Carta M. Imperatricis facta Com̃ Gaufredo Essexiæ de pluribus terris et libertatibus.
"M. Imperatrix. H. regis filia et Anglorum Domina. Archiepiscopis.[513] Episcopis. Abbatibus. Comitibus. Baronibus. Justiciariis. Vicecomitibus. Ministris. et omnibus fidelibus suis Francis et Anglis totius Angliæ et Normanniæ Salutem. Sciatis me reddidisse et concessisse Comiti Gaufr[edo] Essexe omnia tenementa sua, sicut Gaufredus avus suus,[514] aut Willelmus pater suus,[515] aut ipsemet postea unquam melius vel liberius tenuerit[516] aliquo tempore in feodo et hæreditate sibi et hæredibus suis, ad tenendum de me et de hæredibus meis. Videlicet in terris et turribus, in Castellis et Bailliis. Et nominatim Turrim Lund[oniæ] cum Castello quod subtus[517] est, ad firmandum et efforciandum ad voluntatem suam. Et Vicecomitatum Lund[oniæ][518] et Middelsex per CCC lib[ras] sicut Gaufredus auus eius tenuit. Et vicecomitatum Essex per CCC lib[ras] sicut idem Gaufredus auus eius tenuit.[519] Et vicecomitatum de Heortfordscirâ per LX libras sicut avus eius tenuit. Et præter hoc do et concedo eidem Gaufredo quod habeat hæreditabiliter Justiciã Lund[oniæ] et Middelsex et Essex et de Hertfordscirâ, ita quod nulla alia justicia placitet in hiis supradictis vicecomitatibus nisi per eis[520] [sic]. Et concedo illi,[521] ut habeat illas C libratas terræ quas dedi illi, et servicium illorum XX militum sicut illud ei dedi et per aliam cartam meam confirmavi. Et illas CC libratas terræ quas Rex Stephanus et Matildis regina ei dederunt. Et illas C libratas terræ de terris Eschaetis quas idem Rex et Regina ei dederunt, et servicium militum quod ei dederunt, sicut habet inde cartas illorum. Et do ei totam terram quæ fuit[522] Eudonis Dapiferi in Normanniâ et Dapiferatum ipsius. Et hæc reddo ei ut Rectum suum ut habeat et teneat hæreditabiliter, ita ne ponatur inde in placitum versus aliquem. Et si dominus meus Comes Andegaviæ et ego voluerimus, Comes Gaufredus accipiet pro dominiis et terris quas habet Eschaetis et pro servicio militum[523] quod habet totam terram quæ fuit Eudonis Dapiferi in Anglia sicut tenuit ea die qua fuit et vivus et[524] mortuus, quia hoc est Rectum suum, Præter illas[525] libratas terræ quas ego dedi ei Et præter seruicium XX militum quod ei dedi, Et præter terram Ernulfi de Mannavill sicut eam tenet de Comite Gaufredo ex servicio X militum Et si potero perquirere erga Episcopum Lund[oniæ] et erga ecclesiam Sancti Pauli Castellum de Storteford per Escambium ad Gratum suum tunc do et concedo illud ei et hæredibus suis in feodo et hereditate tenendum de me et hæredibus meis. Quod si facere non potero, tunc ei convenciono quod faciam illud prosternere et ex toto cadere. Et concedo quod Ernulf[us] de Mannavill teneat illas C libratas terræ quas ei dedi, et servicium X militum de Comite Gaufredo patre suo. Et præter hoc do et concedo eidem Ernulfo C libratas terræ de terris Eschaetis Et servicium X militum ad tenendum de domino meo Comite Andegau[ie] et de me in capite hæreditarie sibi et hæredibus suis de nobis et de hæredibus nostris videlicet Cristeshalam[526] et Benedis[527] pro quanto valent. Et superplus perficiam ei per considerationem Comitis Gaufredi. Et convenciono eidem Gaufredo Comiti Essex quod dominus meus Comes Andegauie vel ego vel filii nostri nullam pacem aut concordiam cum Burgensibus Lund[oniæ] faciemus, nisi concessu et assensu prædicti Comitis Gaufredi quia inimici eius sunt mortales. Concedo etiam eidem Gaufredo quod novum castellum quod firmavit super Lviam[528] stet et remaneat ad efforciandum ad voluntatem suam. Concedo etiam ei quod firmet unum Castellum ubicunque voluerit in terrâ suâ sicut ei per aliam cartam meam