In the year 1112, on the third day before the nones of May, being Sunday, Samson, the twenty-fifth bishops1 of Worcester, departed this life. In October, Henry, king of the English, placed earl Robert de Belesme in confinement at Cherburg.

In the year 1113, the city of Worcester was, on the calends of July, destroyed by fire, with the principal church and all the others, and the castle. One of the monks, a person of the greatest utility to the monastery, together with two servants and fifteen citizens, perished in the flames. In the month of July, Henry, king of the English, returned to England, and bringing with him earl Robert de Belesme from Normandy, placed him in close custody at Wareham. On the fourth day before the nones of October, two men of exemplary virtue departed this life; Thomas, the prior, and Coleman, a monk, of the venerable church of Saint Mary at Worcester, men of noble extraction. On the fifth day before the calends of January, being the Lord's day, Teulph, the king's chaplain, received the bishopric of Worcester at Windsor.

In the year 1114, on the eighth day before the ides of January, Matilda, daughter of Henry, king of the English, was married to Henry, the emperor of the Romans, at Mentz, and consecrated empress. On the sixth day before the calends of March, being the third day of the week, Thomas the Younger, archbishop of York, departed this life. When he was first taken ill, his medical men told him that he could not recover, except by means of carnal knowledge of a woman; on which he made answer, "Shame upon a malady which requires sensuality for its cure!" and being thus chosen by the Lord while of virgin purity closed his temporal life. On the sixth day before the calends of May, being the Lord's day, Ralph, bishop of Rochester, was elected at Windsor archbishop of Canterbury. On the third day before the nones of May, being the third day of the week, the city of Chichester, together with the principal monastery, was, through culpable carelessness, destroyed by fire.

On the day of the Assumption of Saint Mary, Turstin, the king's chaplain, was, at Winchester, elected to the archbishopric of York, and Arnulph, abbat of Burgh, was chosen bishop of Hereford. Henry, king of the English, after leading an army into Wales, before the feast of Saint Michael crossed the

51 He is by mistake called "Archiepiscopus," "archbishop."

sea.

In this year, the river which bears the name of Medway, for a distance of some miles, receded so far from its bed, on the sixth day before the ides of October, that in the very middle of it not even the smallest vessel could make the slightest way. On the same day, the river Thames was also sensible of a similar decrease; for between the bridge and the royal tower, 52 and even under the bridge, so greatly was the water of the river diminished, that an innumerable multitude of men and boys forded it on foot, the water scarcely reaching to their knees. This ebb of the tide continued from the middle of the preceding night until dark on the following night. We have heard also on good authority that on the same day a similar low tide happened at Girvemuthe53 and other places throughout England.

In the year 1115, there was a most severe winter, so much so, that nearly all the bridges throughout England were broken

by the ice. The emperor Henry, after besieging the city of Cologne and losing many of his men in a pitched battle, made peace, which he ratified by oath at the city of Neuss.54 On the fifth day before the calends of July, being the Lord's day, Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, received the pall from Anselm, 55 the legate of the holy Roman Church, at Canterbury, and on the same day was consecrated with great honor; at which place, also, were assembled the bishops of the whole of England. Teulph, bishop of Worcester, departed this life, and was succeeded by Wilfrid, bishop of Saint David's, in Wales; up to this time, the bishops of that see had been Welchmen, but he was succeeded by Barnard, the queen's chancellor. On the octave of the Apostles Saint Peter and Paul, a great council was held at Chalons, by Conon, a cardinal of the Roman church, at which he excommunicated those bishops who were not present at the council, and degraded some; some abbats also he deprived of their staffs and removed from their offices, forbidding them the performance of ecclesiastical duties.

In the month of July, Henry, king of the English, returned to England. Turgot, formerly prior of the church of Durham,

52 The Tower of London.

53 He probably means the vicinity of Jarrow; in allusion to the large inlet of shoaly water, now called Jarrow Slake.

54 A town or city of Germany, not far from Cologne.

55 He was nephew to archbishop Anselm, then lately deceased.

and afterwards bishop of the Scots,56 having returned to Durham, there departed this life. About the period of the feast of All Saints, Reinelm, bishop of Hereford, died, and was succeeded by Gosfrid, the king's chaplain. On the day of Saint Stephen the Martyr, Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, ordained at that place Arnulph, abbat of Burgh, bishop of Rochester, and Gosfrid, the king's chaplain, bishop of Hereford.

