_Winchester famous for its Scribes.--Ethelwold and
Godemann.--Anecdotes.--Library of the Monastery of Reading.--The
Bible.--Library of Depying Priory.--Effects of Gospel
Reading.--Catalogue of Ramsey Library.--Hebrew MSS.--Fine
Classics, etc.--St. Edmund's Bury.--Church of Ely.--Canute, etc._
In the olden time the monks of Winchester[351] were renowned for their
calligraphic and pictorial art. The choice book collectors of the day
sought anxiously for volumes produced by these ingenious scribes, and
paid extravagant prices for them. A superb specimen of their skill was
executed for Bishop Ethelwold; that enlightened and benevolent prelate
was a great patron of art and literature, and himself a grammaticus and
poet of no mean pretensions. He did more than any other of his time to
restore the architectural beauties which were damaged or destroyed by the
fire and sword of the Danish invaders. His love of these undertakings,
his industry in carrying them out, and the great talent he displayed in
their restoration, is truly wonderful to observe. He is called by
Wolstan, his biographer, "a great builder of churches, and divers other
works."[352] He was fond of learning, and very liberal in diffusing the
knowledge which he acquired; and used to instruct the young by reading to
them the Latin authors, translated into the Saxon tongue. "He wrote a
Saxion version of the Rule of Saint Benedict, which was so much admired,
and so pleased King Edgar, that he granted to him the manor of
Sudborn,[353] as a token of his approbation."
Among a number of donations which he bequeathed to this monastery, twenty
volumes are enumerated, embracing some writings of Bede and Isidore.[354]
As a proof of his bibliomanical propensities, I refer the reader to the
celebrated Benedictional of the Duke of Devonshire; that rich gem, with
its resplendent illuminations, place it beyond the shadow of a doubt, and
prove Ethelwold to have been an _amator librorum_ of consummate taste.
This fine specimen of Saxon ingenuity is the production of a cloistered
monk of Winchester, named Godemann, who transcribed it at the bishop's
special desire, as we learn, from the following lines:--
"_Presentem Biblum iusset prescribere Presul.
Wintoniæ Dus que fecerat esse Patronum
Magnus Æthelwoldus._"[355]
Godemann, the scribe, entreats the prayers of his readers, and wishes
"all who gaze on this book to ever pray that after the end of the flesh I
may inherit health in heaven: this is the fervent prayer of the scribe,
the humble Godemann." This talented illuminator was chaplain to
Ethelwold, and afterwards abbot of Thorney.[356] The choice Benedictional
in the public library of Rouen is also ascribed to his elegant pen, and
adds additional lustre of his artistic fame.[357]
Most readers have heard of Walter, (who was prior of St. Swithin in
1174,) giving twelve measures of barley and a pall, on which was
embroidered in silver the history of St. Berinus converting a Saxon king,
for a fine copy of Bede's Homilies and St. Austin's Psalter;[358] and of
Henry, a monk of the Benedictine Abbey of Hyde, near there, who
transcribed, in the year 1178, Terence, Boethius, Seutonius and Claudian;
and richly illuminated and bound them, which he exchanged with a
neighboring bibliophile for a life of St. Christopher, St. Gregory's
Pastoral Care, and four Missals.[359] Nicholas, Bishop of Winchester,
left one hundred marks and a Bible, with a fine gloss, in two large
volumes, to the convent of St. Swithin. John de Pontissara, who succeeded
that bishop in the year 1282, borrowed this valuable manuscript to
benefit and improve his biblical knowledge by a perusal of its numerous
notes. So great was their regard for this precious gift, that the monks
demanded a bond for its return; a circumstance which has caused some
doubt as to the plenitude of the Holy Scriptures in the English Church
during that period; at least among those who have only casually glanced
at the subject. I may as well notice that the ancient Psalter in the
Cottonian Library[360] was written about the year 1035, by the "most
humble brother and monk Ælsinus," of Hyde Abbey. The table prefixed to
the volume records the deaths of other eminent scribes and illuminators,
whose names are mingled with the great men of the day;[361] showing how
esteemed they were, and how honorable was their avocation. Thus under the
15th of May we find "_Obitus Ætherici mº picto_;" and again, under the
5th of July, "_Obit Wulfrici mº pictoris_." Many were the choice
transcripts made and adorned by the Winchester monks.
