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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. 191-211.
HENRY THE FIRST
King William reigned fourteen years all but twenty-eight days, and was succeeded by his younger brother, Henry. Shortly after, on the nones of August, he was consecrated king at Westminster, by Maurice, the bishop of London; and, on the day of his consecration, he set free the holy church of God, which had been sold and let to farm in his brother’s time; he did away with all bad customs and iniquitous exactions by which the kingdom of England was unrighteously oppressed; he also established unbroken peace in his kingdom, and commanded that it should be maintained. To all in common he restored the laws of king Edward, together with those amendments to them which his father had made: but the forests, which he had made and held, he retained in his own hands.
Not long after this, on the seventh day before the ides of September, he placed Ranulph, the bishop of Durham, in confinement in the Tower of London, and recalled Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, from Gaul.
In the meantime, Robert, earl of Flanders, and Eustace, earl of Boulogne, returned home first, and after them Robert, duke of
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Normandy, with the wife whom he had married in Sicily. Shortly after this, Henry, king of the English, assembled the elders of England*1 at London, and took to wife Matilda, the daughter of Malcolm, king of the Scots, and of queen Margaret, and sister of the kings Edgar, Alexander, and David; on which she was consecrated queen, and crowned by Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, on the Lord’s day, being the day of the feast of Saint Martin.
Thomas, archbishop of York, a man whose memory was revered, and of exemplary piety, affable, and beloved by all, departed this life at York, on the Lord’s day, being the fourteenth day before the calends of December, and was succeeded by Gerard, the bishop of Hereford.
In the year 1101, Louis, king of the Franks, visited the court of king Henry at London, at the time of the Nativity of our Lord. On the calends of February, Ranulph, the bishop of Durham, escaped from confinement, by means of extreme artfulness, and, crossing the sea, when to Robert, duke of Normandy, and persuaded him to make a hostile invasion of England. In addition to this, many of the powerful men in this country sent ambassadors to him, and begged him to come with all haste, offering him the crown and the kingdom. On the eighth day before the ides of June, the city of Gloucester, together with the principal monastery there and many others, was destroyed by fire.
In consequence of the above representations, Robert, duke of Normandy, having collected a vast number of knights, archers, and foot, assembled his ships at a place which, in the Norman language, is called Treport;1 on learning which, king Henry gave orders to his sailors to watch the seas, that no one might approach the English territory from the country of Normandy, and, having collected an innumerable army throughout the whole of England, he himself pitched his camp not far from Hastings, in Sussex; for he considered it a matter of certainty that his brother would land in that neighbourhood.
But duke Robert, acting on the advice of bishop Ranulph, so wrought upon some of the king’s sailors, by making them promises of different kinds, that, forsaking the fealty which they owed the king, they went over to him, and acted as his guides to England. All things, therefore, being in
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1102.
CONDUCT
OF
EARL
ROBERT
DE
BELESME.193
readiness, together with his army, he embarked, and, about the time of the feast of Saint Peter ad Vincula, landed at a place called Portesmudh,2 and immediately moving on his army towards Winchester, encamped in a suitable spot. On learning his arrival, some of the chief men of England at once, as they had previously arranged, went over to him, while others, concealing their sentiments, remained with the king. But the bishops, the common soldiers, and the English, with resolute determination, sided with him, and were unanimously prepared to go forth to battle in his cause.
However, the more prudent men on both sides, having held a discreet conference among themselves, made peace between the brothers on the following terms: — that the king was to pay yearly to the duke three thousand marks of silver and restore gratuitously to all the ancient dignities in England which they had lost in consequence of their fidelity to the duke; and in like manner, the duke was to restore them to those, who, for the king’s cause, had lost their dignities in Normandy, without any recompense. On these terms being made, the king’s army returned home, and part of the duke’s returned to Normandy, while part remained with him in England.
In this year, Godfrey, king of Jerusalem, son of Eustace the elder, earl of Boulogne, who had been previously the most powerful duke of Lorraine, departed this life, and rests entombed in the church of Golgotha. After his death, the Christians unanimously elected his brother, Baldwin, their king. At this period, Robert de Belesme, earl of Shrewsbury, the son of earl Roger, commenced (with the view of opposing king Henry, as the event proved,) to repair with a broad and high wall the castle which Agelfleda, lady of the Mercians, in the reign of her brother Edward the Elder, had formerly built on the western side of the river Severn, at a place called Bridge;3 he also began to build another in Wales, at a place which is called Carrocove.
In the year 1102, the above-named earl Robert de Belesme, who also at that time ruled over the earldom of Ponthieu, and was possessed of a considerable number of castles in Normandy, strongly fortified the city of Shrewsbury and the castle there, as also the castles of Arundel and of Titchil,4 with
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provisions, engines of war, arms, knights, and foot-soldiers, against king Henry. He also hastened, by every possible method, working day and night, to complete the walls and towers of the castles of Bridge and Carrocove; the Welch also, and his own men, he encouraged by gifts of honors, lands, horses, and arms, and by various other presents, to become more zealous and faithful to himself, and more ready to do what he wished.
