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From The Annals of Roger de Hoveden, Comprising the History of England and of Other Countries of Europe from A.D. 732 to A.D. 1201, Translated from the Latin with Notes and Illustrations by Henry T. Riley, Esq., Volume I, London: H.G. Bohn, 1853; pp. 279-295.





THE  ANNALS  OF
ROGER  DE  HOVEDEN.
Volume I.

[Part 25: 1167-1168 A.D.]




A. D.
1167.


LETTER
OF
THE
POPE
TO
KING
HENRY.
[295]

The Letter of pope Alexander to Henry, king of England.

“The bishop Alexander, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved son, Henry, the illustrious king of the English, health and the Apostolic benediction. With what paternal and kindly feelings we have often convened your royal excellence, and have frequently exhorted you, both by letters and our nuncios, to become reconciled to our venerable brother Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, and to restore to him and his clerks their churches, with the other things which you have taken from them, the prudence of your highness is by no means unaware, insomuch as it is public and notorious to nearly the whole of Christendom. Wherefore, seeing that we have hitherto been able to make but little progress in this matter, or by kind and gentle conduct to soothe the emotions
A. D.
1167.
296 of your mind, we are rendered sad and sorrowful, and grieve that we are disappointed in our hopes and expectations; particularly as we love you sincerely as our most dearly-beloved son in the Lord, and we see this great danger threatening you; and inasmuch as it is written, ‘Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression;’1 and likewise, ‘If thou dost not warn the wicked from his way, his blood will I require at thy hand;’2 and by Jeremiah, the slothful man was ordered to be stoned with the dung of oxen. We have determined no longer to bear your hardness of heart as heretofore, to the detriment of justice and your own3 salvation; nor will we for the future close the mouth of the said archbishop in any way, or prevent him from freely doing his duty, and avenging with the sword of ecclesiastical severity the wrongs which have been done to himself and to the Church entrusted to his charge. Now, as to the points which are contained in this letter relative to the matters before-mentioned, as also others of less importance, our well-beloved brother, the prior of Mont-Dieu, and the brother Bernard de Corilo, men who indeed pay more respect to God than to kings, will in words further explain to your highness. May He, to pay obedience to whose admonitions is to reign, and in whose hands are the hearts of princes, incline your mind and will, that so you may be prevailed upon, rather than, against God and your salvation, persist any longer in so determined a course of obstinacy. But if even now you shall refuse to hearken to the proposals which they shall make to you in my behalf, then without doubt you will have occasion to fear what is to ensue, and to dread the Divine vengeance in the world to come.”

The Letter of the blessed Thomas, the archbishop of Canterbury, to Gilbert, bishop of London.

“Thomas, the humble minister of the church of Canterbury, to Gilbert, bishop of London, may he, now as always, so pass through good things temporal as not to lose those eternal. It is a cause of wonder, indeed, for extreme astonishment, that a man of prudence, well versed in Holy Scripture, and especially wearing the appearance of religion, should, laying aside the fear of God, so manifestly, not to say
A. D.
1167.


