Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/63



Such was the first act of authority done by the new ruler. Having thus disposed of the men whom he seems to have dreaded, William found no opposition made to his succession. But it was important for him to take possession without delay. The time, September, was not one of the usual seasons for a general assembly of the kingdom, and William could not afford to wait for the next great festival of Christmas. No native English competitor was likely to appear; but he must at least make himself safe against any possible attempts on the part of his brothers beyond the sea. From Winchester he hastened to the presence of Lanfranc—seemingly at Canterbury; as the story is told us, it seems to be taken for granted that it rested with the Primate to give or to refuse the crown. Whether the younger William himself brought the news of the death of the elder is not quite clear; but we are not surprised to hear from an eye-witness that the first feeling of Lanfranc was one of overwhelming grief at the loss of the king who was dead, a king who, if he had been to him a master, had also been in so many things a friend and a fellow-worker. The formal consecration of his successor was not long delayed; the new king was solemnly crowned and anointed by the hands of Lanfranc in the minster of Saint Peter, on Sunday the feast of the

et Rogerio [clearly meant for Roger of Hereford] et Siwardo cognomento Bran et Wlnoto Haraldi regis germano." They are made to sign, along with Abbot Æthelwig, who died in 1077, in a Council in London in 1082. The whole thing is clearly spurious; but what put the signatures of the captives into anybody's head?]
 * [Footnote: Hist. Dun. Scriptt. Tres, v, of which I may have to speak again; "Morkaro