[1] The "History of Latin Christianity," is now completed in six
volumes.--ED.
[2] There are no less than seven full contemporary, or nearly
contemporary, Lives of Becket, besides fragments, legends, and
"Passions." Dr. Giles has reprinted, and in some respects enlarged,
those works from the authority of MSS. I give them in the order of his
volumes. I. Vita Sancti Thomæ. Auctore Edward Grim. II. Auctore Roger de
Pontiniaco. III. Auctore Willelmo Filio Stephani. IV. Auctoribus Joanne
Decano Salisburiensi, et Alano Abbate Teuksburiensi. V. Auctore Willelmo
Canterburiensi. VI. Auctore Anonymo Lambethiensi. VII. Auctore Herberto
de Bosham. Of these, Grim, Fitz-Stephen, and Herbert de Bosham were
throughout his life in more or less close attendance on Becket. The
learned John of Salisbury was his bosom friend and counsellor. Roger of
Pontigny was his intimate associate and friend in that monastery.
William was probably prior of Canterbury at the time of Becket's death.
The sixth professes also to have been witness to the death of Becket.
(He is called Lambethiensis by Dr. Giles, merely because the MS. is in
the Lambeth Library.) Add to these the curious French poem, written five
years after the murder of Becket, by Garnier of Pont S. Maxence, partly
published in the Berlin Transactions, by the learned Immanuel Bekker.
All these, it must be remembered, write of the man; the later monkish
writers (though near the time, Hoveden, Gervase, Diceto, Brompton) of
the Saint.
[3] Brompton is not the earliest writer who recorded this tale; he took
it from the Quadrilogus I., but of this the date is quite uncertain. The
exact date of Brompton is unknown. See preface in Twysden. He goes down
to the end of Richard II.
[4] Mons. Thierry, Hist. des Normands. Lord Lyttelton (Life of Henry
II.) had before asserted the Saxon descent of Becket: perhaps he misled
M. Thierry.
[5] The anonymous Lambethiensis, after stating that many Norman
merchants were allured to London by the greater mercantile prosperity,
proceeds: "Ex horum numero fuit Gilbertus quidam cognomento Becket,
patriâ Rotomagensis .... habuit autem uxorem, nomine Roseam natione
Cadomensem, genere burgensium quoque non disparem."--Apud Giles, ii. p.
73.
[6] See below.
[7] "Quod si ad generis mei radicem et progenitores meos intenderis,
cives quidem fuerunt Londonienses, in medio concivium suorum habitantes
sine querelâ, nec omnino infimi."--Epist. 130.
[8] Grim, p. 9. Pontiniac, p. 96.
[9] Grim, p. 8.
[10] "Eo familiarius, quod præfatus Gilbertus cum domino archipræsule de
propinquitate et genere loquebatur: ut ille _ortu Normannus_ et circa
Thierici villam de equestri ordine natu vicinus."--Fitz-Stephen, p. 184.
Thiersy or Thierchville.
[11] Roger de Pontigny, p. 100.
[12] Fitz-Stephen, p. 185.
[13] According to Fitz-Stephen, Thomas was less learned (minus
literatus) than his rival, but of loftier character and morals.--P. 184.
[14] "Plurimæ ecclesiæ, præbendæ nonnullæ." Among the livings were one
in Kent, and St. Mary le Strand; among the prebends, two at London and
Lincoln. The archdeaconry of Canterbury was worth 100 pounds of silver
a-year.
[15] Epist. 130.
[16] Lord Lyttelton gives a full account of this transaction.--Book i.
p. 213.
[17] This remarkable fact in Becket's history rests on the authority of
his friend, John of Salisbury: "Erat enim in suspectu adolescentia regis
et juvenum et pravorum hominum, quorum conciliis agi videbatur ...
insipientiam et malitiam formidabat ... cancellarium procurabat in curiâ
ordinari, cujus ope et operâ novi regis ne sæviret in ecclesiam, impetum
cohiberet et consilii sui temperaret malitiam."--Apud Giles, p. 321.
This is repeated in almost the same words by William of Canterbury, vol.
ii. p. 2. Compare what may be read almost as the dying admonitions of
Theobald to the king: "Suggerunt vobis filii sæculi hujus, ut ecclesiæ
minuatis auctoritatem, ut vobis regni dignitas augeatur." He had
before said, "Cui deest gratia Ecclesiæ, tota creatrix Trinitas
adversatur."--Apud Boquet, xvi. p. 504. Also Roger de Pontigny, p. 101.
[18] Fitz-Stephen, p. 186. Compare on the office of chancellor Lord
Campbell's Life of Becket.
[19] De Bosham, p. 17.
[20] See a curious passage on the singular sensitiveness of his hearing,
and even of his smell.--Roger de Pontigny, p. 96.
[21] Roger de Pontigny, p. 104. His character by John of Salisbury is
remarkable: "Erat supra modum captator auræ popularis ... etsi superbus
esset et vanus et interdum faciem prætendebat insipienter amantium et
verba proferret, admirandus tamen et imitandus erat in corporis
castitate."--P. 320. See an adventure related by William of Canterbury,
p. 3.
[22] Grim, p. 12. Roger de Pontigny, p. 102. Fitz-Stephen, p. 192.
[23] Fitz-Stephen, p. 191. Fitz-Stephen is most full and particular on
the chancellorship of Becket.
[24] It is not quite clear how soon after the accession of Henry the
appointment of the chancellor took place. I should incline to the
earlier date, A. D. 1155.
[25] Fitz-Stephen, p. 187.
[26] P. 196.
[27] Edward Grim, p. 12.
[28] John of Salisbury denies that he sanctioned the rapacity of the
king, and urges that he only yielded to necessity. Yet his exile was the
just punishment of his guilt. "Tamen quia eum ministrum fuisse
iniquitatis non ambigo, jure optimo taliter arbitror puniendum ut eo
potissimum puniatur auctore, quem in talibus Deo bonorum omnium auctori
præferebat.... Sed esto; nunc poenitentiam agit, agnoscit et confitetur
culpam pro ea, et si cum Saulo quandoque ecclesiam impugnavit, nunc, cum
Paulo ponere paratus est animam suam."--Bouquet, p. 518.
