was still the depression of every thing Anglo-Saxon, that neither in parliament, nor in courts of justice, nor in the society of the great, did he experience any inconvenience from this deficiency. The King, about to set off upon his memorable expedition to the Holy Land, not only conferred upon him the office of Chancellor, but made him Grand Justiciar and guardian of the realm jointly with Hugh, Bishop of Durham*; and that he might better insure the public tranquillity, procured for him the authority of legate from the Pope. Richard's great object was to deprive his brother John of all power and influence, -being apprehensive that this Prince, who had early displayed his faithless character and turbulent disposition, would, in his absence, according to various prior examples in the Norman line, enter into cabals. with discontented Barons, and aim at the Crown. But he fell into a mistake in appointing the Bishop of Durham as a check on the power of Longchamp. The one would bear no equal, and the other no superior.

CHAP.

V.

Richard I.

sails for the

Holy Land.

Longchamp imprisons the

Bishop of

Durham.

No sooner had Richard left England on his voyage to the Mediterranean than their animosities burst forth, and threw the kingdom into combustion. Longchamp †, presumptuous in his nature, elated by the favour which he enjoyed with his master, holding the Great Seal, and armed with the legatine commission, refused to share the executive power of the state with his colleague, treated him with contumely, and, upon some show of resistance, went so far as to arrest him, and, as the price of his liberty, extorted from him a resignation of the earldom of Northumberland, and his other dignities. The King, informed of these dissensions, ordered, by letters from Marseilles, that the Bishop should be reinstated in his offices; but the Chancellor had still the boldness to refuse compliance, on pretence that he himself was better acquainted with the King's secret intentions. He His typroceeded to govern the kingdom by his sole authority, to ranny.

Hoved. 378. M. Par. in Ann. 1189.

In the following account of the administration of Longchamp, his flight and his subsequent career, I have chiefly followed "the History of the Norman Conquest" by Thierry, who cites authorities, most of which I have examined, and which fully support his statements. See vol. iv. 40-52. 64-75.

treat all the nobility with arrogance, and to display his power and riches with the most invidious ostentation. A numerous guard was stationed at his door. He never travelled without a body of 1500 foreign soldiers, notorious for their rapine and licentiousness. Nobles and knights were proud of being admitted into his train. He sealed public acts with his own signet seal instead of the Great Seal of England. His retinue wore the aspect of royal magnificence; and when in his progress through the kingdom he lodged in any monastery, his attendants, it is said, were sufficient to devour in one night the revenue of several years. To drown the curses of the natives, he brought over from France, at a great expense, singers and jesters, who sang verses in places of public resort, declaring that the Chancellor never had his equal in the world.

In the meanwhile he abused his power to enrich himself and his family; he placed his relations and friends of foreign birth in all posts of profit or honour, and gave them the government of castles and cities, of which, under various pretexts, he deprived men of the pure Norman race, spoiling them and the descendants of the Saxon thanes with indiscriminate violence. Contemporary authors say, that "by reason of his rapines a knight could not preserve his silver belt, nor a noble his gold ring, nor a lady her necklace, nor a Jew his merchandise." He showed himself, besides, haughty and insolent, and he enforced submission to his will by the severity and promptitude of his vengeance. The King, who was obliged to winter in Sicily, and was detained in Europe longer than the Chancellor expected, being informed of the arbitrary and tyrannical conduct of his minister, made a fresh attempt to restrain his power, and sent orders appointing Walter, Archbishop of Rouen, William Marshal, Earl of Strigul, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, William Briewere, and Hugh Bardolf councillors to Longchamp, and commanding him to take no measure of importance without their concurrence and approbation. But such general terror had he created by his violent conduct, that for a long while they did not venture to produce the King's mandate. When it was produced the Chancellor insisted that it was a forgery, and he still exercised an uncontrolled authority over the nation.

V.

A. D. 1191.

John takes

arms

him.

Prince John, aware of the general discontent, and seeing CHAP. with envy the usurpations of the Chancellor, at last took courage to make head against him; and all those who were smarting under his exactions, or who hoped to better their Prince condition by change, actively engaged in the party formed for his overthrow. An open rupture broke out between those against rivals for power, on the occasion of the Chancellor's attempt to deprive Gerard de Camville, a Norman by race, of the office of sheriff of the county of Lincoln, which the King had made over to him for a sum of money. The Chancellor, who wished to bestow this office on one of his friends, summoned Camville to deliver up to him the keys of the castle of Lincoln; but he resisted the demand, saying that he was a liege man to Prince John, and that he would not surrender his fief till tried and condemned in the court of his liege lord. On this refusal the Chancellor came with an army to besiege the castle of Lincoln, and took it. Camville demanded justice from his superior and protector. By way of reprisals, John took possession of the royal castles of Nottingham and Tickhil there raised his flag, and stationed his men, declaring, according to Hoveden, that if the Chancellor did not do speedy justice to Camville his vassal, he would visit him with a rod of iron. The Chancellor quailed under his threat, and entered into a treaty, by which John remained in possession of the two castles he had taken.

