Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 8.djvu/376

 284- ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS FOR THE BIOGRAPHY OF Bishop of Lincoln, who died, 1147. From this it is evident, that the additional Preface to Henry of Huntingdon (which is only found in some MSS.), where Henry speaks of Geffrey's work, must be either an interpolation, or Henry of Huntingdon must have hved fifty years after he had finished his own history, if "Walter Map gave the MS. This reckoning by the common age of man, would produce this result, that Henry must have finished his history between the age of twenty and twenty-five, an age much too young to have executed such a work. Wilham of Newburgh, who was born in the first year of Stephen, A". 1135, writes against Geffrey, and says his His- tory is a fiction altogether. Wilham of Xewburgh ends his History in 119 7, in the same jory, or the year after that, in which Walter Map was made archdeacon. If we are to sup- pose that "William of Xewburgh uttered this invective in the year 1197, as soon as he had finished his own work, we must give Geffrey great credit for industr}-, in translating the work so expeditiously. In one of the charters which are now brought forward, we find a "Walter the Archdeacon called " de Godestow," but this seems to be another Walter, Archdeacon, not mentioned by Le Xeve in his '• Fasti," for he appears to have been arch- deacon in the time of Henry 11,, which was not the case with Walter Map. It would appear probable, then, that this was Walter de Constantiis, afterwards Bishop of Lincoln. Ralph de Monemuta and Magister Galfridus Arturus were witnesses to his charter. But to one of these charters, which Geffrey Artur wit- nessed, Robert, Bishop of Exeter, was a witness. Xow the last bishop of that name, prior to Walter Map, was Robert Warlewast, who died 11.39. before Walter de Constantiis was made archdeacon ; therefore this Walter de Constantiis could not be Walter the Archdeacon, who gave the book to Geffrey. We must have recourse then to a third Walter : and we find another Walter in whom these several points unite. This was Walter de Wallingford, who, according to Le Neve, lived in 1151, within the episcopate of Robert Warlewast. In these charters we find as witnesses WiUiam, Abbot of Eynesham, who hved in 1138 ; Godfi-ey, Prior of Eynesham, probably the same who was afterwards Abbot in the time of Stephen; Robert, Prior of St. Frideswid, 1141 ; and Reginald, Abbot of Evesham, who died 1149. L