Silent endurance of the action. showed more strongly than anything else that, as far as this world was concerned, it rested wholly with the King whether England should ever again have another primate or not. Through the whole time, the nation suffers, but it suffers in silence. We have already had to deal with a king on whose nod all things human and divine were held to hang;[1] we are now dealing with a king who would have no petition made, no act ascribed, within his realm, to any God or man except himself.[2]
Results, of the vacancy.
Corruption of the clergy.
The state of things during the time when William
Rufus held firm to his purpose that no man should be
archbishop but himself,[3] and when the revenues of the
archbishopric were paid into the hands of Randolf Flambard,[4]
was one of general corruption. It is immediately
after recording the King's way of dealing with bishoprics
and abbeys that one of our chief guides breaks forth into
his most vehement protest against the vices of the time,
and specially against the corruption and degradation of
the clergy.[5] That they took to secular callings, that
they became pleaders of causes and farmers of revenues,
was not wonderful. Under the rule of Flambard therenec ipse hoc tempore
nec alius quis archiepiscopus erit, me excepto."]
- ↑ See N. C. vol. iv. p. 436.
- ↑ Eadmer, Vit. Ans. ii. 3. 23. The King and his courtiers, "quid dicerent non habentes, eum in regem blasphemare uno strepitu conclamavere, quandoquidem ausus erat in regno ejus, nisi eo concedente, quidquam vel Deo ascribere."
- ↑ Eadmer, Hist. Nov. 16. "Et adjecit, Sed per sanctum vultum de Luca (sic enim jurare consueverat) [see Appendix G
- ↑ The action of Flambard in the matter comes out most strongly in the Winchester Annals, 1089, where a motive is assigned for Flambard's zeal; "Hoc anno commisit rex Radulfo Passefiabere archiepiscopatum Cantuariæ, defuncto Lanfranco. Ipse autem regi quicquid inde aliquo modo lucrari poterat, ut de ejus cogitaret promotione, donavit." But he had to wait eight years for his reward.
- ↑ I refer to the well-known outburst of William of Malmesbury, iv. 314, some passages of which I have quoted in Appendix G.
