¶ Verilie, whosoeuer shall consider the course of the historie written of this prince, he shall find, that he hath béene little beholden to the writers of that time in which he liued: for scarselie can they afoord him a good word, except when the trueth inforceth them to come out with it as it were against their willes. The occasion whereof (as some thinke) was, for that he was no great fréend to the clergie. And yet vndoubtedlie his déeds shew he had a zeale to religion, as it was then accompted: for he founded the abbeie of Beauleau in the new forrest, as it were in recompense of certeine parish-churches, which to inlarge the same forrest be caused to be throwne downe and ruinated. [Sidenote: _Matth. Paris._ _Polydor._ & _alij._] He builded the monasterie of Farendon, and the abbeie of Hales in Shropshire; he repaired Godstow where his fathers concubine Rosamund laie interred; he was no small benefactor to the minster of Lichfield in Staffordshire; to the abbeie of Crokesden in the same shire, and to the chappell at Knaresburgh in Yorkshire. So that (to say what I thinke) he was not so void of deuotion towards the church, as diuerse of his enimies haue reported, who of méere malice conceale all his vertues, and hide none of his vices; but are plentifull inough in setting foorth the same to the vttermost, and interpret all his dooings and saiengs to the woorst, as may appeare to those that aduisedlie read the works of them that write the order of his life, which may séeme rather an inuectiue than a true historie: neuerthelesse, sith we cannot come by the truth of things through the malice of writers, we must content our selues with this vnfréendlie description of his time. Certeinelie it should séeme the man had a princelie heart in him, and wanted nothing but faithfull subiects to haue assisted him in reuenging such wrongs as were doone and offered by the French king and others. Moreouer, the pride and pretended authoritie of the cleargie he could not well abide, when they went about to wrest out of his hands the prerogatiue of his princelie rule and gouernement. True it is, that to mainteine his warres which he was forced to take in hand as well in France as elsewhere, he was constreined to make all the shift he could deuise to recouer monie and bicause he pinched their pursses, they conceiued no small hatred against him, which when he perceiued, and wanted peraduenture discretion to passe it ouer, he discouered now and then in his rage his immoderate displeasure, as one not able to bridle his affections, a thing verie hard in a stout stomach, and thereby missed now and then to compasse that which otherwise he might verie well haue brought to passe. [Sidenote: _Matth. Paris._]