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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. 379-394.





THE  ANNALS  OF
ROGER  DE  HOVEDEN.
Volume I.

[Part 29: 1174-1175 A.D.]



[379]

In the same year, at the feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, Richard de Lucy laid siege to the castle of Huntingdon, on which the knights of that castle burned the town to the ground. Richard de Lucy then erected a new castle before the gates of the said castle of Huntingdon, and gave it in charge to earl Simon.

In the meanwhile, William, king of the Scots, laid siege to Carlisle, of which Robert de Vals had the safe keeping; and, leaving a portion of his army to continue the siege, with the remainder of it he passed through Northumberland, ravaging the lands of the king and his barons. He took the castle of Liddel, the castle of Burgh, the castle of Appleby, the castle of Mercwrede, and the castle of Irebothe, which was held by Odonel de Umfraville, after which he returned to the siege of Carlisle. Here he continued the siege, until Robert de Vals, in consequence of provisions failing him and the other persons there, made a treaty with him on the following terms, namely, that, at the feast of Saint Michael next ensuing, he would surrender to him the castle and town of Carlisle, unless, in the meantime, he should obtain succour from his master the king of England.


A. D.
1174.
380

On this, the king of the Scots, departing thence, laid siege to the castle of Prudhoe, which belonged to Odonel de Umfraville, but was unable to take it. For Robert de Stuteville, sheriff of York, William de Vesci, Ranulph de Glanville, Ralph de Tilly, constable of the household of the archbishop of York, Bernard de Baliol, and Odonel de Umfraville, having assembled a large force, hastened to its succour.

On learning their approach, the king of Scotland retreated thence, and laid siege to the castle of Alnwick, which belonged to William de Vesci, and then, dividing his army into three divisions, kept one with himself, and gave the command of the other two to earl Dunecan and the earl of Angus, and Richard de Morville, giving them orders to lay waste the neighbouring provinces in all directions, slaughter the people, and carry off the spoil. Oh, shocking times! then might you have heard the shrieks of women, the cries of the aged, the groans of the dying, and the exclamations of despair of the youthful!

In the meantime, the king of England, the son, and Philip, earl of Flanders, came with a large army to Gravelines, for the purpose of crossing over to England. On hearing of this, the king of England, the father, who had marched with his army into Poitou, and had taken many fortified places and castles, together with the city of Saintes, and two fortresses there, one of which was called Fort Maror, as also the cathedral church of Saintes, which the knights and men-at-arms had strengthened against him with arms and a supply of provisions, returned into Anjou, and took the town of Ancenis, which belonged to Guion de Ancenis, near Saint Florence. On taking it, he strengthened it with very strong fortifications, and retained it in his own hands, and then laid waste the adjoining parts of the province with fire and sword; he also rooted up the vines and fruit-bearing trees, after which he returned into Normandy, while the king, his son, and Philip, earl of Flanders, were still detained at Gravelines, as the wind was contrary, and they were unable to cross over. On this, the king of England, the father, came to Barbeflet,1 where a considerable number of ships had been assembled against his arrival, and, praised be the name of the Lord! as it pleased the Lord, so did it come to pass; who, by His powerful might, changed the wind to a favourable quarter,
A. D.
1174.


THE
KING
OF
THE
SCOTS
IS
TAKEN
PRISONER.
381 and thus suddenly granted him a passage over to England. Immediately on this, he embarked, and, on the following day, landed at Southampton, in England, on the eighth day before the ides of July, being the second day of the week, bringing with him his wife, queen Eleanor, and queen Margaret, daughter of Louis, king of the Franks, and wife of his son Henry, with Robert, earl of Leicester, and Hugh, earl of Chester, whom he immediately placed in confinement.

On the day after this, he set out on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Thomas the Martyr, archbishop of Canterbury. On his approach, as soon as he was in sight of the church, in which the body of the blessed martyr lay buried, he dismounted from the horse on which he rode, took off his shoes, and, barefoot, and clad in woollen garments, walked three miles to the tomb of the martyr, with such humility and compunction of heart, that it may be believed beyond a doubt to have been the work of Him who looketh down on the earth, and maketh it to tremble. To those who beheld them, his footsteps, along the road on which he walked, seemed to be covered with blood, and really were so; for his tender feet being cut by the hard stones, a great quantity of blood flowed from them on to the ground. When he had arrived at the tomb, it was a holy thing to see the affliction which he suffered, with sobs and tears, and the discipline to which he submitted from the hands of the bishops and a great number of priests and monks. Here, also, aided by the prayers of many holy men, he passed the night, before the sepulchre of the blessed Martyr, in prayer, fasting, and lamentations. As for the gifts and revenues which, for the remission of his sins, he bestowed on this church, they can never under any circumstance be obliterated from the remembrance thereof. In the morning of the following day, after hearing mass, he departed thence, on the third day before the ides of July, being Saturday, with the intention of proceeding to London. And, inasmuch as he was mindful of the Lord in his entire heart, the Lord granted unto him the victory over his enemies, and delivered them captive into his hands.

