Peterborough ASC: Interpolations and Continuations

The  Peterborough  Interpolations,  Related  Charters,  

and  the  First  and  Final  Continuations    

6541  

During his reign he and Oswy, the brother of King Oswald, came together and declared that they wanted to erect a monastery out of love for Christ and in honour of St Peter. And this they did; and they gave it the name Medeshamstede, because there is a spring there called Medeswæl. And they began the foundations and then built upon them; they then entrusted it to a monk who was called Seaxwulf. He was a very good friend of God and all the people loved him; and he was born very noble in this world and was powerful. He is now much more powerful with Christ.

656

In his time the abbey of Medeshamstede [Peterborough], which his brother had established, grew very powerful. Then the king loved it exceedingly on account of his love for his brother Peada and for his love for his pledged brother Oswy, and for love of Seaxwulf the abbot. He said that he wanted to honour and reverence it according to the advice of his brothers Æthelred and Merewala and of his sisters, Cyneburh and Cyneswith, and following the advice of the archbishop who was called Deusdedit, and that of all his counsellors, both learned and unlearned, who were in his kingdom. And he did this.

Then the king sent for the abbot [instructing] that he should come to him quickly; and he did this. Then the king said to the abbot:

Lo, beloved Seaxwulf, I have sent after you on account of my soul's need, and I wish to tell you why I have done so. My brother Peada and my beloved friend Oswy began [to build] a monastery out of love for Christ and St Peter, but my brother has passed from this life according to the will of Christ. But I wish to ask you, my dear friend, that they should work most earnestly on the project, and I will find there for you gold and silver and land and goods and all that is required there for it.

Then the abbot went home and began to work. He succeeded insofar as Christ granted it to him, so that in a few years the monastery was ready. When the

                                                                                                               1 The following works have been consulted: Susan Kelly, Charters of Peterborough Abbey. Anglo-Saxon Charters, 14. Oxford, 2009; Janet D. Martin, The Cartularies and Registers of Peterborough Abbey. Peterborough, 1978; and, Peter H. Sawyer, Anglo-Saxon Charters: An Annotated List and Bibliography. Royal Society Guides and Handbooks, 8. London, 1968. Relevant critical works include: Cyril Roy Hart, The Early Charters of Eastern England. Leicester, 1966; A. J. Robertason, Anglo-Saxon Charters. Cambridge, 1939; and Scott T. Smith, 'Marking Boundaries: Charters and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', in Reading the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Language, Literature, History, ed. Alice Jorgensen (Turnhout, 2010), 167-86.

king heard about this, he was much gladdened. He commanded that it be sent out through all his nation to all his thegns, to the archbishop and bishops, to all his earls and to everyone who loved God that they should come to him; and he designated the day when that monastery was to be consecrated.

When the monastery was consecrated, King Wulfhere was there, and also his brother Æthelred, and his sisters Cyneburh and Cyneswith; and Deusdedit, the archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated the monastery, and Ithamar the bishop of Rochester, and the bishop of London who was called Wine, and the Mercian bishop [who] was called Jaruman, and bishop Tuda; and Wilfrid the priest who was afterwards a bishop was [there], and [also] there were all his thegns who were in his kingdom. When the monastery had been consecrated in the names of St Peter and St Paul and St Andrew, the king stood up before all the thegns and said in a loud voice:

Let there be thanks to Almighty God for this worship which has been concluded here; and I wish for this day to honour Christ and St Peter and I wish for you all to approve my words:

This day I, Wulfhere, freely grant to St Peter and the abbot Seaxwulf and to the monks of the monastery the lands and the waters and meres and fens and weirs, and all the lands that lie about here which are part of my kingdom, so that no one may ever have any authority, except the abbot and the monks. This is the grant: from Medeshamstede [i.e. Peterborough] to Northborough and [then] to that place which is called Folies; and so all the fen right up to Asendike; and from Asendike to that place which is called Fethermude; and so along a straight path ten miles in distance to Cugge Dyke; and from there to Rag Marsh; and from Rag Marsh five miles to the main river which goes to Elm and to Wisbech; and then about three miles to Throckenholt; and from Throckenholt straight through all the fen to Dereworth, which is a distance of twenty miles; and then to Grætecros; and from Grætecros through a clear stream which is called Broad River; and from there six miles to Paccelad; and so forward through all the meres and fens that lie towards the town [with a port or market] of Huntingdon and those meres and lakes, Chalderbeach and Whittlesey Mere; and all the others that lie near there with land and with houses that are on the east side of Chalderbeach; and from there all the fens up to Medeshamstede [Peterborough]; and from Medeshamstede all the way to Wansford; and from Wansford to King's Cliffe; and from there to Easton; and from Easton to Stamford; and from Stamford just as the river runs to the previously-mentioned Northborough.

These are the lands and the fens which the king granted to the monastery of St Peter. Then the king said:

This is a small gift, but I declare that they should hold it royally and freely, so that neither tax nor rent be taken there except for the monks only. I want to free this monastery in this way so that it will not be subject [to anyone] except Rome alone, and I want for all of us who are not able to go to Rome to seek St Peter here.

While he was making this speech, the abbot begged that he would grant to him what he wanted, and the king granted it to him.

I have here God-fearing monks who would like to spend their life in an anchorite's cell, if they knew where [to]. But here there is an island which is called Anchorites' Island [i.e. Thorney Island], and I sincerely wish that we be allowed to build a monastery there out of love for Holy Mary so that those who desire to live their life in peace and quite may dwell there.

Then the king answered and spoke thus:

My dear Seaxwulf, I too desire and approve not only this one thing that you request, but all the things that I know you desire on Our Lord's behalf. And I beseech you, my brother Æthelred and my sisters Cyneburh and Cyneswith, for the salvation of your souls, that you be witnesses to this and that you record it with your fingers. And I entreat all those who come after me, be they my sons, be they my brothers, or kings who come after me, that my gift may stand, just as they wish to be partakers in eternal life and just as they wish to escape eternal punishment. Whosoever diminishes our grant or the grants to other good men, may the guardian of the heavenly gates diminish him in the kingdom of heaven; and whosoever increases it, may the guardian of the heavenly gates increase him in the kingdom of heaven.

These are the witnesses who were there and attested it with their finger on the mark of Christ and witnessed it with their tongue. The first was King Wulfhere, who first confirmed it with his word and afterwards wrote with his finger on the mark of Christ, and he spoke thus: 'I, King Wulfhere, with these kings and with these earls and with these chieftains and with these thegns, the witnesses of my gift, I confirm it before archbishop Deusdedit with the sign of Christ .♱.' 'And I, Oswy, king of Northumbria and friend of this monastery and of abbot Seaxwulf, approve it with the sign of Christ .♱.' 'And I, King Sigehere, confirm it with the sign of Christ .♱.' 'And I, King Sebbi, attest it with the sign of Christ .♱.' 'And I, Æthelred, brother of the king, grant the same with the sign of Christ .♱.' 'And we, sisters of the king, Cyneburh and Cyneswith, approve it.' 'And I, Deusdedit, archbishop of Canterbury, grant it.' Afterwards, all who were there agreed to it with the sign of Christ .♱. They were by name: Ithamar, bishop of Rochester; and Wine, bishop of London; and Jaruman, who was bishop of the Mercians; and bishop Tuda; and Wilfrid the priest, who was afterwards bishop; and Eoppa the priest, whom King Wulfhere sent to preach Christianity on Wight; and abbot Seaxwulf; and alderman Immine; and alderman Eadberht; and alderman Herefrith; and alderman Wilberht; and alderman Abbo; Æthelbold, Brorda, Wilberht, Ealhmund, Frithugis; these and many others who were the king's most cherished thegns there all agreed to it.

This charter was written six hundred and sixty-four years after the birth of Our Lord, the seventh year of King Wulfhere and the ninth year of archbishop Deusdedit. They laid the curse of God and the curse of all the saints and of all Christian folk on anyone who might undo what had been done there. 'Let it be so,' they all say. 'Amen.'