These attempts, however, and his efforts were very soon stopped short. For his plots and intentions being, by means of certain information, discovered, the king pronounced him a public enemy. On this, at once assembling all the Welch and the Normans he possibly could at that moment, he and his brother Arnold laid waste part of the borough of Stafford, and carried away thence into Wales many beasts of burden and animals, together with some of the people. The king, however, without delay, laid siege first to his castle of Arundel, and, having erected castles around it, retired. He then ordered Robert, bishop of Lincoln, to lay siege to the castle of Tickill while he himself, with an army levied throughout the whole of England, besieged the castle of Bridge, and ordered his people to construct engines of war and erect a castle there. In the meantime, by some trifling presents, he easily prevailed upon the Welch, in whom earl Robert placed great confidence, to disregard the oaths they had sworn to him, and entirely forsake him, and join in the attack against him. The consequence was, that, within thirty days, the city and all the castles were surrendered; and, having now subdued his enemy Robert, the king ignominiously expelled him from England, and, shortly after, condemned his brother Arnold to a like fate, as a reward for his perfidious conduct.
After these events, king Henry being at London, with all the chief men of his kingdom, both ecclesiastics and those of the secular order, at Westminster he invested two of his clergy with bishoprics, appointing Roger, his chancellor, bishop of Salisbury, and Roger, his chief of the larder, bishop of Hereford. Here, also, Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, held a great synod, upon matters relating to the Christian religion, the following prelates sitting there with him: — Gerard, archbishop of York, Maurice, bishop of London, William, bishop elect of Winchester, Robert, bishop of Lincoln, Samson,
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1103.
DISCORD
BETWEEN
HENRY
AND
ANSELM.195
bishop of Worcester, Robert, bishop of Chester, John, bishop of Bath, Herbert, bishop of Norwich, Ralph, bishop of Chichester, Gundulph, bishop of Rochester, and the two who had lately received investiture, Roger and the second Roger. Osborn,5 bishop of Exeter, being kept away by his infirmities, was unable to take part in the synod. At this synod, many abbats of French extraction, and some English, were deposed and deprived of their dignities, which they had unrighteously acquired, or had led a disgraceful life while enjoying them; namely, Guido, abbat of Pershore, Aldwin, abbat of Ramsey, the abbat of Middleton, Bodric, abbat of Burgh, Richard, abbat of Ely, and Robert, abbat of Saint Edmund’s.
The above-named Roger, bishop elect of Hereford, was attacked with a malady, at London, and died; upon which, the queen’s chancellor, Reinelm by name, was, with a similar investiture, substituted in his place. Henry, the king of the English, this year, gave Mary, the sister of queen Matilda, in marriage to Eustace, earl of Boulogne.
In the year 1103, a great disagreement arose between king Henry and archbishop Anselm, because the archbishop would not consent to the king conferring the investiture of churches, nor hold communion with those to whom the king had previously presented churches, as the successor of the Apostles had forbidden him and all others to do so. For this reason, the king ordered Gerard, the archbishop of York, to consecrate the bishops on whom the king himself had conferred investiture;6 namely, William Giffard, and Roger, who had been his chaplain,7 and to whom he had lately given the bishopric of Salisbury. Accordingly, Gerard obeyed the king’s command; but, in the cause of justice, William Giffard disregarded it, and rejected the benediction of archbishop Gerard. In consequence of this, by the king’s sentence, he was stripped of everything, and banished from the kingdom; the others, however, remained unconsecrated.
Shortly before this, Reinelm had returned to the king the bishopric of Hereford, because he was sensible that he had offended God, in having received the investiture of a church from the hand of any laymen. After this, at Easter, the king
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held his court at Winchester; where, after receiving many injuries and divers affronts which he put up with, archbishop Anselm, at the king’s request, set out for Rome on the fifth day before the calends of May, as had been arranged between him and the king, having in his company William, the bishop elect of Winchester, and some abbats who had been deprived of their abbeys; namely, Richard, abbat of Ely, and Aldwin, abbat of Ramsey.
Robert, duke of Normandy, came over to England to confer with the king, his brother; and, before he left England, gave up to him the three thousand marks of silver which the king, according to treaty, was to pay him each year. In the province which is called Berkshire, at a place the name of which is Hamstede, blood was seen8 by many to spring out of the earth.
In the same year, on the third day before the ides of August, there was a violent storm of wind, which did such great mischief to the fruits of the earth throughout England that those who were then living had never seen the like at any previous time.
In the year 1104, the venerable men, Walter, abbat of Evesham, and Serlo, abbat of Gloucester, departed this life; the former on the thirteenth day before the calends of February, the latter on the third day before the nones of March. At Pentecost, king Henry held his court at Westminster. In the same year, on the seventh day before the ides of June, being the third day of the week, four circles of a white color were seen around the sun, at about the sixth hour, one circle within another, just as though they had been painted there. All were astonished who saw this, as they had never before seen the like. In this year William, earl of Mortaigne, was deprived of all the lands he possessed in England. It is not easy to describe the misery which at this period the land of England endured, by reason of the king’s exactions.
