A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



good use of the opportunities arising from the 

 circumstance to benefit his house, ^^'i^iam 

 Ru'us is said to ha^■e been on friendly terms 

 with him," as was Henry I, who showed 

 marked favour to the abbey in his time. This 

 king wore his crown here one Uliitsuntide '^ ; 

 on another visit to the monastery in 1 1 04 he 

 granted to the abbey an annual fair to last 

 eight days.** He also kept Christmas here in 

 1115,°* and was present three days later with 

 his queen and son at the dedication of the 

 conventual church *^ by Robert Bishop of 

 Lincoln,'^ and gave to the monastery Biscott 

 in the soke of Luton."' During Richard's 

 abbacy the abbey received numerous gifts, 

 among its special benefactors being U'ilham de 

 Albini, the king's butler, and Henry de Albini 

 with his brothers Nigel and Wilham.** In 

 some of the transactions with regard to the 

 property of the abbey which appeared to be 

 disadvantageous to the house Abbot Richard 

 was believed to have furthered his relatives' 

 interests at the abbey's expense, and one grant 

 was made against the will of the whole convent." 

 \ et his moti\ cs may have been wrongly sus- 

 pected. It is not impossible that the surrender 

 of Tewin i"" was the price paid for \\'illiam 

 Rufus's amity, and that of Sarratt ^ to Peter, 



" Gesta Abbat. i, 66. He sent a brief to the 

 sheriffs on the abbot's behalf (Matt. Paris, Chron. 

 Maj. vi, 35). 



" Reg. Palat. Dunelm. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 52. It was 

 on this occasion that he restored Ralph Fiambard's 

 lands to him, so that the date is possibly I loi. 



" Cal. Chart. R. 1300-26, p. 20. The charter is 

 dated at St. Albans and is witnessed by W'alJric the 

 chancellor, who held office in 1 104. 



" Jng/o-Sax. Chron. (Earle and Plummcr), i, 246. 

 The chronicler begins the year at Christmas and 

 therefore dates the visit I i 16. 



" Gesia Abbat. i, 7 1 . 



*' The author of the Gesta says that Geoffrey 

 Archbishop of Rouen consecrated the church. Ap- 

 parently he was to have performed the ceremony, but 

 the state of his health made assiitance necessary, and 

 in the end it was the Bishop of Lincoln who actually 

 officiated (Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. ii, 142). 



»' Matt. Paris, Chrim. Maj. vi, 36-7 ; V.C.H. Beds. 

 ii, 361. 



" Gesta, i, 67-8 ; Cott. MS. Nero, D vii, fol. 91 d., 

 98 d. ; Raine, Historians of the Church of York (Rolls 

 Ser.), iii, 54-7. 



" Gesta Abbat. i, 72. 



'" The chronicler's story is not consistent. He 

 frit says (ibid. 52) that William Rufias deprived 

 Abbot Paul of Tewin for the benefit of Hugh de 

 Evermori, and afterwards (ibid. 72) that this manor 

 and the church of Flamstead were lost by the col- 

 lusion of Abbot Richard in order to provide the 

 better for his kinsfolk. 



' This had been granted by Abbot Paul to Robert 

 the Mason, no doubt in payment for his labours in 

 building the church, but had been restored to the 

 abbey at Robert's death. 



butler of William Count of Mortain, a return for 

 services rendered to the abbey. Richard is 

 said to have first subjected St. Albans to the 

 jurisdiction of the Bishop of Lincoln that he 

 might control his monks more strictly,* but how 

 far the statement can be accepted is doubtful.' 

 Possibly he maintained unusually close relations 

 with the bishop in the interests of discipline. 

 The high repute of the abbey was at any rate 

 maintained under him. That is evident from 

 the profession here of Robert Mowbray Earl of 

 Northumberland,* the choice of Bernard, one of 

 the convent, in 1202-3 '^° ^^ Abbot of Ramsey,* 

 and the subjection of the priories of Wymond- 

 ham and Hatfield Peverel to St. Albans ' by 

 their founders, William de Albini and William 

 Peverel. The abbot, whose withered arm had 

 been miraculously restored at the translation of 

 St. Cuthbert, built a chapel in honour of the 

 saint at St. Albans.' His gifts to the church 

 included two shrines, one adorned with golden 

 images, several precious vestments and a missal 

 used for early mass.* 



Richard died in 1 1 19, and Geoffrey de 

 Gorham became abbot by the monks' unanimous 

 choice.' He was a native of Maine, who had been 

 summoned over by Abbot Richard to take 

 charge of the school at St. Albans^"; but when 

 he arrived the post was already filled, so he 

 retired to Dunstable to wait for the next 

 vacancy, ^^'hile there he borrowed from the 

 abbey some choral copes for a performance of 

 the miracle play of St. Katharine," and a fire 

 breaking out in his house they were destroyed. 

 The accident determined Geoffrey's career. In 

 place of the lost vestments he made an offering 

 of himself to God and took monastic vows at 

 St. Albans.i* His course as abbot befitted the 

 circumstances of his profession. A very real 

 devotion was expressed not only in gifts to the 



' Gesta Abbat. i, 72. 



' For the exemption of St. Albans see below. 



• Matt. Paris, Chron. Maj. vi, 372. He could not 

 have taken the vows before 1095, so much is certain. 



' Ramsey Chartul. (Rolls Ser.), i, 237-8. 



' Gesta Abbat. i, 67. A small cell of St. Albans 

 was also established at Millbrook (co. Beds.), but was 

 soon absorbed by Beaulieu {V.C.H. Beds, i, 351). 



' Gesta Abbat. i, 70. An altar of Frosterly 

 marble, now the top of a tomb in the south aisle of 

 the saint's chapel, is by tradition the altar belonging 

 to this chapel. 



» Ibid. 



' Ibid. 73. 



" For the St. Albans School see V.C.H. Herts, ii, 

 47-69. 



" The church of St. Mary, Rickmansworth, was 

 assigned by him when abbot, for the repair of ornaments, 

 to the sacrist who had to render his accounts and 

 give a feast to the convent on St. Katharine's Day 

 {Gesta Abbat. \, 75). 



" Ibid. 73. 



374 



