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 Chronicle of battel ftbhty, 
 
 FROM 1066 TO 1176. 
 
 NOW FIRST TRANSLATED, 
 
 WITH 
 
 NOTES, AND AN ABSTRACT OF THE SUBSEQUENT HISTOBY 
 OE THE ESTABLISHMENT; 
 
 MARK ANTONY LOWER, M.A., 
 
 MEMBER OF THE SOCIETIES OF ANTIQUARIES OF NORMANDY AND OF AMERICA, 
 AND OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF CAEN. 
 
 LONLOh : 
 JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 
 
 4, OLD COMPTON STREET, SOHO SQUARE. 
 
 LEWES : R. W. LOWER. BATTEL : F. W. TICEHURST. 
 
 MDCCCLI. 
 
LONDON: 
 
 ARLISS AND TUCKER.. PRINTERS, 
 
 15, Frith Street, Soho Sqiark. 
 
TO 
 
 CHARLOTTE, LADY WEBSTER, 
 
 OF 
 
 Battel abiey, 
 
 THIS VOLUME, 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE EARLY HISTORY 
 
 OF ONE OF THE MOST RENOWNED OF THE 
 
 ENGLISH MONASTERIES, 
 
 AND OF ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING OF OUR 
 
 NATIONAL MONUMENTS, 
 
 IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY HER LADYSHIP'S 
 OBLIGED AND OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 THE TRANSLATOR. 
 
 Jan. 1, 1851. 
 
IktttCJ TOlltam bttfjougt hum alsoc of fljal 
 
 JFolfcc tfjat teas forlomc 
 Qui) slagn also tljoru^ rjgm 
 
 En tjjc faatailt Irifome. 
 SJitiJ tjjcr as tfjc batatlc foas 
 
 &n "abbcg fjc Ictc rro 
 ©f S>cmt fHarttn for the soulrs 
 
 Cfjat tf)crc slagn tocrr 
 &no tfjc monks tocl gnoug 
 
 JFcffcti bjftfjout fagle 
 iTIjat is calico in CBnglonoe 
 
 ^bbeg of Batailc. 
 
 Robert of Gloucester. 
 
 Prima nocte post ingressuni Willielnii in terrain Angliaj, dam jaceret in 
 papilione, venit ad eum vox, dicens ; Willielme, Willielnie, esto bonus 
 homo, quia in regni corona praevalebis, et rex Angliae eris, et cum hostem 
 deviceris, fac construi Ecclesiam in eodem loco, in nomine meo, tot 
 centenorum pedum in longitudine quot annorum numero semen sanguinis 
 tui regni Angliae gubernaculum possidebit et in Anglia regnabit. 
 
 Knyghton. 
 
 ©icitur, a 23cilo, Bcllum, locus mc, aU iA bkli.o 
 
 Angligenae victi, sunt hic in morte helicti ; 
 Martyrts in festo Christi cecidere Calisti ; 
 Sexagenus erat sextus millesimus annus, 
 Cum pereunt Angli, stella monstrance cometa. 
 
 From a Tablet formerly hung up in the Abbry. 
 
/=% C' kr"! ri ' \ ft- ■• I 
 
 fifTWfci 
 
 . .■ 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 HE light which is cast upon the earlier periods 
 of English History by the publication of 
 monkish chronicles is acknowledged by every 
 student of our annals who, unwilling to take 
 upon trust the statements of popular historiographers, goes to 
 original sources of information, and seeks after Truth among 
 the mists and shadows of Antiquity. Until a comparatively 
 recent period most readers were content to accept the history 
 of their fatherland through the brilliant, but often prejudice- 
 distorted, medium of writers whose principal characteristic 
 was an aptitude for excellent composition, with very little 
 for the patient research and laborious investigation so 
 essential to a right appreciation of the motives which influ- 
 enced the actors in the great drama of English history. Of 
 late, however, there has arisen a disposition to examine original 
 authorities, either in the inelegant Latinity of medieval writers, 
 or by means of translations. The latter have been made as 
 well for the use of those whose reading has been limited to 
 the classical authors, and to whom the early chroniclers speak 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 in a language that is often obscure or unintelligible, as for 
 the far more numerous class to whom Latin is totally 
 unknown. 
 
 High praise is due to the various learned bodies of recent 
 origin who have ably served the cause of historic truth by the 
 publication of antient documents hitherto shut up in MS. in 
 our various public libraries, and only available to the learned 
 few who possessed the skill to decipher, and the leisure to 
 peruse, volumes, which, however decayed by the ravages of 
 time, and however inferior in regard to literary merit, often 
 serve to clear up doubtful points, or to supply information 
 previously buried in oblivion. The printing of these has 
 rendered them accessible to hundreds of readers to whom 
 they were entirely unknown, or known only in name. Of 
 many of the more valuable works, which were always known 
 and to a certain extent appreciated, but which existed only in 
 ponderous folios in the libraries of the wealthy, translations 
 have been made by Dr. Giles and others ; and they are now 
 read in inexpensive fireside volumes by thousands to whom 
 they had previously been sealed books and dead letters. 
 
 The little work now presented to the notice of the latter 
 class, though never entirely lost sight of by antiquaries and 
 historians, and though of acknowledged interest and value, 
 remained in MS. until the year 1846, when it was printed by 
 the Anglia-Christiana Society. That Society (now presumed 
 to be extinct) consisted of a limited number of members ; and 
 as the volume has not been offered for sale, this translation 
 may be considered as the first public appearance of the 
 Chronicle of Battel Abbey. 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 The original is in the Cottonian Collection of Manuscripts 
 in the British Museum (Domitian A ii). It is written on 
 1 29 leaves of vellum of a small quarto size, and is evidently 
 of the latter part of the twelfth century. The liberality of my 
 publisher enables me to present two pages of fac-simile, each 
 accompanied with an illumination characteristic of its period. 
 That opposite the title-page represents the Conqueror sitting 
 in his coronation chair, and is, for its date, very splendid. 
 
 The MS. was copied, and freed from its contractions, by 
 the late Mr. Petrie, under the direction of the Record 
 Commission, with a view to its forming part of our national 
 chronicles. After the death of Mr. Petrie, iheJng/ia- Christiana 
 Society obtained from Sir James Graham a loan of the copy, 
 which was edited and printed at the Society's expense. The 
 following translation has been made from that edition. Like 
 all MSS. of its date, the original contains some doubtful 
 readings, a few of which were noted by Mr. Petrie, and others 
 by the editor. Two or three conjectural emendations of my 
 own, which it is unnecessary to specify, have been made use 
 of in this translation. 
 
 The style of the chronicler, though generally pretty intelli- 
 gible, is often turgid and inflated in the highest degree, and 
 abounds with a semi-legal and pleonastic phraseology suffi- 
 ciently offensive to a classical taste. Some of his passages 
 are obscure, and many phrases redundant ; but I hope that 
 his meaning has been generally caught, and conveyed in 
 the English dress in which the work now first appears. 
 
 The Chronicle commences with the Norman Invasion, and 
 extends to the year 1176. The MS. is defective — by what 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 quantity of matter it is difficult to conjecture — though I am 
 inclined, from internal evidence, to believe that it is not very 
 considerable. Of the identity of the author nothing certain 
 can be inferred, beyond the bare fact of his having been a monk 
 of Battel. A few passages would almost incline one to believe 
 that Abbot Odo, who was living at the date of the last events 
 narrated in the work, and who is known to have been a 
 literary character of some eminence, was the writer of at least 
 some portions of the volume. 
 
 The following are the principal subjects contained in the 
 Chronicle : the Norman Invasion — the Conqueror's Vow to 
 found a monastery on the field of battle — the fulfilment of that 
 Vow — the peculiar privileges of the Abbey, and its exemption 
 from episcopal and civil jurisdiction, constituting it a kind of 
 imperium in imperio — the origin of the town of Battel — royal 
 and other benefactions to the Abbey — feudal customs — a series 
 of quarrels and suits between the bishops of Chichester and 
 the abbots, concerning jurisdiction — acts and characters of 
 the successive abbots — suits and negociations respecting the 
 Abbey's possessions ; interwoven with many facts and inci- 
 dents of our national history — miracles — pious reflections — 
 anecdotes of the Norman kings and other distinguished per- 
 sonages — improvements in the abbatial buildings — and various 
 other matters, all more or less illustrative of our early annals, 
 and of the state of society during the period which it 
 embraces. 
 
 My object in undertaking this translation was to illustrate 
 local history. I am not, therefore, called upon either to attack 
 or to defend the religious sentiments incidentally introduced 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 by the Chronicler into various parts of his work ; yet a 
 remark or two on the Monastic system may not be deemed 
 impertinent in this place. 
 
 While it is readily admitted that monachism originated in 
 mistaken views of the spirit and intention of Christianity, the 
 candid inquirer will not deny that it was overruled by Divine 
 Providence for great and useful purposes. The monks 
 became, in many instances, the pioneers of civilization, the 
 patrons of art, and the promoters of agriculture. Throughout 
 the middle ages they were the conservators of literature and 
 science ; and it is difficult to conceive what would have 
 become, not only of the literary monuments of antiquity, but 
 of the very spirit of learning and historic record itself, had 
 not the monasteries afforded their shelter to the former, and 
 their fostering care to the latter. In the absence of this, or 
 some analogous system, the history of Europe, during more 
 than the thousand years characterised, even now, as the Dark 
 Ages, would have been immeasurably darker still. 
 
 It is capable of proof, too, that the monastic orders had the 
 effect of promoting the cause of civil liberty. Just as a feudal 
 baronage, though comprising within itself the elements of 
 tyranny, interposed itself between the people and monarchal 
 despotism, so these, by the constant warfare they carried on 
 with a proud hierarchy, modified its bearing upon the masses 
 of the community. 
 
 Until the morals of the monks became flagrantly corrupt, 
 the convents were highly and deservedly popular. Wherever 
 a brotherhood settled down, the adjacent lands were brought 
 into cultivation, labour was plentiful, hospitality prevailed, 
 
Xll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 and peace and good order resulted. A well-endowed and 
 regularly-conducted Abbey was at once the school, the 
 hospital, the dispensary, and the workhouse of a large sur- 
 rounding district. 
 
 In a retrospect of rnonachism, then, let us mingle our 
 judgment with mercy, nor ungratefully forget how largely we 
 moderns stand indebted to a system which — however erro- 
 neous in its institution — however debased in its decline — 
 however deservedly doomed to extinction — assisted in working- 
 out for us the personal and moral freedom we now so fully 
 enjoy. 
 
 Lewes ; 
 IMh February, 1851 
 
trotuam te ]}\tu 
 
 jutnna tknt inmwme GMaetfteta afo ^akro^ mo 
 
 <*tio{ & m&ttt tuV taauf qitefca*two\mft(ttUtn 
 capmilftribo uel Cu#>leuto mttuwitotreaaur 
 
 ufcoxttf* u& taeaxi fobiih* parftta el) aratwffoib?, 
 
 !at>&Mequcwttwv uulumtm mmouVfogna but 
 
 xei^eonttu&V 6 wioq? qiiiWbitiwF'uiIiKlIb collar - 
 
 ta Tttorfmkmn 1 (Hum enutt mufluate' Mr-finibo 
 
 hoff^ftww ttuuif biffitfo* te ttctmdCtaf tel»dstnta 
 
 — Htm cmfu* &rcott{ltcatbviuntt/ dvgutrdtdue eutf^em 
 
 cmrl*citanl>^ &ua*a% at> caxrttlmtt ud c6mof>um/ 
 
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 ^t pimutf £t$&tenfc& ab £a$Ho attitttu aro£ accottto 
 
 ^arc nou uiutilr uifntt) $s£ — <^-~ 
 

 THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE FOUNDATION 
 
 OF 
 
 Battel ftttbeg. 
 
 AVING at hand certain records, which are a 
 memorial to posterity concerning the the 
 site and establishment of our place, Preface. 
 namely, the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel, we 
 have now resolved to write more at large re- 
 specting it, recapitulating some facts, and supplying others 
 that have been omitted, in order to hand down, collected 
 into a book, whatever we have been able to learn worthy of 
 the remembrance of aftercoming times ; and these things we 
 have gathered, either from verbal statements or from docu- 
 ments written by our predecessors. And inasmuch as the 
 widely-spread possessions of this Abbey — the situation of its 
 lands — its yearly revenues — and its liberties, customs, and 
 dignities, have not heretofore been very clearly exhibited, 
 neither yet various other matters tending to its security or 
 advantage in such suits or negociations as may hereafter arise 
 — although we are utterlv insufficient for the undertaking-, 
 yet it has seemed to us desirable to apply our scanty abilities 
 to the fuller elucidation of matters from the beginning. 
 
 By that providence by which all earthly affairs are arranged, 
 the most pious Duke William, of the illustrious 
 stock of the Normans, and of their famous prince th" J Abbe,j. 
 Rollo, a man worthy to be designated the father 
 of his country, and the landmark of his duchy and kingdom, 
 
 1 
 
2 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 having arisen like a morning star upon the world l — (through 
 his admirable diligence, accompanied by God's favour, his 
 own liberality, and the assistance of the nobility of France) — 
 after innumerable storms of calamity, happily asserted his 
 claim to the government left him in right of heirship by his 
 father, and at length effectually reduced it under his power. 
 
 In the mean time his kinsman, King Edward, died, and left 
 the kingdom of England to Duke William, whom he con- 
 stituted his legal heir. But this was seized upon by a certain 
 perjured slave 2 called Harold, and the duke having received 
 information of it, relying upon the advice and assistance of 
 his friends, devoted all his energies, either by force or stra- 
 tagem, to recover his rights. He therefore prepared himself 
 a great fleet ; and many counts, nobles, and illustrious men, 
 and many barons who were not his subjects, but belonged 
 to neighbouring provinces, from motives of respect associated 
 themselves in his retinue. The duke, therefore, 
 Yt l p™ens? d - siting sau ^h a prodigious army, and attended 
 by the divine favour, arrived safely near the castle 
 called Pevensey. 3 
 
 The soldiers leaped joyfully upon English ground 
 
 at intervals along the shore It happened as 
 
 the duke left his ship, that he fell upon his face, making his 
 nose somewhat bloody upon the beach, and grasping the earth 
 with his outstretched hands. Many of the bystanders feared 
 the consequences of so unlucky a presage, and stood whis- 
 pering together. But the duke's sewer, William Eitz-Osbert, 4 
 
 1 " In mundi climate prout Lucifer exortus." The good monk appears to have had a 
 passage of Ovid in Ins mind — 
 
 " Admonitorque operum ccelo clarissimus alto 
 Lucifer ortus erat." Met. iv, 6C4-5. 
 
 2 " Suo " in MS. probably for " seruo." 
 
 3 Here a leaf is apparently missing from the MS., and the sense being consequently 
 broken, the exact meaning of the words at the beginning of the next leaf cannot be 
 ascertained. 
 
 4 William, son of Osborne de Crepon, and usually called William Fitz-Osborne. He 
 was one of the duke's chief advisers respecting the invasion. He held the offices of steward 
 of the household and sewer in the Norman court, and was afterwards advanced to the 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 3 
 
 a man of great merit and much ready wit, being at hand, 
 boldly rallied the failing courage of the waverers with a word. 
 " Cease men," said he, " to interpret this as a misfortune, for 
 by my troth, it is a token of prosperity ; for lo ! he hath 
 embraced England with both his hands, and sealed it to his 
 posterity with his own blood ; and thus by the foreshowing of 
 Divine Providence is he destined effectually to win it !" 
 
 Things thus turning out according to his wishes, the duke 
 did not long remain in that place, but went away 
 with his men to a port not far distant called ^fiSjj! 
 Hastings ; and there, having secured an appropriate 
 place, and acting upon a prudent determination, he speedily 
 built a castle of wood. 5 And having burnt the greatest part 
 of the ships (lest any of his followers, relying upon the hope 
 of returning home, should be careless in the design that they 
 had undertaken), the duke — now shortly about to become a 
 king — anxiously hastened to reduce the surrounding country. 
 
 Harold, the usurper of the kingdom, hearing of his arrival, 
 quickly collected his army, resolved upon driving out the 
 duke, or rather upon utterly destroying him and his, and 
 marched forward, with great boldness and expedition, to 
 the place which is now called Battel, where the duke, sur- 
 rounded by his battalions of cavalry, met him courageously. 
 Having arrived at a hill called Hechelande, 6 situated in the 
 direction of Hastings, while they were helping one another on 
 with their armour, there was brought forth a coat of mail for 
 the duke to put on, and by accident it was handed to him the 
 
 earldom of Hereford and the Isle of Wight. The principal duties of the sewer were to 
 serve up dishes for the king's table, and to taste every viand before the monarch ventured 
 to partake of it. This, being a precaution to avoid poisoning, was generally committed to 
 some personage in high favour with the monarch. Fitz-Osborne on one occasion incurred 
 the king's displeasure by serving up a crane which was scarcely half-roasted. William was 
 so highly enraged that he raised his fist for the purpose of striking the favourite, but was 
 prevented by another of his attendants named Eudo, whom he afterwards rewarded with 
 the office of dapifer, for his seasonable interference. 
 
 5 Vide Sussex Archceological Collections, vol. ii, p. 54. 
 
 6 Or Hetheland. The name is now lost. 
 
4 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 wrong side foremost. 7 Those who stood by and saw this, 
 cursed it as an unfortunate omen, but the duke's sewer again 
 bade them be of good cheer, and declared that this also was a 
 token of good fortune, namely, that those things which had 
 before kept their ground were about fully to submit them- 
 selves to him. The duke, perfectly unmoved, put on the mail 
 with a placid countenance, and uttered these memorable words : 
 " I know, my dearest friends, that if I had any confidence in 
 omens, I ought on no account to go to battle to-day ; but, 
 committing myself trustfully to my Creator in every matter, 
 I have given no heed to omens ; neither have I ever loved 
 sorcerers. Wlierefore, now, secure of His aid, 
 and in order to strengthen the hands and courage 
 of you, who for my sake are about to engage in this conflict, I 
 make a Vow, that upon this place of battle I will found a suit- 
 able free Monastery, for the salvation of you all, and especially 
 of those who fall ; and this I will do in honour of God and his 
 saints, to the end that the servants of God may be succoured ; 
 that even as I shall be enabled to acquire for myself a pro- 
 pitious asylum, so it may be freely offered to all my followers." 8 
 Among those who heard this vow, was a monk of Mar- 
 Requestof moutier, 9 one William, suraamed Faber, who for- 
 Paber™ merly, while in the service of the duke, had obtained 
 
 7 " Inversa ipsi oblata est." The coat of mail (lorica) alluded to, was the tunic quilted 
 with rings (or with mascles), so many representations of which occur in the Bayeux 
 Tapestry. Its general form was that of a shirt with short sleeves. The word inversa may 
 be read either as I have given it, or " inside out." " Among the last incidents of the 
 Tapestry, we find one of the victors stripping a dead warrior of his armour, winch he is 
 pulling over Ins head inverted." (Planche, Hist. Brit. Costume.) It is hardly probable, 
 however, that the duke's attendants would have presented his hauberk tinned " inside 
 out." The blunder, then, was simply that of attempting to put it on the wrong way, as a 
 person dressing in the dark might don Ins shirt with the breast to his back. The sewer's 
 interpretation of the omen would thus be pertinent : " As the duke's hauberk turns its 
 back upon him," he might have said, " so shall these Englishmen soon turn then backs 
 upon us 1" 
 
 s I am not quite satisfied with this rendering, as the latter portion of the sentence is 
 imperfect in the original. 
 
 9 Majus Monasterium, or Marmoutier, is situated near Tours. It is said to have been 
 founded by St. Martin, the great apostol of the Gauls, who is reported to have died there 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 5 
 
 the name of Faber (or ' the smith') from this circumstance ■ — 
 As he was one day a-hunting with his companions, they 
 happened to be short of arrows, and thereupon had recourse 
 for more to a neighbouring smith, who proved to be unac- 
 quainted with such sort of work. William therefore seized 
 his tools, and presently, with great ingenuity, fabricated an 
 arrow. This man, afterwards changing his profession, betook 
 himself to a religious life at Marmoutier, the fame of which 
 for sanctity was then very great. And when the descent of 
 the duke upon England was everywhere extolled, he, in order 
 to advance the interests of his Church, attached himself to the 
 army. Immediately on hearing the duke's vow, which was 
 exactly suited to his wishes, he proposed that the monastery 
 should be dedicated to the blessed bishop S. Martin. 10 The 
 pious duke favoured his suit, and benignly promised that it 
 should be so. 
 
 The duke, then, by his heralds, thrice offered conditions of 
 peace, which were thrice refused by the enemy; and at 
 length, conformably to the prophecy of Merlin " tfjat a Norman 
 atonic in iron coats sfjoultr lao Iouj tfjc nrtoc of tfjc Ettglteff," 
 it was manfully fought with arms. 11 
 
 Nov. 11th, 412. (Vide the succeeding note.) The monastery was burnt by the Normans 
 in the ninth century. At a subsequent period it became one of the conventual glories of 
 France, and as such subsisted until the Kevolution of 1789. At present, the antiquarian 
 traveller on his approach to Tours by the Lone has some difficulty in tracing on the left 
 bank of the river the ruins of this once majestic and important structure. 
 
 10 St. Martin, a Pannonian by birth, was the son of a Roman military tribune, and was 
 born about a.d. 316. He was originally a soldier, then a hermit, and finally, bishop of 
 Tours, in France. He died a.d. 400. He is accounted the apostol of the Gauls, and from 
 Iris original profession is frequently styled the military saint. Hence Faber's predilection 
 for him, and hence the appropriate dedication of Battel Abbey. His feast is the 11th of 
 November, and Martinmas is accounted one of the cross, or intermediate, quarter-days. 
 This festival, like some others hi the Romish calendar, was the substitute of a Pagan one, 
 antiently held at the same season in honour of Bacchus ; and good Protestants have not 
 been remiss in paying then respects to St. Martin's memory : Teste Barnaby Googe ; — 
 
 " 27a urlln chcare get once again oatf) fttarttn mare rneltne, 
 ffiSErjom all tlje people oiovsljippctfj aritft vosteo geese anfi urine." 
 
 11 Merlin's words, as recited in Geoffrey of Monmouth, are : " The German dragon 
 (i.e. the Anglo-Saxons) shall hardly get to his holes, because the revenge of his treason 
 
6 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 Upon the hill where the Abbey now stands, the English 
 
 supported their king in a compact body But 
 
 at length, by a preconcerted scheme, the duke 
 feigned a retreat with his army, and Eustace, the valiant 
 count of Boulogne, nimbly following the rear of the English, 
 who were scattered in the pursuit, rushed upon them with his 
 powerful troops ; meanwhile the duke returned upon them, 
 and they, being thus hemmed in on both sides, numbers were 
 stricken down. The miserable English, feeble and on foot, 
 are scattered abroad. Pressed upon, they fall; they are 
 slaughtered, and killed ; and their king being overthrown by 
 a chance blow, they fly in all directions, and seek their hiding 
 places. And then, after an innumerable multitude had been 
 slain on the field, or rather in their flight, a very great 
 calamity presented itself before the eyes of all. 
 
 There lay between the hostile armies a certain dreadful 
 precipice, caused either by a natural chasm of the earth, or 
 by some convulsion of the elements. It was of considerable 
 extent, and being overgrown with bushes or brambles was 
 not very easily seen, and great numbers of men — principally 
 Normans in pursuit of the English — were suffocated in it. 
 Eor, ignorant of the danger, as they were running in a dis- 
 orderly manner, they fell into the chasm and were fearfully 
 dashed to pieces and slain. And the pit from this deplorable 
 accident is still called M a/fosse. 12 
 
 shall overtake him. At last he shall flourish for a little time, but the decimation of 
 Neustria (i.e. Normandy) shall hurt him. For a people in wood and in iron coats shall 
 come and revenge upon him his wickedness." (Dr. Giles's Translation.) 
 
 12 Malfosse. This name was corrupted to " Manfosse" previously to 1302, when certain 
 lands there situate were conferred upon the Abbey. I have taken some pains to ascertain 
 the locality of this shocking incident, but can find no place which, in the ordinary use of 
 language, can be called a " dreadful precipice." It has been conjectured that it occurred 
 on some part of the stream (the Asten) which rises in the western part of Battel Park, 
 and which supplies water for the powder-mills, and ultimately flows by Crowhurst and 
 Bidverhithe into the sea; but this hypothesis is untenable, for the following reason. The 
 attack of the Normans is plainly shown to have been made from the south and south-east, 
 and any one who will take the trouble to examine the ground, will see that the retreat of 
 the Saxons must have been in a north-westerly direction, by that division of Battel now 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 7 
 
 Amid these miseries there was exhibited a fearful spectacle : 
 the fields were covered with dead bodies, and on every hand 
 nothing was to be seen but the red hue of blood. The dales 
 all around sent forth a gory stream which increased at a 
 distance to the size of a river ! 13 How great, think you, 
 must have been the slaughter of the conquered, when that of 
 the conquerors is reported upon the lowest computation to 
 have exceeded ten thousand ? Oh ! how vast a flood of 
 human gore was poured out in that place where these unfor- 
 tunates fell and were slain ! What dashing to pieces of arms ; 
 
 called Mountjoy. The ground here is certainly somewhat precipitous, descending to a 
 stream of water which runs from Beech mill-pond to Whatlington, and becomes a tributary 
 of the Rother. This stream still occasionally overflows its banks, and the primitive 
 condition of the adjacent levels was doubtless that of a morass or swamp, overgrown with 
 reeds and similar bog vegetables. Here then, in all likelihood, occurred the "great 
 calamity" so graphically described by our historian, although, thanks to good drainage, 
 the ' bad ditch' (Mal-fosse) no longer remains. I may add, in confirmation of these 
 remarks, that in 1279 Adam de Pycot released to Abbot Reginald nine acres of land called 
 Wincestrecroft in Mainfosse. Now Wincestre Croft is still known, and hes in the direction 
 specified — west by north of the town. The name of Mountjoy itself may be derived with 
 nearly equal probability from two distinct sources. " Mont-Joie, among the French," says 
 Bailey, " is a name by which they call heaps of stones laid together by pilgrims, in which they 
 stick crosses, when they are come within view of the end of their journey." But Boyer 
 defines Mont-joie as, " a heap of stones made by a French army as a monument of victory." 
 Tradition supports the latter definition, asserting that it was on this hill, where the wind- 
 mills now stand, that the Normans sounded the trumpet of victory, and called back their 
 pursuing troops. This place is sometimes termed Call-back hill, a name popularly believed 
 to have been given it from that circumstance. In antient documents, however, it is 
 written Caldbec (the ' cold spring'), and a cold spring still exists on the spot. Caudbec in 
 Normandy probably derives its name from the same Teutonic roots. 
 
 13 The Conqueror is said to have given one portion of the field of battle the name of 
 Sanyuelac, or the ' Lake of Blood ;' and a part of the present town of Battel is called 
 the Lake, because, says tradition, of the vast quantity of blood there spilt — a very sea, as 
 it were, of human gore. " There about," says Drayton (Polyolb., Song xvii,) " is a place 
 which after rain always looks red, which some have attributed to a very bloody sweat of 
 the earth as crying to Heaven for revenge of so great a slaughter." 
 
 " Asten once distained with native English blood ; 
 
 Whose soil, when yet but wet with any little rain, 
 Doth blush, as put in mind of those there sadly slain." 
 
 Unfortunately, however, for all this, the name of the place as written by our chronicler 
 and his predecessors is Santlache, a word requiring a totally different etymology. The 
 redness of the water here, and at many other places in the neighbourhood, is caused by 
 the oxidization of the iron which abounds in the soil of the Weald of Sussex. 
 
CHRONICLE OF 
 
 what clashing of strokes ; what shrieks of dying men • what 
 grief ; what sighs, were heard ! How many groans ; how 
 many bitter notes of direst calamity then sounded forth who 
 can rightly calculate ! What a wretched exhibition of human 
 misery was there to call forth astonishment ! In the very 
 contemplation of it our pen fails us. Yet it is proper to add 
 that, the battle being at length concluded, upon that triumph 
 England submitted to the Normans. 
 
 The place being marked where the standard of this rash 
 and hostile invasion 14 fell, the duke went forward with all haste 
 to extend his authority. Having at length reached London, 
 the chief city of the realm, he offered the citizens a treaty of 
 peace, which they unwillingly accepted, though in the end 
 they joyfully received him as the heir and lord. And some 
 portion of the kingdom being now prudently pacified ; by the 
 consent of the magnates and nobles of the state, he was 
 dignified with the throne and crown of the English monarchy, 
 and invested with his well-deserved diadem, at the Nativity 
 of Our Lord, as the one thousand and sixty-seventh year since 
 his incarnation was coming in. 15 
 
 After this, he was engaged with numerous and weighty 
 Belay in the a ff a i rs ; an d could by no means in a short time 
 execution of unite and quiet the kingdom. This of course delayed 
 
 the VOW. 
 
 the performance of many things which he had pro- 
 posed to execute earlier. Eor the storming of towns, and the 
 subjugation of stiff-necked rebels, occupied, for a long period, 
 all his energies. In the end, however, prosperity attended the 
 monarch so evidently chosen and promoted by God ; so that 
 neither the hostile machinations of his fellow-countrymen, nor 
 the craft of his enemies, nor the threatening inroads of foreigners 
 availed to injure him ; while he, ever relying upon the assist- 
 ance of Heaven, was mightily strengthened in the glory of his 
 kingdom. And deservedly — since he was excellent in morality, 
 
 14 I.e., of course, Harold's — however strangely the phrase may sound. 
 16 December 25, 10G6. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. (J 
 
 munificent in liberality, remarkable for clemency, powerful 
 in genius, constant in temper, valiant in arms, magnanimous 
 in enterprise, successful in acquisition, pacific in government, 
 studious in reforming and keeping the laws, a diligent culti- 
 vator of religion, entirely devoted to the welfare of the 
 churches, 16 and what must needs be still more admired, while 
 he himself ruled so many nations, Discretion, the nourisher of 
 the virtues, so governed him, that he who was otherwise 
 invincible, easily yielded to the gentle suggestions of reason. 
 Thus he both largely augmented the limits of his empire, and 
 beyond the hope of all in his time energetically governed his 
 now quieted dominions, which he happily transmitted to his 
 posterity. Thus far of these matters. 
 
 Now, since we may appear unnecessarily to have extended 
 this exordium of our proposed narration, it will be proper 
 more closely to examine, by diligent investigation, the materials 
 thereof, and to show, as we have promised, the first beginnings 
 of our place as it were by rule. The most illustrious King 
 William, then, being engaged as we have shown with many 
 cares, although he never lost sight of the obligations of his 
 vow, yet by reason of the affairs which occupied his attention, 
 he for some time delayed its fulfilment. 
 
 At length the demands of his conscience from within, 
 and the constant suggestions of the monk William 
 Faber from without, prevailed,and the king acceded J** ^T'Se 
 to his wish ; and inasmuch as he was considered Ahbe y in - 
 
 tT'itstcd to 
 
 a proper person, the king committed the erection Faber. 
 of the work to him, and ordered him to fetch over 
 certain brethren of his abbey, in order to found, on the field 
 of battle, without further delay, an appropriate monastery. 
 
 This he cheerfully undertook to do, and going at once to 
 Marmoutier brought over to England four monks of great 
 reputation and piety, namely, Theobald, surnamed Vetulus, 
 
 lf ' lleuce all this praise 1 
 
10 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 William Coche, Robert of Bolonia, and Robert Blancard. 
 These personages having viewed the scene of the battle, 
 judged it an unsuitable site for so noble a building, but 
 thought a lower place on the western side of the hill more 
 eligible ; and there, not to seem remiss in their undertaking, 
 they built some little dwellings. 17 The place is to this day 
 called Herst-, 11 * and a certain thorn-tree growing there is a 
 memorial of this circumstance. 
 
 The king on making careful enquiries as to the progress of 
 _ , the work, was told by the monks that the place where 
 
 The monks . . 
 
 dislike the he had determined to build the abbey was situated 
 upon a hill with a parched soil, dry, and destitute 
 of water ; and they entreated him that a more convenient 
 spot in the immediate vicinity might be chosen for so impor- 
 tant a work. Upon this the king grew angry, and commanded 
 them with all haste to lay the foundations of the temple on the 
 very place where he had achieved the victory over 
 refuses to his enemy. Not daring to resist him, they com- 
 c ange % plained of the scarcity of water ; to which the 
 king is reported to have replied in these memorable words : 
 " If God spare my life, I will so amply provide for this place, 
 that wine shall be more abundant here than water is in any 
 other great abbey ! " They next complained of the unfitness 
 of the place, because, the ground being woody for some 
 distance round, proper stone for the edifice could not be 
 obtained ; but the king, undertaking to defray all expenses 
 out of his own treasury, sent ships to the town of Caen to 
 
 V " Mansiunculas." 
 
 17 * Herst. This locality cannot be identified. Hyrst is Anglo-Saxon for wood, and there 
 are some hundreds of places in this, and the adjoining county of Kent, whose names 
 terminate with it, furnishing proof, if proof were required, of the woody nature of the 
 district in Saxon times. At the date of the events under consideration, a great portion of 
 the district in which Battel lies was still unreclaimed forest. Salehurst, Bathurst, Penhurst, 
 Crowhurst, Hurstmonceux, Maplehurst, Ewhurst, Rickelhurst, Brethurst, Angmereshurst, 
 Ticehurst, Sandhurst, Hawkhurst and many other ' -hursts ' he within the compass of a few 
 miles from Battel Abbey. Other places in the same tract of country are shown to have 
 been to a great extent cleared at an earlier period, by the suffix ' -field' ; e. g. Catsfield, 
 Ninfield, Netherfield, Westfield, Mountfield. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 11 
 
 bring over abundance of that material for the work. And 
 when, in compliance with the royal order, they had imported 
 some part of the stone from Normandy, in the meantime, 
 as is said, it was revealed to a certain religious matron, that 
 upon digging in the place indicated to her in a vision, they 
 would find plenty of stone for this purpose. They commenced 
 a search accordingly, and, at no great distance from the 
 boundarv which had been marked out for the Abbev, 
 
 * i i • i • i Materials 
 
 found such an ample supply, that it plainly ap- found on 
 peared, that a concealed treasure of it had been espot ' 
 divinely laid in that very place from eternity, for the building 
 there to be erected ! 
 
 Thus at length were laid the foundations of this most ex- 
 cellent work, as it was then considered ; and in accordance 
 with the king's decree, they wisely erected the high altar upon 
 the precise spot where the ensign of King Harold, which they 
 call the Standard, was observed to fall. But although skilful 
 men, influenced by no love of filthy lucre, had the super- 
 intendence of the work, the building went on but slowly, on 
 account of some extortioners, who sought their own things 
 rather than those of Jesus Christ, and laboured m 
 
 lhe work 
 
 more in appearance than in truth. Meantime, proceeds 
 also, the brethren built within the intended circuit 
 of the monastery mean dwellings of little cost, for their own resi- 
 dence. And thus, by an evil example at first, things were put 
 off from clay to day, and the royal treasures allotted for the 
 furtherance of the undertaking were improperly spent, and 
 many things conferred upon the place by the king's devout 
 liberality carelessly squandered. 
 
 No apology will be necessary for our having mentioned 
 these things, to prove the good will of this noble king ; for 
 although by reason of his being concerned with so many 
 affairs of importance, he was prevented, to his great grief, 
 from visiting the place, and from doing for it what he had 
 proposed to do ; yet even from the circumstances named it 
 
12 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 most plainly appears, that from the first he designed so 
 ample a provision, that his devotion is worthy of continual 
 remembrance. 
 
 While affairs were in this condition, it was suggested to the 
 king that he should appoint as abbot, one of the brethren who 
 had been brought over, and that the rest should be sub- 
 servient to him. Robert Blancard was therefore 
 card, first ' elected to this office. And, influenced by devo- 
 abbot, Hqu he immediately went over to Marmoutier, 
 
 drowned. J 
 
 his own abbey ; but as he was returning, amidst 
 the congratulations of all, and had nearly reached the English 
 shore, by the mysterious judgment of God a tempest arose, 
 and he was swallowed up by the cruel waves. Thus being 
 taken from this world, he transmitted the rule allotted him 
 to another, who by the divine dispensation had been fore- 
 ordained. When this intelligence arrived, and was carried to 
 the king, he took advice upon the subject, and sent William 
 Faber, who still managed all the affairs of the place, to Marmou- 
 tier, to fetch over another of his brethren, named 
 G C oldMoT' Gausbert, to undertake the government of the abbey. 
 This Gausbert was a man of the greatest piety 
 and clemency, and endowed with manifold virtues. Four of 
 his monkish brethren accompanied him to his destination, 
 namely, John, Hameline, Ainard, and Leffelm, who after a pros- 
 perous voyage arrived joyfully with him at the appointed place. 
 Thus was that venerable personage, Gausbert, by the royal 
 pleasure, happily promoted to the government of the abbey, 
 and consecrated before the altar of S. Martin of Battel, about 
 the one thousand and seventy-sixth year of our Lord's incar- 
 nation ; and being settled in his office, both the buildings of the 
 Abbey and the number of the brethren steadily increased under 
 his superintendence. 
 
 The king, not unmindful of the work he had under- 
 The place taken, in order to perpetuate the memory of 
 
 named x l 
 
 "Battel." his victory, ordained that the place should hence- 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 13 
 
 forward be called 3SOTTC3L To the monastery he first 
 granted and gave the Leuga lying around it, entirely free 
 from all exaction and subjection of bishops, and from the 
 domination and customs of earthly service of all other persons 
 whatsoever, as is proved upon the testimony of his charters. 
 And since the Abbey was the pledge of his royal crown, he 
 determined in various ways to enrich it, not only with a 
 liberal donation of lands, dignities, ornaments, and various 
 riches, but also in the grace of religious service and in the 
 number of its brethren — but, alas ! he was prevented from 
 executing his intention by death. 
 
 The lands of the Leuga, as described in the Description 
 
 ° . of the Abbey 
 
 King's Book, 18 consist of these portions : lands-, the 
 
 The Abbey of Battel holds a leuga 19 lying around emja " 
 it. It holds Boccham [that is Vochehant], and has there half 
 a hide. Of this half hide there is one virgate lying without 
 the leuga, and belonging to Croherste, which Walter Fitz- 
 Lambert exchanged for a certain wood within the leuga, and 
 it holds it for that reason. In Bece, which Osbert holds of 
 the r Earl of Eu, 20 three virgates. In Wasingate [that is 
 Bothherstegate 21 ], says the King's Book, the Abbey has a vir- 
 gate ; in fact, however, it is but half a one. In Wilminte, 
 
 18 That is, of course, Domesday Book (f. 17, b.) 
 
 19 Leuga. In the next paragraph hut one, we are told that a leuga contains 12 (lineal) 
 roods, the rood 40 perches, and the perch (16 ?) 16^ feet — 7920 feet, or one mile and a half. 
 Thus the ahhey's demesne, or home territory, comprised a circle of \\ mile radius, or 
 3 miles diameter. That this area was set out by regular measurement, and not, as some 
 have supposed, by mere guess-work, is proved by a subsequent passage in this Chronicle 
 which mentions some legal proceedings against the abbey regarding the possession of cer- 
 tain lands, when its right was established by an appeal to the measuring line. Had no 
 subsequent acquisitions of land been made, the manor of Battel woidd have been circular; 
 but previously to the erection of the district into a parish, many contiguous lands were 
 added, which accounts for the existing irregularity of the boundary. 
 
 20 The Count De Augi or Eu was the intimate friend and counsellor of the duke, who 
 rewarded his services with the Rape of Hastings. His antient seignory in Normandy was 
 at La Ville d'Eu, now the property of the heirs of the late Louis Philippe. 
 
 21 The words in brackets have been added in a later hand. 
 
14 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 says the same record, the Abbey possesses six virgates, though 
 it has really but five. In Nirefeld [Nedrefeld] it has six 
 virgates. In Peneherste half a hide. In Hou half a hide. 
 In Phileshani one virgate. In Cattesfelde three virgates. In 
 Bulintune two hides, wanting one virgate. In Croherste one 
 virgate. In Wiltinges one virgate. In Holintune one virgate. 
 Total : six hides and a half virgate. 
 
 All these lands are within the Leuga as has been stated, 
 and the Leuga is composed of them, which the abbey of 
 Battel possesses. This King William made free and quit of 
 every custom of earthly service and of all subjection of 
 bishops, especially of the Bishop of Chichester, and from the 
 domination, oppression, and exaction of all other persons 
 whatsoever, as before said, and confirmed it by his charter. 
 
 Now eight virgates make one hide ; 22 and a wist consists of 
 four virgates. The English leuga contains twelve roods ; 
 and forty perches make a rood. The perch is sixteen feet 
 in length. The acre is forty perches in length and four in 
 breadth. But if it be twenty in length, it shall be eight in 
 breadth, and so forth. 
 
 From without Bodeherste, 23 on the east, is the boundary 
 
 of the Leuga, near the land of Robert Bos, and 
 
 tkeLmgaf ^ mns near the l an d °f Roger Moin as far as 
 
 Hecilande, and includes Hecilande, near the land of 
 
 William Fitz-Robert-Fitz-Wido and the land of Croherste 24 
 
 on the south. Thence it passes by the land of Cattesfelde 25 and 
 
 22 The editor of the Latin edition remarks : " This is a passage of great importance, as 
 tending to show the measurement of land in this country." He suggests, however, 
 that there is some blundering in the use of terms. I confess my inability to understand 
 it fully. 
 
 23 Bathurst lies in the eastern part of Battel parish, adjoining Westfield. It was given 
 by Walter le Boeuf (Bos) to the abbey. In after times it gave name to the family of 
 Bathurst, Earl Bathurst, who had a castle here. " They were dispossessed," says Collins, 
 "and their castle demolished, in the troublesome times of the dispute between the houses 
 of York and Lancaster." He adds, " Nothing now remains but a wood called Bathurst- 
 wood, where may be found some of the ruins." (Peeraye, vol. vii, p. 195, edit. 1768.) 
 
 24 Crowhurst. 
 " 5 Catsfield. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 15 
 
 by Puchehole 26 as far as Westbece 27 near the land of Bodeham 
 to the west. After this it passes along by the land of 
 Itintune 28 as far as to the north. Thence there is a boundary 
 by the land of Wetlingetuna, 29 and the land of Wicham and 
 by Setlescumbe, 30 and thus it returns to the first limit, 
 namely without Bodeherste on the east. 
 
 The Leuga being thus brought into the possession of the 
 Abbey, and the building of the Abbey meanwhile going 
 forward, a goodly number of men were brought hither out 
 of the neighbouring counties and some even from foreign 
 countries. And to each of these, the brethren who managed 
 the building allotted a dwelling-place of certain dimensions 
 around the circuit of the abbey; and these still remain as 
 they were then first apportioned, with their customary rent 
 or service. The order of the messuages is as follows : 31 — 
 
 1. The first messuage 32 stands by the gate of the Abbey, 
 near the house of the pilgrims, which is called the Ar 
 
 1 p Names and 
 
 Hospital, on the north side. It was Brihtwin's, rentals of the 
 who had been Bedel. 
 
 2. The second was Reinbald be Beche's. Both of these 
 pay sevenpence per annum at Michaelmas, and find a man for 
 one day only, to make hay in the meadows of Bodeham, and 
 the like at the reparations of the mill : they shall also make 
 each one seam 33 of malt. 
 
 26 Hodie, Foxhole. 
 
 27 West Beech lies in the western part of the parish. The old mansion (now a farm- 
 house) antiently belonged to the family of Beche, whose name frequently figures in the 
 records of the monastery. Bodeham must not be confounded with Bodiham. 
 
 28 Ittington lane still exists. 
 
 29 Watlington. 
 
 30 Sedlescombe. 
 
 31 This enumeration of the inhabitants of an English town, and their rents and feudal 
 services in the 12th century, is one of the most interesting features of this volume, and 
 may perhaps be regarded as unique. The arrangement of the houses corresponds 
 generally with the existing form of the town. A similar catalogue of the inhabitants of 
 the neighbouring town of Winchelsea, temp. Edw. I, is printed in Mr. W. D. Cooper's 
 excellent History of Winchelsea, 1850. 
 
 32 Mansura. 
 
 33 A seam (summa) was the ordinary horse-load of eight bushels. 
 
16 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 3. Next to these is the messuage of Wulmer, which like- 
 wise pays sevenpence at the same term, and performs the 
 like work. 
 
 4. The messuage of Malgar, the smith, Id. also and 
 
 labour. 
 
 5. That of jElfric Dot, Id. and labour. 
 
 6. ,, William the shoemaker, Id. and labour 
 
 7. ,, Edward Gotcild, 34 Id. and labour. 
 
 8. „ Ralph Ducg, Id. 
 
 9. ,, Gilbert, the weaver, Id. and labour. 
 
 10. ,, Dering Pionius, Id. and labour. 
 
 11. ,, Legard, Id. and labour. 
 
 12. „ Elf win Trewa, Id. and labour. 
 
 13. „ Godieve, Id. and labour. 
 
 14. „ Godwin, son of Colsuein, 6d. and labour. 
 
 15. „ Godwin, the cook, 6d. and labour. 
 
 16. „ Edward, the scourer, Id. and labour. 
 
 17. „ Robert, the miller, Id. and labour. 
 
 18. „ Robert de Havena, Id. and labour. 
 
 19. ,, Selaf, the herdsman, Id. and labour. 
 
 20. „ Wulric, the goldsmith, Id. and labour. 
 
 21. „ William Pinel, Id. and labour. 
 
 22. „ Lambert, the shoemaker, Id. and labour. 
 
 23. ,, Orderic, the swineherd, Id. and labour. 
 
 24. „ Sevugel Cochec, hd. at Michaelmas, and labour; 
 
 25. and §d. on St. Thomas's day with labour for the 
 adjoining messuage. 
 
 26. The messuage of Blacheni, the cowherd, Id. and 
 
 labour. 
 
 27. That of William Grei, Id. and labour. 
 
 28. „ Robert, the son of Siflet, Id. and labour. 
 
 29. ,, Seward Gris, 6d. and labour. 
 
 30. „ JElfric, the steward, Id. and labour. 
 
 M Goodchild? 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 17 
 
 31. That of Wulfwin Hert, with the land about it, 11^. 
 
 and labour. 
 
 32, 33. Near the parish church of S. Mary on the west is 
 the messuage of Lefwi Nuc, which, at the term aforesaid, 
 viz., Michaelmas, pays Id. and labour. 
 
 34. After that comes the messuage of Gilbert, the 
 stranger, which with its appurtenant land is free and quit, 
 except the tithe of the land which it pays, and two services 
 yearly ; one to Canterbury ; the other to London. 
 
 35. That of ^Elfric de Dengemareis 35 is free, except 
 only that it makes summons of the land of the said iElfric 
 in Dengemareis, when it ought to do service. 
 
 36. That of Bennet, the sewer, is entirely free. 
 
 37. „ Maurice, Id. and labour. 
 
 38. „ tEdric, who cast the bells, 36 Id. and labour. 
 
 39. „ Gunnild, Id. and labour. 
 
 40. „ Burnulph, the carpenter, Id. 
 
 41. „ iEiLRic Cild, 37 Id. and labour. 
 
 42. ,, Aeilnod, the shoemaker, Id. and labour. 
 
 43. „ Francefant, Id. and labour. 
 
 44. 45. Aeldwin, the cook, two, \§d. and labour. 
 
 46. „ Emma, Id. and labour. 
 
 47. „ Aelstrild Nonna, Qd. and labour. 
 
 48. „ Peter, the baker, Id, and labour. 
 
 49. 50. Sewin, two, ISd. and labour. 
 
 51. „ Robert de Cirisi, 15t/. and labour. 
 
 52. „ Mathelgar Ruff, Id. and labour. 
 
 53. „ Siward Stigerop, 38 Id. and labour. 
 
 54. ,, Goldwin, Id. and labour. 
 
 35 Dengemarsh, co. Kent ; see a subsequent page. 
 
 36 " Qui signa ftmdebat" should, according to a correspondent in Notes and Queries, 
 be thus translated. The bells alluded to are doubtless those of the Abbey. 
 
 3 ' "Child." It will be observed that a great proportion of the inhabitants of Battel, 
 judging by their names, were of Saxon extraction. 
 3S Stigrap, A. S. stirrup; probably a sobriquet. 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 55. That of Edwin, the smith, Id. and labour. 
 
 56, 57 
 
 58. 
 
 59. 
 
 60. 
 
 61. 
 
 62. 
 
 63. 
 
 64. 
 
 65. 
 
 66. 
 67. 
 
 68. 
 69. 
 70. 
 71. 
 
 72. 
 73. 
 74. 
 75. 
 76. 
 77. 
 78. 
 79. 
 80. 
 81. 
 82. 
 83. 
 84, 85. 
 
 Sevugel, 39 two, 10<:/. and labour. 
 Gotselin, Id. and labour. 
 Russell, Id. and labour. 
 Lambert, Sd. and labour. 
 Ailric, the baker, 12d. and labour. 
 Aeilnod, the son of Fareman, Sd. and labour. 
 Gilbert, the clerk, Id. and labour. 
 Lefwin, the baker, 13^. and labour. 
 Herod, 11^. and labour. 
 
 On the other side of the street. 
 Orgar, \kd. and labour. 
 Chebel, 40 Id. and labour. 
 Dering, Id. and labour. 
 Leffelm, Id. and labour. 
 Benwold Gest, 41 Id. and labour. 
 Wulfric, the swineherd, bd. and labour. 
 Emma, Id. and labour. 
 Slote, Id. and labour. 
 Gosfrid, the cook, Id. and labour. 
 Godfrey, bd. and labour. 
 Lefwin Hunger, Id. and labour. 
 Edwin Knight, bd. and labour. 
 Goldstan, Id. and labour. 
 Wulbald Winnoc, Id. and labour. 
 Brembel, 6d. and labour. 
 Robert Barate, 6d. and labour. 
 Lefflet Lounge, Sd. 
 Edilda Tipa, 5d. and labour. 
 Golding, bd. and labour ; of another adjoining 
 
 39 Sea-fowl. 
 
 40 Keble? 
 
 41 Gest, A. S., guest. This name, and several others, as Hart, Child, Siflet, Knight, 
 Barret, still designate Sussex families. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 19 
 
 it 5d,, and for this lie neither makes malt, nor finds a man 
 for the meadows nor for the mill. 
 
 86. That of tElfric Curlebasse, Id. and labour. 
 
 On the eastern side of S. Marys. 
 
 87. The messuage of Wulfwin Scot, Id. and labour. 
 
 88. „ Hugh, the secretary, Id. and labour. 
 
 89. „ Humfrey, the priest, Id. and labour. 
 
 90. „ Pagan Peche, Id. and labour. 
 
 91. „ Durand, Id. and labour. 
 
 On the other side of the street. 
 
 92. „ Juliot Wolf, Id. and labour. 
 
 93. „ Aelfwin Abbat, Id. and labour. 
 
 94. „ Siward Crull, 5<r/. and labour. 
 
 95. „ Sevugel Cannarius, 42 — ■ and labour. 
 
 96. „ Brictric, the gardener, 43 Id. and labour. 
 
 97. „ Aelwin, the secretary, 5d. and labour. 
 
 98. ,, Cheneward, bd. and labour. 
 
 99. „ Baldwin, the shoemaker, 5d. and labour. 
 
 100. „ Osbert Pechet, Sd. and labour. 
 
 101. ,, Cocard, bd. and labour. 
 
 On the other side of the way near the monks wall. 
 
 102. The messuage of Aelfwin Hachet at S. Thomas's 
 
 day, Id. and labour. 
 
 103. „ Aeilnoth Heca, Id. and labour. 
 
 104. „ Blacheman of Bodeherstegate, Id. and 
 
 labour. 
 
 105. „ Reinbald Genester, Id. and labour. 
 
 106. „ Aelfric Coryeiser, Id. and labour. 
 
 107. „ Brictric Barhe, Id. and laboiu. 
 
 108. „ Aelfwin Turpin, Id. and labour. 
 
 109. „ Roger Braceur, Id. and labour. 
 
 42 Perhaps a dog-trainer. 43 Ortolanus. 
 
20 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 110. That of Walter Ruff, Id. and labour. 
 
 111. „ Humfrey Genester, Id. and labour. 
 
 112. „ Godwin Gisard, Id. and labour. 
 
 113. „ Siward Crull, 5c/. and labour. 
 
 114. „ Brunreve, Sd. and labour. 
 
 115. „ Wulfwin, the carpenter, Sd, and labour. 
 
 The town of Battel, then, up to this time, consists of 
 
 these separate messuages. And all these, as we 
 
 IZZSZZP De f° re stated, ought to find for one day a man for 
 
 every house, for the labour of the meadows, and 
 
 for the reparations of the mill, and every man shall have a loaf 
 
 and a half with other necessary food. 44 And if needful, they 
 
 are bound to make malt, every one a seam. A servant of the 
 
 monks, with their own horse, must carry the seams to every 
 
 house, and deliver them to the tenants. When the malt is 
 
 made, the tenants ought to return it at the Abbey by measure, 
 
 and for that day every one should receive two loaves, with 
 
 good companage. Likewise at the labour of the meadows or 
 
 the mill, if it shall be necessary to go thither more than 
 
 is just, they may not be compelled, yet being entreated, they 
 
 shall go if able. But he who is preoccupied with some other 
 
 business and unable to go, shall not be sued or fined on that 
 
 account. The same rule holds good as to the making of malt. 
 
 The men of this town, on account of the very great clig- 
 
 Priviiegesof in ty °f the place, are called Burgesses. If these 
 
 the Towns- m any way deviate from customary right and be 
 
 sued for penalties, the cause shall be tried before the 
 
 abbot or monks, or their deputies, and upon conviction they 
 
 shall pay a fine of 50 shillings, according to royal custom, and 
 
 give a bond at the discretion of the president. 45 When a 
 
 44 " Companagiurn," whatever was eaten with the hread, whether fish, cheese, or the like ; 
 from " cum " and " panis." 
 
 45 This, according to the laws of Wessex, was the customary fine for a hreach of the 
 king's peace. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 21 
 
 new abbot comes to office, the burgesses shall pay him 100 
 shillings for their liberties. 
 
 Hitherto we have confined ourselves to those things which 
 pertain to the town. Let us now describe those 
 which are without the town, within the Leuga. JEEf 101 
 And let no one blame us for having described the w T itMn the 
 
 ° , Leuga. 
 
 lands and boundaries of the leuga otherwise than 
 they are entered in the king's book. Formerly, the lands of 
 the leuga were divided as they are there described, but under 
 succeeding abbots they have been divided as they thought 
 best. The leuga is parcelled into wists, which in other places 
 are called virgates. 
 
 In Uccheham 46 are three wists in domain. There are also 
 in Uccheham four wists and a half, the holders of which shall 
 pay, for each, three shillings a year, and shall do in the fourth 
 week all the labour allotted to them. On the sabbath, 
 they shall go with their own horse whithersoever they are 
 ordered. 
 
 Between Hecheland 47 and Bodeherste is one wist, with the 
 like labour and pence. 
 
 In TelleJiam^ are held seven wists, which shall do all the 
 labour in the manner above described. But one of them is 
 free from these labours, because as often as the holder of it 
 shall be summoned, he shall go with his own horse, with a 
 monk or with any other person, whithersoever he is ordered. 
 For this service he is likewise exempt from the rent of pence. 
 Both going and returning, he shall have from the Abbey an 
 allowance for his horse. He shall also have entertainment, 
 and shoes for his horse. And if his horse die on the journey, 
 the monks shall make good the loss. 
 
 46 Uckkam is the name of one of the " boroughs " in the liberty of Battel. The land 
 bearing this designation lies on the east of the old London Road, adjoining Petley Wood. 
 
 V Hetheland, a spot between Battel and Hastings, where the first preparations for the 
 battle took place. See page 3. 
 
 4S TeUiarn is in the same direction. To suit a popular tradition, that the Conqueror 
 counted his forces on tins spot, the name has been corrupted to " Tell-man Hill." 
 
22 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 In La Stene is one wist, which pays the said pence and 
 does the labour. 
 
 In Eichelherste are five wists, which pay the aforesaid 
 pence and labour. 
 
 In P uclt eliole is one wist, which is also subject to the 
 labour and pence. 
 
 In Beche are three wists, the holder of which must, during 
 half the year, have ready a horse, at the summons of the 
 abbot, fit for the riding of the abbot or one of his monks, 
 and, as often as necessary, he shall go with his horse wherever 
 he is ordered; horse-shoes and nails being found at the 
 expense of the abbot and monks. Tor this service he shall 
 be free from the rent of pence ; but if he shall not do it, he 
 shall pay ten shillings a year for the land. 
 
 In Diinintune lie three wists, which pay the before-men- 
 tioned rent and labour. 
 
 Besides these, the leuga includes three woods, namely, 
 Hecheland, Bodeherste, and Petlee* 9 and a fourth, which is 
 called Duniford. 
 
 There are likewise three orchards : one adjoining the 
 Abbey to the south ; another near the house called the 
 Hospital ; and a third by the church of S. Mary, to the north, 
 where also the monks' garden usually is. 
 
 The Abbey has also three mills in domain. Two within 
 the leuga, namely, one under Loxebeclie, 50 another lower 
 down in the valley, and a third partly within and partly 
 without the leuga, to the south of the Abbey, at a place called 
 J?iperinge, bx the part without the leuga being that which was 
 exchanged with the lord of Cattesfelde, for a certain little 
 meadow lying in BiiUntiine near Bidworehethe. 52 
 
 Thus far of these : now let us speak of the lands which 
 are in domain within the leuga. 
 
 49 Petley. 
 
 60 Loxbeech is near the powder-mills. 
 
 fll Now corrupted to Pepper-in-eye ! Here stand the well-known powder-mills. 
 
 52 Bulverhythe, on the coast hetween Bexhill and Hastings. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 23 
 
 In Petlee is one wist in domain, which one Oter formerly 
 held. It consists of forty-eight acres. 
 
 In Catecumbe are five acres, lying near Wetlingetune. 
 
 Between Petlee and Uccheham lie forty-two acres, reaching 
 to the road leading from Battel to Wetlingetune. 
 
 In Uccheham are three wists, with the meadow called 
 Hanwisse. 
 
 Bodeherstegate, as far as the road near Hechilande, lies a 
 very large uncultivated plain. 
 
 In Hechilande are two wists. 
 
 In Santlache, reaching as far as the infirmary, are held 
 31 acres : this place is called Dime. 
 
 On the other side of the way, where was formerly a part of 
 the vineyard, and in Celvetege, which are on the south side of 
 the church, are reckoned 36 acres. 
 
 In the land of Chapenore, near them, are 15 acres, besides 
 12 acres which the church of S. Mary has. 
 
 Between Bodeherste and Hechilande, and between the 
 infirmary and Chapenore, and as far as the land of Telleham, 
 are computed 37 acres. 
 
 There is a certain land, lying between the orchard adjoin- 
 ing the Abbey and the park, 53 which is on the south side. It 
 is called Quarrere, and contains four acres. 
 
 On the other side of the road, by the orchard, adjacent to 
 the hospital, are two acres in Herste. 
 
 Near these is a messuage with two acres of land, where the 
 vestments of the monks are washed j where also there are 
 three acres more. 
 
 There, also, on the west side, are eight acres. 
 
 Near them, towards the south, there are likewise eight acres 
 of demesne. 
 
 In Loxbece are held two wists. 
 
 On the west side of the town lie ten acres of excellent land, 
 some of which being tilled, yields abundance of corn. 
 
 53 Vivarium. 
 
24 CHRONICLE or 
 
 Iii Br ether ste 54 are eleven acres. 
 
 In Plesseiz 55 the land consists of 1 5 acres. 
 
 There also, near them, to the north, are 18 acres. 
 
 Besides these there are some lands which pay a rent, without 
 labour, thus : 
 
 In UccJieham is one acre, which pays 4d. Near the town, 
 on the east, are 11 acres, belonging to the fee of Uccheham, 
 which pay lid. This land is called Cook's land. 
 
 Next to them lie five acres, reaching to Santlache, which 
 likewise pay 5d. 
 
 There is also one acre where the house called the Gild/tall 
 stands. 
 
 Near Strelleioelle are four acres, which Gilbert the stranger 
 held, and his heirs after him. It is called Wrenclis land, 
 which also is free for the service that the tenant is bound to 
 render with his horse, to go whithersoever he is ordered, as 
 before mentioned. 
 
 ^. 777 „ There are two Gildhalls in the town: one above 
 
 Gildhalls 
 
 and their mentioned in Santlache, called the Gild or S. 
 
 regulations. -».«- 
 
 Martin. 
 
 The other on the west side of the town, at a place called 
 Chwerham. 56 
 
 And there is a third out of the town, hard by the park 
 which is below Qua?rere, b1 for the use of the churls 58 who 
 live out of the town. 
 
 In these gilds, the abbot is bound at certain times, as a 
 member thereof, to find his share towards the making of ale, 
 and he shall have his deputy, who shall everywhere sit in 
 his stead, and drink with the rest. 
 
 54 Bredehurst, in the parish of Brede. It gave name to a family, one of whom, John 
 de Bredeherste, was steward of the abbey lands in Ieklesham in 1273. 
 
 55 Plesseiz, Norman-French for a park. This spot was called the abbot's Plessies or 
 Plessette. It now forms part of Little Park farm, and lies northward of the town. 
 
 56 The western part of Battel town bears this name, and traces of this guildhall are sup- 
 posed to exist in the house of Mr. Sargent. — Fuller's Gleanings. 
 
 57 I cannot find this locality. It may have derived its name from its proximity to the 
 quarry whence the stone for the Abbey had been procured. 
 
 58 " Ad opus rustieorum" — the lowest grade of freemen. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 25 
 
 And the elders of the gilds ought to offer tapers, collected 
 from every tenant, upon the high altar of S. Martin. 
 
 In case of any forfeiture when the gilds happen to drink, 
 it shall belong to themselves, if it chance within the pale of the 
 gilds ; if beyond, it shall belong to the abbot. For the dead, 
 the abbot shall not give anything with the other members. 59 
 
 Here begins the Booh concerning the site of the Abbey of 
 Battel, and the possessions given to it by King William 
 and others. 60 
 
 N the year of the incarnation of our Lord 1066, 
 William, the most noble Duke of „ 
 
 Foundation 
 
 Normandy, sailed over into England of Battel 
 with a powerful army, in order to ey ' 
 recover this realm, which had been bequeathed 
 to him by his kinsman King Edward, from the hands of Harold 
 (who had fraudulently usurped it), and possess it for himself 
 as the rightful heir. 
 
