishop of York on his left, because a dispute had arisen between them about the arrangement of the session; and an appeal was made on behalf of the archbishop of York, to obtain the rights which he claimed for himself; therefore, after the Gospel, "I am the good shepherd", as well as the proper Collects, had been read, according to custom, by the legate himself and the psalm, "Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come", had been sung, the archbishop of York, as above stated, having made his appeal, the two archbishops took their seats near the legate, the archbishop of Canterbury on his right hand, and the archbishop of York on his left hand. The legate, then, wishing to settle their dispute without prejudice to either of them, said to them: "On his holiness the pope's bull, there appears the figure of Peter on the right hand of the cross, which is impressed in the middle of the bull, whilst that of Paul stands on the left; but between these great saints there has never sprung up any dispute, for they are both equally renowned. However, on account of his station as key-bearer, and his being chief of the apostles, as well as his cathedral dignity, and the priority of his call, it would seem his image ought to have been placed on the right of the cross; but as Paul believed in Christ, whom he had not seen, his image is placed on the right; for 'Blessed are those who have not seen', etc. Thus his grace the archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and who presides over the most
A.D. 1237.] PREPARATION FOR THE COUNCIL. 73
illustrious church of Canterbury, as also that of London, which belongs to St. Paul, ought, not without reason, to be placed on the right hand"; and on the following days of the council, the archbishop of Canterbury sat on the right hand of the legate, and the archbishop of York on the left. On the second day of the council, there were sent, on behalf of the king, John, earl of Lincoln, John Fitz Geoffrey, and William de Raele, a canon of St. Paul's, to prohibit the legate, on behalf of the said king and the kingdom, from coming to any determination at the council derogatory to the king's crown and dignity; and, in order that this might be attended to, William de Raele remained there robed in his canonical hood and surplice, but the other two went away. On the same day, in the hearing of all present, Simon, archdeacon of Canterbury, requested of the legate, that the warrant of his legateship, intrusted to him by his holiness the pope, should be read in the hearing of all parties, and this was done. On the same day, too, at the request of the king, a certain privilege was read, concerning the celebration of the feasts of St. Edward throughout England, and, by command of the pope, another concerning those of the canonized saints Francis and Dominic. The legate, having heard whilst at his lodgings that several persons who held benefices in several churches, and who were noble by blood and property, and illegitimates, and whom he had mentioned in a decree of the council, had murmured, and planned treachery against him, he was attended to and from the council by some nobles, namely, G., earl marshal, J., earl of Lincoln, and some of the king's household, armed with swords and other weapons, to protect him and his followers. During the council, when the decree against those who held several benefices was pronounced, which was in opposition to a decree of the Lateran council, Walter de Cantelupe, bishop of Worcester, rose in the midst of them, and taking off his mitre, thus addressed the legate:- "Holy father, although several nobles, of the same blood as ourselves, hold several benefices, who have never yet received dispensations, and some of whom are of advanced age, and to the present time have lived honourably, showing hospitality to the best of their power, and have bestowed alms with open doors, it would be very hard for such men to be deprived of their benefices, and to be reduced to
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ignominious poverty; and some of the young ones, who are bold and daring, would expose themselves to the greatest risks before they would suffer themselves to be deprived of their benefices, with the retention of only one; and this I can well judge on myself for before I was called to that rank, I determined, in my own mind, that, if I should lose one benefice under pretence of such a decree, I would lose all; and therefore it is to be feared that many persevere to the present time in such a determination. Since, therefore, great numbers are concerned in this question, we beg of your holiness, for your own safety, as well as our own, to consult the pope ere coming to a determination of this kind; besides, since your decree as to the religious order of St Benedict extends itself in a like degree to all, and it would be difficult for a great many, on account of the poverty of their houses, and especially for nuns, as they are weak and frail, to observe this decree, it is necessary to show discreet moderation in the enforcement of this rigorous measure, and we, therefore, beg of you, in this matter also, to consult his holiness the pope". In reply to him, the legate said that, if all the prelates, namely, the archbishops and bishops present before him, would write to the pope on these matters, he would agree to it willingly. And it should be known that, because some people thought, as had been given them to understand by the legate, that his decrees would only be confirmed during the time of his legateship, Master Atho, one of his clerks, at his bidding, rose in the midst of the assembly, and, opening a book of warrants, which was the register of his holiness the pope, to increase his authority, and the more effectually to do away with this opinion, read aloud a certain decretal, which the legate distinctly proved the truth of and by which he plainly showed that, even after the said legate's departure, his statutes would be lastingly confirmed. It also should not be omitted, that on the first day of the council, the archbishops of Canterbury and York, having taken their places, as before stated, the former on the right, and the latter on the left of the legate, and after the Gospel, "I am the good shepherd", had been read, and the Collects appertaining to it, silence was enjoined, and, the assembled crowd having been called to order, the legate, from his seat, raised his voice, as it were a trumpet, and commenced his discourse, preceding it by the
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following text: "In the midst of the throne, and round about it, are four animals, full of eyes before and behind". In the course of his sermon, he intimated that the prelates, like the animals with eyes before and behind, ought to be wary in the management of worldly matters, and circumspect in spiritual affairs, cautiously connecting the past with the future and after the sermon he ordered his decrees to be read distinctly, and in a loud voice, which he ordered to be strictly observed, and these we have thought proper to be mentioned in this book.
Commencement of the council held in St. Paul's church, at London, by the legate Otto,
"Since holiness becomes the house of the Lord and his ministers, it is said by the Lord, 'Be ye holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy'. The cunning of the enemy of mankind is endeavouring to diminish holiness, or to destroy it altogether; so that in many places he hinders churches from being consecrated, and the ministers from discharging their duties properly, by corrupting and vitiating their morals and lives, in opposition to the rules and statutes of the holy fathers, and obstructing everything which is to the advantage of the Christian religion. This should, therefore, in all faith be resisted with a strong hand by all true Christians; and to weaken its endeavours, fresh and renewed strength should be employed, like as Isaac first endeavoured to renew the wells which the sons of Abraham had dug, but which the men of Palestine had filled up with earth, and then dug other new ones. At length we, Otto, by divine mercy, cardinal deacon of St. Nicholas in the Tullian prison, and legate of the Apostolic See, have been sent by the said see, with the office of legate to the province of England, relying on the divine aid and the suffrage and consent of the present council, to strengthen and reform the state of the church in England, saving other canonical institutes, which we wish and desire to be kept with all respect, and by the authority intrusted to us have thought fit that certain decrees should be observed, which we have caused to be distinguished and arranged under certain heads".
The dedication of churches.
"The dedication of churches is known to have derived its origin from the Old Testament, and in the New Testament
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it was observed by the holy fathers; and in this it ought to be more worthily and studiously observed, because formerly the slaughtered animals only were offered as victims, but in the latter the heavenly sacrifice is living and true, for the only begotten Son of God is offered on the altar for us by the hands of the priest; wherefore, the holy fathers wisely decreed that such a duty should not, except of necessity, be performed in other places than those dedicated to God. Moreover, as we have seen ourselves, and have heard from many, that such a wholesome service is despised, or at least neglected by some, since we find that many churches and even cathedrals, which have been built of old, have not yet been consecrated with the oil of sanctification; we, therefore, wishing to put a stop to this negligence, decree and enjoin, that all cathedral, conventual, and parochial churches, which have been built and completed, shall, within the space of two years, be consecrated by the diocesan bishops in whose jurisdiction they are, or by some other persons under authority from them; and in this manner within the same period, it shall be done with all churches to be rebuilt anew. And in order that this wholesome decree may not fall into contempt, we decree that, if any churches shall not have been dedicated within two years from the time of their completion, they shall be interdicted from the performance of mass till they are consecrated, unless any reasonable excuse can be alleged. In addition to this, we by the present decree strictly forbid all abbats and rectors of churches to presume to destroy the old consecrated churches under pretence of building more beautiful or larger ones, without permission and consent of the diocesan bishop; and the diocesan should carefully consider whether it would be expedient to give or refuse permission; if he give permission, he must give his attention and use his endeavours to have the work completed as soon as possible; which condition we decree shall be extended to those already begun. With regard to the inferior chaplains, we have not thought proper to make any fresh decree; leaving the manner and time of their consecration to the decision of the canons".
Of the church sacraments.
"The church sacraments, in which, as it were in heavenly vessels, the remedies of salvation are contained, and also the
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holy oil and chrism, we decree and order to be administered by the ministers of the Church, with purity, and devoutly, free from all motives of cupidity, making no difficulty in administering them, under pretence of any custom, by which it may be said that anything should be paid by any who receive them: and we have thought proper to mention what and how many the principal sacraments are, for the information of the more ignorant; - these are, Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, the Eucharist, Extreme Unction, Marriage, and Ordination, each of which is fully treated of and ordained in the sacred canons. But as it is no light matter for a physician to be ignorant of the business of healing, we decree that, in receiving the cure of souls and the priesthood, candidates shall be examined on these points especially; and the archdeacons at the meetings of their deaneries should chiefly endeavour to instruct the priests on these matters, teaching them how to act with respect to Baptism, Penance, the Eucharist, and Marriage".
Of baptism.
"For the solemn celebration of baptism, two Saturdays are appointed by the holy canons for its solemnization, namely, the Saturday before the Lord's resurrection, and the Saturday before Whitsuntide; but some, as we have heard, in these parts, have been led astray by the deceit of the devil, and fear danger if children are baptized on those days; but to think this, or to be afraid of either of these days, is entirely opposed to the true faith, and is proved to be evidently false, since the supreme pontiff personally performs that solemnity, and solemnly baptizes children on the said days; and the Church observes the same in other parts of the world. Wherefore, we decree that the people be converted from this great error by frequent preachings, and be induced to perform the ceremony of baptism, and to baptize their children on the above-named days. We also decree that parochial priests correctly learn the form of baptism, and frequently explain it in public to their parishioners on Sundays; so that, if necessity should arise for them to baptize any one, they may know it, and be able to observe it; and let them afterwards diligently inquire whether it has been observed".
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Avarice is to be avoided by the priests.
"We have heard with horror that some wretches of priests, perhaps for the benefit of their vicarage, or to farm, or from some other cause of gain, receive incomes arising from the altar, or from the penance of those who come to them to confess, and do not admit those who confess to penitence, unless some present is first placed in their avaricious bosom, and they thus do the same with regard to the other sacraments: and whereas, those who act thus are unworthy of the kingdom of God and ecclesiastic benefit, we strictly enjoin and decree that a most close inquisition be made by the bishops in this matter, and whoever is discovered to have been guilty of any such offence be entirely removed from the benefice which he holds, and be for ever suspended from the office which he has corruptly filled".
Who are to be appointed confessors.
"In approbation of what we have found laid down in a certain council, we decree that throughout each deanery, wise and faithful men be appointed by the bishop as confessors, to whom parsons and inferior clerks who are ashamed or afraid, perhaps, to do so to the deans, may be able to make their confessions; but in cathedral churches, we order general confessors to be appointed".
Of the quality of those to be ordained,
"The conferring of holy orders upon a worthy person is so much the more important, as the other sacraments are conferred by him when he has received those orders; wherefore, inasmuch as it would be dangerous for improper persons, such as idiots, illegitimates, irregular people, and foreigners, or any persons without a certified and real title, to be ordained, we decree that before conferring orders, a diligent inquiry be instituted by the bishop concerning all such points; and to guard against reprobates introducing themselves clandestinely, instead of being rejected as they ought, the number and names of those approved of, shall be written down at the examination, and those who have been approved of, shall afterwards, previous to ordination, when the writing has been read, be questioned with careful discretion; and the writing shall be kept by the bishop, or in the church".
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Of farms and vicarships of the churches.
"The farming of churches, or the general appointment of a vicar in them, we by no means wish to be supported by our authority; but in consequence of the weakness of the numbers concerned in this matter, we fear to issue a prohibitory edict against these things, lest we may seem to throw out snares rather than to find remedies. But to some customs arising from these matters, and which have been brought to our notice, we are compelled to apply a remedy. For it very often happens that those who are called farmers, wishing to gain more than to pay, practise base extortions, which sometimes even sink into the sin of simony. Wherefore, we henceforth strictly forbid the putting out to farm of dignities or offices of deaconries, or the revenues arising from the exercise of the ecclesiastical or spiritual jurisdiction, from penance or the altar, or from any other sacraments".
How churches are to be farmed out.
"Since it is altogether improper for churches to be farmed by laymen and by any clerks for a long time, and might be injurious to the churches on account of its long continuance, which usually causes danger, we strictly forbid the churches to be farmed for more than five years, either by laymen or even by ecclesiastical persons, nor, when the five years are ended, shall they be renewed to the same persons, unless some other persons shall have held them in the intermediate time, and, that all things may be safe, we decree that the agreement for farming shall be made in the presence of the bishops or archdeacons, and several copies of the same shall be made, one of which shall be left in their possession".
Concerning the same.
"We have heard that it has sometimes happened, that when a rich church is vacant, which some one wished to have, but did not dare, however, to receive it in his own name, lest he should be deprived of the other benefices which he held, has cunningly managed that that church should be farmed to him perpetually, so that he would pay some small sum for it to another under the name of the parson, and keep all the rest to himself. On which account, we, by an edict, decree, that whether a benefice be given, either wholly or in part, to
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any one, such an attempt to contravene our decrees shall be null and void".
Who are to be ordained as vicars.
"We decree that no one shall be admitted as a vicar, unless an already ordained priest, or at least a deacon, and that he shall be ordained at the four next seasons of the year, and shall renounce all other benefices which he holds, having the cure of souls, and shall swear to take up his personal residence on the spot; otherwise we decree that his appointment shall be null, and the vicarship be bestowed on some one else. And thus that fraud is avoided, by which, oftentimes, on payment of a small sum to any one under the name of parson, the church was given to him under the feigned name of vicar, who, dreading to lose his other benefices, was afraid to receive it in person. With respect to the vicars already appointed, who are not priests, inasmuch as vicars are bound to serve parsons and churches, we enjoin and decree that they cause themselves to be ordained as priests within a year at furthest. Otherwise, if it be their fault that they are not ordained within the year as we have stated, we decree that they shall be deprived of their benefices from that time, and the question of their residence shall be determined according to what we have above laid down concerning institutions".
The church of an absentee is not inconsiderately to be given to another,
"To destroy the deceits of the wicked, every lover of justice must employ sagacious endeavours, lest, if the industry of their rulers should grow torpid, simplicity be supplanted by cunning, and truth yield to falsehood; for we have learnt by the statements of many persons that some people, casting a longing eye on the benefice of an absent person, spread reports declaring that they have heard that the possessor was dead, or had resigned his benefice, and thus manage, by some means or other, to intrude themselves into that benefice, and if the dead man should revive and return to his church, the answer is made him: 'I know you not, brother'; and the door is shut against him. Some, even, blinded by their great cupidity, do not hesitate to force their way by stealth into the benefices, not only of absent persons, but also of those present, or to take possession of them whenever they
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can, and when they are in possession, neither sentences of excommunication nor anything else can eject them, for they defend themselves by force of arms. We, therefore, applying such remedies as are in our power, in both cases, strictly forbid the benefice of any absent man, under pretence of conjecture or report, which may be given out concerning his death, or of his giving up his benefice, to be given to any other person; but the prelate shall wait till he is fully informed of the truth of either report. Otherwise we decree that he shall be bound to make good all the loss suffered by the absent person owing to this matter; and that the person who has intruded himself in the benefice, shall be forthwith ipso facto suspended from all office and benefice, besides making restitution of the property. And this we mean also to extend to the case of any one who, when another possesses an ecclesiastical benefice, presumes, on his own authority, or rather by force, or by stealth, to seize upon that benefice, or who, after it has been declared to belong to another, endeavours to defend himself in the possession of it by force of arms".
That one church it not to be divided into several vicarages.
"Since the art of all arts, as witness St. Gregory, is the government of souls, the ancient sophist never ceases to practise the stratagems of his deceitful art, and to study the fallacies of false pretences, so as to be able to surround with the principles of his art, and to shut out from salvation those whom he finds ignorant or unwary. It is this that makes them transgress the commands of God and oppose the rules of the holy fathers, whilst neither divine discourse nor canonical decrees can recall the sinners from their crooked path. Now our catholic art demands that there be only one master in one church, who shall be perfect in order, demeanour, life, knowledge, and doctrines, and that the administration of the church should be pure and simple. The opposition of the devil, however, causes many to deviate from this decree, inasmuch as sometimes, at his suggestion, one church is given not to one only, but to several, under pretence of having a great number of patrons, so that there are several heads to one body, and it seems as it were a monster. And sometimes the parson consents, whatever the
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occasion may be, that something should be given to another under the name of parsonage, and besides this, what is much worse, that the church very often remains, though no parson remains in it; nor even a perpetual vicar is to be found in it, but perhaps some ignorant priest, who has no right nor shadow of right in it. And if, perhaps, the parson should stay there, he is not so perfect in his order, since he is not a priest, nor in his manners; since if he were seen by any one, he would be thought not a clerk, but rather a soldier; and he takes little care, alas! about his life, knowledge, or doctrines! The arrangement of the church, too, is rarely made by the simple eye as it ought; for the false machinations of the devil's art are not wanting there. For sometimes, as we have heard, a church is given secretly to some one, expressly on condition that he who institutes or presents should retain some benefit in it, or some other person should receive some portion from it, who would perhaps have retained it all if he had not refrained from doing so through the weakness of his cause, or through fear of losing other benefices. Sometimes, also, a man will resign a parsonage, and afterwards take the vicarage from one who has been installed in it, which we may presume is done not without fraud. We, therefore, reprobating these diminutions, and especial assignments and changes, aa contrary to our profession, forbid them from henceforth being made, and strictly decree that never for the future shall one church be divided into several parsonages or vicarages. And those which have been divided up to this time, shall, as soon as the means of so doing are afforded, be made entire, unless, perhaps, it be a church so instituted from times of old, where the bishop has to take care that the revenue and the parish be equally divided between them. The diocesans also shall arrange that there shall be always some one residing at the church who shall be anxious in his attention to the cure of souls, and shall employ himself usefully and honourably in the performance of divine service, and in the administering of the sacraments".
Of residing in the churches.
With regard to the rectors taking up their residence in the churches, it seems to us that we must consult fact rather
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than statute law, for the councils of the Roman pontiffs appear to speak of this matter as clearly as light; for a stricter fulfilment of the statutes is required, rather than an injunction of them. We also say and think the same in all respects with regard to those who presume, without a special dispensation of the Apostolic See, to detain several dignities, parsonages, or benefices connected with the cure of souls, in opposition to a statute of the general council, and to the peril of their own salvation".
The dress of clerks.
"Whereas, with regard to the dress of the clerks, which appears to be not clerical, but rather military, a great scandal has arisen amongst the laity, we strictly order and decree, that they shall, under penalty of a deprivation of their benefices, be restricted by the bishops to the form determined on in the general council, respecting the dress of the clergy as well as the ornaments of their horses, so that those who have undertaken the charge of churches and the cure of souls, may wear garments of becoming measure, and shall wear close hoods when appointed to holy orders, especially in their church, before their prelates, at the assemblies of the clergy, and everywhere in their parishes. And that the bishops may be better enabled to restrict others to a propriety of dress, and to a becoming tonsure, and also to proper ornaments for their horses, they shall see that these things are previously observed by their fellow clerks, following the rule of clerical propriety in their garments, spurs, bridles, and saddles".
Against the contracting of clandestine marriages by the rectors of the churches.
"It has been brought to our notice by several credible persons, that many of the clergy, unmindful of their own salvation, having contracted clandestine marriages, dare to retain possession of the churches after marriage, to acquire ecclesiastical benefices, and to be promoted afresh to holy orders, in opposition to the decrees of the holy canons. Afterwards, in course of time, it seems to be expedient for the offspring begotten by this marriage, whether the parties themselves are alive or dead, to prove, either by witnesses or by instruments in writing, that such a marriage has been contracted. But because, owing to the clergy being occupied with
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their marriages or unlawful connections with women, the destruction of souls ensues, their salvation is neglected, and the goods of the church are plundered, we have decreed, to remedy a disease which has gained such ground, as follows; namely, that if it be discovered that any have thus contracted marriages, they shall be entirely deposed from their churches and ecclesiastical benefits, of which we decree that they, as well as any others who are married, shall be ipso jure deprived. And if any property shall have been acquired after a marriage of this kind, in whatsoever manner obtained, either by themselves or by means of other persons, from their property, the same shall not, on any account, be applied for the use of the wives or children of such a marriage, but be forthwith devoted to the churches which they held, or in which they held benefices. They themselves, too, as in proper persons, shall on no account be admitted to the churches or ecclesiastical benefices, or to holy orders, until by their own deserts a canonical dispensation has been granted them".
Of the clergy who keep concubines.
"Although the rulers of the Church have always made it their study to banish from her doors the foul contagion of lustful wickedness, by which its beauty was seriously blemished, nevertheless the stain of this great wickedness still continues impudently to put itself forward to public view. We, therefore, being unwilling to pass over such a great disgrace to the Church unchecked, as if winking at it, in pursuance of the statutes of the Roman pontiff and especially of the decree of Pope Alexander, declared on this matter, do decree, that unless clerks, and especially those in holy orders, who publicly keep concubines in their houses or in those of others, dismiss them therefrom within a month, never again to keep them or others on any account, they shall be suspended from every office and benefice, so that until they shall have made proper atonement for this offence, they shall by no means introduce themselves into ecclesiastical benefices; otherwise we have decreed, that they shall be deprived of them. It is our will also, and we strictly order, that the archbishops and bishops shall make diligent inquiries on this matter throughout all their deaneries, and that what we have decreed shall be observed".
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Of those who succeed their fathers in their churches.
"Although the holy fathers have declared that ecclesiastical benefices may not be held by hereditary right, and that in them the succession of a lawful offspring may be interdicted, yet some, springing from a nefarious connection, trampling with the foot of impudence on the authority of the law and of honour, presume to force themselves into benefices of this kind, which their fathers before them held by no proper means, and with rash presumption detain possession of them. We, therefore, who have come to this country to remedy this misfortune of the Church's honour, strictly forbid the prelates of churches from presuming henceforth, under any pretext, or by any fraud, to appoint or admit any such to the benefices of this kind, which their fathers held by any kind of title, either to the whole or part; and we also, by this present decree, order that those who have already unlawfully obtained such benefices shall be deprived of them".
Against those who protect robbers.
"To oppose the crimes of robbers, with whom the English kingdom abounds, as we have heard that it would be of no effect, if men of rank protected and kept them, we have thought proper to decree, that no one shall conceal, or protect, or keep in their houses or towns, those whom they know to have committed robbery, or against whom there is evident proof And those persons who shall act contrary to this decree, if, after being thrice warned by an ordinary ecclesiastical judge, they do not cast the robbers from them, we declare to be subject to ecclesiastical excommunication. And it is our will and decree that a general warning will be sufficient, even though it should be given without mentioning names of any one, or to any one, provided that it is given so publicly and with such solemnity that it may come to their notice".
Of the eating of flesh by the monks.
"We have h eard, and, are delighted, that the religious abbats of the order of St. Benedict throughout England, have lately assembled at their general chapter, like true sons of the Church, and, according to a prophetic saying, returning to their limits, have wisely determined that from henceforth
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according to the rule of St. Benedict, they will abstain from eating flesh, except the weak and sick, for whom, according to the enactments of the same rule, it is to be provided from the infirmary; and inasmuch as we approve of this, we decree that it be inviolably observed. We also decree in addition, that when novices at the end of their year of probation assume the monk's habit, they shall be obliged by the abbat, by ecclesiastical or canonical authority, to make their profession according to the decree or decretal of Pope Honorius, of happy memory; and no one who has not made his profession shall be admitted to the rank of abbat or prior, on any account. But this and what we consider proper to be done in regard to making this profession at the expiration of the year of probation, we have thought proper to extend to the regular canons and nuns; and concerning other matters, which we know pertain to the correction or reformation of canons, as well as of other regular priests, we intend to make due provision, and with God's permission we will decree what will be to the advantage of their churches and salutary to themselves, and we command that these statutes be solemnly published throughout their chapters".
The duty of archdeacons.
"With regard to the archdeacons, we decree that they shall visit the churches, and faithfully make inquiries concerning the sacred vessels and robes; and as to the manner in which the church is served with daily and nightly services, and about its temporal as well as spiritual affairs in general, and carefully to make what reformations may be necessary. They shall not, however, oppress the churches with superfluous exactions, but shall demand moderate procuration-fees, and those only when visiting them; they shall not bring strangers with them, and shall be attended by a moderate number of attendants and horses; and they shall not presume to accept of any bribe from any one not to visit or correct him, nor to punish offences, and they shall not include any one in their sentences unjustly, for the sake of extorting money from them. And, since all such things savour of simony, we decree that those who shall presume to act in such a way, shall be compelled to bestow elsewhere the property so extorted, to double the amount, at the discretion of the bishop,
A.D. 1237.] THE DUTY OF BISHOPS. 87
to pious uses, saving, nevertheless, canonical punishment against them. They shall, however, make it their anxious business frequently to be present at the chapters in each deanery, at which they shall, amongst other things, diligently instruct the priests in a proper knowledge and sound understanding of the words of the canon and baptism, namely those which are parts of the substance of baptism".
That nothing may be demanded for settling disputes.
"Again, we most strictly forbid the prelates of churches, and especially archdeacons and deans, or their officials, or any others who are appointed by virtue of their ecclesiastical jurisdiction or spiritual offices, to decide causes generally, or any matters relating to the jurisdiction of the Church, from presuming to impede the restoration of peace and good-will amongst parties, with respect to their quarrels or causes of complaint; but whensoever the parties choose, they may withdraw from the court by compromise, if it be such a case that a compromise can by law be effected; and there shall be no payment exacted from the same on that account".
The duty of the bishops.
"The duties which are incumbent on these venerable fathers, the archbishops and bishops, their title, which is bishop, [1] that is, a superintendent, plainly expresses. It is their business to watch over their flocks, and in the words of the Gospel, 'to keep watch by night'. Since, therefore, they ought to be the model of the flock, to which all subject to them ought to conform and assimilate themselves; which cannot be done unless they set an example themselves to all, we exhort them, in the Lord's name, and admonish them to make some stay at their cathedral churches, and there in a proper manner to perform masses, at least on the chief festivals, and on the Sundays in Lent and Advent. They should, moreover, travel through their dioceses at seasonable times, reforming and correcting abuses, consecrating churches, and sowing the word of life in the field of the Lord; the better to fulfil all which duties, they should cause the profession which they made at their consecration to be
[1] Episcopus, the Latin word for bishop, is compounded of two Greek words, kviy, over, and pemrolat, look.
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read to them twice a year, and throughout the greater part of Lent".
Decree against unskilful judges.
"Since not only power but also discretion and skill is most particularly required in discerning matters, all should take especial care that no judge or proctor be appointed by whose unskilfulness or ignorance an improper or unjust sentence be passed, the guilty party acquitted, and the innocent condemned; wherefore, we have thought fit to decree, that matrimonial causes, which above all others require to be treated with great skill and diligence, shall be intrusted to circumspect and trustworthy men, and such as have a thorough knowledge of the law, or at least competent experience in it. But if any abbats have an archdeacon or deacon, by privilege or approved custom authorized to inquire into the causes, let them take care to examine them attentively, so that they themselves, as well as their delegates, shall not proceed to a definitive sentence without having first held careful deliberation as to the merits of the case with the diocesan bishop, and without asking and obtaining his advice. For which purpose, also, we wish them to be held exempted or protected by a special privilege".
The oath of claim.
"The oath of claim in ecclesiastical causes, and also of speaking the truth in spiritual affairs, that the truth may be more easily disclosed and causes more quickly determined, we have decreed shall, throughout the kingdom of England, in future be made according to canonical and legal ordinances, any other custom to the contrary notwithstanding. And to this decree we, for the good of all, make this addition, that postponements of trial may be granted at the option of the judge, according to legal and canonical ordinances".
Of the appointment of proctors.
"The custom of employing proxies, which was introduced into courts of justice that the case of any person who could not attend himself might be explained by another in his absence, the malice of the old enemy has often converted into abuse. For, as it is stated, the custom here is considered to be that the person summoned for a certain day may appoint a proctor only for that day by letters signed and
A.D. 1237.] MANNER OF MAKING CITATIONS. 89
sealed with his authentic seal; and it happens that if this proxy either does not choose to obey the summons, or to create any confidence in the letters, by producing witnesses, or some other impediment occurs, nothing is done on that day; and on the next day the office of the proctor expires, and so the business falls to the ground without effect. We, therefore, being desirous of providing against this insufficient provision, decree that, henceforth in ecclesiastical causes in the kingdom of England, the proxy shall be appointed, not only for one day, but for several successive days, if necessary, and the summons shall be proved by authentic writings, unless he shall have been appointed at the moment, or the person who appoints him could not find an authentic seal".
The manner of making citations.
"So craftily do opposite parties assail one another, that neither will hesitate to trample on justice, and do everything to defeat his opponent. And we have heard from many, that those who obtain summonses send them by three boys to the place where the summoned party is said to reside, at which place two of the messengers place the summonses on the altar of the church at that place, or in some other place there, and the third immediately takes it up again. Hence, it happens that, as two of them bear witness that they have summoned him, he is excommunicated according to the tenour of the sentence and the custom of the district, or is suspended as contumacious, though he was altogether innocent of contumacy, as he was ignorant of the summons. We, therefore, in our zeal for justice, to correct this detestable abuse, and other similar ones, decree, that henceforth, in ecclesiastical causes in the kingdom of England, summonses shall not be sent by those who apply for them, or their messengers; but the judge, at a moderate cost to the applicant, shall send them by a trustworthy messenger of his own, who shall diligently seek out the party to be summoned; and if the messenger is unable to find him, he shall cause the letters of summons to be read and published, in the church of the place where the summoned party usually resides, on Sunday, or some other holy day, when mass is performed: or, at least the summons shall be sent to the dean in whose deanery the summoned party resides, who, on
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the judge's order, shall faithfully effect this service personally, or by some of his trusty and sure messengers, and shall without fail write to the judge, and inform him what has been done in the matter".
No one is to set his seal to the letters of summons who was not present at the writing of them.
"The more necessary that the use of writings under authentic seals, (and it is especially in the kingdom of England where there are no public notaries), the more carefully ought precautions to be taken that it does not, through the inexperience of any persons, fall into an abuse. For, as we have heard, the warrants are written and signed, not only by inferior clerks, but also by prelates; in which warrants manifest care is taken to show that they had procured some one to be present at the contract or matter in hand, or that some one summoned to trial should appear, or that letters of citation had been presented to him, who had never been present, or even found, and who perhaps at the time was living in another diocese or province. Also, as letters of this kind plainly contain falsehoods, we strictly forbid these or any similar things to be done; and, after careful deliberation, we establish a decree, that those who may be convicted of this offence, or who presume to persevere in issuing such warrants, shall suffer the punishment due to forgers and those using false instruments".
Of the Persons who ought to hold authentic seals.
"As public notaries are not in practice in England, on which account it is necessary that more credit be given to authentic seals, we decree that not only archbishops and bishops, but also their officials, shall hold seals, in order that their assistance may be obtained more easily. Also, all abbats, priors, deans, archdeacons, and their officials, rural deans, and also chapters of cathedral churches, and other conventual assemblies, together with their rectors, or separately, according to their custom or statutes, according to the variety of each of the aforesaid, shall have each his own seal; that is to say, the name of his rank, office, and college, and also the name of those who enjoy the honour of perpetual rank or office, inscribed in plain characters thereon, and shall thus hold an authentic seal. Those who hold temporal office, such as rural
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deans and officials, shall hold their seal, which shall have only the name engraved on it; and at the expiration of their times of office shall resign it without delay to the person from whom they received their appointment. With regard to the custody of the seals, we order great care to be taken; namely, each person shall keep his own himself, or shall deliver it to only one person, in whom he can place confidence, to be kept by him: and he shall swear to keep it faithfully, and that he will not seal anything with it for any one from which anything prejudicial could arise, unless what his lord had read and carefully examined, and then ordered to be so sealed. In granting the use of the seal, faithful and circumspect caution should be observed; faithful, that it may be easily granted to those who require it, and circumspect, that it may be denied to false and fraudulent persons. We also decree, that at the beginning, and also the end of each authentic writing, there shall be a proper insertion of the day, time, and place".
The oath to be taken by advocates.
"We have heard the cry of justice, complaining that it is greatly impeded by the quibbles and cunning of advocates, and that it is very often denied by unskilful judges, through ignorance, whom the parties often deceive by their contumacy. For it sometimes happens that a person who is put into possession for the sake of keeping property, endeavours to retain possession, although the opposing party returns within the year, and is prepared to satisfy justice in everything. Sometimes, too, the person who is sent to take possession is not able, although he be adjudged to be the true possessor, to gain possession either within a year, or afterwards, the opposite party resisting by force of arms. We, therefore, rising to the assistance of justice, do, with the approbation of the council, decree, that whoever wishes to obtain the office of advocate shall make oath to the diocesan in whose jurisdiction he lives, that in cases in which he may plead, he will plead faithfully, not to delay justice, or to deprive the other party of it; but to defend his client both according to law and reason. Otherwise, they shall not be admitted to plead, in matrimonial cases and elections, unless they make a like oath; and they shall not be admitted in other cases before the ecclesiastical judge for more than three terms, without an oath
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of this kind, unless by chance a demand is to be made on behalf of this church, or his lord, or for a friend, or for a poor man, a foreigner, or any wretched person. Let all advocates beware that they do not themselves, or by means of others, suborn witnesses, or instruct the parties to give false evidence, or to suppress the truth; those who do so shall be, ipso facto, suspended from office and benefice, until they have made proper atonement for the same; and if they are convicted of so doing, they shall be duly punished, all other matters notwithstanding. Judges, too, who are ignorant of the law, should, if any doubtful point arise, from which injury may accrue to either party, ask the advice of some wise person, at the expense of both parties".
Of committing the acts of courts to writing.
"We, moreover, decree that, as far as they are able, they shall, in observance of a decree of the general council, carefully and faithfully keep in their possession all the original and authentic acts, as well in ordinary as extraordinary trials, or shall cause them to be kept by their writers, that they may be able to make a copy of them for the parties, as they ought; and we order and decree that, after they have all been copied by these writers, they shall all be published, in order that, if there be any error in the writing, it may be corrected, and the real facts of the case be made apparent".
On giving security.
"The judges, moreover, shall take care that, when they have determined to put any one into possession, owing to the contumacy of the adverse party as to restoring possession, with the produce, if he has received any therefrom, after deducting lawful expenses, if the opposing party return within the year, they shall take sufficient security at the command of him who ought to have been put in possession. We also decree, that any one who presumes by force to hold possession, to obtain which another person has been sent, owing to his contumacy, even if he shall be appointed the true possessor after a year, shall be deprived of whatever right he may have in it".
All these matters having been completed on the third day of the council, the legate commenced chanting the "Te Deum", all present rising from their seats; after which the
A.D. 1237.] LETTER FROM THE EMPEROR TO EARL RICHARD. 93
anthem "In viam pacis" was sung, followed by the psalm "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel"; he then read some special collects, and bestowed his blessing, on which they all went away not a little delighted.
Letters from the Emperor to Earl Richard informing him of his victory over the Milanese.
In the same year, just before Christmas, that mighty conqueror of his enemies, the Roman emperor Frederick, sent imperial letters, sealed with gold, as was his custom, to Richard, earl of Cornwall, to inform him, and others through him, of the victory granted to him by Heaven over the Milanese, as mentioned above; the purport of which letter was as follows:-
"Frederick, by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, to Richard, earl of Cornwall, his beloved brother-in-law, health amd sincere affection.- How audacious and rash have been the proceedings of the Ligurians [Genoese] in rebelling against our royal person, experience and the proximity of the place has informed neighbouring people, and the report of inveterate wickedness has carried the news to people at a distance. And we think that you are not unaware of what the world knows, namely, that our constant system of passing over their offences has continued so long, that, if we were to do so any further, our endurance would lose the name of true patience, and would incur the stigma of vile pusillanimity, instead of the honourable name of virtue. Considering; then, after some little time, that wounds which do not feel any effect from the application of fomentations, ought to be cut with the knife, we of necessity resorted to arms, arousing the sleeping empire from its lethargy; but we could not, either in the past year, or during the present one, induce our rebellious subjects to incur the risk of giving us open battle, that we might at once gain a victory over them. By a fortunate chance, however, it happened that the Milanese with their allies were summoned to garrison Brescia, and thus a river was interposed between us and them, by which they were surrounded as it were, by a rampart; on this we pitched our camp on the other side of the river Oglio; but here the faithful knights and people of the cities returned home, not being able any longer to endure the tediousness
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of the unexpected delay, and the inclemency of the season; we, however, with a chosen body of our army, directed our steps along the banks on the other side of this swift river, to the bridges, by which those returning home were obliged to cross. The Milanese and their allies, not being able to stay any longer in their hiding-places, owing to the scarcity of necessaries, crossed the river Oglio by the fords and bridges, and came into the open plain, thinking to escape from us by a secret flight, and perhaps not imagining that we were so near. When, however, they knew of our proximity, fear and terror fell on them like a clap of thunder from heaven, and at sight of the advanced guard of our imperial army, even before they could see the victorious standards, the imperial eagles, they turned to flight before us in such confusion, that, till they reached their carrochium, which they had sent forward to Nuova Croce, as fast as horses could carry it, not one of our pursuing troops could gain sight of the faces of the fugitives, and, as we believed that it was necessary for us to hasten to the assistance of the auxiliary troops, who had proceeded in advance in a small body, we marched forward after them with all speed with the strength of our army, and when we expected to find them repelled by the attacks of the fighting enemy, we found our progress impeded by the numbers of horses which were running hither and thither without riders, and by the multitude of knights lying wounded or slain; whilst those who were alive were either standing or lying on the earth, having been bound by the esquires of the knights, who followed their lords. At length we discovered their carrochium, near the walls of Nuova Croce, surrounded by trenches, and protected by an immense body of knights, and all their foot soldiers, who fought wonderfully in its defence; we then directed our attention to the attack and capture of this standard, and we saw that some of our troops, after having forced their way over the top of the trenches, had, with commendable bravery, forced their way almost up to the pole of the carrochium. The shades of night, however, coming on, which our men ardently wished for, we desisted from the attack till the following morning early, lying down to rest only with swords drawn, and without taking off our armour, determining to return to gain an undoubted victory, and to get
A.D. 1237.] LETTER SENT TO THE LEGATE. 95
possession of the carrochium. When day broke, however, we discovered it deserted, and left amidst a crowd of vile waggons entirely undefended and deserted, and from the top of the staff where the sign of the cross had been, the cross had been cut off but appearing to the fugitives to be too heavy, it had been left half-way. The garrison and inhabitants of the castle of Nuova Croce, under protection of which we thought that they would escape our attacks, all abandoned it; their podesta, the son of the duke of Venice, under whose command they had raised their sorrowful standard, did not escape from our hands. To make a short account of the matter, almost ten thousand men were said to have been taken and slain; amongst whom a great many nobles and chiefs of the Milanese faction fell. Of all these matters we send you word, to give you joy, that you may see how our empire is exalted, by the news which we now tell you. Given at Cremona, this fourth day of December, the eleventh indiction". A credible Italian asserted, that Milan, with its dependencies, raised an army of six thousand armed men with iron-clad horses.
A letter sent to the legate on the state of the Roman church.
In the same year, too, about Christmas, the lord cardinal J. de Colonna, a powerful and special councillor of the Roman church, wrote to the legate in England, as follows:- "The brother to his brother, the Levite to the Levite, the beloved one to the beloved one,- Health in Christ,- If this letter which I have written could remain a secret to strangers, and, owing to the distance of places, were not exposed to danger, many things would be committed to writing which the tongue is silent upon, and does not disclose to a friend. However, I ought not to conceal it from your excellency, that the mother has very eagerly, or rather, unadvisedly, immersed herself in the billows, and of her own accord thrown herself into the wolf's jaws, by the plan of two only, though a third gave his concurrence, or rather, to speak more truly, anticipated the plan. [1] Hence it is, that liberty is thrown away, slavery is begun, the star of the sanctuary is set, the inheritance is reduced to slavery, the
[1] The Latin text has "et cocis praecedentibus cum tractatu" which I cannot translate.
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pride of the high and mighty is exalted, a prison is purchased, honour is despised, confusion is sought after, disquiet is armed, tranquility is put to flight, no regard is paid to the offence of brothers and strangers, and other lamentable results ensue. It is well for you that you are removed from these troubles, that you have gone to a distant country, so as not to see the sufferings of your people and the saints, to be beaten by daily blows, to be lacerated with frequent prickings. We wished, as we have often tried to do, to reform the condition of the Church, into which a shapeless state of desolation has crept: counsel is administered in vain, where the wish is not restrained by the curb of prudence, but, excited by its violence, it rushes forward to a declivity, and cannot be stopped. In addition to the mass of our other sorrows, that noble pillar which used so nobly to support the fabric of the Church, our lord the bishop of Sabina, of cherished memory, has been suddenly taken away from amongst us; at first, he was struck with grief at our trouble, and afterwards attacked by a slow disease, and died to enter into the power of the Lord, leaving a lamentable scene of ruin to his mother. The brothers returned from a country at discord with their chief, but no impressions of the footsteps of peace appeared; for the followers of discord did not obey the labourers of peace. The bishop of Antioch has withdrawn from the community, and is not commended by those who return. Would that my friend were attended by a smaller retinue, so as not to be a burden to others, and to be torn by the teeth of disparagers. And as the billows of offences and sundry storms gain strength, you are become necessary to the mother; therefore, prepare to return. Given at Viterbo, on the feast of St. Lucy".
The Greeks refuse to submit to the Roman church.
By this, then, and other similar indications, it was manifest that the Roman church had incurred the anger of God. For its chief men and rectors sought not to call the people to devotion, but to collect purses full of money; not to gain souls to God, but to seize on revenues and amass money, to oppress religious men, and, by penances, usury, simony, and various other devices, impudently to usurp the property of others to their own use. No regard was paid to justice
A.D. 1237.] THE GREEK CHURCH RISES AGAINST THAT OF ROME. 97
or honour, and no attention to the instruction of the ignorant, and whenever any one in any way was invested with an ecclesiastical benefice, he immediately inquires how much money he will get from it; the last question, if it was asked at all, that arose, was as to his saint, or the name by which his church was entituled; hence imprecations and murmurings were excited amongst the people, and the anger of God was provoked daily, with good cause. At sight of such wickedness and oppression, the Greek church rose against that of Rome, expelled their emperor, and showed obedience only to their archbishop of Constantinople, named German, who, in his ravings, strayed from the Catholic faith, and boldly defended the erroneous doctrines of the Greeks, as well the old errors as others newly invented. Their foolish creed is as follows:- They assert that the Holy Spirit proceeds not from the Son, but from the Father alone, because it is found in the Scriptures written, "The spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father". Moreover, they consecrate the eucharist from fermented bread. In many points, too, they contradict the Latins, and despise them, condemning the Roman church in several points, more, however, regarding its acts than its sayings. He has, therefore, like another Lucifer, established his see in the north, that is to say, at Constantinople, the metropolitan city of the Greeks, a degenerate son and an antipope, calling it his church, and declaring that it is the most worthy; he also says that the Roman church is its sister, not its mother, because St. Peter, the chief of the apostles, in former times established a cathedral see at Antioch, which is adjacent and belongs to the Greek empire, before he came to Rome; he adds also, that Antioch showed all the honour and reverence in its power to the apostle of Christ, and in this way to Christ, on which account it was honoured with the name of "Theophilus"; whilst Rome, after many insults and much contumely, condemned the said Peter and his fellow apostle Paul to death. Thus, on the side of the Greeks, was honour and reverence shown, whilst on that of the Romans, disrespect and insolence was offered; wherefore, the Greeks, by right, deserved to be called the sons, and the Romans the stepsons. However, as is to be gathered from the tenour of the undermentioned letters, the said Archbishop German
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wished to assemble his Greeks and the Latins, that is, the Romans, together, in order that they might, after hearing the arguments set forth on both sides of the question, come to the same way of thinking, according as the support of arguments or authority confirmed their opinions; that thus the whole Church fighting for God might be called one and entire, and, according to the decree of our Saviour, that there might be one shepherd and one fold throughout the whole world. The said German, therefore, wrote to the pope as follows:-
Letter of German, archbishop of Constantinople, to the Roman Pope Gregory,
"To the most holy and most excellent the Pope of Old Rome, and rector of the Apostolic See, German by the mercy of God, archhishop of Constantinople at New Rome,- Oh Lord Jesus Christ, grant me salvation. Oh Lord, give me good success. For I place thee, the honoured, precious, elect corner-stone, as the foundation of this negotiation which will bring salvation to the whole world. For I have learned by thy prophet Isaiah, that every one who believeth in thee as being this stone shall in no way be confounded, nor can he be moved from the foundation of his hope; and this is the truth, and no one dares to contradict it, unless he be a disciple of the father of lies. Thy work it is, who art the corner-stone, to unite those things which are afar off from one another, or which differ amongst themselves, and to assemble the things which are separated in the unity of the faith. Thou it is who hast preached the gospel of peace to those dwelling far and near, who, by the elevation of thy hands above the cross, hast summoned the ends of the earth to righteousness, and, after a father's custom, hast raised them upon thy shoulders. I therefore beseech thy inestimable clemency, who art the omnipotent Word of the Father, of the same substance in the wisdom of God, build in me an edifice of this argument, and be thou both its foundation and its roof who, according to the divine saying of John, art the Alpha and the Omega, as it were, the incomprehensible beginning and end of all things. Thus far extends our prayer: and thus, having in the first place raised our eyes to the heavenly mounts, whence we prayed that aid might be granted us, we next address our discourse to you, most holy pope, who have obtained the primacy of the Apostolic See; deign to descend
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a little from the height of your glory, and give heed to my words, who am of small consideration, wretched both in life and in discourse; if you, I say, resemble him who dwells as God on high, and looks down on things here below;- but here I will begin.
"The inscrutable wisdom of God, which out of nothing produced everything, always restrains them within bounds, and wisely rules them, has ofttimes made a custom on the least occasion to build great works thereon, as if the foundation had been long before laid. Joseph was sold into Egypt for silver, after having been let down into the pit, and was afterwards thrown into prison, and the events which followed, how glorious and how honourable they were, and how God was glorified in the midst thereof are well known to the wise understanding of thy mind, most holy father. To what this discourse refers, and the meaning of it, the brothers who are present, whose number is equal to that of the wise virgins, and whom a dangerous meeting and an unjust imprisonment have brought to our notice, will explain to your holiness. The lamp of their works, with the light which emanates from it, shines before men to the glory of the heavenly Father, and they wisely always supply it with the oil of good works, that its light may not be extinguished, and they themselves may not be drawn into sloth, and thus be refused admission to the kingdom. They are all without staves and slippers, and each of them has his own particular garments. Now I think, according to the apostle, that their feet are beautiful, as they are preaching the gospel of peace between the Greeks and Latins, and they may briefly be called, as if without any burden, most nimble and swift runners, hastening to God, who is the goal of all good men; on their attaining which, they will cease running, and receive their much-desired reward. These men, who, according to God, are called Minorites, being thus united in one wish and one purpose, and being equally distinguished by the number five, appeared as a good sign, and gave good hope, with God's consent, of unity and concord being established amongst the five patriarchates. Those brothers themselves, as I believe, have, by God's providence, who disposes all things to the best advantage, joined our house; and after many arguments on both sides, had passed between us, the discourse turned
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above all other things on the long-standing schism in the seamless garment of piety woven from the top throughout, with which garment the hands of the apostles clothed the Catholic church of the Christians. It is not the presumptuous hands of soldiers, but dissensions of ecclesiastics which have split and divided it, and the rent is great and of many years' standing, and there is no one to pity the spouse of Christ who is clad in a rent garment, or who will lament her disgrace. This, as I believe, David also, in his lamentations, says in the book of Psalms, 'They have been separated and not held compunction'. But if we were to feel compunction, we should grieve and be sorrowful; and if we were to meet with trouble and grief, we should call upon the name of the Lord; and as long as we sought him, he would come to our assistance, as if in the midst of his disciples, pacifying those at variance, and correcting the discordance of their thoughts. Are not his bowels torn? are they not sorrowful on account of this disagreement? Yea, very much so. For he is the Father, the most holy of all fathers, and cannot bear to see his children mutually tearing and destroying one another in this hostile way, and to see one devoured by the other, after the manner of fishes, because the greater is elevated above the less, and his more powerful oppresses the weaker. Are we thus taught by that fisher of men, Peter, who, contrary to the nature of his former art, led those whom he caught in his net from death to life? Alas! 'who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my eyes, that I may weep day and night over the destruction of the new Jerusalem', out of the nations of the congregated church? how have we, the elect people of God, been divided into Judah and Israel, and our cities into Jerusalem and Samaria? The same circumstances as occurred in the case of Cain and Abel, or Esau and Jacob, who were brothers by birth, but enemies in mind, and thus opposed to one another, are now occurring amongst us. I am grieved to insert these things in my letter, lest I may seem to be injuring the primacy of your fraternity, or may be thought to be endeavouring to steal the birthright of the first-born. However, my Father has neither grown old, nor have his eyes become dimmed; but he dwells in heaven, and clearly sees all things, and on those who are unjustly oppressed he bestows his blessing. These things are
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indeed bitter, and to a man of understanding, are the worm that gnaws his bones, if they are frequently brought to mind. But what remains to be said is more bitter, sharper, and more cutting, than any two-edged sword, against whatever sect of men it is directed, whether Greeks or Latins; and what is this? Let us hear what Paul says: 'But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached, let him be accursed'. And he strikes with the sword of this kind not only once, but also a second time, that he, too, may bring on us greater sorrow by the second blow, and that those who fear the death of their souls, may seek the physician. What then shall I say more? Let us shake off all other care and anxiety from our minds like dust from off our feet, and let us use all our endeavours to discover whom this two-edged and terrible sword touches, and who those are whom it separates from their union with the limbs of the Church, of which Christ is the head. If it touches us Greeks, show us the incision, wash away the blood from the wound, apply the spiritual plaster, bandage it up, and preserve your brethren who are in this danger, lest they perish, and thus agree with Solomon, who gives this proverb: 'A brother is proved in difficulties'. Let us, however, chiefly listen to the Lord himself, who gave wisdom to this said Solomon, and who says through the prophet, 'Whoever separates the valuable from the cheap, shall be as it were my bone'. But if we Greeks are without a scar, and free from a wound by this sword of the anathema, and it is drawn against the Italians and Latins, and is raised for the purpose of slaying and destroying some, we think that you will not, through ignorance or a wicked pertinacity, suffer yourselves to be separated from the side of the Lord, for whom each of you would willingly endure ten thousand deaths, if it were possible. That either great discord, and contrariety of opinions, a destruction of the canonical rules, or an alteration of the customs which our fathers handed down to us, are the materials of the hedge which separates those things which were formerly united in the bonds of peace and concord, the whole world with one voice will declare, calling God, and the heavens, and the earth to witness, that we have most earnestly begged to be united hand in hand with you, or you with us, by making a diligent inquiry
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and sifting the truth to the bottom, and invoking the assistance of the Holy Spirit, that we may no longer be exposed to a similar schismatical scandal, and be spoken ill of by the Latins, or you be reviled by the Greeks. And that we may arrive at the very pith of the truth, many powerful and noble men would obey you, if they did not fear the unjust oppressions, the wanton extortion of money which you practise, and the undue services which you demand of those subject to you. Hence it is that cruel wars arise one against another; hence springs the desolation of cities; owing to this the seal is placed on the doors of the churches; hence spring the schisms of brethren; and by this, the operations of the priestly ministry cease, so that God is not glorified in the Greek countries in a becoming manner. One thing, as we believe which has been long ago prescribed to the Greeks from above, has till now been wanting, namely, the time of martyrdom; but the time is now at hand for the cruel tribunal to be opened, and the seals of torments to be put forward, for deluges of blood to flow, and for us to descend to the arena of martyrdom, and fight the good fight, that we may receive crowns of glory from the right hand of the Almighty. The famous island of Cyprus knows what I say is true; she knows, and has produced new martyrs, and seen the soldiers of Christ, who first crossed the sea, and, being cleansed in a bath of tears, and by sweat, at last even passed through fire, and were led by God, who viewed their struggles, into the heavenly resting-place. Are these things good, most holy pope, successor of the apostle St. Peter? Does Peter, the gentle and humble disciple of Christ, enjoin such things? Does he thus instruct the elders when he writes, 'The elders which are amongst you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory which shall be revealed? Feed the flock of God which is amongst you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind: neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away'. This is the doctrine of Peter, and those who do not obey him will see it. Sufficient consolation, however, is afforded us by that part of his letter in which he orders
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those who are sorrowful to rejoice under their various temptations, 'That the trial of our faith, being much more valuable than gold which perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ'. But grant me your pardon, most holy lord, and most merciful one of all your predecessors of old Rome, and endure my words, although they contain much bitterness, for they are the sighs of a languishing heart; and indulgence is granted by those discreet men who, owing to the great sorrow of the heart, break forth into words mingled with sighs. Gird up, therefore, the loins of your strength, light the lamp of your discretion, and seek for the drachma which is perishing for the unity of the faith, and we will sympathize with your holiness, and we will not spare our infirm body, nor excuse ourselves in the plea of old age, nor will we complain of the long journey; for the more toilsome the work that is undertaken, the more reason is there for several crowns of glory; for each one will receive his reward according to his toil, as says Paul, that general wrestler in the circus, and an especial victorious obtainer of the crown of glory. We are not ignorant, most holy father, that in the same way as we Greeks endeavour to observe orthodox and pious doctrines in everything, so as not in any way to stray from the statutes of the apostles and holy fathers, so the church of old Rome, as we well know, strives on its own behalf to think that it is not deceived in any point, and asserts that it wants neither remedy nor correction; and this we know is said in the church of the Greeks as well as in that of the Latins: for no one can ever see anything ugly in his own face, unless he looks into a looking-glass, or is informed by some other person how he looks in the face, whether ugly or otherwise. We have many large and clear looking-glasses, namely, the clear Gospel of Christ, the epistles of the apostles, and the books of the divine fathers: let us look in them; they will show how each man feels, whether spuriously or legitimately. But whoever shall be invited to the mirror to make trial, will, when he goes away, confess, although unwillingly, that his face is deformed; and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under his feet shortly, who is the author of discord: the peaceful one, who is the cause of all good, shall bruise him
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who hateth good, and causes scandals. And may he who is the God of peace send to us, who are the shepherds of his rational sheep, the angel of peace announcing great joy, as he formerly did to the shepherds of brute sheep at the birth of Emanuel into the flesh; and may he make us worthy to sing that wonderful song of praise, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will towards men'; and also to salute one another with the holy kiss. The glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, the peace of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen".
Letter from the same to the cardinals,
"German, by the divine mercy, archbishop of Constantinople, at New Rome, to the most holy, discreet, and illustrious cardinals, the honour of the Apostolic See.- It is truly a great advantage to the world and very advantageous, for all men to assemble together and hold counsel as to arranging matters. For what God has sometimes concealed from one person he has revealed to another, and thus whatever good he reveals to any one, when it is brought forward in common, is transferred in an increased degree to the advantage of the multitude subject to him; and if there be several advisers, and they be learned and discreet men, how much gain and how great advantages accrue to the whole community of people subject to them. For if a man who acts without counsel opposes himself, as Solomon with truth says; therefore, on the other hand, whoever has much and good advice draws his friends to him with great affection, and even allures his enemies into friendship with him. That this is a divine and heavenly plan, the prophet Isaiah bears witness, where he calls the consubstantial word of the Father, and the great angel of wisdom, the admirable counsellor, that it may be understood, forsooth, how necessary it is in matters concerning the Lord to distinguish the difference of persons. For, according to the nature of the Divinity, there is one will of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; therefore much honour accrues to the advisers of good things, because from this they obtain a name in common with the Lord, if they shall give counsel for human salvation according to what is acceptable to him. Since, therefore, with the consent of Providence on high, which disposes all things to the best
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advantage, great and illustrious Rome has placed you in authority over her as worthy of her greatness and glory, and excelling all other cardinals your predecessors in discretion and religion, as religious brethren have informed us, humble as we are, I beg of you to rise and enter into the spiritual struggle, put on the armour of the spirit, and destroy the hedge of the old animosity existing between the church of the Greeks and that of the Latins, for your arms are strong to destroy works of this kind: and after this hedge is done away with, pacify the divided parts, and bind together in the union of peace, charity, and a common faith, those things which have been separated for many years; and be ye also praiseworthy advisers and acceptable to God, before the holy and excellent pope, a man according to your desires, knowing him to be peaceful and mild in spirit, and, according to his name, ever watchful, and praying, and waiting for his Lord whenever he may come, that he may make him worthy of the highest happiness, who, in the simplicity of his heart, feeds the people of Christ, and by the agency of his hands shall lead them to the pastures of paradise; for by hands, as you know, in Holy Writ, is designated operation. We, indeed, being in hopes, from the true promise of Christ, who perfects his truth in our weakness, have already begun the work of union, and are sending letters to his holiness the pope; and I pray of the King of Heaven, who put on the form of the servant, on behalf of us his useless servants; who was crucified, and who has exalted to a level with himself those who had fallen into the depths of misery, to put away from your hearts all pride of thoughts which raise themselves in opposition to our brotherly union; and may he enlighten your understandings with the light of knowledge, that we may speak one and the same thing, and that there may no longer be schism between us; and may we continue to be instructed in one and the same mind, and may it not be said amongst us as amongst the Corinthians of old, that 'I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ'; but that we may be all of Christ, as we are also called Christians! May we also continue to be instructed in one and the same mind, and practise charity, which is according to the law of Christ, that having in our mouths those words of the Gospel, 'One Lord, one faith, one baptism', we may be allowed to confess the
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truth; and put ye on the form of friends, that ye may be allowed to confess it also. As it is written, 'The words of the wise man, who speaks the truth and reproves, are like nails fixed on high', and truth often begets enemies; however, although I may fear, I will confess it. The separation of our union arose from your tyranny and oppression, and from the exactions of the Roman church, which, instead of a mother became a stepmother, and, like a rapacious bird driving away from her its young, drove her sons away from her; and the more humble and prone to obedience they are, the more she tramples on them, and the more vile she considers them, not heeding the saying of the Gospel, that 'Whoever humbleth himself shall be exalted'. Let moderation, therefore, restrain you; and although the Roman avarice is innately settled in you for a short time, let us descend to a scrutiny of the truth, and, after having made a strict examination into it, as regards both sides of the question, let us return to a firm union; for we all, Greeks and Latins, were some time since of the same faith, observing the same canonical rules, in the enjoyment of peace amongst ourselves, fighting each for the other, and putting the enemies of the Church to confusion. The people, too, which came among us from the East during the tyrannous oppression of the heretics, seeing that they had a safe place of refuge, fled with all haste to us, and a part of them to you, namely to great Rome, as it were an immoveable tower of strength, and received comfort from both sides; and thus, in mutual charity brother was received in the bosom of brother. And when Rome had been often taken possession of by other nations, the Greek empire freed it from their tyranny: Agapetus and Vigilius, too, fled for a time to Constantinople, owing to the dissensions at Rome, and were honourably received and protected; although you never afforded an asylum or lent assistance to us when placed in a situation of difficulty; however, it is our duty to act well even to the ungrateful; for the seas are calmed for pirates, and God makes the sun to rise on the just and the unjust. Alas! alas! by what a bitter disunion are we separated; one detracts from another, and each avoids alliance with his neighbour, as if it were exposing his soul to danger. What therefore shall we say? If we fall, raise us up. Do not act merely to raise physically from our fall,
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but act with us also for our spiritual resurrection, and we shall perhaps confess that we owe you thanks: but if the offence and commencement of the scandal has proceeded from old Rome, and from the successors of the apostle Peter, read the words of the apostle Paul addressed to the Galatians, who says, 'But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed', and other things which Paul afterwards said concerning Peter. But as we ought piously to believe, a resistance of this kind was not the cause of any discord or bitter contention, but rather of examination and profound arguments arousing temporal condescension. For they were united in Christ by the bonds of affection, of similar faith and doctrines, and not distracted by any ambition or avarice; and would that in these respects we were like them. But it has given rise to offence in our minds, that you gape after earthly possessions whencesoever you can scrape them together, and collect gold and silver and yet you say that you are disciples of him who says, 'I have neither gold nor silver with me'; you compel kingdoms to be tributary to you; you multiply money by traffic; you unteach by your acts what you preach with your mouth: let moderation restrain you, that you may be an example to us as well as to the whole world. You see how good a thing it is for a brother to be assisted by a brother: it is only God who does not need advice or assistance from any one, but men require to be assisted each by his neighbour. If I did not reverence the great apostle Peter, who is the head of the apostles of Christ, and the rock of the faith, I would bring to your memory how this rock was shaken to its foundation, and agitated by a low woman, with Christ's permission, according to the judgments by which he foresees all things, whose judgments are a great deep; who by the sound of the cock crowing, brought to Peter's memory the words of the prophecy, and aroused him from the sleep of despair. He, on being aroused, washed his face with tears, and confessed to God and to the whole world, and became an example of patience, carrying the keys of the heavenly kingdom, and running in the presence of all men, saying, 'Does not he who falls rise again? Arise, ye who have fallen, look on me, and obey me, as I am hurrying to the celestial paradise, the gates of which I have received power to open'. I write thus to
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your holiness, and mention these things only to recall your recollection; for I know that you are endowed with all wisdom and knowledge, and agree with Solomon, whose words are these: 'Give occasion to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, and he will be eager to receive'. This only I will add, and will then finish my discourse, namely, that there are many and great nations who think with us, and agree in all points with us Greeks. The first are the Ethiopians, who dwell in the first parts of the east; then the Syrians, and others who are more influential and virtuous, such as the Hyberians, the Lazi, the Alans, the Goths, the Chazars, and a countless host of the people of Russia, and the victorious kingdom of the Bulgarians: all these, as it were, are obedient to our mother, and still persevere immoveably in the old orthodoxy. But may the holy God, who, for our sake became man, and was placed at the head of the Church assembled out of the nations, again collect us in the unity of the faith, and suffer the Greek church in union with her sister old Rome, to glorify Christ, the prince of peace, by an unity of faith, for the restoration of the orthodoxy, in which they have agreed from times long past. May the hand of the Almighty God give to you, most holy cardinals, fraternal affection, and guide you all, until you arrive with joy at the tranquil port. The grace of God be with you all. Amen".
Letters from the pope.
"Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother German, archbishop of Constantinople, Health and the apostolic benediction.- Your brotherly letters having been presented to us and our brethren by your messenger, and having been received with proper good feelings, and their purport being fully understood, we have made arrangements to send to you some religious men of tried knowledge, to carry to you the words of life, and to explain to you more fully our wishes. But inasmuch as 'Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness', lest out of the mouth of the dead lion, with shame we write it, the honeycomb supplied by the father be despised, we have thought proper to send a few words in reply, lest, if we should not do so, it might seem that your letters were despised;
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for when the wise man listens, he will become wiser, and if he understands, will obtain the government. Although, as the contents of your letter recalled to our recollection, Christ is the first and chief foundation of the faith, which we acknowledge, beyond which no other can be laid; yet in the second place, and as the secondary foundation, we will mention the apostles and prophets, and the foundations of Sion in the holy mountains; and the citizens of heavenly Jerusalem are said to have been established on the foundations of the apostles and prophets. Amongst these the first and chief is the blessed Peter, not without reason, and by a special prerogative he was allowed to hear from the Lord, 'Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone'. As the full force of bodily sense is concentred into the head, from which by some secret passages a portion flows into each of the limbs, like a rivulet from a fountain, so the three orders of those of the faith, Noah, Daniel, and Job, that is to say, prelates, both monks and married persons, whom Ezekiel is said to have seen in his vision as persons to be saved. By Peter is designated the rock on which the Lord has built - not a house of the wood of Mount Lebanon, nor a gallery of pillars, nor a house of the daughter of Pharaoh, but his church for his faithful people, who are caught in its net, as it were from the whole body of fishes of all kinds. He is, as it were, the primate of primates, who drank streams from the fountains of our Lord's intelligence, whence the means of salvation must be derived, and with all patience and teaching, not contentiously nor by proud resistance, must the darkness of error be removed. And what you state does not oppose this, if you make a distinction of time and place, that Paul withstood Peter to his face; since we may read that this has been done by orthodox fathers; and Peter, by professing the Mosaic law, endeavoured to gain the Jews, and Paul, shunning circumcision by all the means in his power, strove to gain the Gentiles from this false doctrine. Otherwise it may be argued that Paul, when travelling through Syria and Cilicia, having arrived at Derbe and Lystra, circumcised Timothy, who was sprung from a Gentile father, and by a widow of the true faith. In the second and third place, the argument may be adduced that, when Paul sailed to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, and had shaved his head
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at Cencreae, for fear of the Jews, according to the law, he there shaved the hair which he had let grow owing to a vow, and which the Nazarenes, who had made a vow, usually did, according to the command of Moses. If, dear brother, you fully understand the secret of the dignity and the office of authority of Peter and Paul, and if you consider their zeal, who only craved after the souls of men, you will find that these two, whom the same faith and the same sufferings had rendered truly akin to each other, differed not in doctrine either during their lives, or at their deaths. For, although Peter and Paul carried on their labours in different languages and by different rites, supplying milk to the children and meat to those of more advanced age, the former amongst the stiffs necked people of Judaea, and the latter amongst the Gentiles, yet, when the full term was expired, each of the two with one and the same spirit, preached one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and the other articles of faith, according to the grace bestowed on him by God. For according to the words of the Lord, who spoke to Peter and the rest of the apostles in these words; 'Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained'. Paul was, in conjunction with Peter, performing the mysteries of his office, and according to these words of the same authority, expressed to Peter in particular, 'Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven'! he thus recognised Peter's dignity. He therefore came to him as the chief and the fountain of the Gospel of the Lord at Jerusalem, and afterwards, in conjunction with him and others, preached the Gospel according to the revelation, that 'he might not have run in vain'; and this same circumstance is confirmed by the words of our Lord, spoken to Peter alone, in which he is enjoined, 'If his brother sinned against him, to forgive him, not only seven times, but seventy times seven'; to him alone, too, the Lord distinctly intrusted his sheep, and he possessed such a special virtue in performing miracles, that sick men were placed on their couches and beds in the streets, and were healed by his shadow. His authority, too, is also more expressly confirmed by the words of our Lord, when he says to him, 'Launch out into the deep', and as is more fully
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subjoined: 'Let down your nets for a draught'. Since, therefore, on account of the excellence of his faith, which with truth acknowledged two natures in one Christ, when he said, 'Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God', Peter alone has received on earth the keys of the heavenly kingdom. As there is one God, one faith, one baptism, one beginning, one body of the church militant, and a body with many heads is considered prodigious, and one without a head is without a beginning, it only remains for the government of the Church universal, which the said Peter, in conjunction with Paul, has assembled from amongst the Greeks, Latins, and barbarians, that the Lord should, by what has been before stated, appoint a chief of it, and show who is to succeed him. He, however, foreseeing that the Church would be trampled on by tyrants, lacerated by heretics, and separated by schisms, said to him: 'I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren': from which it is plainly to be inferred that all questions of faith ought to be referred to the see of Peter. But, to use the words of your own letter, and we say it with sorrow, the long and seamless vestment of the true Joseph has indeed been presumptuously torn, not by the hands of soldiers, but by the passions of ecclesiastical persons; and, therefore, let us see who has torn it. Inasmuch as the Greek church seceded from the unity of the Roman see, it immediately forfeited its privilege of ecclesiastical liberty; and she who had been formerly free, became a slave of the secular power, that by a just dispensation of God, she who would not recognise in Peter the divine primateship, might endure secular rule, however unwillingly; under which, despising things of no slight importance, backsliding by degrees, professing a meaningless faith, and waxing cold in its brotherly affection, rushed back through the field of licentiousness; so that, without rebuke from any one, it concealed what was lawful under what was unlawful; and, seceding from the temple of Peter, is, as it were, ejected by the Lord from his hall, which John, in accordance with the Lord's prohibition, does not measure out with his staff, since it is given to the Gentiles, as you see visibly brought to completion. And because Samaria, too, which seceded from the temple of God, from Judah, and from the confession of the true faith.
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and became idolatrous, was worn away by continual wars and borne down by the weight of its sins, (although Elijah and Elisha shone there like two great luminaries in a dark place), it was given to the nations, and was cast outside, in punishment of its fornications and idolatry, by which it separated itself from the Lord. But if the church of the Greeks considers that she has the authority of Paul, let her show it, or recognise him when shown with Peter, by the successor of Peter, and the vicar of Jesus Christ, in the church of the apostles, built by Constantine. It has also denoted the mystery of his office, although, in your letter it is mentioned as a cause of reproach, that Peter was thrice aroused and awoke at the crowing of the cock, and was made the porter of paradise, in order that he, who was to have command, might know how to suffer and to sympathize, and by virtue of his authority, thrice repeated, 'Feed thou', not 'Feed ye, my sheep', - not the sheep of others,- he might transmit to his successor the example of the true shepherd, and the spirit of lenity, correct the excesses of the people, returning to the unity of the Church; deliver to Satan those that wander, and bring back the sheep, however unwilling, to the true fold. But if, from compassion, you return like a true Israelite to the primate of the Apostolic See; and if your bowels are moved by contrition for the rending of the seamless garment of Joseph, we compassionate your suffering, and, together with the apostle, condole with you in your grief; and we rise to give thanks to him who has opened the eyes of a blind son; and humbly beg of him who restored sight to the eyes of Tobias by means of salve made from the gall of a fish, to enlighten the hearts of the followers of the Greek church, as well as your own, and by his divine providence in our time and yours to bring us back to one fold and one shepherd. Receive, therefore, dear brother, the book of which mention has been made by John in the Revelations, and look earnestly into it; and although it may embitter your stomach, by the pricks of contrition, which pierce in the beginning of it, nevertheless, it will be sweet as honey in your mouth, according to the words of the betrothed, in the Psalms, 'Thy words shall sound in my ears; for they are sweet'. Consult, then, the dictates of your wisdom without any superstition; and when enlightened, you
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will find that the Roman church, which is the head and mistress of all churches, finds nothing in the mirror mentioned by you, namely, in the Gospel, the epistles, or the doctrines of other learned men, which, taken either interpretatively or dispensatively, does not agree, according to the statutes of the holy fathers, with the unity of the spirit. On opening this book, you will find that the Roman pontiff is become all things to all men, that all may be safe, and is called to his station, not for the sake of filthy lucre, or of his own wish, but by his brethren, through divine inspiration; and at once becoming a servant of the servants of God, he, together with his brethren, places himself forward as a wall for his brethren and fellow-bishops, and those subject to them, in opposition to heretics, schismatics, and tyrants, and for the defence of ecclesiastical liberties. And although there may be some exceptions, yet the church of Rome in modern times breathes freely from the incursions of all parties. But if the Greek church can (to use your own words) patiently endure words which nettle it, besides the dangers to souls which arise from their secession, these troubles ought to have given them sufficient sense, for in their hands the ecclesiastical order being divided out in various parts of opposing nations of the East, is put in confusion, the liberty of the Church is oppressed, and the dignity of the priesthood is trampled under-foot, and there is not one of its dear children to console it, since, being as it were, without a head, they refuse to return to the head of the Church: 'Return, therefore, oh! Shunamite, return, that we may look upon thee'; for then indeed can brother be assisted by a brother. If the son who by dissolute living has consumed all his substance, shall, by the Lord's inspiration, arise and say, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants'; then the father runneth to meet him, not as a servant, but as a returning son, and bringing forth the best robe, will kill the fatted calf', and making a general feast for all the faithful followers of Christ, will announce with all exultation and joy that the brother and son who was dead, has come back to life; the piece of money which was lost, is found; and thus will we receive you in the bosom of the Church, your mother; and you will plainly see the truth in
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the mirror of purity, which does not receive stain or blemish. Given at Reate, etc., in the sixth year" [of our pontificate.]
Another letter from the Pope.
"Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the venerable archbishop of the Greeks, Health and the apostolic benediction,- Whereas, according to the testimony of the truth, errors may occur, and there may be an ignorance of the Scriptures, it is expedient for all to read or to hear them, because, whatever the divine inspiration has inserted in them for the instruction of after-ages, it has wished to hand down as a caution to people of modern times. The division of the tribes, in the time of Jeroboam, who, as we read, 'caused Israel to sin', plainly signifies the schism of the Greeks; and the multitude of the abominations of Samaria, denote the various heresies of the multitude who have now seceded from their worship of and reverence for the true temple, namely, the church of Rome. That Chrysostom, Nazianzen, the great Basil, and Cyril, were distinguished in the councils of the dissentients, was as much a proof of the heavenly wisdom, as the residence of Elijah and Elisha, and the sons of the prophets, amongst idolaters. Since in the letter which we lately sent to you we more fully explained to you this authority and other matters of the reasons which favour the primacy of the Roman church, we now add only this, namely, that, according to the reading of the Gospel, we hold, that both swords belong to the Roman pontiff. When Jesus was speaking to his disciples of the possession of the spiritual sword, they showed him two swords which were placed there, and these our Lord considered to be sufficient for the coercion of both spiritual and corporal offences. Since you allow that the material sword pertains to temporal power, listen to what our Lord says to Peter in the Gospel of St. Matthew: 'Put up thy sword into its place'. By saying 'thy sword', he meant the material sword with which Peter smote the servant of the high priest: as to the spiritual sword, no one can doubt, since the Lord, by the authority of a sort of spirituality, intrusted to him (that is, to Peter), the power of binding and loosing. Both of these swords are intrusted to the Church; but by it one only is used; the other is to be drawn on
A.D. 1237.] ANOTHER LETTER FROM THE POPE. 115
behalf of the Church by the secular power; one is applied by the priests, the other, at the will of the priests, by the soldiers. Owing, therefore, to these and other circumstances, which, after a careful examination of the truth, may bring about a proper affection, instead of schism, we have thought proper to send to you, as bearers of these presents, the brothers Hugh and Peter, of the order of Preachers, and Haymon and Ralph, of the order of Minorites, men conspicuous for their religion and virtue, renowned for the probity of their morals, and endowed with a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, according to the tenor of the abovenamed letters; so that if you discuss boldly, and converse sociably with them on all points that concern the matter in question, you may hear the sound of thunder in the wheel which appeared below the wheel of Ezekiel, and observe in the glassy sea, that one Adam was placed in Paradise, to enjoy and take care of it; that he took to himself one wife; that our Lord Jesus Christ was created in one justice, and took his one spouse, the church; that Lamech, which means humble, whilst he divided one wife into two, became a bloody man, and killed a man to his hurt; that we read of only one ark, which was steered safely over the deluge by one patriarch, saving alive a small but chosen number of souls; how the Lord gave a law a second time to be different, yet the same; how the faces of the two cherubims, which overshadow the mercy-seat, are not turned away from it, but look on each other; that Joseph had one garment reaching to his feet, and our Lord had one seamless garment. However, if your belief is different from ours, and attributes a sense of duality to the sacrament of the Eucharist, consider that the Greeks and Latins celebrate the mystery of our salvation in the same manner, through one Lord Jesus Christ, who was subject to human passions when he took on himself human nature for our sake, but after his death was free from all passions. The Greeks, following the example of the younger disciple, and not unmindful of such mercy, daily commemorate God's mercy in becoming subject to human passions, use a host of leavened bread, in order that, according to the apostle, the leaven may typify the corruption to which, before his resurrection, our Lord was subject. But the Latins, after the example of the elder apostle, St. Peter, who was the first to enter the
116 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1237.
tomb, look rather to the linen clothes which had enveloped his sacred body, that is, the Church, and the napkin which was about his head, and celebrate the sacrament of his glorified body more wonderfully by the unleavened bread of sincerity. Both, however, are plain bread before the sacrifice, and, therefore, cannot be distinguished as leavened or unleavened; but one of these is rather believed to have been the living bread which descended from heaven, and gave life to the world. Such are the doctrines which the Holy Spirit and sound reason have taught the Holy See; and I pray that you, following the example of the younger disciple, who saw and believed, may at length enter in also, and, comprehending everything, may sing with us that psalm of David, 'Behold how good and joyful a thing it is for brethren to dwell together unity'. Given at the Lateran, the 17th of May, etc. etc".
How the Greeks seceded from all obedience to the Roman church.
The Greeks, although they heard these salutary warnings, paid no heed to them, nor did they submit themselves to the Roman church, perhaps, either through fear of its tyranny and avarice, or else, being contumacious, according to the words of the Evangelist, that those who were invited to the supper would not come, "but all with one consent made excuses", being humble in their excuses, but proud and contumacious in the performance of their work. On this, the pope and his cardinals held a deliberate discussion on this matter, and determined to send the whole army of the crusaders against them; and, accordingly, a crusade was preached, and some assumed the cross to proceed against the Greeks, and especially the Constantinopolitans. The origin of this schism and dispute between the Greek and the Roman churches was as follows:- A certain archbishop, having been canonically elected to a noble archbishopric in Greece, or having been nominated thereto, went to Rome to be confirmed, but could not obtain a hearing there, without a promise of an immense sum of money in return for obtaining what he demanded; but he, detesting the simony of that mercenary court, went away without effecting his purpose, and told the circumstance to all the Greek nobility; evidence was also given by others who had gone to Rome, of similar
A.D. 1238.] FREDERICK WRITES TO EARL RICHARD. 117
cases, or worse ones, and therefore all of them, in the time of this Gregory, withdrew themselves from all subjection to the Roman church.
In the week before Christmas, Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, set sail and went to Rome, nor would he return, although the legate recalled him; owing to which, from that time, they became enemies to one another.
During the whole of this year, the atmosphere was stormy and unsettled, injurious to men, and unhealthy; and never, in the memory of any one, had so many people suffered from the quartan ague.
The marriage of Simon de Montfort with the king's sister Eleanor.
Anno Domini 1238, which was the twenty-second year of his reign, King Henry the Third held his court at London, at Westminster, where, on the day after the Epiphany, which was on a Thursday, Simon de Montfort solemnly espoused Eleanor, the daughter of King John, the sister of King Henry the Third, and relict of William Marshal, earl of Pembroke. The ceremony was performed, and mass read in the king's small chapel, which is in a corner of his chamber, by Walter, chaplain of the royal chapel of St. Stephen's at Westminster. The king in person gave the bride away to the said Simon, who received her most gratefully, from his disinterested love, her beauty, the rich honours contingent to her, and the excelling and royal descent of the lady; for she was the legitimate daughter of a king and queen, and the sister of a king, an empress, and a queen; so that the offspring from such a noble lady would be a royal race. His holiness the pope, too, gave him a dispensation with her, as a future narrative will show.
On the 20th of January, in this year, dreadful thunder was heard, which was accompanied by a strong wind and heavy clouds.
The emperor Frederick, in his anxiety about the crusade, writes to Earl Richard.
About the same time, the Roman emperor Frederick, being anxious about the progress of the crusaders and the arrangement of their proceedings, and especially as to the progress of Earl Richard, wrote to the said earl as follows:-
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"Frederick, by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus, and king of Jerusalem and Sicily, to his beloved brother-in-law Richard, earl of Cornwall, Health and sincere affection.- The general advantage of the Holy Land, which depends on the exertions of the crusaders, often induces us, by warnings and entreaties to them, to urge the postponement of the passage of the crusaders in the kingdom of France and other parts of the world, till the predetermined time of the truce, namely, from the month of August next ensuing till the end of the following year; as we think that it will be expedient for assisting the said land, and to the advantage and honour also of those crossing over to it, that the passage of such a numerous host should take place at an opportune time, namely after the next festival of St. John the Baptist until that same feast in the following year. And we ought not to pass this over in silence, since the burden of the business for the liberation of the said country lies on our shoulders more than on any other of the princes of the world, and for that purpose we are bound to afford assistance and to spend our money; so that by this delay we may, by previously taking advice, when they themselves are perfectly prepared for the service of Christ, fully weigh all the circumstances, without omitting any contingencies. Those persons who have devoted their hearts and bodies to the service of the cross, and desire to give advantageous assistance to the crucified one, having been asked on this matter by our messengers and letters, have prudently and wisely replied to our suggestions, that until the expiration of the before-mentioned truce, they would comply with our request; wherefore, with many thanks we have approved of the wisdom evinced by their reply; wherefore, as we in our brotherly affection desire to see you in person, and to procure you an honourable passage, we wish and beg of you, if you live, at a convenient time to make your passage through our kingdom of Sicily, because it would not be agreeable to us if you were to take your journey any other way without seeing us; and especially since our kingdom is so situated that a more easy and convenient passage is afforded through it to the transmarine countries. Given at Vercelli, the 11th of February, the eleventh indiction".
A.D. 1238.] LETTER FROM FREDERICK TO RICHARD. 119
The legate is recalled to Rome, but does not return.
About the same time, his holiness the pope and the whole Roman court, hearing that so many disturbances had arisen in England, on account of the number of foreigners whom the king had unadvisedly sent for, and on account of the legate's arrival there, whom he had also allured into England, to the impoverishment of his own subjects; and that many of the latter were enraged against him, recalled the said legate in great haste, but moderated the severity of this measure by writing to him as follows:- "Gregory, etc., to his beloved son Otto, cardinal deacon of St. Nicholas in the Tullian prison, and legate of the Apostolic See, Health and the apostolic benediction.- Having understood that there are some clerks in the kingdom of England who hold several benefices, and that they cannot be proceeded against, according to the decrees of the general council, without disturbing the kingdom and causing bloodshed, owing to the power of their relatives, we, seeing that although sin must not be committed even to avoid scandal, yet that good which ought to be done, may sometimes be delayed for that purpose, by these apostolic letters enjoin it on your discretion, if you cannot proceed against the said clerks without causing offence, to waive the matter for the present". And lest anything unfortunate should happen to him, the pope, in the same letter, or in some others, soon after recalled him. The legate, however, preferring still to remain in England, and to reap where he had not sown, cunningly managed that a letter should be prepared and sent to the pope, with the seals of the king, his brother Earl Richard, and all the bishops affixed, to prove the truth of his statement that his further stay in England was of great advantage to the king, as well as to the kingdom and the church of England; and this writing, when sent to the pope, set his mind at rest.
The emperor sends word to Earl Richard of the birth of his son.
About this time the emperor Frederick, as a sign of his affection, wrote the following letter to Earl Richard, telling him, to his joy, that a son was born to him by the empress Isabella, the said earl's sister.
"Frederick, by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans,
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ever Augustus, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, to his beloved brother-in-law Richard, earl of Cornwall, Health and every good wish.- A joyful event, and one looked for by the wishes of all in common, one which is the most grateful of all other gifts received from nature's bounty, and that by which the sceptres of sovereigns are blessed with a desired succession, we have thought proper to make known to you the earlier, because the novelty of the joy it gave us does not admit of delay. For we have to communicate good news, which we now do by these presents, namely, that, by the disposition of the providence of the Supreme King, who gives increase and health to kings, on the eighteenth day of the month of February a son was born to us from the fruitful womb of our august consort, and a new nephew was given to you. His birth tends to the glory of his father and his uncle, refreshes the joy of his mother, and confirms the hopes of our subjects; by this, the sound mutual affection, in which we are bound by the ties of affinity, is strengthened, and tends to the increase of our prosperity; and the good of the Caesars turns out in time to the joy and honour of the whole community. The birth of this same child happens in the midst of our exultation at our fortunate proceedings in Italy, which is now yielding to our sovereignty, and at our victory over our defeated enemies, a happy star accompanying these auspices. And since this long-desired son has been born in the midst of these continued fortunate events and victories of ours, we trust in him who, after the birth of a daughter from our fruitful consort, your sister, has bestowed a male offspring, that he has liberally increased the ancient glory of our empire, which having fallen away in former times, now rises renewed by his birth, to the honour and glory of us and our posterity; and we wish you, who we know have long wished for the birth of this expected nephew, to share in the joy of us and our august consort. Given at Turin, the third day of March, the eleventh indiction".
The excitement of the English nobles against the king.
Earl Richard felt great joy at this news, and gave praise to God, being in hopes that in course of time great advantages would accrue to himself and the kingdom of England from this event. But, according to the vicissitudes of human
A.D. 1238.] INDIGNATION OF THE ENGLISH NOBLES. 121
affairs, he was on the other hand provoked to anger; for having heard that this marriage was confirmed clandestinely, that is, without his knowledge, or the consent of the nobles being obtained, he was justly much enraged, especially as the king had often broken his oath, that he would do nothing of importance without the advice of his natural subjects, and especially of himself. He therefore assailed the king with warnings and threats, and gave vent to great complaints and disaffection against him, because he had rashly managed important business of the kingdom, taking the advice of those foreigners whom he had previously sworn to send entirely away from him; and that dismissing all others from his side, he had not only listened to the counsels of Simon de Montfort and J. earl of Lincoln, but that they had, without the connivance of his nobles, brought about underhanded marriages: Simon, as has been above stated, having effected an unlawful marriage between him and the countess of Pembroke; his sister and John earl of Lincoln; and Richard de Clare, son of the count of Boulogne, and his, the said Earl J.'s daughter, unknown to the king. When Earl Richard rose against the king, he was joined by Earl Gilbert Marshal, and all the earls and barons of England, and the citizens and people in general. It was then most confidently hoped that Earl Richard would release the country from the wretched slavery with which it was oppressed by the Romans and the other foreigners; and all parties, from the old man to the boy, heaped blessings upon him. No one adhered to the king, except only Hubert, earl of Kent; and no fear was entertained of him, both because he had sworn never to carry arms, and also on account of his old age and his discretion, which had been proved on various occasions. The king, on finding how matters stood, both felt and showed his alarm, and sent messengers to each of the nobles of the kingdom, making earnest inquiries if he could rely on them for assistance; to which they all, and especially the citizens of London, answered, that what Earl Richard had begun, was brought about with a view to their own honour, and the advantage of the whole kingdom, though he, the king, did not approve of his proceedings, and that, therefore, they would not oppose his designs. The legate, on finding this, saw that danger was imminent, and applied himself with the greatest
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diligence to reconcile the king to his natural subjects, secretly advising Earl Richard, who was the chief promoter of this violence, to desist from his purpose, promising that the king would confer larger possessions on him, and that the pope would confirm what was granted to him; adding, too, that, although all in the kingdom should rise against the king, he, who was his brother, ought unweariedly to stand by him against all men. To this Earl Richard replied: "My lord legate, with the confirmation of the lands of the laity, you have nothing to do; attend you to matters connected with the Church; neither be astonished that the state of the kingdom excites me, since I am the only heir-apparent; for, although the king had the charge of the land of almost all the episcopacies, and of many escheats, yet his treasure never showed any increase for the defence of his kingdom, although we were surrounded by various enemies on all sides; besides, many are astonished that the king, who is chiefly in need of assistance and discretion, does not follow the tracks of discreet men; he does not follow the track of the emperor, to whom we gave our sister in marriage with a large sum of money, hoping that it would be to our advantage; for he only retained his wife, and sent back her attendants, without bestowing on one of them either lands or money, although he abounded in wealth and riches; a similar example can be mentioned in the case of the French king, who married the elder sister of our queen. But our English king, on the contrary, has fattened all the kindred and relatives of his wife with lands, possessions, and money, and has contracted such a marriage that he cannot be more enriched, but rather impoverished, so that he cannot procure the aid of a military force, if it should be necessary. Morever, he allows the revenues and ecclesiastical benefices, bestowed by our pious ancestors, (especially on religious men), to be seized on as spoil, and to be distributed amongst foreigners, although this country itself abounds in fitting men to receive them; and England becomes, as it were, a vineyard without a wall, in which all who pass along the road gather the grapes".
The legate endeavours to make peace between the king and his nobles.
The legate, on hearing these words, went to the king, together with Peter, bishop of Winchester, encouraging him, and advising him forthwith to submit to, and obey the will of,
A.D. 1238.] DEATH OF JOHANNA, QUEEN OF SCOTLAND. 123
his nobles, who had with just cause risen against him, endeavouring to correct him at one time by threats, at another by warnings, at another by entreaties. The king, then, seeing that his own sallies met with no favour, and that all parties inclined to his brother, Earl Richard, tried all the shifts that he could, and demanded time for deliberation, in order to give a more suitable answer to their demands; and accordingly, at the instance of those who asked for it (although after much difficulty), he was allowed time till the day after the first Sunday in Lent.
The whole consultation turns to nothing.
The nobles then met at London, on the appointed day, to arrange these matters; and many came equipped with horses and arms, in order that if the king should withdraw from his promise, he might be compelled to fulfil the foregoing terms. Then, after much argument and discussion amongst a great many present, the king submitted himself to the management of some of the more influential parties, and swore to abide by their decision, which was agreed to, and reduced to writing, and the seals of the legate and other nobles were affixed, to be shown to all parties in common. Before these matters were completely arranged, and whilst they were hanging in suspense, Simon de Montfort humbled himself to Earl Richard, and by means of many intercessors and some presents, he obtained the kiss of peace from the said earl, which circumstance greatly annoyed some of the other nobles, without whose connivance this had been attempted, and by whose endeavours the matter had been carried thus far. Earl John, of Lincoln, in like manner, by entreaties as well as by bribes appeased the anger of Earl Richard, giving security, however, that he would atone to him in all respects for what he had done against him. By these irregular proceedings the whole business was in a great degree impeded, and not carried into effect, but protracted the miseries of the kingdom, and, in a great degree, clouded the fame of Earl Richard; and thus he became an object of suspicion, who was believed to have been the staff of their strength.
Death of Johanna, queen of Scotland.
About this time, on the 4th of March, Johanna, queen of Scotland and sister of the king of England, who had come
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into England to visit the king, her brother, closed her life, and was buried at Tarente, a nunnery which the venerable Richard, the second bishop of Durham of that name, had founded and built, and had granted to Queen Eleanor, when she came into England. [1]
Simon de Montfort privily crosses from England.
Simon de Montfort, seeing that the hearts of the king and Earl Richard, as well also as those of all the nobles, were estranged from him, and finding that the marriage which he had contracted with the king's sister was looked upon by many to be, as it were, annulled, pined away with deep grief; and having seized on a ship, he set sail by stealth, after extorting an immense sum of money from every quarter he could; and from one citizen of Leicestershire, Simon de Curlevache, he extorted five hundred marks. He then went to the court of Rome, hoping by means of his money, to overreach it, and obtain permission to enjoy his unlawful marriage; and, first taking service under the emperor, in order to please him, he obtained letters from him on this matter to take to the pope. The countess of Pembroke in the mean time lay concealed, in a state of pregnancy, at Kenilworth castle, awaiting the issue of the event.
The sentence of the pope in the matter of the monks of Rochester.
In this year, sentence was given by the pope in the case of the monks of Rochester, with respect to the controversy that had arisen between them and Archbishop Edmund, as to choosing their bishop; the sentence was given in their favour, as well in the matter of claim as of possession; and on St. Cuthbert's day, the bishop elect, Master Richard of Wendover, was confirmed. This said archbishop had convened these monks, exhausted by toil, and drained of money by the expense; and had, moreover, crossed the Alps, that such a great dispute might be duly determined as the law dictated.
[1] There is some obscurity or corruption in the original of this passage: indeed, the text of Matthew Paris is far from accurate; no doubt many passages have been corrupted by errors of the copyist, if not of the author, whilst others have possibly been incorrectly printed by the editor, Wats, whose work, however, on the whole, is a wonderful specimen of accuracy.
A.D. 1238.] ARRIVAL OF THE EMPEROR OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 125
Sentence was likewise given at the same time against the said archbishop, who was then present at the court of Rome, in a matter of importance in dispute between him and the earl of Arundel; and in both cases he was condemned in the costs, about a thousand marks, and the sentence which he had pronounced on the aforesaid earl was withdrawn. For he had a most powerful enemy in the legate Otto, who had effectually urged the king on to this.
The arrival in England of the emperor of Constantinople.
In the same year, Baldwin, emperor of Constantinople, the youthful son of Peter, count of Auxerre, came to England to ask assistance, having been expelled and banished from his empire. But on his landing at Dover, he was told on behalf of the king, that it was ill-advised and improper for such a potent prince to intrude into a foreign kingdom without asking the opinion of the king, and without his leave; and that it looked like contemptuousness and pride. This arrival, too, was displeasing in the sight of the king and his councillors; for they recollected how many honours and benefits had been conferred by England on King John de Brienne on his coming there, who, when he returned to France, wickedly, and like an ungrateful man, planned treachery against the kingdom of England; however, on leaving France, being summoned under an unpropitious star to the imperial sovereignty of the Greeks, he did not carry his treachery into effect. The emperor of Constantinople, having been informed of these matters, was sorry he had come to England, and prepared for a speedy return, at the same time pleading his innocence to the king, and humbly setting forth the reasons of his journey. The king, on hearing this, after taking counsel, sent word to him that, as he had not come as an enemy, he might enter the kingdom, and come to London, where he himself would meet him with due honour. The emperor, therefore, on the 22nd of April, came to London, and having been met by the king at Woodstock, and been admitted to the kiss of peace, he explained to the king and Earl Richard the cause of his coming; and on his parting from them, he was enriched with many costly presents, and carried away with him about seven hundred marks.
126 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1238.
A disagreement between the legate and the scholars of Oxford.
At this time, the legate, having come to Oxford, and been received with the highest honour, as was due to him, was entertained in the house of the canons, which was at Oseney Abbey, where the scholar-clerks before breakfast-time [1] sent him an honourable present, in the way of meat and drink, and after breakfast proceeded to his place of abode to pay their salutation to him, and to visit him out of respect. On their approach, however, a transalpine porter, with unbecoming and improper raillery, raising his voice after the manner of the Romans, and, holding the door a little open, said, "What do you want"? To which the clerks replied, "We want his lordship the legate, that we may pay our respects to him"; for they confidently believed that they would receive honour for honour. The doorkeeper, however, with taunting speeches, saucily refused admittance to them all, with haughtiness and abuse; on seeing which, the clerks rushed forward with impetuosity, and forced their way in, whilst the Roman attendants, in their endeavours to keep them back, struck them with their fists and sticks. Whilst the contending parties were engaged in repeated blows and taunts, it happened that a poor Irish chaplain was standing at the door of the kitchen, and had earnestly besought for something to be given to him, in God's name, after the custom of a poor and hungry man, when the master of the legate's coooks (who was also his brother, and whom he had placed at the head of that office, that no poison might be given to him, which he, the legate, greatly feared) heard him, but paid no heed to his request; and, becoming angry with the poor man, threw in his face some boiling water drawn from the caldron where fat meat was being cooked. At this injury to the poor man, one of the clerks, a native of the Welsh borders, cried out, "Shame on us to endure anything like this"; and drew a bow which he carried (for, as the tumult had increased, some of the clerks had seized on whatever arms came to hand), and by an arrow discharged from it, himself pierced the body of the cook (whom the clerks satirically called "Nabuzardan", that means chief of the
[1] Prandium, the earlier of the two daily meals.
A.D. 1238.] DISTURBANCE AT OXFORD. 127
cooks), and on the fall of the dead man a cry was raised, at hearing which the legate was astounded, and struck with fear, which can overtake the boldest man, and he betook himself to the tower of the church, clad in his canonical hood, and secured the doors behind him. When the darkness of the night had put an end to the tumult, he put off his canonical dress, quickly mounted his best horse, and, under the guidance of some persons who knew the most private fords, crossed the river at the nearest part to him, although with much danger, for the purpose of flying under the protection of the king's wings as soon as possible; for the clerks, carried away by rage, continued to seek for the legate in the most secret hiding-places, crying out, "Where is that simoniacal usurer, that plunderer of revenues, and thirster for money, who perverts the king, subverts the kingdom, and enriches foreigners with spoil taken from us"? The legate, in his flight, hearing the cries of his pursuers, said within himself-
Quum furor in cursu est, currenti cede furori;
[When madness at full speed doth run,
A wise man seeks its path to shun;]
and, patiently enduring all these things, he became like a man who did not hear them, and as if he had no power to refute them. Having crossed the river with much trouble (as above mentioned), and with only a few attendants, owing to the difficulty of the passage, the rest remaining concealed in the convent, he came to the king breathless, and in a state of alarm, and, with tears and sighs interrupting his discourse, he explained to the king, as well as his attendants, the series of events which had happened, making a serious complaint in the matter. The king was astonished at his pitiable story, and sympathized much with him, and sent the earl of Warrenne with an armed troop to Oxford, with all haste, to rescue the Romans who were lying concealed there, and to arrest the scholars; amongst the latter, one Master Odo, a lawyer, was roughly seized, and, together with thirty others, was ignominiously consigned to close imprisonment in the castle of Wallingford, near Oxford; whilst the legate, thus liberated from the broken snare, summoned some of the bishops, laid Oxford under an interdict, and excommunicated all the abettors of this enormous offence. The prisoners
128 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1238.
were then, at the instance of the legate, conveyed in carts, like robbers, to London, and were there committed to close confinement, after being deprived of their incomes, and bound by the anathema.
The reconciliation of the university of Oxford with the legate.
The legate, who had set out, on a journey towards the north of England, turned rein and returned to London. There he scarcely dared to remain in the regal abode of the bishop of Winchester, where he usually stayed; and the king sent word to the city of London, that the mayor of the city, and the whole community of the citizens, were, with an armed body of men, to keep diligent watch over the said legate, and to guard him as the pupil of their eye.
The legate, then, by virtue of the authority which he held, summoned the archbishop of York, and all the bishops of England, to assemble at London, on the 17th of May, there to discuss the condition of the Church, and the perilous condition of the clergy. Having assembled on the pre-appointed day, the bishops debated about the means of saving the whole clerical body, as if it were a second church; the legate, also, condescended to them, saving the honour of the Roman church, lest it might be said in reproach, that he, who had come to reform the clergy and the Church, rather deformed them. At length it was suggested to the legate, by the bishops and the whole of the clergy present, that the dispute took its rise from his own dependants; but at the end of the dispute the clergy got the worst of it, for, by his orders, a great portion of them were committed to prison; the rest of them, in obedience to his orders, were ready humbly to make submission, at a place about three days' journey from Oxford, to whom, on the petition of so many great men, his mind ought to be inclined to mercy. At length it was arranged that the legate would grant this mercy, on condition that all the scholars there assembled should proceed on foot, in company with the bishops, also on foot, from St. Paul's church, which was nearly a mile distant from the abode of the legate, until they reached the abode of the bishop of Carlisle, and from thence should go, without hoods and cloaks, and barefooted, to the abode of the legate, where they would humbly ask pardon, which would be granted
A.D. 1238.] DEATH OF THE SULTAN. 129
them, and they would become reconciled. This was done; and the legate, seeing this humiliation, received them again into his favour, restored the University to its municipal site, mercifully withdrew the interdict with the sentence of excommunication, and granted them letters that, on this account, no stain of disgrace should at any time be thrown on them.
Immediately after Easter of this year, the king of England sent a body of troops, under the command of Henry de Trubleville, a most skilful soldier, to assist the emperor against his rebellious subjects in the Italian provinces; and with it he also sent J. Mansel and William Hardel, a clerk and citizen of London, with a sum of money for distribution amongst the mercenaries. Bravely did this army of the king fight for the emperor during the whole summer; for they conquered the citizens of some of the cities that resisted, and restored the cities to the empire. Amongst those who distinguished themselves, was the said J. Mansel. The pope was greatly annoyed at all this; and the king of England, about this time, sending him a letter, begging of him to deal more gently with the emperor, he was more severely vexed, replied to the letter in a manner unbecoming him, and was excited to such a pitch of anger, that for a long time all matters, especially those connected with the English, were suspended. When the bishop of Valentia heard that such an army was about to set out for Italy, he cunningly joined the lord Henry de Trubleville, as their guide, and sailed with him.
In the same year, Baldwin, emperor of Constantinople, of whom mention was made above, after having obtained from the king five hundred marks, and a large sum from Earl Richard, returned to his own country. About the same time, too, the bishop elect of Valentia, finding that his stay in England was agreeable to no one, either of his own accord, or against his will, set sail, but with due caution, however, because his horses were laden, and his saddles filled with gold and silver and royal vessels.
Death of the most powerful sultan.
In the same year, too, the most powerful sultan, who being about to die, liberally bequeathed rich revenues and
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large sums of money to the sick Christians who remained in the house of the Hospitallers, and had liberated a great many confined prisoners, and performed many other deeds of charity, breathed forth his spirit, to the grief of many. For he was, although a pagan, a truth-speaking, munificent man, and (as far as the rigour of his faith and the suspicion of his neighbours permitted it) a merciful man to Christians. When the Roman emperor Frederick heard of this, he lamented his death with tears, for a very long time, for he had hoped, as the same sultan had promised, that he would receive baptism, and that Christianity would by him, at some time or other, receive a great increase of prosperity.
Simon de Montfbrt betakes himself to the Roman court from the emperor.
In the mean time, Simon de Montfort betook himself with the good wishes of the emperor, and supplicatory letters from him. to the Roman court, where, by gifts of an endless sum of money and promises, he obtained a decree from the pope, that, although his vow solemnly made before Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, opposed it, he might enjoy his unlawful marriage, and his holiness wrote to the legate Otto, ordering him to give a special decree in favour of Simon de Montfort. On hearing this, Brother William of Abingdon, of the order of Preachers, and many other learned men, who had the zeal of God before their eyes, loudly blamed this sentence, affirming, with truth, that the pope's holiness was imposed upon; that souls were endangered; and that Christ was roused to jealousy. For although, as the opposing party declared, the woman in question may not have assumed the habit and veil, yet she has taken the ring, with which she has devoted, or rather betrothed herself to Christ, and is therefore, indissolubly united to Christ her spouse, as witness the authentic writing in the decrees of Master Peter, in his treatise on the "Vow", in the fourth book; in which, after premising the reasons and authority of the saints and canons, he proceeds to say: "From these things it appears, that virgins, or widows, bound by a vow of continence whether they have taken the veil or not, can in nowise be married. Which is to be understood in the same manner with regard to all who have made a vow of continence; and what was lawful before the vow, will be unlawful after".
