The name of another distinguished family occurs in this reign. We read of the marriage of Robert de Molines, whose descendants held high positions and large possessions in the town and neighbourhood. This Robert was a Norman, who, disobeying the commands of King Henry I., was banished out of Normandy, and died in Apulia.

The Abbey of Reading was built by the king about the year 1125, and the charter of endowment was witnessed by Brien Fitzcount, "lord of the honour of Wallingford, and of the fee of Burcester." The legend round the seal is, "Signum Brientii filii comitis de Warengaford."*

"All this year (1126) King Henry was in Normandy, until quite after autumn; then he came to this land betwixt the nativity of St. Mary (September 8) and Michaelmas (September 29). With him came the queen, and his daughter, whom he had formerly given to wife to the Emperor Henry of Lorraine. And he brought with him Count Waleram, and Hugh Fitz Gervase; and the count he sent to Bridgenorth in durance, and thence afterwards to Wallingford, and Hugh to Windsor, and caused him to be put in hard bonds. And then, after Michaelmas, came David the Scots king from Scotland to this land; and King Henry received him with great worship, and he then abode all that year in this land." +

A.D. 1127. "The king kept his Lent and Easter at Woodstock, and Whitsuntide at Windsor, where David, King of Scotland, and all the English barons sware allegiance to Maud, the king's daughter, the emperor's widow, who had been brought over in September the year preceding §; and was now sent into Normandy, with the attendance of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and Brien Fitzcount, Lord of Wallingford,|| where she was married to Jeffery, son of Fulk, Earl of Anjou; a match carried on chiefly by the counsel and interest of the said Brien Fitzcount." T

Among the witnesses to a charter of confirmation of the Church of St. Mary, Dover, to the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1131, was Brien Fitzcount, "lord of the honour of Wal

"Monasticon Anglicanum," tom. i. p. 418 b.

+ Henry V.

Saxon Chronicle, p. 222, A.D. 1126.

§ William of Malmesbury, p. 174.

Saxon Chronicle, sub an.

Kennett, vol. i. p. 121.

lingford," etc. "He was a great favourite of this prince, and a constant attendant on him."*

A large number of charters and legal documents were dated at Wallingford in this reign, and among them are several relating to the Abbey of Abingdon, but in neither instance is the date given; two of them refer to the market dispute between Wallingford and Abingdon, and the passage of vessels on the Thames.

A.D. 1131. The following is from the Great Roll of the Exchequer, 31 Henry I., and not 5 King Stephen, as erroneously supposed. A note in my possession, in the handwriting of the late John Gough Nichols, is to the following effect:"Note D, page 11, from the Great Roll, 31 Henry I.

"The Roll quoted in this page as that of the 5 Stephen, has been now ascertained to belong to the 31st Henry I. It is the most ancient record of the Exchequer, and was published entire by the Record Commission in 1833. It may be remarked that the passage relating to Wallingford was one of those upon which the opinion was founded that the Roll belonged to the 5th Stephen. But it is shown in the preface that the words, 'tercio anno,' did not imply the third year of the king's reign, but merely the third year, reckoning backwards. It will be perceived that the correction of the date removes the supposed anachronism of Brien Fitzcount mentioned in the text. The account in the Roll rendered for Wallingford is as follows:

"WARENGEFORD. ROT. 31, HENRY I., p. 139.

"Brientius filius comitis reddit compotum de firma de Warengeford. In thesauro xxxix" et xiii" et iiij bl.

"Et in liberationibus constitutis lxxvi et ob.

"Et in quietatione domus Emma de Hamesteda iij et xd numero.

"Et debet ix" et xvjs et xd bl.

"Et idem reddit compotum de c de gersoma pro palleo preteriti anni. In thesauro liberavit. Et quietus est.

666

'Et idem debet c pro palleo hujus anni de gersoma. "Et idem reddit compotum de xvi de veteri auxilio burgi tercii anni. In pardona per breve Regis burgensibus de Warengeford xv" pro paupertate eorum. Et quietus est.

"Monasticon Anglicanum," vol. ii. p. 4.

"Et idem reddit compotum de xv de auxilio burgi preteriti anni. In pardona per breve Regis burgensibus de Warengeford xv pro paupertate eorum. Et quietus est.

"Et idem reddit compotum de xv" de novo auxilio burgi. In pardona per breve Regis burgensibus de Warengeford xvli pro paupertate eorum. Et quietus est.

"Et idem Brientius debet clxvj" et xiij et iiij pro ministerio et parte terræ Nigelli de Oilie.'

Wallingford. Pipe Roll 31 Henry I.

Brien Fitzcount renders account for the fee farm of Wallingford. In the Treasury £39 13s. 4d. in white money. And in the constituted liveries 76 shillings and a halfpenny.

And in acquittance for the house of Emma de Hampstead 3s. and 10d. by tale.

