Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 47.djvu/220

 mained in Rome, and there wrote to the pope, who in answer sent him a letter addressed to the king and the English bishops, dated 24 March 1117, promising not to diminish the dignity of the church of Canterbury. Conscious that this meant nothing, Ralph remained some time at Rome and at Sutri, where he received an invitation from the emperor to come to him, and remained with him a week; he returned first to Rome and then to Sutri, hoping that the pope would return. He was disappointed, and at last returned to Normandy, where he remained with the king, and was evidently one of his chief counsellors, taking a prominent part in the council that the king held at Rouen in October 1118 [see under ] (. p. 846).

The next pope, Gelasius II, upheld the cause of Thurstan, bade Henry send both Ralph and Thurstan to him, and wrote Ralph a sharp reproof for his disobedience to the apostolic see in refusing to consecrate Thurstan without the profession. Ralph set out to meet the pope at Rheims, where it was believed that he was about to hold a council, but he heard that Gelasius was still in the south, and thought of going to Spain. He afterwards intended to meet the pope at Clugny, but there Gelasius died on 29 Jan. 1119. Calixtus II, the next pope, also wrote angrily to Ralph, who was still in Normandy, blaming him for his disobedience to the letters of Paschal and Gelasius. Ralph replied that their letters had never reached him; it is known that the letter sent by Paschal had not been delivered to him, and even the York historian allows that he must be believed with reference to that sent by Gelasius. He would, he said, attend the pope, but was prevented by ill-health, and by the refusal of the French king to grant him a safe-conduct (, u.s. pp. 154–8). Calixtus sent him copies of the letters with an order to obey, and gave him reason to believe that he would take action on Thurstan's side at the council that he was about to hold at Rheims. Meanwhile at Rouen on 11 July, Ralph, after saying mass, was struck with paralysis while disrobing, and for some days remained speechless (, p. 873). He was therefore unable to attend the council, and wrote to the pope; the king allowed Thurstan to go to Rheims on his promising that he would not receive consecration from the pope, and sent Seffrid Pelochin, Ralph's brother, to the pope, warning him not to consecrate. Nevertheless on Sunday, 19 Oct., the pope did consecrate Thurstan, though before the ceremony John, the archdeacon of Canterbury, Ralph's nephew, publicly protested against the injury done to Ralph and to his church, to which the pope merely answered that he wished to do no injustice to the church of Canterbury.

Ralph, who was still so ill that he could only travel in a carriage and had to be supported to a seat, returned to England, and was received at Canterbury on 3 Jan. 1120. On 4 April he was sufficiently recovered to consecrate a bishop of Bangor. About that time Alexander of Scotland wrote asking him to send Eadmer [q. v.] to him to be elected bishop of St. Andrews. Ralph, having obtained Henry's leave to do so, wrote to Alexander urging him to be mindful of the rights of Canterbury, and to send Eadmer back to him without delay for consecration. Alexander, however, would not allow Eadmer to be consecrated by the archbishop of Canterbury, and Eadmer refused to receive consecration from any one else. In spite of Ralph's remonstrances, Alexander remained firm, and Eadmer did not become a bishop. Having received a letter from Calixtus threatening that he and his church should be put under an interdict unless Thurstan were restored to his rights, Ralph caused investigation to be made into the privileges that his church had received from former popes and the history of its claims over the see of York, and set these matters forth in a long letter which he sent to the pope, complaining of Thurstan and of the injury done to Canterbury (Historians of York, ii. 228–51). On 6 Jan. 1121 he attended the council at London at which Henry announced that, by the advice of the archbishop and magnates, he was about to marry again. The king also showed the bishops letters from the pope, and, acting on them, recalled Thurstan, who took charge of his diocese. Ralph's malady steadily increased, though he was not yet forced to give up performing divine service; his mental powers remained, but his voice was much affected; his temper became hasty, and he was specially quick to resent anything that he thought derogatory to the dignity of his see (Gesta Pontificum, p. 131). The king's marriage was to take place at Windsor, and, on account of Ralph's difficulty in speaking, it was proposed to admit the claim of the bishop of the diocese (Salisbury) to perform the ceremony. Ralph resisted the proposal, the bishops of his province upheld him, and the king was married by the bishop of Winchester as the archbishop's representative. The next day the queen, Adeliza [q. v.], was to be crowned, and Ralph was standing at the altar when he observed that the king was wearing his crown, though he had not placed it on his