When this business was completed, the king sent to Rome to the pope, who at that time was Vitalian, and beseeched that he would grant with his charter

and with his blessing all this previously-mentioned arrangement. And then the pope sent his charter declaring thus:

I, Pope Vitalian, grant to you, King Wulfhere and archbishop Deusdedit and abbot Seaxwulf, all the things that you want; and I forbid any king or any man to have authority there except the abbot. And he need not obey anyone except the pope in Rome or the archbishop of Canterbury. Should anyone violate any part of this, may St Peter destroy him with his sword. Whosoever maintains it, let St Peter open the kingdom of heaven for him with his key.

Thus was the monastery of Medeshamstede, which was afterwards called '[Peter]borough', established.

Afterwards there came another archbishop to Canterbury, who was called Theodore; he was a very good and wise man. And he held his synod with his bishops and with his learned folk. At that time Winfrith, the bishop of Mercia, was expelled from his bishopric, and abbot Seaxwulf was appointed bishop there. And Cuthbald, a monk of that same monastery, was chosen as abbot. This synod was held six hundred and seventy-three years after the birth of Our Lord.

Sawyer, no.  68

A spurious rescript of Vitalian

675

And during his reign he sent bishop Wilfrid to Rome to the reigning pope, who was called Agatho; and he made it known to him in writing and by his words how his brothers Peada and Wulfhere and the abbot Seaxwulf had built a monastery called Medeshamstede, and that they had exempted it of all service to the king and to the bishop; and they asked him to confirm that by his decree and his blessing. And the pope sent his decree to England, formulated thus:

I, Agatho, pope of Rome, warmly greet the honourable Æthelred, king of Mercia, and Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, and the Mercian bishop Seaxwulf, who was formerly abbot, and all the abbots who are in England, with God's greeting and my blessing. I have the entreaty of King Æthelred and of archbishop Theodore and of bishop Seaxwulf and of abbot Cuthbald, and I wish for it to be in every detail just as they have spoken. And I command on behalf of God and St Peter, and all the saints and ordained leaders, that neither the king nor the bishop nor an earl or any man shall have jurisdiction or rent or tax or militia dues; nor shall any kind of service be taken from the abbacy of Medeshamstede.

Moreover, I command that the diocesan bishop be not so bold as to perform either ordination or consecration within this abbacy unless that abbot asks him to do so. No bishop's fine or synod or assembly of

any kind may have authority there. And I also desire that that abbot be acknowledged as legate of Rome over the whole island; and that whichever abbot is chosen there by the monks be blessed by the archbishop of Canterbury.

I desire and grant that any person who has vowed to go to Rome and is unable to fulfill it, either because of sickness or the need of his lord or because of lack of funds or on account of some other need he cannot go there, whether he is from England or some other island, let him go to the monastery at Medeshamstede and have the same forgiveness of Christ and St Peter and of the abbot and of the monks that he would have if he went to Rome. Now I ask you, brother Theodore, that you enact it throughout all England that the synod be convened and this decree read and maintained. So too I command you, bishop Seaxwulf, just as you have requested, that the monastery be free; and so by Christ and all his saints I forbid you and all the bishops who come after you to have any authority over that monastery except insofar as the abbot wishes.

Now I wish to declare with words that whosoever maintains this decree and this command will forever dwell with almighty God in the heavenly kingdom. And whosoever violates it will be excommunicated and thrust down into hell with Judas and with all the devils, unless he do penance. Amen.

Pope Agatho and a hundred and twenty-five bishops sent this decree to England with Wilfrid, archbishop of York. This was done six hundred and eighty [years] after the birth of Our Lord and in the sixth year [of the reign] of King Æthelred. Then the king commanded archbishop Theodore to assemble all the council of wise men at the place which is called Hatfield. When they had gathered there he ordered that the decree, which the pope had sent there, be read; and they all consented and confirmed it completely.

Then the king said:

All those things that my brother Peada and my brother Wulfhere and my sisters Cyneburh and Cyneswith gave and granted to St Peter and the abbot I want to maintain. And during my life I want to increase it for their souls' sake and for my own. Now on this day I grant to St Peter in his monastery at Medeshamstede these lands and all that lie close-by: that is, Breedon, Rippingale, Cadney, Swineshead, Heanbyrig, Louth, Shifnal, Costesford, Stratford, Wattlesborough, The Lizard, Æthelhuniglond, Bardney. I give these lands to St Peter just as freely as I myself possessed them, and so that none of my descendants take anything from there. If anyone does that, may he have the curse of the pope of Rome and all the bishops and of all those who are witnesses here. And I confirm this with the sign of Christ .♱.

'I, Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, am witness to this decree of Medeshamstede and I confirm it with my writing, and I proscribe all those who might violate it there in any way; and I bless all those who uphold it .♱.' 'I, Wilfrid, bishop of York, am a witness to this decree; and I assent to the same curse .♱.' 'I, Seaxwulf, who was the first abbot and am now bishop, put my curse and that of all my successors upon him who violates this [decree].'

'I, Osthryth, queen of Æthelred, grant this.' 'I, the legate Hadrian, agree to it.' 'I, Putta, bishop of Rochester, subscribe to it.' 'I, Waldhere, bishop of London, confirm it.' 'I, abbot Cuthbald, agree to it; so let whoever breaks it have the curse of all bishops and of all Christian people. Amen.'  

Sawyer, no.  72 [not in the Peterborough Liber Niger]

686  

And that same Cædwala gave Hoo to St Peter's Monastery at Medeshamstede – that is on an island called Avery. At that time the abbot of the monastery was called Egbalth; he was the third abbot after Seaxwulf. Theodore was at that time archbishop in Kent.

Sawyer, no.  233

777  

In the time of King Offa there was an abbot at Medeshamstede called Beonna. On the advice of all the monks of the monastery, this same Beonna at that time leased to alderman Cuthberht ten holdings at Swineshead with pasture and meadow and with all that lay near there with the agreement that Cuthbert should give the abbot fifty pounds for it and each year either one day's provisions or thirty shillings in cash; and also that after his time the land should return to the monastery. At this witnessing were Offa the king, Ecgfrith the king, and Hygeberht the archbishop, and bishop Ceolwulf, and bishop Unwona, and abbot Beonna, and many other bishops and abbots and many other powerful men. And in the time of this same Offa there was an alderman called Brorda. He requested of the king that for love of him he should free a certain monastery called Woking because he wanted to grant it to Medeshamstede and St Peter and the abbot at that time, who was called Pusa – that Pusa came after Beonna and the king loved him exceedingly. And the king freed that minster of Woking from the king and from the bishop and from the earl and from all men, so that no man had any authority there except St Peter and the abbot. This was done in the king's town called Freoricburna.

Sawyer, nos.  1412 & S144

852  

Here at this time Ceolred, the abbot of Medeshamstede, and the monks leased the land at Sempringham to Wulfred, in such a way that after his death that land should revert to the monastery; and Wulfred should give the land at Sleaford to Medeshamstede, and each year he should give to the monastery sixty cartloads of wood, and twelve wagonloads of brush-wood, and six wagonloads of faggots, and two casks-full of clear ale, and two cattle for slaughter, and six hundred loaves, and ten measures of Welsh ale, and each year a horse and thirty shillings, and one night's provisions. This was done in the presence of King Burhred, and archbishop Ceol[noth], and bishop

Tunberht, and bishop Cenred, and bishop Ealhhun, and bishop Beorhtred, and abbot Wihtred, and abbot Werheard, and alderman Æthelheard, alderman Hunberht, and many others.

Sawyer, no.  1440

870  

And they went through all that land and destroyed all the monasteries that they came upon. And during that same period they came to Medeshamstede, and they set it alight and demolished it and all that they found there, and they slaughtered the abbot and the monks and brought it about that what had once been very well endowed was then as if it were nothing.  

963  

Here St Æthelwold was chosen for the bishopric at Winchester by King Edgar, and St Dunstan, the archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated him bishop on the first Sunday of Advent, which was on 29 November.

