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‘I will agree to a settlement of our difference,’ said the King. ‘If you will concede a little to me I will so do to you. You must withdraw the penalties you have placed on churchmen because they obeyed my laws. As my subjects you and your priests must do homage to the Crown. In all temporal matters they and you must bow to my will. If you will agree to this I will not claim spiritual investiture.’
Anselm was thoughtful. He said he would lay this before the Pope and if permission was given for him to do so, he would comply with Henry’s terms.
The Pope! thought Henry. It was always the Pope. There was a big conflict begi
He narrowed his eyes and studied Anselm. He wanted him back in England; he wanted to pursue his Norman campaign. So he did not give vent to his irritation. He nodded slowly and said: ‘Do this then and when you have your overlord’s permission to accept my terms, inform the Queen that you will be returning to England.’
Henry then left for the first stage of his campaign against his brother. He had not pla
Once he had sown the seeds he would return to England and prepare for the main attack.
* * * * *
Matilda was at Dover where she was awaiting the arrival of Anselm.
She was shocked by his appearance. He was indeed an old man.
She welcomed him warmly and he returned her greeting with pleasure. They had always been friends since he had called his council and proved to the country that she had never taken the veil. He knew her for a good and pious woman; he had heard of her Lenten activities and he thought her a noble spouse and a good influence on her more worldly husband.
‘I know that you and the King have settled your differences.’ she told him, ‘and this affords me great pleasure.’
‘Ah, my lady.’ he replied, ‘it is not as simple as that. We have made a compromise and I trust that in future the King and I will have less cause for disagreement.’
‘I am sure the King is delighted by your return to office as so many good people will be. Let us hope that you can now continue in harmony.’
‘We will pray for it.’ he told her.
When she heard that both he and Henry had decided that celibacy must be enforced throughout the clergy she immediately thought of those who had already entered into the married state.
She questioned Anselm on this matter and he told her that this was a rule which all clergy would have to obey and it had been a source of great disquiet to him that in the past the lower members of the Church had been able to obtain licences to marry.
She argued: ‘I understand of course that this rule is made and therefore those who enter the church must comply with it, but I think of those already married. What can you do. Unmarry them?’
‘In marrying they have already offended the laws of Holy Church. There is only one course open now. Excommunication.’
‘But what will they do? They depend for their livelihood upon the Church. They are trained for the Church. If they are driven out they will have nothing.’
‘It will be a lesson to others. They sought to satisfy the lusts of the flesh. Now they must pay the price.’
‘But to enter into holy matrimony...’
‘A priest is a priest.’ said Anselm. ‘Matrimony is no concern of his. He knows this and in the past asked for a licence to marry. It was given him though it never should have been and he took it. Now he must pay the price.’
The Queen sighed. How hard were men! Henry who did not even need matrimony to satisfy his desires was ready to forbid priests to marry at all I Anselm of course had never wished to, being wedded to the Church; but did neither of them ever think of the hardship these priests would endure when cast out of office and mayhap forced with their families to beg for bread?
She decided that Anselm looked too frail to make the journey to London so she herself would travel on ahead of him to ease his journey by making sure that there should be good lodging for him on the road.
When Henry returned she would plead with him not to be harsh on the poor clergy who now found that they had erred unwittingly against the new law of the Church.
* * * * *
The King returned to England pleased with the first stages of his campaign. A less able general might have been misguided enough to continue the fight. Not so Henry. He had made valuable headway; he had ascertained that several barons in strategic positions were ready to betray Robert if satisfactorily bribed. Bayeux and Caen had surrendered to him. He had garrisoned them and they would hold firm until his return which would not be long delayed. He needed just enough time to raise more money and a bigger army. Then he would go into the attack once more.
Matilda met him at Dover. He looked in fine spirits and was glad to be back with her. She had proved a good Regent in his absence and once more he congratulated himself on his marriage.
The homecoming was marred for Matilda by the sight of members of the clergy who had come in a sad procession to waylay the royal party as it passed through the streets of London.
Such a sorry sight brought the tears to Matilda’s eyes. Rarely had she seen such desperation in any face as she saw in those of this displaced clergy. Their feet were bare but they wore their clerical robes and they chanted as they went: ‘Have pity on us.’
These were the members of the clergy who had married and were now excommunicated and deprived of their livelihood because of it.
‘Oh, Henry.’ said Matilda, ‘could you not take them back? Make this rule for the future if you must but those who have already married when it was not illegal to do so should not be blamed.
‘You don’t understand.’ said Henry. ‘Too much is at stake.’
‘Surely a little pity.’
‘Be silent, Matilda. This ca
One of the priests was trying to kneel beside the King’s horse.
‘Out of the way!’ shouted Henry, and the man fell backwards onto the cobbles.
But some of those who pressed near had seen the compassion in Matilda’s face and one man came close to her horse and said, ‘Lady, you could plead for us with the King. You could save us.’
‘If I could.’ she said, ‘I would do so. But I dare not.’
They fell back in despair and for Matilda this could only be a sad occasion because she could not get out of her mind the faces of those miserable priests.
There was another matter which gave her great cause for sorrow. Her Uncle Edgar, of whom she had always been very fond, and who had accompanied Robert of Normandy on his crusade to the Holy Land, was now ranged on his side against Henry.
Edgar was the kindest of men, extremely cultivated but he was no fighter; and she trembled to think what his fate might be if he during the coming battles fell into her husband’s hands.
* * * * *
Henry’s stay in England was brief. He did not wish to delay too long. There must be just time to augment his army and prepare it for the campaign in which he was determined to capture Normandy.
Matilda once more accompanied him to the coast and waved him farewell.
She returned then to her children and the management of the country’s affairs. One of the most pleasant of these tasks was the building of Windsor Castle, and she spent many a happy hour with Gundulph the architect, who was also a bishop, discussing the plans for this magnificent edifice.