[1] In this chapter we have to make more use than usual of the Scottish, British, and Northumbrian writers. I do not undertake to go very deeply into any purely literary questions about them. I have simply used them for facts, and have dealt with their statements according to the usual rules of criticism. The Scottish and Northumbrian writers will be found in Mr. Skene’s edition of Fordun and in the Surtees Society’s edition of Simeon. This last contains, among other things, Turgot’s Life of Saint Margaret and the passages from Fordun which profess to be extracts from Turgot. The Surtees’ text and Mr. Skene’s text do not always agree, but their differences are not often of much importance for my purposes. It is certainly strange if some of these passages really come from a contemporary writer. For Welsh matters we are, to my mind, better off. Unhappily I do not know enough of the Welsh tongue really to make use of the originals, though I am not utterly at the mercy of the translator as to proper names and technical terms. In the Chronicles and Memorials are two volumes of most valuable matter which need a fresh editor. It is not my business to enter into any questions as to their authorship, how far it is due to Caradoc of Llancarfan or anybody else. In any case the Latin Annales Cambriæ, meagre as they are, form a thoroughly good and trustworthy record, but the Editor seems in many places to have been unable either to read his manuscript or to construe his Latin. Many of the readings too which are most valuable historically are thrust into notes. The Welsh Brut y Tywysogion, published in the same series by the same Editor, is a fuller version of the Annals, and also I believe essentially trustworthy. I have been obliged to quote this in the translation, though often with some doubts as to its accuracy. In the preface a good deal of matter by the late Mr. Aneurin Owen is reprinted without acknowledgement. There is also another Brut y Tywysogion, otherwise “The Gwentian Chronicles of Caradoc of Llancarvan,” translated by Mr. Owen and published by the Cambrian Archæological Association. Here we have the translating and editing of a really eminent Welsh scholar, but the book, as a historical authority, is very inferior to either the Latin Annals or the other Brut. A great deal of legendary matter, some of which must be of quite a late date, has been thrust in. I quote the more trustworthy Brut in the Chronicles and Memorials as the elder, and that published by the Cambrian Archæological Association as the later Brut.
[2] Chron. Petrib. 1093. See Appendix BB.
[3] See vol. i. p. 304.
[4] Chron. Petrib. 1093. See Appendix BB.
[5] See vol. i. p. 307.
[6] See vol. i. p. 298.
[7] See vol. i. p. 410.
[8] See vol. i. p. 421.
[9] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 259.
[10] See N. C. vol. ii. p. 355.
[11] See vol. i. p. 417.
[12] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 237.
[13] See N. C. vol. v. p. 629.
[14] So says the Northern interpolator of Florence whom we are used to call Simeon, 1093; “Ecclesia nova Dunelmi est incepta tertio idus Augusti feria quinta, episcopo Willelmo et Malcholmo rege Scottorum et Turgoto priore ponentibus primos in fundamento lapides.” Fordun (v. 20) says the same in a passage which purports to come from Turgot, and of which we shall have to speak again. It is certainly remarkable, as Mr. Hinde remarks in his note on the passage in the Gesta Regum (i. 104), that in the History of the Church of Durham (iv. 8) Simeon makes no mention of Malcolm. “Eo die episcopus, et qui post eum secundus erat in ecclesia prior Turgotus, cum cæteris fratribus primos in fundamento lapides posuerunt. Nam paulo ante, id est, iiii. Kal. Augusti feria vi. idem episcopus et prior, facta cum fratribus oratione, ac data benedictione, fundamenta cœperant fodere.”
[15] Chron. Petrib. 1093. See Appendix BB.
[16] Ib.
[17] This is from Florence. See Appendix BB.
[18] See Appendix BB.
[19] See N. C. vol. i. pp. 58, 119, 576, 579.
[20] Chron. Petrib. 1093. See Appendix BB.
[21] See Appendix CC.
[22] See vol. i. p. 297.
[23] See Appendix CC.
[24] See N. C. vol. i. pp. 315, 648.
[25] See Appendix CC.
[26] Chron. Petrib. 1091. “Hine sloh Moræl of Bæbbaburh se wæs þæs eorles stiward and Melcolmes cinges godsib.” See N. C. vol. iii. pp. 456, 777.
[27] On the history of Tynemouth, see Appendix FF.
[28] Will. Malms. iii. 250. “Humatus multis annis apud Tinemuthe, nuper ab Alexandro filio Scotiam ad Dunfermlin portatus est.”