A.D. 1238.] RAVAGES OF THE TARTARS. 131
Perhaps, however, the Roman court had in view something of deeper meaning than we could understand.
The Tartars ravage the northern countries.
About this time, special ambassadors were sent by the Saracens, chiefly on behalf of the old man of the mountain, to the French king, telling him that a monstrous and inhuman race of men had burst forth from the northern mountains, and had taken possession of the extensive, rich lands of the East; that they had depopulated Hungary Major, and had sent threatening letters, with dreadfrd embassies; the chief of whom declared, that he was the messenger of God on high, sent to subdue the nations who rebelled against him. These people have very large heads, by no means proportionate to their bodies, and feed on raw flesh, and even on human beings; they are incomparable archers, and cross over any rivers in portable boats, made of hides; of robust strength, and large in their bodies, impious and inexorable men; and their language is unknown to all within reach of our knowledge. They abound in flocks, herds, and breeds of horses; the horses are very swift, and able to perform a journey of three days in one; the men are well armed in front, but not behind, that they may not take to flight; and their chief is a most ferocious man, named Khan. These people inhabit the northern region, either the Caspian mountains, or the adjacent places, and are called "Tartars", from the river Tar; they are very numerous, and are believed to have been sent as a plague on mankind, and although they had sallied forth on other occasions, they seemed this year to rage more fiercely than usual. The inhabitants of Gothland and Friesland, dreading their attacks, did not, as was their custom, come to Yarmouth, in England, at the time of the herring-fisheries, at which place their ships usually loaded; and, owing to this, herrings in that year were considered of no value, on account of their abundance, and about forty or fifty, although very good, were sold for one piece of silver, even in places at a great distance from the sea. This powerful and noble Saracen messenger, who had come to the French king, was sent on behalf of the whole of the people of the East to tell these things; and he asked assistance from the western nations, the better to be
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able to repress the fury of the Tartars; he also sent a Saracen messenger from his own company to the king of England, who had arrived in England, to tell these events, and to say, that if they themselves could not withstand the attacks of such people, nothing remained to prevent their devastating the countries of the West; according to the saying of the poet,-
Tunc tua res agitar paries quum prozimus ardet
[For when your neighbour's house doth burn,
The fire will seize on yours in turn.]
He therefore asked assistance in this urgent and general emergency, that the Saracens, with the assistance of the Christians, might resist the attacks of these people. The bishop of Winchester, who happened to be then present, and wearing the sign of the cross, interrupted his speech, and replied jocosely, "Let us leave these dogs to devour one another, that they may all be consumed, and perish; and we, when we proceed against the enemies of Christ who remain, will slay them, and cleanse the face of the earth, so that all the world will be subject to the one Catholic church, and there will be one shepherd and one fold".
Death of Peter de Roches, bishop of Winchester.
On the ninth of June, in the same year, died Peter de Roches, bishop of Winchester, who, after having governed the church of Winchester for about thirty-two years, and having laudably fulfilled his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in company with the bishop of Exeter, and having built several houses for religious persons, and made a noble testament, closed his life, full of years, at his manor of Farnham. He was buried in his church at Winchester, where he had, during his life, chosen an humble tomb. By his death, the whole council, as well regal as ecclesiastical, of the English kingdom incurred an irreparable loss; and it must not be omitted, that whatever honour or advantage was contributed to the Church, either during peace, or a truce, or even during the war in the Holy Land, when the emperor Frederick went there, was nobly brought about and prudently carried into effect by the counsels and assistance of this same bishop. Besides this, when, some time afterwards, a disagreement, which had sprung up between the pope and the emperor, threatened
A.D. 1238.] SIEGE OF THE CITY OF MILAN. 133
misfortune to the whole Church, he happily, by the grace of God, restored peace between these illustrious personages. The names of the religious houses which he built, and endowed with possessions, buildings, and revenues, are as follow:- Hales, of the order of Praemonstratensians; Tykeford, of the same order; Selburn, of the order of St. Augustine, that is, of Regular Canons; and the famous hospital of Portsmouth. In the Holy Land, too, by transferring the church of St. Thomas the martyr, from an improper to a suitable place, he changed the order of the brothers of that church to a more competent order, so that, relying on the assistance of the patriarch of Jerusalem, those who had been formerly seculars in deed and dress, now carry the cross on their breasts, and are subject to the order of the Templars: he strengthened Joppa, a renowned place of refuge for the Christians; he made a remarkable testament, and bequeathed such an immense sum of money to each of the aforesaid places, that to the house of St. Thomas, at Acre, to which he bequeathed the least, he assigned five hundred marks. Besides this, he left to his successor a rich bishopric, with no diminution of its plough cattle. The king, when he heard of the death of Peter of Winchester, caused William, bishop elect of Valentia, to be appointed to that bishopric; but the chancellor, Ralph de Neville, bishop of Chichester, having been duly demanded, against the wish of the king, by the convent of Winchester, to whom the right of election belonged, the king dismissed him they wished to have from his council and his court, after taking from him the seal which had been intrusted to the said chancellor by the advice of the whole kingdom; and by means of his Rome-footed lawyers, and by the expenditure of a large sum of money caused the demand of the convent to be annulled by the pope.
The siege of the city of Milan.
At the same time of the year, the emperor having continued the siege of Milan, almost all the Christian princes sent him auxiliary troops; the king of England, his brother-in-law, sent a hundred knights, handsomely equipped with horses and arms, under the command of Henry de Trubleville, together with a large sum of money, to his assistance. The bishop elect of Valentia, too, who knew more of temporal
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than spiritual arms, hastened there with the knights whom the counts of Toulouse and Provence had sent to the emperor's assistance. The emperor being attended by such a numerous host of nobles, to the astonishment of many, wasted a long time in the siege with great loss, except that in one battle, Henry de Trubleville, with the triumphal standard of the king of England, followed by the English troops under his command, bravely repelled the attacks of the enemy, and put them to a hopeless flight; on which the emperor returned thanks by letter to the king, declaring that this bold attack was the cause of his safety and honour; and not long after, he betook himself with his large army, to lay siege to Brescia, the citizens of which place had succoured the Milanese in all their emergencies. The Milanese, in the mean time, were not idle, but surrounded their city with deep trenches, and continued frequently to assist the citizens of Brescia. In this way the summer season was spent and ended, so that on the approach of winter, a truce was agreed to by consent of both parties, and those who had come to the assistance of the emperor, went away without effecting their purpose; and the emperor himself as he could not conquer and subject to his rule the city of Brescia, which was a small one in comparison to the other cities, became less formidable to his enemies, and less respected by his friends.
The return of Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, from the Roman court.
About the same time, Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, returned from the court of Rome and came to England. Although he had left England with the good-will of the conventual assembly, he obtained from the pope a decree in his favour against the monks of Canterbury; owing to which an irregular and unbecoming disagreement arose between the shepherd and his flock, and the Church suffered much loss and dishonour, suspense and ignominy. On this the legate was invited to correct this deformity, and, whilst presiding at the chapter at Canterbury, because a certain book, containing a privilege obtained in the time of St. Thomas, had been imprudently burned by some persons, he deposed the prior of that place, and sent him to a more rigorous order, there to perform continual penance, and dispersed some of the monks; for (as was stated) he had privily erased from the
A.D. 1238.] THE MONKS REFUSE WILLIAM OF VALENTIA. 135
aforesaid privilege the things which plainly appeared to be against them, and had inserted other things which seemed to plead in their favour; and because such erasures, in such an authentic book, could not escape the notice of persons who carefully examined it, one of the brothers unadvisedly burned it, that the convent might not incur the brand of infamy and of falsehood. Wherefore, on the archbishop's making mention of that book, and asking for it, and when, on its not being found, they made a true confession of what had occurred, the legate was justly enraged, and, in punishment for such a great fault (as has been above mentioned), removed the prior from his office, dispersed some of the brethren who appeared guilty, ordering them to live more strictly and in continual penance. Afterwards, because the prior entered the chapter-house with some seculars to make an election, against the approved custom of the house, the conventual assembly elected a prior over them, without the consent of the archbishop. The archbishop then, on hearing this, disapproved and quashed the election, and not only suspended, but also excommunicated both the prior elect and the electors; but the conventual assembly boldly appealed, in this matter, against the archbishop to the pope.
The king endeavours to effect the election of William elect of Valentia, to the bishopric of Winchester.
At this time, the king (although he had often before sworn to dismiss, and not to advance the interest of, foreigners applied all possible industry, more than he ought, and by improper means, to obtain the promotion and election of William elect of Valentia (who was said to be a man of blood), to the bishopric of Winchester. But this the monks, to whom the right of election is known to belong, firmly refused amongst themselves, and went to the king, as was the custom, demanding permission to elect their bishop; the king, however, before giving them any reply, begged of them to elect William, bishop elect of Valentia, whom he called his uncle; the monks dissembled, and demanded time to deliberate on the matter with the rest of the conventual assembly, to whom the right of election belonged. The king, however, felt that, by granting them this respite, his entreaties would fail of effect, turned off to his usual cavillings, and in reply to the petition of the monks said, "I have
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been informed that two archdeacons of the bishopric of Winchester are bound to be present at your election; these I do not see in the present case, therefore I cannot comply with your petition". To this the monks replied, that, "although they ought to be present at the election (which to us seems absurd and inconsistent with justice), they need not be present at the demand for an election"; and thus the king, although he kicked against it for a long time, could not oppose their just demand. But some time afterwards, when he was credibly informed that the monks seriously entertained the idea of electing William de Raele, a man altogether praiseworthy, for their bishop, and that all had consented to it, he was greatly enraged, and sneeringly replied, "You refused the bishop elect of Valentia, saying that he was a man of blood, and have now elected William de Raele, who has killed more men with his tongue than any one else with a sword"; and so he haughtily and abusively swore that he would never, by any means, endure this. The monks, therefore, fearing the kings anger, turned aside from their intention, and, in the mean time, the king destroyed the possessions and improvements of the bishopric, and often lay in the manors belonging to it, attended by a numerous company.
The king causes the election of Ralph, bishop of Chichester, to be quashed.
The monks then, seeing the injurious effects of delay, began diligently to consider about choosing a pastor for themselves, on learning which the king hastened thither immediately, and, entering the chapter-house more eagerly than became him, demanded of the monks, with threats and promises, that they should elect his uncle, the bishop elect of Valentia. They, however, cunningly wishing to turn aside the king's anger, endeavoured to soften his indiscreet violent by delay; but not being willing to consent to his demands, they, by unanimous consent, demanded Ralph de Neville, bishop of Chichester, and the king's chancellor, for their bishop and the pastor of their souls. The king, finding that his entreaties had again failed in their effect, opposed the just demand of the monks, and heaped much abuse on the said bishop, saying, that he was impetuous, passionate, and perverse, and called them fools for having demanded him for a bishop. Besides this, he forcibly took away his seal, which
A.D. 1238.] THE MILANESE DESIRE A RECONCILIATION. 137
the said bishop had received charge of by the universal wish of the kingdom, and intrusted it to be taken care of by brother Geoffrey, the Templar, and John Lexington, together with the emoluments belonging to the chancellorship, and the income assigned to the bishop as chancellor. Following up his violence as he had begun, he sent Simon the Norman, and Alexander a secular, two hired lawyers, to the court of Rome, who, by large gifts and promises of money, deprived a just man of his right, quashed a just decision, and corruptly annulled the aforesaid demand.
The Milanese desire to be reconciled to the emperor Frederick.
At this time the Milanese, fearing the imperial mightiness, sent to the emperor, with all possible earnestness, begging him, whom they openly declared to be their true and natural lord, to avert his anger from them, to cease to attack them, and to cherish and protect them, as his liege subjects, under the wings of his mighty protection. They declared that they would thenceforth, as formerly, serve him as their lord and emperor, with all reverence; that, in token of this obedience, and that they might be protected in the arms of his affection, and that their previous rebellion might not be remembered, they would freely give him all the substance they possessed in gold and silver; moreover that, as a sign of their subjection and obedience, and of the imperial victory, they would collect all their standards and burn them at the feet of the emperor. Besides this, that they would, when he, the emperor, was again fighting in the service of the cross in the Holy Land, find him annually ten thousand soldiers for the advancement of the Church and for his own honour, on the condition that he would love the citizens without any dissembled malice, and that the state of the city and citizens should be maintained. But the emperor proudly refused all these offers, demanding unalterably that the citizens, in common with their city and all their property, should resign themselves and theirs absolutely to his pleasure. To this piece of tyranny of his, the citizens, with one consent, replied that they would on no account do this, for, said they, "We have learned by experience, and fear your cruelty; we would rather die under our shields by the sword, or spear, or by javelins, than by treachery, famine, and flames". From that
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time the emperor began to lose favour with many, because he had become a tyrant; and the Milanese, for their humility, were extolled and gained strength. According to the words of the Gospel, "God resisteth the proud, but gives grace to the humble". The Milanese, then, seeing that it was a matter of life and death, fortified their city more eagerly than usual with arms and trenches, and by entering into alliance with other cities.
The event of brother John, of the order of Preachers.
About this same time, one of the order of Preachers, named brother John, a learned and eloquent man, and pleasing in his office as a Preacher, enjoyed very great reputation in Italy; so much so, that he appeased wars amidst the citizens, and God worked miracles for him, for he crossed rivers dry shod, and compelled vultures flying in the air to descend to the earth at his bidding. At length, however, by the wiles of the devil, he became elated by his renown, and weakened by intimacy with his carnal friends, and thus deservedly lost the love of God, the honour of mankind, and also the respect of the prelates.
A certain villain attempts to murder the king in his bedchamber.
In the same year, a perilous adventure happened to this king, throwing all people into great alarm. For, on the day after the Nativity of St. Mary, a certain learned esquire, as it is said, came to the king's court at Woodstock, pretending that he was insane, and said to the king, "Resign to me the kingdom, which you have unjustly usurped, and so long detained from me"; he also added, that he bore the sign of royalty on his shoulder. The king's attendants wanted to beat him and drive him away from the royal presence, but the king prevented those who were rushing on him from violence, saying, "Let the insane man rave as becomes him, for such people's words have not the influence of truth". In the middle of the night, however, this same man entered the king's bedchamber window, carrying an open knife, and approached the king's couch, but was confused at not finding him there, and immediately began to look for him in the several chambers of his residence. The king was, by God's providence, then sleeping with the queen. But one of the queen's maids, named Margaret Biseth, was by
A.D. 1238.] THE ABBATS CITED BEFORE THE LEGATE. 139
chance awake, and was singing psalms by the light of a candle (for she was a holy maid, and one devoted to God), and when she saw this madman searching all the private places, to kill the king, and frequently asking in a terrible voice where the king was, she was greatly alarmed, and began to utter repeated cries. At her dreadful cry the king's attendants awoke, and leaped from their beds with all speed, and running to the spot, broke open the door, which this robber had firmly secured with a bolt, and seized the robber, and, notwithstanding his resistance, bound him fast and secured him. He, after some time, confessed that he had been sent there to kill the king, after the manner of the assassins, by William Marsh, son of Geoffrey Marsh, and he stated that others had conspired to commit the same crime. On learning this, the king ordered him, as guilty of an attempt to murder the king's majesty, to be torn limb from limb by horses, at Coventry, a terrible example, and lamentable sight to all who dared to plot such crimes. In the first place, he was dragged asunder, then beheaded, and his body divided into three parts; each part was then dragged through one of the principal cities of England, and was afterwards hung on a gibbet used for robbers.
A heavy storm of wind.
About the feast of St. Matthew (Sept. 21), a storm of wind raged with such destructive violence that, without mentioning other incalculable and irreparable damage, more than twenty ships were sunk at Portsmouth.
Simon de Montfort returns into England.
On St. Calixtus's day (Oct. 14), Simon de Montfort returned from the continent, and was received by the king and all the royalists to the kiss of peace. He then set out with all haste to his wife Eleanor, who was staying at Kenilworth, very near her confinement.
The abbots of the Black order are cited before the legate, at London,
In the same year, the legate Otto, by authority of the pope, cited all the abbats of the Black order to appear before him in St. Martin's church, at London, there to consider of the decrees which his holiness the pope, after due deliberation, had ordained for the reformation of the monastic order.
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The statutes of the Black order reformed.
When all the abbats of the Black order were assembled, the legate rose, and, urging them all to patience, began an elegant speech, as follows:- "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Whereas, it is a great and difficult matter to fortify the city of God, which is religion, with new and improved bulwarks, against the snares of the wily enemy, who is continually endeavouring both by new and old devices to subdue it, we, Otto, by the divine mercy, cardinal deacon of St. Nicholas, in the Tullian prison, and legate of the Apostolic See, from the duties of the legateship enjoined on us, considering ourselves liable to assist in such a favourable work, have caused to be collected and noted down some statutes from the rule of the holy father Benedict, also some from the sacred councils and canonical decrees, as well as some from the statutes of the abbats of the order of the said Benedict, which, if they be observed, will tend to the assistance and defence of our holy religion".
Who are to be admitted to religious orders.
"In the first place, we have decreed, that, henceforth, no one shall be admitted to a monastery to make his profession before completing his twentieth year, nor to probation before completing his nineteenth year".
When the year of probation is expired, profession shall be made.
"Also, whoever has been admitted to probation, shall, immediately on the expiration of the year of probation, make his profession, or leave the monastery; otherwise, the abbat or prior who shall keep any one beyond the year without profession being made, shall be severely punished by the presidents of the chapter, and the novice shall be, nevertheless, compelled to make profession, and shall be considered as professed".
No one to be admitted conditionally, or for payment.
"Also, that nothing at all shall be exacted from any one who wishes to enter a monastery; but those who are to be admitted shall be admitted purely on behalf of God, and without any compact. Nevertheless, if anything be offered
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gratis, without any compact, exaction, or taxation, it may be received without blame".
No one to have any property of his own, or private.
"Also, that, henceforth, a monk shall have nothing of his own; and if he have, he shall at once assign it to his superior".
No one to dwell alone in manors or churches.
"Also, that, henceforth, no monk shall presume to receive from his superior any manor, or other possession, to farm; otherwise, he shall be deemed a proprietor and be punished. Also, that monks shall not dwell in manors, nor even in churches, unless there be more than one - at least two".
Obedientiaries to render account of their administrations.
"Also, that discreet and trustworthy men shall be appointed to office, who, at least thrice in the year, shall render a true account of their administrations and offices to their superior, in the presence of some of the elders; and then, whatever surplus they may have, whether it consists in money, or in any other property, they shall, without dispute, and laying aside all deceit, give up and assign to their superior; and any who act contrary to this, shall incur the pimishment for being proprietors".
The prior likewise to render an account.
"The abbat, too, or prior, in case there be no abbat, shall, at least once a year, render a full account of the state of his monastery and of his administration to the conventual assembly, or some of the elders deputed by the conventual assembly for this purpose".
Sentence of excommunication against proprietors to be publicly pronounced.
"Also, we decree, that the superiors shall, at least once a year, publicly, in the convent, pronounce sentence of excommunication against proprietors, punishing them in other ways, if they do not return to their senses, and chiefly by the disgrace of non-burial".
Silence to be observed according to order.
"Also, we decree, that, according to rule, silence shall be observed in proper places, times, and appointed hours; and all shall endeavour to learn the necessary signs".
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Eating of flesh forbidden.
"In addition to these things, inasmuch as the eating of meat has been, by the rule of St. Benedict, by our statute, and also at a general chapter of the presiding abbats of England, forbidden to the monks of the Black order; we, in order that all occasion and matter for discontent amongst those monks who have been accustomed by an abuse to eat meat, may be removed, order abbats and priors to procure, according to the means of their house, and supply to the monks, some other suitable food instead of the food forbidden to them".
Fit and sufficient garments to be provided.
"Item, that the monks shall have fit and sufficient garments, both for their backs and beds, supplied to them, according to the rule and means of the house; but shall not wear linen shirts or nightcaps".
The monks to sleep together.
"Also, that the monks shall sleep together, and have beds according to rule; nor shall their dormitory be without a light".
Hospitality to be observed.
"We order and decree, that hospitality be observed, both by superiors and their inferiors, according to the sanction of the rule and the means of the place, in all charity and cheerfulness, and that a kind and gentle monk be always deputed for this purpose; we also decree, that the same is to be observed towards sick brethren".
All to be present at collation and complends. [1]
"Also, that all shall be present at the hours of divine service, and especially at the collation and complends: unless for some good reaion any one is engaged with guests, or by special permission of his superior, he may hold it necessary to be absent".
Superfluity to be avoided.
"That the prelates shall endeavour to limit the number of their horses and attendants as much as they can".
[1] Two different services of the Church, so called.
A.D. 1238.] STATUTE CONCERNING RELIGIOUS HOUSES. 143
These statutes to be written according to rule.
"We also decree, that abbats and priors shall daily cause to be written, according to rule, the decrees of the supreme pontiffs which refer especially to them and their order, which are contained in the compilation of his holiness Pope Gregory the Ninth, under the titles written below, namely:- 'Of seculars about to enter religious houses', etc.- 'On your part', etc.; 'We decree', etc.; 'Lest rel.', etc. 'Of the condition of the monks', etc; 'In each province', etc.; 'Those things which, for the honour of religion', etc.; 'Of simony,- Whereas, the stain of simony', etc. 'Of the sentence of excommunication', etc.; 'The whole body', etc.; 'Whereas, the absolution of those,' etc.; 'Of nuns', etc.; 'Of sureties', etc.- 'That to certain', etc.; 'Of payments', etc.; 'Of whomsoever'".
All these things to be often repeated.
"Also, we strictly enjoin on all abbats and priors, that they study to learn the above-mentioned rule of St. Benedict, and the decrees and constitutions above written; and that they always keep them at hand; and that they make it their business that those subject to them are not kept in ignorance of them".
The above to be read once every day.
"Also, we decree, and strictly order it to be observed, that the above-mentioned rule and decrees be read once in each day, at a proper hour, in the convent of all monks, and that they be explained to those who do not understand them".
The statute of Pope Honorius the Third concerning those who enter religious houses.
"'On your part it has been set forth' etc. Honorius the Third to the bishop of Arezzo,- It is known that there are some who, although they have for many years worn the habit of monks, have yet never made the profession of monks; wherefore, when they are accused by you or others of having private property, and living otherwise irregularly, they are not ashamed to say that they are bound to be without private property, to continence and other regular observances, when it is not the habit that makes the monk, but the regular profession, etc. etc. We, therefore, command your fraternity, by the censure of the
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Church, to compel all those subject to you by diocesan law, who dare to enter the land by two roads, in the manner aforesaid, to make their profession and observe the rule according to the forms of the order, after they have worn the monks' habit for one year".
Decree of Pope Gregory the Ninth concerning the same.
"We decree, that novices in their probation, before assuming the monk's habit, which is usually given to those who make their profession, or before making their profession, are at liberty to depart and return to their former condition within the year, unless it evidently appears that such persons are willing absolutely to alter their way of life, and to serve the Lord in continual devotion, with whom it may be worth while to renounce that which is known to have been introduced upon its own merits; but we decree, nevertheless, to remove all doubt, that, as in some religious houses the habit of novices cannot be distinguished from that of the professed, the garments which are given to those professing shall be blessed at the time of profession, so that those of the novices may be discernible from those of the professed".
Further on the same subject.
"Lest religious men, having occasion to travel, should incur any injury to their health, and their blood be required at the hands of their superiors, we decree, that the presidents, at the holding of chapters, according to the statute of the general council, whether fathers, abbats, or priors, shall every year carefully seek after those brothers who have fled or been expelled from their order; and if the latter can, according to the regular rule, be received again in their monasteries, shall, by ecclesiastical censure, compel their abbats or priors to receive them, saving the discipline of the order. But if the order does not permit this to be done, the said president shall, by our authority, make provision for them to be secluded in monasteries of the same order, in suitable places, provided it can be done without serious scandal; or else the necessaries of life shall be supplied to such persons in other religious houses of the same order, there to do penance; but if they find any such disobedient, they shall excommunicate them, and shall cause them to be publicly denounced as
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excommunicated by the superiors of the churches, until they return in all humility at their summons".
Of the condition of the monks.
"Monks shall not be received in monasteries by the payment of money, nor shall they have any private property of their own; they shall not be distributed one by one throughout the churches in the different towns and villages, but in a large convent, or with some of the brethren, that they may not be by themselves amongst seculars, to await the conflict with spiritual enemies, for Solomon says, 'Woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up'. If any one shall, on being asked, give anything for being received, he shall not rise to holy orders, and the receiver shall be suspended from his office. Whoever shall keep anything to himself, unless it has been allowed to him by his abbat for some service enjoined on him, shall be removed from the communion of the altar; and if any one in his last moments is found with any private property, and has not duly repented, no offering shall be made for him, nor shall he receive burial amongst the brethren; and this we order to be observed amongst all religious orders. Let the abbat who does not carefully guard against these offences know that he will incur loss of office. Neither shall priories or offices be given to any one for payment; otherwise, both givers and receivers shall be dismissed from their offices. Priors, after having been canonically appointed in conventual churches by election of their chapters, shall not be changed, unless for some manifest and reasonable cause, unless they shall be dilapidators, incontinent, or such as seem to deserve to be removed; or also, if they shall have been transferred by the advice of the brethren to a higher office".
Further concerning the same.
"We strictly forbid any of the monks henceforth to wear linen shirts: we also strictly prohibit any of the monks, by virtue of their obedience, and under threat of the divine judgment, from possessing any private property in any way, and whoever has anything of his own, shall at once resign it; and if he shall afterwards be found to have any private property, after a regular warning has been given him, he shall be expelled from the monastery, nor shall he be again received
146 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1238.
into it, unless he has done penance according to the discipline of the monastery. If any property is discovered on any one at his death, it shall be buried, together with him, in a dung-heap, according to what the blessed Gregory says in his dialogue that he had done; therefore, if anything shall be sent to any one in particular, he shall not dare to receive it, but it shall be assigned to his abbat or prior. In the oratory, refectory, and dormitory, continual silence shall be observed, and in the cloister also, at certain times, and in certain places, according to the ancient custom of the monastery. No one at all shall eat meat in the refectory, not even on any public solemnities, as has been sometime the custom of the convent; but let him leave a few in the refectory, and go out with the abbat to eat the meat outside, as in these days particularly discipline ought to be more strictly observed: let them not, however, think that they are allowed to eat flesh outside the refectory, unless it is in the infirmary, although the abbat may sometimes, by way of indulgence, summon some of the brethren to him, sometimes one, and sometimes another, and treat them to better fare in his own room. Besides, sick and weak brethren, who need strengthening, or some medicine, may receive a proper quantity of what is necessary for them, both of meat and of other things; not, however, privately in their rooms, but all in the infirmary. But if any one is sick, or even delicate, and cannot be satisfied with the common food, it shall be so managed for him, without scandal to the others, that, if the abbat or prior wishes to do him a particular kindness in the refectory, he may cause a sufficient quantity of food to be brought, not before the sick man, but before himself, from which the sick man may take a small portion to sustain nature. Such men shall be appointed to perform the duties of the monastery as are discreet and faithful, and no office shall be intrusted to any one to be held for ever, as if it were assigned to him for his life; but when he ought to be removed he shall be removed, without any opposition whatever. The prior should be next to the abbat, and should be above all the rest influential in his acts and discourse, so that, by the example of his life, and the words of his doctrine, he may be able both to instruct his brethren in what is good, and protect them from what is bad, having a zeal for religion
A.D. 1238.] FURTHER CONCERNING THE SAME. 147
according to his knowledge, so as to seize on and chastise delinquents, and to cherish and comfort the obedient. The abbat, whom all should obey in all matters, should as often as possible be with the brethren in the convent, having vigilant care and diligent anxiety for all the brethren, that he may be able to render to God a proper account of the office intrusted to him. But if he be a betrayer of his order, or despise it, or be negligent or remiss, let him know for certain that he will not only be deposed from office, but will also be punished in another way, according to his offence, as not only his own offence, but also that of others will be required at his hands. Let not the abbat think that he can give a monk dispensation to hold property; for the renouncing of property and the preservation of chastity are so connected with the monastic regulations, that not even the supreme pontiff can grant him indulgence in these matters".
Further concerning the same.
"In each kingdom, or province, there shall be, every three years, saving the right of the diocesan bishops, a general chapter of abbats, and of priors who have no abbats connected with them, and who have not been accustomed to hold such a chapter, at which all, who have no canonical obstruction, shall assemble at one of the monasteries suitable to this purpose, with this restriction, namely, that no one of them shall bring with him more than six carriages and eight persons. Let them, also, at the commencement of this new matter, summon two neighbouring abbats of the Cistercian order, to give them opportune advice and assistance, as they are, from long custom, better versed in chapters of this kind; and let them unite with themselves any two they may think expedient; and let these four preside over the whole chapter, so that not one of them may assume to himself superiority of prelateship; and, when expedient, an alteration can be made after careful deliberation. This chapter shall be held daily for some days, according to the custom of the Cistercian order; at which said chapter a careful discussion should be entered into as to the reformation of the order and regular observances of the rules; and whatever shall have been resolved on, with the concurrence of these four, shall be inviolably observed, without any reservation, contradiction, or
148 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1238.
appeal; with a provision, nevertheless, an to where the chapter is to be held at the ensuing period. Those who assemble there shall live together, and shall all proportionally share the expenses of all in general; but if all cannot live in the same house, several may live together in different houses. At this chapter, also, shall be appointed religious and circumspect persons to visit, in our stead, according to a rule pre-arranged for them, each of the abbacies in the said kingdom or province, not only of monks, but also of nuns, correcting and reforming whatever they may think needs correction and amendment. And if they find that the rector of any place ought to be altogether removed from his office, they shall at once denounce him to his own bishop, so that the latter may effect his removal, which if the bishop fails to do, the visitors shall report the matter to the Apostolic See. It is our will and order that all regular canons, according to their orders, observe this same rule. But if in this new matter any difficulty should arise, which cannot be done away with by the aforesaid persons, it shall be referred, without offence, to the decision of the Apostolic See, all other things, which may have been unanimously resolved on, being undeviatingly observed. Moreover, let the diocesan bishops endeavour so to reform the monasteries subject to them, that, when the aforesaid visitors shall arrive, they may find in them more that deserves commendation than correction, most carefully guarding against the said monasteries being by them weighed down with undue burdens. For we wish the rights of the superiors to be observed as much as we are unwilling for inferiors to sustain injuries. In addition to these things, it is our will, that diocesan bishops, as well as those persons who preside over the holding of chapters, laying aside all appeal, prevent all advocates, patrons, rectors out of dioceses, counts, nobles, and knights, and all others, from presuming to injure the monasteries in person or property; and if perchance they should injure them themselves, to compel them, without fail to make atonement, that they may serve God more freely and more quietly".
Further concerning the same.
"Those things which, for the honour of religion, etc., etc.- Furthermore, when the visitors appointed, according to the
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statute of the general council, by the general chapter of abbats, proceed to fulfil their office of visitation, let them carefully inquire into the state of the monks, and their regular observances, and correct and reform whatever they think ought to be corrected, in spiritual as well as temporal matters, in such wise, however, that they cause offending monks to be corrected by the abbat of the place, and secular penance to be imposed on them, according to the rule of St. Benedict, and the Apostolic Institutes, and not according to the regulation of an evil custom, which has grown, as it were, into a law in some churches. These visitors shall, in our stead, smite with regular censure those monks whom they find contumacious and rebellious, according to the degree of their offence, without respect to persons, not sparing the rebellious ones on account of their pertinacity, or the power of their friend, but shall 'cast out the diseased sheep from the fold, lest he infect the healthy ones'. If the abbats, in punishing, according to the command of the visitors and the regular statutes, be found negligent, either in themselves or the monks, they shall be proclaimed, seized, and publicly punished at the general chapter, so that their punishment may act as an example to others. And if an abbat who is not exempt, be found by the visitors to be negligent and remiss, they shall, without delay, denounce him to the diocesan of the same place, that by him a faithful and careful coadjutor may be assigned to the said abbat, till the general chapter. If he be a dilapidator, or in any other way deserving of removal, he shall, after this has been told to the diocesan, be by him removed from the government of the abbacy, and from the monastery, without the bustle of trial; and, in the mean time, a proper administrator to manage the temporal affairs of the monastery, until it be provided with an abbat. But if the bishop refuse or neglect to fulfil these orders, the visitors, or the presidents of the general chapter, shall not fail to intimate this omission of the bishop to the Apostolic See.
"These same things we order to be done in the case of exempt abbats, by the visitors, or the presidents of the general chapter, reserving their deposition to be laid before the Apostolic See; so that if it appears that any abbat ought to be removed or deposed, he shall, either by the visitors or
150 MATTHEW PARIS [A.D. 1238.
the presidents of the chapter, be suspended from his administration and office, and a proper administrator be, for the time being, appointed to the office. Of their faults, and other things which seem necessary to be brought to the notice of the chapter, the presidents shall send word to us by faithful, cautious, and prudent messengers, to defray whose expenses a sufficient sum shall be supplied from a general contribution, according to the means of each. The visitors who come after, shall carefully examine the traces of the former visitors, and shall report any negligences and faults of theirs to the ensuing general chapter, that they may publicly receive due punishment, according to their fault; and this same we order to be observed by the abbats presiding at the general chapter. We also order, that in no monastery shall the abbats or priors admit secular clerks to prebends; nor shall those who have been already received into the monastery endeavour to claim for themselves a place or voice in the chapter, dormitory, refectory, or cloister; nor shall they presume unseasonably to mix in the assemblies of the monks, but let them conduct themselves honourably, content with the benefits granted to them, properly paying their seasonable devotions in the monasteries, but let them not demand or usurp anything further, either in spiritual or temporal matters in them. If any such shall be found guilty of ofience by the visitors, they shall be deprived of the said benefits,- by the diocesan in non-exempt monasteries, and by the visitors or presidents of the general charter in exempt monasteries. All these rules we order to be observed also in monasteries which have not abbats of their own, but priors; and also in nunneries, in all the points befitting abbesses and nuns".
Of simony.
"Whereas the stain of simony has infected several nunneries, so that they will scarcely admit any as sisters without payment, endeavouring to palliate this intolerable vice and scandal on all religion by the plea of poverty, we altogether forbid this being done henceforth; decreeing, that if any one shall again commit such an offence (whether an inferior member, or a superior), both the receiver, and the sister admitted, shall be expelled from the nunnery, without any hope of being again admitted, but shall be incarcerated in
A.D. 1238.] OF EXCOMMUNICATION. 151
some place of stricter and more rigorous rules, to do penance. With regard to those who shall have been thus admitted before this decree of the synod, we ordain, that they be removed from the nunneries into which they have so rashly entered and been admitted, and be placed in other houses of the same order. But if it should happen that, on account of their great numbers, they cannot conveniently be placed elsewhere, they may be received, by a dispensation, in the same nunneries, to prevent their again wandering forth in the world to their destruction, their former places being changed, and they being appointed and assigned to inferior ones; and this we decree to be observed with regard to monks and other regulars: and that they may not be able to excuse themselves by a plea of simplicity or ignorance, we order that the diocesan bishops shall, every year, cause this to be faithfully published, word for word".
Of the sentence of excommunication.
"In whatsoever way monks and regular canons may have smitten one another in the cloister, they are not on that account to be sent to the Apostolic See, but shall be subjected to discipline at the discretion of their abbat; and if the abbat's discretion is not sufficient to decide on their punishment, he must be assisted by the wisdom of the diocesan".
Item on the same subject.
"We have heard the question raised by your community, whether a layman, who presumes to lay rash hands on a clerk, monk, or convert, at the bidding or command of the person in whose service he is, will incur the sentence of excommunication, especially if there is no reason for his being beaten. It appears to us, that unless he did it in the cause of regular discipline, the abbat in person ought to pronounce the sentence, or, in a case of urgent necessity, he should cause the denunciation to be made by some monk or inferior clerk, that the person who ordered such persons to be beaten, as well as those who inflicted the beating (even though there were reason for doing it), may never escape the sentence of excommunication and interdict until they come to the Apostolic See itself".
Of the same.
"Although the absolution of those who, for laying violent
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hands on clerks, incur the disgrace of excommunication, is, excepting some cases by our predecessors, reserved to the Apostolic See, some who are lying under excommunication, heedless of the sentence of the Church, do not fear to take holy orders, and the apostolic oracle is often asked what ought to be done with respect to them. With regard to these, we think a distinction ought to be made, that such men either do know that they are bound by the chain of excommunication, or do not recollect the fact for which they have fallen under the rule of the sentence pronounced, or although they know the fact, are ignorant of the law, and do not know they are constrained therefore by it. We consider that the first, if they be seculars, ought to be for ever deposed from all orders they have received; in the other cases, archbishops as well as bishops, are to know that they have not the power of granting dispensations without the mandate of the Apostolic See; and the granting of absolution to such persons is altogether interdicted to them; and the greater matters are to be understood as forbidden to them to whom the smaller only are so expressed as forbidden. Cases of this kind may, however, be conveyed to the ears of the Roman pontiff, that from him may be procured an answer according to the rigour or equity of the case, as his discretion may think fit. But if monks commit an offence of this kind, although it has been decreed by Pope Alexander that monks and regular canons, however they may have smitten one another in the cloister, are not, on that account, to be sent to the Apostolic See, but are to be subjected to discipline, at the discretion of the abbat, and if the discretion of the abbat is not sufficient to decide on the punishment, he is to be assisted by the wisdom of the diocesan; and although elsewhere he says, that those flying from the world, who have taken the religious habit in a monastery, and who afterwards confess, amongst other things, that they have committed such an offence, by which they have, ipso facto, incurred the sentence of excommunication, yet, without the permission of the Roman pontiff, the abbat ought not and cannot absolve them, yet he may punish the offenders by a due correction. We, however, in order to favour religion, and that all material for evasion may be withdrawn, wish to show greater favour to them, and therefore grant permission to their
A.D. 1238.] OF SURETIES. 153
prelates to impart the benefit of absolution to such persons, unless their offence is great and enormous (for instance, if they presume to lay violent hands on a bishop or abbat, to the mutilation of his limbs or to the shedding of his blood), when they cannot pass by such like offences without scandal. And if any inhabitant of the cloister shall lay violent hands on a religious person of another cloister, he may be absolved by his own abbat and the abbat of the injured person; but if a secular strikes a clerk, he shall (in order to avoid scandal) only obtain the favour of absolution through the Apostolic See. But if, according to the before-mentioned distinction, it happen that these men are promoted to orders, who have knowingly obtained ordination in contempt of the discipline of the Church, we decree that they shall continue suspended from performing the duties of the order they have received. With regard to the others, who either have no recollection of the fact, or are ignorant of the law, considering the utility thereto accruing to the monasteries, their abbat may, after a regular penance has been imposed on and performed by them, grant them a dispensation, unless the offence be a serious and remarkable one, or he who committed it be grown up and of discreet age, so that he may be presumed to have acted by violence, without forgetfulness or ignorance. And we enjoin on all abbats carefully to observe this rule, lest any one, by abusing the power allowed to them, should deservedly lose the privilege".
Item on the same subject.
"With regard to nuns, your brotherhood has asked of us by whom the benefit of absolution is to be conferred on them, if they should rashly lay violent hands on one another, or on converted men, or on their own converts, or even on clerks. In answer to this question of yours, we reply, and immutably decree and ordain, that they shall be absolved by the bishop in whose diocese their monastery may be. Innocent the Third, Pope, at a general council".
Of sureties.
"What has been forbidden by the Apostolic See to some religious houses, we wish and order to extend to all, and to be observed by one and all; namely, that no religious person, without the permission of the majority of the chapter and of
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his abbat, shall become surety for any one, or receive money on loan from any one, beyond a sum dictated by common counsel. If so, the convent shall not in any way be bound, or be compelled to answer for it, unless it is plainly evident that it tends to the advantage and convenience of the house itself; and whosoever presumes to contravene this statute, or to act against it, shall be subject to severe discipline".
Of payments.
"If amy one etc.- We strictly forbid any one to presume to burden the church intrusted to him for the debts of others, or to give writings to any one, or set seals to anything by which the churches may be burdened; strictly decreeing and ordaining, that, if any one shall act to the contrary, the churches shall not be bound to pay those debts: and any one who presumes henceforth to contravene the foregoing rules, may rest assured that he will be suspended from the administration of spiritual matters".
Acceptation of the statutes.
When these statutes had been read, the assembled abbats and priors, hearing that the holy religion, after being thus reformed, would receive a happy increase, with all eagerness and by unanimous consent, received this discourse as an offering sent from heaven, and caused it to be published in all their chapters, severely visiting all transgressors of the same with regular discipline. A great many caused the decrees to be written in the Martyrology [Book of Martyrs], that by being often recited in the chapter-house, according to the rule of St. Benedict, they might cleave to the hearts of those who heard them.
Valentia, a city of Spain, is close pressed.
In this same year, the noble, vigorous, and most Christian king of Arragon, with his allies, carried on war so energetically against the great city of Valentia, that, being close pressed on all sides, it was reduced to the last extremities.
Dedication of some noble churches.
About the same time, some noble conventual churches were dedicated by Robert, bishop of Lincoln, at Marsh, in the diocese of Lincoln; namely, at Ramsey, Burg [Peter
A.D. 1238.] CLAIM OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF ANTIOCH. 155
borough], and Sautery. That of Ramsey, on the 22nd of September, which was the day of St. Maurice and his companions; that of Burg, on the 28th of September; and that of Sautery in the same week; and many other churches throughout England, according to the constitutions promulgated at London by the legate Otto.
Baldwin, emperor of Constantinople, marches into Greece with an armed force.
About this time, the emperor Baldwin, of Constantinople, set out for the Greek provinces in great force, to subdue those who had rebelled against himself and the Roman church, attended by as large a force as all his allies and relations could furnish; and in order to replenish his treasury, sold all his most precious relics to the French king, and pledged some of his most valuable property. For (as has been above stated) he was sprung from the French nobility. The pope also, to the annoyance and vexation of his rival, the emperor Frederick, extended an assisting hand to him by all the means in his power.
The birth of a son to Simon de Montfort.
In Advent of the same year, whilst A., bishop of Chester, was proceeding to London on a summons from the king, the eldest son of Simon de Montfort, by Eleanor his wife, was born at Kenilworth, to add to the strength and comfort of the kingdom; for it was feared that the queen might be barren. The bishop, therefore, in order the more to ingratiate himself with the king, stayed there some little time, and baptized the child: and on the same day took to his bed, being attacked by a severe illness, which brought him to the point of death.
The archbishop of Antioch claims superiority over the Roman pontiff.
In the same year, the archbishop of Antioch (with the agreement of German, archbishop of Constantinople, advocate of the Greeks, and vicegerent of the anti-pope) presumed with rash violence to break forth into such audacity, that by an empty authority he excommunicated the pope, with the whole Roman church and court, and solenmly preaching blasphemy, he set himself and his church before his holiness the pope and the Roman church, both in age and rank; that it was and had been superior to the Roman church.
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because St. Peter the apostle had in the first place ruled the church of Antioch for seven years with the greatest honour; that he was there received with the greatest possible reverence, and likewise honourably enthroned; but at Rome he was harassed by manifold injuries and reproaches, and at length, after suffering, together with his fellow-apostle Paul, in the time of the emperor Nero, he ended his tortures by a dreadful death. Therefore, deservedly ought that city and province, together with its citizens and inhabitants, to be dearer and more beloved by the apostle St. Peter, which showed honour and reverence to him, than those which inflicted torments on him and dishonoured him. And it was evident that he liberally conferred the power of binding and loosing on the Greek church rather than on that of Rome, which was now defiled by the stains of simony and usury, avarice and other sins.
By these and other superficial arguments, the said anti-pope concealed his scars, to his own destruction, and made excuses for sins; but that pillar of the church the true pope and successor of the godly Peter (although not quite an imitator of him), remained unmoved, reserving all vengeance till the time of retribution.
Unusual and unnatural overflowings of the rivers.
In the same year, the rivers impetuously burst forth in an unusual and unnatural manner over great numbers of fields and level places, formerly free from water and quite dry, and increased suddenly to rapid torrents, so that fishes swam about in them. The inclemency and sickliness of the atmosphere, too, generated various diseases; so that the inclemency of the atmosphere was like a plague on the earth, and the country people and husbandmen, as well as knights, and nobles, and prelates, also felt this scourge of God.
How Robert Bugre, a monk and inquisitor of heretics, was, for his cruelty, consigned to perpetual imprisonment.
During this same time, a certain monk, of the order of Preachers, named Robert Bugre, a man learned in literature, and able and fluent in his office of preaching, discovered great numbers of people in the kingdom of France who were stained by the wickedness of heresy, but especially in Flanders, where, by old custom, the inhabitants were usually notorious for the vice of usury more than other nations; and
A.D. 1238.] FREDERICK LOSES HIS RENOWN. 157
after having carefully examined all these as to their faith, finding them vacillating or wandering from the right way, and with the co-operation of the secular arm, and assisted by the king of the French, the said brother Robert caused them to be burned. All these he distinguished by the common appellation of "Bugares", whether they were Paterinians, Jovinians, or Albigenses, or were defiled by other heresies. This same Robert, before he assumed the religious habit, had been a Bugare, owing to which he knew all their confederates, and became an accuser, a hammer, and especial enemy to them. At length, however, abusing the power intrusted to him, and passing the bounds of moderation and justice, he became elated, powerful, and formidable, involved the good with the bad, and punished the innocent and simple-minded. He was, therefore, especially forbidden to exercise his fury any longer in that fulminating office. But as his crimes (of which I think it better to be silent than to relate them) became afterwards more apparent and notorious, he was condemned to perpetual imprisonment.
How the fame of the emperor Frederick was dimmed.
In the course of the same year, the fame of the emperor Frederick was clouded and stained by his envious enemies and rivals; for it was imputed to him that he was wavering in the Catholic faith, or wandering from the right way, and had given utterance to some speeches, from which it could be deduced and suspected that he was not only weak in the Catholic faith, but what was a much greater and more serious crime, that there was in him an enormity of heresy, and the most dreadful blasphemy, to be detested and execrated by all Christians. For it was reported that the emperor Frederick had said (although it may not be proper to mention it), that three conjurers had so craftily led away their contemporaries as to gain for themselves the mastery of the world: these were, Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet; and that he had impiously put forward some wicked and incredible ravings and blasphemies respecting the most holy eucharist. Far be it, far be it, from any discreet man, much less a Christian, to unlock his mouth and tongue in such raving blasphemy. It was also said by his rivals, that the emperor agreed and believed in the law of Mahomet more than that of Jesus Christ, and that he had made some Saracen harlots
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his concubines. A whisper also crept amongst the people (which God forbid to be true of such a great prince), that he had been for a long time past in confederacy with the Saracens, and was more a friend to them than to the Christians; and his rivals, who were endeavouring to blacken his name, attempted to establish this by many proofs. Whether they sinned or not, He alone knows who is ignorant of nothing.
Robert the Hermit becomes renowned.
In the same year, too, the name of Robert the Hermit became known abroad, for his tomb at Knaresborough was said to have emitted a large quantity of medicinal oil.
The end of the year.
The latter part of this year was cloudy and rainy, until the spring had passed, whence all confidence in the crops failed; and during two or more of the summer months, the weather was beyond measure and unusually dry and hot; as autumn, however, approached, it became moist and rainy; by which the crops were wonderfully restored, fresh plants springing up in place of those that had withered; and there was a great abundance of corn. At the end of autumn, however, those who delayed their reaping were deprived of their crops; for such deluges of rain fell, that the straw as well as the grain rotted; and this unnatural autumn, which was considered generally to be a dry and cold season, generated various kinds of dangerous diseases; so that the temperament was with difficulty maintained, and no one remembered ever to have seen so many afflicted with the quartan fever. It should be remarked, also, that in this year, the Sunday letter being B, the day of the Preparation was Friday, called Holy, the next before the Passover, the day of our Lord's Annunciation, and also of his Passion, and the third day after the true Passover, that is, the day of our Lord's Resurrection; for our Lord rose again on the 26th of April, and suffered on the fourth [1] day previous, namely, on the 24th of April; and thus in this year everything fell at its proper times.
A disagreement between the king and G., earl marshal.
In the year of grace 1239, which was the twenty-third of
[1] The fourth day before the 26th cannot be the 24th; but we follow the Latin original: there is clearly some error.
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his reign, King Henry the Third, at Christmas, held his court, abounding with all proper honour and sumptuousness, at Winchester. For the church of that place still procured and supplied the king with a sufficiency, nay, even with abundance of necessaries for all these convivial expenses; and this the king was not in the least sorry for. For which deed, if he had had a strict, influential, and faithful rebuker, he deserved to be severely reproached; and if it had not been that his gifts of charity, which he largely and liberally continued to bestow (and which, as our Holy Scripture teaches us, covers our sins), redeemed such deeds, it would have originated great peril to himself and the kingdom, by arousing God's anger against him. When, however, on Christmas day, the divine service had been performed and completed in a becomingly solemn and magnificent manner, that the joys of this world might not come unalloyed, an unlooked-for event entirely disturbed all their convivial pleasure.
When the king made his appearance in his royal palace to take his breakfast, Gilbert, earl marshal, came to the door with his fellow-knights to obtain admittance; but when the earl came up and wished to enter, the king's doorkeepers and marshals saucily denied him admittance, and with their wands drove back his retinue with insolence and abuse. When the earl saw this, he felt convinced that some whisperer had sown the seeds of discord between him and the king, and that this had been done not without the king's authority; he however dissembled his feelings, and returned to the city to his own house, and then, in order that the harmony of the festival might not be overclouded, he invited, by sound of trumpet, not only his own friends, but as many others as chose to assemble at his table, to breakfast. On the morrow, however, he sent some men of rank to the king, and demanded of him why he had without cause inflicted such a great injury on him, the earl, who was his faithful subject, and of such noble birth, and especially on such a day, and declared that he was prepared to clear himself by trial, on all points, against all who had wickedly excited enmity between two such illustrious persons. The king in anger, replied to them, "Whence has Earl Gilbert got his horns? how is it that he threateningly raises his heel upon me, against whom it is hard for him to kick? His brother, Earl
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Richard, a bloody traitor, and a rebel against me and my kingdom, I made prisoner when engaged in deadly strife against me in Ireland, and he was disinherited and detained, wounded, in prison, till, by the well-deserved vengeance of God, he ended his life. To this Earl Gilbert, I, at the importunate entreaties of Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, granted his inheritance as a favour, not from any desert of his, although I wished to withhold it from him". On hearing this, the earl was alarmed in no slight degree, and withdrew himself to the northern provinces, having now experienced the king's open indignation; nor did he or his brother Walter ever after love the king with sincere affection, as formerly, nor continue to enjoy prosperity themselves.
Death of S., bishop of Chester.
On St. Stephen s day, Edmund, bishop of Chester, closed his life.
The king makes a grant of the county of Leicester to S, de Montfort.
On the day of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, the king bestowed the county of Leicester on Simon de Montfort, his elder brother. Earl Almaric, having been first summoned and pacified, that he might not at any time raise any dispute in this matter.
S. Segrave is recalled to the king's councils.
About this time, the king recalled Stephen Segrave to his councils.
The legate convokes the abbats of the Black order at London.
At the same time, the legate summoned all the bishops of England to assemble on the day on which the psalm, "Let Jerusalem rejoice", is chanted, at London, there to discuss the affairs of the Church. There, after a careful deliberation, he gave to the monks of the Black order, some statutes, short and succinct, to be by them inviolably observed, and he moderated the indiscreet rigour of them in many points.
The elections of the bishops elect of Norwich and Chichester are quashed.
About the same time, by the king's interference (because his purpose of electing William, bishop elect of Valentia, had not succeeded), the election of the bishop elect of Norwich, prior of the same house, a discreet, and, in all respects, praiseworthy
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man, was annulled, as was also the election of the bishop of Chichester, R, the king's chancellor, who had been demanded as bishop of Winchester - a man, faithful and discreet, and almost the only pillar of truth among the courtiers.
W. de Raele is elected bishop of Chester.
About this time, the monks of Coventry, seeing that the king always contumaciously obstructed the canonical proceedings at their elections, and did not agree to any one elected by them, to whom the royal favour did not incline, in order that their church might not any longer suffer irreparable losses and injury by protracted delay and expectation, about the feast of St. Matthew, unanimously elected William de Raele, a special clerk of the king's, a discreet man, and one skilled in the laws of the land, to be their bishop, and the pastor of their souls, as being a man in whom there appeared no stain that might provoke rejection or opposition.
The legate is summoned home, but remains in England at the king's request.
About the same time, his holiness the pope, hearing, by frequent, nay, almost daily, communications, that the scandal caused by the insatiable greediness and avarice of the Romans grew daily worse and worse in England, summoned his legate, Otto, to return to Rome immediately; on which the legate summoned all the bishops of England to assemble at London on the day when the psalm, "Let Jerusalem rejoice", is chanted, to discuss as to his return, and arrange for his safe conduct. The king, however, when he heard of this, was in alarm for himself respecting the Parliament about to assemble in the octaves of Easter, when he had expected the arrival of the bishop elect of Valentia; and as he placed all his trust in the legate's being present, he was very much grieved, and dreaded lest the nobles and men of rank of the kingdom should with one consent rise against him for his divers and frequent excesses and transgressions against the constitutions so often promised and sworn to be observed. He, therefore, by the most urgent entreaties, prevailed on the legate to send the most expeditious messengers, with all possible haste, to the pope, and to stay in England, in order that, by his means, the impending disturbance might be quelled; and the legate remained, not wishing to grieve the king by refusing his request.
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Peter the Saracen offers the emperor a large turn of money for his ransom.
About this time, Peter the Saracen, whom the emperor Frederick detained as prisoner for his ransom, offered ten thousand pounds sterling to obtain the emperor's favour, and thus be set at liberty; and this the emperor agreed to, on condition that his friend, the king of England, would become security for the payment of such a large sum of money, and that neither the said Peter the Saracen, nor any one of his followers, would thenceforth, on this account, injure his imperial majesty. The aforesaid Peter then wrote to his holiness the pope, and his other friend, begging them, as he had always been ready and willing to spend his money to promote the welfare of the Romans, to exhort the said king of England, both by means of the legate and other familiars of his, to pledge himself and his kingdom to the fulfilment of the aforesaid terms. The legate then became a diligent mediator and agent in this business, and said that he could not honourably refuse to aid his imprisoned messenger; but the king, seeing the trap that was prepared for him, and how great the danger would be to his kingdom, but that it was of no concern to the Romans provided that their property was saved to them, burst forth into words of anger, swearing that he was sorry he had abandoned honest Englishmen, and summoned the legate to England, who had wasted the property of the land and confounded right with wrong. Under such rulers, then, England became, as it were, a vineyard, from which all who passed on the road plucked the grapes, not having any wall enclosing it, nor any guardian watching over it, for what the ecclesiastical warmth at one time forbade, it at another allowed.
Sardinia is given up to the emperor.
In this year, whilst the emperor was wintering in Italy, the rich inlands lying in the Mediterranean next adjoining the city of Pisa, namely, the greatest and most powerful part of Sardinia, were given up to him. The right of this island was said to belong especially to the patrimony of St. Peter, but the emperor asserted that it belonged from times of old to the empire, but that the emperors had lost it owing to
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their engagements, and other pressing imperial necessity, and that he had now restored it to the body of the empire; "I have sworn", said he, "as the world well knows, to recover the scattered portions of the empire, and this I will not be slow to fulfil"; and he, therefore, notwithstanding the pope's prohibition, sent his son to receive the portion of the aforesaid island, which was offered to him. When the pope heard of this he was filled with the greatest indignation, and rose up to take open vengeance, for he considered it a great loss. The said island of Sardinia was, indeed, a place of refuge for merchants, the comfort of shipwrecked people, and an asylum for exiles; and is governed by four chiefs, whom they call judges. The loss was heavy, but the manner of its loss was more heavy to endure, and seemed to be an injury; and the hatred which sprung up between the pope and the emperor, like an old wound, produced foul matter.
The archbishop of Canterbury harasses the monks.
About this time. Archbishop Edmund laid his hands more heavily on his monks; the church of the monks of Canterbury was laid under an interdict, and the new prior, whom they had elected, he excommunicated, as well as those who elected him.
A dispute between the bishop of Lincoln and his canons.
The bishop of Lincoln also became a hammer and cruel persecutor of the religious men in his diocese; for he unhesitatingly rose against the canons of his own cathedral church, who had created him, and earnestly demanded that the dean of Lincoln should be set aside, and that they should be visited by the bishop himself, contrary to what had been the custom of the church from time immemorial; the canons, however, urged an appeal, and after protracting the time, and disputing a great deal, at length referred the matter to umpires, namely, Walter, bishop of Worcester and archdeacon of the same place, and Master A. of Beccles; and if they should not proceed canonically, either party would be allowed to appeal again to the pope, both parties in the mean time ceasing to visit, by which addition, namely, "both parties in the mean time ceasing to visit", it would seem that the canonical party was in danger, for the bishop never visited, and he who has never commenced could not cease, as
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Diogenes, who never had horns, never could lose any: nevertheless, that the dean should cease to visit, for whom the canons contended, and thus he appeared to be deprived of his possession, even for a moment, by which the discontent was increased, and a most serious scandal arose. Strife and controversy having thus arisen amongst them, even to the stirring up of angry feelings, the canons did not allow the bishop to enter the chapter, or to make any visitation amongst them; and they openly declared before the bishop himself, that they were very sorry they had created a bishop out of such a mean person. A great dispute arose, and after no small useless expense on both sides, an appeal was made to the presence of the pope, and Master Odo de Kinkelny was appointed advocate on behalf of the chapter. One day a remarkable circumstance occurred: as one of the canons, who favoured the cause of the chapter, was preaching to the people in that noble building the church of Lincoln, he laid a serious complaint before them all, of the oppressions of the bishop, and uttered the words, "Even if we be silent, the stones will cry out", when, as these words were pronounced, a large portion of the church broke away and fell down.
Heavy storms of rain.
As spring drew nigh, about Easter, the storms of wind and heavy rains ceased, which for the four preceding months successively had continued to make mud on the ground, to extend the lakes and marshes, to choke the corn, and disturb the atmosphere.
The slaughter of the Saracens in Spain.
In the same year, on the Tuesday after Easter, a great slaughter was made amongst the Saracens in the district of Cordova, by the king of Castille, brother of Blanche, queen of the French, and mother of the king.
Death of William de Cantelupe,
About the same time, namely, on the 7th of April, the illustrious baron, William de Cantelupe, father of the bishop of Worcester, died at an advanced age.
The king endeavours to recall the chancellor.
About this time, namely, in the week after Easter, the king, becoming sorry for his irregular and indiscreet act in having taken away his seal, and banished from himself and his court
A.D. 1239.] THE LEGATE DOES NOT DEPART. 165
his chancellor the bishop of Chichester, who had irreprehensibly filled his office for a long time previously, endeavoured now by allurements and fair promises to recall him; he, however, preferring retirement and quiet to care; and his own gain to the danger of holding the seal, refused to fall into the snares which he had once escaped, recollecting how, when he was summoned and nominated to the bishopric of Winchester, his election had been annulled by the king, whom he had so long and faithfully served, and whose father also he had served in another office.
The king of Scotland marries the daughter of Engelram de Coucy.
About the same time, Alexander, king of Scotland, espoused the daughter of Engelram de Coucy, a noble baron of the French kingdom, a beautiful young woman named Mary, and the nuptials were solemnly celebrated at Roxburgh, on Whitsunday.
The legate, at the king's request, does not depart.
The legate, as if about to take his departure to the Roman court, humbly took leave of the king, the archbishops, bishops, and citizens of London, in a sermon, which he had prepared especially for the purpose; the noble horses which had been given to him, he sold on good terms, and procuring common ones in their stead, he arranged his baggage, and prepared his packsaddles. The king, however, thinking that he should die in his absence, endeavoured by all means in his power to persuade him to stay yet a little longer; for he had sent to the Roman court one of his lawyers, of whom he retained a great many (as a huntsman does hounds), to keep asunder the electors of the bishops, namely, Simon the Norman, to obtain from the pope an order for the legate to remain still longer in England, to obviate many dangers there. And in this opinion he was not deceived, for when all the furniture and baggage of the legate was prepared, Simon the Norman returned, bringing letters, obtained in accordance with the king's desire; and, on the legate obeying their contents, the king was overcome with joy. The nobles, who had come to London, on learning this, fearing the snares of the legate, and knowing the fox-like evasions of the king, departed in anger, without effecting their object, and detesting the king's words as so much sophistry.
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The election of William de Raele to the bishopric of Norwich.
The monks of Coventry, who had now arranged honourable terms for electing a bishop with the canons of the Lichfield church, after having, as before stated, by unanimous consent, elected William de Raele, as their bishop, through fear, that, if they elected any other than a particular favourite of the king, he would oppose them to their faces, and would trouble them as usual, and whilst the said William still remained in a state of hesitation and suspense, and, like a man of prudence and experience, weighed future events in the scale of reason, the monks of Norwich, seeing that they had now waited a long time, because they had not elected the said William as their bishop, by which election they would not have offended the king, or any one else, at once met together and elected the said William de Raele as their bishop. The said William then rejected the other bishopric which he had gained by favour, and accepted that of Norwich; for he preferred to remain in England with the English, rather than in Wales with the untamed Welsh.
The fortification of the Tower of London.
In this same year, the Tower of London was strengthened, which the London citizens feared would tend to their injury; but, on their making a complaint on the matter to the king, he replied that it was not done to their disgrace or danger; "But", said he, "I will endeavour, henceforth, by the rebuilding of my castles, to imitate my brother, whom report declares to be more prudent than I am".
The increasing animosity and hatred between the emperor and the pope.
In Lent, of the same year, the pope, seeing the rash proceedings of the emperor, and that his words pleaded excuse for his sins, namely, that by the favouring assistance of some of the nobles and judges of Sardinia, he had taken into his own possession, and still held, the land and castles of the bishop of Sardinia, and constantly declared that they were a portion of the empire, that he by his first and chief oath would preserve the rights of the empire to the utmost of his power, and would also collect the scattered portions of it, was excited to the most violent anger against him, setting
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forth some very heavy complaints and claims against him, and writing often boldly and carefully to him, he advised him often by many special messengers, whose authority ought to have obtained from him the greatest attention, to restore the possessions he had seized on, and to desist from depriving the church of her possessions, of which she was endowed by long prescription; and, like a skilful physician, who at one time makes use of fomentations, at another of the instrument of incision, and at another of the cauterizing instrument, he mixed threats with persuasions, friendly messages with dreadful denunciations. As the emperor, however, contumaciously refused his request, and excused his actions by arguments founded on reason, his holiness the pope, on Palm Sunday, in the presence of a great many of the cardinals, in the spirit of glowing anger, solemnly excommunicated the said emperor Frederick, as though he would at once have hurled him from his imperial dignity, consigning him with terrible denunciations to the possession of Satan at his death; and making use of these words, and, as it were, thundering forth the fury of his anger, he excited terror in all his hearers.
The excommunication pronounced against the emperor Frederick.
"In the name of the Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and by the authority of the apostles Peter and Paul, we excommunicate and anathematize the said Emperor Frederick, because he has raised a sedition against the Roman church in the city, whereby he endeavours to drive the Roman pontiff and his brethren from their see, and, in opposition to privileges, rank, and persons, to trample on the liberty of the Apostolic See, as well as of the church, in rash violation of the oath by which he is bound in this matter to the Roman church. We also excommunicate and anathematize the said emperor, because he ordered some of his subjects to prevent our venerable brother the bishop of Praeneste, a legate of the Apostolic See, from proceeding in the legation which we had intrusted to him in the Albigensian provinces, for the confirmation of the Catholic faith. Again, we excommimicate and anathematize him, because he will not permit certain cathedral and other vacant churches in his kingdom to be
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filled up, and by these means the liberty of the church is endangered, and faith dies, because there is no one to set forth the word of God, or to govern their souls in the absence of a pastor. The names of the said vacant churches are as follow: Catana, Reggio, Accriviara, Squilata, Resa, Potenza, Otranto, Policastro, Saretina, Aversana, Valva, Monopoli, Polognagno, Melfi, Rappella, Cributo, Alifana, Mazara, Vigiliara, and Frethina; with the monasteries of Venusia, and of the Holy Saviour at Messina. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize the said emperor, because in his kingdom clerks are seized and imprisoned, proscribed, and slain. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize him, because in his kingdom churches devoted to God are destroyed and profaned. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize him, because he does not allow the church of Sorano to be repaired. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize the said emperor, because, when the nephew of the king of Tunis was coming to the church of Rome to receive the sacrament of baptism, he detained him, and would not allow him to come. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize the said emperor, because he seized and detained in prison Peter the Saracen, a noble Roman citizen, when coming to the Apostolic See on behalf of the king of England. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize him, because he has taken possession of the lands of the church, namely, Ferrara, Pingnogoma, Bologna, the diocese of Ferrara, that of Bologna, and the diocese of Lucca, as well as the territory of Sardinia, in rash violation of the oath by which he is bound to the church in this matter. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize him, because he has seized and ravaged the lands of some of the nobles of his kingdom, which the church held in her rule. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize him, because he has spoiled certain cathedral churches of their possessions, namely, those of Mont Royal, Cephelada, Catana, Squilata, and also the monasteries of Mileto, of St. Eufemia the Greater, and of St. John in Lamentano. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize the said emperor, because many cathedral and other churches and monasteries of his kingdom have been, by an unjust inquisition, deprived of almost all their possessions. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize him, because the
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Templars and Hospitallers in his kingdom, who were despoiled of their moveable as well as immoveable property, were not remunerated in full, according to the terms of the peace. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize him, because the prelates of the churches and the abbats of the Cistercian and other orders in his kingdom, are obliged, every month, to give a certain sum of money towards the building of new castles. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize the said emperor, because, contrary to the terms of the peace, those who adhered to the church were obliged to leave their country as proscribed men, whilst their wives and children were imprisoned. Again, we excommunicate and anathematize him, because it is by him that the crusade is impeded, as well as the restoration of the Roman empire. And all those who are bound by their oath of fealty to him, we decree are absolved from the observance of that oath, and strictly forbid them to observe their allegiance to him, so long as he is bound by the chain of excommunication; and for his oppressions and other injuries inflicted on nobles, poor widows, orphans, and others of the kingdom, on whose behalf the said emperor Frederick has formerly sworn to abide by the commands of the church, we intend to depose him, and in this matter, with God's assistance, we will proceed, as we ought with justice to do. Moreover, for all and singular the above-mentioned offences, for which the said Frederick has been by us carefully and often admonished, although he did not trouble himself to obey us, we excommunicate and anathematize the said Frederick. Again, because the said Frederick is seriously defamed by these said deeds of his, many crying out, as it were, through the whole world, that he does not entertain right opinions respecting the Catholic faith, we, with God's assistance, will proceed in this matter at its proper time and place, according to the rules of the law".
How the emperor's anger was kindled against the pope.
The emperor, on hearing of this, was inflamed with violent anger, and with oft-repeated reproaches accused the church and its rulers of ingratitude to him, and of returning evil for good; recalling to their recollection how he had exposed himself and his property to the billows and to a thousand
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kinds of danger for the advancement of the church's welfare and the increase of the Catholic faith; and affirmed that whatever honours the church possessed in the Holy Land, had been acquired by his toil and industry. "But", said he, "the pope, jealous at such a happy increase being acquired for the church by any layman, and who desires gold and silver rather than an increase of the faith, as witness his proceedings, and who extorts money from all Christendom, in the name of tithes, has, by all the means in his power, done his best to supplant me, and has endeavoured to disinherit me whilst fighting for God, exposing my body to the weapons of war, to sickness, to the snares of his enemies, after encountering the dangers of the unsparing billows. See what kind of protection is this of our father's! What kind of assistance in difficulties is this afforded by the vicar of Jesus Christ! And now this persecutor's rage is not satisfied; for he has, to confuse and destroy me, set up in opposition to me John de Brienne, formerly king of Jerusalem, whom he knew to be bold in war and skilled in military discipline, and to be my most bitter enemy, whilst I had no apprehension of the kind. He has also enriched himself with a large sum of money, which he has impudently extorted from the poor prelates of the churches throughout the world; and it is not easy to disclose what sighs, what tears, this grief produced in my heart when I heard such things from my subjects; but He knows who is ignorant of nothing. At once, however, concealing this heartfelt grief under a calm countenance, I began to treat for a peace, and a truce having been agreed on, I hastened my return, lest our enemies should happen to learn this, and become proud in their exultation, and thence become more harassing to us. But when I returned home, I found my territory seized and occupied by the relatives and friends of the pope, the leader and chief of whom was the aforesaid John de Brienne; these, however, I seized, and with God as my avenger, I punished those men who had obstructed the affairs of the cross according to their deserts. Let God judge between me, his soldier, and the pope, his vicar; Christ knows, and the world knows, that I do not wander from the path of truth. This is the root and origin of his hatred. A schism has taken place amongst the people; and
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by the presence of their natural lord, the emperor, they have been reunited, and the strength of the empire restored in a short time".
How the monks of Monte Casino came to the pope at Rome.
In the same year, the monks of Monte Casino (where St. Benedict had planted a monastery), to the number of thirteen, came to the pope in old and torn garments, with dishevelled hair and unshorn beards, and with tears in their eyes, and on being introduced to the presence of his holiness, they fell at his feet, and laid a complaint that the emperor had ejected them from their house at Monte Casino. This mountain was impregnable, and indeed inaccessible to any one unless at the will of the monks and others who dwelt on it; however R. Guiscard, by a device pretending that he was dead, and being carried thither on a bier, thus took possession of the monks' castle. When the pope heard this, he concealed his grief, and asked the reason; to which the monks replied, "Because, in obedience to you, we excommunicated the emperor". The pope then said, "Your obedience shall save you"; on which the monks went away without receiving anything more from the pope.
A remarkable writing.
In the same year there appeared to a certain monk of the Cistercian order, a white hand writing bodily the following words:- "The lofty cedar of Lebanon shall be cut down. Mars shall prevail over Saturn and Jupiter, and Saturn shall lay snares for Jupiter in all things. There shall be one God, that is a monarch. The second God has come. The sons of Israel shall be released from captivity within eleven years. A certain people, considered to be without a chief, shall come in their wanderings. Alas for the clergy; if it should fall, a new order flourishes; alas for the faith of the church, of laws, and of kingdoms. Changes shall occur, and the whole Saracen nation shall be subverted".
An eclipse of the sun.
On the 3rd of June, in this year, there was an eclipse of the sun about the sixth hour of the day. About the same time of the year, William, bishop elect of Valentia, was, by the intervention of the pope (who wished, it was said, to appoint him leader of his army against the emperor), called
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to the bishopric of Liege, retaining the procuration of the Valentian see, as though he were not branded with the charge of murder; wherefore it is no wonder that people were astonished at hearing this, that he still aspired after the see of Winchester, and appointed the king of England, his zealous agent to effect this purpose. Alas! alas! what a mass of money inclined the court of Rome to give its consent and permission.
The birth of Edward the First, son of King Henry the Third.
On the night of the 16th of June, a son was born at Westminster to the king by his wife Eleanor. At this event all the nobles of the kingdom offered their congratulations, and especially the citizens of London, because the child was born at London; and they assembled bands of dancers, with drums and tambourines, and at night illuminated the streets with large lanterns. The bishop of Carlisle initiated the infant, and the legate baptized him, although he was not a priest, but Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, confirmed him, and at the wish of the king the name of Edward was given to him. A great many messengers were sent to make known this event, who returned loaded with costly presents. And now the king deeply clouded his magnificence as a king, for, as the messengers returned, the king inquired of each what he had received, and those who had received least, although they brought valuable presents with them, he ordered to send them back with contempt; nor was his anger appeased till each person had given satisfactory presents at the will of the messengers. Of this a certain Norman wittily remarked,- "God gave us this child, but the king sells him to us". The legate, too, not being sparing of the harvest which he had not sown, gratified the person who brought the news with presents at the cost of others. As I said before, this infant was baptized by the legate on the fourth day after his birth, and was lifted from the font by the bishops, Roger of London, and Walter of Carlisle; and also by William, bishop elect of Norwich; by Richard, earl of Cornwall, the king's brother; and by the earls Simon de Montfort, of Leicester, and Hugh de Bohun, of Hertford and Essex; and also by Simon the Norman, archdeacon of Norwich, and the noble Peter de Maulac, and Almaric de
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St. Amand; and in the presence of a great many noble ladies.
About this time Ralph de Thony, a noble baron, took leave of his friends, and departed for the crusades with a great many nobles, especially from the kingdom of France; who, after great preparations, boldly set out on their journey to Jerusalem, that at the last day, when men are rewarded for their good deeds, they might be crowned with laurels, and obtain their eternal reward.
The election of Master Nicholas of Farnham as bishop of Chester.
In the same year, after William de Raele had been called and elected to the government of the church of Norwich, with the consent of the clergy as well as the people, the monks of Coventry at once proceeded in the matter of electing some suitable pastor for themselves, that they might not be any more annoyed by an election deservedly to be censured. They therefore elected Master Nicholas, of Farnham, a man of good learning, and, what was of more importance, one adorned by manifold virtues, of handsome stature, eloquent in discourse, and mature and modest in demeanour and conduct, so that no speck of censure could stand in the way of their intentions. But after the king, as well as the clergy and people, had accepted of him, Master Nicholas, as a man of profound reasoning, seeing that the affair was open to dispute by law, and that the bishopric was on the farthest borders of England, and considering, like a humble and discreet man, that he was incapable of sustaining such a great burden, and also that it would be perilous to him to undertake to render an account of the charge of so many souls, refused, on any account, to accept of the offer, but firmly refused to undertake the weight of office, and resigned the honour of it. For it was a matter of dispute between the monks and canons, because the canonical party affirmed that they ought to elect the bishop this time, according to the terms of the agreement, by which the dispute between them had been settled, namely, that after one election had been made by the monks, the second should devolve on the canonicals; but when the canons put forth this claim, the monks replied, that the election having been annulled, had not come to any result, and that they had not gained their ends, owing to an unexpected
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event, caused, not by their own premeditation, but by the divine decree, which dispenses all things at its pleasure. The canons, however, said, "We would have you to know that it is not your elected bishop that displeases us, for he is quite competent to a superior station; but the form of electing him displeases us, since the election devolved on us, not on you, and this we have well proved by our acts; for we elected our dean as our bishop, and as the guardian of our souls". But when the sound arose of a disturbance which threatened to bring on a destructive discord, the dean, a pious man, wishing to put an end to the disagreement, said aloud in public, "Be it so, be it so; I do not know on what grounds you have elected mo, who am quite inadequate to sustain the burden of the episcopal office; with my whole heart and mind I oppose such an election, and give it up: but let this disturbance be set at rest, and let us, for this time, all, with one consent, adhere to that good man of whom report speaks so well". Saving, however, the right of their church on both sides, they all, monks as well as canons, unanimously sent to the aforesaid Master Nicholas, informing him that all who had formerly disagreed, had now come to a unanimous determination, and had elected him, humbly begging of him graciously to accept of the honour, however burdensome, offered to him in the name and on behalf of the Lord. Master Nicholas, in reply to them then said, "With clasped hands I return you manifold thanks, my friends and masters, both canons and monks, in whose eyes I was of such consequence, that you have elected me, such as I am, to be your pastor; but, my friends, my present state suffices me, and the burden of the office now intrusted to me oppresses me heavily; and the care and charge, as well as the account to be rendered of the souls intrusted to me, disturbs and alarms me. Cease, therefore, my beloved brethren, cease any longer to annoy me in this matter; for I tell you plainly, whether you agree to it or not, I do not agree to this election". On hearing this, the others, according to the aforesaid form, took counsel, and elected as their bishop and guardian of their souls, Master Hugh de Pateshull (the son of that illustrious noble, Simon de Pateshull, by whose wise counsels England was governed some time before), a canon of St. Paul's at London, and the king's chancellor. He, like a wise and discreet
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man, after long deliberation, and thinking of the saying of the apostle, "Whoever well administers, purchaseth to himself a good degree"; and elsewhere, "If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work", was at length moved to compassion for the desolation of the church by the tears of the suppliants, and consented to undertake the toil, care, and expenses of the office, that their sorrow might be converted into joy.
The sufferings of the Jews.
In the same year, on the feast of St. Alban, the proto- martyr of England, and on the following day, a great massacre and destruction of the Jews took place by order of Geoffrey the Templar, a particular councillor of the king, who oppressed, imprisoned them, and extorted money from them. At length, after great suffering, these wretched Jews, in order to enjoy life and tranquillity, to their own ruin and confusion, paid to the king a third part of all their money, debts as well as chattels. The original cause of this calamity was the perpetration of a clandestine murder committed by the Jews in the city; and not long after this, owing to a boy having been circumcised by the Jews, four of the richest of that community, having been clearly convicted of the offence, were hung at Norwich.
Ralph Briton is taken prisoner.
In the course of the year in which God had, in accordance with the petition of the king, as well as the desire of many, amidst much exultation bestowed a male child on the king, as the cup of this life contains nothing unalloyed by the bitterness of gall, a certain messenger of the king's, named William, who had been convicted of manifold crimes, and had been condemned to death, and was lying in close confinement, rendered several of the nobles of England notorious by false accusations of treason; amongst others he made a criminal accusation against Ralph Briton, a clergyman and canon of St. Paul's church at London, who had been some time since a familiar friend of the king, and even his treasurer. The king, on hearing this, ordered him, by letters sent to the mayor of London, William Gromer (or Gerard Batt), to be seized and imprisoned in the Tower of London,
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and the mayor, obeying him rather than God, at once carried the king's orders into effect; for he dragged the said Ralph with violence from his house in the neighbourhood of St. Paul's church, and imprisoned him in the Tower, securing him with chains, commonly called rings. The dean of London, Master G. de Lucy, when informed of this act, together with his fellow canons (because the bishop was not then present), pronounced a general sentence of excommunication against all the presumptuous perpetrators of this enormity, and placed St. Paul's church under an interdict. The king, however, although warned by the bishop, did not correct his faults, but continued with threats to heap evils on evils, on which the bishop was about to place the whole of the city of Iiondon, which was subject to him, under an interdict; but when the archbishop of Canterbury, as well as the legate, the bishop of London, and many other prelates, were prepared to lay a heavy hand on the city, the king, although unwillingly, ordered the aforesaid Ralph to be released, and to be allowed to depart in peace; but when he wished to add the condition that he should be kept so as to be ready to give an explanation when he, the king, chose to accuse him, the church replied that they would not, on any account, keep him in this manner like an imprisoned man, but that the church should receive him as absolutely free, as when the king's attendants forcibly tore him from his house. In this manner, then, was Ralph released, who being taught by experience with what fickleness fortune tames her followers, withdrew, after this chastening, from the king's court. Stephen Segrave, although he had often suffered a like oppression, mixed himself up, notwithstanding his age, in the affairs of the court, and at this time became the chief councillor of the king, and by his innate skill began to keep a more than usual restraint on the king's plans. Shortly afterwards, the above-mentioned villain, who had, as above stated, calumniated the nobles, and the aforesaid Ralph, was ignominiously hung outside the city of London on that instrument of punishment called a gibbet; and when he saw that his death was certain, he, although late, openly confessed before the people and his executioners, that he had made the aforesaid false accusations only for the purpose of prolonging his life.
AD. 1239.] LETTERS FROM THE EMPEROR TO THE SENATE. 177
Publication of the sentence of excommunication against the emperor Frederick.
About this time, by command of the pope, the said emperor Frederick was denounced as excommunicated in St. Paul's church, at London, as likewise throughout the whole of the bishopric of London, and afterwards throughout the whole kingdom; and there was no one to put forth the shield of opposition, although the king had good grounds for opposing it, before all the princes of the world, on account of the near relationship existing between him and the emperor.
Letters from the emperor to the senate and people of Rome.
In the same year, his majesty, the emperor, wondering that the strength of the Romans was so greatly weakened, and that they recoiled from the firmness of their due subjection and faithfully promised allegiance to him, permitting the sentence of excommunication to be pronounced against him, their natural lord, in their own city, wrote to the cardinals of the court of Rome, as well as to the senators of the city and the inhabitants, as follows:-
"Frederick, by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, to the senator of the city and his fellow Romans, Greeting.- Since Rome is the head and authoress of our empire, and the emperor is called Roman from the name of the city Rome, and as we owe to it the advancement and prestige of our name and honour, we are lost in astonishment that where our honour is to be promoted, and insults to be repelled, we should, amongst those who are bound and whose duty it is to put themselves forward as a wall of defence to our imperial throne, meet with contrary treatment, whilst they themselves hear and conceal the facts. Wherefore, we are greatly grieved that the Roman bishop, as it is reported, has dared to act in the city against the Roman prince, in a manner in which he would not dare to act elsewhere; and has impiously blasphemed the Roman emperor, the founder of the city, and the benefactor of the Roman people, without any resistance on their parts; so that we may truly say that the nobles, as well as the Roman people, for whom we have studied to make provision with a liberal and voluntary munificence, and for the continued advantage of whom we are still striving, have been
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unmindful of our benedictions, and have been held bound by the torpor of sleep, so that there was not a man amongst so many nobles, amongst all the host of Quirites, or amongst the many thousands of the Roman people who would rise in our defence, who would speak one word for us, or condole with us under our injuries; although we are adding to the honour of the city, rendered illustrious by ancient triumphs and glories, by the succession of our recent victories, and are continually directing our attention to reform the Roman name, as it was in times of old, and to exalt the condition of the Roman empire. Wherefore, we are of necessity led to require you, by urgent warning and exhortations, if any omission has been made by you, through negligence or torpor, now at once to show yourselves ready, and by word and example to induce others to rise promptly, one and all, to avenge the injury inflicted on us, and all in common. For as our defamer would not have dared elsewhere to break forth into blasphemy of our name, and could not in his great presumption boast of having perpetrated such things against us, whether we wished it or not; since it would rather be imputed to ingratitude on your part, whatever you could have done, before the fact, to oppose it, if after the fact you were to defer avenging our and your own common injury. For as we are bound on both sides, we to defend the Roman honour, and the Romans to defend our honour; [1] if we find you and them negligent in this matter, we should be compelled, however unwillingly, to withdraw our favour from all to whom we have heretofore shown it, since it is not fear of the Romans which has compelled us to confer benefits on them, but rather our special kindness has induced us to do so. Given at Treviso, on the twentieth day ci the month of April".
The emperor had also written some little time before to the cardinals and had endeavoured to excite the Romans in that quarter; and he now urged them more vehemently in the following letter:-
Other letters from the emperor to the cardinals.
"Frederick, by the grace of God, Augustus, emperor of the
[1] The original Latin is here very obscure, if not corrupt; but the sense given in the text seems the best that can be given to it.
A.D. 1239.] OTHER LETTERS FROM THE EMPEROR. 179
Romans, king of Jerasalem and Sicily, to his beloved friends, the community of the cardinals of the holy Roman church. Health and sincere affection,- Since Christ is the head of the church, and in the name of Peter has founded his church on a rock, and has appointed you as successors of the apostles, so that, as Peter ministered for all, you, who are the candles of the church, placed on a hill, not under a bushel, may, by your good works, 'give light to all in the house', and not to endeavour by general consent to withdraw yourselves from the public voice of the world, since you are thought to bear equal participation in whatever he who presides over the see of Peter proposes to do, or hath determined to declare to the world; unless the previous condition of the church, and an effervescent desire of avoiding general offence, should suggest caution to you for the future. For who will not wonder that he who sits on the throne of the church, strengthened by a general congregation of so many venerable fathers (and would that he were a just judge!) should act so indiscreetly? Is it not remarkable that he should take part, on mere impulse, against the Roman prince, who is the advocate of the church, and whose duty it is to maintain the preaching of the gospel, by drawing the spiritual sword unjustly in favour of the rebel Lombards? notwithstanding that, by peaceable measures, all of the so-called grievances against the churches, which he pleads, however general heads may be vexatiously multiplied into individual acts, have either already received correction, or by the arranged provisions of our forethought, this is on the point of being provided, as our due commands have already gone forth; and full compensation will soon follow? For by letters patent of the prelates, whom the apostolic mandate has appointed as monitors, evidence of the same kind is given; and our preceding decree concerning the recall of the prelates who have suffered injuries, and of making full reparation to those prelates, now gives plain evidence to the truth by letters of the venerable archbishop of Messina, sent to our assessor, appointed for this purpose: wherefore, it is not without good cause that we lament that the apostolic father endeavours so seriously to offend us; and when such a great injury falls on a brave man, although we should wish to endure it patiently, the enormity of the offence does not allow us to do so; but the
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violence of the deed impels us to the vengeance which the Caesars were accustomed to practise. But whilst we consider the impatience of him who leads the way, and the difficult position of the defendant, we should consider it more endurable, if we were allowed impartially to practise private vengeance on the person by whom the offence has been caused, so that we might inflict retribution on those who are of his blood; and this attempted injury of the see would recoil on him and his. But although neither he nor the whole race who will suffer on this account are of such importance that the imperial dignity would thirst for vengeance upon them; and because the authority of the see lets loose the reins of its authority, and the whole community of the venerable brethren may seem to favour it in its pertinacity, the disturbance pains our mind, because, whilst we defend ourselves from the persecutor, we ought in defending ourselves more severely to attack those who oppose us, saving in all respects the sanctity of the church, which we worship with holy worship and due reverence; wherefore, we earnestly beseech your venerable community, out of your deliberate moderation, to check the proceedings of the supreme pontiff, which from evident causes the world knows to be not so just as gratuitous, and to provide for the general condition and present peace of our minds. For though we are favourably bound to promote the well-doing of you all, yet we cannot with evenness of mind abstain from offence at injuries done us; nay, though we may not be able to check beginnings, yet injuries, which cannot be recalled, may justly be repelled by other injuries. Given at Padua, March 10, Indiction 11".
Certain prognostic writings.
About this time, some writings which seemed to be prognostic of the future, were recalled to memory and often mentioned, owing to the imminent dangers of the times, and the discord which had broken out between such powerful persons, who were unequalled in power by any one. One of these writings was as follows:- "Rome shall be excited against Roman, and a Roman substitute shall diminish Rome from the Roman. The rods of shepherds shall become light, and their comfort shall be in rest. The careful will
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be disturbed, and will pray; and in the tears of the multitude there will be rest. The weak man shall play with the madman, and madness becoming extinguished, shall be soothed. A new flock shall creep to the mound, and those who are entitled in the old, shall be fed on slight food. The expectations of the confident are destroyed, and the comfort which produces confidence is at rest. Those who walked in darkness will return to light; and the things which were separated and scattered abroad will be consolidated. A large cloud will begin to rain, because a changer of the world is born. The lamb shall be substituted for the lion; and lambs shall prey on lions. Madness shall rise against the simple minded, and simplicity shall breathe attenuated. Honour shall be converted into disgrace, and the joy of the many will be come grief". These words, spoken in the year of grace 1119 were understood to mean that the said threats were already impending.
Another writing, which the emperor seems to have procured, is nevertheless said to have been the truth: that the following verses were found written in the pope's bedroom; but how it was done, or who wrote them, is not known:-
Fata docent, stellaeque monent, aviumque volatus:
Totius mundi malleus unus erit.
Roma diu titubans variis erroribus acta,
Totius mundi desinet esse caput.
[The stars and fates, and flight of birds decree,
That all this world of ours shall hammered be:
Rome totters, through a mass of errors led,
And of the world shall cease to be the head.]
As the emperor and many others interpreted these verses as redounding to the ruin and desolation of the pope and the Roman court, his holiness retorted by the following verses against the emperor:-
Fama refert, Scriptura docet, peccata loquuntur,
Quod tua vita brevis; poena perennis erit.
[Fame, Scripture, and your sins do loudly tell,
You'll, after death, for ever smart in hell.]
The emperor exculpates himself by monitors.
The emperor at this time, seeing that his fame was now endangered, in order to prove his innocence, caused
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messengers, who were men of great and special authority, to write to the pope, setting forth their own and the emperor's innocence and justice.
The letters of the messengers.
"To the most holy father in Christ, Gregory, by the grace of God, stipreme pontiff, his devoted servants, the bishops of Wirtzburg, Worms, Vercelli, and Parma, their humble salutation and and due and devoted respect,- With all due respect and devotion, we have received the letters of your apostolic holiness, by which we were sent to admonish his highness the Roman prince on certain points, which were mentioned in the said letters. But we, as in duty bound, yet doubting whether he would receive our warnings with patience, went to him with respect and devotion, and after explaining each of the points contained in these chapters, and having given him a copy of our letters, by the grace of God, who rules and directs the hearts of kings at will, he, with wonderful devotion and unexpected humility, showed himself ready to listen to our admonitions, and the ears of his imperial highness were inclined to us. When we appeared before him, there being also present the archbishops of Palermo and Messina, and the bishops of Cremona, Lodi, Novara, and Modena, and the abbats of St. Vincent's besides several of the Preachers and Minorite brethren who had been convoked by him, he replied to our propositions one by one, as is fully and distinctly contained in the following lines, as, according to the apostolic mandate, we inform you by these presents, and are prepared to attest the truth of.
"Proposition of the Church:- The churches of Mont Royal, Cephaledi, Catania, and Squillata, and the monasteries of Mileto, St. Euphemia, Terra-maggiore, and St. John in Lama, have been despoiled of almost all their property; also, almost all the cathedral and other churches and monasteries have, by an unjust inquisition, been deprived of almost all their dependants. The emperor's answer:- With respect to the injuries to the churches, which are put forth indefinitely, some which have been committed through ignorance, have been ordered to be remedied, without delay, and some have been already corrected, as is evident from the report of our faithful and industrious messenger, Master William de
A.D. 1239.] THE LETTERS OF THE MESSENGERS. 183
Tocto, our notary, who was deputed for the especial purpose, and who was also ordered to proceed to the Roman court, and, after taking the advice of the venerable archbishop of Messina, to proceed, according to his counsels, to the reformation of those things which he might find to be notoriously wrong. On entering the kingdom, he found in those parts some things which were held by some of the imperial retainers, and to them he showed no mercy, but immediately despoiled them, and restored those who had been despoiled by them, although he was ordered to take from the imperial exchequer whatever he found to be illegally obtained; so that when the report of what he had done reached the court of Rome, the pope is said to have approved of the foresight of the sender, as well as the diligeuce of the person sent; but as the kingdom was divided into provinces, he could not travel through them all, to amend what he thought necessary. Again, in answer to the charge respecting the church of Mont Royal, he stated that it had received no injury at the hands of the emperor, unless he wished to refer to the Saracens, who had seized on the property of the church during war, and that they recognised neither the church nor the emperor, and spared nothing that came in their power; yea, that they had destroyed and pillaged that church to the bare walls, and spared not any one in Sicily, so that in that island there remained few Christians, if any. The emperor, indeed, confesses that he has utterly exterminated these people from Sicily, at much trouble and expense, if they consider that an injury to the church; and he does not know that he has ever harmed it in any other way, nor does he wish to injure it. He says the same also with regard to the church of Cephaledi, unless reference is made to the castle of Cephaledi, which, being the best fortified citadel on the seacoast, and standing on the frontiers of the Saracens, the kings of Sicily have always held; and pope Innocent, of good memory, gave orders to his legate, who was then in Sicily on our service, to receive it from the bishop, into whose hands it had fallen by disturbances, and not by right, and that the legate had caused it during our childhood to be held and kept for us, nor was it restored to that bishop or the present one, nor ought it to be restored, for they had no right to it; and besides that, he was convicted on clear
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evidence of being a false man, a homicide, a traitor, and a schismatic, wherefore, if he had any claim in the matter, (which God forbid), it was not necessary for it to be given up to him. Also, with regard to the church of Catana, he says the same, unless the men of the emperor's demesne are referred to, who, in time of war, went to Catana, on account of the security and fertility of the place. The emperor acknowledges that he had recalled them to his own demesne, according to the terms of the general constitution of the kingdom, by which earls and barons and all the vassals of the kingdom recal the men of their demesne wherever they find them, whether on the lands of the churches, or in the cities of the emperor. Nevertheless, a form has been decreed in this matter, and a limited time fixed and accepted at the request of the supreme pontiff, as appears from the testimonial letters of the Patriarch of Antioch, and of the archbishops of Palermo and Messina. Again, in the case of the churches of Mileto and St. Euphemia, although a suitable change had been effected with the abbats and monks of Terra-maggiore, at the wish of the prelates themselves, and the conventual assemblies, according to the form of law, they themselves, to this day, hold and possess the property exchanged. But the village of St. Severius, which did not at all belong to the abbat of Terra-maggiore of Ancona, but had there some rights which it held in fee of the emperor, was, after a trial, destroyed with just cause, because the inhabitants of that place, during the disturbances, slew one Paul of Longothan, a king's standard-bearer, and carried off the emperor's cattle; and, nevertheless, as has been stated, an exchange was given to the abbat and conventual assembly on their behalf, and they hold it to this day. The place, Lama, is enclosed according to sentence by the abbat of St. John the Round, who might justly, according to civil and canonical law, be convened for it, as for a good feudal property, in the imperial court.
"Proposition of the Church:- The Templars and Hospitallers have been despoiled of their moveable property, as well as fixtures, and have not been restored completely, according to the terms of the peace. The emperor replies,- It is true, that, by a judgment and by an ancient constitution of the kingdom of Sicily, certain feudal and burgage-lands
A.D. 1239.] THE LETTERS OF THE MESSENGERS. 185
were revoked from the Templars and Hospitallers which they held by a grant from the invaders of the kingdom, to whom they supplied horses, arms, provisions, wine, and all other necessaries in great abundance, when they were harassing the emperor, and absolutely refused all kinds of assistance to the emperor, who was then a mere king in pupilage, and destitute. Other feudal and burgage-lands were, however, allowed to them, as they had obtained and held them previous to the death of King William the second, or of which they had a grant from any of his predecessors. But some burgage-lands, which they bought, were revoked from them, according to the terms of the ancient constitution of Sicily, because no grant of burgage-lands can be made amongst the living without the consent of their prince, nor can they be bequeathed by a last will, without being bound to sell or grant to other secular burgesses, after the lapse of a year, a month, a week, and a day. This decree was made of old for the following reason, that if they were allowed freely and perpetually to buy or receive burgage-lands, in a short time they would buy the whole kingdom of Sicily, which would seem of all the provinces of the world to suit them best, and this same constitution is in force beyond sea.
"Proposition of the Church:- Also, that he does not allow cathedral and other vacant churches to be filled up; and by this, the liberty of the church is endangered, faith dies, and, in the absence of a pastor, there is no one to set forth the word of God, and to govern their souls. The emperor, in reply, states, That he wishes and desires cathedral and other churches to be ordained, saving the privileges and dignities which the kings his predecessors had enjoyed up to his own time, and which he had till now used much more moderately than his predecessors; and he was never opposed to the filling up of churches.
"Proposition of the Church:- Concerning talliages and exactions which are extorted from the churches and monasteries, contrary to the terms of the peace. The emperor's reply:- Talliages, and taxes collected from ecclesiastical persons, are imposed not for church property, but for feudal and patrimonial estates, according to the common law; and this is in force in all parts of the world.
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"Proposition of the Church:- That prelates do not dare to proceed against usurers owing to an imperial decree. The emperor's reply:- A new and general decree has been issued by the emperor against usurers, by which they are publicly condemned in all their goods, and it has been read in the presence of the prelates, whereby they are not interdicted from proceeding with vigour.
"Proposition of the Church:- That clerks are taken and imprisoned, proscribed, and slain. The emperor replies,- That he knows nothing of clerks who are seized and imprisoned, unless that some have been taken by the imperial officials and are to be given over to the judgment ofthe prelates, according to the nature of their offences. With respect to proscribed ones, he knows that some have been banished the kingdom for the crime of treason. As to any who had been slain, he knows that, owing to the exemption of clerks and monks from punishment, the church of Venusium mourns the death of their prelate, who was slain by one of his own monks; and, in St. Vincent's church, monk slew monk, and no vengeance or canonical punishment for the offence followed.
"Proposition of the Church:- Regarding the profanation and destruction of churches consecrated to God. The emperor in reply states, That he knows nothing at all, unless reference is made to the church of Luceria, which is said to have fallen to pieces of itself through age, and which the emperor would not only allow to be rebuilt, but was also prepared, for the honour of God and the church, himself to give proper assistance to the bishop for the rebuilding of the same.
"Proposition of the Church:- That he does not allow the church of Sorano to be repaired. The emperor replies,- That he allows the church of Sorano only to be repaired, not the city, at least in his time, as it has been destroyed by a judgment of law.
"Proposition of the Church:- That, contrary to the terms of the peace, those who adhered to the church in the time of the disagreement, are deprived of all their property, and driven into exile. The emperor's reply:- Those who adhered to the pope against the emperor, during the disagreement, dwell in the kingdom in security, unless, perhaps,
A.D. 1239.] THE LETTERS OF THE MESSENGERS. 187
some who held offices and jurisdictions, through fear of rendering an account, or others that they may not be convened for civil or criminal causes, remain out of the kingdom; and, with respect to these, the emperor is willing that they should return in safety, if they will render an account to him and others, who have complaints against them (not, however, for their adhesion to the cause of the church). It must, however, be remembered, that, when the terms of peace were arranged, the pope, contrary to those terms, and in opposition to the opinion of almost all the brethren, detained the city of Castellana; for the retention of which, to the injury of the empire, he received money, whilst he, the emperor, was in his service against the Romans; in which cause he expended more than a hundred thousand marks of silver, and the church obtained great advantages, as well from the territory which was taken from the Romans and restored to it, as from the restoration of the liberty of the church in the city, on the plea of the aforesaid service.
"Proposition of the Church:- Respecting the nephew of the king of Tunis, that he did not permit him to come to the Apostolic See to receive the sacrament of baptism, but detained him a prisoner. The emperor replies,- That the nephew of the king of Tunis fled from Barbary into Sicily, not to be baptized, but to escape death, with which he was threatened by his uncle; that he was not kept a prisoner, but went at liberty, through Apulia, and, on being asked if he wished to be baptized, he altogether denied it. If, however, he is willing to be baptized, the emperor hears it with pleasure, as he has stated elsewhere in this matter, to the archbishops of Palermo and Messina.
"Proposition of the Church:- With respect to Peter the Saracen, a faithful servant of the church, whom he detains prisoner to the injury of the church, and also with regard to brother Jordan, who is also kept prisoner. The emperor replies,- That Peter the Saracen has been made prisoner by him as an enemy, and slanderer of him, both in the city and elsewhere; also, that he came not on the business of the English king, but only brought letters from him, entreating us, if he should happen to be taken prisoner, to show mercy to the prisoner; but we did not pay attention to them, for that king did not know what treachery the said
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Peter had plotted against me. With respect to brother Jordan, the emperor states that he did not seize him, or order him to be seized, although he had defamed him in his sermons, but because it appeared to some of his subjects that his position and stay in the marches of Treviso and Lombardy would be injurious to the emperor; but that, after he had given security that he would not remain in the marches, or in Lombardy, he, the emperor, ordered him to be released and given over to the archbishop of Messina, if he would receive him on the same terms as have been here mentioned.
"Proposition of the Church:- That he had excited a disturbance in the city against the church, by which he was endeavouring to expel the Roman pontiff and his brethren from their see, and, in opposition to the privileges, dignities, and honours of the Apostolic See, to trample on the liberty of the church. The emperor, in reply, denies that any disturbance was excited in the city against the church by him; but, as he had faithful subjects in the city, as his predecessors, both Roman princes and kings of Sicily, were accustomed to have, because sometimes the senators elected by the power of their enemies, strove to offend them, he stood forward in their defence, as he would do in the like cases as often as was expedient. But when the cause ceased, namely, when another senator was elected by common consent, the above-mentioned disturbance ceased, as appears from the evidence of the matter itself according to the testimony of the archbishops of Palermo and Messina.
"Proposition of the Church:- That he gave orders to some of his subjects for the detention of the bishop of Praeneste, the legate of the Apostolic See. The emperor replied,- That with regard to the order for the detention of the bishop of Praeneste, he never ordered, nor even dreamt of such a thing, although he could have justly done so to him as his enemy; who although sent by the pope as a religious man, yet, by the pope's command, as he said, he craftily and perniciously, in a great measure stirred up all Lombardy against him, the emperor, and encouraged the Lombards to oppose him to the utmost of his power.
Proposition of the Church:- That the crusade was impeded by him, owing to the dispute which he had with some of the
A.D. 1239.] THE LETTERS OF THE MESSENGERS. 189
Lombards; although the church was prepared to lend their aid and efficacious endeavours that himself and the honour of the empire might be properly satisfied for the offences committed against him by the Lombards, and even the Lombards themselves were prepared to do this; let him be questioned on these points, and let his answer be told to us. The emperor's reply:- With regard to the matter of Lombardy, the emperor said, that he had many times referred it to the church, but had never obtained any advantage thereby, unless that, on the first occasion, the Lombards were condemned to supply four hundred knights, whom the pope ordered to be furnished to him in such a way that he sent them into the kingdom against the emperor himself. On the second occasion, they were mulcted in five hundred soldiers, whom he ordered to be sent, not to the emperor, against whom the offence had been committed, but to be sent beyond sea, under the protection and at the demand of the pope and the church, which was not offended; and yet even this was never done. On the third occasion, at the request of the cardinals, namely, the ex-bishop of Sabinum, and Master Peter, of Capua, to whom the pope had given full powers, the said business was referred to the church, and there never after was a word said about the matter, unless when the pope learnt that the emperor, after having often been deceived by him, was preparing to descend with his army from Germany into Italy, and then he earnestly begged for the matter to be again intrusted to him; and the emperor, although he had often suffered shipwreck in intrusting this said matter to the same person, was yet willing to refer it to him on a certain day, on condition that it was confirmed to his own honour, and the advantage of the empire. This condition, however, the pope, as appears by his letters, refused to accept, although now he says in his letters, that the church was prepared to determine the business, so as to maintain the right and honour of the empire; and from this it appears that the pope and his letters most flatly contradict one another. And that it may not be alleged that the emperor wishes to renew his claims on Italy, to the prejudice of the Holy Land, how his lordship the emperor took the cross, and afterwards did not neglect what he had undertaken, appears by his letters in reply,
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written to the different kings throughout the world, and to the crusaders, who had chosen him as their lord and commander; in which also he replied to them on the said matters, that he wished to manage that business according to the advice of the church. Finally, as has been before stated, a notary of the emperor's was sent as a special messenger to repair the injuries inflicted on the Church. The emperor, moreover, added in reply, that, what was more irregular, and would excite the wonder and astonishment of all who heard it, after the departure of the before-mentioned archbishops of Palermo and Messina, to whom the pope had promised to extend the favour of the church, on the emperor's behalf, and had stated that he wished to have one and the same interests with him, the emperor himself as became him, making no small exertion to effect this; and, after a sufficient answer had been given to the said archbishops, concerning certain points set forth by them, as appears by their attestations, these letters were sent, and those heads were enclosed to the prelates, behind the backs and to the confusion of the said archbishops, as they were entirely ignorant of this having been done; and these letters, although they contained a sort of warning, yet contained evident aspersions on the emperor's fame. Lastly, the emperor, as a general reply, alleges that, although he was absent from the kingdom and was ignorant of the state of it, he will give orders for whatever injuries have been inflicted on the church (which remain to be shown), to be entirely repaired without any dispute. Nevertheless that, for the general good, which results from union between him and the church, he is prepared to give to the church all the protection which becomes the church and the empire; that for the honour and exaltation of the Christian faith, and to preserve the honour and liberty of the church, he will do his best that he and it may be one. Given, etc".
