Malms l. 1. c. 2. f. 8. a. n. 10. cujus affinitate fultus Egbertum solum Regalis Prosapiae Superstitem quem validissimum suis Vtilitatibus metuebat Obicem Franciam fugandum curavit nam ipse Brithricus caeteri infra Inam Reges licet Natalium splendore gloriantes quippe qui de Cerdicio originem traherent non parum tamen alienâ regiae stirpis exorbitaverant illo igitur expulso securo resolvi coeperat otio c. Supported by the Affinity of Offa he caused Egbert the only Survivor of the Royal Race to fly into France fearing he would be a great check to his Affairs for Brithric himself and the other Kings since Ina altho they might glory in the splendor of their Births as deriving their Origin from Cerdic yet they were not a little out of the way from the line of the Royal Progeny When Egbert was expelled the Kingdom he began to live securely c. From this Observation of Malmsbury's as the Author calls it if it be one the lineal Succession before Ina which might be here set forth if needful is as much proved as no lineal Succession after him and notwithstanding the several Usurpations that had been between the Reign of Ceadwally or Ina and Egbert who was much feared by Brithric as being the only Survivor and of right Successor of the Royal Line and therefore banished into France the lineal Succession in the West-Saxon Kingdom was in time revived and continued in the Saxon Monarchy which he founded as will appear in the further Enquiry into the Author's other Saxon Instances This if it had been fairly cited could not have been useful to him but he took what served his turn and left out the rest The Words of the Author p. 14. Aethelulphus King of the West-Saxons went to Rome Matt. West A. D. 854. 867. and there crowned Alfred his youngest Son King and married the King of France's Daughter in his return and made her Queen against the Laws for which reason he was excluded his Kingdom his eldest Son and Alston Bishop of Shireburn being at the top of this Act of Exclusion and he came back only upon the terms of receiving his Son into a Share of the Kingdom which shews that they looked on the Laws as the measure of Allegiance and where those were openly broken that it was in their power to transfer it HISTORY Rex Occidentalium Saxonum Aethelulphus cum honore maximo Romam profectus c. Aethelulphus King of the West Saxons went with great honour to Rome carrying with him his younger Son Alfred whom he loved beyond all his other Sons that he might be instructed by Pope Leo in Manners and Religion where he stay'd a year with his Son and caused him to be crowned King by the Pope and after few days returning to his Country he brought with him Judith Daughter to Charles King of France whom he had married But in the mean time while the King was beyond Sea there was a Conspiracy of certain great Men formed against him the chief of the Conspiracy were Aethelbald his eldest Son and Alston Bishop of Shireburn and Landulph Earl of Somersetshire who had resolved that upon his return he should never be received to the Government for which they had two causes One for that he had caused his younger Son Alfred to be crowned at Rome and postpon'd and excluded his other Sons the second was That he had despised all English Women and married a Stranger Moreover the Conspirators had heard that contrary to the Custom and Statutes of the West-Saxon Kings he called the King of France's Daughter whom he had lately married Queen and caused her to sit by him at the Table and eat with him which the West Saxon Nation did not permit nor that she should be called Queen but the King's Wife Haec autem infamia ab Eadburga Offae Regis filiâ ejusdem generis reginâ exorta est Quae Virum suum Brithricum â—eneno perdidit c. The occasion of which non permission arose from Eadburg the Daughter of Offa a Queen of the same sort who destroyed her Husband with Poyson and sitting by the King was wont to accuse all the Noblemen of the Kingdom and those she could not accuse she killed by Poyson Therefore for the lewdness of the Queen all conspired that they would never permit a King to reign over them Qui in praedictis culpabilis inveniretur who should be found culpable in what hath been said Revertente tandem a Roma Aethelulfo Rege Pacifico praedictus filius ejus Aethelbaldus conceptam nequitiam ad effectum producere attentavit sed Deus omnipotens id fieri non permisit c. When the peaceable King Aethelulph return'd from Rome his Son Aethelbald attempted to effect his wicked Contrivance but God would not permit it for to prevent a more than Civil War between Father and Son by the ineffable Clemency of the King the Confederacy of all