[29] Sim. Dun. Gesta Regum, 1093. “In cujus morte justitia judicantis Dei aperte consideratur, ut videlicet in illa provincia cum suis interiret, quam sæpe ipse vastare avaritia stimulante consuevit, quinquies namque illam atroci depopulatione attrivit, et miseros indigenas in servitutem redigendos abduxit captivos.”
[30] Ib. “Exercitus illius vel gladiis confoditur, vel qui gladios fugerunt inundatione fluminum, quæ tunc pluviis hiemalibus plus solito excreverant, absorti sunt.”
[31] Ib. “Corpus regis, cum suorum nullus remaneret qui terra illud cooperiret, duo ex indigenis carro impositum in Tynemuthe sepelierunt.”
[32] Sim. Dun. Gesta Regum, 1093. “Sic factum est ut, ubi multos vita et rebus et libertate privaverat, ibidem ipse Dei judicio vitam simul cum rebus amitteret.”
[33] I am sorry that Mr. Burton (Hist. Scotland, i. 416) should have thought it necessary to tell the story of Margaret and her biographer in somewhat mocking tones. I can see nothing but what is exquisitely beautiful and touching in her life as written by Turgot, for Turgot I suppose it really is.
[34] Turgot, Vit. Marg. vi. (Surtees Simeon, p. 241), enlarges on this head; “Fateor, magnum misericordiæ Dei mirabar miraculum, cum viderem interdum tantam orandi regis intentionem, tantam inter orandum in pectore viri sæcularis compunctionem.” He adds, “Quæ ipsa respuerat eadem et ipse respuere, et quæ amaverat, amore amoris illius amare.” William of Malmesbury (iv. 311) speaks to the same effect; Malcolm and Margaret were “ambo cultu pietatis insignes, illa præcipue.”
[35] So witnesses Turgot in the chapter just quoted; “Libros in quibus ipsa vel orare consueverat vel legere, ille, ignarus licet literarum, sæpe manu versare solebat et inspicere: et dum ab ea quis illorum esset ei carior audisset, hunc et ipse cariorem habere, deosculari, sæpius contrectare.” Then follows about the bindings.
[36] Turgot is of course full on this head throughout, and we have a further witness from our own Florence (1093) and Orderic (701 D). From the last we get her bounty to Iona—that barbarous name is more intelligible than any other. In his words it is “Huense cœnobium quod servus Christi Columba, tempore Brudei, regis Pictorum, filii Meilocon, construxerat.”
[37] Turgot, in his fourth chapter, enlarges on the strict order which Margaret kept in her household, especially among her own attendant ladies. “Inerat enim reginæ tanta cum jocunditate severitas, tanta cum severitate jocunditas, ut omnes qui erant in ejus obsequio, viri et feminæ, illam et timendo diligerent et diligendo timerent. Quare in præsentia ejus non solum nihil execrandum facere, sed ne turpe quidem verbum quisquam ausus fuerat proferre. Ipsa enim universa in se reprimens vitia, cum magna gravitate lætabatur, cum magna honestate irascebatur.”
[38] Orderic (703 B, C) has his panegyric on the three brothers, and specially on David; but it is William of Malmesbury (v. 400) who is especially emphatic on the unparalleled purity of life of all three. “Neque vero unquam in acta historiarum relatum est tantæ sanctitatis tres fuisse pariter reges et fratres, maternæ pietatis nectar redolentes; namque præter victus parcitatem, eleemosynarum copiam, orationum assiduitatem, ita domesticum regibus vitium evicerunt, ut nunquam feratur in eorum thalamos nisi legitimas uxores isse, nec eorum quenquam pellicatu aliquo pudicitiam contristasse.”
[39] Will. Malms, ib. “Solus fuit Edmundus Margaritæ filius a bono degener.” We shall hear of him and his doings presently.
[40] Turgot, viii. p. 243. “Scottorum quidam, contra totius ecclesiæ consuetudinem, nescio quo ritu barbaro missam celebrare consueverunt.”
[41] Ib. viii. (Surtees Simeon, p. 243). “Qui [Malcolmus] quoniam perfecte Anglorum linguam æque ac propriam noverat, vigilantissimus in hoc concilio utriusque partis interpres extiterat.”
