Sir James Galloway

“ If arrangements for building them had been made at Westminster, we should have had evidence of it in the executry rolls. It is probable, therefore, that in the Geddington Cross, the only one of the three remaining, we see the work of some other master. The influence of the builders of Lincoln Cathedral may have made itself felt so far as Geddington, on the border of John Battle’s territory. It is, however, very tempting to make the suggestion that the cross at Geddington—possibly also those, long since destroyed, at Stamford and Grantham—owe their origin to foreign artists. ”

“ The elder Marshall died in the year 1219, and was succeeded by his eldest son, also called William, who then became possessed of one of the most extensive heritages in England, for the English and Welsh lands of the Clares, Earls of Pembroke, and in addition their great Irish inheritance in Leinster, had come into the possession of the Marshall family.
What we know of the son shows him to have been a man of much the same type as his father—probably not so rugged, but with the same steadfast ideals of loyal conduct. ”

“ It is well worthy of careful study as expressing the ideas formed by a conscientious artist and student of the appearance of the old cross; especially it shows the desire to give the idea of the original builders, and to avoid the travesties of construction which have not infrequently been erected purporting to be after the fashion of an Eleanor Cross. Unhappily the motive which renders the crosses at Geddington, Northampton and Waltham so entirely appropriate, and which adds so much to their interest, cannot be transferred to the new site. [55] ”

“ The community, therefore, increased in importance and in wealth by gifts from princes, nobles, knights, and the common folk, and came to possess property not only in Spain, but also in Portugal, Italy and in France, and, as the records show, in England and Wales, in Ireland, and in Scotland. ”

“ It was in the second quarter of the fourteenth century that the community of St. Mary of Roncesvalles in this country appears to have been most prosperous. The Convent at Charing Cross was the headquarters of the brethren in our islands. The Procurator for the Prior who managed the estates and collected the revenues had his residence there. The property they possessed in London was the most valuable, and consisted of plots of land in various parts of the suburbs, as well as at Charing Cross, but the Convent also possessed a considerable amount of property in Canterbury and at Oxford. ”

“ Eleanor seems to have lived a very domesticated life, [23] principally at Windsor and in her Castle at Guildford, and there is evidence that her gracious character and many acts of kindness to the neighbouring people soon began to have their inevitable effect. She showed early the desire to accompany her husband on his travels, one of the most characteristic features of her later life. Edward, on the other hand, was still under the shadow of his father. The state of English politics was exceedingly perturbed, and the King’s eldest son was much involved in the intrigues of the time. ”

“ Geddington Cross, like the others, suffered not only by exposure to the elements, but perhaps even more by neglect and wilful damage. It is mentioned that in ancient times, during the rough sports which were held on Easter Monday, it was the custom to catch squirrels in the neighbouring woods and turn them loose in the neighbourhood of the cross. The little animals naturally took refuge in its crevices and corners, whereupon the mob attempted to destroy the squirrels by stoning them, and many a decorated finial and beautiful piece of foliage must have been shattered on those days. ”

“ For the carrying out of his designs he had gradually fostered a school of architects, sculptors, painters, and other artists in Westminster unrivalled in England. This Westminster School of Art not only produced a great part of the magnificent edifice of the Abbey Church, but was directly engaged in the construction of many other great churches and buildings. ”

“ The relationship between the Courts of Aragon and Castile and the Angevin Kings was no less intimate. William Marshall and his eldest son were in the closest association with the Royal House. They both travelled far and wide over France and Northern Spain, so that the Angevin dominions in Aquitaine and the neighbouring kingdom of Navarre must at one time have been as well known to the Marshall family as their home in England. ”

“ This was not the first time that Edward presented gifts to the Priory at Dunstable, including the valuable embroideries on cloth of gold of Eastern origin, “scilicet Baudekyns,” i.e., cloth of Bagdad, where this gorgeous fabric was originally made.
At St. Albans, as was to be expected of the greater house, the ceremonies must have been conducted with even greater magnificence. The procession was met as it approached St. Albans by the whole Convent, “solemniter revestitus in albis et capis,” at the Church of St. Michael, near the entrance of the town. ”

“ The Convent of Saint Mary Roncevall at Charing. To understand how it was possible that a religious house in the Pyrenees could hold possessions scattered throughout so many different lands, it must be clearly borne in mind that in the Middle Ages the rule exercised by the Church took very little cognizance of State limits. The ecclesiastical power was much stronger than the national influences of the time, and the Church drew its revenues from all Christian countries, quite irrespective of political boundaries. ”

“ An echo of the old difficulties can be noted in this document, as the royal licence states clearly that the said Priory is “outside our allegiance, and the licence is to continue so long as there is no war between us and the King of Navarre.”
The fortunes of the Hospital in the middle fifteenth century can only be judged by inference, but there can be little doubt that it continued to be useful, and that gradually its functions as a place for the cure of the needy sick became more developed. ”

