A.D. 1093.] CONSECRATION OF ANSELM. 365 on the point of embarking, the king took ten shillings from each of them, and sent all of them home again. But duke Robert brought into Normandy Philip, king of the French, with a large army, to besiege king William in the castle of Auche ; but the French king, blinded by money, returned to France with all his army. Seeing this, duke Robert relinquished his expedition, and king William, returning to England, afflicted the churches and monasteries of the kingdom with most oppressive exactions. The same year, Paul, abbat of St. Alban's, whilst returning from a pastoral visit to his monks at Tynemouth, was seized with a severe illness at a place called Colewich, where he died on the 13th of November : his body was carried back to St. Albans, and there honourably buried. The church of St. Alban's remained four years without a pastor, in the hands of William the second. Of the consecration of Anselm to be archbishop of Canterbury. The same year, there was a meeting of all the bishops of England, and Thomas, archbishop of York, consecrated Anselm, elect of Canterbury, to be archbishop, on the 4th of December. Before, however, they came to the examination of the prelate who was about to be ordained, whilst Walkelin, bishop of Winchester, was reading the written form of election according to the ecclesiastical mode, Thomas, archbishop of York, objected that the writing was not in due order. For when they came to the words, " My brother bishops, it is known to all of us how long it is since the church of Canterbury, which is the metropolitan of all Britain, has been deprived of a pastor," Thomas answered and said, "Lf the church of Canterbury is the metropolitan of all Britain, the church of York, which passes for being metropolitan, is not so : now, we know that the church of Canterbury is primatial, but not metropolitan." All saw the reason of this remark, and the form was altered from " metropolitan church of all Britain " to " primatial church of all Britain," and so the controversy ended, and Thomas consecrated Anselm to be primate of all Britain. In the course of the ceremony, the book of the gospel was held open over his head by the bishops, and when the consecration was ended, these words were noticed in the page which was open.