Lives of the bachelor kings of England

Front matter

II HlsiilHlI

.

LIYES

CHAPTER I.— TAIL-PIECE : AUTOGRAPH OF WILLIAM RUFUS. (See page 21.)

CHAPTER III.— TAIL-PIECE ; EQUESTRIAN FIGURE of WILLIAM RUFUS, from the Great Seal of England. (See page 98.)

EDWAED V.

PORTRAIT OF EDWARD V., from an Ancient Painting, copied by Houbraken. (See pages 101, 186, 187.)

CHAPTER I.— TAIL- PIECE : EQUESTRIAN EFFIGY of EDWARD V. as Prince of Wales, from one of his Welsh Charters. (Seepage 125.)

CHAPTER U.— TAIL-PIECE : AUTOGRAPH OF EDWARD V., likewise of his uncle, the PROTECTOR, RICHARD, duke of Gloucester, from Royal Autographs, British Museum. (See page 165.)

V1U ILLUSTRATIONS.

CHAPTER III.— TAIL-PIECE : WAKEFIELD TOWER and PORTCULLIS GATE-WAY, from an Original Drawing. (See page 190.)

EDWAED VI.

PORTRAIT OF EDWARD VI.— From the Original Painting by Hans Holbein in the great hall at Bridewell. (See pages 193, 400.)

CHAPTER I.— TAIL-PIECE : THE FONT and CANOPY with the arrangements of State in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court, used at the baptism of EDWARD VI. reduced from the contemporary drawing in the Heralds MS., College of Arms, and engraved by permission for this work. (See page 227.)

CHAPTER II.— TAIL-PIECE : AUTOGRAPH OF EDWARD VI. Royal Autographs, Choice MSS. room, British Museum. (See page 259.)

CHAPTER III.— TAIL-PIECE : STATUE OF EDWARD VI., Christ-church School. (See page 296.)

CHAPTER IV.— TAIL-PIECE : THE PROTECTOR SOMERSET showing EDWARD VI. to the PEOPLE gathered at the Lower or Western Gate, Hampton Court. (See page 335.)

CHAPTER V.— TAIL-PIECE: EQUESTRIAN EFFIGY of EDWARD VI. in TILTING ARMOUR. From the Tower, as arranged by sir Samuel Merrick. (See page 374.)

CHAPTER VI.—T AIL-PIECE : BRONZE ALTAR, formerly in Henry VII.'s Chapel, Westminster Abbey, where obsequies were performed in memory of Edward VI. (See page 427.)

PEEFACE.

The Royal Biographies in our present series are those of the three unmarried Kings of England — William Rufus, Edward V., and Edward VI. The intermediate reigns of these Bachelor Sovereigns occasioned chasms in the chronological chain of royal and domestic national history, comprised in our Lives of the Queens or England, which this volume is calculated to supply. But, although a desirable adjunct to that work, it is a volume complete in itself, with distinct and independent claims to the attention of our readers, both with regard to the individual interest of the biographical narratives it contains, and, more especially, as illustrating three very important epochs of our annals.

In the Reign of William Rufus we trace the commencement of our national greatness, the dawn of the age of chivalry, of poetry, historical literature, and

X FREFACE,

of the fine arts, as indicated in illuminated penmanship, monumental sculpture, and, above all, the glorious style of architecture, which for strength and beauty has never been surpassed.

With the Life of Edward V. we enter upon a still more interesting era; the erection of England's first printing press — that true organ of civilization and liberty- — was coeval with his birth. He was the first prince in whose education printed books were used, and one of the earliest works printed in England was dedicated to him.

The Life and Reign of our third Bachelor King, Edward VI., are blended with the third momentous period of English history, that of the Reformation. Much curious information is introduced into this portion of the volume, derived from sources not accessible* to the general reader, of the personal characteristics and court of our first Protestant Sovereign —

" Who, born to guide such high emprize, For Albion's weal was early wise.

Alas ! to whom the Almighty gave, For Albion's sins, an early grave!"

The reign of Edward V. was merely nominal. In the reigns of William Rufus and Edward VI. the absence of a queen was severely felt. Female royalty has always been most beneficial to England, both

PREFACE. XI

from its refining influence on the manners of the court, and the impetus it has given to trade, the encouragement of domestic manufactures, and the employment of native produce and native industry.