[42] Ib. vii. (p. 242). “Obsequia regis sublimiora constituit, ut eum procedentem sive equitantem multa cum grandi honore agmina constiparent, et hoc cum tanta censura, ut quocumque devenissent, nulli eorum cuiquam aliquid liceret rapere, nec rusticos aut pauperes quoslibet quolibet modo quisquam illorum opprimere auderet vel lædere.” He describes at some length the new-fashioned splendour which she brought into the Scottish court, and adds; “Et hæc quidem illa fecerat, non quia mundi honore delectabatur, sed, quod regia dignitas ab ea exigebat, persolvere cogebatur.”
[43] Take for instance our own Chronicle, 1093; “Da þa seo gode cwen Margarita þis gehyrde, hyre þa leofstan hlaford and sunu þus beswikene, heo wearð oð deað on mode geancsumed, and mid hire prestan to cyrcean eode, and hire gerihtan underfeng, and æt Gode abæd þæt heo hire gast ageaf.” Florence and Orderic are much to the same effect.
[44] These details come from Turgot, chap. xii, xiii. He was not himself present, having seen her for the last time some while before her death, but late enough to bear witness (chap. xii.) to her expectation of death. The story of her last moments was told to Turgot by a priest who was specially in the Queen’s favour, who was present at her death, and who afterwards became a monk at Durham as an offering for her soul. “Post mortem reginæ, pro ipsius anima perpetuo se Christi servitio tradidit; et ad sepulchrum incorrupti corporis sanctissimi patris Cuthberti suscipiens habitum monachi, seipsum pro ea hostiam obtulit.”
[45] Turgot, ib. “Ipsa quoque illam, quam Nigram Crucem nominare, quamque in maxima semper veneratione habere consuevit, sibi afferri præcepit.” Another manuscript has “Crucem Scotiæ nigram.”
[46] “Quinquagesimum psalmum ex ordine decantans;” that is the fifty-first in our reckoning.
[47] “Ille quod verum erat dicere noluit, ne audita morte illorum continuo et ipsa moreretur; nam respondebat, eos benevalere.”
[48] “Sed in omnibus his non peccavit labiis suis, neque stultum quid contra Deum locuta est.” We must always remember the common habit of reviling God and the saints which it was thought rather a special virtue to be free from. See N. C. vol. ii. p. 24, note.
[49] “In laudem et gratiarum actionem prorupit, dicens: ‘Laudes et gratias tibi, omnipotens Deus, refero, qui me tantas in meo exitu angustias tolerare, hasque tolerantem ab aliquibus peccati maculis, ut spero, voluisti mundare.’”
[50] The place is not mentioned by Turgot in the Life. According to Fordun (v. 21), who professes to copy Turgot, Margaret died “in castro puellarum;” see the Surtees Simeon, p. 262.
[51] “Quod mirum est, faciem ejus, quæ more morientium tota in morte palluerat, ita post mortem rubor cum candore permixtus perfuderat, ut non mortua sed dormiens credi potuisset,” Cf. the picture of her uncle Eadward. See N. C. vol. iii. p. 15.
[52] See Appendix DD.
[53] See Appendix AA.
[54] Three parties are clearly described by Mr. E. W. Robertson, i. 155. There were the remnants of the partisans of the house of Moray, the house of Macbeth, the party of the North, and the partisans of the reigning house, divided into a strictly Scottish and an English party. The success of Donald must have been owing to a momentary union of the first two of these parties. I hardly know what to make of the statement in the Turgot extracts (Simeon, p. 262) that Donald arose “auxilio regis Norwegiæ.”
[55] He appears in Fordun (v. 21) as “Donaldus Rufus vel Bane, frater regis.” One cannot too often remind oneself of the true position of Macbeth. I was perhaps a little hard on him in N. C. vol. ii. p. 55.
[56] Chron. Petrib. 1093. “Þa Scottas þa Dufenal to cynge gecuron, Melcolmes broðer, and ealle þa Englisce út adræfdon, þe ǽr mid þam cynge Melcolme wæron.” So Florence; “Omnes Anglos qui de curia regia extiterunt de Scottia expulerunt.”
[57] See N. C. vol. i. p. 315. And compare the alleged design for a massacre of Normans, N. C. vol. v. p. 281.
[58] In the passages just quoted only English are mentioned. We hear of English and French directly afterwards, when the strangers are driven out in Duncan’s time. This difference may be accidental, or it may be meant to mark a specially Norman element under Duncan which had not shown itself under Malcolm.