The emperor's complaints of the injuries inflicted on him by the pontiff.
When these replies were brought to the pope, his anger was kindled, and, in justification of himself, he held all the aforesaid arguments as frivolous and useless quibbles, and despised them as fictions. He then wrote to the princes and nobles of all Christendom, laymen as well as ecclesiastics,
A.D. 1239.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 191
and absolved all those who were bound by allegiance to the emperor Frederick from their obedience to him as their lord. He also caused the sentence which had been pronounced against the said emperor, to be solemnly published throughout all the countries which were obedient to him, and especially throughout England, and seriously defamed him, by declaring him to be an open enemy of God and the church. News of this soon reached the emperor, on which he was greatly grieved, and wrote to his friends as follows, laying heavy complaints against the pope:-
The emperor's letter.
"Frederick, etc. etc.- We speak unwillingly, but cannot hold our peace; for the axe has now been laid at the root of the tree, and the sword, piercing almost to the soul, has loosed our lips. We have to write how wickedness has gained the right of law, and we grieve that a contumacious people have raised their right hand against their own bowels: wrong is preferred to right, and the will triumphs over justice; for the nations are now endeavouring to despise the ruler of Italy and the imperial sceptre; and also unmindful of their own advantage they impose the licentiousness of unrestrained liberty on the quiet of peace, and have preferred it to equity and justice. Do not, however, think that this rebellion has been first originated by us, for we are avenging the injuries of our grandfathers and fathers, and are endeavouring to suppress the stock of this hateful liberty which has extended now to other regions. But do not believe that we have, by any means, up to this time, concealed these things, nor have passed them over with the eyes of connivance. For as soon as, when we grew up to manhood, and the virtues of the mind and body began to glow within us, we were raised to the imperial dignity, beyond all human hopes, at the will of divine providence alone, and the kingdom of Sicily, the goodly inheritance of our mother fell into our possession, we directed the eyes of our mind to the aforesaid matters. At length, for the consummation of our purpose, owing to the miserable calamity of the loss of Damietta at that time, after consulting with our venerable father Honorius, the supreme pontiff at Veroli, we, by common consent, thought it right for the promotion of the business of the Holy Land, and for the reformation
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of the empire, to hold a special court at Verona, at which we, as well as the aforesaid pope, agreed to be present. This design was, however, changed, owing to the fickleness of counsel and the continual disturbed state of affairs at that time; but we, not wishing to abandon such a good intention, after again holding a conference with the pope at Ferentino, appointed a court to be held at Cremona, to which we summoned our son and a great many of the chiefs of our empire, with a suitable retinue of knights, and we nevertheless brought with us such an array of knights from the Italian provinces as was befitting the honour of the imperial dignity, and such a great matter. From this time the Lombards, rebelling against us and our honour, in a spirit of opposition and reprobate feelings, and making a pretence of fear because we were attended by armed men, have refused to obey us as their legitimate lord, and by obstructing the roads hindered our ingress into Italy, and have removed our son and chiefs from our sight. To increase their as yet concealed wickedness and perfidy, they added malice and open insolence, for in their plots against us and the empire, they, in spite of our being present amongst them, formed neferious conspiracies. Being thus baulked in our expectation of seeing our son, we returned into Apulia, because we were then pressed for time, to make our preparations for the passage over the sea, to which we were bound by our vow; and we intrusted this matter, with respect to satisfaction being made to us and to the empire, to be determined by the decision of the supreme pontiff, by whose award they were condemned to supply to us, at their own expense, five hundred soldiers for the service of the Holy Land. At first, sowing discord between the church and the empire, they sent them into Apulia against us, and thus, by a perverse mode of satisfaction, they redoubled their former injuries. When, however, we returned from the transmarine provinces, and the dispute between us and the church had been settled, we still adhered to our purpose of reforming the condition of the empire, and, by the advice of our most holy father Gregory, the supreme pontiff, we appointed a general court to be held at Ravenna, and proceeded thither with only our domestic retinue, and unarmed, that all frivolous causes of fear through the presence of armed men,
A.D. 1239.] APPEARANCE OF A COMET. 193
might be removed. Whereon, the aforesaid Lombards not only offered us no marks of devotion and obedience, but even before our eyes, throwing aside the respect due to our person, drew out their Carrochium, and endeavoured violently to assault the city of Verona and Eccelino, which at that time had lately come over to us from obedience to the Romans. They also prevented our son's coming to us, as well as us from going to him, through the territory and by the roads of the empire (which, although they are their own, are yet common to all), so that the father's eye could not look on the son, unless, urged on by paternal affection, which cannot be restrained, we trusted ourselves to the dubious chances of a sea passage, and went to Aquileia, for the purpose of seeing our beloved son and the chiefs, who, in their devotion had come to us. The firmness of our clemency did not even then fail us, but laying aside all anger on account of the aggressions of our enemies, we again intrusted the determination of this matter to the church. But we raised in them the horns of disobedience instead of holding forth to them, as we had intended, examples of humanity; they gave us perfidy instead of the fidelity due to us, and contempt instead of devotedness; nor did any annoyance about the aforesaid matters give them understanding".
Appearance of a comet.
In the same year, on the eve of the feast of St. James, about dusk, before the stars had appeared, was seen in a clear blue sky, a very large star like a torch, which rose from the south, and flying along, not upwards, darted through the air, making its way towards the north, not swiftly, but as a hawk usually flies: when it had reached the middle of the firmament, which is in our hemisphere, it vanished, leaving, however, smoke and sparks in the air. This star was either a comet or a dragon, greater to the eye than Lucifer, having the form of a mullet, very bright at the foremost part of it, but at the hind part smoky and sparkling. All who saw this wonderlul sign were struck with wonder, and did not know what it portended, but one thing is certain, that after the crops had been almost all choked by the protracted rains, the season was at this very hour changed into one of a most remarkable fertility, and preserved the
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ripe crops, which were only waiting for the sickle, and allowed them to be gathered in.
Simon, earl of Leicester, leaves England, having incurred the king's anger.
About the same time, namely, on the 9th of August, some noble ladies came to London to accompany the queen to the monastery for her purification, as was the custom. When Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, arrived with his wife, the king called him an excommunicated man, and forbade him, as well as his wife, whom he had basely and clandestinely defiled before the marriage had been contracted between them, to be present at the festive solemnities, and after reiterated reproaches from him, the earl left in disgrace, and, with his wife, hastened by water to his house (which was the palace of the late bishop of Winchester, and which the king had liberally lent him to live in). The king, however, at once ordered them to be forcibly ejected, and, although they returned to the king, begging his pardon with tears and lamentations, they could not appease his anger; for, said he, "you seduced my sister before marriage, and when I found it out, I gave her to you in marriage, although against my will, in order to avoid scandal; and, that her vow might not impede the marriage, you went to Rome, and by costly presents and great promises you bribed the Roman court to grant you permission to do what was unlawful. The archbisbop of Canterbury here present knows this, and intimated the truth of the matter to the pope, but truth was overcome by reiterated bribes, and yielded to Roman avarice; and on your failing to pay the money you promised, you were excommunicated; and to increase the mass of your wickedness, you, by false evidence, named me as your security, without consulting me, and when I knew nothing at all of the matter". The earl, on hearing these words, was overcome with shame, and, at the close of the day, embarking in a small boat on the Thames with his wife and a small retinue, he proceeded in all haste to the sea-coast, and at once sailed from England.
A council held at London between the bishops of England and the legate.
About this same time, namely, on the 31st of July, all the bishops assembled at London to discuss the oppressions
A.D. 1239.] THE EMPEROR EXCOMMUNICATED. 195
of the church, for the legate, after daily extortions, was now demanding procurations; after holding council, however, the bishops, by common consent, replied, that the importunity of the Romans had so often exhausted the property of the church, that they would no longer endure it, and they said, "let him supply you, who has summoned you without consulting any one on the matter"; and thus they left the council, not without murmurs of discontent.
The legate goes into Scotland.
At this time, the legate made preparations for a speedy departure to Scotland, and after making the necessary arrangements, and having dispatched English guides to explore if any treachery was being planned against him, he took his journey thither, choosing sumptuous lodgings in the abbacies and cathedral churches, before, however, he entered the Scotch territories, he was met by the king of that country, who was not pleased with his entering his kingdom; for he said that no legate, with the exception of him alone, had ever entered Scotland, nor was there any need, as he declared, for his doing so, as Christianity flourished there, and the church was in a prosperous state. At length, as arguments multiplied, and the king was almost excited to forbid his coming into the kingdom, a written agreement was drawn up by the intercession of some of the nobles of both kingdoms between them, the tenor of which was that such a custom should never become a matter of course on account of his coming there, and that, moreover, he should sign this writing at his departure; and this was so arranged that he might not return to England in confusion and like a rejected man. He did not, however, cross the sea, but remained in the rich cities on this side of the sea, where he arranged all ecclesiastical matters at will, and collected no small amount of money; after which, whilst the king remained in the interior of the country, he took his departure clandestinely, and without the king's peridission, taking the aforesaid written agreement with him.
The sentence of excommunication denounced against the emperor in England.
When the legate was on his way towards Scotland, he went to the chapter-house of St. Alban's; and, after having
196 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1239.
first preached a sermon on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (for this occurred within the octaves of that feast), he excommunicated the emperor; for the monks had obtained letters exempting them from the performance of this duty. And at the same time the said emperor was several times solemnly excommunicated at St. Paul's church at London, by authority of a warrant from the pope, which had been sent to the legate.
Severe letter from the pope against the emperor, sent to the legate.
"Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved son Otto, cardinal deacon of St. Nicolas in Carcere Tulliano, legate of the Apostolic See, Health and the apostolic benediction,- The Apostolic See, as almost the whole world by evidence of the fact hath learnt, has, from the time when she received him from the womb of his mother on her knees, in her maternal affection suckled the emperor Frederic, and carried him in her arms, and received him to be cherished under her protection, him, who was formerly quite helpless and abandoned to a precarious destiny; and has opposed herself in her might against all the invaders of his kingdom, who, casting the eyes of cupidity on his territory, had already entered the boundaries of his country, and were laying claim to it without opposition, and defending him from those who plotted against his life, and who, being jealous of his salvation, were endeavouring to put an end to his life, and to blot out all recollection of him from the face of the earth. And when the said emperor had arrived at a more mature age, defended by the shield of ecclesiastical protection, both in his person and kingdom, and G. de Gualganem, of good memory, a priest of the chapter of St. Anastasius and a cardinal, had been for many years deputed to take charge of him by the Apostolic See, he was at length raised by the said see to the summit of a higher station. But he seems to have lost the benefit of the care bestowed on his person, and the toils which the church underwent in his behalf, since he is unmindful of so many benefits, and ungrateful for such great favours. And would that he did not pass the bounds of even ingratitude, by which he would be content with a denial of his having received these benefits. Besides this, although every offence makes one feel the stings of sorrow,
A.D. 1239.] LETTER PROM THE POPE. 197
this, however, in which ingratitude is the recompense for kindness, and evil is returned for good, strikes with a heavier weapon. And although the Apostolic See loves him, and has raised him to the summit of secular power, yet owing to his urgent sins, for which, although often admonished by us, he has refused to atone, we are compelled, however unwillingly, to rebuke him. For, although Divine Providence raised up Adam to a height of dignity and power, and placed all the living things of the earth in subjection to him, yet, because he exceeded the commands of his Maker, his faults were not spared. The returns which the church has received, from the aforesaid Frederic, for all the benefits conferred, we do not wish you to be ignorant of, and in this present letter we set forth a few examples out of the many. In the city he has excited a serious disturbance, endeavouring, by all the means in his power, to exclude us and our brethren therefrom; thus bringing dishonour on the Apostolic See, and trampling on the liberty of the church itself, and rashly violating the oaths he has taken. He caused our venerable brother, the bishop of Praeneste, to be obstructed on his journey by some of his subjects, when we sent that prelate to the Albigensian provinces for the strengthening of the Catholic faith. On no account will he allow cathedral and other vacant churches of his kingdom to be filled up, to the peril and serious injury of their souls, but, nevertheless, despoils them and others of all their possessions, and levies talliages and unjust imposts on prelates, religious men, and other secular clerks. Nobles, poor people, orphans, and widows, are reduced to the extreme of destitution, and the cruel and harsh severity of his extortionists does not allow them the least breathing space, and he has thus, as far as he could, reduced, as it were, to ashes and cinders, his whole kingdom, which is the spiritual patrimony of St. Peter, and for which he is bound by an oath of fealty to the Apostolic See, and is its vassal; and since he has not, after having been warned by us, thought proper to amend his proceedings, we shall, with God's assistance, act in the matter as we shall see proper. Besides this, he impedes the cause of the Holy Land and of the Roman empire; and although, at the time when peace was re-established between him and the church, he swore, at the hands of the legates of the Apostolic See, to
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obey the injunctions of the church, he refused to fulfil the mandate received from them,- not on any account to seize on, occupy, or devastate the territory of the church or their lands, which he then held in his own hands, or their persons,- but took possession of the said church's land, namely, Ferrara, Bologna, and Fusignano, in Lombardy, and the country of Sardinia; Messina and Lucca, seizing on the dioceses, and deposing those prelates whom the church reserved for herself, and devastating their lands, although the said legates pronounced sentence of excommunication against him in his presence, if he would not act in this matter as they ordered. Again, this said emperor is detaining a prisoner, the nephew of the king of Tunis, who was coming to the court and church of Rome to receive the rites of baptism; as also our beloved son, Peter the Saracen, a noble Roman citizen, who was sent to us on the part of our beloved son in Christ, the illustrious king of England, to the Apostolic See, as also the son of the said Peter. Although he has been ofttimes admonished by us, he does not feel the remedy of correction, as the ulcers of his offences are become hardened, and he daily presumes to commit worse crimes; we, therefore, being unable any longer, without offence to Christ, to pass over these things in silence, by the advice of our brethren, and in the name of the Almighty. God (whose vicegerent we are on earth), by the authority of the blessed Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, however unwilling we may be, have thought fit to promulgate the sentence of excommunication and anathema against the said emperor Frederic, consigning him to Satan, that by the death of his body, on the day of the Lord, his soul may be saved. All who are bound to him by an oath of allegiance, we decree to be absolved from the observance of this oath, and strictly forbid them to abide by their fealty to him, as long as he continues bound by the chain of excommunication. Wherefore we warn and exhort you on your devotion, and by these apostolic letters command you to cause the aforesaid sentence of excommunication and anathema to be solemnly published on each Sunday and feast day, with bells ringing and candles burning, and in like manner to cause the said absolution and prohibition to be published and announced throughout the whole province of your legation; and to fulfil our commands
A.D. 1239.] LETTER FROM THE POPE. 199
in such a manner that your devotion may be deservedly commended by us. Again, since the aforesaid Frederic has become notorious for other great and heavy crimes, we, by God's grace, will proceed in those matters in their proper time and place, as the nature of the case requires. However, as the noise of terror is always sounding in the ears of the wicked, and they suspect treachery even when it is peace, because the disturbed conscience always forbodes evil, the said Frederick, even before sentence of excommunication had been pronounced against him, determined to send some letters to our brethren, which letters are in part mentioned before, and which came to our knowledge and to theirs after the said sentence had been issued. Wherefore, as the Lord, who lays open the hidden things of darkness, and reveals the secrets of all hearts, wished to disclose the hidden thoughts of his heart, we gather from the purport of these letters what kind of devotion he feels towards the Roman church, his mother; what reverence or respect he has for the supreme pontiff and his brethren and the Apostolic See, whose vassal he is in respect of his kingdom; for he seems to have conspired against us and them, from which it is sufficiently shown what kind of, and how great a crime he has committed. Amongst other things contained in his letter, these words are inserted, 'Wherefore we grieve, not without just cause, that the apostolic father endeavours so seriously to injure us, for, when such a great injury falls on a firm man, although we may wish to endure it patiently, the enormity of the offence does not permit us to do so, but the violence of the deed impels us to take the vengeance which the Caesars were accustomed to practise'. However, when we consider the impatience of the assailant, and the difficult position of the defendant, if we were allowed impartially to put in practice the private revenge which we could take on the man who has originated this offence, and his allies in blood, we should think it more endurable, and the attempted injury to our see would redound on him and his. But as neither he nor the whole of his race, who will suffer for this, would be of such great importance that the majesty of the empire should be very eager for their punishment, and since the authority of the position withdraws all restraint from audacity, and the weight of so many venerable brothers
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seems to sustain him in the obstinacy which he has conceived, a cause of annoyance disturbs our mind still more deeply, that, whilst we endeavour to protect ourselves from any assailant, we are compelled, in defending ourselves, to give greater offence by our resistance.- Given at the Lateran the 11th of April, in the thirteenth year of our pontificate".
The emperor's great anger against the pope, and his heavy complaints against him.
When the emperor was informed of this defamation of his character, as being a tyrant instead of a king; his anger, not without cause, raged more and more against the Milanese and other traitors to him, whom the pope effectually assisted and encouraged against him: the Milanese becoming more bold owing to the assistance afforded by him, and finding that it was a matter of life and death, sallied forth, making most furious attacks, accompanied by a certain legate who had been sent from the pope to their assistance; and when the emperor had gone to distant parts, they forcibly took possession of Ferrara, and other cities and castles of the emperor's, ravaging the neighbourhood, and spreading destruction and death. Those who were besieged met with no mercy, and although they begged of the legate, with tears, that, if they gave up their cities and property entirely into their hands, their persons alone might be spared in God's name, they were not listened to unless they submitted themselves and their property to him entirely and unconditionally. The holy and religious men who inhabited Christian provinces, were greatly astonished at such inhuman and bloody cruelty in a prelate of the church, and uttered imprecations against him, for that, making use only of the material sword, he remembered not to show mercy. Fear and dread seized their hearts, lest the Lord God of Hosts should pour forth his anger on these hardened beings, and the church should suffer a great downfall, especially, as the party of the pope did not care for prayers or fasts, masses or processions; nor did it enjoin on the community to avert the anger of God by pouring forth prayers to him, by which the Church usually drew breath in its tribulations, and often gained triumphs over its oppressors; but placing all its confidence in its treasures, and in rapine. It rushed headlong to the sword, and to take its own
A.D. 1239.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER TO RICHARD. 201
vengeance; and from this arose grief and desolation of the Christians; the threats of nobles, fury and rancour, hatred and animosity between the Church and the empire, and this lamentable commencement threatened a more lamentable termination. The emperor, thus pierced by the stings of this grief, endeavoured to excuse himself and to accuse the pope, and wrote the following letter to several kings and princes, and especially to the king of England, and his brother Richard, earl of Cornwall, as his beloved brothers-in-law, in whom he placed particular confidence:-
The emperor's letter to Richard, earl of Cornwall.
"Frederic, by the grace of God emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus, king of Jerusalem amd Sicily, to Richard, earl of Cornwall, his dear brother-in-law, Health amd every blessing.- Cast your eyes around you: attend, ye sons of men, and grieve over the scandal of the world, the quarrels of nations, and the universal banishment of justice; since the wickedness of Babylon comes forth from the elders of the people, who appeared to be its rulers, in that they turn judgment into bitterness, and the fruits of justice into wormwood. Sit still, ye princes; and understand, ye nations, your cause. Let your judgment come forth in the sight of the Lord, and let your eyes behold equity. For we know, and trust in the virtue of the Supreme Judge, that, as divers weights and divers measures are not found with you, you will assuredly see that our moderation and innocence outweigh in the scale of your judgment the calumnious words issuing from the lips of our detractors, and their poisonous inventions and falsehoods; but we know that it is not now for the first time that the justice of our cause, and the wickedness of him who sits in the seat of the Lord, have come under the knowledge of the world; and besides the prelude of rapid fame, who mostly takes the gloss of novelty from our ears, in all cases of importance - we ourselves could confirm, by our own subsequent representations, that which rumour had in the first instance proclaimed, namely, how this new combatant appointed our chief priest under evil auspices, our especial friend, so long as he was in an inferior station; but immediately upon his elevation, forgetting all the favours with which our Christian empire has enriched the holy
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church, altering his faith with circumstances, and changing his character with his dignity,- influenced in some way by a prurient desire to cause public disturbance,- whetted the edge of his malignity against us, who are the chief and especial son of the Church. For taking his opportunity, when to avoid imminent scandal after taking the oath, the sentence of excommunication pronounced against us, we bound ourselves to cross within a certain time to the Holy Land; then, because we were delayed by ill-health (adding many other charges respecting which we had never been forewarned or admonished), he, contrary to the wish of God and to justice, altogether rejected our excuses, as liable to excommunication. To this we submitted with all humility, as though it had been in the first instance pronounced at our wish, praying for absolution, and promising that, when our our former bodily health was restored, we would prepare instantly to make our passage. Though our humble petition was insultingly denied, we crossed to its rescue, in pious fulfilment of our vow, thinking that the vicar of Jesus Christ aimed at the fulfilment of this matter rather than the gratification of his hatred against us. But he, who we hoped savoured only of things which are above, and who we supposed contemplated heavenly things with his eye, and dwelt upon them in thought, was found all at once to be a person not only void of truth, by his deeds of cruelty, but even cut off from all feelings of humanity. For besides the hindrances which he threw in our way in Syria, by his messengers and legates, inasmuch as by letters from him,- the bearers of which we seized, and which letters we keep as evidences,- they warned the sultan not to yield to us the land which was devoted to divine worship and the laws of the kingdom of Jerusalem; he made forcible entry into our kingdom of Sicily, alleging, as a reason to do so, that R., son of the former duke of Spoleto, was preparing to enter the lands of the church, though this was without our consent or privity, as we afterwards made evident by punishing him. Nor did they proceed as holy men have done, and conquer kingdoms by faith, but by perfidy and perjury, to all; or, if there were any who could not be tempted to perjury by the simple assertion, yet were these, too, immediately tempted; when the very commanders of the papal forces, that they
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might the more easily gain our territory, asserted on oath that we were prisoners in Syria. Again, on our return from beyond the seas, we simply repelled the wrong put upon us, abstaining from all attempts to avenge ourselves in accordance with the proud custom of our empire, and then willingly lent our ears to the words of peace, which mediators advanced. We know that, from our acknowledgment of the Catholic faith, we have found a true mother in the church; but our father we have always found false. For on the very day of our reconciliation, devising a plan for our ruin, he most earnestly advised us to return into Italy with an unarmed and private retinue, assigning as his reason, the fear that we should give occasion for alarm to our faithful subjects if accompanied as before by an armed escort; besides which, he declared that he would make everything secure for us. At the same time, he manifestly contrived the very contrary of this by letters and messages, as is evident from the testimony of many of our faithful subjects who were at the time privy to everything, as though they were sharers in these plots, and also from other chiefs of that party. Wherefore, as the public roads were everywhere stopped by our rebellious subjects against our son and some of our chiefs, who were coming to us from Germany; and, moreover, as our said son, when at Aquileia, and bound thence to Germany, with difficulty regained the protection of his ships, we were forced to return to our kingdom, as the advice, or rather cunning device, of our father, had sent us unprepared to check the wicked rebellion of our subjects. And here, again, when we were in some measure breathing more freely, and taking repose after our labours, our holy father invaded our quiet, taking upon himself the character of counsellor, and urging us most vehemently to proceed with vigour against the Romans who were devoted to us, and other rebellious subjects of ours in Tuscany, who were withholding the rights of the church and empire, trusting securely to his favour, because he wished to share with us our own and the the empire's burdens. In accordance, therefore, with his earnest advice, it behoved us to proclaim war on behalf of the church against the Romans, who were at that time attacking Viterbo, whilst he was sending secret letters to the city to the effect, that we were acting thus from hatred
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of the Romans, of our own will, without his privity or instructions. Meantime, a sedition having arisen in Sicily, we were obliged to visit Messina, that we might oppose, in its early stages, a faction that was forming there, giving as our sole reason, that we were unwilling to lose our noble island of Sicily; on which occasion, without asking our advice, indeed, keeping the whole matter from our knowledge, against the law of nations, which decides that those who are allies and sharers in the same enterprise should not desert one another, he made a treaty with the Romans, against whom we had proclaimed war at his bidding, as above stated; and this, too, without giving heed to the feet that, not without some risk and peril to our honour, we remained defenceless amongst rebellious and seditious subjects, and had sent a numerous and strong force to his assistance, though we were unable to be present in person. In addition to this, since the uprightness of our conscience, and the sincere devotion which we felt towards the church, our mother, did not allow the son to notice the unnatural follies of his father, we attributed to chance what belonged to craft; and we were continually willing to refer the settlement of the reparation due to us to the arbitration of this stepfather, who on every occasion deceived us more grossly, mocked us more bitterly, in proportion as his promises of a full arbitration were more unhesitating. In the mean time, when, judging from our past differences, no hope, or, at least, but little, remained to us of settling the affairs of Italy to the honour of the empire, by means of the pope; and when we were expecting the same persecution, at a time whilst we were thus waiting, all at once we thought that fortune had smiled upon us, for the quarrel between the church and the Romans began afresh; and in it we were so nobly and devotedly lavish of our treasures, and exposed our person, that we believed we had entirely removed the rust of an evil conscience from the hearts of our ill-wishers. Not content with all this, as we desired to offer to the church indisputable security as to our feelings, inflamed with the warmth of the fullest devotion towards it, as well as by the incentives of perfect charity in God, we went, in person, before this supreme pontiff, even without summons, taking with us our dear son Conrad, now elected king of the Romans, and the heir
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to the kingdom of Jerusalem, who was at that time, owing to the glaring offences of his brother, the only son left to enjoy our fatherly affection. And after presenting our person to the church, we did not think it beneath us to offer this, our son, as a full hostage to the supreme pontiff, asking with all humility, and calling on God to bear witness to our sincerity, for a complete union between ourselves and the church, such as this prelate of the general church had long ago, when he was bishop of Ostia, persuaded us it was our duty to seek. On all which accounts, as the offer, which has been mentioned, procured for us favourable countenance on the part of the whole court, and as thankful speeches appeared to show the sincere good-will, as much of the supreme pontiff as of those of all his court, thinking that we had managed everything with them by the proposal of our holy intention, and not less in reliance upon our submissiveness, we thought proper, with prompt devotion, to explain the cause of the differences between ourselves and the Lombards, which had been so often stifled in the breast of a corrupt judge, and the settlement of the discord between ourselves and the citizens and nobles of Ancona. Thus feeling sure of a favourable consummation of all our affairs, we proceeded in person, with good-will to the service of the church, with a numerous army which, by heavy payments from our treasury, we had caused to be collected from the parts of Germany, as well as Italy. Nor did we desist from the prosecution of our purpose before that our power had restored to its former and proper condition the liberty of the church, which had been trodden under foot in the city and its territory, which had been seized on outside it, thinking it to be beyond doubt that the submissiveness of our devotion would earn for us what the favour due to our justice had been unable to gain. But listen ye, to the wonderful return which, for our great devotion, our numerous benefits, our confirmation of such undoubted faith, this vicar of Christ, this shepherd of our Catholic church, this preacher of the faith endeavoured to make to us in each case. And first, about the business beyond the sea: whatever had been reasonably arranged by the agency of the archbishop of Ravenna, our beloved prince, and apostolical legate, according to the express form given him by the church, concerning restoring ourselves, and our
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aforesaid son Conrad, to the full and former possession of all our rights in the kingdom, according to the treaty, immediately on the arrival of the archbishop of Caesarea, without waiting for the aforesaid legate, or our messengers that were coming to the court; and, without any further delay than that within which he could count on the arrival of the bezants, the whole business regarding Italy was most irregularly overturned - to say nothing of his arranging matters, as he had promised, to our own and the empire's honour, or also, of his neglect, when we begged and were urgent with him for the recall of our enemies. Nor did he suffer us to go with the soldiers, which, as we said, we were keeping in those parts to defend the provinces of the church, nor would he send any messenger or letters, owing to which there ensued, in the pitched battles which took place, immense slaughter of men and burnings of churches. Again also, not contented with such great and uncommon baseness, when we were staying with him at Reate, and expending many thousand marks on his cause, he refused to give up to us the city of Castella, which was taken by him at the commencement of the quarrel, as he was bound to do by the terms of peace, and advised to by all his brethren, because he had only received fifty thousand marks of that money. See how this most holy father of ours loved us! After this, for the benefit of us all, and to pacify Italy, (especially as we were obliged to give up all hopes of any good-will being shown us by our father, or rather our stepfather), we took up our arms and shield, and assembled our forces from the provinces of Germany, (to which at that time we had been called by necessity, owing to the foul play of our son), for the purpose of invading Italy, strengthening our just cause with brave soldiers, as we could not obtain our ends by entreaties. When this came to the knowledge of the supreme pontiff he, on the plea of the truce agreed on by the faithful people and princes of the earth, for the sake of assisting the Holy Land, by apostolic letters, forbade our entering Italy with an armed force; then, forgetting this, on the very day on which he proclaimed the aforesaid truce, he asked us, as a defender and advocate of the Church, to proceed in force against the Romans, who, he said, had taken away some of the church's possessions, although he considered it unjust in us that we
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endeavoured to force our way into our house and the possessions given us by our ancestors, which the mad rebellion of our faithless subjects had shut us out from, yet he believed it to be just for him to act in this way to the Romans, who were not bound in any way to his father, grandfather, or any of his ancestors. He also added, in the aforesaid letters, that in the matter of Lombardy, we ought, without any delay and unconditionally, without reserving any honour or claim to the empire, to make a compromise with him, by which he could either prevent us for ever from prosecuting any claim of ours, or could, at his pleasure, stifle the rights and honour of the empire. But, as neither the advice of our chiefs, nor the memory of past losses, recommended us to do this, he then had recourse to other devices, sending a rapacious wolf in sheep's clothing to meet us, namely, the bishop of Praeneste, commended to us by the apostolic letters as a man of most holy life, by whose means he recalled to the perjuries of the Milanese faction the city of Placentia, which was subject and friendly to us, firmly thinking, by his means, so generally to confuse our faithful subjects, and to such a degree, that he might entirely enervate our purpose of proceeding into Italy. In this hope, however, by the mercy of God, who protects his empire, he was entirely deceived; and the fire spreading amongst our rebellious subjects, and the depopulation caused by the slaughter of the guilty, cried aloud upon him, reproaching him for having inspired them with confidence in their rebellion, and also for his breach of faith, because he had promised to assist them against us and the empire; and because he could not, in accordance with their request, justly excommunicate us on the aforesaid opportunity, he clandestinely threw obstacles in the way of our proceedings in all directions, by sending letters and messengers throughout the empire, and all parts of the world, to seduce whomsoever he could from their faith and declaration of allegiance to us. But, as the good faith of our subjects and the affection of our friends would not allow all these circumstances to be kept from our knowledge, we, not choosing to be conquered by evil, but rather wishing to conquer evil by good, determined to send special messengers to the Apostolic See, and, accordingly, dispatched thither the venerable the archbishop of Palermo, the bishops
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of Florence and Ratisbon, Master Thaddeus de Sessa, a judge of our high court, and Master R., chaplain of Portastellana, our well beloved and faithful subjects. And as offers of all devotion were made by them on our behalf a discussion entered into to disprove the charge of heresy made against us, as also concerning the liberty of the church, and the re-establishment of the rights of the church and the empire (long ago desired and looked for between us and the church), the supreme pontiff, by the advice of all of his brethren then present, agreed to the request of our embassy in all points, and through them and the archbishop of Messina, whom he sent as a messenger to us to obtain his peace, he promised us that he would order a stop to be put to all the impediments in all quarters, which he had thrown in the way of our proceedings, as he openly confessed in the presence of his brethren and our messengers; and all these things are most clearly proved by testimonial letters of all the aforesaid bishops. With this answer our messengers and his returned to us, but before they had been three days' journey distant from the court, without their knowledge, and to their concision, he gave the legatine office in Lornbardy to G. de Monte Longo, whom he had in the first place sent as a messenger to us, and had afterwards appointed to subdue Mantua, and to seduce other faithful subjects of ours, thinking the greater power that was given to him, the more he would be able to throw impediments in the way of us and our followers. To some of our chiefs, and the prelates of Italy and Germany, who were staying with us at our court, he sent letters, containing no slight imputations on our fame, with certain articles included, especially concerning the oppressions which were said to have been practised on certain churches of our kingdom, and concerning which he ordered us to be admonished by the said chiefs; and of all these matters of complaint, and of our replies to each of them, we send you an account, under the public attestation, for your inspection. All these things having been explained to the princes and prelates, and to several religious men of every order, one after another (although the sons felt themselves ashamed at the great fickleness of the father, and though, out of respect for him, blushes covered their faces), nevertheless, by their advice, we sent
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back to the Apostolic See the aforesaid archbishop of Palermo, Master T. and Master R. of Portastellana, our messengers, with the messengers of our faithful cities, through whom we declared ourselves ready, without any delay or difficulty, to give every satisfaction. But not even by all this was his fury averted from us, but this so-called vicar of Christ, the preacher of peace, but who is in reality a stirrer up of schism and a friend of dissensions, in opposition to the injunctions of the holy fathers, when he heard that our messengers were bearing to him our offer of devotion in all matters, fearing that, if they reached him, he would be checked by the rampart of justice, and would, perhaps, be unable to proceed further without exciting public scandal, in his too great haste he conceived an abortive design, and, contrary to the special custom of the holy mother Church, on Palm Sunday hurled a sentence against us, the supreme prince of the Christians, and afterwards repeated the same on the day of our Lord's Supper, by which (as we have heard by report, although we ought to put little credence in it) he is said to have bound us with the chains of excommunication, by the advice of certain Lombard cardinals, although the wiser portion of his brethren opposed it; he also, by means of his abettors and satellites, who are supported out of the patrimony of poor people, prevented our messengers, who had now arrived, from going into his presence, and appearing before the public, to prove the justice of our cause and our innocence, and, indeed, to offer satisfaction, even to the giving of security. Concerning which, although, for singular and peculiar reasons, owing to the justice of our cause and the infamy of his proceeding, we ought justly to have preferred it, yet that he proceeded rashly and irregularly, since he would in any way give vent to his wickedness, would not, perhaps, have previously become known; but we grieve in our heart, out of shame for the holy mother Church, which our Lord Jesus Christ, under the appearance of the Blessed Virgin, intrusted to his disciple in the Testament of his passion. Otherwise we do not think that any injury could have been done to us by this man, whom we with good reason do not consider as our judge, because he previously declared himself to be our chief enemy, as well as our judge, by word and deed, and openly favoured the
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rebels against us and the empire. Moreover, he rendered himself unworthy of the submission of such a great prince, and, indeed, of any pontifical authority at all, inasmuch as, in opposition to us and the empire, he protected with his manifest favour the city of Milan, which is, according to the testimony of a great many credible religious men, inhabited for the most part by heretics. Also, when the bishop of Florence, a man of irreproachable life and good character, brought several articles of heresy against R. de Mandello, a citizen of Milan, and formerly podesta of Milan and Clarentia, out of hatred to us and favour to the Milanese, he was not listened to. Moreover, we think him unworthy to be considered a vicar of Christ, a successor of Peter, and dispenser of the souls of Christians; not on account of the injury done to our dignity, but to the faults of the person, because the dispensations, which ought to be granted only after great deliberation with his brethren, he weighed in the scale of traffic, like a merchant, and granted in his own chamber, concealing the opinions of his brethren (with whom, according to ecclesiastical discipline, he was bound to deliberate), thus making himself his own sealer, writer, and, perhaps, his own accountant. Concerning which matters, we do not wish to pass over in silence the remarkable dispensations by which, on receiving a small sum of money, he allowed Sipha, the daughter of the late constable of the kingdom of Cyprus, to become the wife of Balian de Jocelin, contrary to the sentence of separation pronounced by the bishop of Nicosia in that matter, and the oath he had given at the same time that he would not have her; and also allowed the sister of John of Caesarea to marry James of Amendolia, who had previously married her sister, both of them being traitorous to us, and the women being both related to him in the third degree, and whatever was deficient in the amount of money paid to him, for this was made up by the degree of his hatred to us. We also grieve at his sin and prevarication in the fact, that, not content with spending money in order to gain over the nobles and chiefs of Romania, to become his followers and adherents, he wasted the possessions of the Roman church, which is intrusted to our special protection, to bestow on them castles and possessions given to the holy fathers by the pious devotion of
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faithful Christians. Let not, therefore, the universal church or the Christian people wonder, that we do not fear the sentence of such a judge, not in contempt of the papal office or the apostolic dignity (to which all professors of the orthodox faith, and we more particularly than others, ought to be subservient); but we blame the prevarication of this person, who has proved himself unworthy of the throne of such a great government; and let all nobles and princes bearing the name of Christians know our holy intention and the zeal of pious devotion that is in us, and that it is not from the fuel of hatred, but from a most just cause, that the Roman prince is provoked against the Roman high priest, as he fears that the Lord's flock, under such a shepherd, may be led through pathless places. Behold, we, by our letters and messengers, call on the cardinals of the holy Roman church, by the blood of Christ, and under attestation of the Divine judgment, to summon a general council of the prelates and other faithful followers of Christ; we also sent for our messengers and those of the rest of the princes, before whom we ourselves were present, and prepared to explain and prove all we have said; and even worse matters than them. And we are not the less disturbed by the probable reason that this ruler of the Church, who ought to possess all kinds of virtues, to be of the greatest constancy, a chosen vessel, and without the stain of cupidity, lest the error of the chiefs should be propagated with increase amongst those subject to them, is endeavouring to trample on the rights of the empire, contrary to his promise, given by the advice of his brethren, and expressed in his letters, by which he promised not to fail us, but to aid us with his counsel, assistance, and favour, in restoring the strength of the said empire; and is, moreover, heaping infamy, not to say blasphemy, on our person; especially as, however carefully we balance the scale of our conscience, we find in ourselves no occasion or reason why this inimical man ought to be so bitterly excited against us, unless that our majesty believed it improper, and considered it unworthy of us, to enter into a contract with him for the marriage of his niece with our natural son Henry, now king of Tunis and Galluri. Condole, therefore, with us, thou loved friend, as well as those dear to thee; thou, who art a prince that will benefit the world; and not only with us,
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but with the Church, which is the congregation of all faithful Christians - for its head is sick; its prince is in the midst, like a roaring lion; its prophet, mad - a faithless man; its priest polluting its sanctuary, and unjustly acting against the law. But the faults of such a pontiff ought with reason to be deplored by us more than all the other princes of the world, as we are, as it were, nearer to him in our place of residence, more allied to him in our office,- we heap honours upon him, and feel his burdens. We must not, however, omit to mention this; out of regard for your relationship to us, we earnestly beg of you to consider the contumely heaped on us as your own injury, and to hasten to your own house with water when the fire is raging in the neighbouring ones. Give heed to the cause of the proceeding of the pontiff because it is to favour the rebels against us; which cause, although it is not mentioned at present, is easily inferred; we would have you fear that similar proceedings are impending over you in your affairs. For the humiliation of all other kings and princes is believed to be an easy matter, if the power of the Caesar of the Romans is first overthrown; as his shield endures the first shock of the darts of the enemy. For the true cause which pricked the heart of the pope and burnt within it is this, namely, the affair of the Lombards, although he did not dare to bring it out openly, for fear of exciting scandal amongst us, and all who heard of it; for which matter, he, by a special and trustworthy messenger of his (whose testimony we call upon to prove the truth of this), verbally promised that, if we would rest the matter of the Lombards on his decision, not only would he not injure our majesty in anything, but would also apply to our uses the tithes of the whole world which were consecrated to supply the necessities of the Holy Land. Nor is it to be wondered at; for he was pricked by the urgent and sharp sophistries of the Lombards, to whom, as we have learnt by the confession of some prelates, he gave his oath in his own person, to act against us and the empire; and when we were on a pilgrimage in Syria, in the service of Jesus Christ, he sent them into the kingdom; but when the time for the fulfilment of the above promise came, he could lawfully break his word and alter the decree which had been issued. To favour them, also, he did not hesitate to perpetrate an action
A.D. 1239.] THE POPE'S LETTER. 213
dreadful to the ear, and devoid of all prudence and reason. For, through G., bishop of Brescia, H., of Cuma, and other bishops, he advised us either to receive satisfaction from the Lombards through him, or to make a truce with them, as we have stated, for four years, in order to promote the cause of the Holy Land, although five years since the said truce had already elapsed. We, however, reserved a matter of such moment for a short time, to deliberate thereon with our faithful councillors, whilst the admonitions concerning the approval of the aforesaid legate, G. de Monte Longo (who, in the mean time, was residing amongst the Milanese), approved the truce aforesaid, as all these matters are clearly proved by the evidence of those prelates. In the mean time, without waiting for our decision, or for us to take the counsel of our advisers, he vomited forth against us the poison he had conceived, as the relation of certain persons has declared. Lastly, we, for our own sake, adjure you and ask your aid, and that of all of you, the magnates and princes of the whole world; not because our own strength is not sufficient to avert such injuries upom ourselves; but that the whole world may know that the honour of all secular princes is touched when the person of one is offended. Given at Treviso, the twentieth day of April, ninth [12th] indiction".
Of the lamentable scandal which arose from the above.
This letter, with the change, however, of the superscription and a few words at the end, the emperor sent to the king of England, and to many princes throughout the world, in order to prove his own innocence, and to show the frowardness of the pope; and a scandal began to spread through the whole world. But the pope, having learnt these facts from credible persons, defamed the emperor more and more, heaped reproaches upon him, and also declared him guilty of heretical irregularities; and, in order to condemn him, and render him infamous in the sight of the whole world, he sent a long invective letter to the princes and prelates of the world, as follows:-
The pope's letter.
"Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brethren, the archbishop of Canterbury and his suffragans, Health and the apostolic benediction.- There has risen from
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the sea a beast, full of words of blasphemy, which, formed with the feet of a bear, the mouth of a raging lion, and, as it were, a panther in its other limbs, opens its mouth in blasphemies against God's name, and continually attacks with similar weapons his tabernacle, and the saints who dwell in heaven. This beast, endeavouring to grind everything to pieces with its claws and teeth of iron, and to trample with its feet on the universal world, formerly prepared secret battering-engines against the faith; and now it openly sets in array the engines of the Ismaelites, turning souls from the right path, and rises against Christ, the Redeemer of the world (the records of whose Testament, as report declares, he endeavours to destroy by the pen of heretic wickedness). Cease, therefore, to wonder, all of you, to whose ears the slanders of blasphemy against us which have emanated from this beast have reached, if we, who are subject to God in all manner of servitude, are assailed by the arrows of backbiters, since the Lord himself is not free from these insults; cease to wonder if he draws the sword of injury against us, because he now aims at blotting out the name of the Lord from the earth; but, that you may be the better able to oppose his lies by open truth, and to confute his deceits by the arguments of purity, carefully examine the head, the middle, and the lower parts of this beast Frederick, the so-called emperor; and, as you find only abominations and wickedness in his words, arm your sincere hearts with the shield of truth. Consider how the said Frederick, by his letters, sent throughout the various countries of the world, has endeavoured to stain the sincerity of the Apostolic See and our own by his polluted statements; a worker of falsehoods; ignorant of all modesty, and untinged by the blush of shame, he falsely asserts that we, on being raised to the office of the apostleship, abandoned him, who was a friend to us of old, when we were in an inferior station, and that we broke our faith, and changed our conduct; that when he was bound by an oath, and the sentence of excommunication issued against him, to proceed to the assistance and defence of the Holy Land, at a time pre-arranged, and was unable to go, from sickness, we sought to strain the force of excommunication against him, and refused him the benefit of absolution on his recovering his health; and that when he
A.D. 1239.] THE POPE'S LETTER. 215
was proceeding to the succour of the said land, we impeded him in his purpose by means of our messengers and legates, and by sending letters to the sultan to oppose his progress, in order that he might be thus deceived in the hope he had conceived of recovering the kingdom of Jerusalem: he also makes a false complaint, that we unjustly and forcibly invaded the kingdom of Sicily, and incited the people to commit perjury, because Reynald, son of a former duke of Spoleto, invaded the territory of the Church, which was done without his knowledge. And he boasts that, when he returned from Syria into Apulia, he refrained from avenging the injury done to him, accepted our offer of goodwill and peace, and returned to the mother Church; but, although the general knowledge of facts disproves these falsehoods, yet sometimes a concealed lie takes possession of the seat of truth in the ear of sincerity, when truth finds in it no advocate for itself therein. And in order that falsehood may not by any deceitful means creep into your hearts, it is proper that you should not be left in ignorance of the true particulars and manner of our proceeding. Both before and after we took on our shoulders the burden of the apostolic office, we distinguished with all favour this said Frederick, who is a wolf in sheep's clothing, until all the hope which is conceived by a father of his son was destroyed in us; for the said Frederick, blustering in his greatness, and intoxicated with the power he had acquired, returned evil for good to his mother the Church; and began, like a scorpion, with the sting of its tail, to infuse poison into her, whilst at times he soothed her with the painted falsehoods of his words. For some time since, when the necessities of the Holy Land, the aforesaid sentence and his oath, and the period fixed upon for his departure demanded that he should set sail, and many thousand crusaders, who were awaiting him at Brundusium, requested him with great earnestness to do so, he detained the said crusaders there till, owing to the unseasonableness of a climate to which they were unaccustomed, they perished by pitiable deaths from various diseases; and thus, voluntarily incurring the charge of perjury and the sentence of excommunication, this man, unsound in faith, but sound in body, neglected to make the passage he had promised, that he might more safely spread lies against God,
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and deceive the Church, lay for some days on the bed of sickness, under pretence of infirmity, and hesitated not to leave the Holy Land exposed to the incursions of the enemies of Christ; nor was he touched with any grief at the death of the noble landgrave of Thuringia, of illustrious memory, who met with his death there.- God forbid that it should have been caused by poison, as the world reports. And when we were informed by letters from the prelates residing there, of his feigning sickness and the other foregoing matters, we feared lest ourselves and the Apostolic See should become notorious for failing to apply the rod of discipline to so weighty a crime: we deplored the death of the crusaders and the danger to the Holy Land, and wishing, at least in one case, to wipe away the tears of the Church's sorrow, with the right hand of due consolation, we determined that he was subject to the sentence of excommunication, passed on him with his own consent by the authority of our predecessor of blessed memory, Pope Honorius, earnestly entreating that we might hear he had amended his ways, and confessing his great misdeeds, would afford us the hoped-for aid, offering him, in our letters, that we would give him the benefit of absolution in due form, as soon as he would set out on the crusade aforesaid; but he, in whose breast there was little trouble about these matters, paying little heed to the keys of the Church, crossed into Syria without being absolved, where he entered into a treaty for six years with the soldan, on condition only that the walls of Jerusalem should be restored to him, and sending to him a large number of horses and armed men to assail the Christians, and leaving the Lord's temple to the company of the Saracens, who there sang the praises of Mahomet, he was changed from a defender to an enemy, and with all his might assailed our venerable brother the patriarch of Jerusalem and the Templars. It ought not, however, to be believed by any person of sound mind, that we, or our legates, endeavoured to impede him in recovering the kingdom of Jerusalem, since the Church had greatly exerted itself to effect this purpose, and had borne much of the burden of the great expense. But it is well known to the whole world, that this said Frederick, in the same way as he in person was persecuting the Church of God in Syria, so, by the agency of the said Reynald, whom,
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contrary to our advice, he had left as his lieutenant in his kingdom, he was harassing it on this side the sea. For the said Reynald invaded the territory of the Church, protected by letters sealed with the golden bull, and supported by the money, and attended by the vassals of the said Frederick presumed to suspend, mutilate, and slay some priests and clerks, and also, as we were in a disturbed state, to take possession of the province of Perusium, belonging to the said Church's territory. And although our faithful and devoted subjects, who could no longer endure such proceedings, expelled him from that part of the country, Christ giving the victory to his spouse; yet because the said Reynald would by no means desist from his persecution, they considered that it would be more prudent to cut into the veins of the original evil than to await the violence of the already disturbed torrent, which would be swollen by fresh rivulets; they therefore entered the kingdom of Sicily, which is the spiritual patrimony of the Church, that they may not ask of us javelins from that quarter whence assistance ought to be expected; and though many of the inhabitants of that kingdom became obedient to the Apostolic See, yet they ought not, on that account, to be considered in any way guilty of perjury, since they were released from the oath of fealty they had given to the said Frederick by the sentence of excommunication which had been pronounced against him. When the said Frederick returned from the transmarine provinces, and came to the bosom of the mother Church, we opened the bosom of the Apostolic affection, and, inclining a favourable ear to his request for peace, we granted to him the benefit of absolution. In addition to these things, this son of lies, heaping falsehoods on falsehoods, in order that the more he was entangled in the nets of falsehood, the greater might be the perils in which he was ensnared, now declares, in a lying writing, that, on purpose to ruin him we promised, if he would go to Lombardy peaceably, and without an army, we would smooth all difficulties, and that through the opposition made by our letters and messengers, we hindered him from attaining the goal of his intentions; and that, because he was not supported by arms, being compelled to return into his kingdom, he falsely asserts that at our instance he defied the Romans then attacking Viterbo, and sent a strong body of
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men to assist the people of that town; and he complains that we wrote to the Romans, saying that this was done without our knowledge, and without consulting him made peace with them again, flattering himself with a new falsehood, that, the Romans being again estranged from the peace of the Church, the same man, uninvited, together with his son Conrad, whom he offered to us as a hostage, coming personally into our presence, and submitting to our arbitration the cause of discord raised between him and the Lombards, restored to the rights of the Apostolic See the land which had been occupied, and replaced the liberty of the Church in its former and proper position. Would that this false-speaking man were one possessed of spirit. Would that this statement of falsehood had had a true result. With regard to the matter of restoring to him and the said Conrad their rights in the city of Jerusalem, which they had been deprived of, and which matter had been arranged by our venerable brother the bishop of Ravenna, he, without regard to truth, complains that, as soon as the money could be brought and paid, we distributed it amongst the Christians (who were harassed by hostile attacks, attended by burnings of churches and slaughter of men), and that we interdicted all aid from him, and on that account would not send a messenger or letters. Also he is not ashamed with his lying pen to write letters stating that, contrary to the terms of peace, and the advice of our brethren, the city of Castellana was detained by us to the prejudice of his rights. But although there is not the least atom of truth mixed up with these falsehoods, so as to give them a colouring, in order that you may more clearly understand that no slight mass of falsehoods discolours the whole of these statements, we wish you to know for certain that, although, as is now known by the course of events, it would appear probable, to a discreet mind, that he could better have gained his ends with the Lombards if he had shown himself an affectionate parent and a merciful lord to them, as they were strong in the number of their people, the thickness of their ramparts, their large army, and the height of their walls, than if he were to draw the sword of vengeance on his subjects, who were trembling for the offence imputed to them, and to strike terror into them by coming upon them with his legions of soldiers, we, who are bound to
A.D. 1239.] THE POPE'S LETTER. 219
promote the benefits of peace, advised him, in all good faith, to abandon the idea of awing them by his troops, and to bring them back to their due devotedness to the empire by a remission of the punishments threatened, and by showing them kindness. And although he proceeded to Lombardy, attended by an unarmed retinue, yet, inasmuch as he, forgetful of our friendly advice to take part in the slaughter of the Cremonensians, became an agent of schism, and endeavoured to cause a wider rupture in Lombardy, which was already disunited by discord, and by terror and threats to drive from him the Milanese, whom on the contrary he ought rather to have drawn to him by the bond of affection, we, in our innocence, ought not to be blamed because he returned into Apulia deceived in his hopes, as he himself brought death on his hopes. After this, in the matter of protecting the liberty of the Church, and of extirpating heresy, he declared himself ready to obey our pleasure; in reply to which we answered by letter, that, as in his kingdom, where no one moved hand or foot without his order, heresy was diffusing its poison far and wide over the Catholic faith, and where the Church's liberty was entirely trampled underfoot as it were, it was not thought proper to apply the remedy to the head where the foot had been rendered diseased by contact; a short space of time, too, proved the truth of this reply; for, hearing that certain persons, led away by wicked counsel, were wishing to enter the territory of the Church, he immediately went away into Sicily, as if taking to flight, in order that his violated promise might not accuse him of falsehood; and did not proceed against them in any way, either by word or deed, blaming us because we, with paternal diligence, endeavoured to recall to their devotion to their mother the Romans, the special sons of the Church, who returned to the city. He also, understanding that some sons of iniquity were striving to withdraw them from their affection to the Church, and thinking that he could more easily oppress both her and them if he could, with his usual deceit, injure their affectionate feelings more deeply, hastened, although unsummoned, to the Apostolic See, we being then at Riati, and there with much humility he promised that he would restore the lost territory of the Church to its former state, and would defend it to the utmost of his power; and
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yet in Tuscany, to which he lent his assistance, he hindered us from recovering a certain castle which could have been restored to the jurisdiction of the Church with little trouble. And whilst the hands of the traitor were with us at the table, his deputy, on a given signal, as is openly proved against him by the consequences of his deed, and by his own letters, which are kept by us as a proof of his great treachery, made a covenant with the enemies of the Church, on the subject of that castle, which ought to be given up on a fixed day; and so he gave them an excuse for remaining in arms. See what service this secret enemy affords to the Church, who is not ashamed to transform himself into a servant of the same, in order that he may have more effectual means to injure us. We wish you, however, to be assured that we, passing over these matters connected with him in silence, did not allow the apostolic purity to undergo any change, but ordered the rights, of which he and the aforesaid Conrad had been deprived in the kingdom of Jerusalem, to be restored to them by the said archbishop, to whom the legatine duties were intrusted; who, although he did so, yet exceeded the license given to him, because an appeal had been made to us from him; and, after an appeal against this sentence, laid the Holy Land under an interdict, a proceeding unheard of at any time previous. We, therefore, considering that, in consequence of this proceeding, and to the great peril of the said land, pilgrims would depart from it; and that others would delay their passage to it, after receiving security from the barons, nobles, and provinces of the said kingdom, in all sincerity, and by the advice of our brethren, thought proper to withdraw the said sentence, which, as it had been pronounced after a legal appeal had been made, was, ipso jure, null and void, due care being taken not to invalidate the proceedings of the aforesaid archbishop in all other points. Let not, therefore, your mind be disturbed because, owing to this, he reproaches us with his polluted lips; for, although the vessel is full of the dross of vice, he thinks that the same stings of crime which have tainted his own mind, rage also in others; wherefore, as the insults of wicked men resound praise, and their praise insult, we much prefer being attacked by the slanders of this man, whose every word teems with infamy,
A.D. 1239.] THE POPE'S LETTER. 221
to being praised by him. But perhaps he thinks to wash away the stain of his opinions by these reproaches; for whilst he was staying at Viterbo, corrupting that place, he shamelessly fled from before the enemies of the Church, and, lavish of the honour of the empire and held back by fear, he did not go to the defence of his faithful subjects, whom his enemies were besieging before his very eyes, and who found no one to prevent them from devastating the country, he declaring that his proceeding to their aid was forbidden by us; and from this he accused us in our innocence for not having sent a messenger a latere, to prevent the losses incurred by this war. Nor is it to be wondered at, since the Church was at that time harassed by the manifold vexations of its persecutors. We came to the city of Castellana, the citizens of which, violating their oath of fealty, and without the knowledge of the Church, betrayed that Church, and gave themselves up to him, but could not by this proceeding acquire any right in themselves, nor could they bring any injury on us as to the possession of the city, inasmuch as we possessed the jurisdiction, as it were, of the city and citizens. For if men possess for the benefit of another and not of themselves, it is vain to make demands upon them: the beginning of possession cannot destroy the laws of possession, or confer on strangers the rights of the true possessors. Also, as he had often given his oath to restore the possessions which belonged to him, by reason of the Church, he seemed to act imprudently in asking from us what he could not retain possession of without being guilty of perjury. But it must not be believed in this matter that we despised the counsel of our brethren, as we were prepared to do every kind of justice to him, according to the decision of arbitrators, or in any other way; but as his messengers refused to proceed with the trial, which had been commenced, it was not required of us; but his design rather was to have proceeded with that petition only for the deceitftil purpose of being thus afforded an opportunity of reviling the Church, and of destroying the peace which had been made between it and him. The circumstances which his detestable letter mentions concerning the fate of the empire, among other things, our pen describes in this present letter, in order that the more it is made known to people, the more he may be
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put to confusion in his statement. He complains of us, that when we heard that he was marching into Lombardy with many thousands of soldiers, to recover the rights of the empire, we commanded him, by an apostolical writing, not to enter Italy in arms, and compromise us in the matter of the Lombards, in order that we might perpetually suspend that over him, or without restraint stifle the imperial right, sending against him our venerable brother the bishop of Praeneste, by whose agency we might nullify his intentions, and stirring up against him numberless clandestine impediments by our legates and letters from every part of the world. This man, too, to whom was perhaps denied by divine judgment the power either to confess the truth or to pronounce justice, as he was not ashamed, on false grounds, to disparage our person, so also he did not fear to make his own excuses in similar assertions, and to declare that he, through his messengers, our venerable brother the archbishop of Palermo, and some others, who were sent to the Apostolic See, had offered to show his devotion in all matters connected with re-establishing the liberty of the Church, and restoring her rights and those of the empire; and he also asserts that, when his messengers were returning to him, we, although we promised and endeavoured to desist from impeding him in any way, intrusted the duties of the legateship to our well-beloved son G. de Monte Longo, our notary, to the ruin of his subjects; and he concludes by falsely stating, that although, notwithstanding this, he sent back the aforesaid archbishop and his other messengers to the Apostolic See, and, through them, offered every kind of satisfaction, we, contrary to the injunctions handed down by the holy fathers, and to the special custom of the Church, unjustly excommunicated him, although we were opposed by the wiser portion of our brethren; adding, to his own shame, that we, the vicar of St. Peter, had not the power of binding and loosing, as though he would declare that we were without the power of the keys which was given to the chief of the apostles. Take up, therefore, we beseech you, the scale of reason, and in it weigh the aforesaid Frederick against the Church, balancing his faults with the benefits he has received from her, and you will clearly see that, although this dragon, who was formed to deceive us, and was given as
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food to the Ethiopian people, has emitted the waters of persecution from his mouth, like a river, to the subversion of the Church, yet the Apostolic See has overcome his baseness by the inestimable mercy of its benefits. For, from the time of his tender years, when he was formerly exposed, in the lake of confusion, to the attacks of those who eagerly coveted his land, and sought his life, when he was entirely destitute of the consolation of relatives and friends, and almost naked, the mother Church, seeing his condition, nourished him, and, fulfilling the duties of a nurse, covered him with the cloak of the Apostolic See, snatched him from the toils of the hunters, and, at much labour and expense, exalted him to the throne and crown of the empire. Moreover, considering that in thus acting she had done but little for him, she obtained for him the government of the kingdom of Jerusalem, and exalted him in all parts of the world; and although, to her sorrow, she felt herself injured in manifold ways by him, yet for some short time past she powerfully assisted him against his son Henry, who had seduced a large portion of Germany from its allegiance to him, and, forgetting the wounds inflicted on her by him, raised him, as it were, anew to the imperial dignity, and also, at his request, reformed Germany by the apostolic letters. By these and other benefits, which we cannot recollect, she raised the defences of his honour; but this staff of the impious, this hammer of the earth, desiring to disturb the whole earth, to crush kingdoms, and to make the world a desert, reduced the liberty of the Church in the said kingdom of Sicily to a disgraceful state of the lowest servitude, overwhelming with filth, burdens, and other oppressions, the churches, of which, to fill his own belly out of their tenderness, he had entirely torn the bones out, as it were; he robbed them of their sacred property, that had been assigned to the uses of holy men, consigned ecclesiastics to prison, compelled them to undergo accusation, to pay talliages, and to exhaust the property of the churches, that they might redeem themselves from his oppressions, and finally drove them into exile. The widowed churches, deprived of their pastors, he does not allow to choose a spouse for themselves, and to lay aside the garb of widowhood, until they are consigned by compulsion to the adulterous embraces of any one. Out of the dwellings
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of Christians he builds the walls of Babylon, and transfers the buildings in which the name of God is worshipped, to that place where the lost Mahomet is held in adoration; and has forbidden the faith and name of the Crucified One to be publicly preached in his said kingdom, to the crowds collected from all quarters. He impeded the recovery of the Holy Land and the crusade, by forbidding any of the property of his subjects to be given for the accomplishment of that object. Contrary to his pledged oath and the terms of the peace made between him and the Church, he deprived the nobles of their castles and other property, imprisoned their wives and children, compelled them to abandon their own places, and to transfer their abodes to the dwelling-places of others; those brought up in crimson he obliged to lie in the mire, and reduced them to a state of the lowest destitution. Whilst also he oppressed the poor with similar injuries, we think that he displeased God the more, the more truly we believe that they were innocent. What further shall I say? He, by unheard-of cruelties, reduced barons, knights, and other people of the said kingdom of Sicily, to the condition of slaves; and now the inhabitants of that kingdom, for the most part, have not the means of resting on a bed of their own, however vile, of covering their nakedness with coarse sackcloth, and can scarcely fill their bellies with dry bread. And as the lamentations and complaints of the said churches and of the people had continually worried the ears of the Church, since the time of our predecessor, the said Honorius, and as we could scarcely pass over them in silence without wounding our conscience, we, by messengers and letters, not only once, but several times, warned him to correct his faults; and have waited with great patience for some time past to see if he would perchance raise his eyes towards heaven, shake off the old and put on the new man, and restrain his hands from the perpetration of such great crimes. Still, moreover, being doubtful about the required reformation, we wished to congratulate him on his own progress in the amendment of his condition; and when he entered Lombardy in arms, we sent orders that in the places lying under interdict, for whatever cause it might be, the interdict should not be observed where he was present; and by our letters we warned the said Frederick to give us a strict promise not to
A.D. 1239.] THE POPE'S LETTER. 225
impede the cause of the cross, which had been undertaken for the advantage of the Church, the empire, and the whole Christian community; and not, by proceeding in arms against the Lombards, to set such a pernicious example as would give reason to many people to suppose that the Church would deceive the rest. Again, as it is incumbent on us, in our office of servant to the servants of God, to repair the chasms caused by schism, in order to set at rest the discord existing between the empire and the Lombards, we thought proper to send the bishop of Praeneste, charged with the legatine office, chiefly for this consideration, namely, that for themselves and all others quarrelling, he should with the less reason be held suspected, in proportion as by his actions he should cause less matter for hatred or favour, who being drawn away from the world and the flesh by the enterprise of holy religion, had mounted to the height of the divine love. Let our detracter answer for himself what imputation can be brought on these grounds against us and the same bishop, if at Placentia concord was effected between fathers, sons, connecting relations, and cousins, himself being present and protesting that this was accomplished without prejudice to the honours and rights of the emperor, the empire, and any others whom it might concern. Moreover, let this said blasphemer understand, that it is justly considered a disgrace to him, that although, at his request and that of his messengers, we had sent our venerable brother the bishop of Ostia, and our son T., a cardinal priest of St. Sabina, to those parts, for the purpose of re-establishing peace between the empire and the Lombards, according to the terms given by his said messengers; and although the said legates were prepared to fulfil the terms demanded, and even to grant more, we found ourselves deceived, as he refused to agree to the re-establishment of peace on the terms offered by them. Now understand how we had trampled on the rights of the empire; learn from the foregoing matters how he has been impeded by us; for he determined that his own shoulders, and those of his followers, should be bruised by long and useless labour, rather than allow the rights of the empire to be re-established by us. Moreover, the same man, not content with the injuries he had done to the Church, by means of giving a large sum of money to certain rebels against
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us, several times endeavoured to excite sedition against us in the city, in order that by us and our brethren being expelled from our see, and the head which the Lord has placed over the faith being shaken, the edifice itself might be thrown down by a lighter effort on his part. He also, in violation of his oath, came into Lombardy and took possession of Ferrara, with others of the Church's lands; concerning which proceeding, as well as others, he sent to us the aforesaid archbishop of Palermo, and other messengers of his, with letters of credence, thinking to entertain us by empty speeches; and whilst they were offering to give us respectful satisfaction, and to make amends for the above-mentioned offences, he, both before and after their departure from our court, employed himself in taking possession of the land of Sardinia and the diocese of Messana Lunensis, both belonging to the Roman church; by which proceeding he taught us not any longer to expect his amendment; and the evidence of his actions proved that no confidence ought to be placed in him or his messengers. Wherefore, with this only reflection in his mind, that his heart was directed to the ruin of the churches and the Catholic faith, he was, with good reason, suspected by us, from whom he could now no longer conceal himself under the garb of deceit, because we, becoming suspicious of his power, out of regard to justice, and as it is better to prevent wounds than to find a remedy after their infliction, intrusted the legatine office to the said notary, for the purpose of stopping his progress; which we did not do by any means out of suspicion of him, but that, by means of the said legate, we might be able to prevent the slaughter of war, and obviate the perils impending over souls and bodies. Being unable, therefore, from the foregoing circumstances, and others besides, to entertain hopes of his amendment, and grieving that we have been so often deluded by his promises so often made, we, by the advice of our brethren, pronounced sentence of excommunication on the aforesaid Frederick. Although, owing to this, he ought to have resumed his lost senses, and to have humbled himself more before God, yet he only raved the more furiously thereupon, as he now found out his own confusion, and strongly feared that the coils of the serpent would be unfolded by the mediating hand of the Church; declaring that we were unworthy by
A.D. 1239.] THE POPE'S LETTER. 227
our personal merits of the authority of the papal office, and in his letters presumptuously declared that he could not be bound by the aforesaid sentence by us; and also that we, who in our time have, by God's grace, increased the patrimony of the Church in no slight degree, are by him accused of wasting the property of the Church, of making dispensations, and of receiving presents, and brands us with the vile crime of avarice. He also falsely asserts, that we are provoked against him, because he refused his consent to the contracting of a marriage between a niece of ours and his natural son; he openly declares that we gave our personal oath to the Lombards to act against him and the empire, and that we promised to convert to his use the tithes of the whole world, which were reserved for the benefit of the Holy Land, if he would submit the Lombard affair to our decision. We confess that we are wanting in merit to be the vicar of Christ; we confess that we are inadequate to such a heavy burden, which no mortal of any condition can support without God's assistance; nevertheless, we perform the duties of the office intrusted to us as well as our frailty allows us, and endeavour to dispose matters as the quality and nature of places, times, persons, and circumstances require, and, when necessity demands it, grant dispensations to the full extent of our power, freely, and in accordance with our duty to God, to those deserving it. Nevertheless, it is not a cause of sorrow that he wounds the Church so deeply, as also that, whilst he passes the limits of the kingly office, he is unable to assail the duties of the priests. Owing to which circumstance, this man, who out of thirst for gold has reduced the said kingdom of Sicily to ashes, who has all his life afforded pure justice to but few, whilst he has corruptly sold it to many, that, reviving the great Simon in his own person, he may be able to pollute the Church with the filth of temporal gain, that he may thus be allowed to assail spiritual matters and to remain in his own filth, has attempted, in many ways, to break through the wall of the Church's purity, and especially by the offer of castles, and the entertainment of kindred feelings between his people and ours, which he has often requested of us through certain great prelates, and his messengers as well. But as he could not obtain this from us by any entreaties, by any device (as
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is now well known at our court), and finds himself and his adherents now left to the deceits of their own devices, and still becoming worse off, as he knows not what to do further, he disgraces himself by disparaging others by his falsehoods, like the Egyptian harlot, who invited Joseph to lie with her, and, on being refused by him, accused him to her husband. There is one thing at which, although we ought to mourn for a lost man, you ought to rejoice greatly, and for which you ought to return thanks to God, namely, that this man, who delights in being called a forerunner of Antichrist, by God's will, no longer endures to be veiled in darkness; not expecting that his trial and disgrace are near, he with his own hands undermines the wall of his abominations, and, by the said letters of his, brings his works of darkness to the light, boldly setting forth in them, that he could not be excommunicated by us, although the vicar of Christ; thus affirming that the Church had not the power of binding and loosing, which was given by our Lord to St. Peter and his successors; and thus asserting heresy, he concludes by an argument suited to him, proving by this that he thinks badly of the other articles of the orthodox faith, inasmuch as he endeavours to deprive the Church, on which that faith is founded and supported, of the privilege of power granted to it by the word of God. But as it may not be easily believed by some people that he has ensnared himself by the words of his own mouth, proofs are ready, to the triumph of the faith; for this king of pestilence openly asserts, that the whole world was deceived by three, namely, Christ Jesus, Moses, and Mahomet; that, two of them having died in glory, the said Jesus was suspended on the cross; and he, moreover, presumes plainly to affirm (or rather to lie), that all are foolish who believe that God, who created nature, and could do all things, was born of the virgin. This heresy he confirms by the false doctrine that no one can be born whose conception has not been preceded by connection between man and woman, and no man ought to believe anything beyond what can be proved by the force and reason of nature. These and many other words, as well as deeds, by which he has attacked, and still attacks, the Catholic faith, can be plainly proved in their proper time and place, as is proper and expedient. Wherefore we ask.
A.D. 1239.] AVARICE OF THE ROMANS. 229
warn, and urgently exhort your community, and by these apostolic letters strictly order you, by virtue of your obedience, not to allow the aforesaid Frederick any means of undermining the hearts of faithful Christians by his deceitful speeches, or in any way to pollute the Lord's flock by his contagion; and also fully and faithfully to publish the above-mentioned matters to the clergy and people subject to you. Given at the Lateran, the 21st of May, in the thirteenth year of our pontificate".
The last clause above-written was sent to the lord of the kingdom, with the preceding letters, in this form:- "Wherefore we have thought fit to advise and to exhort your royal highness that you cause the aforesaid to be diligently explained, so that the purity of the royal innocence may not be contaminated by deceitful words. Given at the Lateran, etc., as above".
The avarice of the Romans raises their confidence.
This letter, having been published and sent to a great many kings, princes, and nobles throughout the world, with only the titles changed, struck fear and dread as well as astonishment to the hearts of those of the true faith, and rendered the emperor's letter suspected, although it contained probable facts, and also re-established the minds of many which had formerly been in a wavering state. And, had it not been that the Roman avarice alienated the devotion of people from the pope more than was expedient and proper, the whole world would have been exasperated by this letter, and would have risen unanimously against the emperor as an open enemy of Christ and the Church. But, alas! many sons had become estranged from their father, and, adhering to the cause of the emperor, they asserted that inextinguishable hatred, now become hardened between them, excited the aforesaid strife and invectives. The pope unjustly stated that he loved the said Frederick, and advanced his interests at the beginning of his promotion; for all this was done out of hatred to Otho, whom the Church, with Frederick's assistance, persecuted to death, because, according to his oath, he endeavoured by force to assemble together the scattered portions of the empire, as the present emperor Frederick also is endeavouring to do; wherefore, by doing
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this, Frederick fought for the Church, and the church of Rome was more bound by obligations to him than the emperor was to the Roman church. The church in the West, especially the orders of religious men, and the church of England which was of all others most devoted to God, felt the daily oppressions of the Romans, but it had never as yet felt any from the emperor. The people, too, added, "What is the meaning of this? In times past, the pope accused the emperor of believing in Mahomet and the Saracenic law, more than in Christ and the Christian faith; but now, in his abusive letter, he accuses him of (what is horrible to mention) calling Mahomet, as well as Jesus or Moses, Baratazem [an impostor?]. In his letters, the emperor writes humbly and in a Catholic manner of God, except that in this last one he derogates from the person of the pope, not from the office; nor does he utter or support anything heretical or profane, as we know of as yet, and he has not sent usurers or plunderers of our revenues amongst us". And in this way a schism much to be dreaded arose amongst the people.
Robert de Twenge, a knight, goes to Rome.
About this same time, a knight, a native of the northern provinces of England, refusing with all his efforts to bend his neck to the yoke of these Romans, went to Rome concerning the patronage of a certain church which belonged to him, on which the Romans had, through the archbishop of York, laid the hands of cupidity; and having laid a heavy complaint in this matter before the pope, he obtained letters. By this it can be conjectured with what devotedness the Roman church, always grasping, always importunate, loved ecclesiastics, from whom it was lawful to take their church property, which had been bestowed on them by the fathers with a pious intention and for the support of the poor.
The indignation of the nobles of England at their being deprived of the right of the patronship of churches.
At this time, the earls, barons, and other nobles of England, to whom the right of the patronage of churches was known to belong from times of old, becoming vexed at being deprived of their liberty, and of the right of collating churches, by the avarice of the Roman church, whilst by the command of the pope, foreigners were enriched with them, of
A.D. 1239.] LETTER OF THE NOBLES TO THE POPE. 231
whose persons and condition they were entirely ignorant, wrote, late as it was, to the pope, and sent their letter by the said Robert de Twenge, who, having by the same violent means been deprived of his right of patronage of the church of Lutton, in the diocese of York, had made a heavy complaint to the nobles of the kingdom, that the archbishop asserted that he had no power, or that he wished to kick against the Roman church. The said Robert, therefore, went in all haste to the Roman court, and presented the following letter on behalf of the nobles of England.
The letter of the English nobles to the pope,
"To the most high father and lord G., by the grace of God, supreme pontiff, his devoted servants of Chester and Winchester, Health, respect, and, if he pleases, ready devotion.- As the ship of our liberty is sinking, which has been gained by the blood of our ancestors, owing to the storms of our enemies breaking over us more than usual, we are compelled to awake our lord, who is sleeping in the ship of Peter, crying unceasingly, and with one voice, 'Lord, save us, or we perish'; that, whereas judgment and justice are the corrective of that see, it may allow to each of us his right, and preserve it unimpaired; lest, if it should happen otherwise, charity may fall to pieces, devotion be destroyed, the sons may be provoked against the bowels of the father, and the feeling of mutual affection entirely vanish. Whereas, then, most holy father, our ancestors have, from the first foundation of Christianity in England till now, enjoyed the liberty, as patrons of the churches, of appointing fitting persons to them, on the decease of their former rectors, and of presenting them to the diocesans, to be by them established in the government of those churches; but in your time, whether with your connivance and at your wish, we know not, such opposition has gained ground against us, that when the rectors of churches die, some of your agents appointed for the purpose, everywhere bestow the churches under our patronage, to the prejudice of our liberty, and to the imminent peril of the right of patronage; although you long ago gave us a promise in this matter on the security of apostolic letters, containing, that on the decease of ecclesiastics, whether Roman or Italian, who had been promoted to the
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churches by the aathority of your wisdom, we might have a legal right to present fit persons to succeed them; but the contrary to this we see daily insisted upon, at which we are much astonished, as sweet and bitter water cannot flow from one and the same spring. Although this annoyance has been introduced against us all in general, and from which contention, rivalry, anger, and strife, as well as human slaughter may perhaps arise, we have determined to bring before you, for the sake of example, the injury inflicted on one of our compeers; that what has been unwisely done against him and the danger of his right of patronage, may, by your authority, if it please you, be annulled. Robert de Twenge, patron of the church of Lutton, having, on the decease of N., an Italian, rector of that church, presented a proper person to it, owing to a contrary command from you, the archbishop of York refused to accept of him, although he discovered nothing against the person presented, but only set forth your prohibition. And as when 'the neighbouring house is on fire, our own is in imminent danger', we beg of you as our father to allow the said Robert, as well as each and all of us, to enjoy the aforesaid liberty of presenting our clerks to our vacant churches, and, notwithstanding your former order, to enjoin on the aforesaid archbishop to admit J., clerk, for whom we pour forth devout prayers, and who has been presented to the aforesaid church by the said Robert, especially as he is necessary to the management of the king's business, and to our kingdom, unless there be any canonical objection to him; that by so doing, you may arouse us to a more ready devotion, and to the service of the Church; lest, as the right of advowson of the aforesaid is one of the fees, for which we serve our lord, we should be obliged to invoke the assistance of him who is bound to protect and cherish the rights and liberties of laymen. Farewell".
The pope's letter [in reply] to the nobles of England.
"Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved sons, the nobles, Richard, earl of Cornwall, and the barons of England, to whom these presents shall come. Health and the apostolic benediction.- As from our actions, which afford full evidence to the truth, it is clear that amongst all the other orthodox kings and princes, and kingdoms in
A.D, 1239.] LETTER FROM THE POPE TO THE LEGATE. 23$
which the Christian name is held in respect, we especially regard, in the bowels of compassion, the person of our most beloved son in Christ the illustrious king of England, and his queen, and most sincerely desire their peace and tranquillity, it cannot be presumed, nor ought it to be believed, that we, as far as we can with God's assistance prevent it, wish to do or permit anything which can with justice offend the dignity of his serene majesty, or originate scandal in the kingdom; and as it has not been, nor is it our intention, that the constituted benefices in England, which pertain to the presentation of secular patrons, should be conferred on any one by our authority, as is plainly understood by certain letters formerly sent into England, the purport of which we thought proper to send to his majesty under our bull; we, having discovered from letters of the said king, and and from your own, that a certain knight of the aforesaid kingdom holds the patronage of the church of Lutton, in the diocese of York, which we are said formerly to have conferred on some one from our own country, being ignorant at the time that the presentation belonged to a layman, and yielding to the entreaties of the aforesaid king, and of yourselves, by the apostolic authority, revoke the same grant, and by our letters have commanded our venerable brother the archbishop of York to admit to the before-mentioned church, and to establish in it, the person whom the said knight has thought proper to present to it, as it pertains to the said knight, the lapse of time, as it does not arise from any fault of him, notwithstanding, only on condition that there is no other reasonable ground of opposition to him. And by these presents we strictly pronounce it to be unlawful for any one, henceforth, by authority of the Apostolic See, to bestow churches in the aforesaid kingdom, in which laymen are patrons, without the consent of the said patrons. Given, etc., etc".
Another from the same to the legate.
"Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the legate: Greeting.- We wish to bring it to your notice, that as it has not been, nor is it our intention, that the benefices in the kingdom of England which belong to the presentation of secular patrons, should be conferred on any one by our
234 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1239.
aathority; as we have recently discovered, from information of our well-beloved son in Christ the illustrious king of England, and of the earls and barons of that kingdom, that a certain English knight holds the right of patronage in the church of Lutton, in the diocese of York, which it is said that we formerly conferred on some clerk from our country, being ignorant that the presentation pertained to a layman; we, giving heed to the entreaties of the king and the said nobles, by the apostolic authority, revoke the said grant, and have, by our letters, ordered our venerable brother the archbishop of York to admit and establish in the said church, the person whom the said knight has thought proper to present to it, as it pertains to him, the lapse of time, as it does not arise from his fault, notwithstanding; provided that there be no other reasonable objection to the presented person. And we strictly declare it to be unlawful for any one henceforth, by authority of the Apostolic See, to bestow churches in the said kingdom, in which laymen are patrons, without the consent of those said patrons. Given, etc., etc".
By these, and such like examples, it can be clearly weighed in the balance of reason, how disrespected was the severity of law at that time slumbering, and the reverence of the Church and the piety of religion: for the possessions of ecclesiastics and peaceful, religious men, were given only as plunder and booty; and the world threatened now to fall into its old state of chaos.
The assembling of the crusaders at Lyons.
About this time, the nobles who had assumed the cross in France and the adjacent provinces, assembled at a famous city lying on the Rhone, called Agauno or Lugdunum, or commonly, Lyons, there to make arrangements for starting on their journey. But whilst they were holding council, a messenger arrived in all haste from the pope, who, as strenuously as he had formerly urged and persuaded them to set out on the expedition, now as eagerly dissuaded them from setting out on their journey; and the messenger, in the name of his lord the pope, ordered each to return to his home at once, and showed them all the papal warrant for so doing. To this they all unanimous ly replied, "Whence arises this fickleness in the Roman court and the pope?
A.D. 1239.] CONVOCATION OF BISHOPS AT LONDON. 235
Was not this period and this place pre-arranged a long time ago by the legates and preachers of the pope, for our passage across the sea? According to the words and promises of the preachers, we have prepared ourselves for the journey in God's behalf; we had procured provisions, arms, and all things necessary for starting; we have pledged or sold our lands, with our houses and all our furniture; we have taken leave of our friends; we have sent all our money to the Holy Land in advance of us; we have sent word of our approach beforehand; we have come to the port, and now, to obstruct the crusade from proceeding, our pastors alter their tone, and rise against us"; and being enraged in no slight degree, they almost attacked the pope's messenger, and would have done so, if the prudence of the prelates had not restrained the fury of the people.
Immediately afterwards, messengers arrived from the emperor, and advised them not to set sail imprudently and hastily, without the guidance and presence of the emperor himself; bringing letters also from him to that effect, in which he skilfully made sufficient excuses for failing to make the passage. On this, the condition of the crusaders became indeed pitiable, for their council was dissolved, and they became like sand without flint, or as a wall without cement. Many returned to their homes murmuring, and giving vent to reproaches, and detesting the false assertions of some of the prelates; some went to the port of Marseilles, and trusting to the chances of the sea, set sail in great desperation towards the Holy Land: great numbers of them waited in Sicily till spring, expecting the arrival of their chiefs, whilst others, through the kind permission of the emperor, proceeded by the seacoast, and, leaving the Italian gulf on the left, went into the neighbourhood of Brindisi.
The convocation of the bishops at London.
In the same year, on the 31st of July, all the bishops assembled at London, thinking to make some arrangements with the legate concerning the oppressions of the English church; but he, not being at all anxious about this matter, only exacted new procurations from them. The bishops, after holding council, told him in reply, that the ever grasping importunity of the Romans had, by various arguments,
236 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1239.
so often exhausted the property of the Church, that, almost all their wealth being swallowed up, they could with difficulty breathe for a little time even, nor could they by any means any longer endure such extortions, and they added: "What advantage has as yet been conferred on the kingdom or the Church by the superstitious domination of him who is only a partisan of the king, and who oppresses the churches by various exactions, from which we now at least were hoping for some comfort and consolation? Let the king, who has called him into the kingdom without the advice of his natural subjects, supply him". The legate then, seeing such firmness amongst the chief portion of them, addressed himself to the humility of the religious classes, and extorted no small sum of money from them under the name of procurations, and the council was broken up amidst the complaints and murmurs of the prelates.
The arrival of the count of Flanders in England.
About the feast of the Assumption of the blessed Mary, Thomas, count of Flanders, the queen's uncle, came to England, landing at Dover. When the king was informed of his arrival, he, in a way not becoming him, went in his joy to meet him; and ordered the citizens of London, on his approach, to remove all stems and dung, mud, and everything offensive from the streets, and the citizens themselves to come to meet him in holiday clothes, and with their horses handsomely accoutred; by doing which, the king excited the laughter and derision of many people. A few days afterwards the count departed from England, because his leave of absence from the king of France did not extend for a long time; he, however, carried away with him five hundred marks, which he had received from the king: and this same income, which he said belonged to him by ancient right, he obtained yearly from the royal treasury, in return for his homage, without any difficulty or delay.
The pope forbids the crusaders to set sail.
About this time the pope, notwithstanding the time had arrived which had been predetermined on by the preachers, and contrary to their own intention, and the hopes which they had conceived from the promises of the said preachers, gave orders to the legate to forbid the crusaders to set out on their
A.D. 1239.] CLAIMS OF THE KING AGAINST THE EARL OF KENT. 237
expedition to the Holy Land until spring, and the passage in March; if they did otherwise, they should not enjoy the indulgence for their sins which had been granted to them.
The consecration of William de Raele as bishop of Norwich.
In this year William de Raele, bishop elect of Norwich, duly received the honour of consecration, as bishop of that see, from Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, in St. Paul's Church at London, in the presence of an immense number of prelates and nobles. As the prognostic of this man was - "There is joy amongst the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth", etc., all conceived good hopes of him, that, like another Matthew, who had risen from being a receiver of customs to the apostleship and to the authority of the Gospel, he would rise from courtly employment to the very height of holiness.
Claims of the king against H,, earl of Kent.
The king, about this time, seeing that the venerable earl of Kent had now grown old and infirm, assailed him with serious complaints, exacted a large sum of money from him, and laid several enormous ofiences to his charge, with the cunning idea, that if the earl should die while such charges were hanging over him, he, the king, could confiscate all his property and possessions. He accused him of having, during the time of the king, his father, treacherously seduced a noble maid, the daughter of the king of Scotland, who had been intrusted to his care; he also asserted that he had lost Rochelle and the whole of Poictou, inasmuch as he had basely and clandestinely abstracted the money sent for the assistance of the city and the country, and had sent casks full of sand to the besieged and blockaded soldiers of the king, who were only awaiting assistance from England; also that through his treachery the castle of Bedford had been destroyed and lost to him, the king; also that, whilst he, the king, had been in his guardianship, he had faithlessly managed and wasted his money, and, converting it to his own uses, had procured for himself revenues and extensive and rich lands; and of this money he, the king, now demanded an account to be rendered to him; also that, during the war in Brittany against the king of France, he had by his treachery irreparably lost great honour and a large portion of the army, as witness the
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count of Brittany; also that he had devised great treachery against the king his lord, respecting the clandestine marriage contracted, or to be contracted, between Richard Clare and M., his daughter. Again, that he had basely obstructed the marriage of the king with a noble lady, by secretly informing the said lady and her family that he, the king, was squinteyed, silly, and impotent; that he had a sort of leprosy; that he was deceitful, perjured, weak, and more a woman than a man; that he only vented his rage on his own followers, and was entirely incapable of enjoying the embraces of any noble lady. Again, he accused him of having cut down the royal woods and forests intrusted to his care, wherefore he now demanded a fresh account of the money received for them. Also that, when they were staying at Woodstock some time since, he, the king, happening to be alone in a room, he, the said earl, rushed violently and furiously on him, and endeavoured basely and treacherously to cut the throat of him, his liege lord, with a drawn knife, and that it was with difficulty after raising a cry for assistance, that he was released from his hands; for which crime he declared that he deserved not only to be hung with a halter, but also to be torn to pieces. At this last speech, which grieved him sorely, Earl Hubert replied with moderation, and humbling himself to the king, said, "I never was a traitor to you or to your father, and by God's favour, this is now evident in you": as though he would say, "If I had wished to have acted as a traitor to you, you would not have obtained the kingdom". To all the above accusations, however, he replied by means of a faithful and proper representative, one Laurence, a clerk of St. Alban's, who had inseparably adhered to the earl in all his troubles, skilfully refuting each accusation; and set forth and sufficiently proved his innocence to the satisfaction of all who were assembled there, although the king, with the pleaders of the Bench, endeavoured to prove the contrary. However, in order that the rancour and anger of the king might be appeased, it was adjudged that the earl should, for the sake of restoring the former good feeling and peace, resign to the king four of the castles which were most precious to him; namely, those of Blanch, Grosmond in Wales, Skenefrith, and Hatfield. The earl, however, by whose old and well-tried fidelity England had been often preserved to the
A.D. 1239.] THE POPE HARASSES THE EMPEROR. 239
English, bore all the king's ingratitude, reproaches, and insults, and all the attacks of ill fortune, with equanimity, and patience. If any one desires fully to know the dispute between those who accused the said Hubert, earl of Kent, and the said Master Laurence, of St. Alban's, they will find it in the book of ADDITAMENTA.
Earl R. and several of the nobles of England swear to start together on their proposed expedition.
About the same time, namely on the morrow of Martinmas-day, the crusading nobles of England met at Northampton, to arrange plans for starting on their expedition to the Holy Land; and in order that their honourable vow might not be impeded by the cavellings of the Roman church, nor be turned aside, for the shedding of Christian blood, to Greece or to Italy, as had been hinted to them was intended, all swore to set out in that year to the Holy Land, to liberate the holy church of God. The first amongst, them all to swear was Earl Richard, who took the oath on the great altars in All Saints' church, in the middle of the city; after him Earl G., marshal, repeated the same oath, on condition that he should previously become reconciled to the king; but Earl Richard said to him, "Do not on that account fail, my dear brother-in-law; for the weight of that business I take on myself". Next came Richard Seward, and after him Henry de Trubleville, and a great many nobles too numerous to mention, who all, with one impulse and one mind, prepared themselves for the service of the cross.
The emperor and the pope mutually harass one another.
The pope at this time, seeing that the strength and boldness of the emperor was not yet weakened nor yet bowed down to the will of himself and the Roman church, sent long admonitory letters to all the prelates and nobles dwelling in Germany and other parts of the empire, and peremptorily ordered them all to rise against their emperor, who was a rebel against God and the Roman church, and defaming him by many other serious charges. He also absolved all who were bound by oath of allegiance to him, persuading them that they were faithful in infidelity, obedient in disobedience; but the knavery of the Roman
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church was so deservedly execrated by all, that the pope's authority was respected by few, if any.
The desolation of the Bolognese and other partisans of the pope.
In the summer of this year, a little before the commencement of autumn, the emperor, wishing to prevent the Bolognese from rendering assistance to his traitorous subjects the Milanese, made a formidable attack on them; for they were endeavouring, in favour of the pope and their neighbours the Milanese, to sally forth and make an attack on the emperor's army; but as they were sallying forth, the emperor suddenly came upon them, and placing his troops between the citizens and the city, he scattered their battalions in dreadful disorder; and the fugitives endeavouring to retreat to the city by by-ways, precipitated themselves into the river, which it was necessary for them to cross to reach it; so that more perished by the miserable death of drowning than by the sword. The emperor next, after the Bolognese who remained in the city had given him their right hands in token of friendship, led his army against Milan, and having erected his engines, and constructed bridges, he, in a short space of time, with his numerous army, crossed the trenches, with which the Milanese had surrounded themselves on all sides. Fear and trembling then took possession of the citizens, and by the news of the misfortune of the Bolognese woe was heaped on woe; and this business would soon have been brought to a conclusion, had not a dangerous disturbance, excited by the pope, summoned the emperor to distant parts; on learning which circumstance, the citizens becoming more bold, again raised their head, and traversing the neighbouring provinces, laid siege to the emperor's castles. Being also strengthened and encouraged by a legate, whom the pope had sent thither for their comfort and consolation, they surrounded and laid siege to Ferrara; and by advice of the legate, who, without pity, forced them to do so, they refused all terms of reparation from the besieged, unless they surrendered unconditionally. At this time, too, one of the companions of St. Oswin was found.
The king forces a Briton as prior upon the convent of Winchester.
At this time the king practised great oppression on the church of Winchester, and, against the wish of the whole
A.D. 1239.] DEATH OF THE BISHOP OF LIEGE. 241
conventual assembly, forcibly intruded a foreigner into it, to take the government of the convent, who conducted himself in an irregular manner, and laying aside the fear of God, subverted all things, perverted the minds of all the monks, and wasted the money of the Church, his only endeavour being to please the King. The same spurious prior, in spite of the free right of election vested in the monks, drew almost half the stars in his train, and corrupting the hearts of many, inclined them to the election of William, uncle of the queen. For the king was fully bent upon bringing this to pass.
The death of William, bishop elect of Liege.
As the feast of All Saints drew near, William, bishop elect of Valentia, of whom we have made mention above as having obtained permission from the pope to be elected bishop of Liege, and to hold the bishopric of Winchester, closed his life at Viterbo, having, as was said, been poisoned at the instigation of Master Lawrence, an Englishman, but who afterwards entirely cleared himself of the charge. When the pope heard of this event, he was much grieved, for he had purposed to make him the commander of his army in his war against the emperor, and had thus made him a spiritual monster and a beast with many heads; for he knew that he was strenuous in slaughter, prone to bloodshed, and wanton in incendiarism; that he was master of the English king, a friend of the French monarch, a brother-in-law of both of them, an uncle of their queens, a brother of the count of Savoy, and allied to many others by kindred or blood; his unexpected death, however, disconcerted his whole scheme.
The king's grief for the death of the aforesaid William.
The king, when he heard this mournful news, could not restrain himself for grief, but tore his clothes, and threw them into the fire, and, giving vent to loud lamentations, refused to accept consolation from any one; the queen, too, who was excited by a more familiar cause of sorrow, mourned his death for a long time.
About this time, too, died Evelyn, countess of Albemarle, a woman of remarkable beauty. Also, on the 21st of December, died Henry de Trubleville, a most brave knight, and one of great experience in warlike expeditions.
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The pope and the court of Rome elect Robert, the French king's brother, as their emperor, but he at once refuses to accept the dignity.
About this time, the pope wrote to the French king, and sent special messengers to him, with a message to order this letter to be solemnly and thoughtfully read in the presence of him and the whole of the barons of France; the main purport of which letter was said to have been as follows:- "Be it known to the beloved son of the spiritual Church - the illustrious king of France, as well as to the whole community of barons of that kingdom, that we, after a careful discussion and deliberation with our brethren, have condemned and cut off the so-called emperor Frederick from the imperial dignity, and have elected Count Robert, brother of the French king, in his stead, whom not only the Church of Rome, but the Church universal, has thought fit with its utmost endeavours to assist and promote to that dignity. Be not, therefore, on any account slow to receive with open arms such a great dignity, which is voluntarily offered, and to obtain which we will freely afford assistance, both in labour and money. For the manifold crimes of the aforesaid Frederick, of which the world is well aware, have irrevocably condemned him". To this offer the great caution of the French king suggested the following reply:- "In what spirit, or by what rash presumption has the pope disinherited and hurled from the imperial dignity such a great prince, than whom there is none greater; yea, whose equal is not to be found amongst Christians, when he has not been convicted of, nor confessed, the charges brought against him? who, even if he merited to be deposed, owing to his urgent sins, could not be deprived of his crown, unless by a decision of a general council. With regard to his transgressions, we ought not to put faith in his enemies, of whom the pope is well known to be the chief; to us he is, as yet, innocent, yea, and a good neighbour; nor have we seen anything sinister in his secular fealty or his Catholic faith; but we know that he has faithfully fought for our Lord Jesus, and exposed himself to the dangers of the sea and of war on his behalf: such religion we have not discovered in the pope. Yea, the very person who ought to have promoted his welfare, and protected him when fighting for God, endeavoured to destroy and sapplant
A.D. 1239.] THE EMPEROR'S REPLY TO THE FRENCH. 243
him. We do not wish to throw ourselves into such great dangers as to attack such a powerful prince as this said Frederick, whom so many kingdoms would assist against us, and who would give their support in a just cause. What would the lavish effusion of our blood matter to the Romans, so long as we satisfied their anger? If the pope should conquer him by our means, or the help of others, he would trample on all the princes of the world, assuming the horns of boasting and pride, since he had conquered the great emperor Frederick. But in order that we may not appear to have received the pope's mandate as an empty message, although this appears to have emanated from the church of Rome more out of hatred to the emperor than from love for us, we will send prudent messengers from us to the emperor, to make a careful inquiry as to his opinions of the Catholic faith, and to inform us of them: and if they discover nothing but what is right, why is he to be molested? But, if otherwise, we will persecute him, even to the death, aye, or even the pope himself, or any mortal who thinks evilly of God". On hearing which reply, the pope's messengers went away in confusion. Special French messengers were then sent to the emperor to tell him the particulars of the message they had received from the pope. The emperor, when he heard them, was perfectly astonished at the enormity of the pope's hatred, and replied that he was a Catholic and a Christian, and entertained right opinions on all the articles of the orthodox faith, and, added he: "May it please God that I shall never abandon the steps of my noble forefathers and predecessors, and follow the footsteps of those doomed to perdition. Let God judge between me and him, who has so basely slandered me throughout the world". Then raising his hands to heaven, and with sighs and gushing tears, he exclaimed: "May the Lord God of vengeance award him just retribution". Then turning to the messengers he said: "My friends, and well-beloved neighbours, whatever this enemy of mine - this thirster after my blood, and subverter of my honour - may say, I believe the same as any other Christian; and if you determine to make war on me, do not be astonished if I defend myself against those who attack me; for I trust that God, the protector of the innocent, will, in his might, free me from my enemies; for he knows that the pope, in
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favour of my rebellious subjects - especially the heretic Milanese - has, in his anger, raised his heel against me, and attacked me. But to you I owe a debt of gratitude, because you determined, before acceding to his request, to assure yourselves of the facts of the present case by my answer". To this the messengers replied, "God grant that it may never enter our hearts to attack any Christian without manifest cause: and ambition does not excite us, for we believe that our lord the king of France, whom a line of royal blood has advanced to sway the sceptre of the French, is higher than any emperor whom only voluntary election advances to that dignity; and it is sufficient for Count Robert to be the brother of such a great king". And with these words the messengers went away, with the good-will and thanks of the emperor: and thus the pope's endeavours to effect his purpose entirely failed.
The pope uses all his endeavours to collect money for his defence.
The pope, in the mean time, by persuasions and exciting the people by manifold arguments, by the agency of the Preachers and Minorites, endeavoured to acquire money for himself; wherever it could be scraped together, to the injury of the emperor. The Preachers and Minorites had at this time become the special counsellors and messengers of kings; so that, as those who were clothed in soft garments were formerly in the houses of kings, so those, who were then clad in vile clothing, were in the houses, rooms, and palaces of princes. The king, at this time, summoned his brother, John de St. Giles, to his council; and many were astonished that the pope did not attend to the prayers of the Christians, as we read of St. Peter when kept in prison.
The emperor dissuades the Crusaders from setting sail.
The emperor now, by letter, advised the whole body of crusaders - although they were prepared, and it appeared a severe annoyance to them - to wait with patience, and not take their departure for Jerusalem, until the blast of the pope's wrath was lulled, when he would joyfully accompany them; because a countless host of eastern nations were prepared in arms to engage them. The rest, however, refused to listen to his advice; on which, the emperor, in anger, forbade any vendible articles of food from being supplied or
A.D. 1239.] SIMON DISMISSED FROM THE KING's COUNCIL. 245
conveyed, on any terms, to the French army, from his adjacent fruitful territories, namely, Apulia and Cyprus. The Saracens, when they heard of this, raised their heads; and becoming bold, caused much damage to the Christians, both in their persons and possessions, audaciously spreading fire and slaughter amongst them; and, to add to the mass of their sorrows, Greece had set up her anti-pope against the Roman church: the emperor, too, had placed in opposition to the pope, Brother Elias, who had been for some time chief minister, and a most famous preacher of the Minorite order; and thus evils began to multiply on the face of the earth, for he absolved all whom the pope anathematized, and great scandal was excited in the Church; for by the machinations of this agent, the church of Rome was made notorious by charges of usury, simony, and robbery, and the sons were turned against the stepsons. The aforesaid Brother Elias asserted that the pope was venting his fury against the rights of the empire; that he only thirsted for money, and extorted it by divers arguments; and that he did not attend to prayers, masses, processions, and fastings, by which the oppressed are usually freed from their persecutions, as it is written, "Peter, therefore, was kept in prison; but prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him"; that he also practised fraud with the money collected for the assistance of the Holy Land; that he privately sealed writings in his chamber, at his own pleasure, without obtaining the consent of the brethren; and even gave his messengers a great many empty schedules, but sealed with his bull, for them to write in them whatever suited their pleasure, which was dreadful; and many other charges he made against the pope, uplifting his voice to heaven: wherefore, the pope exccommunicated the said Elias.
Simon the Norman, and brother Geoffrey are dismissed from the king's council.
In the same year, while the Easter festivities were being kept up amidst much rejoicing, the harp of Master Simon the Norman was turned to grief, and his festivity into lamentation; for this man, who had been for a long time before the master, not only of the kingdom and the royal seal, but also the ruler of the king himself, and the disposer of the affairs of his court, at whose will all matters were
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arranged,- an austere man, reaping where he had not sown, and gaining no favour by his merits, but carrying himself above himself,- had day by day provoked the indignation and hatred of the nobles against him; and, at length, the king, not being able any longer to endure his insolent pride, ordered him to be expelled from his court, and his baggage, table-cloths, books, and rich garments to be thrown out of the king's house; besides this, the king's seal was taken away from him and was committed to the charge of Richard, abbat of Evesham, a faithful and skilful man, and circumspect in the management of business. Incited by a like spirit, the king ordered brother Geoffrey, the Templar, to be dismissed from his court - an event which many longed for. The origin and chief cause of this anger of the king's was, that the said Simon refused to countersign an abominable warrant, contrary to the dignity of the king's crown; the purport of which warrant was, that Count Thomas of Flanders should receive custom duty of fourpence for each sack of wool carried from England through his provinces; neither would Geoffrey the Templar agree to it, although the king eagerly desired it.
The monks of Winchester obtain a free election from the pope.
About this same time, the monks of Winchester, on returning from the Roman court, obtained from the pope an order not to elect as the guardian of their souls any foreigner, or any one who was odious to the community of the kingdom, at the bitter instance or imperious entreaties of the king, but regularly, according to what was just and canonical, to make a free election, without exaction, of whomsoever they thought fit to be their bishop and pastor. At this, the king's anger was again kindled in a great degree, as if he could not find any born Englishman fit for that bishopric; and from that time the prior also, whom the king had forced on them, applied himself with all diligence to weaken the firmness of the monks, and to dissolve the peaceful union of those who had heretofore manfully stood up on behalf of the Church.