the Nobles and Bishops was broken he dividing the Kingdom of the West Saxons between himself and Son which before was undivided so as his Son possessed the East part and the Father the West part Et cum tota regni Nobilitas pro Rege decertare filium a Jure regni depellere vellent si Pater id fieri permisisset ipse mentis nobilitate ab avaritiae sese vitio excludens filii sui concupiscentiae satisfecit sicque ubi Pater justo Dei Iudicio regnare debuerat illic filius pertinax iniquus regnavit and when as the whole Nobility of the Kingdom would have fought for the King and forced his Son from the right of the Kingdom if his Father would have permitted it to be done but he being free from all Covetousness satisfied the unruly Appetite of his Son and so where the Father ought to have reigned by the just Sentence of God the obstinate and wicked Son reigned This Story Mat. Westm had from Flor. of Worcester †A. D. 675. tho it is not in the last altogether so formal * f. 21. b. n. 50. l. 22. a. n. 10. 20. Malmsbury likewise hath it tho not intirely But the Saxon Chronology hath nothing of it nay rather it hath something contrary to it * A. D. 854. Eodem anno Aethelwulfus rex magno cum honore Romam perrexit ibique per Menses Duodecim moratus est cui mox domum redeunti Carolus Francorum Rex filiam suam in Reginam dedit hinc posteà ad populum suum reversus est qui mirificè laetabatur sed post biennium ex quo a Francis redierat defunctus est corpus autem Wintoniae sepultum jacet In the Year 854. Aethelwulph went in great Pomp to Rome where he staid Twelve Months To whom as he returned home Charles King of France gave him his Daughter for his Queen Afterwards when he returned to his People they rejoyced wonderfully within Two Years after he died
in her Son after the Eldest was taken away so much the unalterable Right of Succession was then understood But saith Flor. Wig. there was a great Contention amongst the great Men about the choice of the King A. 975. How could there be any dispute if they knew the Constitution of the Kingdom to be that the next Heir must inherit the Crown HISTORY Flor. Wig. f. 607. A. D. 975. De rege eligendo magna inter regni primores oborta est dissentio Quidam namque Regis filium Edwardum quidam autem fratrem illius elegerunt Ethelredum Quam ob causam Archipraesules Dunstanus Oswaldus cum Corepiscopis Abbatibus Ducibusque quam plurimis in unum convenerunt Edwardum ut pater ejus praeciperat elegerunt electum consecraverunt in Regem unxerunt There was a great Contention amongst the prime Men of the Kingdom about choosing or setting up a King Some were for Edward some for Ethelred For which cause the Archbishops Dunstan and Oswald with their Suffragans the Abbots and very many great Men assembled and chose Edward as his Father had commanded consecrated and anointed him King From what hath been said before it appears those that would have set up Ethelred against the Right of Succession and against Edward King Edgar's eldest Son were his Stepmother and her Party the others that opposed her Design and kept fast to Edward were for the Right of Succession with the last the Parliament as the Constitution then was or the Great Assembly of the Nation that is the Archbishops Bishops Abbots and very many Noblemen concurred and chose or recognized and crowned Edward their King whom his Father at his Death Regni morum Haeredem reliquit Ibidem left Heir of his Kingdom and Temper It cannot be thought but this Assembly understood the Constitution of the Nation and yet there arose a dispute about the Succession The best Laws in the World cannot keep Men from being wicked nor secure the Government from the Attempts of Intruders and Usurpers when they think they have Opportunity and Means to set themselves up let the Constitution be never so clear and well known If the Author would have look'd into or considered the cause of this Contention about the Succession he might as well have asked how can there be any Intruders against the known Constitution as how could there be a Dispute about the Succession M. Westminster says A. D. 977 Edward retained only the Name of a King and by the Flattery of his Stepmother he permitted to her and her Son Aethelred the Transaction of all the Affairs of the Kingdom Ibid. A. D 978. Flor. Wigâ—eod Anno. Yet so powerful a thing and so agreeable to the Constitution was Succession by Birth right that for the establishing her Son in the Throne the very next Year she caused Edward to be murthered and triumph'd at his Death The next are his Danish Instances These People had the Sword only for their Title and staid but Five and twenty Years or thereabouts