5

per

which they had made; he also called him a perjured and fidious man, if he should refuse to observe the compact which had been made between them in Normandy. In consequence of this, about the calends of February, the king went to Hastings, and while staying there, caused the church of Battle to be dedicated in honor of Saint Martin; there he also deprived Herebert, bishop of Thetford, of his pastoral staff; for he had secretly intended to go to pope Urban, to seek absolution from him, on account of the bishopric which he had purchased for himself, and the abbey he had bought for his father, Robert, from king William, for a thousand pounds. After this, at mid-Lent, the king went over to Normandy, and, a truce being agreed on, held a conference with his brother, but parted from him without coming to terms.

After this, they again met in the field of Mars; when those who, on oath, were to effect a reconciliation between them, laid all the blame on the king; on which he would neither admit his fault, nor observe the treaty. Being greatly enraged in consequence, they separated without coming to terms. The duke took his departure for Rouen, but the king returned to Eu, and there took up his quarters, and levied soldiers on every side; to some of the Norman nobles he gave gold, silver, and lands, and to some he promised them, in order that they might revolt from his brother Robert, and subject themselves, together with their castles, to his sway. Having accomplished all these matters to his wish, he distributed his soldiers among the castles which he had either previously held, or had then gained possession of.

In the meantime, he took the castle which is called Bures, and of the duke's knights which he found therein, some he sent in captivity to England, and some he kept in confinement in Nor

4 Battle Abbey, which had been commenced by William the Conqueror. 5 This was Herbert de Losinga; whose letters, which were supposed to be lost, have recently been discovered. Roger of Wendover gives a different version of this story; he says, "In 1094, Herebert, surnamed Losinga, was abbot of Ramsey, but he now by purchase procured himself to be made bishop of Thetford; but afterwards, in penitence for his crime he went to Rome, where he resigned his simoniacal staff and ring into the hands of the pope; but by the indulgence of the Holy See, he received the same back again, and returning home, transferred his see to Norwich, where he established a congregation of monks."

5* His father was, probably, one of the secular clergy.

mandy; and, harassing his brother in every way, used his utmost exertions to deprive him of his patrimony. Accordingly, Robert, being compelled by necessity, brought his liege lord, Philip, king of the Franks, into Normandy with an army; on which the king laid siege to the castle of Argenton, and on the very same day, without any bloodshed, took seven hundred of the king's knights, together with twice as many esquires, together with all the garrison of the castle, and ordered them to be kept in close confinement, until each should ransom himself, after which, he returned to France.

6

Duke Robert, however, besieged a castle which is called Holm, until William Peverel and eight hundred men who defended it surrendered to him. When this became known to the king, he sent messengers to England, and ordered twenty thousand foot soldiers to be sent to Normandy to his assistance; who being assembled at Hastings, for the purpose of crossing the sea, by the king's orders, Ranulph took from them the money that had been given them to purchase provisions, namely, ten shillings from each man, and, ordering them to return home, sent the money to the king. In the meantime, the whole of England was afflicted with oppressive and unceasing taxes, and a great mortality of the people both in this and the following year.

In addition to this, first the people of North Wales, and then those of South Wales, throwing off the yoke of servitude by which they had been long oppressed, and lifting up their necks, struggled to regain their liberty. Accordingly, a great multitude having assembled together, they stormed the castles that had been founded in West Wales, and, in the provinces of Chester, Shrewsbury, and Hereford, burned the towns on every side, carried off plunder, and slew multitudes of English and Normans. They also stormed the castle in the Isle of Anglesey, and reduced it to subjection.

In the meantime, the Scots treacherously slew their king, Duncan, and some other persons, by the advice and entreaty of Dufenald, and then chose him again for their king. Shortly after, king William returned to England, on the fourth day before the calends of January, to wage war against the Welch, and immediately proceeded with his army into Wales, where he lost many men and horses.

6" Scutariis."

In the year 1095, at the middle of the seventh hour, on the night of Saturday, the eighteenth day of the month of January, Wulstan, the bishop of Worcester, was removed from this world; a venerable man, and one of most exemplary life, who from his youth had entirely devoted himself to his religious duties, and who, bent upon gaining the glory of the heavenly kingdom, with great devotion and humility of mind had carefully served God with the utmost zeal, and departed after many struggles of pious agony. This took place in the year, from the first day of the world, according to the assured account contained in the Holy Scriptures, five thousand two hundred and ninety-nine, in the four hundred and seventy-sixth year of the present great year from the beginning of the world, in the one thousand and eighty-fourth from the Passion of our Lord according to the Gospels, in the one thousand and sixty-sixth year according to the Chronicle of Bede, in the thousand and sixty-first year according to Dionysius,' in the year from the arrival of the Angles in Britain seven hundred and forty-five, from the arrival of Saint Augustine four hundred and ninetyeight, from the death of Saint Oswald the archbishop, one hundred and three, in the thirty-second year of the eleventh great Paschal cycle, in the five hundred and tenth year of the tenth from the beginning 10 of the world, in the fourth year of the second Solar cycle," in the third year of the Bissextile cycle, in the third year of the second Nineteen year cycle, in the tenth year of the second Lunar cycle," in the fifth year of the Hendecad,13 in the third year of the cycle of Indiction, in the eighteenth lustrum of his age, and in the third year of the seventh lustrum of his pontificate.

