Opening
THE REIGN OF WILLIAM RUFUS.
London
HENRY FROWDE
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE
7 PATERNOSTER ROW
THE
REIGN OF WILLIAM RUFUS
AND THE
ACCESSION OF HENRY THE FIRST.
BY
EDWARD A. FREEMAN, M.A., HON. D.C.L., LL.D.
HONORARY FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOLUME I.
Oxford:
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
1882.
[All rights reserved.]
Preface
I have now been able to carry out the design which I spoke of in the Prefaces to the fifth volume and to the second edition of the fourth volume of my History of the Norman Conquest. I have endeavoured to work out in detail the two sides of the memorable years with which I deal in these volumes, their deep importance for general and specially for constitutional history, and their rich store of personal and local narrative. In the former aspect, I believe I may claim to be the first to have dealt at length with the history of Bishop William of Saint-Calais, a history of deep constitutional importance in itself, and more important still with reference to the career of Anselm. It is no small matter to be able to show that it was not Anselm, but Anselm’s enemy, who was the first to appeal from an English court to the see of Rome. In this matter I have, I trust, brought out into its full importance a piece of history which has never, as far as I know, been told at length by any modern writer, though Dr. Stubbs has shown full appreciation of its constitutional bearings. Of less importance, but still more novel, is the mission of Abbot Jeronto to England, to which I have never seen any reference in any modern writer whatever. With regard to the career of Randolf Flambard, I have now worked out more fully many points which have been already spoken of both by myself and by Dr. Stubbs; but I cannot claim to have brought forward anything of great moment that is absolutely new.
In the part which consists of military and other narrative, I have, as usual, given all the attention that I could to the topography. I have visited every place that I could, and I have generally in so doing had the help of friends, often with more observant eyes than my own. I must specially thank Mr. James Parker for his help in Normandy and Maine, the Rev. J. T. Fowler of Durham for his help in Normandy, Maine, and Northumberland, Mr. G. T. Clark in Shropshire, Mr. F. H. Dickinson at Ilchester, the Rev. William Hunt at Bristol, and the Rev. W. R. W. Stephens in Sussex and Kent. I have also to thank His Grace the Duke of Norfolk for free access to Arundel castle, and M. Henri Chardon of Le Mans for much valuable help in that city. And, above all, I must again thank Mr. James Parker for much more than help in preparing the maps and plans which illustrate the book. Without him they could not have been done at all.
In North Wales and in some parts of Normandy and France I was left to my own inquiries. In South Wales I made no particular researches for this volume; but I hope that an old-standing knowledge of a large part of that country may not have been useless. Where I feel a real deficiency is in Hampshire. I could not have made any minute inquiries there without delaying the publication of the book for many months. But I have in former years been at Portchester, and I have seen something of the New Forest. And I feel pretty certain that no amount of local research can throw any real light on the death of William Rufus, unless indeed in the way of showing how local legends grew up. But something might perhaps be done more minutely to illustrate the landing and march of Duke Robert in 1101.
On this last point the place of the conference between Henry and Robert is satisfactorily fixed in the new text of Wace published by Dr. Andresen. I did not come across his volumes till most of the references to Wace had been copied and printed from the edition of Pluquet. But in the course of revision I was able in some cases to refer to Andresen also. His text is clearly a better one than that of Pluquet. But I cannot say that I have learned much from his notes, perhaps from the singularly repulsive way in which they are printed. Another German writer, Dr. Liebermann, has done good service to my period by publishing several unpublished chronicles to which I have often referred. Those of Saint Edmundsbury are of very considerable local importance. But there are other things that want printing. I hear from Mr. E. C. Waters that there lurks in manuscript a cartulary of Colchester Abbey, which contains distinct proof that Henry the First spoke English familiarly. I have never doubted the fact, which has always seemed to me as clear as anything that rested on mere inference can be. But it is something to know that there is direct witness to the fact, though it would be more satisfactory if one could refer to that witness for oneself. In the story, as told me by Mr. Waters, a document partly in English is produced in the Kings presence; the clerk in whose hands it is put breaks down at the English part; the King takes the parchment, and reads and explains it with ease.
I may mention one point with regard to topography in Normandy and Maine. I have now carefully written the names of all places in Normandy, Maine, and the neighbouring lands, according to the forms now received, as they appear for instance on the French Ordnance map. I am sure that people constantly read names like “Willelmus de Sancto Carilepho,” “Robertus de Mellento,” without clearly taking in that “Sanctus Carilephus,” “Mellentum”, &c. are names of real places, as real as any town in England. When one reads, as I have read, of “Bishop Karilef,” “the Honour of the Eagle,” and so forth, it is plain that those who write in that way have no clear notion of Saint-Calais and Laigle as real places. Yet all these towns are still there; to most of them the railway is open, and there are trains. On the other hand, the confusions of French writers about English places are, if possible, more amazing. A German writer, meanwhile, is pretty sure to know where any place, either in France or England, is, though he may be sometimes a little lifeless in his way of dealing with it.
I have now pretty well done with the history of the Norman Conquest of England, except so far as I still hope to put forth my story on a scale intermediate between five――or rather seven――large volumes and one very small one. But I should be well pleased to go on with another piece of history of the same date, the essential importance of which and its close connexion with that with which I have been dealing is being always brought more and fully home to me. The Norman in the great island of the Ocean and the Norman in the great island of the Mediterranean naturally form companion pieces. I have made some acquaintance with the Rogers and Williams of Sicily in their own home, and I should be well pleased to make that acquaintance more intimate. Palermo follows naturally on Winchester and Rouen. The pleasure-house of William the Bad is the skeleton of the Conqueror’s Tower with a wholly different life breathed into it by Saracenic artists. But the points of view from which we may approach Sicily, the meeting-place of the nations, and the rich and various sources of interest which are supplied by the history of that illustrious island, are simply endless.
In all technical points these volumes follow the exact pattern of the History of the Norman Conquest. And I take a knowledge of that work for granted, and I assume all points which I believe myself to have explained or established in it. But I have added to these volumes, what I have not added to any of their predecessors, a Chronological Summary, distinct from the Table of Contents. It is, I think, a necessary companion to a narrative in which I could not strictly follow chronological order, but had to keep several contemporary lines of story distinct. Alongside of the History of William Rufus I set his Annals.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. D. PAGE
Character of the reign of William Rufus 3 The Norman Conquest in one sense completed, in another undone 3 Feudal developement under Rufus and Flambard 4 Growth of anti-feudal tendencies 4 Extension of the power of England at home 4 Beginning of rivalry between England and France 5 Change in the European position of England 5 Personal character of William Rufus 5-6 His companions and adversaries; Anselm and Helias 6 Last warfare between Normans and English; results of the struggle 6-7 The Norman kingship becomes English 7 Effects of the French war 7 Scheme of the work 8
II. THE EARLY DAYS OF WILLIAM RUFUS. 1087-1090
Character of the accession of Rufus; general acceptance without formal election 9-10
§ 1. The Coronation and Acknowledgement of William Rufus. September, 1087.
Rufus the enemy of the Church, yet his election specially ecclesiastical 10 Wishes of the late King in his favour 11 Special agency of Lanfranc 12 Sept. 8, William Rufus leaves his father’s death-bed and 1087. hastens to England 12-13 He brings with him Morkere and Wulfnoth, and again imprisons them 13-14 Duncan and Wulf set free by Robert 13 Meeting of William and Lanfranc 15 Sept. 26. Coronation of William Rufus at Westminster 15 His special oath 16 Dec. 1087- His gifts to churches and to the poor 17-18 Jan.1088. The Christmas Assembly; Odo restored to his earldom 18-19 Special circumstances of William’s accession; no other available choice; comparison between William and Robert 19-22
§ 2. The Rebellion against William Rufus. March-November, 1088.
