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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. 153-169.

THE  ANNALS  OF
ROGER  DE  HOVEDEN.
Volume I.

[Part 16: 1073-1087 A.D.]

In the year from the incarnation of our Lord 1073, all points agreed, as to the course of the sun and moon, with the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, in which our Lord was baptized, that is to say, the day of the Baptism was on the eighth day before the ides of January, being the Lord’s day and Epiphany; the second day of the week was the commencement of His Fast for forty days; and thus, from the time of the Baptism of our Lord in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, there had been a revolution of two great cycles, that is to say, of one thousand and sixty-four years.

In this year, William, king of the English, with the especial assistance of the English whom he had brought with him from England, subjugated the city which is called Mans, and the province¹ belonging thereto. The Clito Edgar came to Normandy from Scotland by way of England, and was reconciled to king William. Earl Waltheof, sending a strong body of Northumbrians, took a bloody revenge for the death of his grandfather earl Aldred; for the swords of some men whom he had placed in ambush cut off the sons of Carl who had slain him, while they were at a banquet at Seteringetun.

In the year 1074, Hildebrand, who was also called Gregory, archdeacon of Rome, was elected pope, and consecrated. The
A. D.
1074.154 pope holding a council, according to the decrees of Saint Peter the Apostle, and of Saint Clement and other holy fathers, by edict forbade the clergy, and especially those consecrated to the divine mysteries,² to have wives, or to cohabit with women, except such as the Nicene synod or other canons excepted. He also decreed that, in conformity with the sentence of Simon Peter, not only the buyer and seller of any office, such for instance as that of bishop, abbat, prior, dean, or titheman of a church, but whoever abetted them, should receive the condemnation of Simon Magus.³ For the Lord hath said, “Freely have ye received, freely give.”

Three poor monks being sent by the Divine Spirit from the province of the Mercians, that is to say, from Evesham, came to York, in the province of the Northumbrians, and requested Hugh FitzBaldric, who at that time held the shrievalty, to provide them with a guide on their journey, as far as the place which is called Munkeceastre,⁴ that is to say, the “city of the monks,” which place is now called Newcastle. Being escorted thither, and having staid there for some time, on finding there no ancient vestige of the servants of Christ they removed to Jarrow, where, the ruins hardly disclosing what it had been in ancient times, there were to be seen many monastic edifices with half-ruined churches; here they were received with the greatest kindness by bishop Walcher, who supplied them with all necessaries.

Aldwin was the chief of them, both by reason of age and his exemplary manners, while Elfwine was the second, and Remifrid the third; by these three persons, three monasteries were refounded in the province of the Northumbrians; one at Durham, near the hallowed and incorruptible body of the father Cuthbert, in honor of the holy Virgin Mary; another at York, in honor of the same Mary, the mother of God, where his noble monastery, on its foundation, had for its first abbat Stephen, its second Richard, its third Geoffrey, the fourth being the present dignitary, Severinus. The third of these monasteries was restored at a place which was formerly called Streinschalh, that is to say, “the bay of the sea,” and is now called Withebi;⁵ of which Benedict is the present abbat.

Of late years, after the most dreadful devastations of the
A. D.
1074.


ESCAPE
OF
TURGOT.155 pagans had with fire and sword reduced the churches and monasteries to ashes, Christianity being almost extinguished, there were scarcely any churches left, and those few covered with twigs and thatch; but no monasteries had been anywhere rebuilt for two hundred years. Thus did belief in religion wax faint, and all religious observances entirely die away; the name of a monk was a thing unheard-of by the people in the provinces, who were struck with amazement when by chance they beheld any one devoted to the monastic life, and clothed in the garb of a monk. But on the above-named three persons coming to dwell among them, they themselves also began to change their brutish mode of living for the better, to give them all possible assistance in the restoring the sacred places, rebuilding the half-ruined churches, and even building new ones in the spots where they had previously existed. Many persons also abandoned a secular life, and assumed the monastic habit; few, however, of these were provincials; they were mostly persons from the remote districts of England, who, being allured by the report of their character, repaired thither, and zealously attached themselves to them.

