BALD WIN, This controversy about the college at Hackington lasted Abp. Cant. above four years, under the successive popedoms of Lucius and Urban III., Gregory VIII., and Clement III. However, I have rather chosen to represent it under one view, than give it the reader in fragments, in compliance with the niceties of time. 397. The king of Jerusalem sends an embassy to the king of England to solicit for succours. p. 142. A. D. 1185. The bishops and other great men undertake About this time, the Christians in Palestine were hard pressed by the Mahometan prince Saladin. And despairing to restore their affairs by their own strength, Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, sent Heraclius the patriarch, and the masters of the Knights Templars and Hospitallers in embassy to the king of England. Matthew Paris reports, that part of their instructions were, to make him an offer of the kingdom of Jerusalem, which seems confirmed by Hoveden's relation: who tells us, the ambassadors presented the king with a royal standard, the keys of our Saviour's sepulchre, of the tower of David, and of the city of Jerusalem; entreating him to send them a speedy relief, and saluting him with the title of hereditary sovereign of Jerusalem. They passed this ceremony upon him, because Fulco, his uncle by the father's side, had been king of Jerusalem. They had solemn audience at Reading, where they delivered a very pressing letter from pope Lucius III. The king gave them a general expectation of favour, and promised to let them know his mind farther upon the first Sunday in Lent, at which time the lords spiritual and temporal were convened at London. William, king of Scotland, likewise, and David his brother, with the earls and barons of the crusade. that kingdom, made part of this solemnity. The convention came to this resolution, that Philip, king of France, should be consulted, and so broke up. As for the king of England, he gave all his subjects, both clergy and laity, leave to undertake the crusade. Upon this permission, Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, Ralph Glanville, justiciary of England, Walter, archbishop of Rouën, Hugh, bishop of Durham, a great many other prelates, and almost all the earls, barons, and gentlemen of note in England, Normandy, Aquitaine, Bretagne, Anjou, Maine, and TouHoveden, raine, engaged in the service. fol. 358. But all this countenance fell short of the patriarch's expectation. It seems, he hoped the king would have gone in II. rusalem dis king's an person in the expedition. This, however, was thought im- HENRY practicable at that juncture. The king told him, he could K. of Eng. not withdraw the guard of his person without great danger The patrito his dominions; and that the French king would not fail to arch of Jemake use of the opportunity, and attack him in his absence. satisfied But notwithstanding he could not head the troops himself, with the he was ready to furnish them with large supplies of money. swer. To this, the patriarch replied somewhat bluntly, that his highness's offer signified nothing. That almost all parts of Christendom furnished their coffers; but nobody sent them a prince of figure to command their armies, and encourage the country. And that, in short, they wanted a great man, much more than a great sum of money. Chron. Brompton, This year, pope Lucius III. gave the pall to Baldwin, co., archbishop of Canterbury. This pope died soon after, and 1145. was succeeded by Urban III., to whom the king sent an embassy, and gained several points at the court of Rome, which had been formerly denied. One of this pope's favours, as they were then counted, was the granting the king the liberty to crown which of his sons king of Ireland he thought fit. The pope confirmed this privilege with his bull, and delivered the ambassadors a crown of peacocks' feathers set in gold. Hoveden, Two years afterward, Saladin, sultan of Babylon, defeated fol. 359. the Christian army in Palestine; and took Guy, king of Jerusalem, prisoner: and in consequence of this victory made himself master of Jerusalem, Antioch, and most of the Jerusalem towns of the Holy Land. The news of this defeat occa- Saladin. sioned the death of pope Urban III. This loss of Jerusalem A. D. 1187. to the infidels happened eighty-seven years after it had been Hoveden, recovered by Godfrey of Boulogne. taken by fol. 362, 3. The death of Gilbert, bishop of London. Wharton de This year Gilbert, bishop of London, departed this life. The greatest part of his history has been already mentioned in the life of archbishop Becket: I shall only add the remainder of his character from William, abbot of Ramsey, L. 3. Ep. 5. who reports him a person of great reputation and merit, and Episc. Lonparticularly distinguished for his good qualities. That he dinens. p. was remarkably eminent in most parts of learning. That he had gone through almost all the degrees of discipline and preferment both in the cloister and Church. That he had the character of a good governor in the successive sees 68. BALD- of Hereford and London. In short, he is said to have been Abp. Cant. a very accomplished prelate; a person of great elocution, WIN, Ibid. Chronic. Brompton, col. 1149. A. D. 1188. undertaken and capacity for business, and one that wanted not courage to pursue his sentiment, and maintain himself in the right. There is a commentary of his extant upon the Canticles, besides several letters published in the collection of those of archbishop Becket. This year, the archbishop of Canterbury made a visitation in Wales, and celebrated mass in all the cathedrals, which never had been done by any of his predecessors. The next year, the kings of England and France had an A crusade interview between Gisors and Trie in Normandy, attended by the kings with the prelates and temporal barons of both kingdoms. of England and France. The archbishop of Tyre, who was at this conference, recommended a good understanding among Christian princes, with so much rhetorick, and preached so powerfully upon the calamities of the Holy Land, that he reconciled the two kings, and prevailed with them and their subjects, to undertake the crusade. And at this very instant, says Hoveden, the sign of the cross was seen in the sky by all the company. This miraculous appearance encouraged great numbers to the expedition. The undertaking being thus resolved, the kings took leave of each other to prepare for the service. And for a distinction of the troops of each nation, the French made use of red, the English of white, and the Flemish of green crosses. 