THE
ARCH-
BISHOP
TO
THE
BISHOP
OF
LONDON.
297 irreverently, set himself against truth, oppose justice, and, to the utter confusion of all right and wrong, seek to overthrow the establishment of the Holy Church, which the Most High hath founded. For it is the Truth which says, ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ He is generally supposed not to be of sane mind who intends the ruin thereof, and is like a man who binds a rope around a vast mountain, and attempts to throw it down. But is it because I am inflamed with anger or with hatred, that, in my exasperation, I am driven to utter words of this nature against my brother and colleague, and fellow-bishop? God forbid! But to the above effect have I collected from your letter, which I received through your archdeacon; nor was I enabled thereby to gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles. That it may be clear whether or not it is so, let us examine it, and bring its contents to the light. The end, when compared with the beginning, presents a very strong resemblance to a scorpion. The one approaches us, using smooth and gentle language, the other, stinging us severely, attempts to impose silence upon us. For, what else is it, first to acknowledge your dutiful subjection to us, and to promise obedience in conformity with that subjection, and then, in the end, to have recourse to appeal, in order that you may not be obliged to obey? The Apostle says, ‘Do I purpose that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay?”4 As the Apostles could not always be with the disciple, of necessity did the disciples receive power from the Lord of treading upon serpents and scorpions; for even unto this day Ezekiel5 is dwelling with the scorpions. And now consider in what sense you say, ‘We do have recourse to the remedy of appeal?’ You call yourself a follower of Christ; in this speech you are found to be far otherwise. For the efficacious, nay, rather the most efficacious remedy of all our evils, namely, Christ, has recommended to us obedience, not only in word, but by His most evident example, inasmuch as He became obedient to His Father even unto death. And with what grace do you call that a remedy which is an impediment to obedience? Not a remedy, indeed, but, more properly, a hindrance ought it to be called. But on what grounds do you rest your confidence in this presumption? Is it that you expect to find a defender of your disobedience in him who has received the office and the command to take cognizance of all acts of disobedience? It were wrong in you to expect this of him,6 and greatly
A. D.
1167.
298 to be mistaken in him. You might have been withheld from a supposition of that kind by the first and second repulses you have already experienced. For, in the first place, you appeared personally; after which, the letter which you wrote for the purpose of persuading him experienced how firmly stands the vicar of Saint Peter, and with what truthfulness, when, neither by prayers, nor by gifts, nor by suggestions, nor by promises, could you move him. But a third attempt must be made, that, after the example of his lord, he may, on a third attempt, come off triumphant. Besides, that no annoyance may be wanting, you have put off the time for your appeal nearly a whole year. You have had no compassion on my exile or on the difficulties of the Holy Church, the spouse of Christ, whom He has obtained with His own blood. Besides, to pass this over, which, indeed, I ought no to do, it was your duty to use some foresight in his behalf, to whom you assert yourself to be a well-wisher, I mean our lord the king, who, so long as he behaves thus towards us, or the Church of Christ, will be able neither to go to war, nor to live in peace, without danger to his soul. Let us now pass on to the rest. You mention that some confusion arose on my departure, and in consequence of my departure. Let the authors and contrivers of this confusion be afraid, lest they also be brought to confusion. You extol me with great praises, as to the good purpose of my journey, and indeed it is the duty of a prudent man not to be neglectful of his character; but still, it is the part of a discreet one, in relation to himself, not to believe another rather than himself. I am accused as though I had done certain injuries to my lord the king; but inasmuch as you do not mention one of them by name, I do not even know what it is I am to make answer to; therefore, as I am only charged in a superficial manner on that point, in a superficial manner only shall I defend myself. In the meanwhile, however, take this for my answer — because I am conscious of having done nothing wrong, for that reason I have not justified myself. You express surprise at the letter of warning which I sent him. What father sees his son going astray and holds his peace? What person is there that does not smite another with the rod, that he may not run upon the sword? The father despairs of the son whom he does not correct with threats or the scourge. However, God forbid that I should think as you do, that our lord, growing impatient
A. D.
1167.


