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Front Page arrow Titles (by Subject) arrow No. XIV. (page 139.): Letter from Thibault, earl of Blois, to pope Alexander III., on the murder of Thomas Beket. 2 ( ad 1171.) - History of the Conquest of England by the Normans; Its Causes, and its Consequences, in England, Scotland, Ireland, & on the Continent, vol. 2

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No. XIV. (page 139.): Letter from Thibault, earl of Blois, to pope Alexander III., on the murder of Thomas Beket. 2 ( ad 1171.) - Augustin Thierry, History of the Conquest of England by the Normans; Its Causes, and its Consequences, in England, Scotland, Ireland, & on the Continent, vol. 2 [1856]

Edition used:

History of the Conquest of England by the Normans; Its Causes, and its Consequences, in England, Scotland, Ireland, & on the Continent, translated from the seventh Paris edition, by William Hazlitt (London: H.G. Bohn, 1856). In 2 volumes. Vol. 2.

Part of: History of the Conquest of England by the Normans; Its Causes, and its Consequences, in England, Scotland, Ireland, & on the Continent, 2 vols.

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No. XIV. (page 139.)

Letter from Thibault, earl of Blois, to pope Alexander III., on the murder of Thomas Beket.2 (ad 1171.)

Reverendissimo domino suo et patri Alexandro, summo Pontifici, Theobaldus blesensis comes et regni Francorum procurator, salutem et debitam cum filiali subjectione reverentiam. Vestræ placuit majestati quod inter dominum cantuariensem archiepiscopum et regem Anglorum pax reformaretur et integra firmaretur concordia. Itaque, juxta vestri tenorem mandati, illum rex Angliæ vultu hilari, fronte læta et pacem spondente, et gratiam sibi referente, recepit. Huic paci et concordiæ adfui, et me præsente dominus cantuariensis apud regem de coronatione filii sui conquestus est, quem voto festinante et ardenti desiderio in culmen regiæ dignitatis fecerat promoveri. Hujus autem injuriæ reus sibi et male conscius rex Angliæ, juris et satisfactionis ipsi cantuariensi pignus dedit. Conquestus est etiam de ipsis qui, contra jus et decus cantuariensis ecclesiæ, novum regem in sedem regiam præsumpserunt intrudere, non zelo justitiæ, non ut Deo placerent, sed ut tyrannum placarent. De illis vero liberam et licentem rex ei concessit facultatem, ut ad vestræ et suæ potestatis arbitrium in eos sententiam promulgaret. Hæc siquidem vobis, vel juramento, vel quolibet alio libuerit modo, attestari paratus sum et sancire. Sic, itaque pace facta vir Dei nil metuens recessit, ut gladio jugulum subderet et cervicem exponeret ferienti. Passus est ergo martyrium agnus innocens, crastina sanctorum Innocentium die; effusus est sanguis justus, ubi nostræ viaticum salutis sanguis Christi solitus est immolari. Canes aulici, familiares et domestici regis Angliæ, se ministros regis præbuerunt, et nocentes sanguinem innocentem effuderunt. Hujus prodigii modum detestabilem vobis scripto plenius significarem, sed vereor ne mihi in odium adscribatur; et latores præsentium patenter et plenius rei ordinem evolent, et eorum relatione discetis quantus sit mœroris cumulus, quanta sit universæ ecclesiæ et matris cantuariensis calamitas. Hanc salvo pudore non potest dissimulare romana mater ecclesia. Quidquid emm in filiam præsumitur, nimirum redundat in parentem, nec sine matris injuria captivatur filia. Ad vos itaque clamat sanguis justi, et flagitat ultionem. Vobis ergo, Pater sanctissime, adsit et consulat Pater Omnipotens, qui filii sui cruorem mundo impendit, ut mundi noxas detergeret et deleret maculas peccatorum: ille vobis insinuet vindictæ voluntatem, et suggerat facultatem ut ecclesia, inauditi sceleris confusa magnitudine, districta hilarescat ultione. Valeat Sanctitas Vestra, et, sicut vos decet, facite.

[2 ]Ibid. 468.