THE FIRST CHARTER OF THE KING.
Geoffrey de Mandeville was the grandson and heir of a follower of the
conqueror of the same name. From Mandeville, a village, according to Mr.
Stapleton, near Trevières in the Bessin,[98] the family took its name,
which, being Latinized as "De Magnavilla," is often found as "De
Magnaville." The elder Geoffrey appears in Domesday as a considerable
tenant-in-chief, his estates lying in no less than eleven different
counties.[99] On the authority of the _Monasticon_ he is said by Dugdale
to have been made constable of the Tower. Dugdale, however, has here
misquoted his own authority, for the chronicle printed by him states,
not that Geoffrey, but that his son and heir (William) received this
office.[100] Its statement is confirmed by Ordericus Vitalis, who
distinctly mentions that the Tower was in charge of William de
Mandeville when Randulf Flambard was there imprisoned in 1101.[101] This
may help to explain an otherwise puzzling fact, namely, that a Geoffrey
de Mandeville, who was presumably his father, appears as a witness to
charters of a date subsequent to this.[102]
Geoffrey de Mandeville founded the Benedictine priory of Hurley,[103]
and we know the names of his two wives, Athelais and Leceline. By the
former he had a son and heir, William, mentioned above, who in turn was
the father of Geoffrey, the central figure of this work.[104]
The above descent is not based upon the evidence of the _Monasticon_
alone, but is incidentally recited in those royal charters on which my
story is so largely based. It is therefore beyond dispute. But though
there is no pedigree of the period clearer or better established, it has
formed the subject of an amazing blunder, so gross as to be scarcely
credible. Madox had shown, in his _History of the Exchequer_ (ii. 400),
that Geoffrey "Fitz Piers" (Earl of Essex from 1199 to 1213) was Sheriff
of Essex and Herts in 1192-94 (4 & 5 Ric. I.). Now Geoffrey, the son of
Geoffrey "Fitz Piers," assuming the surname of "De Mandeville," became
his successor in the earldom of Essex, which he held from 1213 to 1216.
The noble and learned authors of the _Lords' Reports on the Dignity of a
Peer_ began by confusing this Geoffrey with his namesake the earl of
1141, and bodily transferring to the latter the whole parentage of the
former. Thus they evolved the startling discovery that the father of our
Geoffrey, the earl of 1141, "was Geoffrey Fitz Peter [_i.e._ the earl of
1199-1213], and probably was son of Peter, the sheriff at the time of
the Survey."[105] But not content even with this, they transferred the
shrievalty of Geoffrey "Fitz Piers" from 1192-94 (_vide supra_)[106] to
a date earlier than the grant to Geoffrey de Mandeville (his supposed
son) in 1141. Now, during that shrievalty the Earls "of Clare" enjoyed
the _tertius denarius_ of the county of Hertford. Thus their lordships
were enabled to produce the further discovery that the Earls "of Clare"
enjoyed it before the date of this grant (1141), that is to say, "either
before or early in the reign of King Stephen."[107] The authority of
these Reports has been so widely recognized that we cannot wonder at
Courthope stating in his _Historic Peerage of England_ (p. 248) that
"Richard de Clare ... was Earl of Hertford, and possessed of the third
penny of that county, before or early in the reign of King Stephen."
Courthope has in turn misled Dr. Stubbs,[108] and Mr. Doyle has now
followed suit, stating that Richard de Clare was "created Earl of
Hertford (about) 1136."[109] It is therefore something to have traced
this error to its original source in the _Lords' Reports_.
The first mention, it would seem, of the subject of this study is to be
found in the Pipe-Roll of 1130, where we read—
"Gaufridus de Mandeville reddit compotum de Dccclxvj_li._ et xiii_s._
et iiij_d._ pro terra patris sui. In thesauro cxxxiii_li._ et vi_s._ et
viii_d._
"Et debet Dcc et xxxiij_li._ et vj_s._ et viij_d._" (p. 55).
As he had thus, at Michaelmas, 1130, paid only two-thirteenths of the
amount due from him for succession, that is the (arbitrary) "relief" to
the Crown, we may infer that his father was but lately dead. He does not
again meet us till he appears at Stephen's court early in 1136.[110]
From the date of that appearance we pass to his creation as an earl by
the first of those royal charters with which we are so largely
concerned.[111]
The date of this charter is a point of no small interest, not merely
because we have in it the only surviving charter of creation of those
issued by Stephen, but also because there is reason to believe that it
is the oldest extant charter of creation known to English antiquaries.
