The castles of Pevensey and Hastings were quickly added, besides the wardship of the young Earl of Warenne and Surrey', by which Lewes Castle also came under his extended influence in Sussex, a circumstance which may have decided the King, at a later period, in the selection of that county for his field of battle. The honour of knighthood was conferred on him with great pomp in Westminster Abbey. On one occasion, he returned from the continent (1247) bringing with him a bevy of fair damsels, as destined mates to the young nobles held in ward by his courtiers; an unnecessary importation, sure to provoke the jealousy of all the affronted The wealthy earls of Lincoln, of Devon, of Kent, of Gloucester and of Warenne were thus provided with foreign countesses in their early youth, before they had the power of exercising any choice. Peter became a Crusader in 1255, and was employed repeatedly in embassies to France. The Savoy in London still keeps up the remembrance of another grant to him, which, with his other property, he bequeathed at his death, in 1268, to the Queen and his brothers". sex. half sister, who died 1256, while yet young. Peter de Geneve, a Provençal favourite of the King, of low origin, was married to one of the wealthy daughters of Walter de Lasci.-M. Par. 66 3 On the seal Petri de Sabaudia appended to the deed confirming the peace with France in 1259, there is a lion rampant, not included within an escutcheon. Archiv. du Royaume cart. 629. 10. In Roll of Arms, t. Henry III., Peter de Savoy's arms are gules, a cross argent," being assumed by Amadeus V. at the request of the Knights Hospitallers of St John, patron of Lombardy, after the raising the siege of Rhodes in 1315. [In his first edition Mr Blaauw had said: "His marble effigy in complete ring-armour, covering even his hands is still extant on an altar-tomb at Aquabella in Savoy." He afterwards added in a (corrected) note, from information sup His brother, Boniface, exercised a similar influence over the King, and, in 1241, to the great scandal of the Church, this stranger was, by dint of royal compulsion, chosen Archbishop of Canterbury, although so reluctant was the chapter to elect him, that many of its members abandoned their stalls in disgust, and became Carthusian monks. His person was tall and elegant, but his youth, ignorance, and overbearing manners' made him incompetent for such a dignity, and the offence was the more striking from his contrast with the sainted Edmund', whom he succeeded, and who had retired to a foreign monastery, where he died hopeless of reforming the Church. Boniface was enthroned, with great pomp, in 1249, in presence of the Royal family, and afterwards freely mingled in the intrigues and wars of the Continent, together with his brother Philip, Archbishop of Lyons, neglecting his see, and draining off its revenues for 13 years. The wellknown anecdote of his visitation at the convent of St Bartholomew may illustrate his views of episcopal duty, though somewhat startling to modern clergy, accustomed to the serene tranquillity of such an occasion. Though he was met with every mark of respect, and led in procession, with ringing of bells, to the choir, yet his authority being there questioned, the archbishop so far forgot himself as to assault the aged sub-prior with his fist, beating his breast and grey head, and crying out with horrid oaths, "This, this is the way to attack English traitors," while the example was naturally followed by the attendants, who attacked the canons in the same manner. It is even said that in this disgraceful affair, the prelate's robes becoming discomposed betrayed armour beneath. The beaten party presented themselves in their bruised and bleeding state to the Bishop of London, who at once forwarded them to the King, but at the palace-door they waited in vain for an audience, and were obliged without any redress to betake themselves, with prayers for vengeance, to their patron saint, who having, according to the legend, been flayed alive, must be considered a good judge in matters of torture. The good citizens of London losing all patience at such a scene, rang the tocsin, and fairly hunted the archbishop back to Lambeth'. Such conduct justifies our applying to this prelate the bold address of a satirical song, composed about this time: "Tu qui tenes hunc tenorem Duxit in uxorem." 