concessi, et quod stet et remaneat. Concedo etiam eidem Gaufredo quod ipse et omnes homines sui habeant et lucrentur omnia essarta sua libera et quieta de omnibus placitis facta usque ad diem qua servicio domini mei Comitis Andegavie ac meo adhesit. Hæc autem omnia supradicta tenementa in omnibus rebus concedo ei tenenda hæreditarie sibi et hæredibus suis de me et hæredibus meis. Quare volo et firmiter præcipio quod ipse Gaufredus comes et hæredes sui teneant hæc omnia supradicta tenementa ita bene et in pace et libere et quiete et honorifice et plenarie sicut unquam aliquis Comitum meorum totius Angliæ melius vel liberius tenuit vel tenet Et præter hoc dedi Willelmo filio Otueɫ[529] fratri ejusdem Comitis Gaufredi C libratas terræ de terris Escaetis tenendis de me et de hæredibus meis in feudo et hæreditate pro seruicio suo, et pro amore fratris sui Comitis Gaufredi. Concedo etiam quod Willelmus de Sai[530] habeat omnes terras et tenementa quæ fuerunt patris sui, et ipse et hæredes sui, et quod Willelmus Cap'.[531] habeat terram patris sui sine placito et ipse et hæredes sui. Concedo etiam eidem Comiti Gaufredo quod Willelmus filius Walteri[532] et hæredes sui habeant custodiam Castelli de Windesh' et omnia sua tenementa sicut ipse Willelmus et antecessores sui eam habuerunt de Rege H. patre meo et antecessoribus ipsius. Et quod Matheus de Rumilli[533] habeat terram patris sui quam Gaufridus de Turevill[534] tenet. Et Willelmus de Auco[535] habeat Lauendonam sicut Rectum suum hæreditarie. Concedo etiam eidem Comiti Gaufredo quod omnes homines sui teneant terras et tenementa sua de quocunque teneant sine placito et sine pecuniæ donatione et ut Rectum eis teneatur de eorum Calumpnijs sine pecuniæ donatione Et quod Osb[ertus] Octod[enarii][536] habeat illas XX libratas terræ quas ei dedi et confirmaui per cartam meam.
"Hanc[537] autem convencionem et donationem tenendam affidavi manu mea propria in manu ipsius Comitis Gaufredi. Et hujus fiduciæ sunt obsides per fidem et Testes Robertus Comes Gloec': et Milo Com' Heref':[538] et Brianus filius Comitis: et Rob' fil' Reg':[539] et Rob' de Curc' Dap:[540] et Joh'es filius Gisleberti:[541] et Milo de Belloc':[542] et Rad' Paganell:[543] et Rob' de Oilli Conest':[544] et Rob' fil' Heldebrand'.[545]
"Et[546] convencionavi eidem Comiti Gaufredo pro posse meâ quod Comes Andegavie dominus meus assecurabit ei manu sua propria illud idem[547] tenendum et Henricus filius meus similiter. Et quod rex Franciæ erit inde[548] obses si facere potero. Et si non potero, faciam quod ipse Rex capiet in manu illud tenendum. Et de hoc debent esse obsides per fidem: Juhel de Moduana,[549] et Robertus de Sabloill et Wido de Sabloill[550] et Pagan' de Clarevall'[551] et Gaufredus de Clarevall' et Andreas de Aluia:[552] et Pipinus de Turon': et Absalon Rumarch'[553] et Reginaldus comes Cornubiæ et Balduinus Comes Devon': et Gislebertus Comes de Penbr': et Comes Hugo de Norff': et Comes Albericus: et Henricus de Essex: et Petrus de Valon':[554] et alii Barones mei quos habere voluerit et ego habere potero, erunt inde obsides similiter. Et quod x'rianitas Angliæ quæ est in potestate meâ capiet in manu istam supradictam conventionem tenendam eidem Comiti[555] Gaufredo et hæredibus suis de me et de hæredibus meis. Apud Oxineford.[556]
"Sub magno sigillo dictæ Matildis Imperatricis."
Let us now, in accordance with the guiding principle on which I have throughout insisted, compare this charter seriatim with those by which it was preceded, with a view to ascertaining what further concessions the unscrupulous earl had won by this last change of front. We shall find that, as we might expect, it marks a distinct advance.
