Late Medieval Books, Flowers of History by Matthew of Westminster Volume 2 Chapter 1 1066 1087

Coronation of King William the First the Conqueror

Before 25th December 1066. And as they all fled to Malcolm, king of Scotland (age 35), they were all honorably received by him. Then also, Edgar Atheling (age 15), the legitimate heir of the kingdom of England, seeing his country plundered and disturbed on all sides, embarked on board ship with his mother Agatha, and his sisters Margaret (age 21) and Christina (age 9), and endeavoured to return into Hungary, where he had been born; but, a tempest arising, he was compelled to land on the coast of Scotland. And, in consequence of the occasion thus offered, it came to pass that Margaret was given as a bride to King Malcolm, whose exemplary life and virtuous death are plainly set forth in a book specially composed on that subject. But his sister Christina became a nun, and deserves our benediction as one who was married for ever to a heavenly bridegroom.

Before 25th December 1066. Queen Margaret (age 21) had six sons and two daughters, three of whom, namely, Edgar, Alexander, and David, became kings, as they were entitled to by the nobility of their family, and through them the noble blood of the kings of England, who were expelled from their own proper territories by the Normans, devolved upon the kings of Scotland.

Why King William the First was not crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury

25th December 1066. William (age 38) was consecrated king, and crowned on the day of the Nativity of our Lord, on the second day of the week, by Ealdred, archbishop of York, as I have said before, because Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury, had been suspended by pope Alexander (age 56) as a schismatic. At that time there was a very powerful officer, Eadric, surnamed Silvaticus, the son of Aelfric, the son of Edric Streona; and the chatelains of Hereford, and Richard, the son of Scrob, frequently laid waste his territories, because he disdained to submit to the king, but, as often as they attacked him they lost a great number of their soldiers and men-at-arms. Therefore Edric invited Bleothwin and Biwathe, kings of Wales, to come to his assistance; and, about the day of The Assumption of the blessed Virgin, he laid waste the province of Hereford, as far as the bridge over the river Wye, and carried off a large booty.

The Abbey of Battle is built

1067. King William (age 39), exulting in his victory, gave praise to God. The same year also, the king built an abbey, which, in reference to the battle that had been fought there, he called Battle [Map], in order that glory, and praise, and thanks, might be offered up in it to God for ever for the victory which he had given him, and also that offices for the souls of the dead who were slain there might be perfonned by the monks who were established in it, with the offering of salutary victims; and he endowed and enriched the church with estates and priyileges, and committed it to the patronage and protection of the kings who should reign in England after him.

William's Duchess is consecrated Queen

Two sons of Sweyn came into England to subdue it

How King William feeling secure at length becomes a tyrant instead of a King

4th April 1070. On the fourth day of April, king William (age 42), being now become more secure on his throne, violated his promises in many respects; and he caused the monasteries to be searched throughout the whole of England, and commanded the money found in them, and the charters, in the privileges granted by which the nobles of England placed their trust, and which the king, when in a position of difficulty, had sworn to observe himself, to be carried off by force from the churches where they had been deposited, and where they had hitherto lain in security, and to be taken to his own treasury.

After 4th April 1070. Moreover, the whole Anglican Church held a great council in Easter week, at Winchester, Hampshire [Map], by the management of the king, where many of the things which concerned the kingdom were changed. At that council too, Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury, was ignominiously degraded, and his brother, Aylmer, bishop of East Anglia, and many other bishops and abbots were deposed at the same time. Aegelwin, bishop of Durham, alone, of all the prelates of England, seeing the unjust oppression of his brethren, and sympathizing with them, and feeling zeal for God, went of his own accord into banishment from England, wishing to entangle the oppressors in the knot of excommunication. Stigand was succeeded by Lanfranc (age 65), a monk, a man of elegant learning, and adorned with many and various other accomplishments, who, among other magnificent works, composed a treatise on the Sacrament of the Altar, confirming the Catholic Faith. Aylmer was succeeded by Arfast, the king's chaplain; and he transferred the seat of his diocese to Thetford.

