THE SECOND CHARTER OF THE KING.
The liberation of the king from his captivity was hailed with joy by his
adherents, and not least, we may be sure, in his loyal city of London.
The greatness of the event is seen, perhaps, in the fact that it is even
mentioned in a private London deed of the time, executed "Anno MCXLI.,
Id est in exitu regis Stephani de captione Roberti filii regis
Henrici."[432b]
In spite of his faults we may fairly assume that the king's imprisonment
had aroused a popular reaction in his favour, as it did in the case of
Charles I., five centuries later. The experiences also of the summer had
been greatly in his favour. For, however unfit he may have been to fill
the throne himself, he was able now to point to the fact that his rival
had been tried and found wanting.
He would now be eager to efface the stain inflicted on his regal
dignity, to show in the sight of all men that he was again their king,
and then to execute vengeance on those whose captive he had been. The
first step to be taken was to assemble a council of the realm that
should undo the work of the April council at Winchester, and formally
recognize in him the rightful possessor of the throne. This council met
on the 7th of December at Westminster, the king himself being
present.[433] The ingenious legate was now as ready to prove that his
brother, and not the Empress, should rightly fill the throne, as, we
saw, he was in April to prove the exact reverse. The two grounds on
which he based his renunciation were, first, that the Empress had failed
to fulfil her pledges to the Church;[434] second, that her failure
implied the condemnation of God.[435]
A solemn coronation might naturally follow, to set, as it were, the seal
to the work of this assembly. Perhaps the nearest parallel to this
second coronation is to be found in that of Richard I., in 1194, after
his captivity and humiliation.[436] I think we have evidence that
Stephen himself looked on this as a second coronation, and as no mere
"crown-wearing," in a precept in favour of the monks of Abingdon, in
which he alludes incidentally to the day of his _first_ coronation.[437]
This clearly implies a second coronation since; and as the precept is
attested by Richard de Luci, it is presumably subsequent to that second
coronation, to which we now come.
It cannot be wondered that this event has been unnoticed by historians,
for it is only recorded in a single copy of the works of a single
chronicler. We are indebted to Dr. Stubbs and his scholarly edition of
the writings of Gervase of Canterbury for our knowledge of the fact that
in one, and that comparatively imperfect, of the three manuscripts on
which his text is based, we read of a coronation of Stephen, at
Canterbury, "placed under 1142." We learn from him that in this MS. "it
is probably inserted in a wrong place," as indeed is evident from the
fact that at Christmas, 1142, Stephen was at Oxford. Here is the passage
in question:—
"Deinde rex Stephanus una cum regina et nobilitate procerum ad Natale
Domini gratiosus adveniens, in ipsa solempnitate in ecclesiâ Christi a
venerabili Theobaldo ejusdem ecclesiæ archiepiscopo coronatus est; ipsa
etiam regina cum eo ibidem coronam auream gestabat in capite"
(_Gervase_, i. 123).
It should perhaps be noticed that, while the Queen is merely said to
have worn her crown, Stephen is distinctly stated to have been crowned.
I cannot but think that this must imply a distinction between them, and
supports the view that this coronation was due to the captivity of the
king.
My contention is that the date of this event was Christmas, 1141, and
that the choice, for its scene, of the Kentish capital was a graceful
compliment to that county which, in the darkest hour of the king's
fortunes, had remained faithful to his cause, and to the support of
which his restoration had been so largely due.[438]
I further hold that the second charter granted to Geoffrey de Mandeville
was executed on this occasion, and that in its witnesses we have the
list of that "nobilitas procerum" by which, according to Gervase, this
coronation was attended.
This charter, when rightly dated, is indeed the keystone of my story.
For without it we could not form that series on which the sequence of
events is based. It is admittedly subsequent to the king's liberation,
for it refers to the battle of Lincoln. It must also be previous to
Geoffrey's death in 1144. These are the obvious limits given in the
official calendar.[439] But it must further be previous to Geoffrey's
fall in 1143. Lastly, it must be previous to the Oxford, or second,
charter of the Empress, in which we shall find it is referred to. As
that charter cannot be later than the summer of 1142, our limit is again
narrowed. Now the charter is tested at Canterbury. Stephen cannot, it
seems, have been there in the course of 1142. This accordingly leaves
us, as the only possible date, the close of 1141; and this is the very
date of the king's coronation at Canterbury. When we add to this train
of reasoning the fact that the number of earls by whom the charter is
witnessed clearly points to some great state ceremonial, we cannot feel
the slightest doubt that the charter must, as I observed, have passed on
this occasion. With this conclusion its character will be found in
complete accordance, for it plainly represents the price for which the
traitor earl consented to change sides again, and to place at the
disposal of his outraged king that Tower of London, its citadel and its
dread, the possession of which once more enabled him to dictate his own
terms.
Those terms were that, in the first place, he should forfeit nothing for
his treason in having joined the cause of the Empress, and should be
confirmed in his possession of all that he held before the king's
capture. But his demands far exceeded the mere _status quo ante_. Just
as he had sold his support to the Empress when she gave him an advance
on Stephen's terms, so the Queen must have brought him back by offering
terms, at the crisis of the struggle, in excess even of those which he
had just wrung from the Empress. He would now insist that these great
concessions should be confirmed by the king himself. Such is the
explanation of the strange character of this Canterbury charter.
CHARTER OF THE KING TO GEOFFREY DE MANDEVILLE
(Christmas, 1141).
