the count's death, urged by feelings of affection, performed his funeral obsequies with great splendour, amidst bountiful almsgiving, devout prayers, with tapers lighted and bells. ringing,—at the same time strictly forbidding every one from announcing this event to the queen his wife, lest she should be overcome with grief.

The city of Damascus taken by the Babylonians.

In this year, in the week next preceding Michaelmas-day, the noble city of Damascus, which is said to have been the chief city of Syria in times of old, was taken from the Christians, to their great confusion and deplorable desolation, by the treacherous infidels the Babylonians, and their accomplices the Chorosmians, the enemies most hostile to the Christian name. For although this city had been polluted by the faith of Mahomet, it was in alliance with the Christians, and injured none of them, and was very profitable and convenient to them, from the mutual traffic and intercourse carried on between them; but now, from being a friendly city, it became most unfriendly and most hostile to them; its sultan was expelled, and with difficulty found a safe hiding-place in the eastern part of the country, whilst the city itself, together with the country round on all sides, became subject to the Babylonians and Chorosmians.

The king of England, after ravaging that part of Wales called Anglesea, purposes to return to England.

On the morrow of the feast of the apostles Simon and Jude, the king being unable, as well as unwilling, to make any longer stay at Gannock, owing to the want of provisions, and the near approach of winter, after a stay of about ten weeks there, fortified and stored his aforesaid castle of Gannock, which he had built, and made preparations to return to England, in order that he, as well as his army, might recover breath. He was now well convinced of the irreparable ruin of his enemies the Welsh ; for, on his arrival, the Irish had ravaged the whole of Anglesea, which is, as it were, the protectress and place of refuge for all Welsh; and at his departure, he cruelly put to the sword and reduced to ashes everybody and everything that remained there; so much so, that the whole country seemed reduced to one vast and uncultivated desert solitude. He also caused the salt-pits at Witz to be

A.D. 1245.]

THE KING LEAVES GANNOCK.

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filled up and destroyed; and in order that the Welsh might not obtain provisions from the neighbouring provinces, as they used to do, even in time of war, either by purchase, or by robbery, through friendship, relationship, or kindred, he caused the inhabitants of that country, and those in subjection to him, to be impoverished, and especially deprived of food, so much so, that, in Cheshire and other neighbouring provinces, famine prevailed to such a degree, that the inhabitants had scarcely sufficient means left to prolong a wretched existence. He also prohibited, under pain of death and loss of property, any provisions from being brought, or allowed to be brought, for sale from the English or Irish provinces. This castle of Gannock, too, well supplied with men, provisions, engines of war, and arms, was, as it were, a thorn in the eye of the wretched, yea, most wretched Welsh; and they could not, by any means, pass into England without being intercepted by the castellains, who were, by the king's order, obediently followed by the whole country; nor could they stay in their own country for want.

How the king left Gannock, after fortifying the castle there.

Having prudently disposed all matters, the king returned to England in safety, and crowned with good fortune, except that the fame of his brother, Earl Richard, was clouded in no slight degree by this expedition, and sinister reports were spread about him. For it was stated everywhere, both in the army, and throughout the whole kingdom, that the said earl, to the dishonour, loss, and injury of the king, had, on the plea of affection and relationship, favoured his nephew David with greater friendship than was either proper or expedient, and had at one time secretly entertained the said David, when wearied, harassed, and in bad health, in his castle of Tintaiol, that he might recover breath, and, when restored, rise with greater strength against the king; also, that he had promoted the cause of the said David, by his counsel and assistance, because the king, at the instance of the queen, had refused to bestow Chester, with the honours pertaining to it, on him when he asked for it. It was also stated that it was because he met with a refusal through the queen's interference, when he asked for Gascony as a gift from the king, that he left the king in anger, and with un

becoming threats, at Bordeaux. These assertions ought not, however, to be believed; for when the king had been in need of money for the building of his castle at Gannock, and for the support of the army, the aforesaid earl, touched with fraternal compassion, liberally lent him three thousand marks on the security of his jewels; and thus the mouth of evil speakers was stopped. The king then returned from Wales as the winter drew near, and set out on his march on the morrow of the feast of the apostles Simon and Jude, in order, as has been before stated, that he himself, as well as his over-wearied army, might recover breath, but intending to return to the same labour after the severity of the winter was past.

The unhappy Welsh, therefore, as the inclemencies of winter set in on them, were oppressed by want in all shapes, homeless and destitute of all kinds of provisions, nor were they buoyed up by any hopes of an amelioration in their condition, as all their lands were lying uncultivated and rotted of their own accord, and thus, overcome with hunger and cold, as well as by mental and bodily despair, they pined away and died.

