A.D. 1102. In this year at the Nativity was the King Henry at Westminster,
and at Easter in Winchester. And soon thereafter arose a dissention between
the king and the Earl Robert of Belesme, who held in this land the earldom
of Shrewsbury, that his father, Earl Roger, had before, and much territory
therewith both on this side and beyond the sea. And the king went and beset
the castle at Arundel; but when he could not easily win it, he allowed men
to make castles before it, and filled them with his men; and afterwards with
all his army he went to Bridgenorth, and there continued until he had the
castle, and deprived the Earl Robert of his land, and stripped him of all
that he had in England. And the earl accordingly went over sea, and the
army afterwards returned home. Then was the king thereafter by Michaelmas
at Westminster; and all the principal men in this land, clerk, and laity.
And the Archbishop Anselm held a synod of clergy; and there they established
many canons that belong to Christianity. And many, both French and English,
were there deprived of their staves and dignity, which they either obtained
with injustice, or enjoyed with dishonour. And in this same year, in the
week of the feast of Pentecost, there came thieves, some from Auvergne,
some from France, and some from Flanders, and broke into the minster of
Peterborough, and therein seized much property in gold and in silver;
namely, roods, and chalices, and candlesticks.
A.D. 1103. In this year, at midwinter, was the King Henry at Westminster.
And soon afterwards departed the Bishop William Giffard out of this land;
because he would not against right accept his hood at the hands of the
Archbishop Gerard of York. And then at Easter held the king his court at
Winchester, and afterwards went the Archbishop Anselm from Canterbury to
Rome, as was agreed between him and the king. This year also came the Earl
Robert of Normandy to speak with the king in this land; and ere he departed
hence he forgave the King Henry the three thousand marks that he was bound
by treaty to give him each year. In this year also at Hamstead in Berkshire
was seen blood [to rise] from the earth. This was a very calamitous year in
this land, through manifold impositions, and through murrain of cattle, and
deficiency of produce, not only in corn, but in every kind of fruit. Also
in the morning, upon the mass day of St. Laurence, the wind did so much harm
here on land to all fruits, as no man remembered that ever any did before.
In this same year died Matthias, Abbot of Peterborough, who lived no longer
than one year after he was abbot. After Michaelmas, on the twelfth day
before the calends of November, he was in full procession received as abbot;
and on the same day of the next year he was dead at Glocester, and there
buried.
A.D. 1104. In this year at Christmas held the King Henry his court at
Westminster, and at Easter in Winchester, and at Pentecost again at
Westminster. This year was the first day of Pentecost on the nones of June;
and on the Tuesday following were seen four circles at mid-day about the
sun, of a white hue, each described under the other as if they were
measured. All that saw it wondered; for they never remembered such before.
Afterwards were reconciled the Earl Robert of Normandy and Robert de
Belesme, whom the King Henry had before deprived of his lands, and driven
from England; and through their reconciliation the King of England and the
Earl of Normandy became adversaries. And the king sent his folk over sea
into Normandy; and the head-men in that land received them, and with
treachery to their lord, the earl, lodged them in their castles, whence they
committed many outrages on the earl in plundering and burning. This year
also William, Earl of Moreton went from this land into Normandy; but after
he was gone he acted against the king; because the king stripped and
deprived him of all that he had here in this land. It is not easy to
describe the misery of this land, which it was suffering through various and
manifold wrongs and impositions, that never failed nor ceased; and
wheresoever the king went, there was full licence given to his company to
harrow and oppress his wretched people; and in the midst thereof happened
oftentimes burnings and manslaughter. All this was done to the displeasure
of God, and to the vexation of this unhappy people.
A.D. 1105. In this year, on the Nativity, held the King Henry his court at
Windsor; and afterwards in Lent he went over sea into Normandy against his
brother Earl Robert. And whilst he remained there he won of his brother
Caen and Baieux; and almost all the castles and the chief men in that land
were subdued. And afterwards by harvest he returned hither again; and that
which he had won in Normandy remained afterwards in peace and subjection to
him; except that which was anywhere near the Earl William of Moretaine.
This he often demanded as strongly as he could for the loss of his land in
this country. And then before Christmas came Robert de Belesme hither to
the king. This was a very calamitous year in this land, through loss of
fruits, and through the manifold contributions, that never ceased before the
king went over [to Normandy], or while he was there, or after he came back
again.
A.D. 1106. In this year was the King Henry on the Nativity at Westminster,
and there held his court; and at that season Robert de Belesme went
unreconciled from the king out of his land into Normandy. Hereafter before
Lent was the king at Northampton; and the Earl Robert his brother came
thither from Normandy to him; and because the king would not give him back
that which he had taken from him in Normandy, they parted in hostility; and
the earl soon went over sea back again. In the first week of Lent, on the
Friday, which was the fourteenth before the calends of March, in the evening
appeared an unusual star; and a long time afterwards was seen every evening
shining awhile. The star appeared in the south-west; it was thought little
and dark; but the train of light which stood from it was very bright, and
appeared like an immense beam shining north-east; and some evening this beam
was seen as if it were moving itself forwards against the star. Some said
that they saw more of such unusual stars at this time; but we do not write
more fully about it, because we saw it not ourselves. On the night
preceding the Lord's Supper, that is, the Thursday before Easter, were seen
two moons in the heavens before day, the one in the east, and the other in
the west, both full; and it was the fourteenth day of the moon. At Easter
was the king at Bath, and at Pentecost at Salisbury; because he would not
hold his court when he was beyond the sea. After this, and before August,
went the king over sea into Normandy; and almost all that were in that land
submitted to his will, except Robert de Belesme and the Earl of Moretaine,
and a few others of the principal persons who yet held with the Earl of
Normandy. For this reason the king afterwards advanced with an army, and
beset a castle of the Earl of Moretaine, called Tenerchebrai. Whilst the
king beset the castle, came the Earl Robert of Normandy on Michaelmas eve
against the king with his army, and with him Robert of Belesme, and William,
Earl of Moretaine, and all that would be with them; but the strength and the
victory were the king's. There was the Earl of Normandy taken, and the Earl
of Moretaine, and Robert of Stutteville, and afterwards sent to England, and
put into custody. Robert of Belesme was there put to flight, and William
Crispin was taken, and many others forthwith. Edgar Etheling, who a little
before had gone over from the king to the earl, was also there taken, whom
the king afterwards let go unpunished. Then went the king over all that was
in Normandy, and settled it according to his will and discretion. This year
also were heavy and sinful conflicts between the Emperor of Saxony and his
son, and in the midst of these conflicts the father fell, and the son
succeeded to the empire.