Nor can any Man affirm from our Historians what the Constitution of the Kingdom was then as to the Government or Governours and the manner of and chief prâ—tence to the Succession was Donation as hath been noted before to which the Reader is referred Edmund Ironside the true lineal Saxon Heir made an agreement with Canutus and divided the Kingdom with him who had no other pretence to the Throne than his Father Swane's Conquest and his own Army of Danes to make it good After the Death of Edmund the Bishops and English Nobility sware they would have Cnute for their King would humbly obey him and pay his Taxes for his Army â—â—id A. D. â—16 f. 18. Eique humiliter obedire vellent suo exercitui vectigalia dare Let the Author say whether it were not Force and Fear made these Men swear The Author's Words p. 17. After the death of Canutus a new difference arose about the Succession 〈◊〉 1055. some were for Harold his supposed Son by Algiva others for Hardecnute his Son by Emma HISTORY After the Death of Cnute â—almsb l. c. 12. f. â— b. n. 50. 43. a lin c. Elegerûnt Haraldum Dani Londoniae cives qui jam penè in Barbacorum mores propter frequentem convictum transierant Angli diu obstiterint magis unum ex filiis Ethelredi qui in Normanniâ vel Hardecnutum filium Cnutonii ex Emma qui tunc in Danemarchia erat regem habere volentes The Danes and Citizens of London who were almost become barbarous by their Converse with them chose Harald the English opposed and had rather have had for their King one of the Sons of Ethelred who were then in Normandy or Hardecnute the Son of Cnute by Emme who was then in Danemark Earl Godwin who profest himself Tutor or Curator of the Children pupillorum Tutorem se professus headed the English but at length being unequal in Force and Number gave way to violence sed tandem vi numero impar cêssit violentiae All Historians concluded Harald to have been a Bastard yet without doubt he had a very great Command in his Father's Army which set him up and it may be with the Assistance of the complying English The Author's Word's p. 17. If the Lineal Succession were a part of our Constitution how come such perpetual Disputes to be concerning it For if it had been own'd as a Fundamental Law the right of Succession must have been clear beyond dispute What may be said to the Reasoning of the Author The Author would be thought to have read much History but certainly he never considered what he read Did he in all his reading never meet with Usurpers Invaders and Intruders Did he never read of Men that above all things desired to be Kings though they knew they had no right to be so Did he never read of the Attempts of such Men to make themselves so and that some have failed and others succeeded in those Attempts Did he never read that such Men always had Abbettors and a Party to carry on their Designs Did he never hear of such wicked Men as have acted contrary to the light of Nature and their own Consciences or to the great Rule of all Mankind Do as you would have others do unto you The Fundamental Law of Succession may be as clear as the light it self yet Invaders though they know it will not see it nor do think themselves bound by it but their whole Contrivance is how to evade baffle and enervate that Law and every other Law that stands in their way and yet pretend to advance the Publick Interest the Common Good of the People when they intend only to set up their own and the Interest of the Party against the known Laws of the Nation If these things have frequently been they may be so again 'T is the Invader and Intruder makes the Dispute not the
Aquitain Tutor to Charles the Simple not much before this time and of other Kings of France that had Crowned Tutors with the Titles of Kings The Author's Words p. 16. A. 957. After the Death of Edred the eldest Son of Edmond succeeded but being found under a Moral Incapacity for in Florentius his words and M. Westminster In commisso regimine insipienter egit he was set aside as to all the Government beyond Thames and Edgar put into it HISTORY Obiit Edredus Rex die S. Clementis festo in aetatis vigore Chron. Sax. A. D. 955 decem circiter annos regnabat deinceps Eadwigus Eadmundi Regis filius regnum capessit Sanctum Dunstanum de terrâ fugavit Eadwigus rex Calendis Octobris obiit Ibid. A. D. 957. Eadgarus autem frater ejus regnum capessit Hic Sanctum Dunstanum accersit eique Episcopatum Wigorniensem donavit postea Londinensem King Edred died in the Festival of St. Clement in the vigor of his Age after he had reigned about Ten years Then Eadwy the Son of Edmund enjoy'd the Kingdom and banish't St. Dunstan Eadwy died the First of