Page:The religious life of King Henry VI.djvu/110

84 had never consented to the removal of the body to Windsor in 1484, and that, therefore, since it had been taken from his keeping unlawfully, he was now entitled to its recovery. The Dean of Windsor and his supporters argued that so far from having objected to the exhumation, the Abbot of Chertsey with his own hands had assisted thereat, and that inasmuch as the dead King had declared his wish to be interred at Windsor, and was in fact now buried there, the body should remain where it was. The Abbot of Westminster, however, put forward the most convincing arguments. Four volumes of evidence were presented in his behalf, and numerous witnesses—vergers, servants, and workmen of the Abbey—deposed to the frequent visits paid by Henry VI to the Abbey at all hours of the day and night during the fateful years of 1458-146 1, and described how he had chosen a burial-place for himself there, near to the tomb of his father, King Henry V,and of Queen Catherine his mother. The Abbot further urged the close connection that had always existed between the Abbey and the Royal Palace of Westminster, and laid stress upon the fact that during his lifetime the dead King had