The emperor directs his march towards the city.
About this time, the emperor, finding that the pope not only most eagerly thirsted after his blood, but, in favouring the rebellious heretical Milanese, longed to effect his own
A.D. 1239.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER TO THE king. 247
disgraceful downfall, suspended for a time his purposed plan of war, and boldly approached the city, that he might appear more terrible to his subjects. At his approach, the inhabitants of Viterbo, with the nobles and citizens of other distinguished cities, and a large number of Romans, came to meet him, with all respect and honour, as their lord; and this fact can plainly be proved by a letter which the emperor sent to the king of England.
The emperor's letter to the king of England.
"Frederick, by the grace of God, ever Augustus, emperor of the Romans, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, to the illustrious king of England, his beloved brother-in-law, Health and sincere affection,- The threefold sting of grief which daily pierces and excites our hearts, does not now permit us to weep any longer without our inward grief breaking forth into groans, and our groans bursting into cries, inasmuch as, by a material for new dissensions, to which the ruler and pontiff of the universal Church has, by some violent means of compulsion, driven us, we discover the injury which will accrue to the Catholic faith; we plainly see the shade which will be cast over justice, and pity and deplore the loss which the Holy Land will suffer. But we are no less oppressed by this sorrow, namely, that the eyes of Eli the priest are become dim, and do not perceive any of these dangers; and that he is stimulated by such anger towards us, and is bound by such feelings of affection towards the Milanese and their abettors, who are rebelling against the empire, that, though the whole world is entirely exposed to the occurrences of a dubious succession of events, or rather to the perils of fortune, he rises to trample on the justice of the holy empire, and to render assistance to our rebellious subjects the Milanese. But we are not pierced by the sting of a guilty conscience in this matter, nor do we expect the damaging judgment of fame; for from times long past, by the Divine inspiration of a presage of all these dangers, we have always avoided the present cause of scandal, and have endeavoured, by all the contrivances in our power, but in vain, to obtain favour with this supreme pontiff, not sparing our own personal toil, paying no regard to the loss of our property, and very often freely exposing the lives of our fathful subjects for the assistance of him and the Roman
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church. But (and we relate it with sorrow) during the whole time of our struggles, we have not received anything at all from him, no marks of affection have we had paid to us for our obedience, but he has always opposed himself to, and obstructed the advantage of, the holy empire; yes, and what must be considered more cruel by every one, whilst we were employed in the service of the holy Church, he took the city of Castellana away from the empire, as is clearly proved by his letters, which the Castellans have lately forwarded to us, and at that time we could not, notwithstanding all our petitions, obtain anything favourable to us or the empire; and by secret contradictory letters, he subsequently deprived the legate of all authority, whom he said that he had sent into Syria to obtain satisfaction for the injuries inflicted on us and our son, by the inhabitants of Acre and some of the nobles of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Nor could we, at that very same time, obtain any letters to prohibit the Milanese from attacking the inhabitants of Cremona, who were faithful to the empire, nor the Florentines from injuring our faithful subjects the Venetians, although he refused to grant us permission to proceed to their assistance, which we wished to do, in order that we might not leave the Church undefended. Again, when we were proceeding to Germany, to check the malice of our eldest son, he verbally promised to favour us in every respect; but by a messenger of his, bearing credential letters, he secretly, by every attestation in his power, enjoined on our chiefs who were present with us at the court at Mayence, not by any means to consent to the election of our younger son, or of any one of our house and blood. He afterwards, to the utmost of his skill and power, obstructed our progress into Italy to reform the state of the empire, both by his letters and messengers, and especially by the bishop of Praeneste, who, by every possible craft and cunning, gained over Piacenza and Mantua. At length, when by God's grace we had gained a victory by the slaughter of the Milanese, as he saw that these clandestine letters and legations were of no advantage to him, as the sword of our justice prevailed over his deceitful wickedness, he began more openly to throw obstacles in the way of our proceedings, and plainly forbade the citizens and nobles of the march of Ancona and the valley of Spoleto, whose duty it was to assist and
A.D. 1239.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER TO THE KING. 249
not to injure the empire, to attempt to come or to send soldiers into Lombardy. He also, notwithstanding our command and prohibition, enjoined on the inhabitants of Ancona and other maritime towns, under penalty of excommunication and a fine of ten thousand marks, to supply all necessaries to the Venetians who were in rebellion against our majesty, and all this is plainly proved by his letters. To some of the nobles of the march of Treviso, whom he had rendered weak and wavering in their allegiance to us, he sent letters, ordering them openly to secede from their allegiance, giving them to understand that, unless we chose absolutely to intrust the affairs of Lombardy to his disposal and authority, he would thunder forth the sentence of excommunication against us. After having taken counsel on all these matters with our well-beloved chiefs and others who were then assisting us at the siege of Brescia, we, wishing (as we before stated) to prevent any cause of offence from arising between us and the Church, sent special ambassadors from us to the Apostolic See, through whom we offered to render satisfaction also for some frivolous offences which he said had been attempted in our kingdom of Sicily, contrary to the rights and liberty of the Church, and by the same messengers again requested that the desired union between us and the Church, which we had often attempted to bring about by innumerable messengers, should be confirmed by messengers and by mutual securities. This he said he would willingly agree to, and committed the manner and form of security to our judgment; but when our messengers and his, in full confidence that union and peace were established, were returning with alacrity to us, and were entirely out of his sight, he intrusted the office of the legateship in Lombardy to Gregory de Monte Longo, who was formerly suspected by us and ours, when we had received him as a simple nuncio in that province, and he, the pope, had promised to recall him from thence. To add to the mass of his wickedness, when he discovered us to be off our guard, owing to our confidence in the promised union, he ordered us to be admonished, by some chiefs and subjects of ours, of some offences which he said had been committed by our officials and messengers in the kingdom of Sicily and the city of Rome against him and the Church. After we had sent to the master of these monitors, rather than for the
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judgment of other religious persons, a full answer to all these things; not content with each of our answers to each head, we added a general remark, that we left our wishes and reply in everything to his judgment, as is certified by the letters and evidence of prelates altogether worthy of belief. And when we had sent our messengers on all these points to convey our answers and to make full satisfaction, fortified by our authority, to put a stop to his cunning proceedings against us, he on Palm-Sunday, a day wholly unusual for such processes, contrary to the practices of the Church, wrongly and injuriously launched proceedings against us. But we, who considered such a proceeding to be full of temerity, and void of justice, sent letters to his brethren and the legates, demanding a general council to be convoked, at which we engaged to prove, by arguments clear as light, the baseness of the corrupt judge, and our own innocence; on which, not to say spurning the proofs of our innocence, but even against the law of nations, which does not permit ambassadors or messengers to be insulted, this man, who styles himself 'servant of the servants of God', ordered the aforesaid messengers, our bishops, to be most disgracefully thrust into prison. Give your attention, then, and see if these proceedings are worthy of a pope, if these are the works of holiness, and if it befit a preacher to bring down justice to destruction, and to tread it under foot, and, ignoring the judgment of all faithful eyes, to give judgment in favour of the unfaithful people of Milan. But for all these injuries, although he was proceeding rashly against us, in the spirit of his own anger, we were not provoked to visit him with the imperial vengeance, until he showed that he was dashing forward to effect our utter destruction, and to deprive us of our imperial inheritance, inasmuch as when we were staying in the march of Treviso, for the purpose of pacifying that district (which, owing to the old and continual dissensions, we found everywhere stained with the blood of the slain), he, by the present of a large sum of money, incited the marquis d'Este, and the count of St. Bonifacio (who had, at the suggestion of the supreme pontiff, conspired against our life), as well as the city of Treviso, to rebel against us and the empire. He also, by means of Paul Traversari, formerly a most faithful subject of ours, but who was
A.D. 1239.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER TO THE KING. 251
afterwards corrupted by the pope, and by the agency of the cardinal legate, took away our city of Ravenna from the march and the empire, and, although a prince and a pontiff, received from them their oath of fealty to himself and the Church; he also ordered the public roads through the march and the duchy, which he detained from the empire, to be closed against the messengers who were coming to us, and bringing necessaries to us and our army, and some of them he presumed, robber-like, to deprive of all their goods, and to imprison them afterwards: all these things he did, either to starve us and our soldiers, Italians as well as Germans, or to recal us from our blockade of the Milanese, and from ravaging the country of our rebellious subjects. Not content with all this, he openly declared himself the leader and chief of the war against us and the empire, making the cause of the Milanese and other faithless traitors his own, and openly turning their business to suit his own interests; moreover, he appointed as his lieutenants over the Milanese, or rather the papal army, the before-mentioned Gregory de Monte Longo, and brother Leo, a minister of the Minorite order, who not only girded on the sword, and clad themselves in armour, presenting the false appearance of soldiers, but also continuing their office of preaching, absolved from their sins the Milanese and others, when they insulted our person, or those of our followers. At this time, too, the legate and Minorite brother aforesaid, sign themselves governors and lords, in opposition to us and the empire; by which it is evidently given us to understand that the pope is not only a friend to the infidels, whom the public voice of the world declares to be heretics, but to the prejudice of the empire, and to disinherit us, he has usurped the temporal government and dominion of Milan. We, therefore, having been provoked beyond bounds by so many losses, and worried by so many injuries, could not restrain our hands, but took up the sword and shield publicly, to sustain our own cause and that of the empire against our public enemy, opposing temporal power by temporal power; nor could we any longer show filial affection to him, for he not only would not return it by paternal affection, but endeavoured to injure and disinherit us, and cruelly thirsted after our life and blood. After we had reduced, with the help of knights and cross-bowmen,
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all the province of Liguria, which had been surrendered to us, and had also in our march through Tuscany reformed many of the laws of the empire, we sent our beloved son H., the illustrious king of Torres and Gallury, ambassador of the holy empire in Italy, to recall the march of Ancona to its allegiance, and we ourselves raised our victorious eagles, directed our march in person towards the duchy of Spoleto and the provinces adjoining the city, and, with the exception of a few cities only, recalled the whole of the country which we passed in our progress as far as Viterbo to its proper allegiance to the empire. By the Viterbians, and in the cities and places lying round it in the neighbourhood, we were received with the greatest devotion, so that when we showed our enemy our power he was seized with a dreadful alarm at our proximity to him, and, as he did not believe that he could save himself by tardy repentance, he fell into the depths of despair, and, losing all confidence in his own strength, as the Roman people shouted with joy at our approach to the city, he, with an extraordinary profusion of real tears, prevailed on some boys and old women, and with them a small number of mercenary soldiers, to assume the cross against us, lyingly asserting in his preachings to them that we were endeavouring to proceed to the uprooting of the Roman church, and the violation of the sacred relics of the most blessed apostles Peter and Paul. Your majesty, therefore, in a right judgment, will excuse our proceedings, to which the malignity of our enemy has driven us, and which justice has urged me to adopt for the preservation of the honour not more of the empire than of all the kings and princes of the earth. And you, above all other kings, ought to take up our cause with the more favour, and with the more confidence to maintain it, inasmuch as you participate with us in the whole burden and honour, having been confidently chosen by us, if you remember aright, to be arbiter in all these matters, and having been despised by the opposed party, so that you may protect our innocence and our imperial justice with the purer zeal and the more sincere conscientiousness. Given at Viterbo".
Alarms of the world, and dedication, of certain churches.
When these things were rumoured and made known
A.D. 1239.] THE KING OF CASTILE'S GREAT LOSS. 253
throughout the world, the fame and authority of the pope received a shock and much diminution; a great scandal arose, and wise and holy men began to entertain great alarm for the honour of the Church, the pope, and the whole clergy, and to fear lest the Lord, in his great anger, should inflict an incurable wound on his people. About this time, on the 9th of August, which was St. Romanus's day, a conventual church was dedicated at Abingdon, by Robert, bishop of Salisbury, the diocesan of that place, and about the same time, too, a church was dedicated at Wells. In the same year the churches of Evesham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Wicumbery, Pershore, and Aldchester, were dedicated, as also many others throughout England. About Michaelmas of this year, Robert de Thony, a man of noble family, died at sea. About this same time, when the bishop of Lincoln was persecuting his canons, one of them in preaching a sermon to the people, complaining of the bishop, said, "Even though we should hold our peace the stones will cry out for us", when on a sudden the stonework of the tower of the new church of Lincoln fell down, crushing the people who were under it; by the fall of which the whole church was shaken and injured, and this was taken as a sad omen; the bishop, however, set to work to rebuild it effectually.
The slaughter of the Tartars.
About this time the Tartars, a barbarous race of people, who had invaded the Christian countries and committed great slaughter, wandering here and there in Greater Hungary, were defeated and forced to retreat; the greatest portion of these, however, were slain at the sword's point, and fell before the hand of power, having been attacked by five Christian and Saracen kings, who were united for this purpose by the grace of God's holy spirit. After the slaughter of these barbarians, the kings of Dacia and Hungary sent some Christians to inhabit the provinces, which had been reduced, as it were, to a desert by the said Tartars; and more than forty ships went from Dacia alone filled with them.
In the same year Mount Casino, an impregnable place, was taken by the emperor's army, as has been mere fully related above.
The king of Castile's great loss.
In the same year, Valentia, a large city in Spain, was
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taken by the king of Castile, after which the said king proceeded further on to lay siege to Seville, deriving confidence of future success from his past triumphs; he therefore laid siege to that city and attacked the citizens fiercely. One day, after having drawn up his legions and made some fatal attacks on the citizens, the chief of the city went out to him, as if with peaceable intentions, promising to surrender the city to the king, on condition that the lives of the inhabitants should be spared; but this was all done in treachery, for he urgently begged of the king to enter the city as his own, and receive homage from those whom his royal highness chose to spare the lives of; and the king, putting faith in his words and sighs, entered the city. As soon, however, as he had got inside, the citizens closed the gates, withdrew the bridges, and with drawn swords surrounded the king, who was attended by only a few followers, and fearing nothing of this kind; but on suddenly looking round they saw themselves surrounded by the enemy, and knowing that it was a matter of life and death, they inflicted as much slaughter as they were able in return upon their proud enemies. After some time, however, as their enemies increased in numbers, they were unable any longer to endure the weight of the conflict, but thinking on the prophetic words of the prayer, "O Lord, save the king", they got their lord away, by some postern gate. He, with much difficulty, escaped and returned to his army, which he found in a great measure cut to pieces by the enemy, who had attacked it, as had been pre-agreed on by these traitors: at sight of their king, however, sound in body, they regained their courage, and defeated their enemies; the besieged, stained with the blood of their enemies, were slain or made prisoners, and the king, with what was left to him of his army, returned ingloriously to his own country, at the same time more cautious and still more resolute for the contest.
The king confers the knigh's belt on Baldwin de Rivers, and invests him with the earldom of the Isle of Wight.
Anno Domini 1240, the 23rd year of the reign of King Henry the Third, he held his court at Christmas at Winchester, where, on Christmas-day, he conferred the knight's belt on Baldwin de Rivers, an illustrious young man, and
A.D. 1240.] DEATH OF EARL RICHARD'S WIFE. 255
invested him with the earldom of the Isle of Wight, in the presence and at the instance of Earl Richard, in whose charge the said Baldwin had been for many years, and who had married his daughter-in-law, namely Alice, [1] the daughter of his wife Isabella, formerly countess of Gloucester.
The election of Hugh de Pateshull as bishop of Coventry.
At this time the election of Hugh de Pateshull, bishop elect of Coventry, was confirmed: he had for some years previously been treasurer to the king, and had conducted himself irreproachably in that office; on his taking his seat in the royal treasury, he went to all the barons of that office in his usual way, and on their all rising to pay him the accustomed marks of honour, he said to them, "Dear friends and companions, I bid you farewell; but I never leave you, only the treasury; the Lord has summoned me, unworthy as I am, to undertake the government of souls". His words then breaking off into sighs, he kissed them all one by one, they at the same time weeping most tenderly for his departure.
The death of Isabella, wife of Earl Richard.
About the same time the noble lady Isabella, countess of Gloucester and Cornwall, was taken dangerously ill of the yellow jaundice, and brought to the point of death, and when her time for lying-in arrived (for she was pregnant and very near child-birth) she became senseless, and after having had the ample tresses of her flaxen hair cut off, and made a full confession of her sins, she departed to the Lord, together with a boy, to which she had given birth, and which, not being likely to live, had been baptized and received the name of Nicholas. When Earl Richard, who had gone to Cornwall at that time, heard of this event, he broke out into the most sorrowful lamentations, and mourned inconsolably; he, however, returned with all haste, and caused the respected body of his wife to be buried with honour at Beaulieu, a house which King John had founded and built, and appropriated to the Cistercian order.
A remarkable noise is heard in many parts of England.
Near about this time a terrible sound was heard, as if a
[1] Aliciam is the emendation of the French translation for Amiatiam, the word in the printed Latin text.
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huge mountain had been thrown forth with great violence, and fallen in the middle of the sea; and this was heard in a great many places at a distance from each other, to the great terror of the multitudes who heard.
Complaints of the bishops about the oppression of the Church.
In the octaves of the Epiphany the archbishops and bishops, with many other nobles, assembled at London, the legate also being present, and laid a serious complaint before the king at his own court, of the injuries and oppressions, and daily devastations inflicted and exercised on the Church by the king's unjust counsels, in rash opposition to his charters and oath, and that he did not suffer the churches, which had been deprived of their pastors, to be restored and to take breath, but that, in order to extort the property of the churches from them, by various arguments he detained them in his own possession for several years, and did not allow canonical elections to be made; and they all declared that they were much astonished at these injuries, which multiplied daily, being inflicted on them when he, the king, had so often sworn to preserve the rights of the Church inviolate; because in his hearing, and himself holding a taper, all the bishops pronounced sentence of excommunication against the violators of ecclesiastic liberties: at the consummation of which sentence the king, like the others, turned down his taper and extinguished it. There were thirty heads in the complaints of the bishops against the king; and they proceeded so far as again to make a terrible denunciation of the sentence against all the counsellors of the king, who were endeavouring to turn his mind to the aforesaid enormities.
The twofold grief of G., earl marshal.
At this time the king made a criminal accusation against the earl marshal of certain particulars, of which I think it better to be silent than to make mention; at which the grief of the marshal was excited in a twofold degree; for on the one hand he was grieved by the recollection of the death of his illustrious sister, the aforesaid Isabella, and now the persecution of the king was revived against him. However, a day was appointed for him to reply to the articles of
A.D. 1240.] THE EMPEROR REPROACHES THE KING. 257.
accusation against him, in the octaves of Easter, which is commonly, called Pascha clausum.
A comet.
During this time, namely throughout the whole of February, a dim sort of star appeared in the evening in the western part of the sky, sending forth rays towards the east, which many unhesitatingly declared to be a comet.
The emperor reproaches the king for allowing money to be carried away from his territories to the injury of them both.
Before the business of the aforesaid council was completed, two messengers came from the emperor to the king, through whom the emperor sent word to the king by letter, that he was very much astonished that he allowed him, the emperor, to be so shamefully, unreasonably, excommunicated in a most Christian country, without any opposition on his part; and that, unmindful of the marriage treaty and of the alliance entered into at the marriage of Isabella, now the empress, he allowed the condition and good name of him, the supreme prince, to be aspersed. Wherefore he demanded that the aider of this business, namely the legate, whom the king had unadvisedly summoned into his kingdom, should be expelled from the English territories; because he declared that he was an enemy to him, as also to the kingdom of England, for he had impudently scraped together all the money he could, and from whencesoever he could, in order to satisfy the pope's avarice and to disturb the imperial dignity. To these messages the king replied, that it was his duty to obey the commands of the pope and the Church more readily than the other princes of the world, as it could be proved that he was a tributary or vassal of the pope by right; and thus, by barely excusing himself, he brought an accusation against himself; however, hoping to please the emperor by this, he wrote to the pope, earnestly begging him, for the sake of the emperor's affinity to him, the king, to deal more mildly with him. When this reached the pope, he fell into a violent rage, and broke forth in these reproachful words: "Of a truth not one faithful man can be found in England". Some one standing by took up his words on behalf of the king of England, and said, "Holy father, on that account do not wonder if the king of England does not put faith in his English subjects,
258 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
but in foreigners, since there is scarcely any one Englishman who ought to be trusted"; and the person who uttered these words was, as it is stated, Simon the Norman. Master Robert de Smercote, a cardinal, was excited to great anger at the words which had been spoken on both sides, but, like a wise man, restrained it, lest he should break out in reproaches; for he was an Englishman by birth, and faithfully adhered to the pope, who had made him a cardinal, in all his adversities.
The legate, although often warned to do so, refuses to return home.
The king, on reflection, was afraid of something untoward happening to him, because he had made such a familiar friend of a secret enemy to the kingdom, like the legate; he therefore advised him in good faith not to provoke the anger of his imperial majesty by staying any longer in England, but to cross the Alps as soon as possible, and consult with the pope. To this the legate replied: "You have called me from my court, and I demand of you a safe-conduct, that I may return in safety". The emperor's messengers, of whom we have before made mention, on learning all these things, returned to their lord, to tell him, like sagacious spies, all they had seen and heard.
The legate shows himself an indefatigable collector of money.
The legate, in the mean time, not forgetful of his own business, was not slow to seize on moneys and revenues for himself, compelling the people to pay him procuration taxes; and about the time of the feast of the Annunciation of St. Mary, he sent strict orders to the bishops and archdeacons, to the following effect:-
The legate's letter.
"Otto, by the divine mercy, etc., etc. To the discreet man such and such a bishop or archdeacon, greeting.- Whereas we consider it necessary, from a message sent by the supreme pontiff, to prolong our stay here, and as we cannot fight on our own pay, we command and require you, by authority of the office which we hold, in our name to cause the procurations to be collected which are due to us in your bishopric or archdeaconry, and to send them to us as soon as possible, checking all gainsayers by the Church's censure; with a proviso that each procuration do not in any case exceed the sum
A.D. 1240.] EARL SIMON DEPARTS FOR JERUSALEM. 259
of four marks; and where one church is not capable of furnishing a procuration, two churches shall join together in procuring one. Given at London, this 15th of February, in the 13th year of the pontificate of his holiness Pope Gregory".
The Romans, in order to extort money, absolve the crusaders from their vow.
At this period the legate received commands from the pope, by another cunningly devised plan to scrape money from the followers of the Church; as the contents of the following letter will fully explain to the careful reader; -
"Such and such a bishop to all his beloved sons, the archdeacons throughout his diocese, greeting.- We have received letters from his highness the legate to the following effect: - 'Otto, etc. Whereas, as we have been given to understand, some crusaders of the kingdom of England, who are unfit to fight, proceed to the Apostolic See, to be there absolved from their vow to the cross; and whereas we have lately received a message from the pope that we ought not only to absolve such persons, but also to compel them to redeem their vows; we, wishing to spare them trouble and expense, by virtue of the office which we hold, require and command you, holy father, to cause the aforesaid power granted to us by the supreme pontiff to be published without delay in your dioceses, in order that the aforesaid crusaders may avail themselves of the opportunity, and come to us to receive the benefit in this matter according to the form delivered to us. Given at London, this 15th of February, in the 13th year of the pontificate of his holiness Pope Gregory'".
Earl Simon prepares himself for his journey to Jerusalem.
On the 1st of April in this year, Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, arrived, and was received with great honour by the king and his court. He then went away to his possessions, and, by selling his woods and lands, collected money to procure the necessaries for his journey, being about to take his departure for Jerusalem in the next passage. His wife, who was pregnant, still remained on the continent. The earl then sold the noble woods of Leicester to the Hospitallers and canons of that place, and received about a thousand pounds for them.
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Dissensions between the citizens and the scholars of Oxford.
At this same time, a serious disagreement arose between the scholars of Oxford and the citizens, whereupon many of the former left that city and went to the colleges of Cambridge, where they procured a grant of some liberties against the burgesses, and obtained the king's charter for them.
Certain Caursins forbidden to enter England.
About this time, too, the king's eyes were opened, and he interdicted the Caursins from again entering his dominions, especially the people of Sens, who had defiled his fine country by their unjust exactions, and secret usury. They, however, being annoyed and grieved at the thoughts of losing such good feeding-ground, by presents of money, which usually justifies wicked men, still remained there privately in great numbers.
The death of Llewellyn, and disagreement of his sons.
On the 11th of April in this year, which was the feast of St. Guthlac, Llewellyn, prince of North Wales, after having subdued Griffin, who had raised his heel and made war on him, and having pacified the Welsh territory which belonged to him, went the way of all flesh. At his death, David, his son, to whom his father had assigned possession of Wales for his inheritance, with the consent of his eldest brother Griffin, with treacherous intentions, summoned his brother, the said Griffin, to a council. The latter, accordingly, came peaceably, under the conduct of R., bishop of Bangor, and some other nobles; but David, regardless of their brotherly relationship and of good faith, ordered him to be seized, and, in spite of the protest of his conductors, consigned him to prison.
The king causes his son Edward to be inaugurated.
About this time the king made the citizens of London, the wardens of the cinque ports, and many others, swear fealty and allegiance to his eldest son Edward. At this time, too, there were frequent reports in England, that the Dacians were making preparations to invade England; but this arose from nothing else than that they were preparing, in ships laden with people of both sexes, to inhabit and cultivate the territory which had been devastated by the Tartars, and to restore it to the use of human beings.
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Some of the crusaders, by the payment of a sum of money, are absolved from their vows.
The Preacher and Minorite brethren, and other religious men, especially Theologians, began now to absolve the crusaders from their vows, on receipt from each of as much money as seemed to be sufficient for him to procure necessaries for his voyage, and a great scandal and schism arose amongst the people. For it seemed absurd, even to simple-minded men, the divers traps by which the Roman court endeavoured to deprive the simple people of God of their substance, seeking for nothing but gold and silver.
The pope extorts the fifth part of their property from the beneficed foreigners in England.
The pope now proposed and determined to extort the fifth part of property and revenues of the foreign beneficed clerks in England, in order to annoy the emperor, who was encompassed by dangers on all sides from his enemies, whom the pope supported by the money which had been collected by extortion in England; he also continued to absolve from their fealty all who were bound by allegiance to the said emperor, and thus this dreadful enmity was confirmed, and day by day increased. The faithful counsellors of the king, too, said to him, "Most illustrious lord and chief, why do you suffer England to become a spoil and a desolation to those who come over here, like a vineyard without a wall, common to every passenger, to be rooted out by wild boars, since you have an effectual privilege to prevent such exactions being made in this kingdom; but he is unworthy of that privilege who abuses it when it is granted to him". To those who advised him thus, the king replied, "I neither wish nor dare to oppose the pope in anything"; and a most lamentable despair took possession of the people.
Inclemency of the weather.
On the day after the feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas, [1] a storm of wind, beyond measure strong and violent, disturbed the whole atmosphere; which, among other wonderful occurrences, carried a stone, which a strong man could scarcely lift, from the pinnacle of the church to a great distance from it.
[1] March 7.
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The legate endeavours to prevail on the bishops to pay a fifth part of their goods.
In this year all the archbishops, bishops, chief abbats, and some of the nobles of the kingdom, assembled at Reading, to hear a message from the pope, published by the legate; and when they had all assembled there, the legate, after making a lengthy sermon to incline the hearts of his hearers to him, finally made known to them all the various difficulties which the pope had undergone to obtain justice for the Church, by withstanding the assaults of the said emperor Frederick; he, therefore, on behalf of the pope himself urgently demanded the fifth part of all their goods, by means of which he might be able to repel the injuries of such a powerful enemy. To this the bishops, after holding a council, replied, that they would never endure such an insupportable burden, which concerned the whole Church too, without careful and prolonged deliberation. A day was therefore appointed at some more remote period for them to deliberate on this important message.
Earl Richard takes leave of the bishops assembled at Reading.
Earl Richard, and the other crusading knights who were present at this place, bade farewell to all there assembled; for they were ready to start on their journey to Jerusalem. The prelates, when they saw this, all burst into tears, and said to Earl Richard, "Why, earl, our only hope, do you abandon us? or for whom do you desert us? we shall be desolate without you. In your absence, rapacious foreigners will invade us"! The earl then, in tears, replied to one of them, the archbishop of Canterbury, for all: "My father and lord, of a truth, even had I not assumed the cross, I would still go, and absent myself, so that I might not see the evils of our people and the desolation of the kingdom, which it is believed I am able to prevent, although I cannot really do so".
The dedication of the new temple.
About this time, the church of the new Temple, at London, a building of handsome construction, was dedicated in the presence of the king and many nobles of the kingdom, who, on the same day, which was Ascension-day, after the
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solemnities of the dedication had been completed, partook of a sumptuous banquet at the expense of the Hospitallers.
The decapitation of some robbers.
On the day following this solemnity, the heads of ten robbers, who had been decapitated in the northern parts of England, were brought to London, one of whom, named John of Acton, was said to have been the chief and commander of them.
The death of Earl Warrenne.
In this year, William Earl Warrenne was taken ill at London, and died on the 27th of May.
Reply of the Bench concerning inheritances which devolve on sisters.
In this year, Maurice Fitzgerald, justiciary of Ireland, sent four knights to the king's court, and demanded information in the above-mentioned case. "H. by the grace of God, etc., to the Justiciary of Ireland, greeting.- Some knights, from the provinces of Ireland, have lately come to us, and explained to us, that our justiciaries who are going the circuit in those parts, are uncertain whether, in a case where an inheritance devolves to sisters in our kingdom of Ireland, the younger sisters ought to hold possession of it from the eldest sister, and do homage for their portions, or from their chief lord, and do homage to him. And, whereas the aforesaid knights have asked what has been the usual custom in our kingdom of England in similar cases, we, at their request, have to inform you, that in our kingdom of England, the law is as follows: That if any one holds from us in chief, and has daughters as heirs, at the death of the father, our predecessors and we ourselves have always received the homage of all the daughters, and each and all of them in this case hold from us in chief, and, if they be under age, we have the charge of them and the marrying of them; but if they hold of any other person than us, and the sisters be under age, their lord will have the custody and the marrying of each of them, and the eldest sister only will do homage to their lord for all of them, and the others, when they come of age, shall do their services to the lords of the fee by the hand of their eldest sister; and the eldest daughter shall not on that account
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exact homage or wardship, or any other submission, from the youngest daughters, for this reason: because all the sisters being, as it were, co-heiresses of one estate, if the eldest sister were allowed to receive homage from or wardship of the other sisters, then the same estate would be divided; and, therefore, that the eldest sister would be at one and the same time mistress and heiress of one estate, at least heiress of her own portion, and mistress of her sisters', which in this case could not be, as the eldest sister could not demand anything more than a younger one, unless a capital messuage under the title of eldership. And, besides this, as the eldest sister is the heiress of all the other sisters, if they should die without heirs of their own, if she could have the guardianship of her sisters, or of their children, it would be like giving a lamb to be devoured by a wolf. And, therefore, we command you in this case, to cause the aforesaid custom as we observe it in our kingdom of England, to be claimed and strictly observed, as above stated, in our kingdom of Ireland. Witness myself, at Norwich, this thirtieth day of August, in the twenty-fourth year of our reign".
The claims of the archbishop annulled by the king.
At this time, Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, hoping and confidently expecting to have the same or similar assistance which the blessed martyr Thomas, the predecessor of the said archbishop, had found in Pope Alexander, of pious memory, began by sorrowful letters and special messengers to make pitiable complaints, by which he trusted to turn the stony heart of the pope to one of flesh; entreating of him to abolish that detestable and destructive custom of the Church, by which kings, yea, tyrants and thorough enemies of, and rebels against, the Church, did not permit cathedral and conventual churches which were deprived of their pastor to take breath, nor to provide themselves freely and canonically with suitable pastors; and that the king would not, following the movements of his own will rather than reason, impede their election by the agency of his cunning agents, whom he kept in pay for that purpose; and that if any such church amongst them should be deprived of its pastor, and be vacant for six months, a competent pastor should be provided for the same
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by the archbishop of the place. But whilst the said Edmund, from a deceitful promise of the Roman court, was most confidently expecting to become another Thomas, by whose glorious endeavours the evil customs in England would be destroyed, and that Pope Gregory would put on the Alexander of the blessed Thomas, his fellow-exile and coadjutor, the said Pope Gregory was found to be timid as a man, and, on a message from the king of England, who declared that this was opposed to his kingly dignity, he revoked and annulled the whole of that pious purpose, for which the archbishop had, not without a great expenditure of money, obtained letters from the pope. The king, on discovering this, became more tyrannical than usual, and presumptuously brought about the election of Boniface, in opposition to the liberties of the church of Winchester, and obstructed other elections which had been duly made and piously solemnized.
The archbishop grants the fifth part of all incomes to the pope.
At this time, the archbishop of Canterbury, the chief of all prelates, whilst his mind was in a state of doubt and hope as to obtaining his ends, namely of gaining the victory in his cause against the monks, consented, although unwillingly, to the said demand of the fifth part of all incomes; and, making a virtue of necessity, paid to the agents of the pope's extortion, the sum of eight hundred marks, before they were exacted from him by force; the other prelates of England seeing this, were obliged to incur a similar loss.
Gascony is in danger.
About this time, the seneschal of Gascony, having been as it were expelled from that province, came with a lamentable complaint to the king, telling him that, unless he took speedy and effective measures for preserving that territory in his own possession, he would undoubtedly lose all his possessions there in a very short time.
The emperor, in his march to the city, captures several other cities.
During this time, the emperor, having made a truce, or at least some kind of an armistice, with the Milanese and Bolognese, traversed the provinces in the neighbourhood of the city, attended by a numerous army, and reduced the cities and towns to subjection to him, the inhabitants taking example
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by the Viterbians. The pope, then, losing all hopes of his cause, fell into an abyss of despair, and many of the cardinals abandoned him, indeed scarcely one followed him any longer, with the exception of Master Robert Summercote, who could not leave him for shame, because he had created him cardinal, as they saw that he was more carried away by his own violence alone, than restrained by the reins of reason and prudence.
The emperor reproaches the king of England for having allowed the sentence against him to he published, and money to be collected, in his territories.
At this same time, the emperor sent word to the king of England, that he was beyond measure astonished at his having so unadvisedly distributed his money amongst foreigners, to the injury of him, the emperor and wrote him a letter, to the following effect:-
"Frederick, by the grace of God, emperor of the Roman, always Augustus, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, to the illustrious king of England, Health and sincere affection.- Inasmuch as alliances and marriages are sometimes contracted between the kings and princes of the world - affection, or rather union, ought, therefore, the more firmly to exist between them, in proportion as they are greater than others; and the higher the stations in which they are placed, the more ought they to set examples of virtue to their inferiors, seeing that by their unanimity and good-will peace and concord grows stronger among the people, their respective honours are maintained, and the rights of their kingdoms strengthened for the future. And as we believed till now, that from our relationship, advantages of this kind would arise, both to us and to you (especially as children, those sacred pledges, have attended on and confirmed the bond of our relationship), we find the whole contrary to our intentions, which we write unwillingly, and with sorrow. Moreover, we find that you have passed over with the eye of connivance the palpable injury inflicted on us by the Roman pontiff which we believed to be utterly insupportable, to us above all the other princes of the earth: that you have permitted his unjust and hateful sentence against us, to your own knowledge and in your own hearing, to be published in all parts of your kingdom, to our great injury, and to the shame and
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disparagement of the empire; and now, as we have learned for a certain fact, in your infatuated obedience to this deadly enemy of ours, who is so eager to destroy our honour, and thirsting for our blood, you permit supplies of money, talliages, and contributions to be supplied to him, for the purpose of fighting against us, from the churches of your kingdom, and your predecessors (whom our affinity compels us to consider as ours also), which have become rich from pious bequests. Let your royal wisdom, therefore, when it is not circumvented by crafty counsels, consider if it is becoming or expedient to you, for a brother-in-law and brother of yours, or at least an ally, or, in fine, for any king or prince, against whom you have not declared war, as is the law and custom of the kingdom, to be attacked and made war upon by the help of your money. What matters it whether the defences of our enemy are strengthened by gold and silver, or by arms, through your agency, or with your sufferance? Especially, as we know from experience that you could not hold out the hand of assistance to him more effectually than by permitting money to be furnished him from your kingdom, with which he promises mercenaries to the Milanese, and other traitors against us; by means of which he endeavours to seduce our devoted and faithful adherents from their allegiance to us; and thus, by venality and bribery, he has purchased the allegiance of some weak men, to their manifest infamy, no less than to their eternal perdition. In God's name, dearest brother, let it not originate with you, at least, not against us, that kings should be wantonly attacked by kings; neither let the yoke of papal rule so press on your royal neck, as to cause it to be a matter of such great pleasure to you, to the offence of the doctrines of the Gospel and the laws of nature, to injure your neighbour, brother-in-law, yea, your brother; especially as in the present instance, if you wisely and closely consider the matter, it is not our interest more than that of yourself, and of other kings and princes, which is at stake. Wherefore, by these presents, we affectionately ask and beg of your serene majesty, as you regard our affection and honour, boldly and strenuously to oppose your skill and power to such proceedings, from which we fear such great impediments to our cause, and not to permit any money to be carried to the Roman court, arising from the
268 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
revenues, talliages, contributions, or other supplies of your kingdom. And it doen not become you, nor is it expedient for you, by any connivance or dissimulation, to paas over this, any more than you would be willing for us to give any assistance that might be asked of us and ours against you, nor to allow it to be given in any way. Otherwise, we may, in a similar or more just cause, be instructed by your example, and give assistance in opposition to you and your kingdom, which we have hitherto refused, to those who have to do with you, and to whom we are linked by the bonds of old affection; seeing that the pope, in our prosecution of our just cause, finds you favourable to him, whilst he has nothing at all to do with you, except that he boasts, which we say with shame, that he has the power of a liege lord over you. Concerning all the above-mentioned matters, as well as for performing other services for us in your territories, we send H. Chalbost, a knight and faithful follower of ours, as the bearer of these presents to you; and we earnestly beg of you, in your affection, unhesitatingly to believe what he may say on behalf of us, as you would ourselves in person, and to carry it into effect, and by him to give a precise and final answer, as to what determination and arrangement you may make in the aforesaid matters; for we wish, in cases of emergency, to be aware of whom we are to expect advice from, and whom we ought to beware of".
However, as a verbal message had been intrusted by the emperor to the said messenger, H. Chalbost, the above friendly letter was in a great measure mutilated, and many things were omitted to be mentioned by him. The king, however, wrote in reply, stating that he did not dare to oppose the pope; and that he was beyond measure astonished that his sister, the empress, had not yet been crowned with splendour in the usual places and cities of the empire.
The arrival of the count of Flanders in England.
In the course of this year, Thomas, count of Flanders, the queen's uncle, by the French king's permission, came to England with great pomp. On his arrival, he was met, not only by the king and his courtiers, but also by an immense
A.D. 1240.] WAR IN FLANDERS. 269
multitude of the London citizens on magnificently accoutered horses, with trumpets, and every demonstration of pleasure and joy, and was received at London with much honour, and loaded with presents. The king immediately gave him five hundred (or, as some say, three hundred) marks of new sterling money, and made a grant to him of the same sum from the treasury yearly for the next twenty years, in consideration of the homage which the said count did to him. When this matter was settled, the count proceeded to Windsor, to visit his infant nephew, Edward, the king's son; after which, as his leave of absence was limited to a short time by the French king, he immediately returned to Flanders, appointing Master Henry of Flanders as his agent to receive the presents offered to him; and the king immediately bestowed some ecclesiastical revenues that suddenly fell in, on the said clerk Henry. The abovenamed count being thus loaded with the rich gifts of the king, began to stir up war in his provinces, and to summon his stipendiary soldiers and followers, hired for pay; and having thus raised a numerous army, in a short space of time, he attacked the bishop elect of Liege, who was of the emperor's party, and a relation of his, and also some others of the empire, who, by the emperor's command, had remained by the said bishop elect.
The count of Flanders makes war on the emperor.
His majesty the emperor, on hearing of this proceeding, sent word, with dreadful threats to the said count, to refrain from his rash and daring proceedings, and not - contrary to what he, the emperor, deserved from him - any longer to harass him, who was disquieted by so many arduous matters and by the annoyances of the pope, or his allies, especially the bishop elect of Liege, his friend and relation, who had been duly called to that dignity, and to cease from disturbing the empire; he also ordered the dukes of Louvain and Brabant, and other neighbouring potentates, to oppose and weaken the attacks of the count of Flanders; he then wrote also to the count of Provence, who was known to be of the emperor's party, ordering him, as his faithful ally, to check the designs and attempts of the count of Flanders, whom the former count had inspired with arrogance; but
270 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
as both of these nobles, the count of Provence and the count of Flanders, neglected to obey his orders, the emperor wrote to the count of Toulouse, ordering him, under pain of his, the emperor's retribution, to make war against the count of Provence, who was elated and rebellious on account of the two queens his daughters, and refused to punish the count of Flanders; and he himself sent effectual assistance to the count of Toulouse, for the purpose of harassing the count of Provence; and the former noble forthwith obeyed his orders.
The failure of the attempts of the count of Flanders.
The count of Flanders, then, finding that his rash and daring attacks failed in their hoped-for effects, and the strength of the emperor was more firmly established against him, and, becoming alarmed by his threats, and being informed in various ways of the death of his brother William, who had been elected from the pope's party, he closed in disgrace the war which he had imprudently entered upon, after wasting a great deal of money and raising many enemies against himself. And because the said count belonged to the kingdom of France, which had interposed and offered itself as a shield for him, he concealed his revengeful feelings for a time, determining, however, to repay him at some future time.
The war between the counts of Toulouse and Provence.
The count of Toulouse, who was rendered more ready to obey the emperor, owing to the old injuries often inflicted on him by the French, roused himself at the summons of the emperor, and eagerly marched against the count of Provence, on whom he inflicted irreparable injuries; the latter, however, immediately flew for protection to the French king, humbly begging him, for the honour and respect of the French queen, his daughter, to give him effectual assistance. For there were at Avignon, and especially in the provinces lying near the Rhone, some French nobles, who had come thither with Louis, the French king, and who had seized by force on some castles, towns, and cities, from the said Louis, at the instigation, and by the assistance of the pope, and still forcibly detained them from him. These men, when they heard that the father of the queen was getting the worst
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of the struggle, and was begging for assistance, for the love of the queen, to enable him to breathe, assembled and flew to arms, to assist the count of Provence. The count of Toulouse, however, being aware of their plans, laid an ambuscade for them, and meeting them in great strength, slew numbers of them at the sword's point, and repelled their attempts at his pleasure; and the expedition prospered so in his hands, that, in a short space of time, he took about twenty castles from the French and the count of Provence; and after punishing the rebellious possessors of them, restored them to their former rule.
The king of England writes to the emperor on behalf of the count of Provence.
The king of England, hearing that the count of Provence had sustained great loss in this destructive struggle, at the pressing instance of his queen, wrote to the emperor in a friendly way, begging him for the sake of relationship, which usually unites princes, in his imperial clemency to spare the count of Provence, his father- in-law.
The French king makes war on the count of Toulouse.
The most potent king of the French, on hearing of such an injury being inflicted on his subjects, and thinking that these damages were brought upon him by the emperor, burst out into violent anger, as well against the emperor as against the count of Toulouse, and wishing by all means fully to repair his losses and injuries, and to punish such temerity, by a royal warrant, and with dreadful haste, collected such an army as the nobility of France is known to be able to collect. Nevertheless, in order not to rush precipitately into the struggle, they, with all proper humility, asked of the emperor himself if this war had originated with him. In the mean time, on account of the loss of his army in the Holy Land, that they might not lose the remains of it by casualties, the king of France sent seven hundred knights, with a great many more retainers, to check the attacks of the enemies of the Provencals.
The exculpation of the emperor.
The emperor being thus reproached, and, as it were, criminally accused, denied it most strenuously, declaring that it never emanated from his mind, that any one in the French
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kingdom should be injured by him; nay, that he was rather prepared to stand up against the enemies of that kingdom, and voluntarily and manfully to fight against them, for he knew that he deserved nothing else from him; and, said he, "far be it from me to repay evil for good. But if some of the French people contiguous to the territory of the count of Toulouse, thinking to please the queen, were to attack the enemy of her father hastily and unadvisedly, and without the command of their lord the king should make war on us, and our people being injured, repelled these attacks, and avenged the unexpected injuries, it is not to be wondered at; besides, there can be no doubt but that those who were the first to do harm in the first place excited the first dangers and the first injury. Therefore, as far as lay in their power, the possessions seized on both sides should be restored, and satisfaction be given for injuries, that the seeds of discord sown by the enemy of the human race might not shoot up any further between such illustrious personages, and our enemies have cause to congratulate themselves at our quarrels". Moreover, the count of Toulouse declared to the king of the French, that the emperor was unaware of the business, and thus exculpated him.
Birth of a daughter to the French king.
About this time, the Lord gave a daughter to the French king, from his wife M., to add to the strength and comfort of his kingdom.
A dreadful massacre of the Christians in the province of Damascus.
Whilst these events were passing in France, our people under an unlucky star suffered a mournful loss in their army, at Damascus, as well of men, horses, and arms, as of honour, which we relate with sorrow, having been informed of it by a letter as follows:-
"Such a friend to such an one, greeting.- Be it known to you, that the count of Brittany made a foray of cavalry before Damascus, and took a great booty, which he brought safely to the army. The earls of Bar and Montfort and the duke of Burgundy, envying him, eight days afterwards made another foray, against the advice of the count of Brittany, in which the earl of Bar, the lords Simon de Clermont, John des Barres, Robert Malet, Richard de Beaumont, and
A.D. 1240.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 273
innumerable others were slain, Earl Almaric de Montfort was made prisoner, and led away into Babylon, as was also the duke of Burgundy".
At the same time, the following letter came from the earl of Montfort to the countess, his wife, and she transmitted it to Earl Richard:-
"Be it known to you, that Damascus is not taken, as before stated, but all have returned to Acre; I have, besides this, to inform you, that the French king has removed all his money from the Temple, as the Templars and Hospitallers refused to assist the French in this crisis; you must also be informed, that sixty were taken alive, and afterwards, on their return, ten noble and promising knights".
The emperor condoles with the misfortunes of the Christians.
When the emperor heard of this, he grieved greatly for the Christians, although they had rejected his wholesome advice, not to sail without him; and he immediately wrote with terrible threats to the Saracens of Damascus as well as Babylon, forbidding them, as they regarded their lives, in their daring presumption to treat with inhumanity the noble Christians, the beloved servants of God, whom they detained prisoners, lest when he came upon them in dreadful force, with his formidable and victorious eagles, they should feel the imperial vengeance, and the anger of the Romans and their emperor, whose swords had been so often stained with eastern blood.
The emperor's letter on the said matter.
"Frederick, by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans, always Augustus, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, to the illustrious Henry, king of England, his beloved brother-in-law. Health and sincere affection.- The common calamity and lamentable misfortune to Christianity, in the slaughter of the army of noble crusaders who have lately fallen in the countries beyond sea, by an unexpected reverse of fortune, we lament with inward sorrow, the more sincerely and the more deservedly, seeing that we had fears for them before their departure, and in our minds presaged the risks they were about to run; our conjectures of seasons and of events led us, even when their condition was prosperous, to foresee with anxious feelings their present fate. But we think
274 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
that it is no secret to your serene highness, how we, having had experience of the cunning of the Saracens in those parts at the present time, wishing with anxious foresight to be prepared for the future, lest fortune should prepare anything untoward for them, who were ignorant of the business, and fulfilling their vow without due deliberation, have, by frequent letters and special messengers from us, exhorted the chiefs of the crusaders, and afterwards the whole community of them, to delay the time of their passage, for which, when a convenient opportunity occurred, either we ourselves, in person, would be prepared to accompany and lead them, or would send our son with them to the rescue, as soon as we could in any way settle the arduous business of the empire, which then demanded our urgent attention in Italy; for we could not advantageously involve ourselves in other cares until we had released ourselves from the business we had undertaken, in order that, being free of one matter, we might more easily manage another. And, although the crusaders, one and all, acquiesced in our wholesome advice and counsels and adhered to our plan, which had no underhand purpose, the present Roman pontiff putting an evil interpretation upon our words and actions - as if danger would accrue to our religion and the Catholic faith by delaying the matter till a convenient time - urged the crusaders by frequent warnings, commands, and threats, to make the passage; according to the words of Scripture, 'binding heavy burdens on others, which he himself will not move with his finger'. When this came to our knowledge, we, with oft-repeated entreaties, begged of the said pontiff not to trust to the mutabilities and risks of fortune such a great undertaking, which demanded deliberate counsel, convenient time, and great preparation of men and things, and not by improvident haste to endanger the service of Jesus Christ and the assistance of the Holy Land, which had fired the hearts of us, and so many and such great people, and we recalled to his attention and memory, that to repair such a great loss after a fall is no easy matter. We also begged of him not to consider our promise of competent assistance in the matter as idle talk, as we hoped in the person of our son, who is subject to us, to prosecute with all our efiorts the service of Jesus Christ, and the defence of
A.D. 1240.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 275
the Holy Land; and we particularly called to his recollection the fact that the immense effusion of the blood of the crusaders, in the many vicissitudes of past battles, had gained little or no advantage in these matters; because it was often prevented by a deficiency of men and things; and sometimes the multitude were without an influential and careful leader. So that, whilst the diversity of several chiefs or the indolence of one prevented them from taking advantage of opportunities, or checking the insolence of many, he would serve the interests both of the expedition and of individuals, if he reserved wholesome counsels for a more favourable moment, that abundant preparation might be made; and under the guidance of one strenuous leader, so necessary to a multitude, the Christian religion might at one and the same time advance towards its wished-for end, and rest confidently secure of triumph. This Roman priest, however, considered all these things of little moment, and in his hatred of us, that he might bring the whole business to ruin, pertinaciously insisted on the crusaders setting sail, without considering that those who remained of the Christians in foreign parts, who, together with the enemies of the lifegiving cross, were resting peaceably according to the terms of the truce made with us, would, if the treaty was violated by any movement of the crusaders, be exposed to the perils of the sword and of famine, as no speedy assistance could be rendered to them, or provision made for them. At length, understanding that the pope had again sent letters to the crusaders, ordering them to make the passage, we wrote word to them to march through our kingdom to their place of sailing, and that we were ready cheerfully and liberally to assist them to the utmost of our power; and some of them passed through our kingdom of Sicily, and hence set sail, whilst others chose to take the passage by way of Marseilles. Now, therefore, that the hand of our common enemies has triumphed over so many thousand knights devoted to the service of the Holy Land, although in the slaughter of them we should lament the disgrace brought on the mediator for mankind, Jesus Christ, and on the whole of Christianity, we, as our conscience attests, compassionate their suffering injury, the more because by the loss of such a gallant soldiery the kingdom of France has suffered more severe loss
276 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
than all other countries. However, we do not permit losses to be without means of reparation, nor grief to be without comfort; for we will cheerfully and liberally contribute to the assistance of the Holy Land whatever the imperial eminence can bestow, and as far as the tempestuous state of present affairs of the present time, caused by the ill-advised anger of the Roman pontiff, will permit us. And we believe that, if the late sultan of Babylon, father of the present sultan, still survived, he would, out of the affection which he used to evince towards our royal person, satisfy our demand with respect to the noble knights who have been made prisoners in the wars; however, we will apply our special attention and means with the present sultan, to effect the release of those noble captives. Moreover, we wish you to place implicit reliance on whatever William de Compesa, a knight and faithful subject of ours, whom we send in our service as a messenger to you, may tell you all, on our behalf. Given at Foggia, this twenty-fifth day of Apiil, of the thirteenth Indiction".
The emperor regains the affections of many people, and a general council is convoked.
When the contents of this letter were made known, the emperor regained the hearts of many people, and numbers, who were before wavering in their affection and respect of him, now began to stand by him; the Roman people, too, despite of the pope's promises, began firmly to adhere to his imperial majesty, and the senators and the nobles of illustrious descent gave him their right hands. A senator had been created at Rome by the emperor in the third year before this, and the cardinals therefore forthwith assembled, declaring that they would no longer, endure the violences of the pope, to the danger of all Christianity; and they therefore signified to the pope, at the request and with the consent of the emperor, that, according to his demand, they wished a general council to be convoked and duly held as soon as possible. The approaching Easter-day was therefore decided on for holding the council, that, as the Lord rose again on that day, the Church might also rise again on that day and breathe freely and happily.
A.D. 1240.] CONSECRATION OF H. DE PATESHULL. 277
The circumcision of a boy by the Jews, at Norwich.
About this time, the Jews circumcised a Christian boy at Norwich, and after he was circumcised they called him Jurnin; they then kept him to crucify him, in contempt of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The father of the boy, however, from whom the Jews had stolen him, after a diligent search, at length discovered him, confined in custody of the Jews, and with a loud cry he pointed out his son, whom he believed lost, shut up in a room of one of the Jews' houses. When this extraorcfinary crime came to the knowledge of William de Rele, the bishop, a wise and circumspect prelate, and of some other nobles, in order that such an insult to Christ should not be passed over unpunished, through the neglect of the Christians, all the Jews of that city were made prisoners, and when they wished to place themselves under the protection of the royal authority, the bishop said, "These matters belong to the Church, and when the question raised is concerning circumcision and insult to religion, it is not to be decided by the king's court". Four of the Jews, therefore, having been found guilty of the aforesaid crime, were first dragged at the tails of horses, and afterwards hung on a gibbet, where they breathed forth the wretched remains of life.
The consecration of H. de Pateshull, and extortion of the revenues.
On the first of July in this year, Hugh de Pateshull, bishop elect of Coventry and Lichfield, was consecrated by Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, in the new priory near Guildford, and William de Haverhull, a canon of St. Paul's church at London, was appointed treasurer in the place of the said Hugh. About this time, too, a most iniquitous agreement was made between the pope and the Romans (as was reported), namely, that whatever benefices could be given away in England by the pope, especially those of religious men, should be distributed amongst the sons and relations of the Romans at their pleasure, on condition that they should all rise with one accord against the emperor, and use all their endeavours to hurl him from the imperial throne, and thus acquire for themselves the reputation of their ancient boldness. Therefore a few days afterwards the pope sent his sacred warrants to Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, and to the bishops of
278 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
Lincoln and Salisbury, ordering them to provide for three hundred Romans in the first benefices which should be vacant; giving them to understand, that they were suspended from giving away benefices till that number were suitably provided for. At this order the hearts of all were seized with astonishment, and it was feared that he who dared to do such things would sink into the depths of despair.
The archbishop of Canterbury exiles himself.
Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, who had already submitted, willingly or unwillingly, to the above-mentioned hateful exactions, and paid eight hundred marks to the pope, now seeing that the English church was daily trampled on more and more, despoiled of its possessions, and deprived of its liberties, became weary of living to see such evils upon the earth. He, therefore, after having asked the king's permission, and gaining nothing but evasive answers, left the country, provoked by these various injuries, and sailed to France, where, with a small retinue, he took up his abode at Pontigny, at which place his predecessor, St. Thomas, had dwelt in his exile, and employed himself in prayer and fasting.
Certain heretical assertions.
At this time a man pretending to be of an honourable and rigorous life, and with the dress and bearing of the Carthusian order, was seized at Cambridge for having refused to enter any church; and when questioned as to this madness, he replied in an unbecoming way, and was committed to close confinement, and a few days afterwards was sent to the legate to be imprisoned in the Tower of London. For he openly made the following declaration:- "Gregory is not the pope; he is not the head of the Church; but there is another head of the Church. The Church has been profaned, and divine services ought not to be performed in it unless it is dedicated anew; its vessels and garments must be reconsecrated. The devil is loosed; the pope is a heretic; yea, this Gregory, who is called the pope, has polluted the Church and the world". The legate, in the hearing and presence of R., abbot of Evesham, Master N. de Finham, and also Masters P. of Bordeaux, and H. of Susa, and many others, said to this madman, "Has not power been granted to the
A.D. 1240.] DEATH OF J., EARL OF LINCOLN. 279
pope from above to loose and bind souls, so as to fulfil the office of St. Peter on earth"? Whilst all present were awaiting his answer, believing that judgment depended on his reply to this question, he replied, not making an assertion, but interrogatively, "How can I believe that to a man guilty of simony, usury, and perhaps involved in greater crimes, the same power is granted as was granted to St. Peter, who became an apostle of the Lord, and followed him, not only in his journeyings, but also in the brightness of his virtues"? At these words the legate showed signs of shame, and one of those sitting round him made the following remark:-
Stulto rixandum non est, furno nec hiandum.
[He who doth strive with fools, is most unwise,
As - who in ovens peeps, will scorch his eyes.]
This man also opened his polluted lips with other ravings; for he said to those who questioned him, "I admit all the articles of the faith, yet nevertheless I assert that Christ assumed the flesh in the virgin"; and when they asked if he believed that Christ took the flesh on him from the virgin, he replied, after some hesitation, "That I do not say". If he had made that assertion, he would have been plainly proved to be a heretic, as the apostle says, "His son made of a woman"; concerning which passage the venerable priest Bede says, "They ought not to be listened to, who consider the interpretation to be 'born of a woman made under the law'; but, 'made of a woman, who derived the flesh in the virgin's womb, not from nothing, nor from any other source, but from the flesh of his mother'. Otherwise he would not be called the son of man with truth, as he did not derive his origin from a man. We, therefore, in opposition to Eutyches, and all such infatuated persons, assert that he took the flesh not only in a woman, but from a woman, namely the virgin Mary; otherwise neither would her womb have been blessed, nor the breasts which he sucked have been".
The death of J., earl of Lincoln.
On the 22nd of July in this year, which was St. Mary Magdalen's day, J., earl of Lincoln, after suffering from a long illness, went the way of all flesh.
280 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
The king sends justiciaries to make the circuit of England.
The king, about this time, sent justiciaries to make the circuit of all England, who travelled through all the counties belonging to the king, correcting the excesses of many, and under the pretext of administering justice, collected an immense sum of money for the use of the king, who squandered away everything. The southern parts of England he consigned to the scrutiny of William of York, provost of Beverley, and his followers; the northern provinces being committed to Robert of Lexington and his colleagues. About this time, too, the legate sent a large sum of money by a clerk of his named Mumel, to the pope, who received it with pleasure, and sent the messenger back to receive more.
The detestable extortion of money by the pope.
A novel and execrable method of extortion, hitherto unheard of, sprung up at this time in England; for our holy father the pope sent an extortioner, named Peter le Rouge, into England, who was skilled to extort money by the most exquisite devices from the wretched English. He went to the chapters of the religious men, compelling and seducing them to promise money, and to pay it when promised, like the other prelates, who he lyingly asserted had paid it willingly; "For", said he, "such and such a bishop, and such and such an abbat, has already willingly satisfied my demands, and why do you thus idly delay, so as to lose your thanks and recompense"? This said imposter also made them swear that they would not make known to any person, within the period of half a year, the method of extorting money which he had practised. [1] In doing this he followed the plan of robbers of houses, who extort a promise from the plundered party not to reveal the names of their plunderers to any one; but although men should be silent, the stones of the churches would raise a cry against their despoilers, nor could this wicked action be kept in darkness; for how could the prelates exact money from those subject to them, unless the reason of the demand were told?
[1] The text adds, "Quasi eliciens hoc ex singulorum primitiva possessione, quum tantum de honestis sit consilium papale oelandam": in which there is certainly some corruption.
A.D. 1240.] MEETING OF BISHOPS AT NORTHAMPTON. 281
The complaint of the abbats to the king about the aforesaid exaction.
The abbats therefore went to the king with mournful and dejected countenances, saying, "Your majesty, we are beaten, and are not allowed to exclaim against it; our throats are cut, and we cannot cry out; impossibilities are enjoined on us by the pope, and a detestable extortion is practised on the whole world. We hold our baronies from you, and cannot impoverish them without prejudice to you, and we cannot answer to you for what is incumbent on us for them, and at the same time satisfy the unceasing extortion of the pope. For in this way some new and reiterated oppression devised by the Romans is always unexpectedly rising against us, which does not allow us to breathe freely even for a little time; we therefore run to the asylum of your counsels, and to your protecting bosom, and demand your advice and assistance in this state of desolation". Those who addressed these words to the king were the abbat of St. Edmund's and the abbat of Beaulieu. The king, however, when he had heard their complaint, regarded them with a scowling look, and to their great alarm called out with a loud voice to the legate, who happened to be present, "See, my lord legate, these wretched seducers are disclosing the secrets of the pope, giving vent to reproaches, and do not acquiesce in your pleasure; do what you please with them; I grant you one of my best castles to imprison them in". The abbats, when they heard these words, were struck with inexpressible dismay, and departed, promising to satisfy the legate to the extent of his wishes. Some, however, although but few, no longer wavered, but refused to bend their necks to the slavery of such a wretched condition, and stood firm in their refusal to pay what was demanded of them, and scarcely availed themselves of the subterfuge of asking for time to be granted them.
A meeting of the bishops at Northampton on the same account.
When the legate with his ally, Peter le Rouge, thought to act in the same way with the bishops, who had been summoned to Northampton for this purpose, they, having learnt experience from the case of the abbats, replied, "We have archdeacons subject to us, who are aware of the means of the
282 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
beneficed clergy subject to them, but of which we are ignorant; this matter concerns all parties, and all ought therefore to be convened together; and it is neither proper nor expedient for us to give a reply without them". A day was therefore appointed for them to give their answer, in the octaves of the feast of St. John the Baptist, namely, on the day of his nativity. On that day, therefore, they all assembled in the presence of the legate and his associates, and being unwilling in a stiff-necked manner impudently to oppose the aforesaid exactions and to refuse consent to them, but opposing them in a modest and cautious manner, they pleaded the following reasonable objections in reply:-
The objections of the bishops to the demands of the legate.
They state that they ought not to contribute, both because the contribution woidd be against one who had made an alliance with their prince, and because it was made for the shedding of Christian blood, which was clear from the words of the apostolic warrant, in which were contained the words "to make war on the emperor"; also, because it would be contrary to the liberty of the Church, which was also evident from the tenour of the same warrant, in which it was said, "checking all opposers by the Church's censure", and this was servitude and compulsion. Further, because they had, at another time, given the tenth part of their property to the pope, with a protest against a similar exaction being made thereafter; with much less reason, then, ought a fifth part to be now demanded; also, because there was reason to fear that it would become a custom, as a deed twice done makes a custom, as is expressed in the code, "Concerning episcopal audiences: No man by law, etc., etc". Also because, as they considered it necessary to settle business at the Roman court, to which there were no other means of access open except through the imperial territories, they should be afraid of the emperor's seizing them, and committing them to prison, when they would be sure of a severe punishment. Again, because, as the king had many enemies against whom he expected to have to sustain the burden of war, for fear of worse happening, it would not be safe to impoverish the country any more, especially as it was now in a great measure emptied of its wealth, as the nobles had set out on the
A.D. 1240.] REPLIES OF THE RECTORS 283
crusade, and carried with them a great deal of money for the expenses of their journey. Again, that this would turn to the prejudice of the patrons of the churches, especially as it was not clear that they consented to the aforesaid contribution. Again, because the condition of the Church in general was dangerous, on which account a general consultation ought to be held, in order that a general contribution might be made in that case, if necessary, which it was not in the present case; for the report has gained ground, that a general council will be convoked, at which such cases will be determined; and it is necessary that such should be the case, that the general cause of offence may be removed". When the legate and his associates heard these objections, they silently concealed their confusion, but determined, whenever an opportunity offered, again to bring torward this, or some other exaction of a similar kind.
The legate convokes the rectors of the churches in Berkshire.
The legate and his accomplices having still some hopes of bending others to their will, and inducing them to contribute, assembled the rectors of the churches of Berkshire and some others, urging them by many arguments, and adding threats to threats and promises to promises. They, however, also firmly replied that they would not recede from the terms of their reply, relying on their own argument, to which, though sufficient, we will here annex others.
The replies of the aforesaid rectors respecting the contribution.
Each and all of the rectors of the churches of Berkshire say that they ought not to contribute against the emperor as against a heretic, as he is not yet condemned by a judgment of the Church, nor found guilty, although he is excommunicated, and not because he takes possession of or attacks the inheritance of the Roman church, for the Church does not apply the secular arm against heretics. Again, in the same way as the Roman church has its own inheritance, the management of which pertains to the pope, other churches also have their inheritances contributed by the bounty and grants of kings, princes, and other Christian nobles, and which are in no way liable to be taxed by, or tributary to, the Roman church; wherefore the prelates ought not to be compelled to contribute from the inheritance of their
284 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
churches. Again, although by the letter of the law, everything is said to belong to the prince, not however by dominion and proprietorship, but as regards his care and protection, so likewise the churches belong to the pope as far as regards care and protection, not by lordship and proprietorship; wherefore they say that they ought not to be compelled to contribute. Again, as the truth says, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my church", he reserved the proprietorship to himself, intrusting to Peter the care, as appears from the words of the Gospel which follow: "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven", etc., etc.; not "whatever thou shall exact on earth shall be exacted also in heaven"; wherefore they say that they cannot and ought not, according to the words of the Lord and justice, to be compelled to contribute. Again, inasmuch as on the authority of the holy fathers, the produce of the churches is devoted to certain uses, namely, to the use of the church, the ministers, and the poor, it ought not to be converted to other uses unless by authority of the Church universal; wherefore no contribution ought to be given from the goods of the Church for the purpose of making war, least of all against Christians. Again, as the proceeds of their churches are scarcely sufficient to provide daily food for the clerks, on account of their small amount, and because famine sometimes assails the country when the crops fail, also because there is such a great number of poor people and travellers coming to them, some of whom we have seen die for want of nourishment, and because no one can hold more than one benefice, owing to which they are the poorer, and with difficulty can supply themselves and the poor, they ought not to be compelled to contribute in such a case. Again, however good it would be for them to contribute, yet it ought and would be advantageous to let the matter drop, on account of the scandal which has arisen and been wafted abroad through the world against the Roman church; for it is publicly stated that exactions of this kind have been made at other times, and clerks been impoverished in a most irregular way; and as soon as the money has been exacted and extorted from them, the emperor and the pope have come to terms, and not one farthing has been restored; nay, if any balance had been left uncollected, it was rigidly exacted even
A.D. 1240.] REPLIES OF THE RECTORS. 285
after the agreement made between the two. The canonical rule also says, that although a mortal sin ought not to be admitted for the sake of avoiding scandal, yet, for that purpose, what is good ought sometimes to be omitted; wherefore we ought not to contribute. Again, if they should contribute against the emperor, not only bodily tortures, but also the danger of death, would be impending over the Apostolic See for the attainment of justice, and also over those on their pilgrimage to the Holy Land for the liberation of that country; wherefore, etc., etc. Again, a double act brings on a custom; whence, as a contribution of this kind has been made at another time, if it is made now, it would become a custom; wherefore, etc., etc. Again, from a contribution of this kind, considering the power of the emperor and the weakness and poverty of the kingdom of England, the king of England and the nobles of the country would evidently be in imminent danger of losing their inheritance; wherefore it is not expedient, nor ought we to contribute. Again, inasmuch as the king of England and the nobles, as well by hereditary right as by a good and approved custom, have the right of presentation to the churches of England; and the rectors appointed to them on their presentation do not wish, as they neither ought, nor can, to consent to any contribution without consulting their patrons, they might thus incur injury from their own churches; and as the said churches are endowed and enriched by their said patrons with lands and revenues for the especial purpose that the rectors of them should receive guests rich as well as poor, and show hospitality to laity as well as clergy, according to their means, as the custom of the place required; if such an exaction proceeded from them, it ought to be discontinued; for in this way the patrons will be cheated of their rights and intentions, for which they bestowed the benefice, and will resume their gifts, or will look out for other grievances, and never again found churches, or bestow benefices out of their own property. Again, as this demand is made against one who has entered into an alliance with our prince, especially by marriage, we ought not to contribute against him without consulting him. Again, because lately, on a former contribution being made elsewhere in a similar case, a promise was made to those who contributed, on the authority of this
286 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
same pope, that an exaction of this kind should not again be made, they feel themselves still oppressed by the said burden, and ought not to contribute; for they fear, that by frequent contributions they would be drawn into a servile and unusual custom, especially as many in several regions, amongst others the French, do not as yet consent to this contribution. Nor is it clear or well known that any gain has accrued to the Church by extortions of this kind: God grant that it may not be to her detriment! The enemies of the Church are strengthened and enriched thereby, and from being strong become stronger, and it is hard for us to die by our own weapons; wherefore we ought not to contribute. Again, as all or nearly all, are bound by a vow to the service of the cross, to fulfil which vows themselves personally, or by other competent persons, they have received an order from the pope, they cannot at one and the same time satisfactorily perform this difficult and advantageous duty and also pay this contribution. Again, as they are protected by the privilege of those who have assumed the cross, by which the produce and incomes of their revenues are granted to them entire for three years, they ought not to contribute in this case. Again, as many are bound by the pope's letters to pay the monks of Clugny on a fixed day out of the tithes of their churches, to which the said monks are known to have the right of patronage, or in which they have any temporal or spiritual claim, they ought not therefore to contribute. Again, as our lord the king of England has deadly enemies on all sides, who are prepared, as is stated, to injure him, and as the kingdom is deprived of the counsel and aid of those honourable men who are making arrangements to set out to foreign parts, and who will take away with them a very large sum of money, it would not be safe to impoverish the churches and the kingdom to such a degree as not to leave sufficient means for the protection of the state; and there would be undoubted reason to fear the irreparable ruin of the kingdom. Moreover, as the clerks of the English nation were formerly richer than now, namely when they all, or at least the greater portion of them, held several benefices without a dispensation, and an exaction of this kind was never made on them, although at that time several holy fathers were sent into exile by tyrannical emperors, and
A.D. 1240.] EARL RICHARD SETS SAIL. 287
suffered great hardships themselves, both in their persons and property of the Church, we ought not on that account to contribute. Finally, many tithes have been granted by the apostolic fathers to the knights of the French kingdom to protect the Roman church; and as it appears that their due assistance has not been either refused by them, nor as yet been afforded, we ought not therefore to contribute.
The legate excites dissentions amongst the aforesaid rectors.
The legate and his accomplices finding that their firmness was supported by such sound arguments, and that they could not break them whilst thus united together, determined to cause a schism and dissensions amongst them. The legate, therefore, went to the king, and soon gained that weak man over to his wish; his associates also went to the bishops as well as their archdeacons, especially Master Alan of Beccles, archdeacon of Sudbury, who was formerly more determined than all the rest, and to some other ambitious men who were aspiring to higher dignities, and promised them effective assistance, if they would not agree to the determination of the said community of rectors; and thus having seduced them, the adverse party prevailed.
Earl Richard and the other nobles set sail.
In this year Earl Richard, having made all the necessary preparations for his journey to Jerusalem, went to the abbey of St. Albans, and entering the chapter-house, begged the assistance of the prayers of the brotherhood; from thence he went to London, between Ascension-day and Whit-Sunday, and bade farewell to the king, his brother, the legate, and the rest of the nobles; after which he hastened his steps towards Dover. The king took the earl's son Henry, and also his possessions, into his care; and the legate, and a great number of nobles, prelates, and religious men, accompanied him on his journey to the sea-coast, where they devoutly intrusted him to the Divine guidance; Brother Theodoric, however, a prior of the Hospitallers, still attended him as his inseparable companion and guide. A great many nobles of England set sail about this same time; amongst others, William Longuespee, earl of Salisbury, and a great many others too numerous to mention, and a great many barons and knights who adhered to them as their leaders and chiefs.
288 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
The king of France receives Earl Richard with great honour.
Earl Richard having safely arrived on the shores of the continent, entered the French territories, and made his way towards the king. As he drew near, however, the king, with his mother B. and many of his nobles, came to meet him with rejoicing, and entertained him in his palace, feasting with him as a beloved relation of his, and loading him with royal presents; he also, on the earl's departure, sent his mareschal as a protector and guide to him through the whole of his territory, who bountifully and honourably supplied the necessaries for the journey, and lodgings for him and his followers, till he had safely passed the Rhone. The citizens of Avignon, too, came to meet him with great demonstrations of joy, and freely offered to procure him entertainment in their city, at their own expense. He afterwards took boats at Vienne, determining to sail down the Rhone, to the city of Arles; but the citizens of Vienne and other neighbouring cities asked Earl Richard to sell them his passage-boats, for which they would give him three times their value; and on the earl's refusing to do so, stating that he was not a merchant, they seized and detained them by force. The earl, however, much offended, pursued his journey as he could, and arrived at the city of Arles. The citizens of Vienne afterwards repenting, although late, of this enormous offence of theirs, sent the vessels, which they had taken away from the earl, to him at Beaucaire; but the earl, in his indignation, destroyed them all. The count of Toulouse was greatly vexed at this injury having been inflicted on Earl Richard in his dominions, for they were relations.
The count of Provence meets Earl Richard.
The count of Provence, father of the queen of England, on being informed of the approach of Earl Richard, went from Tarascon to meet him with joy and gladness, ready to serve him, and to do him any kindness; hoping to receive assistance from him against the count of Toulouse, with whom he was at war, and owing to whom he had undergone many dangers.
A.D. 1240.] EARL RICHARD FORBIDDEN TO SET SAIL. 289
Earl Richard visits St. Gile's.
When Earl Richard had arrived thus far, knowing that he was not far from the city of St. Giles, he hastened thither to pay his devotions; in order that in the same way as he had a short time before, at a general chapter of the Cistercians, commended himself in all humility to their prayers, and in his innate munificence bestowed on them a yearly income of twenty marks for the improvement of the condition of the community, so, with the favour of St. Giles, he might more safely pass through the dangers of the sea.
The pope forbids Earl Richard to set sail.
When Earl Richard had arrived at St. Giles's, he was met by a legate and the archbishop of Arles, who forbade him, by authority of the pope, to set sail; at which the earl was greatly astonished, and replied that he once believed there was truth in the words of the Apostolic See, and in the preachers whom it sent; but being greatly vexed at this prohibition, he said:- "I have made all the necessary preparations for my passage, I have bidden farewell to my friends, I have sent my money and arms in advance of me, and I have got my ships ready and loaded them with provisions, and now the tone is altered; and just as I have arrived at the seacoast, and am about to embark, the pope, who is called the successor and vicar of Jesus Christ, who is said never to have broken his word, forbids me to proceed on the service of Christ, although I am now ready for all emergencies". These legates, then, seeing that they could not prevent his setting sail, advised him to leave the port of Marseilles, and to put to sea from the port of Aigues Mortes, which latter place was abhorred by the whole army, owing to its foul and sickly state, and they therefore dissuaded the earl from so doing; he, therefore, despite the false and ambiguous arguments of the legates, and detesting the duplicity of the Roman church, with great bitterness of spirit, adhered to his purpose of sailing from Marseilles. He then went, in the first place, to Roche, where he prepared and loaded his ships, and also sent word to the emperor by special messengers, namely, the knight Robert de Twenge, and others, informing him of his condition, and the pope's
290 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
cunning devices; and on the week before the octaves of the Nativity of St. Mary, he put to sea.
War between the sons of Llewellyn.
On St. Guthlac's day [April 11th] in this year, a war broke out in Wales between the two sons of Llewellyn, and continued without ceasing from the above-named day, on which the said prince went the way of all flesh, till the end of the summer, namely Michaelmas-day, until at length one of the brothers was put in prison, and the Welsh then checked their violence. For David, the king's nephew, treacherously summoned his eldest brother to a council, to come to some reasonable terms of peace; and on his coming to it under the conduct of the bishop of Bangor, his brother David ordered him to be seized and imprisoned.
The election of Peter d'Aigueblanche as bishop of Hereford.
On St. Bartholomew's day, Master Peter d'Aigueblanche, a Provencal by birth, who had been formerly a familiar clerk and steward of William, bishop elect of Valencia, was elected bishop of Hereford; and after a short interval of time was received with great honour by the king, and confirmed in the see without any trouble or opposition. A certain canon of Lichfield, a praiseworthy man, who had been elected, seeing that bad times were impending, and that the king regarded none but foreigners, resigned his claim, and committed the management of his church to God and his brother canons.
The birth of the king's daughter.
After the solemnization of the festival of the Holy Angels [October 2nd], Queen Eleanor brought the king a daughter, who received the name of Margaret, which was the name of her aunt, the queen of the French, and also because in the pains of childbirth the queen had invoked St. Margaret.
The consecration of Andelm as archbishop of Armagh.
In the same year, on St. Jerome's day [September 30th], Master Andelm, a native of Cologne, and a man distinguished in morals and literature, was, at Westminster, solemnly consecrated archbishop of Armagh (the metropolitan church of all Ireland), in the presence of the king, the
A.D. 1240.] WARREN PROCESS OF ST. ALBANS. 291
legate, and several bishops, the bishop of Worcester officiating.
The dedication of St. Pau's temple at London.
On St. Remigius' day [May 12th], St. Paul's Church, at London, was dedicated by Roger, bishop of the city, in the presence of the king and many of the bishops and nobles, who all partook of a festive banquet that day with the bishop and canons; and to all those who came and devoutly prayed there an indulgence was granted for fourteen years; and all these things were confirmed by the legate and the bishops present.
The death of Thomas de Muleton.
In the summer of this year, Thomas de Muleton went the way of all flesh: he was a knight of experience in warlike feats when youth smiled upon him, as also when he came to a more advanced age - a man abounding in possessions, and well skilled in secular law. This knight, in his desire to enlarge his own territory, had often caused much injury and loss to the abbey of St. Alban's, whose farms adjoined his own.
A dispute arises between the abbat of St. Alban's and some knights.
In this year, certain knights and others, to whom the abbats of St Albans, in their kindness, had given permission to hunt for a time in the free warren of St. Alban's, which had been granted to the church in times long past, and had been confined to it by the kings and its founders, as the noble writings of that church testify, abusing the favour granted to them, and infected by the vice of ingratitude, claimed this favour as a standing custom and perpetual right, and endeavoured to deprive, or rather disinherit, the church of its rights. Abbat John, however, who then held the abbey, and who was bound by right of profession to restore the injured liberties and scattered possessions of the church, laid a serious complaint in this matter before the king, and obtained the following warrant against them.
Warren process of St. Alban's.
"Henry, by the grace God, etc., to the sheriff of Hertford, greeting.- If the abbat of St. Alban's shall guarantee you to prosecute his claim, then summon, by good and lawful
292 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
summoners, Geoffrey de Childwick, Geoffrey, William, John, and Richard, his sons, William de Gorham, Thomas de Wauz, and Walter and Henry, his sons, Adam de Sumery, and David de Garpenville, to appear before our justiciaries at the first assize, when they come into these parts, to show cause why they have hunted and taken hares, without his (the said abbat's) leave, in his free warren of St. Alban's, and have these summoners and this brief with you. Witness myself at Westminster, this twenty-sixth day of June, in the twenty-fourth year of our reign. Done at Hertford, during one month from the day of St. John the Baptist's Nativity, before William of York, provost of Beverley, Henry of Bath, Roger de Turkby, and Gilbert Preston, our justiciaries, in the circuit in that county, in the twenty-fourth year of the reign of King Henry, son of King John".
Citation to appear btfore the justiciaries.
"Geoffrey de Childwick, Geoffrey, William, and Richard, his sons, William de Gorham, Thomas de Wauz, and Walter and Henry, his sons, Adam de Sumery, and David de Garpenville, have been summoned by brief of our lord the king, to answer to the abbat of St. Alban's, for having hunted and taken hares in his free warren of St. Alban's without his leave; and the complaint of the abbat is, that on Wednesday next before the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, they came with dogs, and took hares in his warren; and likewise that they have hunted in all the undermentioned fields of his in the warren; namely, in the fields of St. Alban's, Kinsbury, Park, Langley, Cashiobury, Rickmansworth, Cuddicote, Waldon, Sandridge, Tidenhanger, Bamet, and Redburn, and in the lands of his domain and of his yeomen, contrary to his liberty, which he has enjoyed from the time of the elder King Henry, and for which he was mulcted in the sum of forty marks. And Geoffrey and all his sons, and Adam de Sumery, come and defend this violence and injury, and say, that they and their ancestors have, from the time of the Conquest, hunted in the aforesaid places by right, in the time of King Henry, grandfather of the present king, in the time of King John, and in the time of the present King Henry, and have held this hunting as of their right; and they offer five marks to their lord the king, hereby, that inquiry may be
A.D. 1240.} PROCEEDINGS AT CAMBRIDGE. 293
made, whether the aforesaid Geoffrey and his predecessors, Thomas de Wauz and his predecessors, and Adam de Sumery and his predecessors, have held this hunting as of their right in the time of King Henry, grandfather of the present king, and ever since, or if they have held this right of hunting by force, or by permission of the predecessors of the aforesaid abbat, or by inquisition; and their claim was received. And the said abbat also gives five marks for the holding the said inquisition; and a day is appointed in the octaves of Michaelmas, for them to appear before the said justiciaries, at Cambridge".
Proceedings at Cambridge; in the octaves of Michaelmas before the foresaid justiciaries.
The jury, by consent of the parties, who sat to determine this question, were Peter de Thaly, William Revel, William de Thorleigh, Simon de Fornell, Henry de Holwell, Ralph Fitzfulk, William de St Leger, Peter de Wells, Richard Muschet, and William de Holwell, whether Geoffrey de Childwick, Geoffrey, William, and Richard, his sons, Thomas de Wauz, and Walter and Henry his sons, and Adam de Sumery, and their ancestors, have had their right of hunting in the time of King Henry, grandfather of the present king, and ever since, in the towns of St. Alban's, Kingsbury, Sandridge, Tidenhanger, Park, Cashiobury, Langley, Rickmansworth, Cuddicote, Waldon, Barnet, and Redburn, as of their right, as the said Geoffrey and the rest state, or if they have held this right of hunting by force, or by permission of the predecessors of the abbat of St. Alban's, or by escheat, as the said abbat states. And they say, upon their oath, that they understand that the abbats of St. Alban's have always held their warren free in the aforesaid towns in the time of King Henry, the grandfitther of the present king; because they say that they have examined a certain charter, which the said King Henry, the grandfather of our lord the present king, granted to the house of St. Alban's, and in which the said king makes mention of holding the aforesaid warren in the aforesaid towns, and which the abbats of the said house had held in the time of King Henry the elder, his grandfather. They also say that if the aforesaid Geoffrey, or the others, or their predecessors, have coursed in the aforesaid warren in the aforesaid towns, it has been by
294 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
permission of the abbats for the time being, and sometimes in opposition to them; so that the aforesaid abbats for the time being have sometimes taken their dogs and their retainers, and have beaten and ill-treated their retainers; from which cause battles have sometimes occurred in that county, and the dogs have been replevined, and peace has afterwards been made between them. And they distinctly say that they, the aforesaid parties, have never coursed in the aforesaid warren by any right which they had or could have had in it; and therefore it is decided that the abbat and his successors shall henceforth have and hold the aforesaid warren in the aforesaid villages quietly for ever, free from any claim which the aforesaid Geoffrey and others, or their heirs, may have in it for ever. And Geoffrey and all the others in charity shall indemnify the said abbat for his losses, by the payment of the sum of forty marks, and the sheriff of Hertford is enjoined by brief of our lord the king to cause the said money to be raised from their lands and chattels, and to be paid without delay to the aforesaid abbat.
The election of the knights Jurors.
Twelve belted knights were elected at the assize, by consent of the parties; and the parties agreed to abide the decision of ten, because two did not appear, namely Richard Box and Richard Butelle, of Maldon, in Essex.
Brief of the warren.
"John of Waddington, sheriff of Hertford and Essex, to his well-beloved John de Beyforey his bailiff, greeting,- I have received a warrant from our lord the king to the following effect:-
"'H., by the grace of God, king of England, to the sheriff of Hertford and Essex, greeting,- We command you to cause the sum of forty marks to be raised from the lands and chattels of Geoffrey de Childwick, Geoffrey, William, and Richard, his sons, Thomas de Wauz, and Walter and Henry his sons, Adam de Sumery, and David de Garpenville, in your bailiwick, and pay over the same without delay to the abbat of St. Alban's, for the losses the said abbat has incurred by reason of the dispute which has arisen between him the said abbat and the aforesaid Geoffreys, William,
A.D. 1240.] ARRIVAL OF PETER LE ROUGE. 295
Richard, Thomas, Walter, Henry, Adam, and David, concerning the said abbat's warren. Witness myself', etc.
"I therefore order you to fulfil the commands of our lord the king", etc. Judgment was pronounced on St. Dionysius' day, about the ninth hour.
The situation of the emperor of Constantinople.
In this same year, the emperor of Constantinople sent word to the English king, as his especial friend and kinsman, that he had arrived prosperously in great strength in the Greek provinces, surrounded by a powerful army of French, and that his name, namely that of Baldwin, had become formidable to all his enemies. He also stated that he had laid siege to a very large city not far from Constantinople, and that, if it should submit to his rule, the whole adjacent country for three days' journey round would fall into his power, and that the way of approach to Constantinople would be laid open and free from danger, and that the war prospered in his hands.
The legate summoned to the Roman court.
About this time, the legate was summoned, by a warrant from the pope, to proceed, as soon as the business he had taken in hand was finished, to the court of Rome, which was awaiting a general council, and to hasten his coming as much as he could, in order to hold a discussion on that difficult matter with his brethren, who much needed his wise counsel, and by showing himself amongst them to anticipate the arrival of others. The legate, therefore, in obedience to this summons, unceasingly collected a great quantity of hay, piles of wood, and other necessaries for passing the winter, and was not backward in extorting procurations from many, whose goods had already been almost exhausted, to their great grief and astonishment.
The arrival of Peter Le Rouge from Scotland.
Near about the feast of All Saints, Le Rouge and Ruffinus came from Scotland, bringing with them three thousand pounds for the pope's use; from another quarter came Mumelinus, bringing with him twenty-four Romans to receive benefices in England. By these events the English were placed in a most wretched condition, and were involved and crushed, as it were, between two millstones on one side, and
296 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
two others on the other; for on one side Peter Le Rouge, on another Mumelinus, on another the king, and on another the legate, continually harassed the prelates, religious men, and clerks; and the king of Scotland permitted these injuries, which none of his predecessors ever endured, to pass over in silence.
Earl G., marshal, becomes reconciled to the king.
In the summer of this year, whilst Earl Richard was at London, and was discussing with the king his brother as to whether he should travel by way of Italy or Marseilles, at length, by the advice and arrangement of Brother Theodoric, prior of the Hospitallers of St. John, he decided to make the passage with this said brother as a guide, and to embark on board ship, to pass the Mediterranean Sea, and whilst this was passing in his mind, Earl G., marshal, came to the said earl and offered in his presence to clear himself of all the charges made against him, by whomsoever made, and lawfully and according to their decision to give satisfaction to the king before the whole court in the matter of which he complained. Earl Richard on this interceded for him with the king, who laid aside all his former rancour and anger against him: it is, however, believed, that Earl G., marshal, obtained this favour by means of presents both to the king and Earl Richard, according to the words of the poet:-
Crede mihi, res est ingeniosa dare.
[The best of ways, you may believe,
To gain a favour, is to give.]
Maurice, the justiciary, effects a reconciliation with Earl G., marshal,
Maurice, the justiciary of Ireland, having been faithfully informed of all this, hastened with all speed to the king, who was then staying at London, being desirous of pacifying the feelings of Earl G., marshal, whom he knew to be excited against him on account of the death of his brother, Earl R., who was slain in Ireland. First of all he came prepared to clear himself in every way by trial before the king and his court, of the murder of the said earl, according to the decision of the nobles, and lawfully to repel that disgrace from himself, as he knew himself to be untainted by it. Besides this, although he knew that his conscience was clear, he promised that he would, for the sake of peace aud reestablishing their former friendship, found a noble convent
A.D. 1240.] COMPLAINT OF THE PRINCE OF CONNAUGHT. 297
for the benefit of the soul of the said Earl R., without any loss of time, and liberally endow it with rich possessions, and provide it with an assembly of monks. The king, when he found the firmness of his words and learnt his pious intentions, sent for Earl G., marshal, and took on himself the office of intercessor and mediator to establish peace, and he alleged that that passage of the Gospel where the decision of our Lord was given in the case of the servant and his fellow-servant was fully verified; he also determinedly declared, according to the divine sentence, that he, the marshal, was unworthy of his pardon, unless he granted the same with placid feelings to his neighbour when demanding it of him as a suppliant, and who was willing to clear himself of the crime imputed to him. For he affirmed before God, that he was in no way polluted by that murder which he was accused of having committed, and by which slander his honour had been blackened in no small degree. Thus by the intervention of the king and the nobles, Earl G. was inclined to list to entreaties and reason, and as Maurice wisely humiliated himself, peace and concord was re-established between the two.
The prince of Connaught complains to the king.
About this same time, a certain petty prince of that part of Ireland named Connaught, came to the king at London, and laid a heavy complaint before him and his court, of the injuries inflicted on him by John de Bourg, who unceasingly devastated his territory with fire and sword. For all these injuries he now demanded justice to be done him, that the daring violence of that noble should be checked by the royal authority, and entreated of the king not to permit his faithful subject, who had paid an annual tribute of five thousand marks for his kingdom ever since he had been allowed to hold it in peace and been confirmed in it by King John, who had by force reduced him and his kingdom to subjection to him, to be deprived unjustly of his inheritance by (as he called him) an ignoble adventurer. The king giving a favourable ear to his just demands, ordered the said Maurice, who was then in his presence, to pluck up that plantation of unfruitful sycamores which Hubert, earl of Kent, in the ravings of his power, had planted in those provinces, and not to permit them to shoot up any further. He also wrote orders to
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the nobles of Ireland to drive John de Bourg from their territories, and to appoint and establish a king in their kingdom, on a peaceable foundation. In this manner, by the consolations of the king, the hopes of the aforesaid prince were raised, and he returned to his own possessions.
The pope endeavours to recede from his truce with the emperor.
At the end of the summer, the legate, finding that the pope had agreed to a truce with the emperor, to last till the general council which was to be held at the ensuing Easter, was greatly enraged, and sent word to his holiness that he was become effeminate in mind, and pusillanimous, that his spirits were broken, and that he had sunk into despair. And not without reason, as he had in France alone already collected money enough to enable him without fear to carry on the war against the emperor for a whole year. The pope, on hearing this, repented and was sorry that he had agreed to the truce, and summoned Master John de Colonna and Master Raymond, his chief cardinals, who had been the mediators in arranging the truce and the intercessors with the emperor, and addressing the former of them, John, said, "I am ashamed of myself for having granted a truce to this enemy of the Church, Frederick; do you, therefore, as you were the interpreter between us in the matter, go with all haste to him, and tell him that I do not choose to accept of the truce, and boldly defy him, and declare that I shall be his enemy henceforth, as I am now and have been formerly". To this John replied, "Far be it that there should be such fickleness of speech in the mouth of such a great man, and that they should be sent to such a great prince, especially by us who are not considered common persons; and to this fickle and faithless plan I will on no account consent, but firmly oppose it". The pope then said, "I no longer consider you as my cardinal"; to which John replied, "And I will no longer esteem you as pope". In this manner he went away, and from a friend became an enemy; in the same manner as when a certain unjust emperor said to one of his senators, "Depart, you are no longer my senator"; to which the senator boldly replied, "And you are no longer my emperor"; for in the same way as the subject is bound to his lord, so the lord is bound to the subject.
A.D. 1240.] DILIGENCE OF THE LEGATE. 299
How the legate amassed a large sum of money in France.
When this became known to the French king, he ordered the whole of the money which the legate had, with his permission, gathered in his territories, extorting it from the clerical community by honeyed words and bitter threats, to be kept back until he should see the issue of the event, in order that the pope, who was called the vicar of Christ on earth, might at least prove true to his word in this case. The truce therefore still continued inviolate between them, except as regarded the enemies of the emperor, namely the Milanese and some other Italian people, about whom it was not the pope's business to be anxious, as it had been settled at first in drawing up the treaty.
The pope's craftiness in exacting money in England.
The pope, who carefully watched every chance of amassing money, expecting the wished-for booty from England, sent word to the legate, not to attempt to convene the whole of the clergy together, as formerly, that they might not be encouraged one by the other, and relying on their former reasons and objections, again oppose his designs; but rather to summon each of them, one by one, and endeavour thus to bend them to his will, first weakening the firmness of the king, that he, who had formerly stood by the clergy and given it horns, might become weak to its ruin.
The diligence of the legate in collecting money.
On receipt of this message, the legate, from being skilful in injury, became more skilful; and, by authority of the pope, summoned the whole body of the clergy of England to appear before him, at London, on All Saints' day. On the appointed day, therefore, all the clergy and religious men assembled, when they found the king opposed to them as an open enemy, for he was become to them, as it were, the stalk of a reed - on which those who lean in confidence, are wounded by the fragments of it. The religious men, therefore, as well as the archdeacon and beneficed clergy, who had come there to oppose the legate to his face, and who were animated by a prompt spirit to appeal to the approaching council, seeing that they were become as sheep delivered to the bloody jaws of wolves, yielded their consent to the
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honeyed and seductive speeches of the legate, which he afterwards converted into shafts of enmity.
The death of the monks of Durham at Rome.
About this time, the monks of Durham, who were staying at Rome, to obtain a confirmation of their election, suffered much harm, owing to the impediments thrown in the way of completing their business by the king, so that being wearied by suspense, they pined away, as it were, with grief, and falling sick, took to their beds; fulfilling the words of Solomon, who says, "A broken spirit drieth up the bones". Four of those who were staying there died, who had been selected from the rest of their brethren as being considered more prudent than the rest, as well as some clerks and attendants skilled in the law, who had been deputed to attend them for their consolation and comfort; and thus the most influential party of the convent perished, whether by casual disease, or sadness of spirit, by pestilence, or poison, is unknown. When the prior of Durham, the bishop elect, heard of this event, he was overcome with sorrow, and was horror-struck, because, although the king was the chief cause of it, for not allowing vacant churches to be ordained, yet he seemed to have been the occasion of such a great misfortune; he, therefore, at once voluntarily resigned the station, declaring that he should never recover his former state of joy and cheerfulness. The monks, then, being thus left at liberty to elect another prelate, went to the king, in the usual way, and asked him to grant them proper facilities for electing one, which request the king granted; but at the same time, as the poet says,-
Imperium, promissa, preces, confudit in unum.
[With mixed commands, and promises, and prayers,
At once the lord and suppliant he appears.]
He most earnestly begged of them to nominate and elect Master Peter d'Aigueblanche, bishop elect of Hereford, a Provencal by birth, or else Bonifacius, the queen's uncle, of the morals and knowledge of which two men they were totally ignorant; but they knew that they were both of foreign extraction, and incompetent for such a station; and there was no necessity for England, which often supplied fit persons for the government of churches in other countries,
A.D. 1240.] THE MILANESE BURN THE HERETICS. 301
to beg for such people beyond its own boundaries, and in distant countries.
The Saracens consult the fates by drawing lots.
In the same year, at a time suited to the purpose, according to the abominable doctrines of the science of necromancy, or the mathematical art, the Saracens in the East, being desirous of gaining a knowledge of future events connected with the Christian army, then approaching against them, made a sacrifice and a horrible invocation to the demons, and cast lots. After the completion of this superstitious act, their high priest, with a dejected look and mournful voice, thus addressed the chiefs:- "Be it known to your high mightinesses, that the fates are averse to us". And then taking up a parable, and imbibing the inspiration of the unclean spirit, he continued the discourse which he had begun, saying, "Let not the victory lately given to you by the gods, elate or exalt you too much, for there are those approaching who will boldly require the blood of the conquered at your hands, with the vengeance of ample retribution". At hearing this, his auditors were astounded, and one of the principal chiefs asked of the aforesaid conjurer, who was the chief of the Christian army, to which he received for reply, "It is a certain young man, whose coming is about to take place immediately". The chief then said to the sorcerer, "Is he of the family of that illustrious king who some time ago struck terror into the whole of the East"? The sorcerer replied, "He is the grandson of that king, and bears his name". "And what are his morals? What is his power"? "His prudence is greater, but his strength is less; yet, the latter increases each successive day". At these words, fear and despair took possession of all; but the sorcerer, on seeing them weeping abundantly, and sorrowing inconsolably, continued his divination:- "Do not weep; we ought rather to pray and to hope, that, being entangled in the meshes of their sins, the Christians may, as they lately did at Damietta, lose the favour of Christ, their God, who loves the purity of honour". And in this way their fear was in some slight degree alleviated.
The Milanese burn the heretics amongst them.
The Milanese, about this time, rather through fear of
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punishment than from love of virtue, in order to redeem their good name and be able more freely to answer to the charges made against them by the emperor, burnt the heretics who inhabited their city in great numbers; by which deed the number of the citizens was greatly diminished. For they were in alarm for themselves, because they were, like all his Italian enemies, excluded from enjoyment of the truce; and as they trusted entirely to the pope, who had promised that he would on no account come to terms with the emperor without informing them, they found themselves entirely helpless, and dreaded a judicial sentence and utter destruction at the impending general council
Simon the Norman is deprived of all his benefices but one.
At this time, owing to the king's revengeful anger. Master Simon the Norman, who had been for some years past the king's chief councillor and the keeper of the royal seal, was, by authority of the pope, deprived of all his benefices except one, and forcibly expelled from the archdeaconry of Norwich. And as he had obtained a dispensation to hold several benefices, the pope, that he might not appear to lay his hand on him too heavily, although no one appeared as intercessor for the said Simon, limited the amount of his revenue to a hundred thousand marks. He therefore became a mark of reproach to his acquaintance, and thus gathered the fruit of his ways; as the poet says,-
Jam non ad culmina rerum
Injustos crevisse queror, tolluntar in altum,
Ut lapsu graviore ruant.
[That wicked men do rise, I will not now complain;
They only mount up to the skies that they may fall again.]
This was the man who had given evil advice, injurious to the kingdom, who had caused the legate to stay in England when he was prepared to journey to the other side of the Alps; who when in the presence of the pope, and asked by him why the king of England did not love all his natural subjects, but summoned foreigners to his councils, replied,- "There is not at this time one Englishman of approved fidelity in England to whom the king can trust confidently"; which speech, so full of ingratitude, Master Robert Summercote,
A.D. 1240.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER TO THE KING. 303
the cardinal, an Englishman by birth, interrupted him in, and severely reproached him for.
Pleasant news from the Holy Land.
In the course of this year, after all the sufferings and reverses which the worshippers of the footsteps of Christ, the most Christian knights in the Holy Land had suffered, the Lord gave great consolation to his people, as is related in the following letter:-
"Brother Hermann, of Perigord, by the grace of God, humble master of the poor knights of the Temple, to his beloved brother in Christ, Master Robert Sandford, preceptor of the house of the said knights in England, greeting in the Lord.- We have to inform your community, that after the Christian army had lain for a long time on the sand, weary and inactive, could not decide what course to hold, or what to do, until at length the Lord, rising on high, has visited it - not owing to the urgency of its merits, but in the clemency of his usual mercy. For the sultan of Damascus, not through fear of the Christians, by the miraculous intervention of the Lord, has restored to the Christian power the whole of the country entire, from the river Jordan, with this covenant and agreement between the two parties, namely, that the one shall assist the other to the utmost of his power in defending their country against the sultan of Babylon, neither party to make terms with the said sultan without the other's agreeing to it. This agreement was received with unanimous consent. Blessed be God for all things, who has effected this". All this was said to be the result of their unfavourable oracular response, of which we have made mention in a preceding page.
The messenger who brought this good news from the Holy Land met the fleet of Earl Richard making a prosperous voyage; he also announced that the sultan of Damascus most certainly purposed receiving the rites of baptism.
The emperor's letter to the king of England.
The emperor, about this time, wrote the following letter to the king of England:-
"The emperor to the king, greeting.- How, at the pressing instance of the Lombards, the high priest of the Roman see has, in his ill-advised anger, acted against us, public report
304 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
has sufficiently informed you. How that, before he, laying aside all due respect to religion and the dignity of his pontifical office, took up arms, and appointed himself leader and chief of our rebellious subjects, we demanded a general council, and especially the presence of messengers from you, we think is no secret to your serene majesty. Again, it has not escaped your knowledge, how, at the instance of some of his brethren, who were devising plans to remedy such a great danger, we in our majesty condescended, beyond the expectations of all who asked us, only excluding the Lombards, to permit him, by a truce, to draw breath, free from annoyances so unusual to priests, and we sought to avoid the general scandal, and to find means to re-establish peace, that so we might not delay the deliverance of the Holy Land. He, however, would not suffer the Lombards, with whom he was allied, to be excluded from our truce, esteeming the suffrages of the Milanese and their adherents more than the split by which all the world was divided; and when we would not by any means consent to this, nor suffer those who were guilty of treason against us to be included in our truce, or allow them to be strengthened by the pope's protection in any way, he, at length, seeing that the said rebels against us were deficient in valour themselves, and that he could not give them the remedy of peace for a time, he afterwards turned his mind to other devices, and endeavoured, by means of the venerable bishop of Brescia, who was coming to us, to induce us, as he was employing himself (so he stated) in summoning the messengers of several kings and some princes and prelates from the western countries to the synod, in order to re-establish peace between us and the Church, to include the aforesaid rebellious Lombards in the truce with him, which was to last until the next feast of the Resurrection of our Lord; giving as the reason, that from a general truce, greater security would be afforded to those summoned to the synod. Listen to his admirable method of outmanoeuvring us, most cunningly devised for the depression of our just cause; for whilst he is pretending that he wishes to keep peace with us, he offers an appearance of concord to us, in order afterwards the better to establish in their rebellion these Lombards, who will be gaining breath for a time by the help of the truce, and in the mean time more freely
A.D. 1240.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER TO THE KING. 305
procure the assistance of the prelates, who are coming to join in the quarrel against us. And that you may plainly see that he is summoning this council to promote discord rather than peace, give your attention to the form of his summons, in which nothing at all is mentioned of making arrangements for future peace, except that he asserts that the presence of those summoned is necessary to settle the great and difficult business of the Roman church; look at the time when he endeavours to bring the legate upon us before the council, after he had attacked us in a hostile way: consider the persons he has summoned, rejecting the messengers of your majesty, through whom you have often offered to arrange this peace with him; for instance, the count of Provence, an open rebel against your majesty; the doge of Venice; the marquis of Ostia; the count of St. Bonifacio; Almeric de Romandiola; Biaquin; Giustino de Camino; and Paul Traversari, with whom, after making them presents of money, as is notorious by public report, he has conspired to our injury, and now summons them expressly by name to the aforesaid synod. Nevertheless, in reverence for the King on high, we thought proper to reply to his so-called bishop, because we have not any dispute with the holy Roman church, our mother; but we defend the just cause of our empire from the violence of this Roman pontiff, and ward off the injuries done to it by him. Nevertheless, we have always wished, and we still wish, to be at peace with him, in order thus to avoid a general dissension in the world; and that the arrangement for making peace might not be from more distant parties, we have, through this said bishop and other good men, who are aware of the justice of our cause, and are anxious to promote peace in general, declared ourselves ready to arrange a peace at once, in order that these evils may the sooner be removed from amongst us; we have also consented to enter into a truce with the said pontiff, although unfavourable to us, who were prepared for all the chances of war, hoping by it, as by a life-preserving ladder, to climb to the lofty palaces of peace the more easily. The Lombards, however, who are rebels against our royal dignity, we will for ever, as we have always done, exclude from all connection with this truce, nor will we, in the present critical state of afiairs between us and him, allow the council to be convoked
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by him, an open enemy of the empire; for we should consider it most unbefitting us and the empire, as well as all the nobles of the land, to submit our cause to a suspected court, or to the decision of the synod; and we refuse safe-conduct in person and property through the country subject to our rule to all who are summoned to the council. Wherefore, by these presents, we exhort your majesty to publish this our royal proclamation, by each and all of the prelates of your kingdom, and spread it abroad, that no one is to come to this council with any confidence in receiving safe-conduct from us. For however much we may wish to show respect to the subjects of your kingdom, on account of the special affection we bear to you, yet it would not be by any means becoming to us to tolerate the presumptuous audacity of those who would come at the summons of our enemy. Given at our camp, at the siege of Faenza, this thirteenth day of September, the thirteenth Indiction".