THE
ARCH-
BISHOP
TO
THE
BISHOP
OF
LONDON.
299 under correction, will by degrees proceed to the extermination of the seceders!7 For the plantation of our heavenly Father will not be rooted up. A most violent tempest is now tossing the ship; I have hold of the helm, and do you invite me to sleep? Do you collect and place before my eyes the benefits that have been conferred upon me by our lord the king, and speak of my being elevated from a lowly state to the highest position? Still, in my simplicity, to give you some small answer, what lowly state is it you are thinking of? If you look at the time at which he placed me high in his service, there were the archdeaconry of Canterbury, the priorship of Beverley, many benefices, several prebendal stalls, with other things, not a few, which, at that period attached to my name, go far to disprove that I was in such a low position as you affirm, with relation to the things of this world. And if you look at the origin of my family and my ancestors, they were citizens of London, who dwelt in the midst of their fellow-citizens without reproach, and persons by no means of the lowest station. But as, one day, when the darkness of the world is removed, we shall be judged by the light of truth, which will be the most glorious, to have been born of humble parents, or even those of the lowest rank, or of the great and honored ones of the world? For the Apostle says: ‘Those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon those we bestow more abundant honor.’8 ’What do pedigrees avail?’ says the heathen poet. What then ought a learned and religious Christian bishop to say? But perhaps, by your mention of my lowly condition, it was your intention to put me somewhat to confusion; however, how criminal it is to put one’s father to confusion, you yourself will see from the commandment of the Lord, which you have received as to honoring your father. But, as for commending the king’s favour to me, there was no great need to take the trouble of recapitulating his services done to me. For I call the Lord as my witness that nothing under the sun do I prefer to his favour and safety, save only those things which belong to God and to the Holy Church; for otherwise it will not be possible for him to reign with happiness or with safety. As it is, so be it. There are many other favours, and still greater ones, than are mentioned in your letter, which I have received at his hands.
A. D.
1167.
300 In return for all these, even if they were to be doubled, ought I to peril the liberties of the Church of God, much less for the preservation of my own character, which has so frequently swerved from what is right? If I have acted with greater forbearance towards others, in this I will spare neither you, nor any one else, not even an angel, if he were to come down from heaven, but the instant I should hear him suggesting such a course, he should hear from me these words, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan, thou savourest not the things that are of God!’9 Far from me be such madness as that! May the Lord avert such insanity from me, that any one should persuade me, by any backsliding, to make a bargain about the body of Christ; for, in such case, I should be likened to Judas, the seller of our Lord to the Jews, the buyers of Christ! But as to my promotion, which you state in your letter to have taken place, the mother of my lord the king dissuading him therefrom, the kingdom exclaiming against it, and the Church, so far as she could, heaving sighs thereat, this I tell you in answer thereto. I did not hear exclamations on the part of the kingdom, but rather acclamations; and if there was any dissent on the part of my lord’s mother, they did not come to the ears of the public. It might possibly be the case that some ecclesiastics did sigh upon that promotion, as aspirants10 generally do, when they found that they were disappointed in the hopes they had once entertained. And, possibly, at this day, it is those same persons who, by way of revenge for their misfortune, are the authors and advisers of the present dissensions. But ‘Woe to him by whom offences come!” Against the aforesaid obstacles, and against others, if any there were, the dispensations of God prevailed, as we may at this day perceive. For I am compelled by Him, who is justice itself, to postpone Him for nothing whatsoever, who in His mercy has placed me in this position. The points, also, which you seem to put forward, by way of justifying the king, I think ought not to be lightly passed over, or without some discussion; and I could only wish that he had not taken so wide a departure from justice, and that my complaints against him appeared less just. You say that he is, and always has been, ready to give me satisfaction. This you assert you can confidently say and maintain. Hold then a moment, and answer these questions.
A. D.
1167.


THE
ARCH-
BISHOP
TO
THE
BISHOP
OF
LONDON.
301 When you say that he is ready to give satisfaction, in what sense do you understand it? You see those of whom God says that He is the father and the judge, the orphans, the widows, the fatherless, the innocents, and those who are utterly unacquainted with this controversy which is going on between us, you see these proscribed, and you are silent; you see the clergy banished, and you do not exclaim against it; you see others spoiled of their property, and loaded with insults, and you do not reprove it; you see my servants thrown into prison and confined there, and you hold your peace; you see the property of your mother church of Canterbury being made away with, and you offer no resistance; you see swords threatening the very throat of me your father, and myself escaping with the greatest difficulty, and you express no sorrow; still worse even, you are not ashamed to take part with my persecutors, and in me, persecutors of God and His Church, and that too, not in secret. Is this, then, giving satisfaction, not to correct evils which have been perpetrated, and day after day, to add to what is bad what is still worse? But perhaps you understand it in a contrary sense, and that to obey the will of the unrighteous is to give satisfaction, according to the words, ‘I will make mine arrows drunk with blood.’11 However, you will say to me, ‘My father, of what do you accuse me? I will acquit myself in a few words. I am afraid for my gown.’ it is true, my son, and too true what you say, and it is for that reason, that you wield not the sword. But as to what you say, that he is prepared to stand by the judgment of his realm, as though, forsooth, that were a full satisfaction; who Is there on earth, or even in heaven, that would presume to pronounce judgment with reference to the ordinances of God? Let human matters be pronounced judgment upon; but let Divine things remain utterly unshaken, and be left alone. How much better would it be, my brother, how much more healthful for him, and more safe for yourself, if you were to labour in every way to disclose to him and to persuade him, what is the will of God with reference to maintaining the peace of His Church, and to warn him not to covet those things which do not belong to his administration, and to remind him to honor the priests of God, not giving heed to who they are, but whose servants they are. You charge me with having been warped by prejudice against the bishop of Salisbury and John of
A. D.
1167.
302 Oxford, not a dean as you call him, but the usurper of a deanery. But you ought to bear in mind that certain manifestoes12 preceded my judgment. You say too, that you have been moved thereby; how should you not? Ucalegon trembles when his neighbour’s party-wall is on fire;13 and I only wish that you may be becomingly moved from the position which you have so unbecomingly taken up. Let then my lord, at your intimation, know and understand, that He who rules not only the kingdom of men, but of angels as well, has ordained under Him two powers, princes and priests; the one earthly, the other spiritual; the one to minister, the other to warn; to the one of whom He has conceded power, to the other He has willed respect to be shown. But he who withholds aught of his rights from the one or the other, resists the ordinances of God. Let not my lord then disdain to show respect to those to whom the Supreme ruler of all has not disdained to show respect; ‘I have said ye are Gods.’14 and again, ‘I have made you a God unto Pharaoh,’15 and ‘thou shalt not revile the Gods;’16 meaning the priests. And again, when speaking by Moses of him who was about to swear, he says, ‘Bring him unto the Gods,’ that is to say, the priests. And let not my lord presume to attempt to pronounce judgment on his judges. For to the earthly powers are not entrusted the keys of heaven, but to the priests. Wherefore it is written, ‘the priest’s lips shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord;’17 and Saint Paul says, ‘Shall we not judge angels? How much more men.’18 That also, at your suggestion, should be brought to our lord’s recollection as worthy of remembrance and imitation, which we read in Ecclesiastical History concerning the emperor Constantine, to whom when there had been presented written accusations against the bishops, he took the libels, and, calling the accused before him, in their sight, burned them, at the same time saying: ‘Ye are gods, made so by the true God. Go settle your disputes among yourselves, for it is not fitting for us men to give judgment on gods.’ Oh mighty emperor! Oh discreet ruler upon earth! one
A. D.
1167.