The English being expelled by the Normans, are injuriously and wickedly treated

24th April 1071. Lanfranc (age 66), abbot of Caen, was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury, on the twenty-fourth of April. And this Lanfranc, when archbishop, established the order of monks according to the rule of Saint Benedict in many of the convents of England. And he did so, first of all, in the church of Canterbury; after that, in the church of Saint Alban [Map], the protomartyr of the English, where also, when the abbot Frederic died, he appointed his [Lanfranc's] nephew Paul as his successor; who, relying on the support of his uncle, restored the church, and reformed the brotherhood, which had fallen into some irregularities.

1071. This year also, the English being very injuriously treated by the Normans, fled to the fens of Ely, and to the island of Thorney, where they made themselves a camp of refuge, and elected Hereward (age 36), a warrior of great energy and bravery, as their general. But king William (age 43), alluring some by promises and terrifying others by threats, and corrupting others again by bribes, at last surrounded all the fugitives with a numerous army, and compelled them to return and to submit unto his authority.

King William received homage from the king of Scotland

8th April 1071. A general council of the kingdom of England was held, to discuss the question of the primacy of the church of Canterbury, as superior to the church of York, on the eighth of April. And at last it was decreed that the archbishop of Canterbury had the preeminence, and that the archbishop of York was subordinate to him in everything.

1071. Moreover, king William (age 43) went to Scotland, and invaded it in a hostile manner, thinking that some of his indomitable enemies, and some of the refugees were there at the king's court, and that some of his own subjects were sheltered there. But as he found no such persons there, when he had received the homage of the king of Scotland (age 39), he returned to his own country.

1071. In the same year, king William (age 43) invaded Scotland with a great army, and Malcolm, king of Scotland (age 39), came peaceably to Berwick [Map] to meet him, and became his subject. At this time, count Ranulph of Micenis governed the earldom of Carlisle, who had given efficacious assistance to king William in his conquest of England. He began to build the city of Carlisle [Map], and to strengthen the citizens with many privileges. But when king William was returning from Scotland through Cumberland, seeing so royal a city, he took it from count Ranulph, and gave him instead of it the earldom of Chester, which was endowed with many honours and privileges. And king William commanded Carlisle to be fortified with very strong towers and ramparts. Moreover, king William the Conqueror, on his return from Scotland, built a new castle at Durham [Map], to serve as a protection against the irruptions of the Scots.

King William subdued Normandy, which had rebelled against him

1072. Pope Alexander died on the last day of March, and was succeeded by Hildebrand, who took the name of Gregory. The same year, the monks of Saint Ouen [Map] came with a band of armed men, and attacked John, archbishop of Rouen, as he was celebrating mass, on the festival of the above-named saint. On which account it was decided in a council which was assembled in that city, over which William, king of England (age 44), presided, that the monks who were guilty of this crime, should be thrown into prison by the abbot.

1072. Moreover the same year, king William (age 44), supported by the assistance of the English, reduced Normandy, which had rebelled against him, to submit to his authority by force of arms. After that, having established peace everywhere, and arranged everything well, and having received the English with the fulness of his affection, he returned to England.

Some Priests who had been guilty of Simony, and who had taken wives, are excommunicated by pope Gregory. Wolstan is restored to his bishopric

1073. Gregory, who is also called Hildebrand, held a synod, and anathematized those guilty of simony. Some priests who had taken wives he removed from their holy office, by a new example, and as it seemed to many an inconsiderate prejudice, in contradiction to the opinions of the ancient fathers. The blessed Wolstan (age 65), who had been unjustly deposed by archbishop Lanfranc (age 68), was restored to his diocese, in consequence of a miracle. After he had fixed his pastoral staff on the tomb of the blessed Edward, no one except himself could draw it out again.

1073. But the pope, to punish those priests who had married wives more rigorously, and by punishing them to recall them from those illicit embraces, forbade the laity to hear mass from them, and ordered also the tithes which were due to such priests to be burnt in the fire.

1073. The same year, Canute (age 31), son of Sweyn (age 54), and count Haco, came from Denmark, with a powerful and hostile army, and with two hundred large ships; but their enterprise was frustrated, by the circumspection and prudence of the most invincible king William (age 45).

Edith, queen of England, died. The king cursed his son Robert, surnamed Cortehose

1075. The same year, on Easter day, the above-named king William (age 47) gave his daughter Cecilia (age 19) to be dedicated to the service of God with devout solemnity in the church at Feschamp. Also king William cursed his son Robert (age 24), because he had often provoked him to anger, and in the bitterness of his soul he drove him from his sight and presence. And Robert at the end of his life found out undeniably how great was the effect of the paternal malediction, when having become blind, he was exposed to the hatred and persecution of his brothers, and so died miserably in prison.