That distinction has indeed been claimed for the second charter in my
series, namely, that which Geoffrey obtained from the Empress Maud. It
is of the latter that Camden wrote, "This is the most ancient
creation-charter that I ever saw."[112] Selden duly followed suit, and
Dugdale echoed Selden's words.[113] Courthope merely observes that it
"is presumed to be one of the very earliest charters of express creation
of the title of earl;"[114] and Mr. Birch pronounces it "one of the
earliest, if not the earliest, example of a deed creating a
peerage."[115] In despite, however, of these opinions I am prepared to
prove that the charter with which we are now dealing is entitled to the
first place, though that of the Empress comes next.
We cannot begin an investigation of the subject better than by seeking
the opinion of Mr. Eyton, who was a specialist in the matter of charters
and their dates, and who had evidently investigated the point. His note
on this charter is as follows:—
"Stephen's earlier deeds of 1136 exhibit Geoffrey de Magnaville as a
baron only. There are three such, two of which certainly, and the third
probably, passed at Westminster. He was custos of the Tower of London,
an office which probably necessitated a constant residence. There are
three patents of creation extant by which he became Earl of Essex.
Those which I suppose to precede this were by the Empress. The first of
them passed in the short period during which Maud was in London, _i.e._
between June 24 and July 25, 1141. The second within a month after, at
Oxford. In the latter she alludes to grants of lands previously made by
Stephen to the said Geoffrey, but to no patent of earldom except her
own. Selden calls Maud's London patent the oldest on record. It is not
perhaps that, but it is older than this, though Dugdale thought not.
Having decided that Stephen's patent succeeded Maud's, it follows that
it (viz. this charter) passed after Nov. 1, 1141, when Stephen regained
his liberty and Geoffrey probably forsook the empress. The king was at
London on Dec. 7. In 1142 we are told (Lysons, _Camb._, 9) that this
Geoffrey and Earl Gilbert were sent by Stephen against the Isle of Ely.
He is called earl. We shall also have him attesting a charter of Queen
Matilda (Stephen's wife).
"In 1143 he was seized in Stephen's court at St. Alban's.
"In 1144 he is in high rebellion against Stephen, and an ally of Nigel,
Bishop of Ely. He is killed in Aug., 1144.
"On the whole then it would appear that the Empress first made him an
earl as a means of securing London, the stronghold of Stephen's party,
but that, on Stephen's release, the earl changed sides and Stephen
opposed Maud's policy by a counter-patent (we have usually found
counter-charters, however, to be Maud's). We have also a high
probability that this charter passed in Dec., 1141, or soon after; for
Stephen does not appear at London in 1142, when Geoffrey is earl and in
Stephen's employ."[116]
Here I must first clear the ground by explaining as to the "three
patents of creation" mentioned in this passage, that there were only
_two_ charters (not "patents") of creation—that of the king, which
survives in the original, and that of the Empress, which is known to us
from a transcript. As to the latter, it certainly "passed in the short
period during which Maud was in London," but that period, so far from
being "between June 24 and July 25, 1141," consisted only of a few days
ending with "June 24, 1141." The main point, however, at issue is the
priority of the creation-charters. It will be seen that Mr. Eyton jumped
at his conclusion, and then proceeded: "Having decided," etc. This is
the more surprising because that conclusion was at variance with what he
admits to have been his own principle, namely, that he had "usually
found counter-charters to be Maud's."[117] In this case his conclusion
was wrong, and his original principle was right. I think that Mr.
Eyton's error was due to his ignorance of the second charter granted by
the king to Geoffrey.[118] As he was well acquainted with the royal
charters in the duchy of Lancaster collection it is not easy to
understand how he came to overlook this very long one, which is, as it
were, the keystone to the arch I am about to construct.
It is my object to make Geoffrey's charters prove their own sequence.
When once arranged in their right order, it will be clear from their
contents that this order is the only one possible. We must not attempt
to decide their dates till we have determined their order. But when that
order has been firmly established, we can approach the question of dates
with comparative ease and confidence.
To determine from internal evidence the sequence of these charters, we
must arrange them in an ascending scale. That is to say, each charter
should represent an advance on its immediate predecessor. Tried by this
test, our four main charters will assume, beyond dispute, this relative
order.
(1) First charter of the king.
(2) First charter of the Empress.
(3) Second charter of the king.
(4) Second charter of the Empress.
The order of the three last is further established by the fact that the
grants in the second are specifically confirmed by the third, while the
third is expressly referred to in the fourth. The only one, therefore,
about which there could possibly be a question is the first, and the
fact that the second charter represents a great advance upon it is in
this case the evidence. But there is, further, the fact that the place I
have assigned it is the only one in the series that it can possibly
occupy. Nor could Mr. Eyton have failed to arrive at this conclusion had
he included within his sphere of view the second charter of the king.