LETTER
OF
THE
SUFFRAGANS
OF
CANTER-
BURY.
303 who did not fraudulently usurp that which belongs to another, and thus earned an eternal kingdom in heaven. Therefore, let my lord make it his study to imitate a prince so mighty, so discreet, and so prosperous; who enjoys both a praiseworthy memory upon earth, and an eternal and glorious life in heaven. Otherwise, let him fear what the Lord has threatened in Deuteronomy,19 saying: ‘The man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest, shall die before the judge.’ For unto this he has been called, and hereby the temporal peace and mightiness of his kingdom, of which you remind me, is ministered unto him from heaven. Otherwise, notwithstanding his many virtues, the king will not be saved, even though kingdoms should be subdued by him, and nations should be prostrate. But enough upon these points. Whoever you have had as your fellow-writers in the aforesaid letter, let them understand that this answer made to you is an answer to themselves. For the future, my brethren, I warn you, I beg and entreat of you that schisms may not separate, nor enmities overshadow us; but let us have one heart and one soul in the Lord, and let us listen to Him who telleth us to struggle for justice with all our soul, and to contend for it to the death, and the Lord will conquer for us our enemies. And let us not forget that strict judge, standing before whose tribunal the truth alone shall judge us, all dread of and trust in the powers of this world being laid aside. Farewell to your brotherhood in the Lord.”

The Letter of the suffragans of the Church of Canterbury to the blessed Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury.