[29] Fitz-Stephen, p. 193.
[30] Theobald died April 18, 1161. Becket was ordained priest and
consecrated on Whitsunday, 1162.
[31] Yet Theobald, according to John of Salisbury, designed Becket for
his successor,--
"hunc (_i. e._ Becket Cancellarium) successurum sibi sperat et orat,
Hic est carnificum qui jus cancellat iniquum,
Quos habuit reges Anglia capta diu,
Esse putans reges, quos est perpessa, tyrannos
Plus veneratur eos, qui nocuere magis."
_Entheticus_, l. 1295.
Did Becket decide against the Norman laws by the Anglo-Saxon? Has any
one guessed the meaning of the rest of John's verses on the Chancellor
and his Court? I confess myself baffled.
[32] Roger de Pontigny, p. 100.
[33] In the memorable letter of Gilbert Foliot, Dr. Lingard observes
that Mr. Berington has proved this letter to be spurious. I cannot see
any force in Mr. Berington's arguments, and should certainly have paid
more deference to Dr. Lingard himself if he had examined the question.
It seems, moreover (if I rightly understand Dr. Giles, and I am not
certain that I do), that it exists in more than one MS. of Foliot's
letters. He has printed it as unquestioned; no very satisfactory
proceeding in an editor. The conclusive argument for its authenticity
with me is this: Who, after Becket's death and canonization, would have
ventured or thought it worth while to forge such a letter? To whom was
Foliot's memory so dear, or Becket's so hateful, as to reopen the whole
strife about his election and his conduct? Besides, it seems clear that
it is either a rejoinder to the long letter addressed by Becket to the
clergy of England (Giles, iii. 170), or that letter is a rejoinder to
Foliot's. Each is a violent party pamphlet against the other, and of
great ability and labor.
[34] Foliot's nearest relatives, if not himself, were Scotch; one
of them had forfeited his estate for fidelity to the King of
Scotland.--Epis. ii. cclxxviii.
[35] Read his letters before his elevation to the see of London.
[36] See, _e.g._, Epis. cxxxi., in which he informs Archbishop Theobald
that the Earl of Hereford held intercourse with William Beauchamp,
excommunicated by the Primate. "Vilescit anathematis authoritas, nisi et
communicantes excommunicatis corripiat digna severitas." The Earl of
Hereford must be placed under anathema.
[37] Lambeth, p. 91. The election of the Bishop of Hereford to London is
confirmed by the Pope's permission to elect him (March 19) rogatu H.
regis et Archep. Cantuarensis. A letter from Pope Alexander on his
promotion rebukes him for _fasting too severely_.--Epist. ccclix.
[38] Foliot, in a letter to Pope Alexander, maintains the superiority of
Canterbury over York.--cxlix.
[39] See on the change in his habits, Lambeth, p. 48; also the strange
story, in Grim, of a monk who declared himself commissioned by a
preterhuman person of terrible countenance to warn the Chancellor not to
dare to appear in the choir, as he had done, in a secular dress.--p. 16.
[40] Compare the letter of the politic Arnulf, Bishop of Lisieux: "Si
enim favori divino favorem præferritis humanum, poteratis non solum cum
summâ tranquillitate degere, sed ipso etiam magis quam olim, Principe
conregnare."--Apud Bouquet, xvi. p. 229.
[41] This strange scene is recorded by Roger de Pontigny, who received
his information on all those circumstances from Becket himself, or from
his followers. See also Grim, p. 22.
[42] Becket had been compelled to give up the rich archdeaconry of
Canterbury, which he seemed disposed to hold with the archbishopric.
Geoffrey Ridel, who became archdeacon, was afterwards one of his most
active enemies.
[43] The king was willing that the clerk guilty of murder or robbery
should be degraded before he was hanged, but hanged he should be. The
archbishop insisted that he should be safe "a læsione membrorum."
Degradation was in itself so dreadful a punishment, that to hang also
for the same crime was a double penalty. "If he returned to his vomit,"
after degradation, "he might be hanged."--Compare Grim, p. 30.
[44] "De novo judicatur Christus ante Pilatum præsidem."--De Bosham, p.
117.
[45] De Bosham, p. 100.
[46] The fairness with which the question is stated by Herbert de
Bosham, the follower, almost the worshiper of Becket, is remarkable.
"Arctabatur itaque rex, arctabatur et pontifex. Rex etenim populi sui
pacem, sicut archipræsul cleri sui zelans libertatem, audiens
sic et videns et ad multorum relationes et querimonias accipiens,
per hujuscemodi castigationes, talium clericorum immo verius
caracterizatorum, dæmonum flagitia non reprimi vel potius indies per
regnum deterius fieri." He proceeds to state at length the argument on
both sides. Another biographer of Becket makes strong admissions of the
crimes of the clergy: "Sed et ordinatorum inordinati mores, inter regem
et archepiscopum auxere malitiam, qui _solito abundantius_ per idem
tempus apparebant publicis irretiti criminibus."--Edw. Grim. It was said
that no less than 100 of the clergy were charged with homicide.
[47] This, according to Fitz-Stephen, was the first cause of quarrel
with the king. p. 215.
[48] See throughout this epistle of Arnulf of Lisieux, Bouquet, p. 230.
This same Arnulf was a crafty and double-dealing prelate. Grim and Roger
de Pontigny say that he suggested to Henry the policy of making a party
against Becket among the English bishops, while to Becket he plays the
part of confidential counsellor.--Grim, p. 29. R. P., p. 119. Will.
Canterb., p. 6. Compare on Arnulf, Epist. 346, v. 11, p. 189.
[49] These are the words which Fitz-Stephen places in the mouths of the
king's courtiers.
[50] Herbert de Bosham, p. 109. Fitz-Stephen, p. 209, _et seq._
[51] "Dicens se observaturos regias consuetudines bonâ fide."
[52] Compare W. Canterb., p. 6.
[53] Grim, p. 29.
