him in the presence of Philip, king of the Franks, fled to France, and, with the aid of king Philip, frequently committed great depredations in Normandy, burning towns and slaying men, and thus caused no little trouble and anxiety to his father.

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

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

In the year 1080,63 Walcher, bishop of Durham, a native of Lorraine, and a man distinguished for his virtues, was, without reason, murdered by the Northumbrians, at a place which is called Gatesheued, that is to say, the "goat's head," on the day before the ides of May, being the fifth day of the week; which act was done in revenge for Liulph, a man of noble birth and high rank.

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

63 This event is placed by Roger of Wendover in the year 1075. He gives a very different account of the circumstances attending it. 64 Gateshead.

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

65

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

Gilbert immediately yielded to his iniquitous requests, and, having assembled together his own men at arms, together with those of the bishop and the said Leofwine, proceeded on a certain night to the house where Liulph was then staying, and most

66

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

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

VOL. I.

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iniquitously slew him and nearly all his household, in his own house. On hearing of this, the bishop heaved a sigh from the inmost recesses of his heart; and, taking his hood from off his head, and throwing it on the ground, immediately said in mournful accents, to Leofwine, who was then present, "By your factious designs, and most short-sighted contrivances, Leofwine, these things have been brought about. Therefore, I would have you know for certain, that both myself, and yourself, and all my household, you have cut off by means of the sword of your tongue."

On saying this, he instantly betook himself to the castle, and immediately sending messengers throughout all Northumbria, commanded all to be informed that he was not an accomplice in the death of Liulph, but that, on the contrary, he had banished Gilbert, his murderer, and all his associates, from Northumbria, and would be prepared to exculpate himself before a court of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. After this, having interchanged messages, he and the relatives of those who were slain, having mutually given and received assurances of peace, appointed a place and day on which to meet and come to a better understanding. On the appointed day they met at the place named, but as the bishop declined to plead his cause in the open air, he entered the church there, together with his clergy and those of his knights who were of higher rank, and while a council was being held, several times sent out of the church such of his own followers as he thought fit, for the purpose of making peace with them. The people, however, would by no means accede to his requests, for they believed it to be a matter beyond a doubt that Liulph had been slain by his command; for, the night after the death of his relative,68 Leofwine had not only entertained Gilbert and his associates at his house, in a friendly and hospitable manner, but even the bishop himself had shown him favour and hospitality just as before.

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

68 46 'Propinqui sui." This is probably an incorrect reading. We have been previously informed that Gilbert was a relative of the bishop; but it does not appear that Liulph was related to the bishop or to Gilbert. It may, however, mean "of his neighbour."

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

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

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

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

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

In the year 1081, the emperor Henry marched with an

army to Rome against the pope, but, having laid siege to the city, was unable to effect an entrance.

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

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

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

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