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THE APPOINTMENT OF BISHOPS AND ABBOTS.

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supradictum Godwinum, qui regio favore in eâ dominabatur parte_regni, commonent eum generis sui, precantur ut ex affectu propinquitatis Regem adeat, et hunc utpote in eâdem ecclesiâ nutritum et secundum canonica instituta electum sibi pontificem annuat. Promittit fideliter pro viribus suis Dux inclitus, Regemque adiens innotescit petitionem et electionem ecclesiastici conventûs. Sed quia, ut supra diximus, pius Rex aurem magis accommodabat adversæ parti illis diebus, a conatu petitionis suæ idem Dux est repulsus. Rodbertus vero Lundoniæ sede relictâ, in Cantianam commigrat ecclesiam, Regis munere Archiepiscopus, totius ecclesiæ filiis hanc injuriam pro nisu suo reclamantibus."

It will be remembered that it was in this same Gemót that the King gave the Abbacy of Abingdon to Bishop Rudolf, accompanied (see p. 78) by a promise to the monks that free election should be allowed at the next vacancy. The words of the local historian (Hist. Ab. i. 463) are; "Ut vero tam Dei quam sui respectu eum monachi reciperent honorificeque tractarent, utpote summâ canitie jam maturum, eo discedente, licere eis dedit quem de suis vellent potius successorem eligere. Paretur Regi. Reverentiæ subjectio debitæ a fratribus viro competenter impenditur. At ipsos regia nequaquam fefellit in posterum promissio."

In these two cases the prayer of the canonical electors was refused by the King. In the appointment of Leofric of Peterborough in 1053 (see p. 232) we find the King confirming an election made by the monks, and that election made under a sort of congé d'élire of the prelate who resigned in his favour. This must be the meaning of the words in the Peterborough Chronicle, 1052; "on pis ilcan tyme forlet Arnwi abbot of Burh abbotrice be his halre life, and geaf hit Leofric munec be pes cynges leafe, and be þære munece." The process by which Leofric was appointed was no doubt the same as the process by which it had been hoped to raise Ælfric to the metropolitan throne. The monks, at the suggestion of Arnwig, chose Leofric as his successor. They then petitioned the King and his Witan to confirm the election. In this case the confirmation was granted, while in the case of Ælfric it was refused. But one would be curious to know what was either the action or the feelings of the monks of the four other Abbeys over which Leofric ruled. The chronicler of his own house tells us only that "the King gave them to Saint Peter and to him (see p. 232).

Lastly, we have the great case of Saint Wulfstan (see p. 309), in which the action of the Witan comes out more clearly than in any other case, because in no other case have we an actual report of the debate-if debate it can be called where all were on one side-and of the names of the speakers. But in no other case does the previous ecclesiastical election come out so clearly, and it is an election made, not by the monks of the cathedral church only, but in primitive fashion by the whole clergy and people of the diocese, or at any rate of the city. I can at least put no other meaning on the words of Florence, 1062; "Fit unanimis consensus tam cleri quam etiam totius plebis in ejus electione, Rege videlicet annuente ut quem sibi vellent præsulem eligerent." He then goes on to mention the coming of the Legates, and their visit to Worcester, and adds, "Hi videntes, dum ibi morabantur, ejus laudabilem conversationem, in ejus electione non tantum consentiebant, immo etiam tam clerum quam plebem maxime ad hoc instigabant, suâque auctoritate ejus electionem firmabant." These words, especially the statement that the King expressly allowed the