 Harold, hearing of his arrival, marched against him with his 
 army, and the most valiant duke met him courageously at the 
 place which is now called Battel. When the duke was armed 
 for the engagement, he called together his barons and knights, 
 and urged them, both by persuasions and promises, to acquit 
 themselves faithfully in the conflict. And in order to animate 
 
 59 The last few paragraphs furnish an interesting illustration of olden manners. These 
 guilds were voluntary associations, with pretty much the same ohjects as the clubs of our 
 own days. We find them existing in Saxon times, previously to the reign of Athelstan, 
 and continued with some modifications up to the time of the Reformation. It is rather 
 singular that there should have been in so small a place as Battel three fraternities of this 
 kind. The abbot patronised all three, but as it would have been beneath his dignity to sit 
 down to his ale with tradesmen, artificers, and especially with " churls," he attended on 
 every occasion by deputy. On the death of a guild-brother his brethren were bound to 
 make an offering for his soul's health, usually a penny (or rather a pennyworth, for it some- 
 times consisted of bread and companage) ; but from tliis payment the abbot was exempt. 
 
 60 This " Liber de situ" is the work of another hand, which the author of the Chronicon 
 has introduced into his manuscript. The word "anno," with which it commences, has a 
 splendid initial, representing the Conqueror seated in his coronation chair. 
 
26 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 their courage, in their presence and with their concurrence, 
 he made a vow unto God, that if He would vouchsafe him a 
 victory over his foes, he would as freely and entirely dedicate 
 that place to God as he sought it for himself, and that he 
 would build a monastery, in which the servants of God might 
 dwell together for the salvation of them all, but especially of 
 those who should fall in the approaching battle — and that it 
 should be a place of refuge and help for all, that, by the con- 
 tinual efficacy of good works, atonement might be made for 
 the deeds of bloodshed there committed. Encouraged by 
 these words, they engage manfully, and in the end, on the 
 fourteenth of October, God being their helper, the enemy is 
 overthrown and his army routed ; and they gain the victory. 
 
 The tyranny of the enemy being everywhere overthrown, 
 and almost all England quieted in a short space of time, the 
 same year, this powerful duke, ensigned with the royal diadem, 
 was honourably raised to the sovereignty of the whole realm, 
 at London, in a manner befitting so illustrious a person, and 
 in the presence of the chief estates of the kingdom. He was 
 anointed and crowned by that venerable personage, Aldred, 
 archbishop of York ; Stigand, archbishop-elect of Canterbury, 
 being hostile to his interests. 
 
 The king, not ungrateful for the favour which God had 
 ,. , . shown him, felt much interested in the good work 
 
 Monks in- m ° 
 
 ■cited from he had proposed to himself; and greatly desiring to 
 carry his vow into effect, he commanded the 
 erection upon the battle-field of a monastery suitable for so 
 important a victory. And as he had determined to dedicate 
 it to the honour of the Holy Trinity and the blessed Mary, as 
 well as of the blessed Martin, the confessor of Christ, he sent 
 to Marmoutier for certain monks of S. Martin, to superintend 
 the work and lay the foundation of monastic service ; that the 
 erection of the Abbey, and the ride of religion might go on 
 together hand-in-hand. And to facilitate the work, he gave 
 them unlimited access to his treasuries, regardless of expense 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 27 
 
 in the fulfilment of his vow. But strange children, seeking 
 their own things more than Jesus Christ's, went about their 
 work but negligently. Still, however, the building went on 
 from day to day ; and as the king was resolved to endow it 
 with great possessions and royal dignities, so because by the 
 grace of the Thunderer 61 he had there obtained for himself 
 and his heirs a victory and a kingdom, he desired that, in 
 order to keep his triumph in continual remembrance, the 
 place might be called Battel. And there he determined to 
 settle a congregation of sixty monks at the least, purposing, 
 upon the dedication of the church, so to enrich it, that it 
 should remain to all time a brotherhood of monks seven score 
 in number. Thus " Man proposes, but God disposes ;" for he 
 was not permitted to carry that resolution into effect, since, 
 alas ! death, which spares neither king nor beggar, intervened ! 
 He left, however, to his monks a memorial of his love, in 
 appointing for their daily use, bread fit for the table of a king, 
 which is commonly called Simenel^ 2 thirty- six ounces by 
 weight, and one-fourth more during Lent, that something 
 might remain for charity. 
 
 To this his Abbey of S. Martin of Battel, by his royal autho- 
 rity he gave and granted the privilege of holding p riv n eges 
 its own court, with royal liberties, and the right of ^^ d hy 
 negociating its own affairs, and the execution of 
 justice. And, in order that it might be free and quit for ever, 
 he likewise exempted it from all episcopal authority and 
 levies, as well as from all claims of Marmoutier and all persons 
 whatsoever, even as Christ Clmrch, Canterbury, is. And if 
 any person guilty of theft, manslaughter, or any other crime 
 should, through fear of death, take refuge in this Abbey, he 
 should receive no injury, but depart entirely free. And if 
 
 61 " Tonantis gratia " ! 
 
 62 Simnel : the finest sort of bread. In Shropshire the word is still in use to designate 
 a kind of cake. It will be recollected that Lambert Simnel, the pretended earl of Warwick, 
 temp. Hen. VII, was a baker's lad, who had been trained for the character by Simon the 
 priest. This was no regular surname, but a mere sobriquet allusive to his trade. 
 
28 CHRONICLE or 
 
 the abbot should chance, anywhere throughout the realm of 
 England, to meet any condemned thief, robber, or other 
 criminal, he should be at liberty to release him from punish- 
 ment. All treasure found within its lands should also belong 
 entirely to the Abbey, as also the punishment of homicide if 
 it should occur there ; and further, all its tenants should be 
 everywhere exempt from toll and from every custom of earthly 
 service — as the charters testify. 
 
 He gave moreover to the Abbey, in everlasting possession, 
 the Leuga around it, to be free and quit for ever from all 
 geld, 63 scot, hidage and Danegeld, and from the labour of 
 bridges, and castles, and parks, and inclosures, and military 
 levies, and from all pleas, and aids, and plaints, and from 
 shires, and hundreds, and from lastage, with sac and soc, and 
 thol and theam, and infangthef, and warpeni, and hamsoken, 
 and forstal, and blodwite, and cildwite, and latrocinium, and 
 from every custom of earthly service, and from all exaction 
 and subjection of the bishops of Chichester, and from the rule 
 of all persons whatsoever ; so that it should be subject to the 
 authority of no person except the abbot and his monks. 
 Neither should any one presume, either within the Abbey 
 itself or in any of its possessions, to implead or hunt, or exer- 
 cise any business whatsoever, without permission, on pain 
 
 63 Geld, tax ; scot, a proportionate impost of various kinds ; hidage, a royal aid paid for 
 every hide of land; Danegeld, a tax imposed on our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, of \2d. upon 
 every hide within the realm, for clearing the seas of Danish pirates : it was aholished 
 in later Norman times ; lastage, custom payahle in fairs and markets ; saka, sac the juris- 
 diction of manorial courts ; soka, soc, right of courts ; thol, toll ; theam, power of judging 
 and restraining dependents and criminals ; infangthef, the power of seizing a guilty person 
 within one's own manor ; warpeni (war-penny) a contribution towards war or the provision 
 of arms ; hamsoken, assaults committed in the house ; hurglaries ; forstal, exemption from 
 fines for cattle arrested within one's own land (Bailey) ; otherwise defined as obstructions 
 on the highway ; blodwite, a customary penalty for the shedding of blood ; cildwite or 
 yiltioite, amends for a transgression ; latrocinium, the privilege of trying and executing 
 criminals. These are the definitions given by several authorities, but there is much 
 uncertainty as to some of them. The meanings of several of the terms had probably been 
 lost at the time of the Conquest, even among the Anglo-Saxons ; and " some Norman 
 charters, while they confirm the privileges, frankly state that they do not know the meaning 
 of the words they are confirming." (Kemble's Codex Diplomaticus, vol. i, p. xliii.) 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 29 
 
 of royal forfeiture. 64 And if anything be taken by chance it 
 should belong to the Abbey and not be carried away. 
 
 In the meantime many religiously-affected persons came 
 together there, and many others offered their sons to „ 
 
 D ^ _ Progress of 
 
 be trained up for the service of God. The king the estab- 
 promoted the welfare of the Abbey by every means 
 in his power, and appointed one of the monks whom he had 
 brought over from Marmoutier — an able man, wholly devoted 
 to religion, Gausbert by name — to be abbot of the monastery, 
 with this condition, that neither he, nor any of his successors, 
 should in any way be subject to Marmoutier ; and that he 
 should by his prudence carry on the service of religion — as 
 yet new in that place — to perfection ; and that after him for 
 ever, whomsoever the congregation of the brethren should 
 unanimously and regularly elect, should, with the king's 
 consent, succeed, as abbot of the society of the Abbey of 
 Battel. 
 
 Gausbert being thus elected, Stigand, bishop of Chichester, 
 would by no means agree to consecrate him, unless The bishop of 
 he would go to Chichester for that purpose. The Chichester's 
 
 ° L . x aisjjute with 
 
 prudent abbot therefore went to the king, to state abbot Gaus- 
 his case, and to ask what he should do. When 
 the king learnt how the matter stood, he was very angry, 
 and threateningly commanded the bishop that, laying aside all 
 objections, he should consecrate the abbot in the church of 
 S. Martin of Battel. He commanded, moreover, that neither 
 
 64 How far this privilege Mas maintained, I cannot say. In the reign of Henry VIII, 
 however, it seems to have been lost, for in 1517, the mayor and jurats of Rye asserted and 
 established their claim to have the trial of a felon for an offence committed within their 
 jurisdiction, against the abbot of Battel. One John Burrell stole a horse at Rye, and 
 escaped with it to Alfriston, which was situated within the abbatial manor of Alciston. 
 He was taken to Battel and lodged in the gateway-prison under the care of the porter. 
 The mayor demanded that the man and horse should be surrendered to him. The abbot 
 refused ; but obtained a warrant for BiuTell's committal to the King's Bench. A law-suit 
 now arose, and the mayor triumphed. Burrell was removed to Rye, and, proving himself 
 a clergyman, escaped the heavier infliction of the law, but was burnt with a JT. (thief) on 
 the brawn of his left hand. (Vide Jeake's Charters of the Cinque Ports.) 
 
30 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 he nor his attendants should on that day have lodging or food 
 in the Abbey according to custom, as a testimony of its 
 exemption from his jurisdiction. This was accordingly done, 
 and abbot Gausbert was consecrated before the altar of 
 S. Martin, and collated to his office by the bishop • and this 
 became a memorial to his successors, that the monastery 
 of Battel was as free from all exaction and subjection of the 
 bishops of Chichester as if it were the king's own chapel ; and 
 that no one had any claim upon it or its possessions, 
 beyond what might be freely bestowed for charity. 
 
 He also provided that when the abbot should go to court 
 he should have diet. 65 
 
 He also allotted him Inns at London and at Winchester. 66 
 Now abbot Gausbert, in consequence of his favour with the 
 monarch, coupled with his own prudent behaviour, obtained a 
 very honourable position among the chief men of the kingdom. 
 The bishop of Chichester, however, was a source of frequent 
 annoyance to him. He summoned him to appear at the 
 synod of Chichester, as if the abbacy had appertained to his 
 diocese, and sought to oppress him by many claims, with a 
 design to open a way whereby he might reduce it or its pos- 
 sessions under his authority and that of his church. To 
 avoid such subjugation, the abbot again brought the matter 
 into the king's court, and when it had been examined, it was 
 decided in council, that the bishop should not intrude at all 
 into the Abbey, or its circumjacent leuga, but that the abbot 
 himself should be judge and lord therein, so that the servants 
 of God, exempt from worldly cares, might wholly devote 
 themselves to God and the salvation of souls, 67 and that they 
 should govern their Abbey and its leuga in temporals and 
 spirituals. And the bishop thereupon, with the royal autho- 
 
 65 Liberationem, literally, a delivery (of provisions). 
 
 r ' 6 The abbot's town-house or Inn, in London, stood in the parish of S. Olave, Southwark, 
 and gave name to Battle-bridge. " Batelbrige," ( Valor Eccl.) 
 c ' 7 The printed copy reads " saluti omnium" — qy., animarum ? 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 31 
 
 rity, confirmed all these privileges. A good understanding 
 being thenceforward established between those venerable 
 personages, the bishop by his own authority further decreed, 
 that if his diocese should on any account be laid under an 
 episcopal interdict, the church of S. Martin of Battel should 
 not be included in it ; and if during the interdict any brother 
 or sister of the said church, dying within the diocese, could 
 not have burial, that the church of S. Martin of Battel, if 
 required, should have liberty of sepulture without any epis- 
 copal interference, provided that the person to be buried 
 should not have been the cause of the interdict. And if 
 forfeitures of Christianity shoidd in anywise happen within 
 the leuga, they must be brought before the abbot for deter- 
 mination, the Abbey to have the correction of the forfeitures, 
 and the bishop the imposition of the penance. 
 
 And as it was permitted, up to that time, for every one 
 to pay his tithes where or to whomsoever he would, many of 
 those who resided in the neighbourhood assigned theirs to the 
 Abbey in perpetuity ; and these being confirmed by episcopal 
 authority, remain payable to the Abbey until this day. 
 
 At that period all the residents in the leuga, and very many 
 beyond its limits belonging to the parish, attended divine 
 service in the church of S. Martin of Battel, and there was 
 a certain chaplain, who lived, with his clerk, in the court of 
 the monks, and had all necessaries there. He performed all 
 ministerial duties for the parishioners under the control of 
 the abbot ; and all the oblations, tithes, and benefices accrued 
 to the Abbey itself, without let or hindrance. 
 
 Abbot Gausbert paid a visit for devotion's sake to Mar- 
 moutier, where he had formerly been a monk ; and 
 the abbot and convent of that establishment on ^'^i- 
 this occasion sought an opportunity of subjecting tier desire to 
 Battel Abbey to their government. They endea- BatteiAbbey. 
 voured to cause the abbot to receive ordination in their 
 chapter-house, and thenceforward to compel him to go thither 
 
32 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 as often as they should summon him. But Gausbert perceived 
 their design, and when, after his return to England, he was 
 repeatedly summoned to Marmoutier, refused to comply, 
 but repaired to court and complained to the king. Where- 
 upon the king was angry, and ordered all the monks of 
 Marmoutier who were with him to be sent away. He even 
 threatened the abbot himself: " By the splendour of God," 
 said he — for that was his accustomed oath — " if you have 
 crossed the seas with this design, or if ever you go thither 
 again, you shall never return to the charge of my abbacy." 
 The abbot obeyed, and thus quieted all claims of this kind, 
 and the king confirmed the Abbey of Battel in its freedom 
 from all subjection to Marmoutier for ever. 
 
 The better part of the land in the town of Battel and 
 in the leuga being retained in domain, many persons were 
 brought out of the neighbouring counties, and some from 
 beyond the seas, 68 who prepared themselves habitations accord- 
 ing to the distribution of the abbot and monks. These, who 
 are in other respects free, have from that time been accustomed 
 to pay to the Abbey the fixed charge of the land, with certain 
 customary services. 
 
 The same illustrious monarch, king William, also gave to 
 _ t . . the Abbey the royal manor of Wye &Q in Kent, with 
 
 Donation of . J J J 
 
 the manor all its appendages of seven swilingce, that is hides, 
 from his royal crown, with all its liberties and royal 
 
 68 To this passage a later hand has added the following marginal remark : — " This 
 should he noted in opposition to those who say that there was (previously) a town in this 
 place which was called Sothope." When or why the tradition, that Battel stands upon 
 the site of an older town, originated, I cannot say ; but it is not yet ohsolete, and many 
 respectable writers have asserted that the place was originally called Epiton, a mistake 
 originating in the use, by Ordericus Vitalis, of the word ' epitonium' in the sense of ' field.' 
 
 69 Wye, concerning which frequent mention occurs in the subsequent pages, is a town 
 of 1600 inhabitants, lying four miles N.E. of Ashford. The "royal manor of Wye" 
 Lambarde considers (" as farre as he can reach by coniecture") to be the district now 
 known as the Lathe of Scray, and comprising a fifth part of the county of Kent. {Peram- 
 bulation of Kent, edit. 1826, p. 257.) About 1140, John Kempe, cardinal-archbishop of 
 Canterbury, founded a college here, upon lands which he purchased of the abbot and 
 convent. After an existence of about a century, the establishment was dissolved by 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 33 
 
 customs, as freely and entirely as he himself held them, or 
 as a king could give them, and exempt from all gelds and 
 scots and other burdens previously mentioned, and from all 
 maimer of earthly service. 
 
 When he conferred this manor upon the Abbey, this much- 
 to-be-commended prince is reported to have uttered some 
 remarkable and memorable words. To certain persons who 
 were expressing their surprise at his great liberality, he said : 
 "/ take it away from my body and confer it upon my soul," and 
 added, " if my body was able without let or hindrance to hold it, 
 it is fitting that my soul, which is the better part of man, 
 shmdd possess it, if possible, still more freely and undis- 
 turbedly '." 
 
 To this manor has belonged from a remote period a 
 dignity beyond others, that it should be paramount, with its 
 hundred, to twenty-two hundreds and a half within its 
 franchise. As often as these are bound to appear at county 
 or other customary assemblies, the sheriff of Kent, upon the 
 time and place being fixed, ought to issue forth his sealed 
 letters to the bailiff of Wye or his deputy, and he himself 
 afterwards to summon in the customary manner. When 
 these are assembled, the bailiff of Wye, or his deputy, shall 
 receive securities for all pleas and forfeitures of the aforesaid 
 hundred, and likewise twopence. On account of this sum- 
 moning, the hundred of Wye is exempt from all custom. 
 And it now belongs as entirely to the Abbey of Battel, as it 
 formerly did to the king. 
 
 Now a custom 70 which had prevailed from antient times 
 throughout England had grown into a law, namely, that earls 
 
 Hen. VIII, who, however, refouncled the grammar-school connected with it, which still 
 exists. The archbishop's application to the Abbey for the land, and for the appropriation 
 of the vicarage, is printed in the Monasticon, and copied in Mr. W. S. Morris's History of 
 Wye, a work containing much interesting information respecting the college and collegiate 
 church. 
 
 7° Note in margin of MS. — " Note, concerning the two pence of which our charters 
 make mention." 
 
34 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 should receive for themselves the third penny of the shire. 71 
 For this reason they were called counts {comites). Hence 
 because the king had granted the whole county of Kent to his 
 brother Odo, then bishop of Bayeux, he gave to his abbey of 
 Battel only the two pence which he held in his own hands, 
 the third being retained by the bishop. But subsequently, 
 when the bishop became involved in misfortune and lost his 
 county, this third penny escheated to the crown. 
 
 In Dengemarsh, which is a member of Wye, King William 
 granted all the maritime customs he held there. Thus, if the 
 fish called Craspeis should be cast ashore there, it belongs 
 entirely to the abbot and monks ; and if it should come to the 
 neighbouring land within certain limits, namely, between 
 Horsmede and Withiburne, which belongs to the soke of Wye, 
 two parts of it, with the tongue, belong to the abbot and 
 monks as fully as they had previously done to the king. 72 
 He likewise granted them the right of wreck 73 happening 
 there. 
 
 By all this the king's interest in the welfare of Battel Abbey 
 is clearly manifested. And as often as any royal edicts were 
 issued to the sheriffs and justiciars of Kent, or their deputies, 
 respecting the affairs of the Abbey, the royal letters contained 
 an especial direction that they should preserve all the royal 
 liberties and customs of the manor of Wye intact, that his 
 abbey and monks of Battel might enjoy them as peaceably 
 and undisturbedly as he himself had previously done. 
 
 He also gave them a manor in Sussex called Alsistona, 1 * 
 
 71 One penny out of every three of all profits arising from markets and forfeitures paid 
 to the earl (count) of each county. 
 
 72 The fish here alluded to was either " grandior piscis," great fish, or " crassus piscis," 
 fat fish, or " grossus piscis," bulky fish ; vulgo, Grampus. (Sornner Gloss.) 
 
 73 ii Werec." 
 
 74 Alciston, in the rape of Pevensey. The abbots had a great manor-house here, up to 
 the time of the dissolution, when it was granted to Sir John Gage, whose lineal descendant, 
 Viscount Gage, now possesses the estate. In the reign of Elizabeth, it was the residence of 
 a junior branch of that distinguished family. It is now a farm-house, and exhibits several 
 arches and other architectural features of the early English style. The parish church 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 35 
 
 with all its appendages, 43 hides and a half, which Grant o/va- 
 he had hitherto held in domain, with all the liber- in Sussex and 
 ties and royal customs aforesaid. ° t j^' coun ' 
 
 He likewise gave them, from the crown, another 
 manor in Surrey called Limnesfeld, 15 with its dependencies of 
 25 hides, and all the liberties and royal customs above written. 
 
 Hou, 76 likewise, a manor in Essex, with all its appur- 
 tenances, he gave and confirmed to this Abbey. This was 
 estimated at three hides and three virgates. 
 
 This most pious king, by his charter, gave and confirmed 
 to his abbey, BristwoldingtunP in Berkshire, ten hides, with 
 the aforesaid liberties and royal customs, out of his regal pos- 
 sessions, for his soul's health. 
 
 Craumareis, 18 also, with its five hides in Oxfordshire, he 
 granted and gave to his said abbey of Battel, by the same 
 royal authority. He also gave it, from his royal domain, a 
 church in the town of Reading, with its appurtenant pos- 
 sessions, lands, and tithes. 
 
 By the same right, the king gave the Abbey his own 
 church in the town of Coluntiina, 19 in Devonshire, with its 
 five prebends. 
 
 There was, in the excellent city of Exeter, in the same 
 county, a chapel of S. Olave, king and martyr, of Cha 
 great and antient celebrity for the miracles wrought s. oiave, 
 there ; this the liberal and much-to-be-commended 
 monarch also gave, to be freely held by the Abbey, with 
 certain laud called Sirefordia and Cheneberia, and the other 
 lands and tithes belonging to it. 
 
 To take possession of these gifts, the convent of the church 
 
 adjacent has traces of Norman work, and may be coeval with the grant of the manor to the 
 Abbey. The little church of Lullington, antiently a chapel dependent upon it, is probably 
 the smallest in England, measuring externally about twenty feet square. 
 
 ' 5 Limpsfield. which, like Alciston, had belonged, in the Confessor's time, to the family 
 of the ill-fated Harold. 
 
 76 I cannot identify this manor. It appears, however, from a subsequent passage of the 
 Chronicle, to have been near Ougar. 
 
 11 Brightwaltham. ' 8 Crowmarsh. ' 9 Collumpton. 
 
36 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 of Battel first sent a brother called Gunter, a man of energetic 
 character. When he had been there a short time, and had 
 faithfully performed his duties, he was recalled, and for his dili- 
 gence in the service of God made abbot of Torneia. 80 The care 
 of these churches was now intrusted to another worthy monk, 
 with power in his very name, one Cono. He, in conjunction 
 with a brother named Robert, as became a beloved son of the 
 church, regardful of the future, diligently applied himself to 
 the enrichment and elevation of the place committed to his 
 oversight. For he not only perpetuated the rents and obla- 
 tions previously accruing, but also took care to extend the 
 fame of the relics for which the place was distinguished, as 
 much as possible. Thus did he acquire lands and churches 
 or tithes in and about the city of Exeter, and so, by the 
 grace of the Thunderer, obtain the greatest favour with his 
 fellow-countrymen. 
 
 At length, when by purchase, and by the donations of the 
 
 faithful, he had got possession of various houses 
 Abbey founded and lands within the city, as the church of 
 
 S. Olave was but small, he resolved to erect a 
 monastery, fit for the habitation of brethren, in honour of 
 S. Nicholas, the confessor of Christ. This he did by the 
 license and authority of King William the Conqueror, who 
 was still living. The narrowness of his resources could 
 not restrain him from confidence in God, and the work so ex- 
 cellently commenced went forward daily. By degrees it was 
 brought to completion, and the place being now habitable, a 
 few brethren were brought from Battel Abbey, and divine 
 offices began to be regularly performed. For the support of 
 the brethren and of all that belonged to S. Olave, the abbot 
 and convent of S. Martin of Battel allotted the church of Col- 
 lumpton before mentioned (where the monks had previously 
 dwelt), with the lands of the five prebends, namely, Uppetona, 
 
 80 The editor of the Lat. ed. makes this Tournay; but the Monasticon (III, 376), with 
 more probability, Thorney, in Cambridgeshire. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 37 
 
 Colcbroche, Hineland, Waevre, Esse, and all their appurte- 
 nances, to the church of S. Nicholas ; reserving, however, as 
 an acknowledgment of subjection, a fixed tax of sixty shillings. 
 
 Of these matters, out of the thread of our discourse, sufficient 
 has now been said. Directing our pen to what 
 has been omitted, this noble-minded king, regard- ^rllt. 
 ful of the interests of his Abbey, appointed a market 
 for the town of Battel, to be holden on the Lord's day, to be 
 quit for ever from all exaction, and to be entirely under the 
 management of the convent, and this he confirmed by his 
 royal authority. 
 
 Thus did this most excellent prince, this justly styled king, 
 William, appoint and confirm to his Abbey of Battel, 
 
 1 i . . * Privileges of 
 
 as before said, its leuga, and all its manors and the Abbey 
 
 ,10 i •, n n rehearsed. 
 
 possessions, to be tree and quit tor ever irom every 
 custom of earthly service, that is to say, from all geld, and scot, 
 and hidage, and danegeld, and shires, and hundreds, and all 
 pleas and plaints, and from all aids, and lestages, and essarts, 
 and inclosures, and from all works of castles, and parks, and 
 bridges, and military levies, with sac, and soc, and thol and 
 theam, and infangthef, and warpeni, and hamsoken, and 
 forestal, and blodwite, and cildwite, and latrocinium, that 
 may happen in the Abbey's lands ; and if homicide shall 
 happen anywhere upon the land of his Abbey, within the 
 leuga, the manors, or their members, no one ought to inter- 
 fere except the abbot and his monks. He further granted, 
 that if any treasure should be found in their lands, it should 
 belong exclusively to them. He also gave them free-warren 
 everywhere throughout the leuga and the manors. 
 
 This noble prince further commanded that the Abbey, with 
 all its lands and possessions, should be free and secure from 
 all domination of princes, barons, and bishops, and from the 
 exactions of all persons whatsoever ; and that its tenants should 
 be exempt from all toll, and make all their marketings every- 
 where throughout the kingdom, without payment of that 
 
38 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 impost ; and that all persons molesting them on this account 
 should incur royal forfeiture. 
 
 In addition to all this, he granted, that if any of his barons or 
 their tenants should at any time give lands or possessions 
 to the Abbey, it should enjoy, in respect of them, all the same 
 liberty and royal dignity as we have before mentioned ; that 
 the servants of God, entirely quit and free, might devote 
 themselves to Him in peace. 
 
 In consequence of the dryness of the soil around Battel 
 Donation Abbey, and the deficiency of well-irrigated meadows, 
 of land at a certain knight of these parts named Osbern 
 
 Bodiham ° paii r\ 
 
 by Osbern Fitz-Hugh, by the advice of Abbot Gausbert and 
 ugh. ^ e mon k s — ^jj £j ie consen t of his lord, William, 
 
 Earl of Eu, and the confirmation of King William — gave and 
 granted, out of his domain, thirty acres of meadow, Norman 
 measure, lying in his manor called BodeJiam, 81 about seven 
 miles distant, partly of his own free donation, for the salvation 
 of him and his, and partly by way of sale — he receiving fifty 
 shillings in recompense ; and this by his charter he confirmed 
 for ever to the abbey of Battel, free from all challenge or 
 exaction of his heirs and all other persons, and from every 
 charge whatsoever. 
 
 At the same time Bernard de Newmarch, one of the king's 
 
 barons and a person of eminence, at the earnest 
 
 %ech£*' solicitation of a monk of Battel, named Roger, 
 
 by Bernard w i 10 j^ f or some tnne res ided with him, freely gave 
 
 deNeivmarch. . ^ . 
 
 to the abbey of S. Martin a certain possession m 
 Wales, called Old Town, 82 and the church of S. John the 
 Evangelist, contiguous to it, and lying beyond the fortifications 
 of his castle of Brecknock, with all its appurtenances. Brother 
 Roger (with his coadjutor Walter, another monk of Battel, 
 and a man of great wisdom) was enabled, as a new settler, 83 
 by great perseverance and labour, to restore the church from its 
 foundations. He also erected buildings for residence, and in 
 
 sl Bodiham, on the river Rother. 82 Vetus Villa. 83 Noviis colonus. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 39 
 
 the meantime obtained from the neighbours, partly by solici- 
 tation, partly by purchase, some property in lands and tithes. 
 And thus faithful to his charge, he laboured diligently to 
 render to the mother chinch, with a large increase, the talent 
 of the small possession which had been committed to him. 
 
 In process of time — these brethren still devoting themselves 
 entirely to the welfare of the new establishment — Agnes, wife 
 of Bernard previously mentioned, being sick, with her husband's 
 consent, granted them, out of her own inheritance, a certain 
 grange, lying out of Wales, in England, called Berintona^ as 
 a free possession for ever. The possessions of the church were 
 also gradually increased by Bernard's own benefactions of 
 lands, mills, churches, and tithes ; and the place was annexed, 
 of right, to the abbey of Battel, both by the confirmation of 
 Bernard and by royal authority. 
 
 Walter being now made prior by the abbot and convent of 
 S. Martin, it was determined that a feAv monks . „ J 
 
 A cell to 
 
 from the Abbey should reside there as servants of the Abbey 
 God, for the regular celebration of divine offices ; Brecknock. 
 and that in token of dependence they should pay 
 twenty shillings of their annual income to the abbey of Battel. 
 But to return : about the same time a very powerful 
 baron of the king, named William de Braose, William de 
 granted to the abbey of Battel eight messuages Braongrant* 
 
 P J ° pi possessions at 
 
 in the borough of Bramber, in the rape of the Bramberand 
 same name, in Sussex, and three others in Sor/iam, 85 
 and one hide of land in Sorham, to be held for ever without 
 molestation. He also gave them annually 400 bushels of 
 salt, and 10 bushels of wine, which the abbot of Fechamp 
 paid him yearly for a certain land of his which he held, called 
 Wurmineaeherste 86 near Lenglentune. In like manner he 
 freely gave for one of his knights named Hanseline, another 
 hide of land called Herincgeham. 81 At the same time 
 
 84 Berington, co. Hereford. ^ Shoreham. 
 
 86 Warminghurst, near Steyning. s7 Erringham, near Shoreham. 
 
40 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 another of his knights named Ralph, the son of Theodore, 
 with his consent and confirmation, gave another 400 bushels 
 of salt to the Abbey. 
 
 Tetbert, one of the tenants of William de Braose, influenced 
 by the example of such benevolence and piety, earnestly 
 desired to become a monk, and devoutly dedicated himself to 
 the Abbey. And with the assent and confirmation of his lord, 
 he gave, with himself, the lands which he possessed, namely, 
 one hide at Langlentune in Heregrave 88 called Wulfrun's hide, 
 in free and eternal possession. All these gifts Philip de 
 Braose, son of William, confirmed in his father's presence ; 
 and the latter, in accordance with the liberties and royal 
 dignities of Battel Abbey, granted that the burgesses whom 
 he had given, should have full permission to buy and sell 
 within their houses, without molestation and without toll, 
 except on market-days, when wares were publicly exposed. 
 
 Now when the reputation of the goodness and piety of the 
 servants of God dwelling at Battel became widely spread, and 
 the convent becam^ rich in consequence of the liberal bene- 
 factions of charity, it was deservedly extolled by all men. 
 The building meanwhile went forward, and the king, its most 
 munificent founder, had resolved soon to dedicate the establish- 
 Death and men t which he had so liberally endowed. Com- 
 buriaiof pelled, however, by adverse fortune, he sailed 
 
 William I. > J ' 
 
 over to Normandy ; and disabled by accident 
 during the expedition, he came at length to Rouen. His 
 sickness daily increased, and when he perceived that his end 
 drew near, he was not unmindful of the Abbey he had reared 
 in England, but took care to command his son William, whom 
 he had constituted his successor to the kingdom, that, upon 
 his return to this country to receive the crown, he should 
 endow the convent with one manor of forty pounds, over and 
 above what he himself had freely conferred upon it. He gave, 
 moreover, his royal pallium, beautifully ornamented with gold 
 
 83 I cannot identify these localities. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 41 
 
 and very costly gems, and 300 amulets suitably fabricated of 
 gold and silver, many of which were attached to chains of 
 those metals, and contained innumerable relics of the saints • 
 with a feretory in the form of an altar, in which also were 
 many relics, and upon which, in his expedition, mass had 
 been accustomed to be celebrated. These things, among 
 many others acquired by the kings his predecessors, he had 
 obtained with the kingdom; 89 and they had hitherto been 
 preserved in the royal treasury, until now that he ordered 
 them to be presented to the Abbey. He also gave orders for 
 the speedy dedication of the Abbey with suitable honour. 
 He (Rufus) obeyed these behests, and the sickness of the 
 most excellent monarch increased, until at length, alas ! on 
 the 5th of the ides of September, in the 21st year of his reign, 
 he expired. His earthly body was conveyed to Caen, to the 
 church of S. Stephen, which he had founded, and there com- 
 mitted to the earth before the altar. The Holy Redeemer 
 grant his spirit an everlasting kingdom ! 
 
 To dwell a little upon this event, we know not what words 
 can unfold the rise of this miserable life when the bewailed 
 fall of such royal magnificence is considered. Who can fail to 
 lament the painful fate of this every -way glorious king, whose 
 greatest study was to honour God and to exalt his temples, 90 
 and by his observance of the laws, to seek not so much the 
 
 89 " Quae inter alia multiformia ex predecessorum suorum regum cum regno adquisitione 
 obtinuerat." There is evidently an error here. If William did not get possession of 
 these rehcs until he became king, how could he have used the feretory which enclosed them 
 by way of altar during his expedition ? We know that the Normans were much greater 
 relic-mongers than the English; and these articles had doubtless descended to him from 
 his Norman predecessors. Assuming this as probable, the rehcs must have been the 
 same with those which William had, in 1065, surreptitiously introduced under the portable 
 altar upon which he had compelled Harold to take a solemn oath not to oppose him in 
 his designs upon England. In the Bayeux Tapestry, where this scene is represented, 
 Harold is placing his right hand upon an altar in the form of a feretory, with a super- 
 altare ; and this is doubtless the identical object which William in the following year 
 brought over to England, and which, according to our chronicler, he now presented to the 
 Abbey of Battel. 
 
 " Basilicas extollere." The term basilica is several times employed to designate 
 Battel Abbev. 
 
42 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 name of a king as the equity of a ruler ! Before his exertions, 
 the haughty fierceness of the Normans gave way, the bar- 
 barous rudeness of the English was overcome, and the mad 
 arrogance of many kingdoms succumbed ; but although he 
 subdued all these by the guidance of reason, yet the relentless 
 cruelty of death — procured, alas ! by an apple — shrank not 
 from making him its victim ! doleful lot of our miserable 
 condition, since one who was accompanied by greatness of soul 
 in difficult enterprise, by strength and success in acquisition, 
 and by sagacity in reducing to order what he had acquired, 
 was subdued, like one destitute of all these qualifications, by 
 universal and deadly fate, which as certainly invades ~the 
 illustrious king as it does the meanest of mankind. But as 
 it is not enough to mourn over our miserable condition, 
 while I withdraw my pen from these considerations, let the 
 wise man be warned to secure for himself an everlasting 
 asylum. 
 
 Let us now hasten briefly to recall to memory some things 
 which we have omitted of the notable deeds of this glorious 
 William, who was both in name and in reality a King. 
 
 This most noble prince founded three abbacies from his 
 own estate, with competent lands attached to each, to say 
 nothing of the innumerable possessions and benefices which, 
 regarding his soul's prosperity, he gave, and permitted others 
 to give, to various monasteries of the saints, both on this side 
 the sea and beyond it. Two convents he built at Caen — one 
 for monks, magnificent and wealthy, for himself, in which, as 
 we have said, he was buried ; and another for nuns, sufficiently 
 notable, for the sake and at the instance of his queen Matilda, 
 in which she lies honourably entombed. The third, which is 
 the subject of our present narration, he founded in England, 
 at the place where God had favoured him with victory. And 
 here, without doubt, it was his intention, had he died in 
 England, to have been interred. But as he did not live to see 
 it dedicated, he endowed it, alas ! much less richly than he 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 43 
 
 had intended ; for while it was yet incomplete, he had de- 
 termined to make it, for greatness and wealth, one of the 
 principal monasteries of England. Death, however, as we 
 have seen, prevented this. From this circumstance let the 
 wise man be admonished to do the good work he has proposed 
 while he can, namely, to-day, since he knows not whether 
 • the morrow shall be granted him. It is wiser to avail our- 
 selves of the present for a good deed, than to defer it to 
 uncertainties ; for we can rejoice more securely in praiseworthy 
 deeds already performed, than in those which we have merely 
 proposed, and which we know not whether we shall be able 
 to accomplish. Tor it happens to some, that when with 
 power to do good they defer its execution, the just judgment 
 of God overtakes them for that sin (and every one is permitted 
 to do that which is not expedient), and afterwards they want 
 both the will and the opportunity. Still, however, as a good 
 intention cannot be too much esteemed, this glorious monarch's 
 liberal designs deserve the highest commendation ; for laying 
 the foundations of the abbey with a bountiful hand, he con- 
 ferred so many gifts upon it, that if they be but well dispensed, 
 they will prove sufficient for the inhabitants in all time to 
 come. And although his unexpected decease must ever be a 
 subject of regret for his Abbey, whose loss is not merely dis- 
 advantageous, but irreparable — a thing of which it is impos- 
 sible to speak without lamentation — still, by the superintending 
 providence of God over his servants, it has been sustained 
 amidst all the vicissitudes of this world, by his authority and 
 the liberality of his gifts ; and thus far, through divine grace, 
 it is defended and carried forward by the good-will of his heirs. 
 But let us now apply ourselves to matters subsequent. 
 
 As soon as the mournful intelligence of the king's decease 
 reached this country, William his son, an illustrious man of 
 martial character, in compliance with his father's injunction, 
 came over to England to assume the government. Being well 
 received by all, he was crowned at London by Archbishop 
 
44 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 Lanfranc. The ceremony took place in the presence of the 
 nobles of the kingdom, on Christmas-day, at the commence- 
 ment of the year of the incarnation of the Word of God 1088. 91 
 The new king was not unmindful of his father's commands, 
 . but soon after sent to the Abbey of S. Martin his 
 
 Rujiis sends . J 
 
 Ms father's royal pallium, and the feretory of which we have 
 e ' spoken, with the 300 amulets resplendent with the 
 excellence of holy relics. All these things were received at 
 Battel on the 8th of the calends of November. 
 
 He also gave the Abbey, from his royal crown, his manor 
 
 of Bromham, in Wiltshire, worth forty pounds, for 
 
 end&wsthe ever > with all its members, and provided that both 
 
 Abbey with j t an( j t ] ie Abbey of Battel, with all its appendages, 
 
 Bromham. J ' 1 r D ' 
 
 should remain exempt from all exactions and customs 
 of earthly service, in accordance with the charters of his father 
 previously spoken of; and confirmed it by his own charter. 
 
 The venerable abbot Gausbert,- carefully watching over his 
 flock, unceasingly set before his charge, both by word and 
 deed, a pattern of perfection as to piety, charity, and the 
 exercise of every virtue, and thus greatly advanced the interests 
 of the Abbey. And at the long-desired completion of the 
 edifice, the king's affairs led him, in company with many of 
 his nobles, into this county ; when, at the instance of the 
 abbot, and in compliance with his father's injunction, he re- 
 solved to dedicate the Abbey. 
 
 On the appointed day he came to this place, with an in- 
 numerable train of his barons and of the common 
 dedicated! P eo ple- Hither also came the most reverend and be- 
 loved of God, Anselin, archbishop of Canterbury, and 
 with the king were these venerable bishops, namely, Walkelin 
 of Winchester, Ralph of Chichester, Osmund of Salisbury, 
 John of Bath, William of Durham, Roger of Coutances, and 
 Gundulf of Rochester, with a great concourse of the clergy 
 and people, whom he caused to dedicate the Abbey with great 
 
 91 An error. Rufus was crowned 26th Sept. 1087. (Sax. Chr.) 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 45 
 
 pomp to the honour of the holy and undivided Trinity, the 
 blessed Mary, ever virgin, and Christ's confessor, S. Martin. 
 This ceremonial took place on the third of the ides of February, 
 in the year of the incarnate Word of God 1095, and the eighth 
 of his reign. 92 
 
 This magnificent prince, moreover, conferred upon the Ab- 
 bey, out of his domain, certain churches in Suffolk, „ „ 
 
 ^ . . Rujus grants 
 
 Norfolk, and Essex, within the dioceses of London many churches 
 and Norwich. In Essex, which is in the diocese 
 of London, he gave the church of Sanford, 93 entirely free and 
 quit, with full tithes and the appurtenant land. In Suffolk 
 and Norfolk, in the bishopric of Norwich, he gave the church 
 of Kvelinges?* the church of Trilawe? 5 the church of Middle- 
 hala? 6 the church of Nortuna? 1 the church of Brcmtham? 8 
 with the chapels of BerchoZt," and Selfelege, 100 andBeneflege, 101 
 an&ScotZege, 102 the church of Mendlesham, 103 with Jndreeston, 104 
 the church of Brandford, 105 with Bursfale, 106 and JEilbriclies- 
 to?i, 101 the church of Mles/iam, 108 with its chapels, Sfevec/iaia, 109 
 with two parts of tithe, and Scipdene, 110 with two parts of 
 tithe, and BrundeZe 111 likewise, and Banningeham 112 likewise, 
 with a moiety of the church of Inguwertlie ; 113 and with the 
 fee that Brithtric the priest held, namely, the land of one 
 Socheman, in the same manor of Eilesham, to hold them as 
 freely as all its other lands. Likewise the above-mentioned 
 chapels of the church of Brantham have two parts of the tithe 
 from the lord's domain. 
 
 All these churches, with the lands, tithes, possessions, and 
 
 92 " Then at Candlemas the king went to Hastings, and whilst he waited there for 
 a fair wind, he caused the Monastery on the Field of Battle to be consecrated." — 
 {Saxon Chronicle, a. d. 1094.) 
 
 93 Samford ? w Exning. 95 Trimley St. Martin ? 
 
 96 Mildenhall. 9 ? Norton. 9S Still so called. 
 
 99 Bergholt. ino (?) 101 Bentley. 
 
 102 (?) 103 Still bears the same name. m Andrew, St. ? 
 
 105 Bramford. 106 Bnrston ? w (?) 
 
 1(18 Aylsham. 199 Stiffkey. uo (?) 
 
 111 Brundall. 112 Banningham. I13 Ingworth. 
 
46 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 tenants belonging to them, the king granted and gave to the 
 abbey of Battel, free and quit of all exaction and custom, and 
 directed that the clergy who then held them should pay to 
 the Abbey a fixed annual charge, and that at their death the 
 abbot and monks should dispose of the churches as seemed 
 most to their advantage. 
 
 These things were settled by royal charter, and confirmed 
 
 by the authority of all the bishops present, who forbade the 
 
 interference of any one thereupon, on pain of excommunication. 
 
 . . Everything being thus satisfactorily concluded, thirty 
 
 gence to days of pardon were granted, by the common consent 
 
 pugnms. ^ ^ bishops, to all penitents who should attend 
 
 the anniversary of the dedication; and a suitable banquet 
 
 having been prepared for all, as an oblation of charity, they 
 
 joyfully departed. And the king so greatly loved, cherished, 
 
 and defended the Abbey, and so maintained its dignities and 
 
 royal customs, that, as in his father's time no one had dared 
 
 to injure it, so he himself, as often as he happened to be in 
 
 these parts, was accustomed, in the abundance of his affection, 
 
 frequently to revisit, to cherish, and to console it. 
 
 Matters were in this condition, when the venerable abbot 
 „ , „ Gausbert— who, as an unmarried man, 114 adorned 
 
 Death of . 
 
 abbot Gam- with every vntue, had strengthened to perfection 
 1095. Uy ' the foundations for sanctity laid in this place, and 
 happily governed the Abbey almost twenty years — 
 in the very year of the dedication, was brought by infirmity 
 to his end. On the 6th of the calends of August he departed 
 this life, amidst his band of disciples whom he had instructed 
 in the excellency of religion, and yielded up his spirit to its 
 Giver, to receive a hundredfold for his pious deeds. All the 
 brethren, with the deepest grief and lamentation at this dire 
 calamity, buried the body of their venerated father within the 
 church before the rood. 
 
 This personage, after he had built the [abbey] church of 
 
 114 Ut vir ccelebs. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 47 
 
 Battel, in the lifetime of the glorious king William, taking 
 what was necessary for that purpose from the royal treasury, 
 constructed as many offices 115 as were necessary for the brethren. 
 In this he did not study ostentation, in the way of fine build- 
 ings, as many are apt to do ; for, being of a lowly mind, he 
 was content with humble things ; for he considered himself to 
 have in this world no enduring habitation, but rather sought 
 one to come, in heaven ; which after a long course of faithful 
 warfare, like a worthy soldier of Christ, he departed out of 
 this life, as we have said, to receive from Him. 
 
 The monastery of Battel being thus deprived of its first 
 father, and unable to subsist without the governance of an 
 abbot, the brethren repaired to king William (son of the great 
 prince of that name), informed him of the death of their abbot, 
 reminded him that it was his prerogative to elect another, and 
 earnestly desired him to supply them with a pastor out of the 
 convent, according to the directions of the canons. And 
 although the king's reply was quite in accordance with then 
 wish, yet some delays arose, in consequence of the royal autho- 
 rity and due reverence for the church being set at nought ; 
 for an envious conspiracy disturbed the king's mind, and the 
 multiplicity of his affairs prevented the fulfilment of his 
 engagement. After a time, however, the king, yielding to his 
 flatterers, and urged by the advice of the most reverend 
 Anselm, the archbishop, appointed Henry, prior of Christ 
 Church, Canterbury — a man renowned, indeed, for piety, 
 benevolence, and gentleness, and for every virtue of morality 
 and learning — abbot of the monastery. In this affair force 
 prevailed over reason and justice, and became a source of no 
 little calamity to the Abbey. 
 
 In the year of the incarnate Word of God 1096, 
 therefore, Lord Henry, being elected abbot, was Election f 
 
 honourably received at Battel Abbey, on the 3d of abbot Henry, 
 
 i-i p • • • n June n > 
 
 the ides ol June. Asserting his abbatial privileges, 1096. 
 
 115 Aedificia officinarum. 
 
48 CHRONICLE or 
 
 he sent to Canterbury for a number of the monks of that 
 establishment, to whose will and counsel he had completely 
 surrendered his own judgment, and detained them with him. 
 And although he was in his nature a good man, it was 
 impossible not to differ with him, inasmuch as he did not 
 sufficiently resist the evil designs of others. Hence it was 
 that Ralph, bishop of Chichester (earnestly labouring by some 
 of his emissaries), availed himself of the opportunity of annoy- 
 ance which presented itself, by refusing to consecrate him in 
 Battel Abbey, and thus wearied him a long time by his delay. 
 The wavering abbot, after a feeble struggle, yielded at 
 
 length to the persuasions of some of his creatures, 
 the bishop and the advice of Archbishop Anselm, in spite of 
 
 the opposition of the monks of Battel, and, in con- 
 travention of the rights of his Abbey, inconsiderately went to 
 Chichester for consecration. This gave birth to continual 
 intestine dissensions ; and other disputes succeeding, the 
 affairs of the Abbey were administered without either the 
 prudence or the prosperity becoming the house of God. Still, 
 however, being invested with this high honour, though he 
 connived at many improprieties for a time, yet eventually, by 
 dint of the greatest exertion, he bravely steered the bark 
 committed to his charge amidst the rocks and billows which 
 surrounded her. As an unmarried man, 116 illustrious in the 
 fear of God, he appropriately honoured the choir-service with 
 instrumental music, 117 and enriched the church with some 
 ornaments and furniture. 
 
 Affairs were in this posture, and the Abbey was thus 
 story of the exposed to the craft of its enemies, when it happened 
 vestment sa- ^hat as king William was engaged in the concerns 
 
 crileyiously ° . 
 
 obtained of Normandy, among the many suppliants of his 
 Mbey ty a bounty, there came to him the abbot of the monas- 
 monkofFty. ^ er y f p] a gj ( wnere S. Jeremarus, illustrious for his 
 
 1.6 Ut vir caelebs. 
 
 1.7 Servitium cantuum ornatu dulcisono. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 49 
 
 virtues, is reported to be enshrined). 117 This man anxiously 
 solicited from the king for his church a costly vestment called 
 a casula, or, if he had not one prepared, a sufficient sum 
 of money for the purchase of one. But the king put him 
 off till he should return to England. After his return, one of 
 the monks of that abbey assiduously reminded him of his 
 promise, and, at length, the king, who was upon an expedition 
 into Wales, wearied out with his importunity and urged 
 by the advice of others, dispatched him to the Abbey of 
 S. Martin of Battel, whence we are now writing, 118 with a 
 precept, sealed with the royal seal, demanding, without delay, 
 ten pounds of silver of English money for this purpose. 
 
 Abbot Henry, upon receipt of the order, to which he could 
 by no means assent, privately dispatched two of the brethren 
 to the king, that they might urge upon him the great poverty 
 of the Abbey, and request him to desist from so objectionable 
 a demand, lest a custom should spring from this precedent. 
 
 Bat the king, in nowise softened by expostulation, threaten- 
 ingly ordered the full sum to be paid to the foreign monk. 119 
 The troublesome monk, moreover, urgently prosecuting his 
 demand, the abbot, compelled by poverty, yet not without 
 heavy lamentations, collected from the sacred amulets of saintly 
 relics previously mentioned, a sufficient quantity of silver to 
 satisfy this most vexatious extortioner. 
 
 Having gladly received this, he set about to purchase 
 purple suitable for the work, and, regardless of the unholy 
 means by which it had been procured, joyfully conveyed it to 
 his abbey. 
 
 117 S. Jeremarus. or S. Germer, who flourished in the seventh century, founded a monas- 
 tery at Pentale, a rock at the mouth of the Seine, which, in 655, he transported to the 
 marshes of Fly, a league distant from Gournay, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity, S. Mary, 
 S. John, and S. Peter. He died three years afterwards, and the abbey, in a new dedication, 
 received his own name. Up to its dissolution in 1789, it counted a succession of no less 
 than fifty-five abbots. The Sires de Gournay were its chief benefactors. The magnificent 
 conventual church still exists. {Vide Gurnet/' 8 Records of the House of Gournay.) 
 
 118 Unde nunc nostra desudat Minerva ( ! ) 
 
 119 This is very inconsistent with the statement at page 46. 
 
 4 
 
50 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 So the vestment was forthwith made, and no apprehen- 
 sion of God's judgments being entertained, all things 
 appeared to have been satisfactorily performed ; but sud- 
 denly, at a certain time, about the third hour of the day, the 
 Lord thundered from the heavens, and the wonted calmness 
 of the air was changed into a thick darkness, and as it were 
 the shadow of death ; and there arose a mighty tempest of 
 lightning and thunder. As we have said, the third hour of 
 the day had commenced, and the brethren were chanting the 
 verse, " JSfjatJJ arrofoS Of tf)C mitjfjtg," 12 ° when on a sudden 
 the day assumed the horror of dark night, and the trembling 
 earth, shaken by the crashing of the heavens, seemed to rise 
 beneath their feet. All the brethren, fearing the lightning- 
 stroke from heaven, desisted from the occupation in which 
 they were engaged, and prostrated themselves in prayer — and 
 lo ! in a short space, two of the monks were deprived of their 
 vital breath ! 
 
 Though all were greatly amazed, they lost sight of the 
 cause of this direful visitation. But the Lord, the righteous 
 Judge, was not slack to manifest his vengeance for the 
 spoiling of his beloved Martin, and the tokens of the saints 
 preserved in his temple ; for the next year the visitation was 
 renewed in the following maimer. The vestment of which 
 we speak was lying carefully folded up in a linen cloth 
 between two of the principal vestments of the abbey, when 
 the stroke of a thunderbolt, brandished from heaven, pierced 
 it, and although the linen cloth and the vestments above and 
 beneath escaped all injury, this casula had wonderful holes 
 made in it by the fiery force of the lightning : and thus was 
 the cause of so great a calamity manifestly shown. 
 
 Hence we may see the marvellous power of God towards 
 his saints — for, like the Babylonish furnace which burnt only 
 the bands of the just, so the fire took effect only upon this 
 
 120 «\V] ia t shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, 
 with coals of juniper." (Psalm cxx, v. 3 and 4.) 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 51 
 
 vestment, which it showed to have been unrighteously 
 obtained from the spoils of the saints. 
 
 We trust that no one will take offence that we have given 
 a somewhat different account from that of a certain person 
 who has before us ably written concerning this vestment, 
 inasmuch as we have learned these particulars from those who 
 were present as eye-witnesses, and mainly from the exactor of 
 the money, the monk Richard himself, who, happening to 
 come hither with his abbot, Odo of Flagi, solicited forgiveness 
 for himself and his convent, before the lord abbot Warner 
 and a full chapter of the Abbey of Battel, and the abbot 
 himself avouched it, calling upon the name of God. And 
 what was then related we have recorded in words of truth. 
 
 But to return ; when the military reputation and power 
 of King William, the son of the great King William, 
 were everywhere increasing, he happened to be Rufm% n a 
 engaged a-hunting in a certain forest which he a <L cessi °n°f 
 
 ° ° ° _ Henry I. 
 
 had established, and which he would have called 
 the New Forest. Here, as he was eagerly pursuing his sport 
 — in the mysterious dispensation of God, by an accident 
 which cannot be accounted for — he was wounded by a certain 
 knight with an arrow, and on the 4th of the nones of August, 
 in the thirteenth year of his reign, in the year of the Divine 
 Incarnation 1100, he departed this life. 
 
 When King William was thus deprived of his life and 
 kingdom, great commotions arose in the country, in conse- 
 quence of some of the nobility having yielded themselves to 
 factious dissensions. But in the providence of God, Henry, 
 the brother of the deceased king, coming over, caused his 
 body to be honourably conveyed 121 to Winchester for inter- 
 ment. And a few days subsequently, Henry, by the Divine 
 appointment, obtaining the sceptre of the English monarchy, 
 
 121 This is altogether at variance with the account given by William of Malmesbury, who 
 says : " A few countrymen conveyed the body, placed in a cart, to the cathedral at 
 Winchester, the blood dripping from it all the way." (Giles's Translation, p. 346.) 
 
52 CHRONICLE or 
 
 was invested with the royal crown, on the anniversary of the 
 blessed Oswald, king and martyr, at Westminster, on the 
 nones of August, in the presence of some of the chief men of 
 the realm. Having acquired this dignity, he bestirred him- 
 self, like a man of consummate prudence and mindful of the 
 general good, by every means in his power to tranquillise the 
 kingdom ; and fortune favoured his wishes. He was, both 
 in nature and disposition, a worthy heir of the great King 
 William, defending the Abbey of Battel as the pledge of his 
 royal crown, fortifying it with charters, and exalting it to the 
 utmost of his ability. 
 
 Now Abbot Henry, after he had sustained his office for six 
 Dmth f Ab y ears an d seven days, was brought by sickness to his 
 hot Henry, end. He died on the 14th of the calends of July, 
 ' in the year of the Incarnate Word which was in the 
 beginning 1102, and was buried by the brethren in the 
 chapter-house of the Abbey of Battel, in a place which he 
 himself had chosen, before the seat of the president. 
 
 As soon as the news was conveyed to the king's court, a cer- 
 tain clerk w T as immediately dispatched to the Abbey to manage 
 its affairs ; and afterwards another, one of the king's chaplains, 
 named Vivian, was delegated to the care of the establishment. 
 And wdien he had passed a very short time there, the king 
 conferred the government of the abbacy upon a 
 
 appointed certain monk of S. CarilefF, called Gausfrid, a man 
 unskilled, indeed, in learning, but excelling in 
 sagacity, prudence, and habits of business. Coming honour- 
 ably hither on the 11th of the calends of August, he found 
 the house on all sides destitute ; but laying as it were the 
 foundation of things, both domestic and external, anew, he 
 soon manifested the wisdom for which he was remarkable. 
 Under him, in a short time, the promptuaria of procurations, 122 
 
 122 Procuratio is defined as " hospitality ; entertainment or provision given to an ordinary 
 at his institution." A " promptuarium" generally signifies a storehouse or larder ; hut of 
 its precise meaning in this passage I am ignorant. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 53 
 
 and the rights of the Abbey and the brethren, were restored, 
 honour recovered itself, and the wealth of the manors was 
 increased. 
 
 And when he had come to the head manor of the church 
 of Wye, which had been managed by a servant of 
 the deceased abbot, named Robert de Chilton, he p ^ culat ^ m f. if . 
 found everything in disorder. He soon, therefore, of Wye. 
 began to ascertain the causes, and to demand of the 
 bailiff himself an account of his stewardship. Robert de- 
 clared that he had always given his late lord satisfaction, and 
 that as he had been content, there was no need of witnesses 
 now. At length he convened an assembly at the court of the 
 manor, and relying upon the nobles of that province, stoutly 
 refused to do justice ; whereupon the procurator summoned 
 him and his friends present, in the king's name, to attend on 
 a certain day at the court of the Abbey of Battel. And after 
 much disputation to no purpose, they went their way. 
 
 On the appointed day, the parties concerned, namely, Fulbert 
 de Chilham, Robert Fillel, Hamo the son of Vital, Brother the 
 priest, and many other barons, "with the said Robert, con- 
 strained by terror of the king's authority, came to the court of 
 Battel. And as it was near nightfall when they arrived, 
 Master Gausfrid was persuaded, though rather against his 
 will, to postpone the pleadings till the first day of Advent, 123 
 Gausfrid had a practice worthy of notice, namely, in trans- 
 acting any business which might concern the interests of 
 posterity, he took care that not only the senior brethren should 
 be present, but the juniors also ; and the rules of their order 
 prevented that being done at so late an hour. 
 
 After hospitable entertainment, therefore, the court assem- 
 bled, and Gausfrid, surrounded by the brethren, addressed 
 those who had been summoned thus : — " Since, my dearest 
 fathers, you have obeyed our orders to attend this court, I 
 wish to know whether you are prepared to do and to receive 
 
 123 " In primum Domiiiici adventus diem. 
 
54 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 justice." But they insisted that they ought to do what 
 was necessary, not there, but in their own county ; where- 
 upon, after much controversy, Master Gausfrid said, " If, 
 then, as you assert, you will not submit to justice except in 
 your own county, the question arises whether you would not 
 object to a settlement of these complaints if you were sum- 
 moned to the royal court itself?" " By no means !" was their 
 reply. "Then," said he, "you cannot resist the present 
 court, since, indeed, it is the king's." Upon this they angrily 
 attempted to break out of the court by force ; but he ordered 
 the doors of the Abbey to be locked, and declared that unless 
 they paid due respect to that royal court, he would report 
 every one of them to the king. 
 
 So when they had reconsidered the boldness of this man, 
 and the justice of the royal interference, they began to tremble 
 for the consequences, and professed themselves willing to do 
 and to receive what was right at once. Then Master Gausfrid 
 proceeded to prove the waste which had been made of the 
 manor of Wye, and the inability of the bailiff to give an 
 account of his stewardship ; and at length, after a very wordy 
 discussion, Robert was adjudged guilty. He thereupon 
 acknowledged himself wrong, and sued for pardon, which was 
 mercifully granted, upon his paying a fine of ten pounds of 
 silver and ten bushels of corn. This being settled, Gausfrid 
 demanded if those present had any complaint to make against 
 him, and no one bringing forward any charge, the court broke 
 up. Gausfrid now committed that manor, and all other 
 things connected with the Abbey with which he had been 
 intrusted, to faithful men, for reformation, while he himself 
 carefully superintending the interests of the servants of God, 
 turned his attention to the building and fortification of the 
 house, and to the construction of walls about the outer 
 inclosure. 
 
 About this time there happened a wreck in Dengemarsh, 
 a member of Wye. A ship laden with royal ornaments and 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 55 
 
 works, 124 and much shattered by the waves, was 
 cast ashore at that place; and as it could not v*™* a %A 
 be repaired within the time allotted by custom, the 
 king's collectors came to seize the vessel with its treasures for 
 the crown. This Master Gausfrid and his men opposed, upon 
 which a complaint was laid before the king. But he, willing to 
 observe the custom of the country, and cautious of doing any- 
 thing that might injure his Abbey, waived his own claims, and 
 commanded the shipwrecked commodities to be given up to 
 the Abbey. Master Gausfrid, therefore, disposed of them as 
 he thought best, giving the royal vestments to the servants, 
 while he applied the rest of the cargo to the use of the Abbey. 
 
 King Henry's fame for virtue and magnificence being by this 
 time widely spread, among many others who came 
 from foreign parts to his court at Winchester, at the ofMarmm- 
 Easter after his coronation, was the venerable William , another at- 
 abbot of Marmoutier, whose principal object was to tempt 
 subjugate the Abbey of Battel to his own authority. Meeting 
 with a gracious reception from the king, he took care, through 
 his agents, after the solemnities were over, to make the monarch 
 acquainted with the object of his visit. The king was much 
 disposed to yield to his wishes, not only from motives of per- 
 sonal respect, but because he had voluntarily come to court 
 from so great a distance. Still, without due counsel, he would 
 do nothing in the matter. 
 
 Among the other great men of the realm then at court was 
 the before-mentioned Gausfrid, the procurator of Battel Abbey, 
 who was not excluded from the secrets of the palace. As soon 
 as he heard of this design, he was on the alert, and took care, 
 both in his own person and through the interference of friends, 
 to endeavour to withdraw the mind of the king from such a 
 purpose. 
 
 Now when the king had received the abbot's communica- 
 tion, declaring that King William, his father, had given the 
 
 124 ii Regiis omamentis ct operibus onustam." 
 
