At the signing of the treaty it
was committed to the custody of Richard de Lucy, who was continued
in the office of keeper by Henry the Second.
In the reign of this monarch many repairs were made in the castle, to
which a vineyard was attached--the cultivation of the grape being at
this time extensively practised throughout England. Strange as the
circumstance may now appear, Stow mentions that vines grew in
abundance in the home park in the reign. of Richard the Second, the
wine made from them being consumed at the king's table, and even
sold.
It is related by Fabian that Henry, stung by the disobedience and
ingratitude of his sons, caused an allegorical picture to be painted,
representing an old eagle assailed by four young ones, which he placed
in one of the chambers of the castle. When asked the meaning of the
device, be replied, "I am the old eagle, and the four eaglets are my
sons, Who cease not to pursue my death. The youngest bird, who is
tearing out its parent's eyes, is my son John, my youngest and best-
loved son, and who yet is the most eager for my destruction."
On his departure for the holy wars Richard Coeur de Lion entrusted the
government of the castle to Hugh de Pudsey, Bishop of Durham and Earl
of Northumberland; but a fierce dispute arising between the warrior-
prelate and his ambitious colleague, William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely,
he was seized and imprisoned by the latter, and compelled to surrender
the castle.
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