<g>Abbas</g> de Tynterne habet Grang: de Asarto
ubi sunt tres caruc. terr. prec. cujuslibet, 1 0 0
De prato ibidem quatuor acr. prec. cujuslibet, 0 0 6
De silva cedua per annum, 0 5 0
De redd. assis, 1 2 0
De plantis et perquisitis, 0 6 8
De gurgite et piscar. in Weyt, 1 16 0
De pastura vasti, 0 4 2
Item idem habet apud Rogenston quatuor
caruc. terræ prec. cujuslibet, 1 0 0
De gardino et curilag, 0 1 6
De Molend. per annum, 0 15 0
De pastura de vasto, 0 10 0
Apud Marthog’m duas caruc. terr. et dimid.
et novemdecim acr. prec. cujuslibet car. 1 0 0
Et prec. cujuslibet acr. de prædictis novemdecim
acris, 0 0 3
De redd. assis ibidem, 0 5 0
In parochia de Magor de redd, 0 3 0
In parochia de Wundy, 0 13 4
Et in eadem parochia novemdecim acr.
terræ prec. cujuslibet, 0 0 2
Et ibidem quatuordecim acr. prati prec. cujuslibet, 0 0 6
Apud motam duas caruc. terr. prec. cujuslibet, 1 10 0
De prato ibidem quatuor acr. prec. cujuslibet, 0 0 6
In la Bredeme deme in paroch de magir.
quinquaginta et duas acr. prati. prec. cujuslibet, 0 0 6
Ibid. in aedil. assis, 0 10 6
Apud Penthleng. tres caruc. terr. prec. cujuslibet, 0 6 8
Apud Exellek sex caruc. terr. prec. cujuslibet, 0 6 8
Apud platelande tres caruc. terr. prec. cujuslibet, 0 6 8
Apud Hardstrete unam caruc. terr. prec., 1 4 0
Ibidem viginti quatuor acr. ten. prec. omnium, 0 6 0
In villa de Sturggyl de redd. assis, 0 4 0
Apud Eriket unum molend foler prec., 0 6 8
Ibidem ac redd. assis, 0 12 0
Do molend, 1 10 0
De una gurgite et dimid. per annum, 2 0 0
De sub bosco venet, 0 13 4
De pannag, 0 6 8
De perquis cur, 0 13 4
De melle vend, 0 5 0
De Fanneria, 2 0 0
Apud Penbo sexdecim acr. terr. prec. cujuslibet, 0 0 6
De redd. assis apud Uskam, 0 1 4
De Willielmo de Hereford pro quadem grang.
de redd. assis, 0 0 6
De Johanne de Stonsœu’arl pro quadam grang. 0 1 8
De Landavenio triginta acr. pastur. prec. cujuslibet, 0 0 3
---------
Summa £38 5 0
---------
Abbas de Tynterne habet cens. reacc.
prec. omium, 7 10 0
De mult. duo mill. ducent. et sexaginta
quatuor exitus omnium, 37 14 8
De ovibus matricibus mill. exitus omnium, 25 0 0
--------
Summa £70 4 8
[126] Monaster. de Eleemosyna paternalis domus de Tynterna.
Tynterna in Hibernia, } filiales domus de
Kingeswodde in Gloucestershire, } Tynterna.
[127] Archdale has preserved the following names and dates of some of
the abbots:--
John Torrell was the first; another John occurs in 1308; Roger Codd,
1346; David Furlong succeeded; Thomas Wyggemore, 1355; William Walsh,
1356; Thomas Young, 1471; John Power was the last abbot, he surrendered
it in the 31st Henry VIII.
The abbey itself is stated to have been rebuilt in 1447. It was
granted, with all its lands and appurtenances, 27th August, 18th
Elizabeth, in capite, to Anthony Colcleugh, at the annual rent of £26.
4s., Irish money.
King John’s Charter is dated Hamstede, iii die Decembris--but no year.
[128] King Henry the First’s Charter, authorising Roger de Berkeley’s
gift of Ackeolt to the monks, will be found in the appendix to the
Monasticon, with William de Berkeley’s letter to Pope Innocent, praying
for his ratification of the grant of Kingswood, followed by five other
charters, confirming the land at Kingswood, from Roger de Berkeley the
elder, Roger de Berkeley the younger, and King Henry the Second. The
last instrument given in the former edition of Dugdale, is a cession
from Nicholas de Kingestone of certain land called Jonesham.
[129] Monasticon and Baronage.
[130] The following is a list of the pensions granted to the monks of
this house at the dissolution:--
“Here cumeth such stipends as is thought necessary and expedient by
us, John Tregonwell, Nicholas Peyntz, Knight; John Peyntz, Esquyer;
John Freeman; and Edward Gosewike, commissioners appointed for the
dissoluement of the late monastery of Kingswood, in Wiltes, for the
abbote and monks thereunto, euery of them appoynted what they shall
have by yere during their lyves, that is to say--
Furst to William Bandlaie, late abbot _li._ _s._ _d._
there, by yere, i
-- to Thomas Redinge, prior there,
by yere, vi xiii iiii
-- to John Wensbury, monke there,
by yere, iiii xiii iiii
-- to John Gethin, monke there, and
curate of the parishe, by yere, iiij xiii iiii
-- to William Wotton, grangitor
there, by yere, iiij vj viii
-- to William Hughes, monke there,
by yere, iiij
-- to John Sodbury, monke there,
by yere, iiij
-- to Nicholas Hampton, subprior
there, iiij
-- to William Pakker, monke there, iiij
-- to Nicholas Acton, cellarer there, iiij xiii iiij
-- to Edward Ermingham, sexton
there, iiij
-- to Thomas Orchard, monke there, iiij
-- to John Stonley, monke there,
being no prest, xi”
To this are annexed the signatures as above.
