with prudence; great skill in the art of war, and no lefs fagacity in matters of state. His morals were perfectly fuitable to the times. He regarded the king more than the publick, and his own interest more than the king; was utterly void of religion, and had a heart fteeled by nature against any tender checks of humanity. Thus qualified to advance himfelf in civil commotions he gained the highest rank in the army of Stephen, and a principal fhare of the government; acting as his lieutenant over all parts of the kingdom, wherein the power of that prince was acknowledged. The fuperiority of his genius gave him fuch an afcendant, that his commands, in most places, were better obeyed than his master's. But fome unkindness had arisen between him and the queen, occafioned by his detaining the princess Conftantia, efpoufed to Euftace, in the tower of London, of which he was governor, when he was defirous to remove her from thence: which he did, either to keep so important a charge in his own hands, or from an opinion that he could not be juftified, in letting her depart from that place, where the king had been pleased to lodge her under his care, without having an exprefs command from himself. This feems the most probable; because, upon receiving an order from him, he gave her up. And, though in the defperate state of Stephen's affairs, after the battle of Lincoln, he, with all the other noblemen who ferved that prince, except Wil Book I. Book I. William of Ipres, fubmitted to Matilda, and not only was confirmed by her in his earldom, but received additional favors (as appears by two charters granted to him that year;) yet he foon left her, and returned to the party of the king; who continued to employ him in his pofts of the highest trust, for more than three years. Nevertheless, he now gave ear to fome of his favorites, who envied this great earl, and fuggested suspicions, as if, befides his having arrogantly ufurped to himself too large a fhare of fovereign power to the apparent dishonor of the king, he meant to betray him to the emprefs. It does not appear, that there was any evidence of fuch an intention in him, except popular rumours, and the remembrance of the difpute between him and the queen, which was revived at this time, and helped to exasperate his master against him. While he attended the court of that prince at St. Albans, in a parliamentary council, he was, without legal procefs, upon a general charge of treafon brought against him by fome of the barons, thrown into prison, and threatened with an ignominious death on a gibbet, if he did not give up to the king the tower of London, and his caftles of Walden and Pleshy in Efsex. He could hardly be induced, by the terrors of death, to fubmit to these conditions, impofed upon him fo roughly, and with fo much difhonor: but, being overcome by the perfuafions of fome of his friends, he yielded yielded at laft, and was released; after which Book I. he very foon declared for Matilda, as Stephen vid. auctores had certainly great caufe to expect. The ca- citat. ut fuprà. bal of his enemies in the court of that king, who, by driving him out of it, had ferved their own purposes, faw this with pleasure: but the party in general was greatly alarmed. at it, expecting much mifchief from a man of his abilities, fo highly provoked, and then fet at liberty to purfue his revenge. His actions juftified thefe apprehenfions. For, befides his own vaffals, he now gathered about him, from all parts of England, a band of robbers and outlaws, who were then very numerous, both from the licentioufnefs and the mifery of the times; and having thus formed a confiderable army, he maintained it by pillaging religious houfes and churches, and by all other acts of violence, rapine, and cruelty, that men fo hardened in wickedness could commit. The town of Cambridge was facked by them, and the country about it laid waste, before Stephen could come up with forces fufficient to make head against them. At his approach, the earl of Effex retired from Cambridge to the neighbouring fens; whether the king durft not pursue him, but contented himself with only building fome castles, in order to check his incurfions; and then returned. While he was employed in other parts, the earl made a furious attack on those caftles; Hugh Bigot, earl of Norfolk, confederating with him in that attempt. Book I. attempt. It feems very furprising, that this lord, by whofe teftimony, falfely and corruptly given, Stephen had been affifted to gain the crown, and who had therefore reafon to think himself irreconcileably ill with Matilda, fhould take a part fo repugnant to all his former conduct. I find no cause affigned for it in any historian: but those times were much accustomed to levities of this kind; the barons changing fides, upon the least discontent, without any fense of shame; and the very idea of loyalty feeming to be effaced from most of their minds. It appears, indeed, that Hugh Bigot intended rather to act against Stephen than for Matilda; keeping himself in a state of independence, within the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, where his chief power lay. Perhaps the earl of Effex might have the fame views: for, as that nobleman neither went to the court of Matilda, nor received from her any new confirmation of the grants, which she had made to him before, and which he had forfeited by returning to Stephen, it looks as if he had never negociated with her after that time, and as if, even now, fhe was not cordially reconciled to him, but diftrusted and defired to keep him at a distance. In that cafe he would naturally fall in with the plan pursued by Hugh Bigot; and, when joined together, they might hope to form a third party, which would become ftrong enough to overpower both the others, or at least to turn turn the fcale in favor of that, to which it finally fhould incline. Several reafons induce me to believe, that this project was concerted between the two earls: but it was defeated before it came to maturity, by one of those accidents, which blast at once the faireft hopes, and overturn the best laid defigns of ambition. While the earl of Effex was befieging one of the caftles near Cambridge, which Stephen had erected, and after he had made a fuccefsful attack, which brought him very nigh to the foot of the rampart, the weather being hot, and thinking himself secure from any danger (as he was in the midst of his own troops, and the enemy was retired within the caftle walls) he took off his helmet, to breathe with more liberty. But he was observed by a foot-foldier belonging to the garrifon, who, shooting an arrow, from a loop-hole of the caftle, against his bare head, gave him a wound, that did not pierce, but razed the skull-bone. He thought lightly of it, and continued to attend the operations of the fiege, till, by his neglect, it proved mortal. The manner of his death gave the clergy occafion to impute it to an extraordinary judgment ofGod; because he had been excommunicated on account of the facrileges, which he and his troops had committed. They availed themfelves alfo of fome other like accidents, which happened to other barons, who, for the fame offences, had incurred the fame cenfures. Book I. |