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named earl, the same shall be rectified by the lord archbishop of Rouen, if he shall be in England, and by the justices of our lord the king, and by those who have thus sworn to keep the peace; and, in like manner, at their prayer, the said John shall cause due reparation to be made. All new castles built after the departure beyond sea of our lord the king on his pilgrimage, whether begun or whether finished, shall be razed, and no other new ones shall be fortified until the return of our lord the king, except in manors demesne of our lord the king, if need there shall be, or in case such shall be done in the service of some person named by the precept of our lord the king, conveyed hither by letter or by some trusty messenger. Gerard de Camville shall be reinstated in the office of sheriff of Lincoln, and on the same day a proper day shall be appointed for him to make his appearance in the court of our lord the king, there to abide his trial; and if in the judgment of the court of our lord the king proof can be given that he ought to lose that office as also the keepership of the castle of Lincoln, then he is to lose the same; but, if not, he is to keep it, unless in the meantime an agreement can be come to relative thereto on some other terms. And the lord John is not to support him against the decision of our lord the king, nor is he to harbour such outlaws, or enemies to our lord the king, as shall be named to him, nor allow them to be harboured on his lands. But if any person shall be accused of any offence committed against our lord the king, it shall be lawful for the earl to harbour him in his lands so long as he shall offer to make due redress in the court of our lord the king. To maintain and observe this treaty of peace in good faith and without evil intent, the said earl, and chancellor, and fourteen barons, on the two sides, have made oath at the hand of the said lord archbishop of Rouen; namely, on the part of the chancellor, the earl of Arundel, the earl of Salisbury, the earl Roger Bigot, the earl of Clare, Walter Fitz-Robert, William de Braove, and Roger Fitz-Remfray; and, on the part of the earl, Stephen Ridel, his chancellor, William de Wendenal, Robert de la Mare, Philip de Lurcester, William de Kahannes, Gilbert Basset, and William de Montacute. And if within the time of the truce anything shall have been taken or intercepted on either side, it shall be lawfully returned and made good. And this treaty has been made, saving in all things the authority and commands of our lord the king; but so that if, before his re

turn, our lord the king shall be unwilling that this treaty shall hold good, the before-named castles of Nottingham and Tickhill shall be restored to the lord John, whatever commands our lord the king may give relative thereto."

In the same year, a short time after the above-mentioned treaty of peace made between the chancellor and the earl, Geoffrey, the archbishop elect of York was consecrated by William, archbishop of Tours, by command of Celestinus, the Supreme Pontiff; and, immediately after his consecration, being unmindful of the oath which he had made to the king, his brother, to the effect that he would not return to England till after the expiration of three years from the time that the king left England, he hastened to return to England. However, on his arrival at Witsand, in Flanders, for the purpose of crossing over to England, he was forbidden on part of the chancellor to presume to return to England, contrary to the tenor of the oath which he had taken before the king; but the archbishop refused at his command to abandon his purpose; wherefore, the chancellor ordered him to be seized, if he should come into England.

Accordingly, the archbishop of York came over to England, and landed at Dover, in the month of September, while the servants of the chancellor were standing on the shore for the purpose of laying hands on him. Being, however, forewarned of this, before he left the ship he changed his clothes, and mounting a horse in whose speed he had confidence, fled to a monastery of monks in that town. It was about the sixth hour of the day, and the monks had begun mass, and the Epistle was being read, in which they had just come to the passage where the holy Apostle says: "He that troubleth shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be;" 29 and again, in the same Epistle, "I would they were even cut off which trouble you, when the archbishop of York entered the church, putting his trust in the Lord; and he received the same as a pleasing omen, referring it to the lasting quiet of his own holy office, and the approaching confusion of the chancellor.

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Upon this, the servants of the chancellor whom he had sent to apprehend him, besieged the church on all sides, so that he could not come forth without falling into their hands; and one day, after the celebration of the mass, while the said archbishop, clad in his sacerdotal habiliments, was still standing 29 Gal. v. 10. 30 Gal. v. 12.

at the altar, these sinister satellites effected an entrance into the church, and laid violent hands upon him, and dragged him forth from the church. After dragging him out, or rather tearing him away therefrom, they vilely and ignominiously led him through the mud of the streets, and along the lanes, while the people stood shouting after them: "O cowards! why do you take him in this manner? What harm has he done? He is an archbishop, the brother of a king, and the son of a king!"

However, not attending to the words of the people, they took him to Dover castle, and delivered him into the custody of Matthew de Clare, the constable thereof. When this was told to earl John, the brother of the said archbishop, he enquired of the chancellor if this had been done by his order, on which he admitted that it was, and did not deny it; whereupon the earl gave orders that the archbishop should be set at liberty, which was done accordingly.