In consequence of the unbelief of certain abbats, in the pontificate of bishop Ranulph, the body of Saint Cuthbert the bishop was shown, and was, by Ralph, abbat of Seez,9
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1106.
STRANGE
APPEAR-
ANCE
OF
A
STAR.197
afterwards bishop of Rochester, and after that, archbishop of Canterbury, and the brethren of the church of Durham, by clear proofs, found uncorrupted, together with the head of Saint Oswald, the king and martyr, and the relics of Saint Bede, and many others of the Saints, in the presence of earl Alexander, the brother of Edgar, king of the Scots, and afterwards king. This disinterment took place four hundred and eighteen years five months and twelve days after his burial; being the sixth year of the reign of king Henry, and the sixth of the bishopric of Ranulph, and being from the beginning of the world, according to Bede and the Hebrew version, in the year five thousand three hundred and eight,10 and according to the Seventy11 interpreters, in the year six thousand three hundred and eight.
In the year 1105, Henry, king of the English, crossed the sea; and nearly all the chief men among the Normans, on his arrival, disregarding the duke, their liege lord, to whom they had sworn fealty, ran after the king’s gold and silver, which he had brought from England, and delivered up to him the castles and fortified cities. He burned Bayeux, together with the church of Saint Mary there, and took Caen from his brother; after which, he returned to England, as he was unable to reduce the whole of Normandy to subjection, and in order that, supported by a large sum of money, he might return in the following year, and deprive his brother thereof, and render subject to himself the part that remained. However, William de Montaigne, wherever he had the power, did injury to the king’s property and men, on account of his own estates which he had lost in England.
In the year 1106, Robert, duke of Normandy, came to England, for the purpose of conferring with his brother, king Henry, whom he had met at Northampton. On this occasion the duke begged him to restore the places he had taken from him in Normandy; with which request the king refusing to comply, the duke, being greatly enraged, crossed the sea to Normandy.
In the first week of Lent, on the evening of the calends of March, being the sixth day of the week, a star of unusual appearance became visible, and, during twenty-five days, in
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the same manner, and at the same hour, was seen to shine between the south and the west. It seemed itself to be of small size and dim, but the brightness which was produced by it was very brilliant, and a train of light, just like a large beam, darted from the east and north into the star. Some affirmed that, at this period, they had seen more stars of unusual appearance. On the day of our Lord’s Supper were seen two moons, shortly before daybreak, one in the east, the other in the west, both of them full; the same day being the fourteenth day of the moon.
In this year there was a shocking quarrel between Henry, emperor of Germany, and his son Henry; so much so, that they met in battle, and the father was slain by the son, after having reigned fifty years; upon which he was succeeded by his son the above-named Henry. Before the month of August, Henry, king of the English, crossed the sea and went to Normandy, on which nearly all the chief men of the Normans made submission to him, with the exception of Robert de Belesme, and William de Mortaigne, and a few others, who adhered to duke Robert. At the Assumption of Saint Mary, Henry, king of the English, came to Bec, where he and archbishop Anselm holding a conference, became reconciled; and not long after, by the command and request of the king, the said archbishop returned to England. After this, the king assembled his army, and proceeding to a certain castle of the earl of Mortaigne, which is called Tenchebrai, laid siege to it. In the meantime, while the king was thus engaged, his brother Robert came upon him with his army, on the vigil of Saint Michael,12 and with him Robert de Belesme and William, earl of Mortaigne. A battle then taking place, king Henry gained the victory. On this occasion Robert, duke of Normandy, William, earl of Mortaigne, and Robert de Stuteville, with William Crispin and many others, were taken prisoners, while Robert de Belesme escaped by flight. In consequence of this success, king Henry subdued the whole of Normandy, and rendered it subject to his will, informing archbishop Anselm thereof by letter.
In the year 1108, Edgar, king of the Scots, departed this life, on the sixth day before the ides of January, and was succeeded by his brother Alexander. Normandy having now
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1108.
AGREE-
MENT
AS
TO
INVEST-
ITURE.199
been reduced to subjection by the king, Robert, duke of Normandy, and William, earl of Mortaigne, being first sent over to England as prisoners, the king himself returned to his kingdom before Easter. On the calends of August there was a meeting held at London of all the bishops, abbats, and nobles of the kingdom; and, during three days, in the absence of archbishop Anselm, there was a full discussion held between the king and the bishops upon the investitures of churches. Some of them urged, that the king ought to make them after the example of his father and brother, and not according to the precepts of and in obedience to the successor of the Apostles. But pope Paschal, standing firm in the opinion which had been promulgated from the papal chair, had conceded everything13 which pope Urban had forbidden to be received as investitures, and by these means had made the king agree in his view on the subject of investiture.