“ Mary Roncevall. The House of Roncesvalles appears to have owed most of its property in England and in Ireland to the liberality of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, the eldest son of the great William Marshall—Rector regis et regni—the Protector of the King and his kingdom after the death of John. The elder Marshall stands out in conspicuous fashion as the most steadfast of all the advisers of the king during the dark period coinciding with the reigns of Richard I and John. ”

“ Chepe. The cross in the City of London stood at the west end of Cheapside, opposite Wood Street. The construction of this cross was entrusted entirely to a distinguished architect Michael of Canterbury, who at the same time was engaged in building the Chapel of St. Stephen’s at Westminster. There is unfortunately no relic of the original design. In the Guildhall Museum, however, are two broken stone panels, which formed almost certainly a portion of the Eleanor Cross in Chepe. These panels show the characteristic heraldic shields emblazoned with the arms of England and of Leon and Castile. ”

“ From this arose the shaft of the cross, which has been replaced during a recent restoration. Considering the ruinous state into which Waltham Cross had been allowed to pass in the beginning of the eighteenth century, it is almost a wonder that so much of the original structure still remains. The lowest story still gives a good representation of the original work. The Queen’s statues remain after having suffered many indignities. Most of the rest of the cross gives evidence of restoration. ”

“ The Convent of St. Mary Roncesvalles in Navarre. From very early Christian times a religious house, no doubt very small in its beginnings, was situated near the top of the pass through which runs the ancient road over the Pyrenees leading from Pamplona in Navarre, through the mountains by St. Jean Pied-de-Port, to Bayonne and Bordeaux. The religious community at this place received its most important support from Charlemagne himself, when he established a religious house intended to be a memorial of Roland and his comrades in arms. ”

“ Mary in the Pass of Roncesvalles and of the Convent which supported the Hospital was known to every traveller—peaceful or 16warlike—in Western Europe, and would certainly have appealed to the benevolence of such a man as the younger William Marshall. The probability is that both father and son had stronger motives for giving alms to the Community—the result of benefits received from the Convent and Hospital during their journeys between France and Spain. ”

“ The cross at Waltham was constructed by Roger Crundale and a certain Dyminge de Legeri, sometimes called de Reyns. Roger Crundale was obviously a member of the Westminster School, and there is little doubt that he was Richard Crundale’s brother. Dyminge de Legeri may have been a foreigner, but his work was held in high appreciation, for he not only helped in the construction of Waltham Cross, but was employed in making the sculptured tomb at Lincoln. ”

“ What actually happened at Charing Cross can only be guessed, but there are very clear indications that the Convent of St. Mary Roncevall suffered severely. The deaths among the brethren were probably numerous, for no one sufficiently important seems to have survived to uphold the interests of the parent House. The depressed state of the Convent is the more striking as the calamity occurred after a period of great prosperity. ”

“ In the time of Henry III, the foreign relatives of both the Queen and the King swarmed into England, and memories of the unjust favours showered upon them still rankled in the 62minds of the people. An echo of this can still be heard on listening to the tale of the annalist at Dunstable. He writes from the English point of view, and is chiefly concerned with describing the benefits received by his Convent from the King and Queen. [35]
34. ”

“ The cross stands in the middle of the village, where the main road from Stamford to Northampton turns in a southerly direction to pass over the old bridge across the small river Ise. There is here a widening of the road caused by the junction of a road from the east, allowing of a clear space, so that the cross is well seen from all sides. The cross itself rises from a platform led up to by a series of eight steps, arranged in hexagonal form. It is exceptional in being triangular in section. The first story consists of three faces, each face being divided by firm mouldings into four panels. ”

“ The immense mortality during the year of the prevalence of the plague disordered to a serious extent the whole executive of the country, and especially affected the Church. In some cases the community in the smaller convents died out entirely, in others the senior members and officials completely disappeared from the records, and in all cases serious losses must have occurred. This fatality was not confined to the monastic clergy alone; those holding benefices outside the religious houses perished probably in greater numbers. ”

“ During the period of the Norman, and even more so during the Angevin dynasty, the English barons experienced the greatest difficulty in detaching themselves from the influences exerted on them by their foreign relationships, even if they had the desire to do so. In many cases they seem to have frankly regarded their insular possessions as sources of revenue and power to be made use of in order to promote their Continental interests. ”

“ Mary Rounsidevall by Charyng Crosse in the suburbs of London: “They shall form one body, and shall have perpetual succession and a Common Seal”; and of a perpetual Chantry of one Chaplain to celebrate divine service daily at the High Altar in the said Chapel, for the good estate of the King and his Consort Elizabeth, Queen of England, and his firstborn son Edward, and the Brethren and Sisters of the fraternity, and for their souls after death. 28th October; Westminster. ”

“ If it could be represented that the property of the alien religious houses in the King’s dominions could be used for the support of his enemies abroad, or if it could be urged in extenuation that funds sent abroad by the alien communities could be captured in transit, it is evident that the King would have many excuses and would exercise little scruple in levying heavy 21contributions on the property of the alien clergy in this country, or even of confiscating it entirely. ”