For, on the very same Saturday on which the king left Canterbury, William, king of the Scots, was taken prisoner at Alnwick by the above-named knights of Yorkshire, who had pursued him after his retreat from Prudhoe. Thus, even thus; “How rarely is it that vengeance with halting step
A. D.
1174.
382 forsakes the pursuit of the wicked!”2 Together with him, there were taken prisoners Richard Cumin, William de Mortimer, William de l’Isle, Henry Revel, Ralph de Ver, Jordan le Fleming, Waltheof Fitz-Baldwin de Biere, Richard Maluvel, and many others, who voluntarily allowed themselves to be made prisoners, lest they might appear to have sanctioned the capture of their lord.

On the same day, Hugh, count de Bar sur Seine, nephew of Hugh, bishop of Durham, effected a landing at Herterpol,3 with forty knights and five hundred Flemings, for whom the before-named bishop had sent; but in consequence of the capture of the king of Scotland, the bishop immediately allowed the said Flemings to return home, having first given them allowance and pay for forty days. Count Hugh, however, together with the knights who had come with him, he made to stay, and gave the castle of Alverton4 into their safe keeping.

These things having taken place, Uctred, the son of Fergus, and Gilbert, his brother, the leaders of the men of Galloway, immediately upon the capture of their lord the king of the Scots, returned to their country, expelled the king’s thanes from their territories, and slew without mercy those of English or French origin whom they found therein. The fortresses and castles which the king of the Scots had fortified in their territories they laid siege to, and, capturing them, levelled them with the ground. They also earnestly entreated the king of England, the father, at the same time presenting him many gifts, to rescue them from the rule of the king of Scotland, and render them subject to his own sway.

In the meantime, Louis, king of the Franks, hearing that the king of England, the father, had crossed over, and that the king of Scots was taken prisoner, with whose misfortunes he greatly condoled, recalled the king of England the son, and Philip, earl of Flanders, who were still staying at Gravelines; and after they had returned to him, laid siege to Rouen on all sides, except that on which the river Seine flows.

The king, the father, on hearing of the capture of the king of the Scots, rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and after a thanksgiving to Almighty God and the blessed martyr Thomas, set out
A. D.
1174.


KING
HENRY
SAILS
FOR
NORMANDY.
383 for Huntingdon, and laid siege to the castle, which was surrendered to him on the Lord’s day following, being the twelfth day before the calends of August. The knights and men-at-arms who were in the castle threw themselves on the king’s mercy, safety being granted to life and limb. Immediately upon this, the king departed thence with his army towards Fremingham,5 the castle of earl Hugh Bigot; where the earl himself was, with a large body of Flemings. The king, on drawing nigh to Fremingham, encamped at a place which is called Seleham, and remained there that night. On the following day, earl Hugh Bigot came to him, and, making a treaty of peace with him, surrendered to him the castle of Fremingham, and the castle of Bungay, and with considerable difficulty obtained the king’s permission that the Flemings who were with him might without molestation return home. At this place, the horse of Tostes de Saint Omer, a knight of the Temple, struck the king on the leg, and injured him considerably. On the following day, namely, on the seventh day before the calends of August, the king departed from Seleham, and proceeded to Northampton; on his arrival at which place William, king of the Scots, was brought to him, with his feet fastened beneath a horse’s belly. There also came to him Hugh, bishop of Durham, who delivered to him possession of the castle of Durham, the castle of Norham, and the new castle of Alverton, which he had fortified, and, after considerable difficulty, obtained permission that his nephew, the count de Bar, and the knights who had come with him, might return to their own country. Roger de Mowbray, also came thither to him, and surrendered to him the castle of Tresk,6 and the earl of Ferrers delivered up to him the castles of Tutesbury,7 and of Duffield; Anketill Mallory also and William de Dive, constables of the earl of Leicester, surrendered to him the castles of Leicester, of Mountsorrel, and of Groby.