In the next year after he was consecrated, he built many monasteries and drove the [secular] clerks out of the bishopric because they would not observe any [monastic] rule, and he put monks in their place. There he built two abbacies, one for monks and the other for nuns, both of which were within Winchester. Then afterwards, he went to Edgar the king [and] asked of him that might give to him all the monasteries that the heathens had earlier smashed to ruins, because he wanted to renew it [i.e. monastic life]. And the king happily granted this. And the bishop first went to Ely, where St Æthelthrith lies, and had the monastery restored. He then gave it to one of his monks, who was called Byrhtnoth, consecrated him as abbot, and he established monks there to serve God where previously there had been nuns; he bought many estates from the king and made it very wealthy.

Afterwards, that same bishop Æthelwold went to the monastery that was called Medeshamstede, which has been earlier been completely destroyed by heathen people; there he found nothing but old walls and wild woods. Then he found hidden in the old walls the documents that abbot Hedde had earlier composed, about how King Wulfhere and his brother Æthelred had built it, and how they had freed it from king, and from bishop, and from all worldly service; and about how Pope Agatho had confirmed this by his charter, as had archbishop Deusdedit.

Then he [Æthelwold] had the monastery rebuilt and appointed an abbot there, who was called Ealdwulf, and made monks there where earlier there was nothing. Then he went to the king and let him see the writings that had been found earlier. And the king answered and said:

Today I, Edgar, grant and give before God and before the archbishop Dunstan freedom from king and from bishop to the monastery of St Peter at Medeshamstede and to all villages which belong to it – that is, Eastfield and Dogsthorpe and Eye and Paston; and I free it so that no bishop may have any authority there, only the abbot of the monastery. And I give the town, which is called Oundle, with everything that

pertains to it – that is what is known as the 'Eight Hundreds' – and the market and the toll freely so that neither the king nor the bishop nor the earl nor the sheriff have any authority there, nor any other person except only the abbot or anyone he puts in charge. And at the request of that bishop Æthelwold I give Christ and St Peter these lands: Barrow, Warmington, Ashton, Kettering, Castor, Ailsworth, Walton, Werrington, Eye, Longthorpe, and a minter in Stamford. I declare these lands and all the others which pertain to the monastery clear, that is, 'sake and soke, toll and team, and infangenetheof'.

[I grant to] Christ and St Peter these rights and all others which I declare free. And I give two parts of Whittlesey Mere, with waters and weirs and fens, and so on through Merelad straight to the water that is called Nene, and so eastward to King's Delph. And it is my wish that there be a market in the same town, and that there be no other between Stamford and Huntingdon. And I wish that the toll be given thus: first from Whittlesey Mere right up to the king's toll of Norman Cross hundreds, and then back again from Whittlesey Mere through Merelad right on up to the Nene, and then following that water to Crowland, and from Crowland to the Muscat, and from the Muscat to King's Delph, and to Whittlesey Mere. And I wish for all the freedom and all the exemption that my predecessors had given it to stand. And I write and confirm this with the sign of Christ's Cross .♱.

Then the archbishop of Canterbury, Dunstan, answered and said:

I confirm all the matters which are here given and declared, and the things which your predecessors and mine have granted. I wish that it should stand. And whosoever breaks it, I lay upon him the curse of God and of all the saints, and of all the ordained heads, and mine, unless he do penance. And in acknowledgement [of this] I give to St Peter my cope, and my stole, and my robe, for the service of Christ.

I, Oswald, archbishop of York, by the Holy Cross on which Christ suffered agree to all these utterances.

I, bishop Æthelwold, bless all who uphold this, and I excommunicate all who break this, unless he do penance.

In attendance were bishop Ælfstan, bishop Æthelwulf, and abbot Æscwig, and abbot Osgar, and abbot Æthelgar, and alderman Ælfhere, alderman Æthelwine, Byrhtnoth, alderman Oslac, and many other powerful people. And they all ratified it and all signed it with the mark of Christ .♱. This was done nine hundred and seventy-two years after the birth of Christ and in the sixteenth year of the king's [reign].

Then the abbot Ealdwulf bought a great deal of land and many other things and greatly enriched that monastery in every way; and he was there up until the time when archbishop Oswald of York died, and then he was appointed archbishop. And then another abbot was immediately chosen from that same monastery, who was called Cenwulf; afterwards he became bishop of Winchester. And the first thing he did was to build a wall around the monastery; and he afterwards gave that which had earlier been called ' Medeshamstede ' the name 'Burch' [i.e. 'Stronghold']. He remained there right

up until the time when he was appointed bishop of Winchester. And then another abbot, who was called Ælfsige, was chosen from that same monastery – that same Ælfsige was afterwards abbot for fifty years. He translated St Cyneburh and St Cyneswith, who lay at rest at Castor, and St Tibba, who lay at Ryhall, and he brought them to Peterborough and offered them to St Peter all on a day, and preserved [their relics] as long as he was there.  

Sawyer, no.  787

1013  

And during the time the Lady was across the sea with her brother, Ælfsige, abbot of Peterborough, who was with her there, went to the monastery which is called Bonneval, where the body of St Florentine lay. And there he found a wretched place, a wretched abbot and wretched monks, because they had been pillaged. Then he purchased the whole body of St Florentine there – except for the head – from the abbot and the monks for five hundred pounds; and when he returned, he offered it to Christ and St Peter.

1041  

And in this same period Ælfsige, the abbot of Peterborough, died; and then the monk Earnwig was chosen as abbot because he was a very good and most sincere man.

1052  

And at this same time Earnwig, abbot of Peterborough, resigned the abbacy, while still in good health, and by the king's leave and by the monks' he handed it over to the monk Leofric; and abbot Earnwig lived on for eight years afterwards. And that abbot Leofric then endowed the monastery, in such a way that it was subsequently called 'Golden Borough', when it prospered exceedingly in land and in gold and in silver.

1066  

And Leofric, abbot of Peterborough, was at that battle, and fell ill there and came home and died there soon afterwards on the eve of Feast of All Saints [31 October]. May God have mercy on his soul. In his time there was complete happiness and complete prosperity at Peterborough, and he was beloved by all the people, so that the king granted to St Peter and to him the abbacy of Burton and that of Coventry, which the earl Leofric, who was his uncle, had earlier built, and that of Crowland and that of Thorney. And he did so much good for the monastery at Peterborough, in gold and in silver and in vestments and in land, as no other person had done before nor anyone since. Then 'Golden Borough' became 'Wretched Borough'. Then the monks chose Brand the provost as abbot because he was an exceedingly good and a very wise man. And they sent him to atheling Edgar because the nation's people thought that he ought to become king; and he happily granted that to them. When William the king heard tell of that, he became extremely angry and said that the abbot had scorned him. Then good men interceded and reconciled them because the abbot was a rather good man. Then he gave the king forty

gold marks in reconciliation; and he lived just a little while after that, merely three years. Afterwards, all forms of tribulation and every evil befell that monastery – may God have mercy on it!

1069  

And in this same year, on 27 November, abbot Brand of Peterborough died.

1070  

And in that same year King Swein came from Denmark into the Humber; and the local people came to him and made peace with him, expecting that he would overrun the country. Then Christian, the Danish bishop, went to Ely, together with earl Osbern and the Danish housecarls. And the English people from all over the Fenlands came to them, thinking that they would conquer all that territory. Then the monks of Peterborough heard say that their own people wanted to sack the monastery – that was, Hereward and his followers. This was because they had heard that the king had given the abbacy to a French [i.e. Norman] abbot called Turold; he was a very severe person, and had then come to Stamford with all his French men.