A.D. 1107. In this year at Christmas was the King Henry in Normandy; and,
having disposed and settled that land to his will, he afterwards came hither
in Lent, and at Easter held his court at Windsor, and at Pentecost in
Westminster. And afterwards in the beginning of August he was again at
Westminster, and there gave away and settled the bishoprics and abbacies
that either in England or in Normandy were without elders and pastors. Of
these there were so many, that there was no man who remembered that ever so
many together were given away before. And on this same occasion, among the
others who accepted abbacies, Ernulf, who before was prior at Canterbury,
succeeded to the abbacy in Peterborough. This was nearly about seven years
after the King Henry undertook the kingdom, and the one and fortieth year
since the Franks governed this land. Many said that they saw sundry tokens
in the moon this year, and its orb increasing and decreasing contrary to
nature. This year died Maurice, Bishop of London, and Robert, Abbot of St.
Edmund's bury, and Richard, Abbot of Ely. This year also died the King
Edgar in Scotland, on the ides of January, and Alexander his brother
succeeded to the kingdom, as the King Henry granted him.
A.D. 1108. In this year was the King Henry on the Nativity at Westminster,
and at Easter at Winchester, and by Pentecost at Westminster again. After
this, before August, he went into Normandy. And Philip, the King of France,
died on the nones of August, and his son Louis succeeded to the kingdom.
And there were afterwards many struggles between the King of France and the
King of England, while the latter remained in Normandy. In this year also
died the Archbishop Girard of York, before Pentecost, and Thomas was
afterwards appointed thereto.
A.D. 1109. In this year was the King Henry at Christmas and at Easter in
Normandy; and before Pentecost he came to this land, and held his court at
Westminster. There were the conditions fully settled, and the oaths sworn,
for giving his daughter to the emperor. This year were very frequent
storms of thunder, and very tremendous; and the Archbishop Anselm of
Canterbury died on the eleventh day before the calends of April; and the
first day of Easter was on "Litania major".
A.D. 1110. In this year held the King Henry his court at Christmas in
Westminster, and at Easter he was at Marlborough, and at Pentecost he held
his court for the first time in New Windsor. This year before Lent the king
sent his daughter with manifold treasures over sea, and gave her to the
emperor. On the fifth night in the month of May appeared the moon shining
bright in the evening, and afterwards by little and little its light
diminished, so that, as soon as night came, it was so completely
extinguished withal, that neither light, nor orb, nor anything at all of it
was seen. And so it continued nearly until day, and then appeared shining
full and bright. It was this same day a fortnight old. All the night was
the firmament very clear, and the stars over all the heavens shining very
bright. And the fruits of the trees were this night sorely nipt by frost.
Afterwards, in the month of June, appeared a star north-east, and its train
stood before it towards the south-west. Thus was it seen many nights; and
as the night advanced, when it rose higher, it was seen going backward
toward the north-west. This year were deprived of their lands Philip of
Braiose, and William Mallet, and William Bainard. This year also died Earl
Elias, who held Maine in fee-tail of King Henry; and after his death the
Earl of Anjou succeeded to it, and held it against the king. This was a very
calamitous year in this land, through the contributions which the king
received for his daughter's portion, and through the badness of the
weather, by which the fruits of the earth were very much marred, and the
produce of the trees over all this land almost entirely perished. This year
men began first to work at the new minster at Chertsey.
A.D. 1111. This year the King Henry bare not his crown at Christmas, nor at
Easter, nor at Pentecost. And in August he went over sea into Normandy, on
account of the broils that some had with him by the confines of France, and
chiefly on account of the Earl of Anjou, who held Maine against him. And
after he came over thither, many conspiracies, and burnings, and harrowings,
did they between them. In this year died the Earl Robert of Flanders, and
his son Baldwin succeeded thereto. This year was the winter very long, and
the season heavy and severe; and through that were the fruits of the earth
sorely marred, and there was the greatest murrain of cattle that any man
could remember.
A.D. 1112. All this year remained the King Henry in Normandy on account of
the broils that he had with France, and with the Earl of Anjou, who held
Maine against him. And whilst he was there, he deprived of their lands the
Earl of Evreux, and William Crispin, and drove them out of Normandy. To
Philip of Braiose he restored his land, who had been before deprived of it;
and Robert of Belesme he suffered to be seized, and put into prison. This
was a very good year, and very fruitful, in wood and in field; but it was a
very heavy time and sorrowful, through a severe mortality amongst men.
A.D. 1113. In this year was the King Henry on the Nativity and at Easter
and at Pentecost in Normandy. And after that, in the summer, he sent hither
Robert of Belesme into the castle at Wareham, and himself soon afterwards
came hither to this land.
A.D. 1114. In this year held the King Henry his court on the Nativity at
Windsor, and held no other court afterwards during the year. And at
midsummer he went with an army into Wales; and the Welsh came and made peace
with the king. And he let men build castles therein. And thereafter, in
September, he went over sea into Normandy. This year, in the latter end of
May, was seen an uncommon star with a long train, shining many nights. In
this year also was so great an ebb of the tide everywhere in one day, as no
man remembered before; so that men went riding and walking over the Thames
eastward of London bridge. This year were very violent winds in the month
of October; but it was immoderately rough in the night of the octave of St.
Martin; and that was everywhere manifest both in town and country. In this
year also the king gave the archbishopric of Canterbury to Ralph, who was
before Bishop of Rochester; and Thomas, Archbishop of York, died; and
Turstein succeeded thereto, who was before the king's chaplain. About this
same time went the king toward the sea, and was desirous of going over, but
the weather prevented him; then meanwhile sent he his writ after the Abbot
Ernulf of Peterborough, and bade that he should come to him quickly, for
that he wished to speak with him on an interesting subject. When he came to
him, he appointed him to the bishopric of Rochester; and the archbishops and
bishops and all the nobility that were in England coincided with the king.
And he long withstood, but it availed nothing. And the king bade the
archbishop that he should lead him to Canterbury, and consecrate him bishop
whether he would or not. This was done in the town called Bourne on the
seventeenth day before the calends of October. When the monks of
Peterborough heard of this, they felt greater sorrow than they had ever
experienced before; because he was a very good and amiable man, and did much
good within and without whilst he abode there. God Almighty abide ever with
him. Soon after this gave the king the abbacy to a monk of Sieyes, whose
name was John, through the intreaty of the Archbishop of Canterbury. And
soon after this the king and the Archbishop of Canterbury sent him to Rome
after the archbishop's pall; and a monk also with him, whose name was
Warner, and the Archdeacon John, the nephew of the archbishop. And they
sped well there. This was done on the seventh day before the calends Of
October, in the town that is yclept Rowner. And this same day went the king
on board ship at Portsmouth.
A.D. 1115. This year was the King Henry on the Nativity in Normandy. And
whilst he was there, he contrived that all the head men in Normandy did
homage and fealty to his son William, whom he had by his queen. And after
this, in the month of July, he returned to this land. This year was the
winter so severe, with snow and with frost, that no man who was then living
ever remembered one more severe; in consequence of which there was great
destruction of cattle. During this year the Pope Paschalis sent the pall
into this land to Ralph, Archbishop of Canterbury; and he received it with
great worship at his archiepiscopal stall in Canterbury. It was brought
hither from Rome by Abbot Anselm, who was the nephew of Archbishop Anselm,
and the Abbot John of Peterborough.