S. rex Angl[orum] Archiepiscopis Episcopis Abbatibus Comitibus
Justic[iariis] Vicecomitibus Baronibus et Omnibus Ministris et fidelibus
suis francis et Anglis totius Anglie salutem. Sciatis me reddidisse et
firmiter concesisse Gaufr[ido] Comiti de Essexâ omnia sua tenementa que
tenuit, de quocunque illa tenuerit, die quâ impeditus fui apud
Linc[olniam] et captus. Et præter hoc dedi ei et concessi CCC libratas
terræ scilicet Meldonam[440] et Neweport et Depedenam et Banhunte et
Ingam et Phingriam[441] et Chateleam cum omnibus suis Appendiciis pro C
libris. Et Writelam[442] pro vi.xx libris. Et Hadfeld[443] pro quater.xx
libris cum omnibus appendiciis illorum Maneriorum. Et præter hec dedi ei
et concessi in feodo et hereditate de me et de meis hæredibus sibi et
suis heredibus C libratas terræ de terris excaatis, scilicet totam
terram Roberti de Baentona[444] quam tenuit in Essexâ, videlicet
Reneham[445] et Hoilandam,[446] Et Amb[er]denam[447] et Wodeham[448]
et Eistan',[449] quam Picardus de Danfront[450] tenuit. Et
Ichilintonam[451] cum omnibus eorum appendiciis pro C libris. Et
præterea dedi ei et firmiter concessi in feodo et hereditate C libratas
terræ ad opus Ernulfi de Mannavilla de ipso Comite Gaufredo tenendas,
scilicet Anastiam,[452] et Braching,[453] et Hamam[454] cum omnibus
eorum appendiciis. Et C solidatas terræ in Hadfeld ad præfatas C
libratas terræ perficiend[um]. Et præterea dedi ei et concessi custodiam
turris Lond[oniæ] cum Castello quod ei subest habend[um] et tenendum
sibi et suis hæredibus de me et de meis heredibus cum omnibus rebus et
libertatibus et consuetudinibus prefate turri pertinentibus. Et
Justicias et Vicecomitat' de Lond[oniâ] et de Middlesexâ in feodo et
hereditate eadem firma qua Gaufridus de Mannavilla avus suus eas tenuit,
scilicet pro CCC libris. Et Justitias et Vicecomitat' de Essexâ et de
Heortfordiscirâ eâdem firmâ quâ avus ejus eas tenuit, ita tamen quod
dominica que de prædictis Comitatibus data sunt ipsi Comiti Gaufredo aut
alicui alii a firmâ præfatâ subtrahantur et illi et hæredibus suis ad
scaccarium combutabuntur. Et præterea firmiter ei concessi ut possit
firmare quoddam castellum ubicunque voluerit in terrâ suâ et quod stare
possit. Et præterea dedi eidem Comiti Gaufr[edo] et firmiter concessi in
feodo et hereditate sibi et hæredibus suis de me et de meis heredibus lx
milites feudatos, de quibus Ernulfus de Mannavillâ tenebit x in feodo et
hereditate de patre suo, scilicet servicium Graalondi de Tania[455] pro
vii militibus et dimidio Et servicium Willelmi filii Roberti pro vii
militibus Et servicium Brient[ii] filii Radulfi[456] pro v militibus Et
servicium Roberti filii Geroldi pro xi militibus Et servicium Radulfi
filii Geroldi pro i milite Et servicium Willelmi de Tresgoz[457] pro vi
militibus Et servicium Mauricii de Chic[he] pro v militibus et servicium
Radulfi Maled[octi] pro ii militibus Et servicium Goisb[erti] de Ing[â]
pro i milite Et servicium Willelmi filii Heru[ei] pro iii militibus Et
servicium Willelmi de Auco pro j milite et dimidio Et servicium Willelmi
de Bosevillâ[458] pro ii militibus Et servicium Mathei Peur[elli][459]
pro iiij militibus Et servicium Ade de Sum[er]i de feodo de
Elmedonâ[460] pro iij militibus Et servicium Rann[ulfi] Briton[is][461]
pro i milite. Et præterea quicquid Carta Regine testatur ei dedi et
concessi. Omnia autem hec prædicta tenementa, scilicet in terris et
dominiis et serviciis militum et in Custodia turris Lon[doniæ] et
Castelli quod turri subest et in Justiciis et Vicecomitatibus et omnibus
prædictis rebus et consuetudinibus et libertatibus, dedi ei et firmiter
concessi Comiti Gaufredo in feodo et hereditate de me et de meis
heredibus sibi et heredibus suis pro servicio suo. Quare volo et
firmiter præcipio quod ipse et heredes sui post eum habeant et teneant
omnia illa tenementa et concessiones adeo libere et quiete et honorifice
sicut aliquis omnium Comitum totius Angliæ aliquod suum tenementum tenet
vel tenuit liberius et honorificentius et quietius et plenius.
T[estibus] M. Regina et H[enrico] Ep[iscop]o Wint[onensi] et W[illelmo]
Com[ite] Warenn[a] et Com[ite] Gisl[eberto] de Pembroc et Com[ite]
Gisl[eberto] de heortford et W[illelmo] Com[ite] de Albarm[arlâ] et
Com[ite] Sim[one] et Comite Will[elmo] de Sudsexâ et Com[ite] Alan[o] et
Com[ite] Rob[erto] de Ferrers et Will[elmo] de Ip[râ] et Will[elmo]
Mart[el] et Bald[wino] fil[io] Gisl[eberti] et Rob[erto] de V[er] et
Pharam[o] et Ric[ardo] de Luci et Turg[isio] de Abrincis et Ada de
Belum. Apud Cantuar[iam].[462]
It will at once be seen that this charter is one of extraordinary
interest.
The first point to strike one, on examining the list of witnesses, is
the presence of no less than eight earls and of no more than one bishop.
To these, indeed, we may add perhaps, though by no means of necessity,
the Earl of Essex himself. Though the evidence is, of course, merely
negative, it is probable, to judge from similar cases, that had other
bishops been present, they would appear among the witnesses to the
charter. The absence of their names, therefore, is somewhat difficult to
explain, unless (if present) they were at enmity with Geoffrey.
Another point deserving of notice is that this great gathering of earls
enables us to draw some important conclusions as to the origin and
development of their titles. We may, for instance, safely infer that
when a Christian name was borne by one earl alone, he used for his style
that name with the addition of "Comes" either as a prefix or as a
suffix. Thus we have in this instance "Comes Alanus" and "Comes Simon."
But when two or more earls bore the same Christian name, they had to be
distinguished by some addition. Thus we have "Comes Gislebertus de
Pembroc" and "Comes Gislebertus de Heortford," or "Comes Robertus de
Ferrers," as distinguished from Earl Robert "of Gloucester." The
addition of "de Essexa" to Earl Geoffrey himself, which is found in this
and other charters (see pp. 158, 183), can only, it would seem, be
intended to distinguish him from Count Geoffrey of Anjou. But here the
striking case is that of "Willelmo Comite Warenna," "Willelmo Comite de
Albarmarlâ," and "Comite Willelmo de Sudsexâ." These examples show us
how perfectly immaterial was the source from which the description was
taken. "Warenna" is used as if a surname; "Albarmarla" is "Aumâle," a
local name; and "Sudsexa" needs no comment. The same noble who here
attests as Earl of "Albarmarla" elsewhere attests as Earl "of York,"
while the Earl "of Sussex" is elsewhere a witness as Earl "of
Chichester" or "of Arundel." In short, the "Comes" really belongs to the
Christian name alone. The descriptive suffix is distinct and immaterial.
