show contempt for the dress, the habits, and the manners of the subjugated descendants of Hengist and Horsa. Becket had risen by acquiring the dialect and accomplishments of the dominant caste, but he was too noble-minded now to be ashamed of his origin: he proclaimed his lineage, and professed himself a protector of the rights and liberties of all his countrymen. It is doubtful whether at this time the Chancellor had any separate judicial duties; but we know that Becket sat as a member of the Supreme Court or Aula Regis; that he sealed all the King's grants with the Great Seal; that he had the care of the royal chapel; and that he acted as secretary to the King in domestic affairs, and in all foreign negotiations. Of his conduct, habits, and demeanour, while he continued Chancellor, we have a very graphic and trustworthy account from his secretary;—and instead of diluting it, after the modern fashion, into a mixture from which all its pungency and raciness would evaporate, I think I shall much better convey an accurate notion of the character of the individual, and of the manners of the times, by a literal translation of a few of the most remarkable passages of this interesting work: "The Chancellor's house and table were open to all of every degree about the court who wished to partake of his hospitality, and who were, or appeared to be, respectable. He hardly ever sat down to dinner without earls and barons whom he had invited. He ordered the rooms in which he entertained company to be daily covered during winter with clean straw and hay, and in summer with clean rushes and boughs*, for the gentlefolks to lie down upon, who on account of their numbers could not be accommodated at the tables, so that their fine clothes might not be soiled by a dirty floor. His house was splendidly furnished with gold and silver vessels, and was plentifully supplied with the most costly meats and wines. He gave "The prime nobility of England and the neighbouring kingdoms sent their sons to be servants to the Chancellor. these young men handsome entertainment and a liberal education, and when he had seen them duly admitted into the order of knighthood he returned them back to their fathers and relations. Some he retained near his own person. The King himself intrusted his own son, the heir apparent of the kingdom, to be brought up by him, and the Chancellor maintained the prince with all suitable honour, together with many sons of the nobility of the same age, and all their train, instructors, and servants. "Many nobles and knights paid homage to the Chancellor, which he received with a saving of their allegiance to the King, and he then maintained and supported them as their patron. * A custom which continued in England down to the time of Erasmus, and which he describes in nearly the same words. "When he was going beyond sea he had a fleet of six or more vessels for his own use, and he carried over free of expence all who wished to cross at the same time. When he was landed he recompensed the masters of his ships and the sailors to their hearts' content. Hardly a day passed in which he did not give away magnificent presents, such as horses, hawks, apparel, gold or silver furniture, or sums of money. He was an example of the sacred proverb-Some bountifully give away what belongs to them, and still always abound; while others seize what does not belong to them, and are always in want. So gracefully did the Chancellor confer his gifts, that he was reckoned the charm and the delight of the whole Latin world. "The Chancellor was in high favour with the King, the clergy, the army, and the people, on account of his eminent virtues, his greatness of mind, and his good deeds, which seemed to spring spontaneously from his heart. Serious business being finished, the King and he consorted as young comrades of the same station,-whether in the palace, in church, in private society, or in excursions on horseback. 6 "One cold wintry day they were riding together through the streets of London when they observed an old beggar-man coming towards them, wearing a worn-out tattered garment. Said the King to the Chancellor, Do you see that man? Chancellor. I see him.'—King. How poor! how wretched! how naked he is! Would it not be great charity to give him a thick warm cloak?'. Chancellor. Great indeed; and you, as King, ought to have a disposition and an eye for such things.' Meanwhile the beggar comes up; the King stops, and the Chancellor along with him. The King in a mild tone addresses the beggar, and asks him if he would like to have a good cloak?" The beggar, not knowing who they were, thought it was all a joke. The King to the Chancellor. You indeed shall have the grace of this great charity;' and putting his hands on a very fine new cloak of scarlet and ermine which the Chancellor then wore, he struggled to pull it off, while the Chancellor did his best to retain it. A great scuffle and tumult arising, the rich men and knights who formed their train, in astonishment, hastened to find out what sudden cause of contest had sprung up, but could gain no information: both the contending parties were eagerly engaged with their hands, and seemed as if about to tumble to the ground. After a certain resistance the Chancellor allowed the King to be victorious,-to pull off his cloak, and to give it to the beggar. The King then told the whole story to his attendants, who were all convulsed with laughter. There was no want of offers from them of cloaks and coats to the Chancellor. The old beggar-man walked off with the Chancellor's valuable cloak, enriched beyond his hopes, rejoicing and giving thanks to God.* * It is impossible not to admire the finesse with which Fitzstephen tells this "Sometimes the King took his meals in the dining-hall of the Chancellor for the sake of amusement, and to hear the stories told at his table and in his house. While the Chancellor was sitting at table the King would be admitted into the hall on horseback, sometimes with a dart in his hand, returning from the chase or riding to cover; sometimes he merely drank a cup of wine, and having saluted the Chancellor, retreated; sometimes jumping over the table he sat down and partook of the banquet. Never in any Christian age were two men more familiar or friendly." Becket continued Chancellor till the year 1162, without any abatement in his favour with the King, or in the power which he possessed, or in the energy he displayed, or in the splendour of his career. He not only presided in the Aula Regis and superintended the domestic administration of the kingdom, but, when the necessities of the state so required, he himself went on foreign embassies, and led armies into the field. The King's eldest son was still a boy and a pupil of the Chancellor, to whom it was thought that his education A. D. 1158.] might be better intrusted than to any other, both for literature and chivalry. According to the custom of that time, which continued for centuries afterwards, it was usual to contract marriage between the children of sovereign princes long before they reached the age of puberty, and Henry the son of a Count, thought it would add to the splendour of his family and to the stability of his