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clergy and people to elect freely, certainly seem to imply an ecclesiastical election, and that a popular ‍one, earlier than the proceedings in the Gemót. It is impossible that by "clerus et plebs" Florence means the Gemót itself. For he speaks of the dealings of the Legates during Lent with the clergy and people while they were waiting for the "curia regalis” which was to be held at Easter. The Legates also were staying at Worcester, while the Gemôt was held at Gloucester. Otherwise "clerus et plebs" would be a possible description of an Old-English National Council, and eligere" does not necessarily imply ecclesiastical electors. The appointment of Æthelsige to the Abbey of Saint Augustine in 1061 (see p. 302) is described by the Peterborough Chronicler in the words, “Ɖa com pam cynge word þæt se abbod Wulfric forègefaren wæs, þa geceas he Eelsige munuc parto," words which seem to go further than any other account in the records of this reign to shut out any joint action, either capitular or parliamentary, and more distinctly to imply a purely royal nomination. Here we have the word "geceas" applied to the King; in the Worcester Chronicle, 1045, it seems to be applied to the Witan. We there read, "and Manni was to abbode gecoren and gehádod on iiii. Id. Ağ." This might seem to mean a capitular election, but in the account in Florence (1044) it runs thus; "In generali concilio, quod eodem tempore celebratum est Lundoniæ, religiosus Eoveshamnensis monachus Wlmarus, qui et Manni, ut abbatis jure suo monasterio præesset, eligitur, et quarto idus Augusti feriâ sextâ, ordinatur.” "Gehadod," "ordinatur" of course means the ecclesiastical benediction of the new Prelate. There is another place also in which "eligere" seems to apply to the Witan rather than to the Chapter. This is where Florence (1060; see p. 298) describes the election of Ealdred to the Archbishoprick of York; "Wigornensis episcopus Aldredus ad archiepiscopatum in Nativitate Domini eligitur." Now the Witan were sitting at Gloucester, and Cynesige died at York only three days before Christmas. It may perhaps be thought that such speed is impossible, and that " eligitur" must be taken to mean a capitular election at York on Christmas-day, which would be confirmed by the King and his Witan at some later Gemót. But this passage is one of many (see pp. 270, 309, 332) which show that communication between distant places must have been easier in those times than we are at first sight inclined to think, and the grant of the Bishoprick of Hereford to Walter is so clearly connected with the promotion of Ealdred to York that we must suppose the two to have taken place in the same Assembly. I do not know why "eligere" may not be said of the Witan as well as of the Chapter; or, if any one pleases, it is quite possible that enough members of the Church of York may have been present in the Gemót to go through a canonical election at Gloucester, which the King and his Witan would at once confirm.

This last process, it will be remembered, is very nearly the same as that which is prescribed by the twelfth article of the Constitutions of Clarendon (Wilkins, 322-334); “Quum ventum fuerit ad consulendum Ecclesiam, debet Dominus Rex mandare potiores personas Ecclesiæ et in capellâ ejus debet fieri electio assensu Regis et consilio personarum regni, quas ad hoc faciendum vocaverit." Of the way in which this was carried out we find a specimen in the description given by Benedict of Peterborough (i. 352) of the Council of Marlborough in 1186, in which various capitular elections were confirmed and annulled by Henry the Second—“ con

HAROLD HARDRADA AT ATHENS.

389 gregatâ clericorum et laicorum copiosâ multitudine." Here the " copiosa multitudo" faintly recalls the old action of the Witan, and in much later times, in the fifteenth century, we find Parliament, King, and Chapter all combining in the appointment of Bishops, in a way which would rather surprise us now. The House of Commons petitions the King to recommend a particular person to the Chapter. Two such applications were made in favour of Archbishop Bourchier, at different stages of his advancement. See Hook, Lives of Archbishops, v. 276, 282. The order in Eadward's time was different; in those days the Chapter, when they elected at all, elected first, and then asked the confirmation of King and Witan. But the principle is much the same. At all events, though the papal veto was just beginning to be heard of in the eleventh century, as in the cases of Ulf and Spearhafoc, a papal provision was quite unknown. In connexion with this joint action of Chapter, King, and Witan, the defeat of Bishop Hermann's scheme on the Abbey of Malmesbury (see pp. 268-271) should not be forgotten. Hermann asked for a nomination of himself and his successors to the Abbey of Malmesbury. The King, perhaps the Witan, agreed; then the monks, favoured by Harold, petitioned, and the vote was rescinded.

Lastly, it is needless to say that appointments are often recorded in a perfectly colourless way, without any hint as to the mode of appointment. Thus in the Peterborough Chronicle, 1043, we read, according to a very common formula, "Hereman þes cynges preost feng to pam biscoprice." Hermann's appointment is thus recorded in three different ways in three different Chronicles.

NOTE K. p. 50.

HAROLD HARDRADA AT ATHENS.

