he did, and ruefully he suffered. Wherefore ruefully? He fell sick and became grievously ill. What can I say? The sharpness of death, that spareth neither rich nor poor, seized upon him. He died in Normandy the day after the nativity of St. Mary, and he was buried in Caen, at St. Stephen's monastery, which he had built and had richly endowed. Oh, how false, how unstable, is the good of this world! He, who had been a powerful king and the lord of many territories, possessed not then, of all his lands, more than seven feet of ground; and he, who was erewhile adorned with gold and with gems, lay then covered with mould. He left three sons: Robert the eldest was earl of Normandy after him; the second, named William, wore the crown of England after his father's death; and his third son was Henry, to whom he bequeathed immense treasures.
If any would know what manner of man king William was, the glory that he obtained, and of how many lands he was lord; then will we describe him as we have known him, we, who have looked upon him, and who once lived in his court.[1] This king William, of whom we are speaking, was a very wise and a great man, and more honoured and more powerful than any of his predecessors. He was mild to those good men who loved God, but severe beyond measure towards those who withstood his will. He founded a noble monastery on the spot where God permitted him to conquer England, and he established monks in it, and he made it very rich. In his days the great monastery at Canterbury was built, and many others also throughout England; moreover this land was filled with monks who lived after the rule of St. Benedict; and such was the state of religion in his days that all that would, might observe that which was prescribed by their respective orders. King William was also held in much reverence: he wore his crown three times every year when he was in England: at Easter he wore it at Winchester, at Pentecost at Westminster, and at Christmas at Gloucester. And at these times, all the men of England were with him, archbishops, bishops, abbats, and earls, thanes, and knights. So also, was he a very stern and a wrathful man, so that none durst do anything
- ↑ From this we learn that this part of the Chronicle was written by a contemporary and eye-witness of the facts which he relates.
