rank, shows how completely the king trusted all classes of the people to refrain from violence, and how strong his government really was. from the Assize of 1. Whoever holds one knight's fee shall have a coat of mail, 91. Extracts a helmet, a shield, and a lance; and every knight shall have as many coats of mail and helmets and shields and lances as he Arms has knight's fees in his demesne. 2. Every free layman who has goods or rent to the value of sixteen marks shall have a coat of mail, a helmet, a shield, and a lance; every free layman who has in goods or rents ten marks shall have a shirt of mail and a headpiece of iron and a lance. 3. Likewise all burgesses and the whole body of freemen shall have padded coats and headpieces of iron and lances. 4. Every one of these shall swear that before the feast of St. Hilary he will have these arms, and will bear faith to his lord King Henry, son of Empress Matilda, and will keep these arms for his service according to his command and in fidelity to his lord the king and his realm. And no one of those who have these arms shall sell them or pawn them or give them away, or in any other way alienate them from himself; nor shall any lord alienate them in any way from his man, either by forfeiture, or by gift, or by pledge, or in any other way whatsoever. II. THE STRUGGLE WITH THOMAS A great many contemporary descriptions of Thomas of Canterbury, narratives of his life, accounts of his struggle with the king, and letters from him and to him written by prominent men of the time still exist, filling seven portly printed volumes. The first of the following short selections from these refers to the time when Thomas was chancellor. Such is the dignity of the chancellor of England that he is considered second only to the king in power; that he signs 92. William Fitz- Thomas as chancellor Story of King his own commands with the reverse side of the royal seal, which is intrusted to his custody; that the chapel of the king is under his direction and care; that he himself receives and preserves the vacant archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbacies, and baronies falling into the hands of the king; that he is present at all the councils of the king, and that he comes even though not summoned; that all things are signed by the hand of the royal seal bearer, his clerk; that all things are arranged in accordance with the plans of the chancellor. . . . The home and table of the chancellor was open to all the needy of all orders coming to the court of the king, who were honest or who seemed to be. Almost never did he sit down to a meal without earls and barons whom he himself had invited. He ordered every day in winter his place for the entertainment of guests to be strewn with fresh straw or hay, and in summer with fresh rushes and green leaves, in order that he might receive in a clean and cheerful place a great number of knights which could not be otherwise accommodated at his humble table; and also that any costly clothing and fine shirts might not receive a spot from the dirt of the floor. His house was resplendent with gold and silver vases, and abounded in expensive dishes and drinking cups. If he could procure anything choice for eating or drinking, a high price did not deter his purchasers from obtaining it. Nevertheless, he was extremely moderate in all these things, so that even the rich might collect alms from his rich table. . . . On account of his many virtues, his greatness of mind, his many deeds of kindness coming from a natural sweetness of disposition, the chancellor was most acceptable to the king, the clergy, the soldiers, and the people. After serious matters had been carefully considered, the king and he would have their sport together like boys of the same age, in castle, in church, in meetings, on horseback. One day they were riding in the streets of London; the day was raw and disagreeable ; from afar the king espied a man coming towards them who was poor, old, and clad in tattered garments. The king said to the chancellor, "Do you see that man yonder?" The chancellor answered, "Yes." Then the king said: "How poor, how feeble, how ragged! Would it not be a great act of charity to give him a warm heavy cloak?" The chancellor replied, "A very great act of charity indeed, and one which you ought to perform, having discernment for affairs of this kind." In the meantime the poor man was. near at hand; the king halted, and the chancellor with him. The king addressed the poor man kindly and asked whether he would like to have a good cloak. The poor man, not knowing them, thought it a joke not to be taken seriously. Then the king addressed the chancellor, saying, "You will have a chance to perform this great act of charity," and laying his hands on the hood of the chancellor, the king tried to tear from the chancellor his cloak in which he was clad, and which was new and made of the very best of scarlet and miniver, while the chancellor struggled to retain it. Then there arose in that place a great disturbance; the great men and the knights who were following them hastened in curiosity to find out what was the reason for so sudden a struggle between them; nor was there any one to tell; each was so intent on taking his own part that they seemed as if about to fall. At length the chancellor reluctantly allowed the king to conquer, to draw the cloak from him as he bent over, and to present