A.D. 1116. In this year was the King Henry on the Nativity at St. Alban's,
where he permitted the consecration of that monastery; and at Easter he was
at Odiham. And there was also this year a very heavy-timed winter, strong
and long, for cattle and for all things. And the king soon after Easter
went over sea into Normandy. And there were many conspiracies and
robberies, and castles taken betwixt France and Normandy. Most of this
disturbance was because the King Henry assisted his nephew, Theobald de
Blois, who was engaged in a war against his lord, Louis, the King of
France. This was a very vexatious and destructive year with respect to the
fruits of the earth, through the immoderate rains that fell soon after the
beginning of August, harassing and perplexing men till Candlemas-day. This
year also was so deficient in mast, that there was never heard such in all
this land or in Wales. This land and nation were also this year oft and
sorely swincked by the guilds which the king took both within the boroughs
and without. In this same year was consumed by fire the whole monastery of
Peterborough, and all the buildings, except the chapter-house and the
dormitory, and therewith also all the greater part of the town. All this
happened on a Friday, which was the second day before the nones of August.
A.D. 1117. All this year remained the King Henry, in Normandy, on account
of the hostility of the King of France and his other neighbours. And in the
summer came the King of France and the Earl of Flanders with him with an
army into Normandy. And having stayed therein one night, they returned
again in the morning without fighting. But Normandy was very much afflicted
both by the exactions and by the armies which the King Henry collected
against them. This nation also was severely oppressed through the same
means, namely, through manifold exactions. This year also, in the night of
the calends of December, were immoderate storms with thunder, and lightning,
and rain, and hail. And in the night of the third day before the ides of
December was the moon, during a long time of the night, as if covered with
blood, and afterwards eclipsed. Also in the night of the seventeenth day
before the calends of January, was the heaven seen very red, as if it were
burning. And on the octave of St. John the Evangelist was the great
earthquake in Lombardy; from the shock of which many minsters, and towers,
and houses fell, and did much harm to men. This was a very blighted year in
corn, through the rains that scarcely ceased for nearly all the year. And
the Abbot Gilbert of Westminster died on the eighth day before the ides of
December; and Faritz, Abbot of Abingdon, on the seventh day before the
calends of March. And in this same year....
A.D. 1118. All this year abode the King Henry in Normandy on account of the
war of the King of France and the Earl of Anjou, and the Earl of Flanders.
And the Earl of Flanders was wounded in Normandy, and went so wounded into
Flanders. By this war was the king much exhausted, and he was a great loser
both in land and money. And his own men grieved him most, who often from
him turned, and betrayed him; and going over to his foes surrendered to them
their castles, to the injury and disappointment of the king. All this
England dearly bought through the manifold guilds that all this year abated
not. This year, in the week of the Epiphany, there was one evening a great
deal of lightning, and thereafter unusual thunder. And the Queen Matilda
died at Westminster on the calends of May; and there was buried. And the
Earl Robert of Mellent died also this year. In this year also, on the feast
of St. Thomas, was so very immoderately violent a wind, that no man who was
then living ever remembered any greater; and that was everywhere seen both
in houses and also in trees. This year also died Pope Paschalis; and John
of Gaeta succeeded to the popedom, whose other name was Gelasius.
A.D. 1119. All this year continued the King Henry in Normandy; and he was
greatly perplexed by the hostility of the King of France, and also of his
own men, who with treachery deserted from him, and oft readily betrayed him;
until the two kings came together in Normandy with their forces. There was
the King of France put to flight, and all his best men taken. And
afterwards many of King Henry's men returned to him, and accorded with him,
who were before, with their castellans, against him. And some of the
castles he took by main strength. This year went William, the son of King
Henry and Queen Matilda, into Normandy to his father, and there was given to
him, and wedded to wife, the daughter of the Earl of Anjou. On the eve of
the mass of St. Michael was much earth-heaving in some places in this land;
though most of all in Glocestershire and in Worcestershire. In this same
year died the Pope Gelasius, on this side of the Alps, and was buried at
Clugny. And after him the Archbishop of Vienna was chosen pope, whose name
was Calixtus. He afterwards, on the festival of St. Luke the Evangelist,
came into France to Rheims, and there held a council. And the Archbishop
Turstin of York went thither; and, because that he against right, and
against the archiepiscopal stall in Canterbury, and against the king's will,
received his hood at the hands of the pope, the king interdicted him from
all return to England. And thus he lost his archbishopric, and with the
pope went towards Rome. In this year also died the Earl Baldwin of Flanders
of the wounds that he received in Normandy. And after him succeeded to the
earldom Charles, the son of his uncle by the father's side, who was son of
Cnute, the holy King of Denmark.
A.D. 1120. This year were reconciled the King of England and the King of
France; and after their reconciliation all the King Henry's own men accorded
with him in Normandy, as well as the Earl of Flanders and the Earl of
Ponthieu. From this time forward the King Henry settled his castles and his
land in Normandy after his will; and so before Advent came to this land. And
in this expedition were drowned the king's two sons, William and Richard,
and Richard, Earl of Chester, and Ottuel his brother, and very many of the
king's household, stewards, and chamberlains, and butlers. and men of
various abodes; and with them a countless multidude of very incomparable
folk besides. Sore was their death to their friends in a twofold respect:
one, that they so suddenly lost this life; the other, that few of their
bodies were found anywhere afterwards. This year came that light to the
sepulchre of the Lord in Jerusalem twice; once at Easter, and the other on
the assumption of St. Mary, as credible persons said who came thence. And
the Archbishop Turstin of York was through the pope reconciled with the
king, and came to this land, and recovered his bishopric, though it was very
undesirable to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
A.D. 1121. This year was the King Henry at Christmas at Bramton, and
afterwards, before Candlemas, at Windsor was given him to wife Athelis; soon
afterwards consecrated queen, who was daughter of the Duke of Louvain. And
the moon was eclipsed in the night of the nones of April, being a fortnight
old. And the king was at Easter at Berkley; and after that at Pentecost he
held a full court at Westminster; and afterwards in the summer went with an
army into Wales. And the Welsh came against him; and after the king's will
they accorded with him. This year came the Earl of Anjou from Jerusalem
into his land; and soon after sent hither to fetch his daughter, who had
been given to wife to William, the king's son. And in the night of the eve
of "Natalis Domini" was a very violent wind over all this land, and that was
in many things evidently seen.
A.D. 1122. In this year was the King Henry at Christmas in Norwich, and at
Easter in Northampton. And in the Lent-tide before that, the town of
Glocester was on fire: the while that the monks were singing their mass, and
the deacon had begun the gospel, "Praeteriens Jesus", at that very moment
came the fire from the upper part of the steeple, and burned all the
minster, and all the treasures that were there within; except a few books,
and three mass-hackles. That was on the eighth day before the ides of
Marcia. And thereafter, the Tuesday after Palm-Sunday, was a very violent
wind on the eleventh day before the calends of April; after which came many
tokens far and wide in England, and many spectres were both seen and heard.