The monastery of Reading, in Berkshire, possessed during the reign of
Henry the Third a choice library of a hundred and fifty volumes. It is
printed in the Supplement to the History of Reading, from the original
prefixed to the Woollascot manuscripts. But it is copied very
inaccurately, and with many grievous omissions; nevertheless it will
suffice to enable us to gain a knowledge of the class of books most
admired by the monks of Reading; and the Christian reader will be glad to
learn that the catalogue opens, as usual, with the Holy Scriptures.
Indeed no less than four fine large and complete copies of the Bible are
enumerated. The first in two volumes; the second in three volumes; the
third in two, and the fourth in the same number which was transcribed by
the _Cantor_, and kept in the cloisters for the use of the monks. But in
addition to these, which are in themselves quite sufficient to exculpate
the monks from any charge of negligence of Bible reading, we find a long
list of separate portions of the Old and New Testament; besides many of
the most important works of the Fathers, and productions of mediæval
learning, as the following names will testify:--
Ambrose.
Augustine.
Basil.
Bede.
Cassidorus.
Eusebius.
Gregory.
Hilarius.
Jerome.
Josephus.
Lombard.
Macrobius.
Origen.
Plato.
Prosper.
Rabanus Maurus.
They possessed also the works of Geoffry of Monmouth; the _Vita Karoli et
Alexandri et gesta Normannorum_; a "Ystoria Rading," and many others
equally interesting; and among the books given by Radbert of Witchir, we
find a Juvenal, the Bucolics and Georgics of Virgil, and the "Ode et
Poetria et Sermone et Epistole Oratii." But certainly the most striking
characteristic is the fine biblical collection contained in their
library, which is well worthy our attention, if not our admiration: not
but that we find them in other libraries much less extensive. In those
monasteries whose poverty would not allow the purchase of books in any
quantity, and whose libraries could boast but of some twenty or thirty
volumes, it is scarcely to be expected that they should be found rich in
profane literature; but it is deeply gratifying to find, as we generally
do, the Bible first on their little list; conveying a proof by this
prominence, in a quiet but expressive way, how highly they esteemed that
holy volume, and how essential they deemed its possession. Would that
they had profited more by its holy precepts!
We find an instance of this, and a proof of their fondness for the Bible,
in the catalogue of the books in Depying Priory,[362] in Lincolnshire;
which, containing a collection of twenty-three volumes, enumerates a copy
of the Bible first on the humble list. The catalogue is as follows:--
These are the books in the library of the monks of Depying.[363]
The Bible.
The first part of the Morals of Pope St. Gregory.
The second part of the Morals by the same.
Book of Divine Offices.
Gesta Britonorum.
Tracts of Robert, Bishop of Lincoln, on Confession,
with other compilations.
Martyrologium, with the Rules of St. Benedict; Passion of
St. James, with other books.
Constitutions of Pope Benedict.
History of the Island of Ely.
Hugucio de dono fratris Johannis Tiryngham.
Homilies of the blessed Gregory.
Constitutions of Pope Clement XII.
Book of the Virtues and Vices.
Majester Historiarum.
Sacramentary given by Master John Swarby, Rector of the
Church of St. Guthlac.
One great Portoforium for the use of the Brothers.
Two ditto.
Two Psalters for the use of the Brothers.
Three Missals for the use of the Brothers.
There is not much in this scanty collection, the loss of which we need
lament; nor does it inspire us with a very high notion of the learning of
the monks of Depying Priory. Yet how cheering it is to find that the
Bible was studied in this little cell; and I trust the monk often drew
from it many words of comfort and consolation. Where is the reader who
will not regard these instances of Bible reading with pleasure? Where is
the Christian who will not rejoice that the Gospel of Christ was read and
loved in the turbulent days of the Norman monarchs? Where is the
philosopher who will affirm that we owe nothing to this silent but
effectual and fervent study? Where is he who will maintain that the
influence of the blessed and abundant charity--the cheering promises, and
the sweet admonitions of love and mercy with which the Gospels
overflow--aided nothing in the progress of civilization? Where is the
Bible student who will believe that all this reading of the Scriptures
was unprofitable because, forsooth, a monk preached and taught it to the
multitude?
