count of Maurienne, by his wife the widow of Henry duke of Saxony, though she was hardly seven years old. The same year, also, Robert abbat of Bec was elected archbishop of Canterbury on the 7th of March at Lambeth, in presence of the suffragan bishops of that province, but the abbat altogether declined to be elected, whether from weakness or from religious motives we are not informed.

The same year the young king Henry, walking in the counsels of the wicked, left his father, and withdrew to the court of his father-in-law the king of France; upon which, Richard duke of Aquitaine, and Geoffrey count of Brittany, by the advice as was said of his mother queen Eleanor, chose to follow their brother rather than their father. Thus seditions were engendered on both sides, with rapine and conflagration, whereby, if we believe aright, God, to punish king Henry for his conduct towards St. Thomas, raised up against him his own flesh and blood, namely his sons, who persecuted him to death, as the following history will show. The same year Ralph de Warneville, sacristan of Rouen and treasurer of York, was made chancellor of England. About the same time, at the instance of the cardinals Albert and Theodwine, Henry king of England conceded that the elections to vacant churches should be freely made, and the following appointments took place with the consent of the king's justiciary-Richard archdeacon of Poictiers to the see of Winchester; Geoffrey archdeacon of Canterbury to that of Ely; Geoffrey archdeacon of Lincoln to that of Lincoln; Reginald archdeacon of Salisbury to that of Bath; Robert archdeacon of Oxford to that of Hereford; and John dean of Chichester to the bishopric of that same church.

Of the election of Richard to the archbishopric of Canterbury, and the canonization of St. Thomas.

The same year, on the 9th of July, the suffragan bishops of the province of Canterbury, with the seniors of the monastery, elected Richard prior of Dover to the archbishopric; and immediately the bishop-elect swore fealty to the king, "saving his order," and no mention was made of observing the customs of the kingdom. This took place at Westminster in the chapel of Saint Catharine, with the consent of the king's justiciary. In the council, also, was read

the pope's letter in the audience of all the bishops and barons, containing, besides other matter, the following:"We admonish all your fraternity, and, by our apostolical authority, strictly command you to celebrate every year the day of the glorious martyr Thomas, namely, the day on which he suffered, and endeavour by votive prayers to him to obtain pardon for your sins, that he who for Christ's sake bravely endured exile during his life and martyrdom in death, may intercede to God for us through the earnest supplications of the faithful." This letter was hardly read, when all raised their voices on high, and cried, "We praise thee, O God!" Because, moreover, his suffragans had not shown due reverence to their father when he was in exile, or on his return from thence, but rather had persecuted him, all publicly confessed their error and sin by the mouth of one of them, as follows:--"Be present, Lord, to these our supplications, that we who for our sin know ourselves to be guilty, may be released by the intercession of St. Thomas thy martyr and high-priest." The same year, Mary, the sister of the same holy martyr, was by the king's orders made abbess of Barking. Also, the young king Henry laid siege to the castle of Gornai, and therein made prisoners Hugh the lord of the castle and his son, with twenty-four knights: the castle itself he burned, and compelled the townspeople to pay ransom. The same year, also, Robert earl of Leicester, and William de Tankerville, with many counts and barons, left king Henry and went over to the young king,*

The king of France invades Normandy with an army.

The same year, Louis king of France assembled a numerous army to lay waste Normandy; and entering that province, laid siege to Albemarle, and forced William its lord, with count Simon and several other nobles, to surrender. He then took the castle of Driencourt, and placed a garrison therein, and marching thence to the castle of Arches, lost on his way the count of Boulogne, whereupon the count of Flanders, grieved at his brother's death, returned to his own country. The elder king Henry was all this time at

"This year, also, the prudent and religious abbat of Reading, William by name, was elevated to the archiepiscopal see of Bourdeaux."-M. PARIS.

Rouen, apparently unconcerned at what was going on, and more than usually intent on the chase, whilst to all who came to him he presented a cheerful and smiling countenance. But those whom he had maintained about him from his earliest years now fell off from him, for they thought that his son had every prospect of soon being king in his stead. The king of France was now, with the young king, besieging Verneuil, when king Henry sent messengers to him, warning him to leave Normandy without delay, or he would march against him on that very day. The king of France, knowing the king of England to be a most powerful prince and of a most bitter temper, chose to retreat rather than to fight; wherefore he withdrew from before the face of king Henry, and retired with all speed into France.

Of the destruction of Leicester.