But the important inference which I draw from the conclusion arrived at
above is that where we find such descriptive suffix employed, we may
gather that there was in existence at the time some other earl or count
with the same Christian name.[463]
Among the earls, we look at once, but we look in vain, for the name of
Waleran of Meulan. But his half-brother, William de Warenne, one, like
himself, of the faithful three,[464] duly figures at the head of the
list. He is followed by their brother-in-law, the Earl of Pembroke,
whose nephew and namesake, the Earl of Hertford, and brother, Baldwin
fitz Gilbert, are also found among the witnesses. With them is another
of the faithful three, Earl Simon of Northampton. There too is Earl Alan
of Richmond, and the fortunate William of Albini, now Earl William of
Sussex. Robert of Ferrers and William of Aumâle, both of them heroes of
the Battle of the Standard, complete the list of earls.[465]
It would alone be sufficient to make this charter of importance that it
affords the earliest record evidence of the existence of two famous
earldoms, that of Hertford or Clare, and that of Arundel or Sussex.[466]
Indeed I know of no earlier mention in any contemporary chronicler. We
further learn from it that William of Ypres was not an earl at the time,
as has been persistently stated. Nor have I ever found a record in which
he is so styled. Lastly, we have here a noteworthy appearance of one
afterwards famous as Richard de Luci the Loyal, who was destined to play
so great a part as a faithful and trusted minister for nearly forty
years to come.[467] His appearance as an attesting witness at least as
early as this (Christmas, 1141) is a fact more especially deserving of
notice because it must affect the date of many other charters. Mr. Eyton
thought that "his earliest attestation yet proved is 1146,"[468] and
hence found his name a difficulty, at times, as a witness. William
Martel was another official in constant attendance on Stephen. He is
described in the _Gesta_ (p. 92) as "vir illustris, fide quoque et
amicitiâ potissimum regi connexus." At the affair of Wilton, with its
disgraceful surprise and rout of the royal forces, he was made prisoner
and forced to give Sherborne Castle as the price of his liberty
(_ibid._). By his wife "Albreda" he was father of a son and heir,
Geoffrey.[469]
Of the remaining witnesses, Pharamus (fitz William) de Boulogne was
_nepos_ of the queen. In 1130 he was indebted £20 to the Exchequer "pro
placitis terre sue [Surrey] et ut habeat terram suam quam Noverca sua
tenet" (_Rot. Pip._, 31 Hen. I., p. 50). In the present year (1141) he
had been in joint charge of the king's _familia_ during his
captivity:—"Rexit autem familiam regis Stephani Willelmus d'Ipre, homo
Flandrensis et Pharamus nepos reginæ Matildis, et iste Bononiensis"
(_Sym. Dun._, ii. 310). His ravages—"per destructionem Faramusi"—are
referred to in the Pipe-Roll of 1156 (p. 15), but he retained favour
under Henry II., receiving £60 annually from the royal dues in Wendover
and Eton. In May, 1157, he attested, at Colchester, the charter of
Henry II. to Feversham Abbey (Stephen's foundation). He held six fees of
the honour of Boulogne. His grandfather, Geoffrey, is described as a
_nepos_ of Eustace of Boulogne. With his daughter and heiress Sibyl, his
lands passed to the family of Fiennes.
Robert de V(er) would be naturally taken for the younger brother of
Aubrey the chamberlain, slain in 1141.[470] This might seem so obvious
that to question it may appear strange. Yet there is reason to believe
that his identity was wholly different. I take him to be Robert (fitz
_Bernard_) de Vere, who is presumably the "Robert de Vere" who figures
as an Essex landowner in the Pipe-Roll of 1130, for he is certainly the
"Robert de Vere" who is entered in that same roll as acquiring lands in
Kent, with his wife, for whom he had paid the Crown £210, at that time a
large sum. She was an heiress, (sister of Robert and) daughter of Hugh
de Montfort, a considerable landowner in Kent and in the Eastern
Counties. With her he founded, on her Kentish estate, the Cluniac priory
of Monks Horton, and in the charters relating to that priory he is
spoken of as a royal constable. As such he attested the Charter of
Liberties issued by Stephen at Oxford in 1136. I am therefore of opinion
that he is the witness who attests this Canterbury charter, the Oxford
charter of about a year later,[471] and some others in the course of
this reign.[472] He had also witnessed some charters towards the close
of the preceding reign, and would seem to be the Robert de Ver who was
among those who took charge of the body of Henry I. at his death.[473]
Baldwin fitz Gilbert occurs repeatedly in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. He
was a younger son of Gilbert de Clare, a brother of Gilbert, afterwards
Earl of Pembroke, and uncle of Gilbert, Earl of Hertford. He appears, as
early as January, 1136, in attendance on Stephen, at Reading, where he
witnessed one of the charters to Miles of Gloucester. He was then sent
by the king into Wales to avenge the death of his brother Richard (de
Clare); but, on reaching Brecknock, turned back in fear (_Gesta_, p.
12). At the battle of Lincoln (February 2, 1141), he acted as spokesman
on the king's behalf, and was captured by the forces of the Empress,
after he had been covered with wounds.[474]
Turgis of Avranches (the namesake of its bishop) we have met with as a
witness to Stephen's former charter to Geoffrey. He seems to have been
placed, on Geoffrey's fall (1143), in charge of his castle of Walden,
and, apparently, of the whole property. Though Stephen had raised him,
it was said, from the ranks and loaded him with favours, he ended by
offering him resistance, but was surprised by him, in the forest, when
hunting, and forced to surrender (_Gesta_, p. 110).
Passing now from the witnesses to the subject-matter of the charter, we
have first the clause replacing Geoffrey in the same position as he was
before the battle of Lincoln, in despite of his treason to the king's
cause. The next clause illustrates the system of advancing bids. Whereas
the Empress had granted Geoffrey £100 a year, charged on certain manors
of royal demesne in Essex, Stephen now increased that grant to £300 a
year, by adding the manors of Writtle (£120) and Hatfield (£80). He
further granted him another £100 a year payable from lands which had
escheated to the Crown. And lastly, he granted to his son Ernulf £100 a
year, likewise charged on land.