“To their venerable father and lord, Thomas, by the grace of God, archbishop of Canterbury, the suffragan bishops of that church and the beneficed clergy appointed over the various places throughout their dioceses, due submission and obedience. Whereas father, on your departure for foreign parts, through the very unexpectedness and novelty of the circumstance, considerable confusion arose, still, we did hope, through your humility and prudence, with the aid of the Divine favour, for a return therefrom to the serenity of our former peaceful state. That was, indeed, a solace to us, which, after your departure, reached us all by general report; that you, while passing your time in the parts beyond sea, had no ulterior designs; that you were guilty of no machinations against our lord the king or
A. D.
1167.
304 against his kingdom, but endured with moderation the burden of poverty which you had spontaneously taken upon yourself; that you were devoting your time to reading and prayer, and were atoning for the loss of time past by fastings, watchings, and tears, and, occupied in spiritual pursuits, were making your way, by the increase of your virtues, to the perfection of blessedness. We rejoiced to hear that by pursuits of this nature you were applying yourself to the restoration of the blessings of peace, and, in consequence thereof, we did entertain a hope that you would be enabled also to bring the heart of our lord the king to feelings of graciousness, so that, in his royal clemency, he might cease to be angered against you, and no longer recall to mind the injuries that had been inflicted upon him in your departure, and in the consequences thereof. Your friends and well-wishers did enjoy some access to him while these things were heard of you, and when they made entreaties for the bestowal on you of his favour, he received each with benignity. But now, from the information of certain persons, we have learned that which we recall to mind with anxiety, namely, that you have issued against him a letter of warning, in which you omit the salutation, and in which you do not make any attempt to gain his favor, or have recourse to entreaties; in which you neither breathe nor write aught in a friendly spirit; but, on the contrary, with extreme severity, you declare in the threats which you utter against him, that you will shortly have to pronounce against him an interdict or else sentence of excommunication. Now, should this be carried out with as much severity as it has been asserted with harshness, we then no longer have any hope that peace may succeed the present state of confusion, but are greatly afraid that he will be inflamed to a lasting and inexorable hatred. But the prudence of the devout takes into consideration the results of things, using its best endeavours that what it has commenced with discretion it may also bring to a good end. Therefore, if so it please you, let your discreetness consider to what it tends, and whether, by attempts of this nature, it can obtain the end which is its object. As for us, in consequence of these endeavours, we have fallen from great hopes, and after conceiving the hope of at some time obtaining peace, we now find ourselves repelled by deep despair from the very threshold of hope. And thus, while the combat is being waged as it were with the
A. D.
1167.


LETTER
OF
THE
SUFFRAGANS
OF
CANTER-
BURY.
305 sword drawn, there is no room whatever to be found for entreaty in your behalf. Therefore do we write to our father what in our Christian love is our advice to him, not to super-add difficulties to difficulties, injuries to injuries, but rather, desisting from threats, to observe patience and humility. Let him entrust his cause to the Divine clemency, to the favour and mercy of his lord, and, thus doing, let him heap and gather hot coals of fire upon the heads of many. By thus acting, brotherly love will be excited, and, the Lord inspiring and the advice of the good prevailing, perhaps piety alone would be enabled to do that which threats have proved unable. It would be as well for you to be spoken of in terms of praise for your voluntary submission to poverty, as, for ingratitude for benefits received to become subject of general remark. For all persons have a full recollection how kind the king our master has shewn himself towards you, to what a pitch of glory he has raised you from an humble station, and how he has with feelings so joyous received you into his especial favor, that the whole of the various portions of his dominions, which extend from the northern ocean to the Pyrenees, he has rendered subject to your power; so much so, that in them public opinion considered those only as fortunate who were able to find grace in your eyes. And, that no worldly fickleness might be able to shake your glory, he has willed immoveably to root you in the things which belong to God. While his mother dissuaded him, the kingdom expostulated, the Church of God, so far as she could, sighed and groaned, he made it his object, in every possible way, to raise you to that elevated post which you now enjoy, hoping that he should for the future reign happily, and, amid the greatest security, rejoice in your aid and counsel. If, then, he receives injury where he looks for security, what will be the remark made on you by the voice of all? What will be your reward, or what your character, in consequence of your having made such a return as this? Do, then, if so it please you, spare your own character, spare, too, your own fame, and, in humility, endeavour to surpass our lord, and, in Christian charity, your son. If, however, our advice cannot prevail upon you to do this, at least the love and fidelity of the Supreme Pontiff, and of the holy Roman Church, ought to influence you. For you ought easily to be persuaded not to wish to make any attempt which may increase the labours
A. D.
1167.
306 of your mother, who has now laboured so long, by causing her grief, which deplores the disobedience of many, to be increased by the loss of those who are obedient. For what if, and God forbid it should be so, through your irritation of him, or by your agency, our lord the king, whom people and kingdoms follow and obey, the gift of the Lord, should withdraw from our lord the pope, and decline to follow him for the future, after his refusal to give him satisfaction against you? For, what entreaties, what gifts, what promises, and how many of them, are strongly urging him to this step! whereas he has hitherto stood firmly upon a rock, and has victoriously, with feelings of deep devotion, trodden under foot the whole that the world could make offer of. One thing only do we fear, that him whom these offers of riches, and the whole of that which in the estimation of men is precious, could not influence, the indignation of his feelings of themselves may be enabled to overcome. Should this come to pass through your agency, you will have entirely to adopt the lamentations of Jeremiah, and in future will never by any means be enabled to deny unto your eyes a fountain of tears. Recollect, therefore, if so it please you, that the design of your highness, if it should succeed, will in every way conduce to the injury of our lord the pope and the holy Roman Church, and, if so it please you, of yourself as well. But those who are near you, and have deep designs, perhaps will not allow you to proceed upon this path. They entreat you to make trial against our lord the king who you are, and, in all matters which belong to him, to exercise your utmost possible power. For what power is there an object of fear to the sinful, of dread to him who refuses to give satisfaction? We do not, indeed, say that our lord the king has never done amiss, but we do say, and aver with confidence, that he has always been ready to make satisfaction to our lord. The king, who has been so appointed by the Lord, provides for the peace of his subjects in all things, that he may be enabled to preserve the same for the churches and the people entrusted to him, while, at the same time, the dignities which were the due of and accorded to the kings before him, he asks as his own due and to be accorded to him. Wherefore, if any disagreement has arisen between him and you, having been convened and warned thereon by the Supreme Pontiff, in his paternal love, through our venerable brethren the bishops of London and Hereford, he has not treated the same with superciliousness,
A. D.
1167.


