242 MATTHEW OF WESTMJJTSTEB. A.D. 1245. asked, elected bishop of Chichester. And on this account, that such a great insult to the king might not remain unavenged, he was deservedly deprived, for a considérable time, of the barony which belongs to the bishopric, till at last, after repeated intercession, both he and the bishop elect of Chester prevailed, and, by the grace of the king, were both allowed to enjoy the full possession of their dignities. The same year, Boniface of Provence was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury by the lord the pope, at Lyons, where the lord the pope was still sojourning, and Master Richard de Withz was consecrated bishop of Chichester, and Master Roger bishop of Chester, not without great injury and danger to the kingdom of England. For by these means the pope drew the bishops towards himself, so that they were held and bound to him, and being led to despise the king, were more ready to inflict mischief in the kingdom. In the meantime, Robert Pesseleu, of the annulling of whose election mention has been made already, having taken to himself comrades by the king's authority, namely, Laurence of Saint Alban's, one of the secular clergy, and Godfrey o f Langley, a knight, they with some colour of justice, in accordance wkh the new forest laws, stripped many persons of their property to enrich the king. The same year the lord the king, from his especial devotion to and affection for the blessed Edward, that most glorious king and confessor, caused the greater part of the conventual church of the blessed Peter to be pulled down, beginning on the day week after the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul, in order to rebuild it in a more becoming and honourable manner. In which work he expended no inconsiderable sums of money, as becomes a most Christian king who believes beyond all doubt, that a treasure incorruptible is reserved for him in heaven. Moreover of the royal munificence which was innate in him, the lord the king bestowed on the aforesaid monastery of Saint Peter, in his honour, and to shew respect to Saint Edward and the royal place, some royal or imperial presents, in palls and jewels, and vessels of wonderful workmanship, which excited the eyes of the beholders to admiration and their hearts to astonishment, so that the church of Westminster abounded in royal treasures more exceedingly than any of the Cesalpine, or even, if I may say so, of the Transalpine churches. About the same time, Godfrey de Marais, who was not the