"A court without ladies," observed Francis I. of France, "is like a spring without flowers." But a court full of ladies, without a queen, would soon fall into disrepute with the nation at large. It is, therefore, sincerely to be hoped that we may never be required to write the Biography of a Bachelor King of Great Britain.*

Reydon Hall, Suffolk, May 27, 1861.

* Edward the VI. was the twenty-first king of England, and the last monarch to whom that ancient title can, properly speaking, be applied, as the next male sovereign, James the I., and his successors, claim the more important dignity of kings of Great Britain.

THE

BACHELOB KINGS OF ENGLAND.

WILLIAM BUFUS,

Chapter I

William Rufus first Bachelor King of England — Parentage — Birth — Brought to England by his mother Queen Matilda — Educated by Lanfranc — Knighted by Lanfranc — His personal appearance at eighteen — Early promise —Fracas between the royal brothers — Insult to Robert — Rufus' s attachment to his father — "Wounded by his side in battle — Attends his death bed — Conqueror's desire that Rufus should possess England — Their tender parting — Rufus sails for England— Proceeds to Winchester- Gets possession of the royal treasury — Crowned at Westminster by Lanfranc — Wise commencement of his reign — His uncle Odo intrigues in favour of Robert — Norman barons' revolt — Rufus conciliates his English subjects — Their hearty assistance — He captures Odo — Odo violates his pledge — Fall of Rochester — Rufus threatens to hang Odo and rebel lords — Consents to spare them — Establishes himself firmly on the English throne — Visited by his brother Henry— His sarcastic remark on the result of Henry's loan to Robert— Oppressive conduct of Norman barons — Ivo de Taillebois* and the monks of Croyland — Lanfranc shows their charter to Rufus — Equitable decision of Rufus— Establishes a court of appeal called Curia Regis— Breaks his pledge to his English subjects — Reproached by his aged primate, Lanfranc — His shameless rejoiuder — Death of Lanfranc — Rufus commences an evil course — His taste for architecture — Great public buildings erected by him.

William II., surnamed, from his sanguine complexion and the warm colour of his hair, Rufus, or the Red King, was the first Bachelor King of England. He was the third son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders, with whom the readers of the " Lives of the Queens of England "* are already familiar.

* " Lives of the Queens of England," by Agnes Stkickland, vol. 1, page 21, Library Edition. 1

WILLIAM RUFUS.

William Rufus was born in Normandy, in tlie year 1060, and was therefore about six years old when his royal father invaded England, and in his ninth year when he accompanied his mother, Queen Matilda, thither for her coronation in April, 1068.

Under the tutelage of that celebrated scholar, statesman, and divine, Lanfranc, abbot of Bee, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, who was his preceptor, he enjoyed the advantages of a far more liberal education than most of the princes, his contemporaries, could boast. He was carefully instructed in classic lore, and all the branches of the learning of the period, as well as the use of arms ; riding, tilting, and other manly exercises of strength and skill requisite for a prince.*

. "When his education was considered sufficiently advanced to admit of his entering the arena of public life, William was knighted by his reverend preceptor,! it being perfectly in accordance with the customs of the period for abbots to bestow the acolade of knighthood as well as princes and military chiefs.

An accurate idea of the person and costume of William Rufus in his early youth may be gathered from the curious engraving in Montfaucon J of his statuette on the tomb of his cousin Philip I. of France, at St. Benoit Sur Loire, also from an illuminated MS. of the 13th century in the Bibliothecque Colbert.

He is there represented, in his eighteenth or nineteenth year, holding a falcon on his left wrist, and feeding it with his right hand. He is bareheaded, and has an oval contour of countenance, regular features, and luxuriant hair, parted in thick picturesque curls on either side his face. His throat is long and elegantly turned; his figure slight and graceful, enveloped in a long gown, over

* William of Malmesbury ; Ordericus Vitalis. f Ibid.

which he wears a short mantle, fastened with a brooch on his left shoulder.

"William Eufus was at that period regarded as a prince of the fairest promise.* He energetically competed with the noble youth of England, Normandy, and France in all manly and chivalric exercises and feats of arms, esteeming it injurious to his reputation if he were not seen foremost in posts of danger, the first to challenge an adversary, and when challenged, if he did not vanquish his opponent.

