Page:Somerset Historical Essays.djvu/139

 to the dean and chapter an enthusiastic approval of the scheme, and regrets that obedience to a higher command prevents him from being present, as he had wished, at the marking out of sites for the canons' houses (Ep. 104). The attempt was, however, abandoned after K. John came to the throne, and the new church was not begun till 1220. It was probably before he wrote Ep. 135 to the dean and chapter in Hubert Walter's name that Peter had made his own protest in the following terms (Ep. 133): ' I am astonished that for a prebend of five marks you should require me to reside. Why, it would not take me to Salisbury. You want to gain by my absence rather than to profit by my presence. The fine of one-fifth is monstrous, when I cannot possibly reside. This was not the meaning of the constitution of Osmund and of Jocelin: they wanted to bring into residence the holders of the larger prebends, who could afford to build houses at Salisbury. I appeal against this exaction to the legate.' The legate doubtless was, as indeed one MS asserts, Peter's own lord and master, Hubert Walter the archbishop.

This will be a convenient point at which to notice other preferments held by Peter of Blois. Besides the prebend of Chartres, of which we have spoken above (p. 110), he held a prebend at Rouen, and also possibly at Bayeux. His connexion with Rouen had begun, as we have seen, with Archbishop Rotrou. At what date he received a prebend there we cannot say. But a curious memorandum, written between the years 1173 and 1181, is given by Dr. Round in his Calendar of Documents preserved in France (p. 3), in which we read: ' These are the pledges of all the chattels that G. Burnel has towards (erga) Master Peter of Blois for the wrong (forisfactura) which he did him: Wacio frater suus; Willelmus Alius Waconis; G. Calcun; Walterus de Must '; Osb[ertus] del Must '; Amfrei; Radulfus films Berner[ii]. These are [they] who according to the common deliberation (consideratione) of the whole chapter owed [money] for the construction of the chapter house &hellip; magister Peter Blesensis xl.[s.&hellip; S[umma] xxxv.li.'

In a letter (Ep. 141) written long after this to Walter of Coutances, archbishop of Rouen (1186-1207), with whom Peter had often been in correspondence and for whom he had written letters more than once, he complains that Elias the chaplain, to whom he had committed the custody of his prebend, has paid him nothing at all for more than five years. His messengers bring him back no answer to his demands, except the taunt that he is too well off already. He has a letter from the pope against Elias; but they are both very old men, and he does not wish for strife. He begs that the archbishop