It is clear that Mr. Eyton was here working from the statements of
Dugdale alone. For the three charters he deals with are those which
Dugdale gives. The order assigned to these charters by Dugdale and Mr.
Eyton respectively can be thus briefly shown:—
Right order 1 2 3 4
Eyton's order 2 4 1
Dugdale's order 1 4 2
How gravely Mr. Eyton erred in his conclusions will be obvious from this
table. But it is necessary to go further still, and to say that of the
seven charters affecting Geoffrey de Mandeville, three would seem to
have been unknown to him, while of the rest, he assigned three, one
might almost say all four, to a demonstrably erroneous date. It may be
urged that this is harsh criticism, and the more so as its subject was
never published, and exists only in the form of notes. There is much to
be said for this view, but the fact remains that rash use is certain to
be made of these notes, unless students are placed on their guard. That
this should be so is due not only to Mr. Eyton's great and just
reputation as a laborious student in this field, but also to the
exaggerated estimate of the value and correctness of these notes which
was set, somewhat prominently, before the public.[119]
Advancing from the question of position to that of actual date, we will
glance at the opinion of another expert, Mr. Walter de Gray Birch. We
learn from him, as to the date of this first creation-charter, that—
"The dates of the witnesses appear to range between A.D. 1139 and A.D.
1144.... The actual date of the circumstances mentioned in this
document is a matter of question.... He [Geoffrey] was slain on the
14th of September, A.D. 1144, and therefore this document must be prior
to that date."[120]
We see now that it is by no means easy to date this charter with
exactness. It will be best, in pursuance of my usual practice, to begin
by clearing the ground.
If we could place any trust in the copious chronicle of Walden Abbey,
which is printed (in part) in the _Monasticon_ from the Arundel
manuscript, our task would be easy enough. For we are there told that
Stephen had already created Geoffrey an earl when, in 1136, he founded
Walden Abbey.[121] And, in his foundation charter, he certainly styles
himself an earl.[122] But, alas for this precious narrative, it brings
together at the ceremony three bishops, Robert of London, Nigel of Ely,
and William of Norwich, of whom Robert of London was not appointed till
1141, while William of Norwich did not obtain that see till 1146!
Dismissing, therefore, this evidence, we turn to the fact that no
creation of an earldom by Stephen is mentioned before 1138. But we have
something far more important than this in the occurrence at the head of
the witnesses to this creation-charter, of the name of William of Ypres,
the only name, indeed, among the witnesses that strikes one as a note of
time. Mr. Eyton wrote: "A deed which I have dated 1140 ... is his first
known attestation."[123] I have found no evidence contrary to this
conclusion. It would seem probable that when the arrest of the bishops
"gave," in Dr. Stubbs' words, "the signal for the civil war," Stephen's
preparations for the approaching struggle would include the summons to
his side of this experienced leader, who had hitherto been fighting in
Normandy for his cause. Indeed, we know that it was so, for he was at
once despatched against the castle of Devizes.[124]
Happily, however, there remains a writ, which should incidentally, we
shall find, prove the key to the problem. This, which is printed among
the footnotes in Madox's _Baronia Anglica_ (p. 231), from the muniments
of Westminster Abbey, is addressed "Gaufrido de Magnavilla" simply, and
is, therefore, previous to his elevation to the earldom. Now, as this
writ refers to the death of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, it must be later
than the 11th of December, 1139.[125] Consequently Geoffrey's charter
must be subsequent to that date. It must also be previous to the battle
of Lincoln (February, 1141), because, as I observed at the outset, it
must be previous to the charter of the Empress. We therefore virtually
narrow its limit to the year 1140, for Stephen had set out for Lincoln
before the close of the year.[126] Let us try and reduce it further
still. What was the date of the above writ? Stephen, on the death of
Bishop Roger, hastened to visit Salisbury.[127] He went there from
Oxford to spend Christmas (1139), and then returned to Reading (_Cont.
Flor. Wig._). Going and returning he would have passed through Andover,
the place at which this writ is tested. Thus it could have been, and
probably was, issued at this period (December, 1139). Obviously, if it
was issued in the course of 1140, this would reduce still further the
possible limit within which Geoffrey's charter can have passed.
Difficult though it is to trace the incessant movements of the king
throughout this troubled year, he certainly visited Winchester, and
(probably thence) Malmesbury. Still we have not, I believe, proof of his
presence at Andover.[128] And there are other grounds, I shall now show,
for thinking that the earldom was conferred before March, 1140.