Beginning of the rebellion; discontent of Odo; influence of William of Saint-Calais 22-24 March, 1088. Gatherings of the rebels; speech of Odo; arguments on behalf of Robert 24-26 Comparison of the elder and younger William 26-27 Geoffrey of Coutances joins the rebels 27 Treason of the Bishop of Durham; different statements of his conduct 28-29 March, 1088. Early movements in Kent and Sussex 29 The Bishop forsakes the King; his temporalities seized 30 He is summoned to the King’s court; action of Ralph Paganel 31 March-May, Lands of the bishopric laid waste 32 1088. April 16. The Easter Assembly; the rebels refuse to come 32 List of the rebels 33-35 Loyalty of Earl Hugh of Chester 34 Ravages of the rebels; of Bishop William, Roger Bigod, and Hugh of Grantmesnil 35-36 History and description of Bristol 36-40 Bristol occupied by Bishop Geoffrey; his works; ravages of William of Eu and Robert of Mowbray 40-41 Robert of Mowbray burns Bath 41-42 His siege and defeat at Ilchester 42-44 William of Eu plunders in Gloucestershire; history and description of Berkeley 44-46 Rebel centre at Hereford; action of Earl Roger 46-47 The rebels march on Worcester; history and description of the city 47-49 Action of Wulfstan; deliverance of Worcester 48-51 Movements of Odo in Kent; he occupies Rochester 52 Rochester, Tunbridge, and Pevensey 52-53 The war at Rochester; history and description of the city and castle 52-56 Duke Robert sends over Eustace of Boulogne and Robert of Bellême 56 The three sons of Earl Roger 57 Earl Roger at Arundel; history and description of the castle 58-59 William of Warren; his earldom of Surrey; his loyalty; he keeps Lewes 59-60 The King wins over Earl Roger 60-61 Robert of Mortain holds Pevensey against the King 62 Loyal Normans; Robert Fitz-hamon 62 The Church and the people for the King 63 William’s proclamations and promises; the English arm for him 63-65 Meeting of the English army at London; William accepted as English king 65-67 William’s march; English hatred of Odo 67 Taking of Tunbridge castle 68-70 March towards Rochester; Odo at Pevensey 70 Duke Robert fails to help the rebels 71 The English besiege Odo in Pevensey 72-73 Robert at last sends help; the Norman landing hindered by the English 74-75 Alleged death of William of Warren 76 Pevensey surrenders; terms granted to Odo; Rochester to be surrendered 76 The garrison of Rochester refuse to surrender; Odo taken prisoner by his own party 77 William’s Niðing proclamation; second English muster 78 Siege of Rochester; straits of the besieged; they agree to surrender 79-80 Lesson of the war; the King stronger than any one noble; the unity of England 80-81 The King refuses terms to the besieged 81 Pleadings for the besieged, Odo and others; the King grants terms 82-85 The honours of war refused to Odo; his humiliation; he leaves England 87-89 June 4, The Whitsun Assembly; confiscations and grants; 1088. amnesty of the chief rebels 88 The Bishop of Durham again summoned 89 His dealings with Counts Alan and Odo; he comes with a safe-conduct 90-91 The Bishop’s ecclesiastical claims; he goes back to Durham 91-92 Sept. 8 Agreement between the Bishop and the Counts 92-93 Nov. 2. Meeting at Salisbury; trial of the Bishop; he denies the authority of the court 95-97 Lanfranc and William of Saint-Calais 97 The charge and the Bishop’s answer 98-99 Lanfranc and Geoffrey of Coutances 100-101 Debate in the Bishop’s absence; constitution of the court 100-101 Debate on the word fief 102 The Bishop’s seven counsellors 103 He appeals to Rome; character of the appeal; position of Lanfranc 103-106 The sentence pronounced; he renews his appeal 106-107 Dialogue between the King and the Bishop; intervention of Count Alan 107-109 The Bishop appeals again; the final sentence 109-110 The Bishop’s demand for money; answer of Lanfranc 110-111 The King’s offer; the Bishop gives sureties 111-112 Question of the safe-conduct; charges of the Bishop’s men 112-113 Conditions of the Bishop’s leaving England 113-114 Nov. 14 Durham castle surrendered to the King 114 Nov. 21-26 The Bishop’s voyage delayed 115 New charges and summonses; the Bishop’s dealings with Osmund and Walkelin 116-117 He at last sails to Normandy; his reception by Duke Robert 117 Character and importance of the story; William of Saint-Calais the first to appeal to Rome 117-119 Behaviour of the King, of Lanfranc, and of the lesser actors 119-120 State of Wales; Rhys restored by a fleet from Ireland 121 Gruffydd son of Cynan attacks Rhuddlan 122 Action of Robert of Rhuddlan; he returns to North Wales 123 Robert at Dwyganwy; description and history of the place 123-124 July 3 Approach of Gruffydd’s fleet; death of Robert of Rhuddlan 124-127 His burial and epitaph 127-129 End of the Norman Conquest; its confirmation and undoing 129-130 Tendencies to union; the new dynasty and nobility accepted in an English character 131-132 Rufus’ breach of his promises; his general oppression; no oppression of the English as such 132-133 His employment of mercenaries; their presence helps the fusion of races 133-134 Sale of ecclesiastical offices; prolongation of vacancies 134-135 Restoration of Thurstan of Glastonbury 135 Sept. 25 Death of Geoffrey Bishop of Chichester 135 Death of Abbot Scotland of Saint Augustine’s, Abbot Ælfsige of Bath, and Bishop Gisa of Wells 136 1088-1122 The bishopric of Somerset granted to John of Tours; he removes the see to Bath 136-137 He obtains the temporal lordship of Bath 137 Complaints of the canons of Wells and the monks of Bath 138-139 Guy forced on the monks of Saint Augustine’s; disturbances and their punishment 139-140
§ 3. Character of William Rufus.
May 24, Death and burial of Lanfranc; his position 1089 in England and Normandy 140-142 Change for the worse in the King’s character; rebukes of Lanfranc 142-143 Personal description of William Rufus 143-144 His conduct in youth; his filial duty; his conduct during the rebellion 145-146 General charges against William Rufus; his marked personality 147 His alleged firmness of purpose; his lack of real steadiness; his unfinished campaigns 148-149 His alleged magnanimity; his boundless pride; story of the chamberlain 149-151 His alleged liberality; his wastefulness 151-152 His rewards to the loyal troops after the rebellion 152 His extortions 153 His generally strict government 153 His lavishness to his foreign mercenaries 153-154 1108 They are restrained by the statute of Henry 154 Stricter forest laws; story of the fifty English acquitted by ordeal 155-157 Special vices of Rufus; old and new fashions of dress 157-159 His irreligion; his favour to the Jews 159-161 True position of the Jews in England 160 Dispute between Jews and Christians 162 He makes the converted Jews turn back; story of the convert Stephen 162-165 William’s defiance of God and the saints; frequency of blasphemy 165-167 Redeeming features in Rufus; little personal cruelty; respect for his father’s memory 167-169 His chivalrous spirit; his word when kept; and when broken 169-171 Chivalry a new thing; William Rufus marks the beginning of a new æra 169-171 Illustrations of the chivalrous character 171-174 Grouping of events in the reign of Rufus 174
Chapter III
THE FIRST WARS OF WILLIAM RUFUS. 1090-1092.
Character of the year 1089; natural phænomena 175-176 August 11, The great earthquake 176 1089 Character of the year 1090; beginnings of foreign adventure and domestic oppression 177 The years 1090-1091; affairs of Normandy, Scotland, and Cumberland 177 Connexion of English and Norman history; the same main actors in both 177 Contrast between England and Normandy as to private war 178 The old and the new generation 179 History of Robert of Bellême 179-181 His character; his engineering skill; his special and wanton cruelty 181-183 His enmity towards Helias, Abbot Ralph, and others 183-184 1110 His final imprisonment by Henry 184 History and character of Robert Count of Meulan and Earl of Leicester 184-187 His fame for wisdom and influence with Rufus and Henry 185-186 1118 Story of his death-bed 187
§ 1. Normandy under Robert. 1087-1090.
State of Normandy; interest of those who held lands in both countries 188-189 Temptations to invasion 188-189 Character of Robert; his weak good-nature and lack of justice 190-191 Spread of vice and evil fashions 191 Building of castles; garrisons kept by the Conqueror in the castles of the nobles 192 Robert of Bellême and others drive out the Duke’s forces 193 Robert’s lavish grants; Ivry; Brionne 194 The Ætheling Henry claims his mother’s lands 195 He buys the Côtentin and Avranchin; his firm rule 196-197 Summer, Henry goes to England; William 1088 promises him his mother’s lands 197 He seizes them again; and grants them to Robert Fitz-hamon 198 Autumn, Influence of Odo with Robert 198 1088 Henry comes back to Normandy with Robert of Bellême; they are seized and imprisoned 199 Earl Roger makes war on the Duke; his fortresses 199-200 Odo’s exhortation to Robert 200-202 Affairs of Maine; relations with Fulk of Anjou 202-204 Robert acknowledged in Maine 204 Chief men of the county; Bishop Howel, Geoffrey of Mayenne, Helias of La Flèche 205 April 21, Appointment of Howel to the see of Le Mans; 1085 his loyalty to the Norman dukes 205-208 Temporal relations to the see of Le Mans 207 Robert before Le Mans; general submission of the county 208-209 Aug.-Sept. Ballon holds out; description of the place; 1088 siege and surrender of the castle 209-211 Robert attacks Saint Cenery; description and history of the place 211-215 Geroy and his descendants; Saint Cenery seized by Mabel 214-215 Siege and surrender of Saint Cenery; blinding of Robert Carrel 215-217 Castle granted to Robert grandson of Geroy 217 Surrender of Alençon, Bellême, and other castles; Robert disbands his army 218-219 Robert of Bellême set free at his father’s request 219-220 Henry set free; his good government of Coutances and Avranches 220-222
§ 2. The First Successes of William Rufus. 1090.
