for having abused their power (vide p. 110, 111 b.). The oppression of the custodes was not the only difficulty against which the clergy had to struggle. The following writ affords a singular proof of the summary character of legal proceedings at this time, and leads to the inference that the clergy, and not the king, were the unpopular parties in the pending dispute. It does not appear to the sheriff of what county it was directed; probably it was sent to every county.

"We command you that you cause it to be cryed, without delay, throughout your county, that no men, as they love their bodies and goods, either do or say harm to the religious men, or clerks, against our peace; and that if we can catch any body in the fact we will have him hung at the next oak. Witness myself at Marlebridge the 11th day of April [1208]."—p. 111

We can fancy that this writ is couched in the very words in which the direction for it proceeded from the mouth of the angry and impetuous monarch. The following exemption is worthy of notice, and may be useful to the topographer.

"The King to Adam Tyson and Adam Esturmy, &c. We command you that you permit William, the priest of Bradewater, who is erecting the Church of Waverley at his own cost, to hold in good peace all rents and possessions, and all his tenements in your bailiwick, taken into our hands on account of the interdict, that he may complete the said erection thereout. Witness myself at Sutton the 7th day of April [1208].” -p. 110.

All church preferments or presentations, bestowed by the Bishops who were out of England, were not merely rendered abortive by being at once seized into the King's hands, (p. 126), but persons who accepted preferments from them were warned to quit the country without delay.—(p. 130.)

This state of things lasted for five years, during which time the Pope excommunicated the English monarch, afterwards absolved his subjects from their allegiance to him, and finally pronounced against him a sentence of deposition. Whilst these proceedings were going on, John kept alive the attention of his subjects by hostile expeditions into Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, of which many particulars are to be found in these Rolls. We will quote two which relate to the Welsh expedition.'

"The King to Geoffrey de Lucy, &c. We command you that immediately upon sight of these letters you send our eighteen gallies from Chester, upon a cruise along the coast of the land of Lewelin, to destroy and sink the ships and gallies and boats of our enemies of Wales, and to do 'them harm by every means in their power; but ́always be very careful lest harm should happen to you from the land or power of William Earl Marescall; and send to Bristoll two gallies with our stores, and let those who bring them apprise us when they arrive at Bristoll; and if you want money let us know. Witness myself at Nottingham the 17th day of August [1212]."— p. 121 b.

"The King to Falkes, &c. We command you that you destroy the Abbey of Stratfleur, which gives succour to our enemies, as you have informed us, by every means in your power; and as to the weak untenable castles in your bailwick, let them be burnt, and let those which are strong, and which can be held, be well fortified and kept. Witness myself at Nottingham the 17th day of August [1212]."—p. 122.

At every successive stage of the papal punishments, the difficulties of the English sovereign increased. Of all the bishops only three remained in England; some of the judges declared it unlawful to act under an excommunicated prince; and, at length, treason crept in amongst his barons. To protect himself, as well as he could, he ad"ministered to them new oaths of allegiance; and procured them to sign charters binding themselves to serve him faithfully (p. 118). Some of these charters were ex

ecuted by sureties; as, for instance, the Earl of Boulogne and Hugh de Boves undertook by charter that William de St. Audomar would serve the King faithfully. p. 119. Another practice, which forcibly illustrates the manners of the times, was resorted to

as a means of binding the slippery fidelity of his subjects; he demanded their children as hostages. There seems every reason to believe that these hostages were kept in a very easy and honourable manner; but such a practice clearly shews upon what bad terms the King stood with the most influential of his subjects. The dreadful consequences which resulted to William de Brus and his family from the refusal of his wife to entrust her son to a man who had murdered his own nephew, are well known, having been related by Hume. The following entries illustrate the mode in which these hostages were treated.

"The King to Richard de Chartray, &c. We send you your nephew Philip, hostage for Reginald de Chartray, your brother, commanding you that you keep him safely as a hostage. Witness myself at Clarendon the 27th day of February [1208]." -p. 104. b.

It will be observed that the above writ is dated before the publication of the interdict, and therefore proves that the practice of requiring hostages had been resorted to by John before that event. It is principally quoted to shew the manner in which the hostages were kept; in the present instance the young gentleman was committed to the care of his uncle. It is well known that John was interrupted in his Welsh expedition by the discovery of a conspiracy to assassinate him. The following writs refer to that transaction as well to the subject of hostages.