Let the historian open his volumes with a new interest, and ponder over
their pages with a fresh spirit of inquiry; let him read of days of
darkness and barbarity; and as he peruses on, trace the origin of the
light whose brightness drove the darkness and barbarity away. How much
will he trace to the Bible's influence; how often will he be compelled to
enter a convent wall to find in the gospel student the one who shone as a
redeeming light in those old days of iniquity and sin; and will he deny
to the Christian priest his gratitude and love, because he wore the cowl
and mantle of a monk, or because he loved to read of saints whose lives
were mingled with lying legends, or because he chose a life which to us
looks dreary, cold, and heartless. Will he deny him a grateful
recollection when he reads of how much good he was permitted to achieve
in the Church of Christ; of how many a doubting heart he reassured; of
how many a soul he fired with a true spark of Christian love; when he
reads of how the monk preached the faith of Christ, and how often he led
some wandering pilgrim into the path of vital truth by the sweet words of
the dear religion which he taught; when he reads that the hearts of many
a Norman chief was softened by the sweetness of the gospel's voice, and
his evil passions were lulled by the hymn of praise which the monk
devoutly sang to his Master in heaven above. But speaking of the
existence of the Bible among the monks puts me in mind of the Abbey of
Ramsey and its fine old library of books, which was particularly rich in
biblical treasures. Even superior to Reading, as regards its biblical
collection, was the library of Ramsey. A portion of an old catalogue of
the library of this monastery has been preserved, apparently transcribed
about the beginning of the fourteenth century, during the warlike reign
of Richard the Second. It is one of the richest and most interesting
relics of its kind extant, at least of those to be found in our own
public libraries; and a perusal of it will not fail to leave an
impression on the mind that the monks were far wealthier in their
literary stores than we previously imagined. Originally on two or three
skins, it is now torn into five separate pieces,[364] and in other
respects much dilapidated. The writing also in some parts is nearly
obliterated, so as to render the document scarcely readable. It is much
to be regretted that this interesting catalogue is but a portion of the
original; in its complete form it would probably have described twice as
many volumes; but a fragment as it is, it nevertheless contains the
titles of more than _eleven hundred books_, with the names of many of
their donors attached. A creditable and right worthy testimonial this, of
the learning and love of books prevalent among the monks of Ramsey
Monastery. More than seven hundred of this goodly number were of a
miscellaneous nature, and the rest were principally books used in the
performance of divine service. Among these there were no less than
seventy Breviaries; thirty-two Grails; twenty-nine Processionals; and one
hundred Psalters! The reader will regard most of these as superstitious
and useless; nor should I remark upon them did they not show that books
were not so scarce in those times as we suppose; as this prodigality
satisfactorily proves, and moreover testifies to the unceasing industry
of the monkish scribes. We who are used to the speed of the printing
press and its fertile abundance can form an opinion of the labor
necessary to transcribe this formidable array of papistical literature.
Four hundred volumes transcribed with the plodding pen! each word
collated and each page diligently revised, lest a blunder or a misspelt
syllable should blemish those books so deeply venerated. What long years
of dry tedious labor and monotonous industry was here!
But the other portion of the catalogue fully compensates for this vast
proportion of ecclesiastical volumes. Besides several _Biblia optima in
duobus voluminibus_, or complete copies of the Bible, many separate books
of the inspired writers are noted down; indeed the catalogue lays before
us a superb array of fine biblical treasures, rendered doubly valuable by
copious and useful glossaries; and embracing many a rare Hebrew MS.
Bible, _bibliotheca hebraice_, and precious commentary. I count no less
than twenty volumes in this ancient language. But we often find Hebrew
manuscripts in the monastic catalogues after the eleventh century. The
Jews, who came over in great numbers about that time, were possessed of
many valuable books, and spread a knowledge of their language and
literature among the students of the monasteries. And when the cruel
persecution commenced against them in the thirteenth century, they
disposed of their books, which were generally bought up by the monks, who
were ever hungry after such acquisitions. Gregory, prior of Ramsey,
collected a great quantity of Hebrew MSS. in this way, and highly
esteemed the language, in which he became deeply learned. At his death,
in the year 1250, he left them to the library of his monastery.[365] Nor
was my lord prior a solitary instance; many others of the same abbey,
inspired by his example and aided by his books, studied the Hebrew with
equal success. Brother Dodford, the Armarian, and Holbeach, a monk,
displayed their erudition in writing a Hebrew lexicon.[366]
The library of Ramsey was also remarkably rich in patristic lore. They
gloried in the possession of the works of Ambrose, Augustine, Anselm,
Basil, Boniface, Bernard, Gregory, and many others equally voluminous.
