BECKET, circumstance. And, in short, they persuaded the king, that Abp. Cant. if the archbishop went on in his encroachments, the prerogative must suffer, and the crown in a manner sink under him. Gervas. col. 1670. Annal. f. 2821., Ibid. 350. The king I shall report the rupture between the king and the archbishop in Hoveden's words. An unfortunate misunderstanding, says this historian, broke out this year between Hoveden, the king and the archbishop. The king, it seems, was desirous to recall some of the privileges of the clergy, and bring them under the condition of other subjects. The archbishop, on the other hand, stood firm for the liberties of the Church, and refused to allow the least diminution of them. The case in dispute was this: the king required, that when priests, deacons, or others of the clergy, were apprehended for robbery, murder, felony, burning of houses, or any other high crimes of this nature, they should be tried in the king's courts, and undergo the same punishment with tried in the laymen. On the other hand, the archbishop insisted, that civil courts, when any clerk was charged with any of the crimes above mentioned, he ought to be tried before the ecclesiastical This motion judges in the court Christian. And in case he was conopposed by the archvicted, he was to suffer degradation, and be deprived of all his ecclesiastical preferments. And if after he was thus stript of his character, he happened to relapse into the former crimes, or made a breach upon any of the laws of the realm, he was then to be delivered up to the king's justice, and receive his trial from the civil magistrate. requires the clergy should be bishop and his suffragans. A. D. 1164. demands the mission to the ancient usages of the kingdom. The king, being resolved to carry this point, convened the The king bishops at Westminster, where he demanded that the clergy, bishops' sub- when they broke the peace, or were charged with any of the crimes above mentioned, might receive their trial in his courts of justice. But the archbishop not giving his highness satisfaction upon this head, the question was put to the bishops, whether, in consideration of their duty and allegiance to the king, and of the publick interest and repose, they were willing to promise a submission to the laws of his grandfather, king Henry. To this the archbishop speaking for himself and the rest, replied, that they were willing to be bound by the ancient laws of the kingdom, as far as the privileges of their order, the honour of God, and holy Church would give them leave. The king was much displeased with this conditional clause, and endea They offer to submit with a clause of exception. Ibid. II. Chronic. voured to bring the bishops to an absolute promise, HENRY without any reservation whatsoever. But the archbishop K. of Eng. would by no means submit to this proposal. The rest of the bishops adhered to their primate for some time, excepting Hilary, bishop of Chichester; who, endeavouring to find out a medium, and make terms for himself, told the king he was ready to observe the laws and customs of the kingdom bona fide: but the king would admit of no limitation or abatement upon his demands. Not long after, Ernulphus, bishop of Lisieux in Nor- col. 1385. mandy, came into England, and used his utmost efforts to remove the misunderstanding between the king and the archbishop. But failing in the attempt, he advised the king to draw the archbishop of York, the bishops of Hereford and Lincoln, and some other leading prelates, from their intimacy with archbishop Becket; that by this step they might be brought on farther to the court measures: and that the archbishop finding himself deserted by the most considerable of his party, might abate from his stiffness, and submit to the king's pleasure. Hoveden, 282. plies with demands pope's order. Not long after, one Philip de Eleemosyna, a celebrated Annal. fol. abbot, arrived in England: he was dispatched from the pope and conclave, to put an end to the difference on foot. And he had instructions to enjoin the archbishop of Canterbury to comply with the king's demands, and give his highness a promise to observe his laws, without clogging the engagement with any proviso or clause of exception. This order The archfrom Rome, seconded by the advice of other persons of bishop comcharacter, made the archbishop acquiesce, and alter his the king's opinion; and therefore, waiting upon the king at Wood-upon the stock, he promised to keep his laws upon the faith of an Bona fide et honest man, and without any prevarication whatsoever. sine malo ingenio. It seems some of the clergy in this reign had mismanaged Hoveden, their privilege of exemption from the civil courts: neither ibid. were the bishops altogether so careful in correcting their misbehaviour as they ought to have been: and upon this head the king had lately received several complaints. To Nubrigens. give some instances; a burgher of Scarborough preferred a complaint to the king against a rural dean, for levying twelve shillings upon him, pronouncing his wife an adulteress, and enjoining her penance without legal proof. The dean was 1. 2. c. 16. Gul. Fitz- 18. c. 1. Biblioth. Cotton. lius. A. 11. BECKET, brought before the king, the archbishop of York, the Abp. Cant. bishops of Lincoln and Durham, and John, treasurer of York; and not being able to defend himself, the temporal under Ju- barons were ordered to sit with the bishops upon the bench, and join in the sentence upon him. John, the treasurer, was of opinion, that if he restored the burgher his money, and was remitted to the discretion of his bishop, whether he should be turned out of his office or not, there was no reason to punish him any farther. Upon this, Richard de Lucy asked, "What satisfaction the king should have for the Richard de breach of his laws?" John answered, "Nothing; because the Lucy was justiciary offender was a clerk." Whereupon the justiciary and the of England. temporal barons went out of the court, and refused to be present when judgment was given. This Fitz-Stephen. ibid. 351. To proceed: the judges being upon their