"Itm ao dni м°CXLVIIJ° Dilectus do et hois Robertus de Betōn Ep Hforde ad concm Remis pfects ibmque inf'rmatus xvio kk Maii ffa vj fest'paschat vita decessit at ipo apo aliisq, pluribs ar'cpis et Epis confess atq, absolutus."

"Also in the year of our Lord 1148, the beloved of God and men, Robert de Betun, bishop of Hereford, who had journied to the council at Rheims, and there fell sick, on the 16th kalends of May, the Friday after Easter, departed this life, having been confessed and absolved by the archbishop himself, and many other archbishops and bishops."

But we have not yet done with Robert, in the history of Llanthony, although we have left him installed at Hereford, as we shall proceed to show. Robert de Braci was unanimously elected by the brethren to succeed the bishop of Hereford, as Prior of Llanthony. In addition to his merits, his name, coinciding with that of his predecessor, was accepted by the brethren as a good omen.

Upon the death of Henry the First, the kingdom was torn asunder by political convulsions. A deplorable picture is given of the state of the nation both by William de Wycombe and the monk of Llanthony. The extreme poverty of the people, their natural passions and cupidity, enlarged by their ignorance of the Christian faith, are represented as adding fuel to the fire. The church lost its support in the death of the king, and its guide in the death of the archbishop, which followed shortly after. Religious establishments were especially marked for plunder. The situation of Llanthony, in the midst of these troubles, was far from satisfactory. The Welsh border was left without protection; and even the quarrels of the Welshmen among themselves carried distraction, anxiety, and persecution into the peaceful vale of Ewyas.

Giraldus, at the close of the second chapter of his Itinerary, says: "Towards the east are the mountains of Talgarth and Ewyas. The natives of these parts, actuated by continual enmities and implacable hatred, are perpetually engaged in bloody contests." Upon this passage Sir R. C. Hoare has the following note: "The dissensions here alluded to by our author, as subsisting between the inhabitants of these neighbouring districts, were perhaps the remains of those ancient heartburnings which subsisted between the native princes of Gwentland and Brycheinog, respecting the possession of the territories of Ystradwy and Ewyas, (the first comprehending

a part of the present hundred of Talgarth, and the hundred of Crickhowel, and the other extending into Herefordshire,) which was strongly contested between them in long and bloody wars, but was at last, by the mediation of Edgar, king of England, conceded to the former person. Mr. Wynne (page 58, edit. 1774) quotes an ancient MS. then existing at Llandaff, called Cwtta Cyfarwydd o Forgannwg, or a brief history of Glamorgan, in which Ystradwy and Ewyas are called the two sleeves of Gwent Uchoed.'

In the prosecution of one of these quarrels, at a time like that of civil war, when no check could be laid upon licentiousness and insult, the monk of Llanthony informs us of an event which occurred, in the following manner: “A neighbouring Welshman, when he and his family were terrified on all hands by the enemy's threats and weapons, and had no way to escape or hide himself, fled with his whole household to Llanthony, to seek refuge in that consecrated place; but his enemies pursuing him with inexorable malice, waylay him in the outward court," (between the hospitium and the church,) "and there furiously attack him. He flies with the women of his family into the innermost offices; the women seize the refectory, and are not ashamed to sing and profane that place with their light and effeminate behaviour. What could the soldiers of Christ do? They are surrounded without by the weapons of their enemies; arms are without doors, and frights within; they cannot procure sustenance from abroad to satisfy their hunger, nor can they attend divine service with accustomed reverence in consequence of the vain insolence of their ungrateful guests. Martha bewails, because she is not permitted to provide convenient entertainment; Mary laments because she is deprived of more holy repasts; and a great confusion arises in the monastery, together with a fear of the consequences of temptation."

To Robert de Betun, in his palace at Hereford, says W. de Wycombe, "the state of the kingdom was matter of great anxiety; but the condition of the house of Llanthony, fixed amongst a barbarous people, especially occurred to his thoughts, and vexed his mind. He hears that provision had failed them, that they are in a state of starvation; and that no convoy could safely reach them. He is full of grief, anxiety, and sorrow, as though he himself had murdered

