he mount and the first chapter of this great order, which
was for a long time looked upon as the most distinguished in France, was
held in the Salle des Chevaliers.

For a long while Tombelaine, which lies so close to Mont St Michel, was in
the occupation of the English, but in the account of the recovery of
Normandy from the English, written by Jacques le Bouvier, King of Arms to
Charles VII., we find that the place surrendered very easily to the French.
We are told that the fortress of Tombelaine was "An exceedingly strong
place and impregnable so long as the persons within it have provisions."
The garrison numbered about a hundred men. They were allowed to go to
Cherbourg where they took ship to England about the same time as the
garrisons from Vire, Avranches, Coutances, and many other strongholds which
were at this time falling like dead leaves. Le Bouvier at the end of his
account of this wonderful break-up of the English fighting force in
Normandy, tells us that the whole of the Duchy of Normandy with all the
cities, towns, and castles was brought into subjection to the King of
France within one year and six days. "A very wonderful thing," he remarks,
"and it plainly appears that our Lord God therein manifested His grace, for
never was so large a country conquered in so short a time, nor with the
loss of so few people, nor with less injury, which is a great merit, honour
and praise to the King of France."

In the early part of the sixteenth century, Mont St Michel seems to have
reached the high-water mark of its glories. After this time a decline
commenced and Cardinal le Veneur reduced the number of monks to enlarge his
own income. This new cardinal was the first of a series not chosen from the
residents on the mount, for after 1523 the system of election among
themselves which had answered so well, was abandoned, and this wealthy
establishment became merely one of the coveted preferments of the Church.
There was no longer that enthusiasm for maintaining and continuing the
architectural achievements of the past, for this new series of
ecclesiastics seemed to look upon their appointment largely as a sponge
which they might squeeze.

In Elizabethan times Mont St Michel once more assumed the character of a
fortress and had to defend itself against the Huguenots when its resources
had been drained by these worldly-minded shepherds, and it is not
surprising to find that the abbey which had withstood all the attacks