94. Extracts from the Constitutions ill will of the king, and against whom we should be on guard." The archbishop then departed from the court; and in no way could he gain the favor of the king. Inasmuch as he had done this thing without advice, he absented himself from that hour from the celebration of his divine duties until either he himself or his messenger should have spoken with the lord pope. The following are the most important clauses of that collection of the old ecclesiastical laws or constitutions which was drawn up at Clarendon, which Thomas at first promised, and then refused, to sign. In the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1164, of the papacy of Alexander the fourth year, of the most illustrious of Clarendon king of the English, Henry II, the tenth year, in the presence of the same king, has been made this memorial or acknowledgment of a certain part of the customs and franchises and dignities of his predecessors, that is to say of King Henry his grandfather, and of other kings, which ought to be observed and held in the kingdom. And on account of the discussions and disputes which have arisen between the clergy and the justices of our lord the king and the barons of the kingdom concerning the customs and dignities, this acknowledgment is made in the presence of the archbishops and bishops and clergy and earls and barons and principal men of the kingdom. 1. If any controversy has arisen concerning the advowson and presentation of churches, between laymen, or between laymen and ecclesiastics, or between ecclesiastics, it is to be considered or settled in the court of the lord king. 3. Clergymen charged and accused of anything, when they have been summoned by a justice of the king shall come into his court, to respond there to that which it shall seem good to the court of the king for them to respond to, and in the ecclesiastical court to what it shall seem good should be responded to there; so that the justice of the king shall send into the court of holy church to see how the matter shall be treated there. And if a clergyman shall have been convicted or has confessed, the church ought not to protect him further. 4. It is not lawful for archbishops, bishops, and clergymen of the realm to go out of the realm without the permission of the lord king. And if they go out, if it please the lord king, they shall give security that neither in going, nor in making a stay, nor in returning, will they seek evil or loss to the king or the kingdom. 6. Laymen ought not to be accused except by definite and legal accusers and witnesses, in the presence of the bishop, so that the archdeacon shall not lose his right, nor anything which he ought to have from it. And if there are such persons as are suspected, but no one wishes or no one dares to accuse them, let the sheriff, when required by the bishop, cause twelve legal men of the neighborhood or of the township to take an oath in the presence of the bishop that they will show the truth about it according to their conscience. 7. No one who holds from the king in chief or any one of the officers of his demesnes shall be excommunicated, nor shall the lands of any of them be placed under an interdict, unless the lord king, if he is in the land, first agrees, or his justice, if he is out of the realm, in order that right may be done concerning him. Then what shall pertain to the king's court shall be settled there, and that which has respect to the ecclesiastical court shall be sent to the same to be considered there. 8. Concerning appeals, if they should occur, they ought to proceed from the archdeacon to the bishop, from the bishop to the archbishop. And if the archbishop should fail to show justice, it must come to the lord king last, in order that by his command the controversy should be finally terminated in the court of the archbishop, so that it ought not to proceed further without the assent of the lord king. 11. Archbishops, bishops, and all clergymen of the realm, who hold from the king in chief, have their possessions from the lord king as a barony, and are responsible for them to the justices and officers of the king, and follow and perform all royal rules and customs; and, just as the rest of the barons, ought to be present at the judgment of the court of the lord king along with the barons, at least till the judgment reaches to loss of limbs or to death. 12. When an archbishopric or bishopric or abbacy or priory of the demesne of the king has become vacant, it ought to be in his hands, and he shall take thence all rights and products, just as other demesnes. And when it comes to providing for the church, the lord king ought to summon the more powerful persons of the church, and the election ought to be made in the chapel of the lord king himself, with the assent of the lord king and with the agreement of the clergymen of the realm whom he has called to do this. And there the clergyman elected shall do homage and fealty to the lord king as to his liege lord, concerning his life and his limbs and his earthly honor, saving his order, before he shall be consecrated. 