William of Newburgh, speaking of the arrest of Geoffrey de Mandeville,
assures us that Stephen bore an old grudge against him, which he had
hitherto been forced to conceal. Its cause was a gross outrage by
Geoffrey, who, on the arrival of Constance of France, the bride of
Eustace the heir-apparent, had forcibly detained her in the Tower.[129]
We fix the date of this event as February or March, 1140, from the words
of the Continuator of Florence,[130] and that date agrees well with
Henry of Huntingdon's statement, that Stephen had bought his son's bride
with the treasure he obtained by the death of the great Bishop of
Salisbury (December 11, 1139).[131]
It would seem, of course, highly improbable that this audacious insult
to the royal family would have been followed by the grant of an earldom.
We might consequently infer that, in all likelihood, Geoffrey had
already obtained his earldom.
We have, however, to examine the movements of Stephen at the time. The
king returned, as we saw, to Reading, after spending his Christmas at
Salisbury. He was then summoned to the Fen country by the revolt of the
Bishop of Ely, and he set out thither, says Henry of Huntingdon, "post
Natale" (p. 267). He _may_ have taken Westminster on his way, but there
is no evidence that he did. He had, however, returned to London by the
middle of March, to take part in a Mid-Lent council.[132] His movements
now become more difficult to trace than ever, but it may have been after
this that he marched on Hereford and Worcester.[133] Our next glimpse of
him is at Whitsuntide (May 26), when he kept the festival in sorry state
at the Tower.[134] It has been suggested that it was for security that
he sought the shelter of its walls. But this explanation is disposed of
by the fact that the citizens of London were his best friends and
proved, the year after, the virtual salvation of his cause. It would
seem more likely that he was anxious to reassert his impaired authority
and to destroy the effect of Geoffrey's outrage, which might otherwise
have been ruinous to his _prestige_.[135]
It was, as I read it, at the close of Whitsuntide, that is, about the
beginning of June, that the king set forth for East Anglia, and,
attacking Hugh Bigod, took his castle of Bungay.[136]
In August the king again set forth to attack Hugh Bigod;[137] and either
to this, or to his preceding East Anglian campaign, we may safely assign
his charter, granted at Norwich, to the Abbey of Reading.[138] Now, the
first witness to this charter is Geoffrey de Mandeville himself, who is
not styled an earl. We learn, then, that, at least as late as June,
1140, Geoffrey had not received his earldom. This would limit the date
of his creation to June-December, 1140, or virtually, at the outside, a
period of six months.
Such, then, is the ultimate conclusion to which our inquiry leads us.
And if it be asked why Stephen should confer an earldom on Geoffrey at
this particular time, the reply is at hand in the condition of affairs,
which had now become sufficiently critical for Geoffrey to begin the
game he had made up his mind to play. For Stephen could not with
prudence refuse his demand for an earldom.[139]
The first corollary of this conclusion is that "the second type" of
Stephen's great seal (which is that appended to this charter) must have
been already in use in the year 1140, that is to say, before his fall in
1141.
Mr. Birch, who, I need hardly say, is the recognized authority on the
subject, has devoted one of his learned essays on the Great Seals of the
Kings of England to those of Stephen.[140] He has appended to it
photographs of the two types in use under this sovereign, and has given
the text of nineteen original sealed charters, which he has divided into
two classes according to the types of their seals. The conclusion at
which he arrived as the result of this classification was that the
existence of "two distinctly variant types" is proved (all traces of a
third, if it ever existed, being now lost), one of which represents the
earlier, and the other the later, portion of the reign.[141] To the
former belong nine, and to the latter ten of the charters which he
quotes in his paper. The only point on which a question can arise is the
date at which the earlier was replaced by the later type. Mr. Birch is
of opinion that—
"the consideration of the second seal tends to indicate the alteration
of the type subsequent to his liberation from the hands of the Empress,
and it is most natural to suppose that this alteration is owing to the
destruction or loss of his seal consequent to his own capture and
incarceration" (p. 15).