[131] Mores Cathol., quoting Epist. lib. iv. p. 17.
[132] Floquet, Hist. du Parl. de Norm., quoted in Mor. Cath.
[133] Mor. Cath., quoting St. Ambros. Orat. lib. v.
[134] Macaulay.
[135] Ibid.
[136] Macaulay’s History of England.
[137] Bishop Godwin. See Pict. Hist. Eccl. Affairs.
[138] Blunt’s Sketch of the Reformation in England. See Pict. Histor.
ii. 404. Hist. and Fate of Sacrilege.
[139] Latimer’s Sermons. Hist. above quoted, vol. ii. 404.
[140] It would be difficult in the present day to find much of the
church property, thus alienated, in the hands of any descendant of
those royal favourites on whom it was sacrilegiously bestowed.
[141] Letter from Fitzwilliam to Cromwell, dated at Hampton Court,
Sept. 12, 1537, and given in Pict. Hist. vol. ii. p. 405.
[142] Latimer’s Sermons, &c., quoting Blunt’s Sketch of the
Reformation. Ibid. vol. ii. p. 405.
[143] See Letter from Coverdale to Cromwell in 1538.
[144] Hist. Henry VIII.
[145] Madden, Penalties, p. 49.
[146] Page 77.
[147] According to Hall, the following barbarous verses were set up in
great letters upon the stake or gallows, to which the unhappy victim
was bound:--
David-Darvel-Gatheren,
As saith the Welshmen,
Fetched outlaws out of hell;
Now is he come with spear and shield,
In harness to burn in Smithfield,
For in Wales he may not dwell.
And <g>Forest</g> the friar,
That obstinate liar,
That wilfully shall be dead;
In his contumacy
Of the Gospel, doth deny
The King to be Supreme Head.
[148] See the facts in Hall, Stow, and Godwin, abridged in the popular
History quoted above.
[149] Warton, Monastic Influence on Poetry and the Fine Arts.
[150] Brit. Monach., Manners and Customs of Monks and Nuns.
[151] Opus citat. Brit. Monach.
[152] Fosbroke, in quotation of various ancient authors, p. 259.
[153] Gregory had a whip with which he threatened the young clerks
and singing boys, when they were out, or failed in the notes; they
also fasted the day before they were to chant, and constantly ate
beans.--_Hawkins’s Music._ Fosbroke, p. 273.
[154] Knighton, a canon of St. Mary-le-Prè, has, to his own disgrace,
recorded his bitter condemnation of the translation made by his
contemporary <g>Wickliffe</g>:--“Christ intrusted his gospel,” says
that ecclesiastic, “to the clergy and doctors of the <g>church</g>, to
minister it to the laity and weaker sort, according to their exigencies
and several occasions; but this Master John Wickliffe, by translating
it, has made it vulgar, and has laid it more open to the laity, and
even to women who can read, than it used to be to the most learned of
the clergy, and those of the best understanding; and thus the gospel
jewel, the evangelical feast, is thrown about and trodden under feet of
swine.”--Decem Script. Col. 2644.
Such language, as an ingenious and learned divine has justly observed,
was looked upon as good reasoning by the clergy of that day, who saw
not with what satire it was edged against themselves.--Nichols’s
Append. to the Hist. of Leicester, vol. i. p. 108. Fosbroke, p. 253.
[155] Fosbroke, p. 252.
[156] Fosbroke, p. 246.
[157] Ibid. p. 247.
[158] Conviv. Religios.
[159] Cruditis. Fosbroke, p. 253.
[160] Mem. de Petrarque, iii. 606. Fosbroke.
[161] Fosbroke, quoting Parsons’ MSS. in the Bodl. Libr., Oxford.
[162] One of the last important occasions, on which the abbey seal of
Tinterne was used, was in ratifying an instrument, whereby the abbot
and convent appointed Charles, Earl of Worcester, and Henry Somerset,
Lord Herbert, his son and heir apparent, chief stewards of their manor
of _Acle_, or Oakley, in Norfolk, 6th Hen. VIII.
[163] Taylor’s Index Monasticus Pref. ap. Brit. Monach. p. 229, note.
[164] MS. Harl. 1051. Fosbroke, art. Cloister.
[165] Monachus quidam Sagiensis cænobii de cella quadam in partibus
Angliæ longinquis ad aliam cellam loci ejusdem remotis in Walliæ
finibus, super mare Milvordicum et Hibernicum gyrovagando discurrens,
ne _solus_ esset in via, quia, vae soli!--non socium sibi, sed
_sociam_, elegit; ejus turpitudo, terque quaterque, turpiter deprehensa
fuit. Adeo quidem, quod à Castellanis partium illarum demum captus
et in carcerem missus, sociaque ipsius et confusionis causâ ribaldis
exposita fuerit et garcionibus prostituta. Tales autem honores, et
tales honestates ex monachis ad cellulam missis ordine monastico
pervenire solent.--MSS. Cott. Tiber B. 13. ap. Fosbroke, p. 271.
