Judgement of Imar of Tusculum, 1146
Transcription
203v (select folio number to open facsimile)
IMARUS Dei gratia Tusculanus episcopus, apostolicę
sedis legatus. Omnibus matris ęcclesię filiis ad
quos litterę istę peruenerint, salutem. Rei gestę
memoria litteris prouide committitur, ne lites
semel sopitę, in futuro iterum Pinstaurentur.roinde uniuersitati uestrę per pręsentia scripta
notum esse uolumus, quod inter Ascelinum Rofensem
episcopum, et eiusdem loci monachos, ęcclesię scilicet beati
Andreę, super iure maneriorum Lamhetham
et Hendenham,2 controuersia huiusmodi
orta est. Asserebant prędicti monachi memo-
rata maneria sibi ad uictum proprium a rege An-
glorum Willelmo3 iuniore, et Lamfranco4 pię
recordationis Cantuariensi archiepiscopo, et
Gundulfo5 Rofensi episcopo concessa rationabi-
liter et donata, et ad eiusdem rei euidentiorem
probationem, eorundem car( )tas6 et confirma-
tiones, et sequentium regum Anglorum Henrici,
et Stephani, et Anselmi Cantuariensis archiepiscopi
in medium proferebant.7 Contra quę cum
pręfatus Ascelinus Rofensis episcopus nichil firmum,
nichil ualidum responderet, nec se in pretaxatis
maneriis ius habere probare posset, assiden-
tibus nobis uenerabilibus fratribus Teobaldo8 Cantuariensi
archiepiscopo, Rodberto Lundoniensi, Henrico Wintoniensi,
Alexandro Linconiensi, Ebrardo Noruuicensi, Si-
fredo Cicestrensi episcopis, Gaufrido Sancti Albani, Ger-
uasio Westmonasterii, Petro Scireburnensi, abbatibus,
et magistro Hilario, et aliis quam pluribus
religiosis personis ipsa maneria cum omnibus
suis appenditiis secundum quod carte donatio-
nis et confirmationis continebant, ipsis
monachis adiudicauimus,9 et ipsos possessores
constituimus ipso eorum episcopo promittente, quod
deinceps sine uexatione et inquietatione,
monachos bona et possessiones suas habere
permitteret, et pacem eis seruaret, quod et ipsi
firmiter obseruare precipimus, ad cuius rei ar-
gumentum ipsos monachos in osculo pacis
recepit. Nos itaque prędictorum fratrum iustis
petitionibus facilem prębentes assensum,
tam sepedicta maneria quam alia omnia
eorum bona et possessiones quas in pręsentia-
rum iuste possident, uel in futuro legitime
habituri sunt, iura etiam, consuetudines,
libertates rationabiliter indultas, auctoritate
officii quo fungimur ipsis confirmamus, et
pręsentis scripti attestatione roboramus.
Translation
Imar, bishop of Tusculum, by the grace of God, legate of the apostolic see.10 To all the sons of the mother church to whom this letter shall have come, greetings. The memory of a former matter is providently committed to a letter: quarrels not finally laid to rest may yet be renewed in the future.11
Hence, we wish to be known to you all through this present communication, because a dispute of this sort has arisen between Ascelin, bishop of Rochester,12 and the monks of that same place, namely the church of St Andrew, over the right of the manors of Lambeth and Haddenham. The aforesaid monks have claimed the above-mentioned manors for themselves for their own living by [grant of] William the younger,13 king of the English, and on record by Lanfranc, pious archbishop at Canterbury,14 and granted and bestowed in accordance with reason by Gundulf, bishop at Rochester.15 And for the proof of this very thing they have brought forward to the mediator the charters and confirmations of these same ones, as well as the supporting [documentation] of Henry and Stephen, kings of the English,16 and of Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury.17 Whereas, against this, the aforementioned Ascelin, bishop of Rochester, has responded with nothing of substance, nothing of validity; nor has he been able to prove his right to the previously assigned manors to our venerable brothers sitting in council: Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury;18 Robert of London;19 Henry of Winchester;20 Alexander of Lincoln;21 Everard of Norwich;22 Seffred, bishop of Chichester;23 the abbots, Geoffrey of St Albans,24 Gervase of Westminster, 25 Peter of Sherborne;26 and Hilary the master;27 and to as many other religious persons. The very manors, with all their associated appurtenances, which the charters of gift and confirmation were securing, we awarded to the very monks, and constituted them owners with the assurance of their bishop, who hereafter, without vexation and disturbance, might both permit the good monks to have their properties and preserve peace towards them – which we give orders to him to observe steadfastly. And as evidence of this he received the very monks with the kiss of peace. Therefore, with such just petitions of the aforementioned brothers, we give our easy assent to both those oft-spoken manors and all other goods and possessions, which in the present time they rightly possess, or in the future will legitimately hold, whether rights, customs, or freedoms reasonably granted. We confirm these very things by the authority of the office which I discharge and reinforce the present written testimony.