The earlier clauses do little more than specifically confirm the privileges and possessions that he had inherited from his father or had already wrung from the eager rivals for the Crown. This was by no means needless so far as the Empress was concerned, for his desertion of her cause since her previous charter involved, as an act of treason, his forfeiture at her hands. These are followed by a new grant, namely, "totam terram quæ fuit Eudonis Dapiferi in Normannia et Dapiferatum ipsius," with a conditional proposal that Geoffrey should also, in exchange for the grants he had already received, obtain that portion of the Dapifer's fief which lay in England. The large estate which this successful minister had accumulated in the service of the Conqueror and his sons had escheated to the Crown at his death, and is entered accordingly in the Pipe-Roll of 31 Hen. I. This has an important bearing on the noteworthy admission in the charter that Geoffrey is to receive the Dapifer's fief not as a gift, but as his right ("rectum suum"). This expression is referred to by Mr. Eyton in his MSS., as placing beyond doubt the received statement that Geoffrey was maternally a grandson of the Dapifer, whose daughter and heiress Margaret had married his father William. But this statement is taken from Dugdale, who derived it solely from the Historia Fundationis of St. John's Abbey, Colchester, a notoriously inaccurate and untrustworthy document printed in the Monasticon. The fact that this fief escheated to the Crown, instead of passing to the Mandevilles with the Dapifer's alleged daughter, is directly opposed to a story which has no foundation of its own.[557]
The next clause to be noticed is that which refers to Bishop's Stortford. It implies a peculiar antipathy to this castle on the part of Earl Geoffrey, an antipathy explained by the fact of its position, lying as it did on the main road from London to (Saffron) Walden, and thus cutting communications between his two strongholds. We have a curious allusion to this episcopal castle a few years before (1137), when Abbot Anselm of St. Edmund's, who claimed to have been elected to the see, seized and held it.[558]
The next additional grant made in this charter is that of "C libratas terræ de terris eschaetis et servicium X militum" to the earl's son Ernulf. This is followed by what is certainly the most striking clause in the whole charter, that which binds the Empress and her husband "to make no peace and come to no terms with the burgesses (sic) of London, without the permission and assent of the said Earl Geoffrey, because they are his mortal foes." Comment on the character of such a pledge on the part of one who claimed the crown, or on the light it throws on Geoffrey's doings, is surely needless.
The clauses relating to Geoffrey's castles are deserving of special attention on account of the important part which the castle played in this great struggle. The erection of unlicensed ("adulterine") castles and their rapid multiplication throughout the land is one of the most notorious features of the strife, and one for which Stephen's weakness has been always held responsible. It is evident, however, from these charters that the Crown struggled hard against the abdication of its right to control the building of castles, and that even when reduced to sore straits, both Stephen and the Empress made this privilege the subject of special and limited grant. By this charter the earl secures the license of the Empress for a new castle which he had erected on the Lea. He may have built it to secure for himself the passage of the river, it being for him a vital necessity to maintain communication between the Tower of London and his ancestral stronghold in Essex. But the remainder of the passage involves a doubt. The Empress professes to repeat the permission in her former charter that he may construct one permanent castle, in addition to those he has already, anywhere within his fief. Yet a careful comparison of this permission with that contained in her former charter, and that which was granted by Stephen, in his charter between the two, proves that she was really confirming what he, not she, had granted.
| Maud (1141). | Stephen. | Maud (1142). |
|---|---|---|
| "Et præterea concedo illi ut castella sua que habet stent ei et remaneant ad inforciandum ad voluntatem suam." | "Et præterea firmiter ei concessi ut possit firmare quoddam castellum ubicunque voluerit in terra sua, et quod stare possit." | "Concedo etiam ei quod firmet unum castellum ubicunque voluerit in terra sua, sicut ei per aliam cartam meam concessi, et quod stet et remaneat." |
As we can trace, in every other instance, the relation of the various charters without difficulty or question, it would seem that we have here to do with an error, whether or not intentional.
We then come to the clauses in favour of Geoffrey's relatives and friends. This is a novel feature which we cannot afford to overlook. It is directly connected with the question of that important De Vere charter to which we shall shortly come.