112 Thou, with that greedy haughty face, It was for bishops of this character, that the King's brother, Richard, candidly expressed his wish at a later 1 M. Par. That the violence and doubtful principles of a monk did not disqualify him for the mitre, may be seen by the early life of Robert de Stichill, who was elected Bishop of Durham, 1260. When yet a monk, at first "nimis levis fuit, et quâdam die Dominica cum propter levitatem suam et rebellionem esset injunctum sibi, ut super sellam in medio chori solus sederet, ut sic rubore confusus maturesceret, sellam per pedem arripuit, et extra chorum inter populum projecit. Dicitur etiam quod, ipso apostare cogitante, cum per crucem ex aquilonari parte chori noctanter transire conaretur, monitus est, per vocem emissam cœlitus, ut rediret, et si stare vellet de episcopatu promissum accepit-sic igitur dimissis levitatibus et puerilibus cæpit maturescere." Anglia Sacra, R. de Graystones, p. 739. 2 Polit. Songs, from MS. Cotton, Jul. D. vii. Boniface died abroad-on his tomb was the following inscription, "Hic jacet Bonifacius de Sabaudia Cantuarensis episcopus, operibus et virtutibus plenus; obiit autem apud S. Helenam, A.D. 1270, 18 die Julia. Magister Henricus Calonensis fecit hanc tumbam." Hist. Chron. Piedm. p. 353 in Godwyn de Presulibus. period. His letter to Prince Edward from Aix la Chapelle, 1257, after boasting of his friend, the Archbishop of Mainz, having in person defeated and nearly captured the Archbishop of Treves, remarks, "See what spirited and warlike prelates we have in Germany! I think it would not be wholly without its use to you, if similar ones were created in England, whose services you might then safely employ against the troublesome attacks of your rebels'." For such hints to be current even in a confidential letter, sufficiently stamps the character of the court. In 1243, the Queen's mother, Beatrice, Countess of Provence, visited England, a lady of remarkable beauty, manners, and prudence. Already mother of two queens, she lived to see her two other daughters bear the same title, an uncommon fortune, recorded by Dante, "Quattro figlie ebbe e ciascuna reina Ramondo Berlinghieri."-PAR. vi. Before her death, indeed, in 1268, by the marriages of grand-daughters, Beatrice saw six' queens descended from her. Well might she be proud of her progeny, like a second Niobe, to whom a chronicler compares her. She was received by the King with all the honour due to accomplishments and rank. Nobles met her at Dover, and conducted her in procession through London, where the streets were adorned with gay trappings, and, by a very necessary compliment, rendered passable for the occasion by clearing away the mud and other impediments of the highway'. The festivities at the marriage of her daughter, 1 Latin letter in Ann. Burton, dated May 18, 1257. 2 Her daughters were Margaret, Queen of France, whose daughter became Queen of Navarre; Beatrice, Queen of Sicily; Senchia, Queen of the Romans; and Eleanor, Queen of England, mother of the Queen of Scotland. 3 M. Par. ♦ Blonde of Oxford, 1. 5622.—This poem of the 13th cent. describes a similar preparation of the town of Dammartin to receive the Earl of Oxford: "La novele tost s'estendi Parmi la vile, et espandi Que li peres leur dame vient, Faire la vile netoüer.' Qui donque veist desploüer Senchia', with Prince Richard were of unparalleled prodigality, and when she left England, she was attended by the King and court on foot to the sea-side. Her distinguished reception, blamable only on the score of extravagance, naturally induced her to repeat the visit five years afterwards, as a widow, and she was then accompanied by her brother, Thomas, Count of Maurienne, “both thirsting for fresh draughts from the well-known fountain of royal bounty." Thomas had been previously welcomed with such unsuitable pomp, as to excite the ridicule of the English, but he, too, must have been merry, when he went back after only a few days' visit with the King's gift of 500 marcs (£333. 6s. 8d.), and a grant of the same sum as an annual charge for twenty years upon the Exchequer. Another deed was prepared which would have given him a groat on every sack of wool exported, but to this the keeper of the King's seal, Simon Norman, positively refused to affix its authority, and for this act of sturdy patriotism was disgraced (1239) and turned out of office3. Count Thomas, who had married the Pope's niece, was besieged in 1255, in Turin, until his brothers, the two valiant archbishops of Lyons and Canterbury, went to his rescue, and the English court again contributed money. Although so weak as to be carried in a litter, it was to King Henry he once more repaired, in 1258, when in need of fresh supplies for his ransom, and readily procured from him a thousand marcs (£666. 13s. 4d.). He died abroad, in 1259, by poison. Another turbulent and ambitious Savoyard was raised by court favour, in 1240, to be Bishop of Hereford. This was Peter de Aigue Blanche (Aquablanca), who had been chap Toilles de lin et couvrir rues Pat. 28° H. III., Shencia. By different authors she is variously named as Sanctia, Scientia, Cynthia, and Cincia. 2 M. Par. "Ad notum fontem sitientes." 3 M. Par. The seal was delivered to Richard, Abbot of Evesham. |