Thus then, within the space of three weeks, was the whole of England restored to tranquillity, and all its fortified places delivered into the king’s hands. These matters being arranged to his satisfaction, he speedily crossed over from England to Normandy, and landed at Barbeflet on the sixth day before the ides of August, being the fifth day of the week,
A. D.
1174.
384 taking with him his Brabanters and a thousand Welchmen, together with William, king of the Scots, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Hugh, earl of Chester, whom he placed in confinement, first at Caen, and afterwards at Falaise.

On the same day on which the king landed at Barbeflet, he met on the sea-shore Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, on his return from Alexander, the Supreme Pontiff, with the pall and legateship and primacy of the whole of England, together with Reginald, bishop of Bath, whom the said archbishop had consecrated at Saint John de Maurienne, on their return from Rome. The king, however, did not wish to detain them with him, but sent them on to England. After this, on the Lord’s day next ensuing, the king, the father, arrived with his Brabanters and Welchmen at Rouen, which the king of France and the king of England, the son, were besieging on one side, while on the other there was free egress and ingress. On the following morning, the king sent his Welchmen beyond the river Seine; who, making way by main force, broke through the midst of the camp of the king of France, and arrived unhurt at the great forest, and on the same day slew more than a hundred of the men of the king of France.

Now, the king of France had been staying there hardly a month, when lo! the king of England, the father, coming from England, opened the gates of the city, which the burgesses had blocked up, and sallying forth with his knights and men-at-arms, caused the fosses which had been made between the army of the king of France and the city, to be filled up with logs of timber, stones, and earth, and to be thus made level. As for the king of France, he and his men remained in their tents, and were not inclined to come forth. The rest of the people of the king of England took up their positions for the defence of the walls, but no one attacked them; however, a part of the army of the king of France made an attempt to destroy their own engines of war.

On the following day, early in the morning, the king of France sent the weaker portion of his army into his own territories; and, with the permission of the king of England, followed them on the same day to a place which is called Malaunay, and lies between Rouen and the town called Tostes; having first given security by the hand of William, archbishop of Sens, and of earl Theobald, that on the following day
A. D.
1174.


CONFER-
ENCE
BETWEEN
HENRY
AND
HIS
SONS.
385 he would return to confer with the king of England on making peace between him and his sons. The king of France, however, did not keep his engagement and his oath, and did not come on the following day to the conference, but departed into his own territories.

However, after the expiration of a few days, he again sent the above-named archbishop of Sens and earl Theobald to the king of England, appointing a day for the conference, to be held at Gisors, on the Nativity of Saint Mary. When they met there they could not come to an agreement, on account of Richard, earl of Poitou, who was at this time in Poitou, besieging the castles and subjects of his father. In consequence of this, they again held another conference between them, upon the festival of Saint Michael, between Tours and Amboise, on which occasion they agreed to a truce on these terms: that the said Richard, earl of Poitou, should be excluded from all benefit of the truce, and that the king of France and the king of England, the son, should give him no succour whatever. Upon these arrangements being made on either side, the king of England, the father, moved on his army into Poitou; on which, Richard, earl of Poitou, his son, not daring to await his approach, fled from place to place. When he afterwards came to understand that the king of France, and the king, his brother, had excluded him from the benefit of the truce, he was greatly indignant thereat; and, coming with tears, he fell on his face upon the ground at the feet of his father, and imploring pardon, was received into his father’s bosom. These events took place at Poitou, on the eleventh day before the calends of October, being the second day of the week; and thus, the king and his son Richard becoming reconciled, they entered the city of Poitou.

After this, they both set out together for a conference held between Tours and Amboise, on the day before the calends of October, being the second day of the week and the day after the feast of Saint Michael. Here the king, the son, and Richard and Geoffrey, his brothers, by the advice and consent of the king and barons of France, made the treaty of peace underwritten with the king their father:

“Be it known unto all present as well as to come, that, by the will of God, peace has been made between our lord the king and his sons, Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey, on the
A. D.
1174.
386 following terms: — 

