[491] Ord. Vit. 683 D. “In quantum potuit truculentam recalcitrationem dissuasit, pertinaces verum interdixit, pontificali jure anathematizavit, et a liminibus sanctæ matris ecclesiæ sequestravit. Quapropter rebellionis incentores contra eum nimis irati sunt, et injuriis eum afficere terribiliter comminati sunt.”
[492] I am here following Orderic, whose account (683 D) runs thus; “Interea dum per diocesim suam cum clericis suis equitaret, et episcopali more officium suum sollerter exerceret, Helias de Flechia eum comprehendit, et in carcere, donec Hugo in urbe Cenomannica susceptus fuisset, vinctum præsulem tenuit.” The biographer of the Bishop (Vet. An. 291) is of course much more angry with Helias, and seems quite to misconceive the state of things. Very soon after the death of the Conqueror, Helias seizes Ballon and makes war on Le Mans; “Surrexit quidam nobilis adolescens, qui erat de genere Cenomannensium consulum, Helias nomine, et cœpit calumniari ipsum comitatum, ingressusque castrum quod Baledonem nominant, regionem undique devastabat, maximeque adversus civitatis habitatores, qui ei viriliter resistebant, multis insidiis assiduisque deprædationibus grassabatur.” The Bishop opposes him in the interest of Duke Robert, and then, “Quorumdam perversorum consilio, in tantam prorupit audaciam ut in christum Domini manum mittere, eumque apud castrum patrimonii sui, quod Fissa dicitur, in custodia ponere non timeret.” “Fissa” is La Flèche. This writer says nothing of the message to Hugh till after the imprisonment of Howel. It is then set on foot by Geoffrey of Mayenne, who is described as “Ratus se opportunum tempus invenisse, quo regionem denuo perturbaret.” We must remember that Orderic is here writing the history of Maine, while the biographer is merely writing the history of Howel; but for that very reason we may trust him as to the details of the Bishop’s imprisonment.
[493] Vet. An. 291. “Clericos suos ita ab ipsius fecit præsentia removeri, ut cum nullo eorum nec familiare nec publicum posset habere colloquium, rusticumque presbyterum ejus obsequio deputavit, ne custodum calliditas Latina posset confabulatione deludi.”
[494] This comes from Orderic (683 D), who has some curious details; “Domini sanctas imagines cum crucibus, et sanctarum scrinia reliquiarum, ad terram deposuit, et portas basilicarum spinis obturavit.” The biographer of the Bishops mentions only the thorns, and he seems to imply that only Le Mans and its suburbs were thus treated; “Matris ecclesiæ omniumque ejusdem civitatis vel suburbii ecclesiarum januas.”
[495] All this is told at some length, Vet. An. 291. “Helias, pœnitentia ductus, pontificisque genibus provolutus, veniam precabatur.”
[496] Vit. An. 292. “Cum esset apud castrum quod Carcer dicitur, occurrerunt ei proceres civitatis, sacramenta fidelitatis quæ Roberto comiti promiserant pro nihilo reputantes.”
[497] Ib. “Rotbertus ultra modum inertiæ et voluptati deditus, nihil dignum ratione respondens, quæ Cenomannenses fecerant, pro eo quod inepto homini nimis onerosi viderentur, non multum sibi displicuisse monstravit.” This is important, now that an attempt is made to saddle Orderic with the invention of the received character of Robert.
[498] Ib. “Non curare videbatur, nisi ut episcopatus tantum in ejus dominio remaneret. Unde præcepit episcopo ut ad ecclesiam quidem reverteretur, de episcopatu vero nullatenus Hugoni marchisio responderet.” On the advowson of the see of Le Mans, see N. C. vol. iii. p. 194; vol. iv. p. 544.
[499] Vet. Ann. 292. “Comes malo ingenio episcopum circumvenire cupiens, postulabat ut ab ipso donum episcopatus acciperet.” That is, Howel is to do homage to the new prince, much as Henry the First, as we shall see in a later chapter, demanded the homage of Anselm. Howel’s objection seems simply to be that Robert was the lawful lord, not that it was unlawful to accept the benefice from any temporal lord.
[500] The troubles of the Bishop are set forth at length by his biographer (Vet. An. 292 et seqq.). This device of his enemies in the Chapter was the cruellest of all. Finding no fault in him, but wishing that some fault should be found, “sub specie veræ amicitiæ persuaserunt ei ut fraterculum duodennem qui necdum perfecte litterarum elementa didicerat, in ejus [decani] loco constitueret, et contra ecclesiastica instituta inductum prudentibus puerulum senioribus anteferret.” Geoffrey was a Breton, brother of Judicail—the name familiar in so many spellings—Bishop of Saint Malo. See Ord. Vit. 770 C. There was much disputing between him and the other candidate for the deanery. This was Gervase, nephew of the former Bishop Gervase (see N. C. vol. iii. p. 193), who had on his side the memory of his uncle, and the special favour of his brothers with Count Hugh (“quia fratres ejus eo tempore nimia familiaritate principis uterentur”).