56 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 Abbey of Battel, from the time of its very foundation, in sub- 
 jection to Marmoutier, the king's counsellors very properly 
 required him to produce deeds of confirmation. To this the 
 abbot replied, that the donation of so great a man, conferred 
 by word of mouth, was sufficient without a witness, and that 
 hitherto he had never sought any kind of deed, because he did 
 not deem it necessary. To which it was answered, that the 
 donation of so important a thing — endowed as it was with 
 eminent privileges, and standing as an evidence of the royal 
 crown — could not be confirmed unless the gift were proved 
 by charters, or at least by the oral testimony of witnesses. 
 Thus was the importunity of this exactor brought to an end, 
 and all hope of gaining his purpose excluded. The king, how- 
 ever, would not suffer so distinguished a personage to have a 
 fruitless journey to his court ; for in the first place he offered 
 to appoint any one of his monks (freed from all allegiance to 
 Marmoutier) abbot of Battel, on condition that all claim of 
 subjection should, thenceforward cease. And since he had 
 made the refusal in vindication of the freedom of his Abbey of 
 Battel, in order that all challenge of Marmoutier should be for 
 ever silenced, and that it should remain as if it were his own 
 royal chapel, his kingly magnificence conferred on Marmoutier 
 a certain manor in Devonshire, called Torvertune, and the 
 church of the manor of ChosJiam, in Wiltshire ; and thus was 
 the suit of this man brought to an end. Things being thus 
 arranged by royal authority, in conformity with the wishes of 
 Gausfrid, he returned home, and joyfully narrated them to the 
 brethren ; and thenceforth, as he had previously done, he ever 
 manfully defended the interests of God's house. 
 
 When the vigilant Master Gausfrid had, by dint of good 
 
 management, restored the desolate house, ere the 
 May\m! eS third year of his oversight was completed, he was 
 
 removed hence, alas ! too soon, and yielding to the 
 law of nature, departed this life on the 17th of the calends 
 of June. His body, which was interred amidst the greatest 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 57 
 
 lamentations of the brethren, rests in the chapter-house, near 
 that of Abbot Henry, towards the left. 
 
 The Abbey of Battel being thus deprived of so wise a 
 manager, in whom had flourished the true affection of a father, 
 the Lord Gunter, abbot of Thorney, of whom we have before 
 spoken, came by the king's consent to take charge of the 
 abbacy ; and the management of the house being delegated 
 to his agents, he returned to his own abbey, leaving behind 
 him, for a time, his nephew Ralph. But he was afterwards 
 deprived of his authority by the abbot, in consequence of some 
 intrigues, 125 and the king being much occupied with his own 
 affairs, the management devolved entirely upon the monks 
 themselves, who diligently exercised it for some time. 
 
 But in the year of the Divine Incarnation 1107, King Henry 
 called a general council, and, in appointing pastors to many 
 destitute churches, was not unmindful, among the rest, of 
 his own chapel of Battel. Therefore, by the advice of his 
 friends, he sent for a certain monk of Caen, renowned 
 
 m ' m Abbot Ralph 
 
 for his piety and prudence, Ralph by name (who had appointed 
 come over to England with Lanfranc the archbishop, 
 and was then associated with the venerable Bishop Gundulph, 
 and ably governed the priory of Rochester), and appointed him 
 abbot of this church. Having been elected on the day of 
 S. Peter 126 ad vincula, he was received at Battel with becoming 
 honour, at the feast of S. Lawrence, 127 and began at once, 
 with the piety which ever actuated him, to watch over the in- 
 ternal and external affairs of the Abbey with great prudence. 
 
 Under the administration of this venerable man, the Abbey 
 attained such a pitch of honour, by his providence, by the 
 faithful care of the brethren, and by the display of hospitality 
 to all without needless delay, that it became second to none 
 of the monasteries of England in regard of religion, bounty, 
 clemency, charity, and the reputation of humanity. In his 
 praise spake every servant of the faith, and the inconstant 
 
 125 Quibusdaiti simultatibus, m August 1. '- 7 August 10. 
 
58 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 tongues of the multitude shouted aloud, while envy (if by 
 any chance it sprang up against him) was fain to succumb 
 with a groan. For there was such an abundance of all good 
 things, and such great attention paid to hospitality, that 
 guests and strangers came not so much like passing visitors, 
 as to remain a longer time at their pleasure, as if they had 
 come to their own homes. Neither did any poverty restrain 
 this bounty, since He who causeth the liberal soul to abound, 
 so disposed affairs, that there was a sufficiency to defray 
 the cost. 
 
 In those days, when, by the care of our lord King Henry 
 (who, as a kind of external abbot, cherished and governed the 
 Abbey of Battel with paternal love) and by the attention of 
 Abbot Ralph to religion and doctrine within the Abbey, the 
 place daily increased with much tranquillity and peace, and 
 with abundance of wealth — the abbot with his brethren began, 
 among other politic measures, to buy up lands, and also, by 
 pleas and quests, to recover others that had been lost or 
 unjustly withdrawn, or usurped, in the several manors of the 
 Abbey, that they might thus augment the possessions of the 
 house. Among these they bought three wists of land from 
 one Ingelram, a tenant of Withlarcl de Bailol, which he held 
 at Bernhorne, 129, for the sum of 57 shillings. This the same 
 Withlard conceded and confirmed, with the tithe of all the 
 revenue of his land at Bocc/tolt, 129 which Ingelram gave to the 
 Abbey. He likewise gave to the monks of S. Martin, from 
 his own possessions, the land which is called S. Martins 
 Marsh to this day. 
 
 Another of their neighbours, called Gerald de Norman- 
 Furtherdo- v *^ e ' g ran ted to S. Martin of Battel, the land of 
 nations to Glesliam, the monks paving; him twenty marks 
 
 the Abbey. „ ., r J ° J 
 
 ot silver. 
 
 128 Bamhorn, in the parish of Bexhill. In the Valor Eccl. of Henry VIII, the farm of 
 this manor is valued at £27. 12*. \Q\d. 
 
 129 Buckholt, also in Bexhill. " Bocholi " is an Anglo-Saxon word, signifying a grove 
 of beech -trees. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 59 
 
 At the same time one Weiring, a neighbour, gave to the 
 Abbey a certain church in the vicinity called Westfelde, 130 
 with one wist of land and the ordeal by water 131 thereto 
 pertaining, with all its customs for ever. This also his lord, 
 William Fitz-Wibert, conceded, and added besides the tithe of 
 his revenues of Bocstepe, exempt from every claim. And at 
 his death he gave a portion of his land at Bocestepe, worth ten 
 shillings, to the Abbey. 132 
 
 At that time also the monks purchased, for eleven marks 
 of silver, a land adjacent to the leuga, which is often called 
 Budilande and Bregeselle, 133 from a certain knight named 
 Anselm de Fraelvilla; all claims of his heirs being removed 
 for ever. The same Anselm likewise offered, for the souls of 
 him and his, a certain land, for the purpose of making salt- 
 pits, and one acre of meadow, and the whole tithe of his 
 vill called Glesi. All these gifts Roger, his son, agreed to, on 
 condition of receiving a dog which he demanded. 
 
 Likewise, in those days, at the earnest desire of a certain 
 nobleman of this district, William Saint Leger, 134 the monks 
 of this place, with Ralph their abbot, made an arrangement, 
 by which he granted to them in hereditary right his land 
 called Brimhelie, 135 which lies beyond Winchelsea, hard by 
 the Abbey's own manor of Dengemarsh, on condition of their 
 paying one moiety of the rent of 23 shillings at the feast of 
 
 130 Westfield, near Battel, not in Berkshire, as the editor of the Latin edition supposes. 
 
 131 Much has been written on the subject of ordeals, as practised by our Saxon fore- 
 fathers. See particularly Archceologia, vol. xxxii, p. 263. " Spelmann gives instances of the 
 right of ordeal by water being conferred upon monasteries by the kings of England, but the 
 fact of its being attached to the manor of a subject is strange, nor can I (says the editor of 
 the Latin copy) find any other instances." The last vestige of this superstitious practice 
 existed not many generations ago, in the " swimming of witches." 
 
 132 Bucksteep, in the parish of Warbleton. Here, in antient times, was a chapel, probably 
 erected by one of the abbots. 
 
 133 Budilande has lost its name : Breyeselle is now Bredshill or Bridgehill. It com- 
 prises part of Crowhurst Park, and some adjacent lands. Mr. Vidler thinks that some of 
 the descendants of de Fraelville changed then patronymic to " de Bregeselle." 
 
 134 The family of St. Leger (de S. Leodegario) came from Caen, and temp. lien. I 
 were lords of Dallington and Wartling, near Battel. 
 
 135 Promhill, in Romncv Marsh. 
 
60 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 S. John the Baptist, and another at that of S. Andrew the 
 Apostol. For this surrender, Abbot Ralph gave him a horse 
 worth two marks, and forgave him eight shillings and 
 sixpence, which he owed him, that the Abbey might freely 
 hold the land in perpetuity without challenge. One of his 
 heirs, named Clarenbald, subsequently forgave the Abbey 
 twelve pence of the rent in alms ; and, at a still later period, 
 two shillings more were remitted, in the same maimer, for 
 Clarenbald's soul, so that thenceforward only 10 shillings 
 should be paid to his heirs at the feast of S. John and 
 10 shillings at that of S. Andrew, at the court of Battel ; 
 all challenge being thus removed. 
 
 A certain neighbour, Osbern, the son of Isilia, granted to 
 the Abbey of Battel two salt-pits, 136 and land to make a 
 third, at Rye, for his own soul, and for the souls of his 
 ancestors, both living and dead. 
 
 Emma, wife of Osbern de Bodiham, gave to the Abbey 
 land worth six shillings, within the manor of Bodiham, and a 
 mill called Sansei, near Criuil, in Normandy, — Robert, Earl 
 of Eu, her lord, confirming the gift, — in the presence of many 
 witnesses. 
 
 Now at this time, that monarch of singular excellence, 
 King Henry, determined to found a monastery, for 
 
 An exchange . . 
 
 of lands with the remission of his own sins, as well as for the 
 mry ' souls of his father, mother, and wife, and of all his 
 heirs, and requiring a suitable place for that purpose, at 
 length found one to his liking at Reading. But as the 
 church of that district, with all its appendages, had been 
 given, as before stated, by the great King William, to the 
 Abbey of S. Martin of Battel, King Henry, entertaining a very 
 high regard for this monastery, gave in exchange a certain 
 manor called Fimdintune, 1 *' 3 and taking Reading entirely into 
 
 136 (i Duas salinas." The Sussex coast was remarkable for the number of its salt-pans 
 or salt-pits ; many of them are mentioned in Domesday Book. 
 
 137 Funtinyton, in West Sussex. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. Gl 
 
 his own hands, liberally founded there a large and handsome 
 temple in honour of the blessed Mother of Mercy. 
 
 But the abbot and brethren of Battel, finding that the 
 place conferred upon them by the king was of little use to 
 them, made complaint to him to that effect ; whereupon the 
 king gave them another manor called Apeldrekam, 138 lying 
 one mile from the city of Chichester. This he confirmed by 
 his charter, wholly free and quit of all earthly service, like 
 the other possessions of the Abbey, into the hands of the 
 servants of God. Moreover this magnificent monarch, 
 cherishing a great affection for the Abbey, about The king 
 the same time, freely and of his own proper gift, llurcYat 
 conferred upon it a certain church, dedicated to Carmarthen. 
 S. Peter the Apostol, in the city of CAarmerdi, 139 in Wales, 
 with all its appendages, for ever. 
 
 He also gave to the Abbey another church, founded there 
 in very early times, in honour of S. Theodore the Martyr. 
 To this he added a detached estate in the neighbourhood, 
 called Pentewi, a desirable acquisition, inasmuch as it 
 abounded with the best corn. He also adorned the Abbey 
 of Battel and its appurtenances with many things, which 
 still remain. 
 
 Now (as we have long ago said) all Christian offices for 
 the parishioners of the town of Battel had of 
 
 P wish, 
 
 old, from the first, been celebrated in the chinch church of 
 of S. Martin ; and because out of this practice B e ^lfj% om 
 there had arisen to the monks certain causes thebishop's 
 of inquietude, which they were unable to suffer 
 without a breach of order, they had by common consent 
 erected, beyond the circuit of the walls, a chapel in honour 
 of the blessed Mother of God, in which a priest might, 
 under the direction of the abbot or the brethren, serve the 
 parishioners. Bat although the monastery of S. Martin 
 enjoyed every dignity and privilege of freedom, yet the 
 
 las Appledram. 139 Carmarthen. 
 
62 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 servants of the bishop (of Chichester) sought every oppor- 
 tunity of raising pretences and complaints, and, by with- 
 drawing oil, chrism, and other things pertaining to Christian 
 ordinances, and such like practices, endeavoured by vexatious 
 delay to bring the place into subjection. 
 
 On a consideration of these circumstances, Abbot Ralph, 
 conferring with his friends, judged it desirable to go to the 
 venerable Bishop Ralph of Chichester, who had always 
 manifested a regard for this place, in order to be released 
 from this cause of complaint. A council having, therefore, 
 been summoned, the abbot, with certain of his monks, went to 
 Chichester, and the matter being sifted before a full chapter 
 of that church, it was confirmed by the bishop, with the con- 
 sent of all, that even as the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel, 
 so in like manner the chapel of S. Mary of that town, 
 should be for ever free from all episcopal customs and 
 forfeitures, and from the pennies of oil, and from synodal ; — 
 that the priest of that chapel should attend the synod, only 
 that he might hear episcopal commands, though he should not 
 there suffer judgment for any fault, and that he should by no 
 means attend a chapter of the clergy without the command or 
 licence of the abbot j — that if the priest should happen to fall 
 into any gross crime, the chapel should not on that account 
 be vacant, but that another should supply his place at the 
 abbot's appointment ; and that the confession and penance 
 of the offending priest should be in the hands of the bishop, 
 but the forfeiture in those of S. Martin. It was further 
 confirmed that the abbot should not be summoned or enforced 
 to attend any synod, as above stated. 
 
 All these things being conceded by the whole chapter of 
 The monks Chichester, an d confirmed by the bishop's authority, 
 present a the abbot and monks of Battel, in acknowledgment 
 church of of the transaction, gave to the church of Chichester 
 Chichester. ft cer £ am \) q\ f the Epistles of S. Jerome, in the 
 presence of many witnesses. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 03 
 
 Nor did this alone satisfy the venerable Bishop Ralph, now 
 that he was upon such excellent terms with the abbey ; there- 
 fore, with a view to manifest his regard more fully, on the 
 occasion of his last visit, which he happened to pay the Abbey 
 during the winter feast of S. Martin, — in the presence of his 
 clerks, Henry the archdeacon, Carlo the precentor, Robert de 
 Andeville, Ralph the bald, and a great influx of the neigh- 
 bours of both sexes and of every rank, — amidst the holy 
 solemnities of the mass, he took care to have the dignities 
 and liberties of the Abbey proclaimed aloud by his episcopal 
 authority. By this act did he declare to all men that neither 
 he nor his successors ought to have any pretence of controlling 
 or governing it, or any ground of subjecting it to themselves, or 
 any claim upon it beyond the manifestation of charity — and 
 that he was neither able nor willing to demand anything 
 therefrom, resting content with its free goodwill alone. And 
 lest this episcopal testimony respecting Battel Abbey should 
 be hereafter forgotten, it has appeared to us desirable thus to 
 commit it to writing. 
 
 Now since (as we have before said) some of the very 
 precious amulets of holy relics had been lost or 
 
 1 . . ^ . . Allot Ralph 
 
 despoiled of their gold and silver by unfortunate mis- makes a new 
 chances, and many of the relics of the saints out of 
 them, or which had been elsewhere obtained, were not so well 
 enshrined as they deserved to be — the abbot and monks deter- 
 mined to buy lands with the proceeds of the gold and silver 
 chains of some of these amulets, lest hereafter they should be 
 robbed of them as before. This being done, in order that 
 these pledges of the saints might not want a* suitable recep- 
 tacle, the abbot and monks caused a feretory to be made with 
 gold and silver, of choice workmanship, and adorned with 
 valuable jewels. And when it was finished, the venerable 
 bishop Ralph, on his visit to Battel, consecrated it, and 
 honourably deposited the saintly relics therein. He moreover 
 
64 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 indulged all who should annually visit them, with seven days' 
 exemption from penance. 
 
 In those days many of the neighbours, pretending that the 
 The bounda- leuga around the Abbey included some of their lands, 
 Teugfsur- frequently vexed the abbot and monks with suits. 
 veyed. Complaints of this having reached the king's ears, 
 
 it was agreed, on all hands, that the leuga should be measured 
 off with a line ; and it was then found that all that the Abbey 
 had held belonged to it ; and even more, in many parts of the 
 leuga, was included in the measurement. Thus w T as this 
 complaint silenced, and the Abbey has ever since quietly 
 possessed its leuga. 
 
 Thus, under the venerable Abbot Ralph, did the Abbey 
 increase and prosper in every way, both within and without, 
 so that in point of religion and hospitality, to say nothing of 
 other virtues, it was accounted inferior to none. And this 
 venerable man, delighting in the beauty of God's house, 
 caused the church to be roofed with lead, and completed w r hat 
 w T as unfinished of the circuit of the walls. He enlarged the 
 space of the Abbey, and enriched it with new buildings. He 
 also devoted himself entirely, with the aid of his friends, in 
 many ways to decorate the house in the best fashion, and 
 with such various ornaments as the honour of God demanded. 
 And besides this watchfulness over things external, neither 
 tongue nor pen can tell with what zeal he sought the salvation 
 of souls. It will not therefore be out of place to record some 
 few things regarding him, although, to recite all, no language 
 would suffice. 
 
 Although he continually governed those who w r ere under 
 his authority, yet he himself was subservient to 
 C AbbotRaip(. ru l es > an d commanded no one as a master. He sus- 
 tained the infirmities of others, and called them 
 forth to strength. His acts corresponded with w T hat he taught ; 
 his example preceded his doctrine. He inculcated a prompt 
 attendance upon divine service, and, supporting his aged limbs 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 65 
 
 upon his staff, preceded the young men to it. Ever first at 
 the choir, he was uniformly the last to quit it. Thus was he 
 a pattern of good works — a Martha and a Mary. He was the 
 serpent and the dove ; he was a Noah amidst the waters. While 
 he never willingly rejected the raven, he always gladly received 
 the dove. He governed the clean and the unclean ; a prudent 
 ruler under all circumstances. He knew both how to bear 
 with Ham, and how to bestow his blessing upon Shem and 
 Japhet. Like a prudent husbandman, he caused the occupied 
 lands to be promptly cultured, and those that lay waste to be 
 added in, and by this means increased their yearly value 
 by the sum of twenty pounds. Meanwhile, he overlooked not 
 the spiritual husbandry, tilling earthly hearts with the plough- 
 share of good doctrine in many books which he wrote, stimu- 
 lating them thereby to bear the fruit of good works ; and 
 although his style was homely, yet was it rich in the way of 
 morality. 
 
 In the sparingness of his food he was a Daniel ; in the 
 sufferings of his body a Job ; in the bending of his knees 
 a Bartholomew, bending them full often in supplication, 
 though he could scarcely move them in walking. Every 
 day he sang through the whole Psalter in order, hardly 
 ceasing from his genuflections and his psalmody three days 
 previously to his death. Neither his racking cough, nor his 
 vomiting of blood, nor his advanced age, nor the attenuation 
 of his flesh to almost mere skin, availed to daunt this man, 
 nor to turn him aside from any purpose of his elevated piety. 
 But lo ! after many agonies and bodily sufferings, when 
 he was eighty-four years of age, and had been a monk sixty 
 years and thirty-six days, and when he had flourished as 
 abbot of Battel seventeen years and twenty days, the House- 
 holder summoned him to the reward of his day's penny. It 
 was on the 4th of the kalends of September, in the evening of 
 the day, that this holy, sweet, and humble father departed. 
 He was lying upon his lowly couch, after partaking of a little 
 
 5 
 
66 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 food, and had devoutly blessed several of the brethren and 
 His death, desired that others would come to him, when he 
 Aug. 29. was suddenly seized with a vomiting of blood more 
 violent than usual, accompanied with portions of his lungs, torn 
 to pieces by his long-continued cough ; and the cough coming 
 on at the same time, so tossed and tormented him as to take 
 away his life. The brethren came running together with 
 great lamentations and many tears, and devoutly commended 
 his departing spirit to the hands of that Creator to whom it 
 was returning. They afterwards committed his body to 
 honourable sepulture within the church of Battel Abbey, in 
 the north transept, before the altar of the Apostols. 140 
 
 King Henry was engaged beyond the seas, when the in- 
 telligence of father Ralph's decease reached the ears of Roger, 
 bishop of Salisbury, who then held the administration of the 
 royal laws throughout England; and he dispatched hither, 
 with a minister of the king named John Belet, an ecclesiastic 
 called William of Ely ; and these two together made a sum- 
 mary of the whole abbacy and its appurtenances ; and the 
 government of the abbacy was committed for a time to one 
 ^Edward, a monk of the Abbey. But at length, some intrigues 
 having sprung up (which can scarcely ever be avoided in this 
 kind of changes) the custody of the whole establish - 
 apjwinted ment was intrusted to Belet, the king's minister, 
 who held it (not to his own disadvantage) from the 
 feast of S. Nicholas till the Sunday which is called Album 
 Pascha, that is to say, until a new abbot was elected. 
 
 In the year of the Deific Incarnation 1125, at the purification 
 of Mary, the holy Mother of God, a general edict of King Henry 
 was promulgcd throughout all England, that all churches 
 destitute of pastors should go, through proper representatives, 
 to the presence of the king, then beyond sea, 141 in order that 
 they might receive governors. Whereupon, on behalf of Battel 
 
 140 u Ante memoriam apostolorum." 
 
 141 The king weut over to Normandy in 1123, and did not return until 1126. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 67 
 
 Abbey, an able man named Hildeward, the prior, accompanied 
 by three of the monks, crossed the sea, and presented him- 
 self before the monarch. A council being then summoned, 
 the king — at the instance of William, archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, and Seffrid, who had recently been advanced to the see 
 of Chichester — appointed, as abbot of Battel, Warner, 
 a monk of Canterbury, a person eminent for his i^ hot 
 
 « ' i n arner. 
 
 modesty, wisdom, and learning. This appointment 
 being confirmed by an edict the week after Mid-lent, the 
 prior and his companions hastened homewards, and arrived 
 on the Sabbath before Palm Sunday ; and those who had 
 heretofore presided giving place, the whole establishment was 
 promptly subjected to the rule of the abbot-elect. On the 
 approach of Easter, Warner came to England, together with 
 Archbishop William ; and having obtained consecration on 
 the third Sunday after Easter, previously to taking office, he 
 was joyously and honourably received at Battel 2 ± April, 
 Abbey on the sixth day following, which happened 1125 - 
 on the eighth of the kalends of May. 
 
 Having thus taken the reins of government, Abbot Warner, 
 exercising that prudence for which he was so remarkable, 
 began, by degrees, to regulate and to restore to its former 
 state, the house which, in a variety of ways, had been wasted 
 by the king's ministers. And although, in consequence of the 
 great unproductiveness of that year, poverty had seized the 
 whole country, yet overcoming all disadvantages by prudent 
 management, like a faithful servant of the great Householder, 
 he so administered the affairs of the house, that in a short 
 time poverty was exchanged for opulence. 142 
 
 We have already stated that King Henry had, in his muni- 
 
 142 The unseasonableness of the years 1124 and 1125 is recorded in the Saxon Chronicle. 
 It " injured corn and all fruits in England, so that one acre's seed of wheat, that is, two seed- 
 lips, sold for six s hilli ngs" in the former year. In the latter " there was a famine and 
 disease upon men and cattle ; and it was so had a season for all fruits as had not been for 
 many years before." 
 
68 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 ficence, given to this establishment the church of Caermar- 
 An exchange then, with its appendages, where some brethren 
 MshopofS. na( l been already collected for the service of God. 
 David's. g u ^ Bernard, the bishop of the diocese, allured by 
 the pleasantness of the place, was extremely desirous of sub- 
 jecting it to his authority. And after the matter had frequently 
 been brought before the king, both by himself and by those in 
 ffls pay, at length, upon the election of Abbot Warner, it was 
 adjusted by the king's giving the place to the bishop, and 
 presenting to the Abbey of Battel, in exchange, a certain land 
 worth seventy shillings — a member of the royal manor of 
 Mienes, called Langenhersse, for ever, free of all customs. 
 This being confirmed by royal authority, and agreed to on 
 both sides, the brethren immediately set out for England and 
 returned home, while the bishop obtained the church alluded 
 to, and the abbot took the land into his hands. 
 
 Bishop Seftrid being now elevated to the see of Chichester, 
 Seffrid, bishop there seemed to be a mutual good understanding 
 of Chichester, between him and the abbot. When, however, both 
 
 summons the 
 
 abbot to his had been but a short time in office, the bishop, 
 at the instance of those about him, summoned the 
 abbot to attend his synod. Upon this the abbot, with prudent 
 caution, required of a full chapter of his abbey what it be- 
 hoved him to do in the matter. The brethren alleging the 
 custom which had hitherto been observed, explained to him 
 that it was founded on royal authority, and that he ought not 
 to attend to any summons or requirement of this nature ; 
 still, if it pleased him to go thither of his own free will, he 
 could do so without scruple. 
 
 The abbot, assured by this answer, went voluntarily to the 
 bishop, and pleaded the privileges of the Abbey which he 
 governed. He took care also to state that he had not come 
 upon compulsion, but only to avoid a violation of the mutual 
 charity which had hitherto subsisted between them, and to 
 claim that he would permit himself and his Abbey to remain, 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 69 
 
 as formerly, in peace, lest worse misunderstandings should 
 arise. The bishop, pacified by these reasonings, removed 
 every occasion of complaint, and, entertaining a very high 
 regard for the Abbey (as well as for the abbot himself), he 
 carefully cherished it by his counsel and aid during the period 
 of his prelacy. 143 
 
 Under this abbot, the restorations of the Abbey went on 
 from day to day, for he applied himself with the utmost 
 sagacity and prudence to increase the number of the monks ; 
 and taking delight in the decent beauty of God's house, he 
 caused a portion of the church to be covered with lead. He 
 also busied himself to perpetuate the memory of his devoted- 
 ness by procuring many noble ornaments, such as precious 
 vessels of gold and silver for the altar-service, together with 
 cappae, and albs, and choice palls. Thus did he vigorously 
 discharge his stewardship in things both domestic and ex- 
 ternal, seeking, at the same time, as became a well-instructed 
 man, to promote religion for the salvation of his sons, and 
 most honourably to preserve and recover, by legal means, the 
 rights, possessions, and dignities of his Abbey. 
 
 While, by this careful management, he was enjoying accu- 
 mulation of honour, he was often in the habit, at Vio i entquar . 
 the winter festival of the blessed Martin, their ™i between 
 
 them, ana 
 
 common patron, of inviting the attendance of the breach of 
 bishop of Chichester to grace so great a solemnity. l0Spi a ' y ' 
 On a certain occasion, when the bishop, thus summoned, 
 had come in a friendly manner, it chanced, after the festival 
 had been duly observed, that the bishop's attendants, heated 
 with the wine of the country, 144 began in a lofty style to 
 upbraid the cellarers and servants of the Abbey, and, as if 
 with their lord's sanction and authority (powerful enough 
 
 143 Here, as in a former instance, there is a great inconsistency in the Chronicler's narra- 
 tion, for, as we shall almost immediately see, a violent quarrel broke out between the two 
 dignitaries not long after. 
 
 1-h ii p a trio calentes mero." 
 
70 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 out of doors), threateningly to demand whatever they saw fit. 
 But the ministers of the Abbey very properly resisting them, 
 the matter reached the ears of the bishop, who manifested the 
 greatest indignation, which the abbot attempted to soothe in a 
 reasonable manner. But the bishop adding insolence to fury, 
 the abbot's patience was at length exhausted. And when the 
 bishop threatened to exercise the mastery, and to act as if the 
 Abbey were his own, the abbot stoutly withstood him, and 
 after many objurgations, uttered a speech which is not to be 
 forgotten, namely, that no refreshment should be given, either 
 to the bishop or his followers, as was the ordinary practice. 
 Upon this the bishop grew pale with rage, and threatened to 
 extort it by force ; but the abbot manfully asserting his right 
 to govern that royal Abbey as freely as he himself did his 
 own bishopric, they parted with mutual obstinacy. 
 
 The bishop and his suite waited until the next day, to see 
 whether the abbot would keep his word ; but the abbot, 
 regardful of the interests of posterity, could by no means with- 
 draw his determination. The bishop, therefore, unable to 
 control the servants of the Abbey, passed the hour unfed, and 
 was obliged to procure necessary provisions for himself and 
 his followers out of doors. The abbot and his people 
 passed the following night in peace and quietness, notwith- 
 standing the rage and fury of the others, and their threats 
 of destruction ; and sent them about their business at early 
 dawn, unappeased and full of indignation. It was long ere 
 the anger between the bishop and the abbot cooled down ; 
 but it led to no further contention, although it supplied a 
 memorial to posterity. At length the bishop yielded to 
 reason, and from that time, they both strove to cover their 
 former discord by acts of love and kindness. 
 
 In process of time, King Henry, who was in Normandy, 
 Death of yielded, in the thirty-sixth year of his reign, to the 
 k. Henry I. universal law of nature, and on the 4th of the nones 
 of December bade a last farewell to this world. His body 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 71 
 
 being brought over to England from Linns, 145 the place of 
 his decease, was honourably entombed in the monastery which 
 he had so liberally founded in honour of Mary, the blessed 
 Mother of God, at Reading. 
 
 In the year of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 1135, 
 not long after the death of the noble King Henry, 
 Stephen, count of Boulogne, his nephew, succeeded 
 to the kingdom of England — his claims having the support of 
 some of the chief men of the realm. He was anointed and 
 crowned at Westminster, on the 11th of the calends of 
 January, by William, archbishop of Canterbury. As soon as 
 he was settled in the kingdom, there arose some deadly broils 
 (of which however this is not the proper time to speak), and 
 the nobles disagreed among themselves. When public 
 affairs were at length set in order, the venerable abbot 
 Warner, among others, was found, by some slight 
 
 . " " Abbot War- 
 
 offence, to have incurred the royal displeasure, and ner offends 
 certain other complaints having arisen, he thought r^igmku 
 it better to yield to circumstances. Not long after- ***?&* and 
 
 j o retires to 
 
 wards therefore, before Christmas, being at West- Le ^s 
 minster, and taking the advice of certain persons 
 (particularly that of Aubrey, the Pope's legate, then in England), 
 he voluntarily resigned his abbacy, in the fourteenth year of his 
 government. And thus, having only himself to care for, he 
 retired to S. Pancras, a monastery greatly renowned for piety, 
 lying near the castle of Lewes, where he remained in the 
 exercise of religion until the day of his death. 146 
 
 At the beginning of the year of the Divine Incarnation 
 1139, immediately after Christmas, King Stephen was at 
 Canterbury, and there, by the concurrent advice of his 
 queen, of the legate Aubrey, and of certain barons of the 
 realm, he committed the abbacy of Battel to a foreign 
 
 145 I. e., Lions-la-Foret, near Rouen, a royal hunting-seat. 
 
 140 It is pretty certain from this account, that the abbot's offence was, his adherence to 
 the cause of Maud, against the usurpation of Stephen. 
 
72 CHRONICLE OP 
 
 monk, of Lonley, named Walter, brother of one of the most 
 Abbot Wai- potent barons of the kingdom, called Richard de 
 
 ter de Lucy, T 
 
 8 Jan. 1139. -LAlCy. 
 
 This personage, who was distinguished alike for his great 
 prudence and wisdom, for his eloquence, and for his exten- 
 sive knowledge, both of literature and of business, had been 
 sojourning in England for some time, with his kinsman 
 Gausfrid, abbot of Saint Albans, and had, through his brother's 
 influence, been introduced to the king, and found favour with 
 the nobility. He was elected on the 6th of the ides of 
 January, and at length, on the second of the ides of the same 
 month, accompanied by Seffrid, bishop of Chichester, he was 
 received with due honour at Battel Abbey. 
 
 Having thus gained full power, he began prudently to 
 watch over the interests of the Abbey, both within-doors and 
 without. And although at this period the nobles of the 
 kingdom were at variance with each other, and although, in 
 consequence of so bad an example, wicked men, abusing the 
 royal clemency, disturbed the freedom and pillaged the wealth 
 of the country on all sides, at pleasure, yet did this abbot 
 manfully stand his ground, to preserve inviolate, amidst so 
 many billows of the tempest, the treasures, lands, liberties, and 
 royal customs of the church intrusted to him. Neither was 
 he wanting in the greatest piety — both himself and his abbey, 
 in the meantime, enjoying the steady protection of the king. 
 
 About this time a storm happened, and a vessel belonging 
 to the port of Romney (within the jurisdiction of 
 cerning a ' the archbishop of Canterbury) laden with various 
 U Dengemar S h. comm °dities, was wrecked upon the land of the 
 Abbey of Battel in Dengemarsh, 147 a member of 
 Wye, the crew with difficulty saving their lives. Now it is 
 necessary to state that, from a remote date, a certain law has 
 been observed upon the sea-shore, namely, that when a vessel 
 
 117 " Dengemareis,' near Lydd, in Romney Marsh, contiguous to the promontory of 
 Dengeness. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 73 
 
 is shattered by the waves, if the crew escaping do not repair 
 it within a certain term and time, it shall be given up with 
 all its cargo, without challenge, to the lord of the soil, and be 
 accounted as wreck. But King Henry, abhorring this custom, 
 issued an edict, to remain in force during his reign, that if 
 only one man should escape "alive from the ship, he should 
 have all these things. But with the new king failed the new 
 law. For he being dead, the chiefs of the kingdom overthrew 
 this recent edict, and resumed the custom which had been 
 antiently observed. The tenants of Dengemarsh, therefore, 
 according to maritime custom, and the royal privileges of 
 Battel Abbey, made a forcible seizure of the wreck. 148 
 
 Intelligence of this transaction reaching the ears of the 
 archbishop, he hastened to court and made complaint before 
 the king, charging the abbot of Battel with having used vio- 
 lence in the matter ; and the king, without delay, commanded 
 the abbot to appear before him. The cause was argued 
 before a convention of nobles at the king's court, when 
 William de Ypres, who then held the earldom of Kent, art- 
 fully accused the abbot as a transgressor of the peace, 
 because he had acted contrary to the ordinances of Kino- 
 Henry. The king himself leaned to the archbishop ; but 
 after much disputation on both sides, the court was silenced 
 in the following manner. 
 
 The abbot, having prepared his argument beforehand, 
 spoke to the effect that, though King Henry was able at his 
 pleasure to change the antient laws of the country during his 
 own life, he could not bind posterity to such a change, without 
 the common consent of the barons of the realm. But if those 
 his (the abbot's) equals in rank — namely, the barons present 
 
 14S Lambarde, author of the Perambulation of Kent (1570) quotes this narrative from 
 the " Chronicles of Battell Abbay," with which he appears to have been acquainted. The 
 laws of wreck, so mercifully modified by the first Henry, resumed their antient rigour from 
 the time of this suit, but were again relaxed by a statute of 3 Edw. I, which enacts that if 
 any live thing, as a man or a dog, escape from the vessel, such vessel shall not be accounted 
 a legal wreck. (Blaekstone.) 
 
74 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 — would, with the assent of the royal court then sitting, agree 
 to waive their own claim of that right which they now 
 challenged in him, he himself would willingly relinquish his. 
 But the great men present unanimously declared against this ; 
 and at length it was determined by common consent, that 
 this court should be dissolved, and that the abbot, in right of 
 his royal privilege, should hold a court for the performance of 
 justice at Dengemarsh, on an appointed day, when the tenants 
 of the archbishop should be in attendance. During the pro- 
 ceedings of this assembly, the sagacious abbot gave utterance 
 to a remarkable speech, by which the king's mind was much 
 softened. When the accusation was brought against him, he 
 turned to the king, saying : "If thou, O king, but destroy 
 ever so small a right of our Abbey, conferred and observed by 
 King William and others, thy predecessors, may God grant 
 that thou no longer wear the crown of England !" 
 
 The abbot was true to his appointment, but no one attended 
 on the part of the archbishop until the day following. Thus 
 no opportunity of passing judgment on the transgression 
 being given, they went away disappointed, and the complaint 
 was once more brought before the king, by the archbishop. 
 The abbot, being summoned, again appeared ; and the case 
 being stated, it was adjudged, by common consent, that the 
 abbot had made good his cause, and that he ought to suffer 
 no further challenge on the subject from the primate. Upon 
 this the court was dismissed, and every one went his way. 
 The reverend abbot, disposing all things concerning the 
 matter in question at his own pleasure, pacified the archbishop 
 and his friends with a portion of the shipwrecked commo- 
 dities, but reserved the principal things for himself and the 
 Abbey of Battel— and so ended this affair. 
 
 At this time that noble personage, Hilary, who had ob- 
 tained great notice and favour at the Roman court, succeeding 
 the venerable Bishop Seffrid in the see of Chichester, the 
 monastery of Battel began, through the malice of its adver- 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 75 
 
 saries, to suffer many troubles concerning its privileges. 
 A detail of these proceedings will not be out of place here ; 
 since it will be both agreeable now, and of service hereafter, 
 as a valuable memorial and an enduring monument of the 
 dignities of the church of S. Martin of Battel, and as an in- 
 vulnerable buckler against the artifices of envious foes. And 
 although the patience of the prudent abbot Walter was sorely 
 taxed for a great length of time, yet were the varied devices 
 of his opponents nullified by his sagacity ; so that, in the end, 
 the thing is so honourably cleared up, that the very tediousness 
 of the proceedings seems to have been advantageous. For by 
 that delay both the dignity of the Abbey and the authority of 
 its charters, conferred by the king's ancestors, were not only 
 made familiar to the king's court, but widely published abroad, 
 as something remarkable, among both high and low, over the 
 entire kingdom ; and hence was strengthened respect for the 
 king's authority and the freedom of our Abbey. Let us now, 
 therefore, explain the order of this controversy from its com- 
 mencement. 
 
 It is worth while, for the information of after times, to 
 record the manner in which the dispute between Narrationof 
 Hilary, bishop of Chichester, of venerated memory, the contra- 
 and Walter, abbot of S. Martin of Battel, concern- tweenmiary 
 ing the dignities and liberties of their respective JJSEtkf 
 churches, though long protracted between them, and Abhot 
 
 in i ■ ii alter, WAS. 
 
 gave way at last to a concord of peace and amity. 
 That this is written with the pen of truth, the readers need 
 entertain no doubt, although they should be apprised that 
 many details are omitted, lest they should be wearied with the 
 length of our narration. 
 
 In the year of our Lord's Incarnation 1148, whilst King 
 Stephen, who sprang from the stock of the most pious and 
 illustrious King William the great, held the government of 
 England, namely in the thirteenth year of his reign, a certain 
 reverend personage named Hilary, a man of honourable cha- 
 
76 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 meter, and shining in the brightness of the liberal sciences, 
 was made bishop of the church of the Holy Trinity of Chi- 
 chester. Upon his instituting inquiries in every direction, as 
 to the rights and dignities of his church, it was intimated to 
 him that the church of S. Martin, which is called Battel — 
 because God had there given to William the Conqueror the 
 victory over his enemies — ought to be subject to his authority. 
 Upon this, the venerable man often applied to Abbot Walter 
 on the subject. The abbot, however, withstood his claims, 
 and a very great dissension, the particulars of which shall now 
 be given, was the result. 
 
 The bishop of Chichester compelled the attendance of the 
 abbot of Battel at his synod at Chichester, and insisted on his 
 payment of all episcopal dues according to the canons. He 
 also demanded entertainment in the Abbey and in its manors, 
 upon his episcopal right, as if by established custom. By these 
 means he earnestly hoped to carry his point of subjecting the 
 abbot and his establishment to his authority. In the further 
 exercise of his usurped power, he declared that the abbot- 
 elect of Battel was bound by ecclesiastical custom to seek 
 consecration, with canonical profession, in the cathedral of 
 Chichester, and thenceforward to be wholly subject to him- 
 self and his see. 
 
 The abbot, on the other hand, copied examples, not of pride, 
 but of patience and humility. Sometimes by word of mouth, 
 and sometimes by means of messengers dispatched to Chiches- 
 ter, he declared the freedom and privilege of his Abbey, 
 explaining how King William — whom Divine Providence had 
 conveyed into England in order to take possession of his just 
 rights — had, upon the field of battle, with the concurrence of 
 all his followers, made a vow to give that place to the Lord 
 Christ, as freely as he should be enabled to acquire it for 
 himself; and how, when by God's favour he had obtained 
 the victory, he fulfilled that vow by building upon the spot 
 an Abbey in honour of God and S. Martin, for the salvation of 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 77 
 
 all, and especially of all that were then slain, as free and quit 
 of all exaction of earthly service, and from all subjection and 
 authority and domination of bishops, as is Christ Church of 
 Canterbury. He further showed how this had been ratified 
 at the advice and with the attestation of Lanfranc, archbishop 
 of Canterbury, and Stigand, bishop of Chichester, and many 
 others by their signatures ; and also how Stigand, bishop of 
 Chichester, had, in the presence of Gausbert the first abbot, 
 and his monks, to the utmost extent of his power, confirmed 
 it in like manner by his letters ; so that from that time, as 
 all men knew, the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel had been 
 totally exempt from the jurisdiction of the bishop of Chi- 
 chester. In this reasonable manner did the abbot meet the 
 claims of this great man, earnestly demanding, at the same 
 time, that he would suffer the Abbey to retain, in pure and 
 inviolable right, what it had hitherto possessed with the 
 authority of such distinguished persons. 
 
 To this, however, the bishop would by no means consent ; 
 but, entertaining much ill-Anil against the abbot, threatened 
 that, unless he attended the synod, he would, after the ex- 
 piration of a year, bind him with the chain of excommunication, 
 in solemn synod, according to canonical authority. Relying 
 upon the power of Pope Eugenius (III), and the venerable 
 Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, and many others, whose 
 favour he enjoyed, he hoped for nothing less than the entire 
 subjugation of the abbot and convent of Battel to himself and 
 his church. But, disappointed by vain hopes and counsels, 
 he could not carry his intentions into effect. Thus hope, based 
 upon doubtful conditions, has sometimes deceived many. 
 
 At a certain time, during the reign of the above-mentioned 
 most pious King Stephen, the abbot was summoned The Msho} 
 to attend a synod at Chichester. Not complying, %* the 
 
 , . ,. , , n i • , -ill ahhot under 
 
 he was interdicted by the bishop, with the under- an inter- 
 standing that, unless he should attend to make dlcL 
 satisfaction within forty days, he should be suspended from 
 
78 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 his office. When the abbot heard of this sentence, he has- 
 tened to the court at S. Alban's, and brought the matter into 
 the royal hall ; whereupon the king summoned one of his 
 clerks, named Robert de Cornuvilla, and sent him to the 
 bishop, commanding and charging him, " that as the Abbey 
 of S. Martin of Battel was as free and quit from all exaction 
 and oppression as the free chapel of the king, or as the royal 
 crown itself, he should suffer those who dwelt therein to serve 
 the Lord Christ in peace." He also fixed a term, when both 
 he and the abbot should appear before him in London, namely, 
 on the day of the octaves of St. Andrew, 149 that he, in the 
 presence of his bishops and barons, might put an end to their 
 dispute. On the appointed day both attended, and after many 
 other causes had been argued, the abbot presented himself 
 before the king, prepared, if any opposition should be offered, 
 to make a stand upon a reasonable ground of equity for the 
 freedom of his Abbey. But the bishop, detained by other 
 affairs, neglected to appear before the king that day. The 
 charters and ratifications subscribed by the great King 
 William were read, and the king having sought the best 
 counsel in the matter, commanded that the Abbey of S. Martin 
 of Battel should remain entirely free from all subjection and 
 exaction of the bishop of Chichester, according to the charters 
 of King William and of the other kings his predecessors. On 
 the following day, the abbot, having received the king's per- 
 mission, returned home, the king himself declaring at his 
 departure that he would in all things be a protector and 
 defender of the Abbey of Battel, even as though it were his 
 own free chapel, or his own royal crown. 
 
 Not long after, namely, in the year of our Lord's Incar- 
 „ J7 , nation 1154, on the 8th of the calends of November, 
 
 Death of ' . ' 
 
 King Stephen, the niost pious King Stephen departed this life, and 
 was interred in the church of Feversham, which he 
 
 149 December 7. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 79 
 
 had reared from its foundations, in honour of the holy Saviour 
 of the world. The bishop, thinking this a favourable oppor- 
 tunity to press his claim, in solemn synod excommunicated 
 the abbot for not having gone to Chichester when summoned. 
 Upon this, one of the brethren of the Temple of Jerusalem, 
 who was present, went in haste to London, where the abbot 
 and his brother, Richard de Lucy, one of the nobles of Eng- 
 land, by the command of the venerable Theobald, archbishop 
 of Canterbury, were awaiting the coming of Henry, duke of 
 Normandy, the future king, and laid the matter before the 
 said Richard, and he, having conferred with his brother the 
 abbot, appealed without delay to the archbishop. That 
 venerable father, having taken counsel, sent one of his clerks, 
 named Salomon, to the bishop, stating that the abbot was 
 detained with him, awaiting the coming of his future lord, the 
 Duke Henry, to London, and commanding him to relax the 
 sentence which he had passed upon him, until they could 
 come together. And the bishop, bowing to the wish of his 
 lord the legate, relaxed it accordingly. 
 
 Our lord the Duke Henry arriving, was raised to the royal 
 dignity, at Westminster, on the 14th of the calends 
 of January in the same year. He was crowned by f^"J e J 7 
 the venerable Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, 
 primate of all England, and legate of the apostolical see ; and 
 as the great estates of the whole realm were in attendance, 
 he determined all things justly by their advice. To the 
 monasteries he confirmed, by his own authority, the posses- 
 sions and privileges granted by his ancestors ; and during 
 the following Lent, he convened a general council at London, 
 and ratified peace, and renewed, throughout England, the 
 laws and customs of antient times On this occasion some 
 of the bishops and abbots got the charters and privileges of 
 their churches confirmed by the new king's hand and seal. 150 
 
 lso u Th' ls was one f t] ie means used by this prince to raise money, and to weaken such 
 as had opposed him in the previous reign." (Note in Lat. Edit.) 
 
80 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 Among the number came the abbot of Battel, who having 
 
 exhibited the charters and writings of King William 
 
 confirms and the other kings in succession, obtained this 
 
 the Abbess confirmation of the monarch. When the bishop of 
 
 charters- _ A 
 
 Chichester heard of this transaction, he hastened to the 
 archbishop, and signified to him, that the abbot held charters 
 opposed to the dignities of the church of Canterbury, and also 
 to those of his own church of Chichester, and that he had got 
 them ratified by the seal of the present king. He therefore 
 urged that they should, by their united influence, resist such 
 ratification, lest the other abbots throughout England should 
 allege a like privilege against their bishops, in consequence of 
 this abbot's success. The archbishop, too ready to believe 
 that such consequences might ensue, declared, with a most 
 positive asseveration, that he would never yield his assent to 
 aught that might further the abbot's design. 
 
 It happened, the following day, that the king and the 
 
 archbishop had an interview, and the archbishop 
 
 Ushop in- introduced the subject, and declared that he ought 
 
 Jet tils con- no ^ to suffer the church of Canterbury — which was 
 
 firmation the mother church of England, and by which he 
 
 nullified. . . ° J 
 
 was invested with his crown — nor that of Chichester, 
 its suffragan, to have the liberties and dignities which they 
 had held from antient times annulled for the sake of the 
 Abbey of Battel — an establishment of no very high authority 
 and dignity. Now the abbot of that place was possessed of 
 certain charters, in opposition to the liberties and dignities of 
 those churches. He prayed, therefore, that he would utterly 
 annul them by his royal authority, or that the charter of the 
 abbot might not have the king's seal until it was amended 
 by his counsel, and the churches of Canterbury and Chichester 
 were assured of their rights. The king, yielding to the wishes 
 of so eminent a personage as his spiritual father, by whom 
 he had so recently been invested with his sovereignty, sum- 
 moned the chancellor, and forbade the confirmation of the 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 81 
 
 abbot's charter by the royal seal. To be brief, this, be- 
 coming matter of common report, speedily reached the abbot's 
 ears. The next day, therefore, the abbot again repaired to 
 court, but as the king was going a-hunting, nothing could be 
 done, and he returned to his inn. 151 
 
 Early the following morning the abbot went once more to 
 Westminster, and there waiting before the altar at which the 
 king was about to hear mass, cogitated with himself on the 
 probable issue of affairs. On the king's arrival, after the 
 entrance of the host, the abbot went up to him : — m 
 
 * _ The abbot 
 
 " My lord," said he, " your excellency had given appeal to 
 orders for the confirmation of our charter by the 
 royal seal ; wherefore it is now refused I cannot undertake to 
 say. Let your clemency command that the royal assurance 
 stand firm, and let not the word of a king appear to be over- 
 thrown by the envy of any man !" So the chancellor was 
 sent for, and the king ordered the abbot's charter to be con- 
 firmed by the application of the seal. But before the words 
 were well finished, the bishop, suspecting what was in hand, 
 bustled forward and addressed the king in the following 
 manner : 
 
 " My lord, your clemency has not forgotten, I trust, the 
 complaint which the venerable archbishop of Can- 
 terbury and myself, only three days since, laid p i e a. ups 
 before you. This abbot of Battel seeks charters 
 opposed to the dignities of our churches, of which dignities, 
 hitherto held by canonical right, they will have occasion to 
 bewail the loss, if his subtilty should prevail. Let your royal 
 dignity, therefore, withhold the confirmation he desires, lest 
 peradventure others, from his example, should be seen to 
 make head against their bishops." 
 
 Notwithstanding this protest, the king ordered the abbot's 
 charter to be sealed, and then gave directions for the bishop 
 
 151 At Battlebridge, in Southwark. 
 
82 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 and the abbot, together with the chancellor, to meet the 
 archbishop, when the charter could be read over in their 
 hearing, with a view to its amendment, under their counsel, 
 if anything required correction ; and thus the abbot might go 
 home with his charter in peace. But if they could not agree 
 in opinion, the abbot's charter should be kept by the chan- 
 cellor in the king's chapel, until the king's decision relative 
 to it should take place. 
 
 When the canon of the mass had been sung through as far 
 as the words $ax ©omiltt, the bishop, according to the usual 
 practice, having received the pax from the priest, offered it to 
 the king, and afterwards stretched it forth to the abbot, to 
 the great astonishment of many. 152 
 
 The bishop and the abbot, attended by the chancellor and 
 many others, met together before the archbishop at 
 
 The parties J „ ttt'ii* 
 
 meet at Lambeth, and the charter ot the great King William, 
 by a copy of which all the charters of the subse- 
 quent kings had been confirmed, was read. When they came 
 to a certain expression in it, namely, " that the Abbey of Battel 
 should be as entirely free from all subjection of bishops as 
 Christ Church, Canterbury," a clamour burst forth on all sides, 
 
 152 The pax, otherwise called a tabula pacis, or osculatorium, was an instrument 
 antiently in use in the Roman Catholic church. The apostolical command, " Salute one 
 another with a holy kiss," was, in the earlier ages of Christianity, literally oheyed. At the 
 words, the peace of God be with you, from the bishop, the people answered, and with thy 
 Spirit, the clergy kissed the bishop, the laymen the laymen, and the women the women. 
 When the sexes worshipped in separate parts of the church, no impropriety resulted from 
 this practice, but afterwards, when, as at present, the men and women assembled in the 
 same place, the pax was introduced. This was first kissed by the ministering priest, then 
 by the clerk, and lastly by the people in succession. The pax was not among the articles 
 laid aside at the Reformation, for the ecclesiastical commissioners of Edw. VI, in 1548, 
 say : " The clerke shall bring down the paxe, and standing without the church-door, shall say 
 loudly to the people these words : ' this is the token of joyful peace, which is betwixt God 
 and man's conscience,'" &c. The specimen, given in the Archeeologia, vol. xx, p. 536 (from 
 which I have derived these particulars), is carved with a representation of the crucifixion. 
 
 The presentation of this pledge of Christian peace and charity by the bishop, to a 
 person whom he had lately excommunicated, and who was still labouring under his 
 displeasure, was quite sufficient to excite the surprise of the spectators; nor was it 
 forgotten by the chancellor, Thomas a Becket, the abbot's advocate, at a subsequent stage 
 of this lengthened controversy. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. s;-> 
 
 some asserting it to be contrary to canon law, and others that 
 it was inimical to the dignities of the church of Canterbury. 
 Some cried out that this phrase was frivolous, and many angrily 
 interpreted it in another sense. Thus diversity of opinion 
 produced much confusion. 
 
 When the charter had been read through, Bishop Hilary, 
 perceiving that not one of his predecessors was to be found 
 among the attesting witnesses, judged that the high dignity of 
 the sacred canons was for ever disparaged by the import of 
 that expression, and proposed that it should be expunged by 
 the authority of the present judges. The archbishop coinciding 
 in that opinion, the outcry was prolonged, and although the 
 abbot maintained his ground with much moderation, the 
 commotion was not stayed. The chancellor, therefore, finding 
 that the disagreement continued, took his departure, carrying 
 away the charter with him to the king's chapel, and there 
 delivered it for safe keeping, according to the king's command. 
 But the abbot, by the advice of his friends, went about his 
 own affairs, nothing doubting of God's help. 
 
 Then was the bishop merry and glad ; for he trusted that the 
 abbot of Battel and his Abbey would be entirely deprived of 
 the confirmation of their charter. But, as the Scripture saith, 
 " Man proposes, bid God disposes," so Christ suffered not His 
 church to want its antient and rightful privileges, for His pre- 
 venting mercy in due time caused all to work for good. 
 
 The same year, at Easter, a certain baron of England named 
 Hugh de Mortimer, 153 a man of great influence, Hughde 
 abilities, and wealth, and a brave soldier, despising Mortimer 
 
 i i • j . L ° rebels, and 
 
 the king s youth, and holding his efforts m contempt, the abbot 
 fortified his castles, 154 and refused to submit himself 8 ^> s 
 to his authority. When this news reached the king, f avour - 
 
 133 This turbulent nobleman induced Roger, Earl of Hereford, to fortify his castles of 
 Gloucester and Hereford against the king, himself doing the same with his castles of 
 Cleobury, Wigmore, and Brugge or Bridgnorth. His long life of violence was closed by 
 his retirement to the abbey of Wigmore, where he became a monk. 
 
 154 This was one of the great social miseries of the preceding reign. " Even - rich man," 
 
84 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 he collected a considerable army, and besieged Hugh in one of 
 his castles called Bregge (Bridgnorth), and surrounded it with 
 a vallum and a camp, thus cutting off all hope of his escape. 
 The abbot having obtained, as it appeared to him and his 
 friends, a fair opportunity, went thither to the king ; and (as 
 seemed meet in a business of this kind) honoured him with 
 gifts, and spoke to him about his charter. Having received a 
 very favourable answer from the king, he retired to a certain 
 estate of his own in the neighbourhood, to remain until the 
 third day. 
 
 Not long afterwards, King Henry, having compelled Hugh 
 to surrender, commanded throughout England, that the arch- 
 bishops, bishops, and most of the abbots, with all the earls and 
 barons, should assemble there on the fourth day before the 
 summer feast of S. Benedict. At this convention, peace was 
 made between the king and Hugh. The third day, after the 
 peace, the abbot of Battel arrived, and by the advice of 
 his brother, Richard de Lucy, and other friends, went the 
 next day to the king, and importuned him concerning his 
 charter. 
 
 The king took the advice of those who were in his con- 
 fidence. And by the favour of God, and by the 
 aid of the blessed Martin, confessor of Christ (who 
 never deserts those that put their trust in him), coupled with 
 the exertions of earthly friends, namely, Reginald, earl of 
 Cornwall, 155 and Richard de Humez, the king's tribune, who 
 were upon most intimate terms with Richard de Lucy and 
 
 says the Saxon Chronicle (regn. Steph.) "made his castles, and held them against the king; 
 and the land was filled with castles. Grievously they oppressed the miserahle people of 
 the country with their castle-works. When the castles were made, they filled them with 
 devils and evil men." Here they imprisoned all such as they could take who were supposed 
 to possess wealth, and put them to inexpressihle torments, in order to extort their gold and 
 silver. They also taxed the inhabitants of the towns so mercilessly, and so ravaged the 
 country, that the towns were deserted, and the labours of agriculture utterly suspended. 
 " Then," naively continues the Chronicle, " were corn, and flesh, and cheese, and butter 
 dear." 
 J55 Natural son of Henry I. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 85 
 
 Abbot Walter, the king was induced to return to the abbot 
 the desired charter, and to send it, through him, to 
 the Abbey of Battel, which is the token and pledge charters 
 of the crown-royal of England. Then did the 
 dependents of the abbot and the friends of the Abbey of 
 Battel rejoice, and dance in the fulness of their joy ; but their 
 enemies were everywhere filled with shame and confusion of 
 face. The abbot took leave of the king with thanks, retired 
 from the court with his charter, and in due time arrived at 
 Battel. There the charter was read over to the brethren, and 
 the abbot related all that had befallen him, while all rejoiced 
 in their very hearts, and gave glory to God. 
 
 At the feast of Christmas following, this most excellent 
 king held his council at Westminster, and, all affairs being 
 settled, sailed over into Normandy to transact business 
 there. 
 
 The same year, on the day of the decollation of S. John the 
 Baptist, the abbot, on account of certain affairs 
 relating to the Abbey of Battel, crossed the sea, and goes over to 
 went to the king. And finding him at Saumur, by an y ' 
 
 the advice of the queen, and of his brother Richard de Lucy, 
 who had accompanied the king, he had an interview with 
 him ; and everything having been done agreeably to his 
 wishes, he returned to England. 
 
 This proceeding excited the ill-will of some of the church- 
 men of England, who imagined that the abbot had secretly 
 made known their false deeds to the king, with a view to call 
 forth his hatred of them. This suspicion, however, ultimately 
 appeared to all to have been most unjust. The bishop of 
 Chichester, thinking that his credit with the king might be 
 shaken by the report of the abbot, and having other business 
 of his own, passed over to the king about the time of the 
 winter feast of S. Martin, and remained with him until his 
 return to England. 
 
86 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 The first week of the following Lent, there came to Battel 
 two deans of the bishop of Chichester, namely, 
 hostilities by Ansger of Lewes and Thomas of Hastings, bring- 
 lummoning m g with them five priests. After due introduction, 
 f CMche°t t0 ^ ie y snowe d the abbot letters of Pope Adrian, 
 on papal which required that he should without delay make 
 ' his reply thereupon to Henry, archdeacon of 
 Chichester. The abbot retired to a secret place, and having 
 read the letters to the prior and some of the brethren, asked 
 their advice as to their contents ; after which he made answer 
 that he would obey them as far as he was at liberty to do so, 
 saving the honour of his lord the pope, his fidelity to the 
 king of England, the safety of his own person and order, and 
 the rights of his Abbey. 
 
 On receipt of this reply, the messengers brought forward 
 other matters, saying that John, dean of the church of 
 Chichester, Henry the archdeacon, and Roger the treasurer of 
 that church, did, on the part of the pope, command him (the 
 abbot) to appear at Chichester, on the Sunday which is called 
 Letare Jerusalem^ there to hear the orders of the pope. 
 They then took leave. 
 
 The abbot therefore relying, as he was ever wont to do, 
 
 Th abbot u P on ^ ne a id of God, of the blessed Virgin Mary, 
 goes to and of S. Martin, the confessor of Christ, and 
 ' having conferred with the archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, and with some others on whom he could depend, went 
 on the appointed day to Chichester. As soon as he entered 
 the chapter-house where all were assembled, they all arose 
 and respectfully conducted him to a seat, and when they had 
 reseated themselves around him and held their peace, the 
 abbot addressed them in the following terms : — 
 
 " My lords and brethren, — Certain members of your body, 
 The abbot's lately coming to us, brought letters of our lord the 
 speech. pope, summoning me by his authority to come 
 
 156 Midlent Sunday. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 87 
 
 hither, to-day, to hear the commands of his venerable lordship. 
 Out of respect and honour for so excellent a father, I am here 
 present, prepared, as far as is consistent with his own dignity, 
 with my fidelity to our lord the king of England, with the 
 safety of my person and order, and with the just rights of 
 my Abbey, to obey those commandments." 
 
 The dean, upon hearing this, forbade any one to make a 
 reply, until he had first taken advice upon the subject. He 
 therefore called aside those who enjoyed the highest authority, 
 and, after conference with them, returned and addressed the 
 abbot thus : — 
 
 " Doubtless, venerable Master Abbot, as the matter stands, 
 you have come hither on a summons issued by our 
 lord the pope. It remains now for you to show us ^ ec/ ,. 
 the pope's letters which have been directed to you, 
 so that, beloved brother, we may thereby lay before you those 
 things which have been enjoined upon us in proper order. 
 And it will be for you, upon consideration, either with 
 downcast countenance to submit to their authority, or with 
 haughty brow to defy them." But the abbot had not brought 
 the letter with him ; nor indeed had he calculated that any one 
 would have questioned him concerning it. Then one of the 
 clerks offered the dean the counterpart of the letter, and 
 having received orders, read it in the hearing of all present. 
 
 " SUjrian, 157 bishop, the servant of the servants of God, to 
 his beloved son, Walter, abbot of Battel, health and 
 apostolical benediction. To him who refuses sub- iJt e f° pes 
 mission to his superior, obedience will be justly 
 denied by his own subordinates. It has come to our know- 
 ledge, that you refuse due obedience to our venerable brother, 
 Y., bishop of Chichester, to whom you have made profession 
 thereof, and that you object to obey his mandates ; which is a 
 thing very pernicious and contrary to all reason, as you will 
 
 lb7 This was Adrian IV, the only Englishman that ever sat in the chair of St. Peter. His 
 original name was Nicholas Breakspear. 
 
88 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 easily find if you call to remembrance the punishment of the 
 first man. And therefore, by these present writings we com- 
 mand, that you be careful to obey him faithfully as your bishop 
 and father, as also the church committed to him. Otherwise, 
 we would have you understand, that the sentence which our 
 said brother has canonically pronounced upon you on this 
 account, shall be confirmed by us, as God is our helper. 
 Given at Rome, at S. Peter's, on the calends of March." 
 