The motives by which the emperor was induced to endeavour to oppose the council.
The emperor was excited by the undermentioned and some other reasonable causes, and, fearing that treachery against him was planned in the holding of this council, he began to take measures to oppose it, warned also by the causes in part above mentioned.
In the first place, then, the emperor complained of the inopportune and too sudden time, to the settling of which he had never consented. Again, because it had been before arranged and determined by the mutual consent of the pope, as well as the emperor, that the pope was not to summon those who were to be summoned to the council when the cause of both parties was to be specially brought under discussion. Again, although the council was to have been summoned for the purpose of restoring and firmly establishing peace between them, and for no other reason, the pope had made no mention of this reason in his warrant of summons, but had only mentioned "to settle the arduous business of the Church", entirely suppressing the matter for which the council ought chiefly to have been summoned, and thus broke the promises which had been made, and confirmed on both sides. Again, the emperor says that the pope had summoned to the council the open and declared enemies of
A.D 1240.] THE EMPEROR'S OPPOSITION TO THE COUNCIL. 307
the empire (the names of whom the emperor mentions in his letter), and has bribed them with imperial presents, so that they are bent to a bad intent, and will be disgraced by the name of traitors for ever, together with their posterity; and to such men the arrangements of the difficult matters of the empire ought not to be intrusted. Again, the emperor says, "Cardinal Otto, the legate in England, and the king of England, aspiring to debase me, have drained that country of almost all its money; and have also caused an anathema to be pronounced against us in that kingdom, to the great shame of the empire, and the disparagement of our honour; wherefore we ought with good reason to consider them and all the prelates of England as our enemies, inasmuch as they have poured forth their money to our injury, and have stifled our honour to the utmost of their power, and they are not influenced by the circumstance of my being allied by the ties of kindred with the English king, and that I have never injured them: it would therefore be absurd and entirely discordant with reason for me to undergo a trial by them". Again, the emperor says, that "by the delay caused by the truce agreed on, which is suspicious, nay, injurious to us and whilst the business of the council is being discussed (which will, perhaps, not be soon determinately settled), our enemies will be able to recover breath, and, with the assent and encouragement of the pope, who has appointed himself their chief, defender, and champion, to rise with renewed strength to attack us". Again, the emperor says, that "the pope is awaiting a large sum of money, to be extorted from the prelates of France and England especially, which he has promised to give to the enemies of the empire; from which he, the pope, and they, derive their confidence and their pride, and that he, the emperor, has just cause to fear the result for himself". This detestable custom took its origin from his predecessor, Innocent, at the last council, by which, after the council had been held, the prelates were not allowed to depart until the pope had extorted money from all of them, one by one, without paying any regard to the trouble and expenses of the harassed prelates on their journey. Again, the emperor says that all the prelates, especially those of England, consider themselves bound by their profession and oath to the pope as their liege lord,
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and not to the emperor or empire; wherefore he, the emperor, considers that their decision would with good reason be a matter of suspicion and of fear to him, especially as the pope is known to be his especial and deadly enemy, and can easily bias the decision of his own clergy; and is also endeavouring, and exerts all his knowledge and industry to destroy the emperor as well as the empire. But according to the words of Ovid,-
Ut latro, sic cautus praecingitur ense viator:
Hic parat insidias; hie sibi praestat opem.
[The prudent traveller, like the thief,
With sword himself doth arm:
Not, like him, others to attack,
But save himself from harm.]
The emperor, therefore, after weighing these points, and others unknown to the people, in the scale of subtle reasoning, knowing that many were conspiring to do him an injury, began by the aforesaid letter civilly to warn all those who were summoned and coming to the council, of the dangers impending over them; namely, that he would not protect those who took their way through his dominions.
Earl Richard arrives at the Holy Land after a prosperous voyage.
Earl Richard, who, during this time, had been on his voyage to the Holy Land, at length arrived safely on the twelfth day after Michaelmas-day, at the port of Acre, together with the whole of his own fleet, as well as the foreign fleet which had joined him; on his landing, he was received with great joy by the prelates and clerks in procession, clothed in their sacred robes, and by chiefs and knights, who came to meet him with due reverence, amidst the applause of the people, the ringing of bells, the chantings of the clergy, and the music of cymbals and harps, with attendant bands of dancers; so that at his arrival, all seemed to be united with the inhabitants of heaven, and were refreshed with inexpressible joy and exultation; for, raising their hands towards heaven, they cried, "Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord". On the third day after he had landed, he caused proclamation to be made in Acre by the voice of a herald, that no Christian pilgrim should take his departure, owing to a want of money, but that all were to
A.D. 1240.] DEATH OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. 309
stay and fight boldly for Christ, and they would be supported by pay from him.
The death of Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury.
Whilst the wheel of fortune was thus changeably agitating the course of worldly events, Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, who had gone voluntarily into exile on the continent, pined away both in body and mind, and with frequent sighs continually exclaimed, "Oh! how much better would it be to die than to see the sufferings of one's people and of the saints, upon earth". For those whom he had bound, the legate, without regard to his own dignity, and to his own disfavour, absolved, and vice versa. In his desire, therefore, for his dissolution, and to be with Christ, he prayed as follows: "Woe is me that my exile has been prolonged; it is already sufficient, and more than sufficient, that I have seen all things involved in destruction and ruin: take my life, oh Lord my God"! The said archbishop had been staying for some days at Pontigny, where his predecessor, the blessed martyr Thomas, had some time before dwelt during his exile; and at this place, with tears and fasting, he day and night offered up prayers to God and the blessed Thomas, for the condition of the English church, which was in such imminent peril. Being at length exhausted by abstinence, and worn away by grief, his body being empty, shrunk, and weakened, he fell seriously ill there, and by the advice of his physicians he caused himself to be conveyed, for the sake of inhaling a better air, to Soissy, where, after languishing for some time under dysentery, he was released from the bonds of the flesh, he bade farewell to this wicked world, and went the way of all flesh; and his spirit thus happily exchanged exile in this life for the heavenly country. Truly indeed was he an exile; his body only made pilgrimage in this life, and he languished under many causes of annoyance. The rebels against the Church, whom he had judicially excommunicated, the legate contumaciously and irreverently absolved, and, by the consent or permission of the king, rashly presumed to perform many other acts which did not pertain to his office, to the prejudice of the said archbishop, the primate of all England. This source of annoyance, however, forcibly excited the prelates of England, and a certain satirist, when the king and the
310 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1240.
legate were jestingly conversing together, and promising to co-operate with each other against everybody in everything, satirically enough rebuked them in the following words: "Go to, go to; now I well know, that when the shepherd and the wolf enter into a treaty of peace, a bloody slaughter of the sheep is impending".
The burial of Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury.
In this way, therefore, on the 16th of November, in the octaves of St. Martin, did Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, pass from this world, a confessor similar in many points to that saint and confessor; his death took place at a house of the Regular Canons at Soissy. During his stay there in his lifetime, the monks, at one time, thought that he was going away from them; on which the prior of the place said to him, "Why do you go away from us, my lord? Why do you abandon us? You will be harassed with the journey; rest in peace with us". To this the archbishop replied, "My heart will remain with you"; but they did not understand his speech; he, however, was taken ill and died there, and his body having been cut open, his entrails and his heart were buried there. That place is twenty leagues, that is, two days' journey, distant from Pontigny; and thus, at length, their eyes were opened, and they understood the meaning of the words which the archbishop had spoken. His clerks and attendants then had his sacred body clothed (as was the custom) in his pontifical robes, carried to Pontigny on a wooden conveyance, to be there buried. For he had, during his life, when he saw that he should soon depart this world, commended his cause to God and Saint Thomas (who, when exiled from England for the same cause as himself had found an asylum there), and bequeathed his body to the church of Pontigny. Whilst they were on their journey carrying his holy body to be buried, the sick, on account of the fame of his sanctity, flocked to it, confidently begging to be restored to health by Christ, through his prayers; and on one day the Lord, owing to his great merits, deigned three times manifestly to signalize the holy man, for his great merits, with great miracles, and a title of sanctity; for which the hymn of the angels, "We praise thee, oh God"! was three times solemnly and devoutly chanted. Pontigny, therefore, which
A.D. 1240.] OUR LORD'S CROWN OF THORNS. 311
had some time before been a place of refuge and an asylum to the blessed Thomas, deservedly received the body of the confessor, which, when it was being buried, was discovered to be eaten away by worms and worn away by sackcloth, and his knees, owing to his frequent genuflexions in prayer, to be marked and beautified by blessed callosities. And all this the said martyr Thomas had openly foretold.
The prelates of England set out to Rome.
During all these various changes of events, the emperor retracted from his observance of the truce agreed on, as the pope had previously done; he also cruelly harassed the city, which he was besieging. The prelates of England, however, and the legate, in obedience to the pope's commands, boldly prepared, although at great risk to themselves, to cross the Alps at the ensuing Christmas.
Peter d'Aigueblanche consecrated bishop of Hereford.
About this time, on the Sunday next before Christmas, Master Peter d'Aigueblanche was consecrated bishop of Hereford, in St. Paul's church at London, in the presence of the king and nobles, and amidst the plaudits of the multitude. At the same time the monks of Canterbury urged their claim to exercise the privileges of their church to the legate and the archbishop of York, as well as to the other prelates and nobles, who were there present.
Our Lord's crown of thorns brought to France.
In this year France flourished and exulted in reiterated favours of our Lord Jesus Christ; for besides being rewarded with the body of the confessor Edmund, who had removed himself from England, it was rejoiced by obtaining our Lord's crown of thorns, obtained at Constantinople. For at a time of necessity, and when money was deficient (a common case with those who carry on war), Baldwin, emperor of Constantinople, sent word to the French king, that as he was entirely destitute of money, if he, the French king, would give him effectual pecuniary assistance, he, the said emperor, would, in consideration of his old ties of friendship and relationship, give him the veritable crown of our Lord, which the Jews had woven and placed on his head when about to suffer on the cross for the redemption of the human race.
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The French king, by the advice of his natural councillors, willingly agreed to this, and, with his mother's concurrence, he liberally sent a large sum of money to the emperor Baldwin, whose money had been exhausted by continual wars, and thus replenished his treasury, inspirited his retainers and his army, and inspired the said Baldwin with confident hopes of obtaining a victory over the Greeks. In return for this great benefit obtained from the king, the emperor, according to his promises and agreements, faithfully sent to him the crown of Christ, precious beyond gold or topaz; it was therefore solemnly and devoutly received, to the credit of the French kingdom, and indeed of all the Latins, in grand procession, amidst the ringing of bells and the devout prayers of the faithful followers of Christ, and was placed with due respect in the king's chapel at Paris.
An irruption of the Tartars.
In this year, that human joys might not long continue, and that the delights of this world might not last long unmixed with lamentation, an immense horde of that detestable race of Satan, the Tartars, burst forth from their mountain-bound regions, and making their way through rocks apparently impenetrable, rushed forth, like demons loosed from Tartarus (so that they are well called Tartars, as it were inhabitants of Tartarus); and overrunning the country, covering the face of the earth like locusts, they ravaged the eastern countries with lamentable destruction, spreading fire and slaughter wherever they went. Roving through the Saracen territories, they razed cities to the ground, burnt woods, pulled down castles, tore up the vinetrees, destroyed gardens, and massacred the citizens and husbandmen; if by chance they did spare any who begged their lives, they compelled them, as slaves of the lowest condition, to fight in front of them against their own kindred. And if they only pretended to fight, or perhaps warned their countrymen to fly, the Tartars following in their rear, slew them; and if they fought bravely and conquered, they gained no thanks by way of recompense, and thus these savages ill-treated their captives as though they were horses. The men are inhuman and of the nature of beasts, rather to be called monsters than men, thirsting after and drinking blood, and
A.D. 1240.] IRRUPTION OF THE TARTARS. 313
tearing and devouring the flesh of dogs and human beings; they clothe themselves in the skins of bulls, and are armed with iron lances; they are short in stature and thickset, compact in their bodies, and of great strength; invincible in battle, indefatigable in labour; they wear no armour on the back part of their bodies, but are protected by it in front; they drink the blood which flows from their flocks, and consider it a delicacy; they have large and powerful horses, which eat leaves and even the trees themselves, and which, owing to the shortness of their legs, they mount by three steps instead of stirrups. They have no human laws, know no mercy, and are more cruel than lions or bears; they have boats made of the hides of oxen, ten or twelve having one amongst them; they are skilful in sailing or swimming, hence they cross the largest and most rapid rivers without any delay or trouble; and when they have no blood, they greedily drink disturbed and even muddy water. They have swords and daggers with one edge, they are excellent archers, and they spare neither sex, age, or rank; they know no other country's language except that of their own, and of this all other nations are ignorant. For never till this time has there been any mode of access to them, nor have they themselves come forth, so as to allow any knowledge of their customs or persons to be gained through common intercourse with other men; they take their herds with them, as also their wives, who are brought up to war, the same as the men; and they came with the force of lightning into the territories of the Christians, laying waste the country, committing great slaughter, and striking inexpressible terror and alarm into every one. The Saracens, therefore, desired and begged to be allowed to enter into alliance with the Christians, in order that they might, by multiplying their forces, be enabled to resist these human monsters. These Saracens, the memory of whom is detestable, are believed to have been of the ten tribes, who abandoned the law of Moses, and followed after the golden calves; and Alexander also endeavoured to shut them up in the precipitous Caspian mountains by walls cemented with bitumen; but as this work appeared to be beyond human accomplishment, he invoked the aid of the God of Israel; upon which the ridges of the mountains united one with another, and the place became inaccessible
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and impassable. Concerning this place Josepbus says, "How much will God do for his faithful servants, when he has done so much for infidels. From this it is clear that the Lord was not willing that they should go forth; however, as it is written in the scholastic history, they will come forth at the end of the world to commit great slaughter amongst men". Indeed it appears doubtful whether these Tartars, who at this time made their appearance, are the people mentioned for they do not speak in the Hebrew tongue, nor know the Mosaic law, nor do they enjoy, nor are they governed by legal institutes. But the reply to this is, that it nevertheless is probable that they are some of those who were inclosed in the mountains, of whom mention has been before made. And as in the time of the government of Moses their rebellious hearts were perverted to an evil way of thinking, so that they followed after strange gods and unknown customs, so now in a more wonderful manner, owing to the vengeance of God, they were unknown to every other nation, and their heart and language was confused, and their life changed to that of the cruel and irrational wild beast. They are called Tartars, from a river called Tartar, which runs through their mountains, through which they have made their way, in the same way as the river of Damascus is called Farfar.
The sufferings of the Christian captives in the Holy Land.
During all this time the French nobles, whom the sultans of Damascus and Babylon had taken prisoners, were kept in close confinement. One day, the sultan of Babylon ordered some of the captive French nobles to be brought before him, and amongst others, Count Almeric de Montfort was ordered into his presence; for the sultan knew that he was one of the more noble of his captives; but of the rank of all the others he was ignorant. The sultan then, addressing the count, said, "Have I any nobles of French race, prisoner, except yourself"? To which the earl replied that he had not, as he would rather that the sultan had remained in his ignorance than have known this, because his release would have been more easily obtained. On this, the sultan made a more diligent search, and discovered Richard, sheriff of Beaumont, and some other French nobles and men of rank amongst his prisoners, and therefore became enraged with
A.D. 1240.] FALL OF A NEW BUILDING. 315
the count for the lie, pious as it was, that he had told him, and consigned him to closer confinement in a castle called Maubech. The Saracen princes detested the deceit and falsehood of the French; and the sultan of Damascus, who had been at war with another Saracen prince, a relation of his, named Rooch, and against whom he had asked our assistance, and entered into a treaty with us, now, contrary to the terms of the treaty entered into with the Christians, as before stated, secretly made peace with the said prince - having no faith in the words or compacts of the Christians: and thus, therefore, the Christian army was confounded, and their hopes died away.
The king of Arragon and the count of Brittany make peace with the governor of Nazareth.
When these things became known, about the end of the year, the innate nobility of mind of the French declined and degenerated; for the king of Arragon, the count of Brittany, and some others of the French nobles in the Holy Land, were indignant at the increasing fame of Earl Richard, whilst they became, as it were, a broken army, and the relics of an already dispersed multitude, and were stirred up by the stings of envy; and they despised the earl's youth, as well as his English birth, inexperience, and effeminacy. They therefore went secretly to the Saracen chiefs, without the knowledge of the army in general, and on receipt of a large sum of money from them, granted them a truce for ten years; and then secretly packed up their baggage, and with their packsaddles filled with gold, went to the port of Joppa, and thus dishonourably left the Holy Land.
The death of John FitzRobert.
In this year died John FitzRobert, a man of noble birth, and one of the chief barons of the northern provinces of England
The fall of a new building.
In the same year, in the night of St. George's day, the stonework of a handsome gate, which the king had built at the expense of great labour, fell to the ground, together with the outworks and bastions, as if it had been shaken by an earthquake; ou hearing of which occurrence, the king
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ordered the fallen structure to be restored and more securely built.
The various occurrences of the whole year.
The course of events in this year was unfavourable to the kingdom of England, adverse to the holy Church, and injurious to the eastern as well as the western countries; for three successive months, namely in March and the two following months, the season was dry - rainy throughout the rest of the months, yet producing abundance of corn and fruit - but the rainy autumn in a great measure choked the abundant crops. In the Italian provinces, the inundations caused by the rain, which poured down from the mountains into the plains, at the end of this year, scarcely left a single bridge entire.
A remarkable battle amongst the fishes in the sea.
Although other great and unheard-of wonders happened in this year, we have thought it worth our while to mention in this work one more remarkable than the rest. As it is the nature of the sea to vomit up on dry land the dead bodies thrown into it, about eleven whales, besides other marine monsters, were cast up on the seacoast of England, dead, as if they had been injured in some kind of struggle - not, however, by the attacks or skill of man. The sailors and old people, dwelling near the coast, who had seen the wonders of the deep when following their vocation in the vast waters, and trafficking to distant countries, declared that there had been an unusual battle amongst the fishes, beasts, and monsters of the deep, which by wounding and gnawing each other, had caused death to several; and those which had been killed had been cast ashore. One of the fishes, a monster of prodigious size, made its way into the Thames, and with difficulty passed uninjured between the pillars of the bridge; it was carried as far as a manor of the king's called Mortlake, where it was followed by a number of sailors, and at length killed, after a great deal of trouble, by innumerable blows of spears. Of this event, a certain versifier jestingly remarked,-
Venerat ad funus Thetidis de piscibus unus,
Quem rex Neptunus misit quasi nobile munus.
[To Thetis' funeral came a monster fish,
By Neptune sent to make a glorious dish.]
A.D. 1240.] ST. ELIZABETH AND ST. HILDEGARIS. 317
The legate endeavours to extort money from the Cistercian monks.
In this year, too, the legate, in order to extort more money and to satisfy his avarice, importunately demanded procurations from the monks of the Cistercian order. They, however, strenuously opposed this demand, and, relying on their privileges, went to the court of Rome to obtain a decree against this wicked exaction, and brought back letters to the legate, to the following effect:-
The pope's letter,
"Gregory, bishop, etc., to the legate Otto, etc,- Although, if we remember rightly, we lately sent letters to you, authorizing you to exact procurations from the monks of the Cistercian order, if the indulgence granted to that order did not oppose it, yet it is not our intention - nor do we believe it to be yours - to extort pecuniary procurations from them, contrary, and in opposition to their indulgence; we therefore command you to be content with regular food, without eating flesh, when you go to them - as in the aforesaid indulgences contained - and not to allow pecuniary procurations to be exacted from them on the authority of such letters".
St. Elizabeth and St. Hildegaris become renowned in Germany.
About this time, St. Elizabeth became distinguished in Germany by numerous miracles; and Christian pilgrims hurried in crowds from distant and foreign nations to her tomb, to ask favours. This saint, during her life, had been the wife of a certain noble, called the landgrave, at whose death she, although abounding in wealth, and descended from a noble family - being the daughter of the king and queen of Hungary - spurned the pomps and pleasures of the world, so that the prelates and religious men were struck with admiration at such perfect sanctity in a woman.
St. Hildegaris, also, first a recluse, and afterwards an abbess - a lady of remarkable sanctity - into whom, in her lifetime, during a sleep of four days' continuance, the Lord instilled the spirit of prophecy, and a complete knowledge of letters, during the pontificate of Pope Alexander - now became very famous. And as she had openly prophesied and expressly foretold the appearance of some new brethren,
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and their condition and preaching, as well as their sudden and unexpected advancement, of the truth of which prophecy the present time affords testimony, her words became celebrated throughout the various countries of the world, and were approved of by nobles.
The pregnancy of the empress.
About this time the emperor began to conceive a particular regard for the English above all other nations, for the sake of the Empress Isabella, sister of the king of England, who by her excelling beauty and manners procured the favour of all; moreover, she was now pregnant, and again gave hopes to her august spouse of a further increase of his family; but under an unlucky star, events turned out far otherwise than was expected, as the following narrative will more fully relate.
How the king placed the legate in the royal seat.
Anno Domini 1241, which was the twenty-fifth year of the reign of King Henry the Third, the said king held his court at Christmas, at Westminster, in London, where a great many nobles of the kingdom celebrated the festival of the Lord's Nativity with him. On Christmas-day, the king, at the instance of the legate, whom he used his utmost endeavours to please, conferred the honour of knighthood on the nephew of the said legate, who was named Advocate, and at once gave him an income of thirty pounds, which the said newly-installed knight immediately sold, as he knew that he should soon have to leave the kingdom with his master; and on the same day, also, the king honoured a native of Provence with the knight's belt, and enriched him with a large revenue. After service had been performed in the church, the king, when about to take breakfast in the large palace of Westminster, notwithstanding the scowling looks of many present, placed the legate whom he had invited to breakfast with him, in the highest seat at table, namely in his own royal seat, which is at the middle of the table, he himself taking his seat at the legate's right hand, whilst the archbishop of York sat on his left, and the prelates and other nobles taking their places in order, according to their rank and authority, by the wish of the king, who had thus arranged the order of the feast. On the fourth day after
A.D. 1241.] DEPARTURE OF THE LEGATE OTTO. 319
Christmas, the legate, having been summoned by the pope to proceed without fail to the Roman court, sent for all the English prelates, and bade them farewell, after which he started on his journey to cross the Alps. He was conducted as far as the seacoast by the king in great pomp, amidst the sound of trumpets, and attended by an innumerable host of nobles. When they were obliged to part, the king and the legate separated with mutual expressions of grief at being so soon disunited, although the aforesaid legate had now protracted his stay in England for a period of three years; to the irreparable injury of the Church.
The departure of the legate Otto from England.
On the day after the Epiphany, the legate, after receiving an embrace and kisses from the king, took ship at Dover, and, laying aside the insignia of his legateship, turned his back on England, leaving no one except the king, and those whom he had fattened on the property of the kingdom, to lament his departure. And at that time (as was truly stated) there was not left in England so much money (with the exception of the vessels and ornaments of the holy churches) as he, the said legate, had extorted from the kingdom. He had, moreover, given away at his own will, or at that of the pope, prebends, churches, and more than three hundred rich revenues, owing to which the kingdom was like a vineyard exposed to every passer-by, and which the wild boar of the woods had laid waste, and languished in a miserable state of desolation. He left the church of Canterbury, which was the most noble of all the English churches, in a state of inquietude and languishing in widowhood, as well as many other cathedral and conventual churches destitute of all comfort and consolation. And he had not strengthened any of the weaker parts of the country, as was proved by clear evidence, because he was sent, not to protect the sheep which were lost, but to gather in the harvest of money which he had found. Therefore, as his deserts merited, he was, by the well-prepared plans of the emperor, deservedly despoiled of his prey, and from being the spoiler was himself spoiled, according to the words of the prophet, "Woe to thee who spoilest; shalt thou not be despoiled"? But these events will be more fully related hereafter in their place.
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Peter of Savoy comes to England.
About the same time, Peter of Savoy, the queen's uncle, on whom the king had bestowed the earldom of Richmond, came to England, as he perceived that it was such a profitable country. The king went to meet him on his arrival, and received him with inexpressible joy, intrusted himself and his possessions to his counsels, and also enlarged his lands by the gift of several more.
Continued storms of wind.
About the same time, particularly on the day of our Lord's Circumcision, and for several successive days, a wind from the north, beyond measure violent, caused irreparable damage, both by land and sea, bringing destruction on buildings and forests, and threatening imminent danger to those sailing on the sea; so that the disturbed state of the elements seemed well suited to the state of the human race.
Peter of Savoy is created a knight.
On St. Edward's day, which the king makes a practice of observing with extraordinary veneration and honour, he, in order to give a still more religious character to the day, conferred the honour of knighthood on the aforesaid Peter of Savoy and fifteen other illustrious youths, in the church of St. Peter at Westminster. And on the day after, which was the day of the Epiphany, in honour of the said Peter, he, together with a great number of guests, celebrated their initiation with a rich and costly banquet. The citizens of London, too, were summoned by the royal warrant to be present, and some, who were called the mayors of the city, were compelled, under penalty of a fine of a hundred shillings, to come there dressed out for a feast, or as if to celebrate a marriage.
The election of Nicholas of Farnham to the see of Durham.
About this time, the monks of Durham, after much useless trouble and great expenditure of money, on the resignation of the prior of Durham, who had been elected by them, which thus quashed his election, invoked the favour of the Holy Spirit, and unanimously elected Master Nicholas de Farnham, a man of laudable morals and knowledge, as their bishop and pastor of their souls. This said Nicholas had
A.D. 1241.] ELECTION OF THE BISHOP OF DURHAM. 321
been Rector [1] in Arts at Paris, for several years; he afterwards practised the art of medicine at Bologna, in which he became pre-eminently distinguished, and obtained great favour by his skill. After he had become perfect master of logic, and physical and natural science, he turned his attention to spiritual medicine, namely theology, and so grounded himself in that science by his learning and reading of books, that he was qualified to sit in the professorial chair. When he had thus become experienced, and had greatly distinguished himself by his knowledge and praiseworthy mode of life, the king and queen, by the advice of some learned men, and especially at the instance of Otto the legate, the bishop of Carlisle, and some other of the king's secret advisers, summoned him to take the charge of their souls and bodies, and to be their familiar counsellor, in which office he conducted himself well and prudently till he was elected to the said pontifical dignity, to which election, however, he did not agree. For it seemed to him to be dishonourable to him to consent to this election, since, a little while before, when he was elected to the bishopric of Coventry, he had protested against that election, and refused to agree to it on any account. In order, therefore, to stop the mouths of evil speakers, who would perhaps say, "See what a hypocrite he is, he retused a poor bishopric, because he expected a richer one"; he resisted the offer with his utmost efforts, until at length R., bishop of Lincoln, reproached him severely for so doing, and effectually persuaded him to consent, by the following arguments: "Behold, the monks of Durham and their church are deprived of a pastor, and with gushing tears beg for comfort; why, therefore, do you not consent when you are canonically elected? I adjure you by the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ, to undertake the burden, and accept the honour of this office; for the king will not, unless he is absolutely foolish, on any account disapprove of your election: and if you do not consent to it, the king, in his machinations, will place some foreign and unworthy, as well as ignorant man, in the office, to the subversion of the ecclesiastical dignity, and the danger of the whole kingdom, as the bishopric of Durham is on the confines of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, and the
[1] Perhaps something the same as Master of Arts in the present day.
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castles in the see at Durham, namely the castles of Norham and Durham, are in that part of England the bulwarks against the assaults of all our enemies". Master Nicholas, on hearing this, said with a sigh, "I love the virtue of obedience: in your diocese I hold my benefices, which I have obtained through your favour, and I therefore obey your paternal commands". The monks of Durham then exultingly presented him as their bishop elect to the king, who accepted of their election with pleasure, as he could not find any reasonable fault either with the person elected, or with the election, and received the bishop elect without delay; and he was soon after happily confirmed in his see.
The Jews are mulcted in a sum of money.
In the same year, the Jews were compelled to pay a heavy sum as redemption-money, namely, about twenty thousand marks, at two periods of this year, under penalty of banishment or perpetual imprisonment.
Preparations for a tournament.
In this year Peter of Savoy, earl of Richmond, held a tournament a l'outrance against Earl Bigod, in order that the foreigners might try their strength with the English, to see which of them were superior in a tilting-match. When the king heard of this, he began, by bribes and threats, to corrupt and influence the hearts of many of the more noble and powerful English, who favoured the party of Earl Bigod, in order that the party of the foreigners might prevail. Amongst these the chiefs were John Bisett, the high forester of England, and many of his associates, and Gilbert Bassett, a most brave knight, with his retainers, and many others, too numerous to mention. The result was, that, owing to the king's machinations, when the time for holding the tournament drew near, notwithstanding G., earl marshal, and a powerful party of the English nobility had united themselves together, the party of the foreigners seemed stronger and more numerous; at which the English were greatly annoyed, and conceived the greatest indignation against the contrivers of such baseness, detesting the mean wavering of their countrymen. The king, then, listening to wise counsel, and repenting that he had wished foreigners to triumph in the martial sport rather than his own subjects, sent
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a messenger, namely Brother John, a Templar, his almoner, with all haste to the parties, with his royal warrant to forbid the ill-omened tournament, which was just going to begin.
Death of G. Bassett and his son.
In the autumn of the same year, as Gilbert Bassett was hunting in a wood, he, together with his horse, fell over the trunk of a tree lying in his way, broke his bones and so shocked his nerves, that it caused his death a few days afterwards. Soon afterwards also, the only son and heir of the said G., a child, departed this life in the octaves of the Assumption of St. Mary, to the grief and dismay of the whole of his family; and the inheritance consequently devolved on Fulk Bassett, dean of York, brother of the said G.
Death of John Bisett.
At the same time also, namely in the octaves of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, John Bisett, high forester of England, whom we have mentioned before, went the way of all flesh.
Some of the nobles of England set out for Jerusalem.
As the season was at this time favourable, William de Fortibus, earl of Albemarle, a bold knight; Peter de Maulac, a Poictevin by birth, and who had for a length of time been educated and enriched under the protection of King John; Evelyn de Rochfort, a Poictevin also; John Ansard, Alexander Hilton, Geoffrey Chandelers, and many other nobles of England, took leave of their friend, and commending themselves to the prayers of the religious men, set out in great pomp on their way towards Jerusalem, and embarking at the Mediterranean Sea in autumn, sailed forth on their voyage across the sea.
The king of France shows the cross and crown of our Lord to the people.
In this year the holy cross of our Lord, which, after the time of Saladin, had remained at Damietta until the unfortunate battle, in which that city had been first gained and afterwards lost, when it fell into the hands of the Saracens, was brought into the kingdom of France, by the agency of the French king and his mother, Blanche, and by the grace of Christ seconding their pious wishes: they gave a large sum of money in order to obtain possession of the same.
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When this cross was first sold, it was bought by the Venetians for twenty thousand pounds, and they obtained it from the two sons of J., king of Jerusalem, who wanted money to make war on the Greeks; and afterwards Baldwin pawned it for a still larger sum of money, and lastly sold it to Louis, the French king. On the Friday next preceding Easter-day, on which day our Lord Jesus Christ was nailed to the lifegiving-cross for the redemption of the world, this said cross was carried to Paris from the church of St. Antoine, where it had been placed on a vehicle of some kind, on which the king mounted with the two queens, namely, B., his mother, and M., his wife, and his brothers, and in the presence of the archbishops, bishops, abbats, and other religious men, as well as the French nobles, and surrounded by a countless host of people, who were awaiting this glorious sight with great joy of heart, raised the cross above his head with tears, whilst the prelates who were present cried with a loud voice, "Behold the cross of our Lord". After all had worshipped it with due reverence and devotion, the king himself, barefooted, ungirt, and with his head bare, and after a fest of three days, following the example of the noble triumpher, the august Heraclius, carried it in wool to the cathedral church of the Blessed Virgin at Paris; the brothers of the king, too, after having purified themselves by similar acts of devotion, by confessions, fasting, and prayers, followed him on foot with the two queens. They also carried the crown of thorns (which divine mercy had, as has been before stated, given to the kingdom of France the year before), and raising it on high on a similar vehicle to the other, presented it to the gaze of the people. Some of the nobles supported the arms of the king and his brothers, whilst carrying this pious burden, lest they should become fatigued by holding their hands constantly raised, and give way beneath this priceless treasure. This was done circumspectly at the wish of the prelates, that so holy a thing might be handled reverently by those whose prudent conduct had gained so much glory, after the example of Heraclius, whom we have before mentioned. When they arrived at the cathedral church, all the bells in the city were set ringing, and after special prayers had been solemnly read, the king returned to his great palace, which is in the middle of the city, carrying his cross, his brothers carrying the crown,
A.D. 1241.] DEATH OF THE KING OF DENMARK. 325
and the priests following in a regular procession (a sight more solemn or more joyful than which the kingdom of France had never seen), and each and all then, with clasped hands, glorified God, who thus showed his especial love for the French kingdom above all others, and for affording to it his consolation and protection. Thus, therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, whose judgments are a great deep, in whose hands are the hearts of kings, giving health to whomsoever he wills, in a short space of time endowed and enriched the kingdom of France with these three precious gifts, namely, the aforesaid crown and cross of our Lord, of which we have now made mention, and the body of the blessed Edmund of Canterbury, the archbishop and confessor, which was now manifestly shining forth with unusual miracles. The French king therefore ordered a chapel of handsome structure, suitable for the reception of his said treasure, to be built near his palace, and in it he afterwards placed the said relics with due honour. Besides these the French king had, in his beautiful chapel at Paris, the garment belonging to Christ, the lance, that is to say, the iron head of the lance, and the sponge, and other relics besides; on which account the pope granted an indulgence of forty days to all who went to them in the chapel at Paris for the sake of paying their devotions.
Death of the king of Denmark and his son.
In this year, too, Waldemar, king of Dacia, who had presumptuously threatened to invade England, and boastingly indulged in lofty talk, was taken from amongst men, after having reigned for forty years. And in order that he might feel the effects of the prayers of St. Edward, which that saint had poured forth to God for the protection of the English against the tyranny of the Danes, his only son, the heir of all his possessions, went the way of all flesh; thus rendering the kingdom of Dacia entirely desolate. This Danish king, Waldemar, [1] was in his hundredth year when he died: he had reigned over the Danes for forty years, and during his whole life, from the time when he was capable of bearing arms, continued to persecute the infidels in Scythia, Friesland, and Russia; and during his life he gained six large bishoprics,
[1] The Latin has "Ethelmar", evidently a mistake.
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and caused the same number of bishops to be ordained to them. After his death and that of his eldest son, two younger sons of his, namely Henry and Duke Abel, excited an insurrection, and began a bloody war against one another, by which the kingdom was divided and became desolate.
Death of Walter De Lacy.
In this year also, Walter De Lacy, a man most distinguished amongst all the nobles of Ireland, passed from this life, after having lost his sight, and endured many other bodily afflictions.
A wonderful vision by night.
About this time a vision appeared by night to a certain priest, a wise and holy man, wherein an archprelate, dressed in pontifical robes, and carrying a cross in his hand, came to the walls which the king had at that time built near the Tower of London, and, after regarding them with a scowling look, struck them strongly and violently with the cross, saying, "Why do ye rebuild them"? Whereupon the newly-erected walls suddenly fell to the ground, as if thrown down by an earthquake The priest, frightened at this sight, said to a clerk who appeared following the archprelate, "Who is this archbishop"? to which the derk replied, "It is St. Thomas the martyr, a Londoner by birth, who considered that these walls were built as an insult, and to the prejudice of the Londoners, and has therefore irreparably destroyed them". The priest then said, "What expense and builders' labour have they not cost" The clerk replied, "If poor artificers, who seek after and have need of pay, had obtained food for themselves by the work, that would be endurable; but inasmuch as they have been built, not for the defence of the kingdom, but only to oppress harmless citizens, if St. Thomas had not destroyed them, St. Edmund the confessor and his successor would still more relentlessly have overthrown them from their foundations". The priest, after having seen these things, awoke from his deep, rose from his bed, and, in the dead silence of the night, told his vision to all who were in the house. Early in the morning a report spread through the city of London that the walls built round the Tower, on the construction of which the king had expended more than twelve thousand marks, had fallen to
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pieces, to the wonder of many, who proclaimed it a bad omen, because the year before, on the same night, which was that of St. George's day, and at the same hour of the night, the said walls had fallen down, together with their bastions. The citizens of London, although astonished at this event, were not sorry for it; for these walls were to them as a thorn in their eyes, and they had heard the taunts of people who said that these walls had been built as an insult to them, and that if any one of them should dare to contend for the liberty of the city, he would be shut up in them, and consigned to imprisonment; and in order that, if several were to be imprisoned, they might be confined in several different prisons, a great number of cells were constructed in them apart from one another, that one person might not have communication with another. At this time also the king took by force from the mayor of London an annual revenue of forty pounds, which each mayor had been accustomed, during his own time, to receive yearly for the honourable support of his dignity, from the commonwealth of the city, as if from a republic. For it had been intimated to him, the king, that the mayor of the city, under pretence of making that collection which was limited to certain terms, laid his hands heavily on the poor citizens, more than he was allowed to do, and secretly laid up money for himself in his own coffers. He therefore compelled Gerard Bat, the then mayor, to make oath, that he himself would not again collect and receive that tax, nor permit any other person, as far as he could prevent it, to collect it for him. This took place in St. Stephen's chapel at Westminster.
Not long after this, the citizens of London, contrary to the custom and liberty of the city, and like slaves of the basest condition, were compelled, although unwillingly and reluctantly, to pay a sum of money to the king, not under the name and title of voluntary aid, but of talliage; and this impost weighed very heavily upon them.
The emperor forbids the prelates to assemble at the council.
About this time, the emperor, cunningly enough considering that, if a general council was held, over which his deadly enemy, the pope, had to preside, whom all the prelates were bound to obey, as limbs subservient to their head, he
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would have great cause to fear, began to reflect and to devise precautions for himself; he therefore said to his nobles:- "I am harassed and tormented on every side, and surrounded by divers troubles, owing to the perils now impending over the empire. For, if the general council, as it is now arranged, should be held, and my deadly enemy, whom the president prelates subject to him will not dare to gainsay, presides over it, he will irrevocably ruin me, as well as the empire. For the pope is an insatiable and open enemy of mine, and is able to depose any one who opposes his will, from his rank; yea, and after deposing him, to pronounce the anathema against him, and to disgrace him by a worse punishment; far otherwise, also, is our cause and the condition of the empire endangered, as well as that of all princes, which I alone am bound to defend. The kings and princes of the world, whose cause also I espouse, as having become their advocate, would not come at my summons, or obey me; and they are not subject to me so that I could force them to come, or punish them if they were contumacious. Being destitute, therefore, of their presence and assistance, shall I intrust the righteous cause of the empire to a suspicious court, and shall its enemies be its judges? Not so, whilst I live". His nobles, coinciding in these reasons and arguments, determined, that, although it might seem to redound to the injury of their honour, that the foregoing plan should be altered, yet on account of the imminent danger to the empire already spoken of, the council before agreed to should be prevented. The emperor, therefore, at once, by his letters, warned the prelates not on any account to come to the general council, at the pope's summons; and from that time, if any prelates going to the Roman court, and who refused to obey his orders, passed through his territory either in person or sent their proxies, he continually obstructed their progress, attacked them, seized and imprisoned them, tortured them, and several of them he punished by a dreadful death; which circumstances reaching the pope's knowledge, he reiterated his maledictions and reproaches against the emperor, heaped excommunications upon him, and renewed the anathemas against him. The legates, therefore, whom the pope, the father of all spiritual matters, had relied on their obedience to assemble at the ensuing occasion - the feast of our Lord's Resurrection - to attend the
A.D. 1241.] THE POPE'S LETTER. 329
council which he had prepared and arranged, were prevented from attending in one way or another; for they feared the obstacles and impediments arising from the imperial decree: on the one side, Scylla; on the other, the perilous whirlpool of Charybdis, threatened them. And the pope, to comfort the hearts of the wavering prelates, only afforded them the meagre consolation, contained in the words of the following letter:-
The pope's letter.
"Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to such and such a bishop, health and the apostolic benediction.- The boat of Peter, as it were, overwhelmed by the billows of worldly things, and tossed by the gust of urgent matters of doubt and difficulty, implores the assistance of the right hand of the Saviour, Jesus. For whilst it is driven onward by the blasts of the north wind, the Lord seems to be sleeping; the disciples are in a state of doubt; the sailors fear the wind, and its consequence, which is shipwreck, as it were; the people are in alarm, and Peter cries,- 'Would that, though others grow cold, my children would at least give aid, and the benefit of their wholesome advice, that the billows may not overwhelm it, nor cruel pirates seize upon it'. Moreover, by the rupture of the natural compact, confidence is shaken, charity grows cold, devotion waxes cool, iniquity increases and gains strength against the Lord, and against one's neighbour; and from these causes an evident obstacle is thrown in the way of promoting the Christian faith; losses follow, and the devout host of the true Christian, being excluded from the benefits of peace, is harassed by divers troubles. Wherefore, the Apostolic See, in its authority and dignity, after carefully weighing all these matters in the scale of the common opinion, and after due discussion and examining into them, has, in order that she, the general and only mother, may provide for the welfare of all, determined with good cause to call for the help of the hands of all powerful Christians - such as kings, prelates, chiefs, and others of the true faith - that by reiterated cries she may arouse the sleeping Lord, and, aided by the advice of numbers, may make the oppressing burdens lighter, and be able happily to reach the wished-for harbour. Amongst the rest, we recall it to your recollection, brother bishop, that we have by the apostolic letters summoned
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you, as a devoted son and noble limb of the Church, to come to the bosom of your mother, the said Church, at the next ensuing feast of the Resurrection of our Lord. But, as we have been well informed, he that was once the special son of the Church, who has from a boy, when in a state of utter helplessness, been protected and promoted by the aid of the Apostolic See, and raised on the shoulders of his mother to the imperial dignity, not content with the injury which he does us by way of recompensing our kindness, and by which he attacks the throne of his father, and endeavours to expose the shame of his mother, and without any feelings of devotion to arrogate to himself the rights of the priesthood, is now cunningly arming himself, to prevent by terror the prelates lately summoned by us, from meeting us, so that no charge against us may be wanting, nor the Church be allowed to find consolation in her sons from the ills she has endured. Since, therefore, such a holy design for the general advantage, which we have confidently taken up, relying on the Divine favour, ought not to be retarded by the cunning of man, we earnestly entreat, and by these apostolic letters strictly command you - preferring God to man, and looking to him more than to all the difficulties to be encountered - not to fail to come at the beforenamed period, to the Apostolic See; in order that the mother, being strengthened by the presence of her children, may, when the opposition offered by the enemy is done away with by Divine Providence, bring her piously-commenced designs to a happy consummation, and we, with God's consent, will make it our business to make provision for all things advantageous to such a great matter, as will be more fully explained to you on our part. Given at the Lateran, this fifteenth of October, in the fourteenth year of our pontificate".
The prelates, therefore, becoming more calm in their minds, prepared without alarm for their journey, in confident expectation that the pope would, with God's favour, have procured a safe passage for them by sea. The English, however, namely the bishop of Norwich and some others, acquiescing in the plans of the French, went to safe places on their journey, and silently and cautiously looked for the issue of events.
A.D. 1241.] SUFFERINGS OF THE CITY OF FAENZA. S31
The sufferings of the city of Faenza.
At this time, the emperor, who had for a length of time besieged the city of Faenza, in Italy, had reduced it to such straits, that those of the besieged who formerly were stronger and richer than the rest, had now become poor and weak; and now, in order that the common people might not consume their corn, which was almost failing them, to no purpose, they forced them to leave the city by the gates and posterns; for they were pining away in themselves trom hunger and manifold other wants. Afterwards, being more severely pressed by hunger, they, in the agony of their minds, obliged their wives, children, and female servants, by force to leave the city. The women, thinking to obtain mercy from the emperor, went before him with loose and disordered hair, prostrated themselves before his camp with wailing, and begged of him in his imperial mercy to show mercy to their husbands. But, although the emperor heard them, he did not grant their petition; but replied with great indignation,- "Let them go to their husbands and their masters, whom I denounce as guilty of treason before God and man; and, as some time since they showed me no mercy, it is unjust that they should receive mercy. For when some time since I was shut up in their city, with the gates secured both before and behind me, they suddenly entered into a conspiracy, and proposed to kill me, and basely murdered some other man like me, who was clad in imperial armour, thinking undoubtedly that they had killed me, their lord. They also offered dishonour and manifold insults to my mother, for, as she was passing through their city, they disrespectfully mutilated the palfrey on which she rode, venting their rage on a brute animal, and showing no consideration for her royal rank, or even her sex; it is, therefore, but just that they should meet with retaliation". Having thus thundered forth his determination against them, he ordered these feeble women, fainting as they were almost from want, to be driven back into the city they had left. When the citizens learned the result, they knew that their destruction was certain; they therefore sent some venerable men as special messengers, who with tears offered their submission to the emperor, and begged of him but to
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allow them to leave the city, which they resigned to his imperial majesty as its lord, with their lives and with bare clothing enough to conceal their nakedness, to wander forth as vagabonds and exiles in perpetual poverty to whatever part of the world he chose to send them. To their supplications, however, the emperor replied:- "Inasmuch as they would not in their prosperity return to their allegiance, and acknowledge me as their lord, I will not give heed to them when crying out in their time of trouble. For whosoever, when he can do so, offends as far as he is able, should justly be punished with the most severe possible punishment". When the citizens heard this, they sank into the depths of despair, and were now oppressed with more severe sorrow, and without any hopes of remedy in the now desolate state of their city.
The Roman court likened to a harlot.
About this time, either with the permission or by the instrumentality of Pope Gregory, the insatiable cupidity of the Roman court grew to such an extent, confounding right with wrong, that, laying aside all modesty, like a common brazen-faced strumpet, exposed for hire to every one, it considered usury as but a trivial offence, and simony as no crime at all; so that it infected other neighbouring states, and even the purity of England, by its contagion. Although the examples of this which offer themselves abound, I have thought proper briefly to relate one, in order to show how justly, although tardy, the anger of God was kindled against the said court.
The pope demands a revenue of a hundred marks from the monks of Peterborough.
Pope Gregory, wishing to aid one of his special partisans, sent letters into England, which pressed heavily upon some of the churches. At this time, an apostolic message, accompanied by mixed entreaties and threats, was sent to the abbat and conventual assembly of Peterborough, ordering them to give to the pope an annual revenue to the value of at least a hundred marks for each church, the patronage of which belonged to them; and if it were worth twice as much, it would please him well. He, the pope, would then grant that church to them to be held from him on an annual farm, on condition that they would each year pay him a
A.D. 1241.] REVENUE DEMANDED BY THE POPE. 333
hundred marks for it, and all the residue they might convert to their own uses. And in order that he might the more easily incline the aforesaid abbat and monks to agree to this arrangement (or, rather, pernicious compact - simony, and secret fraud), as if it were necessary for their welfare, his holiness wrote to some clerks from his side the Alps, who held good benefices in England, ordering them, by the power granted to them, effectually to advise the said abbat and monks to consent to this; and, if necessary, to compel them to it. They, therefore, in obedience to the pope's commands, went to Peterborough, and summoning the monks, said to them:- "Behold, friends and brethren, a benefit is about to be conferred on you, at the powerful hands of the pope. For he now asks of you, what you ought with bended knees and clasped hands most humbly to beg of him". And after having explained all that the pope asked of the monks, they promised, as if they would be security and faithful agents, on the pope's behalf, that they would fulfil all his promises, provided that they, the monks, would grant what was asked privately, and, as it were, without scandal,- thus making a virtue of necessity. The monks replied that they could not do this without the permission of the king, who was their patron, and the founder of their church, as well as of many others in this country. The clerks, however, earnestly begged that this should be done secretly, hoping to do the same in other churches, and to make this a precedent; but the monks did not choose to be overreached by their fallacious arguments, and demanded time to be granted them, till their abbat, who was then absent, should return home, and give his consent to their agreeing to this demand, if he thought it expedient; and they thereupon sent word to their abbat, explaining the particulars of the business to him. The abbat then sent word, by a faithful and prudent clerk of his, William de Bourg, to the king, and asked his advice in the matter, informing him of the perils which might arise from this matter; and the king, seeing that a deed of this kind would be detrimental to that church, and in a like manner to others, as he was their patron, protector, and governor - and detesting the occult snares and avarice of the Roman court - strictly forbade a breath of such an irregular proceeding any more to taint the air.
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St. Edmund becomes distinguished by miracles.
About this time, the holy name and illustrious memory of the blessed Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, and the miracles of his sanctity, filled the coimtries on this side of the Alps with his glorious renown, so much so indeed, that, by the extraordinary miracles which God deigned to work for him, the times of the apostles seemed to be renewed; and archbishops, bishops, and nobles, with countless multitudes of people of both sexes, attracted, as it were, by the sweet-smelling odour of his perfumes, came from distant parts to his sepulchre at Pontigny, devoutly asking the assistance of the said Edmund.
In England, too, at a nunnery at Catesby, where the said archbishop had left two of his sisters as nuns, to one of whom, as a token of affection, he had given his pall, God deigned to work so miraculously that the number of miracles there displayed would require especial and lengthened treatises to relate them.
The monks of Canterbury obtain absolution from the pope, and elect Boniface as their archbishop.
About this time, in the month of April, the monks of Canterbury, who had been sent to Rome on behalf of the conventual assembly, to obtain absolution from the sentence which the archbishop had denounced against them, returned from the Roman court, having obtained that they should receive absolution by way of caution, the abbat and archdeacon of St. Alban's, with the prior of Dunstable, being deputed to settle the matter. But their old persecutor, Master Simon Langton, archdeacon of Canterbury, immediately opposed the decree they had obtained, and appealed against it, boldly declaring that it was by false insinuations and by suppressing the truth that the letters of absolution had been basely obtained. The monks, however, who had faithfully promised to elect Boniface as their archbishop, as the king had most earnestly entreated them to do, laid a heavy complaint before the king, of the injury inflicted upon them by the said Simon, and his designing malice against them. The king, then, espousing the cause of the monks, and being pleased with their promise of electing Boniface, told the said Archdeacon Simon, with dreadful threats, that
A.D. 1241.] BONIFACE ELECTED ARCHBISHOP. 335
if he did not immediately desist from his rash purpose, he should feel the effects of his, the king's, anger in more ways than one. Simon, therefore, finding the king determined, and knowing the pope would not offend the king in anything, and also feeling himself too old to travel across the Alps, remained quiet, and gave up his purposed intention. The monks of Canterbury then, finding that the pope and the king indulged them by turns, and mutually assented to each other's requests, after invoking the grace of the Holy Spirit and the king's favour, elected as the pastor of their souls, Boniface, bishop elect of Basle, a man of tall stature and handsome figure, and an uncle of the lady Eleanor, the illustrious queen of England, yet entirely unknown to the aforesaid monks, as regarded his knowledge, morals, or age, and (as was stated) totally incompetent, compared with the archbishops his predecessors, for such a dignified station. They however elected him, on this consideration, namely, that, if they had elected any one else, the king, who obtained the favour of the pope in everything, would invent some grounds of objections, and reject and annul the election. And in order that the pope might not reject the bishop elect as incompetent, or rather that he might appear competent and fit for such a high dignity, the king, who endeavoured by all the means in his power to promote the cause and raise the fame of the said Boniface, now elected or about to be elected, ordered a paper to be drawn up, in which the person of the said Boniface was praised beyond measure, and in evidence of the truth of it appended his royal seal to the said writing. He then sent it to the bishops and abbats, enjoining or imperiously begging them to set their seals also to it, and to bear evidence to his assertion; several, however, unwilling to violate the integrity of their conscience, and fearing to break the Lord's commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness", firmly refused to obey him. Several of the clergy of the higher ranks, however, namely some bishops and abbats, were alarmed and enervated by the king's threats, and, laying aside their godly fear, and showing reverence to man more than to God, affixed their seals to it, as a guarantee and testimony of their belief, and willingly accepted of this Boniface as their superior. Although he was of noble blood, and
336 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
a most particular friend of the princes of both kingdoms, and himself well-made in person, and sufficiently qualified, yet the monks of Canterbury were extremely sorry that they had been overcome by the king's entreaties and agreed to his request in this matter; and some of them, after reflecting within themselves, knowing the misery in store for them, seceded from their church, and in order to perform continual penance, betook themselves to the Carthusian order.
The oppression of the count of Provence.
About this time, Raymond, count of Provence, father of the French and English queens, sent several special messengers to his son-in-law the king of France, with urgent entreaties that he would afford him effective assistance as a father-in-law and ally. For the count of Toulouse had by command of the emperor made war on him, and harassed him even to utter destruction, and he was now entirely destitute of the means of resistance, having exhausted the money sent to him by the king of England. The French king, on this, wrote in an amicable strain to the emperor, as well as to the count of Toulouse, begging of them, out of their respect and affection for him, to show mercy to his father-in-law. The king of England, also, and his brother Richard, earl of Cornwall, wrote letters to the same two parties to the same effect; and by these means the count of Provence, after a long time, was allowed to enjoy tranquillity.
How the Venetians harassed the emperor.
The Venetians during all this time obstinately persisted in doing the emperor all the injury in their power and by every means they could devise, both by sea and land, in revenge for the death of their chief, the podesta of Milan, whom, as has been before stated, the emperor had taken when fighting against him at Milan, and who after having been imprisoned was condemned, and put to death by the emperor's orders.
The emperor's diligence in defending himself against his various enemies.
About this time, the emperor Frederick took forcible possession of the noble city of Faenza, which he had so long besieged, and which was now unable to hold out any longer; the siege having lasted for nearly a year, and the emperor
A.D. 1241.] FIRMNESS OF THE MONKS OF WINCHESTER. 337
had spent an immense sum of money on it. Oh! what anxiety, what manifold trouble afflicted the heart's blood of the emperor in defending his empire! For he had six numerous and formidable armies: one, which he commanded in person; another, a double army, in the Genoese territories, namely, a naval force to oppose by sea the passage of the legates and prelates, who despised his counsel, and another force by land near the sea-coast, under the command of his son Henry, king of Gallury and Torres, which continually ravaged the crops and vineyards of the Genoese; a third army, under his son Conrad, heir to the kingdom of Jerusalem, who had collected under him an innumerable army from the whole of Germany and the adjacent provinces under the imperial dominion, he had sent against the Tartars, his son Conrad being the commander-in-chief, but accompanied by the dukes of Austria, Saxony, and Bavaria, and other nobles, prelates, and others, too numerous to mention, and followed by an innumerable host of people, who had all with one accord voluntarily and eagerly assumed the cross, and were prepared to fight to the death against the said Tartars on behalf of the Church universal; a fourth army he had employed in the march of Treviso, commanded by Theobald, said to be a Frenchman born, an especial ally of the emperor's; a fifth was engaged in the march of Ancona and the valley of Spoleto; and the sixth in the Holy Land, under Ralph, his mareschal, to whom Earl Richard had intrusted the charge of the Holy Land, which had been obtained possession of or tranquillized by him, and especially the castle of Ascalon, which he, the said Earl Richard, had nobly strengthened at his own expense, to the strengthening and honour of Christianity in general.
The firmness of the monks of Winchester, and the oppression exercised against them.
About this time, some satellites of the court, trusting in the king's orders, and habituated to making great things from trifles, going to Winchester, arrogantly demanded who the monks were that had refused to obey the king's commands in the matter of the election, or the demand for the election of the bishop of Winchester, which of them had so saucily, in disobedience to the king, made that demand, for William de Rale, bishop of Norwich, and would not
338 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
condescend to give up their purpose for threats or entreaties. Such was their monastic pride, such the obstinate knavery of these cowled men! An inquisition was therefore instituted by the prior who had been forced on them, and who had been the originator of all this disturbance, and those monks, who were found to have so acted, were ejected from the monastery, by these messengers, without regard to age, sex, or order, or to the reverence due to the church or the cloister; and were afterwards, to the dishonour of the whole monastic order, imprisoned, starved, and subjected to every kind of reproach, insult, and indignity.
The emperor takes the city of Faenza, and shows mercy to the inhabitants.
About this time, the royal city of Faenza, which, as has been stated, had been invested and besieged by the emperor Frederick, was at length reduced, and surrendered to him at discretion; the famished citizens, worn down with hunger and manifold distresses and troubles, came in crowds and fell at the emperor's feet, with sighs and tears begging for mercy, not judgment. And whilst all these people, who had so long been raising the imperial anger to its height, were in expectation of dying by the most refined tortures, as well on account of their old offences, of which mention has been previously made, as because by the lengthened and expensive siege of their city the emperor had exhausted an immense sum of money, the victor, with generous clemency, spared them; by doing which he gained the affections of many. For when he saw that he had at length triumphed over his rebellious subjects, then his generous blood inclined to mercy, according to the words of the poet,
Corpora magnanimo satis est stravisse leoni:
Pugna suum finem quum jacet hostis habet.
Sed lupus et turpes instant morientibus ursi,
Et quaecumque minor nobilitate fera est.
[The foe destroyed, the noble lion rests content.
The battle o'er, his fiery rage is fully spent.
Wolves, bears, and minor beasts, by baser feelings led,
With vengeance still unsated prey on thdr victims dead.]
Of the dreadful ravages committed by the Tartars.
During all this time that inhuman and brutal, oatlawed,
A.D. 1241.] LETTER WRITTEN TO THE DUKE OF BRABANT. 339
barbarous, and untameable people, the Tartars, in their rash and cruel violence, visited the northern provinces of the Christians with dreadful devastation and destruction, and struck great fear and terror into all Christendom. Already had they, with unheard-of tyranny, in a great measure reduced to a desert the countries of Friesland, Gothland, Poland, Bohemia, and both divisions of Hungary, slaying or putting to flight princes, prelates, citizens, and rustics. This occurrence is evidently testified by the following letter, which was sent into these parts.
A letter written to the duke of Brabant concerning the same people.
"Henry, by the grace of God, count of Lorraine, palatine of Saxony, to his well-beloved and always to be beloved lord amd father-in-law the illustrious duke of Brabant, good-will in his service whenever he shall demand it.- The dangers foretold in the Scriptures in times of old, are now, owing to our sins, springing up and breaking out; for a cruel and countless horde of people, outlawed and wild, is now invading and taking possession of the territories adjoining ours, and has now, after roving through many other countries, and exterminating the inhabitants, extended their incursions as far as the Polish territory. Of these matters we have been fully informed, as well by our own messengers as by the letters of our beloved cousin the king of Bohemia, and have been called on to prepare ourselves with all haste to proceed to his assistance, and to the defence of the Christians. For we are truly and plainly informed by him that this said race of people, the Tartars, will, about the octaves of Easter, cruelly and impetuously invade the Bohemian territory, and if seasonable assistance be not given to the Bohemians, an unheard-of slaughter will take place. And as the house adjoining our own is already on fire, and as the neighbouring country is open to devastation, whilst some countries are even now being ravaged, we, on behalf of the Church universal, anxiously invoke and beg assistance and advice from God and our neighbouring brother princes. And as delay is pregnant with danger, we beg of you, with all possible diligence, to take arms and to hasten to our succour, as well for the sake of our freedom as for that of your own, and to use strenuous endeavours to prepare a powerful force, by arousing the
340 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
powerful and brave nobles with the people subject to them, and to hold them ready and prepared till we again send our messengers to you. We are now, by the instrumentality of our prelates, and Preacher and Minorite brethren, causing a general crusade (for it is a matter connected with Christ) to be preached, prayer and fasting to be enjoined, and our territory in general to be roused to war for the sake of Jesus Christ. To this we may add, that a large horde of this detestable race of people, in conjunction with another army which is allied with them, is ravaging Hungary with unheardof cruelty, to such an extent that the king is said to retain only a very small portion for himself. To sum up the matter in a few words, the Church and the people in the northern countries are so oppressed, and overwhelmed with so many and such great troubles and difficulties, that they have never suffered so severely from any scourge since the beginning of the world. Given in the year of grace 1241, on the day when is chanted, 'Let Jerusalem rejoice'".
Letters of similar purport were also sent by the duke of Brabant to the bishop of Paris; and the archbishop of Cologne also wrote to the king of England to the like effect.
Wherefore, to heal this severe infliction, and to settle the disputes which had arisen between the pope and the emperor, fastings and prayer, with bountiful almsgiving, were enjoined on the people of the various countries, that the Lord, the mighty subduer of his enemies, who fights with few or with many, might become pacified towards his people, and crush the pride of these Tartars.
When that venerable and well-beloved servant of the Lord, Blanche, mother of the French king, was informed of this scourge of God's wrath, which was impending over the nations, she called her son to her, saying, "King Louis, where are you, my son"? On which he approached her and said, "What want you, mother"? She then sighed deeply and burst into tears, but, although a woman, she pondered on these imminent perils not as a woman, and said to him, "What, my dear son, is to be done concerning these lamentable events, a frightful report of which has flown to our territories? A general destruction of us all and of the holy Church is imminent in our time, owing to the impetuous incursions of the Tartars amongst us". The king,
A.D. 1241.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 341
on hearing this, with a mournful voice, but as if by divine inspiration, replied, "May comfort from heaven raise us up, my mother. And if these people, whom we call Tartars, should come upon us, either we will thrust them back into the regions of Tartarus, whence they emanated, or else they shall send all of us to heaven". As though he would say, "Either we will repulse them, or if we should happen to be conquered, we shall depart to the Lord as confessors of Christ or martyrs". This remarkable and praiseworthy speech inspired and raised the courage, not only of the French nobility, but also of the inhabitants of the adjacent countries. The emperor then, on hearing of these things, wrote to the Christian princes, and especially to the king of England, as follows:-
The emperor's letter concerning the approach of the Tartars.
"Frederick, emperor, etc., to the king of England, greeting,- We cannot be silent on a matter which concerns not only the Roman empire, whose office it is to propagate the Gospel, but also all the kingdoms of the world that practise Christian worship, and threatens general destruction to the whole of Christianity: we therefore hasten to bring it to your knowledge, although the true facts of the matter have but lately come to ours. Some time since a people of a barbarous race and mode of life called (from what place or origin I know not) Tartars, has lately emerged from the regions of the south, where it had long lain hid, burnt up by the sun of the torrid zone, and, thence marching towards the northern parts, took forcible possession of the country there, and remaining for a time, multiplied like locusts, and has now come forth, not without the premeditated judgment of God, but not, I hope, reserved to these latter times for the ruin of the whole of Christianity. Their arrival was followed by a general slaughter, a universal desolation of kingdoms, and by utter ruin to the fertile territory, which this impious horde of people roved through, sparing neither sex, age, nor rank, whilst they confidently hope to destroy the rest of the human race, and are endeavouring to rule and lord it alone, trusting to their immense power and unlimited numbers. After having massacred all they could set eyes upon, and pillaging every place, leaving behind them the signs of universal depopulation,
342 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
these Tartars (or rather inhabitants of Tartarus) arrived at the populous colony of the Cumanians, and as they are careless of life, and as the bow is a more familiar weapon to them than to other people, with their arrows and other missile weapons, which they are in continual use of, and by which their arms are more exercised and strengthened than other people's, they entirely dispersed and subdued that people, and those who could not escape were slain by their bloody swords. The proximity of these barbarians, with some difficulty put the Ruthenians, who dwell near them, on their guard, so that, being unused to the attacks of this unknown people, they consulted their own safety, and, frightened at their fury as at fire, they took precautions for guarding themselves against their attacks. The Tartars took to pillage and destruction. By the sudden attacks and assaults of that savage race, which descends like the anger of God, or like lightning, Kiew, the chief city of that kingdom, was attacked and taken, and the whole of that noble kingdom, which ought to have united itself with that of Hungary, for its defence and protection, but which it carelessly neglected to do, was, after its inhabitants were slain, reduced to a state of utter destruction and desolation. Their king, an idle and careless man, was ordered by messengers and letters from these Tartars, if he wished to save his life and that of his subjects, by a surrender of himself and his kingdom, at once to anticipate their favour; but he was not frightened or warned by this, and thus gave a proof to his people and to others, that he and his ought sooner to have provided for their own protection and defence against their incursions. But, whilst these elated or ignorant people, despising their enemies, were idly sleeping with the enemy in their immediate neighbourhood, and trusting to the natural strength of the place, the Tartars made their way into the kingdom like a whirlwind, and suddenly surrounded them on all sides. The Hungarians being thus surrounded before they expected an attack, and surprised when unprepared as it were, tried to defend their camp against them. When the two rival armies of the Tartars and Hungarians were distant aoout five miles from each other, the advanced portion of the Tartars suddenly rushed forwards at the dawn of the morning, and suddenly surrounding the camp of the Hungarians,
A.D. 1241.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 343
slew the prelates and nobles of the kingdom who opposed them, and massacred such a host of the Hungarians, that a similar slaughter was never remembered to have taken place in one battle, from the most remote period. The king himself with difficulty escaped, mounted on a fleet horse, and fled, attended by a small retinue, to share the lot of his brother in the kingdom of Illyria, that he might at least be protected there. The victors, exulting in the spoil, then took up their quarters in the camp of the conquered Hungarians; and at this very moment they are ravaging the largest and finest part of Hungary, beyond the river Danube, harassing the inhabitants with fire and sword, and threaten to involve the rest in the same destruction, as we have been informed by the venerable bishop of Vatzen, the said king of Hungary's ambassador to our court, afterwards sent to that of Rome, who, passing through our territory first, bore testimony to what he had seen; and his evidence is but too true. We have also been fully informed of these events, by letters from our beloved son Conrad, king elect of the Romans, heir to the kingdom of Jerusalem, and king of Bohemia, and from the dukes of Austria and Bohemia, as also by the word of mouth of messengers, who have been practically made certain of the proximity of the enemy. And we have heard all this with great perturbation of mind. As we have been intormed, and as the rumour of their proceedings, going in advance of them, declares, their innumerable army is divided into three ill-omened portions, and, owing to the Lord's indulging them in their damnable plans, has proceeded thus divided. One of these has been sent through the Pructenian territory and entered Poland, where the prince and duke of that country have fallen victims to their exterminating pursuers, and afterwards the whole of that country has been devastated by them. A second portion has entered the Bohemian territory, where it is brought to a stand, having been attacked by the king of that country, who has bravely met it with all the forces at his command; and the third portion of it is over-running Hungary, adjoining to the Austrian territories. Hence fear and trembling have arisen amongst us, owing to the fury of these impetuous invaders, which arouses and calls upon us to arm; necessity, which is the more urgent the more imminent the danger is, urges us to oppose them; and the
344 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
certainty of the general ruin of the whole world, especially of Christendom, calls for hasty assistance and succour; for this race of people is wild, outlawed, and ignorant of the laws of humanity; they follow and have for their lord one, whom they worship and reverence with all obedience, and whom they call the god of earth. The men themselves are small and of short stature, as far as regards height, but compact, stout, and bulky, resolute, strong, and courageous, and ready at the nod of their leader to rush into any undertaking of difficulty; they have large faces, scowling looks, and utter horrible shouts, suited to their hearts: they wear raw hides of bullocks, asses, and horses; and for armour, they are protected by pieces of iron stitched to them, which they have made use of till now. But, and we cannot say it without sorrow, they are now, from the spoils of the conquered Christians, providing themselves with more suitable weapons, that we may, through God's anger, be the more basely slain with our own arms. Besides, they are supplied with better horses, they live on richer food, and adorn themselves with more handsome clothes, than formerly. They are incomparable archers, and carry skins artificially made, in which they cross lakes and the most rapid rivers without danger. When fodder fails them, their horses are said to be satisfied with the bark and leaves of trees, and the roots of herbs, which the men bring to them; and yet, they always find them to be very swift and strong in a case of necessity. We have, however, by some means or other, been forewarned of and foreseen all these events, and have by letters and messengers frequently requested of your majesty, as well as other Christian princes, and earnestly advised and entreated of you, to allow unanimity, affection, and peace, to flourish among those who hold supreme authority; to settle all dissensions, which frequently bring harm on the commonwealth of Christ; and to rise with alacrity, and unanimously to oppose those lately emerged savages, inasmuch as weapons foreseen are less apt to wound; that so the common enemies of us all may not have cause to rejoice, in furtherance of their progress, that discord is shooting forth amongst the Christian chiefs. O God! how much and how often have we been willing to humiliate ourselves, giving vent to every kind of good feeling, in order to prevail on the Roman pontiff to
A.D. 1241.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 345
desist from giving cause of scandal throughout the world, by his enmity against us, and place the bounds of moderation upon his ill-advised violence, in order that we might be able to pacify our lawful subjects, and govern them in a state of peace, and not to protect those who kick against our authority, a large portion of whom are still favoured and assisted by him. Thus, by peaceably settling matters, and by reforming our rebellious subjects, against whom we have expended a large amount of money, and exhausted our strength, our power would increase and rise in greater force against the common enemy. But as will is law with him, for he does not rule the deceitful discourse of his tongue, and he has refused to abstain from the manifold quarrels which he has sought against us; and has ordered a crusade to be published against me, who am an arm and advocate of the Church, which it was his duty, and would have become him better to have put in practice against the tyranny of the Tartars, or the Saracens invading and occupying the Holy Land, and he exults in the rebellion of our subjects, who are conspiring against our honour and fame, and as it is our most urgent business to free ourselves from enemies at home, how shall we repel these barbarians as well? For by their spies, which they have sent out in all directions, these people, although governed without any regard to divine law, yet well skilled in the devices of war, have discovered this public discord, and have found out the unprotected and weaker parts of the country; and hearing of the animosity of kings and the clashings of kingdoms, they are inspirited, and rise against us with greater eagerness. How much does exulting courage add to strength! We have, therefore, turned our attention to both matters; and, with the help of God's providence, will apply our strength and industry to avert the scandal to the Church caused on one side by our enemies at home, and on the other, by these savages; we have, therefore, expressly sent our beloved son Conrad, and other chiefe of our empire, with a strong force, to meet and check the attacks and violence of these barbarians. And we most sincerely adjure your majesty, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the author of our Christian faith, with the most careful solicitude, and by prudent deliberation, to take precautions for the protection
346 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
of yourself and your kingdom, which may God keep in a state of prosperity, and to prepare as soon as possible a complete force of brave knights and soldiers, and a good supply of arms; and this we beg of you, by the blood of Christ shed for us, and by the ties of relationship, by which we are connected. And let them prepare themselves to fight bravely and prudently in conjunction with us, for the freedom of Christianity; so that by a union of our forces against these enemies, who are now proposing to enter the boundaries of Germany, which is, as it were, the door of Christendom, the victory may be gained, to the honour and renown of the Lord of Hosts; and may it please your majesty, not to pass these matters by unnoticed, or to delay giving your attention to them. For if, which God forbid, they invade the German territory, and meet with no opposition, the rest of the world will then feel the thunder of the suddenly-coming tempest, which we believe to have arisen from a divine judgment, as the world is defiled by the infection of various sins, as charity begins to grow cold in many by whom the true faith ought to be preached and upheld, and their pernicious example pollutes the world with usury and divers kinds of simony and ambition. May it please your majesty, therefore, to provide for this emergency, and whilst these enemies of us all in common are venting their fury in the neighbouring countries, do you by prudent counsels make preparations to resist them. For they have left their own country, heedless of danger to their own lives, with the intention (God forbid its being carried into effect) of subduing the whole of the West, and of ruining and uprooting the faith and name of Christ. And owing to the unexpected victories which they have hitherto gained by God's permission, they have arrived at such a pitch of insanity, that they consider they have already gained possession of all the kingdoms of the world, and may subdue and bind the prostrate kings and princes as they please, to their own vile service. But we hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, under whom as a leader and guide we have hitherto released ourselves from, and triumphed over, our enemies, that these also, who have burst forth from the abodes of Tartarus, may find their pride humbled, after experiencing the strength of the West, and be thrust back to their own Tartarus. Nor
A.D. 1241.] SUSPICIONS ARE ENTERTAINED. 347
will they have to boast of having roved with impunity through so many provinces, subdued so many nations, and perpetrated so many wickednesses, when their own incautious destiny, or rather, Satan himself, has dragged them hither to die, before the victorious eagles of the potent European empire. When Germany, rising with rage and zeal to battle, and France, that mother and nurse of chivalry; the warlike and bold Spain, with fertile England, valorous in its men, and protected by its fleet; Almaine, full of impetuous warriors; the maritime Dacia; untameable Italy; Burgundy, that never knows peace; restless Apulia, with the piratical and unconquered islands of the Grecian, Adriatic, and Tyrrhene seas; Crete, Cyprus, and Sicily, with the islands and districts adjacent to the ocean; when bloody Ireland, with active Wales; Scotland, abounding in lakes, icy Norway, and every noble and renowned country lying under the royal star of the West, shall send forth their chosen ornaments preceded by the symbol of the life-giving cross, at which, not only rebellious subjects, but even opposing demons, are struck with dismay and awe. Given on our retreat, after the surrender and depopulation of Faenza, on the third day of July".
The publication of the foregoing letter.
Letters to the same effect, with only a change of titled headings, and of a few words therein, were written by that sedulous defender of the public weal, the emperor; but by adding the following words to the French king, he aroused him the most effectually; for, said he, "We are, moreover, astonished, knowing the wisdom of the French, that you do not take more minute notice of the papal craft and avarice than all the others. For, in his insatiable ambition, he is now purposing to bring all Christian kingdoms into subjection to him, drawing an instance from his having trodden under-foot the crown of England; and now he dares, with greater rashness and presumption, aspire to bend the majesty of the empire at his nod".
Suspicions are entertained.
The remarkable nature of this circumstance filled the whole of Europe with wonder, and spread even into the Saracen country; and a difference of opinion arose amongst
348 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
many, different people entertaining different thoughts on these matters. There were some who said that the emperor had, of his own accord, plotted this infliction of the Tartars, and that by this clever letter he basely cloaked his nefarious crime, and that in his grasping ambition he was, like Lucifer, or Antichrist, conspiring against the monarchy of the whole world, to the utter ruin of the Christian faith. The letter, too, was proved to contain falsehoods; for it was stated in it, that this unknown race of Tartars had burst forth from the southern parts of the world, under the torrid zone, which plainly appears to be a falsehood; for we have not heard that they passed through the southern or even the eastern countries. Besides, they suspected that the secret plans, untraceable proceedings, and numerous plottings of these Tartars, were full of the imperial suggestions; for they conceal their mode of speech, and vary their accoutrements; and if any one of them is made a prisoner, by no means can information of their designs be extorted from the captive, by any torture, however severe, he may be put to. And as there are only seven climes in the whole extent of the world; namely, those of the Indians, Ethiopians or Moors, Egyptians, Jerusalemites, Greeks, Romans, and French, and there are none so remotely situated in the whole of the habitable part of the world, that merchants will not find their way amongst them, as the poet says:-
Impiger extremos currit mercator ad Indos.
[To India far the merchant finds his way.]
Where have such people, who are so numerous, till now lain concealed? Why is there now such a crafty and secret conspiracy amongst them ] There are, also, as they say, Hyrcanians and Scythians, who thirst eagerly for human blood, inhabiting the mountainous and rugged regions of the north, leading the life of wild beasts, worshipping the gods of the mountains on appointed days; and these people, by the machinations of the emperor, have, together with their neighbours, the Cumanians, who have now entered into an alliance with them, made war on the king of Hungary and some other nobles, in order that the harassed king may fly to the wings of the emperor for protection, and do homage to him for affording him assistance; and as these
A.b. 1241.] POPE'S MESSAGE TO THE PRELATES. 349
things have been effected, the enemies have retreated. But God forbid that so much wickedness should be lurking in any one mortal body.
The pope admonishes the prelates to spurn the advice of the emperor, and to come to the council.
At this time, owing to unfavourable events, the lord Bishop James of Praeneste, sometime legate in France; the Lord Otto, cardinal deacon in carcere Tulliano, some time since legate in Denmark, afterwards in England; and Gregory of Romagna, who was just now sent as legate to the Genoese, to absolve from their sins such as obeyed him, were all delayed at Genoa, looking out for a fleet for themselves. There were also with them a great many archbishops, bishops, and abbats, who, as they feared to set sail, owing to the threats of the emperor, frequently received consolatory letters and messages from the pope, at the same time being admonished to set sail, and proceed without fail to the council, yea, more resolutely to despise the threats of secular power, and more readily to obey their spiritual father. For, in consideration of a large sum of money paid by these prelates, an agreement had been made between them and the Genoese, that they, the said Genoese, should safely conduct them all, legates as well as prelates, and their retinues, free from loss and injury, to the Roman court, even although against the emperor's consent. Whilst they were holding a careful and lengthened discussion on these matters, and some were in a state of uncertainty as to what it would be safest and wisest to do, the pope sent word to them, that he would, without fail, send such powerful and effective assistance to them, in the shape of a fleet to meet them by sea, when they went out of harbour, for their conduct and protection, that the power of their enemies would not be able to oppose them in any way, nay, not even the emperor himself, whom his holiness had consigned to perdition and to Satan, as one lying under manifold anathemas. By this message and consolation of the holy father, they were so inspirited, that they would incur any danger, even to death itself
The emperor asks the prelates to travel through his territory to the council.
When this message was made known to the emperor, he
350 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
plainly perceived that the pope was most strenuously endeavouring to humiliate him, and was summoning the prelates, who would on no accoimt gainsay his will, for this purpose; wherefore he began to entertain great fears for himself. He therefore requested that they would take their journey through his territory, in order that they might be more fully instructed concerning the rights in which he placed his trust, and that they might not be imposed upon by false statements, and begged of them not to set sail suddenly for the Roman court, without being certified on these points. He accordingly sent special ambassadors to them when they were prepared for sailing, and with modesty and humility informed them that they might pass through all the territories under his dominion peacefully and in all safety, provided that they would not travel by sea, or along the sea-coast, and bade them rest assured that none of his subjects would annoy them on their journey. He also bade them, if they would not believe his imperial promises, to prepare a certain form of guarantee, and promised inviolably to abide by the said terms in all respects, according as they should draw them up. He also declared, that after he had thoroughly explained his cause to them by word of mouth, and informed them of all the particulars of it minutely, he would commit it in all good faith and confidence to be judicially examined into and definitely settled by the council, and promised to submit to the discreet decision of such and so many of the holy fathers. And thus, with persuasions, entreaties, and commands, he with all possible earnestness begged of them to be his agents, advocates, and judges in the matter, fulfilling the words of the poet:-
Imperium, promissa, preces, confuditur unum.
[With mixed commands, and promises, and pray'rs,
At once the lord and suppliant he appears.]
He moreover complained bitterly of the unmitigated violence of the pope's persecution of him, so that he almost excited his hearers to tears; stating that the pope had been the means of making him considered as a most wicked heretic, and a fierce and open enemy of the Christian faith, although he was neither convicted of being so, nor had he confessed himself one; had caused him to be excommunicated
A.D. 1241.] EMPEROR'S MESSAGE TO THE PRELATES. 351
in various countries: had slandered by all the means he could devise; had irreparibly aspersed his name and fame, than which nothing could be more injurious; and was striving with his utmost efforts to effect his humiliation. "And", said he, "lately, after it had been settled and agreed in common both on my part and on his, that a council should be convoked, at which we were to be ready to explain our cause on either side, and to abide by the general decision of the council, he rashly altered the form of the aforesaid convocation, and summoned all the open enemies of the empire, who were prepared for war rather than peace, and laymen and secular persons, as appears by the tenor of my letter, sent to the king of England and other princes, in which I have most certainly uncloaked the hidden wiles and traps of papal craft; in which letter I forewarned them, as they regarded themselves and their possessions, not to permit their prelates to pass through my dominions". The emperor also added, as he had said elsewhere, and in the said letter, that it would be dangerous and contrary to reason to intrust such a difficult business to his open enemy the pope, and those who agreed in opinion with him, who seemed rather to be conspirators aiming at the subversion of the holy empire, than judges of justice; thus committing it to a partial court, where the judges were ignorant of the principal cause of dispute and the circumstances of the case.
The emperor's reasons for not coming to the prelates.
The emperor, therefore, urgently entreated of the prelates to come in peace through his territory, in order to be fully acquainted with his cause, and that he might inform them of all the concealed circumstances of the matter; for he stated that he could not, on any account, come to them in person, owing to a want of money, of which he had expended such a sum at the protracted siege of Faenza, and on account of other matters, the chief of which was connected with the army of his son, which was engaged against the Tartars, and other matters which he must keep secret, as also on account of the rebellious Genoese, whom he did not choose to approach unless in great strength.
The legates refuse to go through his territory to the council.
The prelates, however, encouraged by the promises of the
352 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
legates, and by the oft-repeated consolatory letters of the pope, in which he promised to send speedy and effectual aid to meet them by sea, refused on any account to abandon their purposed intention; "For", said they, "no reliance can be placed on the cavilling words of an excommunicated man". Rejecting, therefore, the advice and requests of the emperor, the prelates, trusting in the numbers of the Genoese, who were experienced in naval warfare, and despised the threats and power of the emperor, embarked on their ships, the Genoese proceeding in advance of them, indulging in lofty boastings, declaring that the forces of those who might oppose them were not at all formidable to them, and calling the prelates and learned men timid and pusillanimous, for their pride was greater than their power. With their galleys and ships, therefore, disposed in this order, they ploughed their course through the Tyrrhene Sea, on their eastward voyage, amidst the tumultuous shouts of the sailors and the clang of trumpets.
The emperor orders the prelates to be captured.
When this feet was made known to the emperor, he was annoyed to find that he was despised, and his warnings and entreaties alike rejected. He therefore sent to his son Henry, whom he was accustomed to call his natural son, and to whom he had committed the duty of guarding the sea and sea-coasts with a naval force, and ordered him to oppose the passage of the prelates, and, without fear, to seize them on their voyage, or else to drown or slay them.
The capture of the legates and prelates.
The said Henry, then, in obedience to his faither's commands, sent twenty new and strongly-built galleys, well furnished with armed men, under the command of Stollius, a most skilful navigator, to oppose the Genoese, who were conducting the legates and prelates in secure confidence. A bloody fight then ensued at sea, between the Pisans, commanded by Henry in person, and the aforesaid Stollius, who rushed like the lightning of the storm to the battle, and the Genoese; in which the Genoese were conquered, and the prelates and legates were made prisoners, with the exception of some who were slain or drowned; amongst the rest the archbishop of Vicenza, and many others, too numerous to mention. Of
A.D. 1241.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 353
the abbats, the abbat of Savigny, with some difficulty, escaped free and uninjured, by the assistance of John of Lexington, his brother, a most courageous knight, and messenger from the king of England. Of this unfortunate event we are plainly informed by the following letter, and public report bears evidence of the truth of it.
The emperor's letter concerning the capture of the city of Faenza, and of the prelates also, by sea.
The prelates, legates, and their Genoese conductors, having been thus taken and brought before the emperor, he at once wrote to the king of England and to the other princes, as follows:-
"Frederick, emperor, to the king of England, health and sincere affection,- With feelings of joyful affection we have received your letters and the messengers whom you sent to us; and carefully heard and understood, as well the contents of the letters, as the things which the said messengers have communicated to us by word of mouth on your behalf. And now to each and all of the messages which you have sent to us by them, we will give you full replies through our faithful and well-beloved notary Master Walter de Ocra, to whom you will give full credence, as you would do to us in person, in everything which he shall tell you by word of mouth in our name. To him also we have given full powers to proceed in the matter about which the aforesaid messengers have come to us, and of bringing it to a conclusion, according to the form given to him by us. In addition to this, as you rejoice with us in our successes, and that the humiliation of our rebellious subjects may be a source of terror and caution to others, we impart to you the agreeable news that the city of Faenza, placing confidence, not in its deservings, but in its walls, and favoured by the winter season, dared to rebel against us, and to offer opposition to our forces; but on the return of spring, this said city, having been much injured by the assaults of our engines, and the walls having fallen in, our miners penetrated by subterraneous passages into the interior of the city, so that a hand-to-hand contest ensued between the citizens and our soldiers, and as it was now necessary for them, according to their threats, to expose their bodies to our swords, they wisely took counsel for their safety, as their defeat threatened them with impending ruin; they
354 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
therefore began incessantly to implore our mercy, and, on Sunday, the 15th of April, they surrendered themselves to our will, throwing their persons and their city on our mercy, taking the oath of fealty to us, and renouncing all the unlawful oaths that they had taken. At whose submission, our clemency,- that ever inseparable companion of the empire and arbiter of just rule, conquering the feelings of the conqueror, induced us to deal mercifully with the conquered; as we also thought it to be a more glorious victory to pity those who had again turned to us, than to take vengeance on them in their lamentable condition; and considering it a pious sort of vengeance to pardon injuries, when it was in our power to avenge them cruelly. Having, therefore, freely forgiven their offences, although they were none of the least, and absolved all who were guilty of treason against us, and having reformed the condition of the citizens and their city under our rule, and that of the empire (than which none can be more pleasant or more worthy), according as the state of affairs demanded, we turned our attention to the depopulation of the neighbouring country of Bologna, when it happened, to their own misfortune, that a multitude of prelates, with the bishop of Praeneste, and Otto of Thuringia, cardinal deacon of St. Nicholas in the Tullian prison, who had assembled together from various provinces, came to Genoa to oppose our proceedings. At this place they were joined by Gregory of Romagna, who was sent to accompany them, that they might be bound more closely one to another: and entering into a confederacy with our rebellious Genoese and some people from the French kingdom, they assembled a large naval force, caused their banditti to arm themselves, and agreed with them to come to the pope, for the sake of increasing the discord. To oppose their progress and prevent their approach, we caused our fleet, which had been prepared some time before, to assemble at Pisa, and placed it under the command of the victorious [1] Stollius. This fleet of ours, manned by our faithful subjects, we, having previously gained a knowledge of their movements, sent to the places and ports which they could not fail to pass even on the
[1] The text has "victoriosum Galliarum Stollium"; the meaning of which I leave to others to detect. The French translator renders it "chef de nos galeres", evidently reading "galeiarum".
A.D. 1241.] THE EMPEROR's LETTER. 355
deep sea, as they lay on the way and were obliged to be sailed by in their course, with orders to oppose them by force. Our said chief then attacked their galleys with our galleys, and the all-powerful God, who sees and fights from on high, and judges between right and wrong, seeing their wicked ways, and the malice of their hearts, as well as their insatiable cupidity, by his divine favour delivered these legates and prelates bound into our power, which they could not escape either by land or sea. After three of their galleys had been sunk, together with everything on board of them, and after losing about two thousand men without hope of recovery, twenty-two galleys were, by the will of Divine providence, conquered by our galleys, and, after great slaughter amongst their crews, were triumphantly taken, together with all the property and every one on board. In these galleys were the three aforesaid legates, with the archbishops, bishops, abbats, and many other prelates, besides messengers and proxies of prelates to the number of about a hundred, with the embassies from the rebellious cities of Lombardy, who were proceeding to the said council, consisting of four thousand Genoese, besides some special and elect persons from Genoa, who commanded the galleys and the company of prelates, for the purpose of taking them from and bringing them back to Genoa, as had been unfortunately for them agreed on between them; and all these fell into our hands as prisoners, together with the bishop of Praeneste, who had often excited the chief hatred against us. Let this man, who carries the form of a wolf under the exterior of a sheep, refrain from thinking that he carries God in his heart; for we think that it is God's especial judgment that has fallen upon him. Let him learn that God is with us sitting on his throne to judge between evil and good; He has decreed that the machine of the world is to be governed, not alone by the priesthood, but by sovereignty and priesthood together. Let us not, therefore, as the Lord discloses his plans to us from heaven, and converts so many rugged places into smooth ones, attempt to avoid the sweat of war and the dust of summer, but direct our steps and all our thoughts and intentions towards him, who has conferred such an increase of exultation and glory on us and other rulers. And we congratulate other princes, and you in particular, as being partakers in these aforesaid
356 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
successes of ours, and whom we wish, by the unanimity of feeling by which we are united, to participate in the occurrence of any future good fortune. Given at Faenza", etc., etc.
How the prelates were taken to Naples to he imprisoned.
Letters to this effect were sent to the other princes, as it were, to give them comfort; but they were not all pleased with its contents, as the ethic poet says,
Gloria peccati non repetenda sui est.
[None will own
The pride that from a crime has grown.]
The prelates therefore, by the emperor's command, were taken away by sea, and, after a voyage of about three weeks, were brought to Naples in Apulia, where they were committed to safe custody in a castle surrounded by water near that town. But they did not all feel the calamities of imprisonment in an equal degree; the condition of the bishop of Praeneste was most wretched, although disease or excessive weakness had taken fast hold of them all. For during the voyage they sat fastened and squeezed together in heaps, and, with the intolerable heat falling upon them, and flies flitting round them and stinging them like scorpions, they dragged on a long martyrdom, tortured by hunger and thirst, and exposed to insults and annoyances at the will of the wicked crew of hostile pirates; and all this they endured owing to their obedience. A prison, therefore, seemed to them a place of rest, although it afforded them none; they in consequence pined away, especially the more delicate amongst them, and languished under various diseases, and some of the religious men, and many others, breathed forth their wretched lives, and departed from the miseries of this life to the Lord, after gaining the palm of martyrdom. Shortly after, too, the bishop of Praeneste, obedient to the pope till death, passed from this wicked world to a place of rest.
Henry is sent to assist his brother Conrad against the Tartars.
The emperor then, having, with the Lord's permission, effected his purpose, sent his son Henry, who had, as has been stated, conquered the prelates and their convoy, to join his brother Conrad, who was prepared with an innumerable army, raised from the various provinces of the empire,
A.D. 1241.] WICKEDNESS OF THE JEWS. 357
to check the violence of the Tartars and Cumanians, in order that the brothers might mutually comfort and assist one another, and be surrounded by a larger force. The said Henry, by his father's orders, took with him four thousand cavalry and a large body of foot-soldiers, who, when united to the others to whose assistance they had come, composed an immense army; and when this was discovered by the enemy, their boastings were stilled, and their arrogance was checked and grew cold. For a most bloody battle took place near the banks of the river Delpheos, not far from the Danube, and after many had fallen on both sides, the hostile army, although almost innumerable, was repulsed; but before it retreated, a circumstance occurred, which proceeded from the trickery of the Jews, who thought that these enemies of ours were a portion of their Jewish race, who had been shut up in the Caspian mountains, and had therefore come to assist them, for the subversion of Christianity; and this enormous wickedness we have thought proper to insert in this work.
The enormous wickedness of the Jews.
During all this time, numbers of the Jews on the continent, and especially those belonging to the empire, thinking that these Tartars and Cumanians were a portion of their race, whom God had, at the prayers of Alexander the Great, shut up in the Caspian mountains, assembled off a general summons in a secret place, where one of their number, who seemed to be the wisest and most influential amongst them, thus addressed them:- "My brothers, seed of the illustrious Abraham, vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth, whom our God Adonai has permitted to be so long oppressed under Christian rule, now the time has arrived for us to liberate ourselves, and by the judgment of God to oppress them in our turn, that the remnant of Israel may be saved. For our brethren of the tribes of Israel, who were formerly shut up, have gone forth to bring the whole world to subjection to them and to us. And the more severe and more lasting that our former suffering has been, the greater will be the glory that will ensue to us. Let us therefore go to meet them with valuable gifts, and receive them with the highest honour: they are in need of corn, wine, and arms". The whole assembly heard this speech with pleasure, and at once bought all the swords,
358 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
daggers, and armour, they could find for sale anywhere, and, in order to conceal their treachery, securely stowed them away in casks. They then openly told the Christian chiefs, under whose dominion they were, that these people, commonly called Tartars, were Jews, and would not drink wine unless made by Jews, and of this they have informed us, and with great earnestness have begged to be supplied with some wine made by us, their brethren. We, however, desiring to remove from amongst us these our inhuman public enemies, and to release you Christians from their impending tyrannical devastation, have prepared about thirty casks full of deadly intoxicating wine, to be carried to them as soon as possible. The Christians therefore permitted these wicked Jews to make this wicked present to their wicked enemies. When, however, these said Jews had reached a distant part of Germany, and were about to cross a certain bridge with their casks, the master of the bridge, according to custom, demanded payment of the toll for their passage: the Jews, however, replied insolently, refusing to satisfy his demands, saying that they were employed in this business for the advantage of the empire, indeed of all Christendom, having been sent to the Tartars, secretly to poison them with their wine. The keeper of the bridge, however, doubting the assertion of these Jews, bored a hole through one of the casks; but no liquor flowed therefrom; and becoming certain of their treachery, he took off the hoops of the cask, and, breaking it open, discovered that it was full of arms. At this sight he cried out, "Oh, unheard-of treachery, why do we allow such people to live amongst us"? And at once he and others, whom his astonishment had collected round him, broke open all the other casks, which, as soon as they had done, they found them also filled with Cologne swords and daggers, without hilts, closely and compactly stowed away; they then at once openly showed forth the hidden treachery and extraordinary deceit of the Jews, who chose rather to assist these open enemies of the world in general, who, they said, were very much in need of arms, than to aid the Christians, who allowed them to live amongst them and communicate with them in the way of traffic. They were therefore at once handed over to the executioners, to be either consigned to perpetual imprisonment, or to be slain with their own swords.
A.D. 1241.] CONFIRMATION OF NICHOLAS OF FARNHAM. 359
How the people were absolved from their vow of assuming the cross, on payment of a sum of money.
At this time, in order that the wretched country of England might be robbed and despoiled of its wealth by a thousand devices, the Preacher and Minorite brethren, supported by a warrant from the pope, in their preaching granted full remission of sins to all who should assume the cross for the liberation of the Holy Land. And immediately, or at least two or three days after they had prevailed on many to assume the cross, they absolved them from their vow on condition that they should contribute a large amount of money for the assistance of the Holy Land, each as far as his means would permit; and in order to render the English more ready and willing to accede to their demands, they declared that the money was to be sent to Earl Richard; and moreover, they showed a letter of his, for better security. They also granted the same indulgence to old men and invalids, women, imbeciles, and children, who took the cross or purposed taking it, receiving money, however, from them beforehand for this indulgence, and showed letters testimonial from Earl Richard concerning this matter, which had been obtained from the Roman court. By this method of draining the purses of the English, an immense sum of money was obtained, owing to the favour in which Earl Richard was held; but we would here ask, who was to be a faithful guardian and dispenser of this money? for we do not know.
The confirmation of Master Nicholas of Farnham, in the bishopric of Durham.
On the 9th of June, in this year, Master Nicholas of Farnham, bishop elect of Durham, was consecrated bishop of that see in St. Oswald's church at Gloucester, by Walter, archbishop of York, in the presence of the king and queen, with numerous bishops and abbats. But inasmuch as a question had been mooted concerning his profession, amongst some who wished to excite discord, the said Nicholas refused to claim a liberty that was not his due, or to show himself insolent or recalcitrant; he therefore, at his consecration, in public, before all the prelates and nobles, and in the presence of his metropolitan, the said Archbishop Walter, solemnly and distinctly made his profession in a loud voice, according to
360 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
custom, as follows: "I Nicholas, bishop elect of the church of Durham, acknowledge canonical subjection, reverence, and obedience to the church of York, and to you, father Walter, its archbishop, and this I subscribe with my own hand". He then immediately, in the presence of all assembled, marked the sign of the cross in ink at the head of the charter, and delivered the same to the archbishop to be kept in his possession in his treasury.
The wretched death of Earl Gilbert, marshal.
Whilst the mutability of time was thus sporting with and deluding the world with its variable occurrences, Earl Gilbert, marshal, had, with some other nobles, arranged a sort of tilting-match, called by some a "venture", but which might rather be called a "misadventure"; they tried their strength about a crossbow-shot from Hertford; where he by his skill in knightly tactics, gained for himself the praise of military science, and was declared by all, considering his small size of body, to have justly distinguished himself for his valour. This was what the said earl chiefly aimed at; for he was, in the first place, destined to clerical orders, and was reported to be weak and unskilful in warlike exercises. He was, at this tournament, mounted on a noble horse, an Italian charger, to which he was not accustomed, accoutred in handsome armour, and surrounded by a dense body of soldiers, who soon afterwards, however, left him, and dispersed, intent on gain. Whilst the earl, then, was amusing himself by checking his horse at full speed, and anon goring his sides with his sharp spurs, to urge him to greater speed, and, as the case required, suddenly drew rein, both the reins suddenly broke off at the junction with the bit. By this accident the horse became unmanageable, and tossing up his head, struck his rider a violent blow on the breast. Some there were who unhesitatingly asserted that the bridle had been treacherously cut by some jealous person, in order that, being thus left at the mercy of his horse, he might be dashed to pieces and killed; or, at least, that he might be taken by his adversaries at will. Moreover, he had dined, and was nearly blinded by the heat, dust, and sweat, and his head was oppressed by the weight of his heavy helmet. His horse, too, could not be restrained by him, or any
A.D. 1241.] THE POPE'S CLERKS EXACT MONEY. 361
one else; but he, at the same time, fainted away, began to totter in his saddle, and soon after fell, half-dead, from his horse - with one foot, however, fixed in the stirrup; and in this manner he was dragged some distance over the field, by which he suffered some internal injuries, which caused his death. He expired in the evening of the 27th of June, amidst the deep and loudly-expressed sorrow of those who beheld him, at a house of the monks of Hertford. When he was about to breathe his last, having just received the viaticum, he made a bequest to the church of the blessed Virgin at Hertford, for the redemption of his soul. His body waa afterwards opened, when his liver was discovered to be black and broken, from the force of the blows he had received. His entrails were buried in the said church, before the altar of St. Mary, to whom he had committed his spirit when dying. On the following day, his body - preceded by his brother, and accompanied by the whole of his family - was carried to London, to be buried near his father. At this same tournament, also, was killed one of the earl's retinue, named Robert de Saye, and his bowels were buried with those of the earl. Many other knights and men-at-arms were also wounded and seriously injured with maces, at this same tournament, because the jealousy of many of the parties concerned had converted the sport into a battle. The affairs of the cross and the interests of the Holy Land suffered great loss by the death of the said earl, for he had intended to set out for Jerusalem in the next month, without fail, having collected money from all in the country who had assumed the cross; for permission to do which, he had paid two hundred marks to the pope; following the prudent example of Earl Richard.
How two of the pope's clerks exacted money throughout the whole of England for the use of his holiness.
During the whole of this time, while fortune was sporting in the mutability of human affairs, the avarice of the Romans still continued unsatiated; for after the legate's departure, two of the pope's clerks remained in England, as if to fulfil the duty of the legate. These two were Peter, sumamed Le Rouge, and Peter de Supino - two indefatigable extortioners, who held a papal warrant, for exacting procurations, imposing interdicts, excommunicating, and extorting
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money by divers methods from the wretched English church, in order, as they stated, that the Roman church, which was injured in manifold and divers ways, might again breathe freely. The aforesaid Peter Le Rouge, who placed himself above the other one, conducted himself after the manner of the legate, wrote his letters to this and that abbat and prior, and the address of his letter always ran thus; - "Master Peter Le Rouge, familiar and relative of his holiness the pope, greeting, etc., etc".- On such authority he continued to exact and extort procurations and various other collections. His colleague, Peter de Supino, by permission of the king, went to Ireland, on the part of the pope, and bearing a warrant from him, where, assisted by secular power, he with great tyranny extorted money from all the prelates of that island. Some who had been suspended from office, came to the said Peter, at London, to satisfy him in whatever he chose to demand. Peter de Supino, too, returned from Ireland in the ensuing autumn, and took his way to Rome, carrying with him one thousand five hundred marks, and with his saddle-bags well filled.
The French king gives the province of Poictou to Amphulsus, his brother.
On the day of St. John the Baptist's Nativity, in this year, the French king, by the advice of those who hated the kingdom of England, gave the province of Poictou to his brother Amphulsus; and having at the same time, with great pomp, bestowed the knight's belt on the said Amphulsus, he invested him with the honour of the county of Poictou, which was known by right to belong, by his, the French king's, own gift, to the king of England, or his brother. He also at the same time created several noble knights to honour the initiation of the said Amphulsus; thus paying little or no regard to the claim or title of Earl Richard, who had faithfully fought for God in the Holy Land, and had liberated the French captives; and many were greatly astonished at the French nobility, who permitted this, and thus ungratefully and shamelessly returned evil for good.