" Stalwart lie was in battle, good knight, through all thing, In battle and tournament, ere that he was king,"

says Robert of Gloucester, who does not,' in general, bear a favourable testimony of this prince. All contemporary chroniclers, however, record that Rufus was most dutiful and affectionate to his royal father, whom he invariably studied to please, always exerting himself to second him in battle, and rarely absent from his side in peace. The partial favour with which, in consequence, he was regarded by the Conqueror, excited the jealousy of his eldest brother Robert, especially after the death of Richard, the second and previously favourite son of their royal father.

The doting fondness of Queen Matilda, their mother, for Robert her firstborn, on whom she lavished all the treasures and precious things in her power, increased the domestic feud which, a few years after the conquest of England, broke out between the princely brethren. Robert gathered round him all the young, disaffected, and reckless of the Norman nobility, and became the leader of a faction opposed to the political measures of the king, his father, whom he .desired to supplant in the government of Normandy and Maine. f

* William of Malmesbury.

f See Life of Matilda of Flanders, " Lives of the Queens of England," by Agnes Strickland, vol. 1, pages 79 — 82, Library Edition.

William Rufus warmly espoused his father's cause, arid taught his youngest brother, Henry, who was yet of tender age, to unite with him in defying and expressing contempt for Robert. These feelings, being too openly manifested in the wild thoughtlessness of youth, led to what Ordericus Vitalis calls " a diabolical quarrel " between Robert and the two younger princes, his brothers.

It happened that the Conqueror, being on his way to quell an insurrection in that part of Maine called the Corbonnais, accompanied by his favourite son, William Rufus, and the boy Henry, came to sup and pass the night at the castle of I/Aigle, where his malcontent son, Robert, who had for some time withdrawn himself from the court, was then sojourning, on a visit to Robert College, a Norman noble of his faction. While their royal sire was occupied with his council, the two younger princes went into the balcony of the banqueting room to amuse themselves with playing at dice and other games. Unluckily, in the midst of their glee, espying their elder brother walking in the court below, with a party of his chosen associates and followers, they, either out of rude play, or to manifest contempt for him and his adherents, threw some dirty water from the balcony on their heads, with uproarious shouts of laughter.*

If Robert had been disposed to treat the matter as a joke, his companions would not allow him to do so. " Here is an insult ! " cried the two youngest sons of Hugh, count de Grantmesnil. "If you bear such an indignity tamely, my lord, you are a lost man, and can never lift up your head again. See how your younger brothers have exalted themselves above you, and will you allow them to offer, with impunity, marks of contempt so gross as this to you and your faithful friends P" Infuriated at these observations, Robert drew his sword, and rushed into the banqueting room, to take vengeance on the

* Ordericus Yitalis.

WILLIAM RUFUS. D

youthful offenders, who would probably have paid dearly for their fun, if the cries of their attendants had not brought the king, their father, to the spot, who sternly interposed his authority to compose the fray. Robert, goaded by his bad advisers, deserted from his royal father's army, with the troop of horse under his command. The next night he made an attempt to surprise and seize the castle of Rouen ; but it was so successfully defended by the careful and intrepid Roger d'lvry, to whom the charge of that important fortress had been committed, that his treasonable design proved a failure. His adherents were arrested and severely punished. He escaped and took refuge with the king of France, by whom he was secretly encouraged and supported in his unfilial rebellion.

During the reverses which, almost for the first time, were experienced by William the Conqueror in his Breton campaign, where he lost the greater part of his fine army before the castle of Dol, Rufus faithfully adhered to his fortunes, shared his perils and hardships, and was dangerously wounded while fighting valiantly by his side at Grerborai, the memorable battle where Robert encountered and unhorsed their royal father in the melee, but recognising him by his voice, remounted him on his own charger, and besought his forgiveness with tears. The Norman prelates and nobles endeavoured to effect a reconciliation, but the king was at first too deeply incensed to listen to their intercessions. "Why," exclaimed he, passionately, " do you urge me in favour of a traitor, who has not only seduced my soldiers from their allegiance, but rendered himself the tool of envious foreign princes, to disturb the peace of my realm?" He yielded, however, to the tears and entreaties of his beloved consort, Matilda, and a temporary reconciliation was effected by her mediation.*

* William of Malmesbary ; Ordericus Vitalis; R. Hoveden ; Florence of Worcester.