Easter, Schemes of William Rufus; assembly at 1090 Winchester; the King’s speech; war voted by the Witan 221-224 William stays in England; his policy; his advantages in his struggle with Robert 224-226 Power of William’s wealth; mercenaries; bribes 226-227 Submission of Saint Valery; beginning of English action on the continent 227-228 Submission of various castles; Aumale, Eu, Gournay, Longueville; description of Gournay and Longueville 228-231 Ralph of Toesny and Count William of Evreux; their kindred; enmity of their wives 231-232 Heloise of Evreux and Isabel of Toesny 232-234 War between Ralph and Count William; Ralph vainly asks help of the Duke; he submits to King William 234 Helias of Saint-Saens; he marries Robert’s natural daughter 235 His faithfulness; importance of his castles; Saint-Saens, Bures, and Arques 236-237 William’s dealings with France; Robert asks help of Philip; Philip sets out, but is bribed to go back 237-239 The first English subsidy; first direct dealings between England and France; results of Rufus’ dealings with Philip 239-241 Private wars not interrupted by the invasion; action of Robert of Bellême 241-242 Robert of Meulan imprisoned and set free 243 Duke Robert takes Brionne 244 November, Movement at Rouen; the municipal spirit; influence 1090 of Conan; his treaty with William Rufus 245-247 A day fixed for the surrender to William; Duke Robert sends for help 248 November 3. Henry and Robert of Bellême come to the help of Duke Robert 248-249 Rouen in the eleventh century 249-253 Fright of Duke Robert; division in the city; Henry sends Duke Robert away 253-256 Gilbert of Laigle enters Rouen; slaughter of the citizens; Conan taken prisoner 256 Conan put to death by Henry 257-260 Robert brought back; treatment of the citizens; imprisonment of William son of Ansgar 260-261 November Count William of Evreux marches against Conches 261-266 Siege of Conches; settlement of the county of Evreux on Roger of Conches 262-268 The three dreams; death of Roger of Conches 268-270 1100-1108 Later history of Ralph and William and their wives 270-271 Orderic’s picture of Normandy; his English feelings 271-272
§ 3. Personal Coming of William Rufus. 1091.
Christmas, Assembly at Westminster 273 1090 Feb. 1091 The King crosses to Normandy 273 January Duke Robert helps Robert of Bellême; siege of Courcy 273-274 The siege raised at the news of William’s coming 274 Treaty of Caen; cession of Norman territory to William 275-276 Saint Michael’s Mount passes to William, the rest of the Côtentin and Maine to Robert; agreement to despoil Henry 277-279 Settlement of the English and Norman succession; growth of the doctrine of legitimacy 279-280 Dealings with Henry and Eadgar; Eadgar banished from Normandy; he goes to Scotland 280-282 Partisans on each side to be restored 282 The treaty sworn to; it stands but a little while 283 Lent, 1091 Robert and William march against Henry 283 Henry’s preparations; Hugh of Chester and others surrender their castles 283 Henry defends himself on Saint Michael’s Mount; he is welcomed by the monks 284-285 Siege of the Mount; its position; character of the siege 285-287 Personal anecdotes; story of Rufus and the knight who unhorsed him 287-290 Contrast between William and Robert; Henry allowed to take water, and William’s answer 291-292 Feb. 1091 Henry surrenders 292-293 Aug. 1091 William returns to England with his brothers 293 Stories of Henry’s adventures; evidence for his presence in England in 1091 293-295
§ 4. The Scottish Expedition of William Rufus. August-October, 1091.
May, 1091 Affairs of Scotland; Malcolm’s invasion of Northumberland; he is driven back 295-297 Aug. 1091 William and Robert in England; relations between Robert and Malcolm; stronger side of Robert and Eadgar 297-298 September 3 William’s march; state of Durham; restoration of Bishop William; his renewed influence 298-300 Michaelmas Loss of William’s ships 300 The kings by the Scots’ Water; mediation of Robert and Eadgar; Malcolm does homage to William 301-304 Questions as to the betrothal of Margaret and the earldom of Lothian 303-304 Return of William; signatures to the Durham charters 305-306 December 23 Fresh disputes between William and Robert; Robert and Eadgar leave England 306-307 October 15 Fall of the tower at Winchcombe 307 October 17 Great wind in London 308 1092 Fire in London 308 March 28 Consecration of the church of Salisbury 308-309 April 10 The tower and roof blown down 309 May 9 Completion of Lincoln minster; the church ready for consecration; Thomas of York claims the jurisdiction of Lindesey; the King orders the consecration 309-312 May 6 Remigius dies before the appointed day; the church remains unconsecrated 312
§ 5. The Conquest and Colonization of Carlisle. 1092.
William’s conquest of Carlisle; popular mistakes as to Cumberland and Westmoreland 313-314 603-685 Early history of Carlisle; it forms part of the Northumbrian kingdom 314 Scandinavians in Cumberland; destruction of Carlisle 315 1092 Dolfin lord of Carlisle; he is driven out; the city restored and the castle built 315 The Saxon colony at Carlisle 316 The earldom of Carlisle; later history of the city; the castle and the bishopric 317-318 1093 Fortunes of Henry; the men of Domfront choose him as their lord; description of Domfront 319-320 Henry’s wars with Robert; he wins back his county 320-321 The castle of Saint James is granted to Earl Hugh 321-323
Chapter IV
THE PRIMACY OF ANSELM AND THE ACQUISITION OF NORMANDY. 1093-1097.
1087-1092 Character of the early years of William Rufus; chronological sequence of the history 325-326 1093-1098 Character of the next period; distinct lines of story 326-328 Ecclesiastical affairs; working of the new ideas; new position of the King 328 1089-1093 Vacancy of the see of Canterbury; influence of Randolf Flambard 328-329
§ 1. The Administration of Randolf Flambard.
1089-1099 Early history of Flambard; question as to his settlement in England T. R. E. 329 His service with the Bishop of London 329-330 Flambard a priest, and said to have been Dean of Twinham 330 Character of Flambard; his parents; his surname; his financial skill 330-331 His probable share in Domesday; his alleged new Domesday 331-332 His rise under Rufus; he holds the justiciarship; growth of the office under him 332-333 His loss of land for the New Forest 333 His systematic charges and exactions; the King to be every man’s heir 333-335 The feudal tenure; wardship; marriage; dealings with bishoprics and abbeys 335-336 Agency of Flambard; systematizing of the feudal tenures 336-337 Flambard’s theory of land-holding; relief and redemption; dealings with wills 337-339 Wardship; its oppressive working; wardship and marriage special to England and Normandy 339-340 The two sides of feudalism; England in what sense feudal 340-341 Flambard’s oppression falls most directly on the greatest estates; no special oppression of the English as such 341-342 Dealings of the tenants-in-chief with their under-tenants 342 Submission of the nobles; position of the king’s clerks 342-343 Position of Rufus favourable for his schemes; effect on national unity 343-344 Abuse of the old laws 344 Dealings with church property; appointment and investiture of bishops and abbots 345 Grant of the temporalities by the king; church lands become fiefs; analogy between lay and spiritual fiefs; Flambard’s inferences 346-347 Vacant prelacies held by the King; power of prolonging the vacancy 347 Sale of bishoprics and abbeys; simony not systematic before Rufus 347-348 Treatment of vacant churches; Flambard the chief agent 349 Novelty of the practice; tenure in frankalmoign 350 1092-1100 Resignation and restoration of Abbot Odo of Chertsey 350 Distinction between bishoprics and abbeys; the vacancies longer in the case of the abbeys 350-352 English abbots; story of the appointment to an Sees vacant in 1092 353 1091-1123 Ralph Luffa Bishop of Chichester; his appointment and episcopate 353-354 1091 Death of Bishop William of Thetford; history of Herbert Losinga; he buys the bishopric 354 1088-1091 Three years’ vacancy of New Minster 355 1091-1093 Herbert buys the abbey for his father Robert 355 1093 Herbert repents; receives his bishopric again from the Pope; novelty of the act 355-356 1092-1094 Vacancy of the see of Lincoln 356 1089-1093 Vacancy of Canterbury 356
§ 2. _The Vacancy of the Primacy and the Appointment of Anselm. 1089-1093._