[166] In the notes to Robert of Gloucester’s <g>Chronicle</g> [vol.
iii. § 8-9] we read:--“About this tyme the order of <g>Cysteaux</g>
was fyrst brought into Englande by one Walter, that founded the first
abbey of that religion at <g>Ryuall</g>.” The question, however, has
been set at rest by the extracts already given from the Chronicles of
Tinterne, in which the date of their appearance in Englande is fixed at
the beginning of the twelfth century, regnante _Henrico primo_.
[167] Quidam monachi dicunt _omnes esse monachos qui in paradiso
erant_, vel potius nullum ibi esse non monachum.
[168] Mox ut mortuus fuero, cucullam Ordinis Cisterciensis mihi
induite, et ne fiat me vivente, diligentissime cavete. MS. Roy. Lib. 7.
A. III. ap. Fosbroke, 173.
So--when the devil was sick, the devil a monk would be;
But when the devil got well, the devil a monk was he.
[169] It appears, however, that the books so carefully transcribed in
the monasteries were seldom understood, or even perused, by the higher
clergy; for it is told that Lewis Beaumont, bishop of Durham, 1317,
understood not a word of either Latin or English. In reading the _bull_
of his appointment to that see--which he had been taught to spell
for several days before--he stumbled upon the word _metropolitice_,
which he in vain endeavoured to pronounce; and, having hammered over
it a considerable time, at last cried out in his mother tongue, “Soit
pour dite! Par Seynt Lowys, il ne fu pas curteis qui ceste parole ici
escrit.”--Robert de Greystanes. Anglia Sacra, 1. 761., as quoted by
Craik, 1. 137.
[170] Sketches of the History of Literature and Learning in England,
vol. i. p. 69. By Geo. L. Craik.
[171] See Fosbroke. Dallaway’s Heraldic Enquiries.
[172] Henniker, Norman Tiles.
[173] Cowel, Mosaic Work, apud Fosbroke.
[174] The Signor left the banks of the Wye the day after relating
the preceding anecdote, or the narrator would have shared another
experiment with him. “While at Derby, however, it is related that
such was the wonderful power of his imitative faculties, that he far
outsoared the violins when playing in _alt_, whose masters laid them
down in the orchestra in astonishment at being so entirely eclipsed by
a human voice. They next played a hunting song, in which the signor
appeared to equal advantage. The rich and mellow tones of the French
horn were as successfully imitated, as the still finer and more
distinct ones of the violins; and in some shakes he quite enraptured
his audience. They then played a full piece together, which was such a
grand display of his talents, that the admiration and delight of his
auditors could go no further--they seemed electrified by his powers.”
[175] The river’s bank is here the haunt of otters, and the resort of
herons and halcyon kingfishers. The rocky precipices abound in rabbits,
foxes, weasels, martins, and polecats; whilst the more umbrageous parts
afford protection to hedgehogs, dormice, and squirrels.--_Thomas._
[176] Ibid.
[177] See view of the Refectory.
[178] See view of the door leading into cloisters.
[179] “The Beaufort Arms,” where the writer experienced much civility
with moderate charges, is, unfortunately, too small to accommodate more
than a party of three or four persons; but it is comfortable.
[180] See page 38-62.
[181] See page 33, passim.
[182] See page 38-39, passim.
[183] See page 65, passim.
[184] Running across the neck of land, it shortens the distance between
the Abbey and Tinterne Parva.
[185] In this engraving, the modern iron gate which shuts up
this passage, dividing the church from the cloisters, has been
_intentionally_ omitted, as not in harmony with the subject.
[186] See page 52, passim.
[187] Published by order of Parliament, 1827.
[188] Acle, or Oakley, eleven miles east from Norwich, and situated
near the Bure, on grounds which rise suddenly from the marshes below.
The church, dedicated to St. Edmund, is a rectory, value £20.
[189] Monast. ii. 724, v. 269.
[190] Munimenta Antiqua, vol. iii. p. 250.
[191] Munimenta Antiqua, vol. iii. p. 252.
[192] Dugdale’s Baronage, vol. i. p. 327.
[193] Munimenta Antiqua, vol. iii. p. 251.
[194] By Gertrude, daughter of Manners, Earl of Rutland, his first
wife, he had issue four sons and three daughters. His second wife was
Elizabeth, widow of Sir William Cavendish, whose son Henry married the
Lady Grace, one of the earl’s daughters by his first wife.
[195] Messrs. Brayley and Britton: 1805. King, Whitelocke, Itinerary,
and other sources.
[196] The cut here inserted represents specimens of [supposed] ancient
armour in the Gateway Tower.
[197] Raglan, elegans comitis Wigorniæ Castellum, etc. Silur., p. 510.
[198] Son of Thomas ap Gwillim ap Jenkin, by his wife Maud, daughter
and heiress of Sir John Morley, Knt., Lord of Raglan Castle.
[199] This gallant warrior fell by the side of his master, Henry V., at
the battle of Agincourt.
[200] Collins, vol. iii. 25, 27.
[201] Robert Hillyard.
[202] Speed, p. 858, 859. Which the reader may compare with Dugdale,
p. 257; and Collins, vol. iii. p. 28, by whom the circumstances are
somewhat differently stated. See also Hollinshed, p. 672.
[203] The Herberts in former times were spread all over this county,
and possessed several of its best estates and mansions; but,
notwithstanding the immense possessions of this ancient family, yet it
is very singular that there is not one landowner of £50 a year of the
name of Herbert to be found in the whole county; although it must be
allowed that the family of _Jones_ of Lanarth, is of an elder branch of
the Earls of Pembroke.--_Williams._
[204] Grafton, vol. ii. p. 15, 16.