Henry, the king, the son of the king, and his brothers aforesaid, have returned unto their father and to his service as their liege lord, free and absolved from all oaths whatsoever which they have made between themselves, or with any other persons, against him, or against his subjects. All liegemen and barons who, for their sake, have abandoned their fealty to their father, they have released from all oaths whatsoever which they have made to themselves; and, freely acquitted from all oaths and absolved from all covenants which they had made to them, the same have returned to their homage and allegiance to our lord the king. Also, our lord the king, and all his liegemen and barons, are to receive possession of all their lands and castles which they held fifteen days before his sons withdrew from him. So, in like manner, his liegemen and barons who withdrew from him and followed his sons, are to receive possession of their lands which they had fifteen days before they withdrew from him. Also, our lord the king has laid aside all displeasure against his barons and liegemen who withdrew from him, so that by reason thereof he will do no evil to them, so long as they shall faithfully serve him as their liege lord. And, in like manner, the king, his son, has pardoned all, both clerks as well as laymen, who took part with his father, and has remitted all displeasure against them, and has given security into the hand of our lord the king, his father, that he will not do, or seek to do, in all his life any evil or harm to those who obeyed him, by reason of their so doing. Also, upon these conditions, the king gives to the king, his son, two suitable castles in Normandy, at the option of his father, and fifteen thousand pounds, Anjouin, yearly revenue. Also, to his son Richard he gives two suitable mansions in Poitou, whence evil cannot ensue to the king, and a moiety of the revenues of Poitou in ready money. To his son Geoffrey he gives, in ready money, the moiety of what he would receive in Brittany on his marriage with the daughter of earl Conan, whom he is to take to wife; and after, by the license of the Roman Church, he shall have taken her to wife, then he shall have the whole of the revenues accruing by that marriage, in such manner as is set forth in the deed executed by earl Conan. But, as to the prisoners who have made a composition with our lord the king before this treaty was made with our lord the king, namely, the
A. D.
1174.


TREATY
OF
PEACE
BETWEEN
HENRY
AND
HIS
SONS.
387 king of Scotland, the earl of Leicester, the earl of Chester, and Ralph de Fougeres, and their pledges, and the pledges of the other prisoners whom he had before that time, they are to be excepted out of this treaty. The other prisoners are, however, to be set at liberty on both sides; but upon the understanding, that our lord the king shall take hostages as pledges from such of his prisoners as he shall think fit, and as shall be able to give the same; and from the rest he shall take security by the assurance and oaths of themselves and of their friends. As for the castles which have been built or fortified in the territories of our lord the king since the war began, they are, subject to the king’s wishes thereon, to be reduced to the same state in which they were fifteen days before the war began. Further, be it known, that king Henry, the son, has covenanted with our lord the king, his father, that he will strictly observe all gifts in almoign which he has given, or shall give, out of his lands, and the gifts of lands which he has given, or shall give, to his liegemen for their services. He has also covenanted that he will strictly and inviolably confirm the gifts which the king, his father, has made to his brother John; namely, a thousand pounds of yearly revenues out of his demesne lands and escheats in England at his own option, together with their appurtenances; also the castle of Nottingham with the county thereof, and the castle of Marlborough with its appurtenances; also, in Normandy, one thousand pounds, Anjouin, of yearly revenue, and two castles in Normandy at the option of his father; and in Anjou and the lands which belonged to the earl of Anjou, one thousand pounds, Anjouin, of revenue, as also one castle in Anjou, one castle in Touraine, and one castle in Maine. It has also been covenanted by our lord the king, in the love which he bears his son, that all those who withdrew from him after his son, and offended him by such withdrawal, may return into the territories of our lord the king under his protection. Also, for the chattels which on such withdrawal they carried away, they shall not be answerable: as to murder, or treason, or the maiming of any limb, they are to be answerable according to the laws and customs of the land. Also, as to those who before the war took to flight for any cause, and then entered the service of his son, the same may, from the love he bears to his son, return in peace, if they give pledge and surety that they
A. D.
1174.
388 will abide their trial for those offenses of which, before the war, they have been guilty. Those, also, who were awaiting trial at the time when they withdrew to his son, are to return in peace, upon condition that their trials are to be in the same state as when they withdrew. Henry, the king, the son of our lord the king, has given security into the hands of his father that this agreement shall on his part be strictly observed. And, further, Henry, the king’s son, and his brothers, have given security that they will never demand of our lord the king, contrary to the will and good pleasure of our lord the king, their father, anything whatever beyond the gifts above-written and agreed upon, and that they will withdraw neither themselves nor their services from their father. Also, Richard, and Geoffrey, his brother, have done homage to their father for those things which he has given and granted unto them; and, whereas his son, Henry, was ready and willing to do homage to him, our lord the king was unwilling to receive the same of him, because he was a king; but he has received security from him for the same.”