Earl Richard's letters, containing an account of his pilgrimage.
About this time, the friends of Earl Richard, being
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anxious about his proceedings, were fully informed thereon by the following letter from him:-
"Richard, earl of Cornwall and count of Poictou, to the noble, venerable, and well-beloved masters in Christ, B. de Rivers, earl of Devon, the abbat of Beaulieu, and Robert, clerk, health and every good wish, with sincere affection.- Of the great desolation and grief of which the Holy Land has long been the seat, and how difficult a matter has been its reparation and relief since the catastrophe at Gaza, wise men are sensible, and experience of the truth has reached those dwelling near, and report has carried to those at a distance; and, but that the present letter might disclose our secret, and being opened on the way to you, give occasion to a sinister interpretation, many things would be explained in it which now sleep and lie concealed in the bottom of our heart. From the time when kings and kingdoms turned aside from Jerusalem, owing to its being divided and held by iniquitous and unjust possessors, we have been consumed with no small grief, and cannot altogether be silent, but must loose our tongue in bitter complaint, as there is no pleasant matter to occupy it; for the sword of compassion has pierced to our soul, so as not to be able to contain itself. For some time past, indeed, in the Holy Land, discord has reigned instead of peace, schism instead of union, hatred instead of affection, and justice has been totally excluded. Of such seed there have been many planters in that land, and many have become collectors of the fruit springing from it; but I hope they are now eradicated. And there is no one amongst all its beloved ones to console it. For twin brothers disagreeing in the bosom of their mother, whose business it was to defend her, becoming proud in their affluence, have nourished and fomented these humours at the roots, and caused the branches of it to spread far and wide. For an abundance of good things produces such an itching after mutual contention, that the reprimands of the father who presides over the see of Peter, are encountered with the utmost indifference, provided that the stronger party dazzle the world with their renown. To the pacification of these discordant parties we have applied no small portion of care; but, as yet, the footsteps of peace leave no impression, inasmuch as the followers of discord do not acquiesce in the words of peace. Those who have money
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easily allure others to them as long as it lasts; but when the time for vindicating the modesty of their mother arrives, they leave the peace-makers, and feigning secret impediments, show no regard to bring consolation to their mother. From this cause, and the great number of the Gallic cavalry, almost twice as numerous as the Saracens, utterly prostrated by evil habits, the enemies of the cross were so unexpectedly encouraged, that a small body of them thought little or nothing of numbers of us. Owing to this, on our first arrival here, the nobles who were thought likely to help us were taking their departure, and it appeared to be a serious and difficult matter to relieve the country; yet, the Divine clemency, when it wills it, suffers injuries to be without their remedies, and sorrow to be without means of consolation. For when we were expecting, on our arrival here, in conjunction with the rest of the Christians, to the utmost of our power, as was incumbent on us, according to our vow, to revenge the insults offered to the cross on the enemies of that cross, by attacking their territory and afterwards occupying and restoring them to good condition, behold the king of Navarre, the then head and chief of the army, and the count of Brittany, although aware of our approach for fifteen days before we arrived at Acre, took their departure with an immense host. Before they left, however, in order that they might appear to have done something, they made a kind of truce with Nazir, the lord of Crach, by which it was agreed that he should give up all the prisoners taken at Gaza, whom he had in his custody or power, together with some lands contained in the conditions of the truce, as a security for which he gave his son and brothers as hostages, fixing on a term of forty days for fulfilling the terms of the truce. Before that period, however, had elapsed, the said king and count departed, paying no heed to the time agreed on, or to the terms of the truce. Within this said period, namely, on St. Dionysius's eve, we, as we have before informed you, arrived at Acre; and by the general advice of all, we at once sent to the aforesaid Nazir, to ask him if he could observe towards us the truce he had made with the said king, and we received word in reply, that he would willingly do so if possible, owing to his respect for the said king of Navarre, although he should gain
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but little by it; we therefore, by the advice of the nobles, awaited the completion of the term fixed on, to see the result. At the expiration of the term, however, we received another message from him, stating that he could on no account abide by the aforesaid agreement; on hearing which, by the common consent of all, we betook ourselves to Joppa, to improve with all possible caution the condition of the Holy Land, which had deteriorated from the aforesaid causes. At this place a man of rank and power came to us on the part of the sultan of Babylon, and told us that his lord was willing to enter into a truce with us if we pleased. After hearing and perfectly understanding what was to be set forth to us by him, and having with all sincerity invoked the grace of God, we, by the advice of the duke of Burgundy, Count Walter de Brienne, the master of the Hospitallers, and other nobles, in fact, the chief part of the army, agreed to the undermenticmed terms of truce, which, although at our first arrival appeared to be a difficult matter to accomplish, is yet a praiseworthy one, and productive of advantage to the Holy Land, since it is a source of delight and security to the poor people and to travellers, advantageous and agreeable to the middle classes of the inhabitants, and useful and honourable to the rich and to religious men. Nor did it appear to us, on looking at the melancholy condition of surrounding events, that we could then employ ourselves more advantageously than in releasing the wretched prisoners from captivity, as there was a deficiency of men and things (although we alone still had money about us), and profiting by the time of the truce to strengthen and fortify against the Saracens the cities and castles that had become ruinous. We have thought proper to insert the names of the places and territories which were given up in accordance with the terms of the truce, although it may be tedious to you, lest perchance some evil interpreter may ascribe our deeds by way of glory to others or perversely and maliciously pervert their character. For some, although but few, refused to consent to the terms of the truce, which are as follows:- The lands to be given up according to the terms of the truce with Earl Richard are these; the mountainous district of Beyrout, with the lands and separate portions belonging to it; the whole country of Seid, with its appurtenances; the castles of Beaufort, Corene, and the New
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Castle, with their appurtenances; Le Kayt, Scandales, Lebet, Becheed, St. George, with their appurtenances and lands, both mountains and plains. They have also given up the demesne town of Turon with its appurtenances, Tabar, with its appurtenances, the castle of Benaer, the castles of Amabel, Rama, Amoat, Alaw, and also the castle of Hybile, which lies beyond the river towards the east, with all their appurtenances; the castles of Saphet and Nazareth have also been surrendered, as also Mount Tabor, Ligum, and Aschalis, and the castle of Beithgirim, with their appurtenances; together with all the villages which belong to the house of the Hospitallers of St. John, and those which are known to belong to them, namely, in the dependencies of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, as well as all the land which is on the road leading from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, from Jerusalem to St. George of Rama, and from St. George to Joppa; together with all the villages which ought to be in the hands of the Christians. The city of Jerusalem has also been given up to the Christians, as also Bethlehem and all the land about Jerusalem, with all the villages, which are named in the conditions of the truce, namely, St. Lazarus of Bethany, Brihaida, Wissewurch, Derphat, Bethamus, Becheles, and Bethic, Anon, Kokabi, Bersamul, Bebrit, Kikai, Bethame, Bebe, Kipsa, Behit, Horeb, Athacana, Clepsta, Tolma, Argahoga, Bertapsa, Bethsaphace, Tablie, and Sorobooz, with all their appurtenances, and the lands which are named in the divisions of Jerusalem, and the dependencies on the road thereto, as is more fully contained and described in the great truce. All this territory, with the castles therein before named, the Christians are allowed to fortify during the truce if they wish; the noble captives taken at Gaza are also to be restored, and all the prisoners taken in the war with the French are to be released on both sides. As soon as the aforesaid truce was arranged, we took our way to Ascalon, and that the time might not hang idly on our hands, by the advice of all the Christian chiefs we began to fortify a large castle. From that place we sent messengers to the sultan of Babylon, to induce him to swear to observe the said truce, if he would do so, and at the same time to send the aforesaid prisoners; he, however, for what reason we know not, detained our messengers, without giving us any reply, from St. Andrew's
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day till the Thursday after Candlemas-day; but during this time, as we afterwards found by his letters, he, by the advice of his nobles, swore to keep the said truce. We, during all this time, remained at Ascalon, assiduously intent on building the aforesaid castle, which, by God's favour has, in a short time, progressed so far that at the time of despatching these presents, it is already adorned and entirely surrounded by a double wall with lofty towers and ramparts, with four square stones and carved marble columns, and everything which pertains to a castle, except a fosse round it, which will, God willing, be completed without fail, within a month from Easter-day. And this was not done without good reason; for as we could not be certain that the truce would be confirmed, we thought it best to employ our time in building and fortifying this castle; so that if the truce should be broken by any casualty, we might have, in the march and in the very entrance of their territory, this place, which was formerly under their dominion, as a safe and strong place of refuge, if it were necessary for us to retreat there. And those who remained therein would have no occasion to fear the result of a siege; for although the besiegers could cut off all assistance and provisions from them by land, yet all necessaries could reach them by sea. In times of peace, too, we believed that this castle would not be without its advantages, since it is the key and safeguard, both by land and sea, of the kingdom of Jerusalem, but will be a source of destruction and ruin to Babylon and the southern parts of the country. On St. George's day, then, after peace had been sworn to be observed on both sides, and after the truce had been confirmed, we received, according to the terms of the truce, all the Christian captives whom we had been so long expecting. After duly completing all these matters, we took leave of the Holy Land in peace, and on the festival of the Finding of the Holy Cross we embarked at Acre to return home; but owing to the fair wind failing us on the voyage, and being much fatigued, we landed at Trapani in Sicily, in the octaves of St. John the Baptist. At that place we heard of the capture and detention of some of our bishops, and of other lamentable sufferings of the Church; wherefore, in order to restore peace as far as we were able, amongst those at variance, and to urge with all our power
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the release of the captives, and to give comfort to our mother, we turned aside from our course, and went to the court of Rome; and as soon as, by God's favour, the Lord disposes all events, we purpose returning to England with all possible speed".
Earl R. causes the bones of the Christians to be buried.
Earl Richard having heard that the precious bones of the French nobles, who had, through God's anger, been conquered and so mercilessly slain at Gaza, as before mentioned, were lying unburied and exposed, for the beasts and birds had entirely consumed the flesh, he was overcome with sorrow, and, having procured some vehicles and horses, he hastened thither and caused all the bones of those martyrs to be carefully collected and carried to Ascalon, to be buried in the cemetery there; he also provided the means of supporting a priest to perform daily masses for ever for the souls of the dead. When the French nobles were informed that the earl had, amongst his other acts of charity and kindness, performed such a pious action, he deservedly gained immortal praise and thanks from them; for he had redeemed alive and released from captivity thirty-three imprisoned nobles, five hundred knights and pilgrims of the middle rank, and a great many knights and retainers of the Templars and Hospitallers, and had afterwards caused the bones of the dead to be honourably buried.
Earl R. lands at the port of Trapani, in Sicily.
Having thus happily and nobly fulfilled his pilgrimage in the Holy Land, Earl Richard landed, uninjured and scatheless, in Sicily, at the port of Trapani (as is mentioned in his letter), at which place an illustrious seneschal of the emperor's was awaiting him, by the emperor's order, and by whom he was received with the greatest joy and honour. This seneschal, finding that the earl had no horses, supplied him, as well as those who came with him, with them, and also with some quiet mules; he also informed him where he would find the emperor. The earl, accepting of the seneschal for a guide, then set out in all haste to join him, giving thanks to God, who had preserved him from the dangers of the deep, brought him to a port of safety, and had rewarded him by being conducted to the presence of the emperor.
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whom he eagerly longed to see, under the comforting guidance of such a man, with providence smiling propitiously on him; thus discovering the great efficacy of the constant prayers of the just men, to whom he had devoutly commended himself when about to start on his pilgrimage. For when he was about to start on his journey, he came to the church of St. Alban, proto-martyr of England, and entering the chapter-house, begged of the brethren of the convent to be allowed a special participation in the benefit of their prayers; the same also he did at some other houses of the religious men, where the sanctity and discipline of the order was believed to be particularly esteemed. To their shame and sorrow was it that those pupils of the Roman church, the prelates and legates, whom Rome had sent amongst us to collect money, who are set forth as a mirror and example to laymen, did not act in a similar way when about to set sail on their voyage, in order that they might have been supported in their perils by the prayers of the saints; for so we are ordered to act in the Holy Scriptures. When St. Peter the apostle was detained in prison, prayer was made for him without intermission by the people, and he was liberated by an angel sent to him from God.
The emperor receives Earl Richard with joy.
Earl Richard in the mean time, in his way to join the emperor, was received in the various cities through which he passed with the greatest joy and honour, the citizens and their ladies coming to meet him with music and singing, bearing branches of trees and flowers, dressed in holiday garments and ornaments, and some of the knights mounted on valuable horses, by the instrumentality of his guide, who had received orders from the emperor to this effect. When at length he did reach the emperor, he was received by him with all honour, and, after mutually embracing one another, amidst the applause of all the emperor's attendants, they indulged in long-wished-for conversation, and various kinds of consolation, and enjoyed themselves as friends for several days. The emperor also ordered him to be gently and mildly treated, with blood-letting, baths, and divers medicinal fomentations, to restore his strength after the dangers of the sea. At the end of some days, by permission of the emperor,
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he had a free and lengthened conversation with his sister the empress. By the emperor's order, too, several various kinds of games and musical instruments, which were procured for the empress's amusement, were produced for his inspection, and afforded him great enjoyment and pleasure. Amongst other astonishing novelties, there was one which particularly excited his admiration and praise: two Saracen girls of handsome form, mounted upon four round balls placed upon the floor, namely, one of the two on two balls, and the other on the other two. They walked backwards and forwards, clapping their hands, moving at pleasure on these revolving globes, gesticulating with their arms, singing various tunes, and twisting their bodies according to the time, beating cymbals or castanets together with their hands, aud putting their bodies into various amusing postures, affording with the other jugglers an admirable spectacle to the lookers-on. After some days had passed in repose from their toils, the emperor sent Earl Richard, in whose fidelity and prudence he confided, to the court of Rome (as has been briefly mentioned in the letter sent by the earl to England), in order to restore peace between the pope and him. The emperor also, in addition to the honours he had already conferred on the said earl, gave him a paper sealed with the imperial seal, binding himself to abide by his decision on whatever conditions peace should be re-established by him. On his arrival at Rome, he was received by the Romans with insults and contempt, and found the pope so inexorable and adverse to peace, that to no form of peace which the earl proposed would he agree; and, vice versa, the pope insisted, at all events, that the emperor should absolutely and entirely submit to his will and pleasure, and abide by the commands of the Church, and that he should make oath to do so; but to this request of his Earl Richard would not agree; and after seeing and hearing at that court many things which justly displeased him, he went away without effecting anything. Thus he, who was honoured everywhere else as a promoter of the public weal, and servant of the cross, was at Rome exposed to injuries and insults. Having, then, thus discovered the tergiversations of the Roman court and city, the earl returned to the emperor and told him what he had seen and heard, to which the emperor replied, "I am glad that you have learned by
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experience the truth of what we have before told you verbally". After staying about two months with the emperor, as a son with a father, and enjoying a good deal of conversation with him, the earl took his departure, loaded with costly presents.
The bishop of Bangor entreats the king of England to procure the release of Griffin.
During all this time Griffin, the son of Llewellyn, had been detained in prison by his brother David, who had treacherously summoned him to a friendly council. Griffin had gone there under the conduct of Richard, bishop of Bangor, and some other Welsh nobles; on account of which crime the said bishop left Wales, after excommunicating the said David. He now went to the king of England, and laid a severe complaint before him of this base crime, and earnestly entreated of the king to release Griffin, who was thus unjustly detained a prisoner by his nephew David, to prevent the taint of such an iniquitous transaction from reaching distant countries and the court of Rome, to the prejudice of his royal honour. The king, therefore, severely reproached his nephew David for his treachery, and both advised and ordered him to liberate his brother, and thus obtain a restoration of his good name, and absolution from the sentence of excommunication. This, however, David obstinately refused to do, and told the king for certain, that if he were to release Griffin, Wales would never after enjoy security and peace. Griffin, being informed of this, secretly sent word to the king, that if he would release him from prison, he would in future hold his territory from him, the king; that he would faithfully pay him two hundred marks annually for it, with many thanks for his kind services; and he bound himself by oath to fulfil the same, and giving him at the same time a special hostage; besides this, that he would diligently assist him to subdue the Welsh at a distance, who were rebelling against him and were still unsubdued. Another, most powerful Welsh chief, named Griffin, the son of Madoch, also promised the king trusty and unwearied assistance, if he would invade Wales, and make war against David, who was a false man, and acted unjustly to many of them.
The king of England marches into Wales with his army.
Incited by these promises, the king made arrangements to
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enter Wales. He therefore issued royal letters, ordering all throughout England who owed him military service to assemble at Gloucester, in the beginning of autumn, equipped with horses and arms, to set out on an expedition which he had determined on. He next held a council at Shrewsbury, on the morrow of the feast of St. Peter "ad vincula", and within a fortnight he raised his standard, and turned his arms against his nephew David, as he had discovered him to be a traitor and rebel in every respect, and as he refused to come at any time to a peaceable conference at his, the king's, summons, even under a promise of safe-conduct; for in a stiff-necked and obstinate way he replied that he would not, on any account, release his brother Griffin. The king then led his army, which was numerous and of great strength, in good order, towards Chester, as if about to make war immediately. David, however, feared to encounter his violence, both because the heat, which had continued intense for four months, had dried up all the lakes and marshy places of Wales, and because many of the Welsh nobles, especially the powerful and prudent Griffin, the son of Madoch, who had become a great ally of the king's, loved Griffin more than him, David, and also because he was lying under an anathema, and feared lest he should become still worse off; he therefore sent word to the king that he would set Griffin at liberty, at the same time informing him with many reasonings, that if he did release him, he would excite renewed wars against him. David also imposed on the king the condition that he should receive him peaceably, on his binding himself by oath, and by giving hostages, and that he would not deprive him of his inheritance. This the king kindly conceded, and David thereupon released his brother Griffin, and sent him to the king, who, trusting to prudent advice, sent him, on his arrival, to London, under the protection and conduct of John of Lexington, to be there kept in the Tower, with some other nobles of Wales, the hostages of David and other Welsh princes. All these events occurred between the day of the Nativity of St. Mary and Michaelmas-day.
Wales reduced to subjection to King Henry the Third, without a battle.
David had, as before stated, sworn to present himself
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before the king, saving his person and honour, and the persons and honour of his subjects, at London or elsewhere, as the king should determine; and had, moreover, given hostages to him for the fulfilment of his promise: he accordingly came to the king, at London, on the eighth day after Michaelmas, and after having sworn fealty and allegiance, and all security and good faith, he was dismissed in peace, as he was so near a relation of the king, and allowed to return home. Henry thus, under God's favour, triumphed over his enemies, and subdued Wales without bloodshed, and without having to tempt the doubtful chances of war. Wales, in this case, discovered that the words of our Lord, mentioned in the Gospel, were not without truth; namely, that "every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation".
Discovery of tin in Germany.
In this same year, a most pure kind of tin was first found in Germany, in more abundant quantities than in England. This metal was said to have been never found before since the beginning of the world, in any place except in Cornwall. The value of it was now, however, much diminished and deteriorated, owing to the large quantities sent by Germany into England.
Disagreement between the bishop of Lincoln and the abbat of Westminster.
About this time, a disagreement arose between Robert, bishop of Lincoln, and the abbat of Westminster, which was productive of great expense, and caused much harm to both parties, and daily increased. For the said bishop was endeavouring by all the means in his power to weaken the proper privileges of that abbat, by converting the church of Heswell to his own uses, and to take forcible possession of that church; and when the least opportunity offered, to take it from the monks and bestow it on another person, one Master Nicholas, whom he had inhumanly deprived of his benefices. The abbat, however, trusting to his right and his privileges, boldly resisted him to his face.
The difference between the king and the bishop of Lincoln.
About this time, a serious disagreement arose between the king and the bishop of Lincoln, owing to a certain clerk of
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the king's, named John Mansel, having been put in possession of the church of Thame, through the king's favour and assistance, and by virtue of a decree obtained from the pope. This church, on its becoming vacant, the said bishop had previously given to a clerk, named Master Simon, of London, penitentiary of the bishop of Durham, who was, therefore, much vexed with the king; he, therefore, sent word to him, by the archdeacon of Huntingdon and Leicester, whilst he was in Wales, and admonished him, out of gratitude to God for the unlooked-for victory granted to him, at once to make amends for this enormous transgression, lest perchance God, in his anger, should convert his smiles into tears. To this message the king replied: "I reply with safety, because an appeal has been made; and nothing ought to be altered whilst the appeal is pending: and I have attempted nothing except by the advice of those learned in the law, and supported by Apostolic authority". One of the archbishops then said: "My lord king, our master, the bishop of Lincoln, holds a privilege granted to him by the pope, by which he is exempted from providing for any one at the command of the Apostolic See, unless especial mention is made of that privilege; but in this order of the pope's, which the said John has obtained, and by virtue of which he has forcibly thrust himself into this church, relying on your assistance, no mention is made of that privilege; wherefore the bishop of Lincoln is not bound to reply to him in this case, especially with respect to the giving away of the church of Thame, which he had previously, and with justice, given to another. And supposing that he had no such privilege, it is absurd for any one to push himself into the possession of any church without consulting, not to say against the will of, the diocesan bishop, although relying on the papal authority; inasmuch as the pope wishes all things to be done in due order. And what reason is there now for causing dispute or injury to either party? For, considering the merits of this said John, who is a circumspect and sufficiently learned man, his grace the bishop of Lincoln will, at your request and that of himself, be easily influenced to provide him with as good, if not a richer benefice, and the bestowal will be lawful and honourable on both sides; and the bishop, with all humility and devotion, begs that it may not be
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otherwise, for he is prepared to pronounce the anathema against all those who may injure or encroach upon the dignity of his church". When the said John, as well as the king and his councillors, heard this message, the former said: "Far be it from me, my lord the king, to be the cause of any dispute or disturbance arising between such illustrious personages. I give way patiently. God will sufficiently provide for me at his good pleasure, as long as you are alive". , The king then agreed to put off the matter; and having completed all the necessary arrangements in Wales, he left there Walter the German, and some other men of prudence and influence, to build castles, strengthen the weaker parts of the country, and to provide arms and soldiers for its defence, and went himself to London rejoicing; to which place also the said bishop had gone, fully prepared to pronounce sentence of excommunication against the said John in particular, and all the disturbers of his church and dignity. When the circumstance became known to the said John, he went humbly to the king, and said: "My lord the king, the bishop of Lincoln is very much irritated, and in order that I may not be the cause of any further disagreement arising, or scandal being spread abroad, I resign this church". The king, on hearing this, was in alarm, lest - as the bishop, who was very unbecomingly violent, said - he should go into exile (as he saw that he was fully prepared to do so), and lay his bishopric under an interdict; he therefore mitigated the severe measures he had planned, and no longer supported John in his opposition, as he saw that he refused to act against the bishop. On this account, then, the said John was deservedly rewarded and forthwith invested with a richer benefice, namely the church of Maidstone, as a gift from the king; and in the same year, was enriched with the possession of the rich church of Hoveden. The bishop was thus pacified, and, at the king's request, preached in public, as one in whose breast were stored up the keys of knowledge, and commended this humility of both parties; amongst other things making a comparison between the rays of the sun, which are straight, and the king's justice, which should be direct and regular. The king, then, seeing that the bishop's mind was appeased, was now desirous to settle the destructive and dishonourable controversy between him and
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the abbat of Westminster, respecting the church of Heswell, and would not, therefore, allow the bishop to depart till everything was peaceably and happily settled - the abbat himself affording every facility for bringing the same about: accordingly the church of Heswell fell into the possession of the abbat of Westminster, the presentation to the living being reserved to the bishop of Lincoln. By this arrangement the church of Westminster gained a great increase of advantage and honour. For the Abbat Richard, besides this advantage, which was no small one, had increased the wealth of his abbacy by a revenue of three hundred marks, annually for ever, which were acquired by his perseverance.
Disagreement between the bishop of Lincoln and his chapter.
There still, however, continued a most injurious and unbecoming controversy between the bishop of Lincoln and the chapter of Lincoln, and some of the canons, who were present at London, were so harassed and injured by the bishop, that they were obliged to show a paper, and to make known its contents in public, for fear lest their church should have to submit to some new oppression, on the pretext which I will now relate.
The restoration of the church and see of Lincoln.
Whereas, before the conquest of England, the see of the bishopric, which is now at Lincoln, was at Dorchester, and, owing to the faults of the then presiding bishop, that place was anathematized by the pope, and the bishop was deposed, the traces of that great matter scarcely remained after a lapse of many years, and thus the see, as well as the care of a bishop, was at an end for a length of time. Afterwards, in the time of William Rufus, son of William the First, many churches in the New Forest were destroyed, by that king's orders; but at length, being overtaken by repentance, he took wholesome advice and, as an atonement for his offence, he restored and enriched that noble bishopric, and improved the place itself. Having bought, or taken in exchange, some land from M. de Gaunt, a noble, who had come into England at the Conquest, and had received that land as a kind of remuneration after the victory, the said King William the Second founded a church, now the church of Lincoln; when
A.D. 1241.] RESTORATION OF THE CHURCH OF LINCOLN. 377
this was completed, he summoned two cardinal legates, who received full powers to ordain a bishop, and came to his church from his holiness the pope. He then called together eight archbishops and sixteen bishops, and caused that church to be solemnly ordained, secular canons to be appointed to it, and their separate revenues and portions to be assigned to them, in order that they might, under a bishop and a dean, regularly and honourably perform their duties according to certain rules and forms, and that such an important ordination, which was strengthened by the authority of so many holy fathers, and also by letters from the Apostolic See, might continue inviolate for ever. And the ordination was so made that when a bishop was ordained and the canons installed in their possessions, they should thenceforth, with due order and solemnity, perform services to God and his most holy mother day and night; and if any of those canons should deviate from the paths of their discipline, and when rebuked for the same, should not amend his ways, he should be visited and punished by the dean, but without fear of anything previous to the chapter, and an accusation being made against him thereat; but if he should not correct himself one way or another, he should be deprived of his benefice for one year or two, according to the degree of his fault; and if he should still continue rebellious, the bishop's assistance should be called in to use coercive measures; if he should even then continue in an incorrigible state of obstinacy, and kick against his authority, he should be deprived of all his benefices, and more severely punished by the king. These rules giving satisfaction to all parties, they were reduced to writing, and were confirmed by the Apostolic See, and inscribed; the church was then dedicated, and all who were present solemnly excommunicated all who should violate these orders. Therefore the canons say that, as the dean is neither negligent or ignorant, nor incompetent to visit delinquents, the bishop conducts himself unjustly and shamelessly in exacting visitations, and does not appear to be entirely free from the sting of the sentence so solemnly issued by such a number of the holy fathers. The king, on hearing this, claimed to be a party in this matter, and consequently the party of the bishop and chapter was greatly weakened; and owing to such obstacles and impediments, the matter
378 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
could not be brought to the wished-for peaceable conclusion, but was delayed, causing much expense and loss of time.
The king of England causes a golden shrine to be made for the bones of St. Edward.
In this year king Henry the Third, at his own expense, caused a shrine of the purest gold and costly jewels to be elaborately constructed at London by picked workmen, for the relics of St. Edward to be placed therein. In the construction of this, however, although the materials were most costly, yet, according to the words of the poet,
Materiam superabat opus.
[The workmanship did far indeed
The rude material exceed.]
How the king reused to give up W' Marshal's inheritance to him.
The king, at this time, showed himself ill-disposed towards Walter Marshal, brother of Gilbert, who had died without leaving any children, withholding from him the inheritance which belonged to him by hereditary right. "For", said the king angrily to him, "your father William is tainted with treachery, for he is said to have saved Louis from being taken when in England; your brother Richard was taken prisoner and slain in arms against me as an open and deadly enemy; and your brother Gilbert, lately deceased, to whom, at the instance of Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, I granted his inheritance, more as a favour than as his right, unluckily instituted a tournament at Hertford, in spite of my prohibition, at which he met with a miserable death. And you too, Walter, who, against my wish, and notwithstanding my prohibition, and in contempt of me, were present at that tournament, and sophistically termed it a venture - on what grounds do you demand your inheritance, and how have you the effrontery to do so"? In reply to these charges Walter thus addressed the king: "Although, my lord king, I could give a satisfactory reply to each and all of these charges, I bow with submission to your majesty. You have hitherto especially cherished me in the bosom of your mercy; have considered me as one of your familiar friends, and not the least amongst your table guests. I have never deserved to lose your favour, except in one case, which I do not disavow,
A.D. 1241.] THE KING AND THE BISHOP OF NORWICH. 379
which is, that I was present at that tournament with my brother, whom I could not leave. But if you are determined to disinherit all who were present thereat, you will excite no small disturbance in the kingdom. Far be it from you, as a just prince, to make me alone atone for the faults of all; far be it from you, my lord, to cause me to be the first punished out of such a great number". Notwithstanding this, the king's anger still continued, on which Walter kept silent, as he saw that he had lost the king's favour, according to the advice of the poet,-
Qaum furor in cursu est currenti cede furori.
[When rage whirls on in rapid course,
Yield to the furious torrent's force.]
and thus took his departure, as it were, in despair.
Walter is created marshal by the king.
About this same time there came to London the bishop of Durham, who had been long a most intimate friend of the king's, as being guardian of the royal body, and physician and guardian of the queen, and a proper monitor on the score of morals. He, at the request of the aforesaid Walter, in conjunction with some other nobles, and the queen herself, and all whom he knew to be most in the king's favour, by gentle arguments and reiterated prudent entreaties, succeeded in softening the king's anger, and reconciled him to Walter. The king being thus pacified, on the Sunday before the feast of All Saints invested the said Walter with the earldom and marshal's office, retaining only in his own hands two castles of Cardiff and Cardigan, in Wales, which the king had formerly intrusted to the charge of Earl William Marshal, and afterwards of Hubert, the justiciary: for he considered it necessary to retain them, in order to strengthen the weaker parts of Wales, which he had lately obtained possession of, and to fortify them with castles and garrisons.
The king enraged against the bishop of Norwich.
During all this time the king's anger had increased against the bishop of Norwich, because that prelate had consented to his nomination to the see of Winchester, for he would not, nor did it become him, to renounce his right, although the king demanded of him a written agreement to give up his
380 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
claim, which the said bishop firmly refused to do. Great dissension then occasionally occurred in his bishopric, occasioned by a writer of the court, who was at length, for his rash usurpation, wounded, and suffered many other injuries. In consequence of this, many clerks as well as laymen were impiously beaten and injured, and suffered much harm at the hands of the secular authorities; and the king declared on his oath that he would never desist from such oppression until the said bishop signed a paper, stating that he would never allow himself to be transferred to the see of Winchester; but this was dissonant to reason, and contrary to the episcopal profession; for if his holiness the pope ordered him, by virtue of his obedience, to do so, he could not, on any account, as being a son of obedience, gainsay him.
The persecution of the monks of Winchester.
About this same time, that Briton, whom the king had by force placed at the head of the convent at Winchester, as prior, commenced annoying the conventual assembly in various ways. For by the instrumentality of this same impostor, dissensions were excited, in order that there might appear good reason for the monks who opposed him to be excommunicated. After a lapse of forty days, he summoned some of the king's agents, and said to them, "Go and avenge the insult offered to the king and to us on these rebels against us, for they are excommunicated, and it will be no offence if you lay violent hands upon them". The king's attendants rushed forth in troops, violently laid their profane hands on the monks, who fled to the great altar to seek protection there, and, urging and dragging them along with such force, that they stained the pavement with blood, they ejected them from the church; and, in the sight of the citizens, who were giving vent to exclamations of astonishment and grief, they hurried them away, amidst reproaches and blows, to a castle of the king's, at Husvetrey, where they shackled them together two and two, and consigned them to close imprisonment. Thus did these satellites of the king, laying aside all fear of God, and reverence for the religious habit, oppress these monks, keeping them imprisoned in darkness, tortured by hunger and cold, and exposed to their insults, although they thus gained the palm of martyrdom. For knowing that
A.D. 1241.] THE MONEY COLLECTED BY THE POPE'S AGENTS. 381
all these sufferings were inflicted on them for their fulfilment of justice, they endured them all patiently, and even joyfully, inasmuch as they were worthy to endure contumely for Christ's sake.
Two of the pope's agents extort money from England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Peter de Supino, a clerk of the pope's, had all this time been most assiduously collecting money, by extorting the twentieth part of property from all Ireland, supported by a warrant from the pope, and carried away from that country a sum of fifteen hundred marks, besides divers gifts. Master Peter Le Rouge, too, who styled himself a familiar and relation of the pope, was also protected by a papal warrant, and diligently employed himself in amassing fresh heaps of money from the northern parts of England, and by sending messengers throughout Scotland. At length, with their saddle-bags well filled, they proceeded under conduct of the monks of Canterbury to Dover, and suddenly and secretly set sail; for they had heard from messengers, sent in all haste, that the pope was still without hopes of recovery; indeed, that he was either now dead or would die almost immediately. They therefore took to a sudden and clandestine flight, both by land and sea, with their booty, because they were afraid that, if the king should gain intelligence of the pope's death, he would prudently retain all the money they had collected, and consider how to proceed with it on the succession of another pope. Scarcely had they entered France, when, lo! Master Walter de Ocra, a messenger of the emperor's, arrived in all haste, though now too late, bringing letters of credence from the emperor and also a message to the king, informing him of the state of affairs at the Roman court, and advising him, if any such people were to be found in England, to detain the booty as well as the robbers. But when the messenger learnt that the two had escaped, he blamed the king's indolence, and immediately departed in sorrow and anger at having had his journey in vain: he, however, diligently followed their steps, carefully watching the meanderings of those foxes, in order to tell the emperor the result of his journey.
382 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
How the money collected by the pope's agents was consigned to the imperial treasury.
The said agents of the pope being now informed of his death, although the thing was concealed from the people for some days, and knowing that the said Walter was following them on foot, hastened their journey, not sparing their horses. After crossing the Alps, they secretly betook themselves to the cities and houses of their relatives, stowing away the money with which they had come loaded, in secret places, and not making their presence known to all; and as the said Walter could not find either them or the money, except only by slight whispering reports, he sent word to the emperor of everything, as well as of the fruitlessness of his search. His imperial majesty then ordered a strict search to be instituted throughout the whole of the cities of Italy subject to his rule, to discover who these papal messengers and traffickers were, who had, to the subversion of the empire and the common weal, and to excite war, fraudulently collected money throughout various countries, especially England, to bestow it on the pope, and thus to exalt his pride and give him an itching to disturb the peace of the empire. He then ordered them to be seized and imprisoned as deadly enemies, to be convened to appear, and their property and houses to be confiscated, as well as those of all their relations. Thus, after imprisoning the principal of these men, with their wives and children, he ordered a strict inquiry to be made as to the sum of money collected for the use of the pope, which account he ordered to be committed to writing, and placed in the hands of the merchants of the cities and those who understood the business, and a distribution of it all to be made. Thus these wretched ecclesiastics, who ought to have been protected under the wings of the pope, were utterly despoiled, and the enemies of the Church more daringly oppressed them.
The death of Pope Gregory.
Whilst the wheel of fortune was thus revolving worldly affairs, the report gained ground and flew through the Christian climes, that Pope Gregory, unable to endure the grief he felt - but which, however, he himself had caused - had gone the way of all flesh, on the 22nd day of August, to receive his reward from the Judge on high, according to his
A.D. 1241.] SOME RELIGIOUS MEN JOIN OTHER ORDERS. 383
deserts. At the time of his decease he was almost a hundred years old, whilst his enemy the emperor was believed at this time to have been not more than fifty years, he having been reported to have been born in the year in which Richard, king of England, was made prisoner in Germany.
The cause of his death being accelerated.
The principal grief with which the heart of the pope was pierced, and which brought him to the point of death, was that the emperor, just after the feast of the Assumption, had taken a castle near Montfort, in Campagna, belonging to his, the pope's, nephews, and other relatives, and which he had newly built with the money of the crusaders, for the protection of his relatives; for Pope Gregory was well aware that the emperor hated all his relations; and he wished, if the emperor should happen to invade Campagna, to prevent the necessity of their being exposed to his attacks. The emperor, however, having been informed of this circumstance, suddenly besieged this castle, destroyed it, and hung all whom he found therein; and in token of the destruction of it, he left a sort of tower half-destroyed, that the memory of the offence, as well as of his revenge, might never die. Besides this, the pope was afflicted with the gravel, and very old, and was deprived of the use of his baths, with which he used to strengthen himself at Viterbo.
The death of Eleanor, daughter of G., count of Brittany.
About this time died Eleanor, daughter of Geoffrey, count of Brittany, who had been long kept in close confinement.
How some of the religious men joined other orders.
About this time, some religious men, wavering in their fickleness of mind, and following the example of the bishop of Hereford, although not knowing his reasons (for he was bound by a vow), went over to the new and unknown order of Preachers and Minorites, forgetful of the saying of the prophet, "He hath appointed for him the way he has chosen". The abbat of Osney, in the pusillanimity of his mind, abandoned the order of that great teacher Augustine, and passed over to the Minorite order, wishing to try the novelty. The abbat of Walden, also, who carried the cross of our Lord in anguish, under the rule of the order of St. Benedict, seeing his house loaded with debt, sunk into the depths of despair, and, without the knowledge of his house
384 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
or his monks, shamelessly and suddenly seceded to the order of Preachers; but of this he afterwards repented.
The obstruction caused to the election of a pope.
At the time of Pope Gregory's death, mentioned above, there were ten cardinals present at the Roman court, two being still kept in prison by the emperor. These ten, after some deliberation, as was the custom, about electing a fresh pope, could not come to a satisfactory determination, because their number was broken up; they therefore sent to the emperor, humbly begging him to send the brothers, the two cardinals, to the court, on whatever terms he chose to impose, in order that the promotion of the welfare of the Church, which chiefly depended on their electing a pope, might not be impeded by him. This the emperor kindly granted, being softened by the entreaties of Earl Richard, on condition, however, that, unless Otto were elected pope, they should return to their former state and condition in prison. When, therefore, they were all assembled in the palace, called "the Palace of the Sun", and five of the cardinals elected a sixth, who was Geoffrey of Milan, and this election was favoured by the emperor, who congratulated him on it, the three remaining ones elected a fourth, namely Romanus; but this election the emperor opposed, as he considered him a man of disreputable character; both on account of his persecution of the university of Paris, and because he was said at one time to have debauched Blanche, the queen of France; and also because he was accused of having kept warm the discord between the lately deceased Pope Gregory and him, the emperor. The names of those who elected the first were Giles Aspan, Stephen Fitzconte, bishop of Portua, Reyner of Viterbo, John de Colonna, and Robert Summercote, an Englishman. Those who chose the other were Richard Hannibal, the bishop of Ostia, who, according to custom, had the first voice in the election of a pope, and Sinibald, bishop of Sabina. A serious division was thus created between the brethren, on account of these elections; for he ought to be elected pope in whose election two parts of the electors have consented, in accordance with the decree of Alexander, beginning with the words,- "However, to avoid discord, etc". And thus this matter, so deeply concerning the
A.D. 1241.] RETURN OF FRENCH PRISONERS. 385
Church was left unfinished; and they were divided, or rather dispersed, both in mind and body.
About this time, too, died James, bishop of Preneste, one of the Cistercian order, and a most obstinate enemy of the emperor.
Thu return home of the French who had been released from a Saracen prison.
Earl Richard having now remained nearly four months with the emperor, took leave of him, and set out on his return home. The French, also, who had been released by the truce which the earl had made, now crossed the sea so lately traversed by him, to return him thanks, and to receive more kindness from him; for he was on the most friendly terms with the emperor, almost like another emperor, and abounded in wealth;. and these French were in a most impoverished state, and much needed benevolence and pecuniary assistance. Earl Richard, however, liberally provided them with clothes, travelling expenses, and means of conveyance. He also, on leaving the emperor, obtained a promise from him, that peace should be granted to the Church, under penalty of a most cruel death to any violator of it - and should be proclaimed by the voice of a herald, throughout the whole of the imperial dominions, in order that no one should, in consequence of the widowed state of the Roman church, owing to the death of his adversary, Pope Gregory, in any way annoy any ecclesiastical person or pilgrim, especially the French returning to their country. The emperor ordered a prudent and influential agent to be provided for Earl Richard, to supply him with all necessaries, and to attend him civilly to the boundaries of the empire; in consequence of which, as he passed through the cities and states of Italy, and others subject to the imperial rule, he was received with the greatest joy and honour. By the emperor's command, he was met on his route by the inhabitants of the cities, mounted on noble horses, richly equipped, dressed in silk and other costly garments, attended by vocal and instrumental musicians, with elegant devices; but I shall here, omitting all the others, make particular mention of the rejoicings at one place. On his approaching Cremona, the Cremonese came joyfully to meet him, with the emperor's elephant in advance of them, handsomely
386 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
decorated, and bearing a wooden sort of tower, in which the masters of the animal sat, playing on trumpets, and exultingly clapping their hands together. Many of the French nobles, too, were with the earl, and participated in the enjoyment of his honours. On arriving at the boundary of the empire, the emperor's agent returned, and some of the French also left the earl after repeated farewells, and returned joyfully to their own country, where they were received in the embraces of their wives, children, and others dear to them, and recovered themselves by application of various restoratives, and by grateful rest. Then each related with pleasing remembrances the great dangers he had endured in the service of Christ, and how, after being treacherously abandoned by those who were bound to assist them, they were liberated and supported by the wisdom and munificence of Earl Richard alone.
Narrantis conjux pendet ab ore viri.
[And every housewife's listening ear
Is strained, her husband's tale to hear.]
Disagreement between the Templars and Hospitallers.
Great numbers of the pilgrims, after the departure of Earl Richard, took their departure about this time from the Holy Land; and the Templars, who were the only ones who did not agree to the proceedings of the earl, excited by the stings of envy, indulged in invective, backbiting, and derision of him; they also shamelessly broke the truce made by him, and severely harassed the Hospitallers, who had accepted of, and inviolably observed, the truce; and whom they shut in Acre as if they were besieged - not allowing them to procure provisions, or even to bring their dead out of their houses, in which they were besieged, for the purpose of burying them. The Templars, also, in contempt of the emperor, drove all the brethren of the church of St. Mary of the Germans out of the city, leaving only a few, who were their friends and the servants of the church, remaining. These brethren then fled to the emperor, and other Christian magnates, and laid a heavy complaint in the matter; hence a great scandal was originated by the idea that those who were fattened by so many revenues for the purpose of attacking the Saracens with all their force, were impiously
A.D. 1241.] DEATH OF STEPHEN SEGRAVE. 387
turning their strength and their rancour against Christians; yea, even against their own brethren; thus provoking God's anger more heavily. From this cause, the earl, on his departure from the Holy Land, as if having a foreboding of such things, would not intrust the city of Ascalon, or the money which he left there for the purpose of finishing some parts of the castle, to the proud Templars; indeed, he chose rather to intrust it to an agent of the emperor's; hence the Templars had conceived feelings of great rancour against the earl.
The death of Cardinal Robert Summercote.
About the same time, Master Robert Summercote, a cardinal, by birth an Englishman, a discreet and prudent man, beloved by, and gracious to all, went the way of all flesh. He was at the time shut up in the palace called "The Palace of the Sun", deliberating with the other brethren on the election of a pope, and was there (as is stated) poisoned by his rivals of Roman extraction, who despised him, because he appeared a fit and worthy person to fill the papal chair. Another cardinal also died in a similar way - a victim to the treachery of envious persons; and John of Colonna, another, after having had his castles and palace pulled down by the Romans, because he appeared to be favourably inclined towards the emperor, was seized and thrown into prison.
Death of Stephen Segrave.
On the 9th of October in the same year, Stephen Segrave died at the abbey of Leicester, where he had lain hid for some time during his persecution. This Stephen had in his youth become a soldier from a clerk, and although of humble birth, he by his bravery was in his latter days enriched and raised to rank, considered amongst the first men in the kingdom, was appointed a justiciary, and managed all the affairs of the kingdom almost at his own pleasure; yet he always looked to his own advancement rather than to that of the common weal. However, for some acts of justice which he performed in his life, and which pleased God, he was deservedly allowed, after making his will, and devoutly receiving the viaticum, to meet with a praiseworthy end.
388 MATTHEW PARIS. |A.D. 1241.
An eclipse of the sun.
On the 6th of October in this year, which was the day of St. Faith, the sun underwent an eclipse, from the third hour till the sixth; and the heavens seemed to be of the same form as the earth; and this was the second eclipse, of the sun which had happened in three years - an event hitherto unheard of.
Death of Roger, bishop of London.
About the same time, namely on the 29th of September, died Master Roger, bishop of London, a man of praiseworthy life, of remarkable sanctity, of distinguished knowledge, intelligible in his preaching, of cheerful discourse, convivial at table, and of placid countenance. He was taken ill at Stupenham, a manor of his, near London, and there bidding farewell to this world, departed to the Lord. His body was brought to London, and buried in his cathedral church.
Death of Geoffrey de Lucy.
In the same month, also died Master Geoffrey de Lucy, of pious memory, dean of the same church. By his death the church of London was thrown into great confusion, because the king did not allow any church to be filled up before it became ruinous; because the papal see was vacant, and the cardinals in a state of bodily and mental confusion; because they had no archbishop, whose dean the bishop of London was known to be; and now because it was without a dean.
Otto returns to the emperor to be imprisoned.
The cardinals being at this time almost in a state of disunion and disagreement, and the election of pope being suspended as if in despair, Otto returned to the emperor, to his prison, in order to release the hostages he had given, and to save his character from the disgrace of having broken his word. The emperor was greatly pleased by this proceeding of his; he, however, still detained him in prison, being offended with him because he had, when legate in England, excommunicated him, and allowed him to be excommunicated, and had also defamed him in no slight degree; but he dealt more mildly by him, because he had done so
A.D. 1241.] DEATH OF HUGH DE PATESHULL. 389
unwillingly, and by compulsion, by virtue of his obedience to the pope.
Election of Fulk Basset to the see of London.
As Christmas drew near, the canons of London elected as their bishop and pastor of their souls, Master Fulk, dean of York, a discreet and prudent man, of dignified manners, and illustrious family; this was, however, against the wish of the king, who favoured Master Peter d'Aigueblanche, bishop of Hereford, and had urgently entreated the chapter of St. Paul's to nominate him as their bishop. They also, at the same time, unanimously appointed one William, a canon and chancellor of the church of St. Mary, a man of praiseworthy mode of life, to be their dean.
The death of Hugh de Pateshull.
As time wore on, about the 7th of December died Hugh de Pateshull, bishop of Chester, a man still in the vigour of life and strength; who, after passing his life in a praiseworthy manner, at length, by evil counsel, was turned aside into wicked ways, and, becoming a hammer to religious men, especially to those who had created him, died little lamented, although he had sat in the pontifical chair a little more than one year. When the prior and monks of Coventry heard of this event, they summoned the canons of Lichfield, and elected a monk of the church of Coventry, their precentor, as their bishop and pastor of their souls, although some of the canons opposed his election, and chose Richard, abbat of Evesham, who was then the king's seal-bearer, and performed the duties of chancellor, and on whose behalf the king interceded with them. In consequence of this election, the king became an enemy to the church of Coventry, and did the prior and monks all the harm he could in many instances. As they were thus opposed by the king and his satellites, as well as by some of the canons of Lichfield, the house of Coventry was thrown into confusion, and incurred great injury; so much so, that the conventual assembly dispersed to seek assistance from other houses. The house of St. Alban, from charitable and honourable motives, opened its bosom of mercy, and received the prior and some of his monks, servants, and horses, with the greatest respect, and liberally entertained them for a year and some additional months.
390 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1241.
Geoffrey of Milan is elected pope, and soon after dies.
In this year, after many debatings and divers injurious and perilous schisms amongst the cardinals, the seeds of which were sown by Satan, the brethren, now reduced to but a small number by tribulation and grief, elected as pope Master Geoffrey of Milan, a man distinguished for his morals and learning, but now old and inclined to infirmity. But scarcely had he filled the papal chair for sixteen days, when he was cut off by a premature death, and paid the debt of nature, having been poisoned, as was stated, and thus again left the papal see, and indeed the whole Church, in a state of desolation. About the same time, too, one of the cardinals, named Richard Hannibal, died.
Conference of the bishops of England.
About this time the archbishop of York, the bishops of Lincoln, Norwich, and Carlisle, with many other influential and discreet religious men and ecclesiastics, met together to deliberate on the manifold desolations of the Church, and to ask for divine consolation. They then ordered special prayers to be made and fastings to be observed in general throughout England, that the Lord might be prevailed upon to relieve and restore the Roman church, which was now destitute of a pastor and of papal rule, thus taking example from the Acts of the Apostles, wherein it is said, when Peter was imprisoned, the Church prayed for him without intermission. They also came to the unanimous resolution to send messengers to the emperor to urge him, with mournful entreaties, as he regarded his soul's salvation, with sincere heart to dismiss all feelings of rancour and indignation, to abandon all kinds of tyranny, and not to obstruct the advancement of the Church's welfare, but rather compassionately to allow it to breathe freely, and, although provoked, to study to promote its advancement. For, they said, those who had provoked him to anger were now dead, and it appeared an act of tyranny, and contrary to reason, to make the innocent pay for the faults of the guilty. When, however, they began to consider about the election of messengers, who were to travel through France and the intermediate coimtries, and to endeavour to arouse the prelates of these countries they
A.D. 1241.] RECAPITULATION OF DEATHS IN THE YEAR. 391
passed through to act in a similar way, each one began to plead frivolous excuses, and refused to take on himself the burden of such a great and anxious business, and such dangerous toil, even on behalf of Christ and his Church. Finally, however, as
Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator;
[In presence of the thief is merry
The traveller who no gold doth carry;]
and as they could not find any others ready to undertake the journey, they chose the Preachers and Minorites for this purpose, because they were wanderers, and were well acquainted with all countries. When, therefore, these messengers had obtained an audience of the emperor, and delivered their message, he replied as follows: "Who", said he, "impedes the advancement of the Church's welfare? Not I, indeed. Rather is it the pertinacious pride and insatiable avarice of the Roman church. And who could be astonished if I were an obstructor of the prosperity of the English and the Roman church? For she is using all her endeavours to hurl me from my imperial throne; she excommunicates me; defames me in no slight degree; and is incessantly pouring forth money to do me harm". Thus the whole design of the English bishops failed in effecting anything in this matter. The events of this year proved very inimical to the Roman court, as a retribution evidently for its sins; disgraceful to the Holy Land, owing to the proceedings of the Templars; and sorrowful and unlucky to the nobles of England. For besides those who perished at sea, in this year there died some distinguished prelates, namely, the two Roman pontiffs, with some cardinals, and others, of whom mention has been made above.
A recapitulation of those who died in this year.
Among the English nobles who died in this year, were William de Forbes, earl of Albemarle, who, when on his pilgrimage, was taken ill in the Mediterranean Sea, and being unable to eat, endured protracted sufferings for eight days; and on the Friday next before Easter, on which day Christ on the cross resigned his spirit to his Father, he, in a like manner, resigned his spirit to Christ. The noble and powerful
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Walter de Lacy also, whom we have before mentioned, also died about Easter, leaving his wasted inheritance to his daughters. Stephen Segrave, who has been mentioned in his place, a special councillor of the king's, and as it were justiciary of England. Gilbert Bassett, whose unlucky misfortune we mentioned above, also departed this life. Also died John Bisett, chief justiciary of the forest. There also departed to the Lord, Peter Maulac, Hugh Wake, Robert Marmion, Peter de Brus, Guiscard, Laidet, Eustace de Stuteville (who was succeeded in his inheritance by the wife of Hugh Wake), Eudo, Hamo, surnamed Sin, Baldwin de Bethune, John Fitz-John (Earl Richard's seneschal), and G., the said earl's brother, John de Beaulieu, Gerard de Furnival, and a great many other English nobles from the county of Earl Richard, who all sped gloriously from this life to heaven, under Christ's protection, whilst fighting for God in the Holy Land. In this year also, as before mentioned, Eleanor, daughter of G., count of Brittany, died at Bristol. The distinguished prelates, Roger, bishop of London, and Hugh of Chester, also died in this year, and many other illustrious ecclesiastics, as well as laymen, whose names are too numerous to mention.
The death of the empress Isabella.
In this year, too, the glory and hope of England, the empress Isabella, died in childbed, of whose much-to-be-lamented death we are fully informed by the following melancholy letter of her husband the emperor Frederick.
The emperor's letter concerning her death.
"Frederick, emperor, etc., to the king of England, greeting.- We, wJio have been accustomed of late, in our letters and messages, to give you pleasant news, are now, by a casualty of fortune, which has become envious of our successes, compelled with grief unwillingly to reveal hateful tidings to you, inasmuch as we have suffered an irreparable loss in the death of our beloved and august consort, and are thus, by cruel fate, compelled to endure the sad disunion of social ties. This occurrence, of horrible memory to us, happened on the first day of the past month of December, when our said consort, the empress, your sister, yielded to nature at the call of the Lord, who takes away the life of princes, and with whom
A.D. 1241.] THE WEATHER THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 393
there is no exeption or acceptance of persons. For the restoration of whom, if the fates had been favourably inclined, and nature would have put off the payment of the inevitable debt of mortality, our gracious love and care for our consort would not have allowed us to avoid any expense of money, labour, or property. But when the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who rules over the power of tribunals, and whose will no one can resist, took her away from the unity of our body, and from the bonds of fraternity by which you are united to her. He, by a disposition, or rather dispensation of His counsels on high, provided that she should live to us and to you in the memory of her two children. For, by the gift of Almighty God, a royal offspring lives, from whom a king and queen rise together, under the eyes of their father, to stand in their mother's place. By her fruitfulness we have received noble pledges, which strengthen our common ties of affinity, and bind in a closer bond the seat of Caesar and that of your majesty, by a special prerogative of filial blood and nephewship, so that my love for you, based on the posterity of her, by whom it began, rises to the obligations and character of an alliance that long shall last. Although, therefore, the loss of our august spouse, your sister, cannot be mentioned by me or heard of by you, without great sorrow of heart, and affiiction at her death cannot be separated from our inmost heart, yet the memory of the beloved parent flourishes in the double offspring, and our connection is indissolubly confirmed by those same nephews whom your august sister bore to me as children. Given at Coronati, this 30th day of January, etc".
Of the state of the weather throughout the whole year.
This year was on the whole tolerably abundant in crops of fruit and corn; but from the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin till that of the apostles Simon and Jude, a continued drought and intolerable heat dried up deep lakes and extensive marshes, drained many rivers, parched up the warrens and suspended the working of mills; hence the pastures withered away, herbage died, and consequently the flocks and herds pined away with hunger and thirst. In the winter, too, namely about the Advent of our Lord, ice and snow, attended by intolerably severe cold, covered the
394 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
earth, and hardened it to such a degree, at the same time freezing the rivers, that such great nmnbers of birds died, that the like was never remembered to have occurred before.
Peter of Savoy makes preparations to return home.
Anno Domini 1242, which was the twenty-sixth of the reign of King Henry the Third, he held his court as usual at London, at Christmas, in a state of peace, and prolonged the festivities at the monastery for nearly fifteen days, during which time, namely on the day of our Lord's Circumcision, reports of the arrival of Earl Richard in England spread abroad. On this, Peter of Savoy, earl of Richmond, prudently, and like a discreet and circumspect man, resigned into the king's hands the distinguished and noble castles of the kingdom of which he had received the charge; for he was afraid that his sudden elevation would much displease the nobles of England, and that he had undertaken a burden beyond his strength in taking on himself the charge of these castles, while the English were despised and suspected. And in order that no disturbances might arise in England through him on the arrival of the Earl Richard, who would, perhaps, hear serious complaints on this matter, after wisely weighing in his mind the imminent peril to himself, he resigned them altogether, and made arrangements, after obtaining the king's permission, to return home; and by this act of prudent moderation he pacified the feelings of many. But with the same facility as permission to depart had been given him, he was, before he had taken ship, recalled in haste by the king, at whose importunate request he again, although unwillingly, received charge of the castle of Dover.
The insolence of the count de la Marche.
In this year, the count de la Marche, the most powerful of all the Poictevin nobles, refused to do homage and make his allegiance to Amphulse, the brother of the French king, who had, by the gift of his said brother the king, unjustly usurped possession of the county of Poictou, and began to kick against that noble's authority and to repent of his purpose. Some time after, the said count de la Marche was invited to come peaceably to breakfast with the said Amphulse, count of Poictou, during the festivities of Christmas; but one night, about four days from Christmas, being about to do so,
A.D. 1242.] THE COUNT DE LA MARCHE'S ALARM. 395
according to his promise, on the morrow, he consulted with his wife Isabella, and came to the resolution of altering his mind, and of opposing the said Amphulse by force. He therefore went to that noble, and insolently said to him, "I purposed, when deceived and imposed upon, to do homage to you; now, however, my mind is changed, and I declare and swear to you that I will never make nor observe any bond of allegiance to you, injurious man that you are, who have shamelessly taken away his county from my son-in-law Earl Richard, while he was faithfully fighting for God in the Holy Land, and compassionately liberating our imprisoned countrymen; thus returning evil for good". Thus, swelling with anger, and with loud threats, he, with his wife, and surrounded by a body of soldiers, while the Poictevin cross-bowmen bent their bows, he boldly burst through the midst of them, and having set fire to the house in which he dwelt, he suddenly mounted a horse and took to flight; which proceedings astounded and enraged Amphulse, and all who saw it, and fired them with desire for vengeance.
A complaint made to the French king of this proceeding.
Amphulse then laid a heavy complaint before the king, concerning this transgression, both of this unbecoming flight, and of the burning of his house by the said count, who like a mouse in a sack of wheat, or a snake in a man's bosom, thus ill remunerated his hosts. This complaint with good cause aroused the king, as well as the nobles of France, to a just vengeance.
The count de la Marche calls in the assistance of the king of England.
The count de la Marche, being greatly alarmed at the French king's anger, fortified his castles with arms and armed men, and also with abundance of provisions, and ordered the ploughshares to be converted into lances, and the reaping-hooks into arrows. When, however, he saw from a distance beforehand, and weighed the evils that might happen, and felt satisfied that he could not long resist such a great prince, he urgently begged of the king of England to come to Poictou with a large sum of money, for he would, with the assistance of the Poictevins and Gascons in great force, demand all the territory which the king of France unjustly detained; and promised him the effective
396 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
advice and assistance of himself and other magnates, namely, the king of Arragon, the count of Toulouse, and others too numerous to mention here. The English king, then, on considering, kept all these things in mind, and trusted to the deceitful words of the count de la Marche and other Poictevins, who were not to be trusted.
A general parliament summoned at London.
King Henry, therefore, wrote to all his English nobles, archbishops, bishops, abbats, priors, earls, and barons, giving them strict orders to assemble at London on the Tuesday next before the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, to deliberate with the greatest care on some difficult matters concerning the kingdom, which did not admit of delay.
How the king went to meet Earl Richard on his return from the Holy Land.
About the same time, the king expecting the arrival of his brother Earl Richard from the continent, and also of the nobles who were coming from a distance to the council, prolonged his stay at London till the first of February, St. Hilary's day. But hearing that the earl had landed at Dover on the day after the Epiphany, he and his queen, attended by a large body of nobles, went joyfully to meet him, and on seeing him, rushed into his arms and received him with every mark of joy, fraternal blood arousing the affections on both sides; and the king and almost all the nobles loaded him with various presents. On the second day of the feast of St. Agnes, the earl arrived at London, and on his arrival the city was decorated with banners and hangings, as if for a festival, and the two brothers banqueted with a number of special guests whom the king had invited.
The Poictevins urge the king and his brother to cross the sea to their assistance.
The Poictevins having learnt that the Earl Richard had arrived in England, continued without cessation to urge the king, as well as the said earl, to come without delay, and obtain their rights, and especially the county of Poictou; on which the king conceived such a fixed design of crossing into France, that he could not be dissuaded from his purpose by any reasonings of his friends and well-wishers.
A.D. 1242.] THE PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED IN ANGER. 397
The English parliament is dissolved in anger.
As the Purification of the Blessed Virgin drew near, the nobility of England, comprising prelates, earls, and barons, assembled at London, according to the king's order. But, because they knew that the king had in this manner so often harassed them in this way on false pretences, by so urgently summoning them, they made oath together, and came to a firm determination, under penalty of an anathema, that at this council no one should, on any account, consent to any extortion of money to be attempted by the king. It was also now well known to all, that the count de la Marche had urgently called on the king to cross to the continent, taking with him whatever money he could scrape together, caring nothing about the military strength of the English army; and had thus set little value on the soldiery, or the strengt and fidelity of the kingdom, considering the king merely as a huckster, whose money was all that he cared to get: hence the English were, with just cause, excited against the count and all his Poictevins, and did not look with a favourable eye on the king, who agreed to such things without consulting his nobles. When, therefore, the king made known to them the irrevocable determination of his heart, namely, to cross to the continent in accordance with the summons of the count de la Marche, and with various arguments demanded pecuniary assistance from them, the nobles replied with great bitterness of spirit, that he had conceived this design without consulting them; that he was void of shame, to make such a demand; that he had so frequently harassed and impoverished his faithful subjects, demanding money from them as a matter of course, as if they were the basest slaves; and had so often extorted large sums of money from them, which was expended with no advantage; they therefore now opposed him to his face, and refused any more to be despoiled of their money to no purpose. The king on this had recourse to the crafty devices of the Romans, and ordered them to wait till the following day to hear his wishes concerning this and other matters; and on the morrow he summoned them one by one at different times into his private chamber, like a priest summoning penitents to confession, and as he could not weaken their determination when
398 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
all together, he cunningly endeavoured to weaken them one by one by his arguments, and begged pecuniary aid from them, saying, "See what such an abbat has given to aid me, and what such another has given me"; holding out at the same time a list on which he showed a written agreement that such and such an abbat or prior had given so much, or had at least promised to give so much, although none of them had given their consent thereto, nor even knew anything of it. By such false precedents and ensnaring words, the king cunningly entrapped a great many; many others however, stood firm, and would not in any way swerve from the reply they had agreed on in common, and had sworn to abide by. To these the king angrily said, "Shall I then be a perjured man? I have sworn an inviolable oath that I would cross the sea and with extended arm demand restitution of my rights from the French king, and this I cannot in any way effect without a large sum of money, which your liberality ought to supply". However, notwithstanding these arguments and others which he resorted to, he could not entrap some, although, as has been before stated, he sent for each of them to come to him in private.
He, however, a second time sent for some who were his especial friends, and thus addressed them:- "What a pernicious example you set to others. You, who are bold earls, barons, and knights, ought not to be in alarm, although others, namely the prelates of the churches, show fear. You ought to be more eager than others to reclaim the rights of the kingdom, and to try the fortune of war against those who injure us. To consolidate and support our power is the duty pointed out, both by the rights which we possess, the invitation and promises of the nobles, the example in Wales, where we have of late happily triumphed, and the tendency which past successes have to lead the way to future ones. And how can you have the face to leave me, your lord, poor and desolate, when I am ready to enter upon this arduous undertaking for the common weal, since I am strictly bound by oath to fulfil my promise of crossing to the continent"? When the nobles heard this, they replied:- "Words cannot express our wonder into what abyss have sunk the countless sums of money which your majesty has scraped together from the various wardships of the nobles,
A.D. 1242.] THE PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED IN ANGER. 399
divers escheats, frequent extortions, both from churches, the lands of the nobles, and donations granted in advance, enough to create astonishment in all who hear of them; and yet these sums of money have never brought the least increase or advantage to the kingdom. Besides this, you have lately summoned into the kingdom some legates, or persons performing the duties of legates, who, as it were, gathering the bunches of grapes that remain, have collected for themselves what money was left. Again, all the nobles of England are very much astonished that you have entered upon such a difficult and perilous undertaking without their advice and consent putting faith in those who are faithless, and that, despising the good-will of your natural subjects you are exposing yourself to the doubtful chances of fortune. You are also, to the peril of your soul and the tarnishing of your fame, shamelessly and dishonourably breaking the truce made between the French king and yourself, and which you swore, on your soul, to observe inviolable, till the period which the illustrious Earl Richard, your brother, and Earl R. Bigod, pre-arranged". The older and more influential among them also added:- "You have also, to your peril, put too much faith in, and have promised your presence in person to those notorious continental nobles who are raising their heels against their lord, the French king; on which very account they ought not to be trusted, as they are noted for manifold treachery. You also know that the king of Navarre, whose assistance they promise you, lately perpetrated a crime in the Holy Land; and the scar has not yet covered the wound. Let the example of your illustrious ancestors also alarm you, and recall you from your purpose; for they possessed impregnable castles, ample lands, a large army, and immense sums of money in those parts, and yet they were unable to drive away the firm and invincible troops of the French kingdom, nor even to retain their possessions". The king, on hearing these words, burst into a violent rage, and calling the saints to witness, swore that he would not be recalled from his purpose by fear, or imposed upon by any ambiguous speeches, so as to be impeded in his design, but that he would embark in the octaves of Easter, and fearlessly try the fortune of war on the continent against the French. On this the council broke up, with
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indignation planted firmly, but secretly, in the minds of both parties.
The reply of the barons of England.
Some time afterwards, in order that the tenonr of the barons' reply might not be lost in oblivion, these things were all reduced to writing, as follows:- "Whereas the lord archbishop of York, all the bishops of England, abbats, priors, and also the earls, and almost all the barons of England, have, either in person or by their proxies, assembled at a summons from our lord the king, at Westminster, on the Tuesday next before the Purification of the Blessed Mary, in the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred and forty-two, the twenty-sixth year of the reign of king Henry the Third, to hear the king's will, and the business on which he has summoned them. And whereas our said lord the king has sent to them the lord archbishop of York, the noble Earl Richard, Walter of York, provost of Beverley, as special messengers to explain his will and his business, and has asked all the nobles of the kingdom to give him their advice and assistance, to obtain possession of his inheritance and his rights on the continent, which belong to his kingdom of England: at length the said bishops, abbats, priors, earls, and barons, after previously holding a lengthened discussion, in the first place advised the king, through the aforesaid nobles, to await the expiration of the truce made between him and the king of France. And if by chance the French king should have entered upon any enterprise contrary to the terms of the truce, that then the said king of England should send special messengers to him, to induce him, by request and admonition, to observe the truce and to think better of his enterprises, if any should have been mide by him or his nobles. And if the French king should refuse so to do, that they would then willingly join themselves to his counsel, for the purpose of giving him assistance as far as was in their power". All unanimously agreed in this answer. In a similar way to this, since he had become their ruler, they had many times, at his pressing request, given him assistance, namely, the thirteenth part of all moveable property, and afterwards a fifteenth, sixteenth, and fortieth part; they had given him land-taxes, hidage, and several scutages; and lastly one grand scutage, for the
A.D. 1242.] THE PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED IN ANGER. 401
marriage of his sister, the empress. Scarcely, however, had four years elapsed from that time, when he again asked assistance of them; and at length, by dint of great entreaties, he obtained a thirtieth part, which they granted to him, on condition, however, that neither this exaction, nor the other preceding ones, should for the future be considered as a regular custom; and he gave them a Charter to that effect. Besides this, he then promised them that all the liberties contained in the great charter should from that time, as formerly, be fully observed throughout the whole of his kingdom; and of this he gave them a small charter, in which the same things were contained; and this they now hold. Besides this, the king, of his own free will, and by the advice of his barons, promised them that the whole of the money arising from the said thirtieth part, should be placed in safe custody in his royal castles, under the charge of four nobles of England, namely, Earl Warrenne, and others, at whose discretion, and by whose advice, the same should be expended, when necessary, to the advantage of the said king and kingdom. And inasmuch as the barons do not know, and have not heard, that any of the aforesaid money has been expended, at the discretion or by the advice of any one of the said four nobles, they firmly believe, and, in fact, well know, that the king still has the whole of that money untouched; and from that he can now provide himself with great assistance. Besides this, they well know that, since that time he has had so many escheats, namely, the archbishopric of Canterbury, and several of the richer bishoprics of England, and the lands of earls, barons, and knights deceased, who held of him: that from those escheats alone, if they were only well taken care of, he ought to have a large sum of money. Moreover, from the time of their giving the said thirtieth part, itinerary justiciaries had been continually going the circuit, through all parts of England, collecting pleas of the forest, and all other pleas; so that all the counties, hundreds, cities, boroughs, and nearly all the villages even of England, were heavily fined; hence, from this circuiting alone the king has, or ought to have, a very large sum of money, if it were paid, and properly collected. They therefore may say with truth, that all in the kingdom are so oppressed, and have been so impoverished by these fines,
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and by the aid which they have before given him, that they have now little or no property left. And because the king has never, after the granting of the thirtieth part, abided by his charter of liberties, but has even more severely oppressed them since, although he had, by another charter granted to them, promised that exactions of this kind should not become a custom, they now positively told the king that they would not give him any assistance on the present occasion. But inasmuch as he was their lord, he may behave himself in such a manner towards them, up to the end of the aforesaid truce, that they will then give him as good advice as they are able. When the said nobles, who had acted as messengers, had told this reply to the king, they returned to the barons and said that they had in part given the proper reply to the king; but he wanted to know what they would do if the king of France should break the truce before the expiration of the term; they also promised in the name of the king that, if he had done any injury to any of the nobles of England, he would make amends for it, according to the arbitration of Peter of Savoy, and others of his council. To these questions the nobles replied, that, if the king of France should break the truce, they would then apply themselves to devising plans, as they had previously said that they would do, at the expiration of the truce; provided, however, that they were assured of the truth of the French king's having done so. To the charge that they, on the part of the king, promised amends for the injuries inflicted on them, the messengers said that they would not at present wrangle with the king. At the time of the grant of the thirtieth part, W. de Rele had, on the part of the king, promised them well and faithfully, as they now did, and how the king kept his promises, he himself best knew. Finally however, the king inquired of them all, one by one, so that each of the community was ignorant of what the other gave him.
The earl of Salisbury's return from the Holy Land.
Whilst time was thus rolling onward in its course, the earl of Salisbury returned from the Holy Land, and landed in England, safe and sound, in the beginning of the month of March.
A.D. 1242.] THE KING OF ENGLAND COLLECTS MONEY. 403
The archbishop of Cologne made prisoner.
About this time, the emperor's subjects made prisoner the archbishop of Cologne, who was returning from Rome to Germany, in disguise. This archbishop had conspired with the other prelates, who had come to the general council, to effect the downfall of the emperor; and having heard of the fate of those who had gone through the imperial territory, he changed his course, and returned by by-roads; but as ambuscades were laid in all directions, he was taken, and detained a prisoner. The person who took him, however, being a German, and well known to the pontiff, allowed his prisoner to escape, after faithfully promising, on oath, never again to plot against, or to injure the emperor. The archbishop, however, ill kept his oath, as will be related in the following history.
The king of France equips a fleet against the English.
The rumour of these events soon flew through the various parts of the world, and the French king being informed of the approach of the king of England in a hostile manner against him, and of the conspiracy of those who had summoned him to assist them, stationed eighty well-armed galleys before Rochelle to guard these parts of Poictou against any who endeavoured to enter them. He also caused a military force, such as France usually pours forth, to be called together by his royal warrant throughout the various provinces subject to him, and the bands of civil communities to arouse themselves at his royal summons.
How the king of England collected a great deal of money.
The king of England, in the mean time, frequently received the most urgent messages from the count de la Marche and the other nobles of Poictou, and became unalterably fixed in his determination, believing that he should, without fail, receive all that the count had promised him; and, as they had advised him to do, he collected a large sum of money. Those who refused him pecuniary assistance, he either considered as his declared enemies or harassed them in every possible way by his satellites. And throughout the whole of Lent he indefatigably gave his attention to this business. For, as has been before stated, the count de la Marche had sent
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him word only to trouble himself to collect money and bring it with him; for he would, he said, supply him with a sufficient military force; in saying which the count shamelessly exceeded the bounds of truth, as the issue of the event will prove hereafter.
The king of England entices many to join the expedition with him.
The king, craftily endeavouring to incline the hearts of those who were wavering to his wishes, by means of costly presents weakened the firmness of many of the nobles. He even, by enticing promises gained over his brother Earl Richard to accompany him on his expedition, under the hope of an abundant reward, and he effected this the more easily because the French king, with rash presumption, had a short time before, as above stated, bestowed the county of Poictou on Amphulse, his own brother, and had thus unjustly deprived him, Earl Richard, of his possessions; and the Poictevins had promised to a certainty to restore them all to him on his arrival there.
Ambassadors sent in advance to notify the king's approach.
The king's special councillors, Peter of Savoy, earl of Richmond, and Peter d'Aigueblanche, bishop of Hereford, were now sent to the continent to comfort the king's friends in Poictou by the news of his being about to arrive there immediately. By this their hopes were raised, and they at once began the war, fiercely demanding the restitution of his rights on behalf of the king of England, and did no small injury to the French monarch. After delivering the king's message, Peter of Savoy, narrowly escaping an ambuscade laid for him, returned to the king at London a little before Easter, sound in body, but not without loss. Peter, bishop of Hereford, took an out-of-the-way road home, in order to arrive in safety, and thus avoided the snares of those who sought his life; on his way he went to Provence, and demanded from the count of Provence, father of the French and English queens, his third daughter, Cincia, in marriage for Earl Richard. At this the whole community in England were much excited, and began to fear that the whole business of the kingdom would be disposed of at the will of the queen and her sister, the said Cincia, about to become the wife of Earl Richard, who would be, as it were, a second queen.
A.D. 1242.] THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK APPOINTED REGENT. 405
The king of England makes preparations for his passage.
About this time the king, having made the round of some of the churches of the saints, and commended himself to the prayers of the religious men, took leave of the citizens, and on the morrow of Easter-day took the road to Portsmouth to take ship there, having been hurried to this proceeding by the urgent and importunate messages sent to him from the continent. The purport of these messages aroused the anger and shame of some of the English, who aspired to honour; for they were to the effect that, as they had already begun the war favourably, he was to come speedily and without fear to their assistance, with a large sum of money, and not to care about bringing a multitude of soldiers; as though the king of England were a banker, exchanger, or huckster, rather than a king and a noble leader and commander of knights; placing their confidence in money more than in fighting; and it was not becoming for a king to be aroused to war in this way. In this the Poictevins manifested their usual treachery, for they preferred to exhaust the king's money, rather than that he should be exalted by due honours and surrounded by his nobles, according to the words of the philosopher Seneca, when speaking of the falseness of women,
Tunc demum bona est mulier, cum aperte mala est,
[When woman's open rage is spent
Then she is found most excellent.]
In this, however, they proved themselves unskilful traitors; for
Quae nimis apparent retis vitat avis.
[The fowler's net that meets the eye,
The cautious bird takes care to fly.]
The archbishop of York appointed regent.
When the naval armament was all arranged in order, and the care of the kingdom was committed to the archbishop of York, Richard, abbat of Evesham and bishop elect of Chester, resigned the royal seal, which he had held charge of for three years in a praiseworthy manner. The king also restored to his friendship the bishop of Chichester, who had never deserved to lose it; also B., his chancellor, Ralph
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Fitz-Nicholas, Godfrey Crawcombe, and some others, dismissing all inclination to listen to the adulation of flatterers.
The king sets sail and arrives at Rouen.
On the 15th of May then, having embarked his troops and thirty casks filled with the much-desired money, the king, accompanied by his queen and his brother, Earl Richard, with seven other earls, and about three hundred knights, took ship and set sail with a fair wind towards Bordeaux, but before he had got far from the coast, the wind failed, and he returned to Portsmouth. On the following day, as the wind again blew favourably, he set sail and arrived at St. Matthew de Finisterre, in Brittany, and stayed there on the Sunday to hear divine service; on the Monday he again set sail, and traversing the deep, he arrived on the Tuesday at Royan, at the mouth of the Gironde, where it falls into the sea, opposite to St. Mary de Soulac, in Gascony. There he landed and stayed some days, and from thence went to the noble city of Pons, where he was met by Reginald de Pons, the lord of that place, and some other nobles of Saintonge.
The preliminaries arranged for a marriage between the son of the king of Scotland and the daughter of the king of England.
Whilst the above-mentioned events were proceeding, the espousals took place between Alexander, the eldest son of the king of Scotland, and Margaret, daughter of the king of England, through the interposition of the bishop of Durham; so that in the absence of the king the kingdom might be more surely at peace. This had been previously agreed on with the good-will both of the English and Scotch kings. And that part of England bordering on Scotland was intrusted to the care of the king of Scots, whilst the English king remained on the continent.
How William Marsh plundered Lundy Island.
Whilst these occurrences were taking place, William Marsh, son of Geoffrey Marsh, took up his quarters on an island near Bristol, called Lundy, a place impregnable by the nature of its situation, where he lived like a pirate with a number of proscribed and wicked men, indulging in plunder and rapine, and, attended by his companions, traversed the places on the neighbouring coast, despoiling the inhabitants of their property, especially wine and other provisions. By
A.D. 1242.] DESOLATE STATE OF THE ROMAN CHURCH. 407
sudden incursions he frequently carried off vast booty from the country lying near the island, and in many ways injured the kingdom of England both by land and sea, and caused great loss to the native and foreign merchants. Some of the nobles of England, as well as Ireland, who could not stay honourably in their country whilst the king was exposed to the chances of war on the continent, went on a cruise near the aforesaid island, and, discovering that the said William and his followers could not be seized unless by treachery, they told the king that they must act, not forcibly, but prudently, to effect the capture of this robber. The king then ordered his subjects, with promises of a great reward, to use diligent endeavours to take him, and free the country of him; for this said William was most hateful to the king, as it was said that he, by the advice of his father Geoffrey, had conspired against his life, and had sent that villain who came by night to cut his throat when at Woodstock, thus incurring the charge of treason, and afterwards slew a certain clerk, a messenger from an Irish noble at London, in the king's presence. The said William boldly denied all these charges, yet he did not obtain any credit, nor was he listened to; he therefore, however unadvisedly, betook himself to out-of-the-way places, and became a fugitive and an outlaw.
The deaths of some of the nobles.
About this same time of the year, died the nobles Gilbert de Gaunt, Baldwin Wac, and Philip de Kime; in the northern parts, Roger Bertram and some other nobles departed this life. Also died the earl of Warwick. In this year, too, Henry, one of the sons of the emperor, who had been for his offences long detained in prison by his father's orders, terminated a wretched life, and it was said that he died by his own hand.
The desolate state of the Roman church.
The Roman court at this time was in such a state of disorder, and in such a desolate and languishing condition, that there only remained six or seven cardinals at Rome, the papal chair still remaining vacant; some of the cardinals had been removed from this world, some were ill, and others were lying concealed with their friends and relations in distant parts where they were born; and being thus dispersed in
408 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
various places, and troubled in their minds, the spark of affection amongst them was extinguished, and they became like sand without lime; so that the house of God, which requires union to insure strength, could not be properly supported by them.
The French king's preparations to oppose the king of England.
The French king, in the mean time, having heard that the king of England had landed to make war on him, relying on assistance from the Poictevins and the promises of the Gascons, and knowing that the count de la Marche had already commenced the war, summoned by royal proclamation all the military force of France, and ordered the train bands to be supplied with arms and provisions, in order that, when occasion required them to be called out, he might find them ready. He also had about a thousand carts got ready to carry the tents, engines, provisions, arms, and other necessaries, and then arranging his troops, which were the best France could produce, in good order, he set out on his march towards Poictou, to repel by force the hostile incursions of the king of England and his other enemies. There were about four thousand knights splendidly armed to the teeth, besides numbers of others, who came from all directions and flocked to the army like rivers flowing into the sea; and the number of retainers and crossbowmen was said to amount to about twenty thousand.
The capture of William Marsh, and his punishment at London.
Near about this time, the knight William Marsh, of whom mention was made above, after spending some time at the before-mentioned island, indulging in rapine and plunder, was surprised by some of the king's agents, made prisoner, and carried to London, where he was closely imprisoned in the Tower. On the feast of St. James, by the king's order, the said William, with sixteen of his accomplices taken with him, was tried and condemned, and, by the king's order, was sentenced to an ignominious death. He was, therefore, first dragged from Westminster to the Tower of London, and from thence to that instrument of punishment called a gibbet, suspended on which he breathed forth his miserable life. After he had grown stiff in death, his body was let down and disembowelled; his entrails were immediately burnt on
A.D. 1242.] THE GASCONS OPPOSE THE FRENCH. 409
the spot, and his wretched body divided into four parts, which were sent to the four principal cities of the kingdom, that the sight of them might strike terror into all beholders. His sixteen accomplices were all dragged through London at the horse's tail, and hung on gibbets. The said William, after his condemnation, when about to undergo the sentence pronounced upon him, invoking the divine judgment to witness, boldly declared that he was entirely free and guiltless of the crime of treason imputed to him, and likewise of the murder of the aforesaid clerk Clement; he also asserted that he had betaken himself to the aforesaid island for no other reason than to avoid the king's anger, which he had always above all things wished to pacify by submitting to any kind of trial, or by any other humiliation; but that, after he had taken refuge as a fugitive in the said island, he was obliged to prolong his miserable life by seizing on provisions wherever he could find them. He then poured out his soul in confession before God, to J. de St. Giles, one of the brethren of the Preacher order, and confessed his sins with contrition, not excusing himself and giving vent to evil words, but rather accusing himself. This discreet preacher and confessor then administered gentle comfort to him, and dismissed him in peace, persuading him that he underwent the death to which he was doomed by way of repentance. And thus, as before mentioned, horrible to relate, he endured not one, but several dreadful deaths.
The victory of the Templars in the Holy Land.
In this year the Templars in the Holy Land, more by a miracle than by human strength, gained a glorious and unexpected victory over many thousands of the Saracens who had come from the parts near Babylon.
The Poictevins and Gascons fortify themselves against the French.
In the height of the summer, when the heat of the sun had so dried up everything that it almost faded away, the Gascons and Poictevins, in great fear of the attack of the French, who were now hastily marching on them, fortified their castles and cities, and blocked up the passes of the mountains through which the enemy could enter their country to injure them, with large blocks of stone, and the trunks of felled trees, and rendered the roads and paths
410 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
impassable, by stopping them with every kind of obstruction. The vine and apple trees, which they thought would benefit the enemy, they cut down; they filled up the wells, disturbed the springs and the rivers flowing from them, and some, indeed, they poisoned; the herbage and fruit, which was open to their enemies, they rooted up, and utterly destroyed every kind of provisions, as well as pulled down the places where they might procure rest, hoping that they might thus be able to drive the approaching French from their territories, as they would be consumed by every kind of want. Nor were they altogether deceived in their expectations, for during the dog-days, the French were attacked by such a mortality that the king lost eighty nobles that carried his standards, who perished in a miserable condition on the spot, or were carried, pining away, on litters to their homes. Of the common foot-soldiers such a multitude succumbed to the sickness, that the living, being in such danger themselves, could scarcely bury the dead, as will be found in the course of the narrative.
How traders were seized and deprived of their property, both in France and England.
About the same time, as the laborious season of autumn drew on, the French king, in a very unbecoming manner, gave orders to seize the bodies of English merchants who were trafficking with their wares throughout his kingdom; thus inflicting an enormous injury on the ancient dignity of Gaul, which formerly afforded a safe asylum and protection to all exiles and proscribed men, especially the peaceable ones; from which circumstance it originally obtained the name of France in its own language. This dishonourable and cruel proceeding soon reached the ears as well as the feelings of the king of England, on which he also gave orders that the French traders found in any part of England should undergo a just retaliation; he also at the same time sent to the guardians of his kingdom, namely the archbishop of York and his colleagues, demanding a supply of money and reinforcements of troops. They accordingly, in obedience to the king's orders, sent off without delay fifty crossbowmen, a large sum of money, a good supply of provisions, and some soldiers with arms, under conduct of the Cinque Ports; on seeing which, some of the English nobles, thinking it
A.D. 1242.] HOW TRADERS WERE SEIZED. 411
dishonourable to indulge in retirement whilst their king was engaged in war on the continent, prepared themselves to join the expedition with them, well equipped with horses and arms. Some of the Irish nobles, too, namely Richard de Burg and some others, at the persuasion of the discreet Maurice, justiciary of Ireland, equipped themselves with arms, and laying in a stock of provisions, hastened eagerly to the assistance of the king; and these altogether made up a large fleet, and constituted a formidable naval force. The sailors and pirates, who kept a diligent guard over the opposite coast of France, on finding this out, by order of the French king, prepared a naval force, and, arming themselves, put to sea with sails set on their ships, and their galleys manned with numerous rowers, to attack the approaching force at sea, or to frighten them into a retreat to their own shores. When, however, the two fleets drew near together, a sudden tempest arose, and they were so dispersed, some in one direction, some in another, that the commanders of the ships, consulting their own safety, were carried at the mercy of the winds, and at length scarcely knew their companions, or the ships of their own fleets apart. The French, who were nearer to their own coast than the English or Irish to theirs, made their way with all speed to the nearest part of the coast, and as the wind was not much against them, arrived at a safe place of refuge, some even reaching their proper ports; whilst our people, fearing in no slight degree the fury of the winds as well as of the French, dispersed themselves in flight, and, hurried on by fear, shame, and sadness of heart, were driven ashore on various remote and unknown parts of the coast. Owing to this misfortime, the abbat of Evesham, Richard de Burg, and many others, who were in command of the expedition, never after recovered a sound state of health, but gradually pined away, until at length, being unable to regain their strength after so much suffering and toil in a foreign land and a strange climate, they breathed forth their afflicted lives. By this sad misfortune the king incurred a great and irreparable loss of powerful and prudent men, arms, and provisions, namely corn, which he had collected from the archbishopric of Canterbury, and from other bishoprics, and also of money scraped together from all quarters.
412 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
The death of Margaret Bisett.
In this year died, in those parts, one Margaret Bisett, a woman of illustrious family, distinguished for her morals, who, entirely rejecting the embraces of men, founded, at her own expense, which was not small, a good house of nuns, contrary to the wish of all her worldly friend, and became its supporter and patroness. This lady had also gained great renown, because she had on one night, at Woodstock, whilst passing the night in singing hymns, watching, and prayer, saved the king from the hands of the murderer, by her outcries, the particulars of which event have been before stated.
The outrageous crime of Walter Bisett.
About the same time, tournaments were unfortunately being held in the northern provinces, at one of which, held on the borders of England and Scotland, one Walter Bisett, a brave, though crafty knight, was worsted by his antagonist - one Patrick Fitz-Thomas, of Galway; whereupon he conceived an unheard-of crime, in order to take unjust vengeance on his conqueror. Whilst the said Patrick was staying with some other nobles in his company at Edmonton, he took up his quarters for the night in a kind of barn; and whilst sleeping in a state of calm sleep, the said Walter Bisett, after blocking up the door outside with some trunks of trees, inserted fire in several places in the walls, by means of some lighted sticks, and burned nearly all who were inside. Thus, therefore, died the said Patrick, with some brave and illustrious companions; but when this transaction came to the knowledge of Earl Patrick and other nobles of Scotland, they prepared to take vengeance for this great crime, and attacked the said Walter, wishing to cut him to pieces; he however fled to the king of Scotland, and demanded justice and mercy from him; for he denied the wickedness imputed to him, and offered to prove his innocence before the king and his whole court, by exposing his body against any one, however powerful in arms and strength. His opposers, however, refused this, declaring that the enormous crime did not require positive proof; and they therefore fiercely, and with great urgency and feelings of hatred, demanded of the king their declared enemy, still
A.D. 1242.] OUTRAGEOUS CRIME OF WALTER BISETT. 413
stained with the recent murder, and polluted by an extraordinary crime. The king, with some difficulty, appeased their rage and calmed their vengeance, by promising that the said Walter should be disinherited, should abjure Scotland, and be sent into perpetual exile; they, therefore, after some difficulty, agreed to the king's proposal, trusting to entrap him when removed from the king's protection, and to punish him by a just death. The design, however, coming to the king's knowledge,- who was a just and merciful man,- he carefully concealed the said Walter for three months in places where his enemies could not get at him; at the expiration of which time he secretly fled from the country, one dark night, a judicially proscribed and disinherited man, never again to return; the Scotch nobles, who were a great many of them seeking his life, being in utter ignorance of his escape. Walter, however, although he had sworn to proceed to the Holy Land, and never to return, for the redemption of his own soul, as well as those who perished by burning, though, as he said, it was not through his means, changed his course, and hastened to lay a complaint before the king of England, of the great injury done him; he there declared that the king of Scotland had unjustly deprived him of his inheritance, as he could not in any other way calm the anger of those who were rising against him in their fury; although he, the said Walter, was ready and willing to clear himself, and prove his innocence of the crime imputed to him, by the ordeal of single combat: he added, moreover, that, as the king of Scotland was the liege vassal of the king of England, he could not, without the king of England's consent, disinherit or banish a nobleman from his country for ever, especially if he was not convicted of a crime; besides this, he said that the king of Scotland, to the prejudice of his allegiance and fealty, by which he was bound to the king of England, had received and protected in his territories, and at this very time was affording protection to, Geoffrey Marsh, a fugitive from Ireland, who was implicated in the treasonable crimes of his son William, who was lately condemned to death, and hung at London. The king of England was by this highly incensed against the king of Scotland; but he reserved his anger till a fit time of retribution arrived, as the following narrative will show.
414 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
The king of England renounces the truce, and declares war against the king of France.
The king of England, during this time, had sent Ralph Fitz-Nicholas and Nicholas de Molis, as special messengers to the French king, to announce his determination, if he, the French king, would not agree to his demand, of annulling the truce, and commencing war against him. The messengers, on their arrival, found the French king besieging the castle of Frontenaye, belonging to the count de la Marche, which he unweariedly attacked day and night; and by the assaults of his troops, by battering the walls with missiles from his stone-engines, and incessant showers of arrows, he had so alarmed and harassed the besieged, that they were almost worn out, and could not much longer endure his fierce and uninterrupted assaults. In this castle there was one of the sons of the count de la Marche, by a former wife, a brave knight, with some most particular friends of the said count, whom he had placed there to defend this secure and well-fortified castle; and these nobles the king was most eager to take, to strike terror into others. On the arrival of the king of England's messengers, the French king received them with honour and respect, and courteously invited them to breakfast at his table. On the following morning, therefore, they presented themselves before him, and cleverly and in due order, disclosed the messages enjoined on them, in the following words:- "Our lord, the king of England, your kinsman, sends word to you, that he is beyond measure astonished, that you have shamelessly broken the truce made between you and him, and confirmed by oath, on both sides, and which was still to have lasted for three years longer; by which act you appear, otherwise than becomes you, to have shaken the proper stability of kingly faith". To this the king replied, with a calm look,- "The truce I never have broken, nor do I desire to do so - indeed, I am keeping it inviolate; and if the king of England please, I will prolong the term of it, without any remuneration, which, however, I do not usually do. Far be it from me, a king of France, in any way to violate a truce, or any treaty entered into between him and me, thus laying aside all reverence for God and respect for man, and showing no regard to the ties of
A.D. 1242.] THE KING RENOUNCES THE TRUCE. 415
relationship. But tell your lord that I will abide by this truce for these three years, and will prolong it, if he pleases, for another three; that is to say, for six years, from now, without any remuneration being made to me. Moreover, I willingly concede to him the province of Poictou, and the greatest part of Normandy, which is not a source of suspicion and alarm to me; in which countries, he says, he has a right and expectations, in accordance with an oath made by my father, Louis, when he was in England, and by an old grant and permission of my ancestors; on the condition, however, that I shall be allowed, without any opposition on his part, as justice demands, to punish any injury done to me or my kingdom, by my enemies, and traitors to me, however they may trust in him for assistance. Besides this, I have to inform the king of England, that it is a matter of astonishment to me, that he - by what spirit induced, or on what grounds I know not - should say, that I have broken the truce made between us, if I attack people dwelling near or adjoining my kingdom, who do not even belong to him by right of homage, if they injure or rebel against me - not to say those who are traitors to me. What has he to do with the affairs of the count de la Marche? Aye; what right has he to interfere in the matter of the count of Toulouse? I made no truce with them; nor were they mentioned in the truce. Moreover, by the very feet of his protecting and defending my enemies, he rather proves that he has violated the terms of the said truce, as well as the affection which ought to exist between relations. However, I have proposed to act better and more mildly with respect to him; and I still give him the offer of the above-mentioned terms of truce".
The French king spoke all this with the greatest moderation, and without any deceit; for he was much in fear of the treachery of the king of Arragon, and the king of Castile, who were related to the king of England. He also feared the count of Toulouse, who had for a long time hated the French, who persecuted him; the count de la Marche, who was protected by impregnable castles, and fattened by the money of the king of England; he also feared the wavering Normans, who were neighbours of, and united by a kind of affinity to, England. Above all things, he feared to break
416 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
the oath of his father, Louis, before his departure from England, by which he bound himself to restore to the king of England his rights, if he survived his father; and his father, when about to die at Avignon, had enjoined on him, his son, the fulfilment of that oath: he therefore considered it just and pious to release the soul of his father from such a bond.
The French king's message delivered to the king of England.
The messengers, on receiving their reply, at once returned, and faithfully reported to the king of England all they had seen and heard; he, however, would not on any account listen favourably to the peaceful wishes of the French king, or accept of his noble offer, replete with all peaceable inclinations; for he was emboldened, and his feelings were perverted, by those crafty traitors, the Poictevins, who closed his eyes to the magnitude of the advantages offered to him, and promised him that, with their assistance, these territories, and more in addition, could be forcibly wrested from the French king's hands. He, therefore, through some of the Hospitallers, precipitately defied the French king, because he had now made war on the count de la Marche, whom, from custom, he called his father, although he was only his father-in-law.
The commencement of the war between the French and English.
When the French king heard this, he repented of having offered such humble terms of peace to the king of England, and said to his nobles, "I am sorry that the king of England, my relation, whom I wished to be my greatest friend, is so infatuated that he gives heed more to the deceitful insinuations of the counts of La Marche and Toulouse, and their accomplices, one of whom is notorious for his treachery, and the other for heresy, than to my friendly messages. I am sorry that I am despised but I neither fear him nor his forces, but only the confirmed oath of my father made in England"; and as he continued to lament inconsolably over this, one of his nobles, to comfort him, cleverly said, "My lord king, you need not be in any alarm on this account, for on your father's departure from England, an inviolable oath was made on both sides, that neither of you would, on the occasion of a war breaking out, throw any injury to your enterprises either on the one side or the other; which oath the
A.D. 1242.] CASTLES TAKEN BY THE FRENCH KING. 4l7
king of England sliamelessly violated when he cruelly and unjustly hanged Constantine Fitz-Aluph, a London citizen, merely because he spoke out for the honour of your father; he, the English king, has committed perjury, whilst you are free from it".
Capture of the castle of Frontenaye.
The French king was by these arguments inspired with greater confidence, and he more closely pressed the siege of the castle of Frontenaye, and at the same time collected a more numerous army, and distributed pay to his soldiers. They accordingly attacked the castle more fiercely than usual, and battered it so incessantly with the missiles from their mangonelles and other engines, whilst such numbers of the besieged were wounded by their arrows, that this castle, although one of the strongest, was taken within fifteen days, contrary to the expectations of all the Poictevins, and the son of the count de la Marche and his allies were made prisoners. The count's son, together with his fellow-captives, was then brought at once into the king's presence, and several of the French earnestly begged that they might be hung, to strike terror into others; but the king, becoming, as it were, a faithful advocate for his prisoner, said, "He is not deserving of death, if he had obeyed his father's commands even to death; nor are his associates, who have obeyed and faithfully served their lord; let them, however, be sent to Paris to be imprisoned"; which was done.
Several other castles are taken by the French king.
Great fear of the French king now fell on all the inhabitants of the adjacent provinces, dreading lest, if they should rebel against him, they should be involved in a similar or even a worse calamity; for the castle, on which the hopes of all of them rested, had now been taken by force, and in a short time. Those in charge of the castles belonging to the count de la Marche around him, went to the king and delivered their keys up to him, in order to make better terms. He, in the mean time, traversed the adjoining districts, and reduced a great many castles and towns to subjection without any difficulty; the weak ones he razed to the ground, and those which were strong in situation and construction he more strongly fortified, and placed some of his faithful French
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followers in them. Proceeding onwards, he, in a like manner, took another noble castle, that of Fontenaye.
The castle of Vouvant surrendered to the French king.
The French king had now reached the noble castle of Vouvant, which belonged to the count de la Marche; but as he was making preparations to besiege it, the constable in charge of it, after holding counsel with his companions, sent some of them with a peaceful message to the king; for he was afraid that, if he were taken prisoner by force, the justice of the French would show him no mercy. He therefore, speedily and privately, consulted the count, his lord, on the matter, and sent word in the mean time to the French king, that if he would, in peace undisguised, grant to him and those with him, their lives and their arms, he, the constable, would give up the castle to him, on condition, however, that, if peace should be restored between the king of France and the count de la Marche within three years, he, the French king, should restore the castle to their lord, the count de la Marche, without any dispute. The king, therefore, preferring to have possession of the castle entire, without any delay, rather than in a state of ruin from the missiles of his engines, during a prolonged siege, granted his demands; and thus the castle immediately and without any trouble submitted to his authority.
The count de la Marche repents of his undertaking.
At this news, fear and despair fell on the count de la Marche and all the Poictevins, as well as on all the inhabitants of Gascony and those whom the king of England had engaged to protect; and the count bitterly repented of having rashly kicked against his lord, the French king.
Sed galeatum sero duelli poenitet.
[But when on head is placed the helmet bright,
'Tis then too late to draw back from the fight.]
The masters of the Cinque Ports turn pirates.
The king of England, when he heard of the French king's successes, sent orders to the masters of the Cinque Ports to injure, in every possible way, the traders and others belonging to the French kingdom who should be travelling by sea.
A.D. 1242.] FLIGHT OF THE KING OF ENGLAND. 419
These men, at once fulfilling the commands of the king, indulged, like pirates, in pillage and rapine, cruelly exceeding the bounds prescribed by the king, in their greediness for gain; for they despoiled of their property even the English and their neighbours and those known to them, when returning from their pilgrimage, paying no regard to relationship or kindred, and some of the French they cruelly put to death. When the French king was informed of these proceedings, he wrote to the count of Brittany, and to those inhabiting the sea-coast of that province, and to the governor of Rochelle, and those parts, as also to the sailors of Wissant and Calais, and to those guarding the coasts of Normandy, ordering them to repel the attacks of the English, thus venting their fury by sea, and not to spare their persons or goods. In consequence of this order, owing to the increasing forces sent against them, the masters of the Cinque Ports suffered great loss, and were often shamefully defeated; in consequence of which they were compelled to demand assistance from the archbishop of York.
The English king arrives at the city of Tailleburg.
The king of England was at this time with his army, near the castle of Tonnaye, in the meadows near the river Charente, at which place he knighted his two brothers, the sons of the count de la Marche, and allotted to them a sum of money, to be received annually from his treasury,- to one of them five hundred, and to the other six hundred marks,- until he could provide them with a fixed amount of equal value in lands and revenues. Then, leaving that place with his army, he proceeded to the fields in front of the city of Tailleburg, on the same river Charente, and there he remained for six days.
Flight of the king of England.
The French king, in the mean time, having received the submission of several chatelaines with their castles, became more confident, and raising his standard, directed his march towards the city of Tailleburg. This is a very fine city, rich in the great fertility of its vineyards, having a pleasant river near it, namely the deep and unfordable Charente, surrounded by rich meadows, and crossed by a strong bridge. On the French king's approaching this city, the inhabitants, being
420 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
neither willing nor able to oppose him by force, adopted a wiser plan, and, going to meet him peaceably, surrendered themselves and their city to his authority, together with all their possessions and liberties. The king then received them into favour, and took them under his protection, and at once entered the city, taking up his abode there with some of his nobles, the rest pitching their tents in a field near the city. On the following day, which was the Sunday next before the feast of St. Mary Magdalen, he crossed the bridge and made arrangements to proceed with his army to the more distant parts of Poictou; but information of this intended proceeds ing being carried to the king of England and his nobles, amongst whom the count de la Marche was the chief, that monarch, by the count's advice, drew out his troops by night, and suddenly came with his army to the field connected with the bridge, and pitching his tents there, he took up his quarters opposite the city; so that one army could overlook the other. The English king's army consisted of sixteen hundred knights, twenty thousand foot-soldiers, and seven hundred cross-bowmen. There was a king on one side near the river, and on the other side, likewise near the river, was the other king. Early in the morning the English beheld the oriflamme of the French king, and the tents and standards of his army, whilst the other bank of the river was covered with a multitude of tents, appearing like a large and populous city. At this sight the king of England, who expected nothing else than a battle, and that he should surprise the French at the sword's point, some of the English being even stationed to guard the passage of the bridge, said to the count de la Marche, "Where are now your promises, my lord and father? When we were in England, you promised us many times, by several messengers, and certified to us by your letters patent, that you would, when necessary, prepare such a force for us as to be able, without any fear, to oppose the French king, and you told us only to trouble ourselves about money". To this the count replied, "I never did so". Earl Richard, interrupting him, said, "You did, and I have now with me your letters patent in this matter". The count then said, "It was never written or signed by me". At this the king, in astonishment, said, "What is this I hear from you, my father? Have you not often sent to me, aye, and
A.D. 1242.] FLIGHT OF THS KING OF ENGLAND. 421
importunately begged of me to come here, both by your messages and by your letters patent, at the same time complaining of delay? Where now is what you promised"? The count then said, with a dreadful oath, "This has never been done by me; blame no one but your mother, my wife". Then, with another muttered oath, he added, "By God's throat, she has contrived all this without my knowledge". Earl Richard, on hearing these words, disarmed himself, and, taking a staff in his hand, crossed the bridge to arrange a truce; for the king of England was in imminent danger of being made prisoner. This took place on Sunday. On the earl's arrival at the French army, he was received by them with the greatest honour, and numbers of them called him their redeemer, because by the peace which he had made in the Holy Land he had released them; from captivity. He was then summoned with respect into the presence of the king, and on making known to him his wish, namely, to obtain a truce, it was, after some trouble, granted to him till the morrow: this he obtained for several reasons, because he was a person in great favour with the French, owing to his liberation of their nobles in the Holy Land, before mentioned; again, because he was a relation of the French king; and, also, because it was Sunday. The French king, on taking leave of the earl, as he was departing said to him, "My lord earl, my lord earl, I have granted you this truce to last to-day and to-night, in order that you may deliberate as to what is best to be done in future, for night brings counsel with it". The earl replied, "On that account I asked the truce which I have obtained". He then immediately returned to the king of England, and whispered quietly in his ear, "Quick, quick, let us remove ourselves from this place, for we are in imminent danger of being taken prisoners". They then took a hasty meal together (for it was noon), and as the sun declined, each man busied himself in collecting his baggage together, and when darkness came on, the king, who had now had experience of the faith, or rather the faithlessness, of the Poictevins, disgracefull retreated, and did not spare the spur. He was followed by the whole army, not without much danger to horses and men; for they were many of them dinnerless, and the horses were fatigued. The king, mounted on a swift horse, did not draw rein till he reached Saintonge.