There can be no doubt that this is the most natural suggestion; but if,
as I contend, the very first two of the charters adduced by Mr. Birch as
specimens of the later type are previous to "his capture and
incarceration," it follows that his later great seal must have been
adopted before that event. One of these charters is that which forms the
subject of this chapter; the other is preserved among the records of the
duchy of Lancaster.[142] At the date when the latter was granted, the
king was in possession of the temporalities of the see of Lincoln, which
he had seized on the arrest of the bishops in June, 1139. As Alexander
had regained possession of his see by the time of the battle of Lincoln,
this charter must have passed before Stephen's capture, and most
probably passed a year or more before. We have then to account for the
adoption by Stephen of a new great seal, certainly before 1141, and
possibly as early as 1139. Is it not possible that this event may be
connected with the arrest of the chancellor and his mighty kinsmen in
June, 1139, and that the seal may have been made away with in his and
their interest, as on the flight of James II., in order to increase the
confusion consequent on that arrest?[143]
And now we come to Geoffrey's charter itself[144]:—
"S. Rex Ang[lorum] Archiepiscopis Episcopis Abbatibus Comitibus
Justiciis Baronibus Vicecomitibus et Omnibus Ministris et fidelibus
suis francis et Anglis totius Angliæ salutem. Sciatis me fecisse
Comitem de Gaufr[ido] de Magnauillâ de Comitatu Essex[e] hereditarie.
Quare uolo et concedo et firmiter precipio quod ipse et heredes sui
post eum hereditario jure teneant de me et de heredibus meis bene et in
pace et libere et quiete et honorifice sicut alii Comites mei de terrâ
meâ melius vel liberius vel honorificentius tenent Comitatus suos unde
Comites sunt cum omnibus dignitatibus et libertatibus et
consuetudinibus cum quibus alii Comites mei prefati dignius vel
liberius tenent.
"T[estibus] Will[elm]o de Iprâ et Henr[ico] de Essexâ[145] et Joh[ann]e
fil[io] Rob[erti] fil[ii] Walt[eri][146] et Rob[erto] de Nouo
burgo[147] et Mainfen[ino] Britoñ[148] et Turg[esio] de Abrinc[is][149]
et Will[elm]o de S[an]c[t]o Claro[150] et Will[elm]o de
Dammart[in][151] et Ric[ardo] fil[io] Ursi[152] et Will[elm]o de
Auco[153] et Ric[ardo] fil[io] Osb[erti][154] et Radulfo de Wiret[155]
(_sic_) et Eglin[o][156] et Will[elm]o fil[io] Alur[edi][157] et
Will[elmo] filio Ernald[i].[158] Apud Westmonasterium."
Taking this, as I believe it to be, as our earliest charter of creation
extant or even known, the chief point to attract our notice is its
intensely hereditary character. Geoffrey receives the earldom
"hereditarie," for himself "et heredes sui post eum hereditario jure."
The terms in which the grant is made are of tantalizing vagueness; and,
compared with the charters by which it was followed, this is remarkable
for its brevity, and for the total omission of those accompanying
concessions which the statements of our historians would lead us to
expect without fail.[159]
We must now pass from the grant of this charter to the great day of
Lincoln (February 2, 1141), where the fortunes of England and her king
were changed "in the twinkling of an eye" by the wild charge of "the
Disinherited," as they rode for death or victory.[160]
[98] _Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniæ_, II. clxxxviii. Such was also the
opinion of M. Leopold Delisle. The French editors, however, of Ordericus
write: "On ne sait auquel des nombreux Magneville, Mandeville,
Manneville de Normandie rapporter le berceau de cette illustre maison"
(iv. 108).
[99] There is a curious story in the Waltham Chronicle (_De Inventione_,
cap. xiii.) that the Conqueror placed Geoffrey in the shoes of Esegar
the staller. The passage runs thus: "Cui [Tovi] successit filius ejus
Adelstanus pater Esegari qui stalra inventus est in Angliæ conquisitione
a Normannis, cuius hereditatem postea dedit conquisitor terræ, rex
Willelmus, Galfrido de Mandevile proavi presentis comitis Willelmi.
Successit quidem Adelstanus patri suo Tovi, non in totam quidem
possessionem quam possederat pater, sed in eam tantum quæ pertinebat ad
stallariam, quam nunc habet comes Willelmus." The special interest of
this story lies in the official connection of Esegar [or Ansgar] the
staller with London and Middlesex, combined with the fact that Geoffrey
occupied the same position. See p. 354, and Addenda.
[100] "Post cujus [_i.e._ Galfridi] mortem reliquit filium suum hæredem,
cui firmitas turris Londoniarum custodienda committitur. Nobili cum Rege
magnificé plura gessit patri non immerito in rebus agendis coæqualis"
(_Monasticon_). Dugdale's error, as we might expect, is followed by
later writers, Mr. Clark treating Geoffrey as the first "hereditary
constable," and his son, whom with characteristic inaccuracy he
transforms from "William" into "Walter," as the second (_Mediæval
Military Architecture_, ii. 253, 254). The French editors of Ordericus
(iv. 108) strangely imagined that William was brother, not son, of
Geoffrey de Mandeville.