"The King to William Earl Warenne, and Edward Archdeacon of Durham, and Philip de Ulecot, greeting. Know ye that Richard de Umframvill has bound himself to us by his charter, to deliver to us his four sons and his castle of Prudhomme, as hostages for his faithful service. So that if we can discover that he was present at the treasonable conference held against us, or was a participator in the said treason, his aforesaid sons and his castle aforesaid, and all his lands shall be forfeited to us, and that we may do with his body as with the body of our traitor. And the same Richard will deliver to us his castle on Friday in eight days of St. Bartholomew, and the aforesaid hostages, to wit, his four sons, he will deliver to us on Tuesday next after those eight days, wheresoever we shall then be. And therefore we command you that the said castle you receive from him on the aforesaid Friday, and that you keep it safely, and let his lands be in peace until his aforesaid sons and his castle he shall have delivered to us; and let us know how he conducts himself. Witness myself at Kingeshaugh the 24th day of August [1212].”—Vide p. 122. b.

Whether upon a subsequent arrangement the King was satisfied with the possession of two instead of four of these little ones,' does not appear, but the following writ occurs respecting two of them.

"The King to Ralph de Ralegh and Geoffrey de Martigny. We send you two of the sons of Richard de Umframvill, namely, Odivell and Robert, and command you to let them wait daily before the Queen at dinner. But their preceptor is not to come before the Queen. Let them also sleep at night in the hall, and see that they be honourably attended to. Witness the King at Durham the 3d day of September [1212]."-Vide p. 123. b.*

The final papal sentence of deposition was entrusted for execution to the King of France. He had already greatly narrowed the dominions of John, and entered willingly into the holy warfare which had for its apparent aim to strike him out of the number of European sovereigns. Great rewards both temporal and eternal were promised by the Pope, and an armament was collected of a magnitude corresponding with the importance of its object. In the mean time John was not idle. Many proofs occur in this volume of the care with which he cultivated the friendship of foreign powers, especially of those whose interference could check the designs of

This is one of the specimens given in Mr. Hardy's Introduction, p. 47. With the correction of a misprint, and one other alteration, we have gladly availed ourselves of his translation.

GENT. MAG. VOL. III.

4 F

France. He repaired his castles; levied troops in every quarter; issued orders for the manufacture of many ouels, petraries, quarrels, and other warlike implements; summoned the Earl of Pembroke and the Bishop of Norwich, his governors in Ireland, to come to him with all the troops they could muster; and actually collected an army of sixty thousand men upon Barham Downs. If,' says Matthew Paris, there had been but one heart and mind amongst them, the Kingdom of England might have defended itself against every prince under heaven.' In addition to his preparations by land, his fleet, to which he always gave great attention, commanded the sea, and to all outward appearance his cause was still prosperous. At this particular period it unfortunately happens that the roll is defective. The circumstance is not noticed by the Editor, but, from the number of blanks in p. 129, we presume it has become obliterated by time. We find many writs relating to the general summons for the defence of the kingdom previous to the 12th April, 1213, but from that day to the following 24th May, no writs occur. Between these two dates John's position had materially altered; through the intervention of the Templars, who appear to have interested themselves deeply in the affair, an interview was brought about between the King and Pandulph, at Dover. The result is well known. Upon terms strangely humiliating, John procured peace and absolution, and Pandulph returned to the King of France to forbid him any longer to entertain hostile designs against the repentant son and humble vassal of the papal church. Although the roll of this precise date is absent, many curious particulars respecting the settlement may be picked up here and there. The Templars, as we have before remarked, interested themselves in bringing about the reconciliation with the Holy See; the interview with Pandulph was at the Temple at Dover; there also took place the resignation of the kingdom into the hands of Pandulph; and John removed immediately afterwards to the Temple at Ewell (p. 133); they were keepers at that time of large quantities of treasure belonging to the king-and subsequently, when he was absolved, we learn from the following writ that the Master of the Temple was present, and that the king laid himself under a curious obligation to him.

"The King to William our Treasurer and G. and R. our Chamberlains, &c. Deliver out of our treasure to the Master of the Knighthood of the Temple in England nine marks of silver, for one mark of gold which the same Master lent us for an offering on the day on which we were absolved. Witness myself at Thodmers the 22d day of August, in the 15th year of our reign [1213]."—p. 148 b.

