BECKET'S EXILE (1165).
Source.—Roger de Hoveden, Vol. I., pp. 266, 267. Bohn's Libraries. G. Bell & Sons.
At this moment the King sent him word by his knights to come to him without delay, and render to him a full account of all the receipts of the revenues of the kingdom during the time that he had been his Chancellor. And, in particular, he was questioned with reference to thirty thousand pounds of silver; on which the archbishop made answer: "My lord the King knows that I have often rendered him an account with reference to all the demands he is now making upon me before my election to the Archbishopric of Canterbury. But, upon my election to that See, the King's son, Henry, to whom the kingdom was bound by its oath, and all the barons of the exchequer, and Richard de Lucy, the justiciary of England, released me before God and the Holy Church, from all receipts and reckonings, and from all secular exactions on behalf of our lord the King, and thus, free and acquitted, was I elected to the administration of the duties of this office; and for that reason do I refuse to plead any further." The King, upon hearing this, said to his barons: "Make haste and pronounce judgment upon this person, who, being my liege-man, refuses to take his trial in my court"; on which they went forth and pronounced that he deserved to be arrested and placed in confinement. On hearing this, the King sent to him Reginald, Earl of Cornwall, and Robert, Earl of Leicester, to inform him of the judgment that had been pronounced upon him: who accordingly said to him: "Listen to the judgment pronounced upon you." To this, the bishop made answer: "In the name of Almighty God, and under penalty of excommunication, I forbid you this day to pronounce judgment upon me, inasmuch as I have appealed unto the presence of our lord the Pope." While the above-named earls were carrying this answer to the King, the archbishop went forth from the chamber, and going through the midst of them, reached his palfrey, and mounting it, left the palace, all the people shouting after him and saying: "Where are you going, traitor? Stop and hear your sentence!"
When, however, he had arrived at the outer gates, he found them shut, and was in great apprehension of being taken by his enemies, but Almighty God delivered him. For, Peter de Munctorio, one of his servants, espied a number of keys hanging on a nail near the gate, and taking them down, opened it, on which the archbishop sallied forth on horseback, the King's porters standing by, and uttering not a word. The archbishop made all haste to arrive at the house of some canons regular, where he was hospitably entertained, and commanded the tables to be set out and all the poor that were to be found before the gates to be introduced to eat and drink in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was accordingly done; and he, together with them and his people, becomingly partook of the repast in the refectory of the canons, and, when it was finished, made his bed in the Church, between the nave and the altar. In the meantime, he had secretly ordered preparations to be made for his journey, as it was his intention to depart by night. At twilight, therefore, when the King and the rest were supping in the town, taking with him two friars of the Cistercian Order, the name of one of whom was Robert de Caune, and of the other, Scainen, and a single servant, who was called Roger de Broc, he went out of the town through the gate, which was left entirely without guards, and at daybreak arrived at Lincoln, and was entertained at the house of James. Here the archbishop changed his dress, and, changing his name, ordered himself to be called by that of Dereham; and being recognized by few persons, taking remote ways and bye-paths, he hastened towards the sea-shore, he and his attendants riding on at night, and concealing themselves in the day among his friends and acquaintances. At last they arrived at the sea-shore, and reaching the port of Sandwich, secretly embarked on board of a ship, and then, secretly setting sail, in the morning landed in Flanders, whence he immediately made his way to France.
Before, however, he had arrived at the court of Louis, King of the Franks, Gilbert Folliet, bishop of London, and William, Earl of Arundel, had arrived on behalf of the King of England, to prevent the King of France from receiving the Archbishop of Canterbury in his kingdom, and to request him to beg our lord the Pope, out of his love for him, not to receive the Archbishop of Canterbury into his favour. But the more pains the above-named envoys of the King of England took to have Archbishop of Canterbury expelled from the kingdom of France, the more did the King of France favour him and his cause.