[501] Vet. An. 294. “Ad regem Anglorum se contulit, ejusque liberalitate levamen maximum suæ persecutionis accepit.”
[502] The story is told in Vet. An. 294. Howel stayed four months in England; ib. 295.
[503] Ib. 297.
[504] A great number of grants and privileges are reckoned up in Vet. An. 298. Among them several exemptions were granted to the episcopal lordship of Coulaines, a place of which we shall hear again.
[505] According to Orderic (684 A) the people of Maine found him “divitiis et sensu et virtute inopem.” The Biographer (299) calls him “propter inconstantiam suam bonis omnibus infestus,” and says that he went away, “omnibus quæ habere poterat in pecuniam redactis.”
[506] Ord. Vit. 684 A.
[507] Orderic (u. s.) graphically sets forth the fears of one who was “inscius inter gnaros et timidus inter animosos milites consul constitutus.” He and his countrymen are “Allobroges,” which seems odd; the men of Maine are “Cisalpini.”
[508] Ord. Vit. 684 A. See vol. i. p. 277. According to Helias or Orderic, the reconciled princes could muster a hundred thousand men. It was, so Helias is made to think, chiefly for the conquest of Maine that Rufus had crossed the sea.
[509] Ord. Vit. u. s.
[510] Ib. “Me quoque libertatis amor nihilominus stimulat, et hereditatis avitæ rectitudo dimicandi pro illa fiduciam in Deo mihi suppeditat.”
[511] Both Orderic and the Biographer record the sale; the Biographer throws some doubt on its validity; “Heliæ cognato suo ipsam civitatem totumque comitatum, quantum in ipso erat, vendidit.” Orderic names the price.
[512] Ord. Vit. 684 D. “Hic in accepta potestate viam suam multum emendavit, et multiplici virtute floruit. Clerum et ecclesiam Dei laudabiliter honoravit, et missis servitioque Dei quotidie ferventer interfuit. Subjectis æquitatem servavit pacemque pauperibus pro posse suo tenuit.” He comes in again for the like praise in 768 D, and more fully in 769 D.
[513] His works are described by the Biographer, Vet. An. 299, 300.
[514] Vet. An. 299.
[515] See above, p. 15, and vol. i. p. 227.
[516] Vet. An. 301. “Ei [papæ] cum omni comitatu suo per triduum cuncta necessaria hilariter et abundantissime ministravit, quamvis eodem anno non solum annonæ, sed et omnium quæ ad cibum pertinent, maximum constet exstitisse defectum.” The Biographer is naturally eloquent on the Pope’s visit.
[517] He appeared (Vet. An. ib.) “facie hilaris, colore vividus, ingenio perspicax, cibo et potu sobrius, membrisque omnibus incolumis.”
[518] Orderic (769 A) makes Helias say, “Consilio papæ crucem Domini pro servitio ejus accepi.” He does not mention the visit of Urban to Le Mans, nor does the Biographer mention the crusading vow of Helias; but the two accounts fit in together.
[519] See their dialogue in Laing, iii. 178.
[520] Orderic (769 A) describes the agreement between William and Robert, and the payment of the pledge-money (see vol. i. p. 559). Then he adds; “Helias comes ad curiam regis Rothomagum venit. Qui postquam diu cum duce consiliatus fuit, ad regem accessit.”
[521] See vol. i. pp. 175, 302.
[522] Ord. Vit. 769 A. “Domine mi rex … amicitiam, ut vester fidelis, vestram deposco, et hoc iter cum pace vestra inire cupio.”
[523] Ib. “Quo vis vade; sed Cenomannicam urbem cum toto comitatu mihi dimitte, quia quidquid pater meus habuit volo habere.”
[524] Ib. 769 B. “Si placitare vis, judicium gratanter subibo, et patrium jus, secundum examen regum, comitumque et episcoporum, perdam aut tenebo.” I cannot see with Sir Francis Palgrave (iv. 633) that this proposal “indicates that Helias assumed the existence of a High Court of Peers, possessing jurisdiction over the whole Capetian monarchy—that realm to which the name of France can scarcely yet be given.” Surely Helias simply means to refer the matter to arbitration.
[525] Ord. Vit. u. s. “Ensibus et lanceis innumerisque missilibus tecum placitabo.”
[526] Ord. Vit. 769 C. “Ipse mihi Cænomannorum præposituram dignatus est commendare.” The strictly feudal language is worth noticing; but “præpositura” is an odd word to express the countship of Maine.
[527] I give the substance of the speech in Orderic, 769 B, C.
