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In the same year, and the same week in which the king landed in England, a spring of running water, near the church of Saint Winin, in the western parts of the territories of the king of Scotland, below Tyningham, and not far from the castle of Irwine,29 flowed with blood, without intermission, for eight days and as many nights. In the same year, the king's daughter, the duchess of Saxony, was delivered of a son at Winchester. In this year also, Theobald, count of Blois, uncle to Philip, king of France, came into England on a pilgrimage to Saint Thomas, at Canterbury. In this year also, Henry, duke of Saxony, the king's son-in-law, came to England. In the same year died Simon, earl of Huntingdon, on whose decease the king gave the said earldom to William, king of the Scots; immediately on which, in presence of the king, he conferred the earldom on his brother David.

In the same year, Gilbert de Plumpton, a knight of noble birth, being led in chains to Worcester, and accused of rape before our lord, the king of England, by Ranulph de Glanville, justiciary of England, who wished to condemn him, he was by an unjust judgment condemned to be hanged on a gibbet; and when he was led forth to the gibbet, there met him a multitude of men and women, crying aloud and saying, that a righteous and innocent man ought not thus to suffer. Upon this, Baldwin, the bishop of Worcester, a religious man and one who feared God, hearing the shouts of the people, and learning the injustice that was being perpetrated against this wretched man, ran after him; but the ministers of wickedness, hastening to perpetrate their crime, fastening a rope round his neck had suspended him aloft, when lo! the bishop of Worcester came up in all haste, and said to the executioners; "In behalf of Almighty God, and under pain of excommunication, I forbid you to put that man to death this day, for it is the Lord's day, and the feast of Saint Mary Magdalen." At these words

the executioners stood astounded, hesitating what to do, for they feared the king's justice, and dreaded sentence of excommunication. However, the Divine power prevailed, and from respect for the solemnity of the day, they loosed the rope and let him come to the ground, to be kept until the next morning; when he was to undergo the same punishment. That same night, our lord the king, being moved with pity, and influenced

29 Irving.

by the counsels of his followers, commanded that he should remain as he was, until he should give further orders what was to be done with him; for he was aware that Ranulph de Glanville had thus acted towards him from feelings of dislike, and wished to put him to death on account of his wife, the daughter of Roger Gulewast, whom the said Ranulph wished to give in marriage, together with her inheritance, to his friend Reiner, the sheriff of York. Accordingly, the knight, being rescued from death, was kept in prison by Ranulph de Glanville, until the king's death.

After this, our lord the king came to Reading, and holding a council there as to choosing a pastor for the Church of Canterbury, a strife and contention arose between the monks of Canterbury and the bishops of England. For the monks. claimed to have the first voice in the election, and produced a charter of our lord the king, by which he had granted and confirmed to them freedom of election. The bishops, on the other hand, used their best endeavours to prove that that charter ought not to be observed, both because it was made contrary to law, and tended to the injury of the Church of England, as also, because the election of their own metropolitan belonged to themselves. In consequence of this dispute, no terms could be come to between them on the present occasion.

By command of our lord the king, the bishops of England and the monks of Canterbury met at London, in the king's presence, for the election of an archbishop of Canterbury; and, the contention still continuing, Gilbert, bishop of London, who, according to the ancient right of his see, had the first voice in the election, made choice of Baldwin, the bishop of Worcester, as archbishop of Canterbury, on the fourth day before the nones of December; upon which all the bishops gave their assent to that choice; the monks of the Church of Canterbury, being the only persons who made any opposition, departed for the purpose of appealing to our lord the pope, and the bishops of England presented to the king the person whom they had elected. On their presentation and election, our lord the king received him with the kiss of peace and love; which example was followed by Richard, Geoffrey, and John, the king's sons.

After this, our lord the king came to Canterbury, for the purpose of putting an end to the angry feelings of the monks,

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and, holding a conference with them, prevailed upon them to elect as their archbishop the before-named Baldwin, which they accordingly did; for Alan, the prior of the church of the Holy Trinity at Canterbury, came to London with the less infirm part of his chapter, and with letters of confirmation. On their meeting together in the Chapter house of the monks of Westminster, they elected for themselves and the Church of Canterbury, the before-named Baldwin as archbishop; and then, that they might not appear to have assented to the election of the bishops, sang their own "Te Deum Laudamus," and led him to the altar, and, receiving him with the kiss of peace, presented him to the king, who again received him with the kiss of peace and love; as did Richard, earl of Poitou, his son. After this, the king confirmed the treaty and final reconciliation by writing, and ratified the same, after its confirmation, by oath on part of his sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John, in presence of queen Eleanor their mother, Henry, duke of Saxony, and many others.