Effects of the vacancy of the see of Canterbury 357 Special position of the metropolitan see; place of the Archbishop as the leader of the nation 358-359 Appointment to the archbishopric; the see not granted to the King’s clerks 359 The King’s purpose to keep the see vacant; his motives 359-361 No fear of a bad appointment 361-362 No thought of election either by the monks or by the Witan; silent endurance of the nation 362-363 Results of the vacancy; corruption of the clergy; lack of ecclesiastical discipline 363-365 Anselm; debt of England to foreigners; the Burgundian saints, Anselm and Hugh 365 1080 Birth and parentage of Anselm; Aosta 366-368 Comparison of Lanfranc and Anselm; various sides of Anselm’s character; he is not preferred in England by the Conqueror 368-369 Anselm and Eadmer; references to Eadmer in other writers 369-370 Childhood of Anselm; his youthful licence 370-371 1057-1060 He leaves Aosta; his sojourn at Avranches 371 1060 He becomes a monk at Bec 371 1063 He is elected Prior; stories of him as Prior 372 1078 He is elected Abbot; Bec under his government; his widespread fame 373 His correspondence 374 Relations between Bec and England 374-376 1090 Foundation of the priory of Clare 376 Frequency of lawsuits; Anselm’s desire to do justice 376-377 1078 His first visit to England; his friendship with the monks of Christ Church; his first acquaintance with Eadmer 377-378 His general popularity in England; his love for England; his preaching and alleged miracles 378-380 His friendship with the Conqueror and with Earl Hugh 380-381 Feeling as to the vacancy of the archbishopric; Anselm looked to as the coming archbishop 381-382 Earl Hugh changes the canons of Saint Werburh’s at Chester for monks; he asks help from Anselm 382 Anselm refuses to go; repeated messages and refusals; he at last goes at the bidding of his own monks 382-385 September 8, Anselm at Canterbury 385 1092 His first interview with Rufus; his rebukes of the King; settlement of the affairs of Bec 385-387 Anselm at Chester 387 February, The King refuses him leave to go back; William’s 1093 feeling towards Anselm 388 Christmas, The Christmas assembly; the vacancy discussed by 1092-1093 the Witan; petition of the assembly to the King 387-389 Prayers for the appointment of an archbishop drawn up by Anselm 389-390 Character of the year 1093 390 Discourse about Anselm before the King; the King’s mockery 390-391 He falls sick at Alveston and is removed to Gloucester 391 Repentance of Rufus; advice of the prelates and nobles; Anselm sent for; Rufus promises amendment 392-393 His proclamation of reform; general satisfaction 393-394 Beginnings of reform; prisoners set free; the bishopric of Lincoln granted to Robert Bloet 394-395 March 6, Rufus names Anselm to the archbishopric; 1093 unwillingness of Anselm 396 Arguments of the bishops, of the King, and his own monks 397-399 He is invested and installed by force 398-401 Anselm’s renewed protest; his parable of the two oxen; the King orders the restitution of the temporalities of the see 401-403 The royal right of investiture not questioned; no scruples on the part of Anselm; later change in his views 403-404 No ecclesiastical election; sole action of the King; Gundulf’s letter to the monks of Bec 404-405 Anselm tarries with Gundulf; consent of the Duke, the Archbishop of Rouen, and the monks of Bec 406 April 17, The King’s recovery; the Easter Gemót 407 1093 The King falls back into evil ways; he recalls his acts of mercy 407-408 He keeps his purpose as to Anselm 408-409 March-Dec. Affairs of England and Wales; dealings between 1093 William and Malcolm; designs of William on Normandy 409-410 Action of William of Eu; he suggests an attack on Normandy 410-411 Dealings of Rufus with the Counts of Flanders 411-412 Oct. 4 or Death of Robert the Frisian; accession of 13, 1093 Robert of Jerusalem 411-412 Interview between Anselm and the King at Rochester; his three conditions 412-414 Anselm requires to be allowed to acknowledge Pope Urban; question of the acknowledgement of Popes; English feeling on the subject 414-416 The King’s answer; his special counsellors; Count Robert of Meulan and Bishop William of Durham 417 The King prays Anselm to take the archbishopric; he asks for the confirmation of grants made by him during the vacancy 418 Anselm refuses; statement of the case on both sides; the King’s advocatio of the archbishopric 418-421 State of public feeling; special Gemót at Winchester; Anselm receives the archbishopric and does homage 421-422 The King’s writ; the Archbishop’s thegns; clauses in favour of the monks 422-423 Relations of the Archbishop to the city of Canterbury and the abbey of Saint Alban’s 423-424 1093 Death of Abbot Paul of Saint Alban’s; four years’ vacancy of the abbey 423-424 The question as to the Pope left unsettled; no reference to the Pope in English episcopal appointments 424-425 Order of episcopal appointments then and now; theory of the two systems 425-427 Sept. 25, Enthronement of Anselm; Flambard brings a suit 1093 against him on the day of his enthronement 427-428 December 4 Consecration of Anselm at Canterbury; list of the officiating bishops 429-430 Successful objection of Thomas of York to the phrase “Metropolitan of Britain” 430-432 Anselm’s general profession to the Roman church 432-433 Thomas claims jurisdiction over Lincoln; Robert Bloet’s consecration delayed 433 Christmas, Assembly at Gloucester; Anselm received by 1093-1094 the King 434
§ 3. The Assembly at Hastings and the second Norman Campaign. 1094.
Events of the year 1094; affairs of Normandy; their connection with Anselm 434-435 Christmas, Robert’s challenge of William; war decreed 435-436 1093-1094 Contributions collected for the war; Anselm unwilling to contribute; he at last gives five hundred pounds 437-438 William first accepts the money and then refuses it 438-440 Dispute with Bishop Maurice of London; judgement of Wulfstan 440-441 February 2, Assembly at Hastings; fleet delayed by the 1094 wind 441-442 February 11 Consecration of the church at Battle; William and Anselm at Battle 442-445 February 3, Death of Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances; his 1093 successor Ralph at Hastings and Battle 444 February 12 Consecration of Robert Bloet to Lincoln; his gift to the King; plot against Anselm; compromise with York 445-446 1104-1123 Character and episcopate of Robert Bloet 447-448 Return of Bishop Herbert of Thetford; he is deprived by the King 448 1094 His restoration; he removes his see to Norwich 448 February 17 The ceremonies of Ash-Wednesday; Anselm rebukes the minions 449-450 Anselm’s interview with the King; his silence about the war 450-451 Anselm asks for help in his reforms; he asks leave to hold a synod; his appeal against the fashionable vices 451-453 Grievances of the Church; wrongs of the church tenants 454 He prays the King to fill the vacant abbeys; their relation to the King; hostile answer of Rufus 454-456 Comparison of Lanfranc and Anselm; estimate of Anselm’s conduct 456-457 Anselm tries to recover the King’s favour; the bishops advise him to give more money; his grounds for refusing 457-460 The King more hostile than ever; Anselm leaves Hastings 460 March 19, William crosses to Normandy 461 1094 Vain attempts to settle the dispute between William and Robert; verdict of the guarantors against William 461 Castles held by William; taking of Bures 462-463 Robert calls in Philip; siege and surrender of Argentan; ransom of the prisoners 463-464 Robert takes La Houlme 465 Difficulties of Rufus; further taxation; levy of English soldiers; Flambard takes away the soldiers’ money 465-466 Rufus buys off Philip 466-467 Contemporary notices of the campaign; differences between England and Normandy; private wars go on in Normandy 467-468 Relations between Rufus and Henry; war at Saint Cenery; the castle taken by Robert of Bellême 468-469 Henry and Earl Hugh summoned to Eu 469 October 31 They go to Southampton and keep Christmas in London 470 December 28 The King comes to England; William and Henry reconciled 470 February, Henry goes to Normandy; his warfare with 1095 Robert 470-471 Norman supporters of William 471-474 Wretchedness of England; causes for the King’s return; affairs of Scotland and Wales; plots at home 474-475
§ 4. _The Council of Rockingham. December, 1094-March, 1095._
Notes of the year 1095; councils of the year 476 Jan., Feb., 1095 Movements of William; alleged Welsh campaign 476-477 April, 1094- Last days and sickness of Wulfstan; his Jan., 1095 friendshipwith Bishop Robert of Hereford 477-479 January 18, Death of Wulfstan; his appearance to Bishop 1095 Robert 480 January 22 His burial 480 Anselm and Urban; need of the pallium; elder usage as to it 481-484 Anselm asks leave to go to Urban for the pallium; William refuses to acknowledge any pope 484-485 Anselm asks for an assembly to discuss the question; he will leave the realm if he may not acknowledge Urban 485-486 Frequency of assemblies under Rufus; a special meeting summoned 487 Sunday, Assembly at Rockingham 487 March 11 Estimate of the question; the King technically right; no real objection to Urban on his part 487-489 History and description of Rockingham 490-491 Place of meeting; the King’s inner council 491 Anselm’s opening speech 492 The real point avoided on the King’s side; Anselm treated as an accused person 493 Conduct of the bishops; the meeting adjourned till Monday 493-494 Monday, The bishops counsel submission; Anselm’s March 12 second speech; he asserts no exclusive claims; his two duties 494-496 Position of England towards the popes; Anselm and William of Saint-Calais 496-497 Anselm not the first to appeal to Rome 497 Answer of the bishops; the King’s messages; the bishops advise him to submit to the King in all things 497-499 Anselm sleeps during the debate 498 The bishops’ definition of freedom; Anselm will not forsake Urban 499-500 Schemes of William of Saint-Calais against Anselm; he aspires to the archbishopric 500-501 Objects of the King; promises of William of Saint-Calais; his speech to Anselm 502-503 William’s imperial claims; his relations at the time to the vassal kingdoms 503-505 The real question hitherto evaded; Anselm’s challenge; he states the real case 505-506 New position of the bishops 506 Anselm insulted; popular feeling on his side; story of Anselm and the knight 506-508 Perplexity of the King; failure of William of Saint-Calais; the assembly adjourned 508-509 Tuesday, Debates in the inner council; William of March 13 Saint-Calais recommends force; the lay nobles refuse; speeches of the King and Robert of Meulan 510-511 The King bids the bishops renounce Anselm; he withdraws his protection; Anselm’s answer 511-513 The King turns to the lay lords; they support Anselm 513-514 Shame of the bishops; the King further examines them; his rewards and punishments 514-516 Anselm wishes to leave England; another adjournment 516-517 Wednesday Anselm summoned to the King’s presence; March 14 the lay lords propose a truce; adjournment to May 20 517-519 Importance of the meeting at Rockingham 519 William keeps faith to Anselm personally, but oppresses his friends 519-521
§ 5. The Mission of Cardinal Walter. 1095.
