242 ANNALS OP BOGEB BE HOVEDEN. A.D. 1191. The Letter of pope Celestinus to the prelates of Enghnd, in behalf of William, bishop of Ely. " Celestinus the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brethren the archbishops and bishops throughout the kingdom of England appointed, health, and the Apostolic benediction. "Whereas our dearly beloved son in Christ, Richard, the illustrious king of the English, having assumed the cross, and prepared himself for avenging the injuries done to the Redeemer, has therein, like a prudent man and one who seeks the Lord, considered that the cares of governing his kingdom ought to be postponed to the performance of his duty, and has left the same under the Apostolic protection : it is, , therefore, our wish and our duty, with the greatest zeal, to preserve the integrity and the rights of his realm, and the honor of himself, in the same degree that, trusting in our protection, he has exposed his person and his property to the greatest danger for the upholding of the holy religion, and is known, in obedience to the Creator, to have behaved himself in a praiseworthy manner, the Lord dealing with him and giving good tokens of success, and most zealously, as is manifest from his exploits. Therefore, inasmuch as we have heard that certain attempts have been made upon his kingdom itself, as well as against your venerable father, "William, bishop of Ely, the legate of the Apostolic See, to whom he has committed the government of his kingdom, both by John, earl of Mortaigne, and certain other persons, which in themselves contain some grounds of suspicion, and, if they are true, are known to redound in no slight degree to contempt of the Apostolic See, we have deemed it our duty at this early period to meet such presumption, inasmuch as from delay very great injury might possibly accrue to the king before - named and the land of Jerusalem, and to ourselves and the Roman Church. "Wherefore, by these Apostolic writings, we do command the whole of you, and in virtue of your obedience enjoin you, that if (as has been reported to us) the said earl or any one else has dared to lay violent hands on the bishop before-mentioned, or to seize him, or to extort from him any oath by means of violence, or to keep him in confinement, or in any way to change the state of the kingdom from the position in which it was placed by his serene highness at his departure, in such case, all pretexts and excuses laid aside, you will meet together,