Footnotes
1 This document was copied by a later scribe; the principal scribe of Textus Roffensis completed his work about 1123. The original charter dates to the period of Imar of Tusculum’s service as papal legate. See n. 2, below.
2 ‘Lamhetham et Hendenham’ (‘Lambeth and Haddenham’), underlined for emphasis by a later scribe, who has also drawn the symbol } in the right margin to draw attention to the lines where he has made further underlines, for which see the notes below.
3 ‘ad uictum proprium a rege […] Willelmo’ (‘for their own living by king […] William’), underlined by a later scribe.
4 ‘Lamframco’ (‘Lanfranc’), underlined by a later scribe.
5 ‘Gundulfo’ (‘Gundulf’), underlined by a later scribe.
6 A letter has been erased to give the correct spelling of ‘cartas’.
7 A partially legible Latin annotation appears in the left margin at this point, written in a non-medieval hand, and in the form of a question. It is possible to decipher ‘pro Lambeth’ (‘for Lambeth’) on the upper line; and the last word looks like ‘pensionis’ (genitive form of pension, ‘payment’).
8 ‘Teobaldo’ (‘Theobald’), underlined by a later scribe.
9 ‘ipsis monachis adiudicauimus’ (‘we awarded to the very monks’), underlined by a later scribe.
10 Imar of Tusculum (d. 1161), cardinal-bishop from 1142, and served as papal legate to England during the pontificate of Lucius II, 1144–45.
11 This rather enigmatic statement alludes to the ongoing nature of the disagreement over the ownership of certain manors between the monks of St Andrew’s and their bishops; it is outlined in what follows. Though the charter does not say so, the disagreement originally began in the time of bishop John II, 1139–42; see Mary P. Richards, ‘Texts and their traditions in the medieval library of Rochester Cathedral Priory’, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 78.3 (1988), pp. 1–129, at p. 59.
12 Ascelin, bishop of Rochester, 1142–48. Unlike some of the earlier bishops of Rochester, Ascelin was not a monk and so was not also the prior at St Andrew’s.
13 William II (‘Rufus’), r. 1087–1100.
14 Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury, 1070–89.
15 Gundulf, bishop of Rochester and prior of St Andrew’s Priory, 1077–1108.
16 Henry I, r. 1100–35; Stephen, r. 1135–54.
17 Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, 1093–1109.
18 Theobald of Bec, archbishop of Canterbury, 1139–61.
19 Robert, bishop of London, 1141–50.
20 Henry of Winchester, also known as Henry of Blois, younger brother of King Stephen, and bishop of Winchester, 1129–71.
21 Alexander, bishop of Lincoln, 1123–48.
22 Everard, bishop of Norwich, 1121–45.
23 Seffred I, bishop of Chichester, 1125–45.
24 Geoffrey, abbot of St Albans Abbey, 1119–46.
25 Gervase of Blois, illegitimate son of King Stephen, abbot of Westminster Abbey, 1138–57.
26 Peter, abbot of Sherborne Abbey, c. 1142–c.1160.
27 Probably Hilary of Chichester (c. 1110–69), who served as clerk for Henry of Blois, see n. 12, above; he was educated as a canon lawyer, hence the use of ‘master’, i.e. a scholar, and was appointed as bishop of Chichester in 1147.