The same year, on the 4th of July, by the king's command, the city of Leicester is said to have been besieged, because the earl, its lord, had left the king and taken part with the young king his son. When the greater part of the city had been burned, the citizens began to treat of peace, on condition of paying three hundred marks to the king, and having leave to remove to whatever place they chose. Permission was therefore granted them to go and reside in the king's cities or castles,* and after their departure the gates of the city and part of the walls were destroyed, and a truce granted to the soldiers in the castle until the feast of St. Michael; and thus on the 28th of July the siege was at an end. After this, William king of Scotland claimed of the king the province of Northumberland, granted to his grandfather king David, who had held it for some time, but the English king refused it him; upon which William, collecting an army of Welsh and Scots, marched securely across the territories of the bishop of Durham, burned several vil

* Matthew Paris here makes the following insertion :-"The nobles of the city were dispersed; and having offended the king by the defence of their city, they sought a place of refuge to avoid his threats and anger. They therefore fled to the territory of St. Alban's the proto-martyr of England, and to the town of St. Edmund's the king and martyr, as if to a protecting bosom, because these martyrs were at that time held in such great reverence, that the inhabitants of those places afforded an asylum and safe protection from their enemies to all refugees."

lages, and slaying both men, women, and children, carried off an incalculable booty. To repel the invader, the English nobles assembled together, and forcing William to retire, followed him into Lothian, and devastating the whole of that country with fire and sword, made spoil of all they found in the fields, and at last, at the instance of the Scottish king himself, they made a truce until the feast of Hilary, and returned victorious to England.

How the earl of Leicester and the count of Flanders were taken and imprisoned.

When Robert earl of Leicester heard what had happened to his city, he was filled with grief, and crossing through Flanders with his wife on his way to England, assembled there a large number of Normans and Flemings, both horse and foot, and setting sail, landed at Walton in Suffolk on the 29th of September. He immediately laid siege to the castle, but without success, and marching thence on the 13th of October, assaulted and burned the castle of Hagenet, where he captured thirty knights, and compelled them to pay ransom. He then returned to Fremingham; but as his sojourn gave umbrage to Hugh Bigod lord of the castle, he turned his thoughts towards Leicester, and marched in that direction. On his way he endeavoured to surprise St. Edmundbury, but was prevented by the king's army that was stationed to guard that part of the country. The earl, therefore, surrounded by a strong force, and having with him three thousand Flemings, in whom he placed especial confidence, determined to risk a battle. The engagement began accordingly, and after various vicissitudes, the earl, his countess, with all the Flemings, Normans, and French, were taken prisoners. This happened on the 16th of October. The countess had on her finger a beautiful ring, which she flung into the neighbouring river, rather than suffer the enemy to make such gain by capturing her. At length the greater part of the Flemings were slain, others of them were drowned, and the remainder made prisoners.

How king Henry took prisoners many of his enemies.

Whilst king Henry the father was stopping in Normandy, it was told him that his own troops with the men of Brabant

and the routiers had surprised the choicest of his son's troops and was blockading them in the city of Dole. Immediately upon receiving this news, he took horse, and the next morning reached the camp, and received the surrender of the enemy after a few days' resistance: but, before his arrival, the greatest part of them had been slain by his own routiers. Among the prisoners were Ralph earl of Chester, who had only a short time previously deserted to his son, Ralph de Fulgeriis, William Patrick, Ralph de la Haie, Hasculph de St. Hilaire, besides eighty knights. The same year the English nobles marched with a very large army to check the pride of Hugh Bigod, but when things were in such a position that all thought he might easily have been vanquished, money passed between them, and a truce was made until Whit Sunday, whilst fourteen thousand armed Flemings escorted him safely through Essex and Kent, and at Dover he was furnished with ships to cross the channel. The same year the archbishop elect of Canterbury went to Rome, attended by the bishop of Bath.

How the castle of Axiholme was taken and a large body of men captured.

A.D. 1174. Roger de Mowbray renounced his fealty to the old king and repaired a ruined castle in the island of Axiholme,* but a large number of the Lincolnshire men crossed over in boats and laying siege to the castle, compelled the constable and all the knights to surrender: they then again reduced the fortress to ruins. On the last day of April, the old king hearing that his son Richard had seized the castle of Santonge, marched with the men of Poictou to recover it. Richard's knights, showing no reverence either to God or the church, entered the cathedral, and converting it into a castle, filled it with armed men and provisions. The king, being informed that the enemy occupied three strongholds, prepared to attack them: two of them were immediately reduced, and he then approached the cathedral which was full of soldiers and loose characters, not to attack it but to purify it from its desecration. Altogether, reckoning both those who were in the church and those who were taken elsewhere, sixty knights and four hundred cross-bow men were made prisoners. In this manner tranquillity

* Hoveden calls this castle Kinardeferie.