terre ueniebant ad eum ut confiterentur illi peccata sua &
benedicerentur
ab illo1 cuius benedictionem sanctam multium credebant sibi profuturam.
Anno Domini millesimo ccolxo Henricus de Lambden camerarius monasterii
Calcouiensis rediit de curia
Romona portans secum litteras papales in quibus
continebatur quod uiso mandato
papali immediate cederet baiulo man
dati dicto Henrico dominus Patricius abbas qui
tunc prefuit eidem monasterio quod
statim obedienter fecit. Nam eodem die quo
intrauit dictus Henricus domum
Calkouie sine aliqua ulteriori dilacione2
possuit insignia pontificalia quibus
redimitus erat super magnum altare illius
cenobii quibus se induit m▬x3
Henricus ante dictus ex gratia muneris summi summi pontificis. Viderit
ipse quomodo intrauit ad curam illam pastoralem. Nam postea nescimus
an ex
ulcione Dei an ex bona eius uoluntate repentina morte preuentus est in
mensa sua
quando primum ferculum sumere cepit qui statim post secundam refectio
nem conuentus
traditur sepulture eodem die forte quia noluerunt circa corpus
eius uigilare
Anno Domini moccolxio Venerabilis pater noster
dominus Matheus abbas de Mel
ros absens deponitur in capitulo Ryeuallis sine
consilio & sine scitu omnis anime
uiuentis de Scocia cuiusis talem
deposicionem multi planxerunt tam monachi
quam conuersi monasterii Melrosensis
quia nichil culpe inuentum fuit in eo pro
qua debuit taliter deponi ut ipsi
estimauerunt placuit tamen patri abbati ut sic
fieret de5 eo propter quasdam obiectiones quas habebat contra ipsum ut sibi
uidebatur ra
cionabiles, post cuius deposicionis denominacionem in capitulo illius
diei quo depo
situs erat absoluti sunt ab ipso patre abbate ab obedienciis &
professsionibus sibi fac
tis omnes Melrosenses set hue nam per hunc bonum Matheum
uirum reuerendum
atque largifluum & nonnullas possessiones & plures
pitancias ex adepcione eius
optinet domus de Melros per ipsum habemus panes
pitanciales diebus Veneris
in Quadragesima quando ieiunamus in pane ⁊ aqua ipse
autem fecit magnas
domos nostras de Berwyc’, insuper & & multas ua\c/carias bouarias & came
ram magnam abbatis que est super
ripam aque cum adiectione aliorum edifi
¶ciorum non paucorum
construxit.
the noblemen of the land would come to him, however, was so that they might confess
their sins to him and be blessed by him whose blessing they believed would be a great
benefit.
In the 1260th year of the Lord,
Henry of Lambden, the chamberlain of the monastery of Kelso, returned from the Roman
curia carrying with him papal letters; they said that Patrick the lord abbot, who ruled
the same monastery at that time, should upon seeing the papal mandate immediately resign
in favour of the bearer of the mandate, the said Henry; he immediately and obediently
did this; for on the same day in which the said Henry entered the house of Kelso, he
placed the pontifical insignia, with which he was invested, upon the high altar of the
monastery without any further delay; and the aforementioned Henry, by virtue of the
supreme supreme pontiff’s gift, quickly adorned himself with them. It should
be noticed in what manner he entered that pastoral charge; for afterwards—we do not know
whether by God’s vengeance or by his good will—he was overcome by sudden death at his
table as soon as he had eaten the first course, and he was laid in the sepulchre
immediately after the community’s second meal that same day, perhaps because they did
not wish to keep vigil around his body
In the 1261st year of the Lord,
our venerable father Matthew, the lord abbot of Melrose, was deposed in his absence in
the chapter of Rievaulx, without consultation and without the knowledge of any living
soul in Scotland; and many, including the monks and lay-brothers of the monastery of
Melrose, lamented his deposition in this way, since according to their judgement nothing
remiss was found in him for which he deserved to be deposed in such a manner. The father
abbot was satisfied, however, that this should happen to him in this case, because of
some objections he was aware of against him, which seemed reasonable to him. After the
announcement of his deposition in that day’s chapter in which he was deposed, all at
Melrose were released by the father abbot himself from the obedience and professions
they had made to him. But alas! For it is through this Matthew, a good, devout, and most
generous man, that the house of Melrose has several possessions and many allowances for
the monks as a result of his facility for acquisition; because of him we have
pittance-breads on Fridays in Lent when we are fasting on bread and water; he also built
our large houses at Berwick; and moreover, he constructed both many shelters for cows
and oxen as well as a great chamber for the abbot, which is on the bank of the river,
together with the addition of ¶not a few other buildings.