THE CHOICE OF A NEW ABBOT
One year and three months having elapsed since the death of Abbot
Hugh, the King commanded by his letters that our prior and twelve of
the convent, in whose mouth the judgment of our body might agree,
should appear on a certain day before him, to make choice of an abbot.
On the morrow, after the receipt of the letters, we all of us met in
chapter for the purpose of discussing so important a matter. In the
first place the letters of our lord the King were read to the convent;
next we besought and charged the prior, at the peril of his soul, that
he would, according to his conscience, name twelve who were to
accompany him, from whose life and conversation it might be depended
upon that they would not swerve from the right; who, acceding to our
charge, by the dictation of the Holy Ghost named six from one side and
six from the other side of the choir, and without gainsaying satisfied
us on this point. From the right-hand choir were named--Geoffrey of
Fordham, Benedict, Master Dennis, Master Samson the sub-sacrist, Hugh
the third prior, and Master Hermer, at that time a novice; from the
left-hand side--William the sacrist, Andrew, Peter de Broc, Roger the
cellarer, Master Ambrose, Master Walter the physician.
But one said, "What shall be done if these thirteen cannot agree
before our lord the King in the choice of an abbot?" A certain one
answered that that would be to us and to our church a perpetual shame.
Therefore, many were desirous that the choice should be made at home
before the rest departed, so that by this forecast there should be no
disagreement in the presence of the King. But that seemed a foolish
and inconsistent thing to do, without the King's assent; for as yet it
was by no means a settled thing that we should be able to obtain a
free election from the King.
Then said Samson the sub-sacrist, speaking by the spirit of God, "Let
there be a middle course, so that from either side peril may be
avoided. Let four confessors be chosen from the convent, together with
two of the senior priors of the convent, men of good reputation, who,
in the presence of the holy relics, shall lay their hands upon the
Gospels, and choose amongst themselves three men of the convent most
fit for this office, according to the rule of St. Benedict, and put
their names into writing. Let them close up that writing with a seal,
and so being closed up, let it be committed to us who are about to go
to the court. When we shall have come before the King, and it shall
appear that we are to have a free election, then, and not till then,
shall the seal be broken, and so shall we be sure as to the three who
are to be nominated before the King. And let it be agreed amongst us,
that in case our lord the King shall not grant to us one of ourselves,
then the seal shall be brought back intact, and delivered to the six
under oath, so that this secret of theirs shall remain for ever
concealed, at the peril of their souls." In this counsel we all
acquiesced, and four confessors were then named; namely, Eustace,
Gilbert of Alveth, Hugh the third prior, Anthony, and two other old
men, Thurstan and Ruald. Which being done, we went forth chanting
"Verba mea," and the aforesaid six remained behind, having the rule of
St. Benedict in their hands; and they fulfilled that business as it
had been pre-ordained.
Now, whilst these six were treating of their matter, we were thinking
differently of different candidates, all of us taking it for granted
that Samson would be one of the three, considering his travails and
perils of death in his journey to Rome for the advancement of our
church, and how he was badly treated and put in irons and imprisoned
by Hugh the abbot, merely for speaking for the common weal; for he
could not be induced to flatter, although he might be forced to hold
his tongue.
After some delay, the convent being summoned returned to chapter; and
the old men said they had done as they were commanded. Then the prior
asked, "How shall it be if our lord the King will not receive any of
those three who are nominated in the writing?" And it was answered
that whomsoever our lord the King should be willing to accept should
be adopted, provided he were a professed monk of our house. It was
further added, that if those thirteen brethren should see anything
that ought to be amended by another writing, they should so amend it
by common assent or counsel.
Samson the sub-sacrist, sitting at the feet of the prior, said, "It
will be profitable for the church if we all swear by the word of truth
that upon whomsoever the lot of election shall fall, he should treat
the convent according to reason, nor change the chief officers without
the assent of the convent, nor surcharge the sacrist, nor admit any
one to be a monk without assent of the convent." And to this we all of
us assented, holding up our right hands in token of assent. It was,
moreover, provided, that if our lord the King should desire to make a
stranger our abbot, such person should not be adopted by the thirteen,
unless upon counsel of the brethren remaining at home.
Upon the morrow, therefore, those thirteen took their way to court.
Last of all was Samson, the purveyor of their charges, because he was
sub-sacrist, carrying about his neck a little box, in which were
contained the letters of the convent--as if he alone was the servant
of them all--and without an esquire, bearing his frock in his arms,
and going out of the court, he followed his fellows at a distance.
In their journey to the court, the brethren conversing all together,
Samson said that it would be well if they all swore that whosoever
should be made abbot should restore the churches of the lordships
belonging to the convent to the purposes of hospitality; whereto all
agreed, save the prior, who said, "We have sworn enough already; you
may so restrict the abbot that is to be, that I shall not care to
obtain the abbacy." Upon this occasion they swore not at all, and it
was well they did so, for had they sworn to this, the oath would not
have been observed.
On the very day that the thirteen departed we were all sitting
together in the cloister, when William of Hastings, one of our
brethren, said, "I know that we shall have one of our convent to be
abbot." And being asked how he came to be so certain of this, he
replied, that he had beheld in a dream a prophet clothed in white,
standing before the gates of the monastery, and that he asked him, in
the name of God, whether we should have an abbot of our own. And the
prophet answered, "You shall have one of your own body, but he shall
rage among you as a wolf"; of which dream the interpretation followed
in part, because the future abbot cared more to be feared than loved,
as many were accustomed to say.