[59] Fordun, v. 21. “Filios et filias regis et reginæ sororis suæ congregatos in Angliam secum secretius traduxit, et eos per cognatos et cognitos, non manifeste sed quasi in occulto nutriendos, destinavit. Timuit enim, ne Normanni, qui tunc temporis Angliam invaserant, sibi vel suis malum molirentur, eo quod Angliæ regnum eis hereditario jure debebatur.”
[60] See Appendix EE.
[61] See N. C. vol. v. pp. 244, 294–309.
[62] See N. C. vol. v. p. 169.
[63] See Appendix EE.
[64] See Appendix EE.
[65] Eadmer, Hist. Nov. 57. “Quem pannum in ipsius quidem præsentia gemens ac tremebunda ferebam, sed mox ut me conspectui ejus subtrahere poteram, arreptum in humum jacere, pedibus proterere, et ita quo in odio fervebam, quamvis insipienter, consueveram desævire. Isto, non alio modo, teste conscientia mea, velata fui.”
[66] See Appendix EE.
[67] See vol. i. p. 435.
[68] See vol. i. p. 438.
[69] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 517; vol. v. p. 121. Will. Malms. v. 400; “Ille [Willelmus] Duncanum, filium Malcolmi nothum, militem fecit.” So Fordun, v. 24; “Duncanus, Malcolmi regis filius nothus, cum obses erat in Anglia cum rege Willelmo Rufo, armis militaribus ab eo insignitus.” See N. C. vol. iv. p. 785.
[70] See vol. i. pp. 13, 305.
[71] Chron. Petrib. 1093. “Da þa Dunecan Melcolmes cynges sunu þis eall gehyrde þus gefaren, se on þæs cynges hyrede W. wæs, swa swa his fæder hine ures cynges fæder ær to gisle geseald hæfde, and her swa syððan belaf, he to þam cynge com, and swilce getrywða dyde, swa se cyng æt him habban wolde.” So Florence; “Quibus auditis, filius regis Malcolmi, Dunechan, regem Willelmum, cui tunc militavit, ut ei regnum sui patris concederet petiit, et impetravit, illique fidelitatem juravit.” William of Malmesbury (v. 400) perhaps goes a step too far in saying that William “Duncanum … regem Scottorum mortuo patre constituit.” Fordun (v. 24) takes care to leave out the homage; Duncan is “ejus [Willelmi] auxilio suffultus;” that is all.
[72] Chron. Petrib. 1093. “And swa mid his unne to Scotlande fór, mid þam fultume þe he begytan mihte, Engliscra and Frenciscra [see note, vol. i. p. 30], and his mæge Dufenal þes rices benam, and to cynge wærð underfangen.” So Florence; “Ad Scottiam cum multitudine Anglorum ac Normannorum properavit.”
[73] “Ac þa Scottas hi eft sume gegaderoden, and forneah ealle his mænu ofslogan, and he sylf mid feawum ætbærst.” So Florence.
[74] “Syððan hi wurdon sehte on þa gerád, þæt he næfre eft Englisce ne Frencisce into þam lande ne gelogige.” So Florence; “Post hæc illum regnare permiserunt, ea ratione ut amplius in Scottiam nec Anglos nec Normannos introduceret, sibique militare permitteret.” Mr. Robertson (i. 158) fixes the date of this revolution to May, 1094, which is very likely in itself. But it seems to come from the confused statement of Fordun (v. 24) that Donald reigned six months (November 1093-May 1094), and then Duncan a year and six months, which is a year wrong anyhow.
[75] See Robertson, i. 158, without whose help I might not have recognized a Mormaor in the person described by Fordun (u. s.) as “comes de Mesnys, nomine Malpei, Scottice Malpedir.” William of Malmesbury (v. 400) witnesses to the share of Eadmund, “qui Duvenaldi patrui nequitiæ particeps, fraternæ non inscius necis fuerit, pactus scilicet regni dimidium.” See above, p. 22.
[76] Chron. Petrib. 1094. “Ðises geares eac þa Scottas heora cyng Dunecan besyredon and ofslogan, and heom syððan eft oðre syðe his fæderan Dufenal to cynge genamon, þurh þes lare and totihtinge he wearð to deaðe beswicen.” So Florence; “Interim Scotti regem suum Dunechan, et cum eo nonnullos, suasu et hortatu Dufenaldi per insidias peremerunt, et illum sibi regem rursus constituerunt.” Fordun adds the place of his death and burial; “Apud Monthechin [Monachedin on the banks of the Bervie, says Mr. Robertson] cæsus interiit et insula Iona sepultus.”