Deposition of Maurice from the justiciaryship of Ireland.

The king now deposed Maurice, justiciary of Ireland, from his office, being very angry and indignant at his being so slow in coming to his assistance when he had as fair a wind as he could wish, and in his stead he appointed and authorized John Fitz Geoffrey. Maurice, however, patiently endured all this, because, since the death of his son, he despised all the glory and dignities of this world.

A legate sent into France to promote the cause of the crusade.

In the same year, at the request of the king of France, whom the Lord had restored to health, as it were with a renewed spirit, and who had assumed the cross, a legate was sent into France by the pope for the purpose of more effectually promoting the crusade by his preaching.

About the same time, too, the bishop of Beyrout, before mentioned, accompanied by A., one of the Preacher brethren, came from the Holy Land to England, and, after informing the king of the lamentable state of affairs and the sufferings of the Holy Land, he begged that they might be allowed to

A.D. 1245.] A TITHE EXTORTED FROM THE PRIORIES.

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promote the cause of the crusade in England by preaching. On making this request, they, in evidence of the truth of their assertions, showed a charter which they had brought from the Holy Land, and also one of indulgence which they had brought from the court of Rome; on seeing which latter the king said, "Although you may be true and able messengers, yet we have been so often deceived by the Roman court, through its agents and proctors sent on this same business, who have only employed themselves in extorting money, that you will scarcely find any who will put faith in When, in order to interest the king in their favour, they went on to state that almost all the nobility of France had assumed the cross, the king said, "The king of France has taken the cross, and if his subjects follow him, who is to wonder at it? I am surrounded by my enemies; the king of France is an object of suspicion to me, and the king of Scots is still more so; the prince of Wales is in open hostility against me; the pope protects those who rise against me; I do not, therefore, choose that my territory should be emptied of its soldiery or money, so as to be deprived of all its strength." The bishop and the Preacher, thus balked in all their hopes, then went away.

The abbat of Clugny extorts a tithe from his priories.

About this time, when the pope was a guest at the convent of Clugny, before his departure from that place to seek refuge at Lyons, the abbat of Clugny obtained from him a license and a warrant to exact a tithe for one year from the whole of the brethren at that place. This was granted for two reasons; namely, because the said abbat had made some handsome presents to the pope when an exile and coming to the cisalpine provinces (for he had given him thirty palfreys well accoutred, and the same number of pack-horses), and also because he had magnificently and courteously received him and entertained him for nearly a year. And this tithe the aforesaid abbat was to receive from all members, notwithstanding the opposition of any ordinary person. Of this money the pope was to receive three thousand marks, and the rest to be given to discharge the debts which the church of Clugny is known to have incurred for the advancement of the cause of the Roman church. And the pope made this

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grant to the abbat, that he might make for himself a broad strap out of his own skin.

How several nobles took the sign of the cross.

Directly that the French king led the way and set the example, as if he were standard-bearer, many of the French nobles assumed the cross; amongst others his brother Robert, count of Artois, the duke of Burgundy, the duke of Brabant, the countess of Flanders, with her two sons, Peter count of Brittany, his son J count of Brittany, the count of Bar, the counts of Soissons, St. Paul, Dreux, and Rethel, Philip de Courtenay, Walter de Joigny, Gilles de Mailly, the advocate of Bethune, and many other nobles, whose number daily increased, because the king, by taking on himself the functions of a preacher, incited them to it. Some of the prelates also, aroused by a similar zeal, in order to set a pious example to the laymen, took the sign of the cross on their shoulders, to avenge the cause of Christ. Amongst these were the archbishop of Rheims, the archbishop of Sens, the archbishop of Bourges, the bishop of Laon, the bishop of Beauvais, and many others whom Christ daily called and incited to enter in his service.

The Saracens are reported to have poisoned the pepper.

The Saracens, on hearing of these proceedings, made many preparations for defence, and, devising plans of evil, they poisoned the pepper, which they knew was to be sent to the Christian provinces, whereby many people in France, being unaware of this evil deed, were killed. But as soon as it was found out, proclamation was made by the herald in all the chief cities in France and England, in order that this danger might be more carefully avoided. Other persons, however, said that the traders did this, in order that the old pepper, which had been kept for a long time, might sell the better.

The consecration of Richard, chancellor of the church of Exeter, to the see of that place.

About this time, namely near about the beginning of December, Master Richard, chancellor of the church of Exeter, a man without blame, and of praiseworthy morals and learning, was consecrated bishop of Exeter, at Reading.