There also sat along with us another brother, Edmund by name, who
asserted that Samson was about to be abbot, and told a vision he had
seen the previous night. He said he beheld in his dream Roger the
cellarer and Hugh the third prior, standing before the altar, and
Samson in the midst, taller by the shoulders upward, wrapt round with
a long gown down to his feet, looped over his shoulders, and standing
as a champion ready to do battle. And, as it seemed to him in his
dream, St. Edmund arose from his shrine, and, as if sickly, showed his
feet and legs bare. When some one approached and desired to cover the
feet of the saint, the saint said, "Approach me not; behold, he shall
veil my feet," pointing with his finger towards Samson. This is the
interpretation of the dream: By his seeming to be a champion is
signified that the future abbot should always be in travail; at one
time moving a controversy against the Archbishop of Canterbury,
concerning pleas of the Crown, at another time against the knights of
St. Edmund, to compel them to pay their escuages in full; at another
time with the burgesses for standing in the market; at another time
with the sokemen for the suits of the hundreds; even as a champion who
willeth by fighting to overcome his adversaries that he may be able to
gain the rights and liberties of his church. And he veiled the feet of
the holy martyr when he perfectly completed the towers of the church,
commenced a hundred years before.
Such dreams as these did our brethren dream, which were immediately
published throughout the cloister, afterwards through the court lodge,
so that before the evening it was a matter of common talk amongst the
townsfolk, they saying this man and that man are elected, and one of
them will be abbot.
At last the prior and the twelve that were with him, after many
fatigues and delays, stood before the King at Waltham, the manor of
the Bishop of Winchester, upon the second Sunday in Lent. The King
graciously received them; and, saying that he wished to act in
accordance with the will of God and the honour of our church,
commanded the brethren by prolocutors--namely, Richard the Bishop of
Winchester, and Geoffrey the chancellor, afterwards Archbishop of
York--that they should nominate three members of our convent.
The prior and brethren retiring as if to confer thereupon, drew forth
the sealed writing and opened it, and found the names written in this
order--Samson, sub-sacrista; Roger, celerarius; Hugo, tercius prior.
Hereupon those brethren who were of higher standing blushed with
shame; they also marvelled that this same Hugh should be at once
elector and elected. But, inasmuch as they could not alter what was
done, by mutual arrangement they changed the order of the names; first
naming Hugh, because he was third prior; secondly, Roger the cellarer;
thirdly, Samson, thus literally making the last first and the first
last.
The King, first inquiring whether they were born in his realm, and in
whose lordship, said he knew them not, directing that with those
three, some other three of the convent should be nominated. This being
assented to, William the sacrist said, "Our prior ought to be
nominated because he is our head," which was directly allowed. The
prior said, "William the sacrist is a good man"; the like was said of
Dennis, and that was settled. These being nominated before the King
without any delay, the King marvelled, saying, "These men have been
speedy in their work; God is with them."
Next the King commanded that, for the honour of his kingdom, they
should name three persons of other houses. On hearing this, the
brethren were afraid, suspecting some craft. At last, upon conference,
it was resolved that they should name three, but upon this
understanding, that they would not receive any one of those three,
unless by assent of the convent at home. And they named these
three--Master Nicholas of Waringford, afterwards (for a season) Abbot
of Malmesbury; Bertrand, Prior of St. Faith's, afterwards Abbot of
Chertsey; and Master H. of St. Neot's, a monk of Bec, a man highly
religious, and very circumspect in spiritual as well as temporal
affairs.
This being done, the King thanked them, and ordered that three should
be struck off of the nine; and forthwith the three strangers were
struck off, namely, the Prior of St. Faith's, afterwards Abbot of
Chertsey, Nicholas, a monk of St. Albans, afterwards Abbot of
Malmesbury, and the Prior of St. Neot's. William the sacrist
voluntarily retired, two of the five were struck out by command of the
King, and, ultimately, one out of the remaining three. There then
remained but two, the prior and Samson.
Then at length the before-named prolocutors of our lord the King were
called to the council of the brethren: and Dennis, speaking as one for
all, began by commending the persons of the prior and Samson, saying,
that each of them was learned, each was good, each was of meritorious
life and good character. But always in the corner of his discourse he
gave prominence to Samson, multiplying words in his praise, saying
that he was a man strict in life, severe in reforming excesses, and
ready to work hard; heedful, moreover, in secular matters, and
approved in various offices. The Bishop of Winchester replied, "We see
what it is you wish to say; from your address we gather that your
prior seems to you to have been somewhat remiss, and that, in fact,
you wish to have him who is called Samson." Dennis answered, "Either
of them is good, but, by God's help, we desire to have the best." To
whom the bishop, "Of two good men the better should be chosen. Speak
out at once; is it your wish to have Samson?" Whereupon several, in
fact the majority, answered clearly, "We do wish Samson." No one
gainsaid this, though some studiously held their peace, being fearful
of offending either one or the other.
Samson was then named to the King, and after a brief consultation with
those about him, the King called all in, and said, "You present to me
Samson--I know him not; had you presented to me your prior, I should
have accepted him, because I know and am well acquainted with him; but
now I will do as you desire me. Take heed to yourselves; by the very
eyes of God, if you have done ill, I shall call you to severe
account." And he inquired of the prior, whether he assented to this
choice and agreed thereto; who replied that he was well content it
should be so, and that Samson was worthy of a much greater dignity.
Then the elect, falling down at the King's feet and kissing them,
hastily arose, and forthwith went towards the altar, erect in gait,
and with unmoved countenance, singing "Miserere mei Deus," together
with his brethren.
The King, observing this, said to the bystanders, "By the eyes of God,
this abbot-elect thinks himself worthy to govern an abbey!"