Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum sextum /

THis yere dyed lanfrank Archebisshop of Caunterbury / the fourth day of Iuyn after that he had be archebisshop / xviij yere / And than the see was voyde four yere / W / de p / li / p / This lanfrank of the nacion of lombardes was a noble man of lettru∣re / he hadde y yeue al his yought to free artes and scyences and spente his elde al in hooly bookes / he was connyng therof / and despysed the smokyng and schyllyng speche of mysbyleuyd men And of al thabbayes of normandy he chose becco· and was y cap¦ped by the pouert & relygyō of that place / there he was monk vn¦der abbot herlewing / & was a man that couth do no grete werkes to gete his lyuelode therwith / therfor he helde open scole of arte to releue the nedy place by fredome of his scolers / the loos of hys praysynge & of his worship sprang out among wykked men / soo that they had grete enuye to the good man and to the preestes of the coūtray meoued so william duc of normandye that he comaū¦ded to putte oute lanfrank out of normandy for his vnnesynesse W / li / 2 / By cause herof duc williams preeste was holden a man of grete scyence byfore the comyng of lanfrank / And he cam in a daye to lanfrank scole with greete bragge and boost / than by hys fyrste speche lanfrank was waar that the man couth wel nygh•• ryght nought / and toke hym a thyng with lettres for to spede / And soo he ouercome the wyldenes of the man by cunnynge of ytaly / therfor he was wroth / and made duc willyā put lanfrank out of al normandy / But occasion to haue grace of the duc was for lanfrank wente to the dukes courte / and his hors halted & made the duc laugh / The duc toke hede of courtosye of lanfrācks answer and of the fayrenesse of his face / and made hym pryour of becco / abbot of caen and afterward archebisshop of Caunterbu¦ry / W / de / pon / li / 1 / This man was so famous of lore that Pope alysaunder aroos worshipfully ayenst hym whan he cam to rome and sayde that he dyde not to the archebisshop that worship / but to his clergye / therfore the pope axyd that / syth that he hadde doo / what was worshipful lāffrāk shold do what was rightful that is that he shold falle doun to the feet of saynt peters vyker / whan he had doo soo / the pope by cause of hym restored his felawes bis¦shops that come with hym to theyr state croyses & Rynges that were bifore y preued as it is said bifore / Also this lanfrāk tretid

and byladde kyng wylliam conquerour by an hooly crafte / not with grymchydynge / but somtyme an ernest & somtyme in good myrthe / Kyng william was sterne and dradde no man & ruled both temporalyte & spiritualyte at his own wyll / he toke no man fro the pope in his lande but he come & plesyd hym / he suffred no counseyll made in his owne countrey without his own leue / Al¦so he wold no thyng suffre to be ordeyned in suche a counseyll but as he wold assente / Also no lord of his londe shold be punysshed but at his owne heest / Somtyme lanfrank toke money for to spa¦re the more the trespas of his subget / That dyd he not for lyght the charge of synne / but for to gete the more grace of the kyng / The nede why it most be doo excused somwhat the kynges dede in gadryng of money / For with grete money one may make peas / in the londe that is wonne thith dedes of armes and with streng∣the / And though it be lytel acounted amonge men to rauysshe of men of the londe and yeue to enemyes / yet byfore god I holde it ryght nought / Thenne kynge wylliams dedes in comparyson of dedes of kinges. that nowe ben be worthy to be preched for ensam¦ple of free and lordely herte / That was sayde trespaas of presūp∣cion / Lanfrank suffryd it ageynste his wylle / And whanne ••e sawe his tyme he wold speke plesauntly and warned hym and wythsayde hym in skylful manere / Lanfrank hadde fylled his wytte with alle vertues and specially in / almesse deedes / he pas∣sed other menne in wordes and in deedes / and vsyd ofte that worde of hooly wrytte yeueth almesse and al thynge is cle∣ne to you / And though c••uetyse be a speciall vyce to lombardes he put that gleymyng fer from his persone / soo that he spence on pore men mete & drynk & cloth / he shamed hym not to gyrde him self high and fede and serue pore men and make pore stolers stry¦ue and dispute / and whanne they hadde done eyther sholde goo gladde aweye / the vyctor for he hadde the maystrye / and he that was ouercome for comforte and solace of shame / he aduanced na¦mely the place of monkes and of clerkis / he brouht manly a••en possessions that were alyened / Sharpnes of wytte and dunstās fauour comforted him ofte / for as oft as he was thoughtful for suche doynges and abode with the sentence / Saynt dunstā wold come to lanfrank whan he was a slepe / and warne hym of al the sleyghte of his aduersaryes / and teche the weyes how he shold escape / Also in a tyme lanfrank was seke and hym s••med that dunstan warstled with hym and delyuerd hym of his sekenesse