the Ex

The next assault upon the authority of the Chancellor Geoffrey, proceeded from his predecessor in office, Geoffrey, now Arch- chancellor, bishop of York. Regardless of his oath not to enter the invades realm of England for three years, and of a solemn warning England, he received when about to embark, he resolved to take possession of his see, and to enjoy the benefit of any chances of farther preferment which might open to him. The Chancellor sent armed men to seize him upon his landing. He escaped their pursuit in disguise, and gained a monastery in the city of Canterbury, where the monks hospitably received him and concealed him. A report, however, getting abroad Geoffrey that he had taken refuge there, the convent was surrounded and imby soldiers, and the Archbishop being seized in the church, prisoned. when he was returning from celebrating mass, was shut up

defeated

CHAP. in the castle of the city under the keeping of the Constable de Clare.

V.

Combination of the nobles against Longchamp.

Saxon inhabitants

The violent arrest and imprisonment of an Archbishop made a great noise all over England, and John, thinking this a favourable occasion for extending his own power, openly took the part of his captive brother. Although he had hitherto regarded Geoffrey as an enemy, he now pretended to feel for him the most tender affection, and with menaces he insisted on the Chancellor setting the Archbishop at liberty. Longchamp, on account of the sacred character of his prisoner, did not venture to resist. John then wrote to all the Bishops and Barons to assemble at Reading; while the Chancellor, by other letters, forbade them to accept the invitation of a prince whose object it was to disinherit his Sovereign. The assembly, however, was held: John and Geoffrey met, wept, and embraced, and the latter on his knees besought his fellow-peers to avenge the insult which had been offered in his person to the immunities of the Church and the right of sanctuary.

John, becoming bolder and bolder, repaired to London, there convoked the great council of the Barons and Bishops, and accused the Chancellor before them of having grossly abused the authority with which the King had intrusted him. The accused had injured and offended so many of those who were to decide his case, that the accuser was sure of a favourable hearing.

The Chancellor was cited to appear before the Barons by a certain day. He refused, and assembling a military force, marched from Windsor, where he kept his Court, upon London, to anticipate the re-assembling of the body who presumed to act as his judges. But John's men-at-arms came upon him at the gates of the city, attacked and dispersed his followers, and compelled him in great haste to throw himself into the Tower of London, where he shut himself up, while the Barons and Bishops assembled in Parliament and deliberated on his fate.

The majority of them had resolved to strike a great blow, and to depose by their authority the man who, holding the called in to royal commission, could not regularly be deprived of office

of London

assist.

V.

without the express order of the Sovereign. In this daring CHAP. enterprise, they being themselves Normans, were desirous of having the assistance of the Saxon inhabitants of London, constituting the great mass of the population. In the morning of the day appointed for their meeting, they caused the great alarm-bell to be rung, and as the citizens issued forth from their houses, persons stationed for the purpose directed them to repair to St. Paul's Cathedral. The merchants and trades-people going thither to see what was the matter, were surprised to find assembled the grandees of the country, the descendants of those who had conquered at Hastings, with whom hitherto they had had no other relation than that of lord and villain. Contrary to custom, the Barons and Prelates gave a gracious reception to the citizens, and a temporary equality was established among all present. The English guessed as well as they could the meaning of the speeches addressed to them in French, and there was read and explained to them a pretended letter of the King, intimating that if the Chancellor should be guilty of malversation in his office, he might be deposed. A vote was then taken of the whole assembly, without distinction of race, and the Norman heralds proclaimed "that it pleased John, the King's brother, and all the Bishops, Earls, and Barons of the kingdom, and the citizens of London, that the Chancellor should be deposed."

renders.

It was at first thought that he would have stood a siege in Longthe Tower, but he was without courage at the approach of champ surreal danger, and he immediately offered to capitulate. He was freely allowed to depart on condition of delivering up the keys of all the King's castles. He was made to swear that he would not leave England till he had done so, and two of his brothers were detained as hostages for his good faith.

champ flies guise of a

in the dis

He withdrew to Canterbury, under pretence of fulfilling Longhis oath; but when he had remained there a few days, he formed the resolution to fly, liking better to expose his brothers to death than to deliver up the castles, by the pos- pedlar. session of which he hoped to recover what he had lost. He left the city on foot and in disguise, having over his own clothes

female