R. Houed. Furthermore, about the purification of our ladie, Elianor the quéene mother, and the ladie Alice sister to the French king, Baldwine archbishop of Canturburie, John bishop of Norwhich, Hugh bishop of Durham, Geffrey bishop of Winchester, Reignold bishop of Bath, William Bishop of Elie, Hubert bishop of Salisburie, and Hugh bishop of Chester, with Geffrey the elect of Yorke and John earle of Mortaigne the kings two brethren, by commandement of the king passed ouer into Normandie, to commen with him before his setting forward.
¶ Some write, that now at this present, the king should ordeine or rather confirme the bishop of Elie his chancellour to be lord chéefe iustice ouer all England, and the bishop of Durham to be lord iustice Contention betwixt two ambitious bishops. from Trent northwards. But whensoeuer they were thus aduanced to such dignities, howsoeuer they came by them, directlie or indirectlie, true it is, that immediatlie therevpon, strife and discord did arise betwixt them: for waxing proud and insolent, they disdained ech other, contending which of them should bare most rule and authoritie, insomuch that whatsoeuer séemed good to the one, the other misliked, as in cases where[3] parteners in authoritie are equall, it often happeneth. The like hereof is noted before betwéene the archbishops of Canturburie and Yorke in diuerse kings reignes. For the nature of ambition is to delight in singularitie, to admit no peere, to giue place to no superior, to acknowledge no equall. Hereto alludeth the poet verie neatlie, and exemplifieth it in the old Romans, the order of whose actions is continued at this day, as by the words insuing may be gathered, and ordinarilie obserued booth here and elsewhere;
M. Pal. in sua virg. —— olim
Romulidæ orabant, iacto post terga pudore
Plebeios, quoties suffragia venabantur,
Cerdonúmq; animos precibus seruilibus atq;
Turpibus obsequijs captabant, muneribúsq;
Vt proprijs rebus curarent publica omissis;
Pérq; forum medium multis comitantibus irent,
Inflati vt vento folles, ac fronte superba, &c.
Moreouer, at the same time he caused his two brethren, earle John, and Geffrey the elect archbishop of Yorke to take an oth not to returne into England during the terme of thrée yeares next insuing, without his consent and licence first had. This he did, foreséeing what might happen, prouiding as it were against such practises as his brethren might happilie attempt against him. But yet his mother quéene Elianor procured him to reuoke that decree immediatlie, least it might seeme to the world, that hir sonnes should stand in feare one of another. And so Erle John licenced to returne into England. the earle of Mortaigne was licenced to returne into England at his pleasure, swearing an oth at his departure to obeie the kings beheast, and truelie to serue him, according to the dutie of a good and loiall subiect. The bishop of Elie lord chancellour and cheefe iustice of England was also sent backe hither into this realme, to set forward things behoouefull for the kings iournie.
The bishop of Elie returneth. In like maner the king sent to Rome to obteine that the said bishop of Elie might be constituted the popes legat through both the prouinces of Canturburie and Yorke, and likewise through Wales and Ireland. Which was soone granted by the bulles of pope Clement the third, bearing date the 5. of June. For the which office the bishops gaue him 1500. marks, to the great offense of the king, as he shewed afterward to cardinall Octauian that came to visit him when he arriued in the riuer of Tiber, being vpon his iourneie towards Messina, as after may appeare. But in the meanetime, calling togither the lords, and peeres of those his Polydor. dominions on that side the sea, to wit, Normandie, Britaine, Aniou, Poitou, and Guien, he consulted with them what number of soldiors and how many ships it should be conuenient for him to take with him and furnish into Asia: and herewith he did command them also to obeie Robert earle of Leicester, whome he appointed to remaine amongst them as his lieutenant or vicegerent of those parts during his absence.