[528] Ib. “Ego contra cruciferos prœliari nolo, sed urbem quam pater meus in die transitus sui nactus erat mihi vendicabo.”
[529] Ib. “Tu igitur dilapsos aggeres munitionum tuarum summopere repara, et cœmentarios lapidumque cæsores lucri cupidos velociter aggrega, vetustasque neglectorum ruinas murorum utcumque resarciendo restaura.”
[530] Ib. “Cinomannicos enim cives quantocius visitabo, et centum milia lanceas cum vexillis ante portas eis demonstrabo; nec tibi sine calumnia hæreditatem meam indulgebo.”
[531] Ord. Vit. 769 C. “Currus etiam pilis atque sagittis onustos illuc bobus pertrahi faciam. Sed ego ipse cum multis legionibus armatorum bubulcos alacriter boantes ad portas tuas præcedam. Hæc verissime credito et complicibus tuis edicito.” All this talk is at least very characteristic of William Rufus.
[532] Ord. Vit. 770 C. “Helias comes Goiffredum Britonem, decanum ejusdem ecclesiæ, ad episcopatum elegit.” See above, p. 201.
[533] Vet. An. 303. “A domno Hoello venerabilis memoriæ episcopo Cenomannensis ecclesiæ scholarum magister et archidiaconus factus.” He was “ex Lavarzinensi castro, mediocribus quidem sed honestis exortus parentibus.” On his relations to Helias see Appendix KK.
[534] Ord. Vit. 770 C. “Præveniens clerus Hildebertum de Lavarceio archidiaconum in cathedra pontificali residere compulit, et altæ vocis cum jubilatione tripudians cantavit Te Deum laudamus, et cetera quæ usus in electione præsulis exposcit ecclesiasticus.” An. Vet. 303. “Post discessum ipsius [Hoelli] proper scientiæ et honestatis suæ meritum, communi cleri plebisque assensu in ejus loco substitutus est.”
[535] Ord. Vit. u. s. “Quod Helias ut comperiit, valde iratus resistere voluit. Sed clericis dicentibus illi, Electionem tuam ecclesiasticæ præferre non debes electioni, reveritus, quia Deum timebat, siluit et, ne letale in membris ecclesiæ schisma fieret, canonicis consensit.” For Saint Eadward’s opposite conduct in the like case, see N. C. vol. ii. p. 120.
[536] Ib. “Goiffredus quippe de præsulatu securus erat, jamque copiosas dapes pro sublimatione sui præparaverat. Paratæ quidem dapes ab avidis comessoribus absumptæ sunt. Sed ipsum Cenomanni episcopum habere penitus recusaverunt.” He then mentions his promotion to Rouen.
[537] The story of Hildebert’s dealings with the heretic Henry are told at large by the Biographer, 312 et seqq. See also Milman, Latin Christianity, iv. 176.
[538] Vet. An. 326. He became Archbishop, “concedente Ludovico rege Francorum, Cenomannensibus et Turonensibus clericis et populis devotum præbentibus assensum.” The King therefore kept at Tours the right of advowson which he had lost at Le Mans. But had Hildebert, like Anselm (see vol. i. pp. 397, 404), to get leave from his church to go away, or had Cenomannian electors any share in choosing the Metropolitan? Orderic (770 D) says that he was chosen “a clero et populo,” seemingly of Tours, and “nutu Dei.” He does not mention any action on the part of Le Mans.
[540] Vet. An. 305. “Eo tempore inter regem Anglorum et Heliam comitem bellum gravissimum exortum est, pro eo scilicet quod idem rex Cenomannensem episcopatum calumniabatur [cf. N. C. vol. iii. p. 194], ideoque ordinationi episcopi moliebatur obsistere.”
[541] Ib. “Cum eum ordinatum audisset, inimicitiarum quas dudum mente conceperat manifestis bellorum incursibus patefecit.” He gives no details of the war till the capture of Helias.
[542] Ord. Vit. 770 A. “Helias castrum apud Dangeolum contra Rodbertum Talavacium firmavit, ibique satellites suos ad defensandos incolas terræ suæ collocavit.”
[543] See N. C. vol. iv. pp. 552, 652.
[544] Ord. Vit. 770 A. “Inde præfatus tyrannus, quod vicina passim depopulari arva non posset, contristatus est. Intempestivus igitur mense Januario regem inquietavit.” Then comes his speech; and then, “invitus rex pluribus ex causis expeditionem inchoavit, sed Rodberto instigante et prospera pollicente, differre, ne ignavus putaretur, erubuit.”
[545] Ib. “Principalis ordinatio provinciales competentibus armaturis munitos adscivit, et ad transitus aquarum sepiumque difficilesque aditus silvarum in hostes coaptavit. Tunc rex inimicis nihil nocere potuit.” He now gives his orders to Robert of Bellême, and we hear no more of him personally in Maine till after the capture of Helias.