Lastly, there is the remarkable arrangement for securing the validity of the charter. Let us look at this closely.[559] We should first notice that the Empress describes it, not as a charter, but as a "convencio et donatio." Now this "convencio" is a striking term, for it virtually denotes a treaty between two contracting powers. This conception of treaty relations between the Crown and its subjects is one of the marked peculiarities of this singular reign. It is clearly foreshadowed in those noteworthy charters which the powerful Miles of Gloucester secured from Stephen at his accession, and it meets us again in the negotiations between the youthful Henry of Anjou, posing as the heir to the crown, and the great nobles, towards the close of this same reign. It is in strict accordance with this idea that we here find the Empress naming those who were to be her sureties for her observance of this "convencio," precisely as was done in the case of a treaty between sovereign powers.[560] The exact part which the King of France was to play in this transaction is not as clear as could be wished, but the expression "capere in manu" is of course equivalent to his becoming her "manucaptor," and "tenere" is here used in the sense of "to hold good."[561] The closing words in which "the Lady of England" declared that all the Church of Christ then beneath her sway shall undertake to be responsible for her keeping faith, present a striking picture: but yet more vivid, in its dramatic intensity, is that of the undaunted Empress, the would-be Queen of the English, standing in her water-girdled citadel, surrounded by her faithful followers, and playing, as it were, her last card, as she placed her hand, in token of her faith, in the grip of the Iron Earl.[562]
It was only, indeed, the collapse, to all appearance, of her fortunes, that could have tempted Geoffrey to demand, or have induced the Empress to concede, terms so preposterously high. The fact that she was hoping, at this moment, to allure her husband to her side, that he might join her in a crowning effort, explains her eagerness to secure allies, at the cost of whatever sacrifice, and also, in consequence, the anxiety of those allies to bind her to her promises hard and fast. It further throws light on the constant reference throughout this charter to Geoffrey of Anjou and his son.
Turning to the names of her proposed sureties, we find among them five earls, of whom the Earls of Norfolk and of Pembroke invite special notice. The former had played a shifty part from the very beginning of the reign. He appears to have really fought for his own hand alone, and we find him, the year after this, joining the Earl of Essex in his wild outburst of revolt. With Pembroke the case was different. He had been among the nobles who, the Christmas before, had assembled at Stephen's court, and had attested the charter there granted to the Earl of Essex. He may, in the interval, have quarrelled with Stephen and joined the party of the Empress; but I think the occurrence of his name may be referred, with more probability, to another cause, that of his family ties. It is, indeed, to family ties that we must now turn our attention.
The Earl of Essex had included, as we have seen, in his demands on this occasion, provisions in favour of certain of his relatives, including apparently his sisters' husbands. But these by no means exhausted the concessions he had resolved to exact. He had come prepared to offer the Empress the support, not only of himself, but of a powerful kinsman and ally. This was his wife's brother, Aubrey de Vere.
It will be better to relegate to an appendix the relationship of these two families, without a clear understanding of which it is impossible to grasp Geoffrey's scheme, or to interpret aright these charters in their relation to one another, and in their bearing as parts of a connected whole. Unfortunately, the errors of past genealogists have rendered it a task of some difficulty to ascertain the correct pedigree.[563]
When the fact has been established on a sure footing that Aubrey stood in the relation of wife's brother to Geoffrey, we may turn to the charter upon which my narrative is here founded.
This is a charter of the Empress to Aubrey at Oxford. Mr. Eyton had, of course, devoted his attention to this, as to the other charters, in his special studies on the subject, but his fatal mistake in assigning both this and the above charter to Geoffrey to the year 1141 deprives his conclusions of all value. We may note, however, that he argued from the mention, in the charter granted to Geoffrey, of "Earl Aubrey," that it must, in any case, be subsequent to the charter by which Aubrey was created an earl. He, therefore, dated the latter as "circ. July, 1141," and the former "circ. August, 1141" (or "between July 25 and Aug. 15, 1141").[564] This reasoning could at once be disposed of by pointing out that the Empress accepted her new ally and supporter as "Earl Aubrey" already. Of this, however, more below. But the true answer is to be found in the fact, which Mr. Eyton failed to perceive, that these two charters were not only granted simultaneously, but formed the two complements of one connected whole. In the light of this discovery the whole episode is clear.
It is now time to give the charter with the grounds for believing in its existence and authenticity. We have two independent transcripts to work from. One of them was taken from the Vere register by Vincent in 1622, and printed by him in his curious Discoverie of Brook's Errors. The other was taken, apparently, in 1621, and was used by Dugdale for his Baronage. Vincent's original transcript is preserved at the College of Arms, and this I have used for the text. But we have, fortunately, strong external testimony to the existence of the actual document. There is printed in Rymer's Fœdera (xiii. 251) a confirmation by Henry VIII. (May 6, 1509) of this very charter, in which he is careful to state that it was duly exhibited before him.[565] Thus, from an unexpected source we obtain the evidence we want. It must further be remembered that our knowledge of these twin charters comes from two different and unconnected quarters, one being recorded in the duchy coucher (see p. 165), while the other was found among the muniments of the heir of the original grantee (see p. 183). If, then, these two independent documents confirm and explain one another, there is every reason to believe that their contents are wholly authentic.