King Arthur lives in Merry Carlisle

Top Ten Arthurian Locations: No 3

“King Arthur lives in merry Carlisle,
And seemly is to see;
And there with him Queen Guenever,
That bride so bright of blee.”

Lug's Town: Carlisle Castle
Experiencing quieter days now, Carlisle has been caught between the wars of rival kingdoms for centuries. This is the land of Urien Rheged but Cumbria is also rich in Arthurian legend and well worth a visit.

Carlisle was formerly a major Roman town called Luguvallium (Carvettiorum), thought to mean the "wall[ed town] of Lugus". The large Roman fort was built of turf and timber in 72 AD, supplying support for the garrisons on Hadrian’s Wall. The Roman fort and town are now located under present day Carlisle. After the Romans, Carlisle may have been used as the administrative centre of the Romano-British kingdom of Rheged and possibly the citadel of Urien Rheged; the exact boundaries of Rheged and Urien's stronghold have eluded historians. The city regained its importance at the end of the 13th century when Edward I used it as a base for his invasion of Scotland.

Carlisle Castle

Founded by by William II (William Rufus) in 1092, the Castle we see at Carlisle today was mainly constructed in the late 12th century, occupying the northern end of the historic city. On the second floor of the keep is a remarkable set of well known graffiti scratched into the masonry; the “Prisoners' Carvings” is dated to about 1480, based on the inclusion of the white rose of the house of York and the the boar badge of Richard III.

Being the principal fortress of England’s north-western border with Scotland, Carlisle Castle witnessed frequent conflict between the two countries. Edward I (Longshanks) made Carlisle his headquarters in the early stages of his war against the Scots in 1296. His relentless campaign earned him the epithet “the Hammer of the Scots”.

Between 1173 and 1461 The Scots besieged Carlisle no less than seven times. Robert the Bruce carried out perhaps the most determined siege in 1315 following his victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn the previous year. However, the Scots failed to take the castle. The next century Carlisle witnessed one of the bloodiest episodes of the Wars of the Roses during the siege of 1461 when a combined army of Lancastrians and Scots succeeded in taking the castle from the Yorkists.

During the second Jacobite rising of 1745–6 the city was besieged in November 1745 but surrendered after just 5 days. Having found little support further south the Jacobite army retreated over the border back into Scotland in December, leaving a garrison of 400 soldiers at Carlisle Castle to hold off the pursuing English. The castle then endured its tenth and final siege, but fell after being battered by the English artillery of the Duke of Cumberland. Several Jacobite prisoners were taken, 31 given public executions.

Opposite Carlisle Castle is the Tullie House Museum with a collection consisting of over 12,000 man-made objects that date from Prehistory to the end of the Tudor period. The Roman influence here is reflected in the large collection of Roman artefacts housed by the museum, including objects from excavations of the fort and town in addition to a large collection of altars, inscribed and sculptured stones originating from the Cumbrian sections of Hadrian’s Wall, today a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Is This Camelot?
Named as “Caer-Ligualid” in the list of Britain's 28 cities in the Historia Brittonum, the earliest record of the place in English is as “Luel” (c. 1050); combined with the Latin prefix of “Caer” it was known as “Carleol” by the 12th century, which led to later medieval forms including “Cardeol” or "Carduel". In Arthurian Romance references to Carduel are generally considered to represent Carlisle, and is first specifically named as the location of Arthur's court in Landavall (an English version of Marie de Frane's Lanval). Historian Michael Wood has suggested that Carlisle is the most likely base for the legendary King Arthur.

Cardoel (Carduel, or sometimes Cardeuil), which may have some basis in memories of a Northern Arthur to French writers of the Romances, is often confused with "Carlion" (Caerleon) which was known to the French story writers as being in Wales. Indeed, Welsh adaptions of Chretien's Romances always substitute "Caerleon" for "Carduel".

Chrétien de Troyes was the first to mention Arthur's court at "Camelot" in the poem Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, although Chrétien does not say where it is, but Arthur had travelled from Carlion to get there. In Yvain, or the Knight of the Lion, Chrétien places Cardoel in the kingdom of Gales (Wales).

Chrétien then follows Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and places Arthur's principal court in Carlion in Wales. Chrétien has Arthur holding court at a number of cities and castles. Cardoel, then appears to be one of the three principal residences of King Arthur, along with Camelot and Carlion. In later Romances, from the 13th century, Camelot came to be the prominent residence.