[546] Ord. Vit. 770 A. “Rex … rancore stomachatus ferocior in illos exarsit, et Rodberto ingentem familiam bellatorum suis in municipiis adunare præcepit, et copiosos pecuniæ sumptus erogavit, unde municipia ejus vallis et muris et multiplicibus zetis undique clauderentur et bellicosis larga stipendiariis donativa largirentur.”
[547] Ib. B. “Oppida nova condidit, et antiqua præcipitibus fossis cingens admodum firmavit.”
[548] Ib. “Novem in illo comitatu habuit castra, id est Blevam et Perretum, Montem de Nube et Soonam, Sanctum Remigium de Planis, et Orticosam, Allerias et Motam Galterii de Clincampo, Mamerz, et alias domos firmas quamplurimas.” On “domus firmæ,” see N. C. vol. ii. p. 625.
[549] Ord. Vit. 770 B. “Hæc siquidem regio censu argutus artifex sibi callide præparavit, et in his bestialis sævitiæ colonos vicinisque suis malefidos collocavit, per quos arrogantiæ suæ satisfaceret, et atrocem guerram in Cænomannos exercuit.” Our own chronicler in Stephen’s day goes even beyond Orderic’s rhetoric. The “devils and evil men” outdo even the “bestialis sævitiæ coloni.”
[550] Orderic tells all this out of place, 768 C, D. “Terras quas prisci antecessores sanctis dederant, sibi mancipavit. Is jamdudum in Cænomannico consulatu castra violenter in alieno rure construxit, in possessionibus scilicet sancti Petri de Cultura et sancti Vincentii martyris, quibus colonos graviter oppressit.”
[551] Ib. They fought “in nomine Domini, invocato sancto Juliano pontifice.”
[552] See vol. i. p. 273, and Appendix M.
[553] Ord. Vit. u. s. “Pro quibus Cænomannenses maximas redemptiones habuerunt, et sic injurias sanctorum et damna suorum ulti sunt.”
[554] Ord. Vit. 770 B. “In quadragesima, dum peccatores cælitus compuncti prava relinquunt, et ad medicamentum pœnitentiæ pro transactis sceleribus trepidi confugiunt, in carcere Rodberti plusquam trecenti vinculati perierunt. Qui multam ei pecuniam pro salute sua obtulerunt, sed crudeliter ab eo contempti, fame et algore aliisque miseriis interierunt.”
[555] I infer as much from the somewhat vague words of Orderic, 771 A; “Helias comes hebdomada præcedente rogationes expeditionem super Robertum fecit, et facto discursu post nonam suos remeare præcepit.”
[556] Ord. Vit. u. s. “Illis autem redeuntibus, comes cum septem militibus a turma sua segregatus, prope Dangeolum divertit, ibique in condensis arboribus et frutectis latitantes quosdam advertit, in quos statim cum paucis sodalibus irruit.” So the Biographer (Vet. An. 305); “Dum comes Helias … hostes qui adversus eum venerant incautius sequeretur, ab ipsis, proh dolor! comprehensus est.” Wace, who tells the whole story in the wildest order, and makes the capture of Helias follow the siege of Mayet, preserves (15100) the memory of the ambush;
[557] Ord. Vit. 771 A. “Rodbertus in insidiis ibi latitabat. Qui ut paucos incaute discurrentes vidit, vafer militiæque gnarus ex improviso cum plurimis prosiluit, comitemque mox et Herveum de Monteforti signiferum ejus et pene omnes alios comprehendit.”
The Angevin version (Chron. S. Alb. Andeg. 1098) is somewhat different; “Helias comes Cenomannorum captus est a Rotberto de Belesma, defectione suorum, iv. kal. Maii, feria iv. et redditus Willelmo secundo regi Anglorum.” There is nothing in the fuller story of Orderic to bear out the charge in Italics; but it might be an easy inference from the Count’s small attendance.
[558] Ord. Vit. 776 A. “Prævii exercitus, postquam Balaonem alacres pervenerunt, per eos qui evaserunt captum esse audierunt, subitoque post inanem lætitiam ingenti mœrore pariter inebriati sunt.”
[559] Ord. Vit. 771 B. “Rodbertus deinde regi Heliam Rothomagum præsentavit, quem rex honorifice custodiri præcepit.” I do not think that this is set aside by the words of the Biographer (Vet. An. 305); “Rotomagum usque productus, in arce ipsius civitatis in vincula conjectus est.” For “vincula,” like Orderic’s own “carcer” in 771 B, is a vague kind of word which need not be always taken literally. Orderic adds; “Non enim militibus erat crudelis, sed blandus et dapsilis, jocundus et affabilis.” This, with the proper emphasis on “militibus,” is the very picture of the Red King. Wace however, who is also strong about the fetters, seems to have mistaken it for a character of Helias (15106);
He goes on with a speech of Helias to his guardians, which seems to be made out of his speech to the King in Orderic, 773 B.
