BYLAND ABBEY. 387 



of that see, who recommended them to Roger de 

 Mowbray ; but he being then a minor, in the cus- 

 tody of king Stephen, his mother Gundred entertain- 

 ed them at her castle at Thirsk, and then sent them 

 in the year 1138 to Robert de Alnetto, a native of 

 Normandy, her uncle, who had been a monk at 

 Whitby, but then lived an hermetical life at Hode, 

 where she supported them till her son came of age ; 

 but sending them provisions from Thirsk being 

 found inconvenient, Roger de Mowbray at the re- 

 quest of his mother and the archbishop, in 1140, 

 gave them the cow pasture of Canibe, and all the 

 land of Wildon, and Scakelden, and Ergum for 

 their support. 



The abbot then went to Savigni, in France, and 

 there from the head of his order procured an exemp- 

 tion from their former subjection of Furness, for 

 those monks were of the order of Savigui, founded 

 about the year 1105. In the year 1142, Gerald ifye 

 abbot returned from France to York, died there 

 and was buried at Hode. Roger the under house- 

 hold steward, who had left Furness was abbot in 

 his place. 



They remained at Hode till the year 1143, but 

 finding the place too much confined for founding an 

 abbey, Roger de Mowbray assigned them the church 

 and town of Byland, or La Bellalanda, or pleasant- 

 land, now called Old Byland, (at their request and 

 at the request of his mother Grundred) which place 

 was part of her dower. This place being found in- 

 convenient for the habitation of these religious, and 

 the abbey of Rivaulx being so near, that they could 