God's peace, the holy re-union of the royal father and his erring first-born, was too soon broken by the evil passions, jealousies, and suspicions, that once more sowed divisions between them. Robert left Normandy for the third time, in sullen discontent, pursued by the malison of his offended sire. Robert had indeed stolen the hearts of the young men of Normandy ; but Rufus was regarded by deep-seeing and experienced statesmen as the rising sun.

William Rufus was in close attendance on his royal father, during his last fatal sickness at Hermentrude, near Rouen ; and when the prelates and nobles were summoned to listen to the verbal testament that monarch dictated, with his expiring breath, to the clerks and notaries in their presence, he, with his youngest brother, Henry, stood beside the bed of death.

"My greatest desire/' said the dying Conqueror, "is that my son William, whom you here behold, should be my successor to the throne of England ; but fearing that my demission of that fair realm, which I won by violence, and where I have shed much blood, should be deemed too presumptuous by the Most High, to whom pertain the disposition of all the sceptres of this earth, I resign it into His hands, beseeching Him to bestow it, with His blessing, on this, my son, William, and permit him to wear the crown thereof ; provided it be for the welfare of the people, and the good of the churches there."*

Then he ordered a letter, which he had written some time previously to Rufus's former preceptor, Archbishop Lanfranc, his chancellor and prime minister, to be brought to him, and looking earnestly on this, his favourite son, who sighed deeply, he said to him :

" My son, the death of kings is generally followed by great commotions, therefore, in contemplation of mine, I

* Ordericus Vitalis ; William of Malmesbury ; Wace ; Historie General of Normandy, by Gabriel Moulin.

give you this letter, signed by my hand and scaled with my seal, which I have written to the Archbishop Lanfranc, directing him to consecrate and crown you King of England, in order to prevent future disputes on this subject. Now, then, hasten with God's blessing to England, and receive this last kiss as a token of my most tender love."

At these words Rufus, bursting into a flood of tears, embraced and took leave of his dying sire, and attended by Robert Bloet, the Conqueror's private secretary, a most able clerk, rode post haste to the sea coast.

Early the next morning, Sept. 10th, 1087, the Conqueror breathed his last. The tidings of that event reached Rufus at the port of Wissand, by a swift messenger, before he sailed for England.* He hastened to Winchester, where the treasures of his royal father were kept, and prevailed on William de Pont de l'Arche, to whose charge they had been confided, to surrender the keys to him. He proceeded in a business-like manner, by taking inventories of everything, and carefully weighing the silver, which amounted to £600,000, besides a large sum in gold, many valuable jewels, much costly plate, rich array, tapestry, and other precious moveables. f

Rufus had a very difficult game to play, for the right of primogeniture was with Robert, an incalculable advantage in those days ; besides, Robert, being in opposition to his father, had a strong party both in Normandy and England, especially in England, where his easy temper and generous friendship for the representative of the ancient royal line, Edgar, the Atheling, greatly endeared him to the people. Had he been on the alert as soon as Rufus, it is more than probable he would have been chosen in preference. But his dilatoriness in

* Saxon Chronicle ; Ordericus Vitalis ; Florence of Worcester ; William of Malmesbury ; Wendover.

f Ingnlphns; Thierry's "Norman Conquest."

O WILLIAM RUFUS.

regard to his own interests had become a proverb, and gained him the reproachful sobriquet of " Robert the Unready/'

William concealed his father's death till he had gathered his own friends about him, and taken measures for securing the castles of Dover, Hastings, Pevensey, the principal fortresses on the south and south-west coast, and won Eudes, the great steward, and other powerful officers of the crown, to his interests. He then returned to "Winchester, announced his father's death, and desire for him to succeed to the realm of England, promised to relax the yoke under which the deceased sovereign had crushed the people of the land, to grant them the righteous laws of Edward the Confessor, and, in short, to redress all the grievances of which they justly complained.* His fair words, and liberal disbursements from the rich exchequer that had fallen into his possession, prevailed, and he was crowned by Lanfranc in Westminster Abbey, on the 27th of September, seventeen days after his royal father's death, and received the homage of all the bishops and nobles, who had larger estates in England than in Normandy.