And owes £9 16s. 10d. white money.

And the same renders account for 100 shillings, customary offering for last year's cloak. He paid it into the Treasury, and is quit.

And the same owes 100 shillings for the cloak of this year, customary offering (fine).

And the same renders account for £15, the old aid of the borough for the third year, counting back. In pardon by the king's writ to the burgesses of Wallingford, £15, on account of their poverty, and (for this) he is quit.

And the same gives account for £15 for the aid of the borough for last year. In pardon by the king's writ to the burgesses of Wallingford, £15, on account of their poverty. And he is quit.

And the same gives account for £15 of new aid of the borough. In pardon by the king's writ to the burgesses of Wallingford, £15, on account of their poverty, and (for this) he is quit.

And the same Brien owes for £166 13s. 4d., for his office and part of the lands of Nigel de Oilli.

The coins of Henry I., minted at Wallingford, bear the name Welligl, Welligli, Welling, the name of the moneyer being, as before stated, Osulf.

King Stephen.

The authorities chiefly relied on for the particulars embraced in the reign of King Stephen are-"The Acts of King Stephen," by an anonymous author, a partisan of the king's, and contemporaneous with Huntingdon, whose bias lay in the opposite direction; Henry of Huntingdon; Matthew Paris; William of Malmesbury; Chronicle of Jos. Brompton; Chronicle of Gervase; Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; Speed; Rapin; Kennett's "Parochial Antiquities; " Lyttelton's "History of Henry II.;" Henry's "Great Britain;" Daniel's "History of England; " Freeman's "Norman Conquest; " Strickland's "Lives of the Queens of England."

A.D. 1135, 1 King Stephen.

On the death of Henry I., in 1132, Stephen usurped the throne, in violation of the oath he had taken of allegiance to Matilda, the late king's daughter, on whom her father had resolved to settle the crown. In order to support his usurpation, he took possession of many of the existing castles, and built others in various parts of his dominions. Among the latter was that of Reading. One of his first acts after he had got himself crowned was to call together a general Council at Oxford, where, by charter, he solemnly confirmed* the liberties of the Church and laws of the land. This charter was witnessed by Brien Fitzcount, Constable of Wallingford, and Robert d'Oyley; † but the king disregarded its obligations, and nineteen years of anarchy ensued. Although we read of the taking and retaking of castles, and general confusion, particularly in the southern and central districts. of England, Wallingford is not brought into notice, as playing any important part in the early stages of the civil war, and the only incident to be recorded is the founding of the Monastery of Godstow, near Oxford, in 1138, by Edith, wife of Robert d'Oyley; the latter, with Nigel his brother, being contributors to its revenues. At the laying of the foundation stone, Stephen and his queen, Maud, with their son, Eustace, were present.

After the lapse of a few years, Wallingford became the * Jos. Brompton, p. 1024. Richard of Hexham, p. 315.

Kennett, vol. i. p. 129.

famous centre of operations in the attempt to recover the lost inheritance.

On the 30th of September, 1139, the Empress Matilda (Maud), the daughter of Henry I., and widow of Henry V. of Germany, came to England with her half-brother, Robert, Earl of Gloucester, to whose care the king had committed her, to prosecute the right of succession of herself and her son, afterwards Henry II. Brien Fitzcount had shared, with Robert of Gloucester, the duty of accompanying Matilda (Maud) over the sea, preparatory to her second marriage (ante, p. 229), and now so strongly was he attached to the cause of the empress, that he declared on her behalf immediately she arrived, and, as we shall see hereafter, his heroic and successful defence of the Castle of Wallingford against the repeated and determined attacks of King Stephen place him in the highest ranks of great and distinguished generals. Leaving his sister at Arundel, the earl, by night, made his way, with a small attendance, to Bristol, where the barons of England were entreated to aid the cause of the empress. Stephen, when he heard of her arrival, was battering the walls of Marlborough Castle, and, according to some authorities, hastened to Bristol, and then to Arundel, seeking to crush his foe. He seems to have reached the latter place when Matilda was shut up there with insufficient protection, but for some motive or other, as to the nature of which opinions differ, the empress was allowed a free passage to her brother, and followed him to Bristol. While she was there, many of the king's party, some of whom had been his sworn confederates, while others had paid him a faithless and hollow submission, broke their oaths of fealty, and came over to the earl and empress, and the claim she asserted met with general support.

We next trace the earl at Wallingford Castle, concerting measures, with Brien Fitzcount and Miles of Gloucester, for securing that stronghold and the town for the empress. Brien had already strongly fortified the place, and secured the adhesion of all the neighbouring people, and, with a numerous body of troops, he broke into active and determined rebellion against the king. The flag of defiance which Brien had raised brought the king at once to Wallingford. Unappalled by the adverse tide that had set in against him, Stephen collected his forces into a powerful army, and marched to