circuit at Dunstable, one Simon Fitz-Peter informed the court, that Philip de Brock, canon of Bedford, had spoken dishonourably of the king in publick company. The king ordered this Brock to be prosecuted before the archbishop: and the charge being proved against him, he endeavoured to excuse himself, by alleging the words were spoken in passion. The king demanding judgment against him, the ecclesiastical court sentenced him to lose the profit of his prebend for one year, and to be banished England for that time: but this sentence was thought too favourable, and gave the king no satisfaction. Farther; a clerk in Worcestershire had debauched a farmer's daughter, and afterwards murdered her father. The king required this man should be tried in the civil courts; but archbishop Becket, refusing to comply, ordered the malefactor to be kept in the prison of the bishop of the diocese, and not to be put into the hands of the king's justices. To give one instance more: another clerk stole a silver chalice out of a church in London, called St. Mary's in the Market; the king would have had this man prosecuted and punished in his own courts; instead of this, the archbishop brought him into the ecclesiastical court, where he was sentenced to be degraded; and to satisfy the king farther, he was branded in the face with a hot iron. The king, therefore, to draw this exemption from the II. clergy, and bind the bishops more solemnly to their late HENRY promise, summoned a convention of the lords spiritual and temporal to Clarendon. K. of Eng. The conven Clarendon. 282. 1385. And here archbishop Becket declared he had gone too tion at far in his late engagement to the king, and that he thought a Hoveden, himself obliged to retract his submission. This receding Annal. fol. from his promise made the king extremely angry, who Chronic. threatened the archbishop and his friends with the utmost Gervas. col. severities. To prevent this storm, the bishops of Salisbury and Norwich, Robert, earl of Leicester, Reginald, earl of Cornwall, and two knights templars, came to the archbishop, and throwing themselves at his feet, entreated him not to carry things to extremity for fear of the consequence; that it was necessary for him to wait upon the king immediately, and make a publick acknowledgment of his submission. The archbishop, overruled by the entreaties of these great men, came into the presence, and declared before the clergy and laity that he was ready to conform to the ancient laws of the kingdom, as the king was pleased to call them. He likewise gave his suffragans liberty to follow his precedent, and engage to the same conformity. Things being thus far adjusted, the king commanded all the earls and barons to withdraw, and make a draught of the laws of his grandfather, king Henry, and bring it engrossed. This being done, the king ordered the archbishops and bishops to put their seal to the instrument. And the rest being ready to comply, the The archarchbishop swore he would never put his seal, nor give any bishop's unother marks of his consent to that draught. The king, perceiving the business at a stop, altered the form, and had the laws drawn up by way of indenture, and put one part of the instrument into the archbishop's hands, which he received of the king, though against the advice of the clergy. Hoveden, It seems the prelates had sworn implicitly to the keeping 22 of the king's laws, without examining the contents, or The clergy making a particular enquiry; and that they were afterwards swear implicitly. shocked at hearing them read. And the archbishop being very desirous to clear himself, declared that he never engaged to resign himself to this draught; that he was made to believe his promise would be construed no farther than ceremony, and a salvo for the king's honour, and the giving him a publick respect before the great men of the steadiness. Annal. fol. BECKET, kingdom. However, it was now too late to offer such exAbp. Cant. cuses. He was therefore obliged to receive one part of the instrument, the archbishop of York had another, and the third was laid up among the records of the crown. Ibid. The Consti tutions of These constitutions of Clarendon were sworn and signed by the laity as well as the clergy. They are divided into sixteen articles, following: I. When any difference relating to the right of patronage Clarendon. arises between the laity, or between the laity and clergy, the controversy is to be tried and ended in the king's courts. II. Those churches which are fees of the crown, cannot be granted away in perpetuity, without the king's consent. III. When the clergy are charged with any misdemeanor, and summoned by the justiciary, they shall be obliged to make their appearance in his court, and plead to such parts of the indictment as shall be put to them. And likewise to answer such articles in the ecclesiastical court as they shall be prosecuted for by that jurisdiction; always provided that the king's justiciary shall send an officer to inspect the proceedings of the court Christian. And in case any clerk is convicted or pleads guilty, he is to forfeit the privilege of his character, and to be protected by the Church no longer. IV. No archbishops, bishops, or parsons, are allowed to depart the kingdom without a licence from the crown; and provided they have leave to travel, they shall give security, not to act or solicit anything during their passage, stay, or return, to the prejudice of the king or kingdom. V. When any of the laity are prosecuted in the ecclesiastical courts, the charge ought to be proved before the bishop by legal and reputable witnesses; and the course of the process is to be so managed, that the archdeacon may not lose any part of his right, or the profits accruing to his office; and if any offenders appear to be screened from prosecution upon the score either of favour or quality, the sheriff, at the bishop's instance, shall order twelve sufficient men of the vicinage to make oath before the bishop, that they will discover the truth, according to the best of their knowledge. VI. Excommunicated persons shall not be obliged to |