The next clause grants him, precisely as in the charter of the Empress,
the constableship of the Tower of London and of its appendant
"castle,"[475] with the exception that the Empress uses the term
"concedo" where Stephen has "dedi et concessi." The latter expression is
somewhat strange in view of the fact that Geoffrey had been in full
possession of the Tower before the struggle had begun, and, indeed, by
hereditary right.
We then return to what I have termed the system of advancing bids. For
where the Empress had granted Geoffrey the office of justice and sheriff
of Essex alone, Stephen makes him justice and sheriff, not merely of
Essex, but of Herts and of London and Middlesex to boot. Nor is even
this all; for, whereas the Empress had allowed him to hold Essex to farm
for the same annual sum which it had paid at her father's death,[476]
Stephen now leases it to him at the annual rent which his grandfather
had paid.[477] The fact that in the second charter of the Empress she
adopts, we shall find, the original rental,[478] instead of, as before,
that which was paid at the time of her father's death, proves that, in
this Canterbury charter, Stephen had outbid her, and further proves that
Henry I. had increased, after his wont, the sum at which the sheriff
held Essex of the Crown. This, indeed, is clear from the Pipe-Roll of
1130, which records a _firma_ far in excess of the £300 which, according
to these charters, Geoffrey's grandfather had paid.[479] It may be noted
that while Stephen's charter gives in actual figures the "ferm" which
had been paid by Geoffrey's grandfather, and which Geoffrey himself was
now to pay for London and Middlesex, it merely provides, in the case of
Essex and Hertfordshire, that he was to pay what his grandfather had
paid, without mentioning what that sum was. Happily, we obtain the
information in the subsequent charter of the Empress, and we are tempted
to infer from the silence of this earlier charter on the point, that
while the ancient _firma_ of London and Middlesex was a sum familiar to
men, that of Essex and Herts could only be ascertained by research,
pending which the Crown declined to commit itself to the sum.
It is scarcely necessary that I should insist on the extraordinary value
of this statement and formal admission by the Crown that London and
Middlesex had been held to farm by the elder Geoffrey de Mandeville—that
is, towards the close of the eleventh century, or, at latest, in the
beginning of the twelfth—and that the amount of the _firma_ was £300 a
year. One cannot understand how such a fact, of which the historical
student cannot fail to grasp the importance, can have been overlooked so
long, when it has virtually figured in Dugdale's _Baronage_ for more
than two centuries. The only writer, so far as I know, who has ventured
on an estimate of the annual render from London at the time of Domesday
arrives at the conclusion that "we can hardly be wrong in putting the
returns at ... about £850 a year."[480] We have seen that, on the
contrary, the rental, even later than Domesday, was £300 a year, and
this not for London only, but for London and Middlesex together.[481]
Nothing, indeed, could show more plainly the necessity for such a work
as I have here undertaken, and the new light which the evidence of these
charters throws upon the history of the time, than a comparison of the
results here obtained with the statements in Mr. Loftie's work,[482]
published under the editorship of Professor Freeman, which, though far
less inaccurate than his earlier and larger work, contains such passages
as this:—
"Matilda had one chance of conciliating the citizens, and she threw it
away. The immemorial liberties which had been enjoyed for generations,
and confirmed by William and Henry, were taken from the city, which for
the first and last time in its history was put 'in demesne.' The Earl
of Essex, Geoffrey de Mandeville, whose father is said by Stow to have
been portreeve, was given Middlesex 'in farm' with the Tower for his
castle, and no person could hold pleas either in city or county without
his permission. The feelings of the Londoners were fully roused. Though
Stephen was actually a prisoner, and Matilda's fortunes never seemed
brighter, her cause was lost.... The citizens soon saw that her putting
them in demesne was no mistake committed in a hasty moment in times of
confusion, but was part of a settled policy. This decided the waverers
and doubled the party of Stephen.... Stephen was exchanged for the Earl
of Gloucester, the Tower was surrendered, the dominion was removed, and
London had its liberty once more; but after such an experience it is
not wonderful that the citizens held loyally to Stephen during the
short remainder of his life" (pp. 36, 37).[483]
A more complete travesty of history it would not be possible to
conceive. "The immemorial liberties" were no older than the charter
wrung from Henry a few years before, and so far from the city being "put
'in demesne'" (whatever may be meant by this expression),[484] "for the
first and last time in its history," the Empress, had she done what is
here charged to her, would have merely placed Geoffrey in the shoes of
his grandfather and namesake.[485] But the strange thing is that she did
nothing of the kind, and that the facts, in Mr. Loftie's narrative, are
turned topsy-turvey. It was not by Matilda in June, but by Stephen in
December, that London and Middlesex were placed in Geoffrey's power. The
Empress did not do that which she is stated to have done; and Stephen
did do what he is said to have undone. The result of his return to
power, so far as London was concerned, was that the Tower was _not_
surrendered, but, on the contrary, confirmed to Geoffrey, and that so
far from "the dominion" (an unintelligible expression) being "removed,"
or London regaining its liberty, it was now deprived of its liberty by
being placed, as even the Empress had refrained from placing it, beneath
the yoke of Geoffrey. Thus it was certainly not due to his conduct on
this occasion "that the citizens of London held loyally to Stephen
during the short remainder of his life." Nor, it may be added, is it
possible to understand what is meant by that "short remainder," for
these events happened early in Stephen's reign, not a third of which had
elapsed at the time.
But the important point is this. Here was Stephen anxious on the one
hand to reward the Londoners for their allegiance, and, on the other, to
punish Geoffrey for his repeated offences against himself, and yet
compelled by the force of circumstances actually to reward Geoffrey at
the cost of the Londoners themselves. We need no more striking
illustration of the commanding position and overwhelming power which the
ambitious earl had now obtained by taking advantage of the rival claims,
and skilfully holding the balance between the two parties, as was done
by a later king-maker in the strife of Lancaster and York.