[205] Whose mother and Henry Duke of Somerset were brother’s children.
[206] At the Festival of the Virgin Mary, 1514.
[207] See notice of Chepstow, ante, page 4.
[208] See vol. i. of this work, art. Arundel Castle.
[209] As stated by Collins--Mr. Thomas says, “at Raglan Castle; adding,
‘two headless and mutilated parts of alabaster statues of this nobleman
and his lady, which are, alas, kicked about by every chance visitor
to the church, alone remain of the magnificent tomb erected to their
memory!’”--_Raglan_, p. 137.
[When the Editor visited the place in August, 1848, the monument
presented the same pitiable state of dilapidation--a bitter homily on
the vanity of wealth, birth, and titles--yet in sad but perfect harmony
with the desolation of the adjoining Castle.]
[210] Collins, 1768, vol. iii. p. 208.
[211] Illustrations of British History, vol. i. p. 490.
[212] Illustrations of British History, vol. i. p. 490, 491, ed. 1838.
[213] History of England, _Manners and Customs_, book viii. chap. vi.
p. 629.
[214] Till the year 1627, it was customary in these two counties to
have but one sheriff.
[215] Charles Sackville was the direct descendant of the great Thomas
Lord Buckhurst. Of his youth it is disgraceful enough to say, that he
was the companion of Rochester and Sedley; but his mature life, like
that of Sedley, was illustrated by public spirit, and his fortune
enabled him to be a beneficent friend to men of genius. He attended
the Duke of York as a volunteer in the Dutch war, and finished his
well-known song, “_To all you ladies now at land_,” on the day before
the sea-fight in which Opdam, the Dutch admiral, was blown up with all
his crew:--
“To all you ladies now at land,
We men at sea indite;
But first would have you understand,
How hard it is to write;
The Muses now, and Neptune too,
We must implore to write to you.
With a fa, la, la, la, la.
“Should foggy Opdam chance to know
Our sad and dismal story;
The Dutch would scorn so weak a foe,
And quit their fort at _Goree_;
For what resistance can they find
From men who’ve left their hearts behind!
With a fa, la, la, la, la.”
--_Campbell’s British Poets_, p. 316.
[216] Peck’s Curiosa.
[217] Ibid.
[218] Opus citatum in Pict. Hist. Engl., book vii. chap. vi. p. 629.
[219] It was fortunate that, while the aristocracy were thus becoming
more vitiated, the common people had become more temperate than
formerly; but to this assertion Stow adds--“It was not from abstinence
but necessity; ale and beer being small, and wines in price above their
reach.” During the period of the Commonwealth, greater temperance in
eating and drinking naturally prevailed, from the ascendancy of Puritan
principles, which recommended simplicity and self-denial.--_Manners and
Customs_, Pict. Hist.
[220] Something like the court-suit of Prince Esterhazy.
[221] Pictor. Hist. Engl., cit. _Winwood_, book vi. chap. vi. p. 630.
[222] Harleian MS., quoted by Miss Aikin, in her ‘Memoirs of the Court
of James I.’ This Lady Compton, who valued herself upon being “so
reasonable,” was the daughter and sole heiress of Sir John Spencer,
who was probably the wealthiest citizen of his time, as he died worth
nearly a million sterling. He was called “The Rich Spencer.” Lord
Compton, her husband, was so transported at his inheritance, that
he went out of his wits, and remained in that condition for several
years.--_Winwood_, quoted in the Pict. Hist. of England.
[223] Osborne’s Memoirs of King James, in Pict. Hist. of Engl., book
vii. chap. vi. p. 630.
[224] _Manners and Customs_, Pict. Hist. of England.
[225] Ibid.
[226] History of England, _Manners and Customs_, quoting from “Peck’s
Curiosa,” “Evelyn’s Diary,” “Strutt,” “Somers’ Tracts,” and “Court of
King James.”
[227] So much was swearing identified with loyalty, that Cromwell,
after a skirmish with the Scottish horse at Musselburgh, sent word to
the Parliament that the enemy had English cavaliers in their ranks,
_because_ he heard one of their wounded exclaiming with his last
breath, “_D--n me! I’m going to my King._”--_Howel’s Letters_, quoted
in the History of England.
[228] The woodcut here introduced represents the <g>boar’s head</g>--a
favourite dish in the olden time--on its way from the kitchen to the
banquet-room.
[229] See notice of him in this work, art. “Chepstow Castle.”
[230] Tour throughout South Wales and Monmouthshire, by J. T. Barber.
[231] Bayly, p. 36-44.
[232] Churchyard. See Wood’s “Rivers of Wales.”
[233] Was it here that Henry Bolingbroke was confined, as traditionally
believed?
[234] The reader is probably aware that in certain churches, palaces,
&c., obnoxious pictures and statues were treated in this manner by the
soldiery; and hence the lamentable destruction of these works of Art,
which were once the ornaments of the country.
[235] See the Woodcut.
[236] See Thomas’s Tinterne, p. 133.
[237] See paper in the “Archæological Journal.”
[238] See Description and Anecdote in a subsequent page of this Volume.
[239] Archæolog. Journal, art. “Raglan Castle.”
[240] Ibidem.
[241] By removing the ivy from a portion of the great Hall, in the
course of last autumn, another magnificent window has been brought into
view; and by a similar course of discovery, other interesting features
of baronial splendour will no doubt reappear.--[Note by Mr. G. May,
“Warden” of the Castle, whose efforts to preserve what remains, and
bring into view what is yet concealed of these noble ruins, is alike
creditable to his taste and his industry.]