14. No church or churchyard must detain the chattels of those who are in forfeiture to the king, against the justice of the king, because they are the king's, whether they have been found within the churches or without. After the dispute had continued with increasing bitterness for some time and Thomas had refused to accept the Constitutions of Clarendon, both parties appealed to the pope. The king sent to represent him at Rome five bishops who had taken his side, two earls, two barons, and three of the officials of his household. The scene before the pope, with the speeches of the bishops, one of whom brings ridicule upon himself by his excessive zeal, another by his bad Latin; the recognition of the high station of the pope and the cardinals, accompanied by a low estimate of their personal honesty, and the evident preference of the pope for Thomas's side, are all well described in the following account, given by one of the archbishop's clerks, Alan of Canterbury, who was probably present. In the meantime there arose much disturbance, each one consulting his own best good, and seeking by the will of the king a chance to destroy the anointed of the Lord [i.e. Thomas]. 95. An apAn embassy was sent from the king to the lord pope, consisting peal to the pope at of the archbishop of York, the bishops of London, Chichester, Rome Exeter, Worcester, and Louvain, besides a great number of earls and barons, all in great splendor, with gifts and presents with which to corrupt the court and blind the eyes of the wise. In this way they believed the Roman court, sometimes wavering between the two, could be influenced to what they wished; for certain of the bishops had given this advice against the interests of the archbishop of Canterbury. As a matter of fact, on their arrival at Rome, the fear of public disturbance which might arise from the anger of the king, on one side, and on the other the hope of gain, forced very many of the cardinals to waver; and a dissension arose among them. While by some Thomas was called the defender of ecclesiastical liberty, and on this account was said to be favoring a just cause, by others he was called a disturber of peace and unity, and his bold attack therefore to be checked rather than encouraged. The suggestion of the enemy prevailed, for the messengers of the lord of Canterbury (for men of extraordinary valor and wisdom had been sent ahead) were not received by the cardinals even with a kiss. And they were disturbed, seeing the cause of their lord was in jeopardy. London On the next day, however, the lord pope seated himself at Speech of the the tribunal, a meeting of the cardinals was held, and the sub- bishop of ject was brought up: the messengers of Canterbury attended, in order that they might see the result. Then the messengers of the king arose, and the bishop of London, their leader, taking his place in front of them, began as follows: "O father, the care and protection of the universal church devolves upon you, so that the wise may be guided by your wisdom to the advancement of morals; and the foolish may be corrected by apostolic authority and induced to become wise. But in our opinion that man is not to be considered wise who, trusting in his own wisdom, seeks to disturb the unity of brethren, the peace of the church, and the devotion of the king. "Recently, indeed, there arose in England a difference between the church and the state on a trivial and unnecessary Speech of the bishop of Chichester pretext, which could easily have been avoided if a moderate To these things the lord pope said, "Spare, my brother"; and the London bishop made answer, "Lord, I will spare him." Then the lord pope said, "I do not ask, brother, that you spare him but yourself." At this apostolic word the bishop perceived that he was being made a jest of by the lord pope, so he was unable to speak farther. Then the eloquent Hilary, the bishop of Chichester, began, trusting more to his brilliant style of speaking than to his justice or truth; a thing which was evident from the outcome. "Father and lord," he said, "it is greatly to the interest of your holiness, inasmuch as an act has been wrongly committed, to the confusion of all the world, to recall it quickly to its usual state of peace and concord, so that the unbounded presumption of one man may not produce disorder and even a division in the universal church. The lord of Canterbury, paying too Bishop Hilary little attention to this and abandoning safer plans, took counsel uses the verb with himself alone, and in this way brought upon himself and his followers, upon the king and kingdom, upon the clergy and people, greater and more serious dangers. It was not proper, it was not fitting, nor would it ever be fitting (oportucbat, — for such grammar did Hilary of Chichester use), for a man of such authority to act thus. The wise among his followers ought not to have agreed that such things were fitting." After he had oportet three times, once incorrectly; hence the laugh at his expense and the jests about "port" |