October and his Brother Edgar took the Kingdom and recalled St. Dunstan and gave him the Bishoprick of Worcester and afterward that of London This Chronology hath not one word of the Northumbers and Mercians rejecting Edwy and chusing Edgar Rex Anglorum Eadwigus Flor. Wigorn eodem An. quoniam in commisso regimine insipienter egit a Mercensibus Northimbrensibus contemptus relinquitur suus germanus Clito Eadgarus ab eis rex eligitur sicque res Regum sejuncta est ut flumen Thamesii regnum disterminaret amborum mox Rex Mercensium Eadgarns heatum Dunstanum Abbatem then Abbot of Glastenbury cum honore gloriâ revocavit King Edwy because he acted foolishly in his Government was despised and deserted by the Mercians and Northumbrians and his Brother Prince Edgar chosen and the Government of the Kings was so divided as the Thames bounded both their Kingdoms and King Edgar presently called back St. Dunstan the Abbot with honour and glory The Words of M. Westminster are mostly the very same as these before-cited the Sense differs not After this they both tell how Abbot Dunstan was made first Bishop of Worcester then of London by King Edgar The Author at his first entrance upon the Saxon Instances p. 15. said he would not meddle with the Kingdom of Northumbers which in this place both the Historians he cites do expresly mention for Reasons there given and therefore thinking this Instance to be for his purpose he cunningly omits to mention that Nation as believing for his own Reasons it might undervalue the Instance and only says Edwy was set aside as to all the Government beyond Thames and Edgar put into it But what if the Northumbrians and Mercians did reject him 'T was no more than the Northumbrians had done in the two preceding Reigns Flor. Wig. A. D. 926. They made a League with Aethelstan and confirm'd it by Oath yet they called in Anlaf a Pagan King and raised War against him And tho' he Ibid. A. D. 937. and Constantine King of Scots his Assistant and the Northumbrians were baffled with great Slaughter of their Men yet but Four years after and in the First year of King Edmund Ibid. A. D. 941. Northimbrenses fidelitati quam magnifico regi Anglorum Edmundo debebant infidelitatem praeferentes Regem Northmannorum Anlafam sibi in regem eligêrunt The Northumbrians preferring Infidelity to the Fealty they ought to the Magnificent King Edmund chose Anlaf King of Norway for their King Ibid. A. D. 944. Three years after Magnificus rex Anglorum Edmundus duos reges Anlafum Regis videlicet Sithrici filium Reignoldum Guthfredi filium de Northumbriâ expulit eamque suae ditioni subegit King Edmund drove two Kings Anlaf the Son of Sithric and Reinold the Son of Gutred out of Northumberland and conquer'd or reduced it under his Power Ibid. A. D. 949. And Five years after that Wolstanus Archiepiscopus Eboracensis proceresque Northimhembrenses omnes egregio regi Anglorum Edredo fidelitatem juraverunt sed non illam diu tenuerunt Wulstan Archbishop of York and all the Great Men of Northumberland sware Fealty to the famous King Edred but did not long keep it Namque quendam Danicâ stirpe progenitum Ircum nomine super se Regem levaverunt For they set up Iric a Dane King over them And the very next year King Edred threatning to destroy the whole Country Ibid. A. D. 950. they threw down Iric Ircum quem sibi regem praefecerant abjecêrunt and compounded with Edred for a great Sum of Money Ibid. A. D. 957. And seven years after they revolted from Edwin and set up his Brother Edgar And like them were the Mercians Would any Man fetch an Instance from these People to confirm and warrant what he would prove or have thought to be a just and regular Proceeding But what was his Crime How did he play the Fool Why Malmsb. l. 11. c. 7. f. 30. a. n. 20. 30. he banisht Dunstan Chief of the Monks turn'd the Monks out of Monasteries and put in Secular Priests and made bold with the Monks Revenue By which Folly he made them his Enemies and lost the People so as he could not chastise the Northumbrians as Edred had done before him and so was forced to be content to let his Brother Edgar enjoy Mercia and Northumberland Chron. Sax. A. D. 957. who forthwith recalled Dunstan from Exile and restored the Monks where he could which made him secure against his Brother Edwy after whose Death he possest the whole Nation The Author's Words p. 16. How came there to be a Dispute about the Election after the death of Edgar between his eldest Son Edward and Etheldred his youngest HISTORY Malmsbury answers the Question L. 2. c. 9. f. 33. b. n. 40. Edwardum Dunstanus ceteri Episcopi consentanci regali culmine sublimârunt contra voluntatem