[242] This appears ungenerous. There seems no just ground for
suspecting the Marquess of any motive incompatible with the most
devoted loyalty.--See his own declaration in a subsequent page of this
article.
[243] Lord Clarendon’s Hist., vol. iii. p. 154, ed. 1706.
[244] “Out of a window they (the rabble) killed Colonel Lawley, and two
officers more, without hurting a common soldier.”--_Clar. Hist._
[245] Lord Clarendon’s Hist., vol. ii. p. 156, ed. 1706.
[246] An allusion possibly to some design on the part of Charles
to forsake rebellious London, and make York his capital; but more
probably--as I am reminded by a correspondent--to an old prophetic saw
in rhyme, viz.--
“Lincoln _was_, London _is_, and York _shall be_
The greatest city of the three.”
[247] Ubi Troja nunc seges.
[248] Literally, having been created Marquess very recently.
[249] This quaint phrase may mean two days or two months.
[250] Thus the King had his money, and the poor Marquess was
indulged with the royal conversation, which Dr. Bayly worked up into
the “Certamen Religiosum,” a duodecimo of 232 pages.--_Certamen
Religiosum_, p. 2-11, Lond. 1649.
[251] In variety of wines, and the copious use of them, the wealthier
classes of England in this age were not a whit behind their ancestors.
The arrival of the Danish King and his courtiers in the reign of
James, had greatly increased the national thirst; insomuch that it
was observed, “The Danes have again conquered England!” In the reign
of Charles the First the <g>Cavaliers</g> were as little famed for
temperance as the Courtiers of King James. The English followed
also, very scrupulously, the Danish custom of drinking healths; and
foreigners were astonished to find that when a company amounted to some
twenty or thirty, it was still expected that every guest should drink
the health of each in rotation. Such festivals, of course, inflamed
the love of quarrel. Toasts were given which produced discussion,
or refusal to drink them; and if the overheated parties did not
immediately come to blows, still duels and bloodshed were the usual
consequences. Sometimes, when a lady or an absent patron was toasted,
the company pledged the toast upon their knees. Among other disgusting
modes of drinking healths at this period, the toper sometimes mingled
his own blood with the wine.--“_Manners and Customs of England._”
[252] Apophthegm 25, Bayly, p. 52.
[253] Nothing can be more wondered at than that the King should amuse
himself about forming a new army in counties which had been already
vexed and worn by his own troops, and the licence of those governors
whom he had put over them; and not have immediately repaired into the
west, where he had an army already formed, and a people generally well
devoted to his service; whither all his broken troops, and General
Gerrard, might have transported themselves, before Fairfax could have
given them any interruption.--_Clarendon._
[254] The branch of the Morgan family here mentioned, like that of
Worcester, were devoted to the royal cause, and on all occasions
evinced that unshrinking loyalty which added lustre to their descent.
In the halls of Tredegar, as in Raglan Castle, Charles found an
asylum--the only asylum, perhaps, that could then be a sure guarantee
for his personal safety. The Morgan family was descended from the
ancient princes of South Wales, and as much distinguished by its
hospitality as its antiquity.
[255] Sir Henry Ellis’s Orig. Lett., vol. iii. p. 310.
[256] Grandfather of the famous Dean of St. Patrick’s.
[257] Apophthegms.--See the former _note_.
[258] Among what are called “_The King’s Pamphlets_,” in the British
Museum, the collection of which, begun by a Mr. George Thomason,
and continued by order of King Charles the First, there is a single
folio sheet printed at London, containing “VERSES lately written by
Thomas Earle of Strafford.”--_Sir Henry Ellis’s “Original Letters”
illustrative of English History_, vol. iii. p. 238.
[259] Of this disastrous event a sympathising French poet writes:--
Tel qu’un lion forcé de repaire en repaire,
En dépit des chasseurs regagne sa tanière.
Mais <g>Charles</g>, en cet asile investi sans sécours,
Ne pouvait s’y flatter que d’un frêle recours--
Trop déplorable objet de tant de trahisons,
Indigné, trainé de prisons en prisons,
L’imfortuné Monarque, abreuvé de misères,
Finit sur le billot ses destins sanguinaires.
[260] See Thomas’s “Tinterne,” p. 78.
[261] Rowland Williams of Llangibby was distinguished by royal favour,
both in the reign of Queen Elizabeth and that of her successor, and
in proof thereof received the honour of knighthood. His grandson, the
Sir Trevor Williams here mentioned, in consideration of his loyal
attachment to the interests of King Charles, was created a baronet on
the 14th of May, 1642.
[262] See Letter published by Mr. Thomas in his “Account of Raglan,”
_note_ 23.
[263] Stated by Rushworth, as only 1,500 men, while the garrison in the
Castle amounted to 800 men.
[264] Of this document the following is a copy:--
“To our trusty and well-beloved Sir Thos. Glenham, Sir Thos. Tildesley,
Col. H. Washington, Col. Tho. Blagge, Governors of our Cities and
Towns of Oxford, Lichfield, Worcester, and Wallingford, and all other
Commanders of any Towns, Castles, and Forts, in our Kingdome of
England:--
<g>“Charles R.</g>
“Having resolved to comply with the desires of our Parliament in every
thing which may be for the good of our subjects, and leave no means
unessayed for removing all differences amongst us, therefore We have
thought fit, the more to evidence the reality of our intentions of
settling an happy and firm peace, to require you to quit those Towns,
Castles, and Forts intrusted to you by us, and to disband all the
Forces under your several commands.