[101] "In arce Lundoniensi Guillelmo de Magnavilla custodiendus in
vinculis traditus est" (iv. 108).
[102] See for instance _Abingdon Cartulary_, ii. 73, 85, 116, where he
attests charters of _circ._ 1110-1112.
[103] _Monasticon_, iii. 433. He founds the priory "pro anima Athelaisæ
primæ uxoris meæ, matris filiorum meorum jam defunctæ;" and "Lecelina
domina uxor mea" is a witness to the charter.
[104] It is necessary to check by authentic charters and other
trustworthy evidence the chronicles printed in the _Monasticon_ under
Walden Abbey. One of these was taken from a long and interesting MS.,
formerly in the possession of the Royal Society, but now among the
Arundel MSS. in the British Museum. This, which is only partially
printed, and which ought to be published in its entirety, has the
commencement wanting, and is, unfortunately, very inaccurate for the
early period of which I treat. It is this narrative which makes the wild
misstatements as to the circumstances of the foundation, which grossly
misdates Geoffrey's death, etc., etc. All its statements are accepted by
Dugdale. The other chronicle, which he printed from Cott. MS., Titus, D.
20, is far more accurate, gives Geoffrey's death correctly, and rightly
assigns him as wife the _sister_ (not the daughter) of the Earl of
Oxford, thus correcting Dugdale's error. It is the latter chronicle
which Dugdale has misquoted with reference to the charge of the Tower.
[105] Who was really Peter de Valognes.
[106] "Madox ... has shown ... that Geoffrey Fitzpeter, Earl of Essex,
obtained from the Crown Grants of the shrievalty of the Counties of
Essex and Hertford when the Earls, commonly called Earls of Clare, were
Earls of Hertford, and had the Third Penny of the Pleas of that County"
(iii. 69, ed. 1829).
[107] "The County of Hertford appears to have been, at the time of the
Survey, in the King's hands, and Peter was then Sheriff; and the
Sheriffwick of Hertfordshire was afterwards granted in Fee, by the
Empress Maud, to Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, at a rent as his
father and grandfather had held it. The father of Geoffrey was Geoffrey
Fitz Peter, and probably was son of Peter, the Sheriff at the time of
the Survey. The first trace which the Committee has discovered of the
title of the Earls of Clare to the Third Penny of the County is in the
reign of Henry the Second, subsequent to the grants under which the
Earls of Essex claimed the Shrievalty in fee, at a fee-farm rent. But
the grant of the Third Penny must have been of an earlier date, as the
grant to the Earl of Essex was subject to that charge. The family of
Clare must therefore have had the Third Penny either before or early in
the Reign of King Stephen" (iii. 125).
[108] _Const. Hist._, i. 362.
[109] _Official Baronage_, ii. 175.
[110] See Appendix C.
[111] See Frontispiece.
[112] _Degrees of England._
[113] "Note that this is the most ancient creation-charter which hath
ever been known." _Vide_ Selden, _Titles of Honour_, p. 647.
[114] _Historic Peerage_, p. 178.
[115] _Journ. Brit. Arch. Ass._, xxxi. 386.
[116] _Addl. MSS._, 31,943, fol. 97.
[117] Comp. fol. 96: "My position is that where this system of
counter-charters between Stephen and the Empress _is proved_, the former
generally is the first in point of date."
[118] See p. 41 _ad pedem_.
[119] _Notes and Queries_, 6th Series, v. 83.
[120] _On the Great Seal of King Stephen_, pp. 19, 20.
[121] "Apud regem Stephanum, ac totius regni majores tanti erat ut
nomine comitis et re jampridem dignus haberetur" (_Mon. Angl._, vol. iv.
p. 141).
[122] "Gaufridus de Magnavillâ comes Essexe" (_ibid._).
[123] _Addl. MSS._ 31,943, fol. 85 _dors._
[124] _Ordericus Vitalis_, vol. v. p. 120.
[125] See p. 282, _n._ 4.
[126] "Protractaque est obsidio [Lincolnie] a diebus Natalis Domini
(1140) usque ad Ypapanti Domini" (_Will. Newburgh_, i. 39).