 The letter having been read, the dean proceeded : — " You 
 have heard, Master Abbot, how our lord the pope exhorts you 
 to pay obedience to your superiors, and most especially to 
 this church of Chichester, and to your bishop, Hilary. And 
 it becomes your prudence to mark, upon what ground the 
 pope has interposed for your bishop. When the Abbey of 
 Battel was reared from its foundations, the first abbot elected 
 thereto obeyed the canons, and obtained his consecration and 
 made profession in this holy church. And afterwards all his 
 successors, whose names we do not remember, and even you 
 yourself, Walter, whom we see sitting before us, and who now 
 govern the Abbey, have without doubt done the same. But 
 since your prudence hath declined in some respects from the 
 path of obedience you professed, this holy church, and we who 
 are her sons, demand that you, as becomes a son, do assure 
 your mother, namely this church, that, all quibbles apart, you 
 will henceforward, in all things, pay her canonical obedience. 
 Now truly, reverend father, your charity very well knows that 
 the canons have ordained, that a person about whom doubts 
 are entertained should be bound, either by legal witnesses or 
 by ecclesiastical oaths, as well as by a written document con- 
 firmed by his seal. When our lord, Bishop Hilary, had 
 assumed the government of this your holy mother church, 
 according to canonical rule he interdicted you and a certain 
 other personage of his diocese, because you did not come to 
 the synod of Chichester, though you had been summoned 
 hither, once, twice, and thrice. That other personage, seek- 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 89 
 
 ing pardon in submissive terms, obtained the same, whereas 
 you, still remaining contumacious for a whole year, were 
 bound in the holy synod with the chain of excommunica- 
 tion, whereby also we hold you bound to this very day. 
 Wherefore this holy church, commiserating you as her son, 
 requires of you to lay aside your opposition, and giving ear 
 to us your brethren, to acknowledge those things which you 
 justly ought to do, without delay. And, as we have said, a 
 doubtful person must be bound by one of three obligations, 
 according to ecclesiastical custom, we, in consideration of the 
 honour and dignity of your Abbey and of your person, have 
 considered it most becoming and proper that you should write 
 just a little schedule, containing the condition of your pro- 
 fession to this church and to ourselves, and that you should 
 confirm the same in the presence of witnesses, by affixing your 
 seal ; so that henceforth, all doubt being removed, this church 
 may cherish you in love as a son, and in all things afford 
 you aid and counsel. Thus, peace being imparted, you, 
 being restored to the bosom of holy church, may return home 
 with gladness of heart. And as to those things in which your 
 brotherhood has failed in duty towards our venerable lord, 
 Bishop Hilary, we will act the part of mediators, and by God's 
 grace assuage his indignation and wrath against you. May it 
 therefore please you to take the advice of a man of such great 
 authority and eminence, and such rare abilities, and to give us 
 your reply upon these matters in becoming and acceptable 
 words. That reply, if given in gentle terms, we shall doubt- 
 less receive favourably ; but if, on the contrary, you employ 
 swelling and vaunting language, we shall as manfully reject 
 it. We believe, however, that the ingenuous greatness of 
 your race is not lifted up by the shadow of pride, but is more 
 readily overcome by the force of patience and of reason." 
 
 The dean having thus spoken, and the rest having declared 
 the reasoning to be just and given then' assent to it, silence 
 was proclaimed, and the abbot replied as follows : — 
 
90 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 " Most beloved fathers : pondering in the secret chambers 
 
 of my heart the matter of your speech presented in 
 
 reply bb0t S sucn so ^ P nrases > the excellency of the noble freedom 
 
 and of the famous name of the Abbey of Battel comes 
 
 to my remembrance ; and the unexpectedness of these things 
 
 disturbs a mind already overburdened with troubles. I was 
 
 prepared to reply to you, as my dearest fathers and brethren, 
 
 in a becoming and temperate discourse, hoping by every 
 
 means to give you satisfaction ; but astonished at your 
 
 unlooked-for words, I am constrained so to pass from one 
 
 thing to another, that I fear lest necessity should compel me 
 
 to exceed due bounds in my reply. I will not, however, like 
 
 a certain person, draw forth a sword anointed with honey ; 
 
 but, resting upon my well-founded claims, endeavour to give 
 
 you satisfaction. 
 
 " You are fully aware, by common report, how great a 
 degree of freedom and dignity the Abbey of Battel, as 
 founded by the noble King William, enjoys. Would you 
 speak of the first abbot of our place, Gausbert by name ; it is 
 not unknown to you that he, in the same Abbey of Battel, 
 under the king's authority, and with the assent of Lanfranc, 
 archbishop of Canterbury, obtained his consecration from 
 Stigand, then bishop of this church, without profession. If 
 Henry his successor, and others of my predecessors, can be 
 proved (as they should be) to have done aught contrary to the 
 privileges of the Abbey, it does not concern me. For I — the 
 least of them all — can call to mind nothing that / have done 
 contrary to those rights ; but everything for the safety of them 
 have I done. But even if I have through ignorance or incon- 
 sideration failed in duty towards the rights and dignities of 
 the Abbey, it becomes me, under the dictates of sound reason, 
 to reform whatever has been clone amiss. For, ' it is the 
 part of a prudent man,' as one saith, ' in adversity to correct 
 an error, and in prosperity to observe moderation.' And 
 therefore I, holding the sole management of the affairs of our 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 91 
 
 Abbey, shall exert myself to amend those things which have 
 been done against it, either by myself or by my predecessors. 
 But if I am proved to have failed in any respect towards this 
 church, I am quite ready to make due atonement, saving 
 always, as I before said, the honour due to our lord the pope, 
 the honour and fidelity due to the king of England, saving 
 also my person and order, and the rights of my Abbey. 
 
 "You affirm that I am bound by your venerable bishop 
 Avith the chain of excommunication. But this is not proved 
 to have been notified to me hitherto, either by your bishop or 
 by any other person. If it be true, I marvel for the prudence 
 of a man of such great discretion. I wonder also at the 
 hastiness of his sentence, since it is incapable of proof that I 
 have done anything contrary to the statutes of the aforesaid 
 churches. For if one wished rashly to contend against this, 
 he would go abroad and speak and hear, and thus — all doubt 
 being removed — the thing would reach the limits of truth." 
 
 No one present made any formal reply, but all were crying 
 out at once ; the abbot therefore continued his speech. 
 
 " The schedule which you demand of me is not required by 
 the pope's letter to me ; neither does there appear any good 
 reason why I should give one. But as I wish everything 
 settled justly and quietly as it concerns yourselves, I beseech 
 you to grant me a respite, until I can go into foreign parts to 
 our lord the king (whose royal chapel and a pledge of whose 
 royal crown our Abbey is acknowledged to be), to hear his 
 commands upon this business ; and then, as far as may be 
 lawful, to render obedience to the wishes of Bishop Hilary 
 himself, to whom, and not to you, our lord the pope enjoins 
 it, that all things may be done advisedly. I neither desire to 
 overthrow whatever is due from us to you and this church ; 
 nor do I wish our church, which is a free one, to be rendered 
 subject to yours ; and our lord the king has taken care 
 to prevent our doing anything rashly in these matters without 
 his permission." 
 
92 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 But all refused to give respite, and some even asserted that 
 the king had, in their hearing, given orders that the Abbey of 
 Battel should pay what was due to the church of Chichester, 
 and therefore the respite ought on no account to be granted, 
 lest the affair, so protracted, should never come to a decision. 
 Still the abbot insisted upon some delay until he could visit 
 the king : he reminded them, moreover, that he could do 
 nothing in the matter without the advice and permission of 
 his brethren the monks of Battel. For he said, he " was 
 mortal and should die, but the Abbey of Battel would remain 
 after he was dead, and therefore he would do nothing without 
 their concurrence. On these grounds it was necessary that 
 respite should be given." 
 
 But they opposed him in many ways, and advanced many 
 opinions ; and the abbot standing firm in requiring a respite, 
 the dean commanded silence, and thus addressed him : 
 
 " Master Abbot," said he, " this congregation requires the 
 schedule before demanded of you on account of 
 ambiguity, to be written by you, and kept in this 
 church as a memorial, that henceforward — all doubt being 
 removed — whatever is due to this holy church may be rendered 
 by yourself and your successors. We are the chinch, and 
 though the bishop depart, we shall remain ; and therefore we 
 demand this of you." 
 
 But the abbot resisted them, and would by no means 
 assent ; and after they had long persisted in their demand to 
 no purpose, the dean perceiving that the abbot stood unmoved, 
 and that no ground was gained, and moreover that the day 
 was far spent, commanded silence again, and concluded in 
 these words : 
 
 " Our lord, our bishop, our pastor, our father, Hilary — 
 that learned, virtuous, honourable, and religious personage, 
 when he crossed the seas, delivered to us, his disciples, as to 
 his sons, this form of words ; and by it instructed, conjured, 
 and commanded us, reverend father abbot, that we should 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 93 
 
 compass and surround you, in order that you should execute 
 for us and for this church the schedule which we demand. 
 As becomes the sons of so great a father, we do therefore obey 
 his commandment by requiring it of you. But, seeing that it 
 does not please your wisdom to perform our demand, we leave 
 the matter as it stands, and will report all things to our 
 father by our letters and our messenger, and await his answer 
 thereupon." 
 
 This was said to the dislike of every one. The court broke 
 up in confusion, amidst the murmurs of all present, 
 who left their seats, and went away every one about se p a fate ^ 
 his own affairs. The abbot having made his prayers without com- 
 
 y *■ <t ing to terms. 
 
 before the altar of the Holy Trinity there, and forti- 
 fied himself with the sign of the holy cross, returned home 
 with his friends. 
 
 The abbot, upon consideration, came to the conclusion that 
 these proceedings would never be brought to an 
 end, except by the king's decision ; he therefore, ^ he Ue a s bb ° t 
 through a messenger, explained the position of his brother, 
 affairs to his brother, Richard de Lucy, who com- Lucy. 
 municated the intelligence to the king. Upon this 
 the king summoned the bishop, and commanded that he 
 should permit the abbot of Battel, as his own chaplain, to rest 
 in peace from all complaints, till he should return into England. 
 And this was done. 
 
 After Easter the king hastened to the coast, and embarking 
 with a fair south wind, arrived at the port of Southampton, 
 and thence took his journey towards London. When the 
 abbot heard of this, he prepared what was necessary, and 
 setting out, met him at the castle of Ongar, 158 in Essex, which 
 belonged to his brother, Richard de Lucy. After mutual 
 congratulations, that the king had, by God's favour, prosper- 
 ously reached home, the king, amongst much other discourse, 
 
 us « Angra." 
 
94 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 commanded the abbot to attend on the coming Whitsunday 
 at St. Edmund's (where he was then to be ensigned with the 
 royal crown), 159 fortified and furnished with such things as 
 The Hny were necessary, that justice might be done to him 
 determines anc i the Abbey, against Hilary, bishop of Chichester 
 cause in (to whoni also he had appointed the same term for 
 person. ^. g j^gjjjggg^ provided he could reasonably make 
 
 good his claims. Upon this the abbot retired to his manor of 
 Hou, not far from the castle above named, there to remain 
 until the appointed day. 
 
 In the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1157, that is to say, 
 in the third year of the reign of King Henry the younger, 
 grandson-by-daughter of the great King Henry, in the second 
 month after his return from beyond the seas, whither he had 
 gone the preceding year, and the year in which he led his 
 army into Wales ; on Whitsunday — which this year fell upon 
 the feast of S. Dunstan 160 — that memorable king was crowned 
 at S. Edmund's, in the presence of a great concourse of per- 
 sons, namely, the archbishop of Canterbury, with the bishops, 
 abbots, earls, barons, and a multitude of people, and the day 
 was spent with becoming festivity. Among the venerable 
 persons present were Hilary, bishop of Chichester, and Walter, 
 abbot of Battel — summoned there on that particular day, that 
 the controversy which had been so long pending concerning 
 the rights of their respective churches might be settled by this 
 noble prince. 
 
 But the king being much occupied with other affairs, was 
 unable to determine their cause then, but fixed a term for 
 them at Colchester, whither, on his departure from S. 
 Edmund's, he had determined to go. On the Thursday fol- 
 lowing, all these, with many others, went to that place. The 
 following day, Friday, the abbot, with Richard de Lucy, applied 
 
 159 " This circumstance is unnoticed by any other chronicle, as far as I have been able to 
 discover. Bury was distinguished for its loyalty." (Note in Lat. Ed.) 
 
 160 May 19. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 95 
 
 to the king, who directed them to retire to the chapter- 
 house of the monks there serving God, to await his coming. 
 
 After the king had heard mass, he entered the chapter- 
 house, strictly ordering that no one except those whom he 
 should summon by name should follow. He then called 
 Thomas [a Becket] the chancellor, Robert earl of m 
 
 i tt i -i -r» • i i court. 
 
 Leicester, Richard de Humez the tribune, Richard 
 de Lucy, Warine Fitz-Gerald, and Nicholas de Sigillo. There 
 was also present a certain physician named Ralph ; and like- 
 wise Henry of Essex, 161 the king's tribune, who had been 
 previously sent to the chapter-house to the abbot by the king. 
 In addition to these, William, the king's younger brother, 
 came, and took his seat with the rest near the king. 
 
 All having taken their places with our lord the king, and 
 the abbot sitting by with three of his monks, Richard de Lucy 
 thus opened the pleadings : 
 
 " My lord king ! your excellency has vouchsafed to summon 
 my brother, the abbot of Battel, hither, that the Richardde 
 dispute between him and the bishop of Chichester, Lucy opens 
 
 • tJl6 CCIS6 
 
 concerning the dignities and liberties of their re- 
 spective churches, which is now of long standing, may be 
 decided before you. The abbot is present with his charter 
 and privileges." The king then desired the abbot to produce 
 his charters ; and Thomas, the chancellor, read the charter of 
 the great King William before them. The king thereupon 
 took the charter into his own hands, and having closely 
 examined it, deigned to commend it in high terms, blessing 
 the soul of that noble king, who had regarded the Abbey he 
 had erected with so strong affection as to fortify it with such 
 great liberties and dignities. The chancellor next read another 
 charter of King William upon the personal affairs of the abbot. 
 
 161 This was a very unfortunate personage. In the same year in which the transactions 
 recorded in the text occurred, he let fall the royal standard in the war waged against the 
 Welsh ; and in 1163, heing accused of cowardice by his near kinsman, Robert de Montfort, 
 and failing in the duel, he became a monk at Reading. ( Vide Note in Lat. edit.) 
 
96 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 This, in the same manner, the king took and examined, and 
 commanded it to be put by with the rest, and carefully kept. 
 He also declared, that if ever he himself, under divine • in- 
 spiration, should found an abbacy, he would prescribe for it 
 similar liberties and dignities to those of Battel Abbey. He 
 also examined the charters of the other kings, namely, those of 
 King William the younger, and of King Henry, and at the 
 same time, the charter confirmed by his own seal, and com- 
 manded that they should in like manner be carefully put aside 
 and preserved. 
 
 Then the chancellor, addressing the abbot, said : " Master 
 Abbot, the bishop of Chichester, with reason, as many think, 
 employs very strong arguments against you, asserting that you 
 have made profession in the church of Chichester. Wherefore 
 you must be prepared to meet this charge." But the abbot 
 affirmed, that he had done nothing contrary to the dignity or 
 freedom of his abbey. The king upon this, turning to the 
 chancellor, said : " Profession is not contrary to the dignities 
 of churches, for those who make it promise nothing beyond 
 what they ought in justice to do." Richard de Lucy hearing 
 this, again spoke : " My lord ; your highness has heard the 
 privileges granted by the noble King William to his Abbey, 
 which he styled Battel, because God had there given him 
 victory over his enemies, and which things that Abbey — which 
 is your own royal chapel and the pledge of your royal crown — 
 has preserved inviolate until now. Wherefore I avow, that 
 that Abbey ought to be held in high account, by you and by 
 all us Normans, inasmuch as at that place the most noble 
 King William, by God's grace and the aid of our ancestors, 
 acquired that whereby you, my lord king, at this time, hold 
 the crown of England by hereditary right, and whereby we 
 have all been enriched with great wealth. We therefore pray 
 your clemency to protect, with the right hand of your authority, 
 that Abbey, with its dignities and liberties, and to order that 
 it, with all its possessions, may remain as free as it has ever 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. <)7 
 
 been known to be in the times of your ancestors. But if this 
 pleases not your authority, I beg, with suppliant voice, that you 
 will remove my brother the abbot from his place, lest the 
 Abbey have occasion to mourn the loss, in his time, of the 
 liberties which it had preserved inviolate in that of his prede- 
 cessors." Upon this, Robert, earl of Leicester, and others, 
 cried out, that the king would take equal care to preserve this 
 Abbey as he would his crown or the acquisitions of their 
 ancestors ; and the king declared* that he could by no means 
 consent to any measure by which, in his time, the Abbey 
 should lose its privileges ; he added, that he would confer with 
 the bishop, and arrange everything in a peaceable manner. 
 He then immediately arose, and went away to attend to other 
 business. 
 
 On the Tuesday after the octaves of Pentecost, in the 
 morning, the king entered the chapter-house of the 
 monks, attended by the archbishops Theobald of 2Lw? 
 Canterbury and Roger of York; the bishops 
 Richard of London, Robert of Exeter, Robert of Lincoln ; the 
 abbots Silvester, of S. Augustine at Canterbury, Gausfrid of 
 Holme ; Thomas the chancellor ; the earls Robert of Leicester, 
 Patrick of Salisbury ; the barons Henry of Essex, Reginald 
 de Warenne,"Richard de Lucy, Warine Eitz- Gerald and some 
 others, with a great multitude of people. Hilary, bishop of 
 Chichester, and Walter, abbot of Battel, were also present. 
 After a dispute between the venerable Theobald of Canterbury 
 and Silvester abbot of S. Augustine without the walls of the 
 city of Canterbury, concerning the profession of the abbot to 
 Christ Church, had been investigated, Richard de Lucy arose, 
 all present paying great attention, and addressed the king in 
 these words : — 
 
 " This day has been appointed by your excellency, my lord 
 king, whose good fortune equals your virtues, for DeLucy ' s 
 my venerable brother Walter, ruler of yom- Abbey s P eech - 
 of Battel, to come to the consistory of this place, against 
 
 7 
 
98 CHRONICLE or 
 
 the reverend Hilary, bishop of Chichester, for the settlement 
 of the controversy so long maintained between them, touch- 
 ing the privileges of their respective establishments. Obedient 
 to your mandate, he is come, prepared to give satisfaction to 
 any one who has aught to allege against him, consistently 
 with your honour, and the rights of the Abbey committed 
 to his keeping. 
 
 " This your Abbey of Battel, having been reared from its 
 foundations by the most noble King William, on account of 
 the victory which God there gave him over his enemies, was 
 fortified with great dignities and liberties, wdiich up to this 
 time are proved to have been held inviolate. That Abbey 
 should therefore be held in high estimation, both by you, my 
 lord king, and by all us Normans, inasmuch as there the noble 
 King William, by the will of God and by the counsel and aid 
 of our fathers, overcame his foes who unjustly sought to take 
 from him the crown and realm of England, and acquired them 
 for himself and his successors. From your near consanguinity 
 to him, this whole people has now to rejoice that you, by 
 hereditary right, occupy his throne — while we, by the gifts of 
 his beneficence, and by succession from our ancestors, enjoy 
 abundance of possessions and riches. Therefore, my lord, 
 most excellent of monarchs, all this assembly of Norman 
 noblemen heartily implore you strictly to protect that place 
 — as the monument of your triumph and of ours- — in its 
 proper dignity and freedom against all its adversaries, and 
 most especially against the machinations of the English, so that 
 it may be exposed to no damage. 
 
 " But if it should not please your good will to do this, may 
 you command my brother, the abbot, to retire from his office, 
 and vacate the place in favour of any one else who might in 
 future befriend it. For it were better for him to lay down his 
 pastoral charge, and to pass his life in the freedom of a poor 
 and private monk, than, while occupying that elevated seat, 
 to be oppressed with the unjust yoke of slavery through the 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 99 
 
 cunning of certain persons; and lest the whole Norman 
 nobility have occasion to mourn the loss, during his govern- 
 ment, of the privileges of the Abbey, hitherto preserved in- 
 violate — through the protection of your ancestors — by his 
 predecessors, as the token of your royal crown, and of their 
 acquisitions," 
 
 Having thus spoken, he sat down, and the abbot, rising, 
 spoke to the following effect : — 
 
 " My lord — I have come hither at your command, as my 
 brother Richard has trulv said. If any one has 
 
 , „ . J • i ti i- The abbot. 
 
 aught to allege against me, or against the liberties 
 and dignities of the Abbey of Battel, which is your own free 
 chapel, as well as a pledge of your royal crown, I will, with 
 your permission, reply to his objections. It is proper, how- 
 ever, that the charters of the Abbey, granted by the noble 
 King William at its foundation, and confirmed by his suc- 
 cessors, and even by yourself, should first be heard by you 
 and all here present, if you will command it." 
 
 Then the abbot delivered King William's charter to the 
 king, by whose orders a certain clerk read it in the hearing of 
 all. When this had been done, Thomas [a Becket] the king's 
 chancellor, looking towards the bishop of Chichester, said : 
 " My lord bishop, your charity has heard what has now been 
 done before our lord the king, and in the audience of all 
 present. It is now permitted to your prudence to reply, if it 
 so please you; for it is you, as it appears to us, that this 
 matter most concerns." Then the bishop arose and said : — 
 
 "I am not addicted, like many, to roaming all the world 
 over, 162 but induced by love and honour to you, my 
 lord king, and quite unaware of this kind of oppo- 
 sition, I have come into these parts of your realm with the 
 others who are present. But if it please you, and the abbot, 
 and the rest now before you who are well disposed, an 
 
 162 A stroke at the abbot. 
 
100 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 arrangement can be made, by your mediation, between me 
 and the abbot, without damage either to our church of Chi- 
 chester, or to the Abbey of Battel. With that intention have 
 I come hither. Even if I did not know this to be your 
 desire, I should of necessity — though unaware of the oppo- 
 sition to be brought against me, and unprepared for it — make 
 satisfaction for myself and for the church of Chichester com- 
 mitted to my charge." 
 
 But some objected to any compromise, saying that the 
 controversy, so long maintained between them, ought to be 
 brought to a close, and not continued any further. Upon 
 this the bishop proceeded with a loud voice — all attentively 
 listening — in these words : " Since you refuse a compromise 
 for peace, I will give our lord the king and all here present, a 
 detailed account of the matters hitherto in dispute between 
 us, respecting the rights of my church of Chichester." With 
 this introduction he proceeded : — 
 
 " Jesus Christ, my lord king" — the words Jesus Christ 
 The bishop our Lord, he repeated three times, and then added 
 denies the — « jj ear y e a ]i anc i understand. Jesus Christ our 
 
 right of the J ' 
 
 king to in- Lord, in the disposition of this world, has consti- 
 spiritual tuted two places and two powers, one spiritual, the 
 other material. The spiritual is that concerning 
 which our Lord Jesus Christ spake to all his disciples and their 
 successors, in our first bishop Peter the apostol, namely : 
 ' Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church.' 
 Prom that time, as your charity knows, it has grown to be a 
 custom in the church of God that the bishops of holy church, 
 being vicars of the said blessed Peter, the prince of the 
 apostols, should preside in the worthy governance thereof. 
 Hence to us who are set over God's church, was it said, by 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, through those blessed apostols : 
 ' Whoso heareth you, heareth me.' And hence, the church 
 of Rome, being invested with the apostolship of that prince of 
 the apostols, holds such great dignity of power throughout the 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 101 
 
 world, that no bishop, no ecclesiastical person can, without 
 his appointment or permission, be deposed from his office." 
 
 At this the king, stretching forth his hands, said : " It is 
 quite true that a bishop cannot be deposed ; still, by out- 
 stretched hands, he may be expelled!' Whereupon all laughed, 
 and the bishop began again : — 
 
 " As I have already said, even so say I again, that the 
 church has been thus constituted from antient times. Neither 
 is it lawful for any layman — no, not even for a king — to confer 
 ecclesiastical liberties and dignities upon churches, nor to take 
 them away when once conferred, unless by the permission or 
 confirmation of the said father, as ecclesiastical authority by 
 the Roman law proves." 
 
 Then the king grew angry 163 " You think by subtlety 
 
 and craft to overturn the strength of the royal pre- Whereat the 
 rogatives which God has given me. Now I charge kin 9 waxes 
 you, by the fidelity and the oath by which you are 
 bound to me, that you submit yourself to correction for these 
 presumptuous words against my royal crown and dignity. 
 And I further beseech the archbishops and bishops here 
 present to do me justice upon you, agreeably to the rights of 
 the royal crown granted to me by the Most High. It is clear 
 that you are acting in opposition to my regal dignities, and 
 labouring to deprive me of the privileges due to me by 
 antient right." These words excited such murmurs against 
 the bishop as were with difficulty quieted. 
 
 163 « Several words, both here and below, have been most carefully erased from the MS.," 
 says the editor of the Lat. ed., who thinks they consisted of " some gross Norman oath." 
 The word papa, too, is, in general, carefully blotted out. 
 
 The practice of profane swearing, indulged in by great men at this period, is thus referred 
 to by Giraldus Cambrensis : " There are some princes who, at every word, employ an 
 enormous oath, foolishly and rashly presuming to swear by the death of God, by his eyes, 
 
 his feet, and his teeth but while they so irreverently strive to tear then- God limb 
 
 from limb, they plainly show that they neither fear nor reverence the excellency of the 
 divine majesty with any worthy or becoming devotion." (De Instruct. Princip. pp. 
 169-70.) 
 
102 CHKONICLE OF 
 
 The chancellor then said : "It should not escape your 
 
 memory, venerable bishop, whose excellency 164 .... 
 
 BecZT U y on offend against our lord the king, to whom you 
 
 cautions j iave cer t a inly made an oath of fidelity. Your pru- 
 
 the bishop. J j» . * 
 
 dence must therefore be careful. So the bishop, 
 seeing himself thus encompassed, and perceiving that the 
 kins was offended, as soon as silence could be obtained, con- 
 tinued his discourse thus : " My lord," said he, " if anything 
 I have said has been offensive to your royal majesty, T do 
 declare, before the God of heaven and your royal dignity, that 
 I intended nothing contrary to you or your excellency by 
 craft or subtlety. I have ever earnestly desired your pro- 
 tection, extolled your goodness, magnified your greatness, and 
 loved you with a heartfelt affection, as my most dear sove- 
 reign. I pray your royal eminence, therefore, neither to 
 suspect any evil in me, nor to credit too readily any one who 
 may suggest it of me. I have no desire in the least to diminish 
 your authority, which I have always loved and magnified with 
 all my might. I have said all, therefore, for your higlmess's 
 honour and glory." 
 
 " Far from me and mine," said the king, " be such honour 
 
 and such glory ; and I would that such wickedness were 
 
 abolished as that by which you desire, as all may see, by soft 
 
 and deceitful words to annul those things which, through 
 
 God's favour, I enjoy by hereditary right from the kings my 
 
 And th predecessors." To this the bishop replied: "I 
 
 bishop thought, my lord, that what I have advanced by 
 
 your permission and that of all present, had been 
 
 uttered, as I intended it, with affection ; but since what I 
 
 began with pleases you not, I will pass it by, and state my 
 
 case in a few words : — 
 
 " Having been presented, by the most pious King Stephen, 
 to the see of Chichester, I proceeded to Canterbury, as was 
 
 164 An erasure in the MS. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 103 
 
 canonical, to be consecrated by the venerable Theobald, arch- 
 bishop of that place. Thither came also the abbot of Battel, 
 knowing it to be proper and canonical for him to attend the 
 consecration of his diocesan. He did therefore what he ought. 
 When I returned to my see at Chichester, the abbot proceeded 
 thither, and was with others joyfully received, and I was by 
 him placed in my proper seat, as is everywhere the practice. 
 The same year, being summoned to Chichester, he again went 
 thither, and being again well received, took his seat with 
 the rest in the synod, to hear its precepts and its customs. 
 Not long after this, going round my diocese, I came to Battel, 
 and was honourably received in procession by the abbot and 
 all the brethren, as the proper and special bishop of that place. 
 And then, entering the chapter-house with him, I disseminated 
 the word of God to the brethren, as to sons, and as was be- 
 coming in a father, confirmed them in the Catholic faith. 
 From thence he brought me to the hospitium, and provided 
 what was necessary, as was due to his bishop, and at my 
 departure presented me with gifts." Hereupon T 
 
 A ' , ° x Interrupted 
 
 Henry 01 Essex, the king s tribune said : " The by Henry 
 
 kindnesses he did you, out of pure goodwill, have 
 
 met with a very ungracious return. You now wish to repay 
 
 evil for the good services he showed you. And I hope that 
 
 in future every one who gets such thanks will withhold his 
 
 hospitality from you !" But the bishop went on : 
 
 " From that time, my most dear lord, I know not The blshop 
 
 ' J ' goes on. 
 
 by whose advice, he has withdrawn himself from the 
 synod, refusing to attend personally when summoned, but 
 sending the prior with certain brethren of his abbey instead. 
 For the love I bore him, and apprehensive of nothing amiss, I 
 suffered this neglect once, again, and even a third time, in a 
 spirit of kindness. All these things, however, as you have heard, 
 were carried on peaceably between us, until the death of the 
 bishop of London, when the abbot, influenced by the spirit of 
 envy or pride, could no longer regard me with favourable eyes. 
 
104 CHRONICLE OP 
 
 For he thought, as I believe, that I should by some means 
 injure him in that business, 165 which he was utterly unable to 
 prove." To this Henry of Essex replied: "If you speak of 
 the bishopric of London, it is very well known to all, that the 
 abbot was at no time willing, in his desire for that honour, to 
 do anything simoniacally, either against God or against that 
 holy order. Because if, like some, he had desired to obtain the 
 see by means of money, he would for certain have been elevated 
 to it in preference to all other aspirants." To this Richard 
 de Lucy added : "Far be it from him to obtain so great and 
 so sacred a dignity, by such means. For we knew no person 
 living whom we had occasion to fear in this business." 
 
 Some expressed dissatisfaction at this, and the bishop, gain- 
 ing breath, pursued his unfinished speech. " From that time, 
 my lord, the matter was placed in doubt between us, and 
 neither of us wished to forego what we had begun. Then 
 certain persons came and informed me why the abbot would 
 not attend the synod ; namely, because he relied upon the 
 charters and privileges of his Abbey, and was so lifted up by 
 them, that he declared he ought by no means to pay canonical 
 obedience to the church of Chichester. Upon learning this, I 
 was unwilling that my church should, in my time, suffer in its 
 antient and rightful dignities, and therefore I interdicted the 
 abbot, with a certain other person of my diocese, w T ho had 
 refused to attend our synod when duly summoned, with this 
 condition, that if, within the space of forty days, he did not 
 come to make satisfaction, he should be suspended from office. 
 That other person humbly sought pardon, and obtained it ; 166 
 but the abbot still remained obstinate. Hearing of what I 
 had done, he went to King Stephen, and made complaint. Then 
 
 165 From this it would appear that Abbot Walter had been an aspirant for the see of 
 London. 
 
 ice who "that other person" was does not appear. It may have been the head of the 
 royal free collegiate chapel of S. Mary within the castle of Hastings, between the canons 
 of which and the bishops of Chichester a lengthened dispute, similar to that wliich occupies 
 too many of these pages, was carried on. So lately as 33 Edw. I, we find the constable of 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 105 
 
 the king sent to me a clerk of his, named Robert de Cornwall, 
 commanding me to appear before him at London, on the 
 octaves of S. Andrew, when the abbot woidd also attend, and 
 there, with the advice of the archbishop of Canterbury, and of 
 his barons, he would bring about a reconciliation. On the 
 appointed day 1 was with the king ; but neither the abbot, 
 nor any one on his behalf, appeared against me, as all then 
 present well knew. So I returned home, the abbot still re- 
 maining contumacious. After the expiration of that year, in 
 solemn synod, and according to the canonical statutes, I ex- 
 communicated him. The abbot conveyed intelligence of this 
 transaction to the archbishop, and the primate, at his request, 
 commanded me by letter to relax the sentence, until we could 
 have an opportunity of meeting, when he would do justice be- 
 tween us. Out of respect, therefore, for my lord the archbishop, 
 I did temporarily relax the sentence. Then said „ 
 
 i ■/ _ Henry of 
 
 Henry of Essex: "If this be true, it is certain Essex again 
 that you did that after King Stephen's death, which 
 you woidd not have dared do in his lifetime. It would not 
 have been expedient for you. What our lord [the king] is 
 now about to do, belongs to his prerogative." 
 
 The bishop proceeded : " Thus the matter went on between 
 us, neither did the abbot at any time come forward to make 
 satisfaction. After our Lord Jesus Christ had placed you, my 
 lord, upon the throne of this realm — an event which was 
 peculiarly agreeable to me — the abbot did not pay due respect 
 either to me his diocesan, or to my church of Chichester ; nay, 
 he set me at nought by avoiding my presence, and by de- 
 faming me everywhere with scandalous words as much as he 
 possibly could. He also got his charters confirmed anew by 
 
 Hastings Castle excommunicated for refusing the archbishop of Canterbury admittance, in 
 order to visit the chapel as metropolitan. The archbishop succeeded in intruding upon the 
 canons a dean of his own nomination ; but on the 20th April, in that year, the king sum- 
 moned the primate before him, to answer these high contempts against his crown and 
 dignity ; and on the 9th October following, the warden of the Cinque Ports received orders 
 to remove the new dean. 
 
] 06 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 your seal. It came to my ears that those charters contained 
 some things opposed to the dignities of my church of Chiches- 
 ter, and to those of the church of Canterbury, the mother 
 church of all England. This I took care to communicate to 
 the archbishop, as one to whom we have all undoubtedly 
 made profession, and to whom and his church we owe the 
 fullest obedience. The archbishop therefore applied to you, 
 and I likewise, on behalf of myself and my church of Chichester, 
 laid a complaint before you. Your clemency then commanded 
 that I and the abbot should meet before the archbishop, with 
 your chancellor, the Lord Thomas, in order that the charter 
 might be read, and that those things which required correc- 
 tion in it (namely, those which were opposed to the digni- 
 ties of the churches of Chichester and Canterbury) being 
 amended, at the direction of the archbishop, every one might 
 have justice done him. We met there ; and the abbot's 
 charter being read to those assembled, those things which 
 were opposed to the dignities of the churches of Canterbury 
 and Chichester were, upon due consideration, perceived to be 
 frivolous. The abbot angrily attacked me with many and 
 gross insults ; and not then only, for this very year, on coming 
 to Chichester, he entered our chapter-house with the greatest 
 arrogance, and in many — nay, I might say innumerable- 
 ways set me at nought, threatening and despising me in the 
 presence of my chapter. In this manner, my dearest lord, 
 things have been carried on between us up to this time. I 
 therefore beseech your excellency to order the antient and 
 rightful institutions of the canons to be confirmed between us 
 in all things, and to decide these matters in accordance with 
 the customs of the church." 
 
 To this the king replied : " We have here heard a state- 
 ment very much to be wondered at, namely, that 
 you, my lord bishop, esteem as frivolous the char- 
 ters of the kings my predecessors, confirmed by the lawful 
 authority of the crown of England, and by the testimony of 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 107 
 
 eminent men ! Far be it from me — far be it from the excel- 
 lency of my kingdom, that what upon mature consideration 
 has been decreed by me, with the advice of my archbishops, 
 bishops, and barons, should be condemned by you or any like 
 you! 
 
 The abbot next spoke : " From antient times, in the reign of 
 the most noble King William, all these things were 
 
 11 i lip n T i i i n The abbot - 
 
 settled, as we have heard from the elder brethren of 
 our Abbey, before that king, with Lanfranc, archbishop of 
 Canterbury, and many other bishops. Stigand, bishop of 
 Chichester, was present on the occasion, though he was after- 
 wards the first to annoy Gausbert, abbot of Battel, upon this 
 subject, by summoning him to attend his synod at Chichester, 
 and to obey all episcopal mandates. And I have here that 
 king's own charter, confirmed by the attestation of Archbishop 
 Lanfranc, and some other bishops, including that of 
 
 ' J. ' o produces the 
 
 Stigand himself." So saying, he handed the charter Conqueror's 
 
 cTicivt(iv» 
 
 to the king, aud one of the clerks, at his bidding, 
 read it aloud. These, among other things, were contained in 
 the charter : that the Abbey of Battel should be entirely free 
 from the authority of the bishop of Chichester, and that the 
 abbot should not be summoned to his synod, although he 
 might go thither on any account, voluntarily. When the 
 reading was concluded, the bishop declared that he had never 
 before seen or heard that charter, nor would the abbot on any 
 account exhibit it to him. The abbot was saying something 
 in replv, when the king ordered him to be silent. m .. , 
 
 1 J _ ° . The king s 
 
 " For," said he, " from henceforth it is not for your remark 
 prudence to make good your claim ; but it becomes upm 
 me to defend it, as my own royal prerogative. In the mean- 
 time, therefore, let your brothership 167 be silent, while I 
 determine this affair by sound reason and royal protection, as 
 
 16 7 " Quapropter vestra interim sfteatfraternitas." The styles of address employed in 
 this work are very singular and varied ; the most ordinary are " your highness," " your 
 clemency," " your prudence," and " your excellency." 
 
108 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 if it were my own. The decision of the business is my con- 
 cern." Many remarks were made on both sides ; but at 
 length, silence being imposed, Richard de Lucy arose, and 
 , earnestly entreated the king that he would permit 
 
 By the king 8 . * tit 1 • 
 
 permission, his brother, the abbot, to have some private con- 
 comuits with ference with his friends, as to his reply upon these 
 the arch. things. This being assented to by the king, he 
 
 bishop, the ° p J . a» 
 
 chancellor, called Roger, archbishop of York, Thomas, the king's 
 chancellor, John, treasurer of the church of York, 
 Robert, earl of Leicester, Patrick, earl of Salisbury, Henry of 
 Essex, Reginald de Warenne, Warine Fitz-Gerald, and some 
 other barons, and a considerable number of knights, together 
 with his brother the abbot, and all who adhered to him, and 
 retiring with them to another part of the chapter-house, began 
 to ask their opinion. The king in the meantime went into 
 the church to hear mass, and this being over, returned to his 
 seat. Richard de Lucy, with the abbot and their friends, 
 having discussed the subject, also returned ; and the speech in 
 reply devolving upon Thomas, the king's chancellor, great 
 attention was paid by all, while that eminent personage de- 
 livered the following eloquent oration : — 
 
 " Reverend father Hilary : we have determined, upon the 
 The ud . sa *" e g roimc l °f equity, and at the expressed wishes 
 ment, as de- of the nobles present, to say a few things, recapitu- 
 chanceiior, * latmg the train of circumstances in the suit so long 
 Bucket a mamt ained by you. But first, the venerable abbot 
 Walter returns your prudence his best acknowledg- 
 ments, because for the favours he has shown you, you have so 
 highly commended him, in this great and magnificent court, 
 and in the presence of so many noble persons ; and he con- 
 fesses that had he, in those times, hoped for such very hio-h. 
 praise before so great and so excellent an assembly, he would 
 certainly have augmented the favours which should call it 
 forth. But then again, he feels deeply grieved that, after the 
 kindness he evinced towards you, with, as all must see, the 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 109 
 
 best intentions, you exert yourself in every possible way to 
 repay that kindness by slanderous words. He now, therefore, 
 replies to the charges made against him, as folloAvs : — 
 
 " Admitting that he attended your consecration at Canter- 
 bury — that he afterwards, on meeting you at Chichester, 
 conducted you to your seat — and that he has subsequently 
 sat with others in your synod ; still, by the privilege of his 
 Abbey of Battel, it was matter of choice with him whether he 
 did either of those things or not, as appears by the charter 
 just now read. Neither was he bound by any obligation from 
 you to perforin those things in ecclesiastical strictness, inas- 
 much as he was not subject to yoiu* authority ; for indeed 
 the charter before mentioned proves that he is entirely inde- 
 pendent of you. He calls our lord the archbishop of Canter- 
 bury to witness that he did it at his command." 
 
 On this the archbishop said : " It is true that by my 
 mandate he did these things." 
 
 The chancellor continued : "If, in going round your diocese, 
 according to custom, you came to Battel, and were there 
 received in procession by the brethren of that place, in the 
 presence of the abbot ; and if, on entering the chapter-house 
 there, you preached the word of God, why, it is well known 
 and customary that, in all the churches, both here and beyond 
 the seas, such a tribute of respect and love should be offered to 
 any bishop, be he an Irishman, a Spaniard, 168 or what you 
 will, freely, and without any consequent exaction of custom. 
 
 " As to the see of London, the abbot assures your prudence, 
 that neither by countenance, by act, or by connivance, has he 
 in that matter reflected upon you with an injurious intention. 
 For in the management of that affair he did not suspect you 
 of any evil design against him. But as it is said in a certain 
 place, " The guilty person thinks all things opposed to him," 
 — so you, perhaps, having some compunctions of conscience for 
 
 168 " Episcopo Ilibemiensi vel etiam Hispalensi." Hispalensis, " of Seville." 
 
110 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 your misconduct, imagined that he, though maintaining a 
 consistent course, could not regard you with a favour- 
 able eye. 
 
 " You insinuate that, after you had interdicted him for not 
 regarding your summons to Chichester, and King Stephen on 
 this account had by Robert de Cornwall, his clerk, fixed a 
 certain day for you to appear before him, with a view to the 
 adjustment of these differences, that no one met you there on 
 the part of the abbot, and that you returned as you came. 
 But the abbot, on the contrary, replies, that on the appointed 
 day he attended at the king's chapel near the tower of London, 
 before King Stephen, when the bishops of Winchester and 
 Ely were present, with the abbot of Westminster and certain 
 barons. And there the charters and writings of the Abbey 
 were read by the venerable bishop of Winchester, the king 
 remarking, at the same time, that he would always be a pro- 
 tector of his royal chapel, namely, his abbacy of Battel, and 
 giving orders that you should meet to settle all things between 
 you — and so he went his way. 
 
 " As to the synod, he could not be compelled to attend it by 
 any summons, though he was free to do so if he thought fit ; 
 which is proved by his charter read here to-day, as well as by 
 the custom of antiquity up to this time preserved by his 
 Abbey. In short, to go or not to go to the synod, is proved 
 to be entirely at his option. For it is clear to all, that he is 
 in nowise subject to your authorhy, but perfectly independent 
 of you. 
 
 " You say he has been excommunicated by you. This to 
 him and all his friends appears marvellous, because it is not 
 supposed that you had the presumption to do anything of the 
 kind against him during the time of King Stephen. And as 
 to what you may have done in the time of our lord, the 
 present king, he considers it nothing ; especially since, in the 
 first year of his reign, when you both heard mass in the 
 presence of the king himself and many others, in the abbey of 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. Ill 
 
 S. Peter at Westminster, and the service had been performed 
 as far as the words Pax Domini, you having, as the custom 
 is, received the pax from the priest, and carried it to the king, 
 afterwards gave the abbot, thus joined in a close relationship 
 to you, the kiss of peace, not as to one excommunicated, but 
 as to a son of the church, and a Christian man." 
 
 To this the bishop answered : " If in this, either through 
 absence of mind, or through being engaged with 
 other thoughts, as sometimes happens, I have done f^/"/^'* 
 wrong, I will confess my fault to my archbishop, a former 
 and purge myself from it by any penance he may 
 please to inflict." 
 
 The chancellor continued : "In the charters of his Abbey 
 of Battel, which is plainly the king's own chapel, Thomas 
 nothing new is inserted which is opposed either to « Becket 
 the dignities of the church of Canterbury, or to 
 those of your own church of Chichester, as must also be very 
 clear to all. The Abbey built by the noble King William 
 was endowed with many great and glorious privileges by the 
 king himself, in accordance with the prerogative of the English 
 crown, and these were confirmed by Lanfranc, archbishop of 
 Canterbury, and by other bishops, abbots, and barons ; which 
 privileges the Abbey is proved to have held to this day by 
 inviolable right. These the abbot has sought to retain, by the 
 command of our lord the king, in the presence of the arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, not for the purpose of setting you at 
 nought, but with the intention of defending by sound reason, 
 as royal rights, things which you have been pleased in our 
 hearing to call frivolous. 
 
 " You say that this year he proudly entered, during your 
 absence, your chapter-house at Chichester, and there, in 
 various ways, slighted you. But he clearly shows that he 
 went thither, not proudly, as you assert, but peaceably and 
 by compulsion. For the truth is, tAvo of your deans — those 
 of Lewes and Hastings — with five priests as witnesses, going 
 
112 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 to Battel at the beginning of Lent, delivered to the abbot 
 letters of Pope Adrian from you, summoning him in the pope's 
 name to attend at Chichester on the Sunday called Lcetare Jeru- 
 salem, there to hear the pope's orders. As the king was at that 
 time beyond the seas, he could not go to him ; he therefore 
 took the advice of the archbishop of Canterbury and that of 
 other friends, went to Chichester on the day appointed, 
 and entered the chapter-house to hear the pope's commands, 
 the two deans and the five priests before mentioned being 
 present. Then the two deans repeated what they had said to 
 the abbot at Battel, and the answers the abbot had returned. 
 There, too, your clerks, in contravention of the royal dignity, 
 required certain things of him. The abbot prayed a respite, 
 till he could take the advice and pleasure of our lord the king 
 upon the business ; but they refused, and he could not obtain 
 it. They declared, moreover, that these were your orders, 
 neither could they act in opposition to them. Thus the abbot 
 departed, and by his messenger signified to the king how 
 matters stood ; and our lord the king has fixed this day for 
 you both upon the business." 
 
 Then the king, looking at the bishop with a changed coun- 
 tenance, said : " Were the letters of which mention 
 is now made of your procuring ? By the fidelity ag e ain anyry. 
 and oath you owe me, I charge you answer me 
 truly !" The bishop replied : " By my fidelity, and by the 
 oath I have sworn to you as my sovereign, your excellency 
 shall know, that these letters were procured neither by myself 
 nor by any other person with my consent. But. the abbot, 
 lately sending one of his clerks to Rome, greatly defamed me 
 at the Roman court. As I was known, however, to all that 
 court, and as my character and conduct were not unknown 
 to all the residents there, it was impossible for him to injure 
 me. It turned out, then, that he procured those letters for 
 himself." " It seems strange, not to say astounding 
 remarked the king, that the abbot should have been willing 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 113 
 
 if the thing is really so, to have procured letters against 
 himself and his Abbey." To this the chancellor added : " If 
 you wish to prove that these letters were obtained by other 
 means, and not as you say by yourself, why the abbot is here 
 with the letters themselves in his hands. Those letters can be 
 read. It may then be seen what their import is ; and thus 
 the truth of the thing will be manifested." 
 
 Now the archbishop hearing the bishop deny, in the 
 presence of all, that the letters had been procured 
 by him, and knowing how matters really stood, and bishop's al- 
 that they had been so procured, marked himself t ^ tls ^ mt 
 with the sign of the cross, in token of astonishment. bishop's 
 Then said the chancellor : " Our lord the king is 
 determined not only to know the truth, as it respects these 
 letters, but also if you know of any other letters, or know any 
 person to have obtained letters through you, which now or 
 hereafter might be injurious to the abbot or to his Abbey of 
 Battel, that you shall now produce them before us." But the 
 bishop affirmed upon oath that he had no letters, and that no 
 person through him had any, which would then or afterwards 
 injure the abbot or the Abbey of Battel. At this all were 
 astounded. 
 
 All these transactions took place before our lord the king, 
 whom the archbishop of Canterbury now addressed 
 thus : " Will your excellency command us to retire, oish ^° ' 
 and to do what is necessary to be done, and to 
 determine these matters according to the legal method of 
 ecclesiastical custom?" "Nay," said the kino;, "I 
 
 .-,,-, i • i • The king. 
 
 will order you to determine them m my presence, 
 and after due deliberation, / shall decide." So saying, he 
 arose, and retired to the cemetery of the monks — the rest, 
 except the bishop and the abbot, accompanying him. After 
 some consultation, the king sent for the bishop, who came 
 and sat down with the others ; and after much discussion — 
 the affair being brought to a conclusion — the king commanded 
 
114 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 Henry of Essex to bring in the abbot and his monks. The 
 abbot took his seat, and the bishop, at the king's signal, 
 spoke as follows ■ — 
 
 "Most excellent king: I, bishop of the church of Chi- 
 The bishop chester, do entirely liberate and quit-claim the Abbey 
 disclaims all f Battel, as your own royal chapel — in and upon 
 
 authority . . J J l \ 
 
 over the which I neither have nor ought to have any autho- 
 rity — from all the claims and challenges which I 
 have hitherto maintained. In like manner also, I absolve the 
 abbot, as one upon whom I have unjustly imposed the chain of 
 excommunication, which I neither could do, nor ought to have 
 done ; I protest that, in consideration of his elevated dignity 
 and that of his Abbey, I ought not to demand anything of 
 him except his good will ; and I declare that from this 
 day, for ever, he is free from all episcopal exactions and 
 customs." 
 
 The king said : "It is to be understood, then, that you 
 have done and offered this, not by compulsion, but of your 
 own free will ?" The bishop replied : " It is true that I have 
 done and offered this of my own accord, induced by consi- 
 The arch derations of justice." Then said the archbishop : 
 bishop inter- " My lord king ; these affairs being now justly 
 settled, we all entreat your mercy on behalf of the 
 bishop, if he should seem unadvisedly to have spoken anything 
 against the dignity of your highness. May your clemency 
 deign to indulge our request, by giving him the kiss of 
 peace." To which the king replied: "I forgive him all; 
 and, influenced by your prayers and his love, I will give him 
 the kiss of peace, not once only, but a hundred times." Then 
 rising, he embraced the bishop, and kissed him. The arch- 
 bishop : " Now, then, may the bishop and the abbot, as friends, 
 by kissing each other, maintain for ever, by your confirmation, 
 and aii a covenant of peace." Then the bishop and the 
 
 parties are r . 
 
 reconciled, abbot, at the king's command, kissed each other, 
 the archbishop making the sign of the cross upon* them ; 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 115 
 
 and thus were they made friends, and joined in a covenant of 
 peace and affection. The archbishop added again : " One 
 thing still remains to be done — let Richard de Lucy, the 
 abbot's venerable brother, be joined in this compact of peace 
 and love." And immediately, at the king's command, that man, 
 ever remarkable for the virtues of prudence and modesty, 
 forgetting all differences, gave the bishop the kiss of peace. 
 These things being satisfactorily settled, all rejoiced together 
 at the reconciliation thus effected ; and the king retired to 
 attend to other business. The abbot with the king's leave 
 returned home, giving thanks with his friends to our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and to the blessed Mary his mother, as well as 
 to Christ's confessor, the blessed S. Martin, who never deserts 
 those that hope in him ; and rejoicing with great joy that he 
 had obtained his desire. 
 
 This suit, so long maintained, was finally concluded at 
 Colchester, on the fifth of the calends of June, before our lord 
 king Henry the Second, in the presence of — 
 
 Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, 
 Roger, archbishop of York, Richard, bishop of London, 
 
 Robert, bishop of Lincoln, Robert, bishop of Exeter, 
 
 Silvester, abbot of S. Augustine Gausfrid, abbot of Holme, 
 
 of Canterbury, Thomas, the king's chancellor, 
 
 Robert, earl of Leicester, Patrick, earl of Salisbury, 
 
 Henry of Essex, the king's tri- Richard de Lucy, 
 
 bune, Reginald de Warenne, and 
 
 Warin Fitzgerald. 
 
 There were present, also, Hilary, bishop of Chichester, and 
 the before-named Walter the abbot, and many others, both 
 clergy and laics. 
 
 These things are sufficient to show what constant solicitude 
 the venerable abbot Walter exercised in the defence Abbot 
 of the freedom of the Abbey intrusted to him. S oUcitudein 
 What vexations of body, what anxieties of mind, *^"'-'f the 
 and what expenditure of money, it cost him, till the rights. 
 conclusion of the proceedings, no man can well say. But 
 
116 CHRONICLE Or 
 
 although he suffered much from fatigue, and although his 
 corporeal frame was very weakly, yet he neither regarded his 
 own debility, nor any amount of expenditure, in his unvarying 
 watchfulness for the advantage and advancement of his 
 Abbey. But having now secured the attainment of his wishes, 
 in the preserved integrity of its freedom and dignity, and 
 having nothing to fear on that account, he next turned his 
 attention to the recovery by ecclesiastical right of what had 
 been lost in evil times. And since we have determined to 
 transmit to posterity certain transactions by way of examples, 
 in order that the narration may be clearer, it will be necessary 
 briefly to recur to times we have already passed over. 
 
 While as yet the noble King Henry, son of the most noble 
 
 King William of happy memory, the acquirer of the 
 his claim to English monarchy, and founder of the Abbey of 
 
 S. Martin of Battel, held the government of the 
 English, Abbot Ralph, who then presided over Battel Abbey, 
 purchased of one Ingelram, surnamed Becchenridere, 169 a 
 tenant of Withelard de Baillol, with his consent (as we have 
 above written) three wists of land at Barnhorn. This 
 Withelard also freely added, of his own, a certain parcel of 
 land in the marsh adjoining the aforesaid three wists, and 
 as much procured from Ingelram, his tenant, as he himself 
 granted of his own proper gift, to the Abbey of Battel. And 
 that this land should remain entirely free from all services, and 
 from the claims of all men to the Abbey, was confirmed by the 
 noble King Henry, and by Henry, earl of Eu, the lord of the 
 said Withelard. 170 But when the land had been improved, 
 
 169 This is a singular surname, and appears to be derived from the two Anglo-Saxon 
 words beeun, a beacon, and ridere, a rider : a " beacon-rider." It may probably be 
 explained by the cognate name, hobiler or hobler. " A hobiler was a person who, by the 
 tenure of his lands, was obliged to keep a hobby or light horse, to maintain a watch by the 
 side of a beacon, and to alarm the country in case of the enemy's approach in the day- 
 time, when the fire of the beacons would not be discernible from a distance." {English 
 Surnames, vol. i, p. 117, edit. 1849.) 
 
 170 This is one of several instances occurring in the Chronicle, in which the gifts of feudal 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 117 
 
 at much labour and expense, with houses and cultivation, and 
 a mill had been built in the best marsh, and much advantage 
 was anticipated from it, especially as it was but live miles 
 from the Abbey — Abbot Ralph dying, the lord of the manor 
 often applied to Abbot Warner, his successor, demanding 
 many things from him as if in recompense of favours con- 
 ferred. But at length the abbot grew weary of his exactions, 
 and thinking that evil consequences might result, especially as 
 the lord of the manor frequently demanded what seemed to 
 exceed the profits of the land, he entirely withheld his hand, 
 and boldly declared that he would not any longer submit to 
 his vexations and exactions. This exactor, perceiving that he 
 could not accomplish his purpose, withdrew from the Abbey of 
 Battel the aforesaid possession, as if it were his own, and trans- 
 ferred it upon bond, for money, to one Siward of Hastings, 
 surnamed Fitz-Sigar. By this act of violence the Abbey was 
 robbed not only of the land itself, but also of its outlay, and of 
 all that was existing upon it. The abbot and his agents bore 
 this injury very unwillingly, and instituted great and various 
 complaints ; but King Henry dying beyond the seas, they were 
 unable to get any restitution of their rights. King Stephen 
 succeeded ; but in his time justice was little regarded, and he 
 who was strongest got most ; and thus, in the meantime, every 
 one holding, as if by right, what he had seized upon, the 
 Abbey of S. Martin of Battel was unable to recover not only 
 
 dependents receive the confirmation of their lords ; for in the most sacred donations it was 
 necessary to obtain the consent of those superiors : this was one of the curses of Feudalism 
 . It may be interesting to state, that so lately as the year 1617, this uunatural claim of 
 one man upon the rights and liberties of his fellow-man was not entirely extinct in this 
 part of England ; for John Norden, in his unpublished ' Survey of certain Crown Manors,' 
 made in that year, speaking of the manor of Falmer, near Lewes, says : " There are three 
 bondmen of blonde belonginge unto this manor, never known to be anieway mannumissed, 
 namely, Thomas Goringe, William and John Goringe. Thomas Goringe dwells at Amberley, 
 William at Piddinghow, and John Goringe at Rottingdean. What goods they have the 
 jurie know not. All poor men. Thomas hath the reversion of a cottage now in the tenure 
 of William Jefferye. But mee thinkes this kind of advantage is nowe out of season ; yet, 
 were they men of ability, they might be, upon some consideration, infraunchized." (Vide 
 Xotes and Queries, i, 139.) 
 
118 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 this tenement of Barnhorn, but many other possessions which 
 had been violently taken away, although claims were repeatedly 
 set up for this purpose. 
 
 Upon the death of King Stephen, the noble King Henry, 
 the grandson of the former king of that name, succeeded him, 
 and renewed ancestral times. And when Warner resigned the 
 abbacy, the venerable Abbot Walter, having succeeded him, 
 obtained the favour of the king, and laid a complaint before 
 him, concerning the above-mentioned tenement of Barnhorn. 
 The king, therefore, at the instance of the abbot, commanded 
 John, then earl of Eu, by his letters, that he should hold the 
 full direction in the said tenement for the abbot, or in default 
 of this, that the sheriff of Sussex should do so, that the king 
 might hear no more clamour concerning it. 
 
 But Gilbert de Baillol, who was then lord of the manor, 
 though in many ways expostulated with and sought after by 
 the earl, the sheriff, the abbot, and their agents, for a long- 
 time evaded the pleadings, and dissembled in various ways, in 
 order to avoid the conflict. But although much time was 
 thus spent in useless labour, the abbot would not desist from 
 his purpose. . At length, through repeated applications to the 
 king, sometimes in person, and sometimes by his friends, he 
 obtained leave to have the cause traversed to the royal court. 
 But our lord the king, at one time going over to Normandy, 
 and at another returning to England, attending to his own 
 affairs — although the cause was long sifted before the justices 
 who presided in the court as the king's deputies, and although 
 the king, by his mandates and writs, very often required full 
 justice to be done to the abbot, yet it was impossible to bring 
 the matter to a satisfactory conclusion. At length, however, 
 ultimately ^ ne king remained for some time at Clarendon ; and 
 the Mng a ft er many subterfuges of the opposite party, after 
 hearing at many dissimulations, and after much fatigue on the 
 ciaren on. ^^ o ^ ^ e abbot and his friends, it was directed by 
 royal warrant that, all pretences laid aside, both parties, on a 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 119 
 
 specified day, should attend the royal tribunal at that place. 
 No room for excuse being left, both parties attended, our lord 
 the king sitting as judge. Osmund, a monk of the 
 Abbey, and Peter de Criol, a knight, were pre- ^ e a abbofs 
 sent, and stated the whole case from the beginning, 
 proving how this land of Barnhorn had been acquired by the 
 Abbey of S. Martin of Battel, partly by gift and partly by 
 purchase, and how it had afterwards been taken away ; and 
 showing how much time had been consumed in the suit since 
 the commencement of proceedings. All this they explained 
 in order before the king and his assessors ; complaining, at 
 the same time, of the long and expensive delay, and the fre- 
 quent and useless trouble of the abbot and his friends. When, 
 therefore, there was now no reason by which this recital of the 
 prosecution could be fairly denied, by the king's permission 
 the deeds of purchase and gift and the charters of confirma- 
 tion were read aloud, the royal court bearing witness in all 
 things. On the other side there was little to be said in reply ; 
 but Gilbert de Baillol, lest he should appear to be destitute of 
 any grounds of opposition, acknowledged that he had heard 
 the deeds of his predecessors, but that he could see no seals 
 appended to them in evidence of their authenticity. The 
 noble and discreet Richard de Lucy, the abbot's Richardde 
 brother, and then the kind's chief justice, looking Lucy's meer 
 
 ° J at the seal 
 
 at him, inquired whether he himself possessed a of the op- 
 seal, and receiving a reply in the affirmative, that pon 
 illustrious man, smiling contemptuously, said : " In old times 
 it was not the custom for every small knight m to have a seal, 
 which befits only kings and great men ; neither in bygone 
 days did malice, as now, make people lawyers and quibblers." 
 Gilbert next challenged the confirmation of King Henry the 
 elder, declaring that the abbot and monks sought to persuade 
 the king, not for justice, but for their own advantage. But 
 
 W Militulus. 
 
120 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 the king, taking the charter and seal of his grandfather, King 
 The Mng's Henry, into his own hands, turned round to Gilbert 
 opinion of an( j ^id . « gy the eyes of God, if you can prove 
 
 the validity . J -n i i 
 
 of the abik s this charter false, you will put a thousand pounds 
 into my pocket in England !" Gilbert said little or 
 nothing to this ; and the king uttered this remarkable speech : 
 " If," quoth he, " the monks, by a charter and confirmation 
 like this, were able to show that they have a claim upon this 
 very palace of Clarendon, in which I do greatly delight, I 
 could not with justice refuse to give it up entirely to them." 
 Then turning to the abbot and his friends : " Go," said he, 
 " and advise together, and see if there be anything upon 
 which you are more willing to rely than upon this charter. 
 At present, however, I do not think you will seek any other 
 proof." So the abbot and his friends went out and talked 
 together, and being assured from the king's last words — " I 
 think you will seek no other proof"' — that the charter was a 
 sufficient evidence, they returned into the presence of the king 
 and his assessors, stating that they desired no other proof — 
 that they demanded neither more nor less than the charter 
 demanded — and that they would abide by the decision of the 
 royal court thereupon. The other side having nothing to say, 
 since they neither dared nor were able to object to 
 
 The court . 
 
 decides the charter, or to prove it false, it was adjudged, by 
 Baiitoi the unanimous consent of the whole royal court, that 
 all that the evidence of the charter required should 
 be restored to the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel. Gilbert de 
 Baillol, finding himself deprived of the tenement of Barnhorn, 
 begged, in the hearing of all present, that the chattels of the 
 knight who held the tenement of him might be given up to 
 him. To this request the king answered : " You could not 
 more plainly confess, than by asking this, that you have no 
 right to the land." And the king directed the chattels to be 
 given up to them. And at the king's orders, letters, sealed 
 with the royal seal, were speedily directed to the four knights, 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 121 
 
 who, at that time, by his appointment, held the sheriffdom 172 
 of Sussex, that without delay they should restore to 
 the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel what it had re- fj£»* 
 covered in the royal court, namely, three wists of 
 land in Barnhorn, with the whole marsh, and a certain tithe 
 of Buckholt, as fully and wholly, and as freely and quietly to 
 be held, as it had been in the days of King Henry, his grand- 
 father, upon the evidence of his charter, the land itself being 
 first ascertained, and its bounds walked by twelve faithful 
 men of those parts, who knew its boundaries, and who shoidd 
 speak the truth thereupon upon oath. On receipt of this 
 precept, Richard de Chaaines, one of the four knights above 
 mentioned, went, on behalf of himself and his colleagues, to 
 the said tenement, and having fixed its bounds, upon the oaths 
 both of the tenants and of those who resided in the vicinity, 
 duly invested the abbot and convent of S. Martin of Battel 
 with it. 
 
 The land being thus recovered, though not without great 
 labour and trouble, and all being, as it was thought. n . A 
 
 ' - < °' ° ' Dispute with 
 
 now settled ; and when all claims were so removed Robert de 
 that there was no suspicion of evil for the future, 
 one Robert of Icklesham, with his mother Matilda, suddenly 
 entered upon a certain meadow lying within the circuit of the 
 tenement, and attempted to carry off the hay by force ; but 
 the abbot, being forewarned, collected a number of workmen, 
 and repelled force by force ; and having beaten the other 
 party, housed the hay for himself. 
 