The

In the same year, the archbishop of Cologne, came to England on a pilgrimage to Saint Thomas of Canterbury, on which the king of England met him with congratulations, and prevailed upon him to lay aside his anger and displeasure towards Henry, duke of Saxony, and receive him into the favour which he had formerly enjoyed when honored with his esteem. before-named archbishop of Cologne also, at the entreaty of the king of England, agreed that the daughter of Frederic, emperor of the Romans, should be given in marriage to Richard, earl of Poitou, the king's son: for he knew that this was the especial wish and desire of the emperor. After this, the before-named archbishop, and Philip, earl of Flanders, who had come with him over to England, returned to Flanders, and, having levied a great army, invaded the territories of the earl of Hainault, and ravaged them, in revenge for the injuries which he had inflicted on the earl of Flanders.

In the same year, died the empress of the Romans, the wife of the emperor Frederic. In this year also, died Gilbert de Ver, abbat of Selby, and Gerard,30 surnamed La Pucelle, bishop of Chester. In the same year also, died Waleran, bishop of Rochester, Clement, abbat of Saint Mary's at York, Simon, earl of Huntingdon, Jocelyn, bishop of Salisbury, Bartholomew,

30 See the note at page 31.

In this year

bishop of Exeter, and the earl of Warwick. also, died the daughter of Frederic, emperor of the Romans, who, as above stated, was to have been married to Richard, earl of Poitou. In this year also, the church of Saint Julian, at the city of Le Mans, was destroyed by fire. The abbey of Glastonbury was also burnt in this year.

In the same year, our lord the king of England, being anxious to make peace between the duke of Saxony and the emperor Frederic, by the advice of the archbishop of Cologne, sent his envoys, Hugh de Nunant, archdeacon of Lisieux, and some others of his clerks, and of the members of his household, to Lucius, the Supreme Pontiff, in order that through his aid the before-named emperor might receive the duke of Saxony into favour. Accordingly, the king's envoys, coming to the court of our lord the pope, found him at Verona in Italy; and while they were staying there with him, Frederic, emperor of the Romans, came thither for the purpose of holding a conference with the pope; at whose urgent request the before-named emperor gave the duke of Saxony permission to return to his country, and released him from all the oaths which he had taken as to remaining in exile; our lord the pope also absolved him from the oath which he had taken to the emperor.

In the same year, Thomas Fitz-Bernard departed this life, who, after the decease of Alan de Neville, had been appointed by our lord the king chief justiciary of all the forests in England; upon whose decease our lord the king divided his forests in England into different parts, and over each part appointed four justices, namely, two clerks and two knights; also two yeomen of his household to be guardians of vert and venison, over all the other foresters, both those of the king as well as of the knights and barons; and he sent them to hold pleas of forestal matters, in conformity with the Assize of the Forests previously mentioned.

31

In the same year, our lord the king came to Worcester, for the purpose of marching thence with a large army into Wales, to wage war against the Welch, who had ravaged his territories and slain his subjects. Rees, the son of Griffin, however, dreading his attack, having obtained a safe-conduct from the king, came to Worcester, and there swore fealty to the king of England, and that he would give his son and nephews as hostages 31 Rice, or Rhys ap Griffyd.

to the king; but, on his attempting to bring them, they refused to accompany him.

In the same year, our lord the king gave to William, the prior of the church of Saint Augustin, at Bristol, the bishopric of Bangor. In the same year, the priest Swerre, who was also called Birkebain, slew Magnus, king of Norway.

In this year also, the astrologers both of Spain and Sicily, as also the diviners throughout almost the whole world, both Greek and Latin, wrote and set forth nearly one and the same opinion as to the conjunction of the planets. On this occasion, a certain astrologer, Corumphira by name, wrote to the following effect:

Auguries from the Conjunction of the Planets.

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Almighty God hath known and the science of numbers hath disclosed, that the planets, both superior as well as inferior, will come in conjunction in Libra, that is to say in September, in the year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal and true God, one thousand one hundred and eighty-six; and in the year of the Arabians five hundred and eighty-two. During the year this conjunction will be preceded by a partial eclipse of the sun, which will be of a fiery colour; this, taking place on the first hour of the twenty-first day of the month of April, will be preceded by a total eclipse of the moon, in the said month of April; that is to say, on the fifth day thereof, and at the first hour of the night that shall precede Wednesday; this, if God shall so will, nay rather because He does so will, shall so will, hath so willed, and will not cease so to will. Therefore, in the year before-named, the planets being, by the will of God, in Libra, that is to say, in an aërial and windy sign, the Dragon also contributing as a cause thereto, a wondrous earthquake will take place, and especially in those regions in which such things have been in the habit of taking place, and will destroy certain places that have been subject to earthquakes and liable to the mischances of utter ruin. For in the parts of the East there shall arise a mighty wind, and with its strong blasts it shall blacken the air and shall corrupt it with its

32 If he alludes to the Hegira, he is wrong here; A.D. 1186 would be the 564th year of the Hegira.

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