After this, in the presence of Anselm, a great multitude being present, the king asserted and decreed that, from that time forward, no person should ever be invested in a bishopric or abbey by the king, or by any lay hand, in England, by the gift of the pastoral staff or of the ring; while Anselm conceded, that no person elected to a prelacy should be refused consecration to the dignity so received by reason of the homage which he should perform to the king. Gerard, archbishop of
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York, placing his hand in the hand of Anselm, as he himself desired, promised, upon his faith, that he would pay the same obedience and be in the same subjection to him and his successors in the archbishopric, as he had promised to him when about to be consecrated by him to the see of Hereford.
Walter Giffard, bishop elect of Winchester, Roger of Salisbury, Reinelm of Hereford, William of Exeter, and Urban of Glamorgan, in Wales, came to Canterbury at the same time, and were consecrated together by Anselm, on the third day before the ides of August, being the Lord’s day, the following suffragans of his province assisting him in his duties: Gerard, archbishop of York, Robert, bishop of Lincoln, John, bishop of Bath, Herbert, bishop of Norwich, Robert, bishop of Chester, Ralph, bishop of Chichester, and Ranulph, bishop of Durham. There was no one then living, who could remember in past times so many pastors being elected and consecrated at one time in England, except in the days of Edward the Elder, when archbishop Plegmund consecrated seven bishops to seven churches in one day.
In the same year, Maurice, bishop of London, Richard, abbat of Ely, Robert, abbat of Saint Edmund’s, Milo Crispin, Robert Fitz-Haimon, Roger Bigot, and Richard de Rivers departed this life.
In the year 1108, Gundulph, bishop of Rochester, died on the nones of March. Henry, king of the English, for the purpose of protection, enacted a law that, if any one should be detected in the act of theft or larceny, he should be hanged. He also enacted that base and spurious coin should be guarded against with such strictness, that whosoever should be detected coining spurious money, should lose his eyes and the lower part of his body without any ransom; and, inasmuch as, very frequently, while pennies were being coined,14 they were bent, or broken, and then rejected, he ordered that no penny or obol,15 which he also ordered to be made of a round form, or even farthing, if it was a good one, should be rejected. From this provision much good resulted to the whole
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1108.
CHASTITY
EN-
FORCED
UPON
THE
PRIEST-
HOOD.201
kingdom, because the king thus exerted himself in secular matters to retrieve the troubles of the land.
In this year, Gerard, archbishop of York, departed this life, in whose place was elected Thomas, the cousin of Thomas, his predecessor. Philip, king of the Franks, departed this life, and was succeeded by his son Louis. Archbishop Anselm, at the king’s request, consecrated Richard, the bishop of London elect, in his chapel at Paggaham, being assisted in the performance of this duty by William, bishop of Winchester, Roger, bishop of Salisbury, Ralph, bishop of Chichester, and William, bishop of Exeter, having first received from him the usual profession of obedience and subjection. After this, coming to Canterbury on the third day before the ides of August, he consecrated Ralph, abbat of Seez, a religious man, bishop of Rochester, in succession to Gundulph, William, bishop of Winchester, Ralph, bishop of Chichester, and Richard, bishop of London, assisting him in the performance of that duty; which same Richard, after the custom of his predecessors, on the same day presented a handsome gift to his mother church of Canterbury.
These are the provisions relative to archdeacons, priests, deacons, subdeacons, and secular clergy of whatever degree, which, in the year of our Lord’s Incarnation 1108, Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas, archbishop elect of York, and all the other bishops of England, in the presence of the glorious king Henry, with the assent of his earls and barons, enacted: —
“It is hereby decreed, that priests, deacons, and subdeacons, shall live in chastity, and shall have no women in their houses, save only those who are connected with them by close relationship, according to the rule which the holy Synod of Nice has laid down. But those priests, deacons, and subdeacons who have, since the prohibition pronounced by the synod held in London, either retained their wives or married others, if they wish any longer to celebrate the mass, let them so entirely put them away from themselves as not to let them enter their houses; nor are they themselves to go into the houses of such women, or knowingly to meet them in any house; nor are any women of this description to live upon lands belonging to the church. But if for any proper reason it is necessary for either party to communicate with the other, having two lawful witnesses, let them converse
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together outside of the house. And if, upon the testimony of two or three lawful witnesses, or by the public report of the people of the parish, any one of them shall be accused of having violated this enactment, he shall clear himself, if he is a priest, by bringing six proper witnesses of his own order; if a deacon, four; if a subdeacon, two. But as for him, who shall not thus clear himself, he shall be deemed to be a transgressor of this holy enactment. And as for those priests who, despising the divine altar and the holy canons, have preferred to live with women, let them be removed from the holy office, deprived of all ecclesiastical benefices, and placed without the choir, being pronounced infamous; and he who, being a rebel and contumacious, shall not leave the woman, and shall presume to celebrate the mass, if, when called upon to make satisfaction, he shall neglect to do so, is to be excommunicated. The same sentence embraces the archdeacons and all the secular clergy, both as to leaving these women and avoiding cohabitation with them, and the severity of the punishment if they shall transgress these statutes. All archdeacons shall also swear that they will not receive money for tolerating the transgression of this enactment, nor suffer priests whom they know to be keeping women to chaunt the mass, or to have substitutes;16 deans also shall swear to the same effect. The archdeacon, or deacon, or dean, who shall refuse to take oath to this effect, is to lose his archdeaconry or deanery. As to those priests, who, leaving the women, shall make choice to serve God and the holy altars, let them cease during forty days from the performance of their duties, and in the meantime employ substitutes in their places, such penance being imposed on them as to their bishops shall seem fit.”
