me there happened a very hot and dry summer; so dry
that there was not grass for the cattle; upon which most of the
inhabitants went and prayed to the image or Holy Rood, that it would
cause it to rain, but to no purpose. Among the rest, the Lady Trawst
(whose husband's name was Sytsylht, a nobleman and governor of Harden
Castle) went to pray to the said Holy Rood, and she praying earnestly and
long, the image or Holy Rood fell down upon her head and killed her; upon
which a great uproar was raised, and it was concluded and resolved upon
to try the said image for the murder of the said Lady Trawst, and a jury
was summoned for this purpose, whose names were as follows:--

Hincot of Hancot, Span of Mancot,
Leech and Leach, and Cumberbeach.
Peet and Pate, with Corbin of the gate,
Milling and Hughet, with Gill and Pughet."

The Jury--so continues the story--found the Holy Rood guilty of wilful
murder, and the sentence was proposed that she should be hanged. This
was opposed by Span, who suggested that, as they wanted rain, it would be
best to drown her. This, again, was objected to by Corbin, who advised
to lay her on the sands of the river and see what became of her. This
was done, with the result that the image was carried by the tide to some
low land near the wall of Caerleon--(supposed to be Chester)--where it
was found by the Cestrians drowned and dead, and by them buried at the
gate where found, with this inscription:--

The Jews their God did crucify,
The Hardeners theirs did drown,
'Cos, with their wants she'd not comply,
And lies under this cold stone.

Hence the said low land, or island, as it may have been, is supposed to
have got the name of the Rood-Eye, or Roodee as at present.

After the Conquest, Hawarden was included in the vast grant made by
William to his kinsman, Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, which included
Cheshire and all the seaboard as far as Conway. The Earl had his
residence at Chester, and there held his Courts and Parliament. His
sword of dignity, referred to in the heading of Common Law Indictments,
is preserved in the British Museum. Among the earliest residents at
Hawarden occurs the name of Roger Fitzvalence, son of one of the
Conqueror's followers; subsequently it continued in the possession of the
Earls of Chester till the death of Ranulf de Blundeville, the last earl,
in 1231, when, with Castle Rising and the 'Earl's Half' in Coventry, it
passed, throug