19 - Simon

Summary

Debts of the church. Simon is elected to the abbacy

The church was also found to be burdened by so many debts that according to the calculations of the king's officials a sum of up to six hundred marks had to be found. Much was owed to Christians, but more to Jews. He can be excused for everything given that many cases of difficult business were resolved as he desired. But he did also give many gifts to his own people (as flesh and blood revealed itself to him) because of the special connection of close family, kinship or nationality. He also rashly got the de Gorron [Gorham] estate more firmly established by additions and illegally enlarged. And at the start of the construction of the chapter house which he was about to build, on the advice of his mason and without using the knowledge of the men of sense, he had the bodies of the abbots of old buried in a very unseemly fashion. So that when the mason himself died of apoplexy, the knowledge of the place perished with him. In short, the abbot's heart was weakened by affection for his blood relations on this side, and by negligence on that side.

When the death of Robert, the abbotiv of the church of St Alban was reported to the lord king he the kingv lamented and mourned his passing. The king was immediately asked to give permission for another abbot to be chosen in Robert’s place, but the matter was put off for four months and still longer. Finally the king was overcome by weariness at men's importunate prayers and wrote to the lord of London, asking him to go to the monastery of St Albans and in his presence to get three persons nominated. The bishop was then to write back to the king reporting all that had happened, giving the details of the birth, character, learning and wisdom of the candidates, so that he might choose the one of the three whom he preferred.

And this actually happened. When the king was told of the family and life of the three candidates, he replied that his spirit rested upon Simon, the prior of the place. Whence with great perseverence and difficulty scarcely within a month a licence was obtained.