Surprisingly, in his Le Morte d'Arthur (1469), a text based mainly on the French romances, Sir Thomas Malory identified Camelot with Winchester. Malory was almost certainly influenced by the presence of the Round Table hanging on the wall of the Great Hall at Winchester Castle in his own day. Although Malory saw this as a genuine Arthurian relic his editor, William Caxton, preferred a Welsh location and appeared to lean towards Caerleon or perhaps the Roman ruins at Caerwent.

According to Malory, Guinevere and Lancelot's affair was exposed by Mordred at Carlisle. After fighting his way out of her bed chamber Lancelot fled while Guinevere was sentenced to burn at the stake outside the city walls. Lancelot returns to rescue her just in time of course but he kills several Knights. The ensuing war enabled Mordred to seize the throne while Arthur pursued Lancelot in Gaul, culminating in the battle of Camlann and the demise of the Order of the Round Table.

No doubt because of its association with Cardoel, Carlisle features in many Arthurian Romances, such as the Awntyrs off Arthure which may have been composed in Carlisle in the late 14th century; the  Middle English  texts Sir Landevale and Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle, c.1400, the latter, in turn seems to have inspired The Carle of Carlisle found in the 17th century Percy Folio.

Arthur's Round Table, Eamont Bridge

The presence of Carlisle (Cardoel) in the Arthurian Romances may have influenced the naming of several landscape features in Cumbria. South of Penrith we find 'Arthur's Round Table'. This Bronze Age earthwork with a central round platform is situated at the junction of the A6 and the B5320 at Eamont Bridge. This is another of those prehistoric sites where the connection with Arthur is not understood.

Sir Walter Scott wrote part of The Bridal of Triermain while staying at the Royal Oak in Keswick, clearly inspired by the legend:

“He pass’d red Penrith’s Table Round,

for feats of chivalry renown’d

left Mayburgh’s mound and stones of power,

by druids raised in magic hour,

and traced the Eamont’s winding way…”

Nearby is the Giant's Cave, a place associated with two giants called Tarquin and Isir, which may, or may not, have some connection to the Giant's Grave in Penrith.

Pendragon Castle
At around 50 miles south of Carlisle is the ruins of Pendragon Castle, the legendary stronghold of Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father, at Mallerstang, near Kirkby Stephen. The only connection to Arthur is the name and the local tale that Uther attempted to divert the River Eden for the moat. The castle was built in the 12th century and owned by the Lord of Westmorland, a certain Sir Hugh de Morville, who was one of four knights who murdered Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. You can see Morville's sword in Carlisle cathedral.

Carlisle Cathedral

Talking of swords, follow the A595 from Carlisle toward Cockermouth and turn off for Bassenthwaite Lake. This stretch of water is said to have provided the inspiration for Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s description of the lake into which Excalibur is thrown after the battle of Camlann, where King Arthur is mortally wounded, while he wrote Morte d’Arthur while vacating at Mirehouse, overlooking the lake:

“So all day long the noise of battle roll'd
Among the mountains by the winter sea;
Until King Arthur's table, man by man,
Had fallen in Lyonnesse about their Lord,
King Arthur: then, because his wound was deep,
The bold Sir Bedivere uplifted him,
Sir Bedivere, the last of all his knights,
And bore him to a chapel nigh the field,
A broken chancel with a broken cross,
That stood on a dark strait of barren land.
On one side lay the ocean, and on one
Lay a great water, and the moon was full.”

Ullswater is another with an Excalibur story.

Travelling in the opposite direction on the A689 toward Birdoswald on Hadrian's Wall, after 10 miles one soon arrives at St Martin’s Church at Brampton. This church is famous as being the only church designed by the Pre-Raphaelite architect Philip Webb. Inspired by Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, the Pre-Raphaelite's are famous for their artwork depicting Arthurian scenes which adorn the covers of many of our Arthurian books today. But sadly Brampton church has no Arthuriana on display, the stained glass windows, many designed by Edward Burne-Jones and manufactured by William Morris, depict biblical scenes but is still well worth a visit.

Lanercost Priory & Bewcastle
Of all the Cumbrian monasteries Lanercost Priory is the best-preserved. The east end of the 13th-century church survives to its full height, with its triple tier of arches. The Nave is still used as the parish church.

