by all the bishops; but the monks and earls, and almost all the thanes who were there, would not acknowledge him. At this same time the messengers of the earl departed from the king dissatisfied, nothing regarding his gifts. At this time also a legate arrived from Rome; his name was Henry, and he was abbat of the monastery of St. John of Angelo. He came for the Romescot; and told the king that a clerk had no right to be set over monks, and that therefore they had formerly chosen the archbishop in the chapter, as was befitting; but, for love of the bishop of Salisbury, the king would not undo his act. Soon afterwards, the archbishop went to Canterbury, and was received, though unwillingly, and he was forthwith consecrated there by the bishop of London, and Ernulf bishop of Rochester, and William Giffard bishop of Winchester, and Bernard bishop of Wales (St. David's), and Roger bishop of Salisbury. Then early in Lent the archbishop journeyed to Rome for his pall, and Bernard bishop of Wales, and Sefred abbat of Glastonbury, and Anselm abbat of St. Edmund's, and John archdeacon of Canterbury, and Giffard who was the king's court-chaplain, went with him. Thurstan archbishop of York went to Rome at the same time by order of the pope, and he arrived three days before the archbishop of Canterbury, and was received with much honour. Then came the archbishop of Canterbury, and it was a full week before he could obtain an audience of the pope, because the pope had been given to understand that he had received the archbishopric in opposition to the monks of the monastery, and against right; but that which overcometh all the world, namely gold and silver,[1] overcame Rome also, and the pope relented and gave
- ↑ "How fortunate for the writer that the pope and his cardinals did not understand Saxon! The boldness of this remark might otherwise have procured him the distinguished honour of an excommunication. Matthew Paris has a similar remark, but less openly expressed, respecting the venality of the Roman see: 'quæ nulli deese consuevit, dummodo albi aliquid vol rubei intercedat. An. 1103.' Dr. Ingram might have quoted an equally elegant compliment paid to the cardinals, "quorum nares odor hicri questus causa infcecavit," by Alan of Tewkesbury, if the orthodox editor of the Brussels edition of Vita Sancti Thomae had not carefully expunged the passage: I have only done justice to historical accuracy by restoring the offensive words in "Vita Sancti Thomæ, vol. i. p. 359, edit Oxon. et Lond."