them all, by his neglect, in not having anticipated the day of necessity while he had the power, by his supineness in not having provided for them, in the time of peace, a refuge for future troubles.... He summoned the convent to him, he delivered to them his houses, a chapel, granges, cellars, and other necessary offices, and moreover, of his episcopal revenue he imparted as much as they required." The monk of Llanthony adds, there were some brethren who preferred dying of famine, or the sword, rather than desert their post, or leave the spot endeared to them by the holy ties of their conversion and profession; "so it came to pass that at no time the church of Llanthony was wholly deprived of the residence of some of the religious." For two years the main body of the brethren resided at Hereford, under the protection of the good bishop; and all this time the state of things grew worse rather than better, especially upon the border, where no law prevailed and no protection reached. In fact the aspect of affairs lowered down upon and threatened even the bishop's fortunes. He felt it would soon be necessary for him to fly from his palace and to seek refuge, as he actually did a short time afterward, amongst the houses of the religious, and in the fortified places of his diocese. His anxiety, therefore, increased for the safety of the brethren, whose case lay upon his conscience. In this dilemma he applied to MILO, EARL OF HEREFORD. This Milo was the only son to whom Walter, constable of England, had resigned his honours and possessions, when he professed at Llanthony. King Henry gave him in marriage Sibyl, eldest daughter of Bernard de Novo Mercatu, (Newmarch) with the honour of Brecon, to which was afterwards added the forest of Dean. He sided most strenuously with Queen Matilda against King Stephen, for which service she created him Earl of Hereford. (Rymer's Fædera.) He was wounded by an arrow while hunting, on Christmas eve, in the year 1144, and was buried in the chapter-house of Llanthony, near Gloucester. His five sons were successively Earls of Hereford, and died without issue. His immense possessions were divided between his three daughters, Margery, Bertha, and Lucy; and by this division three powerful families were established upon the Marches. Margery married the third Humphrey de Bohun, to whom she gave as her dowry the earldom of Hereford, with its lordships, and the office of high constable of England.

Bertha married William de Breos, to whom she conveyed the lordship of Brecknock. Lucy married the Lord Herbert, who had with her the forest of Dean, and lands in England.

The bishop persuaded Milo, by reminding him of his father Walter's affection for the house of Llanthony, where his bones reposed, to succour the brethren in their extremity. The earl, yielding to the Bishop's importunity, assigned to them a piece of land called Hyde, and in the charter, Castele Mede, just outside the city of Gloucester, on the left bank of the river Severn. Here they commenced building a church, with money supplied them by the bishop, or saved by themselves from the wreck at Llanthony, or contributed by the faithful. The monk of Llanthony remarks the wonderful celerity with which they erected the structure. In the second year, according to William de Wycombe, from the time of the departure from Llanthony, the bishop transferred the brethren to Gloucester. "As an additional subsidy," says W. de Wycombe, "he gave them the two churches of Frome and Presteberie. Moreover, to the very end of his life he made over to them the town itself of Presteberie, with all its income." The Frome here mentioned must be Frome Bishop's, in the deanery of Frome, hundred of Radlow, and county of Hereford. A court baron for the See of Hereford is holden there occasionally, even now. In Browne Willis's edition of Ecton's Thesaurus, under the deanery, Frome, we have it thus mentioned. King's Books 08 05 10 Frome Bishop's, V. St. Mary. Pri. Lanthony Propr. Richard Hampton, Esq. Yearly tenths. 00 16 07."

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"Prestbury," Atkyns, in his History of Gloucestershire, says, "was so named because it was a town belonging to the priests." In Domesday book, "the bishop of Hereford held Prestebrie, in Chiltenham hundred, in the reign of King William, the Conqueror." The bishops of Hereford erected a moated mansion in the parish. A Quo Warranto was issued 15 Edwd. I. when the bishoprick of Hereford was confirmed in its privileges of free-warren, court-leet, and yearly fair. In Ecton: "Prestburie V. St. Mary. Pri. Llanthony Propr."

The Colton MS. speaks of the admirable rapidity with which the church and monastery, called by the name of the former Llanthony, but dedicated in honour of the blessed Mary, the Mother of God, were erected at Gloucester.

In abbott Froucestre's "MS. Chronicle of the Abbey of St. Peter's, Gloucester," (not published) the following notice

occurs:

"Et viij k k Junii fundat est priorat Lanton jux Glouc per dñm milonem constabulariu augt anno di мo co xxxvio."

"On the 8th of the kalends of June (May 25th) was founded the Priory of Llanthony near Gloucester, by the Lord Milo, Constable of England. A.D. 1136."

Simon, bishop of Worcester, and Robert, bishop of Hereford, dedicated it the same year.

"Speed," says Coxe, "confounds Llanthony in Monmouthshire with Llanthony in Gloucestershire, and asserts that the former was not founded before 1137." This important mistake has sadly puzzled antiquarians, and has led to confusion upon many points almost inextricable.

To proceed. The monk of Llanthony asserts that the name of the original Priory was given to the new one, to prevent any doubt, in after years, as to which was really the mother, which the daughter, which the church, which the cell. We conclude the argument upon this subject was rather hot in the days of our historian, for he says: "It is true the patron did not give the site to the church of St. John in Wales; but he gave it to the monks belonging to that Church. And what constitutes a church? Not the stones, but rather the faithful professors in Christ; but I will give offence to no man; I stop my mouth, and will not say a word more." It is quite clear, however, the house at Gloucester was intended only to be a temporary retreat for the brethren till brighter days should dawn, after the civil tempests had passed away. Thirteen canons were always to be left at Gloucester for the performance of divine service, according to the rules of the order. Earl Milo insisted that the thirteen should be the choicest flowers of the fraternity. To this claim a demur arose, when it was agreed, they "should at least be very discreet and reputable, and such as of whom he should have no cause to complain." At first the conduct of the monks was most exemplary; "transplanted from the wilderness, they were not unmindful of their former religious course of life; and dispersed, far and wide, the fragrant odour of a good name."

But in the course of time, when Earl Milo and his family, as appears from the charters, began to enrich the new Llan