¶ But here to leaue king Richard in consultation for matters appertaining to his iournie, and shew brieflie what happened (by the W. Paruus. waie) to the Jewes, which as then dwelt heere in England, after that king Richard was passed ouer into Normandie: ye haue heard how after the riot against them at London, when the king was crowned, he tooke order that they should remaine in peace vnder his protection, and commanded that no person should in anie wise molest them. But now after that he was gone ouer, and that the souldiers (which prepared themselues to follow him) began to assemble in routs, the heads of the common people began to wax wild and faine would they haue had some occasion of raising The hatred borne to the Jewes. a new tumult against the Jewes, whome (for their vnmercifull vsurie practised to the vndooing of manie an honest man) they most deadlie hated, wishing most earnestlie their expulsion out of England. Hervpon by reason of a riot committed latelie against them, at the towne of Lin in Norfolke, where manie of them were slaine, other people in other parts of the realme, taking occasion hereat, as if they had béene called vp by the sound of a bell or trumpet, arose against them in those townes where they had any habitations, and robbed and bet them after a disordered and most riotous maner.
Iohn Textor. As at Stamford (on the faire day in Lent); at Lincolne and at Yorke, in which citie after a number of them had béene besieged certeine daies within a towre of the kings (whither they fled for succour) one of their Fiue hundred saith Houeden and Textor learned gouernours caused foure hundred of their companie to consent to haue their throts cut one at an others hands, he himselfe cutting his wiues throt first, whose name was Anna, then his childrens, one after another, and last of all slue himselfe onelie rather than he would fall into the hands of the christians, that had thus long besieged them. The rest perceiuing what their great Rabbi had doone, set fire vpon all their goods and substance, which they had gotten into the tower with them, and so consuming the same, would haue burnt also the residue of their fellowes which would not agrée to the Rabbies counsell, in the cruell murthering of themselues, if they had not taken a strong turret hard by within that tower, and defended themselues both from the fire and crueltie of their brethren, who had made awaie themselues in such manner as I haue said: and that to the number of foure hundred, or (as some write) fiue hundred at the least.
On the morow, those that were saued, called out to the people, and not onelie shewed how and after what sort their fellowes were dispatched, but also offered to be baptised, and forsake their Judaisme, if they might haue their liues saued from the imminent & present danger wherein they saw themselues to be wrapped, through the furie of the people. To be short, this thing was granted, and they came foorth, howbeit they were no sooner entred into the prease, but they were all slaine, and not one man of them preserued.
After this also, the people ran to the cathedrall church, and broke into those places where their bonds and obligations laie, by the which they had diuerse of the kings subiects bound vnto them in most vnconscionable sort, and for such detestable vsurie as (if the authors that write thereof were not of credit) would hardlie be beleeued. All which euidences or bonds they solemnelie burned in the middest of the church. After which, ech went his waie, the souldiers to the king, and the commons to their houses, and so was the citie quieted. This happened at Yorke on Palmesundaie eeue, being the 17. of March: and vpon the 15. of that moneth, those that inhabited in the towne of S. Edmundsburie in Suffolke, were set vpon, and manie of them slaine. The residue that escaped, through the procurement of the abbat then named Samson, were expelled, so that they neuer had anie dwellings there since that time.
Thus were the Jewes vnmercifullie dealt with in all places in maner through this realme, the first beginning whereof chanced at London (as before ye haue heard) and the next at Lin, of which I thinke it good to note some part of the maner therof, although breeflie, and so to returne to my purpose. The occasion therefore of the tumult at Lin chanced by this meanes: it fortuned that one of the Jewes there was become a christian, wherewith those of his nation were so mooued, that they determined to kill him where soeuer they might find him. And herevpon they set vpon him one daie as he came by, through the streets: he to escape their hands fled to the next church; but his countriemen were so desirous to execute their malicious purpose, that they followed him still, and inforced themselues to breake into the church vpon him. Herewith the noise being raised by the christians that sought to saue the conuerted Jew, a number of mariners being forreners, that were arriued there with their vessells out of sundrie parts, and diuerse also of the townesmen came to the rescue, and setting vpon the Jewes, caused them to flee into their houses.