But it was not exclusively to the study of such matters that these monks
applied their minds, they possessed a taste for other branches of
literature besides. They read histories of the church, histories of
England, of Normandy, of the Jews; and histories of scholastic
philosophy, and many old chronicles which reposed on their shelves. In
science they appear to have been equally studious, for the catalogue
enumerates works on medicine, natural history, philosophy, mathematics,
logic, dialects, arithmetic and music! Who will say after this that the
monks were ignorant of the sciences and careless of the arts? The
classical student has perhaps ere this condemned them for their want of
taste, and felt indignant at the absence of those authors of antiquity
whose names and works he venerates. But the monks, far from neglecting
those precious volumes, were ever careful of their preservation; they
loved Virgil, Horace, and even Ovid, "heathen dogs" as they were, and
enjoyed a keen relish for their beauties. I find in this catalogue the
following choice names of antiquity occur repeatedly:--
Aristotle.
Arian.
Boethius.
Claudius.
Dionysius.
Donatus.
Horace.
Josephus.
Justin.
Lucan.
Martial.
Macrobius.
Orosius.
Ovid.
Plato.
Priscian.
Prudentius.
Seneca.
Sallust.
Solinus.
Terence.
Virgil.
Here were rich mines of ancient eloquence, and fragrant flowers of poesy
to enliven and perfume the dull cloister studies of the monks. It is not
every library or reading society even of our own time that possess so
many gems of old. But other treasures might yet be named which still
further testify to the varied tastes and literary pursuits of these
monastic bibliophiles; but I shall content myself with naming Peter of
Blois, the Sentences of Peter Lombard, of which they had several copies,
some enriched with choice commentaries and notes, the works of Thomas
Aquinas and others of his class, a "Liber Ricardi," Dictionaries,
Grammars, and the writings of "Majestri Robi Grostete," the celebrated
Bishop of Lincoln, renowned as a great _amator librorum_ and collector of
Grecian literature. I might easily swell this notice out to a
considerable extent by enumerating many other book treasures in this
curious collection: but enough has been said to enable the reader to
judge of the sort of literature the monks of Ramsey collected and the
books they read; and if he should feel inclined to pursue the inquiry
further, I must refer him to the original manuscript, promising him much
gratification for his trouble.[367] It only remains for me to say that
the Vandalism of the Reformation swept all traces of this fine library
away, save the broken, tattered catalogue we have just examined. But this
is more than has been spared from some. The abbey of St. Edmunds
Bury[368] at one time must have enjoyed a copious library, but we have no
catalogue that I am aware of to tell of its nature, not even a passing
notice of its well-stored shelves, except a few lines in which Leland
mentions some of the old manuscripts he found therein.[369] But a
catalogue of their library in the flourishing days of their monastery
would have disclosed, I imagine, many curious works, and probably some
singular writings on the "_crafft off medycyne_," which Abbot Baldwin,
"_phesean_" to Edward the Confessor,[370] had given the monks, and of
whom Lydgate thus speaks--
"Baldewynus, a monk off Seynt Denys,
Gretly expert in crafft of medycyne;
Full provydent off counsayl and right wys,
Sad off his port, functuons off doctryne;
After by grace and influence devyne,
Choose off Bury Abbot, as I reede
The thyrdde in order that did ther succeade."[371]
We may equally deplore the loss of the catalogue of the monastery of Ely,
which, during the middle ages, we have every reason to suppose possessed
a library of much value and extent. This old monastery can trace its
foundation back to a remote period, and claim as its foundress,
Etheldredæ,[372] the daughter of Anna, King of the East Angles, she was
the wife of King Ecgfrid,[373] with whom she lived for twelve long years,
though during that time she preserved the glory of perfect virginity,
much to the annoyance of her royal spouse, who offered money and lands
to induce that illustrious virgin to waver in her resolution, but without
success. Her inflexible determination at length induced her husband to
grant her oft-repeated prayer; and in the year 673 she retired into the
seclusion of monastic life,[374] and building the monastery of Ely,
devoted her days to the praise and glory of her heavenly King. Her pure
and pious life caused others speedily to follow her example, and she soon
became the virgin-mother of a numerous progeny dedicated to God. A series
