Foulke earle of Aniou became the king of Englands man. Shortlie after Foulke earle of Aniou (who before had aided the French king against king Henrie) became now king Henries freend by aliance, marieng his daughter to William king Henries eldest sonne. But the French king (as their histories make mention) minding still to be reuenged of the earle Theobald, inuaded his countrie againe with a puissant armie, and had destroied the citie of Chartres, which belonged vnto the same earle, had not the citizens humbled themselues to his mercie: and so likewise did the earle, as may be thought. For in the warres which immediatlie followed betwixt Lewes and the emperour Henrie, the erle aided the French king against the same emperour to[10] the The king and the pope come to an enteruew at Gisors. vttermost of his power. Soone after this, the king came to an enteruiew with pope Calixtus at Gisors, where manie matters were talked of betwixt them: and amongst other, the king required of the pope a grant of all such liberties as his father enioied within the limits of England and Normandie, and chéefelie that no legat should haue any thing to doo within England, except he required to haue one sent him for some vrgent cause.
The pope is a suiter for Thurstane All which matters being determined (as the state of the time present required) the pope besought the king to be good vnto archbishop Thurstane, and to restore him to his sée: but the king protested that he had vowed neuer so to doo whilest he liued. Wherevnto the pope answered, The pope offereth to discharge the K. of his vow. that he was pope, and by his apostolike power he would discharge him of that vow, if he would satisfie his request. The king to shift the matter off, promised the pope that he would take aduice of his councell, and giue him further knowledge, as the cause required, wherevpon departing Eadmerus. The kings answer sent to the pope. from thense, he did afterwards (vpon farther deliberation) send him this message, in effect as followeth.
"Whereas he saith he is pope, and will (as he said) assoile me of the vow which I haue made, if contrarie thereto I will restore Thurstane to the sée of Yorke: I thinke it not to stand with the honor of a king, to consent in any wise vnto such an absolution. For who shall beléeue an others promise hereafter, if by mine example he sée the same so easilie by an absolution to be made void. But sith he hath so great a desire to Simon Dun. Eadmerus. haue Thurstane restored, I shall be contented at his request, to receiue him to his sée, with this condition, that he shall acknowledge his church to be subiect vnto the sée of Canturburie, as his predecessours haue doone before him; although in fine this offer would not serue the turne."
1120.
An. Reg. 21. But now to returne againe to the two princes. Not long after the Simon Dun. departure of the pope from Gisors, Foulke earle of Aniou found meanes to make an agreement betwixt king Henrie & king Lewes, so that king William The kings of England and France are accorded. Wil. Malm. Eadmerus. sonne to king Henrie did homage vnto king Lewes for the duchie of Normandie. And further it was accorded betwéene them, that all those that had borne armour either on the one side or the other, should be pardoned, whose subiects[11] soeuer they were. In like maner, Rafe archbishop of Canturburie returned into England, after he had remained long in Normandie, bicause of the controuersie betwixt him and Thurstan archbishop of Yorke, as is aforesaid.
Now shortlie after his returne to Canturburie, messengers came with letters from Alexander king of Scotland vnto him, signifieng, that where Alexander K. of Scots. the sée of S. Andrews was void, the same king did instantlie require him to send ouer Eadmer a moonke of Canturburie (of whom he had heard great commendation for his sufficiencie of vertue and learning) to be seated there. ¶ This Eadmer is the same which wrote the historie intituled Historia nouorum in Anglia, out of which (as may appeare) we haue gathered the most part of our matters concerning Anselme and Rafe Eadmer Anselmes disciple. archbishops of Canturburie, in whose daies he liued, and was Anselmes disciple.
Archbishop Rafe was contented to satisfie the request of king Alexander in that behalfe, and obteining the consent of king Henrie, he sent the said Eadmer into Scotland with letters of commendation vnto the said king Alexander, who receiued him right ioifullie, and vpon the third daie after his comming thither (being the feast of the apostles Peter & Paule) he was elected archbishop of S. Andrews by the clergie and people of the land, to the great reioicing of Alexander, and the rest of the Nobilitie. The next daie after the king talked with him secretlie of his consecration, and vttered to him how he had no mind to haue him consecrated at the hands of Thurstan archbishop of Yorke. In which case when he was informed by the said Eadmer, that no such thing needed to trouble his mind, since the archbishop of Canturburie, being primate of all Britaine, might consecrate him as reason was; the king could not away with that answer, bicause he would not heare that the church of Canturburie should be preferred before the church of S. Andrews. Herevpon he departed from Eadmer in displeasure, and calling one William (sometime moonke of S. Edmundsbury) vnto him, a man also that had gouerned (or rather spoiled) the church of S. Andrews in the vacation: this William was commanded to take vpon him the charge thereof againe, at the kings pleasure, whose meaning was vtterlie to remooue Eadmer, as not worthie of that roome. Howbeit, within a moneth after (to satisfie the minds of his Nobles) he called for the said Eadmer, and with much Eadmer receiueth his staffe from an altar. adoo got him to receiue the staffe of that bishoprike, taking it from an altar whereon it laie (as if he shuld haue that dignitie at the Lords hands) whereby he was inuested, & went streight to S. Andrews church, where he was receiued by the quier, the schollers, and all the people, for true and lawfull bishop.
