turbulent barons;[1002] soon after Martinmas he and Louis met at Graçay and made another ineffectual attempt to settle the vexed question of Auvergne;[1003] a month later he was again in Aquitaine, purchasing the direct ownership of one of its under-fiefs, the county of La Marche, from the childless Count Adalbert who was purposing to end his days in Holy Land;[1004] and at Christmas he was back at Angers, where he kept the feast with his three elder sons amid such a gathering of knights as had never been seen at his court except at his own crowning or that of the young king.[1005] [992] _Gesta Hen._ (Stubbs), vol. i. pp. 138, 160, 167, 168. [993] _Ib._ p. 168. [994] _Gesta Hen._ (Stubbs), vol. i. pp. 180, 181. Rog. Howden (Stubbs), vol. ii. p. 143. Gerv. Cant. (Stubbs), vol. i. p. 271. [995] _Gesta Hen._ as above, p. 181. [996] In the night of August 17–18. _Gesta Hen._ as above, p. 190. R. Diceto (Stubbs), vol. i. p. 421. [997] Rob. Torigni, a. 1177. [998] On September 11. _Gesta Hen._ as above, p. 190. [999] September 21. _Ibid._ Cf. Rog. Howden and Gerv. Cant. as above. [1000] _Gesta Hen._ as above, pp. 191–194. Rog. Howden (Stubbs), vol. ii. pp. 144–146; Gerv. Cant. as above, pp. 272–274; shorter in R. Diceto as above, pp. 421, 422. The place and date are from this last authority. [1001] _Gesta Hen._ as above, pp. 195, 196. Cf. R. Diceto as above, p. 425. [1002] _Gesta Hen._ as above, p. 196. [1003] The proceedings on this occasion are worth notice. Henry, it seems, tried to substitute for the arbitration of three prelates and three laymen on each side (which had been agreed upon at Nonancourt) his own favourite plan of sworn inquest. He called together the barons of Auvergne, and required them to certify what rights his predecessors the dukes of Aquitaine had enjoyed in their country. They answered that by ancient right all Auvergne pertained to the ducal dominions, except the bishopric (Clermont), which was dependent on the French Crown. To this definition Louis would not agree; so they fell back upon the former scheme of arbitration--which, however, seems never to have got any further. _Gesta Hen._ (Stubbs), vol. i. p. 196. This was apparently the last meeting (except the one in England; see below, p. 216) between Henry and Louis, and must therefore be the one of which a curious account is given by Gir. Cambr. _De Instr. Princ._, dist. iii. c. 1 (Angl. Christ. Soc., pp. 85, 86).