In the year 1109, Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, departed this life at Canterbury, on the eleventh day before the calends of May, being the fourth day of the week, and on the following day, which was the Supper of the Lord, was buried with great honor. About the time of the Rogation Days, Henry, king of the English, returned to England, and at Pentecost held his court at Westminster; where Thomas, archbishop elect of York, was consecrated at London,17 on the fifth day before the calends of July, by Richard, bishop of
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1111.
SEVERE
PLAGUE
AND
FAMINE.203
London, and afterwards on the calends of August, being Sunday, received at York, from the hands of Cardinal Ulric, the pall which the pope had sent him, and on the same day consecrated Turgot, prior of Durham, to the bishopric of Saint Andrew’s in Scotland, which is called Cenrimunt. In the same year, king Henry changed the abbacy of Ely into an episcopal see, and made Hervey, bishop of Bangor, bishop of that see. In the month of December a comet was seen, near the milky circle, making its way with its train towards the southern part of the heavens.
In the year 1110, Henry, king of the English, gave his daughter in marriage to Henry, king of Germany. In the same year, different prodigies appeared throughout England. A very great earthquake took place at Shrewsbury. The river at Nottingham, which is called the Trent, was dried up for the space of a mile from morning until the third hour of the day, so much so, that men walked with dry feet upon its bed. On the sixth day before the ides of July, a comet appeared, and was seen to shine for a period of three weeks.
In the year 1111, Henry, king of Germany, came to Rome, and taking pope Paschal prisoner, placed him in confinement, but shortly after, when they were celebrating the festival of Easter on the Campus Martius at the bridge on the Salarian road,18 was reconciled to him. In this year died Baldwin, earl of Flanders, and was succeeded by his son Baldwin. Henry, king of the English, removed the people of Flanders who inhabited Northumbria, with all their chattels into Wales, and gave them orders to colonize the district which bears the name of Ros.19
The new monastery which had been built within the walls of Winchester, through the influence of William, bishop of Winchester, the king ordered to be rebuilt without the walls, and shortly after crossed the sea.
In the same year there was a most severe winter, a dreadful famine, a plague among men, and a murrain among animals, both wild and domestic; there was also a very great mortality among birds.
In the year 1112, on the third day before the nones of May, being Sunday, Samson, the twenty-fifth bishop20 of Worcester, departed this life. In October, Henry, king of the English, placed earl Robert de Belesme in confinement at Cherburg.
In the year 1113, the city of Worcester was, on the calends of July, destroyed by fire, with the principal church and all the others, and the castle. One of the monks, a person of the greatest utility to the monastery, together with two servants and fifteen citizens, perished in the flames. In the month of July, Henry, king of the English, returned to England, and bringing with him earl Robert de Belesme from Normandy, placed him in close custody at Wareham. On the fourth day before the nones of October, two men of exemplary virtue departed this life; Thomas, the prior, and Coleman, a monk, of the venerable church of Saint Mary at Worcester, men of noble extraction. On the fifth day before the calends of January, being the Lord’s day, Teulph, the king’s chaplain, received the bishopric of Worcester at Windsor.
In the year 1114, on the eighth day before the ides of January, Matilda, daughter of Henry, king of the English, was married to Henry, the emperor of the Romans, at Mentz, and consecrated empress. On the sixth day before the calends of March, being the third day of the week, Thomas the Younger, archbishop of York, departed this life. When he was first taken ill, his medical men told him that he could not recover, except by means of carnal knowledge of a woman; on which he made answer, “Shame upon a malady which requires sensuality for its cure!” and being thus chosen by the Lord while of virgin purity closed his temporal life. On the sixth day before the calends of May, being the Lord’s day, Ralph, bishop of Rochester, was elected at Windsor archbishop of Canterbury. On the third day before the nones of May, being the third day of the week, the city of Chichester, together with the principal monastery, was, through culpable carelessness, destroyed by fire.
On the day of the Assumption of Saint Mary, Turstin, the king’s chaplain, was, at Winchester, elected to the archbishopric of York, and Arnulph, abbat of Burgh, was chosen bishop of Hereford. Henry, king of the English, after leading an army into Wales, before the feast of Saint Michael crossed the
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1115.
