gence to reconcile the king to his natural subjects, secretly advising Earl Richard, who was the chief promoter of this violence, to desist from his purpose, promising that the king would confer larger possessions on him, and that the pope would confirm what was granted to him; adding, too, that, although all in the kingdom should rise against the king, he, who was his brother, ought unweariedly to stand by him against all men. To this Earl Richard replied: "My lord legate, with the confirmation of the lands of the laity, you have nothing to do; attend you to matters connected with the Church; neither be astonished that the state of the kingdom excites me, since I am the only heir-apparent; for, although the king had the charge of the land of almost all the episcopacies, and of many escheats, yet his treasure never showed any increase for the defence of his kingdom, although we were surrounded by various enemies on all sides; besides, many are astonished that the king, who is chiefly in need of assistance and discretion, does not follow the tracks of discreet men; he does not follow the track of the emperor, to whom we gave our sister in marriage with a large sum of money, hoping that it would be to our advantage; for he only retained his wife, and sent back her attendants, without bestowing on one of them either lands or money, although he abounded in wealth and riches: a similar example can be mentioned in the case of the French king, who married the elder sister of our queen. But our English king, on the contrary, has fattened all the kindred and relatives of his wife with lands, possessions, and money, and has contracted such a marriage that he cannot be more enriched, but rather impoverished, so that he cannot procure the aid of a military force, if it should be necessary. Morever, he allows the revenues and ecclesiastical benefices, bestowed by our pious ancestors, (especially on religious men), to be seized on as spoil, and to be distributed amongst foreigners, although this country itself abounds in fitting men to receive them; and England becomes, as it were, a vineyard without a wall, in which all who pass along the road gather the grapes." The legate endeavours to make peace between the king and his nobles.

The legate, on hearing these words, went to the king, together with Peter, bishop of Winchester, encouraging him, and advising him forthwith to submit to, and obey the will of,

his nobles, who had with just cause risen against him, endeavouring to correct him at one time by threats, at another by warnings, at another by entreaties. The king, then, seeing that his own sallies met with no favour, and that all parties inclined to his brother, Earl Richard, tried all the shifts that he could, and demanded time for deliberation, in order to give a more suitable answer to their demands; and accordingly, at the instance of those who asked for it (although after much difficulty), he was allowed time till the day after the first Sunday in Lent.

The whole consultation turns to nothing.

The nobles then met at London, on the appointed day, to arrange these matters; and many came equipped with horses and arms, in order that if the king should withdraw from his promise, he might be compelled to fulfil the foregoing terms. Then, after much argument and discussion amongst a great many present, the king submitted himself to the management of some of the more influential parties, and swore to abide by their decision, which was agreed to, and reduced to writing, and the seals of the legate and other nobles were affixed, to be shown to all parties in common. Before these matters were completely arranged, and whilst they were hanging in suspense, Simon de Montfort humbled himself to Earl Richard, and by means of many intercessors and some presents, he obtained the kiss of peace from the said earl, which circumstance greatly annoyed some of the other nobles, without whose connivance this had been attempted, and by whose endeavours the matter had been carried thus far. Earl John, of Lincoln, in like manner, by entreaties as well as by bribes, appeased the anger of Earl Richard, giving security, however, that he would atone to him in all respects for what he had done against him. By these irregular proceedings the whole business was in a great degree impeded, and not carried into effect, but protracted the miseries of the kingdom, and, in a great degree, clouded the fame of Earl Richard; and thus he became an object of suspicion, who was believed to have been the staff of their strength.

Death of Johanna, queen of Scotland.

About this time, on the 4th of March, Johanna, queen of Scotland and sister of the king of England, who had come

into England to visit the king, her brother, closed her life, and was buried at Tarente, a nunnery which the venerable Richard, the second bishop of Durham of that name, had founded and built, and had granted to Queen Eleanor, when she came into England.*

Simon de Montfort privily crosses from England.

Simon de Montfort, seeing that the hearts of the king and Earl Richard, as well also as those of all the nobles, were estranged from him, and finding that the marriage which he had contracted with the king's sister was looked upon by many to be, as it were, annulled, pined away with deep grief; and having seized on a ship, he set sail by stealth, after extorting an immense sum of money from every quarter he could; and from one citizen of Leicestershire, Simon de Curlevache, he extorted five hundred marks. He then went to the court of Rome, hoping by means of his money, to overreach it, and obtain permission to enjoy his unlawful marriage; and, first taking service under the emperor, in order to please him, he obtained letters from him on this matter to take to the роре. The countess of Pembroke in the mean time lay concealed, in a state of pregnancy, at Kenilworth castle, awaiting the issue of the event.