I Do not commit myself to these Athenian exploits of Harold Hardrada, as I do not see the distinct evidence for fixing the story on him rather than on any other bearer of his name, of whom we may be sure that there were not a few in the Varangian force. Still it is by no means unlikely that Harold Hardrada is really the person intended in the Runic inscription on the lion brought from Peiraieus to Venice. It is described in a work which I do not myself possess, and which is not to be found in the Bodleian Library (“ Runeindskrift i Piræeus. Inscription Runique du Pirée, interprétée par C. C. Rafn, et publiée par la Société Royale des Antiquaires du Nord. Copenhague, 1856"), but from which I am enabled by the kindness of Mr. Finlay and another friend to give some extracts.

"L'inscription du côté droit du lion est placée dans des courbes serpentiformes, comme on en voit beaucoup ici dans le Nord. Quelques-unes des runes de ce côté sont très apparentes, mais la plupart en sont pourtant très faibles ou entièrement effacées.

...

"Je ne ferai mention ici que de l'inscription encadrée pour la plupart dans un ruban qui serpente sur le flanc gauche du lion. . . . Pour mettre en évidence la nature et les indices intérieurs de cette inscription, je transcrirai en lettres onciales toutes les runes qui me paraissent indubitables; je reproduirai à l'aide des petites lettres capitales les runes dont les traits ne sont ni assez complets ni assez clairs, et par des minuscules ordinaires celles qui sont moins sûres, savoir celles dont la

place est maintenant une table rase que je remplis au seul secours de la conjecture. En certains endroits les runes ont été endommagées comme si des balles de fusil les ont effleurées en étant rejetées par le marbre.

": HAKUN: VAN : þIR : ULFR : AUK: ASMUDR : AUK : AURN: HAFN: PESA: PIR MEN LAGPU: A: UK: HARADR : HAFI : UF IABÚTA : ÚPRAIStar Vegna: GRIKIAPIPIS: VARD DALKr: NAUþUGR :I: FIARI: LAPUM: EGIL : VAR :1: FARU : mip: RAGNARI: TIL: RUmanIU .. . . auk : ARMENIU :

"Voici l'inscription écrite de l'orthographe habituelle :

"Hákon vann, þeir Úlfr ok Ásmundr ok Aurn, hafn þessa; þeir menn lagþu á, ok Haraldr háfi, of fjebôta uppreistar vegna Grikkjaþýpis. Varp Dálkr nauþugr í fjarri landum; Egill var í faru með Ragnari til Rúmaníu ok Armeníu.

“Hakon réuni à Ulf, à Asmund et à Örn conquit ce port. Ces hommes et Harald le grand (de la haute taille) imposèrent (aux habitants du pays) des amendes considérables à cause de l'insurrection du peuple grec. Dalk est resté captif (a été retenu) dans des contrées éloignées; Égil était allé en campagne avec Ragnar dans la Rumanie . . . . et l'Armenie.

"L'inscription a été rédigée en ancien-danois ou en langue nordique, idiome qui dans l'antiquité était répandu dans toute la Scandinavie et en plusieurs autres pays, et qui s'est maintenu dans l'Islande. L'orthographe est celle qu'on rencontre habituellement dans les inscriptions scandinaves; elle se compose de runes datant du temps le plus reculé de la chrétienneté." (pp. 11, 12, 13.)

"Au flanc droit du lion l'inscription a été tracée en bandes tortueuses de la même espèce que l'on rencontre dans un très grand nombre de pierres runiques du Nord. Sur le devant du poitrail du lion on aperçoit faiblement la tête du serpent dont les plis entortillés renferment la plus grande partie de l'inscription gravée, et dont on peut suivre le contour dans toute sa longueur jusqu'à la queue. Une bande le traverse au milieu en partant du côté gauche; un ornement en forme d'une flêche en marque le commencement, et là-dessous on découvre une espèce de tête de ver: c'est là que commence l'inscription; la fin est placée dans deux autres bandes traversières dont l'une va en montant autour du milieu du grand serpent. Tout en haut à droite on aperçoit une quatrième bande qui fait le tour du cou et du corps du serpent, mais on n'y découvre aucune inscription.

(6 Quelques-unes des runes de ce côté sont très distinctes, mais la plupart en sont ou entièrement effacées, ou du moins d'une apparence si faible que l'on croit n'avoir plus aucune espèce d'espérance fondée de parvenir à déchiffrer une inscription d'une telle nature.” (p. 26.)