[560] See below, p. 230, note 2.
[561] Ord. Vit. 771 B. “Felici fortuna rex Guillelmus sibi arridente tripudiavit, et convocatis in unum Normanniæ baronibus, ait, Hactenus de nanciscenda hæreditate paterna negligenter egi, quia pro cupiditate ruris augendi populos vexare vel homines perimere nolui.”
[562] Ord. Vit. 771 B. “Nunc autem, ut videtis, me nesciente, hostis meus captus est, Deoque volente, qui rectitudinem meam novit, mihi traditus est.” Here we get the sentiment of the wager of battle.
[563] 2 Kings x. 9.
[564] Ord. Vit. u.s. “Communi consilio, domine rex, decernimus ut jussione vestra universus Normannorum aggregetur exercitus, cum quo nos omnes ad obtinendam Cænomannorum regionem audacter et alacriter ibimus.”
[565] Ord. Vit. 771 B. “Franci ergo et Burgundiones, Morini et Britones, aliæque vicinæ gentes ad liberalem patricium concurrerunt, et phalanges ejus multipliciter auxerunt.”
[566] Ib. D. “Gilo de Soleio, de nobilissimis Gallorum antiquus heros, de familia Henrici regis Francorum, qui multas viderat et magnas congregationes populorum, in arduo monte stans, turmas armatorum undique prospexit, et quinquaginta millia virorum inibi esse autumavit, nec se unquam citra Alpes tantum insimul exercitum vidisse asseruit.”
[567] Cf. N. C. vol. v. p. 268.
[568] I have quoted Wace’s accurate bit of geography on this head, N. C. vol. ii. p. 291.
[569] Ord. Vit. 771 C. “Mense Junio Guillelmus rex per Alencionem exercitum duxit, multisque millibus stipatus, hostium regionem formidabilis intravit.” Yet, after his dealings with Ralph and the others, we read (ib. D), “Prima regis mansio in terra hostili apud Ruceiam [see below, p. 232] fuit.” This surely means that his head-quarters still remained at Alençon, though he doubtless made raids on the Cenomannian side of the river.
[570] Ib. “Militum vero turmæ regio jussu Fredernaium repente adierunt, et cum oppidanis equitibus militari exercitio ante portas castri aliquantulum certaverunt.”
[571] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 558.
[572] See N. C. vol. ii. pp. 269, 624.
[573] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 652.
[574] Ord. Vit. 771 C. “A sublimitate vestra requiro, domine rex, inducias, donec salvus de Cænomannis redeas. Illic enim præsul et senatorum concio consistit, ibique communis quotidie de statu reipublicæ tractatus et providentia fit. Quidquid ibi pactum fuerit vobiscum nos gratanter subsequemur, et jussionibus vestris in omnibus obsequemur. Hæc idcirco, domine rex, loco majorum natu consilio, quia, si sine bello primus defecero pariumque meorum desertor primus pacem iniero, omni sine dubio generi meo dedecus et improperium generabo. Membra caput subsequi debent, non præcedere; et faceti legitimique vernulæ magis optant obsequi domino quam jubere.” The words here especially the “faceti legitimique vernulæ,” are doubtless Orderic’s; but surely the very strangeness of the proposal is almost enough to show that he is recording a real transaction.
[575] Ib. D. “Hæc et plura similia dicentem rex laudavit, et quæ postulata fuerant annuit.”
[576] Ord. Vit. 771 D. We first heard of Geoffrey as long ago as 1055. See N. C. vol. ii. p. 167.
[577] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 553.
[578] The Biographer (Vet. An. 305) says nothing of the bargain with Ralph and the other lords; but he says that “rex Anglorum, cernens civitatem principis sui præsidio destitutam, quorumdam perfidorum civium assensu illuc accedere properavit.” We need not take “cives” too strictly; and if anything like the commune had been set up again, the lords would be “cives.”
[579] Chron. S. Alb. And. 1098. “Fulco Andegavorum comes, Rechin cognominatus, Cenomanniam urbem ut suam sequenti sabbato recepit.” The date is reckoned from the capture of Helias. So Ord. Vit. 772 A. “Fulco cognomento Richinus, Andegavorum comes, ut Heliam captum audivit, Cænomannis, quia capitalis dominus erat, actutum advenit, et a civibus libenter susceptus, munitiones militibus et fundibulariis munivit.” The local writer (Vet. An. 305) is silent about Fulk’s lordship, but remembers the family connexion between him and Helias; “Quo comperto, Fulco Andegavorum comes protinus cum filio suo Gaufrido, cui filia Heliæ comitis jam desponsata fuerat, in civitatem advenit, et consensu civium in munitionibus civitatis custodiam posuit.” The “consensus civium” sounds like a formal act of the municipal body.