March-May Events of the time of truce; assemblies of 1095 the year 521 Position of Urban 521 March 1-7, Council of Piacenza; its decrees; no mention 1095 of English affairs 522-523 William’s schemes to turn the Pope against Anselm; mission of Gerard and William of Warelwast 523-524 April 10 Urban at Cremona; dealings of William’s messengers with Urban 525 The Sicilian monarchy; relations between England and Sicily 525-526 Gerard and William bring Walter of Albano as Legate; he brings a pallium 526-527 Secrecy of his errand; his interview with the King; William acknowledges Urban 527-528 Walter refuses to depose Anselm 528-529 William and his counsellors outwitted by the Legate; he is driven to a reconciliation with Anselm 529 May 13 Whitsun Assembly; the King’s message to Anselm 530 Anselm will not pay for the pallium; Anselm and William reconciled; their friendly discourse 531-532 Anselm refuses to take the pallium from the King 532 Popular aspect of the assembly 533 Anselm absolves two bishops, Osmund of Salisbury and Robert of Hereford; he restores Wulfrith of Saint David’s 533-534 June 10 Anselm receives the pallium at Canterbury 534-535 June 26 Death of Bishop Robert of Hereford; the Legate stays in England; his dealings with Anselm 535-537 The King’s northern march; Anselm entrusted with the defence of Canterbury 537-538 Letters between Anselm and the Legate; the bishops object to Anselm’s position; his answer 538-540 Question about the monks at Christ Church; Anselm and his tenants 540-541 Christmas, Assembly at Windsor and Salisbury 541-542 1095-1096 January 6 Anselm attends William of Saint-Calais on his death-bed 541-542 June 6 Consecration of bishops; Samson of Worcester and Gerard of Hereford 542-544 Anselm consecrates Irish bishops 544
§ 6. _The Crusade and the Mortgage of Normandy. November 1095-March 1097._
March 7, Council of Piacenza; appeal of the Emperor 1095 Alexios 545 Nov. 18 Council of Clermont; the first crusade 545-547 Bearing of the crusade on our story; no king engaged in the first crusade; share of Normandy and Flanders 546-547 The crusades a Latin movement; name of Franks 546 Decrees of the Council; lay investitures forbidden; sentence against Clement and the Emperor; against Philip and Bertrada 548-549 Urban preaches the crusade; his geography 549-550 French, Norman, and other crusaders 550-552 Marriage of Robert of Meulan 551 Duke Robert takes the cross; he applies to William for money; position of William towards the crusade 552-553 Mission of Abbot Jeronto; he rebukes William 553-554 Easter, The Pope sends his nephew; peace between April 13 William and Robert 554-555 Normandy pledged to William 555 June 2 Whitsun Assembly; taxation to raise the pledge-money; protest of the prelates 556-557 Oppression of the tenants; plunder of the churches 557-558 Contribution of Anselm; he mortgages Peckham to his monks 558-559 September, Conferences between William and Robert; 1096 Robert goes on the crusade; his companions 559-560 Conduct of Robert; his treatment at Rome; his reception by Robert of Apulia 560-561 1096-1097 The crusaders winter in Apulia; siege of Amalfi; Bohemond takes the cross 562 Feb. 1097 Odo of Bayeux dies at Palermo 563 Duke Robert crosses to Dyrrhachion; he does homage to Alexios 563-564 Robert at Laodikeia; Hugh of Jaugy joins the crusaders; the rope-dancers of Antioch 564-565 Robert refuses the crown of Jerusalem and goes back 566 William takes possession of Normandy; character of his rule there 566-567 The Côtentin restored to Henry 567 1096 Synod of Rouen; the Truce of God confirmed; other decrees; small results of the synod 568-569 William’s appointments to Norman prelacies 570 1090-1101 Tancard Abbot of Jumièges 570 1096-1107 Etard Abbot of Saint Peter on Dives 570 1098-1105 Turold Bishop of Bayeux 571
§ 7. The Last Dispute between William and Anselm. 1097.
Events of the year 1096-1097 571 State of Wales at the end of 1096 571 April, 1097 Assembly at Windsor; Welsh war and seeming conquest 572 William complains of Anselm’s contingent; position of the Archbishop’s knights; Anselm summoned to the King’s court 572-574 Change in Anselm’s feelings; his yearnings towards Rome; aspect of his conduct 574-578 Causes of his loss of general support 578 His continued demands of reform; he determines not to answer the summons but to make a last effort 579-580 May 24, Whitsun assembly; Anselm favourably received; 1097 his last appeal 581 He determines to ask leave to go to Rome; the King refuses 581-583 June-Aug., The charge against Anselm withdrawn; affairs 1097 of Wales; another assembly; Anselm’s request again refused 583 Wednesday, Assembly at Winchester; Anselm renews his October 14 request; he is again impleaded 584-585 Thursday, Anselm and the bishops and lords; speech of October 15 Walkelin; the bishops’ portrait of themselves; Anselm’s answer 586-588 Part of the lay lords; Anselm’s promise to obey the customs; he is charged with breach of promise; alternatives given him 588-589 Anselm and the King; Anselm’s discourse; answer of Count Robert; the barons against Anselm 589-592 Anselm allowed to go, but the archbishopric to be seized 592-593 Anselm’s last interview with Rufus; he blesses him 593-594 Anselm at Canterbury; he takes the pilgrim’s staff 594 His treatment at Dover; he crosses to Whitsand 595 The King seizes the archbishopric; Anselm’s acts declared null; the monks keep Peckham 595-596 Rebuilding of the choir of Christ Church; works of Prior Ernulf 596-597 Comparison of the trials of William of Saint-Calais, Anselm, and Thomas 597-605 Anselm does not strictly appeal to the Pope 598 He asserts no clerical privilege 599 Question of observing the customs 600 Comparison of the proceedings in each case 600-601 Architectural arrangements 601-602 Constitution of the assemblies; they become less popular; lessened freedom of speech 602-603 The inner and outer council; foreshadowing of Lords and Commons 603-604 The Witan and the Theningmannagemót 604 Behaviour of Rufus, of Henry the First, of Henry the Second 605 Effect on Anselm of his foreign sojourn 606 His journey; dealings of Odo of Burgundy; he reaches Rome 607 Councils of Lateran and Bari; story of the cope of Beneventum 607-610 Position of Rufus; he is never excommunicated; probable effect of excommunication 611-612 Anselm at Lyons; his letters to the Pope 612 His letters to the King from Rome; William’s treatment of the letters 613 Mission of William of Warelwast 614-620 Nov., 1097- William on the Continent 614 April, 1099 Anselm at Schiavia; he writes “Cur Deus Homo” 615 Anselm and Urban before Capua; Anselm and the Saracens 615-617 Anselm wishes to resign the archbishopric; Urban forbids him 617-618 October 1, Council of Bari 618 1098 Anselm at Rome; dealings between the Pope and William of Warelwast; the excommunication threatened and respited 618-620 Urban’s treatment of Anselm 620-621 April 12, Council of Lateran; protest of Reingard of 1099 Lucca; Anselm goes to Lyons 621-622 July 29 Death of Urban; William’s words on his death 622-623
Aug. 13, 1099-Paschal the Second Pope; William’s words on Jan. 21, 1108 his election 623
CHRONOLOGY OF THE YEARS 1087-1102.