 Robert, therefore, went to the royal court, and, in the king's 
 absence, laid a complaint before his justiciars, that the men, 
 who, on their oath, ought to have determined the bounds of 
 Barnhorn, had seized more than was just, and thus, while he 
 had not been a party to the suit, his land had been taken away 
 from him. At his instance, therefore, the abbot, with the men 
 
 v >- " Ad quatuor milites qui tunc .... vicecomitatum Suthsexiae regebant. 
 
122 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 who had surveyed the land, was driven into court to make 
 satisfaction upon the injury which he alleged against them. 
 Nor did the stout-minded abbot — though weak in body — 
 hesitate to appear on the day appointed before the justiciars at 
 Winchester, bringing with him the men who had surveyed the 
 tenement of Barnhorn and fixed its bounds. Robert de 
 Icklesham came forward, and made his complaint concerning 
 the land, which he alleged had been craftily taken away. But 
 the twelve men withstood him to his face, prepared again to 
 swear, that, lest they might transgress their oath, they had 
 . , . included in their circuit rather less than more than 
 
 who being 
 
 found guilty was just. Upon this Robert was adjudged by all 
 plea, guilty of a false plea, and delivered over to the 
 
 king's mercy. Finding this the case, he privately withdrew, 
 gallops and took to flight, and neither forgetting his spurs 
 
 home. nor S p arm g his horse, made no stay till he arrived 
 
 trembling at his home. The abbot also, with his friends, 
 returned home rejoicing, and held the tenement as long as he 
 lived without further interruption. We have said enough 
 upon this subject, and will now recount some other trials 
 which he underwent. 
 
 There was in his times one Alan de Neville, the chief of the 
 
 t ranm king's foresters, 173 who, by the power granted him, 
 
 of Alan most maliciously vexed various provinces of Eng- 
 
 de Neville ■ 
 
 land with innumerable and unusual prosecutions. 
 And, as he neither feared God nor regarded man, he spared 
 neither ecclesiastical dignities nor secular. While the king 
 was abroad, this Alan, among other deeds of iniquity, entered 
 
 ^ The office of chief forester to the king seems to have been hereditary in the family of 
 Neville. (1) Alan de Neville here mentioned was probably father of (2) Lord William de 
 Neville, who held the office under Hen. II and Ric. I, and whose son, (3) Lord Hugh de 
 Neville, had a son, (4) Lord John de Neville. The last two held it temp. John and 
 Hen. III. (5) Hughde Neville, 8 Hen. Ill, was principal warden and chief justice of all 
 the king's forests. In 13 same reign he had a grant from the king to hunt and take the 
 hare, fox, and cat throughout the royal forests. (6) John de Neville, son and heir of Hugh, 
 succeeded as justice of the forests. For his disgrace and death see Mat. Paris. (Vide 
 Rowland's Family of Neville, fol. 1830.) 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 123 
 
 into those manors of the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel which 
 were situated within the precincts of the forests, and with 
 force there demanded money for essarts, m viz., from the manor 
 of Bromham twenty shillings, from its member, Anestia, half 
 a mark, and as much from the manor of Bricthwoldintune. 
 This money was collected by the sheriffs of counties, and carried 
 to the king's exchequer, where it was received by the treasurers, 
 and laid up in the king's treasury. The abbot hearing of this 
 transaction, sent one of his monks with his charters of privi- 
 leges to the exchequer, to make complaint before the justiciars 
 concerning this unusual and unjust demand. The monk, 
 appearing there before Robert, earl of Leicester, and Richard 
 de Lucy (who then held the chief authority in the adminis- 
 tration of justice in the room of the king), and other barons 
 of the exchequer, made complaint upon the injury sustained, 
 stated the whole case, produced the charters, and sought 
 restitution of what had been taken away. The liberties of the 
 Abbey having been heard from the testimony of the charters, 
 the said money, now Ions; deposited in the treasury, 
 was, by the unanimous judgment of all, withdrawn, 
 and restored to the monk before all present ; the tallies were 
 broken, and all entries of that money were erased from the 
 rolls. The monk returned home, related to the abbot the 
 details of the transaction, and left the money at his disposal ; 
 and the abbot sent it to the respective manors, to be restored 
 to the tenants from whom it had been exacted. 
 
 Now this Alan, as long as he lived, enriched the king, 
 though he ceased not from vexing both the clergy 
 and the laity. Thus, to please an earthly monarch, 
 he was not afraid to offend the King of Heaven. But how 
 much gratitude he obtained from the king whom he was thus 
 careful to ingratiate, the sequel proved. When he was brought 
 near his end, the brethren of a certain monastery, desiring, as 
 
 i, i u p ro exartis," j_ e> f or i anc i s cleared of wood and brought into cultivation. 
 
124 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 it seems, a portion of his substance for their house, went to 
 and what he the king, beseeching him to allow them to take his 
 got for his body and bury it with them. The kino; evinced 
 
 pains. . 
 
 his regard for him in these terms : " I," quoth he, 
 " will have his wealth, but you may have his carcase, and the 
 demons of hell his soul !" 175 Behold the wretched recom- 
 pense ; see the miserable disposal of him and his substance ! 
 This may well be a lesson to officials of every degree of power — 
 to mark how this man, who studied to please the king by his 
 wicked deeds, got neither thanks nor respect thereby, while he 
 incurred the displeasure of the King of Heaven ! 
 
 But these things, which we have said by way of digression, 
 because they concern the matter in hand but very little, we 
 will pass over, and return to others in relation to that vener- 
 able personage, the Abbot Walter. 
 
 Since the Abbey of S. Martin of- Battel (as well as many 
 other churches throughout England) was, during the unfavour- 
 able reign of King Stephen, in various ways despoiled of its 
 rights, which, when peaceable times returned, under the noble 
 King Henry the Second, were recovered by the carefulness of 
 this abbot — it is necessary to relate, briefly and summarily, 
 everything, and particularly the just possession, and afterwards 
 the unrighteous spoliation ; frequently recurring to bygone 
 times, that the mode by which the rights were recovered may 
 be the more clearly shown. 
 
 It has been mentioned heretofore, that King William, son 
 of the noble King William, the acquirer of England and 
 founder of the Abbey of Battel, was present at the dedication 
 of that Abbey, and that he enriched it with certain churches 
 in his royal manors in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, so that at 
 
 175 The king's speech. — An Impromptu : 
 
 " You may have, if so you please, 
 The carcase of Alan de Neville ; 
 But his substance I shall seize, 
 
 And his soul may go to the D — 1 !" 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 125 
 
 the decease of the parsons who had been instituted to them, 
 in future both the parsonages and the profits arising from them 
 should belong perpetually to the Abbey of Battel. These 
 parsons for the most part survived till the troublous times under 
 King Stephen ; and some proprietors to whom the territories 
 in which the churches were situated had been granted, exer- 
 cised the right of patronage in those churches, although they 
 had been granted in reversion by kings. Thus acting more 
 from selfishness than from reason, they caused whom they 
 would to be instituted, and the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel 
 was entirely deprived of its rights : see, for the sake of example, 
 the following case : — 
 
 In these tempestuous days lived one Robert de Crevequeor, 
 a very powerful man, as times then were, and of 
 
 Pro n pccjiii (js 
 
 great reputation, who held a parcel of land called about the 
 Middlehale by the gift of King Stephen. In his $3*i& 
 territory stood one of the churches granted to the 
 Abbey of S. Martin of Battel by King William the Second at 
 the dedication. The parson of this church of Middlehale 
 dying, Robert assumed the right of patronage, and 
 offering to God sacrifices of robbery, granted and deCrev^giZi 
 confirmed it to the canons of Leeds. 176 Upon learn- had given to 
 
 L Leeds priory. 
 
 ing this, Abbot Walter applied first to Robert con- 
 cerning this unjust invasion, and then to the canons about their 
 violent intrusion, and demanded restitution, but could not 
 obtain it. Now regal justice was sought, and now ecclesias- 
 tical, but by reason of abounding iniquity it could not be had 
 at that time. But King Stephen dying, and the pacific King 
 Henry succeeding, hostility was expelled and long-banished 
 peace recalled. The abbot, seeing justice begin to flourish 
 with resumed vigour, judged the time favourable for his suit, 
 and brought the matter to a hearing, first in the royal court 
 
 176 Leeds, co. Kent, a priory of Black Canons, founded in 1119, by Robert de 
 Crevequeor. 
 
126 CHRONICLE OP 
 
 and afterwards in the ecclesiastical. The canons, deserted by 
 their patron Robert, and having no hope from that quarter, 
 nevertheless made all the resistance in their power. But 
 when there was no other resource, both sides appealed to the 
 apostolical see. Pope Adrian at that time presided over the 
 Roman church, and the cause was directed to be heard before 
 him. 
 
 When, therefore, it had been some time pending in the 
 Roman court, it was determined that the messengers 
 
 The pope ' . . 
 
 refers the w ] 10 had been dispatched thither on the business 
 Two English should be sent back to England ; and the cause was 
 Mshops. committed to two English bishops, Richard of 
 London and Josceline of Salisbury, by them to be heard and 
 determined with apostolical authority. Eor, although the 
 right of the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel was sufficiently clear 
 to the pope and the whole Roman court, as well from the living 
 assertion of a certain clerk called Alexander, who then per- 
 formed the duties of the church in question, as from the testi- 
 mony of the Lord Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, and 
 certain others, who had noted down in writing and fortified 
 with their seals (and transmitted the documents to Rome) 
 what they had seen with their own eyes, heard with their own 
 ears, and handled with their own hands, yet the pope was 
 unwilling to pronounce a definite sentence, and handed over 
 the cause to the decision of these bishops. The clerk Alexander 
 returned to England, bearing the pope's mandate, and pre- 
 sented it to the bishops, and obtained permission to have the 
 opposite party summoned. But how often the 
 canons avoided the pleadings, how often they dis- 
 sembled, how often, more by craft than by honourable means, 
 they eluded the apostolical mandate, how often renewed com- 
 plaints of the unsatisfactory nature of the proceedings reached 
 the king on this side the sea, and the pope beyond it, no one 
 can easily imagine. At length, after manifold fatigues, the 
 forementioned judges were commanded by both apostolical 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 127 
 
 and royal authority — all excuses being laid aside — to hear 
 the cause, and to decide it in accordance with right and 
 justice. 
 
 A fixed day was therefore appointed to the parties at the 
 town of Staines, that the truth of the matter beinsj _, 
 
 o 1 he parties 
 
 more fully ascertained, full justice might be done peremptorily 
 to both. There was present the venerable Josceline, to meet ad 
 bishop of Salisbury ; and some clerks of the vener- ames ' 
 able Richard, bishop of London, who on account of indisposi- 
 tion w T as unable to attend, were also there on behalf of their 
 lord, to sit in judgment with my lord of Salisbury. 
 
 The abbot did not appear in person, but sent an efficient 
 deputy, while the other party, fearing they had very little, if 
 any, right, neither appeared themselves, nor sent any substi- 
 tute. As no further delay could be allowed, and they must 
 needs proceed immediately to trial, the judges observing the 
 manifest contumacy of the other side, were very determined 
 concerning the right of the abbot and convent of Battel. 
 Sentence was therefore given with apostolical autho- Decision in 
 rity, and the church of Middlehale was sequestrated f™° u J h f e 
 and committed to the custody of the abbot, with 
 this proviso, that, if the canons should within the space of a 
 year commence proceedings, the abbot should resign the 
 church into the hands of the judges. The canons, seeing 
 themselves thus removed by a just decision from an unjust 
 possession, abstained from strife for a time, namely, as long as 
 King Henry and Abbot Walter lived. The judges' letters 
 patent to the bishop of Norwich, for the induction of the abbot 
 of Battel into the custody of the church of Middlehale having 
 been received, and the abbot shortly gaining possession of it, 
 he granted the church to a certain clerk, Robert, surnamed 
 the Philosopher, by whose labour and diligence, principally, 
 the affair had been brought to this conclusion, to hold it from 
 the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel, on payment of a stipulated 
 pension. And Robert held it peaceably as long as he lived ; 
 
128 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 nor was there, in future, any one who durst go to law with 
 
 him concerning it. 
 
 When thus, after much labour and difficulty, matters were 
 The abbot brought to a conclusion, the abbot became more 
 proceeds to determined and energetic in recovering other alien- 
 pemiondue ated rights. Thus, the church of Trilawe, which, 
 
 '^hTrctlf as we nave SR id> was one °f tuose gi yen t° the Abbey 
 Trilawe, f g Martin of Battel by King William the Second, 
 had been formerly held by one Roger, a priest, under a certain 
 pension to be annually paid to the Abbey. But he, unmind- 
 ful of good faith and of religion, neglected the due payment of 
 the pension, and even sought to alienate the church itself from 
 the authority of the Abbey. When this came to the know- 
 ledge of the abbot and convent that then were, they imme- 
 diately commenced legal proceedings against him. At length, 
 when he found himself unable to resist, and knew that he 
 should be expelled from the possession of the church with 
 ecclesiastical censure, he went to Battel, asked pardon for his 
 transgression, and promised, on his oath, before a chapter of 
 the monks, that he would never in future attempt the like. 
 He openly declared, moreover, before all, in a full synod of 
 his own diocese, that none but the abbot and convent of 
 Battel had any right to the church of Trilawe, and that no one 
 ought to be instituted to it except at their presentation. Upon 
 this condition he obtained pardon, and still serving the said 
 church by the favour of the abbot and convent, and faithfully 
 paying the stipulated pension, he is understood to have re- 
 mained faithful as long as he lived. 
 
 After his death, when now the pacific King* Henry the 
 wMchhad Second was reigning, and the venerable Abbot 
 Zlhe?o?do/ Walter was governing the Abbey of Battel, a 
 the manor, certain knight, named Hay mo Peche, 177 lord of 
 
 l " Hamon Peche (or Peccatum) was sheriff of Cambridgeshire from the 2d to the 12th 
 year of Henry II. His grandson of the same name died in 1241, in his pilgrimage to the 
 IIolv Land. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 129 
 
 the manor asserting his right of patronage in the church of 
 Trilawe, granted it, without the consent of the abbot and 
 convent of Battel, to a clerk named William de Orbec. But 
 since it was clear to everybody, that all title to that church 
 pertained to the abbot and monks of Battel, and as the knight 
 knew that this clerk, upon his presentation, and without the 
 privity of the abbot and monks, could not well procure insti- 
 tution from the bishop, he craftily obtained letters from the 
 king to the bishop of Norwich, directing him to institute the 
 clerk, upon his presentation, as lord of the manor. And this 
 was done. But the clerk, knowing that he was not legally 
 instituted, and regardful of the consequences, applied to Abbot 
 Walter of Battel, and with many prayers and promises of 
 obedience, solicited him to confirm him in the church. But 
 he did not obtain his wish ; for the abbot could not patiently 
 endure that the Abbey committed to his care should in any 
 maimer be deprived of its rights. He therefore sought full 
 justice for himself, first from the royal court and then from 
 the ecclesiastical, complaining in the one of the trespass of the 
 knight, and in the other of the intrusion of the clerk. But 
 some time having been consumed by the dissimulations and 
 subterfuges of the opposite party, and the abbot perceiving 
 that damage was resulting to his suit, he obtained, through 
 the above-mentioned Robert the Philosopher, letters from the 
 pope to the venerable Gilbert, bishop of London, to the effect 
 that, if it should appear to him, as judge, that the clerk had 
 intruded into the church, he should remove him in spite of all 
 excuses, and by apostolical authority restore the church to the 
 abbot and monks of Battel. The clerk was sum- 
 
 -i i • i , . The parties 
 
 nioned. once and again; but not appearing, at appear be- 
 length a day was peremptorily fixed, and he was {fsLj^at 
 compelled to attend at S. Paul's in London. Both s - PauFs - 
 parties appeared and the suit began, the bishop sitting as 
 judge. The abbot was sustained by the evidence of truth 
 and reason and the testimony of his charters, while the clerk 
 
 9 
 
130 CHRONICLE OE 
 
 opposed him with all his might, unwilling to renounce the 
 church, notwithstanding his unlawful acquisition of it. At 
 length the final decision devolved upon the judge, and he, 
 having conferred upon all points with his assessors, and ob- 
 tained their opinion as reason demanded, by apos- 
 MeSo/° r tolical authority utterly removed the clerk from the 
 church of Trilawe, as an intruder, and restored it to 
 the Abbey of Battel. The abbot then granted it to Robert 
 the Philosopher, who held it peaceably as long as he lived, 
 paying a certain annual pension out of it to the Abbey of 
 S. Martin of Battel. 
 
 After some time, when Robert the Philosopher was dead, 
 The claim the abbot granted the church of Trilawe to a clerk 
 further dis- named Thomas, to be held of himself and his Abbey 
 
 turbed. . iiii-ipn 
 
 by pension. But before he had obtained lull pos- 
 session, the before-mentioned William de Orbec, relying upon 
 the patronage of Haymo Peche, did not hesitate again unlaw- 
 fully to seize the church. The abbot on hearing this, deter- 
 mined to implead, not the clerk, who by apostolical authority 
 had already been entirely removed, but the knight Haymo, 
 who had assumed the right of patronage. Making complaint, 
 therefore, of these interferences in the royal court, before the 
 magnates who performed the functions of our lord the king, 
 he accused Haymo himself, as the author of this violent 
 deprivation. 
 
 A day was fixed by royal authority on which both Haymo 
 The parties an d the abbot should attend at London, the one to 
 summoned to ma ke his charge, the other to reply to it. At the 
 
 appointed day and place, the abbot, with Ins friends, 
 appeared. Haymo, however, did not attend, but sent one to 
 excuse him, feigning that he could not appear on account of 
 illness. But those who presided over the royal court, taking 
 it amiss that the abbot should be put to such useless trouble, 
 and that the other side should act in this dishonourable man- 
 ner, adjudged that the whole right of the church of Trilawe 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 131 
 
 should be sequestrated into the king's hands. They afterwards 
 determined to fix another day at Northampton, that thm (o . 
 Haymo coming thither, might publicly show what Northamp. 
 right he claimed in the church. But the abbot, 
 either unable or unwilling to attend at the fixed time and 
 place, sent one of his monks, named Osmund, who was well 
 acquainted with the business, as his substitute, to produce the 
 testimony of his charters. Haymo Peche, likewise, did not 
 appear in person, but sent Gaufrid, his son, to excuse his 
 absence, and for the future to act on his behalf. When the 
 parties were met, the monk explained before the presidents the 
 rights of his Abbey, both orally and by what was recited in 
 the charters, and complained of the injury sustained. But 
 when it was expected that something would be ob- 
 jected on the other side, Gaufrid, suddenly, on behalf antwLx- ' 
 of his father, and for himself, as his heir, 178 utterly pe ^ ly 
 renounced all right and title to that which they had 
 hitherto assumed in the church of Trilawe, declaring that 
 henceforward he would do nothing of the kind against the 
 testimony of charters like these ; since the king, when he gave 
 the church to the Abbey of Battel, might, had he wished, with- 
 out any obstacle, have given the manor itself. These things 
 being heard (contrary to all expectation), the whole right of 
 the church of Trilawe was assigned to the monastery of Battel, 
 and thus all controversy was quieted. William de Orbec, 
 however, still held the church he had so illegally ac- 
 quired, and acting as if he were really the incum- BeOrbll, at 
 bent, received all the profits. It therefore remained fi rst P erti - 
 
 1 nacwus, 
 
 to proceed against him, that .henceforth all occasion 
 of complaint might be removed. But he, although deprived 
 of the patronage of those upon whom he had relied, grew more 
 unreasonable in proportion as his danger increased. He 
 sought to defend his claim merely from his having been insti- 
 
 178 This corrects the haronages, which make Gilbert Peche, not Gaufrid or Geoffry, the 
 son and heir of Haymo. See Banks, vol. i, p. 392. 
 
132 CHRONICLE or 
 
 tuted by the bishop, but in vain, since it was apparent to all 
 that that proceeding had been illegal. He was therefore in 
 great difficulties, seeing himself deprived, on one hand, of any 
 excuse for possessing it, and on the other, of any good reason 
 
 for resisting. Finding no other resource, he was 
 ml2its h compelled to renounce all the right to the church 
 
 which he claimed. Coming, therefore, before the 
 lord bishop of Norwich, he resigned the church, with all its 
 rights, into his hands, and being thus deprived, the bishop 
 instituted the forementioned clerk, Thomas, upon the pre- 
 sentation of the abbot and convent of S. Martin of Battel. 
 And Thomas peaceably possessed it from that time under an 
 annual pension. Thus was the annoyance of every adversary 
 quieted. 
 
 From the time of the dedication of the monastery of S. 
 
 Martin of Battel, until nearly the last days of the 
 turmhis tr venerable Walter, the profits accruing from the 
 prl'thT' churches with which King William the Second had 
 pensions endowed it had been rare and few ; since in their 
 certain assignation it was decided, by the advice of the king 
 
 and the bishops, as well as of others present at the 
 dedication, that each of the incumbents of those nine churches, 
 who had been previously instituted and were then surviving, 
 should pay a pension of ten shillings per annum to Battel 
 Abbey ; and that after their death the churches themselves, 
 and the profits arising out of them, should be entirely at the 
 disposal of the abbot and monks of Battel. It was also pru- 
 dently determined, that when the abbot should go, once a year, 
 into those parts where the churches were situated, for the 
 purpose of visiting them, two nights' lodging should be duti- 
 fully provided by each incumbent, besides the pension, lest in 
 every such journey of visitation the abbot might be compelled 
 to lay out more, for the expenses of himself and his suite, 
 than the proceeds of the churches brought in. 
 
 Now these incumbents survived a long time, and although 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 133 
 
 the abbot and monks of Battel, during that period, received 
 nothing from each of the churches except the ten shillings, yet 
 because the number ten was concerned, they called them 
 tithes. And no one thought it worth while to dispute about 
 the name of tithes, as if some portion of the tithes of those 
 churches, and not the churches themselves, had been assigned 
 to the monastery of Battel ; though it is clear enough, from the 
 confirmation of King William the Second, who was at the 
 dedication, and that of his brother and successor, King Henry, 
 that the churches, with the tithes and profits arising from 
 them, were granted wholly to the Abbey. As long as these 
 incumbents lived, these nine churches proved more trouble 
 than profit to the abbot and monks ; for as they were situated 
 at a great distance, the abbot and monks were not able often 
 to visit them, except with much difficulty. And as they were 
 much engaged with other business, and made their visits but 
 rarely, the due pensions were paid sometimes unwillingly, and 
 sometimes not at all. In consideration of this, Abbot Ralph, 
 of excellent memory, with the advice of his convent, 
 
 . These 
 
 committed the care of all the churches to Richard churches 
 de Bellafago, 1 ? 9 archdeacon of Norwich, having first ZThfJhtge 
 taken an oath from him, in the presence of all the °f R -^ e 
 
 i n Beaufoy. 
 
 monks m the chapter-house at Battel, that he would 
 every year duly pay the required pensions, and that he would 
 prove himself everywhere faithful in the preservation of their 
 rights. But as it afterwards proved, the obligation of that 
 oath was neglected, and a great deal of perplexity arose out of 
 the proceeding ; for Richard being promoted after some time 
 to the bishopric, his son, Alan de Bellafago, seized Brantham, 
 one of the churches in question. He took this upon the un- 
 lawful authority of his father, who, forgetful of his oath and of 
 religion, had some short time before taken it into his hands, 
 and carried himself as if he had been the incumbent ; and the 
 
 17;i Beaufoy, or Beufewe. 
 
134 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 son, rashly succeeding the father, held the sanctuary of God 
 as if by heirship. After a little time, Abbot Ralph dying, 
 Abbot Warner succeeded him, and King Henry the First also 
 being dead, King Stephen obtruded himself upon the kingdom 
 as his successor ; in whose times, peace being banished from 
 the kingdom, all things were exposed to plunder. At that 
 time it seemed the highest prudence for those who had been 
 despoiled of their own, if they happened to have anything left, 
 to look well to it, lest that should also be seized upon ; for as 
 to recovering what had already been plundered, the thing was 
 utterly impossible. During these adverse times, Alan de 
 Bellafago received the profits and revenues of the church of 
 Brantham, deporting himself as if he were the incumbent, 
 and although frequently reminded of it, he by no means con- 
 sented to make satisfaction. But since there was no power of 
 compulsion, all proceedings against him were of necessity 
 delayed for the time, in the hope that succeeding times might 
 introduce somewhat of peace and of equity. 
 
 During this unsettled state of the country, Abbot Warner 
 voluntarily resigned the government of the abbacy of Battel ; 
 and to him some time after succeeded the venerable Abbot 
 Walter. King Stephen being dead, and Henry the Second 
 succeeding, peace was in some measure restored in the country, 
 and Abbot Walter began carefully to manage the Abbey com- 
 mitted to his charge. 
 
 Some time after his institution, intending, according to the 
 „ *. . tt- ,. practice of those who undertake new administrations, 
 
 Abbot TJ alter l ... 
 
 visits these to go to those lands and possessions which lay in 
 different and remote places, for the sake of visitation, 
 he issued his commands to the priests and clerks of the above- 
 mentioned churches in Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, that they 
 should, according to due custom, prepare, within the posses- 
 sions of those churches, two nights' lodging for him and his 
 suite. 
 
 The bearer of this message came to Brantham, and pre- 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 135 
 
 sented the order of the abbot to Alan de Bellafago, but he 
 would by no means consent to receive him, either as 
 
 , ,. ,i , i , AlandeBeau- 
 
 a superior or as a guest, asserting that he was not f oy refuses to 
 bound by any obligation of this kind to him. The ^^l am the 
 abbot for a long time deferred to revenge himself of 
 so great an injury and so high a contempt, hoping that Alan 
 might come to himself and think better of it. But Alan 
 perceiving that he could do so presumptuous a thing with 
 impunity, not yet satisfied, proceeded from bad to worse. For 
 the abbot, going again into those parts where the churches were 
 situated, happened to arrive, on the festival of the transitus of 
 the blessed Martin, at Mencllesham, the church of which place 
 is one of those conferred upon the Abbey, and was becomingly 
 received by Withgar, who had long since been instituted in- 
 cumbent of the church, to perform the solemn rites of his 
 patron (S. Martin) there. This Withgar, wishing to provide 
 for his successors, begged the abbot that he would consent to 
 admit his son, named Nicholas, to the church of Mencllesham, 
 to be instituted by the bishop upon the abbot's presentation. 180 
 The abbot yielded at length to his earnest entreaty, with this 
 proviso, that Withgar, who had hitherto paid but ten shillings 
 a year in the name of that church, should for the future pay 
 forty shillings. This being agreed to on both sides, a day 
 was fixed for confirming the transaction. On the appointed 
 day, the abbot came, with his attendants, to Colchester, and 
 thither also came Withgar, with his son Nicholas. The above- 
 named agreement for the payment of a pension of forty shil- 
 lings, was ratified by both father and son, upon their word and 
 oath, in the presence of the abbot and his monks, some knights, 
 and a great many others, both clergy and laymen. Another 
 day was afterwards appointed by the abbot, for Withgar and 
 
 ls0 The mention of a priest's son appears, at first sight, singular ; hut it should he re- 
 membered that the canon law enjoining the celibacy of the clergy was very gradually 
 enforced ; and in this work we have two instances of its violation in the twelfth century. 
 Married priests are spoken of as the more moral, as well as the larger, part of the English 
 clergy in this century. {Spelman I'onc. ii, 29. Cited in Lat. edit.) 
 
136 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 his son Nicholas to come to Battel, to receive the assent of the 
 convent, and a charter of confirmation. They came according 
 to appointment, on the clay of the purification of the blessed 
 Mary, and then, in the presence of the abbot and the whole 
 convent, Nicholas again gave his word and oath for the annual 
 payment of the pension of forty shillings, and for the honour- 
 able maintenance of unfeigned faith towards the abbot and 
 monastery of S. Martin of Battel. The common consent of 
 the monks being obtained, a charter of confirmation was given 
 him. 
 
 Now after the pension of forty shillings had been for some 
 
 time duly paid, Alan de Bellafago beguiled Withgar 
 Withga r UP and his son Nicholas, and persuaded them — the 
 Ifbot! the obligation of their word and oath laid aside — to 
 
 withhold the payment of it; asserting that the 
 church of Mendlesham was his own, and pretending that the 
 augmentation of the pension made without his concurrence 
 was null and void. To fortify this assertion, he produced 
 certain charters of Abbot Warner, which appeared on close 
 inspection to bear marks of fraud and falsehood; constantly 
 affirming upon their evidence that the church of Mendles- 
 ham, the church of Brantham, and that of Branford, which 
 also is one of the dowry churches, 181 were his own by the 
 gift of Abbot Warner. Withgar and his son Nicholas, yielding 
 to his persuasion, consented, and withholding the payment of 
 the pension, asserted that they held the church of Mendles- 
 ham, not in the name of the monastery of Battel, but in that 
 of Alan de Bellafago. 
 
 When the abbot became acquainted with these proceedings, 
 The claim ne went again to that province, and summoned both 
 heard at s. i mee t him for conference at S. Edmund's. Thev 
 
 Edmund s. m J 
 
 met him, therefore, armed with the advocacy of the 
 aggressive Alan de Bellafago. The abbot accused both of the 
 
 181 The churches which had been given to Battel Abbey by Rufus at the dedication are 
 ahvavs styled eccleaiio do/ales. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 137 
 
 breach of the agreement entered into between them, and of 
 the transgression of their word and oath, when Alan de 
 Bellafago stood forward, and declared that the church of 
 Mendlesham was his ; that Withgar held it of him as vicar ; 
 and that the arrangement concerning the augmentation of the 
 pension ought to be of no force, as it was made without his 
 concurrence. Withgar and his son Nicholas applauded this, 
 and the abbot endeavoured to withdraw them from such daring 
 presumption of wickedness, but without success. They con- 
 tinued obstinate, and cried out that all that Alan had spoken 
 was as if it had come out of their own mouths. Thus they 
 both incurred the stigma of unfaithfulness and perjury, and 
 Nicholas was upbraided by all as a traitor, since he had so 
 recently made oath to keep good faith with the abbot, whom 
 he was now resisting to his face. But although they incurred 
 the stigma of so great a crime, ancTexposed themselves in many 
 ways to infamy, they were by no means willing to abandon 
 their malignity, while Alan pertinaciously maintained their 
 defence. For Withgar still said, that Alan had spoken all 
 things as if with his own mouth, while Nicholas affirmed 
 that he would on no account recede from his father's decision. 
 The abbot, finding them persist in such obstinate rebellion, 
 was unwilling to contend with them to no purpose, Ahhot Wal _ 
 judging it advisable to await a more favourable ter applies to 
 
 J ~ . the /cinq. 
 
 time. Our lord the king was then beyond sea, but 
 the abbot was unable to go over to him in person ; he there- 
 fore sent certain of his friends with letters as their credentials 
 to him, in order that they might make a verbal statement of the 
 affair, and seek his advice and assistance. In the meantime, 
 Withgar having died, Alan de Bellafago seized the church of 
 Mendlesham as vacant, and without the permission of the 
 abbot and convent of Battel, took entire possession of it for 
 himself — the perjured Nicholas, the son of Withgar, being 
 absolutely turned out ! On hearing this, the abbot took care 
 
138 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 to acquaint the lord bishop of Norwich, both by letters and 
 by the verbal statements of his messenger, that the church of 
 Mendlesham belonged to him, thus to provide by a prudent 
 activity against Alan or any other person being admitted to it 
 without his consent, and obtaining institution from the bishop. 
 Alan therefore instituted himself, nor would he by any means 
 consent to renounce his unjust possession. 
 
 Meantime the abbot's messengers returned from abroad, 
 bearing letters to the king's justices, ordering that full justice 
 should be done the abbot of Battel respecting the church of 
 Mendlesham. By royal authority a day was prescribed to the 
 abbot and Alan at Winchester, that by the action of one and 
 the objection of the other, the truth might be more fully 
 investigated. This was done by royal authority, yet without 
 any injury of ecclesiastical rights or dignities, since the royal 
 court had merely to inquire upon whose presentation Alan 
 had been instituted to the church of Mendlesham, which, 
 situated in a royal manor, had been granted to the monastery 
 of Battel by the king's predecessors, and confirmed to it by the 
 king himself. Yov it was clear that he could not be insti- 
 tuted except upon the presentation either of the king, as lord 
 of the manor, or that of the monks of Battel, to whom it was 
 well known the church itself had been assigned by the royal 
 bounty. At the appointed day and place, Robert the Philo- 
 sopher (of whom we have before spoken, and who was still 
 living) attended on behalf of the abbot, to act against Alan, 
 The cause wno appeared in person. He explained to the 
 h the Td ud f ° re J lls ^ ces tne r ig nt °f ^e monastery of Battel, and 
 complained of its invasion by Alan ; while the latter 
 resisting him, produced the charters of abbot Warner before 
 mentioned, and asserted that he had been admitted, while 
 that abbot was living, with his consent. And although on 
 careful inspection those charters bore some marks of falsehood, 
 yet it was the unanimous opinion and advice of all present, 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 139 
 
 that it would be better to compromise the affair than to 
 litigate it further. 
 
 Each party consented to the counsel and goodwill 
 of these advisers, and the following form of com- jjEJE"** 
 promise was given by the judges : that Alan, freely 
 renouncing all the claim which he conceived he had upon the 
 church of Mendlesham, should resign the charters by which 
 he had defended it into the hands of the abbot. And, the 
 abbot's favour being thus obtained, that he should hold 
 the church of Brantham alone (which, as we have said, he 
 had irregularly obtained, and out of which a pension of ten 
 shillings had been paid by antient custom) as long as he lived, 
 in the name of the monastery of Battel, under the annual 
 pension of one crown ; and thus all dispute and controversy 
 would be ended. 
 
 All approving of this compromise, and the parties them- 
 selves consenting to it, a day was appointed for the abbot in 
 person, and Alan, to meet at Canterbury before the justices, 
 for the purpose of binding the compact. The abbot attended 
 at the time and place stipulated, but Alan neither appeared 
 himself nor sent any one to excuse him, and was therefore, by 
 the judgment of all, delivered over to the king's mercy. But 
 afterwards a day was again fixed for meeting at London, and 
 for confirming the transaction on both sides. At length they 
 met at that time and place, and the whole of the proceedings 
 and the nature of the proposed composition having been fully 
 explained, in the hearing of the king's justices and many 
 others, Alan resigned his charters into the abbot's hands, and, 
 in return, received his charter to hold the church of Brantham 
 in the name of Battel Abbey, under an annual pension of one 
 crown. 
 
 This affair was settled, and all controversy supposed 
 to be at an end, when Alan, as if about to com- The dispute 
 mence a new suit, suddenly began to take measures, renewe » 
 though in a concealed manner, concerning the church ot 
 
140 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 Brantliam, 183 which he asserted to be his, thus seeking to 
 ascertain if any way lay open by which he might acquire it. 
 But finding no supporter in this attempt, he excited great 
 indignation of the whole royal court against himself; for it 
 seemed to be the opinion of all that he held the recently-made 
 composition as a nullity, and that if the charters were restored 
 to him he would begin the trial anew ; thus showing that he 
 was influenced not by a desire for peace and concord, but by 
 motives of strife and revenge. Finding himself in a difficult 
 position, since this affair had not turned out to his wishes, he 
 applied to the abbot through Richard, archdeacon of Poitou, 183 
 promising entirely to renounce all the right which he claimed 
 to have in any of the dowry churches of the monastery, if he 
 would institute his brother, Roger de Bellafago, to the church 
 of Brantliam, to hold it for life in the name of Battel Abbey, 
 under the same pension as had previously been fixed. 
 
 The abbot, taking the advice of his friends, determined to 
 accede to Alan's petition, thinking it a favourable opportunity 
 of breaking all connection between him and the monastery. 
 He consented therefore, but in a prudent maimer, as if he 
 were not induced by any good will towards him, but by 
 respect to the mediation of the archdeacon. Alan now came 
 forward, and in the presence of the king's justices and of the 
 barons and many others, in the exchequer, and renounced for 
 ever his claims upon the churches of Brantliam, Mendlesham, 
 Branford, and the rest of the dowry churches ; and, in return, 
 the abbot granted the church of Brantham alone to Roger de 
 Bellafago, to be held of Battel Abbey under a pension of one 
 crown. But, lest anything in this arrangement should appear 
 to be done without the concurrence of his convent, 
 a poida™ain. lie fixed a <%&>r Roger to attend at Battel, to re- 
 ceive their confirmation and charter, that, having 
 there taken an oath for fidelity and for the due payment of the 
 
 182 In co. Suffolk. '*> Afterwards bishop of Winchester. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 141 
 
 pension, he might be sent to the bishop of Norwich, to be 
 instituted at the presentation of the abbot and convent. 
 When all that the case demanded had been rightly performed, 
 and everything was supposed to be peaceably settled, Roger 
 suddenly died, and left the church vacant. 
 
 Alan cle Bellafago, however^ did not allow it to remain long 
 vacant, but had the presumption unlawfully to seize upon it, 
 without the consent of the abbey and convent. When the 
 abbot heard o'f this, it was more than his patience could 
 endure, and he determined again to make complaint in the 
 king's court of this unjust invasion. At this, Alan, very 
 much alarmed, applied to the abbot, through some men of 
 distinction, and humbly sought pardon and forgiveness. Those 
 personages earnestly exerted themselves on his behalf, and 
 promised a suitable satisfaction for his presumption ; and the 
 abbot, prevailed upon by their importunate requests, deferred 
 his complaint for a time— willing on one hand to satisfy, in 
 some degree, the entreaties of the mediators, and on the other 
 to prove more surely the promised satisfaction of Alan. But, 
 as the time was now approaching when he should depart out 
 of this life, nothing further was done in the business. Alan 
 in the meanwhile made no sort of satisfaction, but after the 
 abbot's death held the church of Brantham, upon his own 
 authority, for some years, with all the revenues arising 
 from it. •# 
 
 It must suffice briefly to have mentioned a few of the labours 
 and exertions of the venerable Abbot Walter, in seek- 
 ing to recover churches and lands unjustly alienated ; zea i in the 
 for to give a full detail of them all would be a labo- ZTrigLtf 
 rious undertaking. It is proper, however, by all 
 means briefly to state, that unless he had manfully and pru- 
 dently exerted himself for the recovery of the dowry churches, 
 the Abbey of Battel would certainly have lost all the right 
 in them which it had possessed in former times, entirely and 
 irrevocably. For the knights who by the gift of the kings 
 
142 CHRONICLE OP 
 
 that had succeeded William the Second, had obtained the 
 vills and manors within whose boundaries the churches stood, 
 claimed the right of patronage over them. They argued that 
 the church was the head of every parish in which it was 
 situated, and, the head being the chief part of the body, they 
 affirmed that they had a fuller right to the churches than 
 even to the lands themselves. But the abbot stood manfully 
 forward in defence of the Lord's house, and wrested every 
 one of them from the talons of those who had seized them 
 (not, however, without great difficulty), and restored them to 
 the possession of the monastery of Battel. Thus, in all things, 
 he regarded the honour and advantage of his Abbey, although 
 it may be thought by some, in more recent times, that he 
 might have acted with more prudence in the recovery of those 
 churches. For it is said, that if he had employed every 
 means, he might have succeeded in transferring to the use of 
 the monastery the churches themselves, with all the profits 
 arising from them, by appointing vicars to serve them for a 
 suitable yearly consideration. It is thought he might have 
 done so at that time, inasmuch as he enjoyed the favour of 
 the king, through whom he might have obtained these or 
 greater things from the supreme pontiff; and supported as 
 he also was by his venerable brother, Richard de Lucy, who, 
 second only to the king, held the name and office of chief- 
 justice in the realm. The abbot, then, acted as it is said, 
 somewhat incircumspectly in granting those churches to 
 clerks, to be held by pensions, taking by agreement small 
 portions of their abundant revenues, when he might, by 
 proper exertions, have easily obtained the whole. However, 
 although he did not act in conformity with this modern 
 opinion, still, in the recovery of the chinches, it is clear that 
 he did much for the Abbey ; for by strenuous exertion he 
 recovered a lost and all but irrecoverable right, and that right 
 being restored, he caused those churches which in some in- 
 stances had yielded few profits, and in others in those 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 143 
 
 adverse times none at all, to pay in the whole, as annual 
 pensions, the sum of more than twenty-two marks of silver. 
 Ont of these pensions he assigned seven pounds to the 
 works of the Abbey : viz., a hundred shillings from Ayles- 
 ham ls4 church, and forty from that of Middlehale, laying 
 upon all who should transfer that money to other uses, or on 
 any account withdraw it, or should council or aid in its trans- 
 ference or withdrawment, a perpetual curse. This he did 
 with the permission and consent of .his convent, thus setting 
 a good example to his successors. 
 
 Until the time of this venerable man, a moiety of the tithes 
 of the lordship of Wye had been assigned to the 
 herdsmen of that manor, and thus the Lord's in- a mo(ety"of 
 heritance was the reward of hirelings. The abbot ^ ht J' es °f 
 
 o It ye for the 
 
 seeing; this to be quite uncanonical, provided in ««rwfy of 
 
 i e i r i • i i Battel. 
 
 another way tor the oxmen, trom the manorial land, 
 and with the consent of the convent assigned that moiety to 
 the sacristy of Battel Abbey, appointing that out of that tithe 
 two tapers should be provided to burn in the choir before the 
 monks, whenever they should require candle-light. He ap- 
 pointed besides a yearly gift of white wine to the „ 
 
 1 j j o jj lg annu 
 
 convent, with a pepper-cake 185 to every monk, be- versary gift 
 sides the simenel payable out of the common cellar, mne ' ^°' 
 with two good dishes, in addition to those ordinarily due 
 from the kitchen, one of which, if circumstances will possibly 
 
 184 Aylesham, co. Suffolk. 
 
 185 " Cum singulis guastellis piperatis singulis monachis." Ordinarily, wastel is a fine 
 kind of bread, second only to the simenel described in a former note. Chaucer, who 
 flourished two centuries subsequently to Abbot Walter, describes his prioress as keeping 
 " small houndes" which 
 
 " sche fedde 
 With rostud fleissh, and mylk, and wastel breed." 
 
 In the present instance the wastel was seasoned with pepper (or more probably with 
 spice) to be eaten with the wine. This obsolete article is commemorated in the well- 
 known nursery rhyme, the hero of which is skilled in divers culinary arts : 
 
 " He can brew and he can bake, 
 He can make a pepper-cake," &c. 
 
144 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 admit, shall be of fresh salmon ; and the measure of wine for 
 each of the brethren shall not be less than a gallon. This 
 benefaction he desired to be made, during his life, on the day 
 of the decollation of John the Baptist ; but after his decease, 
 on the anniversary of his own death. And lest any one of his 
 successors should threaten to change this custom, or in any 
 way to oppose it, he put on his stole, and went into the 
 chapter-house with a lighted candle, and commanded every 
 brother who performed service, whether as priest or deacon, 
 to take his stole and lighted candle, together with the band 
 of subdeacons, and those of inferior rank, and -the converts, 
 with lighted candles alone ; and there, with the countenance 
 and consent of all present, he pronounced a perpetual and in- 
 exorable anathema upon all who should violate this institution. 
 
 In the time of this venerated personage, two knights, 
 residing in the vicinity of the monastery, named Ingelram de 
 Scotney 186 and Robert Bos, presented to the Abbey, 
 Smewin's for the salvation of themselves and theirs, and free 
 from every custom of earthly service, two lands from 
 their estate, adjoining each other, near the wood called 
 Bathurst. The devotion of these knights was the more laud- 
 able, inasmuch as they determined to confer upon the Abbey 
 that which being so near at hand was so much the more con- 
 venient. The land which Ingelram de Scotney gave is now 
 called by the inhabitants " Smewin's Wist." 
 
 The foregoing narration has shown how thirty acres of 
 meadow at Bodiham were given, upon payment of fifty shil- 
 lings, to Abbot Gausbert, in the time of King William the 
 
 186 This family derived their name from Scotney Castle, near Lamberhurst, on the 
 boundary of Sussex and Kent, now the property of E. Hussey, Esq. The names of several 
 of Ingram's descendants occur in the archives of the Abbey. They appear ultimately to 
 have fallen to ruin in consequence of the crimes, real or pretended, of Walter de Scotney, 
 who, according to the chronicler, Edmund de Hadenham, in 1259, administered poison to 
 Richard, earl of Gloucester, and his brother, William de Clare, of which the latter died. 
 De Scotney, who was steward to the earl, was hanged at Winchester, in spite of his pro- 
 testations of innocence. (Vide Blaauw's Barons 1 War, p. Gl.) 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 145 
 
 First, by the knight Osbern Fitz-Hugh. Now, inasmuch as 
 that meadow is somewhat remote from the Abbey, it seemed 
 desirable that the custody of it should be given to some 
 trustworthy person who resided in the neighbourhood. But 
 as it was unsafe to commit this charge to any one who was 
 not dependent upon the Abbey, and as all the meadow was so 
 wet that there was no suitable site for a house, in Robert 
 course of time it was arranged with a knight, named Bo p ie ' s , . 
 
 ...,-, gift of land 
 
 Robert Borne, who resided in the vicinity, that he for the 
 should grant to God and S. Martin, in free and alomSat 
 everlasting possession, a piece of land from his estate Bodiham ' 
 contiguous to the meadow. A house fit for the keeper of the 
 meadow was then erected. 
 
 This Robert Borne, at the request of the brethren, also 
 granted a roadway from the meadow, as far as his 
 fee extended, in the direction of Battel (formerly 'ZaZat^ 
 granted by his father), for the conveyance, by means 
 of carts or wagons, of hay and other necessaries. This gift was 
 entirely free and exempt from all claims of his brothers, heirs, 
 and successors. The brethren, in acknowledgment of this kind- 
 ness, and for the sake of evidence hereafter, gave him six shillings 
 and iron leg-harness, which some properly designate greaves, 
 by which he might equip one of his brothers for the wars. 
 
 Now there was a slip of land lying between the above-men- 
 tioned meadow and the recently-acquired keeper's 
 house, which seemed convenient for the brethren, 
 for the purposes of a wharf, on which they might land such 
 things as were brought thither for their use by a vessel. 187 
 The venerable Abbot Walter, therefore, personally and through 
 his friends, applied to Robert Borne and Ralph his son, and 
 prevailed upon them to give that slip of land as they had done 
 the manse which it adjoined, for their souls' health and that of 
 their friends, to God and S. Martin, to be quietly held for ever. 
 
 1S ? This passage is interesting, as showing that the Rother, at Bodiham, was navigable 
 for a sailing vessel (naviyium) in the twelfth century. 
 
 10 
 
146 CHRONICLE or 
 
 They both consented, and endowed him with it in the monastery 
 of S. Martin before the high altar; but the abbot determined 
 not to accept it without some remuneration, and therefore, 
 by way of return, as well as for evidence hereafter, caused ten 
 shillings to be given to the father, and a crown to the son. 
 
 We have inserted, as a memorial to future times, such 
 transactions as we coidd recollect concerning these lands 
 (though very small), because previously to their being added 
 to the possessions of the Abbey, both the brethren and their 
 servants had been subjected to many vexatious annoyances, to 
 say nothing of their expenses, concerning them. For they had 
 no ingress or regress to the meadow in question except through 
 lands not their own, and the owners of the surrounding lands 
 vexed them with challenges, and would not permit them to 
 have a free passage through their property. By the carefid 
 management of the abbot, however, these and many other 
 affairs of the Abbey were brought into better order. 
 
 In his days, moreover, the Lord vouchsafed to visit the Abbey 
 . . , of Battel, and in order to show forth the merits of 
 
 A miracle, 
 
 his blessed confessor S. Martin, made the place re- 
 splendent with frequent miracles. Then came thither a great 
 multitude of both sexes, both for penance and the remission of 
 their sins, and for the healing of their diseases. Out of those 
 who thus came, some, suddenly falling down, wallowed upon 
 the earth, and were by some secret judgment of God miserably 
 tormented. Others who were present, and were not sub- 
 at which the j ec ^ ec ^ to the sam e pains and contortions, began 
 incredulous unreasonably to scorn these divine manifestations 
 that the as if they were not of God ; and, having in them 
 tended/or neither piety nor any bowels of compassion, inso- 
 Battei, lently derided the sufferings of their friends, whom, 
 
 out of regard to the common frailty of human nature, they ought 
 to have compassionated. Provoked by this, and by the un- 
 worthy lives of some of the inhabitants, the Lord waxed angry 
 against these ungrateful people, and withdrew this favour from 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 147 
 
 them as undeserving of it. He revealed to one of the faithful, 
 in a vision, his intention to have glorified the place before men, 
 and his determination to change his design and to withdraw 
 his vouchsafed favour, in consequence of the great impiety of 
 some who dwelt there. What then shall we say to these 
 things? It rather becomes us to bewail than to speak of 
 them. Alas, alas ! how great is the unhappiness of men who 
 betray such ingratitude for divine manifestations, and neglect 
 to pay the service of a becoming homage to their Creator ! 
 From this it is beyond question that, as they undeservedly 
 receive many things from God, so they lose innumerable 
 favours through their ingratitude. But still the Lord, who is 
 kind and merciful, and of great compassion, did not utterly 
 withdraw the granted favour, but at his pleasure transferred 
 it. He transferred it, indeed, from the mother to the daughter ; 
 that is to say, from the Abbey of the blessed Martin of Battel 
 to the church of S. Nicholas, in the city of Exeter, & tram- 
 which is its cell, and which was at that time in a ^fJlt 
 state of dejection. For the church there, before the Exeter 
 building had been fully completed, was, by a second and 
 sudden fire in the town, reduced to a ruin. The glory of the 
 Lord, then, was manifested in signs and miracles, which ren- 
 dered famous not only the place itself, but other parts of the 
 kingdom where its monks or clerks came to preach. As these 
 miracles increased, the name of the blessed Nicholas was 
 spread abroad in all directions, and the place began to be 
 frequented by the faithful of both sexes, and of every age, 
 creed, and rank, who brought together so much gain as suf- 
 ficed not merely to rebuild the church destroyed by the recent 
 fire, but also to construct handsome buildings for the residence 
 of the brethren who dwelt there in charge of it. By the grace 
 of God, the Abbey of S. Martin of Battel was not in these 
 things altogether disappointed, since the honour of the daugh- 
 ter is the glory of her mother. O happy places and times 
 which the mercy of God hath thus visited ! 
 
148 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 Many, indeed, are the noble acts of the venerable Abbot 
 Abbot Walter with which we are acquainted, but not wish- 
 
 Waiter'% m2 f to burden our readers or hearers with too much 
 
 cJtaractcv* 
 
 prolixity, we shall, for the rest, adhere to brevity, 
 and unfold to the prudent reader many things which may 
 easily be understood, in few words. In the execution of the 
 pastoral office his manner was such that, to the disobedient 
 and irregular he showed himself rigid and severe, while to the 
 meek and obedient he was ever placable and kind. With 
 great pity towards the poor, he allayed their hunger with food, 
 and covered their nakedness with raiment. He especially 
 compassionated the forlorn condition of those afflicted with 
 leprosy and elephantiasis, whom he was so far from shunning, 
 that he frequently waited upon them in person, washing their 
 hands and feet, and with the utmost cordiality imprinting 
 upon them the soothing kisses of love and piety. 188 On no 
 „. -.,,*,, account would he suffer the dignities and liberties 
 
 His faithful , .... 
 
 administ'ra- of his Abbey to be diminished, nor its goods and 
 possessions to be withdrawn or wasted through 
 negligence. The charge of those possessions he committed 
 to others in such a manner as that he himself had the 
 superintendence of the whole. The Abbey itself, whose 
 government he had undertaken in unprosperous times, he pro- 
 tected from the violence of its adversaries with all his might, 
 and those things of which it had been despoiled, he vigorously, 
 in the subsequent season of tranquillity, recovered. In the 
 early days of his promotion he was unable to devote anything 
 to hospitality, as the means were wanting ; for adversaries had 
 seized nearly all that belonged to the monastery, so that there was 
 scarcely sufficient left for the bare sustenance of the brethren. 
 In more peaceful times, when he had, with great exertion and 
 
 188 This dreadful scourge, which is conjectured to have been brought into western Europe 
 by the pilgrims and crusaders, gave rise to the foundation of many lazar-houses, or hospitals 
 of lepers. From the above statement it seems probable that there was such an establish- 
 ment connected with Battel Abbev. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 149 
 
 expense, recovered the most part of what had been taken away, 
 he effected a great reformation in the house, and restored old 
 and proper customs, so that to whomsoever knocked a door 
 was opened, and no one who sought entertainment suffered 
 a repulse ; and thus the duties of humanity were exercised, 
 according to the dignity or condition of the applicants. Not 
 trusting to others in matters of business rather than to him- 
 self, he paid frequent visits of inspection to the abbatial manors, 
 and there caused edifices fit for the reception of the powerful 
 and noble to be erected. These manors being situated in 
 various and distant localities, the sheriffs and other powerful 
 men- of the several districts sought to vex both himself and 
 the tenants of the Abbey, by their unjust claims, expecting to 
 receive gifts for the restoration of their goods and liberties ; 
 but he, devoid of fear as to all these, was resolved not to 
 satisfy their cupidity ; for he so enjoyed the king's goodwill, 
 through which he could obtain everything he desired, that he 
 restrained those who entertained the wish to molest him from 
 the power of doing so, and they were thus disappointed of the 
 hope of obtaining any reward from him. 
 
 He took great delight also in the beauty of God's house, 
 and adorned his monastery with such palls, casulae, 
 cappae, albs, dalmatics, tunics, tapestry, banners, church, and 
 and such a great variety of ornaments, as none of ^"^* the 
 his predecessors had ever done the like. The 
 cloister, which at the first erection of the Abbey had been 
 but meanly built, he pulled down, and erected another of 
 marble slabs and columns, of smooth and polished workman- 
 ship. When this was finished, he intended to construct a 
 lavatorium of the same material and workmanship, and had 
 even engaged the workmen, when his death took place ; but 
 although he was unable to finish it, he left the necessary funds 
 for its completion. 
 
 While the Abbey was in this flourishing state, His death. 
 and when from these promising blossoms a fruitful crop was 
 
150 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 anticipated, on a sudden all hope was cut off, and this 
 venerable man was taken from the midst. Though his 
 lower extremities were half dead, and he had for many years 
 laboured under continual ill health, yet he never indulged 
 himself, but constantly stood forth against every adversary in 
 defence of the Abbey committed to his charge. At length, 
 going to the abbatial manor of Wye for the purpose of visiting 
 it, he began on a sudden to grow worse. His weakness daily 
 increasing, he sent for Clarenbald, abbot of the neighbouring 
 monastery of Faversham, a venerable personage of great 
 sanctity in those parts, to confer with him concerning his 
 soul's health, and to do penance for the excesses of which he 
 had been guilty in this present life. " For there is no man 
 that liveth and sinneth not." 189 Thus, frequently receiving 
 the sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord, he gave 
 orders to the prior of his Abbey with certain brothers to come 
 to him without delay. In obedience to this command, the 
 prior, attended by the brethren, came, and the abbot dili- 
 gently conferred with him also about the health of his soul, 
 and begged pardon both of him and of the brethren with 
 him, for any injuries he might have done them, either de- 
 servedly or not, first forgiving them the like offences against 
 himself. The prior and brethren, acting on behalf of the 
 whole convent, forgave him all things, and blessed him in the 
 name of all. He, in return, with paternal love, blessed them, 
 and relaxed such sentences as he had upon any occasion laid 
 upon any of the brethren, and by the pastoral office which he 
 held absolved them all. As he was daily growing weaker, his 
 illustrious brother, Richard de Lucy, came to see him, and 
 he, judging by his sight and his speech, seeing no hope of his 
 recovery, advised his speedy removal to his Abbey. Lest 
 anything which ecclesiastical custom holds requisite should 
 be wanting to him, now that his end was approaching — his 
 
 189 1 Kings, viii, 18. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 151 
 
 mind and understanding being meanwhile perfectly sound, and 
 he calling upon God — he was anointed ; and being thus laid 
 upon a litter, was conveyed by horses to Battel. On his 
 arrival there, he had entirely lost his voice, and his breath 
 scarcely stirred within his bosom. His sons ran sorrowfully 
 to meet him, to see their father more than half dead and just 
 departing, but not to enjoy his conversation. Every one 
 kissed him as he lay, awaiting the unknown hour (for the 
 day of his future existence seemed to dawn), and fortified 
 him for his departure with their prayerful devotions. When 
 he had thus passed the night and the following day, panting 
 for breath, and the second night had now covered the earth 
 with its shadows, all present thought he was about to depart. 
 He was therefore carried with all possible haste into the 
 chapter-house, there, according to the custom of tfhe Abbey, 
 to breathe out his spirit. He was laid upon the sackcloth 
 and ashes 190 there made ready, when on a sudden he began 
 to move all his limbs, which before had seemed dead, and 
 also his lips as if for the purpose of speaking. At this all 
 the brethren were excited, and those who were standing 
 nearest to him applied their ears to his mouth, but as there 
 was no word uttered, but only a kind of hissing, they w T ere 
 unable to understand anything of what he desired to say. 
 The night was wearing away, and daylight was breaking, 
 when he yielded up his soul into the hands and will of his 
 Creator, while the brethren standing around commended the 
 departing one with devout prayers to the Lord. His exequies 
 were becomingly celebrated for two days, and then the dust was 
 returned to the dust out of which it was taken, and he was bu- 
 ried before the larger crucifix and the altar of the cross 
 of the Crucified. 191 He was gathered to his fathers 
 in the thirty-third year of his promotion, on the eleventh 
 
 190 All these ceremonies were in accordance with the rules of the order. 
 
 191 " Coram majori crucifixo et altari cruris Crurifixi." 
 
152 
 
 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 of the calends of July, in the year of our Lord's incarnation 
 1171. 
 
 While he is deserving of praise for his numerous good 
 deeds, he is especially to be admired for these : with great 
 labour and vast expense he recovered the property and pos- 
 sessions of the Abbey, great part of which had in adverse 
 times been withdrawn ; he restored the house to its pristine 
 state ; he decorated the church with a very great variety of 
 ornaments, yet left the Abbey unencumbered with the 
 slightest debt, either within or without ; and he so provided 
 for all the servants, both those who familiarly waited upon him, 
 and those who managed affairs in common for the brethren, 
 that none of them could justly allege that anything was 
 wanting of what was due to them in recompense of their 
 services. Beyond all this, at his death he left to the Abbey 
 certain silver vessels, out of which, to the honour of God and 
 his memory, was made a crown to hang over the high altar, 
 gold being added for its gilding, with a Dove in the midst, 
 made of the same material, to contain the Lord's body. 192 
 From such a recollection, therefore, of his kindnesses, his 
 memory is still cherished with manifold benedictions. 
 
 192 Pixes, in the form of a dove, suspended over the high altars of churches, were not 
 unusual in France previously to the year 1200, about which date they began to be disused, 
 
 on account of the shape being found incon- 
 venient for carrying the host to dying per- 
 sons at their dwellings. About six only of 
 these doves are known to exist in public and 
 private museums in France. They are all 
 fabricated of metal, gilt and enamelled ; those 
 which were made of gold or silver having 
 been melted down on account of their in- 
 trinsic value. At the recent "Exhibition of 
 Antient and Medieval Art," (held in London 
 in May, 1850), H. Magniac, Esq., exhibited 
 a specimen of this interesting species of 
 church -furniture. It is, like those mentioned 
 above, of Limoges enamel, and was obtained 
 by Mr. M. from an old antiquary at Paris, who declined naming the church from which 
 he had procured it. Minute and interesting information on this subject exists, I am told, 
 in the work of the Abbe Texier on the enamelled relics of the church. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 153 
 
 The venerable Abbot Walter being thus exempted from 
 human affairs, his illustrious brother Richard de 
 Lucy began to exercise a diligent care for the Lul^ap. 6 
 bereaved house, and to provide for the rest and p° ints J W0 
 
 1 custodes. 
 
 consolation of the forsaken brethren. He deter- 
 mined not to commit the care of the Abbey to any one who 
 was but slightly known to, or suspected by, the brethren, 
 and who might on any occasion be able to disturb their peace. 
 Now there were two men of fidelity and prudence residing in 
 the borough of Battel, in front of the Abbey gates, 193 namely, 
 Peter de Criel, knight, and Hugh de Beche, 194 who, from the 
 vicinity of their habitations, had almost from their cradles 
 had familiar intercourse with the monks. These having been 
 found faithful in many transactions, had become the most 
 intimate friends the brethren had. They were not unknown 
 to Richard de Lucy, for he had already some acquaintance 
 with both of them, since, in Abbot Walter's time, they were 
 regarded as the very first of his confidants. At his command, 
 therefore, they paid him a visit, and he committed to them 
 the entire secular management of the Abbey, charging them 
 honourably to provide the brethren with all necessary food 
 and clothing, and to see to the repairs of the buildings in which 
 they were accustomed daily to assemble, as well as the other 
 offices which they had for necessary uses ; and also to super- 
 intend the servants employed in their common affairs, with 
 whose help they were unable to dispense. These two person- 
 ages held the stewardship, during the four years that the 
 Abbey was vacant, with so much care towards the fraternity, 
 that no defect or scantiness in what regularly and customarily 
 appertained to their food and vestments was experienced 
 
 193 " In burgo de Bello." From this it appears that the term burgus was far less 
 restricted in meaning than at present. In an earlier part of this work (p. 20) the inha- 
 hitants are styled burgenses. 
 
 194 The Criols or Chriols were eminent people in the district. The residence of the 
 Beches was that numbered ' 2' in the enumeration of the messuages in the town of Battel. 
 (Vide p. 15.) 
 
154 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 through their contempt or negligence. During that period 
 the Abbey sustained no diminution of its dignities or liberties, 
 nor any attacks from its enemies, for all were aware that the 
 illustrious Richard de Lucy, who next the king held the 
 highest authority, was its protector, and that he possessed 
 the power to repress all that should rise against it. For he 
 had so prompt a will and such great diligence in expediting 
 any pressing business of the Abbey that he would suffer no 
 procrastination, knowing that delay often brings danger. 
 Hence, since he was much occupied with the arduous affairs 
 of the kingdom in connection with his chief justiceship, and 
 had not always leisure for minor matters, he ordered his 
 notaries and keepers of his seal, that whenever they knew any 
 one apply concerning the business of the Abbey, they should 
 settle everything in his name out of hand, without waiting 
 for his opinion, except in cases of difficulty. 
 