[54] Dr. Lingard supposes that Becket demanded that the customs should
be reduced to writing. This seems quite contrary to his policy; and
Edward Grim writes thus: "Nam domestici regis, dato consentiente
consilio, securem fecerant archepiscopum, quod _nunquam scriberentur_
leges, nunquam illarum fieret recordatio, si eum verbo tantum in
audientiâ procerum honorâsset," &c.--P. 31.
[55] See the letter of Gilbert Foliot, of which I do not doubt the
authenticity.
[56] According to the Cottonian copy, published by Lord Lyttelton,
Constitutions xii. xv. iv.
[57] Constitution iii.
[58] Constitutions i. and ii.
[59] Constitution vii., somewhat limited and explained by x.
[60] Herbert de Bosham. "Caute quidam non de plano negat, sed
differendum dicebat adhuc."
[61] "Superbus et vanus, de pastore avium factus sum pastor ovium; dudum
fautor histrionum et eorum sectator tot animarum pastor."--De Bosham, p.
126.
[62] Read the Epistles, apud Giles, v. iv. 1, 3, Bouquet, xvi. 210, to
judge of the skillful steering and difficulties of the Pope. There is a
very curious letter of an emissary of Becket, describing the death of
the Antipope (he died at Lucca, April 21). The canons of San Frediano,
in Lucca, refused to bury him, because he was already "buried in hell."
The writer announces that the Emperor also was ill, that the Empress had
miscarried, and that therefore all France adhered with greater devotion
to Alexander; _and the Legatine commission to the Archbishop of York had
expired without hope of recovery_. The writer ventures, however, to
suggest to Becket to conduct himself with modesty; to seek rather than
avoid intercourse with the king.--Apud Giles, iv. 240; Bouquet, p. 210.
See also the letter of John, Bishop of Poitiers, who says of the Pope,
"Gravi redimit poenitentiâ, illam qualem qualem quam Eboracensi
(fecerit), concessionem."--Bouquet, p. 214.
[63] I follow De Bosham. Fitz-Stephen says that he was repelled from the
gates of the king's palace at Woodstock; and that he _afterwards_ went
to Romney to attempt to cross the sea.
[64] "Quievisset ille, si non acquievissent illi."--Becket, Epist. ii.
p. 5. Compare the whole letter.
[65] He had been sworn not on the Gospels, but on a troplogium, a book
of church music.
[66] Goods and chattels at the king's mercy were redeemable at a
customary fine: this fine, according to the customs of Kent, would have
been larger than according to those of London.--Fitz-Stephen.
[67] "Minus fore malum verenda patris detecta deridere, quam patris
ipsius personam judicare."--De Bosham, p. 135.
[68] Fitz-Stephen states this demand at 500 marks, and a second 500 for
which a bond had been given to a Jew.
[69] Neither party denied this acquittance given in the King's name by
the justiciary Richard de Luci. This, it should seem, unusual
precaution, or at least this precaution taken with such unusual care,
seems to imply some suspicion that without it, the archbishop was liable
to be called to account; an account which probably, from the splendid
prodigality with which Becket had lavished the King's money and his own,
it might be difficult or inconvenient to produce.
[70] In an account of this affair, written later, Becket accuses Foliot
of aspiring to the primacy--"et qui adspirabant ad fastigium ecclesiæ
Cantuarensis, ut vulgo dicitur et creditur, in nostram perniciem, utinam
minus ambitiosè, quam avidè." This could be none but Foliot.--Epist.
lxxv. p. 154.
[71] "Tanquam in proelio Domini, signifer Domini, vexillum Domini
erigens; illud etiam Domini non solum spiritualiter, sed et figuraliter
implens. 'Si quis,' inquit, 'vult meus esse discipulus, abneget semet
ipsum, tollat crucem suam et sequatur me.'"--De Bosham, p. 143. Compare
the letter of the Bishops to the Pope.--Giles, iv. 256; Bouquet, 224.
[72] "Quasi pila minantia pilis," quotes Fitz-Stephen; "Memento,"
said De Bosham, "quondam te extitisse regis Anglorum signiferum
inexpugnabilem, nunc vero si signifer regis Angelorum expugnaris,
turpissimum."--p. 146.
[73] "Dicebant enim episcopi, quod adhuc, ipsâ die, intra decem dies
datæ sententiæ, eos ad dominum Papam appellaverat, et ne de cetero eum
judicarent pro seculari querelâ, quæ de tempore ante archipræsulatum ei
moveretur, auctoritate domini Papæ prohibuit."--Fitz-Stephen, p. 230.
[74] Herbert de Bosham, p. 146.
[75] De Bosham's account is, that notwithstanding the first
interruption, Leicester reluctantly proceeded till he came to the word
"perjured," on which Becket rose and spoke.
[76] De Bosham, p. 150.
[77] Foliot and the King's envoys crossed the same day. It is rather
amusing that, though Becket crossed the same day in an open boat, and,
as is incautiously betrayed by his friends, suffered much from the rough
sea, the weather is described as in his case almost miraculously
favorable, in the other as miraculously tempestuous. So that while
Becket calmly glided over, Foliot in despair of his life threw off his
cowl and cope.
[78] Compare, however, Roger of Pontigny. By his account, the Count of
Flanders, a relative and partisan of Henry ("consanguineus et qui partes
ejus fovebat") would have arrested him. He escaped over the border by a
trick.--Roger de Pontigny, p. 148.
[79] Giles, iv. 253; Bouquet, p. 217.
[80] Epist. Nuntii; Giles, iv. 254; Bouquet, p. 217.
[81] Becket writes from England to the Pope: "Quod petimus, summo
silentio petimus occultari. Nihil enim nobis tutum est, quum omnia ferè
referuntur ad regem, quæ nobis in conclavi vel in aurem dicuntur." There
is a significant clause at the end of this letter, which implies that
the emissaries of the Church did not confine themselves to Church
affairs: "De Wallensibus et Oweno, qui se principem nominat,
_provideatis_, quia Dominus Rex super hoc maximè motus est et
indignatus." The Welsh were in arms against the King: this borders on
high treason.--Apud Giles, iii. 1. Bouquet, 221.