Of these, Turgot, afterwards bishop of the Scots, was one. He, being sprung from a family by no means among the lowest ranks of the English, was one among a number of hostages, who, when England was totally subjected to the Normans, had been placed in confinement in Lincoln castle, which was the place of safe keeping for the whole of Lindesey. Having bribed the keepers with a sum of money, he secretly, to the hazard of his friends, fled to certain Norwegians, who were then at Grimsby, loading a merchant-ship for Norway, on board which the ambassadors of king William, who were about to proceed to Norway, had procured a passage.

When the ship, speeding on at full sail, had lost sight of land, behold! the run-away hostage of the king came forth from the lower part of the ship, where the Norwegians had concealed him, in the sight of all, and caused astonishment among the ambassadors and their attendants. For he had been sought in every spot, and the king’s tax-gatherers had made their search in that very ship; but the cunning of those who concealed him had contrived to deceive the eyes of the searchers. Upon this, the ambassadors insisted upon their furling their sails, and by all means steering back the ship towards the
A. D.
1074.156 English shore, in order to take back the run-away hostage of the king. This was stoutly resisted by the Norwegians, whose wish it was that they should steer onward in the course they had so prosperously begun; upon which a division arose, and prevailed to such a degree that each party took up arms against the other. But as the force of the Norwegians was superior, the boldness of the ambassadors very speedily subsided, and the nearer they approached to land, the more did they humble themselves to the others.

Upon their arrival, the runaway youth behaved himself becomingly and modestly, showed himself grateful to the nobles and principal men, and came under the notice of king Olaf, who being of a very pious turn of mind, was in the habit of reading holy books, and giving his attention to literature amid the cares of state. He would also frequently stand by the priest at the altar, and assist him in putting on the holy vestments, pouring the water upon his hands, and with great devotion performing other duties of a similar nature. Accordingly, on hearing that a clerk had come over from England, a thing that seemed somewhat unusual at that period, he employed him as his own master in learning the Psalms; in consequence of which he lived in extreme affluence, the bounty of the king and nobles flowing in upon him apace. His mind, however, was often smitten, in a spirit of compunction, with contempt for the world, and, whenever he was able, he would withdraw himself from the banquets of the revellers, and take delight in solitude, praying to God with tears that he would direct him in the paths of salvation. But, inasmuch as religious aspirations, when subjected to delay, frequently change, his mind by degrees fell away from this state, and in consequence of the success which attended his pursuits, the pleasures of this world had too great attractions for him.

But he, who, when invited, was unwilling to come of his own accord, at a future time, by compulsion, entered the house of his heavenly Father. For some years after, he was returning home by ship with a large sum of money; but when out at sea, the vessel was wrecked in a most violent storm, and his companions perishing, he lost the whole of his property, having, with some five or six others, with the greatest difficulty saved his life. Coming to Durham for the purpose of offering up his prayers, he informed bishop Walcher of every thing
A. D.
1074.


CON-
SPIRACY
AGAINST
WILLIAM.157 that had happened to him, and stated to him that it was his fixed purpose to assume the monastic habit. On this the bishop received him with all humility, and, sending him to Aldwin, of whom mention has been made above, said: “It is my prayer and my command, that you will receive this my son, and, clothing him in the monastic habit, will teach him to observe the monastic rule of life.” Aldwin on receiving him, submitted him to the regular probation, and when he had passed through that state conferred upon him the monastic habit, and so trained him by precept and example, that after his own decease, by order of bishop William, he succeeded him as prior of the church of Durham, which for twenty years, less twelve days, he zealously governed. But in the year when Ranulph was made bishop, who succeeded William, Alexander the Eighth, king of the Scots, having asked the assent of Henry, king of the English, thereto, he was chosen bishop of the church of Saint Andrew.