Lanercost Priory

The Priory was founded about 1166 by Henry II on land granted “between the ancient wall and the Irthing” and remained in use for some 370 years until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. It is evident that stones were robbed from Hadrian's Wall in the construction, in part, for some of the Priory buildings; a number of Roman inscriptions can be seen among the walls, of note is an inscription to Legio VI Victrix which took part in the construction of the Wall.

Roman altars at Lanercost Priory

Lanercost Priory suffered badly during the long Anglo-Scottish wars, one offensive lead by Robert Bruce himself. The sickly King Edward I is said to have stayed here for five months in 1306-7 shortly before his death on his final campaign.

Bewcastle Cross

Now you've made it this far, it is just a few miles on to Bewcastle. At St Cuthbert's churchyard stands the famous 7th Century Bewcastle Anglo Saxon Cross said to still stand in its original position. Bewcastle is also known for its unusual hexagonal Roman fort, which has been identified as Fanum Cocidi; the earthen ramparts can still be seen by St Cuthbert's churchyard. The fort was built as a northern outpost to Hadrian's Wall, originally garrisoned by the First Cohort of Nervians. It was linked direct by road to the Roman fort of Birdoswald  on the Wall.

Bew Castle (Fanum Cocidi)

Birdoswald is one of the best preserved Roman forts on Hadrian’s Wall, and joined to the longest continuous stretch of the Wall still standing. Nearby can be seen remnants of the original turf wall. The Roman fort here has been identified as the site of Arthur's last battle at Camlann based on the etymology of the Roman name Camboglanna. Here, the Roman granaries were replaced by a chieftain's hall in the early 6th century which has added to the speculation of this being the residence of a Post-Roman warlord. I have discussed the mis-identification of Birdoswald with Camboglanna at length in a previous post The Hunters of Banna - Camlann at Castlestead. 

Roman remains at Birdoswald (Banna)

The prospect of Camlann being fought on Hadrian's Wall fits comfortably with the theory of Lucius Artorious Castus as a contender for a historical Arthur. In reconstructing the career of Castus in Britain, based on epigraphic evidence and the account of the Caledonian revolt in the 180s AD from Dio Cassius, Linda Malcor presents a serious contender for Arthur, stationed at York, the City of the Legions, recovering much of the north. Malcor's theory was the inspiration behind Antoine Fuqua's 2004 film 'King Arthur' starring Clive Owen, for which both Malcor and John Matthews were historical advisors. Matthews expands this theory in the opening chapter to his latest work The Complete King Arthur ( John Matthews and Caitlín Matthews, 2017).  It must be said that the Castus theory gets closer to a historical Arthur than many other proposals. However, there are weaknesses in this theory which I have noted in a previous post; The Road to Camlann, Part I The North.

Hadrian's Wall at Birdoswald

Following the B6318 further along the Wall for about a mile and a half mile east of Housesteads Roman Fort, we cross into Northumberland and the site of SewingShields. It is a well known legend that King Arthur and his Knights lie sleeping in some cave under a hollow hill somewhere and will return in Britain’s hour of greatest need. There are many sites across the country claiming to possess the 'Sleeping King' in the hollow hill such as South Cadbury in Somerset, Snowdon in Wales, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, Eildon Hills on the Scottish Borders, and here on the Wall we find another.

Sewingshields Castle, probably a tower made from masonry robbed from the Wall, once stood in a marshy area known as Fozy Moss beyond the wind-swept Whin Sill ridge. Here the landscape bears such names as the King’s Crags, Queen’s Crags (said to be named after Guinevere), King Arthur’s Well and King Arthur’s Chair.

A popular local tale recalls a shepherd who was sitting by the ruins of Sewingshields Castle knitting. He dropped his ball of wool and ran after it, when he came across a hidden passageway which he followed. At the end of the passage, now well underground, was a great hall. Here was King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table sat around a large table, all in deep sleep.

Hadrian's Wall

On the table was a bugle, a garter and the sword Excalibur. The shepherd's instinct was to pick up Excalibur and cut the garter; at that moment Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights all awoke. Surprised by the awakening Knights, the shepherd quickly returned Excalibur to its sheath when Arthur muttered in anger: “O, woe betide the evil day, On which this witless wight was born, Who drew the sword, the garter cut, But never blew the bugle horn.” Arthur and the Knights returned to their slumber and the shepherd fled safe in the knowledge that should the country need Arthur and his Knights he was but a bugle call away.