A general Earthquake in England

27th March 1076. On the twenty-seventh day of March the earth trembled, and a general earthquake took place all over England, and a heavy frost and great abundance of ice continued from the beginning of November to the middle of April. This year, duke Waltheof was beheaded.

This is the thirteenth year of the first cycle of nineteen years, after the repetition of the great year of Dionysius, two of which have now elapsed since the passion of our Lord.

The monastic orders revived in England owing to the example and doctrine of archbishop Lanfranc

16th April 1077. On Palm Sunday, which fell on the sixteenth of April, a star appeared about six o'clock, while the sky was quite clear. This year, Lauzo, the prior of Saint Pancras, came into England, and Paul, a monk of Cadomum, a nephew of archbishop Lanfranc (age 72), was created abbot of Saint Alban's. And by his means, with the assistance of Lanfranc, the whole monastic order in England was again brought into a flourishing state. Likewise the abbot Paul himself enriched his church with ample possessions and many privileges.

The emperor is excommunicated for disobedience

1078. A violent quarrel arose between pope Gregory and the emperor Henry. At last the emperor was excommunicated¹. After that, he ravaged the province of Swabia. King William (age 50) held his court at Gloucester [Map], and conferred bishoprics on those of his chaplains, giving the diocese of London to Maurice, of Norwich to William, and of Chichester to Robert. The same year, Guiscard, the noble dake of Apolia, died, and was succeeded by his two sons, Roger and Beaumont. This year also, a naval war of deadly animosity broke out between the states of Venice and Baris, for the sake of the body of Saint Nicholas. The same year, count William de Warenne, who had come into England with William the Bastard, founded the abbey of Saint Pancras of Lewes [Map].

Note 1. This was the origin of the wars between the Guelfs and Ghibelins.

Wales is subdued by the English and Antioch is taken by the Pagans

1079. John, archbishop of Rouen, died, and was succeeded by William, who had been abbot of Cadomum. The restoration of the church of the bishopric of Winchester was commenced. On the night of the nativity of our Lord a violent storm of wind shook several solid buildings.

1080. This year also, king William (age 52) led a powerful army into Wales, and subjugated it; and received homage and hostages for their fidelity from the petty kings of the viscounty. The same year, Antioch was taken by the pagans, together with the adjacent province, which had been a Christian land ever since the time of Saint Peter, without any disturbances. The same year, Malcolm, king of Scotland (age 48), became furious a second time after the Assumption of the blessed Virgin Mary, and ravaged the whole of Northumberland, as far as the river Tyne. But when he heard of this, the king of England sent his son Robert (age 29) with an army into Scotland, who returned without having succeeded in his objects, and built a new castle in the river Tyne, and then returned to his father. The same year also, the king sent his brother Odo, bishop of Bayeux, with a large army, to lay waste Northumberland, the people of which district had risen in insurrection against the king, and had murdered Walcher, bishop of Durham, a man of exemplary character, at Gateshead.

A false King is slain by the Emperor

1080. Pope Hildebraud, who is also called Gregory, predicted, as if he had been informed of it by divine revelation, that a false king would die this year. His prediction, indeed, was true; but he was deceived in his opinion and conjecture as to who the false king was, for he interpreted the phrophecy according to his own wish, as if it concerned the emperor Henry. But the emperor fought a sever battle, in which he slew the false king of Saxony, whose name was Radulf, with many princes of Saxony. That same year, the town of Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland [Map] was founded by King William (age 52).

Many of them were executed by hanging. At last, after a two-year truce had been concluded between the kings of France and England and their allies, the King of England returned from Flanders and landed at Sandwich on March 21st [1297].

De quibus plures ibidem suspendio perierunt. Tandem acceptis treugis inter reges Franciæ et Angliæ et sibi confœderatos per biennium, rediens rex Angliæ de Flandria duodecimo kal. Aprilis applicuit apud Sandwycum.