At that time there was a church-warden called Yware. At night he stole all that he could – that was, Christ's books, and chasubles, and copes, and robes, and such little things, whatever he could. And just before dawn he went to the abbot, Turold, and told him that he sought his protection, and let him know how the outlaws were to come to Peterborough. This he did on the advice of all the monks. Then in the morning all the outlaws came straightaway with many ships, and they wanted to get into the monastery; but the monks withstood them so that they could not enter. Then they set it on fire and torched all the dwellings of the monks and the whole town, except for one house. Then using fire they came in at Bolhithe Gate. The monks came to meet them and offered them peace, but they would have none of it. They went into the minster, climbed up onto the holy Cross and took the crown, made of pure gold, from our Lord's head; then they took the foot-support which was beneath his feet – it was all of red gold. They climbed up to the steeple, [and] brought down the altar-grating that was concealed there – it was all of gold and silver. They took from there two gold and nine silver shrines, and fifteen great crosses, both of gold and of silver. They seized there so much gold and silver, and so many treasures in money and in vestments and in books – so much that one is unable to describe it to another; they said that they did it out of loyalty to this monastery. Afterwards they took themselves to their ships and travelled to Ely, and entrusted all the treasures there.

The Danish men thought that they could overcome the French men. Then they expelled all the monks, leaving none there except one monk who was called Leofwine 'the Tall'; he lay sick in the infirmary. Then abbot Turold arrived, together with eight times twenty Frenchmen, all fully armed. When he came there he found everything except the church itself completely destroyed by fire, inside and out. The outlaws had all taken to the water, knowing that he would be coming there; this was done on 2 June. When the two kings, William and Swein, came to agreement, the Danish men withdrew out of Ely, taking all of the previously described treasures with them. When they came to the middle of the sea, a great storm came up and scattered all the

ships in which the treasures were; some travelled to Norway, some to Ireland, some to Denmark – and all that came there was the altar-grating, some shrines, some crosses, and many other treasures; they brought it to a manor of the king called… [name omitted in the MS], and then deposited it all in the church.

And then later, through their carelessness and their drunkenness, on a certain night the church burned to the ground, together with everything inside of it. In this manner the minster at Peterborough was burned to the ground and completely plundered. May Almighty God, through his compassion, have mercy on it. And thus the abbot Turold came to Peterborough, and the monks came back again, and they performed the service of God in the church, which earlier had stood full seven days without any kind of rite. When bishop Æthelric heard tell of that, he excommunicated all the men who had committed that evil deed.

1102  

And in this same year during the week of the Feast of Pentecost thieves appeared – some from Auvergne, some from France and some from Flanders – and they broke into the minster at Peterborough and seized there a great deal of goods, in gold and in silver – that is, crosses and chalices and candlesticks.

1103  

In this same year, Matthias, the abbot of Peterborough, died – he lived for just one year after he was made abbot; after Michaelmas, on 21 October, he was received with procession as abbot, and on the same day of the following year he died in Gloucester and was buried there.

1107  

And at this same time, among those who received abbacies was Ernulf, who was formerly prior in Canterbury; he was appointed to the abbacy in Peterborough.

1114  

At the same time, the king advanced towards the sea and wanted to cross over, but the weather prevented him [from doing so]. Meanwhile, he sent his writ to Ernulf, the abbot of Peterborough, and ordered him to come to him as quickly as he could because he wished to speak to him in private consultation. When he came to him, he pressured him into taking on the bishopric of Rochester; and the archbishops and bishops and the nobility that were in England went along with the king. But he resisted for a long time, all to no avail. And the king then ordered the archbishop to lead him to Canterbury and to consecrate him bishop, whether he wanted it or not. This was done in the village which is called Bourne; that was on the day of the fifteenth of September. When the monks of Peterborough heard tell of that, they were sorrier than they had ever been before, because he was a very good and gentle person and did much good within and outside [of the monastery] as long as he lived there. May God Almighty remain with him forever.

Then soon after that, following the desire of the archbishop of Canterbury, the king gave the abbacy to a monk of Séez who was called John; and soon afterwards the king and the archbishop of Canterbury sent him to Rome for the pallium of the archbishop, and with him [went] a monk called Warner and the archdeacon John, the nephew of the archbishop. And they had great success there. This was done in the village which is called Rowner, on the day of 21 September; and on the same day the king boarded ship in Portsmouth.

1115  

…and John, the abbot of Peterborough,…  

1116  

In this same year, the monastery of Peterborough burned down completely, and all its buildings, except for the chapter house and the dormitory. The greatest part of the town burned down completely as well – all this happened on a Friday, which was 4 August.

[The First Continuation]2

Year 1122 Here Henry the king was in Norwich at Christmas [1121], and at Easter [1122] he was in Northampton.

And in the preceding spring the city of Gloucester burned down. While the monks were singing the mass and the deacon had begun the gospel, "As Jesus was passing by…" [John 9: 1], the fire began in the upper part of the steeple and incinerated the entire minster and all the treasures that were inside there, except for a few books and three mass-vestments; that happened on the day of 8 March.

And after that, on the Tuesday after Palm Sunday, there was a very great wind (on that day, 22 March [recte 21]). Thereafter, there were many signs everywhere throughout England and many unsettling things were seen and heard. And on the night of 25 July there was a very great earth tremor throughout all Somerset and in Gloucestershire. Afterwards on the day of 8 September – that was, on the Feast of Holy Mary – there was a very great wind from first light until the dark of night.

This same year Ralph, the archbishop of Canterbury, died; that was on the day of 20 October. After that there were many sailors on the sea and on water, and they said that they saw a great and broad fire near the ground ins the north-east, and it extended in length up into the sky. And the sky opened into four sections and fought against it, as if it would extinguish it; and the fire ceased to grow up into the heavens. They saw that fire at the break of day, and it lasted until it was light all over – that was on the day of 7 December.

Year 1123 Here Henry the king was at Dunstable at Christmas-time, and the count's envoys came to him there from Anjou; and from there he travelled to Woodstock, together with his bishops and all his court. Then it came to pass on a Wednesday – that was on 10 January [1123] – that the king was riding in his deer-park [with] Roger the bishop of Salisbury on one side of                                                                                                                2 Material relating to Peterborough in the two Continuations is highlighted in this colour.

him and Robert Bloet, the bishop of Lincoln, on the other side of him; and they were talking as they rode. Then the bishop of Lincoln sank down and said to the king, "O my lord and king, I am dying." And the king alighted from his horse and caught him in his arms and had him carried home to his lodging; but he was soon dead. And he was ferried to Lincoln with great reverence and buried in front of the altar of Holy Mary; and the bishop of Chester, [who] was called Robert Pecceth, buried him.

Then soon afterwards the king sent his writ throughout England and instructed his bishops and his abbots and all his thegns that they should come to meet him at his governing assembly at Gloucester on Candlemas Day [February 2]; and so they did. When they were all gathered there, he commanded them to choose for themselves an archbishop of Canterbury – whomsoever they wanted – and he would agree to it for them. Then the bishops spoke among themselves and said that they never again wanted to have someone in monastic orders as archbishop over them. And so they went all together to the king and begged that they might choose a man of secular orders, whomsoever they wanted, as archbishop; and the king granted that to them. This was all concluded earlier through the bishop of Salisbury and through the bishop of Lincoln, before he died, because they never loved the monastic rule, but were always opposed to monks and their Rule. But the prior and the monks of Canterbury and all the others who were in monastic orders spoke against it for a full two days. But it was all to no avail, because the bishop of Salisbury was powerful and controlled all of England, and he opposed it there with all his might and know-how. Then they chose a secular clerk, [who] was called William of Corbeil – he was a canon from a monastery called Cicc – and they brought him before the king; and the king gave him the archbishopric, and all the bishops accepted him. The monks and earls and almost all the thegns who were there spoke against him.

On the same occasion, the envoys of the earl [Fulk V] left the king discontentedly – they thought nothing of his gifts.