LETTER
OF
THE
SUFFRAGANS
OF
CANTER-
BURY.
307 but has shown that he does not require what does not belong to him in all those matters in which any grievance has been put forward relative to a church or any ecclesiastical person, and has humbly and meekly made answer that he will conform to the judgment of the Church of his kingdom; which he is also prepared to fulfil in deed, and to esteem it a pleasing obedience when he is advised to correct the same, if he has been guilty of any offence towards God. And, not only to give satisfaction, but also to make reparation, if required, is he prepared. If then, he is ready both to give satisfaction and to make reparation to the Church in those matters which concern the Church, and not in the last to shrink therefrom, thus bowing his neck to the yoke of Christ, with what right, by what law, by what canon or interdict will you oppress him, or, which God forbid, with what weapon of the Gospel will you smite him? Not to be carried away by impulse, but to be prudently regulated by the judgment, is a thing worthy of praise. Wherefore, this is the common petition of us all, that you will not give way to precipitate counsels, and thus betray us, but rather by your paternal kindness make it your study to provide for the sheep entrusted to your charge, that they may enjoy life, and peace, and security. Indeed, that is a subject of concern to us all, which we have lately heard of as being done, preposterously as some think, against our brother the bishop of Salisbury and his dean. Against them, following, as it seems to us, rather the warmth of anger than the path of justice, you have hurled the penalties of suspension or condemnation before an enquiry has taken place as to their faults. This is a new method of giving judgment, hitherto, we trust, unknown to laws and canons, first to condemn for it, and afterwards to take cognizance of the fault. This we beg you not to attempt to put in practice against our lord the king and his kingdom, or against ourselves and the churches and dioceses entrusted to our charge, to the detriment of our lord the pope, to the loss and disgrace of the holy Church of Rome, and to the no slight increase of your own confusion. To such a course on your part we oppose the remedy of appeal, having already in the face of the Church personally made appeal to our lord the pope against our fears of oppression. And now once more do we appeal to him in writing, and we name the day of the Ascension of Our Lord as the appointed time for our appeal.
A. D.
1167.
308 Still, with all possible duteousness, we entreat you, adopting more healthful counsels, to spare your own and our labour and expense, and to make it your endeavour to place your case in such a position that it may admit of a remedy. Father, we wish you farewell in the Lord.”

The Letter of the suffragans of the Church of Canterbury to Alexander, the Supreme Pontiff.

“To their father and lord, the Supreme Pontiff Alexander, the bishops of the province of Canterbury, and the beneficed clergy appointed over many places throughout their dioceses, to their lord and father, the due service of love and obedience. We believe, father, that your excellency will remember that, through our venerable brethren, the bishops of London and Hereford, you did, by letter to them some time since directed, convene your dutiful son, our most dear lord, the illustrious king of the English, and did advise him, in your paternal love, as to the correction of certain points which seemed to your Holiness in his kingdom to stand in need of correction. On receiving your mandate with due reverence, as is well known to all, he did not thereupon give way to any ebullition of anger, or with haughtiness despise to pay obedience thereto; but immediately thereupon, feeling gratitude for your paternal correction, he submitted himself to the judgment of the Church, repeating upon each point the commands which, according to the tenor of your mandate, had been carefully given to him thereupon; that he would be obedient to the judgment of the Church of his kingdom, and that what in it should seem worthy of correction, he would of his own praiseworthy counsel, and, with a duteousness in a prince most commendable, correct. From this determination he has not withdrawn, nor does he intend to fall away from his promise: but, on the contrary, whoever shall sit as judge, whoever shall take cognizance, and whoever shall pronounce judgment, he himself, showing respect to the Divine mandates, and not putting forward the pride of majesty, but rather, like an obedient son, is ready in all things to submit to that judgment, and in a lawful manner to show obedience to the sentence, and so prove himself a prince bound to respect the laws. Wherefore, as he submits himself to the judgment of the Divine laws, it is not necessary, either by interdict, or by threats, or by the goads of maledictions, to urge him to give the satisfaction
A. D.
1167.


