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GEOFFREY DE MANDEVILLE
GEOFFREY DE MANDEVILLE
FACSIMILE OF CHARTER CREATING GEOFFREY DE MANDEVILLE EARL OF ESSEX ( see p. 51). GEOFFREY DE MANDEVILLE A STUDY OF THE ANARCHY BY J. H. ROUND, M.A. AUTHOR OF "THE EARLY LIFE OF ANNE BOLEYN: A CRITICAL ESSAY" "Anno incarnationis Dominicæ millesimo centesimo quadragesimo primo inextricabilem labyrinthum rerum et negotiorum quæ acciderunt in Anglia aggredior evolvere."— William of Malmesbury LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16ᵗʰ STREET 1892 All rights reserved All rights
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PREFACE
PREFACE
" The reign of Stephen," in the words of our greatest living historian, "is one of the most important in our whole history, as exemplifying the working of causes and principles which had no other opportunity of exhibiting their real tendencies." To illustrate in detail the working of those principles to which the Bishop of Oxford thus refers, is the chief object I have set before myself in these pages. For this purpose I have chosen, to form the basis of my narrative, the career of Geoffrey de M
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CHAPTER I. THE ACCESSION OF STEPHEN.
CHAPTER I. THE ACCESSION OF STEPHEN.
Before approaching that struggle between King Stephen and his rival, the Empress Maud, with which this work is mainly concerned, it is desirable to examine the peculiar conditions of Stephen's accession to the crown, determining, as they did, his position as king, and supplying, we shall find, the master-key to the anomalous character of his reign. The actual facts of the case are happily beyond question. From the moment of his uncle's death, as Dr. Stubbs truly observes, "the succession was tre
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CHAPTER II. THE FIRST CHARTER OF THE KING.
CHAPTER II. THE FIRST CHARTER OF THE KING.
Geoffrey de Mandeville was the grandson and heir of a follower of the conqueror of the same name. From Mandeville, a village, according to Mr. Stapleton, near Trevières in the Bessin, [98] the family took its name, which, being Latinized as "De Magnavilla," is often found as "De Magnaville." The elder Geoffrey appears in Domesday as a considerable tenant-in-chief, his estates lying in no less than eleven different counties. [99] On the authority of the Monasticon he is said by Dugdale to have be
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CHAPTER III. TRIUMPH OF THE EMPRESS.
CHAPTER III. TRIUMPH OF THE EMPRESS.
At the time of this sudden and decisive triumph, the Empress had been in England some sixteen months. With the Earl of Gloucester, she had landed at Arundel, [161] on September 30, 1139, [162] and while her brother, escorted by a few knights, made his way to his stronghold at Bristol, had herself, attended by her Angevin suite, sought shelter with her step-mother, the late queen, in the famous castle of Arundel. Stephen had promptly appeared before its walls, but, either deeming the fortress imp
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Charter of the Empress to Geoffrey de Mandeville (Midsummer, 1141).
Charter of the Empress to Geoffrey de Mandeville (Midsummer, 1141).
M. Imperatrix regis Henrici filia Archiepiscopis Episcopis Abbatibus (Comitibus Baronibus Justiciariis Vicecomitibus et ministris et omnibus baronibus et fidelibus) suis Francis et Anglis totius Angliæ et Normanniæ salutem. ( Sciatis omnes tam præsentes quam futuri quod Ego Matildis regis Henrici filia et Anglor[um] domina) do et concedo Gaufrido de Magnavillâ (pro servitio suo et heredibus suis post eum hereditabiliter ut sit comes de Essex[iâ] et habeat tertium denarium Vicecomitatus de placit
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CHAPTER V. THE LOST CHARTER OF THE QUEEN.
CHAPTER V. THE LOST CHARTER OF THE QUEEN.
It was at the very hour when the Empress seemed to have attained the height of her triumph that her hopes were dashed to the ground. [353] The disaster, as is well known, was due to her own behaviour. As Dr. Stubbs has well observed, "She, too, was on the crest of the wave and had her little day ... she had not learned wisdom or conciliation, and threw away opportunities as recklessly as her rival." [354] Indeed, even William of Malmesbury hints that the fault was hers. [355] The Queen, having p
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CHAPTER VI. THE ROUT OF WINCHESTER.
CHAPTER VI. THE ROUT OF WINCHESTER.