One of the first, acts of William Eufus was to deliver to Otho, the goldsmith, a large quantity of gold, silver, and precious stones for the decoration of his royal father's tomb, in St. Stephen's Abbey, at Caen, ordering him, at the same time, to superintend the erection of a monument of extraordinary magnificence over the remains of that illustrious monarch, sparing neither pains nor expense to testify his filial affection and respect for his memory, f

Otho, who is supposed to be the same person mentioned, in Domesday-Book, among the King's goldsmiths, as " Otto aurifaber," being an artificer of much skill and taste, executed the task assigned to him in an admirable manner, and the tomb, says Ordericus Vitalis, " may * Brompton ; Saxon Chronicle ; S. Dunelra ; Ordericus Vitalis. f Ordericus Vitalis.

WILLIAM RUFUS. V

now be seen resplendent with gold, silver, and gems." When we trace the heartless desecration and barbarous spoliation of this noble monument of one of the most distinguished men the world ever saw,* we may well exclaim with Scott —

11 Oh failing honours of the dead !

Oh high ambition lowly laid! "

Guided by the prudent counsels of the venerable Lanfranc, his prime minister, William commenced his reign so wisely, "that it was hoped he would be the very mirror of kings," observes the contemporary chronicler, William of Malmesbury, whom truth afterwards compels to give a very different report of this versatile and excitable prince.

Everything went on smoothly till the arrival of Odo, bishop of Bayeux and earl of Kent, the son of William the Conqueror's mother Arlotta, by her husband Herluin, of Couteville. Odo, who had, during many years of the reign of his illustrious maternal brother, acted as prime minister, and governed England with despotic sway, had, in consequence of his rapacity, abuse of power, seditious practices, and underhand intrigues, to obtain the Papacy, been arrested by his royal kinsman, and imprisoned in Normandy, f It was with great difficulty that an order for his release had been wrung from the Conqueror on his death bed. Odo, having assisted his favourite nephew Robert, to settle himself in the government of JNormandy, where he was given — by that ease-loving prince — absolute authority to rule as the director of affairs, both spiritual and temporal, now presented himself at the court of England, to pray for the restitution of the earldom of Kent, and the numerous manors which had been confiscated by his brother, the late king. William

* See Life of Matilda of Flanders, in " Lives of Queens of England," by Agnes Strickland, page 104, Library Edition.

+ William of Malmesbury ; Ordericus Yitalis ; Roger of Wendover.

Rufus restored everything Odo could justly claim, and received his homage as earl of Kent. This was not enough to satisfy the ambitious prelate; he aimed at being re-instated in the authority he had for so many years abused, and which he now with jealous ire saw exercised by Lanfranc, assisted by William, bishop of Durham. Lanfranc was turned of ninety years of age, but prudently declined associating Odo in the government of which he was the responsible head.

Independently of the envy and ill-will excited by this circumstance, Odo was aware that Lanfranc had acted as the voice of those who desired the evil report of his extortions and oppressions to be laid before the late king ; and when William hesitated to arrest him on account of his high rank in the church, had quieted that scruple with the following clever logic, " My lord, you will not arrest your brother as the bishop of Bayeux, but the traitor earl of Kent." * On this hint the Conqueror had acted, and when Odo pleaded the inviolability of his cloth, replied by repeating those words. Odo had never forgiven Lanfranc, and earnestly desired both to supplant and punish him. Aware that there was no chance of doing either as long as Rufus wore the crown of England, he organised an extensive conspiracy for transferring it to Robert, calculating on having everything then his own way, because of the ascendency he possessed over the mind of that prince. Odo succeeded in seducing several of the most powerful of Rufus's nobles, especially those who possessed demesnes in Normandy, from their allegiance. William, bishop of Durham, united with him in his seditious practices, and declared that the peace of England and Normandy could only be ensured by both realms being under one sovereign, and as the right of primogeniture belonged to Robert, it would be for the general good to dethrone and put Rufus to death. A most formidable confederation of the great * William of Malraesbury.

Norman barons, in every quarter of England, was formed for this purpose. They did not wait for the advent of a chief who bore the proverbial surname of the Unready, but rose in revolt in all parts of the country, and committed the most barbarous devastations.*

Rufus, when he found himself thus unexpectedly beset with treachery, his authority openly defied in all parts of his realm, and his supplies, from the northern counties, cut off, through the defection of the bishop of Durham, " was far," says the contemporary chronicler, Ordericus Yitalis, "from skulking, like a frighted fox, in the depths of caverns ; but roused himself boldly, with a lion's courage, to strike a terrible blow at the rebels."