“Newcastle, the 10th June, 1646.”
[265] The Marquess, like many other royalists, considered that the King
was under restraint; and that it was his _duty_ to disobey the royal
orders for surrender. In fact, Charles himself had written to the Queen
that he was in durance in the hands of the barbarous and perfidious
Scots; and that she, his son, and all his faithful counsellors, were
to regard every order from him, C. R., as forced or surreptitious.
The Marquess, therefore, regarded the document with well-grounded
suspicion, and took exception to his Majesty’s warrant, because, while
it specified others, it did not name him or his Castle.--_Hist. of
Engl., Civ. and Milit. Transact._ p. 356.
[266] It is worthy of remark, that Sir Thomas Fairfax, on his arrival,
does not so much continue the siege already commenced by Colonel
Morgan, as begin a new siege by a new summons. It was thought, perhaps,
that the Marquess would be more disposed to surrender his Castle to a
man of General Fairfax’s rank than to Colonel Morgan; and from what
follows, the opinion was not without foundation.
[267] A prohibition, by-the-by, which the noble owner and his royal
master do not seem to have applied to themselves.--See _Certamen
Religiosum_.
[268] “An exact and true Relation of the many several Messages
that have passed between his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax and the
Marquess of Worcester, Governor of Raglan Castle, touching the
Surrender thereof: Together with a Copy of the Propositions sent to
the General from the Marquess of Worcester out of Raglan Castle,
and his Excellency’s Refusal to treat on them: Also, the Names your
Commissioner appointed to treate with the Enemy upon the Propositions
sent to them from the Generall. Certified in a Letter to a Member of
the Honourable House of Commons, on Tuesday, August 18th, 1646, and
commanded to be forthwith printed and published. London. 1646.”
[269] Fairfax was encamped on a rising ground north of the Castle,
which commanded the whole line of the fortress occupied by the Marquess
of Worcester.
[270] It is deserving of notice, that the communication above quoted
was ordered by the House of Commons to be made public the moment it
was received, although it describes very frankly all the plans and
difficulties of the besieging army. In other cases it would probably
have formed the substance of a secret despatch.
[271] An account precisely similar to that quoted is given in the
“Mercurius Civicus--London’s Intelligencer; or, Truth impartially
related from thence to the whole Kingdom, to prevent misinformation.
From Thursday, August 13, to Thursday, August 20, 1646.” This
singular-looking gazette, determined it would seem on impartiality
of honours, ornaments its title-page with a likeness of Sir Thomas
Fairfax, faced by that of King Charles.
[272] Part of this building remains, with the date 1616. In the parish
church of Llandenny, is a monument of Roger Oates of Kevantilla, who
died 1706, ætatis 67.
[273] “History of England,” Charles I. p. 607.
[274] Among the gentlemen who took part with him in the defence was
Sir Harry Killigrew, of whose melancholy fate Clarendon gives some
interesting particulars.--_Clarendon_, part ii. p. 39, ed. 1706; also,
vol. v. p. 40.
[275] “In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols
of gold, which they made, each one for himself to worship, to the moles
and to the bats.”--Isaiah ii. 20.
[276] Dr. Henry Edwards, author of “History of the Siege of
Jerusalem.”--_Archæol. Journ._, vol. i. p. 112.
[277] “Thomas’s Tinterne,” p. 158.
[278] From lines ascribed to Lord Strafford.--_Sir Henry Ellis’s_
“_Original Letters_,” vol. iii.
[279] “Tout est perdu, hors _l’honneur_.”
[280] Carlyle’s “Cromwell:” [quoting Hist. of Independ. London, 1683-5.]
[281] See description of this walk, _ante_ p. 158.
[282] London, 1650; a thin folio volume.
[283] Douay, 1654.
[284] Quoting from Sacred Writ.
[285] “Guide to Piety.”
[286] A small volume with this title: “Worcester’s Apophthegms; or,
Witty Sayings of the Right Honourable Henry (late) Marquess and Earle
of Worcester, delivered upon several occasions, and now published for
the benefit of the reader, by T. B., a constant observer and no less
admirer of his Lordship’s wisdom and loyalty. 1650.”
[287] See _ante_ page 175, the King’s letter to Glamorgan.
[288] This, in some degree, explains the strong motives by which the
Marquess was actuated in his devotion to the King.
[289] On the coffin was this inscription, engraved on a brass
plate:--“Depositum illustrissimi principis Edwardi, Marchionis et
Comitis Wigorniæ, Comitis de Glamorgan, Baronis Herbert de Raglan,
Chepstow, et Gower, nec non serenissimo nuper Domino Regi Carolo Primo,
South Walliæ locum tenentis, qui obiit apud Lond., tertio die Apriles,
An. Dom. MDCLXVII.”
[290] August 18, 1660.
[291] See description of the moat, &c., _ante_ p. 158.
[292] Tinterne and its Vicinity, page 130.
[293] Page 131.
[294] Monmouth, Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, Wilts,
Somerset, Devon, Brecon, Glamorgan, Caermarthen, Cardigan, and Radnor;
together with the British Channel to some distance beyond the Holms.
Near the latter is a Tower called “Kemey’s Folly.” Its founder,
boasting to his father that the tower could be seen from thirteen
counties, was answered--“I am sorry, my son, that so great an extent of
country should be witness to thy consummate folly;” and from that day,
we are told, the tower assumed the name which it still retains.
