his treacherous ally, Fitz-Herbert, and, conducting him to
Devizes, there hanged him. The surprise of Lincoln Castle, upon which
the events of 1141 mainly turned, is equally characteristic of the age.
Ranulf, Earl of Chester, and William de Roumare, his half-brother, were
avowed friends of King Stephen. But their ambition took a new direction
for the support of Matilda. The garrison of Lincoln had no apprehension
of a surprise, and were busy in those sports which hardy men enjoy even
amid the rougher sport of war. The Countess of Chester and her
sister-in-law, with a politeness that the ladies of the court of Louis
le Grand could not excel, paid a visit to the wife of the knight who had
the defence of the castle. While there, at this pleasant morning call,
"talking and joking" with the unsuspecting matron, as Ordericus relates,
the Earl of Chester came in, "without his armor or even his mantle,"
attended only by three soldiers. His courtesy was as flattering as that
of his countess and her friend. But his men-at-arms suddenly mastered
the unprepared guards, and the gates were thrown open to Earl William
and his numerous followers. The earls, after this stratagem, held the
castle against the King, who speedily marched to Lincoln. But the Earl
of Chester contrived to leave the castle, and soon raised a powerful
army of his own vassals. The Earl of Gloucester joined him with a
considerable force, and they together advanced to the relief of the
besieged city. The battle of Lincoln was preceded by a trifling incident
to which the chroniclers have attached importance. It was the Feast of
the Purification; and at the mass which was celebrated at the dawn of
day, when the King was holding a lighted taper in his hand it was
suddenly extinguished. "This was an omen of sorrow to the King," says
Hoveden. But another chronicler, the author of the _Gesta Stephain_,
tells us, in addition, that the wax candle was suddenly relighted; and
he accordingly argues that this incident was "a token that for his sins
he should be deprived of his crown, but on his repentance, through God's
mercy, he should wonderfully and gloriously recover it." The King had
been more than a month laying siege to the castle, and his army was
encamped around the city of Lincoln. When it was ascertained that his
enemies were at hand he was advised to raise the siege and march out to
strengthen his power by a general levy. He decided upon instant battle.
He was then