Stamford, Grantham, with other places. From that time forth the king began to prepare for a speedy return into England. And it was found, by careful computation, that the king, on his expedition into Guienne, had consumed in his expenses twentyseven thousand pounds and more, without counting the estates, and guardianships, and revenues, which he had bestowed OD foreigners, and a sum of thirty thousand marks which he had expended on his uterine brothers. At the feast of the translation of Saint Benedict, the bishop of Norwich came to Saint Alban's, in compliance with the orders of both the pope and the king, in order to take tithes of all the property of that church, with the exception of the barony; according to the grant which had been made to the king for three years, on condition, however, of his going on a pilgrimage for the relief of the Holy Land. Therefore, he convoked all the rectors and vicars of churches, and all the keepers of churches in the district of St. Alban's, in order that their property might be taxed, the value being first estimated on oath. And he caused all the officers of that monastery to tax their property with strictness and good faith, asserting that a strict examination into that taxation should be afterwards entered into, with diligent and strict investigation. Moreover, he shewed the autograph letters of which he was the bearer, both from the pope and the king, and declared that he had submitted to that task very unwillingly. On which account, a thing of unprecedented strangeness took place. For, hitherto, the people of the district had been accustomed to pay tithes to the prelates, but now the order being quite inverted and changed, the prelates were compelled against their will to pay tithes to the laity. But about the time of the anniversary of the beforementioned translation, that, namely, of Saint Benedict, the lord the king of France came from the Holy Land, at the earnest entreaty of the nobles of his kingdom, as has been already mentioned; and when, after a fair voyage, he had landed at Marseilles, which is at no great distance from Mont Pesilan, he stayed there a few days and rested. But ashis nobles were urging him, he hastened to proceed on to France, because the king of Germany, the aforesaid William, was with difficulty prevailed on to grant a short truce to the French or to maintain it. Therefore, the aforesaid king coming to his own country, immediately deliberated how he might (by the intervention of justice) pacify the before-mentioned dis