A letter from Geoffrey, prior, and the convent of Christ Church, Canterbury (January 1192)

Translated letter:

To Eleanor, beloved of God and men, by the grace of God noble queen of the English, duchess of Normandy and Aquitaine, and countess of Anjou, Geoffrey, prior, and the convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, to stand at His [Christ’s] right whom the queen [Mary] attends in golden vestment. For the love which you have always had to the Canterbury church and the many benefits conferred on it by the munificence of your generosity, we give thanks from our hearts, asking and beseeching in Christ that you wish to preserve the grace and love which we have found in your eyes up to now, for the sake of God and the blessed martyr Thomas, and others resting in the church of Canterbury, and that you do not believe any suggestion from anyone about us, if it please you, as it does not befit your excellence, before the truth is established. Since many persecute us so much and we have no defence, we flee to you as our only refuge, asking most assiduously that you protect us under the shadow of your wings and not permit the church of Canterbury, which was always devoted to you, to be oppressed unjustly on any occasion, but, as it hopes and expects, be relieved through you after God. Fare well.

Original letter:

Dilectae Deo et hominibus Alienorae, Dei gratia, nobili Anglorum reginae, ducissae Normanniae et Aquitanniae, et comitissae Andegaviae, Gaufridus prior et conventus ecclesie Christi Cantuarensis, ad Ejus stare dexteram ad Cujus astitit regina in vestitu desaurato. Super dilectione quam semper habuistis erga Cantuariensem ecclesiam, et pro beneficiis multipliciter ei a largitatis vestrae munificentia collatis, gratiarum ex animo referimus actiones; rogantes et obsecrantes in Christo, quatenus gratiam et amorem quem hactenus in oculis vestris invenimus, intuitu Dei et beati martyris Thomae aliorumque in ecclesia Cantuariensi quiescentium, conservare velitis, nec ad alicujus suggestionem aliquid de nobis credatis, si placet, sicut nec decet excellentiam vestram, antequam de veritate constiterit. Unde, quia multi multum nos persequuntur, nec habemus defensionem, ad vos tanquam unicum refugium nostrum confugimus, rogantes attentius, ut nos sub umbra alarum vestrarum protegatis, nec patiamini quod ecclesia Cantuariensis, quae vobis semper devota exstitit, aliqua occasione contra justitiam deprimatur; sed, sicut sperat et exspectat, per vos post Deum relevetur. Valete.

Historical context:

Worried by rumors circulating about them, the convent asks for her continuing protection and patronage. The convent also wrote to Richard in this instance for the same purpose (ep.394), but with certain differences: to Eleanor they speak of her devotion and generosity to the church, to Richard of his importance in the world, his honor and glory over all kings of the earth; from her they ask direct protection, from him that he look to the honor of God and to his own by commiserating with their plight. The monks continued to ask Eleanor to intervene for them, as in 1198 in a dispute with the archbishop, see Stubbs, ep.472, the letter from the convent of Canterbury. In the same collection, there is an earlier letter from the queen of France [probably Isabella], speaking for herself and the king, to duke Richard, recommending his “mother,” the church of Canterbury, to his special care to relieve it from anguish and oppression (ep.321, dated 1189).

Printed source:

Chronicles and Memorials of the Reign of Richard I, v.2, Epistolae Cantuarienses, ed. William Stubbs in series Regnum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores, Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages (London: Longman, Green, 1865), ep.393.

Date:

January 1192