The Master of the Temple here mentioned was Elmeric, or Aymeric St. Maur, or Seymour. His services to the king were rewarded by several grants of immunities to his order, which are noticed on these rolls.

No sooner was the English monarch freed from his apprehensions of invasion by his settlement with the Pope, and a total defeat of the French fleet by his brother, the Earl of Salisbury, than he determined to employ the vast body of troops he had collected together, in an endeavour to regain his continental dominions. The entries upon these rolls are full of this design, and exhibit the King's situation as clearly as it is possible to do. What, for instance, can more vividly exhibit the bustle, the very agony, if we may so express ourselves, of preparation for a deadly conflict, than the following.

"The King to the Sheriffs of Dorset and Somerset, &c. We command you that as you love us, yourselves, and your own bodies, you buy for our use all the oats you can lay your hands upon, in the counties of Dorset and Somerset, to whomsoever they may belong, and that you take the money for this purpose from the abbies in our hands, and in your custody, and elsewhere, wherever you can get it, whether upon loan, or in any other manner; and do not let this be delayed for want of money, be

cause you know well that three thousand quarters of oats will not be sufficient for us. We also command you that setting every thing aside you cause to be made, day and night, as many pasture-hurdles as you can, in the wood of Wimburnchaunt, so that each may contain ten feet in length, and seven in breadth. Also cause to be made at Bridport, night and day, as many ropes for ships, both large and small, and as many cables as you can, and twisted yarns for cordage for balista. See also that as well the oats as the ropes and the cables, as the twisted yarns, we have ready without delay when ever we shall send for them. And the cost which you shall expend in this matter by the view and testimony of lawful men in the purchase of the oats aforesaid, and in the carriage, and in the making of hurdles, and in the carriage thereof, and in the making of ropes and purchase of the aforesaid twisted yarns, shall be allowed you at the Exchequer. Witness myself at Dover the 29th day of May, on the 15th year, &c. [1213]."-p. 134.

These mighty preparations were rendered fruitless by the want of cordiality between John and his Barons.

The agreement between John and the Pope was immediately followed by the return of the Bishops to England, and the entry of Langton upon the duties of his archbishoprick. Many important writs occur respecting these points. The following are some of them.

"The King to the Bailiffs of the Port of London. Know ye that we have given license to the Lord Bishop of London, that he may send one ship to London with his own baggage from parts beyond seas. And therefore we command you that you permit that ship to come and depart without hindrance. Witness myself at Wingeham the thirty-first day of May [1213].”—p. 134.*

"The King to Peter de Crohun and Eudo de Lascell, &c. Know ye that we have restored to our venerable father, Stephen Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishoprick of Canterbury, entirely, with all its appurtenances. And therefore we command you that the Manors of Herge and Hese, which we delivered to you, you deliver without delay to Henry the Archdeacon of Canterbury, who has been appointed in that behalf. Witness myself at Wingeham the 31st day of May [1213]."-p. 134.

"The King to Henry de Sandwic, &c. We command you that you let the Bishop of Norwich have three cogs [vessels] out of those which are at Sandwich, without delay, to be sent for the Lord Archbishop, and the Bishops, that they may come into England. So that the same Bishop of Norwich pay their freight, and that nothing be charged to us on that account. Witness Robert de Vipont at Chileham, the 11th

day of June [1213].”—p. 137 b.

"The King to the Sheriff of Kent, &c. We command you that without delay you cause our venerable father Stephen, Archbishop of Canterbury, to have full seizin of his lands, and rents, with his possessions, and liberties, such as he ought to hold them, and as his predecessors were accustomed to hold the same. Witness myself at Esseleg the 13th day of July, in the 15th year of our reign [1213]. Similar writs were directed to the Sheriffs of Middlesex, London, Sussex, and Surrey; tested in the same manner, and dated on the same day."-p. 145 b.

Many other writs occur upon the same subject, and several relating to the payment of the compensation to the clergy (p. 158), and the tribute to the Pope. (p. 158 b). Indeed there is scarcely any point in the arrangements between the King and the restored clergy that is not illustrated, and oftentimes fully explained by entries upon these rolls.

(To be continued.)

* This writ was afterwards cancelled upon the Close Rolls, and entered upon the Patent Rolls. See Calendar, p. 4 b.

MONUMENTS OF THE LONG FAMILY. (With a Plate.)