quorundam ut aiunt Optimatum Novercae quae vix Septem annorum puerulum Ethelredum filium suum provehere conabatur ut ipsa potius sub ejus nomine imperitaret Dunstan and the other Bishops that agreed with him set Edward in the Throne against the mind as they say of some great Men and his Stepmother who endeavoured to set up her Son Ethelred a Child scarce Seven Years old that under his name she might reign The Author's Words p. 16. I lay no force upon his Mothers endeavours to advance him but if there had been such an unalterable Right of Succession there had not been any colour or pretence for it T is true there neither was nor could be any yet she with her Friends endeavour'd it and seeing she could not do it that way she afterwards caused Edward to be murther'd that the Right of Succession might be
afterward King Stephen and then Robert Duke of Gloucester King Henry's natural Son Anno. 31. Regni sui Rex Henricus rediit in Angliam c. In the thirtyfirst year of his Reign King Henry returned into England and the Empress also and in a great Assembly of the Nobility or Great Men at Northampton those which had sworn before renewed their Oath and those that had not did then swear or give their Faith unto her King Henry died in the Thirty fifth year of his Reign Ibid. b. n. 30. and in his Sickness being asked by Robert Earl of Gloucester and the Nobleman that were then with him about a Successor a quibus de successore interrogatus filiae omnem terram suam citra ultra mare legitima perenni Successione adjudicavit he gave all his Lands every where to his Daughter as to his Lawful Successor After the death of King Henry Ibid. f. 101. a. lin 5. which happen'd upon the first of December that year the Empress Robert Earl of Gloucester with most of the Noblemen delay'd their return for England whereas Stephen made all the haste he could and by the readiest Passage being come the Londoners and People of Winchester own him a King Ibid. n. 10. And he drew unto him Roger Bishop of Salisbury and William de Pont Larch Keeper of the King's Treasure But all his Endeavars had come to nothing Ibid. n. 20. if his Brother Henry Bishop of Winchester and at that time the Pope's Legat had not been his best Assistant William Archbishop of Canterbury required of him an Oath That he would restore and preserve the Liberties of the Church and the Bishop of Winchester became his Suretyâ— for the doing of it He was very sweet in his Promises but they wanted performance He was Crowned the 22 of December there being present only three Bishops the Archbishop the Bishops of Winchester and Salisbury no Abbats and but few Noble or Great Men. Ibidem Coronatus est ergo in regem Angliae Stephanus undeciâ—o Calendâ—â— Januarii 1135. tribus Episcopis prasentibus Archiepiscopo Wintoniensi Saresberiensi nullâ— Abbatibâ—s pancissimus Optimatibus Ibid. n. 40. Having made the Treasurers of his Party he immediately became Master of the Treasure which was near 100000 l. in ready Money besides Gold and Silver Vessels of great weight and inestimable value Having so great Treasure he could not want Assistants Ibidem hanc copiâ—m Gazarum habenti auxiliatores dâ—esse non poterant especially being very profuse in his Gifts All sorts of Soldiers stock'd to him out of Flanders and Britany most notorious Plunderers Ibid. n. 50. and cruel People who robbed Churches and pulled Men of Religious Orders from their Horses and imprisoned them without regard Erat genus hominum rapacissimum violentissimum qui nil pensi haberent vel caemeteria frangere vel Ecclesias expilare Religiosi quinetiam ordinis viros non solùm equis proturbare sed etiam indigenae militer c. Ibidem Neither were Strangers only but home-bred Soldiers or Knights who hated Times of Peace toward the end of King Henry's Reign because then they lived meanly easily brought to his Party raising thereby their Fortunes from the Loss and Ruin of the People Ibid. b. lin 2. Ibid. lin 3 4. Provineialium dispendio suas fortunas urgentes Further Stephen when he was Earl by his easie and jocular Conversation and his Familiarity with ther meanest Persons had wonderfully gain'd the Affections of the People Ibid. lin 5. so that all the Noblemen of England came readily in to him In the mean time the wise Earl of Gloucester was folic ous how he might shew them their Faults and by Discourse bring them back to a better Opinion for there was nothing to be attempted by Force Ibid. lin 7. for the Causes before mentioned nor was it free for him to come into England unless for a time he could dissemble and appear as if he were a Party in the Defection quasi defectionis eorum particeps wherefore he did Homage to the King upon Condition Ibid. n. 10. that is to say so long as he kept his Dignity entire and performed his Agreement and Covenants scilicet quamdiu ille dignitatem suam integre custodiret sibi pacta servaret For long before he knew the Temper of the King and foresaw the Instability of his Faith spectato enim jamdudum regis ingenio instabilitatem fidei praevidebat In the same Year Ibidem not much after the coming of the Earl the Bishops sware Fealty to the King so long as he should preserve the Liberty and strict Discipline of the Church Ibid. n. 20. 