[295] Or, according to Mr. Thomas, 1720 feet.
[296] “Thomas’s Raglan,” p. 155.
[297] A MS. plan, which has just been sent to the Editor from Raglan,
in confirmation of the above, seems to complete the evidence which was
hitherto wanting.
[298] One solitary attempt to imitate the jousts and tournaments of
former days, was made a few years ago at the expense of the Earl of
Eglinton; but “the burlesque was apparently too extravagant, if not too
costly, for repetition.”
[299] In the bowling-green attached to the residence of a gentleman
at Muswell Hill, Hornsey, the ancient national game is still kept
up--_ritu majorum_.
[300] Fosbroke, Nares, Strutt, Gage’s Hengrave Hall.--_Encyclopædia of
Antiq._, vol. ii. p. 674.
[301] See “Strutt’s Sports,” p. 97.
[302] “Fosbroke’s Gymnastics.” The late Sir S. R. Meyrick gives various
kinds of jousts, _i. e._ where the combat is limited to two rivals.
[303] Page 175 of this volume.
[304] The contributor of this anecdote is not sufficiently acquainted
with the habits of birds as to pronounce that no bird builds its nest
of white-thorn; but if such be really the case, that circumstance might
surely have led the cavaliers to suspect that the prophecy had received
some aid in its fulfilment from the worthy townsmen of Caernarvon.
But the explanation given by the Marquess is, as usual, felicitously
characteristic, and veiled in a politico-religious guise.
[305] Bayly, Apophthegm xix.
[306] The woodcut represents the old baronial <g>kitchen</g> with its
appendages, as described page 154.
[307] See note, page 138.
[308] As an author, he is known by a work relating to that curious
monument of former ages, Stonehenge, which he pronounced to be a Roman
temple, dedicated to Cœlus; an opinion, however, which antiquaries have
decried as erroneous and absurd.--_Biog._
[309] See account of the King’s visit to Raglan, p. 163.
[310] He died in 1348.
[311] The lordship of Grosmont was absorbed in the acquisitions of the
house of Lancaster, and a court-baron is held for the district, called
“the Hundred of the Three Castles”--Grosmont, Skenfreth, and White
Castle, or Castle Gwyn.
[312] 1326.--See Hist. of Monmouth.
[313] 1387.--Ibid.
[314] Life of Henry V.
[315] In the “Shakspeare,” edited by the late poet Campbell, it is
thought that the parts of _Gloucester_ and _Edgar_ are taken from the
story of the Paphlagonian King in Sir Philip Sydney’s “Arcadia.” There
was also a play, entitled “The True Chronicle Historie of King Leare
and his 3 Daughters,” entered at Stationers’ Hall in 1594, which kept
possession of the stage several years, and must have been familiar to
Shakspeare himself.
[316] The recent epic poem by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart., entitled
“King Arthur,” is one of the few poems of our own times that promises
to descend to posterity. What Milton admired, and Dryden projected,
as the subject of a national poem, Sir Edward has accomplished with
that felicitous taste and ability which have impressed his name on the
popular and classic literature of the day. Pope himself had at one
period of his life resolved to complete, what Milton and Dryden had
only planned--a heroic poem on the same subject.
[317] Among the estates thus rejected was the ancient manor of
Berkeley, in the Vale of Gloucester. “Nam cum eis aliquando tota
provincia de Bergelay a Rege et Regina, gratis offeretur,” etc. etc.
[318] Regina verò Matildis sanctitatis ignara quanta videlicet mentis
constantia insaturabilem divitiarum fugeret ingluviem; cum aliquando
_rogare cœpit ut modis omnibus sineret eam manum suam in sinum ejus
mittere_, etc.
[319] The precise year of its foundation has never been ascertained;
but there is no doubt that it was commenced after 1108, and completed
before 1136, when the greater part of the brotherhood were removed to
Hereford, and subsequently to New Llanthony, near Gloucester. We have
the testimony of Giraldus Cambrensis that, in 1186, the Mother-Abbey
had been long completed. He describes it as covered with lead, and not
inelegantly constructed with a roof of stone.
[320] Hist. Abbatiæ de <g>Llanthony</g>, in Bibl. Cotton, Sub. Effigie
Julii DXI. fol. 30. B.; also, Monasticon Angl. vol. iii.
p. 58. Ed. 1673. It is too long for our purpose; but the article will
be interspersed with extracts from it.
[321] Translated by the late Sir R. Colt Hoare, Bart., 1806.
[322] The name of the place in Welsh, as he explains it, is Nanthodeni.
_Nant_ signifies a running stream, from whence this place is still
called by the inhabitants, Llandevi Nantodeni, or, the Church of St.
David upon the river Hodeni. By the English, therefore, it is corruptly
called Llanthoni; whereas it should either be called Nanthodeni, that
is, the brook of the Hodeni, or Lanthodeni, the church upon the Hodeni.
[323] This was before the _New_ Abbey had been thought of; or, in the
original words, “Before the Daughter had existence; and I sincerely
wish,” adds the devout historian, “that she had never been produced.”
[324] Resembling in many respects--though in a less inhospitable
region--the Augustine monks of “the Great St. Bernard,” and holding
no intercourse with the world around them, unless by means of those
pilgrims who resorted to their shrine, and spread abroad the fame of
their sanctity.
[325] Seneca’s Morals.