1087 September 8 William Rufus leaves his father’s death-bed and hastens to England. He imprisons Morkere and Wulfnoth. He is accepted by Lanfranc. In Normandy Robert of Bellême and others drive out the Duke’s garrisons. September 26 William is crowned at Westminster. He makes gifts for his father’s soul. December 25- The Christmas assembly. Odo restored to his 1088 January 6 earldom. Death of Abbot Scotland. Abbot Guy appointed at Saint Augustine’s. March Conspiracy against the King. Rebellious movements in Kent and Sussex. Bishop William secures London, Dover, and Hastings for the King. March-May The Bishop forsakes the King; his temporalities seized. He is summoned to the King’s court, and his lands laid waste. April 16 The Easter assembly; the rebel nobles fail to appear. April-June Ravaging of Gloucestershire and Somerset. Deliverance of Worcester. Attempted invasion of Robert. Sieges of Tunbridge, Pevensey, and Rochester. June Return of Rhys; Gruffydd and the wikings harry Rhuddlan. Bishop William at the King’s court. Henry, now Count of the Côtentin, comes to England for his mother’s lands. July 3 Death of Robert of Rhuddlan. July John of Tours consecrated to the bishopric of Somerset void by the death of Gisa. August-September Henry and Robert of Bellême go back to Normandy and are imprisoned. Duke Robert received at Le Mans; sieges of Ballon and Saint Cenery. Henry is released and restored to his county in the course of the autumn. September 6 Agreement between Bishop William and the Counts. September 25 Death of Bishop Geoffrey of Chichester. November 2 Bishop William before the assembly at Salisbury. November 14 Durham castle surrendered to the King. after 26 Bishop William crosses to Normandy. November ? Grant of the abbey of Bath to Bishop John; the bishopric of Somerset removed thither. The priory of Blyth founded in the course of the year by Roger of Bully. 1089 May 24 Death of Lanfranc. 1090 April 21 Easter assembly at Winchester; war declared against Normandy. A large part of eastern Normandy won by William without crossing the sea. Maine revolts from Robert; reign of Azo of Este; Howel imprisoned by Helias and visits England. June 28 Howel returns to Le Mans. Intrigues of Conan at Rouen. November 3 Rouen secured to Duke Robert; death of Conan. War of Evreux and Conches; peace between them. Anselm visits England for the first time as abbot in the course of the year. December 25- Christmas assembly at Winchester. 1091 January 6 January Siege of Courcy. February Helias buys the county of Maine from Hugh. The King crosses to Normandy. Treaty of Caen. February William and Robert besiege Henry at Saint Michael’s Mount. May Malcolm invades Northumberland and is driven back. August William, Robert, and Henry go back to England. March towards Scotland. September 3 Bishop William restored to his bishopric. September 29 Loss of ships. Treaty with Malcolm. October 15 Fall of the tower at Winchcombe. October 17 Great wind in London. Death of Cedivor; victory of Rhys son of Tewdwr over Gruffydd son of Meredydd in the course of the year. In the course of the year come the death of William Bishop of Thetford, the consecration of his successor Herbert Losinga, who also buys the abbey of New Minster for his father, and the consecration of Ralph Luffa Bishop of Chichester. 1092 Fire in London. March 28 Consecration of the church of Salisbury. April 10 The tower blown down. May 6 Death of Bishop Remigius; the church of Lincoln remains unconsecrated. William’s conquest and colonization of Carlisle. Marriage of Philip and Bertrada. September 8 Anselm comes to England; his reception at Canterbury; his first interview with the King. Anselm helps Earl Hugh in his changes at Chester. December 25- Christmas assembly; discussion of the vacancy of 1093 January 6 the archbishopric. February William refuses leave to Anselm to go back to Normandy. February 3 Death of Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances; Ralph succeeds. Lent, Sickness of the King; his repentance and March 2 proclamation; he grants the see of Lincoln to Robert Bloet. March 6 The King names Anselm to the archbishopric; his first installation. April 17 Easter assembly at Winchester; the King recalls his reforms. Scottish embassy at Winchester; Malcolm summoned to appear in the King’s court. April 17-24 Defeat and death of Rhys at Brecknock. April 30 Cadwgan harries Dyfed. July 1 The Normans enter Ceredigion and Dyfed. Advance of the Earls in North Wales; seeming conquest of all Wales. August 11 Malcolm lays a foundation-stone at Durham. August 24 Malcolm at Gloucester; William refuses to see him. Questions between the King and Anselm; his investiture. Intrigues of William of Eu; dealings of William with the Counts of Flanders. September 25 Enthronement of Anselm. October 4-13 Death of Robert the Frisian. October 17 Translation of Saint Julian at Le Mans. November 13 Death of Malcolm at Alnwick. November 17 Death of Margaret. Donald King of Scots; driving out of Margaret’s children. December 4 Consecration of Anselm. Death of Abbot Paul of Saint Alban’s. Henry received at Domfront and wins back the Côtentin. December 25- Christmas assembly at Gloucester. 1094 January 6 Challenge received from Robert; Duncan claims the Scottish crown and receives it from William. Contributions for the Norman war; Anselm’s gift refused. February 2 Assembly at Hastings. February 11 Consecration of the church of Battle. February 12 Robert Bloet consecrated Bishop of Lincoln. Bishop Herbert of Thetford deprived of his bishopric. February 22 Anselm’s Lenten sermon; he rebukes the King. March 19 William crosses to Normandy. Campaign of Argentan, Bures, &c.; the French king bought off. May The foreigners driven out of Scotland. October 31 Henry and Earl Hugh summoned to Eu; they sail to Southampton. November Duncan killed; Donald’s second reign in Scotland. December 28 The King goes back to England. Deaths of Roger of Beaumont, Roger of Montgomery, and Hugh of Grantmesnil, in the course of the year. In the course of the year the Welsh revolt under Cadwgan and recover the greater part of the country; Pembroke castle holds out. 1095 January 18 Death of Wulfstan. February 9 Henry goes to Normandy. February Interview of William and Anselm at Gillingham. March 1-7 Council of Piacenza. March 11-14 Assembly at Rockingham. Gerard and William of Warelwast sent to Pope Urban. March 25 Assembly at Winchester; Earl Robert of Mowbray summoned, but does not appear. April 10 Urban at Cremona; Cardinal Walter sent to England. May 13 Assembly at Windsor; Anselm and William reconciled; Earl Robert fails to appear. June 10 Anselm receives the pallium at Canterbury. June 26 Death of Bishop Robert of Hereford. April 30 Translation of Saint Eadmund. The King’s northern march; Anselm’s command in Kent. July-Sept. Taking of Newcastle and Tynemouth; siege of Bamburgh. Michaelmas Montgomery taken by the Welsh; the King marches against them. November 1 The King reaches Snowdon; ill-success of the campaign. November 18 Council of Clermont. Pope Urban at Le Mans. Robert of Mowbray taken at Tynemouth; surrender of Bamburgh. December 25- Christmas assembly at Windsor. 1096 January 6 January 1 Death of Bishop William. January 13 The assembly adjourned to Salisbury; sentences of William of Eu, William of Alderi, and others. Imprisonment of Robert of Mowbray. Synod of Rouen; confirmation of the Truce of God. Mission of Abbot Geronto. Easter, April 13 He is suspended by the Pope’s nephew. Normandy pledged to William. June 8 Consecration of Bishop Gerard of Hereford and Samson of Worcester. August William takes possession of Normandy. Helias takes the cross; mutual defiance between him and William. September Duke Robert, Bishop Odo, and others go to the crusade. The King spends the winter in Normandy. In the course of the year the Welsh take Rhyd-y-gors; Gwent and Brecknock revolt; Pembroke is besieged, but holds out; Gisors is fortified by Pagan Theobald. 1097 February Odo dies at Palermo. April 4 William comes back to England. Assembly at Windsor. The King’s campaign in Wales; seeming conquest of the country. The King complains of Anselm’s knights. May 14 Whitsun assembly; the charge against Anselm dropped; he asks leave to go to Rome, but is refused. Revolt of Cadwgan in Wales. June―August The King’s last campaign in Wales; its ill-success. July 24 Death of Howel; Hildebert Bishop of Le Mans. August Assembly; an expedition against Donald decreed; Anselm’s request again refused. September The two Eadgars march to Scotland; exploits of Robert son of Godwine; Donald defeated and blinded; the younger Eadgar King of Scots. October 14 Assembly at Winchester; Anselm allowed to go, but his temporalities to be seized; his parting with the King. Anselm leaves England. William demands the French Vexin. November He crosses to Normandy for the war with France and Maine. Flambard and Walkelin joint regents. Nov. 1097― French war; Lewis and William; fortification Sept. 1098. of Gisors by Robert of Bellême. December 19 Death of Abbot Baldwin of Saint Eadmund’s. December 25 The King demands money of Walkelin. 1098 January 3 Death of Walkelin. January Beginning of the war of Maine; castles occupied by Robert of Bellême. Victories of Helias. April 28 Helias taken prisoner. May 5 Fulk Rechin at Le Mans. June The King invades Maine; he retreats from Le Mans. July 20 William at Ballon. August Convention between Helias and Fulk. William enters Le Mans. Helias set free; he strengthens himself in his southern castles. September 27 William’s march against France. Attacks on Pontoise, Chaumont, and other castles. Coming of William of Aquitaine; attacks on the Montfort castles; failure of the two Williams. October 1 Council of Bari; Anselm pleads for William. In the course of the year the Welsh withdraw to Anglesey. The Earls Hugh in Anglesey. Expedition of Magnus of Norway; death of Earl Hugh of Shrewsbury at Aberlleiniog. Establishment of Robert of Bellême in England; he buys his brother’s earldom. His works at Bridgenorth. He receives the estates of Roger of Bully. Christmas The King spends the winter in Normandy; truce with France. 1099 Mission of William of Warelwast to Rome; he wins over Urban. April 10 The King in England; Easter assembly. April 12 Council of Lateran; William’s excommunication delayed. Anselm leaves Rome for Lyons. April Movements of Helias in southern Maine. May 19 Whitsun assembly in the new hall at Westminster; the bishopric of Durham granted to Randolf Flambard. June 3 Consecration of Flambard. June-July Helios recovers Le Mans; the King’s garrisons hold out in the castles; burning of the city. The news brought to William; his ride and voyage. Helias leaves Le Mans and strengthens himself at Château-du-Loir. William passes through Le Mans to southern Maine. His failure before Mayet. He enters Le Mans. July 5 Taking of Jerusalem; exploits of Duke Robert. July 12 Duke Robert refuses the crown of Jerusalem; Geoffrey chosen King. July 19 Death of Pope Urban the Second. August 12 Battle of Ascalon. August 13 Paschal the Second elected Pope. September The King returns to England. November 3 The great tide in the Thames. December 3 Death of Bishop Osmund of Salisbury. Dec. 25- Christmas assembly at Gloucester. Jan. 6, 1100 In the course of the year Gruffydd and Cadwgan return, and Anglesey and Ceredigion are recovered by the Welsh. Eadgar goes on the crusade. Affairs of Robert son of Godwine in Scotland. 1100 April 1 Easter assembly at Winchester. May 20 Whitsun assembly at Westminster. Great schemes of William Rufus. May Death of Richard son of Duke Robert in the New Forest. June-July Preparations for war. July 13 Consecration of Gloucester abbey. August 1 Abbot Fulchered’s sermon at Gloucester. August 2 Death of William Rufus. August 3 Burial of William Rufus; Henry elected King; he grants the bishopric of Winchester to William Giffard. August 5 Coronation of Henry; his charter; he fills the vacant abbeys. He imprisons Flambard, and asks Anselm to come back. Helias recovers Le Mans; the castle holds out. September Duke Robert comes back to Normandy. War between Henry and Robert. September 23 Anselm comes back to England. Meeting of Anselm and Henry; question of homage and investiture; truce till Easter; mission to the Pope. November Helias recovers the castle. November 11 Marriage of Henry and Matilda. November 18 Death of Archbishop Thomas of York. Empty legation of Guy of Vienne. Plots in England on behalf of Robert. December 25- Christmas assembly at Westminster. 1101 January 6 Escape of Flambard to Normandy; he stirs up Robert to action. April 21 Easter assembly at Winchester; the question with Anselm again adjourned. Growth of the conspiracy. June 9 Whitsun assembly; mediation of Anselm; renewed promise of good laws. July Robert’s fleet at Tréport; the English fleet sent against him; some of the crews join him. Henry’s preparations at Pevensey. July 20 Robert lands at Portchester; he declines to attack Winchester. The armies meet at Alton; conference of Henry and Robert; the treaty of 1101. Michaelmas Robert goes back to Normandy. Henry’s rewards and punishments; banishment of Ivo of Grantmesnil and others. Robert of Meulan Earl of Leicester. December 25- Christmas assembly at Westminster. 1102 January 6 April 6 Easter assembly at Winchester; Robert of Bellême summoned, but does not appear. War against Robert of Bellême in England and Normandy. Failure of Duke Robert’s troops at Vignats. Surrender of Arundel to Henry. Surrender of Tickhill. Autumn Henry’s Shropshire campaign. Siege of Bridgenorth. The King wins over Jorwerth and the Welsh. Dealings of Robert of Bellême with Murtagh and Magnus. Surrender of Bridgenorth. The King’s march to Shrewsbury. Surrender of Shrewsbury and banishment of Robert of Bellême and his brothers. 1103 Death of Magnus. Jorwerth tried at Shrewsbury and imprisoned. 1104 Banishment of William of Mortain. 1106 Battle of Tinchebrai. 1107 Compromise with Anselm.