In this meane while Thurstan nothing slacking his sute in the popes court, obteined such fauour (wherein the king of England also was greatlie laboured vnto) that he wrote letters thrice vnto the king of Scotland, and once vnto the archbishop of Canturburie, that neither the king should permit Eadmer to be consecrated, nor the archbishop of Canturburie in any wise consecrate him if he were therevnto required. Herevpon it came to passe, that finally Eadmer, after he had remained in Scotland twelue moneths or thereabouts, and perceiued that things went not as he would haue wished (for that he could not get the kings consent that he shuld be consecrated of the archbishop of Canturburie, as it was first meant both by the archbishop and Eadmer) he departed out of Scotland, and returned againe to Canturburie, there to take further aduice in all things as cause should mooue him. In like maner king King Henrie returneth into England.
Ran. Higd. Wil. Malm. Polydor. Matth. Paris.
The kings sonnes and his daughter with other Nobles are drowned by shipwracke. Henrie, hauing quieted his businesse in France, returned into England, where he was receiued and welcomed home with great ioy and triumph; but such publike reioising lasted not long with him. For indéed, this pleasantnesse and mirth was changed into mourning, by aduertisement giuen of the death of the kings sons, William duke of Normandie, and Richard his brother, who togither with their sister the ladie Marie countesse of Perch, Richard earle of Chester, with his brother Otwell gouernour to duke William, and the said earle of Chester his wife the kings neece, the archdeacon of Hereford, Geffrey Riddle, Robert Manduit, William Bigot, and diuerse other, to the number of an hundreth and fourtie persons, besides fiftie mariners, tooke ship at Harflew, thinking to follow the king, and sailing foorth with a south wind, their ship thorough negligence of the mariners (who had drunke out their wits & reason) were throwne vpon a rocke, and vtterlie perished on the coast of England, vpon the 25. of Nouember, so that of all the companie none escaped but one butcher, who catching hold of the mast, was driuen with the same to the shore which was at hand, and so saued from that Wil. Malm. dangerous shipwracke. Duke William might also haue escaped verie well, if pitie had not mooued him more than the regard of his owne preseruation. For being gotten into the shipboat, and lanching toward the land, he heard the skréeking of his sister in dredfull danger of drowning, and crieng out for succour; wherevpon he commanded them that rowed the boat to turne backe to the ship, and to take hir in. But such Wil. Malm. Matth. Paris. was the prease of the companie that stroue to leape in with her, that it streightwaies sanke, so that all those which were alreadie in the boat were cast awaie.
Looke in page 39.[12] ¶ Here (by the way) would be noted the vnaduised speech of William Rufus to the shipmaister, whom he emboldened with a vaine and desperat persuasion in tempestuous weather and high seas to hoise vp sailes; adding (for further encouragement) that he neuer heard of any king that was drowned. In which words (no doubt) he sinned presumptuouslie against God, who in due time punished that offense of his in his posteritie and kinred, euen by the same element, whose fearsenes he himselfe séemed so little to regard, as if he would haue commanded the stormes to cease; as we read Christ did in the gospell by the vertue and power of his word. Here is also to be noted the variablenes of fortune (as we commonlie call it) or rather the vncerteine and changeable euent of things, which oftentimes dooth raise vp (euen in the[13] minds of princes) troblesome thoughts, and gréeuous passions, to the great empairing of their quietnesse: as here we sée exemplified in king Henrie, whose mirth was turned into mone, and his pleasures relished with pangs of pensifenes, contrarie to his expectation when he was in the midst of his triumph at his returne out of France into England. So that we see the old adage verified, Miscentur tristia lætis; and that saieng of an old poet iustified;
Hesiod. in lib. cui tit. opera & dies. "Sæua nouerca dies nunc est, nunc mater amica."
1121.
An. Reg. 22 But to returne to the historie. King Henrie being thus depriued of issue to succeed him, did not a little lament that infortunate chance: but yet to restore that losse, shortlie after, euen the 10. of Aprill next ensuing, he maried his second wife named Adelicia, a ladie of excellent Eadmerus. Hen. Hunt. The king marieth againe. beautie, and noble conditions, daughter to the duke of Louaine, and descended of the noble dukes of Loraine, howbeit he could neuer haue any issue by hir. The archbishop Thurstan (after the manner of obteining suites in the court of Rome) found such fauour at the hands of pope Calixt, Eadmerus. The pope writeth to king Henrie, in fauour of the archbishop Thurstan, & accurseth him with the archbishop of Canturburie. that he directed his letters as well to king Henrie, as to Rafe archbishop of Canturburie, by vertue whereof he accursed them both, and interdicted as well the prouince of Yorke as Canturburie from the vse of all maner of sacraments: from baptisme of infants, the penance of them that died onelie excepted: if archbishop Thurstan were not suffered (within one moneth next after the receipt of those letters) to inioie his see, without compelling him to make any promise of subiection at all. The king to be out of trouble, permitted Thurstan to returne into the realme, and so repaire vnto Yorke; but with condition, that he should not exercise any iurisdiction out of his owne diocesse as metropolitane, till he had confessed his obstinat errour, and acknowleged his obedience to the church of Canturburie.