 At this time William, priest of the church of Wye, who 
 
 held a moiety of that church from the gift of the late 
 
 ie m °chlrcf abbot and tlie brethren, died. When the know- 
 
 of Wye pre- ledge of this circumstance reached Richard de Lucy, 
 
 sented to 
 
 Godfrey, son he directed a letter to the prior and convent, pray- 
 deLucy" rd m » * na ^ ^ e J wou ^ grant it to his son, Godfrey de 
 Lucy, 195 to hold as William had held it. The letter 
 being read in the presence of all, they resolved to comply 
 with the wishes of this great man, whom they had found so 
 ready to assist them in all their affairs. They therefore 
 unanimously consented, and in their reply to the petitioner 
 signified their donation of what was solicited, stating that the 
 priest William had held a moiety only of the church, which 
 they would now freely grant, upon his petition, to his son 
 Godfrey de Lucy. 
 
 Godfrey finding that a moiety only, and not the whole 
 
 195 Godfrey de Lucy was a person of eminence. " In 1189 he was bishop of Winchester, 
 and in 1197 chief justice, as his father had been." — (Note in Lat. Ed.) 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 155 
 
 church, was granted him, ungratefully resolved to repay 
 evil for good, endeavouring with all his might to who mrrep. 
 extort from the brethren the other moiety which taZTthe ' 
 had not been conceded, and thus to get the church °J herm oiety 
 
 ° jrom the 
 
 entirely into his own hands. He immediately ap- **«?• 
 plied, both in person and through friends, to the king, stating 
 that the church of Wye was vacant by the death of the priest, 
 and that he had the consent of the prior and convent of Battel 
 to succeed to it. He urged that, as the abbot was dead, the 
 king himself held the abbatial prerogative, and requested, 
 since their assent had been obtained, that he would vouch- 
 safe to grant him the church by his royal authority. It 
 appears that in his statement to the king, he either suppressed 
 the fact that one half only of the church had been granted him, 
 or in some other way circumvented him by withholding the 
 truth. The king yielded to his solicitations, and not only 
 granted him the whole church, but also confirmed it, and 
 directed letters to the venerable Richard, archbishop-elect of 
 Canterbury, for his institution. And the archbishop-elect, 
 although as yet possessed of little dignity and power — inas- 
 much as his election had not received the pope's confirmation 
 — instituted him with the little authority he possessed, and 
 confirmed his institution with such a charter as he could give. 
 Subsequently, after having gone to the apostolical see for con- 
 secration, and done there what was necessary, on his return 
 to England, the archbishop (now primate of all England and 
 legate of the apostolical see) on Godfrey's application granted 
 all things as- before, and confirmed them by his episcopal 
 authority. He is said, however, to have instituted him con- 
 ditionally, saving the rights of all men. There was, therefore, 
 during the whole time that the Abbey was vacant, a great 
 dissension between the brethren and Godfrey ; for while 
 Godfrey struggled to get the whole church into his hands, 
 the brethren strove to retain the moiety of it which had not 
 been granted him by them. 
 
156 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 It happened at this time that many churches and monas- 
 teries in England were vacant. And although the cause of 
 this may seem a little foreign to our subject, yet we have 
 thought it improper to pass it over in silence. 
 
 Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, having been gathered 
 to his fathers in a good old age, Thomas, archdeacon 
 Thomas a of Canterbury, the king's chancellor (who, as the 
 Becket. foregoing narration has shown, stood so manfully 
 with Abbot Walter, of excellent memory, against Hilary bishop 
 of Chichester, and acted as an advocate in defence of the 
 liberty of Battel Abbey), succeeded him in the title and office 
 of archbishop. The memory of his virtues deserves to be 
 cherished among the brethren of that church in proportion to 
 the solicitude he manifested in defending its liberties. While 
 he held the office of chancellor he was, after the king, among 
 the distinguished the most eminent, among the powerful the 
 mightiest, and among the monarch's intimates the most 
 familiar. The king on this account exerted himself by every 
 means to promote him to the dignity of archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, which is reckoned the highest ecclesiastical post in 
 the realm. For he calculated that from their long-standing 
 intimacy he would yield to him in all things, and on no occa- 
 sion whatever oppose his wishes. But while he proposed this, 
 God saw fit to dispose far otherwise. Eor the venerable 
 Thomas, having attained this elevated position, thought more 
 of the obligations than of the honour it imposed upon him ; 
 more of the weight of the pastoral charge than of the temporal 
 dignity. " Honours," in his case, according to the vulgar 
 proverb, " changed behaviour" indeed, not according to the 
 experience of most men, for the worse, but day by day for 
 the better ; for " putting off the old man which is according 
 to the world," he sought to " put on the new man which is 
 created according to God." 196 
 
 196 Ephes. iv, 22. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 157 
 
 Meanwhile the king began to wish to oppress the clergy, de- 
 manding for that purpose the assent of the archbishop 
 and his suffragans. But while the bishops consented, Henry H ., 
 
 o 1 ' oppresses the 
 
 the archbishop refused to do so, regarding himself cler </y> and 
 
 . sets at 
 
 as the defender of the church, and not its opponent, nought his 
 The king, therefore, with the bishops and chief men SfKX? 
 of the realm, burnt against him with such great 
 indignation, that their antient friendship went for nothing in 
 comparison with this newly-conceived hatred. The arch- 
 bishop nevertheless stood firmly by the church, though un- 
 supported. All thus opposing him, and no one espousing 
 his cause, he could do little or nothing, and seeing one danger 
 succeed another, he chose rather to undergo a voluntary exile, 
 than to see the church endamaged before his face. He 
 therefore snatched himself from the midst of such iniquity, 
 and went over to Prance, to seek in a foreign land that peace 
 which he had not in his own. He retired in poverty, destitute 
 of his property and possessions, and was immediately deprived 
 by the hand of power of the revenues arising from them. 
 How many sufferings he underwent in the six years of his 
 exile, could be expressed by no one except himself, because 
 no one else had them to experience. Among the innumerable 
 injuries shamefully heaped upon him, the most abominable was, 
 that when in his own person he was beyond reach, a violent 
 hatred was excited against all his kindred ; insomuch that all 
 who were his relatives and well-wishers were adjudged to ban- 
 ishment with him, that if anything were wanting to his own 
 sufferings, it might be fulfilled in theirs. It was a miserable 
 sight, when neither age, nor sex, nor condition was spared by 
 this shocking cruelty, when women with child, and little ones 
 hanging at the breast, with young men, and aged persons sup- 
 porting their weakly limbs with a staff, were thus driven forth. 
 
 When the seventh year of his exile had com- a Becket 
 menced, the king pretended to have received him £$£" rc 
 again into his favour, and upon the strength of this seeming 
 
158 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 reconciliation, exchanging his exile for his native land, he 
 returned peacefully to England. On his arrival, he proceeded 
 to the church of his primacy, relying upon the promise of 
 peace, which however was not fulfilled. For he had been 
 settled scarcely a month in his church, when four knights 
 coming — I do not say sent — from the royal court, 
 
 And is slain . 
 
 by the emis- attacking him, this pastor of the church, in the 
 Mnff. S ° fthe church, and for the church, was slain, 197 by men 
 
 regenerated in Christ and in the church, though 
 now, for the commission of this monstrous crime, alienated 
 from the church. The report of this enormous wickedness 
 ran swiftly through the land, and crossed the seas, while its 
 cry ascended from earth to heaven ; and it was soon mani- 
 fested by numerous shining miracles in all directions, that 
 this primate had died the death of a martyr. 
 
 In the meantime this martyr of the Lord, or rather the Lord 
 
 himself on behalf of his martyr, seemed to seek re- 
 
 Judgments m J ' 
 
 befaii the venge for his innocent blood ; for the prince, the 
 king's son, rebelled against his father, and receiving 
 the sanction and aid of many of the barons, endeavoured to 
 drive him from his kingdom. He was, therefore, deprived of 
 all counsel and solace. On one side, an angry conscience 
 accused him of his wickedness ; on the other, an inevitable 
 danger threatened him, for while his fleet was upon a foreign 
 shore, his son, with an immense army, appeared ready to seize 
 upon his kingdom. 
 
 Placed in this dilemma, he learned a lesson of humility, 
 
 197 The chronicler here seems to have had in his mind a distich which was popular at 
 the time, and which is quoted by Giraldus Cambrensis (De Instruct. Princip.) 
 
 " Pro Christi sponsa, Christi sub tempore, Christi 
 In templo, Christi verus amator obit." 
 
 For Christ's own bride, at Christ's own tide, a 
 
 In Christ's own church, >> Christ's faitliful lover died. 
 
 " Dec. 29. 
 
 * Christen ureh, Canterbury. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 159 
 
 and laying aside his fierceness, speedily went to Canterbury. 
 Approaching the city barefoot, he sought the martyr's 
 sepulchre, confessed his guilt, besought pardon, and ^i^Zu^l a 
 promised fruits worthy of repentance. The Lord, t ° Canter - 
 
 . . bury. 
 
 with his martyr, mindful of his accustomed mercy, 
 did not delay to afford it to the humbled monarch, for he 
 sent a sudden fear into the hearts of his enemies, so that they 
 immediately desisted from their purpose, and retreated from 
 the sea which they had prepared to cross. His enemies being 
 now all discomfited by the divine influence, and the kingdom 
 being reduced to good order, the king began to take measures 
 for the appointment of a pastor to the church of Canterbury, 
 the metropolitical see of his realm. Richard, the monk of 
 that church previously mentioned, being therefore 
 
 ° Election of 
 
 already elected to that office, was shortly afterwards a new arch- 
 consecrated by the supreme pontiff of the Roman ' swp ' 
 chinch. It seems by no means proper to omit this, as it is 
 necessary to the subsequent narration ; for soon after his 
 election, while as yet his consecration was doubtful, he had 
 performed certain public acts, all of which, from the day of his 
 election, were by our lord the pope rendered null and void at 
 his consecration. So that from the first days of the exile of 
 the blessed martyr Thomas, until the return of his successor, 
 Archbishop Richard, from Rome, many churches and monas- 
 teries in England became vacant. Thus, though episcopal sees 
 were vacant, no election of bishops could take place, there 
 being no archbishop either to confirm their election or to con- 
 secrate them. Nor did it seem less improper to appoint 
 persons to the government of monasteries, when the dioceses 
 were destitute of bishops by whom they could be instituted. 
 Besides this, the king would not suffer aught to be done with- 
 out his management, and when, shortly after the martyrdom 
 of the blesssd Thomas, the dispute to which we have alluded 
 broke out between him and his son, he was much engaged 
 with other affairs, and exercised less than ordinary care 
 
160 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 concerning ecclesiastical matters. These things are briefly 
 here inserted, for, although they may seem to have little to do 
 with our subject, they are not wholly irrelevant, inasmuch as 
 some of our subsequent facts have reference to them ; to the 
 relation of which we now direct attention. 
 
 In the year of the Incarnation of God's Word 1175, and the 
 
 twenty -first of the reign of King Henry the Second, 
 
 Richani° V the venerable Richard (having been himself ordained 
 
 ordains new and confirmed in his see) ordained all the bishops 
 
 bishops, . l 
 
 who, recently elected, had presided in the hitherto 
 vacant dioceses. Among these was John, bishop of Chichester, 
 of happy memory, formerly dean of that church; Bishop 
 Hilary, of whom such frequent mention has been made, having 
 departed this life during the exile of the blessed martyr Thomas. 
 Everything being arranged as to the ordination of bishops, 
 
 both the kino; and the archbishop turned their atten- 
 
 and in con- # ° ± 
 
 junction tion to the election and institution of monastic 
 king pro- superiors. Having taken mutual counsel upon the 
 a7ucci°e2s- subject, they determined that letters should be writ- 
 ticaivacan- ten to the various convents, commanding the prior 
 of each, together with four or five of the brethren, 
 — all excuses laid aside — to appear before them at Woodstock, 
 that there, in their presence, they might, with God's aid, elect 
 abbots to be set over them ; and that the election might be 
 fully approved by the whole of each community, it was ordered 
 that they should bring with them letters expressive of the 
 common purpose and consent of their convents. 
 
 For the performance of this business, two clerks were 
 Two clerks directed to go through the various provinces to 
 Batta execute the message committed to them at the 
 
 this bust. several monasteries in their route, and these at length 
 reached Battel. On their arrival, the prior sum- 
 moned the whole congregation into the chapter-house. The 
 clerks being introduced, handed in their orders, which were 
 read aloud. Having thus fulfilled their commission, they 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 161 
 
 were thinking of taking their leave, when another messenger 
 suddenly arrived, bearing unexpected letters, which he pre- 
 sented in the king's name. The letters were to 
 the effect that the prior and his brethren, who charter? 
 were to go to the royal court about the election °/ deredt0 
 
 D J be produced. 
 
 of a pastor, should carry with them the charters 
 of dignities and liberties granted by the noble King William, 
 the founder of the Abbey, and the succeeding kings. 
 Astonished at this mandate, the whole convent began to be 
 more alarmed and anxious than before ; for well knowing that 
 many were opposed to the dignities of the monastery, they 
 were in great fear that the king, upon some malicious sug- 
 gestion, might wish to seize upon the charters, lest the abbot, 
 who was shortly to be appointed, should enjoy the protection 
 of their authority ; for they had not forgotten the manner in 
 which (as the foregoing narration has shown) those liberties 
 had formerly been exclaimed against by many as unreason- 
 able, and, unless changed and corrected, as unworthy of 
 observance. 
 
 They suspected, therefore, that more harm than good would 
 come of this mandate, and were much tossed and 
 troubled in mind, praying, however, at the same hers of the 
 time, that all might turn out for the best. They cmvmt t . 
 
 o " V J nominated 
 
 then proceeded to discuss the election of a pastor to f or the 
 be appointed over them, desiring by all means that 
 he should be one of their own congregation, in accordance 
 with the tenour of their charters. They fixed therefore upon 
 two persons of their chapter, so that if one should happen not 
 to be admitted, the other might be received. As the day 
 approached upon which they were to attend before the king 
 and the archbishop, the prior and four of the brethren set out 
 on their journey, the whole congregation strictly charging them 
 that they should not presume to admit any one besides the 
 persons on whom they had unanimously agreed. Arriving at 
 Woodstock on the appointed day, they found assembled a great 
 
 11 
 
162 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 number of priors with their monks, who had been summoned 
 in the same manner. All were waiting in expectation of a 
 summons, when behold, the very first who were called forward 
 for the purpose of electing an abbot were the prior and monks 
 of Battel, who entered the royal gates, leaving the rest outside. 
 On their introduction they were brought before Gilbert, bishop 
 of London, 19S and certain other personages, whom the king 
 and the archbishop had directed to ascertain their views, or 
 rather to induce them to consent to the royal will. The pre- 
 sidents inquired if they had come prepared, in accordance with 
 the mandate of the king and the archbishop ; if they had 
 brought letters of consent from their whole body by which 
 they who were absent bound themselves by the acts of those 
 present ; and, lastly, if they had agreed upon any person. 
 They replied to each of these inquiries, and though they gave 
 satisfaction in other particulars, the presidents said the king 
 „, . did not consent to the election of the persons on 
 
 J he nomi- i 
 
 nation is whoni they had agreed, inasmuch as one of them 
 was entirely unknown, and the other not acceptable ; 
 and that the king was indisposed to grant the offices of his 
 realm to any one who was either little known or regarded 
 with suspicion. They therefore advised them to nominate 
 others to wdiose promotion the king could give his assent ; and 
 that they might more fully inform them of the king's wishes, 
 they proposed many by name, first urging them to a concur- 
 rence by severe threats, and then persuading them by enticing- 
 words. But the prior and the brethren maintained their 
 opinion with all their might, and declared that they could not 
 presume to do anything beyond what the convent had agreed 
 to and enjoined upon them ; above all, they could not acquiesce 
 in the election of the persons named by them, inasmuch as 
 they had no knowledge of them, and must therefore be in 
 doubt as to their good character and w T orthy conversation be- 
 
 198 The celebrated Gilbert Foliot. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 163 
 
 fore God and man. These abettors of the royal will strongly 
 urging the point, the prior and monks begged a postpone- 
 ment, that they might signify the king's wishes to their con- 
 vent, but without success. In this state of perplexity they 
 knew not which way to turn, for while they dared not elect 
 any one except those whom their convent had unanimously 
 fixed upon, those who were acting in furtherance of the king's 
 will, strenuously insisted upon their making immediate choice 
 of another. A great portion of the day had been thus con- 
 sumed in lost labour, when suddenly the king — who, with the 
 archbishop, had been waiting for the announcement of the 
 compliance of the prior and brethren, and was weary of the 
 delay — burst in with a wrathful countenance, and demanded 
 why they had been so long. Upon this, those who had been 
 sent by him urged the matter still more strongly, and the 
 prior and the brethren saw well enough that they could not 
 proceed with their design, but that they must of necessity 
 adopt another course. 
 
 There happened to be present on the affairs of the church 
 of Canterbury, then lately destroyed by fire, 199 one 
 Odo, prior of that church, a man of remarkable o/Canter- 
 piety, who, in addition to other eminent qualities, IZedZ^hl 
 had attained great renown for his eloquence, by Battel de- 
 
 . ,.-.... puties. 
 
 which, being well instructed m divinity, he knew 
 how to bring forth in season things new and old. He had come 
 hither to the king to beg that he would, by the royal authority, 
 renew the charters of liberties and dignities of the church of 
 Canterbury, which had been, for the most part, destroyed by 
 the sudden conflagration. The king appeared willing to satisfy 
 him, holding out great hopes by his promises, which, however, 
 were not in the end realised. This simple and right-minded 
 man, believing his promise, further solicited that he would 
 deign to frame those charters like those of Battel Abbey. 
 
 199 The fire alluded to occurred in the year 1174. 
 
164 chronicle or 
 
 The king not only did not refuse his request, but professed 
 himself so devoted and prompt in his compliance, that he im- 
 mediately sent the letters above alluded to to the prior and 
 convent of Battel, commanding them to bring their charters of 
 privileges to him. The venerable prior had therefore come to 
 Woodstock, full of reliance upon the royal promise. The prior 
 and brethren of Battel, conceiving a high opinion of this per- 
 sonage, consulted together, and determined, upon the persua- 
 sion of Gilbert, bishop of London, and the rest in whose 
 presence they were standing, to elect him as their superior. 
 The brethren were the more willing to admit him to be 
 elected, in preference to the others who had been proposed, 
 inasmuch as they had some knowledge of him, while of the 
 rest they knew nothing at all. And if they were in some 
 degree ignorant as to his moral character, a good hope and his 
 widely-spread fame satisfied them ; for they trusted that as 
 he was so useful to the church of Canterbury, where he per- 
 formed the functions of prior, he would be of service to them- 
 selves and their Abbey. It was therefore announced to the 
 king and the archbishop, by the bishop of London, that they 
 had conferred as to his election ; and they both assented to 
 the choice. 
 
 Two bishops were therefore sent to summon the prior, and 
 The ei f *^ le y ^ ^ m res P ec tfully into the presence of the 
 notified to king and the primate. That discreet personage was 
 much surprised by this mark of respect, for he would 
 have deemed it a sufficient honour if he had been ordered into 
 their presence by any one of inferior dignity and rank. The 
 king and the archbishop received him on his entrance with 
 honour, and taking their seats, made him sit down between 
 them. In the meantime the prior and brethren of S. Martin 
 of Battel^were brought in to declare publicly whom they had 
 elected as their pastor. At their entrance, cogitations began 
 to arise (as he was afterwards wont to say) in the heart of that 
 venerable man, and having some suspicions, he foresaw what 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 105 
 
 was shortly to happen to him. On their introduction, they 
 stepped forward, and as the prior, who had lately had an attack 
 of paralysis, could not speak very well, he commissioned one 
 of the brethren who accompanied him to declare their choice ; 
 and the latter, approaching the king, spoke as follows : — 
 
 " The congregation dwelling in our monastery offers its 
 thanks, most excellent lord, and we, the deputies of T he deputies' 
 that congregation, offer our common thanks to your speech. 
 serenity, for the love you have manifested to us and our Abbey, 
 which is also yours, from the beginning of your reign, and for 
 your readiness, on all occasions, to prove that affection by 
 your deeds. According to our experience we speak ; for in 
 the time of our late abbot, the lord Walter de Lucy of happy 
 memory, your eminence always regarded our Ioav estate, by 
 promoting the affairs of our monastery as if they had been 
 your own ; neither would you suffer the liberties and dignities 
 granted to it from its first foundation by royal authority to be 
 in any way diminished. Nor after the death of that father did 
 your pious, though undeserved, care for us wax cold ; for these 
 four years, during which our church has been vacant, you have 
 acted the part of a pious pastor to us, by supplying us with 
 food and clothing in an ample and honourable manner, and 
 preserving our dignities and liberties in their integrity. In 
 these things much honour is due, as your highness knows, to 
 the illustrious lord, Richard de Lucy, who studied to fulfil the 
 office of procurator, both in person and through his deputies, 
 in so devoted a manner, that no one of us can with justice 
 complain that anything which reason dictated was left unper- 
 formed. 
 
 " Thus far, then, your excellency has condescended to our 
 humble condition, in such wise that there is not one amongst 
 us who could desire to be subject to any other than yourself 
 for the future, if ecclesiastical regulations and the custom of 
 our order would admit of such a thing. For who is there that 
 would voluntarily exchange what has been proved good for 
 
166 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 that which is untried ? But since by our ecclesiastical regula- 
 tions every church ought to have its own pastor, to watch with 
 a careful solicitude over the behaviour of his subordinates, we, 
 summoned hither by your authority and that of the archbishop, 
 ^are present, for the purpose of electing, with God's help, such 
 a pastor, to be worthily set over us, according to canonical 
 rule. For it would be rash indeed in us to transgress the 
 decrees of the fathers. In the name, therefore, of the Holy 
 Trinity, we now elect the venerable Master Odo, prior of the 
 church of Canterbury, and we pray your highness to assent to 
 our election." 
 
 Scarcely had he pronounced aloud the name of the abbot- 
 elect, when the latter broke forth in a tone of opposition, as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Hearing myself named, and by an unexpected choice 
 Odo ob'ects ca ^ e( ^ t° the government of the monastery of Battel, 
 to serve the \ consent not to be transferred either to that, or to 
 IppmiTto any other post out of my own church of Canterbury. 
 ke pope. j cas j. m y Se }f } therefore, upon the protection of the 
 pontiff, and in the strongest terms I charge you, my brethren 
 who have come hither for the purpose of electing a pastor, not 
 to elect me, and you my lords the king and the archbishop, 
 not to assent to such election ; and, that nothing may be 
 attempted against me in this behalf, I appeal to the apostolical 
 see ! 
 
 All present were astonished at this declaration, and one 
 told him that he had been too hasty in his response. " I am 
 hasty," replied he, "because I am compelled to be hasty !" 
 adding, " I have come here from no motive of curiosity ; from 
 no desire of any temporal honour or dignity ; but simply upon 
 matters of business relating to the chinch of Canterbury. If 
 I can settle these, I shall be glad ; but if not, I can go home 
 without it. But why is it proposed to take me, who am un- 
 willing and thankless for the honour, while it cannot be 
 doubted that there are many present avIio would be willing to 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 167 
 
 accept it cheerfully and with thanks. If it be done in order 
 to remove me from my office of prior, I freely retire from that 
 office. Willing hereafter to lead a simple life in the church 
 of Canterbury, I voluntarily renounce that preferment. I 
 always felt it more a burden than an honour : I certainly un- 
 dertook it against my will ; and unwillingly and by compulsion 
 I have ever held it." 200 
 
 As he said this, all were astonished at his constancy in re- 
 fusing that which very many, even of religious persons, are 
 accustomed most ardently to desire. Still it was thought that 
 he had not expressed his willingness to resign his priorate 
 without cause ; for, as some said, the archbishop was jealous of 
 his consistency and excellency of life, although he could not 
 well yield to his own inclinations concerning him without some 
 good reason ; and that therefore he craftily desired, under the 
 pretext of conferring a greater honour upon him, to remove 
 him from his office by transferring him to some other place. 
 And although the venerable prior had often heard this in the 
 way of caution, he could not be induced to believe it, until he 
 received a practical proof of it. The king and the archbishop, 
 then, with the rest who were present, urged him to consent to 
 the appointment j but he remained inflexible. He requested 
 a respite for deliberation, that he might go to Canterbury, for 
 the sake of conferring and advising with his brethren there ; 
 but he could not obtain permission, for all knew well enough, 
 that if he once had leave to depart, he would never come back. 
 The king ordered the prior and brethren of S. Martin of 
 Battel to receive their abbot-elect ; but on their approaching 
 him for that purpose, he repelled them, and, in virtue of his 
 appeal, forbade them to touch him. Thus repulsed, they 
 stood back, their desire that he should be set over them in- 
 creasing, at the same time, in proportion to his unwillingness. 
 At length, when he could by no means be brought to consent, 
 
 200 An instance of the nolo episcopari principle, of rare occurrence in any age of the 
 church. 
 
168 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 one of the bishops present advised the archbishop to pronounce 
 the sentence of excommunication against him ; but the vener- 
 ea defies a ^ e man > regarding him with an expression of in- 
 the court, dignation, said, " I fear neither thy sentence nor 
 his, since I have put myself under the protection of the 
 supreme pontiff, and appealed to the apostolical see." The 
 king advised the king his son, 201 who happened to be present 
 (a reconciliation having lately taken place between them), and 
 all whom he thought to have any influence with the abbot- 
 elect, to endeavour to bring him to acquiescence. But he 
 withstood them all, insisting, among other excuses, upon his 
 ignorance of secular business, and upon the loss which would 
 accrue to the monastery if he should undertake the office of 
 governing it. He objected, besides, that he was of a weakly 
 constitution, and incapable of labour ; and urged that it was 
 desirable that the governors of monasteries should be robust ; 
 and, moreover, that as the church was exposed to many foes, 
 it was incumbent upon their superiors to be thoroughly versed 
 in secular, as Avell as in religious, affairs. 
 
 The king hearing him advance these excuses, sought 
 The king to bend by promises him whom he could not 
 holds out move by entreaties or persuasions. He repre- 
 
 promises to J 1 i 
 
 odo,oncon- sented to him that the dignities and liberties of 
 
 dition that -p, , , , ,i -i n i 
 
 he wiiiac- JJattei Abbey were greater than those ol any other 
 cept office, chumh or monastery of the realm ; alluded to the 
 love and regard he had hitherto manifested in the preserva- 
 tion of those privileges entire ; and declared that he would 
 even exercise an increased affection and regard, if he would 
 consent to undertake what was proposed to him. He pro- 
 mised him a peaceful and quiet life in the monastery, while 
 he himself would protect and defend him and his affairs in 
 every way against all who should seek to injure them, and 
 
 201 " Henry, then styled Rex, during his father's lifetime," a not unusual practice at the 
 period. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 169 
 
 guarantee both him and them against damage, whenever he 
 would inform him by some brother or servant of the Abbey 
 of any emergency in its concerns. But Odo remained in- 
 flexible, and was no more moved by these promises, than he 
 had before been by persuasions. He even begged that he 
 might go into exile, without any hope of returning, choosing 
 rather, as he said, to live in peace in some cloister, in a 
 foreign land, than to be involved in secular cares in his own. 
 Thus by turns the king and his adherents urged, and he 
 intreated, neither yielding to the other's wishes ; and thus 
 (so much time did the business occupy) the day hastened 
 to its close. Still the king, unwilling to recede, was as 
 indefatigable in his suit, as he was determined in his non- 
 compliance. 
 
 When the time had been thus consumed in vain labour, 
 every resource of human wisdom seemed to have 
 failed in inclining him, unless assisted by that which to ° n ™ d ™f e 
 is divine. But him whom an earthly power could e £ am P le °f 
 
 >> i _ 1 heophilus, 
 
 not draw to the pleasure of its will, a divine influ- 
 ence suddenly and easily overcame. For on a sudden, the 
 acts of Theophilus, who denied Christ, occurred to his recol- 
 lection. This man had previously been of such excellent 
 character, that the clergy and people of the church of God 
 had elected him bishop, but he rashly and obstinately refused 
 the pastoral care of the church to which he had been called, 
 and consulted his own views rather than the common benefit. 
 Thus, in offending the church, he offended Christ, the church's 
 bridegroom. At this his offended Lord, in his wrath, gave 
 him over to the desires of his own heart, which he had con- 
 ceived in opposition to Him, that he might walk in his own 
 inventions, while He withdrew his protecting hand, and left 
 him to his own frailty. Deprived of divine support, and being 
 some time afterwards removed from the subordinate honour 
 and office which he had hitherto held, by the bishop whom 
 the church had elected on his refusal, he first had occasion to 
 
170 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 mourn over his degradation, without the remedy of divine 
 consolation ; he then fell into a state of sullenness ; sullenness 
 was succeeded by despair; and in his despair he professed 
 allegiance to the devil, under his own handwriting, thus 
 denying Christ ! This instance occurring, I say, to Odo — 
 doubtless by the inspiration of God — the venerable prior 
 revolved it in his mind, and, placed in this anxiety of spirit, 
 began to entertain fears that if he should offer any further 
 resistance to this vocation, something similar to the acts of 
 Theophilus, or even worse, might befall himself. 
 
 He recollected, too, the case of the blessed Anselm, arch- 
 and st bishop of Canterbury, who had formerly assumed a 
 Anseim, religious habit in the monastery of Bee, where from 
 the very beginning of his conversion he had demeaned himself 
 in all things so uprightly, so discreetly, so worthily, and so 
 laudably, that in process of time — the prior of the establish- 
 ment being dead — the whole brotherhood desired to set him 
 over the monastery with the name and office of prior. But 
 judging himself unworthy, and unequal to so great a task, he 
 declined to comply with their wishes, and begged them to 
 excuse him, and elect a more suitable person. But as the 
 whole convent were so determined upon his election, that they 
 would transfer it to no one else, he applied to the venerable 
 Maurilius, then archbishop of Rouen, as a man of discretion, 
 to consult him as to how he should act in the matter. The 
 archbishop hearing that the convent were agreed concerning 
 him, enjoined him, in virtue of his obedience to himself, to 
 acquiesce in their wishes ; and further commanded him, by 
 all the authority he was possessed of, that if he should, at any 
 future period, be canonically called to higher offices, he should 
 not resist such call. For, as he asserted, it had frequently 
 happened, that if a wise man qualified to ride and benefit 
 others had not assented to the call of the church, the Lord 
 had in anger withdrawn His favour from him, and permitted 
 him to fall into some crime detestable alike to God and man. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 171 
 
 Hence it would appear reasonable to every wise man, that 
 the common advantage of many should be studied rather 
 than one's own private views, however correct they might 
 seem to himself. 
 
 Affected by such thoughts as these, the discreet and prudent 
 Odo was in a great strait — for while he deemed it 
 dangerous not to consent to so solemn an election, 
 he felt that to comply would be entirely at variance with his 
 designs and wishes. He was the more concerned, because 
 both the kingdom and the priesthood seemed to have con- 
 curred in his election, which was proposed by the king, and 
 the king his son, as well as by the chief men of the realm, and 
 urged by the metropolitan archbishop with his suffragans, 
 and by the prior of Battel Abbey, with the brethren who 
 accompanied him. What, then, could he do ? At length, 
 overcome by their earnest entreaties, or rather by a religious 
 fear, though he did not actually pronounce his assent to their 
 election, yet he withdrew his opposition, and silently yielded 
 himself to their will and purpose. The archbishop immediately 
 commenced, in lofty strains, the hymn " £Tc ©tttm iaufoatttttS " 
 (which is rarely sung at the election of abbots) ; and after the 
 accustomed prayer, confirmed the election. Thus was he 
 elected on the 6th of the ides of July, amidst the tears and 
 lamentations of all the monks and others who had accom- 
 panied him thither from Canterbury. 
 
 Whether it was by the design of Heaven, or by human 
 contrivance that he thus came to be elected, we know not ; 
 but whether it was of God's procuring or of man's, it was by 
 no means unsuitable, that one who thought he was about to 
 receive merely the form of the charters of Battel Abbey, should 
 receive the monastery itself, with all its charters and dignities, 
 into his own government and direction. The charters of 
 Battel Abbey proved of no advantage on this occasion to the 
 church of Canterbury, since they were neither produced nor 
 asked for ; nor indeed was anv mention made of them, as to 
 
172 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 whether they were at hand, either by the king or the arch- 
 bishop. They were therefore carried back to the Abbey, 
 untouched, while all the brethren rejoiced at their much- 
 desired reception. No blame accrued on this account to the 
 abbot-elect, although the business of the church of Canterbury 
 was left untransacted ; for when anyone is compelled to act 
 on his own behalf, he will necessarily be the less able to attend 
 to other matters. He came thither fully bent on the business 
 of the abbey, but was compelled by his personal necessities 
 to omit it. He was frequently afterwards heard to assert 
 that but for the occurrence of those things which we have 
 mentioned to his recollection, which induced him to apprehend 
 the wrath of the Most High King, neither the approbation and 
 favour, nor even the fear, of any earthly power, would have 
 ever brought his mind to consent to his election. 
 
 Everything connected with that election being finished, the 
 „,, , kino; did not demand from him the usual oath of 
 
 1 he deputies ° 
 
 return to fidelity, knowing that he would not comply, and 
 moreover that he would seek occasion from such 
 demand to renounce his election. The prior and brethren of 
 Battel having fulfilled their commission, regarding him as duly 
 appointed over them, begged to know his commands, desiring 
 to console his grief, and promising him all obedience and 
 reverence. He therefore commanded them to return home 
 together, and expressed his intention of going to Canterbury, 
 when, having taken the advice of the brethren of that church, 
 of whose sincere affection towards him he entertained no 
 doubt, he would abide by their judgment, whether he should 
 utterly renounce his election or whether he should yield his 
 full assent to it, since he had not yet quite decided which 
 alternative he was most inclined to. At his command the 
 prior and brethren returned to the monastery, informed the 
 convent of all that had transpired, and excused themselves for 
 not having done concerning the election what had been 
 enjoined upon them, which they had found impossible. By 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 173 
 
 the divine will, the whole congregation yielded a ready assent 
 to all that had been done, regarding it as the appointment of 
 God, and rejoicing and exulting while they entertained great 
 hopes that that which had so good a beginning would have an 
 equally happy conclusion. They were unanimous in their joy 
 that so great a man was to be set over them, especially as he 
 had not been brought to consent by motives of ambition, but 
 had been obtained by canonical election. 
 
 Odo himself went to Canterbury, whither the report of 
 what had been done preceded him. There he found and 0do 
 the whole convent giving way to grief and lamenta- Canterbury. 
 tion, and unanimously expressing their regret that so great a 
 man was about to be taken from them and sent elsewhere. 
 He began at once to ask the advice of all, especially that of 
 the more judicious of the brethren and those with whom he 
 was most intimate, as to whether he should accept or reject 
 the office. Some advised him from the dictates of reason, 
 others from those of inclination. At length, however, it was 
 the prevailing and general advice, not to resist an election 
 which appeared to have proceeded from the will of God, but 
 rather, earnestly to beseech Him that their present mourning 
 might be turned into joy. 
 
 The archbishop coming a few days afterwards to Canter- 
 bury, certain of the brethren who had been present Tke mmks 
 at the election were sent thither by the convent of smd mes- 
 Battel, to entreat that their new abbot might be prevent tie 
 freed from all subjection to the church of Canter- jSjjJJSJJ 
 bury. On their arrival they were introduced into abbot t0 
 
 C out Gvhuy^y . 
 
 the chapter-house of the monastery, where the 
 whole congregation was present, the archbishop presiding. 
 As soon as they had brought forward their commission 
 concerning the exemption of their abbot, desiring that he 
 might be specially absolved from the profession which he had 
 there made as a monk of the establishment, the abbot-elect 
 himself came forward, and declared that he by no means 
 
] 74 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 wished for such an absolution. For he feared that by such a 
 step he should entirely alienate himself from the church of 
 Canterbury, which he loved beyond all other churches, as that 
 in which he had assumed a religious habit, and in which he 
 had dwelt from his youth; and he judged that his honour 
 and dignity would be diminished rather than augmented if by 
 such exemption he should render himself an alien from it. 
 The archbishop, too, commending his pious affection for that 
 church, would by no means comply with the request of the 
 brethren, but charged the abbot not hereafter to suffer his 
 tried affection to grow cold ; but, if the church of Canterbiny 
 should require his aid and counsel, to yield it the obedience 
 and goodwill of a devoted son. At length he offered prayer 
 and gave the benediction, and spoke much in the presence of 
 all, committing him entirely to the above-mentioned brethren, 
 and charging them as devoted sons to love their worthy father 
 with a becoming affection, to pay him honour and reverence, 
 to attend to his precepts and admonitions, to endeavour to 
 imitate his example — and thus they would doubtless find 
 favour with God and honour among men. The brethren then 
 received him as a divine gift, rejoicing the more since they 
 were now certain of him, giving glory to God, and promising 
 him all love and obedience. 
 
 A few days subsequently, he bade farewell to all, amidst 
 odoqoesto t' ne re g r ets both of the monks and the citizens, 
 Battel. whom he had been accustomed, in honied words, 
 to instruct in the keeping of the heavenly mandates, and so 
 took his journey to Battel, where he arrived the day before 
 the nones of August, the whole convent going forth to receive 
 him in solemn and joyful procession. When he reached the 
 Abbey, prayer was made, and he received the whole congre- 
 gation with the kiss of peace, and was thus conducted to the 
 chapter-house, to hear the rule of S. Benedict for the ordina- 
 tion of an abbot. But a great concourse of people, attracted 
 by the fame of so eminent a man, followed him, and rushed 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. I/.") 
 
 in with such force that they could not well be kept back ; he 
 therefore made signs to the brother who went before him to 
 read, to desist from his lesson, and silence being thus, accord- 
 ing to the usual custom, broken, he spoke to the following 
 effect : the whole of the brethren being present : — 
 
 " My clearest Brethren : From the respect which you thus 
 outwardly offer me, I am able to estimate the pious Addresses 
 regard for me which you inwardly entertain. For the convent. 
 no previous deserts on my part (since we had little know- 
 ledge of each other) you have judged it desirable to have me, 
 though but little suited, or rather, as I frankly confess, 
 entirely unworthy — you have wished, I say, to have me set 
 over you with the name and office of pastor; you have 
 urged me against my will, until you have at length brought 
 me unwillingly and by compulsion to some degree of consent. 
 I confess that even now my mind wavers, and that I have not 
 fully decided upon accepting the office. You have now 
 received me in coming among you with such great solemnity, 
 that if it had been any one who is accustomed to delight in 
 temporal honours, he could not have justly complained of 
 anything in this respect. But although I am not unmindful 
 of your kindness towards me, yet as my mind constantly 
 reverts to the church of Canterbury, from whose most 
 delightful breast I grieve that you have torn me, I confess 
 that I am in doubt whether I owe you my thanks, or, in con- 
 sideration of the trouble I have incurred through you, my 
 ill-will. The honour paid me however I regard as offered 
 not so much to my unworthy self as to God, the chief pastor ; 
 for in my humility ye have received Him, whose services you 
 desire me to perform in your midst. For He declares himself 
 to be accepted or rejected in his followers, and to those who 
 receive a prophet or a just man in the name of a prophet or 
 just man, he promises the reward of a prophet and a just 
 man. If He has decreed that I should preside over you, may 
 he vouchsafe that I may be enabled worthily to lead you in 
 
176 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 the pastures of his flocks, and without detriment to myself 
 to bring him much profit from you." 
 
 He said this, with much more to the same purpose, with 
 tears, and drew the hearts of all the brethren towards him. 
 Not only those who attended upon him, but likewise the 
 crowds that came flocking about him, were delighted, because 
 that gracefulness of virtue which he possessed inwardly in 
 his mind, was apparent outwardly in his countenance. But 
 not to dwell too long upon these matters, all things which 
 were deemed necessary upon his reception being concluded, 
 and all who had assembled being dismissed to their homes — 
 as well those who had gone out to welcome his arrival, as 
 those who had sorrowfully accompanied him from Canterbury, 
 — he turned his attention from that time towards the 
 brethren, setting before all an example of holy living, both 
 in word and deed, and studying by all means to become more 
 the object of affection than of dread. 
 
 Being thus elected and received into the monastery, it only 
 remained to obtain consecration from the bishop. But since 
 it had come to his knowledge, that his predecessors had 
 experienced frequent and manifold vexations from the bishops 
 of Chichester, he resolved to be very careful not to do any 
 thing, either in receiving consecration or in professing 
 obedience, which might bring the like, or worse, results 
 upon himself. In the meantime there came to him from 
 
 John bishop of Chichester, Jordan the dean, with 
 ofCMchefter some °f his fellow-canons, that they might consult 
 as usual, in- together respecting his consecration, and ascertain 
 thebmedic- his views. The cause of their visit being fully 
 new abbot, explained, he stated to them the method and order 
 
 of his election by the kingdom and the priesthood, 
 and declared that he would do nothing without the know- 
 ledge of the king and the archbishop ; for as the liberties of 
 the abbey were vested in him, it was proper that the abbot- 
 elect should be consecrated in his own abbey, as the first 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 177 
 
 abbot, Gausbert, had been by the bishop of Chichester. And 
 in order to strengthen that assertion, he caused the charters 
 containing that fact to be exhibited to them. 
 
 Having dismissed those clerks, he soon after applied to the 
 king and the archbishop, and explained the posi- 
 tion of affairs, avowing his intention not to do applies to 
 anything rashly, by which he might endanger the ie ing ' 
 privileges of the abbey. Those who were about the king 
 would fain have persuaded him to cause the abbot to be con- 
 secrated in his own presence, by any one of his bishops he 
 might choose, lest if the rite should be performed elsewhere, 
 in the king's absence, some cavil might be raised against him 
 by the bishop and canons of Chichester, by which he might 
 afterwards be subjected to annoyance. For as no one would 
 ever attempt such annoyance in the face of the king, all 
 things could be peaceably arranged, and a memorial woidd 
 remain to after times of the king's pious affection towards, 
 and protection of, the monastery, which is the pledge of his 
 royal crown. 
 
 The king appeared willing to take this advice; Richard, 
 archbishop of Canterbury, however, sought and obtained per- 
 mission to consecrate the abbot, disavowing, at the 
 
 ,• . 'ji- /» i • ,1 i, i i and obtains 
 
 same time, any intention 01 seeking thereby to estab- consecration 
 lish a custom, or a subjection to himself, but merely f r0 ™* h i 
 
 <> <J archbishop, 
 
 to manifest a pious regard, which he acknowledged he 
 entertained for the abbot-elect. The day fixed was a Sunday, 
 the day before the feast of S. Michael, and the abbot-elect, 
 now ready more fully to assume the name and office of an 
 abbot, came to Mailing, 202 a manor of the archbishop, situated 
 
 202 South Mailing, a suburb to Lewes. A collegiate church, dedicated to St. Michael, 
 existed here in Saxon times. It is said by Leland to have been founded by Ceadwalla, the 
 West Saxon king, who attached this and several other churches in Sussex to the church of 
 Canterbury, and they still, after the lapse of nearly twelve hunched years, remain subject to 
 the primate, under the appellation of peculiars. The archbishops had a seat here, or rather, 
 perhaps, a temporary domicile, with the dean and canons of Mailing, whose establishment 
 existed up to the period of the Reformation. Theobald and Thomas a Becket were among 
 the benefactors to this deanery. Scarcely any remains of the edifice now exist. 
 
 12 
 
178 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 near Lewes, where he was honourably entertained by that 
 at Matt' functionary and his friends, and received conse- 
 near Lewes, cration, without any profession of obedience or any 
 questions being asked upon the subject. From thence he 
 returned the next day (being as we have said Michaelmas 
 day) to his abbey, where he was met by a procession com- 
 prising the entire convent, who received him with great 
 exultation, now that they knew it was finally settled for him 
 to remain among them. 
 
 And now he began to be more devout than ever in his 
 prayers, more ardent in divine contemplations, 
 ufe of more frequent in his vigils, more energetic in 
 Abbot odo. exhortations and in works worthy of imitation, 
 and more frequent in preaching ; thus becoming a pattern in 
 word and deed of a holy life to all. Rich in the bowels of 
 compassion, he relieved every one who sought his assistance. 
 His hospitality knew no respect of persons ; the abbey-gates 
 stood open for all comers who needed either refreshment or 
 lodging. For those persons whom the rule of the establish- 
 ment forbade to sleep within the abbey, he provided enter- 
 tainment without the circuit of its walls. In all divine 
 offices in the abbey, in reading and in meditation, he asso- 
 ciated with the brethren in the cloister ; he took his food in 
 the refectory ; in short, he was as one of themselves, except 
 that he did not sleep in the common dormitory. For he 
 suffered from a perpetual constipation of the stomach, with 
 which he had been afflicted above measure from his youth, so 
 that he could not obtain natural relief without the use of 
 medicines, nor even then without difficulty. And he was so 
 excessively modest on these occasions, that he would not 
 allow any one to be within sight or hearing. On this account 
 therefore he slept out of the dormitory of the brethren, but in 
 all other respects he was like one of themselves. In his 
 carriage, his actions, and his habits, there was nothing of 
 pride, and nothing that savoured of levity ; he was ever 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 179 
 
 mindful of what was good, not only before God but also 
 before men. He possessed a discreet modesty and a modest 
 discretion to tolerate the frailties common to men, and to 
 become all things to all men ; unwilling to be overcome of 
 evil, he sought rather to overcome evil with good. 
 
 As to his expositions of the holy scriptures and his trea- 
 tises, whatever the subject, and whether reduced to 
 writing or preached for the edification of his hearers expounds 
 — sometimes in Latin, sometimes in French, 203 and ^H?" 
 often for the benefit of the unlearned common three 
 
 . languages. 
 
 people m the mother tongue — he was so lucid, 
 so eloquent, and so agreeable to all, that what appeared obscure, 
 or had been but imperfectly .handled by the antient doctors, 
 he rendered perfectly intelligible. And though he sometimes 
 spoke at great length, his hearers were so much delighted 
 with the suavity, both of his person and his speech, that they 
 never grew weary of his prolixity. And the devotion of the 
 faithful was excited by his ministrations so much the more, 
 because they saw that he did not preach one thing and practise 
 another; for what he uttered with his lips he carried into 
 effect in his conduct. His private life and his strict piety 
 towards God we commit to the Searcher of hearts, while we 
 confine ourselves to the manner in which he conducted himself 
 in the execution of his abbatial functions. 
 
 After he had received consecration and confirmation in his 
 pastoral charge from the archbishop and had resided Visiis 
 some days in his abbey : and after Benedict (who Canterbury. 
 was subsequently abbot of Peterborough) 204 had been ap- 
 pointed his successor as prior of Christ Church, he was invited 
 to visit Canterbury. There he was as solemnly received in pro- 
 cession, by the whole body of monks, and the citizens, and by 
 
 203 " This is undoubtedly the same abbot who composed a gloss on the Psalter found by 
 Leland in the library of Battel Abbey. Collect, iii, 38." (Note in Lat. Edit.) 
 
 - 04 He was elected abbot of Peterborough 1177, and died 1194. (Chron. Petro- 
 burgense.) 
 
180 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 a vast multitude of people of both sexes, as if an angel from 
 heaven had been announced to be present. Having staid 
 there a few days, he went to the royal court, where he was 
 so much honoured by the king that the latter permitted 
 one Roger, a monk of Canterbury, to be made abbot of 
 S. Augustine's monastery there, although a perfect stranger to 
 him, simply upon the abbot's recommendation. For although 
 Roger had from the beginning various mediators and inter- 
 cessors with the monarch, his consent could not be procured 
 until he received the assurance of the abbot, in whom he put 
 great confidence, that he was a man of honourable character, 
 and knew that the abbot had had experience of his correct 
 deportment while subject to his authority as prior of Canter- 
 bury. After the promotion of this personage, the above- 
 mentioned Benedict, prior of the church of Canterbury, 
 happened to incur the king's displeasure. But at the 
 intercession of the abbot, who undertook to mediate between 
 them, the king again received the prior so much into his 
 favour that in process of time he promoted him to the abbacy 
 of Peterborough. We mention this, the more clearly to shew 
 in how great respect, esteem, and honour he was held by the 
 king himself, and by people of every rank. 
 
 It happened, at this time, that one of the charters of King 
 
 William, the founder of the monastery, was worn 
 
 tL renewal out with age. The abbot, therefore, showed it to 
 
 of a decayed ^ kino;, who said: " This ought to be renewed." 
 
 charter. o ' © 
 
 To this the abbot replied : " If it please your royal 
 authority, we desire that it may be confirmed by renewal." 
 " I cannot," returned the king, " do this without the sanction 
 of my court." Upon this the abbot left the king, and going 
 to that illustrious personage, Richard de Lucy, told him what 
 the king had said. Richard replied : " If our judgment be 
 expected upon this matter, you will get the unanimous con- 
 sent of the whole court to your petition." By the advice of 
 this nobleman, a proper time and place were waited for, when 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 181 
 
 after a little, as the king was sitting in the midst of his nobles, 
 the abbot came forward, and displayed his decayed charter 
 before them all, and begged its renewal by royal authority. 
 The king requiring the opinion of his lords as to whether it 
 might be done or not, De Lucy replied : " If it please you, 
 my lord, it is becoming of you to renew this charter of the 
 church of Battel, for even if all its charters should perish, we 
 ourselves ought to be its charter, since by the Conquest at 
 Battel we were all estated ! And since you seek our judgment 
 on the legality of this step, we are of opinion that you should 
 renew the document by your authority." 
 
 Upon this the king summoned Walter de Coutances, his 
 chancellor (who was afterwards bishop of Lincoln, and not 
 long subsequently archbishop of Rouen 205 ), and ordered a new 
 charter, with the royal name and seal, to be made, after the 
 form of the old one, commanding it to be recorded therein, 
 that he had made that confirmation upon the petition of Abbot 
 Odo, for the love of God, and in remembrance of the name 
 and merits of the said abbot. And as it is usual in charters 
 and muniments executed at different times, by different per- 
 sons, relative to the same business, to make mention of the 
 previous ones in the later, as if they required the support of 
 such precedents, in words like these : " as that charter, or as 
 the charter of such a one testifies" — the king ordered that no 
 such clause should be inserted, but himself dictated another, 
 not before used, and bearing testimony in his own person, in 
 addition to those things which he had seen, ordered it to be 
 written in the charter, thus : " Whereas I have inspected the 
 charter of William, my great-grandfather, in which are con- 
 tained the before-written liberties, quittances, and free customs 
 granted by him to the foresaid Abbey," &c. Neither did this 
 noble prince disdain to give his reason for this expression. 
 
 205 Surnamed the Magnificent, on account of his great property and Ms heautiful 
 erections. He is supposed to have been founder of the archiepiscopal palace of Aliher- 
 mont. (M. UAbbe Cochet, in Revue de Rouen, Feb. 1849.) 
 
182 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 " If," said he, " the suppressed clause were inserted, the latter 
 charter would confer little without the former. But now, no 
 mention being made of precedents, this document would be 
 sufficient, even if all the other charters of Battel should perish." 
 These things having been said, the abbot requested and ob- 
 tained from the chancellor, three several charters, of one and 
 the same form, to be written according to the king's command, 
 with his seal affixed to each. In this the abbot had a prudent 
 regard to the interests of his Abbey, that (since the possessions 
 of the monastery are for the most part remote from it) if it 
 should happen that one or even two of the charters should on 
 any account be carried out of the Abbey, he might have at 
 least one of them always ready at hand. 
 
 Within the four years during which, as we have said, the 
 
 jppropna- Abbey remained, after the death of Abbot Walter, 
 
 Hon of the without a pastor, Humphrey, a priest, and parson of 
 
 church of the church of S. Mary at Battel — which is adjacent 
 
 to the walls of the Abbey, and considered parochial — 
 
 departed this life. The prior and convent, though deprived 
 
 of a pastor, took the church into their own hands, receiving, 
 
 without obstruction, the revenues arising from it — a certain 
 
 chaplain performing the duties of a vicar, though without any 
 
 fixed appointment. There were many eager though unsuc- 
 
 . .. . cessful applicants for the church. Anions; these was 
 
 Applicants * -l O 
 
 for the Richard, archdeacon of Poitou, afterwards bishop 
 
 vicarage. „ T]l7 . , -. . . _ , 
 
 oi Winchester, who wrote to the prior and convent 
 earnestly requesting it, making his demand with the more 
 boldness, because he was a person of great power. But the 
 prior and convent having conferred together, wrote in reply, 
 that the church was a chapel to the Abbey, so that its altar 
 was reckoned as one of the Abbey's own altars ; and that the 
 chaplain therein ministering ought to be acquainted with the 
 affairs of the monastery, as if he were one of its monks, 206 and 
 
 -'"' In the margin is added, " aualis debeat esse Decanus." At a subsequent period, the 
 style of dean was accorded to the incumbent of S. Mary's ; upon what ground it would be 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 183 
 
 on that account to be a most trustworthy person. For this 
 and similar reasons, they would grant the church to no one 
 except he would serve it in his own person. 
 
 At this reply the archdeacon desisted from his suit ; but one 
 Alfred cle S. Martin, who executed the office of steward of the 
 rape of Hastings 207 under the Earl of Eu, obtained letters 
 from the king, then beyond the seas, to the prior and convent, 
 desiring that they would give the church to one Thomas, his 
 chaplain. But the whole body of the brethren received the 
 mandate with dislike, and by unanimous consent the sacristan 
 of the monastery, Robert de Chaam, who was upon friendly 
 terms with Alfred, was sent abroad to him, in order to employ 
 every means to dissuade him from vexing them by the urgency 
 of his petition, and to desire him to provide for his clerk in 
 some other quarter. This brother, after a prosperous voyage, 
 settled the business with him, for, finding it disagreeable to 
 the whole of the brethren, Alfred withdrew his request, Upon 
 this, other applicants likewise desisted from their entreaties, 
 and the convent held the church without any further trouble, 
 as long as they remained without an abbot, namely, 
 up to the arrival of Abbot Odo, appropriating its app u ed to 
 revenues to the lights of the monastery, and princi- JjJ^fiL 
 pally to wax tapers, to be burnt continually before 
 the high altar, and the host, and the relics of the saints there 
 deposited ; for, from the first foundation of the Abbey up to 
 that time, lamps supplied with duty and foetid oil had been 
 burnt before the host. 
 
 Now, within a few days of Abbot Odo's reception at Battel, 
 Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, 
 and legate of the apostolical see, wrote to inform him that 
 
 difficult to say, since the church was not collegiate. It may be added, that, by an eccle- 
 siastical fiction, the proprietor of the advowson, Sir G. Webster, is considered abbot of 
 Battel, and his dean enjoys full exemption from the authority of the bishop of the diocese. 
 
 -w Thus I beg to read, " qui in finibus Hastiugensium, sub comite Augi, vicecomitis 
 exequebatur officium." This Alfred de S. Martin was a distinguished person, and in 1176 
 founded the neighbouring abbey of Robertsbridge. 
 
184 CHRONICLE OP 
 
 he was about to visit him in his legatine capacity. The abbot, 
 Dreading therefore, knowing the cupidity of the archbishop's 
 the soiicita- c ] e rks, and fearing that he, finding the parish- 
 
 tionsofthe ' ° ' & . L . . 
 
 archbishop's church vacant, might, at their earnest importunities, 
 take it out of his hands, determined to anticipate 
 the archbishop's arrival. He therefore, though somewhat 
 against the wishes of the convent, granted the benefice to a 
 certain kinsman of his own, one John, chaplain of 
 appoints one the church of Harietsham, upon condition, however, 
 of his- Mm- ^] ia {. j ie suou ] c i serve the church in his own person. 
 
 men to the * 
 
 church of And in order that the convent should not take this 
 assignation of the church amiss, from the apprehen- 
 sion that the lights so necessary for the honour and decency 
 of the Abbey would be extinguished, he satisfied them upon 
 this subject, by promising to make abundant provision for 
 them from another source, so that nothing should be with- 
 drawn on these grounds. 
 
 But this John being admitted to the church upon the 
 simple advowson, and feeling secure of it, became careless as 
 to his institution by the bishop. His mind also was more 
 directed towards his vicarage of the church of Harietsham, 
 where he had served for a long time, and he declared himself 
 bound by oath to the parson of that church, as the term of 
 his ministration had not yet expired. The presentation took 
 place in the month of August, but he begged and obtained 
 leave to be excused taking the church until Michaelmas, the 
 church in the meantime being served by a chaplain ill adapted 
 for the cure of souls, which the abbot could hardly brook. 
 But the appointed time came and went, and still he failed to 
 come as expected, stating that he was not yet fully at liberty, 
 and begging a further leave of absence until the following 
 Christmas, which was granted. At Christmas, again, he did 
 not come, and begged a further indulgence until Easter, and 
 this with difficulty he obtained. But when Easter was past, 
 and he did not arrive, the abbot saw plainly enough that he 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 185 
 
 was framing empty excuses for the delay, in order that he 
 might still officiate at Harietsham, and at the same time 
 receive the profits of Battel church, through the services of a 
 curate. There was said to be another reason why he avoided 
 the abbot's presence. He was reported to be of impure life, 
 and he feared therefore the straightforwardness of the abbot, 
 knowing that he should be estranged from his friendship, if, 
 living an unlawful and disgraceful life, the infamy of his 
 incest should become known. 
 
 The abbot, therefore, issued orders that, laying aside every 
 excuse, he should come before the Nativity of S. John the 
 Baptist, or that he wonld take care to exclude him, and insti- 
 tute another to the benefice in his stead. But even then he 
 did not comply, but went so far as to say that, after due de- 
 liberation, he would rather be absent from his par- 
 sonage of the parish church of Battel, than from the refilsed'of 
 curacy of Harietsham. Upon this the abbot began Jofmo/Har- 
 to be anxious for the institution of another person, reside in his 
 and humbly supplicated the blessed Mother of God, JjSjj** 1 " 
 to whose memory the church was erected, that she 
 would provide a suitable minister for her church. He also 
 invited several priests of good character and reputation, both 
 from remote places and from the neighbourhood, to come to 
 see him, offering them the church and its revenues. But they 
 being well established, were unwilling to exchange a certainty 
 for an uncertainty. In the meantime, a certain deacon, 
 named Walter, residing in Berkshire, in the bishopric of 
 Salisbury, and a native of that shire, of honourable reputation 
 for word and deed, in the pursuit of learning, and devoid of 
 any church preferment, attracted the abbot's notice. Some 
 went so far as to say that it had been revealed from heaven 
 that he should be invited to the ministry of this church, and 
 the place pointed out where he was to be found. The abbot 
 therefore addressed a letter to him, desiring conference on the 
 subject ; and he, being found in the place indicated in the 
 
186 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 revelation, obeyed the invitation, and came. To him, though 
 and Waiter, hitherto a perfect stranger, the abbot offered the 
 lierTof government of the church, so that he might at the 
 h^'ointed nex ^ ordination enter upon the office of the priest- 
 to it. hood and take the duty. But the deacon, unin- 
 
 fluenced by any love of gain, humbly excusing himself, replied, 
 that he was unwilling to undertake the cure of souls, for which 
 he considered himself unqualified, as it had hitherto been his 
 chief object to pursue scholastic learning, and that he could 
 not presume rashly to accept so arduous an office, until he had 
 taken the advice and assent of his friends. By these and 
 similar excuses he endeavoured by every possible means to 
 avoid that which many are accustomed earnestly to desire. 
 
 The abbot strongly insisted upon his acceptance of the 
 offered benefice, saying that it was a matter of divine rather 
 than of human contrivance, that he had been called to the 
 government of the church, and moreover that he would incur 
 the displeasure of God, and of the blessed Virgin his mother, 
 if he should thus reject a call so evidently canonical. The 
 deacon was in a position of difficulty as to acceptance or 
 refusal, inasmuch as by acceptance he must act in contrariety 
 to his wishes and entirely relinquish his scholastic studies, 
 while on the other hand by refusal he was in danger of 
 incurring the anger of God. After a few days' deliberation, 
 however, and the advice of certain great and prudent men, he 
 consented, though unwillingly, and received the church from 
 the abbot and convent, in the chapter-house of Battel, on 
 their right of patronage. He was presented not long after to 
 John, bishop of Chichester, who had now succeeded bishop 
 Hilary in that see. Thus undertaking the parsonage of the 
 church and the cure of soids, he was promoted at the next 
 ordination to the grade of priest. From that time he served 
 the church, and diligently instructing the people committed 
 to him, by word and deed, became a pattern to the flock. 
 And he so studied to lead all to the exhibition of virtue, 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 187 
 
 that it was evident that his call had been of God, who had 
 foreseen how necessary and useful he would prove to his 
 church. 
 