[77] See vol. i. p. 474.
[78] Orderic (703 A, B) brings in his account of the rebellion of Earl Robert with a general remark on the pride and greediness of the Normans who had received large estates in England. He then describes their dissatisfaction with the rule of William Rufus in words which are not altogether discreditable to the King; “Invidebant quippe et dolebant quod Guillelmus Rufus audacia et probitate præcipue vigeret, nullumque timens subjectis omnibus rigide imperaret.” That is to say, such justice and such injustice as he did—and in the case of Robert of Mowbray we shall find him doing justice—were both dealt out without respect of persons. Orderic does not specially mention the hunting-laws; but William of Malmesbury (iv. 319) speaks of their harshness, and adds, “Quapropter multa severitate quam nulla condiebat dulcedo, factum est ut sæpe contra ejus salutem a ducibus conjuraretur.” He then goes on to speak of Robert of Mowbray. I hardly see the ground for the word “sæpe.”
[79] Hen. Hunt. vii. 4. “Robertus consul Nordhymbra, in superbiam elatus, quia regem Scottorum straverat.”
[80] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 654.
[81] See vol. i. pp. 249, 256.
[83] See the extract from the Chronicles in p. 55, note 2.
[84] He is on the list in Florence, 1096.
[85] Ord. Vit. 704 C. See vol. i. p. 33.
[86] So says Florence, 1095. “Northymbrensis comes Rotbertus de Mulbrei et Willelmus de Owe, cum multis aliis, regem Willelmum regno vitaque privare, et filium amitæ illius, Stephanum de Albamarno, conati sunt regem constituere, sed frustra.” On the pedigree, see N. C. vol. ii. p. 632.
[87] See vol. i. p. 279.
[88] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 576.
[89] Ord. Vit. 703 C. “Primus cum complicibus suis futile consilium iniit, et manifestam rebellionem sic inchoavit. Quatuor naves magnæ quas canardos vocant, de Northwegia in Angliam appulsæ sunt. Quibus Rodbertus et Morellus nepos ejus ac satellites eorum occurrerunt, et pacificis mercatoribus quidquid habebant violenter abstulerunt.”
[90] Ib. “Illi autem, amissis rebus suis, ad regem accesserunt, duramque sui querimoniam lacrimabiliter deprompserunt.”
[91] Ord. Vit. 703 C. “Qui mox imperiose mandavit Rodberto ut mercatoribus ablata restitueret continuo. Sed omnino contempta est hujusmodi jussio, magnanimus autem rex quantitatem rerum quas amiserant inquisivit, et omnia de suo eis ærario restituit.”
[92] Chron. Petrib. 1095. “And þa to Eastran heold se cyng his hired on Winceastre, and se eorl Rodbeard of Norðhymbran nolde to hirede cuman, and se cyng forðan wearð wið hine swiðe astyrod, and him to sænde, and heardlice bead, gif he griðes weorðe beon wolde, þæt he to Pentecosten to hired come.”
[93] Ib. “On þisum geare wæron Eastron on viii. kal. Apr̃. and þa uppon Eastron, on Sc̃e Ambrosius mæsse night, þæt is ii. noñ Apr̃. wæs gesewen forneah ofer eall þis land, swilce forneah ealle þa niht, swiðe mænifealdlice steorran of heofenan feollan, naht be anan oððe twam, ac swa þiclice þæt hit nan mann ateallan ne mihte.”
[94] See vol. i. p. 478.
[95] See vol. i. pp. 527 et seqq.
[96] See N. C. vol. pp. 149, 621.
[97] See vol. i. p. 530.
[98] Chron. Petrib. 1095. “Hereæfter to Pentecosten wæs se cyng on Windlesoran, and ealle his witan mid him, butan þam eorle of Norðhymbran, forðam se cyng him naðer nolde ne gislas syllan ne uppon trywðan geunnon, þæt he mid griðe cumon moste and faran.”
[99] Ib. “And se cyng forði his fyrde bead, and uppon þone eorl to Norðhymbran fór.” Orderic (703 D) seems also to mark the presence both of the national force and of mercenaries; “Tunc rex, nequitiam viri ferocis intelligens, exercitum aggregavit et super eum validam militiæ virtutem conduxit.”
[100] See vol. i. p. 32.