In the same year in which pope Hildebrand held the above-named council, Roger, earl of Hereford, son of William, earl of the East Angles, contrary to the command of king William, gave his sister in marriage to earl Rodulph. The nuptials being celebrated with the utmost magnificence, amid a large concourse of nobles at a place in the province of Grantebridge,⁶ which is called Ixning, a great number there entered into a conspiracy against king William, and compelled earl Waltheof, who had been intercepted by them by stratagem, to join the conspiracy. He, however, as soon as he possibly could, went to Lanfranc, the archbishop of Canterbury, and received absolution from him at the holy sacrament, for the crime that he had, although not spontaneously, committed; by whose advice, he also went to king William, who was at the time staying in Norway, and disclosing to him the whole matter from beginning to end, threw himself entirely upon his mercy.

In the meantime, the chiefs above-mentioned, being determined to promote the success of this conspiracy, repaired to their castles, and began, with their supporters, to use all possible endeavours in encouraging the rebellion. But the venerable Wulstan, the bishop of Worcester, with a great body of soldiers, prevented the earl of Hereford from fording the river Severn and meeting earl Rodulph, with his army, at the place
A. D.
1075.158 appointed. Wulstan was also joined by Egelwin, the abbat of Evesham, with all his people who had been summoned to his assistance, together with Urso, the sheriff of Worcester, and Walter de Lacy, with his troops, and a considerable multitude of the lower classes. But earl Rodulph having pitched his camp near Grantebridge, Odo, bishop of Bayeux, the king’s brother, and Geoffrey, bishop of Constance, having collected a great body both of English and Normans and prepared for battle, opposed him.

On seeing that his attempts were thus thwarted by the multitude that opposed him, he secretly fled to Norwich, and entrusting the castle to his wife and his knights, embarked on board ship, and fled from England into Brittany; on which, being pursued by his adversaries, all of his men whom they could overtake they either put to death, or else inflicted upon them various kinds of punishments. After this, the nobles besieged the castle of Norwich, until, peace being made by the king’s sanction, the countess, with her people, was allowed to leave England. These events having happened, in the autumn the king returned from Normandy, and placed earl Roger in confinement, and in like manner threw earl Waltheof into prison, although he had besought his mercy.

Edgitha, the former queen of the English, died this year at Winchester, in the month of December, on which her body was, by the royal command, conveyed to London, and honorably buried at Westminster, near that of her lord, king Edmund. Here, at the ensuing Nativity of our Lord, the king held his court, and some of those who had uplifted their necks against him he banished from England, and others he mangled, by putting out their eyes, or cutting off their hands; earls Waltheof and Roger, condemned by a judicial sentence, he committed to closer custody.

In the year 1075, earl Waltheof, by command of king William, was unrighteously led outside of the city of Winchester, and there cruelly decapitated with an axe, and buried in the ground on the spot; but in course of time, God so ordaining it, his body was raised from the earth, and carried with great honor to Croyland, and with great pomp buried in the church there. While he was still in possession of life in this world, on being placed in close confinement, he unceasingly bewailed what he had done amiss, and most zealously endeavoured
A. D.
1077.


VIOLENT
ACTS
OF
ROBERT.159 to make his peace with God by means of watchings and prayers and fastings and almsgiving; his memory men have tried to bury in the earth, but we are to believe that in truth he rejoices with the Saints in heaven, the above-named archbishop Lanfranc, of pious memory, having faithfully attested it, from whom, on making confession, he had received absolution. He asserted that he was innocent of the charge on which he was accused, namely, that of joining the aforesaid conspiracy, and that what he had been guilty of in other respects, he had, like a true Christian, bewailed with the tears of repentance; and Lanfranc declared that he himself should be blessed, if, after the end of his life, he should be able to enjoy his happy repose. After him, the care of the earldom of Northumbria was entrusted to Walcher, bishop of Durham.

After these transactions, the king led his army into Brittany, and besieged the castle of earl Rodulph, which is called Dol, until Philip, king of France, forced him to retire.

