Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/80

 *

men. A monk who was coming back from the King's presence to the Bishop was stopped; his horse was killed, though he was allowed to go on on foot. Lastly, the Sheriff ordered all men in the King's name to do all the harm that they could to the Bishop everywhere and in every way. The Bishop was thus cut off from telling his grievances; and for seven weeks, we are told, the lands of the bishopric were laid waste. This date brings us into the month of May, by which time important events had happened in other parts of England.
 * fused to the Bishop, to his messengers, and to all his

We have seen that, in south-eastern England at least, the unrede of this year's Lent must have gone beyond mere words, and must have already taken the form of action. But it seems not to have been till after Easter that the general revolt of the disaffected nobles broke forth throughout the whole land. By this time they had all thoroughly made up their minds to act. And we may add that it is quite possible that the King's treatment of the Bishop of Durham may have had some share in helping them to make up their minds. They may have been led to think that open rebellion was the safest course. The first general sign was given at the Easter Gemót of the year, which, according to rule, would be held at Winchester. The rebel nobles, instead of appearing to do their duty when the King wore his crown, kept aloof from his court. They gat them each man to his castle, and made them ready for war. Soon*