The Empress, it will be remembered, in the panic of her escape, on the sudden revolt of the citizens, had fled to the strongholds of her cause in the west, and sought refuge in Gloucester. Most of her followers were scattered abroad, but the faithful Miles of Gloucester was found, as ever, by her side. As soon as she recovered from her first alarm, she retraced her steps to Oxford, acting upon his advice, and made that fortress her head-quarters, to which her adherents might rally. [388] To her
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Charter of the King to Geoffrey de Mandeville (Christmas, 1141).
Charter of the King to Geoffrey de Mandeville (Christmas, 1141).
S. rex Angl[orum] Archiepiscopis Episcopis Abbatibus Comitibus Justic[iariis] Vicecomitibus Baronibus et Omnibus Ministris et fidelibus suis francis et Anglis totius Anglie salutem. Sciatis me reddidisse et firmiter concesisse Gaufr[ido] Comiti de Essexâ omnia sua tenementa que tenuit, de quocunque illa tenuerit, die quâ impeditus fui apud Linc[olniam] et captus. Et præter hoc dedi ei et concessi ccc libratas terræ scilicet Meldonam [440] et Neweport et Depedenam et Banhunte et Ingam et Phingria
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Carta M. Imperatricis facta Com̃ Gaufredo Essexiæ de pluribus terris et libertatibus.
Carta M. Imperatricis facta Com̃ Gaufredo Essexiæ de pluribus terris et libertatibus.
"M. Imperatrix. H. regis filia et Anglorum Domina. Archiepiscopis. [513] Episcopis. Abbatibus. Comitibus. Baronibus. Justiciariis. Vicecomitibus. Ministris. et omnibus fidelibus suis Francis et Anglis totius Angliæ et Normanniæ Salutem. Sciatis me reddidisse et concessisse Comiti Gaufr[edo] Essexe omnia tenementa sua, sicut Gaufredus avus suus, [514] aut Willelmus pater suus, [515] aut ipsemet postea unquam melius vel liberius tenuerit [516] aliquo tempore in feodo et hæreditate sibi et hæredibu
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Charter of the Empress to Aubrey de Vere (1142).
Charter of the Empress to Aubrey de Vere (1142).
M. Imp'atrix H. Regis filia et Anglorum Domina Archiepiscopis Episcopis Abbatibus Comitibus Baronibus Justiciariis Vicecomitibus ministris et omnibus fidelibus suis Francis et Anglis totius Angliæ salutem. Sciatis me reddidisse et concessisse Comiti Alberico omnes terras et tenementa sua, sicut pater eius Albericus de Veer tenuit, die quâ fuit vivus et mortuus, videlicet, in terris, in feodis, in firmis, in ministeriis, in vadiis, in empcionibus, et hæreditatibus. Et nominatim Camerariam Angliæ
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Charter of Henry of Anjou to Aubrey de Vere. July-November, 1142.
Charter of Henry of Anjou to Aubrey de Vere. July-November, 1142.
"Henricus filius filiæ Regis Henrici, rectus heres Angl. et Normann. etc. Sciatis quod sicut Domina mea, viz. mater mea imperatrix reddidit et concessit, ita reddo et concedo.... Hanc autem convencionem tenendam affidavi manu mea propria in manu Hugonis de Juga, [585] sicut mater mea Imperatrix affidavit in manu Comitis Gaufr. Testibus," etc. Henry "fitz Empress" was at this time only nine and a half years old. The claim he is here made to advance as "rightful heir" of England and Normandy sound
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Cott. Chart, xxi. 6.
Cott. Chart, xxi. 6.
"Ordingus dei gratia Abbas ecclesie sancti eadmundi Omnibus hominibus suis et amicis et fidelibus francis et anglis salutem. Sciatis me concessisse Alberico comiti Gisnensi per concessum totius conventus totum feudum et servitium Rogeri de Ver auunculi sui sicut tenet de honore sancti eadmundi uidelicet per seruitium unius militis et dimidii et totum feudum et seruitium Alani filii Frodonis sicut tenet de honore sancti eadmundi uidelicet per seruitium iii militum, et insuper singulis annis centu
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CHAPTER IX. FALL AND DEATH OF GEOFFREY.
CHAPTER IX. FALL AND DEATH OF GEOFFREY.