[101] See the extract in note 1, p. 38. The same seems to be the idea of the Hyde writer, p. 301; “Malcolmum … bellando cum toto pene exercitu interfecit, dum bellare contra regem Willelmum temptat fortuito, ab eo est captus et carceri mancipatus.”
[102] See vol. i. p. 537. This fact comes out only in the two letters from Anselm to Walter of Albano; Epp. Ans. iii. 35, 36. In the first he says “quotidie expectamus ut hostes de ultra mare in Angliam per illos portus, qui Cantuarberiæ vicini sunt, irruant.” He speaks to the same effect in the next letter. They were “in periculo vastandi vel perdendi terram.”
[103] The presence of the Archbishop of York and the Cardinal comes from the second letter. There the Cardinal and Anselm part from the King and Thomas. From the former letter we see that the place was Nottingham.
[104] Ep. iii. 35. “Dominus meus rex ore suo mihi præcepit, antequam ab illo apud Notingeham discederem, et postquam Cantuarberiam redii, mihi mandavit per litteras proprio sigillo signatas, ut Cantuarberiam custodiam, et semper paratus sim ut quacunque hora nuntium eorum qui littora maris ob hoc ipsum custodiunt audiero, undique convocari jubeam equites et pedites, qui accurrentes violentiæ hostium obsistant.” So in Ep. 36; “Rex mihi præcepit ut illam partem regni sui in qua maxime irruptionem hostium quotidie timemus, diligenter custodirem, et quotidie paratus essem hostibus resistere si irruerent.”
[105] Ord. Vit. 703 D. “Ut rex finibus Rodberti appropinquavit.”
[106] See vol. i. p. 68.
[107] Ord. Vit. u. s. “Gislebertus de Tonnebrugia, miles potens et dives, regem seorsum vocavit, et pronus ad pedes ejus corruit, eique nimis obstupescenti ait,” &c.
[108] See N. C. vol. i. p. 327.
[109] Ord. Vit. 703 D. “Præfato barone indicante, quot et qui fuerant proditores, agnovit.”
[110] Ib. 704 A. “Delusis itaque sicariis, qui regem occidere moliti sunt, armatæ phalanges prospere loca insidiarum pertransierunt.”
[111] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 672.
[112] Ib. p. 667.
[113] Wallsend is often mentioned in the Durham charters, beginning with the grants of Bishop William to his own monks; Scriptores Tres, iv. Wallcar—that is, in local language, the meadow by the wall—has got sadly degraded into Walker. See Appendix CC.
[114] On Bamburgh, see Appendix FF.
[115] The Farn Islands, close off Bamburgh, must not be confounded with Lindisfarn, some way to the north. Bæda (Vit. Cuthb. 17) carefully distinguishes them; “Farne dicitur insula medio in mari posita, quæ non, sicut Lindisfarnensium incolarum regio, bis quotidie accedente æstu oceani, quem rheuma vocant Græci, fit insula, bis renudatis abeunte rheumate littoribus contigua terræ redditur, sed aliquot millibus passuum ab hac semi-insula ad eurum secreta, et hinc altissimo et inde infinito clauditur oceano.” See Hist. Eccl. iii. 16, iv. 27, 29, v. 1. It is spoken of as “insula Farne, quæ duobus ferme millibus passuum ab urbe [Bamburgh] procul abest.”
[116] See vol. i. p. 291.
[117] Will. Gem. viii. 8. See vol. i. p. 552.
[118] Florence says only, “Moreal vero factæ traditionis causam regi detexit.” The Chronicler is fuller; “Moreal wearð þa on þes cynges hirede, and þurh hine wurdon manege, ægðer ge gehadode and eac læwede, geypte þe mid heora ræde on þes cynges unheldan wæron.”
[119] Chron. Petrib. 1095. “Þa se cyng sume ær þære tíde hét on hæftneðe gebringan.”
[120] Ib. “Syððan swiðe gemahlice ofer eall þis land beodan, þæt ealle þa þe of þam cynge land heoldan, eallswa hi friðes weorðe beon woldan, þæt hi on hirede to tide wæron.”
[121] The change of place seems clear from the Chronicle. The entry for 1096 begins; “On þison geare heold se cyng Willelm his hired to Xp̃es mæssan on Windlesoran, and Willelm biscop of Dunholme þær forðferde to geares dæge. And on Octab’ Epyphañ wæs se cyng and ealle his witan on Searbyrig.” Florence is to the same effect. See vol. i. p. 542.