At the same time, a legate called Henry arrived from Rome – he was abbot of the monastery of St Jean d'Angély; and he came there about the Rome-tax. And he told the king that it was against [Canon] Law that a secular clerk should be put in charge of monks; but in the event, they had earlier chosen an archbishop in their chapter acording to [Canon] Law. But because of his love for the bishop of Salisbury, the king did not wish to reverse [his decision]. Then immediately afterwards the archbishop went to Canterbury and was accepted there, even though it was contrary to their desire, and he was immediately consecrated there by the bishop of London, and Ernulf, the bishop of Rochester, and Gifford, the bishop of Winchester, and Bernard, the bishop of Wales, and Roger, the bishop of Salisbury. Then soon afterwards in the spring, the archbishop journeyed to Rome for his pallium; and Bernard, the bishop of Wales [St David's], and Sigefrith, the abbot of Glastonbury, Anselm, the abbot of Bury St Edmunds, and John, the archdeacon of Canterbury, and [William Gifford], [who] was the king's court clerk, travelled with him.

At the same time, Thurstan, the archbishop of York, travelled to Rome at the behest of the pope and came there three days before the archbishop of Canterbury arrived; and he was received there with great honour. Then the archbishop of Canterbury came, and it was a full seven days before he could

have an audience with the pope. That was because the pope was given to understand that he had received the archbishopric against the [will of] the monks of the monastery and contrary to [Canon] Law. But that which overcomes all the world overcame Rome – that is, gold and silver. The pope relented and gave him his pallium. And the archbishop swore submission to him on the altar of St Peter and of St Paul in all matters that the pope laid upon him; and then he sent him home with his blessing.

While the archbishop was out of the country, the king gave the bishopric of Bath to the queen's chancellor, [who] was called Godfrey; he was born at Louvain. That happened at Woodstock on the day of the Annunciation of Holy Mary [25 March]. Then soon afterwards, the king travelled to Winchester and was there over the whole Easter season; and while he was there, he gave the bishopric of Lincoln to a [secular] clerk called Alexander, who was the nephew of the bishop of Salisbury [Roger]. He did this all on account of his love for this bishop.

Then the king went from there to Portsmouth and laid over there throughout Pentecost week. Then as soon as he had a fair wind, he sailed over to Normandy and entrusted all England into the care and control of Roger, the bishop of Salisbury. Then the king stayed in Normandy all year and great strife developed between him and his thegns, so that Waleran, the count of Meulan, and Almaric and Hugh of Montfort and William of Roumare and many others turned from him and held their castles against him. But the king held out against them resolutely; and this same year he won from Waleran his castle at Pont Audemer, and Montfort from Hugh. And afterwards, he succeeded the better the longer [he went on].

This same year, before the bishop of Lincoln arrived at his bishopric, almost the whole of the city of Lincoln burned down, and a huge [and] countless number of of people, both men and women, burned to death; and such great damage was done there that no one was able to describe it to another. That was [on] the day of 19 May.

1124 All this year Henry the king was in Normandy; that was on account of the great strife that he had with Louis, the king of France, and with the count of Anjou [Fulk V], but most of all with his own men.

Then on the day of the Annunciation to Holy Mary [25 March] it happened that the count Waleran of Meulan went from a castle of his called Beaumont to his other castle, Vatteville. Almaric, the steward of the king of France, travelled with him, and Hugh, the son of Gervase, and Hugh of Montfort, and many other good knights. Then the king's knights from all the castles that were around there advanced against them and fought with them and put them to flight; they seized count Waleran and Hugh, the son of Gervase, and Hugh of Montfort, and twenty-five other knights, and brought them to the king. And the king imprisoned count Waleran and Hugh, the son of Gervase, in the castle in Rouen and sent Hugh of Montfort to England and had him placed in wretched bonds in the castle in Gloucester, and of the others he sent as many as he deemed fit north and south into imprisonment in his castles. Then afterwards the king went and conquered all the castles of count Waleran in Normandy, and all the others which his adversaries held against him.

All this unrest was on account of the son of Robert, the count of Normandy, who was called William ['Clito']. That same William had taken as wife the younger daughter of Fulk [V], the count of Anjou; and for this reason the king of France and all his counts and all his powerful men stood by him, and said that the king held his brother Robert in captivity wrongfully and that he had driven his son William out of Normandy unjustly.

This same year in England there were many misfortunes with grain and with all crops, so that between Christmas and Candlemas [2 February] the seed-wheat for an acre (that is, two baskets of seed) sold for six shillings, and that of barley (that is, three baskets of seed) for six shillings, and the seed-oats for an acre (that is, four baskets of seed) for four shillings. That was because the [yield of] grain was small and the penny was so weak that the man who had a pound at the market was not able to buy twelve pennyworth with it.

In this same year, Ernulf, the blessed bishop of Rochester, who had earlier been been abbot of Peterborough, died; that was on the day of the Ides of March [15th]. And after that on 23 April, Alexander, the king of Scotland, passed away, and his brother David [I], who was earl in Northamptonshire, succeeded to the kingdom and held them both together – the kingdom in Scotland and the earldom in England. And on the day of 14 December, the pope in Rome, who was called Calixtus [II], died and Honorius [II] was elected to the papacy.

This same year, after the Feast of St Andrew [30 November] before Christmas, Ralph Basset and the king's thegns held an assembly at Hundehoh in Leicestershire, and there hanged many more thieves than ever had been [hanged] before – that was forty-four men in all in a short space of time; and they despoiled six men of their eyes and their stones [i.e. testicles]. Many honest men said that many were despoiled there with great injustice, but our Lord God Almighty, who sees and knows all secrets [cf. Matt. 6: 4-8], sees that the wretched people are oppressed with every injustice – first they are robbed of their goods and afterwards they are slain. It was a full grievous year – the man who had any property was robbed of it by heavy taxes and oppressive courts; he who had none died of hunger.

Year 1125 Here, before Christmas [1124], Henry the king sent from Normandy to England and ordered that all minters who were in England should be deprived of their limbs – that was, the right hand of each of them and their stones [i.e. testicles] below. That was [done] because the man who had a pound could not buy a pennyworth at a market. And Roger, the bishop of Salisbury, sent throughout all of England and instructed them all that they should come to Winchester at Christmas. When they came there they were seized one by one and each deprived of the right hand and their stones below. All this was accomplished within the twelve nights [of Christmas]; and was very rightly done, because they had ruined all the country with their great fraud (which they all paid for).

In this same year [1125], the pope in Rome sent a cardinal called John of Crema to this country. He first went to the king in Normandy and the king received him with great honour; afterwards he commended him to William, the archbishop of Canterbury, and he led him to Canterbury. And there he was received with great honour and with a magnificent procession, and he sang the high mass on Easter day at the altar of Christ. And afterwards he

travelled throughout all of England to all the bishoprics and abbacies which were in this land, and he was received with honour everywhere and they all gave him great and splendid gifts. And afterwards, on the Nativity of Holy Mary in September [8th], he held his council in London for three full days with archbishops and diocesan bishops and abbots and clerics and lay people. There he decreed the same laws which Anselm the archbishop had earlier decreed, and many more, though it was to little avail. And from there he went overseas soon after Michaelmas [29 September] and so on to Rome; [and with him were] William, the archbishop of Canterbury, and Thurstan, the archbishop of York, and Alexander, the bishop of Lincoln, and John, the bishop of Lothian, and Geoffrey, the abbot of St Albans. And they were received there with great honour by Pope Honorius [II], and they remained there all winter.

On the Feast of St Lawrence [10 August] in this same year, there was so great a flood that many towns and men were drowned, and bridges destroyed, and grain and pastures completely ruined, and [there was] famine and disease among men and among livestock; and there was such great ruin of all crops as there had not been for many years before.

And on 14 October this same year, John, the abbot of Peterborough, passed away.

Year 1126 All this year Henry the king was in Normandy right up until autumn. Then he came back to this country between the Nativity of Holy Mary [8 September] and Michaelmas [29 September]. The queen [Adela] and his daughter [Maud / Matilda], whom he had earlier given to the emperor Henry [V] of Lorraine as wife, came with him. And he brought with him count Waleran and Hugh, the son of Gervase. And he imprisoned the count at Bridgnorth, and afterwards he sent him to Wallingford, and Hugh to Windsor, where he had him put in harsh confinement.

And then after Michaelmas [29 September] David, the king of the Scots, came here to this country from Scotland; and Henry the king received him with great honour and he subsequently remained in this land the whole year.