His great reliance was on the English, whose yoke he had lightened, and he now successfully appealed to their gratitude and affection for support in the general defection of his Norman baronage. He had spent more time in England than Eobert, and understanding somewhat of the language and the heroic spirit of the people, he called a national council, at which they were requested to meet him, Archbishop Lanfranc, and such of the prelates and nobles who still remained attached to his cause. He addressed them in a short, energetic speech, acquainting them with the treacherous and disloyal proceedings of his uncle and his own countrymen, and frankly stated that he confided in the support and valour of his brave English subjects, and concluded with this exhortation : "Let every man who would not be accounted a nidering" — literally, a nothing, or ignoble person — " arm and follow me, and assist me to chastise these insolent traitors." f

"Well did the Eed King understand the temper of those whom he addressed, the epithet of a nidering being regarded as the most contemptuous of all reproaches. Every Englishman present volunteered his services to quell the revolt, exclaiming, " We will fight for you to * William of Malmesbury. f Ibid.

the death, and never shall a foreign prince supplant in our affections, yon whom we have freely acknowledged for our king. Send your orders through England, and you will find yourself freely obeyed by our people. See you not how they are flocking to your standard, and are ready to crush yon false rebels with the weight of your lawful power ? Search well the chronicles of the English, and you will find that they have always been faithful to their kings. " *

Encouraged by this generous burst of feeling, William Rufus immediately took the field at the head of the native chivalry of the land, marched against the Norman insurgents, and besieged his uncle Odo's castles at Tunbridge and Pevensey, and after a seven weeks7 siege, compelled him to surrender. William gave him his life, and promised him his liberty, on condition of his swearing to deliver up the strong castle of Rochester, where he had bestowed the principal part of his plunder. Odo took the oath without hesitation, and being conducted by a party of the royal troops under the walls of the castle, required the commanders of the garrison, Eustace son of the count de Boulogne, and Robert de Belesme, to surrender it to King William. TJiese noblemen were much surprised at the injunction, for it was a place of the utmost importance to the insurgents, as it gave them the command of the whole country, even to London, and they were well provided for defence.

While they were deliberating, they observed that Odo was accompanied by a very small party, and that his gesticulations contradicted his words, whereupon they sallied out, captured his escort, rescued him, and brought him back into the castle with them in triumph, f

Rufus was in a towering passion at the manner in which his uncle had evaded the performance of his oath, and

* Ordericus Yitalis ; "William of Malmesbury ; Roger of Wendover. f William of Malmesbury ; Ordericus Yitalis ; Roger of Wendover.

vowed that if he fell into his hands a second time, he should not escape so lightly. Odo was resolved to hold out both the castle and town till the arrival of Robert with his promised succours. Robert only despatched a small squadron of ships with troops, which were intercepted, defeated, and sunk by William's fleet, without effecting a landing. Having obtained a conference with Roger Montgomery, who was second in authority to Odo, in the confederacy for dethroning him, King "William inquired on what grounds he and the other Norman barons had revolted from him.*

"Because," replied Montgomery, "you have not a legal title to the throne, which of right belongeth to your eldest brother." "But," rejoined the king, "I hold it by right of my father's nomination, who, having won England, appointed me for his successor by the authority of his own will and pleasure, even as he had previously given fair portions of this same realm to you and others of his nobles, by making you earls, therefore if you dispute his power to make me king of England, do you not at the same time invalidate your own titles to your English earldoms, which you hold on no sounder tenure than the gift of the Conqueror, my father ? "

Montgomery considered the royal rhetoric unanswerable, and agreed to renew his allegiance. His defection was the death-blow to the rebel cause. William shut up Odo and his adherents in the city of Rochester, by raising two forts against them, and cutting off all supplies. The besieged were at the same time grievously tormented with a plague of flies, which is compared by the chroniclers to that which tormented the Egyptians, of old, never ceasing for a moment from whizzing round them and attacking them. " So severely," continues Ordericus Yitalis, "was the insolent band of rebels afflicted with the annoyance of these swarms that they could not eat their meals either by night or day, unless a great number of

* William of Malmesbury.