[122] See N. C. vol. v. pp. 394, 406.
[123] Ib. vol. i. p. 102; vol. v. p. 415.
[124] Ib. vol. v. p. 420.
[125] See N. C. vol. v. p. 408.
[126] The vision of Boso fills the ninth chapter of the fourth book of Simeon’s Durham history. He sees first, “Per campum latissimum totius hujus provinciæ indigenas congregatos, qui equis admodum pinguibus sedentes, et longas, sicut soliti sunt, hastas portantes, earumque collisione magnum facientes strepitum, multa ferebantur superbia.” One might have taken these mounted spearmen for Normans; but we read, “Multo majori quam priores superbia secuti sunt Francigenæ, qui et ipsi frementibus equis subvecti et universo armorum genere induti, equorum frementium sonitu et armorum collisione immanem late faciebant tumultum.” Lastly came the worst class of all; “Deinde per extensum aliquot miliariis campum innumeram feminarum multitudinem intueor, quarum tantam turbam dum admirarer, eas presbyterorum uxores esse a ductore meo didici. Has, inquit, miserabiles et illos qui ad sacrificandum Deo consecrati sunt, nec tamen illecebris carnalibus involvi metuerunt, væ sempiternum et gehennalium flammarum atrocissimus expectat cruciatus.” But how vast must have been the number of priests in the bishopric, if their wives, seemingly not on horseback, filled up so much room. The monks of Durham, on the other hand, were seen in a beautiful flowery plain, all except two sinners, whose names are not given, but who were to be reported to the Prior in order that they might repent.
[127] The nature of the omen does not seem very clear; “In loco vastæ ac tetræ solitudinis, magna altitudine domum totam ex ferro fabrifactam aspexi, cujus janua dum sæpius aperiretur sæpiusque clauderetur, ecce subito episcopus Willelmus efferens caput, ubinam Gosfridus monachus esset a me quæsivit.” This monk Geoffrey must surely be the same as the one we heard of before as concerned in Bishop William’s former troubles (see vol. i. p. 116). This gives the confirmation of an undesigned coincidence to that story.
[128] See N. C. vol. iv. p 674.
[129] Ib. vol. v. p. 631.
[130] It is curious that, while the Durham writer implies the summons by the use of the word “placitum” in the account of Boso’s vision, he gives no account of the summons in his own narrative. The gap is filled up by William of Malmesbury, Gest. Pont. 273; “Non multo post orto inter ipsum et regem discidio, ægritudine procubuit apud Gloecestram. Ibi tunc erat curia, et jussus est episcopus exhiberi, ut causam suam defensaret.” The place of King William’s sickness in 1093 is here confounded with the place of Bishop William’s sickness in 1096. But Gloucester was the right place for holding the Gemót, though it was held at Windsor.
[131] Will. Malms. u. s. “Cui cum responsum esset infirmitate detineri quo minus veniret: ‘Per vultum de Luca fingit se,’ inquit. Enimvero ille vera valitudine correptus morti propinquabat.”
[132] Sim. Dun. Hist. Eccl. Dun. iv. 10. We have already had the date of his death in the Chronicle. He died “instante hora gallicantus.”
[133] See Simeon, u. s., and Will. Malms. Gest. Pont. 273. The names of the bishops come from Simeon.
[134] Simeon, u. s. “Placuit ergo illis, ut in capitulo tumulari deberet, quatenus in loco quo fratres cotidie congregarentur, viso ejus sepulchro, carissimi patris memoria in eorum cordibus cotidie renovaretur.” William of Malmesbury speaks to the same effect. But no amount of good works could save him from being crushed by Wyatt and the Durham Chapter.
[135] Simeon is eloquent on the grief at his death; “Nullus enim, ut reor, tunc inter illos erat, qui non illius vitam, si fieri posset, sua morte redimere vellet.” The puzzling contradictions as to the character of this bishop follow him to the grave.
[136] Orderic (704 D) speaks of the “consules et consulares viri,” who were known to have had a share in the conspiracy, and were now ashamed of themselves; “Porro hæc subtiliter rex comperiit, et consultu sapientum hujusmodi viris pepercit. Nec eos ad judicium palam provocavit, ne furor in pejus augmentaretur,” &c.
[137] See vol. i. p. 61.
[138] Ord. Vit. 704 C. “Hugonem, Scrobesburensium comitem, privatim affatus corripuit, et acceptis ab eo tribus millibus libris, in amicitiam callide recepit.”
