The townesmen were not verie earnest in pursuing of them, bicause of the kings proclamation and ordinance before time made in fauour of the The slaughter made of the Jews at Lin. Jewes: but the mariners followed them to their houses, slue diuerse of them, robbed and sacked their goods, and finallie set their dwellings on fire, and so burnt them vp altogither. These mariners being inriched with the spoile of the Jewes goods, and fearing to be called to accompt for their vnlawfull act by the kings officers, got them foorthwith to shipboord, and hoising vp sailes, departed with their ships to the sea, and so escaped the danger of that which might haue béene otherwise laid to their charge. The townesmen being called to an accompt excused themselues by the mariners, burdening them with all the fault. But although they of Lin were thus excused, yet they of Yorke escaped not so easilie. For the king being aduertised of such outrage, doone contrarie to the order of his lawes and expresse commandement, wrote ouer to the bishop of Elie his chancellour, charging him to take cruell punishment of the offenders.
The bishop with an armie went to Yorke, but the cheefe authors of the riot hearing of his comming, fled into Scotland: yet the bishop at his comming to the citie, caused earnest inquirie to be made of the whole matter. The citizens excused themselues, & offered to proue that they were not of counsel with them that had committed the riot, neither had they aided nor comforted them therein an anie maner of wise. And in déed the most part of them that were the offenders, were of the countries and townes néere to the citie, with such as were crossed into the holie land, and now gone ouer to the king, so that verie few or none of the substantiall men of the citie were found to haue ioined with them. The citizens of Yorke put to their fine for slaughter of the Jewes. Howbeit this would not excuse the citizens, but that they were put to their fine by the stout Bishop, euerie of them paieng his portion according to his power and abilitie in substance, the common sort of the poore people being pardoned, and not called into iudgement, sith the ringleaders were fled and gone out of the waie: and thus much by waie of digression touching the Jews.
Now to returne vnto the king, who in this meane time was verie busie to prouide all things necessarie to set forward on his iournie; his ships which laie in the mouth of the riuer of Saine, being readie to put off, he tooke order in manie points concerning the state of the common-wealth on that side, and chéefelie he called to mind, that it should be a thing necessarie for him, to name who should succeed him in the kingdome of England, if his chance should not be to returne againe from so long and Matt. West. dangerous a iournie. He therefore named (as some suppose) his nephue Arthur, the sonne of his brother Geffrey duke of Britaine, to be his successour in the kingdome, a yoong man of a likelie proofe and princelie towardnesse, but not ordeined by God to succéed ouer this kingdome.
About the same time the bishop of Elie, lord chancellour and cheefe iustice of England, tooke vp to the kings vse, of euerie citie in England two palfries and two sumpter horsses, & of euerie abbeie one palfrie and one sumpter horsse, & euerie manour within the realme found also one palfrie and one sumpter horsse. Moreouer, the said bishop of Elie, deliuered the gouernement of Yorkeshire to his brother Osbert de Longchampe: and all those knights of the said shire, the which would not come to make answer to the law vpon summons giuen them, he commanded to be apprehended and by and by cast in prison. Also when the bishop of Durham was returned from the king and come ouer into England to go vnto his charge, at his meeting with the lord chancellour at Elie (notwithstanding that he shewed him his letters patents of the grant made to him to be iustice from Trent northward) the said lord The bishop of Durham restreined of libertie. chancellour taking his iournie to Southwell with him, there deteined him as prisoner, till he had made surrender to him of the castell of Windsor, & further had deliuered to him his sonnes, Henrie de Putsey, and Gilbert de la Ley, as pledges that he should keepe the peace against the king and all his subiects, vntill the said prince should returne from the holie land. And so he was deliuered for that time, though shortlie after, and whilest he remained at Houeden, there came to him Osbert de Longchampe the lord chancellours brother, and William de Stuteuille, the which caused the said bishop to find sufficient suretie that he should not thence depart without the kings licence, or the lord chancellors, so long as the king should be absent. Herevpon the bishop of Durham sent knowledge to the king how and in what sort he had béene handled by the chancellor.
In the meane time the king was gone into Gascoigne, where he besieged a William de Chisi. castell that belonged to one William de Chisi, and tooke both the castell and the owner, whome he caused to be hanged for the spoiles and robberies which he had committed vpon pilgrims that passed by those parts toward Compostella, to visit the bodie of saint James. After this, the king came backe vnto Chinon in Aniou, and there tooke order for the The kings nauie is set foorth.
Baion.
Sablius, or Sabuille. setting foorth of his nauie by sea, ouer which he appointed chéefe gouernours Gerard archbishop of Aux, Bernard bishop of Baieux, Robert de Sablius, Richard de Camuille[4], and William de Fortz de Vlerun, commanding all those that should passe foorth with his said nauie, to be obedient vnto these persons as his deputies and lieutenants. Herewith they were appointed to prouide victuals to serue all those that should go by sea for the space of 60 daies.
Polydor. The king also made the same time certeine ordinances to be obserued among the seafaring men which tended to this effect:
Slaiers of men. 1 First, that if any man chanced to slea an other on the shipboord, he should be bound to the dead bodie and so throwne into the sea.
2 Secondlie, if he killed him on land, he should yet be bound to him as before, and so buried quicke togither.
Brallers. Punishment for blouddrawers. 3 Thirdlie, if any man should be conuicted by lawfull witnesse, that he drew any weapon to strike any other, or chanced by striking at any man to draw bloud of him that was smitten, he should lose his hand.
4 Fourthlie, if he gaue but a blowe with his fist without bloudshedding, he should be plunged three seuerall times ouer head and eares in the water.