THE
SUFFRAGANS
TO
POPE
ALEX-
ANDER.
309 required; for his deeds do not in any way withdraw themselves from the light, nor do they in any measure need to fly to the shade for concealment. For the king, who is in faith a most devout Christian, in the bonds of chastity a most exemplary husband, a preserver and defender of peace and justice of incomparable activity, sets all his wishes thereupon, and is animated by every desire, that all scandals may be removed from his kingdom, that all sins with their abominations may be banished therefrom, that peace and justice may universally prevail, and that, amid profound security and pleasing quietude, all things may rejoice and flourish under his rule. When, therefore, he learned that by the enormous excesses of certain insolent clerks the peace of his kingdom was in no slight degree disturbed, showing to the clergy all due reverence, he reported their excesses to the bishops, the judges of the Church, in order that the spiritual sword might come to the aid of the temporal, and the spiritual power might establish and consolidate in the clergy that peace which he revered and cherished in the people. On this occasion the zeal of both parties was made manifest; the judgment of the bishops taking this position, that murder and similar crimes ought only to be punished in the clergy by deprivation of orders. The king, on the other hand, was of opinion that this punishment was not at all equal to the guilt, and that due care was not had for the establishment of peace, if a reader or an acolyte should be allowed to kill any man illustrious for his exemplary piety or his high station, and then come off safe with solely the loss of his orders. The clergy, therefore, insisting that thus it has been ordained by heaven in favour of their order, while our lord the king was for visiting guilt with, as he hopes, a justifiable hatred, and striving to root peace still more deeply, a holy contention arose, which is excused, we believe, before the Lord, by the single-mindedness of either party. On his side, it is not from a love of dominion, nor with the object of crushing the liberties of the Church, but from a wish to establish peace, that our lord the king has made this attempt that the customs of the kingdom and the dignities of the kings which have before his time been observed in the kingdom of England by ecclesiastical persons and peacefully maintained, should be still upheld. And that, upon these points, the cord of contention might not be prolonged to succeeding times, and public notice be attracted thereto, the elders,
A. D.
1167.
310 bishops, and other great men of the kingdom, having been adjured thereupon by their faith and their hopes in God, after having been informed upon the usage in time past, the required immunities were openly discussed and published upon the testimony of the chief men throughout the kingdom. This, then, is the cruelty of our lord the king towards the Church of God which has been so loudly exclaimed against throughout the whole kingdom, this is his persecution, this is his malignity, the reports of which have been spread abroad among ourselves as well as in all other quarters. Still, in all these, if there is anything contained that is dangerous to the soul, anything offensive to the Church, he has promised all along, and does most steadfastly promise, that, advised and moved thereto by your authority, he will, with the most holy duteousness, by reason of his reverence for Christ, and for the honor which he professes to pay to the Holy Church, whom he confesses to be his mother, and for the salvation of his own soul, correct the same, according to the advice of the Church of his realm. And, indeed, our father, our aspirations for peace, would, as we hope, before this have obtained their wished-for end, if the asperity of our father, the lord archbishop of Canterbury, had not kindled afresh the anger that was now subdued and almost extinguished. For he, from whose long-suffering we had hitherto hoped for peace, from whose moderation a renewal of his favour, has most harshly and irreverently made an attack upon him whom he ought to have softened with his admonitions, and to have subdued by well-deserving and meekness, by means of grievous and threatening letters, little savouring of the devotedness of the father or the long-suffering of the priest, upon the occasion of his lately taking proceedings against certain disturbers of the peace. He has most bitterly threatened sentence of excommunication against him, and the penalties of interdict against his kingdom. If, then, his humility is thus rewarded, what is to be done with him when he is contumacious? If ready duteousness and obedience are thus esteemed, in what way will punishment be inflicted upon obstinate perverseness? To these grievous threats, things more grievous have been added. For upon certain faithful and familiar friends of our lord the king, the first nobles of the realm, who especially take part in the private counsels of the king, and by whose hands the sovereign’s intentions and the business of the kingdom are carried out, he
A. D.
1167.