 At this time it happened that one Hugh, a deacon of the 
 Roman church and a cardinal a latere of our lord The Cardinal 
 Pope Alexander, came as legate into England, and ^ A (<"" 
 summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, and summons 
 the whole clergy of the realm to a general council thYcmwii, 
 at Westminster, to transact the business upon which toa ™ wer J he 
 
 A charge of 
 
 he had come, as well as to ascertain the state of the Godfrey de 
 English church, and to try ecclesiastical causes. 
 The abbot of Battel was summoned among the rest by the 
 general edict, and the legate also issued to him a special 
 mandate, upon the authority of the apostolical see, that he, 
 laying all excuses aside, should appear before him to answer 
 the complaint of Godfrey de Lucy, respecting the church of 
 Wye, and to do what was just therein. At this message the 
 abbot was greatly perplexed ; for he was aware that, during the 
 time that the abbacy of Battel was vacant, the king had given 
 and confirmed this church of Wye, free from all exception, to 
 Godfrey de Lucy, and that Godfrey had been received and 
 instituted on the king's presentation, by Richard archbishop- 
 elect of Canterbury, with such authority as he then possessed, 
 and moreover that a charter had been given him by the arch- 
 bishop-elect upon his institution, which, upon the latter's 
 return from Rome after his consecration by Pope Alexander, 
 he confirmed by all the authority he exercised as archbishop, 
 as primate, and as legate of the apostolical see. The abbot 
 perceived the great danger which surrounded him, for he feared 
 that, if he should engage in legal proceedings against Godfrey, 
 he should seem to act with disrespect in regard to a gift made 
 by the king's authority, the archbishop's institution, and the 
 confirmation of both, as well as towards Richard de Lucy, the 
 father of Godfrey, and after the king, the chief magistrate of 
 all England. If, on the other hand, he should decline an 
 
188 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 action, the whole church of Wye, would thenceforward be 
 adjudged without any exception to Godfrey, while the 
 Abbey of Battel would be subject to the annual loss of ten 
 marks. He therefore had recourse to his familiar and accus- 
 tomed aids of devotion and prayer, and commending himself 
 to the supplications of his brethren went to the king, and 
 explained to him how he was drawn into litigation, prudently 
 desiring to ascertain toward which side his mind appeared to 
 lean. He entreated the king to -inform him, in one word, 
 The king whether he had really granted the church of Wye 
 prevaricates, to Godfrey de Lucy or not, declaring at the same 
 time that he had no wish to litigate the matter with that 
 personage, if certainly assured of the king's donation. The 
 king, knowing that the gift he had made was not regular, began 
 to quibble, saying that he did not remember that he had 
 either granted or confirmed the church to Godfrey. The 
 abbot finding it impossible to get anything definite from the 
 king, turned to the archbishop, demanding from him whether 
 he had instituted Godfrey to the parsonage of Wye upon the 
 king's presentation, and confirmed such institution by the 
 authority he then held. The archbishop protested in strong 
 terms that he had instituted Godfrey to that portion only of 
 the church which William the priest, before mentioned, had 
 held at the time of his decease ; and assured him that he had 
 nothing to fear from him. Upon this, the abbot, who now 
 seemed able to engage in the suit upon good grounds, became 
 only solicitous for an advocate to whom he might "entrust 
 The abbot ^ s cause. Meeting, therefore, with a certain clerk 
 seeks an of the archbishop's, one Master Gerard Pucelle, a 
 most erudite and learned man, and subsequently 
 bishop of Chester, he stated his case, praying that for the 
 sake of the antient friendship which had subsisted between 
 them through every change of fortune, he would undertake to 
 defend it. But Pucelle, upon a full recital of the case, replied 
 that it belonged rather to his lord the archbishop than to 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. lg(J 
 
 himself, and that he could not defend any part of it, lest by 
 so doing he might seem to disapprove as unreasonable the 
 acts of his own master. He having thus excused himself, 
 the abbot applied to Master Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter, 
 another old friend, requesting that he with his clerks would 
 espouse his cause. But the bishop knowing that it w T as 
 against Godfrey de Lucy, replied that Godfrey was a priest of 
 the church of Exeter, and that he could not espouse a cause in 
 which he had no concern against one of his own priests. The 
 bishop urging excuses of this kind, the abbot next went to 
 Master John of Salisbury, afterwards bishop of Chartres, to 
 state his case and beg his assistance. But John, too, excused 
 himself saying, " I am a priest of Exeter, and cannot conse- 
 quently do anything against Godfrey, since we are fellow 
 priests of the same church." In this way did all those whom 
 he looked upon as friends and allies excuse themselves. The 
 clerks of the king and the archbishop said that the affair be- 
 longed to their respective lords, and that it was not their 
 province to contradict the decisions of their masters. Some 
 of the bishops and priests said that Godfrey was their priest, 
 others that he was their fellow r priest ; the common and 
 general excuse of all being that they were unwilling to incur 
 the displeasure of Richard de Lucy, Godfrey's father. 
 
 The abbot being placed in this strait, was advised to speak 
 to a certain clerk learned in law, who had come over 
 from Italy with the legate, to get him to undertake among Ms 
 the advocacv of his cause, since, as he was neither a pj™ ™ 1 
 
 " ' ' jnends, he 
 
 native nor an inhabitant of the king's realms, and applies to 
 was under no obligation, either of gratitude or lawyer! who 
 friendship, to any one on this side the Alps, he a % e J^ the 
 feared neither king, prince, archbishop, bishop, nor 
 any person in the kingdom, ecclesiastical or secular, in the 
 advocacy of any cause whatever. The abbot listened to this 
 suggestion, and meeting the clerk, stated his case, the advo- 
 cacy of which the latter undertook, upon condition of receiving 
 a mark of silver. So far secure, the abbot went to his inn to 
 
190 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 await the trial, which was to come on the next day. But at 
 night, when the horn 1 of rest was come, certain per- 
 
 but after- o ' I 
 
 wards de- sons arrived from the clerk, with a verbal message 
 to the abbot, that he could not undertake the cause 
 they had conferred upon, because he was unwilling to incur 
 the displeasure of the king and the great men of the realm. 
 
 Having heard this and dismissed the messengers, every 
 source of consolation seemed cut off, the abbot was in much 
 distress of mind, and his followers were also much dis- 
 quieted. It often happens, among the sorrowful, when they 
 have no remedy for their grief, that they say or do something 
 bv which they increase their affliction. So it was 
 
 The abbot J . . 
 
 in great on this occasion ; for one of those present, a kinsman 
 anxte y. ^ ^ e ^i^^ an j on more familiar terms with him 
 
 than the rest, turned to him and said : "If, my lord, you had 
 afforded me and others of your kindred the payment of our 
 expenses, so that we could have attended the schools, some 
 time since, we should have become so skilled in the law and 
 decrees, as to be able, both in the present instance and at 
 future times, to defend you. But now we are so stupid and 
 dull as it regards writings, that we can have no advice from 
 among ourselves ; neither can we get it from anybody else, 
 either for prayers or money." " It very much vexes me," 
 replied the abbot, " that I have not applied my mind to legal 
 studies." All present then, from the necessities of nature as 
 well as from nightly custom, retired to rest ; but the abbot 
 passed the greater part, if not the whole, of the night sleep- 
 less, and in unceasing prayer, commending himself and his 
 cause to God and to S. Martin, and humbly beseeching him to 
 be his advocate. After divine service the next morning, he 
 proceeded, in simple guise, with his followers to the appointed 
 place of trial, while the opposite party came attended by a long 
 ivoofCom- train of advocates. Their principal procurator and 
 7hep°S- advocate was Master Ivo de Cornwall, who, coming 
 ings. forward, produced letters-patent from Godfrey de 
 
 Lucy, then attending the schools abroad, and declared the 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 191 
 
 procuration of the cause, and its authentication by Godfrey. 
 There were present, because summoned to the council, a great 
 body of the clergy. The legate, however, was not yet presiding, 
 but some of his subordinates to whom he had committed the 
 decision of the cause. Master Ivo rising, spoke as follows : — 
 
 " I trust, my lords, the judges, that it is sufficiently evident 
 to you, from the letters-patent of my Lord Godfrey de Lucy, 
 that he, being in foreign parts, pursuing the studies of the 
 schools, and consequently unable to be present at this trial, 
 has committed his cause to my care ; and having undertaken 
 that cause, I demand a hearing no less impartial than if my 
 lord himself were present, and the more so because the cause 
 is evidently a righteous one. 
 
 " When that venerable personage, Walter, abbot of Battel, 
 my lord's uncle, departed this life, the disposal of the whole 
 monastery devolved upon the king's highness, so that it was 
 entirely in his power to bestow the government of it upon 
 whomsoever he pleased ; yet he was not disposed to present it 
 to any one who was not canonically elected. And while as 
 yet the king had not determined upon whom to confer the 
 monasterial oversight, one William, a priest, parson of the 
 church of Wye, died. Our lord the king, therefore, inasmuch 
 as he had power to dispose of the body of the whole monastery 
 as he saw fit, regardful of the piety and charity of my lord 
 Godfrey, gave him this church of Wye, situated upon the 
 lands of the abbey, and confirmed the gift by the charter 
 which I hold in my hand ; and this he did as king, as lord of 
 the manor, and as the special patron of that Abbey beyond all 
 the other abbeys of his realm. Nor was it unreasonable that 
 the king should dispose of the members as he pleased, when 
 the whole body was at his control." So saying, he exhibited the 
 king's charter of donation and confirmation, and continued : — 
 
 " The donation being made by this right of patronage, that 
 venerable personage Richard, archbishop-elect of Canterbury, 
 received my lord Godfrey as incumbent, upon the king's pre- 
 
192 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 sentation, instituted him without scruple, and with such 
 authority as he then possessed, gave letters in proof of his 
 institution, authenticated by such a seal as he then had in his 
 p 0wer — for he was not yet come to full authority." Here he 
 produced the letters alluded to, and said : " See the evidence 
 of the archbishop-elect, who afterwards, on going to the apos- 
 tolical see, and being there solemnly consecrated by the pope, 
 returned, at length, with the full power of an archbishop, 
 primate, and legate ; and being thus invested with an autho- 
 rity superior to that which he had previously enjoyed, he 
 strengthened his former act by a new institution and con- 
 firmation." So saying, he exhibited the archbishop's charter 
 — the archbishop himself being present at the time — before the 
 eyes of all, and went on : " While, therefore, my Lord Godfrey 
 has obtained, upon such excellent authority, not a portion 
 merely, but the whole of this church of Wye, with full rights, 
 the abbot and monks of Battel, in opposition to both royal and 
 archiepiscopal authority, hold back a moiety of the living. Now, 
 then, according to the full gift of the king, and the full insti- 
 tution of the archbishop, I demand full possession ; and if the 
 evidence already adduced be not sufficient, I am provided with 
 more. And full possession being had, if any question arises 
 against us, I am ready to reply to the abbot and monks, and 
 to make satisfaction according to due course of law." 
 
 The abbot, astounded at these arguments, stood devoid of 
 
 human counsel, relying only upon divine assistance. 
 amazed at When called upon for his reply, he besought those 
 
 whom he regarded as friends kindly to come to his 
 counsel; but they all excused themselves as before ; so that no 
 one of all that were present, except his own attendants, stood 
 forth to render him any advice or assistance ; for none could ven- 
 ture to stand by him when they saw what interests were at stake, 
 for fear of the king, the archbishop, and Richard de Lucy. 
 Waieran Now there was present, among others, Master 
 of Bayeux, Waieran, archdeacon of Bayeux, and subsequently 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. ] 93 
 
 bishop of Rochester, 208 then dependent upon the archbishop 
 of Canterbury, and he was sitting side by side with Master 
 Gerard Pucelle. He, seeing the abbot placed in this diffi- 
 cult position, and moved, as it is believed, by a divine 
 influence, turned to Gerard and said : " Master Gerard, shall 
 we all leave the abbot of Battel thus unprotected ? He who 
 shall fail him in this time of need may incur God's displea- 
 sure." Then rising and seizing Gerard with a friendly 
 violence, he drew him after him : " Let us go," said he, " and 
 assisting the abbot by our counsel, espouse his cause." Both 
 coming thus unexpectedly to the rescue, the abbot became 
 more tranquil, and felt more secure of his claim. They did 
 not waste much time in conference, but returned together to 
 the place where the judges were sitting, where Master 
 
 . ° and Gerard 
 
 Gerard, at the suggestion of Master Waleran (and Puceiie 
 both under God's influence) stood forward in a e c f° s u e ° e 
 spirit of boldness, fearless alike of the king, of the 
 archbishop his master, of the princes, and of all their abettors, 
 and with ready speech expressed himself on behalf of the 
 abbot, as follows : — 
 
 " As those things which have been lawfully begun, ought 
 to be carried forward to perfection, so ought those p uce u e < s 
 which have been rashly attempted to be either re- s P eech - 
 voked or amended. It has been alleged on the other side, 
 that when the Abbey of Battel was deprived of its pastor, the 
 entire disposal of the monastery devolved upon the king ; and 
 that in the meantime the king gave to Master Godfrey de 
 Lucy the vacant church of Wye, situated upon the lands of 
 the Abbey ; and that my lord of Canterbury, first elect and 
 afterwards archbishop, received him, upon the king's presenta- 
 tion, and instituted him to the parsonage of that church. To 
 this our reply is, that, with all respect for our lord the king, the 
 
 208 t, He was domestic chaplain of Richard, archbishop of Canterbury, which makes his 
 advocacy on this occasion the more generous and disinterested. He was elected to 
 Rochester in 1182, and died in 1184. See Wharton's Ang. Sac. i, 346. Godwin, p. 528." 
 (Note in Lat. Ed.) 
 
 13 
 
194 CHRONICLE OF 
 
 secular power possesses no jurisdiction in matters ecclesiastical. 
 And although at the time when the Abbey was vacant the king 
 may have appeared entitled to some right to its management, 
 still he had no power to do anything to the detriment of the 
 monastery or of the future abbot, nor to change or alienate, or 
 otherwise dispose of anything, but to keep all things, in order 
 to restore them unimpaired to the future abbot. There ought, 
 consequently, to have been no donation made by the king of the 
 church of Wye, situated as it is upon the lands of the Abbey; 
 for he, being less a patron than a guardian of the vacant convent, 
 held in it no private right ; neither ought he to have made a 
 donation by any other right. Since, therefore, the donation is 
 void, it is quite certain that the presentation also ought to be of 
 no effect; for he who could not give ought not to have presented. 
 The presentee is said to have been admitted by the lord-elect 
 of Canterbury ; but although, for the reason assigned, the in- 
 stitution was irregular, and consequently void, yet he neither 
 was nor could be admitted upon any other consideration ; for 
 since the election of the archbishop was not yet confirmed by 
 the supreme pontiff, he had no power to admit or to institute. 
 The archbishop having been consecrated by the pope, and 
 having returned from the apostolical see in possession of 
 full power, is said to have done more solemnly what had been 
 imperfectly done before, and to have confirmed it by episcopal 
 authority. But no confirmation could or ought to be made, 
 for at his consecration all his previous acts had been annulled 
 by the pope. Since, then, the presentation and the institution 
 of the presentee had been made while as yet the archbishop 
 was merely elect, and since all things were revoked as void 
 upon his consecration, it is clear that whatsoever was done in 
 the present business is included under that general revoca- 
 tion, and is consequently of no effect. Now, since the power 
 of a bishop is acknowledged to be little or nothing as com- 
 pared with the apostolical authority, those things which are 
 dissolved by the superior functionary, can receive no force 
 through one of inferior rank. On a careful review, therefore, 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 195 
 
 of the whole of the proceedings, it appears that as all things 
 have been done to the prejudice of ecclesiastical rights, they 
 deservedly fail of their purpose, because they do not stand 
 upon the basis of ecclesiastical firmness. The other party 
 demand the benefit of a full institution, when, in fact, they 
 deserve rather to be deprived of their portion, because it is 
 manifest that they really possess no reasonable title to this 
 church of Wye. The vacant monastery has been deprived of 
 its right ; and those unjustly deprived are not bound to reply 
 until they are reinstated in their rights ; wherefore the abbot, 
 acting on behalf of his monastery, demands such restitution, 
 and is prepared afterwards to do full justice." 
 
 When Master Gerard had concluded his speech in the 
 hearing of all present, and had proved his allegations by 
 authorities from the laws and decrees, too long for insertion 
 here, and when sentence should have been pronounced ac- 
 cording to the statements of the contending parties, the judges 
 who had been appointed, deferring to the opposite side (doubt- 
 less on account of their power), reserved their judgment, and 
 recommended an arrangement between the parties. 
 
 The abbot, who was more desirous of peace than of strife 
 and contention, on consideration of the various cir- . 
 
 A compro- 
 
 cumstances, determined not to refuse a compromise, m« agreed 
 feeling assured that he should lose nothing that he 
 had possessed, and trusting that he should rather be a gainer 
 by it. By the intervention, therefore, of some discreet per- 
 sons, a composition was made to the effect that the tithes of 
 Bekeivett, and Beaioerdregge, and Holeford, antiently assigned 
 to the sacristy of Battel, should still be appropriated to that 
 use, and that, for the future, Godfrey de Lucy should hold 
 the whole church of Wye, as perpetual curate, under a pension 
 of fifteen marks annually, payable to the Abbey. And as 
 Godfrey, as we have already mentioned, was at the time 
 abroad, it was decided that, on his return, he should visit the 
 monastery in person, for the purpose of resigning all the 
 
196 CHRONICLE OF BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 instruments he held in the name either of the king or the 
 archbishop, respecting the said church, and of receiving a 
 document by which the composition should be rendered 
 binding upon the monastery alone. 
 
 In this manner was the composition made and approved on 
 both sides, and the abbot, giving thanks to God and S. Martin, 
 returned home, joyful in the security of his cause. Being 
 asked by those who congratulated him on his success, if he 
 now regretted his want of skill in decrees and laws, he 
 cheerfully replied, " There is no law so good — no decree so 
 efficacious as the psalm, ' $abe mercg upon mc, © ffiotf/ " 209 
 We mention this in order that we may clearly show the 
 great devotion in prayer of one who had learned that he could 
 obtain more by the outpouring of supplication before God 
 than by any eloquent arguments of men. We have besides 
 treated the more largely on this subject, because we thought 
 it attributable to divine interposition and the prayers of the 
 abbot, that whereas, a short time before, the whole kingdom 
 and priesthood were publicly opposed to him, or at least 
 could not be induced to render him advice or aid, either 
 for entreaties or for money, yet now on a sudden such an 
 unexpected protection was divinely vouchsafed, that the power 
 in which the adverse party confided was cast down, and the 
 multiplicity of their advocates confounded. 
 
 Godfrey de Lucy, on hearing of these proceedings, although 
 Godfrey he did not much approve of them, durst not shrink 
 consents. from the form of the compromise. On his return 
 from abroad, therefore, he went in his own person to Battel 
 Abbey, and having resigned all his instruments, [received] 
 a charter of confirmation according to the form prescribed 
 by 210 
 
 209 There are several psalms beginning with these words ; the one intended by the abbot 
 is probably the LVI. 
 
 210 The manuscript is unfortunately defective. 
 

 SUMMARY 
 
 OF 
 
 %ty ^tstorp of Battel Slfckj, 
 
 SUBSEQUENTLY TO THE EVENTS NARRATED IN 
 THE FOREGOING "CHRONICLE." 
 
 HOSE who have, with any degree of interest, 
 perused, in the foregoing pages, the recital of 
 the origin of this famous Monastery, and the 
 chequered events of its history dming the first 
 century of its existence, will probably feel 
 some curiosity as to its subsequent fortunes and ultimate 
 downfall. Tor their gratification, the following pages have 
 been compiled from that stupendous monument of literary 
 industry, J^ugdalesMbnasticonAnglicanum, and other authentic 
 sources. As the history of a kingdom is to a great extent 
 developed by that of its sovereigns, so the annals of a monas- 
 tery are principally exhibited in the lives of its successive 
 abbots. In the succeeding brief account, therefore, I have 
 given such particulars as I could glean of the rulers of the 
 Abbey, which involve most of the main features of the history 
 of the establishment itself. 
 
 For the sake of making the list of Abbots complete from 
 the Foundation, I shall prefix the names and dates of those 
 dignitaries who presided at Battel during the period compre- 
 hended by the Chronicle, with references to the body of the 
 work for biographical statements. 
 
198 BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 ititoftcrt BlfUTCaiti, a monk of Marmoutier, was the first who 
 received the appointment ; but as he Avas drowned on his 
 return "to England to take the reins of office (page 12), the 
 honour of " first abbot of Battel " is usually accorded to his 
 successor, 
 
 (JEauSccrt, another monk of Marmoutier, who commenced 
 his rule in 1076, and died in 1095. The Oxford MS. places 
 his election in 1078, and his death in 1097, but these dates 
 are both clearly wrong. For the events of his time, see 
 p. 12 to p. 46. 
 
 A.D. 1095, the Abbey was dedicated, in the presence of 
 William Rufus, in the year of Gausbert's decease. 
 
 According to some authorities his successor was one Walter, 
 who died immediately after his election ; but the silence of 
 our Chronicle on the subject induces us to accept as the next 
 abbot, 
 
 f^Ctrry;, prior of Canterbury, who was elected in 1096, 
 and died in 1102. (P. 47.) After his death there was a vacancy 
 of several years, during which the Abbey was under the care 
 of Custodes. 
 
 l&alpfj, a monk of Caen, elected 1107, died 11 24. (P/57.) 
 
 WHWCTWC, a monk of Canterbury, installed 1124. Resigned 
 his office in 1138, and retired to the priory of Lewes. (P. 67.) 
 
 SEalter tic kttCg, elected 1139, died 1171. The history of 
 his government is fully detailed in our Chronicle. After his 
 death the Abbey was again vacant for four years. (P. 72.) 
 
 ©tJO, prior of Canterbury, elected 1175. He was in office 
 at the date of the termination of our Chronicle. We have 
 seen, in the latter portion of that work, something of the 
 sanctity of his character. Leland, in his Collectanea, de- 
 scribes him as a very learned man, and the friend, not only 
 of the famous John of Salisbury, but also of Thomas a Becket, 
 archbishop of Canterbury. On the same authority we learn 
 that he was buried (in March, 1200) in the lower part of the 
 Abbey church, in a tomb of black or Lydian marble. After 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 199 
 
 his death the people regarded him as a saint. Leland adds, 
 " The abbot of Battel told me that he had a written Life of 
 Odo." 1 Two of Odo's own works were preserved in the 
 Abbey library at the time of the dissolution. 
 
 Sofjtt tic ©libra, or Dover, another Canterbury monk, suc- 
 ceeded on the calends of May 1200. During his abbacy, 
 King John conferred a charter, empowering the monks to 
 enjoy the custody of their establishment during any vacancy 
 of the abbotship. For this they paid 500 marks. 
 
 That monarch paid several visits to Battel Abbey, and in 
 1200 gave to the church " a certain small piece of the sepul- 
 chre of our Lord, which had been brought (from Palestine) 
 with other relics, by his brother, King Richard " (Cceur de 
 Leon). 
 
 In 1206, April 6, he was again at Battel, and was hospi- 
 tably entertained by the brethren. On this occasion he 
 offered upon the high altar a fair vestment, or casula. He 
 paid the monastery a thud visit on Thursday, 13th June, 
 1212, and a fourth on Thursday, April 25, 1213. 2 Abbot 
 John died on the 12th of the calends of July, in the latter 
 year. After his decease the Abbey was some time vacant, 
 when 
 
 Hltg!j was elected. This personage was made bishop of 
 Carlisle in 1218. " I do not know," says Willis, 3 " whether he 
 held the abbacy in comniendam with his bishoprick ; but this 
 is certain, that he died anno 1223, at an abbey in Burgundy, 
 on his return from Rome, and that his successor in the abbacy 
 was Richard." The Annals of Dunslaple place Richard's 
 accession in 1218 ; but, from the researches of Mr. Blaauw, 4 
 it is evident that 
 
 Midjartf (who had previously been almoner of the Abbey), 
 was elected in 1215, if not in the preceding year, On Jan. 22, 
 
 1 Leland Collect., eel. 1770, vol. iv, p. 68. 
 
 2 Sussex Arch. Coll., ii, 135. 
 
 3 Hist. Mitred Abbeys, i, 35. 
 
 4 Sussex Arch. Coll., ii, 136. 
 
200 BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 and two following days of that year, King John was at Knepp 
 Castle, in Sussex, and during his sojourn there, Hugoline, 
 precentor of Battel, accompanied by two other monks of the 
 house, applied to him, and obtained his approval of their 
 newly-elected abbot, Richard. He died on the 3d of the 
 calends of August, 1235. 
 
 Halpl) tic Counxtrg, formerly cellarer of the establishment, 
 was the next abbot. The royal assent was given to his election 
 6th November, 1235. His successor appears to have been 
 
 2£ttJtTtaltJ, prior of Brecknock, one of the Abbey's cells. 
 He held that office so early as 1248, and was elected to the 
 abbacy of Battel in 1261. 
 
 During this abbot's government, King Henry III visited 
 Battel Abbey, and was hospitably received by the brethren, 
 notwithstanding the severe exactions they had suffered at the 
 hands of his minions, who had, under various pretexts, levied 
 unheard of contributions on the ecclesiastics of the kingdom. 
 A contemporary writer assures us, that the large sum of two 
 hundred marks had thus been claimed and recovered from 
 this convent. In the spring of 1264, when the barons were 
 in arms against the monarch, the latter, after having seized 
 upon the castle of Tunbridge, made his way, in the early part 
 of May, towards the coast of Sussex. Some particulars of his 
 march, hitherto unpublished, are narrated in a MS., probably 
 written by a monk of Battel, and may here be cited. 
 
 " The king went forward and hastened towards Sussex ; 
 and as he was passing Cimibwelle [Comb well, a nunnery in 
 the parish of Goudhurst], Master Thomas, his cook, going 
 incautiously in advance of the army, was slain by a certain 
 countryman. When the king heard of this, he caused many 
 of the people of the country who were assembled above 
 Flemenewell (Tlimwell), whither they had been ordered by the 
 Lord John de la Haye, 5 an adherent of the barons, to be sur- 
 
 5 The family of De la Ilay " canie in with the Conqueror," and became widely dispersed 
 in Britain. One principal branch settled at Halnaker, co. Sussex ; another removed into 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 201 
 
 rounded, like so many innocent lambs in a fold, and beheaded. 
 Thence he proceeded to Robertsbridge, where he was hospi- 
 tably entertained ; and afterwards to Battel Abbey, where the 
 brethren went forth in solemn procession to meet him. But 
 the king, putting on a wrathful countenance, demanded from 
 the abbot a hundred marks, while Edward, his son, exacted 
 an additional forty. For seeking occasion on every hand to 
 inflict burdens, they alleged that certain persons had been 
 killed at Fliniwell by the abbot's men, who had been sent 
 thither for that purpose. In the first instance, indeed, they 
 spoke the truth ; but in the second they were quite wrong, 
 because at that time it was not in the power of lords to re- 
 strain their dependents. 
 
 " The king, pursuing his march, went forward to Win- 
 chelsea, where he and his whole army remained some days, 
 revelling in the abundance of wine they found there ; 6 for 
 the whole country was exposed to depreciation and rapine. 
 
 At length the barons directing their inarch against 
 
 the royal army .... the king returned to Battel Abbey, and 
 there first heard of their advance. From thence he dispatched 
 scouts, and, directing his course by their intelligence, set out 
 with his forces under arms in the direction of Lewes. He 
 lodged one night at Herst (Herstmonceux), and while his 
 army were employing themselves in hunting and destroying 
 the park, a certain nobleman, named Roger de Tournay, was 
 killed by a chance blow of an arrow, which struck him in the 
 throat." The chronicler goes on to narrate the hostile meeting 
 
 Scotland, and produced the earls of Errol and marquises of Tweeddale ; while a third 
 remained fixed in this locality. The personage referred to in the text was probably a 
 resident of Battel. Many of the name occur in the muniments of the Abbey. One branch 
 gave name to a seat at Netherfield, in this parish (now called Hays or Netherfield Toll), 
 and became extinct about a century ago. The visitations of Sussex record another line, 
 which was settled at Kobertsbridge temp. Edw. IV, and subsequently at Glyndebourne, 
 near Lewes, and which gave birth to William Hay, author of the Essay on Deformity, 
 and other poems. 
 
 15 Winchelsea was at this period, and long subsequently, a great entrepot for French 
 wines. 
 
202 BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 of the king and the barons at the memorable battle which 
 he describes as happening " on the mountain which overhangs 
 the castle of Lewes" — an event so generally known as to need 
 no further remark here. After the " mise " of Lewes which 
 succeeded the king's defeat, we find him again at Battel, 
 where " the monks must have relished the spectacle of speedy 
 retribution, which now brought the wrong-doer humiliated 
 and harmless again to their door." 7 
 
 A contemporary poet speaks of the merciless spoliation of 
 the goods of the Abbey : 
 
 " Namque monasterium quod Bettum vocatur, 
 Turba saevientiiun, quae nunc conturbatur, 
 Immisericorditer bonis spoliavit." 
 
 At the neighbouring abbey of Robertsbridge the outrages 
 had been still more violent, for the monks had been threatened 
 with death unless they would pay 500 marks to Prince 
 Edward : 
 
 " Monachi Cistercii de Ponte Eoberti 
 A furore gladii non fuissent certi, 
 Si quingentas Principi marcas non dedissent, 
 Quas Edwardus accipi jussit vel perissent. 8 
 
 Abbot Reginald died at an advanced age, and was suc- 
 ceeded by 
 
 f^Cttru tie &|fcftittf, who had the temporalities of the 
 monastery restored to him as abbot 28 May, 1281. He 
 died in 1297. 
 
 3ol)tt tic @TartCt0, or Thanet, a monk of Canterbury, received 
 the temporalities 30 Jan. 1297. He was an accomplished 
 scholar, " wrote several legends, was skilful in mathematics, 
 and set the church service to music." For some unexplained 
 reason he resigned the abbacy in the tenth year of his govern- 
 ment. King Edward I visited the Abbey in his time, viz. on 
 Sept. 15, 1302. 
 
 7 Blaauw's Barons' War. 
 
 8 Ibid., from Harl. MS. 978, published in Wright's Political Songs, Camd. Soc. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 203 
 
 3of)n tie Sltatlmujtcm, from his name, was doubtless born 
 at the adjacent village of AVhatlington. In 1 Edward II 
 he held the office of seneschal to the Abbey. The royal 
 assent to his election to the abbacy was obtained 10 March, 
 1307. He died, according to Willis, in 1311. 
 
 Sojjtt tie jj^ortuttnt, or Northburne, succeeded, and had the 
 assent of Edward II to his election, 25 May, 1311. He 
 resigned office in 1318, and was succeeded by 
 
 Sofjtt tie ^ebenese, a native probably of the neighbouring 
 town of Pevensey, who had the temporalities restored to him 
 6 May, 1318. In Harl. MS. 6958, p. 267, he is called Roger 
 de Peveno. His death was notified to the king 31 January, 
 1324. 
 
 At this period, and from the date of the first regular parlia- 
 ments, the abbots of Battel were regularly summoned to the 
 upper house, as spiritual peers, an honour which they con- 
 tinued to enjoy until the Dissolution. The few religious 
 houses which possessed this great privilege were known by the 
 name of mitred abbeys. The abbots' insignia, like those of 
 bishops, were a mitre and crosier, with this difference, that 
 the latter was always carried in the right hand, whereas the 
 crosier of a bishop was borne in the left. 
 
 There is some doubt as to the name of the next abbot. 
 The Monasticon calls him 
 
 £tlau tie IfotliJttrj, and states that he received the tempo- 
 ralities 28 March, 1324. Other authorities make the surname 
 Retting, which may be a literal error, and Willis makes him 
 John instead of Alan. Some suppose that they were two 
 distinct persons, who held the abbacy in succession between 
 John of Pevensey and Robert de Bello. Certain it is that 
 in 12 Edw. Ill, Alan, abbot of Battel, received the royal 
 license to fortify and embattle his monastery — a proceeding 
 which indicates either a degeneracy on the part of the monks, 
 who were thus induced to resort to carnal defences, or an 
 increased desire on that of the secular powers to oppress and 
 
204 BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 injure them. A military furor seems to have prevailed among 
 the ecclesiastics during this century, and we find an abbot of 
 Battel and a prior of Lewes laying aside the pastoral staff, 
 and assuming the sword in the repulsion of the French from 
 our shores — a patriotic and beneficial procedure, however 
 foreign to the ecclesiastical and monastic character. 
 
 :Eofart tje 33ello, who, from his surname, would appear to 
 have been a native of Battel, received the temporalities as 
 abbot 23 March, 1351, and died in 1364. During his rule, 
 John Jose, prior of Brecknock, one of the Abbey's cells, 
 rebelled against the authority of the parent establishment, 
 which had hitherto exercised the right of a triennial visitation ; 
 whereupon De Bello procured a bull, enjoining obedience, 
 from Pope Innocent VI. This document, which bears date 
 9 June, 1355, is preserved in the Chartulary of the Abbey. 
 Either this abbot or his immediate successor is the only person 
 holding the office who is known to have exercised the princely 
 prerogative of pardoning criminals, granted by William the 
 Conqueror. According to the Chronicle of Evesham, it appears 
 that "in 1364 the abbot of Battel, going towards London, 
 met a felon condemned to the gallows in the king's marshal- 
 sea, and, in virtue of his prerogative, liberated him from 
 death. And although the king and other magnates took 
 much offence at the act, yet, upon plea, he had his charter 
 confirmed." 
 
 f^amo tit ©ffjmtOtt, This abbot, who, by his surname, 
 would appear to have been born at Offington, near Worthing, 
 was consecrated by archbishop Islip on the 4th of the calends 
 of January, 1364. In 1375 he was appointed visitor of the 
 monasteries of the Benedictine order in the dioceses of Can- 
 terbury and Rochester. 
 
 This personage, from a single act of his life, has become an 
 historical character. In 1377, the French, having taken the 
 Isle of Wight, coasted towards Winchelsea, and Hamo hastened 
 to defend that town from the attack. The French therefore 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 205 
 
 sent messengers to him, asking him to ransom it. To this 
 impudent request the abbot replied, that he should not think 
 of buying what he had not yet lost, and advised them to 
 desist from their purpose, lest it should be so much the worse 
 for them. The enemy next proposed to decide the matter by 
 single combat ; but to this the abbot objected that he was a 
 religious man, and had come thither with no desire to fight, 
 but in order to keep and defend the peace of his country. 
 The enemy, taking this as an indication of cowardice, brought 
 forth their engines of war, and commenced an assault, which 
 lasted from noon till eventide ; but by reason of the strenuous 
 defence of the abbot and his followers, they had little success. 
 While the attack was going on, they sent part of their fleet 
 to Hastings, and finding that town almost deserted, burnt it. 
 At length, finding their attempt upon Winchelsea fruitless, 
 they retreated. 9 
 
 The gallant Hamo died 23 March, 1383, and was suc- 
 ceeded by 
 
 Soljtt (£ratt0, who received the temporalities 1 May follow- 
 ing. He was succeeded by 
 
 Soljtt Uptifottrg, or Ledbury, who received the temporalities 
 1 March, 1398. He died in 1404. 
 
 SEtiltam fftersjj, or Meresham, formerly cellarer of the 
 monastery, received the royal assent 16 January, 1405, and 
 the temporalities 1 Feb. following. He died early in the 
 year 1417. 
 
 ^DfjomaS tic ILlttilouJ, who had previously been cellarer and 
 prior of Battel, had the royal assent to his election 11 May, 
 and received the temporalities 30 May, 1417. He resigned 
 in 1435. 
 
 In the time of this abbot a new " sword of maintenance" was made. The 
 abbots of Battel had, as we have seen, the sole right of punishing criminal 
 offences within their district, which they exercised not only within the Lenga 
 or home territory, but also in the outlying possessions in other counties, as 
 
 9 Thomas of Walsingham, Hist. Anyl. ed. 1574, p. 198. 
 
206 BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 appears from the Placitae de quo Warranto. This sword, which at the disso- 
 lution came into the hands of Sir John Gage, of Firle, co. Sussex, one of the 
 commissioners, remained in the possession of his descendants until about 
 twenty-five years since, when it was presented by Lord Viscount Gage to the 
 armoury of Dr. Meyrick, at Goodrich Court. It is figured and described in 
 vol. xxii of the Archseologia, page 414. Upon the pommel are the arms of 
 Battel Abbey, viz. a cross, with a crown iu the first and fourth quarters, and 
 a sword erect in the second and third, 10 and the abbot's initials, t . I. This 
 relic is probably the one which became traditionally associated with the royal 
 founder, and was considered as " the Conqueror's sword." (See a subsequent 
 page.) It is the oldest weapon of the kind extant in England. 
 
 SHtiliam SSMlcr, who was probably a member of the 
 distinguished family of that name at Groombridge, co. Kent, 
 received the king's assent to his election, 20 June, 1435, and 
 the temporalities 1 July following. He died on the Monday 
 before the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, 1437. 
 
 2&trfjartJ ©fXttttOUtfj was elected on the Monday preceding 
 St. Philip and St. James's day, 1437, and received the 
 temporalities 15 May following. His name occurs as abbot 
 in 1461. 
 
 In the time of Abbot Dartmouth the Lord Hoo founded 
 a chantry in the Abbey. The following extract from his will 
 was preserved by Sir William Burrell (MS. Coll. Armor., 
 I. 7, fol. 61) :— ' 
 
 " I Thomas Hoo, knt., lord of Hoo and Hastinges, the xij th day of February 
 the yere of King Henry the Sixt the xxiij, being in good mynde, make this my 
 will and ordenaunce after the fourme that followeth ; first Y will that mine 
 feoffys & myn executors ordeyn xx li marks wourth land of yerely vallue, theye 
 to yeve it into mortmayn to the abbot and convent of Batail, and to their 
 successors, or to yeve them money as mine executors can agree with them ; u 
 
 10 The following arms have likewise been ascribed to the Abbey : 
 
 1. Argent on a cross gules, a mitre in the centre, betweeu two orbs or mounds in fesse, 
 and two crowns in pale or. (Tanner's Notitia.) 
 
 2. Gules, on a cross or, the text letter x azure ; two crowns in the first and fourth 
 quarters, and two swords, points upwards, in the second and third. (Ibid.) 
 
 *** Le Neve makes the letter x a mitre. 
 
 3. Gules, a cross argent ; in the first quarter a mitre with labels ; iu the second a 
 crown or. (Procession Roll of Lords to Parliament, 1512.) 
 
 11 The lands are specified out of which the annuity was payable. They include, among 
 others, lands purchased of William Lower, son of Walter Lower. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 207 
 
 they to fynd two monkes synggyng imperpetuite at Saint Beningnys autyr in 
 the said abbey for me and myn awncetours, and for suche personnes as 
 myne executors wyll ordeyne." 
 
 Mjtt jjkfoton, formerly cellarer of the Abbey, was chosen 
 abbot in 1463, and received the temporalities 14 June in that 
 year. He died in 1490. 
 
 2l£irf)arti EouiJ, or Tovy, was confirmed abbot 17 Feb., 
 1490, received the temporalities 8 March following, and died 
 20 August, 1503. 
 
 SEtiliam SEcstfrlte held the office of steward to the 
 monastery ; was made prior of Brecknock in 1499 ; elected 
 abbot of Battel 25 Sept., 1503; received the temporalities 
 3 July, 1504 ; and died in 1508. From his name, he would 
 appear to have been born in an adjacent parish. 
 
 ILattrmce CjjampjHJH, or Campyon, received the tempo- 
 ralities 8 Dec, 1508. 
 
 One of the most interesting documents among the Battel 
 Abbey muniments is a roll of the accounts of this abbot, 
 rendered at Michaelmas, 1509. It furnishes the items of 
 the disbursements, distributions, and rewards on the day 
 of the late Abbot, William Westfelde's, funeral. The 
 charge for making his grave was viijV/. It also states the 
 expenses attendant on his own election, creation, confirmation, 
 and consecration. One item is ' for a printed book bought 
 at London, viijV.,' and others are for rewards given ' to the 
 players of my lord the king ' (vis. viij^/.), and ' to two players 
 of my lord the earl of Arundell,' (xxd.) 12 
 
 Sofjtt f^aittontJ, who was sacristan of the Abbey in 1531, 
 is supposed to have been the next, as he certainly was the 
 last, abbot of Battel. We find him mentioned as abbot in 
 1533. Five years later he surrendered this once flourishing 
 
 12 Thome's Catalogue : where some surprise at these last items is expressed. It should 
 be remembered, however, that the performances of these ' players ' consisted of the so- 
 called religious dramas, or miracle-plays, of which the monastic orders were great 
 patrons. 
 
208 BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 establishment into the hands of Henry the Eighth's commis- 
 sioners. 
 
 The history of the downfall of the monastic establishments 
 under that redoubtable " Defender of the Faith," is too well 
 known to require any comment in a brief and hasty sum- 
 mary like the present. It is sufficient for our purpose to 
 state, that towards the end of the month of May, 1538, the 
 royal commissioners, Sir John Gage, and Richard Layton, an 
 ecclesiastic, arrived at Battel, in pursuance of their summary 
 and sweeping errand. 
 
 The corruptions of the monastic orders, though very great, 
 were doubtless overstated by those who were interested in 
 their extinction. Battel Abbey did not escape the general 
 censure. Fuller and Burnet charge Hamond with flagitious 
 crimes ; but this, as the editors of the Monasticon observe, is 
 hardly reconcilable with the grant of 100 marks per annum 
 made him at the Dissolution, particularly as the instrument 
 which bestowed the pension stipulated that it should be 
 vacated in case the king should prefer him. Nor is there any 
 allusion to this charge (as in several other instances) in the 
 letter of the visitors to the Lord Cromwell when the Abbey was 
 dissolved. Let us hope, therefore, that the moral condition of 
 Battel Abbey was no worse than that of the other monasteries, 
 when that of the very best was bad enough. Another fact 
 may be mentioned in vindication of Abbot Hamond, namely, 
 that after the Dissolution he continued to reside at Battel, and 
 was buried, by his own desire, in the chapel of St. Catherine, 
 in the parish church. 
 
 The deed of surrender, dated 27 May, 1538, makes over 
 to the king " the Monastery or Abbey of Battel aforesaid, and 
 also all and singular the manors, lordships, messuages, gar- 
 dens, curtilages, tofts, lands, and tenements, meadows, feedings, 
 pastures, woods, rents, reversions, services, mills, passages, 
 knights' fees, wards, marriages, bondmen, villains, with then- 
 sequel, commons, liberties, franchises, jurisdictions, offices, 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 209 
 
 court-leets, hundreds, views of frankpledge, fairs, markets, 
 parks, warrens, vivares, waters, fisheries, ways, passages, void 
 grounds ; advowsons, nominations, presentations and donations 
 of churches, vicarages, chapels, chantries, hospitals, and other 
 ecclesiastical benefices whatsoever, pensions, portions, annuities, 
 tithes, oblations, &c, in the counties of Sussex, Kent, South- 
 ampton, Devon, Worcester, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Berks, 
 Oxford, Wilts, Cambridge, and elsewhere in England and 
 Wales. 
 
 The total value of these possessions — a complete list of 
 which is given in the Valor Ecclesiasticus — amounted, accord- 
 ing to Dugdale, to £880. 14?. l\d. ; but according to Speed, 
 to £987. 0s* 10^-d. Assuming the nominal value of money 
 to have decreased in the course of three centuries in a 
 tenfold ratio, the annual income of the establishment must 
 have nearly approached £10,000, at the modern appreciation. 
 
 " What the monks did with their money" is a problem of 
 rather difficult solution ; for if we allow large deductions 
 for buildings, reparations, the salaries of bailiffs and other 
 functionaries, as well as for the exercise of hospitality and 
 charity, a great surplus must have remained for the actual 
 support of the fraternity, consisting as it did of a number not 
 exceeding that of many a private family. That they did not, 
 like their predecessors, expend their revenues in the purchase 
 of vestments and church furniture is clear from a letter 
 addressed by the visitors, Gage and Layton, to the Lord 
 Cromwell, which tells a deplorable story of internal neglect 
 and mismanagement : 
 
 " My Lord, — Thes slial be to advertise yo r lordshype that we haue taken 
 thassurance for the kyng, and haue cast our bowke for the dispache of the 
 monks and householde which amovnttithe at the leaste to on hundreth pownds. 
 The implements off housholde be the wurste that ev r I se in abbaye orpriorie, 
 the vestyments so old and so baysse, worn, raggede and tome as youre lorde- 
 shipe wolde not thynke, so that veray smale money canbe made of the vestrye. 
 If your lordshipe send us a hundrethe pownds by this brrngar, we shal make 
 up the reste if hit be possible of this old vestrye stnffe ; iff we cannot, we shal 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 disburse hyt till (/ retome to your lordeship. The church plate and plate of 
 the house we suppos by estymation will auiounte to cccc marks or more. 
 There is no gret store of catell. This day webe makynganinventary. Thus 
 our Lorde continewe yowe in honoure. From Batele Abbay, the xxvij tb of 
 May. 
 
 Your lordschypes to command, 
 
 John Gage. 
 Yo v lordshipes most humble to commaunde, 
 Kic. Layton, prest." 
 
 The following is a list of the members of the establishment 
 at the period of its dissolution, with the pension assigned to 
 each, from the pension -book at the Augmentation office : 
 
 " Penc for the Monks of Battele. 
 John Hamond, abbot . . c 11 (per aunum). 
 
 Richard Salesherst, prior, bachelor in theology x u — 
 
 vi . xnj 
 
 ditto. 
 
 ditto. 
 
 ditto. 
 
 ditto. 
 
 ditto. 
 
 xnj 
 
 Clemente Westefelde 
 John Hastyng 
 
 John Henfelde, bachelor in theology 
 John Austen 
 
 Thos. Levett, bachelor in theology 
 Vincent Dunston 
 John Benyng . 
 Clement Gregorie 
 Thos. Cuthbert 
 
 William Ambrose, bachelor in theology 
 Thomas Bede, bachelor in theology . 
 John Jerome . 
 Edward Clement 
 Bartholomew Ciprian 
 John Newton 
 Richard Dartrnowthe 
 A novice named Richard Ladde had no pension assigned him. 
 
 VI" 
 
 vi 
 
 vi! " • 
 vi . xhj 
 ditto, 
 vi - . - 
 ditto. 
 vi u - . 
 ditto. 
 ditto. 13 
 
 13 The nomenclature of these brethren deserves a passing remark. On entering a 
 monastic establishment, it was the practice to lay aside the family surname, as something 
 smacking of the external world, and to adopt another, frequently from the birthplace, or 
 from some eminent man. At Battel Abbey, it seems to have been a favourite practice to 
 select names renowned in the annals of the church. Thus we have in the present list, 
 Austin, Dunstan, Gregory, Cuthbert, Ambrose, Bede, Jerome, Clement, and Cyprian. In 
 several instances the surname adopted was that of a. former abbot of Battel, as Westefelde, 
 Newton, Dartrnowthe. Saleherste and Henfelde appear to have taken theirs from the 
 places of their nativity, and John Benyng his from the S. Benyng, or Benignus, who had an 
 altar in the abbev-church. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 211 
 
 Among the rarities preserved in the Abbey at the time of 
 the Dissolution were — the famous Battel Sfoucg 3&oll, a list 
 of the magnates who " came in with the Conqueror," a docu- 
 ment of doubtful authenticity ; 14 and a sword and royal robe, 
 said to have belonged to William. Our Chronicle, indeed, 
 mentions the Conqueror's bequest of his pallium ; and if the 
 garment found here in 1538 were really the one in question, 
 it must, after the lapse of 500 years, have become as " baysse, 
 worn, raggede, and tome" as any of the sacerdotal vestments 
 described by the commissioners. Of the sword our monk 
 says nothing, and the genuineness of that article is there- 
 fore extremely questionable. Of the monastic library— or at 
 least of a portion of it — the indefatigable Leland has pre- 
 served a catalogue in his Collectanea. That famous antiquary 
 obtained the royal permission to explore and preserve what- 
 ever MSS. he thought fit in the various Monasteries of the 
 kingdom, and to his zealous care we are indebted for a very 
 large amount of the treasures of this kind which have de- 
 scended to us. His list of the works at Battel Abbey is 
 subjoined : 
 
 The Gloss of Odo, abbot of Battel, on the Psalter. 
 
 Clement of Lautony on the spiritual wings and feathers of the Cherubim. 
 
 The entire Chronicle of Jordan, bishop of Eavenna. Prefixed is a list of 
 authorities, and at the end of the work he gives the names of the 
 barbarous nations of Germany. 
 
 A mutilated copy of Antoninus's Itinerary, in which there is nothing con- 
 cerning Britain. 
 
 Mellitus, an African bishop, on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. 
 
 Bede on the distances of places mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. 
 
 Bishop Martin on the four Cardinal Virtues. 
 
 Epistles of Ivo on the Body and Blood of Christ. 
 
 Gildas. 
 
 Abbot Odo's Exposition of the First Book of Kings. 
 
 Sermon of Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, on the Assumption. 
 
 Sermons of Kichard of Melksham. 
 
 14 It is scarcely necessary to state that it has frequently been printed. See the various 
 copies of it, with remarks, in my English Surnames, vol. ii, appendix, edit. 1849. 
 
212 BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 Sermons of Stephen of Canterbury. 
 
 Brother William de la Lee's Book of Chronicles. 
 
 The Kesponses of Albinus. 
 
 Albums on the propriety of Sermons. 
 
 Topography of Wales and Ireland, by Sylvester Giraldus Cambrensis. 
 
 The entire Prophecy of Hildegard. 
 
 The summary of Michael de Smaulfeld. 
 
 Trans, from Monasticon, iii, 236. 
 
 The abbey was exceedingly rich in muniments, charters, 
 royal grants, and donations, (many of which with their seals 
 in fine preservation are still extant) official, manorial, court- 
 baron, court-leet, and rent-rolls, registers, feoffments, &c. 
 These, at the Dissolution, came into the hands of the grantee 
 of the abbey lands, and, augmented by the manorial and other 
 archives of the subsequent possessors of Battel Abbey — thus 
 unitedly forming a history of this renowned locality during 
 the long period of almost eight hundred years — were sold by 
 the late Sir G. Webster, Bart., to Mr. Thomas Thorpe, the 
 bookseller, who, after publishing a useful descriptive cata- 
 logue 15 of them, resold them to Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., 
 in whose unrivalled collection at Middle Hill, bound in ninety- 
 seven folio volumes, they still remain. 16 
 
 It would be inconsistent with the design and scope of the 
 present brief sketch to enumerate all the benefactors to 
 this dignified establishment during its existence of almost 
 five hundred years. Suffice it therefore to say, that the 
 list includes, besides several kings of England, members 
 of the distinguished families of Le Bceuf, De Iraelville, 
 St. Leger, De Normanville, D'Eu, De Palerne, De Sumeri, 
 De Monceux, De Bodiam, Le Despenser, De Ashburnham, 
 De Echyngham, De Beche, Fillol, Picot, De Hastings, Fitz- 
 Hanion, Le Hay, Moun, Manners, Mareschall, De Icklesham, 
 
 15 In 8vo, pp.221. London, 1835. 
 
 16 In better private possession they could not possibly be, the present owner of the 
 Abbey excepted. It is, however, matter of much regret that they should be in a collection 
 so remote from the locality to which they principally relate. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. -13 
 
 De Basoc, De Scotney, De Crowhurst, De Bromham, Wardens, 
 Curteis, De Dreux, De Quincy, Finch, De Herst, Alard, and 
 Hoo, besides a multitude of names of lower mark. Their 
 grants principally refer to lands, &c, in the immediate vicinity 
 of the Abbey. At the time of the Domesday Survey, Abbot 
 Gausbert held fifteen manors in Sussex only. The manor of 
 Battel alone contains nearly 10,000 acres, about one half of 
 which was held in domain, and, exclusively of other posses- 
 sions, formed a noble estate. 
 
 It now only remains briefly to trace the descent of the site 
 of the Abbey subsequently to the Dissolution, from the 
 original grantee to the present possessor. 
 
 Browne Willis, in his History of Mitred Abbeys, asserts 
 that the king " bestowed the site of the church with several 
 of the lands upon one Gilmer," who partially pulled down the 
 buildings, and sold the materials ; but this statement, which 
 was supported by no better evidence than a local tradition, is 
 evidently erroneous, for within three months of the Dissolu- 
 tion, we find that Henry, by deed dated 18 Aug. 1538, 
 granted to Sir Anthony Browne, " the site of the late monas- 
 tery or abbey of Battel," with the church, bell-tower, church- 
 yard, edifices, &c. &c, adjoining the same. In the enume- 
 ration of the contiguous buildings and lands, we find 
 mentioned the ' parke milne,' the lodge, the sextry, spital 
 land, the procession strake, the vineyard, cellarer's bayles, 
 stewmede, culvermede, almonry mede, with others bearing 
 names referring to monastic uses and customs. The con- 
 ventual church, the bell-tower, the sacristy, the chapter-house, 
 the cloisters, and some other buildings, were soon after 
 levelled with the ground ; the remaining buildings were con- 
 verted into a mansion, and as such have ever since been 
 occupied. They comprise the great hall, the abbot's apart- 
 ments, the refectory, and the noble gateway, with some 
 additions — the whole forming one of the most stately resi- 
 dences in the south of England. 
 
214 BATTEL ABBEY. 
 
 Sir Anthony Browne probably obtained this grant through 
 the influence of his father-in-law, Sir John Gage, who, as we 
 have seen, was one of the ' visitors ' who procured the abbot's 
 surrender, and who also obtained a portion of the spoils for 
 himself. 17 Sir Anthony was subsequently created a knight of 
 the garter and master of the horse, and dying in 1548, was 
 buried in Battel church, where a fine monument to his 
 memory exists. 
 
 The second wife of Sir Anthony Browne was the Lady 
 Elizabeth Fitzgerald, daughter of Gerald, ninth earl of Kildare, 
 whose beauty has been immortalised by Surrey, under the 
 title of the Fair Geraldine, and whose residence here, as 
 mistress of Battel Abbey, some may regard as a more inter- 
 esting association with these time-honoured walls than that 
 of a long line of shaven monks and mitred abbots. 
 
 Sir Anthony Brown was succeeded at Battel Abbey by his 
 son Anthony, created K.G. and viscount Montagu. The 
 most remarkable event of this nobleman's life was his embassy 
 to Rome, soon after Queen Mary's accession, for the purpose 
 of again placing England under the papal yoke. He died in 
 1592, and was succeeded by a grandson of the same name, who 
 became second viscount Montagu, and whose son Francis, 
 third viscount, died in 1682. The estates of this peer were 
 sequestrated in 1650, on account of his adherence to Roman- 
 ism, when the Battel Abbey property was valued at £1200 
 per annum — a very moderate appreciation. 
 
 Francis, the fourth viscount, died in 1708, and was suc- 
 ceeded by his brother Henry, fifth viscount, whose son Anthony, 
 sixth viscount Montagu, in 1719, sold the Abbey to Sir 
 Thomas Webster, Bart., who also pm-chased the neighbouring 
 abbey of Robertsbriclge from the earl of Leicester, Bodiham 
 castle from the representatives of Powel, and other valuable 
 estates in Sussex. Sir Thomas was a public spirited and 
 
 17 The manor of Alciston, adjacent to his estate at Firle. 
 
BATTEL ABBEY. 215 
 
 liberal personage, whose antiquarian predilections seem to 
 have had some share in dictating the purchase of these vene- 
 rable sites. He died in 1751, and was succeeded by his son, 
 Sir Whistler Webster, Bart., who died without issue in 1779, 
 leaving Battel Abbey to his relict, who survived until 1810. 
 
 The title devolved upon his brother, Sir Godfrey, third 
 baronet, who died in 1780. His son Sir Godfrey, fourth 
 baronet, transmitted Battel Abbey to his eldest son, Sir 
 Godfrey Vassal!, fifth baronet, who died in 1836. Sir 
 Godfrey married Charlotte, daughter of Robert Adamson, 
 Esq., by whom he had issue the present Sir Godfrey Webster, 
 sixth baronet, and other children. Charlotte, lady Webster, 
 survives her husband, holds Battel Abbey, and is justly proud 
 of a possession which in antient days was regarded as " the 
 token and pledge of the crown and realm of England," and 
 which is still esteemed as one of the greatest and most inter- 
 esting historical monuments of our beloved country. 18 
 
 " E tioe lobe tjjese atmegettt ' aooaoxs ; ' 
 SEe tteuer treatr fottfjtn tfjcm but toe set 
 ©ur ftrote upon some rebercno fjtstorte/' 
 
 18 For fuller details, original documents, &c., the reader will consult the new edition of 
 the Monasticon. Many popular historical and topographical works contain accounts of 
 the Abbey, which in some material points are amusingly incorrect. One authority assures 
 us that Battel Abbey lies a heap of ruins ! — a second, that there is not one stone left upon 
 another ! ! — and a third, that the site is now a pool of water ! ! ! It seems only necessary, 
 in order to complete the ridiculous climax, to affirm that no such place as Battel ever 
 existed, and that William the Conqueror is a nonentity and a myth ! For those who are 
 still inclined to the belief in both as substantial verities, I cannot do better than recommend 
 the perusal of a little book, called Gleanings respecting Battel Abbey (Battel, 1841), to the 
 author of which (Mr. Vidler) I am indebted for considerable topographical information. 
 
The Appendix to the Anglia-Christiana edition of our 
 Chronicon contains some interesting documents relating to 
 Battel Abbey, of which the following is a summary : — 
 
 A. The Foundation Charter of William the Conqueror, from Seidell's 
 edition of Eadmer. Tliis it is unnecessary to translate, the substance of it 
 being given in the body of the Chronicle. Selden and Spelrnan agree that 
 this document confers privileges unheard of before. 
 
 B. Abstract of a shorter Chronicle of Battel, Cotton. MS., Nero D. II. 
 
 C. List of the Abbots from the Regist. de Bello. 
 
 D. Taxatio of benefices of Ixning, Bramford, &c, a.d. 1200. 
 
 E. Extracts from the Regist. de Bello. 
 
 1. Confirmation of a Corrody in the Abbey to Alan de Meltone, chamberlain 
 of the Bp. of Chichester, on payment of 100 marks from the bishop, by Abbot 
 John (de Taneto) dated a.d. 1300. 
 
 2. Terms of this Pension. — This curious document explains the nature of 
 the above corrody or allowance, which was this : Every day De Meltone 
 was to receive two simenels 1 of the larger weight, a gallon and a half of 
 convent beer, a dish and a half, whether of flesh or fish, like that of the 
 brethren in the hall ; his attendant to have two black loaves, a gallon of 
 beer, and his other food like that of the Abbey's own servants. Alan hiinself 
 was likewise to receive annually a furred robe of the same cloth as that worn 
 by the Esquires of the Abbey, and a decent chamber within the walls of the 
 monastery, hay for one horse, with sufficient litter for his chamber, and wood 
 for his fire. Dated 1300. 
 
 This accommodation was probably granted to the bishop for the conve- 
 nience of his chamberlain, when visiting the episcopal estates at Bexhill, and 
 other places in the vicinity of the Abbey. 
 
 3. Reference to a charter of King John. See page 199. 
 
 4. Reference to a confirmation of the immunity of B. A. from the bishop 
 of Chichester by Pope Honorius. The same from Archbishop Theobald. 
 
 5. Pope Gregory's confirmation. 
 
 6. Archbishop Theobald's confirmation, referring to the trial at Colchester, 
 p. 115. 
 
 1 See page 27. 
 
218 
 
 7. Letter of Stigand, Bishop of Chichester, acknowledging the freedom of 
 the Abbey. See page 31. 
 
 8. Taxatio of the vicarage of Icklesham. 
 
 9. A deed of Richard, Bishop of Chichester, conferring the rectory of 
 Alciston, with its chapel of LnUington upon the Abbey ; also certain portions 
 of the tithes of Westfield, the brethren paying the vicar 100 shillings annually, 
 besides one pilch or furred garment, and decent clerical coats. 2 Dated 1251. 
 
 10. Composition between B. A. and the bishop of Chichester, by which 
 the independence of the former is considerably modified. Dated 1255. An 
 interesting sequel to the controversy so long earned on between the two 
 churches. It provides, among other things, that the abbot should receive 
 benediction in Chichester cathedral, or in any other church agreed upon by 
 both parties, except the church of Battel Abbey ! 
 
 11. Profession of obedience to B. A. by the dean of Battel. 1250. 
 
 12. Mode of electing a new abbot. 
 
 Of the Registers and other Manuscripts relating to Battel 
 Abbey, the following are the principal now extant : — 
 
 1. MS. Cotton Domit. A. ii; the document of which this volume is a 
 translation. Dugdale makes extensive use of it. 
 
 2. A Register of the Abbey, preserved among Sir Matthew Hale's MSS., 
 at Lincoln's Inn, B. 87. 
 
 3. A Register, lately in the possession of Sir G. Webster, now among the 
 Battel Abbey muniments, penes Sir Thomas Phillipps, of Middle Hill. 
 
 4. "Registrum Cartarum Monasterii S. Martini de Bello." MS. Harl.. 
 No. 3586. An imperfect volume of 63 leaves, consisting principally " of law 
 pleadings, forms of instruments, presentations to livings, manumissions, &c." 
 
 5. "Rentale et Consuetudinarium de Bello," in the Augmentation Office. 
 A large and handsome folio, on 292 leaves of vellum. It was made temp. 
 Henry VI, during the abbacy of Thomas Ludlow. 
 
 6. "Registrum Ccenobii de Bello," also in the Augmentation Office at 
 Westminster. A very antient MS., consisting of a few leaves only, For a 
 summary of the contents of these MSS. see the Monasticon, iii, 236-7-8, 
 notes. 
 
 To this list from the Monasticon, I am enabled to add :— 
 
 7. "Breve Chronicon Abbatise de Bello ab anno Domini 1065 ad 1264, 
 
 ' : " Cum una pcllicea et cotis decent ibus." 
 
219 
 
 cum continuatione ad 1286." It is a small 4to, on vellum, and belongs to 
 the University of Oxford, to which it was presented by Dr. Rawlinson, the 
 antiquary. It is marked in the Bodleian Catalogue of his books, " Rawhnson 
 B. 150." The "Breve Chronicon" occupies six pages at the beginning. 
 Then follow " the Names of the Kings of England from William I to 
 Edward I," and the "Names of the Comities and Bishops of England," 
 forming the second and third portions of the MS. The fourth part is entitled 
 " Abbreviatio Bruti (i. e. Galfredi de Monm.) cum continuatione ad mortem 
 Simonis Comitis Leycestrensis, a.d. 1265." This abridgment was evidently 
 made by a monk of Battel, and contains some notices of incidents in the 
 march of Henry III against the Barons not elsewhere recorded. 3 See page 200 
 of tliis volume. The Cottonian MS. Nero D. ii, embraces the same period, 
 but differs considerably from the Rawlinson MS. 
 
 3 Ex inform. Rev. Edw. Turner, rector of Maresfield. 
 
 [Head of a Javelin found near the field of "Battel," and now in the Sussex Archaeological 
 Society's Museum. It closely resembles those depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.] 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abbat, /Elfwin, 19. 
 
 Abbeys, mitred, what, 203. 
 
 Adrian IV (Nicholas Breakspear), 86; bull 
 
 of, 87,112, 126. 
 ^Edric, "who cast the bells," 17. . 
 jEilbricheston, 45. 
 yEiluod, the shoemaker, 17 ; the son of 
 
 Fareman, 18. 
 ^Eilward, a monk, 66. 
 jElwin, the secretary, 19. 
 zEldwin, the cook, 17. 
 /Elfric, the steward, 16. 
 Ailric, the baker, 18. 
 Ainard, a monk, 12. 
 Alard, 213. 
 
 Alciston, manor of, 34. 
 Aldred, archbishop, 26. 
 Alexander, a clerk, 126. 
 Alihermont, palace of, 181. 
 Ambrose, William, 210. 
 Andeville, Robert de, 63. 
 Andreeston, 45. 
 Anestia, 123. 
 
 Anselm, archbishop, 44, 47, 48, 170. 
 Ansger, archdeacon of Lewes, 86. 
 Apeldreham (Appledrani), 61. 
 Apostols, altar of the, 66. 
 Arms of Battel Abbey, 206. 
 Ashbnrnham, de, 212. 
 Aubrey, the legate, 71. 
 Austen, John, 210. 
 Aylesford, abbot, Henry de, 202. 
 Aylsham, 143. 
 
 Bailol, Withlard de, 58,116; Gilbert de, 1 1 8 . 
 
