55 Now while Judas and Jonathan were in Gilead and their^j brother Simon was in Galilee before Ptolemais,

56 Joseph son of Zechariah and Azariah, the commanders of the forces, heard of their brave deeds and of the heroic war they had fought.

57 So they said, "Let us also make a name for ourselves; let us go and make war on the nations around us."

58 So they issued orders to the men of the forces that were with them and marched against Jamnia.

59 Gorgias and his men came out of the town to meet them in battle.

60 Then Joseph and Azariah were routed and were pursued to the borders of Judea; as many as two thousand of the people of Israel fell that day.

61 Thus the people suffered a great rout because, thinking to do a brave deed, they did not listen to Judas and his brothers.

62 But they did not belong to the family of those men through whom deliverance was given to Israel.

Note j. Gk his

Florence of Worcester Continuation. Dec 1140. The King at Reading—Marches against Ely. A few days after Christmas, the king and his court proceeded to Reading, where a lesson is taught by the lot of mortals concerning the little value of kingly pomp.¹ While there, by the advice of his council, he gave pastors of their own to two abbeys, Malmesbury and Abbotsbury, which bishop Roger, as long as he lived, had shorn of their honours and kept in his own hands. Malmesbury abbey he bestowed on John, a monk of great worth, and that of Abbotsbury on another named Geoffrey. Then, in order to secure peace, and put an end to warfare, which I call a vain thing, he prepared an expedition against Ely; a measure much to be deplored, because it tended to increase the arrogance of the soldiery, by satisfying their love of vain glory. They enlist themselves, they accept the terms, they array themselves in arms, and the conqueror seizes all that belongs to the vanquished, according to stipulations founded on the detestable love of gain; and, if I may compare great things with small, they whisper to one another, like Judah and his brother Jonathan, dwelling in the land of Gilead, to Joseph and Azarias: "Let us also get us a name, and go fight against the heathen that are round about us."² They deal wounds with sword and spear, little heeding what will be the fate of the miserable souls of the slain. During the rebellion of those who revolted against the king, many on both sides were wounded, taken prisoners, and thrown into confinement. The bishop of Ely, finding the valour of the king and the impetuosity of his troops, gave way, nay, fled like a hireling, and retiring to the neighbourhood of Gloucestershire, went over to earl Robert. Nor was it to be wondered at, for he had lost, as it were, his right hand, when his uncle, Roger, bishop of Salisbury, died. The king took possession of Ely castle, and placed his own soldiers in it.³

Note 1. This is probably an allusion to the pompous interment of Henry II, not long before, in the abbey of Reading. See p. 250.

Note 2. Maccab, c. v. 55–57.

3. See "Gesta Stephani," pp. 371–373.