And the eighth night before the calends of August was a very violent
earthquake over all Somersetshire, and in Glocestershire. Soon after, on
the sixth day before the ides of September, which was on the festival of St.
Mary, there was a very violent wind from the fore part of the day to the
depth of the night. This same year died Ralph, the Archbishop of
Canterbury; that was on the thirteenth day before the calends of November.
After this there were many shipmen on the sea, and on fresh water, who said,
that they saw on the north-east, level with the earth, a fire huge and
broad, which anon waxed in length up to the welkin; and the welkin undid
itself in four parts, and fought against it, as if it would quench it; and
the fire waxed nevertheless up to the heaven. The fire they saw in the
day-dawn; and it lasted until it was light over all. That was on the
seventh day before the ides of December.
A.D. 1123. In this year was the King Henry, at Christmastide at Dunstable,
and there came to him the ambassadors of the Earl of Anjou. And thence he
went to Woodstock; and his bishops and his whole court with him. Then did
it betide on a Wednesday, which was on the fourth day before the ides of
January, that the king rode in his deer-fold; the Bishop Roger of Salisbury
on one side of him, and the Bishop Robert Bloet of Lincoln on the other side
of him. And they rode there talking together. Then sank down the Bishop of
Lincoln, and said to the king, "Lord king, I die." And the king alighted
down from his horse, and lifted him betwixt his arms, and let men bear him
home to his inn. There he was soon dead; and they carried him to Lincoln
with great worship, and buried him before the altar of St. Mary. And the
Bishop of Chester, whose name was Robert Pecceth, buried him. Soon after
this sent the king his writ over all England, and bade all his bishops and
his abbots and his thanes, that they should come to his wittenmoot on
Candlemas day at Glocester to meet him: and they did so. When they were
there gathered together, then the king bade them, that they should choose
for themselves an Archbishop of Canterbury, whomsoever they would, and he
would confirm it. Then spoke the bishops among themselves, and said that
they never more would have a man of the monastic order as archbishop over
them. And they went all in a body to the king, and earnestly requested that
they might choose from the clerical order whomsoever they would for
archbishop. And the king granted it to them. This was all concerted before,
through the Bishop of Salisbury, and through the Bishop of Lincoln ere he
was dead; for that they never loved the rule of monks, but were ever against
monks and their rule. And the prior and the monks of Canterbury, and all
the other persons of the monastic order that were there, withstood it full
two days; but it availed nought: for the Bishop of Salisbury was strong, and
wielded all England, and opposed them with all his power and might. Then
chose they a clerk, named William of Curboil. He was canon of a monastery
called Chiche. And they brought him before the king; and the king gave him
the archbishopric. And all the bishops received him: but almost all the
monks, and the earls, and the thanes that were there, protested against him.
About the same time departed the earl's messengers in hostility from the
king, reckless of his favour. During the same time came a legate from Rome,
whose name was Henry. He was abbot of the monastery of St. John of Angeli;
and he came after the Rome-scot. And he said to the king, that it was
against right that men should set a clerk over monks; and therefore they had
chosen an archbishop before in their chapter after right. But the king
would not undo it, for the love of the Bishop of Salisbury. Then went the
archbishop, soon after this, to Canterbury; and was there received, though
it was against their will; and he was there soon blessed to bishop by the
Bishop of London, and the Bishop Ernulf of Rochester, and the Bishop William
Girard of Winchester, and the Bishop Bernard of Wales, and the Bishop Roger
of Salisbury. Then, early in Lent, went the archbishop to Rome, after his
pall; and with him went the Bishop Bernard of Wales; and Sefred, Abbot of
Glastonbury; and Anselm, Abbot of St. Edmund's bury; and John, Archdeacon of
Canterbury; and Gifard, who was the king's court-chaplain. At the same time
went the Archbishop Thurstan of York to Rome, through the behest of the
pope, and came thither three days ere the Archbishop of Canterbury came, and
was there received with much worship. Then came the Archbishop of
Canterbury, and was there full seven nights ere they could come to a
conference with the pope. That was, because the pope was made to understand
that he had obtained the archbishopric against the monks of the minster, and
against right. But that overcame Rome, which overcometh all the world; that
is, gold and silver. And the pope softened, and gave him his pall. And the
archbishop (of York) swore him subjection, in all those things, which the
pope enjoined him, by the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul; and the pope then
sent him home with his blessing. The while that the archbishop was out of
the land, the king gave the bishopric of Bath to the Queen's chancellor,
whose name was Godfrey. He was born in Louvain. That was on the
Annunciation of St. Mary, at Woodstock. Soon after this went the king to
Winchester, and was all Easter-tide there. And the while that he was
there, gave he the bishopric of Lincoln to a clerk hight Alexander. He was
nephew of the Bishop of Salisbury. This he did all for the love of the
bishop. Then went the king thence to Portsmouth, and lay there all over
Pentecost week. Then, as soon as he had a fair wind, he went over into
Normandy; and meanwhile committed all England to the guidance and government
of the Bishop Roger of Salisbury. Then was the king all this year in
Normandy. And much hostility arose betwixt him and his thanes; so that the
Earl Waleram of Mellent, and Hamalric, and Hugh of Montfort, and William of
Romare, and many others, went from him, and held their castles against him.
And the king strongly opposed them: and this same year he won of Waleram his
castle of Pont-Audemer, and of Hugh that of Montfort; and ever after, the
longer he stayed, the better he sped. This same year, ere the Bishop of
Lincoln came to his bishopric, almost all the borough of Lincoln was burned,
and numberless folks, men and women, were consumed: and so much harm was
there done as no man could describe to another. That was on the fourteenth
day before the calends of June.
A.D. 1124. All this year was the King Henry in Normandy. That was for the
great hostility that he had with the King Louis of France, and with the Earl
of Anjou, and most of all with his own men. Then it happened, on the day of
the Annunciation of St. Mary, that the Earl Waleram of Mellent went from one
of his castles called Belmont to another called Watteville. With him went
the steward of the King of France, Amalric, and Hugh the son of Gervase, and
Hugh of Montfort, and many other good knights. Then came against them the
king's knights from all the castles that were thereabout, and fought with
them, and put them to flight, and took the Earl Waleram, and Hugh, the son
of Gervase, and Hugh of Montfort, and five and twenty other knights, and
brought them to the king. And the king committed the Earl Waleram, and
Hugh, the son of Gervase, to close custody in the castle at Rouen; but Hugh
of Montfort he sent to England, and ordered him to be secured with strong
bonds in the castle at Glocester. And of the others as many as he chose he
sent north and south to his castles in captivity. After this went the king,
and won all the castles of the Earl Waleram that were in Normandy, and all
the others that his enemies held against him. All this hostility was on
account of the son of the Earl Robert of Normandy, named William. This same
William had taken to wife the younger daughter of Fulke, Earl of Anjou: and
for this reason the King of France and all the earls held with him, and all
the rich men; and said that the king held his brother Robert wrongfully in
captivity, and drove his son William unjustly out of Normandy. This same
year were the seasons very unfavourable in England for corn and all fruits;
so that between Christmas and Candlemas men sold the acre-seed of wheat,
that is two seedlips, for six shillings; and the barley, that is three
seedlips, for six shillings also; and the acre-seed of oats, that is four
seedlips, for four shillings. That was because that corn was scarce; and
the penny was so adulterated, that a man who had a pound at a market could
not exchange twelve pence thereof for anything. In this same year died the
blessed Bishop Ernulf of Rochester, who before was Abbot of Peterborough.