Passing over for the present the remarkable expressions which illustrate
my theory of the differentiation of the offices of justice and sheriff,
I would invite attention to Geoffrey's claim to be placed in the shoes
of his grandfather, as an instance of the tendency, in this reign, of
the magnates to advance quasi-hereditary claims, often involving, as it
were, the undoing of the work of Henry I. William de Beauchamp was
anxious to be placed in the shoes of Robert le Despenser; the Beaumont
Earl of Leicester in those of William Fitz Osbern; the Earl of Oxford in
those of William of Avranches; and Geoffrey himself, we shall find, in
those of "Eudo Dapifer."
A point of great importance awaits us in the reference which, in this
charter, is made to the Exchequer. I expressed a doubt, when dealing
with the first charter of the Empress,[486] as to the supposed total
extinction of the working of the Exchequer under Stephen. The author of
the _Dialogus_, though anxious to emphasize its re-establishment under
Henry II., goes no further than to speak of its system being "_pene_
prorsus abolitam" in the terrible time of the Anarchy (I. viii.). Now
here, in 1141, at the very height, one might say, of the Anarchy, we not
only find the Exchequer spoken of as in full existence, but, which is
most important to observe, we have the precise Exchequer _formulæ_ which
we find under Henry II. The "Terræ datæ," or alienated Crown demesnes,
are represented here by the "dominia que de predictis comitatibus data
sunt," and the provision that they should be subtracted from the fixed
ferm ("a firma subtrahantur") is a formula found in use subsequently, as
is, even more, the phrase "ad scaccarium computabuntur."[487]
The next clause deals with castles, that great feature of the time. Here
again the accepted view as to Stephen's laxity on the subject is greatly
modified by this evidence that even Geoffrey de Mandeville, great as was
his power, deemed it needful to secure the royal permission before
erecting a castle, and that this permission was limited to a single
fortress.[488]
In the next clause we return to the system of counter-bids. As the king
had trebled the grants of Crown demesne made to Geoffrey by the Empress,
and trebled also the counties which had been placed in his charge by
her, so now he trebled the number of enfeoffed knights ("milites
feudatos"). The Empress had granted twenty; Stephen grants sixty. Of
these sixty, ten were to be held of Geoffrey by his son Ernulf. Here, as
before,[489] the question arises: what was the nature of the benefits
thus conferred on the grantee? They were, I think, of two kinds. In the
first place, Geoffrey became entitled to what may be termed the feudal
profits, such as reliefs, accruing from these sixty fees. In the second,
he secured sixty knights to serve beneath his banner in war. This, in a
normal state of affairs, would have been of no consequence, as he would
only have led them to serve the Crown. But in the then abnormal
condition of affairs, and utter weakness of the crown, such a grant
would be equivalent to strengthening _pro tanto_ the power of the earl
as arbiter between the two rivals for the throne.
Independently, however, of its bearing at the time, this grant has a
special interest, as placing at our disposal a list of sixty knights'
fees, a quarter of a century older than the "cartæ" of the _Liber
Niger_.[490]
At the close of all these specified grants comes a general confirmation
of the lost charter of the Queen ("Carta Regine").
Our ignorance of the actual contents of that charter renders it
difficult to speak positively as to whether Geoffrey obtained from
Stephen all the concessions he had wrung from the Empress, or had to
content himself, on some points, with less, while on most he secured
infinitely more. Thus, in the matter of "the third penny," which was
specially granted him by the Empress, we find this charter of Stephen as
silent as had been the former.[491] And the omission of a clause
authorizing the earl to deduct it from the ferm of the county virtually
implies that he did not receive it. He gained, however, infinitely more
by the great reduction in the total ferm. The grant by the Empress of a
market at Bushey, and her permission that the market at Newport should
be transferred to his castle at Walden, are not repeated in this
charter; nor does the king, as his rival had done, grant the earl
permission to fortify the Tower at his will, or to retain and strengthen
the castles he already possessed. On the other hand, he allowed him, by
a fresh concession, to raise an additional stronghold. It may also be
mentioned, to complete the comparison, that the curious reference to
appeal of treason is not found in the king's charter.
We will now turn from this charter to the movements by which it was
followed.
At the close of the invaluable passage from Gervase alluded to above, we
read:—
"Rex Stephanus a Cantuariâ recedens vires suas reparare studuit, quo
severius et acrius imperatricem et omnes ipsius complices
debellaret."[492]
His first step in this direction was to make a progress through his
realm, or at least through that portion over which he reigned supreme.
William of Malmesbury writes of his movements after Christmas:—
"Utræque partes imperatricis et regis se cum quietis modestiâ egerunt a
Natale usque ad Quadragesimam; magis sua custodire quam aliena
incursare studentes: rex in superiores regiones abscessit nescio quæ
compositurus" (p. 763).
This scrupulous reluctance of the writer to relate events of which he
had no personal knowledge is evidently meant to confirm his assurance,
just above, that he had the greatest horror of so misleading
posterity.[492b] The thread of the narrative, however, which he drops is
taken up by John of Hexham, who tells us that "after Easter" (April 19)
the king and queen arrived at York, put a stop to a projected tournament
between the two great Yorkshire earls, and endeavoured to complete the
preparations for the king's revenge upon his foes.[493]
Before proceeding, I would call attention to two charters which must, it
seems, have passed between the king's visit to Canterbury (Christmas,
1141), and his appearance with the queen in Yorkshire (Easter, 1142). I
do so, firstly, because their witnesses ought to be compared with those
by whom the Canterbury charter was attested; secondly, because one of
them is a further instance of how, as in the case of the Canterbury
charter, chronicles and charters may be made to confirm and explain each
other.
The first of these charters is the confirmation by Stephen of the
foundation, by his constable Robert de Vere, of Monks Horton Priory,
Kent.[494] If we eliminate from its eleven witnesses those whose
attendance was due to the special contents of the charter, namely, the
Count of Eu and two Kentish barons,[495] there remain eight names, every
one of which appears in the Canterbury charter, one as grantee and seven
as witnesses. Here is the list:
"Testibus Comite Gaufrido de Essex et Willelmo Comite de Warrenne ... Et
Comite Gilleberto de Penbroc et Willelmo de Iprâ et Willelmo Mart[el] et
Turgisio de Abrincis et Ricardo de Luci et Adam de Belu[n] ... apud
Gipeswic."
Here then we have what might be described as King Stephen's Restoration
Court, or at least the greater portion of its leading members; and this
charter is therefore evidence that Stephen must have visited the Eastern
Counties early in 1142. It is also evidence that Earl Geoffrey was with
him on that occasion, and thus throws a gleam of light on the earl's
movements at the time.
