Appendices (part 2)

William died excommunicate for this, but his brother Peter made some slight compensation later. It was not unusual for conscience or the Church to extort more or less restitution for lawless conduct, as, indeed, in the case of Geoffrey de Mandeville and his son. So, too, Earl Ferrers made a grant to Burton Abbey "propter dampna a me et meis Ecclesiæ predictæ illata" (cf. p. 276, n. 3), previous to going on pilgrimage to S. Jago de Compostella—an early instance of a pilgrimage thither.

While on this subject, it may be as well to add that the grant by Robert, Earl of Leicester, to the see of Lincoln in restitution for wrongs, may very possibly refer to his alleged share in the arrest of the bishops (1139), and so confirm the statement of Ordericus Vitalis.

The complaint of the same English Chronicle that the lawless barons "cruelly oppressed the wretched men of the land with castle works" is curiously confirmed by a letter from Pope Eugenius to four of the prelates, July 23, 1147:—

"Religiosorum fratrum Abbendoniæ gravem querelam accepimus quod Willelmus Martel, Hugo de Bolebec, Willelmus de Bellocampo, Johannes Marescallus, et eorum homines, et plures etiam alii parochiani vestri, possessiones eorum violenter invadunt, et bona ipsorum rapiunt et distrahunt et indebitas castellorum operationes ab eis exigunt."

With characteristic agreement upon this point, William Martel, who served the king, John the marshal, who followed the Empress, and William de Beauchamp, who had joined both, were at one in the evil work.

Appendix Bb. The Empress's Charter to Geoffrey Ridel.

(See p. .)

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. 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 Francis et Anglis tocius Anglie et Normannie salutem. Sciatis me reddidisse et concessisse Galfrido Ridel filio Ricardi Basset totam hereditatem suam et omnia recta sua ubicunque ea ratione poteret ostendere sive in Normannia sive in Anglia et totam terram quam pater eius Ricardus Basset habuit et tenuit jure hereditario de Rege Henrico, vel de quocunque tenuisset, in Normannia sive in Anglia, ad tenendum in feodo et hereditate. Et totam terram Galfridi Ridel avi sui quamcunque habuit et tenuit jure hereditario, In Anglia sive in Normannia de Rege Henrico, vel de quocunque tenuisset, ad tenendum in feudo et hereditate sibi et heredibus suis de nobis et heredibus nostris. Quare volumus et firmiter precipimus quod bene et in pace et quiete et honorifice teneat in bosco et aquis et in viis et semitis in pratis et pasturis in omnibus locis cum soch et sache cum tol et them et infangefethef et cum omnibus consuetudinibus et quietudinibus et libertatibus cum quibus antecessores eius tenuerunt. T[estibus]. Cancellario et Roberto Comite Glovernie et Galfrido Comite Essex et Roberto filio Reg[is] et Walchelino Maminot [et] Rogero filio (sic) Apud Diuis[as].

The charter with which this one ought to be closely compared is that granted, also at Devizes, to Humfrey de Bohun, early in 1144. These two are the only instances I have yet met with of joint charters from the Empress and her son. It may not be unjustifiable to infer that Henry was henceforth included as a partner in his mother's charters. If so, it would follow that her charters in which he is not mentioned are probably of earlier date. The second point suggested by a comparison of these charters is that here Henry figures as the son of the Duke of the Normans, while in the other document he is merely son of the Count of the Angevins. This is at once explained by the fact that her husband had now won his promotion (1144) from Count of the Angevins to Duke of the Normans, an explanation which confirms my remarks on the charter to Humfrey de Bohun. Thus this charter to Geoffrey Ridel must be later than the spring of 1144, while anterior to Henry's departure about the end of 1146. As the (Coucher) charter to Geoffrey de Mandeville (junior) is attested by Humfrey as "Dapifer," that, also, may be placed subsequent to Humfrey's own. Again, in the charter here printed, we have proof that Richard Basset was dead at the time of its grant, if not before. There has been hitherto no clue as to the time of his decease, though Foss makes him die, by a strange confusion, in 1154. Nor is it unimportant to observe that the Bassets and Ridels were typical members of that official class which Henry I. had fostered, and which appears to have strongly favoured his daughter's cause. Lastly, in the re-grant of this charter, by Duke Henry at Wallingford (1153), we have a valuable illustration of his practice in ignoring his mother's charters, even when sanctioned by himself in his youth. For, although the terms of the instrument are reproduced with exactitude, the grant is made de novo, without reference to any former charter.