That was on the ides of March. And after this died the King Alexander of
Scotland, on the ninth day before the calends of May. And David his
brother, who was Earl of Northamptonshire, succeeded to the kingdom; and had
both together, the kingdom of Scotland and the earldom in England. And on
the nineteenth day before the calends of January died the Pope of Rome,
whose name was Calixtus, and Honorius succeeded to the popedom. This same
year, after St. Andrew's mass, and before Christmas, held Ralph Basset and
the king's thanes a wittenmoot in Leicestershire, at Huncothoe, and there
hanged more thieves than ever were known before; that is, in a little while,
four and forty men altogether; and despoiled six men of their eyes and of
their testicles. Many true men said that there were several who suffered
very unjustly; but our Lord God Almighty, who seeth and knoweth every
secret, seeth also that the wretched people are oppressed with all
unrighteousness. First they are bereaved of their property, and then they
are slain. Full heavy year was this. The man that had any property, was
bereaved of it by violent guilds and violent moots. The man that had not,
was starved with hunger.
A.D. 1125. In this year sent the King Henry, before Christmas, from
Normandy to England, and bade that all the mint-men that were in England
should be mutilated in their limbs; that was, that they should lose each of
them the right hand, and their testicles beneath. This was because the man
that had a pound could not lay out a penny at a market. And the Bishop
Roger of Salisbury sent over all England, and bade them all that they should
come to Winchester at Christmas. When they came thither, then were they
taken one by one, and deprived each of the right hand and the testicles
beneath. All this was done within the twelfth-night. And that was all in
perfect justice, because that they had undone all the land with the great
quantity of base coin that they all bought. In this same year sent the Pope
of Rome to this land a cardinal, named John of Crema. He came first to the
king in Normandy, and the king received him with much worship. He betook
himself then to the Archbishop William of Canterbury; and he led him to
Canterbury; and he was there received with great veneration, and in solemn
procession. And he sang the high mass on Easter day at the altar of
Christ. Afterwards he went over all England, to all the bishoprics and
abbacies that were in this land; and in all he was received with respect.
And all gave him many and rich gifts. And afterwards he held his council in
London full three days, on the Nativity of St. Mary in September, with
archbishops, and diocesan bishops, and abbots, the learned and the lewd;
and enjoined there the same laws that Archbishop Anselm had formerly
enjoined, and many more, though it availed little. Thence he went over sea
soon after Michaelmas, and so to Rome; and (with him) the Archbishop William
of Canterbury, and the Archbishop Thurstan of York, and the Bishop Alexander
of Lincoln, and the Bishop J. of Lothian, and the Abbot G. of St. Alban's;
and were there received by the Pope Honorius with great respect; and
continued there all the winter. In this same year was so great a flood on
St. Laurence's day, that many towns and men were overwhelmed, and bridges
broken down, and corn and meadows spoiled withal; and hunger and qualm in
men and in cattle; and in all fruits such unseasonableness as was not known
for many years before. And this same year died the Abbot John of
Peterborough, on the second day before the ides of October.
A.D. 1126. All this year was the King Henry in Normandy – all till after
harvest. Then came he to this land, betwixt the Nativity of St. Mary and
Michaelmas. With him came the queen, and his daughter, whom he had formerly
given to the Emperor Henry of Lorrain to wife. And he brought with him the
Earl Waleram, and Hugh, the son of Gervase. And the earl he sent to
Bridgenorth in captivity: and thence he sent him afterwards to Wallingford;
and Hugh to Windsor, whom he ordered to be kept in strong bonds. Then after
Michaelmas came David, the king of the Scots, from Scotland to this land;
and the King Henry received him with great worship; and he continued all
that year in this land. In this year the king had his brother Robert taken
from the Bishop Roger of Salisbury, and committed him to his son Robert,
Earl of Glocester, and had him led to Bristol, and there put into the
castle. That was all done through his daughter's counsel, and through
David, the king of the Scots, her uncle.
A.D. 1127. This year held the King Henry his court at Christmas in
Windsor. There was David the king of the Scots, and all the head men that
were in England, learned and lewd. And there he engaged the archbishops,
and bishops, and abbots, and earls, and all the thanes that were there, to
swear England and Normandy after his day into the hands of his daughter
Athelicia, who was formerly the wife of the Emperor of Saxony. Afterwards
he sent her to Normandy; and with her went her brother Robert, Earl of
Glocester, and Brian, son of the Earl Alan Fergan; and he let her wed the
son of the Earl of Anjou, whose name was Geoffry Martel. All the French and
English, however, disapproved of this; but the king did it for to have the
alliance of the Earl of Anjou, and for to have help against his nephew
William. In the Lent-tide of this same year was the Earl Charles of
Flanders slain in a church, as he lay there and prayed to God, before the
altar, in the midst of the mass, by his own men. And the King of France
brought William, the son of the Earl of Normandy, and gave him the earldom;
and the people of that land accepted him. This same William had before
taken to wife the daughter of the Earl of Anjou; but they were afterwards
divorced on the plea of consanguinity. This was all through the King Henry
of England. Afterwards took he to wife the sister of the king's wife of
France; and for this reason the king gave him the earldom of Flanders. This
same year he gave the abbacy of Peterborough to an abbot named Henry of
Poitou, who retained in hand his abbacy of St. John of Angeli; but all the
archbishops and bishops said that it was against right, and that he could
not have two abbacies on hand. But the same Henry gave the king to
understand, that he had relinquished his abbacy on account of the great
hostility that was in the land; and that he did through the counsel and
leave of the Pope of Rome, and through that of the Abbot of Clugny, and
because he was legate of the Rome-scot. But, nevertheless, it was not so;
for he would retain both in hand; and did so as long as God's will was. He
was in his clerical state Bishop of Soissons; afterwards monk of Clugny; and
then prior in the same monastery. Afterwards he became prior of Sevigny;
and then, because he was a relation of the King of England, and of the Earl
of Poitou, the earl gave him the abbacy of St. John's minster of Angeli.