The movements of Geoffrey during the latter half of 1142 are shrouded in utter darkness. After the surrender of the isle of Ely, we lose sight of him altogether, save in the glimpse afforded us by the Oxford intrigue. It is, however, quite possible that we should assign to the period of the siege of Oxford Castle (September-December, 1142) a charter to Abingdon Abbey which passed at Oxford. [616] For if we deduct from its eight witnesses the two local barons (Walter de Bocland and Hugh de Bolbec
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Charter of Henry II. to Geoffrey de Mandeville the Younger (Jan. 1156).
Charter of Henry II. to Geoffrey de Mandeville the Younger (Jan. 1156).
H. Rex Angl[orum] (et) Dux Normannie et Aquitanie et Comes Andegavie Archiepiscopis Episcopis Abbatibus Comitibus Justiciariis Baronibus Vicecomitibus ministris et omnibus fidelibus suis Francis et Anglis Anglie et Normannie salutem. Sciatis me fecisse Gaufridum de Magna Villa Comitem de Essexa et dedisse et hereditarie concessisse sibi et heredibus suis ad tenendum de me et heredibus meis Tertium Denarium de placitis meis ejusdem Comitatus. Et volo et concedo et firmiter precipio quod ipse Come
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APPENDIX A. STEPHEN'S TREATY WITH THE LONDONERS.
APPENDIX A. STEPHEN'S TREATY WITH THE LONDONERS.
There are few more suggestive passages in the chronicles of Stephen's reign than that which describes, in the Gesta , his "pactio" with the citizens of London. This, because of the striking resemblance between the "pactio ... mutuo juramento" there described and the similar practice in those foreign towns which enjoyed the rights of a "communa." Thus at Bazas, in Aquitaine, "quum dominus rex venit apud Vasatum, omnes cives Vasatenses jurant ei fidelitatem et obedientiam ... similiter et rex et s
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APPENDIX B. THE APPEAL TO ROME IN 1136.
APPENDIX B. THE APPEAL TO ROME IN 1136.
One of the most interesting and curious discoveries that I have made in the course of my researches has been the true story of the appeal to Rome as arbiter between Stephen and Maud. Considering the exceptional importance of this episode, in many ways, it has received strangely little attention, with the result that it has been imperfectly understood and almost incredibly misdated. Mr. Freeman, working, in the Norman Conquest , from the Historia Pontificalis , [748] writes of this episode as tak
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APPENDIX C. THE EASTER COURT OF 1136.
APPENDIX C. THE EASTER COURT OF 1136.
I here give in parallel columns the witnesses to (I.) Stephen's grant to Winchester; (II.) his grant of the bishopric of Bath; (III.) his great charter of liberties subsequently issued at Oxford. There were thus assembled at the Easter court of 1136 the two primates of England and twelve of their suffragans, and the primate of Normandy, with four of his—nineteen prelates in all. Next to these, in order of precedence, were Henry, the king's nephew, [791] Henry, son of the King of Scots, and Regin
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APPENDIX D. THE "FISCAL" EARLS.
APPENDIX D. THE "FISCAL" EARLS.
"Stephen's earldoms are a matter of great constitutional importance." Such are the words of the supreme authority on the constitutional history of the time. I propose, therefore, to deal with this subject in detail and at some length, and to test the statements of the chroniclers—too readily, as I think, accepted—by the actual facts of the case, so far as they can now be recovered. The two main propositions advanced by our historians on this subject are: (1) that Stephen created many new earls,
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APPENDIX E. THE ARRIVAL OF THE EMPRESS.
APPENDIX E. THE ARRIVAL OF THE EMPRESS.
The true date of this event is involved in considerable obscurity. The two most detailed versions are those of William of Malmesbury and of the Continuator of Florence of Worcester. The former states precisely that the Ecclesiastical Council lasted from August 29 to September 1 (1139), and that the Empress landed, at Arundel, on September 30; the latter gives no date for the council, but asserts that the Empress landed, at Portsmouth, before August 1—that is, two months earlier. These grave disc
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APPENDIX F. THE DEFECTION OF MILES OF GLOUCESTER.
APPENDIX F. THE DEFECTION OF MILES OF GLOUCESTER.
Miss Norgate assigns this event to the early summer of the year 1138, [844] on the authority of Gervase of Canterbury (i. 104). The statement of that writer is clear enough, but it is also clear that he made it on the authority of the Continuator of Florence. Now, the Continuator muddled in inextricable confusion the events of 1138 and 1139. In this he was duly followed by Gervase, who gives us, under 1138, first the arrest of the bishops at Oxford (June, 1139), then the diffidatio of the Earl o
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APPENDIX G. CHARTER OF THE EMPRESS TO ROGER DE VALOINES.