30. which he then swore to do according to his Charter that consists mostly of Privileges granted to the Clergy and is there repeated and is dated 1136 in the first Year of his Reign But the Historian says He disdain'd to put the Names of the Witnesses which were many because he changed all things so perversly as if he had only sworn that he might shew the whole Kingdom he had sworn to what he never intended to perform Ibid. n. 40. nomina Testium qui multi fuêrunt apponere fastidio quia pene omnia ita perperam mutârunt quasi ad hoc tantum jurâsset ut praevaricatorem sacramenti se regno toti ostenderet In this Grant he says he was chosen King by the Clergy and Laity crowned by William Archbishop of Canterbury and afterwards confirmed by Pope Innoeent the Bull of which Confirmation may be seen in the History of Richard Prior of Hagulstad col 313. n 30. The Witnesses to his Charter or Grant were most of the Bishops Earls and Noblemen and all Normans and may be found in the same History Col. 314. n 60. This is the true History how Stephen came to be King taken from William of Malmsbury who lived and wrote at the very time these things were done and wrote them at the Request of Robert Earl of Gloucester The Author's Words p. 20. The first Observation upon his own History of Maud's Title and Stephen's coming to the Crown before noted is That if it hold that an Oath was first taken to Maud by the Bishops and Nobility and afterwards to King Stephen an Oath of Allegiance may cease without Discharge from the Party to whom it was made and so the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of Winchester and Salisbury as well as the Nobility thought themselves at liberty to take a new Oath of Allegiance without a Release from the Party concerned in the former Oath What may be said to this 'T is not to be doubted but the Author knows what Religion was profest in this Nation at that time and only that and knows also those of that Persuasion did and do believe the Head of their Church had and hath Power to make an Oath cease without discharge from the Party to whom it
is made And so the three Bishops thought themselves at liberty to take a new Oath of Allegiance without a Release from the Party concern'd in the former Oath when they had his Authority and that they so had is manifest from the following brief Narrative Stephen was crowned on the Eleventh of the Kalends of January Ibid. f. 101. a. n. 20. Ibid. n. 40. Ibid. b. n. 10. or 22 of December and the Earl of Gloucester came into England after Easter next following and it was after his coming that the Bishops sware Fealty to Stephen Eodem anno non multùm post adventum Comitis juravêrunt Episcopi Fidelitatem regi c. at which time he also swore to preserve the Liberty and strict Discipline of the Church as they were drawn up in a Charter or Grant in which the Pope's Confirmation of his Title is mentioned the beginning whereof runs thus Ego Stephanus Dei gratiâ Ibidem assensu Cleri Populi in Regem Angliae electus a Domino Wilielmo Archiepiscopo Cantuariae Sanctae Ecclesim Romanae Legato consecratus ab Innocentio Sanctae sedis Romanae Pontifice postmodum confirmatus c. I Stephen by the Grace of God by the Assent of the Clergy and People chosen King of England crowned by William Archbishop of Canterbury and the Legat of the Roman See who was his Brother and confirmed by Pope Innocent c. And notwithstanding he was at first set up by the Fraud and Artifice of three or four Persons and the Bishops especially who then govern'd the Nation and that he immediately forced himself upon the then Norman Government by an Army of Foreigners plundring and cruel Flemmings and Britans and home-bred Norman Soldiers that knew not how to live as appears by the History before-recited yet the Archbishops and Bishops suggested to to the Pope Richard Prior of Hagustald or Hextiam Col. 313. n. 30 40 c. in the Body of the Bull. That after the Death of King Henry Religion in England was disturbed turbata est religio in regno Angliae nullum mandatum pacis seu justitia in adjutorio regali vigebat