Afterwards, through his great craft, he obtained the archbishopric of
Besancon; and had it in hand three days; after which he justly lost it,
because he had before unjustly obtained it. Afterwards he procured the
bishopric of Saintes; which was five miles from his abbey. That he had
full-nigh a week in hand; but the Abbot of Clugny brought him thence, as he
before did from Besancon. Then he bethought him, that, if he could be
fast-rooted in England, he might have all his will. Wherefore he besought
the king, and said unto him, that he was an old man -- a man completely
broken -- that he could not brook the great injustice and the great
hostility that were in their land: and then, by his own endearours, and by
those of all his friends, he earnestly and expressly entreated for the
abbacy of Peterborough. And the king procured it for him, because he was
his relation, and because he was the principal person to make oath and bear
witness when the son of the Earl of Normandy and the daughter of the Earl of
Anjou were divorced on the plea of consanguinity. Thus wretchedly was the
abbacy given away, betwixt Christmas and Candlemas, at London; and so he
went with the King to Winchester, and thence he came to Peterborough, and
there he dwelt right so as a drone doth in a hive. For as the drone
fretteth and draggeth fromward all that the bees drag toward [the hive], so
did he. -- All that he might take, within and without, of learned and lewd,
so sent he over sea; and no good did there -- no good left there. Think no
man unworthily that we say not the truth; for it was fully known over all
the land: that, as soon as he came thither, which was on the Sunday when men
sing "Exurge quare o D-- etc." immediately after, several persons saw and
heard many huntsmen hunting. The hunters were swarthy, and huge, and ugly;
and their hounds were all swarthy, and broad-eyed, and ugly. And they rode
on swarthy horses, and swarthy bucks. This was seen in the very deer-fold
in the town of Peterborough, and in all the woods from that same town to
Stamford. And the monks heard the horn blow that they blew in the night.
Credible men, who watched them in the night, said that they thought there
might well be about twenty or thirty horn-blowers. This was seen and heard
from the time that he came thither, all the Lent-tide onward to Easter.
This was his entry; of his exit we can as yet say nought. God provide.
A.D. 1128. All this year was the King Henry in Normandy, on account of the
hostility that was between him and his nephew, the Earl of Flanders. But
the earl was wounded in a fight by a swain; and so wounded he went to the
monastery of St. Bertin; where he soon became a monk, lived five days
afterwards, then died, and was there buried. God honour his soul. That was
on the sixth day before the calends of August. This same year died the
Bishop Randulph Passeflambard of Durham; and was there buried on the nones
of September. And this same year went the aforesaid Abbot Henry home to his
own minster at Poitou by the king's leave. He gave the king to understand,
that he would withal forgo that minster, and that land, and dwell with him
in England, and in the monastery of Peterborough. But it was not so
nevertheless. He did this because he would be there, through his crafty
wiles, were it a twelvemonth or more, and come again afterwards. May God
Almighty extend his mercy over that wretched place. This same year came
from Jerusalem Hugh of the Temple to the king in Normandy; and the king
received him with much honour, and gave him rich presents in gold and in
silver. And afterwards he sent him into England; and there he was received
by all good men, who all gave him presents, and in Scotland also: and by him
they sent to Jerusalem much wealth withal in gold and in silver. And he
invited folk out to Jerusalem; and there went with him and after him more
people than ever did before, since that the first expedition was in the day
of Pope Urban. Though it availed little; for he said, that a mighty war
was begun between the Christians and the heathens; but when they came
thither, then was it nought but leasing. Thus pitifully was all that
people swinked.
A.D. 1129. In this year sent the King to England after the Earl Waleram,
and after Hugh, the son of Gervase. And they gave hostages for them. And
Hugh went home to his own land in France; but Waleram was left with the
king: and the king gave him all his land except his castle alone.
Afterwards came the king to England within the harvest: and the earl came
with him: and they became as good friends as they were foes before. Soon
after, by the king's counsel, and by his leave, sent the Archbishop William
of Canterbury over all England, and bade bishops, and abbots, and
archdeacons, and all the priors, monks, and canons, that were in all the
cells in England, and all who had the care and superintendence of
christianity, that they should all come to London at Michaelmas, and there
should speak of all God's rights. When they came thither, then began the
moot on Monday, and continued without intermission to the Friday. When it
all came forth, then was it all found to be about archdeacons' wives, and
about priests' wives; that they should forgo them by St. Andrew's mass; and
he who would not do that, should forgo his church, and his house, and his
home, and never more have any calling thereto. This bade the Archbishop
William of Canterbury, and all the diocesan bishops that were then in
England, but the king gave them all leave to go home. And so they went
home; and all the ordinances amounted to nothing. All held their wives by
the king's leave as they did before. This same year died the Bishop William
Giffard of Winchester; and was there buried, on the eighth day before the
calends of February. And the King Henry gave the bishopric after Michaelmas
to the Abbot Henry of Glastonbury, his nephew, and he was consecrated bishop
by the Archbishop William of Canterbury on the fifteenth day before the
calends of December. This same year died Pope Honorius. Ere he was well
dead, there were chosen two popes. The one was named Peter, who was monk of
Clugny, and was born of the richest men of Rome; and with him held those of
Rome, and the Duke of Sicily. The other was Gregory: he was a clerk, and was
driven out of Rome by the other pope, and by his kinsmen. With him held the
Emperor of Saxony, and the King of France, and the King Henry of England,
and all those on this side of the Alps. Now was there such division in
Christendom as never was before. May Christ consult for his wretched folk.
This same year, on the night of the mass of St. Nicholas, a little before
day, there was a great earthquake.
A.D. 1130. This year was the monastery of Canterbury consecrated by the
Archbishop William, on the fourth day before the nones of May. There were
the Bishops John of Rochester, Gilbert Universal of London, Henry of
Winchester, Alexander of Lincoln, Roger of Salisbury, Simon of Worcester,
Roger of Coventry, Geoffry of Bath, Evrard of Norwich, Sigefrith of
Chichester, Bernard of St. David's, Owen of Evreux in Normandy, John of
Sieyes. On the fourth day after this was the King Henry in Rochester, when
the town was almost consumed by fire; and the Archbishop William consecrated
the monastery of St. Andrew, and the aforesaid bishops with him. And the
King Henry went over sea into Normandy in harvest. This same year came the
Abbot Henry of Angeli after Easter to Peterborough, and said that he had
relinquished that monastery withal. After him came the Abbot of Clugny,
Peter by name, to England by the king's leave; and was received by all,
whithersoever he came, with much respect. To Peterborough he came; and
there the Abbot Henry promised him that he would procure him the minster of
Peterborough, that it might be subject to Clugny. But it is said in the
proverb,
"The hedge abideth,
that acres divideth."
May God Almighty frustrate evil designs. Soon after this, went the Abbot of
Clugny home to his country. This year was Angus slain by the army of the
Scots, and there was a great multitude slain with him. There was God's
fight sought upon him, for that he was all forsworn.
A.D. 1131. This year, after Christmas, on a Monday night, at the first
sleep, was the heaven on the northern hemisphere all as if it were burning
fire; so that all who saw it were so dismayed as they never were before.