APPENDIX G. CHARTER OF THE EMPRESS TO ROGER DE VALOINES.
As this charter is not included in Mr. Birch's Fasciculus , and is therefore practically unknown, I here give it in extenso from the Cartæ Antiquæ (K. 24). It will be observed that, of its six witnesses, five attest the Westminster charter to Geoffrey de Mandeville. The sixth is Humfrey de Bohun, a frequent witness to charters of the Empress. This charter is preceded in the Cartæ Antiquæ by enrolments of two charters to the grantee's predecessors from William Rufus and Henry I. respectively. The
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APPENDIX H. THE "TERTIUS DENARIUS."
APPENDIX H. THE "TERTIUS DENARIUS."
Special research has led me to discover that all our historians are in error in their accounts of this institution. The key to the enquiry will be found in the fact that the term "tertius denarius" had two distinct denotations; that is to say, was used in two different senses. Dr. Stubbs and Mr. Freeman have both failed to grasp this essential fact. The two varieties of the "tertius denarius" were these:— (1) The "tertius denarius placitorum comitatus." This is the recognized "third penny" of wh
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APPENDIX I. "VICECOMITES" AND "CUSTODES."
APPENDIX I. "VICECOMITES" AND "CUSTODES."
Dr. Stubbs writes: "A measure dictated still more distinctly by this policy may be traced in the list of sheriffs for A.D. 1130. Richard Basset and Aubrey de Vere, a judge and a royal chamberlain, act as joint sheriffs in no less than eleven counties; Geoffrey de Clinton, Miles of Gloucester, William of Pont l'Arche, the treasurer, are also sheriffs as well as justices of the king's court" (i. 892). But this statement requires a certain qualification. For though they appear as sheriffs ( vicecom
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APPENDIX J. THE GREAT SEAL OF THE EMPRESS.
APPENDIX J. THE GREAT SEAL OF THE EMPRESS.
There yet remains one point, in connection with this remarkable charter, perhaps the most striking, certainly the most novel, of all. This is that of the seal. According to the transcript in the Ashmole MSS., the legend "in circumferentia sigillo" was this: "Matildis Imperatrix Rom' et Regina Angliæ." Now, that any such seal was designed for the Empress has never been suspected by any historian. We cannot, on a question of royal seals, appeal to a higher or more recognized authority than Mr. Wal
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APPENDIX K. GERVASE DE CORNHILL.
APPENDIX K. GERVASE DE CORNHILL.
Few discoveries, in the course of these researches, have afforded me more satisfaction and pleasure than that of the origin of Gervase de Cornhill, the founder of an eminent and wealthy house, and himself a great City magnate who played, we shall find, no small part in the affairs of an eventful time. The peculiar interest of the story lies in the light it throws on the close amalgamation of the Normans and the English, even in the days of Henry I., thereby affording a perfect illustration of th
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APPENDIX L. CHARTER OF THE EMPRESS TO WILLIAM DE BEAUCHAMP.
APPENDIX L. CHARTER OF THE EMPRESS TO WILLIAM DE BEAUCHAMP.
As this important charter has never, I believe, been printed, I have taken the present opportunity of publishing it in extenso . The grantee must, at first, have staunchly supported Stephen, for he received in 1139, from the king, a grant of that constableship which Miles of Gloucester had forfeited on his defection. [920] It is evident, however, from the terms of this charter that he was jealous of Stephen's favourite, Gualeran, Count of Meulan, and of the power which the king had given him at
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APPENDIX M. THE EARLDOM OF ARUNDEL.
APPENDIX M. THE EARLDOM OF ARUNDEL.
It is difficult to overrate the importance of the Canterbury charter to Geoffrey in its bearing on the origin and nature of this far-famed earldom. For centuries, antiquaries and lawyers have wrangled over this dignity, the premier earldom of England, but its true character and history have remained an unsolved enigma. The popular belief that the dignity is "an earldom by tenure" and is annexed to the possession of Arundel Castle, is based on the petitions of John fitz Alan in 11 Hen. IV. and of
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APPENDIX N. ROBERT DE VERE.
APPENDIX N. ROBERT DE VERE.
