An. Reg. 5. ¶ But sée the hap of things, whilest ech one was thus occupied about the Wil. Paruus. aforesaid monie; it chanced that king Richard was at the point to haue béene deliuered into the hands of his deadlie aduersarie the French king, as hereafter you shall heare, noting by the waie the dangerous estate of princes, the manifold distresses whereinto by sinister fate (as well as the inferior & rascall rout of common drudges) they be driuen. For what greater calamitie, what gréeuouser hartach, what more miserable casualtie could haue happened vnto a bondman, than to be deliuered to and fro from the hand of one enimie to another, to be bought and sold for monie, to stand to the courtesies of forren foes, of a king to become a captiue? whervnto the poet did right well allude, when he said,
Hor. lib. car. 1. ode 10. Sæpius ventis agitatur ingens
Pinus, & celsæ grauiore casu
Decidunt turres, feriúntq; summos
Fulmina montes.
The emperour vpon displeasure conceiued against the bishop of Liege, which latelie had atteined to that benefice contrarie to the emperours The bishop of Liege murthered. pleasure, who wished the same rather to an other person, hired certeine naughtie fellowes to go into France, where the bishop remained for feare of the emperours malice, and there to find meanes traitorouslie to slea him, which they accordinglie did, by reason whereof the duke of Louaigne that was brother to the bishop, and other of his kinsmen, vpon knowledge had thereof, meant to haue made the emperour warre, in reuenge of that murther: insomuch that the emperour, to haue the French kings aid against them, was minded to haue deliuered K. Richard vnto him.
Howbeit after that the matter was taken vp, and a concord made betwixt the emperour and his nobles, he changed his purpose also touching the deliuering ouer of king Richard, who perceiuing that till his ransome were paid (which would amount to the summe of an hundred & fiftie thousand marks) he should not get libertie: and putting great confidence in the dexteritie and diligence of Hubert bishop of Salisburie (whome he sent as ye haue heard into England to deale for the leuieng of the same) he thought good to aduance the same bishop to the metropolitane sée of Canturburie, which had beene vacant euer sithence the decease of archbishop Baldwine, that died (as ye haue heard) in the holie land.
Wil. Paruus. Herevpon writing to the bishops of the realme, and to the moonks of Canturburie, he required them to procéed to the election of an archbishop for that see, and withall commended vnto them the foresaid Hubert, as a man most sufficient and méet for that roome. He wrote Hubert bishop of Salisburie elected archbishop of Cāturburie. likewise to the queene to further that matter, and easilie hereby obteined his desire. For shortlie after, the same Hubert was elected by the bishops and moonks, which assembled togither for that purpose. He was the 41 archbishop that gouerned that see: for although Reginold bishop of Bath was elected before him, yet bicause he died yer he was installed, he is not put in the number.
The king being now put in good hope of his spéedie deliuerance, sent into England, willing his mother quéene Elianor, the archbishop of Rouen and others, to come ouer vnto him into Almaine, and in the meane time he Hubert archbishop of Cāturburie, lord chéefe iustice. ordeined Hubert the archbishop of Canturburie to remaine at home as lord cheefe iustice. After this, the emperour with the aduice of the princes of the empire, assigned a day to king Richard, in which he should be deliuered out of captiuitie, which was the mondaie next after the twentith day of Christmasse. Wherevpon king Richard wrote vnto Hubert archbishop of Canturburie in forme as followeth.
The tenour of king Richards letters to the said archbishop.
Richardus Dei gratia rex Angliæ, & dux Normaniæ & Aquitaniæ, & comes Andigauiæ, venerabili patri nostro in Christo, & amico charissimo Huberto eadem gratia Cantuariensi archiepiscopo salutem & sinceræ dilectionis plenitudinem. Quoniam certiores sumus, quòd liberationem nostram plurimùm desideratis, & quòd liberatio nostra admodum vos lætificat, scripto volumus quòd lætitiae nostræ participes sitis. Inde est quòd dilectioni vestræ dignum duximus significare, dominum imperatorem certum diem liberationis nostræ nobis praefixisse, in die lunæ proxima post vicessimum diem natiuitatis Domini, & die dominica proxima sequenti coronabimur de regno prouinciæ, quod nobis dedit. Vnde mittimus in Angliam literas domini imperatoris super hijs patentes, vobis & cæteris amicis nostris beneuolis. Vos autem interim pro omni posse vestro quos scitis nos diligere, consolari velitis, & quos scitis promotionem nostram desiderare. Teste meipso apud Spiram 22. die Septembris.
The emperour also signified by his letters to the lords of England his resolute determination in this matter, as followeth.