That was on the third day before the ides of January. This same year was so
great a murrain of cattle as never was before in the memory of man over all
England. That was in neat cattle and in swine; so that in a town where
there were ten ploughs going, or twelve, there was not left one: and the man
that had two hundred or three hundred swine, had not one left. Afterwards
perished the hen fowls; then shortened the fleshmeat, and the cheese, and
the butter. May God better it when it shall be his will. And the King
Henry came home to England before harvest, after the mass of St. Peter "ad
vincula". This same year went the Abbot Henry, before Easter, from
Peterborough over sea to Normandy, and there spoke with the king, and told
him that the Abbot of Clugny had desired him to come to him, and resign to
him the abbacy of Angeli, after which he would go home by his leave. And so
he went home to his own minster, and there remained even to midsummer day.
And the next day after the festival of St. John chose the monks an abbot of
themselves, brought him into the church in procession, sang "Te Deum
laudamus", rang the bells, set him on the abbot's throne, did him all
homage, as they should do their abbot: and the earl, and all the head men,
and the monks of the minster, drove the other Abbot Henry out of the
monastery. And they had need; for in five-and-twenty winters had they never
hailed one good day. Here failed him all his mighty crafts. Now it behoved
him, that he crope in his skin into every corner, if peradventure there were
any unresty wrench, whereby he might yet once more betray Christ and all
Christian people. Then retired he into Clugny, where he was held so fast,
that he could not move east or west. The Abbot of Clugny said that they had
lost St. John's minster through him, and through his great sottishness.
Then could he not better recompense them; but he promised them, and swore
oaths on the holy cross, that if he might go to England he should get them
the minster of Peterborough; so that he should set there the prior of
Clugny, with a churchwarden, a treasurer, and a sacristan: and all the
things that were within the minster and without, he should procure for
them. Thus he departed into France; and there remained all that year.
Christ provide for the wretched monks of Peterborough, and for that wretched
place. Now do they need the help of Christ and of all Christian folk.
A.D. 1132. This year came King Henry to this land. Then came Abbot Henry,
and betrayed the monks of Peterborough to the king, because he would subject
that minster to Clugny; so that the king was well nigh entrapped, and sent
after the monks. But through the grace of God, and through the Bishop of
Salisbury, and the Bishop of Lincoln, and the other rich men that were
there, the king knew that he proceeded with treachery. When he no more
could do, then would he that his nephew should be Abbot of Peterborough.
But Christ forbade. Not very long after this was it that the king sent
after him, and made him give up the Abbey of Peterborough, and go out of the
land. And the king gave the abbacy to a prior of St. Neot's, called Martin,
who came on St. Peter's mass-day with great pomp into the minster.
A.D. 1135. In this year went the King Henry over sea at the Lammas; and the
next day, as he lay asleep on ship, the day darkened over all lands, and the
sun was all as it were a three night old moon, and the stars about him at
midday. Men were very much astonished and terrified, and said that a great
event should come hereafter. So it did; for that same year was the king
dead, the next day after St. Andrew's mass-day, in Normandy. Then was there
soon tribulation in the land; for every man that might, soon robbed
another. Then his sons and his friends took his body, and brought it to
England, and buried it at Reading. A good man he was; and there was great
dread of him. No man durst do wrong with another in his time. Peace he
made for man and beast. Whoso bare his burthen of gold and silver, durst no
man say ought to him but good. Meanwhile was his nephew come to England,
Stephen de Blois. He came to London, and the people of London received him,
and sent after the Archbishop William Curboil, and hallowed him to king on
midwinter day. In this king's time was all dissention, and evil, and
rapine; for against him rose soon the rich men who were traitors; and first
of all Baldwin de Redvers, who held Exeter against him. But the king beset
it; and afterwards Baldwin accorded. Then took the others, and held their
castles against him; and David, King of Scotland, took to Wessington against
him. Nevertheless their messengers passed between them; and they came
together, and were settled, but it availed little.
A.D. 1137. This year went the King Stephen over sea to Normandy, and there
was received; for that they concluded that he should be all such as the
uncle was; and because he had got his treasure: but he dealed it out, and
scattered it foolishly. Much had King Henry gathered, gold and silver, but
no good did men for his soul thereof. When the King Stephen came to
England, he held his council at Oxford; where he seized the Bishop Roger of
Sarum, and Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, and the chancellor Roger, his
nephew; and threw all into prison till they gave up their castles. When the
traitors understood that he was a mild man, and soft, and good, and no
justice executed, then did they all wonder. They had done him homage, and
sworn oaths, but they no truth maintained. They were all forsworn, and
forgetful of their troth; for every rich man built his castles, which they
held against him: and they filled the land full of castles. They cruelly
oppressed the wretched men of the land with castle-works; and when the
castles were made, they filled them with devils and evil men. Then took
they those whom they supposed to have any goods, both by night and by day,
labouring men and women, and threw them into prison for their gold and
silver, and inflicted on them unutterable tortures; for never were any
martyrs so tortured as they were. Some they hanged up by the feet, and
smoked them with foul smoke; and some by the thumbs, or by the head, and
hung coats of mail on their feet. They tied knotted strings about their
heads, and twisted them till the pain went to the brains. They put them
into dungeons, wherein were adders, and snakes, and toads; and so destroyed
them. Some they placed in a crucet-house; that is, in a chest that was
short and narrow, and not deep; wherein they put sharp stones, and so thrust
the man therein, that they broke all the limbs. In many of the castles were
things loathsome and grim, called "Sachenteges", of which two or three men
had enough to bear one. It was thus made: that is, fastened to a beam; and
they placed a sharp iron [collar] about the man's throat and neck, so that
he could in no direction either sit, or lie, or sleep, but bear all that
iron. Many thousands they wore out with hunger. I neither can, nor may I
tell all the wounds and all the pains which they inflicted on wretched men
in this land. This lasted the nineteen winters while Stephen was king; and
it grew continually worse and worse. They constantly laid guilds on the
towns, and called it "tenserie"; and when the wretched men had no more to
give, then they plundered and burned all the towns; that well thou mightest
go a whole day's journey and never shouldest thou find a man sitting in a
town, nor the land tilled. Then was corn dear, and flesh, and cheese, and
butter; for none was there in the land. Wretched men starved of hunger.
Some had recourse to alms, who were for a while rich men, and some fled out
of the land. Never yet was there more wretchedness in the land; nor ever
did heathen men worse than they did: for, after a time, they spared neither
church nor churchyard, but took all the goods that were therein, and then
burned the church and all together. Neither did they spare a bishop's land,
or an abbot's, or a priest's, but plundered both monks and clerks; and every
man robbed another who could. If two men, or three, came riding to a town,
all the township fled for them, concluding them to be robbers. The bishops
and learned men cursed them continually, but the effect thereof was nothing
to them; for they were all accursed, and forsworn, and abandoned. To till
the ground was to plough the sea: the earth bare no corn, for the land was
all laid waste by such deeds; and they said openly, that Christ slept, and
his saints. Such things, and more than we can say, suffered we nineteen
winters for our sins. In all this evil time held Abbot Martin his abbacy
twenty years and a half, and eight days, with much tribulation; and found
the monks and the guests everything that behoved them; and held much charity
in the house; and, notwithstanding all this, wrought on the church, and set
thereto lands and rents, and enriched it very much, and bestowed vestments
upon it. And he brought them into the new minster on St. Peter's mass-day
with much pomp; which was in the year, from the incarnation of our Lord,
1140, and in the twenty-third from the destruction of the place by fire.