[82] The word "oportuebat" was too bad for monkish, or rather for Roman,
ears.
[83] According to Roger of Pontigny, there were some of them "qui
acceptâ a rege pecuniâ partes ejus fovebant," particularly William of
Pavia.--p. 153.
[84] Herbert de Bosham.
[85] Alani Vita (p. 362); and Alan's Life rests mainly on the authority
of John of Salisbury. Herbert de Bosham suppresses this.
[86] The Abbot of Pontigny was an ardent admirer of Becket. See letter
of the Bishop of Poitiers, Bouquet, p. 214. Prayers were offered up
throughout the struggle with Henry for Becket's success at Pontigny,
Citeaux, and Clairvaux.--Giles, iv. 255.
[87] Compare Lingard. Becket on this news exclaimed, as is said, "His
wise men are become fools; the Lord hath sent among them a spirit of
giddiness; they have made England to reel to and fro like a drunken
man."--Vol. iii. p. 227. No doubt, he would have it supposed God's
vengeance for his own wrongs.
[88] There are in Foliot's letters many curious circumstances about the
collection and transmission of Peter's Pence. In Alexander's present
state, notwithstanding the amity of the King of France, this source of
revenue was no doubt important.--Epist. 149, 172, &c. Alexander wrote
from Clermont to Foliot (June 8, 1165) to collect the tax, to do all in
his power for the recall of Becket: to Henry, reprobating the
Constitutions; to Becket, urging prudence and circumspection. This was
later. The Pope was then on his way to Italy, where he might need
Henry's gold.
[89] Becket, Epist. 4, p. 7.
[90] Edw. Grim.
[91] Bouquet, xvi. 256.
[92] The letters of John of Salisbury are full of allusions to the
proceedings at Wurtzburg.--Bouquet, p. 524. John of Oxford is said to
have denied the oath (p. 533); also Giles, iv. 264. He is from that time
branded by John of Salisbury as an arch liar.
[93] John of Oxford was rewarded for this service by the deanery of
Salisbury, vacant by the promotion of the dean to the bishopric of
Bayeux. Joscelin, Bishop of Salisbury, notwithstanding the papal
prohibition that no election should take place in the absence of some of
the canons, chose the safer course of obedience to the King's mandate.
This act of Joscelin was deeply resented by Becket. John of Oxford's
usurpation of the deanery was one of the causes assigned for his
excommunication at Vezelay. See also, on the loyal but somewhat
unscrupulous proceedings of John of Oxford, the letter (hereafter
referred to) of Nicholas de Monte Rotomagensi. It describes the attempt
of John of Oxford to prepossess the Empress Matilda against Becket. It
likewise betrays again the double-dealing of the Bishop of Lisieux,
outwardly for the King, secretly a partisan and adviser of Becket. On
the whole, it shows the moderation and good sense of the empress, who
disapproved of some of the Constitutions, and especially of their being
written, but speaks strongly of the abuses in the Church. Nicholas
admires her skillfulness in defending her son.--Giles, iv. 187. Bouquet,
226.
[94] "Præcepit enim publicè et _compulit_ per vicos, per castella, per
civitates ab homine sene usque ab puerum duodenum beati Petri
successorem Alexandrum abjurare." William of Canterbury alone of
Becket's biographers (Giles, ii. p. 19) asserts this, but it is
unanswerably confirmed by Becket's Letter 78, iii. p. 192.
[95] The letter in Giles (vi. 279) is rather perplexing. It is placed by
Bouquet, agreeing with Baronius, in 1166; by Von Raumer (Geschichte der
Hohenstauffen, ii. p. 192) in 1165, before the Diet of Wurtzburg. This
cannot be right, as the letter implies that Alexander was in Rome, where
he arrived not before Nov. 1165. The embassy, though it seems that the
Emperor granted the safe-conduct, did not take place, at least as
regards some of the ambassadors.
[96] "Itaque per biennium ferme stetit." So writes Roger of Pontigny. It
is difficult to make out so long a time.--p. 154.
[97] Herbert de Bosham.--p. 226.
[98] Jer. i. 10.
[99] "Suavissimas literas, supplicationem solam, correptionem vero
nullam vel _modicam_ continentes."--De Bosham.
[100] Urbane by disposition as by name.--Ibid.
[101] Giles, iii. 365. Bouquet, p. 243.
[102] "Quin potius dura propinantes, dura pro duris, immo multo plus
duriora prioribus, reportaverunt."--De Bosham.
[103] The Pope had written (Jan. 28) to the bishops of England not to
presume to act without the consent of Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury.
April 5, he forbade Roger of York and the other prelates to crown the
King's son. May 3, he writes to Foliot and the bishops who had received
benefices of the King to surrender them under pain of anathema; to
Becket in favor of Joscelin, Bishop of Salisbury: he had annulled the
grant of the deanery of Salisbury to John of Oxford. May 10, to the
Archbishop of Rouen, denouncing the dealings of Henry with the Emperor
and the Antipope.--Giles, iv. 10 _a_ 80. Bouquet, 246.
[104] The inhibition given at Sens to proceed against the King, before
the Easter of the following year (A. D. 1166), had now expired. Moreover
he had a direct commission to proceed by Commination against those who
forcibly withheld the property of the see of Canterbury.--Apud Giles,
iv. 8. Bouquet, xvi. 844. At the same time the Pope urged great
discretion as to the King's person. Giles, iv. 12. Bouquet, 244.
[105] At the same time Becket wrote to Foliot of London, commanding him
under penalty of excommunication to transmit to him the sequestered
revenues of Canterbury in his hands.--Foliot appealed to the
Pope.--Foliot's Letter. Giles, vi. 5. Bouquet, 215.
[106] The curious History of the Monastery of Vezelay, by Hugh of
Poitiers (translated in Guizot, Collection des Mémoires), though it
twice mentions Becket, stops just short of this excommunication, 1166.