[127] To this visit may be assigned three charters (_Sarum Charters and
Documents_, pp. 9-11) of interest for their witnesses. Two of them are
attested by Philip the chancellor, who is immediately followed by Roger
de Fécamp. The latter had similarly followed the preceding chancellor,
Roger, in one of Stephen's charters of 1136 (see p. 263), which
establishes his official position. Among the other witnesses were Bishop
Robert of Hereford, Count Waleran of Meulan, Robert de Ver, William
Martel, Robert d'Oilli with Fulk his brother, Turgis d'Avranches, Walter
de Salisbury, Ingelram de Say, and William de Pont de l'Arche.
[128] The "P. cancellarius," by whom the writ is tested, was a
chancellor of whom, according to Foss, virtually nothing is known. He
was, however, Philip (de Harcourt), on whom the king conferred at
Winchester, in 1140, the vacant see of Salisbury ("Rex Wintoniam veniens
consilio baronum suorum cancellario suo Philippo Searebyriensem
præsulatum ... dedit" (_Cont. Flor. Wig._)). But the chapter refused to
accept him as bishop, and eventually he was provided for by the see of
Bayeux. He is likely, with or without the king, to have gone straight to
Salisbury after his appointment at Winchester, in which case he would
not have been present at Andover, even if Stephen himself was.
[129] "Acceptam ab eo injuriam rex caute dissimulabat, et tempus
opportunum quo se ulcisceretur, observabat. Injuria vero quam regi
nequam ille intulerat talis erat. Rex ante annos aliquot episcopi, ut
dictum est, Salesbiriensis thesauros adeptus, summa non modica regi
Francorum Lodovico transmissa, sororem ejus Constantiam Eustachio filio
suo desponderat; ... eratque hæc cum socru sua regina Lundoniis. Cumque
regina ad alium forte vellet cum eadem nuru sua locum migrare, memoratus
Gaufridus arci tunc præsidens, restitit; nuruque de manibus socrus, pro
viribus obnitentis, abstracta atque retenta, illam cum ignominia abire
permisit. Postea vero reposcenti, et justum motum pro tempore
dissimulanti, regi socero insignem prædam ægre resignavit" (ii. 45).
[130] (1140) "Facta est desponsatio illorum mense Februario in
transmarinis partibus, matre regina Anglorum præsente" (ii. 725).
[131] "Accipiens thesauros episcopi comparavit inde Constantiam sororem
Lodovici regis Francorum ad opus Eustachii filii sui" (p. 265). It is
amusing to learn from his champion (the author of the _Gesta Stephani_)
that the king spent this treasure on good and pious works. This
matrimonial alliance is deserving of careful attention, for the fact
that Stephen was prepared to buy it with treasure which he sorely needed
proves its importance in his eyes as a prop to his now threatened
throne.
[132] _Annals of Waverley_ (_Ann. Mon._, ii. 228), where it is stated
that, at this council, Stephen gave the see of Salisbury to his
chancellor, Philip. According, however, to the Continuator of Florence,
he did this not at London, but at Winchester (see p. 47, _supra_).
[133] See the Continuator of Florence.
[134] _Will. Malms._
[135] See p. 81 as to the alleged riot in London and death of Aubrey de
Vere, three weeks before.
[136] "Ad Pentecostem ivit rex cum exercitu suo super Hugonem Bigod in
Sudfolc" _Ann. Wav._ (_Ann. Mon._, ii. 228).
[137] "Item in Augusto perrexit super eum et concordati sunt, sed non
diu duravit" (_ibid._).
[138] Printed in _Archæological Journal_, xx. 291. Its second witness is
Richard de Luci, whom I have not elsewhere found attesting before
Christmas, 1141.
[139] If, as would seem, Hugh Bigod appears first as an earl at the
battle of Lincoln, when he fought on Stephen's side, it may well be that
the "concordia" between them in August, 1140, similarly comprised the
concession by the king of comital rank. On the other hand, there is a
noteworthy charter (_Harl. Cart._, 43, c. 13) of Stephen, which seems to
belong to the winter of 1140-1, to which Hugh Bigod is witness, not as
an earl, so that his creation may have taken place very shortly before
Stephen's fall. As this charter, according to Mr. Birch, has the second
type of Stephen's seal, it strengthens the view advanced in the text.
[140] _Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature_, vol. xi., New
Series.
[141] Mr. Birch points out the interesting fact that while the earlier
type has an affinity to that of the great seal of Henry I., the later
approximates to that adopted under Henry II.
[142] _Royal Charters_, No. 15. See my _Ancient Charters_, p. 39.
[143] Dr. Stubbs observes that the consequence of the arrest was that
"the whole administration of the country ceased to work" (_Const.
Hist._, i. 326).
[144] Cotton Charter, vii. 4. See Frontispiece.