throne, if his infant heir were affianced to a daughter of the King of France. To bring about this alliance, which was opposed by the Emperor of Germany, Henry proposed that the Chancellor should himself proceed to the French court, and he at once accepted the embassy. "He prepared," says Fitzstephen, "to exhibit and pour out the opulence of English luxury, that among all persons and in all things the Sovereign might be honoured in his representative, and the representative in himself. He took with him about two hundred mounted on horseback, of his own family, knights, priests, standard-bearers and squires,-sons of noblemen, forming his body-guard, and all completely armed. All these, and all their followers, were festively arrayed in new attire, each according to his degree. He likewise took with him twenty-four changes of raiment, almost all to be given away, and left among the foreigners he was to visit. He carried along with him all kinds of dogs and birds for field sports used by kings and rich men. In his train he had eight waggons; each waggon was drawn by five horses equal to war horses, well matched, and with uniform harness; each horse was taken care of by a stout young man dressed in a new tunic. Two waggons carried nothing but ale made with wa story, particularly the courtly acquiescence of the Chancellor after a proper resistance, and the profusion of offers of coats and cloaks to the Chancellor, then the favourite, and the distributor of the favours of the Crown. ter and malt*, in casks fastened with iron, to be given to the French. The furniture of the Chancellor's chapel filled one waggon, his chamber another, his kitchen another; others were loaded with eatables and drink for the use of himself and his train. He had twelve sumpter horses; eight carried the Chancellor's gold and silver plate. Coffers and chests contained the Chancellor's money in good store, sufficient for his daily expenses, and the presents which he meditated, together with his clothes, books, and articles of the like nature. One horse, which preceded all the rest, carried the holy vessels of his chapel, the holy books, and the ornaments of the altar. "Likewise each wagon had chained to it, either above or below, a large, strong, and fierce mastiff, which seemed able to contend with a bear or a lion, and on the top of every sumpter horse there was a monkey with a tail, or an ape, mimicking the human countenance. On entering the French towns and villages the procession was headed by about 250 young men on foot, in groups of six, or ten, or more, singing some verses in their own tongue, after the manner of their country. Then came at a little distance hariers and other dogs coupled, together with their keepers and whippersin. Soon after the waggons, strengthened with iron and covered over with great skins of animals sewed together, rattled over the stones of the streets; at a short distance followed the sumpter horses, rode by their grooms, who sat upon their haunches. Frenchmen running out from their houses at all this noise, inquired whose family can this be? Being answered, 'Behold the Chancellor of the King of England going on a mission to the King of France,' they exclaimed, 'How wonderful must be the King of England himself, whose Chancellor travels in such state! The "After the sumpter horses followed esquires carrying the shields of the knights and leading the saddle horses; then came other knights, then pages, - then those who bore hawks, - then the standard bearers and the upper and lower servants of the Chancellor's household,—then soldiers and priests riding two and two;last of all came the Chancellor, surrounded by some of his friends. 'As soon as the Chancellor landed in France, he sent forward a messenger to inform the French King of his approach. The * I find no mention of hops in the text, and I suspect that the ale so boasted of was only the ancient Scandinavian drink described by Tacitus as "a corruption of barley," and still manufactured in Flanders under the name of " bierre blanche."Some say that hops were unknown in England till the end of the reign of Henry VIII., when the liquor made bitter by them was called by the new name of "beer." Hence the popular lines "Hops, Reformation, Carp, and Beer, According to Virgil, the northern nations knew how to flavour their wort with acids: King appointed to meet him at Paris by a certain day. It is the custom for the French Kings to purvey for all persons coming to court and while they remain there; and the King now wishing to purvey for the Chancellor, by an edict published by him at Paris, prohibited all persons from selling any thing to the Chancellor or his people. This coming to the knowledge of the Chancellor, he sent on his servants to St. Denis and the neighbouring towns, that, changing their dress and concealing their names, they should buy for him bread, flesh, fish, wine, and all eatables in abundance, and when he entered the "Hotel du Temple," which he was to occupy in Paris, they ran up and informed him that he would find it supplied with provisions fully sufficient for the use of a thousand men for three days. “He gave away all his gold and silver plate and changes of raiment, -to one a robe, to another a furred cloak, to a third a pelisse, -to this man a palfrey, and to that a war horse. Why should I enter into further particulars? He won favour above all men. He successfully completed his embassy: he gained his object: whatever he solicited was granted to him. "In returning, he apprehended and lodged in prison Vedo de la Val, an enemy of the King of England, and a notorious public robber."* That this union might not afterwards be broken off, and might cement a good understanding between the two countries,-according to the treaty which the Chancellor had concluded, Margaret the infant princess was put under the care of a Norman baron, who was to superintend her education; and her dower, consisting of a great domain in the Vexin, was placed in the hands of the Knights Templars till the celebration of the marriage. It is said that the Chancellor continued zealously to cultivate A. D. 1159.] peace; but in spite of his efforts, war with France become inevitable. The duchy of Toulouse had belonged to the father of Eleanor, who had been married to the King of France; and being divorced from him, was now Queen of England. Henry claiming this territory in her right,-under some pretence Louis insisted that he was entitled to dispose of it,—and both parties prepared to settle the dispute by an appeal to arms. The Chancellor, with his usual penetration, saw, that instead of the feudal militia, who were to fight without pay for forty days, it would be much better to commute personal service for a pecuniary contribution, by which a regular army might be equipt and maintained. He therefore introduced the pecuniary aid, called scutage, of 37. to be levied on ever knight's fee; and the number of 60,000 knights' fees established by the Conqueror still remaining, he thus collected 180,000l., and engaged a numerous force of mercenaries, whose attendance in the field was to be extended to three months. With them marched, from the love of glory, an illustrious host, con * Fitzstephen. |