At this period, as the secular clergy chose rather to submit to be excommunicated, than to put aside their wives, pope Hildebrand, in order that he might, if possible, chastise them by means of others, ordered in the following words that no person should hear mass performed by a married priest:

“Gregory, the pope, who is also called Hildebrand, the servant of the servants of God, to all throughout the realms of Italy and Germany, who show due obedience to Saint Peter, the Apostolic benediction. If there are any priests, deacons, or sub-deacons, who are guilty of the crime of fornication, we do on behalf of Almighty God, and by the authority of Saint Peter, forbid them entrance into the church, until such time as they shall amend and be repentant. But if any shall prefer to persist in their sinful course, no one of you is to presume to listen to them while officiating; inasmuch as their blessing is changed into a curse, and their prayers into sinfulness, as the Lord beareth witness by his prophet, saying, ‘Your blessings I will curse,’ ” &c.⁷

In the year 1076, Sweyn, king of the Danes, a man greatly devoted to literature, departed this life, and was succeeded by his son, Harold.

In the year 1077, Robert, the eldest son of king William, because he was not allowed to take possession of Normandy, which, before his arrival in England, his father had given to
A. D.
1080.160 him in the presence of Philip, king of the Franks, fled to France, and, with the aid of king Philip, frequently committed great depredations in Normandy, burning towns and slaying men, and thus caused no little trouble and anxiety to his father.

In the year 1078, after the Assumption of Saint Mary, Malcolm, king of the Scots, laid waste Northumbria, as far as the great river Tyne; and having slain many persons and captured more, returned home with a large amount of spoil.

In the year 1079, king William, while attacking his son Robert before the castle of Gerbohtret, which king Philip had given to him, being wounded by him in the arm, was thrown from his charger, but immediately, on Robert recognizing his voice, he dismounted, and bade him mount his own horse, and so let him depart; on which, many of his men having been slain, and some taken prisoners, and his son William and many others wounded, he took to flight. The venerable man Robert, who had received priests’ orders, at the hands of the most reverend Wulstan, the bishop of Worcester, was ordained bishop of Hereford, at Canterbury, by Lanfranc, the archbishop. This took place on the fourth day before the calends of January, being the Lord’s day.

In the year 1080,⁸ Walcher, bishop of Durham, a native of Lorraine, and a man distinguished for his virtues, was, without reason, murdered by the Northumbrians, at a place which is called Gatesheued,⁹ that is to say, the “goat’s head,” on the day before the ides of May, being the fifth day of the week; which act was done in revenge for Liulph, a man of noble birth and high rank.

This person, by hereditary right, was entitled to many possessions throughout England; but, because in those times the Normans were incessantly giving loose in every direction to their savage propensities, he betook himself with all his family to Durham, as he was sincerely attached to the memory of Saint Cuthbert. His wife was Adgitha, daughter of earl Aldred, by whom he had two sons, Ucthred and Morcar. The sister of this Adgitha was Elfleda, the mother of earl Waltheof; for which reason that earl entrusted his little cousin, Morcar, to
A. D.
1080.


LIULF
MUR-
DERED
BY
LEOFWINE.161 the monks of Jarrow, to be nurtured by them in the love of God. At this time, earl Waltheof himself was at Tynemouth; which place, together with the little child, he placed at the disposal of the monks. Liulph, the child’s father, was greatly beloved by the bishop; so much so, that without his advice he would by no means transact or dispose of the more weighty questions of his secular business. For this reason his chaplain, Leofwine,¹⁰ whom he had raised to such a pitch of favour that hardly anything in the bishopric and earldom¹¹ was done without his opinion being first consulted, was inflamed by the stings of envy, and being, in consequence of his elevation, greatly inflated with excessive pride, arrogantly set himself in competition with the above-named Liulph.

In consequence of this, he treated some of his judgments and opinions with the utmost contempt, and used every possible endeavour to render them of no effect; in addition to which, he would frequently wrangle with him before the bishop, even using threats, and often provoke him to anger by the use of contemptuous expressions. On a certain day, when Liulph had been invited by the bishop to take part in his counsels, and had given his opinion as to what was legal and just, Leofwine obstinately opposed him, and exasperated him by the use of contumelious language. Because Liulph on this occasion answered him more sharply than usual, Leofwine withdrew himself hastily from the court of justice, and, calling aside Gilbert (to whom, being his relative, the bishop had entrusted the earldom of Northumbria to manage as his deputy), earnestly entreated him to avenge his wrongs and put Liulph to death as soon as he possibly could effect it.