and there was no Royal Command for either Peace or Justice and that the greatest Wickednesses were committed with impunity atque atrocitatem tantorum scelerum comitabatur impunitas and that for the putting a stop to such Evils Stephen was chosen King communi voto unanimi assensu tam procerum quam etiam populi by the common Vote and unanimous Assent of the Great Men and People and crowned by the Bishops and all this was testified by the Letters or Instruments of the Archbishops and Bishops of the Countrey and the Lovers of the Holy Romane Church the glorious King of France and illustrious Earl †This was Theobald Earl of Blois Stephen's eldest Brother Theobald Qâ—emadmodum venerabilium fratrum nostrorum Archiepiscoporum earundem Regionum Amatorum Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae gloriesi Francorum Regis illustrius Viri Comitis Theobaldi scripta testantur Then upon this recounting the Suggestions the Pope and Title-Maker says Nos cognoscentes Vota tantorum Virorum in personam tuâ—m praecunte divina Gratia convenisse c. We knowing the Votes of such great Men to have concurr'd in the Choice of thy Person by the Guidance of Divine Grace And for these things and his promise of Obedience and doing Honour to St. Peter he confirms whâ—t had been done and grants him the same Honour and Prerogative he had granted to his Predecessor Henry This Bull of Confirmation was directed to King Stephen Innocentius Episcopus c. carissimo in Christo filio Stephano illustri Anglorum regi salutem Apostolicam benedictionem From the precedent Narrative it is evident the Bishops sollicited this Bull of Confirmation and obtained it before they sware Fealty to King Stephen though upon false Suggestions However the Pope knew he was chosen by the Guidance of Divine Grace and the Bishops and Nobility believed him to be infallible or at least had such a D ference to his Confirmation of Stephen that they took themselves to be discharged and released fâ—om their Oaths made to Maud for if this Confirmation was valid her Title was made null and void Maâ—msb f. 108. a.n. 40 50. That such as favour'd Stephen own'd his Title from the Pope it is evident from his Brother the Legat's Speech who left Stephen and adhered to Maud and then revolted from her to him again when he called a Council at Westminster by his Legantine Power wherein chiding Letters from the Pope were read because he had not delivered his Brother Stephen then in Prison in which he was exhorted to do it either by Ecclesiastical or Secular Power After the reading whereof he made a Speech in excuse of his faithless Actions and commanded those present on bâ—hâ—lf of God and the Pope ex parte Dei Apostolici that they should aid the King with their utmost Power who was anointed by the Will of the People and Assent of the Apostolick See voluntate populi assensu Apâ—stolicae sedis inunctum and to excommunicate all Perturbers of the Peace that favoured the Dutchess of Anjou i. e. Maud. If the Author had understood this he would scarcely have ventured upon this Instance to have confirmed his Opinion about the Release and Discharging of Oaths The Words of the Author p. 23. Secondly That upon the Agreement between King Stephen and Henry II. Mâ—â—d her self was set aside and Stephen was to continue King for his Life and Henry II. to succeed him Now if Oaths of Allegiance must not be interperted by the publick Good here are insuperable Difficulties as to the Obligations of these Oaths for the Allegiance was transferred from the right Heir to an Vsurper as Stephen must be owned to have been by thâ—se who deny that Allegiance can be transferred from the right Heir And they must continue Allegiance to the Vsurper for his Life which is repugnant to the nature of our Constitution if it be founded in a Lineâ— and Legal Succession And again Maud to whom they had sworn is set aside and the Reversion of the Crown it entailed on her Son although she was living What may be replied to this The insuperable Difficulties have been overcome before in the Discourse about the Pope's Confirmation of King Sâ—ephen As to Maud's having been set aside it shall be considered in the last Paragraph of this Instance and also something more said of this Publick Good which brought on this Agreement and what it was but it must needs be so because done by the Common-Council of the Nation The Author's Words in the same Page A. 1153. Paris ibid. Matt. Westm and Paris say The Right of King Henry II. was declared by King Stephen in conventu Episcoporum aliorum de regno Optimatum which was the Dâ—scription of a Parliament at that time for as yet the Baronage represented