[580] Eremburga, who afterwards married the younger Fulk, seems to have been at an earlier time promised to his half-brother Geoffrey. See Gesta Consulum, Chroniques D’Anjou, i. 143.
[581] Vet. An. 305. “Ibi relicto filio ad alia negotia properavit.”
[582] See above, p. 229, note 1.
[583] Ord. Vit. 771 D. “Sequenti die rex ad Montem Bussoti castra metatus pernoctavit.”
[584] Ib. “Tertia die Colunchis venit, et in pratis Sartæ figi multitudinis tentoria imperavit.”
[586] Vet. An. 305. “Circa Colonias vicum episcopalem cum magno exercitu consedit, ipsumque vicum cum ecclesia quæ ibidem erat igne concremavit, et omnia quæ ibi episcopus habebat crudeliter devastavit. Oderat enim illum … pro eo quod contra calumniam illius episcopatum acceperat.”
[587] See N. C. vol. i. p. 423.
[588] Vet. An. 306. “Cives cum bellico apparatu de civitate egressi, contra ejus exercitum viriliter obsidere conabantur. Rex autem, perfidorum consilio se intelligens deceptum, facto vespere, cum imminentis noctis profundum silentium advenisset, cum exercitu suo clam discessit et castra vacua hostibus dereliquit. Cives autem mane surgentes, cum semetipsos ad pugnam præparare cœpissent, comperto regis abscessu, castra illius invaserunt, et neminem ibi reperientes ad propria reversi sunt.” Orderic (772 A) substitutes a drawn battle by daylight, and mentions the occupation of Ballon; but they both agree in the main fact that Rufus, for whatever cause, withdrew from before Le Mans for a season. Ballon is spoken of as “fortissima mota, per quam totum oppidum adversariis subactum paruit.”
[589] Some of Orderic’s expressions (772 B) are worth notice. “Diuturnam obsidionem tenere nequivit. Nam egestas victus gravis hominibus et equis instabat, quia tempus inter veteres et novas fruges tunc iter agebat. Sextarius avenæ decem solidis Cænomannensium vendebatur, sine qua cornipedum vigor in occidentalibus climatibus vix sustentatur.” Such a straw as this shows how the crusades had made the East and its ways present to men’s minds.
[590] Ord. Vit. ib. “Rex legiones suas relaxavit, et messes suas in horreis recondi præcepit, atque ut post collectionem frugum obsidere hostium castra parati essent, commonuit.”
[591] Ord. Vit. 772 C. “Dum comes et exercitus in tentoriis suis pranderent, et mendici de oppido accepta stipe obsessis renuntiarent quod obsidentes tunc, videlicet circa tertiam, comederent, in armis ordinatæ acies militum subito prosilierunt, et inermes ad mensam residentes ex insperato proturbaverunt, et pluribus captis omnes alios fugaverunt.” He gives the numbers with a few names, and enlarges on their greatness.
[592] Ord. Vit. 772 D. “Jussit omnes protinus absolvi [they are just before called ‘vinculati’], eisque cum suis in curia foris ad manducandum copiose dari, et per fidem suam usque post prandium liberos dimitti. Cumque satellites ejus objicerent quod in tanta populi frequentia facile aufugerent, rex illorum duritiæ obstitit, et pro vinctis eos redarguens dixit, Absit a me ut credam quod probus miles violet fidem suam. Quod si fecerit, omni tempore velut exlex et despicabilis erit.”
[593] Ib. “Fulco comes de obsidione ad urbem confugerat, et in cœnobiis sanctorum exitus rerum exspectabat.”
[594] See Appendix LL.
[595] See Appendix LL.
[596] See N. C. vol. iii. p. 498; vol. iv. p. 73.
[597] Ord. Vit. 773 A. “Milites electos loricis et galeis et omni armatura fulgentes.”
[598] Ib. “Protinus illi, custodibus egressis, cunctas urbis munitiones nacti sunt, et in principali turre vexillum regis cum ingenti tropæo levaverunt. In crastinum rex post illos mille præclaros milites direxit, et pro libitu suo datis legibus totam civitatem possedit. Regia turris et Mons Barbatus atque Mons Barbatulus regi subjiciuntur, et merito, quia a patre ejus condita noscuntur.” In these last words Orderic throws himself fully into the position of Rufus. The Biographer (Vet. An. 306) says; “Rex recepta civitate et positis in munitionibus ejus copiosis virorum, armorum, escarumque præsidiis, in Angliam transfretavit.” This last statement is clearly wrong.