Vezelay boasted to be subject only to the See of Rome, to have been made
by its founder part of the patrimony of St. Peter. This was one great
distinction: the other was the unquestioned possession of the body of
St. Mary Magdalene, "l'amie de Dieu." Vezelay had been in constant
strife with the Bishop of Autun for its ecclesiastical, with the Count
of Nevers for its territorial, independence; with the monastery of
Clugny, as its rival. This is a document very instructive as to the life
of the age.
[107] A modern traveller thus writes of the church of Vezelay: "On voit
par le choix des sujets qui ont un sens, quel était l'esprit du temps et
la manière d'interpréter la religion. Ce n'était pas par la douceur ou
la persuasion qu'on voulait convertir, mais bien par la terreur. Les
discours des prêtres pourraient se résumer en ce peu de mots: 'Croyez,
ou sinon vous périssez misérablement, et vous serez éternellement
tourmentés dans l'autre monde!' De leur côté les artistes, gens
religieux, ecclésiastiques même pour la plupart, donnaient une forme
réelle aux sombres images que leur inspirait un zèle farouche. Je ne
trouve à Vezelay aucun de ces sujets que les ames tendres aimeraient à
retracer, tels que le pardon accordé au repentir, la récompense du
juste, &c.; mais au contraire, je vois Samuel égorgeant Agag; des
diables écartelant des damnés, ou les entraînant dans l'abîme; puis des
animaux horribles, des monstres hideux, des têtes grimaçantes exprimant
ou les souffrances des reprouvés, ou la joie des habitans de l'enfer.
Qu'on se représente la dévotion des hommes élevés au milieu de ces
images, et l'on s'étonnera moins des massacres des Albigeois."--Notes
d'un Voyage dans le Midi de la France, par Prosper Merimée, p. 43.
[108] Diceto gives the date Ascension Day, Herbert de Bosham St. Mary
Magdalene's Day (July 22d). It should seem that De Bosham's memory
failed him. See the letter of Nicolas de M. Rotomagensi, who speaks of
the excommunication as past, and that Becket was expected to
excommunicate _the King_ on St. Mary Magdalene's Day. This, if done at
Vezelay (as it were, over the body of the Saint, on her sacred day), had
been tenfold more awful.
[109] See the curious letter of Nicolas de Monte Rotomagensi, Giles iv.,
Bouquet, 250. This measure of Becket was imputed by the Archbishop of
Rheims to pride or anger ("extollentiæ aut iræ"): it made an unfavorable
impression on the Empress Matilda.--Ibid.
[110] Epist. Giles, iv. 185; Bouquet, 258.
[111] Epist. Giles, iv. 260; Bouquet, 256.
[112] Herbert de Bosham, p. 232.
[113] Epist. Giles, vi. 158; Bouquet, 259.
[114] "Non indignetur itaque Dominus noster deferre illis, quibus summus
omnium deferre non dedignatur, Deos appellans eos sæpius in sacris
literis. Sic enim dixit, 'Ego dixit, Dii estis,' et 'Constituti te Deum
Pharaonis,' et 'Deis non detrahere.'"--Epist. Giles, iii. p. 287;
Bouquet, 261.
[115] Foliot took the precaution of paying into the exchequer all
that he had received from the sequestered property of the see of
Canterbury.--Giles, v. p. 265. Lyttelton in Appendice.
[116] "Hæc est Domini regis toto orbe declamata crudelitas, hæc ab eo
persecutio, hæc operum ejus perversorum rumusculis undique divulgata
malignitas."--Giles, vi. 190; Bouquet, 265.
[117] Giles, iii. 6; Bouquet, 266. Compare letter of Bishop Elect of
Chartres.--Giles, vi. 211; Bouquet, 269.
[118] Foliot obtained letters either at this time or somewhat later from
his own Chapter of St. Paul, from many of the greatest dignitaries of
the English Church, the abbots of Westminster and Reading, and from some
distinguished foreign ecclesiastics, in favor of himself, his piety,
churchmanship, and impartiality.
[119] The German accounts are unanimous about the proceedings at
Wurtzburg and the oath of the English ambassadors. See the account in
Von Raumer (_loc. cit._), especially of the conduct of Reginald of
Cologne, and the authorities. John of Oxford is henceforth called, in
John of Salisbury's letters, jurator. Becket repeatedly charges him with
perjury.--Giles, iii. p. 129 and 351; Bouquet, 280. Becket there says
that John of Oxford had given up part of the "customs." He begs John of
Poitiers to let the King know this. See the very curious answer of John
of Poitiers.--Giles, vi. 251; Bouquet, 280. It appears that as all
Becket's letters to the Pope were copied and transmitted from Rome to
Henry, so John of Poitiers, outwardly the King's loyal subject, is the
secret spy of Becket. He speaks of those in England who thirst after
Becket's blood.
[120] The Pope acknowledges that this was extorted from him by fear of
Henry, and makes an awkward apology to Becket.--Giles, iv. 18; Bouquet,
309.
[121] He was crowned in Rome August 1. Compare next chapter--Sismondi,
Républiques Italiennes, ii. ch. x.; Von Raumer, ii. p. 209, &c.
[122] Giles, iii. 128; Bouquet, 272. Compare Letters to Cardinals Boso
and Henry.--Giles, iii. 103, 113; Bouquet, 174. Letter to Henry
announcing the appointment, December 20.
[123] "Si non omnia secundum beneplacitum succedant, ad præsens
dissimulet."--Giles, vi. 15; Bouquet, 277.
[124] See the curious letter of Master Lombard, Becket's instructor in
the canon law, who boldly remonstrates with the Pope. He asserts that
Henry was so frightened at the menace of excommunication, his subjects,
even the bishops, at that of his interdict, that they were in despair.
Their only hope was in the death or some great disaster of the
Pope.--Giles, iv. 208; Bouquet, 282.
[125] See Letters of Louis; Giles, iv. 308; Bouquet, 287.
[126] "Strangulavit," a favorite word.--Giles, iii. 214; Bouquet, 284.
[127] Giles, iii. 235; Bouquet, 285.