The other charter is known to us only from a transcript in the Great
Coucher (vol. ii. fol. 445), and is strangely assigned in the official
calendar to 1135-37.[496] The grantee is William, Earl of Lincoln, and
the list of witnesses is as follows:—
"T. Com. Rann. et Com. Gisl. de Pembroc* et Com. Gisl. de hertf.* et
Com. Sim.* et Com. R. de Warwic' et Com. R. de Ferr.* et W. mart.* et
Bald. fil. Gisl.* et W. fil. Gisl. et Ric. de Camvill et Ric. fil. Ursi*
et E[ustachio] fil. John' et Rad. de Haia et h' Wac' et W. de Coleuill
apud Stanf'."
Of these fifteen witnesses at least five are local men, and of the
remaining ten no fewer than seven (here distinguished by an asterisk)
had attested the Canterbury charter. But further evidence of the close
connection, in date, between these two charters is found in yet another
quarter. This is the _English Chronicle_. We there read that after the
release of Stephen from his captivity, "the king and Earl Randolf agreed
at Stamford and swore oaths and plighted troth, that neither of them
should prove traitor to the other." For this is the earliest occasion to
which that passage can refer. Stephen would pass through Stamford on his
northward progress to York, and here, clearly, at his entrance into
Lincolnshire, he was met by the two local magnates, William, Earl of
Lincoln, and Randolf, Earl of Chester. Their revolt at Lincoln, at the
close of 1140, had led directly to his fall, but it was absolutely
needful for the schemes he had in view that he should now secure their
support, and overlook their past treason. He therefore came to terms
with the two brother earls, and, further, bestowed on the Earl of
Lincoln the manor of Kirton-in-Lindsey ("Chircheton"), and confirmed him
in possession of his castle of Gainsborough and his bridge over Trent,
"libere et quiete tenendum omnibus liberis consuetudinibus cum quibus
aliquis comes Anglie tenet castella sua,"—a formula well deserving
attention as bearing on the two peculiar features of this unhappy time,
its earls and its castles.
Lastly, we should observe the family relationship between the grantee
and the witnesses of this charter. The first witness was his
half-brother, Earl Randolf of Chester, who was uncle of Earl Gilbert of
Hertford, who was nephew of Earl Gilbert of Pembroke, who was brother of
W(alter) fitz Gilbert and Baldwin fitz Gilbert, of whom the latter's
daughter married H(ugh) Wac (Wake). Of the other witnesses, Ralph de
Haye was of the family which then, and Richard de Camville of that which
afterwards, held the constableship of Lincoln Castle. Earl R(oger) of
Warwick (a supporter of the Empress) should be noticed as an addition to
the Canterbury list of earls, and the descriptive style "de Warwicâ" may
perhaps be explained as inserted here to distinguish him from Earl
R(obert) "de Ferrers."
Gervase of Canterbury and John of Hexham alike lay stress on the fact
that the king, eager for revenge, was bent on renewing the strife.
William of Malmesbury echoes the statement, but tells us that the king
was struck down just as he was about, we gather, to march south. As it
was at Northampton that this took place he must have been following the
very same road as he had done at this same time of year in 1138.[497]
Nor can we doubt that his objective was Oxford, now again the
head-quarters of his foe.[498] So alarming was his illness that his
death was rumoured, and the forces he had gathered were dismissed to
their homes.[499]
But, meanwhile, where was Earl Geoffrey? We have seen that early in the
year he was present with Stephen at Ipswich.[500] If we turn to the _Ely
History_, printed in Wharton's _Anglia Sacra_, we shall find evidence
that he was, shortly after, despatched with Earl Gilbert of Pembroke,
who had been with him at Ipswich, to Ely.[501] When Stephen had
successfully attacked Ely two years before (1140), the bishop had fled,
with three companions, to the Empress at Gloucester. His scattered
followers had now reassembled, and it was to expel them from their
stronghold in the isle that Stephen despatched the two earls. Geoffrey
soon put them to flight, doubtless at Aldreth, and setting his prisoners
on horseback, with their feet tied together, led them in triumph to
Ely.[502] To the monks, who came forth to meet him with their crosses
and reliquaries, he threatened plunder and death, and their possessions
were at once seized into the king's hands. But, meanwhile, their
bishop's envoy to the pope, "a man skilled in the use of Latin, French,
and English," had returned from Rome with letters to the primates of
England and Normandy, insisting that Nigel should be restored to his
see. The monks, also, had approached Stephen and obtained from him a
reversal of Geoffrey's violent action. Nigel, therefore, returned to
Ely, to the joy, we are told, of his monks and people; and the two earls
delivered into his hands the isle and Aldreth, its key.[503]
The point to insist upon, for our own purpose, is that the Earls
Geoffrey and Gilbert were both concerned in this business, and that
their names will again be found in conjunction in the records of that
intrigue with the Empress which is the subject of the next chapter.
[432b] _Ninth Report Hist. MSS._, App. i. p. 62 _b_.
[433] "Regem ipsum in concilium introisse" (_Will. Malms._, 755).
[434] "Ipsam quæcunque pepigerat ad ecclesiarum jus pertinentia
obstinate fregisse" (_ibid._).
[435] "Deum, pro sua clementia, secus quam ipsa sperasset vertisse
negotia" (_ibid._).
[436] Dr. Stubbs well observes of this coronation of Richard: "His
second coronation was understood to have an important significance. He
had by his captivity in Germany ... impaired or compromised his dignity
as a crowned king. The Winchester coronation was not intended to be a
reconsecration, but a solemn assertion that the royal dignity had
undergone no diminution" (_Const. Hist._, i. 504).
[437] "Die qua primum coronatus fui" (_Cartulary of Abingdon_, ii. 181).
[438] "Cantia quam solam casus non flexerat regius" (_Will. Newburgh_,
i. 41).
[439] _Thirty-first Report of Deputy Keeper_, p. 3 (based on the late
Sir William Hardy's register of these charters). Mr. Birch, in his
learned paper on the seals of King Stephen, also assigns these limits to
the charter.