This personage, who, as charters show, was in constant attendance on Stephen, is usually, and very naturally, taken by genealogists, from Mr. Eyton downwards, for a younger brother of Aubrey de Vere (the chamberlain) and uncle of the first Earl of Oxford. He was, however, quite distinct, being a son of Bernard de Vere. He owed his position to a marriage with Adeline, daughter of Hugh de Montfort, as recorded on the Pipe-Roll of 1130. By this marriage he became possessed of the honour of Haughley
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APPENDIX O. "TOWER AND CASTLE."
APPENDIX O. "TOWER AND CASTLE."
The description of the Tower by the Empress, in her charter, as "turris Londonie cum parvo castello quod fuit Ravengeri," and its similar description in Stephen's charter as "turris Lond[oniæ] cum castello quod ei subest," though at first sight singular and obscure, are fraught, when explained, with interest and importance in their bearing on military architecture. It will be found, on reference to the charter granted to Aubrey de Vere (p. 180), that the Empress gives him Colchester Castle as "t
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APPENDIX P. THE EARLY ADMINISTRATION OF LONDON.
APPENDIX P. THE EARLY ADMINISTRATION OF LONDON.
The new light which is thrown by the charters granted to Geoffrey upon a subject so interesting and so obscure as the government and status of London during the Norman period requires, for its full appreciation, detailed and separate treatment. But, before advancing my own conclusions, it is absolutely needful to dispose of that singular accretion of error which has grown, by gradual degrees, around the recorded facts. [1009] The cardinal error has been the supposition that when the citizens of
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APPENDIX Q OSBERTUS OCTODENARII.
APPENDIX Q OSBERTUS OCTODENARII.
The reference to this personage in the charter to the Earl of Essex is of quite exceptional interest. He was the Osbert (or Osbern) "Huit-deniers" ( alias "Octodenarii" alias "Octonummi") who was a wealthy kinsman of Becket and employed him, in his house, as a clerk about this very time ( circ. 1139-1142). We meet him as "Osbertus VIII. denarii" at London in 1130 ( Rot. Pip. , 31 Hen. I.), and I have also found him attesting a charter of Henry I., late in the reign, as "Osberto Octodenar[ii]." G
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APPENDIX R. THE FOREST OF ESSEX.
APPENDIX R. THE FOREST OF ESSEX.
The references to assarts and to (forest) pleas in the first and second charters of the Empress ought to be carefully compared, as they are of importance in many ways. They run thus respectively:— A similar provision will be found in the charter to Aubrey de Vere. It is evident from these special provisions that the grantees attached a peculiar importance to this indemnity for their assarts; and it is equally noteworthy that the Empress is careful to restrict that indemnity to those assarts whic
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APPENDIX S. THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE EARLS OF HEREFORD AND GLOUCESTER.
APPENDIX S. THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE EARLS OF HEREFORD AND GLOUCESTER.
The document which is printed below is unknown, it would seem, to historians. It is of a very singular and, in many ways, of a most instructive character. The fact that Earl Miles is one of the contracting parties dates the document as belonging to the period between his creation (July 25, 1141) and his death (December 24, 1143). Further, the fact that the treaty provides for the surrender by him to the Earl of Gloucester of one of his sons as a hostage, taken with the fact that the Earl of Glou
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APPENDIX T. "AFFIDATIO IN MANU."
APPENDIX T. "AFFIDATIO IN MANU."
"Hanc autem ... affidavi manu mea propria in manu ipsius Comitis Gaufredi." This formula ("affidavi ... in manu") is deserving of careful study. It ought to be compared with a passage in the Chronicle of Abingdon (ii. 160), describing how, some quarter of a century before, in the assembled county court ( comitatus ) of Berkshire, the delegate of the abbey, "pro ecclesiâ affidavit fidem in manu ipsius vicecomitis, vidente toto comitatu." This was a case of "affidatio" by proxy; but in the above c
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APPENDIX U. THE FAMILIES OF MANDEVILLE AND DE VERE.
APPENDIX U. THE FAMILIES OF MANDEVILLE AND DE VERE.
The confusion on the pedigree and relationship of these two families is due, in the first place, to the fact that, for several generations, the successive heads of the family of De Vere were all named Aubrey ("Albericus"); and in the second, to a chronicle of Walden Abbey, which proves as inaccurate as to the marriage of its founder as it is on the date of his creation. [1121] Dugdale, accepting all its statements without the slightest hesitation, has combined in a single passage no less than th
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APPENDIX V. WILLIAM OF ARQUES.
APPENDIX V. WILLIAM OF ARQUES.