it to the poor man. Then the king related to his friends what had taken place. Great laughter followed. Some stretched out to the chancellor their cloaks and mantles. The poor man went away with the garment of the chancellor, rich and happy far beyond his expectation, and joyfully praising God. . . The outbreak of the great dispute between Henry and Thomas is described by Roger of Hoveden, one of the best known of the contemporary chroniclers. Thomas In the year of grace 1163, which was the ninth year of the 93. The disreign of King Henry, son of the Empress Matilda, this same pute between Henry and king of England returned from Normandy into England; and King Malcolm having recovered at Doncaster from a great illness, peace was established between him and the king of England. In the same year Alexander, the pope, held a general council at Tours, in which he excommunicated Octavianus, the antipope. The Council In the same year a serious conflict arose between the king of England and Thomas, the archbishop of Canterbury, concerning ecclesiastical dignities which this same king of the English was attempting to disturb and diminish, while that famous archbishop was striving in all ways to preserve the laws and authority of the church unimpaired. The king wished to bring to secular trial priests, deacons, subdeacons, and other churchmen if caught in robbery, murder, felony, arson, or any like misdemeanor, and then to punish them the same as laymen. Against this the archbishop said that if a clerk, established in holy orders, or any other churchman, should have been charged with anything, he ought to be judged by ecclesiastical men and in the ecclesiastical court, and if he were convicted he ought to lose his rank; then if, removed from office and his ecclesiastical benefice, he should afterwards do wrong, he should be judged according to the will of the king and his officers. In the year 1164, which was the tenth year of the reign of King Henry, son of the Empress Matilda, this same Henry gave to Henry, duke of Saxony, his daughter Matilda in marriage. In the same year the king summoned a great council, including all the bishops and archbishops of England, and begged that they would receive the laws of Henry his grandfather and carefully guard them, for love of him and for the good of the kingdom. Thomas, the archbishop of Canterbury, on behalf of himself and others, replied to the king that they would receive those laws which he called his grandfather's, and would preserve them in good faith, saving always the dignity of the archbishop's rank, and the honor of God and the holy church. This kind of assent displeased the king very much, and he tried in every way to accomplish his design, that the bishops should promise without any exception that they would observe those laws; but the archbishop of Canterbury was unwilling to promise this in any way. . . Then there came into England a certain religious man, of Clarendon Philip d'Aumâle, sent as legate a latere from Alexander the pope, and all the cardinals, to make peace between the king and the archbishop of Canterbury; through him the chief pontiff and all the cardinals commanded the archbishop of Canterbury that he should make peace with the lord king of England and promise to obey his laws without any exception. Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, agreeing to these and other plans of the great men, came to the king at Woodstock, and there promised the king that he would, in good faith and without any evil thoughts, keep his laws. A little afterwards the king summoned the clergy and people of the kingdom to Clarendon, where the archbishop regretted having made this concession to the king. Wishing to withdraw from his promise, he said that he had sinned greatly in ever yielding, but that he would sin no farther. The king was greatly angered by this and threatened him and his followers with death and exile. And so there came to him the bishops of Salisbury and Norwich, as well as Robert, earl of Leicester, and Reginald, earl of Cornwall; and likewise two Templars came, Richard of Hastings and Tostes of St. Omer. Weeping they threw themselves at the feet of the archbishop and begged that he would, on account of the honor of the king, go to him and say before the people that he would receive his laws. of Clarendon The archbishop was moved by the entreaties of so many Constitutions men, and, coming to the king before the clergy and people, made the statement that he would accept those laws which the king called his grandfather's; and he granted that the bishops should receive those laws and that they should promise to enforce them. Then the king ordered all the earls and barons of the kingdom to go apart and collect all the laws of Henry the king, his grandfather, and put them in writing. When this had been done the king ordered the archbishops and bishops to place their seals to that writing; and although the rest were ready to do this, the archbishop of Canterbury swore that he would never affix his seal to that writing nor confirm those laws. When the king had seen that he could not get on in this way, he had those laws carefully written out in duplicate, and he handed one copy to the archbishop, which he received, contrary to the prohibition of the whole clergy, from the hand of the king himself. Turning to the clergy, he said, "Permit it, brothers; for by this writing we can know the |