In the same year, a dissension arose between Uctred and Gilbert, the sons of Fergus, and chieftains of the men of Galloway, on which Malcolm, the son of Gilbert, took Uctred by treachery, and, after depriving him of his virility and putting out his eyes, caused him to be put to death.

In this year, also, Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated in England, at Canterbury, Richard, bishop of Winchester, Robert Folliot, bishop of Hereford, Geoffrey Riddel, bishop of Ely, and John, bishop of Chichester. In the same year, nearly the whole of the city of Canterbury was burned to the ground, together with the metropolitan church of the Holy Trinity. In this year, also, died William Turbe, bishop of Norwich.

In the same year, peace and final reconciliation were established between Roger, archbishop of York, and Hugh, bishop of Durham, upon the following terms: “The chapel and burial-ground of Alverton shall remain in the hands of the prior of Hexham, on condition that the archbishop shall not insist on any person being buried there, nor shall the bishop hinder it. The church of Hexham shall receive the chrism and oil from the bishop of Durham, according to its present usage; the prior of Hexham shall also attend the synod of Durham. The
A. D.
1174.


TREATY
BETWEEN
THE
SEES
OF
YORK
AND
DURHAM.
389 clerks and canons of Hexham shall receive ordination from the bishop of Durham. The parishioners of Hexham, at the time of Pentecost, if they shall think fit, shall visit the church of Durham without any compulsion on the part of the bishop or of his people, and without any prohibition on the part of the archbishop or of his people. Also, if their people shall presume to act contrary to this, their masters themselves shall correct them. The prior of Hexham shall try all ecclesiastical causes of that parish, without power to inflict fines, though with liberty to impose penance. On the decease of the present prior, Richard, the bishop of Durham, shall have the same authority in the appointing of another prior, which the said prior, Richard, and the prior of Gisburne, and Peter, brother of the prior of Bridlington, have sworn that the church of Durham had in the appointing of the said prior, Richard, if indeed they shall have sworn that it had any. The archbishop shall not demand synodal fees of the churches of Saint Cuthbert, the names of which, in the archdeaconry of Cleveland, are as follow: the church of Hemmingburgh, the church of Schepwick, the church of Alverton, the church of Bretteby, the church of Osmunderley, the church of Seigestun, the church of Lee, the church of Oterington. the church of Crake, and the church of Holteby; in the archdeaconry York; the church of All Saints in Ousegate, the church of Saint Peter the Little, and half of the church of the Holy Trinity, in Sudersgate;8 and, in the archdeaconry of the treasurer; the church of Hoveden,9 the church of Welleton, the church of Brentington, and the church of Walkinton. But if the clergy of the said churches, or the laity of the demesne manors of Saint Cuthbert, situate in Yorkshire, shall be guilty of anything that deserves ecclesiastical correction, the same shall be amended by the archbishop, such a summons being first issued, that the bishop or his officer shall be able to be present thereat.” The above articles were confirmed by the archbishop and the bishop, who mutually gave their word that they would, without fraud or deceit, observe the same so long as they two should live, and without prejudice to the church of either after the decease of the other. In addition to which, the archbishop similarly gave his word to the bishop that he would in no
A. D.
1175.
390 matter annoy him or his church, or any one in his bishopric, until the cause should have been first taken open cognizance of in due course of judgment.

In the year of grace 1175, being the twenty-first year of the reign of king Henry the Second, son of the empress Matilda, the said king was at Argenton, in Normandy, during the festival of the Nativity of our Lord. At the Purification of Saint Mary, he and the king, his son, were at Le Mans, whence they returned into Normandy, and held a conference with Louis, king of the Franks, at Gisors. Having come thence to Bure in Normandy, the king, the son, in order that he might remove all mistrust from his father’s mind, did homage to him as his liegeman, and swore fealty to him against all men, in the presence of Rotrod, archbishop of Rouen, Henry, bishop of Bayeux, William, earl of Mandeville, and Richard de Humez, his constable, and many other persons of the household of both kings.