Separate treatment is demanded by that clause in the charter to Aubrey which deals with the fief of William of Arques:— "Et do et concedo ei totam terram Willelmi de Albrincis sine placito, pro servicio suo, simul cum hæreditate et jure quod clamat ex parte uxoris suæ sicut unquam Willelmus de Archis ea melius tenuit." The descent of this barony has formed the subject of an erudite and instructive paper by the late Mr. Stapleton. [1149] The pedigree which he established may be thus expressed:— T
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APPENDIX X. ROGER "DE RAMIS."
APPENDIX X. ROGER "DE RAMIS."
The entries relating to the fief of this tenant in capite are probably as corrupt as any to be found in the Liber Niger . The name of the family being "de Raimes"—Latinized in this charter and Domesday invariably as de Ramis —an inevitable confusion soon arose between it and the name of their chief seat in England, Rayne, co. Essex. Morant, in his history of Essex, identifies the two. Thus, Rayne being entered in Domesday and in the Liber Niger as "Raines," the name of the family appears in the
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APPENDIX Y. THE FIRST AND SECOND VISITS OF HENRY II. TO ENGLAND.
APPENDIX Y. THE FIRST AND SECOND VISITS OF HENRY II. TO ENGLAND.
The dates and circumstances of these two visits are a subject of some importance and interest. Fortunately, they can be accurately ascertained. It is certain that, on Henry's first visit, he landed with his uncle at Wareham towards the close of 1142. Stephen had been besieging the Empress in Oxford since the 26th of September, [1159] and her brother, recalled to England by her danger, must have landed, with Henry, about the beginning of December, for she had then been besieged more than two mont
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APPENDIX Z. BISHOP NIGEL AT ROME.
APPENDIX Z. BISHOP NIGEL AT ROME.
A most interesting and instructive series of papal letters is preserved in the valuable Cotton MS. known as Tiberius, A. vi. The earliest with which we are here concerned are those referred to in the Historia Eliensis as obtained by Alexander and his fellows, the "nuncii" of Nigel to the pope, in virtue of which the bishop regained his see in 1142 ( ante , p. 162). [1189] These letters are dated April 29. As the bishop was driven from the see early in 1140, the year to which they belong is not,
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APPENDIX AA. "TENSERIE."
APPENDIX AA. "TENSERIE."
The mention of "tenseriæ" in the letter of Lucius is peculiarly welcome, because (in its Norman-French form) it is the very word employed by the Peterborough chronicler. [1192] As I have pointed out in the Academy , [1193] the same Latin form is found in the agenda of the judicial iter in 1194: "de prisis et tenseriis omnium ballivorum" ( R. Hoveden , iii. 267), while the Anglo-Norman "tenserie" is employed by Jordan Fantosme, who, writing of the burgesses of Northampton (1174), tells us that Da
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APPENDIX BB. THE EMPRESS'S CHARTER TO GEOFFREY RIDEL.
APPENDIX BB. THE EMPRESS'S CHARTER TO GEOFFREY RIDEL.
This instrument, which is referred to in the text, belongs to the Devizes series of the charters granted by the Empress, and is enrolled among some deeds relating to the baronial family of Basset. [1201] As every charter of the Empress is of interest, while this one possesses special features, it is here given in extenso :— M. Imperatrix Henrici Regis filia et Anglorum Domina, et H. filius Ducis Normannorum, Archiep. Epis. Abb. Comit. Baron. Justic. Vicecom. Minist. et omnibus fidelibus suis Fra
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THE CREATION OF THE EARLDOM OF GLOUCESTER.
THE CREATION OF THE EARLDOM OF GLOUCESTER.
One of the problems in English history as yet, it would seem, unsolved, is that of the date at which Henry I. conferred on his natural son Robert the earldom of Gloucester. The great part which Robert played in the eventful struggles of his time, the fact that this was, in all probability, almost the only earldom created in the course of this reign (1100-1135), and the importance of ascertaining the date of its creation as fixing that of many an otherwise doubtful record, all combine to cause su
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ADDENDA.
ADDENDA.
Page 5 . The assertion by the Continuator of Florence of Worcester that Stephen kept his coronation court "cum totius Angliæ primoribus" has an important bearing on the assertion by Florence that Harold was elected to the throne "a totius Angliæ primatibus." For this latter phrase is the sheet-anchor upon which Mr. Freeman relies for the fact of Harold's valid election, and which he is avowedly compelled to strain to the uttermost:— "He was chosen, not by some small or packed assembly, but by th
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