[128] Compare John of Salisbury, p. 539. "Scripsit autem rex Domino
_Coloniensis_, Henricum Pisanum et Willelmum Papiensem in Franciam
venturos ad novas exactiones faciendas, ut undique conradant et
contrahant, unde Papa Alexander in urbe sustentetur; alter, ut nostis,
levis est et mutabilis, alter dolosus et fraudulentus, uterque cupidus
et avarus: et ideo de facili munera coenabunt eos et ad omnem
injustitiam incurvabunt. Audito eorum detestando adventu formidare cæpi
præsentiam eorum causæ vestræ multum nocituram; et ne vestro et
vestrorum sanguine gratiam Regis Angliæ redimere non erubescant." He
refers with great joy to the insurrection of the Saxons against the
Emperor. He says elsewhere of Henry of Pisa, "Vir bonæ opinionis est,
sed Romanus et Cardinalis."--Epist. cc. ii.
[129] The English bishops declare to the Pope himself that they had
received this concession, _scripto formatum_, from the Pope, and that
the King was furious at what he thought a deception.--Giles, vi. 194;
Bouquet, 304.
[130] The Pope wrote to the legates to soothe Becket and the King of
France; he accuses John of Oxford of spreading false reports about the
extent of their commission; John Cummin of betraying his letters to the
Antipope.--Giles, vi. 54.
[131] So completely does Becket's fortune follow that of the Pope, that
on June 17 Alexander writes to permit Roger of York to crown the King's
son; no sooner is he safe in Benevento, August 22 (perhaps the fever had
begun), than he writes to his legates to confirm the excommunications of
Becket, which he had suspended.
[132] Muratori, sub ann. 1167; Von Raumer, ii. 210. On the 1st of August
Frederick was crowned; September 4, he is at the Pass of Pontremoli, in
full retreat, or rather flight.
[133] In a curious passage in a letter written by Herbert de Bosham in
the name of Becket, Frederick's defeat is compared to Henry's
disgraceful campaign in Wales. "My enemy," says Becket, "in the
abundance of his valor, could not prevail against a breechless and
ragged people ('exbraccatum et pannosum')."--Giles, viii. p. 268.
[134] "Credimus non esse juri consentaneum, nos ejus subire judicium vel
examen qui quærit sibi facere commercium de sanguine nostro, de pretio
utinam non iniquitatis, quærit sibi nomen et gloriam."--D. Thom. Epist.
Giles, iii. p. 15. The two legates are described as "plus avaritiæ quam
justitiæ studiosi."--W. Cant. p. 21.
[135] Giles, iii. 157, and John of Salisbury's remarkable expostulatory
letter upon Becket's violence.--Bouquet, p. 566.
[136] Herbert de Bosham, p. 248; Epist. Giles, iii. 16; Bouquet, 296.
[137] Giles, iii. p. 21. Compare the whole letter.
[138] Foliot rather profanely said, the primate seems to think that as
sin is washed away in baptism, so debts are cancelled by promotion.
[139] "Ad mortem nos invitat et sanguinis effusionem, cum ipse mortem,
quam nemo sibi dignabatur aut minabatur inferre, summo studio
declinaverit et suum sanguinem illibatum conservando, ejus nec guttam
effundi voluerit."--Giles vi. 196. Bouquet, 304.
[140] Giles, vi. 148. Bouquet, 304.
[141] Giles, vi. 135, 141. Bouquet, 306. William of Pavia recommended
the translation of Becket to some other see.
[142] Giles, iii. 28. Bouquet, 306.
[143] One of his letters to William of Pavia begins with this fierce
denunciation: "Non credebam me tibi venalem proponendum emptoribus, ut
de sanguine meo compareres tibi compendium de pretio iniquitatis,
faciens tibi nomen et gloriam."--Giles, iii. 153. Becket always
represents his enemies as thirsting after his blood.
[144] Giles, iv. 128; vi. 133. Bouquet, 312, 313.
[145] Epist. Giles, ii. 24.
[146] He was at Benevento, though with different degrees of power, from
August 22, 1167, to Feb. 24, 1170.
[147] Giles, iii. p. 55. Bouquet, 317. Read the whole letter beginning
"Anima mea."
[148] Bouquet, 324.
[149] Epist. Giles, iv. Bouquet, 320.
[150] Their instructions are dated May 25, 1168. See also the wavering
letters to Becket and the King of France.--Giles, iv. p. 25, p. 111.
[151] "Sed quid? Nobis ita consilium suspendentibus et hæsitantibus quid
agendum a pacis mediatoribus, multis et magnis viris, et præsertim qui
inter ipsos a viris religiosis et aliis archipræsuli amicissimis et
familiarissimis, adeo sicut et supra diximus, suasus, tractus et
impulsus est, ut haberetur persuasus."--De Bosham, p. 268.
[152] "Sed mox adjecit, quod nec rex nec pacis mediatores, vel alii, vel
etiam sui propriè æstimaverunt, ut adjiceret videlicet 'Salvo honore
Dei.'"--De Bosham, p. 262. In his account to the Pope of this meeting,
Becket suppresses his own tergiversation on this point.--Epist. Giles,
iii. p. 43. Compare John of Salisbury (who was not present). Bouquet,
395.
[153] "Ut quid nos et vos strangulatis?"--Epist. Giles, iii. 312.
[154] Throughout the Pope kept up his false game. He privately assured
the King of France that he need not be alarmed if himself (Alexander)
seemed to take part against the archbishop. The cause was safe in his
bosom. See the curious letter of Matthew of Sens.--Epist. Giles, iv. p.
166.
[155] "Nunc præter ecclesiæ causam, expressam ipsius etiam Dei causam
agebamus."--De Bosham, 272.
[156] De Bosham, 278.
[157] Giles, iii. 290; vi. 293. Bouquet, 346.
[158] Giles, iii. 322. Bouquet, 348.
[159] Epist. Giles, iv. 225.
[160] Fragm. Vit. Giles, i. p. 371.
[161] "Et quod omnes Romanos datâ pecuniâ inducant ut faciant
fidelitatem domino Papæ, dummodo in nostrâ dejectione regis Angliæ
satisfaciat voluntati."--Epist. ad Humbold. Card. Giles, iii. 123.