In the year 1116, during the spring, Griffin, the son of Rees, carried off considerable booty into Wales, and burned some castles, in consequence of which, Henry, king of England, was unwilling to allow him to possess a particle of the lands of his father. On the fourteenth day before the calends of April, the earls and barons of the whole of England met at Salisbury. Here a trial took place relative to a dispute which had continued during a whole year, between Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, and Turstin, archbishop elect of York. The latter, on being requested by the archbishop to do what was his duty to the church of Canterbury, and after the ecclesiastical usage, receive his benediction, made answer that he would willingly receive the benediction, but would on no account make the profession 58 which he required. On this, king Henry, perceiving that Turstin persisted in his obstinacy, openly protested that he must act after the manner of his predecessors, both as to making the profession, as also in other matters pertaining to the dignity of the church of Canterbury of ancient right, or else give up the archbishopric of York altogether, as well as the benediction; on hearing which, without previous consideration, Turstin renounced the archbishopric, and promised the king and the archbishop that he would not claim it again as long as he lived, nor would make any charge relative thereto, whoever might be substituted in his place.

At this time, Owen, king of the Welch, was slain. Henry, king of the English, crossed the sea, attended by Turstin, the archbishop elect of York, who hoped to obtain re-instalment into the see, and by the king's command receive the benediction from the archbishop, without the profession being exacted of him. The above-named Anselm, the legate of the Roman church who had brought the pall from Rome to the archbishop of Canterbury, returned from Rome about the month 56 Of Saint Andrews. 56* In Welch, Griffin ap Rice. 58 Of subjection to the see of Canterbury.

of August, and came to Normandy to king Henry, bringing letters from the successor of the Apostles, which directed him to act in England on behalf of the Apostolic see. This being soon spread abroad throughout the whole of England, by the advice of the queen and some of the nobles, Ralph, the archbishop of Canterbury, after the nativity of Saint Mary, crossed the sea, and went to the king whom he found staying at Rouen, and after having carefully conferred with him on the business on which he had come, taking each matter in its proper order, by the king's advice set out on his way to Rome.

In the year 1117, by the command of king Henry, the new works at Cirencester were begun. In Lombardy, a great earthquake took place, and, according to the testimony of those who knew the fact, lasted for a period of forty days, during which time many buildings fell to the ground; and, a thing marvellous to be seen and spoken of, a certain town, of very considerable magnitude, was suddenly moved from its original site, and is at the present day to be seen by all at a place far distant. While some men of patrician rank at Milan were discoursing on matters of state, sitting beneath a certain tower, a voice from outside resounded in the ears of all, calling one of them by name, and begging him to come out immediately; on his delaying, a person appeared, and with entreaties, begged the man who had been called, to come forth; on doing which, the tower was suddenly overthrown, and in its dreadful fall buried all who were there.

On the calends of December, there was great thunder and lightning, which was followed by a vast deluge of rain and hail; on the third day before the ides of the same month, the moon appeared at first of the colour of blood, after which it became overshadowed. Robert, bishop of Chester, died.

In the year 1118, pope Paschal of holy memory departed this life, on the fourteenth day before the calends of February; and in his place was appointed one John, a native of Gaeta, who, changing his name, was called Gelasius. From his infancy he had been brought up as a monk, at the monastery of Monte Casino, and after he had grown up had assiduously fulfilled the duties of chancellor, during the ministration of the venerable successors of the Apostles, Desiderius, Urban, and Paschal.

Henry, king of Germany, who was also emperor of Rome,

on hearing that the pope was dead, flew to Rome, and nominated the bishop of Braga, who had been excommunicated at Beneventum by the same pope the previous year, to be pope, changing his name from Bourdin to Gregory; on which Gelasius retired from the city. On the day before the calends of May, Matilda, queen of the English, departed this life at Westminster, and was becomingly buried at the monastery there. At this period, many of the Normans, forsaking the fealty which they had sworn to king Henry, and having no fear of retribution, betook themselves to Louis, king of the Franks and his principal men, who were the enemies of their natural lord. In this year died Robert, earl of Mellent.

The above-named pope Gelasius came by sea to Burgundy, and his arrival soon became known throughout Gaul. On the seventeenth day before the calends of February, he sent a letter throughout Gaul to the archbishops, bishops, abbats, secular clergy, and principal men, complaining that he had been expelled with violence by the emperor from Rome, and that the bishop of Braga, an excommunicated person, had been thrust into the Apostolic See; at the same time, exhorting them to prepare themselves by their assistance in common to avenge the cause of the mother Church. These letters having been circulated throughout the provinces, all the men of influence were aroused, together with the middle classes, to go to meet the successor of the Apostles, and prepared with every possible effort to be present at the council, which he declared he would hold at Rheims at the time of Mid-Lent.

In this year, a certain church having been dedicated at a town in England, called Momerfield, by Geoffrey, bishop of Hereford, as the people were returning home who had attended the dedication, after the serenity of the weather which had previously prevailed, on a sudden a most violent tempest arose, attended with thunder; some persons were struck with lightning and perished, while unable to get away from a place in which they had taken shelter. They were five in number, namely, three men and two women, one of which last was struck by a thunderbolt and killed, while the other woman was shockingly smitten from the navel down to the soles of her feet, and perished, enveloped in flames; the men alone with difficulty escaped with their lives, while their five horses were destroyed by the lightning.