398. The king of England, in order to take farther measures, convened the lords spiritual and temporal at Mannes. Here, an act was passed that all persons should pay the tenth of their respective revenues and personal estate for the assistance of the Holy Land; and the prelates denounced an excommunication against all those who gave in a wrong estimate of their circumstances, and paid short of their just A conven- proportion. The pope gave a plenary indulgence to all the clergy and laity that engaged in the crusade, upon the confession and repentance of the parties. It was likewise ordered by the king and the lords spiritual and temporal, that all the clergy and laity that served in person in the expedition, should be exempted from the payment of their tenth. There was likewise provision made against playing at dice, swearing, and expensive clothes. There was also a tion at Mannes. II. K. of Eng. liberty given to the clergy and laity to engage the profits of HENRY their lands for three years, in order to furnish them for the voyage. These and some other regulations relating to the same business, were made by the king at Mannes, his son Richard, earl of Poictou, the archbishops of Tours, Canterbury, and Rouën, the elect of Coventry, and several other prelates and temporal barons being present. Hoveden, 366. Gaintinton or Goding Things being thus settled in the king's dominions beyond fol. 365, sea, he set sail for England, and convened the lords spiritual and temporal, together with great numbers of clergy and laity of inferior quality, at Gaintington in Oxford- Another at shire. Here he ordered the constitutions at Mannes to be publickly read. When this was done, Baldwin, arch- ton. bishop of Canterbury, and Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, harangued upon the subject of the holy war, and prevailed with a great many to undertake the service. After this the king ordered the tax agreed on at Mannes to be collected in all the counties of England: and if any persons refused to pay their proportion, they were imprisoned till they gave satisfaction. The king likewise sent Hugh, bishop of Durham, with some other assistants, to William, king of Scotland, to collect the tenth-penny in that kingdom. But that prince not relishing their commission, met them upon the borders, and stopped their journey. However, not to disgust his sovereign, the king of England, he offered him five thousand marks in lieu of the tenths, and for the restitution of his castles; but king Henry refused the proposal. Ibid. This year, William, king of Scotland, sent an embassy to The pope's pope Clement III., who granted him a bull to put the Church bull of exemption to of Scotland under the immediate protection of the see of the Church of Scotland. Rome. The design of this privilege, though not expressly mentioned, was to make the hierarchy of Scotland independent of the Church of England, and exempt them from the ancient jurisdiction of the see of York. The see of See ReGallaway, or Whithern, is omitted in the pope's recital of cords, num. the Scottish bishopricks, from whence we may conclude, it was still to continue part of the province of York. 29. The king of England, disquieted with the rebellion of his July 6th, sons, and the perfidiousness of the king of France, fell into king Henry. a fever, and died at Chinon in Touraine, in the five-andthirtieth year of his reign. When he lay upon his death BALD- bed, he desired to see a list of the nobility, who had deAbp. Cant. serted from him to the king of France and earl Richard. WIN, Upon the sight of the paper, he found his favourite son John at the head of the revolters. This unexpected discovery threw him off his temper, and provoked him to lay the curse of God upon his sons: which severe wish the A. D. 1189. bishops and monks could never prevail with him to retract. When he perceived his last agony approaching, he ordered himself to be carried into the church, made a solemn conDomini de- fession to the bishops, and received absolution, and the holy eucharist. He was buried in the nunnery of FontEverault in Anjou. Communi onem cor poris et sanguinis vote susce pit. Hove den, fol. 372. His charac ter. As to his character, he must be said to have had his failings; he was not just to the engagements of marriage. For when his queen Eleanor was imprisoned for concerting a conspiracy with his rebellious sons, he publickly entertained Rosamond. He is likewise said to have shewn too much favour to the Jews; and the keeping some of the bishopricks several years vacant was another indefensible action. But here his good qualities ought not to be forgotten: he took orphans, widows, and poor people, particularly into his protection. He made a provision for those that were wrecked, commanded they should be hospitably received, and punished those severely who outraged them, or seized their goods. He was of a very peaceable disposition, had a just value for the lives of his subjects, and never exposed them to the hazards of war, without absolute necessity. And as for ecclesiasticks, he was very tender of their interest after the murder of archbishop Becket. For he preserved the privileges of their character in every respect, and never laid any tax upon them on any pretence whatsoever. As for the tenth-penny, collected for the holy Nubrigens. war, that contribution was levied by their own consent. This prince's dominions were much larger than any of his predecessors; for, not to mention his sovereignty in Scotland, the submission of the Welsh, and the conquest of Ireland: not to mention this, I say, he had a great many noble territories upon the continent of France: for, besides several inland provinces, all the maritime part of the country, Hoveden, from Picardy to Bayonne, belonged to him. 1. 3. c. 25. Brompton, Chronic. col. 1151, 1152. 399. fol. 358. 383. Richard, earl of Poictou, eldest son living, to king Henry; |
