On the lower member
of the entablature of one capital there are still traces of an
inscription; but it is so injured by neglect and violence, that we were
unable to decipher a single word. The capital itself is fanciful and not
devoid of elegance.
[Illustration: Capital]
The convent was placed under the immediate protection of the sovereign,
by virtue of an ordinance issued by Philip Augustus[61], in 1280, at
which time Peter, Count of Alencon, attempted to establish a claim to
some rights affecting the monastery. He alleged a grant from a former
monarch to one of his predecessors, by whom he asserted that the convent
had been founded; and, in support of his claim, he urged its position
within the limits of his territory. The abbot and monks resisted: they
gave proof that the abbey of Bernay was really founded by the duchess;
and therefore the king, after a full and impartial hearing, decided
against the count, and declared that the advocation of the monastery was
thenceforth to belong to himself and his successors in the dukedom for
ever.--Judith died before the convent was entirely built, and the task
of completing it devolved upon her widowed husband, whose charter,
confirming the foundation, is still in existence.
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