Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/79

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order. On the receipt of this letter, the King at once, in the sight of the Bishop's messenger, made grants of the episcopal lands to certain of his barons; those lands were therefore looked on as property which had undergone at least a temporary forfeiture. He however sent an answer to the Bishop, bidding him come to his presence, and adding the condition that, if he would not stay with the King as the King wished, he should be allowed to go back safe to Durham. It must however be supposed that this promise was not accompanied by any formal safe-conduct; otherwise, though it is not uncommon to find the officers of a king or other lord acting far more harshly than the lord himself, it is hard to understand the treatment which Bishop William met with at the hands of the zealous Sheriff of Yorkshire. That office was now held by Ralph Paganel, a man who appears in Domesday as holder of lands in various parts, from Devonshire to the lands of his present sheriffdom, and who next year became the founder of the priory of the Holy Trinity at York. The Bishop, on receiving the King's answer, sent to York to ask for peace of the Sheriff. But all peace was re-*