THE
SUFFRAGANS
TO
POPE
ALEX-
ANDER.
311 has passed sentence of excommunication, and has publicly denounced them as excommunicated, when they have been neither cited nor defended, nor are, as they say, conscious of having committed any fault, nor have been convicted or made confession thereof. In addition to this, our venerable brother, the bishop of Salisbury, when absent and undefended, having neither confessed to or been convicted of any crime, has been suspended from the sacerdotal and episcopal office before the grounds of his suspension had been submitted to the judgment of his brother bishops of the province, or indeed of any one else. If, therefore, this method of passing judgment is to be carried out with regard to the king, and with regard to the kingdom, in so preposterous, not to say, irregular a manner, what are we to suppose may be the possible consequence? For the days are evil, and find numerous pretexts for speaking ill of us, unless the bonds of peace and of brotherly love, by which the sovereignty and the priesthood are held together, are burst asunder, and we, together with the clergy entrusted to our charge, depart hence, dispersed in exile, or else, which God forbid! withdraw from our fealty to you, and are hurled into the evils of schism, and into the abyss of iniquity and disobedience. For this is the shortest possible way to the entire destruction of religion, and to the subversion and run of both clergy and people. Wherefore, let not, in the days of your Apostolate, the Church be thus grievously subverted; let not our lord the king and the people his servants, be, which God forbid! turned away from their obedience to you; let not the wrath of our lord the archbishop of Canterbury, which, by the machinations of certain private persons, is contrived to be levelled against him and his mandates, be enabled to work any grievance against our lord the king, or his kingdom, or ourselves, or the churches committed to our charge. To your highness, by word and by writing, we have appealed, and have fixed on the Ascension of our Lord as the day of our appeal, choosing, in all humility, to endure whatsoever shall in all respects be pleasing unto your Holiness, rather than suffer daily grievances, till we are wearied, from his manifestations of loftiness of spirit, our deserts not meriting the same. Beloved father in Christ, may the Lord Almighty preserve the safety of your Church to avail even unto ages far distant.”


A. D.
1168.
312

In this year Robert de Cheney, bishop of Lincoln, departed this life, on the sixth day before the ides of January. In the same year, Almaric, king of Jerusalem, took Babylon, and rendered it tributary to himself.

In the year of grace 1168, being the fourteenth year of the reign of king Henry, son of the empress Matilda, Richard, earl of Striguil,20 assembling a great army, invaded Ireland, and subdued the greater part of it, with the assistance of Milo de Coggeham, a warlike soldier, and then, making a treaty with the king at Dublin, received his daughter as his wife, together with the kingdom of Dublin. In the same year died Guido of Crema, the second anti-pope, and was succeeded by John, abbot of Struine, who was styled pope Calixtus. In the same year died Robert, earl of Leicester, chief justiciary of England.



FOOTNOTES

 1  Isaiah lviii. 1.

 2  Ezek. xxxiii. 8.

 3  “Nostram” is no doubt an error for “vestram.”

 4  2 Cor. i. 17.

 5  According to Ezekiel ii. 6.

 6  The pope.

 7  “Apostasiæ,” meaning himself and his followers.

 8  1 Cor. xii. 23.

 9  Matt. xiv. 23.

10  He seems to pun upon the resemblance of “suspiro,” and “aspiro.”

11  Deut. xxxii. 42.

12  Probably by way of warning.

13  “Paries cum proximus ardet.” In allusion to the lines of Virgil and Juvenal.



There is no corresponding note in text for the footnote placed her in the text:  St. John, x. 34. The Biblical text (King James version) is: Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are Gods”’? — Elf.Ed.



14  Ps. lxxxii. 6.

15Exod. vii. 1.

16  Exod. xxii. 28.

17  Mal. ii. 7.

18  A loose quotation of 1 Corinthians vi. 3.

19  xvii. 12. The way the text is quoted differs from our version.

20  Strigulia, the Latin name of Chepstow, of which Richard Strongbow was earl, as also earl of Pembroke.




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