Gilbert immediately yielded to his iniquitous requests, and, having assembled together his own men at arms, together with those of the bishop and the said Leofwine, proceeded on a certain night to the house where Liulph was then staying, and most
A. D.
1080.162 iniquitously slew him and nearly all his household, in his own house. On hearing of this, the bishop heaved a sigh from the inmost recesses of his heart; and, taking his hood from off his head, and throwing it on the ground, immediately said in mournful accents, to Leofwine, who was then present, “By your factious designs, and most short-sighted contrivances, Leofwine, these things have been brought about. Therefore, I would have you know for certain, that both myself, and yourself, and all my household, you have cut off by means of the sword of your tongue.”

On saying this, he instantly betook himself to the castle, and immediately sending messengers throughout all Northumbria, commanded all to be informed that he was not an accomplice in the death of Liulph, but that, on the contrary, he had banished Gilbert, his murderer, and all his associates, from Northumbria, and would be prepared to exculpate himself before a court of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. After this, having interchanged messages, he and the relatives of those who were slain, having mutually given and received assurances of peace, appointed a place and day on which to meet and come to a better understanding. On the appointed day they met at the place named, but as the bishop declined to plead his cause in the open air, he entered the church there, together with his clergy and those of his knights who were of higher rank, and while a council was being held, several times sent out of the church such of his own followers as he thought fit, for the purpose of making peace with them. The people, however, would by no means accede to his requests, for they believed it to be a matter beyond a doubt that Liulph had been slain by his command; for, the night after the death of his relative,¹² Leofwine had not only entertained Gilbert and his associates at his house, in a friendly and hospitable manner, but even the bishop himself had shown him favour and hospitality just as before.

In consequence of this, all those of the bishop’s party who were found outside of the church were first slain, only a few escaping by flight; on seeing which, the bishop ordered his relative, the
A. D.
1081.


THE
EMPEROR
DEPOSES
POPE
HILDE-
BRAND.163 above-named Gilbert, whose life was sought, to go out of the church, in order that his death might satisfy the fury of the enemy. On going out, some knights followed him close for the purpose of defending him, but being instantly attacked by the enemy on all sides with swords and lances, they were killed in an instant; however, they spared two English thanes, in consequence of their being of the same blood with themselves. They also slew Leofwine, who had so often given the bishop advice to their disparagement, with some others of the clergy, directly they came out.

For when the bishop understood that their fury could by no means be appeased, unless Leofwine, the head and author of all this calamity, was slain, he begged him to go out of the church; and when he could by no means prevail upon him to do so, the bishop himself went to the door of the church, and begged that his own life might be spared, and on their refusal, covered his head with the border of his garment and went out of the door, and instantly fell dead, pierced by the swords of the enemy. After him they ordered Leofwine to come forth, and, upon his refusal, set fire to the roof and walls of the church; on which, preferring to finish his life rather by being burnt than being slain with the sword, he endured the flames for some time; but, after he had been half roasted alive, he sallied forth, and being cut to pieces, paid the penalty for his wickedness and died a shocking death.

To avenge the horrible deaths of these persons, king William, in the same year, ravaged Northumbria, sending thither Odo, bishop of Bayeux, with a large body of soldiers. In the autumn of the same year, the same king William, sent his son, Robert, against Malcolm, king of the Scots; but after he had proceeded as far as Egelbereth, he returned without completing his object, and founded Newcastle upon the river Tyne.

William succeeded to the bishopric of Durham on the fifth day before the ides of November, and on the fourth day before the nones of January, was consecrated at Gloucester, by Thomas, the archbishop of York.

At Pentecost, in this year, the emperor Henry, being at Mentz, determined upon the deposition of pope Hildebrand, and, on the nativity of Saint John the Baptist, appointed Wibert, bishop of the city of Ravenna, pope in his stead.