At the festival of Easter, the two kings were at Cæsar’s Burgh,10 and, after Easter, they proceeded to Caen to meet Philip, earl of Flanders, who shortly before had assumed the cross of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The king, the father, prevailed upon him to release the king, the son, from all covenants which he had made with him during the period of the hostilities; and the earl of Flanders delivered into the king’s hands the documents of the king, his son, which he had relative to the above-named covenants. On this, they confirmed to the earl the yearly revenues which he had been in the habit of receiving in England before the war.

The king, the father, also sent his son Richard into Poitou, and his son Geoffrey into Brittany, with orders that the castles which had been built or fortified during the time of the war, should be reduced to the same state in which they were fifteen days before the war began. After this, the king, the father, and the king, the son, crossed over, and landed in England, at Portsmouth, on the seventh day before the ides of May, being the sixth day of the week. On coming to London, they found Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, about to hold a synod at Westminster on the Lord’s day before the Ascension of our Lord; to which synod came nearly all the bishops and abbats of the province of Canterbury. Before the kings above-named,
A. D.
1175.


DECREES
OF
THE
SYNOD
OF
WEST-
MINSTER.
391 and the bishops and abbats, Richard, the archbishop of Canterbury, standing on an elevated place, published the decrees underwritten:

“Synods are called together in the Church of God, in conformity with the ancient usage of the fathers, in order that those who are appointed to the higher office of the pastoral charge, may, by institutions based upon rules subjected to their common consideration, reform the lives of those submitted to their care, and, with a judgment better informed, be able to check those enormities which are incessantly springing up. We therefore, rather adhering to the rules of our forefathers who adhered to the true faith, than devising anything new, have thought it advisable that certain definite heads should be published by us; which by all of our province we do enjoin to be strictly and inviolably observed. For all those who shall presume to contravene the enactments of this holy synod, we deem to be transgressors of the sacred canons.

11 “If any priest or clerk in holy orders, having a church or ecclesiastical benefice, shall publicly keep a harlot, and after being warned thereon a first, second, and third time, shall not put away his harlot, and entirely separate himself from her, but shall rather think fit to persist in his uncleanness, he shall be deprived of all ecclesiastical offices and benefices. But if any persons below the rank of sub-deacons shall have contracted marriage, let them not by any means be separated from their wives, except with their common consent that they shall do so and enter a religious order, and there let them with constancy remain in the service of God. But if any persons of the rank of sub-deacon or above the same, shall have contracted marriage, let them leave their wives, even though they should be unwilling and reluctant. Also, on the authority of the same epistle we have decreed, that the sons of priests are not, henceforth, to be instituted as clergymen in the churches of their fathers; nor are they, under any circumstances whatsoever, to hold the same without the intervention of some third person.

12 “Clerks in holy orders are not to enter taverns for the purpose of eating and drinking, nor to be present at public drinkings, unless when travelling, and compelled by necessity. And if
A. D.
1175.
392 any one shall be guilty of so doing, either let him put an end to the practice, or suffer deprivation.

13 “Those who are in holy orders are not allowed to give judgment on matters of life and death. Wherefore, we do forbid them either themselves to take part in dismemberment, or to order it to be done by others. And if any one shall be guilty of doing such a thing, let him be deprived of the office and position of the orders that have been granted to him. We do also forbid, under penalty of excommunication, any priest to hold the office of sheriff, or that of any secular public officer.14

15 “Clerks who allow their hair to grow, are, though against their will, to be shorn by the archdeacon. They are also not to be allowed to wear any garments or shoes, but such as are consistent with propriety and religion. And if any one shall presume to act contrary hereto, and on being warned shall not be willing to reform, let him be subject to excommunication.

16 “Inasmuch as certain clerks, despairing of obtaining ordination from their own bishops, either on account of ignorance, or irregularity of life, or the circumstances of their birth, or a defect in their title, or youthful age, are ordained out their own province, and sometimes even by bishops beyond sea, or else falsely assert that they have been so ordained, producing unknown seals to their own bishops; we do enact that the ordination of such shall be deemed null and void, and, under pain of excommunication, we do forbid that they shall be employed by any one in the performance of his duties. The bishop also, within our jurisdiction, who knowingly and wilfully shall ordain any such person or employ him after the conferring of such orders,17 for so ordaining or employing him, let him know that he is suspended from his office until he shall have made due satisfaction. Likewise, inasmuch as the Church of God, according to the verity of the Gospel, ought to be the house of prayer, and not a den of thieves, and market for blood; under pain of excommunication we do forbid18
A. D.
1175.