In the year of grace 1298, as the King of England was staying at Westminster on the fourth day before the Kalends of April (29th March 1298), a great fire broke out in the lesser hall of the palace. The flames reached the roof of the building and, driven by the wind, devoured the structures of the nearby abbey. Departing from there, the king traveled to York, sending there the barons of the Exchequer and the justices of the Bench, to hold a parliament with the great men of the realm after the feast of the Holy Trinity.

Anno gratiæ MCXCVIII^o. Accedente rege Angliæ apud Westmonasterium iv. kal. Aprilis, accensoque igne vehementi in minori aula palatii, ac flamma tecturam domus attingente ventoque agitata, abbatiæ vicinæ ædificia devoravit. Rex inde proficiscens divertit se apud Eboracum, mittens illuc barones de scaccario et justiciarios de banco, post festum sanctæ Trinitatis parliamentum cum majoribus populi habiturus.

And on the feast of Saint Andrew [30th November 1299], the earth shook in Rome for three days, and shortly after in England at dusk; a comet also appeared in the North, emitting fiery rays sideways toward the East for three days after sunset, foretelling great slaughter of men. In the same year, after the magnates had been summoned on the second Sunday of Lent at Westminster, the lord king caused the form of peace, sealed by Pope Boniface as arbiter and final judge between the kings, to be read aloud, along with other bulls concerning his position; to which all the people, together with the clergy, gave their consent. When this had been done, the prelates and other nobles requested that the Great Charter of Liberties and the Charter of the Forest be ratified, but they did not obtain their request.

Et in festo sancti Andreæ Romæ terra tremuit per triduum, et cito post in Anglia in crepusculo; cometa quoque apparuit in Septentrione, emittens radios lateraliter versus Orientem ignivomos triduo post occasum solis, præmonstrans cædem magnam hominum. Eodem anno citatis magnatibus Dominica secunda Quadragesime apud Westmonasterium, dominus rex fecit recitare formam pacis bullatam per Papam Bonefacium, tanquam arbitrum et diffinitorem inter reges, et alias bullas statum suum tangentes; quibus consensum præbuit plebs omnis cum clero. Quo facto petierunt prælati et alii majores magnam cartam libertatum et de foresta ratificari, nec optinuerunt.

On the following day, the king girded his son with the knightly belt in his palace and granted him the Duchy of Aquitaine. The prince, now made a knight, proceeded to Westminster Abbey to likewise adorn his companions with the glory of knighthood. But such was the great crush of people before the high altar that two knights died, and many fainted—despite the fact that each had at least three attendants to guide and protect him. Because of the pressing crowd, the prince was forced to knight his companions not before the altar, but upon it, having the throng driven back by warhorses.

Die autem crastina cinxit rex filium suum baltheo militari in palatio suo, et dedit ei ducatum Aquitaniæ. Princeps ergo, factus miles, perrexit in ecclesiam Westmonasterii, ut consocios suos militari gloria pariter venustaret. Porro tanta erat ibi pressura gentium ante magnum altare, quod duo milites morerentur, quamplures syncopizarent, etiam cum quilibet ad minus tres milites ad se ducendum et tuendum haberet. Princeps autem, propter turbam comprimentem, non secus, sed super magnum altare, divisa turba per dextrarios bellicosos, socios suos cinxit.

Then, in grand pomp, two swans (or cygnets) were brought before the king, adorned with golden nets or gilded bands—a spectacle most pleasing to all who beheld it. Upon seeing them, the king made a solemn vow: to God of Heaven and by the swans, he pledged to go to Scotland to avenge the death of John Comyn and the broken faith of the Scots, whether alive or dead. He charged the prince and the other great lords of the realm, by the loyalty they owed him, that if he should die before fulfilling this, they must carry his body with them into battle in Scotland, and not bury it until the Lord had granted victory and triumph over the traitorous king and the perjured people.

Tunc allati sunt in pompatica gloria duo cygni vel olores ante regem, phalerati retibus aureis vel fistulis deauratis, desiderabile spectaculum intuentibus. Quibus visis, rex votum vovit, Deo cœli et cygnis se proficisci in Scotiam, mortem Johannis Comyn et fidem tesam Scotomm vivus sive mortuus vindicaturus, adjurans principem et ceteros prsecelsos viros terrae, fide sibi debita, si ipse prius in fata decederet, corpus suum secum in Scotiam in bello deferrent, nee sepelirent illud quousque Dominus de perfido coronato et gente perjura dedisset victoriam et triumphum