In the year 1081, the emperor Henry marched with an
A. D.
1083.164 army to Rome against the pope, but, having laid siege to the city, was unable to effect an entrance.

In the year 1082, after much slaughter and rapine had ensued between the emperor Henry and pope Hildebrand, on the night of Palm Sunday, a great number of persons were slain. King William placed in confinement in Normandy his brother, Odo, bishop of Bayeux.

In the year 1083, the emperor Henry stormed the city of Rome, and having taken it, established Wibert in the Apostolic See; on which, Hildebrand retired to Benevento, and lived there till the day of his death, and Henry returned to Germany.

A disgraceful quarrel took place between the monks, and Turstin, the abbat, of Glastonbury, a man unworthy to be named, and possessed of no prudence, whom king William, taking from the monastery of Caen, had appointed abbat of that place. Among other doings, in his folly, he treated the Gregorian chaunt with contempt, and attempted to compel the monks to leave it off, and learn the chaunt of one William, of Feschamp, and sing it; this they took to heart, because they had, both is in this particular and in the other offices of the church, grown used to the practices of the Roman Church. Upon a certain day, when they did not expect it, he rushed into the chapter-house, with an armed body of soldiers, and pursued the monks, who in their extreme terror had fled into the church, even to the altar; and there the soldiers, piercing the crosses, and images, and shrines of the Saints with darts and arrows, even went so far as to slay one monk while embracing the holy altar, who fell dead pierced with a spear; another also fell at the verge of the altar, transfixed with arrows; on which, being compelled by necessity, the monks stoutly defended themselves with the benches and candlesticks belonging to the church, and, though grievously wounded, succeeded in driving all the soldiers beyond the choir. The result was, that two of the monks were killed and fourteen wounded; some of the soldiers were also wounded.

Upon this, an inquisition was held, and as the principal fault lay clearly on the abbat’s side, the king removed him, and replaced him in his monastery in Normandy. A number of the monks were also, by the king’s command, dispersed
A. D.
1083.


CHARTER
OF
ARCH-
BISHOP
THOMAS.165 among the bishoprics and abbacies, and there kept in confinement. After the king’s death, the same abbat repurchased the abbey from his son, king William, for a sum of five hundred pounds of silver, and wandering about for some years among the possessions of that church, at a distance from the monastery itself, just as was befitting a homicide, died in misery. The monks assembled¹³ at Durham, by command of king William the Younger, on the seventh day before the calends of June, being the sixth day of the week.

On the fourth day before the nones of November, being the fifth day of the week, queen Matilda departed this life in Normandy, and was buried at Caen.