If you have time it is worth travelling a few further miles east along the B6318 toward the village named Wall. Before arriving at the village, just east of Chollerford, you will notice a large wooden cross set in a walled enclosure by the roadside. This is the Heavenfield Cross erected, near the presumed site of the original cross erected by Oswald, to commemorate the battle of Hefenfelth fought between Cadwallon of Gwynedd and his ally Penda of Mercia against Oswald of Northumbia in 633, or 634 AD. On the eve of battle Oswald claimed to have seen a vision of St Columba, who promised him victory. Bede tells us that Oswald erected a large wooden cross where he prayed before the battle which resulted in a decisive victory for the Northumbrians and the death of Cadwallon. A Saxon church was erected on the site of the battle, which has been rebuilt in the Norman period and again during the 19th century. On leaving Hadrian's Wall we now head for the village of Arthuret to complete our tour.

The Birth of the Merlin Legend
The 9th century Historia Brittonum tells us that Arthur's “seventh battle was in the Caledonian Forest, that is, the Battle of Celidon Coit”.

The site of this battle has been (almost) unanimously identified as the Caledonian Forest in modern Scotland,Coed Celyddon, by Arthurian scholars. At one time this forest probably extended from the Solway to the Highlands, but Welsh tradition tends to favour the area of the Scottish border.

North-east Cumbria retains a memory of one of the bloodiest battles of Early Medieval Period Britain. The 10th century Welsh Annals (Annals Cambriae) record the Battle of Arfderydd in the year 573 as “Bellum armterid”. This is too late for Arthur of course if he was present at the battle of Badon c.500, although Thomas Green (2008) argues for the interesting possibility of Arthur's seventh battle as a mythical 'Battle of the Trees' (Cad Goddeu) as recorded in the Book of Taliesin in which animated trees form an army.

Arfderydd has been identified as Arthuret, lying between the rivers Esk, Lyne, and Liddel, near Longtown, north-east of Carlisle near the Scottish border. However, it must be said, this is based on an uncertain etymology. An alternative suggestion is that the site was once known as “Arthurs Head” which has become corrupted over time to “Arthuret”.

The Parish Church at Arthuret, St Michael and All Angels, was constructed in 1609, yet a church is said to have stood on the site since the 6th Century AD. A local tradition claims Arthur was buried here after the battle of Camlann on Hadrians Wall, thought to be Castlesteads (Camboglanna), in 537. Today a plaque at the church reinforces the claim of its most famous intern.

The Triads record the Battle of Arfderydd as one of the Three Futile Battles of Britain, fought over a “Lark's Nest.” This has been interpreted by historians as a particularly bloody event during the conflict of the Northern British kings Gwendoleu of Caer-Winley and Peredyr of Ebrauc, with much slaughter on both sides. The “Lark's Nest” was apparently the disputed territory at fort at Caer-Laverock.

A later addition to the Annal entry noted that “Merlin went mad.” This is supported by a series of Welsh poems found in the Black Book of Carmarthen and the Red Book of Hergest which tell the story of Myrddin's (Merlin) madness after the carnage of the battle, who then fled into the Celidon Forest where he spent the rest of his days. In Scottish texts he is named as Lailoken. Tim Clarkson (2016) sees the Battle of Arfderydd as the one single event that sparked the Merlin legend.


Copyright © 2018 Edward Watson
http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk/


Sources:
John Matthews and Caitlín Matthews, The Complete King Arthur: Many Faces, One Hero, Inner Traditions, 2017. Chapter 1: Arthur of Rome: Commander of Legions, pp.5-40.
Tim Clarkson, Scotland's Merlin: A Medieval Legend and its Dark Age Origins, John Donald (Birlinn), 2016.
Thomas Green, Concepts of Arthur, Tempus, 2008,

Photographs copyright © Edward Watson

* * *

The Sword that killed Thomas Becket

On 29th December 1170, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket, age 52, was murdered in cold blood by four knights in Canterbury Cathedral. The knights had overheard King Henry II's angry outburst whose long-standing feud with Becket has resulted in a desire to rid him of this troublesome priest. The knights travelled to England seeking out Becket at the Cathedral.