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.
VOL. I.
p. 33, l. 17, dele “the father of one of the men who had crossed the sea to trouble England.” Robert of Bellême had not come yet; see p. 56.
p. 37, note 3. The comparison of Bristol and Brindisi is a good deal exaggerated; but a certain measure of likeness may be seen.
p. 94, l. 18, dele “of the same kind.” See the distinction drawn in p. 604.
p. 96, note 2, for “abjuvare” read “abjurare.”
p. 133, note. See vol. ii. p. 330.
p. 180, note. I do not know how “Esparlon”――Épernon――comes to be reckoned among the possessions of Robert of Bellême. We shall find it in vol. ii. p. 251 in the hands of the French house of Montfort.
p. 183, l. 4 from bottom, for “Rotrou” read “Geoffrey.”
p. 184, note 1. See vol. ii. p. 396.
p. 214, side-note, for “William of Geroy” read “William son of Geroy.”
p. 217, l. 13, for “uncle” read “brother.”
p. 238, note 3, for “Aunde” read “Aumale.”
p. 243, note 2. I really ought to have mentioned the wonderful forms of torture which the man of Belial inflicted on his lord and his other prisoners (Ord. Vit. 705 A, B); “Per tres menses in castro Brehervallo eos in carcere strinxit, et multotiens, dum nimia hiems sæviret, in solis camisiis aqua largiter humectatis in fenestra sublimis aulæ Boreæ vel Circio exposuit, donec tota vestis circa corpus vinctorum in uno gelu diriguit.”
p. 247, l. 3. I suppose that Walter of Rouen, son of Ansgar, who appears high in the King’s confidence in vol. ii. pp. 241, 370, is a brother of this William. This is worth noting, as showing how Rufus picked out men likely to serve his purpose from all quarters.
p. 251, l. 5. See below, p. 461, note 3. It would be worth enquiring whether this name Champ de Mars is old or new. There is a Campus Martius at Autun, whose name is certainly at least mediæval; but, as it is within the Roman walls, it can hardly date from the first days of Augustodunum. It divides the upper and lower city, quite another position from that at Rouen.
p. 298, l. 6. Orderic is hardly fair to Edgar when he says (778 B), “Hic corpore speciosus, lingua disertus, liberalis et generosus, utpote Edwardi regis Hunorum filius [see 701 D and N. C. vol. ii. p. 672], sed dextera segnis erat, ducemque sibi coævum et quasi collectaneum fratrem diligebat.”
p. 302, note 1, for “Witan” read “Gemót.”
p. 307, l. 6. Something of the kind was actually done somewhat later; see below, p. 435. But that was a challenge through ambassadors.
p. 326, note. In strictness Anselm did not appeal to the Pope at all. See below, p. 598.
p. 335, l. 15, for “unrighteousness” read “unrighteousnesses.”
p. 353, l. 6 from bottom. I ought not to have forgotten the character of Ralph Luffa given by William of Malmesbury (Gest. Pont. 205); “Radulfus proceritate corporis insignis, sed et animi efficacia famosus, qui contuitu sacerdotalis officii Willelmo juniori in faciem pro Anselmo archiepiscopo, quem immerito exagitabat, restiterit. Cumque ille, conscientia potestatis elatus, minas ingeminaret, nihil alter reveritus baculum protendit, annulum exuit, ut, si vellet, acciperet. Nec vero vel tunc vel postea austeritatem inflecteret si assertorem haberet. Sed quia discessu suo spem ejus et ceterorum, si qui boni essent, Anselmus enervavit, et tunc causa decidit et postmodum damno succubuit.” This seems at first sight to stand in contradiction to Eadmer’s picture of all the bishops, except possibly Gundulf (see below, pp. 497, 513, 516), forsaking and renouncing Anselm. We can understand that Eadmer would be inclined to make the worst of the bishops as a body, while William of Malmesbury would be inclined to make the best of the particular bishop of whom he was writing. This is one of the passages in which William of Malmesbury in his second edition watered down the vigorous language of the first. As he first wrote it, the King appeared as “leo ferocissimus Willelmus dico minor.” On second thoughts the comparison with the wild beast was left out.
p. 355, l. 15. I have sent Herbert to Rome at this time, in order to bring him back for the meeting at Hastings in 1094. See below, pp. 429, 448. I find that some difficulty has arisen on account of the words of Eadmer (see p. 429), which have been taken as implying that Herbert joined in the consecration of Anselm. Dr. Stubbs puts him on the list in the Registrum. But surely the words might be used if all the bishops came who were in England and able to come.
p. 355, side-note, for “1091-1093” read “1091-1098.” See vol. ii. p. 267.
p. 375, note 6, for “perversitatam” read “perversitatem.”
p. 385, l. 2, for “undoubtedly” read “by himself.”
p. 408, l. 15. There must however have been some exceptions. See the Additions and Corrections to vol. ii. p. 508.
p. 450, l. 3 from bottom. Yet the guarantors, even on William’s own side, held him to be in the wrong. See p. 461.
p. 469, note 1. The reference is to the passage of Orderic, quoted in vol. ii. p. 537. But it is hard to understand how Henry can have been at war with William in 1094. Yet there is the passage from Sigebert quoted in p. 471, note 3, where the date must be wrong, but which seems to hang together both with this passage of Orderic and with the suspicions on the Kings part implied in the narrative in the Chronicle.
p. 469, l. 10, and note 3, for “son” read “grandson.”
p. 485, l. 3, for “of” read “to.”
p. 492, l. 2, put semicolon after “within.”
p. 506, note 2. This passage is very singular, especially the words “nec ipsum advertere posse putaverunt.” On this last point the bishops seem to have been right, as Anselm himself nowhere puts forward any such claim to exemption.
p. 516, note 3. Besides the difficulty about Gundulf, there is the further difficulty about Ralph of Chichester, who, as we have just seen, is said by William of Malmesbury to have taken Anselm’s side. He at least stood in no such special position to the Archbishop as the Bishop of Rochester did.
p. 522, side-note, for “May” read “March.”
p. 546, l. 12. Worthiest certainly when any actual work was to be done; but the idle sojourn at Laodikeia (see p. 565) makes the general epithet too strong.
p. 551, l. 10, for “Rotrou” read “Geoffrey.”
p. 571, l. 3. I believe there is no authority for this English form, “Evermouth,” though it is not unlikely that “Ebremou” may, like so many other names in Normandy, really be a corruption of some such Teutonic name. The place is in Eastern Normandy, in the present department of Lower Seine.
p. 579, note 1. This is that singular use of the words “Christianitas” and the like which we find in such phrases as “Courts Christian” and “Deanery of Christianity.” We must not think of such a “subventio Christianitatis” as the Spanish Bishop sought for at the hands of Anselm. See vol. ii. p. 582.
p. 586, l. 25. For “three” read “four,” and add the name of Robert Bloet. He is the Robert referred to in the next page.
p. 604, note 1. The right to be tried is confined to the Peers; other persons of course may be so tried, if they are impeached by the Commons.
p. 609, note 1. When I was at Benevento this year (1880), I had hoped to get a sight of the cope, as the treasury of the metropolitan church is rich in vestments. But they are all of much later date, and I could hear nothing of the relic which I sought for.
p. 614, last line. See more in vol. ii. p. 403.