HENRY
RETURNS
TO
ENGLAND.205
sea. In this year, the river which bears the name of Medway, for a distance of some miles, receded so far from its bed, on the sixth day before the ides of October, that in the very middle of it not even the smallest vessel could make the slightest way. On the same day, the river Thames was also sensible of a similar decrease; for between the bridge and the royal tower,21 and even under the bridge, so greatly was the water of the river diminished, that an innumerable multitude of men and boys forded it on foot, the water scarcely reaching to their knees. This ebb of the tide continued from the middle of the preceding night until dark on the following night. We have heard also on good authority that on the same day a similar low tide happened at Girvemuthe22 and other places throughout England.
In the year 1115, there was a most severe winter, so much so, that nearly all the bridges throughout England were broken by the ice. The emperor Henry, after besieging the city of Cologne and losing many of his men in a pitched battle, made peace, which he ratified by oath at the city of Neuss.23 On the fifth day before the calends of July, being the Lord’s day, Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, received the pall from Anselm,24 the legate of the holy Roman Church, at Canterbury, and on the same day was consecrated with great honor; at which place, also, were assembled the bishops of the whole of England. Teulph, bishop of Worcester, departed this life, and was succeeded by Wilfrid, bishop of Saint David’s, in Wales; up to this time, the bishops of that see had been Welchmen, but he was succeeded by Barnard, the queen’s chancellor. On the octave of the Apostles Saint Peter and Paul, a great council was held at Chalons, by Conon, a cardinal of the Roman church, at which he excommunicated those bishops who were not present at the council, and degraded some; some abbats also he deprived of their staffs and removed from their offices, forbidding them the performance of ecclesiastical duties.
In the month of July, Henry, king of the English, returned to England. Turgot, formerly prior of the church of Durham,
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and afterwards bishop of the Scots,25 having returned to Durham, there departed this life. About the period of the feast of All Saints, Reinelm, bishop of Hereford, died, and was succeeded by Gosfrid, the king’s chaplain. On the day of Saint Stephen the Martyr, Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, ordained at that place Arnulph, abbat of Burgh, bishop of Rochester, and Gosfrid, the king’s chaplain, bishop of Hereford.
In the year 1116, during the spring, Griffin, the son of Rees,26 carried off considerable booty into Wales, and burned some castles, in consequence of which, Henry, king of England, was unwilling to allow him to possess a particle of the lands of his father. On the fourteenth day before the calends of April, the earls and barons of the whole of England met at Salisbury. Here a trial took place relative to a dispute which had continued during a whole year, between Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, and Turstin, archbishop elect of York. The latter, on being requested by the archbishop to do what was his duty to the church of Canterbury, and after the ecclesiastical usage, receive his benediction, made answer that he would willingly receive the benediction, but would on no account make the profession27 which he required. On this, king Henry, perceiving that Turstin persisted in his obstinacy, openly protested that he must act after the manner of his predecessors, both as to making the profession, as also in other matters pertaining to the dignity of the church of Canterbury of ancient right, or else give up the archbishopric of York altogether, as well as the benediction; on hearing which, without previous consideration, Turstin renounced the archbishopric, and promised the king and the archbishop that he would not claim it again as long as he lived, nor would make any charge relative thereto, whoever might be substituted in his place.
At this time, Owen, king of the Welch, was slain. Henry, king of the English, crossed the sea, attended by Turstin, the archbishop elect of York, who hoped to obtain re-instalment into the see, and by the king’s command receive the benediction from the archbishop, without the profession being exacted of him. The above-named Anselm, the legate of the Roman church who had brought the pall from Rome to the archbishop of Canterbury, returned from Rome about the month
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of August, and came to Normandy to king Henry, bringing letters from the successor of the Apostles, which directed him to act in England on behalf of the Apostolic See. This being soon spread abroad throughout the whole of England, by the advice of the queen and some of the nobles, Ralph, the archbishop of Canterbury, after the Nativity of Saint Mary, crossed the sea, and went to the king whom he found staying at Rouen, and after having carefully conferred with him on the business on which he had come, taking each matter in its proper order, by the king’s advice set out on his way to Rome.
In the year 1117, by the command of king Henry, the new works at Cirencester were begun. In Lombardy, a great earthquake took place, and, according to the testimony of those who knew the fact, lasted for a period of forty days, during which time many buildings fell to the ground; and, a thing marvellous to be seen and spoken of, a certain town, of very considerable magnitude, was suddenly moved from its original site, and is at the present day to be seen by all at a place far distant. While some men of patrician rank at Milan were discoursing on matters of state, sitting beneath a certain tower, a voice outside resounded in the ears of all, calling one of them by name, and begging him to come out immediately; on his delaying, a person appeared, and with entreaties, begged the man who had been called, to come forth; on doing which, the tower was suddenly overthrown, and in its dreadful fall buried all who were there.
On the calends of December, there was great thunder and lightning, which was followed by a vast deluge of rain and hail; on the third day before the ides of the same month, the moon appeared at first of the colour of blood, after which it became overshadowed. Robert, bishop of Chester, died.