Bouquet, 350. Compare Lambeth, on the effect of Italian affairs on the
conduct of the Pope.--p. 106.
[162] Epist. 188, p. 266.
[163] Fitz-Stephen, p. 271.
[164] "Domo vestra flagellum suspendit impius, ne quod promereret,
propinquorum vestrorum ministerio veniat super eum."--Giles, iii. 338.
Bouquet, 358.
[165] Giles, iii. 201. Bouquet, 361.
[166] "Amici ad Thomam."--Giles, iv. 277. Bouquet, 370.
[167] Henry, it should be observed, waived all the demands which he had
hitherto urged against Becket, for debts incurred during his
chancellorship.
[168] Epist. Giles, iv. 216. Bouquet, 373.
[169] "Revocato consensu," writes the Bishop of Nevers, a moderate
prelate, who regrets the obstinacy of the nuncios. Giles, vi. 266.
Bouquet, 377. Compare the letter of the clergy of Normandy to the
Pope.--Giles, vi. 177. Bouquet, 377.
[170] Becket thought, or pretended to think, that under the
"dignitatibus" lurked the "consuetudinibus."--Giles, iii. 299. Bouquet,
379.
[171] "Ceteras vestras recepimus, et ipsas adhuc penes nos habemus, in
quibus terram nostram et personas regni a præfata Cantuarensis potestate
eximebatis, donec ipse in gratiam nostram rediisset."--Epist. Giles, vi.
291. Bouquet, 374.
[172] "Nam quod mundus sentit, dolet, ingemiscit, nullus adeo iniquam
causam ad ecclesiam Romanam defert, quin ibi spe lucri concepta ne
dixerim odore sordium, adjutorem inveniat et patronum."--Epist. iii.
133; Bouquet, 382.
[173] Giles, iii. 250; Bouquet, 387.
[174] Giles, iii. 334; Bouquet, 388.
[175] Giles, iii. 42; Bouquet, 390. Reginald of Salisbury was an
especial object of Becket's hate. He calls him one born in fornication
("fornicarium"), son of a priest. Reginald hated Becket with equal
cordiality. Becket had betrayed him by a false promise of not injuring
his father. "Quod utique ipsi non plus quam cani faceremus."--This
letter contains Reginald's speech about Henry having the College of
Cardinals in his pay.--Giles, iii. 225; Bouquet, 391.
[176] Becket writes to the Pope, January 1170. "Nec vos oportet de
cætero vereri, ne transeat ad schismaticos, quod sic eum Christus in
manu famuli sui, regis Francorum subegit, ut ab obsequio ejus non possit
amplius separari."--p. 48.
[177] Many difficult points arose. Did Becket demand not merely the
actual possessions of the see, but all to which he laid claim? There
were three estates held by William de Ros, Henry of Essex, and John the
Marshall (the original object of dispute at Northampton?), which Becket
specifically required and declared that he would not give up if exiled
for ever.--Epist. Giles, iii. 220; Bouquet, 400.
[178] Epist. Giles, iii. 262; Bouquet, 199.
[179] Epist. ibid.; Radulph de Diceto.
[180] According to Pope Alexander, Henry offered that his son should
give the kiss of peace in his stead.--Giles, iv. 55.
[181] See his letter to his emissaries at Rome.--Giles, iii. 219;
Bouquet, 401.
[182] Ricardus Dorubernensis apud Twysden. Lord Lyttelton has another
copy, in his appendix; in that a ninth article forbade the payment of
Peter's Pence to Rome; it was to be collected and brought into the
exchequer.
[183] Epist. Giles, iii. 195; Bouquet, 404.
[184] Giles, iii. 192; Bouquet, 405.
[185] Dated February 12, 1170.
[186] Epist. Giles, iii. 96; Bouquet, 416; Giles, iii. 108; Bouquet,
419. "Sed pro eâ mori parati sumus." He adds: "Insurgant qui voluerint
cardinales, arment non modo regem Angliæ, sed totum, si possent orbem in
perniciem nostram.... Utinam via Romana non gratis peremisset tot
miseros innocentes. Quis de cetero audebit illi regi registere quem
ecclesia Romana tot triumphis animavit, et armavit exemplo pernitioso
manante ad posteros."
[187] "Nec persuadebitur mundo, quod suasores isti Deum saperent;
sed potius pecuniam, quam immoderato avaritiæ ardore sitiunt,
olfecerunt."--Giles, iv. 291; Bouquet, 417.
[188] Becket's depression at this event is dwelt upon in a letter of
Peter of Blois to John of Salisbury. Peter traveled from Rome to Bologna
with the Papal legates. From them he gathered that either Becket
would soon be reconciled to the King or be removed to another
patriarchate.--Epist. xxii. apud Giles, i. p. 84.
[189] Dr. Lingard holds this letter, printed by Lord Lyttelton, and
which he admits was produced, to have been a forgery. If it was, it was
a most audacious one; and a most flagrant insult to the Pope, whom Henry
was even now endeavoring to propitiate through the Lombard Republics and
the Emperor of the East (see Giles, iv. 10). It is remarkable, too, that
though the Pope declares that this coronation, contrary to his
prohibition (Giles, iv. 30), is not to be taken as a precedent, he has
no word of the forgery. Nor do I find any contemporary assertion of its
spuriousness. Becket, indeed, in his account of the last interview with
the King, only mentions the general permission granted by the Pope at an
early period of the reign; and argues as if this were the only
permission. Is it possible that a special permission to York to act was
craftily interpolated into the general permission? But the trick may
have been on the side of the Pope, now granting, now nullifying his own
grants by inhibition. Bouquet is strong against Baronius (as on other
points) upon Alexander's duplicity.--p. 434.
[190] Giles, iii. 229.
[191] Giles, iii. 302.
[192] "Dictum fuit aliquem dixisse vel scripsisse regi Anglorum de
Archepiscopo ut quid tenetur exclusus? melius tenebitur inclusus quam
exclusus. Satisque dictum fuit intelligenti."--p. 272.
[193] Giles, iv. 30; Bouquet, 436.