 Baldwin, the shoemaker, 19. 
 
 Banningeham, 45. 
 
 Barhe, Brictric, 19. 
 
 Bartholomew, bishop of Exeter, 189. 
 
 Basoc, de, 213. 
 
 Battel, so called by order of William the 
 
 Conqueror, 13. 
 Battel, town of, built, 15, 32; market 
 
 granted for, 37 ; styled Burgus, 153. 
 
 Battel church (S. Mary) built, 61 ; its im- 
 munities, 62 ; Humphrey, priest of 
 182 ; Walter, priest of, 185. 
 
 Battlebridge, in Southwark, 81. 
 
 Bathurst, castle at, 14; wood, 144. 
 
 Bayeux Tapestry, 4, 41. 
 
 Beawerdregge, 195. 
 
 Bee, monastery of, 170. 
 
 Bece, 13. 
 
 Beche, Reginald de, 15 ; Hugh de, 153 ; 
 fam. 212. 
 
 Beche, 22. 
 
 Becchenridere, Ingelram, 116. 
 
 Bede, Thomas, 210. 
 
 Bekewell, 195. 
 
 Bellafago (Beaufoy) de, Richard, 133, 140; 
 Alan de, 133, 134, 136, 138, 141. 
 
 Bello, Robert de, 204. 
 
 Belet, John, 66. 
 
 Benet, the sewer, 1 7. 
 
 Benedict, abbot of Peterborough, 179. 
 
 Benetlege (Bentley), 45. 
 
 Benyng, John, 210. 
 
 Bercholt (Bergholt), 45. 
 
 Berintona (Berington), 39. 
 
 Bernard, bishop of S. David's, 68. 
 
 Bernhom (Barnhorn), 58, 116, 119, 121. 
 
 Blacheni, the cowherd, 16. 
 
 Blancard, Robert, 10; elected abbot, 12; 
 drowned, 12. 
 
 Boccham, or Vochehant, 13. 
 
 Bocholt CBuckholt), 58, 121. 
 
 Bocstepe (Bucksteep), 59. 
 
 Bodeham, 1 5 ; grant of meadows at, 38. 
 
 Bodiham, 38, 145 ; castle, 214. 
 
 Bodiham, Emma de (wife of Osbern), 
 60. 
 
 Bodeherste, 14, 21, 22, 23. 
 
 Bodeherstegate (Blacheman de), 19. 
 
 Bolouia, Robert, 10. 
 
 Borne, Robert, benefactions of, 145 ; Ralph, 
 145. 
 
 Bos (le Bceuf), 14. 
 
 Bos (le Bceuf) Robert, 144 ; family, 212. 
 
 Bothherstegate, 13, 23. 
 
222 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Braceur, Roger, 19. 
 
 Bramber, 39. 
 
 Branford (Bramford), 45, 136, 140. 
 
 Brantham, 45, 133, 136, 139. 
 
 Braose, William de, 39 ; Philip de, 40. 
 
 Brecknock, a cell to Battel Abbey, founded, 
 
 38 ; revolts, 204. 
 Bregeselle, 59 ; family, 59. 
 Brembel, 18. 
 Bretherste, 24. 
 Brictric, the gardener, 19, 
 Bridgnorth castle, 83. 
 Brihtwin, the bedel, 15. 
 Bristwoldingtun (Brightwaltham), 35, 123. 
 Broinham, 44, 123 ; de, 213. 
 Brother, a priest, 53. 
 Browne, Sir Anthony, 213, 214 ; Francis, 
 
 214. 
 Brundele (Brundall), 45. 
 Brunreve, 20. 
 Buhntime, 14, 52. 
 Bulworeheth (Bulverhythe), 22. 
 Burrell, a horse-stealer, 29. 
 Burgesses of Battel, 20. 
 Burnulph, the carpenter, 17. 
 Burstale, 45. 
 
 Caen, ships sent to, for stone for the Abbey, 
 10; William the Conqueror buried at, 
 41 ; founds two monasteries at, 42 ; 
 Ralph of, 57. 
 
 Caermarthen, 61, 68. 
 
 Caldbeck in Battel, 7. 
 
 Campyon, or Champyon, abbot, 207. 
 
 Cannarius, Sevugel, 19. 
 
 Candle, cursing by, 144. 
 
 Canterbury, church of, destroyed bv fire, 
 163. 
 
 Carlo, the precentor, 63. 
 
 Castles in the reign of Stephen, note on, 
 83. 
 
 Catecumbe, 23. 
 
 Catsfield, 14, 22. 
 
 Ceadwalla, king, 177. 
 
 Celvetege, 23. 
 
 Chaaines, Richard de, 121. 
 
 Chapenore, 23. 
 
 Charter of William I renewed, 181. 
 
 Chebel, 18. 
 
 Cheneberia, 35. 
 
 Cheneward, 19. 
 
 Chichester, bishop of, the abbot's exemp- 
 tion from, 28. 
 
 Chilham, Fulbert de, 53. 
 
 Chilton, Robert de, his peculations at Wye, 
 53 ; fined, 54. 
 
 Cild, /Eilric, 17. 
 
 Ciprian, Bartholomew, 210. 
 
 Cirisi, Robert de, 17. 
 
 Clare, William de, 144. 
 
 Clarenbald, abbot of Feversham, 150. 
 
 Clarendon, palace of, 118-120. 
 
 Claverham, 24. 
 
 Clement, Edward, 210. 
 
 Cloister, the, of B. A. rebuilt, 149. 
 
 Cocard, 19. 
 
 Coche, William, 10. 
 
 Cochec, Sevugel, 16. 
 
 Colchester, 94, 135. 
 
 Coluntuna (Collumpton), 35. 
 
 Combwell in Goudhurst, 200. 
 
 Companage, what, 20. 
 
 Conqueror, William the, lands at Pevensey, 
 2 ; makes a vow to build an abbey, 4, 
 26 ; character of, 8-9 ; meets Harold's 
 army at Battel, 25 ; anecdotes of, 32- 
 33 ; disabled at Rouen, 40 ; bequeaths 
 his royal pallium to B. A., with divers 
 relics, 41 ; reflections on his death, 42. 
 
 Cono, a monk, 36. 
 
 Cornuvilla, Robert de, 78. 
 
 Cornwall, Robert de, 105, 110. 
 
 Cornwall, Ivo de, 191. 
 
 Corveiser, jElfric, 19. 
 
 Council, at Westminster, 187. 
 
 Coutances, Roger, bishop of, 44. 
 
 Coutances, Walter de, 181. 
 
 Coventry, Abbot Ralph de, 200. 
 
 Craspeis, 34. 
 
 Craumareis (Crowmarsh), 35. 
 
 Crane, Abbot John, 205. 
 
 Crevequeor, Robert de, 125. 
 
 Criminals, the abbot's privilege of pardon- 
 ing, 28 ; exercised, 204. 
 
 Criol, Peter de, 119, 153. 
 
 Cromwell, Lord, Gage's letter to, 209. 
 
 Crowhurst, 13, 14. 
 
 Crowhurst, de, 213. 
 
 Crull, Siward, 19, 20. 
 
 Curlebasse, yElfric, 19. 
 
 Curse pronounced by Abbot Walter, 144. 
 
 Curteis, 213. 
 
 Customs, feudal, of townsmen of Battel, 15, 
 et seq. ; of the gilds, 24 ; of the manor 
 of Wye, 34. 
 
 Cuthbert, Thomas, 210. 
 
 Dalhngton, 59. 
 
 Dartmouth, Abbot Richard, 206 ; Richard, 
 
 a monk, 210. 
 Dean, the incumbent of Battel so styled, 183. 
 Dengemarsh, /Elfric de, 17. 
 Dengemarsh, 34, 72, 73. 
 Dering, 18. 
 
 Dissolution, the, of B. A., 208. 
 Dot, ^Elfric, 16. 
 
 Dove, a silver one for the high altar, 152. 
 Drayton's Polyolbion quoted, 7. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 223 
 
 Dreux, de, 213. 
 Ducg, Ralph, 16. 
 Dudilande, 59. 
 Diuiintune, 22. 
 Duniford, 22. 
 Dunstan, Vincent, 210. 
 Durand, 19. 
 
 Echvngham, de, 212. 
 
 Edmund's, St., 94, 136. 
 
 Edward I visits B. A., 202. 
 
 Edward, the scourer, 16. 
 
 Edwin, 17. 
 
 Eilesham (Aylsham), 45. 
 
 Elephantiasis, 148. 
 
 Ely, William of, 66. 
 
 Emma, 17, 18. 
 
 Epiton, Battel never so called, 32. 
 
 Erringham, 39. 
 
 Essarts, 123. 
 
 Esse, 37. 
 
 Essex, Henry of, 95, 97 ; reproves the 
 
 bishop of Chichester, 103, 104, 105. 
 Eu, earl of, 13, 38, 60, 116, 118, 183, 212. 
 Eugenius III, pope, 77. 
 Eustace, count of Boulogne, 6. 
 Exelinges (Exning), 45. 
 Exeter, chapel of St. Olave, at, 35, 36 ; a 
 
 cell founded at, 36 ; church of St. 
 
 Nicholas burnt and rebuilt, 147. 
 Extortions of Alan de Neville, 123. 
 
 Faber, William, origin of his name, 5 ; ap- 
 pointed to found the Abbey, 9. 
 
 Fechamp, 39. 
 
 Feretory filled with rehcs bequeathed to 
 B. A. by William the Conqueror, 41 ; 
 a new one made, 63. 
 
 Feversham abbey, 78. 
 
 Fillel, Robert, 53; family, 212. 
 
 Finch, 213. 
 
 Fitz-Gerald, Warine, 95, 97. 
 
 Fitz-Hugh, Osbern, his grant of Bodeham, 
 38, 145. 
 
 Fitz-Lambert, Walter, 13. 
 
 Fitz-Osbert, or Osborne, the duke's sewer, 
 anecdotes of, 2, 4. 
 
 Fitz-Sigar, Siward, 117. 
 
 Fitz-Wido, 14. 
 
 Flagi, an abbey in Normandy, 49 ; Odo, 
 abbot of, 51. 
 
 Flimwell, slaughter at, 200. 
 
 Fly, abbey of, 49. 
 
 Foliot, Gilbert, bishop of London, 162, 164. 
 
 Fraelvilla. Anselm de, 59 ; Roger de, 59 ; 
 family, 212. 
 
 Francefant, 17. 
 
 Fundintune (Funtington), 60. 
 
 Gage, Sir John, 34, 206, 208, 210 ; Vis- 
 count, 206. 
 
 Gausbert, abbot, elected, 12, 29 ; conse- 
 crated, 30 ; death and burial of, 46. 
 
 Gausfrid, abbot of S. Alban's, 72. 
 
 Gausfrid, custos of B. A., his appointment, 
 52 ; punishes the steward of Wye, 54 ; 
 claims right of ' wreck, ' '55; opposes the 
 designsof Marmouticr,56; his death, 56. 
 
 Gausfrid, abbot of Holme, 97. 
 
 " Geraldine, the Fair," 214. 
 
 Genester, Reinbald, 19 ; Humfrey, 20. 
 
 Gest, Benwold, 17. 
 
 Gilbert, the clerk, 17. 
 
 Gilbert, the stranger, 17. 
 
 Gilbert, the weaver, 16. 
 
 Gilds, three in Battel, 24. 
 
 Gilnier, one, 213. 
 
 Gisard, Godwin, 20. 
 
 Glesham, 58. 
 
 Gloucester, 83 ; Richard, earl of, 144. 
 
 Godfrey, 17. 
 
 Godieve, 16. 
 
 Godwin, son of Colsuein, 16 ; Godwin, the 
 cook, 16. 
 
 Golding, 17. 
 
 Goldstan, 17. 
 
 Goldwin, 17. 
 
 Goringe family, the, bondmen in 1617, 117. 
 
 Gosfrid, the cook, 17. 
 
 Gotcild, Edw. 16. 
 
 Gotselin, 17. 
 
 Gournay, the sires de, 49. 
 
 " Greaves," or leg-harness, 145. 
 
 Gregorie, Clement, 210. 
 
 Grei, William, 16. 
 
 Gris, Seward, 16. 
 
 Gundulph, bishop of Rochester, 44, 57. 
 
 Gunnild, 17. 
 
 Gunter, a monk of B. A., sent to Exeter, 36. 
 
 Gunter, abbot of Thorney, 57. 
 
 Hacket, iElfwin, 19. 
 
 Hamon, Fitz. 212. 
 
 Harueline, a monk, 12. 
 
 Hamond, abbot John, 207 ; his surrender 
 
 of B. A., 208, 210. 
 Hamo, son of Vital, 53. 
 Harold, king, slain, 6. 
 Harietsham, co. Kent, 184. 
 Hastings, wooden castle built at, 3 ; battle 
 
 of, 6 ; collegiate chapel of, 104 ; town 
 
 of, burnt, 205; de, 212. 
 Hastyng, John, 210. 
 Havena, Robert de, 16. 
 Hay, John dela, 200 ; family of, 201, 212. 
 Hecilande, 14. 
 Heca, iEiluoth, 19. 
 Henry, abbot, elected, 17 ; death of, 53. 
 
224 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Henry I, accession of, 51 ; founds Reading 
 Abbey, 60 ; his death, 70 ; his abhor- 
 rence of the wreck laws, 73. 
 Henry, archdeacon of Chichester, 63, 86. 
 Henry II, crowned, 79 ; calls a council at 
 London, 79 ; goes over to Normandy, 
 85; returns to England,93; anecdoteof, 
 101 ; reproves the bishop of Chiches- 
 ter, 107; anecdote of, 124; quarrel 
 with a Becket, 157 ; his penance, 159. 
 
 Henry III, extorts money from B. A., 200. 
 
 Henfelde, John, 210. 
 
 Herste, 10, 23 ; de, 213. 
 
 Hert, Wulfwin, 17. 
 
 Herod, 17. 
 
 Heregrave, 40. 
 
 Hereford, Roger, earl of, 83. 
 
 Herst (Monceux), accident at, 201. 
 
 Hetheland or Hecheland, 3, 21, 22, 23. 
 
 Hildeward, prior of B. A., 67. 
 
 Hilary, bishop of Chichester, 74 ; opposes 
 the privileges of B. A., 75 ; excommu- 
 nicates abbot Walter, 79 ; goes over to 
 Normandy, 85 ; speech of, 99 ; denies 
 the king's right of interference, 100 ; 
 is reconciled to abbot Walter, 114. 
 
 Hineland, 37. 
 
 Holeford, 195. 
 
 Holintune (Hollington), 14. 
 
 Hoo, Lord (Thomas), founds a chantry at 
 B. A., 206, 213. 
 
 Hou, 14 ; in Essex, 35, 94. 
 
 Hugh, the secretary, 19. 
 
 Hugezum, cardinal, 187. 
 
 Hugh, abbot, 199. 
 
 Hugoline, precentor, 200. 
 
 Humphrey, the priest, 19. 
 
 Humez, Richard de, 84, 95. 
 
 Hunger, Lefwin, 18. 
 
 Horsmede, 34. 
 
 " Hurst," a common termination to Sussex 
 names, 10. 
 
 Icklesham, Robert de, 121, 122 ; Matilda de, 
 
 121; fam. 212. 
 Inguwerthe (Ingworth), 45. 
 Ingelram, 58, 116. 
 Inns of the abbot, 30, 81. 
 Instrumental music at B. A., 48. 
 Ipres, William de, 73. 
 Itintune, 15. 
 Ittington lane, 15. 
 Ivo de Cornwall, 191. 
 
 Jeremarus, (S. Germer), 49. 
 
 Jerome's Epistles, book of, presented by B.A. 
 
 to Chichester, 62. 
 John, a monk, 12 ; bishop of Bath, 44. 
 John, dean of Chichester, 86 ; speech of 88 ; 
 
 afterwards bishop, 160, 176, 187. 
 
 John, chaplain of Harietsham, 184. 
 
 John, bishop of Chartres, 189. 
 
 John, king, his visits and gifts to B. A., 199. 
 
 Jordan, dean of Chichester, 176. 
 
 Jerome, John, 210. 
 
 Jose, John, prior of Brecknock, 204. 
 
 Josceline, bishop of Salisbury, 126, 127. 
 
 Ketlvng or Retlyng, abbot, 203 ; fortifies 
 
 *B. A., 203. 
 Knepp castle, 200. 
 Knight, Edwin, 18. 
 
 La ville d'Eu, in Normandy, 13. 
 
 Ladd, Richard, 210. 
 
 Lambert, the shoemaker, 16. 
 
 Lambert, 18. 
 
 Lambarde's Peramb. of Kent, 73. 
 
 Lanfranc, archbishop, 57. 
 
 Langenhersse, 68. 
 
 Lavatorium at B. A., 149. 
 
 Layton, Richard, 208, 210. 
 
 Le Despencer, 212. 
 
 Leeds Priory, co. Kent, 125. 
 
 Leffelm, a monk, 12 ; a townsman of Battel, 
 18. 
 
 Lefwin the baker, 1 8. 
 
 Legard, 16. 
 
 Leicester, Robert Earl of, 95, 123. 
 
 Lenglentune, 39. 
 
 Leprosy, 148. 
 
 Leuga, of Battel, 13; dimensions of, 13, 
 28 ; rerneasured, 64. 
 
 Levett, Thomas, 210. 
 
 Lewes, priory, 71 ; battle of, 202. 
 
 Library of Battel Abbey, 211. 
 
 Limnesfeld (Limpsfield), 35. 
 
 Liuns in Normandy, 71. 
 
 Lonley, 72. 
 
 Lounge, Lefflet, 18. 
 
 Lower, Walter and William, 206. 
 
 Loxbeche, 22, 23. 
 
 Lucy, Walter de, abbot, elected, 72 ; his 
 boldness towards king Stephen, 74 ; 
 his dispute with Hilary, bishop of Chi- 
 chester, 76 ; summoned to Chichester, 
 86 ; his speech in defence, 90, 99, 104 ; 
 reconciled to Hilary, 114 ; proceeds to 
 recover lost benefices, 124 et seq. ; ap- 
 points a yearly feast, 143 ; character of, 
 148 ; rebuilds the cloister, 149 ; last 
 illness, 149 ; death, 150. 
 
 Lucv, Richard de, 72, 79, 84, 85, 93, 94, 
 95, (speech of), 96, 97, 108, 119, 123, 
 150, 153, 165, 181, 187. 
 
 Lucy, Godfrey de, 154, 187, 196. 
 
 Ludlow, Abbot Thomas de, 205. 
 
 Lullington, diminutive church at, 35. 
 
 Lydbury, Abbot John, 205. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 225 
 
 Magniac, H. Esq. ; his " Pix," 152. 
 
 Mail, coat of, 4. 
 
 Mailing, near Lewes, 177. 
 
 " Malfosse " deplorable accident at, 6. 
 
 Malgar, the smith, 16. 
 
 Manners, 212. 
 
 Mareschall, 212. 
 
 Marmoutier, a monastery, 4, 2G, 27, 31. 
 
 Marsh, St. Martin's, 58. 
 
 Married priests, 135. 
 
 Martin, St., patron of Battel Abbey, 5 ; 
 
 gild of, 24. 
 Maurice, 17. 
 
 Maurilius, archbishop of Rouen, 170. 
 Mendlesham, 45, 135, 136, 138. 
 Merlin'sprophecyof the battle of Hastings, 5. 
 Mersh or Meresham, abbot, 205. 
 Middlehala (Mildenhall), 45, 125, 127, 143. 
 Mienes, manor of, 68. 
 Mills of the Abbey, 22. 
 Miraculous judgment against the monks of 
 
 Flagi, 50. 
 Miracles at Battel, 146. 
 Moin, Roger, 14. 
 Monceux, de, 212. 
 Montague, \iscount, 214. 
 Montfort, Robert de, 95. 
 Morris, W. S., History of Wye, 33. 
 Mortimer, Hugh de, his rebellion, 83. 
 Moun, 212. 
 Mountjoy in Battel, 7. 
 
 Nedrefeld (Netherfield), 14, 200. 
 
 Neville, family of, note, 122 ; Alan de, 122, 
 
 124. 
 Newmarch, Bernard de, his donations, 38 ; 
 
 Agnes, wife of, 39. 
 Newton, John, abbot, 207 ; John, a monk, 
 
 210. 
 Nicholas, son of Withgar, 136. 
 Nonna yEstrild, 17. 
 Norden, John, quoted, 117. 
 Normanville, Gerald de, 58, 212. 
 Northampton, 131. 
 Northburne, abbot John de, 203. 
 Nortuna (Norton), 45. 
 Nuc, Lefwi, 17. 
 
 Odo, bishop of Bayeux, 34. 
 
 Odo, abbot, nominated, 166 ; objects to the 
 office, and appeals to the pope, 166 ; 
 but ultimately assents, 171; returns 
 to Canterbury, 173 ; received at B.A., 
 1 75 ; excellent life of, 1 78 ; suit of 
 with Godfrey de Lucy, 187 ; anecdote 
 of, 196. 
 
 Offynton, abbot Hamo de, 204 ; defends 
 Winchelsea, 205. 
 
 Olave, S., king and martyr, 35. 
 
 Omens interpreted for good by W. Fit/. 
 
 Osbert, 3, 4. 
 Ongar in Essex, 93. 
 Orbec, William de, 129, 130, 131. 
 Orderic the swineherd, 16. 
 Ordeal by water, 59. 
 Orgar, 18. 
 
 Osbern, son of Isilia, 60. 
 Osbert, 13. 
 Osmund, bishop of Salisbury, 44. 
 
 Palerne, de, 212. 
 
 Patrick, bishop of Salisbury, 97. 
 
 Pax, the, note on, 82, 111." 
 
 Peche, Pagan, 19. 
 
 Peche, Hamo de, 128 ; Gaufrid de, 131. 
 
 Pechet, Osbert, 19. 
 
 Peculations of builders of the Abbey, 27. 
 
 Penance, exemption from, 64. 
 
 Penhurst, 14. 
 
 Pentewi, in Wales, 61. 
 
 Petlee, 22, 23. 
 
 Peter, the baker, 17. 
 
 Pepper-cake and wine for the monks, 143. 
 
 Pevensey, abbot John de, 203. 
 
 Philhpps, Sir Thomas, owner of the B. A. 
 
 charters, 212. 
 Philesham, 14. 
 Picot family, 212. 
 Pilgrims, house of, 15. 
 Pinel, William, 16. 
 Pionius, Dering, 16. 
 Piperinge, 22. 
 Pix, a, presented to B. A. by abbot Walter, 
 
 152. 
 Plesseiz, 24. 
 Poitou, Richard of, 140. 
 Privileges of the Abbey, 27, 37. 
 Profanity of Norman nobles, 101. 
 Prunhelle (Promhill), 59. 
 Pucelle, Gerald, 188 ; pleads for abbot Odo, 
 
 193. 
 Puchehole, 15, 22. 
 
 Quarrere, 23, 24. 
 Quincy, de, 213. 
 
 Ralph, abbot, appointed, 57 ; lus wise go- 
 vernment, 58 ; enlarges the Abbey, 
 64 ; character of, 65 ; death and 
 burial, 66. 
 
 Ralph, bishop of Chichester, endeavours to 
 subjugate the Abbey, 48 ; confirms its 
 privileges, 62, 63. 
 
 Ralph, son of Theodore, 40. 
 
 Ralph the bald, 63. 
 
 Reading, 35 ; abbey of, 60. 
 
 Reginald, earl of Cornwall, 84. 
 
 Reginald, abbot, 200. 
 
 15 
 
226 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Reliquary, a new one made, 63. 
 
 Richard, abbot, 199. 
 
 Richard, archbishop, 155 ; consecrated, 159; 
 consecrates abbot Odo, 177, 183. 
 
 Richard of Poitou, 182. 
 
 Richard, bishop of Loudon, 97, 12G, 127. 
 
 Richelherste, 22. 
 
 Robert, bishop of Exeter, 97. 
 
 Robert, bishop of Lincoln, 97. 
 
 Robert, earl of Leicester, 97. 
 
 Robert, the miller, 16 ; a monk, 36. 
 
 Robert the Philosopher, 127, 129, 138. 
 
 Robertsbridge Abbey, 183, 201, 202, 214. 
 
 Roger, a monk, 38. 
 
 Roger, bishop of Salisbury, 66. 
 
 Roger, treasurer of Chichester, 86. 
 
 Roger, archbishop of York, 97, 108. 
 
 Roger, abbot of S. Augustine, 180. 
 '" Roll of Battel Abbey," 211. 
 
 Ruff, Mathelgar, 17. 
 
 Ruff, Walter, 20. 
 
 Russell, 18. 
 
 Rufus, "William, crowned, 43 ; endows B.A. 
 with the manor of Bromham, 44 ; dedi- 
 cates the Abbey, 44 ; sanctions an ex- 
 tortionate act concerning it, 49 ; death 
 of, 51. 
 
 Rye, gift of salt-pits at , 60. 
 
 Salehurst, Richard, a monk, 210. 
 
 Salmon, fresh, 145. 
 
 Salt manufactures in Sussex, 39, 60. 
 
 Sanford (Samford), 45. 
 
 Sansei, near Criuil, in Normandy, 60. 
 
 Santlache (or Sanguelac) in Battel, 7, 23. 
 
 Sauniur, in Normandy, 85. 
 
 Scipdene, 45. 
 
 Scot, Wulfwin, 19. 
 
 Scotlege, 45. 
 
 Scotnev, Ingelram de, 144; family of, 144, 
 
 2i3; castle, 144. 
 Seals, only fit for great men, 119. 
 Seam of malt, 15. 
 
 Seasons unfruitful in 1124, 1125, 67. 
 Sedlescombe, 15. 
 Seffrid, bp. of Chichester, 67 ; summons 
 
 Abbot Warner to his synod, 68, 72. 
 Selaf, the herdsman, 16. 
 Setlescunibe, 15. 
 Sevugel, 18. 
 Sewin, 17. 
 
 Siflet, Robert, son of, 16. 
 Sigillo, Nicholas de, 95. 
 Silvester, abbot of S. Augustine's, 97. 
 Simenel, fine bread, granted to the monks 
 
 by the Conqueror, 27 ; Lambert, 27. 
 Sirefordia, 35. 
 Slote, 18. 
 
 Sinev. in's Wist, 144. 
 Sorham, Shoreham, 39. 
 
 Sothope, Battel originally so called (?), 32. 
 
 Southampton. 93. 
 
 St. Alban's, 78. 
 
 St. Leger, William, 59 ; family of, 59, 212 ; 
 
 Clarenbald, 60. 
 St. Martin, Alfred de, 183. 
 Staines, 127. 
 Standard of Harold, 11. 
 Stene, la, 22. 
 
 Stevechaia (Stiffkey), 45. 
 Stephen, king, Ins accession, 71 ; death, 78. 
 Stigand, archbishop, 26. 
 Stigand, bishop of Chichester, consecrates 
 
 Abbot Gausbert at Battel, 30, 77, 107. 
 Stigerop, Siward, 17. 
 Strellewelle, 24. 
 SuilingtB, 32. 
 Sumeri, de, 212. 
 Sword, the Conqueror's, 206, 211. 
 
 Taneto, Abbot John de, 202. 
 
 " Te Deum" sung at Odo's election, 171. 
 
 Telham, 21. 
 
 Temple of Jerusalem, a brother of, 79. 
 
 Theobald, a monk, surnamed Vetulus, 9. 
 
 Theobald, archbishop, 77, 79, 86,97, 126. 
 
 Theophilus the Blasphemer, story of, 169. 
 
 Third penny of the shire, 34. 
 
 Thomas, dean of Hastings, 86. 
 
 Thomas a Becket, 95, 96, 97, 102, 106; 
 
 speech of, in defence of B. A., 108 ; 
 
 made archbishop, 156; oppressed and 
 
 exiled, 157 ; slain, 158. 
 Tipa, Edild, 18. 
 Torneia (Thorney)*, 36. 
 Tournav, Roger de, slain, 201. 
 Tovy, or Toby, abbot, 207. 
 Townsmen of Battel, list of, 15. 
 Trewa, Elfwin, 12. 
 Trilawe, 95, 128, 129, 130. 
 Turpin, yElfwin, 19. 
 
 Uccheham, Uckham, 21, 23, 24. 
 Uppetona, 36. 
 
 Vestment, story of one sacrilegiously ob- 
 tained from the treasures of B. A., 
 48—51. 
 
 Vetus Villa, 38. 
 
 Vidler, Mr., his " Gleanings." 215. 
 
 Vision of a matron at Battel, 11. 
 
 Vivian, the king's chaplain, sent to B. A., 52. 
 
 Waevre, 37. 
 
 Waleran of Bayeux, 192. 
 Walkelin, bishop of Winchester, 41. 
 Waller, Abbot William, 206. 
 Walter, abbot. See Lucy, Walter de. 
 Walter, a clerk of Berkshue, 185. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 227 
 
 Walter, a monk, 38. 
 
 WardeiLX, 213. 
 
 Warenne, Reginald de, 97. 
 
 Warmincgeherste (Warniinghurst), 39. 
 
 Warner, abbot, 51 ; appointed, 67 ; his good 
 economy, 67 ; decorates the Abbey, 
 69 ; quarrel with bishop Seffrid and 
 breach of hospitality, 69 ; incurs the 
 king's disfavour and retires to Lewes 
 priorv, 71. 
 
 Wartling, 59. 
 
 Wasingate, 13. 
 
 Wastel, what, 143. 
 
 Water, scarcity of, at Battel Abbey, 10. 
 
 Watlington, 15. 
 
 Watlyngton, Abbot John de, 203. 
 
 Webster Family, owners ofB.A., 214,215. 
 
 Wening, his donation, 59. 
 
 Westbece (Westbeech), 15. 
 
 Westfelde (Westfield), 59. 
 
 Westfelde, Abbot William,207;Clement,210. 
 
 Wicham, 15. 
 
 Wigmore, 83. 
 
 William I, see Conqueror, William the, 
 passim. 
 
 William II, see Rufus. 
 
 William, prince, brother of Hen. II, 95. 
 
 William, archbishop, 67, 71. 
 
 William, bishop of Durham, 44. 
 
 William, abbot of Marmoutier, strives to 
 subjugate B.A., 55. 
 
 William, the shoemaker, 16. 
 
 WOminte, 13. 
 
 W r iltinges, 14. 
 
 Withgar, a priest, 135. 
 
 Withiburne, 34. 
 
 Winchelsea, Henry III visits, 201 ; in- 
 vaded by the French, 205 ; Cooper's 
 History of, 15. 
 
 Winnoc, Wulbald, 18. 
 
 Wolf, Juliot, 19. 
 
 Wreck, right of, 34 ; one in Dengemaish, 
 54 ; another, 73. 
 
 Wrench's land, 24. 
 
 Woodstock, convention at, 160. 
 
 Wulfric, 18. 
 
 Wulfrun's hide, 40. 
 
 Wulfwin, the carpenter, 20. 
 
 Wulmer, 16. 
 
 Wulric, the goldsmith, 16. 
 
 Wye, manor of, 32, 33, 143, 150 ; church 
 of, 154, 187; college of, 32. 
 
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 well studied, will enable any one to read with ease the generality of Anglo-Saxon writers ; 
 and its cheapness place? it within the reach of every class. It has our hearty recom- 
 mendation." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon Version of the Life of St. Guth- 
 
 lac, Hermit of Croyland. Printed for the first time, from a MS. in the 
 Cottonian Library, with a Translation and Notes by Charles Wyclipfe 
 Goodwin, M.A., Fellow of Catharine Hall, Cambridge, 12mo. cloth, 5* 
 
 An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Reading; com- 
 prising ^Elfric's Homily on the Birthday of St. Gregory, with a copious 
 Glossary, &c. by L. Langley, F.L.S. 12mo. cloth, 2s 6d 
 
 Compendious Anglo-Saxon and English Dictionary, 
 
 by the Rev. Joseph Bosworth, D.D., F.R.S., F.S.A., &c. 8vo. closely 
 
 printed in treble cohunns, cloth, \'2s 
 This may be considered quite a new work from the author's former Dictionary : it has 
 been entirely remodelled and enlarged, bringing it down to the present state of Anglo- 
 Saxon literature both at home and abroad. 
 
2 John Russell Smith, 4, Old Compton Street, Soho. 
 
 Reliquiae Antiques. — Scraps from Ancient Manu- 
 scripts, illustrating chiefly Early English Literature, and the English Lan- 
 guage, edited by Wright and Halliwell, 2 vols. 8vo. cloth, £2. 2s — 
 reduced to £l. 4s 
 Containing communications by Ellis, Madden, Hunter, Bruce, Tumbull, Lain?, 
 
 Nirhols, &c. But very few copies remain. Odd numbers may be had to complete sets 
 
 at 2s each. 
 
 It contains a large number of pieces in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and Early 
 
 English ; it will be found of use to future Philologists, and to all who take an interest in 
 
 the history of our language and literature. 
 
 Popular Treatises on Science, written during the 
 
 Middle Ages, in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English, 8vo. edited 
 by Thos. Wright, cloth, 3s 
 
 Contents ;— An Anglo-Saxon Treatise on Astronomy of the TENTH CENTURY, 
 now first published from a MS. in the British Museum, toith a translation ; Livre 
 des Creatures by PhUlippe de Thaun, now first printed with a translation, (extremely 
 valuable to the Philologist, as being the earliest specimens of Anglo-Norman remain- 
 ing, and explanatory of all the symbolical signs in early sculpture and painting) ; the 
 Bestiary of fhillippe de Thaun, with a translation ; Fragments on Popular Science from 
 the Early English Metrical Lives of the Saints, (the earliest piece of the kind in the 
 English language.) 
 
 Anecdota Literaria : A Collection of Short Poems 
 
 in English, Latin, and French, illustrative of the Literature and History of 
 England in the XIHth Century ; and more especially of the Condition and 
 Manners of the different Classes of Society, by T. Wright, M.A., F.S.A., 
 &c. 8vo. cloth, only 250 printed, 7s 6d 
 
 Philological Proofs of the original Unity and recent 
 
 Origin of the Human Race, derived from a Comparison of the Languages 
 of Asia, Europe, Africa, and America, by A. J. Johnes, 8vo. cloth, 
 reduced from 12s 6d to 6s 
 Printed at the suggestion of Dr. Pritchard, to whose works it will be found a useful 
 »upplement. 
 
 Early Mysteries, and other Latin Poems of the 
 
 Xllth and XHIth centuries, edited from original MSS. in the British 
 Museum, and the Libraries of Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, and Vienna, by 
 Thos. Wright, M.A., F.S.A., 8vo. bds. 4s 6d 
 
 " Besides the curious specimens of the dramatic style of Middle-Age Latinity, Mr. 
 Wright has given two compositions in the Narrative Elegiac Terse (a favoorite measure 
 at that period), in the Comcedia Babionis and the Geta of Vitalis Blesensis, which form a 
 link of connexion between the Classical and Middle-age Literature ; some remarkable 
 Satyrical Rhymes on the people of Norfolk, written by a Monk of Peterborough, and 
 answered in the same style by John of St. Omer ; and lastly, some sprightly and often grace- 
 ful songs, from a MS. in the Arundel Collection, which afford a very favourable idea of 
 the Lyric Poetry of our clerical forefathers." — Gentleman's Mag. 
 
 An Essay on the Origin, Progress, and Decline of 
 
 Rhyming Latin Verse, with many specimens, by Sir Axex. Croke, post 
 8vo. cloth, 7s 6d — reduced to 3s 
 
 "This is a clever and interesting little volume on an attractive subject, the leisure 
 work of a scholar and man of taste." — British Critic. 
 
 On the Origin and Formation of the Romance Lan- 
 guages ; containing an examination of M. Raynouard's Theory on the Re- 
 lation of the Italian, Spanish, Provencal, and French, to the Latin, by 
 Geo. Cornewall, Lewis, 8vo. cloth, 12s — reduced to 7s 6d 
 
John Russell Smith, 4, Old Compton Street, Soho. 3 
 
 Essays on the Literature, Popular Superstitions, 
 
 and History of England in the Middle Ages, by Thomas Wright, 
 M.A., F.S.A., 2 stout vols, post 8vo. elegantly printed, cloth, 16* 
 Contents .—Essay I. Anglo-Saxon Poetry. II. Anglo-Norman Poetry. III. Chan- 
 sons de Geste, or Historical Romances of the Middle Ages. IV. On Pwverbs and Po- 
 pular Sayings. V. On the Anglo- Latin Poets of the Twelfth Century. VI. Abelard and 
 the Scholastic Philosophy. VII. On Dr Grimms German Mythology. VIII. On the Na- 
 tional Fairy Mythology of England. IX. On the Popular Superstitions of Modern Greece. 
 M.ul their connection with the English. X. On Friar Rush, and (he Frolicsome Elves. XI. 
 On Dunlop's History of Fiction. XII. On the History andTransmissionof Popular Stories. 
 XIII. On ihe Poetry of History. XIV. Adventures of Hereward the Saxon. XV. Ihe 
 Story of Eustace the Monk. XVI. The History of Fulke Fitzwarine. XVII. On the 
 Popular Cycle of Robin-Hood Ballads. XVIII. On the Conquest of Ireland by the Anglo- 
 Normans. XIX. On Old English Political Songs. XX. On ihe Scottish Poet Dunbar. 
 
 The Early History of Freemasonry in England, 
 
 Illustrated by an English Poem of the XlVth Century, with Notes, by 
 
 J. O. Halliwell, post 8vo. Second Edition, with a facsimile of the 
 
 original MS. in the British Museum, cloth, 2s Gd 
 
 " The interest which the curious poem of which this publication is chiefly composed 
 
 has excited, is proved by the fact of its having been translated into German, and of it 
 
 having reached a second edition, which is not common with such publications. Mr. Hal- 
 
 liwell has carefully revised the new edition, and increased its utility by the addition of a 
 
 complete and correct glossary."— Literary Gazette. 
 
 Torrent of Portugal ; an English Metrical Ro- 
 mance, noiv first published, from an unique MS. of the XVth century, 
 preserved in the Chetham Library at Manchester, edited by J. O. Halli- 
 well, &c. post 8vo. cloth, uniform with Ritson, Weber, and Ellis's 
 
 publications, bs 
 "This is a valuable and interesting addition to our list of early English metrical 
 romances, and an indispensable companion to the collections of Ritson, Weber, and 
 Ellis." — Literary Gazette. t . , 
 
 "A literary cunositv, and one both welcome and serviceable to the lover of black- 
 letter lore. Though the obsoleteness of the st\le may occasion sad stumbling to a modern 
 reader, yet the class to which it rightly belongs will value it accordingly ; both because it 
 is curious in its details, and possesses philological importance. I'o the general readur it 
 presents one feature, viz. the reference to Wayland Smith, whom Sir W. Scott has invested 
 with so much interest."— Metropolitan Magazine. 
 
 The Harrowing of Hell, a Miracle Play, written in 
 
 the Reign of Edward II., now first published from the Original in the 
 
 British Museum, with a Modern Reading, Introduction, and Notes, by 
 
 James Orchard Halliwell, Esq. F.R.S., F.S.A., &c. 8vo. sewed, 2s 
 
 This curious piece is supposed to be the earliest specimen of dramatic composition in 
 
 the English Language ; vide Hallain's Literature of Europe, Vol. I. ; Strutt's Manners 
 
 and Customs, Vol. II. ; Warton's English Poetry ; Sharon Turner's England ; Collier s 
 
 Hisiory of English Dramatic Poetry, Vol. II. p. 213. All these writers refer to the 
 
 Manuscript. 
 
 Nugffi Poeticse ; Select Pieces of Old English 
 
 Popular Poetry, illustrating the Manners and Arts of the XVth Century, 
 
 edited by J. O. Halliwell, post 8vo. only 100 copies printed, cloth, bs 
 
 Contents •— Colyn Blowbol s Testament; the Debate of the Carpenter's Tools ; the 
 
 Merchant and his Son ; the Maid and the Magpie; Elegy on Lobe, Henry VHIth s Fool ; 
 
 Romance of Robert of Sicily, and Jive other curious pieces of the same kind. 
 
 Reliques of Irish Jacobite Poetry, with Interlinear 
 
 Translations, and Biographical Sketches of the Authors, and Notes by 
 J. Daly, also English Metrical Versions by E. Walsh, 8vo. parts 1 and 2, 
 (all yet published,) 2* 
 
4 John Russell Smith, 4, Old Compton Street, Soho. 
 
 Rara Mathematica ; or a Collection of Treatises on 
 
 the Mathematics and Subjects connected with them, from ancient inedited 
 MSS. by J. O. Halliwell, 8vo. Second Edition, cloth, 3s Gd 
 Contents : Johannis de Sacro-Bosco Tractatus de Arte Numerandi ; Method used in 
 England in the Fifteenth Century for taking the Altitude of a Steeple; Treatise on the Nu- 
 meration of Algorism; Treatise on Glasses for Optical Purposes, by W. Bourne; Johannis 
 Robyns de Cometis Commentaria ; Two Tables showing the time of High Water at 
 London Bridge, and the Duration of Moonlight, from a MS. of the Thirteenth Century ; on 
 the Mensuration of Heights and Distances; Alexandri de Villa Dei Carmen de Algorismo; 
 Preface to a Calendar or Almanack for 1430 ; Johannis Norfolk in Artem progressionis 
 suminula ; Notes on Early Almanacs, by the Editor, &c. &c. 
 
 Popular Errors in English Grammar, particularly 
 
 in Pronunciation, familiarly pointed out, by George Jackson, 12mo. 
 Third Edition, with a coloured frontispiece of the " Sedes Busbeiana," Gd 
 
 ^robmrial Btalerts of (England 
 
 Bibliographical List of all the Works which have 
 
 been published towards illustrating the Provincial Dialects of England, by 
 John Russell Smith, post 8vo.ls 
 " Very serviceable to such as prosecute the study of our provincial dialects, or are 
 collecting works on that curious subject. We very cordially recomment ii to notice." 
 
 Metropolitan. 
 
 An Historical Sketch of the Provincial Dialects 
 
 of England, illustrated by numerous examples, Extracted from the " Dic- 
 tionary of Archaic and Provincial Words," by James Orchard Halli- 
 well, 8vo. sewed, 2s 
 
 Poems of Rural Life, in the Dorset Dialect, with a 
 
 Dissertation and Glossary, by William Barnes, second edition, en- 
 larged and corrected, royall2mo. cloth, 10s 
 A fine poetic feeling is displayed through the various pieces in this volume ; according 
 to some critics nothing has appeared equal to it since the time of Burns ; the ' Gentle- 
 man's Magazine' for Dec, 1844, gave a review of the first edition some pages in length. 
 
 A Glossary of Provincial Words and Phrases in use 
 
 in Wiltshire, showing their Derivation in numerous instances from the 
 Language of the Anglo-Saxons, by John Yonge Akerman, Esq. F.S.A., 
 12mo. cloth, 3s 
 
 The Vocabulary of East Anglia, an attempt to 
 
 record the vulgar tongue of the twin sister Counties, Norfolk and Suffolk, 
 as it existed in the last twenty years of the Eighteenth Century, and still 
 exists ; with proof of its antiquity from Etymology and Authority, by the 
 Rev. R. Forby, 2 vols. post8vo. cloth, 12s (original price £1. Is) 
 
 Westmoreland and Cumberland Dialects, Dialogues, 
 
 Poems, Songs, and Ballads, by various Writers, in the Westmoreland and 
 Cumberland Dialects, now first collected, to which is added, a Copious 
 Glossary of Words peculiar to those Counties, post 8vo. pp. 408, cloth, 9s 
 This collection comprises, in the West7norcland Dialect, Mrs. Ann Wheeler's Four 
 Familiar Dialogues, with Poems, &c. ; and in the Cumberlands Dialect, I. Poems and 
 Pastorals by the Rev. Josiah Relph ; II. Pastorals, &c, by Ewan Clark; III. Letters from 
 Dublin by a young Borrowdale Shepherd, by Isaac Ritson ; IV. Poems by John Stagg ; 
 V. Poems by Mark Lonsdale ; VI. Ballads and Songs by Robert Anderson, the Cumbrian 
 Bard (including some now first printed) ; VII. Songs by Miss Blamire and Miss Gilpin; 
 VIII. Songs by John Rayson ; IX. An Extensive Glossary of Westmoreland and Cumber- 
 land Words. 
 
John Russell Smith, 4, Old Campion Street, Soho. - 5 
 
 Specimens of Cornish Provincial Dialects, collected 
 
 and arranged by Uncle Jan Treenoodle, with some Introductory Remarks 
 and a Glossary by an Antiquarian Friend, also a Selection of Songs and 
 other Pieces connected with Cornwall, post 8vo. with curious portrait of 
 Dolly Penfreath, cloth, -is 
 
 Exinoor Scolding- and Courtship in the Propriety 
 
 and Decency of Exmoor (Devonshire) Language, with Notes and a Glos- 
 sary, post 8vo. 12th edition, Is 0>d 
 
 " A very ricli bit of West of Englandism."— Metropolitan. 
 
 The Yorkshire Dialect, exemplified in various Dia- 
 logues, Tales, and Songs, applicable to the County, with a Glossary, post 
 8vo. Is 
 " A shilling book worth its money; most of the pieces of composition are not only 
 harmless, but good and pretty. The eclogue on the death of ' Awd Dai-y," an outworn 
 horse, is an outpouring of some of the best feelings of the rustic mind ; and the addresses to 
 riches and poverty have much of the freedom and spirit of Burns." 
 
 Gent.'s Magazine, May, 1841. 
 
 A Collection of Fugitive Pieces in the Dialect of 
 
 Zummerzet, edited by J. O. Halliwell, post 8vo. only 50 printed, 2s 
 
 Dick and Sal, or Jack and Joan's Fair, a Doa<rrel 
 
 Poem, in the Kentish Dialect, 3rd edition, 12mo. 6d 
 
 Jan Cladpole's Trip to 'Merricur in Search for Dollar 
 
 Trees, and how he got rich enough to beg his way home ! written in Sussex 
 Doggerel, 12mo. 6d 
 
 John Noakes and Mary Styles, a Poem, exhibiting 
 
 some of the most striking lingual localisms peculiar to Essex, with a Glos- 
 sary, by Charles Clark, Esq. of Great Totham Hall, Esses, post Svo. 
 cloth, 2s 
 "The poem possesses considerable humoir."— Tail's Mag." A very pleasant trifle." 
 Lit. Gaz. "A very clever production."— Essex Lit. Journal. Pull of rich humour " — 
 Essex Merciwy. "Very droll." — Metropolitan. "Exhibits the dialect of Essex per- 
 fectly.' —Eclectic Review. " Full of quaint wit and humour."— Gent. 's Mag. May 1841. 
 "A very clever and amusing piece of local description." — Archa:ologist 
 
 Grose's (Francis, F.S.A.) Glossary of Provincial 
 
 and Local Words used in England, with which is now first incorporated 
 
 the Supplement by Samuel Pegge, F.S.A., post 8vo. elegantly printed, 
 
 cloth, As 6d 
 
 The utility of a Provincial Glossary to all persons desirous of understanding our 
 
 ancient Poets is so universally acknowledged, that to enter into a proof of it would be 
 
 entirely a work of supererogation. Grose and Pegge are constantly referred to in Todd's 
 
 " Johnson's Dictionary." 
 
 grrbatologp anl» ftumisfmatirs* 
 
 The Druidical Temples of the County of Wilts, by 
 
 the Rev. E. Duke, M.A., F.S.A., Member of the Archaeological Institute, 
 
 &c, Author of the " Hall of John Halle," and other works, 12mo. plates, 
 
 cloth, bs 
 
 " Mr. Duke has been long honourably known as a zealous cultivator of our loca/ 
 
 antiquities. His collections on this subject, and on the literature of Wiltshire, are nowhere 
 
 surpassed; while hi< residence on the borders of the Plain, and within reach of our mo-t 
 
 interesting remains, has afforded scope to his meritorious exertions. The work before us is 
 
 the fruit of long study and laborious invesligation." — Salisbury Journal. 
 
6 John Russell Smith, 4, Old Compton Street, Soho. 
 
 An Archaeological Index to Remains of Antiquity 
 
 of the Celtic, Romano- British and Anglo-Saxon Periods, by John Yonge 
 Akerman, F.S.A., in 1 vol. 8vo. illustrated with numerous engravings, 
 comprising upward of Jive hundred objects, cloth, 15* 
 
 This work, though intended as an introduction and a guide to the study of our early 
 antiquities, will it is hoped also prove of service, as a book of reference to the practised 
 Archaeologist. The contents are as follows: 
 
 Part I. Celtic Period. —Tumuli, or Barrows and Cairns. — Cromlechs. — Sepulchral 
 Caves.— Rocking Srones.— Stone Circles, etc. etc. — Objects discovered in Celtic Sepulchres. 
 — Urns. — Beads. — Weapons. — Implements, etc. 
 
 Part II. Romano-Bhitish Period. — Tumuli of the Roman-British Period.— 
 Burial Places of the Romans. — Pavemems. — Camps. — Villas. — Sepulchral Monuments. 
 — Sepulchral Inscriptions.— Dedicatory Inscriptions. — Commemorative Inscriptions.— 
 Altars.— Urns. — Glass Vessels. -Fibulae. — Armilla;. — Coins. — Cuin-Moulds etc. etc. 
 
 Part III. Anglo-Saxon Period. — Tumuli.— Detailed List of Object? discovered 
 in Anglo-Saxon Barrows. — Urns.— Swords.— Spears. — Knives.— Umbones of Shields. — 
 Buckles. — Fibulae. — Bullae. — Hair Pins — Beads, etc. etc. etc. etc. 
 
 The Itinerary of Antoninus (as far as relates to Britain). The Geographical Tables 
 of Ptolemy, the Notitia, and the Itinerary of Richard of Cirencester, together 
 with a classified Index of the contents of the Arch.zeologia (Vols. i. to xxxi.) are given 
 in an Appendix. 
 
 Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, and the 
 
 Sepulchral Usages of its Inhabitants, from the most remote ages to the 
 Reformation, by Thomas Bateman, Esq. of Yolgrave, 8vo. profusely 
 illustrated icith woodcuts, cloth, 15* 
 
 Notitia Britanniae, or an Inquiry concerning the 
 
 Localities, Habits, Condition, and Progressive Civilization of the Abori- 
 gines of Britain ; to which is appended a brief Retrospect of the Results of 
 their Intercourse with the Romans, by W. D. Saull, F.S.A., F.G.S., &c. 
 8vo. engravings, 3s 6d 
 
 A Verbatim Report of the Proceedings at a Special 
 
 General Meeting of the. British Archaeological Association, held at the Theatre 
 of the Western Library Institution, 5th March, 1845, T. J. Pettigrew in 
 the Chair. With an Introduction by Thomas Wright, 8vo. sewed, Isdd 
 A succinct history of the division between the Archaeological Association and Institute. 
 
 British Archaeological Association. — A Report of 
 
 the Proceedings and Excursions of the Members of the Eritish Archaeolo- 
 gical Association, at the Canterbury Session, Sept. 1844, by A. J. Dun- 
 kin, thick 8vo. with many engravings, cloth, £\. Is 
 " The volume contains most of the papers entire that were read at the Meeting, and 
 revised by the authors. It will become a scarce book as only 120 were printed ; and it 
 forme the first yearly volume of the Archaeological Association, or the Archaeological 
 Institute." 
 
 Coins of the Romans relating to Britain, Described 
 
 and Illustrated, by J. Y. Akerman, F.S.A., Secretary to the Numismatic 
 Society, &c. Second edition, greatly enlarged, 8vo. withplates and wood- 
 cuts, 10s 6d 
 The "Prix de Numismatique" has just been awarded by the French Institute to the 
 author for this work. 
 
 " Mr. Akerman's volume contains a notice of every known variety, with copious 
 illustrations, and is published at very moderate price; it should be consulted, not merely 
 for these particular coins, but also for facts most valuable to all who are interested in the 
 Romano- British history."— Archtcological Journal. 
 
 Ancient Coins of Cities and Princes, Geographically 
 
 arranged and described, Hispania, Gallia, Britannia, by J. Y. Aker- 
 man, F.S.A., 8vo. with engravings of many hundred coins from actuat 
 examples, cloth, 18s 
 
John Russell Smith, 4, Old Cornpton Street, Soho. 7 
 
 Numismatic Illustrations of the Narrative Portions 
 
 of the New Testament, fine paper, numerous woodcuts from the original 
 coins in various public and private collections, 1 vol. 8vo. cloth, bs (id 
 
 Lectures on the Coinage of the Greeks and Romans, 
 
 delivered in the University of Oxford, by Edward Cardwell, D.D., 
 Principal of St. Alban's Hall, aud Professor of Ancient History, 8vo. cloth, 
 reduced from 8s M to is 
 A very interesting historical volume, and .vritten in a pleasing and popular manner. 
 
 Essay on the Numismatic History of the Ancient 
 
 Kingdom of the East Angles, by D. H. Haigh, royal 8vo. 5 plates, con- 
 tabling numerous figures of coins, sewed, 6s 
 
 A Hand- Book of English Coins, 1 
 
 to 
 
 i/tt/ty ibivinct uuo jiyut ea vj cums, se«'e.v, us 
 
 Hand-Book of English Coins, from the Conquesl 
 
 Victoria, by L. Jewitt, 12mo. 11 plates, cloth, \s 
 
 flmrftrrg antr Copograpl));, 
 
 The Curiosities of Heraldry, with Illustrations from 
 
 Old English Writers, by Mark Antony Lower, Author of " Essays 
 on English Surnames;" with Illuminated Title-page, and numerous engrav- 
 ings from designs by the Author, 8vo. cloth, gules, appropriately orna- 
 mented, or, 14s 
 "The present volume is truly a worthy sequel (to the 'Surnames') in the same 
 curious and antiquarian line, blending with remarkable facts and intelligence, such a fund 
 of amusing anecdote and illustration, that the reader is almost surprised to find that he Ins 
 learnt so much, whilst he appeared to be pursuing mere entertainment. The text is so 
 pleasing that we scarcely dream of its sterling value ; and it seems ..s if, in unison with the 
 woodcuts, which so cleverly explain its points aud adorn its various topics the whole 
 design were intended for a relaxation from study, rather than an ample exposition of an 
 extraordinary and universal custom, which produced the most important effect upon the 
 minds and habits of mankind." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 "Mr. Lowers work is both curious and instructive, while the manner of its treatment 
 is so inviting and popular, that the subject to which it refers, which many have hitherto 
 had too good reason to consider meagre and unprofitable, assumes, under the hands of the 
 writer, the novelty of fiction with the importance of historical truth." —Athentewn. 
 
 English Surnames. A Series of Essays on Family 
 
 Nomenclature, Historical, Etymological, and Humorous ; with Chapters 
 on Canting Arms, Rebuses, and the Roll of Battel Abbey, a List of Latin- 
 ized Surnames, &c. by Mark Antony Loweis. The third edition 
 enlarged, 2 vols, post 8vo. with woodcuts, cloth, 12s 
 To those who are curious about their patronymic, it. will be found a very instructive 
 
 and amusing volume — mingling wit and pleasantry, with antiquarian research and 
 
 historical interest. 
 
 An Index to the Pedigrees and Arms, contained 
 
 in the Heralds' Visitations, in the British Museum, alphabetically arranged 
 
 in Counties, 8vo. I n 'the press. 
 
 An indispensable work to those engaged 111 Genealogical and Topographical pursuits, 
 
 affording a ready clue to (he Pedigrees and Arms of nearly 20,000 of the Gentry of 
 
 England, their Residences &c. (distinguishing the different families of the same name in 
 
 any county), as recorded by the Heralds in their Visitations between the years 1528 to 1686. 
 
 History and Antiquities of the Ancient Port and 
 
 Town of Rye in Sussex, compiled from Original Documents, by William 
 ITolloway, Esq., thick 8vo. only 200 printed, cloth, £l. Is 
 
8 John Russell Smith, 4, Old Compton Street, Soho. 
 
 Pedigrees of the Nobility and Gentry of Hertford- 
 shire, by William Berry, late and for fifteen years Registering Clerk in 
 the College of Arms, Author of the "Encyclopedia Heraldica," &c. ivc. 
 folio, (only 125 printed), bds. £2>. 10*, reduced to £l. 5s 
 
 A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct 
 
 and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland and Scotland, by J. Burke, 
 
 Esq. medium 8vo. Second Edition, G38 closely printed pages, in double 
 
 columns with about 1000 arms engraved on wood, fine por trait of James 1., 
 
 and illuminated title-page, extra cloth, £l. 8s reduced to 10s 
 
 This work, which has engaged the attention of the Authors for several years, comprises 
 
 nearly a thousand families, many of them amongst the most ancient and eminent in the 
 
 kingdom, each carried down to its representative or representatives still existing, with 
 
 elaborate and minute details of the alliances, achievements, and fortunes, generation after 
 
 generation, from the earliest to the latest period. The work is printed to correspond 
 
 precisely with the last edition of Mr. Burke's Dictionary of the Existing Peerage and 
 
 Baronetage : the armorial bearings are engraved in the best style, and are incorporated 
 
 with the text as in that work. 
 
 History and Antiquities of Dartford in Kent, with 
 
 Incidental Notices of Places in its Neighbourhood, by J. Dunkin, Author 
 of the "History of the Hundreds of Bullington and Ploughley in. Oxford- 
 shire ; " History of Bicester ;" " History of Bromley," &c. 8vo. 17 plates, 
 cloth. Only 150 printed, 21s 
 
 Historic Sites and other Remarkable and Interest- 
 ing Places in the County of Suffolk, by John Wodderspoon, with Pre- 
 fatory Verses by Bernard Barton, Esq., and a Poetical Epilogue by a 
 " Suffolk Villager." Improved edition, fine woodcuts, post 3vo. 
 pp. 232, closely printed, and containing as much matter as many 12s 
 volumes, cloth, only 4s 6d 
 
 History of Banbury, in Oxfordshire, including 
 
 Copious Historical and Antiquarian Notices of the Neighbourhood, by 
 Alfred Beesley, thick 8vo. 684 closely printed pages, with 60 woodcuts, 
 engraved in the first style of art, by O. Jewitt, of Oxford, (pub. at £1. 5s) 
 now reduced to 14s 
 " The neighbourhood of Banbury is equally rich in British, Roman, Saxon, Norman, 
 and English Antiquities, of all which Mr. Beesley has given regularly cleared accounts. 
 Banbury holds an important place in the history of the Parliamentary War of the Seven- 
 teenth Century, and was the scene of the great Battle of Kdgehill, and of the important 
 fight of Cropredj Bridge. Relating to the events of that period, the author has collected a 
 great body of local information of the most interesting kind. By no means the least 
 vnluable part of Mr. Beesley's work, is his account of the numerous interesting early 
 churches, which characterize the Banbury district."— The Archceologist. 
 Odd Parts to complete copies, Is. 6d. instead of Is. Gd. 
 
 History and Antiquities of the Isle of Axholme, in 
 
 Lincolnshire, by the Venerable Archdeacon Stonehouse, thick 4to. 
 fine plates, reducedfrom £Z. 3s to 18s 
 
 The Local Historian's Table-Book of Remarkable 
 
 Occurrences, Historical Facts, Traditions, Legendary and Descriptive 
 Ballads, &c. &c. connnected with the Counties of Newcastle-on-Tynr, 
 Northumberland, and Durham, by M. A. Richardson, royal 8vo. 
 profusely illustrated with woodcuts, now complete in 8 vols, royal %vo. 
 cloth, 9s each, or the Divisions sold separately as follows : — 
 
 Historical Division, 5 vols. Legendary Division, 3 vols. 
 The legendary portion will be found very interesting volumes by those who take 
 no interest in the historical one. 
 
John Russell Smith, 4, Old Compton Street, Soho. 9 
 
 A Critical Dissertation on Professor Willis's " Archi- 
 tectural History of Canterbury Cathedral," byC. Sandys, of Canterbury, 
 
 8vo. 2s 6d 
 "Written in no quarrelsome or captious spirit: the highest compliment is paid t.i 
 Professor Willis, where it is due. But the author has certainly made out a clear case, in 
 come very important instances, of inaccuracies that have led the learned Professor into the 
 construction of serious errors throughout. It may be considered as an indispensable com- 
 panion to his volume, containing a great deal of extra information of a very curious 
 kind."— Art- Union. 
 
 Bibliotheca Cantiana, a Bibliographical Account of 
 
 what has been published on the History, Topography, Antiquities, Cus- 
 toms, and Family Genealogy of the County of Kent, with Biographical 
 Notes, by John Russell Smith, in a handsome 8vo. volume, pp. 370, 
 with two plates of facsimiles of Auto graphs of 33 eminent Kentish, 
 Writers, 14s reduced to bs — large paper, 10s 6d 
 
 The History of the Town of Gravesend in Kent, 
 
 and of the Port of London, by R. P. Cruden, late Mayor of Gravesend, 
 royal 8vo. 37 fine plates and woodcuts, a very handsome volume, cloth, 
 1843, reduced from £1. 8s to 10s 
 
 The Visitor's Guide to Knole House, near Seven 
 
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 History and Antiquities of the Hundred of Comp- 
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 A Journey to Beresford Hall, in Derbyshire, the 
 
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 Biograpbp, iiterarp in'storp, anti Crittrism* 
 
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 ings by F. W. Fairholt, F.S.A., in 1 vol. 8vo. cloth, 15s 
 
 4n Introduction to Shakespeare's Midsummer 
 
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 \n Account of the only known Manuscript of 
 
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 Autobiography of Joseph Lister, of Bradford, in 
 
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 Love Letters of Mrs. Piozzi, written when she was 
 
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 A Rot among the Bishops; or a Terrible Tempest 
 
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 Bibliotheca Madrigaliana. — A Bibliographical Ac- 
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 Ayres, Canzonets, &c. &c. by Edward F. Rimbault, L.L.D., F.S.A., 8vo. 
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 Who was '' Jack Wilson" the Singer of Shake- 
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 popular portrp, stories, anti Jtaptnttftfon** 
 
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 Wonderful Discovery of the Witchcrafts of Margaret 
 
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 that has yet been published." — Literary Gazette. 
 
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 Trial of the Witches at Bury St. Edmunds, before 
 
 Sir M. Hale, 1664, with an Appendix by Charles Clark, of Totham, 
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 Account of the Trial, Confession, and Condemnation 
 
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 These Transactions are unnoticed by all Kentish historians. 
 
 An Essay on the Archaeology of our Popular 
 
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 (pub. at 12*) 
 A work which has met with great abuse among the reviewers, but those who are fond of 
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 contains a good deal of gossiping matter. The author's attempt is to explain every thing 
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 Facts and Speculations on the History of Playing 
 
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 G. NORMAN, TRINTER, MAIDEN LANE, COVENT GABDEN.