Destined for Martyrdom
Thomas Becket had been a favourite of Henry II who made him Chancellor of England in 1155, but all changed when Becket became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162. The following year Becket fell out with King Henry II over the king's desire to banish Church courts. The problem was brought to a head by cases such as that of Philip de Brois, a canon of Bedford, who was acquitted in the court of the Bishop of Lincoln of the charge of murdering a knight. After several months of wrangling, both sides met at the Council of Clarendon in January 1164 to discuss the issue. There, Henry presented the bishops with the infamous Constitutions of Clarendon. Becket told the bishops they had no choice but to give in, but then publicly repented his oath.

Becket Window, St Davids

In October 1164, the king had Becket condemned on trumped-up charges of contempt of court over a land dispute and ruled that the archbishop should forfeit all his goods. This was followed up with charges of embezzlement, and Becket was summoned to Northampton to answer for his crimes. When the Council delivered its verdict, Becket refused to hear it, maintaining that they had no right to judge him. That night, he slipped away and fled to exile in France.

The dispute dragged on with claim and counter-claim throughout the years 1165-70, while Becket was in exile at the French court all his money and lands had been sequestered and at least 400 of his dependants were thrown out of the country.

On 1st December 1170 Becket returned to England. Henry's patience must have reached breaking point when at his court at Bures in France he heard that Becket had returned to England and excommunicated his old ecclesiastical opposition including the Archbishop of York who had crowned the heir apparent, Henry the Young King, at York in a direct breach of Canterbury's privilege of coronation.

At news of this Henry is said to have gone into a rage and asked who would rid him of this troublesome priest. Overhearing this the four knights Reginald Fitzurse, Hugh de Moreville, William de Tracy and Richard le Breton (or Brito), crossed the Channel separately and met up in Saltwood Castle, Kent, to plan their attack on Becket.

Shortly after his return to Canterbury, Becket preached a sermon in which he referenced the murder of Saint Alfege, the 29th Archbishop of Canterbury, that had been murdered by the Danes at Greenwich in 1012, as if foretelling his own death. As he walked to the high altar he is reported to have said “one martyr, St. Alfege, you already have; another, if God will, you will have soon.”

Clearly Becket knew he had pushed the king too far and anticipated his fate, knowing it would only be a matter of time until Henry sent men to kill him. Indeed, when the four knights arrived one of Becket's own monks Hugh de Horsea, later named as 'Hugh the evil clerk', led the knights into the church to seek out Becket. The knights levied charges against him, but Becket replied calmly that “you cannot be more willing to kill me, than I am to die.”

The monks of Canterbury attempted to safeguard Becket from the knights, but he continually walked back into the path of the knights. Refusing to hide from them he made his way to the Chapel where vespers were in process. He sat in the Archbishop's chair and prepared for the suffering of his martyrdom and waited for the knights to arrive.

Edward Grim had arrived at Canterbury only a few days before the murder of Becket. He was an eyewitness to the martyrdom and nearly lost his own life in an attempt to save the Archbishop. After all the clerics and monks had fled from the chapel Grim stood firm with the Archbishop, holding him in his arms. Grim's arm was nearly severed in two by a savage sword blow wielded by one of the four knights which shaved off the summit of Becket's crown.

In Vita S. Thomae Grim recounts, “Then, with another blow received on the head, he remained firm. But with the third the stricken martyr bent his knees and elbows, offering himself as a living sacrifice, saying in a low voice, 'For the name of Jesus and the protection of the church I am ready to embrace death.'”

“But the third knight inflicted a grave wound on the fallen one; with this blow he shattered the sword on the stone and his crown, which was large, separated from his head so that the blood turned white from the brain yet no less did the brain turn red from the blood.”

“The fourth knight drove away those who were gathering so that the others could finish the murder more freely and boldly. The fifth - not a knight but a cleric who entered with the knights - so that a fifth blow might not be spared him who had imitated Christ in other things, placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr and (it is horrible to say) scattered the brains with the blood across the floor, exclaiming to the rest, 'We can leave this place, knights, he will not get up again.'”

The Site of Becket's Murder, Canterbury

Saint Thomas
The monks washed the body and interred it in the crypt. They kept the bloodstained clothing as relics. It was not long after Becket's murder that miracles occurred at Canterbury. The first was recorded on 4th January 1171 and Becket was canonised by Pope Alexander on 21 February 1173.

