Scale armour, depicted on a fresco on Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, dating to 1180. Battling clergy were common enough on the Continent, but after the Conquest of 1066 they were not unknown even here. William the Conqueror’s most trusted lieutenant at Hastings was his brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux; and Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham, helped Edward I to defeat William Wallace’s army of Scots at Falkirk in 1298. Bishop Philip may reasonably have felt somewhat aggrieved to hear Pope Celestine adopt such a high moral tone.
Introduction
During the Third Crusade, Philip of Dreux, Bishop of Beauvais, spread the rumour that Richard the Lionheart had procured the assassination of Conrad of Montferrat; and after Richard was taken prisoner in Austria in 1192 he tried to make his detention as long and unpleasant as he could. In 1197, three years after his release, Richard stumbled across an opportunity for payback.
WHEN the same King Richard had fortunately taken in a skirmish Philip, the Martial Bishop of Beauvais,* a deadly enemy of his, he cast him in Prison* with bolts upon his heels, which being complained of unto the Pope,* he [Pope Celestine] wrote earnestly unto him not to detain his dear Son, an Ecclesiastical person, and a Shepherd of the Lord’s, but to send him back unto his flock. Whereupon the King sent unto the Pope the Armour that he was taken in, and willed his Ambassador to use the words of Jacob’s Sons unto their Father, when they had sold away their Brother Joseph, “This we found; see whether it be the Coat of thy son, or no.”*
“Nay,” quoth the Pope, “it is not the Coat of my son, nor of my brother, but some imp of Mars,* and let him procure his delivery if he will, for I will be no mean* for him.”
Spelling modernised
From ‘Remains Concerning Britain’ (1607, 1870) by William Camden (1551-1623). Spelling modernised.
* Philip of Dreux (1158-1217), Bishop of Beauvais from 1175 to 1217. His brother Rupert II, Count of Dreux, was also a Crusader.
* First in Rouen, then following an attempted escape, in Chinon.
* Pope Celestine III (r. 1191-1198).
* Genesis 37:32.
* Mars was the ancient Roman god of War, roughly equivalent to Greek god Ares.
* Here, ‘mean’ has the sense of ‘mediator, intermediary’. Philip does not seem to have learnt any lessons from this contretemps: he was a combatant once more on the French side in King Philip II’s victory over England (now governed by Richard’s brother King John) and her allies, the County of Flanders and the Holy Roman Empire, at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214. The energetic bishop so doughtily wielded his mace that the English commander William Longsword, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, was stunned and captured, a turning point in the war and in the fortunes of English kings in France.
Questions for Critics
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Précis
It rankled with Richard the Lionheart that Philip, Bishop of Dreux, had tried to prolong his captivity in Austria. So when in 1197 Philip was himself captured by the English, Richard threw him in prison. Philip appealed to Pope Celestine, but when Richard (cleverly invoking the story of Joseph) showed him Philip’s unchurchmanlike armour, the Pope hurriedly backed off. (59 / 60 words)
It rankled with Richard the Lionheart that Philip, Bishop of Dreux, had tried to prolong his captivity in Austria. So when in 1197 Philip was himself captured by the English, Richard threw him in prison. Philip appealed to Pope Celestine, but when Richard (cleverly invoking the story of Joseph) showed him Philip’s unchurchmanlike armour, the Pope hurriedly backed off.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: besides, despite, must, not, otherwise, since, whereas, who.
Archive
Word Games
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Mean. Prison. Upon.
2 Away. Back. He.
3 Ambassador. Brother. Not.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Coat. 2. Use. 3. Person. 4. Dead. 5. Father. 6. Son. 7. Brother. 8. Let. 9. Back.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
rnd (9+2)
around. earned. ironed. rained. reined. rend. rind. round. ruined.
rand. rondo.
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