THE KEEP OF DURHAM.
THE Castle of Durham is now given over to the use of the Northern University, and is in great part occupied by the students. Parts of it only are open to visitors, and any description of its details, under the present restrictions, would be of little value.
In a recent volume of the publications of the Surtees Society, Mr. James Raine, the worthy son of a distinguished sire, has given to the archæological world a very curious poem, now first printed, entitled “Dialogi Laurentii Dunelmensis Monachi ac Prioris,” a work of the time, and which records the intrusion of William Cumin into the see of Durham. This was a period of extreme interest in that important see, once including the city of Carlisle and the territory of Teviotdale, and at the date of the poem still holding the Castles of Durham and Norham, fortresses of the first rank, even in a district which contained Bamborough.
The strife between Stephen and Maud, severe all over England, was nowhere conducted with greater severity than upon the Tyne, the Tees, and the Wear. David of Scotland, Maud’s uncle and active supporter, unsubdued by his defeat at Northallerton, claimed the earldom of Cumberland in his own right, and that of Northumberland in right of his wife. Durham alone stood in his path, and its bishop, Geoffrey Rufus, strong in his impregnable castle, steadfastly adhered to Stephen. His death in 1140–41 enabled a certain William Cumin, an adherent of David, to obtain by force and fraud possession of the castle and the temporalities of the see, although he failed to secure his election to the bishopric. The result was a severe contest between Cumin and the lawful bishop, William de St. Barbe, in the course of which the cathedral was occupied by soldiery, and its monks were ill-treated and slain. It was not till 1144 that Cumin was put down, and peace restored to the house and patrimony of St. Cuthbert.
Laurence, who was born at Waltham and brought up in its holy house, came to Durham during the episcopate of Flambard, who probably completed the castle, the masonry of which, at least, was begun during the reign of the Conqueror. As an ordinary monk, he was celebrated for his facility in metrical composition. He became first precentor, and then a chaplain, to the bishop. The episcopal seat and church of Durham has been described as
“Half church of God, half fortress ’gainst the Scot,”
and the bishops themselves partook largely of this double character. In the bishop’s household, Laurence saw much of secular life. He became a hunter of the wolf and boar, a fisherman, and a judge of horse-flesh; and, if not actually a warrior, he certainly understood the principles of military defences. At the death of Bishop Rufus his connexion with the episcopal household ended, and he took an active part against the intrusion of Cumin and in the election of St. Barbe. He was for some time expelled from the monastery; but after his return became prior in 1149. On St. Barbe’s death, in 1152, he led in the election of De Puiset, Stephen’s nephew, and supported him against the Archbishop of York, by whom he was excommunicated and sentenced to a penitential flagellation at the door of Beverley. Nevertheless, he stood firm to the election, and was one of those who accompanied De Puiset to Rome, and witnessed his consecration by the Pope. He did not, however, live to return to England, but died in France; and his bones only were laid at Durham.
The Dialogues are but one of several of his poems. They may be referred to the first half of the twelfth century, when their author was probably resident within the castle with Bishop Rufus, and must have been very familiar with that nearly completed structure.
The castle still retains many of the features and some of the buildings described in the poem. The ditch which cut off the fortress from the cathedral is, it is true, filled up, and the pasture ward to the east is built over and obscured, but the south gate, though rebuilt, stands on the old site, and is still the main entrance; and the wall on the right on entering still extends towards the keep. The keep itself is a late work; but the mound upon which it stands is a part of the original fortress, and the masonry is laid on the old lines, and in outline the tower no doubt represents pretty clearly the work of Flambard. A strong wall still connects the keep with the lodgings of the castle, and forms the front towards the river. The chapel also remains but little altered, and the walls and arches of the dormitory are original. The well is still seen in the open court, and is, or was recently, in use. Notwithstanding various repairs, rebuildings, and additions, there can be but little doubt that the Castle of Durham resembles in its general aspect the fortress of the Conqueror and of Flambard; nor is there in England any more remarkable example of a Norman castle of the shell-keep type. The publication of the description of it by Laurence possesses, therefore, a peculiar charm; and this must be the excuse for the following attempt at its translation. The poem is here and there very obscure, and occasionally scratches Priscian’s head; and it may be that I have misapprehended one or two lines in the original:—