14

In a wondrous manner, at the very hour of his departure, he appeared in a vision to his friend, Robert, the bishop of Hereford, to whom he was especially attached, at a town 7 According to the computation mostly used in the middle ages, our Saviour was born A.M. 4204.

8 This seems to be a cycle of nearly eleven years.

9 Dionysius, the Areiopagite; whose supposed writings were much read in the middle ages.

10 This is, probably, a cycle of five hundred and thirty-two years. 11 The cycle of the sun, or of Sundays, is a period of twenty-eight years. 12 This would almost appear to be really the same cycle as the last; as the cycle of the moon, or of nineteen years, or of the golden number, is the same thing. Possibly the figures are incorrectly stated.

13 A cycle of eleven years.

14 These lustra consist of five years each.

called Cricklade, and ordered him to make haste to Worcester, to bury him. The ring, also, with which he had received the pontifical benediction, God would allow no one to draw from off his finger, lest, after his death, the holy man should appear to have deceived his friends, to whom he had frequently foretold that he would not part with it, either in his lifetime or at the day of his burial.

On the day before the nones of April, it seemed at night as though stars were falling from heaven. Walter, bishop of Albano, legate from the Holy Church of Rome, being sent by pope Urban, came to England before Easter, to bring the pall to king William, for which he had sent the year before; which, according to order, was, on the Lord's day, being the fourth day before the ides of June, taken by him to Canterbury, and laid upon the altar of our Saviour, and then assumed by Anselm, and suppliantly kissed by all, as a mark of reverence to Saint Peter.

On the sixth day before the calends of July, being the third day of the week, Robert, bishop of Hereford, a man of extreme piety, departed this life. The above-named Wulstan, bishop of Worcester, appeared to him in a vision, on the thirty-second day after he had departed from this world, and sharply rebuked him for his negligence and heedlessness, admonishing him to use his best endeavours to amend both his own life and those of his flock, with the utmost vigilance: if he did this, he affirmed that he would soon obtain pardon of God for all his sins, and added, that he would not long retain his seat in the chair in which he then sat, but that, if he should choose to be more vigilant, he would be enabled to rejoice with himself in the presence of God. For both of these fathers had been most zealous in their love of God, and most attached to each other; therefore we have reason to believe that he who was the first to take his departure from this world unto God, felt an anxiety for his most beloved friend, whom he had left in this world, and used his best endeavours that he might, as soon as possible, together with himself, rejoice in the presence of God.

At this period, Robert de Mowbray, earl of Northumbria, and William de Eu, with many others, attempted to deprive king William of his kingdom and life, and to make Stephen de Albemarle, his aunt's son, king, but were disappointed. For, on learning this, the king levied an army

throughout the whole of England, and, during two months, besieged the castle of the above-named earl Robert, at Tynemouth; and, having in the mean time taken a certain small fortress, he captured almost all the earl's bravest soldiers, and placed them in confinement, and then, laying siege to the castle, took it, and placed in custody the earl's brother, and the knights whom he found there. After this, over against Bebbanbirg, 14* that is to say, the city of Bebba, whither the earl had fled, he erected a castle, and called it "Malvoisin," 15 and, having placed soldiers therein, returned to the country south of the Humber.

After the king's departure, the garrison of Newcastle 16 promised earl Robert that they would allow him to enter it if he came secretly. Being overjoyed at this, he went forth on a certain night for that purpose, with thirty knights; on learning which, the knights who garrisoned the castle followed him, and, through messengers, made known his departure to the garrison of Newcastle. Not aware of this, on a certain Sunday, he made the attempt to carry out his plans, but failed, having been thus detected; on which, he fled to the monastery of Saint Oswin, the king and martyr; 17 where, on the sixth day of the siege, he was severely wounded in the thigh, while fighting with his adversaries, many of whom were also wounded, and many slain. Some of his men were also wounded, but all were captured, and he himself took refuge in the church; from which, being dragged forth, he was placed in confinement.

In the meantime the Welch stormed the castle of Montgomery, and slew there some of the men of Hugh, earl of Shrewsbury; at which the king being exasperated, he immediately commanded an expedition to be directed against it; and, after the feast of Saint Michael, led an army into Wales, and there lost many men and horses. On his return thence, he ordered earl Robert to be taken to Bamborough, and his eyes to be put out, unless his wife and his neighbour, Morel, 18 would surrender the castle. Compelled by this necessity, they forth1+* Bamborough. 15" Bad neighbour."

16" Novi castelli" must mean the fortress of Newcastle, which had been lately erected, and not the new castle of Malvoisin, although Holinshed seems so to understand it; the present passage will not, however, admit of that construction being put upon it. 17 At Tynemouth.

18 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that this Morel was his steward. "Propinquus" may possibly mean "relative" here.