was yet living. In this dilemma he resolved to temporize, and enter on terms of peace and friendship with the enemy, thus waiting the event of things, in the hope, when an opportunity presented itself, of coming forward in support of his brother1.

With the legate the majority of the prelates were gained over to the party of the empress, whose indecent exultation and unbridled arrogance were alike prejudicial to her adherents and her own interest. From Gloucester, where she had been so long entertained by Milo, she hastened, accompanied by the bishop of Ely and other prelates, together with many barons, to Cirencester, and thence to Winchester, where the most distinguished ecclesiastics, the nobles of her party, the mercenaries and others had assembled. The meeting took place on the 2nd of March, on the open plain near the city; the day was wet and foggy, as if the fates foreshowed a sad vicissitude of affairs. Here Matilda swore to the legate, that all the most important concerns of the realm, particularly the disposal of vacant bishoprics and abbacies, should be according to his will, if he and the holy Church would receive her as their sovereign lady and ever observe fealty to her. The same swore and vouched for her the earl of Gloucester, Brian fitz Count marquis3 of Wallingford, Milo of Gloucester, afterwards earl of Hereford, and some others. On his part, the legate did not hesitate to acknowledge her for lady of England, and with some of his friends to engage that, so long as she held the compact inviolate, he would be faithful to her. On the following day, attended by the legate and

1 Gesta Stephani, p. 74. [This is a lenient view of the legate's case, though perhaps not altogether an unjust one, and is, moreover, from the pen of one well disposed towards Stephen, and therefore hardly inclined to favour his brother, at the expense of truth. As an ecclesiastic and representative of the holy see, the legate was naturally exasperated against his brother, for his treatment of the bishops of Salisbury, Lincoln, and Ely, a consideration which, if borne in mind, may serve to explain and even palliate much of his conduct.-T.]

2 W. Malm. p. 743. "mostam causæ vicissitudem." 3 "marchio.” ib.

other prelates, she went in procession to the cathedral, where the crown and the scanty treasure left there by Stephen being delivered to her, she was proclaimed queen of England, the legate cursing those who cursed her, and blessing those who blessed her. From Winchester she proceeded to Wilton, where the archbishop Theobald swore allegiance to her, which he had till then withheld, deeming it derogatory to his office and character to take that step until he had consulted and obtained a release from the king. His example was followed by the majority of the prelates and some of the laity1.

A few days after (April 7th), a council of the archbishop Theobald, and all the bishops of England, with many abbots and archdeacons, was held at Winchester, at which the legate presided. With each of these orders the legate held a private conference, at which he explained to them his views and intentions. On the following day he addressed them in a speech in which there was no lack of shallow sophistry, though admirably adapted to his audience. He reminded them of the peaceful state of the country under the late king; how some years before his death he had caused all the bishops and barons of England and Normandy to swear fealty to his sole surviving offspring, should no male successor be borne to him by his second consort. "This was not granted to him, and he died in Normandy without male issue. To await the coming of a lady, whose departure from Normandy was delayed from various causes, seemed tedious, and the peace of the country was provided for by allowing my brother to reign. Alas!" continued he, "although I became his surety before God, that he would honour and exalt the holy Church, maintain good laws, and abrogate bad ones, it grieves me to call to mind, I feel shame in uttering it, how he

1 W. Malm. p. 743. Flor. Wigorn. Cont. a. 1141.

2 Malmesbury, the substance of whose narrative is here given at full, was present at the council. He says: "Cujus concilii actioni, quia interfui, integram rerum veritatem posteris non negabo.”—T.