The sentence of the pope in the matter of the monks of Rochester.

In this year, sentence was given by the pope in the case of the monks of Rochester, with respect to the controversy that had arisen between them and Archbishop Edmund, as to choosing their bishop; the sentence was given in their favour, as well in the matter of claim as of possession; and on St. Cuthbert's day, the bishop elect, Master Richard of Wendover, was confirmed. This said archbishop had convened these monks, exhausted by toil, and drained of money by the expense; and had, moreover, crossed the Alps, that such a great dispute might be duly determined as the law dictated.

* There is some obscurity or corruption in the original of this passage : indeed, the text of Matthew Paris is far from accurate; no doubt many passages have been corrupted by errors of the copyist, if not of the author, whilst others have possibly been incorrectly printed by the editor, Wats, whose work, however, on the whole, is a wonderful specimen of

accuracy.

Sentence was likewise given at the same time against the said archbishop, who was then present at the court of Rome, in a matter of importance in dispute between him and the earl of Arundel; and in both cases he was condemned in the costs, about a thousand marks, and the sentence which he had pronounced on the aforesaid earl was withdrawn. For he had a most powerful enemy in the legate Otto, who had effectually urged the king on to this.

The arrival in England of the emperor of Constantinople.

In the same year, Baldwin, emperor of Constantinople, the youthful son of Peter, count of Auxerre, came to England to ask assistance, having been expelled and banished from his empire. But on his landing at Dover, he was told on behalf of the king, that it was ill-advised and improper for such a potent prince to intrude into a foreign kingdom without asking the opinion of the king, and without his leave; and that it looked like contemptuousness and pride. This arrival, too, was displeasing in the sight of the king and his councillors; for they recollected how many honours and benefits had been conferred by England on King John de Brienne on his coming there, who, when he returned to France, wickedly, and like an ungrateful man, planned treachery against the kingdom of England; however, on leaving France, being summoned under an unpropitious star to the imperial sovereignty of the Greeks, he did not carry his treachery into effect. The emperor of Constantinople, having been informed of these matters, was sorry he had come to England, and prepared for a speedy return, at the same time pleading his innocence to the king, and humbly setting forth the reasons of his journey. The king, on hearing this, after taking counsel, sent word to him that, as he had not come as an enemy, he might enter the kingdom, and come to London, where he himself would meet him with due honour. The emperor, therefore, on the 22nd of April, came to London, and having been met by the king at Woodstock, and been admitted to the kiss of peace, he explained to the king and Earl Richard the cause of his coming; and on his parting from them, he was enriched with many costly presents, and carried away with him about seven hundred marks.

A disagreement between the legate and the scholars of Oxford.

On

At this time, the legate, having come to Oxford, and been received with the highest honour, as was due to him, was entertained in the house of the canons, which was at Oseney Abbey, where the scholar-clerks before breakfast-time* sent him an honourable present, in the way of meat and drink, and after breakfast proceeded to his place of abode to pay their salutation to him, and to visit him out of respect. their approach, however, a transalpine porter, with unbecoming and improper raillery, raising his voice after the manner of the Romans, and, holding the door a little open, said, "What do you want?" To which the clerks replied, "We want his lordship the legate, that we may pay our respects to him;" for they confidently believed that they would receive honour for honour. The doorkeeper, however, with taunting speeches, saucily refused admittance to them all, with haughtiness and abuse; on seeing which, the clerks rushed forward with impetuosity, and forced their way in, whilst the Roman attendants, in their endeavours to keep them back, struck them with their fists and sticks. Whilst the contending parties were engaged in repeated blows and taunts, it happened that a poor Irish chaplain was standing at the door of the kitchen, and had earnestly besought for something to be given to him, in God's name, after the custom of a poor and hungry man, when the master of the legate's cooks (who was also his brother, and whom he had placed at the head of that office, that no poison might be given to him, which he, the legate, greatly feared) heard him, but paid no heed to his request; and, becoming angry with the poor man, threw in his face some boiling water drawn from the caldron where fat meat was being cooked. At this injury to the poor man, one of the clerks, a native of the Welsh borders, cried out, "Shame on us to endure anything like this;" and drew a bow which he carried (for, as the tumult had increased, some of the clerks had seized on whatever arms came to hand), and by an arrow discharged from it, himself pierced the body of the cook (whom the clerks satirically called “ Nabuzardan," that means chief of the

* Prandium, the earlier of the two daily meals.