“Thomas,¹⁴ by the grace of God archbishop of York, to the bishops and abbats, both those who now hold the said offices in England also as those who shall succeed them hereafter, and to all the archbishops, his successors for ever in the see of York, greeting: Inasmuch as it is our office to perform the duties of religion to all, so in especial are we bound to pay pious respect to those Saints of God, from whose bounty it is manifest that we have received especial benefits. Therefore, we having been chastened with the scourge of God, and having been parched in an incredible manner during a period of two years with weakness from the attacks of fever; and whereas all the physicians declared that it was evident that death alone would be the termination of our sufferings, and that there were no means by which they might counteract the evil effects of this prolonged weakness. Wherefore, being warned in a vision, groaning and weeping I passed a night in the tomb of Saint Cuthbert, where, being wearied out with disease and fatigue, I was overcome with sleep; upon which Saint Cuthbert appeared to me in a vision, and touching each of my limbs with his hands, rendered me, when I awoke, whole from all infirmity; and whereas, at the same time, he commanded me to be duteous to him in all respects, and requested that all things whatsoever in my diocese he or his should possess, should be free and discharged from all burdens whatsoever;
A. D.
1083.166 and inasmuch as, having been aided by the mercies of the blessed confessor, I have been the more duteous to him, as it was more especially my bounden duty to pay him the greatest homage. — And whereas William, bishop of Durham, has brought a letter of pope Gregory the Seventh, from the Apostolic See, to the council of king William, sitting at Westminster, and, with the consent of all, has obtained leave to remove the secular clergy from his church and substitute monks therein. Wherefore, greatly rejoicing at all these things, according to the precept of the above-named pope, and according to the command of our lord king William, and out of the love I am bound to owe to Saint Cuthbert, with the consent and permission of the chapter of York, and with the confirmation of the whole synod, I have given and granted, and by this present deed confirmed, and have afterwards, with my own hand, presented at the altar unto Saint Cuthbert, the letter underwritten, which is addressed to Saint Cuthbert and his bishop, and all the monks his servants — Know then, all persons, both present and to come, that I, Thomas, archbishop of York, in obedience to the precept of pope Gregory the Seventh, and with the ratification of our lord king William, and with the attestation thereto of the whole council of England, and with the consent of the chapter of York, do give and do grant unto God and Saint Cuthbert, and to all his bishops in succession, and to all the monks who shall be there in time to come, that all churches whatsoever, which at the present time they may happen to possess in my diocese, or which hereafter they shall canonically obtain by royal grant or gift of the faithful, or which they shall build upon their own lands, they shall hold free and entirely acquitted for ever by me and all my successors, of all claims which belong to me or to my successors. Wherefore, I will and command that they shall hold all their churches in their own hands, and possess them without molestation, and freely place in them their own vicars, who shall only consult me and my successors as to the faithful cure of souls, but them as to all other alms-deeds and benefits; — and further, I do grant, confirm, and command, that they, as well as their vicars, shall be for ever free and acquitted from all synodals,¹⁵ and from all aids, impositions,
A. D.
1085.


WILLIAM
CONFERS
BISHOP-
RICS.167 rents, exactions, or hospices,¹⁶ both as regards myself and my deans and archdeacons, as well as the vicars and servants of us all. I do also forbid, under penalty of excommunication, that any person shall annoy them or their clergy, upon any pretence whatever, or compel them to go to synods or chapters, unless they shall be willing so to do of their own accord. But if any one shall have any complaint against them or theirs, let him repair to the court of Saint Cuthbert at Durham, that he may there receive such redress as he is entitled to. For, all the liberties and dignities which I or my successors shall be entitled to in our own churches or in our lands, we do freely grant for ever unto them and Saint Cuthbert in all their churches and lands, and without any deceit or gainsaying, I do, on behalf of myself and my successors, confirm the free and quiet possession thereof.”

In the year 1084, pope Hildebrand, who was also called Gregory, departed this life. William, king of the English, levied upon every hide of land throughout England the sum of six shillings.

In the year 1085, Edmund, abbot of Pershore, a man of remarkable virtue, departed this life on the seventeenth day before the calends of July, being the Lord’s day. In the same year, Canute, son of Sweyn, king of the Danes, prepared, with a strong fleet and the aid of his father-in-law, Robert, earl of Flanders, whose daughter he had married, to invade England; whereupon, king William, having levied many thousand soldiers throughout the whole of Gaul, foot and archers, and taking some from Normandy, in the autumn returned to England, and dispersing them throughout the whole kingdom, commanded the bishops, abbats, earls, barons, sheriffs, and royal bailiffs to supply them with provisions. But when he learned that his enemies were checked,¹⁷ he sent back part of his army, and part he retained with himself throughout the whole of the winter, and held his court at Gloucester during the Nativity of our Lord; in which place he gave bishoprics to his three chaplains, namely, that of London to Maurice, that of Thetford to William, and that of Chester to Robert.

In the year 1086, king William caused the whole of England to be described, of how much land each of his barons was possessed, how many knights’ fees, how many carrucates, how many villains, how many animals, and even how much ready money, each person possessed, throughout the whole of his kingdom, beginning from the highest down to the lowest, and how much rent each property could return:¹⁸ the whole of the country being in a state of disturbance in consequence of the numerous murders occasioned thereby. After this, in the week of Pentecost, at Westminster, where he was holding his court, he knighted his son Henry, and shortly after ordered the archbishops, bishops, abbats, earls, barons, and sheriffs, with their soldiers, to meet him at Salisbury, on the calends of August; and on their coming thither, he compelled their knights to swear fealty to him against all men.