THE REIGN OF WILLIAM RUFUS.
I. INTRODUCTION
[Sidenote: Character of the reign of William Rufus.]
[Sidenote: The Norman Conquest in one sense completed, in another undone.]
[Sidenote: Feudal developement under Rufus and Flambard.]
[Sidenote: Growth of anti-feudal tendencies.]
The reign of the second Norman king is a period of English history which may well claim a more special and minute examination than could be given to it when it took its place merely as one of the later stages in the history of the Norman Conquest, after the great work of the Conquest itself was done. There is indeed a point of view in which the first years of the reign of William the Red may be looked on as something more than one of the later stages of the Conquest. They may be looked on, almost at pleasure, either as the last stage of the Conquest or as the reversal of the Conquest. We may give either name to a struggle in which a Norman king, the son of the Norman Conqueror, was established on the English throne by warfare which, simply as warfare, was a distinct victory won by Englishmen over Normans on English soil. The truest aspect of that warfare was that the Norman Conquest of England was completed by English hands. But, in so saying, we must understand by the Norman Conquest of England all that is implied in that name to its fullest extent. When Englishmen, by armed support of a Norman king, accepted the fact of the Norman Conquest, they in some measure changed its nature. In the act of completing the Conquest, they in some sort undid it. If we hold that the end of the Conquest came in the days of Rufus, in the days of Rufus also came the beginnings of the later effects of the Conquest. The reign of William the Red, the administration of Randolf Flambard, was, above all others, the time when the feudal side, so to speak, of the Conquest put on a systematic shape. The King and his minister put into regular working, if they did not write down in a regular code, those usages which under the Conqueror were still merely tendencies irregularly at work, but which, at the accession of Henry the First, had already grown into abuses which needed redress. But, on the other hand, it was equally the time when the anti-feudal tendencies of the Conquest, the causes and the effects of the great law of Salisbury,[1] showed how firmly they had taken root. The reign of Rufus laid down the two principles, that, in the kingdom of England, no man should be stronger than the king,[2] but that the king should hold his strength only by making himself the head of the state and of the people. As a stage then in the history of the Conquest and its results, as a stage in the general constitutional history of England, the thirteen years of the reign of Rufus form a period of the highest interest and importance.
[Sidenote: Extension of the power of England at home.]
[Sidenote: Wales;]
[Sidenote: Carlisle.]
[Sidenote: Beginning of rivalry between England and France.]
[Sidenote: Wealth of England.]
[Sidenote: Change in the European position of England.]
But those years are a time of no less interest and importance, if we look at them with regard to the general position of England in the world. Within our own island, the reign of William the Red was marked by a great practical extension of the power of England on the Welsh marches. On another side it was marked yet more distinctly by an enlargement of the kingdom itself, by the settlement of the north-western frontier, by the winning for England of a new land, and by the restoration of a fallen city as the bulwark of the new boundary. What the daughter of Ælfred was at Chester, the son of the Conqueror was at Carlisle. Beyond the sea, we mark the beginnings of a state of things which has ceased only within our own memories. The rivalry between France and Normandy grows, now that England is ruled by Norman kings, into a rivalry between France and England. In will, if not in deed, the reign of Rufus forestalls the reigns of Edward the Third and Henry the Fifth. It sets England before us in a character which she kept through so many ages, the character of the wealthy land which could work with gold as well as with steel, the land whence subsidies might be looked for to flow into the less well-filled coffers of the princes of the mainland. In the reign of Rufus we see England holding an European position wholly different from what she had held in earlier days. She passes in some sort from the world of the North into the world of the West. That change was the work of the Conqueror; but it is under his son that we see its full nature and meaning. The new place which England now holds is seen to be one which came to her wholly through her connexion with Normandy; it is no less seen to be one which she has learned to hold in her own name and by her own strength.
[Sidenote: Personal character of William Rufus.]
[Sidenote: His companions and adversaries.]
[Sidenote: Anselm and Helias.]
And, if we pass from the domain of political history into the domain of personal character and personal incident, we shall find few periods of the same length richer in both. The character of William Rufus himself, repulsive as from many points it is, is yet a strange and instructive study of human nature. The mere fact that no prince ever made a deeper personal impression on the minds of the men of his own age, the crowd of personal anecdotes and personal sayings which, whether true or false, bear witness to the depth of that impression, all invite us to a nearer study of the man of whom those who lived in his own day found so much to tell, and so much which at first sight seems strange and contradictory. William Rufus stands before us as the first representative of a new ideal, a new standard. Our earlier experiences, English and Norman, have hardly prepared us for the special place taken by the king who has some claim to rank as the first distinctly recorded example of the new character of knight and gentleman. In the company of the Red King we are introduced to a new line of thought, a new way of looking at things, of which in an earlier generation we see hardly stronger signs in Normandy than we see in England. For good and for evil, if William Rufus bears the mark of his age, he also leaves his mark on his age. His own marked personality in some sort entitles him to be surrounded, to be withstood, by men whose personality is also clearly marked. A circle of well-defined portraits, friends and enemies, ministers and rivals, gathers around him. Among them two forms stand out before all. The holy Anselm at home, the valiant Helias beyond the sea, are the men with whom Rufus has to strive. And the saint of Aosta, the hero of La Flèche, are men who of themselves are enough to draw our thoughts to the times and the lands in which they lived. Each, in his own widely different way, stands forth as the representative of right in the face of a power of evil which we still feel to be not wholly evil. All light is not put out, all better feelings are not trampled out of being, when evil stands in any way abashed before the presence of good.
[Sidenote: Rufus and England.]
[Sidenote: The last warfare of Normans and English.]
[Sidenote: Results of the struggle.]
[Sidenote: The Conquest accepted and modified.]
[Sidenote: The Norman kingship becomes English.]
[Sidenote: Effects of the French War.]
Looked at simply as a tale, the tale of Rufus and Anselm, the tale of Rufus and Helias, is worth the telling. But better worth telling still is the tale of Rufus and England. The struggle which kept the crown for Rufus, the last armed struggle between Englishmen and Normans on English ground, the fight of Pevensey and the siege of Rochester, form a stirring portion of our annals, a portion whose interest yields only to that of a few great days like the days of Senlac and of Lewes. But the really great tale is after all that which is more silent and hidden. This was above all things the time when the Norman Conquest took root, as something which at once established the Norman power in England, and which ruled that the Norman power should step by step change into an English power. The great fact of Rufus’ day is that Englishmen won the crown of England for a Norman king in fight against rebellious Normans. On that day the fact of the Conquest was fully acknowledged; it became something which, as to its immediate outward effects, there was no longer any thought of undoing. The house of the Conqueror was to be the royal house; there were to be no more revolts on behalf of the heir of Cerdic, no more messages sent to invite the heir of Cnut. And with the kingship of the Norman all was accepted which was immediately implied in the kingship of the Norman. But on that day it was further ruled that the kingship of the Norman was to change into an English kingship. It became such in some sort even under Rufus himself, when the King of England went forth to subdue Normandy, to threaten France, to dream at least, as a link between Civilis and Buonaparte, of an empire of the Gauls.[3] The success of the attempt, the accomplishment of the dream, would have been the very overthrow of English nationality; the mere attempt, the mere dream, helped, if not to strengthen English nationality, at least to strengthen the national position of England. But these years helped too, in a more silent way, if not to change the Norman rule at home into an English rule, at least to make things ready for the coming of the king who was really to do the work. It was perhaps in the long run not the least gain of the reign of William the Red that it left for Henry the Clerk, not only much to do, but also something directly to undo.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: Scheme of the work.]
In a former volume we traced the history of the Conqueror in great detail to his death-bed and his burial. In another volume we followed, with a more hasty course, the main features of the reign of William Rufus, looked at specially as bearing on the history of the Conquest and the mutual relations of English and Normans. We will now again take up the thread of our detailed story at the bed-side of the dying Conqueror, and thence trace the history of his successor, from his first nomination by his father’s dying voice to his unhallowed burial in the Old Minster of Winchester. And thence, though the tale of Rufus himself is over, it may be well to carry on the tale of England through the struggle which ruled for the second time that England should not be the realm of the Conqueror’s eldest son, and, as such, an appendage to his Norman duchy. The accession of Henry is essentially a part of the same tale as the accession of Rufus. The points of likeness in the two stories are striking indeed, reaching in some cases almost to a repetition of the same events. But the points of unlikeness are yet more striking and instructive. And it is from them that we learn how much the reign of Rufus had done alike towards completing the Norman Conquest and towards undoing it.