The king of England, on hearing of this, returned into Normandy, and a conference being held between him and the king of France, between Gisors and Trie, on the twelfth day before the calends of February, being the day of Saint Agnes the Virgin and Martyr, they met there, together with the archbishops, bishops, earls and barons of their kingdoms. At this interview, the archbishop of Trie was present, who, filled with the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, in a wonderful manner preached the word of God before the kings and princes, and turned their hearts to assuming the cross; and those who before were enemies, at his preaching, with the aid of God, were made friends on that same day, and from his hands received the cross; while at the same hour there appeared the sign of the cross above them in the heavens; on beholding which miracle multitudes of persons rushed in whole troops to assume the cross.

The kings before-named, on assuming the cross, for the purpose of recognizing their various nations, adopted distinguishing signs for themselves and their people. For the king of France and his people wore red crosses; the king of England with his people white crosses; while Philip, earl of Flanders, with his people, wore green crosses. After this, they departed, each to his own country, for the purpose of providing all necessaries for themselves and the expedition. Accordingly, Henry king of England, after he had thus assumed the cross, came to Le Mans, where, on his arrival, he gave orders that every one should give a tenth part of his revenues in the present year, and of his chattels, by way of alms, as a subsidy to the land of Jerusalem, the following articles being excepted therefrom: the arms, horses, and garments of men-at-arms, and the horses, books, clothes, vestments, and all kinds of sacred vessels belonging to the clergy, as also all precious stones belonging to either the clergy or laity; excommunication having been first pronounced by the archbishops, bishops, and rural deans,78 in each parish against every one who should not lawfully pay his before-mentioned tithe in the presence and at the assessment of those whose duty it was to be present thereat.

Further, the said money was to be collected in each parish in the presence of the priest of the parish, the rural dean, one Templar, one Hospitaller, one member of the household of our

78 It is not improbable that at this period these were the persons called "Archipresbyteri." At an earlier time, they were the bishop's deputies in the performance of the cathedral duties.

lord the king, a clerk of the king, and a yeoman of the baron's household, his clerk, and the clerk of the bishop; and if any one should give less, according to their conscientious assessment, than he ought, four or six lawful men of the parish were to be chosen, who, on oath, were to state the amount that he ought to have stated, on which he would be bound to add the amount by which it was deficient. Clerks, however, and knights who should assume the cross, were not to pay any such tithes ; but the revenues from their demesnes, and whatever their vassals should owe as their due, were to be collected by the abovenamed persons, and to be remitted to them untouched.

The bishops, also, were by their letters in each parish of their respective dioceses, to cause notice to be given on the day of the Nativity, of Saint Stephen, and of Saint John, that each person was to collect the before-mentioned tithe due from him by the day of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, and, on the day after the same, was lawfully to pay it to those present of the persons named, at such place as should be appointed.

In addition to this, it was decreed by our lord the pope, that whatever clerk or layman should assume the cross, he should, on the authority of God and of the holy Apostles, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, be free and absolved from all sins as to which he should have repented and made confession. It was also enacted by the kings, archbishops, bishops, and other princes of the land, that all those persons, both clerks and laymen, who should not go on this expedition, should pay tithes of their revenues and moveables for the present year, and of all their chattels, both in gold and silver, and of all other things, with the exception of the garments, books, and vestments of the clerks and priests, and with the exception of the horses, arms, and clothing of men at arms, pertaining to the use of their own persons. It was also enacted that all clerks, knights, and yeomen who should undertake the said expedition, should have the tenths of their lands and of their vassals, and should pay nothing for themselves. Burgesses, however, and villeins, who, without the permission of their superior lords, should assume the cross, were still to pay tithes.

It was also enacted that no one should swear profanely, and that no one should play at games of chance or at dice; and no one was after the ensuing Easter to wear beaver, or gris,79 or sable, or scarlet; and all were to be content with two 79 Grey fur; the word is used by Chaucer.

dishes.80 No one was to take any woman with him on the pilgrimage, unless, perhaps, some laundress to accompany him on foot, about whom no suspicion could be entertained; and no person was to have his clothes in rags or torn. It was also enacted that whatever clerk or layman should, before assuming the cross, have mortgaged his revenues, he was to have the income of the present year in full, and after the expiration of the year the creditor was again to have the revenues thereof, upon the understanding, however, that the revenues which he should then receive should be reckoned towards payment of the debt, and that the debt, from the period of the debtor assuming the cross, should not bear interest, so long as the debtor should be absent on the pilgrimage.

It was also enacted that all clerks and laymen who should set out on the said pilgrimage, should be at liberty legally to mortgage their incomes, whether ecclesiastical, or lay, or otherwise, from the Easter, when they should set out, for a period of three years, upon the understanding that the creditors should, in whatever case they should be due to the creditors, take in full, for three years from the Easter beforementioned, all the profits of the revenues which they should so hold in mortgage. It was also enacted that whoever should die on the pilgrimage, should leave his money which he must have taken with him on the pilgrimage, to be divided for the maintenance of his servants, for the assistance of the land of Jerusalem, and for the sustenance of the poor, according to the judgment of certain discreet men, who were to be appointed for the performance of that duty.