On the fortresses of Le Mans, see Appendix MM.
[599] Ord. Vit. 773 A. “Omnes cives in pace novo principi congratulantur plausibus et cantibus variisque gestibus. Tunc Hildebertus præsul et clerus et omnis plebs obviam regi cum ingenti gaudio processerunt, et psallentes in basilicam sancti Gervasii martyris perduxerunt.” See Appendix LL.
The joy, one would think, was a little conventional, and there is no sign of it in the native writer. Cf. N. C. vol. iii. p. 550.
[600] See N. C. vol. iii. p. 206.
[601] See Appendix NN.
[602] Ord. Vit. 773 D. “Guillelmo Ebroicensium comiti et Gisleberto de Aquila, aliisque probis optimatibus urbem servandam commisit, et regiam turrem armis et cibis et omnibus necessariis opime instructam Galterio Rothomagensi filio Ansgerii commendavit.” Is this Walter the brother of the William of whom we heard above?
[603] Ib. “Radulfus vicecomes et Goisfredus de Meduana, Robertusque Burgundio, aliique totius provinciæ proceres regi confœderati sunt, redditisque munitionibus, datis ab eo legibus solerter obsecundarunt.”
[604] Ord. Vit. 773 B. See Appendix OO.
[605] Ib. “Niger et hispidus.” See above, p. 196.
[606] See Appendix OO.
[607] Ord. Vit. 773 B. “Callidus senex regalibus consiliis et judiciis præerat. Quapropter in prætorio principali parem seu potiorem perpeti metuebat.” See vol. i. pp. 186, 551. “Senex” seems too strong a word.
[608] Ord. Vit. 773 C. “Helias conductum per terram regis ab illo requisivit, quo accepto liber ad sua gaudentibus amicis remeavit.”
[609] Ord. Vit. 766 D. “In ipsa nocte terribile signum mundo manifestatum est. Totum nempe cælum quasi arderet, fere cunctis occidentalibus rubicundum ut sanguis visum est. Tunc, ut postmodum audivimus, in eois partibus Christiani contra ethnicos pugnaverunt, Deoque juvante triumpharunt.”
[610] Ord. Vit. 766 D. “Guillelmus rex in Galliam usque Pontesiam discurrit, incendiis et prædis hominumque capturis, omnium ubertate rerum nobilem provinciam devastavit.”
[611] Ord. Vit. 767 A. “Illustres oppidani propugnacula quidem sua vivaciter protexerunt, sed timoris Dei et humanæ societatis immemores non fuerunt. Insilientium corporibus provide benigniterque pepercerunt, sed atrocitatem iræ suæ pretiosis inimicorum caballis intulerunt. Nam plusquam septingentos ingentis pretii equos sagittis et missilibus occiderunt, ex quorum cadaveribus Gallicani canes et alites usque ad nauseam saturati sunt. Quamplures itaque pedites ad propria cum rege remeant, qui spumantibus equis turgidi equites Eptam pertransierant.”
[612] There is something strange in the casual way in which Orderic (767 A) brings in so mighty an ally; “Guillelmus rex cum Guillelmo duce Pictavensium, ductu Almarici juvenis, et Nivardi de Septoculo, contra Montemfortem et Sparlonem maximam multitudinem duxit, circumjacentem provinciam devastavit.” The bargain between the two Williams, of which this was surely an instalment, comes later, 780 B.
[613] See Will. Malms. v. 439.
[614] Had either William ever done personal homage to Philip? There is no sign of it in the case of William of England.
[615] Ord. Vit. 767 A. See note 1 on p. 250. Who is young Almaric or Amalric? Surely not an unworthy member of the house of Montfort. I have never made my way to Epernon, which gives a title to one of the minions of the last Valois.
[616] It is odd, after the account in Suger, to read in Orderic (766 A), “Ludovicus puerili teneritudine detentus adhuc militare nequibat.” It is just possible that Lewis was not eager to help the kinsfolk of Bertrada.
[617] Ord. Vit. 767 B. “Petrus cum filiis suis Ansoldo et Tedbaldo Mauliam, aliique municipes quos singillatim nequeo nominare, firmitates suas procaciter tenuere.” On the house of Maule and its works, see Ord. Vit. 587 et seqq. Peter is described as “filius Ansoldi divitis Parisiensis.”
[618] Ord. Vit. 767 A. “Simon juvenis munitiones suas auxiliante Deo illæsas servavit. Simon vero senex servavit Neëlfiam.” See the marriage of the younger Simon with Agnes of Evreux, Ord. Vit. 576 C, and his exploits, 836 C. Of him in the fourth generation came our own Simon. But, according to the Art de Vérifier les Dates, “Simon senex” was dead before this time.
[619] See N. C. vol. iii. p. 133.