In defence of King Henry it is claimed he never told the knights to go and kill Becket. They are said to have interpreted the king's words ‘Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?!’ as wanting him dead (there have been many variations of the King's words reported over the years). Indeed, when he realised that the knights had gone to kill Becket, Henry despatched a rider to stop them.

Pope Alexander excommunicated the four knights and prohibited Henry from taking mass until he had made reparation for his sin. These were testing times for Henry; in addition to the feud with Becket and the church, he also faced the crisis with his son, the future Richard I. In 1155, the Pope had asked Henry to invade Ireland to clean up a corrupt and lax Christianity.  But it wasn't until after Becket's murder, in the winter of 1171, that Henry crossed the Irish Sea to the establishment of an Anglo-Norman colony in Ireland. Henry returned to England in 1172.

On Sunday 21 May 1172, Henry performed a ceremony of public penance at Avranches Cathedral, where he swore to provide money for 200 knights to crusade in the Holy Land and restore all property to the church of Canterbury. Henry also agreed not to obstruct any appeals to Rome by the clergy, effectively allowing Church courts to continue.

Henry accepted his part in the death of Becket and in 1174 allowed himself to be whipped on a public pilgrimage to Becket’s tomb in Canterbury Cathedral.

Candle marking the former spot of the shrine of Thomas Becket, at Canterbury Cathedral,
where it stood from 1220 to 1538 when it was destroyed by order of King Henry VIII

From Canterbury to Jerusalem
Henry never punished the knights for the murder. They were advised to head north to Scotland for their own safety. But they arrived at Knaresborough Castle, which was held by Hugh de Morville, where they stayed for a year.

All four assassins were excommunicated by the Pope at Easter in 1171 but despite popular demands for their execution the knights were banished to the Holy Land to visit the Holy Places barefoot and in hairshirts and spend the rest of their days on the Black Mountain near Antioch.

There is much speculation as to what then happened to Becket's assassins. Some accounts claim the knights spent the rest of their lives on the Black Mountain and never returned. After their death, their bodies were buried at Jerusalem before the door of the temple. Another account claims they were buried under the portico in front of the Templar Round Church built on the site of the Temple of Solomon. Another tradition claims that the bodies of the knights were returned to Brean Down, Somerset, and buried there.

Although there is general agreement that Fitzurse died and was buried at Jerusalem, another tradition claims he fled to Ireland where he fathered the McMahon clan. Richard le Breton, who is said to have broken his sword when slashing Becket's head, is said to have eventually retired to the island of Jersey, while de Tracy is said to have retired to a hermitage in the Holy Land, yet another alternative account claims he never reached the Levant but died in 1174 of leprosy at Cosenza in southern Italy. There is a tomb in the parish church at Mortehoe, Devon, which bears an inscription to a certain “Sir William de Tracy”; however this is said to be the tomb of a man who died 1322. The fate of the assassins seems very confused to say the least.

Hugh de Morville is said to have left the country on pilgrimage for his part in the murder of Becket but was dead within three years and buried in the porch outside the church of the Templars (afterwards the Mosque el Aksa) at Jerusalem. The tomb would now be inside the building. The Lordship of Westmorland is reported to have passed to Hugh de Morville's sister Maud, in 1174, confirmation that de Morville died in 1173. The Cumbrian knight was one-time owner of Pendragon Castle, in the Vale of Mallerstang near Outhgill in Cumbria along the banks of the River Eden, which according to legend, was built by Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur, who is said to have unsuccessfully tried to divert the river to provide its moat.

A Hugh de Morville appears in the service of the Crusader-king Richard I and was named as the king's hostage in 1194, when the Lionheart had been arrested by Leopold V, Duke of Austria. This was apparently the same man who provided Ulrich of Zatzikoven with an Anglo-Norman poem which formed the basis of his medieval romance ‘Lanzelet.’ But clearly too late to be the murderer of Thomas Becket if he died in 1173.

The Becket Sword
Following Becket's murder legends soon attached to Hugh de Morville's sword.

The Becket Sword, Carlisle

On display in the south aisle of the choir of Carlisle Cathedral is a replica of one of the swords that was used to kill Thomas Becket. The sword at Carlisle belonged to Hugh de Morville and was passed to the care of the Cathedral. The Becket Sword became an object of veneration and on 22nd June 1307 King Edward I offered seven shillings at the sword of St Thomas the Martyr at Carlisle Priory Church. The sword was still in the city in 1536 when the Royal Commissioners reported that the priory of St Mary had “the sword with which Thomas of Canterbury was martyred”.

