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MATTHEW OF WESTMINSTER
The flowers of history, especially such as relate to the affairs of Britain. Vol. II. A.D. 1066 to A.D. I307.
page 238
the king and his marquises. And they were met by a gallant resistance on the part of the earl of Clare, the earl of Hereford, Thomas of Monmouth, Roger de Monthant, and other powerful and illustrious marquises,1 who fought many battles against them, in obedience to the king's command, and in defence of their own territories, who in the beginning of the war got the worst of the contest, but at last they triumphed over some of the armies of the enemy, as is often the case in the changing fortune of war. And in the first battle there fell on the two sides about a hundred men ; but on the feast of Saint Barnabas the Apostle, the lord king was at Saint Alban's, where he staid three days, and while he was there the reports of the insolence of the Welch grew stronger, and offended the ears and heart of the king, and other rumours also were added, which also perplexed the ears and heart of the king, especially one of the sudden abrogation of the election of Robert de Passelewe, one of his secular clergy, who had devoted hie body and soul to the king's service, and who had been elected bishop of Chichester, and of the election of some one else, namely, Master Richard de Withz, in his place without the royal consent. Therefore, the lord the king, whose honour had been thus derogated from, being very angry, took the bishopric into his own hand, and would not permit the newly-elected bishop to enter into that bishopric or diocese. Moreover, he conceived great indignation against all those who had brought this about, and especially against Boniface, archbishop elect of Canterbury, whom he particularly accused of ingratitude, charging him with being an injurer of the royal dignity in the first instance of his own promotion. And the king, heaving a sigh from his inmost heart, said to himself, " I suffer all this deservedly, because I hindered the free election at Canterbury, where so many saints have come from, and thought fit to promote an utterly unworthy person to that dignity."
About the same time, the king of England raised some important questions between himself and the king of Scotland, alleging that the latter was stirring up afresh heavy troubles
The title marquis is evidently derived from the marches, or borders of the country, the defence of which was committed to them ; but the actual title in England is not older than the reign of Richard the Second, in some histories they are called Lord's Marchers.
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