On his arrival at London, he made complaint to earl John, and the bishops, and other nobles of the kingdom, respecting the injuries done to him and his people by the chancellor and his men; and the earl gave orders that the chancellor should take his trial in the king's court for the injury which he had done to his brother the archbishop of York, and to Hugh, bishop of Durham. On the chancellor delaying to do this from day to day, the earl John, and the archbishop of Rouen, and the bishops and principal men of the kingdom, named a peremptory day for his appearance at Reading: on which day there came thither the earl of Mortaigne, and nearly all the bishops, earls, and barons of the kingdom; but though they waited there after the peremptory day, expecting the arrival of the chancellor, he declined to come, or even to send a message. Upon this, earl John, and the bishops who were with him, prepared to set out for London, that being there met by a more considerable number of persons, they might enjoy the benefit of the advice of the citizens of London, what to do as to their chancellor, who had created this confusion in the kingdom, and refused to take his trial.

On the chancellor hearing this, he left Windsor and hastened to London, and, while on the road, it so happened that his household and knights met the knights of earl John, on which a sharp engagement took place between them. In this affair one of the knights of earl John, by name Roger de Planis, lost his life; however, the earl prevailed, and the chancellor and

his men taking to flight, he entered London, and took refuge with his people in the Tower of London. Earl John, and nearly all the bishops and earls of England, also entered London on the same day, namely, the third day after the octave of Saint Michael, and, on the following day, the said earl John, the king's brother, and the archbishop of Rouen, and all the bishops, and the earls, and barons, met the citizens of London in Saint Paul's Churchyard, and there made accusation against the said chancellor of many offences, and especially the injuries he had done to the lord archbishop of York and the lord bishop of Durham.

The associates also of the said chancellor whom the king had associated with him in the government of the kingdom, accused him of many offences, saying that, despising their advice, he had transacted all the affairs of the kingdom according to impulse and his own will. The archbishop of Rouen also, and William Marshal, earl of Striguil, then for the first time produced before the people the sealed letters from our lord the king, in which the king had sent orders from Messina that they should be associated with him in the government of the kingdom, and that, without the advice of them and the other persons so appointed, he was not to act in the affairs of the king and the kingdom, and that if he should do anything to the detriment of the kingdom, or without the consent of the persons beforenamed, he should be deposed, and the archbishop of Rouen substituted in his place.

It seemed good therefore to John, the king's brother, and all the bishops, earls, and barons of the kingdom, and to the citizens of London, that the chancellor should be deposed, and they accordingly deposed him, and substituted in his place the archbishop of Rouen, who was willing to do nothing in the government of the kingdom except with the will and consent of the persons assigned to him as associates therein, and with the sanction of the barons of the exchequer. On the same day, also, the earl of Mortaigne, the archbishop of Rouen, and the other justiciaries of the king, granted to the citizens of London the privilege of their commonalty; and, during the same year, the earl of Mortaigne, the archbishop of Rouen, and the other justiciaries of the king, made oath that they would solemnly and inviolably observe the said privilege, so long as the same should please their lord the king. The citizens of London also made oath that they would faithfully serve their lord

king Richard, and his heirs, and would, if he should die without issue, receive earl John, the brother of king Richard, as their king and lord. They also swore fealty to him against all men, saving always their fealty to king Richard, his brother. Upon this, the chancellor, being deposed, made oath that he would surrender all the castles throughout England, and immediately surrendered to him the Tower of London; and he delivered it to the archbishop of Rouen, as also Windsor, and some other castles, but not all of them.

On this occasion, Hugh de Nunant, the bishop of Coventry, wrote to the following effect:

The Letter of Hugh, bishop of Coventry, on the deposition of William, bishop of Ely, the king's chancellor.

"The things that are committed to writing are beyond doubt bequeathed to posterity, to the end that the page that is confirmed by the testimony of a few, may either advise for the safety, or redound to the benefit of, many: and may what is here set down be considered as an illustration of the truth of the same. For many things are committed to writing by way of caution, that the same may be done; and many, again, that they may not be done; that so the church of Christ may profit on either side, and may both seek what is to be coveted and shun what is to be avoided. For this reason it is our wish that the fall of the bishop of Ely should, by letters attesting the same, be brought to the notice of all; to the end that in this illustration humility may always find that by which to profit, and pride that which to hold in dread. For he was a great man among all the people of the west, and, as though gifted with a twofold right hand, wielded the power of the kingdom and the authority of the Apostolic See, and was in possession of the king's seal over all lands, so as to be enabled to govern according to his own will, and of his own power to bring all things to completion; even in the same degree of estimation as both king and priest together was he held: nor was there any person to be found to dare to offer resistance to his will. For he said, and the thing was done, he commanded, and all means were discovered. In his hands were the royal treasures, the whole of the king's riches, and the entire exchequer, so much so that all property whatsoever that swam beneath our skies was no longer said to belong to the king, but to him. For

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