In the year 1118, pope Paschal of holy memory departed this life, on the fourteenth day before the calends of February; and in his place was appointed one John, a native of Gaeta, who, changing his name, was called Gelasius. From his infancy he had been brought up as a monk, at the monastery of Monte Casino, and after he had grown up had assiduously fulfilled the duties of chancellor, during the ministration of the venerable successors of the Apostles, Desiderius, Urban, and Paschal.
Henry, king of Germany, who was also emperor of Rome,
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on hearing that the pope was dead, flew to Rome, and nominated the bishop of Braga, who had been excommunicated at Beneventum by the same pope the previous year, to be pope, changing his name from Bourdin to Gregory; on which Gelasius retired from the city. On the day before the calends of May, Matilda, queen of the English, departed this life at Westminster, and was becomingly buried at the monastery there. At this period, many of the Normans, forsaking the fealty which they had sworn to king Henry, and having no fear of retribution, betook themselves to Louis, king of the Franks and his principal men, who were the enemies of their natural lord. In this year died Robert, earl of Mellent.
The above-named pope Gelasius came by sea to Burgundy, and his arrival soon became known throughout Gaul. On the seventeenth day before the calends of February, he sent a letter throughout Gaul to the archbishops, bishops, abbats, secular clergy, and principal men, complaining that he had been expelled with violence by the emperor from Rome, and that the bishop of Braga, an excommunicated person, had been thrust into the Apostolic See; at the same time, exhorting them to prepare themselves by their assistance in common to avenge the cause of the mother Church. These letters having been circulated throughout the provinces, all the men of influence were aroused, together with the middle classes, to go to meet the successor of the Apostles, and prepared with every possible effort to be present at the council, which he declared he would hold at Rheims at the time of Mid-Lent.
In this year, a certain church having been dedicated at a town in England, called Momerfield, by Geoffrey, bishop of Hereford, as the people were returning home who had attended the dedication, after the serenity of the weather which had previously prevailed, on a sudden a most violent tempest arose, attended with thunder; some persons were struck with lightning and perished, while unable to get away from a place in which they had taken shelter. They were five in number, namely, three men and two women, one of which last was struck by a thunderbolt and killed, while the other woman was shockingly smitten from the navel down to the soles of her feet, and perished, enveloped in flames; the men alone with difficulty escaped with their lives, while their five horses were destroyed by the lightning.
In the year 1119, pope Gelasius died at Clugny, and was buried there; and in his place the cardinals and other Romans who had followed him, elected Guido, archbishop of Vienna, and gave him the name of Calixtus. While these transactions were going on in Burgundy, the Apostolate of the Roman Church was administered by the above-named Gregory. In consequence of the elevation of these two to the papacy, the world was shaken and divided into two factions, some giving their adhesion to the one, and some to the other; by reason whereof, the church was stricken with great scandal. On the fourth day before the nones of February, Geoffrey, bishop of Hereford, and, on the tenth day before the calends of September, Herbert, bishop of Norwich, departed this life. On the fourth day before the calends of October, being the Lord’s day, at about the third hour of the day, a great earthquake took place at many places throughout England.
On the thirteenth day before the calends of November, pope Calixtus held a general council at Rheims; at this council there was a vast concourse of archbishops, bishops, abbats, and chief men of the various provinces, together with an immense multitude of the clergy and common people. There were counted there four hundred and twenty-four staffs of persons with pastoral honors; among whom was Turstin, the archbishop elect of York, who having with difficulty obtained the king’s permission, had come thither in reference to his own business. But the king had previously sent his ambassador to the successor of the Apostles, for the purpose of telling him, among other things, not to consecrate the archbishop elect of York, or command or allow him to be consecrated by any other person than the archbishop of Canterbury, as used to be the custom. In answer to which, the successor of the Apostles replied: “Let not the king imagine that I would act in relation to the matter upon which he treats in any other way than he wishes, even though his request should be an unreasonable one: nor, indeed, has my inclination ever led me to wish to debase the ancient dignity of the church of Canterbury.”
Moreover, on the morning of the Lord’s day preceding the day of the appointed council, Turstin, having made preparations for his consecration to the archbishopric, the deputies of the archbishop of Canterbury charged that his
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consecration ought to be performed by the archbishop of Canterbury, according as the ancient usage and that observed up to the present time required; in answer to which, the successor of the Apostles replied; “It is our wish to do no injustice to the church of Canterbury, but maintaining its dignity, we will do that which we purpose.” Nevertheless, Turstin was consecrated by the successor of the Apostles, Ranulph, the bishop of Durham, who had been sent by the king to prevent his consecration, not having yet arrived; he, however, arrived some time after.
On the following day the council was held, and all persons taking their seats in the order of their ecclesiastical rank, and Louis, king of the Franks, and many other men of the highest station being there seated, by the consent of all the fathers, the statutes of enactment and of prohibition28 were renewed, of which these are the five heads.