of astounding miracles attended her monastic life; and sixteen years
after her death, when her sister, the succeeding abbess, opened her
wooden coffin to transfer her body to a more costly one of marble, that
"holy virgin and spouse of Christ" was found entirely free from
corruption or decay.[375]
A nunnery, glorying in so pure a foundress, grew and flourished, and for
"two hundred years existed in the full observance of monastic
discipline;" but on the coming of the Danes in the year 870, those sad
destroyers of religious establishments laid it in a heap of ruins, in
which desolate condition it remained till it attracted the attention of
the celebrated Ethelwold, who under the patronage of King Edgar restored
it; and endowing it with considerable privileges appointed Brithnoth,
Prior of Winchester, its first abbot.[376]
Many years after, when Leoffin was abbot there, and Canute was king, that
monarch honored the monastery of Ely with his presence on several
occasions. Monkish traditions say, that on one of these visits as the
king approached, he heard the pious inmates of the monastery chanting
their hymn of praise; and so melodious were the voices of the devotees,
that his royal heart was touched, and he poured forth his feelings in a
Saxon ballad, commencing thus:
"Merry sang the monks of Ely,
When Canute the king was sailing by;
Row ye knights near the land,
And let us hear these monks song."[377]
It reads smoother in Strutt's version; he renders it
"Cheerful sang the monk of Ely,
When Canute the king was passing by;
Row to the shore knights, said the king,
And let us hear these churchmen sing."[378]
In addition to the title of a poet, Canute has also received the
appellation of a bibliomaniac. Dibdin, in his bibliomania, mentions in a
cursory manner a few monkish book collectors, and introduces Canute
among them.[379] The illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels in the
Danish tongue, now in the British Museum, he writes, "and once that
monarch's own book leaves not the shadow of a doubt of his bibliomanical
character!" I cannot however allow him that title upon such equivocal
grounds; for upon examination, the MS. turns out to be in the Theotisc
dialect, possessing no illuminations of its own, and never perhaps once
in the hands of the royal poet.[380]
From the account books of Ely church we may infer that the monks there
enjoyed a tolerable library; for we find frequent entries of money having
been expended for books and materials connected with the library; thus in
the year 1300 we find that they bought at one time five dozen parchment,
four pounds of ink, eight calf and four sheep-skins for binding books;
and afterwards there is another entry of five dozen vellum and six pair
of book clasps, a book of decretals for the library, 3s., a Speculum
Gregor, 2s., and "_Pro tabula Paschalis fac denova et illuminand_,"
4s.[381] They frequently perhaps sent one of the monks to distants parts
to purchase or borrow books for their library; a curious instance of this
occurs under the year 1329, when they paid "the precentor for going to
Balsham to enquire for books, 6s. 7d." The bookbinder two weeks' wages,
4s.; twelve iron chains to fasten books, 4s.; five dozen vellum, 25s. 8d.
In the year 1396, they paid their librarian 53s. 4d., and a tunic for his
services during one year.[382]
Nigel, Bishop of Ely, by endowing the Scriptorium, enabled the monks to
produce some excellent transcripts; they added several books of
Cassiodorus, Bede, Aldelem, Radbert, Andres, etc., to the library;[383]
and they possessed at one time no less than thirteen fine copies of the
Gospels, which were beautifully bound in gold and silver.[384]
FOOTNOTES:
[351] Those learned in such matters refer the foundation of
Winchester cathedral and monastery to a remote period. An old writer
says that it was "built by King Lucius, who, abolishing Paganisme,
embraced Christ the first yere of his reigne, being the yeere of our
Lord 180."--_Godwin's Cat._ p. 157. See also _Usher de Primordiis_.
fo. 126.
[352] "Ecclesiarum ac diversorum operum magnus ædificator, et dum
esset abbas et dum esset episcopus."--_Wolstan. Vita Æthelw. ap.
Mabillon Actæ S. S. Benedict, Sæc._ v. p. 614.
[353] Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. i. p. 614.
[354] MS. belonging to the Society of Antiquaries, No. 60, fo. 34.
See Dugdale Monast. vol. i. p. 382. He gave to the monks of Abingdon
a copy of the Gospels cased in silver, ornamented with gold and
precious stones.
[355] _Archæologia_, vol. xxiv. p. 22; and _Dibdin's_ delightful
"_Decameron_," vol. i. p. lix.
[356] Wuls. Act. S. S. Benedict. p. 616.
