Temple.
I much doubt the fact of the Conqueror's sword ever having been in the
possession of the monks of Battle. Nor am I aware of any writer
contemporary with the dissolution of that famous abbey who asserts it.
William's royal robe, adorned with precious gems, and a feretory in the
form of an altar, inclosing 300 relics of the saints, were bequeathed by
him to the monastery; and Rufus transmitted them to Battle, where they were
duly received on the 8th of the calends of November, 1088. This information
is furnished by the _Chronicle of Battel Abbey_, which I have just
translated for the press; but not one word is said of the sword.
Though I have always lived within a few miles of Firle Place, the seat of
the Gages, and though I am tolerably well acquainted with the history and
traditions of that noble family, I never heard of the sword mentioned by P.
Had that relic really been preserved at Battle till the time of Henry
VIII., it is not improbable that it might have come into Sir John Gage's
hands with the manor of Aleiston, of which he was grantee, while his
son-in-law, Sir Anthony Browne, became possessor of the abbey itself.
Will P. have the goodness to mention the source from which he obtained his
statement?