At this period, the Clito Edgar, having obtained leave of the king, passed over the sea with two hundred soldiers, and went to Apulia. His sister, Christiana, entered a monastery which has the name of Romsey, and assumed the habit of a nun. In the same year there was a murrain among animals, and a great pestilence in the air.

In the year 1087, the relics of Saint Nicolas were transferred from Myra to the city of Bar. In this year, Aldwin, prior of Durham, departed this life. A raging fire consumed many cities, and the church of Saint Paul, together with the largest and best part of London.

On Saturday, the sixth day before the ides of July, the Danes, in a certain church, conferred the honor of martyrdom on their king, Canute. In this year, Stigand, bishop of Chichester, Scolland, abbat of Saint Augustine’s, Alfy, abbat of Bath, and Turstine, abbat of Pershore, departed this life. In the same year, before the Assumption of Saint Mary, king William entered France with an army, and burned with fire a city which is called Mantes, and all the churches therein, and two recluses, and then returned into Normandy. But, upon his return, a dreadful pain in the intestines attacked him; and, becoming weaker and weaker every day, when, as his illness increased, he saw that the day of his death was approaching, he released from confinement his brother, Odo, the bishop of Bayeux, earls Morcar and Roger, Siward, surnamed
A. D.
1087.


WILLIAM
THE
YOUNGER
SUCCEEDS.169 Barn, and Wulnoth, the brother of king Harold, whom he had kept in confinement from his childhood, and all besides whom he had imprisoned, either in Normandy or England. After this, he gave the kingdom of England to his son William, and, to his eldest son, Robert, who was then in exile in France, he left the dukedom of Normandy. And then, being fortified with the heavenly viaticum,¹⁹ after having reigned over the English nation twenty years, ten months, and twenty-eight days, he parted with his kingdom and his life, on the fifth day before the ides of September, and, having been there interred, rests at Caen, in the church of Saint Stephen the Proto-martyr, which he had built from the foundation, and amply endowed.

FOOTNOTES

 ¹   Of Maine.

 ²  Those in priests’ orders.

 ³  As being guilty of simony.

 ⁴  The Saxon name of Newcastle-on-Tyne.

 ⁵  Whitby, in Yorkshire.

 ⁶  Cambridge.

 ⁷  Mal. ii. 2.

 ⁸  This event is placed by Roger of Wendover in the year 1075. He gives a very different account of the circumstances attending it.

 ⁹  Gateshead.

¹⁰  The name of this person, who is called Leobin by William of Malmesbury, affords a singular illustration of the extreme incorrectness of the text. In the same page it is written “Leodwinus,” “Leothwinus,” “Leolwinus,” “Leofwinus,” and “Leolfwinus.” This faultiness, however, is far from being confined to proper names.

¹¹  It has been already stated that, after the unfortunate end of earl Waltheof, the earldom of Northumberland was given in charge to the bishop of Durham. Bracton informs us that the bishop of Durham had as full power in the county of Durham as the king had in his own palace.

¹²  “Propinqui sui.” This is probably an incorrect reading. We have been previously informed that Gilbert was a relative of the bishop; but it does not appear that Liulph was related to the bishop or to Gilbert. It may, however, mean “of his neighbour.”

¹³  This seems to allude to the monks of Glastonbury, who had been driven from the abbey by William the First, and placed in confinement; otherwise, the event is not inserted in its proper place.

¹⁴  There is probably an omission here, nothing being stated by way of introduction to this letter.

¹⁵  Payments made to the bishop by his clergy at the time of his visitation.

¹⁶  “Hospitio.” A right on the part of certain persons to demand entertainment in religious houses.

¹⁷  Because there was a mutiny in the Danish fleet, which ended in the king being slain by his soldiers.

¹⁸  These returns were entered in what is called Doomsday-Book.

¹⁹  The consecrated wafer, administered to the dying, “in articulo mortis.”

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