An Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain

DUKE WILLIAM having mastered the difficulties of the expedition, was importuned to take the title of king; this dis- K. of Eng. tinction of style being most agreeable to the English. He accepted the motion, and accordingly prepared for his coronation, which was solemnized at Westminster upon Christ- A. D. 1066. mas-day following. This ceremony, though customarily Malmsb. de performed by the archbishop of Canterbury, yet the king fol. 57. was not crowned by Stigand, but by Aldred, archbishop of am not King WilYork. And here, Brompton informs us from some histo- crowned by rians, that William desired Stigand to set the crown upon Stigand, and his head, and that this prelate refused to be concerned in the solemnity. His reason was, because duke William had invaded the country, and seized the government in prejudice of the right heir. Others affirm, and not without probability, that William refused to be crowned by Stigand, because this prelate lay under the censures and suspension of the court of Rome. For the pope having countenanced king Brompton William in his expedition, we may reasonably suppose he Chron. p. would not be forward to disgust his holiness; and, which is Malmsb. ib. most likely, the king might gratify his own resentment, in declining the assistance of Stigand at the coronation solem

962.

fol. 58.

STIGAND,

nity for by his rugged treatment of this prelate afterwards, Abp. Cant. he seems to have had a pique against him for appearing too much an Englishman; for making a stand against him for some time, and declaring for Edgar Atheling. And it may be, the check he is said to have met with in Kent might not sit easy upon his memory.

The king is

said to have

taken an

oath to the English at

tion.

tif. 1. 3. fol. 154.

Malmsbury reports, that when archbishop Aldred crowned king William, he took an oath of him, that he should govern his subjects with justice and clemency, and treat the English his corona- upon an equal foot with the Normans: that as long as the king Malmsb. de managed by these measures, the archbishop treated him Gest. Pon- with all the regard due to the royal character, but when he began to harass the subjects with insupportable taxes, Aldred sent some of his agents to court to remonstrate against the grievance. These deputies, not admitted to the presence without difficulty, were dismissed with a rugged answer. Aldred, receiving no satisfaction at court, was so hardy as to bestow some ill wishes on the Conqueror and all his family, justifying this freedom by saying, that he might reasonably give his curse to those who had misbehaved themselves under his blessing. These passages being related to the king, he was advised to give the archbishop satisfaction, and ask his excuse. The king condescended to this suggestion, and dispatched some gentlemen to York, but before they came thither the archbishop was dead. It is thought his sympathizing with the calamities of the country made an ill impression upon his health, and shortened his days. This Aldred built the abbey church, now the cathedral of Glocester. He likewise bought several estates, and annexed them to the archbishoprick, and was a great benefactor to the abbey of Beverley.

283.

He governs

As for the oath above mentioned, if it was taken by the arbitrarily. conqueror in the terms related by Malmsbury, it is plain this prince broke through it in a little time: for when he found himself well settled, he pulled off the mask, and governed in an arbitrary manner. He threw the English out of their privileges and estates, and gave away the country to his Normans. And here Thorne, a monk of St. Augustine's, Canterbury, reports, that Egelsin, the abbot of that monastery, perceiving he lay under the king's disfavour for having appeared so resolutely in defence of the liberties of

Thorn. Chronic. p. 1787.

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An Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain: Chiefly of England ..., المجلد 2