423 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
Of the battle fought at Saintonge between the French and English.
When the French king heard this report, he could scarcely credit it; but on the same night he peaceably crossed the bridge, and early in the morning of the following day the French pitched their tents in the same spot as the English king's forces had occupied. Their army was now increased by fresh arrivals of troops, and the waggons and carts carrying the engines of war and provisions, which were about sixteen hundred in number, extended for about three miles along the road. On the Tuesday following, the French king with his army set out in pursuit of the king of England, and on approaching Saintonge, some of the French, who were wandering about intent on collecting provisions (commonly called "foraging"), were met and attacked by the count de la Marche, without consulting the king of England or his army. As the two parties rushed on one another, loud cries were raised, on one side, "King's men, king's men", on the other, "Montjoie, montjoie", which were the rallying cries of the two kings. The shouts of the combatants reached the king of England at Saintonge, and he was told that the count de la Marche, as he had commenced the war, wished either to lose his life or redeem his fame. The armies on both sides being now aroused, a fierce conflict took place outside the town of Saintonge, in the narrow roads between the vineyards. The English, in their rage, attacked the French at the sword's point, and fought most desperately, so that, if they had equalled their enemies in number, they would have succeeded in gaining a glorious victory over the French, as the latter themselves bore evidence after the battle. In this battle, Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, the earls of Salisbury and Norfolk, Roger Bigod, John de Burg, Warren de Montchesnil, Hubert Fitz-Matthew, Ralph Fitz-Nicholas, and many other brave Englishmen, gained lasting renown, as even their rivals allowed. On the French side, John de Barres, with six knights, was taken prisoner by William de Say, but they were afterwards exchanged for a like number of English prisoners. Many others of the French also were taken prisoners; amongst them Perer Orige, seneschal of the count of Boulogne, was taken by John Mansell, a clerk and especial councillor of the king of England, who was reckoned
A.D. 1242.] DE LA MARCHE RECONCILED TO THE FRENCH KING. 423
not least amongst brave men. Of the king of England's army, Henry Hastings was made prisoner with about twenty knights and a large body of foot; but they were all given in exchange for John de Barres, and those who had been made prisoners with him.
The count de la Marche secretly endeavours to he reconciled to the French king.
As the French king's army increased daily, like a lake that is swollen by torrents of rain, the count de la Marche began to be more seriously alarmed, for of late, sinister reports had daily wounded his heart; first, the capture of the castle of Frontenaye, at which his son, and forty knights with him, besides a great many more brave retainers, had been made prisoners, and a quantity of arms seized, and in that castle were concentred all his hopes and confidence. He next lost the castle of Vouvant, in which were garrisoned a hundred and forty knights, and about sixty armed cross-bowmen; then the castle of Vilers, with several other castles and towns with their chatelaines and garrisons; and finally Fontenaye was taken with the adjacent districts. Urged, therefore, by the internal grief of his heart, and actuated by fear and despair, although he concealed the trouble of his mind under a calm countenance, the said count began to waver, and to consider by whose mediation he could again be received into favour by his lord the French king, whose anger he had deservedly incurred. After some consideration, he sent privately to the count of Brittany, an old friend of his - himself a traitor, sending to another traitor - and begged him, in conjunction with the bishop of Saintonge, with all possible diligence, secretly and cautiously to endeavour to restore him to the favour of the French king. The count of Brittany accordingly went with the bishop of Saintonge to the king, and smilingly said, "This war has been cut short as if by a weaver": and after giving utterance to some more soft and flattering insinuations, he continued his discourse, and in the hearing of the aforesaid bishop, and some few other French nobles, whom he had sent for to this council, he said, "My lord king, your subject, the count de la Marche, who acknowledges that he has grievously offended you and your crown, asks of you not judgment but mercy, as the common proverb says,
424 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
'To the wretched, mercy is necessary, and on the sinner we should have pity'. He sends me to you as one in whom his soul may trust; I therefore earnestly appeal to the innate kindness of your majesty, and beg of you to receive in the open bosom of your mercy him, your subject, who has now become faithful to us and ready to obey you without any of his usual pretences". Then, winking at the king, he said, in a low tone, "I advise you not to refuse his request, for you can make his condition as oppressive as you like for the future".
The count de la Marche becomes reconciled to the French king.
The count de la Marche was accordingly received into favour by the French king, on condition that he, the count, should yield to him the possession of all that he, the king, had lately taken by force, as a perpetual right, and for the advantage of the kingdom, he, the count, and his heirs being deprived of it by judicial decree. The condition was also added, that all the castles of the said count, namely, Cognac, Lusignan, and Merpins, and all suspected to belong to him, whether his own or those of his friends whom he could justify, should be given up to the king's power, and should so remain in his charge, that he, the count, might be held in check and be compelled, although unwillingly, to be faithful to the king; and at the lapse of the three years it should depend on the king's grace, if he should have served him faithfully, whether the said castles should be restored to the count. That, moreover, for the three years he should, at the summons of the French king, serve him with two hundred armed men at his own expense, and faithfully fight for the said king against the count of Toulouse, or any other rebel against him or the Church. The French king moreover added, "The charter which his ancestors held from my predecessors from time long past, and which he has hitherto held, granting him ten thousand pounds annually from my exchequer, for the purpose of guarding the boundaries of this side of my kingdom, and which he has often ill taken care of, and especially now, that charter, I say, he shall without any opposition resign to me, with, at the same time, a quit claim for the aforesaid annual income". To this the count of Brittany, smiling and grinning, whispered in the king's ear, "I advise you to retain the castles and the revenue and henceforth to
A.D. 1242] COUNT DE LA MARCHE AGREES TO THE TERMS. 425
hold the charge of the march yourself". He then went away, and, taking the hand of the bishop, said, "It is completed"; the bishop then asked, "What is completed"? to which he replied, "The business for which we came". The bishop then said, "Do you see to it, for I have not heard your secret whisperings".
The count de la Marche agrees to the terms, although hard ones.
When these conditions and obligations for obtaining the French king's favours were made known by the said count of Brittany to the count de la Marche, he was deeply grieved, and for a long time refused to agree to them; but finally, by the advice of the said count of Brittany, and other secret friends of his, in whom he had confidence, he, although not without bitterness of heart, agreed to them, to prevent anything worse from happening to him. He therefore left his son, the king of England, whose money he had now in a great measure exhausted, and fled to the French army; and throwing himself on his knees before the king, he obtained his favour, which he did not deserve. He was then at once sent with the same count of Brittany to make war on the count of Toulouse, who, being united to the king of England by the ties of blood, as well as a sworn ally, still continued the war against the French king. Owing to this, the count of Toulouse from that time employed himself in looking to his own defence, and was unable to assist the king of England, to whom he had promised effective assistance on the receipt of money beforehand. In the same way the king of England could not obtain assistance from the king of Arragon, owing to the roads being stopped against him, nor from any one else in whom he had placed his confidence. At the same time the count of Toulouse came privately to the king of England, and, after making excuses for himself, said, "Do not despair, my lord king and cousin; do not despair, most potent prince, of being able to repel the French king, since you may remember that I alone, with the pope's assistance, repulsed him; and I, as soon as I have driven out of my territories these traitors to you, who are now overrunning them, will hasten with all speed, to your assistance"; and after a little further conversation, the said count went away loaded with presents.
426 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
The cause of the king's losing Saintonge.
Whilst the count de la Marche was carrying his before-mentioned treacherous plans into effect without the knowledge of the king of England, the latter was staying for some days at Saintonge (which by right of old was known to be the special property and residence of the king of England), and afterwards, without consulting the citizens, and even against their wish, he gave that city, and confirmed his gift by charter, to Hugh Brun, son of the count de la Marche, and a younger brother of his own. The citizens hated this said Hugh, as being a proud and evil-disposed man, and who often had threatened to oppress them; and, in consequence of this gift, the citizens could no longer look with a favourable eye on the king of England, nor approve of his behaviour and actions.
The English king's flight to Blaye.
As the laborious month of August drew near, whilst the king of England, thinking he had a safe and sure place of refuge at Saintonge, was purposing to stay there a few days for the sake of gaining breathing-time, a French knight, one of those who had been liberated in the Holy Land by Earl Richard, and who was privy to the plans of the French king, sent word secretly and hastily to the said earl, that the French king had devised and determined on a secret plan, suddenly to surround the king of England in the city of Saintonge, with intrenchments from all parts, and to besiege him there; that, as soon as he had collected his forces, such as France is known to be able to produce, he would continue the siege, and never leave it till he had made prisoners of all the English there, together with their king, and carried them bound prisoners to Paris. The same messenger also added hastily and nearly breathless, that the count de la Marche had been converted, or rather averted, and, from being a friend, had become the greatest enemy of the king of England,- from a false father becoming a stepfather,- and that he could not hope for anything else from the other nobles of Poictou. Scarcely had he ceased speaking, when another messenger came to the king, sent by his younger brother, the aforesaid H., and Guy de Lusignan his elder brother, declaring that if
A.D. 1242.} FLIGHT OF THE ENGLISH KING. 427
the English remained in the town that night, they would either be all taken prisoners, with their king and the citizens, or would be blockaded till they were taken. This took place on the morrow of St. Pantaleon's day, when the king had come from the Pons through Archiac thence to Herbizi, and had come to Saintonge, his home as it were. But when they were about to take up their quarters, and the agents in advance, and the proctors and marshals had all prepared their breakfasts, and the king himself was on the point of taking breakfast, the second messenger arrived corroborating the evidence of the first, thereby leaving no room for doubt in the matter; on which the king at once left the city, giving orders for it to be burnt; for, as he had heard from the before-mentioned messenger, the citizens had arranged terms of peace with the French king, and treacherously revealed all his secret plans to that monarch. King Henry, then, did not spare the spur, or the sides of his horse, but fled without stopping to the city of Blaye, hungry and fasting as he was, and troubling little as to who of his troops followed him. His nobles, when they became aware of his flight, suddenly left their half-cooked food, and, mounting swift horses, followed their king in haste, and begged refuge for themselves with him at the city of Blaye. A numerous host of English followed their track on foot, in the greatest necessity, and, failing from hunger and weakness, they lost such a number of sickly men and laden horses, waggons, and carts, that tears of compassion rose to the eyes of all who saw their condition, for it was a journey of twenty miles according to the computation of that country, but about forty, or nearer fifty, according to English reckoning; and if they had not sustained themselves on the journey by eating fir-apples and berries, their strength would have entirely failed them. The French king in the mean time arrived at Saintonge, where he was received with respect by the clergy and citizens, and without any difficulty regained his authority over that noble city. After a disgraceful and destructive flight, the harassed and scarcely-breathing English reached the city of Blaye, and the king, after staying there a few days to rest and restore his strength (for he had not eaten a meal or slept for two days and two nights), determined to leave that place also, to seek a safer place of refuge; he therefore held counsel
428 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
with his nobles, and then determined to set forward to Bordeaux. In this flight the king of England lost his chaplet, that is, all his most costly sacerdotal ornaments, besides reliques, and many other things too numerous to mention. During his flight towards Blaye, the French king hotly pursued him till he arrived at a place called Cartelegue, where he was obliged to halt through illness.
The city of Pons surrendered to the French king.
Reginald de Pons, on hearing this news, flew at once to the wings of the French king, and by the intervention of friends sought for peace, which he with some difficulty obtained, and surrendered himself and city to the French king's authority.
The French king garrisons the city of Pons and some castles.
The city of Pons being thus brought to subjection, as well as some other castles around it, the French king at once expelled the Poictevins, and established some of his faithful French therein.
Archbishop William deserts to the French king.
When these events came to the knowledge of the so-called Archbishop William, he also determined to act in a similar way, but determined first to fatten himself on the property of the king of England. He therefore deceitfully sent a peaceful and consolatory message to the said king, declaring and calling the Divine judgment to witness, that, although all the Poictevins should bend and basely backslide from him, he, the archbishop, would never, as long as the breath of life palpitated in his bosom, abandon the king of England, who had bestowed such wealth on him, and flee to the French, whose intolerable pride, after they gained power, trampled on all subject to them, as if they were the mud of the streets. He therefore begged of the king of England, as his natural lord, from whom he could not separate himself, without delay to send some valorous knights, equipped with all necessaries, to defend his city of Parthenaye, and with money to fortify it. To these soft and honeyed speeches the king gave a too willing ear, and acted according to his request: but on the arrival of the knights sent to assist him by the king of England, he drove them away by force from the city, but retained to himself the
A.D. 1242.] FIDELITY OF HERTOLD. 429
money which had been sent to pay the troops. He, then, with all his dependants and the citizens, flew to the wings of the French king, to make peace; but the French, however, taunted and reproached him, tore out his tongue, and pointing at him with the finger, reproached him for his conduct, and denounced him as a traitor, and as a man branded with the mark of Cain.
The sheriff of Thouars turns from the English king.
The sheriff of Thouars, too, on becoming acquainted with the state of matters, a man on whom the king of England had heaped great and numerous benefits, and whose advancement he had promoted in many ways, after he found his packsaddles well filled with good sterling money, thought in return of betraying him; and by the intervention of friends he made his peace with the French king; his city was restored to him, together with the adjacent towns, and he joined the French army; thus plainly showing what confidence ought to be placed in the faith of the Poictevins.
The whole of Poictou turns to the French king.
The citizens and guardians of the towns, then, seeing that those of higher rank than themselves had turned, and that the king of England, who ought to have protected them, had fled, as a sailor abandons a sinking ship, vied with one another in flying to the well-known rule of the French king; and all their fellow-provincials, too, at once gave themselves and their property up to him.
The fidelity of Hertold, chatelaine of the castle of Mirebeau.
When these and similar events were wafted by fame through the regions of Poictou, one Hertold, the faithful guardian of the impregnable castle of Mirebeau, affected with deep sorrow, and feeling well assured that, when deprived of the assistance of the king of England, he could not, however he wished to do so, resist the attacks of the French, said to his companions in arms,- "My friends, and true companions, all this district of ours is, alas, exposed to ruin and destruction! What must be done? Our people are disagreeing among themselves, and being divided, are in a state of confusion. We shall be reduced to servitude to our enemies". At length, after much lamentation, he
430 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
determined to goto the king of England, his natural lord, to consult with him on the matter; and when he came to him, he, with tears bedewing his cheeks, and sighs interrupting his speech, said,- "My lord king, your majesty sees that fortune opposes us in all things, and I - wretched man that I am - what am I to do? Can you not assist me in such imminent peril, and repel the besiegers by force, if I should perchance be besieged? Shall I be involved, like my neighbours in the common calamity, and at last be compelled to endure the French yoke, which my predecessors have hitherto always repelled and thrown off"? To this the king dejectedly replied,- "You see, Hertold, my strength, which is scarcely sufficient to effect my own escape. Our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, was betrayed by his disciple Judas; and who can, therefore, expect to be safe? The count de la Marche, whom I considered and loved as a father, has left a pernicious example to you all. I trusted to a reed as my staff, and its fragments have wounded me. You alone have acted in a praiseworthy manner, in having consulted me in these matters. Whatever you possess in my name and title, I freely grant to you, as a gift from me. Do, therefore, whatever appears most expedient in your own right". Hertold then left the king of England's presence in sorrow, and went at once, with hair disordered and eyes red with weeping to the French king, whom he addressed as follows,- "My lord king, an angry God has heaped such great evils on me, that I am obliged, although unwilling, to fly to your mercy and protection for refuge. I am left to myself, and, therefore, fly to your majesty; receive, then, my castles - and at the same time, accept of my service". To this the French king replied, with a calm look,- "My friend, it is well known to me that you have been to the king of England, and what you said to him. You alone have acted with fidelity; I willingly undertake the protection of you and yours; of such as you I approve; to such, the bosom of compassion ought ever to be open". Hertold, therefore, resigned the noble castle of Mirebeau into the hands of the French king, together with all its appurtenances; but that monarch at once, after having received his oath of fealty, gave him the charge of it again; and then forthwith all that part of the country,
A.D. 1242.] A PLAGUE AMONGST THE FRENCH. 431
except Montauban and a few other places, surrendered to the French king's authority.
The queen of England delivered of a daughter at Bordeaux.
The king of England remained at Blaye till the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, when his queen, who was staying at Bordeaux, was confined,- having his tents pitched in the pleasant fields near that city,- ready at once to fly towards Bordeaux if he should learn by his spies that the French king approached Blaye. On the day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, his wife, Queen Eleanor, gave birth, as before stated, to a daughter, at Bordeaux, who received the name of Beatrice, from the mother of the queen.
How the countess of Biarne came to the king of England at Blaye.
At the same time, the countess of Biarne, of singularly immense size, came to the king, with her son Gaston, and attended by sixty knights. This she was induced to do by her desire to obtain some of the money with which she knew the king of England to abound. After having entered into an agreement for pay, she stayed with the king, receiving from him the daily sum of thirty pounds sterling; but rather was prejudicial to him; and in the end failed him altogether; or rather, betrayed and impoverished him.
A plague breaks out amongst the French.
The French king, in the mean time, seeing that the war prospered in his hands, held a council with his nobles, and determined, as he knew that the king of England was deprived of the assistance of the Poictevins, and was now sinking into a hopeless state, to follow him up with hostilities to Blaye, and thence to Bordeaux, if he should retreat there; and thus, with unwearied diligence, to bring the war to a conclusion. The Lord, however, "who gives salvation to kings at will", having compassion on the king and kingdom of the English, disturbed the hearts of the intolerably proud French, by exciting schism and dissension among them. Moreover, their army, which was very numerous, laboured under a dearth of provisions, so that hunger and thirst prevailed over them, and the people, pining away in sickness, and afflicted by various sufferings, breathed forth their feeble
432 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
lives. For the inhabitants of the country had stopped up the mouths of the wells, had poisoned and disturbed the rivers and springs, ploughed up the meadows, and had removed the corn; in consequence of which, the horses perished for want of water; and in the dog-days, which were then at their height, men took to their beds ill, and, being unable to obtain rest and medicine, soon died. Of their army, eighty nobles who carried standards died, and of the foot-soldiers, about twenty thousand fell victims. The king himself was at this time also taken seriously ill, and great fear and despair fell upon all the French, for they feared that they should lose their king by the hands of death, who spares no one, in the same way as they had suddenly lost his father Louis, at Avignon; for he was an effeminate and delicate young man. By the same disease, also, many brave and incomparable knights died; amongst whom were Robert Malet, a Norman, a man worthy of distinguished praise, and Richard Beaumont, a man of noble birth, and distinguished amongst the French for noble deeds, and one whom Earl Richard had liberated in the Holy Land. The French king was therefore compelled by adverse circumstances to agree to a truce for five years, which was demanded by the king of England, and to return into France to his accustomed climate, the truce being willingly, nay, joyfolly, granted to him.
The French king being taken ill makes a truce with the king of England, and returns to France.
The French king, therefore, on a sudden changed his plans, and returned into France, in order to gain breathing-time, both because the king of England was preparing to remove to a distant part of the country, and it would be difficult to pursue him into his own territories, and also because the inclement season of winter was close at hand. Taking his way, then, by the city of Saintonge, which he had regained possession of, he ordered it to be fortified, for the advantage of the French kingdom, with new walls and outworks, and the old ones to be repaired: he gave the same orders with regard to other cities, and received the oath of fidelity, and hostages, from those in charge of them, and the castles he garrisoned with French chatelaines, and those who were
A.D. 1242.] DEDICATION OF THE CHURCH AT WALTHAM. 433
faithful to him. The king of England, in the mean time, retired, without any purpose in view, into Gascony, where he passed his days in idleness with his queen, whilst the Gascons with the [countess de] Biard showed little mercy to his money. In the octaves of St. Matthew the apostle, the French king arrived in France, and soon recovered from his illness; many of the nobles, however, who had imbibed the seeds of the disorder in the Poictevin provinces, were seized with illness after they had returned to France, and after prolonged suffering, went the way of all flesh.
The French king asks for pecuniary assistance from the ecclesiastics.
The French king shortly after convoked the ordained prelates of the French kingdom at Paris; namely, archbishops, bishops, abbats, priors of the Black, Cistercian, and Praemonstrate orders, and the proctors of cathedral chapters, and demanded pecuniary assistance from them; and that no reasonable grounds for his being refused might appear, he gave as a reason that he wished to attack the heretic Albigenses. For he accused the count of Toulouse of the old crime of heresy; as a proof of which he stated, that the said count had lately basely slain some of the Preacher brethren. The prelates, therefore, knowing that they were deprived of the government of the pope, although they were not bound by right, at the command of any secular person, to contribute anything so as to oppress the Church, yet, considering that the times were bad, and that, where there is a number included in the danger, some relaxation must be allowed to strict rules, unanimously compromised the matter by granting the twentieth part of their revenues for that year, to be paid at a short period.
The dedication of the church at Waltham.
On the morrow of Michaelmas-day in this year a conventual church belonging to the canons of Waltham was solemnly dedicated by William, bishop of Norwich, assisted by several other venerable bishops, prelates, and nobles. This took place immediately after the dedication of St. Paul's church at London, in order that pilgrims might pass and repass from one to the other without more delay.
434 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
Exaction of a scutage by the king of England.
Aboat this same time, the king of England caused a scutage to be extorted throughout England.
In this year, Adam, abbat of Waredon, was confirmed bishop of Connor, a see in Ireland subject to the metropolitan diocese of the archbishop of Armagh.
Some of the nobles of England ask leave to return home.
About the same time, Earl Bigod, Earl Roger of Winchester, and several other nobles, came to the king, and complained severely to him that he had unadvisedly dragged them from their own homes into the remote provinces of those who were traitors to him, without affording them any comfort or assistance; wherefore, when the French king with his army retired to the interior of France, to recruit their strength, they also asked leave to depart and return to England for a similar purpose. The English king asked them, "Is the road safe"? to which they replied, "We will ask". They then asked a free transit through France from the French king, which he granted them, saying, "Let them depart free, and proceed without hindrance through my territory, I hope never to return". Being blamed for this by his nobles, he said, "I wish all my enemies to travel to a distance from me, never to return". The English therefore, took their way in peace through France,- not, however, without incurring the derision of the inhabitants,- and returned to England. It happened about the same time, that one of the English nobles, named William de Roos, who came from the northern parts of England, had not the means of staying any longer with the king on the continent, whereupon the king precipitately ordered him to be disseised of his lands, although without the judgment of his peers. This appeared to all to be an unjust and tyrannical action; for as the said William de Roos was a poor man, he said to the king, "Accept my lands under the name of a pledge, and grant me the means of serving you properly as a knight, and then I will stay". Earl Richard, hearing of these and other similar proceedings, severely reproached his brother, and a dispute arising between them in consequence, he left his brother in bitterness of spirit, and, determining to return
A.D. 1242.] A STORM AND DELUGES OF RAIN. 435
home, he summoned some of the nobles, and made preparations for sailing.
The king then, with sudden and ill-advised haste, burst out into angry threats against the earl, who, in order to conceal the self-willed violence of his brother, dissembled his feelings and stayed by him. But when he saw that he acted in direct opposition to the advice of his own people, he, in company with William, earl marshal, the earl of Hertford, and many other nobles, left the king, who had entirely resigned himself to the will of the people of Bordeaux and the Gascons, and despised the advice of his natural subjects; and taking ship at once, returned home. The king, however, indulging himself in retirement with his queen Eleanor, who had brought him a daughter, prolonged his stay at Bordeaux in idleness, and wasted his money in all kinds of useless ways.
The dangers encountered by Earl R. and his companions at sea.
On the feast of St. Luke, the aforesaid nobles set sail, and after enduring many dangers and much trouble on the voyage, arrived with much difficulty at Cornwall. Earl Richard, after making a vow to visit a certain abbey for the preservation of his soul, was with much difficulty saved from the jaws of death, and landed on an island near Cornwall; the other ships, which had left the French coast at the same time as Earl Richard's ship, were dispersed by the violence of the tempest, and carried to other shores.
A storm and deluges of rain.
On the feast of St. Edmund, in the same year, distinct thunder attended by lightning, a sad presage of the approach of a lengthened tempest, alarmed the hearts and ears of mortals; nor was the warning false, for it was followed by continued unseasonable weather, and by an unpleasant and disturbed state of the air, which continued for several days. Such deluges of rain fell, that the river Thames, overflowing its usual bounds and its ancient banks, spread itself over the country towards Lambeth, for six miles, and took possession, far and wide, of the houses and fields in that part. Owing to the inundation of the water, people rode into the great hall at Westminster on horseback.
436 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
Provisions sent from England to the king.
About the same time, the king sent word to the archbishop of York, the guardian of the kingdom, ordering the corn grown in the archbishopric of Canterbury, and on other manors and bishoprics then vacant, to be sent to him at Bordeaux, without delay, together with bacon and salt, and other necessary provisions for winter, as well as cloth for making clothes. Consequently, ten thousand measures of corn, five thousand of oats, and as many bacons were sent, and not unaccompanied by a large sum of money, as though England were an inexhaustible well.
An improper order of the king of England.
The king also sent strict orders to the said archbishop to confiscate the lands and possessions of those, as being traitors to him, who had abandoned him on the continent, and left him exposed, as it were undefended to chance events, especially the possessions of William de Roos, and some other nobles belonging to the northern parts of England, who, in consequence of this order, afterwards incurred great loss. The archbishop, however, being a wise and considerate man, knew that they were not to be blamed, if they had, on the king's making a truce, left him for a time, owing to poverty overtaking them, or for the sake of recruiting their health, and would not, at this tyrannical order, compromise the gravity of his character for such a word of no import, but preferred to let it pass over in silence. Especially as the king had been reluctant to assent to the wise counsels either of Earl Richard, his brother, and of others of his trusty subjects,- viz., that it would be better for him to return to his own kingdom,- but chose rather the soft speeches of the Gascons, and to remain at Bordeaux with his queen, amid the derision and railleries of the French, much to his own disadvantage. But Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, Earl William of Salisbury, and many other English nobles, remained with the king, not without great loss and injury to themselves, getting heavily into debt, enduring all sorts of hardships, and lazily and shamefully sleeping away their time.
A.D. 1242.] TESTAMENTS OF THB TWELVE PATRIARCHS. 437
The contempt and infamy of the king of England increases.
Meanwhile, the king brought upon himself an indelible stigma, because, having rejected the advice of his natural councillors, he had frequently, and in a most friendly manner, yielded to the wishes of the count of Thoulouse, and also of the king of Arragon, friends as fragile as reeds, who in the time of need did him no good, but rather opposed him; one of whom was a heretic, and the other stained with the disgrace of unkept and broken treaties. They even attempted to sow the seeds of discord between the king and his liege subjects; especially Earl Simon de Montfort, on account of the former hatred against his father, who formerly severely defeated the king of Arragon and the Albigenses. And not now, as formerly, did the Gascons either cherish or extol the king of England. Which, when they told it to the king of France, in order that he might rejoice at it, he said:- "Be still; be still! Do not mock him, or try to make me hate him, because you do so. His charities and masses will save him from all dangers and calumnies". A like opinion, also, I have heard that Llewellyn, prince of North Wales, who was his enemy, has expressed of him.
Death of Richard de Burgh.
About the same time, died a noble man, Richard de Burgh, having many lands and possessions in Ireland, which he inherited from the conquest of his illustrious father.
Death of Hugh de Lacey.
And in the same year, Hugh de Lacey departed this life, a warrior of great renown, and an illustrious governor of a great part of Ireland.
Robert, bishop of Lincoln, translates the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.
Also, in this time, Robert, bishop of Lincoln, a man most skilled in Latin and Greek, translated accurately the Testaments of the twelve patriarchs from the Greek into Latin; which for many years had been unknown and concealed, through the jealousy of the Jews, because of the prophecies concerning our Saviour therein contained. But
438 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1242.
the Greeks, the most indefatigable investigators of all writings, being the first who learnt about this, translated it from Hebrew into Greek, and kept it to themselves until our own time. Nor in the time of St. Jerome, or of any other holy interpreter, could it in any way whatever come to the knowledge of the Christians, on account of the scheming malice of the Jews. Therefore, the above-named bishop, assisted by Master Nicolas, a Greek, and clerk of the abbey of St Albans, translated clearly, evidently, and word for word, into Latin, that glorious treatise, to the strengthening of the Christian faith, and to the greater confusion of the Jews.
Death of the abbat of Evesham.
About the same period, having taken not a little substance from England, and having spent many and laborious days in the service of the king, the abbat of Evesham, bishop of Coventry, finished his days in Gascony, in the state called Regula, or La Reole, on the 8th of December; and the bishop of that state honourably buried him.
Death of the bishop of Bath.
In the same year, also, on the 29th of November, Jocelin, bishop of Bath, died full of years, and distinguished for his laudable life and manners.
The king of England's treasury is exhausted, and he wants money.
Also, about this time, the king of England, deluded on every side, or rather defrauded, by the Poictevins and Gascons, fell into very great poverty and ignominy, because the scutage extorted, and all treasures and gifts collected for him, having been uselessly squandered - moreover, having had recourse to extortions, taxations, and other devices: when he had lost his lands and honours in Poictou, he in Gascony now finds himself heavily in debt, although in the said scutage he extorted, not without great trouble to the English, three marks, or, as others say, twenty shillings.
He seeks aid from the Cistercians.
At that time, it was formally demanded and amicably supplicated of the archbishop of York, by the king of England, that he, the archbishop, should convoke all the English
A.D. 1242.] THE CISTERCIANS' REPLIES. 439
abbats of the Cistercian order to an assembly, by the authority of the king, and should meet them with fair words, anxiously entreating, on the part of the same lord and king - who was fighting in foreign parts for the promotion of the welfare of the kingdom, and even exposing his own person to the chances of a doubtful war - that they should render him efficacious service by advancing money, and so render him good and valid help. To whom, they, assembled in one meeting, replied:- "How much, my lord"? The archbishop gave answer,- "A little". And when the Cistercians asked again,- "How little"? The archbishop said,- "As much as you could get for your wool of one year". Which was equivalent to saying,-
Da mihi animas, caetera tolle tibi.
[Your lives are all that I demand,
The rest I leave in your own hand.]
For who could suffer the want of the necessaries of life for a few days, and be destitute of the necessary requirements of life, without yielding up his breath? But it was the word of the king in the mouth of the archbishop.
The Cistercians' replies.
But those Cistercians, perceiving that snares were prepared for them, and that a loss was impending, prudently replied as follows:- "My lord archbishop, your grace's judgment is aware that we are all the members of one body, and that we cannot grant what you ask on the part of our lord the king without the permission of our general chapter. Moreover, supposing that our general chapter should now be convened, we know, and your judgment is considered to know, that we are not permitted to assist anybody in carrying on war, in which blood is spilled, especially Christian blood, lest, in so assisting, we depart from the rules of our order, which has a great horror of blood. But we will willingly help our lord and patron in efficacious and indefatigable prayers, charities, and other works of piety. And it is undoubtedly to be believed that he will thus prevail better and more certainly, and triumphing more gloriously, he will perceive that celestial aid will further his cause if he continues as he now is, steadfast in his faith". To whom the archbishop, in an
440 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
irritable manner, and with averted countenance, responded, saying, "With what face will you ask anything of the king in your necessities, who answer in such a shuffling way to his entreaty in this important crisis"? One of the Cistercian abbats said: "My lord, we remember that when he was crowned king, he swore he would show justice to everybody. We do not ask of him anything out of the common way, neither can he, nor ought he, to deny us what he has sworn to grant to all. Let him govern us with a just moderation, without afflicting us with any unlawful grievance. But if, for the welfare of his soul, or the souls of his predecessors, and the good of his kingdom, he should confer any special benefit upon us, we would gratefully open our bosoms to receive it".
The Cistercian abbats do not cross the sea to the general chapters.
Also in that year, the abbats of the Cistercian order were not allowed to cross the seas, nor did they themselves wish to do so, for they dreaded greatly lest some snares were laid for them by the king's satellites on the sea, as though without the king's knowledge, because, as above stated, they refused him their year's wool. They therefore courteously excused themselves by their proxies, lest they should seem to have been the causes.
State of the air for the whole year.
Thus this year passed away, having afforded an abundance of fruits and vegetables, notwithstanding it was arid and hot, and towards the end, generating epidemics and quartan agues.
The king of England wastes his time at Bordeaux.
In the year of grace 1243, which is the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Henry, the same king was passing the winter at Bordeaux, and wantonly staying there. The countess of Biard, together with her son Gaston and the Gascons, extorted money daily, besides a stipend, by no means trifling, from the king himself, who was completely in their power.
The monastery of Verines is besieged.
Whilst time thus wore on, that they might not be wholly inactive, the towns of certain rebel Gascons within the
A.D. 1243.] THE KING COMPLAINS OF HIS POVERTY. 441
territories of Bordeaux, were reduced by force to subjection by those who remained faithful to the king. There is a certain monastery called Verines, where the king's rebels took refuge, and made the church into a castle, or rather into a robber's cave. This fortress was hotly besieged and attacked by the king's faithful servants, but without success, when one of the king's clerks and special councillors, named John Mansel, a man brave in arms and of undaunted spirit, reproached the assailants with their slothfulness and loss of time; and just as he was setting an example to the others by more effectually rising up against the enemies, and wishing to prepare a road, one of the besieged, situated in a higher part of the church, shot on the said clerk a stone of great weight, and crushed his leg with the joints and marrow in his bones. And while the same man was preparing to overwhelm the rest of his body with stones, his friends, who were most sincerely attached to him, covered him with their own bodies and large shields, called targets, and thus with difficulty freed him from the peril of death. And the same John, severely wounded in body, was for a long time languishing and weak. But when, by the skill of the surgeons, he was restored, and began to breathe, the king, seeing his great valour and loyalty, from being a special councillor, made the said John a more special councillor still, as, from his well-proved merits, he deserved to be ranked among the highest in England.
The monks of Coventry elect their precentor for their bishop.
About the same time, the monks of Coventry having heard a sure account of the death of the abbat of Evesham, who, by the king's means had been made bishop, of Chester, elect and uphold, with the unanimous consent of some of the canons of Lichfield, for their bishop, their own precentor, William of Montpellier. But the king, who intended to place some one else in that see, accepted neither the election nor the bishop, and some of the canons of Lichfield siding with the king, there arose on both sides a wearisome and peevish dispute.
The king of England complains of his poverty.
About the same time, as the month of March was coming on, letters from the king of England, from foreign parts,
442 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
came to the archbishop of York (who exercised in the kingdom of England the functions of chief governor), containing miserable plaints, because no ship had come to him bringing military help or pecuniary aid since the arrival of the abbat of Evesham, who, tossed by the ragings of the waves, and languishing for some days, had left this world. But the archbishop was greatly astonished at this, as he had sent him money and a large quantity of provisions. Wherefore, he firmly believed and feared that the avenging anger of the Creator had destroyed them all by sinking them into the depths of the sea. He therefore prepared fresh provisions to be sent to the king, with money, which was now a very little sum.
The guardians of the Cinque Ports seek assistance from the archbishop of York.
The guardians of the Cinque Ports also came to the archbishop of York complaining greatly, that they had now been repulsed three times, not without irreparable loss of men, vessels, and other things, by the people of the opposite shores, chiefly those of Calais, who attacked for the sake of plunder. They, moreover, truly asserted that neither they themselves, nor even the whole of the English fleet, could withstand the fleet prepared by this enemy. And they added, "Let the council of the king provide against the hidden treacheries and the open irruptions which are and which will be prepared against themselves, and against us, and which are threatening to become every time more fearful and more stubborn. For the count of Brittany, with all the vessels of Brittany and Poictou, well prepared with men and arms, attacked in a hostile manner all going from our side and from us to the king, and also those journeying from the king to us. Wherefore, destitute of all help from the king, as well pecuniary as military, we have fled for the aid of your advice, ourselves being incompetent to form an opinion. Moreover, to crown our troubles, the inhabitants of the confines of Normandy, those who guard the more distant shores, together with the pirates of Wissant and Calais, will scarcely let us, even to a small extent, look after our fishing. Pirates, also, guarding the deep sea in galleys, do not even permit travellers to return to their own country. Also the king of England is
A.D. 1243.] THE LEGATES AND PRELATES SET AT LIBERTY. 443
now shut up in Bordeaux, as in a prison, unless by your prudence you can provide us with a large naval expedition, and plenty of money".
When these things came to the ears of the archbishop, he, now, hardly daring to send to the king the laden ships, which were got ready, formally represented to the king, that as he valued himself and his possessions, he must hasten to correct the errors into which he had fallen, and having wisely burst away from the snares in which he had so traitorously been held entrapped, quicken his return home to England. And he said jokingly to the king, by way of apostrophe:-
In terris galeas, in aquis formido galeias:
Inter eas et eas; consulo cautus eas.
[Arms on the land, and ships by sea, we fear;
Between the two, you should with caution steer.]
The election of a pope is impeded by the dissensions of the cardinals, and the papal chair remains vacant.
Also, at that very time, the emperor Frederick signified his wish to the cardinals, who were in different places, and of different opinions, that they should meet together and unanimously elect a pope. And he assured them that for this, their fault, he had himself suffered no small stigma. For it was believed and asserted by many who were ignorant of the truth of the affair, that he himself was the chief hinderance to the welfare of the Church of Rome, and was the cause of the apostolic chair remaining empty. But the cardinals, who did not find the smallest spark of charity, not even a little flame under the cinders, through the machinations of Satan, the old enemy of the human race, were neither unanimous in their desires, nor willing to assemble for the purpose of electing a Roman pontiff. However, they instantly prayed their lord, the emperor Frederick, that if he wished to be considered as an upholder of the peace and liberty of the Church, to permit the prelates of the Church, whom as yet he held incarcerated, to depart free, under the most sure hope of a happy peace.
The emperor Frederick sets the legates and captive prelates at liberty.
The emperor, therefore, placing implicit confidence in the words of the cardinals, and as firmly believing that a pope
444 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
would be elected as that the cardinals would insure a fit and honourable peace between the empire and the popedom, freely permitted all those prelates and legates, whom he held prisoners, to depart free, without any hinderance or ransom.
The cardinals still cannot agree in the election of a pope.
But the cardinals, still obstinate, and remaining in dissension and mutual hatred, and, as it were, cajoling the emperor, Satan sowing discord among them, were still unwilling to meet together, and with one voice invoke and pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit, and provide happily and properly for the Church universal, and the papal chair: although when lately liberated from the emperor's prison, they promised the emperor, their liberator, that by a strict investigation of the truth, and by the word of truth, which is God, they would, to the best of their ability, procure a peace for the Church, suitable to the empire, and a dignitary for the papal seat.
The emperor gives up to his soldiers the cardinals' possessions.
When the emperor Frederick found that their promises were void of effect, and that he had been deceived in his hopes, he fell into a violent passion; and having assembled a large army, composed of nine bodies, each body containing five thousand cavalry, he besieged the greater part of Rome, to punish those citizens as well as cardinals who appeared to be the authors and furtherers of this schism so destructive to the Church and empire.
But the citizens on whose account the emperor had determined to attack the city, legally excused themselves, sufficiently proving their innocence; and they asserted that the cardinals were no more divided in spirit than in body, and were dispersed and concealed in different towns. Whereupon the emperor ordered the siege to be raised, and this imperial edict to be proclaimed and commanded throughout all the army:- "That all the possessions and churches of cardinals and estates pertaining to the Church should be given up to be despoiled by the army".
The cardinals, in fear, meet together to elect a pope.
Then certain Saracens, and other robbers and evil-doers, who were at this time fighting in the pay of the emperor,
A.D. 1243.] A TRUCE IS AGREED TO. 445
making a dash at the famous city of Albano, savagely devastated it, so that out of the hundred and fifty churches, not one was left, much less spared; carrying away robes, chalices, and books; in fact, whatever appeared valuable, or that would in any way profit, after having pillaged and miserably exterminated the citizens. And when the army was ready to lay waste with similar fury the other possessions of the Church, the cardinals sent to their lord the emperor, humbly praying him to spare his anger, and order his despoilers to stop, that they might at once, according to his precept and wish, having God before their eyes, forthwith choose a Roman pontiff fitting to the Church and the empire. The emperor was thereupon appeased, and he with an imperial edict stopped the ravages of his devastators.
Money is extorted from the citizens of London.
About the same time, the citizens of London were aggrieved by a very heavy impost called a tallage, under this form:- The collectors and royal officers came to such and such a citizen, saying, "You must lend such and such a sum of money to our lord the king, who is fighting in foreign parts for the interests of the kingdom, till he returns home". And according to the will and valuation of these extortions, the citizens were deprived of their money. But all these things, and more, the citizens would have freely borne if they had thought it would do good, either to the king, or to the kingdom; but
Quum labor in damno est, crescit mortalis egestas.
[When labour doth cease,
Our wants do increase.]
A truce between the English and French kings.
On St. George's day, the truce which had been concluded and heretofore agreed on between the king of France and the king of England, was confirmed on both sides for five years, through the intervention of wise and discreet men, who were friends of both parties. Every conquest which the king of France had made in that expedition was to remain to him. Moreover, some towns were restored to the king of France's domination, which, after the king of France had retired from the county of Poictou, the king of England had
446 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
taken, with the assistance of the Gascons. To obtain liberally the rigorous observation of this treaty as well by land as by sea during the said time, the king of England engaged to pay faithfully to the king of France five thousand pounds sterling, namely, one thousand in each year. But the count of Brittany, a crafty and wily man, pretended to be ignorant of all these things, and after the manner of pirates vigilantly applied himself to plunder and rapine on the sea with his galleys and other vessels, unwilling to come to the shore, lest a royal mandate should restrain his wicked and mischievous expeditions. And among the other deeds which the said count of Brittany wickedly perpetrated, he captured and pillaged a very large merchant ship of Bayonne, laden with figs and almonds, and various spices, bound for and sailing towards England, near the time of Lent. Then the king of France, at the request of the king of England, restrained and checked the mischievous attacks of the said count, under a threat of disinheritance.
Death of Hugh d'Albinet, earl of Arundel.
On the 7th of May, in the same year, died Hugh d'Albinet, earl of Arundel, in the flower of his youth, having scarcely passed the bounds of juvenility. He was buried at Wymondham, in St. Mary's church, a priory appertaining to St. Albans, with his fathers, the patrons and founders of the said church. At his death, this noble inheritance was divided among his four sisters.
Death of Hubert de Burgh, earl of Kent.
At the same time, on the 12th of May, the earl of Kent, i.e., Hubert de Burgh, full of years, in the most praiseworthy manner ended his days at his manor of Banstead, after having sustained many arbitrary attacks and persecutions from the king, and many changes of fortune. His venerable body was carried with respect to London, to be interred in the house of the brothers of the Preachers, on whom in his lifetime he had bestowed many gifts, and among others, his noble palace, which is not very far distant from that of Earl Richard, at Westminster, and which afterwards the archbishop of York purchased.
A.D. 1243.] DISSENSIONS ARISE. 447
The king of England is desirous of returning home, but is prevented by a variety of circumstances.
About this time, our lord the king, seeing that fortune opposed him in everything, and now discovering that his faithful English followers had told him the truth, came to himself again, although rather late, and repented that he had not yielded to their salutary counsels. He therefore signified to the archbishop of York to prepare a fleet whence he could, and to send it to meet him, that, on his journey, he might the more effectually avoid the snares of his enemies, if by chance any such were prepared. For he should be about to return shortly to England. He also gave orders that all the English nobles should receive him with joy on the shore when he debarked. A very powerful fleet having been sent to meet him, the result of this order was to impoverish most miserably the English nobles, who were daily awaiting him on the shore at Portsmouth, not without incurring great expenses and suffering wearisomeness, for he delayed his return till the feast of St. Michael, as the queen was great either with child or some other infirmity. Moreover, the people of Bordeaux, in fact all the Gascons, finding that the king's delay was most profitable to them, were seeking every possible means to prevail upon the king to winter with them, and squander uselessly to himself, but profitably to them, what he would extort and had extorted from his kingdom. And it happened soon after, that when the king was about to leave Bordeaux, and had appointed Nicholas de Molis as a fit person to act as governor, whom they call seneschal, and had taken all precautions for the safety of the land, and had embarked, and was even ploughing the depths of the sea, sailing towards England, a furious quarrel having arisen among those Gascons, the king was hastily recalled by galleys sent after him, and compelled to return, that he might quell the great disturbance which had arisen. Thus his journey into England was impeded by many obstacles.
Dissension between the convent of Canterbury and the bishop of Lincoln.
In the course of these days, while, as has been said, the king was still abroad, a warm dispute arose between the
448 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
convent of Canterbury and the bishop of Lincoln, after this manner. A certain clerk importunately demanded of the abbat of Bardeney a certain debt, which was one of those contracted by the predecessor of the same abbat. And when a controversy arose upon this, the archdeacon of Lincoln, wishing to lower the would-be pontifical dignity of the said abbat and his convent, in which they had long rejoiced without molestation, said to the said clerk, when demanding the above-mentioned debt, "Lay complaint before me in a grave and proper form concerning this injury which you have sustained, and I, subduing those hitherto unsubdued monks, your adversaries, will restore all the debt to you, extorting it by force from them if necessary". He, therefore, following the advice of this caviller, made a heavy complaint against the abbat and monks publicly before the archdeacon, who cited the abbat to appear before him, even within his rights, to answer to the law on this head; which when the abbat perceived was against the law of the Church and against custom, he made a contradictory appeal. Then the archdeacon, finding himself lawfully opposed, cited the abbat to appear elsewhere. But the abbat said "No"; resting on his former appeal; for he knew that he was plotting against him, and was seeking nothing but a pretext for disturbing his liberty and rendering it null. Many former attempts, which this last confirmed, made him acquainted that such was the design of his enemy. He knew, moreover, that if this plaint were brought before the bishop (which the archdeacon was cunningly contriving to do), that the bishop would be favourable to the monks' subversion, as he was regarded as the general persecutor of religious recluses, and especially religious privileges which he could oppose. The archdeacon, therefore, seeking a cause for creating strife, and making a difficulty where none could be found, complained of this opposition to the bishop. The bishop then cited the abbat to answer these manifold offences. But the abbat, relying steadfastly upon his former appeal, refused to obey this citation, knowing that the bishop was easily provoked to anger, and, in this case, would show favour to his archdeacon. Whereupon the bishop, highly incensed and swelling with rage, more than was seemly, excommunicated the said abbat on the spot, as rebellious; which the abbat
A.D. 1243.] DISSENSIONS ARISE. 449
patiently suffered, that in the end he might not be punished for contempt. A few days after this, the bishop sent inspectors to Bardeney, seculars, more ready to insult the monks than to correct abuses, if any could be found. They, therefore, refused them admittance, because they came in the name of the bishop, their open enemy, and were evilly disposed; next, because they were seculars, and totally ignorant of monastic discipline; then because their abbat, who was their pastor and leader, and without whom they could take no measures, was enveloped in the chains of excommunication by the sentence of the said bishop. The inspectors thereupon becoming insulting, and even threatening, and having exposed themselves to violence by their provocations, the porters repulsed them, and, having shut the door, said, "We humbly beseech you to depart quickly, before many of the exasperated people about here make a rush upon you; although it would be against our will, we could not check their violence". They then departed making threats, and complained of these things to the bishop, exaggerating a great deal, and saying that the monks had men armed to rush upon them, and that the monks' servants cudgelled them,- thus impudently transgressing from the bounds of truth. The bishop, therefore, provoked to anger beyond measure, threatened to bring ruin and confusion upon the abbat and the convent, to the best of his power. The abbat, therefore, afflicted with grief, was thinking what could be done. Having been informed by inquiry that the convent of Canterbury had the privilege of receiving and hearing appeals during the vacancy of the papal seat, he had recourse to this remedy, and laid a severe complaint of the injuries he had sustained.
Whereupon the bishop, very indignant, having assembled at Hertford Adam, bishop of Connor, and some abbats of the Black order who were in his diocese, viz., those of Ramsey and Peterborough, there ignominiously deposed the said abbat of Bardeney, in his absence, and having nobody to answer for him, as though convicted and rebellious; pretending that the abbat had not regularly proceeded in his appeal, and had not commenced by complaining to him who was his bishop. He also made known to the convent of Bardeney, that they were not bound to obey him in anything, but
450 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
might regard him as set aside and deposed, as well as excommunicated. But when the convent of Canterbury was informed that the bishop of Lincoln had violated his privileges in such an outrageous manner, they convoked and assembled fifty priests of the said diocese, and in full convocation, numbering fifty monk-priests, or even more, the candles being lighted, and all the bells struck, solemnly excommunicated the said bishop of Lincoln as ungrateful and even rebellious towards the church of which he was evidently the suffragan. But when the bishop received the letters of this sentence, he contemptuously threw it on the ground, and stamped upon it, to the great astonishment of those who saw him, because the image of St. Thomas was stamped on the wax; and he was enraged to such a pitch, that he said to all his hearers, "I do not ask that the monks should pray otherwise for my soul to all eternity". And having loaded the messenger with abuse, he ordered him to be seized. And as his servants were reluctant and afraid to do this, on account of reverence for the priesthood (for he was a priest who was sent), he ordered the same priest to be turned out of the house, like a vile slave or even a robber, which greatly increased the surprise and astonishment of all those discreet and learned persons who were in the house; and even if there were no other cause, the said priest might reasonably have accused the bishop of laying violent hands on him; but the said bishop, paying little regard to the monks' sentence, and even deriding it, did not discontinue to exercise his priestly functions, to dedicate churches, and to proceed in his other pontifical duties, without thinking that, though the sentence might be unjust, yet, from his contempt of courts it might become formidable against him.
The French demand that a pope should be elected.
About the same time, the French sent formal messengers to the Roman senate, to intimate, in the most persuasive manner, their wish precisely and efficaciously that the cardinals, regularly electing a pope, should provide with deliberation for the Catholic Church the solace of a pastor, and that if they persevered in their negligence, they would, without delay, elect and provide a sovereign pontiff on this side of the mountains, whom they would be sworn to obey. And they
A.D. 1243.] THE POPE'S CHAIR VACANT. 451
stated this freely, relying on an ancient privilege, yielded and delivered to holy Denis by Saint Clement, who gave up the apostleship of the western people to him. Whereupon the cardinals, roused as it were by such stimulants, on one side by the lord the emperor, and on the other by the French, assembling together, came to Rome, there to hold a council and elect a pope.
Stars are seen to fall from heaven.
And in the same year, namely on the 26th of July, the night was most serene, and the atmosphere very pure, so that the Milky Way appeared as plainly as it is accustomed to do on the most placid winter night, the moon being eight days old. And behold, stars were seen to fall from heaven, swiftly darting to and fro. But, contrary to what usually happens, not little sparks shooting after the manner of stars (which is stated as a natural phenomenon in Aristotle's book on Meteors), like lightning, produced by thunder; but, in one instant, thirty or forty were seen to shoot about or fall, so that two or three at once appeared to fly in one train. Thus, if they were real stars (which no wise man can think), there would not have been one left in the heavens. Let astrologers declare what this kind of thing may portend, which appeared strange and miraculous to all beholders.
The papal power devolves upon the community of the cardinals during the vacancy of the pope's chair.
While time was thus circling on, because many doubted whether or not, during the vacancy of the papal seat, the power would devolve on the community of the cardinals or not, we have a more certain account of the matter from the following letter, which we deem right to insert in this work.
"By divine mercy, the cardinals of the holy Roman Church, Romanus, bishop of Ostia, and Velletri I., by the title of Saint Praxes; Sinibald, by the title of Saint Lawrence in Lucino; Stephen, by the title of Saint Mary beyond the Tiber, priests: Reynier, by the title of Saint Mary in Cosmedin; Giles, by the title of St. Cosmas and Saint Damian; Otho, by the title of St. Nicholas in the Tullian prison, deacons; to the holy man, the abbat of Waredon,- health in the Lord.- On the part of Master Peter, canon of the church of the chief of the apostles, rector of the
453 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
church of Mordon, son of James John Capot, a Roman citizen, it has been declared before us, that a long time since our lord the pope, Gregory of blessed memory, provoked by false suggestions, directed his letters to the bishop of Ely, stating that, to the said master or to another in his name, he should neither give any account of the revenues of the aforesaid church, nor permit an account to be given; but keeping that church in his own hands, should gather and enjoy its revenues, and dispose of both according to his good pleasure, and check all gainsayers by inflicting ecclesiastical censure upon them without appeal. The aforesaid pope decided that all letters should be nevertheless null and void, whether already obtained from the Apostolic See in the name of the aforesaid master, or hereafter to be obtained, so that no one should be called to account on the strength of them, nor any one sustain any proceedings on their authority. And if any process had been begun through them, that it should be null and void, unless they should make full mention of the aforesaid; the dean of York and the archdeacon of Richmond being deputed to perform all these things. But the same bishop, proceeding in the execution of this mandate, is said to have enjoined on you, by letter, that if the farm of the church aforesaid, or any part of it, should perchance lie in your hands, you should cause it to be deposited at Barnwell, in the custody of the prior and sacristan of the same place, and from thenceforward if no wise give account to the said master or other person in his name concerning the revenues of the aforesaid church, but cause them to be deposited there, that an account may be given of the same, according to such pleasure of the supreme pontiff. Wherefore, the aforesaid Master Peter hath humbly requested of us, that, seeing it is unworthy and contrary to all reason, that punishment should be inflicted on one who is wholly innocent of the charges laid against him, we should mercifully deign to make provision on his behalf in this matter. Now we, in whom the power resides, whilst the Apostolic See is vacant, wishing to show special favour to the aforesaid master for his probity, strictly command you, by the authority of these presents, to render full satisfaction to the same master or his proxy, or his messenger, concerning the farm of the aforesaid church, and take from him the powers of the aforesaid mandate, and cause full account to be given thenceforward, as you are
A.D. 1243.] THE EARL OF MARCH CHALLENGED TO A DUEL. 453
bound, notwithstanding the aforesaid letters or the proceedings begun thereon. Otherwise, that our mandate may not return to us null and void, be it known to you, that we have given letters to the prior of the Brethren Preachers of Norwich, and to Peter de Arche, canon of the church of St. Angelus of Ferentinum, to restrain you by ecclesiastical censure, to the above intent, if necessity shall so be. Given, etc., anno Domini MCCXLIII., the Apostolic See being vacant".
The earl of March is challenged to a duel.
At this time, also, the earl of March, finding fortune in every way adverse to him, being wholly abandoned by the king of England, whom he had wickedly deserted, and deservedly despised by the king of France, was publicly accused and challenged by a bold French knight, in presence of the French king and his brother Alphonso, count of Poitou; for which cause the said earl was detained, as if to be put in prison. Though the earl firmly denied the charge, the soldier aforesaid, immediately, in the French manner, handed him his glove, offering to prove it on his body before the court, at the pleasure of the king's court; demanding that justice should be done him in duel, according to the law of the French, approved of old, and now judicially sworn to by the French kings. The earl took the glove, as pledge of battle, promising to defend himself by fighting against the man who fixed such a charge upon him. When the eldest son of the earl of March, who was freed from the prison of the French king, heard of this, his passion was roused, and starting forward, he exclaimed: "If it so please you, I will fight for my father, to clear his innocence against any man in the world; for it would be cruel that a man of so great authority and age should fight a duel" But Alphonso, the count of Poitou, answered: "Not so; he shall fight for himself, and show himself plainly to be an old sinner, stained with manifold crimes". A day was then fixed on, and a place appointed for the fight, after which they departed. The countess, therefore, she who had once been queen of England, named Isabella, having received this mournful intelligence, and being conscious of so many misdeeds, took refuge in the convent of nuns at Fontevrault; and even there, in her secret cell, under the religious habit, she was scarcely safe, for many of the French, and of the Poitevins, pursued
454 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
her with inexorable hatred, saying that she ought to be called a wicked Jezebel, rather than Isabel, for having sowed the seeds of many crimes.
The same earl is saved from risk of death by his friends.
The report was now quickly circulated, that the earl of March was going to fight in single combat against a bold challenger, and either clear his character or be judicially punished; when it began to be whispered among the higher circles of the French, that, if he was vanquished in the duel, and put to death by the French law, his sons and relations would rise up to take vengeance for such cruelty, and form a conspiracy to slay the French king, either by poison or plot, or open assassination; or, at all events, that the late successful acquisitions in Poictou would be roused by such an excuse for renewing the war, and be incautiously lost as easily as they had been gained, under a weak and delicate king; and seeing that the Poitevins are held to be as fickle as a weathercock; the friend of both parties, therefore, grave and discreet men, did their utmost to interfere, and so brought it about, that the king and his brother's anger was appeased, due honour paid them, the law saved, and mercy shown. They satisfied the challenger, and by their discretion freed the earl of March from the chance of a disgraceful death. He accordingly gladly left the court, bound by stronger ties than ever to the French ascendancy.
The king of England stops his useless expenses.
But the king of England, though a little late, was now assured by manifest indications, and taught by experience, that he ought to avoid the cunning devices of the Poitevins; so thenceforward he sought to put into his own treasury the money which he had foolishly spent every year upon them. For he had annually given to those who laughed at him - nay, who laughed him to scorn - seven thousand pounds sterling, from the inexhaustible stores which England furnished; namely, five hundred to Reginald de Pons; the same to William, the archbishop; the same to the viscount de Thouars, and to many other nobles of Poitou, whose names are not worth mentioning, much more writing, to the amount of the aforesaid sum; besides the gifts he had bestowed on the count de la Marche (whom the king called his most dear
A.D. 1243.] THE KING RETURNS TO ENGLAND. 455
father), and who in the proportion that he surpassed all the other Poitevins, in the same proportion received larger presents; and to his wife, by reason of her maternity, the king was accustomed to make gifts as prodigious as they were prodigal. This was all the benefit the king got.
The king's return into England.
At that time also, namely about the feast of St. Remy, the king of England, having settled what was to be settled in Gascony, and having intrusted the government of the land to Nicholas de Molis, a very brave and prudent soldier, whom he created seneschal of Gascony, and taking ship, had a most pleasant voyage across the Channel, and returned into England; he landed at Portsmouth on the 25th of September. Whereupon he instantly intimated to the abbats and priors that they should procure horses, two-horse carriages, and outriders going before to announce him, with their necessary appurtenances, as he was altogether destitute of such things, that the English might know directly of their king's approach; and when he had come to Winchester, where almost all the English nobles came to meet him, and greet him, he gave orders that the city should be adorned at his entry with hangings and curtains, with garlands and lighted tapers; that the citizens should meet him in their holiday dresses, and that all the bells of the place should resound with joy. Moreover, he caused to be proclaimed by the voice of a herald, by the means of the swiftest messengers, that four of the most important citizens or burgesses of each city or borough should come out to meet him, habited in rich garments, and mounted on costly chargers. So, according to his order and edict, which was obliged to be obeyed, many were compelled to hasten from the most distant parts of the kingdom to meet him, not without great expense and trouble. And when he was approaching London, citizens in holiday garb, mounted on most expensive horses, and newly equipped, met him on the way in procession, each vying with the rest to be first to meet the then king, whom they respectfully saluted, and won over by their various and valuable gifts. And at the approach of the festivity of St. Edward, that is, on the 13th of October, the king ordered also that the convent, habited in their canonicals, should advance
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in procession to meet him, carrying an incredible quantity of lighted tapers. And thus he was received with superstition and pride, as pompous as it was sumptuous.
Innocent IV. elected pope.
Also in that year, on the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the lord cardinal Sinibald was elected pope, after the papal chair had been vacant a year and nine months; and he was consecrated on the day of the apostles Peter and Paul, and called Innocent the Fourth, after which he immediately confirmed the sentence pronounced against the emperor Frederick by his predecessor Gregory. He was created pope at Anagni;- so the Romans and their emperor, irritated as by a double injury, prepared to persecute the new pope, and plotted snares against him, and that the more readily because the emperor had reckoned upon the pope being favourable towards him. The emperor, therefore, placed vigilant sentinels in the way of the roads and ports, and galleys on the sea, that the bearers of the bulls might not sail away rejoicing in a free transit. And not a great while after this, the emperor seized two brothers of the order of Minorites; whom, as they were furtively carrying, by order of their superiors, letters destined to excite war between certain nobles, chiefly against the emperor, he ordered to be immediately hanged.
Hostility of the Templars against the Hospitallers.
During this time, the Templars persecuted fiercely the Hospitallers in the Holy Land, so that they were not allowed to carry their dead out of their house (which was in Acre) to be buried. Moreover, the same Templars, in derision of the emperor, drove out and banished from their territories, the brothers of the Teutonics, of the church of St. Mary, thus bringing on their heads the anger of God, and promoting the views of the enemies of the cross.
The chapter general of the Cistercians is dissolved.
About the same time, namely after the dissolution of the general chapter of the Cistercians, the abbats returning from that chapter came to us announcing truthfully these rumours of the king of France's coming to them, namely, that, contrary to the custom of the Romans, their lord, the pope, had
A.D. 1243.] THE POPE'S LETTER. 457
written to their chapter, beseeching them, in delicate terms, that they should continually, and forthwith, pour forth prayers for the welfare of the tottering Church. Similarly, also, certain cardinals and other potentates requested from them the same invaluable gift, that by fighting for God they might serve the Church and more surely strengthen their own position. For they knew that, because the abbats of that order, the preceding year, were impeded by wars from coming to the chapter, they might now come in large numbers to the general chapter. The king of France asked their aid and prayers more earnestly than the others, because he perceived, ever since he had gone to the war in Poitou, that his health was much weakened, and that he had lost much of his former activity of body. But the king of England alone having sent special messengers thither, instantly asked pecuniary aid from them. And monks were there from every Christian nation under the sun. From all of whom, not without great confusion to the English, who were present, the king alone deserved a refusal without a benediction, for he demanded their wool from all the abbats resident in England.
The bishop of Lincoln and the convent of Canterbury plead their cause before the pope. The pope's letter.
In the revolutions of those days, the bishop of Lincoln, on the one part, and the convent of Canterbury on the other part, sent special messengers, who were discreet clerks, to the Roman court, for the purpose of settling the strife that had arisen between them. The decision which they brought back with them on this head was to this import:-
"Innocent, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved sons, the convent and prior of Christchurch, Canterbury, greeting, and the apostolic benediction.- The petition of our venerable brother the bishop of Lincoln, which has been presented to us, sets forth, that you have claimed to exercise power over him and over those under him, by defending their causes and appeals, and that you support this claim by contending that the metropolitan jurisdiction belongs to you during the vacancy of the see of Canterbury, in the province of Canterbury, as much by a privilege from the Apostolic See as from a common right, which right you have never hitherto
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exercised; that he, perceiving that a great prejudice would arise against himself, referred it to the holy Apostolic See, whose province it is to decide difficult questions during the vacancy of the metropolitan see; that you, seizing this opportunity, at the bent of your own pleasure, have promulgated against him and those under him, the sentences of suspension and excommunication. Whereupon he has humbly entreated us in this matter to provide for him with paternal solicitude. Wishing, therefore, from our office, so to succour the said bishop and those under him, as not to infringe another's right, we order your community by the apostolic writings, within the eighth day after the receipt of these presents, without prejudice to either side, to withdraw the aforesaid sentences, under proper security. Moreover, we also give orders by our letters, to our brothers, the archbishop of York and the bishop of Durham, that they do at once, without prejudice to the parties, relax the said sentences, as well regarding matters of claim, as matters in possession, and restrain by ecclesiastical censure, without appeal, all gainsayers. Given at Anagni, the twenty-third of August, in the first year of our pontificate".
The bishop of Norwich confirmed bishop of Winchester.
About the same time, the bishop of Norwich, nominated for the bishopric of Winchester, was, notwithstanding the opposition and resistance of the king, translated into that see by the pope, whom he found favourable towards him.
Boniface is confirmed into the archbishopric of Canterbury.
At that very time, Boniface, elect of Bellay, uncle to the queen, and by nation a Provencal, was confirmed by the pope in the archbishopric of Canterbury, through the strenuous exertions of the king, to the astonishment of many. In fact, the king, that he might more easily raise Boniface to the archbishopric of Canterbury, wrote a book, at the instigation of the queen, in which he lavished his praises on the manners, science, and generosity of the said Boniface, although he was a stranger to him, and affixing his seal, he caused nearly all the English prelates to do the same. The abbat of St. Alban's was the only one who, by cautiously declining, avoided this false testimony. For when he saw the seal of
A.D. 1243.] ARRIVAL OF THE COUNTESS OF PROVENCE. 459
the abbat of Westminster affixed, he said, that it was not acting rightly towards him, as it was certain that the abbat of St. Alban's is the worthier, and stating his privilege,- "As St. Alban is the first martyr of England, so his abbat is the first in order and rank of all the abbats of England"; therefore his seal should be appended first. And thus it was allowed to pass till inquiry was made into it. This writing was sent to the pope, that he might be made fully acquainted with the merits of Boniface.
Gold and silver extorted from the Jews.
About the same time, the king extorted from the most unfortunate Jews a heavy ransom in gold and silver. To say nothing of the rest, he defrauded one Jew; viz. Aaron of York, of four marks of gold and four thousand marks of silver. The king received from each Jew, whether man or woman, the gold into his own hand, becoming, from a king, a new kind of tax-gatherer; but the silver was received by others for the king. He received precious gifts from the abbats and priors after this manner: if any did not please him, he rejected them, extorting gifts more valuable, and which were more pleasing to the royal dignity; and whoever refused, found him no longer a king, but a tyrant.
William of Suffield elected bishop of Norwich.
But the monks of Norwich, having learned the confirmation of the lord William de Raele, who was a candidate for the bishopric of Winchester, and who had been their bishop, invoked the grace of the Holy Spirit, and unanimously elected for their bishop and for the pastor of their souls, Master Walter of Suffield, a man of great learning, and distinguished for his manners, his reputation, and his birth; who, being duly presented to the king, as is customary, the king gave his consent both to the elect and the election, there being no motive for opposition. Yet he suspended for a time the plenitude of his favour, till he should be more fully informed of the confirmation of the bishop of Winchester.
Magnificent arrival of Beatrice, countess of Provence.
About the same time, viz. the 1st of December, Beatrice, countess of Provence, mother to the queens of England and
460 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
France, a woman of a gracious mien, prudent and civil, landed at Dover, by the king's invitation, who paid the expenses of her journey. She came in great state, and with very pompous pageantry. A great number of English nobles went to attend her by the king's order, on the sea-shore, so as to avoid all disagreeable delay. On the octaves of St. Martin, as the said countess was then to arrive in London, the king ordered that the city of London should be decorated with hangings, curtains, and divers other ornaments, from the bridge to Westminster, and that they should put out of the sight of those who passed through the city, blocks of wood, mud, dirt, and all obstacles. She brought with her her daughter Cynthia, to be united in marriage to Earl Richard. Many nobles, compelled by the king, came from the most distant parts of the kingdom, and even from those parts which border on Scotland, to meet her on the way.
Death of Ralph Cheinduit.
On the same day, breathed forth his spirit, Radulph Cheinduit, the inexorable and unwearied persecutor of the church of St. Alban's, and the impudent usurper of its liberties, for the space of three years. This I say, that all Christ's faithful followers may see the evidence of the miracle, and the just vengeance which Alban, the proto-martyr of England, inflicted upon him. In fact, after having been for three years lying under a sentence, and having insolently despised the keys of the Church, he, in the palace of Westminster, tossing up his head, said to many there assembled:- "Ha! what do you say about the monks of St. Alban's? Eh! what do you say about them? They have excommunicated me so long a time, so often, and so effectually, that I am much the better for it - fat, and well - and so stout, that I can hardly get into my saddle, when I ride on horseback". Scarcely had he finished, when he was suddenly struck with infirmity and lack of strength, and in a desperate state, scarcely breathing, he was carried home. He was just about to draw his last breath, and the hiccough which precedes death was manifesting itself when the most benignant martyr St. Alban interposed, by the will of the Lord, who wishes that no one should perish, but rather that he should be converted. Then Ralph, uttering
A.D. 1243.] DEATH OF RADULPH CHEINDUIT. 461
a deep sigh, caused to be called, in great haste, some of the monks, whom he knew better than the others, to submit himself to their will, and offer them full satisfaction for the transgressions he had been guilty of towards them; which they benevolently accepted. In order that, if he died, he might not fall into the abyss of despair, and so utterly perish in damnation, because of his crimes, they granted him the benefit of absolution, when he had promised to make reparation for the injuries and wickednesses committed by him. Similarly, also, a great number of others,- among the rest, powerful knights, usurpers on, and disturbers of, the liberties of the said martyr's church,- suffered a little while after a similar or more severe punishment by the judgment of a miraculous vengeance. I could name, by way of example, Alan de Beccles, archdeacon of Norwich, and Adam, son of William, justiciary of the Bench, who were struck with sudden death.
In the same year, on St. Clement's day, Earl Richard espoused for his wife, Cynthia, daughter of Raymond, count of Provence, the queen's sister, at Westminster. There was so much nuptial conviviality at his wedding, and such festivity among the noble guests, that nothing could be compared to the splendour of the entertainment - it would require a long and tedious treatise to describe it. That I may say much in a few words, in the cook's department there were thirty thousand dishes got ready for those who sat down to dinner. Most wonderful performances were there exhibited, in presence of the king and the new bridegroom, the earl, the queen, her sister Cynthia, who was the young bride, and whose name was changed to Scientia, Beatrice, the countess of Provence, and other noble personages without number; whilst the eyes and senses of the lookers-on were ravished with pleasure before unheard of. Worldly pomp, and every kind of vanity and glory, was displayed in the different bodies of gleemen, the variety of their garments, the number of dishes and the multitude of feasters; but these only proved how transitory and contemptible are such joys, how shadowy and deceptive is this world, when the morrow's dawn dissipated like a cloud all these great and varied doings.
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The bishop of Winchester is denied admittance into his own city.
In those days, the king was wroth with William de Raele, bishop of Winchester, because he conducted himself as if he was really the bishop, and was looked upon as such, and was called so by all, except by some monks of Winchester. The king, therefore, refused to admit him to the kiss, at to receive him with any friendly salutation. Yet this man, after his arrival from foreign parts, had jovially entertained, with congratulations and civil salutations, all the nobles of England, especially the prelates, with the kiss, and held agreeable discourse with them. Prognosticating evil from this business, the bishop, seeing it clear as the light of day that the king's inveterate anger had hardened into a lasting hatred, concealed himself amoug those of his friends who he thought were least inclined to aim at court favour, until the day-spring from on high should visit him, and the king's indignation be evaporated. But the king, persisting in his anger, placed a strict watch over the bishop's manors, by means of his officers, who, as is their wont, went far beyond the king's command in ferocity, and treating the people of the bishopric with every kind of inhumanity, were only eager to make gain for themselves. And when the aforesaid bishop came to visit his cathedral church of Winchester, and wished to enter that city, the king ordered its gates to be strictly guarded. But the prior of Winchester, if he is worthy to be looked upon as a prior, or to be called by such a name, combined together a great part of the monks to form a conspiracy, and lift up their heel against their bishop, asserting publicly that all who should afford him aid or advice would be open enemies of our lord the king, and should be severely punished for the same; so that there was a schism between both the monks and the secular clergy, and a shocking strife, which was carried even to the shedding of blood.
Death of the prior of Winchester.
This wretched man, who only bore the outward dress of religion, and had caused himself by the king's command to be called prior, and to be looked upon as such by many of the brethren, now breathed forth his life in the midst of the anxieties by which he was harassed.
A.D. 1243.] WINCHESTER LAID UNDER AN INTERDICT. 463
The king daily more and more persecutes the bishop of Winchester.
The king, however, was restrained by no consideration whatever, but driven on by the impulse of his own will, continually laid his hand more and more heavily on the bishop, and upon the possessions of his see, causing it publicly to be proclaimed that no one should entertain in his house William de Raele, who had falsely (so he worded it) caused himself to be saluted as bishop of Winchester, or have any dealings with him, or supply him with even necessary victuals; and that any one who should assist him in such manner should be regarded as an enemy to the king and to the country. The king also sent letters to Oxford, to defame the same bishop in the eyes of the university, asserting that he had obtained consent by false statements from our lord the pope, that he should be nominated and translated to the bishopric of Winchester, and that the king would unveil and clearly prove and expose all the deceit which he had practised before the Roman court and the kingdom of England. To put this into execution, he at once got ready some Rome-footed couriers to do his message. He also caused the bishopric of Norwich to be confiscated, that every means of consolation might be removed on all sides from the bishop aforesaid. Our lord the king, moreover, sent to the Roman court, against the bishop aforesaid, Theobald, a monk of Westminster, prior of Hurley, and also Master Alexander, a lawyer, surnamed the Secular, to the intent that these two, by entreaty or by bribery, or any other mode in their power, might supplant the bishop from his dignities.
The city of Winchester is laid under an interdict.
The bishop, meanwhile, with naked feet, and in humble guise, came to one of the gates of the city, and afterwards to others outside of the city, and demanded to be admitted into his church. For he found, on his arrival, that all the gates had been closed against him. The mayor of the city and the king's officers opposed him, and saucily refused him admittance, adding, moreover, insult to insult. The bishop then pronounced an interdict on the whole city, the cathedral church, and all the other churches, and at the same time bound in the fearful sentence of anathema
464 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243..
all the monks who followed or favoured the prior that had been thrust over them by the king.
The emperor loses Viterbo and other places in the neighbourhood.
At that time, the oppressions exercised by the imperial officers upon the inhabitants of Viterbo, determined that city and the surrounding country to turn to the Romans, who upheld the pope. Oppressed, therefore, and weighed down with a yoke of unaccustomed servitude, when they had turned themselves and their city over to the other party, they fled to the cardinal Regnier de Viterbo, that with his aid and counsel they might enter into alliance with the Romans, and, forgetting all ancient quarrels, become one people, that they might so be stronger to rise against their enemies, and more securely remove themselves from the imperial grievances, by thus avoiding them. Thereupon, through the diligent labour of the said Regnier, a conspiracy was brought about suddenly and secretly, and the Romans coming in great numbers, and prudently seizing all the imperial guards, led them, thus taken captives, back to Rome, to be imprisoned, a treaty having been first concluded between the Romans and the people of Viterbo; and in the place of imperial magistrates, they substituted their own people, Romans as well as Viterbians, in the towers of the castles, and in fortified places; so that, in contempt of the emperor, the Romans seemed to be Viterbians, and the Viterbians to be Romans. Upon hearing this, the emperor, much nettled, went in great haste, with an innumerable armed company, and attempted to fill the trenches with tuns, turf, blocks of wood, and heaps of earth, that, forcing an entry, he might immediately massacre all the inhabitants. But the citizens from above, seeing what was going forward, repulsed vigorously from the interior the attempts of the enemies; and on the outside, the Romans, coming in immense numbers, mightily rendered futile the projects of the emperor; and an affray taking place, many fell on the emperor's side. One illustrious soldier on the emperor's side, and adorned with his special arms, miserably expired, to the great grief of the emperor, being pierced by a shaft from a cross-bow; and his enemies, exulting in his fall, raised a shout of joy, thinking they had killed the emperor himself; but the
A.D. 1243.] MANY NOBLES LEAVE THE EMPEROR. 465
emperor advanced, preceded by his trumpeters, and with difficulty disengaged his army from the fury of the enemy, who had unexpectedly advanced against them. He then fell back, and retreated towards Pisa to recruit his strength, that he might become stronger for his attack against the rebels. But those who inhabited the surrounding parts, seeing that the emperor had basely retired, with great loss of men and property and with disgrace, many of them departed from their allegiance to him, and leagued themselves with the Romans and Viterbians, according as the poet says,-
Mobile mutatur semper cum principe vulgus.
[The fickle mob change ever with the prince.]
The emperor's fame is obscured.
The emperor's renown was upon this not a little diminished; for Count Simon of Tuscany, to whom he had intrusted in full confidence the charge of Viterbo, had been taken with his colleagues, as has been before stated, and led captive to Rome. The city of Viterbo itself, besides certain towns and castles in the neighbourhood, had been lost, and the emperor himself had almost taken flight. His reputation was blasted, and it was whispered about that he never deigned to attend divine worship, that he never prayed, or respectfully treated ecclesiastics; that he never properly observed the Catholic faith either in his words or opinions; that he was on improper terms of intimacy with Saracen women; and that he invited Saracens, as well as other infidels, within his empire, and permitted them to build fortified cities.
Many nobles leave the emperor.
Therefore many wise and powerful nobles left the emperor; viz., the Marquis de Montferrat, the Marquis de Malaspina, Vercelli, Alessandria, and many noble cities; so his enemies multiplied, because men are accustomed to follow only fortune's favourites. In Germany, too, many abandoned his cause, and not wishing longer to be his liege subjects, chose for themselves another king, or emperor, namely the landgrave, a brave and well-favoured man, to whom Germany, and the most powerful part of Italy, promised both aid and counsel, unwearying, even to exposing their lives in his service.
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Conduct of the emperor in adversity.
But the emperor, reflecting over these dangers with a thoughtfal mind, intrusted the conduct of his army to one of his most intimate friends, and telling no one the necessity for so sudden a step, hastily turned his reins thither, and that the more confidently, because the said landgrave had not yet fully consented to the aforesaid election, and had not only not given them his consent, but also not given them his answer. For he was attached to the emperor, and detested the chicanery of the Roman court. The emperor, therefore, coming to him, and summoning him amicably and secretly to a secure place, they entered mutually into discussion and friendly conversation, and before his departure they shook hands with one another, and entered into an alliance, so that, from being suspected, the same landgrave became a most trusty friend, and publicly declared to all who elected him, that he could in nowise consent to such a rash presumption. The emperor, therefore, having settled the affair perfectly to his satisfaction, returned to his army, with the same prudence with which he departed.
The emperor is humiliated.
But those who hated the emperor Frederick, brightened up and exulted, and greatly rejoiced at the losses which he had incurred, which above we have fully detailed and recounted. The emperor, therefore, was at that time a little humiliated, according to the word of the prophet, "Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O Lord". Therefore, noblemen, and persons of profound wisdom, interposed, and diligently applied themselves to re-establish peace between the Church and the emperor. But the emperor refused to swear in any way to submit himself absolutely to ecclesiastical censure, unless arguments should be heard, and the way clear before him, and all conditions explained; or to give up any of his acquisitions, howsoever made, which regarded the ancient rights of the empire. And so, by the devices of the enemy of the human race, discord was again renewed. And about that time, Otho, cardinal, by the title of St. Nicholas in the Tullian
A.D. 1243.] CRUELTY OF THE TARTARS. 467
prison, and who had been legate in England, was created bishop of Porto.
A shocking letter about the cruelty of the Tartars.
At the same time, the following letter, sent to the archbishop of Bordeaux, very greatly alarmed even the most undaunted men. The letter agrees in many things with the imperial letter directed to many Christian kings, concerning the horrible devastations of this inhuman people whom they call Tartars, but in this letter they are called Tattars, or Tatars.
"To Gerald, by the grace of God, archbishop of Bordeaux, Yvo, named from Narbonnes, formerly the lowliest of his clerks, Health and strength to render account of the talents intrusted to his care.- The souls of reprobates, engaged in terrestrial affairs, do not regard the threatenings of divine justice, nor does terror find its way into their obstinate hearts until they are smitten with the sentence of awful damnation. For, I wonder that, when so terrible an extermination threatens all Christians, such stubbornness should have universally seized on kings and other potentates of the earth, that you, who are said to have zeal for God, do not attempt to move the hearts of the obstinate, by the weight of your influence, seeing that many wise people would abide by your authority, and believe in your words. But expenence alone shows what great danger threatens the Christians through the invasion of the Tattars. For, touching the cruelty and cunning of that people, calumny itself could not lie; and, in briefly informing you of their wicked habits, I will recount nothing of which I hold either a doubt or mere opinion, but what I have with certainty proved, and what I know. Having formerly been accused, as you know, by my rivals, on account of heretical depravity, in the presence of Robert of Curzun, the legate of the Roman court, from no scruple of conscience, but blushing at the baseness of the cause, I declined the judgment, and for this became still more an object of suspicion. When, therefore, I heard the threats of that man of authority, I fled from the face of the persecutor. Compelled after this to traverse many provinces, I uttered my complaint to the Paterinians, who dwelt in the city of Coma, how that on account of their
468 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1243.
faith, which, as God is my witness, I had never learned, or followed, I was now in exile from the sentences that had been pronounced against me! They were pleased at hearing this, and said that I was to be envied, for having suffered persecution for righteousness' sake. I was entertained there among them three months, in splendour and voluptuousness; and every day listened in silence to the many errors - ay, horrors - which they uttered against the apostolic faith. They so bound me to them by their kindnesses, that I promised from that time I would endeavour to persuade all Christians with whom I should have serious talk, that no one could be saved by the faith of Peter, and would boldly persist in teaching this doctrine. When I had promised, on my word of honour, to do this, they began to disclose to me their secrets, and told me that from almost all the cities of Lombardy and some of Tuscany, they had sent apt scholars to Paris, some to study the intricacies of logic, and others theological disquisitions, for the purpose of maintaining their own errors, and refuting the profession of the apostolic faith. For the same purpose, also, they send many merchants to the markets, to pervert rich laymen, their companions at table, and their hosts, with whom they have an opportunity of conversing familiarly, and so, driving a double traffic, get into their own hands the money of others, and at the same time gather souls into the treasury of Antichrist. I at length obtained leave to depart from these apostate brethren, and was sent by them to Milan, to be there entertained by their fellow-professors. In this manner I passed through all the cities of Lombardy on the banks of the Po, always residing among the Paterinians, and always at my departure receiving an introduction to others of the same sect. I at length reached Cremona, a celebrated town in Frioli, where I drank the most noble wines of the Paterinians, ate their preserved raisins, cherries, and other exciting meat, deceived the deceivers, and professed myself a Paterinian, though I still continued to be, so help me God, in faith, though not in perfect works, a Christian. I stopped three days at Cremona, and received safe conduct from the brethren, but malediction from one of their bishops, named Peter Gallo, who held me in suspicion; afterwards, however, as I heard, this man was deposed by them for fornication. I then set out with a lay brother,
A.n. 1243.] CRUELTY OF THE TARTARS. 469
and, in the course of my travels, came to the canals of Aquileia; proceeding thence onwards, we took up our quarters with some brethren in a small town at Frisac. The next day the lay brother left me, and I remained alone. I passed alone through Carinthia, and continued my route into Austria, put up at a town called in the Teutonic tongue Neustadt, i.e., New-city, where I was hospitably entertained by some religious of a new order, called Beguins. I next concealed myself for some years at the neighbouring city of Vienna, and the adjoining districts, confounding - alas! that I should say so! - right and wrong together, for I lived incontinently, by the instigation of the devil, and was a deadly enemy to my own soul, though at the same time I recovered many from the error of the Paterinians, of which I have already spoken. In consequence of their heresy, and many other sinful things arising among us Christians, the Lord has been roused to anger, and become an angry devastator, and most fearful avenger. This I say, because a fierce race of inhuman beings, whose law is lawlessness, whose wrath is fury, the rod of God's anger, is passing through and dreadfully ravaging a wide tract of country, horribly exterminating with fire and sword everything that comes in their way. In the course of this very summer, these people, who are named Tattars, left Pannonia, which they had got by surrender, and with numberless thousands fiercely besieged the town above named, in which I perchance was then residing. There were no soldiers on our side in the town, to oppose them, except fifty knights and twenty cross-bowmen, whom the duke had left in garrison. These, mounting on some neighbouring eminences, saw the immense army that lay round them, and shuddered at the fierceness of those satellites of Antichrist. Miserable groans were now heard ascending to the Lord of the Christians, from those who had been surprised in the neighbouring province, and, without distinction of rank, fortune, sex, or age, all perished alike, by different kinds of death. The Tattar chiefs, with the houndish cannibals their followers, fed upon the flesh of their carcasses, as if they had been bread, and left nothing but bones for the vultures. But, wonderful to tell, the vultures, hungry and ravenous, would not condescend to eat the remnants of flesh, if any by chance were left. The old and ugly women were given to their
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dog-headed cannibals - anthropophagi, as they are called - to be their daily food; but those who were beautiful, were saved alive, to be stifled and overwhelmed by the number of their ravishers, in spite of all their cries and lamentations. Virgins were deflowered until they died of exhaustion; when their breasts were cut off to be kept as dainties for their chiefs, and their bodies furnished a jovial banquet to the savages. Meanwhile, those who were looking out from the top of a promontory, saw approaching the duke of Austria, the king of Bohemia, the patriarch of Aquileia, the duke of Carinthia, and, as was said, the marquis of Bade, with many princes of the neighbouring states, drawn up for battle. In a moment all that execrable race vanished, all those riders returned into wretched Hungary. As suddenly as they had come, so suddenly did they disappear; a circumstance which creates the greater fear in the minds of those who witnessed it. The prince of Dalmatia took prisoners eight of the fugitives, one of whom was known by the duke of Austria to be an Englishman, who, for certain crimes, had been banished for ever from the kingdom of England. This man had twice come as an envoy and interpreter from the king of the Tattars to the king of Hungary, and plainly threatened and warned them of the evils which afterwards happened, unless he should give up himself and his kingdom to be subject to the Tattars. The princes persuaded him to speak the truth about the Tattars, and he, without hesitation, under every form of oath, made his statements so strongly that the devil himself might have been believed. First, he told about himself, that immediately after his banishment, that is, before he was thirty years old, he lost all he had at gambling, in the city of Acre; and in the winter-time had nothing but a shirt of sackcloth, shoes of ox's skin, and a cape made of horsehair. In this shameful state of want, and in an enfeebled state of body, with his hair cropped as if he were a buffoon, and uttering inarticulate cries like a dumb man, he passed over many countries, and met with great kindness from his entertainers, wearing out his life somehow or other, though he daily, in the levity of his tongue and the foolishness of his heart, had wished himself at the devil. At length, from excessive toil, and continual change of air and diet, he was seized with a severe illness, among the Chaldees,
A.D. 1243.] CRUELTY OF THE TARTARS. 471
and became weary of his life. Not able to go farther, or to come back, he stopped where he was, breathing with difficulty, and, being somewhat acquainted with letters, he began to put down in writing the words which were there spoken, and afterwards pronounced them so correctly that he was taken for a native, and he learnt several languages with the same facility. The Tattars heard of him through their spies, and drew him over to their interests: when they had got an answer about their claim of subjugating the whole world, they bound him to be loyal in their service, by bestowing on him many gifts; for they were in much need of persons to be their interpreters. Concerning their manners and their superstitions, the disposition and dimensions of their persons, their country, and mode of fighting, he swore that they are greedy, passionate, deceitful, and merciless beyond all other men. The vigour and ferocity of the punishments which were inflicted on them by their chiefs, is that which restrains them from quarrels, or from mutually cheating and injuring one another. The founders of their tribes are called gods, and they celebrate their solemnities at certain seasons; they have many especial celebrations, but only four regular ones. They think that everything was made for them alone, and they think that there is no cruelty in practising every kind of severity on those who rebel against them. They have hard and robust breasts, lean and pale faces, stiff high shoulders, and short distorted noses; their chins are sharp and prominent, the upper jaw low and deep, the teeth long and few, their eyebrows stretch from the hair to the nose, their eyes are black and restless, their countenances long and grim, their extremities bony and nervous, their legs thick but short below the knee. In stature they are equal to us, for what they lose below the knee is made up for in the greater length of their upper parts. Their native country is that great waste, formerly a desert, lying beyond the Chaldees, from which they expelled the lions, bears, and other beasts, with their bows and other warlike weapons. Out of the tanned hides of these animals, they made for themselves armour of a light description, but impenetrable. They have horses, not large, but very strong, and that require little food, and they bind themselves firmly on their backs. They use darts, clubs, battle-axes, and swords in battle, and fight bravely
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and unyieldingly. But their chief prerogative is their use of the bow, and their great skill in fighting. Their back armour is thin, that they may not be tempted to run away; and they never retreat from battle until they see the chief standard of their leader retreating. When vanquished, they never ask for mercy, and themselves never spare the vanquished. In the intention and fixed purpose of reducing all the world under their dominion, they all persist, as one man; nor yet can they be reckoned at a thousand thousand. [1] Their satellites, in number six hundred thousand, are sent forward to prepare quarters for the army, on fleet horses, and perform three days' journey in one night. They suddenly disperse themselves over a whole province, and falling on the inhabitants, unarmed, undefended, and scattered, they make such havoc, that the king or prince of the beleaguered country cannot muster men to bring into the field against them. In time of peace they deceive the people and the princes of the countries, on reasons which are no reasons. At one time they say they left their country to bring back the sacred bodies of the magi kings, which adorn the city of Cologne; at another time they say it was to check the avarice and pride of the Romans, who oppressed them of old; another reason was, only to subdue under their dominion the barbarous Hyperborean nations and tribes; then they said it was their intention to temper the fury of the Teutonics with their own moderation; now it was to learn warfare from the French; now to gain a sufficiency of fertile land on which to maintain their multitudes; and, lastly, they said it was to terminate their pilgrimage at St. James's, in Gallicia. By these fictions, they prevailed on some simple kings to make a treaty with them, and grant them a free passage through their territories; the Tattars did not keep the treaty, and those princes perished all the same. Seeing, then, that such dangers are arising to the whole of Christendom, what are these holy brothers doing, with their new religious rites, and fresh from the fire of the furnace out of which they have been fashioned, who wish it to be believed that they alone have found out the way of perfection beyond
[1] Nec possunt tamen millia millium compatari. I give the above translation with hesitation.
A.D. 1243.] STRIFE BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE POPE. 473
all others? By confession, and other intimacies, they should gain the favour of the princes and nobles, and earnestly and importunately cry into their ears against the Tattars: they do badly, if they do not so cry; they do worse, if they only make pretences; but worst of all, if they assist the enemy. What are the Black and White friars doing? and the Norbertine canons, who wish to be thought dead unto the world? Why do they not preach a crusade against the Tattars, when they see all these perils approaching? Oh the foolish counsels of kings! the supine silence of bishops and abbats! the unheard-of fury of the Tattar cruelties! Six Christian kingdoms have already been destroyed, and the same fate hangs over the others; whilst the example of those who have perished does not serve as a warning to the survivors, but we neglect our worst enemies at home, and attack those who are harmless beyond the sea. These reasons have led me, who owe to your fatherly care that I am what I am, to advise you in the Lord, that you should persuade the kings of France, England, and Spain, between whom you hold a middle place, by every means in your power, to lay aside all their private quarrels, for ever, or at least for a time, and hold wise and speedy counsel among themselves, how they may be able safely to encounter so many thousands of such savages. For I call to witness the faith of Christ, in which I hope to be saved, that if all are united, they would crush those monsters, or, singly, will be crushed by them. Farewell"
The strife between the emperor and the pope upsets everything.
This terrible letter would have greatly disquieted the hearts of the kings and nobles to whom it came, and would have effectually excited them to avenge the injury offered to Christ, to the Catholic Church, and all Christendom, if the mutual dissensions of the pope and the emperor had not spread trouble over all the world. Wherefore this strife, blown abroad through all parts, far and wide, because in all Christendom there are none of superior rank, ay, none of such high rank, exhilarated the hearts of the Tartars, ay, and of all pagans, and, moreover, of all the enemies of Christ, and made them increase their hopes. So they said, priding and vaunting themselves, that God was irritated against the
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Christians, who attacked and bit each other, and that he was more favourable to them, and increased their numbers and extended their power.
The roads into Rome are more closely guarded.
Meanwhile, the emperor, seeing that the newly-created pope had confirmed the sentence of his predecessor, and did not wish to regard him in any way, refused, on his part, to submit absolutely to the mandates of the Church, and gave orders that the roads, ports, and bridges should be most strictly guarded, that no one carrying money, for which he knew the Roman court had an insatiable thirst, might pass by. His son Conrad diligently applied himself to this work, and stopped with such vigilance the roads, both by sea and land, for all travellers, that he spared not the fraternity of Minorites, or Preachers, or any one disguised, whom he could seize, but tortured whom he caught till they died.
Increase of the Beguins.
At the same time, chiefly in Germany, certain persons of both sexes, but principally women, declaring themselves religionists, took a religious habit, though not a very heavy one, and made profession of continence and simplicity of life by a private vow, without, however, being straitened by the rules of any saint, nor as yet shut up within the precincts of any cloister. In short, their number was increased to such an extent, that in the city of Cologne and neighbourhood, two thousand of them were found.
Controversy between the Minorite brothers and Preachers.
And that the world might not appear to be devoid of increasing troubles on every side, a controversy arose between the Minorite brothers and Preachers, to the astonishment of many, because they seemed to have chosen perfection's path, viz. that of poverty and patience. On one side the Preachers declaring that they were instituted first, and on that account more worthy; that they were also more decent in their apparel, and had deservedly obtained their name and office from their preaching, and that they were more truly distinguished by the apostolic dignity: on the other side, the Minorites gave answer, that they had embraced, for God, a way of living more rigorous and humble, and so the more worthy, because
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more holy; and that the brothers could and certainly ought to pass over from the order of Preachers to their order, as from an inferior community to one more rigorous and superior. The Preachers contradicted them to their face, saying, that though the Minorites went barefoot, coarsely clad, and girded with a rope, the privilege of eating flesh or a more delicate article of diet was not denied them even in public, a thing which is forbidden to the community of Preachers, wherefore it could not be allowed that the Preachers could enter the order of Minorites, as one more rigorous and more worthy, but quite the contrary. Therefore, between these, even as between the Templars and Hospitallers, in the Holy Land, through the enemy to the human race sowing the seeds of dissension, a great and scandalous strife arose; and inasmuch as it was between learned men and scholars, it was more dangerous to the Catholic church, and a sign of a great judgment impending at its threshold. And what is terrible, and a sad presage, for three or four hundred years, or more, the monastic order did not hasten to destruction so quickly as their order, of whom, now, the brothers, twenty-four years having scarcely elapsed, had first built, in England, dwellings which rivalled regal palaces in height. These are they who daily expose to view their inestimable treasures, in enlarging their sumptuous edifices, and erecting lofty walls, thereby impudently transgressing the limits of their original poverty, and violating the basis of their religion, according to the prophecy of the German Hildegarde. When noblemen and rich men are at the point of death, whom they know to be possessed of great riches, they, in their love of gain, diligently urge them, to the injury and loss of the ordinary pastors, and extort confessions and hidden wills, lauding themselves and their own order only, and placing themselves before all others. So no faithful man now believes he can be saved, except he is directed by the counsels of the Preachers and Minorites. Desirous of obtaining privileges in the courts of kings and potentates, they act the parts of councillors, chamberlains, treasurers, bridegrooms, and mediators for marriages; they are the executors of the papal extortions; in their sermons, they either are flatterers, or most cutting reprovers, revealers of confessions, or imprudent accusers. Despising, also, the authentic orders which were instituted by the holy
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fathers, namely, by St. Benedict and St. Augustine, and also the followers of them (as the thing clearly appears in the case of the church of Scarborough, when the Minorites shamefully retreated), they set their own community before the rest. They look upon the Cistercian monks as clownish, harmless, half-bred, or rather ill-bred, priests; and the monks of the Black order as proud epicures.
The university of Paris reproves their errors.
Also, at that time, namely after the feast of St. Michael, the usual re-assembling of the schools and scholars having taken place, the masters of theology, especially the chief readers of the Preachers and Minorites, began to dispute and discuss more minutely and deeply than was proper or advantageous. Hesitating not to scale mountains, where the glory of God might confound them, they ventured rashly to scrutinize the unsearchable secrets of the Almighty, and presumptuously to investigate his judgments, which are a great deep. They were, consequently, unequal to the task, scrutinizing thus deeply, and wandered where there was no path, by the vengeance of God, who is more pleased with the sober simplicity of a steady faith, than with the most transcendent skill in theology. And though it is safer and more meritorious simply to accept and believe the traditions we have received from the fathers, than to try and prove them by those means which human reason affords, they chose rather to puff themselves and to rise above their proper level.
But when the prelates of the churches learnt these things, watching for the welfare of the Church and the Christian faith, rested on the authority of the Evangelists and prophets for curbing their rash audacity, and having convoked a meeting of orthodox people, wisely declared the truth of the faith. Their first error was, that the Divine essence neither is seen, nor will be seen, by man in a state of purity, or by an angel. To this the prelates answered: We condemn this error, and excommunicate those who declare and uphold it; for we firmly believe and assert, that God in his essence, or substance, or nature, will be seen by the holy angels, and by man, when in a state of glory. Another error was, that although the Divine essence is the same in the
A.D. 1243.] THEIR ERRORS REPROVED. 477
Father, and the Son, and Holy Ghost, nevertheless, as far as regards form, it is not the same in the Holy Ghost as in the Father and the Son taken together, and yet the form is the same thing as the Divine essence. To this the prelates gave answer: We condemn this error, etc; for we firmly assert that there is unity of essence, of substance, or nature, in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and that the same essence, with regard to form, is the same in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost. Another error is, that the Holy Ghost, being a sort of love, or bond of affection, does not proceed from the Son, but from the Father only. We condemn this error, etc; for we firmly believe and declare, that the Holy Ghost, being a sort of love or bond of affection, proceeds from both. Another error is, that neither purified souls nor purified bodies will be with the angels in the highest heaven, but in the aqueous or crystalline heaven, which is above the firmament, where they even presume to place the holy Virgin. We condemn, etc.; for we firmly believe and declare, that the same bodily place, namely the highest heaven, will be common to the angels, the souls of the saints, and of glorified men, and likewise the same spiritual place common to men and angels. Another error: That the wicked angel was wicked from the first moment of his creation, and was never otherwise than wicked. We condemn and forbid this error, and those who declare and uphold it, etc; for we firmly believe and assert, that at one time he was good, and not evil, and afterwards became bad by sinning. Another error: That there have been from all eternity many truths which have not been God. We condemn, etc; for we firmly believe and declare, that there has been one truth only from all eternity, which is God; and there has been no truth which was not God. Another error: That an angel can be in different places at the same time, and even everywhere, if he chooses. We condemn etc; for we firmly believe and assert, that an angel is in one determined place, so that if he is here, he cannot at the same moment be elsewhere: for it is impossible for one to be omnipresent, as that is an attribute of God alone. Another error: That the beginning, the present time, the creation, and the passion, are neither creator nor created. We condemn, etc; for we firmly believe and declare, that
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they are created. Another error: That the wicked angel never had ground whereon to stand, nor Adam, whilst in the state of innocence. We condemn, etc.; for we firmly believe and uphold, that they had whereon to stand, but did not, however, profit therefrom. Another error: That he who has better natural endowments will, of necessity, have more from grace and glory. We denounce this error, etc.; for we firmly believe and declare, that grace and glory will be given according as God has thought proper and preordained.
Summary of the events of the year.
This year, therefore, passed over, threatening danger and trouble to the Church, plentiful enough in vegetables and fruits, bringing death and annoyance to many nobles in Christendom, reproachful and prejudicial to the kingdom and king of England, bringing battles and hostilities for the Italians, and mistrust for the Holy Land, and generating schism and. scandal between the Templars and Hospitallers.
Earl Richard's sumptuous banquet at Wallingford,
In the year of grace 1244, which is the twenty-eighth year of the reign of King Henry the Third, the same king was, at Christmas, the guest of his brother, Earl Richard, at Wallingford, when a sumptuous banquet was given, to which nearly all the English nobility had been invited: this was the finish of the festivities commenced in London, where everything that could be thought of was brought forward to terminate worthily the nuptial ceremonies. There were present Beatrice, countess of Provence, and her daughter Cynthia, newly married, and of pleasant looks, to whom the king used all his endeavours to appear amiable and gracious.
The countess of Provence quits England.
These festive celebrations having been completed, the king, accompanied by the said Countess Beatrice, with many noble persons of both sexes belonging to England and Provence, hastened to London about the time of the Circumcision, there to celebrate, in the most splendid apparel, the feast of St. Edward, in the presence and before the eyes of the guests from Provence; after which the said countess, going towards the sea, returned to her native land, officially
A.D. 1244.] THE POPE EXTORTS MONEY. 479
attended as far as the sea by the king and an immense crowd. But, in order that no prosperity in this world should be unmixed with adversity, before the countess embarked at Dover, bearers of mournful news came to her, announcing that her husband Raymond, the count of Provence, was struck with a mortal disease, and only waiting for a tomb, he who had afforded the Roman church, in all her troubles, an efficacious aid by working injury to the emperor. When the king was made acquainted with this, he fell into an inconsolable grief, and invoked the mercy of God for the count, by prayers and charitable gifts to the extent of his capability.
The new pope sends a new person into England to extort money.