[139] Chron. Petrib. 1096. “Þær beteah Gosfrei Bainard Willelm of Ou þes cynges mæg, þæt he heafde gebeon on þes cynges swicdome.” So Florence. Stephen’s name is not here mentioned; but we have already seen (see p. 39) what the exact charge was, and Odo, Stephen’s father, is significantly mentioned just after.
[140] The Chronicle seems to make the accuser the challenger; “And hit him ongefeaht, and hine on orreste ofercom, and syððan he ofercumen wæs, him het se cyng þa eagan ut adón, and syþðan belisnian.” But perhaps the meaning is really the same as in the account of William of Malmesbury (iv. 319); “Willelmus de Ou, proditionis apud regem accusatus delatoremque ad duellum provocans, dum se segniter expurgat, cæcatus et extesticulatus est.” Orderic says merely, “palam de nequitia convictus fuit,” without saying how.
[141] Unless anything special was done, or meant to be done, to Grimbald after the siege of Brionne. See N. C. vol. ii. pp. 270–273.
[142] See N. C. vol. i. pp. 490, 491, 496.
[143] Ord. Vit. 704 C. “Hoc nimirum Hugone Cestrensium comite pertulit instigante, cujus sororem habebat, sed congruam fidem ei non servaverat.”
[144] See his character in N. C. vol. iv. p. 490.
[145] See N. C. vol. v. p. 159.
[146] All the accounts agree as to the punishment. Florence says specially, “oculos eruere et testiculos abscidere;” so it was the worst form of blinding. The Hyde writer (301) employs an euphemism; “Rex oculis privavit et per omnia inutilem reddidit.”
[147] Chron. Petrib. 1093. “And sume man to Lundene lædde, and þær spilde.” This last word seems to imply mutilation of any kind, whether blinding or any other.
[148] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 30.
[149] Their names come over and over again in the Gloucester Cartulary. See the Index.
[150] Liber de Hyda, 301. “Ernulfus de Hednith [sic], statura procerus, industria summus, possessionibus suffultus, apud regem tam injuste quam invidiose est accusatus.”
[151] Ib. “Denique cum se bello legitimo per unum ex suis contra unum ex hominibus regis facto defendisset atque vicisset.”
[152] Liber de Hyda, 301. “Tanto dolore et ira est commotus ut, abdicatis omnibus quæ regis erant in Anglia, ipso rege invito et contradicente, discederet.”
[153] Ib. 302. “Vincit Dominus, quare medicus me non continget, nisi ille pro cujus amore hanc peregrinationem suscepi.”
[154] Chron. Petrib. 1096. “Ðær wearð eac Eoda eorl of Campaine, þæs cynges aðum, and manege oðre, belende.” Florence says; “Comitem Odonem de Campania, prædicti scilicet Stephani patrem, Philippum Rogeri Scrobbesbyriensis comitis filium, et quosdam alios traditionis participes, in custodiam posuit.”
[155] Ib. “And his stiward Willelm hætte se wæs his modrian sunu, het se cyng on rode ahón.”
[156] Flor. Wig. 1097. “Dapiferum illius Willelmum de Alderi, filium amitæ illius, traditionis conscium, jussit rex suspendi.”
[157] Will. Malms. four iv. 319. “Plures illa delatio involvit, innocentes plane et probos viros. Ex his fuit Willelmus de Alderia, speciosæ personæ homo et compater regis.” So the Hyde writer (301); “Willelmum etiam de Aldriato, ejusdem Willelmi dapiferum, de eadem conjuratione injuste, ut aiunt, accusatum patibulo suspendi præcepit.”
[158] Liber de Hyda, 302. “Erat enim idem corpore et animo et genere præclarus.”
[159] Ib. “Cum principes dolore permoti … de ejus vita regem rogassent, volentes eum ter auro et argento ponderare, rex nullis precibus, nullis muneribus, ab ejus morte potuit averti.”
[160] Will. Malms. iv. 319. “Is patibulo affigi jussus, Osmundo episcopo Salesbiriæ confessus, et per omnes ecclesias oppidi flagellatus est.” The account in the Hyde Writer is to the same effect as that of William, but shorter, and without any verbal agreement.
[161] Ib. “Dispersis ad inopes vestibus, ad suspendium nudus ibat, delicatam carnem frequentibus super lapides genuflectionibus cruentans.”