[326] This anecdote, somewhat differently told, we have already noticed
in the sketch of Tinterne Abbey.
[327] This reminds us of a visit to a celebrated monastery in Tuscany,
where the writer was received by one of the superior monks with great
politeness and hospitality. In the course of the evening he mentioned
the principal circumstances of his life--“court intrigue, dissipation,
extravagance, and moral depravity; at last,” said he, “I became
utterly disgusted with the life I had led, and flew for refuge to this
sanctuary, where I have lived many years, and found, to my soul’s
content, that there is no happiness in this life but in preparing for
the next--_pensare, pensare, sull’ éternità_.”--Ed.
[328] Sir R. C. Hoare, quoting Giraldus.
[329] Orig. Nova Marchia. Chr. New March?
[330] See the account already given of the Clare family.
[331] In those times the Wye was considered the boundary between
England and Wales.
[332] See _ante_, founders and benefactors of Tinterne Abbey.
[333] Of the strict legal phraseology of this document, the
following is a specimen:--Volo et firmiter præcipio quod Canonici
<g>Lanthoniæ</g> Primæ, omnia tenementa sua in terra de <g>Ewias</g>,
tam laica quam ecclesiastica quæcumq: in præsenti habent vel in
posterum, emptione, donatione, vel quocumq: alio titulo habituri sunt,
bene et in pace, liberè et quietè teneant in omnibus locis et rebus
ubicumque fuerint in terra de <g>Ewias</g>, quieta de omnibus placitis
et querelis, et auxiliis, et _sumagiis_, et _cariagiis_, et clausturis;
et de pontium et castrorum ædificatione, et de conductu thesauri, et
de omni operatione et lestagio et stallagio et summonitionibus, et
de assisis, et superassisis; et de omnibus foris functis, quacumque
occasione emerserint; et de assartis. Nullus verò de Forestariis
nostris quicquam se intromittat de boscis Prioris et Canonicorum
<g>Lanthoniæ</g> Primæ; sed omnem potestatem et libertatem, quam
ego et hæredes mei in boscis nostris habemus, vel habere poterimus,
habeant prædicti Prior et Canonici in boscis suis, sint verò et
homines et res ipsorum quieta de telonio, et ex omnibus exactionibus,
et consuetudinibus in Nundinis, foris, et mercatis; et omnibus locis
et rebus _per totam terram de_ <g>Ewias</g>. Habeant prædicti Prior
et Canonici omnem justiciam de _assaultu_ et _murdro_ et sanguinis
effusione, et pacis infractione et thesauri inventione, et quicquid ad
nostram pertinet potestatem.... Concedo quod habeant de hominibus suis
et de tota possessione sua, quam habent vel habituri sunt, in terra de
<g>Ewias</g>, etc. etc. Concedo quod predicti <g>Prior</g> et Canonici
omnes libertates prædictas et liberas consuetudines habeant adeo liberè
et quietè, pacificè et integrè sicut ego et antecessores mei, ipsius
libertatis unquam melius, plenius, et liberiùs habuimus. Concedo etiam
quod habeant omnes libertates quas ego et successores mei per Regem
Angliæ, vel alium, habere poterimus in terra de <g>Ewias</g>, etc.
etc.--Datum per nostrum manum apud <g>Langley</g>, Anno regni nostri
decimo octavo.
[334] These Canons were to live in common; to have but one table, one
purse, one dormitory. But as many of them had begun to abate somewhat
of the strictness of their first rules, a new set sprang up that
pretended to reform upon the rest; and these, from their more pointed
observance of the vow, were styled <g>Regular Canons</g>; whereas those
who had fallen from the original purity of the Order were called, by
way of reproach, <g>Secular Canons</g>. In this manner the monks of
New Llanthony, who affected a more exemplary life, called themselves
Regulars--which they did not permit those of the parent Abbey, in
Wales, to assume, but addressed them only as Canons or Seculars. It was
by this distinction--“I am holier than thou”--that they endeavoured to
justify their “unfilial conduct,” and promote their own ascendancy, in
their connection with Old Llanthony. [But in the <g>Charters</g> they
are often called _Regulars_.]
It seems uncertain at what precise period the title or designation of
Canons was assumed in the church; but the first Regulars we read of
were those employed by Pope Alexander II., in his mission to St. John
Lateran. But so irregular, says a historian, were those Regulars, and
so addicted to crimes, that even Pope Boniface VIII. was forced to
drive them away, and placed Secular Canons in their room.
They were introduced into England about the middle of the seventh
century.
[335] The paper is entitled, “LICENTIA PER REGEM EDWARDUM QUARTUM, pro
unione Prioratûs de <g>Llanthony</g> _Prima_, in Wallia, Prioratui de
<g>Lanthony</g> juxta Gloucestriam.”
[336] In the Original, the contrast between the two monasteries,
in their position and outward circumstances, is thus picturesquely
and forcibly drawn. Speaking of the introduction of the old Canons
to their new cells on the Severn, he says--Nam valdè dissimiliter
sibi respondere experti sunt, <g>urbem</g> Gloucestriæ et montem
<g>Hatyre</g> [Hatterilhills], et fluvium <g>Sabrinæ</g>, et aquam
<g>Hodanie</g>; _Anglos_, ditissimos et Wallenses pauperrimos: Illic,
agros fertiles; hîc saltus steriles, unde illorum copia blandientæ
illecti; istorum inopia urgente pertæsi locum istum, nec hominum quorum
libet nec dum religiosorum inhabitatione dignum censuerunt.