&#“The laws which, by the sanction of the holy fathers, have been established in relation to simoniacal sin, we do also, by the judgment of the Holy Ghost and the authority of the Apostolic See, confirm. If any one therefore, shall, either by himself or by any person suborned thereto, buy or sell any bishopric, abbacy, priory, archdeaconery, presbytery, provostship, prebend, altar, or any ecclesiastical benefices, dignities, ordinations, consecrations, dedications of churches, clerical tonsure, seat in the choir, or any ecclesiastical duties, let both seller and buyer be subject to the peril of losing their dignities, offices, and benefices; and, unless he shall repent, let him be pierced by the point of anathema, and in every way cut off from the church of God, which he has injured. The investiture of bishoprics, abbacies, or any ecclesiastical possessions whatsoever, we do utterly forbid to be performed by lay hands; whoever, therefore, of the laity shall henceforth presume to give investiture, let him be subject to the penalties of anathema: and further, let him who has received such investiture be utterly, without hope of recovery thereof, deprived of the honor with which he has been invested. The universal possessions of the churches we do decree to be unshaken and inviolate for everlasting. But if any one shall take them away, or seize them, or by tyrannical power withhold the same, let him be smitten everlastingly with anathema, according to that decree of Saint Symmachus, which
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begins, ‘Let no bishop, no priest, no member of the clergy whatsoever, part with ecclesiastical dignities or benefices to any one, as though of hereditary right.’ This, also, we do enjoin in addition thereto, that no payment shall be demanded for receiving baptism, chrism, holy oil, and burial. To priests, deacons, and subdeacons, we do utterly forbid the society of wives and concubines. And if any persons of this character shall be found, let them be deprived both of their ecclesiastical offices and benefices; and if they do not even then correct their uncleanness, let them be deprived of all communion with Christians.”29
These decrees were sent to the emperor Henry, as he was not far distant, first from the council by persons of rank, and then by the successor of the Apostles himself, in order that, before the breaking up of the council, it might be ascertained whether, in the churches throughout his kingdom and each province subject to him, he would consent to canonical elections, that is to say, bishops and abbats being chosen by the church; and whether, to free consecrations, as is the case where those who are elected are consecrated where and by whom it is befitting;30 and whether he would also consent that no lay person whatsoever should claim a right to the investiture in ecclesiastical matters, so that those elected might, through investiture with the pastoral staff and ring, enter through the door, that is, through Christ.
*1 The Witenagemote.
1 V. r. Ultreport.
2 Portsmouth. V. r. Moresmuth.
3 Now Bridgenorth.
4 Tickhill, in Yorkshire.
5 V. r. Osbert.
+++ In Dorsetshire. [There is no linking footnote in text for this entry. — Elf.Ed.]
6 By the ring and crozier.
7 He has previously said that he was the king’s chancellor.
8 This seems to be a repetition of the remarks mentioned under the year 1100, the name of the place being added. The Saxon Chronicle mentions it under this year; William of Malmesbury, as taking place in the reign of king William.
9 A town in Normandy.
10 According to the computation now used,A.M. 5108.
12 Michaelmas eve.
13 This passage which might seem somewhat obscure, is probably explained by the more full account given by Roger of Wendover of what passed when Anselm and the deposed abbats appeared before the pope. “Pope Paschal received Anselm kindly; and, on a day appointed, William de Warewast, clerk and proctor for the king of England, brought forward his cause, and, amongst other things, firmly asserted that he would never resign the investiture of churches, even if he were to lose his kingdom, and confirmed this assertion with words of threatening import. To this the pope replied, ‘If, as you say, your king would not give up the donation of churches to save his kingdom, neither would I, to save my life let him keep it.’ Thus the king’s business was terminated, and archbishop Anselm began to intercede with the pope for the degraded bishops and abbats, that he would give them a dispensation to recover their lost dignities. Then the Holy See, which is never wanting to any one, if anything of a white or red colour passes between the parties, manfully restored the aforesaid bishops and abbats to their former dignities, and sent them back with joy to their own habitations.” The allusion to the white or red colour refers to the power of silver or gold at the papal court, which was then open to great corruption.
14 “Eligebantur” is the word used here, probably by mistake for “elidebantur,” which may allude to the process of coining by hammering out.
15 Probably a small silver coin of three carats in weight.
16 “Vicaros,” equivalent to “curates.”
17 Westminster is generally considered by these writers as forming part of London.
18 A road near Rome, so called from having been used by the Sabines, when fetching salt from the sea.
19 The town of Denbigh. Henry either feared that these Flemings would coalesce against him with the Scots, or placed them there for the purpose of acting as a check upon the Welch.
20 He is by mistake called “Archiepiscopus,” “archbishop.”
21 The Tower of London.
22 He probably means the vicinity of Jarrow; in allusion to the large inlet of shoaly water, now called Jarrow Slake.
23 A town or city of Germany, not far from Cologne.
24 He was nephew to archbishop Anselm, then lately deceased.
25 Of Saint Andrews.
26 In Welch, Griffin ap Rice.
27 Of subjection to the see of Canterbury.
28 “Statuta de statuendis, et rescidenda de rescidendis.”
29 Under the penalties of anathema.
30 According to the rules of the church.