was ‘spe fraudatus,’ and that he appealed against the election; but that he acquiesced after the elect had accepted the see (Gervase Cant. i. 511, 512). The Bishop of Bath, however, died within a month of his election, and the Archbishop of Rouen took part in the second election, when Hubert Fitzwalter was elected. The archbishop confirmed the privileges of the city of London, and the Londoners took the oaths to Richard and John. Bishop Longchamp resigned his castles, and after leaving the country was treated as excommunicate by the archbishop's order in Normandy. He complained to the king, and had interest enough with the pope (Celestine III) to obtain a letter in his favour to the English prelates, by which John was threatened and his advisers excommunicated. On the strength of this he excommunicated the archbishop, whom he styles the ‘Pilate of Rouen’ in a letter to S. Hugh of Lincoln. His mandate was, however, neglected by the bishops, and the archbishop and the other justiciars seized the property of the see of Ely, and wrote to the king to point out the harm the chancellor had done to the country, and how he had been deposed by the common council of the realm. The consequent distress in the diocese of Ely was so great that Queen Eleanor went to London and demanded that the archbishop should relax the sentence of excommunication, and restore to the bishop his estates (Devizes, pp. 43, 56). A letter from the archbishop's agents at Rome in 1192 tells us that the pope took up Longchamp's cause, annulled both the excommunications, and sent messengers to mediate between them. On their arrival at Gisors they were prevented by William FitzRalph, the steward of Normandy, from entering the country, as not having the king's leave; they laid Normandy under an interdict in consequence; Queen Eleanor and the archbishop sent Hugh, bishop of Durham, to them, but could not induce them to give way. At length the pope relaxed the sentence and compelled their obedience, in spite of their still being prevented from entering the country.
In the meantime the news of Richard's imprisonment arrived. The archbishop did all in his power on the occasion; writing to the Bishop of Durham respecting the ransom, sending the abbots of Boxley and Robertsbridge to find out where the king was, refusing to listen to John's treasonable proposals, and arming the country against him, so as to defend the west and make invasion impossible. Through the queen's influence a truce was made with John till November 1193, while Windsor and other castles were entrusted to her. The archbishop met the chancellor in 1193 at St. Albans, and arranged for the collection and payment of the ransom, being himself appointed one of the guardians of the treasure, he and the other justiciars putting in force the exactions necessary for its collection. Richard sent for him to come with Queen Eleanor to him in Germany, and thus his justiciarship and leadership of English affairs came to an end. In 1194 he was present at the meeting at Mentz between Richard and the emperor, and was left on Richard's release as a hostage for the payment of the ten thousand marks that still remained of the ransom (Diceto, ii. 113). He mentions the king's release in a letter to Diceto (ii. 112). As soon as the ransom was paid he was released, and went to London, where he was received with a solemn procession in St. Paul's and preached to the people (Diceto, ii. 115). He then returned to Normandy, and was the same year at Pont de l'Arche, where the conference between the king of France and the Norman barons was to have been held, the occasion when Philip played false and did not come. Later he was at Vaudreuil for the settlement of peace between France and England. In the following December he ransomed from Philip the lands belonging to his see which Philip had seized. A serious quarrel took place in 1195 between the canons of Rouen and the citizens, respecting which there is a letter of Pope Celestine III (11 Oct.), exhorting the latter to give compensation for the injuries done (Jaffé, p. 902). The archbishop speaks of these and his other troubles in a letter to Diceto (ii. 144). But he had further troubles before him. In 1196 Philip demanded his manor of Andely, and also required him to do fealty for the Vexin. Not trusting in Richard's support, he appealed to the pope. Soon afterwards, on Richard's fortifying Andely (by building his château Gaillard) in spite of his prohibition, he laid the whole of Normandy under an interdict, urged on (according to Matthew Paris, ii. 420) by Philip, and went to the pope. He gives a full account of this matter in his letter to Diceto (ii. 148). The interdict was continued in all its severity (Hoveden, iv. 16). The cause was tried at Rome, and the pope and cardinals gave their advice that he should allow the fortifications to proceed as necessary for the safety of Normandy, and accept the compensation which Richard offered. Celestine III then relaxed the interdict, and Dieppe and other places were given to the archbishop in exchange. His and Richard's letters, and the confirmation afterwards of the exchange by Innocent III, may be seen in Diceto (ii. 154, 157, 160). It is to this exchange that the verses relate—
