cathedral.

Two or three centuries ago, cities were as commonly and easily removed in Spanish America, as governments are at this time changed, and constitutions framed in the same countries. There was little inconvenience in those American removals, and no other expense than that of the compulsory labour which the unhappy Indians performed. But the reasons must have been weighty which induced the clergy of Sarum to this determination. The church which Roger had rebuilt, though incomplete, is said to have been not inferior in beauty to any in England, at a time when ecclesiastical architecture had just attained perfection. To commence another building upon a new site was a work of such cost, that, wealthy as the bishop was, and largely as the liberality of the age might be counted on, it could not be effected without a heavy sacrifice on the part of the members of the church. The motives for this removal are specified in the bull whereby it was authorized. It was alleged, the Pope said,

'that forasmuch as your church is built within the compass of the fortifications of Sarum, it is subject to so many inconveniences and oppressions, that you cannot reside in the same without great corporal peril; for being situated on a lofty place, it is, as it were, continually shaken by the collision of the winds, so that whilst you are celebrating the divine offices you cannot hear one another, the place itself is so noisy; and besides, the persons resident there suffer such perpetual oppressions, that they are hardly able to keep in repair the roof of the church, which is constantly torn by tempestuous winds: they are also forced to buy water at as great a price as would be sufficient to purchase the common drink of the country; nor is there any access open to the same without the license of the castellan. So that it happens that on Ash Wednesday, when the Lord's Supper is administered, at the time of synods and celebration of orders, and on other solemn days, the faithful being willing to visit the said church, entrance is denied them by the keepers of the castle, saying that thereby the fortress is in danger; besides, you have not there houses sufficient for you, whereby you are forced to rent several of the laity; and that on account of these and other inconveniences many absent themselves from the service of the said church.'

These inconveniences having been sufficiently proved, Pope Honorius authorized them to remove the church to a more convenient place, but saving to every person, as well secular as ecclesiastical, his rights; and the privileges, dignities, and all the liberties of the said church, to remain in their state and force.' And if any one should presume to infringe, or rashly to oppose, tenor of this grant, be it known to him,' said the Pope, that he will incur the indignation of Almighty God, and of the blessed Saints, Peter and Paul, his Apostles."

the

To St. Peter and St. Paul it should seem to be of very little importance whether Salisbury Cathedral stood upon the hill at

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Old Sarum, or in the valley two miles distant. But it was of great importance to the clergy of that church that they should be settled where there was no divided authority; and to the country also it was of great moment that the cathedral should be fixed where a city might grow round it, which the want of water rendered impossible at the former site. Wherefore then had the former site been chosen? The reason, though it has not been assigned, may with much probability be conjectured. The cathedral at Sarum was founded soon after the conquest, when the government, which depended solely upon its own strength, was far from secure, and the people, suffering grievously under their new lords, were at any time ready for revolt if a leader had arisen. Herman, the founder, had connected himself with the Norman government; and his attempted usurpation at Malmsbury may have made him as unpopular with the monks in that country, as this connection had made him with the West Saxons.. It seems likely therefore that the site was chosen for the sake of protection from that castle, the vicinity of which became afterwards a sufficient reason for abandoning it. The natural disadvantages of the spot must have been well known, but disregarded for the sake of security. That motive had ceased to operate; the local inconveniences were irremediable, even if the adventitious ones had been obviated; and the removal therefore was effected, the Pope, as has been seen, reserving to the people of Old Sarum their rights, one of which is pretty remarkable at this day.

A full account of the new foundation was drawn up by the dean William de Wanda. It was the foundation of Salisbury as well as of the cathedral; and as we have no other record so circumstantial of the origin of an English city, the detail possesses more than a local interest. The site to which they removed could not have been better chosen in all respects; the land was part of the bishop's temporalities, a broad vale where the Wily and the Bourne join the Avon, and lose their names in that clear and beautiful stream. The soil is a fine black mould resting on a substratum of gravel; so that, with all the advantage of being well watered, it is at once dry and fertile, and near enough the Downs to enjoy the benefit of that salubrious air, which renders Wiltshire eminently one of the healthiest counties in Great Britain. Attracted by these advantages, persons enough had already settled there to form a village at Harnham, now a suburb. The canons and vicars engaged to contribute each one-fourth of his income, for seven years, toward the expenses of erecting the new cathedral. But this was not the only share of the burden which they took upon themselves; their own habitations were also to be built upon an agreement, that the heirs of the first builders only,

as

as well canons as vicars, should receive two parts of the just value of what should actually be built, the third part being yielded for the land. The appointment and collation of these houses, after the first vacancy and sale, was to be the bishop's; but the relations of the deceased to whom he should have assigned his two-thirds were to remain in possession till they received payment. But for the church they reckoned largely upon eleemosynary aid; preachers were sent about to solicit contributions, and all who should contribute, either in gifts or labour; toward the work, were rewarded with indulgences, that is to say, drafts payable in Purgatory. In the days of Romish darkness these were carefully deposited in the coffin with those who were rich enough to purchase them, just as the Russian priests used to provide a corpse with testimonials, to the end that St. Peter, upon sight of them, might not deny the bearer the opening of the gate to eternal bliss.' During the sacrilegious spoliation under Somerset's protectorate, caskets full of such papers were found in the graves!