About the same time, the newly-elected pope sent a new extortioner of money into England, namely Master Martin, carrying a letter of authority from the pope, and empowered to excommunicate, suspend, and in many ways to punish those who opposed his wishes. Strengthened with which power, he suspended the English prelates, so that they could not derive any benefit from their benefices till they had satisfied the cravings of the pope, who extorted their revenues for his clerks or relations. But he deemed it unworthy to receive any sum unless it amounted to thirty marks or more, lest so great a man might seem to be careful about trifles. The said Master Martin therefore began imperiously to demand of, and extort from, prelates, and especially the religious, gifts, chiefly magnificent palfreys, strictly enjoining in his letters such an abbat or such a prior to send him horses as would be fit for a special clerk of the pope to ride on. Those who opposed and made excuses, and put forth causes for non-compliance, even reasonable causes (as, for example, the abbat of Malmesbury and the prior of Merton), were suspended and heavily punished to his full satisfaction. For this careful inquisitor turned his eyes upon all the vacant churches and prebendal stalls, that he might with them supply the open demands of the papal wants. Among others, a rich prebend in the church of Salisbury, connected with the precentor, fell vacant, and this man, in spite of the bishop and all his chapter, laid hands upon the same, and by the pope's commands, gave it to one of his own nephews, a mere
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boy, to the astonishment and bitterness of many; for many believed and hoped that the Roman court, punished now so many times by the wrath of God, would restrain its avarice with a rein of moderation.
Unjust conduct of the king towards the bishop of Winchester.
Also, at that same time, the king improperly oppressed with a heavy hand the bishop of Winchester. He had never deigned to admit him to an amicable conference, or to the kiss of peace and friendship, when, at his return from transmarine parts, the said bishop graciously presented himself; he pursued him with inexorable hatred, and did not permit any layman to live with him, to wait upon him, and would not suffer him to receive hospitality in any house, but looked upon those who received and consoled him, as public enemies. He also cruelly hindered from reaching the bishop a ship and chariots laden with provisions, coming from Norwich. The said bishop journeying to London, did not dare to enter his palace at Southwark, on account of the shameful opposition he received from the king's satellites. He was hospitably concealed in the house of the canons of Southwark, which is near his palace and in his see, and there humbly waited for a change in the adverse times, and till prosperity from above should visit him. But the king, acting upon the advice of iniquitous men, prohibited every one in the city of London from selling him even the necessaries of life, which we do not recollect was inflicted on St. Thomas of Canterbury; the bishop then, grieving under his manifold injuries and troubles, complained, with good cause, to his fellow-bishops, which having learnt, the bishops of Lincoln, Worcester, and Hereford, moved by piety, and inflamed with zeal for justice, hastened to Reading, that they might rebuke the king and advise him to correct his faults. But the king, informed of their coming, fled, declining their salutary admonitions; but when at length they found him, he broke out into words of excuse and hatred, and was by no means softened by their exhortations; but manifestly on the contrary, he sent, to the bishop's detriment, Theobald de Hurley and Master Henry de Susa to the Roman court, with a large treasure, which he exhorted them to spend, and to promise a much richer one to the pope and the Roman court,
A.D. 1244.] THE NORMANS DEPRIVED OF THEIR POSSESSIONS. 481
on condition that they should ignominiously depose the said bishop, which, however, because it would plainly be dishonest and unjust, and would generate a public scandal against the Church, they by no means perfected. For the above-named prior, knowing this for certain, prudently returned; but his colleague Henry wickedly and seditiously carried away the king's treasure, and journeying to his native parts, after the example of the raven, which did not return to the ark, did not reappear in England.
Death of Cardinal John of Colonna.
At the same time of the year, namely the octaves of the Purificatiop of the Blessed Virgin, died John of Colonna, a Roman cardinal, a vessel of all kinds of pride and insolence; who, as he was the most illustrious and powerful in secular possessions of all the cardinals, was the most efficacious author and fosterer of discord between the emperor and the pope.
Master Roger is confirmed bishop of Bath.
At the same time, Master Roger, precentor of Salisbury, was confirmed in the bishopric of Bath - the more readily, seeing that there was his prebend at Salisbury to be given to the pope's nephew. At the same time, a monk named Thomas of Gloucester, having been regularly elected, from the bosom of the Church, was lawfully created abbat of Evesham.
Death of Ralph Neville, bishop of Chichester.
Also, in the same year, the reverend father Ralph Neville, bishop of Chichester and chancellor of England, a man altogether praiseworthy, and an immovable pillar of fidelity in affairs of the state, terminated his mortal career to enter upon his immortal, on the 1st of February, at London, in his noble palace, which he had erected from the foundation at no great distance from the new Temple.
The Normans are deprived of their English possessions.
In the course of those days, the king of France having convoked, at Paris, all the people across the water who had possessions in England thus addressed them: "As it is impossible that any man living in my kingdom, and having possessions in England, can competently serve two masters, he must either inseparably attach himself to me or to the king of England". Wherefore those who had possessions and
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revenues in England were to relinquish them and keep those which they had in France, and vice versa. Which, when it came to the knowledge of the king of England, he ordered that all people of the French nation, and especially Normans, who had possessions in England, should be disseised of them. Whence it appeared to the king of France that the king of England had broken the treaties concluded between them, because he had not, as the king of France had done, given the option to those who were to lose their lands in one or other of the two kingdoms, so that they might themselves choose which kingdom they would remain in. But as he was much weakened in body since his return from Poitou, he did not wish to renew the war, and preferred to keep silence; he even sought to repress the impetuous complaints of the Normans, as well as the furious and greedy desire that they manifested to rise against the king of England.
Letter on the state of the Holy Land.
About the same time a most agreeable rumour pervaded Christian climes, which was confirmed by the following letter:-
"Brother Hermann, of Perigord, the humble minister of the poor soldiery of the Temple, to his dear brother in Christ Robert of Sandford, preceptor in England, greeting in the Lord.- Since we are bound to inform your fraternity, with letters or messengers concerning the state of the Holy Land, as often as an opportunity presents itself, you must know that the sultan of Babylon, after the ills which he received from us; and Nasser, who was then the furtherer of his designs, his coadjutor and the persecutor of Christians, whom we did not cease to attack, according to our forces, have been at last compelled, though unwilling, to confer with us, and re-establish the truce, and promise to restore to the Christians all the land on this side the Jordan; we therefore thought fit to send on this occasion to the presence of the said sultan, in Babylon, deputies, noble and discreet men of our brethren. Whom having guarded and retained for half a year and more, he cut off Gaza, St. Abraham, Neapolis, Varan, and others, from those which he had before promised us; and this proceeding being injurious to us, he then gave us nothing but words of deception and emptiness. But we, through divine grace, perceiving his craftiness and perfidy, since he was only
A.D. 1244.] STATE OF THE HOLY LAND. 483
procuring our truce, that he might the more easily bring under his power the sultans of Damascus, Camel, and Nazar, the lord of Crach, with their territories, that when at length he should hold in his power the land of the Saracens, which was contiguous to the land of the Christians, he would not in any way keep his promise with us, as he broke his promises with his own people, whom all Christianity, on this side the sea, which is so weak and small, would then be unable to resist. We having prudently deliberated with regard to this affair, having had the needful advice of the prelates, and of some of the barons of the country, have properly refused the truce of the said sultan, and have thought proper to treat with the sultan of Damascus, and with Nazar, the lord of Crach, so that they have given up to Christian culture all the land on this side of the river Jordan, except St. Abraham, Neapolis, and Bossan. Wherefore angels and men should rejoice, that the holy city Jerusalem is now inhabited by Christian people, all the Saracens being driven out, and that in all those holy places, in which for fifty-six years the name of God had not been called on, the bishops of the Church having now reconciled and purified them, the divine mysteries are daily celebrated; for which God be praised. To visit which places the road lies open, free, and secure to all. Nor is it doubtful but it might remain in this happy and prosperous state for a very long time, if in these times the Christians alone on this side the sea, from this moment would be of one mind and of one heart. But, alas! how many are there who through hatred and envy are contrary with us, and troublesome to us, in these and other affairs which tend to the aggrandizement of the Holy Land. Wherefore we alone, with our convent and the prelates of the churches, together with a few of the barons of the land, who afford us all the assistance in their power, carry on our shoulders the burden of defending the land. We have wished to possess the entrance to the country where it touches on the land of Babylon and on the land of Jerusalem, that is to say, towards Gaza. In this we have been aided by the sultan of Damascus and by Nazar, lord of Crach, not without great peril and fatigue to our persons, great expense of money, and long and prudent forethought, which we have given to this business. And yet we fear that God will take heavy vengeance, by punishing those
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for ingratitude who were slothful and rebellious in this affair. Moreover, as a guard and safety for our land, we propose to erect, near Jerusalem, above Thoron, an exceedingly strong castle (if we can succeed in procuring the aid of courageous men), by which it is hoped that all the land will be the more readily retained, and for ever defended from enemies. But these things which we possess, we are by no means in a position to possess and powerfully to defend for a long time, against the sultan, who is a most potent and crafty man, unless Christ and his faithful followers afford us effectual support'.
The truth of the preceding letter is called in question.
When these things came to the hearing of many Christians, they scarcely credited either the words or the writings, as much on account of the bad reputation of the Templars as of that of the Hospitallers. Because, it is said, they always made strife between the Christians and the Saracens, so that, during the war, they might obtain money from pilgrims coming from all parts; also on account of their mutual discord, and also because they had in view to seize the person of the emperor. Moreover, the Templars in Christendom have nine thousand manors, but the Hospitallers nineteen, besides the emoluments and various revenues arising from their brotherhoods, and from procurations, all of which are increased by their privileges. And of these, every manor can furnish, without grievance, one soldier, well armed and fully equipped, for the succour of the Holy Land, even with all things which appertain to the full equipment of a soldier. Whence the Christians, reflecting on these things, always suppose them to conceal some fraud, and that they have some wolfish treacheries under a sheep's clothing. For if there had not been treachery and fraud, so many brave western knights might forcibly have penetrated the array of all the orientals, and put them to utter rout.
Reformation of the Preacher and Minorite orders, on the model of the Benedictines.
At the same time, the brothers, chiefly the Preachers, ignorant of the rules of their order, were convicted of most impudently departing from the discipline of St. Benedict, as we have shown in this work a few chapters before, and
A.D. 1244.] PREACHER AND MINORITE ORDERS REFORMED. 485
were punished by the exercise of the papal severity, and directed into a better path by the authority of the following letter:-
"Otto, by divine permission, bishop of Porto, of St Rufin, and Godfred, by divine mercy, cardinal deacon of St Adrian, to all those who shall respect these letters, greeting in the Lord.- Know that we have seen and diligently examined the apostolic letters, which were not erased, scratched, or injured, in any part, but in their original form, an authentic bull, with undamaged thread, writing, and paper, and of which the following is the tenor:-
"'Innocent, etc., to the master and brethren of the order of Preachers, Health and apostolical benediction.- It is not only for the good of the convert, but also of the monastery, that a time of probation has been allowed by the holy fathers, that the one may have a sample of the austerities of that way of life, and the other may have time to learn the morals of the convert. In the rule of St. Benedict, also, it is ordered that those who are just on the point of conversion shall not find their entrance upon it too easy; but, as the apostle teaches, that it may be tried whether the spirit be from God, and that the harshnesses and roughnesses, through which lies the way to heaven, may be fully set forth. Afterwards, in the same rule, it is added, he should be told, There is the law, under which you are to carry on the spiritual warfare; if you are able to keep to it, enter in: but if not, return as freely as you came. Furthermore, Pope Gregory, our predecessor, of happy memory, laid down a law that novices, under probation, before they take the habit of religion, usually given to those who make profession, or before they have delivered their profession, may, if they please, within the year, return to their former way of life. Again, wholly to remove all doubt on this subject, whereas in some religious houses the habit of novices is not distinguished from the habit of the professor, that the garments given to those who make profession, shall be blessed at the time of profession, that a distinction may be made between those of the novices and those of the professed. Although, therefore, in your zeal, you may anxiously desire to gain over souls to the Lord; yet, because it is becoming and fitting, that the judgment of reason should not be wanting to purity
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of conscience, lest detriment to salvation should result from that source which was intended only to yield spiritual good, we, by the advice of our brethren, and by the authority of these presents, strictly forbid you, by virtue of your obedience, and under pain of excommunication, to presume to admit any one to make the profession of your order, or to renounce the world, before the year of probation, regularly instituted as an aid to human weakness, is elapsed, or in any way to prevent a man, who is in a state of novitiate or probation, from passing over, within the same year of probation, to any other religious order which he shall think best, as may flow from his own free will, notwithstanding any statute to the contrary, if we have ever ordained any, which we here declare to be null and void, or any letters obtained, or hereafter to be obtained, from the Apostolic See, which do not make express mention of the premises. And if by chance you shall presume to receive any one contrary to this prohibition, we decree that he who has been so received, is in no wise bound to your order, and that you, from the time of receiving him to the profession of the same order, shall be ipso facto suspended, and liable, moreover, to the punishment usually inflicted on the brethren of the order for greater crimes. Let no one, then, etc. Given at the city of Gastellana, on the seventeenth of June, and the first year of our pontificate'.
"But we, at the petition of the Minorite brethren, have caused the present transcript of those letters, copied word for word, to be confirmed by our seals. Given at Sutri, on the third day of July".
These letters, thus obtained about this season of the year, were generally published, and ordered to be observed, as aforesaid.
The king of England creates some new councillors.
About this time our lord the king appointed Lord Poyntz Piper, knight, acting seneschal of his palace, and also the same Poyntz and John Mansel, chancellor of St. Paul's, London, both of them wise and experienced persons, to be his principal councillors; also, Master Laurence, of St. Martin's, who once resided as a familiar companion with William, bishop elect of Valencia, and of Liege, director of the king's councils, and of all matters concerning the Church,
A.D. 1244.] THE KING REBUKED. 487
was now promoted to be his special clerk and proctor, as being a man of much prudence and experience.
The bishop of Winchester flees into France.
About the same time, the bishops of Lincoln, Worcester, and Hereford, following the king, who seemed to shun them, and, at last, finding him at Westminster, rebuked him sharply for the persecution and tyranny, which he did not cease to practise daily towards their brother and fellow-bishop of Winchester. Whilst they added entreaty to entreaty, threat to threat, and were ready to place his chapel under an interdict, the king asked delay, that he might answer them upon the subject more precisely, until his messengers, who had crossed the Alps, should return. For he hoped, without the least doubt, that they would corrupt the papal court, and put into execution everything on which they had set their minds. The bishops above named readily complied with the king's request. But when the bishop of Winchester saw their lukewarmness, he took flight privately, on the 20th of March, and went on board ship, at London, in order to cross over to France. Sailing down the Thames, he put out a short distance to sea, and arrived at the port of St. Valerie, before news of it could be carried to the king, or to any of his familiars. Thence removing to Abbeville, he was met by a stately messenger from the king of France, who received the said bishop on the part of his master, the king, with joy and gladness of countenance, promising him in all things the king's advice and help, with every consolation and protection. He gave orders, also, from his master, that the mayor of Abbeville should hold all the commons of the city ready to defend the said bishop, if by chance any from the king of England should follow to do him harm; so that, if need should require, they might fly to arms, and fight manfully against all comers, in his defence.
Griffin, son of Llewellyn, is killed in an attempt to escape from the tower of London.
While the die of fortune thus affected the affairs of the world, Griffin, the eldest son of Llewellyn, prince of North Wales, was still detained captive in the Tower of London, and every day received from the king's treasurer half a mark to supply him with food, etc., according to his station.
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Though his wife had received permission to visit him, yet he was deeply affected by the tedious and unaccustomed long imprisonment, and meditated much how he could escape from the place of his confinement. One night, then, having deceived his gaolers, and made a cord out of his sheets, tapestries, and table-cloths, he let himself down perpendicularly by means of the same rope from the top of the Tower. And when he had thus descended some distance, from the weight of his body, the cord snapped, and he fell from a great height; for he was a big man, and very corpulent; and in this way he broke his neck, and died; and his pitiable corpse was found in the morning near the wall of the Tower, and afforded a lamentable spectacle to all who saw it, as his head, together with his neck, was almost buried in his breast between the shoulders. When the king heard of it, he scolded and punished the guards for their negligence, and ordered that the son of the said Griffin, who had been incarcerated with his father, should be forthwith more narrowly guarded. The said Griffin, who fell from the Tower, as has been stated, died on the 1st of March.
Unpopularity of the king of England on account of the bishop of Winchester's exile.
When the bishop of Winchester was exiled, the fame of the king of England was much lessened, throughout all countries on this side of the Alps; for the French, who were the rivals of the English, making that a pretext for their scandal, said,- "Look you there, at the king of England, idle and negligent with regard to all the enemies of the kingdom, he persecutes and proscribes all his holy bishops. And as formerly there was St. Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, afterwards St. Thomas the Martyr, and now of later years, the glorious Confessor Edmund, so now there is that pious man the bishop of Winchester, who for a long time faithfully served him, and was most friendly with him, whom now he will not permit to be in the security of peace, and whom he has shamefully driven from the boundaries of his kingdom, following him in a most hostile manner". Which when it became known to Boniface, elected bishop of Canterbury, from his innate kind-heartedness, and grieving for the king's unpopularity, he wrote most amicably to the
A.D. 1244.] LETTER TO THE KING OF ENGLAND. 489
bishop of Winchester words of consolation, and to the king also words of admonition, after this manner:-
Letter of Boniface, elect of Canterbury, to the bishop of Winchester.
"Boniface, by the grace of God, the unworthy elect of Canterbury, to the venerable father in Christ William, by the grace of God, bishop of Winchester, greeting in the Lord,- Since, by your letters you have offered us your obedience to us, and to the office which we hold, we thank you in Christ for your devotedness; and, as you have judged fit to address a request to us by Master William, your clerk, know that we have acquiesced in your petition, as far as we could without offending God or transgressing the law, as you will more fully hear from the said William. Know and rest assured, that if, before our coming into England, peace is not restored between you and the king, we to that will strenuously apply ourselves, and we will use stronger means to obtain a just end to this affair. And as we have no particular signet, we use for this the signet of the chapter of Bellay. Farewell".
His letter to the king of England.
"Boniface, etc., to the king, etc.,- We have lately received the letters of certain suffragans of the church of Canterbury, devoutly praying us for peace between you and the venerable father the nominee for the church of Winchester, whose nomination, being admitted by the Holy See, ought to be confirmed. We, therefore, desiring tranquillity for the kingdom and undisturbed peace for the Church, who reflect that she is in danger on this occasion, who listen, as is proper, to the petition of the said fathers, which is known to be beneficial both to the Church and to the kingdom, pray your highness with devotion to deign to recall the said father to your favour, as a good king, and a prince who fears the Lord, should do. And as we have no particular signet", etc. (as before).
He wrote also to the bishop of Hereford to vigilantly and efficaciously occupy himself concerning the business of the bishop of Winchester, by persuading the king with prayers and threats.
The king of Hungary asks help from the emperor Frederick.
About this time the king of Hungary, having been expelled
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from his kingdom by the Tartars, applied to the court of the emperor for protection, and asked for effectual advice and assistance against the common enemy. Long and secret deliberation was then held, and it was determined that the emperor should, with a strong hand, free the kingdom of Hungary from the hostile irruption of the barbarians, on condition, forsooth, that the said king should receive back his kingdom, when restored to freedom and to peace, from the emperor, and should hold it of the empire as of a lord paramount. An immense army was therefore sent, and the emperor, not without great outlay of money and danger, freed the above-named kingdom from the inhuman Tartars, and powerfully and ably drove them beyond the limits of that kingdom. There were some who said that those detested Tartars came there from the first by the cunning machinations of the emperor; that they only awaited his bidding, and were bound to fulfil his commands, acting in such a way that the emperor might reduce that king and his kingdom under his own dominion. But this is what was whispered by those who were jealous of him, and such calumny ought not to be believed. When the kingdom of Hungary, therefore, was freed, and its king restored in peace, Hungary became subject to the empire, and was bound to supply three hundred knights, and their followers, to fight on the borders for the emperor, loyally and faithfully.
The emperor of Constantinople is beaten, and takes refuge with the emperor Frederick.
At the same time the emperor of Constantinople, fleeing from the persecutions of the Greeks, and having nothing in his treasury to enable him to protract the war any further, or bear up against the continual assaults of the Greeks, fled to the court of the Roman emperor Frederick for advice and assistance. The emperor, one while by launching terrible threats against the Greeks, and again by more prudent negotiation, at length obtained for him a truce for a year. The same emperor Frederick also brought to pass a marriage between his own daughter and a great chieftain of the Greeks named Battacius. This caused great annoyance and offence to our lord the pope and the whole Roman court,
A.D. 1244.] THE TARTARS DISPERSE. 491
because a schism had arisen by means of this same Battacius, between the Roman and Greek churches. Wherefore the Roman church calls him a schismatic; and a more obstinate hatred than ever arose between our lord the pope and the emperor Frederick.
The Tartars disperse towards the east.
Meanwhile the Tartars, being hunted about, and unable to sustain any longer the emperor's attacks, left the northern parts, and journeyed quickly eastward. While they were savagely ravaging some parts of Persia, certain extremely cruel and inhuman men who dwell on the confines of the Red Sea, and who are for the most part subject to the sultan of Babylon, and called Choermians, fled from the threatening storm, by avoiding the irruptions of the Tartars; and they went to the sultan of Babylon, and demanded hastily and insolently a place wherein to dwell. When the sultan found out that if he should arrogantly deny their requests, they would forcibly take what they wanted at the edge of the sword, he said to them: "At no great distance from this place there are some people whom we call Christians, they inhabit maritime places, they scorn our laws, and are troublesome and annoying to us, and threaten to become still more so; their most important place of resort is Jerusalem. Go therefore boldly, cast them out, and live where they now do. Which, when you have obtained, you will be enriched with precious spoils, and will have opulent lands, and rejoice in castles and cities to your hearts' desire, and can, from that time, be happy in my patronage, and in the patronage of all my people". Whereupon they, elated with these words, first attack Jerusalem, and massacre a large number of Christians, as we are more fully informed in the letter from the nobles of that land.
The emperor's letter on the depopulation of the Holy Land.
"Frederick, by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, to his beloved brother-in-law Richard, earl of Cornwall, greeting, and the assurance of sincere affection.- 'In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping, and great mourning'; - a voice, which report had before spread abroad as the forerunner of our
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sadness; - a voice which of late the tide of adverse fortune had long seemed likely to waft to our ears, seeing that evils never come alone. There were numerous peals of thunder which resounded about Jerusalem, and announced the future tempest, the bloody extermination of Christ's followers; the deplorable loss of the Lord's sepulchre, then the abominable destruction of the holy city,- and this in our times! These lightnings have opened the clouds of heaven, not for dew or a tender shower, but for a deluge of calamities upon us. For while love and what was due to faith animated the Christians who had survived the massacre made by the Choermians, to take vengeance for such a devastation and such a great disaster, at the very moment when the counsels of the leaders, and the wishes of every private soldier aspired to do something in reparation of that misfortune, the patriarch of Jerusalem, hoping for himself to obtain all the glory of the victory, and looking on every other prince and sharer therein as unworthy to be associated with himself, began to preach the crusade of the Lord, aroused the spirits of those who heard him, and inflamed them with courage bordering even upon rashness; so that without waiting for a favourable moment, that most important rule in war, on the Monday before the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, the Christian army, composed of all kinds of foreign chivalry, threw themselves upon the above-named Choermians, who had foreseen the attack, and were prepared for resistance; and thus, in this ill-omened battle, hardly any out of all the Christians escaped from either being slain or made prisoners. Others, but very few, thanks to the means of deliverance which they met with in their flight, were saved, mostly those who had not been precipitated by their rashness into the very centre of the battle, where was the clang of arms and the thunder of the clashing combatants. Out of all the barons of the Holy Land, and the soldiers of the kingdom of Jerusalem; out of all the convent of the Temple militia, which had sent three hundred brothers; of the Hospitallers of St. John, which had sent two hundred; of the whole they were able to muster of the Teutonic brothers of St. Mary, not one, except the aforesaid patriarch, and the Lord Simon de Montfort (who was the standard-bearer of the kingdom and commander of the advanced guard), four chevaliers and a very few
A.D. 1244.] THE EMPEROR's LETTER. 493
servants of the Temple, and nineteen Hospitallers and three servants only of the Teutonic brothers, returned, and these only through good luck or by flight. Men, famous as the bishop of St. George and the lord of Cayphas, fell OD the field of battle mortally wounded. Walter, count of Joppa, was mortally wounded; but the archbishop of Tyre, who did not die from his wounds, was cast into prison. All these things our serenity has learned from letters which have been sent to us from the convent-house of St. Mary of the Teutonics. This lamentable issue of things furnishes in itself a cause of sorrow, to draw bitterness of heart from us, and from all the princes of the Christian faith, and worthy of a very deluge of tears from our eyes, on account of the nature of the misfortune, since so great a fault preceded, and so much neglect has followed. For besides the effervescence of the religious pride of the Templars, nourished on the delicacies of the aboriginal barons of the land, they have, by an unjust and imprudent war, compelled the sultan of Babylon to call in the assistance of the Choermians, in utter contempt for our royal treaty, which, with the convent and masters of the houses of St. John and the Teutonic knights of St. Mary, we had contracted with that sultan, seeing that the aforesaid therein displayed the childish simplicity of evident folly, when they reposed confidence in the vacillation of the barbarians, and expecting to find faith in perfidy, using dishonest artifices, they united the sultans of Damascus and Crach, not only different in faith, but discordant in interests also with them, to help them against the army of the Choermians and the sultan, as if one should send for a quantity of oil to put out the fury of a raging fire. So that, as we have heard clearly stated to us by some religious men, who came from foreign parts, the Templars received the aforesaid sultans and their followers within the precincts of their houses of the Temple, with joy and festivity, and suffered them to perform there their superstitious rites and secular pomps, with invocation of the name of Mahomet. In no respect, however, could those who had been invited be turned away by kindness from their nature, nor were they deterred by the promise of alliance which they had sworn, from following their inimical tendency; nay, they showed too plainly that it was a perjuration rather than a conjuration which they
494 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
had undertaken. The sultan of Camel, whom the sultan of Damascus had sent to help those that had made the confederacy against the sultan of Babylon, and who could have no hopes of good at the hands of the sultan of Babylon, took to flight and escaped from the battle with only five of his men; but all the rest, after a short conflict, making a mere show of fighting, went over in safety with all their men to the sultan of Crach, with no contest at all, not even the semblance of a contest, thus ranging their persons on the side of those whose cause they had already espoused in their hearts. Moreover, the most abandoned negligence, which is the last step to destruction, when one's safety is at stake, augments all danger, and threatens us with swift destruction. The chiefs of the orthodox law, a thing which we, who are so wholly orthodox, cannot write without great pain, are far from thinking about reparation for such a deplorable disaster, far from groaning, after the manner of our ancestors, for such afflicting events; but as if the affair were not the affair of Christians or of the Christian faith, we disregard our wounds, and do not trouble about remedies. The Lord has chastened us, and we do not complain; we are surrounded on every side by our burning roofs, yet we run not for water, but each one glories in the misfortunes of the other. In one place the fresh cruelty of the Tartars astounds us; in another place, the ancient peevishness of a barbarous nation burns and torments us. Then, elsewhere, the shameful perfidy of the Paterinians annoys us, and above all, their pefidy, who weakening the sacred empire in Italy by their rebellions, hinder us from subjecting barbarous nations to the Christian empire, according as the Catholic church demands in her holy rites. Thus we are driven about on every side by public enemies, or tormented by hidden ones. Satan is continually working and watching, while Simon is sleeping, and we are not tolerated there, where sleep would refresh our eyes, and repose would refresh our hearts. Rouse ye, therefore, brave man, seize your arms and your buckler, to avenge the injury of our times. It is a list that we have never avoided. God is our witness, and we have always more freely offered our aid to the assistance of the Holy Land, than asked help from others. For we do not think that you are ignorant, how that the transalpine militia, a belligerent race, and who had
A.D. 1244.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 495
taken the sign of the marvellous cross, and avowed itself at the service of the Holy Land, having been convoked, that it might be intrusted to an illustrious chief, and to the direction of those who were crossing the sea, our magnificence did not refuse it the support of our approbation. Moreover, we offered our person, or that of our son, or that of any other leader, whom those persons might think a proper one; promising that the army should be accompanied by a thousand stipendiary knights, who should be continually in our pay, to assist in so good a thing; and we sent, upon this, Berard, archbishop of Palermo, the bishops of Reggio and of Florence, as well as G. of Suessa, our beloved adherents, to Gregory, then sovereign pontiff as special deputies from our excellence, asking from him nothing more than to protect, by an honest and due guard, us, our sons, our empire, and our kingdoms, so that the obstinate insolence of our rebellious Lombards might at last be brought to recognise, as they are bound to do, the rights and sovereignty which belong to the Roman empire, and that the above-named rebels, seeing their confederation, or rather their conspiracy, destroyed, might consent to pay us our revenues, as our other subjects do, and as all other states pay to their lawful kings and masters. Then, having considered the circumstances and the affairs of the times, we foresaw and dreaded what has recently happened (although the knowledge of what is to come is revised and unknown to mortals), as the wickedness of the times had taken such an extension, that for the ruin of Italy the sovereign pontiff of the Church suffered the concurrence of the pontificate to augment the number of our enemies. Gregory, the sovereign pontiff being dead, the papal authority having been weakened by the dissensions of this time, and he who now governs, having been placed on the apex of the pontificate, we made him, by our deputies, propositions much longer than before, and which no one would ever have thought right to have been refused; namely, that, trusting in the omnipotence of our Lord Jesus Christ, the victorious king, we engaged to charge our shoulders with a heavy burthen, loading ourselves with all the affair across the sea, moreover, with the threatening storm of the Tartars, and the perils of the empire of Constantinople; according as our magnificence's former envoy instructed you and the other kings and princes.
496 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
Oh! how great an advantage, after a time, would have accrued to the common cause's welfare, from the antidote offered by our devotion, while the infirmity was curable, before a second stroke from adverse fortune could strike the wound and double the pain of the former sore. We do not think an affair should be thus abandoned to despair or death without thinking of the remedies which they could and ought to have recourse to. For us, our mightiness does not refuse to take its part in so salutary a design, and we even promise our good offices the more willingly, because, seeing the axe already placed at the root of the tree, we consider it necessary that we and all the princes of orthodox faith should then render assistance. While, however, Italy is at peace with us, and the possessions and rights which our nearest parents have peacefully enjoyed both in the empire and in the kingdom, have been reinstated with us in peace, our wings recover their vigour and the integrity of their plumage, with which we may more securely soar aloft. Given at Foggia, the 27th of February, the third indiction".
A brief narrative of the above-mentioned misfortune.
Of this lamentable massacre, mentioned above, which first took place in the city of Jerusalem, the following was the cause. When the Choermians first made their sudden attack on the patriarch and the inhabitants of the city, the latter with their families fled with all speed to Joppa for refuge; the cunning Choermians, however, in order to recall the fugitives and ensnare them for the slaughter, raised the standards of the Christians, who had suddenly fled, on the ramparts of the city. In consequence of this, some of the Christians, who were lying concealed outside the city, left their hiding-places, and, mounting swift horses, followed their fellow-Christians in the spirit of brotherly affection, and called them back, declaring that their companions, who had remained in the city, had happily triumphed over their enemies, and had raised their standards in rejoicing on the walls. They therefore all returned; but when they had betaken themselves with a feeling of security into the city, or its environs, the aforesaid people, armed to the teeth, and well prepared beforehand, rushed suddenly on the unsuspecting Christians, and slew them all at the sword's point. Our
A.D. 1244.] LETTER FROM THE HOSPITALLERS. 497
people, then, who still remained uninjured and free from harm in other cities and castles, assembled a numerous army, unanimously determining to require the blood of their brethren at the bloody hands of their enemies with a heavy vengeance, and gave them battle; but, a calamity to be lamented by all ages, the Christians were worsted, as appears by the letter to the emperor above written. Many were thus slain, and the few wounded who escaped by flight, left their adversaries to boast of a most bloody victory over them,, as the enemy themselves confessed with their own mouths after the battle, for it lasted from early in the morning till the darkness of night put an end to it, as neither party could then distinguish the other.
Another letter with fuller particulars from the master of the Hospitallers at Jerusalem.
"To the most potent lord M, de Merlaye, brother G., of Newcastle, by the grace of God, humble master of the holy house at Jerusalem, and guardian of the poor followers of Christ, greeting.- From the information contained in our letters, which we have sent to you on each passage, you can plainly enough see how ill the business of the Holy Land has proceeded, on account of the opposition which for a long time existed, at the time of making the truce, respecting the espousing the cause of the Damascenes against the sultan of Babylon; and now, wishing your excellency to be informed of other events since transpired, we have thought it worth our while to inform you, that, about the beginning of the summer last past, the sultan of Damascus, and Seisser, sultan of Cracy, who were formerly enemies, made peace and entered into a treaty with the Christians, on the following conditions; namely, that they should restore to the Christians the whole of the kingdom of Jerusalem, and the territory which had been in the possession of the Christians, near the river Jordan, besides some villages which they retained possession of in the mountains, and that the Christians were faithfully to give them all the assistance in their power in attacking the sultan of Babylon. The terms of this treaty having been agreed to by both parties, the Christians began to take up their abode in the holy city, whilst their army remained at Gazara, in company with that of the aforesaid
498 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
sultan's, to harass the sultan of Babylon. After they had been some time engaged in that undertaking, the patriarch of Jerusalem landed from the transmarine provinces; and, after taking some slight bodily rest, he was inspired with a longing to visit the sepulchre of our Lord, and set out on that pilgrimage, in which we also accompanied him. After our vow of pilgrimage was fulfilled, we heard in the holy city that a countless multitude of that barbarous and perverse race, called Choermians, had, at the summons and order of the sultan of Babylon, occupied the whole surface of the country in the furthest part of our territories adjoining Jerusalem, and had put every living soul to death by fire and sword. A council was on this held by the Christians living at Jerusalem, and, as they had not the power to resist these people, it was prudently arranged that all the inhabitants of the holy city, of both sexes and of every age, should proceed, under escort of a battalion of our knights, to Joppa, as a place of safety and refuge. On that same night, after finishing our deliberations, we led the people cautiously out of the city, and had proceeded confidently half the distance, when, owing to the intervention of our old and wily enemy the devil, a most destructive obstacle presented itself to us; for the aforesaid people raised on the walls of the city some standards, which they found left behind by the fugitives, in order by these means to recall the unwary, by giving them to believe that the Christians who had remained had defeated their adversaries. Some of our fellow-Christians hurried after us to recall us, comforting us with pleased countenance, and declaring that the standards of the Christians, which they well knew, were raised on the walls of Jerusalem, in token that they had defeated the enemy; and they, having been thus deceived, deceived us also. We, therefore, in our exultation, returned confidently into the holy city, thinking to dwell there safely, and many from feelings of devotion, and others in hopes of obtaining and retaining possession of their inheritances, rashly and incautiously returned, either into the city itself or into the suburbs; we, however, endeavoured to dissuade them from this altogether, fearing treachery from these perfidious people, and so went away from them. Not long after our departure, these perfidious Choermians came in great force and surrounded the Christians
A.D. 1244.] LETTER FROM THE HOSPITALLERS. 499
in the holy city, making violent assaults on them daily, cutting off all means of ingress and egress to and from the city, and harassing them in various ways, so that, owing to these attacks, hunger, and grief, they fell into despair, and all by common consent exposed themselves to the chances and risk of death by the hands of the enemy. They therefore left the city by night, and wandered about in the trackless and desert parts of the moimtains, till they at length came to a narrow pass, and there they fell into an ambuscade of the enemy, who, surrounding them on all sides, attacked them with swords, arrows, stones, and other weapons, slew and cut to pieces, according to a correct computation, about seven thousand men and women, and caused such a massacre, that the blood of those of the faith, with sorrow I say it, ran down the sides of the mountains like water. Young men and virgins they hurried off with them into captivity, and retired into the holy city, where they cut the throats, as of sheep doomed to the slaughter, of the nuns, and aged and infirm men, who, unable to endure the toils of the journey and flight, had fled to the church of the Holy Sepulchre and to Calvary, a place consecrated by the blood of our Lord, thus perpetrating in his holy sanctuary such a crime as the eyes of men had never seen since the commencement of the world. At length, as the intolerable atrocity of this great crime aroused the devotion of all the Christians to avenge the insult offered to their Creator, it was, by the common consent of all, agreed that we should all, after asking assistance from heaven, arrange ourselves in order, and give battle to these treacherous people. We accordingly attacked them, and fought without resting from early in the morning till the close of the day, when darkness prevented us from distinguishing our own people from our enemies; immense numbers fell on our side; but four times as many of our adversaries were slain, as was found out after the battle. On the following (St. Luke the Evangelist's) day, the knights Templars and Hospitallers, having recovered breath, and invoked assistance from above, together with all the other religious men devoted to this war, and their forces, and the whole army of the Christians in the Holy Land, assembled by proclamation under the patriarch, and engaged in a most bloody conflict with the aforesaid Choermians and five thousand Saracen knights,
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who had recently fought under the sultan of Babylon, and who now joined these Choermians; a fierce attack was made on both sides, as we could not avoid them; for there was a powerful and numerous army on both sides of us. At length, however, we were unable to stand against such a multitude, for fresh and uninjured troops of the enemy continued to come upon us, as they were ten times as numerous as we, and we weary and wounded, and still feeling the effects of the recent battle, so we were compelled to give way, abandoning to them the field, with a bloody and dearly-bought victory; for great numbers more fell on their side than on ours. And we were so assisted by Him who is the Saviour of souls, that not a hundred escaped by flight, but, as long as we were able to stand, we mutually exhorted and comforted one another in Christ, and fought so unweariedly and bravely, to the astonishment of our enemies, till we were at length taken prisoners (which, however, we much tried to avoid), or fell slain. Hence the enemy afterwards said in admiration to their prisoners, 'You voluntarily threw yourselves in the way of death; why was this'? To which the prisoners replied, 'We would rather die in battle, and with the death of our bodies obtain glorification for our souls, than basely give way and take to flight: such people, indeed, are greatly to be feared'. In the said battle, then, the power of the Christians was crushed, and the number of slain in both armies was incomputable. The masters of the Templars and Hospitallers were slain, as also the masters of other orders, with their brethren and followers, Walter, count of Brienne, and the lord Philip de Montfort, and those who fought under the patriarch were cut to pieces; of the Templars only eighteen escaped, and sixteen of the Hospitallers, who were afterwards sorry that they had saved themselves. Farewell".
How the English purposed to throw off the yoke of papistic servitude.
Whilst the human race was thus disquieted by so many storms in Syria, in England also, and its neighbouiing countries,
Saevit in humanis divina potentia rebus.
[The power divine doth sport with human things.]
A.D. 1244.] DISCONTENT AT PAPIST EXACTIONS. 501
For the Roman court, now in the time of our new pope, Innocent the Fourth, laying aside all sense of shame, unceasingly continued, contrary to our hopes, by daily decrees impudently to extort revenues. The discontent which had been long conceived, and had rankled in the hearts of the English, in consequence now broke forth in open complaints, and as if in parturition, they spoke out openly, being unable any longer to contain themselves; for their patience was become idleness, and their humility was unproductive of advantage, indeed rather injurious, and at a council assembled the following considerations were intimated to the king and the kingdom:-
If the pope were to look with his mental eye on the condition of the primitive church in England, what it was in the middle ages and what it is now, he would not shake the foundations of the churches and the ecclesiastics, nor would he oppress them by exactions and afflictions of this kind, or claim or extort from the churches what is not his. For, by the preaching of St. Augustine, the apostle of the English, King Ethelbert was converted to the faith of Christ, and instituted the churches of London, Rochester, and Canterbury, and placing clerks and priests in one place and monks in another, he assigned to them sufficient lands and possessions for their support, and deputed to them the sole office of performing divine services in the places assigned to them, of pouring forth praise and thanksgiving to God day and night, of bestowing alms, and performing other works of piety, and of showing hospitality to the poor according to the extent of their means. In like manner also other kings made grants to other cathedral, prebendal, and conventual churches, which can be seen on inspection of their instruments and the lists of donations. They have not, however, given these possessions with liberty so absolute as not to reserve always three things to themselves for the public advantage of the kingdom; namely, a military expedition, and the repairing and mending of the bridge and citadel, by these means to repel the attacks of enemies. If, therefore, these things are given from the patrimonies and lay fees of kings and princes to the spiritual places, and the bishops of those places as to fixed persons in cathedral churches, and to abbats and abbacies, by what right, we ask, can they, without injury to the right of
502 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
another, be converted to other uses? especially to those from which originate slaughter, fire, and bloodshed; for when Peter asked, "Lord, if we strike with the sword"? the Lord replied, "Put up thy sword into the sheath". Again, if the substance of the clergy of England be sent away to Italy, whence are they to procure means to repair the bridge and citadel, and for a military expedition in case of necessity? Whence are they to obtain means to show hospitality? How will they be able to stay in the places assigned to them? Again, besides other evils, which those who are going from England to the Roman court may suffer at the hands of the emperor's agents, one is plain and palpable enough, which is that, as the territory of the emperor is only separated from England by a narrow sea, which can be crossed in one ebb and flow of the tide, and as the emperor is now going to those parts, it is to be feared that the emperor, being thus provoked, might invade the kingdom as an enemy, as Master Walter de Ocra said in the king's presence at a general council of the barons at London, when he, on behalf of the emperor, most earnestly begged the king and barons not to allow tallies to be collected in the kingdom, either from clerks or laymen, to assist the pope against the emperor, and at the same time giving them to understand repeatedly, that if they did so, innumerable wars would arise in the kingdom, and that the king, and nobles of the kingdom, would scrape themselves to the very bones. Again, inasmuch as the king had, by the advice and at the wish and request of the Church, given his sister in marriage to the emperor, to whom she had given an offspring, which was plainly of our race and of English blood, what else was it, if we contributed money against the emperor, than destroying those sprung from our own nation? which God forbid. And what else would be the result than to prevent the emperor from assisting our king in recovering his own territories? Again, if the pope would consider the afflictions and losses which had been sustained by England at the hands of the French king, Louis, who had invaded it, and who spared neither churches nor ecclesiastics, but had pillaged everything to such an extent, that the prelates of England had scarcely been able to breathe freely heretofore, he, the pope, would not heap affliction on affliction on the afflicted, but proceeding on a better plan, would require a reckoning for
A.D. 1244.] THE KING WRITES TO THE POPE. 503
the losses inflicted on the Church, and would then send forth his armies against the enemy, which he would be able to do, even though the king of England opposed it, without calling on the emperor's aid against the king and kingdom. Again, the Church has gold, the Church has its inheritance, has cities, fortifications and castles, and though they may not be sufficient to oppose such a powerful prince, she may recall into her own hands the benefices of the Italians and Romans, which she has bestowed on them, in no small numbers, as well in England as in other countries, and from the produce of those whom she has so beneficed, she may make hostile preparations. And not with our revenues, which she did not confer upon us, and which we owe to our patrons alone, who have given us all they could, and whom we ought to sustain in every want, if it should so happen that they require it. The pope, moreover, ought to reflect that, in the affliction of the Israelites, Pharaoh released the priests and Levites from every exaction of this kind.
The king of England writes to the pope, complaining of his exactions.
The king, therefore, roused by these injuries, and annoyed by the manifold avarice of the Romans, wrote to the pope as follows:-
"To the most holy father in Christ and Lord, Innocent, by the grace of God, supreme pontiff, Henry, by the same grace, king of England, etc., Health, and kisses to his blessed feet.- The more that the son submits himself to the pleasure of his father, and the readier and more devoted he shows himself to his commands, the more deserving is he of obtaining his father's protection, and of reaping the advantages of his devotion and service. Inasmuch, then, as during the whole of our reign, we have shown ourselves and our kingdom obedient to your pleasure and commands in everything and through everything, although we have in some matters connected with ourselves and our kingdom, generally found in you the anxiety and kindness of a father, yet, in some of your decrees granted by you to the clerks of England and other countries we find that ourselves and our kingdom have been burdened and oppressed in no slight degree. Indeed, the English churches are burdened with such and so many provisions of this kind, that not only are the patrons of churches, and
504 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
those whose duty it is to give away ecclesiastical benefices, defrauded of their rights, but, besides this, many works of charity are given up, because those benefits which are usually bestowed in charity on religious houses for their support, and almost all others, are exhausted by your decrees; and whereas the Apostolic See ought to show favour to its petitioners, provided the right of others is not injured thereby, we have considered it our duty to pray of your holiness to abstain from granting provisions of this kind, at least for a time. In the mean time, also, we entreat of your holiness, in your paternal solicitude, to protect our rights and liberties, which you can consider to be properly our own, and not connected with others, and to preserve them inviolate and entire, and not allow them to be in any way disturbed at your court on the suggestions of any persons. And I trust that your holiness will not be excited to anger against us, if we have in any points opposed the tenour of your commands, since the cry of complaining parties has urged us to this, seeing that we ought not to fail in defending the rights of any man, but, by virtue of the kingly office granted to us by God, ought to afford full justice in civil matters".
By the same, or more clever arguments, the too patient and remiss king had formerly begged of his predecessor, Pope Gregory, to desist from oppressing the kingdom of England by such exactions; but neither the one nor the other deigned to restrain his inclinations in this matter; owing to which, we believe that the Lord and his apostle Peter (in whose steps they did not tread) were provoked with just cause to anger against the Roman church, and prepared and bent their bow.
How the pope endeavoured to bring Wales to obedience to him.
I think that it will not be foreign or irrelevant to my subject, or altogether without benefit to the history of England, to explain to our posterity how the said Pope Innocent the Fourth endeavoured to exempt David, prince of North Wales, from his allegiance to the king of England, to whom he was bound in manifold ways, and to render him subject to his own dominion, by receiving five hundred marks annually for his tenure of North Wales and its appurtenances. And the bonds and instruments by which the said David
A.D. 1244.] SENENA BINDS HERSELF TO THE KING. 505
and other nobles of Wales were bound to King Henry the Third, are as follow; -
The terms on which Senena, wife of Griffin, bound herself in the name of her husband, to the king of England.
"It has been agreed between our lord King Henry the Third, the illustrious king of England, of the one part, and Senena, wife of Griffin, son of Llewellyn, late prince of North Wales (which said Griffin is now detained in prison by David, his brother, together with Owen her son), in the name of the said Griffin, of the other part: To wit, that the aforesaid Senena has undertaken, on behalf of the aforesaid Griffin, her husband, to pay six hundred marks to our lord the king, on condition that he will cause the aforesaid Griffin, and the aforesaid Owen, his son, to be liberated from the said imprisonment, and that he will abide by the decision of his court if he ought to be detained in prison, and that our lord the king shall afterwards allow him and his heirs to have the judgment of his court, according to the Welsh law, as to the portion of the inheritance of the late Llewellyn, his father, which belongs to him, and which the said David is now detaining by force from the aforesaid Griffin. And if the said Griffin, or his heirs, should, by the judgment of the court of our lord the king, obtain the portion which they say belongs to them of the said inheritance, then the said Senena has undertaken, for the aforesaid Griffin and his heirs, that he and his heirs aforesaid shall pay to the king three hundred marks annually, for ever, for the same: that is to say, one-third part in money, another third part in oxen and calves, another third part in horses, at the arbitration of liege men; the said sum to be paid to the sheriff of Shrewsbury, and to be brought by the hands of the said sheriff to the king's treasury, there to be deposited; one portion whereof is to be paid at Michaelmas, and the other at Easter. The said Senena, also, on behalf of her husband, the said Griffin, and his heirs, has undertaken that they shall keep peace with David their brother aforesaid, concerning the portion of the aforesaid inheritance which shall remain to the said David. And the said Senena, on behalf of the aforesaid Griffin, her husband, and his heirs, hath engaged that, if any Welsh noble shall at any time
505 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
rebel against our lord the king and his heirs, the aforesaid Griffin and his heirs shall, at their own cost, compel him to give satisfaction to the king and his heirs. And for the faithful observance of all the aforesaid conditions, the said Senena will give her two sons, David and Rother, to the king, as hostages, with the understanding that, in the case of the aforesaid Griffin, her husband, and his son Owen, who is imprisoned with him, if, out of humanity, one of the aforesaid sons should be restored to the said Senena, before they, the said Griffin and his son, are released from prison, the other shall still remain as a hostage. The said Senena has, moreover, sworn on the holy Gospel, on behalf of herself, her husband Griffin, and his heirs, that they will faithfully observe all these conditions; and she has also undertaken that the said Griffin, her husband, will take the same oath when he is released from prison. And, for the fulfilment of the foregoing, she has submitted herself in the name of her said husband, Griffin, to the jurisdiction of the venerable fathers, the bishops of Hereford and Lichfield, so that the aforesaid bishops, or one of them whom the king shall choose, shall, on the requisition of the king, by sentence of excommunication against their persons, and of interdict on their lands, compel them to observe all and singular the aforesaid conditions. All these aforesaid terms, the aforesaid Senena has undertaken and promised in good faith to fulfil, and to see that they are all fulfilled, and that her husband, the aforesaid Griffin, when he is released from prison, and his heirs, will hold and complete all these undertakings, and will give to the king their bond in writing so to do, in manner and form aforesaid. For further security in this matter, this writing has been drawn up between our lord the king and the said Senena, in the name of Griffin, her said husband, and to the document which is left in the possession of the king, the seal of the said Griffin has been affixed by the hands of his said wife, Senena, as also the seal of the aforesaid Senena; and to the document which is left in possession of the aforesaid Senena, in the name of the aforesaid Griffin, her husband, has been affixed the seal of our lord the king; and for the fulfilment of, and faithful observance of all the above-mentioned conditions, the aforesaid Senena, in the name of her husband, the aforesaid Griffin, has given the
A.D. 1244.] CHARTERS OF THE LORDS OF KEYVEY. 507
undermentioned persons as pledges to our lord the king, namely, Ralph de Mortimer, Walter de Clifford, Roger de Monthaut, seneschal of Chester, Mailgun Fitz Mailgun, Murdoch Fitz Robert, Griffin, son of Maddoc de Brunfield, Howel, and Murdoch his brother, and Griffin, son of Gwenunwin, who, on behalf of the aforesaid Senena, have undertaken to see to the fulfilment of the aforesaid conditions, and have also given their charters to the king for the same. Done at Shrewsbury, on the Monday next preceding the Assumption of St. Mary the Virgin, in the twenty-fifth year of the year of the reign of our said lord the king".
The charter of Roger de Monthaut.
"To all to whom this writing shall come, Roger de Monthaut, seneschal of Chester, greeting.- Know all men, that I have given myself as a pledge for Senena, wife of Griffin, son of Llewellyn, late prince of North Wales, and have engaged on her behalf with my lord Henry, the illustrious king of England, that she will faithfully observe towards him all that she has promised him, the said king, on behalf of her said husband, to obtain his release, and that of his son Owen, from the prison in which his brother David confines him, and also to obtain the portion which belongs to the said Griffin, of the inheritance of his father, the aforesaid Llewellyn, and which the aforesaid David now deforces him of. In witness whereof I have to this writing set my seal. Done at Shrewsbury on the Monday before the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of the said king".
Under the same form each of the aforesaid pledges, English as well as Welsh barons, gave their charters to the king, and bound themselves in the same manner.
Form of the charters of the lords of Keyvey, in Wales.
"Know all present and to come, that I, Murdoch Fitz Howel, have sworn on the holy Gospels, that from this day forward, during my whole life, I will be a faithful subject of our lord the king of England, and will serve him faithfully and devotedly with all my forces, and to the utmost of my power, whensoever he may need my services, and I will faithfully on my part observe the truce which has been made between the Lord Ralph de Mortimer and me, till
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Michaelmas, in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of King Henry the Third; and for the observance of my allegiance to our lord the king for ever, as well as for keeping the aforesaid truce till the term above mentioned, I have placed myself under the jurisdiction of the lord bishop of Hereford, the bishop of Coventry, and the bishop of Llandaff, or of one of them, whom the king shall elect for the purpose, in order that, if any act of mine shall in any way be contrary to my allegiance to the king aforesaid, or shall prevent the observance of the aforesaid truce, it shall be lawful for them, or one of them, whom the king may appoint for the purpose, to excommunicate me and all my people, and to lay my lands under interdict till I shall give full satisfaction for so transgressing. And if by chance peace shall not be re-established between me and the aforesaid Ralph Mortimer, before the said term oi Michaelmas, although I may, after that feast, make war against the said Ralph Mortimer, the aforesaid oath shall not hinder me from so doing as long as I shall abide continually by my allegiance towards the king as aforesaid; and if war should arise between us after the aforesaid period, the king shall nevertheless allow me and my followers to be received in his territory as other faithful subjects of his. And for the observance of the aforesaid conditions towards my lord the king and his heirs, I bind myself by the aforesaid oath, and by affixing my seal to this writing for further security in the aforesaid matter. Done on the day after the Assumption of the Blessed Mary in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of King Henry the Third".
In the same words also Owen Fitz Howel, Mailgun Fitz Mailgun, Murdoch Fitz Murdoch, Howel, son of Cadwallon, and Cadwallon Fitz Howel, gave their charters to the king.
The charter of David, son of Llewellyn, prince of North Wales.
"To all the faithful followers of Christ to whom these presents shall come, David, son of Llewellyn, greeting.- Know that I have given my consent to my lord the illustrious Henry, King of England, son of King John, that I will release my brother Griffin, whom I hold imprisoned, together with his eldest son and others, who, by reason of the aforesaid Griffin, are detained in prison by me, and will give them up to my lord the king. And I will afterwards abide by the
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decision of his court, both as to whether the said Griffin ought to be detained in prison, as well as with respect to the portion of the territory late of my father, the aforesaid Llewellyn, if any ought to belong to the said Griffin, according to the Welsh custom, in order that peace may be established and kept between me and the aforesaid Griffin, and that security be given for his holding it according to the arbitration of the court of the said king, and that I, as well as the aforesaid Griffin, will hold our portions, which belong to us of the aforesaid territory, from our lord the king in chief; also that I will restore to Roger de Monthaut, seneschal of Chester, his territory of Monthaut, with its appurtenances, and will restore to him, and to the other barons and faithful subjects of the king, the seisins of the lands which have been occupied since the commencement of the war between his majesty King John and my father, the aforesaid Llewellyn, saving the right of property, of whatever contract and covenant, and concerning this we will abide on either side by the decision of the court of the said king; and I will repay to my lord the king all the expenses which he and his have incurred by reason of that war, and that I will, according to the decision of the said court, satisfy him and his for the losses and injuries suffered by them, or will give up all malefactors to the king. And that I will also pay to my lord the king all the homage which King John, his father, received, and which the said king ought to have; and especially the homage of all the Welsh nobles, also that the said king shall not release any of his prisoners without their leaving their seisins in possession of the king and his agents; also that the territory of Englesmere, with its appurtenances, shall for ever remain the property of the king and his heirs; also that I will not henceforth receive outlaws or pirates of my lord the king or his barons, from the borders in my territory, nor will I allow them to be received there. And for the faithful observance for ever of all and singular the above articles, to the king and his heirs, I will give security for myself and my heirs by hostages or pledges, or in any other way that the king may choose to dictate, and in these and in all other things I will abide by the will and command of my lord the king, and obey the decision of his court in all things. In witness whereof I have to this present deed in writing set
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my seal. Done at Alnet, near the river Elvey, in the diocese of St. Asaph, on the feast of the Decollation of St. John the Baptist, in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of our said lord the king".
"Also be it known that those who are detained prisoners with the aforesaid Griffin, shall be given up to our lord the king in the same way, until a determination has been come to by his court as to whether or how they ought to be liberated. And I, the said David, have sworn on the holy cross, which I have caused to be brought before me, faithfully to observe all these conditions; the venerable father Howel also, bishop of St. Asaph, has, at my request, promised on his sacred order that he will fulfil all the aforesaid terms, and by all the means in his power cause them to be fulfilled. Edenevet Wangan, also, has, by my order, made the same oath on the holy cross aforesaid. Done, etc. as above".
"Besides this I have engaged for myself and my heirs, that if I or they shall attempt anything contrary to the peace of our lord the king or his heirs, in opposition to the aforesaid articles, all our inheritance shall be forfeited to the king and his heirs. And for the fulfilment of all and singular the aforesaid conditions, I have placed myself and my heirs under the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Canterbury, and of the bishops of London, Hereford, and Coventry, for the time being, so that they all, or one of them, whom the king may choose for the purpose, shall have power to excommunicate us, and place our lands under interdict, if we shall attempt anything contrary to the aforesaid terms. And I have prevailed on the bishops of Bangor and St. Asaph to give their charters to the king, by which they have undertaken to carry into execution all sentences of excommunication and interdict which may be pronounced by the aforesaid archbishop and bishops, or any of them, on receiving their order to that effect".
How David endeavoured to throw off the English yoke.
I have said thus much, in order to show to the world the nature of the many and great obligations the said David, his nephew, a traitor and fratricide, as well as the other nobles (though of ignoble customs) of Wales, had bound themselves to their lord the king. But now, bursting asunder all the
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ties of consanguinity, and violating their faith and the terms of the instruments of agreement, they shamelessly kicked against the authority of their lord, made war, and did him no slight injury on the borders. The aforesaid David moreover, wishing to free his neck from the yoke of allegiance to the king, fled to the papal wings for protection, promising to hold that part of Wales which belonged to him from the pope himself. The pope, in consequence, favoured his cause, and, what I consider a circumstance greatly to be wondered at, opened the bosom of protection and refuge to him, although rebelling against his king; unless, perhaps, it so happened that he obtained the pope's assistance by suppressing the truth and by false statements. For what Christian can be ignorant that the prince of Wales was a petty vassal of the king of England?
The king prohibits the sale of the wool of the Cistercians.
In this same year the king of England prohibited the wool of the Cistercian monks from being conveyed to the continent to be sold for their benefit, endeavouring by these means to oppress and injure them, because, they would not, indeed they were not able, to give him pecuniary assistance when he was in Gascony.
Of the making of the Holy Chrism at St. Alban's.
In this year, too, the holy chrism was made in the conventual church of St. Alban's, by the venerable John, bishop of Hertford.
Testimony of the miracles of St. Edmund the Confessor.
In this year, too, the miracles worked by St. Edmund, the archbishop of Canterbury and confessor, became so frequent at Pontigny, that the days of the apostles seemed to be renewed, and by these miracles not only France, but England also, especially at Cateby, the place where the said saint's pall and some painted pictures, which he used to carry, were known to be kept, and many other places, became famous, and were visited by manifest miraculous blessings. The abbat and conventual assembly of Pontigny, therefore, that they might not be accused of ingratitude, burst forth in his praise, and, with good reason, wishing him to be canonized
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and enrolled in the number and catalogue of the Church's Saints, wrote to the pope as follows:-
"To the most holy father and lord Innocent the Fourth, by the grace of God, supreme pontiff, his devoted servants, J., called abbat of Pontigny, and the conventual assembly at that place, of the Cistercian order, with all devotion, submission, and reverence, kisses to his blessed feet,- The works of the Creator, which bear evidence of glory and honour to his priest, ought not to be kept secret. But as it would take too long to enumerate, yet we ought not, and cannot, be entirely silent on the occurrences which happen not only at the sepulchre of Edmund, of happy memory, formerly archbishop of Canterbury, whose body, that illustrious heap of earth, rests in our church, in which he, with the highest devotion, chose his place of burial, but which have now spread through the whole world by distinguished and manifest miracles. For, in various and distant places, on invoking his name, miracles are worked, not single miracles of a kind, but series of them one after another; and these we will briefly and quickly run through, as far as they have reached our eyes and ears. Blind children are restored to sight, those lame from their birth recover the power of walking; the dropsical diminish in size; those deaf from birth recover hearing; the dumb from birth speak plainly; paralytic persons are restored to strength; those possessed by devils are freed from them; prisons are opened, bonds are loosed; sufferers from quartan and other fevers escape death; some labouring under epilepsy, and various others afficted with various and hidden severe diseases, some deprived of the use of their limbs, and who have become motionless as a log of wood; others who have become suddenly insane, others who are defiled by the disease of fistula, others polluted and disfigured by tumours, are, by the assistance of his merits, restored to their former health. The flow of blood in women is stopped; one is cured of jaundice, the toothache of another is eased; foul spots die away from one, leaving no trace whatever, the ruptured, the hump-backed, those afflicted with gravel, and piles, and otherwise seriously afflicted, are cured; some who have fallen into pits, rivers, and deep waters, and others who have been hurled from a great height, on invoking his name have received but slight, if any, bodily injury; some ensnared in the toils of apostasy,
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others injured by serpents, others nearly suffocated, and others again in despair, have obtained the wonderful grace of this said prelate, and been snatched from impending death, and others again by his merits and prayers are freed from swellings of the jaws, others from a binding of the throat, and others from the bursting of blood-vessels. Some who in times of adversity were spirit-broken by trouble, and who have almost sunk into the pit of despair, have, to their joy, met with consolation and relief, on recalling the name of this pious father to their memory. There are some who, overcome by divers infirmities and in cases of danger, when they have invoked the name of this worshipper of God, beloved by angels, though terrible and hateful to demons, have been released from all their evils, and felt the presence of the virtues of our Lord Jesus Christ. These and more miracles are worked by the only God, who is above all things blessed for ever and ever. What is a wonderful circumstance too, brute animals also feel benefits through him. Hence, by the wonderful dispensation of God, who ordains everything wisely and wholesomely, it has come to pass that in the place where his body rests, such is the glory of the miracles, so great the reputation of the cures, so numerous is the assemblage of people who come there, and so intense is their devotion, that in the same way as the Church sings of the Lord, so also can it sing of his servant,- 'Those who detracted from thee shall come to thee and shall adore the traces of thy feet'; for the very enemies of this said father assembled together and worshipped in the place where his feet have stood. Some followers of infidelity, even, and stiff-necked men, who have presumed to disparage the merits of the Divine omnipotence, as well as of the said father, have been suddenly struck with conviction, and been compelled, even unwillingly, to publish these things. One circumstance more to be wondered at than others, and one unheard of at any time, occurred in the case of a certain boy who had been born without feet, and continued so for eight years, when suddenly new feet grew; and it is a much more unusual thing for new limbs to be substituted where there are none, than that weakened ones should be restored to strength. Oh priest of great merit! oh great merits of such a priest!
"Who would ever have thought of such rewards, or such
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a prerogative for his merits, or of such worthiness of a priest, that, as Christ confers eternal life on the soul which is recalled from eternal death, so this pious Christ-loving prelate, by the operation of the Divine mercy, restored temporal life to abortive infants, to those oppressed, to persons drowned, and to a great many others who were truly dead in the body! For what miracle can be more glorious than that which substitutes the advantage of health for the evil of death? and it does not seem to be without benefit that I have briefly touched on such wonderful miracles".
"For the present miracle will vouch for the truth of those past, and the expectation of future ones will be firm and unshaken; and indeed the assemblage of the people at the said place seems more worthy of admiration than the miracles themselves, unless that circumstance be a miracle; for what is more miraculous, what more wonderful, than that the world should to-day worship a man whom yesterday they hated? that to-day they should flee to him whom yesterday they fled from? that to-day he should be praying to God for wholesome protection for us, with whom we yesterday avoided all connection, either through fear of earthly power, or from our own evil dispositions? This indeed appears to some wise men to be the greatest amongst his great miracles. And inasmuch as the memory of this great man ought not to perish neglected in his tomb, nor consigned to the sepulchre of oblivion, we cast ourselves at the feet of your holiness, and humbly and devoutly beg of you, after duly examining into these miracles, to order the said father to be enrolled in the catalogue of saints. And we act in this matter with the greater confidence, because the blessed Thomas is known to have given testimony to and to have been a forewarning prophet, and promiser of these events; for the said Thomas, after having, by command of Pope Alexander, of happy memory, passed a long period during his exile at our monastery, when signs were shown him from heaven that he was to return to his church, there to depart to the Lord, with the palm of martyrdom, not having the means to remunerate us as he wished, by liberal presents and benefits for the kindness shown to him by our ancestors, and fearing that he had been a burden to us, which he was not by any means, the said Thomas, I say, promised that a successor to
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him would come after him, who would satisfy us on his behalf; and this we know has been fulfilled without fail. And that the memory of St. Thomas the Martyr might be kept in mind, the first man in our church who was cured by his merits was named Thomas; from which fact we have learnt that we may believe all other good deeds concerning him, to the honour and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, etc".
Proofs of the sanctity of St Edmund the Confessor.
Of the kind of cloak which this most blessed man used to wear, it is by no means right to be silent, for we believe it to have been a kind untried by the holy men of former times, and entirely unheard of by those of the present day. His cloak then was not made by the weaver's art, of fine threads, but of small ropes plaited together like a very dense net, the joints of which contained knots as innumerable as painful, in thick order; and that the knots might be more pressed into the flesh of the wearer, the cloak was not whole in the back part of it, but was open from the top downwards, with small meshes here and there. With these, knotted and tightly woven, he fought with himself, in order that, as the domestic torture overcame the body, he might become a martyr and obtain the victory over himself. Nor was he satisfied thus to crucify the flesh with torment rather than garment; but what he inflicted on himself in addition increased our astonishment more than all else. For in order to bind this cloak more closely to the flesh, and that it might be torn more severely by its continued pricking and rubbing, he bound it to him with a thicker rope, passed twice round him at the upper part of his body; and this rope, passing down from his chest to his loins with many intervening coils, was tied, the extremities meeting each other below; and as the rope was joined to the cloak in its use, so it was of the same material.
So, therefore, he had girt himself with the hair cord, who not only had girt the loins of his flesh like a dignitary of the law, with twisted flax, but like the Son of God, he was girt with a belt up to his breast.
In short, those parts of his body which he could not torture by day, namely his hands and the naked parts of his neck, he covered with hair-cloth at night, that thus he might
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make the whole of his body a burnt-offering of a most sweet savour to the Lord. Why need I say anything more of his unwearied fastings and prayers? Although he allowed but scanty food to enter his mouth, yet it was always giving utterance to praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. He was always giving utterance to edifying words, as though they were drawn from the fount of our Lord's breast; profound and edifying discourses on theology, in which he was greatly distinguished, like another Augustine, he delivered amidst sighs and groanings, with his hands and eyes always raised, like St. Martin, towards heaven, so that he invited the devotion of all when he was speakbg.
The wonderful restoration to health of the bishop of Durham.
These and other proofs of the sanctity of this holy man having come to the knowledge of Nicholas, bishop of Durham, who was afflicted with incurable dropsy, discoloured by yellow jaundice, worn away to a skeleton, and who had lost all the moisture of his body, was dried up by cough and asthma, and become so black in colour that he appeared on the point of death, and nothing but the sepulchre seemed to be left to him, he, in this helpless state, despairing of all human remedies, had recourse, full of confidence, to this said holy man. He therefore vowed that, if his bodily health should be restored so as to permit him to do so, he would devoutly and with reverence visit the tomb of the blessed Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury. He was therefore conveyed in a carriage to the southern parts of England, both to benefit himself by breathing his native air, and also to be nearer to Pontigny, in order to fulfil his vow of pilgrimage. After staying there for some, he became so weak that he appeared more like an image than a man, and he therefore made his will, bade farewell to all his friends, and received the wholesome viaticum and extreme unction. But as he was lying at his last gasp, one W., a servant of his, who had been formerly barber and doorkeeper of St. Edmund, when archbishop of Canterbury, and who, conceiving in his mind with good reason that God would number that prelate amongst his saints, had preserved some hairs of his beard, which it had been his duty to shave, hoping that they would be beneficial to the sick at some future time.
A.D. 1244.] THE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 517
When this was intimated to Bishop Nicholas, who, although half dead, retained a vigorous memory, he ordered the said servant to put the hairs in some holy water, and give it him to drink, which was done, and after the bishop had drunk it, vomiting ensued, his swelling and pain subsided, and he was altogether relieved, and in a short time fully restored to health.
The emperor binds himself to keep peace with the Church.
Whilst the deceiver of the world was disturbing mortals with these divers solicitudes, the emperor Frederick, influenced by the spirit of wiser counsel, although only superficially humbled, promised to give satisfaction to the Church, and the Church prelates, on the following terms:- With regard to the securities which must be given, we say as follows:- That the emperor offers security on oath, in writing, and by bail, by the kings, princes, nobles, and earls and counts of different countries; and moreover, with regard to the aforesaid securities, he commits himself to the dictation of his holiness the pope and the mediators. "Frederick, ever Augustus, by the grace of God, emperor of the Romans, and king of Jerusalem and Sicily,- By this present instrument we make known to all, that we grant to R., the illustrious count of Toulouse, our beloved relative and faithful subject, and to Masters Peter de Vinea and Thaddeus de Sessa, judges of our high court and our faithful subjects, special and full power of swearing on their souls, in our behalf, that we will abide by the commands of the pope and the Church, in regard to all matters of injury, loss, and offence, done to the Church and ecclesiastical persons, both before and after the sentence of excommunication, and for which the said sentence of excommunication is known to have been pronounced against us formerly by Gregory, the supreme pontiff; and ratify and confirm whatever the aforesaid faithful subjects of ours have decided ought to be done in this matter. In memory, and for the confirmation of which, we have ordered this present writing to be executed, impressed with our imperial golden bull and topaz".
Letter of the emperor Frederick to the king of England.
"Frederick, etc., etc.,- Inasmuch as at the discussion of the terms for peace between us and the Church, the preliminaries
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of which have been arranged, as we believe, by our beloved relative and faithful ally, Raymond, count of Toulouse, your messengers ought to, and it is our wish they should, be present, we earnestly beg of your majesty, in order to forward this matter, to send special messengers, in whom you can trust, and who may be competent both in skill and good faith, to arrange the matter. Given, etc. etc".
Articles of agreement under which the emperor promised to give satisfaction to the Roman pontiff.
In the matter of territory, terms have been arranged which give satisfaction to both parties, which are, that the whole territory which the Church possessed at the time of the excommunication shall be given up to it, and also with respect to those who adhered to the Church, that, in regard to his contempt of the keys, the emperor should write throughout the world in general, that, in despising the Church, and the power of the Church, he did not treat with contempt the sentence pronounced by the pope's predecessor. And as the aforesaid sentence was not announced to him, he proceeded by the advice of the prelates and other nobles of Germany and Italy, because he was not bound to observe it before it was announced to him. Yet he professes and acknowledges, that he has failed and acted badly in this matter of non-observance of it, as he well knows and firmly believes that the supreme pontiff has full power in spiritual matters, as well over him as over all Christians, kings or princes, clergy or laity, even though he himself should be a sinner, which God forbid. Nevertheless, for his fault, he, the said emperor, will give such and so much assistance, both military and pecuniary, to any prince of Christendom as shall seem expedient to his holiness the pope; and he will give alms and keep fasts as the pope may decree, and will humbly and devoutly observe the said sentence of excommunication until the time of his absolution. With regard to the capture of the prelates: In the first place, all the property taken in their galleys, which has fallen into his, the emperor's, hand, or which can be found in his possession, he will restore and cause to be restored entire. As to the rest, if those who have suffered injuries are willing, he will satisfy them as the pope, in whose kindness he trusts, may command; he
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will also, in atonement for this said offence, and for the honour of God, build hospitals and churches, as the pope may determine, as many and where, and in the manner which he may think expedient, and will endow them as the pope may order. With respect to the aforesaid, and to all other injuries, losses, and offices, caused by him to churches and ecclesiastics since the quarrel commenced, and since the sentence was pronounced, and for which injuries he was excommunicated, he, the emperor, will swear strictly to abide by the commands of the pope, saving, however, to him, his rights and honours in their entirety, and without any diminution of his empire and his realms. And although we think that sufficient satisfaction has been offered for the aforesaid injuries, nevertheless, for the giving satisfaction, and for securing the performance of the preceding matters, as well as those hereinafter mentioned, the emperor will abide by the plans and decisions of the mediators, namely, Stephen, bishop of Ostia, and Giles and Otto, the cardinals, who shall, except the person of the pope, supply what they think necessary to be supplied; on condition, however, that they, the aforesaid mediators, shall do nothing without the advice and order of the pope, and, saving the aforesaid points in the matter of satisfaction and security, they shall do whatever the pope aforesaid, by the advice of his brethren, shall determine upon. Also, with regard to those who adhered to the Church, we say that from this time, all those who adhered to the Church after the quarrel commenced, whencesoever they come, will be forgiven all injury done by them, both before and after the quarrel, whether on the Church's account, or on any other; and he will revoke all bans and sentences pronounced against them. Also, that he will release them from all gifts, contracts, or bonds, which they have made to him after the sentence was pronounced, or after they adhered to the Church, and restore their possessions, rights, and honours to them entire, even though they be given to others. Concerning others, who before the dispute arose were rebels against the emperor, and were then at war with him, we say, that all their offences will be forgiven them, which they afterwards committed against him and the empire. With respect to offences committed before the dispute arose, the emperor will abide by the provisions and decrees of the pope
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and the brethren, to be determined before the time prearranged by the pope, and he will grant a full peace to them and all of them, from this time. Concerning the security to those of Romandiola, who adhered to the Church after the dispute arose, and to the nobles of the province of Treviso, and to the marquis of Montserrat, and other nobles in all parts, the emperor agrees that the aforesaid nobles shall not, unless at the provision of the pope, be bound to serve the emperor personally, but by substitutes; and that they shall be summoned to abide the decision of their fellow-nobles and peers of the same province, those who adhered to the Church not excluded. As to those who are detained on account of real or personal actions, or even accused of criminal offences, especially in the case of the Romagnians, the emperor, for the greater security of those who adhered to the Church, will appoint some one of the chief prelates of Italy, before whom alone they shall plead their causes, so as to give satisfaction to his holiness the pope, as well in civil as criminal cases, and this prelate shall be elected with the consent of the pope, for as long time as he may choose; and their private places of defence the emperor shall give into the charge of those whom he may think proper; but he shall not touch or injure the places of defence of the aforesaid, without the consent of the prelate deputed in these matters. For those belonging to the territory of Treviso, the emperor will, with the co-operation of one of the brethren whom he may think proper to select for that purpose, provide a chief, to whom alone those who adhered to the Church will be bound to give account of the said territory of Treviso. He will also release all the prisoners taken in the galleys, whose release is now demanded, and also all Romans, Tuscans, and other captives taken since the sentence of excommunication was pronounced; and will release them from all oaths and obligations by which they have bound themselves since their capture, as well those who have been liberated, as those who shall be hereafter liberated; and for this he will give his letters patent to his faithful subjects, that those who are prisoners should be everywhere set at liberty by their jailers. Those who were expelled the country on account of the first or second dispute, clerks as well as laymen, he will permit to return to their homes, there to remain in security, and
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restore to them their possessions and goods entire. With respect to his dissension with the Romans, the emperor will abide by the arrangements of the pope and the brethren, as well concerning the reparation to be made for the losses suffered by them on either side in that war, as concerning other matters, on condition, however, that it shall be so arranged concerning the controversy about and the indemnity of his possessions, except the castle of Anticoli, concerning which he is not compromised. With respect to the injuries done by the emperor, or his officials and bailiffs by his order, to the churches of religious men, as well as seculars and other churches, since the sentence was pronounced against him, the emperor will give satisfaction, as the wisdom and kindness of the Apostolic See may think proper to determine, where the emperor does not know that the injury has been done by him or his armies. To Gregory de Monte Longo and his relatives, he grants full peace and security. The land of Count William, which is held by the Church, shall be restored; with regard to the other territory, an arbitration shall be made between the emperor, Cardinal Otto, and the archbishop of Rouen, so that they themselves may decide concerning the law what they ought to decide. The messengers of the emperor say and give their bond, that they will compromise on what touches possession and property, and at the same time will acknowledge, define, and swear that they will, in good faith and without deceit, endeavour to induce their lord the emperor to allow the aforesaid prelates to proceed, either together or separately, in the matter of possession and proprietorship, and the three said prelates shall require the emperor to do so. And they engage for themselves, that they will act in the matter with all good faith towards the emperor, provided that he will consent for them to proceed as they shall think expedient, in the hearing and determining of this matter, either of possession and proprietorship, jointly or separately, and that, if they could not all be present, and one of them was detained by any reasonable impediment, two of them might proceed in the matter.
Of the obstruction to the canonization of St. Edmund the Confessor.
This difficult matter having been settled, the pope, thinking
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that he had consummated all matters happily, returned thanks to God and St. Edmund, whose assistance he had invoked in his time of trouble. He therefore promised and determined, in accordance with the request of the abbat and monks of Pontigny, solemnly to canonize the blessed Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, whom he knew from public report to be shining forth with so many miracles, of which mention has been made above; and sent Andelm, archbishop of Armagh, with some other discreet and influential men, to make a due examination into these miracles. When the old and inveterate persecutors of the said saint heard this, they said amongst themselves: "If this man is canonized and raised to the distinguished title of sanctity, we shall be put to ignominious confusion". They therefore, to their souls' perdition, made a plot with Otto the legate, to prevent this saint, whom God had manifested to the world by so many miracles, from being canonized.
The emperor retracts from the terms of the peace which had been arranged.
Carried away by the same fury, the emperor, at the instigation of him who first showed pride, repented of his promises, and unhappily retracted from the terms which he had sworn to observe, of humiliation, and of giving the promised satisfaction; and at the same time too, in order to add to our sorrows, the prelates dwelling in the Holy Land wrote to those on this side of the sea to the following effect:-
A mournful letter.
"To the reverend fathers in Christ, and all our friends, the archbishops, bishops, abbats, and other prelates in England and Frcmce, to whom these present letters shall come; Robert, by the grace of God, patriarch of the holy church of Jerusalem, and legate of the Apostolic See; Henry, archbishop of Nazareth; J., elect of Caesarea; R., bishop of Acre; the bishop of Sidon; brother William, of Rochefort, vicemaster of the house of the knights of the Temple, and the brethren of the same house; H., prior of our Lord's sepulchre, abbat of St. Samuel of the Premonstrate order; and the abbats, B., of Mount Olivet, J., of the Temple of our Lord, P., of Mount Tabor, and R., of Mount Sion, Health and success, according to your wishes.-
"The ferocity of wild beasts has come forth from the regions
A.D. 1244.] A MOURNFUL LETTER. 523
of the East, and directed its course to the province of Jerusalem, which, although it used at various times to be harassed in manifold ways by the surrounding Saracens, yet of late was in some measure breathing freely, the neighbouring enemies having been lulled to rest; yet the sins of the Christians have aroused an unknown people to their own destruction, and have brought the sword of the avenger on them from afar. Yes, the rage and fury of the Tartars have now shaken the whole of the eastern region with the terrors of a manifold calamity: persecuting all alike, and making no difference between Christians and infidels, but driving off their booty from the most remote quarters, even of those who would themselves have preyed upon the Christian people. These said Tartars, after ravaging the whole of Persia, have made war in a worse spirit, and hunting out those cruel Chorosmins have dragged them forth like snakes from their holes, and driven them from their own provinces. These latter, having no habitation, as they could not obtain a place of refuge amongst any of the Saracens, owing to their wickednesses, were only aided by the sultan of Babylon, that persecutor of the Christian faith, who, although he refused them a place of refuge in his own territory, offered them that which belonged to others, and summoned and invited these said infidels to inhabit the land of promise which the Most High had promised and has given to those who believe in him. They therefore, relying on the assistance of the said sultan, came, with their wives and families, and several thousand armed knights, into the Lord's inheritance, which, as they said, the sultan of Babylon had given to them; and their arrival was so sudden that it could not be foreseen, either by us, or the neighbouring people, so as to allow us by a forewarning to guard against the coming dart, and they entered the district of Jerusalem through the provinces of Saphet and Tiberias. And although we applied all care and diligence to devise means for restoring the Holy Land to its former state of peace and tranquillity, which was disturbed by these new enemies, yet the power of the Christians was inadequate to the task of expelling them, and the aforesaid Chorosmins then took possession of the whole country, from Toron, of the knights, which is near Jerusalem, to Gazara. We therefore, by the
524 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
advice and wish of all in common, in conjunction with the masters of the religions houses, namely, of the knights of the Temple, the Hospitallers of St. John, and the preceptor of the Teutonic knights of St. Mary, as well as of the nobles of the kingdom, called in to the assistance of the Christians, the sultans of Damascus and Camel, who were then allied by a treaty of peace with us, and who hold a special enmity against the Chorosmins, and who were also bound, according to the terms of the treaty, to defend the territory which the Christians held against all other Saracens, as we thought that they would be alarmed by the arrival of these said Chorosmins. They, however, although they had faithfully promised and sworn to afford us assistance, greatly delayed in giving us any succour, and, whilst the Christians, who were so very few compared to their enemies, were hesitating as to whether they should fight against these Chorosmins, they often attacked the city of Jerusalem, which was entirely unprotected by ramparts. The Christians, therefore, who were in the city, fearing the cruelty of these infidels, assembled to the number of more than six thousand men, and, trusting to the truce made by them with the sultan of Crach and the Saracens of the mountainous districts, left a few only in the city, and set out through these mountainous districts, with their families and all their property, to go into the territory of the Christians. But the Saracens of the provinces sallied out and attacked them, putting some of them mercilessly to the sword, taking away others to a hopeless captivity, and exposing the Christians of both sexes, and even nuns, for sale to the other Saracens. Some of them, however, escaping, descended into the plain of Ramah, when the Chorosmins rushed on them and committed such slaughter amongst them, that out of all this great multitude scarcely three hundred were left, and those nearly lifeless. These aforesaid perfidious wretches then entered the city of the Israelites, now almost destitute of people, and there disembowelled all the Christians who had remained there, before the very sepulchre of our Lord, into the church of which they had fled for refuge, and even decapitated the priests who were performing mass at the altars, saying among themselves, 'Here let us pour forth the blood of this Christian people where they have drunk wine in
A.D. 1244.] A MOURNFUL LETTER. 525
honour of their God, who they say was here suspended upon the cross'. Besides this, we inform you of it with sorrow and grief, they laid their sacrilegious hands on the sepulchre of our Lord's Resurrection, and defiled it in manifold ways; they entirely tore up the marble tablet which was placed round it, and polluted with every kind of insult in their power the mount of Calvary, where Christ was crucified, and the whole city, beyond what I am able to express. The sculptured pillars which were placed as an ornament before our Lord's sepulchre, they took away, and in contempt of the Christians, they sent them to the tomb of that most wicked wretch Mahomet, as a sign of victory; and as a further insult to Christianity, they violated the tombs of the happy kings, which were placed in the same church, and scattered their bones in all directions. The revered mount of Sion they irreverently profaned, and polluted with enormities unfit to relate the temple of the Lord, the church of the Valley of Jehoshaphat - where is the tomb of the blessed Virgin, the church of Bethlehem, and the place of our Lord's nativity, thus exceeding the wickedness of all the other Saracens, who, although they often invaded the Christian territory, always observed some respect to those holy places. But as these said Chorosmins, not content with all this, were aiming at the capture and destruction of the whole country, the Christian people, provoked by so many injuries and enormities, and unable any longer to endure such great evils, sufficient to arouse grief and bitterness in the heart of every zealous follower of the Catholic faith, determined by common consent to unite the forces of the aforesaid sultans with those of the Christians, in order to resist them. With all these imited forces, therefore, on the fourth day of October, the Christian army began to move against them from the port of Acre, and proceeded through Caesarea and other maritime districts. The Chorosmins, then, having gained knowledge of our approach, retreated through various districts, and at length pitched their camp before Gazara, awaiting there the succours which the sultan of Babylon - that head and chief of sacrilege - was about to send to them. Having been joined by a large host, sent by the said sultan, when the army of the Christians and the aforesaid sultans approached them, which they did on the
526 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
eve of St. Luke's day, we found them before Gazara with an innumerable host, and their legions drawn out in order of battle. On this our army was arranged by the chiefs in the proper order to attack the enemy, and the patriarchs and other prelates then by the authority of the omnipotent God and of the Apostolic See, absolved them of their sins, and all gave such signs of sincere contrition in abundant flowings of tears, that, regarding as nothing the death of the body, and hoping for eternal reward, they all thought that to die for Christ was to live. For although bodily calamity should happen to us through our sins, we must believe that the Most High, who is the searcher of hearts, and knows all secrets, would be pleased with the gain of souls rather than bodies. After this we engaged the enemy, when the Saracens who were with us, having been overcome by the enemy, all took to flight, numbers of them being slain, or taken prisoners; and thus the Christians were left alone in the battle. But, although the Chorosmins and Babylonians rushed on them together, the Christians being, as it were, champions of the Lord, and defenders of the Catholic faith, whom the same faith aud suffering made brothers, showed a brave resistance to them; but at length, as they were so very few in comparison with their enemies, the tide of battle turned against them, and - I write it with sorrow - they yielded the victory to their enemies. Out of the whole of the brethren of the Knights of the Temple, of the Hospitallers of St. John, and of the Teutonic knights of St. Mary, only thirty-three Templars, twenty-six Hospitallers, and three of the Teutonic brethren escaped, the rest being all slain or made prisoners; the nobles and knights of the country were for the most part slain or made prisoners, besides an immense slaughter of the cross-bowmen, and foot-soldiers. With respect to the archbishop of Tyre, the bishop of St. George, the abbat of St. Mary of Jehoshaphat, the master of the Templars, the preceptor of St. Mary of the Teutonics, and several other religious men and clergy, as they do not appear amongst us, we are in great doubts as to whether they fell in battle, or are still detained prisoners, and we cannot yet ascertain the truth about them. The master of the Hospitallers and Count Walter de Brienne were with many others taken away prisoners to Babylon. We, the patriarch, on
A.D. 1244.] A MOURNFUL LETTER. 527
whom, owing to our sins, all this calamity has fallen, being considered by the Lord as unworthy of martyrdom, have escaped half-dead, and have taken refuge at Ascalon, together with the nobles, the constable of Acre, Philip de Montfort, and the knights and foot-soldiers who escaped from the battle. And although there is no comfort amongst so many adversities and losses to us who have lost everything from the aforesaid battle, yet what we can do in the present emergency, we have done; namely, we have sent our letters and messengers to the illustrious king of Cyprus, and the prince of Antioch, earnestly begging and exhorting them, in this most urgent case of necessity, to send knights and soldiers for the defence of the Holy Land; but we do not yet know what they mean to do in the matter. We next returned to Acre, and took up our abode in that city, which we found, as well as the whole country along the coast, filled with grief, lamentation, and various and endless misery, and there was not a house or a living soul which was not lamenting for some one dead belonging to it; but although the grief for the past was great and severe, yet fear for the future took possession of us. For as the whole country, which had been gained by the swords of the Christians, was now destitute of all human or earthly assistance and protection, and the strength of the defenders was reduced to nought and destroyed, as there were only a few surviving, and those even brought down almost to death, nothing else now seemed to remain but that all the rest should fall into the hands of the enemies of the cross at their pleasure; for they had now advanced to such a degree of intolerable audacity and insolence, that they pitched their camp, which extended over a space of two miles, in the plain near the city of Acre. They are also now running wild, freely, and with no one to impede or oppose them, throughout the whole country far and wide, as far as the provinces of Nazareth and Saphet, taking possession of the country, and dividing it amongst them as though it were their own, appointing ambassadors and agents throughout the villages and towns of the Christians, and receiving the revenues and tributes from the provincials and other inhabitants, which they used formerly to pay to the Christians; and these same provincials were now become enemies to, and rebels against.
528 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244
the Christians; and all adhered to the said Chorosmins. Thus all the churches of Jerusalem, as well as of all the Christian territory, had now no other territory than some few fortified places, which, too, they find the greatest difficulty and labour in defending. It is also said that the Babylonians who are at Gazara are about to come in immense numbers to Acre to join the Chorosmins in besieging the city. We also, on the 22nd day of November received letters and messengers from the chatellain and the Hospitallers who form the garrison of the castle of Ascalon, announcing to us that the Saracen army from Babylon had laid siege to that castle, and were blockading it, and begging speedy assistance and supplies from us and from the whole Christian community. And in order that your piety may excite you to compassion for the ruin of the Holy Land, because this burden rests on the shoulders of all in common, we thought it right to inform you of the condition of the cause of Christ, and we humbly beg of you by prayers and sincere devotion to implore mercy of the Most High in behalf of that land, in order that He who by his blood consecrated that land for the redemption of all men, may in his compassion look forth on it, and stretch forth his hand to assist and protect it; and do you also, most beloved fathers, give what advice and assistance you can in this matter, that you may thereby obtain for yourselves a reward in heaven; for you may rest assured, that unless assistance is given to the Holy Land in the next passage of March, by the hand of the Most High, and by reinforcements of Christian troops, the destruction and ruin which now hangs over it is inevitable. But as it would take us too long to explain our other necessities and the state of the Holy Land in general by letter, we send to you the venerable father the bishop of Beyrout, and Arnulph, a brother of the religious order of Preachers, who will relate to your community the whole truth fully and faithfully; and we humbly beg of you all to listen to the aforesaid messengers and to entertain them liberally, as they have, on behalf of God's church, exposed themselves to great dangers by making the voyage in winter. Given at Acre, this twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred and forty-four".
To the original letter, which is a fac-simile of this, twelve seals were affixed.
A.D. 1244.] FOREWARNINGS OF A FUTURE JUDGMENT. 529
The influence of the above letter.
This sad and mournful letter then the prelates and nobles of the Holy Land, notwithstanding the asperity of the coming winter and the threatening agitation of the disturbed sea, intrusted to Waleran, bishop of Brie, and brother Arnulph, of the order of Preachers, to be carried with all possible speed to those on our side of the water, and especially to be shown to the French and English kings. The aforesaid bishop and brother, then, in a case of such great necessity, undertook, for the remission of their sins, to accomplish this errand, on Christ's behalf, at the request of the prelates; and, despising all personal dangers, on the first day of our Lord's Advent, they boldly, although with due humility, embarked for the purpose of arousing the hearts of the Christians, and of preparing the ways of the only-begotten Son of God, under whose protection they would deservedly obtain salvation from the perils impending over them, in consequence of their sins. For six months they were at sea, exposed to the danger of death in every kind of way, and, as we have heard from the venerable bishop himself, suffered so many and such great perils, that it was lamentable to hear the account of them, and tedious to relate them. At length, however, under the guidance of God and by the assistance of the prayers of all the aforesaid prelates, to which they had commended themselves, they arrived at the port of Venice about the Ascension of our Lord.
Some forewarnings of a future judgment.
That well-known threat of the Lord has never before been fulfilled as it now was in the case of the holy city of Jerusalem. "One stone", said he, "shall not be left upon another", etc., etc. And it should be known that some few years before, the image of Mahomet at Mecca fell down, and for greater revenge for this circumstance, and for the injury of Christ and of the Christians, who exulted in the fall of this image, these said Chorosmins now raged more furiously against the Christians and their holy places, and said that they had obtained this victory through the favour of God, and by the intervention of Mahomet.
"Their voice has gone forth" (that is to say, "will
530 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
hereafter go forth", putting the past for the future) "into the whole world". Already the preaching of the Preachers and Minorites has gone forth to the very bounds of the world, according to the words of the Saviour, "Ye shall be my witnesses in all Judea and Samaria, even to", etc., etc; as though he would say, "When ye see these things, a general judgment is impending". Neither land nor sea, according to their usual custom, answers the expectations of men; but the water, as well as the land, is smitten with a kind of sterility. The sun has twice of late in three years been eclipsed, a circumstance never remembered to have occurred before. Stars were seen to fall of late. Sects sprung up, owing to faith wavering. A disagreement, such as had never been known before, had arisen between the Church and the emperor. Famine and pestilence prevailed in the French king's army; and a few years back, the city of Paphos, and several others belonging to the empire, in the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, were entirely uprooted by an earthquake.
The pope's perseverance in reconciling the bishop of Winchester to the king.
Whilst the world was thus tossed about by the billows of care, and Syria was shaken by the storms of late events, England was unceasingly excited with cares and anxieties. For the king, notwithstanding he had received frequent and urgent requests and admonitions from the pope on behalf of the bishop of Winchester, who was still an exile in France, relying on the counsels of the clerks of his court, who were only grasping at gain, raised some serious charges against the said bishop. The pope, however, to whom it was said the bishop had paid eight thousand marks, as well out of affection for the said bishop as on account of the large sum of money paid to him, diligently interested himself and wrote to the king of England on his behalf, as follows:-
The pope's letter to the king of England on behalf of the bishop of Winchester.
"Innocent, bishop, etc., etc., to his well-beloved son in Christ the king of England, Health and the apostolic benediction.- After God's goodness had raised our humble self to the dignity and office of the apostolic chair, we felt such confidence in your highness, that we imagined you would show
A.D. 1244.] THE POPE'S LETTER. 531
yourself prompt and vigilant in those matters which tended to the honour of the Church. Hence it was that when, by the advice of our brethren, we consented to the election of our venerable brother, formerly bishop of Norwich, as pastor of the church of Winchester, we sent particular entreaties to you that you would, out of reverence to the divine Being, and respect to ourself, show yourself kind in feeling and mild in your actions towards him, and that you would promptly and kindly cause to be assigned to him the castles and manors pertaining to that church. You, however, as we have heard to our astonishment and grief, not only would not allow our request to be carried into effect, but also, what is a more serious offence, you broke forth into speeches devoid of all due moderation and filial respect, declaring that no election in the kingdom of England ought to, or could be, allowed by the Apostolic See against your wish; that, as we had power in spiritual affairs, so you had authority in temporal matters; and that no one who was elected could obtain possession of temporal property without your consent; you added, moreover, that you considered the translation of the said bishop as invalid, as having been obtained from us by false and underhanded means. These proceedings, my well-beloved son, do not redound to the honour of God, the Church, or yourself; they taste not of justice, they savour not of equity, especially as the pious belief of all Christians is that, by God's providence, the authority of the Apostolic See has full power in all church matters, and that they are not obliged to abide the decision of princes so as to require their consent in matters of elections and expostulations; in which matters the said Apostolic See proceeds so deliberately and wisely, that honour can suffer no detraction, and nothing can happen derogatory to justice. Thus also it has proceeded in the translation of this said bishop, in advancing whom it has promoted a man distinguished alike for his knowledge, morals, and probity, one prudent in spiritual as well as temporal affairs, and one formerly dearly beloved by you, one who endeavours by all his efforts to attend to your wishes as far as his duty to the Lord allows him, and one by whose tried industry you may gain increase of honour and advantage. Do not, then, allow yourself to be imposed upon by the cunning devices of underhanded advisers, who are induced to do injury to
532 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
virtuous men for the sake of an indifferent person, only in order to obtain special advantages for themselves and the fulfilment of their private desires. We, therefore, exhort your majesty, with all possible affection, and beseech you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to turn away your ears from the impious suggestions of such men, continually to aim at the advancement of the honour of God's church, and of the privileges of liberty granted to it from above, and to endeavour to preserve those privileges inviolate. Permit the prelates of your kingdom now and henceforth freely to take and peacefully to hold possession of whatever belongs to their churches both in spiritual and temporal matters. Besides this, consider deeply on the facts, that in the performance of the duties of onr apostolic office we are subservient to the honour of the divine name; therefore do not recall to your mind, nor disturb by any impediments, the proceedings which we have taken, after particular deliberation, in the case of the aforesaid bishop; but as we have determined, in our own mind, to hold you in especial favour above all the other princes of the earth, you will of necessity act honourably towards him, and, putting aside all difficulties, with goodwill resign and grant to him all the castles and manors with the produce which has accrued therefrom since the time of his translation; in order that, under your especial favour, he may undertake the cares of the office intrusted to him, and bring them to good effect; otherwise, as we do not choose the liberties of the Church to be lessened in our time, but rather that they should be increased, we shall by no means be able to endure so prejudicial an injury in the person of the said bishop. Given at the Lateran, this twenty-seventh day of February, in the first year of our pontificate".
How the pope also wrote to the queen of England and to some of the prelates on behalf of the bishop of Winchester.
The pope also wrote an eloquent letter in a similar strain, on behalf of the bishop of Winchester, to the queen of England, at the commencement of which he declared that she, the queen, was a relation of his,- we know not on what account, unless perhaps to make her more compliant in this business of his, and more favourable to his requests. He then asks and exhorts her (knowing that a woman is so called, because
A.D. 1244.] THE KING AND THE BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. 533
she softens man's woes and evil dispositions [1]) to endeavour to soften the severe rancour which the king her husband had conceived against the bishop of Winchester.
He also wrote to the archbishop elect of Canterbury, and to the bishops of Worcester and Hereford, urging them to interest themselves diligently in this said matter, adding at the end of his letter an injunction to them to send him in their letters of reply the names of the underhanded advisers who perverted the king's mind.
The bishop of Winchester's letter to the king.
"To the most excellent, etc., etc.,- Whereas we desire, as for as it is compatible with our reverence for God, to use our utmost eftorts to cultivate your good-will, we have received with all due respect brother Hugh of St. Tudor, who was sent to us by your majesty. On his afterwards putting certain questions to us in your name, we replied to them one by one, following, as we believe, the path of justice and equity, as the aforesaid brother Hugh (as we have heard from him) will fully intimate to your majesty in his letters. As we desire with our whole hearts to fulfil, as far as we can with due reverence to God, your wish on the said matters, we most humbly beg of you, in your respect for the Apostolic See, to compassionate the sufferings of the church of Winchester, to receive us into your favour and grace, and in respect to the Divine name, mercifully to abate the anger which your majesty, perhaps at the instigation of whisperers, has conceived against us".
The king's objections to the bishop of Winchester.
As mention has been made of the points concerning which the king convened the bishop of Winchester, it ought to be known how and with what arguments the bishop replied to them. In the first place, that, as a decree had been obtained of old, both by the purports of the privileges of the king, and also by right and by the custom of the kingdom, that those who were nominated and elected should, after their nomination and election by their nominators and electors, be presented to the king, and should, after confirmation,
[1] The original is a pun, and difficult to express in English. The Latin word for woman is "mulier", which is, as it were, a contraction of "molliens herum", who softens the man.
534 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
before being admitted to administration in spiritual or temporal affidrs, make an oath of fealty to him, which matters had been omitted in the person of this said bishop, he, the king, endeavoured to procure a decree from the pope, notwithstanding the foregoing, that for the future and in similar cases, those privileges, rights, and customs, should continue in force, and should be confirmed by him, the pope. Secondly, that the said bishop should absolve the city of Winchester from the sentence of interdict promulgated against it. Thirdly, that on receipt of security, he should absolve all clerks, laymen, and others, and especially the people of Winchester, from the sentence of excommunication which he had pronounced against them on account of the controversy which had arisen between the king and himself. Fourthly, that he should not remove the prior of Winchester, whom he, the king, had installed there; but should allow him to remain in his favour. Fifthly, that he should ratify all ecclesiastical benefices in his presentation, in the bishopric of Winchester, or in any other, which had been given away by the king since the commencement of the controversy, and should allow the holders of them to enjoy peaceable possession. Sixthly, that he should not institute any proceedings against Master Henry de Seusa, or any other clerks or monks named, on account of this controversy; but should pardon all offences and injuries, and abandon all feelings of indignation and rancour. Seventhly, that if any claim or cause of action existed with him concerning the produce of Winchester for past time, he should, out of respect to the king and from feelings of liberality, remit the same to him, the king. Eighthly, that the said bishop should abandon all feelings of anger against those whose names should, by his, the king's, order, be transmitted to him by the bishops of Worcester and Hereford, and the archdeacon of Canterbury, and should admit them to his full favour, so that they should be preserved harmless, as for as regarded their good name, benefices, and condition.
The bishop of Winchester's reply.
To the first article of demand made by the king, the bishop of Winchester replies, that those who nominated him, after demanding permission from the king, presented him to the king, according to the custom of the kingdom, and that
A.D. 1244.] DECEIT OF HENRY DE SEUSA. 535
afterwards, when the said nomination was allowed and confirmed by the pope, he, the said bishop, caused the pope's letters, directed to the king in this matter, to be handed over to him, the said king, both by the Preacher and Minorite brethren, as well as by certain clerks and knights, who, by his order, devoutly begged of the king to allow him, the said bishop, to present himself to him, there to do what the custom of his kingdom demanded and required. But as they could not by the most urgent entreaties obtain this, nothing could be considered to have been omitted on his, the bishop's part, as it was not owing to him that everything contained and required in the said article of the king's demand was not fulfilled. To the second and third articles the bishop replied, that if he could obtain the king's favour (which he desired with his whole heart), and could obtain peaceable possession of his bishopric, he would out of kindness withdraw the sentences of excommunication and interdict in form of law; but that he could not, with due reverence to the Lord and respect to justice, bind himself to this by any bond of agreement; but that, in compliance with the king's request, he intended to grant all absolution from excommunication which he could do without inconformity with his duty to the Lord. To the four succeeding articles he replied, that as they only had reference to spiritual matters, or other things connected with them, and which, consequently, did not allow of his making a covenant and agreement, he could not fulfil those articles in the manner required by the king; nevertheless, that, when he should be received into favour by the king and obtain peaceable possession of his bishopric, he would, with the help of the advice of the king and his faithful counsellors, act with great mildness, and show himself as favourable to the king's request as he could, conformably with his duty to the Lord. To the article concerning the produce of the proceeds of the bishopric, he replied, that when he obtained the king's favour and peaceable possession of his bishopric, and when he was satisfied concerning those proceeds, he would obey the king's pleasure, so as to merit commendation from him.
The deceit of Master Henry de Seusa.
From that time, then, the king acted more leniently to the bishop of Winchester, both on account of the pope's
536 MATTHEW PARIS. [A.D. 1244.
urgent entreaties, and also owing to the humiliation and modest reply of the bishop; but, whilst peace appeared to be entering the threshold of the door, Master Henry de Seusa, the cause and fomenter of the same discord, on whom the king had bestowed a rich benefice, namely, the charge of the hospital of the Holy Cross, outside the city of Winchester, disturbed by a guilty conscience, began to meditate and consider within himself, that if peace should be fully and openly re-established between the said parties, the bishop would be considered the especial friend of the king, and second to none, and would be exalted in the king's councils as being a discreet and circumspect man, and would, and with cause too, put him, the said Henry, to confusion, and that the king also would reject his advice with the same ease as he had followed it. On considering all these matters, therefore, he, with the money, of which he had obtained no small sum from the king, made friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, and procured for himself (would that he had not) a bishopric in his own country; and he, a messenger himself became like the raven that deceived its master Noah, and, basely leaving an unskilful deputy to bear the burden which he had taken on his own shoulders, he disappeared from the kingdom well fattened on the good things of it, and never after showed himself therein.
END OF VOL. I.
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