[621] Ord. Vit. 767 B. “Interea, dum Guillelmus rex pro regni negotiis regrederetur in Angliam, treviis utrobique datis, serena pax Gallis dedit serenitatis lætitiam.”
[622] Orderic (773 D), immediately after recording the submission of the Cenomannian castles, goes on to draw a harrowing picture of the sufferings of England during the King’s absence; how “Rannulfus Flambardus jam Dunelmi episcopus, aliique regis satellites et gastaldi, Angliam spoliabant, et latronibus pejores, agricolarum acervos, ac negotiatorum congeries immisericorditer diripiebant, nec etiam sanguinolentas manus a sacris cohibebant.” He then goes on to describe the special wrongs of the Church, and adds, “Sic immensi census onera per fas perque nefas coacervabant, et regi trans fretum, ut in nefariis seu commodis usibus expenderentur, destinabant. Hujusmodi utique collectionibus grandia regi xenia præsentabantur, quibus extranei pro vana laude ditabantur.” They then cried to God who had raised up Ehud to slay the “rex pinguissimus” Eglon, which sounds rather like a prayer for the coming of Walter Tirel. But the chronology is utterly confused. The time of which Orderic is speaking is the year 1098; yet he makes Flambard already Bishop of Durham, which he was not till 1099, and he makes Anselm withstand all these oppressions and go away because he could not hinder them. But, as we well know, Anselm was already gone in 1097.
Henry of Huntingdon also (vii. 20) notices the special oppression during the continental war. The King “in Normannia fuit, semper hosticis tumultibus et curis armorum deditus, tributis interim et exactionibus pessimis populos Anglorum non abradens sed excorians.”
[623] Chron. Petrib. 1099. “Se cyng Willelm … to Eastron hider to lande com and to Pentecosten forman siðe his hired innan his niwan gebyttlan æt Westmynstre heold.”
[624] See vol. i. p. 557.
[625] Chron. Petrib. 1096. “Ðis wæs swiðe hefigtime gear geond eall Angelcyn ægðer ge þurh mænigfealde gylda, and eac þurh swiðe hefigtymne hunger, þe þisne eard þæs geares swiðe gedrehte.”
[626] This prodigy is put by the Chronicler under two years, 1098 and 1100. Florence and William of Malmesbury (iv. 331) place it under the latter year only. See above, p. 246.
[627] Chron. Petrib. 1098. “Toforan Sc̃e Michaeles mæssan ætywde eo heofon swilce heo forneah ealle þa niht byrnende wære.”
[628] Ib. “Ðis wæs swiðe geswincfull gear þurh manigfealde ungyld and þurh mycele renas, þe ealles geares ne ablunnon forneah ælc tilð on mersclande forferde.”
[629] Chron. Petrib. 1097. “Eac manege sciran þe mid weorce to Lundenne belumpon wurdon þærle gedrehte, þurh þone weall þe hi worhton onbutan þone Tur, et þurh þa brycge þe forneah eall toflotan wæs, and þurh þæs cynges healle geweorc, þe man on Westmynstre worhte and mænige men þær mid gedrehte.” This is connected by Henry of Huntingdon (vii. 19) with the other oppressions of the time and with the departure of Anselm; “Anselmus vero archiepiscopus recessit ab Anglia, quia nihil recti rex pravus in regno suo fieri permittebat, sed provincias intolerabiliter vexabat in tributis quæ numquam cessabant, in opere muri circa turrim Londoniæ, in opere aulæ regalis apud Westminstre, in rapina quam familia sua hostili modo, ubicunque rex pergebat, exercebant.” The other side of the story comes out in William of Malmesbury (iv. 321); “Unum ædificium, et ipsum permaximum, domum in Londonia incepit et perfecit, non parcens expensis dummodo liberalitatis suæ magnificentiam exhiberet.” We see here how the “liberalitas” of the Red King looked in the eyes of those who had to pay for it. But it is hard to understand Sir T. D. Hardy’s note on the passage of William of Malmesbury; he is speaking not of the Tower of London, but of Westminster Hall.
[630] See Livy, i. 56, 59.
[631] See N. C. vol. i. pp. 93, 601.
[632] See N. C. vol. iv. p. 310.
[634] See N. C. vol. iii. pp. 64, 340.
[635] See N. C. vol. i. pp. 306, 317; vol. iii. pp. 66, 540, 640; vol. iv. p. 59.
[636] See N. C. vol. v. p. 600.
[637] Hen. Hunt. vii. 21. “Quam [novam aulam] cum inspecturus primum introisset, cum alii satis magnam vel æquo majorem dicerent, dixit rex eam magnitudinis debitæ dimidia parte carere. Qui sermo regi magno fuit, licet parvi constasset, honori.” This is copied by Robert of Torigny, the Waverly Annalist, Bromton, and most likely others.