[194] "Nam de consuetudinibus quas tanta pervicaciâ vindicare
consueverat nec mutire præsumpsit." Becket was as mute. The issue of the
quarrel seems entirely changed. The Constitutions of Clarendon recede,
the right of coronation occupies the chief place.--See the long letter,
Giles, 65.
[195] Humbold Bishop of Ostia advised the confining the triumph to the
depression of the Archbishop of York and the excommunication of the
Bishops.--Giles, vi. 129; Bouquet, 443.
[196] "Licet ei (regi sc.) peperceritis, dissimulare non audetis
excessus et crimina sacerdotum." This letter is a curious revelation of
the arrogance and subtlety of Becket.--Giles, iii. 77.
[197] It is called the Pax.
[198] Becket disclaims vengeance: "Neque hoc dicimus, Deo teste,
vindictam expetentes, quum scriptum esse noverimus, non quæres ultionem
... sed ut ecclesia correctionis exemplo possit per Dei gratiam in
posterum roborare, et poena paucorum multos ædificare."--Giles, iii. 76.
[199] See Becket's account.--Giles, iii. p. 81.
[200] Lambeth says: "Visum est autem nonnullis, quod incircumspectè
literarum vindictâ post pacem usus est, que _tantum pacis desperatione
fuerint datæ_"--p. 116. Compare pp. 119 and 152.
[201] Lord Lyttelton has drawn an inference from these words unfavorable
to the purity of Idonea's former life; and certainly the examples of the
Magdalene and the woman of Egypt, if this be not the case, were
unhappily chosen.
[202] Fitz-Stephen, pp. 281, 284.
[203] Becket calls York his ancient enemy: "Lucifer ponens sedem suum in
aquilone."
[204] Becket accuses the bishops of thirsting for his blood! "Let them
drink it." But this was a phrase which he uses on all occasions, even to
William of Pavia.
[205] "Si vero ita eidem Archiepiscopo et Cantuarensi Ecclesiæ
satisfacere inveniretis, ut poenam istam ipse videat relaxandam, vice
nostrâ per illum volumus adimpleri."--Apud Bouquet, p. 461.
[206] "Ipse tamen Londonias adiens, et ibi missarum solenniis
celebratis, quosdam excommunicavit."--Passio, iii. p. 154.
[207] Since this passage was written an excellent and elaborate paper
has appeared in the Quarterly Review, full of local knowledge. I
recognize the hand of a friend from whom great things may be expected. I
find, I think, nothing in which we disagree, though that account, having
more ample space, is more particular than mine. (Reprinted in Memorials
of Canterbury, by Rev. A. P. Stanley.)
[208] Fitz-Stephen, De Bosham, Grim, _in loc._
[209] See, on the former history of these knights, Quarterly Review,
vol. xciii. p. 355. The writer has industriously traced out all that can
be known, much which was rumored about these men.
[210] Tuesday, Dec. 29. See, on the fatality of Tuesday in Becket's
life, Q. R. p. 357.
[211] Grim, p. 71. Fitz-Stephen.
[212] For the accurate local description, see Quarterly Review, p. 367.
[213] Grim, 70.
[214] John of Salisbury. Bouquet, 619, 620.
[215] Giles, iv. 162; Bouquet, 467. It was fitting that the day after
that of the Holy Innocents should be that on which should rise up this
new Herod.
[216] See the letter of Arnulf of Lisieux.--Bouquet, 469.
[217] The Quarterly reviewer has the merit of tracing out the
extraordinary fate of the murderers. "By a singular reciprocity, the
principle for which Becket had contended, that priests should not be
subjected to the secular courts, prevented the trial of a layman for the
murder of a priest by any other than a clerical tribunal." Legend
imposes upon them dark and romantic acts of penance; history finds them
in high places of trust and honor.--pp. 377, _et seqq._ I may add that
John of Oxford five years after was Bishop of Norwich. Ridel too became
of Ely.
[218] Diceto, p. 557.
[219] This stipulation, in Henry's view, canceled hardly any; as few,
and these but trifling customs, had been admitted during his reign.
[220] The scene is related by all the monkish chroniclers.--Gervaise,
Diceto, Brompton, Hoveden.
[221] Peter of Blois was assured by the two cardinal legates of Henry's
innocence of Becket's death. See this letter, which contains a most
high-flown eulogy on the transcendent virtues of Henry.--Epist. 66.
[222] On the effect of the death, and the immediate concourse of the
people to Canterbury, Lambeth, p. 133.
[223] Herbert de Bosham, writing fourteen years after Becket's death,
declares him among the most undisputed martyrs. "Quod alicujus martyrum
causa justior fuit aut apertior ego nec audivi, nec legi." So completely
were clerical immunities part and parcel of Christianity.
[224] The enemies of Becket assigned base reasons for his opposition to
the King. "Ecclesiasticam etiam libertatem, quam defensatis, non ad
animarum lucrum sed ad augmentum pecuniarum, episcopos vestros
intorquere." See the charges urged by John of Oxford.--Giles, iv. p.
188.
[225] Especially in Epist. 19. "Interim."
[226] It is not just to judge the clergy by the crimes of individual
men, but there is one case, mentioned by no less an authority than John
of Salisbury, too flagrant to pass over: it was in Becket's own
cathedral city. Immediately after Becket's death the Bishops of Exeter
and Worcester were commissioned by Pope Alexander to visit St.
Augustine's, Canterbury. They report the total dilapidation of the
buildings and estates. The prior elect "Jugi, quod hereticus damnat,
fluit libidine, et hinnit in foeminas, adeo impudens ut libidinem, nisi
quam publicaverit, voluptuosam esse non reputat." He debauched mothers
and daughters: "Fornicationis abusum comparat necessitati." In one
village he had seventeen bastards.--Epist. 310.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
The original book is an excerpt of the author's "History of Latin
Christianity, Vol. IV.," chapter VIII, pages 309-424. A copy of that
volume at http://archive.org/details/historylatinchri04milm was used to
help correct typographical errors in this eBook.
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
preference was found in this book or its source; otherwise they were not
changed.