DECREES
OF
THE
SYNOD
OF
WEST-
MINSTER.
393 secular causes, in which the shedding of blood or bodily punishment is likely to be the result, to be tried in churches or in churchyards. For it is absurd and cruel for judgment of bloodshed to be discussed in the place which has also been appointed a place of refuge for the guilty.

19 “It has been told us, that it is the custom in some places for money to be given for receiving the chrism, as also for baptism and the communion. This as a20 simoniacal heresy a holy council held in detestation, and visited with excommunication. We do therefore enact, that in future nothing shall be demanded either for ordination, or for the chrism, or for baptism, or for extreme unction, or for burial, or for the communion, or for dedication; but the gifts of Christ are to be bestowed freely with a gratuitous dispensation. If any person shall presume to act in defiance hereof, let him be excommunicated.

21 “Let no prelate, on receiving a monk, or canon, or nun, presume to take or demand money from those who come to adopt the monastic life, under the pretence of any agreement whatsoever.

22 “Let it be allowable for no one under the name of a dowry to transfer a benefice to any person, or to exact money or any emolument on the pretext of an agreement for the presentation of any person thereto. If he shall do so, and upon trial shall confess or be convicted of the same, relying both on our own and on the royal authority, we do enact that he shall be for ever deprived of the patronage of the said church.

23 “According to the decrees of the fathers, we do, under penalty of excommunication, forbid that monks or clerks shall carry on business for the sake of profit, and that monks shall hold farms of the clergy or of the laity, or that the laity shall hold the benefices of the Church to farm.

24 “Whoever would appear to belong to the clergy, let them not take up arms, nor yet go about in armour; but by their religious habits, let them reconcile the name of their profession to the religious character of their manners. If they despise this injunction, then, as contemners of the holy canons and profaners of the ecclesiastical authority, let them be mulcted with the loss of their proper rank: inasmuch as they cannot serve both God and the world.


A. D.
1175.
394

25 “Also, with regard to vicars, who on their promise and oath are bound to their parsons, we have thought proper to enact, that if, despising their promise or the obligation of their oath, they shall falsely take upon themselves the character of parson, and set themselves up against their parsons, and if they shall upon trial confess thereto or be convicted thereof, then for the future they are not to be admitted in the same bishopric to the discharge of the duties of their office.

26 “All tithes of the land, whether of corn or of fruit, are the Lord’s, and are sanctified unto Him. But, inasmuch as many are found unwilling to give tithes, we do enact, that according to the commands of our lord the pope, they shall be admonished a first, second, and third time, to give tithes in full of corn, wine, fruits of trees, young of animals, wool, lambs, butter, cheese, flax, hemp, and other things which are renewed yearly; and if, upon being admonished, they do not make amends, let them understand that they are subject to excommunication.

“And further, let the imperial sanction put a check upon litigation, and the audacity of those who inconsiderately appeal to law, by condemning them to pay the costs, and various other remedies. And inasmuch as this is known to be in unison with the holy institutions, we do order, that for the future, in such actions for the recovery of money as shall be tried among clerks, the party who is the loser shall be condemned to pay costs to his opponent. As for him who shall not be able to make such payment, I leave him to be punished at the discretion of his bishop.



FOOTNOTES

 1  Harfleur.

 2  “Raro antecedentem scelestum deserit pœna pede claudo.” A quotation from Horace.

 3  Hartlepool.

 4  North Allerton.

 5  Framlingham, in Suffolk.

 6  Thirsk.

 7  Tutbury.

 8  Perhaps that part of York now called Skeldergate.

 9  Howden, in Yorkshire, the native place of our author.

10  Cherbourg.

11  Taken from the decretal epistle of pope Alexander III. to Roger, bishop of Worcester.

12  From the decrees of the council of Carthage.

13  From the decrees of the council of Toledo.

14  “Præpositi,” though a very general appellation, probably means here, reeve, mayor or provost.

15  From the decrees of the council of Agatha.

16  From various decrees of popes Urban and Innocent, and of the councils of Chalcedon and Carthage.

17  There is not improbably an omission in the text here.

18  Some words are evidently omitted here.

19  From the decrees of the council of Trebour.

20  The text is evidently corrupt here.

21  From the decrees of pope Urban.

22  A new decree.

23  From the decrees of the Fathers.

24  By decree of the council of Meaux.

25  From a decree of pope Alexander the Third, addressed to the bishop of Norwich.

26  From the decrees of the council of Rouen.




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