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'Je transformerai maintenant toute l'inscription de la même manière que celle du flanc gauche, en lettres romaines en exprimant à l'aide d'unciales toutes les runes que je considère comme entièrement claires et évidentes, mais à l'aide de minuscules celles dont la conjecture seule m'a donné l'idée :

"ASMUDR: HJU : RUNAR : PISAR : PAIR : ISKir : auk : puRLIFR PURPR: AUK: IVAR: at: BOŃ: HARADS: HAFA : PUAT GRIKIÁR: uf: hUGSAPu auk bAnapu :

:

"En suivant l'orthographe habituelle des Islandais :

"Ásmundr hjô rúnar þessar, þeir Ásgeir ok Þorleifr, Þórþr ok Ívar, at bón Haralds hafa, þóat Grikkjar (of) hugsaþu (ok bannaþu).

HAROLD HARDRADA AT ATHENS.

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"Asmund grava ces runes (et fut en cela secondé par) de réunion avec Asgeir, Thorleif, Thord et Ivar, sur la demande de Harald le grand, quoique les Grecs en y réfléchissant l'interdissent.

"Les mots ajoutés en parenthèse ont probablement été ajoutés." (pp. 27, 28.)

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Le sculpteur des runes de ce monument a gravé, outre l'inscription du flanc gauche, aussi à l'autre flanc son nom et ceux de plusieurs camarades ou Véringues qui lui avaient aidé à composer et à sculpter l'inscription principale à l'invitation du commandant en chef. On voit également que les Grecs avaient réfléchi sur un tel fait des Véringues dans la ville conquise. Peu contents de leur intention devinée, ils avaient probablement interdit aux Véringues de tirer un tel parti du monument public de la place. Les mots aujourd'hui peu lisibles, qui terminent l'inscription, ont apparemment contenu cette défense que les Véringues, étant alors commandants de la place, avaient peu respectée de sorte qu'ils n'en ont pas moins donné suite à leur résolution de transmettre par ce moyen à la postérité la connaissance de leur glorieux faits.

"Il n'y a certainement aucun doute que Harald et ses compagnons étant revenus dans le pays, ne se soient rappelé leurs exploits au Pirée et à Athènes, et qu'ils ne se soient plu à en faire mention, mais les rapports contenus dans les sagas ont d'abord été consignés sur la tradition orale longtemps après eux. Il n'est donc pas étonnant que plusieurs détails aient été omis et que d'autres aient été embellis. Quand Harald fut parti de Miklagard, il fit voile, selon le rapport de la saga, avec les Véringues qui l'accompagnaient, sortit du détroit (Sæviðarsund) et traversa la mer Noire (Svartahaf) pour revenir en Gardarike. Dans ce voyage il composa quelques poésies de délice (gamanvísur), en tout seize couplets qui se terminaient tous par le même refrein érotique dans lequel il se ressouvient de la princesse Elisabeth ou Ellisif de Holmgard. On a heureusement préservé de l'oubli six de ces couplets que j'ai reproduits, en suivant les différents manuscrits en parchemin, dans les Antiquités Russes et Orientales (II. 56-58).

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"Voici l'un de ces couplets en traduction verbale:

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Ni la jeune vierge ni la femme

ne nieront que nous ne fussions
un matin au bourg dans le midi;

nous fîmes alors brandir nos glaives:

par l'épée nous nous frayâmes le chemin :

un monument y sert de témoin de cet exploit ;
néanmoins la femme en Gardarike,

parée de bagues d'or, me dédaigne.

"Il me paraît vraisemblable aujourd'hui que Harald par le nom de bourg nous désigne le bourg κar' ¿çoxǹv, c'est-à-dire Athènes, ApENUBORG. Il est donc possible que Harald ait précisément en vue le monument qui fait l'objet principal de ce mémoire; les expressions dont il se sert- ́eru merki þar verka’—semblent appuyer cette opinion: 'il y a là (par) un monument (merki) qui parle des exploits, ou de cet exploit Þess verka)." (pp. 29, 30.)

I leave this curious matter to the judgement of the reader; but I can hardly bring myself to believe that by "borg" simply could be meant Athens or any other place short of New Rome.

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