A.D. 1108. AGREEMENT AS TO INVESTITURE. 199 boon reduced to subjection by the king, Itobert, duke of Normandy, and William, earl of Mortaigne, being first sent over to England as prisoners, the king himself returned to his kingdom before Easter. On the calends of August there was a meeting held at London of all the bishops, abbats, and nobles of the kingdom ; and, during three days, in the absence of archbishop Anselm, there was a full discussion held between the king and the bishops upon the investitures of churches. Some of them urged, that the king ought to make them after the example of his father and brother, and not according to the precepts of and in obedience to the successor of the Apostles. Lut pope Paschal, standing firm in the opinion which had been promulgated from the papal chair, had conceded everything4a which pope Urban had forbidden to be received as investitures, and by these means had made the king agree in his view on the subject of investiture. After this, in the presence of Anselm, a great multitude being present, the king asserted and decreed that, from that time forward, no person should ever be invested in a bishopric or abbey by the king, or by any lay hand, in England, by the gift of the pastoral staff or of the ring ; while Anselm conceded, that no person elected to a prelacy should be refused consecration to the dignity so received by reason of the homage which he should perform to the king. Gerard, archbishop of *' This passage, which might seem somewhat obscure, is probably explained by the more full account given by Roger of Wendover of what passed when Anselm and the deposed abbats appeared before the pope. " Pope Paschal received Anselm kindly : and, on a day appointed, William de Warewast, clerk and proctor for the king of England, brought forward his cause, and, amongst other things, firmly asserted that he would never • resign the investiture of churches, even if he were to lose his kingdom, and confirmed this assertion with words of threatening import. To this the pope replied, ' If, a3 you say, your king would not give up the donation of churches to save his kingdom, neither would I, to save my life let him keep it.' Thus the king's business terminated, and archbishop Anselm began to intercede with the pope for the degraded bishops and abbats, that he would give them a dispensation to recover their lost dignities. Then the Holy See, which is never wanting to any one, if any-thingof a white or red colonr passes between the parties, manfully restored the aforesaid bishops and abbats to their former dignities, and sent them back with joy to their own habitations." The allusion to the white or red colour refers to the power of silver or gold at the papal court, which was then open to great corruption.