Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/564

 which even the King must yield. In his hatred to Anselm, he hoped to carry one of two points. Either the Archbishop would abjure the Pope, and would abide in the land a dishonoured man who had given up the cause for which he strove. Or else, if he still clave to the Pope, the King would then have a reasonable excuse for driving him out of the kingdom.

To these intrigues of the blaspheming King the Bishop of Durham was not ashamed to lend himself. He recked nothing of the dishonour under which it was thought that Anselm would hardly bear to live. He promised to the King that he would bring about one of two things; either the Archbishop should renounce the Pope, or else he should formally resign the archbishopric by restoring the ring and staff. Now seemingly was the time to press him, when he was weary with the day's work and sought for a respite, when his enemies were beginning to hope that, either through fear or weariness, he would be driven to yield. So the bishops again went back from the King to the Archbishop, with him of Durham as their leader and spokesman. The time-server made his speech to the man of God. "Hear the King's complaint against you. He says that, as far as lies in your power, you have robbed him of his dignity by making Odo Bishop of Ostia"—William of Saint-Calais had had other names for him in an earlier assembly—"Pope in his England without his bidding. Having so robbed him, you ask