And he went to Rome, and there was well received by the Pope Eugenius; from
whom he obtained their privileges: -- one for all the lands of the abbey,
and another for the lands that adjoin to the churchyard; and, if he might
have lived longer, so he meant to do concerning the treasury. And he got in
the lands that rich men retained by main strength. Of William Malduit, who
held the castle of Rockingham, he won Cotingham and Easton; and of Hugh de
Walteville, he won Hirtlingbury and Stanwick, and sixty shillings from
Oldwinkle each year. And he made many monks, and planted a vine-yard, and
constructed many works, and made the town better than it was before. He was
a good monk, and a good man; and for this reason God and good men loved
him. Now we will relate in part what happened in King Stephen's time. In
his reign the Jews of Norwich bought a Christian child before Easter, and
tortured him after the same manner as our Lord was tortured; and on
Long-Friday hanged him on a rood, in mockery of our Lord, and afterwards
buried him. They supposed that it would be concealed, but our Lord showed
that he was a holy martyr. And the monks took him, and buried him with high
honour in the minster. And through our Lord he worketh wonderful and
manifold miracles, and is called St. William.
A.D. 1138. In this year came David, King of Scotland, with an immense army
to this land. He was ambitious to win this land; but against him came
William, Earl of Albemarle, to whom the king had committed York, and other
borderers, with few men, and fought against them, and routed the king at the
Standard, and slew very many of his gang.
A.D. 1140. In this year wished the King Stephen to take Robert, Earl of
Gloucester, the son of King Henry; but he could not, for he was aware of
it. After this, in the Lent, the sun and the day darkened about the
noon-tide of the day, when men were eating; and they lighted candles to eat
by. That was the thirteenth day before the kalends of April. Men were very
much struck with wonder. Thereafter died William, Archbishop of Canterbury;
and the king made Theobald archbishop, who was Abbot of Bec. After this
waxed a very great war betwixt the king and Randolph, Earl of Chester; not
because he did not give him all that he could ask him, as he did to all
others; but ever the more he gave them, the worse they were to him. The
Earl held Lincoln against the king, and took away from him all that he ought
to have. And the king went thither, and beset him and his brother William
de Romare in the castle. And the earl stole out, and went after Robert,
Earl of Glocester, and brought him thither with a large army. And they
fought strenuously on Candlemas day against their lord, and took him; for
his men forsook him and fled. And they led him to Bristol, and there put
him into prison in close quarters. Then was all England stirred more than
ere was, and all evil was in the land. Afterwards came the daughter of King
Henry, who had been Empress of Germany, and now was Countess of Anjou. She
came to London; but the people of London attempted to take her, and she
fled, losing many of her followers. After this the Bishop of Winchester,
Henry, the brother of King Stephen, spake with Earl Robert, and with the
empress, and swore them oaths, "that he never more would hold with the king,
his brother," and cursed all the men that held with him, and told them, that
he would give them up Winchester; and he caused them to come thither. When
they were therein, then came the king's queen with all her strength, and
beset them, so that there was great hunger therein. When they could no
longer hold out, then stole they out, and fled; but those without were
aware, and followed them, and took Robert, Earl of Glocester, and led him to
Rochester, and put him there into prison; but the empress fled into a
monastery. Then went the wise men between the king's friends and the earl's
friends; and settled so that they should let the king out of prison for the
earl, and the earl for the king; and so they did. After this settled the
king and Earl Randolph at Stamford, and swore oaths, and plighted their
troth, that neither should betray the other. But it availed nothing. For
the king afterwards took him at Northampton, through wicked counsel, and put
him into prison; and soon after he let him out again, through worse counsel,
on the condition that he swore by the crucifix, and found hostages, that he
would give up all his castles. Some he gave up, and some gave he not up;
and did then worse than he otherwise would. Then was England very much
divided. Some held with the king, and some with the empress; for when the
king was in prison, the earls and the rich men supposed that he never more
would come out: and they settled with the empress, and brought her into
Oxford, and gave her the borough. When the king was out, he heard of this,
and took his force, and beset her in the tower. And they let her down in
the night from the tower by ropes. And she stole out, and fled, and went
on foot to Wallingford. Afterwards she went over sea; and those of Normandy
turned all from the king to the Earl of Anjou; some willingly, and some
against their will; for he beset them till they gave up their castles, and
they had no help of the king. Then went Eustace, the king's son, to France,
and took to wife the sister of the King of France. He thought to obtain
Normandy thereby; but he sped little, and by good right; for he was an evil
man. Wherever he was, he did more evil than good; he robbed the lands, and
levied heavy guilds upon them. He brought his wife to England, and put her
into the castle at... Good woman she was; but she had little bliss with
him; and Christ would not that he should long reign. He therefore soon
died, and his mother also. And the Earl of Anjou died; and his son Henry
took to the earldom. And the Queen of France parted from the king; and she
came to the young Earl Henry; and he took her to wife, and all Poitou with
her. Then went he with a large force into England, and won some castles;
and the king went against him with a much larger force. Nevertheless,
fought they not; but the archbishop and the wise men went between them, and
made this settlement: That the king should be lord and king while he lived,
and after his day Henry should be king: that Henry should take him for a
father; and he him for a son: that peace and union should be betwixt them,
and in all England. This and the other provisions that they made, swore the
king and the earl to observe; and all the bishops, and the earls, and the
rich men. Then was the earl received at Winchester, and at London, with
great worship; and all did him homage, and swore to keep the peace. And
there was soon so good a peace as never was there before. Then was the king
stronger than he ever was before. And the earl went over sea; and all
people loved him; for he did good justice, and made peace.
A.D. 1154. In this year died the King Stephen; and he was buried where his
wife and his son were buried, at Faversham; which monastery they founded.
When the king died, then was the earl beyond sea; but no man durst do other
than good for the great fear of him. When he came to England, then was he
received with great worship, and blessed to king in London on the Sunday
before midwinter day. And there held he a full court. The same day that
Martin, Abbot of Peterborough, should have gone thither, then sickened he,
and died on the fourth day before the nones of January; and the monks,
within the day, chose another of themselves, whose name was William de
Walteville, a good clerk, and good man, and well beloved of the king, and
of all good men. And all the monks buried the abbot with high honours. And
soon the newly chosen abbot, and the monks with him, went to Oxford to the
king. And the king gave him the abbacy; and he proceeded soon afterwards to
Peterborough; where he remained with the abbot, ere he came home. And the
king was received with great worship at Peterborough, in full procession.
And so he was also at Ramsey, and at Thorney, and at.... and at Spalding,
and at.... |