Assembly of Windsor.
Seeming conquest of Wales.
Good hopes for the future.
William complains of Anselm's contingent to the Welsh war. eve, and thence went to Windsor, where the Assembly was therefore held, somewhat later than the usual time.[1] The meeting was followed by a great expedition into Wales, and by a submission of the country which events a few months later proved to be very nominal indeed.[2] But there was at last an apparent success. William seemed to be greater than ever; he had, by whatever means, won Normandy and recovered Wales. And, more than this, the beginnings of his Norman government had been good; he had thus far shown himself a better nursing-*father of the Church in his duchy than his brother Robert had done. A hope therefore arose in many minds that the days of victory and peace might be days of reformed government in England also, and that King and Primate might be able to join in some great measure for the improvement of discipline and manners.[3] In this hope they were disappointed, as they were likely to be, especially if they reckoned on any long time of peace with the Britons. But the first renewed breach between the King and the Archbishop arose from quite a new cause. When the King came back from the Welsh war, he sent a letter to Anselm, angrily complaining of the nature of the Archbishop's military contingent to his army. The knights whom Anselm had sent had been so badly equipped and so useless in war that he owed him no thanks for
- ↑ Chron. Petrib. 1097. "Se cyng Willelm . . . togeanes Eastron hider to lande for, forðam he þohte his hired on Winceastre to healdenne; ac he wearð þurh weder gelét oððet Eastre æfen, þæt he up com ærost æt Arundel, and forþi his hired æt Windlesoran heold."
- ↑ Eadmer (Hist. Nov. 37) makes a great deal more than enough of this submission, when he says; "Super Walenses qui contra eum surrexerant exercitum duxit, eosque post modicum in deditionem suscipit, et pace undique potitus est." But this would doubtless be the impression of the moment.
- ↑ Ib. "Cum jam multi sperarent, quod hæc pax servitio Dei deberet militare, et attenti exspectarent aliquid magni pro emendatione Christianitatis ex regis assensu archiepiscopum promulgare."