[440] "Meldona." This manor, and those which follow are the same, with
the addition of 'Inga' and 'Phingria,' as had been granted Geoffrey by
the Empress to make up his £100 a year. Thus these two manors represent
the "si quid defuerit ad C libratas perficiendas" of the Empress's
charters. Maldon itself had, we saw (p. 102), been held by Stephen's
brother Theobald, forfeited by the Empress on her triumph, and granted
by her to Geoffrey. Theobald's possession is further proved by a writ
among the archives of Westminster (printed in Madox's _Baronia Anglica_,
p. 232), in which Stephen distinctly states (1139) that he had given it
him. Thus, in giving it to Geoffrey, he had to despoil his own brother.
[441] The "Phenge" and "Inga" of Domesday (ii. 71 _b_, 72 _a_), which
were part of the fief of Randulf Peverel ("of London").
[442] Writtle was ancient demesne of the Crown (Pipe-Roll, 31 Hen. I.).
Its _redditus_, at the Survey, was "c libras ad pondus et c solidos de
gersumâ."
[443] Hatfield Broadoak, _alias_ Hatfield Regis. This also was ancient
demesne, its _redditus_, at the Survey, being "lxxx libras et c solidos
de gersumâ." Here the Domesday _redditus_ remained unchanged, an
important point to notice.
[444] Robert de Baentonâ was lord of Bampton, co. Devon. He occurs in
the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. (p. 153, 154). He is identical with the
Robert "de Bathentona" whose rebellion against Stephen is narrated at
some length in the _Gesta_. His lands were forfeited for that rebellion,
and consequently appear here as an escheat (see my note on him in
_English Historical Review_, October, 1890).
[445] Rainham, on the Thames, in South Essex. It had formed part of the
Domesday (_D. B._, ii. 91) barony of Walter de Douai, to whose Domesday
fief Robert de Baentonâ had succeeded.
[446] Great Holland, in Essex, adjacent to Clacton-on-Sea. It had
similarly formed part of the Domesday barony of Walter de Douai.
[447] Amberden, in Depden, with which it had been held by Randulf
Peverel at the Survey.
[448] Woodham Mortimer, Essex. This also had been part of the fief of
Randulf Peverel.
[449] Easton, Essex. Geoffrey de Mandeville had held land, at the Survey
in (Little) Easton.
[450] Picard de Domfront occurs in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. as a
landowner in Wilts and Essex (pp. 22, 53).
[451] Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, on the borders of Essex, the
"Ichilintone" of Domesday (in which it figures), was _Terra Regis_. In
the _Liber Niger_ (special inquisition), however (p. 394), it appears as
part of the honour of Boulogne.
[452] Anstey, Herts, the "Anestige" of Domesday, part of the honour of
Boulogne.
[453] Braughing, Herts, the "Brachinges" of Domesday. Also part of the
honour of Boulogne.
[454] Possibly that portion of Ham (East and West Ham), Essex, which
formed part of the fief of Randulf Peverel.
[455] On Graaland de Tany, see p. 91.
[456] Brien fitz Ralf may have been a son of the Ralf fitz Brien who
appears in Domesday as an under-tenant of Randulf Peverel. According to
the inquisition on the honour of Peverel assigned to 13th John, "Brien
filius Radulfi" held five fees of the honour, the very number here
given.
[457] William de Tresgoz appears in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. as a
landowner in Essex (where the family held Tolleshunt Tregoz of the
honour of Peverel) and elsewhere. He was then fermor of the honour of
Peverel. In the above inquisition "William de Tregoz" holds six fees of
the honour.
[458] William "de Boevilla" (_sic_) appears in the same roll as a
landowner in Essex (pp. 53, 60), and William "de Bosevill" (_sic_) is
found in (Hearne's) _Liber Niger_ (p. 229) as a tenant of the Earl of
Essex (1½ fees de vet. fef.). But what is here granted is the manor of
Springfield Hall, which William de Boseville held of the honour of
Peverel "of London," by the service of two knights. Mathew Peverel, the
Tresgoz family, and the Mauduits were all tenants of the same honour.
[459] Mathew Peverel similarly appears in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. as
holding land in Essex and Norfolk. In the above inquisition William
Peverel holds five fees of the honour.
[460] Elmdon (Essex) had been held of Eustace of Boulogne at the Survey
by Roger de Someri, ancestor of the family of that name seated there.
Stephen was of course entitled to their _servicium_ in right of his
wife. Adam de Sumeri held seven fees of the Earl of Essex in 1166.
[461] Possibly the _Ralph_ Brito who appears in the Pipe-Rolls of
Hen. II. as holding _terræ datæ_ "in Chatelegâ," and who also figures as
"Ralph le Bret," under Essex, in the _Liber Niger_ (p. 242), and as
Radulfus Brito, a tenant of Robert de Helion (_ibid._, p. 240).
[462] Duchy of Lancaster, _Royal Charters_, No. 18.
[463] This same principle is well illustrated by two _cartæ_ which
follow one another in the pages of the _Liber Niger_. They are those of
"Willelmus filius Johannis _de Herpetreu_" and "Willelmus filius
Johannis _de Westona_." Here the suffix (which in such cases is rather a
crux to genealogists) clearly distinguishes the two Williams, and is not
the appellation of their respective fathers (as it sometimes is). This
leads us to such styles as "Beauchamp de Somerset" and "Beauchamp de
Warwick," "Willoughby d'Eresby" and "Willoughby de Beke." Many similar
instances are to be found in writs of summons, and, applying the above
principle, we see that, in all cases, the suffix must originally have
been added for the sake of distinction only.
[464] See p. 120.
[465] Of the absentees, the Earl of Chester and his half-brother the
Earl of Lincoln will be found accounted for below, as will also the Earl
of Warwick; the Earl of Leicester was absent, like his brother the Count
of Meulan, but he generally, as here, held aloof; the Earls of
Gloucester, Cornwall, Devon, and Hereford were, of course, with the
Empress. Thus, with the nine mentioned in the charter, we account for
some eighteen earls.
[466] See Appendix M, on the latter earldom.
[467] See p. 49, _n._ 4.
[468] _Add. MSS._, 31,943, fol. 85 dors.
[469] _Colchester Cartulary_ (Stowe MSS.). See also p. 406.
[470] As by Mr. Eyton (_Addl. MSS._, 31,943, fol. 96). The said Robert
appears in the latter part of this reign as "Robertus filius Alberici de
Ver" (_Report on MSS. of Wells Cathedral_, p. 133), and sent in his
_carta_ in 1166 as "Robertus filius Alberici Camerarii," not as Robert
de Vere.