and made hym al hoole / And as it is take oute of saynt Dun∣stans lyf / lanfrank was soo mylde and soo fayr of speche in he∣rynge of shryfte that whanne the shryfte were doo he wold kysse theyr hondes that were y shryue to hym / and saye these haue ma¦de me hooly this daye / Also in his tyme the monkes of Caunter∣bury as wel nyghe al other monkes in englond were not vnlyk to seculer men saue that they lefte not theyr chastyte / but they v∣syd haukynge / and huntyng and playeng at dees and grete dryn∣kers also / ¶Soo that thou woldest wene that they were con¦suls rather than monkes for they had soo many seruauntes of so grete arraye / lanfrank suffryd theyr outrage a space of tyme / but he fered hit awey wyth the staf of couenable sternesse / The wyse mayster of soules knewe and wyst wel the customme is the seconde from kynde / ¶ And he knewe also that sodayne chaungyng of maner & thewes greueth thoughtes & wyttes / ther for otherwhiles emonge he putte awey somwhat of suche maner doyngis with fayr speche and softe / and whette the ruyde soules to good with the whestone of vertues / So that they forsooke the braunches of shrewdnesse and euyll maners of lyuyng and de∣syred the kynde cours of vertues and of thewys by theyr own good wylle / therfore yet they haue the hooly man in mynde and greete deuocion to god and fayr speche to ghestes and charyte a∣mong them self / this lanfrank lete neuer mā go fro him ••lenge or sory / yf he saw ony man discomforted he wolde besyly axe and wyte the cause and yeue comfort and medicyn / he wolde frely pro¦fre penyes to yonge childeren / he ordeyned to monkes what theym neded in euery syde / soo that they shold not lacke of what that them neded / & out of rule they shold not blenche / that tyme sprā¦ge enuye among bisshops that wold put out mōkes of their pla¦ces / & bringe in seculer clerkes / auctor of that doyng was walke linus bisshop of winchestre a good man in other dedes / though he were bade in that doing & brought therto by coūseyl of bacbitres Also he had cōutid kyng williā to the same entēt / but lāfrāk her¦de therof & destroyed the castes of the mighty mē as who destroyeth attercops nestes / so they that comen afterward shuld not be har∣dy to begynne that doyng ne none other lyke / he made that pope alisander forbode it by his wrytyng / he restored thabbay of roches¦tre frō the nōbre of four clerkes to the nōbre of fifty mōkes that had ynough to lyue by. his wytte is y wyst that he translated gundulphus monk of cadony to the bisshoprych of rochestre as I

trowe by the election of god / For this gundulphus lerned ho∣ly wrytte of lanfrank at cadony while his mayster toke heede to other thynges he and his felawe walter with the thyrde helde on honde the booke of the gospels / & sayde now essaye we be tur¦nynge of the leues whiche of vs shal be abbott & whiche shal be Bisshop / than gundulphus fonde this place true seruaunt wyse & redy that our lord ordeyneth ouer his meyne / but walter fonde this place goddes seruaunt and true entre in to the Ioye of thy lorde / The thyrde felaw fonde I not what hard word that greued hym soore / and though I haue herde it / I foryete it gladly for it is a gentil herte to make noo game and scorne of other mennes woo / thenne they made ioye of that happe / and lanfrank axyd what they had of murthe / & whan he knewe how it stode / he told theym wythout doubte that gundulphus shold be a bisshop and walter an abbot / and that the thyrdde shold torne to the slidyng of the world / as it fylle afterward / the soth was preued / for gū¦dulphus was bisshop of Rochester / & walter abbot of euesham / & the thyrd passed in veyne / whan lanfrank acorded not in maners with kyng wylliam the reede / he lay atte last seke of the feuer•• & was shryuen and houseled and dranke a medecinale drank and so he yelde vp the goost as he hadde desyred / he knowleched that he had prayde god that he myghte deye in the feuers or in the flux / for these euyls dystourbith not the mynde nowther letteth the speche