The cult continued until the Reformation when such relics were banned by Henry VIII. The sword then disappeared and later efforts to trace it have proved fruitless.

At St Andrew's Church near the village of Aikton, Cumbria, is the De Morville Grave Slab which was dug out of the church during the last restoration in 1869, and is now placed outside on the east wall of the south aisle. The cross head is much too badly worn to be deciphered, but the stem is a well-defined two-handed sword about 3 feet 5 inches long, with a cross piece 8 inches long. The sides of the slab are ornamented with foliage. The sword and foliage are in high relief, some of the leaves closely resemble oak leaves.

Canon Bower, in his account of this grave slab, states: “this is said to be the tombstone of Sir Hugh de Morville, one of the assassins of Thomas â Beckett whose sword is now in the possession of Sir Wilfred Lawson of Brayton Hall.”

However, there is no direct evidence to connect this tomb monument with the De Morville family, but as the character of the carving fixes its date as a 13th century work, and the De Morville's were one of the most important families in Aikton at that time, it is very likely that the tombstone was a memorial to a distinguished member of that family, possibly Hugh de Morville, Lord of Burgh who is often confused with his more notorious namesake and murderer of Thomas Becket. But it is a muddied picture as there were several Hugh de Morville's in Cumbria.

Among the first Norman landowners to arrive in this area was Hugh de Morville, of Kirkoswald, born c.1085 in Normandy. He was father of Guillaume (William) de Morville of Bradpole; Hugh de Moreville, of Lauderdale and Cunningham (Constable of Scotland, d.1162) and Simon de Morville. Simon fathered Hugh de Morville, Lord of Burgh, who died at Knaresborough 1202.

According to K J Stringer (Earl David of Huntingdon, Edinburgh, 1986) in the 1140's King David had settled the lordship of north Westmorland upon his Constable, Hugh de Moreville of Lauderdale and Cunningham (d.1162), son of Hugh of Kirkoswald. But when the northern shires were surrendered in 1157, Henry II would only recognise the Moreville title on the condition that Hugh, the Constable, stood down in favour of his son and namesake, subsequently a member of Henry II's military household, an Angevin royal justice, and one of the assassins of Thomas Becket.

Confusion between Hugh de Morville, Lord of Burgh (d.1202) and Hugh de Morville, the Becket assassin, has led to the incorrect suggestion that the murderer survived into the 13th century. It has also been suggested that when Hugh's castle at Knaresborough was committed to the custody of William de Stuteville by Easter 1173 it was the result of Morville's involvement in the northern revolt of 1173.

However, Roger of Howden asserts that Hugh died while on the pilgrimage to the Holy Land c.1173, and was probably in the Levant, or at least on route, at the time of the revolt. As Hugh died without an heir at least part of his lands in Westmorland passed to his sister Maud in 1174. It seems likely that if Hugh was buried in the Holy Land that some of  his belongings, including his sword, were sent back to his family in England.

It seems the same sword was at one time kept at St Michael's Church at Isel, in the parish of Blindcrake, built c.1130.  As both Isel and Brayton were owned by Sir Hugh de Morville, Lord of Burgh, it is likely it is the same sword that had been moved from one place to the other. After being kept at Isel for a long time the sword was subsequently transferred to the Arundell family. It is said to have been destroyed later in a fire at Brayton Hall.

However, the sword Canon Bower claimed was at Brayton, described as a basket hilted broad-sword, bearing the inscription “Gott bewahrt die aufrecht Schotten” [God preserve the upright Scots] was identified as a much later Jacobite sword. Possibly a remnant from when Jacobite forces captured the city of Carlisle in November 1745. This cannot be the sword that belonged to Hugh de Morville.

According to Benedict of Peterborough, Hugh de Morville was the most eminent of the four knights who participated in Becket's murder, although he did not strike a blow himself.

In the entry for Thomas Becket in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography the details of the assassination suggest that Hugh de Morville played no part other than keeping “the watchers at bay while Fitzurse and de Tracy struck him in turn and Richard le Breton then delivered the coup de grace”.

It would appear that the blade of the sword venerated at Carlisle, and owned by Hugh de Morville, considered a holy relic of Becket's martyrdom, never actually bore the blood of the Archbishop.


Copyright © 2015 Edward Watson
http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk/


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