[471] _Abingdon Cartulary_, ii. 179.
[472] See Appendix N, on "Robert de Vere."
[473] See _Ord. Vit._, v. 52 (where the French editors affiliate him
wrongly).
[474] "Tunc, quia rex Stephanus festivâ carebat voce, Baldewino filio
Gilleberti, magnæ nobilitatis viro et militi fortissimo, sermo
exhortatorius ad universum cœtum injunctus est.... Capitur etiam
Baldewinus qui orationem fecerat persuasoriam, multis confossus
vulneribus, multis contritus ictibus, ubi egregie resistendo gloriam
promeruit sempiternam" (_Hen. Hunt._, pp. 271, 274).
[475] See Appendix O: "Tower and Castle."
[476] "Reddendo mihi rectam firmam que inde reddi solebat die quâ rex
Henricus pater meus fuit vivus et mortuus." Perhaps this indefinite
phrase was due to the fact that Essex and Herts had a _joint_ firma at
the time (see _Rot. Pip._, 31 Hen. I.).
[477] "Eadem firma qua avus ejus ... tenuit."
[478] "Pro CCC libris sicut idem Gaufredus avus ejus tenuit."
[479] The _firma_ of Essex with _Herts_, in 1130, was £420 3_s._ "ad
pensum," _plus_ £26 17_s._ "numero," _plus_ £86 19_s._ 9_d._ "blancas,"
whereas Geoffrey secured the two for £360. The difference between this
sum and the joint _firma_ of 1130 curiously approximates that at London
(see Appendix, p. 366, _n._).
[480] Pearson's _History of England during the Early and Middle Ages_,
i. 664 ("County Rentals in Domesday").
[481] See Appendix P: "The Early Administration of London."
[482] _Historic Towns: London_ (1887).
[483] The two omitted portions amount to but a few lines. There is,
however, an error in each. The first implies that the charter to
Geoffrey was granted before the Empress reached, or was even invited to,
London. The second contains the erroneous statement that the Empress, on
her flight from London, "withdrew towards Winchester," and that her
brother was captured by the Londoners in pursuit, whereas he was not
captured till after the siege of Winchester, later in the year, and
under different circumstances.
[484] It looks much as if Mr. Loftie had here again attempted to
separate London from Middlesex, and to treat the former as granted "in
demesne," and the latter "in farm." Such a conception is quite
erroneous.
[485] It was his grandfather and not (as Mr. Loftie writes) his "father"
who "is said by Stow to have been portreeve."
[486] See p. 99.
[487] "Et computabitur tibi ad scaccarium" is the regular form found in
the precepts of Henry II. (_Dialogus_, ii. 8).
[488] See also, for Stephen's attitude towards the "adulterine" castles,
the _Gesta Stephani_ (p. 66): "Plurima adulterina castella, alia solâ
adventus sui famâ vacuata, alia viribus virtuose adhibitis conquisita
subvertit: omnesque circumjacentes provincias, quas castella
inhabitantes intolerabili infestatione degravabant, purgavit tunc
omnino, et quietissima reddidit" (1140).
[489] See p. 103.
[490] Note here the figures 60, 20, 10, as confirming the theory
advanced by me in the _English Historical Review_ (October, 1891) as to
knight-service being grouped in multiples of ten (the _constabularia_).
[491] See Appendix H.
[492] _Gervase of Canterbury_, i. 123.
[492b] "Semper quippe horrori habui aliquid ad posteros transmittendum
stylo committere, quod nescirem solidâ veritate subsistere. Ea porro,
quæ de præsenti anno dicenda, hoc habebunt principium."
[493] "Post Pascha Stephanus, prosequente eum reginâ suâ Mathilde, venit
Eboracum militaresque nundinas a Willelmo comite Eboraci et Alano comite
de Richemunt adversus alterutrum conductas solvit; habuitque in votis
pristinas suas injurias ultum ire, et regnum ad antiquam dignitatem et
integritatem reformare" (_Sym. Dun._, ii. 312). Notice that John of
Hexham always speaks of Alan as Earl "of Richmond" and William as Earl
"of York." He is probably the first writer to speak of an Earl "of
Richmond," and this early appearance of the title was clearly unknown to
the Lords' committee when they drew up their elaborate account of its
origin and descent (_Third Report on the Dignity of a Peer_). If, as I
believe, no county could, at this period, have two earls, it follows
that either Alan "Comes" did not hold an English earldom, and was merely
described as of Richmond because that was his seat; or, that
"Richmondshire" was, at that time, treated as a county of itself. One or
other of these alternatives must, I think, be adopted. But see also p.
290, _n._ 2.
[494] _Harl. MS._, 2044, fol. 55 _b_; _Addl. MSS._, 5516, No. 9, p. 7
(printed in _Archæologia Cantiana_, x. 272, but not in Dugdale's
_Monasticon_).
[495] Robert de Crevecœur and William de Eynsford. The Count of Eu was a
benefactor to the priory.
[496] _Thirty-first Report of Deputy Keeper_, p. 2.
[497] He held a council at Northampton on his way south in Easter week,
1138.
[498] William of Malmesbury writes: "In ipsis Paschalibus feriis regem
quædam (ut aiunt) dura meditantem gravis incommodum morbi apud
Northamptunam detinuit, adeo ut in tota propemodum Angliâ sicut mortuus
conclamaretur" (p. 763). There is a discrepancy of date between this
statement and that of John of Hexham, who states that Stephen did not
reach York till "post Pascha." William's chronology seems the more
probable.
[499] "Præventus vero infirmitate copias militum quas contraxerat
remisit ad propria" (_Sym. Dun._, ii. 312).
[500] _Supra_, p. 158.
[501] "Dirigitur enim in Ely a rege Stephano cum militari manu in armis
strenuus Comes Gaufridus de Mannavillâ, associante ei Comite Gileberto,
ut homines episcopi, qui tunc latenter affugerent, inde abigeret, aut
gladiis truncaret" (_Anglia Sacra_, i. 621). Earl Gilbert was uncle to
Earl Geoffrey's wife.
[502] "Qui festinus adveniens, hostilem turbam fugavit; milites vero
teneri jussit; et equis impositos pedes eorum sub equis ligatos
spectante populo usque in Ely perduxit" (_ibid._).
[503] See Appendix Z: "Bishop Nigel at Rome."