[357] Archæolog. vol. xxiv.
[358] Regist. Priorat. S. Swithin Winton.--_Warton_ II, _Dissert._
[359] _Ibid._
[360] _Marked Titus_, D. 27.
[361] It is called "_Calendarium, in quo notantur dies obitus
plurimorum monachorum, abbatum, etc.; temp. regum Anglo-Saxonum_."
[362] It was a little cell dependant on the Abbey of Thorney.
[363] MS. _Harleian_, No. 3658, fo. 74, b. It will be found printed
in _Dugdale's Monasticon_, vol. iv. p. 167. The catalogue was
evidently written about the year 1350.
[364] Cottonian Charta, 11-16. I am sorry to observe so little
attention paid to this curious fragment, which, insignificant as it
may appear to some, is nevertheless quite a curiosity of literature
in its way. Its tattered condition calls for the care of Sir
Frederick Madden.
[365] Leland Script. Brit. p. 321, and MSS. Bibl. Lambeth, Wharton,
L. p. 661. Libris Prioris Gregorii de Ramsey, _Prima pars
Bibliothecæ Hebraice_, etc. Warton Dissert ii. Eng. Poetry.
[366] Bale, iv. 41, et ix. 9. Leland. Scrip. Brit. p. 452.
[367] Ailward, Bishop of London, gave many books to the library of
Ramsey monastery, _Hoveden Scrip. post. Bedam._ 1596, fol. 252.
Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. ii.
[368] In the year 1327, the inhabitants of Bury besieged the abbey,
wounded the monks, and "bare out of the abbey all the gold, silver
ornaments, _bookes, charters, and other writings_." Stowe Annals, p.
353.
[369] He particularly notices a Sallust, a very ancient copy,
_vetustis simus_.
[370] And also to Lanfranc, he was elected in the year 1065.
[371] Harleian MS. No. 2278.
[372] Or Atheldryth.
[373] The youngest son of Osway, King of Northumbria; he succeeded
to the throne on the death of his father in the year 670.
[374] She seems to have been principally encouraged in this
fanatical determination by Wilfrid; probably this was one of the
causes of Ecgfrid's displeasure towards him. So highly was the
purity of the body regarded in the early Saxon church, that Aldhelm
wrote a piece in its praise, in imitation of the style of Sedulius,
but in most extravagant terms. Bede wrote a poem, solely to
commemorate the chastety of Etheldreda.
"Let Maro wars in loftier numbers sing
I sound the praises of our heavenly King;
Chaste is my verse, nor Helen's rape I write,
Light tales like these, but prove the mind as light."
_Bede's Eccl. Hist. by Giles_, b. iv. c. xx.
[375] Bede's Eccl. Hist. b. iv. c. xx.
[376] Saxon Chronicle translated by Ingram, p. 118. Dugdale's
Monasticon, vol. i. p. 458.
[377] Sharon Turner's Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii. p. 288.
[378] Strutt's Saxon Antiquities, vol. i. p. 83.
[379] _Dibdin's Bibliomania_, p. 228.
[380] Dibdin alludes to the "Harmony of the Four Gospels," preserved
among the Cotton MSS. _Caligula_, A. vii. and described as
"_Harmonia Evangeliorum, lingua Francica capitulis, 71, Liber
quondam (dicit Jamesius) Canuti regis_." See also Hicke's Gram.
Franco-Theotisca, p. 6. But there is no ground for the supposition
that it belonged to Canute; and the several fine historical
illuminations bound up with it are evidently of a much later age.
[381] An entry occurs of 6s. 8d. for writing two processionals.
[382] Stevenson's Suppl. to Bentham's church of Ely, p. 52. "It is
worth notice," says Stevenson, "that in the course of a few years,
about the middle of the 14th century, the precentor purchased
upwards of seventy dozen parchment and thirty dozen vellum."
[383] Spelman Antiquarii Collectanea, vol. iii. p. 273. Nigel, who
was made bishop in 1133, was plundered by some of King Stephen's
soldiers, and robbed of his own copy of the Gospels which he had
adorned with many sacred relics; see _Anglia Sacra_, i. p. 622.
[384] _Warton's Anglia Sacra_, it is related that William Longchamp,
bishop in 1199, sold them to raise money towards the redemption of
King Richard, _pro Regis Ricardi redemptione_, tom. i. 633. Dugd.
Monast. i. p. 463.