All the above-mentioned statutes were framed and enacted at Le Mans, by Henry, king of England, in presence of his son Richard, earl of Poitou, William, archbishop of Tours, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, Walter, archbishop of Rouen, and in presence of John, bishop of Evreux, Ralph, bishop of Anjou, R., bishop of Le Mans, and M., bishop of Nantes, as also in presence of Hugh de Nunant, bishop of Chester elect, Lisardus, bishop of Seez elect, and in presence of the barons of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.

These matters being accordingly arranged beforehand, the king of England appointed servants of his, clerks and laymen, to collect the before-mentioned tithes throughout all his terri90 44 Exempto," "except," follows this word: the passage appears to be mutilated.

VOL. II.

G

tories beyond sea, and shortly after crossed over and landed in England, at Winchelsea, on Saturday, the third day before the calends of February. In the meantime, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, who had come to England before the king, consecrated Hugh de Nunant bishop of Coventry.

Immediately upon his landing in England, our lord the king held a great council of bishops, abbats, earls, and barons, and many others, both clergy and laity, at Gaintington, where, in the hearing of the people, he caused all the above-mentioned ordinances to be proclaimed, which he had enacted on the subject of assuming the cross. After they had been proclaimed, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, and Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, his deputy, delivered wonderful sermons on the same day before the king and his chief men, on the subject of the Word of the Lord and the mysteries of salvation gained by the cross.

After this, our lord the king sent his servants, the clerks and laymen, throughout all the counties of England, to collect the tithes according to his order made as above-mentioned in his territories beyond sea. But in each of the cities throughout England he caused all the richest men to be selected, namely, in London two hundred, in York one hundred, and in other cities according to their quantity and numbers, and made them all appear before him on days and places named; on which he received from them the tenths of their property, according to an estimate made by trustworthy men who were acquainted with their incomes and possessions; and if he found any inclined to be contumacious, he immediately caused them to be imprisoned and kept in irons until they had paid the last farthing. He did the same with the Jews in his territories, and received from them an immense sum of money.

After this, he sent Hugh, bishop of Durham, and others of the clergy and laity, to William, king of the Scots, to collect the tithes in his kingdom; on hearing which the king of Scotland met them between Werk and Brigham, in Lothian, and would not allow them to enter his kingdom to collect the tithes, but offered to give to his liege lord the king of England five thousand marks of silver instead of the above-named tithes, and on condition that he might have his castles back again; but to this the king of England would not agree.

Philip, king of the Franks, also caused the tenths of the incomes and property of his subjects to be collected throughout all his territories. In the same year, Richard, earl of Poitou,

Raymond, count of Saint Gilles, Aimar, count of Angoulême, Geoffrey de Rancon, Geoffrey de Lezivant, and nearly all the more powerful men in Poitou, engaged in war, all against the before-named Richard, and he against all; he, however, was victorious. Among other persons whom he took prisoners in the territory of the count of Saint Gilles, he captured Peter Seillun, by whose advice the before-named count of Saint Gilles had taken some traders of the territory of the earl of Poitou, and had done many injuries to him and his lands. Accordingly, earl Richard placed this Peter in close confinement and in most rigorous custody. The count of Saint Gilles being able on no terms to ransom him, he set spies throughout his cities and castles, to arrest any persons they could find belonging to the household of the king of England, or of earl Richard his son; and it so happened that, a few days after, as Robert Poer and his brother Ralph, two knights of the household and retinue of our lord the king, were passing through the territories of the count of Saint Gilles, from Saint Jago, which they had been visiting on a pilgrimage, the men of the count of Saint Gilles laid hands on them, and carried them in chains to the count; on which, the count said to them, "Unless Richard, the earl of Poitou, delivers up to me my servant Peter, and sets him at liberty, you shall not escape from my hands." On hearing this, earl Richard made answer, that he would neither make entreaties or give money for their ransom, inasmuch as the respect due to their character as pilgrims, ought to suffice for their liberation.

82

Upon this, the king of France ordered them to be set at liberty, not for his love or respect for the king of England, or for his son Richard, but out of respect and esteem for Saint James the Apostle. However, earl Richard entered the territories of the count of Saint Gilles with a great army, laid it waste with fire and sword, and besieged and took his castles in the neighbourhood of Toulouse. Upon this, the king of the Franks, hearing the lamentations of the people of Toulouse, sent his envoys to England to the king of England, to enquire if the mischief which was being done by his son Richard was being done by his direction, and to demand reparation for the same. To this the king of England made answer, that his son Richard had done none of these things by 81 Roger of Wendover calls him "de Liziniac."

82 Saint Jago of Compostella, in Spain.