In this same year the king had his brother Robert taken from Roger, the bishop of Salisbury, and committed him to his son Robert, the earl of Gloucester, and had him led to Bristol and placed in the castle there. That was all done on the advice of his daughter and through her uncle David [I], the king of the Scots.

Year 1127 This year Henry the king held his court at Christmas at Windsor. David, the king of the Scots, was there and all his leading [men], both clerical and lay, that were in England. And he had archbishops and bishops and abbots and earls and all the thegns who were there swear England and Normandy to the control of his daughter Æthelic [i.e. Maud], who was earlier wife of the emperor of Saxony; and afterwards he sent her to Normandy – and with her went her brother Robert, the earl of Gloucester, and Brian, the son of count Alan Fergant – and he had her wedded to the son of the count of Anjou, called Geoffrey Martel. That offended all the English and French, but the king did it in order to have peace with the count of Anjou and in order to secure help against his nephew William ['Clito'].

In this same year [1127] in springtime Charles, the count of Flanders, was slain by his own men in a church where he lay prostrate and was praying to God before the altar during the mass. And the king of France brought William, the son of the count of Normandy [to him], and gave him the county; and the native people accepted him. This same William had earlier taken the daughter [Maud] of the count of Anjou as wife, but they were afterwards separated because of consanguinity. That was all [done] through Henry, the king of England. Afterwards he took the sister of the king of France [Joan] as wife, and because of this the king gave him the county of Flanders.

This same year he gave the abbacy of Peterborough to an abbot called Henry of Poitou. He had his abbacy of St Jean d'Angély in hand, and all the archbishops and bishops said that that was against [Canon] Law and that he could not have two abbacies in hand [at once]. But that same Henry gave the king to understand that he had left his abbacy on account of the great unrest that was in that land, and he did that on the advice and leave of the pope of Rome and of the abbot of Cluny, and because he was the legate for the Rome-tax. But that was not at all the case – he just wanted to have both in hand; and he held it thus for as long as it was God's will. While in clerk's orders he was bishop of Soissons; afterwards he became a monk in Cluny, and still later prior in the same monastery. And later he became prior in Savigny. Thereafter, because he was a kinsman of the king of England and of the earl Poitou, the earl gave him the abbacy of the monastery of St Jean d'Angély.

Afterwards, because of his great wiliness, he attained the archbishopric of Besançon and then had it in hand for three days. Then he rightly lost it, because he had earlier attained it improperly. Then afterwards he acquired the bishopric of Saintes, which was five miles from his abbacy – he had that in hand for very nearly a week; the abbot of Cluny removed him from there just as he earlier had from Besançon. Then it occurred to him that he might have it all his own way, if he could get firmly rooted in England. He sought out the king and said to him that he was an old man and a broken-down person, and that he could not bear the great injustices and the terrific disturbances there were in their land; and then personally and through all his friends [that were] well-known by name, he begged for the abbacy of Peterborough, and the king granted that to him because he was his kinsman and because he had been a principal when swearing the oath and bearing witness there when the son of the count of Normandy and the daughter of the count of Anjou were divorced because of consanguinity. In this wretched manner the abbacy was transferred between Christmas and Candlemas [2 February] at London; and so he went with the king to Winchester and from there he arrived at Peterborough. And there he stayed exactly as drones do in a hive – all that the bees carry in, the drones devour and carry off. So did he – all that he could take from within or outside, from the clergy and the laity, he sent overseas; he did no good there, nor did he leave any goods there.

Let the truth of what we say not seem remarkable, for it was fully known throughout the land that just as soon as he arrived there (that was the Sunday when they sing Exurge, quare obdormis, Domine? [the Second Sunday before Lent – 6 February that year; "Awake. Why do you sleep, O Lord?", Ps. 43: 23]), then soon afterwards many people saw and heard many huntsmen hunting. The hunters were black and immense and loathsome, and they rode on black horses and on black billy-goats. This was seen right in the deer-park in the

town of Peterborough, and in all the woods from that same town to Stamford. And the monks heard the horns blow that they blew in the night. Steadfast men [who] kept watch in the night said that it seemed to them as if there might well have been about twenty or thirty hornblowers. This was seen and heard from when he arrived there, all that springtime [and] up until Easter. That was his entrance; of his exit we cannot yet say! God [alone] sees the future.

Year 1128 All this year Henry the king was in Normandy on account of the hostility between him and his nephew, the count of Flanders [William 'Clito']. But the count was wounded by a young man in a battle, and wounded in this way he went to the monastery of St Bertin; and he immediately became a monk there. And he lived for five days afterwards and then died and was buried there. May God prepare his soul. That was on the day of 27 July.

This same year Ranulf Passeflambard, the bishop of Durham, died and was buried there on 5 September.

And this same year the previously mentioned abbot Henry went home to his own monastery at Poitou, by leave of the king. He gave the king to understand that he would completely abandon that monastery and that country and reside here with him in England and in the monastery of Peterborough; but that was not at all the case. He did that because through his great wiles he wanted to stay there twelve months or more, and then come back afterwards. May God Almighty have mercy on that wretched place!

This same year Hugh of the Temple came from Jerusalem to the king in Normandy; and the king received him with great honour and gave him great treasures of gold and silver. And afterwards he sent him to England; and there he was received by all good men and everyone gave him treasures – and in Scotland also – and via him they sent great wealth to Jerusalem, all in gold and in silver. And then he ordered people [to go] to Jerusalem; and with him and after him there went so great a throng of people as never before since the first expedition [i.e. the First Crusade, 1096-99] in the time of Pope Urban [II], though little came of it. He said that an intense battle was set between the Christians and the heathen. When they arrived there, that was nothing but misinformation; in this way all the people became wretchedly afflicted.

Year 1129 Here the king sent to England for the count Waleran and for Hugh, the son of Gervase; and they gave hostages for them there. And Hugh went home to his own land in France, but Waleran remained with the king and the king gave him back all his land, except only for his castle. Afterwards in the autumn the king returned to England and the count came with him, and they became just as good friends as they had earlier been enemies.

Then soon afterwards, by the king's advice and by his leave, William the archbishop of Canterbury sent throughout the whole of England and instructed bishops and abbots and archdeacons and all the priors, monks and canons that were in all the cells in England, and all those who had to care for and look after Christendom, that they should all come to London at Michaelmas [29 September] and should discuss there all of God's dues. When they arrived there, the meeting began on Monday and continued until Friday. When all was revealed, it turned out to be all about archdeacons' wives and priests' wives – that they should relinquish them by the Feast of St Andrew

[30 November]. And anyone who did not wish to do so would forgo his church and his home and never more have any claim to them. This was ordered by William the archbishop of Canterbury and all the diocesan bishops who were then in England. And the king gave them all leave to return home, and so they left for home. All the decrees came to naught – all kept their wives by the king's leave, just as they had done before.

In this same year William Gifford, the bishop of Winchester, died and was buried there on 25 January. And after Michaelmas [29 September], the king gave the bishopric to his nephew Henry, the abbot of Glastonbury. And he was consecrated bishop on the day of 17 November by William, the archbishop of Canterbury.

This same year Pope Honorius [II] passed away. Almost before he was dead, two popes were chosen there. The first was called Peter [he became Anacletus II, the antipope] – he was a monk of Cluny and was born of the most powerful men in Rome; he was backed by the men of Rome and by the duke of Sicily. The second was called Gregory [who became Innocent II] – he was a clerk [in holy orders], and was driven out of Rome by the other pope and by his kinsmen; he was backed by the emperor of Saxony [Lothair II] and the king of France [Louis VI] and Henry the king of England, and by all those this side of the mountains [i.e.the Alps]. Now there was a great heresy in Christendom such as there had never been before. May Christ provide counsel for his wretched people!

This same year, on the eve of the Feast of St Nicholas [i.e. on 5 December], there was a great earthquake a little before daybreak.