[145] This is the well-known Henry de Essex (see Appendix U), son of
Robert (_Rot. Pip._, 31 Hen. I.), and grandson of Swegen of Essex
(Domesday). He witnessed several of Stephen's charters, probably later
in the reign, but was also a witness to the Empress's charters to the
Earls of Oxford and of Essex (_vide post_).
[146] A John, son of Robert fitz Walter (sheriff of East Anglia, _temp._
Hen. I.), occurs in _Ramsey Cartulary_, i. 149.
[147] Robert de Neufbourg, said to have been a younger son of Henry,
Earl of Warwick, occurs in connection with Warwickshire in 1130 (_Rot.
Pip._, 31 Hen. I.). Mr. Yeatman characteristically advances "the idea
that Robert de Arundel and Robert de Novoburgo were identical." He was
afterwards Justiciary of Normandy (_Ord. Vit._), having sided with
Geoffrey of Anjou (_Rot. Scacc. Norm._). He is mentioned in the
Pipe-Rolls of 2 and 4 Henry II. According to Dugdale, he died (on the
authority of the _Chronicon Normanniæ_), in August, 1158, a date
followed by Mr. Yeatman. Mr. Eyton, however (_Court and Itinerary_, p.
47), on the same authority (with a reference also to Gervase, which I
cannot verify) makes him die in August, 1159. The true date seems to
have been August 30, 1159, when he died at Bec (_Robert de Torigni_).
[148] The Maenfininus Brito (Mr. Birch reads "Mamseu"), who, in the
Pipe-Roll of 1130 (p. 100), was late sheriff of Bucks. and Beds.
Probably father of Hamo filius Meinfelini, the Bucks. baron of 1166
(_Cartæ_). See also p. 201, _n._ 2.
[149] Turgis d'Avranches appears in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. as
having married the widow of Hugh "de Albertivillâ." We shall find him
witnessing Stephen's second charter to the earl (Christmas, 1141).
[150] William de St. Clare occurs in Dorset and Huntingdonshire in 1130
(_Rot. Pip._, 31 Hen. I.). He was, I presume, of the same family as
Hamon de St. Clare, _custos_ of Colchester in 1130 (_ibid._), who was
among the witnesses to Stephen's Charter of Liberties (Oxford) in 1136.
[151] Odo de Dammartin states in his _Carta_ (1166) that he held one fee
(in Norfolk) of the king, of which he had enfeoffed, _temp._ Hen. I.,
his brother, William de Dammartin.
[152] Richard fitz Urse is of special interest as the father (see _Liber
Niger_) of Reginald fitz Urse, one of Becket's murderers. He occurs
repeatedly in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. After this charter he
reappears at the battle of Lincoln (Feb. 2, 1141):—"Capitur etiam
Ricardus filius Ursi, qui in ictibus dandis recipiendisque clarus et
gloriosus comparuit" (_Hen. Hunt._, p. 274). For his marriage to Sybil,
daughter of Baldwin de Bollers by Sybil de Falaise (_neptis_ of
Henry I.), see Eyton's _Shropshire_, xi. 127, and _Genealogist_, N.S.,
iii. 195. One would welcome information on his connection, if any, with
the terrible sheriff, Urse d'Abetot, and his impetuous son; but I know
of none.
[153] William de Eu appears as a tenant of four knights' fees _de veteri
feoffamento_ under Mandeville in the _Liber Niger_.
[154] Richard fitz Osbert similarly figures (_Liber Niger_) as a tenant
of four knights' fees _de veteri feoffamento_. He also held a knight's
fee of the Bishop of Ely in Cambridgeshire. An Osbert fitz Richard,
probably his son, attests a charter of Geoffrey's son, Earl William, to
Walden Abbey.
[155] A Ralph de _Worcester_ occurs in the _Cartæ_ and elsewhere under
Henry II.
[156] "Eglino," an unusual name, probably represents "Egelino de
Furnis," who attests a charter of Stephen at Eye (_Formularium
Anglicanum_, p. 154).
[157] William fitz Alfred held one fee of Mandeville _de novo
feoffamento_. He also attests the earl's foundation charter of Walden
Abbey (_Mon. Ang._, iv. 149). A William fitz Alfred occurs, also, in the
Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I.
[158] William fitz Ernald similarly held one knight's fee _de novo
feoffamento_. He also attests the above foundation charter just after
William fitz Alfred.
[159] See Appendix D, on "Fiscal Earls."
[160] "Acies exhæredatorum, quæ præibat, percussit aciem regalem ...
tanto impetu, quod statim, quasi in ictu oculi, dissipata est.