has conducted himself in the kingdom, how he has neglected to execute justice on the contumacious, how all peace, from the very beginning of his reign, has been at an end; bishops being held in captivity and compelled to deliver up their possessions, abbacies sold, churches despoiled of their treasures, the counsels of the wicked listened to, those of the good either delayed, or treated with scorn. You know how often I have addressed him, both directly and through the medium of bishops; more particularly at the council lately held, and that I have thereby gained nothing but odium. To all who rightly think it will be manifest, that while it is my duty to love my brother, of far greater moment is the cause of our everlasting Father. Therefore, since God has pronounced judgment on my brother, and allowed him to fall into the hands of his adversaries, lest the realm be convulsed if it lack a ruler, I have, in virtue of my legatine authority, summoned you all to meet me here. Yesterday the subject was discussed in private before a considerable number of the clergy of England, whose province it especially is to elect and ordain princes; therefore, in the first place, invoking the divine assistance, as is meet, we choose the daughter of our late glorious king for our sovereign lady, and promise her our fealty and support." When all present had, either by temperate acclamations testified their approval of the legate's harangue, or, by holding silence, not objected to it, he added: "The citizens of London-who are, as it were, nobles, by reason of the magnitude of the city-we have summoned by our messengers, and sent them a safe-conduct, and I trust they will not defer their coming beyond this day."

On the following day the Londoners arrived, and being introduced, announced that they were deputed by the city of London, not in a spirit of hostility, but to pray that their lord the king might be released from his captivity. Those barons also, who had long been members of their body, but had been captured with their liege lord, earnestly besought the legate

and the archbishop, with all the clergy present, to obtain for them their liberty. Their petition the legate answered at length, repeating the substance of his speech of the preceding day, and adding: That it ill became the Londoners, who were regarded as nobles in England, to espouse the cause of those who had forsaken their lord in battle, at whose instigation, too, he had dishonoured the holy Church, and who made a show of favouring the Londoners, merely that they might wheedle them out of their money.

When the legate had ceased speaking, a certain clerk stood forward, a chaplain, it is said, of the queen's, named Christian, and presented a letter to him, which, having read it in silence, he returned, saying aloud, that it was not genuine, nor ought it to be read before an assemblage of such exalted and religious persons; for, in addition to the objectionable matter contained in it, there was the name of a witness attached to it, who a year or two ago had, in the very chapter in which they were then sitting, applied the most opprobrious language to the venerable bishops'. The clerk was not, however, so to be daunted, but with admirable confidence read the letter to the council, the substance of which was: "The queen earnestly entreats the clergy assembled in general, and the bishop of Winchester, the brother of her lord, in particular, to restore her said lord to his kingdom, whom wicked men, his own liege subjects, have cast into bonds." To this letter the legate returned an answer similar in tenour to that which he had given to the Londoners, who, after having deliberated together, said they would communicate the decree of the council to their fellow-citizens, and, as far as they were able, be answerable for their good-will. On the following day, the council was dissolved, after it had excommunicated many adherents to the royal cause, among whom was William Martel, who had formerly been cupbearer to king Henry, but was

1 The individual here alluded to was, no doubt, Aubrey of Vere. See pp. 400 sq-T.

then sewer to Stephen. Against him the legate was bitterly incensed, for having intercepted and plundered many of his chattels'.

From Wilton, where she had celebrated the Easter festival (Mar. 30)2, the empress proceeded to Reading (May 4th), where she was received with great honour. Here Robert of Oilli agreed to deliver to her the castle of Oxford, of which, by the appointment of Stephen, he was constable. From Oxford, after having received the homage of that city and the circumjacent country, she directed her course with great joy and exultation to St. Alban's, where she was met by a deputation of the citizens of London, with whom she entered into a compact for the delivery of the metropolis, whither, with great military pomp, she hastened, and at Westminster was received with a solemn procession.

The greater part of England now acknowledged her authority; her brother, the earl of Gloucester, was, by every honourable means, strenuously exerting himself to promote her interest; the legate also appeared faithfully attached to her cause, but while all things seemed to promise the speedy reduction of the whole kingdom to her rule, all became changed, a storm was ready to burst over her head. For no sooner had she been proclaimed queen than her haughty and tyrannical spirit began to display itself. Those who had submitted to the authority of the king, but now deemed it advisable to acknowledge hers, she treated with contumely, driving them with threats and insult from her presence. The lands of the few who still adhered to Stephen she distributed among her partisans, and, in general, revoked all his grants. When the king of Scotland, the legate, or the earl of Gloucester approached her with bended knees to solicit some object, she would not rise to receive them, and would most frequently

1 W. Malm. pp. 744. sqq. Flor. Wigorn. Cont. a. 1141.

2 According to Malmesbury, who is, no doubt, wrong, she passed the Easter-tide at Oxford.-T.