Year 1130 This year the minster of Canterbury was consecrated by William the archbishop on the day of 4 May. These bishops were there: John of Rochester, Gilbert 'Universalis' of London , Henry of Winchester, Alexander of Lincoln, Roger of Salisbury, Simon of Worcester, Roger of Coventry, Godfrey of Bath, Everard of Norwich, Sigefrith of Chichester, Bernard of St David's, Audoen of Evreux from Normandy, [and] John of Séez. On the fourth day after that Henry the king was in Rochester, and the city almost burned to the ground. And William the archbishop consecrated St Andrew's Minster, with the previously mentioned bishops in attendance. And in the autumThis same year Henry, the abbot of Angély, came to Peterborough after Easter and declared that he had wholly abandoned the monastery [of Angély]. After him, the abbot [of] Cluny (called Peter ['the Venerable']) came to England with the king's leave and was received with great honour wherever he went. He came to Peterborough and there Henry the abbot promised him that he would get the monastery of Peterborough for him so that it would be subject to Cluny. But as it says in the proverb,"Hedge abides that field divides". May God Almighty destroy evil conspiracies! And soon afterwards, the abbot of Cluny went home to his [own] country.

Year 1131 After Christmas this year on Monday eve at the first sleep [i.e. between nocturns and matins] the heavens on the north side were all as if they were a burning fire, so that all who saw it were more scared than they ever had been before; that was on 11 January.

This same year there was as great a pestilence among cattle throughout England as ever before, so far as people could recall. That was among cows

and among pigs, so that in the village where ten or twelve ploughs were used, not one remained there; and the man who had two hundred or three hundred pigs had not one left. After that the hens died; then meat and cheese and butter were in short supply. May God improve that, when he wishes to do so!

And Henry the king returned home to England before autumn, after the earlier Feast of St Peter [29 June].

This same year before Easter Henry the abbot went from Peterborough overseas to Normandy, and there he conferred with the king and told him that the abbot of Cluny commanded that he should come to him and hand over the abbacy of Angély; and afterwards he would return home, by his leave. So he travelled home to his own monastery [Angély] and remained there right up until midsummer's day. And the next day after the Feast of St John [the Baptist; i.e. on 25 June], the monks chose an abbot from amongst themselves and led him in procession into the church, sang the Te Deum laudamus, rang the bells, set him in the abbot's seat, and paid him all such obedience as they should do to their abbot. And the earl [of Aquitaine] and all the leading men and the monks of the monastery drove Henry, the other abbot, out of the monastery. They did this of necessity – never in twenty-five years they had experienced one good day.

Here all his great cunning failed him. Now he had to creep into his great sack [of tricks] and [look in] every corner [to see] if there was at least one dodgy trick with which he might deceive Christ and all Christian folk still once more.

Then he went to Cluny and was held there so that he could [go] neither east nor west. The abbot of Cluny said that he had lost the monastery of St John because of him and because of his great stupidity. Then he knew no better remedy for his situation than that he promise them and swear oaths on relics that, if he could reach England, he would get them the monastery of Peterborough, so that he should appoint a prior there from Cluny, as well as a sacristan and a treasurer, and a vestment-keeper; and he would give over to them everything that was within or outside of the monastery. Thus he travelled into France [from Burgundy] and he remained there all that year. May Christ look out for the wretched monks of Peterborough and for that wretched place! Now they need the help of Christ and of all Christian folk.

[The Final Continuation]

Year 1132 This year King Henry returned to this country. Then abbot Henry came and made accusations against the monks of Peterborough to the king because he wished to subject that monastery to Cluny, with the result that the king was very nearly deceived and sent for the monks. But through the mercy of God and through the bishop of Salisbury and the bishop of Lincoln and the other leading men who were there, the king then realised that he acted with treachery. When he could [achieve] no more, he wanted that his nephew should be abbot at Peterborough; but Christ did not want that. It was not very long afterwards that the king sent for him and made him give up the abbacy of Peterborough and leave the country; and the king gave the abbacy to a prior of St Neot's, called Martin. He processed into the monastery with great ceremony on the Feast of St Peter [20 June].

Year 1133 [There is no year number or entry for this year.]

Year 1134 [There is no year number or entry for this year.]

Year 1135 Here [recte 1133] Henry the king went overseas at the Lammas [1 August], and the next day, while he lay asleep on [the] ship, the day darkened throughout all the lands, and the sun became as if it were a three-day old moon, and stars [were] around it at midday. People were greatly astonished and terrified, and said that a momentous event should follow upon this; and so it did, for that same year the king died in Normandy on the second day after the Feast of St Andrew [i.e. 2 December]. Then this land [also] immediately grew dark, for everyone who could immediately robbed another. Then his son and his friends fetched his body and brought it to England and buried him at Reading. He was a good man and there was great awe of him. In his time no one dared mistreat another; he made peace for [both] man and beast. No one dared say anything but good to whoever carried his load of gold and silver.

In the middle of [all] this, his nephew Stephen of Blois had arrived in England and came to London; and the people of London received him and sent for the archbishop, William Corbeil, and consecrated him as king on midwinter's day. In this king's time there was all unrest and evil and robbery because the powerful men who were traitors immediately rose up against him; first of all, Baldwin de Redvers [i.e. of Reviers], and he held Exeter against him. But the king besieged it, and afterwards Baldwin came to terms. Then the others took to their castles and held them against him; and David, king of Scotland, took to warring upon him. Then, notwithstanding, their envoys travelled between them and they came together and were reconciled, though it came to little.

Year 1136 [There is no year number or entry for this year.]

Year 1137 This year Stephen the king went overseas to Normandy and was accepted there because they thought that he would be exactly as his uncle had been, and because he had got his treasure; but he distributed and scattered it stupidly. King Henry had amassed a great amount of gold and silver, but no good was done with it for his soul.

When Stephen the king returned to England he held his council at Oxford [1139]; and there he seized Roger, the bishop of Salisbury, and his nephews Alexander, the bishop of Lincoln, and Roger, the chancellor, and imprisoned them all until they surrendered their castles. When the traitors realised that Stephen was a gentle and mild and good man and imposed no penalty, they committed every atrocity. They had paid homage to him and sworn oaths, but they honoured no pledge. They were all forsworn and their pledges lost because every powerful man built his castles and held them against him [the king], and they filled the country full of castles. They oppressed the wretched people of the country exceedingly with work on the castles, and when they were built they filled them with devils and evil men. Then both by day and night they seized the men they thought had any wealth, and common men and women too, and put them in prison for their gold and silver, and tortured them with unspeakable tortures – for no martyrs were ever tortured as they were. They hung them up by the feet and smoked them with foul smoke; they hung them by their thumbs or by the head, and hung mail-shirts on their feet. They put knotted strings around their head and twisted till they went into

their brains. They put them in dungeons in which there were adders and snakes and toads, and in this way killed them. Some they put into a crucet-hus – that is, into a chest that was short and narrow and shallow, and put sharp stones in there and squashed the person within so that all his limbs were broken. In many of the castles there was a lof and grin – these were chains, such that two or three men had enough to do to carry one. It was made thus: it is fastened to a beam and a sharp iron put around the man's throat and his neck so that he could not move in any direction, neither sit nor lie down nor sleep, but they [had to] carry all that iron. Many thousands were destoyed by starvation.

I do not know nor am I able to relate all the horrors and all the tortures that they inflicted upon the wretched people of this country. And it lasted the nineteen years while Stephen was king, and ever it became worse and worse. They imposed taxes on the towns all the time and called it tenserie. When the wretched people had no more to give, they robbed and burned all the villages so that you could well travel a whole day's journey [and] never find anyone remaining in a town, nor tilled land. Then corn was expensive, and meat and cheese and butter, because there was none in the land. Wretched people died of starvation. Some who were once powerful men went on alms; some fled out of the land.

Never yet had there been greater wretchedness in this land, nor did heathen men ever do worse than they did; for too many times they spared neither church nor churchyard, but they took all the wealth that was in it and afterwards burned the church and everything else together. They did not spare the land of bishops, nor of abbots and priests, but robbed monks and priests, and whoever was stronger, the other. If two or three men came riding into a village, all the townspeople fled from them, thinking that they were robbers. The bishops and clergy always cursed them, but that was nothing to them because they were all accursed and forsworn and damned.