A piece of ground, called Merrifield, having been chosen for the site, the first business was to erect and consecrate a wooden chapel for temporary use, and then to consecrate a cemetery adjoining. The primate, the young king Henry III., and all the other chief persons of the realm, were invited to attend when the foundation should be laid, as at an event which was not unfitly deemed to be of national importance. It appears, however, that the former were not present, but a great concourse assembled from all parts. Mass was performed by the bishop in the temporary chapel, after which he went to the ground barefoot, in procession with the clergy, singing the litany. There, after consecrating the ground, he addressed the people, and then laid the first stone in the name of the Pope, the second in that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the third for himself. The fourth was laid by William Longspee, Earl of Sarum; the fifth by Ela de Vitri, his wife. Then the nobles who were present laid each a stone; and after them the dean, the chanter, the chancellor, the treasurer, and the archdeacon and canons of the church of Sarum, in their turn, the people weeping for joy, and contributing thereto their alms with a ready mind, according to the ability which God had given them.' Several nobles on their return from Wales (where the king was then concluding a treaty with Llewellyn ap Jorwerth) repaired to Sarum to partake in the merit of the work which was going on, and laying each a stone, bound themselves to some special contribution for seven years. In the course of five the building was so far advanced that all the canons were cited to be present at the first celebration of mass. On the eve preceding,

a previous ceremony was performed by the bishop in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, (that Stephen Langton who acted so noble a part in obtaining Magna Charta from the King, and maintaining it against the Pope,) and of Henry, Archbishop of Dublin. The bishop consecrated an altar in the east to the Trinity and All Saints. At this altar the mass of the Virgin Mary was to be sung every day from that time forth, for which service he offered two silver basons and as many silver candlesticks, the bequest of the noble lady Gundria de Warren; they are supposed to have been removed from the church at Old Sarum, having been the bequest of a daughter of William the Conqueror, And on his own part, he gave thirty marks of silver yearly to the priests who should officiate, and ten marks for the lamps which should be kept burning there. He consecrated also an altar in the north part of the church to St. Peter, the prince of the Apostles; and one in the south to St. Stephen, the proto-martyr, and All Martyrs. On the morrow, being Michaelmas day, Archbishop Langton preached to a great assemblage of persons; then went into the new church and performed the first mass there, Otto the nuncio being present, the Archbishop of Dublin, and the Bishops of Durham, Bath, Chichester, Rochester, and Evreux in Normandy.

In the course of the week the young king arrived, with the justiciary Hubert de Burgh; and Henry, after hearing the mass of the Virgin, offered ten marks of silver and a piece of silk; and Hubert made a vow that he would give a gold Text for the service of the altar, with certain precious stones, and more precious relics of divers saints, in honour of the blessed Virgin. The Text was a copy of the four Gospels, for the service of the altar; in the richer churches it was sometimes elaborately adorned with gold and ivory, and, as appears to have been the case in this instance, written in letters of gold. This gift of the justiciary produced from the young king the offering of a ruby ring, that both the gold of the ring, and the stone might be employed to adorn the covers of the Text; at the same time he gave a gold cup weighing ten marks. The said Text was presented first by proxy for Hubert, and afterwards offered by himself in person on the altar, with great devotion. At this time the bishop obtained leave that the oblations made there during the next seven years should be appropriated to the building, except such as might expressly be given for the perpetual ornament and honour of the church: after the expiration of that time the oblations of all the altars were to be applied to the common use, according to the ancient custom of the church of Sarum. It appears also that the plate and other valuables which had been offered were to remain in his custody

for

for those seven years, after which they were to be given up to the treasurer; but it is not apparent for what reason he should have chosen to have them in his keeping during this time. The king confirmed by charter to the new church all the liberties and privileges which had belonged to the old cathedral, as the pope had done, and granted some fresh immunities. The charter declared that New Salisbury should be for ever a free city, and that its citizens should be quit, throughout the land, of toll, pontage, passage, pedage, lastage, stallage, carriage, and all other customs, being thus invested with the same privileges as the citizens of Winchester. The bishop and his successors were authorized to enclose the city with competent trenches, for fear of robbers, and to hold the same for ever as their proper domain, saving to the crown the advowson of the said see, and all its other rights as in other cathedrals. They were empowered also to levy tallage upon the citizens whenever the king exacted it in his domains. liberties and free customs of a weekly market were granted, and an annual fair of eight days, from the vigil to the octave of the Assumption inclusive, for the benefit of the church. And the citizens were prohibited from selling or mortgaging their burgages or tenements to any church or religious house, without the leave of the bishop.

The

William Longspee, who laid the fourth stone, (the first which was laid by lay hands,) was the first person whose remains were deposited in the new church; a man unhappy in his parentage, conspicuous in his life, and unfortunate in his end. He was the son of Henry II. and of a mother, whose very name bespeaks favour for her, and whose true penitence may excite as much sympathy as the tragedy which poets have feigned of her death. Fair Rosamond's son was not unworthy to be Coeur-de-Lion's brother; and in that turbulent or heroic age, few persons were more remarkable for their exploits by land and by sea, and for their hair-breadth escapes: but he is supposed to have perished, as his mother is fabled to have done, by poison. There was a report that he had perished by shipwreck, on his return from Bourdeaux, in a storm which had been so violent, that his baggage was thrown overboard. Hubert, the justiciary, instigated his kinsman, Raymond, upon this report, to marry the Lady Ela, and obtain the earldom of Salisbury in her right, pretending some hereditary claim to it on his part, to facilitate his object. Henry III., who was always lightly persuaded by those who had any influence over him, gave his consent, and Raymond, being thus encouraged, urged his suit without regard either to the honour or the feelings of the lady; she, who was a high-spirited and virtuous woman, told him, that had she been indeed a widow, she would never have x 4

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