Wherever men tilled, the earth bore no corn because the land was completely ruined by such deeds; and they said openly that Christ and his saints slept. Such and more than we are able to relate we suffered for nineteen years because of our sins.

During all this evil time, abbot Martin held his abbacy with great energy for twenty and a half years and eight days, and he provided the monks and the guests with all that they needed and held great alms-givings in the house; and nevertheless, he worked on the church and established lands and revenues for it, and endowed it greatly, and had it roofed, and brought them [the monks] into the new monastery with great ceremony on the Feast of St Peter – that was in the year 1140 from the Incarnation of our Lord, twenty-three from the burning of the place. And he journeyed to Rome and was well received there by Eugenius [III], the pope, and there he got privileges, one for all the lands of the abbacy and another for the lands that pertain to the sacrist; and if he could have lived longer, he meant to do likewise for the treasurer. And he got back lands that powerful men held by force. He won Cottingham and Easton from William Maudit, who held the castle of Rockingham; and from Hugh de Vatteville he won Irthlingborough and Stanwick, and sixty shillings each year from Aldwinkle. And he made many monks, and planted a vineyard and built many buildings; and he made the town better than it had

been before, and was a good monk and a good man, and therefore God and good people loved him.

Now we wish to relate some part of what happened in the time of King Stephen. In his time, the Jews of Norwich bought a Christian child before Easter and tortured him with all the same tortures with which our Lord was tortured, and on Long [i.e. Good] Friday hanged him on a cross for [his] love of our Lord, and afterwards buried him. They imagined that it would hidden, but our Lord revealed that he was a holy martyr, and the monks took him and buried him with reverence in the minster; and he works wonderful and manifold miracles through our Lord, and is called St William.

Year 1138 Here David, the king of Scotland, invaded this land with an immense army – he wanted to conquer this country. And William, the earl of Aumale, to whom the king had entrusted York, advanced against him together with other steadfast men with a few men, and fought against them and put the king to flight at the Standard; and they killed a very great number of his following.

Year 1139 [There is no year number or entry for this year.]

Year 11403 Here [1139] Stephen the king wanted to capture Robert, the earl of Gloucester, the son of King Henry, but he could not, because he found out about it [April 1137].

[1140] After that in the spring, the sun and the day darkened around noon of the day when men were eating, so that they lit candles to eat by; and that was 20 March. People were greatly astonished.

[1136] After that William, the archbishop of Canterbury, passed away [21 November 1136], and the king made Theobald, who was abbot of Bec, archbishop [8 January 1139].

[1140] After that a very great war erupted between the king and Ranulf, the earl of Chester – not because he did not give him all that he could ask of him, as he did all others, but always the more he gave them, the worse they were to him. The earl held Lincoln against the king and took from him all that he ought to have. And the king went there and besieged him and his brother, William of Roumare, in the castle; and the earl stole out and went to Robert, the earl of Gloucester, and brought him back with a great army. And on Candlemas Day [2 February 1141] they fought furiously against their lord and seized him; and his men betrayed him and fled. And [they] led him to Bristol and there put [him] in prison and in fetters. Then the whole of England was more unsettled than it ever was before, and every evil was present in the land.

[1139] After that the daughter of King Henry [Matilda/Maud], who had been empress in Germany and was now countess in Anjou, arrived [September 1139] and went to London [1141]; and the people of London wished to capture her, but she fled [June 1141], and she lost a great deal there.

                                                                                                               3 The entry here for 1140 describes events which occurred in 1139. The order of events described from here to the end of the manuscript is irregular; the year numbers in square backets follow Whitelock (1961; pp. 200-3), who in turn is working from the tabulation made by Plummer (1952, II. 313-14).

[1141] After that Henry, the bishop of Winchester [and] brother of King Stephen, spoke with earl Robert and with the empress [Matilda], and swore oaths to them that he would never again side with his brother, the king, and cursed all the men who supported him; and he said to them that he would surrender Winchester to them, and had them come there. When they were in there, the king's queen arrived there with all her forces and besieged them [August-September 1141], so that there was great hunger within. When they could no longer endure it, they stole out and fled; and those outside became aware of this and pursued them, and they seized Robert, the earl of Gloucester, and led him to Rochester and put him in prison there. And the empress fled into a monastery. Then the wise men travelled between the king's friends and the friends of the earl, and reconciled them so that they should let the king out of prison in exchange for the earl, and the earl for the king; and they did that [1 November 1141].

[1142] And after that the king and earl Ranulf were reconciled at Stamford, and they swore oaths and affirmed pledges that neither of them should betray the other; [1146] but this stood for nothing, because on wicked advice the king afterwards seized him in Northampton and imprisoned him. And soon afterwards, on worse advice, he released him on the condition that he swore on relics and found hostages [as assurance] that he would give up all his castles. Some he gave up and some he did not, and he then acted worse here than he should [have].

Then England was very divided – some stood by the king, some with the empress [Matilda], because when the king was in prison the earls and powerful men thought that he would never again get out, and they were reconciled with the empress and brought her to Oxford [1141] and gave her the town. When the king got out he learned of that and took his army and besieged her in the Tower [26 September-December 1142]. But she was let down from the tower with ropes during the night and stole away; and she fled and went to Wallingford on foot [December 1142].

[1147] After that she went overseas [February 1148] and those in Normandy all turned away from the king and to the count of Anjou [1141-4], some of their own will and some unwillingly, because he besieged them until they surrendered their castles; and they had no help from the king.

[1140] Then Eustace, the king's son, went to France and took the sister of the king of France as wife [in February]; and in that way he thought to acquire Normandy, but he had little success – and for good reason, because he was an evil man. For wherever he went he did more evil than good – he plundered the lands and imposed great taxes on them. He brought his wife to England and domiciled her in the castle at Canterbury. She was a good woman, but she had little happiness with him; and Christ did not wish that he should rule long, and both he [August 1153] and his mother [ May 1152] died.

[1151] And the count of Anjou died [7 September 1151] and his son Henry took control. And the queen of France [Eleanor] separated from the king, and she came to the young count Henry and he took her as [his] wife, and all Poitou with her. Then [1153] he travelled to England with a great army and won castles [January 1153]; and the king came against him with a greater army. But in any case, they did not fight, for the archbishop and the wise men came between them and made the pact that the king should be lord and king

as long as he lived, and after his day Henry should be king, and he should hold him as father and he him as son, and peace and reconciliation should be between them and in all England. This and the other conditions that they set, the king and the count and the bishop and the [other] earls and all the powerful men swore to maintain. Then the count was received with great honour at Winchester and at London, and all paid him homage and swore to keep the peace. And soon it became a very good peace, such as there never was here before. Then the king was stronger than he ever was here before. And the count went overseas [before Easter 1154], and all peoples loved him because he practised good justice and made peace.

Year 1154 Here Stephen the king died [25 October] and was buried where his wife and his son were buried, at Faversham, the minster that they had built. When the king died, the count was overseas, but no one dared do anything but good because there was great awe of him. When he came back to England, he was received with great honour and blessed as king [Henry II] in London on the Sunday before midwinter's day [i.e. on 19 December]; and he held a great court there.

Then on the very day that Martin the abbot of Peterborough was to go there, he fell ill and died on 2 January [1155]; and the monks chose another [abbot] for themselves within a day; he is called William Vatteville [Waterville], a good clerk and a good man, and well loved by the king and by all good people. And they buried the abbot reverently in the church; and the abbot elect and the monks with him immediately went to the king at Oxford, and he granted him that abbacy. And he immediately went to Lincoln and was blessed there as abbot before he came home; and afterwards he was received with great honour and with a great procession at Peterborough; and so also was he at Ramsey and at Thorney and at Crowland and Spalding and at St Albans and F[…]. And he is now abbot, and has had a fair beginning. May Christ grant him to end thus.